Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Severus Snape waltzed towards Gringotts...a man with a purpose. He wore midnight blue robes, similar to his black ones, but with no cape. His eyes were covered with his dark sunglasses, and his hair was tied back. No one is giving me a second glance, he thought. The perfect disguise...

As he made his way up to a goblin, he reflected on the past several months. Hermione and he had only gotten closer in that time. I can't believe that she sees something in me and actually wants to be with me. How did I manage to trick her into caring for me? I know I'm difficult, but she overlooks all of my bad points and still cares for me. Who would have thought that I, Severus Snape, would wind up to be so lucky? I thought I was destined to live a life of lonliness and misery, but she changed all of that. She makes me ecstatic every time I see her. Who could have imagined that I could feel this good for this long? For any amount of time, actually.

He reflected on his previous romantic obsession. His pining for Lily Evans had not been love, it had been longing. It was too bad he had enveloped himself in it for so long, but he'd had no choice. He had loved her, after all, a long time ago. Ultimately, he had been tied to her through her son and through the protection he had promised him. Then his guilt at her death had chained him to her in a way that was unhealthy. Finally he felt free, not only of the guilt, but of his tethering to Lily Evans. It had happened slowly after Voldemort had been defeated. He had felt as if all of the angst he had felt about Lily had been lifted from him. Then he seemed to think of her less and less. If he were to be totally honest with himself, he would have to admit that he still felt something for Lily. They had been best friends for years, after all, but it was now more of a warm feeling of friendship and sadness at her loss instead of the intense feelings of longing and guilt he had felt before. It had taken an inordinate amount of time, but Severus Snape had finally realized that Lily Evans was not the one for him, nor did he love her as he had thought.

What he had now with Hermione was so much better. She truly loved him and appreciated him. He still marveled at it. She had said that he was the only one with whom she could hold a decent conversation. He had told her much the same. Most other women turned him off with their constant batting of the eyelashes and empty heads. Hermione was not like that. She was beautiful, of course, but there were brains behind the beauty. Never in his life would he have thought that the bushy-haired know-it-all of his teaching days would turn into this beautiful woman who complemented him so well.

Severus came back to the present as he suddenly found himself staring into a goblin's scowling face.

"I need access to my vault," he told the goblin.

The large eared creature looked Severus up and down. "Severus Snape?" he said in amazement.

"Yes."

"May I see your wand, please?" the goblin said in clipped tones.

Severus handed him his wand, which was examined and handed back. The goblin didn't say another word as he walked towards the back of the bank, motioning for Severus to follow. Soon Severus was being whisked through the labyrinth of vaults in a small cart. In a matter of moments, the cart had wound its way to Severus' vault. He eyed the door. It wasn't a large vault, nor was it down in the depths of the bank, but it was his vault.

He watched the goblin go up to the side of the door and place a key into the lock. Severus did the same on the opposite side of the door, inserting his own key. The goblin counted to three, and they both turned their keys to the right. There was a sliding sound as the bar locking the vault slid aside. Severus pushed the door open and entered.

He had never been rich, but had always had a small amount of savings. Since the end of the war, he had sold quite a few potions, even supplying the Ministry with a few. He was also the chief supplier of Wolfsbane potion in the country. He worked under a pseudonym, of course. St. Mungos was deeply in debt to Sylvester (Sly) DeVille for his ability to produce a highly effective potion at a low price, making the Wolfsbane available to all who needed it.

The popularity of his work and the ability to help those in need had given Severus a bit of gratification at being able to help so many, even though they had no idea that it was him who indeed was helping them. These worthwhile ventures had helped him to acquire an even greater amount to fall back on, if needed. He eyed the Galleons that were piled into wooden boxes. He certainly had enough to support a family for many years, whether he worked or not.

He placed a handful of Galleons into a small pouch hanging from his belt and went over to a shelf that ran the entire length of the vault. He walked along it until he came to a flat box. He pulled the box from the shelf and opened it. Inside was a necklace which was a family heirloom and was unlike any he had ever seen before. It was made of gold and was in the shape of a snake. The snake's body circled around, forming the necklace's shape. The head of the snake hooked into the curled tip of the snake's tail, the whole piece forming a circlet that would adorn the neckline with the head pointing downward when worn. The body of the snake was formed by a solid inlaid stone within the gold. It shone a dark green with the gold making a thin outline around it. There were two small black stones in the head of the snake, and a small ruby tongue slithered out of its mouth. He smiled down at the ancient heirloom. Even though it was a snake, he hoped Hermione would like it.

