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The feather had been placed aside and the couple had gently kissed for a while before falling asleep in each other's arms, still fully dressed.

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night on Christmas Day, went to the bathroom, and dressed in her nightclothes quietly so as not to wake Severus.

As she got back into bed, he mumbled in his sleep and pulled her back into the embrace of his arms.

The Firebird feather. He got it from Karkaroff, who didn't seem to want to give it up at all, and he chose to give it to her?

She couldn't help it. She had trouble going back to sleep, puzzling it out.

Hermione had suspected Severus was interested in the feather when Karkaroff first showed it off. A catalyst for spells and potions, he had said it was. Wasn't Severus the potions and dark arts aficionado interested in such a rare item? He should especially be interested in it now that he had decided to pursue a potions mastery and the feather might be put to good use.

Yet he gave it to her.

My most prized possession, he had said. Proof of my intentions.

Hermione had been wrong and overly emotional to demand such proof from him, she knew it. It made no sense to do so, to ask him to make promises to her, not when she knew the relationship was due to failure in one way or another. It was completely irrational to ask it, yet she craved his stated devotion to her. Yes, the relationship must be bound to fail due to the inalterable property of time, however, Hermione was fearful it would fail because he could never care for her in any long-term way. He would love Lily far more. Therefore, he must have been insincerely using her for temporary pleasure. It was all the logical conclusion, you see. Hermione had only logic left to fall back on when she was so hopelessly romantic in her feelings.

Yet he gave it to her.

Hermione bit her lip in the dark. It was a puzzle, for sure. There were a few possibilities.

One, that Severus was lying. She didn't think this was the case.

Two, that Severus was sincere, but was inconstant, as other teenagers were. That, or Hermione was not beautiful or worthy enough to hold his attention. This possibility she thought was more likely than the first, and she dreaded the veracity of it regularly, a large source of her insecurities.

Three, that circumstances would drive them apart. Also likely, as she was growing uncomfortable with the delicate balance of supporting Severus without encouraging Death Eater activities. She would not have the same issue as much in the future, but for now, Severus was not convinced of the need to switch sides.

Fourth… was there a fourth possibility?

Severus snored lightly beside her as he held her from behind. The warmth of his body was comforting, making Hermione want to ignore her internal thoughts. That's how it had been when she was with him; she struggled to even think about how this wasn't meant to be, especially since every aspect of it felt so right.

Fourth…

It's possible that the only thing that would separate them was time. She had to return to 1997, after all, and she couldn't appear to be 20 years older.

Hermione didn't put this as the most likely choice. This possibility didn't answer the Lily question. For Severus Snape would love Lily Evans Potter, and that was the only reason Hermione traveled back in time to begin with. She had to save Lily for him to love because in so doing, Severus would devote himself to defeating Voldemort and protecting Harry Potter.

And they would win, in the end. She did learn that.

Perhaps she could love Severus after it was all over. They could start over. Maybe he could look back on this time fondly and use the memories to get over Lily, or at least love her a little less and Hermione a little more.

Hermione sighed, finally allowing her body to go back to sleep.

"It's Christmas Day, gorgeous," Severus rumbled softly in her ear. He held her tightly in place as she started to squirm and began kissing under her ear, down her exposed neck.

He heard a slight gasp from her, and she arched into his lips, allowing him to kiss downward until her nightshirt got in the way.

"You changed," he chuckled. "Here I am, still in clothes from last night. You never properly got me out of them, remember?"

"We- we were tired." She yawned before opening her eyes.

Severus stared down at her, black eyes shining with desire.

"Happy Christmas," he said in a low growl. "May I open my present?" He raised an eyebrow and let his eyes sweep languidly down before rushing back to meet hers again.

Hermione blushed and grinned. The grin quickly became a delighted laugh as he hurriedly removed her shirt.

"Ah yes, what a lovely present. Two lovely presents, in fact." Hermione gasped as he held her breasts, one in each hand, firmly massaging them and examining them. "Wonderful shape, perfect size…" He pressed them with his hands, pretending to weigh and evaluate his presents while also stimulating Hermione.

It was an odd little game, but if his voice and approving mannerisms were enough to get her this wet, she had no objection.

