Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am invested in this story to the end, and I hope some of you are along for the full ride.
Hermione woke up early to a drowsy Severus, his arm crossed over hers. She carefully extracted herself from the large bed and returned to the guest room to dress for the day. It took her a few minutes to recall the memories from last night and evaluate them. Not only had he refrained from hexing her for entering his room in the middle of the night, he seemed glad she was there. Maybe he hated sleeping alone too. She doubted that he wanted specifically her next to him at night, but he might feel it was nice to have someone there. She definitely felt that way. Holding his hand had felt natural, like they had been doing so for years.
Then there was the surprise of his goodnight kiss. That kiss. Lips barely touching, like a whisper of something extraordinary lying in wait. She kind of wanted him to do it again. That much she would admit. What were these feelings? Were they just because of the wedding or was she growing to like him?
Perhaps they had a chance at something beyond a business-like arrangement. Hermione hoped he wouldn't be offended that she left before he woke. She wasn't ready to express her thoughts and feelings at the moment. Honestly, she had no idea what she would say to him over breakfast.
When she finally made her way down the stairs, he was already sitting at the small kitchen table reading the Daily Prophet, dressed in his woolen work robes. He did not look up from the paper until she sat down with a croissant and jam.
"Good morning, Severus." She said, masking her nerves with cheeriness.
"Good morning, Mrs. Snape. I hope you slept well." A smirk appeared on his face that was dangerously close to a smile.
"You struggled so much saying my first name and now you've easily switched to my married name?" The humor in his eyes put her much at ease.
"I thought I would try to prepare you for the onslaught of questions you are sure to receive today. I thought it might be helpful to remember that you are now an esteemed married woman. At least in name. So don't let them bully you for the details."
"Oh, I doubt my coworkers will be interested." She said as she smeared a bit of jam on her last bite of croissant.
"I beg to differ." He handed her his copy of the Prophet.
On the cover of the Entertainment section was a photo of her, Ron, Harry, and Snape receiving their Order of Merlin first class awards, but they had conveniently cropped out Ron and Harry. The headline read: War Heroes Bound by Their Own Marriage Laws? The story was sure to be nonsense, so Hermione didn't bother reading past the first line reporting that she and Severus had been seen together at the Ministry yesterday morning. Hermione should have seen this coming. They were both infamous in Britain from their actions in the war, and they were also known to be heavily involved in the Amortentia project due to press coverage. Yesterday was so simple and pleasant. Today was sure to be hell. Severus was lucky he could do the majority of his day's work in his basement laboratory. She, however, would have to go to the office and brave the multitudes of gossipers and false well-wishers looking for the inside story.
Severus' voice shook her out of her inner rant.
"If you need me, I will be in my laboratory until 3pm, then to the shop for shipping inventory. Is there anything you require from Diagon Alley?"
"Thank you. It looks like you were well prepared for a guest – I mean me, with what you have in the cupboard." She looked down at the article and added, "We might need a bottle of wine tonight."
"Or three." Severus joked. She snickered.
Should she bring up what happened last night? Better to leave it as it was. It was a perfect moment. If it never happened again, then she would savor the memory.
What Hermione imagined she would encounter were a few gossips from the office bugging her for details and a handful of strangers annoyingly pretending to know her life. She had wildly underestimated her colleagues and community. Upon apparating into the Atrium, Hermione was thoroughly accosted by friends, colleagues, and the press alike. It didn't stop until the Minister himself intervened and ordered everyone away. He briskly escorted her to her office.
"Thank you, Kinsley. I'm sorry about all this." She said sheepishly.
"No worries, Hermione. After all you've done for this project, I'm astonished at their reaction. You deserve to be left alone to live your life." He looked at her pointedly. He seemed to be implying that she shouldn't have to be married by the law because of her work in it. She was grateful for his words, but after last night, she was more grateful not to be alone.
After Minister Shacklebolt left, things were quiet for an hour or two. Hermione spent some time working, but she noticed people started walking by more frequently. After another half hour, they began poking their heads in and asking personal questions or feigning chit chat. Another hour later, people were simply barging in and demanding the whole story. The receptionist for their floor dared to ask if they had slept together yet. In a huff, Hermione went to Mr. Lowry's office to protest since he was the one person who would actually care and could actually do something about it.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione. We really have been trying, but they've been sneaking past the office aides all day."
"I figured. Thank you for the effort. Is there anything else we can do?" She looked at him hopeful.
"To be honest, I'm afraid the best course of action is for you to work from home the next few days and then take your honeymoon. By the time you get back, there will be a new story for them to be wagging their tongues about." She felt awful that her personal life was disrupting the whole office, but then again it was because of their hard work that she was in her current position.
"Yes, I'm afraid you're right. Are you sure you don't mind, Lowell?" She didn't want to seem unprofessional.
