Chapter 6: 5 years later

"Mione love!" a voice shouted from the kitchen.

"Yes!" Hermione replied, her voice muffled by the stacks of parchment on either side of her.

"Do you want a hot chocolate?" the voice asked.

"Yes please, you know how I like it right?" she asked.

"Cream with one marshmallow how could I forget!" the voice replied with a deep rich laugh.

As the chink of mugs could be heard in the kitchen, Hermione's quill scratched at the parchment before her on the dark wooden table in the living room. "Here you go," he said placing the steaming mug before her. Hermione raised her head and kissed him softly on the lips in thanks. He smiled the same smile that she had first seen on that snowy day. He hadn't changed at all she noted, as he peered over her shoulder at the first year essays she was marking, his lips curled into that well known sneer as his eyes darting over the scrawled writing of the student. "Why are you marking Lupin's classes?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Because I offered to, plus he still has this strange notion that it was him that got us together because he suggested going down to the lake to look for Harry's lost bag. We followed the footprints and well, you know what happened from there." She said happily.

"Yes I do know what happened from there, we got married, you got the Defence Against the Dark Arts job alongside that chocolate loving werewolf and now you have to put up with me for the rest of your life," he said chuckling slightly at the look on Hermione's face.

"That just about sums it up!" she said, pulling him down for a gentle kiss.

The snow fell slowly outside, the frozen lake shimmered in the winter sunshine, snowmen peppered the grounds and a large snowball hit the window.