Chapter 22
Transcendent Quality of Remembrance
Chapter 22 of 26
SubversaA/U. In a postwar world, members of the Order and the DA are sent together into hiding. Trapped in claustrophobic circumstances, plagued by inexplicable dreams, surrounded by her closest friends - and her most dreaded adversary - Hermione struggles to come to terms with her postwar life.
A/N: We're back from our three chapter sojourn in the past, with Severus and Hermione at Forest Haven. But it's only a wee chapter, I fear...there's certainly more to come, next week. I bid you a happy Friday, and I will breathlessly await your thoughts!
Chapter 22
So many dreams to wake
And we've so much love to make
It Might Be You
10 July, 1998
'Dream sweetly, little tempest.'
The words sang in her mind, an endless loop, at once sensual, comforting ... and loving. The one she desired...the one who named her tempest...lay at her side, and she flowed against him like water to a dam, adapting her soft body to the hard lines and angles of his. She was in a twilight-state, neither sleeping nor awake, a being of motion and emotion, searching for that which she craved like the sweetest, deadliest of dependences.
She reached for him, the palm of her hand finding and cupping the prize she sought. He murmured in his sleep, and the soft tissue below her fingers twitched and began to harden, lengthening and stiffening beneath the cover of her hand, until its length surpassed the breadth of her palm...and she grasped it.
With her first gentle compression, her companion murmured again, and he shifted beside her. She lightly pumped her hand on her catch, pressing herself against his side, one of her legs slowly inching across his thighs. She was already aroused, had stirred from sleep in that state, and between her legs there lived a warm, wet ache in need of filling.
When his soldier rose stiff and proud, at a sharp angle from his flat belly, she slipped astride him. She was sorry to disturb his rest, but how could she rest with this throb of aching desire bubbling away within her, like a potion in a hot cauldron?
Reaching between them, she positioned herself at the tip of his sword and plunged down upon it, her breath escaping in a loud sigh. Yes, sweet Circe, this was what she had craved. She leant forward, bracing herself upon his torso, and his hands found her dangling, bouncing breasts, his clasp none too gentle, his thumbs repeatedly stroking over her rigid nipples.
She heard her soft, whimpering cries of rapture, but the sounds were of no matter. All that mattered were his narrow hips between her thighs, and his rhythmic driving up as she slid down, their bodies meeting and parting in thrusts and gasps of pure pleasure.
She licked her fingers and rubbed her clitoris, needing the extra rush of sensation to spur her on to the completion she required. Slick pressure upon her pleasure centre was her immediate undoing. She was coming, her breath a high, whistling noise in her throat, and the hands upon her breasts deserted for her hips. Strong fingers grasped her arse as he drove upward, pistoning beneath her like a feral, driven thing, and his harsh, muted cry had scarcely died before she slumped to her abandoned pillow, sated and pleased with herself.
Sleep came quickly, engulfing her in the velvet blackness as he spooned behind her, one arm possessively about her waist.
Severus buried his nose in her hair, breathing deeply of sleeping Hermione before he spooned against her back, holding her close. She had reached for him in the night and begun their lovemaking without ever truly waking up. Indeed, he had thought it an erotic dream until she braced her hands upon his chest, bringing him to a state of drowsy wakefulness. He had not known, before the advent of Hermione in his life, that one could make love in one's sleep.
'Dream sweetly, little tempest,' he murmured for the second time that night, and then he was asleep, almost before the words left his lips.
He woke as the first rays of light filtered into the attic room where he lay abed with his wife. He felt remarkably refreshed for a man whose sleep had been interrupted by his greedy lover...but what wizard could fail to feel like a million Galleons when a young, vibrant witch sought his sexual attentions time and time again?
He sat on the side of the bed and glanced behind him, but Hermione slept on, undisturbed by his movement. Her hair was loose upon her pillow, crazily kinked and curling, her face as smooth and innocent as that of any witch her age...but she was his, and in his eyes, she was beautiful.
