Nothing To Forgive

Thank you to astopperindeath for the final beta.

A gentle hand brushed at my face and a low, velvet voice spoke my name.

"Hermione."

I opened my eyes to find Severus showered and dressed, sitting next to me on the bed.

"I'm awake," I mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Four in the morning. I have something I need to do, and I would like you to come with me."

"So early? What is it?" I struggled with the blankets, and he stepped away to allow me room.

"It is something Albus asked me to do, and dawn is a peak time to do it," he replied. He turned and lifted up a small valise from the floor. "I have clothes for you in here. Get yourself ready, my love. You're leaving this place."

He stepped away and walked over to the breakfast tray sitting by the settee.

Leaving. The idea both thrilled and scared me. I wasted no time. I was out of the loo and dressed in the rather somber robes he brought me as fast as my wobbly legs would let me. After a cup of tea and a buttered scone, I drank the potions he gave me and then met him at the door. I hoped the potions would work as quickly as they had the day before.

Severus had been silent the whole time, packing up the books and our discarded clothes into the valise, and something in his manner told me I wasn't coming back to this room. I looked about in a sudden panic, feeling I might be leaving something behind.

"Here," he said. I turned back to face him. He reached out and lifted up my left hand. He placed a very old ring on my finger, a wide band of what looked like silver, set with emeralds and deeply carved with runes.

"This is the only thing you forgot," he said with a small smile. His eyes glittered with emotion. A tap of his wand, and the ring shrank down to a perfect fit.

"I love you, Hermione. I will always protect you. I will give you a home, and I will give you things of your own that you can't bear to leave behind."

"This is all I'll ever need," I replied. I wiggled my fingers in a rare girlish display and smiled deeply.

His kiss was like a branding, so fierce and burning. There was no question I had just been formally claimed. I kissed him back just as intently.

We broke apart, and he lifted a hand and brushed at my face softly. His eyes were full of wonder.

"I love you, Severus. I will give you a family; I will give you a place to belong, and I will always stand at your side."

His eyes slid shut after becoming suspiciously moist, and he leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine.

"Thank you," he whispered.

He placed a quick kiss on my nose and spun towards the door. We left the room for the last time, and my heart was full with an amazing array of emotions.

Severus guided me down the stairs, and I leaned on him not just because my legs were weak but because my head was dizzy, either from my impending freedom or the effects of so much lying in bed. By the time we got to the foyer where Agatha stood, I was steady on my feet.

"Princess!" she exclaimed. She set down the stack of parchment she had in her hands and came running over to pull me into a hug. Agatha was transformed. Her dark robes were plain, yet elegant, and her face was devoid of the layers of make-up and charms that had always given her the look of a faded doll. Her hair was a soft brown, swept back into a simple bun. She looked both older and younger than her years.

"How are you, dear?" She pushed me back and looked intently into my face. Scanning me for signs of things she had seen too often in the past.

"I'm fine now. And you? How did you fare during the battle?"

"Well it was madness, to be sure. I mostly just ran errands and saw to the stabilized patients. I stayed in the dormitory infirmary; it was too terrifying to be down in the practice center as bodies suddenly appeared in all kinds of conditions. The last of the patients have been moved to Hogwarts now. And I've spent the night transporting our departed there for the burial today. I'm embarrassed I had to look up many of the girls' real names."

"Thank you, Agatha. Your diligence has been a great blessing," said Severus. "We will see you at the service later, but I'm afraid our time is running short. I have an important matter to attend to and must be off."

"I shall see you later then, Severus." He turned to walk towards the door. and Agatha's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. She lifted up my hand and stared at my new ring. She gave me an enormous grin and threw her arms around me quickly before pecking me on the cheek and shooing me towards the door.

I stopped in the open doorway and peeked at the still dark world outside. I had left the house before, usually unconscious or by Floo, but I hadn't been outside since I left Azkaban, all those years ago. I remembered a limping, sick, terrified girl, buffeted by the winds of the North Sea as she left her prison thinking she was on her way to her execution. I remember drinking in the sight of the vast ocean and wishing I had the strength to pull away from the grasp of my guards and fling myself down to the rocks below.

Go on, Hermione, he's got you.

I reflexively lifted my face and turned to look for Ron. Instead, I saw Severus, waiting patiently with one long-fingered hand outstretched and the other clutching the valise. I leaned out and touched his hand, and he clasped mine gently and pulled me over the threshold. He tucked me into his robes, wrapping his arms around me, and I looked back one more time to see Agatha closing the door with tears running down her face. I pressed my face into his chest and breathed in the smell of fresh rain and lemongrass. Severus pressed his cheek against my head, and I felt him start to spin to the right before the world disappeared with a crushing pressure.

