Part Three: Perfection

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/N – This was written about three years ago and was originally posted as two parts. It is now in three parts and after editing out the bits I didn't like and altering things to my current tastes, I am now reposting this here and at other archives. I hope you enjoy this and rest assured I am working on something new.

A big hug and the most indulgent and expensive chocolate truffles must go to WriterMerrin for rescuing this story and making the suggestion of posting it in three parts. Thank you so much, my dear – I'd be lost without you!

The two of them walked in together, and Hermione wasn't at all surprised when she saw an older man with Severus' nose and silver hair sitting in a chair and reading the newspaper, with an older woman with more of Severus' sharp features just across from him, reading a book. They both looked up at Hermione and Severus and smiled, quite unlike the snarky Potions Master himself, but it was nice all the same.

Severus, however, was the first to speak. 'Mother, Father, Happy Christmas,' he said in one of his friendlier tones.

'Happy Christmas, dear,' his mother said in a higher, tired voice. 'Who is your young lady friend?'

'This is Hermione Granger,' he said hesitantly, pulling her forward slightly with a tug of his hand. 'She is...'

'I'm Severus' date, ma'am,' Hermione spoke up, sensing that he was obviously nervous, as he had probably never introduced anyone to his parents before, let alone a woman. 'I hope that it was alright that he brought me.'

The older man chuckled then, standing from his seat and going over to her. He took her hands in both of his and shook them. 'My dear girl, you have no idea how long we have been waiting to meet you,' he said enthusiastically. 'You may call me Theodore, or Theo if you prefer. Come and sit; we have heard so much about you!'

'Oh, is that so?' Hermione asked, throwing a glance over her shoulder at Severus, who was beginning to turn pink in the cheeks, as she was led towards the lounges.

Severus sat down next to his mother and smiled when he saw what she was reading. Hermione was reading the exact same book. He then saw the smile that was lighting his mother's face and saw the mischief that twinkled in her eyes in an annoyingly familiar way.

'Mother, you're not scheming are you?' he asked in a warning tone.

'Never, my dear,' she answered. 'It's nice to see Hermione as a woman. She really has grown up since the war.'

'I know.'

'I'll bet you do, Severus,' she said before she looked over at her husband who was talking animatedly with a smiling Hermione.

Severus watched as his father entertained his love. She looked so beautiful, especially when a laugh lit up her face, making her eyes seem so much brighter and her cheeks flush. He loved it when they did. His mother eventually convinced him to go and join them, but he only agreed on the terms that she go with them too.

'It is wonderful to meet you, young lady,' his mother said as she shook her hand. 'You may call me Eileen.'

'It's lovely to meet you, Eileen,' Hermione responded politely. 'I am glad to be here. Your house is amazing.'

'It is a bit spectacular, isn't it?'

At noon they all had lunch in the dining room, and afterwards they opened presents. Snape decided to withhold his present for the time being and whispered to her that she would get it when they got back to her house. He mused momentarily about the ring in his pocket that he had wanted to give to her for years. Although he knew his chances were slim, he wasn't going to give her up, and he fully intended to make sure that he did this soon – before he lost his nerve.

It was late in the afternoon when the sun was beginning to set before they were ready to leave, and Severus made to bid his parents goodbye. After making promises to come and visit again soon, they began walking away from the house, with all of their coats donned once more. He Apparated home with her with the intention of giving her some space that night, but found he was easily swayed into staying.

--

On New Year's night, he Apparated the two of them to the edge of the Snape family estate, and he led Hermione off to a smaller path that led to the cabin near the forest where he used to find solitude as a teenager. He opened the door and soon had a fire crackling away merrily. He drew her towards the couch there and sat her down before sitting next to her and taking her cold hand in his.

'I used to come here when I was younger to do some thinking,' he began.

'It seems like a great place to think,' Hermione said with a smile. 'It's very cosy once it's warm.'

'I thought so too,' he agreed with a grin. 'I came here the other day to do some thinking too, and I found something here that I am very glad to have found.'

'What was that?'

'A letter from a friend, who I lost at a very young age,' he answered. 'She lived on the next estate with her family, and I went to the Muggle primary school with her until we were eight. She died the day before her eighth birthday from pneumonia.'

'That's so sad,' Hermione said, blinking back tears and sniffing a little, curling further into his side comfortingly.

'It was very sad, and I remember it being the first time that I had ever cried, and the very last time I cried,' he admitted. 'I have always remembered and regretted not being able to do anything for her. I regret not being able to keep such a good friend in my life.'

