Chapter 16: The Future of Science

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.

Many chocolates and hugs to DHLane for taking on the job as my beta for the last few chapters of this story.

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I have no dress except the one I wear every day. If you are going to be kind enough to give me one, please let it be practical and dark so that I can put it on afterwards to go to the laboratory.

– Marie Curie.

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Greenwich, Ipswich: 30th January, 2010

Snape frowned and ran a hand through his hair as he went over his calculations for the seventh time that morning. For some reason, it just wasn't working out on paper, even though their theory was relatively sound. He tossed his quill aside and rested his head in his hands, closing his eyes and rubbing a hand over them. He got up from his stool and walked upstairs to take a break.

He made himself a cup of tea in the kitchen and went through his post for the day, setting aside his bills and opening the paper. What he saw on the front page did not please him one bit. Plastered on the front page was a photo of himself and Hermione as the two of them walked side-by-side in Hogsmeade. They had not been touching, as they had hoped to keep their impending nuptials somewhat secret until after the wedding had taken place.

Apparently there would be no more need for discretion. Their engagement would be known to the entirety of the wizarding world by the end of the day.

Furious, he grabbed the paper and hauled himself out of his chair, going to the fireplace and lighting the flames before tossing some Floo powder in. He called out Hermione's name and sat back to wait for her response. Her head appeared in the flames moments later, looking confused by his angry expression and tone of voice as he had called her.

'Did I do something wrong, Severus?' she asked, her brow furrowed with worry.

'No, it was not you. Have you seen this morning's Daily Prophet?' he asked, his lips still tight with repressed anger.

'I haven't actually,' she replied. 'Give me a moment and I'll go get it and take a look.'

Snape nodded. Well, that explained why she had not immediately called him or expressed any sort of anger. He waited for a few minutes until her head finally reappeared in the flames. She looked annoyed, and huffed at him, shaking her head in resignation.

'Well, it's too late to take any of it back now, but I am thinking of filing a restraining order on all reporters and photographers for the Prophet,' she said seriously. 'If they can't come near us, they will have very little to report, will not be able to attend our wedding, and won't have any way of getting information about us, short of finding out from one of our friends.'

'How do you think they found out about the engagement in the first place?' he asked, trying to get her to see the bigger picture. 'One of our friends has either betrayed our trust, or they work for the Ministry and their mail was searched, our wedding invitation in there.'

'It couldn't have been that their mail was searched. I sent all of the invites to their homes,' Hermione replied.

'Then, we shall simply have to find our rat another way,' Snape said.

Hermione shook her head firmly then. 'No, Severus. We will not be asking all of the people we invited that question. To be honest, it is far too much effort. And secondly, if they were even talking about it in a public place and someone from the Prophet happened to be walking by or had been snooping around so they could overhear something, it wouldn't be entirely their fault.'

'Hermione, this is our privacy that is being invaded here...'

She shook her head once more. 'Look, step back so I can come through,' she said bossily, putting a stern expression on her face.

Snape did as she said reluctantly and waited for her to come through and the Floo connection to close. She stepped up to him immediately and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him so that he was forced to establish eye contact.

'Severus, this is one simple incident. We will file a report at the Ministry about the article, and I'll ask Harry if he can do a little digging around to find our who has been tailing us for the past few months,' she said, brushing his hair out of his face soothingly.

Snape nodded, deflating and allowing Hermione to comfort him. He always got wound up so easily. She led him back to his kitchen, and the two of them sat down to have a cup of tea.

'So, tell me how the calculations for the potion are going,' she said, blowing on her hot tea.

'I took a break from them because they were doing my head in, and then I came up to find the newspaper covered in photos of the two of us, which has simply given me a bigger headache,' he answered. 'Our theories are sound; I have just got to come up with the correct amount of the rhododendron to add to the potion, and ensure that the timing fits. After that, we can begin the brewing process and start testing to ensure that the potion is effective.'

'Excellent. I am looking forward to beginning the brewing,' she said with a jubilant smile. 'Is there anything that I can do to help before we need to start making it?'

Snape nodded. 'Actually, yes. We need unicorn blood, as you well know. And you are in a far better position to collect it than I am,' he said simply. 'You have never killed for the sake of killing before; therefore, a unicorn will be more likely to allow you to approach and ask for the blood.'

'Alright, I will send an Owl to Minerva tomorrow and ask her if I can stop by Hogwarts on the weekend some time,' she said, nodding. She appeared to be a little nervous, but Snape knew she would be strong and come through.

