This story was inspired by a plot twist in the wonderful "Hinge of Fate."
If you haven't read it yet, what is wrong with you? Go read it!
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1024910
Anyway, my muse was stuck in the mire of a chapter for "Crimson and Gold" (http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1071373 ) and wouldn't let go of the image of Snape marching into battle and leaving his beloved behind. World War II images kept flashing through my mind - yum, Alan Rickman in uniform - and I couldn't resist.
So enjoy!
Lisa
An Heir for Slytherin
"Mother - Mother, calm down. Mother - Mum. Gods, Mum, don't cry, this is hard enough as it is. *Please.*"
It was the "please" that made Head Girl, Hermione Granger, stop dead in her tracks as she entered the potions classroom that afternoon. She had spent quite a lot of time in the dungeons with Professor Snape over the last few months, preparing for what was hoped to be the final battle with Voldemort. Hundreds, if not thousands, of vials of healing and medicinal potions had been on Hermione's task list that spring.
She had worked side-by-side with the surly potions master for months as he struggled, through trial and error, to create a potion that would end Voldemort's life. The question of how to kill someone who was neither alive nor dead - but possibly immortal - was a difficult one to puzzle out. It had led to deep, animated and spiritual discussions about life, death and the afterlife between the two potion makers in the quiet of the dungeons. After a month or two, Snape had begun to open up to Hermione over their cauldrons - telling her stories about the other professors, his childhood, various potions he had tried, invented or botched to hilarious results. They had, she thought, become friends. Not to mention that she realized exactly how sexy the potions master was behind the voluminous robes and scowl.
The night that he finally hit on the combination of ingredients that could bring Voldemort down had been memorable. Snape had been tense and brooding all evening and when the potion finally turned the neon green that he had projected - he smiled. Hermione had thought, at that moment, she had never seen a more beautiful smile. She realized then, too, that she had come to care about and even love the overgrown, cranky bat she worked with nightly. So, she hugged him in celebration. Surprisingly, he hugged her back and they stood quietly in their lab, in each other's arms for what felt like hours before awkwardly parting.
And now they were going into battle. He on the front lines as a foot soldier and she up to the ramparts of Hogwarts in a defensive mode. She knew he didn't expect to return and assumed that was the source of the rather pleading conversation going on in his office. He had contacted his mother to tell her goodbye. Cautiously, Hermione stepped into the classroom and snuck a glance into his office. He was facing away from the door, holding a silver hand mirror which held the face of a crying, grey-haired woman.
"Sev, if Voldemort knows you are a traitor and you have been spying on him - why on earth would Dumbledore put you on the front lines? You are a target, darling, and there has to be someone else that can -"
"Mum, we've been over this. Voldemort is furious with my defection and I do not believe that a simple curse thrown from 20 feet is going to do it for him. He is a blood-thirsty monster and I believe he will want to kill *me * with his bare hands - wallow in the blood of the traitor, so to speak."
The woman in the mirror gasped at his frank admission.
"I am, therefore, the only one likely to get close enough to administer the poison. We've treated a knife with it and I will need to stab him or slit his throat with it in order for it to work. I will most likely die in the process, but it is the least I can do. I *have * to do this, Mum."
"No, you do NOT, Severus Snape. You are my only child! You have a family and friends who love you. Can't you just put the poison on an arrow and shoot him or something? There has to be another way!"
"We have prepared arrows and Muggle bullets, too, Mum. In case it doesn't work, we needed someone to try to get close and that someone is me. I don't have a wife, I don't have any children and I really have no future to speak of, so the task fell to me." The woman tried to interrupt yet again, but Snape stopped her with a soft confession. "Mother. As a Death Eater, I prepared potions that killed innocent witches, wizards and Muggles. I killed two Aurors when they threatened our stronghold. The only things I can say I didn't do was rape any women or molest any children, and to this day I don't understand why I couldn't bring myself to do it, considering who I was at the time. I was evil. I probably still am, even though I am working for the good guys now. You must let me do this. You must let me go and let me redeem myself."
"I love you, Severus," the old woman said sadly, with resignation.
