The pre-dawn sun was still dozing lazily among the purple clouds, the sky was still strewn with a scattering of stars melting at dawn, and Severus was already running along the beach, paddling with his bare feet in the cool water. Recently, he made it into the habit of doing what he had never done and returned to the old occupations, which he had forgotten during the war.
One of these activities was jogging in the morning. One could laugh as much as they wanted, looking at Snape's lanky figure, painful thinness, and excessive pallor: he definitely wasn't built athletically.
However, the exercises helped him not drown in despair, when the Occlumency shields no longer helped, and he simply did not know how else to cope with his depression. Snape remembered the set of exercises that Master Xi Yun, a scientist from China, his Potions Master, had told him all those years ago.
Those days of his life could be called the happiest if they were not darkened by the Dark Mark, the loud promises of the Lord, which Severus believed, and the moral teachings of Minerva and Poppy. Now the past was recalled almost with nostalgia. Now Snape was not afraid to live, breathe in the salty sea air, listen to the rustle of the waves and enjoy the coolness of the early morning.
The stories of Master Xi Yun came to mind. Discreet and wise, Potions Master liked to draw parallels between magic and the art of combat. Surprisingly, the two completely different skills had a lot in common. The martial arts in China originated a couple of millennia ago. In the beginning, martial arts were intended to train future soldiers of the Chinese army. With the development of civilization, more and more importance was attached to fighting styles. Eastern martial arts included various fighting techniques, as well as philosophy, meditation, and medicine. People devoted their entire lives to these pursuits, achieving high control over their bodies and minds. Master Yun, however, especially favored Liu-He-Ba-Fa-Quan.
In another way, it was called the "eight methods". The style was created by the martial arts master LiDE Mao based on five different styles. The main goal of teaching this type of oriental martial arts was the rapid preparation of young recruits entering the service of the imperial army. The study of Quan was based on mastering the techniques of using spears, swords, and sabers. Warriors also cultivated in themselves the ability to control their own energy and its harmonious distribution; the ability to feel waves of energy and follow them; spend energy sparingly, even during the battle; hide their technique until the right moment to mislead the enemy.
The philosophy of the warriors of Liu-He-Ba-Fa-Quan was aimed at knowing their inner energy. This was achieved with the help of exercises for training bones and joints, which gave an additional flow of vital energy. Meditation educated and trained the mind and thoughts. During meditations, the warriors learned to materialize the thoughts arising in their heads about the enemy's image and fight with him.
And all this was taught to Severus by the wise Master Yun when Snape's lack of disciple once again ruined the important potion and melted the cauldron. The Master did not wait for Severus to throw molten copper at a nearby wall, but instead took his ash staff and drove his apprentice to the abandoned beach to learn how to master the mind.
When Lucius Malfoy recommended Severus to the Master as a promising young Apprentice, the philosopher could not have imagined that, together with a bad temper, a born Occlument and a fairly good Dark Arts specialist would fall into his hands. Xi Yun simply could not allow a student to ruin his talents, all the more so that they fall into the wrong hands. But something had to be done with Severus's intemperance. It was then that meditations and martial arts came to the rescue.
"You're too used to street fighting without rules, my boy, but the dark people you have to fight with are much more insidious than those fools from your youth, do you understand me?"
Severus flushed, snorted, defied, and... admitted that his mentor was right: he did not understand anything in life, he was accustomed to relying only on a magic wand and his own fists.
"You must learn to control your energy. I will teach you to hide your thoughts, they are too dangerous. You are talented, Severus, but your talent is like ginseng, which instead of an ancient temple grew on a dusty path. There will be no benefit from such a plant. Unless you transplant it into more fertile soil."
After that, Xi Yun leaned on his staff and sent Severus to run for a couple of hundred more circles around the garden, forcing him to swim across the lake or exercise with a stick over and over again. And then there was a rock garden, there was work in greenhouses, there was green tea and meditation. Gradually, Severus learned to control his own temperament.
It was the Master who taught him the technique of concealing thoughts, advising him to visualize a herbal garden in his mind, where each plant will be associated with a certain memory and the zones of the garden - with periods of life. Depending on the intentions of whoever tries to read Severus' thoughts, the garden will look different.
"If you let a friend into your garden, boy, he will see summer, blossoming trees, he will smell the fragrance of flowers, and a smooth path will be under his feet," Xi Yun instructed, chasing Severus around with his staff. "Breathe, boy, breathe, and control your emotions! So that's it. It all depends on intention, remember that, Severus! If an enemy invades your mind, then a lifeless desert, or a snowfall with an icy wind, or poisonous plants will appear to his gaze. No one will ever be able to get to the heart of the garden where ginseng grows - your true essence - if you do not want it yourself!"
Severus collapsed in exhaustion under a nearby tree, and the Master immediately pounced on him with Legilimency and breathing techniques. It seemed that the old Potions Master took real pleasure in torturing his apprentice. Over the years, Severus learned to truly appreciate Xi Yun's contribution to his education and upbringing. If not for the perseverance of the Master, if not for his wisdom and ability to see hidden talents, Severus would not have survived even the First War. Not to mention becoming a spy.
During periods of inner turmoil, Severus always turned to his mind's garden, tidying it up, calming his thoughts, and seeing exits where there used to be solid walls. Now intuition persistently prompted him to practice the techniques of Legilimency and Occlumency with Hermione.
