A Christmas Carol

“Tobias, how do I look?” Eileen presented her image for the third time.



“You asked me that already.” Tobias faced his wife. “Why are you so nervous?” He fiddled with his shirt cuff, again wondering why she had insisted on dressing for dinner.



“He’s bringing a woman with him.” She checked her appearance in a mirror again. “He’s going to be coming over more, he’s bringing a woman to meet us. I don’t want anything to happen that will send him running.”



“Eileen, tonight will be fine.” A knock at the door made them both pause for a moment. “Go get the door, I’ll be out in a moment.” When his wife left, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, asking whoever was listening to him to help him tonight. He needed to make this effort with his son. He was being given a second chance and he would not waste it.



Eileen opened the door and smiled at Severus, opening her arms to his hug. “Hello Mother. This is Hermione Granger.”



“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Snape.” Hermione said offering a hand.



“Please call me Eileen. It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” She shook the young woman’s hand, delighting that Severus had found a woman with class. The last thing she had wanted to see was an obvious slut on her son’s arm. This one may be young, but she was dignified.



“Severus.” An older gentleman came into view, throwing his arms around Severus. It was still a strained embrace but it was a hug. “Good to see you son.”



“You too, Father. This is Hermione Granger.” He stepped aside and let his father greet her.



“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Snape.” She offered her hand and smile just as she had with his mother. Severus could see her nerves but she kept them under control.



“Tobias, please.” He shook her hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you too Hermione. Did your parents have a love of Shakespeare?”



“Greek mythology actually. Hermione is the feminine of Hermes.” She explained. “I brought you these.” She held out the dish she was holding. “Severus mentioned you were partial to them.”



Tobias looked at his son then pulled the cover off the dish, smiling brightly. “Tobias, what is it?” His wife asked.



“Rice Crispy treats.” He whispered.



Eileen let out a gasp. “You are going to share those aren’t you?”



“You had the cake, I get these.” He gave Hermione a smile and took the dish into the kitchen.



“Let me take your cloaks.” His mother was smiling more than he had seen her smile in his youth.



Dinner passed in comfort and for once Severus sat at his parents table in lively conversation. Hermione spoke eagerly with his father. Being from the muggle world, she had much in common with his interests as well. Severus was listening to their talking carefully. He was learning. Learning how his father responded to her comments and questions.



If he was going to begin a relationship with his father, it would help to know what interested his father, and Hermione, unbeknownst to her, was helping his gather insight to his father’s character. His mother was easier. She always made an effort to reach out to him. His father though, that required extra incentive. He understood from his trips with the ghosts that his father didn’t know how to talk to him. So, he would find out how to begin talking.



As the table began to be cleared, Hermione offered to help his mother in the kitchen while Severus joined his father in the common room. Each with scotch in hand, they sat down. “She’s smart.”



“Yes, she is.” Severus agreed.



“She’s young though.” His concern was evident, yet he wasn’t speaking against Hermione in any way.



“I’ve done the math. It was what originally kept me from getting to know her these past years.” He admitted.



“She was a student of yours wasn’t she?” Severus looked up at his father’s question. “She mentions you from many years ago. That means she would have been in school for part of that time right?”



“Yes, she was.” Severus took a drink. “Then she became a staff member for a while.”



“She seems to have made quite an impression on you.” His father commented, letting silence reign for a moment. “How goes the shop?”



“Successful.” His answer was short and to the point, but for Severus, those days were now gone. “You should see it sometime. If you have time that is.”



“I will make time Severus.” He said. It meant a lot. He was going to try just as hard as Severus was, and with that being said, silence reigned until the ladies joined them.



The talk was jovial, and laughter from the women lifted everyone’s spirits. As they prepared to leave, Hermione hugged his mother and his father, as did he, and for once in his life Severus had the family gathering he always wanted in childhood.



He apparated with Hermione back to his own humble home, taking her cloak and facing her. “Thank you for going with me. It made things easier.”



“Was it that hard to go tonight?” She asked.



“No, just a long time coming. It should have happened years ago, but as I said, I’ve been thinking differently.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her.



Hermione held his wrists in her slim hands as she returned his kiss, glad that she was needed by him. When he broke away, she didn’t release him. “Don’t send me home this time Severus.” She whispered.



“I don’t plan to.” He swept her up in his arms and with record speed, practically flew to his bedroom. She locked her arms around his shoulders, her body warming up at the anticipation of her dreams coming true.



He set her on the bed, kissing her deeply for a moment, then he broke the kiss. “Don’t go anywhere.” He said, slipping his hands off her face and leaving the bedroom. She heard the door to his lab open and took a moment to look around his room.



His furnishings were mahogany wood, shined and well cared for. His dresser matched the mantle wood above his small fireplace. It also matched the frame and posters of his bed. He had a few books on the shelf of his headboard. The Decameron, Fathers and Sons and The Warden. Classics in English Literature, and from the looks of it, older books and safer in his room then in his library.



His duvet was dark emerald green, not the brighter green of the Slytherin colors. He had only two pillows on his bed, but from the fluffiness of one, it was used only to balance the look. One pillow on a huge bed would have looked uneven.



Hermione opened her hands and spread them over the smoothness. She longed to slip under the covers naked with Severus and stay all night there. Suddenly she froze. Would Severus’s want her to leave after a few hours or would they spend the whole night together? She hated the thought of leaving after only a little while. She had waited years to get Severus to accept her, she didn’t want to just sweat it out then leave.



“Having second thoughts?” She looked up to see him in the bedroom door, watching her.



“No.” She gave him a small smile. “Just a thought.”



“Care to share it?” He came into the bedroom, a small vial in his hand, and sat next to her on the bed.



“I don’t want to make assumptions.” She was worried that the train of thought might make him rethink her staying.



“It’s only a thought right?” She nodded. “Then don’t worry about it.”



“Am I only here for a few hours?” She asked, before courage fled.



“Is that what you want?” He asked, worried that she might leave sooner than he wished.



“No.” He let out a sigh of relief. “I have been dreaming of this for too long to want to be here for an hour or two.”



“How long have you thought of this?” He knew from the trips that it was some time, but hearing her tell him was more solid.



“Several years. Since we worked at Hogwarts together and I got to know the man you are.” She said, shifting to face him.



“I wasn’t that much different from the professor.” He admitted.



“True, but you did seem more relaxed. Just as controlled, just as in charge, and just as brilliant as ever.” He met her eyes.



“I was hoping Hermione, that you would stay all night, but I understand if you have plans and are unable to.” He prayed to Merlin and all his relatives that she would agree.



“I would love to stay all night Severus.” She leaned toward him and they kissed with a new urgency. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, he remembered the vial he had in his hand.



“Wait, Hermione, wait.” He said, breaking the kiss.



“What’s the matter?” She asked, panicking.



“Nothing, nothing.” He showed her the potion vial in his hand. “I left to go get this. It’s a contraceptive potion, but if it will make you feel better I can always use one of these?” He reached into the drawer at his bedside and pulled out a small box.



“Condoms?” She asked, taking the package. Size large, lubricated, three pack. He was prepared all right.



“Being muggle born, I thought you may feel more secure using them.”



“Thank you for thinking of my feelings,” she said giving him a big smile, “but I have faith in your brewing abilities. The potion is fine with me.”



He removed the cork and she drank down the dark blue liquid. After tossing the empty to vial to the floor, she faced him again. “Now, where were we?”