Summary of Chapter 19 – Sea of Serenity
Hermione finally manages to successfully occlude. The experience of having Severus in her mind is a very emotional one this time. Afterwards, Severus and Hermione have a cup of tea and talk about her friends and his second visit to Prince House.
Future Plans
The next two months passed agonisingly slowly. Hermione felt torn about the approaching end of the school year. On the one hand, she could hardly wait for the day their student-teacher relationship would end and they'd finally be allowed to act on their feelings. On the other hand, she was deeply unsettled by the sad fact she still had no clue what to do with her life, and the uncertainty about her future was beginning to weigh heavily on her mind.
Concerned that her frequent visits to the dungeon would start rumours that could not easily be explained away with her brewing for the hospital wing, Severus had cut down on them a bit, though Hermione strongly suspected that this reasoning was only half of the truth. Their alone-time was hardly bearable at times. They were more and more comfortable around each other, whether they were brewing, discussing academic topics or simply sitting together reading or studying. But this growing familiarity and nearness also heightened the sexual tension between them, making it increasingly difficult to maintain their distance.
Lately, Hermione had become hyper-aware of his presence. She found her eyes glued to his lips whenever he was speaking - only that her focus was more on the nice shape of his cupid's bow than on what he was saying. When he divested himself of his frock coat and rolled up his sleeves because of the heat beneath the cauldrons, her gaze was drawn to his forearms, which were so different from hers and so distinctively masculine with the rippling muscles, the outlines of veins and the dusting of hair. And she still hadn't lost her fascination with his hands. Whenever he was preparing ingredients, she appreciatively noted how well-groomed they were, and how sure and skilled they moved. He usually shot her an admonishing glance whenever he caught her ogling him, but thought it wiser not to comment.
Only once had he lost control of himself, when they had both accidentally blocked each other's way in the small arch connecting his lab with his office. Instead of moving away to let him pass, she had stepped closer after having caught his scent, drawn to him like a niffler to gold.
"What are you doing, Miss Granger?" he had asked with a dark voice, the formal address an indicator of his level of alarm and a firm reminder that she was to keep her distance. Only that it somehow tended to have the opposite effect on her nowadays.
"I can't help it..." she had muttered helplessly, leaning in until her nose was almost touching his collarbone and inhaling deeply. "You smell so good..."
"Hermione..." he had groaned, adding that touch of intimacy that came with softly speaking her first name. It always carried an affectionate and longing undertone that undid her just as much as the supposedly stern 'Miss Granger'. She knew she should have backed off right then, but hadn't found the strength to do so, forcing him into action. He had grabbed her arms and spun her around so she was standing against the side wall of the arch, and had drawn himself up to his full height.
His body language was meant to be intimidating, and obediently her heart had picked up a beat. Other than that, their bodies hadn't cared much for their moral convictions and miserable attempts at making them comply. They just reached out for one another, seemingly of their own accord – it was the only explanation as to why they had suddenly found themselves pressed against each other. Honestly, it couldn't have been her fault – after all, she had been the one with the wall at her back.
Both had gasped at the sensation when his lower body found a very comfortable space in the junction of her thighs, and all of a sudden, it had become much too warm in the dungeons. He hadn't been breathing, either, but she had been able to feel his heart drumming rapidly against her chest, and well... other, delicious proof of his undeniable arousal as well. It had taken all of her willpower, Occlumency and determination not to start rubbing herself against him, purring like a cat. The brief moment had seemed to last an eternity, but eventually, he had been the one to get a grip of himself again and back off.
Neither had talked about the incident again, but his decision to cut down on her visits had come shortly after. Hermione felt divided about that as well. She wanted to kiss him, hug him and touch him, be closer than she was allowed to right now, but while painting it out in her mind was inspiring, the prospect to have it actually happen in the near future was quite daunting.
In all honesty, all things post-graduate seemed daunting – Hermione couldn't really picture anything that came after graduation day. It seemed like a point where time simply ended. It was not even a lack of drive or a strange kind of lethargy that prevented her from even thinking about it. She did think about it, quite frequently, in fact. She just had no idea whatsoever what to do with her life, what career to pursue.
Desperate, Hermione had even toyed with the idea of asking Severus about an apprenticeship – if only because it seemed like the comfortable, easy thing to do. She'd remain at Hogwarts with him and could continue to help with his research – provided he'd stay here as professor at all. She didn't even know if that was going to happen. The last time they had talked about it, he had been undecided, saying that this year had been for him what it had been for her: a much needed reprieve; time to sort out options and find closure.
