Chapter Two

…

It felt quite different, to be escorted by an older gentleman. Hermione never quite believed Luna on the subject, but she was right, there were differences between men and "men."

The moment of tizzy that caused her to chop off her hair made her realize that she needed a new hat.

They were almost to the apparition point, and she tugged at the man's elbow where her hand was currently tucked.

"Professor, sir." She began with a little hand wave. "What do you think of my hat?"

Severus looked down at it, with a mental tap dance in his head, "Do you realize, Ms. Granger, that Lord Voldemort is gone?"

She looked at him as they stopped where she wanted, the milliner's called "Lav's Luscious Linens." Hermione gave a mirthful grin," Oh, I know sir, Harry, has a saying." She tugged him with her toward the shop, and found he was actually coming along, not reluctantly at all.

He sneered at the name on the gold and maroon painted wood, wincing a bit at the name.

"Miss Brown's, I must assume?"

"Always support a fellow Gryffindor, and that will be Madam Finnegan now.' She decided to prod, "Harry always answers, 'Hermione, I have faced Lord Voldemort, and saw him die by my own hands, you saw him.'" She paused and rang the bell on the counter. "Why must you make me risk my life by asking me, 'Does this make me look fat?"

"For once, having fought beside, him, and actually passed him on, I will safely agree."

Severus stood there and scowled at himself, wondering how she could drag him into a Gryffindor woman's shop.

Lavender Finnegan came out, her eyes sparkling at the sight of Hermione. "You cut your hair!"

He stood there a moment, and wondered, how it could be worse, he had a wrapped teddy, his godson's ex-fiancé seemed to have him on a leash, and he seemed not to care in the slightest. He pondered if Minerva and Albus drugged his tea, or at least sent a congeniality charm towards his back as he left the castle.

"Ms. Granger?" He began, and gave a grunt, "I really don't have much time, and I carry parcels I truly must get back to Hogwarts."

Lavender gave a small grin, "I can send them on to the school with the floo."

"Come, Professor," Hermione stated, "Just think we could have a nice dessert too."

Lavender giggled at the thought of relaying the story to Seamus. "I ran into Ginny this morning."

Hermione gave a sigh, and with that sigh Severus found himself reaching his hand into his pockets, and withdrawing several shrunken packages. He watched his former students chatting as they walked toward the fireplace. He grimaced only slightly as Madame Finnegan dragged out what look like a paper carrier with two handles and was stuffing his packages into. The grimace was for the flashing purple "LLL, Lav's Luscious Linens, we will dress you right."

At the point he thought he would see the shimmering violet letters long into his dreams, he caught notice of the young ladies conversation. He watched Madame Finnegan handling what looked to be a time turner, but not quite, and decided he should be paying attention. The thin long chain rested on the neck of "date" for the evening.

"That is what Ron gave you isn't it? Ginny says the sand is stuck." Lavender stopped fiddling with it as she reached for a bustier shaped floo powder jar.

"Yes, it is. Ron and Harry. The sand is stuck because he never came back to flip it again." Hermione watched the flames turn green, and then Lavender turned back to the professor.

"Oh, sir, any custom declarations?"

Severus rued the day that Mundungus Fletcher got caught smuggling kimchi pots and Remus Lupin was tetchy because of the full moon. "Just one parcel." The grimace returned to his features, making him look more like the professor they had graduated under, and said, 'Just a teddy." Damn Mundungus. Damn stupid magical-muggle custom declarations. Damn stupid idiot who placed Lupin in a position of some authority.

Lavender laughed as she waved her wand and found the teddy bear. "Last month, one American girl came in and asked for teddies." Hermione was listening as she began to look around. "Teddies there are women's undergarments."

They both let out laughter at the thought, and then cooed at the Harrod's teddy bear.

"Aw, Hermione, look, just like the Queen's Own." She filled out the customs form and had Severus tap his wand on the form for confirmation and finally sent the sack onto "Professor Snape's quarters."

