Snape stared at her for a long moment, wondering if it was possible to fall in love even more deeply than he already was and swallowed.
"I'm alright, Hermione," he smiled. "If you want to complete the bonding tonight, we shall. And then I'll gladly help you with dinner."
Severus reached out tentatively, took Hermione's other hand, and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. She blushed.
"What a beautiful sight to behold…" flashed through Snape's mind.
"We'll do whatever you want," he added and cupped her cheek, gently caressing her parted lips with his thumb.
"I want to do the bonding today," breathed Hermione. "Now."
Severus' heart raced a mile per second as he watched Hermione stand up and whisper a spell to wandlessly make a small cut on her palm. He didn't even notice how he managed to also rise from the chair and walk over to her.
When Severus was a small, brainless, and naive ten-year-old, one summer day he saw a wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Evans took their daughters out for a picnic. Severus knew the park where they supposedly went, so he ran there to catch a glimpse of 'normal life' that other people lived, imagining for a second that he was one of them, and maybe — if he was lucky — to spend some time with Lily.
But he never found her. Severus strolled the park until it was dark with no success. That afternoon, though, he stumbled upon the large group of wonderfully dressed people who all laughed, and danced, and drank something from fancy glasses, and generally seemed to be having a good time. Severus hid behind the nearest bush so he wouldn't be shooed away, as per usual, and watched the scene, trying to guess the occasion.
It did not take long. A woman in a white poofy dress emerged from somewhere, holding hands with a man in a suit that Severus knew he would never afford to wear. They kissed — which made him cringe in disgust at the time — and hugged, and did all sorts of things other people did, but they never stopped holding each other's hands.
An image of him and Lily holding hands like this popped up in Severus' mind and at that moment, he knew he was screwed.
That fantasy of a wedding kept showing up in Snape's memory throughout his whole life, and that's how he always imagined a wedding should be. Big, and pompous, and most likely without him in the picture. And he despised it. Now, though, in the middle of his own ceremony, watching his would-be-wife tying herself to him for eternity with one drop of blood on the parchment — in the kitchen, barefoot, and in simple jeans and blouse — Severus couldn't be more content. This was how it should be and it felt amazing.
One thing from the fantasy remained, though: they never stopped holding hands.
Snape mirrored Hermione's motions and dropped his own blood to the bottom center of the parchment. And at the moment his blood touched hers, magic did its wonderful job and Severus felt a rush of power sweeping throughout his entire being, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
He looked at Hermione: her slightly disheveled clothes, parted lips, wide eyes, and absolutely gorgeous mess of a dandelion-shaped hair — and couldn't contain laughter.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him in a manner truly worthy of Mrs. Snape but in a moment relaxed and chuckled.
"You don't look any better yourself, you know?" she scolded good-naturedly and grinned. "Husband."
Severus snorted and stepped closer, stroking the back of her hand, then moving up her arm and shoulder to her neck, finally stopping when his fingers reached her frizzled hair. "May I kiss the bride?" he asked, looking intently in her warm eyes. All humor vanished from the room. Hermione exhaled and nodded, touching his face again.
Their second kiss was slow and exquisitely sweet, and in moments even torturous. Severus took his time now to examine every inch of her mouth with his tongue, allowing Hermione to examine his. At some point, his shut-down brain registered her gentle hands caressing his chest, arms, shoulders, back, face, head — anywhere she could reach. The next moment he realized that he was doing the same. And only when things started to really heat up, and he felt his breath hitch and his blood rush down to the certain appendage of his did Severus manage to rip his lips away from Hermione's.
They looked at each other, breathless but smiling. Hermione — Mrs. Snape… Merlin's sweaty balls! — hopped off of the dining table — when did he manage to put her there?! — glanced up at Severus and broke into the fit of giggles.
"What?" exasperated, he asked after several moments when it became clear that she won't stop. Hermione gripped her chest with one arm, calming herself, and took a deep breath.
