Spot the quote from Moulin Rouge. Does that count as a disclaimer?
*~*~*
Dumbledore looked up in surprise as Hermione stumbled out of his fireplace. She looked about her in confusion, grinning sheepishly when she realised where she was.
'Oops, wrong fireplace.'
He smiled at her.
'Welcome back, Hermione,' he said, rising to offer her a seat. 'How was the wedding?'
Hermione's smile softened as she thought back on the day.
'It was beautiful,' she said finally. 'They're so much in love, it's almost obscene.'
Dumbledore laughed, startling Fawkes, who turned to give Hermione a baleful stare. She gently stroked his feathers, feeling grateful for the phoenix. Without his attempt to heal her breaking heart, she would never have made the trip into the future, and fallen in love with the mysterious Potions Master. He cooed softly, nudging his head against her fingers.
'I take it the twins didn't pull anything?' the Headmaster asked, in a voice slightly tinged with disappointment.
Hermione giggled.
'The day wouldn't have been complete if they hadn't,' she assured him. 'They transfigured Parvati's bouquet into a PortKey. When Lavender caught it, she disappeared, ending up in the middle of Wales! She was spitting feathers, it was hilarious!'
They laughed together, Hermione almost incoherent as she recalled the twins' antics. Then she sobered, remembering other times that had touched her.
'Neville and Ginny are engaged, but Molly's insisting that they wait until Ginny finishes Hogwarts,' she informed Dumbledore, who was all ears. 'And Ron made sure we remembered the people who should have been there.'
She fell silent, remembering Harry, and Seamus, and all the others who had fallen to Voldemort's power and lust for revenge. Dumbledore sensed the change in her mood, seeing the gloom that settled over his young friend.
'He missed you today,' he said softly.
Hermione snorted, finding that thought highly amusing.
'I very much doubt it,' she denied, pressing down on the surge of hope and love that rose in her breast. 'He probably didn't even notice I was gone.'
'Well, yes, he did ask me just how long you were planning on sleeping in today,' Dumbledore conceded, seeing the triumphant smile on her face as an encouraging sign.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Hermione found herself gazing into the fire, and wishing that Snape had even a fraction of the warmth the dancing flames emitted. Dumbledore sighed.
'Have you told him yet, Hermione?'
She looked up, into kindly blue eyes that sparkled with affection for her. Sadly, she shook her head, unsure if she would ever admit her feelings to the forbidding man.
'You must tell him, my dear, if you are ever to capture the joy of the future you described to me.'
'Why does it have to be me who tells him?' Hermione complained suddenly. 'Why shouldn't he tell me?'
Dumbledore smiled gently at her self-righteous outburst.
'Because he does not feel that he deserves you,' he offered, seeing her grow angry at Snape's stupidity. 'He will not make a definite attempt to woo you because of some perceived threat to your innocence.'
'What gives him the right to make decisions for me?' she demanded angrily. 'I'll decide who does and doesn't deserve me, and I most certainly am not innocent after the year I've just had!'
'So tell him, Hermione. Give him a reason to open up to you.'
Suddenly she looked tiny, curled up in his armchair, her eyes lost and haunted.
'I can't,' she whispered, her voice trembling.
Dumbledore frowned.
'Why?'
Hermione swallowed, trying to explain her fears to the old man before her.
'Because . . . because being in love puts you in a vulnerable position,' she murmured, staring at the floor. 'It leaves you open to hurt and misery, and I've had quite enough of that for the last year.'
'My dear, Severus is just as vulnerable as you are.'
Hermione's head came up as her eyes moved to lock with his.
'Is he? He doesn't show it. I never know if he's angry, or sad, or just being normal. How can I open up to someone who never shows me how they're feeling? Everyone has that insecurity, and with anyone else, I'd be fine. But he doesn't seem to feel that vulnerability, Albus. He frightens me.'
Dumbledore watched as she struggled with her fears, seeing now to the bottom of her fight to reveal her love for his friend. He smiled kindly at her.
'Hermione, facing up to your fears is what you have to do to live this life,' he said quietly, letting the import of his words sink in. 'Look at what you have faced. You were afraid that Voldemort spoke the truth about his relationship to you; you survived it. You faced the fear that he would try to convert you; you defied him. You walked into the future with an open mind, not knowing what you would find there.
'I know, love can be the most destructive influence on your life. But it can also make your life complete. Think of all the people you have loved, or who have loved you. Think of Tom Riddle, for instance. He faced and overcame his fear of Voldemort to save your life. Was that foolish? Did he die so that you could spend the rest of your life hiding from all that frightened you?
