10 Years After
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
22
Views:
7,030
Reviews:
114
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
22
Views:
7,030
Reviews:
114
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 8
10 Years After
Chapter 8
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.
Dublin, Ireland: March 29, 2008, mid morning; Wizard Arms Hotel.
Hermione waited in room 343 at the Wizard Arms Hotel in wizarding Dublin. Harry was due back from a breakfast “meet and greet” and Hermione wanted to get this over with. She needed to end her marriage before her marriage ended them both. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it had to be done. She needed to be free to be her own person and Harredededed to be free to find a woman who wanted all he had to offer. He was a wonderful man, just not her man. She smiled as she thought of the man who awaited her back in Corforinu. Never in her wildest imagination did she think she would be looking forward to being back in the arms of her forbidding former potions master. He had definitely taken her by surprise and had certainly rocked her world. She didn’t know what, if anything, would come of her relationship with Severus, she just knew that she wanted to be free to explore it. This had been the most bizarre week of her life. She left for New York seemingly satisfied with her life only to have it turned upside down and shaken up by her encounter with Severus. In less than a week’s time, she found herself falling in love with a man she spent much of her youth being intimidated by and realizing that she was not in love with her husband, nor had she most likely ever been. Regardless if what happened with Severus, Hermione would always be grateful for what he awakened in her, for giving her back her sense of self.
Hermione was startled from her thoughts by the opening of the door to the room. Harry strode into the room, his eyes lighting up when he saw his wife.
“Hermione!” he said with a grin, “I thought you were in Greece.”
“I was,” replied Hermione, “I spent some time there thinking and we really need to have a talk.”
“About what?” asked Harry, taking off his Quidditch robes and carefully laying them over a chair, “Is everything all right?”
“Not really,” begin Hermione, nervously, “I’ve been processing a lot in the past week, actually. Harry, why did you ask me to marry you?”
“Because I love you.”
“Were you ever IN love with me?”
“Of course.”
“Harry, think about it. Really think about it. Am I the great passion in your life? Would you say that we have a passionate relationship?”
Harry thought for a moment before replying.
“I would say it’s more comfortable than passionate.”
“And would that comfort have anything to do with why you proposed?”
“Well, of course it did. I mean, how could I spend the rest of my life with someone who I wasn’t comfortable with?”
“Let me ask you another question. What do I do for a living?”
“Hermione, that is the silliest question ever. You teach at St Damian’s and do a little research on the side.”
“Uh huh…what did I study at University?”
“Potions…no, mediwizardry. No potions…or was it charms? Geez Hermione, that was a lime ime ago. I can’t remember.”
“What do I teach at St Damian’s?”
“Charms?”
“Harry, I am a potions mistress. I mastered in potions and minored in mediwizardry at University and I teach potions at St. Damian’s. I am also on a major research team which combines the two and I have contemplated going back to university to complete my study of mediwizardry.”
“Oh,” said Harry quietly, “how can we start a family if you go back to school?”
“I don’t want to start a family right now. I’ve told you that.”
“But Hermione…”
“No buts, Harry. I’m not ready to start a family. I don’t know if I ever will be. I’ve never hidden that fact from you. I want to become a mediwitch and continue my research.”
“Hermione, I want to be a father when I’m still young enough to enjoy it.”
“Then we have a bit of a dilemma, wouldn’t you say, Harry?”
Harry looked at Hermione, realization spreading over his face.
“Oh,” he said again, “wow. Hermione, I am so sorry…”
“For what, Harry?”
“I married my best friend. But I never took the time to get to know the grown up version of her.”
“And I married MY best friend, not realizing how much we changed in the time after Hogwarts.”
“It just seemed so natural to be with you. I never took into account that you’d changed.”
“I was a wallflower at University. I never had a social life there. You swept back into my life and it seemed so glamourous, the bookworm and the Quidditch star. The girl who read and the boy who lived. I assumed you’d understand where I wanted my life to head.”
“And I assumed you wanted what I wanted. You didn’t, did you? You were never comfortable with the spotlight. After Voldemort, during all the celebrations, you hovered in the background. You and Snape. Both so instrumental in the defeat of the Dark, yet neither wishing any of the credit. If you could have blended into the woodwork you would have. You must have hated every minute of the social obligations of a Quidditch wife.”
