Chapter 19
"Well, professor- you are one of the last people that I ever thought I would see come in this store for this big of a purchase." Eyell nodded as he looked at Snape.
"Well, I honestly thought the same thing myself. There was a time that I thought I had found love, but she found someone else and then she died." Snape said realizing what a big step this was for him.
He was finally letting go of Lily and moving on to happiness. He knew that most people expected him to never move on- he himself never thought he would find someone like her again. And Hermione wasn't like her at all, she was much more wonderful. His love for Lily was a childhood love- but with Hermione- he felt like he struggled to breathe every time he was without her. He just couldn't wait to tell her that she wouldn't have to leave EVER. He just hoped she would say yes.
"I'm sorry for that, it's amazing how different you are walking around now a days though. You seem actually happy for once. I'm happy for you. Who is this witch?" Eyell pleaded to know.
"She is amazing, the smartest, kindest, most assertive witch in the whole world and I know that she will make me happy forever. I just hope that I myself can make her at least half as happy as she makes me." He smiled.
"Severus Snape smiling? This has to be the day that like muggles say 'pigs fly'." Eyell smiled back.
"I smile only because of her. So don't think I'm getting soft. Now where is the ring?" he asked demandingly.
How dare ANYONE assume that he Severus Snape had gone soft!
"Ah, here it is sir. But first- what is her name?" Eyell asked.
"Her name is Her..."
Ron burst into the store.
"Hello Professor Snape."
"Hello Mr. Weasley."
"And how are you this afternoon professor?" Ron asked.
"I'm fantastic. How about you?"
"Fantastic? Since when have you EVER been fantastic?" Ron laughed.
"Since he was getting married." Eyell replied.
Snape shot him a look at once that definitely said 'Shut Up'.
"You are getting married Professor?" Ron asked.
"Actually, I haven't asked her yet- but I'm hopeful that she will accept my proposal. What are you doing here?" he challenged Ron.
"Returning a ring. She told me no. I can't believe it- Hermione told me no. Now we won't live happily ever after. Can you even believe that she said no to me?"
Snape looked amused at Ron. "Well I really can't imagine why Ms. Granger would tell you no. I thought you two were dating."
"We were, until she found someone who she loves. She wants to marry him and isn't even going to hear me out. She said I have no chance with her because she loves him and him only. Only, I don't know who the hell he is. I want to hex his ass. Once I find out I will Avada Kedarva him." Ron posed with his wand as though he was not afraid.
"Is that so, Mr. Weasley? It would seem that you might not know who you are messing with. What if he was a lot more powerful than you and he could actually be the one to kill you?" Snape asked trying to look innocent.
"I can take him, my love for Hermione is strong. Plus, who is she going to marry that is stronger than me?" he questioned.
"Oh, I just cannot imagine anyone that could possibly be stronger that you Mr. Weasley." Snape was clearly amused by Ron's desire for Hermione. He wanted to smack the shit out of Ron and tell him that Hermione would never be back. And instead Snape spoke from personal experience.
"Ron, Hermione is just not the witch for you. I remember being in love with another witch when I was your age too. I thought we would be together forever and when she went to someone else I thought I would never find love again and I was SO hurt. It has taken me until now to find the true love of my life. You will eventually find her. You will find who you are truly meant to love. Let Hermione go- you will find who you are meant to be with someday." Severus explained very patiently and kindly to Ron. "I'm sorry for your pain- I remember how that felt."
Ron felt a tear come to his eye.
"You are the nicest professor ever. You know I can always trust you. Thank you." Ron said as he wiped his tears away to return the ring.
"Sorry to break this up and as lovely as this is, Professor your engagement ring is ready. See, this is the seal, and this is the doe. In the middle is the enchanted diamond. Does it meet your approval?"
"Yes." Snape replied as he watched Eyell place the ring into a wizarding engagement box. He was so nervous about what was going to happen tonight and he hoped at the end that he would be the one to have Hermione.
"Professor SNAPE," Ron said angrily. "A SEAL and a STAG? Why your patronus is a stag, and the only witch I know that has a seal patronus is.."
"Have a nice day Mr. Weasley- and if you ever want to take me I'm ready." Snape turned and flexed his muscles as he left the shop.
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It was 5:30 and Hermione still hadn't heard anyone come to the door. Maybe this was some sort of a puzzle that she had to decode- maybe the 5:30 stood for something else- maybe coordinates to a place that she needed to go and meet someone. Then at exactly 5:32 as she began making plans for locating a lost treasure at the coordinates 5:30 there was a knock at the door.
She cautiously opened the door- and standing there was Ginny.
"Hi Ginny. What are you up to?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I'm actually here to see you. What are you doing?" Ginny asked.
"I'm waiting for a guest for Severus."
"Well, look no farther. I'm the guest." Ginny grinned.
