Surprises of Many
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters.
To sweet-tang-honney: thanks, I'm glad you like it
To EllieMay Duncan: thanks, I update as much as possible
To LK-HoGwArTs-hEaDgIrL: Thank you
To sjrodgers: I'm glad you like it, I'm glad you liked my one shot as well
To Libbindy Luthien: I'm glad I was able to clear up your confusion; this chapter will be very amusing.
Harry and Ron came down stairs the next morning to see a very unusual sight.
Hermione was in one of the chairs, still in her night clothes with a book in her lap but instead of looking at the book she was staring out into space with stars in her eyes and a big grin painted on her face.
"Um, Hermione are you okay?" Ron asked sitting down on the couch next to her chair.
It was as if she didn't even know he was there, for she continued to stare at the wall as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Hello! Earth to Mione." Harry said, waving a hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her trance.
"Oh, how long have you two been there?" She asked them, still smiling.
"Just a few minutes, I think we should be asking you the same thing." Ron said.
"Well what time is it now?"
"Around 8am, have you been down here all night Hermione? You're not even dressed." Harry asked.
"Huh, I guess I have. I didn't sleep last night and I feel great anyway. Life couldn't be more perfect." She said.
Harry and Ron looked at one another confused at their friend's strange behavior before deciding to question her.
"What had gotten you in such a good mood?" Harry asked.
Instead of speaking her reply, Hermione lifted her left hand and showed her engagement ring to the boys, the pink diamond glittering brilliantly in the firelight to match her dazzling eyes.
"I went to the astronomy tower last night to think and I ran into Nickolas. He asked me to marry him and I said yes! Oh boys I'm so excited I love him so much, I can't wait to be known as Mrs. Nickolas Dorcas Grey, Princess of the Wizarding World." She said, giddy with excitement.
Harry and Ron were both immediately alarmed by her change in attitude about the wicked prince and remembered that Dumbledore had told them that she might go under mind control when wearing his ring and to bring her to Snape as soon as possible.
"It's such a nice day Mione, why don't we go for a walk." Harry said standing next to her and Ron on the other side.
"No thank you boys, I would rather sit here and daydream of my new life that is coming."
"Oh but Hermione we insist, you have been here in this stuffy common room for too long now, you could use some fresh air." Ron said taking a hold of her arm and walking out of the room forcefully.
"Let go of me Ronald, I said I didn't want to go for a walk." Hermione said, trying to jerk loose.
"Well sorry Hermione, but this is for your own good." Harry said, taking a hold of her other arm and walking towards the dungeons.
"Get off of me now!" She yelled, jerking free only to have Ron pick her up and throw her over his shoulder before she could escape.
Severus was working on his lesson plans when he heard yelling of a female coming down the stairs and heading for his classroom. He got up and opened his door to see Potter and Weasley coming down the stairs with Weasley carrying a kicking and yelling Hermione.
"Potter! What is the meaning of this?" Severus asked.
"Were just doing what we were told to do Professor Snape." Harry said, walking into the classroom followed by Ron.
Severus shut the door right before Hermione gave Ron a swift kick in the stomach, causing him to fall down with her while a coughing fit started.
Hermione made it out of his grasp only to be held onto by Severus, making her struggle once more.
"Miss. Granger calm down this instant!" Severus yelled.
"It won't do any good to yell at her Snape, she is under mind control because of her ring." Harry said, helping a sputtering Ron off of the floor.
Severus looked down at his love's hands to see the glittery gold ring with the large rock sparkling on her finger.
"I see, boys hold her down while I remove the ring." Severus said.
"NO! It is my ring! The man I love gave it to me!" She screamed while Ron and Harry took both of her arms and pinned her down.
Severus winced at her calling that evil bastard her love but he chose to ignore it as it grabbed her wrist and placed his fingers around the cursed object.
Severus winced at the pain he felt going up his arm in electric shocks and the screams coming from Hermione as he was attempting to remove the ring. Blue sparks shot out from the band and the stone that went into Severus' body as well as hers and he was doing his damn near best not to pass out from the pain.
