The week of the New Year turned out to be quite eventful for the couple. Severus shared the news of their relationship and the baby with the Hogwarts staff during the traditional Boxing Day staff party. Hagrid had unsurprisingly burst into joyful tears, exclaiming his happiness loudly and drunkenly to anyone who would listen. Even Minerva had been moved to the point where her eyes became misty as she hugged both Severus and Hermione and expressed her hope that she might be known as Granny Minnie to their little one. The rest of the staff had been surprised but seemingly thrilled for the couple as they animatedly discussed ways they might help the pair prepare for the baby's arrival in the coming months.
Severus had asked Hermione over dinner that evening if she would like to permanently move into his quarters. He reassured her that the castle would adjust to provide plenty of room for both her and the baby in addition to her extensive library which would be combined with his own massive collection. Hermione agreed it wasn't practical to maintain two separate living spaces when they spent the majority of their time together in one of their respective chambers anyways. She had been doing extensive reading about magical pregnancies and knew she should take advantage of the energy she'd have throughout her second trimester to prepare as much as possible before the later stages of pregnancy where she would be less energetic and less mobile than she felt currently.
They spent two days, with the help of a few of the castle's elves, moving Hermione's belongings from her chambers into Severus's, and Hermione had been pleasantly surprised when they returned from lunch in the great hall to find their combined library fully organized and the addition of what they immediately identified as an ideal nursery which was adjacent to their bedroom with a door connecting the two spaces to allow the couple easy access to the newly created space. The decided they would wait to shop for and decorate the baby's room until they'd had Poppy perform the gender charm and the couple decided on a name.
The night before Hermione was scheduled to visit Poppy, Hermione and Severus were curled up together on the sofa in front of the hearth, Hermione's legs across Severus's lap, as they excitedly discussed what was to happen the following day. "Severus, have you thought of any names you're partial to once we know the gender? Are there any traditions regarding the naming of children in your family?"
"Shouldn't you be the one to decide on the name, Hermione?" Severus asked uncomfortably. Even though the couple had discussed that the baby would only ever know Severus as his or her father, there were still several aspects of the pregnancy and baby's arrival that made the headmaster feel out-of-place. He'd never considered that Hermione would want his opinion when deciding upon a name-he rather assumed she would make the decision as she would be the one experiencing all the unpleasant aspects of carrying a child in addition to trying experience of actually delivering the baby. He didn't doubt Hermione had been genuine when she told him she considered him the baby's father for all intents and purposes. He had guessed she might ask his opinion on a name she had chosen, but he couldn't imagine having any strong objections...unless of course she wanted to name the baby Harry or Ronalda or some such drivel.
"Well obviously I'd like some say in the name," replied Hermione sarcastically with a chuckle as she tried to lighten the mood, but seeing his still serious expression, she continued, "however seeing as we are going to be raising this child together, I think it's important we make these decisions together as well." They sat in silence for a moment as Hermione took in Severus's worried expression before she added, "When I told you I would consider you to be the baby's father, I meant that in every sense of the word. I know we aren't married, but if we want to move forwards as partners in this, I think it's important that our combined input be the determining factor as we move forward."
Severus considered this for a moment as he absentmindedly stroked Hermione's legs which were still situated across his lap. He hadn't considered that she would want him to play such an active role in these decisions, and although he had been genuine in his offer to support her through every step of her pregnancy and subsequent parenthood, he'd assumed she would ultimately want authority over some of the major decisions as the baby wasn't biologically his. He was overwhelmed by the idea that she would desire his input on something so critical as deciding on a name. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he wordlessly got up from his position on the sofa and went into the kitchen to brew some tea. As he waited for the water to boil, he splayed his hands on the counter leaning against it with his head bowed as he attempted to reign in control over his emotions.
The kettle whistled a few minutes later, but as Severus was still lost in thought, he neglected to remove it from the heat. Hermione cautiously entered the kitchen, and seeing Severus's disconcerted expression, carefully removed the kettle from the burner and extinguished the flame before coming up behind Severus and cautiously rubbing his back soothingly. "Are you alright, Severus? I didn't mean to upset you. I assumed you would want to have a say in naming our child?" Hermione questioned.
Severus pivoted around to face her, his eyes growing wide momentarily before he tempered his expression. It had been the first time either of them had made an offhand comment acknowledging the child was to be theirs. Of course he logically understood this was Hermione's intent when she'd given him such a meaningful gift the week prior, but this conversation made the meaning all the more real to him. Pulling her close in his arms reassuringly he explained, "I'm not upset Hermione. It's just, all this seemed rather hypothetical up until now and I hadn't really considered what it would truly mean to be a father. Are you sure I'm the best..."
"Do you love me, Severus?" Hermione asked.
"Of course I love you, witch. I thought I'd made that perfectly clear..."
"And do you love the baby?"
Severus considered this for a moment. He knew he felt immeasurably protective of both Hermione and the child she was carrying, and he had been honest when he'd admitted his excitement over the prospect of becoming a father, even if the circumstances were incredibly bizarre. But love? The more he thought about it the more he realized he did love this child simply because he loved Hermione so desperately. He would do anything for either of them. "Yes, Hermione." he whispered. "I love you both, dearly."
"Then you ARE the best person this baby could ever ask for as a father." she said smiling as she wrapped her arms around him and leaned against him. "I've never doubted that for one moment Severus, and it's important to me that you have an equal voice on any of the decisions we make about the future together." The couple stood their quietly for a few moments, simply content to be in each others arms as they considered everything that had transpired between them.
Finally Severus sighed and was the first to break the tentatively peaceful silence between them, "In my mother's family, the Prince side, the men were always given their father's name as a middle name. That said, I'm not really sure how I feel burdening a child with the baggage attached with my name in our world."