"You should've seen your face right now, it was priceless!" she beamed. "I think we both better go freshen up a bit. I must look awful."
"You couldn't possibly look awful, love," interrupted Severus in a quiet low voice, making Hermoine blush and drop her gaze but after a moment, she recovered and cleared her throat, looking at him again and smiling shily.
"Come on, I'll show you upstairs."
Severus nodded and dutifully followed his new wife. On the second floor was a long wooden corridor with a large window at the end. There were four doors: two on each side.
"This is the library," Hermione pointed to the first door on the left, then turned to the right: "Guest-room. Although I don't have guests. I thought about maybe making it a study at first but I don't really need it here, so…" They moved forward. "This is my bedroom. Ours now, I suppose, if we're going to live here. We could live at your place. Or sell it all and buy a new one if you want," she mumbled, suddenly looking unsure. Severus took Hermione's hand, making her glance up at him.
"I still live in Spinner's end, which is a rotten hell-hole, and I don't want you to ever set one foot in it. But I very much like your place. So if it is fine with you, I'd prefer we stay here at least for the time being."
Hermione smiled and hugged Severus tightly, burying her face in his chest, making his breath hitch. "I like your idea."
"Do you, now?" he quirked an eyebrow, smirking down at her.
"Yes, you great bat," she taunted goodnaturedly, obviously fighting hard to contain a new fit of giggles that threatened to break through. Snape found that he didn't mind at all. "I fell in love with this house the first time I saw it, it is good to hear that you also like it and that I won't have to sell it so soon."
"What happened to your childhood home?" asked Snape and regretted it immediately because Hermione's smile fell from her face, replaced by sadness.
"It's still standing as far as I know," she shrugged. "You must've heard the staff talking about my parents disowning the poor me after the war. They accused me of all mortal sins and all but forcefully kicked me out of the house. We haven't talked since."
"No, I haven't heard that. That's terrible…" said Severus, looking grave. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up, not today at the very least."
"No, it's fine, don't worry. We needed to talk about it at some point anyway. They're your in-laws now." Hermione broke away from him and went toward the bedroom. "I'm going to take a quick shower and then we can decide on our plans for the evening." She stopped by the wardrobe and opened it, vanishing behind the door. "When are you going to move in? I need to free some space for your things."
Snape stepped into the room and looked around. It was as light, warm, and ample as the first floor. There were two large windows, framed by white airy curtains and thick light-green night curtains, white walls with barely noticeable floral pattern, a big soft-looking bed with a grey fluffy duvet and many different pillows, two nightstands on each side (one with a lamp and another with a pile of books — no surprises there), and an obviously antique wardrobe that took almost the whole wall space opposite the bed.
Hermione — his wife — threw him a curious glance and turned back to digging through one of the drawers.
"I don't know, truth be told. It will certainly take a while to go through the whole house. Even if it isn't big, there are four decades worth of possessions in there."
With a dull thud, Hermione closed the drawer and turned around to face Severus, clutching her clothes to her chest.
"But you could just grab only the necessities now, you know, some clothing, toiletries, and such, and later we could go there together and collect the rest," she asked tentatively with a hopeful expression on her face. How on earth Severus was supposed to say 'no' when she did that? All those years of practicing self-control went out of the window in a span of a few seconds. Damn woman and her damn hopes. Wait, did she mean now?
"Now?" asked Snape, confused. Hermione couldn't mean now.
"Yes, why not? I need an hour at the very least, maybe a little more, to take a shower and prepare for the evening. A-and night," she added, blushing. Severus' heart skipped a beat at the thought of the night. Of having this beautiful young woman in bed with him. He had other women before, of course, but most of them were drunk during the act, and all of them were disgusted afterward. But now was definitely not a good time to think about it.
"Alright," replied Severus after a moment. If Hermione wished him here in an hour with as many of his possessions as he managed to pack, he would be. Everything to delay the moment when she regrets this marriage ever happened for as long as possible.
