Chapter 12: Stone Table

The meeting with Minerva ended up being moved out onto the green by the lake so the Headmistress and her Deputies could keep an eye one Hagrid keeping an eye on his class learning about the squid in Black Lake. While no one had ever been hurt by the squid, Hagrid attracted odd events like he collected random food in his beard during mealtimes. If anything strange could happen, it would happen while Hagrid was around distracted by something else. It was just a matter of time. Keeping an eye on Hagrid keeping an eye on his students was just preventative care.

That being said, Minerva had transfigured a wonderful stone round-table overlooking the lake, and it allowed those attending the meeting to enjoy the open air, keep an extra eye on Hagrid's wayward students, and speak about the matter at hand all at once.

"Unfortunately, Hallow is not a name that I have heard amongst the long-time Wizarding families in Europe," Lucius admitted as he stretched his legs out and sipped his tea. "It sounds like a Wizarding name, though, which is puzzling."

"So many names go through Hogwarts anymore," Hermione replied with a sigh. "I am lucky to remember all of my students by name. Keeping track of lineages was never my forte."

"I do recall the name from somewhere before recently," McGonagall said, steepling her hands together as she stared into space. "It is possible I heard it while traveling abroad rather than here at Hogwarts."

Draco drummed his fingers on the table and frowned. "Is it possibly an American family name?"

Severus narrowed his eyes, eying a student who was half-covered in mud traipsing up and down the shoreline with the other students. The other classmates were giving the mud-covered boy a wide berth. "I have heard the name 'Hallows' in use in muggle Europe as a surname," Severus mentioned. "And there are, of course, the Deathly Hallows in the Wizarding world, but as a Wizarding family, I cannot recall having heard of it before Celandine Hallow."

"I would rather not try to involve Aurors in this unless there is a confirmed use of Dark Arts to be traced," Minerva said. "As much as we are in the good graces of the Aurors Office these days, I'd rather be sure before getting them involved in yet another Hogwarts mystery."

"Dark Magic had a distinctive feel even when used in formularies," Severus said. "And there is none of it upon the capsules or the contents."

"And the trace would have been noticeable once the capsule was opened, even if the capsule had been charmed to be undetectable, yes?" Hermione pondered out loud.

"Yes," Severus said with a nod.

McGonagall let out her breath somewhat loudly. "And there is the issue with determining of Celandine is the source of the pills or an innocent, albeit horribly misguided, victim in this."

Hermione frowned. "If Miss Hallow purposely gave Rose those pills, she would expect her to be showing symptoms soon, much like Miss Baylor."

"Perhaps we can use this to our advantage," McGonagall pondered. "If we plant Rose in the Hospital Wing for a couple days and act like she had the same issue as Miss Baylor, we could observe Miss Hallow's behavior."

"Careful, Minerva," Severus said softly. "You may have been hanging around too many Slytherins."

Minerva scoffed, waving her hand, unintentionally reinforcing the point upon herself.

The Slytherins at the table exchanged amused glances.

"She has a point," Hermione conceded. "And Rose would probably enjoy a little hospital wing subterfuge." Hermione's hand went to the area between her eyes and she rubbed it absently. "Most of the other professors would probably not mind if Rose had to have absentee homework brought to her in the hospital ward for a few days. The only ones you may have a hard time convincing to bring her absentee work are the Potion Professors."

The Headmistress eyed Hermione with a curious arch of her eyebrow. "Oh?"

Hermione inclined her head. "They are brewing Shrinking Solutions this week. She'll be wanting to peel her shrivelfigs all over the hospital ward. Poppy will have kittens."

"The last thing Pomfrey wants is to have Rose chasing caterpillars across the hospital floor either," Severus grunted as he drummed his long fingers against the table.

Draco coughed politely into his fist as Lucius cast his gaze down to his walking cane. The both of them shared the mental image of Severus dealing with any student chasing caterpillars across the floor of his classroom. The image was both comical and frightening.

Minerva sipped her tea, stifling a chuckle. "Perhaps… well thought out written work will suffice until she can 'make up' her missed days in the laboratory?"

Severus and Hermione turned their heads at the same time to stare at Wayne Mitchell, whose eyes widened before he slumped his shoulders and laid his forehead down on the table. "Yes, Masters," he said in defeat. The phoenix chick on his shoulder seemed to slump as well, letting out a soft peep.

Severus turned his head, looking bored. Hermione patted their apprentice on the shoulder gently, taking a moment to rub Keegan under the beak. The phoenix chick perked up immediately, rubbing his head against her fingers.

