DISCLAIMER/AN:

I do not own any of the recognizable characters in this story. This story has also been posted under an older pen name of mine (Bellatrix7), Unfortunately I have lost access to the email account associated with that account and will be reposting some of that work under this account.

Now that said… As with most of my stories… Ron is dead. Let's get that out of the way right now. We can say that he died protecting Hermione in the final battle... Whatever helps you sleep at night I guess but I cannot stand him so he's gone. Severus was kept alive, obviously otherwise there would be no story, but other than him being alive and Ron being not so alive the events of the Final Battle still hold true. Remus and Tonks for instance… still dead… Teddy… still an orphan… but hey he's spending time with Uncle Harry I guess so yay happy ending. Now with all that done and out of the way let's get onto the story.

Chapter One

For the Best

The memories of New Years Eve 1998 were a bit of a blur as Hermione Granger and Severus Snape would tell you. That single drunken night was spent in Severus' chambers with a number of good large bottles of Fire Whiskey, a luxuriously expansive bed with warm sheets made warmer by the presence of its entwined inhabitants. This was the definitive end of an eight year respectable student teacher relationship which was followed by a short lived partnership. However, neither Hermione nor Severus could have predicted the outcome of their drunken night.

On March 8th, 1999 Hermione went to Poppy Pomphry sick to her stomach. After a few complicated wand movements and some mumbled Latin Poppy informed her that she was not sick at all.

Hermione stared in utter bewilderment 'No… just no. That's impossible. I can't be… we've been so careful.'

"Poppy, you must be mistaken. I have the flu or a bad case of food poisoning. Or I'm-"

"Pregnant. You, Professor Granger, are without a doubt pregnant. And from what I can gather you're about 3 months and a week along. How you didn't realize this is beyond me," the kind older witch simply gave Hermione a smile and a squeeze of her shoulder.

"Poppy… that's not possible."

The old witch turned back to look at her and with a raised eyebrow and snapped, "Really? You and Severus haven't been sharing a bed since that New Year's party?," Hermione's mouth dropped open at this. "Honestly Hermione, everyone knows you two are together. You are as giddy as you were around that Krum boy and Severus hasn't been this happy since before the first war. Yes, everyone knows. Neither of you have been good at keeping this relationship of yours a secret."

Hermione straightened her back and hopped off of the bed she had been sitting on. So what if their relationship was more or less common knowledge among the staff? They were two consenting adults. Equals even. There's nothing wrong with that.

"Fine," Hermione said, "everyone knows about us. I still cannot be pregnant. We've been careful. We've used contraceptive charms and let's face it those work literally every time. So there's no reason why I would be pregnant, Poppy. It simply can't be."

"The charm only works when it's used," and with that Poppy left the ward and walked into her office leaving Hermione in silence to rack her memory for any moment of stupidity.

No, we're smart… we have always been smart about this… except… And with that thought Hermione briskly walked from the Infirmary to the faculty bathroom down the hall.

On her way she took her wand out and with a flick of her wrist her hair was up and in a messy bun on top of her head. Another flick of her wrist and the door was opened for her and she ran to a toilet to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet. 'I'm pregnant. For fuck sake... ' Slowly Hermione stood up and flushed the toilet. She went to the sink and washed up before rinsing her mouth out. Hands braced on either side of the sink she stared at her reflection before letting her hair fall from the bun. New Years, one night. That's all it took.

'So Hermione, your options are… well you could marry Severus,' she thought to herself but as soon as the thought entered her mind she dismissed it, 'No, he's not the marrying type. Alright, I could end the relationship… raise the child by myself… I supposed we could raise the child together. No, we aren't serious. That wouldn't work. Or… we could give the child up. Let some other wizarding couple who actually want to be parents have their chance. Merlin, what have we done?'

