Chapter 76: Puzzlegreen

-Prince Manor, Dorset, West Country, south-western England

-21 December, 1976

-Pov Hermione

Lying in the bath at Prince Manor, the warm sudsy water and various medicinal salts felt good on my stressed and tired body.

Yes, one of the benefits of living at Prince Manor was the incredibly relaxing baths, though I supposed all pureblood noble houses must have such baths.

Yesterday and the day before were two very busy days for me, while Severus went to do business with the strange Addams Family, which I discovered had quite an interesting and ancient history in the wizarding and muggle world, I took the opportunity to arrange everything with Democles Belby and the "Wolfsbane Potion", I looked and hired the qualified staff along with the necessary installations.

And then I summarised the whole process along with the expenses so that Severus, as always, would be aware of everything.

I admit that I was a bit excited with the idea that the Wolfsbane Potion could be finished much earlier than it was supposed to be developed, if I remember correctly it would still take a few years before Mr. Belby could finish developing it, but now with Severus' intervention things had changed again and something that would take years would only take days or weeks.

This would help Remus and many others in a similar situation as he was, it was these little things and changes that made me realise how much people's lives could be improved with a few actions.

Anyway, now before going to the Greengrass's I took the opportunity to relax a bit and go more calmly, not everyday you meet people who are as important as Lord and Lady Greengrass.

Relaxed, I let my mind wander a little as I immersed my naked body in the warm water.

But as always, even in this moment of relaxation my mind could only think of ways to defeat Voldemort and how to work with Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix to achieve this goal.

Although there were times when my mind wandered from those thoughts to something more embarrassing...

Like my situation with young Severus during this time, from the first time we met to the dance at Slughorn's party and more...

I had to admit that everything would have been very different and probably more complicated if Draco and I hadn't met Severus in that embarrassing and awkward situation.

Severus was assertive and had no problem saying what he thought, as well as getting the information he wanted.

Sure, he was also quite dry and cold, but there were some moments when he would joke and relax as if he were someone completely different.

It may be absurd, but I was convinced that he was slowly softening during this time.

It was probably because of his separation from Lily and from Voldemort's followers...

But I feel it's mostly because of his new friends, the most important one being perhaps Pandora, she had a way of making Severus lower his defences like no other person.

I laughed amused at the thought of them as big brother and little sister.

Well, I was sure I wasn't the only one who made such a comparison.

Yes, Severus was very different from the one I remembered from Professor Snape's memories, too different perhaps... and I was sure that the blood ritual had surely played a part in his radical change, both mentally and physically.

Well, time travel was probably also another important factor in all this, she already knew that several things would change due to her interference in the past.

Yes, Draco and I might actually be in an alternate realitie a simple version of the original universe now.

Anyway, Severus had been unknowingly becoming a better version of himself and gradually he was opening up to others and finding himself, if he continued on that path, I was convinced that he would become an amazing man... a rare combination of a cold but joking man with his friends, dominant but gentle with people like Pandora, assertive and very intelligent.

For some reason when I thought about all this, I felt my body suddenly start to heat up..., maybe the water suddenly got warmer.

Or maybe I have a weakness for a man, smart, assertive, and with a dominant personality.

Severus always knew how to put me in my place when it was necessary although he also knew how to tease to irritate me, but even I admit that spending time with him was fun and certainly relaxing.

I could imagine being happy with someone like him... this... well, maybe I have feelings for him.

But in the future, could I accept him as a possible partner or even husband?

I could only sigh and immerse myself even more in the hot water.

Hermione Granger with Severus... What would Harry think? What would he say if he knew?

As I closed my eyes and felt the water combined with the magical medicinal salts on my body, I wished once again that Harry and my friends were here.

The persistent feeling of never again seeing my friends and family as before was a difficult thing to overcome.

I resigned myself to the knowledge that some of them were probably never going to be born, including... Harry ...

Although I still had hopes that Lily and James would end up together, but the time travel had already altered a lot of things in this timeline, making it a very different timeline to the one before..., an alternate reality.

We knew with Draco that this would happen, but seeing it with your own eyes was something very different from knowing it.

'Realisation was the first step of acceptance and healing' I had said to myself, even though I wasn't feeling the healing yet, but at least I was coming to terms with it and accepting the current situation.

Just the thought that Lily now seemed to have feelings for Severus was shocking.

I didn't blame her though even I was starting to feel that way, I supposed my tastes and Lily's were similar in some ways.

Merlin! I didn't know if I was having such a hard time getting used to this situation because of all these changes or because I was slowly getting disillusioned.

My dream of defeating Voldemort while avoiding the death of many innocent people and making everything better for the world was crumbling at the thought of the amount of changes this would bring.

And yes, once again, I was filled with memories of my former life with Harry, my friends, my family...

I wanted Harry back. I wanted my friends and family back! I wanted everything to go back to the way it was, but I knew it was impossible.

And Voldemort was the reason, he caused so much damage and pain to so many people.

I took a deep breath, shook my head, and submerged myself completely underwater.

I had to remember that this is why my goal was to defeat Voldemort above all else, to prevent all the evil he did to the world, I couldn't just think selfishly about what I wanted, this was about more than just myself.

Thinking about the past wasn't going to help me.

I slowly pulled my head out of the water again and laughed a little at the thought of Professor Snape probably comparing me to Dumbledore and his philosophy of doing things for the "Greater Good".

