Well, here you go, another update! Thank you all for the lovely reviews and I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter - like I said I enjoyed writing it! Lol.

Chapter 25

The next few days passed uneventfully. Though Severus had become quite paranoid because whenever he caught Hermione's eye, she burst out laughing. He knew she was still amused from the other day, but honestly he preferred a bad tempered Hermione to this one. In his opinion she was much scarier this way. So he decided to hide away in his office, working furiously on his research.

But for Hermione, she still thought it was 'extremely cute' the way he had burst in the other day. Of course she knew he was just being possessive but the look on his face was something she would never forget - it brought a smile to her face just thinking about it! She was just glad to have something to smile about, given the decision she had to make. Well, she had made it, all she had to do was tell Severus…when she finally got to see him, that was.

On her fourth night alone, an annoyed Hermione decided to make her way to his office. If he dared tell her he was too busy…well Merlin help him! She turned the corner but stopped dead in her tracks. Severus' office was just down the corridor, but she could see well enough to know that the person that had just stepped out of his office was a female. But she was definitely not a student though. She watched as the female turned, hugged Severus, whispered something to him which made him laugh then kissed him on the cheek before walking away.

Feeling her stomach lurch and unable to confront him just yet, she turned on her heal and promptly stalked away, back to their chambers, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She refused to let them fall, repeating the words 'wait until I get to my room' like a mantra in her head. Upon entering the safety of their chambers, she pulled out her wand and began hexing everything in sight.

It wasn't until her anger dissolved that she gave into the urge to cry. She slid to the floor, sobs wracking through her body and she let them. How could this have happened? Things were great between them, so what went wrong? That was when all her insecurities came crashing over her like a tidal wave. So that's why he has been in his office so often lately and that's why he wouldn't tell her where he was! But then of course Severus would want someone else, she was so much younger than he was and, if she was honest, not as attractive as the woman she had seen leaving his office. And now, with the pregnancy, her occasional mood swings and the weight gain, he was probably becoming bored with her, maybe even repulsed.

All these thoughts whirled around her head as she continually put herself down, her sobs subsiding slightly. She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. Shakily she climbed to her feet and looked at the room around her and winced. It looked as though Fred and George had been let loose in there with a bunch of their new fireworks! She waved her wand, fixing everything and setting the room back to normal before she decided to get some sleep.

She woke up the next morning feeling awful. She quickly made for the bathroom and just about noticed that Severus hadn't come to bed at all last night and he still wasn't there. After emptying what little she had in her stomach she stepped into the shower, trying to liven herself up for the day ahead of her. After a change of clothes and an attempt to tame her hair she made her way down to breakfast and she wasn't surprised when she didn't see Severus present. He's probably still in his office thinking about last night, she thought bitterly.

She sat down, ignoring the questioning looks the professors gave her. She did however notice a smug look cross Malfoy's face, as if he knew what was wrong. Bastard, she thought venomously as she piled her plate full of different foods, wanting to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

Her lesson that day with Professor McGonagall didn't go too well either. She was barely taking in a thing she was saying and it wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Professor McGonagall looking down at her with a look of concern etched into her usually stern features.

"Miss Granger, you haven't been paying attention to a thing I've said. This really isn't like you. What's the matter?"

She didn't know how or why - maybe it was the pregnancy messing up her hormones again, but she burst out crying, startling the older woman. Hermione was mortified! Why the hell was she allowing herself to cry? In front of a teacher no less! She buried her face into her hands, not wanting a professor see her in such a state of weakness. She half expected the stern teacher to tell her to stop crying, but then again that was probably something Severus would say to her. Damn! Why did she have to think that? It only made her cry harder. Then she found herself being pulled into an embrace, which reminded her of her mother. This thought also made her worse, as she hadn't heard from her parents since they found out about her situation.

Professor McGonagall kept hold of Hermione, whispering soothing words to her as she gradually calmed down. When her sobs finally subsided she conjured up a handkerchief and passed it to Hermione who took it, smiling gratefully. She waited a while longer before speaking.

"Hermione, what is the matter? Has something happened? I promise if you don't want me to repeat it to anyone, I won't."

So, Hermione told her everything she saw last night and the fact that Severus has been staying in his office for long periods during the night. The professor sat and listened to her story, the usual stony look placed back on her face.

"But I really can't be one hundred percent sure if this is true. What if there is a reasonable explanation for this? But it still looks doubtful. I just don't know how to handle this - I've been given so much to deal with already."

