So this is a part two for the story Comrades In Arms by Theolyn. Please go read that one first then come back and read mine.
Back? Good. On we go.
I do not own Harry potter, nor Theolyn's ideas and imagination. But how fun would that be?
My plot bunnies are jumping for joy right now. Hopefully you enjoy it! I'll be working on my other story's chapter and have it out soon.
When Hermione awoke she could still feel strong arms around her. Quickly remembering the events that just transpired she took a moment to mourn the loss she felt.
The battle of Hogwarts didn't turn out the way they had planned. Voldemort had found them out before they could move into position. His power over the Ministry of Magic brought the expulsion of all the teachers (now being housed in Azkaban for treason) and the murder of many children who tried to stop the fiasco.
While Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been on the run they heard about the events right as they were happening. Rushing into battle blindly and weeks before they were ready, they were all nearly killed. Spells were being cast every which directions and order members fell left, right, and center. They were outnumbered 50 to 1.
If Hermione was really thinking about it, she could have sworn she saw a flash of light pulling her to Severus; across the battle field like a moth to flame. She didn't know why, but she followed him through the battle, pulling Ron with her. They had lost Harry at some point. When she made it to Snape he was dueling Dear ol' Bellatrix. His cover had obviously been blown.
Jumping into the fray, Hermione hoped to give him an advantage over Bellatrix. She cringed as she remembered the pain that exploded from bell's wand encompassing her body. Vaguely, she recalled seeing Ron leap to her aid and fell quickly at the hand of an unknown death eater. Bella's elation on using the forbidden curse caused her to lapse in her duel with Snape and she quickly joined Ron on the list of casualties.
Numbed by the thought of her friend being dead, Hermione followed Snapes direction to run. And run she did. Her legs ached but she kept running. Running and dogging spells left and right. Snape was brilliant; he would cast a shield every few seconds protecting her from harm. When they reach the outline of trees around the forest he found that he couldn't apparate. Thinking quickly he pulled her to him and began to take to the sky, disillusioning them as he went.
oOOo
She felt their altitude dropping slowly, pulling her back from her memoires.
"Where are we?" She pulled her head away from his robes to glance around. "How long was I asleep?"
"We have just arrived in a state named Kentucky and you have been asleep for nearly 7 hours." He said landing evenly on the ground.
"What do you mean Kentucky? How did you get all the way in the states?" She was shocked.
"I managed to pull enough energy to get us to the Isle of Faroe. It has yet to be taken over by the ministry and I had only heard stories that you could apparate from there if need be. From there I Apparated us to Virginia then flew here; were on the eastern most tip of Kentucky, so it was not very far." He turned to a small cottage and started up the walk way, assessing the rows of flowers at either side as he went.
Hermione took a second to take in her surroundings. Nestled between four large mountains was the valley she seemed to be in. The air was warmer than Scotland but looked strikingly similar, although these mountains were much closer in distance than the ones back home. There didn't appear to be any other houses in this valley; just the cottage, a barn, and a few farm fields.
"Are you coming, Hermione?" He called out to her before stepping into the house, leaving the door open for her to follow.
Inside was a sight to be seen. Hermione would have assumed the house to be empty, but taking a second to accustom herself with all the new information, the walkway did seem well cared for; so obviously someone lived there. A small framed woman dressed in a simple, purple dress untied her apron and pulled Severus into a hug.
"My boy!" She exclaimed in a thick accent Hermione found hard to place. "And you brought a guest." She said pushing him aside to take her in.
"This is Hermione Granger, one of my previous students. Hermione, this is my mother." He said with a flourish of his hand. Well that was quite a shock. His native UK accent was stark contrast to his mothers. While he had dark hair and features, his mother was blond and had a beautiful smile on her loving face.
"It's a pleasure Mrs. Snape." She said for lack of anything else to say.
"I'm sure your starving, come into the kitchen dear and I'll serve you up a plate or two." His mother moved through the sitting room and to the back of the modest house. In the kitchen she was greeted by another cheer filled room and a large table piled up with spring harvest food.
