oO One Week Later Oo
"Come on, you need to get ready. I promised my parents that we would have dinner with them once we got the house back in order." Hermione huffed, holding a nice button up shirt in her hand, glaring down at the man who hadn't budged from his reading chair all afternoon. She knew this from the tea set that was sitting on the side table and the plate that was now empty beside it.
Shacklebolt had suspended her from work for two weeks as 'punishment' for harming two foreign officers but she knew by the smirk on his face that she hadn't actually gotten in any trouble. In fact, he'd very 'sneakily' hinted to her having a nice vacation with her parents as a way of softening the blow. He also made a comment about how he had so much paperwork and that he hoped he wouldn't lose her suspension papers before they were filed in her permanent record.
Her parents had stayed with Harry for the week and Hermione had spent nearly all her daylight hours with them. The relationship between them was slowly rebuilding but her mother's stance on her joining the muggle world was starting to return as well. She'd even offered her a job at the practice they were working on reopening. Hermione wanted nothing to do with dentistry, she never had. Before she'd become a witch she had her heart set on becoming a librarian or something scholarly, or even a humanitarian.
Hermione had promised them that she would come by once a week for dinner after work and even invited them to come see where she lived now. As excited as they were about seeing her home, they had both seemed wary about traveling by portkey but it was a step in the right direction.
"Why do I need to change?" He didn't even give her the courtesy of lifting his eyes from the page he was reading.
"Because we're going to a muggle neighborhood and I would have thought you'd want to make a good impression with my Mum." Her Dad hadn't had much interaction with her knight in black armor either. Though he had thanked him for saving his life during their brief interaction after they'd landed, Severus had made a very good shadow up until the time where they'd returned home. He'd been increasingly grumpy all week, a reason to which Hermione had yet to find.
"I do not care what they think of me." He turned the page in the book he held to accent his deadpan words.
"Wrong answer." Hermione reached over snatching the book from his hand snapping it closed before tossing it carelessly across the gap onto their couch, snapping the fragile binding of his first edition copy of Self-Reliance. Before he could even retaliate she had come to stand in front of him dropping the shirt she'd brought down into his lap. They shared an intense glare, a battle of wills before Hermione's brow softened.
"Severus, please tell me what's wrong." Hermione's tone had lost it's sharp edge, smoothing out to the kind caring tone she was known for.
"There is nothing to discuss." Severus pursed his lips turning his eyes away from her piercing look. He, himself, couldn't really identify what had been bothering him since their return. It wasn't like he'd missed her, she was gone all the time during the week for work, so why did he suddenly feel like he'd been pushed aside? Forgotten? Why did these feelings even bother him at all. It wasn't like he wasn't used to those thoughts. Why did her absence suddenly feel more lonely?
"Severus...look at me." Hermione had had an idea as to what was causing his distress all week but she hadn't been able to pin it down until now. The look of sadness and loneliness that she'd seen in him, what felt like lifetimes ago, had started to cloud his beautiful dark eyes. She actually found it somewhat humorous to think that he might have been jealous that she'd been spending her time with her parents but the sad reality of his relationship with his own had snuffed it out rather quickly. She knew she needed to show him that all parents weren't like his own. That he too, could have a family that loved and cared for him. That he wasn't as alone in the world as he believed himself to be.
"I love you, I want you to be apart of every aspect of my life. That hasn't changed." Hermione chose her words carefully watching for any sign that she was even remotely on the mark, "I know my Mum and Dad will like you, they just need the opportunity."
"And my clothes have what relevance to this opportunity?" Severus kept his eyes to the side like a petulant child. She'd hit the mark rather dead on, but it hadn't eased his discomfort in the slightest.
"If you look nice, you'll feel confident." Hermione leaned down putting her hands on his shoulders, "I know you'll like them, and I know they'll like you once they get the time to know you." She reached up gently pushing his hair behind his ear before running the back of her fingers down his tense jaw. "And if they don't, that's their problem."
Hermione pressed her thighs into his knees with a small grin waiting for him to calm down and come back to her. When he finally turned his head to look at her she leaned in for a kiss, hovering just in front of his lips waiting for him to meet her. There was a small pause and she almost thought she'd completely turned him off to the idea before he finally met her lips in a soft yielding kiss.
