Chapter: 10

"I fear I must inform you that you are too smart for your own good," Severus told Hermione on one of their daily phone calls. They had taken to calling each other every day between 7 and 8 am Hermione's time and 9 and 10 pm Severus' time to make sure they were where they could safely use the cell phones. Severus had taken a while to get comfortable talking to that way, or talking to her at all really since they had only ever gotten close through letters. He had told her it was much more comfortable than a floo call and more convenient than owl post.

"Well I was only trying to help save all those poor owls all that hard work delivering so many letters," She laughed at him. They had gotten even closer since Christmas since they were able to have actual conversations. She had decided that his voice was one of the sexiest she had ever heard. She concluded that the only reason she never realized in school that the timber of his voice could send shivers down her spine was that he was always sneering at her then.

"Have you heard that Harry and Tonks finally set a wedding date?" Severus asked her with amusement in his voice thinking of Tonks tripping up the aisle.

"Yes, he wrote to me this morning," she told him, forcing her voice to sound sad. Tonks' parents had finally given their blessing and were now insisting on a lavish summer wedding. They were getting married on the Hogwarts grounds, near the lake, the last week of June. "I wish they would have waited another year," she told him, trying to sound wistful. She knew she would be back by then, actually she figured she would return just in time for the wedding, but no one but her knew that. She wanted to surprise Severus at the wedding.

"It would have been nice if you could attend." Severus told her, saddened that she would miss her best friend's special day. Over the years he had come to respect and even enjoy Potter's company. "Tonks was lamenting that you would be unable to be her bridesmaid when they announced the day. It seems that the public opinion is what finally swayed her parents mind and they insisted the wedding be soon when Harry told him he wanted to wait until you got back."

"It's alright; I knew I would miss it from the time they got engaged." Hermione told him. "I just wish I could be there to dance with you at the reception."

"You would be missed, you are missed," Severus told her quietly. "I do not know whether I love or hate this blasted muggle phone. I love that I am able to speak with you but it has made me yearn for your company even more than the letters did."

Hermione's heart was racing at his words, "I concur, and the more I talk to you the more I wish I had gone to school within apparition distance."

"Hermione, please tell me you will be able to get a portkey for the wedding," Tonks begged her over Harry's cell phone a few weeks later.

"Can you keep a secret?" Hermione asked her with a smirk, knowing she would have to let Tonks know to expect her. "I mean from Harry, Albus, Severus, everyone."

"Sure thing as long as it doesn't interfere with my job," Tonks told her, now very curious since she didn't want her best friends to know.

"I'm coming home in June; I'll be back a day or two before your wedding." Hermione told her, laughing as Tonks squealed in happiness. "I would love to be your maid of honor."

"Yes! This is so great, and we get to surprise everyone!" Tonks giggled. "So when do you have to go back, will you get to stay for the rest of the summer, do you have a place to stay?" She was so excited she was forgetting to give Hermione time to answer.

"I don't have a place to stay yet because I haven't decided where I want to buy a house. I plan on having my own place before I return." She told her, wondering if she would catch on.

It took Tonks a few seconds to work it out, "You're coming back for good, oh please tell me you're coming home for good!" She whispered as if afraid it wouldn't be true. She knew how much Hermione meant to Harry and couldn't wait to get to know her even better herself. They had become friends over the years of letters and she wanted her back home again.

"Yes, I finish my classes at the end of the semester," she told her with a laugh. "Now remember you can't tell anyone. If you must speak about it to someone you can talk to the twins, but make sure it's secret. They are my new business partners so I will have to let them know I'll be back."

"This is so great!" Tonks said happily. "I can't wait to see everyone's faces!"

Boss Lady,

We have enclosed the info from the magical properties in the area, there are a lot so it's shrunk down. We are assuming by your inquiry that you are planning on purchasing a residence for when you return. There is an apartment above the new shop if you would like. George was going to use it so that Katie could move in with him and Alicia could move in here with me… but since you own the building you have first dibs. If we keep on pace we should be ready to open the stores mid July, possibly even July 1st. We need to decide on who to hire and when to begin hiring. We had not considered opening until you returned next year, but since we are assuming you are coming home early we can begin. Damn, this letter is way too formal! Give us a jingle on the cell tonight and we can discuss what your plans are. Don't worry our dear dear boss lady; we will eternally keep your secrets, besides you are going to make us filthy rich so why would we mess with you!