'No, because he knew that you have it in you to be whomever you want to be. I know you, Hermione. You do not want to be a shy, frightened child, living her life through the joys and woes of others. You want the love that Severus can give you, and you have a right to ask for it. If you don't take that chance, this love that you are so carefully preserving will tear you apart. Believe me, Hermione. The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return.'
Hermione nodded slowly, seeing the truth in his words. Dumbledore watched as she took it all in, seeing strength and resolve make themselves known on her lovely face.
'Go to him, child. Tell him before you have a chance to hide again.'
For a long while after Hermione had left, Dumbledore sat, staring at the chair where she had sat. Minerva came in, tugging the pins from her tight bun, and found him contemplating the upholstery.
'Whatever is the matter, Albus?'
He looked up and smiled gently.
'Nothing, my love. Nothing at all.'
*~*~*
Snape stretched wearily, the bones in his neck clicking as he dragged himself out of the armchair to replace the book he had just finished on the shelves of his bookcase. The candle beside him guttered in the slight breeze he created stalking past it, and went out, leaving only the light of the fire to illuminate the room. He sighed, bending to light a taper from the dancing flames.
A timid knock on the door startled him, and he dropped the taper with a muttered oath, stamping out the flames calmly. It was the Easter holidays, who would be knocking on his door at this time of night? It had better not be a student, he growled to himself, stalking over to the door, and pulling it open violently.
On the threshold stood Hermione, looking very nervous and quite scared, in a beautiful blood-red gown. Belatedly, he remembered the wedding, his breath catching his throat at the sight of her.
'Hermione,' he said in surprise, 'what brings you down here so late?'
She took a deep breath, letting out shudderingly slow.
'I have something I need to say to you, and if I don't say it now, I never will,' she said quietly, looking pointedly at the floor. 'May I come in?'
Snape stepped aside, slightly worried by her odd behaviour.
'By all means, do.'
She slipped past him, into the warmth of his apartments. Snape shut the door, confused but curious.
'What is it you wanted to say, Hermione?'
The young woman turned away from him, and he was struck once again by how tiny she really was. She seemed twice as lost and lonely as usual this evening, a combination that tugged at his heart.
'Hermione?'
Another long shuddering breath. She turned to face him, locking her eyes with his.
'I should have said this a long time ago, Severus,' she began, her voice level, but throbbing with emotion. 'You wanted to know where I was last summer? I told you when you were unconscious, but I guess you didn't hear me. I was in the future, with you and me, and . . . our children.'
She swallowed, watching his face carefully, as if at the first sign of temper, she would bolt. Snape remained silent, impassive, despite the sudden soaring of his heart.
'We were married, and happy together. I spent two weeks there, and I saw a side to you that would have sworn didn't exist. I realised then that I wanted to see that side of my version of you, I wanted to know that part you that you keep hidden away.
'Thinking back, it's always been you who was there for me through the hardest times. When I blamed myself for Harry's circumstances, you set me straight. You came back for me when I thought I was being left behind. When the pain from my memories was too much, you were the one who held me, who protected me from myself. I love you, and I always will.'
Snape's jaw dropped as the words that he so longed to hear rolled off Hermione's tongue.
'No, scratch that, I ache for you,' she corrected. 'You see, I know that you love me, I've seen the future we could have, and it hurts, knowing that you're denying us that future by hiding your heart away from me. Is life with me so terrible to contemplate that you would rather break our hearts than try it?'
Words of love formed in Snape's throat, only to die on his tongue. How could he tell her how much he loved her when she already knew him so well? Tears were slowly rolling down her cheeks, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her until the pain went away. Knowing that he was the cause of that pain tore at his heart.
'Hermione . . .'
She touched shaking fingers to his lips, silencing him.
'I don't want to hear that you don't deserve me, that I'm too innocent,' she told him. 'If you truly don't want me, don't love me, then say it to my face, and I'll leave. I won't come back to torment you, and we'll never speak of it again.'
'Hermione, I . . .'
She gazed up into his eyes, a defenceless vulnerable child who needed him to protect her. To love her.
'Just say it, Severus. Or kiss me.'
He looked down at her, and suddenly could not imagine a world where he wouldn't have her. Before him stretched years of waking up beside her, of basking in the knowledge that she loved him, of sharing their lives together. The bleakness of the alternative was too terrible to imagine.
Almost without knowing it, he grasped her chin, lifting it gently until her lips touched his, brushing lightly together and wiping months of pain and heartache from their minds. Suddenly she sobbed, and he pulled back to see her smiling through her tears.
