Chapter 43

(May 1996)

The sunlight kissed her bare skin as it broke through the early morning.

He leaned forward on one arm and trailed his fingers across her spine. They had gone to sleep early the night before since they had a lot to do today. He would rather not go but Dimitry and Aiden refused to pass up the opportunity.

Hermione had her own trip planned as well but she didn't want to go either. Heidi and Ginny Weasley had convinced Hermione to do it. Since the people around them honestly wanted to go, they had agreed. Severus wasn't convinced it was a good thing but it was too late now.

He rolled forward until his naked chest touched her back. He kissed her neck and nuzzled her awake. Their link let him feel the stirring of her mind as she reached for him mentally before waking fully. It warmed his heart every time.

To be loved like this and return the love...He had never imagined such a thing happening to him. He smiled into her hair as she mumbled something into the pillow and shifted her hips back against him.

Something stirred down below and he shook his head.

"We need to get up, love. No matter how much I rather stay in we can't. They might just take us as we are and I don't think you'd want that."

She turned her head enough to blink one eye at him. "We have time for more. They will just have to wait."

He shook his head again but was already hard and sliding on top of her. She wiggled her hips and he hissed as her bottom grazed his tip. He put down his hand between her shoulder blades and pushed down. With his legs on either side of her hips, he pushed his cock between her cheeks. She was already wet for him. He thrust in with a wet smacking sound. She moaned and tried to push up again.

"Stay down or I'll stop."

"Do it harder then."

Bloody wench. But he did as he was told and began a steady rhythm of thrusts that became harder and faster with every forward thrust.

Afterward, they lay sweaty and wide awake. Hermione had finally turned over so he could play with her breast. He was tugging at her nipple when they heard the sound of people down the hallway. Severus grunted and pulled away from her. She chuckled and smacked his thigh off her.

"Now we can get up. Come on, I don't fancy Aiden or Dimitry seeing me like this."

Severus smacked her bottom as she rolled away from him. "I was trying to tell you that before, you wench."

o0o

Hermione drank the fruity liquid and almost went crossed eye at the amount of alcohol in it.

Heidi was in charge of the drinks and she should have seen it coming. She sat the large goblet down and fanned herself. Heidi whooped and drank her own.

The men had left an hour or so ago and the women had immediately changed into their party clothes.

While the group of men who had left had been a whole lot bigger than the women's, they saw no reason to exclude the much younger women from Hogwarts. According to Amelia, if they were old enough to fight they were old enough to take a drink as well. Or go to bachelorette parties.

Luna, Ginny, Susan, and Daphne were the only females under the age of seventeen in attendance. Hermione's mother had decided to join Molly and Minerva over at the Burrow and Amelia had come by the villa to give Hermione a present for the night before joining the other group of women.

Zeph and Heidi had decided to stick around. Hermione should have known that Heidi had plans for how the night would go. Butterbeer for the younger women and harder stuff for the older ones. Heidi finished doing Hermione's bridal hair or whatever that meant and slapped Hermione's butt.

"We have to go now. We have reservations for dinner."

Hermione had thought it was just a regular dinner date with a bunch of females but she was wrong.

o0o

Hermione raised an eyebrow and stared at the table Heidi had reserved for them. It was made of marble and filled with flowers that looked...suggestive?

The center of the flower looked almost like a...

"A penis. That is a penis-shaped flower, right?" Luna said as she fluffed her pretty dress. It was one of the many dresses Heidi and Zeph had brought. Hermione was dressed in red. Bright red. It was long and off the shoulder but comfortable. Except for the long slit on her side.

Zeph sat down on the plush black chair and stared at the flowers. Her own dress was a creamy blue with lace flowers scattered across the front.

"I'm sure they are meant as centerpieces...?"

"At least they smell good," Daphne says idly.

TheSlytherin was reclining on a large mini sofa. It was right next to Luna's chair. The blond was dressed in a silver dress. It was airy and held many ruffles on the waist in an elaborate bow.

She had been the only one to arrive dressed and ready. The men had missed her by a few minutes.

Slytherin or not, she was now dating Harry. They had started dating towards the end of their school year. Harry had asked Hermione in a panic on how to romance a Slytherin who didn't need anything since she was probably richer than him.