When they pulled apart Hermione offered him a gentle smile before straightening herself up and stepping out of his personal space. When he took the shirt she'd dropped in his lap and came to his feet her heart soared. She took his free hand and led him towards the stairs so she could finish doing her hair. She'd been working all day on getting her parents house in order and had thrown it up into a messy ponytail. She wanted their first dinner as a family to be a nice simple affair but she too wanted to show her parents just how much she'd grown in the time they'd been apart. Good grooming was one of the things her mother always pressed when making first impressions though she didn't believe in excessive make-up she did appreciate it when Hermione made the effort to tame her wild curls.
oOo
"This is delicious Mum, you have to give Severus the recipe." Hermione took another bite of her Mum's six cheese lasagna.
"You like to cook?" Her Mum raised a surprised brow looking down the table at the man who had been mostly silent during his time with them. Though he'd answered all the mundane questions politely.
"I've been known to."
"Are you kidding? He doesn't even let me in the kitchen." Hermione smiled at him giving his thigh a gentle squeeze under the table.
"You cook all the meals?" Hermione's father joined the conversation with his own mixture of surprise and wonder.
"She's busy, so it seems right." Severus looked at Hermione trying to keep the pain of awkwardness off his face.
"You have to admire a man that can cook." Jean nodded her head pushing herself from the table. She went towards the counter opening her recipe box. It had been given to her by her mother and her mother's mother. She no longer needed the written instructions for anything inside and didn't see the harm in passing them on. She flipped through before pulling out two cards. She turned back towards the table with a soft woeful smile.
"I'd be happy to share," Jean took her place back at the table and set the cards down in front of Severus, "This one here is Hermione's favorite Snickerdoodle cookie. I always made sure to have a fresh batch ready for her after school every Monday."
Hermione smiled brightly nodding her head, it was a special sign of trust that her Mum was offering out the cards themselves instead of copying them down.
"And it's probably best you keep her out of the kitchen, the last time I let her in there alone we had the fire brigade knocking at our door." Her mother staged whispered grinning to her daughter.
"That was one time! One time! How was I supposed to know that wax paper burns!? I was eight!"
Her mother and father chuckled good-naturedly and even Severus had a tiny little smirk at the corner of his lips. Hermione huffed, embarrassed but not truly upset. It was a funny story, just not one she was proud of.
"I'll take that under advisement." Severus looked down at the cards before taking them and putting them safely in his shirt pocket.
"So do you use all that fancy magic to cook?" Her Dad took another bite of his food. He'd been nothing but curious about everything the magical world had to offer.
"Magic does not belong in the kitchen." Severus took the last bite of his dinner bringing his napkin up to wipe his mouth.
"But there are spells to help you clean it." Hermione smiled just a little pulling out her wand to lift everyone's finished pates, she stacked them neatly and sent them to the sink, showing off just a little to her parents, Severus however, wasn't all that impressed.
Her mother and father turned their heads to watch the plates neatly nestle themselves inside the sink before her mother came to her feet, "Who wants coffee cake?" Her voice betrayed her unease but she kept her chin up. Her father gave her a bright smile and a wink before getting up himself to help his wife get the dishes and start the tea.
Severus leaned over just a bit when both of their backs were turned and whispered into Hermione's ear, "Do not try that in my kitchen."
"But-"
"Doesn't belong." He gave her a look that was kind but conversation ending. He took a small breath before taking a drink of his wine.
Hermione puffed out her cheeks but decided that it wasn't a fight worth having. It wasn't like she ever went in his kitchen anyway. She'd actually become quite pleasantly accustomed to having someone else cook for her. She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"So Severus, what about your family? Do you see them often?"
Hermione sat up straighter, forcing her up uneased down the back of her throat with a rather large gulp of her wine. She'd never even asked him about his family, she'd never had the heart to.
"No, my parents are dead. I have only a cousin, who lives in the same town that we do. We...have had a falling out." Severus took a slow deep breath to keep his tone from being too sharp. His eyes looking off some place far in the distance. Galia had come by the house the day before last, but they hadn't much to say to the other. She'd apologized for her behavior but Severus hadn't wanted to hear it and had sent her away. She hadn't tried to contact him again since.
