Disclaimer: Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.
Author's Notes:
» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.
» This story is has been written in full and new chapters will be posted approximately twice a week.
» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.
.o.O.o.
CHAPTER 14
The Bellamys and the Clearwaters were all so pleased to have Hermione and Aimée back home that they insisted on having a joint Christmas, with the whole extended family together. Due to lack of space elsewhere, thanks to the ever-growing number of grandchildren, the families decided to host it in Penny's day-care centre. Fortunately, they had received permission some years ago to tell the Bellamys about magic, as it had been hard to keep the children's accidental magic a secret from them. Even more fortunately, the Bellamys had been very accepting of the family secret.
When the family exchanged gifts together, Hermione gave Aimée some new clothes and a pretty and delicate, matching necklace, earrings and bracelet set. What excited Aimée the most was the voucher saying "IOU one magical pet." Aimée had wanted to take a pet to Hogwarts with her but Hermione had decided to wait until they knew if she would be staying in Hogwarts or transferring to Sauveterre. Now that they were back home again, it was time to live up to her promise.
Aimée had two presents for Hermione. The first was a framed sketch Aimée had made of herself and her mother together. It was based on a much-loved magical photograph that had been taken of the two of them together on Aimée's tenth birthday. Aimée was quite a talented artist and her sketch had all the charm of the original photograph. Unlike the photograph, the sketch was portrait-sized and Hermione had the perfect place for it on the wall in her room.
Aimée had also received an envelope from Professor Snape, "To be opened on Christmas morning, before you give your present to your mother." Opening the envelope, she extracted a letter and an official-looking document. She read the short letter and then dropped it in shock, grabbing the other document. Glancing curiously at it, she saw the heading Worldwide Patent and gave a strangled whoop.
"What is it, Aimée? Is something wrong?" Hermione immediately asked in concern. Aimée shook her head dumbly and thrust a wooden box at her mother.
Hermione opened the box to see it was full of potions vials. Taking one vial out, she looked at it curiously, not recognising the potion. "Aimée?" she asked, looking curiously at her daughter.
With an audible gulp, Aimée showed Hermione the document and the letter from Severus Snape.
As Hermione read the letter with dawning wonder, Aimée babbled an explanation. "I wanted to develop a potion to help you with the muscle spasms and joint pains. I came up with something that I thought would work and when I showed it to Professor Snape, he confirmed it would. I made some for your Christmas present. You pour it into the bath and soak in it. You can even use it when you're feeling tired and not just because you need to use it. I didn't know but Professor Snape patented it in my name. He wants to begin brewing it and wants to know where he should transfer my royalty payments."
Hermione was beaming. "I'm so, so proud of you," she said emotionally, grabbing Aimée in a hug. "I can't wait to try it out. Thank you, beloved Aimée."
"You impressed Professor Snape?" asked Penny in shock, reading the letter over Hermione's shoulder. "Aimée, that's fantastic!"
"Which? Impressing Professor Snape or creating the potion?" she asked cheekily.
"Both!" exclaimed Penny, hugging her niece. "Well done! Creating your own potion at age eleven — that's an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations, Aimée."
Hermione was reading and rereading the letter from Severus, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm so very blessed to have you, my daughter," she whispered, as she took Aimée in her arms again and kissed Aimée's head, her daughter happily snuggling into her embrace.
That evening, Hermione wrote to Severus to give him the details of Aimée's vault in Gringotts Montréal. As neither she nor Penny owned an owl, she decided that if she were going to be corresponding with Severus, it would be a good idea to buy an owl when she took Aimée to get a pet. Aimée, if she did not choose an owl herself, would be able to use school owls during term time and her mother's owl during the holidays. This way, she would be able to keep in touch easily with her school friends, both from Sauveterre and from Hogwarts.
Early the next morning, Aimée came bounding into her mother's room and jumped on the bed. "Can we go and get my pet now, Mum? Can we? Please?"
Hermione blearily opened her eyes, amused despite the fact that she was still half asleep, at her daughter's antics. Glancing over at the clock, she groaned. "Aimée, it's only seven o' clock. We're not going anywhere before nine. Why don't you go back to bed with a book?"
"Can I get into bed with you?" she asked hopefully.
"Only if you let me sleep for a bit longer," replied Hermione.
