AN: Well, it has been longer than I original anticipated. Why does that always happen when we get to the good parts? I promise it's not because I enjoy torturing you all. If my ditzy muse would stay around longer than three days at a time, this story would have been finished long ago. But, better late than never, I suppose. Enjoy!
Chapter 44: Home Sweet Home
The wind blew Hermione's hair around her forehead, and she batted the curls away as she surveyed the view before her. She felt as if she was in heaven, truly. It was a magnificent view. She felt Severus come up behind her and turned her face against the wind to look up at him, and there, in his gaze, she saw all of their shared hopes and dreams coming true.
"What do you think?" His voice was soft, for her ears only, mindful of the realtor standing only a few paces behind them, anxious, no doubt, for their answer. Hermione didn't have to think about her response. She'd known from the moment they'd arrived on the front lawn of the cottage that this was to be their home.
"I think it's perfect," she whispered back, tears already forming in her eyes-whether from emotion or the stiff wind blowing up from the bay below. Out in the distance she could see mounds of the small islets rising from the deep blue water. This, preceded by the gentle, rolling hills of green grass completed the picture of what was, essentially, their new backyard. She turned, then, to view their home-to-be once more, marveling at their luck. Months of searching, disappointments, and worry all culminated in this magnificent find. The cottage itself was a smallish, white-washed structure with a gabled roof, tall windows upstairs and downstairs with brightly painted blue shutters. The arched door was painted to match, the same merry blue color that gave the building such a cheery disposition, and the pale walls were covered in long ropes of ivy, as ancient as the land around it. The backyard, fully equipped with an extensive fenced in garden with trellises covered in Morning Glories and Clematis, was the perfect exterior haven for their humble abode, and there was plenty of un-tilled land to create the potions garden of Hermione's dreams. The back dutch door led into the rustic kitchen, and the upper, rear windows belonged to the master bedroom.
And inside…oh, when they'd toured the inside…she'd wanted to squeal, she'd wanted to jump for the joy of it-and probably would have had not her heavily pregnant state prevented her from doing much in the way of jumping lately. Upon entering the homely looking cottage, the wizarding realtor had been quick to point out that the former owners had been magical. For, as with most wizarding homes, the inside was a great deal larger that it appeared on the outside. Hermione and Severus had entered to find themselves standing in a warm and inviting entryway, the stairs before them, all hard wood floors and white-washed walls. The walls themselves were bare, just waiting to be filled with paintings and photographs of their own. To the right was a small doorway that led to a formal sitting area with a large fireplace and a great bay window, and to the left there was a guest bathroom, small, but serviceable. Down a long hallway, equally inviting looking due to the warm tones of the hardwood floor, there was the kitchen, large and open, it was the perfect place for their small family to cook, eat, and enjoy each other's company. The floor was hard wood, yet again, and there was a large, old fashioned wood burning stove next to the water pump and sink. Over the sink was a large, square window with room for a plant or two that looked out on the large garden, and beside this was the back door. The room was well lit and comfortable. Turning, once more, to the right, was a small, arched doorway that had sliding panels enclosing the room beyond. And when Severus, with a rare gleam in his eye, had slid the panels aside, Hermione had gasped aloud. It was a very, very proper looking library, a large bay window with a window seat overlooking the shady part of the garden. The walls were inlaid with shelf after shelf, empty and waiting to be filled with books belonging to two die hard collectors. It was perfect. It was all she'd needed to see, really, and Hermione had been eager to make a deal right then and there. But there was still the upstairs to see, and the realtor, with a knowing smirk, had already begun to ascend the stairs. As they followed, Hermione whispered to Severus,
"This place is incredible! However did Harry find it?"
"Apparrently one of his acquaintances at the ministry had a maiden aunt who recently put this little gem up for sale after requiring extensive services at St. Ferdinand's home for Elderly and Infirm Wizards. She was a happy old thing, apparently. One hundred and eighty-three, or so Harry was told. He asked after the place and found that it was still on the market. And," his lips twitched, "here we are."
Hermione looked around the upstairs master bedroom in awe at the sheer size of the room. "Severus, it's wonderful, but can we afford this," she asserted quietly as they were shown the private bath connecting to the bedroom. "It looks far too expensive for our price range."
Severus offered a self-satisfied smirk. "That is the beauty of it, my dear. The asking price is low because the Aunt wanted to sell quickly, making no repairs of her own to the place. So we," he murmured, "would be getting one hell of a deal."
Hermione bit her lip, took one more lingering look around the room and then smiled widely. "Well, I would say that this deal is coming just in time." Her hands came up over the swell of her belly, and Severus moved in closer, placing his hands over her own. He brought his face closer to hers, and nuzzled her ever so gently with the bridge of his nose, his hand making gentle circles over the swell of their child.
