Harry made his way up to his library when he hadn't seen a sign of Hermione or Snape since early that morning. Even that had only been for a few minutes.

He knocked, realizing it was his library after a moment and opened the door.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes, why?" Hermione asked.

Harry glanced at the wizard and witch, both obviously deep in whatever they were researching. He knew it was something important if they were wanting the darker tomes the Black library housed. Harry had never seen Severus in research-mode to know how he usually looked, but Hermione looked exactly as she had while studying for OWLs and everything else she thought was important. Frazzled, her hair pulsating and crackling from magic and stress.

She looked nothing like his mother in any of the memories he'd been privy to in recent years. However, he could see very easily why Snape might be attracted to his best friend. He wasn't sure his mum would have wanted to spend the Christmas holidays, the first they'd been safe for in years, among old books in a stuffy library. Snape and Hermione looked very content to be doing just that.

He had no idea if his former professor was actually interested in his friend, but it seemed obvious at the Halloween ball that something was going on between them. He'd overheard more than one professor say Snape had always abhorred the social events the school put on and had never escorted someone to one. He'd seen Snape comforting her in the room off the Great Hall and it hadn't looked as if he was uncomfortable doing so. He certainly didn't see Snape comforting Ginny or Luna in such a manner. Hell, he'd never imagined Snape comforting anyone until that moment. And yet, Hermione clearly had been seeking that from him.

"I haven't heard from you in hours. I was just making sure that you both realize it's, you know, the holidays and tomorrow is New Year's Eve."

"Oh," Hermione said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I guess we did miss lunch."

"And dinner. Kreacher put plates under stasis for you both."

"Mr. Potter," Severus asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Are there books anywhere else in your home?"

"Not that I know of. Hermione knows where pretty much everything is."

"There could be some in the attic, I suppose," Hermione offered.

"I doubt there'd be anything worthwhile there, but it's worth a look."

"May I ask what it is you're looking for?"

Hermione and Snape glanced at each other. Snape shrugged and Hermione wandlessly closed the door he'd just come through.

"Sit down, Harry," she said, gesturing to one of the two empty seats at the table they were currently seated at.

He did.

"We haven't told anyone else this. Minerva knows and Kingsley…"

"He's not really dead. We didn't get all the horcruxes," he said, staring at the two smartest people he knew. Forget the wizarding world.

"What? No! We did, he's not coming back, Harry," Hermione said, reaching over to squeeze his hand lightly. "I promise."

He couldn't deny he was relieved. He had nightmares about that, giving voice to it had been weird but he couldn't think of why else they'd need to be holed up in his library for a couple of days now. They said they'd already searched the library at Hogwarts and Snape's own collection. It had to be bad if they were here. Bad in Harry's experience equated to something to do with Voldemort.

"Minerva knows because she's our employer and Kingsley as the Minister. He's actually helped us until we can figure things out to keep it out of the Prophet."

"Okay, you're scaring me. Are you alright? Is it that blade Bellatrix used on you or something? Or did Greyback? I'm going to be sick. You said nothing like that happened." It would be his fault. He was the one who'd said Voldemort's name. He'd been okay overall after what happened at Malfoy Manor in the guilt department. He'd feel guilty forever he imagined that she was scarred because of him. She'd forgiven him, though, so he'd told himself that he had to, too. If she'd been raped by the werewolf, though, that went way beyond forgivable as far as he was concerned. "I'll get the entire auror team working on it. No doubt Snape will help to ensure you have whatever you need potions-wise."

"No, Harry," she said with a slight smile, looking amused. "I'm fine. I didn't lie to you. Nothing happened with Greyback. I mean, nothing like that."

"Harry," Professor Snape said, surprising the wizard. He saw something in his former potions professor's eyes he'd never seen before.

Respect.

"Listen to your friend. She is not dying or ill nor is she a werewolf."

"Yeah, okay," he said, shocked at the professor's use of his given name.

"We're married," Hermione said. "Severus and I, I mean."

