Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter arena.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoy the honeymoon. A great many details, locations, and anecdotes come from my own honeymoon. Why reinvent the wheel? Let's see if you guessed correctly where they are headed.
Waking up together was a new experience for them. Dealing with bedhead, morning breath, and unattractive yawns usually comes later in a relationship and not near the beginning. Luckily, they needed to get up and out for their trip, so the awkwardness of the morning was short-lived. Faster than Severus thought possible, they were out the door right at eight. He was glad that Hermione wasn't the sort to primp for hours on end. He simply could not abide waiting around for that nonsense. Besides, she was good-looking without enhancement. They walked on in silence to the apparition point just beyond the garden and his wards. Hermione held a more recent variation of her infamous beaded bag with both of their suitcases inside. Severus offered to carry it, but she assured him the weightless charms were exceedingly efficient.
She seemed more happy and relaxed that morning compared to her apprehensive mood all week. They were both glad to get away from Britain for a few days and get to know each other better without all the distractions of day to day life. Severus congratulated himself on having the forethought to plan a vacation for them even before he knew she would be amenable to the trip. They were both dressed in muggle attire, which confused her all the more. Hermione kept looking over at him, squinting like she was trying to get used to the image of him in a simple white button down, gray trousers, and black sport coat. Where they were headed she obviously had no clue. She tried to get their destination out of him during breakfast, but he kept his mouth firmly shut, his eyes sparkling at her consternation. He was worried the trip would somehow be a disappointment and that once they were alone for days at a time they would run out of things to say to one another. Apparating to a nearby field, Hermione looked around to determine their destination. When she furrowed her brows, he pointed down at the half full water bottle in the grass near their feet. Recognition sparked, and she crossed her arms to question him.
"Severus, however did you manage a portkey? You didn't go to the registration office, did you?"
"No, I knew that would be unwise with the current public curiosity." Severus assumed that was her main concern in asking.
"Oh, good! Then how?"
"I had a standing offer from the Minister for a favor due to my assistance with the Amortentia. This seemed an opportune time to utilize it."
"Wow, good thinking!"
"Shall we?" Severus reached out his hand, and she placed hers in it. They both reached for the water bottle portkey together and felt the familiar pinching, sickening feeling of being pulled through interdimensional space.
After regaining her sense of gravity, Hermione looked around at the bustling city. She looked up to view a looming, grand cathedral. She heard differing accents from passersby and the distinct penny whistle melody and guitar from the raucous pub across the street. Severus watched her face, waiting for her to name their location. Hermione smiled back at him.
"Dublin?" asked Hermione.
"Indeed. Five points to Gryffindor." answered Severus with a smirk. He would.
"Only five? You always were stingy with the points. Hmph." She noticed he was containing his smirk from turning into a smile.
"I could not let a particular know-it-all get an overinflated ego." Hermione jabbed him lightly with her elbow.
"Where should we go first?"
"I have one or two ideas, but they are not until later. What would you like to do, Hermione?" She was beginning to like the way he said her name in that alluring voice of his. Hermione looked back up at the cathedral, which she now realized must be St. Patrick's, and said, "Why don't we start here?"
They toured the cathedral, then walked a few streets, got lunch at a pub, and even found a bookstore that had enough inventory to enchant them both. No surprise to either of them, they spent longer in the bookstore than at the cathedral and lunch combined. Hermione couldn't escape the fleeting thought that everyone she'd ever dated before would have sat in the corner sighing or groaning with impatience when she spent longer than a half hour in a bookstore. It was lovely to have someone at her side with similar interests. The unlikely pair chuckled when they reached the check-out counter and saw that one of the books in each of their stacks were the same volume. They agreed only one was needed, so Hermione put hers back. He insisted on paying for both of their stacked selections. Even though they were married and their money was to be placed in a joint account after a month, she still thought it was a kind and generous gesture. Books were close to her heart.
