In a Lifetime

In A Lifetime
Chapter 7: Waking Up to a New Life

Disclaimer: I own nothing of what you’re about to read, with the possible exception of the plot, although I’m sure it’s been done before. The places, characters, etc. belong to JK Rowling. Thanks.

Hermione snuggled in under the covers feeling Severus’ warm chest under her head. She felt his arms tighten around her as she slowly awoke. She gently kissed his chest, smiling at the thought that in the near future, she would wake up like this every day, wrapped in the arms of her beloved. She slowly raised her head and looked at his sleeping face. In repose, his features were somehow softer and he looked peaceful. Hermione still saw the haunted look in his eyes at times, the look of a man who lost part of his soul. But slowly, it seemed that he was gaining it back. She knew that he’d been a bit lost since the war ended and Voldemort was destroyed. She knew that he felt without a purpose. But now, with the research that he had become so vital to, and with his renewed interest in teaching potions, although he was still frustrated on a daily basis by the “dunderheads” who didn’t care about the subject, his sense of purpose had been coming back. Hermione knew from conversations with Minerva how empty his life had been. How he had kept himself emotionally segregated from those he worked with, fought beside, and won the war with. He didn’t think that they knew what he had lost. The lifelong friends he had betrayed as a spy. But they did. They understood more than he knew. But now…now he had a new lease on life. When he proposed to her the previous night, she felt the uncertainty that she hadn’t felt from him since the first couple of months of their relationship. Did he really think that she would say no? While it was true that it was too soon for a wedding, it was not too soon for an engagement.

Hermione absentmindedly ran her hand through the sparse hairs on his chest, following the trail that led below the covers. With a smirk only he could appreciate, she allowed her lips to follow her hand, kissing down his chest, across his stomach, and down to the curly thatch of hair that surrounded his penis. Hermione reached for her wand and the fire sprung up in the hearth. She placed a “do not disturb” ward on the floo and slipped back to her sweet chore. She felt Severus stir in more ways than one as she ran her finger up the base of his semi-erect cock. Hermione flung back the covers so she could watch his cock grow steadily hard as she explored it with her hands, and then followed with her lips and tongue. She lightly brushed the tip with her tongue, smiling as she heard him moan softly. Taking the head into her mouth, she gently sucked on it. She glanced up to see Severus’ eyes half opened and moved her body up to sweetly kiss him good morning.

“Oh Hermione,” he whispered, “if my alarm clock were half as enjoyable, I wouldn’t mind waking up in the mornings quite so much…”

Hermione smiled and kissed her way back down his body, brushing her hard nipples across his skin as she moved. When she reached his hard cock, she took it in her hand and teased her nipples with it. Severus moaned as her lips and tongue again descended on his now fully erect penis. Running her tongue up the large vein on the underside of his cock, she heard him groan. She took him into her mouth, flicking the tip with her tongue and alternating between sucking and very softly raking her teeth up and down the shaft. She felt his body tighten up as he neared climax. Hermione knew that as a rule, he never lasted more than a few minutes first thing in the morning, but that once the first climax was out of the way, he could settle in for a long slow lovemaking session if time permitted. This morning, time would not permit him to get aroused again, but Hermione didn’t care. She owed him. She increased her attention to his cock as she heard him moan loudly before climaxing. Without moving her mouth from him, she licked him clean, then kissed her way back up his body, softly kissing his lips. Severus could taste himself on her, but had discovered that when his taste was attached to Hermione’s lips and tongue, he didn’t mind it quite as much as he thought he would.

“Hermione,” he said, looking at the time, “we have to get up and you…”

“Shhh,” she replied, tracing the contours of his face with her finger, “as a sexy potions master once said to me, ‘this isn’t about me. Right now it’s about you.’”

Severus smiled a sweet morning smile that Hermione found irresistible. Something about Severus in the morning pulled at her heart more than any other time. It was the mornings when he always appeared most vulnerable. His defenses were down and she felt that between the morning and during lovemaking she was seeing the true unguarded Severus Snape. She kissed him again, as she pushed him out of bed.

