Disclaimer: Except for some OCs, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling.

On an evening in early June, Neville sat in the sitting room of Margo Smith's house, looking across a coffee table at his former Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor nervously. The professor was scowling while his wife looked kindly at Neville. He felt his hands get damp with nervousness, and he clasped the box on his knees tightly.

“You wanted something, Longbottom?” It might have been second year potions class.

“Yes,” he squeaked, and then cleared his throat. “That is, I would like permission to court your daughter.”

Professor Snape looked him up and down. “And why should I allow it? What exactly are your intentions?”

“Sir, I love her and I want very much to marry her. I'd like permission for that, too.”

Mrs. Snape looked as though she were going to say something, but her husband put his hand upon her knee in restraint. They looked into each other's eyes, and she nodded with a gentle smile. This was not what Neville had read about in the papers. This was a marriage as Hope had described it in her letters, the sort of marriage he wished to have some day.

“Haven't you been engaged to another young lady?” The black eyes did not allow any prevarication.

He blushed and stammered. “We...we broke it off before I left on my trip. I didn't want to embarrass Hannah, so I left it to her to announce it as she saw fit. I guess she didn't see fit to announce it at all.”

“Longbottom, do you realize what you have put our daughter through?”

It was time to own his mistakes and tell what he had learned. “Yes, sir, I think I do. I was as reluctant as she was to admit our friendship all the way through school, I made wild accusations after Headmaster Dumbledore died, I flaunted my romance with Hannah in her face, and I refused to admit my feelings for her. Worst of all, I feared her, when she had never done anything to make me do so. She's always been generous and kind to me, she even gave me first aid several times, and I've been terribly ungrateful.

“I know you call her Hope, and she's been just that to me, too. If I've outgrown being clumsy and a bit slow, it's due to her support and encouragement. She's a brilliant witch, capable of blasting me into a grease spot, but I know she would never do such a thing. Instead she's always shared what she knows with me. Besides that, she's beautiful. I just love her, sir. I know that she can probably take care of me better than I could take care of her, but I would look after her as well as I can, and I'm sure we can be successful in our marriage, if you allow it.”

“Why, Mr. Longbottom, did it take you so long to come to this conclusion?”

“I've known it for years, but I was reluctant to admit it. I might never have changed my mind if it weren't for a Boggart, sir.”

“A Boggart?” asked Mrs. Snape.

Neville described the Boggart he and Hannah had battled in the attic. By the time he was done, Mrs. Snape had tears in her eyes and the Professor's demeanor had softened.

It was Mrs. Snape who spoke this time. “Severus, if he feels that strongly about her, if that's his greatest fear...”

The professor smiled down into his wife's face. “Yes, you are right.” He took her hand, and Neville again saw what he knew he desperately wanted for himself. “All right, Neville, if you care that deeply for her, and if her wellbeing is so important to you, then you may ask her if you wish. I warn you, however, that you have a rival. We have also given permission to Theodore Nott to ask her. If she chooses you, your duty is to care for her and look after her happiness as well as you can. If you make her just half as happy as this dear lady has done for me,” here Snape lifted his wife's hand to his lips, making her smile, “I will be satisfied.”

Neville jumped up in excitement. “Is she here, now? May I speak with her?”

Mrs. Snape shook her head and smiled kindly. “I'm afraid she's out with Ted tonight. She has a day off tomorrow, though. She often spends time at the hospital the mornings of her days off.”

“Thank you so much. I swear you'll never regret it,” said Neville, almost dropping his box. “Oh, I nearly forgot. This is for you, sir. Professor Hagrid gave something to me, but it seemed to belong at least as much to you. The cobbler said this would be your size. Thank you again.”

The young man shook hands and went his way out the door, almost in a daze of happiness. The two in the sitting room didn't even have a chance to see him out of the house. They looked fondly at each other, remembering the days when they were young and falling in love. Severus stood and lifted his wife to her feet, whispering an idea into her ear.