He had given the Slytherin blond a book, something Hermione had jokingly said to do. A muggle book.

Hermione knew Daphne carried the book with her everywhere. Even now the blond had in her purse. Hermione had glimpsed it earlier.

"We can't use magic here, can we?" Zeph asked.

Heidi nodded. "It's owned by a wizard but since many wizards on this land aren't with the times yet, they don't really come. I don't know the owner but I did ask back at home if anybody knew a place here for a bachelorette party."

"Who exactly did you ask?" Hermione questioned. She took a sip from her drink and waited as color washed across Heidi's face.

"Well...I asked a former fling of mine. He was a pureblood who liked to travel to modern places. He only just answered me even though I wrote to him weeks ago. He never settles in one place too long. But he said it would be fun for a group of women and to ask for the premium open room for the best experience."

"I'm guessing you didn't tell your husband about this?" Daphne spoke.

Hermione studied the place as Heidi replied with a wicked grin.

They had apparated near it and had only walked a block to it. It was really open. The building itself was called Paradise Lost. It was circular and open-roofed on the inside. It was made of marble and stone pillars. Long white and black drapes gave it an air of mystery. There weren't that many people around but from what she had seen, most of them were muggles.

It was more men than women. The servers walking around were assigned to certain sections except for the ones like the one Hermione was in. There were four pillars around their little group and it was closed off with drapes except for one side where they could look out onto the small dance floor. Nobody was dancing yet.

One of their waiters stepped into Hermione's point of view and sat down two plates of steaming food. Two other pretty men did the same. Hermione nodded her thanks and watched as Ginny openly flirted with one of them.

Ginny was still stringing Neville along. According to her, Neville liked it. At the moment, both of them were casually just seeing each other. It probably wouldn't become permanent until Ginny graduated.

Zeph ordered more drinks and Heidi gave one of the men a slip of paper. Hermione raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Ginny and Luna were already sampling each other's plate so Hermione dug into hers. It wasn't until she was nearly finished that they were interrupted. Hermione goggled at the tall male that blocked the entrance. He was wearing slacks but it was the top that drew attention.

It was made of sheer material and showed EVERYTHING.

Hermione hadn't seen anybody built that way in person before. There was muscle upon muscle. But something deep inside of her told her he wasn't a muggle. This one was a wizard. Hermione swallowed hard.

He was so big and he was also staring right at her.

She clutched a napkin and cleaned her mouth. She wasn't sure why he kept looking at her but it was making her want to reach for her wand.

She was already looking for ways to take him down without exposing them to the muggles when Heidi jumped in her line of sight.

"This is the bride to be. She is getting married tomorrow so tonight is her last night as a single woman. Her name is Hermione."

"I was told you required one male for entertainment? Is that correct?" The tall adonis answered.

Hermione winced. Heidi. She was going to kill her. She was going to make her disappear. A chuckle beside her distracted her line of thinking.

Zeph was staring at the man openly but directed her words to Hermione.

"He knows what Heidi is up to. He knew from the moment Gabriel told Dimitry. You know they can't keep secrets."

Hermione snorted. "I don't think he actually knew exactly what he was told. Dimitry probably thought it was a joke. I can appreciate the view but it really doesn't do anything for me. My taste...are exclusive now."

Heidi smirked. Zeph beamed. "Indulge her since she didn't have anybody back at home to celebrate her own last day as a single woman. This is a first for all of us."

When you put it that way...

The tall adonis grinned when Luna pointed at Hermione. The man bowed. "I'm Julius Kincade. I come with the package you paid for. I am at your disposal for the whole night, my lady."

"It's Hermione, Julius. And as for the first thing I want...can you get us the strongest drinks you have in this place along with fruit and honey."

Julius winked and ducked out of their space. Heidi made a rude sound. "That's the first thing you ask for?!"

"I decided to start easy. I can't just jump off the cliff right away. I have to ease myself into this. I don't know exactly what goes on in this type of party but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon."

"I hope so. I'm here to party and give you all a taste of modern times." Heidi said as she finished off her drink.

Daphne handed her another.

The girls were drinking fruity drinks with almost no alcohol. Mostly because Daphne was in charge of activating the portkey. Ginny and Luna just couldn't stay out of it and Susan was a good friend of Ron. Not official or anything but close enough to be here with them.

