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BETTER PLACE – RACHEL PLATTEN
Severus and Hermione left Hogwarts together on the day of Christmas Eve. Hermione had bid her friends goodbye and left Crookshanks with them, and now the two of them were walking down the snow-white path to the main gates. They spotted George the Mighty stretching his wings in the sky over them, and for some reason Severus felt extremely relaxed and happy at the prospect of leaving Hogwarts for a while.
"I will apparate to the house before coming to your flat, if that is alright", he said to Hermione as the exited the grounds.
She looked at him confused at first, then insecure, until finally a small smile adorned her plum red lips. It warmed his heart, these magical seconds where her face showed a multitude of emotions.
"Can I come with you?", she asked. "Only if you don't mind."
"Of course!", he immediately replied. He hadn't expected her to ask, but it made him incredibly happy that she wanted to stay by his side.
"I have been looking forward to returning home with you", she said quietly and quickly, and Severus was surprised to hear a trace of insecurity in her voice.
However, hearing her refer to his house, their house, as home made his heart explode. Without further thought he took her hand and apparated them to the North Yorkshire Moors.
When they landed, he immediately took her small fairy face into his hands and kissed her. She was petrified in surprise, but relaxed into his touch quickly, making him feel like the king of the world. It was the most relaxed and happiest he had been in months, standing here in the snow-covered field, his quaint little place waiting for them. Nobody throwing him glances, nothing to remind him of bad times. Only him, his woman and the beauty of life.
Your woman.
When he stopped kissing her and looked into her hot-chocolate eyes, all the past months of mental irritation seemed to matter no more. He didn't think of the pressure or the edginess another second and only enjoyed her very being with him.
He buried his nose in her hair and wrapped an arm around her shoulder to shelter her from the cold. Then he nodded towards the house at the bottom of the hill.
"Let's go home."
She slung her arm around his back, and they walked towards the cottage, Hermione chattering on about the meals she and her mother cooked best and that Severus was obliged to eat some of the trifle.
He could have listened to her for the rest of his days, and when they entered the house and she flicked her wand to warm it up, he felt more at home than he had ever felt in his life. He could feel how his shoulders had started to relax, his breath came more easily and… he was hungry.
He kissed Hermione onto the forehead and left his lips there longer than he would have usually done, before looking down at her again.
"Food?"
"You bet!", she smiled and made her way to the kitchen.
He watched her rummaging through the cupboards, but stopped her after a moment, by holding her hands and kissing her cheek from behind her.
"You won't find anything", he chuckled. "It was your idea to empty everything before leaving."
"Ah, right", she sighed and turned around to him. "Why don't you apparate and get some things and I go and check on the spells on the apothecary and vegetable gardens?"
And so they did. They went about their business and when Severus returned from Scarborough with the shopping, he saw Hermione just walking into the house, her arms loaded with vegetables from the garden.
"Broccoli and kale are winter hardy", she explained. "And I put a greenhouse spell on the large bed."
He watched her and it was like a dream. He would never not see just how beautiful she was, but he had nearly forgotten how wonderful the sight of her was when she moved around the house, knowing exactly which cupboards to open, the tea towel tucked into her back pocket, or her purple robes hanging tidily over the chair. The way she lazily dropped the cooking utensils into the sink, the bouncing of her step as she came over to put two plates of scrambled eggs on the table.
He watched her eat and ate with an unbelievable appetite himself. Hermione had one leg pulled up and was lazily looking through the January edition of Potions Today, that had come already. When Severus started to tidy up the dishes, she went outside again and put new spells on the garden.
He watched her through the window. Small snowflakes were whirling around in the wind, and when she came sprinting back inside, her cheeks were rosy, the tip of her nose bright red, and her hair sprinkled with white crystals.
"We should get a Christmas tree next year", she said, whilst rubbing her palms to warm them up.
She smiled at him with her lovely, fawn eyes and it didn't need any words from him to express his need for her. With only one heated glance from him the warmth in her eyes turned into fiery passion she cheekily stole herself away from him, heading upstairs.
