"Are you nervous?" Hermione asked Severus as they stood in their back garden. He directed his gaze down to her face and gave as menacing a glare as he could.

"I am never nervous, Hermione." He intoned his response so evenly she knew he was lying. His hand was also gripping hers just a fraction too tightly, so she gave it a lightly pressured squeeze in return. He dropped his pretenses at her nonjudgmental reassurance. "The last time I was at The Burrow...it was...I don't relish the memory of the things I did."

"When were you there?"

Severus kept ahold of her hand and turned to her. "The eldest Mr. Weasley and Miss Delacour were married."

Hermione swallowed down the emotion that rose in her throat. She hadn't forgotten that night; and while it was not the most painful of her memories from that year of her life, it was the beginning of it all. That made it difficult by itself. His eyes gave a slight begging for her to accept this explanation and ask nothing more of him. She responded with tentative smile. "Did anyone ever know you there?"

He gave a curt shake of his head in the negative. Hermione was grateful that it would be one less hurdle to conquer during their attendance at Sunday dinner. "Well then, I couldn't quite possibly imagine what could go wrong tonight."

She gave a wry laugh hoping to ease the tension, but she could see from Severus' posture that he would not relax until the entirety of the evening had passed and he was safely ensconced at Thistlebook. "Right then. Hold tight."

Hermione disaparated them to the edges of The Burrow in Ottery St. Catchpole and hoped they both had the necessary mental fortitude to endure the meeting with the Weasley family. She placed their landing in a small copse to give them a moment to collect themselves. It had been months since Hermione had attended a dinner, and she was expecting a fair amount of lecturing for allowing her absence to go on for so long. At least I won't have to explain why, she thought as she glanced at Severus. He was subtly adjusting the collar of his pewter button up shirt, trying to ensure the remains of Nagini's scar were as camouflaged as possible. Hermione smiled to herself; seeing him in this color brought out the small flashes of silver that were beginning to drift through his black hair. She felt he looked distinguished and was glad he had avoided his trademark black for this reintroduction. The family needed to see that time and death-however fleeting-had changed the once reviled Death Eater.

She caught the moment he felt her eyes upon him. He affixed her with a practiced aloof mask. Hermione now knew it to be the first of many attempts to deflect attention away from himself when he was uncomfortable. She rose on her tiptoes to slant her mouth across his in a searing kiss. The exhale he released into her mouth showed how swiftly she had caught him off balance. It took less than a second for him to adjust to the intrusion upon his person, and then Hermione felt him kissing her back heatedly. After a few more moments, and Severus' wandering hands finding purchase around the curve of her ass, she pulled back from him. She gave him a smirk. "Now you can be thinking of that when we walk in, instead of whatever self flagellating memory you were circling around. Come on."

She grasped his hand softly and carried it tucked minutely behind her leg as they turned to walk to the entrance of the garden.

—xx—

The sights, sounds, and smells of The Burrow were just as Hermione described them, and Severus drew small comfort in knowing he was as well prepared as he could be. However strong his protestations, he was uncomfortable. Mildly nervous. Blindingly terrified. If he had wanted to put a very fine point on it. Severus had faced down an unhinged Dark Lord, a ruthlessly vicious demonic snake, and spent nearly twenty years surrounded by hormonal teenagers on a daily basis. There shouldn't have been anything left to strike fear into him. Yet, the prospect of disappointing Hermione by not gaining the acceptance of their relationship from those that mattered almost above all others,drove Severus to the brink of panic. He was working to strike a balance with his occlumency-enough to control his nerves, but not so much that Hermione could tell and he could try to be this version of himself. He took a deep breath as they approached the garden gate.

As they breached the perimeter, the front door opened. The figure was unrecognizable with the light behind them, but they were animatedly muttering. "Insufferable woman! As if I should need her meddling...I don't need her setting me up! I can bloody well be in a relationship if I want...and I'd be damned if Hermione had actually agreed to all of this! She's lucky she's my mother and I have little interest in going to Azkaban for matricide. Of all the-"

Severus stopped short at the sound of Hermione's name, and the witch also ceased walking. He heard her speak to the faceless mass that had reached behind himself to close the door. "Charlie?"

