Summary: She wondered briefly if she could call it a mistake if she did not regret it one bit. Falling back into love with her school sweetheart, a man that used to bring excitement to her boring life, a man she had used to imagine a future with, it was not a mistake – but maybe betraying their spouses for one night of regrets were? Either way, the baby would be their child. Born of rash decisions and hopeful regret, perhaps, but still theirs. SlytherinHermione.
House of Prince
Chapter 1.
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It was quiet in the living room, only the cackles and sizzles of the fireplace could be heard in their new house. Technically the house was from before her father's time, but she and her husband had recently purchased it in hopes off renovating it at some point, Spinners End was not known for having the best of houses, but it was near a great neighbourhood which was the most important thing.
Severus was sound asleep again, he was easy to handle and nothing like the stress she had imagined a baby to be like. It had been two years since the marriage, and a little over three months since the birth of Severus. Time flies by fast, Eileen had thought to herself watching the young baby. Fuzzy black hair stood out from his pale skin – he had inherited his father's colouring and her features.
The thought of her husband was not a fond one and as she sat in the dark lit living room she tried to figure out where it had all gone wrong. Once she had been a pristine pureblooded witch, highly sought after for her courtship and now all she was, was a housewife who did nothing but clean, cook, look after Severus and wait up for her accountant husband to come home – not by any means an interesting life, nor one she had appointed herself.
Tobias had been her dream come true, he was handsome, caring and clever, and best of all, he had never wanted her because she was the heiress of the house of Prince. They had only known each other for two months when he asked her to marry him, of course she agreed immediately. She broke the news to her father herself, asking him for his blessing on her marriage.
He was angry but most of all disappointed. He refused, and with a last acknowledgement that she was no longer his daughter he left. That night she cried in Tobias' arms until she finally fell asleep.
After they moved in together Eileen had hidden her wand away behind a portrait in the bedroom after casting a few discreet spells repelling any and all muggles from nearing it. It still amused her when Tobias suddenly remembered that he had important matters to attend in the middle of trying to correct the wry picture frame. She did not know if it was the sudden disruption of his thoughts that seemed funny, or if it was the happiness of confirming her own identity as a witch that made the smile come to her lips.
Two years without magic felt longer than it sounded, and she missed it dearly. Doing everything the muggle way had not come to her naturally, but Tobias mother had happily taught her all she knew about cooking, cleaning and general house holding. She could barely remember the magical methods now. It was a cultural shock at first, and now it was second nature – she wondered briefly if muggle life would come natural to her son as well.
Her magical son.
She still had time to find an explanation for Tobias, it would still be a few years before the accidental magic would come around. It would be okay, Tobias had always been a logical being, he would accept Severus when the time came. She knew he would, after all he loved his son even more so than he loved her.
She was prepared for that.
What she however was not prepared for would be her husband's reaction to what should be happy news. She put a hand to her stomach, she had finally resumed her normal weight after birthing Severus, but not before long her tummy would grow yet again. She was pregnant again, she had gone to the muggle doctor for confirmation that day. Everything was well with the baby, though the doctor had expressed some concerns for how close she was between the pregnancies – it could give complications during childbirth, he had told her.
Eileen however was hopeful on that front, and was looking forward to mother another child, and she knew her husband would be ecstatic – her mother-in-law would be a bundle of joy as well.
She felt a little like an outsider in that department, for of course she already loved the baby but there was something that killed off her happiness. She would never tell Tobias, she swore to herself, she would bear the burden for her own mistakes.
She had no plans on telling him either, he had enough in his own family, as far as she knew his wife was heavily pregnant now too – expecting a small baby girl in only a week or less.
She wondered briefly if she could call it a mistake if she did not regret it one bit. Falling back into love with her school sweetheart, a man that used to bring excitement to her boring life, a man she had used to imagine a future with, it was not a mistake – but maybe betraying their spouses for one night of regrets were? Either way, the baby would be their child. Born of rash decisions and hopeful regret, perhaps, but still theirs.
A small cry for attention let her know that Severus was awake and hungry, she gently raised him from his crib, "You will be a terrific older brother, I'm sure of it."
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"How did the doctor's appointment go, darling?" Eileen hung her jacket on the coat stand before a warm smile spread across her face, her hand gently caressing her bulging stomach, the baby had evidently grown the last four months.
She walked towards him where he was seated in the large armchair watching the telly, before pecking him on the lips, taking seat in his lap. "Doctor Johnson is a little worried about her heartbeat and placement, but he told me it wasn't anything serious."
Tobias looked up at her so suddenly that he almost headbutted her, "Her? She's a girl? We're having a girl?" His voice grew excited, and Eileen could almost compare it to that of a kid on Christmas eve.
She smiled widely as Tobias caressed her stomach, "According to the ultrasound, yes."
He pecked her on the lips.
A fondness they had not had in a long while before the pregnancy, had returned to their marriage, and so had their intimacy. Eileen even dared say she loved Tobias more than she ever had before. Their family was moving towards the right direction, all thanks to this tiny baby girl.
