Their week was thus drastically busy. As well as the usual work, Severus made sure he was interviewed by Seamus Finnegan on his evening show Wrap Up, where he laid out the strands of their research with sundry links to already-known Wizarding Laws and the introduction of the ramifications of the plot. Hermione and Heathcote arranged for an advertising slip to be included in the next edition of the Prophet which, when held, changed into a clear repudiation of any Law requiring policing of the marriages of adults of legal age and any gender, bloodline or religious persuasion. Meanwhile, Deidre continued her searches of the old Prophet issues.

Finally the mainstream Wizarding world started to take notice. The expected denunciation was as planned and as furious as Hermione expected – she was summoned, along with the others, to appear on a live TV broadcast on Friday night where the Minister was going to openly refute any and all of the allegations. The summons appeared on the Wednesday morning while she was at work, and she was poking the piece of parchment with her wand and wondering how she had managed to get herself into this situation, when there was a knock at her door and her Head of Department came in.

"Draco."

"Granger."

He sat himself across the desk from her, and looked as if he had swallowed a toad. She let him stew for a minute as she shuffled papers, but finally she looked up and nodded. "What do you want? I'm already likely to be suspended, if not sent off to Azkhaban. You needn't worry about me taking up your precious office space for much longer."

He swallowed, opened his mouth two or three times, then finally spoke. "I need your help."

"Mine?"

"Don't look so surprised, Granger. You obviously know why I need you."

"Oh but Draco! This is so sudden, and I'm already married!" She tilted her head coquettishly, and flashed her wedding ring.

"Put a sock in it, Granger. This is serious." He was scowling, but his voice was quite desperate. "I need the Marriage Law to stay in place. If you get rid of it, I'll be …"

"It's Lisa, isn't it?" Hermione felt like a fisherman who has finally hooked the prize-winning salmon. "You want to marry her, and you want the Marriage Law to be your excuse so that your mother can't block it."

To his credit, Draco cut his blustering and just nodded. "She's something special. She's sweet, and supportive, and she brings out a side of me that I didn't realise I had. When I'm with her, I'm feeling quite … well, I wouldn't go so far as to say nice and kind, but it's …"

"I think I understand."

"You do?"

Hermione nodded and put her hands flat on the table. "After the War, it was so difficult for me to just be Hermione Granger. I was always Hermione of the Golden Trio, a War Hero, a celebrity. For a while there I couldn't even walk down Diagon Alley without being surrounded by people wanting to touch me – or yell in my face. And we were on the winning side. It must have been very difficult for you."

"Father's actions didn't help. We're not even properly on the losing side. We ran away. I have that to live up to all the time." Draco couldn't meet her eyes, but the slump in his shoulders told her far too much. "Lisa doesn't know who I am. She doesn't know what my family did, or anything about Blood Purity or … She loves me. Draco. The guy with the strange first name and the big house in the country."

"Does your mother know yet?"

"Not yet. I'm dreading telling her. But if I can tell her we have to marry … "

Hermione thought for a minute, while Draco looked more and more uncomfortable. Then she grinned. "What if you could marry Lisa on your own terms, with your mother's approval – or at least agreement? Because the Law's so unfair on the rest of us. And if it continues, then it's the gateway to bringing other laws in, ones that will really restrict our freedoms and choices. But as it stands at the moment, you're using the Marriage Law to choose who you can marry while so many people are blocked from their own choice."

"I don't know …"

"Think of it this way, Draco. You'll have to tell Lisa who you are eventually. And what we are. How is she going to feel if the love of her life brought about her happiness at the expense of so many others? Is she still going to love you then?"

"That's harsh."

"But accurate."

Draco hesitated a moment, then … "Yes. I am sorry to admit it, but I think you may, for once, be right."

"Good. Right. Well, I have an idea. But it's going to mean some fast work – and your assistance and co-operation. Shall we meet on Friday morning?" She stood and walked to the door, opening it in a clear message of dismissal. Once Draco had left, she grabbed her mobile phone and sent a message for Heathcote to call her as soon as he could.

