A/N: I am relatively new to this ship, boarding only the middle of this year. So first of all, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has ever written SSHG fic and made SSHG art. And to everyone at the H&C SSHG Server - y'all are lovely human beings and have been a source of inspiration and support to my introverted self. I am honored to share the space with you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything connected to it. Just playing.
Plans
by WolkenundSonnenschein
"Dipsy?" called Hermione, a loud pop responding to her query.
"Have you seen Severus?"
"Master is working. Dipsy is seeing him in his lab since early morning."
Her thoughts were already miles away before the elf, sensing she was no longer needed, popped away.
What could have had him sequestering himself?
Missing breakfast and lunch was nothing new if they were engrossed in their personal projects. But there was a niggling feeling that this — him showing no hair nor hide of him since the day started — was something important.
Try as she might, nothing significant from yesterday came to mind.
~o0o~
Seeing no other way, she made her decision.
Ominous though the feeling was — like she was back in school and thinking twice before she said or did anything lest they be subject to censure or a loss of house points if he was in a foul enough mood — she had to admit that there was nothing else to do.
She had to find him in his lair and talk to him if she wanted to assuage her feelings of — guilt?
Whatever did she have to feel guilty about?
Indeed, that was one she was not looking forward to finding out.
~o0o~
Levitating a tray of sandwiches, biscuits and coffee with her, she descended the steps to the basement. He was bent over a cauldron and had not deigned to acknowledge her.
Approaching his work bench, she laid the tray to the side so as not to interfere with the ingredients and his brewing. Hermione knew better than to disturb his concentration, especially since he was currently stirring.
When he finally set the timer to let the solution simmer for a bit, she handed him a sandwich.
He took it without looking at her and started to eat.
Oh, this is real bad.
~o0o~
Seeing his now empty tea cup, she poured him coffee, as she knew he usually takes one around this time. Occupying the stool across from him where he was munching on his sandwich slowly, she contemplated how to open the conversation.
Seeing that she still had a bit of time before he had to tend to his potion again, she thought hard. But all she could come up with was —
"Are you angry at me?"
An eyebrow raising was the only reaction she got out of him and he still wasn't looking at her.
Of course he was, the git.
~o0o~
Alright. Time to take the bull by the horns.
"OK, clearly I did something wrong," she began. "Will you help me out here?" she short of whined at him.
He finished his sandwich shortly and sipped his coffee.
She slid the plate of biscuits to his side of the work bench. He reached for one and bit on it.
Softening her tone, she began again. "Severus, what was worth not coming up for lunch for?"
Still no answer. He was still fuming.
So she went through the things they talked about yesterday.
"Is this about the shopping list? Or the — ?"
~o0o~
Ding!
Severus got to his feet, his back to her.
Checking that the colour and consistency was as expected, he started dropping the ground Wiggentree bark, lowering the flame afterwards.
After giving the solution four clockwise and eight counterclockwise stirs, he took a small step back, crossing his arms and still facing the cauldron.
He really wasn't going to make it easy for me.
"Is attending the party at Neville's this weekend a bad idea?" she asked to his back.
She got more than the previous times she asked, for he was now facing her, challenging her with his expression.
~o0o~
Hermione gulped. Ooh, I struck a nerve there.
Now that she was getting warmer, she had to tread carefully. One wrong word, one wrong expression, and Severus would explode. And she would have no idea how to deal with him. And dinner plans for tonight would be for naught.
"Were you worried about gifts?" she asked. "Because I have already commissioned an enchanted portrait for them."
He just stared at her, the slant of his lip becoming more severe.
"Why did you not say anything last night when we talked about this?" she tried again, exasperated at his continued silence.
~o0o~
The bubbling cauldron took his attention again, giving it a few more stirs to ensure it had reached the desired consistency. Dousing the flame, he set a cooling charm and turned to face her again, arms crossed.
He took a few steps forward. Expectation building up, she looked anxiously at him.
"You inquired as to why the matter of our attendance at the Longbottoms' party was not brought up last night. Do you recall the events immediately before and after said topic was broached, Hermione?"
At least he used my name and has not resorted to the infernal "Miss Granger".
~o0o~
Now that she got him talking, she had to concentrate, trying to remember the events of last night.
