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And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After	By : ElizabethStump Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 90306 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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"And They Didn't Live Happily Ever After"

Chapter One Hundred Five
"Catalysts and Indomitable Connections"

Disclaimer:
I'm going down to AFF; gonna read myself some fic.
Friendly authors everywhere; hacking fanfics with no infringement.
Going down to AFF; gonna write another disclaimer.
Tons of lemons day or night; people spouting, "Harry Potter's Rowling's baby!"
Heading on up to AFF; gonna smirch my virgin mind.
I wish I could make lots of riches; I'm not making money, bitches.
So come on down to AFF and read some fanfics of mine.

A/N: Disclaimer a parody of the "South Park" opening theme song.

============

Severus finished downing the last of the Wit-Sharpening Potion he'd brewed that morning. He was in sore need of it, after yet another lengthy night of making love with Hermione. He was exhausted, finding even a strong cup of coffee did little to awaken him, and just the nearby presence of Hermione sent his mind off into gauzy-viewed daydreams of how next to have her once more. Fortunately, the potion cleared his mind well enough so he could concentrate on his first Japanese language lesson.

Hermione seemed to suffer no such effects. If anything, her desires and needs fulfilled seemed to give her boundless energy and allow her to concentrate without distraction.

Jokingly, Severus was beginning to consider Hermione may have been part succubus, for it seemed the more sexually worn out he was, the more vim and vigor she seemed to display. He remembered seeing Draco and Ginny after their week-long secluded honeymoon and the way Ginny energetically frittered about while Draco looked like he was close to becoming an Inferi. Now, he surmised, it was merely an after-effect of lots of sex within a short period. Though, if he kept this up for the rest of the week, he would have to start brewing Invigoration Draughts as well.

Severus and Hermione bid farewell to their Sensei, addressing Gary with the formal Japanese title of teacher. Though Gary began their lessons at the very beginning level, both students felt that they had learned a great deal during their first lesson, even if some of it covered information they were already familiar with.

On the front porch, Hermione bid farewell to Severus before heading off to meet with Draco on business for The Lovely Lavender Company's new manufacturing plant.

"Draco mentioned he would take me out to lunch today as well, then off to the builder's office for an appointment. I'm not sure when I'll be back," Hermione said as she gave Severus a lingering hug.

"I'll probably be in my lab when you get back. I'll leave the front door unlocked." Severus had yet to get a spare key made for Hermione. He had a Floo, but he had it locked out of habit.

At the Malfoys', Draco gave a kiss on the lips to his wife – and three kisses on her ever-expanding abdomen – before heading off with Hermione.

Walking together in silence towards an empty parcel of land on the east side of town, out of the blue Hermione said, "I was quite surprised when Lavender told me that starting a facility here in Hawaii was your idea, and that my running it was your idea as well. I was under the impression you didn't care for me very much back then."

It was a bit late in the game for them to both have this conversation, but they had been so wrapped up in other things when the Malfoys returned to England last August, they hadn't had a chance to honestly talk with each other alone until now.

"I didn't used to care for you," Draco admitted. "We both held on to our comfortable and well-worn perceptions of the other, which continued to reinforce that animosity. I originally thought of you as a self-righteous know-it-all, and I perceived your initial interest in Severus was that he was some pet project to save or some infatuation to fill the vacuum of your own miserable marriage."

Hermione said nothing, her mouth set in a grim line at Draco's assessment of her and her relationship with Severus.

"But I knew you probably still viewed me as the arrogant, cruel, bigoted, daddy's-little-rich-boy who thought my name and money should grant me carte blanche to the world."

Hermione kept her eyes down on the occasional uneven pavement in front of her, despite wearing her good pair of hiking boots. She'd used these boots on previous weekend trips with Albert, to tromp about the wild landscape of the future site of the Hawaiian headquarters.

"Am I wrong in my assessment of your original opinion of me?" Draco prompted her, wondering if his statement was correct.

"No," Hermione sighed. She glanced up at him a bit guiltily, knowing she did think of him in those terms for quite some time.

"When Ginny and I were first given sanctuary here, we were so happy that first morning. And when Severus came out of his interview with Mounga, we all went out onto the beach and danced around in a circle out of sheer joy." Draco smiled to himself as he continued, his voice tinged with rosy nostalgia upon recalling the glory of precious moments. "Severus had not wanted anything so much as his freedom for the longest time. Even during the war, he wanted to be free. On that beach, as much as he'd finally attained what he wanted so much, I saw that he still was not truly happy. That was because you were left behind in England." He glanced sideways to gauge Hermione's reaction to that small detail.

Hermione remained silent, not sure what she was expected to say.

"Seeing Severus finally get on with his life here and yet still moping about and mourning for you, I had to do something. I owed it to Severus. If it wasn't for him, Ginny and I never would have fallen in love. I suppose I also felt indebted to you, for if it wasn't for your help, Ginny and I could not have been together in the end. And so, I hatched my plan to get you two back together. Besides, if you're Ginny's best friend and the love of Severus' life, you can't be all that intolerable," he finished with a light ribbing.

"When we showed up with you on Severus' doorstep as a Christmas surprise three days ago, I finally saw the expression of joy and pure happiness I had expected to see on Severus' face that first morning here after we were granted sanctuary." Draco glanced again to see Hermione lost on her own thoughts recalling that surprise that was just as joyous to her as to Severus.

Hermione almost tripped, suddenly coming to a halt upon realizing that Draco had stopped talking and walking simultaneously.

"We're here," Draco announced.

They stood at the edge of a large overgrown section of jungle. It looked like it would have the capacity of thousands of square feet for offices, brewing floor, storage warehouse, and everything else needed to run a fully operational beauty potions company.

Draco swiped his wand from side to side, clearing a path through the lush brush which grew taller and denser as they began walking to survey the property Lavender had bought last August.

Draco and Hermione had a rather warm and humid day of tromping about the brush and discussing the best layout for the facility, given the slope of the land and access to paved streets compared to present designs drawn up by Lavender's architects,. They then looked over the grounds of the new school in another part of the town's outskirts; it was also still an untamed jungle, as ground had not been broken there either. Draco and Hermione then headed off to Ohana Family Diner.

