A/N: PLOT BUNNY STRIKES AGAIN. Would you believe me if I told you that this one bounded out of my head when I was washing the dishes? My mind works in weird ways my friends… VERY AU. IS NOT HBP OR DH COMPLIANT.
Plot: After leaving school at the end of fifth year, Hermione comes back at the beginning of seventh year and has a little bundle with her. Trouble is, nobody knows who the father of little Aria Granger is, and Hermione is certainly not telling.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. . Except Aria, of course. She's mine. MINE I TELL YOU!
Chapter One: Hermione Returns.
She had considered not returning to Hogwarts, but after debating with herself and her parents, she had decided to come back. It felt odd to be back on Platform 9 3/4 again, flurries of pre-teens and adolescents surrounding her and she dragged her trunk behind her. Crookshanks was trotting along happily beside her feet, occasionally rubbing against her calves. She had a large bag slung over her shoulder, and a cooing 7-month-old baby girl in her arms.
She knew people were staring at her, but she didn't care. She stepped into the train and dragged the trunk down the carriage until she found an empty compartment. After putting the trunk in the compartment, Hermione stepped out to the door and waved to her parents, who were looking a little teary. She couldn't blame them; this time it wasn't just their daughter leaving, but their granddaughter too.
Aria herself was a pretty little thing. A head full of curly black hair, the palest of skin and chocolate eyes. Her cheeks held a red tinge on them, her lips able to make the cutest of smiles, and her own tiny nose. Seven months old and she was crawling around and gargling nonsense, and had a habit of chewing on her mother's hair when it wasn't tied back.
Hermione sat down in the compartment, resting Aria on her knee. Harry and Ron would arrive soon, Ginny, Neville and Luna in tow more than likely. Having missed the entirety of her sixth year, Hermione had only seen her friends a few times since the end of fifth year – normally during the term breaks. She had seen them at Hogwarts twice during what should have been her sixth year, when visiting Madame Pomfrey for her check-ups and Aria's health-checks. Normally the matron came to her home once a month, but she went to Hogwarts instead on a couple of occasions.
She'd visited the Burrow for Easter with Aria, and Molly had only been too delighted to help looking after the then two month old girl. Ginny had coddled over Aria as if she was a niece, and all of the Weasley's had happily taken over the care of her during the holiday. Ron had been a bit reluctant at first, no doubt due to his fear of children under eleven, but even he had eventually come to adore Aria.
She looked up as the door slid open, Harry, Ron and Ginny all piling in, and smiled, "Look who's here, Aria." The baby's eyes latched onto the figures and she started to clap her tiny hands. Hermione had noticed that she did it when she was excited or happy, and always felt lighter in heart when she heard her daughter clapping.
"Hey, Hermione, back to school at last, eh?" Harry said as he reached out to take Aria into his arms.
"Finally. I've been so busy whilst not at Hogwarts, the first few weeks will be a good time to relax." At the grimaces that were being shot her way she rolled her eyes, "It will be. I've had to catch up on all my sixth year work in four months, I'll remind you. Plus I had to go to work at that Muggle clothing store until a few weeks ago, when I finally quit. And you would not believe the amount of arguments I have got into with my parents about deciding to bring Aria with me. Oh, and I've had to keep in contact with Professor Dumbledore to make sure that Aria will be taken care of when I'm in classes, and I've had to apply for Wizarding benefits, since I'm neither in a relationship nor am I working – but I got granted Child Benefits so that worked out okay. Plus I had to go to Diagon Alley three days ago to get all of my new school things – uniforms never seemed so expensive before, I was half tempted to just Transfigure some of my old ones, really."
The three other occupants exchanged glances when Ginny whistled low and directed her words to Aria, "Your mummy's a busy bee ain't she, Ria?" she quickly took the little girl from Harry and enveloped her in her arms, cuddling her close. To say that Aria liked the attention would have been an understatement – when her hands weren't clapping, she was giggling.
Hermione smiled fondly, then spoke up again, "So what have you been up to this long, not-so-hot summer? Letters only tell me so much."
-o-
Severus Snape glowered as he sat at the Head Table along with the rest of the staff. The students were back, missing one year of magical catastrophes, only to bring in another, younger set with them. First years were the worst. He had decided that during his third year of teaching, and had never gone back on that declaration. Yes, they were willing to learn – at first, but even so, their magic was tenuous at best, and most of the exploded cauldrons in his classroom could be attributed to that particular year.
