Severus felt the pressure of lips against his own, and immediately his eyes closed tight to enjoy the feeling. The motion felt so familiar with her in his arms, and her soft hands were in common places. He wrapped his arms around her, quickly keeping her there and reveling in the feeling of a woman against him.

Everything ended all too quickly as Hermione pulled back with a heavy gasp.

"I'm so sorry."

But she had nothing to apologize for, as every nerve in Severus' body was lit with fire blazing harshly. Senses were evanescent with the dull feel of her lips still on his own.

"That was ridiculous, quite honestly. Of course I would feel nothing if I haven't fallen in love with you to my recollection," she muttered on, now pacing in front of the stunned man.

He wasn't quite sure why he was the only one who felt the sparks, the only one who seemed to have emotions so vividly induced into his being. There was so much stirring in his heart, he felt alive again, as if all the years left from his mind were still there, even though he knew they were not. It was just so strong! Hadn't she felt that?

"Nothing?" He inquired aloud.

"Placid and... dull? I apologize if that's offensive."

In his mind, Severus wanted to outright yell at her for such a blatant disrespect, yet he couldn't bare to do it. She looked so frustrated, and he felt completely torn.

"Not at all. Quite the... same on my end."

She snorted.

"What have we gotten ourselves into? Did you know you got me a cat?"

"A blasted feline? Me?" The potions master said in disgust. "And how do you know that we got ourselves into," he gestured around them, "This."

Her pacing ceased as her doe-brown eyes looked at him with wonder.

"I don't. If someone did this intentionally then we must discover who."

"Obviously," he drawled, attempting to mask the hurt in her avoiding tone.

Did Hermione seriously feel nothing from their interaction? Had it been this way before? Severus wouldn't be surprised if he was the first to fall, the first to give up everything in order to be with her. He had always been an "all or nothing" man. Now his curiosity was at an all time high, yet he knew his answers would only be found in what others knew until they could get their memories returned. Then a thought came to him.

"Come," he commanded and pulled her into his flat, startling the young witch. A little tug guided her towards the potions room, two seats conjuring for them both. He plopped her into a chair and then threw open a few of his annotated texts.

"Is this your script?" He pointed out a few separate examples with his long fingers as he leaned over her, taking in her intoxicating scent. Merlin, she smelled wonderfully.

How on earth had he been able to snag such a talented and quite beautiful witch? The idea baffled him, and while he was sure now that everything around him was really happening, he wanted it again. Though the witch next to him did not look so convinced.

"We must have spent a lot of time here, all my notes have dates," she almost laughed.

"Insufferable know-it-all."

"Why did you ever insist on calling me that?"

He raised an imperious eyebrow, as if the question merely should have been rhetorical.

"You must be kidding, Hermione." He wasn't entirely sure they were allowed the addressing of first names, yet there seemed to be no hesitation from her.

"Maybe you aren't such the know-it-all as I imagined."

"You've imagined me?" She teased, and now the witch was certainly jesting.

He smirked, not willing to give her the resolve. Severus took to removing himself of the room and listened as Hermione followed behind him. They ended in his sitting room, the bright room his favorite in the whole flat.

"Sit," he indicated to a large array of furniture she could pick from, but she looked as though she wanted to go, "please?"

That seemed to convince her.

"Now, my curiosity is warranting another question...."

Before he could continue on with whatever it was had been intended to be spoken, three distraught figures popped into the room.

"Hermione Jean Granger! Never again, I tell you!" Ginny said in a huff as she nearly stomped over to her friend.

"Whoah, Gin. Relax, please?" Hermione attempted to mediate, but she was using her Molly Weasley tone, and that wasn't one anyone needed to hear for too long.

"No! We came back home to console you and tell you that the wedding is off, but where were you?"

With open and dreadfully annoyed eyes, Hermione shrugged... "I wanted to see him."

"Merlin, you could have justasked," Ginny sighed and plopped next to her friend, embracing her. "We didn't expect you to be here."

"Neither did I."

Everyone looked at Severus who spoke in an awkwardly straight way. There was no emotion in his voice, nothing to betray him there, even if his eyes showed the uneasiness.

"So you cancelled it then?"

"We had no choice," Harry responded to the dark wizard.

"We've told everyone who matters, bar your parents, Hermione."

She let out a heavy sound, one that was off-putting to say only the very least.

"They'll be at yours midday."

"So I have to tell them something I can't hardly remember?" A rather frustrated witch gritted out, her eyes closing.

The place didn't belong to anyone else, they were her parents. Even if Hermione wasn't still entirely clear at how she forgot so much of her life, that didn't mean she was ignorant in what had to be done. Informing her parents was her responsibility.

"Alright. I know," she resolved before anyone could answer her rhetorical question.

"Maybe you should stay with someone for a while," Harry said kindly, coming over to her place on the sofa and resting a hand against her shoulder, Ginny smiling sweetly.