"This is the first place we ate after we were granted sanctuary," Draco informed Hermione as she settled into her seat.

"This seems cozy," Hermione remarked, looking at the décor. There were shells, paintings of tropical flowers, photos of events on the island featuring parades and people dancing the hula on stage, and an old surfboard with a plaque underneath it mounted to the wall etched with "In Memory of Matt." Besides the plaque was a photo of a man posing with a two-seater surrey bike.

A waitress in a snug T-shirt and a pair of cream-colored shorts covered by a red apron appeared. "Hey Draco, who's your friend here?" she asked. She smiled quite broadly, her teeth looking very white and eyes exceptionally pale blue against her dark brown skin.

"This is Hermione, Severus' guest this week. She'll be running things once we get the plant built and producing." Draco took the two menus and handed one to Hermione.

"That's cool. Everyone is wondering when construction is going to start," the waitress remarked.

"Well, these things take time, but that's part of the reason Hermione is here this week. Hopefully we'll start construction soon enough," he assured her.

"Okay, well, take your time and let me know when you're ready to order. Oh, and do you want me to box up a slice of coconut-macadamia nut pie for Ginny for you to take home?" the waitress asked, familiar with Ginny's recent craving for the dessert.

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Mahalo."

"No problem, dude," the waitress assured Draco. Then she left to take care of some other customers at a table nearby, who cast the occasional glance over at Hermione, listening in on their conversation.

Looking over the menu, Hermione was a bit overwhelmed. Everything looked delicious, and yet she didn't have any clue as to what she was in the mood for.

"What's good here?" Hermione asked, trying to narrow down her choices.

"Most everything on the menu is decent. If you're famished, one of the loco meals will fill you up, especially since they give you two scoops of rice, in addition to a scoop of macaroni salad. Good if you're going to go flying all day long," Draco said as he continued to scan the menu. "The burgers are fairly good, but given I had never had one until coming here I can't really judge by comparison."

"I'm really in the mood for a tossed salad."

Draco started coughing, choking on his water. Hermione noticed the odd look on Draco's face as he regained composure of himself.

"For Merlin's sake, don't ever say that around Jerry or Mounga," Draco warned her.

"What?" Hermione asked innocently enough, unaware of what she said to make Draco react.

Draco discreetly waved his wand to put up a Silencing Charm to avoid being overheard by the next table, whose diners were still trying to discreetly listen in to their conversation.

Leaning forward, Draco said quietly, "Ginny has these cravings, you know." Hermione nodded for him to continue. "One day, when Jerry and Mounga were around, she said she was dying for a tossed salad, and those two completely lost it. Broke into hysterics. It took five minutes for them to control themselves without busting up into gales of laughter once more."

"I still don't get it," Hermione said, wondering what was the big deal is. She glanced over and noticed that the next table had given up trying to eavesdrop on their conversation with the charm in place.

"Well, it seems that with Jerry and Mounga's careers in law enforcement and their experience dealing with criminals, they picked up a few choice Muggle prison terms along the way. One of them is tossed salad."

Warily, Hermione asked, "And what does that mean, in prison slang?"

Draco tried to begin phrasing it in delicate terms since she was a witch, but then remembered that she was a Potions apprentice who had worked on a sex potion with Severus, so there was probably little left to shock her. By the look on Hermione's face, along with the fact she actually blushed, it seemed that perhaps there were a few things Severus had not yet exposed her to yet, Draco incorrectly assumed.

"Oh God," Hermione said, slightly mortified. Burying her face in her hands, unable to look at Draco, Hermione confessed, "At Christmas dinner, Rainbow asked about how I was liking food in Hawaii so far. I almost told her that Severus served me a delicious tossed salad the other day for lunch." Hermione blushed in memory of the fact that Severus had indeed served her a tossed salad at the hot springs that night for the very first time.

Draco shook his head. "Rainbow would have probably hexed those two if they lost it at the dinner table. I certainly did for embarrassing my wife like that, though Ginny did admit later if she was in Mounga or Jerry's position, she would have laughed as well."

"Was it my imagination or did Rainbow's eye change color during dinner?" Hermione asked, suddenly remembering how her eyes seemed green one moment and brown the next.

"No, her eyes change color according to her moods. If her eyes have gone black, stay out of her path," he warned her. "Severus and Mounga seem to be the only people on this entire island not afraid of Rainbow when her eyes have turned black."

"She does seem to ask a lot of questions, as Severus warned."

"She's the town gossip, which is odd, considering how Mounga is more of the silent type and knows a lot of secrets from sanctuary-seekers." Draco set his menu down, having decided on his lunch choice.

"How is it that she hasn't blabbed everyone's secrets then, if those two are married?"

"Mounga can't say anything Severus said during his interview for sanctuary." Draco cast his eyes down. "Gary, your Japanese teacher, is the one who processed me, and he knows things that not even Ginny or Severus know about me. But the witch or wizard who interviews you is bound to say nothing. Only way anyone knows anything about your past is if you say something yourself, then it becomes public knowledge in a way."

Hermione had wondered how Severus and Mounga had become good friends, and she supposed telling a person every little secret about yourself might create a certain bond between two people. Hermione confessed many of her own secrets and fears to Severus at the beginning of their relationship, and she felt a certain connection with the sharing of herself with him.

As the waitress passed by their table, Hermione saw her attempt to make eye contact with them to see if they were ready to order. Picking up her menu, she figured she would order the first thing her eyes landed on and just eat that.

Draco ended the Silencing Charm, and the waitress came back to take their order.

Clearing his throat, Draco said, "I'll have the fish tacos, grilled, easy on the avocado sauce, and with the mango salsa on the side."

Hermione couldn't look the waitress or Draco in the eye when she said, "I'll have the Thai chicken mixed salad." She couldn't believe her luck her eyes would land on that section of the menu in light of the recent conversation.