"Ohhhh!"

"They even come with two smaller succulent parts that complement the form." He had begun pinching and twisting her nipples, causing her to arch into him. "Yes… I quite like these," he rumbled heatedly.

She tried to speak as Severus began kissing down her chest and eagerly sucking on one of the exposed nipples. She arched further up into his mouth instinctively and her hands threaded through his hair. An ache began to pool in her lower abdomen. She writhed as he let out a low moan onto her breast before releasing it with a wet pop.

"Sweet taste," he said, still reviewing his gift. "Next."

He moved to the other breast, giving it similar attention, laving it with his tongue before sucking the nipple hard into his mouth. Hermione moaned, her lower body pressing upwards to rub against him. She began to tug at his shirt, starting to undo the first few buttons despite the awkward angle.

His head came up away from the breast. He smirked in pride to see her lust displayed so blatantly on her face.

"Delectable." He lazily flicked the nipple with his long finger, and she inhaled in pleasure. "May I open another?"

Hermione nodded frantically and pushed his hands downward to her sleep shorts. He was certain to remove them slowly, his palms firmly pressing over her arse cheeks and his thumbs on her hips as he slid the soft fabric down and off her legs.

She gasped as he kissed his way down, but her lust-addled brain figured out what was happening as he continued kissing and licking and she stiffened, pushing his head up and trying to pull him back up.

"What? What's wrong?" He said worriedly, looking at her with a startled frown.

"I- I want to kiss you." She pulled him back up and kissed him on the lips, waiting until he relaxed and returned her kisses before she grabbed his hand and moved it between her legs.

She was curious about what his mouth would feel like below her waist, but embarrassment had overruled lust for now. What if she smelled? What if he hated it and she would be mortified at his reaction? What if he disliked it but felt obligated to perform the act? What if-

"Unnnh!" She moaned into his mouth.

His fingers had made quick work at her sex, helping her clear her mind. He was a quick study, the anatomy of his long, nimble digits only aiding him. He had a pianist's hands, but he preferred playing her to perfection.

"Wet, so hot and wet," he murmured into her neck as she shuddered on his hand. He pumped two fingers in and out of her, moving the palm of his hand to press firmly on her clit as the fingers thrust. "You are so…uhhh…so fucking delicious." He kissed and nipped at the sensitive skin of her neck as she panted.

She reached over to feel him through his trousers as he continued to pleasure her. He was very hard though she had hardly touched him. He thrust against her hand and groaned beneath her ear.

"Fuck, Hermione," he grunted. She tugged at his trousers, trying not to obstruct his hand from its important work. She got the trousers and pants down just enough to expose him and allow her to wrap her hand around his length. With a tight grip she began pumping him quickly, encouraging him to speed up the rhythm of his own hand.

"Yessss," he hissed. He quickly pulled his hand away from her, causing her to whimper until she felt his fingers pushing her folds back and rubbing her clit directly.

"Sev- Severus!" Her body shook violently and she felt fluid trickle between her legs. Her hand continued to grip him tightly, but she momentarily was unable to move it up and down correctly. Despite her shaking, Severus didn't remove his hand and continued to stimulate her, occasionally dipping his fingers into her core, making his fingers wet and smearing her own juices on her clit.

"Shit, it feels so good!" She had just come and he was already getting her so close again, refusing to let up despite her quivering. Her whole body was on fire, throbbing with pleasure. It felt so potent she could weep in frustration.

"Come again, my sweet. You are so beautiful when you come," he moaned this revelry into her ear as she whimpered beside him. "My goddess, you fucking incredible woman. Do you know how long I have waited for you? Do you know-"

"Ohhhhhh! Ohhhhh yes! YES YES FUCK SEVERUS YES!" Hermione felt a tear slip past her cheek as she jerked into his hand, a larger amount of fluid rushing out of her. She had trouble catching her breath but forced his hand away from her so she could slow the spasms of orgasm.

She felt Severus chuckle delightedly above her, and she looked up at him. He had greedily watched her face contort in ecstasy and continued to stare at her. Meeting his eyes, she gripped his cock firmly and watched him back as she pumped, stroked, and twisted her hand fiercely up and down in retaliation, desperate to please him back.