'You'll never know how scared I was that you'd say no,' she laughed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
'You'd be surprised,' he growled, and pulled her close to kiss her again, this time with all the longing and love that he had suppressed. She pressed herself to him, her slender frame fitting perfectly within the curve of his arms as he tenderly explored her.
Hours later, as he lay beside her, stroking the chestnut curls that adorned her tousled head, Snape finally said the words that had plagued him for over two years. He leant close to her ear, smiling as she turned unconsciously towards him, and whispered,
'I love you.'
*~*~*
Dumbledore swung his wife onto the dance-floor, slipping easily into the time-honoured traditional steps. It had been a day of great joy, tinged with sadness. So many people had gathered to wish happiness on the couple, and yet tears had been shed for those who should have been there.
Ron could be seen teasing Poppy Pomfrey into dancing with him in a corner of the room, while others moved about the room, sharing their hopes and dreams, and the joy that shone in every life. Remus was dancing with Molly Weasley, who had cried all the way through the ceremony as if it was one of her own children getting married. In a corner, Rhys was laughing at Sirius as he tried to have a serious conversation with her, having given up on trying to seduce the Welsh witch. Even Neville and Ginny had managed to make it to the wedding, their lives having become somewhat more hectic since leaving Hogwarts and getting married themselves.
He glanced over to where the bride and groom were posing for a portrait. Severus Snape was happier than the Headmaster had ever seen him, twice over since his young wife had expressed a wish to teach at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had finally acquiesced and given Snape the much coveted Defence Against the Dark Arts position, since Rhys had returned to the Aurors. Hermione had completed her year's apprenticeship with flying colours and was more than capable of teaching her husband's subject.
Minerva smiled up at him, laying her greying head on his aged shoulder. He sighed softly. He was glad for his Minerva. She had kept him on the straight and narrow for most of his life. Their love would never hold the fire and passion of the love the Snapes shared, but would always bind them closely, a deep devotion that would outweigh all other commitments but one.
Hogwarts. Soon the new term would begin, and they would have not one, but two Professor Snapes under their roof. He chuckled, wondering how the students would take that. He felt certain the newly weds were in for a rocky road. Still, who knew? Perhaps they would each teach the other about life, and love.
Dumbledore chuckled. Who would have thought, when she first stepped over the threshold of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry, that Hermione Granger would have such a profound impact on so many lives? Hers would be a life to remember, for many years to come. . .
*~*~*
Dumbledore looked up in surprise as Hermione stumbled out of his fireplace. She looked about her in confusion, grinning sheepishly when she realised where she was.
'Oops, wrong fireplace.'
He smiled at her.
'Welcome back, Hermione,' he said, rising to offer her a seat. 'How was the wedding?'
Hermione's smile softened as she thought back on the day.
'It was beautiful,' she said finally. 'They're so much in love, it's almost obscene.'
Dumbledore laughed, startling Fawkes, who turned to give Hermione a baleful stare. She gently stroked his feathers, feeling grateful for the phoenix. Without his attempt to heal her breaking heart, she would never have made the trip into the future, and fallen in love with the mysterious Potions Master. He cooed softly, nudging his head against her fingers.
'I take it the twins didn't pull anything?' the Headmaster asked, in a voice slightly tinged with disappointment.
Hermione giggled.
'The day wouldn't have been complete if they hadn't,' she assured him. 'They transfigured Parvati's bouquet into a PortKey. When Lavender caught it, she disappeared, ending up in the middle of Wales! She was spitting feathers, it was hilarious!'
They laughed together, Hermione almost incoherent as she recalled the twins' antics. Then she sobered, remembering other times that had touched her.
'Neville and Ginny are engaged, but Molly's insisting that they wait until Ginny finishes Hogwarts,' she informed Dumbledore, who was all ears. 'And Ron made sure we remembered the people who should have been there.'
She fell silent, remembering Harry, and Seamus, and all the others who had fallen to Voldemort's power and lust for revenge. Dumbledore sensed the change in her mood, seeing the gloom that settled over his young friend.
'He missed you today,' he said softly.
Hermione snorted, finding that thought highly amusing.
'I very much doubt it,' she denied, pressing down on the surge of hope and love that rose in her breast. 'He probably didn't even notice I was gone.'
'Well, yes, he did ask me just how long you were planning on sleeping in today,' Dumbledore conceded, seeing the triumphant smile on her face as an encouraging sign.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Hermione found herself gazing into the fire, and wishing that Snape had even a fraction of the warmth the dancing flames emitted. Dumbledore sighed.
'Have you told him yet, Hermione?'
She looked up, into kindly blue eyes that sparkled with affection for her. Sadly, she shook her head, unsure if she would ever admit her feelings to the forbidding man.
