Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine. No money.

Chapter 6 - Meet the Parents

As a gentle breeze swept over the Hogwarts grounds, carrying the warm summer air around with it, the occupants of the castle remained within the confines of the cooler stone. Hermione clambered out of the high four-poster bed with bleary eyes and the desperate need to relieve her bladder. She sprinted to the bathroom and did just that before turning on the tap and splashing her face with cool water. When she returned from the bathroom, she found her husband sitting up on his side of the bed, running a hand through his hair.

'Morning, Severus,' she said brightly.

He turned around and smirked at her, standing and taking a moment to get his bearings before walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. 'Good morning, my wife. How are you this day?' he asked caringly.

'Much better than last night, thank you,' she replied, trying not to remember her quarrel with Harry. After Harry had left, Snape Flooed them to his chambers and let her cry out before curling up in bed together and falling into fitful sleep.

'Wonderful,' he murmured, kissing her cheek gently.

Hermione smiled and blushed a little, hugging him just a little tighter. 'Is there something that you needed to do today?' she asked, looking up at his face for an answer.

'Nothing that can't be put off for a bit if you want to do something,' he answered simply, gently caressing her brown curls.

'I think we should go and see my parents. I mean, we've been married over two weeks, and my parents don't even know that I got married,' she said softly, working her way out of his embrace. 'I think they'll like you.'

'Somehow, I find that hard to believe,' he replied with a smirk.

Hermione smiled and walked towards the fireplace, grabbing a pinch of Floo powder and tossing it into the flames that she ignited. 'Please say you'll think about it,' she pleaded.

'No need, Hermione. I will come with you,' he said flatly. 'When do you want to leave?'

'Maybe in an hour, so by the time we leave, it will be around ten o'clock. Not too early,' she responded. 'Thank you again, Severus.'

He nodded slightly, and she disappeared into the green flames, leaving him alone in his dungeon chambers to contemplate how he assumed her parents would react when they discovered that she had been so foolish as to marry him. But he knew, after the previous night, that his Hermione would stand up for him, despite how right her parents would be when they said he was a foul, lecherous old man that was preying on their young daughter. He imagined that they would have something to say about him being her former professor and most likely insinuate that he had been leaching onto her even while she had been a student.

Now that he knew would have been entirely false. He admitted that he hadn't even considered her as a prospective wife or partner and had not been remotely interested in a relationship with her before the day they had met in the café. Admittedly though, he had seen her mature and had become physically attracted to her, as she had become quite the startling beauty on her return.

He shook his head and went straight to the bathroom, turning on the taps of the bath and filling the tub with hot water right before sinking into it and hissing as his growing arousal made contact. The warmth did nothing to resolve the matter at hand, and his thoughts constantly strayed to his beautiful wife, sprawled atop his bed all wanton, like a goddess, thighs spread wide, waiting and pleading for him to sink within her tight flesh...

Groaning, he finally gave in and allowed himself to relieve the pressure building up within, soon finding his release. He bathed rather quickly after that and was dried and dressed in a flowing green silk shirt tucked neatly into his black trousers. Hermione was back in his room as he rolled the sleeves of the shirt to his elbows, and she smiled when she saw the familiar shirt.

Strolling over to him, she reached her hands up to undo another button at the top of the shirt, revealing a slight "v" of his chest with a light dusting of black hairs peaking out. 'You look nice in this shirt,' she commented offhandedly as she wound her arms around his neck in a hug.

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her tight against his body with graceful ease before leaning down to capture her lips in a searing kiss. 'You always look wonderful to me, Hermione,' he replied, eyeing her lovely, thin-strapped yellow floral summer dress.

She blushed all the way to her chest and kissed him lightly on the lips before pulling away. 'All right, we'd better get a move on then,' she suggested, taking his hand in hers tentatively and tugging him in the direction of the fireplace.

'Are we going to Floo there?'

She nodded. 'Yes, I have the only connection to their house from my chambers. I owled them earlier to let them know that I was coming by Floo,' she answered brightly.

'Did you tell them the nature of the visit?' he enquired curiously.

'I didn't quite get that far in the letter, but I told them that I had something extremely important to tell them about,' she said sheepishly, wondering if he would be offended by her slight discomfort.

He simply tipped her chin up to look him in the eyes and kissed her on the lips lightly. 'I don't mind, love,' he said softly.

'I know.'

They Flooed to her chambers together, and she waved her wand and made a small incantation to allow them passage through this network before tossing in Floo powder and stepping in and through to an immaculate drawing room and parlor. The room was empty, and Hermione stepped out first, dusting of the little bit of soot that had managed to swirl and land on the skirt of the dress.

Severus came out after her and dusted himself off also before resting his hands on her shoulders as she looked around. When she felt the hand, she reached one of her own up and touched his, sending sparks between them both. 'Let's go find my parents,' she said resolutely, taking his hand firmly and leading him through the door.

'Mum! Dad! I'm here!' she called out.

Hermione heard footsteps from upstairs and heard the muttered curse before a shorter, older woman, and a tall, graying man came into sight and immediately rushed down the staircase to greet her. She let go of Snape's hand as she returned the hug her mother gave her and then the one that her father insisted upon.

'Hermione, oh darling, it's wonderful to see you!' her mother, Georgiana, exclaimed cheerfully, hugging her daughter once more.

'Yes, muffin, it's good to see you home,' Joseph Granger added, patting his daughters' shoulder.

'Muffin?' Snape mouthed to Hermione in question, amusement creeping across his features. She gave him a "Don't you dare" glare and released her mother in favor of returning to his side.

'Mum, Dad, I know this is going to seem all rather sudden to you, but I would like you to meet my husband, Severus Snape,' she introduced bravely, seeing the shock clearly written on her parents faces.

Georgiana was the first to recover. 'Well, where are my manners? I am Georgiana Granger, Hermione's mother,' she said politely with a smile, walking over to the man and holding out her hand to him, which he accepted warmly with a smile. 'I am glad to meet you, Severus.'

'I am delighted to finally meet you also, Mrs. Granger,' Severus replied formally.

'Oh, please, call us Georgiana and Joseph,' the older woman insisted, nudging her stunned husband forward to greet their new son-in-law.

'Yes, nice to meet you, Severus,' Joseph said, shaking his hand firmly.

'A pleasure, Joseph.'

Hermione beamed at him and her parents, an immense sense of relief and joy flooding her. Severus sighed inwardly as he released her father's hand and saw the smile of acceptance on both of their faces. This was not the reception that he had expected, but he allowed himself to feel relieved that this had been the case as opposed to the other option. He smiled at his wife and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

'Let's go have tea,' Georgiana announced, and they all followed into the kitchen: two of them infinitely relieved and the other two glad that their daughter had finally met a man that obviously loved her so much.

Severus found, during their time with the Grangers, that he liked this family very much and loved his wife even further...