Hermione hurried along the cobblestone street of Diagon Alley; she was running late, which was something that she hated to admit, even to herself. Her expected appointment would have every right to be disappointed in her, as this was one of her few days off as it was. Given that fact, she still hoped that she would, ultimately, be forgiven.

Ever the perfectionist, she had her entire life planned out from the moment she received her Hogwarts letter at the age of eleven. She would read everything she could get her hands on about the Wizarding World before term began; she would then be sorted fairly (as a Gryffindor student, she felt it had been extremely fair); then, she would get the highest marks in each class she could, and pass both her OWLs and NEWTs with flying colors (she had done so, although the latter had been delayed because of the Second Wizarding War); then, she would get the job she wanted at the Ministry of Magic, work there for a while, get married, and have children, while all the while attempting to make the Wizarding World a better, and fairer, place.

Things had a habit of going sideways, and had done, ever since Harry had finally vanquished Voldemort in the final battle of the Battle of Hogwarts. Once he'd done so, Kingsley, the Aurors, and the Order of the Phoenix had swept in and dispatched themselves to either kill or hunt down the Death Eaters for trial, if they agreed to come peaceably. Of course, it had been a surprise to everyone that Headmaster Snape had managed to survive Nagini's bite, but, combined with Dumbledore's pensive memories, and Harry's, plus Ron and Hermione's, steadfast support, he was found to be a spy for the Light, and was not put on trial, put in Azkaban, or given a fine of any value of Galleons.

Hermione pushed through a press of people gathered around the front bay window of Quality Quidditch Supplies; the latest broom, the Firmament Sovereign, carved out of mature Purple Heart wood, which Harry himself had designed. Although Harry and Ron had gone through Auror training together, both realized that it was not for them; Harry had taken a broomstick apprenticeship from Master Hartford, the owner of the eponymous broomstick shop, and was next in line to inherit it. As for Ron, he had joined George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and the pair were doing exceptionally well, even opening a second location in Hogsmeade.

When the battle had ended, everyone had expected Ron and Hermione to become a couple, but, once Lavender Brown had been revealed to be alive, despite Fenrir Greyback's attack, and not any signs of lycanthrope on her, she and Ron had found their way back to one another. Lavender had matured in her final year at Hogwarts, and was much quieter and kind than she had been during her Hogwarts years. Hermione was truly happy for the pair of them, and had stood up for them when they'd married two years previously.

Hermione finally rounded the bend and caught sight of the shop she was looking for—Rosa Lee Teabag, the teashop in Diagon Alley. Stepping down the stone steps and pushing open the door, she spotted Ginny, Lavender, and Tonks crowded around an intimate round table, tucked away in the back corner of the tearoom. She indicated where she was going to the witch at the front of the shop, who nodded to her and waved her back.

"Sorry, sorry," Hermione said, once she reached the table, and grinned as Ginny quickly got to her feet and threw her arms around her.

"I'd ask if it was the Ministry, but we all know it couldn't be," Ginny replied gently, fixing Hermione's hair and pulling away.

"How much longer do you need to research?" Lavender asked curiously, stepping up behind Ginny and hugging Hermione herself.

"Last night was the final stage," Hermione assured her, embracing Lavender before she turned to Tonks, and hugged her as well. "How are Remus and Teddy?"

"With Mother today," Tonks replied airily. "I only have so much time between cases. Robards is keen to have me take over the department one day, you know."

Hermione nodded, taking the free seat in between Ginny and Lavender. "All right," she said, and took off her scarf and cloak, and leaned back comfortably in the chair. "What's the big news then, that just couldn't wait?"

Ginny grinned, waving her right hand above her left, and an elegant emerald engagement ring appeared, causing Lavender to squeal, Tonks to applaud, and Hermione to gasp. "Harry asked me himself last evening," she said, flushing becomingly. "He asked Mum and Dad for their blessing as well, not to mention talking it over with Ron, George, and Bill. He even sent an owl to Charlie about it."

Hermione nodded; despite Percy quitting the Ministry, and standing with his family in the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, he had taken a position at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, wanting to leave England altogether. "Any plans so far?"

"We want it to be in the summer," Ginny continued, extending her hand so that Lavender and Tonks could take a closer look at the ring. "Harry also told me that Master Hartford is handing over the shop to him come September."