"Deal!" said Aimée, crawling under the covers. She cuddled up against her mother, who put her arms around her and held her tightly. It had been a long time since Aimée had joined Hermione in bed in the morning, deeming herself too grown up for that now. Hermione happily breathed in the scent of her daughter, simply enjoying holding her while she could, since it would not be long before Aimée went off to school again.
The two women dozed off and woke up again an hour or so later. After breakfast, they headed out to the Quartier Magique and the magical pet store, Aimée bubbling over with excitement.
"Bonjour, Mesdames. How can I help you today?" asked the shopkeeper.
"I would like to buy an international post owl and my daughter would also like a pet, Monsieur," Hermione explained.
The shopkeeper smiled kindly at the excited girl. "Do you know what kind of pet you would like, Mademoiselle?"
Aimée shook her head. "Maman used to have a half-kneazle when she was younger. And an owl would be useful. I don't know what I want, though. May I just look around the shop and see what I connect with?"
"Of course you may," he agreed. "And while you browse, I'll help your Maman find a post owl."
There were owls of all shapes and sizes in the pet store. Hermione looked from one to another, cooing at them all. They truly were all magnificent birds. Unfortunately, that did not help her make a decision. Suddenly she noticed a snowy owl, almost hidden behind the others. "Oh!" she exclaimed.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" asked the shopkeeper, following her eyes.
"Oh, yes. She reminds me of an owl I used to know. She belonged to a friend of mine," said Hermione looking into the owl's intelligent eyes and gently stroking her.
"I think it's a match, non?" he asked with a twinkle of his eyes.
"I think so. Would you like to be my owl?" she asked and the owl hooted in response.
"That settles it!" laughed Hermione. "I'll need full supplies, including a perch."
The shopkeeper nodded and gathered up what Hermione would need. As the shopkeeper went off to package everything together, she chatted to her new pet. "Now, I imagine you won't want to apparate with me, will you?" she said to the owl. "How about I just let you go to make your own way home? You'll be able to find me once I'm home, won't you?"
The owl hooted in response and flapped her wings enthusiastically. "All right. When I've paid, I'll let you go, so this kind gentleman doesn't think I'm stealing you," she said to the owl with a smile. "Now, what shall I call you? Certainly not Hedwig, that's for sure; that would be too bizarre. Blanchette? It's a pretty name, I suppose, but somewhat unoriginal for a snowy owl. Well, I'll think about it."
At that point, Aimée came running up, with a furry bundle in her arms. "Look, Mummy!" she cried, her eyes shining.
"What have you found?" Hermione asked, reaching over to stroke the animal curled up contentedly in Aimée's arms.
"It's a Fennec fox kit! She came running over to me as soon as she saw me. Isn't she adorable?"
"Yes, she is," said Hermione, smiling at the cute little fox with the big ears and beautiful black eyes. "And how appropriate for you, given your wand core."
With a hand on her shoulder, Hermione steered Aimée over to the shopkeeper. "My, my. That's an unusual choice of pet, Mademoiselle," he said.
Aimée shook her head emphatically. "I didn't choose her. She chose me."
"Did she now? Well, in that case, I'd say you're meant to be together," he smiled at her.
Aimée chose a cushioned, washable pet bed in a bright, cheery, citrus orange with white polka dots. They also selected food, a carry case, food and drinking bowls and a collar, the disc of which Hermione promised to have engraved with Aimée's and the fox's names, once Aimée had named her. It was a rule at Sauveterre that pets should have identification tags. Slipping the fox into the carry case, Hermione shrank all their packages and put them in her pocket. Then, after releasing the owl to fly home by herself, Hermione apparated Aimée and her new pet home.
"I hope she gets on all right with Fantôme," said Aimée worriedly. Fantôme was Phoebe's grey kneazle/cat crossbreed.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Hermione reassured her. "They're both magical animals. That makes them highly intelligent. They'll understand who they each belong to and won't fight. They won't fight with my owl either."
"That's good," said Aimée in relief.
"I suggest you show her around the apartment. Let her see her bed in your room, so she'll understand where she's to sleep at night; she'll be more settled when she knows where her space is." Not that Hermione actually expected the Fennec fox to use the pet bed. Rather like Phoebe and Fantôme, and her own half-kneazle cat, Crookshanks, when she herself was younger, Hermione fully expected the little fox to curl up on her mistress' bed at night. "Also show her which litter tray and food bowls are hers. That way, she and Fantôme will know what belongs to each of them and won't argue over it. Then you can bring her back out into the living room while you discuss names with her."
