Auspice

3

Accepting yet another award of excellence from the Minister for Magic for her efforts in the war and continued work in the fight for blood equality and equity throughout the wizarding world, Hermione bowed her head politely and shook the man's hand firmly. He handed her a square satin box and pinned the medal to her chest alongside the many others.

She had been using her status as Muggleborn war hero to get all the help she could to get her project off the ground. The media went feral when she attended award ceremonies and the very many balls in honour of the end of the war and all the sacrifices that had been made. She used every opportunity she could to get the spotlight on the movement, every quote to the papers to make some sort of buzz about her work.

Turning to her left, she accepted a flute of champagne from a tall, dark man who seemed to have materialised from nowhere. "Well done, Miss Granger," he purred, clinking his own glass to hers. "Everyone here wants to sleep with you, marry you, or be you. You've charmed the masses."

She offered him a slow, easy smile, sipping from her glass. Her eyes locked on his. "Thank you, I had a good teacher," she quipped, raising a brow in his direction. "Wouldn't you agree, Headmaster? Order of Merlin first class, Head of the exploratory potions and poisons division at St Mungo's, and personal advisor to the Magical Law Enforcement department at the Ministry. You could do worse."

He smirked at her then, drinking in her features and undressing her with his eyes. She noticed and blushed hard, taking another sip of champagne as he chuckled. "You forgot father of two and husband to the most ambitious witch in a century."

Rumours had followed the Snapes for years, though the secret of their marriage had remained safe. With no proof to out them, the pair led a very quiet, private family life. Still appearing in the newspapers as the 'most eligible bachelorette', the couple figured they had a few more years of quiet still until they had to wrangle the shock and outrage of their union. The girls were not yet lined up for schooling anytime soon, and their parents were perfectly content with private tutors sworn to secrecy for the foreseeable future. At least, until Hogwarts.

Though, that was an entirely separate can of worms.

The curly-haired witch laughed at his comment, enjoying the sparkle in his dark eyes. How he loved to make her laugh.

The beginnings of their relationship were strange and awkward, something on and off as they craved closeness but avoided vulnerability. Somewhere along the way, pretences fell away and paved the way for love.

Downing his glass, he held his hand out to her. "Dance with me, Madam," he said firmly. Automatically, her hand slid into his and he brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. His thumb slid over her disillusioned wedding band and he offered her a quiet smile. He loved that she always wore her ring, flaunting her magic to keep it hidden instead of just removing it. She had once told him that effort and sacrifice were more than mandatory in a relationship and that she would rather burn whoever asked her to remove the symbol of her marriage than to have a reminder of her husband too far away from her.

It had warmed his heart to know his wife was a tad extreme in every timeline.

The Potions' Master, on the other hand, made no attempt to hide anything. Stories of his wedding band had hit the news as soon as he had first worn it out. No one could figure out who he had tied the knot with, though there were plenty of rumours of his extra-marital activities with one particular Arithmancy professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

She stepped into his arms and let him guide her about the dancefloor, holding her close as they discussed. Every so often they heard snippets of other dancers' conversations and fought to keep their composure at the absurdities being said about them.