-0-

Friday outside the studio was cold and miserable. The drizzle did nothing to raise the spirits of the four who met beside the walkway up to the studio. Inside, they were hustled into small dressing rooms where worried-looking staff helped them into their respective sets of robes and did their makeup. Hermione wanted them to present as serious and sombre, and she had chosen beautifully-fitted subtly-patterned robes with suits underneath, even over the protests of Heathcote. But when the makeup was finished, she almost screamed.

"I want to look respectable. You've made me look like a harpy!"

From the cubicle beside her, Deidre was likewise loud. "I am a mature-aged witch. You do not make me look like a cross between Ru Paul and Xenophilius Lovegood. They are both lovely people but I am not them!"

Hermione grabbed her wand and ran it over the makeup, subduing the garish eyeshadow and neon blusher into something more suitable for her personality, then ran in and did the same to Deidre. The makeup artist was standing to the side, looking very uncomfortable.

"Why in the name of Merlin's saggy and pendulous did you do that?"

"Isn't that who you are? The Pansexual Polyamorous Party Wizards who want open marriages and free love? That's what the instructions came through as." The artist handed a small card over, and Hermione and Deidre read it in growing horror.

"They're trying to discredit us," Deidre gasped. "If they can label us as wanton whores, they'll make us look as if we're doing this for our own sordid motives. We'd better check what they've done to Heathcote and Severus."

Sure enough, Severus looked as if he was a quintessential dirty old man on the lookout for some unprotected child, whereas Heathcote looked not too dissimilar to how he appeared on stage. They both quickly agreed to the fix by Hermione, and it was the sombre, professional and mature team that presented themselves to the studio floor for the interviews. Although it had to be said that while Severus and Hermione looked calm and collected, Deidre and Heathcote had the sort of eager smile that parents show at Christmas while waiting for the children to unwrap their presents.

The Minister was already seated in a comfortable chair on one side of the studio floor next to an empty one, and the four were ushered onto a long settee opposite him. Between the two obvious sides was another chair, this one a high bar stool style in bright red.

"Who's presenting?" Heathcote's whisper was barely audible.

"No idea." Hermione looked around for a sign of the presenter but no-one seemed to be taking the chair. The magical cameras were pointing at all the chairs (viewers with the right television sets could watch any view they wanted, including all at once), and the floor manager came over quickly to set up the microphone spell that would ensure their words reached the audience. But as she came over to Severus, he stood and loomed over her while murmuring in her ear. To Hermione's surprise, the young woman smiled and nodded emphatically. Then she stepped back and faced the group.

"Your voices will transmit all the time, so if you need to sneeze or cough, touch your right ear and the microphone will be temporarily muted. You can overwrite any muting by touching your left ear twice." She paused for a moment then repeated, "Any muting."

Hermione looked to Severus, who nodded slowly at her. She made a mental note to ask him afterwards what he had said to the woman, but suddenly there was a countdown, music, the lights came up, the cameras swung back to the chairs.

Most of the cameras.

One was pointed to the left of the stage, ready for the presenter who came on but a moment later. Striding onto the set, her notebook in her hand, was Rita Skeeter. The reporter's smug smile was broader than Hermione had ever seen it, and her walk was one of triumph. She sat in the presenter's chair and smiled into the camera.

"Good evening, and welcome to another episode of Truth and Manipulation. I am your host, Rita Skeeter, and we are here tonight to investigate a serious effort by a group of radical Mages to destabilise the Government by rejecting the laws which have been introduced over the last year. On your left we have that group, led by the well-known troublemakers Hermione Granger and Severus Snape. On your right, Minister of Magic David Gudgeon. We are shortly to be joined by a senior official in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, who will be taking us through all the logistics and explanations of why the Marriage Law was introduced. But let us start with the Minister. If you'd please?"

The cameras swung to Gudgeon, who touched his left ear and then turned to look directly down the lenses.