Aimée looked up at her mother in disbelief. "Seriously?"
Hermione nodded with a laugh. "Oh, yes. I'm sure she'll make it clear if she doesn't like a name you suggest."
While Aimée showed her pet around the apartment, Hermione welcomed in her owl and set up the perch in the family room. Hermione filled the feeding dishes attached to the perch with water and owl pellets and the owl hooted in approval. Hermione smiled as Aimée curled up on the couch with her Fennec fox in her lap, remembering how much she had enjoyed cuddling up with Crookshanks, who had died during the war. She had never been able to bring herself to get another cat since. Fantôme was similarly purring away in his mistress' lap.
"We've got quite a menagerie," commented Penny in amusement.
"Seems so," agreed Hermione. "Well, Aimée and I both need to name our new friends. Do you want to go first, baby?"
Aimée shook her head. "I'm still thinking," she said.
"Well, my lady. It looks like you get named first," said Hermione to her owl, who had flitted over to perch on the back of Hermione's chair, Hermione having placed a thick, padded cloth over it to protect it. "Any ideas?" she asked her family.
"Polgara!" they all chorused at once, naming a character in a fantasy series that they all enjoyed reading. They had two complete sets of the books in the flat and they were both worn and well-read. Polgara¹⁴ was a sorceress who could shape-shift and her favourite alternate form was that of a snowy owl.
"Well, that's better than Blanchette, which was about as far as I'd got," Hermione laughed. "Far more stately. What do you say, pretty lady? Do you like the name Polgara?"
The owl hooted and rubbed her head against Hermione's cheek. "I think that's a yes. Polgara it is," Hermione agreed.
"Do you have any ideas yet, Aimée?" asked Penny. "Do you want some suggestions?"
"I don't want anything clichéd, like Mignon," said Aimée. "Besides, she's a fox, not a puppy, so I don't want a name that's too sweet."
"Well, that rules out my idea then," said Hermione. "I was going to suggest Honey or Miel because her coat is like golden honey."
"I have an idea," said Phoebe, who had been stroking the little fox. "A variation on Auntie Nonie's idea. Her fur is velvety soft. If Auntie Nonie's owl is going to be called Polgara, how about calling your fox Velvet? Isn't Velvet your favourite character in those books?"
Aimée's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. "Foxes are hunters and Velvet is also known as the Huntress. And the character of Velvet is sneaky, like a fox. She has golden blonde hair and, like Mum says, this little lady's fur is also golden. With all those correlations, I think it's the perfect name. What do you think, gorgeous? Would you like to be called Velvet?"
The little fox yipped and wagged her tail, making everyone laugh. "I think she likes it," said Aimée happily, as Velvet licked her cheek.
All too soon, the holidays were over and it was time to send Phoebe and Aimée off to Sauveterre. "Don't worry, Auntie Nonie," said Phoebe hugging her. "I'll take good care of Aimée."
"Oh, Phoebe. I know you will," said Hermione, hugging her back.
Aimée's letters from Sauveterre were a stark contrast to those from Hogwarts. Although Aimée had made friends in Hogwarts and had revelled in being mentored by Severus Snape, she had still been quite unhappy there. She did not fit in with the closed-minded British magical community, and Reuben Weasley had made her time at Hogwarts deeply unpleasant. Aimée continued to write to her friends but did not miss Hogwarts. She was extremely happy at Sauveterre, the other students in her year having immediately made her welcome. Aimée settled in very quickly in her new school, and it was soon like she had never been anywhere else.
Unfortunately, the letters from her friends at Hogwarts were not frequent, apart from Victoire and Zephyr who were enthusiastic correspondents, but Aimée had so many new friends that she did not miss Hyacinth or Anthea. They had got on well enough while Aimée was at Hogwarts but did not have much in common and, now that their lives were so far apart, the friendship soon petered off altogether. (Hermione wondered if perhaps the parents of the two Slytherin girls had encouraged them to drop their friendship with Aimée upon hearing that she was Hermione Granger's daughter. She said nothing of this suspicion to Aimée as, if she was correct, there was nothing that could be done about it.) Although Aimée did not have much in common with Zephyr either, the two girls had immediately clicked when they met on the Hogwarts Express and their close friendship overcame the differences between them. Truth be told, other than her flourishing correspondence with Zephyr and Victoire, the latter of whose letters usually had a note from Teddy at the bottom, and the occasional letter from Severus Snape, Aimée was happy to put Hogwarts completely out of her mind.
