That first night ...

A/N: Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

III. That First Night ...

Present day

As they once again ate dinner after the theater, chatting about the performances and comparing this version to the one they had seen nine years ago, Severus marveled at how far they had come since that first night together as true husband and wife. Hermione must have caught something in his eye – she was much better at reading minuscule changes in his expressions than she had been back then – because she stopped mid-sentence and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

He gave her a half-smile. "I was just remembering that first night together."

"You're feeling rather nostalgic tonight, aren't you?" she laughed. "Whatever made you think of that fiasco?"

"Serena was asking me earlier about anniversaries and why we got married."

"She was? What did you tell her?"

"The palatable version of the truth, of course."

Hermione smiled, and he knew she was thinking of a particularly hormonal meltdown during her pregnancy, when she had wailed that she wouldn't know what to say when their daughter asked about the beginning of their relationship. Severus had done his best to soothe her, telling her that the story didn't sound so bad when told properly. When she had sniffed and said she didn't want to make a habit of lying to her child, he had told her the story, without a single outright falsehood, in a way that sounded rather more romantic than miserable.

Hermione laughed suddenly. "Thank Merlin children never want to know about their parents' sex lives!" she exclaimed. "That first night ..."

"I know," Severus said ruefully.

Nine years – well, technically, eight years plus three hundred sixty-four days – earlier

They arrived back from the theater shortly after midnight, and immediately, everything felt incredibly awkward. The rather comfortable way they had developed of dealing with one another disappeared, and they looked at each other uncertainly.

Severus suddenly felt like an inexperienced adolescent hoping this was the night he would lose his virginity. Strangely, he felt a bit better when Hermione blurted, "Well, how shall we begin, then?"

Amused, Severus said formally, "Kissing is where most people start, I believe."

"Right," Hermione said, and then stretched up to kiss him so suddenly that he was caught off guard and banged his nose on her forehead. Unfortunately, it started bleeding. "Sorry," Hermione said, looking chagrined. "Guess you weren't quite ready." She waved her wand and an ice pack appeared. Handy trick, that, Severus thought, suddenly rather pleased that he had chosen a Charms Mistress for his wife.

"No, apparently not," Severus said, squeezing his nose with one hand until Hermione brushed it away and replaced it with the ice pack.

"Sit down, Severus," she said, nudging him toward an armchair. "Relax. We'll get this sorted and then have the rest of the night." He sat.

They got the nosebleed to stop, and with a bit more practice, the kissing was going along splendidly. Hermione moved onto Severus's lap, and his cock began enthusiastically waving its support for this new activity. Everything, in fact, seemed to be going splendidly, despite the rocky beginning, and Severus tentatively moved his hand to cup her breast. Hermione turned slightly, seemingly to grant him easier access, then suddenly pulled back to yell, "OW!"

"What? What is it?" Severus asked, panicked. He was hardly even touching her – how had he hurt her? Was he moving too fast?

"My hair!" Hermione said, thankfully more quietly, though her tone was strained. "I think it's caught in your buttons." Glancing down, he saw she was right. He couldn't imagine how that had happened, but there it was.

It took them ten minutes, in which Hermione grew increasingly bossy and Severus increasingly irritated, before her hair was finally free. They stared at one another for a minute before Severus said formally, "Might I suggest moving this to a bed and removing our clothing before we continue?"

Hermione giggled, and just like that, the mood relaxed again. "Good idea. Between my hair and your hundreds of buttons, we're a menace."

He felt his lip twitch in response. "Apparently so." Hermione stood, grabbed his hand, and tugged him to his feet. He willingly followed her to the bedroom, unbuttoning his coat and shirt as they went. He wondered why she wasn't doing the same, then realized she must have used magic to zip herself into her dress, as the zipper was in back and unless she was some sort of contortionist, she wouldn't have been able to reach it. He shrugged out of his coat and shirt, then stepped up behind her. "Allow me," he murmured, beginning to ease the zipper down as he kissed her neck.

Moments later, he realized he should have watched what he was doing. The zipper, currently right in the middle of Hermione's back, seemed hopelessly snagged and unwilling to move in either direction. When she realized what was happening, Hermione groaned and put her face in her hands. "Maybe this is a sign," she moaned, her voice slightly muffled by her hands.

No! She can't back out when we're so close to ... "It's not a sign," Severus said firmly. "If we allowed it to be a sign, that would be like admitting Divination might have some merit. You wouldn't want Sibyll to have that sort of victory, would you?"

"Nooo," Hermione admitted, dropping her hands and glancing back at him. "But you have to admit, this isn't going as smoothly as one might hope."

Severus shrugged. "When does anything, really? We'll get there, and everything will be fine." As if to prove his words, the zipper suddenly sprang free. He smirked at her. "See? If you want to believe in signs, believe that one!" Fortunately, the zipper had continued downward rather than moving back up.

Hermione grinned. "You're just horny now, aren't you?"

