Authors Note: Hello everyone! So sorry this chapter took so long to post. My husband and I were gone for a month and I've just started my last semester at school! It's been a busy, wonderful several weeks and I'm excited to be getting back into the swing of thing with my writing. I hope you enjoy this next chapter, and reviews are always appreciated!

~C.B.

It was around eleven o' clock that evening when Severus finally apparated into my kitchen. I'd spent most of my evening parked at the table with my nose firmly thrust into one of the two books about animangi, and almost missed him popping into my peripheral vision. I was surprised with how dirty he was.

Startled, I asked "What have you been up to?" and tucked a scrap of paper between pages to hold my place before setting the book down.

He snorted, unbuttoning his cloak which had a fine sprinkling of mud on the bottom and hung it on the back of the empty chair beside me, "Observing," he said cryptically, brushing a large clod of dirt from his shoulder "I feel as though I've been thrown in a barrel of dirt and shook."

"Well, were you?" I asked, eyeballing the mess he was making beneath him with disdain.

Severus shot me a look and went to pour himself a cup of tea, "In a sense I suppose."

While he fixed himself his beverage I told him about Astrid's brother and what she had seen: a tall man, white hair and black eyes. The figure sang and lured the boy to the window and then flew them into the night. Severus stared at the floor while I explained, his face expressionless. The only clue he gave that he was thinking was the rhythmic clinking of the spoon as he stirred, and how he didn't stop for nearly a minute after I finished speaking. Finally his dark eyes slid to meet mine, "Is it possible she was dreaming?"

"No," I huffed, "She was positive. Astrid is not a child who would fib about something so personal."

Severus took a sip of tea, that faraway look casting across his face again and I knew he was no longer listening. He knew something, suspected someone. I was sure of this. What I'd just told him had no doubt thrown his musings for a spin.

"Severus," I tried again, "are you going to tell me why you're so filthy?"

"I told you," he said, the old Snape edge creeping back into his voice, "I was observing."

I stood up from the table, walked to him and wiped a large smear of mud from his chin, "Did you literally bury yourself in a mud puddle? It's not like you to literally do dirty work. Seriously now."

He scowled at me under those black eyebrows, "Fine," he mumbled, "I'm an animangus."

Shocked, I felt my mouth go slack, "W-what-"

"My form is a black fox, "he continued without skipping a beat, "I was lying in a filthy puddle under a blackberry bush for the last several hours keeping watch."

This was most certainly not what I had expected. Stuttering, I asked "A-Are you registered? I mean, how have you kept this a secret?"

"No, I'm not. I would also appreciate you not mentioning anything. This is something I didn't even attempt until my late twenties. Minerva thought it would be useful to have another animangus in Hogwarts that was well…how should I say? Unknown to anyone else for use in specialized expeditions. "

"Wow." I breathed, "Is there anything you cannot do?"

"Knit," he mumbled and finished his mug before setting it in the sink, "I can see you've been up to what you do best." Severus reached and picked up the volume titled 'Animangi: The Secretive Collective' and opened to where I had left off, "Have you learned anything you didn't already know?"

Though his voice was laced with sarcasm, it was obvious he meant it in an affectionate way. "Well, not really." I admitted, feeling suddenly very tired, "It is a very old magic and one that can run in wizarding families although it's not a guarantee. It can be learned, but not everyone has the ability to fully morph, and because of the negative connotations whoever has the ability to transform must register."

Severus closed the volume shut with a snap and placed it back where he had found it, "Anything you did not already learn in Hogwarts would be helpful dear."

With a noise of frustration I scrubbed my hands through my hair (only succeeding in making it fluff larger than it already was) and stomped to my living room sofa where I flung myself face first into a cushion, "You-are-not-helping!" I yelled through the pillows, even more annoyed when I heard him chuckle above me.

I felt his weight on the sofa beside me, and with that damn voice laced with chocolate he said, "Hermione, sometimes you rely too much on words and not enough on pure, gut instinct. Think woman."

'Think,' he said. It was easy enough for him. I'd been busy running my shop, dealing with Astrid's brothers disappearance, and now with a very annoying ex-fiancé twice my age that I hadn't even known about until several nights ago. I had quite a lot on my plate already, and now he wanted me to think MORE?

"I can't." I said helplessly, "I'm so tired Severus."

When he didn't say anything in return, I picked my head up and turned to glance over my shoulder at him. Severus was staring at something far away, his long dark hair running carelessly over his shoulders and that damn smudge of dirt was still on his chin. In moments like this, brief glimpses of him as my professor ran through my mind and I recalled how intimidating he was back then. His voice could travel long distances and his insults cut like daggers. And now?

