Happy New Year, my readers! Thank you for your support. Enjoy this final chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that looks familiar to the world of Harry Potter.


9 January 2003

Severus had just finished a night shift and had to stay on till noon to cover for Healer Crown who had called in to say she was down with the sniffles. His head was aching from having been up so many hours without a break. He was craving a strong cup of tea and some gingerbread biscuits but it seemed Crown had ran out of both in her office.

When he finally signed out a minute past noon, he grabbed a sandwich from the nearest deli and apparated straight home. He was tired and achy but having spent numerous years in worse conditions and sleep states, this was nothing. He set about making the strong cup of tea he was craving for before washing up and scarfing down his lunch.

He downed his tea in one go and proceeded to nap for a few hours before getting up just as the door to the next house slammed shut. The cuckoo clock showed it would be time for dinner soon. He washed the sleep out of his face and then settled into his armchair to go through his mail.

It wasn't until he got up to prepare his dinner when he noticed a thick envelope on the floor between the small, round side table where he usually kept his mail and the armchair. He opened it and saw it contained an invitation to tea with Hermione Granger for the very day itself. He cussed aloud. When had the invitation been sent? He had missed it completely and now she would assume he had snubbed her rudely by not even bothering to respond to the invitation. So much for all his propriety.

He pulled out a blank parchment from his writing table before sending off the hurried reply to her.

Miss Granger,

I beg your pardon for the late reply. The invitation had been misplaced, for had I seen it sooner I would have been able to respond within the appropriate duration. For your information, I had been on a long shift since the night before and returned in the afternoon to rest. I hope my silence has not offended you in any way more than it usually does.

Severus Snape

No sooner than he had just reheated some leftover Shepherd's pie from two days ago did his owl return, bearing a parchment in its talons. The witch had been waiting for him, it seems.

Healer Snape,

No offence has been taken at the appalling lack of response attributed to the misplacement of the invitation to tea for your birthday and the subsequent hectic work schedule. Your apology has most definitely been accepted.

Hermione Granger

Severus did not quite know why but something told him this issue was not over just yet. However, he refrained from responding to her tart reply and, instead, chucked it into the slim drawer of his writing table where it would subsequently lay forgotten.

-.-.-.-.-

5 May 2003

Severus had been unable to escape the Ministry ball this year. According to the overly gaudy invitation, the five-year mark since the end of the war made it more special as compared to the previous years. He did not know what it was about the number '5' that could be special; '7' was usually the special, magical number. He assumed that, once again, the organising committee for the ball had some Muggle-borns who seemed really fond of integrating aspects of the Muggle culture into the Wizarding world.

Once again, he lurked in the darkest part of the ballroom, nursing a non-alcoholic cocktail (that was most certainly not to be called a mocktail, according to the waiter). It was an obvious upgrade in the selection of non-alcoholic drinks that unexpectedly tasted quite nice. He would not have expected less from a drink that caused the waiter to flush almost violently when Severus had asked after the name of the drink.

He also did not expect to have his drink relieved of him even before he had consumed more than a quarter of it. Hermione Granger tossed back half of it in one gulp, returning the last quarter to him before letting out a muted belch that he was not sure if his sensibilities should feel offended about.

"Lovely. I was so parched."

"You could take your own drink." Severus gestured to the same waiter who was slowly weaving through the crowd with a tray of drinks hovering in front of him.

"Good idea. But a dance first." She looked at him expectantly as she shed her stole.

"What?" Severus frowned.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me?"

"To dance?"

"Obviously."

Severus drained the rest of his drink and placed the empty glass on a passing tray. "Would you do me the honour of saving the next dance for me?"

"Why wait till the next one? Let's just join in." She grinned.

Severus took her outstretched hand and led her out to the balcony, not too far from where he had been standing inside.

"You don't want to dance inside?" asked Hermione.

"I'm not certain how Weasley would react seeing you dance with me," he replied. "I'd rather avoid drawing attention to myself."

The music spilling from the ballroom was of an upbeat tempo so he spun Hermione around several times while they shimmied.