"Good evening. I'd like to start by reiterating what the fundamental elements of the Marriage Law are. Basically, any witch or wizard of age who is of Pureblood status was required to marry someone with a reasonable proportion of Muggle blood, or forfeit their right to be a part of Wizarding society. It was debated properly in the Wizengamot, and passed by a majority of those present, who constituted a quorum and thus it was legally binding. Those who had not found a partner, or who had already contracted to marry and could prove this, were exempt from the Law. Thus we find it extremely disturbing that a small number of those subsequently married under the Law, who had been matched according to the best possible algorithms and Arithmancy available to the Ministry, have chosen to protest this legislation and deny the rights of the Wizengamot to apply these laws." He paused, the microphone picking up his breathing and amplifying it. "If they wished to protest their own marriages, these four could well have done so through the proper channels. Instead, they are seeking to destabilise the Government and instigate chaos. Such behaviour cannot be condoned, cannot be ignored and cannot be dismissed. It must cease forthwith." He sat back in his chair and mopped his brow with a large silk handkerchief.

"A fair and concise summary, Minister. Now, I understand that Heathcote Barbary is the spokeswizard of your group. Would you care to explain what exactly your band of dissenters and seditionists is about?" Rita smoothed her hair, and nodded to the camera to point at the group.

Heathcote and Hermione looked at each other, and Heathcote hit his mute button. "I can't talk for all of us!" Hermione was about to reply when Deidre reached over and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Yes you can. You'll be brilliant. Now do it."

He stood, a little unsteadily, and looked at the Minister. Reactivating his microphone, he began.

"Minister, Miss Skeeter, I and my fellow protesters are bringing this matter to the Ministry, and seeking to have the Marriage Law repealed, and all who wish to have their marriages annulled. While the Law may have been ratified by the Wizengamot, I have proof that the attendance that night – for it was held in the dead of night – was stacked by the strange co-incidence of a series of summonses for a majority of the members to 'urgent' meetings across the country, and the suggestion that their proxy be assigned to one of the other members. As another co-incidence, that member was Department Head Malfoy, who cast all the votes for which he held proxies, and his own, for the introduction of the Marriage Law. The record does not clearly show who voted for what, and thus those members who left strict instructions that their vote be recorded in the negative assumed that theirs was one of the only 10 "no" votes. I have contacted many of the members, and have a signed and verified list here of at least 20 who would have voted against the proposal, to be added to the 10 actually present who voted against it. Thus the Law is invalid." He stopped, and took a sip of the water from his chair.

"Secondly, I can show that an insufficient amount of time was allowed for those affected by the Law to either make their own arrangements, or to protest the application of the Law. Wizarding rules used to require at least thirty days between the announcement of the intention to marry and the actual marriage. Anything shorter was an exception and only allowed with an application to the appropriate Department, thus ensuring that no hasty and precipitous marriages occurred. I note those applying the new Law took advantage of the wording of the Wizarding Marriage Equality Bill of ten years ago, where there was no mention of the obligatory waiting time. However, I would submit to the Minister and those present that the Equality Bill was an addition to, not a replacement of, the original Of the Marriage of Witches and Wizards Law, and only served to amend the limits of those allowed to marry to any two Wizarding adults who are not currently married. But it is not to be used to hasten the marriages of those who are forced into them."

Heathcote turned back to the others, to be encouraged by Hermione's smile, Deidre's thumbs up and Severus's quiet but positive nod. He turned back now to face the camera, not the Minister, but was vaguely aware that Draco had come in and taken the seat beside Gudgeon.

"Finally, I submit that the Law has done the utmost to discredit and belittle those adults who have been matched to others without consultation or agreement. I have been very lucky to be married to Hermione Granger, a woman of great intellect and reason and one whose care and friendship I value highly. But it was not her choice, and neither was it mine. We turned up separately to the Ministry with no idea what the summons was about, and walked out as husband and wife. Many others were placed in unions not nearly as pleasant as ours, and some indeed have ended in abusive relationships or worse. We should have been treated like the adults that we are. We should have been given choice, given consideration, and most importantly we ourselves should have given consent."