The rest of the conversation during lunch was kept light and free of any proprietary information to The Lovely Lavender Company, should anyone attempt to eavesdrop again. Since they came in at the end of the lunch rush, as they ate the little diner began to empty out.

When Amy – their waitress, who was a mix of Fijian Indian, South African, and Estonian descent – cleared their plates away and topped their drinks off one last time, they were the only ones left in the restaurant.

Now that they were basically alone, with Amy and the cook back in the kitchen, Draco's face became quite somber to match the tone of his voice. "Did Severus discuss with you how he took the news of you being attacked last summer?"

Hermione had thought to talk with Severus about that, but they had been too busy – focusing on their happiness at being together – to dwell upon unpleasant things. "In his memory you brought me in August, he mentioned he went temporarily mad and flew off into a cyclone. He otherwise dropped the subject rather quickly, and I haven't wanted to press him on it. He only just helped me with some psychotherapy regarding me and being confined in a corset–," Hermione began, but stopped mid-sentence. "Did Ginny tell you what happened with the corset at Madam Malkins?"

Draco nodded and reached out to pat her hand as a gesture of comfort. Considering it was Draco, it seemed quite strange to Hermione, but she supposed that if they were going to work together and have their lives intertwined through Ginny and Severus, then it was only natural that they should eventually become friends.

"During my time as a Death Eater–" Draco stopped and had to take a sip of his drink, finding that just uttering those words made his throat close up. "It was not uncommon for Death Eaters to amuse each other and the Dark Lord by finding one with his guard down and binding or hexing him. It was a way of trying to display alpha dominance over another and rise in rank within the social order, besides seeking praise from that monster. I had a few instances where that happened to me. My father, in an attempt to make Severus look weak in front of the Dark Lord and others, bound and hexed him when his back was turned."

Hermione never asked Severus about his hex scars, but that certainly explained a lot. "Knowing how Severus doesn't want to talk about anything until he is ready, I haven't asked him about that, though he did tell me he got his white streak from being struck by lightning."

Draco looked like that first-year Slytherin she remembered as he frowned and looked to be fighting with his better judgment, until he seemed to come to some internal resolution. "Please just answer me plainly. Do you and Severus plan on one day getting married? I don't care about time lines: Will you two eventually marry?"

Hermione, who had been leaning forward, sat up abruptly, stunned by Draco's blunt question. She hesitated before answering, "Yes. Severus proposed, but I got hysterical, telling him I didn't have time for the nonsense and insanity of an engagement. I have an apprenticeship to finish and then getting the business going here, but I told him some day, yes."

Draco let go of a huge breath he had been holding before raking his fingers through his hair nervously. He leaned forward once more to speak, this time even more serious. "What I'm about to tell you, you can't let Severus know you know. Only Mounga and I know. But since you are so central, so integral, I think it would be remiss for you not to know." Draco once more cast a Silencing Charm to avoid any accidental eavesdropping.

"When Severus heard about how you'd received the wrong flowers, he was certain you hated him. I could see it crushed him, especially when Lavender said you thought he'd dumped you. And then the news of Parker attacking you and Severus presumably thinking how you had been targeted because of your association with him alone – before he heard the whole story – he just lost it." Draco licked his lips nervously, casting his eyes down. He was unable to look Hermione in the eye knowing the pain she would be feeling upon hearing the next bit of news. "In his madness and grief, he was convinced that he'd brought death to any witch who he was close to. His first crush, Lily Potter, his wife, Gabrielle, and then you nearly getting killed. He jumped on a broom and was going to offer himself up as a sacrifice to some unknown gods or the Fates – some entity – to save you, to keep you safe from future harm. He made a bargain in his skewed mind to give himself up to protect you."

"What?" Hermione asked, her voice cracking and tears brimming in her eyes. "What was he going to do? Throw himself into the volcano?"

"No, he flew out to sea in the cyclone and nearly drowned, but as he was about to be dragged down to the bottom of the sea, he came to his senses. He wanted to live. Some part of his mind that still held on to common sense said to him that you had not fought to clear his name only for him to just kill himself. And as he was flying back home, a lightning bolt struck and shattered his broom. If it wasn't for the fact that Mounga has a tracer spell on every sanctuary-seeker on this island, we wouldn't have found him in time, as he fell unconscious into Chum Reef."

Hermione sat there quietly crying, digesting everything that Draco had said to her. Kaimi's drawing on the card that sat on the bedside table suddenly made more sense to her now.

Amy popped out from the back of the diner, but when she saw Hermione and Draco talking and the tears on her face, the waitress disappeared back into the kitchen to leave them alone to talk once more.

Finally finding her voice, Hermione asked, "Why are you telling me this if Severus won't?"

"Because Severus is so madly and thoroughly in love with you, should you break his heart or should any harm come to you that he thinks was caused by him in any way, who knows what he might do. As abrasive and bristly as his exterior is, his heart is as fragile as glass. No Reparo Spell could fix it, should it shatter. You didn't see his flat the morning after your anniversary dinner, I did. His place was destroyed, empty bottles of liquor everywhere. I swear, he nearly poisoned himself from alcohol alone. Utterly despondent. I had never seen him so broken, except after he was fished from the sea and patched up by Rainbow quietly at their house. If anything, they wanted to protect Severus' reputation and prevent word of his lapse in judgment."

As much as Rainbow was annoying to Hermione at times, she suddenly felt a certain gratitude towards the Healer for helping Severus and keeping quiet about the incident. There were far too many tales of a Potions master who had gone mad on his own elixirs, and Severus flying off into a cyclone to kill himself would no doubt peg him as a Potions master who had lost his wits. A Potions master's reputation was everything to him.

Draco reached out his hand to grasp Hermione's and focus her attention on his next words. "As Severus' friend, please, know that he is far more fragile than he is willing to admit. You mean everything to him. Be gentle with his heart, and for Merlin's sake, do your best to stay safe and away from harm."

If would have been rude for Hermione to point out that of course she wanted to avoid injury to herself, but she knew Draco meant it as a warning that should any harm come to her, Severus would feel the injury in his own way as well.

She nodded, understanding the gravity with which she must deal with Severus. His heart was in her hands, and she would do her best to treat it gently.

