Chapter 20 - The Last Marauder
As usual, Hermione and Severus got to the location a few minutes before Sirius had died. This one was easier than some of the incidents for which they did not have access to a memory of the event they could review. They had reviewed Hermione's penseived memory of Sirius' death (and the rest of the battle at the department of mysteries) ad nauseum earlier that day, finding where to stand when so as not to get accidentally blasted by a stray curse, how much time they would have to make the switch, and exactly how they would escape once they had switched real Sirius for polyjuice Sirius.
She watched the scene unfold as if it was a dream, because so many times in her nightmares she had woken up to these exact events unfolding over and over in her mind. The only part that shocked and hurt her was, as past-Dolohov sent the curse at past-Hermione, she felt a shivering tremor run uncontrollably through Severus' body, still pressed tight to hers under the cloak, and his hand tightened on her arm almost to a painful degree. Knowing they could make no sounds, she simply pressed into him in what she hoped was a comforting way. I'm fine. I'm here with you. I made it. She tried to will her words into his mind via osmosis, and he seemed to relax slightly at the feel of her pressing into him.
As the moment arrived, Hermione slowly twisted the time turner in her hand, making seconds pass as minutes. They saw the bright green curse emanate from Bellatrix's wand as Sirius stood next to the ominous looking archway. In a split second, Hermione pulled Sirius away while Severus shoved Dolohov-now-Sirius into the exact spot where Sirius had stood. The entire switch was made in the time it took the curse to travel half a foot, at the glacial pace to which time had slowed down. In a fit of wisdom, Hermione cast a full body bind on Sirius, as well as a silencing charm, knowing that he might not take kindly to the confusion he was about to experience. At the last second, Severus cast the spell to wake Dolohov-now-Sirius out of his enchanted sleep.
She released the time turner to allow time to go at full speed and felt another bone-crunching squeeze from Severus' hand as polyjuiced Dolohov's eyes widened in terror as he recognized the curse coming towards him. Making sure the real Sirius was tucked into both time turner and invisibility cloak, the odd trio apparated away as Hermione started flipping the hourglass forwards.
They landed with a clunk on the floor of the Burrow. Hermione had owled Harry for the permission to use that as a transition location for Sirius, knowing how bad things could get if Sirius was secreted away by someone he not only believed to be a loyal Death Eater, but who also happened to be one of his lifelong enemies. Harry had been waiting for their arrival and, as Hermione grabbed Sirius' wand (just in case), she noticed that he had invited Arthur and Remus to be there as well. Smart. Thank you, Harry. Hermione was grateful she wouldn't have to do all the talking this time.
Sirius' eyes were wide in fear as Hermione unlooped the time turner from both his and Severus' neck. She magically guided his body into a chair before removing the body bind and the silencing spell. His eyes never left Severus and, body bind or not, his face was twisted with a mixture of rage and hatred. The second he felt his limbs were his own again, he flew out of the chair and stood up in a fury.
"Give me back my wand, Miss Granger." Sirius' voice shook with anger.
"Please sit down, Sirius. We have a lot to explain to you." Hermione tried to keep her voice as calm and soothing as possible.
"Give me back my wand!" his voice filled the room. "I don't know how this slimy Death Eater got us all here, or what is happening to the others at the ministry, but I have been waiting twenty years to give Snivelus what he deserves, and—"
Before Snape had a chance to even consider reacting, Hermione had left his side, wand in hand, and was pacing towards Sirius like an angry bull. Upon further discussion after the fact, several people in the room could have sworn they saw tiny sparks coming from somewhere in her bushy curls as they flowed behind her like a cape. She came three feet from Severus before the words began.
"YOU WILL SHUT YOUR MOUTH THIS SECOND, YOU UNGRATEFUL SWINE! You will sit down and you will listen and you will never call him that name again or so help me Merlin I will hex you so badly you'll wish we'd let Bellatrix get you!" Her eyes were shooting fire. Her nostrils flared with her heavy breathing as her heavy glare bore Sirius back down into his chair.
Sirius seemed to be completely and utterly taken aback. As he sat down, he took his first glance around the room and noticed Harry, Remus, and Arthur, but his gaze was still fixed on the towering and angry Hermione that stood looming over him. "You look different," he said meekly, with an undertone of confusion.
"I'm not usually quite this irritated," Hermione sniped back.
"No, I mean yes, but you look…older. You too, Harry." Sirius addressed Harry without taking his eyes off Hermione.