Hermione strongly suspected that he wanted her to make her decisions for herself, and not based on him, and knew it was the right thing to do. She couldn't use him as crutch – she had to be able to stand on her own two feet before fully committing to him. And while Hermione found potions interesting and would probably succeed in becoming a potions mistress if she set her mind to it, it wasn't really what she wanted. Her approach to learning had always been intellectual and theoretical, not hands-on and experimental, like Severus' and Lily's when it came to Potions.
An apprenticeship seemed like the wrong way to go about their future relationship, too. It was too much like the student-teacher relationship that held them entrapped now, and this wasn't a good basis for a partnership, especially not given his natural dominance and her desire to submit to it – at least in some aspects of their relationship. Add the fact that she was stubborn and bossy quite often, and she'd surely get herself into trouble if he remained in a position of authority over her. While she thought she could easily separate how she might act in the bedroom from how she would act around him whenever they were not, it seemed much more difficult to separate his authority over her in a working environment from the partnership she envisioned for their private lives. It was likely that they would discuss work related books and articles on potion theory even in their free time, which also incurred the risk of them ending up in their own private bubble with little outside input.
If only she could decide which area sparked her interest most! She liked Transfiguration, Arithmancy and Charms just as much as Potions. But she had no idea what do to with those interests. She had spoken to the Headmistress about possible career plans, but the only thing Professor McGonagall had been able to think of in terms of an academic profession was that of a teacher. But Hermione didn't want to teach – she wanted to learn. But how could learning be a profession?
Become a librarian? Sure, Hermione had spent a lot of time in the library, but a librarian's job was to keep the books in order, not to read them. Ruling out shopkeeping, magical crafts, and healing professions, that only left administration or law enforcement, which basically meant working for the ministry. But Hermione was not suited for the Aurory, and an office job sounded wrong, too. While she liked approaching things methodically, she was no bureaucrat. Hermione felt absolutely clueless, and not having a plan, not even an inkling of an idea, was unsettling. And slowly, time was running out – there were only a couple of weeks left until graduation.
An altogether unexpected solution and the answer to all her silent wishes presented itself to her on a Saturday morning in early May, when the headmistress surprisingly asked Hermione into her office. Two hours later, she left it in a complete tizzy. Totally overwhelmed and awed by the possibilities suddenly laid out before her, she walked through the corridors almost as if sleepwalking. Her feet carried her to the dungeon all by themselves, as if knowing that she would wish to share the news with the person that mattered most.
Severus had been working on one of his experimental potions when Hermione entered the lab without warning. "I know what I'm going to do after graduation," Hermione blurted upon entering, vibrating with excited energy. Fortunately, his potion hadn't been at a critical point, and he was able to put it under stasis before giving her his attention. There was a slightly dazed expression in her eyes when she hopped onto the empty work table next to him, sitting on the edge and giddily wiggling her legs. "I'm so excited!"
"Yes, I can see that," he remarked, wondering what had brought the sudden inspiration about and what it could be that it had her in such a state. Although they were barely six weeks away from the end of term, she had avoided any discussion of future plans and had seemed near-panicky whenever the topic had threatened to come up. He had been careful to avoid it, not wanting to push her as she was obviously still feeling unable to make a decision. But admittedly, he had started to get a little concerned. "Well, I guess the arc of suspense stands. Will you tell me what happened?"
"Minerva called me to her office this morning. Turns out I had visitors from the ministry. They offered me a job."
That made him raise his brows even higher in wonderment. Such a thing was unheard of. True, Hermione was doubtlessly one of the most talented witches that had ever graduated from Hogwarts, but the ministry didn't go head-hunting. What surprised him even more was the fact that she would even consider working for the ministry after all the previous experiences she and her friends had had involving the institution. True, a lot had changed for the better after the war, and with Shacklebolt, the wizarding world had a minister for once who was actually quite competent, not corrupt and no one's puppet. But the ministry was still run by bureaucrats like Percy Weasley, and no matter how bookish and rule-abiding Hermione was, it was hardly a place for people with revolutionary ideas who called everything into question.
"So what's it going to be, then?" he asked. "The Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?" It was the only thing that seemed to make some sense. Maybe she was hoping to change the world from behind an office desk?
"No," she said, smiling brightly. "The Department of Mysteries! I'm going to be an Unspeakable."
He could only stare at her and blink. Well, that was indeed a surprise. It explained why she seemed overwhelmed herself.
