I'm back! Sorry to those of you who thought that I'd given up on the story or something…I assure you, it won't happen! The ending I have planned out is just too good!

However, I do know it's been about five or six weeks since I updated. It's not because I've been extremely busy or something of the sort (although that applies to this past week), but more for the fact that my writing seemed to have left me. It took me almost two weeks to finally come up with an idea, but once I started writing it down, any style seemed to have left. I couldn't write or draw or anything for awhile, and I think after writing a piece of angst in the present-tense rather than the past-tense, I gained my skill again.

At least half of it, anyway. The story's even more choppy now than before, I think. I'm proud of my plot line, though.

Summary of Previous Events: At the final battle, Hermione was hit with a memory curse, now suffering from amnesia and calling herself Jane. Severus found her time-turner; a curse hit him and gave him a second chance in life as a young man. He left the wizarding world, and found the young Gryffindor in Napa, now named Jane. They've become friends, and he has promised to help her and stay by her side. Every now and then, Severus receives letters of advice from Albus and Minerva.

Recently, Jane had a reaction to the time-turner, and misjudging her questions, Severus left her, thinking that she didn't need him anymore. They've made amends, and have been growing closer together. Now that Severus's birthday has arrived and Jane has graduated, they've decided to celebrate.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for the woman in the jewelry shop. Neither do I own Monterey (it'd be nice to own a house there, though). However, I do own the plot, and since I don't know when Severus' birthday is, I made that up, so it's mine as well.

He sighed as he felt sweet unconsciousness let go of him, gradually becoming aware of what had started as a dull, far away ache becoming a nuisance in his neck. Shifting the arm that had been thrown on top of his head, he kneaded the muscle there, correcting the angle of his head before slowly cracking open an eyelid. It took him a moment to figure out the bright creamy walls, the starched sheets, and the warmth beside him and remember that he was in Monterey with Jane.

He blinked twice, reaching down to pull up the blanket so that he could burrow back under the covers for a while longer before meeting the fresh new day. Not finding any cloth but that of his silk pajama bottoms, he frowned, moving away from the warm spot his back had made to find that the young woman next to him had stolen all of the blankets. Indeed she had, curled up with them tucked under her chin, all of them pulled completely over her. How could she sleep like that? He had slept with half his torso exposed to the midsummer heat, while she seemed to be perfectly oblivious to any extra warmth that her cocoon baked her in. Taking what little cover he could, he shifted so that he was molded against the warmth from her back.

Severus let his thoughts wander as he blew away a piece of her frizzy hair from where it tickled his nose. He had planned a small getaway as a graduation present to Jane, planning with immaculate precision only to have them scrambled when he heard she'd gotten top honors and realizing that a simple trip wasn't good enough. She, in turn, had planned a small birthday getaway for him, and once she had mentioned her own thoughts, they combined both of their ideas as a double celebration.

Both of them had thought Monterey to be a good idea, Severus for the scenery and Jane for the ocean and beaches. It had been many, many years since he had last seen the sea, and seeing it yesterday as they neared the hotel in Jane's car had been refreshing. He smiled as he remembered her enthusiastic responses as they toured 17-Mile Drive, watching the birds, squirrels, and seals with zeal. After, they had spent a leisurely evening dining at a quiet seafood restaurant and strolling through a nearby art museum, murmuring over various techniques and presentations. It was still early in the night when they had chosen to retire, both falling asleep, filled with comfort and contentment.

He was dozing lazily when he felt her shift against his leg. Opening his eyes, he bit his lip in amusement as she made a grand show of waking up, yawning, mumbling, and stretching for a good minute before turning around to meet his gaze.

"Morning." She yawned again, stretching the end of the word.

"Good morning." He studied her as she closed her eyes again to burrow into her pillow, pulling more of the covers away from him. "Are you going to sleep the whole day away?"

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually."

"Come on, what else do you want to do besides sleep the rest of the day? As relaxing as this is, I thought we might take a look around while we had the chance."

"What about breakfast in bed?" Her voice came out muffled as she wiggled further beneath the covers.

"I'd say Brunch would be the correct term."

Immediately, her head shot out from her nest of blankets. "Brunch?"

"It's 10:30."

With agility that shouldn't have been present in someone who had been asleep half a minute ago, she jumped out of bed, pulling one arm out of the cami she wore as she reached for the handle of the wardrobe. "10:30! I've never woken up this late…wasted half the day already. I slept so early too; it's not like I did anything yesterday. Why didn't you wake me up, Severus?" She continued to mumble to herself, shooting random comments at the man in bed every now and then.