"What?"

She swallowed hard. "We don't know how it happened. I woke up one morning in October in his bed and Minerva had received a letter from the Ministry announcing we are married, blood bonded."

"How?"

She rolled her eyes and he was reminded of all the times she'd given him that same exact frustrated look over the years. "Are you not listening, Harry? We don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

"Since when?"

"Really, Harry? I just said October," she frowned.

"Sixteenth, at 10:02pm I believe the announcement said."

"How?"

Hermione laughed and Snape shook his head. That respect he'd seen in Snape's eyes just moments ago was fading. He liked seeing that look there for a change. Knowing now what he knew about their potions professor, he wanted him to know Harry Potter could be counted on.

"We don't know, Harry. We've been researching for weeks and found nothing. The only hint we received was from Luna at Halloween who said it was ancient. She didn't know beyond that. I had spent that evening with Severus brewing and grading, but we did not get married. I assure you that we didn't leave Hogwarts and did not visit Minerva to marry us."

Wait.

Married.

This sounded vaguely familiar.

Severus and Hermione … married.

Oh God. Think Harry. Think.

"Do you know something, Harry?" Snape asked, evidently seeing the look in his eyes.

He went back to October. Before Halloween obviously if it had already happened by then. Severus had said October 16. What was he doing then? They'd arrested someone.

No, that wasn't it.

Then he remembered. The arrowhead! The flash of light he saw.

"Yeah, I mean maybe. I don't know. One night, Ron and I were at a Death Eater's hideout, searching through their things. It was before Halloween, I know that much. So, it could have been around that date. You know, looking for clues as to where they'd been, where others still free might be. Inventorying artifacts. Some of the monies from those things will be given to families most affected.."

"We get the idea, yes, go on," Snape said, obviously not interested in any of that.

"Ron was mad. He doesn't like the evidence-collecting aspect of the job. I, on the other hand, do. Maybe Hermione rubbed off on me, I don't know, but I find some of the things interesting. It's like a whole new world and most of the time everything is new to me in situations like that. We searched this one follower…"

"Potter," Snape ground through clenched teeth.

"Sorry. I, uh, anyway, Hermione came up." He swallowed, realizing he had brought her up, hoping to distract him from their task. "He was mad, like I said. Sorry! Those articles had come out with pictures of you two in Diagon Alley and then that second or third one of you in Hogsmeade. The letters you wrote until Halloween anyway were always to us with my name first. You didn't discuss taking the apprenticeship with him, you just accepted it. You know. Ron being Ron. He was holding this thing, it reminded me of an old Native American arrowhead I'd seen pictures of in some of my primary school books. I remember it only because it seemed odd to me at the time that a wizard from Britain would have it, but then I realized Voldemort likely had followers from all over the world."

"And?"

"He said some things about how you two should just get married," he blanched.

"And? What's that look for, Harry?" Hermione prompted.

"He said something about kids and grandkids so that there's a Snape at Hogwarts for many years to come. He, uh, cut himself on the arrowhead I'm pretty sure. The edges or something, I didn't see. He threw it back in the box he found it in. I thought I saw a flash of light but when I looked in the box nothing was amiss. I had a hard time healing the wound, but did eventually. I assumed it was his anger blocking the spell."

"And you said nothing?"

"What was there to say? If you'd told me about the announcement two months ago I would have said something. It was inventoried and put with other Death Eaters' effects we've recovered."

Hermione and Severus looked at one another, and Harry realized he'd struck home with that sentence. How was he supposed to know! Magical things did weird things and he was not - as he'd just said - familiar with most of it!

"I can understand, though, why you didn't rush out and say anything. So I don't like blame you, but don't pin this on me! I didn't say or do anything."

"Do you have a pensive, Potter?"

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Minerva gave me a spare that the headmaster had in case I needed it for any trials."

"Might we have a look at that night's events?"

"You don't think…"

"As Hermione has said, we did not enter into marriage of our own accord so yes, in fact, I do think."

