Corrections to this document brought to you today by George, my cat, who sat in my lap and pointed out the missing quotation mark, a comma, and decided that I needed to re-work a sentence because I repeated the word smile within two words of each other.

I bet JKR didn't have to put up with fur up her nose while she wrote the Harry Potter books.

Each of these one-shots/drabbles can be taken on their own and are not necessarily a chronology of the Snapes. My muse led me in the direction I needed to go in order to complete my set writing task.

Having said that, my muse wanted to show that Ron Weasley isn't always a complete git and sometimes sees things with a different prospective than others.

January 22, 2013: For Richer

Harry Potter was a thinker. Perhaps not the brightest of thinkers, but a thinker nonetheless. Today as he sat in Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour, looking out through the window as his super sized chocolate, vanilla, and banana Snitch Sundae melted in its cup, he was thinking quite hard.

For you see, just outside the window, across the street from the ice cream shop was a charity shop. Just outside that shop was a bench. On that bench sat a man. That man just happened to be his former Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher. That man also just happened to be married to the only woman Harry considered to be his very best friend.

He watched Severus Snape as he sat in the sunshine, his arms crossed over his chest, and a perpetual sneer set upon his face. Harry and Severus had never gotten along, a fact that Harry regretted. Severus was one of the very few people left alive that knew his mother, aside from Petunia, (she would never answer any questions) and he would answer very few, if any, of Harry's questions. However, both men shared a deep love for a certain curly haired witch, and for this reason alone, the two set aside some animosity and were barely tolerant of each other.

Harry took a bite of his ice cream when a shadow fell over his table. He looked up to see his other long-time best friend. "Ron! What brings you to Diagon Alley?"

Ron sat down and pulled a menu in front of him. "Lav is shopping. Thought I'd stop in for an ice. What were you studying so hard?"

Harry nodded his head in the direction of the shop across the street. "Snape."

"Ah. Hey, there's Hermione."

Hermione came out of the shop carrying some bags. As she approached her husband, he stood and immediately relieved her packages and helped her sit.

"She's due in a few months, isn't she?" Ron asked.

"Yeah." Harry took a bite of the mostly melted sundae, swallowed and asked, "Ron, why do you think she's shopping in a charity shop? Do you think Snape's skint?"

"Reckon teachers don't make a lot of money," Ron said and then gave his order for a butterscotch cone to the waitress.

"But what about their war money?" asked Harry.

"Mate, you know Hermione gave hers away. Snape never got any; just the Order of Merlin and the pardon."

"Hmmm," replied Harry.

Both boys watched the couple. Hermione was showing Snape some of the outfits he bought. Ron and Harry laughed as Snape's face showed obvious disgust at a pink, frilly dress and then changed to a smirk when she pulled out a small black robe.

"Are they having a girl or a boy?" asked Ron.

Harry shook his head. "Dunno. Hermione told me they didn't want to know. She wasn't going to buy too much until the baby was born, but knowing Hermione, she probably couldn't resist," he laughed.

As Harry watched, Hermione looked radiant. Her skin glowed with pregnancy but more than that, she glowed with love for her husband. As much as Harry didn't want to admit it, he knew she loved her husband.

"She really does love him, doesn't she?" asked Harry.

"Obviously; she didn't grow that belly on her own, you know," Ron answered, wiping a drip of ice cream off his chin with his sleeve.

"Ron, do you think they'll have enough money to raise a baby? Do you think I should give her something? I do have the accounts from Sirius and my parents."

Ron looked at Harry thoughtfully. Although Harry had very little money until Sirius died, he had plenty of money after that, a situation that always bothered Ron. However, he did know a little bit about growing up in a poor home. There was more to being rich than money.

"Harry, I don't think that would be a good idea. Look, you know I didn't have a lot of money with six brothers and sisters. Dad never got raises or even a promotion until after the war. But believe it or not, when I look at Hermione and Snape, I see something in them that my parents had. Love, and a lot of it. You can't measure that with money. Sure the git sneers a lot, but look closely Harry." He waved his hand at the window.

Harry looked. "What am I supposed to see?"

"Do you remember at Christmas time when my parents would sit next to each other? There was never anything obvious about what it was that radiated the love they shared, but it was there. They way they looked at each other, the smiles, the little nudges they'd give each other, the looks." Ron smiled a moment at the memory of his parents together.

"Look at Snape." Ron nodded his head toward the window. "Even though he may not be showing it, he does love her. Look how close they sit. And see that? His arm is around her back."

"Any guy would do that," Harry sneered.

"Yes, but watch his hand...his thumb is rubbing a circle around her arm."

Harry shrugged. "So?"

"Trust me, Harry; I would be the very last person to admit this about the git. They may not have a lot of money, but the two of them are rich in so many ways...their intellect, their love of books, their love of teaching, and their love for each other. Once that baby comes, they will only get richer. It's what my parents have; it's what Hermione and Snape have."

Harry had to admit Ron was right. The pair on the bench across the way did have something about them that radiated a great comfort in each other; a surety about each other and what their love for each other meant. Now that Ron pointed it out, he could see many small signs of affection from Snape toward Hermione.

They'd do all right, he supposed. As long as they loved each other, they'd be richer than he was with all his Gringott's vaults.