He hung the tea towel over the chair closest to the kitchen counter, the spot where Hermione always left it and then he let his long pale fingers slide over her purple robes that were draped over his own frock on the chair, before he followed her upstairs.
They took their time to get ready to go to the Grangers, who expected them around six o'clock on Christmas Eve.
"Sev…", Hermione said and looked at him in the mirror that he stood in front of after having shaved his beard into shape. "Calm down."
"I am calm", he snapped and left the bathroom without cleaning the foam in the sink.
She had to smile at his moody-nervous behaviour. He had dropped nearly everything that there was to drop in the bathroom and cursed over it like a sailor, until Hermione had joined him and made things worse just by the fact that he had witnessed him being scratched up. She knew that he didn't like being caught in any other emotional state than… well, stoic, emotionless Snape.
When she had tidied the bathroom and went downstairs into the kitchen, she found Severus rummaging through his traveling bag. A small parcel sat on the table and she went to inspect it.
"Leave that!", he said without lifting his head, still looking through his bag.
"What is it?", she asked, ignoring his haughty tone.
"Prsnt…", he mumbled into his beard.
"Pardon me?"
"A present…", he repeated only marginally louder.
"But we said we wouldn't gift anything to each other!", she replied slightly panicky, as she hadn't gotten him anything… materialistic. She did however have a plan.
"It's not for you!", he replied, sounding annoyed and finally lifting his head, having a deadly expression on his face.
"Oh…"
She watched him scurrying around the kitchen and then rushing upstairs. Taking a closer look at the little parcel again, she knocked it softly, determining it was a metal box.
Severus came back downstairs, luckily looking much more relaxed now and carrying another small parcel.
"Who are they for?"
"Prnts…", he mumbled again, bending over the table and putting the two small parcels into one bigger bag.
"Would you please use your lips and tongue when you speak?"
"For. Your. Parents", he drawled.
"For my…?"
She raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. He had gotten presents for her parents?!
Severus busied himself with putting on his shoes, but Hermione could tell that he simply wanted to hide the adorable blush that had crept onto his face.
She smiled broadly and sat down on the staircase next to him.
"You didn't need to get them…-"
"Yes, I did. It is what one does, Hermione. It is called proper etiquette", he said coolly.
She knew he was only being haughty because he was nervous for whatever reason, so she smiled and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"What did you get them?"
He looked down at her and his eyes softened immediately.
"A self-disinfecting dentist tool kit and an endless supply of that toothpaste they use in their practice."
A warmth filled Hermione's heart and she kissed him fiercely onto his cheek, which he tried to escape, but had no chance.
"How do you know what toothpaste they use?"
"Clemency took samples to France when she started working with your parents…", he said expressionlessly, "… and I might have nicked some of those samples and charmed them."
"Brilliant!", Hermione laughed and gave him another wet peck onto his cheek. "You have definitely won them over already. That stuff is incredibly expensive to buy! Why have I not thought of that!"
They apparated to Hermione's flat, where they just quickly checked that everything was alright. Clemency had left her a small gift when she had stayed in August and Hermione only found it now. It was a mug that kept the beverage at ideal temperature and a French Coffee Press that worked by itself.
Hermione quickly made the bed as they decided to not go back to Yorkshire that night, and after putting some other homely spells onto the flat, like heat and some scent, they made their way to the train station.
Severus was extremely nervous, and Hermione didn't really know how to calm him down. She knew he would naturally deny that he was on edge, so she resolved to simply inform him about her parents.
"My dad doesn't really talk, he'll most likely just want to show you around his office", she said lightly. "It's full of dental research stuff, it's quite interesting if you're new to the subject."
Severus didn't reply to that, but Hermione knew he was listening.
