A/N: Keep an eye out for the oneshot for Articcat for being review #100! If we get to 500, I'll offer up another - prompt of your choosing.
One to go! Eep!
Chapter Sixteen
She couldn't believe she was almost finished. Just another few weeks and the book would be done, perfectly coinciding with the end of the school year. The students would be free, she would be free, and so would Severus, though she wasn't sure what that meant yet. Hermione knew what she wanted to happen but didn't know if he felt the same.
It was completely off the wall, she knew, seeing as they had only been together a short time, but something felt right with him, and she didn't feel the need to waste time. She was ready to make this a public, long-term relationship. But would he still want secrecy? It would be difficult to do when her friends were much more prominent in her life.
She needed to figure out where she would be living afterward as well. Grimmauld for the start, she assumed, but then what? And would Severus feel comfortable visiting there?
There were a lot of questions and too few answers but one thing was for certain. If she didn't buckle down and complete and send the last revisions, then her summer was going to be spent in the library instead of anywhere else.
Hermione had a load of parchment and papers still to organize into the final bits and pieces of her book. She found a quiet section of the Restricted Section since far fewer students could gain access. There really should be a study hall, she thought, though when she really needed the space, she would just use the Great Hall in between meals. The only downfall was being interrupted at meals, though some would argue that that wasn't a bad thing.
She would pick her head up and give a little nod to Severus when she saw him walking through but mostly she just kept her nose to the parchment.
He felt her pulling away from him in the final weeks of the year. He knew the book was coming to a close and was occupying her time. Rationally, he realized that. But part of him still wondered if she was pulling away unconsciously to make the final break easier on them both.
It wouldn't. Not for him.
In the past few weeks he had realized he had something special with Hermione. He wasn't sure exactly what yet, or where it would lead them a year, ten years, or a hundred years down the road, but he knew what he wanted for now, and that was to be with her, as pithy as it sounded. That was simply all he wanted. They needed to talk, to see if they were on the same page but right now, it was hard to just get in the same room with her. He would just have to wait until the book was completed and then see where things led.
Near the end of term, just a few days before graduation, he received a short note from his elf.
Severus! it read. It's finished!
No signature was on the note and none was needed as Hermione's penmanship was well known to him—he had seen at least twice as much of it as any other student during her years as his pupil.
Before he could even question what was finished, a large barn owl swooped in his cracked window and left an elegant invitation in his lap, inviting him to a small formal reception that evening in the Great Hall announcing the newest edition of Hogwarts: a History, as revised by Hermione Granger.
He checked off his attendance and handed the card back to the waiting owl. Of course he would go. He would go and celebrate her success, and then perhaps tomorrow, some answers.
He walked into the hall in a set of fine black robes, trimmed in black silk, prepared to meet the crème of Wizarding society and was not disappointed. For the first time, he wore the robes and was not greeted by a Malfoy or a Lestrange or anyone with a silver hand.
He immediately spotted Hermione in the centre of the room, talking to an older wizard in the dress she had worn to the ball. Her hair was down with just a few tendrils holding it back as she worked the floor like the centre of attention she was. Severus glided over to her and lightly placed his hand on her arm.
"Severus!" she said happily. "Just the man I wanted to see."
"I can't believe out of everyone here, you were waiting for me," he said with a self-depreciating smile.
"Then you thought wrong," she told him as he let her lead him to a quiet corner of the room. "There is something I need to show you."
"And we need to talk," he told her. "After this whole thing is over."
"I agree. But first..."
With a flourish, she revealed a large wrapped package and presented it to him.
Curious, he grabbed the large golden bow and opened the box. Inside, nestled in tissue paper, was the latest edition of uHogwarts: a History/u, Hermione's name proudly on the cover.
"Open it!" she told him, practically bouncing on her toes.
He gave her a wary look and opened the front cover. It was a first edition, as he had expected, and inside was a printed dedication.
To Severus. A Prince of Potions and a prince among men. I couldn't have done it without you – H.G.
He stared at the book, shaken and quiet.
"Severus?" she asked softly, suddenly worried. "I'm sorry, maybe I should have asked. I didn't think about whether you would be alright with everyone knowing of our...friendship."
He snorted. "People generally don't want to be friends with me anywhere, especially in public. I just don't know what to say. No one has ever done something like this for me before," he voice growing husky.
She placed her hand on his arm. "I care about you, Severus. A lot. In a way that makes me glad I'm not your student anymore. I know I've been rather absent again these last few weeks getting everything finished, but I wanted to hurry up and get it done so I could be with you. I hope I'm not alone in my feelings."