A loud crack filled my ears, and I came to a stop, clutching at Severus' robes until the nausea passed. He held me tightly and stroked my back until he felt my grip relax.

"Alright?" he murmured in my ear.

"Yes. Yes, I think so."

He relaxed his arms, and I turned, looking around until I spotted the gates of Hogwarts. I looked up at Severus.

"This task Albus set you, was it something he asked you to do before he died?"

He took my hand and led me to the gates.

"No," he answered, tapping on the gate to release the wards. "It was something he asked me to do four days ago."

We set off in silence up the path until we came around a curve that revealed the large expanse of lawn plainly visible with the sky just beginning to lighten as dawn approached. Seeing the vast open space filled me with a sudden terror, and my knees locked up. Severus turned towards me in alarm, but I couldn't explain, I couldn't speak. Only a pathetic little squeak bubbled out of my throat when I tried. My heart started to pound, and I was filled with an immediate need to run and hide. I hid in the safest place I could find. I threw myself at Severus and buried my head in his robes.

"Look at me." I didn't. "Hermione, look at me." I couldn't. "I need you to look at me, Hermione. I can send you somewhere safe if you want. But it's best if I try to complete my task at dawn and I... need you."

I tilted my face up towards his voice but my eyes stayed shut.

"I don't want to leave you!"

"Then open your eyes. I can help. Trust me."

I opened my eyes. His hands cupped my face, and his eyes filled my vision. I saw images flash through my mind. A large holding area in the bowels of the Ministry the first time I was raped. A rat-infested guardhouse in Azkaban where I was subjected to unspeakable acts. A little camp bed in the attic, the only place I was safe from being pawed at or groped. Severus' arms, where I was truly safe. The feeling of panic started to subside and the warmth and contentment I felt whenever he held me gained ground. I didn't notice that Severus had let go of me and had stepped back until he broke contact. I looked around at the wide-open space and felt uncomfortable, but I was no longer terrified.

His hand rested on my shoulder.

"You were not the only one of the women this happened to. Several of the people from Azkaban went through it as well," he said.

"What did you do?"

"I disconnected the fear from the trigger. You were not really afraid of being outdoors; you were afraid of not being safe. Not uncommon among released prisoners."

He took my hand and led me towards the castle.

"Come now, there is little time."

"What is it that we need to do?"

"Send someone home."

We kept silent the rest of the walk up to the castle. My mind filled with memories and emotions as I looked from tower to tower. I looked back down the hill towards Hagrid's hut, and I mourned for all those rock cakes and dreadful cups of tea I would never have again. A warm hand squeezed mine, and I turned back as we went up the stairs and entered the castle through the huge doors. The sound of the doors closing behind us resonated through the halls. I noticed his hand starting to get clammy in mine and suddenly remembered the years he had spent searching through this place, tormented by a ghost, while trying to fulfill his mission. I realized that this was his first time back since finding the diadem and understood now why he said he needed me. I squeezed his hand, and he looked back at me gratefully before dropping his bag by the empty hourglasses in the corner and setting off up the stairs.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"I won't know until we get there," he replied, mysteriously.

We walked up and down staircases and along empty corridors, sadly devoid of any paintings or tapestries. I was deeply grateful for the potions that had returned my strength. Severus took us through passages I never knew about and down back stairs until we came out in the dungeons. Just as we were passing a battered but mostly intact suit of armor, Severus stopped suddenly. I looked up and saw we were just outside his old Potions classroom. I looked through the open door and saw what had made him freeze.

Oh.

Before us, in the middle of the classroom, floated the ghost of Minerva McGonagall.

She stared at us without saying a word, but her ghostly features knotted up in a fearsome expression just before she threw her hands up in front of her and started to zoom towards us with a wail.

"Severus!" she howled.

"No!" I shouted, as I jumped in front of him with my arms spread wide to shield him as best I could. The ghost stopped short just inside the doorway and looked at me in amazement, and then her expression changed to a familiar one of pride.

"So, that's the way of it," she said. "I see you are protective of your mate; but you misunderstand me, Miss Granger. I meant Severus no harm. I wanted to beg his forgiveness," she said. Her eyes lifted up to his face as she added: "If it's even possible."

I turned to look at Severus and saw he was stricken. His mouth worked and silent tears ran down his face, and finally, he rasped his reply.

"There is nothing to forgive, Minnie."

Her face crumpled into intense pain.

"Oh, my boy, there is everything to forgive. I should have known. Mr. Longbottom explained everything to me finally, and I have been waiting here for you ever since. I was so terrible to you!" She loomed closer and made a useless clutching gesture. I stepped out of the way, even though that wouldn't have helped.