"I must look a mess. I should go wash up before we go to the builder's office," Hermione said, trying to change the tone and put the topic of conversation behind them.

"Here," Draco said as he pulled out a familiar jar of Puffy Poof Eye Crème from his pocket. "Ginny's hormones have her crying at the slightest provocation, so I always have some on me just in case."

Hermione thanked him before cleaning herself up in the bathroom. As she came back out, she found Draco had Ginny's slice of pie boxed up, and he had paid the bill.

Standing by the door, he said, "Come on. Let's see how the local building codes have totally destroyed Lavender's carefully-designed plans the architect back in London drew up, and then let's see if we can salvage the plans, in addition to giving our own input to keep it functional."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trudging up the hill, her arms full of scrolls showing the changes to the design to the construction plans she was to go over tonight, Hermione finally reached the front gate. As the gate creaked on its hinges, she spotted the light in the living room pop on shortly afterwards. No doubt Severus was aware of her return, as she was walking up the front path when the door opened and Severus stood there to greet her.

"You had a full day," he noted, smiling down at her as she ascended the front porch steps.

Three days rest made Hermione feel as if her energy to handle a full day of work had waned to nothing. "I don't know how your day had been, but I could use a drink," she said with some exasperation as she finished walking up the stairs.

Just seeing Severus standing there and now knowing what Draco had told her that day, she wanted to drop her scrolls, run into his arms, kiss him, and beg him to never do anything so foolish as what he did when he nearly killed himself. But Draco had made her promise to not let Severus become aware of her knowledge about those events.

"Then I guess you'll be thrilled that I cooked for us, and you won't have to do anything but the dishes tonight." Severus offered to take some of those scrolls from her arms as they walked into their home.

"What happened to the elf-owned cleaning service?" Hermione asked, not minding having to do the dishes as it would only be a few swishes and flicks of her wand.

"I gave them the week off when I originally planned to be in London instead," he reminded her, and they dumped the scrolls on the kitchen table.

Her arms now free, she went over and hugged Severus.

"What's wrong?" He knew her well enough to sense the change in her demeanor.

"Long day," she partially lied. She had missed him, even though they had spent nearly every minute together since she showed up.

"Was Draco's company that awful? You know, you two will be working together. He's not that bad, once you get used to his sense of humor," Severus assured her, then added in a deadpan voice, "At least it's not as vulgar as Jerry's, so be thankful."

She laughed lightly in response to his last comment, agreeing with him. She lifted her head that was pressed tightly against his chest. Stroking his cheek, she studied his face – the way his eyes looked a bit softer, his brow more relaxed – and she knew he was happy. And knowing deep down that she was the cause for his happiness now, she was humbled by it.

"Draco was fine." She heaved a sigh as she tried to think of some way to explain that knowing what she did now had changed her perception of Severus.

Hermione had thought that she was the one more emotionally invested in this relationship than Severus, given his reluctance to be more emotionally open with her back in England. And even with his confessions and assurances about how important she was to him in his Pensieve memory for her, and knowing he had built a house with the intent of sharing it with her, she did not realize the magnitude of how vital she was to his happiness. Now – after hearing the similar words from Draco and knowing how much Severus needed her – this new knowledge made her in awe of his love for her. Draco's talk with her made her understand that Severus did love her as deeply as she loved him.

To explain her slightly maudlin mood, she came up with a believable lie, based in truth. "I'm going to miss coming home to you after a long day at work when I'm back in London."

"But we'll have the mirrors," he reminded her. "And while you can't hug a mirror, you did say it was better than nothing, which I agree."

Severus opened a bottle of some California wine that he said wasn't a complete waste of his Galleons and was tolerable. Hermione wondered if the fact he didn't want to seem too easy to embrace American culture made him talk about the wine so dismissively, despite it being a lovely, light, and crisp Riesling that she could find no fault with. It was as good as any German or French Riesling she could recall.

This was the wizard who had yet to try a burger, having told Draco that if he was going to have perfectly good beef, it wasn't going to be ground up pointlessly to ruin the texture, drowned in condiments, topped with some plastic-like cheese, and served on a flavorless bun. Yet he would periodically eat chili con carne served with shredded cheese. It was most probably because of the slovenly Portkey officer in San Francisco that Severus had a lingering aversion to burgers, a story Draco had told Hermione at lunch.

For dinner, Severus had stuffed and roasted a chicken. Since vegetables were not so dependent upon the seasons in Hawaii, he served it with some lightly sautéed greens and courgettes, mixed with freshly peeled and diced tomatoes, carrots, and fresh basil.

They talked about potions Severus worked on during the day, and Hermione told him about the progress she and Draco made with the builder. She even asked Severus to look over the changes to the plan with her for his feedback, given his lengthy work experience with Lavender and large-scale potions manufacturing. Fortunately, there were hardly any changes regarding the school's blueprints.

The cat fed, leftovers put away, and dishes done, Hermione and Severus got to work looking over the plans. Severus made a few suggestions, including moving the storage warehouse for ingredients on the opposite side of the brewing floor from the finished-product storage warehouse. While space in the London facility required the two storage places to be right next to one another, there was no such constriction of the layout space with the lot in Hawaii. It also ensured that finished products would not be accidentally placed in the same room with pre-brewed ingredients, some of which were volatile.

"When do you have to give your feedback to the builder on these plans?" Severus asked.

"Wednesday morning. Draco also has a set of plans and asked for a few days to look them over himself. The next phase is final plans by the builder given to me by Thursday afternoon to take back to Lavender for last and final approval. Then an albatross will be back with her approval, but I suppose we could cut that time down with the mirrors as well."

Hermione sat there, looking at the blueprints and realizing that not only would she be moving in with Severus, but that she would be running a fully functional manufacturing business as well. And she would be the boss of it all. Not only had Severus attained what he wanted most of all, coming to Hawaii, but she realized that she would be finding that fulfillment she was lacking all those years, stuck with Ron in a mediocre marriage in which they were both unhappy, and working at a dead-end job that afforded her no sense of accomplishment or mental stimulation.