"The Prophet is going to give you time off for a suitable honeymoon, aren't they?" Lavender asked, looking up; she had a heavy work schedule as it was, given that she was on rotation with Angelina Johnson-Weasley, and Draco Malfoy, at St. Mungo's as a healer.

Ginny nodded. "Yes. I submitted my preliminary time off this morning. They were all really happy for me," she said, and was beaming, before turning to Hermione. "I know I don't even need to ask you to be my Maid of Honor, do I?"

Hermione immediately shook her head. "No, of course you don't," she assured her. "I'm happy to do it. Just let me know when you need me at Madam Malkin's for fittings."

Ginny squeezed Hermione's hand before turning to regard Lavender and Tonks. "I'd like you two to be my bridesmaids, and I'll be asking Luna, Angelina, and Fleur to be mine as well," she said, nodding to herself.

"Has Harry considered a wedding party yet?" Tonks wanted to know.

"Ron is going to be his Best Man, if that's not an issue for the pair of you," Ginny said, looking in between Hermione and Lavender.

"Of course it's not," Lavender said quickly. "It's your wedding."

"Besides," Hermione continued, "Ron is like a brother to me. You know this."

Ginny grinned and went on, "He's also intending on asking Remus, Neville, George, Bill, and Draco to be his groomsmen," she said. "I think he was even going to visit your cottage in Godric's Hollow this evening," Ginny informed Tonks.

Tonks nodded. "We're always glad to have him, Ginny. You know this."

"Harry and I going to Hogwarts to see Neville on Saturday, and you know that Luna will be there, due to her apprenticeship with Hagrid," Ginny said with a smile. "We're going to see everybody for Sunday dinner at the Burrow, so we'll ask everyone else then."

"Where are you having it?" Lavender asked.

"At the Burrow, we've already asked Mum and Dad," Ginny responded. "We're going to have a marquee tent all done up in the back garden."

Lavender at once turned romantic. "It all sounds lovely," she said dreamily.

Once tea had been ordered, Hermione was pleased for the worthy distraction. In the years that had followed her receiving her NEWTs, she had toured the various departments at the Ministry of Magic, but it had not grabbed onto her as it once did. She instead turned to independent research, leaning everything she could about secret forms of magic in any given subject. She published them anonymously in The Daily Prophet, The Quibbler, Potions Monthly, and every other noteworthy publication in the Wizarding World. Of course, only her closest friends new that Newbury Halifax was her, and she was perfectly contented with that.

She just needed approval of one final point, about the use of Tahitian pearls versus mother of pearls for Amortentia, and, for that, she needed to visit Snape's Spirits, the new apothecary in Diagon Alley. Her appointment had been set for after her meeting with Ginny and the rest of the girls, and she knew entirely well that her former potions professor did not particularly like to be kept waiting. Finally, the conversation drew to a close, and Hermione made an excuse, before throwing down some wizarding currency onto the table, and ran out of there.

Snow had begun falling as she exited the teashop, and it tangled within the curls of her hair. As she hurried along, she knew that she would just have enough time to get there if she didn't dawdle in any way. Her notes had been spelled with an Anti-Wrinkle Charm, and had been tucked away in her beaded bag, hanging at her waist. Dashing past Gringotts, she rounded a final bend until she stood directly before the apothecary of Severus Snape.

She supposed it was a noteworthy location, if one was in the market for more reputable potions ingredients than that of Slugs and Jiggers, she mused as she pushed open the door. The bell rang as she did so, and, looking across the shop, noticed that Severus was assisting an elderly woman who appeared to walk with a slight limp. She nodded at his indication for her to wait, and she ventured over to the delicate, crystal-cut bottles of perfume that Pansy Parkinson had made; now engaged to Theodore Nott, the pair were actually a fine couple, what with Theodore joining the Ministry as Kingsley's new undersecretary, and Hermione saw them socially often.

Hermione fished the notes out of her beaded bag as she vaguely listened to the transaction going on just behind her. She knew the patron was called Arabelle Wilson, and she was a close friend of Ron and Ginny's Aunt Muriel. An infernal gossip, she nevertheless knew where to purchase her potions for her arthritis, and was always exceedingly polite to Severus, and made sure to always pay him the proper amount of Galleons.

"Thank you very much, Madam Wilson," Severus said to her, once the money had exchanged hands. "And I suppose I don't need to tell you to take it easy on the sherry?"

"I may share a liking for certain beverages with the Divination professor," Madam Wilson sneered at him, "but I am certainly not as fraud-like as she is."

