All the way IIII: Change

Hermione awoke the next morning, then, realizing it was Saturday, wriggled back down in bed. Severus rolled onto his back and sighed, rubbing his hand over his eyes. Hermione curled into him, laying her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes again.

He placed a quick kiss to the top of her head, "What's this new Charms Professor like? I never asked earlier."

"Um... nice." She said carefully. Gary had really done nothing wrong, so there was no point in make a big deal about the fact that he had only said he liked her. It was not a crime to tell some one your feelings, after all.

"Nice?" She could hear his smirk, even if she couldn't see it, "Is that all you can say?"

Hermione shrugged, "Well, he is nice. What else do you want me to say?"

"He?"

She nodded, "Professor Gary Swan."

"How old is he?"

"I dunno... five, maybe six years older than me. You work it out." She sighed and she was sure she could hear his brain doing the maths.

Finally, he said, in that all-too-innocent voice, "Then I suppose we should go and get some breakfast so I can meet him."

""""""""""""""""""""

Minerva nudged Poppy and nodded towards the entrance to the Great Hall. They both watched as Hermione and Severus entered.

"Do you think she's told him how close she was with Swan?" Poppy asked in a whisper.

Minerva shrugged, "I'm not sure... Hmmm, he does look pretty suspicious. What robe billowing level would you say he was at?"

The medi-witch scrutinized the bottom of Severus' robes carefully, "I'd say level six: edgy or worried."

Minerva nodded, "I agree. I think I’ll need to watch this situation. Not for gossip, of course. Just to make sure every one's happy. Definitely not for gossip. I mean, that would just be wrong. And totally unprofessional."

Poppy nodded, rolling her eyes.

""""""""""""""""""""

Hermione made sure she as seated between the two men.

Gary smiled at her, "Good morning, beauti -"

Hermione cut him off firmly, before he made a big mistake, "Gary, this is my husband."

Smirking, the Charms Professor looked passed her and held out his hand, "Severus, it's a pleasure to meet you at last."

Severus ignored the outstretched hand and sneered quietly, "I very much doubt that. I can guarantee you will live to regret this day."

""""""""""""""""""""

Severus watched as the man withdrew his hand. Hermione smiled at Swan apologetically, as she always did when he was rude to some one.

Something tight was coiling inside him. He had never felt like this. Sure, men had eyed up his wife, even tried to chat her up, but no one had ever tried to steal her from him using charm and flattery.

And it was stealing.

She was his. He loved her like no one else ever could or ever would, if he had anything to do with it. This man was too close to home and too much of a threat and too real.

And he was a threat.

Swan was the type of man that would do the whole flowers-chocolates-and-romance thing. Alright, so Severus could tell Hermione how beautiful she was, how much he loved her - everything like that - but that was only because it was true. He had no idea how to do flowers-chocolates-and-romance.

""""""""""""""""""""

When Sirius woke up, it was some time after midday. His body wasn't used to late nights - or early mornings, which ever way you looked at it.

He stayed sprawled on his sofa, listening to the sounds in the house and trying to work out what Eileen was doing. He could hear his muggle washing machine going.

Sirius had a lot of muggle things in his house. As there was more and more magical babies being born each year, houses in wizarding towns and villages were becoming rare. Most old witches and wizards that were retired moved to muggle streets.

As Sirius lived on in a muggle town, he had lots of sales people knocking on the door. He like to invite them in, then go into the kitchen to make them drinks, and then go back looking like a completely different person. Once he had done that ten times and the poor man trying to sell windows had looked bewildered at how many people seemed to live in a three bedroom house.

To pull that stunt off, however, his house had to look muggle, so he had a phone and a TV and everything like that.

He listened carefully. He could hear a kind of flicking noise, as the washing machine went quiet. Puzzled, Sirius leaned over the arm of the sofa so that he could just see into the dinning room. He could see Eileen bending over something on the table, but he couldn't make out what it was.

Curiously, Sirius rolled off the sofa and entered the kitchen, peering over her shoulder.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Hm?" She flicked over the page of the paper, "Oh, I'm looking for a house. Or a flat..." She closed the paper with a huff and looked up at him, "Or a cardboard box, because that's all I’m gonna be able to afford."

"Why?" He asked.

"Well, I can't stay here forever. I need a place of my own."

Sirius wasn't quite sure how one could make bottomless black eyes look so innocent, yet Eileen seemed to have mastered it. Her hair was tied over one shoulder, revealing an earring with three, long, thin, dangly, silver chains and diamonds at the top. The ends of the chains brushed whispering touches over her collar bone, as she pulled a leaflet of a house in front of her. She shoved a few strands of hair out of her eyes impatiently, and the silver jewelry grazed her jaw.

""""""""""""""""""""

Eileen was quite sure Sirius was still behind her, but she didn't want to look. She felt weird when he was near and, although it was a nice feeling, it scared her. She had never felt like that. She had never shivered, but felt warm at the same time. It scared her, because she wasn't sure what the feeling was. She didn't know how to handle it or control it.