“I'm certainly willing,” Emily said, “but don't you want to see what's in the box?”

“If you insist,” he answered.

The box contained a pair of snake-skin boots.

“Do you suppose it's—“ Emily asked.

“Almost certainly,” Severus answered.

“Nagini,” she said, reverently.

Her husband slid a hand around her waist and whispered a new idea into her ear. She giggled and shook her head. He whispered more insistently, and she shyly nodded.

“I'm game if you are,” she said.

---

She was standing in nothing but her shift, staring hopelessly into her closet. He came up behind her and kissed her neck. He was wearing the boots and little else besides his shirt.

“Is there a problem?”

“What exactly do snake charmers wear?”

“Around here they wear as little as possible.” His lips moved down her shoulder, and his hands came around to explore the contours hidden beneath the thin batiste of her garment. Sensing some reticence, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“I don't want to disappoint you.”

“After more than twenty years of marriage you think you can disappoint me?”

“This whole concept is a bit...different.”

“Emily, the point is to enjoy ourselves. Don't worry about it, just enjoy it.” He kneaded the tension from her neck and then returned his hands to caress her intently, pulling her body against his own and rousing her. Suddenly she became very aware of the snake she wanted to charm and how to charm it.

Neither knew exactly how much time had passed when Severus groaned out, “You enchant me, Emily.”

“That's good,” she panted, “because I'm completely in your power.”

It was early yet and they lay together, whispering their love and eventually turning to their hopes for their daughter. That naturally turned to Neville and how he had changed since his days in Professor Snape's classroom. This was a much different young man who had come to their home. Tonight was the first time Severus could believe that he actually had killed the snake.

“Which reminds me, Emily,” Severus said, looking in amusement at his wife. “How exactly is it that you're wearing the boots, now?”

“You don't remember?” She was smiling seductively.

He vaguely recalled the feel of her feet on the backs of his legs. She must have slid the boots off and slid her own feet into them. The thought of her toes running along his calves like that renewed his desires.

“Would you like to try that again?”

Her face took on a mischievous look. “The boots are on me, now.” She rolled over, trapping his hands beneath her. “How are you going to get them back on your own feet?”

He used his body to respond, earning a shriek of laughter which subsided as his actions started to elicit passionate moans.

---

Margo Snape took a sip of her drink and tried not to sigh. While it was a useful diversion for her broken heart at first, she was getting a little tired of the constant round of being glamorous. The late nights were starting to take a toll, and the constant need to be friendly to the “important” people was making her weary. Worst of all, she feared that Ted was getting the wrong idea. Perhaps tonight she should break it off with him. It would leave her at loose ends when the Prophet finally published the announcement of Neville and Hannah's wedding, but she wasn't sure all of these trendy restaurant dinners would help much when that happened, anyway.

Maybe she was reading into things, though. Her mother seemed a bit odd that night when she warned her against marrying without love. Perhaps Mum was just being overprotective. Daddy hadn't seemed quite so worried actually, in comparison. What did they know about it, anyway? They had simply fallen into the perfect marriage.

Hope realized that the restaurant was suddenly too quiet. She looked around and saw that the room was empty, except for a string quartet in the corner. Waiters and musicians looked at her expectantly as Ted knelt down before her.

“Margo, we've been seeing each other for a while, and we've been friends since we were kids,” he started.

A pained look came over Margo's face. “Please Ted, don't do this.”

“I must. Just hear me out. I went to see your parents last week and they gave me permission.”

She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head.

“Margo, I've admired you for a very long time. You're beautiful, your family is well-connected, and we enjoy each other's company. Tell me we can make a permanent arrangement out of this. Tell me you will marry me.”

She shook her head again and now a tear was trailing down from her wet eyelashes. “I'm sorry Ted. I've enjoyed our time together and you don't know how it's cheered me up when I was in the doldrums for a while...”

“I know there's someone else, Margo, but where is he, tonight?” He tried to take her hand but she wouldn't let him. She wrapped her arms around her middle.