Fred and George

Hermione had not decided if she wanted a wizarding residence or to look in a muggle area for what she wanted. She had thought the wizarding choices would be small but when she opened the book size pamphlet that the twins sent her she was shocked at her choices. There were listings ranging from tiny studio apartments to huge castle like manors. She had decided she wanted something more cheery that Grimwald Place and it didn't have to be so big. She needed a nice living room, dining room and kitchen along with room for a library/study and a potions lab and then at least 3 bedrooms, preferably 4. One of the reasons she was considering muggle areas was central heating and air conditioning. She wondered if there were charms for such things on a house.

One of the properties for sale caught her eye. There was a very old listing for a Prince Plantation in an undisclosed area in Scotland. She had wondered why Severus sold it until she started reading the write-up on it. It had been put on the market while Severus was in school when his mother had died. The reason it had not sold yet was that it was protected by a fidelius charm and no-one knew where it was. The man who had put it up for sale died before discovering who the secret keeper was and no one had cared to try since. There was a note that the reality firm believed the secret was contained inside the Prince vaults which were bequeathed to Severus Snape, but it had never been confirmed. She figured the reason Severus had not turned over the secret was that he didn't want a stranger to purchase what was technically his property and he didn't have to funds to purchase it himself. It was a very large property and quite expensive. The manor was beautiful; it was sprawling, the main house had two wings. There were extensive grounds with beautiful gardens. She hoped he would be able to buy it back one day.

She decided on purchasing a house in Hogsmead. It was at the end of one of the residential streets that they never ventured to when they were in school. It was called Hope Cottage yet it was quite a big house. The outside was covered in wood shake siding with white wood trim on the windows, porches and balconies. The pictures of the inside were beautiful, there were wooden floors throughout, some covered by carpets. Her favorite room was the library, which was a circular room that extended over three floors of the house vertically. There were 3 guest bedrooms and a very large master suite. There was a living room, family room, dining room, breakfast room and beautiful modern kitchen. The basement even had room for a potions lab and the medium sized yard had a setup for an herb garden already. There was a small guest cottage attached to the garden shed that she assumed was for a house elf family. Overall it would serve her needs perfectly and would be as close to Severus as she could be. She hoped he would be able to visit often as it was only a short walk from the school.

She sent a letter to the twins to forward to the agent for the house. She once again sent a letter authorizing the twins to access her vaults. She was surprised that the housing market in the wizarding world was so reasonable. She assumed it was because so many families were wiped out during the two wars and things were still settling down. She was glad to read in the houses' description that there were no ghosts, ghouls or poltergeists in residence and that the house was being tended to by the agencies staff, which she assumed were elves, while it was vacant. The property had been empty for five years, which was actually a small time compared to many of the larger dwellings.

She also included a letter to the twins telling them to begin scouting for potential employees and that she would send copies of the privacy agreement in a few days. She wanted to double check that she had all the spells necessary on them to assure her transfiguration spells would stay a secret. She told them they would need at least 4 workers, 2 to transfigure the products, 1 to purchase the items from muggle vendors and at least 1 to run the store when the three of them could not be there. They would see how many more they needed once they opened by those 4 would be necessary if the three of them wanted any sort of life.

Hermione couldn't believe she was so close to getting her life on track. She was sure she would ace her mastery exams as well as her end of semester tests. The only thing she had left to figure out was how she was going to get her apprenticeship in transfiguration accomplished along with running her businesses and her potions research. She hoped Minerva would take her on, but she would have to wait to ask until she returned. If everything continued as planned she would be back in England at the beginning of the last week of June. She would have two days to organize things with the twins before Tonks and Harry's wedding. She planned on surprising Severus at the wedding, hoping he would be pleasantly surprised. A week later she would open her shop with the twins on July 1st. That would give them the rest of the summer to get things going smoothly before she hoped to start an apprenticeship with Minerva at Hogwarts. That would let her see Severus daily. She only hoped he wanted to see her as badly as she wanted to see him. Only time would tell.