"Yes, well," Severus replied awkwardly, "I bid you good day, madam."

Hermione peered over her shoulder, nodding at Madam Wilson as she leaned on her gnarled walking stick; the woman barely acknowledged her as she limped out of the shop, and she turned back to regard Severus. "Charming woman," she said, once the shop door had shut behind her, and flashed him a smile.

"Yes, isn't she?" Severus asked, spelling the door shut and locked, and turning the sign, indicating that the shop was now closed for the day. He the gestured for Hermione to follow him towards his lab, and she didn't hesitate to do so. He dimmed the lights of the main shop, while leaving those in his attached lab still on, and walked through the doorway leading to it, Hermione just at his heels. "So, what have you brought me?" he asked, rounding the table, cauldron bubbling merrily away, and turned to face her; the space was an exact replica of his lab at Hogwarts, and vaguely reminiscent of the potions classroom as well, which Hermione was sure made it more convenient for him. "I have the base for the Amortentia potion as you indicated in your owl, but have yet to add the mother of pearls. Is there a reason why you have asked me to leave out that imperative ingredient, Miss Granger?" he asked.

Hermione sighed, looking down at her notes. "I've asked you more than once to address me as Hermione, you know," she said.

Severus smirked, but was careful to ensure that she wouldn't see it. "My apologies, Hermione."

"Very good," she replied, and looked through her notes for the proper section she wished to discuss with him. "I wished to test Tahitian pearls instead of mother of pearls," she responded and looked up at him. "I find that the meditation power, combined with the mere healing power of the mother of pearl—which the Tahitian pearl has as well—will bring forth a much calmer reaction to the potion itself and, perhaps, make it more beneficial and potentially less harmful to the Wizarding World at large."

Severus looked amazed at her line of thinking. "An interesting thought, Hermione," he replied and, with a wave of his hand, summoned a clutch of Tahitian pearls. "Add them, then, one at a time, until the potion takes on its color."

"Will it still be the same shade, do you think?" Hermione asked, watching as Severus took control of the stirring rod and she selected a pearl at random to drop into the potion.

"I think not," Severus responded, nodding in approval as she dropped one in. "I think it will be a shimmering black instead of a shimmering silver."

"All the more reason to do so," Hermione said, and, as much as she hated to admit it, she sounded quite bitter.

"Trouble in your circle of friends?" Severus asked, stirring the potion carefully.

Hermione pulled a face. "I was meeting Ginny at Rosa Lee Teabag before this," she confided in him softly. "Harry's asked her to marry him and she's accepted."

"Ah, a Valentine's Day proposal," Severus said, nodding for her to add a second pearl.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Merely a greeting card holiday, if you ask me."

Severus laughed aloud at that. "I wondered when the pair of them would eventually tie the knot; Mr. Weasley and the former Miss Brown were the first, although Draco and Astoria were on their heels... Not to mention Mr. George Weasley and the former Miss Johnson... And who could forget Pansy's engagement to Theo hitting The Prophet just three months ago? Front page and everything..."

"Not to mention all the baby announcements," Hermione cut in. "Bill and Fleur's little girl Victoire is nearly two now. Plus, George and Angelina's baby boy, Fred, is one. Draco and Astoria's Scorpius is nearly one, and Tonks and Remus are expecting a daughter come November... And Ron and Lavender are all over each other, so there's bound to be another announcement before winter ends."

Severus mulled over the witch's words as he indicated for her to add a third pearl. "Do you believe Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter will have children?"

"I'm counting on it," Hermione went on, not looking up at him, and instead staring into the depths of the potion, which was just beginning to blacken, as she tossed in a third pearl as she'd been directed. "Harry's always wanted a family of his own, and Ginny... Well, growing up with six brothers conditioned her to love family life, due to the fact that she was the youngest and pet of the family."

Severus thought on that for a moment, listening to her thoughts on the matter. "Are you jealous because of Ginny and Lavender's choice in partner, or what they have?"

Hermione nearly dropped her hold on the remainder of the clutch of pearls and stared, openmouthed, up at Severus. "Are you insinuating that I wish to be romantically involved with Harry or Ron?"

Severus gave a nod. "That is precisely what I am saying."

Hermione sputtered, shaking her head vehemently in denial; any romantic feelings she had had for Ron had died long ago and Harry... Well, she had never seen him in a romantic light in the first place. Even after Ron had left them alone, for weeks, in the Forest of Dean, and she and Harry had shared many a moment, they had never crossed any line of romantic inclination, due to his love for Ginny, and her love for...well, not Ron.

