Post Scriptum: In Which We Evaluate The Result

Severus barged into his lab just in time to hear the timer charm go off, indicating that he needed to add the puffer-fish eyes to the large copper cauldron that simmered in the middle of the room. He added the eyes, stirred four times clockwise and once anti-clockwise, turned the heat down a bit and reset the timer for the next stage before checking his other potions. He had an order for an advanced Spattergroit cure from St Mungo's, another order from a private and well-paying customer for a non-addictive sleeping draught, two experimental potions to check for the Weasley twins, and a grandfather clock to check for curses and Dark magic at the request of the Department of Mysteries. In short, he was happily busy, but he had still made the time to go to Diagon Alley to retrieve his order from the Goblin jeweller at Horizont Alley, just off Diagon Alley.

Everything seemed to be in order, as usual, and he turned down the lights as he left again. Sometimes he still felt as if it was all a dream, this new life he was living four years after the War ended. Running his own business from his own cottage in north Dorset, far from a thousand-year-old castle in the depths of Scotland filled with dunderhead children.

He stayed at Hogwarts for two more years after the Dark Lord's fall, before starting his own potions and magic consultancy business. Among his first clients were the Weasley twins, and it was with their requests for potions and research ideas that his business could take off, their orders bringing in a lot of gold to his vault. The first year on his own had been difficult, but he'd still made it through without going into debt.

Shutting the door behind him he took a deep breath, looking out over the courtyard while fingering the small box in his pocket. It felt surreal that all of it was his. The main cottage building was flanked by the lab on one side, once a garage slash outhouse, and another building on the other side which was currently not in use but had once been used for storage and excess guests. All three buildings were whitewashed with slate roofs and dark brown window frames and doors. Lilac bushes and various flowers lined the flowerbeds next to the buildings with a stretch of gravel linking the three entrances, and a lawn stretched out between the buildings down to the far end of his property delineated by an old hedge. He'd put in a Potions garden along the gavel end of the lab building, with some help from Pomona and to his surprise also from Longbottom.

While he walked the few steps to the main building his thoughts swirled back to that time at the Manor and just afterwards, the beginnings of his new life.

Albus had been a bit put out, to put it lightly, when Severus announced that the Dark Lord was dead and gone. Severus had simply mentioned it in response to a question about upping Hogwarts' security during the staff meeting before the start of term, right after their weekend at the Manor.

It was Minerva who had raised the question. "But what about Hogsmeade weekends, Albus? There are Death Eaters about. Surely the students need a bit more protection than two accompanying teachers?"

"Whatever for, Minerva?" Severus had interjected.

She looked at him as if he had grown an extra head, or a turkey was roosting on his head. Or something like that. "You-know-who, Severus."

He raised an eyebrow at her and took a sip of his tea. "No, I don't, as a matter of fact. He's gone and won't ever come back. The Death Eaters are in the hands of the Aurors."

The room had erupted into chaos, with his colleagues shrieking questions, laughing, crying, or just plain disbelieving him. Albus happened to fall in the latter category. In the end the old goat only accepted his words as truth after asking Kingsley to confirm them.

Severus had also managed to get confirmation that a potential Horcrux had been destroyed at Hogwarts over the weekend. Apparently there had been a bit of an explosion in a rarely-used corridor on the seventh floor, and the elves were able to retrieve a sparkly diadem from the room. It shone brightly but a few spells confirmed that it had recently been used as a receptable for some very Dark spells indeed, but that it wasn't tainted any longer. Albus had been very surprised to see it and confirmed it to be Rowena's old diadem, and it was placed next to Godric's sword in the Headmaster's office.

His thoughts strayed to Hermione as he entered through the large, rustic kitchen where Winky had cleaned and polished everything until it shone. The elf had joined him when he left Hogwarts, saying she had decided he was her new master, and that was that. He'd found her to be helpful with tending the Potions garden, and also with reminding him to eat regularly even if he complained about her interruptions.

Hermione had spent a few months after the war travelling, first a trip to Australia with her parents and then with Harry through Wizarding Europe.