First his face stiffened and his mouth shut tightly as if he were annoyed. After a few more moments, however, it became clear he was trying to hide his vulnerability from her gaze. His face quickly crumbled into a look of overwhelmed lust. His mouth slack, his eyes lidded and rolling slightly back.

She watched him as he thrust a few more times into her hand, finally closing his eyes, moaning her name, and spurting his seed onto the sheets between them.

They spent a few moments breathing deeply and catching their breaths.

"I want to, you know," he said quietly after some cleansing spells and shuffling completely out of his shirt.

"Hmmm?" She said sleepily, cuddling into his embrace.

"Nevermind," he mumbled. "When you're ready."

Later, after some more rest and getting somewhat dressed, they exchanged their actual presents.

Severus had gotten her an arithmancy book she had wanted, as well as a charm bracelet in the same metal as her sapphire pendant. It had a few charms relevant to her. A witch's hat, a pizza to represent Italy, a dragon to represent Romania (where her parents were supposedly staying), and a pile of books for either Hogwarts or her own personality.

"This is wonderful and so thoughtful!"

"There are only a few on there. I didn't want to clutter it with unimportant things."

She smiled and gave him a hug and a lingering kiss. "I'll have to get one to represent you!" She laughed. "Maybe a lion and a serpent to add?"

He smiled. "Perhaps."

Hermione had decided to hold off on giving him Jane Eyre and simply presented him with the Occlumency books. At first she thought he hadn't liked them. He stared at the books in near shock for a bit before pouncing on her.

"I will read them, devour them, I promise. I will not let you down."

Hermione let out a startled laugh, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Severus? What do you mean?"

"You… you mean me to…" He looked away. "You will finally trust me."

Hermione's face wiped clear of expression and paled instantly. "What- what are you talking about?"

"Hermione… I know there are things you fail to tell me because you fear I will… I will be forced to disclose them." Severus stared her down fiercely with his dark eyes. "I will learn to keep your secrets, Hermione, I swear it."

She nodded numbly and he pulled her back into his embrace.

What does he suspect? What does he know?

XXX

Christmas and Boxing day were spent leisurely and comfortably, just as the days beforehand had been. A few days after Christmas, Severus had appeared jittery at breakfast.

"We're going out tonight," he told her with a shit-eating grin that made her stop in confusion, teacup partway to her mouth. When was the last time he'd looked so excited?

"Alright…" She said suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"

"We're going to see a film. It's a premiere."

Oh, this was definitely piquing her curiosity. "You've been planning this for a while."

He shrugged nonchalantly before smirking widely. "It's created a lot of buzz. Been out in the States for months, but only just premiering here now. We'll be able to walk there, it's not far."

Hermione had a difficult time making it through the picture without giving anything away, but it was a lot of fun to watch it with an audience who were themselves seeing it for the first time.

That evening, they exited the building along with the crowd of chatting moviegoers who had just viewed one of the most groundbreaking films of all time. Severus still looked enthralled and once they were alone, he spun around in the cold air, his black coat making a sweeping arch as he imitated holding a long weapon. Snowflakes fell lightly around them in the darkness.

Hermione laughed in delight, so glad to see him carefree like this.

"Well?" He pressed her. "What did you think?"

"Oh, I don't know… you remind me of one of the characters." She made a cheeky face. "You know, the affinity for black, the dramatic entrances, the sheer power…"

Severus glared at her, causing her to giggle loudly. "I don't know what you mean by the dramatic entrances. That we both like the colour black is hardly enough of a likeness. I'm no Darth Vader."

"Oh really? Who do you think you're more like?"

"Please. Orphan boy seeks his destiny-"

Hermione erupted into giggles, and she felt snow hit her cheek. Severus had thrown some new-fallen snow at her in protest.

"Can't I be the hero?"

"Of course you can, Severus. I just don't really see you as a Luke Skywalker type."

He scowled. "He rescues the princess, doesn't he?"

"Yes, well… I think the princess has a lot more chemistry with Han Solo. He's a lot better looking than Luke in my opinion." Hermione was holding back a lot of the laughter, actually, as she knew how this plot ended.

