Chapter 7: Somewhere only we know


When they reached the lake at sunset Hermione was still red from Severus showing her all their love spots. Of course he had also informed her of important moments that might trigger flashbacks, but she had no such luck. Instead her husband apparently found pleasure in watching her turn red and had even admitted it when she had asked him. For the first time since her memory loss, they had eaten lunch in the great hall and for a brief moment Hermione had felt the urge to take a seat at the Gryffindor table. Sitting together with all the other teachers had been different, but nice. They had greeted her very friendly and introduced themselves to her again, completely understanding her unfortunate situation. Severus had been rather quiet, but also completely his old self in front of some of the newer teachers. And Hermione had felt their dislike for him immediately. Old habits died hard apparently.

When they started walking around the lake Hermione couldn't help but feel nostalgias. The lake reminded her of her school days and her time with her best friends. She missed Harry and Ron tremendously, but hoped that she would at least see Harry again soon. Severus had assured her, that he held no grudge towards Harry and would rather have a discussion with him than Ron. Obviously Severus thought Ron wasn't as smart as Harry, plus given that Ron was her ex-boyfriend she completely understood that he didn't like him.

Sighing she wrapped her scarf tighter around her. It was January and pretty cold outside. Unfortunately though there was no pretty snow covering the ground of Hogwarts. But the wind was cold enough to freeze ones nose off. Severus was holding her hand again - this time from her own accord – as he walked with her to a hidden path that led into the forest. She had an idea where they were heading, but only stared at the big tree when they finally arrived.

"I know this place.", she said and Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "From before…" She quickly added.

"Ron brought me here. He thought it was a romantic gesture." She walked nearer to the tree and touched the white stem.

"Do you know the story behind the tree?", Severus asked coming closer.

Hermione looked unsure. "I know that lovers come here a lot and that it is supposed to have some magical powers, but I couldn't find anything written about it in Hogwarts: A history."

The Potions Master nodded.

"Though this tree looks rather old. It's younger than me.", he started explaining and it nearly sounded like he was teaching again. "In fact it was a normal tree once, but when I was in my seventh year I enchanted it. Originally I had meant to show it to Lily as a birthday present, but it didn't have the desired effect I had planned on showing her." He swallowed and motioned to the trunk.

"Do you see the names written on the stem? They look as though students carved them into it, but they didn't. You can't harm this tree that way." Hermione examined the trunk and he was right. It really looked like some couples had eternised their names in the wood. Testing his statement she pulled out her wand.

"May I?", she asked and waited for his short nod to whisper a spell that would carve her initials into the tree. They appeared on the wood for two seconds and then simply disappeared. Smiling Hermione touched the wood and looked at him with curious eyes. "Fascinating! You did this? What's the purpose?", she asked eagerly.

"The tree is enchanted in such a way, that if two people, who are each others true love, touch it, it will carve their names into the wood by magic." Severus explained and she took a step back from it to take it all in. The tree was magnificent. A beauty to look at, even without the magic. The idea itself was very romantic and unique, but Hermione couldn't help but feel sad. Though his idea had been extraordinary, he had done this all for Harry's mom. Why show it to her, when he clearly did it to show Lily his love for her? The pang of jealousy Hermione felt was unexpected, but it was there none the less. Still she smiled and let her gaze wander. At the moment the tree did not carry any leaves, but she knew that they were golden coloured and unlike anything she had seen on a tree before.

"You must think it's very kitschy, but I was seventeen and a bit overly dramatic back then.", he admitted and scratched his neck.

Hermione smiled politely. "Did you show it to Lily then?" She did not really want to talk about his love for Lily Potter, but if she wanted to fall in love with him again, she would have to except everything about him. That included his past.

Severus sighed. "Indeed. I did, but of course nothing happened and at first I thought, that maybe I had done it wrong. That the spell hadn't worked the way it was supposed to. But a week after I showed it to her, I came here alone again and then I saw it."

He led her around the tree and motioned to a certain set of names.

Lily J. Evans & James Potter

Hermiones eyes widened as she read the names.

"Oh, Severus. That must have been horrible for you.", she said and touched his arm affectionately. His face remained calm, but he slowly nodded.

"It was back then. I know you don't recall this specific conversation, but you can believe me now. I stopped loving Lily a while ago. I cared for her and she had a big influence on my life, but in the end, I'm glad it turned out this way." He took a step towards her and looked at her. "But I'm not here to talk about Lily. This is our spot." Grasping her hand he led her further around the tree and motioned to the stem again. Hermione's gaze followed his hand and she let out a small gasp at what she saw.