"Absolutely not," Hermione said, gritting her teeth and adding a fourth pearl when she'd been directed to do so. "Sure, my love potion smelled like him during my sixth year, but, by the time I began my research on potions after my NEWTs, it changed."

"Oh?" Severus asked.

Hermione nodded. "I'm quite sure Professor Slughorn would love to tell you that it smelled like freshly-mown grass and new parchment when I was sixteen," she went on bitterly. "Now, however, I find that the scent is reminiscent of sandalwood for vitality, ivy for fidelity, snakeweed for disorder, and gardenias for secret love," she said; by the time she got the entirety of it all off her chest, her face was flushed, and her heart was hammering within her, as she never took her eyes off the man.

Severus raised an eyebrow at that and nodded for Hermione to add a fifth pearl into the potion. "I see," he said softly.

Hermione lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "That was unprofessional of me. We need not speak of it further."

"Why would we not, when the conversation is just becoming interesting?" Severus asked, and smirked slightly at her.

Hermione felt herself flushing deeper at that. "What are you...?"

"I am merely stating that we seldom become personal in our interactions," he replied.

Hermione swallowed. "Well, these are professional purposes, not social exchanges," she said softly to him. "Why should we get overtly personal?"

Severus nodded slightly at that. "True, but I believe that multi-tasking would be beneficial to this arrangement we've come up with," he told her.

Hermione dropped her eyes to the clutch of pearls again, waiting for him to tell her to add another to the potion. "Oh," she managed to say.

"You're usually much more talkative than this, Hermione," Severus said, waiting for her eyes to lock onto his again before he continued speaking. "Have I made you uncomfortable in my line of questioning?"

"Not completely, no," she said, adding the six pearl at last. "It is only..."

"What?"

"It is only that I feel very un-Gryffindor-like at the moment," she finally managed to get out. "I mean, I all but admitted to fancying you, or did you not understand that?"

"No, I understood that completely," Severus assured her. He stirred the potion a few more times as he considered what to say next. "What I do not understand is why you seem so ashamed of your sudden declaration."

"Merely that I am afraid of subsequent rejection," she said at last, and added the seventh, and final, pearl when she was directed to do so. "Hence the un-Gryffindor-like feelings..."

Severus nodded, turning the potion to simmer as it turned black, albeit with shimmering star undertones. "A beautiful color," he said softly. "Do you still smell what you mentioned to me earlier?" he asked.

Hermione flushed again and lowered her eyes. "Yes," she whispered.

"Would you like to know what I smell?"

Hermione nodded; she knew she was about to be rejected, she just knew it. "All right," she said quietly, and waited for it.

"Roses, lavender, redwood trees, and heather," he said, and Hermione looked up at him slowly then, eyes wide. "Roses for love; lavender for devotion; redwood trees for forever; and heather for admiration and protection."

Hermione wetted her lips. "Roses are my favorite flower, and heather is grown upon the Hogwarts grounds," she whispered.

"Not to mention the great many trees in the Forbidden Forest are redwoods, and lavender is the scent of your lotion that you always wear," Severus said softly, looking down into the depths of the potion thoughtfully.

"Did Severus Snape just admit to fancying me back?" Hermione whispered.

Severus gave a short nod before bottling the potion from the cauldron. "I believe your little experiment will work wonders, considering that neither of our minds seem to be too terribly clouded, despite our mutual declarations," he said quietly.

Hermione bit her lip, watching as he finished bottling the potion; she lowered the clutch of pearls down onto the surface of the work table, and kept her eyes glued onto him. "Now, the final question remains," she said, and waited for him to look up at her before she spoke again. "Do you want for me to leave this shop, and never mention this again, and simply write down my findings about the potion? Or do you want me to—?"

Severus circled around the table then, and grabbed Hermione about the waist, yanking her towards him like there was no tomorrow. His lips found hers, crushing them as he teased the seam, begging entrance into her mouth, which she granted, readily. As their tongues battled for dominance, he wrapped his arms completely around her and cupped her arse, marveling at how wonderfully it fit within his hand.