"Well, let me tell you this much. If this is true, I will hex him into the middle of next week! If you would like, I will talk to him, that is if you don't feel as though you can do it yourself."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I have to confront him. But I just don't know how to go about it. I mean, I could accuse him of cheating on me, but like I said, I need a lot more proof than that."

"I understand, but if you do need to talk then you are always welcome to talk to me, if you feel like you have no one else to talk to. Now, I think we will end this lesson short, but I will give you some extra work so you can catch up on what we didn't get to cover today," she quickly added this last part when she saw the dismayed look on Hermione's face.

Hermione sighed and packed her things up. Thanking her professor she collected the assigned work and made her way down to her chambers, noticing as she passed his office, Severus was inside there once more.

She was finishing her transfiguration essay when Severus finally returned to their rooms that night. She noticed how exhausted he looked, but she didn't let it concern her. If he wanted to wear himself out, let him! She turned her attention back to her essay and she couldn't help but flinch when Severus bent down and kissed her cheek. He looked at her, a slight confused expression gracing his face but she pretended not to notice as she willed herself to keep her eyes focused on her work.

She sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to ignore him forever and watched him make his way to the bathroom. How was she going to bring this up? She'd never confronted him like this before and honestly, she was scared - Gryffindor or not!

Severus came out the bathroom, freshly showered and entered the sitting room to find Hermione curled up on the couch, reading. He knew she was angry with him, but he didn't know what. He sat down in a chair, opposite her and spoke.

"Ok, Hermione. What is the matter?"

She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing."

"We both know perfectly well that it is something, now tell me."

Hermione snapped her book shut, looking at Severus. "Ok fine, it is something. It's you! I haven't seen you properly since last week because you have been hiding away in your office, that's what!"

He looked slightly embarrassed for a moment before replying, "I realise that I have been spending a lot of time in there but there is a perfectly decent explanation for that."

Hermione snapped, a perfectly good reason?! "Would that 'perfectly good reason' have anything to do with that woman I saw last night?"

"What? No! Hermione what are you talking about?"

"I saw a woman leave your office last night! I came down to tell you I had made my decision and I wanted to talk to you about it! But then I saw her leaving and decided not to."

Severus closed his eyes. "That really isn't what you think."

"Oh really? What was it then?"

"That woman was my cousin. And before you say anything else, no, absolutely nothing went on, except for talk. I needed advice on something I'm working on and she is, like me, an expert in potions, but I wanted another experts opinion as I have been getting no where in my research."

Ok, whatever Hermione had expected, that was not it. She stared at Severus for a long while before replying.

"But I thought you had no family."

"Of course I do. The reason why you haven't met them is because they are not nice people. They are purebloods and they are set in their ways. I know if they met you they would treat you the same way Draco Malfoy treats you and I don't want to see you upset - especially by people I call family."

"Oh…but I'm still angry with you for being away so much. What is it that you're working on that you are spending so much time away from me? You do realise why I thought what I did, don't you?"

Severus once again looked shamed and nodded, "Yes, I realise how it must have seemed to you now. But you must know I would never do that to you. Why would I jeopardize the one thing that has made me happier than I've ever been in my life?"

Hermione had the grace to blush and she looked down, annoyed with herself for overreacting. She looked up and offered him a shy smile before saying, "Can we just assume I acted the way I did because of hormones?"

Severus allowed himself to smile. "I think I will allow that…just this once," he became stern again when he added, "but you should know I would never do that to you. You know how I feel and I'm hoping you feel the same."

She grabbed his hand. "Of course I do. And I'm sorry I didn't trust you…although in my defence, you did act rather rashly the other day."

"Ok, fine, we both overreacted! Lets not speak of it again."

"Deal."

Severus pulled Hermione over to him and held her, trying to reassure her that he still wanted her. He rubbed a hand over her stomach, enjoying the feel of the bump that seemed to have gotten bigger the last time he saw her.

At nearly five months it had become more difficult to hide the pregnancy. It was almost half term and at the end of November Hermione would be on a break from her actual lessons until after she has had the baby. But that wouldn't stop her from working - Severus knew that much! Though he supposed if she didn't overdo it, she would be ok, considering she didn't stress herself out.

"Severus?" Hermione's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Mmm?"

"Come to bed."

"That's the best thing you've said all night," Severus grinned and allowed her to lead him to their room.

Yay, another one done:D I reached my end of the bargain, now all you guys have to do is click that button down there next to review! DO IT, DO IT NOW!!! And I will shower you with cool Severus dolls…called Little Sev, who has a pull string complete with several sarcastic phrases :D Thanks for reading everyone!