After the bookstore, they toured the Irish Whiskey Museum. To her surprise, Hermione thoroughly enjoyed their time there. There was a tasting at the end, but the majority of the tour was full of fascinating information and history of Ireland narrated by animated tour guides that bantered with the visitors. She had to resist taking notes. The other tourists in their group were Germans and Americans. Her father used to joke that no matter where you traveled, you would find a group of German tourists. Hermione used to chastise him for such a stereotype, but in this case he was right. The two Americans were also on their honeymoon, and they were great companions for easy conversation during the tasting. A flash of ebony wood in the women's coat pocket revealed her to be a witch, and Hermione feared they would be recognized. The young couple announced they had just arrived in the UK the day before and were not knowledgeable of the area, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
With weary feet and warmed chests, Hermione and Severus returned to the center of town to check into their hotel. The lobby was beautiful and filled with elegant seating and decor the color of a ripe eggplant. As Severus checked in with the concierge, she caught a view of them standing side by side in the wide, ornate mirror. Hermione was worried people would think of them as an odd couple in public because of their age difference, but upon looking in that mirror, she decided they looked quite good together. The tense wizard smiled and relaxed more around her which made him appear younger, and she felt more energetic around him which gave maturity and liveliness to her stature. She felt his hand at her elbow and broke out of her reverie to follow him to the elevators.
Even the elevator was beautiful. The hotel had to be around four stars. What had her new husband spent on this little adventure? She knew his business was successful and doing well, but she didn't want him to spend too much unnecessarily. Little did she know just how much money the potions practice was making. The Diagon Alley shop front was for convenience of business, but the majority of their affluent business was done privately. And now Severus finally had someone on whom to spend his newfound money. He planned to ease her into it, knowing she was typically frugal.
Walking up to the door of their hotel room, Severus was thankful that this hotel still used actual keys and not some ridiculous piece of flimsy plastic. He opened the door to that classic clean hotel room smell and heard a sweet gasp from Hermione. Pleased by her excitement, he wore a satisfied smirk as she inspected the space. The room was plush and spacious with deep purple adornments and a marble accented bathroom. He rolled both of their luggage into the corner of the room and studied her expression as she stared at the single linen covered king-size bed.
"When I booked the room, I will admit that I hoped you would find it agreeable for the occasion. I know you are still adjusting to things, so we can transfigure it into two queens if you prefer." Instead of waiting for her response, he began to unpack and hang some things in the closet. She remained silent a minute before replying, "I don't think that would be necessary. We are husband and wife, and we have slept in the same bed every night this week to some extent. This won't be that different, I suppose." He could hear the nervousness in her voice. She was acting calm, but if he wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn she sounded…intrigued.
"Are you hungry? Down the street is supposedly the oldest pub in Ireland. It could be simply a ploy for tourists, but there may be some merit in the claim."
"Yes, I would love some dinner. Give me a few minutes though, I would like to change. I think I underestimated the weather you prepared me to dress for, and I would prefer not to keep casting warming charms on myself." Severus sat down on the small but comfortable armchair in the corner to wait for her. His clothing options were limited, so he did not want to repeat his wardrobe overmuch in the four days they were away together. Hermione went through her bag and picked out a few items, then laid them on the bed. She looked at him as if pondering some great equation, and then she took off her top.
Severus blushed and thought his eyes would pop out of his head due to the wide-eyed stare of shock he gave her.
"What are you doing?" He blustered.
"Well, if we are going to be staying together on this trip, I shouldn't be going into the bathroom everytime I want to change, now should I?"
"Well –"
"So it seems to me, like our ceremony, we should simply get used to such things sooner rather than later. I detest walking on eggshells." He wished he could look away, but his eyes were glued to her simple brasserie almost the same color as the amethyst curtains. Thankfully the mortification only lasted a moment before she pulled on a green and white striped sweater.
"Please tell me you were only planning to change the top half of your ensemble?" asked Snape, still tinted pink on his cheeks. Hermione suddenly looked abashed.
"Oh dear, I didn't think – I'm sorry, does it bother you that I changed in front of you? I should have warned you or asked, I guess. You just seem so unfazed by anything, I didn't think –" She looked at him bewildered that he might get angry. He softened his tone.
"Granger, it's nothing like that. I was simply unprepared for your actions. You are welcome to do as you like to be comfortable in my presence. I appreciate what you were trying to do. You continue to astonish me with your…forward thinking." He swallowed the other words that came to mind.
"Soooo, I did actually wish to change my trousers as well." Hermione looked at him with uncertainty.
