It was going to be perfect.

Fourteen stirs clockwise. Fourteen stirs anticlockwise. A dash of cinnamon and two grams of cardamom.

Fourteen stirs clockwise. Fourteen stirs anticlockwise. 2.14 grams of crystalized ashwinder venom.

Fourteen stirs clockwise. Simmer for an hour.

Severus watched the potion from his perch on the stool - a necessity given the marathon brewing time on this particular mixture - and watched as the potion in front of him shifted from the distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen to a deeper, opalized shimmer.

It was almost ready.

Severus leaned his head back against the wall as he waited for his alarm charm to signal the time. His first Valentine's Day with a lover.

With his love.

Her gift was going to be perfect. Amorodoratio. He smirked to himself in his cleverness; a spin on the traditional Amortentia, his potion would not inspire false love. No, it would smell not of what attracts the imbiber, but of whom the imbiber loves. Amorodoratio, when consumed, would draw forth the loving feelings already in the imbiber and allow them to experience a pastiche of nostalgic longing.

Word around the neck in a vial-pendant, it would allow the wearer to savor - without risk of addiction - the scent of their love at whim.

Yes. It would be perfect. And just in time for tomorrow's holiday feast.

Snape's eyes drifted closed as he imagined the look on Hermione's face at receiving her gift in front of the rest of the faculty. He sincerely doubted Potter - shite he was supposed to call him Harry now - would give his Ginevra something even half as creative.

Not that it was a competition.

Eyes still closed, Snape smirked.

❤SS/HG❤

His eyes popped open at the tell-tale burbling of a cauldron about to ignite.

"No!" he shouted. "No no no!" He'd forgotten to set the alarm charm entirely! Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid.

Severus rushed forward in a desperate attempt to stave off the pending explosion before potion and cauldron were both destroyed.

He was too late. The cauldron ignited in a plume of flame that nearly took his eyebrows off moments before it shattered and the volatile ingredients fell into the flames.

His world went bright orange before fading to black.

❤SS/HG❤

"I think he's waking." A feminine voice spoke softly at his side. Familiar. Comforting. Hermione .

"How can you tell?" A male voice this time. Also familiar. Less comforting. Potter .

The smell of antiseptic potion wafted into his nostrils as he slowly opened his eyes. Ah. Hospital wing. Not dead then. That's something. And there is my Hermione.

"Severus? Love? Can you hear me?" Her voice seemed impossibly loud.

"Of course I can hear you, witch," he croaked. "I'm surprised half the castle can't hear you."

A soft giggle, then her voice in a whisper. "Madame Pomfrey had to repair your eardrums, darling. I suspect everything will feel a bit loud for a few days. How's your vision?"

"You're still beautiful," he responded with a sleepy smile. "The most beautiful creature on earth, even if you're wearing a bloody halo."

"I'll get Madame Pomfrey, Hermione. He's obviously addled," Harry snickered from his chair.

It took almost Herculean effort to give Potter the double finger, but Snape managed it.

"Your eyes are probably adjusting too. She called it flash blindness. It will pass, love." A slight weight caused the side of his mattress to dip down and he felt her hands - cool and smooth - brushing his hair off his forehead. "You gave us quite the scare."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, voice rough. "Can I have some water?"

"Of course."

They were silent for a moment while Hermione helped him sit up, then assisted him in bringing water to his lips and drinking. He felt weak as a kitten.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

"Your cauldron exploded."

"I know that. I mean what happened to my lab?"

She laughed softly again and he could hear tears in the sound. That hurt him more than the bandages on his upper chest did. "The elves have cleaned it. There was a bit of structural damage, but it seems to be repairing itself. Most of your equipment is a loss."

"Bollocks."

"Hmm. Quite." The mattress dipped further as Hermione lay down next him, resting her head on the pillow in an attempt to avoid his wounds. "I thought I'd lost you," she whispered. "Please don't scare me like that again."

"I shall endeavor not to," he said, hearing the slurred grogginess of his own voice. His eyes slid shut of their own volition. "Love you," he murmured.