"I want to do this properly," he whispered, reluctantly pulling back from her lips and pressing small, teasing kisses to her neck and collarbone, which made Hermione squirm in his arms, gripping onto him tightly. "I don't want to bring you to my dingy, bachelor flat upstairs. I want to bring you to my country home."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded, pulling back just enough to lock eyes with him, her smile answering the question, although she decided to speak just in case. "Please," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Take me home, Severus."

His eyes darkened at her request, and kept his arms wound tightly around her, as he Apparated them out of his lab, landing them smack-dab into a finely-furnished living room. "I bid you welcome to Snape Scion," he announced.

Hermione looked around; it was beautiful, all done up in cherrywood Victorian furniture, with expensive, and antique, looking oil paintings on all the walls. "It's beautiful," she whispered, looking out the great window of the sitting room, where she saw fine gardens and land beyond, all covered in a fine down of winter snow. "Where exactly are we?"

"Shropshire; Edgmond, to be more specific," he explained. "A little over six miles from Wellington Station, to be precise."

Hermione nestled deeper into his arms. "And what happens now?"

"Now?" Severus asked, tilting her chin up. "Now, I tell you that I've desired you since you assisted in saving my life when that blasted snake attempted to kill me."

Hermione's cheeks bloomed with an attractive blush. "You've wanted me since I was eighteen-years-old?" she asked him, her smile wide.

"You obviously grew up so much during your infernal journey to find the Horcruxes," Severus told her, tracing patterns along her back. "I will readily admit to being devastated when I assumed that you and young Ronald were a couple..."

"Not for lack of trying," Hermione confided in him. "However, he couldn't bring himself to fully let Lavender go, and then there was you..."

"Me?" Severus asked.

"Yes, you," Hermione said, smiling up at him. "I wanted you ever since I managed to get the Half-Blood Prince's book away from Harry for more than five minutes, although I had no idea it was you at the time."

Severus looked shocked. "Merlin, you wanted me at sixteen?"

"More like seventeen, but yes," Hermione replied. "And then, when I realized it was you, I wanted to hate you, so badly. However, Dumbledore always made it clear that he trusted you, so I couldn't bring myself to hate you completely, not even after you..."

Severus pulled Hermione lengthwise against him and kissed her again, tracing the outline of her body through her clothes, and hated that he hadn't even begun to undress her yet. Unbuttoning her winter cloak, he let it fall gracefully from her shoulders, and gently cupped her breasts from within her white blouse and matching bra.

Hermione mewled at Severus's ministrations. "Perhaps we could move this to the master bedroom?" she asked coyly.

"I shall never be able to deny you," Severus told her, and lifted her into his arms, carrying her from the sitting room and towards the grand staircase. He made it up both flights of stairs and towards the door in the center of the corridor, opening it with a wave of his hand and stepping inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

Hermione turned her head slightly to look around; a four-poster bed dominated the room, which had pale green walls and matching bedspread and curtains, both on the bed and windows. There was more cherrywood furniture here, complete with a vanity, two wardrobes, and two bedside tables. Two doors were on opposite walls, leading Hermione to believe that one led to an actual closet, while the other led to an en suite.

Severus lay Hermione reverently in the center of the bed, and slowly began to divest himself of his clothing, clearly not shy. "We go as slow, or as fast, as you like," he told her.

Hermione flushed, propping herself up onto her elbows and slowly unbuttoning her blouse. "I should tell you that I've never..."

Severus stopped her progress; he had managed to get his own shirt unbuttoned, and was staring at her, dark eyes wide, and muscled chest exposed. "Hermione, are you a virgin?"

Hermione nodded, never looking away from him. "Yes," she replied.

Severus reached into his pocket for his wand, whispering, "Aptus magicae reprehendo," and a pale, white light exited his wand, before dividing itself in half, and anchoring itself to both their hearts; it glowed red, and Hermione and Severus's eyes locked, knowing entirely well what that color meant as it disappeared. "Merlin..."

"Does that mean what I think it does?" Hermione whispered.

Severus nodded. "It does; it means we're the others' half," he informed her. "I hope that this isn't a disappointment to you..."

"Why would it be?" she asked softly. "I've loved you for years..."

Severus gasped then and leaned forward, catching Hermione's lips with his own. "I love you, too, Hermione," he whispered. "Perhaps..."

"Yes?"

Severus took Hermione's hands in his. "Hermione, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asked.

Hermione beamed at Severus and nodded. "Of course I will!" she shouted, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.

Severus kissed her back just as fervently, before he pulled back and took her by the hands once again. "Shall we be bonded right here, right now?"

