A/N:
After I posted chapter 3, I realized those first chapters are way too short for my liking... Even if they are all at natural stopping points.
To make up for it, here is chapter 4.
Walking in, Severus took in the home. They entered into a long hallway that went all the way to the door at the back of the home. There was a staircase just to the right that led to the upper level. Glancing through the open door beside the last step, he noticed a room filled with floor to ceiling bookshelves. At least the swot has one good room. It reminded him of his sitting room at Spinner's End. To the left, there was an opening to another room. Poking his head in, he noticed it was open all the way to the back wall. It was set up as a sitting room and had two fireplaces that were currently empty. She had grouped a couch and two armchairs around the far fireplace, but the one nearest one had a large chaise lounge that was big enough for three people. Where a normal person would have wainscoting or a chair rail around the room, Ms. Granger had built in bookshelves that wrapped around the room.
As he followed towards the back of the house, he noticed a couple of doors that led off the hallway to what he assumed was a bathroom, cupboard and basement. The end of the hall opened on either side. There was another opening to the sitting room from back here, and to the right, a large kitchen with a table that sat eight. Out the back door, he could see a utility room with a Muggle washer and dryer, a rack of coats, and a few pair of muddy boots. I wonder who she lives with. There is no way all those boots fit her.
Hermione hurried to the stove to make tea as Severus followed her. She could tell he was taking in the details of her home and hoped he liked it. She had modelled her library after the sitting room in his home. She had gone there are he died to clean it out and fell in love with it. Well, not the dirtiness of it, but the wall to wall books. She had even put in a hidden door from her kitchen to the library as he had.
"If you want to have a seat at the table, I will get tea ready," Hermione said. "Hopefully, Kingsley will be back soon."
"Thank you, Ms. Granger," he replied as he moved to sit down.
An awkward silence filled the room as she made the tea. She had a hundred questions for him, but was holding them all in. Severus watched her make tea and hoped Kingsley would hurry. He had a lot of things he needed answered. And he was feeling overwhelmed and wanted to go to bed even though, according to the clock on her wall, it was only six pm.
The kitchen fireplace roared with green flames and Kingsley stepped out right as she was setting the milk on the table. Spelling the soot from his clothes, Kingsley turned and shot a spell at the fireplace.
"I closed your Floo connection, Hermione," Kingsley said. "We can't have anyone coming in. I had my secretary send a note Harry letting him know you and I were going to be working late at your place tonight. I know you normally have dinner with the Potter's on Fridays." Kingsley smiled as he sat down next to her. "He probably thinks we have started having an affair again."
Severus watched as Hermione blushed and took a sip of her tea. Ms. Granger slept with Kingsley?
"As much as I love you Kings, I think one failed try at a relationship is enough." Hermione nudged him with her shoulder.
"I agree, love," Kingsley said as he turned to Severus. "Now, we have a lot to tell you."
"Yes, you do." Severus took in the looks on their faces and, while he kept his face calm, his insides were crawling with anxiety.
"What is the last thing you remember?"
"I was bleeding out from a snake bite on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. Ms. Granger was there with Potter and Weasley. How long ago was that?"
Kingsley and Hermione exchanged a look. Kingsley went to answer him but stopped when Hermione mutter a quick 'hang on' and moved to a cupboard door. Severus had a quick glance of her pantry before she returned with a vial filled with a clear liquid.
"Professor, this is Veritaserum," she said, turning towards Kingsley. "Don't look at me like that Kings, you know I keep some in the house, legal or not. Professor, I want you to trust us, so I will take some of this if you want me to. We are going to tell you some things that I know will be hard to believe."
"I will take some too, if you want," Kingsley said.
Severus reached out his hand and Hermione handed him the vial. Like I am just going to blindly trust this isn't water. Inspecting the potion, he was impressed by the quality.
Handing it back to her, "I would prefer if you both took three drops."
Potion swallowed, Hermione and Kingsley started talking. She told him how he had died on the floor of the shack after giving Potter his memories. How Potter had faced the Dark Lord after destroying all but one of the Horcruxes and lived. How Neville the witless wonder had killed Nagini. She described how she felt when Molly Weasley killed Bellatrix before Harry spilt all of his secrets to the Wizarding world, idiot boy!, before killing Voldemort for good.