There had been letters. So many letters. He had been wary at first, when the memory of her as a student had been a bit too fresh, assuming she'd find someone more worthy of her once she was out in the real world, away from Hogwarts. When she hadn't wavered he'd reluctantly succumbed to the complete infatuation he'd been nurturing ever since that summer. It was terrifying and exhilarating and completely new to him, the way thoughts of her snuck in on him at every inopportune opportunity. When he acknowledged the feelings to himself he also opened the door to all those old fears, insecurities and doubts that always followed him, telling him that he would never be enough, that she would leave him, that he could never make her happy.

Luckily those thoughts didn't manage to gain enough traction for him to do something stupid, as he was wont to do. Hermione had sent him a bracelet bought from a magical shoppe in Florence. It was a simple black leather band with silver thread forming an almost Celtic knot pattern, with her having the other half of the pair although hers was brown instead of black. If the wearer of one of the bracelets thought about the person wearing the other bracelet while touching it with their hand, the linked bracelet would warm up as long as the feelings were positive. They had never gone more than half a day without one of the bracelets heating up, causing the other to respond in kind.

The cottage was a good size for him, for them. Half of the ground floor was taken up by a sitting room where he quickly installed floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, while the other half had the kitchen, storage areas and a small bathroom. The sitting room was open all the way up to the ceiling beam trusses, with the bedrooms and a larger bath over the kitchen half. The stairs to the upper half were accessible from the living room, ending in a small interior balcony overlooking the sitting room. He called for Winky to bring him some tea as he settled in his favourite armchair with a few Potions journals, but his thoughts kept returning to the witch that had captivated him so, and his fingers kept returning to the small box in his pocket.

The first time they'd met again was for Christmas. He'd felt terribly awkward and unsure about it all. Letters were one thing, but the distance had added time for his insecurities to sneak back in. He hadn't expected to see her until after the holidays, what with her being busy at the Burrow and with her own family, but there she was, standing in the Great Hall an early Sunday morning, the day after the students had left for their break. She'd lit up when she spotted him and half ran down the Hall to the staff table before her steps faltered just by the dais and he could see the same uncertainties reflected in her eyes. Without thought he was out of his chair and strode to meet her, crushing her to himself in a hard hug just as she rose on her tiptoes to reach for his lips. He lost himself in the kiss until he heard Hooch's wolf whistles and broke away to glare at his colleague. Luckily no one else was there and Hooch just grinned and gave them both a thumbs up before Severus led Hermione down to his quarters, away from nosey colleagues.

"I came here first," she confessed and smiled at him. "I missed you, Severus."

He kissed her again, at a loss for words. No one had ever came first to him before, or told him that they missed him.

She stayed with him that night, in his bed, although nothing happened between them. Still, it had been nice to have her there, and to be able to share some meals in the privacy of his quarters without being under the scrutiny of the Headmaster, the Deputy, and all the other nosey busybodies. She left after breakfast the next day, to see her parents for a few days.

Both of them had been invited to the Burrow on Christmas Eve for dinner, along with a few others from the Order such as Kingsley, Tonks, Albus and Minerva. It had been slightly stressful to try to hide their newfound… whatever it was… from the others, but neither of them wanted the scrutiny of Molly Weasley or Minerva or Albus. The twins did a synchronised eyebrow waggle at them, Luna smiled and offered her congratulations and Tonks grinned and gave him a thumbs-up but those gestures were, to his surprise, both genuine and not completely unwelcome.

He stole a kiss when she left for her parents' home. She'd spend Christmas day with them, and so he had already given her a gift when they met at Hogwarts.

Minerva had pulled him aside during their Christmas lunch the next day but to his surprise it wasn't to berate him. She'd forced him into a hug, said she was happy for him — for them both — and that he'd better not muck this up or she'd shed fur all over his robes for the next few years. Albus didn't say anything. The extra-large bag of Muggle candy he had brought for the Headmaster had certainly helped with keeping the old wizard distracted.

He had returned to his quarters after lunch, keen to settle in with the latest issue of Potions Monthly and a tumbler of Lucius' Firewhisky. An hour or so later he was disturbed by a knock at the door. To his surprise it wasn't Minerva, or Hooch, or Pomona asking him to join them in their traditional Christmas drinking game. Instead, Hermione stood there, nervously biting her lip.