That night Severus came to Hermione's rooms concerned after noticing her absence from dinner that night in the Great Hall. He missed their secret glances over Flitwick's head as the smaller man yapped on about whatever song he was teaching the choir that week. For the first time since they began their relationship there was no sign of a nightcap and Hermione was not already in bed with a book perched on her knees or lounging on the couch grading papers. Instead she was sitting on a soft tufted red chair in her purple dressing gown. Her hair was gathered in a mess of curls on the top of her head and she held a cooling cup of tea between her trembling hands. She looked exhausted and Severus didn't know what to do. A silence fell over the pair and hung there uncomfortably for a while until Severus cleared his throat a bit too loudly. This seemed to bring Hermione back into the room from wherever her mind had been wandering. She looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"Hi…"

"Hermione, are you alright? When you weren't at dinner I was admittedly surprised and annoyed. I had no one there to dull the irritation that Fillius is with his insipid stories," Severus said as he took a seat on the ottoman in front of Hermione.

"I'm sorry you had to suffer Fillius alone. I wasn't hungry. I'm fine. Sort of… Merlin's beard I don't know anymore." She brought her upper lip between her teeth and bit down in a bit of frustration not knowing how to tell him what she so desperately wished she didn't have to tell him. She set her tea down on the end table and looked at him deeply, "Severus, what is this? This thing between us?"

Hermione's question stopped him. What did she mean? They were close and content to be together.

"We're adults Hermione. Two consenting, intelligent adults happy to spend our nights together. At times in the moments where you're wrapped in my arms I forget the world around us and and surrounded by only you and I'm happy. Why?"

His eyebrow was raised. That eyebrow that could betray most of his emotions to her, but for whatever reason this time the emotions didn't comfort her. He was concerned and that terrified her.

"Severus, I'm… we're… I'm pregnant."

The silence came back. That palpable silence thick enough that you could cut it filled the room making the short distance between them feel like a thousand miles.

"How?"

Hermione let out an exasperated breath, "How? Really? Would you like me to draw you a map of the female anatomy, Severus? Or how about I give you a lesson in biology?" She was in no mood to answer such simple questions. Questions she had already had to answer for herself that day. Questions she didn't think she would have to consider. "The first time we had sex we were drunk, in your chambers after the New Year's party, and apparently we didn't think to mutter a simple charm that fumbling sixth and seventh years remember to cast." She just wanted the situation to disappear and she brought her knees up to her chest and curled into a ball on her chair.

Silence… the ticking of the clock was the only thing that offered up any noise at all.

"Hermione, we can't be parents. I can't be a parent. We're just settling into a normal life. We aren't in love, we aren't a family… it wouldn't be right to bring a child into this," Severus' dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his temples trying to calm himself. One of them had to be able to think clearly. If that had to be him so be it.

"We're teachers. We know all about dealing with children. This would be no different," Hermione practically whispered, "Hell it would be easier because it would be our child. What possible trouble could come from a child bound to have their nose in a book from the moment they're born?"

With a sigh Severus brought his head out of his hands and leaned forward. He held Hermione's hands in his, "We know how to teach children… not raise them. It just wouldn't be fair to bring any child into a life without a regular family. With parents who aren't in love. Trust me. I would know."

She knew all about Severus' life growing up. How he heard his mother's cries of pain as his father beat her. She knew how he felt when he had to grow up in a family with parents who did not both love each other. Hermione couldn't bring herself to do that to his child, their child.

Gripping his hands tightly in hers Hermione managed to get out, "So we give our child up?"

He nodded not taking his eyes off of hers, "For our child's sake, yes we give the baby up."

For the last time that night silence fell over the pair. Hermione buried her head into the back of the chair as silent tears fell from her eyes until she fell asleep. Severus easily and gently picked her up and laid her down on her bed before getting in beside her falling asleep with her in his arms. Content with their choice.

The pregnancy was smooth and no one asked either parent any questions choosing the safer path of staying on both Hermione's and Severus' good sides. As the months passed Hermione and Severus grew distant. They only spoke when there was no escaping it and if they had to discuss the child they never went into much detail and made sure to keep the conversation to a maximum of five minutes no longer.

Minerva and Poppy helped Hermione with the adjustments with Minerva even filling in for a Transfiguration lesson here and there if Hermione was having a particularly bad case of morning sickness. Severus no longer sought Hermione out if she was absent from a meal. Instead preferring his times with her to be in the presence of others and more often than not with Poppy there as he strove to only see Hermione for the medical checks. They might not be keeping the child but he still very much cared for the health of his child and its mother.

