** I don't own these characters or the stories they belong to **


Hermione and Severus spent their first Christmas sequestered at home alone enjoying the gift of each other, body, heart and mind. Thus they also continued those first five months, touring every place either of them had interest in, equally enjoying remote idyllic locations and the amazements offered in the libraries and museums in the more metropolitan locales. Dedicated entirely to each other as they were those first few months, they solidified their bond and they fell ever more in love with each other, which neither of them thought possible, but so it was.

So different was Severus when he was with Hermione than who he had been before his death that he seemed a stranger to himself when it occurred to him. He was frequently awed when he realized the ways in which Hermione had healed and changed him. The precious boy within him that had been hurt and neglected, she held and cuddled, protected and defended, cared for and loved unconditionally. The vulnerable and insecure teen within him that had been bullied and abandoned, she accepted, included, offered the deep bond of unwavering friendship to, adventured with, and seduced. The defensive and angry man who had been so terribly used and overlooked, she supported and affirmed, she validated his worth and accepted his guidance and protection, she challenged with her intellect and enlightened with her kindness and gentle humor, and, perhaps his favorite, she gave herself fully to, falling apart in his arms as she did so. Outwardly, to all else, Severus was much the same, but the difference to who he was inside was worlds apart, though she was the only person who saw the difference fully. And Hermione treasured every glimpse.

Around everyone else, the man was a more patient, less angry and defensive version of his former self, though his humor remained entirely sarcastic and his wit, as ever, was razor-sharp. Although he was less intentionally mean, Severus did not often soften his quips nor spare truth when confronted with idiocy. Hermione frequently had to bite her lips and sometimes had to turn snorts of laughter into coughs to hide her amusement when this happened in front of others. Even when he was enjoying a private rant of epic proportions, Hermione found humor in his wicked wit where he had intended none and he frequently looked up to find amusement writ on her face and dancing in her eyes. This, of course, tended to have the effect of immediately overcoming his anger and irritation. Even, and most especially when her smirks appeared when he displayed his irritation with her.

True to her word, Hermione was fully capable of being a prickly porcupine and acted towards others as such when it was called for, thus sparing Severus the necessity of doing anything other than adding his terrifying scowl in for good measure. She often ran front in their public encounters, being perfectly kind unless rudeness, insult, or accusatory innuendo was directed at Severus, and she tolerated this not at all. Severus, for his part, fully recognized Hermione's capability and allowed her to handle the confrontations that she encountered while staying close by, and, if anyone was thick enough not to recognize the formidable threat present in her ire, his cowing presence and fierce countenance left perpetrators no question that death would be preferable to retribution at his hands should the situation progress to the point that his intervention became necessary.

These more extreme interventions were mostly necessary within the Wizarding World to which they returned after their months long tour that ended with a stay in Texas to visit with the Robertson's and their other friends. Their return to Wizard Britain occurred in time for Hermione to sit for her N.E.W.T.'s which, to no one's surprise, she aced with all O's, surpassing even Severus' record. This, in addition to her fame as the heroic Gryffindor Princess, and that which she had already accomplished with Lucius towards social and educational reforms, meant that she was highly sought after for employment and apprenticeships.

The world of opportunity was opened wide before her, but whereas Severus' steadfast acceptance, love and devotion had led her to accept that she was good enough and that she had more than earned her rightful place in the Wizarding World, she was no longer driven to prove herself through maniacal effort at the expense of her friends and family. She yet had a deep desire to accomplish good things, but she now set about doing so in such a way as to maintain a healthy balance. She studied under the personal tutelage of the Head of the D.M.L.E., and in time was appointed to the Wizengamot, but was never an employee of the Ministry in more than a consultancy status. That's not to say that she was not highly influential within the Ministry, for in addition to consulting with many departments owing to being well known as a gifted and highly logical researcher, her impeccable character and logical impartiality earned the respect of many within the Ministry and at her suggestion, she was appointed to serve as an internal auditor and to consult in the process of vetting employees. She literally wrote the book, or at least the protocols, guidelines and job description for this independent appointment, ensuring fair and ongoing oversight that would prevent future Dolores Umbridges.

Working with Lucius, Hermione instituted helpful educational reforms and taught as an adjunct professor in the cross-cultural colloquium class. This class took on so well that students began and self-governed a well attended cross-cultural club that organized a multitude of events, the most popular of which was Muggle movie nights. Working with Draco who worked for and ascended within the Ministry, Hermione advocated strongly for equal rights between blood status, Muggle protection and the rights of Magical creatures. Amongst the accolades given to the wizard heroes of the Wizarding Wars, Hermione ensured the recognition of the house elves, centaurs and goblins who fought or fell against the Dark Lord. For this, and because she made the effort of learning and listening (and because she apologized for her misunderstanding to the Hogwarts house elves and made reparations to Gringott's for the break-in and dragon escape) these beings accepted her as a liaison and advocate.

Severus kept his years busy advancing the fields at which he was expert. Though he didn't work for the Ministry either, he was also influential behind the scenes as he consulted regularly for the Aurors and trained them for undercover work. He wrote textbooks for potions and DADA classes and commercial books on the same subjects. He taught as an adjunct professor, guest lectured, and offered training to healers for diagnosing and treating damage done by dark spells and potions. He grew his field by training potions apprentices for journeyman and mastership status (for which level he was much more suited than the lower levels). He also built and operated a highly successful potions lab for training and employing those who could brew the potions necessary for hospitals, infirmaries, and the more difficult potions for apothecaries, thus freeing him from the daily grind of potion-making and freeing up time for personal and collaborative research.

