Hermione smiled at her husband who was almost dozing off, his headphones still turned on around his neck. She rested her head on his chest, feeling him wake up slightly as he put an arm over her shoulder. The soft rising and falling of his lungs relaxed her greatly as she tried to synchronize her own breathing with his.
It had been a great week, she thought, stretching out her legs as far as she could before touching the chair in front of her. After the wedding, they had gone to Diagon Alley to reach Muggle London. From there, they caught a plane to Italy. Hermione had insisted on travelling like ordinary Muggles, much to her husband's utter dismay.
"Hermione, be reasonable." He had implored her. "We can get there much faster!"
"Severus." With a slight smile, she knew she had him. "Please?"
"I'll make the arrangements." He had groaned, kissing her cheek.
She poked him in the belly, making him wake up in alarm. "Huh?" He asked.
"Nothing, just thought you should know that all that wedding cake is going straight to your hips."
"It is not. I believe it's the Italian food." He leaned down and kissed her forehead before looking around. "How long left on this godforsaken plane? I feel like it's going to fall out of the air at any given moment."
"Actually, it's a good thing you woke up. The steward just came 'round and told us it will be another ten minutes."
"Where did you put your camera?" He asked, cracking his neck in the process.
Hermione rummaged in her carry-on bag for several moments before handing him her camera. Severus pulled out his wand from an extra long pocket in his trousers and muttered a spell under his breath. The camera hissed quietly before making a 'ding' remarkably like an oven timer. He said another spell and a pile of photos appeared in a puff of purple smoke.
"Excellent!" Hermione took the photos out of Severus' hand and started flicking through them. The happy couple was waving at them in front of the Coliseum. "I'll make a copy of that and give it to my parents. They loved it when they went on their honeymoon there."
Severus watched the young woman as she sorted through their photos, her face open with amusement. He caught himself when he realized he must have been staring. Hermione looked at him, her eyes soft. "If we weren't already members, I'd ask you if you wanted to be a part of the mile high club."
He laughed, remembering how Hermione had whispered in his ear that she thought she was ready to consummate their love. Unfortunately, it hadn't been in their extravagant rooms of the hotel, but rather in the cramped bathroom of the plane.
"Well, doesn't matter. Soon we'll be home and you can start redecorating the house as you wish." Severus had admitted that the house his parents had bought for him, when he had left home years ago, was almost precisely, how the builders left it. He had filled the place with the bare minimum to survive when he wasn't at Hogwarts.
"And then I have to go to school." She murmured.
"And then you have to go to school."
Hermione had finally given in to her desire to be a teacher and had enrolled in the finest Teaching Academy the wizarding world had to offer. They had snapped her up in an instant, going gaga over her excellent marks and references from all the teachers at Hogwarts.
"This is your captain speaking," A voice on the speaker announced scratchily. "Please buckle your seatbelts for landing. Thank you."
Hermione and Severus adjusted their seatbelts and chewed furiously at the gum Hermione had thought to bring. After everyone's ears had popped, the airplane touched the ground and taxied to a halt. Snape began picking up their items, ushering Hermione out of the plane as soon as the steward opened the door.
"Remind me never to use Muggle transport again." He grumbled, looking at his watch.
"Afraid not. I asked my parents to pick us up."
As much as he hated cars, he loved his in laws. They were crazy, zany, and a lot of fun to be around. He put an arm around her waist and they walked into the arrival lounge. A short woman in high heels suddenly hugged him, making him almost choke.
"Hey there Carol." He grinned weakly, rubbing his neck.
"Hey Mum, hey Dad. Did you miss us?" Hermione asked, giving both her parents a bear hug.
"Of course we did!" David said, his eyes twinkling.
"Severus, have you heard about the time Hermione got herself locked in the bathroom?" Carol asked, turning down the radio.
They were in Hermione's parent's sports car. After years of waiting for the kids to grow up, they had finally decided they could spend some money on a car that did not have roof racks. Severus looked up and said, before Hermione could tell him not to, "No, haven't."
"Dear god." Hermione muttered, sinking into the seat, her face going brick red. She wasn't as embarrassed over her part in the story as she was of her father and the relish in which her mother told it.
"Hermione got herself locked in the toilet when she was little, I think around four. There is a hole on the doorknob of our W.C. You can put a skewer or toothpick through to pick the lock for occasions such as this.
"I kept telling David about the little hole but he didn't listen. Instead he tried to tell Hermione how to unlock the door, and when that failed, he got the broom and went around the back to put through the window to try and undo the lock.
"Naturally, this did not work. So, I used his absence to pick the lock and got my darling daughter out of the toilet."
Severus chuckled, imagining David running around like a knight in shining armor, wielding a broomstick like a lance. Suddenly Hermione sat bolt upright and both her mother and she said: "Turn up the radio!"
David turned the dial and suddenly a strangely familiar song blared out from the speakers.
"I was lost till you were found
But I never know how far down, I was falling
Before I reached the bottom
I was cold and you were fire
And I never knew how the pyre
Could be burning, on the edge of the ice field."
Hermione took his hand. "It is Meatloaf: "For Crying Out Loud."
"And now the chilly California wind
Is blowing down our bodies again
And we're sinking deeper and deeper in the chilly California sand
Oh I know you belong, inside my aching heart
And can't you see my faded Levis, bursting apart
And don't you hear me crying "Oh Babe, don't go"
And don't you hear me screaming "How was I to know?"
I'm in the middle of nowhere, near the end of the line
But there's a border to somewhere waiting
And there's a tankful of time
Oh give me just another moment, to see the light of the day
And take me to another land where, I don't have to stay
And I'm gonna need somebody to make me feel like you do
And I will receive somebody with open arms, open eyes
Open up the sky and let the planet that I love shine through
For crying out loud, you know I love you
For crying out loud, you know I love you
For crying out loud, you know I love you
I was damned and you were saved
And I never knew how enslaved
I was kneeling, In the chains of my master
I could laugh but you could cry
And I never knew just how high, I was flying
Ah, with you right above me."
He listened, wondering how Muggle music could make him feel like this. Hermione smiled at him softly. "When you proposed to me, this song was going through my brain. I never really compared you to song before, but now it seems eerie."
He brought her close to kiss her, right before the luxurious sports car smashed into a vehicle that, according to witnesses, "Just appeared out of no where!"
And the strange thing was, in neither of the two cars were there any bodies.
Tune in next time...*hint hint*
A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed. You guys rawk. Hermione's parents are based on mine because I think she needs a reason to be studious. To get away from the weirdness in her family! Oh yeah, The song is by Meatloaf and I LOVE this song. It is really beautiful and emotional and I heard it in the car today and it reminded me a lot of the Severus/Hermione kinda relationship. There's a lot more to it than the few lines I put on the fanfic. Again, thanks to Luke, Shelly and Sir Crig for your help!