"Not at all, young lady. After all, you need some time to get better acquainted with your new husband." Lowell said with a twinkle in his eye. He always reminded her of Dumbledore when he did that. Perhaps that's why he was such a great boss for her. His short gray beard was not anywhere close to Dumbledore's outrageous white one, but he could get there in time. She chuckled just picturing Dumbledore's flamboyant wardrobe and waist length beard on executive Lowell Lowry.
"Not you too." She said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, knowing that he was more interested in her well-being than gossip.
"We will see you next week, Mrs. Snape. I insist you not turn in a single form until next Wednesday."
"That doesn't mean I won't work on them, you know."
"Yes, but it's an incentive to slack off! As your boss, I say your project this week is to be the model of what the Marriage Law Special Teams have worked for these past months. Go on now."
Reluctantly she packed up the files she would need in order to work from home and used the Floo in Lowell's office to avoid any further encounters with gossip-mongers.
She did not floo to Severus' –their cottage just yet. She decided to visit Ginny first. Ginny and Harry's home had private Floo access to which only Hermione had privilege to outside of the Weasley family members. Harry was still at the Auror office, but she knew that she owed Ginny an explanation. Ginny was her best girl friend, and she could also relate the story to Harry for her.
Ginny was home alone with their baby, James. As soon as Ginny saw who had arrived, she quickly put on some tea and set out biscuits. The two women got down to the serious business of telling and reacting to a story. After Hermione had filled her in on all but the details of the wedding night, Ginny sat back and stared in wonder as she patted the burps out of wee little James.
"I still can hardly believe it, and I was there to see it with my own eyes! Severus Snape in all his glory. I wonder what it will be like living with him! Will he give you detention if you wash his white shirts with a red sock?" They both laughed heartily at that.
"He's different than he was when we were growing up, Gin. I genuinely believe that his miraculous recovery from Nagini's bite gave him a new outlook on life." Ginny scrunched her face, unconvinced.
"Okay, maybe not a new outlook but at least an improved one. He is still sarcastic and stubborn but not caustic like he was before. We spent quite a bit of time together for the project at work and he was…" she searched for the word, "...interesting."
"Well, you better keep me updated. And speaking of interesting events, I have something for you from my mother."
"Oh, something from Molly? You didn't tell her, did you?"
"No, I kept my promise. But a secret doesn't really exist once it is displayed in the local paper."
"Oh Merlin, she must have flipped. With my parents gone, she's taken on the role of my surrogate mother as much as she can, and she always talked about being there for my wedding. Oh dear."
Ginny just smiled because she knew exactly what Molly Weasley was capable of when it came to her overbearing love for a daughter. Then Ginny winced and handed her a red envelope.
"Sorry, Hermione. I couldn't talk her out of it." Hermione looked down at the scarlet red wax seal that marked a Howler.
In her best Ron imitation, Hermione blurted out "Oh, bloody hell."
Wanting to spare Severus the gory details, Hermione summarized Molly's message for him by announcing they were to attend a dinner at the Burrow on Thursday night to celebrate their union. Molly had spoken, and it was clear that the invitation was not a request. After all their years in the Order, Severus owed much to the matriarch. Severus knew this day would come, but he thought he might get by at least a week into their marriage before being thrown into a pack of Weasleys. He dreaded it. They were likely to think him a vulture, despite the stipulations of the Marriage Law. His main concern was the youngest Mr. Weasley. Did he still harbor any feelings for his Hermione?
Where did that come from?
They had been married 24 hours and he was already thinking of her as "his". Needing to clear his head, Severus went out for a walk in the garden and around the grounds surrounding the quaint cottage. When he returned, he found that Hermione had already retired for the evening to the guest room. He didn't mind that she wanted to keep her privacy for changing and grooming. However, to his chagrin, he greatly hoped she would return to his bed again that night.
Hours later, the clock downstairs struck midnight, and he heard fabric rustling and felt a slim arm wrap around his. In the darkness, knowing she could not see his face, Severus smiled.
They spent the next two days working in separate parts of the house and enjoying meals and conversation together. The first night, she snuck in after dark, and this time she laid her head on his shoulder. He reveled in the magnified scent from the top of her head just beneath his chin. Now he recognized the source of the distinct floral element from the Amortentia. She delighted in the warmth of his skin and the subtle odor emanating from it. That salty element of her Amortentia memory was simply him and his personal aroma that one could only sense from very very close. Hermione wondered who else in his life had been this close to him. A slight twinge of jealousy befell her at the thought. Strange, as she was never the jealous sort. Before she could dwell on it further, he leaned down and kissed her again. This time the kiss was direct but still innocent. His cool fingertips touched her cheek. She blushed in the darkness and soon fell right asleep.
Author's Notes: I planned on making this a long long chapter, but what I want to do will take too many words so I will do the Burrow event as chapter 9. Please review! I cherish your words. Also, I still want to know from those of you who didn't answer yet: what would be your Amortentia scents?