The shadowed figure, Charlie Weasley, snapped his head up at the sound of his name, and took a half second to assess the duo presented in front of him. Then, a deeply rich chuckle began to pour out of the man and he ran at Hermione, bodily lifting her in an appreciative hug before redepositing her on the ground next to Severus. As Hermione stifled a warm giggle at the red head's actions, she straightened her emerald colored dress. Charlie smiled at her, eyes crinkling before turning to face Severus. He extended a hand and spoke with clarity, "Sir. Wonderful to see you well."

Shocked into reciprocity, Severus shook Charlie's hand, "Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

Hermione simply watched with a relaxed acceptance. As the two men broke apart their acknowledgements, and she grasped Severus' hand once more, she couldn't resist asking, "Charlie, is your mother attempting to orchestrate a romance between us?"

Severus arched a brow, while Charlie chuckled again. "Every time I'm home and she knows you'll be here for Sunday dinner. Apparently it's been a while since you've attended, and Mum has it in her mind that it has something to do with me. I think she's starting to go around the bend, Hermione."

"Oh, Charlie! I'm so sorry!" Hermione admonished. Severus stood silently next to her, but squeezed her hand a little tighter and drew it behind his thigh further from Charlie's line of sight.

"Don't worry about it," Charlie replied. "Having the pair of you walk through the door together will cause her to either drop the entire plan completely-or she might redouble her efforts, and I'll stay on the continent for another year before coming home again! Makes me right glad you're here, sir."

Severus could do little else but nod. "Severus, is fine, Mr. Weasley."

"Severus. That will take some getting used to. But, you should call me Charlie. There are four more Mr. Weasleys inside, so that might get a bit confusing." Charlie shook his red locks in amusement, then shifted his features and tone to something more serious and gestured between the two. "Do they know about this?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not all of them. Harry, Ron, and Ginny. But that's why we're here."

Charlie once again eyed the pair, and Severus felt as though he was being assessed by the younger man. He felt Hermione shift a fraction closer to him, and her body language radiated protectiveness and power. Severus hoped his mirrored her own. Inspection completed, Charlie gave a swift nod of his head. "Best be getting it over with, aye?"

Charlie spun from the couple and turned the handle on the door. Severus and Hermione were two steps behind, prepared for whatever assaults may land their way as they crossed the threshold behind the second eldest Weasley. "Mum! Dad! The rest of you lot! I've got Hermione with me, we've something important to tell you!"

His echoing announcement drew a hissed exhalation of his name from Hermione. There would be no easing into this now that Charlie had called forth the family into the entry. He turned and offered her a wink, striding out of range of Hermione and Severus. The voice of Molly Weasley could be heard before she rounded on the small group. "Hermione! Dear! You're with Charlie! I knew it was only a matter of time before you would-"

Hermione and Severus watched the smiling face of Molly Weasley freeze with shock. Her eyes locked onto the sight of Severus, her jaw hung loosely in the vague shape of her last word, and her body took on a rigidity not unlike startled prey. Severus gave her a brief moment to process before he spoke. "Molly."

At this simple greeting, Molly shattered back into place and launched herself uncertainly at Severus. He braced himself for her crushing hug, and looked down at Hermione with a wry smile. He patted the matriarch with tepid hands on her shoulders, but the woman had not released him and no one spoke.

That was how the rest of the family found them. Molly and Severus in an awkward embrace, Hermione off to the side, and Charlie barely containing his glee at the absurdity of it all.

—xx—

Severus and Hermione returned home late that evening. Dinner at The Burrow had been a long, uncomfortable, exhausting affair. Hermione knew Severus, especially, was drained from the hours long interrogation and assimilation into her family circle. Overall, Hermione postulated that it could have gone infinitely worse. But Charlie's swift acceptance, Molly's surprising relief, and having three allies in their corner went a long way to easing Severus into the chaotic world of the Weasleys. The evening had been filled with questions, silent judgements, smiles, and kindness. Hermione had been replaying select moments as the pair entered the back door of Thistlebook House.

