Ch 26 Unexpected

Hermione's POV

Hermione immediately ran into action after seeing Harry on the ground of the forest floor with Sirius cradling his head. She collapsed next to them and took out her wand and immediately started to cast diagnosis spells. Though they revealed nothing insightful.

Worry and fear immediately overcame her.

She didn't know what to think.

Sirius' face mirrored her own.

But since his expression didn't reveal sadness or anguish.

She had a feeling that he had simply collapsed due to pain in his scar. At least that was the most logical thing that could

She didn't even notice that Severus had finished using Fiendyre. Which ultimately meant that the Diadem was destroyed. He seemed to be keeping his distance. Which he had already assured her would happen. Using Fiendfyre is dark magic. And as such would have a negative effect on him. He never had to use dark magic really in the presence of others. Especially incantations that would heighten and affect the caster's emotions. Leaving them emotionally susceptible to dark compulsives.

"Ouch, that must've hurt," Sirius said after realizing that Harry was okay and just unconscious. Though he may have hit his head on the way.

"That shouldn't have happened," Severus said after moving to join in.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. Tearing her eyes away from Harry's face long enough to notice how Severus's eyes had turned black. And he had sweat dripping down the side of his face. He seemed stiff as if trying to reign in and control his body. And after meeting his eyes and seeing how the dark pools stared into her and tried to swallow her whole she understood why. She had to tear her eyes away from him when she saw how he licked his lips.

She couldn't focus on any of that right now and neither could he. He needed to reel back in his emotions and the best way to do that was by focusing on Harry. "I mean the dark lord wouldn't have felt what we just did. His soul was already fragmented into pieces. The pieces we destroyed are outside his body so he wouldn't have felt us destroying them."

She understood what he silently said. His dark mark didn't flare up from Voldemort's anger. Meaning that whatever happened to Harry should have affected him too if Voldemort had realized what they had done. But he didn't. "Then why did he collapse?"

"I don't know. But it wasn't from the Dark Lord." Well, that wasn't good. Nor did it solve the problem as to why Harry had collapsed so suddenly without even a warning sign.

"Then it must have been from himself."

"Well, why would he collapse from destroying the Horcruxes unless.." Hermione cut off. The thought was so silly, and yet. It made sense. Simplicity is so. But that couldn't be possible. But as she moved to look at Severus and found his brows furrowed together in deep thought. She knew the answer.

"He is a Horcrux?" Sirius asked. Coming to the same conclusion as the rest of them. The linking spells they did only connected Horcruxes, without affecting a living host. For Harry to collapse at the same time could not have merely been a coincidence. And much to her displeasure, so many things about Harry and his connection to Voldemort started to add up.

"Was a Horcrux apparently," Severus said. Though he said it nonchalantly and without any real concern. He still seemed to be in deep thought.

"Well shit," Sirius said, expressing what Hermione was thinking to a T. "How the hell did Dumbledore not know?"

Severus gave him a pointed look. "He probably did." Much to Hermione's displeasure.

"Why didn't we know?" Sirius asked. And Hermione found herself not knowing the answer. When considering all of the possible Horcruzes and how many there could be. They never considered the possibility that Harry could be one of them. It never even came up as a topic.

"Well it explains a lot," Severus said, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts. "His connection to the Dark Lord was unusual. Occulemency never worked when it should have. His ability to speak parseltongue was a surprise. And how he survived that night when his parents didn't was always a mystery."

Hermione found herself collapsing onto the forest floor. Before she was kneeling but after such a revelation she felt herself go numb and needed more support. This was absolutely crazy, Hermione thought to herself.

"Well, that could've gone better," Sirius said. As there wasn't much else to say.

And yet Hermione found herself nodding along. "I wasn't going to say anything, but yeah."

"We might need to come up with a new strategy."

"This doesn't change anything," Sirius protested. The tiredness seeped into his voice.

"Doesn't it?" Severus asked with a raised brow. If Harry has lost his connection to Voldemort then we have to throw the entire plan out of the window. We were planning on Harry letting the snake face inside his mind to lay a trap for him."

