Insufferable Attraction

SeverusxHermione

Rated NC-17

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters from the franchise. That honor belongs to JK Rowling

Insufferable Attraction

Chapter 25

Ever since the Grangers' memories had been restored, Hermione spent as much time with them every day that she could. Of course, her parents did still have a facility to run and had to go to work, but when work was over, she was at their home catching up. This didn't bother Severus, as he understood his wife's need to be with her parents and reconnect once again. Severus too would go to visit his in-laws with Hermione, but not as often, though Jean insisted. And when Hermione wasn't with her parents, she and Severus would be out on the town seeing the sights.

Severus and Hermione had already explored certain parts of the city that the Grangers lived in before venturing out further to see more. And just to make it even more memorable, Hermione had invested in a Muggle camera to take pictures. Severus had told her she would look like any other typical tourist, but the brunette simply waved off his remarks. They had gone to Fraser Island, exploring and investigating the ship wreckage upon the shores. They had also visited the Sydney Opera House where they could hear an opera concert from outside. Severus had enjoyed what he had heard and had ended up humming the song that had been sung while they made their way to "the Coathanger", otherwise known as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Hermione had been so surprised by the deep humming that she had stopped to look at her husband with wide eyes. After getting over her shock, she smiled as she listened to the deep, soothing humming that was her husband being somewhat musical.

Another day they had visited the Great Barrier Reef, and experience that they both had enjoyed. She had been sure Severus wouldn't be venturing into the clear blue water with her so she could get a closer look at the reef and its inhabitants, so she hadn't asked him to join her. However, she was surprised when he had stated he would be swimming in the reef as well. His excuse had been to harvest coral samples and other things for certain potions, but Hermione was shocked he was even going. But if she thought about it, she was excited because it meant that she would see her husband in swimming trunks. Yes, she had seen him naked plenty times before—they were finally having sex, after all; glorious, pleasurable sex—but this time would be different. And when he had stepped out in his black swim trunks, hair pulled back in a ponytail on the base of his head, the brunette had felt her mouth go dry at his muscular form on display. Hermione had to rub sunscreen on her husband's pale skin, particularly his back so he wouldn't wind up sunburnt later, and he had done the same to her. She had felt his black eyes lingering on her half-naked form, looking at the curves of her body in her white bikini. It had made her blush, but it had only been for a moment. They then had gotten some snorkeling gear and had swam in the ocean along the Great Barrier Reef, looking at all the fascinating sea life living within the reef. Severus, while enjoying looking at everything as well, did as he said and had collected coral samples from the reef, but only a small amount because his wife had scolded him before hand against taking more than necessary. Hermione had found a sea turtle that was trapped between some rock and coral and had freed it. The turtle had been grateful and swam alongside Hermione for a while before finally swimming off to join its friends. Eventually they went back to shore, but it was with some regret as they both wished to stay out and explore the Great Barrier Reef a bit longer, though Severus was more reserved with his want to stay longer.

All in all, their trip to Australia had been wonderful so far. Having fun together in their sightseeing, as well as visiting Hermione's parents (who had become much more accepting of their daughter's unconventional marriage), it had been a surprise to realize they only had a week left before they were due back at the Australian Ministry of Magic to retrieve their Portkey and return home. Upon this realization, Severus had another one: he and Hermione hadn't gone to eat out yet, not really. Or more specifically, they hadn't gone anywhere fancy yet. And while it wasn't really his scene, he figured Hermione might like a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant one night while still in Australia. He'd had a brief thought that perhaps he was beginning to spoil his wife, but then remembered that the brunette appreciated small gestures much like he did, and thus wouldn't mind being taken out. If he thought about it, it would be the first time he would since they had gotten wedded. Therefore, he made it a point to set something up before they officially had to return to Prince Manor.

One evening, Hermione sat watching the television on their hotel room, watching the characters interact with one another on the screen quietly. Severus was currently out but had said he'd return shortly. She figured he was out getting them something to eat, as it was heading towards suppertime. So, when he had returned to their room twenty minutes later, she was surprised he didn't have any takeaway bags with him.

Frowning she said, "I thought you were getting something to eat for us."

"We are going to eat," Severus replied as he stepped into the closet. "But it won't be here."

"It won't?"

"No. Instead we're going out to eat." The Potions Master stepped out of the closet with a one shoulder strapped dress, the dress being silver and form fitting. Stepping up to her, he handed it to her saying, "You'll look nice in this one."

Taking the dress from him she asked with a playful smile, "Just nice?"

Severus looked off to the side before saying, "Lovely."

