Chapter 19: Experimenting With 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.

Hugs and chocolate go to DHLane for all of her help as my beta.

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It is my earnest desire that some of you should carry on this scientific work and keep for your ambition the determination to make a permanent contribution to science

– Marie Curie.

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Greenwich, Ipswich: 5th April, 2010

'Damn it all to hell!' Snape cursed, tossing down his stirring rod and immediately storming out of the lab and up the stairs, not even pausing to look at Hermione who gazed after him in surprise, shocked by his sudden outburst.

She went over to his workspace and picked up the rod, cleaning it and looking into the cauldron Snape had been using. Inside, the potion was black as night, and she could see from the glass slides with some of the blood samples he had been testing with that there was no change. She used the microscope they had acquired to more thoroughly inspect the slides and could see exactly why her husband was in such a state of irritation. The potion had been a failure, and they would have to start a new brew and yet again alter their potion method.

She put a spell over the area of the bench where the potion was sitting and went upstairs to find her husband. When she reached the top of the staircase, she closed the door and was immediately greeted by Markl. Her little black Kneazle wound himself around her legs, rubbing up against her jeans. She bent down and picked him up, cradling him to her as she walked through the first floor of the house. She didn't find Snape anywhere downstairs, so she went up to the next floor and found him sitting sullenly in his armchair next to the window.

She entered the room and walked over to join him, plopping Markl into his lap and sitting on the ledge of the windowsill.

'I know you're frustrated, but we still have plenty of time – our whole lives, in fact, to make this potion a success. I am just as disappointed as you that it didn't work out this time around, but Severus, we've only really done three proper trials. There will be many more to come,' she said, reaching out to brush his hair behind his ear.

'I know my frustration seems ridiculous,' he said, idly scratching Markl behind the ear as he petted him, and the little kitten purred. 'I grow impatient. It is something very important to me, and to you. I hate to see us fail.'

'We haven't failed yet,' she said seriously, putting her hand on Snape's chin and tilting his face up to look at hers. 'We will simply try again. I will not just give up on this project because of a few little hiccoughs.'

He sighed heavily and nodded, dislodging her hand. 'I will try again with you, make no mistake of that, Hermione,' he said quietly. 'You know I have something of a temper on me from time to time. I lose it occasionally.'

Hermione chuckled softly. 'I know you lose your temper,' she replied, leaning forwards to kiss him on the forehead. 'I also know you try your very hardest not to.'

He offered her a small smile, picked up Markl from his lap and placed him back on the chair after he pulled himself into a standing position. He grabbed Hermione's hand and led the way back down to the lab so they could clean up his workspace and keep a sample of their failed potion. Hermione was given the task of bottling and labelling the samples while Snape manually scrubbed the used cauldron.

When they were finished with that, they bottled their brain regeneration potion that Hermione had been working on. It was labelled it so they could send it by owl post the next day to the various hospitals it was required for. When they had finished cleaning up that cauldron, the pair returned upstairs to find that the sun had already gone down, and it was almost 7 o'clock at night.

Hermione sent Snape upstairs to bathe while she headed to the kitchen and started to find things with which to make dinner. She settled on bacon and corn chowder with fresh-baked chilli and rosemary cornbread and immediately set to work on it. After 40 minutes, the kitchen was filled with the aromas of the cornbread as it cooled on the bench in its pan, and the chowder as it bubbled away on the stove. Snape entered the kitchen and inhaled deeply before smiling at her in gratitude.

'Thank you, pet. It smells delicious. I detect rosemary,' he said, walking over to join her in front of the pot on the stove. 'A very American-inspired meal.'

'It's a very southern dish,' she replied, whipping out her wand and tapping the pot so that some of the corn, bacon and potato would blend and thicken the soup.

Snape went over to attend to the cornbread, turning it out of the pan and slicing it up so that they could eat it paired together. He set the table and directed Hermione into a chair before proceeding to ladle the soup into bowls and send them floating to the table while he carried over the cornbread himself. She smiled to herself. He was still as chivalrous as ever, even after the usual probationary polite stage most couples went through in their relationships. But then again, Snape was not exactly the most conventional or even normal man around.

'Thank you for making us this beautiful meal,' he said, raising his glass of pumpkin juice to her in a salute.

Hermione raised her own glass, and they touched them together lightly before beginning to eat. They ate in companionable silence, both too engrossed in their own thoughts to be offended by the other. It was the beauty of being in a relationship with Severus Snape, as far as Hermione was concerned. He didn't mind it when she used her brain, unlike many of her schoolmates at Hogwarts, and through her primary education in the Muggle world. He actually liked being involved with an intelligent woman and was not intimidated by her accomplishments, like most men were, because he was just as accomplished, if not more so, himself.

