In the fifth book, several prophesy orbs were destroyed, so for my story, I show that the remaining orbs are now kept in a smaller room. I try to stay as close to J.K. Rowling's description of the wizardry world; however, I sometimes feel the need to use my imagination and make things up. I imagine that even wizardry buildings require duct vents. I believe this is Hermione's third visiting the Ministry. The first time was when they went to save Sirius and the second was when Harry, Ron and Hermione went to get the Horcrux necklace from Umbridge; just wanted to put that out there. Also, I feel that Snape would struggle with blindly trusting people, since he has a history of being used by other people to get what they want; which is why I portray him as having trust issues, even with Hermione.


Snape awoke and was alarmed to see that Hermione was no longer sleeping next to him. He saw that the time was two p.m. and realized she must be downstairs. He climbed out of bed and stretched his back muscles. He couldn't understand why his back muscles ached a little, but then remembered the pounding Hermione had begged for and felt the slight pain was worth it. Her dad was right; he'd have to build up his muscles. He was going to have a young wife and she would only want more of what he gave her earlier this morning.

He caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror and couldn't believe the silly grin on his face. He tried to replace it with his normally stern look and failed...he was just too happy this morning.

He showered, put on a pair of dark colored jeans and a gray T-shirt. He located his sneakers and ran a comb through his hair. He used his wand to shave his face and dry his hair. He had to agree, his hair did look better without so much conditioner in it.

He fairly danced down the stairs and came to a halt when he saw her father sitting in the Living Room armchair, reading a newspaper.

Seeing his look of confusion, her dad said, "its Saturday, boy, some Muggles, get to stay home on Saturdays."

Snape rolled his eyes. Her dad had this annoying habit of calling him, 'boy,' even though Snape was roughly the same age as Hermione's mom. Which, when he thought of it, meant her dad was old enough to be his dad too? He smiled at the thought, and then realized that her dad was still looking at him.

He sat on the couch and picked up a portion of the paper that her dad was finished with and began reading. He thought about asking where Hermione was, but he didn't want to seem too anxious to see her. He wasn't sure if she wanted her parents to know that they had taken another step in their relationship.

He was staring off into space when her father looked up and shook his head. For the life of him, he didn't know what his daughter saw in this man. He was obviously book smart, but not much else. His wife had described Snape as ruggedly handsome, as they were getting ready for bed last night...but he just didn't see it. The man was way too pale, had a hooked nose and jet-black hair...he looked at him again and wondered if that meant his grandchildren would have black hair.

"Think maybe you should consider getting a haircut, today, son? Hair's getting kind of long..."

"He'd better not!" He heard Hermione yell from the kitchen, "I like it just the way it is."

Snape calmly stood up, replaced the newspaper on the coffee table and headed towards the kitchen. He didn't want to seem too eager. He pushed open the kitchen door and took in the lovely sight of Hermione leaning against the kitchen counter. Her hair was pinned back and she was wearing a light-colored blue sweater, a pair of light-colored jeans and white tennis shoes. She set down the cup she was holding and crossed the room towards him. He stood looking down at her lovely face, feeling like he was the luckiest man in the world. He realized her mom was sitting at the table watching them so he reached out intending to just give her a hug...Hermione had other ideas. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled his head down to hers and began kissing him passionately. Throwing caution to the wind, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her, holding her against him, her feet off the ground, as he passionately returned her kiss. She wrapped one of her legs around him and he suddenly came to his senses. He set her back down on the floor and gently peeled her off of him. He cleared his throat and when Hermione opened her eyes, and nodded in her Mother's direction.

Hermione laughed as her mother said, "Don't mind me. I'm just glad you two have finally realized you belong together. It beats seeing you both just mope around."

Snape couldn't help but narrow his eyes at her…he didn't mope. He took a seat at the table and Hermione placed some scones in front of him. He buttered a scone and had just taken a bite when Hermione's mom announced that she planned on taking Hermione shopping.

"You're welcome to come along, Severus." She said over her cup of tea.

