Author's Warning:

This Chapter will seem almost like a filler in the way it doesn't really add to the action or suspense. But there is information in this one that adds to character development, context, and eventually the plot.

Please Enjoy and Comment.

I plan on uploading the next chapter on Saturday.


After the war, Hermione went to Australia to retrieve and return her parent's memories. They were obviously shocked. Their shock, however, quickly turned to fury at their daughter's betrayal and isolation of privacy. After a month of awkward tensions and heightened emotions, the three were finally able to sit down and talk. Hermione was able to explain everything to her parents. Everything about the war, her time at Malfoy Manor, and even all of the things she had neglected to tell them over the years about her time at Hogwarts. After hours filled with conversation, the family was able to make peace once the tears dried. It still took a couple of months for everything to return to normal between the family. But slowly they were able to repair the broken rift. The Grangers, wanting to not be parted from their daughter any more than they already had, returned to England and even settled back into their old house. Hermione kept the house when she gave her parents new identities, after the war ended she even restored it to the best of her abilities so that everything was placed back in its rightful place.

It was Wednesday evening when Hermione decided to drop in to visit her parents. The house was simple in it's blue and grey tones. With white trim surrounding the windows. A soft light was peeking out through the curtains. The house was hidden in the shade of an oak tree that was situated on the front lawn. The porch held an old swinging bench. That Hermione used to spend hours reading on as a child while her parents worked in the garden.

As Hermione walked up the steps leading to the door. Her boots crunched on the hardened snow leaving barely recognizable footprints behind. She took a deep breath before she knocked. She decided years ago when she first moved out that whenever she should visit she would always knock. Instead of apparating into what is no longer her home.

A woman with dark brown hair pulled up into a loose ponytail opened the door. Her face was tanned, with the beginnings of wrinkles forming around her warm smile. She was shocked by her guest but quickly broke into a smile as she took her daughter into her embrace.

"Hermione!" Helena Granger exclaimed.

"Hi mom," Hermione sighed in relief as she relished in her mother's hold.

"David, Hermione is here," Helena shouted into the house.

"I heard you the first time women," A voice carried out. Hermione immediately recognized her father's voice.

"Your father is obsessed with the Manchesters. I swear he would rather be married to them than me," Helena said as she cupped her daughter's face and examined the women in front of her. Always searching to see what has changed with age. Even though she saw her daughter only a few weeks ago.

"I heard that!" David shouted in response.

"You were supposed to," Helena shouted back to her husband.

"What are you doing here?" Helena asked as the two made their way into the interior of the house. Only pausing as Hermione removed her boots and coat to leave them at the foyer.

"Can't a daughter just surprise her loving parents?" Hermione asked.

"Of course she can. Where is my grandchild?" Helena asked looking around as if Hermione was hiding him behind her.

"You do know that just because he is my godson that doesn't mean he can be considered your grandchild," Hermione explained with a meaningful look.

"Nonetheless where is my Teddy bear?" Helena continued.

"Probably at home with his parents."

After the war, Remus Lupin decided he wanted to work part time in order to watch his son while Tonks was busy at work with the Auror department rounding up the rest of Voldemort's supporters. He ended up working at this little bookshop in the muggle world while the werewolf laws in the ministry were under review. He, however, enjoyed the shop and the flexible hours. It ended up suiting his lifestyle just fine. It wasn't until Hermione visited her mother's bookshop one day and ran right into Remus that the pair even realized what was happening. It was quite a shock for the pair but they moved in stride. Hermione and Remus always found that they had much in common with the other. But with Remus working with her mother it just added to the list of things the pair could talk about. The three of them found the situation to be hilarious. Now that Helena Granger is aware of Remus' magical affiliation, she always ensures that he has the days leading up to and after the full moon off. She also has been lenient with Remus when he first brought his son to the store. But now she insists that he brings his son every time he is to work. Hermione's mother has taken it upon herself to assume the role of his other grandmother since Remus' parents are long since deceased. It wasn't uncommon for Lupin to come to the Granger's for dinner once a month. Even Tonks enjoyed the conversation with Hermione's father, what with her own father having perished during the war. They became an extended family, even though they weren't related.

"Well next time you see him, you be sure to remind him that I am always willing to watch him for the night," Helena insisted.

"I'm sure he has already gotten the message from you a hundred times. But I'll be sure to mention to Remus if he ever goes missing that you've probably kidnapped him."

"It's not my fault that he is just the sweetest and most adorable boy that has ever lived."

"Well his clumsiness is something to be desired," David Granger said from his seat on the couch as Hermione and her mother approached him. He placed the remote down after he turned the t.v off. He had curly light brown hair, that his daughter clearly inherited from him. He had on a pair of glasses as he read the paper. His eyesight not being what it once was.