"Then if the rest of your calendar is open, I thought tomorrow I could take you down to the shop, then afterwards, I could take you to a favorite spot for collecting urchins and anemones. I can teach you how to field-process those, if you haven't had the chance to learn yet. Get a bit of beach time in, and a nice picnic lunch. Then later go to my farm on the west side of the island, do a little gardening, then have an unobstructed view of the sunset," Severus suggested. Well, since he had the whole day planned, it was more like an itinerary than a suggestion, but Hermione was thrilled he had planned the day.

"That sounds wonderful." Hermione craned her neck up and kissed the underside of Severus' neck, since he was still bent over, standing behind her while studying the blueprints.

Hermione's mind went back to what Draco had said earlier in the day, as she thought about how much Severus loved her. Was it their love for each other alone that tied them together, or was there something in that Irresistible potion that they took that somehow bounded them together?

"Severus?"

"Hmm." He was still looking over the plans, wondering if there was some way he could make the layout yet even more efficient.

"Do you still remember those two dreams we shared?"

Hermione felt the pressure of Severus pressing his lips against the top of her head in his initial response to her question.

"All too clearly," he said with some resignation. "More clearly than any dream, which makes me think they were not dreams." Severus sighed heavily before grabbing a chair to sit close next to Hermione.

"I was wondering about the Irresistible Potion we worked on. Was it something we did that created this... connection between us that calls the other when one is in some sort of danger or peril?" she asked, sounding a bit frightened that they had done something inadvertently with their experimentation. "I've been monitoring St. Mungo's for reports in which both spouses fall into a trance or coma when one is injured or gravely sick, and there have been no such cases. Fairy Brandy has been around for a long time, and no such recorded occurrences have come from that," Hermione said, as she ticked off mentally all the avenues of research into this strange phenomenon. "And the Caprese mother of pearl, that has had no such recorded effect either that would explain it." She heaved her own heavy sigh before asking, "Could the pomegranate juice have acted as some sort of catalyst, much in the same way those potions you read about that amplify emotions? Could pomegranate juice be used in an attraction potion – and did it strengthen our attraction to one another beyond the time limits of the primary potion's effects?"

With Hermione's conjecture, Severus finally spoke. He had thought of something in which to support Hermione's assertion. "It may have been the pomegranate juice."

"What? But how could a simple ingredient, which has been drunk and used in potions for thousands of years have caused us to share dreams? It is used in the Blood-Replenishing Potion and Strengthening Solution, but how is it that it was the cause of these shared experiences?"

Severus rose from his seat and walked over to the bookcase. On the shelf, still wrapped in the plain brown paper, was the ancient Greek tome he ordered through Paige Spien's. It had taken over two months for them to find another copy of that particularly rare book he once found in the Restricted Section. He paid several Galleons extra for the prolonged search due to the many owls and albatrosses that were sent to various booksellers worldwide, but it was eventually found. Severus still had it wrapped in the paper, since it only arrived a few days before he'd planned to leave for London and discuss this topic with her and Albert there, but since she was here, this was as good a time as any.

As he unwrapped the book, he said, "Once at Hogwarts, I had come across one strange variation of the Greek myth of Persephone, written in ancient Greek. I found it in the same rare Greek Potions tome in the Restricted Section I had read about Himeros – the Greek God of sexual desire and impetuous love – and the naiad, Langia. In this account of Persephone's trip to the underworld, she had not been kidnapped, but had willingly gone to join her secret lover, Hades." Severus stopped to let the implications of the story sink into Hermione's mind, as it was sometimes difficult to grasp a new perspective to a story that was so firmly ingrained into memory. His fingers finally found the passage and opened it to the spot for Hermione to read alongside him. "When pressured by Zeus to return Persephone, Hades and Persephone shared a pomegranate so she would be bound to return to him for part of the year, the fruit used as a means to strengthen a bond between two lovers reluctantly torn apart. The pomegranate gave Persephone strength to pass between the worlds of the living and dead each year."

Both Hermione and Severus were thinking the same thing: Could it be that they, being secret lovers torn apart to different ends of the world, had created their own magic, and were now bound to each other with the use of pomegranate in their research?

"Years ago, when I read this, I had discounted the veracity of the story for its worth, since it was the only telling of Persephone's kidnapping as a willing abductee I had ever come across. It was remiss of me to so easily discount such an account, just because it ran counter to all the other variations of the myth."

Severus felt guilty for dismissing the information and unknowingly binding Hermione and himself together with foolish experimentation, something he had prided himself to be far too skilled and knowledgeable to fall prey to.

To further explain his folly, he added, "In all my years of research, I had never read of any use of pomegranate to strengthen an emotional, mental, or physical bond between two people. And never had I ever read in all my years of research the use of pomegranate for anything other than a restorative in the healing arts. But what else could explain my sudden and unexplained time asleep that coincided with your attack and recovery? And my own hallucination during the ice pox?"

Hermione finished reading the story in ancient Greek before slowly pushing the book away.

"I am sorry for unknowingly binding you to me. As a Potions master, I should have been more careful, and I must apologize." Severus turned his face away, unable to look at Hermione, having admitting his failings that he was reluctant to confess.

They sat there in silence for a long while. Hermione dissected every part of the Irresistible Potion, analyzing the ingredients in her mind, their usage, and every other component. There was only one thing Hermione could find that somehow turned the pomegranate juice from a mundane ingredient into something more magical than either could originally conceive.

"I think you are forgetting something in this potion that has bound us together, Severus." She reached out her hand to grasp his hand. "You forget that love is what bound us together, knowing that someday we must part and do so with great reluctance."

Hermione's hand stretched up and turned his face towards hers. "This only worked because we loved each other before we began experimenting with the ingredients for the Irresistible Potion, knowing we would be parted and didn't want to be. It was love that was the catalyst, not the pomegranate juice. Without love, it would have had no other long-term effects on us. It tore my heart out to be parted from you. And I don't regret at all that I am bound to you, Severus Snape, for I love you as much as you love me."

