And when are you going to tell him you're leaving for America next month?

Oh, crap! I had also conveniently forgotten that once they started getting along so well together.

She flushed prettily, and he went out into the morning sunshine, berating himself for his newly developed weakness for soft brown eyes.

Oh, hell. Her news is going to kill him. Maybe he doesn't WANT to go back to Hogwarts? America is an adventure!

He had offered a solution.  She had accepted the out.  Therefore, he was bound to honour that decision, not to enable this flight of fancy, brought on by the temporary pleasures of a sexual encounter.

Damn that noble streak of his!

'You can safely ingest no more than two doses in a twenty-four hour period,' he informed her back.  'Therefore, the third dose will be mine.'

Awwwwwww! He's dreading her going to sleep as much as she is!

Bill gave him a meaningful grin. 'Fleur needs the rest now, with the baby and all. But Hermione didn't seem too tired to me.'

Bill's almost as adorably observant as his father.
~Smooches Bill while Fleur isn't looking.~

Ginevra Weasley physically recoiled from the impact of his annoyance, and even Hermione turned to look when the ginger-haired girl splashed into the shallow water.

Hee hee hee! No doubt that was not a sight Ginny ever expected to see!

Who would want to pass the time of day chatting nothings with school chums when there was sex to be had behind closed doors?

Good to know she has her priorities straight. That hand at the small of her back would speak volumes about such a private man, if any one notices it!

'Ah, and don't you wonder how you ever got on without her?' Arthur asked in an indulgent tone.

Looks like Arthur noticed. Good man! Molly is a lucky woman.
~Smooches Arthur.~

'Jammy cow, our Hermione.'

My thoughts exactly!

He was ready to do battle, to put her in her place, to rip up at her so viciously that she would never dare question him again—until she crumpled at his feet and began to sob as if her heart would break.

Oh, my! All his defenses are up and that was the LAST thing he expected.

~Scurries onward.~

Her choice had been to remove her memory of their time together, and he was hell-bound to honour that choice—but how was he supposed to behave when her body remembered what her mind had forgotten?

And it definitely remembers!

And when her eyes met his, she smiled, spontaneously and delightedly, as if she were suddenly lit up from within.

Yay! That is the perfect greeting for our prickly Severus. No way to misconstrue that!

anyone might know he drank coffee at midday, not just pathetic stalker-types.

But she is probably the first to notice or care!

As she drifted to sleep, she could have sworn she felt the ghosting of his fingertips across her hair.

Such a lovely picture you've painted. We need fanart of this moment!

His unwanted bride had been transformed in the last hour to an exquisite treasure

It's so lovely to hear this from him, but there's no antidote!!!!!!

Good grief, had she been nuzzling his … privates in her sleep?

Bwahahahahahaha! Apparently he rather liked it!

~Rushes onward.~

Dancing?  In front of all of Dumbledore's Army and half the Order as well?  All of them watching him with Hermione, spying, waiting for some show of husbandly emotion?  Of wedded bliss?

That was bloody well not going to happen.

He doesn't want to dance with Hermione?  Whyever not?  Unless........ the feeling he has that Hermione is not telling him something that is of great importance to their marriage...

She was hiding something from him—something essential, deliberately withheld—and the knowledge was tearing him apart.

It's tearing me apart, too, but for different reasons.  I think that Hermione may be coming around to the notion that her going to school in Salem need not mean that their marriage had to end, but what will Severus think and do about her decision.  She needs to tell him, and soon!  The longer she waits, the longer he will have to torture himself with the certainty that she is withholding something vital from him, and then I'm afraid all hell will break loose.

C'mon, Hermione.  Do the right thing and be honest with your husband.  And just maybe the two of you can work something out that will satisfy both of you.

I give up.  She never listens to me... and I will try very hard not to say 'I told you so.'

Thank you for another wonderful chapter filled with delicious SS/HG goodness.


Beth

Subsiding hopelessly to the forest floor, he propped his back against a tree trunk and allowed himself his greatest weakness—that of reminiscence.

Oooooh, I love that image of Snape losing himself in his memories, yet considering it a character flaw!

His heart was racing, far more than his exertions thus far warranted, and there was a feeling beneath his breastbone, a rising, swelling emotion he'd never known before.

Awwwww, he really does care!

Wizarding brides came to their weddings in naught but the bridal robes, which were spelled to dissolve at the command of the groom. Wizard boys grew up with many sexual fantasies around naked witches with flowers in their hair.

Hee hee! No doubt Snape never expected any of them to come true.

'That's my tempest—let the storm build and blow.'