"He gets that from his mother. The first time I met her she was tripping over an umbrella stand with bright pink hair," Hermione said reminiscing about those days in Grimmauld place.

"Is Teddy still sporting his mother's hair?" David asked. He too enjoyed the boy's presence, however, it was difficult to take him out in public when his hair was bright pink.

"No he has been sticking with blue lately," Hermione said, understanding her parents' plight. Teddy Lupin was a joy to all and the perfect combination of his parents. He inherited his mother's metamorphmagus ability to the relief of his father. He often sported various colourful hair shades, as he ran around with an abundance of energy. Often tripping and breaking anything in his path. He, however, was easily calmed with a good book.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Helena asked as she took a seat next to her husband. Hermione took a seat across from them in a single armchair.

"No, I'm good."

"How was that ball of yours last weekend?" Helena asked as she remembered Hermione's anguish over trying to find an appropriate dress for the occasion.

"It was a charity function, not a ball but it was fine. You know how these functions go. It is all about the politics rather than the actual charity," Hermione said with disdain. Causing her father to snort.

"Of course it was."

"Oh, you're still coming to the Granger family dinner, right? It's on the 21st. If you're not then you are going to have to tell your Grandfather why yourself. You know he misses you," Helena said. Hermione's grandfather was a military doctor in his youth. He aged with hard lines. But despite his impressive demeanour, his personality was as if a Teddy bear came to life. He was so kind and humorous. It made you often wonder if he developed a second personality after the war. He had this ability to make anyone feel like a child coming in from the cold only to receive a cup of cocoa. He was a warm paternal figure to every member of the family.

"Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you guys about. Who else is going to be there?" Hermione asked curiously as she tried to ease herself into the conversation she was dreading.

"Just your Grandparents, your uncle Frank, then your aunt Sarah and uncle John. Oh, Sarah said that your cousin Cecilia was going to be coming as well. She was able to take time off of work. It's been at least two years since we have all been together," Helena said with joy. They had a small family but a loved one. In fact, Hermione's grandparents were over the day she received her Hogwarts letter. Normally only the parents are informed when the child is magical. However, her grandparents were just so excited that in the next hour they called up her aunt and uncles to tell them the exciting news.

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you guys about," Hermione said, wiggling her hands. "I was planning on bringing a plus one. This guy I've been seeing."

"Man? What Man? As in a boyfriend?" David said, suddenly sitting up straighter becoming more engrossed in the conversation. A slight tremor of fear laced his voice. Even though his daughter was well in her years to be considered an adult. She even fought in a war but to a father, the idea of a boyfriend was more startling.

"How long have you been seeing this man? And why haven't you mentioned anything before now?" Helena asked calmly, not reacting nearly as fearful as her husband. In fact, she was quite excited at the prospect of there being a man in her daughter's life. Especially one who appears to be a romantic interest.

"It's very complicated," Hermione stressed as her fingers twiddled with the edges of the sleeves of her sweater.

"Well it's not like the rest of the family don't know you are a witch," Helena teased.

"It's along that line of complication."

"What is this bloke 20 years older?" David joked trying to lessen the blow for himself. He always feared this day when his only child would bring home a man. He was lucky that it hasn't happened before now but he still wished that he had his shotgun on him so he could go charging.

"How did you know?" Hermione asked in surprise. Then she winced when she realized that she just gave herself away.

"Wait, seriously. I was just joking," David said looking at his wife with concern.

"Okay, so he is an older guy. I always figured you would be more attracted to a mature fellow anyway." Helena said as the moderator of the group. "So how old is he?"

"43," Hermione said with a slight wince. His age didn't bother her. Not when they were going to grow to 130 anyway. But in the muggle world, it is more frowned upon. Luckily in her case, her parents were both 57. It made it easier with them being older than him.

"Well you are an adult and you can make your own decisions," Helena said. However, she could tell that her daughter's apprehension was not just because of this mysterious suitor's age.

"How much of the war and my school days do you remember?" Hermione asked with a resigned sigh.

"More than I'd like to," David said. He was in the army back in his youth. He knew how the war was. How it went. The feeling of never knowing if you were going to see the next day. The fear of not knowing who you could trust. The sight of dead bodies became so normal that you didn't even get nauseous or even flinch at the sight of them. A feeling he never wished for his daughter to experience.

"What do you remember of Professor Snape?" Hermione asked.

"That was your potion's professor right?" David asked. Receiving a confirming nod from his daughter. He turned to his wife to let her answer.

"Well, he was that professor of yours that was spying for the Order. Didn't everyone believe him to be a traitor at the end of your sixth year because he killed your Headmaster. But then once the war was over it was revealed that he didn't kill him but instead faked his death and put him in a magical coma while he found a way to heal him. All the while working on the inside to destroy Voldemort." Helena said recalling the conversation her daughter had with her all those years ago after she tracked them down in Australia and returned their memories.

