Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, and various other publishers. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Written while listening to Tyler Hilton's – Missing You. I'm not usually one to recommend songs to listen to with stories but it fits, I think, for this story. :)
Hermione looked up at the stars in the night sky, she knew it was completely cliché but she couldn't help but wish on the star that travelled faster than the other, the shooting star. There was only one thing that she wished for now, only one thing that could make her feel complete again. The safe return of her husband was that one thing.
Severus had been gone for little over a month; travelling to different parts of the world to replenish his depleted store of potions ingredients. They both knew that had she not been eight months pregnant she would have vehemently insisted on accompanying him, but as she was he had insisted that she stay and look after herself.
"Severus," she whispered forlornly into the night, caressing her swollen belly.
Hermione had tried to put up a façade of not missing him, but she had failed. Dismally.
"Please come back to me soon, I can't go through this alone. Your son and I need you. I need you to hold me again and to tell me that I'm going to be a good mother. That everything will be okay."
At the start of the month, she had been okay; she could deal with him gone, well that was what she had thought. After all, it was only a month.
Oh, how wrong she'd been.
At the end of the second day she had been just about ready to incinerate the Headmaster's door and demand that he tell her where her husband had travelled to, and how she could get there herself. But, she had managed to resist the temptation ... until the next day. His answer had done little to calm her, and had instead enraged her further as he had organised hourly check ins with various members of staff. She wasn't a baby; she was the one carrying one for god's sake! Still, he had insisted, using Severus to make her complacent in his plans, stating that he would not want her to endanger herself, or their baby. Albus had been right, and had he not organised those check ins she would have gone after Severus, which would most probably endanger their baby. But, how could she just sit in the castle twiddling her thumbs when their bond demanded its mate.
It was at the end of her seventh year, after the fall of the Dark Lord, when they had realised their attraction to one another, and after many horribly awkward dates, they did what they knew best. They talked. They talked about what they wanted from each other, what they would expect and any possible complications they would face, and then they talk about how to remedy them all. After their 'talk' things had drastically improved and they went out on another date, and this time it was perfect. They had gone to Hogwarts' Rose Garden and had spent the afternoon reading and eating. Nothing more. This was something they both had enjoyed doing, and something which they both planned to do again.
After demanding answers from the woman, who was last week banging on their door complaining that all men were idiots, both Harry and Ron had been amazed at the bluntness they had taken with each other, and couldn't readily believe that things were suddenly 'okay' after the tears she had shed over previous dates with their old Professor. But, like any close friends did; they accepted it and the world carried on, oblivious to the new couple's past troubles.
It was after this date in the Rose Garden that they both realised they felt a tugging on their chest when the other was away. After a few more encounters where this occurred they talked about it, curious as to why they both felt what they felt. A meeting with Albus had settled the matter in mere minutes.
"You're soul mates," he had said.
"What," she had whispered, while Severus was quite. Processing what he had just heard, connecting the dots.
"You and Severus were meant to be. The fates determined it long before your birth Hermione, and before Severus's too. Did you ever wonder why you are so compatible with each other? Why you feel as though a part of you is missing when you leave each other? This is why."
"Albus, how can you know for sure?" the normally stoic Potions Master's voice had been clouded with emotion.
"Sybil."
"Sybil? You mean to tell me she prophesied our relationship?" he hissed.
"Yes. Now, shouldn't you two be off, wouldn't want to miss your reservations." He said, his eyes once more sparkling with mischief.
Hermione smiled fondly at the memory; that was the first time Severus had been to an upscale muggle restaurant. They had both had a good time and he had barely complained about the food, a first for him. During the dessert they discussed the implications of their newly recognised 'soul mate' status, both having read a book or two on it in the past, and had come to the solution that the dinners would have to happen more often. And they had. They happened once and sometimes twice a week for a little over a year before she moved in with him, after he insisted that if her personal toiletries were to stay, then she might as well move the rest of her stuff in.
They still went out for their weekly dinners even though they lived together, and it was after one of those dinners which found her in the situation she was in now. They had forgotten the contraception spell in their eagerness to get undressed one night, and the next thing they knew; they had a baby on the way.
"I wouldn't change that night for the world." She had insisted time and time again, to ease his furrowed brow at, what he called, saddling her with a child so early on in her life. Her only reply to his worries had been to laugh and point out that at twenty she was no child, and she could make her own decisions, decisions she'd hoped he'd be a part of in the future.
They had married the next week.
Drawing herself from her memories Hermione spotted a cloaked figure make its way across the dewy Hogwarts grounds. She would know that billowing anywhere; it was Severus.
"Severus," she breathed, when they were in finally in touching distance.
"Mia, my love," he greeted her; his eyes alight with gentleness at the sight of her swollen belly.
They stood in the stony silence, drinking in the sight each other in with their eyes, not daring to touch the other for the fear that the moment wasn't real.
"How was your trip?"
"Mia, you really want to ask me about my trip when the only thing I want to do is kiss you?"
Severus could see a rosy blush creep its way up her neck and rest on her cheeks. He still had the power to make her blush. He had always liked that about her, her ability to blush so easy, and her blush just made him love her more.
"No."
That was the only invitation he needed. With unrestrained impatience, he strode up to her and captured her face in his hands, stroking the soft skin he found under them. "Mia," he whispered, his eyes betraying the nervousness he felt. "I love you."
A lone tear leaked out of her eye; he had said it. He had never said those three little words before, but he had said it. He brushed the salty tear away with the pad of his thumb, and she almost choked on the emotion which threatened to overwhelm her, "I love you too Severus."
Then, they kissed.
This is a little something I've had in draft form on my computer for a while now, and I thought I'd tweak it a little and post it. :)
Tell me what you think? Love it? Hate it? Review it?