"I didn't know it bothered you so much. Besides, didn't you want to stay in bed?"

"I thought it was seven!"

"It's not this bright at—"

"Ouch! Oww…"

He watched her struggle to pull her top off for a moment before throwing his legs over the side of the bed and padding silently across the floor behind her. "Need help?"

She squeaked in surprise, trying to find a hole in the shirt that she could see him through. "Severus!"

Quickly undoing the knot of hair that had worked itself around the strap of her shirt, he plucked it off her head, revealing her in just her bra. Reaching past her to grab his clothes as if seeing her half naked was normal , he made his way to the bathroom. "I'll leave you here to change in privacy. Be careful that that unruly hair of yours doesn't get stuck again, I'm not coming out to help you half dressed myself."

He heard her seething behind the closed door as he quickly cleaned himself, checking that he was presentable before peeking out of the bathroom. "Dressed?"

She didn't reply, instead throwing open the door and marching past him. He barely made it out of the way before the door slammed in his face. "Touche," he called.

Immediately the door was flung open once more, revealing a livid Jane. "Say that one more time," she ground out between gritted teeth, "and you'll never have felt more pain in your life." She twitched, then slammed the door once more.

Severus took in a deep breath of the salty air, letting the warmth of the midmorning sun soak through his skin as he jammed his hands into his pockets. Beside him, Jane peered around the passerby as she glanced through the windows of the shops. Smoothing back a loose strand of honey-colored hair that had been blown from its loose clip at the nape of her neck, she paused to study the glass ornaments on display. He watched wonder play across her face from her reflection in the window as she gazed at a miniature glass cello.

"Shall we go in?" he asked after a moment.

Slightly startled, she turned to look at him, sheepish. "Just to look, I guess."

Pushing open the door with a slight tinkle from the bell tied to the handle, he held the door open for her before entering himself. In the quiet, both of them wove their way between stands and cases of crystal and glass objects, the faceted pieces reflecting small rainbows of color on the wall. On the case to the right, small glass animals with gems as eyes watched playfully, and to the front, necklaces and anklets hung delicately from their chains, lightly spinning whenever the smallest current caressed them, sparkling in the light.

"Aren't they beautiful?"

Severus was about to whisper back a reply when a somewhat fuller voice floated over from behind them. "Have you found anything you like? Those pendants are made of the finest glass, set with immense precision and carved with immaculate detail. They do sparkle so beautifully, don't they?"

An elderly, kind looking woman stood there, her hands clasped together at her midriff. She smiled gently, the corners of her eyes crinkling in a motherly fashion.

"Oh, they are beautiful," Jane replied hastily, "but we're just looking around."

The kind woman's smile did not lose any of its softness. "Of course. If you have any questions, please, feel free to ask."

Both of them nodded, and she stepped away to rearrange a display in the corner.

"Oh, they are so pretty, but they're so expensive at the same time! But there's no reason to waste money on a trinket when I don't need it, no matter how nice they may be."

With that, she resolutely dragged a bewildered Severus out the door, stopping to give the saleswoman a smile and a "Good-bye!" before the door shut behind them. He rubbed his arm ruefully.

"Why, may I ask, did you have to drag me out?"

"I told you, they were too expensive. Besides, just seeing them there was tempting."

"And so we just had to leave like that? For two completely self-centered reasons?"

"Well, that and the fact that I had just spotted a bookstore across the street…" she smiled slyly.

'This woman knows me too well,' he thought. Aloud, he said, "I suppose a bit of time pursuing knowledge isn't a waste of time. Or money," he added, remembering her comment about how expensive the glass pieces had been.

"Of course not."

Following the crowd of people making their way across the road, they untangled themselves from the main throng heading off to the candy shop just ahead to enter the double doors of the bookstore. Almost immediately, Jane turned to where he guessed the mystery section was, while he set off at a more decent pace to the display of new books. Picking up one titled "Small Avalanches and Other Short Stories", he flipped through for a moment before deciding it wasn't his type, setting it down to pick up another one that had caught his eye.

How long he had roamed the middle five tables he didn't know, until he heard Jane's voice right next to his ear. "Interesting?"

Shutting the book, he replied, "Not quite. There's got to be more things to do with paint than experimenting with their hues on a piece of canvas."