Snape turned and put his arms around his Hermione. 'She was the only girl that I had ever loved before I met you,' he said, tilting her face up so that he could look into her eyes to gauge her reaction. Tears were spilling down her cheeks, and she gave him a watery smile. 'Hermione, you knew that I loved you all those years ago during the war,' he continued. 'I have never stopped loving you, even when I thought you could never love me back.'

Hermione heaved a sob and buried her face in his neck. 'But I do love you, Severus,' she cried. 'I love you so much!'

'Hermione...' he sighed out, stroking her hair lovingly. 'Hermione... I – the girl I knew, her name was Ivy, and after I thought about it a bit, I realized that you look quite a bit like her,' he said, nudging her to look up at him. 'I – I thought at the time I was simply trying to find a replacement for Ivy, but I know now that I was never looking for that in you.'

'Severus, you don't need to explain yourself...'

'No, Hermione. I must say this,' he insisted, kissing her on the end of the nose. 'Hermione, I loved Ivy as the dearest and closest friend I've ever had, but when I look at you, I don't see the eight-year-old girl that I once knew. I see the face of the woman I love dearly and would go to the ends of the earth for.'

Taking her hands, he looked her in the eye and smiled. 'I see a woman who is beautiful, brave, cunning and intelligent. You are proud, kind, and everything that I could ever want in a woman. And most importantly, you are everything that I have failed to be,' he said, eyes flashing fiercely. 'I see in you the woman I would love to spend the rest of my life with.'

'Severus, are you asking me to...?' she began, stammering slightly.

He stilled her rosy lips with his fingers and leaned in to press a delicate kiss to them. 'I love you, Hermione Granger, and I would like to ask you if you would consent to being my wife?' he asked, voice thick with emotion.

Hermione cried and threw her arms around him. 'Yes,' she squeaked before she broke down in heaving sobs against him, clinging to him like a limpet.

Severus felt his heart swell. That had gone a lot better than he had even dared to dream, and he was holding her in his arms. She had said yes. His own dear Hermione loved him and was going to be his wife! He tightened his hold and buried his face in her hair where the first tears he'd cried since he was eight years old dripped off the end of his nose into her tangle of curls. He had found his home.

--

'Hermione, it's good to see you!' exclaimed the raven-haired wizard across the office, making her duck her head and blush.

She went across the office to Harry's desk in the Auror's office and hugged him when he held out his arms to her. She had been on speaking terms with Harry again, as after the ball, he had seen fit to apologize for his rudeness and they had started to patch things up. Ron had not been so agreeable, and he was still refusing to talk to her, despite the fact that he had absolutely no claim over her, seeing as he was married and all.

'How are Ginny and little Lily going?' she asked politely, looking at her watch a little impatiently.

She had to go to class that morning and had just stopped by the office to deliver the invitation for their engagement party. The senior Weasleys as well as Charlie, Bill and Fleur, and the twins had already accepted, as well as the rest of the Order and people that either she or Severus knew or worked with. All that was left were her two supposed best friends and a few unimpressed family members.

Surely Harry wouldn't deny her this?

'Yeah, the girls are going along just fine, and the next one is well on the way,' he replied with a proud grin.

'Uh, well, I have my last class before I take my Potion Master's exams in two weeks, and I just came to drop off an invitation,' she said with a forced smile, handing it to him and waiting for all hell to break loose.

Harry opened it and frowned almost immediately and looked up at her with an almost hurt expression. Hermione was annoyed at that, but decided to give him some leeway, simply because the two men had never gotten along. 'Hermione, are you sure about all of this? I mean, you're really going to marry Snape, aren't you?' he asked quietly.

'I don't see how that suddenly became your immediate business, but yes, I do intend to marry Severus,' she said irritably. 'We've been engaged for almost five months now, and I don't intend to break it off just because you only just found out and don't like it, Harry Potter.'

'I understand that, 'Mione. But are you sure he's the ONE?'

Hermione sighed and nodded. 'I love him, Harry. You can accept it or not, but we were good friends once, and that means something to me. I want you to be a part of my life still, and I want it to start with this,' she said softly.

'Alright, that sounds okay,' Harry agreed giving her a hug. 'I can't promise that Snape and I will be best mates, but I will try to be nice.'

'Thank you, Harry,' she said with a grin. 'Oh, I have to go!'

As she rushed off, Harry smiled and shook his head. Who would have ever thought that Snape would be the platform from which he would patch up his friendship with Hermione? How could he make her so happy? Watching as one of his best friends left the office, he smiled and looked down at the picture of his wife and daughter. Hermione deserved to be just as happy as he was, he thought.