"I love you too," she whispered.

❤SS/HG❤

Valentine's Day had been a complete wash. Severus was still trapped in the ruddy hospital wing, Poppy was fluttering around him like a peripatetic butterfly, and Hermione - charged with overseeing his classes whist he was in recovery - was nowhere to be found. He'd been forced to deal with a constant stream of visitors - Minerva, Filius, Hagrid, and even Sybil - each bearing chocolates and well-wishes. Now he was stuck with Potter of all people who presented him not with chocolates (which would at least have been appreciated), but with a pack of cards.

"Exploding SnapE?" The 'E' was affixed with spellotape. "Hah bloody hah, Potter. Don't you have a class to teach?"

The little twerp's grin was downright cheeky. "Nope. I'm done for the day. Fancy a hand?"

"I'd rather eat hippogriff dung."

❤SS/HG❤

When Hermione entered the hospital wing after the end of Snape's last class - double potions with Slytherin and Gryffindor fourth years, heaven help her - she was surprised to find her best friend and her lover concentrating on a children's game of Exploding Snap. A sudden crack and bang alerted her to the end of the hand.

"Hah! Toasted you again, Severus! What's that, thirteen to me and twelve to you?"

The potions master snarled. "Best out of twenty-seven."

"Give over! You lost fair and square."

Hermione cleared her throat, drawing two sets of eyes, one dreamy green and the other a dramatic black, to her person. "I think Severus needs to rest now, Harry."

"Oh. Righto. It was fun, Snape. Again tomorrow?"

A curl of the lip and beetling of brows greeted the young DADA professor before the wizard replied. "Two o'clock. Do endeavor to be on time."

Harry's snickering followed the younger man out of the room.

Without further ado, Hermione climbed atop the narrow hospital bed and settled herself at Severus' side much as she had the night before. He breathed a sigh of relief to feel her at his side. A quick peck on the tip of his nose went a long way toward helping him relax into his pillows.

Feeling Hermione shift, he looked down to see her withdraw a vial from beneath her robes. "So Severus, may I ask what it is that you were brewing? The elves said they found these vials next to the cauldron, so they filled them with what potion they could salvage." She glanced down at the unbreakable vial on the delicate silver chain again, stroking her finger over the etched class.

"Amorodoratio," Severus replied.

"Hmm. The name could use some work. Does one imbibe, or simply smell?"

"I'm unsure whether the potion was tainted, so for this batch I would insist that you smell only. Carefully," he cautioned.

With a little smile, Hermione removed the cork from the vial and inhaled slowly. "It smells like...happiness. And love. And you," she said, her smile widening into a grin.

"That was the general idea. May I?" he asked. At her nod he leaned forward to inhale. "Yes. Happiness. And love. And you."

Hermione snuggled in more comfortably. "Thank you. This was the best gift I could have imagined."

"Only for you, Hermione. Only for you."

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "It's still Valentine's Day. Would you like your gift?"

Severus' smile was that of a twelve year-old offered a lifetime supply of Honeyduke's chocolate. "Yes, please."

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small object, placing it in his hand. The simple white gold ring was warm from her body heat.

"It was my father's," Hermione explained. "My parents married in the late sixties. When they became engaged, my mother declared it only fair that he receive an engagement ring too. This is it."

He raised his eyes to hers slowly. "Hermione, are you asking me to marry you?"

"I am." She appeared to be holding her breath.

He grinned. "My darling girl. Of course. Yes. Yes."

He reached for her, ignoring the pull of his bandages and the twinge of his bruises. The newly engaged couple embraced as passionately as they could, given the circumstances. "We need to get you a ring to match, my love."

"I look forward to it." Her smile was brilliant.

❤SS/HG❤

When visiting hours ended an hour later, it was a visibly moved Poppy Pomfrey who entered the private ward to see two of her favorite people curled up in sleep. With a little sigh, she decided to let the lovers sleep on with nothing more than a whispered Nox .