After she finished eating, the two cleared the table, and Snape set about washing the dishes while Hermione made her way up to the bathroom to take a shower. When she got there, however, she realised her hair was exceptionally dirty from working all day and that her muscles ached slightly. She drew a bath instead and slid into the hot water, hissing as the pleasant sensation of her muscles relaxing went through her. After about 15 minutes, she heard a knock on the doorframe and looked up to see her husband standing in the doorway, admiring her relaxed form.

'I apologise for my overreaction earlier,' he said, strolling in and seating himself on the edge of the bathtub, his shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows.

'Apology accepted,' she replied, reaching a wet, soapy finger up to tap the pointed end of his long nose. 'Now, could you possibly wash my back for me?'

He smirked at her and picked up her rough sponge, lathering it up with body wash and applying it to her back. He washed and conditioned her hair for her also, massaging her scalp as he did so with his long, dexterous fingers. After he was finished, she stepped into the shower to rinse off and emptied the bath before grabbing a fluffy towel to dry off with, allowing her husband to lead her to bed for other "scientific observations and experiments" or so he said.

Hermione didn't care a whit what he called it and willingly allowed their night to turn to more amorous distractions, the Lycanthropy potion the furthest thing from their minds.

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Newtown, Reading: April 10th, 2010

Hermione grasped Snape's hand and tugged him along behind her. He was being slightly petulant about having to visit with the Potters that afternoon, although she could relate somewhat – they had made some progress with their Lycanthropy brewing project, and she was as loathe as he to tear away from it. However, she had already agreed a week beforehand that she would be bringing Snape by with her for dinner at the Potter household, and it would have been rude to her friends to withdraw their acceptance now.

They trudged together up the Potters' backyard, heading towards the house as Hermione usually did. Snape beside her, felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of simply Apparating into their backyard, but she then explained to him that if they didn't, Harry would most likely take it the wrong way and feel insulted.

And so, Snape had reluctantly agreed to the outing, and Hermione had laid out his nice black trousers and a green shirt and told him to be ready to leave for their house by five in the evening. She knocked briefly on the back door, and let herself in as usual, tugging her husband through despite his almost shyness. She saw that Ginny was bustling around the kitchen cooking.

'We're here!' Hermione announced, releasing Snape's hand and walking over to embrace her friend.

Ginny beamed at the two of them and first hugged Hermione, and even went over to hug Snape, who received it a little stiffly, but did not otherwise reject the familiarity.

'I am so glad the two of you could make it,' she said, ushering Snape through the kitchen and into the hall. 'Harry is down the end of the hall and to the left in the sitting room with the kids. You go and make yourself at home down there while we girls gossip for a little while.'

Hermione chuckled at the sight of her husband being bossed around by one of her best friends in the exact same manner that Molly Weasley was fond of. She allowed Ginny to pour her a glass of champagne, and she sipped at the bubbly liquid slowly as she sat at a stool beside the kitchen benches and listening to Ginny talk about the kids and Harry and his work at the Ministry. This was followed by gossip about Ron, Lavender, and the next impending addition to their family. Hermione could barely keep up, but she smiled, feeling relaxed and happy.

'... And Lavender didn't want anyone to know whether it was going to be a girl or a boy, but you know how Ron is sometimes,' the younger woman said with a grin. 'He can be really thick and forgetful. So naturally he told Harry and all of the rest of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement all about how proud he was that 'Lav' was finally giving him a son.'

'Giving him a son? I didn't realise that children were considered marital gifts these days,' Hermione said with a laugh.

'Well, you know as well as I do that Ron wasn't exactly born articulate. Nor did he develop it as we grew up,' Ginny said, taking a sip of her own champagne.

Hermione almost snorted the bubbly she was drinking then, and she had a small coughing fit before regaining her composure. She summoned a napkin for herself and wiped her mouth, dabbing around her eyes. The two women chatted together for a little while longer before Ginny announced that she was finished with her preparation, and she would have to let it cook on its own for a while. They walked down the hall to where the children and men were, and they were both surprised to find Snape sitting on the floor with Albus on his lap as he read to the boy.

'Well, if that isn't a sign that he wants kids, I don't know what is,' Ginny said, just loud enough for both of the men to hear her from the doorway.

Snape looked up at them, slightly startled. Hermione thought it was strange that Snape would be more comfortable reading with Albus while only Harry and the other two children were around. Shaking her head and smiling, she walked into the room and immediately went to give Harry a hug, followed by James, who jumped into her arms. She walked over to Lily's crib in the corner and saw that the little girl was asleep.

