A/N: So... you know those quotes I promised? Yeah... I didn't put them in here. I've been thinking of this chapter since the evil plotbunny that started this story made it's way into my head, and it's been written in my brain since day two, I just didn't want to change it to add a quote. I'm putting another A/N at the end to explain the challenge I did manage to meet with this chapter, though.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. This story has gotten more reviews by chap 7 than any of my other stories, and it really makes me want to write more. Unfortunately, RL is going to make updating a little difficult for a while, I'm moving sort of quickly because I have to if I want to have a job in a month. My husband already moved, so I've been playing single mommy on top of everything else going on. Once I move and get situated it should be easier for me to update (my new place has wireless internet so no typing on my laptop, then moving it to my desk PC)

Ahem... moving on...


She nervously walked into Hogwarts the next night, sticking to lesser-known corridors and secret passages, even though it added ten minutes to her journey. Finally she found herself knocking on the door to Snape's office.

"Enter," he barked.

She opened the door and walked inside. Snape was sitting at his desk, reading over homework, a small girl copying lines sitting at a tiny desk in the corner.

"You may go," he ordered the girl, who scrambled up, handed in her lines, and scurried out without a word.

"Lines, Severus?" Hermione asked as the door shut behind her.

"She makes Longbottom look talented and graceful," he muttered, not looking up. "I was afraid of her causing more problems than she would be able to fix."

"You know," she nagged, "that is exactly the type of student you should be spending more time..."

He held his hand up for her to stop. "May we please get to the matter at hand?"

She certainly didn't like the phrase 'matter at hand', but she sat in the chair he had indicated, and waited as he cleared his desk of everything but a blank piece of parchment, a quill and ink, and a small, old-looking black box.

"Foremost," he started, studying his hands which lay folded on the desk. "I owe you an apology. I am not proud of how I reacted when you gave me the news, and my avoidance of you since then."

"That's a bit of an understatement," she shot at him.

"I deserve your hostilities, and I do not expect you to forgive me quickly for my actions. But I do want you to know that I am remorseful for what has transpired recently."

She shook her head slightly, eyes lifted towards the ceiling in a half-roll. "Considering your reaction, and your subsequent refusal to have any contact with me, I came to this little meeting prepared." She reached into her large purse and pulled out a manila envelope. She tossed the papers onto the desk between them, knocking the quill to the side.

"I'm assuming these are the papers Potter mentioned yesterday?" he eyed the envelope but made no motions towards it.

"Yes. I'm not going to waste your time if you don't want to see me or our son..."

He took a visibly sharp breath at the word. She paused, but then continued.

"If you don't want to see us anymore, I just need you to sign those, owl them to me, and you'll that will be the end of that."

"Those documents, if I sign them, will terminate any rights I have to my... our son?"

"Legal and magical rights, yes. I covered my bases, Severus. I went to see a Muggle solicitor, as well as a Magical one. If you're going to do this, I want to make sure you're not going to change your mind and try to take him from me in a couple years."

There was a long silence as he stared down the envelope as if it were an enemy. "Is this what you want?"

"I think it would be best..."

"That's not what I asked," he said, finally looking up at her, black eyes studying her face. "I asked if this is what you wanted."

She stared right back at him, taking a few deep breaths as she considered him. "No," she said slowly. "I want him to know his father, because, as much a bastard as you are, you are a hero and he is your son. I think it would be beneficial for him to know you. I just don't want to be those people that shout at each other every time they're in a room together. And our relationship has been genial at best, downright spiteful at worst."

"Genial? It's a little harsh to say that's the most we've been to each other recently."

"I'd consider it an accurate description."

"And what of that night?"

"I won't deny that I had some sexual frustration, I'll assume that you did as well, and all that night was simply relieving ourselves of that frustration. It wasn't the start of anything, it didn't make us anything more or less than what we were before, it just gave us more of a physical knowledge of each other."

"And that fact that you're carrying my child?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not the first woman to carry the child of a man she does not love," she whispered, pretending to study the wood of his desk as casually as possible. How she kept her voice from breaking was beyond her.

He opened the envelope and pulled out the papers. He glanced at each one, where her solicitors had affixed little stick-on arrows where his signature was needed, as if he would just place quill and ink to it without reading. Maybe that's what they were hoping for. I'll charge you loads of gold to draw up some papers, you take them, he signs them, you bring them back, we file them, that's the end of that, no real work on our part. What would they do if he refused to sign the papers? What would they do if he, just from spite, made them earn their fee? That would probably upset Hermione, which was certainly not his goal.

"I'll sign," he said, lifting his quill, then looking into her face. She tried not to betray her emotions, but her features had fallen slightly. "If you tell me that's what you really want."

"What do you want, Severus?" she asked.