Severus had wondered as well if the catalyst was love, for he knew that she loved him. Hermione's simple confession eased his guilt, for the fact she confessed she did not regret it. It was love that bound them together, and the pomegranate only helped strengthen their existing bond. Even without the pomegranate juice, they would still be bound.

Leaning forward, her hand still stroking his cheek and beard, he kissed her, tasting the salt of a few tears that had trailed down her cheeks to the corners of her mouth.

In the bedroom, as Hermione sat on the bed watching Severus remove his shirt, she reached for the box and pulled out a vial of lubrication potion for herself and a vial of Sequoia potion for Severus.

Smiling at her, he shook his head. "I don't want to use that tonight. I won't need it," he assured her.

Hermione was about to ask why, but didn't question. As Severus kissed her slowly, his hand teasing her clothes off her body in a deliberate fashion, Hermione began to understand why Severus decided to forego taking the stamina potion. Had he downed it, he surely would have ripped her clothes off by this point and be close to burying himself into her in haste. Severus' intentions tonight were different from their urgent need to join since her arrival. This was a seduction.

Hermione attempted to help him remove her clothing, but he stopped her hand and shushed her. "We're in no hurry."

Most of their love-making sessions had been frantic and hungry, making up for lost time or trying to cram as much passion as possible into their brief week together. It was with the analysis of how and why they were bound together on a plane beyond this current one that made Severus realize Hermione would always be his. They had the rest of their lives together to make love and be together. He wanted to savor these moments instead of rushing through them towards some moment of completion – a point he would still arrive at if he took his time.

They kissed, rolling about the bed. Severus' hand swept up Hermione's legs, teasing the skin along the edge of her shorts, her top already discarded, but her bra still on.

Delicately tonguing the pulse point on her neck, he murmured, "You're positively filthy. I can taste the sweat and jungle on your skin." He sighed and ground his erection, still hidden in his underpants and shorts, against her hip.

"What do you recommend, Mr. Snape?" Hermione asked in a none-too-innocent tone.

He raised a quizzical brow at the use of his formal name before letting a bemused smirk spread across his face. "I suppose a survey to see how filthy you really are before a course of action can be recommended to address the issue would be in order." His first survey was between her breasts to tongue the sweat from her cleavage.

As his fingers deftly unhooked her bra, Hermione sighed. Severus was certainly doing a very good job of arousing her. When he peeled away the fabric from her breasts, the change in air temperature made her nipples tighten and pucker. Of course, Severus had to survey her nipples as well.

Severus didn't know why, but he found the tang of salt and dried sweat on her alluring tonight. Perhaps it was the fact her own natural scent was stronger than usual, and he could smell her more than usual. She had made sure to her contraceptive potion earlier in the week and she couldn't be ovulating, but even without her being fertile, he wanted to drown himself in the intoxicating scent of her.

As Severus kissed his way down Hermione's stomach, she played with his hair. His long, silken strands slid through her fingers. She shuddered as his hair caressed and grazed her body, counterpoint to the hot trail of kisses he left with his lips as his mouth traveled lower.

"Your hair," Hermione sighed wistfully.

Severus lifted his face from her stomach. "Yes? What about my hair?"

"Caress me with it," she asked, as her hand played with a hank that had fallen over one of Severus' eyes.

Severus understood, for Hermione had used her long hair to tease and caress his face and chest. Now his hair was finally long enough to return the favor. Rising, he flung his head forward to allow his hair to cascade over the top of his crown and around his shoulders.

Hermione raised her arms up in surrender above her head as Severus, above her on his hands and knees, began dragging the tips of his hair across her face and down her neck. As the tips of his hair caressed her breasts and rib cage, she visibly shuddered, groaning from the teasing pleasure.

He could smell her musk now. His nose, drawn down to her stomach, grazed along her abdomen as he continued to drag his hair across her skin. The sound of the zipper on Hermione's shorts almost seemed to fill the room with its metallic notes, signaling what was to come.

She allowed him to peel her shorts off, but wondered why he left her knickers on. His cheek resting on her mons, he inhaled deeply, as if analyzing the ingredients in a custom pot of herbal tea.

Kissing her mons through her knickers, looking up at her, his eyes heavily lidded, he said, "You're not the only one who used a Pensieve to relive happier times."

Hermione smiled down at him, glad to hear Severus admit to her as much.

"And while the senses of sight and sound are sated, the Pensive memory lacks touch and taste. And unless it is very strong, it lacks scent as well." To drive his point home, he hooked her thighs over his shoulder, buried his face into the apex of her thighs, and inhaled deeply once more.

The tip of his tongue teased along the edge of her knickers, heightening the anticipation, making her more wet, the lubrication potion in full effect. She squirmed against his face, wanting him to do more, yet enjoying the anguishing slow pace Severus had set.

Finally, much to Hermione's mewling whimpers, Severus pulled her knickers off to begin teasingly toying with her clitoris. His tongue flicked and lapped, swirled and delved, relishing in her robust taste and scent. His lips tugged and played with her labia, exploring every fold and licking her thoroughly in the process.

As Hermione was close to orgasm from Severus' deft tongue work, she was about to protest when he suddenly stopped, but she wasn't surprised when Severus readjusted himself on the bed to lay next to her. One of his knees pushed to spread her thighs apart while his mouth came bearing down upon hers.

Severus thrust his tongue into Hermione's mouth, and she gladly accepted his invasion. She could taste herself on his lips, mixed with the heady taste of his own saliva. She welcomed his tongue and devoured it, as if sharing some ripe fruit or sip of wine, passed from one lover's mouth to another.

His one hand slid back down and replaced where his mouth was working only moments before. First one finger then another slipped into her. His thumb made long strokes up, down, and around her clitoris. He kept his touch light, gradually adding pressure as her groans rose in pitch.

She could feel him palpitate lightly against her G-spot with each stroke. She wouldn't last much longer; his fingers were well practiced.

