In a Lifetime

In A Lifetime
Chapter 27: A Fasting Fast Approaches


The weeks flew by and Hermione found herself standing with her back to a mirror, dressed in pure white robes trimmed in gold. A rapidly moving Ginny Weasley was attempting to do something with Hermione’s unruly hair, while Molly Weasley and Minerva McGonagall fussed over the hem of her robes.

“Stand still Hermione,” ordered Molly, as she applied a fusing spell to the robes.

“That should do,” nodded Minerva.

“Yes,” agreed Molly, stepping back and looking at Hermione, “that’s the exact proper length.”

“Just one more sleekening spell on the hair and Hermione should be good to go,” murmured Ginny, stating a few words, “oh bugger all!”

“Ginevra Molly Weasley!” admonished Molly

“Sorry, mum, it’s just that…her hair is lovely, but it’s too fussy.”

“Yes, that it is,” stated Minerva, approaching Hermione. With a deft wave of her wand and a few words, Minerva did something to Hermione’s hair. She then placed a circlet of white flowers on her head and smiled with a look of almost motherly pride, “stunning. Simply stunning.”

Ginny looked at Hermione, tears welling up in her eyes, “Oh Hermione, you look like a goddess.”

“So beautiful my dear,” agreed Molly.

Hermione turned to look in the mirror. Her robes were as pure as the softly falling snow outside that cold New Year’s Eve. Her brown eyes took on a golden hue from the gold trimmings on the robes. Her hair hung in loose ringlets down her back, tamed by the circlet of flowers. Her cheeks were tinged with a natural pink and she required no other adornment. Hermione never thought of herself as a great beauty, but tonight, she felt beautiful. Tonight, she looked beautiful.

“Don’t sell yourself short, my love,” whispered a familiar voice in her ear, “to your father and me, you have always been beautiful. To Severus, you are and will always be beautiful.”

The other women in the room watched in amazement as the forum of Emma Granger coalesced in front of them. Emma looked young and stunning, dressed in a flowing robe.

“Mum?” whispered Hermione.

“I told you that your father and I would be here.”

“Where’s dad?” asked Hermione looking around.

“With Severus,” was the answer.

“Should I be worried?”

“I think not,” stated Emma, a smile lighting up her silvery gray face.

Hermione looked at her mother, “How long are you here for?”

“We have tonight. And we will also be there for the births of your children…when you are ready to have them, and we’ll be there when it’s your time to join us. But we will always be with you in thought and spirit. But tonight, my dearest, isn’t about us. It’s about you and Severus.”

Hermione felt the tears well up in her eyes, “I’ve missed you mum, and I’m glad you’re here.”

“I would have walked through coals to be here. This is so right, you know that, my daughter.”

“I know,” nodded Hermione.

“There’s so much love in this room, in this castle, on these grounds, I quite feel almost corporeal,” commented Emma, as she gestured for Hermione to head to the castle entrance.

******

“Lupin, would you stop fussing over me? I am not a child,” snapped Severus, as Remus attempted to assist him with the sash on his sky blue robes.

“You have yet to manage to tie the sash properly,” said Remus.

“That’s because you are standing in the way.”

“Well,” drawled the spirit of Trevor Granger, “If I had any real form, I would tie it for you. Of course, I would have no idea what I was doing…”

“It has to be tied in a specific manner,” explained Remus, “it’s all very symbolic.”

“I surmised as much.”

Severus glowered at the two as he tied his sash properly, “I told you I was capable.”

“You clean up fairly well,” stated Remus, “aren’t you afraid Hermione won’t recognize you?”

“Do shut up, Lupin.”

“I guess you’re a bit old for my typical ‘father of the bride’ speech, eh, Severus?” remarked Trevor.

“Quite so,” agreed Severus, “especially considering that in the form you’ve taken for the afterlife, I appear old than you.”

“Still, the condensed version; treat Hermione right or I will literally haunt you.”

Severus fixed Trevor with a glare, “Of that, Mr. Granger, I have no doubt. Though I am quite more fearful of Mrs. Granger. After all, Hermione is very much like her other, so I’ve been told, which dnot not bode well for me should I fail to treat Hermione well.”

“No,” agreed Trevor, “that it doesn’t. Now, I do believe it’s time to meet my daughter for the walk to the ceremony.”

Severus gulped, then nodded.

“Onto the gallows,” quipped Remus, earning twin glares from the two men in Hermione Granger’s life.