"That's right. You also briefly met him a year ago. We were working together on a project at my apartment when you guys popped on over."

A time that seemed like a lifetime away. Hermione and Severus were up for almost three days straight while following a lead on a new theory for their research. Their appearances were a little haggard. It was ironic in a way. When her parents made a surprise visit they were suspicious of the two. It was no wonder what with Hermione's messy hair and the couch covered with misplaced blankets. They took turns crashing on the couch when the need for sleep became too much. Obviously to an outsider it would look like the two were sleeping together but to Hermione and Severus it seemed like a normal solution to their current situation. So when Helena and David Granger entered the apartment they felt like they were introducing more than just their daughter's research. Severus didn't even react to their appearance. He gave brief one-worded replies and mostly ignored them. To Hermione, his behavior was completely characteristic of him. But to her parents, until Hermione explained otherwise, he was brash and rude.

"That's who you are with?" David asked. Understanding where this conversation was going.

"Yes."

"How long?" David asked, resigned to the realization that his daughter was serious about this.

"10 months," Hermione said sheepishly.

"Why didn't you say anything," Helena exclaimed. "I thought you agreed to no longer keep secrets from us."

"I know. And this isn't just a secret from you guys. Actually, you are the first people we have told." Hermione said, trying to placate them.

"Wait so not even your friends know?"

"No."

"Why?" David asked.

"That's where the complication comes in. Now you remember when Severus and I were working together on that project when you stopped by?" Hermione asked and then continued once the pair nodded. "That was about a couple of weeks before we got together. We didn't know if it was just an attraction due to us working together on the same power level or if it was something more. After a few weeks together outside of work, it became apparent that what we were feeling was real. We didn't tell anyone because it would literally cause an outcry. The prophet would get a hold of this and we would be the centre of the outrage. The press would hound us. Don't even get me started on the hate mail that we would receive. People would think that he was forcing me. Or that our relationship began while I was still a student which is preposterous. Then there are my friends. They may respect him because of his role in the war but they still despise him if not hate him for his personality."

"Okay that's understandable but why not tell us. We would have understood. We do understand." Helena said after a nudge to her husband for him to agree with her.

"I wanted to tell you then have you meet him, but he was away for work these last two months."

"Okay, I can agree with that. When do we get to meet him." David asked, itching to meet this man officially.

"Well, technically you already met him. You met him when he was a coworker, not a lover though," Hermione said before seeing her mother shake her head side to side. And realized she should continue before her father blows a casket at the word lover. "If it's alright with you guys, I was thinking about bringing him around to the family gathering. It's just he's slightly anxious over the idea of meeting you guys. So we would really appreciate it if you gave the rest of our family a bit of warning before he came. We will be running a bit late, which will give you enough time to tell the others about him and some of his certain personality traits." Hermione said hesitantly.

"You mean warn them that he isn't very talkative and can come across as brass?" Helena asked, remembering the sour-looking man staring at a chalkboard in concentration as he worked on a complex equation.

"Yes, that. And to realize that this needs to remain a secret. No one can know about us. We weren't planning on revealing our relationship until later but he knows how much I wanted to tell you guys and so he is trying to put in the effort." At her parent's confused looks she elaborated with, "We are planning one telling others about us soon. Once it is safer to do so."

"What do you mean safer?" Her parents asked in unison. Both faces worried with concern.

"With Severus' role in the war, he had to play both sides. Most of the time nobody could decipher which side he was on because he was so immersed in his role. He did join the Death Eater willingly; he only turned once he realized what it fully meant. But a lot of people were angry; when his role as a spy was revealed. He made a lot of enemies over the years. But he gained more dangerous ones when the death eaters found out he was a traitor. These last five years the Aurors have been able to apprehend most of them. But there are still a few left that would love nothing more than to use our relationship against him. Due to his history, the Auror department sometimes have him work as a consultant to catch the more elusive and dangerous. The Minister himself granted Severus immunity after the war to clear any crimes that he committed while a spy. Sometimes for special individuals, the Minister renews that immunity. It gives him more freedom to do what needs to be done without the restraints of the law."

"And the reason he was gone for the last two months? For work or for work?" David asked intrigued. He was familiar with work in law enforcement as a Homicide detective but he was also familiar with sanctioned assassinations from his time as a sniper in the military.

"Both."

"Well you should probably remind him when he comes with you to dress muggle," Helena said with acceptance. Hermione always appreciated how her mother was able to simply move forward and take new information in stride. It was extremely useful in times when her father had enough anxiety for the both of them.

"I'm sure I can manage," Hermione said with a small smile.