Hermione's father had just entered the kitchen and joined them at the table. Snape pushed the plate of scones over to him. He took one and said, "wouldn't be a bad idea, son, Hermione could get you some decent clothes to be seen in."

Snape looked down at what he was wearing and thought he looked fine. Hermione made a huffing noise at her father which gave Snape the impression that she thought he looked fine, as well.

"I can afford my own clothes, Sir…I inherited the Prince fortune when my Mother passed. Just because I didn't bring a lot of clothes with me, doesn't mean I don't have nice clothes or the money to buy them. I have plenty of money and intend on providing your daughter with the lifestyle she is accustomed to."

"Are you asking me for my daughter's hand, Professor?" Her father asked him point blank. Hermione sat up in her chair, ready to intervene, but her mother reached out and placed her hand over Hermione's.

"Yes, Sir. I've come to realize that I love your daughter and with your blessing, I promise to be the best husband I know how to be."

Snape looked her father in the eye. He felt his heart beating out of his chest, but he forced himself to maintain control. He had looked death in the face many times, and yet Hermione's father made him nervous.

Hermione's father stared back at him. "Son, I'm surprised you're even asking. These days, young people have forgotten the proper way of doing things. Of course…I always figured she'd marry that Potter boy, although, the fact that he seems to be afraid of me might have something to do with that never happening."

Snape cringed inside at the thought of Hermione marrying Harry. He was not going to lose another love to a Potter. "If that happened, sir, I would feel it necessary to fight Potter or any other man…to the death, if necessary...for the honor of marrying her." He smiled at the thought of fighting Mike, but quickly wiped the smile off his face, for fear that her father would think him sadistic.

"That's what I like to hear." Her father said while offering Snape a firm handshake. "As long as my daughter is willing to marry you, I give you my blessing. Of course the wedding may have to be sooner than later."

Snape stared at her father, wondering what he referring to and was shocked to hear him say, "It's been almost three weeks and I haven't heard Mione complaining about her cramps or asking her mom to bring home female products from the store." Snape could only stare of him, wondering where he was going with this. "The one time you had sexual relations, I think you put it…you used protection, right? Wizards, Warlocks or whatever you call yourselves still need protection to keep from getting a woman pregnant, right? Surely you weren't expecting my daughter, who I'm sure was still a virgin…up until that time…to think about pregnancy prevention."

"Oh my god, Dad! There are lots of reason's a woman's cycle can be late."

Snape whipped around and looked at Hermione…shit, she never mentioned being late. His breathing quickened and he could feel the color draining from his face. Part of him couldn't believe they were sitting at the kitchen table having this discussion and the other part couldn't believe she wouldn't think to mention that her period was late.

"Yes, honey," Her mother agreed quickly, "I'm sure it's just the stress of everything going on. When did you have your last cycle?"

Snape leaned his head into his hands; he couldn't believe they were having this conversation. It had never occurred to him that she wasn't on birth control. He thought of all the times he had came inside her just since yesterday, not counting in the Chamber of Secrets.

Snape moaned softly when he realized Hermione was having trouble remembering the last time she had her cycle. She knew it was right before they were locked together in the chamber, which he was remembering had actually been a trick. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. "You locked us in the chamber…that had all been part of your plan. Was getting pregnant part of the plan too?

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "You're on to me, Severus. I saved your life and rigged the Horcrux to make you have sex with me. It was all a grand scheme to get pregnant and force you into marrying me…because you could never marry me for love, right?"

She shook her head at him, still shocked that he would suggest such a thing. Angry tears began sliding down her face. "Don't worry, Professor…there is no plan to force you to marry me. You are free to marry whomever you please." She stood up and quickly left the room.

Hermione's mom jumped up and ran after her. "Hermione, you don't even know if you're pregnant, you could just be late…" Her voice faded away as they got out of range.

Snape was frozen to the spot. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

Her father shook his head in disbelief at Snape. "Son, I've seen the way she looks at you. How could you even think she would stoop to something so low? A baby is a big responsibility that Mione would not take so lightly."