Severus saw no harm in admitting it. "Naturally. Up until a few moments ago, I had an attractive, willing witch squirming around on my lap, which has led me to hope that in a few more moments, I'll have an attractive, willing woman rolling around with me in our bed. Show me a wizard who wouldn't be turned on by that, and I'll show you a gay wizard."

Hermione laughed, seemingly pleased, and let her dress fall from her shoulders to pool at her feet. Severus had the urge to pick her up and toss her on the bed. He quickly unfastened his trousers and let them fall to his feet, then stepped forward, pushing her gently back onto the bed.

Things were progressing very nicely until a very unwelcome voice sounded from the Floo. "Severus?" the voice called. "Are you there? Severus?" Severus groaned, then banged his forehead repeatedly on the pillow next to Hermione's head.

"Do you think she'll believe we aren't here?" Severus murmured in Hermione's ear.

"At this hour on a school night? Not likely – she knows you too well. And it's probably important, so you'd better see what she wants." It technically wasn't a school night, of course, being Friday, but he was scheduled to chaperone a Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow, so her point applied anyway.

"Coming, Minerva," Severus called. He stood and grabbed his dressing gown. Hermione likewise stood and began putting on his shirt. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "Do you want her to know what she interrupted?"

"Yes, actually, I do," Hermione hissed back. "It can't hurt when they start investigating our marriage, can it?"

He couldn't argue that point, he supposed. "Fine, then. But button that up before you come out." He headed back into the sitting room. "You've caught me at a rather inopportune moment, Minerva. I assume this is urgent?" Hermione drifted out of the bedroom, still buttoning his shirt. Severus absently noted that it did more for her, visually speaking, than it ever had for him; he resolved to encourage her to wear it around their quarters frequently. He could always say one never knew when someone would Floo, who could then bear witness to how very real their marriage was ...

He realized Minerva had been speaking while he had been ogling his wife when she asked impatiently, "Severus, have you heard anything I just said?"

"No," he admitted. "As I said, we were in the middle of something. It's taking me a moment to regroup." Minerva flushed with embarrassment and greeted Hermione, who had by now tucked herself under Severus's arm and was snuggling up against his side.

"I apologize, Hermione," Minerva said gamely. "As I was saying, I need to borrow your husband for a bit. Two of his students were caught out after curfew, and I can't get them to confess what they were doing. They were lurking near Argus's office, and now Argus can't find Mrs. Norris, so he's beside himself. I'm sorry, Severus, but perhaps you'll have a bit more luck than I've had."

Severus sighed. Sometimes, his life seemed like a great cosmic joke. "All right, Minerva, I'll be right there." She disappeared, and Severus turned to Hermione. "Please tell me we can pick this up when I return. Or are you hoping that Minerva's testimony will obviate the need for us to actually have sex?"

"No, of course not!" Hermione said, as though it should be obvious. "Her testimony will be helpful, of course, but it doesn't negate my mother's point, does it?" She shook her head. "I'll be waiting in your bed – naked – so do hurry, please."

Severus groaned and dropped a kiss on her lips. He summoned his trousers and coat, then said, "I believe I'll need that shirt you're wearing, madam, although I admit it looks significantly more interesting on you."

She gave him a cheeky grin and began unbuttoning the shirt. He quickly donned his trousers, then waited as she slipped the shirt from her shoulders and handed it to him. As he put it on, he realized it had absorbed her scent, and his erection, which had subsided while he spoke with Minerva, reasserted itself forcefully. For the first time ever, he seriously contemplated murdering students. It didn't help that Hermione was now sashaying, stark naked, toward the bedroom, calling over her shoulder, "Minerva's waiting, dear."

Half an hour later, Severus had sorted everything to his satisfaction. Of course, the miscreants had lost Slytherin five hundred and sixty points, and earned themselves twenty-eight days of detention due to their stubbornness. He had arrived in Minerva's office, seen the usual two culprits (one of Zabini's young cousins and his best friend, Alexander Nott), and said, "Your misbehavior has pulled me away from my wife in the middle of the night. You will lose ten points from Slytherin and earn a day of detention with Mr. Filch for each and every minute this takes, beginning now." He looked at the clock, which read one-thirty-two a.m.

They had stared at him in shock, probably because he had never been so strict or so punitive with anyone in their house before, no matter what they might have done. And he had always removed his students from the Headmistress's presence when punishment was called for.

He said, "I'm waiting." He glanced pointedly at the clock. "I believe that's twenty points and one detention." They sputtered in protest, and he said, "Oh, did I fail to mention it would be ten points each per minute?"

They both started talking so fast that he had to stop them to understand what they were saying. Mrs. Norris was restored to Mr. Filch and the boys returned to their dormitory in record time. Minerva had seemed rather impressed with his efficiency. Severus could only hope this didn't mean he'd get more late-night Floo calls.

When he stepped into his bedroom, his eyes immediately sought his wife. They found her, and she was naked, but unfortunately, she was also sound asleep. He debated waking her, but decided that after a year of marriage, a few more hours wouldn't make much difference.

He was definitely going to pick up where he had left off in first thing in the morning, though.