"He is also very interested in magic stuff. He knows a lot about it by now too, so it's very easy to have a conversation about any magical thing with him. Now, my mother on the other hand…", she chuckled quietly. "She doesn't care a lot about magical stuff, because she can't make use of it. She likes working with Clemency and Armita, but she's overall much more interested in people. She will ask you the most random things…"
Hermione chuckled again, but then she noticed how Severus's hands tensed up in his lap, and she realised that that might have not been the best thing to say.
"I mean, she'll like to know about your favourite food or drink, to make sure that she will have it the next time you come around. And she'll ask about your family or interests, but in a very discreet manner, to make sure she doesn't make a blunder. She's a very sensitive and considerate person."
Severus hummed quietly and Hermione was relieved to hear a note of softness.
When they made their way from her parents' train station to their house, Hermione couldn't help but look and smile at Severus the whole time.
It was bitterly cold, and she was wearing her winter coat, a scarf, a hat, and mittens. Severus however was in the same black coat she has met him in in Geneva. His throat was covered by the dark grey fabric of his woollen jumper, but his cheeks were slightly blushed from the cold and she couldn't get enough of it.
She took his hand and they walked down the road. He was quite tense but squeezed her fingers firmly.
"Sev…", she stopped him in his tracks.
He looked down at her, the deep crease between his eyebrows being very prominent and a look of worry plastered on his face.
She lifted her mitten covered hand and evened out the crease with her thumb, smiling at him.
"Stop worrying."
"Can't help it…", he replied, and a small, sad smile appeared on his lips.
"Come here…", she sighed and pulled him in for a kiss. "I promise you, by the time you ate my mother's trifle you'll see that you worried over nothing. At the very latest."
They walked down the path to the Granger's house and when Hermione knocked on the door, she thought she saw Severus fixing his hair in his bun and a wave of adoration came over her. She slung her arm around his and smiled up to him, just as her mother opened the door.
"Come in, come in!", Jane said. "Quick, it's cold!"
They made their way inside and before they could even close the door, Jane Granger set the tone.
"Shoes off!", she instructed them. "And you can put your coat on the bannister there, Severus."
Hermione chuckled quietly and tried not to look too amused. She loved her mother and how straightforward she was.
"If he wants to hang his coat up, go and put it upstairs, darling, will you", she said to Hermione.
"The bannister is alright. Thank you, Mrs Granger", Severus said, and Hermione was surprised at his calm tone, considering that she could feel his tenseness radiating around him.
"Jane will do", Hermione's mother said in a suddenly much kinder tone. "Now, come in!"
George Granger walked ahead and waved his hand, making Hermione and Severus follow him into the living room.
Sitting down on the sofa, Hermione patted on the seat next to her, making Severus join her, who was obviously proper enough, to not sit too close to her or touch her in any fashion.
"Darling, can you come quickly?", Jane called her from the kitchen.
Hermione gave Severus a quick apologetic glance.
"Back in a minute."
Then she hurried off.
The silence in the living room was slightly awkward, but Severus didn't mind. He'd rather have awkward silence than annoying conversation.
"Cold, isn't it?" George tried to break the ice.
"Hm", Severus hummed in acknowledgement.
They looked at one another, and for some odd reason it wasn't uncomfortable at all. With only a short glance, the two men established that small talk was neither of their preference, so they just resolved to sit in silence.
"What do you drink?", George asked after a moment. "Gin, sherry, whiskey?"
Before Severus could reply, Hermione came back into the living room and started speaking: "Oh, I got the yearly bottle of firewhiskey again. We can open that!"
She hurried into the hallway to pick it up. George gave Severus an expressive glance, but couldn't say anything, because Hermione was straight back with a bottle of Odgen's Firewhiskey.
"Ahhh", George said with a smile on his face and got up to take the bottle of his daughter. "Lovely, as every year, darling. We should keep it for a special occasion though, don't you think?"
"Well, isn't Christmas Eve special enough?", Hermione said happily.
Severus understood George's intentions immediately and simply said: "I wouldn't mind a glass of dry sherry."
Hermione pouted slightly, but her father gave her a peck on the nose and said: "I wouldn't want to share that with anyone anyway."
