They stood together, in the shadows where none could see. She was still in her wedding dress, and he was in casual robes. Severus hadn't come to the wedding; both of them knew why. That's why they stood in the shadows, where dark secrets lay.
"Why did you say yes?" Severus asked.
Hermione looked at the golden band around her finger.
"Severus, I love you. You're the one. But with you I was alone, and with Remus, I'm not."
These words echoed others spoken earlier by Nymphadora Tonks: "She loves you, Sev. She just can't stand to be around you."