When Severus felt her back begin to arch and the back of her throat close-up, he knew she was at the crest. Rising-up on one elbow, he wanted to watch, and he brought her to completion. This face of exquisite rapture, this twisted visage expressing unadulterated exultation – he drunk in the sight of it all knowing he was the one who had brought her to this point. He watched as her own hands reached for her breasts, pulling at her nipples to increase the pleasure as the walls of her vagina clamped down on his fingers.

The back of her throat opened and Hermione's own Song of Solomon issued forth. Her wails and guttural grunts and formless scream spoke of her love for him as if in some other language. Her eyes, fighting to stay open to watch Severus watch her, professed her heart and all that it contained. Severus had never used Legilimency on Hermione, but had she the ability to speak coherently, she would have invited him into her mind to experience all the love she had for him. She wanted to open herself to him completely.

As her body relaxed, her orgasm waning, Severus swept a stray tendril from her face, a tender moment between lovers, where everything was said, but not a word spoken.

Hermione's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, her eyes still watching Severus watch her.

Inspired by the moment, Hermione rolled over and on top of Severus, who was still in his shorts. Now her wild and wavy hair fell about and framed his face, intermingling with his straight black locks. With her hand placed between their bodies, she stroked his hard length through the cotton twill.

"Pensieves also only relive the moment," Hermione remarked breathily. "It is only when we are in the moment itself that we can feel it all: your heart beating so strongly in your chest against mine, the caress of your breath on my skin, the overwhelming feeling of love right here, right now."

She leaned down and kissed Severus, her hand never stopping its slow rhythmic stroking of Severus' length.

As her mouth trailed around his face to lay soft kisses upon his temple, cheek, and ear, she confessed, "I revisited that memory of that first time I nearly completely surrendered to you. Remember that time you had me blindfolded and pinned against the cupboard? You begged me so sweetly, I had never heard anything so beautiful as your voice, filled with desire for me. And on the couch, telling me how much you needed me. I almost let you take me completely that night, consequences be damned. You were my Siren that night, and I would have nearly dashed myself upon the rocks for you. I want to hear that beautiful music again."

Somehow during Hermione's erotic retelling of that night, she had made Severus' shorts and underpants disappear. He didn't know how, and he didn't care. All he could concentrate on was Hermione's own seduction of him.

"Beg," Hermione said as she straddled him. "Revisiting memories is nothing compared to the wonder of the moment itself. I need to hear you."

Severus' eyebrows twitched in confusion, his mind clouded by hormones and lust.

"Beg me, please."

Severus yet had to satisfy himself, so of course his own body was begging for its own release. He did not have to act for Hermione, it came naturally and without any hesitation. "Do you have any idea how much I want you? How much I need you?"

Hermione gave him a wicked grin, feeling more in control of the situation than Severus. "Oh, I can feel how much you need me right here." For added effect, her rolling her hips, grinding herself against Severus' length, rubbing her wetness along the underside of his cock. He closed his eyes and hissed lightly.

"Please, Hermione. I need to be with you right now, to have you, possess you, crush you in my arms. Let me fill you, make you scream my name, make my body feel what my heart already feels that you are mine." It was hard for him to continue, as his normally sharp mind was so fogged with sex and desire, it was difficult for him to be even this eloquent.

Thrilled by Severus' sweet words and the way his voice pleaded, Hermione grabbed his cock in her hand and guided him into her entrance, swirling it around and around, teasing not only her own body, but Severus' too.

She loved watching Severus' eyes slip shut, as he tilted his head back against the bed and the veins popped out of his neck as he attempted to control himself. Hermione knew it was all he could do not to flip her onto her back and slam himself into her, but she knew he wouldn't. He had refused taking the Sequoia potion and wanted to prolong this. She would torture him deliciously until he begged for his own release at just the right moment.

"So lovely," she cooed, as she watched Severus squirm beneath her. "My dark angel. My demon lover. So much passion, so much love, and to be consumed by you is the greatest pleasure of all." Hermione's own eyes shut, as she felt the tension in her abdomen throb from need, tightening with each teasing swipe of Severus' cock as it nearly slipped in with each pass.

Severus was deliriously drunk on the moment. Hermione turning the tables on him with her own heady seduction made him lose control.

Draco had told him once that it takes a strong wizard to completely surrender to love and to be truly exposed and naked with the one he loved. Severus finally understood.

"Please, take me, Hermione. Please. Please... please..."

She adjusted her grip and swiftly sheathed himself in her with a quick thrust of her hips.

Both cried out in release, Severus sitting up and pulling Hermione into his arms, his face buried in her breasts as she rode him.

"I need you more than you can know," he confessed, his words mumbled against her breasts and shoulder as he continued to meet the rolling of her hips with his thrusts from underneath. He was willing to let it all come out, realizing he was not being weak, over-emotional or too sentimental – just completely honest. "I felt my own heart ripped out the day I left you. But you stayed behind to make me free. I've only ever been truly happy since you've been here. I don't want to let you go, I want to keep you here with me, and it kills me to know this time I must stay and you must go. But if I don't let you go, you'll never have your own freedom. And it scares me that I'll feel this aching hole in my heart when you Portkey away. I love you, and I don't want you to go."

It almost broke Hermione's heart to hear him lay his heart out so plainly. It also made her love him even more so, if that was even possible. She didn't think so before, but she was proven wrong.

"I need you too, Severus. Just as much," she sobbed, starting to cry, overcome with bittersweet joy. She continued to ride him, her tears absorbed by Severus' hair, and she clutched his head to her chest. "I don't want to go either."

This is what Hermione feared and made her reluctant to come visit Severus all those months. That once she was there, it would be too hard for her to leave him again.

"I'm completely yours, Severus. I always have been."

Severus felt his balls tighten and squeeze. He clutched Hermione even tighter around her torso and pushed her down harder onto his shaft as he tried to bury himself as deeply as possible as he came in her.

Hermione, feeling his cock throb as he emptied his seed into her, tightened her muscles, grasping him tighter and making Severus gasp. She tightened her muscles in small pulses and then squeezed tight once more which made him groan once more and finally go slack. Severus dropped his death-grip on Hermione and fell back onto the bed, his whole body covered in a light sheen of sweat.