Harry chuckled.
“What?” asked Hermione.
“You have more in common with Snape than you do with me. How funny is that?”
Hermione fidgeted uncomfortably and bit her bottom lip as she thought of who was waiting for her in a breezy villa on a beautiful romantic island in Greece.
“So where do we go from here, Harry?” she asked.
“What do YOU want, Hermione? You came here for a reason. And I think you tried to tell me this before I left for this tour.”
“I think that we’re not suited to be married. You like all the travel and publicity you get for the National Team. You need someone who also likes that. You need someone who is far more social than I am. You want children sooner rather than later, I don’t know if I ever want them. You like being out in the open, I like being in my lab. We’re so different, Harry.”
“That we are,” he agreed, “I thought our differences would make our marriage interesting, but it hasn’t been the case. I never know WHAT you’re talking about when you discuss your research. Honestly, ‘Mione, I have no clue. All I know is that vampires and werewolves have something in common. I’ll be fucked if I can remember what. And you know how I felt about potions at Hogwarts. I took what I needed to in order to go to Auror training, but the end of the war came before I finished and after Voldemort, I just wanted to do something different, play Quidditch…”
“And Harry, I love you, I always have and always will, but I can’t stand Quidditch.”
Harry laughed and took Hermione’s hands.
“I love you, too Hermione, and I always will. But you’re right. We belong as friends. We’re not compatible in any other way. I will miss you terribly, but we’ll be OK eventually, right?”
“Of course we will. This will hurt for a little while, but we gave it our best. We gave it 6 years. I think it’s wise to end the marriage before we start resenting each other, before the friendship is irretrievable.”
“I agree. So, let’s hash out the fine details, shall we? You get the house and half my vaul Gri Gringotts.”
“Harry, I don’t need all that. I certainly don’t need the house. I can move into a cottage at St Damian’s. That way I’ll be closer to work and my research. And I don’t need all that money. I make a good living.”
“You do?”
Hermione laughed and lightly punched Harry’s arm.
“Yes, I do.”
“Doesn’t matter, you still get half of what I have. It’s only fair.”
“How about I take a percentage of what you earned over the past 6 years? If you insist on giving me anything at all.”
“I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow.”
“There’s no hurry, Harry. I’m fine. I want to finish out my vacation in Greece, and when I return, I’ll take lodging at school. You should keep the house at Godric’s Hollow. It’s a small link to your parents, after all, being so close to where they lived…”
“Thank you, Hermione.”
“I do love you, Harry.”
“And I do love you, Hermione.”
Harry walked over to the fireplace and flooed someone, a few seconds later a man Hermione recognized from one of the numerous social engagements she tolerated for Harry’s sake stepped out of the flames. He carried a parchment and a burnished quill.
“Hermione,” said Harry, “you remember Thomas Oleander, the team ministry official?”
“Oh, yes, Hello Mr. Oleander.”
“Hello Mrs. Potter,” he said with a smile, “Harry tells me that you mutually agree to end your marriage contract?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Very well. I just need the two of you to sign on the bottom line of your marriage decree here and we’ll see what the magic tells us, shall we?”
He handed the quill to Hermione, who signed her name, then to Harry, who signed his name. The names on the parchment drew together, hovered over one another, and then drew apart, the ink changing from red to blue. The top part of the parchment slowly faded until all that was left was the bottom part. Hermione noticed that her wedding band disappeared from her finger, as did Harry’s.
“Your marriage has been dissolved, you are both free of the bonds. And it looks like it was an amicable decision, was it not?”
“It was,” said Harry, looking at Hermione with a trace of sadness in his eyes.
“I should be going,” commented Hermione.
“Hermione?” asked Harry as she headed for the door, “has he changed that much?”
“Who?”
“Severus Snape?”
Hermione whirled around and looked at Harry, surprise filling her eyes. Harry smiled and shook his head.
“I may not know a lot about what you do for a living or about what you want, but I recognized that fidget and lip biting when I said his name. I could always read those signals. Just be sure, Hermione. Just be careful.”
“Yes, Harry, he has changed. He’s a good man.”
“And a lucky man.”
Hermione exited the room and stood in the corridor, leaning back against the door. It was over. A huge part of her life was over and a new part was about to begin. She took a deep breath and apparated to what she hoped was her future.