"I only regret that the Snape family will die out with me. However, after all I have done perhaps it is a good thing - the name doesn't mean that much anymore. And -- I truly regret not leaving you any grandchildren. I am sorry, Mum. You deserved better."
The sad face in the mirror looked at the professor for several moments.
"I am very proud of you, Severus. I couldn't ask for a better son. Please *do* try to come home to us, but if you don't - remember how proud I am and how much I love you."
"I will, Mum. I love you, too. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, darling."
Snape laid the mirror on the desk and bowed to rest his head in his hands. He began to breathe deeply, sounding very much like someone who is trying very hard not to cry. Hermione took that as her cue to silently sneak out. She knew Snape better than most students - including those in Slytherin - and she was positive that comfort wasn't something he would accept at the moment.
Later that evening, at a subdued feast in the Great Hall, Hermione was torn between her friends and the man she had come to consider - what? A mentor? Yes. A friend? Maybe. A potential lover? She blushed, admitting to herself that more than one night's fantasy had starred her dark professor. So, a resounding yes there. A husband? Again, to be honest with herself she had to confess that her hormonal teenage mind had painted him in groom's robes more than once in her dreams. So, a maybe there. A father to her children? 'Yikes, hadn't thought about that had you, Granger,' she mused. She turned to Harry, Ron and the rest of her friends and attempted to join the conversation. An idea had formed, however, and kept turning in her head throughout dinner and the rousing speeches that followed. As she sat, holding Ron's hand and frequently running her hand through Harry's unruly hair in comfort, her eyes kept being drawn to the potions master who sat stoically and without expression. Once, during a speech by Minister Fudge that droned on and on, Snape's gaze turned to the Gryffindor table and he caught her eye. A small nod and a fond gaze were awarded to Hermione.
'If things had been different,' Snape mused as he looked at his assistant. 'I have seldom gotten along so well with anyone, let alone a woman. If I were coming home tomorrow night after the battle - ' He allowed himself a chuckle at the irony that was his life. 'Normally, Snape, you would be berating yourself for having feelings for a student. But, tonight, just indulge in the feelings. Gods, it takes dying for me to learn to feel, I suppose.'
After the final speech, the Great Hall slowly cleared. Everyone seemed reluctant to say good night, knowing what dawn would bring. Only Hermione sped from the Hall after the last applause faded, she headed to the deserted library and straight for the restricted section. Finding exactly the potion she needed she moved operations to the potions classroom and what she had begun to think of as 'her' lab. She could see a light under Snape's office door and knew he was preparing for the next day, so she kept her activities silent. Finally, her potion was complete. Vial in hand, she left her mess on the worktable for later and crossed to Snape's office door and knocked.
"Go away."
"Professor, it's Hermione. I need to see you."
Silence met her words.
"Please."
Hermione heard Snape sigh as he came to answer the door. He opened it and motioned her into his office. She walked to his desk and with a wave of her wand, cleared it.
"Hermione, what are you doing? I am trying to - hell, you're an adult, you might as well know. I'm trying to settle my estate and final papers. I need to get back to work."
He sat down in his desk chair and looked at Hermione with wide eyes as she sat in front of him, on his desk. Silently, Hermione unstoppered the vial of potion, toasted the stunned professor with it and drank it in one gulp - shuddering slightly as an icy tingle shimmered through her body, settling in her groin. She carelessly tossed the empty vial across the room and began to unclasp her robes, all the while never taking her eyes from Snape's face. He sat motionless as the realization of what was happening set in.
"Hermione," he began, gently. "I appreciate what you're attempting to do, but, I -- * we * can't do this. We both need to prepare for the battle tomorrow and I refuse to allow you to lose your virginity to a - well, a pity shag. I've been honest with you about the chances of my survival tomorrow because I consider you an adult, a peer in the battle; but that does not require -"
"I know." Her jumper, shoes and socks joined the vial and robes on the floor. "And I'm not a virgin, Professor."
Snape looked at his favorite, quiet, studious student in shock. She laughed.
"My two best friends are boys, Professor. Do you think we never experimented? Merlin's beard! Get over here and kiss me and shut up for once in your sarcastic, smart assed life."