He gathered his shower things and conjured the bathroom on the landing outside their door. With the hot water sluicing over his body, the scent of soap filling his nostrils, he considered the immediate future. He'd never expected to survive the end of the Dark Lord, and ever since the passing of Tom Riddle, he'd been bound up in Hermione's recovery from Dolohov's curse...and her ordeal in the dungeons. They'd scarcely got through the end of the summer term and the sitting of her NEWTs before Dumbledore had bundled them off to this place...and now, with their renewed intimacy, everything had changed
It was finally time to plan for the future.
He was surprised to find no one but Arthur in the kitchen when he went down for his morning coffee. The older wizard gave him a distracted smile and motioned towards the coffee pot and rack of toast on the counter.
'Molly's having a lie in after the party last night,' he said apologetically, 'but I managed coffee and toast.'
Severus poured the black brew into a cup and raised a sardonic eyebrow in reply. 'It looks to me as if everyone is having a lie in.'
Arthur chuckled. 'True, but I promised Molly I'd manage some sort of breakfast for the early risers.'
Severus took the chair to Arthur's right and studied him over the rim of his coffee cup. 'Any news?' he asked.
Arthur ran a hand through his thinning hair. 'No, and it's beginning to bother me, Severus. Why haven't we heard from Dumbledore? What's going on in the outside world?'
Severus was surprised to hear his phlegmatic friend give voice to such sentiments. Arthur Weasley was one of the least critical men of his acquaintance. 'Is there a particular reason for your concern?' he asked.
Arthur sat back and pushed his uneaten toast away. 'Molly is bothered about leaving the Burrow untended...and about the twins' shop without them there to supervise...and about Fleur being cooped up here during her pregnancy.'
Severus nodded. 'Molly is fretting,' he said, summarising Arthur's words succinctly. Enough said.
Arthur sighed and removed his spectacles, rubbing a palm over his face. 'One's wife's concerns tend to become one's own...don't you find that to be true, Severus?'
Throughout their sojourn in this house, Arthur had been wheedling Severus, trying to ferret out how things were betwixt him and Hermione...he'd also been full of unsolicited marriage advice. But in the last few days...since Severus' interrupted love affair with his wife had resumed...Severus had found he didn't mind the interference nearly as much as he'd done before.
'Indeed,' he murmured in agreement.
Arthur stood and replaced his glasses. 'The headmaster told us to stay put, but I don't believe I can go another day without knowing something of where we stand.'
Severus was intrigued. How odd it was to see Arthur fired up for action when he, Severus, felt quite content to wait it out. 'What will you do?'
Arthur straightened himself. 'I'm going to pop out to Hagrid's hut,' he said with resolution. 'All of our mail deliveries were directed there, which will include the newspapers. I should obtain a good bit of information from that alone, I would think. I shan't be long...and I'll bring everyone's mail back with me.'
'And what will I tell your wife of your whereabouts?' Severus inquired quietly.
Arthur gave him a shrewd look. 'I believe you'd be best off not being here when she wakes up,' he said. 'I imagine the perimeter could do with a good patrolling.'
Severus swallowed the last of his coffee and grabbed a handful of toast from the rack. 'I shall play least-in-sight until your return,' he said. 'You'll come to find me then?'
Arthur gave a terse nod, and the two wizards went out into the sunny summer day to perform their assigned tasks.
'Dream sweetly, little tempest.'
Hermione's eyes cracked open, the words echoing in her mind, strangely evocative. Some vital fact...incontrovertible truth...lay just beyond the edges of remembrance, and she relaxed again with eyes closed, inviting the revelation with lazy, tranquil acceptance.
'You're like a tempest in a teacup.' His voice, sultry and seductive.
'Teapot!' Her, breathless and too distracted to be a proper know-it-all.
'Teacup.' His voice again, accompanied by a wash of arousal so intense that the following words were coloured with raw passion. 'More fragile than a teapot, and a far better vessel for such a tempestuous temptress.'
Hermione sat straight up in bed, suddenly and completely awake.