"I told my parents I was invited to the Burrow and I told the Weasleys I wanted to stay home for Christmas," she admitted just before he caught her in a crushing embrace.

He frowned. "Why would you do that?"

She pushed lightly against his chest to better look at him. "To be with you, of course? Who else would I want to spend my Christmas with?"

They'd spent the rest of Christmas day in front of the fire, reading, talking and just enjoying the closeness. For Severus, it had been as close to perfect as he'd ever come. She'd given him some Potions texts from Italy along with a new research journal, and he'd given her a necklace with an emerald in a silver setting.

She'd stayed for a few days in his quarters and they were slowly taking their physical relationship further but to his surprise he was content with the kisses and the way she couldn't resist touching him whenever she could, rather than trying to push her boundaries too fast. It was surprisingly intimate, the way she put her feet on his thighs as they read, or kissed his cheek in passing, or leaned against him when he stood close by.

Severus looked up from the latest issue of Potions Monthly when the door to his cottage opened and shut with slightly more force than what was necessary. His smirk broadened into a half smile when he heard her irate mutterings as she shed her work robes and bag.

"… can you imagine that! No Mr Winkles, I won't condone a test with live newts added to the Ministry's water supply just to make people jump higher! Oh, hello Severus." She saw him in the chair and went over to kiss his nose. He reached out a hand to her.

"Indeed. It sounds like your day was a tad more eventful than mine."

Hermione smiled and kissed his cheek again, making his heart swell. "Did you finish the order for France?"

"Yes, no problems there."

He fingered the small box in his pocket, again. It was perfect, and he was nervous.

"Severus?"

"Hm?" He rose from the chair and caught her in a hug, reaching down for a kiss, as a distraction to one or both of them.

"You're not listening to me! What's that in your pocket?"

He took a deep breath.

The Malfoys had arranged a large ball for New Years that year, wanting to celebrate their freedom from the despot who had taken over their home and Gringotts vault for so long. Over three hundred people were invited, including the whole Weasley clan and all the Hogwarts staff, but Severus only had eyes for his witch who had been radiant in a green and gold dress. By the end of that evening, no one could doubt that Hermione Granger was his witch. She hadn't left his side but for the occasional nature's call, and that kiss they'd shared when the clock struck midnight was in no way chaste.

He had expected her to continue her travels, but instead she'd stayed with him for a few weeks as term started up, saying she owed him two weeks' worth of grading after their bet at the park. Kingsley and Lucius had also approached her about starting an internship at the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, in the Investigations and Research group, and so she got herself set up in a tiny flat just off Diagon Alley and started working in February.

They'd made it through another year and a half before he quit Hogwarts and both of them moved to the cottage he'd bought. She'd moved on from the internship after a few months and took a junior position in the same group, but now after three and a half years she seemed a bit fed up with her position and lack of advancement.

He flinched when the box jumped out of his pocket. This wasn't in the plan, not at all. After a heroic dive to catch it before it sprung open he found himself right in front of her, and pushed up on one knee. Now what to say? All his carefully rehearsed words suddenly eluded him.

"Hermione, you are the light of my day. It's your smile that is the reason I get up in the mornings. Living with you has been more than I ever dreamt of, despite the hairs in the sink, the way you hog the blanket and leave half-read books on every possible surface. I wish… I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you… will you be my wife?"

She'd started to draw breath for a protest when he mentioned the blanket hogging but then her face split up in a huge smile. "Yes, yes Severus! Only you. Only ever you."

Letting out a shaky breath he rose to stand, taking her hand in his. The box easily opened to reveal the platinum ring within, with a diamond in the centre and small emeralds along the band. She watched with large eyes as he put the ring on her finger and it resized to fit her.

"I love you, Hermione Granger." His lips sought hers for a sweet kiss. They were still as exhilarating as that first time.

She looked up at him, her right hand tangling in his hair, a big smile on her face. "I love you, Severus. Always."

He smiled then, a real smile, and laced his fingers through hers. Whatever life would choose to throw at them, from that point on, they'd face it together.