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A Snape/Hermione fic.
Chapter Twenty-One.
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Disclaimer: See Ch. 1.
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A/N: Wow ... unbelievably amazing reviews so far, guys. If I'm half as good as you guys say I am, I'm off to do a little happy dance.
I am so thrilled you're still enjoying this story ... and to everyone who's just recently found this story and read all the chapters up to this point, thanks for dropping me a review, I'm glad you like it! I owe it all to the inspiration behind this story, and that would be Samantha's wonderful character ... this story wouldn't be half as good without her.
Also, I'm happy I decided to go past 20 chapters ... wouldn't have done the story justice if I had ended it so soon. I'm not sure how many chapters it will be now ... I want it to be a round-ish number, so probably either 25 or 30.
Well, that's enough out of me ... let's get on with it, shall we?
As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!
Hermione allowed Severus to retract his hand away from hers, staring at the scene laid out before her.
Ron was shaking bits of glass out of his hair with an infuriated expression on his reddened face while his mother whipped her want out to repair the window. Charlie, Bill, Fred and George stared at their old Potions professor with disbelieving and shocked looks on their faces. Harry and Ginny looked worriedly between Ron and Hermione while Fleur attempted to calm a fussy Samantha, and Arthur attempted to soothe his wife. There was definite tension.
"Should have stunned him permanently," Severus muttered in Hermione's ear, his hand resting on his wand.
Ron glared at the older man before turning to Harry for back up. "He attacked me!"
Harry glanced at Hermione for confirmation.
"That is an utter lie, Ronald, and you know it!" she spoke evenly, glancing at Ginny. "Ginny, Fleur, can you please take Samantha upstairs?"
Ginny nodded, glancing suspiciously at her brother before moving to help the veela with the three-year old.
Once they were out of earshot Hermione rounded on Ron. "What the hell do you think you have to be blustering about?" she asked scathingly, feeling much more secure with Severus next to her. "After what you just tried to do, you're lucky Severus only stunned you!"
All eyes turned to Ron.
"What is she talking about, son?" Arthur asked.
Ron shook his head. "It's him! He's messed with her head! She's not thinking straight!" he defended.
Severus took a menacing step forwards, ignoring Hermione's half-hearted request to stay back. Ron's eyes widened in anger and fear, but he remained where he was. "You simpering, impotent disgrace," he spat, glaring down at the younger boy. "First you force yourself on your friend, and then you attempt to cover it up with half-baked lies! I should hex you until you shrivel up into the worthless piece of vermin you are!"
His wand went up, but Arthur stepped in his way. "Now wait just a minute, Snape," he said, holding his hand up. "There must be some mistake. Ron wouldn't ... not after ..." Arthur glanced at Hermione who reluctantly nodded. He turned his head back to his son. "Ron?"
Ron looked away in near-shame. "It wasn't like that ..."
Hermione shook her head, trying to blink away her resurfacing tears. "It was exactly like that," Hermione snapped. "You just won't get it through your head that I don't love you like that!"
Ron scoffed, trying to step around the men in front of him. "Oh, but you love him?"
Hermione remained silent, neither confirming nor denying Ron's beliefs.
"Ron, stop," his father ordered in a shaky voice, but Molly's voice boomed over top of his.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, how could you!?" she shrieked, pushing her husband out of the way to pull Ron to face her by his shoulders. "After everything that Hermione went through, after everything that she sacrificed ... how could you do that? What is the matter with you?"
Ron looked away, unable to meet his mother's eyes.
Molly shook him, losing her patience, but Ron still didn't answer. She looked at him with sad and angered eyes before setting her jaw and steeling her gaze. "You need to sort things out for yourself, Ronald ... away from here."
Ron turned to look at her in surprise. "You're kicking me out?"
Molly shook her head, fighting back her tears. "No ... I'm telling you to leave before you make things worse for yourself. You need to get some perspective ... and if you don't leave, or apologize or something, I just might let Severus tear you a new one."
Ron looked around at everyone in the room who all watched him with matching, unsympathetic expressions before he nodded, stepped away from his mother and apparated away.