Hermione giggled and went to pick out a pair of heels to match the dress, as well as some jewelry and her makeup kit. Heading to the bathroom to change and get ready, Hermione turned back to her husband saying, "I expect you to look just as dapper when I step out again."

The wizard shook his head with a small smile as she closed the door with another giggle. Suddenly feeling giddy and excited, Hermione began changing her clothes and getting herself ready. She used some Sleekeazy's Hair Potion in her hair and brushed and combed it until her curls had turned into smooth waves; she then put her hair into a chignon updo. She changed into the silver form fitting dress before slipping her feet into her sandal heels with a strap around the ankle. Once she was finally dressed, she took her makeup and did a simple makeup look, just enough to enhance her eyes and lips. She then put on her jewelry before looking at herself in the mirror. Deeming herself presentable, she took a deep breath and opened the bedroom door, all the while hoping her husband found her pleasing. He was a hard man to please, after all.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Hermione looked to where her husband was standing, only to stop at the sight of him. Severus wasn't wearing all black for once, and it was rather intriguing, very dapper really. Severus was wearing black slacks and dress shoes, as well as a white button-up shirt with a grey blazer on top. His hair was combed, and he had styled it so its usual part was off-center, slightly pushed back yet still fashionable. He looked very handsome and Hermione felt her heartbeat speed up in her chest.

Black eyes looked her over and a smile slipped onto Severus's face at the sight of his wife. Walking over to her he took a strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear before saying, "You look beautiful, Hermione."

Hermione blushed and ducked her head for a moment before looking back up replying, "Thank you, and you look very handsome as well. I see you dressed to match me."

"Of course. Though grey isn't my usual style."

Giggling, Hermione grabbed her beaded bag and made sure her wand was in it before saying, "I think you look smashing. Besides, I prefer you in black anyway."

Severus's pale face flushed a bit at her compliment before he cleared his throat and told her thanks. Holding his arm out to Side-Apparate his wife, he asked, "Shall we?"

The brunette nodded and took hold of the man's arm, allowing her to Side-Apparate her out of their hotel room. Soon their feet hit the pavement somewhere out in the city and they quickly blended in with the people walking about in the night. They walked in a comfortable silence for a bit before they fell into conversation. It wasn't long before they ended up at the restaurant that Severus had led her to. Seeing how fancy it looked on the outside, Hermione could only imagine what it looked like on the inside, and thus she understood why she and Severus had dressed up. Severus held the door open for her and they walked inside up to the podium where the host was waiting.

Greeting them the host said, "Good evening, beautiful couple. May I have the name of your reservation?"

"Good evening. One reservation under Snape," Severus said in reply.

The host found the reservation and grabbed two menus before beckoning the couple to follow him. He led them to a secluded table away from prying eyes and set them down, placing their menus in front of them. As they sat down, he asked, "May I interest you in a red wine tonight? Perhaps a Sangiovese or a Pinot Noir?"

"A Pinot Noir, please," Hermione said, Severus nodding in agreement.

The host nodded and looked around briefly, as well as up to the ceiling to make sure there wasn't anyone around or any cameras watching before waving his hand over the table, conjuring up romantically lit candles and a bouquet of roses as a centerpiece. Brown eyes widened and Hermione gasped in surprise at the display of magic before looking back up at the host. In response, he grinned and winked before stating he would go get them their choice of wine.

As soon as he left, Hermione looked at Severus and asked, "Why didn't you tell me he was a wizard?"

Severus, giving the brunette an amused smile, asked in reply, "What does it matter?"

"It doesn't, but it would have been nice to know. We are in a public Muggle place, after all."

"Then why do you think he brought us to a secluded area away from prying eyes?"

Hermione opened her mouth to rebuttal but closed it when she could not think of an answer to counter with. Pursing her lips, she took a sip of water from the glass present on the table and looked off to the side, ignoring her husband's chuckles. The host soon returned with wine glasses and the bottle of Pinot Noir, uncorking the bottle and pouring them each a glass of wine to drink. Once he set the bottle down, he asked them would they like any sort of appetizers and what entrées they would like. Hermione ordered a salad for an appetizer and Severus ordered a soup, and the both of them ordered shrimp puttanesca for their entrée. Once the host left again with their orders, Severus and Hermione went back to conversing.

"So Severus, are you going to tell me what you plan to do in your potions with those coral samples?" Hermione asked taking a sip of wine.

The Potions Master stared at her for a moment before simply answering, "No."

Blinking, Hermione asked, "Why not?"

