Time as a Healer

He had lifted her from the bed and spun her around twice before kissing her firmly, then fucking her soundly and now they were sitting in the kitchen, both wearing their bathrobes, two steaming mugs of tea in front of them. Her hand was in his and he kept looking at her, staring at her face, a look of wonder in his eyes.



He lifted her hand to his face and kissed her lips softly.



‘I feel very lucky.’ He smiled at her and her stomach clenched and unclenched.



‘Me too.’ She smiled at him. ‘I shouldn’t have kept you waiting so long. I always knew I would say yes eventually.’



‘Why now?’ He asked her.



‘I don’t know really. It just feels like the right time, you know?’ She smiled at him.



‘We should celebrate, have a party…’ he murmured.



Hermione raised her eyes at him. Severus would never have suggested having a party. It highlighted the differences in their personality and Hermione frowned slightly. In modifying his memory, they had created a new persona.



Sam knew nothing about Lily, so as far as he was concerned he had never suffered from the pain of unrequited love, like Severus. He thought he and his parents had been involved in a serious car accident, which had killed them and caused the scarring on his body. His tattoo, as far as Sam knew, was the result of a drunken night out with friends from University. In fact, Sam and Severus were two very different people. Hermione loved them both but she ached for Severus more and more.



‘Do you want to, have a party, I mean?’ Hermione looked at him.



‘Why not? You can invite Harry and Ginny, I haven’t seen them in ages, and I could invite Bob and Pete from work… we could just go for a meal or something. Nothing huge and not in the house, because then there’s all the clearing up to do afterwards. I want to share this, Hermione. I have never been so happy in my life!’ He smiled at her warmly and she melted.



‘OK. But lets make it tonight… I want you all to myself this weekend!’ She grinned at him, swept away by his enthusiasm and trying hard not to imagine the look on Harry’s face.



Sam stood up and kissed her softly. ‘Excellent… I’ll give everyone a call and we can make the grand announcement when everyone is together!’ He walked off towards the ‘phone.



Hermione put her head in her hands and pondered what was happening. Part of her wished he had been taken from her sooner, it would have made things so much easier.





****



The restaurant was busy. Friday night was always popular, but Sam and Hermione were regular customers and Maria, the owner, was fond of them both so she had secured a private table at the rear of the room for their celebrations. She would often watch them from a distance as they ate together and it was obvious they were crazy about each other, despite the age gap. She was happy to help and put two bottles of champagne on ice. They hadn’t told her about their engagement but she wasn’t stupid. The way Sam was looking at Hermione told her everything she needed to know.



Sam held Hermione’s hand tightly and smiled at her.



‘Relax, my love. Everyone will be pleased for us, you know that.’ He kissed her cheek. Hermione was nervous and took a large gulp of wine as they waited. Sam looked up and waved as Pete and Bob, fellow teachers from St Laurence’s Grammar, walked towards them.



‘Sam, mate… ‘Mione…’ Bob shook Sam’s hand and kissed Hermione noisily on the cheek. He was wearing a lumberjack shirt and jeans and his big bushy beard scratched her cheek. She grinned at him. She loved Bob; he was so down to earth and normal. She laughed a little as Pete sidled up against him.



‘Darlings…’ he pursed his lips. ‘You wouldn’t believe how long it took us to get out of the house…. Sorry we’re a little tardy.’



‘It was you hogging the bathroom as usual.’ Bob grunted and sat firmly onto a chair. ‘Now sit down, you sad Queen, and if you’re lucky I might get you a vodka.’



Pete looked down at the gruff man and smiled warmly at him. He glanced at Hermione conspiratorially as he sat daintily on the seat beside Bob.



‘Why do we put up with them, my dear?’



‘It’s because they fuck us senseless, Pete…’ Hermione said softly, a twinkle in her eye.



There was a moment’s silence and then Pete howled loudly and slapped her on the arm.



‘You are a minx! Sam, do not let this girl out of your sight! She is a keeper!!’ He laughed and ran his hand through his soft blond hair.



Sam watched the exchange with amusement and laughed a little as Pete tried to tidy Bob’s unruly hair. Bob grabbed Pete’s hand and kissed it before putting it back on his own knee, making it quite clear that his hair was fine, thank you.