"If you had listened before you jumped to all the wrong conclusions you would know that I am more than two years older." Hermione paused to let this information sink in as Sirius turned to Harry, who nodded in confirmation.
"Okay. What happened? I'll listen." Sirius sat back slightly in the chair.
"So I was killed by Bellatrix, Snape killed Dumbledore, but on Dumbledore's orders, Voldemort killed you, Remus, then Harry killed Voldemort and you two somehow went back into the past and started undoing things?" Sirius' voice was incredulous.
"I know it's a lot to take in, old friend," Remus' presence was turning out to be a huge asset. Hermione wasn't sure how long it would have taken to get Sirius to believe what had happened were it not for his and Harry's presence. After a few more rounds of questions, he seemed to be coming to terms with things.
Sirius finally turned to Hermione "And what, may I ask, is going on with you and him?" He said the word as if it were dripping with something foul and smelly.
Hermione straightened herself up to her full height and looked down at Sirius almost haughtily. "He is the most honorable man I have ever met. I am going to marry him." Stressing the last word as a response to Sirius' previous tone, she said the word with utmost pride, a mix of the way one says the name of a childhood friend and the way a schoolgirl whispers her crush's name to a friend. As she said the last word, she reached up and pulled her hair behind her ear with her left hand, casually displaying her newly acquired adornment. Sirius' eyes got wide again as he looked around the room to the other faces. All nodded and smiled reassuringly.
"The Gryffindor princess and the Half Blood Prince." He said it as a statement of a fact he still had a hard time believing. He shook his head slightly for a few seconds, and then split into peals of laughter. "It would seem I've got a lot of catching up to do." With that, the tension that had covered the room like a thick fog since Sirius' arrival suddenly dissipated. Harry, Remus, and Sirius began to talk happily, glad to be finally reunited. After saying their goodbyes and an awkward handshake between Sirius and Severus, Hermione and Severus managed to leave the Burrow and apparate off in the direction of the castle.
Severus had been quiet on the walk from the apparition point, through the grounds, and up to his chambers. Hermione figured he simply had a lot on his mind, given the events of the evening, so she let him think in peace. She expected a matchingly quiet evening when they got up the spiral stairs, but the second they ascended the last steps Severus lunged at her. Before she knew it her back was up against the wall, Severus had one hand on either side of her head, his body was pressed into hers, and his mouth crushed against hers. She let out a small squeak of surprise, but was immediately swept up into the moment and began countering Severus' kiss with equal passion.
After enjoying a few minutes of his mouth, his body, his tongue, all intent on keeping her as tight to the wall as they could while he explored every inch of her body, Hermione managed to pull back a few inches and look at Severus with questioning eyes. The flames she saw in his eyes were enough to send a frission of thrill through her entire body. Still, she didn't know why now?
"You were the most majestic thing I have ever seen tonight," Severus answered her unspoken question, still panting heavily from their heated kiss. "No one has ever defended me before. Not like that. Not ever, actually." She saw where he was going and began to smile as her fingers twisted their way slowly into his hair. Severus continued, "I have never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. You were absolutely incredible."
"No one gets to treat you like that ever again. You are the best man I've ever known, Severus. You deserve respect and, at least in my presence, I'm not going to tolerate anything less." Hermione saw the look of wonder growing on his face as she spoke.
When she had finished, Severus breathed an 'I love you' into the side of her neck as the fire resumed once more and he began nibbling down her neck. She moaned as his hands roamed her body and was immediately lifted up. She wrapped her legs around Severus' waist as he carried her to the bed, where he pinned her on her back and continued working his way down her body, leaving a trail of passionate kisses and vanished clothes as he travelled.
They lay completely naked, sweating, and still out of breath on the bed. After she regained her senses after the last moment of quivering ecstasy at Severus' hand, she managed to crawl up and rest her head on Severus' shoulder, draping her leg across his. For a moment, they both lay in silence, relishing the way their bodies fit like two puzzle pieces in this position. Severus was the one to break the silence.
"What did Dumbledore want?" After Severus spoke, Hermione propped her chin on his chest to look up at him.
"If you're thinking about Dumbledore right now I fear I did something wrong…" She loved that she was free to joke with this once feared man, and that it felt so natural to do so.
"If you had done any better I fear I would not be alive to converse with you, my dear. No, I just remembered that you never told me what your meeting was about." He looked down at her as a grin spread slowly across her face.
"Oh. Well…" she paused to bite her lip and, as Severus suspected, to build the suspense. "He offered me a job."