"What if she is? What if she is pregnant? It would change everything."

"If I'm not mistaken, the Ministry expects couples to marry and start having babies right away; you'd just be one step ahead of them. This would have to happen sooner or later."

"In all honesty, Sir, I'd prefer much later..."

Snape heard the roar of the fireplace and realized someone had activated the floo network. He raced into the Living Room in time to see Hermione down on her knees in front of the fireplace talking to the image of Harry's head in the fire.

"Another one was taken and they still don't know how?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

"No, Mione…we just can't put our finger on it. I just can't help but feel that if you were here, you would be able to…" Harry was speaking, but stopped when he saw Professor Snape.

"That does it Harry," Hermione replied, "I'll pack an overnight bag and floo over. I'm willing to assist in any way I can."

"What about Professor Snape?" Harry asked as he saw the Professor step closer to Hermione.

"He will be safe here…I don't want him to feel obligated to help me in any way." She stood to turn away from the fire and was slightly surprised to see him standing there. She narrowed her eyes at him, before brushing past him, and ran up the stairs to her room.

"Is it dangerous, Harry? I don't want Hermione anywhere near there if it is."

"No, there are enough Aurors here to keep her safe, just not enough to keep…. Maybe you should come too Professor. Your insight could be of great use."

"Thanks, Harry, I'll grab a few items and floo over with Hermione. I'll feel better if I can keep an eye on her." He turned and ran past her father up the stairs to his room and threw a few items in his bag. He planned on being back downstairs before Hermione, so she didn't have the chance to leave him."

Hermione packed her clothes quickly, along with a sleeping bag inside her expandable bag. If necessary, she would sleep on the floor to catch whoever was responsible. She felt a thrill of excitement when she thought of going on another adventure with Harry. She grabbed her bag and raced downstairs. She was momentarily peeved to see Snape waiting there for her with an overnight bag as well. He looked at her with determination, daring her to argue with his accompanying her. She shook her head in disbelief.

"I see you've decided to accompany me, Severus, it's not really necessary. I'm just going to pop over there and see if I can find something they missed."

"I'd feel better popping over there with you," he said with a slight sneer, "since you are carrying my child, I have the right to ensure your safety."

"I'm barely late, if at all. You are making way too big a deal out of this. If you are having second thoughts about marrying me, then baby or no baby" she fought back the tears that gathered in her eyes, "I release you from any promise you or I made."

Snape dropped his bag and pulled Hermione into his arms, "I'm an idiot, Hermione. I should have never accused you of trapping me. Please forgive me, I love you very much and baby or no baby, I still want to marry you."

Hermione laid her head against his chest and wondered who she fought with more, Severus or Ron.

They arrived via the Floo Network in the Ministry entrance. The large hallway, filled with fireplaces for Floo travel was just as she remembered it; however, it was strangely quiet. When she had been here last, this place had been bustling with commuters coming into work. Of course they had come to steal the Horcrux necklace from Dolores Umbridge. Hermione shuddered when she thought of that horrible woman.

Harry was waiting for them and after giving Hermione a quick hug and shaking Snape's hand, he led them down the corridors that Hermione knew led to the room that held the prophesy orbs. Snape walked ahead with Harry and Hermione tagged along behind as Harry filled them in on the way. Snape was surprised to hear that his own prophesy was the one that was originally taken. He looked back at Hermione, wondering why she hadn't told him. It made sense to him now, and he realized that was why she was upset the day before. Outside the Club, Harry had told her of the theft. Still...she could have told him. She refused to look him in the eye, choosing instead to look for anything out of the ordinary in the corridors along the way. She noticed what appeared to be air ducts on the wall up near the ceiling and how they were evenly spaced. There were Aurors milling about in the hallway as they got closer to the chamber.

They entered the large chamber and Snape looked around, surprised that the room held so many prophesies. Hermione observed that the room, although still quite large, it was smaller than the original room. She briefly wondered how many prophesies were destroyed the night they came to save Sirius. They had been chased by Death Eaters and barely escaped with their lives.