--

Snape watched as his students left the final-year Potions lecture theatre for the last time before the summer. He had finished teaching for the year and had a whole summer to finally get his other life back on track. He had seen so little of Hermione in the past two frantic weeks and had been preparing the exams for the students with the other professors for them to take in the next few weeks.

He looked up and along the rows. All of the desks were empty, except for one, which had a bright, attractive witch perched at it, shoving books back into a bag hurriedly. She looked up and smiled at him. He returned the smile and let his gaze travel along her arm as she put her quills and parchment in too. The ring on the third finger of her left hand sparkled where there was a white gold band and the lovely Snape diamonds and serpents carved into it.

'Well, Miss Granger, it appears you have completed your training,' he commented with a smirk. 'Whatever will you do with yourself now?'

She smiled at him and stood. 'Well, there is this wizard that I am highly attracted to, and I intend to take him home and shag him into the mattress,' she said in all but a purr. 'But only if he is interested, of course.'

'Why, Miss Granger, are you coming onto me?' he asked as she looped her arms around his waist.

'I would never, especially when I have my fiancé to go home to,' she whispered seductively into his ear, nipping and teasing his neck with her teeth and tongue for a moment.

'Why ever not? He'll never know,' he said suggestively.

'As I said, only if said wizard is interested, and up to it,' she said, dragging her hands down to his bum and squeezing gently. 'Or perhaps he's lacking a bit in stamina today, hmmm?'

'Never,' he said, wrapping his arms around her and Apparating them home.

--

'Hermione, this wine is wonderful! Wherever did you find it?' asked a drunken George Weasley from beside his just as intoxicated twin as they slurred and sung horrid Quidditch songs loudly.

She simply smiled and shook her head from where she was sitting, turning back to the conversation between her, Fleur, Ginny and Luna. Ron had eventually accepted the invitation after Luna had threatened to leave him if he didn't, and it had pleased Hermione that he was there, but they still had issues to resolve one day.

'So, the baby will be along very soon?' Luna asked Ginny as the Weasley women all cooed over her pregnant belly.

'Three months, but it seems so much longer than that,' Ginny exclaimed, beaming around at the women.

They all turned and watched as Severus and Harry approached them, chuckling at something one of them had said, and each dropped down to sit beside their women. Hermione stood and allowed him to sit before she snuggled firmly and comfortably into his lap and smiled in contentment. All of the men had been in the other room drinking, save for the twins, who had relocated with a lot of the booze and had gotten completely wasted in front of the fire.

They had decided to have the party at Severus' house in London because it was larger and more convenient for everyone else. Tonks was across the room, talking with many of the professors from Hogwarts like Minerva, Sinistra, Vector, Madame Pince and Pomfrey, Sprout and even little Flitwick, who had decided to gossip instead of drink. Smart man, that Filius, Snape thought.

Molly and Arthur were sitting and talking with Albus Dumbledore, and Severus' parents were near the coffee table sipping tea and playing cards. Meanwhile in the next room, the likes of Remus Lupin, Mundungus Fletcher, Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were playing drinking games. Severus had been in there too, but as more of a spectator than an actual participant.

He wrapped his arms around Hermione and rested one on her hip and the other on the flat plane of her belly. She rested a hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze, turning just that little bit to kiss him on the cheek while the conversations around them were drowned out by their love for each other.

'I think you're getting a little tired, my love,' he whispered when she yawned softly, covering her mouth as she did to muffle it.

'I might be, at that,' she said sleepily.

'Let's go to bed then. This lot knows how to find the door,' he suggested, shifting to get her off his lap to stand. 'Trust me, they will find it.'

She nodded in agreement and followed him as he led them up to his room. She kicked off her shoes and socks and took off her jeans, leaving her in knickers and a skin-tight tank top, as she climbed in between the silk sheets. She fell asleep almost instantly, and Snape went back downstairs to find that most of the Weasleys had gone, and the professors had dispersed to their own homes, and he told the men to take their drinking elsewhere. Only Albus, Molly and Arthur were left sitting by the fire.

'Thank you all for coming,' he said politely in a guarded voice. 'It really meant a great deal to both Hermione and me that you came.'

'Well, you both mean a great deal to us, so it's only right,' Molly said with a beaming smile. 'It's good to see you so happy, young man.'

'She's right you know, and thanks for the invite,' Arthur agreed, just before they Apparated away on the doorstep outside.

Albus smiled and patted him on the shoulder, giving him a fatherly clap on the shoulder. 'You've done well, my boy. I never thought I'd see the day where you were so content and happy with your life, but it seems even I can be proven wrong,' he said warmly with a chuckle. 'She is a wise choice, and she loves you very much.'

'I love her too,' Snape said with a smile.