"But there is worse than this. We believe that the entire Law, while proffered by someone outside the realm of the Ministry, was pushed through by someone with a vested interest in breaking the traditions of Pure Blood. And that someone, while inspired by the best possible intentions of being able to marry the person they love, instead created a disaster when no-one else had that choice. This needs to be remedied, and I believe it can only be at the behest of that person."

He paused, and turned to look back at the Minister and at Draco sitting beside him.

Draco rose and walked towards Heathcote, then, to the utter and total credit of the Malfoy name, he said two important words.

"I apologise."

The hubbub in the studio came across the stage like a wave, no mean feat when there was no actual audience – just the technicians putting the interview to air. Rita was madly gesturing, and Hermione realised that the reporter was trying to get the broadcast cut, but there were obvious allies in the Production Control Room, as the cameras kept transmitting. Then Rita signalled for the microphones to be shut off.

And Hermione knew at that moment that their strongest ally was the floor manager who had spoken to them earlier. She tapped her left ear twice, as did everyone else on her side of the room, as Draco continued.

"You are absolutely correct, Heathcote, and I would like to unreservedly apologise to you, to your companions, and to every one of the Wizarding community who was affected by this Law. While I did not originally propose it, I considered it a possible means to an end for myself, without considering the damage it would do to everyone else. I thought only of my own happiness, not realising that it would create misery to so many others. So I would like at this moment to offer my skills and power, and any assistance I might to the cause, and to make a public declaration that I believe the Wizarding Marriage Law to be unlawful, illegal and no longer in force."

Minister Gudgeon started to his own feet. "You mean to tell me, Malfoy, that all your slick arguments, your in-depth papers of the advantages of the Law and your insistence that it be instituted immediately were for your own benefit? You … you … SLYTHERIN!"

"But Minister! Think of what good this is doing to the land!" Rita Skeeter now turned in panic to Gudgeon. "We can't repeal it now! What about all the marriages that worked? The Wizards and Witches who would never had found their life's partner if it hadn't been for our efforts? We can't stop it now!"

"I can and I will." The Minister was pointing his finger directly at Rita. "Right. I shall have this ratified by the Wizengamot tomorrow, but as of now, any two people who were brought together by this Law and who no longer wish to be married may have their marriages dissolved, annulled and dispelled upon application to the Ministry. That application may be by Owl, in person, by Muggle Mail, or even email. I will hear no more of this mockery of the Ministry. Malfoy?"

"Yes, Minister?"

"Your father might have been proud of you, but I am not. Present yourself to me on Monday morning at eight sharp. But you might want to marry that wonderful woman first. She came to me last week to ask if things might get hurried along. You don't deserve her, Malfoy, but she seems to think otherwise."

"If you please, Minister, I believe there is someone here who has done more to harm the Wizarding community than anyone else." Hermione was now on her feet, followed by Severus. She held the Arithmancy diagram towards the camera as she spoke, and an enchanted set of arrows now flashed and pointed directly towards the Media Relations Office.

"Go on, Ms Granger. Please. If I know who is responsible, we can trace the source and get rid of the rot." Minister Gudgeon was adamant, although Severus winced at the metaphors.

"Here." Hermione pointed at the paper. "And here."

And she pointed directly towards Rita.

"What?" The reporter glared at Hermione with a hatred that could only come from someone who has been thwarted yet another time by the same clear-thinking intelligent witch. "You're making it up. I would never …"

"You would and you did." Hermione waved her wand, and three more lines on the paper converged on one name. Skeeter. "You were contacted by an American Wizard with intentions towards gaining a foothold in the British Wizarding Broadcasting Community. Such a wizard would not be allowed to own any sort of company like that in Britain, so it has to be owned and run by a British Wizard."

