Chapter 10 The Lioness' Lair

Hermione woke the next morning to find herself alone in the bed. She had fallen asleep while Severus had been in the shower last night and she could not definitively say that he had slept in the bed with her last night, not that it bothered her. She had gotten a good night's sleep and that was all that mattered to her.

She rolled over, got out of bed, and retrieved the stuff she needed out of her trunk. Hermione left the room and went to the bathroom down the hall. It was simple with a sink, a toilet, and a tub all decorated in shades of blue and green, probably meant to look like the ocean.

Hermione closed the door behind her and set her things down on the counter. She quickly relieved herself before undressing to take a shower. Stepping into the shower, she turned on the hot water and adjusted the cold to have a warm spray. First, she lathered her thick, curly hair then stood under the jets of water as she rinsed it clean. All the while letting her mind wander, usually that meant thinking about the latest book she was reading but this morning her thoughts wandered to Ron.

She wondered if he missed her yet, even though he had still been angry with her when she left the Burrow the night before. She had tried so hard to talk to him over the last week, to make him see reason, to sooth his anger. She wondered if he felt the same sinking disappointment that they could never get married like they had hoped too. Hermione still remembered him asking her all those months ago in Forest of Dean in the moonlight to be his wife. Harry was in the tent and it was just the two of them as Ron sank down on one knee before her. She had accepted, of course, without hesitation. It was perfect and romantic, what every girl hopes for. The two decided that it was better to keep it a secret and said nothing, not even to Harry. The plan was to tell everyone after Hermione was able to find her parents and then they could have a real wedding when they were ready, but that was before this stupid law, before she was tied to Snape forever.

She shock her head under the warm water trying to clear those thoughts way. Hermione did not want to dwell on them, it would only break her heart, it was better to just let their relationship slip away and hope they could go back to being friends. Hermione grabbed a washcloth and the soap. She scrubbed away the feelings of frustration and then tried to rinse any hopes of returning to Ron down the drain, it was better that way.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel. Drying herself off she stepped in front of the mirror. Frowning at her hair, she grabbed a hair tie and pulled her still damp hair into a ponytail, preferring not to deal with it today. She dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, ready for the day. Then, she glanced down at the scar on her forearm, Severus had not seemed to notice it last night or simply did not acknowledge it. It was possible that it was to dark for him to see her scar since it was to dark for her to see the dark mark on his arm. She was thankful that she did not have to retell that story of how she acquired the scar, it was awful to relive. With a quick wave of her wand Hermione placed a concealment charm on the scars, once again hiding them.

She gathered her things and left the bathroom to return to the bedroom. She squatted before her trunk and returned her things to their proper place.

Hermione stood and looked around the room, deciding she was going to have a look around the house. The master bedroom had light gray walls that were empty of pictures and there was nothing on either bedside table, giving the room a feeling of being bare. The huge wall of windows were still covered by the dark curtains, keeping the daylight out, with a flick of her wand Hermione opened the curtains to brighten the room. Then, Hermione noticed that the bed was now made even though this was not the way she had left it. With a shrug she assumed that Severus had been in here since she had left.

She crossed the room to the bathroom and opened the door. It was much larger than she had imagined. One wall held a long counter with double sinks topped with a mirror dominating the top half of the wall. In the far corner was a huge shower large enough for all the Weasley children to use at one time. Next to the shower was a large sunken tub with more than a dozen taps along one side. The bathroom was decorated in warm earth tones that felt calming and serene.

Closing the door behind her, Hermione left the bath and headed out of the bedroom to explore the rest of the house. She walked down the hall, which was void of any pictures or furniture, past the main bathroom to the first door on the left. Hermione opened the door to find a fairly large, empty room. It was painted a soft, pastel yellow and had two large windows on the opposite wall that were uncovered, letting the morning light stream in. Sometime in the next two years this room would be a nursery, Hermione thought bitterly. She turned away and closed the door, before continuing down the hall. Hermione paused at the next door that was on the right wall. Part of her knew that knew what she would find but curiosity still got the better of her. She slowly opened the door and glanced inside the room. The room was smaller than the first and the walls were painted a dark, royal blue. Several huge windows let in plenty of light to keep the room from feeling like a dungeon. It, too, was bare though Hermione knew it would not be for long, the Ministry had decided that.

Hermione closed the door behind her, before continuing down the hall to the last door on the left. The stairs up to Severus' office must be behind this door. Hermione wondered if she should stay out of his office but only for a moment before her eagerness to see what lay beyond the door got the better of her. She reached out and grabbed the door knob but found it locked. Without trying Hermione knew that she would be unable to open the door, even with her vast knowledge of spells. Sighing, she let her hand drop to her side and stared at the door for a second before turning away.

She walked back down the hall and descended the stairs, stopping on the bottom step. With a frown she stared at the entryway, the walls were white and void of pictures. Anyone entering through the front door would get the impression that the house was uninhabited.

Hermione stepped down off the stair and walked over to the closed door. The door swung open easily, revealing yet another empty room. It was a nice size room with a large bay window that looked out over the front garden. Hermione stepped into the room and looked out the window, to find the garden overgrown with every kind of flower imaginable. A sigh escaped as Hermione thought about all the work it would take to get control of the garden once again. The whole house needed a lot of work to look like it was occupied.

Hermione looked around at the room with it's stark white walls and decided that she was going to use it as her study. It only seemed fair since Severus had his own upstairs. The first thing it would need was some color on the wall, a neutral color would be best. A light beige would be the perfect, Hermione decided as she pulled out her wand. "Pingere murum." Instantly the white was replaced with a much more appealing color. With a nod, Hermione approved the light brown color and resolved to finish her tour of the house then unpack her study later.