Hermione J. Granger & Severus Snape

Fascinated she touched the letters. They felt smooth beneath her fingers and she couldn't help but smile when she realized what this implied. Her husband was her true love. He was her significant other. Her better half. Her true happy ending. And didn't that make her situation so much worse? Starring at the names her vision went blurry. But she only noticed she was crying because Severus brushed his thumb against her cheek to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry. I should have known you wouldn't feel comfortable reading this. It's to soon.", he said looking at her regretfully. Hermione snuffled and shook her head.

"No, you were right to show me. I'm just so…sad." Another set of tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's unfair. I don't even know what I did wrong. Apparently I had the perfect life and everything was simply taken from me. I…" She turned around to face him fully. "This is everything I had hoped for and more. I did not even know I wanted this, but now… I… I can't help but feel unhappy, because I don't remember a thing." She let out a frustrated huff and rubbed her hands over her face, only to feel Severus pull her into a hug. Letting her forehead touch his chest, she concentrated on her steady breathing and felt some warmth radiating from him. Unfortunately the air was to cold and stinging to actually enjoy his embrace. She couldn't even smell his scent at the moment. But his long fingers gently stroking her head calmed her and finally she stopped crying. After another 3 minutes she realized she couldn't feel her toes anymore.

"Can we go back inside? I'm cold.", she asked and Severus loosened his hold on her. The concern on his face showed her, that she still looked horrible from crying. Good thing, he wasn't the one who lost his memories. She would probably not have been able to get him back with all the crying. Severus seemed to take the whole situation a lot better than her. Then again, she didn't know him that well. Maybe he just didn't share his emotions as openly as she did.

"Of course.", he said and took her hand. "I haven't showed you your office yet, but maybe we can do this tomorrow?" Hermione nodded in agreement and gave him a small smile. Together they went to the castle again. The walk back was filled with a comfortable silence. Both of them having a lot on their mind and neither one of them willing to share their thoughts yet.


They agreed to read again before bed and this time Hermione actually started reading the book. It was a nice story, about a strong female, who fell in love with an arrogant man, who had lost everything. Though romance had never been on her priority list of book genres Hermione found herself enjoying the book. She only stopped reading when Severus mentioned it was time for bed and she agreed. It was late and she was actually tired from walking around all day. Her husband swiftly excused himself to use the bathroom and get ready for bed, leaving her alone in the living room.

Hermione put the book away and her gaze went to the couch. She was sure Severus would sleep here again. He hadn't even so much as glanced to their bed. But after everything that had happened today, she wasn't sure if she should keep him away much longer. Not only did he make her blush a thousand times today but she had started to become emotionally attached. Hearing about Lily had caused her to feel jealous and knowing that Severus was her true love had awakened something within her she hadn't even known of before. This whole situation was insane, but she actually liked her husband. He was nice company and probably even more lovable once she got to know him better. They had talked so much about her, that she didn't know that much about him yet. But she was definitely curious. Under different circumstances she could have seen herself going out with him, on a real date. Shaking her head she cleared her thoughts and went into the bedroom to get her sleeping attire. Severus opened the door just as she was about to grab her pyjamas. He wore the same outfit as yesterday and nodded in her direction as he saw her.

"Good night. Sleep well.", he said and started for the door, but Hermione quickly crossed the distance and grabbed his arm. "No, wait." Stepping back again she felt herself blush. Maybe that had been a bit to forward. "Sorry, but it's really okay if you want to sleep here.", she said quickly. Severus frowned at her, but let go of the door handle.

"Are you certain? There is no need to rush things. I'm more than willing to wait and get you accustomed to my presence." He looked torn, but Hermione had already made up her mind.

"100% certain. I really don't mind.", she assured him and he nodded, still uncertain. "Alright."

Smiling she fetched her pyjamas and got ready for bed herself. When she came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, Severus was already laying in bed. Feeling a bit nervous she moved in on her side of the bed and turned to face him.

"Good night.", she said gently and he smiled back at her, which was still something to get used to. Her Potions Professor certainly wasn't known for being all smiles and good moods. Still Hermione felt confident. Turning off the light with a flick of her wand she lay down and let herself relax. This was good. The nervousness gone she realized there had never been a reason to panic in the first place. Severus was such a gentleman and the bed was big enough for them to not even touch. Furthermore she had stepped forward and opened up to him. Letting him stay here with her. It felt as though she had done the right thing and did that not stroke her Gryffindor pride.


AN: Woohoo, having a real live is so time consuming. Sorry for the late update. I hope you still enjoy this story. I absolutely adore every single review. They always make my day and encourage me to write faster. ;)