Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.

This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.

Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna

OC's: See profile

Chapter Word Count: 2,193

Story Word Count: 40,095

This chapter is a little bit shorter, but if everything goes as planned the next chapter will be a decent size.

~Enjoy

Chapter Twenty

"Professor Snape?" Darren asked, approaching her desk as the rest of the class trickled out.

"Yes Mr. Parkinson?" She replied, smiling warmly at him.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior towards you at the beginning of the year."

"It's all forgiven Mr. Parkinson." She set a couple of papers off to the side and stood from her chair, slightly caressing her stomach. "You should head down to the Great Hall, it's nearing lunch time."

"May I escort you there?" He asked, as he picked up his bag.

"Sure, why not." She responded, opening the door for him, and warding it shut behind them.

"Ma'am, is your husband hurting you?" He asked as they walked through the empty corridors.

"Mr. Parkinson, where would you get that idea?" She asked, shocked at the question that came out of the blue.

"My eldest sister Naomi was abused by her husband, he nearly killed her. I've noticed in class that the Professor has had a short temper as of late. I saw that the two of you quarreled the other day."

"Mr. Parkin-."

"You may call me Darren if you'd like."

"Thank you. Darren, I assure you that my husband is not hurting me."

"Do you have anything in place in case that he does?" He asked as they approached the Grand Staircase. Since they were passing a few students, she just nodded at him. "Very well. Now, I didn't name the either of you when I spoke to my parents, but I asked for their help on the chance that you need to escape. They gave me a portkey that I could give you, and told me that the activation code is "Cherokee Rose"."

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but when she realized how concerned this child was, brother of a girl who'd tormented her through school, she let out a few tears. Reaching a hand out and accepting the bracelet, she murmured, "Thank you Darren, though I assure you that I won't need it."

He nodded at her, mask sliding into place as they got to the Great Hall. "You're welcome ma'am. And for the record, Naomi never thought that she would need hers either." He walked away towards his table as she walked to hers.

"What did the young Mr. Parkinson want?" Minerva asked.

"He apologized for his behavior at the beginning of the year and gave me a present." She looked around and didn't see Severus approaching yet, and looked up at Minerva, quickly casting a silent 'Muffliato'. "Minerva, I was wondering if you'd received my letter?"

She nodded, looking around and realizing that nobody was paying attention to them. "Did you cast a privacy spell dear?"

"Yes."

"I did receive your letter, and have arranged for a suite of rooms to be prepared for you. It's fairly basic, but it's got a room for you, and a small nursery if you're still there after you have the baby."

Tears gathered in Hermione eyes again. "I'm sorry I had to ask. Mr. Parkinson gave me an emergency portkey to his home. He said his older sister was abused, not Pansy, and that he wanted me to have a way out in case I needed it."

Minerva smiled at the boy in question before turning back to her. "I've had reports from most of his Professors that he is much better behaved than Pansy was."

"I agree. I got some attitude from him at the beginning, but he's done a complete 180 in regards to me. Though Severus said that he had some problems from him recently."

Minerva nodded, before looking at something behind her. "Severus is coming my dear."

Hermione waved her wand to release the silencing spell, greeting her husband as he approached.

"I think that she's seen me my lady." Travers said, voice dripping in reverence, though he was slightly worried about her reaction. They weren't planning to be sighted yet.

Bellatrix grinned somewhat maniacally though. "That's good. Did you send her the box of newspaper clippings?"

"Yes. She received those earlier this month."

"I think on the 13th of next month we should attack some muggles. The fourteenth wouldn't have a very romantic feel to it after an entire village is slaughtered in their sleep now would it?"

"Not at all my dear. I think that is a wonderful plan."

"What have I told you about speaking to me like that you bloody imbecile?" She screeched, shooting out a cutting curse at him, slashing his cheek open.

"Sorry my liege," he replied, groaning at the fiery look she was giving him. "I couldn't stop myself."

"Try harder next time." She sneered, moving to leave the warehouse.

"Where are you going my lady?" He called after.

"I'm going to find some helpless muggles to bring here to torture."

Rodolphus and Meissa were sitting around the living room, curled up on the couch. "I remember reading about a Carlina Finnegan. So she was killed with magic?"

"Darling, I don't think you want to hear about it." He replied, kissing her on the head. "I really should not have brought it to him. If Severus had not done what he did, he would have been murdered. I've also read the reports about him being a spy, so not only would he have been killed, but the light side would have lost their eyes and ears in the Death Eaters meetings."

"Tell me Rodo. I want to know."

"The Dark Lord was going through a paranoid phase, and though it turns out he was right to doubt Severus's loyalty, at a meeting he called Severus out and told him he had a gift for the dour man. Severus responded with gratitude, and the Dark Lord had a house elf bring the girl out. Severus was ordered to take out his sexua-."

"I don't want to hear any more." She cried, covering her ears.

"Severus later told me that he'd cast a spell on the child that made her comatose before doing some complicated magic that made it look as if she'd been assaulted. I never believed him while I was under their control, but now, realizing what kind of a man he is, I do." He looked over at the table where the apology letter from Severus was laying face up. "It seems that I owe him an apology."

"Maybe the two of you could try to meet up and get over your differences." Meissa suggested.

