***
"Do you remember what we talked about, yesterday?"
Severus Snape looked up from the Hospital bed that he'd been laying in since his return to Hogwarts into the eyes of one young man called Harry Potter. Beside him was a young woman that Severus assumed was his co-worker for the Ministry.
Harry quickly excused the woman from the room upon seeing Snape's dark eyes settle upon her for too long a time. She left with a scowl to her face but had left quietly nevertheless.
"Is she your wife?" Snape asked abruptly, startling Harry.
"No," Harry quipped softly. "My wife died almost eleven years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"Do you remember her, Professor?" Harry questioned hopefully. "Her name was Cho Chang when she attended this School. You gave us rare gold wine glasses as an early engagement present. I proposed to her early in our seventh year. Everyone tried to talk us out of it but you sir and Hermione."
Severus got a wistful look upon his face at hearing that name again. Hermione. His very heart ached at just thinking about her. But he still couldn't, for the bloody life of him, remember anything of their past romance together. He recalled her as a former student of his and nothing more then that.
But Potter had said they had been lovers and had been seriously involved with each other since Hermione's eighteenth birthday when he had given her an old muggle book of poetry as a present.
Hermione had supposedly confessed her love for him on the spot and they had been a couple ever since that moment.
But that was eleven years ago now. Severus reminded himself of the old man's last words to him.
Hermione had believed him dead at the hand of Voldermort and had gotten married to a young man that she had been School Chums with upon her Graduation. They now had been together happily so for the last ten years as Mr and Mrs Weasley and were the parents of a total of five young children.
It was obvious that whatever the young woman had felt for him in the past had died upon hearing he had been struck down by the Dark Lord. Hermione had not certainly been pining away for him all this time.
Something inside of Severus died a little more upon realizing this was true. Everytime he tried to force images of their past together into his head they died away slowly like they had never been there at all.
What was more confusing was that the old man had said before he returned he spoke of his longing to be with Hermione again. If he truly had been longing to see her again, how come was it he couldn't even recall their first kiss? Why couldn't he remember the first time he had her in his bed?
Why can't I remember falling in love with her? I can see how deep our relationship had been by just hearing Potter's ramblings of the past. How could I just abruptly forget the one and only true love of my life like that? I know she's young, but bloody hell, I know it myself that I had loved her. I feel that loss in my very soul. I now, apparently, just cannot remember doing so!
Now my beloved is married to some little weasel called Ron Weasley, has birthed him a whole nest of five children in my eleven year absence from her life, and is off happily playing the role of a mere House wife after graduating with top marks from this school.
There was something inside him that was furious she had chosen this for herself. That she would limit herself so much.
Was it because of his absence that she felt so much less worth for herself? That he hoped hadn't been the case.
Potter then continued to ramble on about his god children. The first two were twins, Harry and Williamina. The rest were three little daughters that apparently all looked like their mother but with bright red bushy hair. She had named them Elizabeth, Molly, and the youngest was a newborn named Alexandra that Harry hadn't seen yet.
Yes, Hermione would have to have been very happily married to give Ronald Weasley all those children.
He knew that he had no right to ask Harry to send for Hermione like he did. That she had her life now far away from this School and far from memories of what they were once for each other.
But Severus himself had no life from the stories that Harry Potter told him about her. He hadn't even the memories of her kisses to comfort himself by.
They were all just gone.
If only he could have more.
***
"Do you remember what we talked about, yesterday?"
Severus Snape looked up from the Hospital bed that he'd been laying in since his return to Hogwarts into the eyes of one young man called Harry Potter. Beside him was a young woman that Severus assumed was his co-worker for the Ministry.
Harry quickly excused the woman from the room upon seeing Snape's dark eyes settle upon her for too long a time. She left with a scowl to her face but had left quietly nevertheless.
"Is she your wife?" Snape asked abruptly, startling Harry.
"No," Harry quipped softly. "My wife died almost eleven years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"Do you remember her, Professor?" Harry questioned hopefully. "Her name was Cho Chang when she attended this School. You gave us rare gold wine glasses as an early engagement present. I proposed to her early in our seventh year. Everyone tried to talk us out of it but you sir and Hermione."
Severus got a wistful look upon his face at hearing that name again. Hermione. His very heart ached at just thinking about her. But he still couldn't, for the bloody life of him, remember anything of their past romance together. He recalled her as a former student of his and nothing more then that.
But Potter had said they had been lovers and had been seriously involved with each other since Hermione's eighteenth birthday when he had given her an old muggle book of poetry as a present.
Hermione had supposedly confessed her love for him on the spot and they had been a couple ever since that moment.
But that was eleven years ago now. Severus reminded himself of the old man's last words to him.
Hermione had believed him dead at the hand of Voldermort and had gotten married to a young man that she had been School Chums with upon her Graduation. They now had been together happily so for the last ten years as Mr and Mrs Weasley and were the parents of a total of five young children.
It was obvious that whatever the young woman had felt for him in the past had died upon hearing he had been struck down by the Dark Lord. Hermione had not certainly been pining away for him all this time.
Something inside of Severus died a little more upon realizing this was true. Everytime he tried to force images of their past together into his head they died away slowly like they had never been there at all.
What was more confusing was that the old man had said before he returned he spoke of his longing to be with Hermione again. If he truly had been longing to see her again, how come was it he couldn't even recall their first kiss? Why couldn't he remember the first time he had her in his bed?
Why can't I remember falling in love with her? I can see how deep our relationship had been by just hearing Potter's ramblings of the past. How could I just abruptly forget the one and only true love of my life like that? I know she's young, but bloody hell, I know it myself that I had loved her. I feel that loss in my very soul. I now, apparently, just cannot remember doing so!
Now my beloved is married to some little weasel called Ron Weasley, has birthed him a whole nest of five children in my eleven year absence from her life, and is off happily playing the role of a mere House wife after graduating with top marks from this school.
There was something inside him that was furious she had chosen this for herself. That she would limit herself so much.
Was it because of his absence that she felt so much less worth for herself? That he hoped hadn't been the case.
Potter then continued to ramble on about his god children. The first two were twins, Harry and Williamina. The rest were three little daughters that apparently all looked like their mother but with bright red bushy hair. She had named them Elizabeth, Molly, and the youngest was a newborn named Alexandra that Harry hadn't seen yet.
Yes, Hermione would have to have been very happily married to give Ronald Weasley all those children.
He knew that he had no right to ask Harry to send for Hermione like he did. That she had her life now far away from this School and far from memories of what they were once for each other.
But Severus himself had no life from the stories that Harry Potter told him about her. He hadn't even the memories of her kisses to comfort himself by.
They were all just gone.
If only he could have more.
***