He was simply Severus. He'd been run through the grinder and back and the man sitting there that evening was one with considerable burdens still left to bear. I knew he hadn't revealed everything to me yet; he had knowledge of these disappearances he was either not sure of, or was reluctant to share with me. I wanted to tell myself it was for my own good and that he cared; but inside I wondered if it was because he was planning on leaving again.

As if he'd read my mind (and maybe he had) Severus said quietly, "I won't leave you, you know." He turned finally to face me and the lines between his eyebrows were deep, "There are things though I never want to have you carry for me. It is unfair. Do you understand?"

"No," I shook my head, "I don't. Maybe if you were to tell me we could work through those 'burdens' together."

Severus set his lips together in a firm line, and I knew that this particular conversation was over. With a roll of my eyes I turned over so I could lie on my back and rest my legs over his knees, "Really now? The silent treatment?"

"It's better than being talked to death." He said stiffly, one large hand rubbing over my thigh; as if it were simply the most natural thing in the world. Sleep began tugging at my eyelids as I watched the rhythmic motions of that hand, up and down up and down. Ever so slowly and with each pass his hand rose higher, finally brushing against the top button of my trousers. With a twist of his fingers the button came undone and the heat from his palm rested against the skin of my belly. I sighed my approval, and after that I found I was no longer that tired.

I awoke in a large four poster bed with a pair of bemused, dark eyes watching me. Severus ran a long finger down my cheek, "Good evening." He rumbled, "How was your nap? And you said you were just resting your eyes."

Startled, I sat upright. The room was dim, the light emanating from a fireplace located directly in front of the bed. The walls were stone as was the floor and a familiar herbal smell permeated the air. I glanced at Severus and felt the heat rise in my cheeks when I caught sight of his naked chest and realized that I was naked as well. We'd been that way when we'd gone to bed in my loft, but he seemed thinner than I recalled, "Are, are we in dungeon in Hogwarts?" I asked.

Severus chuckled and kissed up my exposed spine, "Not quite awake yet hm? We're in my quarters."

"What are we doing here?" I suddenly felt afraid, my voice sounded panicked even in my ears, "When did we get here? Where is the shop?"

Severus sat up and turned my face to his, "Hermione, what are you talking about? We came here after dinner. What shop?" his large eyebrows were knitted together and his utter confusion only frightened me more. I realized then his hair was shorter and barely licked his shoulders. I looked down and saw a silver ring on my left hand. It was so beautiful it nearly took my breath away. It was delicately engraved with swirls across the thin band, a large diamond set into it and flanked by two small emeralds. Had I gone back in time?

I reached out and grasped his face in my hands looking hard into his eyes, "Are we engaged?"

He snorted, "I would certainly hope so. You did say 'yes' unless I heard incorrectly."

The air left my lungs in a whoosh, "When?"

His right eyebrow arched, "Tonight. At dinner. I only saw you drink two glasses of wine, did you have any more than that? Perhaps I should have cut you off." His tone was surprisingly light, happy almost. Is this what it was like with us? So…normal?

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a rough kiss. Although he pulled away there was no denying my reaction had pleased him, "My, my…" he murmured, "Is my queen not ready for sleep just yet? After three times already I assumed I'd satisfied you…" his hand had wandered between my thighs and lightly brushed across my womanhood sending a tingle straight to my womb.

A light feeling bubbled in my chest and I laughed. Happiness radiated from the inside of my heart out, "Never! I'll never be satisfied!" I cried, wrapping my arms around his neck and dragging him back for another kiss. This was it. We had been given a second chance. In that moment I didn't care how I had gotten there, all that mattered was my life was going to be lived the way it was meant to be. Would we have children soon? Maybe I could convince him to still open up a book shop…

He rolled me onto my back and began to kiss down my neck. And that happened to be when I got a look at the ceiling. It was wooden and looked suspiciously like the ceiling in my home. I froze beneath him and after a moment when he realized I was no longer responding he stopped and turned his head to follow my gaze.

Severus frowned, "What in God's name…"

Realization hit me like the Hogwarts express. Not a second chance at all then. A dream… this was a dream. Angry tears stung my eyes knowing that this all would be ending soon. But, just in case there was still a chance I knew I had to speak up, "Severus," I choked out, "The vow, please don't make me promise it."

His eyes snapped to mine, surprise paling his face, "How did you know-"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him against me, the wooden ceiling seeming to creep closer by the moment, "Promise me!"

"Hermione!" his voice sounded urgent and distant, as if he was reaching for me and I was falling down, down, down…

The ceiling and everything else faded into blackness.