"She is fine, Witch," Severus said when Hermione checked her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time in a week.

They'd both heard the reports of Sunnydale, California essentially disappearing. An earthquake had been blamed, but she and Severus knew it wasn't that kind of natural disaster that had occurred. More along the lines of the preternatural kind.

She knew that she wasn't Buffy's number one priority, but she'd hoped to hear something by now. They were getting married next week, and as trivial as it may have been in the grand scheme of things, Hermione wanted to know if Buffy was going to be there. And if she was, was she able to save her dress amidst all of the chaos?

Selfish and petty. The world didn't end. Again. She should be overjoyed, and she was, but she was too far into wedding mode to be thinking of much else.

She was getting married in a week.

In a week she was going to be Hermione Snape.

Their doorbell rang. Both the wizard and witch looked up from what they were doing to stare at the door. Hermione was quite sure she'd never heard the doorbell in all of the time she'd spent here the past three years. They looked at one another then as if wondering which of them was going to answer.

Hermione set her book down on the table and stood, walking to the door. Someone coming here at, she glanced at her wristwatch, almost ten o'clock in the evening could not be a good sign.

She opened the door and let out a startled gasp, throwing her arms around her friend so relieved that she was here, standing on their porch, and seemingly in one piece.

"Have you not heard of a telephone call or email to let people who care for you know that you're all right?" she asked. "I saw you die once. I'm not ready to lose you again!"

"Well," she said. "Hi Severus."

"Buffy," he said with a nod and a slight smile.

"Destroying a town does weird things to phones."

"Oh, I suppose."

"That, and I was trying to regroup with the few of us who survived and figure out what to do."

"And then you came here?"

"Well, no. I mean, yes, but as it happens Giles and I are pretty literally the Council right now."

"Sure," Hermione said.

All the others were dead. It went without saying that Giles was running the show now. There were watchers and such spread around the world, but Buffy was the Slayer and Giles was her watcher. So they were pretty much the Council. No one else had the ability to truly fight demons and vampires. Potentials were trained to do so, but without the enhanced strength and speed, well, they were just girls going up against vampires and demons who were usually bigger but always faster and stronger.

"That means we have access to all of the Council resources. We found a, get this, castle where all of us can stay and then some until we figure out what we want to do and where."

"How many are there?"

"Xander, Dawn, Willow, Andrew, Faith, Giles, Robin, and me. Plus seven of the potentials, but there are so many more now."

"Potentials?"

"Willow did a spell," she paused, looking at Severus. "She didn't want to. She was scared because she knew we would be changing everything. We basically activated every potential slayer."

"So every potential…" Hermione murmured. The thought of that!

"Is now a slayer, from toddler age to one hundred."

"That's incredible."

"It was. I was so proud of her," she said. "Thank you, Severus. I never did thank you properly, there hasn't really been time, but you gave me my best friend back."

"I am glad, your thanks is unnecessary. It's what I do."

"Well, from what she and Giles told me you went a little above and beyond, but I know you're humble about things like that. So, just thank you."

"You are most welcome."

"So, now I have to find all of these slayers and give them the option to either train or at least understand these powers they suddenly have."

"Oh, right, I suppose that would be a lot."

"But before I actually start doing that, I told Giles I deserve a week to do some things for myself first. So, if you still…"

"Yes," Hermione said quickly.

"Your dress is upstairs actually, Buffy," Severus said.

Hermione spun around to look at him. "What?" How was that possible? She'd had it sent to Sunnydale.

He shrugged and if she wasn't mistaken he was blushing. How cute! "I suggested after she was certain it fit her properly that she have the store in Sunnydale ship it here for safe keeping, on my dime of course. I knew that she was preoccupied. That way if she made it to the wedding, it was here for her."

"You did that?" Hermione asked.

"Of course. I knew it was important to you that she be here if she could be. I knew she had a huge burden on her shoulders so wanted to remove one small piece if I could."

"Oh, you are definitely getting incredibly lucky tonight."

"That's assuming I don't already consider myself so, but I look forward to whatever you had in mind."

Hermione turned to Buffy as a thought occurred to her, going over in her mind those she'd mentioned accompanying them.

"No Spike?" she asked.

Buffy shook her head, tears in her eyes.