They made their way to Harry's study where he took the pensive out and withdrew the memories from that night. He watched as Hermione and Snape entered the pensive. He had no need to watch the memory, he knew pretty much what had been said and done. He just hadn't realized it'd been at all significant. One thing he did realize?

Ron was going to be in trouble. Huge. She was already pissed at him from Halloween. As far as Harry knew, Ron had not apologized nor saw any reason he should. If they'd been married on that night.

Well, Ron had a whole slew of things to ask for her forgiveness about now.

"A handful of children?"

This was the first thing Hermione said when they withdrew from the pensive some time later. She was clutching her stomach and looked a little horror-stricken.

And pissed.

Harry was just glad it wasn't directed at him. Harry knew the one thing that had put Hermione off about Ron was the expectation of following in his parents' footsteps and having a ton of children. They'd talked a few times about it in the tent while Ron was gone. She wasn't averse to one or two, even three, but she wanted a career. A meaningful career. She did not want to be known as a mum and little else. Harry had understood. He suspected Hermione knew he would. He wanted to be more than The Boy Who Lived.

"God, is that going to be literal?"

"Really, Hermione," Snape said, "That's what you're focused on?"

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who has to have them."

"No, but I have to help you create them."

"Yes, and I realize that that idea is apparently not appealing to you in the least," she said and Harry couldn't miss the sound of hurt in her voice. "I should have guessed based on the fact that we've been sleeping together for months now and you've attempted nothing."

"Hermione," Snape said, sounding cautious.

Should he leave? This was obviously a private conversation and Harry already knew more about Snape than probably either wizard was comfortable with.

"I asked you once if you didn't want to be married to me because of Lily, but you never really answered me. You skirted the issue quite well. I know I look nothing like her and I'm not…"

So she wanted to have sex with him? He so didn't want to hear this. As he was by them, though, he couldn't really leave without being more obvious. And then he thought of the potential for that handful of children. God, he wasn't sure the wizarding world would ever know what hit them. Harry didn't know what hit him half the time with just Hermione. Add in Snape's intellect.

Well that was scary.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Hermione, she has nothing to do with it! I didn't say I wouldn't want to, but as we will live a very long time I don't particularly relish the idea of wondering every time I make love to my wife if she's going to end up with child and I don't endeavor to have one a year for five years to be done with that handful."

"There are charms and potions."

"I can't even call you by your maiden name, Hermione. I don't mind privately, but it goes against everything in me to address you so informally in the presence of others. I don't know what that artifact is, but it's obviously quite old and potent. So I have no idea if the charms and potions will work until that handful of children wish has been met."

"Wishes?"

"That seems to be it, doesn't it? Weasley wished for things and what he said while holding the artifact after he'd cut himself upon it will come to be."

"Oh God," she said. "I guess I should be glad he didn't wish us to have a couple dozen children instead of grandchildren."

"Quite," Severus said.

"One of these days, Severus, you are going to have to answer me about Lily."

Okay they'd made it through that conversation without him getting too embarrassed. He couldn't get over the fact that this wizard standing beside him has woken up to his best friend every day for two months and done nothing. He was clearly attracted to her. He hadn't shouted out he wanted to shag her but Harry didn't see Snape doing that regardless.

His regard for the man just went up even more if that was possible. It would've been … easy to take advantage of the fact she was there in his bed and they were legally bonded.

However he still did not want to hear about his mum. He just didn't. He knew too much and on this preferred to be oblivious. And guessed Snape felt the same way.

"Um, guys," Harry said. "Right here!"

Maybe if he reminded them he was here … He absolutely did not want to hear more about Snape's feelings for his mother. Or about his love life with Hermione. Picturing them sleeping together was troubling enough, but adding sex into the picture. That was just not what he wanted in his head.