She walked closer with a mischievous smile on her lips, then placed her arms on Severus' chest, stroking him gently. "Don't be late," whispered Hermione, "or you'll risk missing something interesting."
And with one last chuckle, she disappeared in the doorframe, leaving him gaping at it like a fish. Snapping out of it after a moment, Snape hurried downstairs and out of the house on the sunny street. Everything seemed so surreal. He couldn't believe what just happened… He had a wife now.
Severus Snape.
The great dungeon bat.
Married to Hermione bloody Granger. A brilliant and gorgeous young woman, a war heroine who astonishingly did not seem repulsed by his presence, his touch, the prospect of having sex with him.
"I'm going to have sex with her tonight."
That thought stopped Severus in his tracks again.
What if he'd screw things up so badly, she wouldn't want to look at him anymore? He didn't know how experienced Hermione was, or how experienced she thought he was for that matter. What if she considered Severus to be a sex god (and he wasn't, mind you)?
The last thing Snape wanted was to disappoint his new wife.
Dread settled in the pit of his stomach. Well… He'll just have to talk to her about it then.
"Stop it, you imbecile. Quit working yourself up into a panic. Everything will be fine. Hermione's an extraordinary kind woman, she won't let you embarrass yourself."
Appariting to Cokeworth, Severus immediately proceeded down the street to his old dilapidated house. For some reason, he never could bring himself to properly take care of the place. He had money. He had magic. The only thing he lacked was a desire to lift a finger. Or a wand in this case. It never was what others might have called 'home', only a hated place where he was forced to return in summers.
It's a miracle it wasn't burned down by his crazy ex-comrades after the war. Severus was glad that they hadn't been able to lay their filthy hands on the house, even if he did not hold any warm feelings for the place, it still kept a lot of his worthy possessions.
Snape dismantled the wards and walked into the front door. Everything was as he left it what seemed like in the other lifetime. Ridiculous notion, since 'the other lifetime' literally was just two hours ago when he walked out of here determined to go through with his proposal. The empty cup from his morning tea still stood in the sink, the small hand-towel was thrown over the back of the chair, the book that he read yesterday before bed still rested on the coffee table in the living room. He probably should take it with him tonight. Not that there would be much time for reading — or at least Severus hoped so — but Hermione would definitely like that text. He was itching to show it to her for two months now but there wasn't any believable excuse to bring the subject up. But one didn't need excuses to share interests with one's wife, right?
The first stop was his bedroom on the second floor. Severus flew up the stairs, barged into the room, and opened his wardrobe. He grabbed as many of his clothes as he could and stopped, realizing that he did not get his trunk.
"Fool. You're a fool, Severus," he told himself, threw everything on the bed, and went out of the room, looking for his trunk.
Ten minutes later his clothes neatly packed themselves, while Severus went to the bathroom to grab his toiletries. He glanced in the mirror and froze. Hermione was right, he did not look any better than she did…
Shower. Definitely a shower.
After another fifteen minutes, clean, freshly shaved, and dressed in his best dark green shirt and black trousers, Severus Snape apparited back to Hermione's — no, their — home. He walked in without knocking — there's no need to knock if the house is his too now, is there? — and proceeded to the second floor to relieve himself from his burden. Hermione was already in the room fussing around the wardrobe.
"Shit," she hissed when something heavy dropped to the floor with a loud thud.
Severus chuckled. "Careful, my dear, no need to hurry."
Hermione immediately dove out and flashed him a brilliant smile. "Wow, you look good," she breathed, walking closer and wrapping her arms around Severus.
"Thank you," he said, blushing slightly. "You look amazing yourself."
And she really did. Hermione was dressed in a simple a-line knee-length strapless navy dress with a bow on her waist (which Severus immediately wanted to untie), her hair pulled back in an elegant bun, barely noticeable make-up on her face. A silver bracelet and earrings complemented the picture. Severus couldn't tear his eyes away. And then he suddenly remembered a very very important thing.