Hermione Granger had returned this year. Dumbledore had thought it prudent to announce it at the Staff Meeting barely three weeks ago, giving the staff barely any time to figure out what to do with her. She was brilliant, yes, but now she had a seven month old child, and all of the staff were at a loss of how to handle that. Students had been in the school with children of their own before, but the last time it had happened was over ten years ago, and it was a memory Severus tried to forget. He barely tolerated the children who attended the school as students, the babies they spawned were even worse in his opinion.
He spotted Granger at Gryffindor table, wedged between Potter and Weasley, baby in arms. He frowned at the sight. The girl was too young – still only seventeen. She'd tied her hair into a plait, making it impossible for the babe to pull on it, and was conversing with her comrades with a grin on her face, bouncing the child on her lap every now and again.
He looked over to the Slytherin table, frowning at the sly glances many of the sixth and seventh years were throwing her way. Of course, he knew most of them were more than likely just curious or shocked that miss-goody-two-shoes had arrived at school holding a baby, but he'd be a fool not to suspect that any number of his students were plotting ways to use this information against the girl.
"Severus, my boy, ready for the new year?" Albus was looking at him with a twinkle in his eye.
"Classes full of dunderheads and idiots, how on Earth could I not be?" Severus responded, voice practically dripping with sarcasm.
"Ah, good to hear it." Albus smiled at the Potions Master, knowingly raising the level of agitation in the man.
Severus glowered at the headmaster before saying calmly, "I would have thought Miss Granger would keep her child away from the other students."
"Oh, she will, parring Dinner." The headmaster shook his head at the Potions Master, "The whole school already knows of little Aria – the rumour mills were working on overdrive last year as I'm sure you remember. Miss Granger thought there would be no point in hiding her child away. Indeed, if her scores for last year are anything to go by, she is fully capable of protecting her."
Severus raised a brow, "Indeed."
It was true, the girl had somehow managed to scrape top scores last year, never mind the fact that she hadn't even stepped foot into the school more than three times in the entire academic year. No doubt if anyone threatened her youngling then they would be at the mercy of a formidable witch.
-o-
Hermione looked around her new quarters in awe. The living area was gorgeous, cream walls and carpet with light brown furniture – a large sofa and two armchairs, a coffee table, and an enormous bookcase. In front there was a large hearth, already blazing with a warm fire. Behind the living section was a large oak table with four dining chairs, and against the back wall there was a kitchenette situated.
There were two walls set into the left wall and one in the right – the left opened into one master bedroom with wine and ivory as the colour scheme, and a darling nursery, cream the main colour scheme with lilac and rose as the accentuating colours of the furniture – there was a rose coloured crib and toy box, as well as a small lilac bookcase and chest of drawers. The door set in the right wall led into a small bathroom. She was glad, actually. A small bathroom was a thousand times better than having one like the Prefects one – goodness, it was like a swimming pool. This one was quaint, with a large bath, yes, but not large enough to mistake for a small pool. A shower cubicle stood next to the bath, opaque glass obscuring the view of inside. Across from the bath and shower was the toilet and sink, and all over the wall were dancing, shimmering silver flowers.
Honestly, Hermione couldn't believe how much effort had been put into her quarters.
At the sound of Aria yawning against her shoulder, Hermione smiled and dropped her baby bag on the sofa, "I think it's time for you to go to bed, sweetie." She quickly changed the girl out of her white and pink dress, nappy and into a cream baby grow. The girl giggled as she pulled at a stray curl of Hermione's hair, causing her mother to wince slightly, and even as the hair was pulled from her fingers the baby clapped her hands. Hermione stood up then, resting Aria's form against her chest and took her to the nursery. Her breathe was still taken away by the sheer beauty of the room, and she smiled down at the infant who fell swiftly asleep in the cot, soft blanket tucked around her. Leaving one of the sconces on the wall still lit, Hermione left for the living room, and after kicking off her shoes and leaning back into the comfortable sofa, she sighed in contented bliss.
Peace at last.
People had stared at her throughout the entire Welcoming Feast – though honestly, she wasn't surprised. She was the first unmarried teenage mother to attend the school in over a decade, and Pureblood ways died hard – having children before marriage was simply unthinkable for the majority of the students at the school. Even the Weasley's had been horrified to know that she was pregnant before marriage, but that had quickly turned into sympathy for being taken advantage of – something which Hermione had scoffed at and simply told the elder Weasley's the truth of the situation, that she was a Virgin Mother.