With one hard jerk he pulled the ring off of her finger and threw it against the wall before attempting to control his breathing. He looked over to see that Hermione was doing the same as a scorch mark appeared where the band was.
"Boys… get Professor McGonagall now… tell her it's urgent but nothing more." Severus said, breathing hard.
Harry and Ron nodded and gently released their hold on her before leaving the dungeons quickly.
Severus crawled over to Hermione and picked her up in his arms and stroked her hair. She looked up at him weakly, her eyes returning to the normal blissful brown she had when she was with him.
"Se-Severus I'm sorry…"
"Shh love don't talk right now, that damn piece of jewelry took a lot of energy out of you. I'm just glad you're alright." He said, talking a hold of her left hand and kissing the scorch mark.
"I love you… only you." She said weakly.
"And I you darling." He said, picking her up and carrying her to his chambers and laying her down on his bed. Before she fell asleep he administered a strengthening draught to her so that when she awoke again she would feel almost normal.
"Severus." Dumbledore called from his classroom.
He sighed and made his way out to see Dumbledore, Minerva, Harry and Ron all giving him worried looks.
"Where is she Severus?" Minerva asked.
"I have taken the liberty of allowing her to rest in my chambers for now until she gets her strength back. That object took a lot out of the both of us; I'm surprised I'm still standing." He said, noticing now that the pads of his fingers were burned from where he grabbed the ring.
"Wouldn't it have been better to take her to the hospital wing?" Ron asked him suspiciously.
"Mr. Weasley, use that tiny organ in your head you call a brain for once. The hospital wing is four floors up, why bring her all the way there when it is more convenient for her to stay here since I have all the necessary potions she would need."
Ron was about to retort angrily but was stopped when Dumbledore interrupted him.
"Have you analyzed the ring yet Severus?"
"I haven't had the chance yet Headmaster, I shall do it now." He said taking hold of his wand and making the ring float in front of all of them.
"This piece of jewelry is laced with dark magic alright, centuries worth I'd say. Miss. Granger and I were lucky that we were not killed. From the looks of it not only does it hold dark magic but a very powerful mind control charm as well. This thing has so much negative energy attached to it that it is unstable and dangerous." Severus said, analyzing it.
"Is that why the sparks came from it when you tried to remove it?" Harry asked.
"Precisely Mr. Potter, it is so unstable that touching this object will cause it to react and potentially kill the target."
"Why then would Nickolas not be affected? I saw him this morning and his hands appeared normal." Minerva asked.
"There could be one of two explanations to this. He was wearing protective charms that would repel the dark magic from touching him or else he put the mind control curse on the ring himself, thus becoming the master of this object and it would not hurt him. My guess is the later of the two and that she had the reaction when he first put it on her."
"Can you destroy it Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes I can but I must do it away from Hogwarts, it is too dangerous for me to destroy it with so many people around. Minerva I suggest you create a copy of this ring now so I can destroy it as soon as possible."
"Of course Severus." Minerva said, pulling a marble out of her pocket and set to work on making an exact replica.
It took around ten minutes but Minerva created a very convincing copy that was accurate down to the last detail, Nickolas would never be able to tell the difference.
"I will go and take care of this retched object. Minerva I ask that you stay with Miss. Granger until I return. Potter and Weasley, return to your dormitories at once." Severus said, putting on his traveling cloke.
"Where will you go Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm not sure Albus, somewhere where there is no civilization around most likely I'm not sure when I will return but if I'm not back in three days, come looking for me." Severus said, taking his broom out of the closet.
"Be careful Professor." Harry said.
Severus gave a surprised look at the boy in front of him, true they never got along but he never expected Potter to be concerned about his return.
"I will do my best Potter, thank you." Severus said before leaving his classroom and the shocked faces of everyone there.