'Accio my bag!' she cried, and when it flew into her hand, she reached within and withdrew Transcendent Quality of Remembrance, her fingers going unerringly to the slight rent in the endpaper of the front cover board. With a silent apology to the book gods, she worried at the tear with a fingernail and was entirely unsurprised when it parted easily for her. As if re-enacting an oft-dreamed sequence, she scraped with the tip of her nail and pulled from the hole a strip of parchment, on which was written one word.
Tempest.
In an instant, it all came flooding back, a torrent of remembrance so richly detailed and emotionally charged that she sagged back on her pillow again beneath the fraught weight of it all.
'They aren't dreams,' she murmured aloud, staring at her hidden, handwritten clue, 'they're memories.'
A/N: Today's song is It Might Be You by Stephen Bishop. Those of you who are old enough may remember it as the love theme from the movie Tootsie, in the 80s. When SubHub, a great Stephen Bishop fan, suggested this song for this story, I knew in an instant that it was perfect. It was one of the first songs on the playlist...in fact I added it at our cabin, a very romantic spot...but one at which it took me over a year of writing to arrive. You may view it at this link...and I hope you like it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrofYIAml5s
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Latest 25 Reviews for Transcendent Quality of Remembrance
517 Reviews | 6.43/10 Average
It is amazing to me that a story, in which the surprises and slow unraveling of the tale are at the heart of the storytelling, can be so captivating and delightful upon re-read. Thanks for warming my cold winter morning. I hope you are well and finding success in real life writing. And thinking about finishing Owned. Shit, did I say that out loud?! Oops. :)
Oh my god. I LOVED IT!!!! I cried, laughed, sighed, gasped and smiled during this...ALOT. It was so well written. I read it all in one sitting. THAT'S HOW BRILLIANT IT WAS! Definitely one of my favorite stories and one of the best I've read. Was so good. Am so happy I stumbled upon it. Keep writing!
Oh my god. I LOVED IT!!!! I cried, laughed, sighed, gasped and smiled during this...ALOT. It was so well written. I read it all in one sitting. THAT'S HOW BRILLIANT IT WAS! Definitely one of my favorite stories and one of the best I've read. Was so good. Am so happy I stumbled upon it. Keep writing!
Dear Subversa,
I am writing to inform you that you've been nominated for the following category for the Fall-Winter 2013 Round of The HP Fanfic Fan Poll Awards (hpfanficfanpoll . livejournal . com):
SHIP: SNAPE X HERMIONE
CATEGORY: BEST DRAMA-ANGST for "Transcendent Quality of Remembrance"
You need not take any other action at this time, unless you would like to reject the nomination. In that case, please contact us and we'll remove the nomination and contact the person who nominated you to let them know your decision.
We have an "I've been nominated" banner on our website for you to post on your blogs/Tumblr/Twitter/Facebook pages right now, if you wish. The banner can be found here:
hpfanficfanpoll . livejournal . com / 20115 . html.
The nominations period ends on October 28, 2013.
The voting period will commence on November 1, 2013 and close on December 31, 2013 (that gives two full months to read and consider the nominated fics).
Our awards ceremony is open to the public to vote, and we encourage you to ask your friends/family to participate. We will tally up all votes and announce winners on or before January 10, 2014. Please check back then to see if your stories placed, or add us as a FRIEND on Livejournal so you can get emails when that list is broadcast on our blog. Banners for your nominations/placements will be available at that time, too.
Congratulations on your nomination!
Sincerely,
Melissa, The HP Fanfic Fan Poll Awards Moderator
Great Story!
Goodness, it's taken me forever to get here to review. I do most of my reading on my phone these days, and it is a real pain to type anything of substance. And this, the final chapter of this wonderful tale, and also of your fanfic career, deserves more than two lines, painfully input from my keypad.
The letter that Hermione wrote to Severus was perfect. Mostly, because she really hit the nail on the head; would Severus has acted as he did without the Lethe Elixir? I don't know how the answer to that can be anything but no. And he realizes this.
The clever man knew his wife couldn't resist picking up the pony, and good thing, too. I love that it was incorporated into the story one more time.