“What did they say?”

“What did who say?”

“My parents. When they gave you permission, what did they say?”

“Your father said that he couldn't give me much hope, but if I really wanted to try I might. Then your mother said that she would not stand in the way of your happiness. Margo, let me make you happy. The other man has only made you miserable. If I knew who he was, I would challenge him to a duel. I promise I'll make it my life's ambition to make you happy.”

Did it really matter? She looked around the empty restaurant. Plenty of people got married without what her parents had. They lived fulfilling lives, didn't they? She and Ted could do so much together for the hospital, for the school, for other charities. When they were alone together, she would just...just what? The thought of being alone with Ted, of undressing in front of him, made her go cold all over.

“Ted, I just can't. I can't do it without love, and you shouldn't, either.” She stood. “I, um, I need to go. I don't think I can see you anymore.”

“Margo, wait!” He stood and showed her the stunning engagement ring he had brought. It was the same ring she had worn during a charity fashion show a few months earlier. She had hated the weight of it. The ring was beautiful, but she couldn't wait to get it off on the previous occasion. It would be twice as heavy if Theodore Nott put it on her finger.

She smiled and shook her head, realizing how little they knew each other. “Farewell Ted.”

Before another minute had passed, Margo Snape was out on the sidewalk, taking out her hairpins and dropping them on the sidewalk as she went. She shook her hair out and then took off her shoes, suddenly several inches shorter. She walked until she felt a little more herself. On top of being unhappy she was now disgraced. The socialites and gossip columnists would hate her for “breaking Theodore Nott's heart,” as they would put it. She wasn't so happy about it herself, but she couldn't do what he asked, not all of what it would entail. She continued walking along the perimeter of a well-lit park, looking for a quiet corner from which to Disapparate.

A few minutes after that, Hope arrived in her grandmother's kitchen. She made her way to her bedroom and quietly washed her face, removing every last vestige of the young woman who would probably never again grace a newspaper picture. The trendy little number that Madame Malkin swore would fly out of her shop if Ms. Snape wore it in public landed in a heap on the closet floor. She put on her frumpiest pajamas and climbed into bed. By the light of her wand she re-read every note and letter that Lucky had ever sent her until well into the morning, stopping only to dry her eyes at intervals. She got up and dressed early, leaving the house before she would have to face her parents.

---

Neville Longbottom was in a rush to get to the hospital the next morning. He waited long enough to scan the Daily Prophet, wondering which section the announcement would be in if Hope had given herself to Nott. He saw nothing of interest other than a short announcement about himself having returned to England this week. It didn't mean she was not engaged yet, but at least he wouldn't knowingly steal another man's woman. Tossing the paper onto Gran's kitchen table, he decided it didn't matter. He was a Gryffindor, after all, and he wouldn't let something like an engagement stand in his way.

He dressed carefully, knowing it never mattered to her anyway. He wanted to make the effort, because she was important to him. He wanted her to know that he was willing to do more than just enough.

He decided to start with his parents. He knew that they liked Hope and that she went to see them every day that she could. Knowing she would do that had made his year away easier to bear. She knew just how his dad liked his pillow fluffed, and she was good at making girl talk when she spoke with his mother. Neville had just walked around the corner when he realized that she had gotten there before him. He backed away where they wouldn't see him.

“I know that now he's home, he'll probably get married to Hannah soon,” she was saying, “and I really should keep my distance after that. I just want you both to know that it's for his sake. I love him too much to interfere with his happiness that way. It wouldn't be fair to him or to Hannah if I kept coming.”

Alice made a moaning sound, and Hope shushed her and soothed her. “I'm sorry. You know I love you dearly. You've listened to me pour my heart out forever, it seems like, and I know we would always be great friends. I just can't take the chance that my presence in your life would hurt Neville.” He heard a choking sound and felt his own eyes watering. “We wouldn't want to hurt his marriage. I know you just want him happy, so I will need to simply fade from the picture. Please try to understand me. I know it's hard... It's hard for me, too.”