Snape smirked at her words and threw caution to the wind. He slid his hands across her cheeks to burrow in her hair and hungrily captured her lips with his own. With little fanfare, her skirt was pushed up, their shirts ripped open, her panties torn away and his trousers had fallen to the floor around his ankles. Still frantically kissing, Snape and Hermione fell back onto the desk as he quickly entered her. A few thrusts later, Snape stood so that he could caress her breasts as he roughly slid into her and watch her face as she writhed on his desk. One hand moved to where they were joined and a gentle finger began to circle her most sensitive flesh. Hermione started, looking at him with a passionate and glazed expression for a moment before she came, bucking against him. Snape closed his eyes and quickly followed her, shuddering.
After a moment, Hermione sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as he buried his face in her hair so she could not see the tears that were threatening to fall for the second time that day. Still joined, she shifted to brush his lips with a gentle kiss.
"Severus?"
"Yes, Hermione?" he answered, his breath still coming fast and hot against her lips as they continued to gently kiss. She pulled back from the kiss and looked at him seriously.
"I should tell you, that wasn't contraceptive potion I just drank."
"What?!" Snape stepped back from the desk and stared at her. Suddenly feeling a bit exposed, he pulled up his pants and secured them and attempted to pull his shirt closed, looking rather chagrined when he noticed that the majority of the buttons had been popped off. "Hermione, what are you talking about? I'm * most likely going to die tomorrow, * why would you risk having the baby of a dead man? Stupid little girl."
"I'm not risking having the baby of a dead man," she said. "But I do believe I am having *your* baby, so I'd appreciate it if you made every effort to come home tomorrow night."
He tilted his head and looked at her in shock and confusion.
"Hermione?"
"I took a fertility potion, Severus. I believe it is supposed to cause a tingling sensation after consumption - which continues for either 48 hours or until conception?"
"Yes," he breathed.
"It stopped tingling."
Snape sat down hard in his chair, speechless. * I could get used to this speechless thing,* mused Hermione as she moved to sit on his lap. Snape suddenly grabbed his wand and, pointing it at her abdomen, muttered a charm. The ray of light radiating from the wand as a result first glowed white then turned a bright blue. His wand fell to the floor as he again looked at his favorite student in disbelief.
"Why?"
"To give you something to come home to. To give you something to live for. To give you an heir if you don't make it home tomorrow night. To carry on the Snape family name. To give your mother a grandchild. Because I have fallen in love with you and if I can't have you as a husband and around to be the father of a whole brood of children, I want this. I'm sorry, Professor Snape, but I can't let you go quite so easily."
Snape suddenly leaned forward and kissed Hermione, one hand burying itself in her hair again and the other drifting to her flat stomach for a gentle caress.
"Thank you, Hermione," he whispered against her lips, beginning to gently kiss her again.
Slowly their kisses became more intense and needy and their passion began to build. This time, however, Snape lifted her in his arms and carried her to his quarters and his bed.
"I can't leave the mother of my son with just the memories of a half- clothed, quick shag on a desk, now can I?" he teased. This time, he undressed her completely before removing his own clothes and joining her on the soft, cool sheets. This time, he took the time to explore her body with hands and mouth, reveling at her response and bringing her to climax. This time, when he entered her it wasn't about lust, but a startling, unwavering feeling he was too scared to call love. This time, when they moved together it wasn't rough, but gentle and passionate. This time, as they came, they cried each other's names into the dark and held each other tightly.
Hours passed in quiet talk and much kissing and touching. No plans were made aside from selecting a name for their son. No promises were made. No discussion of the fight ahead was attempted. Too soon, Snape's clock told them it was nearly time for the battle. Snape quickly dressed and moved back to his office to finish up his paperwork as Hermione ran to the kitchens to bring them back a pre-dawn breakfast. When she returned, they sat and quietly ate some fruit and drank their coffee as Snape hastily scribbled out three long parchments and sealed them. As dawn broke, he handed one to Hermione and placed the other two on his desk.