"Do as you must." This time, Severus averted his eyes to the gray hotel carpet while she completed her alterations. He could not possibly voice why he had been so initially disturbed by her actions. Her brazen reveal had caused his head to spin in a way that refused to stop. Severus knew it now more than ever. Merlin, he wanted her. He also knew that he would do everything in his power to suppress that desire for as long as necessary. Hermione Granger would not be coerced into marital relations with him unless she herself chose it. On this he would be resolute. If he could manage it. Did she know how infuriating and impressive she was when she acted so spontaneously? Just like when she offered to get married first thing after meeting about their pairing letters. She was truly the fearless lioness. She might be intelligent and bookish as a Ravenclaw, but she was a Gryffindor through and through.
They enjoyed a quiet dinner at the oldest pub in Ireland, The Brazen Head, established in 1198. Hermione could not help but smile at the pub's motto "There are no strangers here, only friends who have never met". Severus rolled his eyes when she pointed it out to him. Then they both smiled at the predictability of their opposite reactions. He devoured his bangers and mash, while she enjoyed some beef and guinness stew. They both agreed to order a quintessential Irish whiskey for their first night, a dram of Redbreast 12. The same as the first she had tasted at his house. Hermione could not quite explain why, but the aged whiskey tasted far more flavourful there in Ireland than it had in England. The ancient magic of the cask rivaled that of the cauldron.
Their first day in Ireland had been one of the fullest and best she had experienced in years. Hermione could never have imagined a month ago that she would be getting into bed next to her former potions professor and thanking him for an incredible start to their honeymoon. But that is what she was doing, and she felt truly happy about it. Was it the whiskey or the wizard?
True to form, Severus leaned over just before midnight to give her his nightly chaste kiss. Instead of accepting the kiss and then turning over to fall asleep like she had the past four nights, Hermione turned toward him onto her side to meet him halfway and their lips met at the same time. Instinctively, he put his arm around her lower back and pulled their bodies flush together. Gods, it was wonderful. Who would have ever guessed that the brooding bat of the dungeons was such a phenomenal kisser? Without thinking about it, her hands were clutching his chest while one of his was in her hair, the other pulling her closer as if he couldn't get enough. She tilted her hips forward slightly and felt him respond. Passion was ignited. And then,...suddenly he was gone.
Hermione looked blurrily through the dark room and spotted him in the corner leaning with his hands splayed across the small desk. He was breathing hard and clearly angry. What had she done wrong? Was he not ready to be intimate with her? After those few minutes they had shared, she was much more interested than she had been in pursuing other aspects of their relationship. Her fear of a passionless marriage was abating, but what if he did not want it? Maybe this was all moving too quickly for him. But it wasn't like they hadn't known each other for twenty years. They weren't strangers in this marriage. In fact, Severus knew more about her than many of her friends did from the conversations they had over the years and vulnerabilities she had shown him in the past month. Even when working on the project together, he was the only one she had allowed to see her fear and anxiety.
"My apologies, Hermione," Severus finally uttered, still facing the wall behind the desk, "I should not have let myself get carried away." The emotion in his voice was barely veiled.
"But, Severus, I was –"
"Whatever you think you may have invited, it was still wrong of me. You are intoxicated and legally forced into this insane situation. I will not copulate with you unless it is your conscious decision. Damn this bloody law." Severus struck the desk with his fist.
"...But the law brought us together. My idea. Your potion. It led us here." He turned to face her, but she could not see his expression in the darkness.
"I am grateful for the strengthening of our friendship and possible relationship, but I cannot help but feel that I am taking advantage of you even if you were sober as a nun."
"You are not taking advantage, but I understand how you might feel that way. Please, come back to bed and let's sleep. I promise I will not start anything up again. We can talk more about it tomorrow?" She dearly hoped he would calm down and return. They had made so much progress in one week. He paused a few minutes longer before getting back in the bed as far as possible to his side.
"Good night, Severus." Hermione said, with tears in the corner of her eyes that he would never see or know.
He whispered in return, "Good night, Hermione."
Author's Notes: I'm evil, I know. Please don't think Hermione is brazen, she just trusts Snape and has for a long time. This is simply a new area of trust, which is easy to adjust to if you trust someone in all the other ways (and if you've had good Irish whiskey). More honeymoon in the next chapter. Hoping I can finish it in just one, but we shall see. So far I've been writing this story one/two days of story time per chapter. I'm just not the fast-forwarding kind of gal. Please review! They fuel me for more chapters.