Hermione blinked. "We can do that?"

Severus nodded. "Yes. It is very old magic, but it can be done," he assured her. "Of course, in order for the bond to take, we would have to consummate the union immediately thereafter in order for the magic to..."

Hermione reached out and gently covered her hand with Severus's lips. "I will," she whispered to him.

Severus blinked. "You will?"

Hermione gave him a slow smile. "I do."

Severus nodded, dragging the pad of his thumb over her knuckles. "I, Severus Snape, take you, Hermione Granger, to be my lawfully bound magical partner. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live. In the name of Merlin, Circe, Morgana, and the Founders, I swear this vow."

Hermione grinned up at Severus. "I, Hermione Jean Granger, take you, Severus Snape, to be my lawfully bound magical partner. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live. In the name of Merlin, Circe, Morgana, and the Founders, I swear this vow," she said, and, tilting her head backwards, his lips met hers in a kiss.

Pushing her back down onto the bed, Severus made quick work of getting them out of their clothes, and was pleased that his new bride didn't seem to mind. He caressed her skin as he did so, always letting her know that she was loved and cherished, and that he was not merely in this as a way to get into her pants. Gently unhooking her bra from around the smooth planes of her back, he tossed it to one side and cupped her breasts properly this time, before gently licking one of the hardened nipples.

Hermione, through gritted teeth, mewled at this treatment, spearing her fingers into Severus's hair and pulling him closer, as if to urge him on.

Severus smirked against her skin, before pulling back and gently blowing upon her sensitive skin, and chuckled lightly as his wife groaned in ecstasy. He took her nipple into his mouth again, sucking on it gently, with just a hint of teeth, which seemed to be just the ticket to continue Hermione's arousal. Palming the other breast with his callused hand, he continued giving her pleasure that way, until she let out a soft sigh.

"Please, Severus," she begged him delicately, "stop teasing."

Severus nodded, and finally released her nipple, before kissing down the length of her body, briefly putting his tongue into her navel, which caused her to laugh aloud. Finally, he gently pushed her legs apart from beneath him, and pressed a kiss to each of her thighs in turn, while her breathing started getting faster and faster. He saw the sensitive bud in between her legs, which seemed to be beckoning to him, as it glistened in the light provided by the snow outside, slickened with his new wife's juices.

"You smell divine, wife," he whispered huskily against her folds, and Hermione let out a sharp cry as he finally bent forward, sucking her clitoris into his mouth. He savored the sensation of his wife bucking up against him, as he laved her sensitive bud with his tongue, and sucked it into his mouth again, before he wet a finger and gently teased at her opening.

"Gently, please," Hermione whispered.

Severus slowly peered up at her from where he was positioned in between her legs. "Always," he whispered, before he bent and returned to the task at hand.

Hermione continued to mewl at his ministrations, until, finally, he sucked even more fervently than he had before, and she cried out, shuddering out her climax, her first at the hands—or, rather, the mouth—of someone else. She reached out, permitting her husband to crawl up her body and kiss her, sharing the taste of her juices between them. She reached down between them then and took ahold of his engorged member, and, locking eyes with him as she guided it towards her slick entrance, she whispered, "Care to finish the consummation, love?"

Severus let out a groan of desire and gently positioned himself between her folds. "I love you, Hermione," he whispered, before he gently thrust home.

Hermione gritted her teeth at that, but forced her walls around him to relax, and to assure herself that this intruder was a welcoming one. She was pleased that Severus waited for her to tell him that she was settled enough and, when that indicator came, he nearly pulled all the way out before thrusting back in again, finding a secret spot inside her that make her eyes roll backwards into her head as she clutched him.

"Severus," she whined.

Severus leaned down and kissed her again. "Can I make you come like this?" he demanded hoarsely, and Hermione felt her skin prickle with desire at his words.

"Yes, Merlin, yes!" she cried out, encircling her legs around his waist, to ensure as deep a penetration as possible.

Severus nodded. "I'm close," he whispered.

"Please," she begged him.

Severus reached down between them and stimulated her clitoris again and, not even three minutes later, both of them were screaming their completion. Sighing deeply, and inhaling the scent of lavender coming off his new wife, Severus gently eased himself out from inside the warm and tightness of her walls, before he threw himself onto his back. He lifted his arm and was relieved when Hermione promptly cuddled into his side, and he wrapped a possessive arm around her, tangling his fingers in her hair.