Chapter 8
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.
Dublin, Ireland: March 29, 2008, mid morning; Wizard Arms Hotel.
Hermione waited in room 343 at the Wizard Arms Hotel in wizarding Dublin. Harry was due back from a breakfast “meet and greet” and Hermione wanted to get this over with. She needed to end her marriage before her marriage ended them both. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it had to be done. She needed to be free to be her own person and Harredededed to be free to find a woman who wanted all he had to offer. He was a wonderful man, just not her man. She smiled as she thought of the man who awaited her back in Corforinu. Never in her wildest imagination did she think she would be looking forward to being back in the arms of her forbidding former potions master. He had definitely taken her by surprise and had certainly rocked her world. She didn’t know what, if anything, would come of her relationship with Severus, she just knew that she wanted to be free to explore it. This had been the most bizarre week of her life. She left for New York seemingly satisfied with her life only to have it turned upside down and shaken up by her encounter with Severus. In less than a week’s time, she found herself falling in love with a man she spent much of her youth being intimidated by and realizing that she was not in love with her husband, nor had she most likely ever been. Regardless if what happened with Severus, Hermione would always be grateful for what he awakened in her, for giving her back her sense of self.
Hermione was startled from her thoughts by the opening of the door to the room. Harry strode into the room, his eyes lighting up when he saw his wife.
“Hermione!” he said with a grin, “I thought you were in Greece.”
“I was,” replied Hermione, “I spent some time there thinking and we really need to have a talk.”
“About what?” asked Harry, taking off his Quidditch robes and carefully laying them over a chair, “Is everything all right?”
“Not really,” begin Hermione, nervously, “I’ve been processing a lot in the past week, actually. Harry, why did you ask me to marry you?”
“Because I love you.”
“Were you ever IN love with me?”
“Of course.”
“Harry, think about it. Really think about it. Am I the great passion in your life? Would you say that we have a passionate relationship?”
Harry thought for a moment before replying.
“I would say it’s more comfortable than passionate.”
“And would that comfort have anything to do with why you proposed?”
“Well, of course it did. I mean, how could I spend the rest of my life with someone who I wasn’t comfortable with?”
“Let me ask you another question. What do I do for a living?”
“Hermione, that is the silliest question ever. You teach at St Damian’s and do a little research on the side.”
“Uh huh…what did I study at University?”
“Potions…no, mediwizardry. No potions…or was it charms? Geez Hermione, that was a lime ime ago. I can’t remember.”
“What do I teach at St Damian’s?”
“Charms?”
“Harry, I am a potions mistress. I mastered in potions and minored in mediwizardry at University and I teach potions at St. Damian’s. I am also on a major research team which combines the two and I have contemplated going back to university to complete my study of mediwizardry.”
“Oh,” said Harry quietly, “how can we start a family if you go back to school?”
“I don’t want to start a family right now. I’ve told you that.”
“But Hermione…”
“No buts, Harry. I’m not ready to start a family. I don’t know if I ever will be. I’ve never hidden that fact from you. I want to become a mediwitch and continue my research.”
“Hermione, I want to be a father when I’m still young enough to enjoy it.”
“Then we have a bit of a dilemma, wouldn’t you say, Harry?”
Harry looked at Hermione, realization spreading over his face.
“Oh,” he said again, “wow. Hermione, I am so sorry…”
“For what, Harry?”
“I married my best friend. But I never took the time to get to know the grown up version of her.”
“And I married MY best friend, not realizing how much we changed in the time after Hogwarts.”
“It just seemed so natural to be with you. I never took into account that you’d changed.”
“I was a wallflower at University. I never had a social life there. You swept back into my life and it seemed so glamourous, the bookworm and the Quidditch star. The girl who read and the boy who lived. I assumed you’d understand where I wanted my life to head.”
“And I assumed you wanted what I wanted. You didn’t, did you? You were never comfortable with the spotlight. After Voldemort, during all the celebrations, you hovered in the background. You and Snape. Both so instrumental in the defeat of the Dark, yet neither wishing any of the credit. If you could have blended into the woodwork you would have. You must have hated every minute of the social obligations of a Quidditch wife.”
Harry chuckled.