Although my laughter was hoarse, almost sounding like an angry cry.

It was too hard to get used to so many changes and the idea that I was now part of this timeline...

Yeah, Draco was definitely doing much better than I was.

Fortunately, there were things that made my stay in this time not so hard and bad.

....

When I finally came out of the bathroom, dressed and ready, Severus was there dressed formally in a white shirt that slightly framed his muscles, I couldn't help but think that he looked really good, it was amazing how different he looked from before, he was very fit and almost unrecognizable from when Draco and I first saw him this year.

I couldn't help but smile a bit as I looked at him.

As much as I loved my old life, this one wasn't so... bad.

I had the chance to save so many lives that had suffered in this time for standing up to Voldemort or for just disliking him and his followers the death eaters.

She could meet and make friends with Lily, the marauders, and so many other people.

She had even changed Severus' miserable future.

So that had to count for something, didn't it?

"Hermione" Severus nodded when he saw me.

It was amusing to watch as his gaze roamed over my dress.

"Something wrong?" I asked teasingly with a raised eyebrow, though I already had an idea of what he would say.

"No, nothing, I should have expected you to wear the same dress" he replied, shaking his head slightly.

I smiled a little at that.

Yes, this was the same dress I wore to Slughorn's feast, the one I bought with the money he gave me for my birthday present.

Maybe it wasn't as elegant but it was comfortable and I liked it, so I felt that in an important meeting like this, the priority was to feel comfortable with myself.

"Well, I only used it once and I remember you said you liked it, plus it's comfortable. Is that a problem?"

"No, if you prefer to wear it that's fine, but remember Olivia was present when you wore it and you know how pureblood noble families are"

"I know..., do you think she would remark on it?"

"Not with us present, in private with her family..., maybe. Who knows"

"That's good enough for me" I smiled making him shake his head again with a soft sigh.

"Hermione" he called back making me look at him with a raised eyebrow in doubt.

"Yes?" I asked confused watching his penetrating black eyes stare at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a slight frown.

"Why do you ask?"

"I heard you crying in the bathroom"

'Damn!' I thought and frowned as I didn't expect him to hear that, I'm sure I was so immersed in my thoughts that I didn't realise I was probably crying pretty loudly.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine, I was just thinking about some things from the past or the future depending on how you look at it" I joked a little, it was good to be able to do this with him.

Meeting Severus was surprisingly a relief, he may not be the most emotional person but in some way or another, he had supported me through this whole situation.

And apart from Draco he was the only one who knew about our time travel and for me to have someone else who knew something so important was relieving, I was able to be with him and talk to him without feeling the pressure of being a person from the future.

I was proud to say that with Severus we had definitely passed the phase of acquaintances by benefit to maybe... friends?

Or would it be better to call us... cousins?

I got a shiver at the thought of that, I definitely preferred the term friends.

Although I was still kind of his secretary in all Prince matters, but I wasn't complaining, it kept me entertained and distracted, it was a good way to not be constantly thinking about Voldemort and I was also earning a good amount of gallons.

Severus looked at me for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Let's go, I wouldn't want to be late for our meeting with Lord and Lady Greengrass"

I rolled my eyes at his lack of insistence on the matter, but I knew that was the way he was and I didn't dislike it, I knew that if I wanted to talk he would listen to me, but he wouldn't push the issue, so I just smiled slightly and nodded.

-Pov Hermione End

....

Severus took some Floo Powder, threw it into the fireplace making the red fire turn green, and said, "Puzzlegreen".

At that Severus and Hermione walked towards the green fire and disappeared through it.

....

-Greengrass Manor, 21 December

Severus and Hermione took a step forward ignoring the feeling that they were walking on air and after a while, they both felt their feet touch solid ground again.

The first thing they saw was Olivia Greengrass standing in front of them in an elegant midnight green dress that perfectly framed her curves and a silver necklace with a simple jade stone around her neck that went down to her exquisite breasts.

"Lord Prince, Miss. Prince, I'm glad you accepted our invitation," Olivia said bowing slightly which only gave to both of them a better view of her necklace and well, her chest.

"Olivia, it's good to see you and just Severus is fine, there's no need for formalities between us, I think Hermione agrees," Severus said with a smile to which Hermione just nodded in complete agreement.

Olivia rolled her eyes, already expecting him to ruin the entire seriousness of the matter, then her gaze fell for a moment on Hermione's dress as if she was thinking/remembering something, but after a while, she stopped caring and returned her focus to the two guests.

"Alright then, Severus, Hermione, my parents are waiting for you in the meeting room. Please follow me," Olivia said as she guided them through the Greengrass manor, also known as Puzzlegreen.

"So...?" asked Olivia to Severus.

"So what?"

"What do you think?" she said, clearly referring to the Manor.

"Um, Manor Greengrass is actually quite... cosy," Severus joked, which only made Olivia roll her eyes again.

'Why do I even bother asking him?' wondered Olivia shaking her head with a slight smirk on her full red lips.

"By the way, I thought you were with your little sister. Or is she with your parents?"

"Adelaide's staying with our grandparents, my parents didn't want her to get.... bored."

"Oh, too bad, I wanted to meet the little sister you care for so much," Severus joked.

"Looks like you'll have to just wait"

"Yeah, another day I'll get the opportunity"