It seemed to work, and she went to get them two glasses for some sherry.
George looked at the bottle of Odgen's, then he gave Severus a nod, beckoning him to follow him into an adjunct room.
It was George's office and it was indeed full of dentistry things. Severus was slightly creeped out by some of the stuff, and that meant something, considering that he dealt with weird potion ingredients all the time. Toothy things were a whole different story however, and he found himself touching his teeth with his tongue to check that they were definitely healthy and didn't need any doctoral attention. They were ugly and crooked, he knew that, but his dental hygiene was overall not bad, and his teeth were healthy.
George gave Severus a quick glance, and he went to join Hermione's father, who stood in front of a cupboard behind his desk and opened one of the bottom doors.
The shelf was filled with about a dozen bottles of Odgen's, and George added the one Hermione had given him to the collection.
"I once told her I liked it, about ten years ago", he explained. "Didn't have the heart to tell her it's horrible. Muggle tongues probably can't cope."
A smile tucked on Severus's lips.
"Do you like it?", George asked.
"I do."
"Well, then…" George bent down and pulled out a fairly dusty bottle. "There you go. A well-aged bottle of Odgen's firewhiskey."
Severus gave a genuine smile to the slightly older man, took the bottle, and shrunk it to put it into his pocket. He wanted to say something but had simply no idea what would be appropriate. Why was conversation such a problem when he couldn't be spiteful and mean?
"I'll see if I can make her give you something else next year", he said.
George gave him a look, that Severus had never seen on anyone's face before, and slight panic came over him. He hated the unknown.
"And the years after that?", George asked.
Severus understood in an instant what he meant. They looked at one another, nothing negative between them, only George Granger's unspoken want to know if Severus intended to stay with Hermione.
"As long as she'll have me", Severus replied eventually.
Nothing more needed to be said and the two men went back into the living room.
"I thought you're getting the sherry?", Hermione asked, standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
George nodded and chuckled, lowering his face and heading back into his office. Severus walked up to Hermione and smiled at her. The simple gesture made Hermione's heart burst and she wanted nothing more but to wrap her arms around him and kiss him. He seemed relaxed, and… happy?
However, as soon as she made a move to hug him, her mother made herself known.
"Severus", she exclaimed. "I hear you are a Potions Master. How's your cooking?"
"Acceptable, I'd say. Can I help you with anything?"
"That would be lovely!"
Hermione let Severus pass into the kitchen and the look of him standing next to her mother made her nearly cry. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Jane Granger instructed Severus Snape on how exactly to peel and cut the cucumbers for the prawn cocktails they were going to have for starters. He had rolled up his sleeves and crossed his hands behind his back, and he listened to her carefully. His tall figure next to Hermione's small skinny mother looked odd, but somehow as if they had been friends for a hundred years.
Dinner was a lovely affair and Hermione couldn't get enough of Severus interacting with her parents. It was absolutely divine.
"So, I said to him, that it's just a hole fill, not brain surgery, although to be quite frank", George said, "he would have been better off with brain surgery."
Hermione knew the story, but Severus's deep and warm laughter filled her heart with joy, and she joined in.
"Well, maybe you should just slip with your dental drill the next time he comes around", Severus said, still laughing and then took a sip of his wine.
George nodded vigorously, trying not to choke on his own drink and Hermione decided to fill their glasses up again.
"I'm good, darling", George said, indicating that he didn't need any more.
"I am alright, too", Severus added, looking at her with fiery, happy eyes.
"What?", Jane exclaimed exasperated. "No, no. You have another glass with me now, Master Snape!"
"Well, how about we open some firewhiskey!", Hermione suggested and got up to walk into her dad's office.
"Ah, hang on, honey", George panicked and got up to join her. "I'll go and get it. Help your mother."
Severus got up as well to help her and Jane with the dishes. They carried everything into the kitchen and with to wands flicked, the task was finished in no time.