"I never knew it could be that way," she whispered, pressing a kiss onto his chest.

Severus smiled. "Neither did I," he admitted.

Hermione snuggled closer still. "What happens now?" she whispered.

"Now?" he asked. "Well, I assume that our bonding ceremony will hit The Daily Prophet, once the notice of it shows up in the proper department at the Ministry of Magic."

Hermione smirked. "Oh, I can't imagine what everyone will say," she said. "Although I suspect Ginny will be disappointed."

"How so?"

"Well, she did ask me to be her Maid of Honor today," Hermione said with a shrug.

"Matron of Honor now," Severus joked.

Hermione playfully slapped his chest. "I suspect she will want me to return the favor, unless you're adverse to a public bonding ceremony."

Severus leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Of course I'm not against it. If you want one, we shall have one."

"But do you want one?" Hermione pressed.

"I don't not want one," Severus said after a moment. "If it would make you happy, of course we may have one. However, we can just as easily go to the Ministry's Hall of Records with a handful of witnesses and do it that way."

Hermione gently tangled her fingers into Severus's sparse chest hair. "Well, there is the matter of Molly Weasley," she said softly. "She would be devastated if we didn't have a celebration at the Burrow... She is the closest thing to a mother I have now..."

Severus turned slightly so that he could catch Hermione's eyes. "I never hear you mention your own parents," he observed. "What happened to them?"

"I was never able to reverse the Memory Charm," she admitted, tears springing, unbidden, to her eyes as she bit her lip. "They are happy, still living in Australia, under the names I assigned to them for their safety..." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"It does," Severus assured her, pulling her closer. "And, perhaps, if you would be open to it, we can make a new family. Of course, the Weasleys are always welcome here, and, by extension, Potter and Miss Weasley..."

Hermione looked up at him. "Do you want children?"

Severus smiled. "There is also that cat of yours to contend with, but yes," he informed her. "I do want children, especially with my match."

"Crookshanks would like it here," Hermione mused. "Lots of space for him to run around... Are there wards on the property to keep him safe?"

"Absolutely," Severus replied. "Wouldn't want Muggles coming upon this place and attempting to take any of it for themselves. As your Crookshanks is half-Kneazle, he wouldn't be able to bypass them."

Hermione smiled. "Thank you for welcoming him."

"He had the right idea about Wormtail," Severus said, revulsion flowing through him as he shuddered then. "Certainly, he is welcome here." He turned and regarded his wife for a moment, and tangled his fingers more deeply into her hair. "You still didn't answer my question."

"About children?"

Severus nodded. "Yes. Now is as good a time as any to discuss it. Of course, I know we have nothing but time now, but..."

"But it is an important discussion," she said, turning to look at him with a smile. "Of course I want children with you, Severus. I would love to have children with you."

"Wonderful," Severus said. "Now that we are in accord, we can perhaps discuss a proper honeymoon destination, and perhaps get to work on..."

Suddenly, Hermione got a pained expression on her face and bolted upright, clutching at her abdomen as her face puckered in pain.

"Hermione?" Severus asked, launching upwards and looking at her. "Was I too rough with you, my love? Do you need a pain potion?"

Hermione shook her head, gritting her teeth. "Merlin, I hate Valentine's Day," she moaned, as she still gripped her abdomen.

Severus leaned forward then, and gently touched her abdomen himself, and his eyes widened at what he felt. "Hermione, feel just there," he said, and moved her hand slightly. "Do you feel that, my love?"

Hermione's eyes widened then. "That's... That's a third magical signature," she whispered, and her eyes locked with his. "It feels like you..."

"But it also feels like you," Severus told her, and shut his eyes, seeking out the magical signature within his wife. "Merlin," he whispered, and pulled gently out of the mind within her, and looked up at her. "Hermione..."

"What's wrong?" she whispered, looking down at her abdomen.

"Nothing," Severus assured her, tilting her chin up. "That's merely our daughter."

Hermione's face broke out into a grin. "Our daughter?" she whispered.

Severus leaned in and kissed her. "Yes. Legend says that, two soulmates coming together, regardless of blood status, can more readily conceive a child if one is untouched, a virgin, during their first time together."

"Not much of a legend anymore, it seems," Hermione joked, and noticed that neither of them had taken their hands off her abdomen. "Merlin..."

"I think that I may have judged Valentine's Day too harshly myself," Severus said softly. "I wonder if my wife feels the same. Do you, Madam Snape?"