Even though Poppy insistently told him to go on vacation and forget about everything that happened in Britain, Severus, accustomed to being constantly on the alert, could not relax for a second. Taking Hermione's blood for analysis, right after she regained consciousness after losing their child, Severus tried to identify the nature of the curse that someone unknown and very dangerous had placed upon her. The magic of the spell was not directly aimed at depriving Muggle-born witches of the opportunity to have children, on the contrary, it significantly increased their magical abilities. This was the main danger: if the husband of the Muggle-born witch did not come from an ancient family, did not have the strength sufficient to be able to protect his wife and an offspring, then either the child would be born as a squib, or the witch herself lost her abilities. For the time being, perhaps over time, both the woman and the child would be able to regain their strength. But how long would it take before they realize that someone's evil curse was to blame for everything, and not, say, moral and physical exhaustion associated with the years of war and all sorts of hardships?
Severus frowned thoughtfully: the magic of this high and dark level narrowed his suspects considerably. Only pureblood wizards of the most ancient British families could have possessed such dangerous knowledge and abilities. Some of the Death Eaters, some of the people from the Upper Circle. Snape was sure of it now.
It was worth writing to Sirius and the Malfoys and informing them of his considerations. And still, it was worth reminding Master Xi Yun of his existence and consulting about some potions that were actively practiced by local magicians. Something that could help Hermione curb her increasing abilities if she was suddenly attacked.
Severus finished his morning run with these thoughts and, returning to the house, stood by the thicket of hibiscus - nearby Hermione was just doing her yoga.
Severus admired her dedication: his wife never did anything by half, always going to the end. At the same time, she managed to preserve an almost childish admiration for the forces of nature, the beauty of landscapes, admiration for the changing seasons, or blooming flowers. She became more and more open to him every day, and Severus was desperately afraid to frighten off this fragile joy of being in love with her.
After a vacation in Greece, they were going to Australia: Hermione made the final decision to make peace with her parents, and Severus had to prove to the Grangers that he was a worthy choice for their daughter. After Australia, the couple planned to go to Ireland: to buy a house and settle down there.
"Severus?" Balancing her hands and trying to grab the big toe, Hermione called.
"Yes, dear? Can I help you?" Severus inquired sarcastically as Hermione once again lost her balance and crashed onto a rug reinforced with a cushioning charm.
"Let's go back to Greece after Australia and settle here, shall we?"
"What about Hogwarts? What about our research?"
"Well, we are still planning to spend most of the year in Britain, what prevents us from coming here in the summer?"
"I see you like the local cuisine and local magic?"
Hermione straightened up, practicing easier asanas, and explained:
"I like it here. The primal magic and sincere people. We were invited to the wedding of the headman's daughter only because we are visiting tourist magicians, and the local community yearned for foreign wizards for years."
"And also because I brought out the invasion of garden gnomes, bothering that aforementioned headsman," Severus replied. Hermione snorted.
"You know what I mean. Here, nature itself fuels our magic. Remember how we swam under the moon and felt how the moonlight literally saturates the chakras, giving us strength."
Severus nodded his agreement.
"You're right. The last time I felt this way was when I was in China, and Master Xi Yun taught me Occlumency..."
"You have been to China?" Hermione exclaimed enthusiastically, dashing from her place and running up to him. "Did you study with the Master? Tell me! Tell me everything!"
Severus caught her in his arms.
"That is why I was coming to you: I wanted to ask if you would like to learn Occlumency from me? I believe this will help keep you safe."
Hermione heard only the second half of the sentence, kissing him with a squeal.
"I would! Really, I want to learn everything from you! Let's start today!"
"But what about our planned trip to the bay for seashells?"
Hermione rolled her eyes dreamily: wild beach, sun, shells, fruit... learning a new art.
"All at once! I want everything at once, Severus."
Snape smiled: smiling like that, with a glim in her eyes, with a blush on her cheeks and determination in her voice, he liked her much more. Hermione gradually entered the path of healing, and he was not going to leave her alone in this ordeal.
Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him firmly away.
"Let's go! Let's take a shower, have breakfast, and let's go. We have plans for noon."
"And those plans would be?"
"Katarina, the local librarian, invited me to help her deal with ancient tomes that some foreign wizard brought to the island about fifty years ago when he was fleeing a shipwreck."
"Why do you require my assistance?"
"Severus, shut up, or I'll bite you! You have never walked past a bookstore in your life so as not to go inside. And here you will have a whole library of antiquities at your disposal! Maybe we will come across something interesting?"
"But what about the wedding of the headman's daughter?"
"The wedding is tomorrow!"
"Well, yes, don't you have to do your hair, choose a dress, paint your nails? In a word, to do all the things that "The Witch Weekly" is so famous for?"
Hermione huffed.
"You know perfectly well that for me appearance is far from the most important thing in the world!"
"Of course, which is why you agreed to become the wife of the most handsome man in Britain."
Hermione lost her pace and stopped, turning to Severus.
"Your brilliant intellect was worth all my sacrifices."
"Don't say that… My famous intellect didn't help me to keep you and the baby safe."
Hermione brushed his hair away from his face and kissed him along the jawline.
"Severus, it was your magic that helped me survive, and you continue to look for ways to restore my magic reserve. What happened is not our fault. We will not surrender and we will take revenge on everyone."
"Even after they suspended you?" Severus muttered, looking down. Hermione arched an eyebrow in his trademark gesture.
"Kingsley didn't want to get involved in the scandal caused by my cursing of Umbridge in front of everyone, but I am still his advisor in all matters related to Sentient Races and Education. In addition, Sirius and Mr. Malfoy, with whom I regularly correspond, remained in the arena. I follow everything that is happening in Britain, in fact, being out of work. It's comfortable."
"I'm influencing you badly," Severus replied contentedly, looking into her eyes.
"I knew that you would be proud of me. Now kiss me and let's go."
"Where are you hurrying to?"
"We have a honeymoon, husband! We haven't made love on that beach yet! I want to go there. And I want you."
"Insufferable," Snape shook his head, smiling at her.
"Catch me and see for yourself!" she cried and dashed from him.
And he rushed after Hermione.