Minerva inhaled sharply and let her breath out slowly. "Well that will suffice for now. Thank you, Lucius, for checking into the name for us. Draco, I appreciate your willingness to help with the reconnaissance."

Lucius waved his hand dismissively. "It was nothing," he said with a sniff.

Draco gave a sly smile to indicate just now much not a trouble it had been for him.

Lucius grunted at his son. "You've created a monster, Hermione. My son is entirely too happy to run around as a polecat for your spying pleasure."

Draco curled his lip slightly at his father. "Ferret, father."

Lucius gave a shrug that was as close to him saying "whatever" as Lucius Malfoy would come. "I dread if your animagus form is anything else. I do not want to see my grown son cry."

Draco snorted, turning his head away from his father.

Minerva had a sly look upon her face as she winked at Hermione. Hermione lowered her chin and pressed her thumb to her lips in a very Malfoyesque gesture.

Sparks had shuffled down Severus' sleeve during the meeting and was busy giving Minerva the eyes. The young phoenix had no eyelashes to bat, but she widened her round eyes even more and vibrating her wings with a chain of soft peeps.

"You're being prostrated to, Auntie Minerva," Severus said dryly. His eyes slid sideways to peer at the Headmistress with veiled amusement.

Minerva plucked a fig from the bowl near her and offered it up to the begging chick. Sparks did her best to make it disappear in the most efficient manner possible. Keegan and Ignis peeped jealously from Wayne's and Hermione's shoulders.

"Wayne," Severus broke the silence to speak to his apprentice.

"Yes, Sir?" Wayne replied automatically.

"Please fetch Rose from our quarters and take her to the hospital wing. Be sure to make a nice show of carrying her there. There is a sleeping draught on the second shelf near the door behind Living With Dittany in the Search of Erumpents. Have her drink a fourth of it before you do, so she doesn't give anything away with her insufferable giggling."

Wayne grinned mischievously. "Yes, Master," he said as he stood and gave a small bow to the others and left, his own robes whooshing behind him.

Minerva stood. "I will go inform Poppy before she gets her next 'patient,'" She smiled wryly as she bowed a farewell to those at the table and headed up the path towards Hogwarts.

Lucius took a bite of an apple from Minerva's shared fruit bowl. "You are turning that poor young man into another Snape, Severus," he commented. I'm starting to think it's a contagion. It starts slowly, with change in wardrobe, and then insidiously takes over the mind."

"Nonsense," Severus answered. "He is far too… cheerful… for you to blame it on me."

Draco leaned in. "There are two elder Snapes molding him into what he is, Uncle Severus. He's doomed."

Hermione slid her eyes over to peer at her husband. "What do you mean… too cheerful?"

Severus was silent as he met his wife's scrutiny. Her eyes were full of mock outrage and pure mischief.

Hermione fluidly transferred Ignis from her shoulder to the table as she half stood.

Severus was a blur of motion as he fled the table, his harpy eagle form beating his wings wildly as he caught a thermal and sped off over Black Lake.

Hermione launched herself into the air after him, giving a clarion call of eagle indignation as she tore off after her mate, her great wings sending large whirlwinds of air over Draco and Lucius as she left. The two eagles collided in mid air, talons locking together as they joined each other in free-fall. Just before they crashed into the water, they released, giving joined calls of eagle exhilaration. Hermione's calls echoed across the lake with her laughter as Severus' answered her with scolding.

Lucius and his son watched the two Professor Snapes chase each other through the clear blue sky. The two phoenix chicks peered up into the sky with wistful peeps. Lucius slowly set his hand down on Ignis' back and stroked his down and feathered back. Sparks, noticing the attention her brother was getting, wiggled her way under Lucius' hand as well.

Draco grinned at his father.

Lucius schooled his face into the utmost in propriety, refusing to let his son accuse him of being tender in public. The phoenix chicks refused to allow him to shirk on the petting, peeping and bumping up against his hand for the affection they desired. Lucius' mouth twitched and he slowly caressed the phoenix chicks once more, glaring at his son as if to dare him to say anything.

"There is no use resisting them, father," Draco said with a smile. "They are Snapes, Slytherin, and have a splash of Gryffindor audacity."

Lucius cast his gaze down to the chicks under his hand. "I am glad your mother is not here. She would want to take one home."

Draco looked skyward as if for guidance. "Mmm… that sounds like mother."

