Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

Hermione could tell that Severus had something he wanted to discuss with her soon. She was sure she knew what it was. There was a tense day or two when Mrs. Tonks was sick, and the only contact from Severus was a terse owl to stay away from the cottage. The note told her that he would send for her in a few days when he could arrange time for them to talk without interruption.

Ron glowered when she mentioned Severus at Grimmauld Place, while Harry sighed and looked bored. It didn't matter. They were just her childhood friends anyway. If they couldn't be happy for her, she would simply have to make new friends... or do without. Severus was the important thing.

After four days of waiting an owl came. She read the note and crowed to Harry and Ron. "See? He wants to see me today. There are important things he wants to discuss, he says. It's all going to happen!"

She looked up to see Ron walking down the hallway toward the stairs.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"What do you think?" rejoined Harry. "He loves you, Hermione. He can't turn it on and off like you apparently can."

"I thought he would be happy for me."

"He wants to be happy for you, Hermione, but the way you've flaunted this thing around... you've crushed his heart. It's a little hard to take." Harry got up and left the kitchen table. "For that matter, it's a little hard to watch, too."

It didn't matter. She could be happy without Ron or even Harry in her life if need be. She got up and put her dishes in the sink and went up to her bedroom. On the way she almost knocked on the door of Ron's bedroom, but she heard something suspiciously like a sniffle and whatever it was stopped her.

Andromeda was bustling around her kitchen as usual. Hermione came through and smiled at little Teddy, who sat on a rug and banged an old cauldron with a wooden spoon. The mistress of the house looked up from hands buried in bread dough and smiled. "Hermione, you look lovely in that frock."

"Severus said he wanted to see me," Hermione said importantly.

"Yes," said Andromeda, "he told me you would be coming. He's out in the grove near the pond. I made you a bit of a lunch," she added, nodding toward a tray on the kitchen table. "Why don't you take it out there and enjoy it while you talk?"

Hermione's heart burst with this kindness. At least one person understood how perfect this moment should be. She impulsively hugged the shorter witch. "Oh, thank you! I hope we'll always be friends."

Andromeda looked at her a little oddly. "I hope that too, dear."

Smiling brightly, she walked out the door and around the pond until she found him. He was sitting on a blanket under an apple tree, which was just starting to bud. "You wanted to see me?" she asked, setting the tray down. She busied herself with sandwiches and napkins.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you. There are a few things we need to discuss." She was kneeling on the blanket he sat on, and now she stopped moving. Her hands were folded in her lap as she looked at him in anticipation.

"Oh?"

He waved to the food. "Eat first, serious conversations later. Have you ever seen a prettier spring day?"

She looked around the garden, trying to see what he saw. The herb garden was in pristine condition. She knew that both he and Andromeda enjoyed keeping it neat. The flowering trees were all in some stage of bloom. The sky was bright for once and the grass was soft and green. "It is lovely," she admitted.

"I don't think I've ever seen a better spring. Part of it has to be the end of the war, but I think part of it is Andromeda's work."

She looked around again. "Yes, Mrs. Tonks seems very efficient. I think she was making bread when I came through the house. This home is lovely, and I hope we shall visit often."

"She's done a very good job at tending to me this past year. I might have recovered anywhere, but she made sure I would thrive. She did what was necessary to heal my injuries, and she provided the means to heal my other hurts as well."

Hermione smiled. "We owe a great deal to her."

"She also did much to help me re-enter the world around us. She was the first friend of my new life and she re-introduced me to everyone else. I can't help noticing that she has been good for her nephew, and even for you."

"I quite look upon her as another mother."

"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled fondly. Then he frowned and took a deep breath. "Perhaps I should have been more clear about the true state of things for a while, now." He put down his half-eaten sandwich and touched her hand. Here it comes, she thought, I think I'm going to die of happiness. "Hermione, I'm not visiting here. I'm going to live here from now on." He looked around himself. "And I'm going to live," he added under his breath.

She looked at him and kept chewing, sure that she simply didn't understand what he was saying. Nevertheless, a gulp of lemonade might keep the chicken salad from becoming sawdust. Surely the next sentence would explain it all. Her mind raced through possibilities. Mrs. Tonks had been sick lately. Maybe it was something life threatening. Maybe he was going to stay until she was truly better.

"Andromeda is pregnant, Hermione..."

She forced herself to swallow, although the muscles in her throat wanted to do something else. There was a definite implication, but a small window of possibility that he was just staying here to help Andromeda through what must surely be a difficult time. Her mind quickly decided that Severus was just being nice to a friend. Yes, that must be it. Mrs. Tonks had helped him get better and now he would help Mrs. Tonks. He was discussing it with her as his future—

She was so busy inventing a different meaning from the one she feared that she almost didn't hear him finish: "...with your half brother or sister."