Days ticked on and turned to weeks and before anyone knew it six months had passed and Hermione went into labor. Severus was there, and for the first time in six months spent more than just five minutes with Hermione. He held her hand or more accurately offered his hand to Hermione who death gripped it as wave after wave of contractions ripped through her body. The more she pushed the more she wished she could have changed what happened. The more she desperately wished she could go back and remind herself to mutter that charm. She wanted the life that was starting between her and Severus nine months ago. She wanted it back.

After hours of pain and tears the child, a girl, was born at dawn on August 17th in the Hospital wing of Hogwarts with only her parents, Poppy and Minerva present. Poppy magically cleaned the small screaming child off, weighed and measured her, and then handed her wrapped in a soft pink blanket to Hermione who herself was struggling to hold back tears as she heard her daughter cry.

Hermione didn't know what to do. She was consumed with a guilt that she couldn't begin to explain. Placing a soft kiss on the baby's forehead she handed her daughter to Severus and closed her eyes not wanting to see the world around her.

Severus had never held a child before let alone his own daughter and he didn't know what to do. The baby looked up at him and didn't cry as he had expected her to go back to doing but instead blew little bubbles out of her small pink mouth. He moved to a chair that Poppy had a house elf place near by.

Hermione's scratchy voice broke the quiet and she asked "What shall we name her?"

Surprise took over Severus. He hadn't thought of a name for her. They were giving up all parental rights. Why would they name her? "Does it even matter?"

"Yes, Severus, it does matter. It's the only thing we can give her before we let her go. Even if her name is entirely different when we see her when she's eleven it matters."

"When she's eleven?"

"She'll be in her first year at Hogwarts. I don't know about you but I have no intentions of leaving my teaching position."

He honestly had not thought of it. No, he had no intention of leaving Hogwarts in the next decade. It was his home.

Hermione was the first to offer up a name, "What about Persephone?"

"Brilliant, with any luck she will be dragged to the Underworld and marry Hades. No. I don't think that name is right."

"Fine, Severus, if you're so smart you name her," Hermione retorted looking a bit smug.

He thought for a minute before saying "Maleficia could be a good name."

"As in the crime of witchcraft? Absolutely not. Are you planning on scarring our child for life without even being there to do so? No. You're not naming her." Hermione sat silently, her eyes shut again. It was a few minutes before she spoke again, "How about Gwyneth Elizabeth?"

Looking down at his now sleeping daughter Severus couldn't help but agree. That name seemed to suit the small bundle in his arms, "I believe that is a rather fitting name. Now, what of her surname? She can't very well have one of ours. We don't necessarily want her to try to find us, or worse hear stories from the war and realize the connection to her."

"Or horror of horrors," Hermione interjected, "Start her first day of classes and realize one of us is her parent. No, I think we do something like combine our surnames and let that be enough. Something like Snanger."

"That could work," Severus agreed still with his eyes completely transfixed upon his daughter as if he were trying to memorize every small detail of her face.

"Gwyneth Elizabeth Snanger it is then," Hermione said as she looked over at her former lover and their child. A sad smile caught on her lips as she studied the image before her. Memorizing it. Wishing things had been different.

Severus glanced up and caught her sad eyes, "It's for the best, 'Mione. It's what's best for Gwyneth."

"I know it is, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

The following morning Minerva brought her goddaughter Gwyneth Elizabeth Snanger to an orphanage outside of London. She left the child much the way she had watched Dumbledor leave the small sleeping Harry Potter on the steps of the Dursley's house all those years ago. A small note tucked into the basket along with a Muggle Birth Certificate with her name on it but in the space for her parents' names nothing. That's all they needed. That's all they would get.

Sitting on the steps transfigured into her cat for Minerva watched over Gwyneth until a caretaker came out to pick up the paper and was surprised to see the small child in a basket, and then she slinked away not to see the child again until just before Gwyneth's eleventh birthday.