A/N: The usual disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Severus and Hermione hadn't left Hogwarts in nearly two months, so they decided to take a trip to Diagon Alley. Hermione wanted to go to Flourish & Blott's, and Severus needed to stop by the apothecary.
They went to the bookstore first, and Hermione ended up with six new tomes for their collection. Now that she didn't need to save money for food, she could splurge more with books. At the apothecary, Severus was replenishing the store room. They were still brewing for the infirmary, but some of this was for her learning, as well. Severus was teaching her one new complex potion a week, and her journal was about two-and-a-half times the size it was when he'd given it to her.
After they'd finished their shopping, they wandered around for a little bit. Some people were staring, but they were too immersed in their discussion about armadillo bile to notice. Hermione had just convinced him to go to Fortescue's for ice cream when a familiar face came from the opposite direction.
She stopped walking and grabbed Severus' arm so hard that he wondered if there'd be bruises tomorrow, but that thought fell away when he saw the sheer terror on her face. Severus followed her gaze and saw a man that resembled a toad. Then his thoughts drifted to her description of her rapists from over the summer, and he paled. Pushing Hermione behind him, he discreetly drew his wand, gaze fixed on the man.
The toad wasn't watching them; he hadn't even seemed to see Hermione. Severus watched as he met a taller man, and they Apparated away.
Turning back to face Hermione, he took her in his arms as he saw silent tears falling down her face.
"It's alright, Hermione, it's okay. They're gone."
"I never thought I'd have to-"
She cut off abruptly, and Severus pulled away enough to raise an eyebrow. Realization was written all over her face.
"In July, I'd never seen them before. I just thought they were Muggles; it happens often enough. But if they're here, then they're wizards. They didn't use magic against me, though. Everybody in Wizarding Britain knows who I am- unfortunately. Anybody trying to get to me would assume that they'd need magic to do so, unless… they wanted me to think they were Muggles."
He thought over what she'd just told him. It made sense, but he couldn't think of anybody who would want to do that. The Death Eaters- well, the ones that weren't dead- were in Azkaban, so that ruled them out. There may have been a break-out, he supposed, but that was hard to keep from the public.
"Let's go home, Hermione."
She gave him a watery smile when she heard him say 'home,' and his heart ached for her. He would protect her. He had to keep her safe. He wouldn't lose her.
They Apparated to the front gates, and Severus let them in. It was a quiet walk back to their rooms. She walked straight past the sitting room and crawled into bed, not even bothering to undress. Severus followed quietly behind her, and climbed into bed, wrapping her in his long arms. She fell asleep that way, and he looked down to see tear tracks on her cheeks. He wiped them away gently so as not to wake her.
Severus wanted to sleep, but he couldn't. He eventually summoned his book and called Tinky for a cup of tea, hoping that sleep would come when his mind quieted.
But his mind was racing. Possibilities were running through his head, reaching anywhere from probable to almost unfathomable. He gave up on the idea of sleep, resigning himself to the fact that it was going to be a long night.
It had been a couple of hours when Hermione began to stir in his arms.
"Nooo… no, please, no…"
She was starting to sweat and thrash, and Severus knew he needed to wake her soon. The screaming usually started shortly after the thrashing.
"Hermione, wake up. It's just a dream, everything's alright."
He kept murmuring in her ear, hoping she would wake up. Her eyes opened slowly, and she looked around the room, then up at Severus.
She turned in his arms so that her face was against his chest as she cried herself back to sleep. Severus wished he'd been able to calm her more, but at least he'd been able to stop the nightmare.
In the morning, Severus moved from the bed after his sleepless night. Hermione was still asleep, so he rose to cook breakfast. Nothing fancy, just eggs and sausage, but it felt good to do something simple. He was tired enough that he needed strong coffee rather than tea.
He hadn't been in the kitchen for very long when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
"Morning, love." She sounded absolutely exhausted, as if she had been the one to stay up all night.
He turned to face her, looking into her eyes. There were dark shadows around them, and they were puffy from her tears the night before.
"Hermione, it's going to be okay. They can't get to you here."
She only nodded and left to get dressed for the day. When she returned, he could see the glamour, but didn't say anything. Severus knew she just didn't want to worry the students.
He walked both of their plates to the table, and they ate in a tired silence. When they left for their classes, they shared a kiss goodbye.
