The party was perfect. The chairs had been cleared in favor of plush loveseats and round tables lit by floating candles. Poor Irma Pince ran around the entire night, ensuring her precious books were safe. Minerva watched her, amused, and slipped her some Firewhiskey for her nerves. Irma gratefully accepted, but continued to watch the guests with eagle eyes.
Hermione and Severus only danced a few slow songs. Otherwise they sat curled up on a loveseat, talking softly or staring into each other's eyes. The guests had a wonderful time and no books were harmed. Harry and Ginny were among the last to leave, approaching the couple with huge smiles.
"Congratulations you two!" Ginny said excitedly. She hugged them both tightly and even surprised Severus with a kiss on his cheek. The girls laughed as he automatically scowled and blushed a bit. Harry shook his hand and sincerely wished him the best. He then gave Hermione a big hug. They all spoke for a few more moments, discussing dinner dates and such, and then Harry led Ginny away.
It wasn't long before the couple decided to retire as well. They were still in Severus's old quarters, and both liked it that way. Hermione gasped when he opened the door and she saw candles and rose petals everywhere. She spun around to see Severus looking at her with pure love and happiness in his eyes. He smirked a bit and waved his wand; slow big band songs started playing in the air. "Unforgettable" was the first song she heard.
He reached a hand out to her, and she took it. Pulling her close, he buried his nose in her hair and inhaled that intoxicating vanilla scent. They began slow dancing and after a while, Hermione absent mindedly began softly singing along to the music. Once the song ended and "Just the Way you look Tonight" began, Severus pulled away to look at her.
"You have a beautiful voice." He said softly, brushing hair out of her face. She smiled bashfully.
"I didn't even realize I was singing." She giggled. Severus cradled her face in his hands.
"I love you. Hermione Snape." She giggled again at the sound of her new name.
"I like the sound of that." She whispered, pulling him into a deep kiss. He returned the kiss eagerly, pulling her against him tightly and moaning against her lips. She moved them towards the bedroom, then guided his hands to the hidden zipper on her dress. He slowly unzipped her, letting his fingers trail down her back as he went. Soon the dress fell to the floor and his wife stood there in lacy white lingerie.
"What are you doing to me, woman?" He growled. She smirked mischievously and pulled him down on the bed on top of her.
The students loved the wedding and talked about it for months. The parents sent messages of congratulations, and Minerva moved their places at the head table together – after warning them to keep it PG at meals, of course. Hermione even received a note from Ron. He wished them the best and congratulated them, filled them in on his whereabouts and wished he could have been there to congratulate them in person. Hermione wrote him back and they became pen pals of sorts. She still held no ill will towards him, and they slowly fell back into their old friendship.
Over Christmas break, the couple retreated to their home in London. Hermione got busy almost immediately, cleaning obsessively and decorating like a madwoman. Severus kept asking her to slow down, but she'd just smile and continue her work.
On Christmas morning, Severus awoke to an empty bed. Curious, he wrapped himself in a thick bathrobe and searched for his wife downstairs. He finally found her moving gracefully around the kitchen, humming and setting out breakfast. He eyed a small rectangular box on the table.
"What's all this?" He asked. Hermione whirled around and flashed him a huge smile.
"Happy Christmas!" She cried. Setting the last of the food on the table she hopped over to kiss him soundly on the lips and then sat. He slowly sat at the end of the table, giving her a sidelong glance.
"What's that?" He asked, nodding to the package. She wagged her finger at him.
"Not until after breakfast." She said, tucking in. He shot her an annoyed look, but picked up his fork and began eating the pancakes she had made.
After they were finished, he helped her clear the plates and then she sat him down, grabbing the box and settling herself on his lap. He took the box and looked at her for permission. She nodded and wiggled on his lap with excitement, biting her lip. He opened the box and stared at it confused. Inside was a long plastic stick. He looked at it for a long moment until he finally saw the word 'pregnant' in the window. He jerked to his feet, an arm on Hermione so she wouldn't fall.
"What?" He breathed. His heart was racing. Hermione smiled up at him.
"I'm about 8 weeks along. I wanted to keep it a secret though, until today." She looked so happy, standing there, glowing, her hand on her belly. Severus stared at her, dumbfounded. Thoughts were racing through his head a mile a minute.
He had imagined this before, wanted this before, but now that it was real…. He was reminded of his own father. How could he possibly be a father? He certainly didn't have a great example to have learned how to be a father. What if he turned out like Tobias? He could never live with himself. Suddenly all their decisions over the years came rushing back and he began regretting them. He should have refused her from visiting. He should have quit at Hogwarts. He should have guarded his feelings better.
His fear and anxiety rose and rose and he found himself backing away from Hermione, whose smile was fading and a look of concern was replacing her joy. She reached out to him and he panicked, turning on his heel and stalking out the front door.
After he left, Hermione sank into a chair, holding the box and letting tears roll down her face. She was so confused – she thought he'd be so happy. Suddenly she regretted rushing into a marriage again. Maybe she just wasn't cut out for it. She sat, biting her fingernails and fretting until she finally gave up and sent for Harry, Ginny and Ron.
They arrived quickly, all their eyes full of concern. Hermione sat on the sofa, legs curled underneath her, leaning against Harry who had his arm around her shoulders. Ginny sat by her feet, rubbing her legs. Ron sat in the chair beside them, maintaining a distance, but looking worriedly at her.
"I…I'm pregnant." Hermione admitted quietly. Harry and Ginny inhaled quickly but then turned to look at Ron. Hermione glanced his way too, worried of what she would see. Ron carefully kept the hurt out of his eyes and forced himself to smile.