"We'll talk later," he told her cryptically but then gave her a quick buss of his lips to let her know not to worry.
The rest of the evening they spent apart. Everyone there was vying for her attention, and he was content letting her shine. Potter and Weasley showed up with their girlfriends, both eager to support their friend, especially when the publicity was off them for a change—mostly. There were still a few looking for remarks from the Boy-Who-Lived.
She made a speech highlighting the usual—her pleasure working again at Hogwarts, a few gems she had uncovered along the way, special thanks to Minerva for accommodating her. A long talk followed about the importance of Hogwarts: a History and how the book had helped her as a young Muggleborn witch entering wizarding society. Of course, the first introduction students had to the world was Hogwarts, and they learned about the customs through their education. Some chapters had been expanded, and a whole chapter had been added for magical creatures and house-elves, another for the customs, both modern and traditional, of pure-blood society.
Then she gave a special acknowledgement to Severus. Weasley looked like his eyes would explode from his head as she told the crowd that his unexpected friendship had been an aid to her with his knowledge of the castle and its history. She told them what a thorn in his backside she had been during her school years, but that he eventually had been worn down by her persistence. She concluded that she was convinced she never would have been able to cover half the material she did without his expertise. Potter just kept looking back and forth between Severus and Hermione to the point that Severus was concerned he was going to strain a muscle as he watched the boy from his secluded spot in the corner.
As the event wound to a close, Hermione gave her goodbyes, promised her friends she would know her summer plans in a few days, gave a sly wink to Severus and departed. Severus waited long enough that his absence wouldn't be seen as right on her heels and followed her out the door.
"I thought that was never going to end!" she exclaimed as she jumped out of the shadows near the stairs leading down to Slytherin. She threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly in the middle of the hallway. He only had to bend his head down a few inches on account of her heels.
"The students are still here," he told her.
She gave him a wicked grin. "I don't mind being the one caught for a change, do you?"
"Don't tempt me," he told her. "I know for a fact that Flitwick is on patrols later, and that old letch would probably just watch."
Hermione shuddered as she entered his room, suddenly thankful for the privacy.
"I really hope you don't mind that I talked about you tonight," she told him as she let down her hair and removed her gloves and shoes.
"Not at all. It was a novelty not being reviled for a change."
She frowned at him. "They all know what a hero you are."
"Yes, and very few of them believe it or care. They also know what an arse I am," he said plainly, removing his own shoes.
"Well, I don't think you're an arse. Much. To me anyway."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence."
She smiled as she sat beside him, shifting slightly to take him hands in hers. "So what did you want to talk about?" she asked nervously, knowing that the time had probably come to reveal her secret.
"What are we doing, Hermione?" he asked bluntly, as he looked up at her face, studying it for a reaction. "Is this just a fling for you? Something to pass the time while you're stuck at your old stomping grounds or is it something more?"
"Is it something more to you?" she asked, slightly squeezing his hands, both eager and terrified to hear his answer.
"It is."
A weight was lifted from her shoulders as her heart soared. "I'm so glad. It's not a fling for me. I would never do something like that. I just didn't know what you thought, with my being younger and I was your student and kind of a pain in your arse, and with Harry's mum and..."
He cut her off with a finger to her lips. "Lily for me was Weasley for you. She just died before I had a chance to realize it. Nothing else ever came along for me, until now. It took me a long time to reconcile her death, but trust me when I tell you she has no part of this relationship. Your age in irrelevant. Did you know that Minerva was married before your time here to a much older man? Also one who had previously been her boss. It's not uncommon in our world. And I daresay we were a pain in each other's arse."
"You never did apologize for the remark about my teeth," she reminded him with narrowed eyes.
"And I probably never will," he told her as he pulled her tight for a kiss, finding no resistance.
"Severus?" she said slowly. "There is something else I need to tell you."
His heart grew tight as she pulled away. Here was where she would say she still had feelings for the ginger, or "I care for you, but..."
"There really isn't a good way to say this," she started then rushed to finish, "I'm a Fairy Godmother."
He chortled. "You're what?"
"I'm a Godmother," she repeated. "I found out shortly after I returned, and that's why I've been acting kind of strange, or mysterious things have been happening around the castle. That's why I was looking for the Ford Anglia and why I placed Lyra with the Lupins and why I was able to help fix the Wolfsbane. I'm a Godmother."
"What exactly does that mean?" he asked. "There hasn't been an active Godmother here..."