"I need a new hat Lav."

Lavender circled Hermione with the shorn hair. She swished and flicked, and there was a blue day hat, with one lavender colored Gerber daisy to one side.

"Perfect."

With a quick tap, it was paid for and Hermione led Professor Snape out of the shop and with their heels clicking on the cobblestone they went into queue, he once again tucked her hand into his arm and off to dinner they went with a pop.

…

Draco did not, could not believe the audacity of Hermione Granger. His family ring was in his hand, the broken muggle telephone, and he watched his uncle, HIS uncle walk off with the girl he was SUPPOSED to MARRY.

Slowly, he followed their steps and he waited under shadows, and when they left Lavender's shop, he waited some more till he was sure they were gone and went in.

Lavender turned with the chime alerting her of a customer, "Malfoy."

"Lavender, what were they doing together?"

"The sand is stuck you know. She can't flip it."

"So she truly doesn't love me anymore."

She decided to take pity on Draco Malfoy, and said, "You would have to visit the shop down the street to find out more for that. After all, it was Ron and Harry who gave it to her. Gred and Forge made it."

Draco seemed to have all the bones "Lockharted-away." He turned and left the shop.

"Draco, Draco," Lavender muttered, "Her parents, after Voldemort almost killed them, if you loved her, it was truly only a small price to pay."

She turned the placard to closed, and called through the floo, "Seamus?"

Her heart looked back at her, paint in his hair, "Lav?"

"I am coming home." She smiled to herself. "And I am bringing news."

…

They were walking alongside a little quay called Poole, and were heading towards a tiny muggle hotel for dinner. The summer tourists were out, and there were sounds of laughter coming from the two-pence machines.

"So, Ms. Granger," he began, "what is that bauble?"

She looked down at it, and laughed. "A Weasley Wizarding Wheezes creation." She wiggled it in the air in front of him. When he did not reach for it, she stated, "Otherwise known as a 'Conviction Chronometer."

"I see."

"Well, created just for me, but they usually trounce them out around the major holidays as gifts now."

He harrumphed a bit, and waited for an explanation.

"When Ron and Harry found out that I was dating Draco Malfoy, he didn't want to believe that we loved each other. When they heard the announcement of our engagement, they convinced Ron's brothers to help them and they created this charm as a present to me." She fiddled with the tiny hourglass of sand. As she flipped it, the sand did not move.

She continued as they turned up a street. "The sand runs as long as the wearer loves a certain person, and that person loves them back. Only the person the wearer loves can flip the hourglass. Some can be charmed in a way they must be renewed to keep the sand running, like on anniversaries. On all of them, when or if the sand stops, if the wearer can flip it, and the sand moves, it is she who is moving on. When the wearer can flip it and the sand doesn't move, well, the person who last flipped it doesn't love the wearer anymore. The sand stops in either situation if there is no more love in that relationship, the sand can only run if there is a relationship." She gave a sad smile as she flipped it again and the sand didn't move. "I thought it was quite brilliant of the boys, and it is pretty trendy now, with father's giving it to their daughters, or friends to friends."

Severus thought back to the previous school year, and remembered small moments where he though McGonagall allowed time-turners to every female student in hopes of another Granger.

"The time turner shape, I assume, is from your second year?"

"No sir, my third."

They reached the backside of the hotel, and with a quick tap, were inside the upscale "magic" side of the hotel.

As they were led to their table, no looked in askance to either of them, the shadows hiding their faces, yet the maitre'd smiling as he led the duo to the professor's regular table.

After ordering an aperitif, a starter, he asked, 'A toast to start the evening?"

"A bit b-list?"

"We all have to start somewhere."

"Well then, sir, let's toast to loves that are lost to ones we hope to never find."

"That, that there is definitely c-list. Definitely Gryffindor."

Hermione laughed at her dinner partner. "We all don't get one love to last a lifetime."