"Because I don't have to inform you of all the potions that I'm working on."

"Please tell me. Perhaps I could help you."

"Absolutely not. The Potions lab is a sacred place and potions are a delicate art, and no matter how adequate your potion-making skills are, I will not have you brewing in my lab and potentially ruining something important or worse."

Hermione would have been offended by what her husband had said if not for two things. First thing being that she completely understood where Severus was coming from. Even if she trusted Harry's skills and knowledge of Defense Against the Dark Arts—admittedly not one of her best subjects back in Hogwarts—there would have been no way she would have allowed him to help her write an essay only to bugger it up, no matter how knowledgeable he was about the subject. Therefore, she understood Severus on that. The second thing being was that she had caught a hint of concern in his voice behind his words. The concern wasn't about her messing up his potions, even if there had been. No, it was there because he had said without saying that he didn't want her to get hurt in the event a potion that she was helping him with suddenly went volatile. Her husband cared for her and was willing to protect her, even from herself it seemed.

Knowing that he cared for her, even if he hadn't said so, made her smile and she nodded in understanding. Soon the host returned with their appetizers and they began to tuck in. Dinner rolled on as the two of them talked and ate their entrees together. Hermione told Severus about her adventures in Hogwarts with Harry and Ron, some she was sure he knew about, but others he was surprised to hear. He had asked about her stealing his ingredients for Polyjuice Potion in her Second Year, wondering why she wanted to secretly brew Polyjuice Potion, all the while knowing it was an advanced study potion, no matter how impressed he was that she could successfully brew one at thirteen. Hermione explained Harry's theory about Draco being the heir of Slytherin and how she, him, and Ron were going to use Polyjuice Potion to turn into Crabbe, Goyle, and Millicent Bulstrode to talk to the blond wizard and get any information out of him. She blushed in embarrassment as she told him that while it worked for her friends, she had plucked cat hair from Bulstrode's robes, and thus turned herself into a cat. Severus had stared at her for a moment with his fork poised to enter his mouth with some puttanesca on it, but then had snickered before laughter bubbled from his chest and escaped his mouth. Though she was embarrassed at the fact her husband was laughing at her, she couldn't help but be enthralled with his laughter. Severus's laugh was deep and practically sinful, just like his voice; it was like rich, molten chocolate and she loved it.

While Severus had no stories of adventures or misadventures to regale to his wife, he did decide to tell her about his friendship with Lily. The brunette listened intently as he told her of his first meeting with Lily, Lily having been running away from her sister who was being mean to her over being different, over having magic. Upon finding out he too possessed magic, they formed a fast friendship that would seem to last forever, until they entered Hogwarts and were Sorted into opposing Houses. Hermione was both shocked and intrigued to hear that Harry's father James Potter was not as great as everyone had seemed to make him out to be but was rather much like Malfoy had been to her, Harry, and Ron. She wasn't really surprised to hear Sirius had been a part of it and Pettigrew…well, he seemed like a crowd follower, anyway. It baffled her that Professor Lupin hadn't done anything to stop his friends from bullying Severus in their teenage years, but considering his circumstance, she understood why, though it still didn't make it right. Hermione was also horrified to hear that Professor Lupin had almost mauled her husband one night on account of a joke played by the Mauraders, only to be saved at the last minute and sworn to secrecy by Dumbledore not to say anything about Lupin's condition. And he wasn't the only one upset over the whole incident, as Lupin had been just as upset and angry over it when he found out what he had almost done because of his friends. But it seemed Severus's anger over the handling of the situation had festered over the years until he finally had a reason to let something out without Dumbledore holding anything over him.

It's probably why he let it slip we were being taught by a werewolf towards the end of Third Year, Hermione thought. He probably saw it as long-awaited revenge, no matter how wrong it was.

Severus had eventually stopped talking about his past, particularly when he reached the point of his friendship ending with Lily Potter nee Evans. Hermione could see it was painful for him to remember, as she also knew that he had loved the woman, having heard it from Harry. To give him comfort, she had placed a hand over top his own and gave him a reassuring smile. Severus had returned it and had given her a small nod, a silent 'thank you'.

As they were wrapping up dinner, a thought that Hermione had been thinking about ever since that first night with her parents and their restored memories sprang up in her mind. She wasn't sure if either she or Severus were ready to think about it, let alone talk about it, but she figured if she didn't speak now, she'd never bring it up. Clearing her throat, Hermione asked, "Severus?"

"Yes?" Severus replied taking a sip of water, having had enough of the Pinot Noir.

"I was just wondering…well…what do you think about having children?"

