Chapter 10: I Love You the Most, Darling

September 19, 1982

"Where have you been, Missy?" Alona teased when Hermione returned to their flat that night.

She was grinning from ear to ear when she passed by her in the living room on the way to her bedroom. She felt very happy as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Spinner's End," she replied vaguely.

Alona's eyes widened. "You didn't!" She was grinning.

She gave her an innocent look. "We didn't do anything physical, Mother," she chuckled. "We just had dinner – sat by the fire at The Holly Bush – then we talked."

"Everything all right?" Alona asked happily.

She nodded with a beam. "Everything's all right," she confirmed. "But I'm knackered! Let's hit the sack! We've got to work tomorrow. No money, no honey."

"This conversation is not over, Missy!" Alona called after her.

"Good niiiight!" she replied in a singsong before closing her bedroom door.

When she was already dressed for bed, she checked her new wristwatch and saw that there were two messages from Severus.

Severus: I have enjoyed our time together. I hope you made it home safely.

Severus: I shall see you again next weekend if I'm not too swamped with work.

Hermione smiled as she sent a response.

Hermione: Good night, Severus.

.

Hermione had just landed in front of Severus's house the following weekend, and the door instantly opened by him, grinning like an enamoured wizard. He took her arm and led her inside the house. When he closed the door, he pulled her into a hug.

"How I've missed you, angel," he said, sounding pleased.

She returned his hug, feeling contended as well. "Thank you," she teased.

Severus chuckled. "I won't ask you to say it, but I know you've missed me, too."

"If you say so," she grinned, still holding him tight.

She felt his lips on her forehead. "You must be hungry. Come on, let's have brunch." He released her from the hug but took her hand to lead her to the kitchen.

She had just woken up this morning when Severus sent her a message, saying he had some free time today and that he would really much like to see her. They agreed to have brunch at his place.

"Why are we not meeting at my place?" she asked when Severus pulled out a chair for her at the kitchen counter.

"My Floo is connected to my office at Hogwarts. The headmaster and the others can easily contact me if they need me," he explained as he filled her plate with two links of sausage, blood pudding, tomatoes, and baked beans. "How do you like your eggs?" he asked.

"Anything is fine. I'm not picky," she smiled.

"I like mine hard-boiled," he informed her cheerfully.

"Then hard-boiled for me, too," she beamed at him.

Severus prepared the tea for the two of them while boiling eggs. He also buttered some bread and tossed it on her plate. She wanted to help, but he told her to just sit back and let him serve her. Hermione gladly obliged.

"Well, this is fun. Professor Snape, buttering my bread and making tea for me," she said, amused. "If someone told my fourth-year self that this was going to happen, I might have hexed that person six ways to Sunday."

"Why? What did he ever do to you?" he chuckled and sat on the chair beside her. He pulled their chairs closer together so he could rest his arm on the back of her chair.

"Hmph! Draco Malfoy hexed me in the middle of the corridor outside the Potions classroom. The hex caused my teeth to grow longer, and when Harry and Ron told Professor Snape about it, he said, 'I see no difference,'" she said with a perfect imitation of the dour Potions Master in her time.

"That's horrible. I'm so sorry, angel," he said sincerely.

"I know. I cried; you know. But later on, I realized that you could not be seen by other students going soft on someone, especially a Muggle-born like me. Your Slytherins would probably have written to their parents about you if you treated us differently."

"Still, I'm sorry."

She patted his thigh. "I'd forgiven you a long time ago." Then, her smile faltered. "But sometimes, it seems, I can't forgive myself for leaving him like that."

"Hermione, leaving him was necessary," Severus said gently. "You'll see it in the memory."

She smiled at him, feeling a bit better. "We'll watch it later, right? Together?"

Severus placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to nuzzle her hair. "Together. Maybe you'll forgive yourself once you see what really happened."

She leant forward to kiss his cheek. "I hope so. Thank you."

.

An hour later, Hermione and Severus were sitting on the couch, feeling contented. He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I thought you were just so conceited when you started calling me your future wife," she chuckled.

"That, and the fact that we're getting married," he said, running his hands through her curls.

"Not that soon!" she chuckled again.

His hold on her tightened and kissed her head affectionately. "If it were up to me, I'd marry you today."

"You're fully aware that you're being silly right now, aren't you?" she giggled.