'That's my girl,' he said, leaning towards her and giving her a peck on the cheek. 'Now, how goes the cleaning and packing?'

Hermione smiled. 'I have managed to pack up my entire lab and the library. Everything I won't be using, I was hoping to store it in the attic and the shed here, but most of the things I have we can incorporate into the house,' she said. 'I'll be leaving the beds and most of the furniture there to include as part of the rental package for tenants, but that just means I'll be able to charge a higher premium.'

'That sounds like an excellent plan,' he said with a small smile. 'How long do you think it will be until you move here with me?'

'No more than a week from now,' she replied. 'I have very few personal belongings left to pack other than my clothing, but I will start bringing over boxes of my books and my lab gear.'

'I will make a space for you down in the lab for you to store all of your things, and I might even consider installing another bench along the far wall,' he said seriously.

Hermione beamed at him. He was pleased that despite all of the hiccoughs they had been experiencing in their plans, things were coming along rather nicely. Soon he would have Hermione living with him all of the time, and he wouldn't have to worry about her being alone in her house. He reached across the table and grasped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. His life had taken a very pleasant turn indeed.

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Greenwich, Ipswich: 14th February, 2010

Hermione looked over the table-planning chart once more and sighed. Ever since the location of their reception had been moved to a giant gazebo in the Weasleys' backyard, there had been an added layer of organising to do. After going over the number of people they had invited to the wedding who she and Severus would also be obliged to invite to the reception, hosting the event at Grimmauld Place was not an option any more. So, Molly and Arthur had offered the use of their residence to host the event, which Hermione had been forced to accept. She found it exceedingly hard to deny Molly Weasley when the older woman was set on an idea so strongly.

Sighing, she got up from her chair at the kitchen table and picked up the seating plan, taking it with her down to the lab.

She found Severus labouring over a steaming cauldron, his long hair tied back with a leather thong to keep it out of his face. He looked up from his chopping when he heard her enter the room and nodded at her in acknowledgment. Hermione knew he was a little too busy to speak for the moment, so she sat down on one of the stools and waited for him to finish.

He finished tipping the chopped ingredients into the cauldron and gave it three sharp turns to the left, setting the flame on a higher temperature before walking over to join Hermione at the bench.

'What can I help you with?' he asked, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

'I need help with the reception seating chart,' she answered. 'I don't know what to do about the people I know we can't seat together at the same table. There are too many different things to factor in, and it's making my head hurt. Honestly, potion-making is less stressful than social gatherings.'

'And this, my dear, is why I avoid getting involved in occasions such as this normally,' he said simply.

Hermione did not know why, but the way he voiced that set off something inside her. She was already wound pretty tightly from the stressful time she was going through, planning the wedding mostly by herself along with all of the general tasks that were being taken care of by the wedding planner. It was the finer details that were grating on Hermione's nerves. And just something about the flippant way Snape had dismissed her irritation made her annoyance with him expand.

'You know, I might be a little less stressed if you were to have a little more input into this wedding,' she said tersely. 'I know you think you did the hard part asking me to marry you, but there is a lot more involved than just getting on bended knee and popping the question.'

Snape frowned in confusion. 'Hermione, I don't understand where this has come from,' he said, sounding a little annoyed. 'I have never refused you any request you have made of me. I do not read minds – not even yours. If there is something you wish for me to do so far as our wedding plans are concerned, I would be happy to oblige you. However, as I was under the impression that you wanted to be in charge of planning, I was also under the impression that you would know to bring errands and jobs you need completed to my attention.'

Hermione sat back on her stool, looking down at her hands and feeling sheepish. She looked up at him and was saddened by the look of annoyance etched across his features. She felt something of a pout coming on, but held it back, determined to behave like an adult.

'I'm sorry, Severus,' she murmured, looking back down at her hands.

He sighed heavily, and Hermione felt him put his hand on her shoulder, letting it slip around the back of her neck and travel up into her hair. He massaged the back of her head and neck, using his free hand to tilt her face up to look at him. He no longer wore his annoyed expression.

'I will make certain to ask after the wedding plans a little more often, pet,' he told her seriously. 'But you must also agree to ask me to do things instead of wearing yourself out and losing your cool like you did just before.'

'I agree,' she said, smiling up at him.

She really needed to learn to rely on others more often, or she would surely lose her mind before long. With that thought in mind, the two of them sat down together and went over the seating chart.

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Diagon Alley, London: 18th February, 2010

Hermione walked along the cobblestone road that was Diagon Alley with Ginny and Luna walking along behind her, chatting away about something that had been in The Quibbler.