Something in Hope's voice cracked, and Neville chanced a peek. She was sitting between his parents, her head on his mother's bed. The surprising thing was the way mother looked as she patted Hope's head and moved her lips in something that was not entirely gibberish. His dad had her other hand and was patting it. He watched as Hope regained control of herself and smiled. She stood and kissed each of his parents on the cheek.

“Thank you. I'll come back tomorrow and every day until—well, until it wouldn't be right.”

Neville stood behind a column as Hope passed by. The handkerchief she held to her face prevented her from noticing him. He walked into his parents' room and sat between them, in the chair Hope had just vacated.

“I have news,” he said. “I think Hope and I will both continue to visit you for a very long while...”

---

After speaking with his parents and getting what he took as their blessing, he found her later in the greenhouses.

“Hope?”

“Lucky!” She smiled so brightly that he almost couldn't believe that she had been so sad a few minutes before. “You're all dressed up. What's the occasion?”

“You.”

Now she blushed. “Stop teasing. Surely you have something important to do today, dressed as you are.”

“I have a few weeks off just now. The only thing on my agenda for today is to find a wife.”

For some reason, Hope felt her heart leap. “I thought you did that months and months ago.” She pretended to inspect some rosemary.

“We broke it off, long since.” He stood right behind her. He smelled her hair and it reassured him.

She clenched her hands, not sure what to make of it. “I thought she was your type.”

“I was wrong about that. It turns out that only one woman fits my exact type. It wasn't her after all.”

“I see. So you and Hannah broke it off?”

“She refused to marry me after the Boggart incident.”

“That sounds a bit odd for a lady to refuse a gentleman over a Boggart.”

“Not when the Boggart shows the gentleman a different lady.”

Hope turned and looked at him, a question in her face.

“Your eyes are so beautiful, you know...” He sighed as he looked at her. “When I was preparing to leave, there was a Boggart in the trunk I planned to use. When I let it out, it wasn't your father any more, it was you, struggling with Malfoy. When I cast the Riddikulus spell, it became you, in the arms of Nott. Finally, it was you, lying in a pool of blood. I couldn't go on. I was very upset, so Hannah had to get rid of it. All this time, Hope, I told myself I was afraid of you. Your magic is so much more powerful than mine is, and you always seem so much more together than I am...”

“Lucky...”

“I've known all along how stupid it was. You've never been anything but supportive of me. You were my friend when everyone thought I was practically a squib, and you encouraged me every step of the way since. When I realized that my greatest fear was of something happening to you...I spent my year away realizing how very dearly I care for you and how very much I love you.

“Gran sent me that article and I almost fell into despair, seeing that you were going to marry Nott at any time, now. Then I realized about the Patronus. I understood why you wouldn't let me see yours that day at the Ministry. I've always been a bit embarrassed about having a lion, as if it made me more of a Gryffindor than the others. It doesn't matter anymore, as long as I can always be with my lioness.”

“Lucky?” A thought was forming in her mind and heart, and she didn't know if she should allow it.

He took her hands. “I love you, Hope. Please tell me you will marry me. I know we're still working on our studies and I know we may have to wait, but I want to know that our future will start soon.” He looked into her face. She was stunned, but perhaps joyful as well. He chanced sliding his hands along her arms, up to her elbows, pulling her closer. Her lips were turning into the beginning of a smile. “Hope?”

“Oh, Lucky, I love you! Yes, I'll marry you. All this time, I hardly dared wish—” It was all he needed to pull her the rest of the way into his arms and kiss her, not for the first time, but for the time that would signal the start of their life together.

---

A/N: That's pretty much the story. There's one more chapter to wrap things up.

Some will recognize the boots as something Trickie Woo requested a while back. When she did, it occurred to me that Neville had an equal claim to the snake skin as Professor Snape, although in a very different way.

Thank you to the kind reviewers who have commented and to Trickie Woo for beta reading.