"Hermione, if I don't make it back to you - and the baby, I want you to know that I have provided for you both. My last will and testament is on my desk, along with a letter to my mother. It explains who you are, how we met and lets her know that you are the mother of her only grandchild." Snape moved to pull Hermione into a tight embrace, one hand sliding between them to caress her stomach once again. "She will love you and the baby so much, Hermione. Please let her be a part of his life."
"I will."
"You must protect yourself and our son at all costs today. I need to feel you are safe and sound when I face Voldemort or all our preparations could have been for nothing. Promise me that you'll be careful?" Snape pleaded.
"I will. Severus, you have a promise to make to me, as well. Promise that you won't sacrifice yourself needlessly. Promise you will try to come home to us."
"I will do everything in my power to come home."
"I love you, Severus."
"I love you, too, Hermione. And you, Arthur," he grinned and patted her stomach.
Just then, a house elf appeared to summon them to the Great Hall. The stage was set and the battle was about to begin. Hermione and Severus sat next to each other in the Hall, hand in hand as the final instructions were given out. As the front line began to exit the Hall, Hermione hugged Harry, Ron, Neville and Seamus tightly before returning to her lover's side. Not caring if everyone saw them, they kissed passionately for what felt like an eternity.
It was their last kiss.
Days later, Hermione dragged her tired limbs from the Hospital Wing where she had been assisting Madam Pomfrey with the injured. Severus' bleeding and broken body had thankfully been brought in before she had come down from her position atop Gryffindor Tower, so she had not been forced to watch Pomfrey and Dumbledore's frantic and unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him. By the time she was able to spend a few moments with him, some kind person had closed most of his wounds and dressed him in his Hogwarts dress robes. His newly-awarded Order of Merlin, First Class was resting on his chest.
"Volemort has been defeated, my love" she whispered. "You won and have been redeemed." She sat with him for some time before kissing his cold lips softly and snipping a lock of his hair with shaking hands. The funeral was later that afternoon and Dumbledore, who had handled the final affairs of Snape, Neville Longbottom and Professor Sinistra, had given to Hermione Snape's Order of Merlin at the close of the service.
Now, as the final skirmishes of the battle sputtered to an end, it was finally time to take care of a few things. Dumbledore had informed Mrs. Snape of her son's heroic passing before the journalists from the Daily Prophet had pounced upon her, thankfully. But, as there were still Death Eaters out looking for revenge left at the time of Snape's funeral, it was deemed unwise for the elderly woman to attend or to move the service to the professor's ancestral home. Now it was safe, however, and time to deliver some bittersweet news to the now-childless widow. Hermione tossed a handful of Floo powder into the flames of Snape's living room fireplace and called: "Snape Manor."
"Yes, who is it?" called a woman's voice.
"Mrs. Snape? I am Hermione Granger. I have a letter for you from Severus."
Snape's black eyes looked at Hermione from an old, weathered face. She briefly wondered what Severus would have looked like had he lived to be a grandfather, himself. Finally, the sad black eyes finished their examination of the young woman and she said: "Come on over."
Hermione stepped cautiously through the flames and stopped to stand in front of Professor Snape's mother. After a moment of silence, Hermione took a deep breath and spoke.
"Mrs. Snape, I - I don't quite know where to start. I'm sure Severus explains everything more eloquently than I ever could in this letter," she said, handing the old woman the parchment. "But, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that we lost him. I loved him very much and - we - Severus and I became pregnant the night before he died. It's a boy. I'm very sorry we didn't have time to marry, but -"
Hermione's words were cut short as the small, old woman hurled herself at her. Caught in a hug, Hermione let down the walls that she had erected the morning she saw Severus leave for the battle and began to finally cry. Seeing his mother had brought her full circle and was the comfort she needed - what they both needed, she later realized.
Months later, a black haired boy with brown eyes came into the world. Arthur Severus Snape spent the first year of his life being lovingly passed from mother to grandmother at Snape Manor - before Hermione returned to Hogwarts as the new Muggle Studies professor. Occasionally, Hermione would take the little boy with her as she placed flowers on Severus' grave, near the Forbidden Forrest, before returning to the castle for some vigorous tag or hide and seek. Looking at their healthy and happy boy, she never regretted the night she seduced her professor or the battle that took Severus from her, redeemed his broken spirit, and left the world a safer place for his son.