'Well, don't keep her waiting for too long. She'll tire of you and then where will you be?' Albus joked. 'Thank you for the wonderful evening, Severus, and I look forward to seeing you and your wife at the wedding.'

'Thank you, Albus,' he said with a small smile.

'Take care of her, my boy,' Albus said just as he Apparated away.

Snape smiled and closed the door, turning to see his house in slight disarray. He waved his hand at the mess, and it all began to tidy itself up as he walked up the stairs. He stopped at his bedroom door and took a peek inside, only to see his Hermione asleep and curled up peacefully. He slipped in quietly and stripped off his shirt and pants, leaving him in only his boxers before he slipped in beside her and wound his arms around her. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

--

Hermione rushed blindly past the food waiting for her on the table, grabbing an apple as she ran through the door, only to be called back by an insistent male voice within the house.

'Now, just where do you think you were going, Hermione?' Snape asked in a low, reverberating voice.

She scowled at him. 'You know I have my last exams today,' she snipped huffily. 'And I have to get there soon, so I'd rather you hurried this along.'

He simply grinned and shrugged, moving forward quickly and kissing her on the cheek. 'Good luck with your tests, my love,' he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice before he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Hermione mentally kicked herself for not realizing earlier that he had just wanted to wish her well. He only ever tried to do everything for her. He had made her breakfast and had waited in the kitchen for her to make sure that he would be the first to say good morning and kiss her gently and encourage her to do her best. And all she had wanted to do was selfishly run off without considering his feelings.

She followed him out of the kitchen and stopped him on the stairs of his house, just before he could reach the top. 'I'm sorry, Severus. My nerves are just a bit frazzled, and I didn't mean to snap at you,' she apologized.

'I understand,' he answered simply.

Hermione sighed inwardly, knowing that she had blown it. 'I love you,' she said simply, giving him a tender kiss on the lips before hurrying down the stairs and out of the room for her exams.

Snape watched her retreat with mild interest, smiling and shaking his head. He really didn't mean to make her feel guilty like that, but he truly hated being neglected by her, just as she did whenever he became too focused on his research. Just as he was thinking about going to his study, he heard the beating of wings on air by the window and was there just in time to see an owl float inside and drop a letter on his head before hastily retreating.

Snape picked it up from the ground and broke the Aberdeen College seal, unfolding the enclosed letter.

--

Professor Snape,

Dean of Admissions, Aberdeen College

--

Snape read the page once more and decided that instead of writing back, he would go to the College that day and see this Janet Grey in person to discuss this job. He didn't think it sounded too bad, but he didn't want to press anything. Being the Head of a department was a huge job, but a well-paying one. He had no need for money. He was already one of the wealthiest wizards in Europe aside from his own father and the Malfoys. The only reason why he resumed teaching was because he didn't want the next generation to be complete dunderheads.

'Archimedes!' he called out to his owl from the study.

The bird hooted and flew into the room, accepting the notification of Snape's visit so that he didn't just rudely drop in. Besides, if he went there, he would be able to collect Hermione after her final exam and take her to the loveliest place in the whole of Europe when he found out that she had passed with flying colours. And he knew she would do it too. Hermione was capable of practically anything.

'Take this to the Dean,' he said as he attached the note to his foot and watched as it took off out the window.

Severus walked out of the study and into the kitchen to clean up. He waved his hand, and the dishes began washing on their own before drying and putting themselves away. He left that room and went upstairs to dress appropriately for a meeting with the Dean. He threw on his waistcoat and robes and left the house promptly, not wanting to be late for the meeting he had organized.

He Apparated to the administration blocks of the College and somehow managed to find his way to the right office, taking a seat to wait. He was summoned almost instantly.

'Professor?' said the skinny blonde assistant. 'The Dean will see you now.'

He stood and looked menacingly down his nose at her, revelling in that fact that he could still make people cower that way. 'Thank you,' he offered coolly before striding past her towards the door.

He opened the door and walked in to see a tall, voluptuous witch with straight honey-brown hair and bright green eyes sitting behind the desk. 'Dean Grey?' he asked with a furrowed brow.

'Professor Snape, you have no idea how glad I am to finally meet you,' she said with a lilt in her voice that sounded just like a seduction. 'Please call me Janet; we are colleagues after all.'

'Dean Grey,' he said, continuing to use her formal name. 'I came here to discuss with you the position you have offered me.'

'Alright, then have a seat,' she offered.

Snape took a seat warily, making sure that he did not give this so-called Dean of Aberdeen College the wrong idea. 'Please, I must insist that this meeting is short. I must go and collect my fiancée shortly,' he said with his mouth twitched into a grin.