"I do not love her in that fashion, Hermione," he said, eyeing both Harry and Hermione. "You need to hear this, too, Harry. She was my only friend and I held onto her memory and the bitterness inside of me toward her ending our friendship, choosing Potter, and seemingly able to forget I ever mattered so easily. Then tack on being the one who told Riddle about the prophecy. Albus liked to remind me every chance he could all that I had to feel guilty for. I held onto it for so long that it festered. Those memories you and Harry saw were taken out of context. Twenty years of misery, guilt, and seeing ruthless men like Yaxley and Dolohov get wives while I could only get a witch Lucius Malfoy had to blackmail or pay into being with me. Of course I loved her. She was the only person who ever gave a shit about me, but it was really no different than the love you two share. Was I attracted to her? Yes. Did I wish she reciprocated? Yes. Have I come to the realization if the attraction had been reciprocated we wouldn't have been suited for one another? Yes. Do I believe ultimately I would have been happy with her? No. Would she have been content grading or brewing with me most evenings? Probably not. She liked to be social. Could she hold a candle to you, Madam Snape? No."

Harry knew he was blushing profusely. He'd found something worse than thinking about the love lives of these two. Thinking about the type of witch Lucius Malfoy would choose for Snape would likely give him nightmares if he focused too hard on it.

"Maybe I should, you know, go," he said, shuffling toward the door. He did not want to hear more. "Let you two talk."

He left the room, closing the door behind him and cast a silencing spell so that Kreacher wouldn't hear what they were talking about. Harry didn't want to hear what they were talking about! It was bad enough knowing that his friend, his best friend and sister, was going to have five children with the wizard.

"Ron," he whispered.

He really wasn't sure this was going to be so easily forgiven. Hermione was forgiving naturally, but this… Harry sighed. If he'd already apologized for Halloween maybe. Though it seemed as if she was more concerned about Snape not wanting to be married to her than her not wanting to be to the wizard.

As if.

Anyone with eyes could see Snape had been taken with the witch since their first sighting in Diagon Alley in August. Perhaps Hermione didn't see it? Or maybe she didn't know what she was seeing. Ron sure hadn't ever looked at her that way.

The room was quiet once Harry left.

"So why haven't you…"

"This is the first time I have ever had acting like a gentleman thrown in my face. I have been accused of a lot of things, Hermione, but I am not a rapist nor would I take liberties with you merely because of a bond that we didn't enter into of our own free will."

"So you're never going to…"

"Well, evidently I have to at least a handful of times."

"That's not funny, Severus."

"It's a little funny."

"No, not really it's not. I'm asking you whether you find me attractive enough to be with like that. I can't compete with Lily, I know that, but I'm not going to spend the rest of my life living in her shadow either."

"No one's asking you to. It's not a competition. You think I haven't thought the same thing about Krum? You don't think I know what your password is? What it means?"

"I chose it, yes because that is what he called me, but my reasoning was that no one around here would know what the Bulgarian word for lioness was and realize that I know it, too. It was meant as a joke, and Isaac found it amusing."

"It's not a competition, Hermione. Twenty years I've been a single wizard. I've never once contemplated asking someone for permission to court them."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really. I may not have asked for fear of losing what friendship we have managed, but the affection for and desire to see you socially and more personally has been there since I woke to you reading to me."

"Oh," she said.

"I don't want Lily, Hermione. I've had many years to think about it. I had time while recuperating and contemplating you and what your response might be if I asked for permission to court you. At first when I thought of spending time with you I thought I'd feel as if I was betraying her, her memory, but I felt no such thing. In fact, I felt relief. Such relief. Ultimately, she and I were not compatible. Much as you have described your feelings for Ronald. The desire may have been there on my part, but it wasn't on hers and I would not have made her happy even if it had been. She could never have accepted all of me. I'm an academic and a loner. The darkness that is in me was something she feared. She had a good life, much like yours, but she lacked the empathy that you have to understand that just because her life was good didn't mean everyone else's was. I will not succumb to another Dark Lord's rhetoric, but the interest for knowledge others may deem dark or inappropriate will not go away. And, well, someone has to have the knowledge so they are aware of the signs of the next Riddle. I assure you when I sleep beside you it is you I vow to protect from anything bad happening during the night."

