Disclaimer:- I neither earn nor own anything from this story except my plot. Harry Potter and his world are the intellectual property of JK Rowling and her associates.
xox
A/N:- Thank you to my beta, Golden Asp, for her work on this chapter, as well as everyone for your continuing support for this story, even though it's taken me a long time to update again.
xox
Chapter Seven – The Next Step
Severus placed Hermione down on the edge of her bed. "Good night, love," he said, giving her a quick kiss, and fully intending to leave.
"But I thought you might like to stay," she asked, not allowing him his planned quick escape.
He sighed. He did not wish to leave, and he knew that if she pushed the point that he wouldn't have the resolve to leave, but he was worried that she might not be ready for him to stay. "More than anything," he replied.
"Then stay," she urged, starting to undress. She kicked off her shoes and reaching around behind herself to undo the zipper of her dress.
Severus took another deep breath, watching all of this. "Hermione," he said, "If I stay, I'm not certain that I… I do not want you to think that things are moving too fast."
Hermione could see that he was trying to do the honourable thing, but she was having none of it. She watched him looking at her slipping out of the top of her dress. "I'm pleased they're moving this quickly. I'm recovering, and we have an agreement, don't we? It's not like we barely know one another and we're falling into bed together." She watched him nodding.
"That's true," he conceded, even though his eyes were devouring her bra clad breasts.
"Well, I want you," and once she had her arms free from her dress she stood and watched him watch her dress slithering off her to pool on the floor, and she smiled, reaching up and slipping her arms back around his neck. "Stay with me, please," she said, rubbing against him softly.
The temptation was too much for him, especially when he saw her lacy baby pink underwear. His mouth descended on hers when she looked back up to his face and she moaned as they settled into a heated kiss. She flipped the covers back with a wave of her hand without breaking their kiss, and she sat back down and started scooting into the middle of her bed with him following.
Her hands started undoing his coat and shirt. "Severus," she murmured when they finally broke apart for want of air, and she wrapped her legs around his hips in invitation. She'd never thought that she would feel this spontaneous, but this felt so right. Her eyes roamed his face as her wandering hands slipped into his open shirt and her lip slipped between her teeth.
She was obviously looking for confirmation in his face that she hadn't bulldozed him into this, and his eyes watched her in return as he provided the reassurance that she sought. His hand rose to cradle her cheek and his lips dipped her hers once more, placing tender kisses. "This will bind us," he whispered.
"Yes," she replied. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Severus. I love you."
"And I love you," he told her as he pulled at his tie to undo it, and then he tugged the tails of his shirt from his trousers before shrugging both his coat and shirt off and allowing them to slip over the edge of the bed to meet her dress on the floor. His shoes landed next and he started kissing down the column of her throat as his hands occupied themselves with slipping around behind her to undo her bra.
She was so beautiful, and he couldn't wait to be inside her. Bringing his hands back around he caressed her breasts in their now loose constraint and watched her lovely rosy nipples peeking out of the lace as he moved the material.
Glancing back up at her he saw her head lulling back, her eyes closed and her mouth open in pleasure, and his lips descended to the hard buds of flesh he'd exposed as his hands continued to caress and fondle her, and he was soon exploring more. One hand slipped lower to caress her through her lacy underwear.
This drew an especially lustful moan from her, and her legs opened more.
Hermione's hands had not been idle either. At first, she'd been too consumed by pleasure to do anything, but now she'd forced herself into action because she urgently wanted him to be as naked as she was, and she'd undone his belt and trousers while he'd been busy playing with her. "Want you," she muttered, as her hand drew his hard length from the confines of his trousers.
Her plea was answered as he surged back up to kiss her. "I want you too," he replied, as he broke the kiss quickly to sit back and watch his fingers stroking her through her underwear. "I need to see all of you," he said, and he hooked his fingers in her knickers, dragging the saturated garment off her heated flesh as she moved one leg so he could get them off. "Lovely," he said, leaning forward and blowing on her slick downy sex.
"Oh, Severus," she pleaded. "Please… I need you. Want you," she declared passionately.
Now, despite his desire to be inside her, Severus wanted to go slowly, but her encouragement had him almost incoherent with lust, and he decided that they could spend more time on the preliminaries next time. Now they had come this far there was something almost primal urging them together, and he was not going to deny her.
Sliding off the bed he removed his trousers, but when he got back on the bed he sat back on his heels and tried to remind himself to have some restraint. Hermione had only ever had sex once before, and that she'd had a baby since then, so he'd need to be gentle with her. However, while he was considering this, his witch took things into her own hands, and brought them together.
"Need you," she moaned, coming up and straddling his lap, before impaling herself on him. "Ahh," she sighed in pleasure. "Oh Severus," and she wrapped her arms around his neck and started to move up and down.