Life continued as normal for Hermione, punctuated by her own correspondence with Severus, which she was enjoying immensely. They discussed a wide and eclectic range of topics and she found his pithy comments hilarious. In May, Hermione was checking over a consignment of books that Xavier had purchased, to see what restoration was needed, when she noticed an extremely rare potions tome in amongst them. This was not the first time she had come across magical books in the course of her job and Xavier usually left it to her to sell them in the wizarding world. She normally sold such volumes to a local magical antiquarian bookstore, and occasionally to the Sauveterre school library. The owner of the magical bookshop had learned to come immediately when Hermione called him, as she always had interesting and remarkable finds for him. However, she knew that this particular book would be treasured by Severus Snape.
"Xavier, I want to save this tome for a special customer. It'll take a few days for me to contact him but I guarantee he'll want this book," she said to her boss.
"Are you sure you don't want to sell it to one of your usual customers?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "It's definitely worth saving it for him. He'll be more than willing to pay whatever we ask for that particular book," she assured him and so he agreed.
That night, Hermione wrote to Severus to tell him about the potions text, including in her letter some photographs she had taken of the tome. He wrote back immediately to say, "Hold it for me. School finishes during the third week in June. I'll come and visit straight after."
That was just over a month away. Hermione had expected Severus to ask her to mail the book to him and was surprised to realise how pleased she was that he would instead be coming to visit. Aimée, on hearing of the proposed visit was ecstatic.
"Do you think he'll be willing to give me some lessons while he's here, Mum? Please?" Aimée begged.
"He'll be here on holiday, baby. I'm not sure he'll want to spend it teaching," she said dubiously. On seeing Aimée's downcast face, she relented. "I'm only teasing. Of course he will! He's already said he wants to have a couple of sessions with you while he's here, to make sure Mistress Green hasn't ruined the fine grounding in potions that I gave your daughter," Hermione imitated Severus and Aimée giggled appreciatively.
Both Gales were delighted when he finally arrived. He portkeyed first to Sauveterre for a meeting with Potions Mistress Green. From there, he flooed to their flat, where Hermione was waiting for him, with an impatient Aimée at her side.
"Professor!" she cried. "It's good to see you!"
"And you, Miss Gale," he said in a warm voice, smiling at the enthusiastic girl.
Severus was staying at a nearby hotel but spent the days with Hermione, who had taken a week off while he was in Montréal, and with Aimée, who was home from school for the summer. Hermione and Aimée both lit up in his presence. Aimée clearly regarded him as a father figure and Hermione, well, Hermione was falling in love with him. The only problem was that he lived in Britain, while she was in Canada. Something that seemed an insurmountable problem to Hermione, as she had no desire whatsoever to return to the country of her birth.
She watched, fascinated, as Severus tutored her daughter in potions, Aimée basking in the attention from the snarky man, who had an uncharacteristic fondness for the bright, young girl. They also showed him around the city, spending the entire week he was in Montréal in his company. He snapped up the potions tome as soon as he saw it, paying what to those who were not themselves bibliophiles would regard as an extortionate price, but which Hermione thought was very fair. Severus privately admitted to himself that he would have quite happily paid double the amount for this particular volume.
During his week in Montréal, Severus finally understood the real reason why Aimée called Penelope Clearwater Auntie. He took one look at Phoebe and, much as Hermione had done the first time she saw Phoebe as a baby, he immediately realised that Penelope's daughter was a Weasley.
"Neither girl knows who their father is?" Severus asked Penny and Hermione one evening, when the two girls were safely in bed.
Penny shook her head. "Phoebe isn't even interested. I've asked her several times if she wants to know but she has told me in no uncertain terms that she regards my fiancé as her father and she doesn't need anyone else. He's doted on her ever since she was a baby."
Severus understood why Penny had not told Percy about Phoebe when she first conceived her daughter, but he had to admit that even though Percy was still rather pompous, he was a good and caring father and would not harm Phoebe. "What about Molly and Arthur?" he asked carefully. "They'd be delighted to welcome two more granddaughters into the family."
Hermione sighed. "I know they would and I do feel guilty that we've never told them about the girls but the problem is Ron. If he ever found out that Aimée is his daughter, he'd try to take her away from me and, well, you can guess how he'd treat her. Penny can't really tell Phoebe about Molly and Arthur without me also telling Aimée. The girls know their birth fathers are brothers."