"Oh, Severus – it sounds like everything I ever wanted," she exclaimed, elation making it through the daze of agitated befuddlement. "Almost too good to be true. Their field of work covers all areas of magic, from Charms to Potions, from Ancient Runes to Arithmancy, from Transfiguration to History of Magic. That's why they need people who have a vast area of knowledge and are interested in all kinds of subjects. Unspeakables do a lot of research and independent project work, which is exactly what I like doing best! They made me take an oath of secrecy not to reveal details of their work, so I cannot tell you much more, but I guess it would be hard to explain even if I was free to do so – it all sounds utterly mystifying, but incredibly fascinating!"
In fact, the job they had described had sounded a lot like basic research as done in muggle universities – except that there seemed to be no divisions in different branches of science. The Unspeakables were doing research into everything – ancient or lost branches of magic, old artefacts, aspects of space and time, the mysteries of death or the stream of thought and consciousness and related subjects. They had been very impressed to hear that Hermione knew Occlumency, as that and Legilimency were disciplines they explored. Their work was purely theoretical in most areas, but promising findings, ideas and observations were passed on to other departments as bases for work projects that brought forth new spells or magical inventions, or from which concepts were developed that were incorporated in laws and legislation.
"Unspeakables help finding solutions to specific problems, but they are also doing their own, independent research. The result of their work is given to the department concerned or to the Minister himself and serves as input and a basis for their decisions."
Severus said nothing, but raised a doubtful eyebrow at this. In the light of the Ministry's course of action in past years one could only conclude that the Unspeakables' research hadn't yielded noteworthy results, or that Ministers of the past had chosen to ignore valuable findings.
"Well, I daresay that sounds pretty much like what you've been doing for the last seven years: Learning, reading, gathering facts and giving substantiated advice to others based on the knowledge you've gained only to be ignored..."
She grinned. "The same could also be said about you. It's probably the way of the world. Who knows – I might get a chance to research that phenomenon and find out how to affect it."
"So I take it you accepted the offer?"
"Yes, of course! It was exactly the opportunity I had been looking for but didn't know existed. I was never able to decide in which field I wanted to work – all the subjects are so interesting..."
"Yes, I remember!" he said drily. "You tried to take on more classes than there were hours of the day because of that, which resulted in you being given a time-turner... It probably brought you to the Department of Mystery's attention right then."
She blushed. "I've been on their list of potential recruits ever since. I'm just amazed they didn't scratch my name after the debacle with the prophesy in my fifth year."
"Indeed. One would think that partly destroying your future work place in just one evening would make them reconsider inviting the one responsible to come by on a regular basis."
Hermione shrugged. "Apparently, they don't bear grudges."
"So when exactly are you going to start?"
"I want to go to Australia first and visit my parents for a few weeks. That means I'll probably start in August." She hesitated before adding: "I think I'll ask Harry if I can move in with him and Draco at Grimmauld Place for a start."
It seemed like the ideal solution – she couldn't really imagine not having Harry by her side after all these years. She had been a bit surprised at first to hear that Draco was going to move in with him, as he had the entire family manor at his disposal. But he had said that the place was haunted with too many bad memories, and she had understood only too well. Malfoy Manor had housed a bloodthirsty tyrant for almost a year and had seen torture, murder and other depravities. No wonder he wanted to leave everything that reminded him of that part of his life behind.
Grimmauld Place was big enough to accommodate them all, and Hermione was sure that Harry and Draco would welcome her with open arms. Would Severus mind? She had no idea what his plans were regarding them. Surely not moving in together. She was not like Lavender or one of the many other witches who looked forward to getting married and settled as soon as they were out of Hogwarts. She wanted to broaden her mind, learn things that went beyond what Hogwarts could teach them And now she was getting the chance of doing exactly that!
But she also wanted to share all her new experiences with Severus – and experience new things with him. How would that work out, if she lived with Harry, and he stayed at Hogwarts? Provided he intended to stay at Hogwarts at all.
"An excellent idea," he commended, sounding pleased. Secretly, he was relieved. He had feared that Hermione would want to live in her own apartment, as many witches nowadays were wont to do. But there were still a few renegade Death Eaters out there, and he was a bit paranoid as far as her safety was concerned. Grimmauld Place was still under the Fidelius charm and Harry would doubtlessly watch out for Hermione.
"What about you?" she inquired, hoping that he would be willing to discuss his own plans, if he no longer had to fear they might influence her own decision. "Are you going to stay at Hogwarts?"