He laughed. "You sneaky witch, I was trying to be gentle with you."
"I wanted you… Now!" she declared and started kissing him as she continued to move.
"I can see that," he managed between kisses. "Gryffindors! They're very forthright."
"That's us," but her laugh turned into a moan as she continued moving.
"But Slytherins are sneakier," he answered, and he lifted her up and rolled them, coming to settled between her legs and quickly upping the ante on her. He smiled down at the look of shock on her face, and then he set to work making her moan louder.
Neither of them lasted long, but Severus managed to stave off his release until Hermione was keening. In fact, they came almost at the same time, and as they did a golden rosy glow filled the room.
"What was that?" Hermione panted, managing to speak, although her world was sliding sideways in the aftermath of what she realised she'd never truly experienced before. What they'd just done was amazing, and she then understood what people saw in it.
Severus collapsed beside her and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her temple. His words were a lot calmer than he felt, as he panted into her curls, "It appears that we're bound in more than just flesh. I believe that was a soul bond igniting," he told her, chuckling wryly. "We're now bound together completely."
She smiled, running her hand up and down the hair on his chest. "Suits me fine," she replied, yawning.
"I'm pleased, now, sleep," he told her gently, kissing her temple. "I'm certain Alice will not care that you've had a very late night."
"A very enjoyable, late night," Hermione corrected him, yawning again.
"Very enjoyable," Severus agreed, covering them both, and chuckling when the only reply he got was a yawned sigh.
Severus pulled her more securely into his arms, but he lay there thinking for quite some time before he allowed sleep to take him. He had not expected a soul bond with her. Whilst it was not uncommon in the wizarding world, it was not ordinary either. Then he chuckled to himself. Mind you, this does feel very comfortable after only a small space of time. There had to be something else at play as well, and with that thought his eyes finally closed.
xox
The cold wind the night before heralded a perfect spring morning. Hermione and Severus were roused from their sleep by the complaints of Alice, who woke at her usual time and wanted her mother. Neither of them noticed the gold wedding rings that had appeared on their ring fingers while they'd been asleep.
"You sleep, I'll go," Severus mumbled in a sleep roughened voice.
Hermione felt him sliding out from behind her, and she rolled over just in time to see his dressing gown settling around him as it materialised, and she smiled. He was such a powerful wizard. And he's all mine, she thought as she felt her stomach quiver with excitement.
Despite his suggestion that she should keep sleeping, when he returned with Alice running in front of him, he found Hermione sitting up in bed with her nightie on. He helped Alice onto the bed so she could snuggle with her mother while she had her morning milk.
Settling Alice on her lap, Hermione happily kissed Severus good morning as he climbed back onto the bed in his dressing gown, and it was as she was lifting her hand away from his cheek that she noticed the ring on her finger. "What's this?" she questioned.
Severus took her hand and examined the ring. "That meddlesome bloody castle," he said after performing several recognition spells, and noticing that he was also sporting a more masculine version of the same type of ring.
"Sorry?" she asked. "What castle?"
However, she didn't get much of an answer because he started railing on about teaching Hogwarts to mind its own business and then he was stalking from the room.
He was almost out of the room when he seemed to remember the abruptness of his departure, and he turned as he reached the door. "Excuse me," he said, looking back to the shocked woman in the bed. "I shall return momentarily."
Hermione watched him stalking off in all his snarky glory and her heart sang, and a smile tugged at her lips when she realised that he was going off to Hogwarts to tell the castle to stick its meddling where the sun didn't shine. She was not certain how she knew this so definitively, but she did, and she cuddled Alice and said, "Daddy's amazing, isn't he, Baby?"
Alice simply smiled around the teat of her bottle and finished her milk. Once she was finished drinking, Hermione took her into the shower with her and Alice played in the warm water with her bubbles while Hermione showered.
xox
Hermione and Alice were dressed and at the breakfast table when Severus returned with a loud crack that made poor Alice jump, and Hermione decided that it was time for explanations. He came into the kitchen with a scowl on his face, but she welcomed him to the breakfast table and kissed him, which settled him a little. She placed his breakfast in front of him, and suggested that they should take a walk after breakfast. "Last night has reminded me how much I enjoy walking, and it's such a lovely day," she said, glancing out the kitchen window.
Severus knew that she wanted answers and he easily acquiesced, but insisted that the three of them only went the short distance to the walled garden after all the extra exercise they'd had last night both before they'd arrived home and afterwards.
They walked out into the sunshine into the private garden, and Severus sat Hermione on the seat at the base of the huge oak tree within the garden's confines. He took the seat next to her and placed an arm around her as they watched Alice running out onto the lawn.