"That's wonderful, 'Mione." He said sincerely. Ginny and Harry visibly relaxed, and Harry squeezed her.
"Congratulations!" Ginny cried, grinning ear to ear.
"Congratulations to you both, Hermione. That's fantastic!" Harry said. Hermione smiled at all of them, but couldn't stop the tears. They all leaned in farther and tried to comfort her. She filled them in on what happened and they fell silent. Ron looked at the floor thoughtfully, Ginny smiled sadly at her. Only Harry seemed to have words of wisdom.
"Hermione, I know you probably don't want to hear this right now but he's probably just freaking out about being a father. You know that his father was abusive and terrible, right?" Hermione looked up at him, frowning. "His father beat Severus and his mother. He was terrible. Severus used to have to wear long sleeves and pants in the summers because he was so covered in bruises while he lived at home."
Hermione's heart sank. How did she not know any of this? Her poor husband. They had talked about kids before, but she hadn't told him when she stopped taking her potions – she wanted it to be a surprise. What a foolish idea.
The trio, plus Ginny, all sat together, sharing hot chocolate and trying to comfort Hermione well into the afternoon. Ron surprised everyone by making grilled sandwiches for lunch, and eventually moved to sit on the floor by Hermione's legs. She reached out and touched his shoulder, and after a while, he took her hand as they talked. It felt comfortable and familiar and Hermione felt a little better while her husband was absent.
Severus wandered the streets still in his robe and slippers. Thankfully the streets were deserted – unfortunately it was because they were in the middle of a blizzard. He walked slowly, holding himself and shivering, his mind reeling. Eventually his mind pointed him towards Madame Rosemerta's. With a wave of his wand, he was properly dressed and apparated to her establishment.
He immediately ordered a bottle of Firewhiskey and a glass, sitting at a shadowy table in the corner by the fire and quickly downing a glass. His mind wandered through his years of abuse at home, wondered why his father had been the way he was, how it came to be that he was abusive to his wife… had he even wanted children? Severus never thought about it until he saw Hermione holding Albus, but in that moment, he wanted nothing more than for her to have his child. What had changed?
He mulled over all this information as he continued drinking. He didn't notice when a scantily dressed woman came up and sat beside him.
"Hello there." She purred. Severus looked over at her warily.
"Can I help you?" He sneered. She looked him up and down.
"I don't know, can you?" He jumped as he felt her hand slide up his thigh. He slid away and snarled at her.
"Get away from me."
"Oh, playing hard to get?" The woman smirked, starting to move towards him.
He whipped out his wand and pointed it at her, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"If you value your life," He said menacingly, "You'll leave me alone. Now." The woman looked at him with disgust and left. He ignored the stares from the other patrons and continued his drinking.
Hours later, he had finished the bottle and decided he needed to get a room for the night. He still had enough wits about him to know he could not go home to Hermione this drunk. He stumbled over to pay for a room and made his way upstairs. His head had barely hit the pillow when he passed out cold.
Severus woke with a pounding headache and a guilty conscience. It had occurred to him that the only way he'd be likely to follow in his father's footsteps would be to drink, and he had just downed an entire bottle. He'd left her after she'd told him she was pregnant! He moaned and ran his hands through his hair, feeling foolish and regretful. Throwing on his cloak and made a quick stop for a potion remedy for his migraine, and then he quickly made his way home.
He pushed open his front door to a delicious smell. He expected to see Hermione, but instead Ginny poked her head out of the kitchen.
"Oh, hello, Severus!" She said loudly, smiling and taking sugar cookies off a tray and onto a cooling rack. He looked at her, confused and she nodded towards the sitting room. He shrugged off his cloak and cautiously entered the room. Hermione sat, curled up on the sofa, sipping something from a mug, Harry's arm around her and Ron lounging on the other side of the sofa, his hand resting on Hermione's foot. He immediately felt jealous, though he knew he had no reason to be. He tried to push that thought out of the way as he crossed to Hermione.
Finally reaching her, he offered his hand. She reluctantly took it and stood in front of him. He looked into her eyes, trying to convey how sorry he was, and she answered by rocking up on her toes to kiss him. He sighed, embracing her tightly, thanking the Gods she wasn't pushing him away.
After a moment, he pulled away and caressed her cheek, earning a sweet smile. Then slowly, he let his hand trail down her torso to her lower belly. He felt just the tiniest swelling there and caught his breath. He lowered himself to his knees and after a moment of hesitation, he leaned in and rested his head on her belly.
He heard her let out a quiet sob, and he felt tears sting his own eyes. How could he have left her? He looked up at her.
"Please forgive me." He whispered. She nodded, tears spilling down her face.
"Of course." She replied, running her hands through his hair. He kissed her belly softly and rose to his feet.
"I love you. And I love our child." He said, pressing his forehead against hers.
"I love you too." She breathed.
With that, Ginny loudly announced they should all be going. She snuck in a hug from both of them, and the men all shook hands – Ron gripped his hand especially hard, looking him seriously in the eye and expressing how happy he was for them. After they left, Severus picked Hermione up, carried her upstairs and drew them a nice warm bath.
After a few hours washing each other and talking in the tub, he carried her to their bed, crawling in beside her and pulling her close. He ran his hand up and down her body gently until she fell asleep. Only after he heard the telltale deep breathing, did he finally relax down, gliding his hand over to rest on her belly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was terrifying, but he already loved this child and couldn't wait to see Hermione as a mother. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. That night he would dream about a small girl with black ringlets and a love of books.