Hermione pursed her lips, she didn't believe that Galia's transgression was completely unforgivable but she did know that she'd hurt Severus deeply. It would definitely be one of the things to talk about over the weekend. She'd set it on the back burner of her mind, choosing to focus on resettling her parents but she didn't want to live in a town where she had to avoid one of its occupants.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I know I was bereft when I lost my Mother. She died just a month after Hermione was born." Jean knew when to let the topic drop and turned back towards the table with the small cake plates in hand. There was a tense silence as the table was refilled. Everyone at a loss on where to turn the conversation.
"So Hermione, what is it you do exactly at the—what was it called?"
"Ministry for Magic, it's like the government for wizards. I am uh—well I guess you could say record keeper. I update family's records. If there was a birth or death if they broke the law..." Hermione smiled softly at her Dad's attempt to release the tension, "It's not stressful at all."
"That's good. Harry mentioned a promotion?"
"Yes, my old boss retired and offered me the position of gatekeeper. Basically, I protect the records and help others file things properly."
"I imagine there's a lot of history?"
"Oh, yes, loads. I've also been approved to reorganize how everything is sorted."
"Are you going to rewrite the alphabet?" Robert chuckled good-naturedly.
"That's just it Dad, they don't organize alphabetically at all!" Hermione went into a long drawn out explanation of the current system to her overeager father, leaving both her Mother and Severus left out. The both of them had actually finished their coffee cake and tea well before she'd finished.
Mrs. Granger smiled softly at Severus when she took his plate before motioning for him to follow her out of the kitchen and into the living room to have a private conversation. As much as Severus wanted to protest he found himself following her into the den, his eyes turning over the pictures on the walls. Happy memories captured in time.
"I want you to know something." Jean turned on her heal, a very good doppelganger of Hermione's no-nonsense stance. "Hermione may get her heart from her father and her brilliance from the both of us, but she gets her warrior spirit from me."
Severus didn't need to be a mind reader to understand the implication of her words, "I assure you, that our intentions are along the same lines. I would never see to her displeasure."
"As long as we understand each other." Jean watched the strong, nearly unapproachable man bow his head to her and felt a bit of a power rising inside her. She was certain that if he hurt her little baby, there was nowhere on heaven or earth that he could hide from her wrath.
"There you are! Sorry, you know how excited I get about my new project." Hermione came into the room coming to Severus' side, she had feared her Mother had been trying to wiggle her way between them. That and she'd also promised not to leave him in a position that he'd have to defend himself alone.
"No apologies needed." Severus turned his eyes slowly away from her mother.
"Are you ready to go home? It's almost dark, I don't fancy a walk through the orchards to get home." Hermione lightly brushed her fingers against his own, testing his temperament.
"If you are ready, then so am I." Severus gently took her hand in his straightening his back.
"So soon? I know we've seen you all day but you haven't finished your cake." Her father came into the den as well still holding his tea.
"Sorry, we need to get back before dark otherwise we can't portkey into the town square. It's an awfully long walk if we don't."
"I'll wrap them up for you, it won't take but a second."
"Thanks, Mum." Hermione turned around grabbing her bag from where she'd left it on the couch and dug inside to find the portkey.
Severus jumped when her Dad clapped his hand on his back, the man having had moved behind him without him noticing, "Don't be a stranger." He took the man's offered hand and gave it a shake, trying to keep the uncomfortable feeling inside from making it onto his face.
"Here you are, dear! Now we'll be getting a house phone soon so when we do, I expect to hear from you."
"I will try mum, phones don't really exist in the wizarding world..."
"Well, you know how to use a payphone don't you?" Jean smiled softly handing over the leftover coffee cake before pulling her into a hug.
"Yes, mum." Hermione let out a soft sigh and put the cake into her bag before pulling the chain from around the portkey, "I love you."
"We love you too." Her parents took a few steps back as Hermione wrapped the chain around both Severus and her wrist entwining her fingers with his. She gave them one more smile before leaning her head against Severus' chest and activated the portkey.
As they popped out Robert turned towards his wife, "Now that's the way to travel."
"Oh, do be quiet." Jean chuckled softly hitting his chest.
"Think of the money you'd save on airline tickets!"
oOOo
Hermione stretched out slowly, letting out a deep groan of relaxation. She'd taken to sunbathing in the warm Spring air while Severus busied himself with getting the little vegetable garden ready for the season. They hadn't said much after returning home from her parents, just taken their showers and curled up in bed. She had massaged his back for a change, knowing how tense he'd been with having gone to see her parents. She had him out within twenty minutes. She'd stayed up a bit longer reading herself to sleep. When the morning light had warmed her face Severus had already been outside working away. She figured it was his way of working through the stress.