She glared at Rita.

"Or Witch."

"You're delusional. There is no such company."

"There is." Severus nodded at Deidre, who pulled out a large tome open at a page full of names.

"Radio, Internet, Television Association, registered in the name of Myxini Pty Ltd. They may be American, but they are owned and run by Culicidae Incorporated, a British company with only one name listed against it." Deidre pulled out the official paperwork. "I believe that Culicidae is the scientific name for the mosquito, often known as a skeeter. And the initials of the broadcaster spell out R. I. T. A. That cannot be a co-incidence. Who is he, Rita? This American, who wants to insert himself into the British Wizarding community, and take over its culture?"

"You can't prove anything."

"Yes we can." Deidre pointed her finger at Rita. "There's one thing you forgot about. One fact that was staring us in the face, until you yourself jogged my memory. The Law said that every unmarried witch or wizard of pureblood must marry someone with a mixed heritage. And we all did."

She paused, then walked right up to Rita and jabbed her finger on the presenter's chest.

"Except for you, MISS Skeeter."

"She's right!" Minister Gudgeon gasped. "Everyone except for you. And how did you manage that?"

"She's married to Maxwell Myxini, that's why." Severus spoke quietly, but the entire studio – and the whole audience of Wizarding Britain – could hear every clearly annunciated word. "She didn't want us to know about it, but she's married to the Wizard who wants to turn British Wizardry into a clone of the Fundamentalist-minded Ministry-controlled morally-confined bunch of sycophantic motto-chanting mindless crowds we hear about. It's not the whole of the American Wizarding society, but they're trying to stretch that control further and further each year. And it will. Not. Do."

"Skeeter? Consider yourself under investigation, and you will report to my office tonight. Not Monday. Tonight. In one hour. This show is over." The Minister took off his microphone and stalked off, followed closely by Draco. Severus, Hermione, Heathcote and Deidre removed their own sound equipment, and turned and left the studio without even a backwards look at Rita. When they saw the footage later, they watched as each camera and light turned off and Rita was left on a dark stage, just standing there in silence.

-0-

After quickly collecting their belongings, the four met outside the studio entrance. Hermione felt drained, rather than elated.

"It should have been a glorious victory." Deidre also looked quite dejected. "And yet I feel so empty."

"It's not just you. I'm guessing none of us have eaten, as we were stressed about the possible results. I for one didn't think I'd be leaving in anything but the grip of an enforcer on the way to Azkhaban." Severus shook his head. "There's a lovely Indian place nearby – Deidre and I go there often. Shall we?"

The victory dinner was definitely what they needed. By the end, all four had relaxed enough to start enjoying themselves, and each proposed a toast to the others.

"Heathcote, you were brilliant. I had no idea you had such an astute legal mind. To Heathcote, my terribly clever husband." Hermione stood and lifted her glass of mango lassi to him, and the others did likewise.

"To Deidre, whose investigations solved the mystery!"

"Hermione, the puzzle-solver and the Queen of Arithmancy!"

"Severus, whose use of adjectives is nothing short of amazing!"

The restaurant, whose staff had been watching the entire broadcast, brought them rose gulab jamon in a dish, and let them know that their entire bill had been covered by some of the other patrons that night. It was with a warm fuzzy feeling that the four finally left, staggering not from drink but from tiredness, and only incredible good luck saved them from being splinched on their respective ways home.

-0-

The next morning's breakfast with Heathcote, though, was somewhat awkward. Heathcote came into her bedroom fairly late to let her know he had made the pancakes she particularly liked. He even brought out the special stash of genuine Canadian Maple Syrup, but she had the feeling that it was time for a Serious Discussion. They sat at the table opposite each other, and he took her hand and looked in her eyes.

"Hermione, I have been so very lucky."

"Why do I think I know where this is going?"

"Do you mind?"

"I'm not sure." She squeezed his hand. "But please, I do want to hear what you have to say. We agreed on honesty from the beginning, and this is no time to stop."

