Better This Way

I Don’t Thee Wed

Severus sat alone in his office. Minerva had asked him to brew her a special batch of his Pepper-up potion laced with a healing draught. It worked wonders for her achy joints, and as it was not a ministry approved potion, there was none in the hospital wing’s stores. Severus was waiting for the potion to cool when his door was thrown open. He drew his wand, prepared to hex the offender into oblivion.


The sight before him nearly took his breath away. She was soaked from head to toe, her cream colored satin gown completely sodden and dirt streaked. Her hair was wildly plastered across her forehead and her neck. Her eyes were red rimmed, and her cheeks were streaked with obvious tear tracks in addition to the rain. She looked positively ghastly, and yet he could not tear his eyes from her.


What was she doing here, in what appeared to be her wedding robes? Why was she here and not with Krum? He dared not hope what his heart was begging him to hope.


“Would not your husband approve of your presence here?” he asked her snarkily, eyes raking over her hips where the fabric clung so mercilessly.


“I have no husband,” Hermione said, brushing a stray off her forehead.


“Well I don’t imagine this is normal Friday night attire for you,” he drawled. “At least not the way I remember it anyway.”


“No,” Hermione admitted softly.


“Why are you here, Hermione?” he asked her seriously.


He was done with his game. He was done hurting her, but he was also done being hurt by her.


“I-I couldn’t marry Viktor,” Hermione said, looking at her rain soaked shoes.


Severus steeled himself.


“What has that to do with me?” he asked her calmly.


“Everything,” she replied, wringing her hands.


“Oh?” Severus asked, trying to be nonchalant.


“You ruined my wedding day, because all I could think about when I was walking down that aisle toward Viktor was you. Viktor is a good man, and he deserved all of my heart, but I could not give it to him because you never gave it back to me,” Hermione said, a tear sliding down her cheek.


“I don’t care if you never loved me,” Hermione said, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. “I don’t care if I never meant anything more than a fling to you. I don’t care if I never will either. All I want is you, and if that means I am no more than a fling to you, then so be it. It is my life, and I will do with it what I will, and if I want to “throw it away on a fling” as you put it, then I will.


Both their heads turned as the door opened behind Hermione.


“Severus, darling, I couldn’t keep you waiting til next week, so here I am,” Rosmerta’s cheery voice rang through the office as she entered carrying a box.


Hermione’s face turned a deep shade of scarlet.


“I’m too late, then,” Hermione said distantly, another tear spilling down her cheek as she sidled out the door, leaving a very dumbfounded Severus and Rosmerta behind.


Hermione clutched her chest tightly as she ran, fighting for breath. What an idiot she was. Of course he was back with Rosmerta. Why wouldn’t he be? She stumbled up the steps and fell hard, where she sobbed silently, shoulders quaking.


Severus stared at the door where Hermione had just been standing only seconds ago. He could not let her run away from him this time. He would not. He gave Rosmerta an apologetic look and then ran out the door. He only hoped she hadn’t made it to the gate. If she had, he would have no way of knowing where she had gone.


He spun around the corner, dashing like mad. His lungs burned, but he did not care. He could not lose her again. He slowed his pace when he saw her, slumped over, crying. His heart ached to see her like this. He didn’t care about his damned pride anymore. He didn’t care if she would leave him. He had to tell her. He couldn’t let her believe for even one second more that she was no more to him than a fling.


He slipped his hand into his pocket and tightened his long pale fingers around the small ring. It was time he stop being a coward. His heart pounded wildly as he approached her, and he felt as though he were walking on sand. His vision blurred slightly as he reached her, and he thought he might faint, but he steeled himself. He had to do this. He had to tell her no matter what she might say in return.


He stood there for a moment, just looking at her, before he slid to the stone floor himself, and wrapped his arms around her. She started, and then looked up into his face, searching for an explanation.


“What about Rosmerta?” she asked him softly, her pouty lip trembling, her amber eyes wide and glistening.


“She was bringing me a fresh supply of brandy,” he replied.


His heart skipped a beat when he saw the look of relief wash over her face. He took a deep breath. It was time to tell her. He cleared his throat a few times and then spoke.


“Hermione….I love you,” he said in a rush, the words tasting strange on his lips.


“I thought it was just a fling,” she replied, her voice wavering slightly.


“From the moment I first touched you, I knew I would never be the same again,” he said, feeling a little more at ease, but still like he carried a ton of rocks in his stomach. “I was a damn fool to let you go, and” he continued, slipping his hand back into his pocket. “I never want to let you go again.”


He pulled the small platinum ring out of his pocket and held it out to her.


“I should have given you this when I was going to,” he said softly as she allowed him to slip the ring onto her finger.


“When were you going to?” she asked him, confused. There was no way he could have known she was going to be in the Leaky Cauldron last week.


“The night I left you,” he said, looking down.


“You might have saved us both a lot of trouble,” Hermione said with a chuckle as she tipped her chin up to him for a soft kiss. “I love you Severus Snape, and don’t you ever forget it.”


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


The ceremony was a small one, held on the grounds of Hogwarts the following month, with Albus as the officiator. When Jane took Hermione back to Madam Malkin’s, they discovered much to their surprise that the silver white robes were already packaged and waiting.


“I knew you would be back,” Madam Malkin had said with a wink. “As soon as you left the last time, Twinkle packaged it up right away. She told me you were destined for this one, and you would surely be back to get it and here you are!”


Minerva had been delighted when Hermione accepted the post as Transfiguation Mistress. She had extended the position to a few other witches and wizards, but Hermione was the best for the job, and she had a feeling that Hermione would not turn it down.


Hermione was dismissing her morning class, when Severus came entered the classroom silently. He still looked as surly as ever, and Hermione couldn’t help but smile when she saw him standing there, instilling fear in her poor first years. Once the last student had left, he walked up to her and placed a light kiss on her lips.


“Hello Madam Snape,” he said silkily. “I thought you might find this interesting.”


He dropped a copy of the morning prophet on the desk in front of her. Hermione stared at the headline, in disbelief.


Quidditch Legend Krum Finally Marries and Inherits Millions


“Why that lecherous bastard!” Hermione exclaimed. “I felt so terrible for leaving him at the altar like that, and it turns out he was just using me to inherit his daddy’s money!”


She quickly scanned the article.


“It figures an idiot like Lavendar Brown would be the one to get him his money,” she said, giggling.


“Well his loss is certainly my gain,” Severus said huskily.


“Yes, I would have to say it is definitely better this way,” Hermione said as Severus captured her mouth with his own in a fierce kiss.


The paper fluttered to the floor as Severus lifted his wife onto the desk, kissing her neck hungrily.


A/N: I am so sorry that took forever to post! Once I got settled, I found I had absolutely no time to write, though I so badly wanted to. When I came home last week, my daughter got a nasty cold from the change in air and water, and now that she is feeling better I finally got the time to post. I hope you all enjoyed the conclusion, and please, review, as it helps fuel my next plot bunny which is already beginning to form.