Chapter 50

One minute Hermione was riding away on a horse safe in Severus' arms, and then they were suddenly in the snow. She was wrapped in a thick white fur cloak, and the entrance of the lair was looming in front of them.

She laughed when she saw Grendel at the entrance; he was wearing a top-hat on his head and a bow tie around his neck, both magically held on by a spell.

Severus swung down off the back of the horse and reached up to her.  His hands slipped around her waist as he helped her off the horse.  She realized her feet were now clad in thick, soft leather boots.

She looked at Severus with surprise and pleasure, and she was stunned by the look on his face.  He looked so very happy.  His eyes sparkled with glee as he held out his hand and led her to the entrance.

Grendel bowed low, and if that beast with all his teeth could smile, Hermione swore he just had.

She hugged his neck, "It's good to see you, Grendel." He licked her face and then headed into the cave.  They followed. Hermione was wondering why Severus hadn't just used a Portkey to transport them into the lair when her mouth dropped open with a gasp.

"Severus!"

The many crystal formations shone like diamonds.  There were candles floating throughout the cave, lighting the beauty of the crystal.  Colors of the rainbow glanced off everything, making it a virtual world of color and light.  The candlelight also warmed the cave, sending gentle, warm breezes around them like soft, warm blankets.  Severus helped Hermione out of her beautiful fur cloak; with a wave of his hand, he created a small dance floor for them that was like a frozen pond.  He took her hand as soft music played, and they danced slow and close, their bodies a single entity moving in sync to the music.

Grendel yipped and they turned to look at him fondly. He was dancing to the music with happiness.

Severus turned Hermione's face back to his, their lips met, and they kissed gently. Their hands caressed each other's faces, shoulders, and backs.  Severus finally slipped an arm around Hermione, and they walked slowly through the cave.  It was no longer the cold, lifeless cave it had been. Hermione could hear water before they came to a pond with water coming from a wall above, creating a waterfall.  It was a replica of the pond she and Raven had swam in, with thick rich plant life around the rim and flowers blooming. 

"Oh, Severus, it's wonderful.  How did you do all this and when?  You've been busy all week."

He squirmed a little.  "I asked Dobby to help.  I described what I wanted, and he made it happen.  I wish I could have done it myself."

"It doesn't matter; you had it done.  It comes from your heart," she whispered against his lips and gave him a soft, warm kiss.

"Come, we will bathe tomorrow in this pond; there is more to see," he said as he took her hand and led her further into the cave.

Grendel walked before them like a guide. He was so excited with the changes in his home that he bounced here and there, unable to hold in his happiness.  There was a forest of trees next and pathways through the greenery.  Rails lined the edge of a deep chasm, making it safer to pass by. The air was warm, fresh, and clean with flowers and real fruit trees, making it like a Garden of Eden. 

"You are a romantic at heart. This is too much," she said, hugging him to her. 

Finally they reached the wall with the hidden door. 

Severus said, "Press your hand to the wall, Hermione."

She reached out and touched the wall. This time the wall shimmered, and a large oak door formed.  Severus grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Hermione gasped. The inside was no longer a rough cave with boxes, treasure, furniture, and potion ingredients.  Instead it was like a luxury hotel room in some posh resort.  There was a living room with thick, warm carpet and a fireplace with a white, fur rug in front of the roaring fire.

When Hermione glanced at him seductively, Severus felt himself harden from her look. He took her in his arms and kissed her, his tongue dancing with hers a moment, and then he dragged himself away. 

"Come see the rest, quickly!" he said with a laugh. "I can hardly contain my need for you, my wife."

Hermione turned to Grendel, gave him a pat on the head and whispered to him, "Guard duty." 

Grendel bowed again and then went happily through the heavy door that closed behind him.  He was quite happy to go frolic in his new jungle.

Severus cocked an eyebrow at Hermione. "You don't want to see the rest of the place?  The bedroom is magnificent and so is the bathroom."

"Later," she whispered against his lips. "I want you now, Severus."