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Dinning with her mother in law was always something Eileen took great pleasure in, the woman was the definition of kindness and consideration, "Let me hold Little Sevie! You've grown since grandma last saw you, haven't you?" she cooed as Eileen handed her the baby, the boy was growing bigger and bigger every day, Eileen could hardly understand how fast time went by. "You're such a handsome fellow," Lauren Snape declared, kissing the baby on the nose. "Almost ten months old, time sure passes by quickly."
Eileen could only agree, "Yes, he's growing much too fast in my opinion…"
"You learn to enjoy the fleeting moments, but no matter what, your kids will always be your kids… What of my cute little granddaughter? How's she coming along, I've got at least a dozen sweaters ready for her."
Eileen felt Tobias lay a hand around the small of her back, before he answered his mother, "A little more than a month and a half left, and she'll be out," he declared proudly.
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She was having tea with Lauren when it happened. Her mother-in-law had backed up a table of goodies for both her and Severus to enjoy, the young boy was getting fond of baked goods, particularly his grandmothers speciality cookies. He was not supposed to consume such things at all, but her husband allowed it despite her claims that it was bad for him, she would have to see that that habit disappeared.
Tobias was at work – something about the supervisor having asked specifically for him, his mood had topped the charts of what she knew him capable off after she had announced that there would be an addition for the family, and his great mood contaminated his work morale. The boss had been very, very impressed with the 'new and improved' Tobias Snape.
Severus pulled a lock of her dark hair, gaining her attention, before he pointed toward the cookies at the table, Eileen sighed and decided that if he was that hungry he could eat the fruit bites she had cut for him–
A feeling of wetness spread across her nether regions, her skirt was socked, and for a moment Eileen almost thought she might have peed herself – a sharp tightening pain, however, made her aware that it had far less to do with an accident and far more to do with her unborn baby girl.
It tightened and tightened and tightened, then stopped, then repeated.
"Eileen darling?" Lauren looked at her worriedly, sitting on the other side she had no way to immediately see the younger woman's skirt, "Are you alright sweetheart? Is it another one of those headaches?" she asked when Eileen began to pant, the headaches were painful when she had them, but not quite to this extent – they were caused by magical blockages from not letting out her powers for so long.
Eileen breathed harshly, a short painfilled moan escaped her, "M-My water just broke." She explained desperately, it had not hurt this bad with Severus.
It worried her.
The colour drained from Lauren's face, "The baby's not due to arrive for four weeks… I'll call the ambulance." Eileen breathed heavier, "– And Tobias."
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Eileen had thought she knew the pain of giving birth after having Severus, he was quite a large baby after all, but she had to confess that the newest addition to the Snape family had been of the charts compared to Sevie. She could only guess that this was because her gorgeous little baby girl had caused quite a few complications during the delivery. First and foremost, she had turned inside Eileen and was therefore born the wrong way, but more importantly she was born almost an entire month too early.
Altogether the birth had not been completely horrible, she had had Lauren by her side constantly, encouraging her like only a mother could, all the vile with Severus on her hip, at least until Tobias came running through the door belatedly and took over her position.
Despite Eileen's premature delivery there were little to no complications with her baby, she appeared to be in the best of health. The doctors had declared her a little short of a miracle, four weeks early and only just a little underweight.
December the twelfth was noted down as the baby's birthdate, a few minutes past eight, the girl had taken quite a few hours to birth. Eileen had gotten to see the little angels face only for a moment before she passed out of exhaustion, she had briefly heard the startled cry of her husband before a doctor had ensured him that she was perfectly well – but needed a good bit of rest. When she woke later that night, Lauren was wide awake, Severus was asleep in her lap, and she was seated in the corner of the hospital room in a chair against the wall.
Tobias sat next to her, their little miracle awake in his arms, and Eileen started crying. She was so perfect.
"You're awake," Tobias greeted her, kissing her forehead gently, "do you want to hold her?" He already knew what her answer would be, and gently handed over the blanket wrapped baby.
Eileen's eagerness did not outweigh her gentle, motherly nature, and the baby felt at ease against her mother.
As Eileen exhausted watched her husband adoration evident on his face, she could not help but stare at the little wonder they had created. The girl was nothing short of a miracle – the peachy fuzz atop of her head held the same dark brown colour as her own, and her eyes were an even deeper brown shade than her own.
Eileen was breath taken.
"She looks like a Hermione," Lauren, who had moved her chair closer, Severus now awake, suggested gently.
Eileen had often read Shakespeare with her mother-in-law, and of all the amazing stories A Winter's Tale really was her favourite one, "Hermione Snape…" She tried it out, it sounded off somehow… perhaps because the girl was not truly a Snape? The guilt stung sharply in her chest, but she let nothing show on her face.
The secret wanting of naming her daughter in memory of her mother passed her, Ariadne was a pretty name, was it not?
Ariadne Lauren Prince had a nice ring to it.
"I like it," Tobias agreed with an almost boy-ish grin. A grin she had not seen quite as brilliant since their first kiss, "what do you think, love?"
Hermione Lauren Snape it was.
A plastered on fake smile.
"I love it, darling."
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Despite still not having finished the next chapter of The Future Isn't Set in Stone I decided to upload this little idea I've been messing around with.