"The better question is Harry alright," Hermione asked, being too overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. She didn't want to think about it right now.

"Well we didn't anticipate him being a Horcrux," Severus reminded them. "Luckily we developed the spell to not kill living things. Otherwise, we would have killed him." Hermione blanched at the thought.

"Well that's a comforting thought," Sirius said with sarcasm.

"Ouch. Why does it feel as if my head got run over by the Hogwarts Express." Harry asked as he suddenly woke to consciousness. He squinted several times before his eyes adjust. He seemed quite confused to find himself laying on the ground with his head in Sirius's lap. With the others just staring at him.

"Apparently we encountered an unexpected variable," Hermione said delicately not sure exactly how to tell him what happened. And quite frankly was very concerned over what his reaction would be.

"Oh, what's that?" Harry asked, without a hint of emotion in his voice. Having no inkling of what had just transpired.

"You," Snape said simply.

"Oh good, so it was never a part of the plan for me to experience that," Harry said snarkily though he didn't seem too concerned.

"Not in the slightest," Hermione said reassuringly with a smile. Though it didn't quite reach her eyes. And Harry being quite observant despite what just happened was able to catch that. His eyes narrowed in on hers before he started to look around at the others.

"So what did I miss?"

The three of them looked at one another waiting for someone to speak up.

Hermione found herself enjoying her time with Severus much more than she probably should considering the war. But if she was going to take any of Sirius' opinions to heart then she should allow herself to feel whatever happiness she could despite the war.

And being with Severus Snape made her happy.

She didn't know how to exactly label what was occurring between them. They both agreed that they were together and willing to explore their feelings for one another while together. But she wasn't sure how to exactly describe it.

All of the things she was feeling for him amplified significantly ever since they stopped denying what was occurring between them. Before whenever he stared at her intently she would feel her blood rush to her head. But now when he would do this crooked half-smile she found her heart melting. She didn't know if he knew the effect he had on her but whenever he would touch her in soft caresses that never seemed to last too long. When he would place his hand on her lower back to let her know he was there when he stood behind her. When they were with the order discussing plans and she could feel herself start to become overwhelmed his fingers would trail down her arm and rest on her wrist as if monitoring her pulse. Every time he touched her she could feel a flush rise to her cheeks. As if she was just coarse through with electricity. Whenever they talked and he would reveal more personal things about himself, his past, his potions, his desires, she found herself finding new things to like about him. She was fairly certain it was love if not then it was definitely heading in that direction.

She was able to hazard a guess on his feelings. She believed that they very much mirrored her own. They had to be just as intense as hers was if he was willing to face such scrutiny from the others. Though this wasn't the first time he was ever scrutinized it was the first time Hermione found herself surrounded by an angry mob trying to protect her virtue.

She shook her head at her own folly. Perhaps it was an exaggeration. But it was still pretty spot on. As soon as she entered the burrow she was swooped upon by the Order. Severus was smart enough to remain outside. Best not to add to the fire. She had to immediately tell everyone to shut up since she couldn't hear anything over their questions and concerns. All she told them was that it was consensual and none of their business. It was late and if they weren't satisfied with her answer then they could talk to him in the morning. That seemed to buy her some time though Molly Weasley was clearly not happy. But she had bigger problems to deal with. Just because she sent the order away didn't mean she wasn't going to discuss her extremely new relationship with Severus tonight. Shortly after she was dragged upstairs with Harry, Ron and Ginny.

It wasn't an easy or pleasant conversation. There were definitely some raised voices and Hermione did shed a few tears. But she knew that it wouldn't be easy. But considering she expected the worst it went a lot better than she anticipated. For the most part, Ginny was the most accepting. She was concerned and had reservations about the whole thing but she was curious. And her curiosity won in the end. Ron was upset. Even after she explained everything he still couldn't understand what she saw in him. But she knew Ron would probably blow a fuse and be angry for a couple of days and then get over it. He would be the first to get over it since in the end, he did understand that it was her business. Harry was always her concern. And she figured he would have yelled at her telling her how crazy she was and how she was making a huge mistake. But he never did. He just sat there silently looking at her as if he had never seen her before. He just seemed to nod his head and pronounce he was going to bed. That they would talk in the morning. She knew he would need to take some time to wrap his head around it.