Severus growled low in his throat before stepping away from Arthur Weasley and returning to the front door.
Hermione looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry," she whispered to everyone in the room. "I didn't mean for this to spoil your Christmas."
Molly shook her head, stepping towards the smaller girl and taking her in her arms. "You didn't spoil anything, dear. Ron needs to get his head on straight." She pulled back to hold Hermione and arm's length, sighing sadly. "Oh, Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. We all knew Ron was hung up on you, but we never thought he'd go that far ..."
Hermione nodded sadly. "I thought I'd made it clear ... but I guess I was too afraid to hurt him."
Severus glanced down at the two uncomfortably, wanting to leave. "Hermione, now that the ... crisis has been averted, I shall be leaving."
Molly glanced over at him. "Don't be silly, Severus. You're here now, and we have more than enough room."
Severus glanced around at the mass of Weasleys before looking down at Hermione with almost remorseful eyes. "I'm sorry, but I have pressing matters to deal with," he lied. "Hermione, could I speak with you a moment before I depart?"
Hermione nodded, following him out of the house.
"I hope you are not offended by my leaving," Severus said quietly.
Hermione shook her head. "It's okay. I'm sure I'll be fielding about a million questions from all of them tonight anyway ... it'll be less awkward if you're not there."
Severus nodded. "Are you okay, then?"
Hermione nodded after a moment. "I wish Ron wasn't such a bloody moronic prat, but yeah, I'll be fine." She touched the necklace where it lay under her shirt, looking up at him. "Thanks ... for everything."
"You are welcome," Severus told her, looking towards the house once before leaning down and brushing her lips with his. "I shall see you when you return to Hogwarts."
Hermione sighed, nodding once before stepping back so he could apparate away. Once he was gone she waited outside for a moment before taking a deep breath and returning inside.
Hermione had been correct in assuming there would be a mass of questions hailed at her when she walked in the door. They started out with concern for her well being, and then drifted off into whether or not she was actually dating Severus Snape, the man notorious for his utter hatred of all things Gryffindor. The remaining Weasleys had the decency and maturity not to ask if her she'd completely lost her mind, especially once Samantha had been brought back down. Of course, once Samantha got within wailing distance of her mother, she began her own assault of questions: why Uncle Ron was so mad at Severus, why Severus had left without saying goodbye, what "sex" was ... Hermione was not a happy camper.
By the end of the night, when Samantha was snoring peacefully in Percy's old room, Hermione was exhausted. Hermione sat with Ginny and Fleur in the back yard, grateful that the two of them hadn't felt the need to pick her brain.
"Someone please tell me something to take my mind off of this entire day," Hermione asked, leaning back against her chair with her hand over her eyes.
She heard the other two shift in their chairs, imagined they were looking at each other and telling the other to come up with something, but finally Fleur broke the silence, accentuating each word. "I am pregnant."
Hermione blinked, removing her arm from her head. Ginny snapped forward in her seat, her hand covering her own belly.
"Seriously?" the two of them asked at the same time.
Fleur nodded happily.
"Does Bill know?" Hermione asked just as Ginny asked, "Does Mum know?"
Fleur shook her head. "I just found out. I wanted to surprise them."
Hermione smiled, happy for both Bill and Fleur. "When are you going to tell them?"
Fleur told them her plan to tell Bill on Christmas Eve, and then the two of them would tell Molly and Arthur Christmas Day, depending on how he took the news. Hermione and Ginny assured her that they had no doubts that Bill would be thrilled.
When she went to bed that night, Hermione thought over the day's events, all leading up to Fleur being pregnant. With Ginny being only a couple months away from giving birth, and another baby on the way, Molly was going to have her hands full with grandchildren. She was happy, though. Molly will be so thrilled. If only Ron hadn't been so stupid, he could be here, enjoying this moment with his family.