Anyway, my muse was stuck in the mire of a chapter for "Crimson and Gold" (http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1071373 ) and wouldn't let go of the image of Snape marching into battle and leaving his beloved behind. World War II images kept flashing through my mind - yum, Alan Rickman in uniform - and I couldn't resist.
So enjoy!
Lisa
An Heir for Slytherin
"Mother - Mother, calm down. Mother - Mum. Gods, Mum, don't cry, this is hard enough as it is. *Please.*"
It was the "please" that made Head Girl, Hermione Granger, stop dead in her tracks as she entered the potions classroom that afternoon. She had spent quite a lot of time in the dungeons with Professor Snape over the last few months, preparing for what was hoped to be the final battle with Voldemort. Hundreds, if not thousands, of vials of healing and medicinal potions had been on Hermione's task list that spring.
She had worked side-by-side with the surly potions master for months as he struggled, through trial and error, to create a potion that would end Voldemort's life. The question of how to kill someone who was neither alive nor dead - but possibly immortal - was a difficult one to puzzle out. It had led to deep, animated and spiritual discussions about life, death and the afterlife between the two potion makers in the quiet of the dungeons. After a month or two, Snape had begun to open up to Hermione over their cauldrons - telling her stories about the other professors, his childhood, various potions he had tried, invented or botched to hilarious results. They had, she thought, become friends. Not to mention that she realized exactly how sexy the potions master was behind the voluminous robes and scowl.
The night that he finally hit on the combination of ingredients that could bring Voldemort down had been memorable. Snape had been tense and brooding all evening and when the potion finally turned the neon green that he had projected - he smiled. Hermione had thought, at that moment, she had never seen a more beautiful smile. She realized then, too, that she had come to care about and even love the overgrown, cranky bat she worked with nightly. So, she hugged him in celebration. Surprisingly, he hugged her back and they stood quietly in their lab, in each other's arms for what felt like hours before awkwardly parting.
And now they were going into battle. He on the front lines as a foot soldier and she up to the ramparts of Hogwarts in a defensive mode. She knew he didn't expect to return and assumed that was the source of the rather pleading conversation going on in his office. He had contacted his mother to tell her goodbye. Cautiously, Hermione stepped into the classroom and snuck a glance into his office. He was facing away from the door, holding a silver hand mirror which held the face of a crying, grey-haired woman.
"Sev, if Voldemort knows you are a traitor and you have been spying on him - why on earth would Dumbledore put you on the front lines? You are a target, darling, and there has to be someone else that can -"
"Mum, we've been over this. Voldemort is furious with my defection and I do not believe that a simple curse thrown from 20 feet is going to do it for him. He is a blood-thirsty monster and I believe he will want to kill *me * with his bare hands - wallow in the blood of the traitor, so to speak."
The woman in the mirror gasped at his frank admission.
"I am, therefore, the only one likely to get close enough to administer the poison. We've treated a knife with it and I will need to stab him or slit his throat with it in order for it to work. I will most likely die in the process, but it is the least I can do. I *have * to do this, Mum."
"No, you do NOT, Severus Snape. You are my only child! You have a family and friends who love you. Can't you just put the poison on an arrow and shoot him or something? There has to be another way!"
"We have prepared arrows and Muggle bullets, too, Mum. In case it doesn't work, we needed someone to try to get close and that someone is me. I don't have a wife, I don't have any children and I really have no future to speak of, so the task fell to me." The woman tried to interrupt yet again, but Snape stopped her with a soft confession. "Mother. As a Death Eater, I prepared potions that killed innocent witches, wizards and Muggles. I killed two Aurors when they threatened our stronghold. The only things I can say I didn't do was rape any women or molest any children, and to this day I don't understand why I couldn't bring myself to do it, considering who I was at the time. I was evil. I probably still am, even though I am working for the good guys now. You must let me do this. You must let me go and let me redeem myself."
"I love you, Severus," the old woman said sadly, with resignation.
"I only regret that the Snape family will die out with me. However, after all I have done perhaps it is a good thing - the name doesn't mean that much anymore. And -- I truly regret not leaving you any grandchildren. I am sorry, Mum. You deserved better."