Their heaviest years of work were not undertaken until each of their children left for Hogwarts. Their first child was born a little over two years after they were married, in January, the day before Severus' birthday. Severus was an over-protective and anxious expectant father. He took prodigious care of Hermione during each of her pregnancies, especially the first, for which Hermione was thankful and sometimes exasperated and amused. Severus was awed and joyous and apprehensive at the prospect of becoming a father. His pride and protective instinct doubled as he watched Hermione expand with their child, but so did his recollection of his own father. His worries that he would prove as inadequate a father as his own had been were mitigated by the love he already had for his unborn child and by Hermione's constant gentle yet fierce assurances. Toward the end of the pregnancies, Severus was assailed by fear of something happening to Hermione during labor and delivery. Lucius and Arthur tried to assure him, but it didn't help much. Hermione spotted his growing fear and kept calming draught to hand, packed in the hospital bag. Though Severus tried to keep outwardly calm, Hermione read the terror in his eyes when she went into labor and forced him to take the calming draught, reluctant yet thankful that she foisted it on him in relative privacy at a time when they were unattended.

Sebastian Valerius Snape-Prince was born after a normal, routine labor that nonetheless put Severus in mind of an intermittent cruciatus curse. He was awed and proud of his precious wife and tears ran silently down his face as his heart's capacity doubled and overflowed with love the instant he held the miracle of his son in his arms for the first time. Severus was giving, but not overindulgent, kind but not overly effusive, and strict but not overly stern father. However much he was tempted to give without limit, spoil and take it easy as a father, he had taught and mentored too many children in his nearly twenty years of teaching too ever be under the illusion that he could do so without detriment to his child. He did his very best not to discipline whilst in the throws of anger, which he and Hermione had mutually agreed upon, however trying it became. If physical discipline became necessary, Hermione delivered the swats, which they had also agreed upon as Severus saw the necessity of them but had vowed never to raise his hands against his children.

Sebastian was a beautiful child, with the long dark hair and serious dark eyes of his father, the nose and chin of his mother in his round little face, and the keen and quiet intelligence of both of his parents. His dark eyes pierced, but not in the way that his father's did. They were set in a cherubic face that was nearly always serious, but not scowling, and his old-soul eyes gave the impression that they saw to the heart of you and missed nothing when he looked at you. He was a quiet and content child, and his smiles and little-boy giggles, though given sparingly were blinding and angelic when he did give them.

When Sebastian was two and a half, his little sister, Sabinia Jean, was born. She also had the dark hair of her father, but the former curls, though not frizz, of her mother. She was a force to be reckoned with, more out-going than either her parents or her elder brother, and she a bleeding heart like her mother, though it was camouflaged by her intelligent and fierce intensity. Her little brother, Adrian Severus, was one and a half years her junior, and most like her in personality. He looked very like his older brother, save that his expression was one of perpetual smiling mischief, and his dark hair was less straight and more wavy. Adrian's hair and mischievous personality had the misfortune of reminding his father of a certain dark-haired Marauder. Though Severus loved his name-sake child dearly, he had the most difficulty of all his children, relating to this second son. It helped that the Weasley twins, recognizing a kindred spirit, took him into training, so to speak, and his mischief therefore tended more to the funny, intelligent kind and less to the snobbish, bullying kind. Their fourth and last child, Aelia Rosalind, was the only one that took wholly after her mother in looks, save that there were more touches of gold in her light brown curly-tending-towards-frizz-without-special-care hair, and her personality was one of perpetual quiet and gentle happiness and kindness. She was most like her eldest brother in her quiet penetrating regard, except that her countenance was sunny and not serious, and they all doted on her, especially Sebastian.

Working contract and on their own schedules as Severus and Hermione did until their children departed for school, they were a constant, comforting, strength and presence in their children's lives. The Snape-Prince children may have groaned when their parents' obvious love and affection were displayed before them, but they lived safe and assured within the protection and security of their parents' love. They took plenty of family holidays, spent plenty of time in the Muggle world when they lived summer weeks next door to the Robertson's and their children. Their family merged easily and frequently with the enormous Weasley family and their many children and were a large family themselves to Scorpio and his parents Draco and Astoria.

Hermione melted with love for her husband when she saw him tenderly caring for his children, reading to them in his deep, steady voice, patiently teaching them the art of potions, or smiling in gentle play with them. Severus too was amazed by Hermione's gentle kindness, boisterous play and fierce love as a mother. Her temper towered, at times, to rival that of Molly Weasley, but it was channeled into a quiet ferocity that contrasted so much with her usual gentle and calm kindness that it terrified and remonstrated with amazing effect. Severus and Hermione taught their children the lessons of the past, (Hermione's compiled and published Tales of the Phoenix were frequent family reading), they ensured their children's knowledge and experiences balanced between Muggle and Wizarding culture and traditions, they challenged and supplemented the keen intelligence and individual gifts of each of their children, and they taught them, by example and active involvement, the importance of caring for others and standing up for what is right. As much as possible, and greatly aided by the normalcy within their close friendships, they insulated their children from their notoriety, and they channelled their memories of the past into reminders not to take each other or any of their time together for granted.

Many years later, when they had accomplished that which they had intended, and they had grown up grandchildren of their own, Minerva retired and Severus once again took up the title of Headmaster. He and Hermione lived out all but the very last years of their lives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where they had met so many, many years ago. Their lives were a testament to the healing power of love and they left a tremendous legacy behind them, both in accomplishments and in the living legacy of their children and their families - a legacy that preserved their world and lived on long after they departed for their last, great adventure.