Four

Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement. I have been thrilled at the response this fic has received. I hope you will continue to enjoy it.

The characters in this story are the property of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. I make no money from this story or any fanfiction I write.

As Severus sat and listened to Remus pour his heart out to what he undoubtedly suspected was the gutter, he wished fervently that Hermione was here instead of him. She was much better at this sort of thing than he. Anything he could think of to say either sounded sarcastic, unfeeling or unkind. He finally settled for inane. "Another firewhisky, Lupin? I believe my glass is dry."

Remus seemed to snap out of his melancholy reverie, and nodded. "Thank you, I believe I will." He passed his empty flagon to Severus, and their eyes met. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I have to confess, I'm rather jealous of you."

Severus blinked. "Why in Merlin's name are you jealous of me?" he blurted, then felt foolish. He knew the answer, and the Gryffindor didn't disappoint.

"You and Hermione are so right for one another. Anyone can see you two are a formidable team. You move together like one single entity." He chuckled in that characteristically silent way of his. "You have something rare together, Severus. You and Hermione make sense. Not many couples have what you two have, and it's lovely to watch you together." He looked down at his hands. "If anything good has come from this, it's that I feel like you and I have finally become friends."

He looked up then, deeply into Severus' eyes, and held them for a long time. It was a surprising and rare thing for someone to do, given Severus' reputation as one of the world's most skilled Legilimens. It was almost as if he wanted Severus to see something, or wanted to find something in Severus he sought very badly.

Pondering this, Severus excused himself, and headed for the bar to refresh their drinks.

When he returned, Remus had joined Hermione on the sofa, and several others were listening as she regaled them with the story of Severus' proposal.

"...I mean, it was a given that I was going to say yes, but there I was, elbow-deep in the Curleaze Elixir. Well, I wasn't going to let him get away, was I? So I turned to say something, it was probably something I thought sounded romantic, but it probably would have been complete rubbish..."

"Hermione!" Harry, Ron and Ginny all whined her name at the same time, and Severus stifled a chuckle.

"Indeed," he said, crossing his arms. "We'll be in our dotage before you finish the story, Madam Snape."

She playfully wrinkled her nose at him, and Severus felt his body grow warm. Saucy little minx.

"Anyway, if you'll all let me finish," she continued imperiously, only to be pelted with Honeydukes' sweet wrappers. "As I was saying," she laughed, "I was going to reply with something clever and erudite, so I turned to Severus, and I took my eyes off the brew for one second, and of course the entire cauldron started melting. The next thing I knew, Severus was knocking me out of the way just as the whole sorry mess exploded all over us!"

Amidst the chuckles, she caught his eye, and smiled. "After the smoke cleared, I looked up and he was covered in this grotty, green goo, looking at me like he was thinking about taking house points away. I mean, here we were in the middle of the most romantic moment of our lives and all I could think was, 'oh, Merlin, he's going to give me a detention!'"

"I wish I could have, seeing the result," he interjected dryly.

"What happened?" Remus asked, his eyes twinkling.

Hermione answered, "For a week, Severus' hair was as curly as mine." She gave him a wicked smile. "He looked so adorable."

Severus gave her a withering look that fooled no one. Through clenched teeth, he growled, "I looked like a labradoodle."

The room erupted with an explosion of laughter, and Severus stood still, uncertain as always if people were laughing at him or with him.

"Well, it could have been worse," Ron interjected.

"True," Severus drawled. "It could have turned ginger."

"Oy!" Ron protested, but the laughter from the good-natured Weasleys soon had him chuckling as well.

"Severus has always been a good man to have in any crisis. He never loses his head," Remus added, and Hermione beamed at him.

She turned back to Severus, and gave him her secret, sweet smile. "That's very true. He's the best man to have in a crisis." Impulsively, she stood and toasted him. "To my husband, who never loses his head."

"Hear, hear," Remus added, and all the guests raised their glasses in a toast to Severus, who acknowledged their tributes with a slight bow.

"I appreciate your sentiments, Madam Snape," he said, his voice reaching into the far corners of the room. "But I think you'll find it was my heart that was lost that day. Thankfully, you found it, and have kept it safe for me ever since."

The chorus of surprised "Awwwws" made him roll his eyes. "Stand down, Gryffindors. It's not bloody panto," he grumbled. This time, he knew they were laughing with him.

"And in any case, I have indeed lost my head on several occasions." He toasted her back with a secret smile of his own. "Thankfully, you have always found it, and brought it back as well."

"To Hermione, who always finds Snape's head!" Ron Weasley chortled, raising his butterbeer.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked. Her face was flaming.

Remus laughed, and gave her an affectionate peck on the cheek. "To Hermione!"

"Hermione!" The voices roared. Severus raised his glass with them. As he looked toward his wife, his eyes met Remus' again, and Remus was looking at Hermione with such tenderness Severus was shaken. There was something about the man's expression that elicited no jealousy, no worry. It was the look of someone who truly cared about Hermione more than he did for himself. Severus saw that look in the mirror every day.

He knows exactly how I feel about Hermione. He feels the same way.

Then Remus turned and gave Severus the same look. Severus looked away quickly. He was not sure what he had seen in Remus' expression, but it was just as strong for him as it was for Hermione.

-o0o-

Later that evening, once all the guests had left, he and Hermione undressed and got into bed. They rehashed the usual post-mortem all couples do after a successful party, and spoke in turn about all the different guests. Everyone was mentioned...except Remus.

"Tired?" Severus finally asked, when the closing ceremonies had ended.

Hermione nestled against his shoulder. "Not too much," she said, then proved the lie with a jaw-cracking yawn. "Well, maybe a little," she laughed. Severus chuckled and pulled her closer.

"You looked beautiful tonight."

Hermione rose and looked at him. "Thank you, darling." She snuggled back into his arms, and her hand drifted down his taut belly. "I thought you looked rather dashing as well."

Severus would have scoffed, but her slender fingers were teasing the waistband of his pants, and he felt his cock stir. By the time she had eased her hand inside his boxers, he was already hard for her, aching to touch her. "I thought you were tired," he murmured, sighing as she slid her palm over his erection.

"I think I've got my second wind," she said, and he could feel her smiling against his collarbone. In one single, fluid movement, he rolled them over so that he was leaning over her.

Her kisses were sweet, flavoured with elf-made wine, and as he cupped her warm, firm breast in his hand, he felt the nipple grow hard against his palm. She moaned, and arched into his touch.

"Severus," she mewled, and the delicious scent of her arousal reached his prodigious nose. He held her and kissed her deeply as he wandlessly removed their nightclothes.

"I love you," she whispered as he slid home with a whimper of pleasure.

"I love you," he said, his body, his heart, his soul crying aloud with joy at joining with his precious woman.

She moved beneath him, and as her climax peaked, she cried, "I would do anything for you... gods, Severus!"

Her orgasm took his own to the point of no return, as they trembled and held onto one another, Severus whispered, "I'd do anything to make you happy, wife."

She pulled him closer. "You're in this world, Severus. You're mine. Nothing could make me happier."

They lay in the dark, replete and sated, and as Hermione drifted off, Severus touched his lips to her forehead. "Anything, Hermione," he whispered, as tears wet his lashes.