Severus wanted to interrupt her a few dozen times as she spoke, but he kept his mouth shut. How was it possible he had died but was still alive? Had he been in a coma? But if he was, how did he get back to the shack this afternoon?
"So," Kingsley said. "That takes us to the end of the Final Battle, as we call it."
"So that was the second of May. What day is it today? It feels a little warm to be mid-June, but Ms. Granger said she has lived her for over a month."
With a nod from Kingsley, Hermione answered. "It is the middle of July, Professor."
"So I was in a coma for over two months?" Severus was trying to process what she had said.
"No, as I said, you died."
"Do I look dead to you Ms. Granger?" he quipped as he stared at her. "Or is this the afterlife? Am I condemned to hell like my father used to tell me? And this is my punishment; to spend eternity having to listen to you."
"Severus, stop being an arse to Hermione and let her finish," Kingsley snapped at him.
"It's fine, Kings." Hermione glared at him. "You are not in hell. It is mid-July of 2004. You have been dead for six years until you were accidentally brought back to life today."
"What kind of knuckle dragging idiot accidentally brings someone back to life? Not that I believe you by the way."
"The 'knuckle dragger' as you so nicely put it, would be Kingsley. The current Minister for Magic." Hermione couldn't keep the smile off her face as Kingsley looked sheepish.
"To be fair, I didn't mean to."
"So," Severus began. "You two are telling me I have been dead for over six years, but somehow the Minister for Magic practised necromancy without meaning to and brought me back?"
Hermione made a show of taking three more drops of Veritaserum before answering. She explained to him how Bill Weasley had found the amulet and the tome, how she had studied it and realized how dangerous the amulet could be. That it wasn't safe to keep, even in her department. How when she was explaining it to Kingsley he had picked it up and brought Severus back.
"Honestly Severus, I don't know what to tell you," Kingsley told him after Hermione finished. "But you are here now so we have to figure out what we are going to tell people. Because we can't tell them the truth; It will cause panic."
"I don't give a flying fuck what you tell people, Minister." Hermione flinched at the disdain dripping from Snape's mouth and was glad it wasn't directed at her. "I didn't ask to come back. You let a silly child play with adult things and this is what happens."
"I. Am. Not. A. Chidl," Hermione growled at him. There was no way she was going to let him blame her for this. "I wasn't playing with anything. I was studying what I think is a dangerous object, and brought it to the attention of the highest ranking official as soon as I knew what it did."
"You are eighteen yea—"
Hermione cut him off. "I am twenty-four!" Taking a deep breath she stopped yelling. "I am sure it is confusing, but I am not a child anymore Professor. I have been out of school for five years. I am damn good at my job, and you will not blame me for this. Kingsley made a mistake, but does not deserve your ire."
"A mistake? A mistake is adding the wrong ingredient or stirring the wrong way. HE BROUGHT ME BACK TO LIFE!"
"I know he did. And I am sorry. But unless you want me to Avada you right now, there is nothing we can do about it."
The only sound in the room was Snape's heavy breathing. He was furious. He didn't want to be attacked by Nagini, but he also never meant to, or wanted to live past the war. He was tired and he deserved death.
"Professor, if you plan on ever going in public, you will have to stick to whatever story we come up with," Hermione spoke to him calmly. "Do you have any ideas that would be believable?"
Taking a few deep breaths, Severus tried to calm down. He knew it wasn't her fault, but he was confused and wanted to lash out. "Well I would say to just tell people I was in hiding and decided to come out, but is it even safe for me to be in public? I killed Dumbledore."
"Thanks to Harry telling everyone your memories, you were given a court hearing," Kingsley told him. "Dumbledore's portrait backed up everything Harry said you did and confirmed it was all done while in the service of the Order. Officially, the Ministry posthumously cleared you of all charges and awarded you an Order of Merlin, First Class."
"You are considered a hero by everyone, Professor. I think only Harry is more beloved than you are," Hermione added.
Severus didn't answer her, just sat in shock at what they had told him. Could it be true that he wasn't hated by everyone? Hermione and Kingsley were being nice to him, but they could be lying to him. Except they took truth serum.
"Will people believe it if we tell them I was in hiding then decided after six years to return home? Didn't people see the body?" Severus asked.