At the cottage, there is no drawn out angsty fight ... just them getting back to good. I love that this came back as well:
'"I believe it is customary to begin with a kiss,"
And once again they are in bed in the cottage ... the place where they seem most right. It is just like the honeymoon, only this time there is no ticking timebomb in the background, so they have the luxury of sleep.
The situation with her moving to the states and attending university couldn't have gone any better. The job Severus was given is the perfect solution for them to be together. I was afraid he might have to teach again. :) It was such a relief to me as the reader, I can only imagine how excited they are.
And the end paints such a tranquil picture. I can picture nothing but a happily ever after for them. Which is all we've ever wanted, of course.
You've wrapped things up very nicely, something I've always loved about your stories. I am sorry to see you go. This is the end of an era, if I ever saw one. But, you might as well try your hand at ofic. If you love the characters you create half as much as you do these two, and if you throw yourself into it wholeheartedly as you always have, I can't imagine a scenario in which you don't succeed. So, best of luck to you. I only ask that you keep us updated on the progress with your original work. I'm pretty LJ impaired, but perhaps I'll have to friend you to follow your progress.
I've been meaning to thank you for writing for weeks! This was such a wonderful story. The core of it - Hermione's voluntary memory loss - fueled such rich portraits of both characters. Their internal thoughts and lives were so beautifully rendered. It was a joy to read.
Also, steamy ;)
That was a beautiful, fitting ending, with all the loose ends tied up very nicely. I especially liked the part where tears may have been shed - I was crying inside with them.
Thank you so much for writing this fic and everything else you have done for the fandom. Again, all the best with your original work - it would be a shame if the world outside our little slice of fanfiction heaven don't get to enjoy your talents like we did here!
Not gonna lie, went back here today praying there was an epi or one more chapter. So hard letting go of this. Thank you for everything xo
I really loved your story, and thank you for sharing it with us all. I'm a bit of a playlist junkie too when writing, so I can understand what you mean about the songs. Anyways, I know you said you had no more plans to write, but I sincerely hope you will change your mind and that inspiration strikes soon! :)
WOW. I read this at one sitting, and am now up two hours' past bedtime, because I had to discover the next twist. I am so glad I had the patience to wait for TQoR to be completed before reading, because I think I would have gone mad waiting for updates.
Good luck with the o-fic, judging by your fanfic I'm sure it will be wonderful.
What a lovely final chapter, all tied up perfectly. Thankyou for being such an amazing writer and for sharing your stories with us, I hope you return to us in the future, we will be here waiting! I'll keep an eye on LJ for your progress, good luck with your writing! P.S You note at the beginning brought a tear to my eye, what a softie I am!!
Thank you for writing this sweet and at times heart wrenching story. I kept being impatient for her to remember, but then she did and the story ended. Careful what you wish for.....
Well written, great arc, thanks!
Oh! I forgot to thank you for the song! I've never heard of Default before. I really liked it. It's goes perfectly with the end of this story, too. Thanks for the new band.
(I don't really live under a rock or anything. I hope I'm not too lame for not knowing about someone that everyone else knows about. I just seldom listen to the radio these days with 3000 songs on the ipod in the car. Now I have one to add.)
Well, that certainly couldn't have turned out any better, could it have! I still think Severus keeping the secret is bullocks, but the cat's out of the box now, and he needed something this crazy to happen before he was going to allow himself to love and be loved. I'm glad that Hermione could see that.
Hermione is going to have to get over her issues with his dark magic past. That's part of the package. It's also part of what makes her sexy potions master so sexy. He wouldn't be who he is without that part of him. 
I could be wrong, but if I were Hermione, I don't think I could be busy enough not to miss him while he's traveling. Hopefully they'll have plenty of nights sharing their successes and making small talk over tea or a glass of wine. I'm so glad for Severus that he has not only got the girl, but he got the job of his dreams to boot. He deserved it.