Hermione came back to the present, when she realized both men were looking at her. "Sorry Harry, seems like it was only yesterday that we were running through here trying to escape the Death Eaters."

Harry reached out and squeezed her hand. Snape saw the small gesture and realized he should have done that. He should have known this would be hard for her. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a comforting hug.

"Hermione, maybe you should wait out in the hallway while Harry and I..."

"Nice try, Severus," she said softly. "I'll be okay. You don't have to worry about me. I want to help."

Harry saw a look pass between the two and wondered why Snape seemed to be so nice to her. He smirked when he thought Snape had probably put his foot in his mouth again and was trying to make up for it.

"Please show us where the missing prophesies were stored, Harry."

Harry nodded and they both followed him down the main isle and then to the left about half-way down the row. He stopped in front of a shelf about eye level that had two name labels, but no orbs to accompany them.

Snape read the two names aloud, "Severus Snape and Jonathan Crabbe." He wondered why anyone would want his or Crabbe's prophesy.

Hermione stepped forward and gently held her hand above the neighboring orbs. Neither man was sure what she was doing. She gasped and pulled her hand back.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked excitedly.

Hermione was now looking at the ceiling and the wall at the end of the row.

"I'm going back out in the hallway." She said to no one in particular as she turned and headed back the way they came.

"That's a good idea," Snape called to her retreating figure. "Go out and wait for us, sweetheart, we'll be out in a minute." Hermione didn't reply and Snape was a little irked when he turned and saw the silly grin on Potter's face.

"What did you do now?" Harry asked still smirking.

"Why must you assume that I...whatever...it's nothing that concerns you, Potter," Snape said as he turned and stared at the remaining orbs again. What was it Hermione had seen that they were missing, Snape wondered. He stared at the orbs until he felt like his eyes would cross, but nothing stood out as being odd. He reached out to touch one; however, Harry snatched his wrist stopping him.

"You cannot touch them, with your bare hands. They give off a nasty, painful shock, unless the prophesy pertains to you." Harry warned. Harry released him and Snape lowered his hands back to his sides.

When Hermione reached the door, she asked one of the Aurors to accompany her. She followed her gut instinct and left the room, then turned right. She followed the corridor, took the next right and stopped along the hall which she calculated to be the wall directly outside the row where Harry and Snape were standing. She scanned the wall near the ceiling and noticed the duct cover was crooked. Someone had recently removed the duct cover and not replaced it properly. She asked the Auror to give her a boost. He carefully levitated her up, she pushed on the cover and it fell inward. She was thrilled to see a wide shaft that went in about five feet and then up into the ceiling. She climbed inside and was surprised that she could stand up. The Auror appeared next to her and they were both able to stand up inside the vertical shaft. There was a ledge that she could peer over if she stood on her tiptoes. It looked like the ledge was the floor of an open attic that spanned the entire building. The Auror gave her another boost and then followed. The ceiling here was not as tall, so they crawled across the attic floor and saw that different sections had been cut out of the ceiling. It amazed her that she could see clearly through the holes and yet standing below and looking up, the ceiling had looked whole. Someone had been experimenting with cutting out just the right section to be over top of where the orbs were. She gingerly crawled around all of the squares that had been cut indicating that the Auror should do the same until they were directly over the spot where the orbs had been taken. She could see Harry and Severus, below, still discussing the orbs. The fact that someone had left a repelling belt and strand of magical expanding rope behind was also another clue that said she was on the right track. Now all she had to do was crawl back out and return to where Harry and Severus were. She informed the Auror of her plan and he agreed to wait for her signal.

Harry and Snape were surprised to see two Aurors rush in and ask them to step aside. The Aurors were staring at the ceiling, so Snape and Harry did as well.

"What are we looking for?" Harry whispered.

Snape saw that Hermione had walked back into the room and was standing next to him.

"I thought you were going to wait outside in the hall." He quietly reprimanded her.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and stepped up to one of the Aurors, "Do you see it yet? It's right there" Hermione was pointing at the ceiling.