Hermione decided to let go for the rest of the night.

For the first time in months...there was no reason to hold back.

o0o

Severus started.

The woman in front of him looked like his soon to be wife. He stared at the love of his life in disbelief. It was close to dawn and the men had followed him back to the villa to wait out the women. The only ones not to come back were Adrian and Marcus but that was a whole other matter.

He had felt the women pass through the wards of the villa but had waited ten or so minutes for them to come inside. When that didn't happen the men had followed him outside.

The sight that had greeted them was...ridiculous.

Greengrass held up Heidi. Weasley held Zeph while Bones and Lovegood held Hermione. All three women were plastered. They also held...

"Are those penis-shaped flowers?" Gabriel snickered. The man's tone held a bit of an edge as he too stared at the mess in front of them.

Severus grunted and crossed his arms. The men around him gathered across the porch and watched the staggering females.

Hermione was the loudest of them. She was laughing and calling a so-called JULIUS about drinks. Zeph was quiet but no less wasted. The only one that was actually elegantly wasted. Heidi was giggling like a schoolgirl and whispering rather loudly of men being their spoils of war.

Potter was the first one to break away and walk over to help Greengrass with her load. The others hadn't moved for the same reason he wasn't.

The women were dressed differently to what they had been wearing hours ago. Hermione's dress was something he had never seen her wear before. But that was also something he would later ask about. He shook his head but had to admit...

It was a relief to see her so carefree after three months of helping the Wizardly World. She had helped Amelia fix things in the Ministry and had finally stepped back from it. They had both agreed on one thing. That their wedding was going to be just about them and only them.

He walked down the stairs and plucked her out of the girl's grasp.

Hermione squinted up at him and broke into the brightest grin ever. It warmed his heart. He smirked and threw her over his shoulder. She landed with a grunt. She cursed him and hit his back with the indecent flower.

He didn't look back at the others as he carried his bride inside. Once in their room he gently tossed her on the bed and reached for the sober up potion on the nightstand. He took a sip and looked over at the disheveled woman on his bed.

"You want some?"

"No. I want to stay this way. I'm drunk, right? Completely plastered."

"Well...talking to the bedpost is one way to answer that."

She turned and stared around the room before finally looking up at him. She laughed and slapped the penis flower on the bed. "I know I'm drunk. But I don't feel drunk. I'm thirsty. I'm also sleepy."

"Lay down. Let me take off your shoes. Where did you get them?"

She chuckled and dropped back like a stone. "Amelia came by and gave them to me. She told me to break them in for tomorrow. They are totally fuck me shoes. That's what Heidi said."

"If you take some sober up, I can and will prove to you how true that statement is."

Hermione growled when he turned her over so he could unzip the dress. "No. We can't do anything until tomorrow night. You know this. Stop tempting...me"

Severus grunted. "Wench. I'm not the one-half naked."

"I heard that..."

"Go to sleep. You have a few hours to sleep before they come and take you away again."

"Don't remind me. I..." She was out within seconds and Severus winced. Her mouth would suffer in a few hours. He slid in behind her and tried to get some sleep of his own.

o0o

Hermione stared at her reflection. She stood Zeph Dimitry's room located in their Manor. It was large.

Huge.

It fit ten women and still had room for more. She had woken up right before noon and Heidi, Zeph and her mother had been working on her for the past five hours.

They had just finished on her hair and were now applying the veil.

Hermione looked at her dress and ran her hands down her waist, feeling the silk under her fingers. The dress was not what would be considered typical witch robes but instead was a blend of both of her worlds.

It was sleek and hugged her form all the way down to her ankles where it gently flowed out into a small train. The veil was short and only covered her hair. She wore it down and in soft curls with real flowers.

The dress and flowers matched. Both were in soft white/creamy color. Hermione reached up and adjusted the earrings that she was borrowing from her mother. The women around her stared at her. She smiled and turned around.

"I'm ready."

The door opened in the next second.

It was Dimitry and her father. One was wearing his finest robes while the other one was in a tux. The women parted to let the men in and she was hugged tightly by both men.

"You know what you look like. But still, I have to say, Severus is one lucky block." Dimitry whispered.

"I'm the lucky one. I have two wonderful men to walk me down the aisle. Where's my bridesmaid?" she asked as she looked behind them towards the door.