Two days later Severus returned in bad shape, how he was able to fly back to Hogwarts in his condition he was not sure but he was pretty convinced the end was near when he touched down roughly out by Hagrid's hut and was not able to get up.
If not for the half giant himself, Severus would probably have been dead at this moment instead of lying weakly in a hospital bed with numerous potions running through his bloodstream. He had burn marks on much of his already scared body as well as a minor concussion and a few broken ribs and a wrist from being thrown back into a boulder.
He had also lost a decent amount of blood and he was thankful that he carried with him some blood replenishing potions which was enough to keep him alive for his trip back home.
He had awoken several hours later to see Hermione curled up in a chair uncomfortably beside his bed. His heart swelled with happiness when he saw her beautiful face there, waiting for him to awaken. He realized just how close he came to not returning to her, if he had not brought some potions with him or had Hagrid not found him, he would not be here now.
Hermione sensed that she was being watched when her eyes fluttered open to meet the obsidian eyes of her lover. She smiled happily at him and gently took his bandaged hand in hers.
"You gave me quite a scare you know, I had woken up to find that you were gone and that I might not have seen you again. I wish you had came back and told me goodbye once more before leaving." She said.
"You were sleeping peacefully angel, I didn't want to disturb you since your energy was zapped from you."
"I'm just glad you came back to me, I need you around Severus, now more than ever." She said seriously.
Severus raised an eyebrow at her tone and wondered what she meant by that.
"Hermione what exactly do you mean by that?" He asked her.
Hermione swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She desperately needed to tell him about her pregnancy but she was afraid that it would do more harm than good now since he was injured.
"Never mind, I'm just being silly. How are you feeling?" She asked, changing the subject.
Severus sighed, he knew something was up but he decided that he would ask her about it later, right now he was in a little pain and needed to see Madam Promfry.
"I'm sore love but glad to be alive. Would you go and get that insufferable woman for me so she can shove more potions down my throat?" He asked bitterly.
"Yes Severus I will, I will be right back. I love you." She whispered before giving him a peck on the lips and leaving his bed and him with a smile.
Severus was feeling pretty good later on that evening, despite the fact that he was told he would probably be in the hospital wing for a week so all the burns could heal properly. However his good mood was ruined when a certain unwelcome guest decided to grace Severus with his presence.
Nickolas stood by his bed with a smug smile across his face as he watched Severus glair back at him.
"What do you want?" Severus said, annoyed at the interruption from one of his favorite books by this ass.
"I just wanted to see how our favorite potion's master was doing. That was quite a nasty potions accident you had, what went wrong?" Nickolas asked in mock concern.
Severus was thankful that Albus could come up with a believable lie so quickly. While he hated the fact that this lie was slandering his "perfect potions master" title, he knew it was best for everyone if he played along.
"If you must know it was very late when I was working and due to my tiredness I miscounted the amount of lacewing flies I had and thus made the mixture unstable."
Nickolas looked at him like he pitied him causing Severus to scowl, he detested being pitied with a passion.
"That's too bad Severus, well at least you will make a full recovery. I suppose you heard the news that you're ex girlfriend and I are getting married." Nickolas smiled devilishly.
"Should have known this was why he came to see me." Severus thought.
"So what you came here to gloat? Well you're wasting your time and mine, I broke it off with her for a reason you know. If you can put up with that insufferable know-it-all then more power to you." Severus said turning back to his book, clearly dismissing Nickolas.
Nickolas scowled at the man in front of him but he refused to let him have the last word.
"Goodness Severus you make her sound so terrible, but I have been spending a lot of time with her and she truly is a lovely, charming girl. I can't wait to make her my wife, I can only imagine what kind of lover she will be." Nickolas said, hitting below the belt.
Severus gripped his book as his nostrils flared, he tried to remain calm but the image of Nickolas rutting on top of Hermione made him want to break the prince's pretty nose.
"I don't really care Nickolas, my time with her is over. No doubt she will be a horrible lover, just thinking about it makes me sick." He said, wounding his heart in the process.
