TWO

Thank you to my beta, peskipiksi!

"You look worn out, my dear," Severus said as he joined his wife on the veranda.

Hermione nodded slightly, as she leaned back into his embrace. "I am a bit."

Warm arms cradled Hermione gently, yet securely, shoring up her rapidly dwindling energy. It had been a long day, indeed. Carlos Santiago had finally been brought home to rest with his beloved wife, Cordelia. The solitary grave had always looked so sad and lonely to Hermione that it hurt her to visit. Now, her grandparents were together and everything was at peace.

"May I ask something about your grandmother?" Severus questioned after a bit of shared silence. "I have been puzzled for a long time, but why is her name Welsh? I wouldn't have expected anything not completely Spanish."

Hermione laughed softly. "Ahhh... Well you see, Grandmother was born and raised here in Argentina, but she was completely Welsh. Her grandmother and grandfather emigrated from Wales. They lived in the main Welsh area south of here, but her mum and dad moved to the Rio Negro area. They eventually bought the orchards here and settled down. Grandmother met Papa in Buenos Aires when she went with her father to the markets there. Papa said he fell in love instantly and came to work for her family so they could be together." Hermione sniffled a little. "I always thought that was the most romantic story... "

Severus mused over this answer and then asked, "How did your mother and father meet?"

"Oh, mum got ill when she was small and Papa and Grandmother brought her to England for treatment. She always wanted to go back and decided to move to London for college. She met dad at medical school, and as they say, the rest is history."

Hermione turned in Severus' arms and hugged him tightly. "I am glad Mum chose college in London. Everything has been worth finding you and this life."

"I don't know if I would have chosen this path, but I can't disagree with the outcome. I never thought I would find happiness, Hermione, and I must admit I am more indebted to your papa than I could ever repay."

Another tight hug was his answer, and the two stood in silence again watching the sun fade quickly from the sky. He could feel her beginning to withdraw again and chose to disturb the quiet to keep her from completely turning in on herself. "The ceremony was beautiful; your papa would be pleased, I think."

Hermione smiled sadly at her husband. "Yes," she sighed.

Severus tightened his embrace. "What's troubling you, my love? "

"I don't know." She shook her head. "It's silly, really."

"Talk to me, love; nothing can be that bad, and I can't help if I don't know what you need." Severus encouraged Hermione to continue.

She sighed deeply again. "It's just that now I have no one to call me mariposita any more. I mean, Papa's been gone for years, but it was always like he was coming back one day. Now, he really is gone... forever."

Severus held Hermione close as she sobbed out her grief. He stroked her back tenderly waiting for her crying to quieten. As her tears eased, he spoke to her softly. "Hermione, I can't -- I won't call you mariposita; that was your papa's place and his name for you. But I can call you my heart." He took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "Everyone always thought I was heartless, but they were wrong. I simply chose to conceal that part of me. I was hurt once, and I swore I would never do that to myself again. At least, not until the time was right. I realised you were the one when you came to me before my trial. No one had ever done anything for me before, not without strings. You are the first person in my life to do something for me just because you wanted to. You are my heart, mi corazon, if you prefer tradition. Mi corazon, no longer hidden, no longer alone..."

"You want to call me by a nickname and in Spanish, no less?" Hermione's eyes welled with tears at the implications.

Severus rolled his eyes and snorted softly. "My dear, you are doing a splendid job of imitating a watering can. I beg you, cease."

Hermione's snuffling was broken by a watery giggle. "I love you," she said. "I hope you know I wasn't intentionally teasing you. I just can't tell you what it means that you are willing to unbend so much to make me happy." She looked up at Severus' face and wrinkled her nose. "I know how you feel about nicknames and about silly things in general."

Severus merely shrugged and said, "You complete me. That is all I need to know. Everything else is just details."

He sealed this declaration with a gentle press of his lips to hers. For a long moment, both held on to this sweet touch, but it soon became heated. Lips and tongues dueled and caressed, fired and soothed. Fingertips explored and teased, tantalized and aroused. They broke away from each breathlessly, and Hermione suggested they retire to their bedroom. They made their way from the veranda into the office only stopping briefly for a steamy kiss. Hermione moaned softly and pulled back. "Please, Severus, no more waiting. Take me to bed."

Severus chuckled lightly and swept Hermione into his arms. "As you wish, mi corazon." She laughed delightedly when he began to press kisses onto her lips and throat as he strode boldly up the stairs. Reaching their room, Severus set Hermione on the floor, and he wasted no time in ridding her of the ceremonial robes she was still wearing. "You are beautiful, love. I am truly blessed that you chose to share your life with me."

Hermione reached up and caressed his face. "There was never a doubt in my mind, my love. You have done nothing but protect me for as long as I can remember. Besides, Papa thought very highly of you after only one meeting and that is all I needed to know." She ran her fingers through his hair, fingers scratching at the nape of his neck before pulling him down into another fiery embrace. He opened his mouth against her assault, and again the passion ignited between them. Severus could feel the trembling of Hermione's body as he dragged his lips from her mouth to her throat and its sensitive hollow.

"Hermione, bed, now." Severus groaned.

A whispered Nox and a groan of her own was Hermione's answer.

*****

The next day, the exhausted couple finally made their way downstairs, Hermione to the office and Severus to the kitchens. He quickly put together an impromptu picnic and then followed his wife to the office. "I hope you aren't too hungry, love. We don't have much other than fruit and tea. I believe it is time to visit the shops."