"Like painting an actual picture?"

"Exactly."

Somehow having found silent agreement to leave, they both turned towards the door.

"What time is it?"

"Mmm…almost 12:30. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure I didn't spend five hours inside like I did last time."

"Five hours? Straight?" She sounded amused.

"I was so absorbed that I finished reading the entire book before I left the store. Didn't have to spend any money after all."

She shook her head, tucking another loose strand behind her ear as the wind began blowing again. Abruptly changing the topic, she asked, "Does ice cream sound appealing?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It depends. Why?"

"Oh, because we just passed by a creamery, and seeing as it's rather warm, I thought a spot of cold sweets would do some good."

"A bit of fat and cream wouldn't be too bad, I suppose."

"Great," she beamed. Turning around, she headed back to the store, not waiting to see if he followed. He briefly wondered how everything seemed to pop out at Jane while everything seemed like a blur of tourists to him. The thoughts dispelled when he stepped into the shop of sweets, the noise of squealing children and giggling girls hitting him like a wall. Almost immediately, he regretted coming in. Scanning over the crowd, he spotted Jane at the end of the line, studying the large chart of flavors on the wall behind the counter. He made his way through the throng of people and reached her side.

"See anything you like?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, maybe the strawberry…I haven't had green tea ice cream in such a long time though. Bubble gum would be a good treat…maybe I'll go for some kind of chocolate…"

He sighed mentally. At least her ramblings could keep him company as they waited for the line to creep towards the counter.

An hour later found them enjoying their frozen treats on one of the tables at the front of the ice cream shop. Jane had finally settled on a strawberry flavored ice cream, small chips of dark and white chocolate sprinkled throughout. He himself was savoring a spoonful of mocha and chocolate, rich and creamy.

"I can't believe we actually waited 90 minutes in that line…I don't think I've ever waited that long for anything in my life," he muttered as he dug another spoonful from the paper cup.

"Obviously this place's popular, and besides, I think it was worth it. How's yours?" she gestured to his halfway eaten ice cream with a careless flick of her spoon, sending droplets of the sticky stuff flying.

"I can say that I'm enjoying it more than you are if you're going to put the ice cream on your spoon just to throw it around."

She ignored the comment, leaning forward to take a scoop of his. "May I?"

"So you can waste mine as well?" She gave him a 'oh, seriously,' look until he nudged the paper cup closer to her, and she happily took a large chunk, placing the entire thing in her mouth at once. He winced. "Don't you get brain freeze?"

She scooped out an equally large chunk from her own. "From ice cream? Never. The stuff's just that good."

As if to confirm it, she tackled the rest of her treat voraciously, finishing her own long before Severus even scraped the bottom of his.

"Okay, now where to?" A fresh breeze had picked up, disrupting the mid-afternoon warmth.

He sat back, fiddling with the tiny plastic spoon. "I don't know. Anywhere particular you want to go?"

"Not really."

He studied her for a moment, eyes lidded. "I know of a nice jewelry shop down the block."

Immediately, her head snapped up, but then the bright look on her face dimmed. "I'm not going there just to look at the expensive price tags."

"Nonsense. Tell me if you find anything you like."

She looked at him skeptically. "You're not buying me anything."

He stood up, his chair scraping the surface of the sidewalk. "Consider it a graduation present."

"But," she protested, following him as he strode past the pedestrians on either side, "this trip's more than enough!"

"Not if it's a joint celebration, it's not. You paid for half of it, as did I. What kind of gift is that? That's more like a shared…vacation of sorts."

"Severus, you don't have to—"

He pushed open the door to the shop resolutely. "In."

She tried to look reluctant, but failed. What girl wasn't influenced by jewelry of sorts? Shiny stuff was meant to be appealing. He followed her in, letting his gaze run over the various necklaces, earrings, and bracelets on display. Now to find something. Giving her a final glance to reassure himself that she wasn't watching, he started at the opposite end of the store, studying the jewelry in front of him.

He grimaced at the overly large pendants sitting in the case to his left. Some were turquoise, some of amber, but all were over an inch wide and two inches tall. Passing them by, he decided not to buy her a necklace of any sort. The only kind he'd ever seen her wear was a fine chain with a pendant so small it was like she'd rather not have worn it.

On the rack nearby, bracelets of different colors and stones hung. He fingered the chains, examining them, eliminating some colors while remembering others. All too common were links of dolphins and hearts, and he chanced upon one of tiger's eye, shaped into small triangles and outlined in gold and silver. Placing it on the edge of the rack in case he decided to buy it, he moved on.