"You wouldn't be raping me, Severus."

"Perhaps not, now. We did not enter into this bond knowingly. You appeared in my bed not of your own free will. I could not take advantage of that.  I would not have initiated such a step without talking about it first. As it appears through our research there is no undoing this bond I will vow to be as good a husband as I can be to you. Even knowing what happened, the artifact looked quite ancient from Harry's memory of it. I doubt we'd be able to find anyone who is aware of those magicks nor how to undo them. If you want to try to find out, I would understand."

"I don't," she said. "We found our answer it seems. I have more questions and would like to know just how literal it is."

"Well, now we know specifically what to research and focus on instead of anything to do with bonding. However, going back to the physical part since it has come up," he shrugged. "I assumed you would not be interested."

"Why?" she asked, closing the distance between them.

"You are so young, positive, and attractive. I am none of those things."

"I wouldn't want you to be anyone but who you are and if you don't think I find you attractive you haven't been paying attention, Severus."

"You say that, but we're talking potentially one hundred or more years together. Your friends who do not care for me will evidently see you bloom with my children. They will look at you with disdain. That may prove too much for you."

"Do I have permission to tell you when you're being an unreasonably pessimistic arse?"

He smirked. "Privately, yes."

"Well, then, we'll be fine. I did kiss you first, you remember that, right?"

"I do," he said with a slight smirk.

"I did ask you to sleep without your shirt on."

"You did."

"Does that speak of someone who is not interested or attracted to the wizard I have bonded access to?"

"I suppose it doesn't."

"Who knew Harry had the answer all along?"

Severus scoffed at that. "There's a first time for everything."

"You called him Harry."

"I did," he said, glancing at the wall behind her. "I could see when you asked him to sit that he was genuinely concerned for the world's well-being and then yours before his own. His father would never have truly cared. I'm not sure he would have joined the Order if Lily and Sirius hadn't."

"You can't ever tell him that."

"I have no plans to. It just made me realize though that he is not his father. I spent six years convincing myself he was. If I can be different from Tobias, so can he."

She finished closing the distance between them, sliding her arms around him and settling her head against his chest.

"Let's go spend some time with Harry."

"Does this mean we don't have to be here tomorrow?"

"You don't have to be if you don't want to."

"Are you going to imbibe?"

"I might," she said.

"I might like to see that."

"That's the only reason you'd still come?"

"No, you're here. I'll be here, too. I admit, the idea of spending New Year's Eve alone this year holds little appeal."

"I'm glad," she said, leaning up to kiss him. He kissed her back, deepening it before she could.

"And irritating Weasley holds appeal as well."

"He deserves it," she muttered.

"Well, he did save me from having to embarrass myself by coming up with the words to express my desire to court you."

"Yes, well, just what every witch dreams of!"

"It got you into my bed on a nightly basis."

"We still haven't figured out if that works when one of us is inside of Hogwarts while the other one is out."

"I have no plans on finding out until summer holidays. Shall we go find Harry. I have a question for him."

"Okay," she said.

They found him in the kitchen and Hermione couldn't help but blush slightly at the look on his face when he saw them.

"Could you get us into the Ministry to actually see the item?"

"You don't trust my memories?"

"It's not that I don't trust your memories, Potter. It's that you weren't looking at it knowing it was magical or that it caused anything to happen. I have some contacts that I'd like to reach out to about just how accurate or shall I say literal the magic is, but I'd like to sketch it for the best picture I can get of it."

"Oh," he said. "Yes, I can arrange that. Sure. The minister already knows you said, so he'd sign off on it I'm sure even without me."

"I suppose that's true, but you know best where it was found and so forth."

"True. Yes, I'll let you know."

"Thank you."

"Sure," he said. "So are we still not telling anyone? Ron's going to kill me when he finds out."

"Not if we kill him first," Hermione said. "The only thing he has in his favor preventing me from hexing him is that he didn't seem to know he'd cut himself on the item until after he'd put it back."