"You're right, of course." He squeezed back. "And that's part of why I have to do this. Being married to you has been lovely. We get on well, we've both got enough confidence in ourselves that we can stand on our own two feet and do our own things, yet when we work together, we are amazing. But …"

"But?"

"I love you very, very dearly as the best friend I have ever had. I've had years of not trusting people, thanks to the life of a rock star and the adulation of the fans, so when I knew you respected and trusted me, it was a precious gift. I don't believe I shall ever have a friend I care for as much ever again." He paused. "I love you so much as a friend. But not as a husband should."

"You don't think husbands and wives should be friends?"

"Oh, absolutely." He looked worried, and was searching her face to try and work out what she was feeling, but he had to go on. "But I think that they need something else too. A joining of the heart. Love. Being in love, and loving, and caring, and adoring. We have a lot, but we don't really have what makes a marriage."

To his surprise, she smiled, and pulled his hand over so she could kiss it. "I have been so lucky to be married to you. No-one has ever cared for me the way you do. You've looked after me, emotionally supported me, encouraged me … With you, I've been able to face all of this mess. It has been utterly, totally lovely, and I do care for you very much, but you're right. I don't love you that way either. You're the best friend I've ever had, and you will, I hope, always be my friend. But only a friend. And it would hurt me a great deal if you were to stop liking me even if you went and married someone else."

He sighed, a deep, heartfelt sigh. "Do you know what I appreciate the most?"

"No."

"That you have been completely honest with me, all the way, so I know you're not just saying that to spare my feelings. Hermione, you are wonderful, and any man would be so lucky to be your husband. Promise me something?"

"It depends."

"I think you'll be ok with this." He grinned. "When you get married, invite me and I'll play for the reception, and have one wild dance with you too."

"That, I can do, if you do the same for me. Invite me to your wedding and I'll make a speech that'll have the crowd cheering."

They both got up and hugged each other hard.

"When shall we do it?" He looked down at her, and kissed her forehead.

"By email, in five minutes. I bet Draco's got a form up ready on the website already." Hermione sat back down. "No, ten. I have a delicious breakfast made by a lovely and special person, and I am not going to waste it, nor insult it by being on my computer while I could be appreciating every bite. Ummm … could I ask you a favour in return?"

"Ask away. Today I could promise you anything."

"Then, if I might, once in a while can I come over for breakfast?"

"Breakfast can be anytime, so yes." They laughed, then continued eating for a minute or two. Hermione finished her pancakes and sipped her coffee.

"Tell me, Heathcote, and you know you can tell me honestly. Is there someone else?"

"I don't know." He put a bit more butter on his pancake. "I have my own rules. I was not going to do anything to hurt this marriage while it was still legal."

"But now that it won't be?"

"I'm … not sure. I think … perhaps …"

He paused for a moment, obviously struggling to say anything, and Hermione could not bear to see him trying not to hurt her. It wasn't going to hurt, though, and he had to know it.

"Deidre."

"Yes. I think there's something there, and if we're not going to be married, I now feel free to find out. At least I can try. If it doesn't work …"

"If it didn't work, it wouldn't be because you're married and that would be against the rules. Yeah, you never struck me as the Pansexual Polyamorous Party Wizard type." She cracked up, and Heathcote joined in.

"That's why I never married, with all those years of touring. I couldn't enjoy the fun on the road if I was hurting someone back home. But now I know the value of a supportive, caring spouse. I can only hope I find a loving one as well."

"You will, Heathcote. You will."

-0-

Friday night at the Leaky Cauldron's back room was pretty quiet, and Hermione sat herself down with a large Strawberry Daquiri and a dish of pork scratchings. She was set to move out of Heathcote's place as soon as she found somewhere new to live, but tonight particularly she knew he and Deidre were going on a date. Apparently Severus and Deidre felt the same – friends, but not a lasting relationship – and they'd had the marriage dissolved by the day after the email lines opened. And Deidre had moved back to her place and cancelled the rental notices she'd had up, taking just a couple of days to clear out the dust and bring her furniture back into their places. The four had dinner planned there for Sunday night, and Hermione was looking forward to it.

