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Hermione gave an exhausted wave to the neighbor before letting herself into the front door of her parent’s house. The key turning in the knob was more for show than anything, as the house was one ward away from being unintentionally secret-kept. Most of the time she left it unlocked just because she could. Dropping her beaded bag on the small table near the door she took off her red coat, having left her work robes at the office. The way she commuted back and forth, it was just easier to slide them on over her business attire - and there were less questions from the people in her neighborhood too. Well, at least about that.
She had never been able to locate her parents again, much less restore their memories. Not for lack of trying, as she was currently in contact with a seventh private investigator to try and figure out what had happened to them after arriving in Australia. Part of the reason she decided to live in this house was to keep their memories - or at least her memory of them - alive. The other reason had a lot to do with her work, and needing to have a clean break from not just the Ministry but the wizarding world every evening.
It wasn’t like she never went out - Harry and Ron had a standing dinner date with her at the Hog’s Head every month, and more often than not the weekends had her catching up with Ginny and the babies at Grimmauld or helping Draco as he raised baby Teddy Lupin. That he had stepped up to do so in the first place had floored her as much as it had the rest of the Order, but he had really proved himself to be an amazing father. Astoria wasn’t able to have children biologically, so that little boy was just as loved as he was spoiled.
Hermione Granger had kept a lot of secrets over her lifetime. Mostly to protect Harry and Ron but nothing had been quite as close to her heart as the one who would meet her in this house tonight. It had been almost a month since she saw him, but such was the way of business and all of that rot. She’d come home with takeout and a good book for most weekdays this month, but after a quick shower she planned on running out to the shop and… well, buying different takeout. Her cooking skills were still non-existent, and after that year on the run she didn’t even want to *look* at a pan ever again.
Her brows furrowed a bit as she heard muffled noise coming from her father’s study, drawing her wand when she noticed light flickering under the door. Merlin, after all this time was she about to walk in on a robbery? Her heartrate began to speed up but she forced herself to calm, knowing if it was necessary she would be able to defend herself. Probably. Hopefully.
Her wand clattered to the ground after she pushed the door open with her foot, rolling only a little bit while the witch flew across the room towards the fireplace. “Severus!” Jumping at the end she launched herself right into his arms, the couple spinning in a tight circle as they laughed and let their lips meet in a feverish kiss. “You’re home early?” She hadn’t been expecting him until well after eleven, but the small candlelit table and music playing on the wireless said that he had been home for quite some time. “I would have left work if I’d known!”
“Precisely why I couldn’t tell you.” Severus reminded her gently, looking just as tall and lean in his suit as he always had in his teaching robes. “What excuse would you have given to Kingsley? To Potter?” Hermione sighed even though she knew he was right. As far as the wizarding world was concerned, Severus Snape was dead. It was just safer and easier this way, even though she hated having to hide how much she loved him. “Still…” She gave a little pout and wrapped her legs around his waist, enjoying the way his fingers flexed against the back of her thighs.
“I missed you too, my own.” He caught her lips before she could even bring up the idea of easing back into the world. He would never dream of taking it from her, but it was better to have the lot of it behind him. He still had his magic of course - wandless, to avoid any links to the Ministry - but making a name for himself in the larger portion of the world was his choice. Perhaps someone would come across the pseudonym of Aspen, but considering he didn’t even work in medicine they would never think of him.
During his recovery in Hermione’s home after the war, an interest had sparked inside of him for history. There was so much he had never learned, having not gone to school before Hogwarts, and the more he learned the more he wanted to know. With his penchant for research and sharp mind for putting things together, he’d become somewhat of an expert in circles that they made sure never touched anything to do with the wizarding world. She was so proud of him and his efforts in her world, her own curiosities creating lively debates sometime in this very study.
“Dance with me.” She pleaded, slowly lowering her feet to the ground but keeping her arms securely around his neck. Resting their foreheads together she smiled and swayed along with him to the music, watching the flames flicker in the fire when she moved to lay her head on his chest instead. They had gone through madness and come out on the other side. Maybe one day she would tell her friends about Severus, but even if not… this was her life. This was what peace looked like, stolen moments in the light of the fire.