She curled herself against the extra bed in Percy's old room, glancing over at her daughter and Crookshanks cuddled together. I can't believe Ron actually did that ... I don't know what I would have done if Severus hadn't shown up. She looked thoughtfully at the locket he'd given her, and at Samantha's very-Slytherin bracelet, considering the enchantment he'd placed upon both of the items so that he would know if they were ever in trouble. Even if he couldn't express it with words, he cared and worried about them ... about both of them.
The thought made her smile, despite all the other thoughts running through her mind.
By Christmas Day Hermione had managed to suitably convince Samantha that her "Uncle Ron" had been mistaken about everything he'd said, and had only acted the way he had because he'd knocked his head a bit while playing Quidditch. She told her that she didn't know how long it would take until he sorted himself out, but she hoped he would do it quickly and come back to apologize.
Hermione was looking forward to returning to Hogwarts, even though she knew that the other Weasleys would always love her and treat her as a member of their own, large family. Bill and Fleur had told everyone about their baby news, and the house was very hectic at the moment.
Samantha kept placing her ear on Ginny's belly and then Fleur's, trying to hear the babies inside both of them, and then crinkling her nose at her Auntie Fleur. "Are you sure there's a baby in there, Auntie Fleur?"
Everyone laughed while Fleur nodded. "I am sure."
They opened presents after breakfast, and after that they went out into the yard to play the oddest game of soccer Hermione had ever witnessed. Harry and Hermione had suggested it the previous year, but Fred and George had found it boring, so they'd spruced it up, enchanting the ball to make it try and dodge everyone who went after it. The teams soon disbanded and everyone ran around at random, trying madly to capture the damn ball.
Hermione was taking a breather from the game when Molly appeared beside her, looking at her thoughtfully. "Hermione, could I see you inside for a second?"
She nodded, imaging the woman was about to berate her for her choices.
"I know you've answered dozens of questions about this already, so I'll only ask you one, and then I'll be done with it," Molly told her.
Hermione waited for her to continue.
"Are you happy?"
Well, that's not what I was expecting, Hermione thought, looking at the older woman. "Um ... yes, I suppose."
Molly held firm, tilting her head. "I'm afraid I'll need a little more than that, dear. 'I suppose' is not the answer of a happy woman."
Hermione groaned, sitting down on the couch by the window. "Molly, this has all happened so suddenly, I don't know what to feel."
Molly sat next to her, brushing a hand through Hermione's hair and then wrapping an arm around her, half-hugging her. "Just start from the beginning, dear. Tell me what happened, and maybe it'll clear things up for you."
And Hermione did. She told Molly about everything Severus had done and said to her since the moment she arrived at the school, blushing slightly when she told her about him being in her room without her permission, and when she told her about her getting drunk and him bringing her home. She told Molly how he acted around Samantha, and how Samantha felt about him. She recounted all that Severus had done to catch the men who'd attacked her, and how he'd calmed her down during her panic-attack. She told Molly about Samantha wanting Severus to be her father, and about the Room of Requirement experience. Finally, she told Molly about the necklace and bracelet he'd given them, and finished her story, looking down at her hands.
Molly was silent next to her.
"Molly?" Hermione asked, glancing over at her.
The older woman shook her head, a glazed look in her eyes and a half-smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I never would have thought it was possible."
Hermione furrowed her brow. "Thought what was possible?"
Molly blinked, turning her head to meet Hermione's eyes. "You've gotten to him, Hermione. You've made him feel again ... you've softened his heart, so to speak."
Hermione scoffed, looking away. "Oh, please ... he wasn't always that bad, really."
Molly grinned. "You're saying that now ... would you have said that when you first went back to Hogwarts?"
Hermione thought back, shrugging. "I don't know ... maybe."
Molly shook her head. "I don't think you would have ... 'cause he's changed you, too."
Hermione replied, "I don't know what you mean."
Molly smiled, patting Hermione's hand. "Oh, dear ... don't you realize? You're falling in love with him."
End of chapter twenty-one.
Sorry for the wait, but I've been trying to wrap up all my Practicum stuff for the end of term.
Well, what did you guys think? Love it, hate it?
Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful.
Until next time ...!