The sad face in the mirror looked at the professor for several moments.
"I am very proud of you, Severus. I couldn't ask for a better son. Please *do* try to come home to us, but if you don't - remember how proud I am and how much I love you."
"I will, Mum. I love you, too. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, darling."
Snape laid the mirror on the desk and bowed to rest his head in his hands. He began to breathe deeply, sounding very much like someone who is trying very hard not to cry. Hermione took that as her cue to silently sneak out. She knew Snape better than most students - including those in Slytherin - and she was positive that comfort wasn't something he would accept at the moment.
Later that evening, at a subdued feast in the Great Hall, Hermione was torn between her friends and the man she had come to consider - what? A mentor? Yes. A friend? Maybe. A potential lover? She blushed, admitting to herself that more than one night's fantasy had starred her dark professor. So, a resounding yes there. A husband? Again, to be honest with herself she had to confess that her hormonal teenage mind had painted him in groom's robes more than once in her dreams. So, a maybe there. A father to her children? 'Yikes, hadn't thought about that had you, Granger,' she mused. She turned to Harry, Ron and the rest of her friends and attempted to join the conversation. An idea had formed, however, and kept turning in her head throughout dinner and the rousing speeches that followed. As she sat, holding Ron's hand and frequently running her hand through Harry's unruly hair in comfort, her eyes kept being drawn to the potions master who sat stoically and without expression. Once, during a speech by Minister Fudge that droned on and on, Snape's gaze turned to the Gryffindor table and he caught her eye. A small nod and a fond gaze were awarded to Hermione.
'If things had been different,' Snape mused as he looked at his assistant. 'I have seldom gotten along so well with anyone, let alone a woman. If I were coming home tomorrow night after the battle - ' He allowed himself a chuckle at the irony that was his life. 'Normally, Snape, you would be berating yourself for having feelings for a student. But, tonight, just indulge in the feelings. Gods, it takes dying for me to learn to feel, I suppose.'
After the final speech, the Great Hall slowly cleared. Everyone seemed reluctant to say good night, knowing what dawn would bring. Only Hermione sped from the Hall after the last applause faded, she headed to the deserted library and straight for the restricted section. Finding exactly the potion she needed she moved operations to the potions classroom and what she had begun to think of as 'her' lab. She could see a light under Snape's office door and knew he was preparing for the next day, so she kept her activities silent. Finally, her potion was complete. Vial in hand, she left her mess on the worktable for later and crossed to Snape's office door and knocked.
"Go away."
"Professor, it's Hermione. I need to see you."
Silence met her words.
"Please."
Hermione heard Snape sigh as he came to answer the door. He opened it and motioned her into his office. She walked to his desk and with a wave of her wand, cleared it.
"Hermione, what are you doing? I am trying to - hell, you're an adult, you might as well know. I'm trying to settle my estate and final papers. I need to get back to work."
He sat down in his desk chair and looked at Hermione with wide eyes as she sat in front of him, on his desk. Silently, Hermione unstoppered the vial of potion, toasted the stunned professor with it and drank it in one gulp - shuddering slightly as an icy tingle shimmered through her body, settling in her groin. She carelessly tossed the empty vial across the room and began to unclasp her robes, all the while never taking her eyes from Snape's face. He sat motionless as the realization of what was happening set in.
"Hermione," he began, gently. "I appreciate what you're attempting to do, but, I -- * we * can't do this. We both need to prepare for the battle tomorrow and I refuse to allow you to lose your virginity to a - well, a pity shag. I've been honest with you about the chances of my survival tomorrow because I consider you an adult, a peer in the battle; but that does not require -"
"I know." Her jumper, shoes and socks joined the vial and robes on the floor. "And I'm not a virgin, Professor."
Snape looked at his favorite, quiet, studious student in shock. She laughed.
"My two best friends are boys, Professor. Do you think we never experimented? Merlin's beard! Get over here and kiss me and shut up for once in your sarcastic, smart assed life."