The day was a slow one. The morning classes seemed to last twice as long as normal, and lunch was quiet. Severus and Hermione sat in their spots at the Head Table, but she still wasn't talking much. The afternoon classes were just as bad as the morning, but dinner was a little better. She held up a conversation about how dittany healed so effectively, and walked back to their rooms with her arm linked with Severus'.
He could tell she was feeling a little bit better; jumping into routine usually helped her get back to normal, and she visibly relaxed as they read on the couch. Severus was checking on her frequently, and was unsurprised to find her sleeping against him rather than reading after an hour. He carried her to bed before returning to the sitting room to do some marking while listening for signs of another bad dream.
There wasn't a nightmare that night; she was probably too tired to have one. He had gone to bed late, but he slept that night.
The rest of the week dragged by, but it was finally Friday.
Professor Slughorn had his fifth through seventh years on Fridays, so Hermione had the day to brew for the infirmary. She was quiet so she didn't disturb Severus' classes, but he wouldn't have minded much. He was just happy she was there.
The students had been happy to see her. They knew that Professor Snape was much more pleasant in Hermione's presence than he was otherwise. It was a good day in the Defense classroom.
When the last class ended, Severus helped Hermione finish her brewing before they set to work with their marking. On the way to dinner, she intertwined their fingers and leaned against him, and he knew she was more like herself.
She was animated at dinner, enjoying a conversation about Animagi with Minerva. Severus spoke briefly to Horace about Hermione's apprenticeship, and was told that she was doing exceptionally well with her teaching. He would be handing fifth year classes over to her at the end of the month.
Hermione had learned a lot, and she was doing well in all areas of her work. She knew she still had a lot of work to do, but she was really enjoying her apprenticeship- and not just because of Severus. She really liked the work itself.
When they returned to their rooms, Hermione went into the bedroom while he settled on the couch, and he heard a loud gasp. He walked quickly to their room and saw his witch, both hands covering her mouth, her eyes sparkling.
A dress with a note was laying on the bed. It was her dress for the wedding, and Ginerva had sent it a few days early. It was silver and sparkled in the light. The top was form-fitting with spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline, and the bottom was slim until it trumpeted out at the bottom.
It was obvious by Hermione's reaction that she'd never seen it before, and he walked over to her. She looked up at him and smiled. He knew she was excited for her friends' wedding, and felt honored to have been asked to be in the ceremony. Severus didn't particularly want to go to Potter's wedding, but knew that he and Ginerva would be in his life if he were to stay with Hermione, and had accepted it long ago. It made her happy, which made him happy.
"Do you want to try it on?"
"I suppose I should; it would be awful to wait until the day of and have it not fit."
She undressed and picked the dress up slowly, watching it catch the light. Hermione stepped into it and pulled it up.
"Zip me up?"
"Certainly." He did it quickly, and she turned to face him.
Severus was stunned into silence. The silver looked beautiful against her pale skin, and she sparkled with every movement. It fit her to a tee, and it was a flattering form for her.
She was watching his face intently, and she smiled when he looked at her with a trace of awe in his features. Looking at it, she realized that it was the same silvery tone that they'd had in their quarters over the holidays, and knew what she'd be doing with her hair for the wedding.
Not wanting anything to happen to it in the week before the wedding, Hermione asked him to unzip it and she put it in the wardrobe until it was needed. She owled Ginny to let her know that it fit perfectly, and, still in her undergarments, turned back to Severus.
He had come up behind her and was now running his hands up and down her body, kissing her hungrily.
She kissed him back with as much passion, and she was soon naked before him. She pulled away with a wry smile.
"That just won't do, Severus."
He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, and she vanished his clothes. He smirked at her impatience and she jumped. Severus caught her with his hands under her bottom and her legs wrapped around his thin waist. He all but threw her into bed, and they were carnal, almost animalistic, in their need for each other. It was a long night for Severus and Hermione, and in the very best of ways.
"Severus! Have you seen my left shoe? I can't find it!"
"No, I tend to avoid women's footwear. I've found that it doesn't suit me," he called back to her.
"Very funny," she muttered, looking around the room again until she found it. It was a graceful silver stiletto that matched her dress, and it been pushed under the bed. She didn't remember it being there last time she'd looked, but then again, Crookshanks had been sleeping there at the time.