Ron's stilted welcome hug but brief words of encouragement. "I'm happy for you, Hermione. I don't understand you, but I'm happy for you. Just, do me a favor and don't let him sit across from me. I'm not sure I could keep myself from staring at the gi-I mean, guy."

While escaping to the bathroom,and leaving Severus with Harry, Ginny had cornered her. "You will tell me everything, Hermione. Every. Thing."

An overheard moment between Severus and George as seats were being taken for dinner: "I might be willing to look at the formula you have devised. If only as a means to ensure the knowledge I bestowed upon you was not wasted."

"It's going to cause a riot at Gringotts," Bill had mentioned as dishes were passed around the table. "It's nothing to do with you, personally, Severus. The goblins will just be irritated that they won't be able to gain access to the vaults that belonged to you at the 15 year mark of your death. They are always upset by things that come between them and the contents of a vault. And a pesky matter as being not dead will only cause them more ire."

In a showing of support, Arthur had shocked Hermione and Severus by cutting off Percy's accusatory line of questioning over the dessert. "Percy, that is enough. You are not the Wizengamot, Severus is not on trial, and Hermione is not some victim. If this family can accept the faults you had during the course of the last several years and grace you with forgiveness, then this family will also extend the same to Severus Snape. There will be no more questions, accusations, or verbal judgements passed here. If you can not be anything less than accepting of Severus and Hermione's decisions-and relationship-then you all should seek your comfort elsewhere. I'll not have it in this house."

"He's a fine match for you, dear," Molly whispered as they hugged their goodbyes. "Much older than you, mind, so don't take too long in getting me some grand babies."

Severus closed the back door, toeing out of his shoes next to Hermione, who was mirroring his actions by slipping off her heels. The pair then crossed through the kitchen and progressed up the stairs to their bedroom.

Hermione entered first, meaning to adopt her usual place in the pair of armchairs for a drink and some reading, but Severus ensnared her waist with strong arms from behind her. She folded her hands across his strong forearms, gently collapsing her head back against his chest and angling to allow him access to her throat. His nose subtly nuzzled at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He dropped a light kiss before beginning a trail up toward her ear. He had kept them walking toward the bed, and his hands were slowly beginning to travel the expanse of her body. As his kisses reached the shell of her ear, they had neared the foot of the bed and Severus' hands had found purchase on her hip and just under the swell of her left breast. They still crossed her body, and she gently held his wrists when his hands began applying a featherlight pressure. His voice rumbled in her ear, and his right hand enclosed her breast causing her nipple to tighten within her bra. "Molly Weasley hugged me three times tonight."

A shiver rolled down her spine at the implication of his words. She had promised him. She raised an arm to interweave her fingers through his hair, drawing his lips closer to her throat once again. She pressed her hips back a fraction and ghosted her rear across the half hardness she felt at his groin. She felt the roll of a moan fall out of his lips. She spun in his arms to link her hand behind his neck and fix him with a challenging smile. "But I'm only wearing three articles of clothing, Severus...do you mean to have me seated here the rest of the night starkers?"

His eyes pulsed with desire, the pupils blown and hungrily appraising her body still hidden by the green dress. He removed his hands from her waist and released the cuffs on his own wrists, then began on the buttons of his grey shirt. "I don't mean to have you seated at all, love. Undress. Then get on the bed and open yourself up for me."

Hermione could only release a shaky exhale and she unzipped her dress to remove it.


Author's Note: Happy New Year, readers! Hoping all of you have found some small relief with the knowledge that 2020 is now a part of the past. I've been toying with the possibilities of how to move this story forward, and would love to see your thoughts. Drop a comment, and see if I include it in the future chapters. Much love, readers. -Archer