"I don't know how well that would work darling." He responded, nuzzling her hair.

"We've missed out on so much of her life. Maybe if I had taken her in when I recovered after my coma, things would be different. I want us to be able to build a good relationship with her and Severus. I cried when she called me mum, even though she probably didn't realize that she had."

"I'll try my dear, though I can't make any promises as to how it will turn out."

Dear Harry,

I have here the paperwork you would need to fill out for Minerva so that you can cover my 4-7th year classes. I know that you've already got a lot on your plate, but I want you to know that I'm very grateful that you'd be willing to help me out.

Hermione

The noise and bustle of the muggle restaurant was almost calming for Ginny as she waited for Hermione to arrive. Ginny had gotten there earlier than they had agreed upon, wanting to get out of the house. She still felt distraught over the baby, and kept having to stop herself from caressing her stomach. "I'm so sorry that I'm late." Hermione said, sitting down in the chair opposite her.

"You're not late, I got here very early."

"How have you been?"

Ginny looked despondently at the tablecloth. "I.. it's hard. We.. were so excited."

Mistaking her pause Hermione reached across the table and placed her hand over Ginny's. "We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to."

"I actually think that I need to talk about it. I don't want to weigh Harry down with my feelings over it when he gets off of work at the Ministry."

Flashing back to the conversation that the trio had in the Room of Requirement, Hermione couldn't help but think of how perfect Ginny and Harry were together. "You know that Harry recently had a very similar conversation with Ron and I?"

Their waitress came up and took their orders before Ginny answered. "You don't have to answer me, Harry kind of just changes the subject when I ask about it. What do you guys keep meeting about?"

Hermione contemplated how to answer the question. "I would tell you, but I understand Harry's reason behind why he hasn't. Did he ever tell you what we were doing during what would have been our seventh year when we were on the run?"

"Are your meetings about something similar to that? He never gave me exact details. Are you guys doing anything dangerous? Does Severus know?"

"No, Severus doesn't know. Let me think of how to explain this. If you look at it one way, when we were on the run, we were gathering… information that would help us to defeat Voldemort. Right now, we're just gathering information, and I'm waiting for the metaphorical Escape from Gringotts before I tell Severus. I figure it's a fair assumption that Harry is doing the same for you."

"Does this gathering of information have anything to do with the attack on the Minister?" Ginny asked.

"While the attack was important, what we've spoken about, is who perpetrated it. We've got odds and ends of evidence, but we don't know why they did it."

"Why are you and Ron involved with this? Why not the aurors?"

"Because the aurors scoffed at the residue magical signature that was found on the box that held the potion that was the attack."

"Whose magical signature was it?"

"I've probably told you far more than Harry would have liked, so please forgive me when I say I can't tell you any more than that."

The waitress brought their food and drinks over, but neither of them touched their food yet. "Please tell me if I need to be worried." Ginny pleaded.

"I don't think you need to w-." Hermione froze, looking down at her stomach, and putting a hand over it.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, getting up and walking around to Hermione's side of the table. Hermione grabbed her hand and placed it against her belly. It took a moment, but Ginny felt a slight bump against her hand. "Is that?"

"The baby is kicking!" Hermione grinned, catching the glimpse of sadness in Ginny's eyes as the redhead looked at her.

"I so wish that I'd have had the opportunity to feel my baby." Voice quivering with awe.

"Gin, Harry has always wanted a family of his own. I have no doubt that the two of you will have multiple children."

Smiling, Ginny focused on the light bumping against her hand. "I sure hope so."

"Will there be anything else sir?" The sales clerk asked him.

"No, thank you though." Severus replied as he picked up his bag and walked to the exit.

He knew that they still had several months until the baby was due, but with the recent problems he and Hermione had been having, he wanted to get some stuff to show her that he cared about their child. He'd also made reservations for their date tonight. Walking to a deserted alley, he made sure that nobody was watching before turning on the spot to apparate to the gates of Hogwarts. Swiftly making his way through the corridors before arriving at his home, he observed several students walking throughout the school. Quickly muttering the password, he entered his quarters to see his lovely wife sitting on the couch and reading a book. "Hello Darling, I bought some things that I think you will like."

"Should I look at them now, or when we get back from dinner?"

"Now please." He replied, excited about her reaction.

She opened the bag and gasped at what she saw. At the top was a fuzzy teddy bear, and beneath it were a few onesies along with a wrapped package. She pulled each onesie out one at a time, oohing and ahhing, before she pulled out the wrapped package. "Is this a book?"

He'd sat down beside her when he handed her the back and nodded. "You'll have to open it to see."

Hermione pulled the paper off, and uncovered a baby book. "It's beautiful Severus."

"It has a few pages that you can fill out before the baby is born. If we decide to find out what the babies sex is, there's a spot for that. There's a spot for the name. There's-"

"It's lovely Severus, I can't wait to get started on it when we get home tonight. Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

He gave her a light kiss on her lips, "that would ruin the surprise darling."

Just in case there is concern about it, Severus will NOT be abusive. I don't want to spoil anything, but there will be a very big argument in the next chapter that causes her to use the rooms she had Minerva set up for a while. Don't worry though, they'll make up before too long. I hope you liked it.