'You must tell him, my dear, if you are ever to capture the joy of the future you described to me.'
'Why does it have to be me who tells him?' Hermione complained suddenly. 'Why shouldn't he tell me?'
Dumbledore smiled gently at her self-righteous outburst.
'Because he does not feel that he deserves you,' he offered, seeing her grow angry at Snape's stupidity. 'He will not make a definite attempt to woo you because of some perceived threat to your innocence.'
'What gives him the right to make decisions for me?' she demanded angrily. 'I'll decide who does and doesn't deserve me, and I most certainly am not innocent after the year I've just had!'
'So tell him, Hermione. Give him a reason to open up to you.'
Suddenly she looked tiny, curled up in his armchair, her eyes lost and haunted.
'I can't,' she whispered, her voice trembling.
Dumbledore frowned.
'Why?'
Hermione swallowed, trying to explain her fears to the old man before her.
'Because . . . because being in love puts you in a vulnerable position,' she murmured, staring at the floor. 'It leaves you open to hurt and misery, and I've had quite enough of that for the last year.'
'My dear, Severus is just as vulnerable as you are.'
Hermione's head came up as her eyes moved to lock with his.
'Is he? He doesn't show it. I never know if he's angry, or sad, or just being normal. How can I open up to someone who never shows me how they're feeling? Everyone has that insecurity, and with anyone else, I'd be fine. But he doesn't seem to feel that vulnerability, Albus. He frightens me.'
Dumbledore watched as she struggled with her fears, seeing now to the bottom of her fight to reveal her love for his friend. He smiled kindly at her.
'Hermione, facing up to your fears is what you have to do to live this life,' he said quietly, letting the import of his words sink in. 'Look at what you have faced. You were afraid that Voldemort spoke the truth about his relationship to you; you survived it. You faced the fear that he would try to convert you; you defied him. You walked into the future with an open mind, not knowing what you would find there.
'I know, love can be the most destructive influence on your life. But it can also make your life complete. Think of all the people you have loved, or who have loved you. Think of Tom Riddle, for instance. He faced and overcame his fear of Voldemort to save your life. Was that foolish? Did he die so that you could spend the rest of your life hiding from all that frightened you?
'No, because he knew that you have it in you to be whomever you want to be. I know you, Hermione. You do not want to be a shy, frightened child, living her life through the joys and woes of others. You want the love that Severus can give you, and you have a right to ask for it. If you don't take that chance, this love that you are so carefully preserving will tear you apart. Believe me, Hermione. The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return.'
Hermione nodded slowly, seeing the truth in his words. Dumbledore watched as she took it all in, seeing strength and resolve make themselves known on her lovely face.
'Go to him, child. Tell him before you have a chance to hide again.'
For a long while after Hermione had left, Dumbledore sat, staring at the chair where she had sat. Minerva came in, tugging the pins from her tight bun, and found him contemplating the upholstery.
'Whatever is the matter, Albus?'
He looked up and smiled gently.
'Nothing, my love. Nothing at all.'
*~*~*
Snape stretched wearily, the bones in his neck clicking as he dragged himself out of the armchair to replace the book he had just finished on the shelves of his bookcase. The candle beside him guttered in the slight breeze he created stalking past it, and went out, leaving only the light of the fire to illuminate the room. He sighed, bending to light a taper from the dancing flames.
A timid knock on the door startled him, and he dropped the taper with a muttered oath, stamping out the flames calmly. It was the Easter holidays, who would be knocking on his door at this time of night? It had better not be a student, he growled to himself, stalking over to the door, and pulling it open violently.
On the threshold stood Hermione, looking very nervous and quite scared, in a beautiful blood-red gown. Belatedly, he remembered the wedding, his breath catching his throat at the sight of her.
'Hermione,' he said in surprise, 'what brings you down here so late?'
She took a deep breath, letting out shudderingly slow.
'I have something I need to say to you, and if I don't say it now, I never will,' she said quietly, looking pointedly at the floor. 'May I come in?'
Snape stepped aside, slightly worried by her odd behaviour.
'By all means, do.'
She slipped past him, into the warmth of his apartments. Snape shut the door, confused but curious.
'What is it you wanted to say, Hermione?'
The young woman turned away from him, and he was struck once again by how tiny she really was. She seemed twice as lost and lonely as usual this evening, a combination that tugged at his heart.
'Hermione?'
Another long shuddering breath. She turned to face him, locking her eyes with his.