"There's nothing up there, Hermione." Snape said as if she were wasting their time.

"Lower the harness through the opening!" Hermione shouted up at the ceiling.

Snape and Harry exchanged looks, "Maybe you're just tired Hermione..." Harry said quietly.

"Look!" One of the Aurors yelled.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a calming breath as the others marveled over the harness and suspension cord that was being lowered down towards them. Except for the cord hanging through the ceiling, the opening still looked solid.

Snape cleared his throat. "I think we owe you an apology, Hermione."

"Sorry we doubted you, Mione." Harry added.

One of the Aurors standing next to them turned and asked, "How did you know that was there, Miss Granger?"

Hermione went on to explain her reasoning. "Whoever took the orbs had to do it without touching the floor, since that is where the alarms are built in."

"Of course, you would know all about the alarms," Snape was saying, "Since you broke in here before."

"That's what we were told when the Auror came to Hogwarts to interview us, after the last fiasco with the prophesy orbs." Hermione said as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Wait a minute, just what are you implying, Severus?"

"Nothing, Hermione, I just think it's interesting that you discover something that trained Aurors couldn't see."

"You mean what you couldn't see. That's what's bothering you, isn't it? You can't stand that I'm better than you at something." Hermione said, stepping close to Snape and staring up at his arrogant face.

"Please! The only one who knew about that stupid orb was you. How do I know you didn't take the orb yourself? You said yourself that if you broke in here they would never know it. You probably just did that little stunt to show me up."

Hermione could feel all the stares on her. "Show you up? This is not a contest to see who is smarter, Severus. Besides, why would I take the orb? I already know what it says. You know me, Severus; you know I would never set someone up to..."

"Ummm, Professor, maybe you should think about..." Harry stammered as he saw the Aurors gathering around them.

"You set me up." Severus stated matter of factly. "Maybe you didn't want anyone to know that you heard the weird prophesy and set about to change my fate and force me into marrying you."

Hermione took a step back. She couldn't believe what he was accusing her of. "You still think I had some ulterior motive to trap you into marrying me? You think I purposely arranged things so ..."

"A baby is good way to ensure..."

Hermione could feel every eye on her and suddenly felt the urge to flee. She turned quickly but an Auror blocked her way.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger, but the Professor is right. We're going to have to hold you for questioning." She couldn't believe this was happening. She looked over at Snape's shocked face and just shook her head. "I was with you when this theft occurred, Severus, I guess I set that up too. " She turned towards the closest Auror, "Take me to the Minister, please…I wish to confess to being a fool." The Auror took her by the arm and began leading her out of the room.

"Wait, I didn't mean she actually did it." Snape called after Hermione. He went to follow, but two other Aurors blocked his path. "Hermione, Baby, I didn't mean it! I love you, Mione!" Snape yelled as a second Auror took Hermione's other arm and they led her from the room.

"Merlin, Potter, I'm such an idiot. Why do I keep saying stupid things? It's like that damn Horcrux loosened my tongue. I used to be able to guard my thoughts and think before I spoke." Snape was pacing back and forth in front of the orbs as Harry tried to think of something helpful to say. "Now, I just blurt out whatever comes into my head. I know Hermione deserves someone better than me. But I can't let her go. I'd rather be dead than live without her."

"Have you told Hermione this?" Harry asked quietly, causing Snape to pause in his rant and turn to look at him. "It may help her, if she understood what you are going through. You were a spy for so long and it's going to take time to open up to Hermione, without sounding like an inconsiderate arse. I think you should talk to her about your past and why you find it so difficult to open up to people. Hermione loves you; she has for a while now. I know Hermione...love is something she is willing to fight for." Snape sighed and looked up at the ceiling as if he were saying a silent prayer for guidance. "Now what's this I hear about a baby?" Harry asked quietly.