'Oh... well, congratulations, Professor, I had no idea,' Janet offered with a pleasant smile, but flushed cheeks all the same. 'In any case, what were the issues you saw with taking on the Head of Department role?'

'I was wondering if the curriculum could be changed entirely, were I to take over the department?'

'Well of course you can, I daresay that curriculum hasn't been changed at all since the 1700s,' she answered immediately, beginning to fidget uncomfortably.

Sensing that the woman was sufficiently embarrassed for her opening lines, he decided to take pity on her and go to find his Hermione. 'Well, that is all I had to discuss with you. I will gladly accept the Head of Department role that has been offered.'

'Thank you, Professor Snape. We have been searching for a competent professor for years now. None of them have ever lasted for that long,' Janet said with a grateful sigh.

'If that is all...?' he said, letting the sentence trail off.

She stood up, looking all kinds of embarrassed and flustered, and offered him her hand. 'Right, well, I'm glad we have come to an arrangement,' she said, shaking his hand a little nervously and tucking her hair behind her ear self-consciously.

Snape swept out of the room quietly and passed through the rest of the administration block quickly, intent on arriving at Hermione's exam room before she finished. He looked at the sun as he walked outside and guessed that it was about midday from its position in the sky and remembered that she would finish at around ten minutes past the middle of the day and hastened himself. He reached the exam room shortly afterward and peered in through the window of the door to see said brunette writing intently.

Her pace was astounding to say the very least, and he had always wondered how she did it so neatly at such a speed. Checking the clock out in the hall, he saw that there were only two minutes left and counted down the time in anticipation, waiting for the doors to throw themselves open and for his newly graduated Potions Master to come out.

None of the rest of the class could have possibly hoped to pass after their shabby performance during the year. It would only be Hermione passing the exam, and he would have to re-write the curriculum to make it so that the dunderheads would learn something.

At 12:10 pm sharp the doors opened themselves and the scraping of chairs on the stone floor could be heard before the dribble of exhausted students filed out. Some of them were aware enough to be astounded to find their Potions professor standing just outside of the door when they usually only saw him on Wednesdays. But most of them passed without noticing.

All except for his Hermione, who, as soon as the rest of the class had passed on, threw herself into his arms in a tight yet exhausted embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and Apparated them home, holding her to him and guiding them into one of the chairs in the study. He sat on the couch with Hermione across his lap, hugging around his neck, face buried into his shoulder.

'How did it go?' he asked warily.

He heard her mumble something incoherently and patted her head lightly. 'You're going to have to speak up, love. I don't understand what you're trying to say,' he said gently.

She lifted her head just a bit and sighed. 'I said, I think it was good, but I may have gotten a few questions wrong in the written exam. I sort of blew it, but I suppose we'll know next week, won't we?' she said, straining to answer through her exhaustion, slumping against him.

'Indeed, my love. That we will,' he reassured her softly.

They sat there in blissful silence for much of the afternoon, and after dinner, they retired to their rooms for a passionate bout of love-making before they lay on their backs beside each other, spent and exhausted. Hermione rolled over and draped her arm across his chest gently and toyed with the sparse hairs of his chest.

'Severus?'

'Yes?' he asked back sleepily, capturing her hand and kissing her palm lightly.

'What are we going to do now?' she asked, looking up a little to gage his reaction to her casual question. 'I mean, I've finished my Potion Master's degree, but I don't know what to do.'

'I...' He paused, unsure of what to say. 'Perhaps it would be prudent for us to get married sometime soon?'

Hermione smiled brightly at the suggestion. 'Perhaps... you will allow me to work, won't you?' she asked, almost afraid to know the answer. 'I still have the Apothecary and the two degrees now, after all.'

'I wouldn't dream of trying to stop you from working,' he answered automatically. 'You are allowed to do whatever pleases you, and even as my wife, I would not make you do anything you do not wish to.'

She hugged him tighter. 'Thank you, Severus,' she murmured. 'I really do love you.'

'And I you, pet, and I you,' he said before sleep claimed them both.

But as they slept and while they were dreaming, Snape found that he had never been quite so happy in his entire life. He had the woman of his dreams, and she loved him too, and he knew that he would never be able to deny her anything. He watched her as she slept through squinting eyes and loved how her curly hair fell wildly around her shoulders and back.

He loved the flush of her skin from their amazing, mind-blowing sex earlier and the rise and fall of her chest as she slept, breathing with such seductive movements. Eventually, sleep found him, and he closed his eyes, tightening his arms around the woman he loved. She would be there in the morning, and for the first time in his life, he felt good about himself and what he was going to do.

He had taken a flying leap of faith, and it had paid off.

--

Fin.

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