Lately, he seemed to be more accepting. He didn't seem to skirt around the conversation when she mentioned Severus' name. It helped that Sirius was constantly running interference on her behalf. He was so happy that the two of them were finally together he was not going to let anyone ruin it. It may have also helped that Hary did catch them sleeping on the lounge chair together and heard how they spoke to one another. He only saw the two of them interact as Professor Snape and Miss Granger. Now he was beginning to see Severus and Hermione.

At the end of the day despite his reaction, he did just want her to be happy. And she loved and appreciated him for that.

She didn't know how she was going to tell her parents about this. Whatever she was doing with Severus.

She was fairly certain she could see the two of them remaining together long-term. It seemed realistic and it was something Hemione decided she did want. She was currently happy being with him and could see herself being happy with him in the future.

This war wasn't helping. Their relationship was very much confined to whatever safe house they were staying in and was very much limited by time.

They were able to steal a few moments together. And those were the moments she treasured the most.

She was toying with a flower he picked for her on their early morning walk.

Every morning they went somewhere alone to talk. Away from all of the prying eyes and listening ears. It was one of the things she loved the most about him.

His ability to talk. It would astonish anyone how much he actually spoke and how personal he could be compared to the tightlipped and guarded Professor everyone was used to. She wasn't naive. She knew that with his age came experiences and life before her. There were things he may not be willing to share. But he didn't try to deceive or lie to her. If he wasn't willing to diverge information he made it known. Or if he was uncomfortable about a topic she would change it for him.

She wasn't sure how he would feel about her bringing up this subject so soon in their relationship. But she felt that she needed to be transparent about what was and wasn't possible for the future.

They were walking along the open fields next to the woods. The sun had already begun to rise and cast the cattails in a golden hue. She allowed her fingers to run through the stiff stems instead of crossing her arms over herself. She didn't want to worry him when she was too worried about his reaction. "I don't know if you remember. But Dolohov's curse left me sterile."

He turned his head to look at her deeply and in confusion. Despite his more relaxed state of late he still walked with his hands folded behind his back. In self contain composure. "I recall." She almost shocked her head at her own folly. Of course, he would remember. He was the one to heal her from the curse after all, all those years ago. He seemed to understand though why she was bringing it up. "It isn't a problem for me." There was always confidence in how he spoke. Very carefully as if ensuring what he was saying was right and proper. But she didn't mind his hesitancy or reluctance to share things. He took a moment to consider her reaction. "Is it a problem for you?

"No," she said simply. Perhaps at first, she was unsure of how to feel about such a thing at a young age. But now as she grew older and became more aware of herself and what she wanted out of life. She became more aware of what she wanted.

And it seemed as though Severus had already made his mind up on the matter years ago. "I prefer cats anyway. And I can tolerate yours."

Everything about his stance, the way he looked at her while he was talking screamed comfort. He didn't seem stiff or tense. There was an air of relaxation around him that Hermione had never seen before. But she quite liked the look of it on him. She knew that many people wouldn't find him attractive based on societal factors. But there was something about him that just made her safe with him and found him so much more attractive. Perhaps it was something about his age and his maturity that boys her age seemed to lack. There was an old-school simplicity with him that made him quite the gentleman.

He suddenly leaned down, stopping Hermione in her tracks. She watched him curiously as he plucked a flower from the ground that she had not seen there. Before wordlessly sanding back upright and handing it to her.

"You never told me what your plans are for once you graduate."

She was a bit caught off guard by the change in topic especially after now finding herself carrying something in her left hand. He didn't even hesitate though. It was a bit of relief actually. His ability to simply keep moving forward. "That's because I am honestly not sure."

"You don't have a plan?" He asked with a quizzical brow. No doubt he had assumed like everyone else that she had her whole life planned out by each week.

"I thought I did. But then this war" She drew off as she contemplated the right words.