Hermione and Severus landed with a whoosh of powerful wings, sending wind in whirlwinds around the Malfoys. They cast off their harpy eagle shapes with a speed of practice. Both professors tilted their heads back at the same time, running their hands through their hair and shaking it as they landed. The two phoenix chicks perked up and ran across the table as fast as their legs would carry them, peeping happily that their surrogate parents had professor had smug expressions cast about their face as though privy to some secret they weren't sharing.

Hermione scooped up the two chicks with a broad smile, nosing them both with her face before depositing Sparks on Severus' shoulder and Ignis on her own. Hermione made a soft warbling sound in her throat, causing the two chicks to trill happily in response. Each chick flapped their wings and settled, content to be reunited with their bipedal parents.

Lucius and Draco stood. Lucius twitched the corner of his mouth as he looked at the two potion masters.

Hermione inclined her head towards Draco. "Class isn't for a few hours, Draco, if you wish to carry on our lessons."

Draco gave a sly grin, catching up to her as the pair walked up the path towards Hogwarts together. If a person did not know their history together, they would never have suspected them having once been sworn adversaries in both House and life choices. Ignis peeped a farewell from Hermione's shoulder, causing Sparks to flap her wings and let out a baby warble.

Lucius stared at the little phoenix with amusement. "We've come a long way, old friend," he said softly, staring at his son and his old friend's wife walk up the path together. "On some days, it seems like so much has changed, and on others quite the opposite."

Severus lifted his head slightly, regarding Lucius with dark and impenetrable eyes. "For the better, Lucius," he replied.

Lucius fanned out his fingers from his walking cane, slowly curling them around the head of it as if to stretch his fingers as one would stretch their shoulders. He watched as Draco chased Hermione up the trail, snatched Ignis from her shoulder, and tore up the pathway. Hermione leapt into the air as a harpy eagle and chased after, giving a call of righteous indignation. Draco ducked the wicked talons as she whooshed by his head, cackling in his amusement.

Lucius met Severus' eyes. His expression was no longer the haunted and broken man that barely survived the second Wizarding War. He, like his son, had changed, healed, and become something greater than the past had allowed. "For the better, Severus," he agreed.

-O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Mum."

Hermione looked up from the large pile of parchments she was grading, her quill paused a few seconds after she looked up as if the message to stop from her brain was delayed in transit. "Yes, my son?"

"Watch!"

Hermione lifted an eyebrow curiously as Julius set down Ember next to a line of cauldrons. He tapped the phoenix chick on the beak and stared at her. The chick hunkered down slightly, tucking her head close to her body as she watched him.

He walked backwards cautiously, keeping an eye on the chick until he reached the end of the counter. "Ok, Ember!" Julius encouraged from down the counter.

The young phoenix warbled excitedly, wings flapping. Her tail let off small flames as she scampered down the counter, smacking her tail into each cauldron as she passed by, igniting the brazier under each one all the way down the line. Ember skidded to a halt when she reached the end of the line, peeping excitedly as she flapped her wings. She looked up at Julius with anticipation.

Julius held out a fig for the young bird and watched it disappear down her gullet within seconds. He looked at his mother for a sign of approval or lack thereof, hoping for the former and ready for the latter.

Hermione grinned at her son's phoenix training antics. She stood, setting her quill down and shrugging her shoulders so her outer robe draped across her shoulders with its familiar weight. "Well now, my son. It seems we have a right collection of ready cauldrons. Whatever shall we do with them?"

Julius looked curiously at his mother as she peered into each cauldron and added measures of water to each one.

"You know, Julius," Hermione said as though she were commenting on the water level of Black Lake. "There is a lonely bowl of apples sitting on our dining room table just begging for attention. If only… someone could bring them to me here."

Julius' expression became excited and he hurried out the classroom door, darting towards their private living quarters.

Hermione smiled , opening one of the cabinets and pulled out a box. She laid out a long mat and set out a series of bowls. Opening each of the jars, she sniffed them and poured contents into each bowl. She unwrapped small blocks of chocolate and caramel and tossed them into their own cauldron. Sniffing one of the jars, she smiled and tapped its contents into another cauldron, stirring it gently as it thickened and burbled. Ignis cheeped curiously from her shoulder, and she scratched him around the beak with her finger.

Julius let himself back into the classroom, carrying a large bowl of apples. The bowl was larger than his upper body, and he had his arms wrapped completely around it. Ember perched on the edge of the bowl, flapping her wings as if to help him lift it with her own power of will.

Julius hoisted the bowl onto the counter with a smile.