"You did what you thought was necessary to protect them. It was the only thing to be done," he replied

"I never gave you the chance to explain! I never even considered that you might have had a reason. I never thought there could have been some kind of explanation for you killing Albus! Severus, how can you forgive me so easily? I hated you! I was cruel to you because it felt good! I will spend the rest of eternity regretting that I was so faithless a friend to you, my boy."

Severus stepped forward into the classroom, and the ghost floated backwards. I followed him into the room.

"No. No you will not do that. You were protecting your cubs; you had no way of knowing I was innocent, Minerva. It would have been my death if anyone suspected. Even if you had given me a chance to explain, I would not have done so. There was too much at risk."

"Still, I am so very, very sorry, Severus."

"And again, I say there is nothing to forgive. But there is one thing we must do, Minerva, and the moment is at hand."

She gazed at him in wonder even as I looked at him in confusion.

"This was never meant for you, Minerva."

"I stayed out of fear, like the lot of them," she said with a vague, dismissive gesture back towards the castle.

"You feared for their safety; you did not fear death. They are all safe now. Albus... asked me to send you home."

"Severus... is that possible?"

She and I had the same expression on our faces.

"I did not return from the afterlife without being... affected," he replied.

He held out his hand palm up.

"Let me be your connection, Minerva."

She looked at his hand for a long time before she rose up her own and drifted close. She stopped before she rested her hand on top of his and looked at me.

"You take care of him, Miss Granger. He's not as solitary as he has always seemed."

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied.

She looked back at him.

"Watch over them for me, Severus."

"I will, Minerva," he said. "Please, give Draco my love."

Her lips quirked, and she nodded solemnly.

"Good bye, Severus, Hermione. I hope not to see either of you for a long, long time, but I expect to hear great things about the pair of you."

She rested her hand down on his palm and looked like she was about to say something more, but her head turned quickly, and she looked over my shoulder, her mouth open in happy surprise. I turned to see what she saw, but there was only the empty corridor. When I turned back, she was gone.

I walked over and wrapped my arms around his middle. He stood stiffly, staring off into the unseen distance for a long time before his hand came up and rubbed my arms.

"Thank you," he said. I just squeezed him harder in response.

We walked back up through the castle, hand in hand, until we reached the Transfiguration classroom.

Severus stopped outside the door and scanned the walls until he found a suitable empty hanger. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shrunken painting. He tapped it and when it was enlarged he hung it.

He placed his palm on the portrait of a sleeping Minerva McGonagall, and after a tingling flare of magic, she woke up. After a brief look around in obvious confusion, she turned and looked at us.

"Hello, my boy," she said, warmly.

"Hello, Minnie."

"It's a bit empty around here, isn't it?"

"Not for long," he answered. "Not for long."

The sun was streaming through the windows of the Great Hall as we sat and ate breakfast with the residents of the castle.

Viktor came over and gave me a careful hug with both of his arms. We spoke softly of the upcoming funeral, and how his friends had already left to bury their dead in Bulgaria, and how sad he was that he couldn't be there with them. The Healers expected him to recover full use of his arms but travel, either by Portkey or Floo, was not recommended for another week and it was much too far to Apparate. He placed his fork back into his eggs and reached over to take my hand, pulling it up, he looked at my ring and then gave me an inquisitive look.

I smiled and blushed. He gave me a sad little smile and then looked past me to where Severus was discussing whether or not there was enough time to brew one last experimental potion before the funeral with a still bandaged Neville and his Hannah.

"Congratulations, Minister. I am very happy for you both," said Viktor.

"Happy for who? What are we happy for?" inquired Neville.

"Miss Granger has consented to be my wife, Mr. Longbottom."

"Oh! That's brilliant! Congratulations, Hermione!" he said.

Charlie and Ruby came walking up together with Nadia.

"What are we congratulating?" he asked. Pretty soon the news was all over the Great Hall, and as I fielded more and more well wishes, I watched Severus glow with pride.

The funeral was held by Dumbledore's Tomb. The turnout was phenomenal; it seemed like the entire Wizarding World had showed up to pay their respects to the fighters that had freed them.

Severus and I were flanked by Charlie and his new Aurors, made up of most of the members of Snape's Company. Agatha sat with Peaches and the rest of the women, and they were surrounded by Neville's group. Hannah whispered a running commentary to her husband on everything that there was to see and what was going on. Percy and his wife sat with the freed prisoners from Azkaban. Beyond this group were thousands of magical folk, wizards and witches from many countries, as well as Centaurs, Goblins and house-elves.

As the new Minister for Magic, Severus was expected to give the eulogy, and he did so with great dignity and aplomb.

He left his seat and stood before the massed array of over fifty coffins. His voice rang out clearly over the gathered audience.