After dishing out the silverware, Mrs. Snape made herself scarce under the pretext of pulling up some water from the well. This gave Severus time to explain exactly what the plan was from here.
"As you can tell, we are at my mother's home In Kentucky. After my father passed away she moved here to escape a marriage law just a week before I was born. I was raised here until I was 3, then she sent me to live with my aunt and uncle for a proper education. They had me call them mum and dad, I was too young to know better." He paused to load his fork with more fresh greens. "I have been coming here every summer since I found out about her when I was 20. This home is unplotable and this valley is can only be found by her and I. Well now you, because I have shown it to you."
"What about that night? What of Harry?" Hermione asked, still so many questions left to answer. She had hardly touched her food in her concentration. It was obvious they were safe, but she was still so fresh from battle. Although she was reluctant to eat, she knew she needed strength and pulled her plate close to her.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I watched Mr. Potter fall right as Mr. Weasly fell. The light has lost. We are safe here and no matter if they torch the earth, they will not find us." He let her digest that harsh bit of information before explaining more about their predicament. "As for that night, we bonded on a magical level. My energy was beyond depleted, we were in mortal danger, and your core connected to mine. By linking our bond I was able to get us to safety. I believe that on some level you realized that and initiated the bonding process."
She stopped mid bite into her potato when he said that part. In some way she knew they had lost the war, and she felt her friends were gone, but she was more surprised to find that she had bonded with Severus.
"Bonded? As in married bonded or just connected bonded? Those two terms are indeed different." She said, feeling a bit ridiculous.
"The only bond I'm aware of that is sealed by sexual intercourse is a marriage bond." Severus said into his plate. "It can't be reversed Hermione. I'm sorry, I thought you knew before and that's why you were so willing."
She was quiet as she processed even more information. "I'm not going to lie. I am a bit confused as to how to react, but for now, let us eat and we'll discuss it on full tummies."
For her last possible day on earth, Hermione had really put herself in a pickle. Leaving wasn't an option; they would find her and kill her on the spot. The same could be said for him. It was clear that they would have everything they needed: fields for crops, water, and shelter. That's the best she could hope for, especially since everyone she loved was likely dead. Having a connection to Severus was only a small price to pay for shelter and protection.
oOOo
Severus's mother was a simple woman. She had her blond hair braided down both sides of her head before working it back into its self into something akin to a bun. Her beautiful blue eyes drew your attention whenever she smiled. It's like she had a natural beauty that just shown from within. Regardless of her age, she didn't look a day over 50. No wrinkles graced her face or body, just as she didn't have any gray hair to be spoken of. Her slender body showed no evidence of malnourishment, but rather gave way to muted, womanly curves. And she hummed almost constantly.
She came through the back door into kitchen after Severus went to explain the situation to her. She looked pleased, so Hermione was put at ease quickly. Turning her attention to the stove she pulled what looked like filled mason jars from a boiling pot.
"Severus tells me that you've bonded." She said to break the silence.
"Yes, Ma'am; I'm still trying to come to terms with it. It happened when we believed we were at deaths door." Hermione barely whispered.
"Call me Ellie dear. You are after all my daughter in-law now." She said flashing Hermione a smile over her shoulder. "That's similar to how Severus's father and I got together. But not nearly as dramatic." A small tint of mirth filtered into her statement.
"If you don't mind me asking, are you a witch?" Hermione asked. She hadn't seen her use any magic at all.
"Yes, I have always been magical. I grew up here with my family, well a mountain ridge over, and then moved to England when I was a teenager. I met Severus's father Theo and got married after he had his accident. I loved that man more than anything in this world. But not all works out how we plan. God has different ideas sometimes." Ellie said with said smile, busying herself with kitchen duties.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Ellie." Hermione said, truly she could understand the pain of loss. Everyone she knew was likely dead. Everyone, she thought.
