Authors Note: It's been a long time but I had a lot to get done and sorted. I have decided to give you another chapter after this one, simply because this one was a lot longer than I had originally intended for it to be. It just finished on a perfect note. Enjoy! Last chapter should be up by the end of the week- Bee x
Hermione had never thought that this would be the end of the road for her. Not once had she even began to envisage that this was how her life would end. When she had been a teenager at school with Harry and Ron, she had never even considered that she would live past her eighteenth birthday. The war had been so all consuming and the presence of death had been so heavy on all of their minds, it had been difficult to think that she would make it through when they had lost so many already. If they had not rescued her then she probably would have met her demise at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.
Now, as she thought back on it all, she was ever more glad that she had been rescued; else she would never have known all that she did. She would never have known of Severus and his love for her, she would never have grown to love him in return and all the other wonderful occurrences of her life would never have been.
"I have had a good life." She croaked out, holding her hand out to reach that of her nephew, Albus Severus Potter. It had brought tears to eyes when Harry and Ginny had named him as they had. The boy had always been her favourite out of all her nephews and nieces, for they were, even if not by blood.
"You'll get through this Aunt Hermione." Albus said quietly, cracking a small smile. She could tell by the expression on his face that he was struggling to comprehend the fact that his words might not be true. His face was always so open when he was around his family. He was his parents' son through and through, and he had made all of them so proud and Hermione knew that he would continue to do so. Sorrow shot through her heart as she recalled the children she might have had but had never been able to, and that she would not live long enough to see Albus' accomplishments in full. The boy was destined for far more.
"Do you know, when you were a baby your parents and I took you to see your namesakes." Hermione coughed after she had finished speaking, the words straining her voice and throat. She still had far more to say, but there would not be enough time. She knew that one as well as she knew her own name.
"They did?" Albus asked, hesitantly and questioningly. Judging by his response, he had clearly never known. Either that, or Harry and Ginny had tried to tell him and he had never listened to them. Sometimes when Albus was so focused, he tended not to notice what was around him. Usually his focus was writing letters to Scorpius. Hermione nodded her head on the pillows in answer to his question.
"Albus was so proud and Severus…" Hermione tailed off as she remembered the moment fully, as clear and as bright as the lights were above her.
Hermione had been so nervous about this moment, and had been for days. Albus wasn't going to be a problem, but Severus was a whole different matter entirely. He and Harry had a grudgingly mutual respect for one and other. Or so Hermione had thought, up until this point. She had asked Ginny if it had been her idea for Albus' middle name but she said that it had not been. It had been chosen by Harry and Ginny and she had jokingly informed Hermione that she had dibs on the name of the next child because 'Harry has chosen our two sons already'.
Twisting her hands together, rubbing them and trying to resist the urge to bite her nails, Hermione had strode into the Headmistresses Office, holding it open wide enough for Ginny and then Harry to pass with their precious prince in Harry's arms.
"Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape. We have someone we want to show you." Ginny announced with a smile, gesturing to Harry who was standing behind her, cradling their second son in his arms.
"This is Albus Severus Potter." Harry said, unable to keep the grin off his face. He was so happy and his smile was so infectious that Hermione's nervousness melted away and she started smiling too. The older Albus (Dumbledore) was beaming and he also appeared to be blushing, whereas Severus' scowl had grown even more pronounced than she ever remembered it being. That was, until Ginny moved the blankets so they could all see little Albus' face. Then, Severus' scowl was replaced by a mixture of astonishment and something else that Hermione couldn't quite place. If she had known better she would have said that it was longing on Severus Snape's face.
"Well done Potter. He looks… healthy." Severus commented, his voice slightly thicker than usual. He tried to tear his eyes away from the youngster's face but he seemed to be struggling to do so. When he eventually looked away it was to look at Hermione. She blushed and smiled, resisting the urge to be very cheeky and blow him a kiss.
"He looks more than healthy Severus. He's a wonderful looking boy. I am more than sure that he will outstrip our achievements combined. Why did you name him so Mr and Mrs Potter?" Albus said, his smile having grown wider than it was only moments before.
"He was named after the greatest Headmaster's of Hogwarts, and one of them the bravest man I ever knew." Harry said, his eyes flickering over to Severus' portrait before he looked down at his son. Hermione wiped the moisture from her eyes, trying desperately hard not to cry. Harry was right. Dumbledore had a tear in his eyes but did not make any attempt to wipe it away.
"Oh Harry my boy. You should be so very proud." Dumbledore said, his hands shaking a little.
"Very well then Potter." Severus said gruffly, a surprise for Hermione. She honestly thought he would never have said anything at all. In one way or another, Severus' name was going to live on.