"A place to call our own, a home for our family. Hermione…." he murmured, and she pulled back to look into his eyes, surprised to see the wealth of emotion brimming in those dark pools. Always he had opened up to her, shown her his true heart in the privacy of their own quarters, away from prying eyes. But he tended to keep himself so reserved in public, remaining aloof and mysterious to all who were not able to see beyond his mask. It shocked her that their present situation moved him so, and she was doubly grateful that the tactful realtor had moved away, turning her back pretending to inspect the window frame, giving them a sense of privacy. Hermione tilted her head up and brought her hands to either side of her husband's face, her thumbs grazing his sharp cheekbones. "Oh my love, you deserve all the happiness this world has to offer you." She took deep breath, and smiled widely. "Well, shall we?"
His lips curved into a gentle smile and he gave her belly one more gentle caress. "We shall indeed."
And so it was, with open eyes, and thrilled hearts, that Severus and Hermione confirmed their desire to purchase the cottage. With a few signatures and several tears of joy, the house was theirs.
Sandra McDougall, the realtor for the property, was feeling rather smug. After what she'd anticipated would be a difficult sale had gone so well, she felt she had a right to feel triumphant. After all, when she'd first met the prospective owners, she'd gotten a chill down her back at the stern countenance of the husband. What a dour man he was, and with such a cheerful, lovely young wife. She couldn't imagine the two of them together. As a realtor, she was often privy to little scenes of domesticity in her job, the good and the bad, and she had felt certain that this was another loveless marriage. Although, she had conceded, the young woman had been obviously pregnant, so she supposed there must be some level of romance there. But then there had been that suddenly tender moment in the master bedroom. They'd seemed so intimate with each other, almost as if they'd forgotten she was there. And now, as she packed away her things and made her way down the path to the apparition point, she turned, one last time to peek at the couple enjoying their new status as homeowners, and was shocked to see the tall, dark haired man lift his wife with ease into his arms, grin down at her in an extremely roguish manner, and without further ado carried her over the threshold, the little blue door slamming resolutely behind them. Well, she thought, you really can't judge a book by its cover.
….
The next few weeks were busy ones for Severus and Hermione. After closing on their cottage, an exciting and emotional experience for both of them, they realized that the hard part was still to come. Though their quarters were small, it was amazing how much junk two people and a child could amass in the span of only a few years. Severus had been unable to fathom where most of the stuff had actually come from! He certainly had not contributed to this mess. He'd said as much one evening as they were sorting through yet another pile of junk and Hermione had nearly collapsed in a fit of laughter.
He had not been amused as he watched his hugely pregnant wife, sprawled out amongst stacks of paper and knick-knacks, clutching her belly as she guffawed. "What could possibly be funny?"
"Oh, oh Severus," she cackled some more, wiping the tears from her eyes. "This from the man who refused, REFUSED, to give up back logged copies of Potions Monthly from the year nineteen-seventy-eight!"
Severus had had the grace to look sheepish. It was…possible…that he was a bit of a pack rat when it came to periodicals. And books. And vintage bottles of wine. And antique potions vials. "Yes, well, I'm not the only one," he retorted, shifting through yet another box of some of Hermione's old school things. "When in the name of Merlin did you ever use this contraption," he grumbled holding out a long stick with faded blue ribbons attached. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Those are some of my old school things from when I still went to Muggle grade school. I was part of the junior rhythmic gymnastics league."
"Rhythmic gymnastics?" His eyebrow raised doubtfully.
Hermione grinned. "My mum thought I was too focused on my school work. She thought it would provide me with an outlet," Hermione reached a hand out and took the proffered item. "I lasted four months before mum and dad made me quit when they noticed I was involuntarily levitating the streamers during competitions."
Severus snickered and then looked thoughtful. "Such a powerful witch from the start," he murmured, reaching to brace his hands gently on either side of the bulge of their child where he was rewarded with a sharp kick from within. "I wonder...will she be as incredible as her mother?"
Hermione smiled softly, her eyes glowing with love for this impossibly grouchy, but incredibly sensitive man in front of her, touching her belly so gently, yet possessively as if he feared she would break. "Or as powerful and formidable as her father?" She sifted her hands through his hair. Severus looked up at her, continuing to probe her belly, following the gentle, subtle movements of the unseen limbs within, tracing the path with his long fingers. "I wish only for a healthy child, but between the two of us for parents, no doubt she will be magnificent."
"I agree, love," she acknowledged.
She was silent for a few moments. "I can hardly believe it is to be so soon," and to her frustrations he felt tears well in her eyes again. "Gods, I'm either a sobbing mess or a raging harpy. That is one symptom of pregnancy I can't wait to be rid of." She shook her head, wiping the stray tears. "I never thought this would happen for me, Severus. I thought that it was impossible for so long. Now that it's happening, I'm just so grateful, so happy. And though we have not met her yet, I already love her everlastingly, totally completely."
With a soft smile on his face, he was quiet for a time, enjoying feeling the movement of the baby within his wife, marveling at the process that was life, birth, motherhood, and fatherhood all at once. "I think, that after all we've been through with each other, you and I, our little miracle in here," he pressed his hands ever so much further into her flesh, "will be the most loved child there ever was."
Hermione smiled, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Agreed."
…..