*****

Hermione and Severus met at the same time in the entryway to Hogwarts. Severus was spellbound by Hermione, and she was equally spellbound by her husband to be. As tradition required, the couple said not a word to one another, took one another’s hand, and headed for the clearing in the forest where the ceremony would take place. There was a softly falling snow, but neither felt the cold on their bare feet. They approached the clearing, where Albus stood alone, dressed in simple grey robes. They stood with Albus as he cast a magic circle around them and invoked the old ones. When he was complete, Albus looked around at the nearly empty clearing and smiled.

“Who stands before the gods to endorse this couple?” asked Albus.

“I do,” stated Remus, standing on the circle surrounding Hermione and Severus.

“We do,” stated the Grangers, their silvery forms joining Remus.

“I do,” smiled Ginny, taking her place next to Remus.

One by one the staff of Hogwarts and Arthur and Molly Weasley joined the others in the magical circle around the couple to be joined. The circle around them grew brighter and increased to form an impenetrable magical wall around them. The wall shimmered and lowered in intensity as a voice cut through the magical hum.

“We do,” stated Tonks, as she grinned and nodded at the surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix with her.

Hermione felt her eyes well up with tears. She looked up at Severus and saw tears shimmering in his eyes as well. So much love, so much support. Neither of them expected it. The wall rose higher, and then lessened once more.

“I do,” stated a voice from the woods. There was a gasp as Harry Potter approached the circle, “I will always be there for you…”

“Friends are forever ‘Mione,” said Ron Weasley, also approaching the circle, “is there room in your circle and in your life for me?”

Hermione nodded as she held back the tears. Severus grasped her hands tightly as Harry and Ron filled up the small gaps in the circle of support surrounding them. The wall went back up, shimmering silver and blue, and humming loudly with the sounds of magic. The humming changed into something that sounded, to Hermione, like angels singing.

“What is that, Severus?” she whispered.

“The music of the elements, the music of the universe. It’s the single most powerful force. It transcends magic,” he replied, gazing in wonder at the stars circling the sphere surrounding them.

“The Universe has blessed this couple,” stated Albus, “far beyone mee mere words of the binding ceremony.”

“What do we do now?” asked Hermione, her brown eyes shining in the otherworldly light surrounding them.

“State your promises to one another,” said Albus; looking up into the swirling vortex of stars and light above them, “our guests will do the rest.”

Severus turned to face Hermione, his face belying his emotions. He smiled slightly as he took a breath to steel himself for the promises he would make, the promises of a lifetime.

“I promise to love you,” he said simply, “I promise to protect you, sometimes even from yourself. I promise not only to hear but also to listen. I promise you fidelity and honesty. I promise you my heart, my soul, and all of my being. I make these promises in the presence of our friends and family, in the face of the gods, and within the glory of the elements. I promise to be a part of you and keep you a part of me, as we journey through this mortal life together. And I hope with all that I am, that we choose and are chosen to spend the years beyond this lifetime together. I love you Hermione. And I bind with you on this day that is not a day, in the place that is not a place, in this time that is not a time. The power of the between is great, as is the power of this binding.”

Severus draped his cords over his and Hermione’s wrists. Albus loosely tied them together. The old wizard nodded at Hermione, who also took a deep breath before speaking.

“I promise to love you, to cherish you, to understand you. I promise to listen with my heart as much as with my ears. I promise to be one with you in all that we do and all that we plan. I promise you honesty and faithfulness. I promise you my heart, my soul, and all of my being. I make these promises in the presence of our friends and family, in the face of the gods, and within the glory of the elements. I would be honored to walk through both this life and the next with you. You were unexpected, Severus, but you are ensconced in my very being. I love you, Severus. And I bind with you on this day that is not a day, in the place that is not a place, in this time that is not a time. The power of the between is great, as is the power of this binding.”

Hermione draped her cords over both their wrists and Albus again tied them loosely. He placed his hands over the knots and looked to the skies.

“Bless this couple with all the blessings of the old ones,” he stated.

The swirling light above reached down and enveloped Severus and Hermione. The both felt a warmth spread over them and a tightening around their wrists. When the light receded and once again swirled above them, they realized that the cords were knotted more tightly around their wrists. They looked at Albus for guidance. None of this was what they had in mind when they discussed a handfasting in the old style. Albus smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

“The gods have blessed you with their very presence tonight. They have tied your cords. They have pronounced you bound and fasted, for a year and a day. Severus, Hermione, should you wish to end this binding, you need only to cut the cords. If you do not cut the cords and sever the fasting, we shall meet here again, in a year and a day, and the knots will either be untied or permanently fastened. Merry Meet and Merry Part, and Merry Meet again, I lift my chalice to the Old Ones and thank them for their presence,” he handed the chalice to the newly bound couple, who each sipped from it, murmuring their thank you to the gods, “now, I believe you require some time alone to figure out how to remove the cords without untying them. When we next see you, you will be known as Severus Snape and Hermione Granger-Snape and we shall be celebrating.”