"He had this amulet thing. I don't know what it was or where it came from. Well, it came from Angel but I'm not sure where he got it. Anyway, it," Buffy shuddered. "It consumed him in a bright light and somehow made a hole through the school so the sun came through. It went through him. I'm probably saying it wrong and I have no idea what I even saw really, other than the sun seemed to go through him and dusted a bunch of the ubervamps. Willow's spell was great and beyond helpful. Don't get me wrong. It was essential, but I don't know that we would have made it out. We were still at a disadvantage even with the potentials made into slayers. So without Spike and that amulet."

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said.

"It's okay. I told him I loved him. He said I didn't, but I think he understood that I do, just not in that way. And I do. I always will. I'm so glad we had the last few months. That he knew I believed in him to help him with his trigger. That he knew at the end that I trusted him. Despite everything that happened between us I do."

Hermione couldn't help but think of Ronald and nodded. "I know that feeling."

"I know you do."

"And you're sure you want to be in a wedding?"

"A wedding, no. Your wedding, yes. I wouldn't be here without the two of you. Willow wouldn't be here without you both."

"They're coming, too, right?"

"I wasn't sure…"

"Absolutely they're welcome. All of them. They saved the world, they can party on our dime. I'll send an owl tonight and make sure enough meals and a couple extra tables for them are added."

Buffy looked past Hermione to Severus.

"She is right. You all mean a great deal to my soon to be wife."

"All right, I'll tell them. The potentials may not come, but I'm sure Dawn, Willow, Xander, Faith, Robin, and Giles will."

"That's fine."

"Well, do you have to head back to wherever this mysterious castle is? Or can you stay? Or…"

"I can stay for a while. Like I told Giles, I'm around, but I'm taking until the day after your wedding to collect myself. I'm not sure I've felt I could do that for the past eight years."

"I understand."

"I will head upstairs then," Severus said.

"Oh, Severus, you don't have to…" Buffy said.

"You two haven't seen one another in quite some time. Just the two of you even longer. Catch up. Hermione knows where to find me if she wants to make good on the my getting incredibly lucky tonight promise later."

"I will try not to keep her up too late."

"Oh, the great thing about it being Saturday and our being professors. We have nothing to wake up for tomorrow. So take all the time you need."

He headed upstairs then after stopping briefly to kiss Hermione and smooth his hand over the back of her hair. Hermione got them some wine and two glasses before joining her at the sofa.

"You're getting married in a week," Buffy said.

"I know." Hermione said.

"Are you excited?"

"Yes."

"Nervous?"

"Yes."

"No second thoughts?"

"No," she said adamantly and meant it. "I'm glad you're here. Really. It's because of you, well, my friendship with you that we're even getting married. It feels right having you here."

"Well, who knew something good would come out of Angel getting poisoned by Faith."

"How is she?"

"Good. I really think so. She and Robin seem to be a thing."

‘The principal?"

"Yes. Admittedly, he is nice and gets our world. His mom was a slayer. I think that's what was missing with Riley. He hadn't had it around him his whole life."

"That's right!" Hermione remembered now. Spike had killed his mum, which she imagined had made things more than a little uncomfortable. "Didn't you go out on a date with him?"

"Yes, but," Buffy shrugged. "We're not into one another like that. I'm not even sure why he asked or I accepted. To be normal? I don't know. It was one date and we've never been weird around one another. I want Faith happy, really, she deserves it. She's changed."

"I'm glad."

"Me, too."

"And Andrew is with you?" Buffy had done little but complain about Andrew. Then what was she supposed to do with him if not take him with her?

"Yes," she said with a bitter-sounding laugh. "I'm not sure how I feel about that as I'm sure you can guess based on my bitching about him more often than not, but I couldn't leave him. He helped us, too. It will be a while before I know I can trust him one hundred percent, but he can research and he can help Xander with stuff."

"Good."

"Yes. We've all made mistakes. It's easy to give in. I almost did for a while there after Angel left." She shrugged. "If he wants to turn over a new leaf, I want to help him do that. Casting him out into the world with nothing certainly won't help him stay on the right path."

"And Riley's still married to Sam, was it?"

"Yes. As far as I know. Still in the military doing their hostile hunting. I've thought of looking him up, to see if what happened in Sunnydale influenced anything worldwide. I haven't done it yet. I don't want Sam to think that I'm trying to weasel my way back in."