"No, I don't think he did," Harry agreed.

"Do you think that's where the blood bond comes into play?" Hermione asked.

"Possibly. I'm really not sure. I would imagine with the brewing we've done over the past couple of months our blood has merged on a knife, a stirring rod, or what have you. I don't think Mr. Weasley's blood alone would have blood bonded us. His wish being made with blood, though, and the likelihood of our blood mingling at some point or another would have combined to create such a thing perhaps."

"It's fascinating."

"So you guys are like going to stay married?" Harry asked.

"What are our options, Harry? A divorce? I don't want to be divorced before I'm twenty. We don't know if we could even get divorced so why give Skeeter something additional to publish with an attempt to dissolve it?"

"I suppose."

"We're not rushing into anything, Potter," Severus said, cautiously.

"So one fifth of that handful won't be coming in nine months?"

"No!" They both said and Harry laughed.

"But you sleep with one another," Harry said. He clearly wasn't sure he wanted to broach the subject.

"We do," Hermione said.

"I'm not an animal, Potter. I'm not going to take advantage of Hermione."

"Yes, but legally…"

"I don't care about legally. What kind of man do you take me for that you believe I would do such a thing? Never mind that I'd like the next one hundred or so years to be somewhat peaceful. Did I endeavor to be a husband? No, but as I have become one and Hermione does not want to pursue a divorce I shall do my best to be a good one. I don't want a marriage to start out with anyone thinking I'm a rapist or took advantage of the situation."

"I wouldn't let anyone think that," Harry said quickly.

"As if you could stop them, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"So if she wanted a divorce?" Harry asked.

"I would of course grant it to her. I realize I'm not a great prize in the husband department, magically wed to me or not. I would not force her to stay married to me, however, as she pointed out we don't know if a divorce would even take."

"Severus," Hermione said.

He held up his hand. "You say you worry about Lily. Do you not see what everyone else will see? Your former professor who bonded himself to the brains of the three of you? They'll see me as an opportunistic lech at best. I am almost twice your age, have never been married, and have never had a relationship aside from the friendship I shared with Harry's mother. That's it. Some may find it sweet, others will think I'm emotionally stunted or taking advantage of surviving the war and living out the youth I didn't get to have previously."

"And we will stop those rumors."

"I'm just making you aware of what others will see. You think you can't compare to Lily. You've dated an attractive quidditch player who from the sounds of it is still hoping he'll sway you to his favor. Your password to your quarters is an inside joke between the two of you. Do you think I don't wonder how I can possibly compete with that? You are beautiful and good, pure and light. Everything opposite of me, that's you. Other than your intellect, that we rival one another on and truthfully is the only reason I did not initiate the dissolving of our marriage immediately."

"The only reason?"

"I was not going to tie you to me!"

"And if you'd done that and later you'd asked to court me, what do you think I would have said?"

He closed his eyes with a shake of his head.

"You likely would have said no and I'd have no one but myself to blame for that. That does not take away that I was not going to unwillingly tie you to me for a century or more! I grew up in a miserable home and for the first time in my life I am free to do as I please with my existence. I will not spend it unhappy or wondering if you're plotting on poisoning me."

"You really think Hermione could poison you?"

"I think if there was anyone capable of doing it, she is the one who could, yes."

"Because she's that good?"

"That, but most importantly: I trust her," Severus said. "Now if there is nothing else we need to discuss on this matter I'd prefer we move onto something more frivolous."

"Well, I would love to move on to something else personally. So, um, do you want to help me pick out the wine for tomorrow?" Harry asked him.

"Wine?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know what anyone will expect."

"Ah, right. Yes, I'd be happy to help you with that," he said with a nod.

Hermione couldn't ignore the warm feeling that washed through her as the two wizards made their way to the wine cellar. She heard Severus ask her best friend what food he planned on having served. Their conversation could no longer be heard after that.

Story ©Susan Matthews/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com