Charles laughed. "Calm, he's just getting the final touches."

"He left to get ready two hours ago," Ginny remarked. Hermione looked over at her, her friend was wearing a green dress with big flowers around her waist and was sliding on heels like the other women.

A knock on the door drew her attention once again. Adrian stood there. He was smirking but the warmth in his eyes gave him a softer look. He took in her dress and finally looked up at her. "If it isn't my favorite sister."

"Your only sister, pretty boy."

She saw a hand come up behind him and her sweet but sly brother stumbled forward with a scowl. "Hold it. I was just looking at her, you oaf."

"Move. I want to see her too." -Marcus.

Hermione smiled and walked forward. Both of her boys were pretty in their robes. She hugged and kissed both of them.

But they weren't alone. Her other boys were right behind t

hem. Ron and Harry were staring at them. Hermione sent them a reassuring smile. Over the last three months, all four boys had kept their distance from each other. She had almost tried to fix it but Severus and Zeph had advised against it.

They had to figure it out themselves.

Jealousy wasn't the problem exactly. But it was thrown in there. Harry and Ron weren't used to not being with her as a trio and after everything had calmed down, they had tried to jump back into it. But Hermione already had her two boys with her. It irritated Harry and Ron.

It was amusing now to watch them shoulder aside Adrian and Marcus.

After she was drawn into more hugs and kisses.

Soon enough, it was time to head down. Adrian and Luna were her bridesmaids. Both of them waited for the others to leave before heading down ahead of her. Dimitry held one hand and her father took the other one. As one, they left the room.

The wedding was being held outside by a row of cherry trees. Using magic, they were made to bloom just for this. Only people she knew personally were in attendance. Which was mostly all witches and wizards. Her parents and grandmother were the only muggles. A few elves were here too.

But her attention wasn't on any of them. Her eyes and soul were focused on one person. The doors leading outside were made of glass but they were tinted in green and silver. She could only make out heads and a lot of white.

Luna had been the one to pick the location.

Hermione hadn't argued.

Her father smiled down at her in question. She was just standing right in front of the doors. She squeezed their hands and walked forward.

Forever waited for her.

The walk forward wasn't long or too short. It felt just right. She was too busy staring at the man in pitch black robes to notice much else. She wasn't nervous. She wasn't afraid. She knew what she wanted.

What she wanted was standing in dark colors, facing her. She let go of her fathers and reached for what she wanted most.

Severus Snape.

Dimitry and her father spoke but she was too busy staring at Severus. He had his hair tied back and was groomed for this moment. She tightened her hold on him and smiled wide.

"Hello there, professor."

"Know-it-all."

She snickered and they both turned to look at Minerva. The older woman was smiling but the sheen in her eyes said it all. They spoke their vows softly but with love. They didn't look away from each other until it was time for their rings. Hermione almost dropped hers when her eyes blurred but Adrian's dry comment cleared it up right away.

When it came to kissing the bride, Severus held her face tenderly in his hands and kissed her like if there was no tomorrow. She held nothing back either. The applause of the crowd was drowned out by the rush in her ears and her heart thumping. She pulled back and stared up at him as she held onto his arms.

"Husband."

"Wife."

For two hours, laughter and food were in abundance.

Hermione and Severus walked around, receiving congratulation speeches and praises. Severus only left her to fetch some more wine or when she needed to eat something so she didn't end up drunk.

But Hermione noticed a certain couple, not in attendance. She turned to Severus and tugged his arm. He looked down at her in the next second. "What is it?"

"They didn't come?"

Severus didn't become upset. If anything, there was relief in his face.

"No. They sent a present but decided not to attend. They left this world for a reason. I don't mind."

He probably didn't but she did. His parents were...odd at best. But they had made their choices.

Later, when most of the guests had left, they dressed in more comfortable clothing. They were down again with their luggage and Zeph and Dimitry, as well as her parents, waited for them.

It was only to see them off on their honeymoon.

"Write to me when you come back." Her mother whispered into her ear. Hermione kissed her cheek and nodded.

Her father touched the top of her head and turned her over to Dimitry and Zeph. Both of them were smiling widely. Hermione smirked and kissed both of them as well.