Rings. There was no way he was going to buy her a ring, just in case it seemed like he'd tried to find a last minute cheap engagement ring or something…he shook his head. He was much more of a gentleman if it ever came to that. Besides, he reasoned, he didn't know her ring size anyway.

As he examined chains of fine golds and silvers, gems of increasing sizes, he realized with embarrassment he was studying the jewels like they were potions. A good grade on that one, that one was horrid, almost perfect…but just like he rarely ever could find one that matched his expectations; none of the pieces seemed perfect. He frowned as he made a full circuit of the store. Jane, he noticed, had somehow only been a third of the way through it all.

He headed back towards the bracelet he had found earlier. Holding it up, he confirmed it as a good gift, and gingerly lifted the paper price tag to look at the cost: $68. Almost bordering expensive, but he hoped it'd be worth it.

Severus watched in amusement as Jane quickly passed the large pendants that he had first seen. He'd been right about her tastes on that subject, he supposed. Standing behind her shoulder, he unraveled the chain in front of her.

"Find anything yet?"

"I—Oh!" she stared at the bracelet, then lifted her hand to study it. "I was going to say no, but I think the answer's a bit different now."

"So I'll take it as an "I want it", then?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but immediately her face turned to one of dismay. "$70? I said no to a gift, Severus, and I meant it. Maybe something small, but not this!"

He remained just as stubborn as her, staring her down.

"Fine," she sighed, chewing her lip. "But you have to allow me to get you something as well."

He raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

She continued chewing her lip. "I don't know…it seems strange that I don't know what you want." Her eyes refocused on him. "So you tell me."

"No." A smile tugged at the ends of his lips.

"Yes," she insisted.

"You figure it out yourself. After all, it's a gift, right?"

"Please? Come on, or else I won't let you buy the bracelet for me."

"How are you going to stop me?"

"I don't have to accept it."

He laughed. "There's too much good in your heart to not accept something someone gives you. You know that just as well as I do."

"But—"

"No buts."

He nearly gave up when he saw the dejected look on her face, but stayed adamant. "You can make it up to me later, okay?"

She gave him a small smile. "Okay."

He allowed himself to give a satisfied sigh, stretching a bit. Jane was silhouetted besides him, her hair whipping in the direction of the wind. She was barefoot, her shoes in one hand as she bent down every once in a while to pick up a seashell from the sand. The sun disappeared rapidly behind the horizon, tinting the sky in hues and shades of red. After a dinner of mussels and pasta coated in tomato sauce, he felt content to end the day on the beach. Jane had insisted on paying for the meal, and not wanting to argue, he'd let her. Still, it didn't feel like life could get any better.

He stared up at the sky, small wisps of clouds swirling above. It reminded him, unbidden, of the blood coating the grass, bodies and smoke everywhere...blinking, he pushed away the thoughts and memories, concentrating on the present. Ruining the evening by simple memories seemed like a whole vacation thrown away.

"Look."

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice behind him. Turning, he saw Jane holding up a shell, squinting through it. Looking at him, she dropped her shoes in the sand, carefully placing her collection of shells in a neat pile beside them before walking over to him.

"Stay right there." Standing in front of him, she angled the shell a bit, then moved out of the way, holding the shell steady. "Do you see it?"

He bent down a little bit, then blinked. Whatever he'd expected to see, it certainly hadn't been this.

From where he was standing, he could see through a small hole something had bored through the shell. It was like a small window, and he nearly missed the last rays of the sun throwing its rays through the opening, causing a shattering brilliance of beauty he'd somehow missed in every other sunset. Blinking once more to get rid of the dark spots in his eyes, he took the shell from her hand, flipping it over in his fingers. The razor-sharp edges formed a kind of heart, pale pinks and ambers streaked horizontally as the ridges descended in the opposite direction. He looked back at her.

"That was…beautiful," he breathed.

She beamed at him, then stood on tip-toe to give him a small peck on the cheek.

Indeed, the day couldn't have been better.

Wow, that was the longest in a while, I think. Or maybe it's just because there's a lot of dialogue. I think the ending was sweet, even if the rest was kind of choppy. I know there wasn't too much imagery, but I spent forever on some piece trying to, and I think my imagery's been used up for a while. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I look forward to commentary!

I promise to try and update as soon as possible!