"I couldn't, I have my own flat for a reason, Harry," Hermione resolved.

"Yes," Draco interceded, noticing the grimace that the witch gave off.

He just had to remind himself that she wasn't used to this yet, that things weren't what they should have been.

"But what if there's malicious intent in this act? You are high-up in the ministry, Hermione, they could see this as some type of mutiny."

"I hadn't seen it like that."

Seeing her distress at the thought of someone attacking the ministry, Severus made motion to soothe her.

"Of course not, you're confused is all... maybe it was an accident?"

While his suggestion was almost less likely than Draco's was, it was probable nonetheless.

"Ron didn't look guilty, did he Ginny?" Harry joked towards the red-head who laughed with his grin, shaking her head in the negative.

"No, but excited maybe?"

Hermione interrupted luckily, though she didn't catch sight of her supposed-fiancé's clenched fists.

"I do remember that Ron and I were through, though, so at least I know that!"

Harry and Ginny chuckled.

"You dated again after that, then you dated Severus here... obviously a bit more than dated. I've never seen two people fancy one another so much when they shouldn't," Draco said contemplatively.

"Shouldn't?" Hermione chirped, curious.

"Well... I was lucky at all to get Harry's attention because of who we were," a small yet noticeable gesture was made to Draco's arm as he spoke, "So it was the same for you lot. No one wanted to see a recluse potion-maker shag the Gryffindor Princess."

There were no words that the witch could come up with, and Severus was simply stoic about the whole of it. Draco was right... but they'd overcome it, hadn't they?

"How, then, did we two come together?"

The question from the imperious potions master went answered by Ginny.

"How many years have you two lost, first?"

"Four years," all the men chorused, surprising Ginny who didn't know she was the only one who hadn't done the math.

"Well, Harry and I split four years ago, so since you thought he and I still were together, then I guess I'll start there."

There was an almost audible eye-roll from the man who owned the flat they all occupied in that moment, but he made to listen nonetheless.

"After we split up, Harry ran into Draco at a bloody pub of all places. Very muggle, he had no idea what he was doing there... so, some persuasion on Malfoy's end lead to them waking up next to one-another in the morning. Even if I'll never know why Draco was there, since his pillock arse doesn't want to tell me, they are the reason you two have," she hesitated on the present word, "a relationship at all.

"There was chance meetings and odd parties for the first year, then there was a friendship that kindled after a while. Turns out, that you, Severus, only made the friendship work because you'd fallen for Hermione... and fallen hard."

And what's changed? He asked himself ruefully.

"After a year of that nonsense, Hermione kissed you. After that it was only a matter of time before we were here," Ginny looked around, "Of course we never imagined it would go like it has today."

Hermione looked like she could have thrown up, but Snape was simply taking it in as it was. What could he do to stop the distant past? Especially if it brought him such a wonderful young fiancée.

"Oh look, she can silence a room," Draco interrupted with exhaustion, "Weasley's."

No one heard the last utterance clearly, but it was obvious that there wasn't an interest in the family by Draco or vice-versa.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked his best friend, looking at her intensely.

"Can I just go home? Tell my parents something, anything, really. I'll get to everyone tomorrow."

With that, Hermione rushed out of everyone's reach and apparated home.

"And what are your thoughts, Severus?"

"I see now why I chose her out of all other witches."

"Because she kissed you."

He couldn't believe the irony of the situation, how they had no idea in what had truly happened. Yes, they'd kissed, but he certainly couldn't speak of the first time it had happened.

"Yes," the drawl sounded fitting.

"Men! Can't live with them, you just can't! But then they end up with," Ginny shot a heavy glance towards Malfoy, "Men."

"Relax, Weasley," Draco replied in a stern tone.

Everyone glanced around solemnly, not wanting the conversation to go any further, but they also wanted to know more than what they did. Snape especially.

What was he to do if he never got his memory back, if Hermione never had hers returned? Would they crave the world as everyone else knew it? How tragic would that be for a couple who was supposed to be bonded that very day to split up and never see one another again? Severus couldn't bear to think of what the public would do to him, even if it mattered not. Maybe it was Hermione he was truly worried over, even if there were selfish undertones in his heart. Even so, she'd just popped into his life once again? and there she was kissing him!

He felt like an adolescent snogging some random witch in the corners of Hogwarts, not that that had occurred there. No, he hadn't any witches until he'd grown into his height with some weight put onto his bones. Then again, there still wasn't much of that to this day. The war had destroyed him, for certain. A war that apparently had taken place seven years ago, not three.

"Should we leave you alone?" Draco asked him, taking Severus away from the pensive state he'd fallen into.

"Do as you will. I've things to do."

And while the whole room knew that was a lie, they could read his thoughts, so blank and devoid, but wasn't that exactly what he was feeling?

It certainly felt that way.

And with everyone gone, Severus was left alone yet again that day to the confines of his flat, one that felt large that morning but was smaller than ever now.