Hermione looked up and saw Ginny waving at her, closely followed by Harry. They walked up to the table and took their seats, saying hi to everyone. They all knew each other well and had spent time as a group many times. Hermione caught Harry’s eye and she smiled a little. He looked sad for her and she looked away. She didn’t need to be reminded about what would happen on Monday and she didn’t want anything to spoil her last weekend with Sam.



‘This is great, Hermione. We haven’t been out in ages.’ Ginny smiled at her. She leaned over and whispered in her ear. ‘Are you OK?’



Hermione looked into her friends’ eyes and felt tears spring into her own. She bit her lip and nodded and was about to speak when she felt Sam stand and heard him clink his fork against his wine glass. She looked up at him slowly.



‘I wanted to say thanks for coming at such short notice. This is a special weekend for Hermione and myself and we wanted to share it with our closest friends.’ He spoke softly and lifted Hermione’s hand.



Hermione caught Harry’s eye again. He was looking at her blankly and hoping that he was wrong about what Sam was about to say.



‘We’re getting married…’ Sam spoke softly, a catch in his voice. He was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.



A ripple of applause went around the table and Pete and Bob were effusive in their congratulations. Ginny and Harry sat there speechless for a short moment until they realised that they too needed to congratulate the happy couple.



Ginny hugged Sam first, then Hermione, whispering ‘What the fuck is going on?’ before she sat down. Harry shook Sam’s hand, murmuring ‘well done mate’ and kissed Hermione on the cheek. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. His look said it all.



Maria came over with the champagne and glasses.



‘About time too…’ she said in her stilted Italian. ‘You make honest man of Sam, before Maria gets her claws in his sexy ass…’ she grinned at Hermione who allowed herself to laugh out loud.

Maria was almost 60 years old, with greying hair and a bosom you could rest your dinner plate on and she flirted with Sam constantly. His cheeks flushed a little and he gripped Hermione’s hand a little tighter.



‘My ass, Maria… my claws…’ Hermione smiled sweetly at her and Maria’s booming laugh could be heard as she walked back into the kitchen.



Sam handed Hermione a glass of champagne and she sipped a little before putting it back on the table.



The evening flew by in a blur and they stood, shivering, outside the restaurant, saying their goodbyes. Harry pulled Hermione over to him as Sam spoke with Bob and Pete.



‘What were you thinking? You just made everything worse for yourself, Hermione!’ He was exasperated with her.



‘It’s complicated Harry, I can’t explain… he’s asked me every week for the past 4 years, I couldn’t keep putting him off, could I? And I might not get another chance…. Just let me enjoy this Harry. He’s so happy. And anyway, after Monday, he won’t remember a thing about it…but I will. Let me have this, Harry… please.’



Harry stared at her. He knew Hermione too well.



‘There’s something else. Tell me.’ He crossed his arms and she knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer.



Hermione sighed and pulled him further away from the rest of the group.



‘Harry, the others in the Order know that I have been living with Severus, don’t they?’



Harry nodded. ‘Yes. But they don’t know you’re a couple. They just think you’ve been keeping him safe. Only me and Ginny know the full story.’



She smiled with relief.



‘Good…that’s good.’ She stared over to where Sam was laughing with Bob. He was a little drunk and Ginny was trying to hold him up, glancing over at her occasionally as if to say ‘get a move on’.



Hermione turned to Harry and took a deep breath.



‘I’m having his baby, Harry…’



Harry stared at her in disbelief.



‘You have got to be joking!’ He hissed at her. He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes for a second. Now he had even more reason to keep Severus alive.



‘He doesn’t know, does he?’ Harry stated flatly.



Hermione shook her head and tried to stop the tears from tripping down her face. Harry watched her and his heart flew into his throat as he realised that after this weekend her whole world would be turned upside down. She would be a single parent as well as losing the love of her life. He hugged her close and stroked her hair softly, kissing the top of her head gently.



He didn’t know what to say.





*****



Thanks for the reviews. I hope this chapter answered a couple of questions for people. Let me know what you think.