He smirked. "I told Minerva I'd be willing to prolong my contract – provided she agreed to my conditions."
Oh, that sounded interesting... "What conditions did you stipulate?"
"I heeded the advice given to me by a certain insufferable know-it-all a few months ago: That I'll only teach N.E.W.T level Potions and D.A.D.A, so that I'll have ample time for my private research. And that I don't have to stay in the castle on weekends or free days."
Hermione flashed him a full-teeth smile. "Excellent! How did Minerva take it?"
"She was flabbergasted..." Severus smirked at the memory of the badly hidden curiosity written in her face - most of all about the mystery as to what he intended to do with his free days, given that he had never left the castle voluntarily in the last decade. But she hadn't dared raise the question. Hermione was the only one who was never too shy to ask him anything she wanted to know. And for reasons he didn't care to contemplate, he usually indulged her with answers.
"She told me that I couldn't be Head of House if I planned to stay away from the castle on weekends, probably thinking it would make me reconsider."
"I daresay it didn't..."
"Absolutely not. I've been Head of Slytherin for long enough, with everything it entails: Showing favouritism, wearing green for Quidditch matches, settling disputes, wiping noses and giving teenagers the birds and bees talk."
"Oh – you really did that?" Hermione couldn't really imagine it.
His smirk widened. "No, I delegated. I sent the girls to Madam Pomfrey, handed out copies of muggle brochures on the topic to the boys and made sure that the contraceptive potion was on the Potions syllabus. And of course, I told them they could always come and see me if they had any question. Funnily enough, nobody ever turned up."
"Yes, that's really funny, isn't it? But do you know what's even funnier? Professor McGonagall did almost exactly the same thing with us."
"No, she didn't!" Severus' smug expression fell. He now looked as if he had been cheated.
"Oh yes, she did!" Hermione assured him, laughing. "And you probably thought yourself so clever! Makes me wonder what Professor Trelawny does, nowadays... Can you imagine her explaining the facts of life to a bunch of hormonal teenagers?"
His brows furrowed in dismay. "Don't mention Sybil and anything sex-related in the same sentence," he ordered, emphasising every word in his unique way. "I'm still desperately trying to forget that one Christmas when she had imbibed too much and came on to me in a rather forceful manner. That woman has more arms than the Giant Squid... she hides them well beneath all those shawls."
"Seriously? Professor Trelawny made a pass at you?" Hermione giggled. "I wish I had seen that... Did you hex her?"
"Believe me, it wasn't funny," he growled. "I don't know if it was due to her spiritual gift or the bottles of spirit she was gifted with for Christmas, but she had no shields around her mind at all at that point and projected her desire strongly and clearly. So yes, I did hex her. With a minor Confundus charm. If it wasn't so dangerous, I'd also have obliviated myself. I really didn't need those pictures in my head."
"Did you feel the urge to obliviate yourself after seeing the pictures in my head?" Hermione asked coyly. She really shouldn't bring those up, because now that he knew and had hinted that they needn't remain a fantasy, they had become even more powerful. But frankly, she had a hard time getting them out of her mind, too.
His expression changed, and he stepped in front of her. All of a sudden, there was this heat in his gaze again that she had seen before, and which always kindled a fire inside her. "Not for a minute, because I liked those pictures," he murmured, using that especially silky baritone that always made her brain melt. "I'll keep them for myself even after you've run off with a nice, fetching young man while I'm sitting in my cold and lonely dungeon again."
"I don't want a man who's 'nice', nor will I ever," she vowed, grateful that her faculty of speech was still functioning for the moment. "Nice is boring. I don't want him to be young, either, as we've already established. I want you. Because you're fetching, and brilliant and courageous and so much more..."
Severus couldn't tell if the glance she threw him from beneath her half-lowered lashes was demure or downright seductive, when she softly added: "And I promise that once this school year is over, you definitely won't be found sitting cold and lonely in the dungeon... I'll be here with you, and if you want to, I'll let you see all the pictures you care to see..."
He took a sharp breath. She didn't have squid-arms and wasn't even touching him, and yet he was captured and entangled. He couldn't believe that she had become so bold with him as to purposely provoke and entice him!
"Listen to me, you cheeky witch..." he finally managed, putting a finger underneath her chin and tilting her head back. For a brief moment, she thought – hoped – that he was going to kiss her, but he only locked his gaze with hers. "In about six weeks you are very welcome to approach me with all the wicked ideas and fantasies you have in your mind. I'll gladly watch them with you, I'll explore them with you, and I will even play them out with you – whatever you wish."