Well, I will miss this story, that's for sure. I have a couple of plot bunnies to float if you ever want to get back into the SS/HG ship. I'll never be able to do what you have done with them. Thank you so much for the wonderful happy ending. I'll have to keep checking your livejournal to know what you are up to next. Kisses and hugs. Susan
Be still, my heart. When Hermione walked into the kitchen at the Cottage to find an encore of their wedding night supper I thought I'd die of joy. It was wonderful. I wanted to kiss Severus right then and there. What a fitting tribute to their marriage, their love for each other, and a balm so soothe them after all the heart ache and downright hard work they had done to reclaim what rightfully theirs.
I thought the My Little Pony Portkey was ingenious! Knowing that she wouldn't be able to resist picking it up if she saw it in his bedroom, what better way to spirit her away from the castle and to their true haven–not the one in the forest, but the honeymoon cottage with the large, squishy yellow sofa and two matching armchairs.
I wanted to cheer when Hermione saw that she had been accepted at the Salem Witches' Institute, and I'm certain they will be very happy there. They have such a rich future ahead of them, and I thank you for that. This entire story has been a joy to share with you and all the other readers.
I wish you every success and happiness, my friend. I have learned so much from you and your "fevered imagination." Getting to know you through your writing and LJ has been a rare privilege and I believe that the Transcendent Quality of Remembrance I have acquired will keep you in my thoughts and my heart forever. I hope to see you dropping by fandom every once in a while, and I will follow you on LJ just so I know what's happening in your and SubHub's lives. Hugs to all your family and a special "Beffey kiss" for the Beetle.
You ROCK! I'm looking forward to reading your ofic. A Thousand Points to Your House! (Severus said so.)
Beth
So beautiful.... after everything they've been through, their love was enough to overcome the misunderstanding and the potion's effects. What beautiful furutres you've given them - Severus as resarcher, Hermione as a student in anything she wants to learn, and traveling around the world together, unencumbered.
THANK YOU for this story. I just hope it's not your farewell to the fandom. You know that we will be eagerly watching for your o-fic career, and loving you and SubHub forever and always.
Lovely ending and tie up of all the loose ends. I'll miss your stories; you are one of my favourite authors, but I'll look forward to hearing about your new endeavours on LJ! :D
Loved this story as much as I love you Sub. You are sooooo talented!
Loves you, Sonia :)
Brava, my dear. A fitting end to a compelling tale.
That was absolutely perfect.
BRAVA - this was truly a work of which you may be proud!!! I'm sad to see it go, but it really has run its course, and I will look forward to whatever you write next. Author Alerts ROCK! :)
Much love!!
Hi Subversa,
I can hardly believe that this enchanting story is over, just as our favorite couple's lives together are only beginning. What a wonderful treat it would be to look in on them in about five years. As you and SubHub know, when it is true love, it just gets better and better. I have been with my husband almost 22 years now, but we were in our 30s when we tied the knot, so we have a ways to go to catch up with you two. I like to think Severus and Hermione will outlive us all and live happily ever after for a very long time, since they are magical folk. I suppose through the miracle of the written word, in a way they will. And you have been one of the best of many authors to give them the chance to be happy together (unlike JKR-- I will never forgive her for what she did to Severus).
This story is, as all of your other works, enchanting (did I already mention that?) and very well written. Your words weave a complex scene full of emotions and tactile experiences. I almost feel like I'm there with them, becoming one of them through your words. Beautiful. I will watch your progress in the realm of original fiction with interest. That is how Stephenie Meyer got her start. Why can't you?
Best wishes for your future as a writer. You have at least one fan in me.
I'm so happy how things ended. I'm very happy that Severus planned on going to America with Hermione. I was so worried about them resolving things, but I'm glad they did.
I'll have to remember to leave a proper review later on, but for now I just have to tell you that this ending is completely and utterly perfect.
The world of fanfiction will be poorer without you, but I wish you the best of luck in your ofic endeavours.
I have spend a nicely 26 weeks reading your beautifle story .I thank you for writting it , and I realy anjojed reading it.My friday was spend waiting for more chapter to come.I am realy sad that it and it ,but I love it from start till the and. And the and is magnificant.Realy , I fope that You plan to writt a new story ,because realy You are very good at it. My congratulations,
and my thanks for pleasure in reading .
Best regards from Lora.