He reached for a much smaller box. This was a more traditional piece of jewelry that he hoped she would wear proudly. He pocketed the small box without opening it and put the necklace into his pocket also. With that, he left the vault and was shuttled back to the entrance way of the bank.

oooOOOooo

Severus knocked on Hermione's door. Hermione opened it with a smile and looked a bit surprised when Severus took her in his arms right in the doorway and kissed her passionately. After they had pulled away from each other, Hermione raised her eyebrows at him as he smiled at her wolfishly.

"Hello, my dear," he said huskily to her.

"You're in an awfully seductive mood tonight, Severus," Hermione remarked.

"I'm just happy to see you," he declared as he kissed her neck.

"You're a bit early, aren't you?"

"I've taken the liberty to change our plans. Are you ready to go?"

They originally were going to have a quiet dinner at a nearby café on Diagon Alley, but now Hermione had no idea what was to be happening.

Hermione frowned. "Where are we going then?"

"You'll see."

With that, he took her hand and led her out of the house as she closed her door. He fished in his pocket for a minute and pulled out a broken monocle. He extended it to her and motioned for her to touch it.

"A Portkey?" she asked as she placed her finger on the monocle.

Severus smirked as they both felt the pull of the Portkey and soon were spinning away from the side street near Diagon Alley. They appeared on a different side street in Venice, close to where they had taken their Gondola rides. Hermione gasped.

"You brought us back to Venice?" she exclaimed.

"I had a strong desire to take a Gondola ride."

Hermione laughed. Severus grasped her hand and led her down the street to a waiting Gondola. Helping her get settled, he sat down next to her and pulled her close. Hermione looked at Severus with a look of amazement.

"You're a closet romantic, aren't you?" she said in awe.

"Romantic? This has nothing to do with romance. I just like the boat ride."

"Oh," Hermione said, not sure whether to believe him and be disappointed or to laugh at him for joking.

He was really confusing her right now. They had enjoyed the last few months with each other, mostly spending time with one another in one or the other's flats. He had not been one to sweep her out of her home for an unplanned excursion. His reclusive ways had precluded that. She wondered if this really was Severus Snape sitting next to her or some Polyjuiced charlatan trying to pull a fast one on her. As if reading her mind, Severus gave her a penetrating glance.

"Don't women like surprises?" he asked sulkily.

Hermione wanted to laugh at his moping, but she didn't dare. He had obviously planned this little outing rather carefully. She placed her hand on his cheek and drew his face close to hers.

"I, for one, love surprises," she said before placing a tender kiss on his lips.

oooOOOooo

Severus responded by drawing her closer and wrapping his arms around her. Her lips were like heaven. He pressed into them and snaked his tongue into her mouth, reveling in her taste. By the time they finally pulled apart, the Gondola had been coursing down the canal for quite some time, and the Gondolier had sung a couple of songs. Severus looked into Hermione's eyes. A wave of excitement went through his body at the sight of her. He couldn't remember a time when he had felt so close to a person. He never wanted to let her go. Watching her as she smiled at him, he felt his heart brighten. It had been clenching worriedly along with his stomach at his spontaneity, but her smile sent all of his fears away.

"I have something for you," he told her finally.

Hermione smiled at him as he pulled a tiny, flat, rectangular box out of his robes. With a covert swish of his wand, the box turned to its normal size. Hermione took it and looked down at it.

"Severus, you didn't need to get me anything, really."

"I want you to have this," he told her. "It has been in my family for generations. It can be traced back to Barnaby Sutton and his family."

Hermione looked to Severus with wonder. "Really?" she exclaimed. Then she became concerned. "Severus, I can't accept this if it has been a part of your family for this long!"

Severus scowled at her. "I wouldn't offer it to you if I didn't want you to have it. Will you open it or not?"

Hermione stared at Severus tentatively. What could such a treasured gift mean? she thought to herself.

Finally, she nodded and lifted the lid on the box. Inside was a necklace that was shaped like a snake. Hermione inhaled sharply.

"Oh, Severus, this is magnificent."

Carefully, Severus pulled the preformed circlet from the box. He pulled at the snake head to open the necklace and placed it around her neck. He fastened the head back through the tail and sat back to look at it.