"Shift all of your expectations and goals," he said. He didn't pose it as a question. He didn't have to. She almost laughed at his quick reply. When she spoke with him. It always felt like she was being heard. He understood what she was talking about no matter what it was.

"Yes among some other factors," She muttered shyly.

He gave her an amused look, though his words seemed more serious. "Don't let me factor into what you want to do for the rest of your life."

"But you are the only thing I know for sure I want for my future," She said strongly without any hesitation.

He seemed startled for a moment. But not displeased. She didn't even realize that she had stopped walking. Until he stopped to face her. "Nonetheless I won't interfere with any career you want to have."

"If you want to work at the Ministry or even become Minister of Magic. If you want to become an author or even work as a librarian. I will stand by your choice." She knew that he was just being supportive. But the way he spoke so strongly and surely made it feel like a promise was being made.

She couldn't help but stand on her tiptoes and kiss him. Softly and briefly. She moved her hands up to his face, pushing some loose strands out of the way. She allowed her hands to linger on his neck and shoulders while she regained her footing and balance.

"You know it's funny. I keep telling everyone that it was our choice to be together. But it really wasn't. I certainly had no control over it." She always found herself a little bit breathless after kissing him. Even when it was no more than a few seconds long. It always felt like the magic inside of her was vibrating. "And I am glad I didn't."

"Me too," Severus said softly.

But going back to his previous question. "I think that once I complete my NEWTs I will take the summer off. Help my parents come out of hiding. Relax, figure out how society is managing the aftermath of this war and then figure out where I want to be in all of it."

Severus gave her a soft smile. "It's not a bad thing to keep your options open. It might surprise you what you grow to love."

"You mentioned once that you planned on travelling once the war was over. Do you still think that is an option for you?

"I think so. I do want to travel personally but it also would be a good idea to collect raw ingredients. It is a lot cheaper and easier to collect rare plants if I gather them myself."

It seemed that he had a bit more of a plan than she did. But she did know one thing she needed to do in the upcoming future. "My parents are currently hiding in Australia." He already knew that though and was aware of her intentions to retrieve them. But she knew what she was about to ask of him could be a big step in their relationship. "Perhaps you would like to come with me when I go meet up with them." He eyed her for a second but before he could speak she continued. "You don't have to meet them. But I will probably be staying there for a few days. And I wouldn't mind doing some sightseeing."

He gave her a half smile. And his eyes turned softer. "I would very much like that."

They continued on their walk and eventually headed back to the Burrow. Before everyone else was awake and realized they were missing and sent a search party after them. She held the flower in her gently all the way back. Ensuring that it not only does not slip from her grasp but also crumbles.

He wasn't exactly a flower-giving man nor was she the flower-receiving. But it was kind and romantic and completely unexpected. Despite their circumstances and their limited freedom of exploring their newfound relationship, he was showing that he was trying.

And that's all she wanted.

She never had a favourite flower before. She thought they were frivolous. And stereotypically girly. But she might have just found one.

The flower was a blue iris.

Iris flowers have an unusual structure and appearance. The petals resemble a classic fleur-de-lis symbol, with some petals rising up while others cascade down. The center petals stand upright and are known botanically as standards. These tall petals stand like signal flags, waving in potential pollinators. Perhaps that is why she liked it so much. It wasn't standard. And nothing about her relationship with Severus was standard.

The scent reminded her of the half-smirk and smile he gave when he saw that she was still holding the flour in the house after they parted. She put a status charm on it to preserve it.

She didn't know how to classify their relationship.

Most days when they interacted there was still the hesitancy and nervousness that came in the first couple of months when dating someone. And yet there were these moments that made it seem like they had been together for years with how easily and smoothly they fell into step with one another. They didn't have a problem talking with one another. It was the easiest thing for the two of them to do. And despite the newness of their relationship they were both already talking about plans for the future. They may not have said it directly that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. But it was clear that this was where their relationship was heading and that it was something they both wanted.

The wedding was held at the Burrow for Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour on 1st August 1997.

It was a joyous affair. Hermione had never been to a wedding before but it was simply marvellous.