"Enough of things we can't change." She said with a waving motion, like she was pushing away negative thoughts. "Let me show you around.
"Obviously this is the kitchen, through here we have the living room, and then to the right is my room. You can get to your room through there or from a smaller door in the kitchen. The bathroom is connected to the living room beside the fireplace, and the other door leads to the attic. Severus likes to spend his time up there." She said ending the tour in the room that was to be her room.
It was a small room and housed a full sized bed, dresser, and closet. The only light seemed to come from two windows, even though there was a large light fixture on the ceiling. Dark wood lined the floor throughout the home, adorned with hand weaved rugs in natural colors to match. Everything seemed rustic and very country. Molly Weasly would be thrilled. Pushing the pain of loss that filled her chest away, she sat down on the bed.
"I assume you didn't have time to pack your things before fleeing here. I'll transfigure some of my things for you, until I make a journey out to the store to get fabric to make you something suitable." Ellie offered.
"Thank you so much, Ellie. It is greatly appreciated that you would open your home to me." She said looking down at her knees.
"You're my family now dear. I would do anything for my family and that means you." With another smile she left back to the kitchen to answer a timer's call.
oOOo
Severus made a surprisingly good bed partner and they fell asleep that night to the sound of spring crickets. The next morning was still not awkward, it's like they had known each other as man and wife for their entire lives. Little things like how he woke up before her didn't surprise her; nor did the fact he slightly snored, and they moved in sink together as they turned in their sleep. She was content lying in bed with him, forgetting the world around them.
Unfortunately Ellie had different plans. She would come in every morning and throw open the windows, usually saying something like "Stop sleeping the day away" in an amused tone. Severus would drag himself out of bed and out to the fields for a few hours. Hermione would work away the day helping Ellie with work about the house. She found joy in the simplicity of this new life.
They lived that way until three months later. The spring was giving way to the summer heat when she sat down to lunch only to feel sick. Rushing out the back door she gagged into the small herb garden. Ellie came behind her with a moist cloth and pressed it to the back of her neck, giving her words of comfort while she waited out her sick spell. Like any mother would, Ellie realized the signs of pregnancy before Hermione did herself.
"How long has it been since your last monthly?" She asked helping Hermione to the living room to relax with some water.
"I haven't really thought about it. I figured I was late because of stress." Hermione was a little disbelieving that she could be pregnant. They had not had sexual relations since that night. While they shared small kisses here and there, she was still trying to get to know him before they moved further.
"I got pregnant the night I bonded to Theo." Ellie said crossing to the window, lost in her thoughts about her late husband. "The magic used is so powerful that conception is almost guaranteed."
"What are we going to tell Severus?" Hermione asked. She was still unsure of her place with him. They had taken to each other well, but she hadn't even thought about children or even what he wanted.
"We tell him the truth. Not telling him won't change the fact we'll have a baby to bring up soon." The older woman said. "No time like the present; Severus it is so nice of you to join us."
"Mother, Hermione." He greeted as he made his way to the couch in front of the fire to set next to his wife.
"Severus we have good news. It seems our Hermione here is expecting." Ellie beamed. It'd been such a long time since she had a child running about.
"Expecting what?" Severus asked, seeming to not catch on. But the look on Hermione's face clued him in quite fast and he turned pale as a ghost.
"I'm sorry, I didn't even think about contraception. I didn't even think we'd live past the night." She whispered unsure how he would react.
"Don't be sorry, I didn't think of it either." He said turning to face her. He brought his hands up to her face and gave her a soft kiss. "I would have liked to have waited, but I am glad none the less."
Hermione let out the breath she was holding in. Maybe for her last day on Earth, she made a spectacular transition to this new world. While she still thought about England and the war, she was happy to live in peace; the kind of peace where her only worry was what to put on the table for dinner or what book to read next.
End part two
Let me know if you liked it. I have ideas for a part three, but we will have to see about feedback. That means review. Kaythxbye