"I want you to be comfortable, Hermione, in raising our son to be the best person he can be. Even if that means I must stay away."

"And if I want you to see him? If I want you to take him every so often, raise him, teach him, take care of him. Every other week, every other weekend, once a month, I think we're mature enough adults to be able to talk that out and agree without having to fight or take it to court or all that you'd expect from two people who can't stand to be around each other."

He smiled faintly and looked at the small box. "What would you think if I were to say that I would like to spend as much time as possible with both our son, and with you?"

She looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Slowly he leaned forward, and pushed the box towards her. She took it and opened it. Inside rested a simple golden ring.

"Severus..." her head shot up to look at him in shock.

"It's wrong of me to expect you to shoulder this responsibility alone, and it is my duty as a man to not only provide for you and my son, but to not pass my responsibilities to you, your friends, and your family. Consider this my way of telling you that I would like to be a first-hand part of our son's life, not just the man he goes to visit every other weekend."

She swallowed hard. "Are you asking me to marry you?" she whispered.

"That was the eventual goal of my little speech."

"Wow," she looked down at the ring. "That was certainly not what I was expecting." She didn't want to tell him that she thought it the least-romantic proposal she had ever heard of, though surprisingly not all that surprising for a proposal from Severus Snape. She looked from Snape to the ring, to her stomach. This was the last thing she expected. She had weighed what she thought his reaction would be. She thought most likely he would want to see his son on occasion, once a month, every other weekend at most. Part of her thought that he might take the papers, sign them, shove them back at her and tell her to get out again. But ask her to marry him? Never.

"I... I can't, Severus," she whispered, closing the box and pushing it back towards him.

He looked as if he was not stunned by her refusal, but not saying anything.

Tears were brimming in her eyes. "You are an unimaginable bastard," she sobbed.

"Pardon?"

"You kicked me out when I told you I was carrying your child. You went to great lengths to avoid me for weeks- don't shake your head! It's no coincidence that every time I came to Hogwarts some student told me you had just left. You Flooed out, or flew into the woods like the bat you are, whatever it was you left so you wouldn't have to speak to me. I wrote you daily, you never wrote back, not a single damn word. And do you know what I was thinking about the whole damn time?"

"No," he whispered.

"That I should have seen this coming. That it's my fault for being stupid enough to let you in, to think that any part of you was any different than the man who called me insufferable, who treated my friends so unfairly, who, despite being on the same side as us, could never open his mouth to say a nice word. You always seemed dedicated to what you chose to do, but you didn't choose this, so how could I expect to think of it as anything else but another 'brat' of a student you couldn't stand?"

He opened his mouth to argue, but couldn't find what part of her argument was faulty.

"I don't want you to feel that sort of responsibility towards me. It's no longer the age where if a man gets a woman pregnant a wedding has to happen before the birth. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I haven't given up on the idea that one day I'll meet the man who is perfect for me, who I can fall truly in love with, and who can love me back regardless of my past."

He took a deep breath, face impossible to read. "If you desire not to see me again, I can only say I most likely deserve to be treated as such. However, do not make the mistake of thinking that I would make such an offer solely out of a feeling of obligation. You are a beautiful, intelligent witch that will, without a doubt, make any man you choose to be with happy and honored to be with you."

She studied him for a minute, hand resting on her stomach, mind moving much too quickly for him to be able to tell what she was thinking. She looked at him confidently. "If you want to give this a try, not for the sake of the baby, not because we're about to be parents, not because you feel some sort of obligation or responsibility towards me, but because you want me for me, I'd be willing to go on a date with you. But I want you to think about it for a minute. Make sure that it's because you could see yourself with me, even if I wasn't pregnant with your child. Not forgetting what we did that night, just as if nothing came from it. I want you to think for a minute without the baby crossing into your mind, just me."

He sat back, eyes considering her, mind racing. It didn't take him a minute before he looked at her, sat up straight and muttered, "I would be honored if you would accompany me to dinner the Saturday next. I promise that if either of us find it less than enjoyable I will have no hesitations to discuss a visitation schedule with you, sign paperwork to that effect, and leave you be."

She considered him, then nodded. "Next Saturday, then," she muttered, getting to her feet.

He hurried to the door and held it open for her. She walked to the door, then stood facing him as if she wanted to say something, but the words weren't willing to come. She stared at the buttons on his robes before muttering, "Good night, Severus."

His eyes scanned the hallway behind her quickly before he took one of her hands, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it gently. "Good night, Hermione."

She walked through the castle, debating if she were more confused now or when she had entered.


A/N: The challenge was the 'Proposal Challenge' from Writing2stayhalfsane on HPFC. It's a two part challenge, the first be write a fic where one character proposes to another and is turned down. I hope I did that part well, though the proposal isn't horribly traditional.

Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!