"...In ages, I know. Minerva told me," she said. "It seems like it's kind of on a case-by-case basis, but it depends on whether you are willing to go public, which I am. Then I receive coins with people's past wishes, or I am able to tell if they have a strong wish I can aid them with when they are around me. My fairy magic helps guide me to where I am needed and assists in making things come together for the wish to be fulfilled. I also have my dress."
She stood up and gave him a twirl.
"And the tattoos?" he asked.
"What tattoos?"
He stood her up and walked her over to the floor-length mirror. He started to undo the strings lacing up the back of her dress but found the stars went down, down, down, almost all the way down to her tailbone.
"Can I remove your dress?" The timbre of his voice travelled down her spine.
She nodded a bit shy but stepped out of the gown to get a full view of her back. "Oh my," she whispered.
The stars that had started at her neck wound down her back in the outline of a whimsical butterfly. The blue stars were all different sizes, from as small as a pea to almost as large as a Galleon.
"These stars are my wishes," she said in awe. "The wishes I've granted."
"Will it continue forever?"
"I don't think so. Look, there seem to be just a few missing to complete the pattern. Only three or four spots are left."
"What will it mean when it's finished?"
Hermione lifted one shoulder. "I'm not sure. We'll just have to see. Are you willing to find out with me?" she asked, her pretty face clearly showing her anxiety.
"Why would I mind being with a woman who can grant wishes?" he asked.
"There is only one wish on my mind to grant right now," she told him. "And it's mine."
"Well, this is your evening. Your wish is my command."
"Take me to bed, Severus," she whispered and there was no hesitation as he swept her off her feet.
He laid her down on his soft bedcovers as he slowly underdressed, her undergarments not even making it through the door.
"And you're sure?"
"I'm a Gryffindor. We never question ourselves," she said, brazenly as she helped remove the last article of his clothing. She kissed him softly as she pulled him down to lay with her, keeping his body over hers. One hand trailed through his hair while the other trailed down his back, squeezing a cheek and eliciting a moan from him. "You have a nice arse," she muttered in between kisses.
His hands wandered over her, taking in her soft perfection. They ghosted over her face and her shoulders, down her arms and her breasts, over the dip of her stomach to the rounds of her hips before settling inside her thighs, pushing them apart to see the treasure they kept. His long nose nuzzled her as his hair tickled her stomach. He breathed in her scent, familiarizing himself with every part of her.
Air escaped her as he took a taste, delving deep to capture the essence of her, and making her voice create a song only he would hear. His name left her lips over and over again, chanting and reverent, making him throb with his own excitement and need. Never had he felt so wanted by another. Not just needed, but wanted.
Soon she cried out in a voice that made him thankful for the stone walls around them, or there would certainly have been questions in the morning.
He pierced into her before she had a moment to catch her breath, the pleasure and surprise leaving her nail marks down his back. Her hair crackled with blue and purple sparks at the tips, harmlessly falling to the bed sheets and the floor.
"Harder," she panted as Severus pushed deep inside. "Harder...yessss," she breathed as he strove to comply.
"Fuck, Hermione," he told her, his own breathing growing ragged as he cupped one breast and held a firm grip on her hip, thrusting into her over and over again. Soon his grip left her as he reached forward to cup her face in a caress. Hermione felt his pace falter as he neared his own completion and pulled him down to her with her legs wrapped around his torso.
"Fuck me, Severus," she told him raggedly. "I want to hear you cum." Her legs squeezed him tighter as she gave him a bruising kiss, her pert little arse tilting off the bed to give him the perfect angle to reach as far into her as he could go.
He moaned as he came apart inside her, trying to say her name and stumbling over the syllables. "I love you," he managed as his breathing returned. "I love you."
She wiped away the droplets of sweat gathered on his face and at the corners of his eyes. "I love you too."
Sated, they laid in bed talking until night became dawn, neither ready to go to sleep first and let the night end.
When they finally emerged from the bed covers, sometime well after noon, the coffee had grown cold and the breakfast was stale. They ordered a new service which was delivered with a place setting for two and the Daily Prophet.
"No pulling the wool over their eyes," Hermione muttered as she opened the Prophet to see the two of them splashed across the front page.
The article about the new book was overshadowed by an article claiming that Snape was a benevolent and reformed wizard, which made Hermione snicker and Severus frown, and another wondering if Hermione had snagged the "most eligible wizard."
"They had to get it right at some point," she said passing along the page for him to peruse.
Hermione noticed when she returned to her own room that one of her coins was missing. She hadn't realized at the time that her actions would fulfil it, but now that they it had, it made sense.
"I wish my family name was cleared – Eileen" was all the coin had stated.