“What?” asked Hermione.
“You have more in common with Snape than you do with me. How funny is that?”
Hermione fidgeted uncomfortably and bit her bottom lip as she thought of who was waiting for her in a breezy villa on a beautiful romantic island in Greece.
“So where do we go from here, Harry?” she asked.
“What do YOU want, Hermione? You came here for a reason. And I think you tried to tell me this before I left for this tour.”
“I think that we’re not suited to be married. You like all the travel and publicity you get for the National Team. You need someone who also likes that. You need someone who is far more social than I am. You want children sooner rather than later, I don’t know if I ever want them. You like being out in the open, I like being in my lab. We’re so different, Harry.”
“That we are,” he agreed, “I thought our differences would make our marriage interesting, but it hasn’t been the case. I never know WHAT you’re talking about when you discuss your research. Honestly, ‘Mione, I have no clue. All I know is that vampires and werewolves have something in common. I’ll be fucked if I can remember what. And you know how I felt about potions at Hogwarts. I took what I needed to in order to go to Auror training, but the end of the war came before I finished and after Voldemort, I just wanted to do something different, play Quidditch…”
“And Harry, I love you, I always have and always will, but I can’t stand Quidditch.”
Harry laughed and took Hermione’s hands.
“I love you, too Hermione, and I always will. But you’re right. We belong as friends. We’re not compatible in any other way. I will miss you terribly, but we’ll be OK eventually, right?”
“Of course we will. This will hurt for a little while, but we gave it our best. We gave it 6 years. I think it’s wise to end the marriage before we start resenting each other, before the friendship is irretrievable.”
“I agree. So, let’s hash out the fine details, shall we? You get the house and half my vaul Gri Gringotts.”
“Harry, I don’t need all that. I certainly don’t need the house. I can move into a cottage at St Damian’s. That way I’ll be closer to work and my research. And I don’t need all that money. I make a good living.”
“You do?”
Hermione laughed and lightly punched Harry’s arm.
“Yes, I do.”
“Doesn’t matter, you still get half of what I have. It’s only fair.”
“How about I take a percentage of what you earned over the past 6 years? If you insist on giving me anything at all.”
“I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow.”
“There’s no hurry, Harry. I’m fine. I want to finish out my vacation in Greece, and when I return, I’ll take lodging at school. You should keep the house at Godric’s Hollow. It’s a small link to your parents, after all, being so close to where they lived…”
“Thank you, Hermione.”
“I do love you, Harry.”
“And I do love you, Hermione.”
Harry walked over to the fireplace and flooed someone, a few seconds later a man Hermione recognized from one of the numerous social engagements she tolerated for Harry’s sake stepped out of the flames. He carried a parchment and a burnished quill.
“Hermione,” said Harry, “you remember Thomas Oleander, the team ministry official?”
“Oh, yes, Hello Mr. Oleander.”
“Hello Mrs. Potter,” he said with a smile, “Harry tells me that you mutually agree to end your marriage contract?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Very well. I just need the two of you to sign on the bottom line of your marriage decree here and we’ll see what the magic tells us, shall we?”
He handed the quill to Hermione, who signed her name, then to Harry, who signed his name. The names on the parchment drew together, hovered over one another, and then drew apart, the ink changing from red to blue. The top part of the parchment slowly faded until all that was left was the bottom part. Hermione noticed that her wedding band disappeared from her finger, as did Harry’s.
“Your marriage has been dissolved, you are both free of the bonds. And it looks like it was an amicable decision, was it not?”
“It was,” said Harry, looking at Hermione with a trace of sadness in his eyes.
“I should be going,” commented Hermione.
“Hermione?” asked Harry as she headed for the door, “has he changed that much?”
“Who?”
“Severus Snape?”
Hermione whirled around and looked at Harry, surprise filling her eyes. Harry smiled and shook his head.
“I may not know a lot about what you do for a living or about what you want, but I recognized that fidget and lip biting when I said his name. I could always read those signals. Just be sure, Hermione. Just be careful.”
“Yes, Harry, he has changed. He’s a good man.”
“And a lucky man.”
Hermione exited the room and stood in the corridor, leaning back against the door. It was over. A huge part of her life was over and a new part was about to begin. She took a deep breath and apparated to what she hoped was her future.