"Care to help me stir?" Hermione asked as she stirred the last cauldron. She handed Julius a spoon.

Julius bounced on his heels and grasped the spoon and tended the cauldrons with her, stirring each of them as they watched them burble. Some of his hair fell down in front of his face and he blew on it, glaring at the errant strands as though his will would drive them back around his ears.

Hermione reached over and stroked his hair back around his ears and clipped his hair back into a ponytail. "You've been blessed with sentient hair, my son. A gift from both myself and your father. You're welcome."

Julius gave his mother a lop-sided grin. "Worth it!"

Hermione grinned at her son. "I wasn't so accepting at your age."

"You didn't have charmed hair bands!" Julius chuckled.

"You can thank your father for making those for us," Hermione said with a smile as she stirred her cauldrons. "Though he did test them on me long before you were born."

Julius perked up at the mention of the past. Neither Hermione nor Severus were ones to wax poetic when it came to their past, so the few times they did voluntarily share it, even to their children, Julius knew a rare gem when came to bite him on the face. As if to mirror his enthusiasm, Ember peeped cutely and cast her wide, round eyes upon Hermione.

Hermione eyed the cauldrons and seemed satisfied. She handed Julius half a stack of flat sticks and gestured to the bowl of apples.

Julius hopped up onto the nearby stool and dutifully began to stab each apple with a stick as his mother sat beside him.

"When I was your age, Julius, I was very self conscious about my appearance," Hermione began. "But one of the sorest spots I had was with my overly bushy hair and buck teeth. It was a bone of contention between myself and anyone who wanted to get a rise out of me."

Julius tilted his head to the side in an unconscious reflection of his mother and father. "But there is nothing wrong with your hair, mother, and you don't have buck teeth."

Hermione grinned as used her wand to shape the apple into a large ferret head and then shoved the stick into the core making it look like an impaled ferret head. "Back then, tension between the Houses was more than just something that separated you during Quidditch games. Your Uncle Draco once charmed my teeth to resemble a North American beaver."

"What?" Julius' eyes went wide. "How did he survive doing that to you?" Julius was fully aware of how skilled his mother was in all manner of spells, charms, curses, hexes, counters, and everything in between. He also knew that if anyone attempted to do anything to his mother, successful or not, it would not be his mother they would have to worry about the foremost, but his father. "Father would have set him on fire!"

"Back then, my dear Julius," Hermione said as she stuffed another stick into the apple core, "Your father and I got along like water and oil. And your uncle and I got along like a cauldron explosion in the library, only imagine the books and the cauldron glaring at each other menacingly before the explosion."

Julius blinked disbelieving at his mother. "I cannot imagine that," he admitted as he continued to stuff sticks into apple cores. Auntie says the two of you were meant for each other. Even Great-uncle Lucius says that."

Hermione smiled at her son, a part of her still amused at how things had changed between herself and the Malfoy family. "Sometimes things that were meant to be take a while to figure out due to being in the thick of it," Hermione explained. "Small steps are often what takes you to an end others see long before you."

Julius thought for a moment. "Auntie saw it before you and father?"

Hermione stabbed the last stick into a free apple. "I think so. She's the one who insisted I unofficially apprentice under your father after the war. She confesses she wasn't completely sure, and there may have been some under the table betting on who managed to hex the other into the hospital wing first."

Julius giggled, running his hand through his hair at the mental image. "The portraits say you and father used to duel for fun in the corridors and courtyards during the summer."

Hermione looked upwards. "Mmmm."

Julius eyed his mother. "You did?"

"Mmmm," Hermione said noncommittally.

Julius stared at his mother with wide eyes a moment. A large grin broke out over his face.

Hermione stood up and dipped one of the apples into one of the nearby cauldrons. The apple came out of the dip with a shiny red candy coating that hardened almost immediately after she pulled it out. She placed it on the mat with a grin.

Julius stood up and dunked one of his apples into some caramel and then rolled it across the bowl of chopped nuts before setting it down on the mat to cool. They worked together silently, dipping apples into the cauldrons and rolling them across various sprinkles, nuts, and candies.

Hermione took a spoon and slowly dripped white chocolate over one of the dark chocolate covered apples making it look like a spiderweb. Julius watched intensely and attempted to imitate. He grinned as his apple looked like a spider had cast its web upon his apple.

Hermione poked a chocolate onto his apple and pointed her wand at it, charming it into a spider shape. The chocolate spider's multiple eyes glittered and its chocolate legs twitched as if alive.