James put his finger up to his lips and made a shushing sound. 'We has to be quiet while Lily is sleeping,' he whispered. 'Mummy and Daddy said that I'm a good big brother, and that it's my job to make sure she doesn't get waked up.'

Hermione nodded and walked back to rejoin her friends who giggled at James and the way he was taking his older brotherly duties so seriously. She placed James back on the floor, and he scrambled off to his colouring book and crayons again, so she joined her husband on the floor and leant her head on his shoulder.

'What are we reading here?' she asked, although she already knew the answer.

'The Tales of Beedle the Bard,' Snape said, frowning slightly. 'We're reading "Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump" this evening, aren't we, Albus?'

Albus nodded and grinned at her. 'Unker Sevwus knows how to tell it really good!' he exclaimed excitedly.

Hermione's eyes went wide, and Snape shrugged. Apparently he had a soft spot for children that she never would have been able to imagine for herself if she hadn't seen it. Snape looked at her nervously from the corner of his eye, and she shook her head and smiled, leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek before nudging him to continue with the story.

A little while later, Ginny came into the room after returning to the kitchen and announced that dinner was ready. They were all ushered into the dining room and saw that the table was set beautifully, and the food was spread out on platters in the middle. There were buttered beans, mashed potato, corn on the cob, sweet baby carrots, roasted marinated chicken legs, and pork belly with crispy skin. Hermione could almost see Snape's mouth watering.

They took their seats at the table, Albus insisting on sitting next to Snape, opposite Hermione.

'So, we hear you have been having a little trouble with your Lycanthropy cure,' Harry said conversationally. 'Severus, don't worry about Hermione telling us too much about the potion – she made us both swear oaths before she told us even a little bit about it. We won't tell a soul.'

Snape nodded, but not before shooting Hermione a look of surprise. 'Well, it has been difficult to get the potion to do as we wrote in theory. Much of it is merely timing that we have been unable to get exactly perfect, or even the number of stirs or how long we must leave it to mature,' he explained.

'I never was very good at perfect timing with potions, so I guess I kind of understand. It is never perfect unless it's timed well,' Harry said with a grin. 'Not much of a comparison, I know.'

Snape smirked. 'Not really, no,' he said simply, as he served himself some food. 'It is a complicated process, but as Hermione has pointed out to me, we are the most intellectually equipped to do this, so we must continue.'

Hermione put her hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze. 'And continue we shall,' she said with a smile she directed at him first, and then her two friends across from them.

They slipped into companionable silence as everyone around the table ate. Ginny finished her food quickly and summoned a bottle of breast milk she had pumped earlier in the day for Lily. She fed the little girl, and as Hermione watched, she felt a pang of motherliness. Being around the Potters always tended to make her like children and feel as clucky as a mother hen.

Dinner finished, and Hermione helped Ginny clear the table. Meanwhile, Harry and Snape herded the children back into the sitting room, the former having been given the task of burping the baby. Hermione set herself to washing the dishes as Ginny put all of the leftovers into containers and into the refrigerator. When she was finished, the younger witch tapped her on the shoulder and showed her the tray of chocolate mousse she had prepared in dessert glasses.

'Do you think the boys might be up for a little dessert?' Ginny said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

'I think you might be dangerous, Gin,' Hermione replied before turning around to rummage through the cutlery drawer, pulling out half a dozen teaspoons.

The two women returned to the sitting room with the desserts and found the boys in similar positions, as they had been before dinner. Hermione took a glass of mousse over to her husband and little Albus, pulling the younger Potter boy into her lap so she could help him eat it. Ginny left another glass beside her for her to eat when she was ready, and she could see that Snape was actually enjoying himself in a social situation for once.

A little while later, when they were all full and relaxed, Hermione decided it was about time for them to leave. She turned to Snape who apparently returned the sentiment, for all he did was nod.

'Harry, Ginny, it's been such a nice night, but I'm afraid it's time for us to take our leave,' she said with a smile. 'The boys are tired, and we wouldn't want to overstay our welcome.'

'You're always welcome here,' Harry said, as they all got up and stretched out their legs.

Hermione carried the sleeping Albus, who had been napping with his head on her lap, over to the lounge where James was fast asleep also. Snape took her hand, and the adults made their way to the back door through the kitchen. Hermione hugged her two friends, and Snape shook hands with Harry before accepting another hug from Ginny awkwardly.

Holding hands, the pair walked towards the far end of the yard, and from there, they Apparated home together.

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To be continued.