He bowed, swinging his hat off his head and letting it fly across the room. Neither of them saw it land.  Severus guided Hermione to the soft thick white rug before the blazing fire, and they fell laughing with the joy of just being fully and completely married. He kissed her with such desire that she felt weak as she pressed herself against him.  Severus' lips found her neck and then her shoulder, and he kissed a path over her bare shoulders and slipped the straps of her gown down her arms.

Hermione's hands worked to push the coat way from his shoulders and arms, letting it slide off behind him.  She quickly undid his shirt and pressed her lips against his chest.  Trailing her tongue around one of his nipples caused him to shiver, and Hermione smiled against his skin as he groaned with pleasure.

Severus loosened her hair letting it fall in cascades over her bare shoulders. He buried his hands into her hair and held her lightly against him as she kissed her way over his chest.  Feeling her hands at his belt, he helped her undo the buttons there and then he pulled her dress over her head.  His hand cupped one of her breasts gently and he kneaded it, thumbing the nipple into a hard little nub.  Hermione pressed herself harder against his hand. As their tongues danced alternately with kisses on each other bodies and their fingers caressed each other almost reverently.  With a flick of Severus fingers the rest of their clothing vanished.

Severus let her down gently, and followed her, covering her body with his.  His lips went to her breasts, she buried her fingers in his thick, soft hair and held his head gently against her, urging him on.  Her leg curled around him on one side, her foot caressed his leg.  She could feel him rock hard against her thigh, and she slid her hand along his chest and down to his stomach until her fingers closed over the hard shaft.  He drew a deep breath against her breast, moving his hips to press against her hand.

One hand slid to his neck and down his back, as she urged him to join her. She called out with her mind and found his thoughts there ready to join hers.  She felt wrapped in such incredible warmth and love. She sent her love to him in return and knew that his eyes stung with tears.  Full, complete overwhelming love was still hard for him to fathom.  Then he moved and slid inside of her, a quick full stroke that filled her and caused her to groan with pleasure.

He began to slowly move in and out, drawing nearly all the way out before thrusting deep into her once again.  Her legs wrapped around him, and she held him tightly against her as her hands traced over his back and then his buttocks as they moved, drawing him in and out.  As she felt herself climaxing, she cried out his name, and he called out hers as they fell over the top. 

They clung together and lay side by side with their legs entwined, their arms holding each other close.  "Mrs. Snape, you're amazing," Severus whispered to her.

"Mr. Snape, so are you," she whispered lovingly as she kissed him again.

They cuddled together for a while, both exhausted from the days events.

Severus called, "Accio cape," and Hermione's white, fur cloak covered them in a cloud of warmth as they drifted off to sleep.

Hermione woke wrapped in unbelievable warmth, comfort, and contentedness.  When she opened her eyes, she found Severus' face inches from hers.  She kissed the tip of his nose softly, and he stirred, opening his eyes.

"Come," he said, smiling at her. Getting to his feet, he extended his hand and led her through the room to the bedroom door.  Inside was a room with a four-poster, king-size bed that had thick bed posts carved with intricate designs. The posts held up a beautiful canopy. The bed was the show piece in the room.  The wood was dark and heavy. The bedside tables, even more intricately carved, were mirrored. There was a fireplace along one wall. Lamps designed like Muggle electric lamps lit the room with soft candlelight.  There were lounge chairs and wonderful shelves of books along the walls on the other side of the massive room.

"All the comforts of home," she called, pulling from him, running to look at the spines of the books.  She looked like a naked wood nymph.  "It's wonderful," she murmured, trying to take the splendor in.

She looked back at him, and he took her breath away. He stood tall and proud, not even trying to hide his nakedness.  His body was strong and tight: broad chest, arms thick with muscles, narrow hips, and long legs with muscles all in the right places. 

She left the books and walked over to him, drawing him against her. 

"It's all so perfect and wonderful."

"You don't mind that we didn't go to a real resort or private island?"