"Only when it comes to you, darling," he said smoothly. "Only with you. I am so thankful to the gods and all the saints out there that you're finally here with me. That now, I can call you my witch… My partner in life."

She smiled with equal fondness. "It's because of you… Your incessant flirting and declaration of affection… But now, how would you explain the situation to Dumbledore, your employer?"

Severus frowned slightly. "I haven't told him about my friendship with Kingsley. Surely, I can keep our relationship from him."

She frowned as well. "Fifteen years… Could you keep something like this from your employer for fifteen years?"

Severus sighed and suddenly, he looked stressed. "I don't know, Hermione. I must admit, I haven't thought of telling him anything regarding my private life. He needs me to teach at the school and to spy again for him and the Order when the Dark Lord comes back. In your time, you didn't know that Kingsley and I were friends. Surely the Order doesn't have an inkling, too."

"I have a meeting with Officer Dagworth on Monday," she shared. "I have to report at least twice a month, or if there is something urgent. Surely, he already knows about our relationship."

"How?" he asked.

"There are undercovers who are watching out for me. They don't listen to our conversations, but they track where I go, and they've placed a tracing charm on my wand. I don't know them, but I know someone's watching me. It's part of the protocol as a time traveler. Maybe to make sure that I won't be in danger, or there will be no other accidents."

"So, they know that you're here?" he asked. "Now the Ministry knows." He sounded unhappy.

"No. Are you aware that the Department of Mysteries doesn't report and answer to the Minister for Magic?" she asked.

"What?" Severus turned to her with a surprised look.

"I just learnt about it in my Auror training program. We don't question Unspeakables unless they come to us—I mean, the Aurors. The head of the Department of Mysteries is more powerful than the Minister for Magic. Have you ever wondered why people don't get suspicious when it comes to my background? They don't find it questionable."

"Kingsley did at one point," he told her.

"Ah, but if he decided to investigate about me, he'd find nothing suspicious because the Department of Mysteries would take care of it. Imagine a more powerful Notice-Me-Not charm."

"It's like when Muggles ask which school you went to and when you say Hogwarts, they stop asking," Severus nodded.

"Ten points to Slytherin," she grinned. "I wonder if a similar thing would happen to someone as powerful as Dumbledore if you told him about me. I wonder if the Department of Mysteries would also take care of him if he started snooping."

"I don't know, darling. That's Dumbledore. But I can keep my personal life from him. We can have a very private life, like Kingsley and Alona… and Minerva."

"Right. We didn't know Kingsley was married. When he became Minister for Magic, we haven't heard much about his private life."

"We'll manage to keep things private," he assured her.

"I think we will. Seventeen years is a long time, but I don't think people in my time knew you were married."

"That's good. To be honest, I feel like I can bear with anything, as long as I have you," he whispered to her hair.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Aren't you the sweetest?"

But Severus was looking at her mouth, and he had this expression that conveyed… desire.

She cupped his face and licked her lips while looking at his mouth, too. They hadn't kissed yet, and right now, she wanted nothing more than to feel his kiss.

It turned out that Severus was thinking of the same thing because the next thing Hermione knew, her boyfriend was hauling her from the seat to his lap, and he held the back of her head, then kissed her languidly.

Hermione instantly opened her mouth and she moaned into the kiss, pressing her body to his even more and wiggling on his lap.

But then, something hit her: She didn't want their first time to be like this – unplanned and on the couch. Severus would have to leave for Hogwarts anytime soon, or once someone called him via the Floo. She saw the disappointment in his face, so he cupped his face tenderly. "I love you," she said in all honesty.

Severus's eyes twinkled. He looked at her as if she was the only person in the world. "I love you too, my angel," he replied in equal affection.

"I wish we could spend the night together," she confessed, playing with the buttons of his shirt. She could not look at him because she could feel her cheeks blushing.

However, Severus placed a finger under her chin, so she was forced to look up. "Is that what you want?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," she replied, wondering why Severus would ask that question.

He smiled, looking relieved. "I am glad, then. I don't want to put any pressure on you. I realize I might be too direct at times, but I promise I will never make you do anything you don't want to."

She kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she replied fondly. "But that's what I want: to spend the night with you… to get to know you…"

"Then, I shall work on my schedule and seek my employer's permission to spend the night outside of Hogwarts on a weekend."

She sighed in contentment and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you. I love you."

She felt and heard him smile. "I love you the most, darling."