Hermione flushed becomingly at her new title. "Perhaps I don't," she allowed, and snuggled even more deeply in her husband's arms.

~*~

Eighteen Years Later

When the note from their daughter, Catharine Mena Snape, Head Girl and top student of Gryffindor House came on her final Valentine's Day at Hogwarts, it wasn't much of a surprise to either of her parents. She had finally consented to going out with Scorpius Malfoy, who had graduated Hogwarts the year before, and was now in Auror training at the Ministry of Magic. It had been a lovely day, complete with a table at Madam Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade, and then a moonlit walk back to Hogwarts.

Of course, Hermione and Severus's fifth-year twins, Kai Ronald and Karl Harold, a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin respectively and both prefects, had deemed the entire scenario gross. Hufflepuff third-year Alice Helena thought it was so romantic, although she could only be persuaded to look up from her Advanced Potions Theory for a fraction of a second to give her opinion. As for first-year Odin Anthony, he was just wanting to make mischief with Cian McFinnigan-Thomas, and the pair of Gryffindors were giving Fred and George Weasley a run for their money.

"What does it say, Mama?" asked eight-year-old Aradia Eloise, looking up with the black eyes of her father questioningly, although her unruly curly hair was all Hermione's own.

"Just that Cathy has finally acknowledged her feelings for Scorpius," she said fondly, cupping her swollen belly before folding up the letter, and permitting Crookshanks to dash off into another room. Leaning down, she gently eased Aradia onto her lap with a smile. "Are you excited about your brother coming?"

Aradia beamed at her mother. "Yes, Mama," she said, and turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, spotting her father making his way in from a hard day in the lab downstairs. "Daddy!" she cried, gently easing herself out of her mother's lap and rushing towards him.

Severus beamed at his youngest daughter, sweeping her up into his arms and pressing a kiss onto her forehead before stepping into the sitting room. He kissed Hermione before moving to sit beside her on the couch, and caught sight of the letter. "Oh, dear. Which one of our children is in trouble now?" he asked.

Hermione smiled fondly at him. "You know very well that Filius runs a tight ship as Headmaster of Hogwarts," she reminded him gently.

Severus nodded. "I suppose, but did he have to make Longbottom his deputy?"

"Uncle Neville is nice!" Aradia said, quick to defend one of her godfathers. "I like it when Aunt Luna brings Pandora and Frankie to play..."

"So do I, darling," Hermione assured their youngest daughter. She felt a slight twinge in her back then and grimaced, doing her best to remain comfortable.

"Ah, is Eli Severus going to make his debut today?" Severus asked.

Hermione grinned. "He just might at that," she said, turning to Aradia. "Do you know what that means, darling?"

"I get to go see Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny!" she crowed. "And Jamie, and Al, and Lily!" she went on, clapping her hands with glee.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, you do. Remember that Georgia, William, and Alfie will likely be there, too," she reminded her daughter, never wanting her to leave out Ron and Lavender's children.

Aradia nodded. "Should I get ready, Daddy?" she asked, turning to him.

Severus regarded Aradia for a moment before he turned to Hermione. "Should she?"

"Yes," Hermione gasped out. "Aradia, you go get your things together. Severus, Fire-Call Angelina at St. Mungo's will you?"

"Always, love," Severus said, gently depositing Aradia onto the carpet, and dashed towards the Floo, while Aradia kissed her mother on the cheek and darted upstairs to get ready to spend the night at Grimmauld Place.

Hermione grimaced as she sat back on the couch, clutching at her swollen belly. They had agreed that Aradia would be their last, and although Eli had been unplanned, Hermione and Severus honestly couldn't have been happier. As another contraction tore through her, Hermione did her best to get comfortable, although she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"I really hate Valentine's Day, you know," she told Eli gently, caressing her stomach. "But, I hope that you, like your siblings, will have a different opinion of it... I mean, I don't entirely hate it, because it led me to your father, but I would prefer not to celebrate three different events in one day..." She grimaced again, counting to ten in her head. "First, your father's and my anniversary... Second, the day Cathy was conceived. And...third," she managed to gasp out, "my last baby's birthday..." She stared up at the ceiling, and stuck her tongue out at the various Cupids painted up there. "Oh, Merlin," she groaned, crossing her fingers that Angelina wouldn't make them wait as she set about to make herself comfortable amid the contractions getting closer and closer together, "here we go again..."

THE END