Julius laughed and bobbed his head in approval, begging to learn the charm. His mother smiled before the teaching face took over and spread across her face as a cloud would pass across the sun. She stood straighter, guiding his posture with her hands, and her voice was concise as she gave him the incantation. Her eyes missed nothing as he imitated the gestures, her hands reaching up guide his arm, shoulder, fingers, or head into the proper position the moment any of the above were out of alignment.

Julius followed his mother's instruction without complaint until a perfect chocolate spider adorned each of his nearby apples. He looked at his mother with a hopeful smile.

Hermione's stern teaching face softened and she smiled, nodding her approval. One of Julius' spiders attempted to crawl off the apple and Ember pounced on it in a flurry of flapping wings, pinning it down with her foot.

Julius laughed, grasping the chick in his hand and transferring her back to his shoulder. He stuffed a dried apricot into her beak as he "rescued" the chocolate spider and plunked it back onto the candy web.

"What are you going to do with all these candy apples, Julius?" Hermione asked, the corner of her mouth quirked upward in a very Snape expression.

"I think I'm going to use the phoenix-owl network to send them off to Aunt and Uncle Malfoy, Aunt Minerva, Grandma and Grandpa Weasley and Granger… and Master Ollivander, if that's okay, mum?" Julius bounced on his toes and looked to his mother for permission.

Hermione eyed her son silently. "They are yours to do as you please," she replied, silently proud.

Julius smiled and began to pack the apples carefully into a crate so they didn't knock into each other. He paused as he picked up the crate. "Do you think it would be bad manners if I save one for Rose and myself?"

Hermione smiled at her son. "No, Julius. I do not think anyone would fault you for wishing to keep a couple for yourself or your sister."

Julius grinned happily. He plucked out two apples from his crate. One had a chocolate spider with emerald green candy eyes and one had ruby red candy eyes. He held them out to Hermione with a shy smile. "These are for you and father," Julius announced.

Hermione's expression was warm as she regarded her son. Her fingers clasped the wooden sticks holding up the candy apples. "Thank you, Julius."

Julius blushed and scurried out of the door. He stopped at the door and looked back. "I will come back and help clean up the cauldrons after I send these, mum!"

"Don't worry about it this time, Julius," Hermione answered with a small quirk of her lips. "You're excused this time."

Julius grinned and carried his crate of candy apples back towards the living quarters.

Severus entered the classroom shortly after as Hermione vanished the mess from the counters and put away the excess ingredients. She approached him without hesitation and extended the candy apple to him with a smile.

Severus' eyebrow lifted in curiosity, his black eyes meeting hers. His pale fingers curled around the candy apple's stick.

"Your son wishes to give you a gift, husband," Hermione said with a warm smile.

Severus eyed the candy spider on his apple, taking note of the lifelike emerald candy eyes and lifelike chocolate legs. "Giving private lessons again, my witch?" There was amusement in his voice.

Hermione's expression was mischievous. "Perhaps."

Severus touched her cheek with his free hand, running his fingers through her hair. Energy rippled through their bond, rewarding them both with pleasure. He placed his hand over the clasp holding her hair back and tugged on it, releasing its hold upon her tamed hair. Her hair almost immediately sprung back into its customary fluffiness. Her curls wound around his fingers as though it was sentient and sensed his presence. He lowered his head and pressed his mouth to hers in a kiss, stroking her hair with his pale fingers. As he pulled away, he moved his hand together to gather her hair in a practiced movement and clipped it back into place with the charmed serpent he had made her so many years previous. "You are missing one of your hair binds," he noted.

"I let Julius borrow one so he did not get his hair into the candy apple coatings," Hermione replied with a smile.

Severus gave her a small shared smile. "Probably wise." He pulled a hair comb out from his robe and fastened her hair into its more tame appearance. A charmed peacock spread its tail up as the comb was put in place, sending a shimmer of magic through her hair.

Hermione smiled at him. His tending to her hair had begun long before they had truly admitted the depth of their feelings to each other, but it was little gestures such as those that had overwritten their less than stellar past during her early school years.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Snape walked into his laboratory to hear a swelling crescendo of Mozart's Requiem in D Minor roll into him. He stood still in the doorway like a statue, torn between surprise, affront to his feeling of territory, and something he couldn't identify.

His apprentice was deep in the throes of potion-crafting. He could tell by her stance and the way her hands moved across the cauldrons that his lessons beyond the scope of books had finally begun to become second nature to her. Her hands moved to bottles of ingredients; she opened and sniffed them, and she measured out some seemingly random quantity into one cauldron or another, stirring one clockwise and the other anti-clockwise.