The tent outside was packed full of people. Harry was poly-juiced as a random muggle Severus got a piece of hair off in the nearest town. All of the Weasleys' extended family were present as well as Fleurs. They also invited many of their friends and neighbours. Hermione was quite surprised to see Luna and her father present. But her bright yellow dress wasn't.

Hermione was wearing a muted medium-toned purple dress. It was short in the front and longer in the back. It flowed from her waist. It was sleeveless like many other women's dresses. It was still summer after all though no longer scorching hot or humid. She had surprisingly been able to get her hair to cooperate and tie it into a loose knot hanging at the base of her neck.

It was a simple dress. She may have never been to a wedding before. But she did have some understanding of dress etiquette and knew not to wear anything that could draw attention away from the bride. But how could she when Fleur looked simply ethereal? And it had nothing to do with her veela heritage.

The bottom of the dress flowed in silk and yet seemed to mirror peacock feathers. Her hair flowed around and cascaded down her shoulders in golden waves. The bodice perfectly fitted her body and the back was entirely see-through. She wore barely any makeup. But she didn't need it when her smile took up most of her face.

From what Hermione could tell there weren't too many differences between a muggle and a magical wedding. Though the most obvious difference is all of the enchantments currently present. But for the actual proceeding, there were the vows and dearly beloved speech. Though the binding ceremony at the end was absolutely stunning.

It reminisced how an unbreakable bond was formed. And in a way, it was the same thing. Bounding oneself to another in life. Hermione had not expected it to take place. But as she watched the tendrils of magic bind Bill and Fleur she found a few tears sliding down her cheeks.

Severus was busily paroling the perimeter. He volunteered, not quite interested in watching the ceremony or listening to all of the crying. He also thought it was incredibly stupid to have such an event in the middle of war especially since there were so many guests and high-profile order members present.

She never saw him look at her during the wedding. But sometimes she could see out of the corner of her eye glancing her way quickly to note where she was. She could feel his eyes on the back of her neck. It didn't make her uncomfortable to feel someone watching her. With him, it was a comforting feeling. Even though she couldn't see him or hold his hand while he stood by her side. He was near enough in case she ever needed him.

It was probably a good thing he wasn't seated next to her.

Especially as her own thoughts turned against her and she followed them down the rabbit hole.

She may not have been in her relationship with Severus very long but that didn't mean she didn't feel secure with where it was heading. They talked of the future and besides the war, there doesn't seem like much that would get in their way of having a happy life together. And with him, she could definitely see herself being happy. He already made her so happy despite the dark cloud of war looming over their head. And without it. Without restraint and fear. Well, she often licked her lips at the thought. But there would be nothing to dampen their relationship. And it left a thrill of excitement in her. She couldn't deny she was curious and ready to feel their relationship at its fullest and unrestrained.

She may not have given much thought in the past about marriage and a ceremony. But now watching all of the Weasleys and Delecaurs and friends come together to celebrate the two being married. She couldn't deny that the thought was lovely.

And though she was open to the idea she could easily settle for a date at the ministry. Though that would depend on Severus' desires.

She shook herself out of thought.

She shouldn't be thinking about ha now. That would be years away if it happened. No, she needed to stay in the moment and enjoy the music and dancing and not daydream.

Suddenly, a blue bright light shot into the center of the dance floor and hovered in the air.

Everyone quieted down to stare at it. The floating candles dimmed. And nobody moved.

It took Hermione a second to recognize it for what it was. A Patronus formation.

The blue light warped into the shape of a Linx.

Its mouth opened and Kingsley's voice echoed out.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

Hermione could hear the way everyone held their breath as the light faded and the tent was consumed by darkness.

Everything was a blur after that. People were apparating left and right. And soon enough chaos erupted. All she knew was when she was safe in Severus' arms. The Weasleys remained at the Burrow for the time being. While she, Severus, Sirius and Harry went back to Grimmauld. They couldn't risk putting the family in danger.

And Grimmauld was still the safest place for anyone. Especially now. Not even Hogwarts could hold such a title.