Levitating the tray to the tea table in front of the windows, he turned to find Hermione staring at the newspaper. At first, he thought she was laughing, but Severus quickly realized that it was sobs shaking Hermione's shoulders. He moved swiftly to her side and took the paper in one hand, wrapping his other arm around her. "Sit; drink this," he demanded curtly, pouring a cup of tea and pushing into Hermione's hand. "What's wrong? It isn't Arthur or George?"

Hermione caught her breath and took a drink of tea then shook her head. "Read it, please. Aloud -- I didn't get past the headline."

Severus nodded, opened the paper and took his own deep breath. The Daily Prophet wasn't something that the Snapes usually subscribed to, but George would have Arthur owl copies or he would bring them when he visited if there were important happenings in the paper. This headline was enough to throw the Wizarding World into a furore for sure, and Severus began wondering how their lives would change from here.

'Aurors Potter and Weasley Sentenced to Azkaban'

Magella Wolfswift reporting --

The Wizarding World was shocked today when Minister of Magic Arthur Weasley announced that Harry Potter and his partner, together two thirds of the Golden Trio, were sentenced to a term in Azkaban. This comes on the heels of reports that a Dark Artifact smuggling ring had merged with a Muggle drug operation. The Statute of Secrecy was broken, and several Muggles were killed in a raid that went wrong. Aurors Potter and Weasley, lead Aurors in the magical investigation, took full responsibility for the disasterous happenings. When asked about having to punish both his son and the Boy Who Lived, Minister Weasley was quoted as saying, "No one is above the law. Isn't that why we fought against You Know Who? Aurors Potter and Weasley willingly submitted to the punishment demanded by our laws and those of the Muggle Authorities." We will follow this story and and see of the Minister is as steadfast as he says when his son and son-in-law are locked in a cell.

Severus finished reading the story and looked at his wife. She had stopped crying, but tears still welled in her eyes. "Arthur did this for me, didn't he? We would have heard about any incidents involving the Muggle world. He said he would make sure that Papa would be given the justice he deserved."

"I don't know. We knew that in order to bring your grandfather's body home with no questions, Arthur had to let the Governing Council of the Wizengamot know everything that happened. It is possible that they are behind this."

"Oh, but I feel so bad." Hermione began crying again. "I should have tried harder to talk to Harry and Ron. There has to have been something I could have done... "

Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew that whatever he said now could potentially hurt Hermione and he didn't want that, no matter what. He sat beside her, grasping her hand lightly as she got herself under control. "Hermione, there was nothing that you could ever have done to change what happened. Potter was always suspicious of me, and Weasley followed along with Potter no matter what. And I did kill the Headmaster, even if I didn't want to. I have come to terms with my past, mostly because of you, and I don't want to see you dwelling on what could have been. All that will do is destroy you."

Hermione nodded and squeezed Severus' hand. "You're right, but it breaks my heart to know that if I had only tried harder, Papa wouldn't have been trapped in Azkaban and you might never have been so ill."

"You did all that you could. Potter always was hot-headed and stubborn."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Severus cut her off. "Hermione, I know I wasn't the easiest teacher OR person to be around, but you can't pretend that Potter tried to be any better. He was given leeway to do things for which any other student would have been expelled. He never took responsibility for anything."

"I know. I didn't always agree with what the boys did, but I followed along for damage control. They never had a plan, just rushed headlong into the fray every time." Hermione shuddered at the memories that came flooding over her.

"All right, that's enough of that. We need to move on to other things. I will Floo-call Arthur and let him know we saw the paper. Perhaps he can come to visit soon and tell us exactly what's going on. For now, let's just carry on as normal. Starting with you eating your breakfast."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pinched a peach from the basket on the table. "Yes, dear," she drawled.

*****

Three weeks later found Hermione and Severus waiting for Arthur to pay them a visit. His schedule had been so full as a result of Harry and Ron's incarceration that it had taken him weeks to sneak away. The fire in their office flared green, and Arthur stepped through in a shower of soot and a flurry of sneezes. "Ahhhchoo, pardon; I always manage to stir up too much soot!"

Hermione just laughed and waved her wand, cleaning both the carpet and the Minister and reached out to hug the man she considered a second father. "Oh, Mr. Weasley, it's so good to see you. Welcome back to Argentina."

Arthur embraced Hermione back matching her enthusiasm. "Hermione, it's Arthur, and I am thrilled to be back. Maybe this time I can see more of your winery and orchards?"

Hermione nodded, eyes sparkling. "Oh, yes, I would love to show you around and I am sure Severus might even be persuaded to let you sample some of the brandies."

Arthur rubbed his hands together gleefully. "That sounds a treat, but let's get this other business out of the way first. I want to have as pleasant a visit as I can. First, I apologise for not making it here for your grandfather's funeral. Dealings with the War Crime Committee and the Governing Council have been quite heavy recently. Secondly, I wanted you to know that I would have broken my vow and told the Wizarding World the details of what happened this past ten years, but the Council decided that we should punish the boys without destroying everything we have built since Voldemort's fall."

Severus nodded in agreement. "True, if it came out that the destroyer of the Dark Lord was edging towards using his methods, even in only one situation, all the good we had done would be for naught."

"I wanted to be the one to tell you that Harry still maintains that you are guilty of murder and whatever else he can think of, Severus. He told me that he would prove it when he got out of prison. I just wanted to warn you."

"Severus was exonerated; Harry needs to let go of the past," said Hermione huffily.

"Yes, but you know how determined he can be. Now, you show me this empire George is always going on about, and let me tell you about the family..."