"Who would have thought the mysterious Severus Snape could dance?" Hermione laughed.

"I do love a good dance."

The song gradually changed into a slow, leisurely one. One of his hands were suddenly placed on a slender waist while Hermione clasped the other hand. She rested her free hand on his shoulder and smiled. Severus noticed there wasn't much space separating their bodies. And it was now that he noticed what Hermione was wearing.

Her gown was shimmering and gold, catching the light and drawing his attention to her chest where the neckline was dangerously low. There was no sleeves on her gown and her neck and shoulders were fully exposed. Since her hair was piled up on her head with a few loose tendrils framing her face, Severus found it quite hard to breathe all of a sudden.

She was chatting away and he only caught the second half of her statement. "I thought you'd prefer something on the sour side like your fruit wines."

"I've come to realise I quite enjoy Sex On The Beach after all."

Severus had not exactly meant to phrase his sentence that way but since it already happened, he took pleasure in the look of astonishment that crossed Hermione's face. She gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing several times like a fish before she recovered sufficiently.

"Pardon?"

Severus sighed. He did not like to repeat himself unnecessarily. "I said I've come to realise I quite enjoy S-"

"No," cut in Hermione. "I heard what you said very clearly."

He raised an eyebrow.

"For a moment I thought you meant something else."

"Do not take this the wrong way, Miss Granger."

"Hermione."

"Hermione. Even if I did enjoy a tumble in the sand, what makes you think I would tell you?"

"You'd show it then?"

"Show it?"

"To let me experience it."

It was his turn to gape at her. "Pardon?"

She winked at him. "You heard me. Anyway, I thought Sex On The Beach is a cocktail."

"I was told this is a non-alcoholic version."

"Why do you abstain from alcohol?"

He smiled wistfully. "I have no need for it now."

Hermione fell silent as they swayed to the slow music. Then she took both his hands and placed them on her waist as her hands slipped around his neck. She stepped closer towards him and rested her head on his chest. "I hope you don't mind."

"No."

Oh, how he did mind. He was petrified at the thought she would be able to hear his heart pounding wildly at their physical contact.

"Are you nervous?" He felt her fingers trace light circles on the back of his neck.

How mortifying! She could hear his heartbeat. "Miss Granger."

"I've told you to call me Hermione. Please."

"Do not take this the wrong way."

"What now?" She shifted closer and Severus felt her body press against his.

A delicious thrill ran down his lower body as he brought his lips to her ears. "I beg of you, dear Hermione. Please don't torture me like this."

He felt her body shiver in response and closed his eyes, mentally started reciting the names of random potions and the ailments they were meant to treat.

His eyes flew open at once when something soft and warm pressed against his lips. The passion with which she was pressing all of herself against him unlocked something he didn't know he had in him. He found himself responding to her with equal fervour. When they finally broke away, gasping for breath, it dawned on him that they couldn't go back to how they were before.

What relationship did they have now?

She touched his cheek tentatively as if to seek his opinion.

He closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again. "Outstanding."

Hermione gave a crooked smile.

-.-.-.-.-

25 December 2003

Finally, Severus didn't have to go to anyone's godforsaken party. He was going to have a Christmas party for the very first time in his home. In preparation, he had taken the entire week off from work to redo the interior of his house and to spruce up the façade.

He had just taken the roasted turkey out of the oven when he heard three firm raps on the front door.

"Coming!"

Hermione stood with a basket of food in front of her. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you."

Severus relieved her of the basket and set it on the dining table. The door shut somewhere behind him. Two arms came around his middle and squeezed him tightly. "I missed you."

"We saw each other just yesterday." He grinned, turning around and enveloping her in a bear hug. "Lovely of you to come to my party."

"I hope this isn't how you greet all your guests." She tapped him lightly on the nose.

"Oh, I'll only ever have one guest to my house. And do not take this the wrong way but …" he trailed off.

"What now?"

"I hope you would be agreeable to becoming an occupant of this house one day."

"Just an occupant?"

"And a companion for this second life of mine."

She squealed in delight as he leaned down to capture her in a long, ardent kiss.