She'd chosen to wear a more revealing bathing suit in the privacy of their back garden. A two-piece black and red bikini that she'd never dare to wear out in public. It had been something she'd bought on a whim for the new season but hadn't yet had the courage to wear. It fit her nicely but she was curious to see how Severus would react to her less than modest choice. She'd only been relaxing for thirty minutes when she spotted his white shirt coming back up the path to the small clearing behind the house.
She sat up just a bit straighter in the lounge chair when his dark head came into view, unfortunately for her—and her held breath and rapid heart—his head was bent down cradling his hand looking at it as though he'd been injured. She could see the dirt and grim staining his shirt well before he noticed her.
"Severus? Are you okay?"
Severus came to a sudden halt lifting his head from his cut palm to a vision of beauty that was too ethereal to possibly exist. More than his throat felt tight when his eyes finally communicated with his brain and he could only stand there, cut palm in hand, staring at her dumbly. It wasn't until she came to her feet, the sun distractingly brilliant shining off her exposed skin, did he manage enough blood flow to his brain to speak.
"Nipping...wisps...uh...need balm..."
"Again? I thought you cleared them out last year." Hermione closed the distance between them taking secret pleasure in denouncing such a well-spoken man to mere syllables. Her smile stuck into the side of her cheek as she pulled his hand closer to take a look for herself.
"I...must have...missed some..." Severus felt like a teenager all over again when she pulled his hand even closer the bottom of his fingertips brushing ever so lightly against the fabric that kept her scantily covered. He took a deep breath through his nose but he could already feel the heat spreading over his face.
"Mmm, maybe I can help you this year," Hermione knew exactly what she was doing when she pulled his hand closer than necessary towards her chest though she feigned innocence in her actions, "Its the jar with the red label right? Just below the muscle salve?"
"I...I can get it..."
"No you can't, you'll track mud all over your kitchen. Just wait here." Hermione bit back the grin that was threatening her concentration and gently pushed his chest so he'd go sit down in one of the other chairs on the patio, "And take off your shirt, I think you've managed to pick up a few wildflower seeds in all that muck." It was a lie, bold-faced but she'd kept her eyes turned away as she turned to go back into the house. Her small experiment had been a wonderful success though she wasn't so sure just what exactly she wanted to do with the results.
Severus let out a soft sigh moving himself to the chair. When he lifted his eyes he felt as though a bucket of cold water has been dumped on him. The large scars that ran down her small back felt like a knife to the gut. A hot, fridged twisting knife. They still looked red, her pale winter skin accenting the damage more than usual. It wasn't the vanity of them that made him hurt but rather the memory of how they came to be. One of the things he'd been hoping to find in the castle. He knew nothing could fully remove scars but there were many a potion to make them fade faster. He looked down at his own hand, the blood pooling in his palm, his mind turning over the possibilities. So deep was his pensive he didn't even notice his shirt being spelled away.
"Mmm, you could use some sun too." Hermione smiled softly coming to sit beside him.
"Hmm?"
"I said," Hermione chuckled softly taking his hand in hers before scooping up a hearty amount of salve, "You should work without your shirt. You've definitely ruined this one."
Severus made a face, "Are you concerned about our clothing budget or are you trying to hint at something else?"
"Mmm," Hermione wrapped a small bandage over his hand just to keep it clean until the salve worked its way in, "I do appreciate the view." Hermione smiled raising her hands to run over his shoulders her eyes tracing the impossible definition on his chest. She moved slowly from her chair into his slipping her legs over the outside of his thighs as she settled in his lap, letting her arms rest on his shoulders.
"You know what else I appreciate?"
"Mm?" Severus could feel the fire that had gone out quickly returning to life with a vengeance, so much so he couldn't help but run his fingertips lightly over the line of fabric at her hip.
"Your kisses." Hermione grinned, tilting her head down to claim her want. Her body arching forward with a pleasurable spark running down her spine when their warm skin pressed together. A small moan passed her lips when his hands slowly crept upwards.
Just as his lithe and nimble fingers slipped beneath the thin string holding her suit in place, a popping noise jolted them apart. Their heads turning in unison to the creature that had suddenly joined them.