THREE

A/N Thanks, peskipiksi, you have been awesome as I tried my hand at more than a one-shot!! Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing...

The warm Argentinean sun beamed down on the figures working in the orchard. It was a beautiful summer day, well suited to beginning the harvest of fragrant peaches. Later in the summer, apples and pears would be harvested from the modest orchards that nestled in the western part of the Rio Negro province. A good portion of the crop was crated up and shipped off to markets both domestic and worldwide. This provided a good living for the handful of people living on this remote plantation. The rest of the crop, the bruised and damaged fruits, held a special interest for the owners of Dos Mariposas fruit plantation and winery. From these fruits, so often overlooked and thrown away, were made the most delightful of cordials and wines. They were hand crafted and nurtured 'til ready for bottling, then sent out into the world a transformed creation.

Severus Snape wandered through the warehouse that held the small number of wooden barrels full of Dos Mariposas' finest and oldest vintages. As he mused on the thoughts that ran though his mind, he systematically checked different casks for readiness. He worked his way through to a small rack at the rear of the room. This one held only fifty small casks, each filled with aged brandy flavoured with the fruits of the plantation he co-owned. After tasting a sample from the test cask, he drew another small serving and quickly made his way out of the warehouse to the main house and office. A rare smile graced his face as he thought of the excitement that his wife would show when she tasted the results of their first attempt at flavouring and aging brandy.

When he reached the office, he found Hermione staring out of the French windows overlooking the lush patio garden. It wasn't until he drew by her side that he realized she wasn't enjoying the view; she was crying silently as she stared into the distance.

Severus quickly placed the small glass on the nearby desk and gathered Hermione into his arms, rocking her slowly as he whispered, "What's wrong, my love?"

Hermione turned into his chest and began to sob. After a period of tears and questions, she finally calmed down enough to answer.

"George sent an owl. You know Arthur was made Minister of Magic recently. Well, he found out something horrible." At this point Hermione broke down again and gestured wildly towards her desk and the scroll lying on the blotter.

"I can't..." she sobbed. "I can't; just read it..."

Severus nodded, sat in Hermione's chair and took the scroll off the desk. He bent his head to read, his lips moving silently as he read the missive from George.

Dear Hermione,

I know it has been a while since I've contacted you, but I am enjoying my travels so far. I finally returned home to the Burrow when I heard about Kingsley, and Dad being chosen as his replacement. But that isn't why I am writing. I need to know if I can let my dad know where you are. Hermione, I can't believe I have to tell you this in a letter, but your grandfather has been alive all this time. I know that wasn't the plan; Moody and his bunch didn't execute 'Snape' like we thought they were going to; they kidnapped him. And, yes, Harry was in on it. He and Moody changed the plan after they snatched 'Snape' as he was coming out of the courtroom. We missed it by less than fifteen minutes. They were in and out of the sentencing that fast. We were lucky we didn't get caught. But they hid him away in Azkaban, and no one ever knew. He was cut off from magic, but they were feeding him potions every day in his food. I suppose they wanted to make sure that he didn't get ill and die on them. Only reason Dad knows now is because he's the Minister, and there was an Unbreakable Vow involved. I don't know what else to say, but your grandfather died a week ago. That's how they found out Severus is still alive. Dad realized who it was when they went to retrieve what they thought was Severus' body. Hermione, Dad really wants to make this up to you by bringing Mr. Santiago home. We also understand if you can't see him -- Dad or your grandfather. I think Dad wants to know what has been going on all this time too. Harry and Ron have been suspended from the Auror Office for their part in this, and I've already told them that I wouldn't give up your location for anything. Of course, they sort of figured out that you at least know where Severus is, but Dad told them that they couldn't do anything about it. He made sure an official pardon was filed for Severus, so everything is fine there. I don't think that Harry will ever let it go, but as long as you stay where you are, you are both safe. Let me know what to do, Hermione... I owe you everything. And tell Severus I'm sorry we couldn't tell him how we got him away from the Ministry.

Love, George

Severus dropped the letter with a sigh then leaned back in the deep, leather chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and tried to wrap his mind around what he had just read.

"Oh, Hermione; what have you done? And WHY? Why did you do this just for me?"

Hermione rubbed her eyes and moved over behind the desk. She knelt on the floor beside Severus and took his hands in hers.

"How could we NOT save you? You gave up everything and did everything for all of us, while we treated you horribly and never gave you our trust. When we found out the truth, I couldn't stand by and let them destroy you because of hatred. That's what we fought against. What we died for..."

"But your grandfather? Why would you sacrifice him? I can't bear the thought of him taking my place," Severus interrupted.

Hermione squeezed his hands tighter as he tried to pull away from her. "No, you have to listen to me. This was Papa's plan. He only came to England to sign these orchards over to me. My grandmother had just died from a long illness, and Papa found out he had Alzheimer's disease. He was slowly losing his memory, and he was putting his affairs in order." Hermione's voice caught and she paused before taking a breath and continuing. "I think he was going to kill himself, and when the Death Eaters attacked, he was left like you saw him... empty."

Severus nodded, and some of the tension leached out of him as he grasped Hermione's hands more firmly, letting her know that he wasn't letting go now.

Hermione continued. "You know I managed to create a potion that allowed us to talk for short periods of time, and he worked out this plan. Of course, we thought that they were going to kill you, and Papa was willing to die. And I swore I would never talk about it. You were so ill when we got here; George and I thought you were going to die. I don't know how you survived as long as you did before your trial." Hermione began sobbing again, and Severus pulled her up into an embrace.

"I can't believe that anyone would go so far for me..."

"I have to bring him home, Severus; they tortured him for ten years; I have to bring him home."

"We will, my dear. I promise you that he will be buried here where you can be near him again."

Hermione suddenly looked up into Severus' face. "I love you; I don't regret one moment of our time together; I don't regret marrying you and I don't regret following my papa's plan. I know he would have done this even if he had known what would happen to him. Please don't ever think I regret you or us. I am sorry I never told you everything about your escape, but George and I swore to Papa we wouldn't."

"I love you, Hermione, and I am selfish enough to not regret anything between us either. I do regret that I never got to know your papa and that he didn't get to see your children grow up. Now, I have a suggestion."

With that, Severus stood and pulled Hermione up beside him. The glass he had set on the desk was was still sitting there, glowing amber in the sunlight that streamed through the open doors.

"Taste this, my dear. Our first aged fruit brandy."

Hermione swirled the liquid and took a small taste. A luminous smile graced her tear-stained face as she savoured the fruits of their labours.

"This is wonderful," she said.

"I agree." Severus smiled back at his wife. "I think we should name this brandy after your papa. We will remember him for giving us back everything we had lost."

"That's brilliant." Hermione tapped her finger on the side of the glass in her hand. "Why not just call it Dos Mariposas Santiago Reserve Brandy? That way it's a part of all of us. He always called me mariposita, you know: his little butterfly. And when we came here after everything that happened, that's what I felt we were: butterflies coming out of a cocoon. It would have been Tres Mariposas if George had stayed."

Severus and Hermione stood together in the door and watched the sun set on an eventful day. So much had happened, and so much more was to come, but they had each other, and for now that was enough.