Severus had to agree with Hermione's reasoning. He did not doubt that Hermione was correct in assuming Ronald Weasley's reaction to learning about Aimée would not be in her best interests. In actuality, Hermione was doing the right thing by protecting her child. No matter how much Molly and Arthur would want to know their granddaughters, he could not deny that they would also put the girls' welfare first.
On his final night in Montréal, Severus took Hermione out to dinner. Penny and her fiancé, Olivier, who was her cousin Justin's Auror partner, had decided to take both girls to a movie, to give Hermione time alone with Severus.
Severus came to collect Hermione at the apartment. She met him at the door, wearing a black dress in a soft fabric that skimmed and hugged all her curves, flaring out softly like a skater dress, to fall just above her knees. There was a sweetheart neckline, with a boat-neck, cap sleeved, sheer lace yoke over her chest¹⁶. It was simple but elegant. Her hair was in a French twist, with a few soft tendrils curling around her face, and she had diamond earrings twinkling in her ears. With the addition of a pair of strappy black heels, she looked perfect for the jazz club Severus was taking her to, and she took Severus' breath away.
"You look beautiful, Hermione," he said, offering her his arm.
"Thank you, Severus. You look very dapper yourself," she replied with a warm smile. Indeed, Severus was very smart in a muggle suit, which was of course in his trademark black. Hermione had to admit that the all-black look — even his shirt and tie were black — suited him. The suit emphasised his broad shoulders, muscular thighs and firm backside. Severus was not heavily muscled like a weight-lifter, but was in very good shape, with the lean and wiry physique of a long-distance runner.
"I didn't picture you as a jazz fan," Hermione commented, when they were seated in the restaurant section of the club.
"What did you imagine?" he asked in amusement.
"I'm not sure," she replied. "Classical for chilling out and rock for when you need to let off steam, perhaps."
"Well, you're right about the rock but I must admit I prefer jazz to classical," he admitted.
"Me too," she agreed.
They chatted easily as they ate, with the pleasant sounds of jazz music in the background. For dessert, Hermione, who adored mangoes, could not resist selecting a light mango and lemon syllabub¹⁷, while Severus chose a slice of French silk pie, made from a chocolate almost as dark as his gleaming, black eyes. Catching her eyeing his dessert, Severus silently offered her a forkful. Hermione moaned with pleasure as the rich, chocolatey flavour exploded on her tongue and Severus' eyes darkened even further at the sound.
Suddenly wanting to be closer to her, Severus put down his fork and offered Hermione his hand. "Would you like to dance?" he asked huskily.
Hermione looked into his black eyes and swallowed at the intensity of his gaze. A frisson of desire rushed through her. "I'd love to," she replied, equally huskily.
Taking his hand, Hermione let Severus guide her onto the dance floor. He took her in his arms and they swayed gently to the soulful, sultry sounds of the jazz band. 'I don't want him to let go,' she thought, nestling in closer and laying her head on his chest. In that moment, Hermione realised that she was deeply and irrevocably in love with Severus Snape. For a moment she panicked, as she thought of the problems inherent in a long-distance relationship, but resolutely put it out of her mind, determined just to enjoy the moment.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening, Severus," Hermione said softly outside the door of her apartment, when he brought her home.
"It was my pleasure, Hermione," Severus replied silkily.
Hermione looked at him uncertainly for a moment, wondering if he would kiss her. Almost unconsciously, he reached his hand up to cup her cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb. Unable to hold back, Hermione lunged forward and kissed him. Severus immediately deepened the kiss, plundering, devouring her mouth. Hermione kissed him back fervently, tangling her fingers in his hair as his arms slid around her waist, pulling her tighter against him. It was the feel of his arousal against her that brought her back to her senses and she reluctantly pulled away slightly.
Looking into his eyes and seeing the heat and passion as he looked back at her, Hermione threw caution to the winds. "Severus, I'm going to be blunt here. I know I'm taking a risk and I could get badly hurt but I need to tell you that I love you. I don't know if you're interested in a relationship with me, or even if we could get it to work because I really don't think I can go back to Britain again…"
Severus placed a finger across her lips, silencing her. "Typical Gryffindor. Just barge right in!" he said, kissing her again. "I love you too, Nonie Gale. I love your daughter as well and I have every intention of making this relationship work."
"But… but… how?" Hermione stammered, wide-eyed.
"Do you honestly believe, after seven years of my tutelage, that I actually enjoy teaching?" he asked in amusement.