"We are gathered here today to lay to rest our brave fighters. Men and women who chose to stand in the face of impossible odds to set right a great wrong. Men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. But we must also remember those who fell before, struggling against that same wrongness that ultimately sickened our world. Some of whom died trying to prevent the great evil and some who simply died senselessly because of that evil. Let the bodies of our fallen fighters stand as a wall eternally guarding us from ever allowing such a thing to come to pass again. Let this wall act in the future to shore up the flagging strength of a people too burdened with their own grief to do more than turn their face to the wall when their mettle is put to the test. Let this wall stand as a monument to the shining examples of cooperation and commitment possible when people put their petty jealousies and bigotries aside for a common good. Let this wall stand as a monument to the idea that even a blackened heart can know a moment's grace and turn towards the light. I ask you all for a moment of silence as we take this time to remember every person who is not here with us today."

He turned and faced the coffins and bowed his head. After a full minute of silence, several men and women came and joined him. I recognized them from the Department of Mysteries. Together, they raised their wands and a bright, blinding flash erupted in front of them. When the light died down, the coffins were gone; instead, there stood a large, blank, marble wall. It was five feet tall and ten feet wide. The Unspeakables stepped away and left Severus alone in front of the wall.

He pulled out his wand and tapped the wall and a name appeared. He tapped it again and another showed up. He continued to tap the wall until he had left a column of names that included each and every member of staff at Hogwarts as well as the entire membership of the Order of the Phoenix and the Malfoy family. When he was done, he slipped something off his hand and placed it on top of the wall. He returned to his seat and Charlie and Percy went over. With each tap they incised the name of yet another member of the Weasley family butchered by evil. When they were done, they repeated Severus' action of slipping off their Portkey rings and placing them on top of the wall. Agatha went after them, inscribing the real names of the ten women who had died from the house. She kissed her fingers and touched the names before she slipped off her ring and placed it on top of the wall. Theo walked up dressed in his full Death Eater robes, his mask in his hand, and added the names of all the fallen from Snape's Company. When he was done, he paused a moment, then added the name of his father. He slipped off his ring and placed it atop the wall as well. Neville went next, and with Hannah guiding his arm, he placed the names of every one of his fighters. They too left their rings. Viktor placed the names of his fallen friends and left his ring as well. Xenophilius Lovegood, freed from Azkaban but not in good health, struggled on the arm of Penelope Weasley until he reached the marble wall and inscribed the name of his daughter, Luna. Dahlia Parkinson came up and added the name of her sister. She also slipped off her ring and left it atop the wall. After that, there was a constant line as anyone and everyone that lost a loved one in the long years of terror added names to the wall. The women from the house came, one by one, and left the names of Muggle parents and siblings murdered callously. The list of names stretched farther across the wall and the number of rings on top of it grew. A lone house-elf approached, and with an encouraging nod from Severus, placed his hands on the wall and added the names of all the elves that had also given their lives in defense of the students. Finally, there was no one left but me. I stood, and Severus walked at my side until I reached the center of the wall. The list of names stretched out on either side of us as I reached up and tapped the wall next to Ron's name. I only had one name to add: Harry Potter. The top of the wall glittered with all the tiny cheap rings we had prayed never to use. I added mine.

I stepped back, and Severus spoke a soft incantation and tapped the wall one last time. Several dozen new names appeared: the names of students and their families that had no surviving loved ones left to represent them. A final incantation and the wall flared with light. Each and every name on the wall started to glow with a golden light, and the rings sank into the stone to become a permanent embellishment.

Severus and I stood off to the side once the ceremony was over. People streamed past the wall to read the names. I turned to him and saw him staring hard at Dumbledore's tomb. He looked so tired, so burdened. I thought of what he had to have gone through that night Albus had begged him to fulfill his vow. The demands on him to find a way to rectify a terrible miscalculation. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the debt I owed this man, a debt that every wizard and witch in Great Britain owed this man. I stepped closer to him, and as he turned toward me, I placed my hand over his heart and felt the steady beat there.

"Thank you," I said. "Thank you for giving me my life back. Thank you for everything you have ever done for me and the rest of these people."

His eyes softened, and he brought his hand up and pressed it to my stomach.

"Thank you, Hermione. You have given me life in every meaning of the word."

He pulled me into his arms and kissed me gently. My heart was full to overflowing.

It was at that moment, when we were blinded by flash bulbs and dozens of people started to shout questions at us, that I realized just what I was in for, being the chosen mate of The-Man-Who-Lived.

This chapter was requested by, and is dedicated to, Whitehound. Thank you for all your input, patience and the sacrifice of your own time as I constantly barraged you with chapters and questions.