She'd just started jotting down ideas for a dessert to bring when the seat opposite her was taken by a familiar large dark brooding Wizard, who was brooding more than usual. His drink was opaque, swirly and black and bore a closer relationship to Guinness with glitter than to the Black Russian it was supposed to be. It was also very large and half-empty.

"Hi."

The only response was a deep Grump.

Hermione held off saying anything else. She'd seen this before, after their first case together, the one with the green cauldron and the eviscerated gnome. It usually took two drinks to get him out of it, so she waited.

Finally, there was a noise that wasn't inaudible grizzling.

"I suppose you know where they are?" Severus asked.

"Non-specifically, yes. Somewhere in the Theatre district at the opening of a satire based on the rule of Dolores Umbridge during my fifth year in Hogwarts. As to the actual location – well, apparently no-one wanted to admit to hosting it, so the "theatre" is actually the upstairs rooms in a little terrace in Soho that can only be accessed by saying the right phrase. Are you not all right with this?"

"I … I really don't know." He finished his drink and looked in the bottom of the glass as if expecting another to materialise there. "Want another?"

"Please."

Severus was back in a few minutes, the glasses balanced on a tray along with a bowl of sweet potato chips. "I think we'll need some sustenance, and pork scratchings don't really do it."

They spent another few minutes demolishing the food without words. Finally, Severus leaned back and stretched, a slight smile coming to his face.

"It was easy, being married to Deidre. She's … I believe the American term is low maintenance. She never made a mess, never asked for anything apart from consideration for her privacy and sharing the housework, she had her own life, and she was charming and intelligent over the breakfast table. And although it's nice having the space back, it was also pleasant having someone worry about me when I was out too late, or making a cup of tea when we were both working. So it's not that living together was a problem. But … "

"But it wasn't a capital-R relationship." Hermione took a sip. "Heathcote gave great hugs, but I have to admit I was craving a little more. And yet not with him." Suddenly she felt herself growing red, so took another gulp of her drink.

"I've never been married, although I've certainly had my fair share of physical relationships." Severus seemed to find something on the far wall fascinating, as his eyes were fixed on it while he spoke. "But there's always something missing with those. It's not just the sharing a bed that makes it complete – it's waking in the morning and finding them curled around you. Or coming down to breakfast and finding them sitting there with yours made and waiting. Or the feeling you get when you've found just the right brooch for them, and you can see the love in their eyes."

"Oh." Hermione looked down where the scarf ring held her scarf and stopped it from blowing away. "And being able to hold an in-depth conversation with them and there's something you don't know so they explain it, but not in a way that makes you feel stupid."

"Or laughing together when you install the doorbell upside down, or sharing hair-care tips and products."

"Severus, are you trying to say something?"

He looked back at her, and she was surprised to see a flush rise up in his face. "And if I am?"

"Then I think you need to know that whatever you say, you're someone whose intellect I appreciate, whose opinions I respect, and whose … " Now she blushed. "Whose nose I would like to kiss some day."

"Oh."

Hermione braced herself, and tried to breathe slowly and deeply to fend off the impending panic she could feel. Had she made a total fool of herself? Had she supposed too much …

Severus put down his drink and took her hand. "Hermione, your own ideas and concepts are always amazing. I love the way your mind works. I adore your hair, and that it is so like mine in being difficult and contrary. But most of all … Hermione Granger, I love you for who you are. Your personality, your kindness, your sense of justice. I am made better just by being with you. And believe it or not, I love the way your hair almost has a life of its own. Would you let me be with you and spend the rest of my life helping you find a solution to both our hair?"

At the door of the lounge, Hannah was about to walk in and collect the empty plates and glasses, but the sight of Severus and Hermione kissing led her to close the door quietly and walk away. The plates and bowls could wait.