"I have something for you," he whispered, disentangling himself from the embrace, took a small square box out of his pocket and opened it, showing her a beautiful ring made of white gold and adorned with a row of small diamonds. "This was my grandmother's wedding ring. From my mother's side. An heirloom, so to speak. I have no idea how my mother came into possession of it since she was disowned by Princes but I'm glad that she did."
Hermione looked at the ring in complete awe. "Severus, it's amazing. Put it on."
He obeyed instantly. With shaking hands, he pulled the ring out of the box and put it on his wife's finger, resizing it wandlessly so it would fit. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Hermione's hand, lingering for a few seconds, savoring the precious moment.
"Hermione, you have no idea how happy you made me. I'm the happiest man ever," he said and she grinned and kissed him but to Severus' disappointment, quickly pulled away.
"I have something for you too," Hermione whispered, pecked his lips one more time, and went to dig in one of the drawers of the nearest nightstand, dragging Severus to sit on the bed. Several seconds later, apparently having found what she was looking for, she sat next to her husband, turning on her seat to be able to see him better.
"You see, there's a tradition of sorts in my family. Um… I better start from the beginning. My great grandmother from my father's side proposed to her husband and not the other way around because, according to my grandma, he was very shy and couldn't do it himself. When my grandmother grew up and was courted by my grandfather, she was told that story, got inspired by it, and decided that it was a fit worth repeating. So she took that same ring and proposed to my grandfather. They got married and in a year's time, my dad was born. To my grandma's dismay, they did not have any more children, so in order to keep the tradition up, she conspired with my dad's girlfriend, passed her the ring, and the rest you can guess. I should've inherited the ring when I was ready to marry someone. But I…With the raging war, I didn't know if I'd survive or if I'd be able to restore my parents' memories, so I took it after I sent them to Australia. More as a talisman than anything else. To remember. Anyway, I know it's kind of late for that since we're already married, but…" Hermione took a deep breath, dropped on one knee in front of Severus, and showed him the simple golden ring, smiling.
"Severus Tobias Snape, would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?"
Quickly recovering from the shock, Severus beamed. Actually beamed for the first time in years. "With pleasure," he replied and let Hermione put the ring on his finger. Then he reached forward and gently cupped her cheek. As he kissed her, all worries that plagued Severus recently evaporated. Nothing bad could possibly happen inside her arms.
No one ever kissed him like that… So softly, yet sensually, almost passionately. As if he really meant something. As if he was held dear. Cherished. Warmth and happiness exploded in his chest, blowing all thoughts away and he attacked her mouth. Placing his hands on Hermione's waist, he tugged her up, and she complied without protest, straddling him eagerly.
Their kiss lasted for what seemed like hours and ended only when Severus forced himself to stop and drag his arms away from the bow on her back, lest he ruined Hermione's perfect attire, and she'll have to start all over again.
She rested her forehead on his, combing his hair with her fingers and smiling. In response, he slowly stroked her back and arms. They sat like this for a long time, just enjoying each other's company and silence. At some point, Severus closed his eyes and just basked in her unique scent and feather-like touches. He did not want this moment to end but unfortunately, life could not be ignored for long.
"We need to send the registration form to the ministry and decide what to do with our evening," he said quietly, making Hermione sigh and stand up. She held her hand out to him.
"Yes, you're right. Let's unpack your things and go downstairs."
One spell and ten minutes later the pair sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the kettle to boil.
"So what do you want to do today?" asked Severus.
"Hmm… I've been thinking about a trip somewhere maybe? What do you think?"
"Trip?" The idea did sound interesting, he had to admit. The only problem was, where to go? "Yes, alright. Do you have a destination in mind?"
"No, not really. You?"
Severus wanted that day to be memorable at the very least if not perfect. He had no experience with long-term relationships, let alone marriage, so he dug up his brain, looking for any knowledge of these types of things. Where did couples usually go?