It seemed that the conjured music seemed to assist her into getting "in the zone" of what she was doing rather than distracting her, helping her tune out the sounds of Hogwarts as well as the equally random thoughts her own mind threw into mix.

Five different cauldrons were burbling at the same time, something he had not taught her to do specifically, yet as far as he knew, he was the only one on the continent that regularly did multiple cauldrons at the same time. Even so, those that did rarely went over two at the same time. Three was pushing it. He, however, had found it strangely relaxing to do more at a time. It forced his mind to focus and put things into order. Perhaps, Ms. Granger had found the same conclusion. He found the thought strangely pleasing.

As he watched her, her body swayed to the music in the laboratory as if dancing with an invisible partner. Her eyes, however, did not leave her cauldrons. Her hands hung over them either to stir or add ingredients at the proper time.

She paused in her ministrations as each of the cauldrons seemed to stabilize one after another. She took a deep breath as if to steady herself, eyes still intent on her vigil. Her overly bushy hair fell across her face in an annoyingly distracting manner, and she blew up on it, attempting to get it out of her face.

Snape approached, dragging his shoe across the stone floor in order to warn her of his approach. He saw her head turn slightly at the sound, tensing, then relaxing as she realized who was with her. She blew on her hair again, sighing. One hand was stirring a cauldron, and the other was poised with her wand as she monitored temperature.

Severus reached onto the counter where a small silver paperweight had been cast to the side. He picked it up in his hand, pondering.

"Ms. Granger," he asked softly. "Will you… permit me to assist you with you hair?"

Hermione tensed at the mention of her hair, her shoulders slumped slightly as if bracing herself for some hateful comment as to her bushy hair. When it did not come, she turned her head to him slowly, her eyes meeting his. "You… may," she replied softly.

Snape approached her from behind, closing his hand over the silver paperweight in his hand. He felt it grow warm in his hand as he willed the magic he wanted into it. When he opened his hand, the silver had formed into a snake with sparkling emerald eyes. He gathered her hair awkwardly in his hands, pulling it back from her face and tucking the errant strands away from her eyes and under his fingers. Gently, he pulled her hair back into a ponytail and released the snake in his hand. The silver snake slithered around her hair multiple times, forming a neat ponytail. The snake went still, having fulfilled its duty. He dropped his hands from her hair and stepped back somewhat awkwardly.

Hermione stirred one of the cauldrons and threw a pinch of something into another. "Thank you, Professor Snape," she thanked him softly under the cover of the music in the room.

Snape looked over her cauldrons critically, but his eyes seemed to soften as he monitored her progress. "You are welcome."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Hermione smiled at Severus as he combed her hair with his fingers, leaning into his touch as the memory of the first time he had tended her hair made a warmth rise up within.

He pressed his forehead to hers, nostrils flaring slightly as he took in her scent. He pulled her into him, enfolding her. He set the candied apple down on his desk next to hers, freeing his arm to pull her closer.

"I have a thought to let Wayne teach the next class," Severus murmured into her ear. "He's getting too comfortable with the first years."

"Throwing him to the wolves of the third year?" Hermione asked with a chuckle, pressing her nose into his waistcoat.

"Who would do such a thing?" Severus murmured his reply into her hair.

"I happen to know of a couple of people with the audacity," she chuckled softly.

"Mmmph," Severus grunted. "We should meet up for tea. They sound like our kind of people."

Hermione's fingers gently pressed to the back of his neck where his collar did not quite protect him.

Severus hissed softly, tugging her against him as his mouth pressed to hers into a highly conditioned response as his own hand pressed against the nape of her neck.

They parted slowly, eyes meeting in a conversation that never needed to pass their lips.

Hermione kissed the end of his nose affectionately, beaming at him with unconditional adoration. "You know… the third years may have it worse with Wayne teaching instead of us."

"Oh?" Severus replied. "How so?"

"If he teaches with my temper, your flair for disdain, and adds in his own style, the students aren't going to know which way to run when something explodes," Hermione said with a giggle.

"As long as it isn't towards me," Severus said, casting his gaze upward.

Hermione shoved her husband lightly with her head to his chest. "Pfft."

"Fine, fine," Severus acquiesced. "As long as it isn't towards me or you."

Hermione laughed, running her finger down the bridge of his nose. "Thank you for your consideration."

The Potion Master gazed upon Hermione as a smile danced across his eyes rather than his face. "You are welcome."