"Oh, I wish you had remembered." Hermione said to Albus with a weak smile. He had been far too young at the time to have remembered, and Hermione was sure that he had been asleep for most of the whole event. He had slept a lot when he was a baby, never one to be particularly restless. His older brother had been the total opposite. Harry and Ginny had named their sons appropriately alright, they did take well after their namesakes.
"Aunt Hermione, would you like some water?" Albus asked, already reaching over to the jug and goblet beside her bed. Hermione shook her head on the pillows. She didn't want to spend the time that she had left drinking water, not when she had so much more to say.
"You remember your first Potions Lesson don't you?" Hermione asked, hoping that he would indeed, because she remembered it very well too. It had been the first time she had seen her favourite nephew in her class that was memorable. Albus nodded his head.
"Everyone got such a fright." Hermione said, trying not to laugh, because she knew it would hurt too much.
Hermione finished off the last touches to her hair with her wand. She was always very meticulous with her hair. It had to look the same, all the time else there was no point in any of it at all. She smoothed a hand down her robes and did a last quick check. Yes, she was happy with her appearance. This was the first potions lesson that Albus was going to be in, and it also happened to be the first lesson that she would be able to finally meet Malfoy's sprog. Hopefully, he wasn't too much like his father else she was going to be in for a lot of pain, seven years of it.
She opened the door of her office and strode down towards the dungeons. In order to be able to better help her Gyrffindor students, she had been placed in Minerva's old office, a place that she had many memories of. Her classroom though was down in the Dungeons.
Hermione swept down the corridors, the students that were milling around already parting like the red sea in front of her. That was the expected reaction, many of them had heard of her predecessor after all, even if it was only from older siblings, cousins and, for many of them, parents.
It didn't take her all that long to reach the Dungeons. She had coerced Severus into telling her all the secret passageways he had used to make use of to sneak up on students and scare them half to death. He had given her this information on the condition that she used it to scare some of the students. It was not something she had been particularly argumentative concerning.
She seen her students all lined up outside the classroom, and thankfully none of them had spotted her. She approached the boy at the back of the line, who was standing beside Albus. Hermione hoped that they were friends with each other.
"Welcome to Potions Class everyone. File in neatly and quietly, take a seat and then listen closely. I might test you on this lesson." Hermione said, making her voice as soft and silky as possible. The blonde boy she had been standing behind turned around, along with Albus and the rest of the class. The colour drained out of his face and Hermione had to try not to chuckle. The boy was Malfoy's son alright, and he looked as though he had just seen a ghost. Albus was looking at her with wide eyes, confusion written all over his face. He had been expecting his Aunt Hermione; instead he had been given Professor Hermione Jean Snape.
"The expression on Scorpius' face." Albus said, a smile twisting across his lips. He had always found that one particularly amusing, and Hermione had always relished that memory. Now that she knew him a little better, due to the nature of his relationship with Albus, Hermione knew that he was a reasonable young man and so the relish she took from the memory was a little on the cruel side. She had been expecting a Draco Junior, and she had not been given that.
"Yes, I remember when it seemed like you two weren't going to be together." Hermione remarked sadly. Albus sighed and his shoulders slumped a little as he nodded his head. It seemed she wasn't the only one who recalled that memory as clear as day.
Hermione had been sitting in her office, marking her fifth year's potions essays. She had just finished marking Scorpius Malfoy's and was moving onto Albus', when the door was flung open. She looked up, a scowl on her face reminiscent of Severus'. Finally, she understood why he had been so grumpy sometimes. Marking essays was very annoying, and so was being disturbed. The scowl disappeared immediately as soon as she seen that it was Albus in the doorway.
"Come in and shut the door." She said, not even thinking to admonish him. Albus always knocked whenever he wanted to come into her office, even if she was expecting him, or knew he was outside. That was just the way he was. So for him to throw open the door in such a manner… Well, that could mean only one thing, something was wrong.
Albus shut the door and sat down opposite Hermione's desk, as she had instructed. He sighed and put his head in his hands. Hermione stood up from her seat and moved over to kneel down beside him in the chair.
"What's wrong Albus? You can tell me, you know that don't you?" Hermione said, wanting to find out as quickly as possible what was wrong with her nephew. Albus looked up and started speaking, tears snaking down his face. Hermione just knelt there, trying to take it all in. When he had finished, she sighed heavily and embraced him in a hug filled with all the love and comfort she could muster.
"You certainly shocked me." Hermione commented, humming a little. Albus nodded his head in agreement and laughed. He had always found everyone's individual reaction to his sexuality hilarious, once he had stopped stressing and worrying. Hermione had taken it on the chin and had even given him some reasonably solid advice to keep in mind.