~Swoons dead away.~

Oh, no...... the train wreck is coming, the train wreck is coming! Poor Severus, to go from wedded bliss to Hermione's selective amnesia period and then back to wedded bliss, only to face the train wreck. It will be agony!

Thank you for updating!

Whoa! Excuse me while I go stand in front of the open freezer for a bit.

So Hermione doesn't need to feel unwanted or undesired anymore. THOSE are not the actions of a disinterested man!

So sorry to be so dreadfully behind in my reading. Life has been odd lately, but I'm back now!

~Rushes off to read more.~

Oh, Subversa, you are the highlight of my week, each and every week.  I was so eager to get to this that I am even reviewing on my phone, which means this will be one big long paragraph; sorry about that.  I do like that Hermione finally admitted that going to school doesn't equal leaving him.  I've felt up until this point that remaining in her marriage or going to school were absolutes in her mind and they couldn't co-exist.  How Severus will feel about it, of course, is anyone's guess.  As for the party, he bloody well better dance with her.  They can have a nice respectable dance in public and leave the mushy stuff behind closed doors if he's going to be fussy about it.  This chapter was very smooth sailing, and that makes me nervous for what's coming.  Gulp.

Lovely chapter!!! I adore how Severus is pushing the realization that she's hiding something to the background. And that she thinks he doesn't realze that she's hiding something. I'm really looking forward to that conversation!

I'm guessing that George and Fred still aren't all that keen on Fleur, then, if they're planning to subject her to Celestina Warbeck at her own anniversary party, knowing she detests her music.
And I'm guessing that feeling of being cocooned in a world of their own is something to do with that potion? Why do I get the impression Hermione's idea of going off to New England might not work as she plans? And I'm not just talking about Severus flying off the handle but eventually getting over it.
More please, just as soon as is convenient.

They should just go for the big snog in front of everyone and get it over with. ;)

Poor boy!

I'm cringing already on his behalf, for several reasons.

Not the least of which is his fear of revealing too much.

~Pets Severus~

Oh come on Severus, dance with your wife, the cat is out of the bag now, everyone knows why you were late for dinner.

There's some big angst coming, isn't there. I can feel it in my bones. If you don't mind, I think I'll cover my eyes and wait for someone to tell me when it's over. Someone will tell me, right? Well, maybe I'll risk one eye, just in case someone forgets I'm hiding over here in the corner. 
I am loving this story, just like all your others.

I don't understand his reluctance to talk with her.  Why does he always ensure he is absent when he could just hang out for a while and talk to her?

Another exquisite chapter. I wonder what clue Hermione is leaving for herself? I promise to comment on the previous chapters soon to show my appreciation of your talent. Also, I purchased David Hodge's album because of your a/n suggestion. I can hear why it inspired you.

BRILLANT!! (as always)

perfect start to the weekend finding another chapter in my in box

thank you for your time and dedication!!!

Goodness, jealousy abounds. Glad they got that sorted, and am wondering how long they may have been able to keep up the Pepper Up routine before exhaustion overtook them?

Awesome work thus far!!! i left a review in one of the earlier chapters and have now just finished but i will definitely be keeping up with this story. It's excellant.

Hey!!! So this is pretty awesome so far! I also loved the other story you wrote 'the love u take'. Sorry i never reviewed that story. I'm shy and lazy :P. Anyway congrats on the job well done and keep up the good work here. Some notes:1)loving the vocab! had to look 1 word up so far but i kinda like doing that! 2)what happened to all the other mudbloods who couldn't marry ppl, did they just get kicked out? (geez i lack political correctness). 3) nice spin off of the marriage law type story! 4) dunno if u have done this in the next few chapters but does Snape POV come in?? if not, it should!!! Anyway ur doing an awesome job so whatever you think is best!

This story is unfurling like a blossom in the sunshine, uncoiling like a serpent disturbed from rest. And I don't know which image will end up being most appropriate.~wibbles~~trusts subversa to make it all right~

Their lovemaking through his point of view is perfection. You blend erotic, even romantic language with blunt and even crude language in a way that seems perfectly Snape, emotions at war with expectations, a turbulent blend of everything we love about him. 

I am finally, finally finding time to read this. I was going to wait until it was complete but last night couldn't wait longer and I began. And it is sublime. You reign supreme in romance and erotica, my love.

I am all curious as to what the old wives' tales say and what was written on that little piece of paper.

Hermione, you need to pay attention to your book!  You need to tell Severus your plans!  I like to see their relationship developing outside the bedroom as well as in.