Snape smirked at her words and threw caution to the wind. He slid his hands across her cheeks to burrow in her hair and hungrily captured her lips with his own. With little fanfare, her skirt was pushed up, their shirts ripped open, her panties torn away and his trousers had fallen to the floor around his ankles. Still frantically kissing, Snape and Hermione fell back onto the desk as he quickly entered her. A few thrusts later, Snape stood so that he could caress her breasts as he roughly slid into her and watch her face as she writhed on his desk. One hand moved to where they were joined and a gentle finger began to circle her most sensitive flesh. Hermione started, looking at him with a passionate and glazed expression for a moment before she came, bucking against him. Snape closed his eyes and quickly followed her, shuddering.
After a moment, Hermione sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as he buried his face in her hair so she could not see the tears that were threatening to fall for the second time that day. Still joined, she shifted to brush his lips with a gentle kiss.
"Severus?"
"Yes, Hermione?" he answered, his breath still coming fast and hot against her lips as they continued to gently kiss. She pulled back from the kiss and looked at him seriously.
"I should tell you, that wasn't contraceptive potion I just drank."
"What?!" Snape stepped back from the desk and stared at her. Suddenly feeling a bit exposed, he pulled up his pants and secured them and attempted to pull his shirt closed, looking rather chagrined when he noticed that the majority of the buttons had been popped off. "Hermione, what are you talking about? I'm * most likely going to die tomorrow, * why would you risk having the baby of a dead man? Stupid little girl."
"I'm not risking having the baby of a dead man," she said. "But I do believe I am having *your* baby, so I'd appreciate it if you made every effort to come home tomorrow night."
He tilted his head and looked at her in shock and confusion.
"Hermione?"
"I took a fertility potion, Severus. I believe it is supposed to cause a tingling sensation after consumption - which continues for either 48 hours or until conception?"
"Yes," he breathed.
"It stopped tingling."
Snape sat down hard in his chair, speechless. * I could get used to this speechless thing,* mused Hermione as she moved to sit on his lap. Snape suddenly grabbed his wand and, pointing it at her abdomen, muttered a charm. The ray of light radiating from the wand as a result first glowed white then turned a bright blue. His wand fell to the floor as he again looked at his favorite student in disbelief.
"Why?"
"To give you something to come home to. To give you something to live for. To give you an heir if you don't make it home tomorrow night. To carry on the Snape family name. To give your mother a grandchild. Because I have fallen in love with you and if I can't have you as a husband and around to be the father of a whole brood of children, I want this. I'm sorry, Professor Snape, but I can't let you go quite so easily."
Snape suddenly leaned forward and kissed Hermione, one hand burying itself in her hair again and the other drifting to her flat stomach for a gentle caress.
"Thank you, Hermione," he whispered against her lips, beginning to gently kiss her again.
Slowly their kisses became more intense and needy and their passion began to build. This time, however, Snape lifted her in his arms and carried her to his quarters and his bed.
"I can't leave the mother of my son with just the memories of a half- clothed, quick shag on a desk, now can I?" he teased. This time, he undressed her completely before removing his own clothes and joining her on the soft, cool sheets. This time, he took the time to explore her body with hands and mouth, reveling at her response and bringing her to climax. This time, when he entered her it wasn't about lust, but a startling, unwavering feeling he was too scared to call love. This time, when they moved together it wasn't rough, but gentle and passionate. This time, as they came, they cried each other's names into the dark and held each other tightly.
Hours passed in quiet talk and much kissing and touching. No plans were made aside from selecting a name for their son. No promises were made. No discussion of the fight ahead was attempted. Too soon, Snape's clock told them it was nearly time for the battle. Snape quickly dressed and moved back to his office to finish up his paperwork as Hermione ran to the kitchens to bring them back a pre-dawn breakfast. When she returned, they sat and quietly ate some fruit and drank their coffee as Snape hastily scribbled out three long parchments and sealed them. As dawn broke, he handed one to Hermione and placed the other two on his desk.
"Hermione, if I don't make it back to you - and the baby, I want you to know that I have provided for you both. My last will and testament is on my desk, along with a letter to my mother. It explains who you are, how we met and lets her know that you are the mother of her only grandchild." Snape moved to pull Hermione into a tight embrace, one hand sliding between them to caress her stomach once again. "She will love you and the baby so much, Hermione. Please let her be a part of his life."