Hermione sat inside the Minister's office with her head in her hands. She had started at the beginning and told Shacklebolt everything, including Trelawney's prophesy regarding Severus. He'd offered her a cup of tea and they sat like old friends and went over everything they knew about the case. She even told him all the stupid things Snape had said to her since breakfast. She felt like crying but didn't think she had any tears left.

Shacklebolt shook his head. "Don't be too hard on him; Hermione, the thought of being a father can do strange things to a man."

"I don't even know that I'm pregnant," Hermione groaned. "This is my father's fault. He put the thought in Severus' head just to mess with him. However, I still can't believe Severus thinks I set him up." She stared into the distance. It hurt that he still didn't trust her.

Shacklebolt looked at her sadly, "What if you are pregnant...what then?"

Hermione groaned again and leaned back in her chair. "Things are so crazy now; I don't want to think about that right now. Can I go somewhere else…maybe over to Veronica's house? I don't want to see Severus right now. If you didn't know me...I'd be in Azkaban right now."

Shacklebolt chuckled, "you can't run from your problems Hermione. I mean if you didn't take Professor Snape's Orb, which I know you didn't because my people were guarding you...then who did?"

"No one did." Hermione answered absentmindedly, still wishing she could just run away.

"What? Of course they did, it's missing isn't it?"

"No, when I was looking at them, I could see the owner of every orb reflected within. I saw Severus' was there...just in the wrong name holder." She had just finished saying this when the implications hit her and the Minister at the same time.

They jumped up and ran back towards the Prophesy Room, Shacklebolt in front with Hermione close behind. Snape, Harry and three other Aurors were coming up the hall towards them when Shacklebolt came around the corner yelling for them to get out of the way. The entire party leapt aside to let Shacklebolt and Hermione run past them, and then joined the race, not sure why they were running. Shacklebolt entered the Prophesy Room at full speed and almost slid trying to take the sharp left into the row holding the orbs. He reached the orbs first and Hermione stopped next to him slightly out of breath.

Shacklebolt handed her some gloves and the rest of the party showed up just as she was carefully reviewing and replacing the orbs in their correct spot. Snape was surprised to see an orb placed in his name holder.

"Sir, Miss Granger should be under arrest..." One of the Aurors said.

"It wasn't her, man...think, we had her under surveillance last night. After leaving the club, she slept with Professor Snape and never left the house."

Hermione stopped with each hand on an orb and stared at the Minister.

"Oh, sorry Hermione, you probably didn't want everyone to know that."

"I don't mind." Snape said with a smile, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Hermione shook her head and continued sorting until two name holders stood empty and felt her stomach drop.

"Looks like Lucius and Draco Malfoy's orbs were taken," the Minister proclaimed.

Hermione quickly pulled her communication orb, from her bag, and began tuning it until she reached Draco's receiver but was surprised when she saw Veronica's face appear.

"Hi, Hermione! I was going to call you..."

"Ronnie where's Draco? Is he with you?"

"No, Draco just gave me this orb so I could reach you if I was scared...there's been some weird things happening."

"What kind of weird things, Veronica?" Snape asked her, taking the orb from Hermione so he could see Veronica better."

"I don't know, like sounds in the attic...Dad says we don't have ghosts and yet I know I hear..."

Hermione looked up at the ceiling and began frantically shouting at Veronica to get out of the house. "Tell her to go to my parent's house!" Hermione shouted, over her shoulder, as she ran from the room.

Snape relayed the message to Veronica before shouting "Where are you going?" to Hermione's retreating figure. Snape shoved the orb at Harry, who fumbled with it before getting a good hold, as Snape ran after Hermione.

Snape reached the great hall in time to hear her say, "Malfoy Manor," and disappear into the green flames. The flames returned to normal before he could reach them.

Two Aurors seized him on Shacklebolt's command.

"Let me go, I have to get to Hermione!" Snape yelled while struggling to free himself from their grasps.

"We will, Snape, just as soon as we get a team together." Shacklebolt said while trying to catch his breath, "We don't know what we'd be walking into...Harry...get away from that fireplace or I'll have you restrained too. Now, let me call a few more Aurors and we'll go to Malfoy Manor."