A/N: A Continuation for my fellow Sevmione shippers. Happy Christmas guys.

o.o.O.o.o

"Waiting for Miss Granger?" Filius' voice came from the Great Hall's doors.

Severus inclined his head. It was the first time he'd returned to Hogwarts since the war. It had been hard to step onto the grounds, but it was time. He needed to start putting old ghosts to rest, so that he could move forward freely.

"I'm escorting her to the Malfoy's Yule Celebration tonight," Severus said.

"I've recommended her to the Charms Board for her Mastery exam. They should get back to me with a testing date sometime after the holidays." Professor Flitwick looked incredibly proud.

"You did say you'd be very surprised if it would take her even a year." Severus couldn't help but be proud of her too. After last Christmas, he'd written to Filius and suggested that he offer her an apprenticeship. She'd accepted before even two weeks into the new term. It had presented challenges to seeing her, of course, but her enthusiasm for her studies was infectious. He remembered his own apprentice days; there had been so much to learn and countless late nights working in the lab trying to perfect each new project. He was happy for her.

"She should be down shortly, I dismissed her for the holiday nearly two hours ago. It's good to see you again, Severus. You look well."

"Thank you, Filius. We'll have to catch up sometimes soon," he said.

"I'll owl you over the break." The older wizard smiled and headed off towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

"Severus!" Hermione's delighted voice from one of the corridors made him turn.

He let a small smile steal across his face. If any of the students still at the school had seen it, they might have thought him under the Imperius curse. He headed over to meet her and he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. He was fairly certain they were alone, so there was no one but the portraits to see and they wouldn't speak out of turn.

"I thought we were going to meet at the Manor?" Hermione said when their lips parted. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant twist and some simple silver hair clips.

"I didn't want to wait to see you." Severus felt warm when he noticed that she was wearing the earrings that he'd given her for her birthday, delicate black pearl studs with little sapphire teardrops. He moved back a little and tucked her arm into the crook of his arm and with an elegant gesture of his hand he cast a warming charm over them both. "There's something I'd like to show you."

"Ok." Hermione nodded and fell into step with him.

Severus took them out the front doors of the castle. Once they were alone on the steps, he wrapped an arm more firmly around her and spun smartly, apparating them to a secluded spot on the shore of the Black Lake. The moonlight glittered on the icy surface of the lake and the cold night air had turned the snow to diamond dust. They were hidden from everyone's view by an ancient oak, its massive trunk sheltering this spot.

"How did you…?" Hermione looked up at him in surprise.

"I may not be the Headmaster anymore, but it seems the Castle still gives me certain privileges." He smiled. He'd tested the theory when the gates had opened smoothly for him upon his arrival, not needing to signal anyone to give him entrance. Hogwarts still recognized him as a former Headmaster, despite the darkness of his tenure. "This was my favourite place to come and study when I was a student and later when I became a professor, I would come here to clear my mind. I've spent countless hours under this tree."

Hermione smiled and looked out across the landscape. "It's beautiful."

"Not nearly as beautiful as you," Severus said softly. He was never very comfortable giving compliments, but tonight, here in the darkness, it felt right. "I'm very glad I accepted your invitation last year," he said.

"I am too." Hermione turned back to look at him, the moonlight castling a silvery glow around her.

"This last year has been….I feel alive again." It was so difficult to put into words how much his life had changed in the span of the last twelve months. She'd become important to him and it was becoming hard to imagine his days without her. He reached out and stroked her cheek. "You're the reason for that."

"Severus," she said softly, but he interrupted her with a soft kiss.

He needed to do this, before he lost his nerve. As he broke their kiss, he sank down to one knee in front of her and took her hand in his.

"I can think of nothing I want more than to have the honour of calling you my wife. I've never known a witch like you, and there's never been anyone that made me feel like this. No one. Marry me?" His heart was in his throat, fully expecting a kind, but definitive no. She was too soft-hearted to be cruel, but he knew that hoping she would accept was merely a fool's hope. He just had to know.

Hermione looked down at Severus and felt tears rising up in her eyes. She tried to speak but the words felt stuck in her throat. She could see the tension in his shoulders and knew he was afraid her hesitation was leading up to a rejection, and she hated to see his self-doubt creep into such a beautiful moment. She nodded, and finally found her voice.

"Yes…yes, I'll marry you." She felt the tears slip down her cheeks and through the haze of happy tears, she saw Severus draw a ring box out of his pocket.

There was a slight tremor in his hands as he settled the ring onto her finger, and she wiped away her tears and looked at the ring. There was an incredible sense of age, and she knew instantly that this had belonged to his family. A piece of his past that he was giving to her. The deep blue sapphire was ringed in diamonds and set in gold.

Severus stood and she threw herself into his arms. It was not the most dignified response, but she really didn't care. All that mattered was his arms wrapping around her tightly. She'd never imagined she would be standing here and certainly not with him. Even after all these months of seeing him, she'd never imagined he'd want anything more than the arrangement they had.

"I love you," she whispered into his neck. His arms tightened around her even tighter.

"And I love you, my beautiful witch," he replied.

Hermione pulled back a little to steal a kiss. She knew that there would be challenges. It would take some of the people in her life time to wrap their heads around it, but she didn't care about any of that. Severus wanted to marry her and that was the best gift she could have gotten this year.