Chapter 12- We won't be together anymore- Graduation Day Part One

Severus and Hermione knew that she should return to her room that night, rather then risk being caught the next morning. Hermione smiled as she turned to see a redressed Snape. "I decided that I will walk you back to your common room tonight. It's still extremely late at night, so I don't suppose that anyone will be up." Hermione smiled, took his hand in hers, and left the room with him. They walked quietly through the castle, letting the darkness and the shadows consume and hide the secrets that they whispered to each other. When Hermione reached the common room, she poked her head in to see if anyone was in there. Seeing no one, she ushered Snape in and closed the door behind them. Placing a spell so that no one could enter the room from the girl's or guy's dorms and a silencing spell, she let Snape pull her down onto the couch.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny; who had all been studying when they heard the couple coming towards the room, had hid behind the couch. Ginny smiled at the two boys as they listened to make sure that Snape was sincere.

"Severus?" Hermione said in a tired voice.

"Yes, love?" He said, stroking her hair gently as he held her.

"When I graduate, can I live here with you?" She asked. Harry and Ron's eyes got wide, but they managed to stay quiet.

"If you want to." Snape said. He stared into the fire.

Hermione looked up at the brooding professor. "Tell me what you are thinking about." She said.

"You... us... our future." Snape said. He leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. "I'm thinking about how happy I am that you said yes." He managed to get out.

"Of course I would say yes." Hermione said with a sigh. "I don't know why you refuse to believe that I love you that much."

"I do think so Hermione." Snape said. "But you sometimes surprise me."

"And you don't surprise me?" Hermione asked stubbornly.

"Speaking of, I was going to wait to give you this until you were graduated, but I guess you can lie to people about where you got it." Snape pulled out a ring box, opened it, and handed to her. "I don't have to ask you again do I?"

"No Severus. I agreed to marry you, ring or not." Hermione said. The three spying friends held in their gasps as they overheard the two talking about marriage. "But it is so beautiful." She said, taking the ring out and placing it on her left ring finger. "Thank you Severus."

"Of course love." He said, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"I wish you didn't have to go." She said softly.

"I know love, but in a week, we can be together as much as we want to." He said. The he chuckled lightly. "Or as much as we can tolerate."

She giggled lightly and walked up to the entrance. Removing the spells, she kissed him quickly. When Hermione turned around; Ron, Ginny, and Harry stood in front of her, eyes wide and mouths open. "Hi." She said in a tired voice. "Were you hiding intentionally?" She asked.

"No." Ginny said. "We were studying when we heard someone walking up to the room."

"Oh, I see." Hermione said, sitting back down on the couch.

"Well?" Ginny said. Harry and Ron stood closely behind her.

"Well what Ginny? I'm really tired." Hermione said softly.

"Let us see the ring." Ginny said, sighing. Hermione smiled as brought her hand up to the three. Ginny studied the ring intently. It was a large diamond, set in the middle of two pink stones, on a gold band. "Oh Hermione, it's beautiful." She said, moving over to hug the girl. Hermione just nodded before letting her fall and she pass out.

"Is she okay?" Ron asked worried.

"Yes." Harry said. "She's just really tired. Ginny, why don't you take her back upstairs? I think we all need some sleep."

Ginny nodded, kissed her boyfriend goodbye, and walked up the stairs. She laid Hermione down in her room, then returned to hers.

-x-

The next week flew by so fast the Hermione couldn't even believe it. She never even saw Snape outside of class, she was so busy with her exams and with graduation. By the time graduation day came, Hermione was stressed out and missing Snape terribly. She was excited to graduate, it meant that she didn't have to hide her love for Snape anymore. But graduating meant that she would have to face the world, and it was a scary thought to her. She didn't want to year to end so soon. "Hermione!" Ginny yelled, running up the stairs. "Hermione, why aren't you ready? Graduation is in two hours."

Hermione said at the edge of her bed, wiping her tears away. She stood up to face the red head. "I was just thinking but I'll be ready in a few minutes." Hermione looked Ginny up and down. She was wearing a short black dress with a pair of skinny heels that wrapped around her ankles. She wore her fire red hair up in a high, classy bun, but she let a few stray hairs fall to frame her face, which she curled. She had done her makeup the Muggle way, giving herself a smoky eye with bright red lips. She wore dangly diamond earring that Harry had gotten her for her birthday. She looked amazing and Hermione knew it was to please Harry. "You look amazing Ginny." Hermione said, before running into the bathroom. She left the door cracked slightly as she stripped and jumped into the shower.

"Thanks." Ginny yelled to the girl as she sat down lightly on the edge of the bed. "Want to tell me why you were crying?"

"Weren't you doing the same when you woke up this morning?" Hermione asked, washing herself quickly and shampooing her hair fast.

Ginny stayed quiet for a few minutes before saying anything. "I have a different reason to cry then you do." She heard the shower turn off. "Harry is going to go off and fight Voldemort, he might die. You get to come back here, live with Snape, get married."

"And leave the rest of you behind." Hermione said as she cut the water off and exited the shower. She wrapped a towel around herself and dried her hair by magic. "It isn't fair, the way my lives have been split. My life with Severus and my life with you guys. I have no middle, no comfort zone. Do you really think that Ron and Harry could deal with Severus and I being married? And Severus, he will want me to stay out of the final battle. What kind of life can we have when all that we know is war?" Hermione was crying now as she sat beside Ginny.

"Hermione," Ginny said as she wrapped her arms around the crying girl, "you don't know how long it could be until the battle. You just have to make everyday count from now on." She smiled. "There's a lot about life and love that I don't get, but I probably could take a stab in the dark about how Snape feels about you. It's not that hard, to just say that you love someone and then act on those feelings. If you want to be with him, and it honestly makes you happy, then no one is going to stand in your way. As for Ron and Harry, they would both have to be dumb to think that they could."

Hermione smiled and wiped her tears away. "What are you going to do Ginny?" She said. "About Harry?"

"Be with Harry one last night, before he leaves on a quest with Dumbledore to find a way of defeating Voldemort, and be with him and the rest of you guys in the final battle. The rest, all the stuff in between, I guess I will leave to fate." Ginny said with a smile. "We got to trust that they will be there for us in the end."

Hermione smiled and walked over to the closet. "Is this how life will be for us now? Wondering when the final battle will come, wondering who will die?" She took out a long, gold gown that she was going to wear under her robes. It was perfect for the ball after the ceremony. She walked back into the bathroom and put the dress on before starting her makeup.

"I guess so." Ginny said. "I guess it should have been that way this year, but we were all together. It's much harder now that we know we won't be."

Hermione finished getting ready and walked out. "Let's go. We can worry about this another time." She said throwing her graduation robes on which completely covered her dress. She hooked Ginny's arm in hers and walked out the door.

-x-