Chapter 9

Snape was led to Hermione's bedside where she was now awake and talking. He nearly snatched her out of the bed; instead, he settled himself for sitting on the edge and holding onto her for dear life. Neither spoke for quite some time; they simply held each other. Snape stroked his wife's hair then pulled back to look in her eyes. He ran his hand across her face before kissing her ever so tenderly.

His voice nearly cracked when finally he spoke, "I have missed you terribly, Hermione."

She looked up at him with deep affection and tears, "Have you taken your frustration out on the students, Severus?"

"I don't know," was his honest answer.

She looked askance at him, "What does that mean?"

"It means I've been out of my mind with worry. I haven't been myself without you," he mustered the truth from the depths of his soul.

She nestled herself onto his chest, "I'm back."

He stroked her hair and let his fingers tangle in its mass. He tucked his head down into her neck.

The Healer broke in, "You may return to Hogwarts this afternoon. We are releasing you to Madam Pomfrey's care. We are sorry for the loss of your child. We did what we could, Mrs. Snape. The child simply was not old enough to survive."

Snape gave his wife a pitiful look of anguish, "I named her Olivia as we had planned. She is at rest at The Burrow as I thought you would want."

Hermione gave a shuddering breath and buried her face in his chest again; she sobbed softly. Snape held and rocked her gently. His heart was breaking, too, truth be told. The snarky old git had let someone in at long last. For him, this kind of pain was infinitely more excruciating than the Dark Lord's cruciatas curse. But this pain also came with joy and pleasure that he'd never known before. He would not surrender it for the world; it was more than a fair exchange.

"When you are fully healed, we will try again," he whispered in her ear. "You shall have as many children as you want. And, even if it's a pack of them like the Weasleys, who by the way, have been very good to me of late. I now consider them friends," he confided to Hermione.

She smiled, "Best news I've heard, short of coming home to you and Alexandra."

They floo'd straight away to their quarters at Hogwarts. Their house in Hogsmeade was ready to move in, but Snape just could not motivate himself to make the move without his wife. He considered that as Hermione still had healing to do that they would remain in his quarters until she was fully recovered. He did not want her chasing after Alexandra up and down stairs until her body was ready for that kind of exercise. Perhaps they'd stay until they were pregnant again. It was always as option. Besides, he was rather fond of his quarters in the dungeons.

Within minutes of their arrival, Madam Pomfrey came to check on her patient. She agreed with Snape that Hermione could remain in their quarters so long as somebody kept an eye on Alexandra until Hermione was more fully healed. Otherwise, Madam Pomfrey had no choice but to insist that Hermione recover in the Hospital Wing! Ginny agreed to come during Snape's class times to keep Hermione company and to keep an eye on "Miss Wiggles," as Ginny had affectionately nicknamed her Goddaughter Alexandra. Snape took all his meals in their quarters unless the Headmaster specifically requested his presence at the Staff Table. Within two months, things were back to normal. The Snape family ate breakfast in the dungeons while Professor Snape took lunch at the Staff Table.

Alexandra made it impossible for the whole family to eat upstairs. She was simply a very busy little girl. She'd rather play than eat. When she did eat, she'd zoom by and one parent or the other would shovel food in her mouth. Her "terrible two's" came with a vengeance. Alexandra performed her first magic when she was a mere 28 months old. She was quite angry with her Daddy and let him have it. He was attempting to give her a bath when she willed the bubbles and water to spray all over him. Before he knew it, Snape was soaked through and from head to toe. It would take the House Elves an hour to put the bathroom right again. He was both annoyed and overjoyed. His daughter would be a powerful witch, like her Mum! They first just had to survive her childhood…

Alexandra was over her "terrible two's" and into her "three's" and quite the talker when her parents informed her that she was going to have a baby brother or sister of her very own and that they would be moving into their house in Hogsmeade. She was not convinced that she much liked those ideas, but she would live with it since it seemed to bring Mum and Dad much happiness. Moreover, despite their daily contests of wills, she dearly loved her parents. Alexandra already displayed profuse Slytherin traits, much to her father's approval.

For the time being, Hermione opted for a career at home rather than accepting the offer the Ministry had made. Alexandra required direct parental supervision if she was to become a productive member of the Wizarding world. Daycare simply was not an option. Both Hermione and Severus understood their daughter well. When their new little one arrived, care would have to be taken to ensure that Alexandra did not feel left out. Both parents were keenly aware of having been an only child themselves. Up to this point, that was what Alexandra had been. Hermione and Severus had several verbal jousting matches during her third pregnancy. He was scared to death that this child of his would die, too; and perhaps even take his Hermione at the same dreadful time. He silently regretted telling Hermione she could have as many children as she wanted. He was happy with just Alexandra. His coping skills had not expanded to include talking about fear, so he did what he knew best – control.