Taking a deep breath, she recited, "Well, I believe we were talking about our next visit to Monica and Wendell in Australia, scheduled for next month. Then I brought up Luna's upcoming research trip to the Amazon and you mentioned that Neville would probably close shop and go with her, seeing how besotted he was with her."
She glanced at him. So far, so good.
"And then I mentioned that … ah —"
"Yes, Hermione?" a brow rising accompanying his now almost taunting tone.
~o0o~
The thing was, she usually didn't forget stuff like this, seeing as how she always meticulously organised her work, including professional collaborations with Severus, and social calendar.
On top of that, she ensured that they got enough personal time together, for who wouldn't want to, Severus being the sexy, snarky wizard that he was. Alright, also demanding at times, but he definitely made up for it in ahem… other departments.
"OK, so I completely forgot that Neville told me about this party about a month ago. And I've already said yes. What could be so bad about that?" she groused.
~o0o~
His expression changed to something akin to when he was disappointed with her back in class.
"Surely you haven't forgotten something else, Miss Granger?"
There it was. He must be really furious with me and trying his darnedest not to explode.
She watched his face, the expression unchanging. She had truly messed up.
"It's not like this is the first time I've forgotten something. No big deal. We adjust our engagements. We're flexible, we communicate. We are in a healthy, loving relationship."
She added, "Besides, whatever could be worse than that time when I forgot our first anniversary?"
Oh.
"Indeed."
~o0o~
"Oh, Severus!" she cried, putting her arms around him. "Severus, I am so sorry. Have you already booked our rooms in Vienna?"
She could see he was disappointed. She laid her face on his chest. That strong chest that always made her feel secure, protected.
He sighed and placed his arms around the witch, burying his face in her curls.
He had been looking forward to this specific trip for eleven months now, a month after their fourth anniversary when he realised, he would want nothing more than to spend every day of every year from then on with her.
~o0o~
He already had everything planned, including the artefacts and potions ingredients shops, libraries and bookstores that they could visit and backups for when they got bored. A day trip to Salzburg for instance.
He already knew the spot he would take her for that special moment. He had somehow rehearsed how he was going to say it. Only to find out …
She leaned back from him and looked up at his face. She was crying.
Shaking his head, he tried to wipe her tears away. "Don't cry, Hermione. It is not so important. We can go to Vienna another time."
~o0o~
"But we talked about this. It was going to be our celebration for our fifth anniversary. How could I have forgotten it? I'm disappointed in myself."
Severus leaned down and kissed her. "It doesn't matter, love. I am happy to be wherever you are. I am thankful to be able to wake up every day and see you, kiss you and hold you in my arms. There is no better celebration than that."
Hermione closed her eyes, clasping his hands.
"You are so very sweet and kind. I don't deserve you," she said, answering his heartfelt declaration with a kiss.
~o0o~
"Are you sure you don't want to skip the party?" she tried again. "It is just to celebrate Neville's promotion after all."
"It's fine. Maybe we can reschedule Vienna for Christmas. I am sure you would enjoy going to the Weihnachtsmarkt. Christmas is after all your favourite season. What do you say to that?"
She pecked him on the lips. "That is a capital idea. Oh, I can't believe I am so blessed."
Overwhelmed with how happy she was at the moment, she whispered, "I love you so much, Severus."
"And I, you, dearest Hermione."
Severus smiled his secret smile.
~o0o~
More than content after the reaffirmation of commitment, they set to transferring the cooled potions into vials, then cleaned and packed everything away.
After logging the details of the day's brews in the ledger, Hermione led Severus up the stairs, her right hand entwined with his left.
"So, are we still on for tonight?" she shyly asked.
Fingering the velvet box in the pocket of his coat within which sat a silver band with an emerald and diamond setting, he had an idea. "Was tonight supposed to be dinner at The Serpent and the Lion?"
"Yes!"
"Looking forward to it, love."
A/N: This is my first finished attempt at a fic. I challenged myself to write drabbles (traditionally a 100-word piece of fiction) until I got to where I envisioned the story to end. The final product is 16 x 100, with two drabbles going just one word above the limit. First posted to AO3 September 2020.
Weihnachtsmarkt - Christmas Market where one can have food, buy stuff and just enjoy the cool Christmas evening. I was able to visit some in Germany and I do love the Glühwein (served warm) and the roasted almonds. Perfect for the cool Christmas nights.