"But you went back to Hogwarts after the war!" she protested.
Severus sighed. "I nearly died at the end of the war. I wasn't capable of thinking about alternatives at that time. Besides, after all those years when I had to play a part, especially that nightmarish last year of the war, I wanted — no, I needed — to spend a few years as a normal teacher, without prejudices, to make up for the past. Additionally, Minerva didn't have anyone who could take over for me. Horace Slughorn was very old and desperately wanted to return to retirement. He wouldn't have been a strong enough Head of House at that time, anyway. My Slytherins badly needed a Head of House who would stand up for them and not let everyone treat them like dirt because of what their older relatives had done. That's less important now; apart from one or two idiots like Reuben Weasley, the prejudice has finally devolved into normal House rivalry. So, I'm free to leave if I want to. And I can think of a very good reason to do so. That reason is standing right here in front of me."
Hermione leaned in and kissed him again, beaming with delight. "You have someone to replace you at Hogwarts?" she asked, hardly daring to believe her ears.
Severus laughed. "Yes, little Miss Curious, I do. One of my Slytherins has just finished an apprenticeship with Mistress Green of Sauveterre and wants to return to Britain. My meeting at Sauveterre was to offer him the job of Potions Master at Hogwarts and joint Head of House with Aurora Sinistra. Aurora doesn't want to take on the Head of House job long-term, but Minerva feels it will be good for Master Farley to have the support while he finds his feet. Dumbledore just threw me in at the deep end — not that he really had any other options, under the circumstances — and Minerva doesn't want to do that again. I'll need to spend a month or so helping him settle in and then I'm free."
Hermione lunged at Severus again, peppering his face with delighted kisses. "You're willing to move here? We can be together?" she asked ecstatically.
"Yes, and yes. Oof!" he added, as she threw her arms around him and squeezed the life out of him. "Let me breathe," he suggested, as he unwound her arms from around his neck.
"Oops," replied Hermione, quite unrepentantly. "Do you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?"
"I'm not completely sure. I know I'd like to spend more time on research but I'm not sure I would want to do that full-time. Even I need some human interaction during the course of my working day! Between the royalties on the books I've written and the monies I've received from my patents, I don't need to decide immediately. I think there may be opportunities here in Canada that there wouldn't in Britain. I could apply my potions expertise to the muggle herbal remedy market, for example. Even using only non-magical ingredients, that option wouldn't have been available to me in Britain. There's too much separation between the magical and muggle worlds there."
Hermione nodded, understanding what he meant by having more options available to him in Canada and agreeing with it. The two stayed outside the door talking until Hermione's yawns could no longer be ignored. "Go to bed, my love," he said tenderly, cupping her cheek as he spoke. "You need your rest. You're back at work in the morning."
Bidding Severus a very reluctant farewell, Hermione entered her apartment, feeling as though she was floating on air, so giddy had Severus' kisses made her. Penny, sitting nursing a cup of tea, was overjoyed to see how happy and in love Hermione looked as she floated past, unaware of her friend sitting in the living room. Chuckling, Penny banished her cup to the kitchen sink and followed Hermione to bed.
Over the next few weeks, Polgara and the Hogwarts school owls worked very hard, taking letters back and forth between Hermione and Severus. Between helping Potions Master Farley get settled at Hogwarts and packing up his life in Britain, Severus was very busy. He finally sold his ramshackle house in Spinners' End to a property developer and packed up his life, ready to move.
Penelope and Olivier had considered living in Penny's apartment after their wedding but in the end, Penny decided that she did not want to begin her marriage living above her business. She felt she wanted a separation between her home and working lives, and so she and Phoebe would be moving into Olivier's house after the marriage in August. Penny was happy for Severus to move in with Hermione but he would need a proper potions lab and Hermione consulted with Penny as to how they could adapt the apartment to fit one in. However, before they could begin any renovations, something unexpected happened.
.o.O.o.
¹⁴ The Belgariad (five books), The Mallorean (five books), Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress by David and Leigh Eddings.
¹⁵ Mignon means cute, darling and is often used as a name for cute, small pets.
¹⁶ postimg dot org / image / qc4fz3tvv /
¹⁷ gracessweetlife dot com / 2010 / 06 / mango-lemon-syllabub-quick-refreshing-dessert — although I don't usually add much honey, if any, as I prefer it to be tart rather than very sweet; a touch of ginger doesn't go amiss either.