"Good God, how much I would like to have a wooden stick like that sometimes", Jane said and got some ice out of the freezer. "Do you like ice with your drink, love?"
Hermione could see how Severus's face lit up like that of a small boy. Jane and George were only about ten years older than Severus, but Hermione could tell that it made him as happy as a sandboy to be called 'love' by anyone. She was sure he'd deny it at any time, but the expression on his face was for once as positive as his thoughts.
"A tiny bit of ice would be nice", he said and went to give Jane a hand.
"Severus!", George called him from the living room, and he immediately went to join her father.
Hermione was so happy she felt tears welling up. Her parents were mad for Severus and he wallowed in their attention. His eyes were bright, his smile ever present, and he seemed head over heels in love with life.
Hermione sniffed quietly, and quickly wiped a tear away, but her mother had seen it already.
"Why, darling!", she said and hurried towards her. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing!", Hermione said immediately, laughing. "Nothing at all! I am just… so… happy."
Her last words came come chocked because some more tears had welled up, and now she just stood in the kitchen laughing and crying in happiness.
"Goodness, child…", Jane exclaimed and hugged her. "You and your emotions."
"It's just…", she did know how to express her feelings and thoughts. "I am so happy for him."
Severus Snape had been denied attention, compassion and love. Rooted in domestic abuse, neglect, and poverty, he had been ridiculed and bullied all his life. The traumas that had shaped his character had been discredited not only by everyone he had at some point admired, but also but the rest of the world. He had been set up to die by the one man he followed and obeyed unconditionally, and in the end had been betrayed by both his masters.
Severus had yearned for affection his entire life, and had not only been denied it, but had also been denied the truth: having the Elderwand deliberately set on him, so Voldemort would come to kill him and possess a useless weapon.
He had been treated with an underlying cruelty as long as he was alive, and now he finally was given all he deserved and needed, and Hermione felt as if it was her own personal heaven. His laugh sent waves of love over her body, his shining eyes were like the first rays of sunshine in spring, the way he sat relaxed in one corner of the sofa chatting to her father made her believe in the existence of something godly.
"I love him so much, mum", she breathed, as she looked out into the living room and her mother patted her shoulder.
"I can tell", Jane replied.
They talked about anything and everything, sipping their whiskeys (some of them enjoying it more than others), and laughing about the silliest things.
"Christ!", Jane suddenly exclaimed. "Listen to that!"
Everybody went quiet and listened carefully to the sound of a bell in the distance. When it rang twelve midnight, Jane clapped her hands and cheered: "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!" George and Severus said in unison, and Hermione followed shortly after.
George gave his wife a kiss, and Hermione moved closer to Severus too. The expression in his eyes, said more than a thousand words could have done, but still, he said: "Thank you."
She smiled at him, and they shared a short but loving kiss.
Severus and Hermione left soon after twelve, and as they were heading towards home from the train station, they staggered just a little bit more than either of they would condone but were chuckling and giggling like young teenagers.
"You know, I know that daddy doesn't like firewhiskey", Hermione said.
"Seriously?", Severus asked surprised.
She just giggled in return.
"Tut-tut, how vicious. I am shook, Miss Granger", he murmured, and it sounded more erotic than he had probably intended.
"Call me that later in bed, and I won't let you sleep", she murmured back, throwing him a seductive glance.
"I'd like to call you by a different name altogether", he said without thinking.
She looked at him with her big, fawn eyes, and he knew he should have panicked, but the alcohol had made his brain fuzzy and his mood was too good to be unsettled.
Hermione Snape. What an odd name.
"I'd like that, too", she said, a smile appearing on her face and wandering into her eyes.
She was sparkling, and shining, and glistening, and radiating like the sun and the moon and all the stars together, and Severus couldn't help but lift her of her feet and kiss her in the cold winter air, before putting her back down.
"Let's get sober", he said smiling and she replied with an angelic laugh.
They made their way home and fell into bed soon after, curling up next to each other and letting their fuzzy brains and love drunken giggles do the rest.