Day By Day

3

The day of their union was upon them. It held no special or sentimental feelings for either of them, like doing any other civic duty. Waiting in line with people from every walk of life and hope to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Severus cleared some space for her things in his home. Hermione had spent the week packing and shrinking down all her belongings. It seemed easier to move into his place. For one, he owned it, she rented. But mainly he had his lab there.

After the ceremony Hermione went home to retrieve her belongings. She was feeling more emotion about leaving her apartment of the last two years than she was about her marriage.

There was something else that she had been feeling rather on edge about. Something in the back of her brain. The thought of having to sleep with the man. Hermione wasn't inexperienced but she did wonder what his sex life had been. Was he a man about town? Would he still want to be? She couldn't imagine he was a recluse and never bedded any women. With that voice, his broad shoulders, his beautiful long hair, women must have been throwing it at him. Not to mention all the articles about him in the rags. Especially after the war, and the romanticized version of Severus Snape and his one true love, Lilly Potter.

How strange to be tied to a man she knew next to nothing about except for what she remembered as a child and what trash publications published. Including dinner at the Potters, and two coffee dates close to her apartment where they worked out logistics, those were the only times she'd spent with the man before the marriage ceremony. It was so terribly awkward. When he was told he may kiss the bride he kissed her forehead like she was twelve years old. Not that she expected a real kiss but a peck on the lips would have been perfectly acceptable. Maybe he's repulsed by her. Maybe he still saw her as a little girl. There were times the only way she could picture him was as her grouchy professor. It was all to much to think about right now. After all, she had just been forced into a marriage and was leaving her home all in the same day. That's enough to deal with. Deep breaths and remembering they both agreed that taking things day by day would be the smart thing. If there was something she and Severus did have in common it was being smart about things. Usually.

Severus opened the front door to find his new wife standing in the pouring rain with a small suitcase. She had on a very short pair of jean shorts, a very thin grey v-neck t-shirt, and a pair of trainers. She was soaked to the bone.

He ushered her quickly through the door.

"For heaven's sake, why didn't you use the floo!?"

"I tried, you must have not taken down all the wards!"

The girl was standing there shivering and Severus couldn't help notice her skin was covered in goose flesh and her nipples were hard little pebbles against the soaking t-shirt clinging to her body. It made his cock twitch.

He was so distracted by her appearance he let out a rough cough to shake himself out of his trance while taking her suitcase and shoving it against the wall.

"Don't move." He barked.

He returned with a large warm towel he must have charmed and wrapped it around her. Her teeth were chattering. He sat her down on the sofa kneeling in front of her and rubbing the towel over her arms, then down her legs. He looked behind him and flicked his wrist. A fire roared to life in the fireplace. He turned back and continued to dry her off. He grabbed an ankle and began removing her wet shoes sending them to the hearth.

"Where is your raincoat? My gods this is England woman!"

"It's in the suitcase with about a million other things, trying to find it would have been impossible."

Severus looked to the small suitcase and back at the witch.

"Are all of your belongings in that suitcase?" A look of bewilderment on his face.

She nodded yes.

"Gods that must have taken forever." He looked back at her puzzled.

"I'm very good at reducio and engorgement charms." She shrugged.

"Okay. How about some tea?"

"Thank you Severus."

Hermione sat there shivering for a moment but quickly warmed up. She could feel his magic, he must have cast a warming charm, her long curls almost visibly shrunk up as they quickly dried.

Severus returned with the tea and passed her a cup. Sitting down next to her on the sofa with a stealthy glance he noticed her nipples were no longer hard. Damn, he thought to himself, should have cast the charm after I came back with the tea.

Hermione noticed his clothes were different from what he had on at the ceremony earlier that day. His pants were black with a draw string and when he sat down you could see the defined muscles in his thighs. He had on a pair of slippers that were a loafer style and a black henley shirt with the top two buttons undone. The sleeves were pushed up and the dark mark on his forearm was faint. Severus noticed her looking at the mark as she sipped her tea.

"I'm afraid that's most likely as much as it's going to fade." He said turning his arm to show her.

"Was it painful?"

"When I received it? Yes. But mostly it felt like something creeping under my skin." He stared down at the mark. "As if it were alive." Severus continued to look at it.

"And now."

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Once Potter killed him it was no more than a stain on my skin."

"I'm sorry Severus."

"Why should you be sorry? I was young and foolish."

"We all make mistakes in our youth. Some we will pay for the entirety of our lives."

Severus furrowed his brow looking down at her wondering how she seemed to know what that was like.

"I illegally obliviated my parents at the start of the war. They live in France now and have no memory of me or our lives here. I did it to keep them safe, but everyday I live with the regret of it."

"You did the right thing. The Dark Lord would have murdered them. You know that."

"I know, but maybe I could have found another way. It's so terribly final."

"You were being smart. You always were the brightest one Hermione."

She looked at him with great surprise.

"Never would have guessed you thought that."

"Well I certainly couldn't tell you. Everyone had to think I loathed Dumbledores pets. It kept us all alive."

Hermione turned to face him pulling her knees under her.

"I don't think I ever thanked you for that."

"You don't need to thank me. It was my job."

Hermione leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you Severus."

He suddenly looked sheepish and cleared his throat.

"Let's get you settled in."