"Well it's your loss then, I best be off now and find my little sky lark. Have fun with your books old man." Nickolas said, laughing as he walked out the door.
Severus threw his book down on the bed, something he never did and held his head in his hands, trying to control his temper. The only thing that made him feel sick was having to say all those horrible things about Hermione. This would be just another thing to add on his personal list of things he must forgive himself for.
Severus couldn't have been happier being back in his own room and his own bed.
He reached over into his side table drawer and rummaged around for a bit until he found what he was looking for.
That night at Christmas he asked Hermione what her ring size was for a reason, they may not have been together for very long but he knew that if he had to go one day without her in his life, it would drive him to madness.
He pulled out a dark green velvet ring box and stared at the jewel that lay within. While this ring was not as fancy and large as Nickolas' was, it was a Prince family heirloom given to him by his mother with the promise that he would give it to the girl he loved most one day. After being alone in his solitude all these years he thought he would never find the girl he was to give it to.
Then Hermione came into his life and turned everything he held dear around for him. His dark, moody days were almost nonexistent now and for the first time in his life he was actually looking forward to his future.
The ring itself was quite simple but it was very elegant looking. The band was of goblin made silver and it held a pure teardrop shaped diamond with tiny emeralds clustered on each side. In a way this piece of jewelry reminded him so much of Hermione, she was simple and far from plain, and she carried a natural grace with her she most likely wasn't even aware of, yes it was indeed perfect and he planned on giving it to her tonight that was why he called for her to come have dinner with him this evening by the lake.
He wanted tonight to be perfect, he packed a picnic basket with fresh bread, cheese, grapes and sparkling white wine. The moon would hang high and the sky would be clear enough to see every star visible from Earth. The night creatures would serenade them with their own music as they would relax and hold each other.
It was getting close to 8pm and Severus was pacing back and forth nervously with all sorts of irrational thoughts plaguing his brain.
"What if she says no? What if she hates the ring? Oh Merlin what if she realizes that I'm not worthy of her?" Severus thought before stopping abruptly and controlling his breathing.
"Severus old boy you're being ridiculous, how many times has she told you she loves you already?" He asked himself.
"You can do this, she's the best thing that has ever happened to you and tonight you are going to offer her everything you have." He said, taking hold of a blue silk ribbon and tying his hair back with it. He wanted to be sure she could see the sincerity in his eyes when he would get down on one knee.
At exactly 8pm he heard a knock at his door and he knew it was her. Taking a deep breath he opened the door only to have his breath taken from him as he stared at the gorgeous beauty outside his door.
She wore a black halter dress that went to her knees and hugged her body in all the right places. Her silver ballet flats were adorable and comfortable looking and complemented her dress nicely. Her hair was styled into a wild, tousled look which Severus loved on her. It reminded him of how she looked after they finished making love and her hair was splayed on his pillow. The only makeup she wore was some charcoal eye shadow to give her eyes a smoky effect and illuminate her chocolate pools even more.
"Dear god Hermione, you are breathtaking, I feel as though I should bow to you."
"Oh Severus stop, you're over dramatic." Hermione said while coming inside.
"Like hell I do, you are always so beautiful to me." Severus said while taking her in his arms and then giving her a gentle kiss.
"My aren't we Mr. Romance tonight?" She teased.
"Well tonight is a very special night my dear and I will explain why once we get down by the lake." Severus said while picking up the picnic basket.
They made the short walk down to the lake hand in hand, Hermione feeling quite content while Severus put on a calm act when really he was a nervous wreck on the inside.
The air was warm and comfortable and the sky was so clear that it opened up the rest of the universe before them. The crickets and frogs were out and singing their happy tunes as a gentle breeze that soon promised summer made its way through the trees.
Severus laid out the picnic blanket and brought out the food. Hermione sat down and her mouth watered at the delicious display before her. When she saw the wine however it reminded her of what she had to tell him and how it could potentially ruin the evening.