Virgin Mother, goodness it makes me sound like the Holy Mother. At least I didn't tell everyone I was touched by God. She snorted silently at that.
It was sad really, she was eighteen in two weeks and had a seven-month old, yet had never even had sex. Merlin, it made her feel so backwards. Ginny had already done it by the time she turned seventeen – no need to guess who with –, and no doubt her brother had done the same with Lavender. If she really wanted to be cynical, she could probably bet on the fact that she was the only virgin in Seventh Year – but she wasn't being cynical. She was relaxing in front of a warm fire, letting her muscles relax a little before she had to make Aria's milk bottles ready for tomorrow when she'd have to leave her baby girl with her teacher's for almost a whole day.
The thought terrified her, having only ever left Aria alone with her parents before whilst she went to work in the shop, and even then her mum had brought her to the shop to see her if she had a long day. Aria knew none of the teachers, and Hermione was horrified at the thought that she might use accidental magic to Apparate to her as she had done before when she was four months old, having visited the Weasley's just as Summer had started – her parents had been frantic when she returned home less than five minutes later through the Floo, her mum had almost been hysterical with worry –, or start making small objects hit people. Aria….Aria was so special. Never had Hermione heard of another child showing magic at under a year old, not unless they were Virgin Born like Aria was.
Virgin Born; well that was a funny thing in itself, really. A very rare occurrence that happened once every few hundred years, in which the mother was a virgin when becoming pregnant. Merlin, Hermione still remembered the day she found out that she was pregnant.
Pain. Oh God, it hurts. It slashed at her chest in pulses that copied her heartbeat, and it was all she could do to just force herself to breathe.
She was laying on a bed in the Infirmary, Madame Pomfrey having cleaned and bound her wound as best as she could with magic, then binding it in muggle bandages to stem the blood flow. She'd said that she would be back after checking on the rest of the troupe she had been a part of. Merlin, it was so stupid. I knew that something was wrong, thqt something was off, but I went with Harry anyway – and now Sirius is dead. As she stared at the ceiling through a haze of pain and guilt she bit back the tears she knew were threatening to fall. It wasn't even for herself that she cried for, it was Harry. No doubt he was devastated, losing one of the only people in his life that connected him to his parents.
A sudden rise of bile in her throat made her groan. No, please not now. But still it rose, and a moment later she was bent over the side of the bed, no energy to do anything else, coughing up what was left of the inside of her stomach onto the tiled floor and almost screaming with the pain that hit her chest like a train. Madame Pomfrey appeared within seconds, and Hermione began apologizing profusely through the near-screams she was wheezing out. Her wound had re-opened she knew, she could feel it. Oh Merlin, please make it stop!
"Oh, hush child, no need to apologize for anything. I've seen children with Spattergroit and Dragons Pox, a little sick harms nobody." With a wave of her wand, the Medi-Witch had quickly Vanished the vomit from sight and helped Hermione to lay back down on the bad, careful not to overtax he chest. She tutted at the blood that was visible through the bandages, "We'll need to change the bandages Miss Granger." Hermione had barely managed a weak nod, and the Medi-Witch was back to work, stripping the sodden bandages from her chest, cleaning and sterilizing the wound and dropping a few drops of Dittany over it, and rebinding it in more bandages – thicker ones this time. She forced down a Blood-Replenishing potion and a mild Pain-reliever – a strong one would have serious consequences for Hermione when her body was in such a state.
At last, the matron leaned back from her patient, and after casting a Silencio around the area they were in she turned to her. Her face was now showing an inkling of the worry she was no doubt feeling, and Hermione felt her blood run cold, "Madame Pomfrey?"
"Miss Granger, I have to ask you. Have you been sexually active in the past two months?"
Hermione snorted, "Were I that lucky. Nobody looks at the bookworms Madame Pomfrey, hence why I'm still a virgin." She winced at the pain talking had caused her and took a steadying breath, "Why?"
The Medi-Witch's face had become unreadable then, "Miss Granger, you are seven weeks pregnant."
"What? What, no, no that's…that's impossible, surely? Maybe you just – misdiagnosed me."
"I'm afraid I did not. Miss Granger, I know this is a scary thing to have to deal with, but claiming virginity isn't going to make the problem go away. If you tell me whom the father is, I will keep it confidential, strictly patient-doctor."
