Dinner

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

A thousand hugs of gratitude must go to Sequana for beta-ing this chapter for me!

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Chapter 16: Dinner

The halls of St. Mungo's were silent that day. A week beforehand, the place had been alive with people such as reporters attempting to get inside the private room for the scoop. For nearly six months, the hospital had been the residence of a very silent Michael Williamson, Healer Hermione Granger's former husband. That in itself had been enough to bring the reporters panting after a front page story. Thankfully, that time was past for all of them, and Hermione had returned to working at St. Mungo's for the last two weeks, at which time Michael was released into the care of his family in Yorkshire.

Finding the cure for Michael had been a relatively easy task after the capture of Rita Skeeter and her Death Eater thugs. Hermione and Severus got the name of the potion he had been poisoned with out of Rosier, who was all too eager to spill the beans on Skeeter after she had betrayed them and broken her promises to him. Hermione had been welcomed back to St. Mungo's with open arms and even given a raise in pay along with her name being cleared from all of the papers by none other than Albus Dumbledore himself.

The only thing that wasn't exactly as Hermione wanted was that, because of her work hours, she didn't get to see Severus as much as she would have liked. In actual fact, she was so busy at the hospital, and he was so busy back at Hogwarts, that there was barely any time for them to spend together at all now that they had decided to have a second go at a relationship with each other. It frustrated her, especially on weekdays when she was alone in her house, reading a book on her own in the study, trying not to think of how much she missed him.

'Healer Granger?' asked a soft voice from just behind her.

Hermione blinked, realizing that she was standing still in the doorway of one of the patient's rooms, leaning against the doorframe idly. She turned around and saw that it was her apprentice, Sophia, looking at her in confusion. Hermione smiled at the younger witch and shook her head, pushing away from the door and walking back down the hall towards her office, Sophia close on her heels. They arrived there and entered, Hermione heading straight to her desk and grabbing her briefcase, piling in the things she would need to have with her over the weekend.

'I'm sorry about that, Sophie,' she said, speaking for the first time since they had entered the room. 'I've been a little distracted of late.'

'It's alright,' the young witch replied. Her hair was now an icy shade of blonde with a layer of dark purple underneath. 'You must have a lot on your mind.'

Hermione smiled, and she looked as though she had been enchanted. 'The problem is I don't think that it is exactly conducive to work at all' she said with a dry chuckle.

Sophia smiled. 'You look like a woman in love, Healer Granger,' she said pointedly, grinning at her master.

'Am I that transparent?' Hermione asked benignly.

'Only if you know what you're looking for,' Sophia answered with a proud look. 'I'm really happy for you. You've had a terrible ordeal the last few months, and it's nice to see that sparkly look about you. I've been your apprentice for nearly three years now, and I never once saw you sparkle while you were married to Mr. Williamson.'

'I was very miserable in a bad way,' Hermione admitted. 'I don't know what I ever saw in that man, to be perfectly honest. I was always much happier with Severus before we fell apart from each other.'

'And now you get to pick up where you left off with the man that you were supposed to be with,' the younger witch pointed out. 'I know he was a right nasty git of a professor, but he is a good man, and you will be happy together.'

Hermione grinned, pleased beyond words that her apprentice, who was in many ways much like a younger sister to her, approved of her relationship with their former professor. It wasn't as though she even felt that she needed people to approve. Many had known before of their past relationship. She was just shocked at the number of her friends who had actually bet on how long it would take for them to get back together. Of course, none other than Albus Dumbledore could be held responsible for the circulation of that wager.

'So, Healer Glick tells me that you were fabulous while I was on leave,' Hermione said, changing the subject to something that would distract her from thoughts of her lover.

They talked for about twenty minutes, catching up on what Hermione had missed out on while she had been away and signing off on all of the journals and questionnaires that Sophia had completed towards her apprenticeship. She had a few months left of her training before she became an intern, and Hermione was fairly certain that the younger witch wanted to remain in her department for the time being. With that settled, Hermione sent Sophia home for the day and went to do her last rounds before Healer Glick took over for the night shift.

Hermione had that weekend off and planned to spend it at Hogwarts with Severus. He had a lovely dinner planned for them that night in his chambers, and they were going to be heading to Prince Manor for some private catch-up time together on the Saturday morning. Feeling excited, she raced through her final duties for the evening, ensuring that all her patients had been given their prescribed medical treatment before signing off and leaving Glick responsible for the wing that night.

Apparating away with her briefcase, she arrived at the gates of Hogwarts still dressed in her Healer's robes and began the long journey to the castle. It was a nice walk, and the breeze was gentle. Spring had begun not so long ago and had brought with it green grass, flowers, and the gentle Highland zephyr. The sky was still partially red from the sunset, even though it was already past seven o'clock in the evening. She sighed, stopping to admire the way the light was reflecting off the surface of the lake from where she stood on the path to the school. It was beautiful.