Black eyes widened in surprise at the question, causing Severus to swallow his water without choking this time, and he set his glass down. Getting his bearings, he looked at his wife and asked, "Where did this come from?"

The brunette shrugged and said, "Well, the reason we are married in the first place is because of the B.R.A., and its purpose is to continue dying bloodlines. Thus, that stands to reason that children must be involved. And well, I don't know your stance on having children, or if you even want to have any. I imagine you probably don't want to after over a decade of teaching "impertinent brats", but the B.R.A. requires that we do. So, I was just wondering if you want to have children, regardless of the fact that we are supposed to have some."

"Don't use quotations around 'impertinent brats'; your class and those before and after you were all impertinent brats."

"I thought I was an insufferable know-it-all."

"You were, and still are. That is something that won't change." Severus smiled when Hermione giggled and shook her head. Sobering up, he decided to continue. "Even so, despite what you may think, I have thought about fathering children one day."

"Oh, okay. Do you still think about it now? Do you want any? And because we were put together because of the Ministry, do you want any with me?"

Severus looked over in thought for a moment before saying, "I think this is a conversation we should have back at the hotel."

Hermione nodded and Severus called for their waiter to bring the check. Before long, they had paid for their meal and were leaving the restaurant, bidding the host 'goodnight' and him doing the same. They walked in silence for a while, neither of them saying anything, and the silence was killing Hermione. She really wanted to fill the silence, but she also wanted to talk about the topic of children with her husband. Deciding to just fill the silence with the subject, the brunette began speaking.

"Listen, I know this probably isn't a conversation you planned on having, least of all with me, but we are married now, bound together by the Minster himself. And the Bloodline Restoration Act is about continuing bloodlines, and so we would have to have children eventually. I'll admit, I never imagined myself having children now, let alone married to my former professor, but I've taken our situation for what it is and am making strides to make this work. And because I was, I thought you were too."

Stopping suddenly, Severus turned to look at his wife with a frown. "Of course, I am. I was angry about the whole situation in the beginning, and I know I was less than favorable at the beginning of our marriage, but I've accepted it and like you, have made strides to make this work. Have I given you any impression that I haven't?"

"No, but I just wanted to make sure it wasn't just me trying. And besides, I believe we've made it past that awkward stage so we can talk about certain topics now. And having children in accordance with the B.R.A. is one of them."

"Yes, but I don't want to have children just because that blasted act says so. I want to have them because I want to, whenever I'm ready."

Hermione understood him, she really did, because she too wished that she would be able to have children whenever she wanted to, and not because some Ministry made act told them to. It had already told them to get married, consummate, and move into Severus's ancestral home; she'd be damned if they made them reproduce when they weren't ready to. At least she knew Severus wasn't opposed to having children. The thought of it made her happy. Even so, there was still one thing bothering her.

Biting her lip, Hermione said softly, "Still, I feel like you have to love your partner to want to create a family with them. I know you don't love me, but…but do you like me? Even a little bit?"

Severus looked genuinely surprised at her question. He hadn't been expecting her to outright ask him how he felt about her. This entire conversation was taking turn after turn, and it just kept turning it seemed.

"I mean, I'd like to imagine that you like me, at least a bit. Otherwise, we wouldn't be getting on as well as we are now. Not only that, we wouldn't be…well, you know. And even though I should know the answer, I want to hear it from you." Hermione took a deep breath and looked into her husband's eyes. "Do you like me, Severus? Do you just find me attractive? Is it a mix of both? Please tell me."

Hermione held her breath as she waited for his answer. It felt like an eternity as Severus had yet to answer her question, and it was making her anxious. What if her chosen husband didn't like her, or wasn't attracted to her at least a bit? What would she do then? It was possible that if he gave a negative answer, they would fall back into their awkward phase all over again. Just the thought of that was enough to make her was to freak out. However, before she could think on it more, she was surprised when she felt gentle, calloused fingers take hold of her chin and tilt her head up, making brown eyes look up into black.

Severus's eyes searched hers and her face for a moment before he answered, "Insufferably so."

And with that, Severus bent down and covered Hermione's plump lips with his own in a sweet kiss, a kiss that sent pleasurable tingles down the brunette's spine, and she wanted more.

Author's Note: Boy, this chapter is a long one, but I got it done. Severus and Hermione finally talked about the issue of children, but notice how our favorite Potions Master didn't answer Hermione's earlier question. Also, next chapter will be some sexy time for our favorite couple, as well as a peek at Ron. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one and more to come. XOXO, SehunsBae37.