"YOU are? Ok, well why didn't he just tell me to come find you?" Hermione wondered.
"Because we have something we need to do. It's on the parchment. We have to fill this out together and I'm going to be the witch to help you through this."
"Surely he didn't give us or ME homework on the weekend again?" Hermione started to laugh.
"Actually Hermione- he did. Let's look at this together."
Hermione unrolled a parchment that had this message:
"In order to find me tonight, you must solve this puzzle. Once you solve the puzzle you will find where I am waiting for you at. When you fill out the answers, the letters that are dashed instead of underlined will be a part of the solution. Solve this with Ginny. See you soon. Love, Severus.
The first place that we made love
_- _ _ - _ _
How I feel about you _ ___- ___
Your best friend's name -__-_
The class that I teach _______
Where you were when that explosion occurred ____
Where we danced and had a lot of fun on our Valentine's date __- _-_____ ____-
Where we ate dinner, the name of the country __-__
The professor's classroom in which you asked me to lay down with you
__-_____-
The room that we made love in after you snuck back into my room with the invisibility cloak
___ -______
Who you tried to snog to make me jealous -__-_ ____
"We only have about half an hour to fill this out Hermione." Ginny explained.
"Oh my- I'm really interested to know why he has gone through all this trouble for me to find him. This is crazy- I thought he had a staff meeting. I don't want to play these games- where is he Ginny?" Hermione demanded to know.
"Be patient Hermione. And honestly, I have NO idea. So we sort of HAVE to solve this- together. I guess he thought I could help you to solve it. So let's start with number one-" Ginny blushed and tried not to laugh. "The wall."
"Ok, so that means that the letters h and a are a part. Oh Ginny this is SO fun! How did he know that I love solving puzzles so much?"
"Let's work on number 2 Hermione." Ginny pleaded. "How does he feel about you?"
"I really don't know Ginny. How does he feel?"
"The only words that could fit here are 'I love you' Hermione."
"Oh, Ginny- this is so romantic. I love him too." Hermione immediately fixed her expression to solving this puzzle- so we now have e, h, a. What's next?"
"Hermione- who is your best friend?" Ginny asked.
"You Ginny. Oh! So that means that the g and the n are a part of this. So now we have e, h, a, n, and another a. I'm still VERY confused. What's the next clue?" Hermione took a moment to breathe. " He teaches potions and the explosion thanks to you Ginny was in the hall. But both of those are not part of the clues. He's trying to confuse me." Hermione sighed "And I couldn't be more turned on."
"Well, what about number 6, where did you all go? And what sort of fun did you have?"
Hermione blushed immediately. "The Grafton House. So, e, e, r to the e, h, a, n, a. What the heck does all this mean? I still have no clue where he is at."
"What was the fun- I won't help you anymore and I'll hide the parchment until you tell me. And DON'T LIE HERMIONE!" Ginny looked intensely at her friend.
"I sort of took him in a corner and kissed him." Hermioned blushed.
"And...continue dear."
" I sort of took him into my mouth."
"In PUBLIC Hermione?"
"Yes."
"Were people watching?"
Ginny was AMAZED at her friend.
"Actually, yes, quite a few were."
Ginny laughed hysterically. "Hermione, I cannot believe you."
"I know- I don't know what has gotten into me lately." Hermione responded to her friend.
"Severus Snape is his name."
Hermione smacked her dear friend on the arm.
"Ok, I'm itching to solve this riddle- where IS he?"
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Draco walked over to where Professor Snape was sitting.
"Ok, so I need some tips- I'm going to take notes if that's ok with you tonight. I am thinking about asking Ginny to marry me at the end of the school year." Draco said smiling at Snape.
"Please, don't take notes from me- I have never done this before! You may not get the best ideas from me."
"You've really changed a lot since you've been with Hermione. It's almost like you've lost your Slytherin streak." Malfoy teased.
"I assure you Mr. Malfoy that I am still as much Slytherin as I was before. I know, it's so weird because she is a student- I never thought I would have fallen so hard for someone like her."
"Well as much as I hate her, I think you two will make a great couple. You're perfect for each other."
"What in the hell is that supposed to mean? You hate her and I'm perfect for her?" Snape smirked. "You're such a Slytherin."
"So, on to more important things- how nervous are you right now?" Malfoy wondered as he knew how nervous he would be if he was preparing to propose to Ginny.
"This is one of the times in a wizard's life when it is ok to be afraid- and yes- I'm quite nervous."
"Are you afraid she'll say no?" Draco asked.
"Yes, and that would break my heart. I don't know what I would do if she were to say no. I mean she's already turned one wizard down for a proposal this week. The odds are against me." Snape tousled Malfoy's hair. "But I'll make do. Thanks for being here tonight. You know what you are to do- right?"
"Yes, and I think I can do it VERY well." Draco smiled, "Afterall, I'm a Slytherin aren't I?"
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