Severus sat down next to her and opened the bottle and poured them both a glass of the sweet smelling alcohol. He handed her a glass and smiled only to look at her curiously a few moments later when she transfigured her wine into water.
"Why did you do that love?" He asked her.
Hermione sighed and was fighting back the lump gathering in her throat, now was the time for her to inform him.
"Severus, I went to Madam Promfry the other day because I thought I had a case of the stomach flu. I was puking my guts out and was very ill at the time, but when she checked me out I didn't have the stomach flu after all but rather another condition." Hermione said.
Severus looked at her worriedly, could she have been really ill and he didn't know it?
"Go on." He said, taking a sip of wine.
"Severus… the reason why I was sick is because I'm pregnant." She said, finally getting the weight off of her chest.
To say Severus was stunned was putting it mildly, he dropped his wine glass to the ground as his eyes became wide with shock and he tried to find the words to say.
"Pregnant? She's pregnant? And with my child?" He asked himself.
"You're serious?" He asked her.
Hermione had her head down and was fighting the urge to cry but was failing as she began to shake with upcoming tears.
"Yes I'm serious, I'm pregnant with our child Severus, our son." She said.
Severus' brain finally kicked in with his body as he picked her up in his arms and swung them around, laughing the entire time and completely happy.
He set her down and kissed her with such passion that she almost lost her balance but was held up by his strong arms.
"Our son? My child? We are going to have a baby?" He asked in disbelief.
"Yes Severus we are going to have a little boy, I hope you're not mad about it." She said.
"Mad? Oh Hermione I could never be mad about this, in fact I don't think I've ever been happier."
"But I thought you hated children?"
"I don't hate children, I hate preteens and teenagers but I can imagine I will love our son when he becomes that age. Hermione I secretly always wanted a family of my own, a wife and children to make up for the horrible childhood I had but I never thought I would be given the chance to have this with my history and all. When you came into my life Hermione you gave me hope that once again I would be able to have these things, I was just waiting for the right person to spend the rest of my life with and I've finally found her." He said.
"What are you saying Severus?" She asked in shock, thinking she had an idea where this was going but wasn't entirely positive.
Severus got down on one knee and took her left hand gently as he looked into her eyes.
"Oh my god." She breathed in disbelief as he took out a green velvet ring box with his other hand.
"Hermione, I know that we haven't dated for very long but the thought of you being missing from my life for more than one day simply kills me. This was my intention tonight but finding out that I'm going to be a father makes it even better. You are no longer a student since you took your N.E.W.T.S so I don't feel terrible about asking you this. Hermione will you marry me?" He asked her while opening the box and revealing the prestigious ring.
Hermione was crying and smiling brightly down at him. This was one proposal she would gladly accept.
"Yes Severus, I would be honored to be your wife." She said.
Severus got off the ground and took her in his arms and kissed her once more, only now he could look forward to her kisses everyday for the rest of his life.
He wiped away her tears with his thumbs while trying not to cry himself, usually nothing could make him cry but the thought of him finally getting the family he wished for so long might just have been the breaking point.
Severus took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger gently, it was simply perfect on her, like it was made to be there.
"Severus it is absolutely beautiful." Hermione said while admiring it.
"It's a family heirloom, it belonged to my mother and my grandmother before her."
"I feel honored to wear it Severus, I just hope I can be the kind of wife and mother your mother envisioned."
Severus tilted her chin and kissed her sweetly before placing his forehead on hers.
"Hermione you are everything and more my mother would have wanted for me, the most important thing is that I'm completely and devotedly in love with you."
"I love you too Severus, I always will." Hermione said before reaching up and kissing him once more.
AN: Yeah I know, not a whole lot of stuff went on here but Severus now knows he's a father and is ecstatic about it. Not much longer to go now. 2 or 3 more chapters and an epilogue. My goal is to get this finished by Christmas and I might just do that.
Nasty finals are coming up soon so it might be a while before I update again, but once I'm on Christmas break my time is devoted to you all. Take care.