Severus sighed in utter contentment after some moments. Spring seemed to be blooming in their garden along with Hermione, and even now when the snow was usually only just retreating, there was grass, crocuses, snow drops, jonquils and freesias, and they were all making the garden look and smell wonderful.
He was brought from his contemplations of nature by Hermione's soft voice, and he kissed her temple before giving her his attention.
"So, now may I know why we're wearing wedding bands and you're so angry with Hogwarts?"
Severus answered enigmatically. "I am living on borrowed time here," he said, smiling, but quantifying when Hermione suddenly looked concerned. "No, nothing like that, love." He took a deep breath and started explaining. "Hogwarts saved me the day of The Final Battle because it told me that I was the Master of the castle."
"Is that different to the headmaster?" Hermione wanted to know.
"It can be," Severus replied. "Albus was the last Master, and had been since he'd first gone to teach there."
"And the headmaster before Dumbledore?"
"He'd never had many of the privileges that the castle instantly extended to Albus, and that was quite a bone of contention between the pair of them. The same thing happened when Minerva tried to take over after the war," he continued. "The castle had already chosen me."
"So why are you not still the headmaster?"
"It's complicated, but in a nutshell, I am," Severus told her. "But at present Minerva is covering for me. One day—hopefully in the dim distant future—I… we," he corrected, stroking his thumb over Hermione's knuckles, "will have to return to Hogwarts. I wanted my freedom for a while. I was sick of being trapped by things."
"I can understand that, love, you gave many years to the war, and we are all indebted to you."
Severus snorted. "Right. I'm not so certain that some people think it was a good thing that I survived."
"Well, they should," and she leant around and kissed him. "In any case, I believe Minerva may have quite a few good years in her yet," Hermione laughed.
"I bloody-well hope so," Severus said, scowling. "I'm not quite ready yet to be tied to that blasted castle." He sighed. "The reason I became so irate this morning is that I wanted us to please ourselves when and where we became husband and wife, and not have it dictated to us." He took a deep breath and pulled Hermione more securely into his embrace as he watched Alice talking animatedly as she picked some flowers. "Alice, what are you doing?" he asked, just to make certain she was being good.
"I picks flowers for my Mummy, Daddy."
"Well, pick them carefully, Alice," he advised her, the corner of his mouth tipping up into a smile at the little girl's actions.
"Yes, sir," Alice chirped, and then started prattling on to the flower she was picking again.
"She's very advanced for her age," he murmured to Hermione.
Hermione lifted her head up from his chest and looked around at him and smiled. "She's never had anyone tell her should couldn't be," she said, as looked back to him. "Regardless of how it happened, are you happy, Severus?"
If he thought it was a question out of the blue he didn't say anything, he only nodded. "Yes," and he took a deep breath and he leaned down and kissed her. Then his eyes held hers as they seemed lost in one another's gaze, but eventually he added, "Now, I have the last thing I have always longed for, but I'm still going to do this."
"What?" she asked, glancing at Alice approaching with a haphazardly picked bunch of flowers in her chubby fist.
Severus realised that he could never be without Hermione now they'd experienced one another, and his resolve made him brave. "Regardless of what that blasted castle has done in joining us without our permission, I want you as my life partner," he told her as his eyes turned to Alice, who had just arrived in front of them. "And I want Alice to think I'm her father."
"You may not have been there at the dubious moment of her conception, but you are her father as far as I'm concerned, and also as far as she's concerned for that matter," Hermione stated with great conviction as she took the flowers her smiling daughter was offering her. "These are lovely, sweetheart. Thank you," she said to Alice.
They watched Alice grin at them, very pleased with herself, before toddling back to talk some more to the flowers. As they watched, Severus tightened his arms around Hermione; her declaration spurring him on further. "Then I wish to give you this, love," and he dug into his coat pocket. "And if you want a wedding in front of our friends then we will do that too," and he opened the ring box he'd pulled from his coat.
Looking down at the diamond and emerald ring, Hermione swallowed before she glanced back up at his serious countenance, and she smiled. "Even though I thought that I would know the person I married inside and out before things moved to talk of marriage… but having said that, we are already joined and I know that I love you. Alice adores you, and I enjoy the time I spend with you more than time I spend with anyone else, and on an equal footing with the time I spend with Alice."
"Hermione!" Severus cried in exasperation as she kept explaining the whole situation. "Please be good enough to give me an answer."
She grinned. "Yes, my answer is yes, love," and she wound her arms around his neck, covering his face with kisses.
It made Severus laugh, and then she started laughing too, and this drew Alice's attention from her games, and she came running over.
"Me cuddle too," she told them, throwing herself between them.
Severus easily caught her, and Hermione started kissing her head.