“Go, get showered and dressed. Remus is waking up this morning and we need to get to work on creating an antidote for whatever was used on him. Ginny’s going to draw some blood samples this morning before the charm is lifted,” she said, admiring his nude body as he reluctantly padded to the bathroom. Hermione briefly considered going back to her quarters to get ready for the day, but instead slipped under the covers of Severus’ bed, waiting for him to complete his morning routine so she could do hers. After a few moments of waiting, she heard the shower start. With a shrug, she threw off the covers and joined Severus in the bathroom.

After brushing her teeth, she silently joined Severus in his shower, wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his shoulder.

“It is much quicker if we just shower together, isn’t it?” he said with a smirk.

Hermione returned his smirk and grabbed the shampoo from the ledge of the waterfall like cavern that served as Severus’ shower. She loved his bathroom, the way it appeared to be carved out of the very bedrock of Hogwarts. They carefully and gently washed each other amidst kisses and gropes, then quickly dressed and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. The day ahead would be busy and potentially emotionally draining.

A few moments later, they were seated at the head table having breakfast, Hermione wearing her engagement ring but not flaunting it. She looked around for Harry, but he wasn’t there. She wanted to tell him about her engagement, but she was damned if she was going to hide the ring that she was so proud of.

“Harry had to leave for a work related engagement,” said Albus, when Hermione asked, “he will be back in two days time but will be checking in via floo later this afternoon regarding his assignment.”

“Thank you Albus,” repliedmionmione, taking a sip of her morning coffee.

“You’re very welcome my dear, and I see discreet congratulations are in order?” he said, nodding at her ring.

“Thank you Albus.”

“You make him happier than I have ever seen him.”

“And he makes me happier than I could ever imagine,” smiled Hermione, glancing at Severus and seeing him glare at the students, “glares, glowers, and all.”

“Poppy will be lifting the charm right after breakfast, and I understand that Ginevra was drawing some blood for you and Severus,” commented Albus, “I would suggest that you two head up to the hospital ward right after breakfast.”

“We’re on our way there right now,” said Severus, standing up and placing a hand on Hermione’s shoulder. With one last glare leveled at the Hufflepuff table, Severus followed Hermione out of the Great Hall and to the hospital wing where they found Ginny and Poppy. Ginny handed Severus three vials of blood and smiled at him.

“I really hope this helps,” she said.

“I do, too. When we tested his blood for our research, we had no idea we were looking for anything other than the werewolf blood factors. Now,” he said, looking at the sleeping Remus, “we are looking for so much more.”

“Has there been any change?” asked Hermione.

“Not at all,” answered Poppy with a frown, “I just wish there was something I could do.”

“There will be,” replied Hermione, “I’m certain of it.”

A few moments later, Albus joined them and Poppy stood over Remus and waved her wand, “Finite Incantatum,” she said, lifting the sleeping charm.

Remus moved restlessly, then opened his eyes. He looked around the room and at the faces surrounding him. His eyes took in infirmary room, the pretty redheaded mediwitch, the no-nonsense older mediwitch, the mediwitch with the riot of brown hair, and the startlingly familiar tall dark man. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, where he came face to face with a rather old wizard, one with sparkling blue eyes that seemed like home to him. He opened his mouth to speak, forgetting for a moment that he was unable to. Grabbing a parchment pad off the bedside table, he picked up the quill that Ginny had left there for him and wrote three words on the parchment.

“Where am I?”

“Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” answered Albus, “I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster.”

“And the others?” wrote Remus.

“Mediwitch interns Ginevra Weasley and Hermione Granger, Mediwitch Poppy Pomfrey, and Potion Master Severus Snape,” responded Albus.

“And who am I?” Remus wrote, a pleading look crossing his face before scribbling again, “besides a werewolf?”

“You are Remus Lupin. You once taught Defense Against the Dark Arts here. And how do you know you’re a werewolf?”

“Always known. Part of me.” Was the written response.

“And how did you come to be part of the study for the cure?” asked Severus.

“Read about it. Am I cured?” he wrote.

“We’ll know by the full moon,” responded the redhead he now knew to be Ginevra Weasley.

“Am I home?” he wrote.

“Yes,” replied Albus, a small smile crossing his face, “you are home.”