Much as she loved both of her two closest female friends, spending as much time with them as she had been as the wedding drew closer and closer made her feel like she was being smothered. It was strange. She spent a lot of her time with Snape, and yet, she never felt uncomfortable with spending hours with him, day after day. Not once since she had moved to live with him had they clashed or gotten in each other's way. This pleased her – it was the way things should be.

She was brought out of her musings by Ginny, who grabbed her by the arm and practically dragged her inside a shop she had been about to pass.

'You nearly walked right past it!' the younger woman exclaimed. 'We're here on a mission! We promised Severus we'd find you the perfect robes.'

Hermione rolled her eyes. Really, they were just wedding robes. 'I don't want anything overly fancy,' she said, looking back and forth between both women. 'I need your counsel – nothing with too much lace or silly bows or anything gaudy or extravagant.'

'Silly, that is what the seamstress is for,' Ginny scolded. 'We're only here to coo and gasp as you are paraded around the shop in white.'

'I really would prefer something in cream or ivory,' she said as the walked towards the counter at the back of the shop. It had been a long time since she had been to Madam Malkin's.

'It's not very traditional to wear anything other than white,' Luna said, looking around the shop dreamily. 'What colour shall we be wearing?'

Hermione smiled. 'I'll have you both in different colours, and the groomsmen will dress all in black, save for the kerchief and the tie which will be the two colours I choose for bridesmaid robes,' she answered. 'I wanted to see you wear blue, Ginny. It will bring out your eyes. And Luna, it'll be purple for you.'

Both of them seemed to be pleased with her choices. They found the front desk unattended, and so Luna picked up the bell and gave it a small ring. Moments later, a short, slightly portly woman bustled out from the back room with a smile on her face. Hermione was vaguely reminded of Molly Weasley, save for the woman's colouring and face.

'Ladies, how can I be of service?' she asked politely.

'I am looking to procure a set of wedding robes, and two for the ladies in my wedding party also,' Hermione answered. 'I'll be needing blue for Ginny with the red hair over there, and purple for Luna.'

'Excellent,' the woman said. 'I suggest we begin with the bride. What style and colour do you favour?'

'I was thinking I would like to wear ivory robes instead of white. I like square, wide-necked dresses and robes – and something simple, but beautiful.'

'I have just the thing!' she announced excitedly, bustling quickly back into the spare room out the back. She returned moments later with what appeared to be robes encased in protective wrapping. They opened it up and spread it over the counter. It had a square neckline with a simple Celtic pattern embroidered around it with three-quarter length sleeves that had the same pattern around the edges. The robes came in two parts: a long, light ivory silk slip to be worn on the inside almost like a dress with no sleeves or straps, and a shorter "jacket" in a slightly darker shade with embroidery along all of the edges.

'It's perfect,' Hermione said, gaping at it inelegantly. 'Whatever is something like this doing in storage?'

'We had a line of less successful period wedding pieces back two years ago when historical dress came into fashion. This was modelled after medieval wedding attire,' the sales witch answered. 'It wouldn't suit just anyone, but if you try it on, we might just find that it will suit you nicely.'

Hermione nodded and took the dress into the changing rooms. Luna and Ginny sat down excitedly outside, waiting as she stripped out of her jeans and sweater before assembling both parts of the robes on her. She noticed it was a little loose in the chest area and around the waist and was a touch too long as well. She sighed and cleared her throat, walking out of the cubicle to show everyone else.

Ginny's eyes nearly fell out of her head. 'It's perfect, Hermione!' she exclaimed while Luna nodded enthusiastically in the background.

'You don't think it's too simple?' Hermione asked.

The sales witch bustled over then and began waving her wand, prodding and poking the dress in places to take it in at the waist and chest and to shorten the ensemble slightly. When she stepped back, the dress felt a lot more comfortable and the lady nodded in satisfaction.

'Indeed very pretty,' she said with a small smile.

Hermione knew there was only one thing for it. She would buy the dress so that the whole sordid affair of buying clothing would be over. She went back to the changing rooms to get out of the robes and back into her normal clothing and brought the robes back out to the counter, gently placing it down.

'I'll take it,' she said, and the woman nodded and began wrapping it, preparing it for her to take with her.

A few moments later, they were sitting down as they waited for Ginny to try on the first of what promised to be many different outfits. Hermione sighed heavily, dreading more hours of shopping. It was going to be a very long afternoon.

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To be continued.