'I should have said this a long time ago, Severus,' she began, her voice level, but throbbing with emotion. 'You wanted to know where I was last summer? I told you when you were unconscious, but I guess you didn't hear me. I was in the future, with you and me, and . . . our children.'
She swallowed, watching his face carefully, as if at the first sign of temper, she would bolt. Snape remained silent, impassive, despite the sudden soaring of his heart.
'We were married, and happy together. I spent two weeks there, and I saw a side to you that would have sworn didn't exist. I realised then that I wanted to see that side of my version of you, I wanted to know that part you that you keep hidden away.
'Thinking back, it's always been you who was there for me through the hardest times. When I blamed myself for Harry's circumstances, you set me straight. You came back for me when I thought I was being left behind. When the pain from my memories was too much, you were the one who held me, who protected me from myself. I love you, and I always will.'
Snape's jaw dropped as the words that he so longed to hear rolled off Hermione's tongue.
'No, scratch that, I ache for you,' she corrected. 'You see, I know that you love me, I've seen the future we could have, and it hurts, knowing that you're denying us that future by hiding your heart away from me. Is life with me so terrible to contemplate that you would rather break our hearts than try it?'
Words of love formed in Snape's throat, only to die on his tongue. How could he tell her how much he loved her when she already knew him so well? Tears were slowly rolling down her cheeks, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her until the pain went away. Knowing that he was the cause of that pain tore at his heart.
'Hermione . . .'
She touched shaking fingers to his lips, silencing him.
'I don't want to hear that you don't deserve me, that I'm too innocent,' she told him. 'If you truly don't want me, don't love me, then say it to my face, and I'll leave. I won't come back to torment you, and we'll never speak of it again.'
'Hermione, I . . .'
She gazed up into his eyes, a defenceless vulnerable child who needed him to protect her. To love her.
'Just say it, Severus. Or kiss me.'
He looked down at her, and suddenly could not imagine a world where he wouldn't have her. Before him stretched years of waking up beside her, of basking in the knowledge that she loved him, of sharing their lives together. The bleakness of the alternative was too terrible to imagine.
Almost without knowing it, he grasped her chin, lifting it gently until her lips touched his, brushing lightly together and wiping months of pain and heartache from their minds. Suddenly she sobbed, and he pulled back to see her smiling through her tears.
'You'll never know how scared I was that you'd say no,' she laughed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
'You'd be surprised,' he growled, and pulled her close to kiss her again, this time with all the longing and love that he had suppressed. She pressed herself to him, her slender frame fitting perfectly within the curve of his arms as he tenderly explored her.
Hours later, as he lay beside her, stroking the chestnut curls that adorned her tousled head, Snape finally said the words that had plagued him for over two years. He leant close to her ear, smiling as she turned unconsciously towards him, and whispered,
'I love you.'
*~*~*
Dumbledore swung his wife onto the dance-floor, slipping easily into the time-honoured traditional steps. It had been a day of great joy, tinged with sadness. So many people had gathered to wish happiness on the couple, and yet tears had been shed for those who should have been there.
Ron could be seen teasing Poppy Pomfrey into dancing with him in a corner of the room, while others moved about the room, sharing their hopes and dreams, and the joy that shone in every life. Remus was dancing with Molly Weasley, who had cried all the way through the ceremony as if it was one of her own children getting married. In a corner, Rhys was laughing at Sirius as he tried to have a serious conversation with her, having given up on trying to seduce the Welsh witch. Even Neville and Ginny had managed to make it to the wedding, their lives having become somewhat more hectic since leaving Hogwarts and getting married themselves.
He glanced over to where the bride and groom were posing for a portrait. Severus Snape was happier than the Headmaster had ever seen him, twice over since his young wife had expressed a wish to teach at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had finally acquiesced and given Snape the much coveted Defence Against the Dark Arts position, since Rhys had returned to the Aurors. Hermione had completed her year's apprenticeship with flying colours and was more than capable of teaching her husband's subject.
Minerva smiled up at him, laying her greying head on his aged shoulder. He sighed softly. He was glad for his Minerva. She had kept him on the straight and narrow for most of his life. Their love would never hold the fire and passion of the love the Snapes shared, but would always bind them closely, a deep devotion that would outweigh all other commitments but one.
Hogwarts. Soon the new term would begin, and they would have not one, but two Professor Snapes under their roof. He chuckled, wondering how the students would take that. He felt certain the newly weds were in for a rocky road. Still, who knew? Perhaps they would each teach the other about life, and love.
Dumbledore chuckled. Who would have thought, when she first stepped over the threshold of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry, that Hermione Granger would have such a profound impact on so many lives? Hers would be a life to remember, for many years to come. . .