"Hmmmph."

"Oh, don't be sour, Severus." Hermione caught up to him and grabbed his glove-covered hand, smiling brightly up at him. "I bet the princess will notice Han Solo eventually, no matter how grumpy he is," she teased.

Severus kept his scowl, but she saw the tiny uptick on the side of his mouth and she burrowed into his side as they walked back to his house.

"Send Miss Dalton in, Delia."

"Yes, Mr. Sterling."

The short, plump witch in the pencil skirt exited the room and returned a few minutes to hold the door for another. A tall, blonde woman with short, cropped hair entered the room as the shorter witch held the door open for her. She was wearing a blue cardigan over a white blouse and some dress slacks under a grey traveling cloak. She appeared nervous. The secretary, Delia, nodded to the man at the desk and closed the door behind her.

"How do you do, Miss Dalton?" He shook her hand briskly before taking his hand away. "Please take a seat." The man gestured to a comfortable armchair facing the desk.

The desk and the man were similarly scraggy and disheveled, though it appeared to be in a purposeful way, not an accidental one. He was on the shorter side of average height and wore small pince-nez glasses perched on his nose. His mustache and beard hung down to give his head a longish look and he greatly resembled a greying Scottish terrier. He wore a tweed suit to complete the look of an eccentric classics' professor from Oxford.

His desk held multiple small stacks of books and papers, as well as a few different tiny clocks and pocket watches. The piles were small enough to see over easily when he sat, but large enough to take over the entirety of the workspace. A faint ticking noise was heard coming from the desk when no one spoke, but it was not overly distracting.

Miss Dalton sat down gingerly.

"Thucydides Sterling, but you remember that from the letter I sent, I'm sure. I go by Cyd, which you can call me once you start working here." The man cleared his throat, looked down over his pince-nez and pulled a parchment from one of the stacks. "Have a good Christmas, Boxing Day?"

"Yes, sir," she replied quietly.

"Ah, well I know it's not quite New Year's, but I wanted to get you in before Hogwarts was back in session. I was hoping to have you sign a contract now." Sterling hadn't looked up from the parchment.

"Now?" She couldn't keep the surprise from her voice. "B-but… I am quite thankful for the opportunity, sir, but I do need to finish out the last semester at Hogwarts and complete my N.E.W.T.s before I can start full time work."

"You'll do that, rest assured." He waved his hand a bit impatiently, still failing to glance up from the parchment. "However, I think it's safest to start the contract now due to confidentiality requirements. You'll have to sign this first."

He held out the parchment and she looked at it.

I, the undersigned, consent to targeted obliviation if I refuse the employment offer presented to me by the Ministry official present. A trained obliviator will remove my memories of only the interview and offer process, and I will be evaluated by a representative at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries afterward to ensure no lasting damage has occurred.

"I… what?"

"I apologise, Miss Dalton, but I cannot discuss this with you any further until you sign below. You are within your rights to decline the position, but you are consenting to obliviation if you do refuse. You must agree to these terms before you hear the offer."

Her eyes widened, but she took only a fraction of a second before taking the quill Sterling handed her and signing her name. The parchment rolled up and popped away to be filed somewhere.

"Perfect." Sterling smiled at her, and she couldn't help but grin back. "I suppose you know what this means?"

"I was wondering, sir. When they told me the interview had been moved, and to this floor…"

"Yes. You are being offered a position as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries." This was said with a little smile, but also a bit of a nonchalant shrug. "Here is your employment contract. For Unspeakables, the standard contract is 20 years. It does tie you down for a while, but you're young and you can retire pretty early. The pension is quite generous."

He handed her a large scroll and she took her time reading through it. He patiently waited, looking at a few of the watches on his desk. When she finished, she looked up at him.

"Any questions?"

"Er… who can I tell?"

"You may say the same thing you were previously told, that you work for the Department of Magical Transportation. They will have you in the books as a contractor, and if you opt to be obliviated, I'm sure we can find you a position there without difficulty. There are Ministry employees who will be able to figure out from your movements that you are an Unspeakable, but nothing will be confirmed outside of this Department."

"And… if I change my mind? It is a 20-year commitment. What if I do five years and decide I've had my fill?"