"Did you ever find out Albus?" Hermione asked after he had stopped laughing. He nodded again and let out a deep breath.
"Yes, you were right. I can understand now that I think back to it. He is a Malfoy after all, and his dad wasn't exactly thrilled when Scorpius told him, even less when he said that it was me he was with." Albus explained, shuddering a little as he remembered Draco's reaction.
"Ferret came round eventually though." Hermione wheezed before she started coughing violently. It felt as though her lungs were being torn apart. She barely registered Albus holding onto her to try and help she assumed. When the coughing and the pain subsided, she leant right back into her pillows. Shutting her eyes for a few seconds and focusing on her breathing. She still wasn't finished.
"Don't talk anymore Aunt Hermione. It's hurting you too much." Albus commented. Hermione shook her head and opened her eyes.
"Do you and Scorpius want children?" Hermione asked. She had stopped focusing on the past. Now she wanted to know of the future that she was going to miss. Albus was silent for a few moments, clearly trying to choose the right words. Hermione had seen that many times before.
"I want to." Albus said seriously and firmly. He certainly sounded like he wanted to, and the determination in his face cheered her greatly. There was a but though, and she knew that. She raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"Scorpius doesn't seem as keen as I am." Albus confessed. Hermione nodded her head. That was something she had kind of been expecting. If she had to guess at where it came from, she would be looking at Ferret and his opinion.
"You need to talk about it." Hermione said, pausing to take a few more breaths. It was starting to become difficult for her now.
"A child is a lot of responsibility. Love, comfort, you need to give them that." Hermione's voice started wobbling and she inwardly cursed her body, for what had to be the 20th time that day. Albus nodded, taking all of it in.
"If you can, have a child together. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that opportunity." Hermione whispered, turning her head away for Albus to look in the opposite direction. She didn't want him to see the tears she could feel sliding down her cheeks. It had been her pain for many years that the Granger line would end with her, and that she would not have a child. She had made a vow years ago though, and she had kept to it. As much pain and anguish as it had caused her, she would have no child that was not of her and the man she loved.
"Aunt Hermione?" Albus said, placing his hand on Hermione's back and rubbing it in soothing circles. She was so thankful to have him with her near the end. It was better than having no one.
"Where is your Uncle Ron?" Hermione asked, wondering for the first time why Ron hadn't come to visit her. They had experienced many arguments and fissures had cracked open between them but it was too hurtful an idea to think that he would not come and visit her before the end.
"He's been detained in America Mum says. Dad left yesterday to try and get him back." Albus explained. Hermione smiled and shut her eyes. She knew that Harry had gone to retrieve Ron from America for her. The Golden Trio united once more before they were broken.
There was silence and Hermione shut her eyes. With one of her hands free she waved it in a clear sign for Albus to leave her.
"Let me sleep Albus. Let me sleep." Hermione murmured. She felt Albus stand up and pat her on the back before she slipped into the realm of dreams once more.
Hermione was woken from a dream of her and Severus by a hand shaking her shoulder gently. She cracked her eyes open, pain shooting through her system once again. What she would give not to feel pain when she was awake. She turned around to face whoever it was who had woken her up.
Two faces swam into focus and Hermione felt herself tearing up again. Albus had been replaced by his father, and his uncle. The unmistakable faces of Harry James Potter and Ronald Billius Weasley brought sheer joy to her.
"Harry. Ron. You made it." Hermione wheezed again before another coughing fit wracked through her. When it subsided once more, she was met with the most concerned and sorrowful expression she had ever seen on Ron and Harry's faces in many years. For a split second, she thought that they were back in the war at the Battle of Hogwarts.
"We weren't going to leave you without seeing us Hermione." Harry said sincerely.
"Yeah, you're not that lucky." Ron pitched in, attempting to smile reassuringly and failing. She could see her friend's pain written all over their faces and in their bodies.
"At least I got to see you one last time." Hermione gasped out, her hands reaching out to take hold of Ron's and Harry's.
"You won't get away from us for long Hermione." Harry said, trying to be playful and joking as well. She could tell though that this was just as painful and hard on him as it was on her.
"I want to sleep." Hermione said, trying to resist the urge to just slip away again. She had been having such a wonderful dream.
"Of course Hermione, we'll be here when you wake up." Harry said with conviction, gripping tightly onto Hermione's hand.
"We aren't going anywhere." Ron affirmed. Hermione leant back against the pillows and closed her eyes to dream again. She would see Harry and Ron again when she woke up. For now though, she would sleep.