"But I'm telling the truth! I've never had sex in my life – I'm as celibate as it gets!" she could feel her heart beating faster and faster, "You can bloody well check if you want to, I'm a virgin! I can't be pregnant. No matter how much I want a baby, I can't be pregnant – not yet, please Merlin, not yet. I can't – I promised myself not until the war is over – Madame Pomfrey, please you've made a mistake!" she was running herself into a full-blown panic attack, tears streaming down her face in a most undignified manner, and reaching for her wand to do the scan herself.
"Miss Granger – Miss Granger please, calm yourself – Miss Granger!" finally, the matron had grabbed Hermione by her shoulders and forced her to remain still, "You will re-open your wound if you do not stop acting like a hysterical child." Before Hermione could even speak her protests Poppy had raised a hand, "If you want me to, I will perform a spell that will indicate the existence of a child."
"I – yes, please. Thank you." She could barely even say it above a whisper, her hysterics of only a moment ago having strained her voice.
Poppy stood and waved her wand over Hermione's bare mid-riff, and after a moment, a small white glow emitted from the tip of her wand – much like a Lumos, but softer. She looked Hermione in the eyes, "You are going to be a mother, Miss Granger."
A sob had escaped her then, and a smile, "I'm going to be a mum…" had she not been in so much pain she would have laughed at the world. But something wasn't making sense – not at all, "Madame Pomfrey…how?"
Poppy rubbed her forehead, "I…believe you are something that we in the Wizarding community call a Virgin Mother."
"What, like the Virgin Mary?"
"Precisely like her. The Virgin Mother is a woman whose need for a child of her own is so strong that it can cause almost physical pain. Miss Granger, you have to realise that this…this is so very rare. There is less than one case a century. What we know of the Virgin Mother's is that the extreme need to have a child is recognised by their magic and it takes your DNA and the DNA of another person – be it male or female – whom you have had physical contact with and also has the same, strong need, and creates within the Virgin Mother an infant." Before Hermione could ask any questions Poppy raised her hands, "Bear in mind that this is mostly speculative, and has been something that Medi-Witches and Medi-Wizards have been trying to figure out since the first recorded Virgin Mother – around four hundred years before the birth of Jesus."
"You used the word DNA. I didn't think the Wizarding community knew about Muggle science."
"A part of studying in Medi-wizardry is to understand both Wizarding and Muggle sciences, in case a Muggle were to ever get a Wizarding disease or vice versa. I must say, Muggles do have a very good idea about the world they live in – if not a bit rudimentary. A few years, I think, and they'll be creating their own kinds of magic."
Hermione had begun to trace fingers over stomach lightly, "Can you tell me who the father – or other mother – is?"
Poppy shook her head, "Not this early in the pregnancy, the infant would be too small for the charm to properly work. I can use it to find out small details about the other parent – gender, hair colour, possibly skin colour."
A breathe of relief escaped her lips, "Please."
A few moments later and Hermione had a list in her head of possible suspects. Male, black hair, Caucasian. It put Harry in the list, Blaise Zabini – even Professor Snape. Merlin, it was daunting to think about the list of her child's possible father's. "I don't want anyone to know." She had told Poppy firmly as she downed a healing potion to help with her chest wound.
"I won't tell anyone, Miss Granger."
"No, I mean I don't want anyone to know. Not even the people at St. Mungo's." she bit her lip through nervous habit, "If…if it would be alright with you, I'd ask that you help me through this. I can't risk anyone else knowing exactly what kind of pregnancy this is, and I trust you, Madame Pomfrey."
"Oh, of course my dear. I'd be honoured."
Hermione sighed in relief, "Thank you."
Poppy had left Hermione to her thoughts then, and after a while she returned with some Dreamless Sleep, letting her fall into quiet sleep.
The entire ordeal had scared her witless from telling anyone except her closest friends about the situation – and professor Dumbledore. Though, that was more out of a need to prove her innocence of any frivolous activities. Cracking her neck, Hermione set to work on getting the bottles ready for the day ahead, then retired to bed herself, checking on her daughter beforehand as she always did. A kiss on her tiny forehead and an alerting charm to wake her if Aria needed anything and Hermione finally felt it was safe enough to slip into dreams.
A/N2: I hope you liked this first chapter! This is my first try at SSHG, and I hope I'm going to live up to the shadows of the many amazing SSHG fanfics out there! Please review, so that I know what I'm doing wrong or right :) Thanks for reading!