She swallowed, marvelling a how quickly he had turned the tables on her. No, he was not some boy she could tease – he was much better at this game that she'd ever be. Who would have guessed that the man everybody thought to be unpleasant, unfeeling and cold could – with just a few calculated words and by looking at her in such a way – elicit such warmth and such pleasure in her?
"For the moment, however," he continued with his deep, melliferous baritone, "we cannot allow ourselves to dwell on them. Until graduation, Miss Granger, you're on orders to behave, and I trust that you will obey to the rules. Surely you do not want me to take further measures to assure your compliance..."
She looked at him with pupils that were much too wide and a pulse that was beating too fast. Among other things, his conscience stirred in response, demanding to know what the hell had gotten into him. Severus told it to shut up. Of course, with mentioning 'further measures' he had simply meant cutting down on their alone time even more – he certainly hadn't implied anything else. The expression in her eyes, however, revealed that her over-creative mind had come up with entirely different scenarios and that she was pondering with fascination what he might to if she failed to obey. He groaned internally. What had they started? And how could an exchange of just a few words affect them both so much? They were constantly walking a very thin line, and he mustn't let himself be carried away by playing games with her when they should be treading carefully.
He took a step away from her, leaned back against the other table and folded his arms in front of his chest. To give her credit, she also got a grip of herself astonishingly quickly again. Maybe she was using her Occlumency skills much in the same way he did.
"You're right," she finally said, taking a deep breath. "We shouldn't keep goading each other like this. It's rather frustrating as it never leads to anything. I'll stop, if you do."
He raised his brow. "I didn't do anything."
She snorted. "Yes, you did! Stop using that voice on me and don't give me that look... you know which one! Don't step close and don't say things that you very well know will affect me."
He gave a slight incline of his head in acknowledgement. "Very well. But I expect the same from you." The 'or else' look he gave was almost an invitation to continue their dalliance, and it was hard to tell if he was aware of that or not.
In truth, Hermione enjoyed flirting with him. She had practically no experience in the field, and found it thrilling to test feminine wiles she hadn't known she possessed. The fact that it was perfectly safe to do so only added to the allure. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen at this point, no matter how much they teased each other. But it was pretty frustrating, and sometimes she thought she was going explode from all the pent-up sexual tension. Shoving it all firmly into a chest and dropping it into her Occlumency-lake, Hermione focused back on the point in their discussion where they had lost track of it.
Professor McGonagall ... his position. Yes, that's what they had been discussing. "So – what did the Headmistress say to your proposition of dividing the positions?" she asked and smirked when she saw that he needed a moment to gather his thoughts as well.
"Well, it's unprecedented," he said, clearing his throat, "and you know how open-minded wizards are to anything that has never been done before. But in the end, she couldn't do anything but agree. I had the better bargaining chips. She'll not find a substitute potions teacher for N.E.W.T level classes easily, and there is also Lupin's condition to consider. I offered to find her a suitable candidate for the lower Potion classes. Horace has still a lot of contacts – I'll ask him for names and look at potential candidates."
"And you're sure that someone will come up to your standards?"
His face fell a bit at that. "Probably not," he admitted. "But seeing that it's the only option to assure that I get the time to explore my extracurricular interests, I guess I'll have to make do."
Hermione really hoped that one of those extracurricular interests he planned to explore would be her. Thinking about it sent the wheels of her imagination spinning again. "Where will you live when not at Hogwarts?" she asked, hoping that he still had a place of his own. Otherwise any kind of exploring would be a bit difficult to do. "In the house you grew up – Spinner's End?"
"Dear Merlin, no!" He shook his head in disgust. "I never wanted to live in that run-down place, especially not after the Dark Lord made Wormtail stay there with me last year. I sold the house to a redevelopment company as soon as I was able to hold a quill after my recuperation. I believe they have torn down the entire neighbourhood in the meanwhile."
"So where will you stay?"
"It appears that the east wing of Prince House is at my disposal."
"The East Wing?" Hermione echoed, visions of Versailles flashing before her inner eye.
"It sounds grander and more impressive than it actually is," he toned down. "The manor is rather modest as British country estates go, a two-storey, Elizabethan style. Compared to Malfoy Manor, it's just a big house, but the Weasleys would all fit into it nicely. Still, the two house-elves in my aunt's service do not have to run themselves ragged to keep it in order. What Noria calls 'the east wing' consists of two bedrooms, a study, a bath and a livingroom."