"Do you have a mirror?" Hermione asked.

oooOOOooo

Severus glanced at the gondolier, who was looking ahead, and transfigured the necklace box into a mirror. Hermione admired the necklace. Her breath hitched within her as she gazed upon it. She had never seen something so beautiful in all of her life. The green head of the snake hung down about an inch from the rest of the necklace and glittered in the sunlight. She could not believe that Severus had given her so precious a gift.

"This necklace is charmed to turn any color you wish," Severus explained. "It can match with anything you put on. Given your vast wardrobe, I thought it might do well to give you something versatile. You just need to think of what color you would like it to be and touch the head."

Hermione smiled at Severus and then tried out the charm. She changed the snake to a brilliant deep purple, then blue, yellow, and finally back to green. She lowered the mirror and looked back to Severus with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, Severus. It truly is remarkable."

"You really like it? I was concerned that you wouldn't want to wear something so obviously Slytherin in design."

Hermione pulled him to her and hugged him furiously.

"I would proudly wear anything you gave me, Severus. I really love it."

"Well, then, maybe you wouldn't mind wearing one more thing that I have for you?" he asked.

oooOOOooo

His heart hammered in his chest as she pulled away with a curious look on her face. Merlin, was this the right thing to do? Would she laugh in his face at his proposal? He was having serious second thoughts. It was too late to stop now, however, as he had already told her he had something else for her. Maybe he could conjure up a flower or something?

No! He was not going to shrink away from the one thing that would make him the happiest man alive. He dug into his pocket again and pulled the smaller box out of it. Hermione's eyes grew wide as she saw the ring box in his hand. Severus stared down at it for a few seconds, gathering his courage. With a sigh, he opened the box and presented her with the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

"Hermione Granger, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

oooOOOooo

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at Severus, whose face was ashen and lips were drawn tight. She looked down at the ring. Oh, it was beautiful. An oval blue sapphire was surrounded by diamond studded bands that wrapped around the stone and then weaved themselves into a circular band. She looked back at Severus, who looked scared to death. She felt consumed with happiness. She opened her mouth to answer him and... burst into tears.

oooOOOooo

Severus frowned. He closed the box and put it into his lap while watching Hermione, who now had her head in her hands, crying her eyes out. He wasn't sure what he had expected her to do, but it certainly hadn't been this. He hadn't realized just how miserable his question would make her. He pulled her to him in bewilderment, placing his chin atop her head, and let her cry on. He felt tears well up in his eyes too, but he would not let them fall. He blinked them back quickly before Hermione could look at him again. He didn't want her to know how she had broken his heart just now.

"Yes," she whispered finally.

Severus narrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He didn't pull away. He was afraid to look into her eyes.

"Oh, yes, Severus."

Does that mean that she wants to marry me? Did she just accept my proposal? Then why is she crying miserably?

"Hermione, did you just say you would be my wife?"

She nodded under his chin.

"Why are you accepting if it is making you miserable? You need not settle for me if you don't want to."

Hermione pulled away from him and wiped her tears away. "Severus," she said as she clasped his face in her hands. "I'm not crying because I'm miserable. I'm crying because I'm happy."

"That makes no sense whatsoever!"

"You don't understand. All I have ever wanted was you... your love... you by my side. I would gladly give up everything I possess to have you love me." Tears began to flow down her cheeks again. "And you do."

Severus gave her a shy, slanted grin. "So, your tears are a good thing?"

A huge laugh escaped Hermione's lips, and she nodded to him.

"You want to be my wife?"

"More than anything!"

Severus pulled her closer again. "Good, because I love you more than anything."

oooOOOooo

His face was just centimeters from hers, his lips so close, Hermione could feel his breath on her. His closeness made her insides go weak. Just moving a hairsbreadth would press her lips to his. She longed to feel him kissing her.

Hermione smiled lovingly at him. "I love you more than anything, too."

Severus moved ever so slightly and surrounded her lips with his. She pushed into him, trying to take all of him in. She marveled that her elaborate plan had worked. She had single-handedly transformed the reclusive Severus Snape into the sexy, romantic man who was to become her husband. She couldn't believe how good her success felt.

A/N: Next up: The end of our little tale.

I hope you enjoyed that little bit of fluff. Thanks, Lilith Kayden, for looking this over and helping to make it better.