"We're going to be a family, Baby," she told her joyously, hugging her tightly. She looked back up at Severus and told him quietly. "I love you."
It was such a reverent declaration that Severus stilled, his hand coming up to her cheek. "And I you," he replied just as softly, and leaning around Alice, who was still snuggled in her mother's lap, he captured Hermione's lips in an achingly beautiful kiss.
Their kiss continued until Alice grew tired of not being the centre of their attention, and she started wriggling between them, urging them to take notice of her. Soon they parted enough for her to scurry off their laps and back up the lawn again, but Hermione simply shuffled closer to Severus. They started kissing again until Alice came back complaining that she was hungry.
"We could have a picnic," Hermione declared. "Under the tree in the first meadow," she said, smiling.
"Or right here," Severus stated.
Hermione shrugged. "Or right here," she repeated, nodding and smiling.
"Shotsie!" Severus called.
"Yes, master," the little elf answered, arriving beside Severus.
"Could you pack a picnic lunch for the three of us, and bring Miss Alice's baby bag once you've delivered lunch."
"Yes, sir," Shotsie answered and set off to do what she'd been bid.
They lazed around eating and talking quietly, but after lunch the warmish day started to settle into a cool afternoon, so the trio headed back to the house with Alice riding Severus' shoulders and Hermione happily walking holding his hand.
As they walked he changed his grip and pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulders, his other hand occupied in steadying Alice, and he could not ever remember being this content. Hermione had been quite right when she said that they did still have a lot to learn about each other, but they had discussed many things over the last almost two months, and despite himself and his anger at its meddling, these days he did trust Hogwarts. So, if Hogwarts had chosen this witch for him he was not going to do anything but embrace her.
xox
That afternoon, Minerva turned up to have afternoon tea with them after Hermione had Floo-called her asking her to come over.
When she heard their news, Minerva broke into a smile like a Cheshire cat and enthusiastically offered congratulations. "I knew you'd be perfect for one another," she crowed. "Although, I must admit to being quite shocked as Severus breeched the wards and started striding around my office first thing this morning raving like a man possessed."
"Yes, as soon as he discovered where the rings had come from he was up and off. You're lucky he remembered to get dressed before he arrived," Hermione cackled.
"Hermione!" Severus huffed, and there was a slight stain on his cheeks.
Hermione leant forward and covered his hand as she chuckled. "I'm sorry, love, but I'm only telling it how it was."
Minerva brought the moment to an end by saying, "But you should still have a wedding…" but then her emotions got the better of her, and she let slip something she hadn't meant to. "It's only I'd always thought that my d…" and she gasped and stopped speaking abruptly.
However, Hermione had heard perfectly, and the air between them seemed to crackle in the silence, but brave little Gryffindor that she was she knew that this was the moment. "You were going to say daughter, weren't you?" she asked finally. They looked at one another for what seemed like an eternity before Hermione continued, "Will you please tell me what I long to hear?" she asked, leaning forward in anticipation. However, when Minerva simply sat there mute, Hermione reached over and took her hand. "I know it's not something you ever think that you'll ask… b-but are you my birth mother?"
Minerva's eyes welled up, and she nodded before exhaling a deep sigh. "Yes," she replied, not willing to look away from her daughter's face. If she held her eyes long enough, then perhaps Hermione would not hate her for giving her up. However, she was not prepared for Hermione to fall to her knees and wind her arms around her.
"Oh, this is a happy day. I'm married to the man I love, and I find out the answer to the last piece of the puzzle," and she looked up at Minerva, and then back to Severus sitting where she'd left him. "We should have a celebration, both for our marriage and for finding the answer to this question."
"A dinner party perhaps," Severus said, his well sculpted eyebrow rising in question.
She smiled as she rose from her knees. "Perfect," but then she turned back to Minerva. "I have so many questions."
"I'm sure you do." She glanced at Severus. "And I'll happily tell you anything you wish to know, but you have a dinner guest arriving soon, so perhaps another time."
"No, stay," Hermione encouraged, also glancing at Severus.
"Yes, after dinner we can be old fashioned, and you ladies can talk in the sitting room while Draco and I talk in my study."
Minerva smiled. "Old fashioned, ay? Do you know that still happened every night in my mother's house?" but then she smiled fondly, obviously remembering something. "But I suppose that was old fashioned. Very well, I would love to come. When should I come back?" she asked.
"Dinner will be at eight," Severus replied. "Formal, I think."
"Very well, I'll look forward to it," she replied, getting up to take her leave. "I'll have my elf deliver you a dress that was my mother's, if you wish, Hermione."
"Well, since I do not have a formal dress. Thank you."
"Excellent. I will Floo Draco and inform him," Severus added, getting up.