She walked on, arriving at the castle and walking inside to find that the Great Hall was only just beginning to empty of students and staff alike. She assumed dinner was only just starting to come to a close and made her way down towards the dungeons, figuring Severus would either be in his quarters already or would arrive soon. If it was the latter, she had no problems with waiting for him. He had promised her quite the lovely meal.

'Belladonna,' she told the portrait guarding his rooms, and it swung forwards to admit her.

She walked in and shrugged out of her robes, hanging them on the coat hooks beside his door. She was just about to take a seat in one of his armchairs when she felt a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around her middle and a pointed nose nuzzle the flesh of her neck, inhaling her scent. She smiled, turning in his embrace and throwing her own arms around his neck, drawing his head down for a kiss.

'I've missed you so much!' she exclaimed when she finally pulled away for a breath.

He nodded in agreement. 'I would prefer we do not go a fortnight before seeing each other again in the future,' he murmured, kissing the end of her nose and resting his forehead against hers.

Hermione pulled back out of his arms to see that he was not wearing his usual teaching attire and was instead dressed simply in his black trousers and white, high-collared shirt, the top buttons undone and sleeves rolled to his elbows. He looked as handsome as sin, and all she wanted to do, aside from satisfy the hunger in her stomach, was to rip his clothes off and make love to him.

'You look very handsome,' she told him, making him chuckle at her.

'And you, my sweet, are under some serious delusions if that is all you have to say about me this evening,' he replied, kissing her cheek swiftly and heading in the direction of his kitchen. 'I made you a wonderful dinner this evening, pet.'

Hermione grinned and followed closely behind him. 'And what have you made for me this evening, master chef?' she inquired curiously, breathing in the delicious scent of lemongrass and sandalwood that hit her nose on entering his domain.

'For starters, we shall indulge in oysters on the half shell with lemon and salt with a side salad,' he began, walking about his kitchen with the ease of familiarity despite not having to cook for himself at Hogwarts. 'For the main course, we shall be having roasted quail with truffles and a herb and garlic sauce, and for dessert, rich dark chocolate mousse as I know how much you love chocolate.'

'Mmmm, it sounds divine,' she murmured provocatively, glancing up at him from under her lashes in a deliberate fashion.

Severus simply couldn't help himself. He leaned over and gave her a lush kiss, only pulling back when her lips were sufficiently plumped from his attentions. 'You, my pet, are a dangerous thing to have around,' he growled huskily. 'That seductive look of yours is deadly.'

She grinned triumphantly. 'Well, I've had such a long week, and I've missed you so much,' she said with a small pout.

Severus sighed heavily. 'I have missed you also, love,' he admitted, turning back to the stove to stir his sauce while maintaining a neutral expression. He didn't want to appear weak by any means, but he knew that Hermione was his major weakness. 'We will have plenty of time over the summer to see each other, though, and we can still see each other every weekend – I will make sure of it.'

Hermione came up behind him, hugging him from behind and resting her cheek on his back. 'The summer holidays are two and a half months away,' she murmured against him. 'But I suppose it is all we can do for now.'

Severus turned to face her, capturing her chin in his strong hand, tilting her face to see his. 'We will do what we must to see each other as often as we are able to until then,' he murmured, kissing her lips briefly. 'I know it is hard to be apart, especially as our relationship is all rather new again, but there is nothing to be afraid of, pet. I love you, and I will be here for you, no matter what.'

Hermione nodded, tears glistening in her eyes from his touching confession. He always knew just the right thing to say to soothe her nerves. Truth be told, she had been feeling a little insecure about all of those things. So soon after being in a marriage that had been totally unfulfilling, she was a little nervous about everything involved in relationships. But she knew she needn't have any worries about her Severus. He was the only man that she had ever loved with her whole heart, and he had more than proven his devotion to her in more than one way.

'You're good to me, Severus,' she murmured before kissing him soundly and pulling away. 'Did you need me to do anything?'

Severus smiled. 'You can choose the wine if you like,' he said, gesturing to the other side of the kitchen where there was a wine rack filled with various vintages and colours. 'There are a few nice bottles of red that would go well with the main course. You can choose which one you prefer.'

Hermione nodded and headed over, perusing her options before finally settling on a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and taking it into the dining room with her, settling it in the ice bucket that Severus had thought to provide them with next to his immaculately dressed table. There was a single, blood-red rose resting on one of the plates, and a few candles placed along the centre of the table filled the room with a very romantic atmosphere. She appreciated all the effort he had gone to tonight and intended to be very thorough in thanking him for it later.

'Ready for dinner?' he asked from behind her.

Hermione turned to him and smiled. 'Definitely,' she answered.

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A/N - There is one chapter left after this one. Please review!