"I will."
"You must protect yourself and our son at all costs today. I need to feel you are safe and sound when I face Voldemort or all our preparations could have been for nothing. Promise me that you'll be careful?" Snape pleaded.
"I will. Severus, you have a promise to make to me, as well. Promise that you won't sacrifice yourself needlessly. Promise you will try to come home to us."
"I will do everything in my power to come home."
"I love you, Severus."
"I love you, too, Hermione. And you, Arthur," he grinned and patted her stomach.
Just then, a house elf appeared to summon them to the Great Hall. The stage was set and the battle was about to begin. Hermione and Severus sat next to each other in the Hall, hand in hand as the final instructions were given out. As the front line began to exit the Hall, Hermione hugged Harry, Ron, Neville and Seamus tightly before returning to her lover's side. Not caring if everyone saw them, they kissed passionately for what felt like an eternity.
It was their last kiss.
Days later, Hermione dragged her tired limbs from the Hospital Wing where she had been assisting Madam Pomfrey with the injured. Severus' bleeding and broken body had thankfully been brought in before she had come down from her position atop Gryffindor Tower, so she had not been forced to watch Pomfrey and Dumbledore's frantic and unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him. By the time she was able to spend a few moments with him, some kind person had closed most of his wounds and dressed him in his Hogwarts dress robes. His newly-awarded Order of Merlin, First Class was resting on his chest.
"Volemort has been defeated, my love" she whispered. "You won and have been redeemed." She sat with him for some time before kissing his cold lips softly and snipping a lock of his hair with shaking hands. The funeral was later that afternoon and Dumbledore, who had handled the final affairs of Snape, Neville Longbottom and Professor Sinistra, had given to Hermione Snape's Order of Merlin at the close of the service.
Now, as the final skirmishes of the battle sputtered to an end, it was finally time to take care of a few things. Dumbledore had informed Mrs. Snape of her son's heroic passing before the journalists from the Daily Prophet had pounced upon her, thankfully. But, as there were still Death Eaters out looking for revenge left at the time of Snape's funeral, it was deemed unwise for the elderly woman to attend or to move the service to the professor's ancestral home. Now it was safe, however, and time to deliver some bittersweet news to the now-childless widow. Hermione tossed a handful of Floo powder into the flames of Snape's living room fireplace and called: "Snape Manor."
"Yes, who is it?" called a woman's voice.
"Mrs. Snape? I am Hermione Granger. I have a letter for you from Severus."
Snape's black eyes looked at Hermione from an old, weathered face. She briefly wondered what Severus would have looked like had he lived to be a grandfather, himself. Finally, the sad black eyes finished their examination of the young woman and she said: "Come on over."
Hermione stepped cautiously through the flames and stopped to stand in front of Professor Snape's mother. After a moment of silence, Hermione took a deep breath and spoke.
"Mrs. Snape, I - I don't quite know where to start. I'm sure Severus explains everything more eloquently than I ever could in this letter," she said, handing the old woman the parchment. "But, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that we lost him. I loved him very much and - we - Severus and I became pregnant the night before he died. It's a boy. I'm very sorry we didn't have time to marry, but -"
Hermione's words were cut short as the small, old woman hurled herself at her. Caught in a hug, Hermione let down the walls that she had erected the morning she saw Severus leave for the battle and began to finally cry. Seeing his mother had brought her full circle and was the comfort she needed - what they both needed, she later realized.
Months later, a black haired boy with brown eyes came into the world. Arthur Severus Snape spent the first year of his life being lovingly passed from mother to grandmother at Snape Manor - before Hermione returned to Hogwarts as the new Muggle Studies professor. Occasionally, Hermione would take the little boy with her as she placed flowers on Severus' grave, near the Forbidden Forrest, before returning to the castle for some vigorous tag or hide and seek. Looking at their healthy and happy boy, she never regretted the night she seduced her professor or the battle that took Severus from her, redeemed his broken spirit, and left the world a safer place for his son.