"Doubtful. No one ever wants to leave."

She frowned at him, and he chuckled. "No, no that's good that you're skeptical. A sharp mind is all well and good, but you need to have discernment." He cleared his throat and scratched at his beard. "It's still true that leaving is unheard of; however, if you did want to leave, we could transfer you somewhere inside the Ministry. If you held too much information to obliviate, you would probably have to perform an unbreakable vow that you would not disclose the nature of your work."

"Am I not held to an unbreakable vow while inside the Department?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "No. We used to do that, but it became too problematic. In the 30's, someone with a guilty conscience thought he implied too much to his wife and… well, he didn't really give anything away, but we decided it'd be best not to go killing off our best employees if they happened to second guess themselves. Needless to say, we have other methods of ensuring your compliance and they are equally severe."

"And… this contract doesn't say what exactly I'll be working on."

"Ah, well you haven't signed the contract yet."

The woman narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips in slight agitation. "How would I know if I enjoy the work? I have no idea what I'd be committing to."

"You'll be exploring one of the mysteries of the universe, Miss Dalton. It's your decision."

She tucked her hair behind her ear and lifted the quill again before pausing. "What about Anna Perri?"

Thucydides Sterling shifted slightly in his seat. "Yes?"

"I was told that she…" Miss Dalton swallowed. "Your initial letter said that she was also being evaluated for the Department of Transportation, and it might be prudent to see if we could work amicably as colleagues in the future."

"What do you think?"

"We get along quite well. She's bright, studious, principled…" She turned a light shade of pink. "I don't foresee any problems."

"Did you mention any of this to Miss Perri? Our evaluating her?" Sterling furrowed his bushy brows and frowned, his pince-nez falling slightly.

"No, no. I even offered to get her an interview. She has no idea that I know."

"Good," he said a bit sharply. "Miss Dalton, I cannot discuss anything else with you until you sign the contract."

She looked at him hesitantly, still holding the quill in mid-air. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them. Her mouth held in a firm, determined line, she lowered the quill to the parchment and signed her name.

Thucydides Sterling raised his wand, popping the contract out of existence to be filed, just as the other parchment had been. Another wave and the door slammed open, causing Miss Dalton to jump out of her seat.

"Delia!" The short, plump secretary appeared at the door. "No obliviation today. Let St. Mungo's know they don't need to send someone." Delia smiled and nodded. As she left quickly, Sterling slammed the door shut again with another wand wave. Miss Dalton slowly lowered herself back into her chair.

"Now, Miss Dalton, I can tell you- do you… it's Elpida, yes? Can I call you Elpida, now that we're colleagues?"

"Of course," she said with a small smile. "I go by Ellie as well."

"Ah, perfect. The long Greek names do need some short nicknames, I quite agree. I'm Cyd, you're Ellie, that's that. Ahem. Now that you're hired," he said excitedly, grabbing a large stack of papers on his desk and standing up excitedly, "we discuss your project."

He walked around to her side of the desk and conjured another armchair to sit beside her, pulled up. He handed her a small scrap of parchment.

Experiment #394: Time-Return Message

Subject Anna H. Perri graduated Hogwarts class of 1978. Subject alias Hermione J. Granger born 1979. Subject contract to start Friday, April 7, 1978.

Lead Time Experimenter,

Elpida E. Dalton

Sent May 21, 1987

"You're a little young to be the lead experimenter now, but I suppose you've worked your way up by 1987." Cyd said, eyes directed toward the ceiling in casual thought.

Elpida had her face stuck in a permanent frown as she read and reread the parchment.

"Lead Time Experimenter?" She said finally.

"Yes, you'll be working in our time department studying time travel. I received this a few months ago, after which you got your letter from me attempting to recruit you for the job. If your interest hadn't panned out now, I would have assumed that Perri started working here before you did."

"Subject…" The frown hadn't left her face yet. "Subject Anna H. Perri…"

"Yes, you are to be one of the Time Experimenters and she will be your subject."

"I'm sorry, I… I'm really having trouble understanding."

"You will be studying and experimenting with time and Miss Perri…or perhaps, Miss Granger, is your subject. She is a time-traveler."