Leaving the room she walked out into the hallway and headed towards the back of the house. She passed by a open door leading to small bathroom, whose decorations match the main bath upstairs. The hall opened up into a large kitchen with a large dining room, which was empty. The kitchen was meant for someone who loved to cook and prepare large family meals, Hermione was not one of those people, in fact she hated cooking. She could brew a decent potion which supposedly meant one would at least be an acceptable cook but this was not the case. Hermione really hoped that Severus did not expect her to cook because they would both starve.

A noise caught her attention and she looked over to find Finely perched next to another owl by what Hermione assumed was the back door. Beside the perch on the floor was Crookshanks' basket with him inside.

"Oh no!" Hermione gasped as she rushed forward to free her cat. He jumped angrily from the basket and hissed at her. "I'm sorry!" Hermione insisted to the cat. "I didn't know you were trapped in there or I would have freed you sooner." Crookshanks twitched his tail then stalked off. "Great, now Crookshanks is going to be mad at me for a while."

Hermione exhaled loudly looking up at the two owls. She stood and stroked each one in turn. "Morning, Finley." Hermione whispered to the white barn owl as she caressed his cheek before turning to the larger owl. "What's your name?" She asked as she stroked the gray owl and Hermione knew that the owl could not give her the answer.

Moving away from the two, Hermione approached the sink to look out the open window above it. The back garden matched the front garden exactly, both overgrown with large bushes, flowering in every color of the rainbow. It would take a lot of work to fix the two and Hermione did not want to dwell on that right now.

She turned away from the window and walked over to the fridge, figuring she would have something to eat before she started unpacking. Hermione opened the refrigerator to find it completely empty. She quickly began to open the cupboards only to discover that they all sat bare too.

"What in the world has he been eating since he moved in here." Hermione wondered out loud to herself. "Guess I'll have to go food." She sighed to herself as she leaned against the counter. "Do I unpack or go shopping first?" Hermione felt that both tasks were going to be daunting.

Unpacking seemed like the better of the two choices so Hermione headed upstairs to retrieve her trunk and brought it down to her study. She set it in the middle of the room and opened the trunk. Looking down into it's depths Hermione decided that she should start with pulling out the furniture. She had packed the few pieces that she could not bare to lose when she left her parents house for the last time. Her desk and chair had been logical to put in her magically expanded trunk since she spent so many hours there working. Her mother's rocking chair, that she had spent many nights in, curled in her mum's lap as a child, was a sentimental keepsake. The bookshelf that her father and grandfather had handmade together would be functional and a wonderful reminder of two men very dear to her. The large grandfather clock that had sat in the upstairs hallway of her childhood home would be a familiar sound in this empty house. She arranged these few items in the room and gave a small smile, it was already starting to feel more like home.

All of her books would not fit on the one bookshelf so she placed only her most treasured tomes upon the shelves. The other books were stacked next to it on the floor in neat piles awaiting a shelf of their own.

Hermione pulled her other items out of her trunk, her potions supplies, her stationery, and her telescope that she had since her first year at Hogwarts. Her potions items and stationery were placed at her desk and the telescope was placed in the bay window, pointed towards the sky. Then she pulled out the many pictures of her friends and family, using her wand to hang them through out the room. Finally from the trunk Hermione retrieved her beaded bag, that had been empty since her return to the burrow, and she placed it in the pocket of her jeans, she would need that soon. This left only her clothes and her toiletries in her trunk, waiting for a home upstairs in her room.

Hermione smiled as she admired her work, this room felt like home. She closed the lid of her trunk and locked it with her wand. Then she pushed it over by the door to take back up stairs later, for now she needed to tackle the fact the lack of food in their house.

Later that afternoon Hermione returned from her trip to the shops in Hogsmeade. The beaded bag in her hand was full to the brim of food, a few more bookshelves for her study, and, of course, several new books. Thinking it was wise to unpack the food first Hermione headed for the kitchen. She set the beaded bag on the counter, opening it, then opened all the cupboards and the fridge. With a flick of her wand the food began to put itself away.

In the meantime she turned to the two owls sitting on their perches with the intention of giving each a treat. To her surprise Finley had a letter clutched in his beak.

"Who's that from?" Hermione asked Finely as she took the letter from him and gave both the owls treats. She tore open the envelope to find a letter from the Ministry of Magic.

Dear Mrs. Snape,

Under the Matrimony and Procreation Law it will be required that intercourse take place during the day of ovulation in the witch's cycle. To ensure this, please use the following Minister approved spell: Muujinta Ugax to identify the optimal day of the cycle. Please, send a letter of the results back to the Marriage and Family Department.

Greggory Blishen

Head of the Marriage and Family Department

Hermione frowned at the letter as she set it down on the counter. She should have know that something like this was coming, how else would the Minister ensure that all the newly married witches were getting knocked up by they're husbands. This felt more like a way to control the population not rebuild it, very unlike Shacklebolt.

Turning her back on the letter, Hermione found that the cupboards and fridge were now full. So with a flick of her wand she shut them all and grabbed her small bag off the counter. Leaving the kitchen she walked down the hall to her study. There she finished unloading the magical bag before placing it in a desk drawer. She then pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. Hermione set the items on her desk and set down.

A deep sigh escaped her lips. "Muujinta Ugax," Hermione whispered as she waved her wand. She felt a strange warmth in her lower stomach before it was gone then a large, green number fourteen appeared before her. It lingered only for a moment before it slowly disappeared like smoke. "The fourteenth," Hermione murmured to herself as she wrote a quick and simple reply to the Ministry.

Hermione headed back to the kitchen and sent the message on its way with Finely before returning to her study to spend the duration of the day with her head buried in a book.