The light lifted from the ground and swirled away into the ether, leaving all the guests breathless and Severus and Hermione beaming. With a smile, they departed from the circle, hearing the music begin, and the party start. The newly bound couple headed to the banks of a small rivulet that meandered through the Forbidden Forest. Severus smiled at Hermione as he transfigured a log into a bridge to cross the rivulet. Once across, Hermione was surprised to see a small cottage, aglow with light and smoke tendrils rising from the chimney.

Severus opened the door and held it for Hermione. She entered, surprised to see the small cabin appointed with cozy furniture, a roaring fire, a bottle of the finest wizarding champagne, and two glasses.

“What is this?” whispered Hermione.

“A wedding cottage,” replied Severus, “it’s charmed not unlike the Room of Requirement in the castle. It becomes what we want it to become.”

Hermione tugged at the cords around her wrist, “Does it come with a cord remover?”

“We have to do that ourselves,” smiled Severus, deftly opening the champagne single handedly.

“And we do that how?”

“Well, we start with you staying still so I can pour this. Then we relax and let the gods do the rest.”

Hermione sighed and accepted the glass from Severus. They sat on the couch and faced each other.

“My wife, in every way imaginable,” stated Severus, “I give all my love and my heart to you.”

Hermione felt a cord loosen from her wrist. She smiled.

“My husband, whom I adore,” she said, “I give myself to you.”

Severus felt a cord loosen around his wrist.

They drank to the gods and to the universe and felt the cords loosen further. Severus leaned forward and kissed Hermione, transferring his love and affection through the kiss. As Hermione returned the kiss, she felt the cords grow even looser. With a grin, Hermione slipped her hand through the cord and stroked Severus’ thigh.

“I’m released,” she said.

“Only from the cords,” remarked Severus, removing his hand from the loose cords.

“That’s the only thing I want to be released from,” smiled Hermione, wrapping her arms around Severus and kissing him deeply, “I want to be with you forever.”

“That’s all I want as well,” said Severus, untying the sash of Hermione’s robes with a simple pull. He unbuttoned the few buttons that held the robes together, slipping them down her shoulders and baring her to the waist, “I love the old ways, nothing under the robes,” he commented, drawing his finger down her neck and across a breast, causing the nipple to pucker.

Hermione moaned slightly as Severus bent his head to gently lick one nipple at a time. Severus pushed her back onto the couch, which magically changed into a bed. With a motion, he removed her robes entirely, gasping at the sight of her body glimmering I the firelight.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured, nuzzling her full breasts.

“No…” protested Hermione.

“Yes,” stated Severus, nipping at each nipple, “you are. Gods, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too Severus. And will…forever.”

Hermione pulled the cord of Severus’ robes and removed them. With almost an air of desperation, she pulled Severus on top of her, guiding his hardness inside her.

“I need you inside me,” she gasped, as he slid home.

They moved together in rhythm, each feeling the need of the other and fulfilling it. With a quick movement, Severus flipped over so that Hermione was on top. Worrying her lower lip, Hermione began to ride Severus. He reached up and toyed with her breasts, pinching her hard nipples. Hermione threw her head back; her hair wild as free and she rode her husband harder. With one hand continuing their sweet torture at her nipple, Severus ran the other hand down her body, following her curves to her clit, which he gently played with as Hermione felt herself nearing climax.

“Oh gods, Severus, I love you,” she gasped as she tightened her walls around his cock. Her muscles milked him as he felt himself begin to come with her.

“I love you, Hermione…as the gods will attest, you are my wife,” he moaned as he began to spill himself inside her.

“And you are my husband,” she groaned as she felt herself swept up into the wave of climax. She came with a shuddering cry and slumped over Severus, their bodies slick with sweat.

Severus held her tightly, kissing her as she came down from her orgasm, “Now, my love,” said softly, “we are truly joined.”

Hermione slipped off Severus, sat up in the bed and smiled wistfully, “And we must rejoin the celebration, right?”

“Or it would be offensive,” nodded Severus, applying a cleansing charm to both of them.

They found two sets of robes hanging by the door, one gold and one silver. They put them on, as well as the soft buckskin boots by the door. Severus shrunk their fasting robes and cords and placed them in his pocket. With a smile, he took Hermione’s hand and led her back to the clearing, where there was music, food, and dancing. Harry saw them approach.

“It’s the Snapes!” he cried, causing a cheer to go up from the celebration.

With a smile, Hermione and Severus joined their friends and loved ones in a celebration of their joining.