"Three weeks of nothing. Make sure you don't come back pregnant, Hermione." Dimitry slyly slipped that in as they headed for the door.

Hermione choked and Severus faltered.

"Dimitry!"

o0o

The sun was warm on her skin. She was laying down on the white sand while Severus read beside her. She had been reading too but the sun had felt so good she had dropped it and now dozed lightly under the sky.

Their three weeks were almost over and she wished they could take a bit longer but real-life awaited them. She flipped onto her back and breathed in the air. Waves crashed but there really was no other sound around.

The beach house belonged to a friend of Heidi's, so it was private.

Severus had spent his free time reading and outside with her. She swam and suntanned until she couldn't tan anymore. They were both going back home for a bit before traveling.

They planned to stop at home for a week before heading down south to Egypt. It was mostly to offer a business deal to Halima.

Severus was opening his own shop in Diagon Alley and he wanted to tweak a few potions that belonged to Halima. The women had agreed right before the wedding but had wanted to see them first.

Hermione planned to help him but her job would be more about traveling. She was going to visit different countries and learn different types of potions and such. She had refused to work for the Ministry mostly because she knew what Amelia and the others were hoping for.

She didn't want to become Minister of Magic.

Not in this life.

Severus must have been thinking the same thing as her because he set aside his book and leaned over, blocking out the sun on her face.

"Are you sure you don't want it?"

"Yes. Maybe once upon a time, it would have been what I wanted but not after all this time. Now I just want to do something I enjoy. Something that also gives and takes. Being Minister of Magic would get in the way of the simple life I want."

Severus looked deeply into her eyes but also nodded. "I understand that. When Minerva asked for the last time...I knew what I wanted and what I didn't. Teaching was never something I wanted to do long term. Owning my own shop...now that I can stand by."

"Enough serious talk. We have a bit of time left before we have to go back. Let's go skinny dipping."

"Scandalous, Miss Granger."

"Correction, professor, it's Mrs. Snape now."

Laughter was his response.

o0o

(1 month later)

"When are you going to have babies?" Luna asked.

Hermione dropped the box of sealed ingredients to stare openly at the blond girl. It was moving day for Severus and her. They had roped the others to help them move since many of their stuff couldn't just be flooed or even apparated out. Some required care.

They had chosen carefully and had finally decided on a two-story house near Heidi and Gabe's place. Sirius and Remus also lived within walking distance.

The house was beautiful. It was bigger then they had wanted but the basement had been the selling point for Severus. Hermione had fallen in love with the library near the back of the house that overlooked the open woods that surrounded their home.

The house held about six or so rooms and even had a room down in the basement. Hermione knew Severus would use it as a storage closet even though it was a large room. Currently, the men were fixing up the furniture in the living room and the others were still bringing boxes.

Only Hermione and Luna were in the basement, stacking boxes carefully for Severus to sort out later.

Hermione continued to stare at Luna and kept her face blank as she struggled to answer said question.

"We haven't really spoken about it. I'm sure we'll eventually have some."

"The first set will be a handful."

Hermione choked and staggered back as she pointed a finger at Luna. "Don't. Don't start with all that crap. I don't want you to say anything. Don't speak it into existence. I'm going to die."

Luna chuckled and danced her way around a large box. "Don't worry. I don't see anything. I'm just told to pass on the messages. This was the only one for you at the moment."

"Bloody hell. I don't want to know. I'm good with not knowing."

But Hermione gave as good as she got.

She stayed silent for a full minute before turning back to Luna.

"Have you told Theo you love him?"

Silence.

Hours later, it was only Hermione and Severus in their kitchen. They were drinking a cup of tea and staring out the open window that sat above the sink. The soft summer breeze was a soothing balm to the heat of the day.

"How long will they leave us alone?"

"A day or two until we open the shop."

"So what you're saying is that we'll be alone for the rest of the night and tomorrow?"

Recognizing the gleam in those dark eyes, she casually shrugged. "What should we do with our free time?"

"Well, the master bedroom is all set up now and we seem to have some renewed energy to spare."

They didn't make it to their room.

Not until the fourth time.

And it wasn't to sleep either.

...o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o...

I have one more chapter to post!

I hope you live this as much as I do!

As soon as the last chapter is posted I will begin my next story!

Thank you all so much! ï

Vanee