"Noria?"
"Short for Honoria. It's what she bade me call her. She doesn't like her name much, saying it sounds stiff and old-fashioned."
Well, she had sounded a bit stiff and old-fashioned from the way Severus had described her. "I'm surprised you're actually considering moving in with your aunt..."
He raised his brow. "When presented with the choice of having dinner at the staff table in the Great Hall with hundreds of untamed barbarians and deafening background noises, or in the dining room of a quiet country estate with a well-mannered and civilised landlady? No, I didn't really have to think long before choosing the latter. It's a rumour that I like living in the dungeons – the only good thing about it is my lab and the quiet. In fact, I demanded others quarters, too, when I gave Minerva my conditions. Lupin hardly needs his – he floos home to be with his son every evening – which is why he couldn't be Gryffindor's Head of House, at least not officially. Let the new Potions teacher have the dungeon quarters."
"What about your personal lab?"
"I'm optimistic that I can get the castle to magically connect it to my new quarters."
"But they're on the second floor and in a different wing... how is that supposed to work?"
"If a passage is needed, the castle usually provides it. There are many secret passages that defy logic within these walls, most of them connecting the hospital wing and the Headmaster's Office to every part of the castle. They work in emergencies or for those who are entitled. Everybody else will only step into a broom closet." He grinned smugly. "And as I still have full headmaster's powers and thus count as entitled, I guess connecting my lab to my new office shouldn't be a problem at all."
"Lupin's office is much nicer," Hermione agreed, liking the idea of him getting more sunshine. "But your collection of atrocities in jars won't be half as scary in bright daylight."
His shrugged. "I'm a wizard. I'll just charm the windows to automatically darken whenever a student sets foot into my office. Easy."
With all he had obviously taken into consideration, Hermione wondered if he had also thought about how their living arrangements could accommodate a relationship. "Will I be able to visit you at Hogwarts?" she asked, wondering what the policy regarding teachers having over-night guests was. "Or will you come to Grimmauld Place? How will it work out between your job and mine, you living with your aunt and me with Harry?"
"I'm not going to be 'living with my aunt'," he clarified, sounding slightly peeved. "We will just share the house, and, whenever we feel like it, the meals. It's beautifully quiet at Prince House, it has a great view of the garden and the fields behind it. And, of course, there is the library... You'll be dancing in circles when you see it. I know where Irma got her love of books from. It's not that I'm used to luxury, but I gladly indulge in it if it is offered to me on a silver platter."
"When I see it?" Hermione asked, wondering if he meant what his statement had implied.
"Well, when my aunt offered me half of the house, it was understood that we would respect each other's privacy, and that included having the freedom of inviting whomever I pleased to my quarters."
"Female company?"
"Hermione – I'm an adult man. Of course she'd expect me to have female company. The wizarding world might be Victorian in many respects, but not quite as backward and prudish as to condemn relationships between unmarried adults."
"But what will your aunt say if she learns that you have hooked up with a Muggle-born ex-student of yours?" Hermione asked a bit worriedly.
"It would be sheer hypocrisy if she minded. Neither her family nor the Princes are one of those 28 true Pure-blood families of Britain, and while she's certainly a traditionalist, she was never a supporter of the Pure-blood ideology. Besides, it'd be next to impossible for me to find a woman who hasn't been my student at some point, unless she was my age and still single – which is rather unlikely in wizarding society. For a witch to be single when over 30, she'd have to be an ugly spinster or a most unfortunate widow whose husband succumbed to an early death, as divorce is practically unheard of among wizards."
"So that means you're basically stuck with me and she will have to put up with it..." Hermione concluded, sounding quite pleased with his lack of options.
"Well, I've been stuck with you for seven long years, I'm kind of used to it by now." He turned serious and added: "But know this: My aunt will never be allowed to merely 'put up' with you. If she doesn't welcome you into her house with open arms, I'll simply leave and get my own place. Or kick her out, I don't know. But it won't come to that. I have a feeling that the two of you will get on perfectly fine. It's me that will have to watch out – with three rather bossy females in my life all of a sudden. And that's not even counting Minerva."
Hermione smiled. She'd rather not tell him about the dream Luna had shared with her a few nights ago, or he might start running yet. One could only hope for him that Luna wasn't gifted with more than an astonishing perceptiveness. Although Hermione certainly wouldn't mind if she was...
In any case, the future looked bright and held a lot of promise again.