She took his face in her hands pressed herself against him and slid her foot up his leg. "You won't hear me complain, Severus. This is wonderful.  I only needed a private place to be alone with you.  This is perfect, and I got to see Grendel.  I can't tell you how cute he looks in that hat." She laughed.  "He's like a person now.  Like a family member."

"He was my only family for years," he whispered and a tinge of sadness colored his voice.

"I know, my love, and he's so wonderful.  I'm glad you had him with you."

He picked her up and carried her through a door across the room.  Inside was a midnight blue, marble bathroom with a deep, Jacuzzi-style tub so big it was like a small pool with steps and he walked with her right into the pool.

It felt heavenly. He took bottles of soaps and shampoos and shampooed her hair and washed her body with a soft sponge.  She in turn did the same thing for him.  They laid against one side of the pool and kissed occasionally and talked.

Severus told her, "I couldn't imagine my life would turn out like this when I was digging in trashcans less than a year ago. Sometimes, I feel so blessed that I can hardly contain the emotion, and I do not want to cry all the time."  He leaned against her shoulders as she leaned on the edge of the Jacuzzi. She'd braided her hair up out of the way. He bent and pressed a kiss against her shoulder.

"Severus, crying doesn't make you weak in my eyes; it makes you stronger.  I know you have a million tears inside you that were not shed over the years.  You stuffed them all inside, and it's okay to feel.  A lot of what you are feeling is happiness, and it's okay to cry when you're happy, too."

"Sometimes the emotion will not be denied." He let out a low, reluctant, nervous laugh. "I have a horror of really breaking down in front of Harry and begging him to forgive me for the way I treated him all those years."

Hermione turned in his arms and put her arms around him.  "Let that go, Severus. He already has forgiven you.  You both have finally begun to heal. If you have to ask forgiveness of him, he will understand and not think less of you.  I think he's already beginning to love you.  He sees you so differently now.  He's a man now, and he's let go of the childish anger he had. This is the life and the happiness you both always deserved."

"Deserve... I doubt that, forgiven and a gift from God is more like it," Severus admitted.

"You really have embraced faith in God haven't you?"  She led him out of the tub, and they slipped into thick robes and went to sit cross-legged on the bed.

"Yes, Hermione, I have.  Harry's, Lily's, and Grendel's sacrifices have only given me glimpses of the love God had for us."  He took her hand and kissed her palm. "You loving me is the icing on the cake. I am a forgiven man.  Jesus lives in my heart, Hermione."

"Thats good," she said, "becasue he lives in mine, too."

Severus drew her down into the bed, lying on his back his pulled her across his chest and kissed her. "Hermione?" he asked after a long quiet minute, looking up into her face. 

"Yes, Severus," she replied, looking into his dark brown eyes.

"Do you want to have a baby someday?" he asked, almost afraid that she didn't.

Hermione felt her heart beat in her throat. What did he want her to say? Yes or no?  She took a deep breath and said, "Yes, Severus. Nothing would make me happier than to give you a child."

He kissed her and said, "If it's a boy, I'd like to name him..."

They whispered together, "Raven."

The end...or perhaps the beginning of many more adventures to come.

I most want to thank Lisa, my beta.  Her steadfast work and dedication to my stories has been such a blessing to me.  She has hung in here for me, probably close to a year now. She even wants to beta more of my work. For that I am very grateful. Thank you so much, Lisa.  The completion of this story would have never happened without you.

Becky, I want to thank you for your many kind words, encouragement, and support. The Quibbler page is wonderful, also the wedding and honeymoon manip frames and captions. The special effects on the "dance" manip is perfect.

beaweasely2, I want to thank you for teaching me so many things during the first three-fourths of this story.  You helped me to improve my writing a great deal, and I learned about punctuation, too.  I was a difficult student.

I hope you all enjoyed the manips I did for the last couple chapters. I thank you, all, for the many reviews and thoughtful comments.

TPP Ladies, you put up with a lot from me.  I appreciate your help and patient.  Thank you SO much. We made it to the end!

I have written a "five years" in the future One-Shot. It should be up soon following Chapter 50.

I am only borrowing these characters. No infrigement of JKR's rights intended.