"Understandable, even if I know you're not interested in him. Sam doesn't know that, though, and wouldn't be completely foolish to think that. Hey, enjoy being a single woman with no worries about anything for a while."

"You should talk! Have you ever truly been single?"

"I was. You're right I guess that I shouldn't be giving advice because I'm marrying my first real boyfriend. Viktor and I weren't really a couple. Ron and I were never together. I had three years after the war more or less. Yes, our relationship started before I moved back to the magical world and took a job at Hogwarts, but I was still on my own for the beginning of it."

"True."

"You know, you'll be walking down the aisle with an attractive wizard. He's not a watcher or anything, but he gets that a different world exists."

"Mm, playing matchmaker?"

"He's Severus' godson, and well, seeing you here tonight made me think back to something Ginny said to me when she saw me during the final fitting for my gown. I think Draco could use someone he knows could kick his ass to hell and back."

Buffy chuckled. "Oh, Hermione…"

"Just meet him." Hermione laughed loudly and Buffy was staring at her. "I'm not saying date him, but maybe you can both be a friend to one another. I cannot believe that I'm suggesting one of my best friends meet Draco Malfoy, but here we are."

"Why? Is he a toad or something?"

"More like a ferret," Hermione said laughing louder. "He's not really. It's a joke. Sorry. No, he is from a pureblood family. His father and mum were followers of Voldemort."

"And you want me to meet this guy?"

"Oh, he still drives me bonkers, but he's changed. He's not so bad, and now that the war is over and Voldemort isn't a threat. Well he seems to be doing his own thinking for a change instead of what was taught to him by his father and his father's father. You get the picture."

"I do."

"And did I mention attractive. I mean, not my type, but girls at Hogwarts swooned for him."

"Hermione…"

"If I arrange a dinner for Harry, Ginny, Severus, Draco, Minerva, and Luna, you, and me, it'd be like a pre-wedding dinner between our party. No one would think anything of it. Again, I don't expect you to marry or even date him, but it'd be okay to spend time with someone this week who is good looking and nice. Wouldn't it? Friends can be good. Can you really have too many of those?"

"Is it weird that he has a best woman?"

"No, it's so Severus. It would have been weird and unlike him if he'd chosen anyone but Minerva."

"No pressure?"

"God, no. Truly, I don't mean it like that, but if you're taking the week off to be a part of wedding stuff. You don't have anyone to bring with you and neither does he. I'm the last one to try and marry you off when you just basically set yourself free. You're not the only one anymore, Buffy, that's huge!"

"I know."

"But someone to spend some time with while you're in England wouldn't be so bad, would it? And he's hardly been to muggle London, so he'd probably enjoy it."

"Sure, let me know when dinner is. I'll be there."

"Great. Severus will probably kill me, but well."

"He won't. It's not like you're telling me to have sex with him."

"Oh, I doubt he'd turn you down if you offered him that."

Buffy laughed. "I doubt that."

"I don't. Buffy, you're beautiful. Any guy in their right mind would take you up on that."

"Yeah, me and…"

"Don't look at what happened with Parker as an example. He was a user and a game player. If you wanted to have sex for sex's sake there's nothing wrong with that, but you weren't expecting that from him. You weren't ready for real seriousness with Riley, and as you have said you're not sure he quite got it all. Other than that it's been your first love and a not overly healthy relationship when you were being physical with him. Again, I realize I'm not one to offer much of an opinion based on my own experience, or lack of before Severus. I do know that sex is not bad, Buffy."

"Yeah, I have come to that conclusion by not having it for a while. That changed the past year."

"I know, and I'm glad. I think that's so important. That you two could get along after everything."

"Me, too."

"Anyway," she said. "Dinner, the group of us. Draco won't know what hit him."

"As long as he won't expect more than friendship from me."

"He wouldn't. You're muggle."

"You make him so charming."

"Mm," she said. "He actually can be. I'm just saying. I'm really not suggesting anything other than you'd both have someone to hang out with at the things this week. He doesn't exactly … fit in with Harry, Ginny, and Luna."

"All right."

"So, tell me what I need to know for Saturday."

She was obviously changing the subject, but she picked the right topic. Ask a bride days before her wedding for details on said wedding. Well, talk she would. Who knew she could really be like other women when it came to certain things?

Story ©Susan Matthews/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com