Still astride his hips, she played with the sweat on his body with the tips of her fingers, watching Severus' chest shake with each thunderous beat of his heart. She could nearly hear it. His chest was heaving as he tried to regain his breath. Puckering her lips, she blew lightly across his chest, the light and brief breeze making a smile light up Severus' face from the loving gesture. He placed his arms up in surrender to feel her cooling breath graze against the insides of his arms as well.

Severus watched her. He had poured his heart to her, exposing himself more than ever, yet he did not feel vulnerable for once. He noticed the way her lips puckered as she blew once more. She could have cast a breeze charm with her wand, but she didn't. She was tending to him in her little ways that made him feel loved. He watched the way the light from the candles flickered and cast shadows across her breasts and face. Her face glowed and smiled down upon him, as if she was one of the Graces or some blessed deity casting her love upon him. But this unearthly love was for him and him alone.

Hermione did not miss the way Severus was studying her. She could also tell that Severus was more at peace with the world than ever. In the flickering light of the candle, she could almost imagine the boy he once was. But she knew even as a boy, Severus was never that happy. He had confessed he had never been happier in his life than now, with her. His heart no longer hammering against his chest and the sweat on his body mostly dried, Hermione finally crawled off Severus to cuddle up alongside next to him.

She was still in awe that they loved each other so much that they had bonded with each other and pulled each other into a shared dream twice. One thing which bothered Hermione was that Severus had described his second turn into the dream world as more of a hallucination than a dream.

Her mind latched onto the conundrum of where they went; the thoughts had made her brow furrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pushing her hair away from her face, sensing her mind had changed gears.

"If we didn't share a dream, where did we share our consciousnesses then?" Suddenly the romantic mood had fled in the light of another mental puzzle yet to solve for her.

Still coming down off the heady highs of his orgasm, Severus was not about to become all business. It was quite emotional stuff sharing one's heart so completely. Kissing her shoulder, he began to postulate, "Well, we were both unconscious at the time."

"How seriously was your health threatened when you were during the ice bath treatment?" Hermione asked, having not heard all the details yet.

"Rainbow was quite concerned, since I was fairly sick with the ice pox, quite a bad case in comparison to others by Janine's and Rainbow's accounts. Though I wasn't at risk of dying, it was severe enough they were worried."

Hermione smoothed a hand over Severus' face, noting that he did seem to have a few less lines around his face than from before, a common side effect from those who recovered from the ice pox.

"What I'm confused about it that before your attack, and my passing out, I had felt sick since the day before. Quite nauseous, and no potions could ease my nausea and I felt unsettled," Severus noted, his own brow furrowing as he tried to deduce that particular anomaly.

Hermione had an idea, but she had to confirm it. "When did you start feeling nauseous?"

"I woke up Friday morning feeling unwell. Why?"

"I received your – or I should say, I received the wrong flowers Friday afternoon. And it tore me apart. I was nearly sick to my stomach and feeling physically terrible, in addition to emotionally broken. It may have been my own physical reaction to the flowers and what I thought it meant at the time, or it could have been the strength of our binding was being strained."

They both laid there silent, each lost in recalling those unpleasant days.

Severus added, "I passed out shortly after noon, on Saturday."

"Which would make it just past eleven at night back in London. That would be around the time I was stunned." Hermione started curling up into a fetal position, and Severus moved his arms to encircle her as if to protect her from the outside world. She continued describing, as best as she could remember, the time line of the events between waking and passing out after Harry rescued her.

Severus hummed to himself. "And the timing of your dream at night in India and my own experience with the ice bath indicate that they happen concurrently, despite where we are in the world or what time it is."

"But that still doesn't explain where we go. It wasn't Hades, for neither of us died," Hermione surmised.

"It was more like Purgatory. That first dream was a recreation of the night that–" Severus stopped, unable to say the words.

"I know," was all that Hermione said. She remembered his description about the night Gabrielle died. Even in her dream, she recognized that Severus – on the ground, covered in mud – had replaced his wife that he had been forced to kill those many years ago.

"The reliving of our worst sins," he said with quiet somberness.

"But what of the desert?" she asked.

"That was quite similar to my own three days in hell with Chuff in which I was dragged there unprepared." He growled to himself, still upset at his sadistic Potions master for that unpleasant jaunt.

"And the lava?"

Severus shook his head. "Maybe with you piled under all those sheets. And with the ice pox, I felt so cold that it was almost burning. Maybe that is why that place was conjured in your mind or mine."

"But where?" Hermione continued to ask. "Some place between life and death? Limbo? A plane of subconscious existence in the aether or nether sphere? Maybe some chamber in Morpheus' citadel?"

For the fact that not even Severus, who was more well read than herself, was clueless as to where they had gone during those journeys of their minds, was somewhat disquieting to her. She wished Dumbledore was alive, for surely in his vast knowledge and experience, he might know what had happened. Perhaps this was something only those who worked in the deepest bowels of the Department of Mysteries, studying behind the door that could never be forced open, knew and would not divulge to anyone. Maybe this was a mystery that was beyond any explanation one's mind could conceive.

Severus sighed with resignation that even this was beyond his capabilities of logic and observation to discern. "Whatever the place we both visited, it has only been when one of us has been in some form of great distress. Let us hope we never revisit such a place again."

============

A/N: Thank you to my ever lovely and immensely talented betas, JuneW and Cygnuz.

Tossed Salad: Originally, in prison, to have someone eat your ass out, with or without salad dressing used as a means of disguising the taste of someone's ass. The salad dressing is also used as an impromptu lubrication.

Regarding the Persephone and Hades alternative myth, there was an SSHG Promptfest (after I had completed this story) in which one prompt was, "Retelling of any mythology story with Severus and Hermione as the main characters." I expanded upon my initial idea in this fic and retold the Hades and Persephone myth with her willingly going with Hades to the Underworld instead of being abducted against her will. It is a two-part story titled "Seeds" about 11,000 words long. You can read my reinterpretation of the myth on AO3 and Ashwinder here:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/7606516

http://ashwinder.sycophanthex.com/viewstory.php?sid=28877
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And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After