"Take this one, darling," Hermione called to Henry as he ran at a break necking pace from his brand new bedroom to the kitchen of their new home, his small footsteps thundering through the house. They'd moved in the night before, all of them too exhausted to do much more that get out the essentials and collapse. The morning had dawned bright and warm, a beautiful late August day, and the Snapes had risen early to begin making their home their own. Hermione had been ordered by Severus to remain in the kitchen, much to her consternation. Over the last several days as her due date loomed closer and closer, Severus had become a hoverer. She had been driven to distraction, and had nearly bitten his head off the week before.
"For goodness sake! I'm not going to go into labor in the five minutes it will take me to use the loo! Go and brew a bloody potion or read a book. You're driving me up a wall!"
Begrudgingly, Severus had backed off, but she strongly suspected that he had spies doing his work for him now. Minerva had been suspiciously solicitous, and Filius had requested several afternoon teas with her, apropos of nothing. But today, it seemed, the excitement of setting up the basement as their shared laboratory held more of an appeal than watching her like a hawk, and Hermione and Henry had spent the morning unpacking his room. She'd been overjoyed with her son's delight in his new space, and she'd left him to it for the most part, enjoying watching him make homes for his stuffed animals and junior potions kit. Now, sitting with her back against the cabinets she was attempting to organize the pots and pans. The past few weeks, she'd been miserable, and very ready to have this baby. Poppy had laughed and gently reminded her that babies come on their own time, but that hadn't made Hermione feel any better about her swollen ankles, aching back, not to mention the frequent need to use the loo and the uncomfortable heartburn. But this morning, she'd woken up seemingly symptom free, revitalized with an energy that both surprised and pleased her, and she'd gotten right to work.
There, she thought, as she placed the last of the sauce pans into the cupboards. There was just something about organizing one's home without magic that gave her a sense of satisfaction. Perhaps she was nesting. Either way, she was pleased with her progress so far. The kitchen was nearly done, and she could happily envision years of lovely meals for their family being whipped up in the functional, airy space.
With some difficulty she rose, and groaned, her back pain had returned with a vengeance about an hour before, but she had done her best to ignore it, intent on finishing her work. "That's what you get for sitting on the floor, Hermoine," she muttered to herself as she pressed her knuckles into the knotted muscles at the base of her spine. Absently continuing to rub her lower back, she waddled over to the pantry with the intent to stock the shelves. But she didn't make it even halfway there.
An unexpectedly strong cramp suddenly radiated around from her back to her lower belly with such force that it nearly sent her to her knees. She gasped, breathing deeply as she pressed a shaking hand against the lower curve of her abdomen, shocked to find that her skin was taught and rigid, tight as a drum, the pain moving as if in a wave from top to bottom of the swell. And then a flood of fluid splattered the floor between her bare feet.
She stood there several moments in shock, the facts of the situation hitting her all at once. She was in labor, and probably had bee all morning without knowing it. "Oh gods," she breathed, "Severus!" Her voice carried well, but Severus was down in the lab, far away from being able to hear his wife's plaintive cry and it was in that very moment that Hermione deeply regretted asking her solicitous husband to all but bugger off for the day. She shouted out again, waddling as best as she could to a chair, withdrawing her wand from her sleeve and scourgifying the mess of her broken waters on the floor. There was no response from Severus, and as another pain overtook her body, she knew that conjuring a Patronus would be next to impossible in that moment. She gritted her teeth and rode out the pain, arching her back at the peak of it, and breathing deeply as the contraction ebbed away. It was then that she heard the most miraculous sound, like music to hear ears…the sound of Henry's feet thumping their way down the stairs again.
"Mummy?" His voice rang out in the entranceway and Hermione's heart leapt in her chest.
"Henry," she called, "Mummy needs you to come here a moment!"
The little footsteps made their way to the kitchen and Hermione smiled when her son entered the room, his eyes wide as he looked at her.
"Mummy…" he looked frightened, and Hermione knew she probably looked a sight; her dress soaked, her hair already damp with sweat, panting through the pains. "Are you feeling bad?" He came close to her and she brought a hand up to caress his baby soft cheek.
"No, darling," she replied, "Henry, I need you to go into the basement and get your father. Tell him Mummy is having the baby."
Henry's eyes grew big. "Mummy is having baby brother or sister right now?"
"Yes, sweetheart. Right now," she grimaced, "Are you ready to be a big brother, Henry?" Henry smiled and nodded. "I will be the best big brother."
"That's right, my darling. Now go, quickly now. Get your father."
"Ok Mummy," and he ran off to complete his mission.
It was only a minute later when Hermione heard more pounding footsteps…but this time they were the heavy thud's of her husband on the stairs, followed by the lighter pitter pat of Henry behind him. "Thank Merlin," she sighed, just as another contraction overtook her body.
….
TBC!
AAAAAHHHH I'm sorry! Truly I am. But, I promise that all will go well. I care about this little family too much to do anything drastic. If you are all still reading, please feel free to drop a line/comment/review! It is much appreciated and so inspiring and meaningful to us authors out there.
XOXO
SS
*Hermione and Severus' home is based on two separate places that I combined together for the purposes of my story. The exterior of the house is based on Woodbine Cottage in Fossoway, Scotland. The surrounding lands are representative of the coastline at Tulm Bay, an extremely beautiful location.