"I think people will believe it. Your funeral was done before your charges were cleared so it was a small service. Everyone there can be talked to."
"Then that is what we will tell people."
"Severus," Kingsley gave him a searching look. "You have to be checked out by a healer."
"Kingsley, we can't have him just walk into St. Mungo's after being gone for six years. He would need a reason to go there. It isn't like magical people go in for annual check-ups."
"Ms. Granger has a point." Severus was loath to admit it. "Do you have any ideas?"
Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, you were always close to the Malfoys. Draco just became a healer. He specializes in dark curses and would probably be the best. Plus, I know we can trust him."
"You trust Draco?" Severus was sure he heard her incorrectly.
"Draco and I both returned to Hogwarts after the war to complete our NEWTs. We worked together on a few projects and talked about the war on multiple occasions. He can still be a prat, but we are friends and I trust him."
Kingsley stood. "I have to get back to the Ministry. While I agree we have to keep the actual events a secret, there are a few people who will need to be told the truth. Arthur and Harry for one."
"Why does Mr. Potter need to know?"
"Harry is the Head Auror now, Severus. And Arthur Weasley is the Deputy Minister. Hermione and I will have to work with them to see what we should do about this amulet."
"And you're sure telling a boy whose parents died when he was a baby that you are in possession of a magical object that is able to bring them back to life is a good idea?" Maybe Kingsley wasn't as smart as Severus thought he was.
"I can answer that, Kings," Hermione said. "Harry has come to terms with his parent's death. He was able to talk to them before he went to Voldemort, and he is at peace with it. He won't try to use it."
"A mature Potter. I will believe it when I see it." Severus snorted. "So, I am free to leave?"
Hermione and Kingsley looked at each other. She hadn't thought about that. Where was he going to stay?
"Severus, you are not being held, but where would you go?" Kingsley asked.
"I have a home, don't I?" Severus replied.
"When they had your hearing, sir, they realized you didn't have a will. Because you sacrificed so much for Harry, the Wizenagamot deemed Harry as your rightful heir. All of your belongings, including Spinner's End, were transferred to him."
"Are you telling me the Potter brat lives in my house?" Snape was fuming.
"No! He has his own house. A few months after you di— after the battle, he received a notice that the whole area your house was in was being sold to developers," Hermione explained. "We went to your home and packed everything up. He placed everything that was worth saving, mostly your books and potions things, into a vault at Gringotts. He took the money from the sale of your house, and some of your own gold, and started a scholarship for underprivileged children that attend Hogwarts. They use it to make sure the kids aren't going to school with second hand robes or books."
"So where will I live? What will I live on?" He asked.
He thought the scholarship was a great idea, Merlin knew he hated going to school with used books in ratty old robes. And as a professor, he saw how mean the children could be to the poor ones. But still, he needed money to live on.
"Your estate receives royalties for the potions you invented or improved still so there is income coming in. That has been replenishing the scholarship fund." Hermione hesitated not sure how to continue. Clearing her throat, "And, because the court named Harry your heir, he was given the contents of the Prince family vaults. Your grandparents had a clause that you couldn't inherit it, but your heir could. Harry left most of it alone, but he did donate a sizeable amount in your name to Hogwarts. He gave towards replacing the potion related books that were damaged in the library, and to repair the parts of the dungeons what were damaged."
"And Potter will just give me everything back?" he asked.
The Prince family wasn't as well off as the Malfoy or Black families, but he knew the vault would be enough for at least one person to live on and not have to work. Well, they used to have enough. Now that Harry had donated to Hogwarts, who knew how much was left.
"Of course he will! He has enough money from his parents and Sirius. Not to mention the salary he and Ginny make."
"That still doesn't solve the problem of where I am going to live."
"Well, Hermione has two spare rooms upstairs, Severus. I am sure she wouldn't mind you staying here until you figure it out," Kingsley offered.
"He's right. I don't mind at all." Would have been nice to be asked privately first though, Kings. Way to put me on the spot.
"Thank you. I will need clothes though."
"I will leave you two to get settled. Hermione, I am going to go seal your office. Come see me when you get to work on Monday."
"Thanks, Kings." Getting up, Hermione hugged him goodbye before kissing him on the cheek.