"How about Paris?" he asked. Hermione smiled mischievously.
"Severus Snape planning to go on a romantic trip in Paris? No one would believe me!" she laughed softly. Severus blushed, bowed his head, and inhaled, preparing to say something but Hermione beat him to it.
"I'm just teasing, Severus, relax," she said, squeezing his hand on the table.
He flashed a small smile and looked her in the eyes. "Hermione, I… All this is new for me, and I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time, and would really appreciate it if you refrained from teasing…" he cleared his throat. "At least for the time being." Severus looked at Hermione's sad face and instantly became even more nervous. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me, I —"
"Severus," interrupted Hermione, squeezing his hand again. "You've nothing to be sorry for. This is entirely my fault. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I'm so sorry. I won't tease you, I promise." She grinned. "At least until you've grown comfortable around me. Can't promise anything about that time."
Severus chuckled and nodded, covering her hand that held his with another. "So what about that trip?"
"I'd love to. I've never been to Paris. Have you?"
"Yes, once. A long time ago. The potioneers' guild usually held their annual conferences there. I attended one year after I received my mastery, regretted it immensely, and never went there again."
"Why did you regret it? Was it that bad?" asked Hermione, getting up to pour them tea.
"It wasn't just bad, it was goddamn awful," replied Severus, turning on his seat to look at his wife. "Disastrous. There were very little useful information and a lot of mindless brawls. Can you imagine dozens of mostly old senile sweaty men beating each other up with their fists and legs, at the same time shouting some nonsense to prove their nonexistent point?"
"Oh…"
"Exactly my thought," smirked Severus. "Thank you," he accepted his mug of tea. "So I decided that one time was enough."
"Well, I've been to France a few times with my parents but for some reason, we never visited Paris. So I'd like to. I promise, no brawls," smiled Hermione.
"Very well. We'll go to Paris."
"We'll have to portkey there, won't we?" Her face fell instantly. Severus' first conclusion was that she didn't want to show up in public with him but that thought immediately was wiped out as a dumb one. Hermione didn't want to show up in public, period. Even after several years after the war the Golden trio still had troubles walking the streets. Everyone tried to get their attention: autographs, photos, stupid insensitive questions, weird gifts and propositions, etc. Severus, of course, also received all that but in considerably smaller amounts. There aren't many witches and wizards in Britain who would willingly cross his path, after all.
"I'm afraid so," he replied apologetically. "But we need to drop this form off in the department of the Marriage Law Regulation anyway, might as well kill two birds with one stone."
"Yes," Hermione sighed, "of course, you're right. Maybe we should get going then? It's already nearly half-past two."
Severus nodded and rose from his chair, Hermione followed. He took both mugs, quickly washed and dried them, then placed them in the cupboard directly above the sink where the rest of the cups, mugs, and glasses were kept. He turned around then and smiled shyly to Hermione who watched him all that time with a burning interest.
"What?" Severus asked.
"Nothing, just admiring the view," she smirked. Severus felt a jolt of pleasure rushing to his groin at her words and barely managed to contain himself. But seeing the playful glint in his wife's eyes, he decided that to hell with restraint, in two large strides covered the distance between them, and all but drilled his lips into hers.
It was still hard to believe that he could do it at any time. That the woman he so often dreamed about gladly kissed him back. Impossible. Hot desire flooded his brain and Severus stopped thinking altogether. His body moved by itself: pressed her tighter, kissed harder, stroked gentler. Merlin, how much he needed it…
Sudden loud banging on the front door broke them apart. Hermione went to open it, preparing to turn away whoever it was, and Severus followed closely behind.
"Ron?" Hermione mumbled, confused. "What are you doing here?"
Severus stopped to her left and crossed his arms on his chest, displaying his usual intimidating Professor Snape persona. The Weasley-boy's eyebrows shot up the moment he saw Severus.
"Me? What's he still doing here? And why are you all dressed up?"