It was the day of the wedding, and Hermione was taking longer than expected to get ready. Her hair had been almost unmanageable, but coaxed it into a chignon with a ridiculous amount of Sleekeazy's. She had transfigured some of her earrings into small ice-blue flowers that she'd woven through her hair. It looked lovely with the dress, and she had to admit that she looked pretty nice.
Finally ready, she walked out of the room. Severus was standing near the door waiting for her, and his eyes widened the smallest bit when he looked at her.
"Ready?"
"I feel as if I've been waiting for days. What took you so long?"
"Well, if you must know, my hair was very uncooperative this morning, so it took much longer than it should have; then, the flowers just weren't the right shade of blue. After that, I couldn't find my left shoe."
He nodded vaguely. "We should go; we don't want to be late."
She agreed, and they walked out of the castle at a brisk pace- well, brisk for her. He had to slow considerably so she could keep up.
They arrived at the Burrow a few minutes early, and Hermione was separated from Severus and taken to Ginny.
The bride-to-be was very flustered.
"Ginny, will you please just calm down?" Hermione heard Molly ask.
"Mum, I'm fine, just nervous, alright? I just need a minute."
"So does that mean I should go wait somewhere else?"
The redhead looked up and saw Hermione. "Merlin, Hermione, you look wonderful!"
"Not as good as you, though," Hermione smiled. "Now, do you still need a minute, or can I come in?"
"Get your arse in here."
Laughing, Hermione did as her friend asked.
"Is Snape here?"
"You can call him Severus, Ginny. And yes, he's with Harry."
"Oh, gods. You know he still scares Harry shitless, even if he doesn't hate him anymore."
"No, I didn't know that, actually. I'm sure Severus will be quite amused."
That got them laughing, and Ginny was much calmer afterwards.
"Thanks, Hermione. I needed that."
"Anytime. Now, I think you're getting married in about five minutes, so let's go, shall we?"
Ginny rose and followed Hermione out of the room and out to where she would become a wife.
Hermione was the first to go, followed by Fleur, Luna, Angelina, and Ginny.
The bride was beautiful. Her wedding robes were made from very fine white fabric that made her look as if she were floating down the aisle. She reached the altar and Harry, eyes already wet with tears.
Hermione took Ginny's bouquet and the ceremony began.
It was lovely. Harry and Ginny were so obviously in love that nearly everybody was tearing up. They said their vows, Harry kissed his bride, and they made their way to the big white tent they'd used for Bill and Fleur's wedding for the reception. Hermione found Severus as everybody made their way to the tables. She took his hand, relieved to be next to him again, and they took their places with the Weasleys.
Severus was uncomfortable. He and Hermione's relationship was well-known; they weren't hiding. They had agreed that while they didn't need to draw attention to themselves, they didn't want to be together in secret. That didn't change the fact that he was a private man, and he hated social gatherings of any kind.
The Weasleys were the closest thing Hermione had to family- minus Ron, who hadn't even bothered to show up. For this, she was grateful, as was Severus. She'd told him of their brief relationship, and he'd been very angry on Hermione's behalf when she mentioned his infidelity.
If they didn't approve of him, he would be separating her from them; she'd already made it quite clear that she wouldn't leave him for them. If they tried to make her choose, then they weren't the family she thought they were.
Luckily for Severus, the Weasleys were very accepting people, and they were glad to see how happy Hermione was. He and Arthur weren't friends per se, but he liked him well enough, and Molly was a kind woman with a big heart. The other Weasley children seemed okay with it, although Hermione suspected that Ginny had threatened to hex them all if they didn't.
The reception was nice, and Severus and Hermione got a few dances in before they took their leave.
"That wasn't so bad, was it, Severus?"
He sighed. "No, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. The Weasleys seem happy for you."
"For us, Severus. You know, Molly said that if I did anything to you, I'd be in big trouble with her and Arthur."
He had to chuckle at that. It had been a long night, but they were home now. They were both exhausted; neither had been to a social event of any kind since the end of the war.
They undressed and went straight to bed, content to lay in each other's arms and fall into unconsciousness.
A/N II: Alrighty, well, I'm not quite sure if last chapter's lack of feedback was a good or bad sign, but all reviews/general comments are always appreciated! I'll see you guys next Wednesday:)