"My family has a similar tradition with the women being named in honor their mothers; that's how I came to have the middle name Jean." Hermione started, not immediately sure how she wanted to respond to Severus's misgivings about his own name. "It's your name, Severus, and I'll leave it to you to decide whether you would be open to the idea, but I would be proud if we had a son named in your honor." Hermione finished as she kissed him on the cheek and left his embrace to start preparing tea for the pair of them.
Severus moved quietly beside her to help assemble some sandwiches to accompany the tea, and after a few moments of silence he finally spoke. "I will consider it Hermione, but the point might be moot. The baby might be a little girl after all. If Poppy confirms the baby will be a boy, I promise I will seriously consider your thoughts on the matter." Taking a tray of tea and sandwiches back to the sofa to resume their reading, another question popped into Severus's head which he decided to keep to himself for the time being. What surname would Hermione want to give the child? The couple wasn't married and even if they were, Severus wasn't convinced Hermione was the type to want to change her name. Whether or not they were married before the child arrives, would she want him or her to be a Snape?
The question remained on his mind for the duration of the evening, and as they drifted off to sleep curled up together in post-coital bliss, the more he felt the ambiguity of the situation wouldn't do. Considering the happiness this witch had brought into his life, he found himself wanting to create some sense of permanence within their relationship sooner rather than later, and he dreamed that night about how he might amend their circumstance within the coming weeks.
A few days later, Severus accompanied Hermione at her request to her examination by Madam Pomfrey. The two were greeted upon entering the hospital wing by a warm smile from the older Mediwitch who had now assumed (alongside the rest of the staff) that Severus was the biological father of the baby. Although she'd initially chastised the Headmaster for putting Hermione in a position where she felt ill-at-ease about revealing the identify of the baby's father, she'd been quite pleased with their decision to publicly announce their relationship and their excitement to parent the baby together.
Hermione sat on the exam table nearest Poppy's office, curtains drawn around the couple and the mediwitch for privacy as she started by waiving her wand to take a few measurements of Hermione's growing abdomen and run several heath diagnostics on both the mother and the child. After a few minutes she turned back to the couple with a smile as she announced, "Well Hermione, everything with the pregnancy seems to be going swimmingly. You and the baby are both healthy and your measurements are just about textbook for being about 18-19 weeks along."
Momentarily crestfallen that it might be too early to ask about the gender Hermione asked Madam Pomfrey, "Is that too early for us to perform a gender charm?"
"Probably not." answered the witch, "but at this stage I would feel more comfortable if you sought out a midwife through St. Mungo's to perform regular exams and assist with the delivery. We haven't had an expecting staff member during the entirety of my tenure here, and generally students who wind up in this position withdraw from the school either temporarily or permanently or terminate the pregnancy altogether. I'm afraid I'm extremely out of practice with obstetrics as I haven't had much exposure since my initial training."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "Is there anyone at St. Mungo's you would recommend?" she asked.
"Not particularly, but I understand the Potters welcomed a new addition somewhat recently. Perhaps they could put you in touch with their midwitch or wizard?" Poppy suggested.
Hermione made a mental note to ask Harry and Ginny the following evening as she and Severus were planning to ring in the New Year with the couple and baby Jaime at Grimmauld Place. Hermione had been thrilled and surprised Severus had agreed to come with her and was looking forward to seeing him interact with the baby. Although they had seen many of the Weasley grandchildren at Christmas, but the sheer number of people had made it difficult for Severus to spend much time with the little boy.
They turned next to the subject of Hermione's memory and Poppy expressed some concerns that there were still gaps in Hermione's recollection, predominately from the completion of her masters through the start of term earlier in the year. "Hermione, it may be time to consider seeking out a specialist at St. Mungos to see if they have anything additional to offer in retrieving those memories that are still missing." Poppy explained as she took in the couple's worried expression. Hermione had seen enough of the memory ward at St. Mungos to last a lifetime, and her mind wandered concernedly to an image of Neville's parents and wondered if it was possible for her to end up like them.
Taking her hand reassuringly, Severus added, "there's no reason to worry about a regression, Hermione." She hadn't felt him enter her mind, so she knew he hadn't used legilimency to pick up on her thoughts, but she was taken aback momentarily by how quickly he'd realized her concern. "It won't get any worse, love. I promise I'd never let them do anything to you that could potentially lead to that outcome." he said soothingly as he rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.
Madam Pomfrey did have a recommendation within that particular unit within the hospital, and had already called ahead and scheduled a visit for her later that afternoon. The couple thanked the mediwitch and returned to their quarters, cautiously optimistic that the hospital might be able to restore the last few months of absent memories.
As they prepared to floo to the appointment later that afternoon, Hermione stopped Severus, grabbing him by the wrist just before he entered the floo. "Severus, I think we should use my glamour charm to disguise ourselves before we go to the appointment."
He looked at her confusedly for a moment before she elaborated, "I know if we were seen by other patients or the press together and they made note of the pregnancy, the papers would have a field day." Severus looked back at her, momentarily wondering if she was suddenly reconsidering publicly declaring him the father. As if Hermione had read his thoughts, she continued, "It's not that I'm ashamed of you, love, but I want us both to have more time to figure out this arrangement before the press decides to put in their two-knuts-worth."
Recognizing that the opinions of Rita Skeeter and her ilk would certainly complicate things for them, Severus understood completely and agreed with the suggestion. They had both been hounded mercilessly by the press in the years following the war, and unfortunately many of the stories printed took circumstances surrounding the war and the final battle and twisted them to make some pretty wild allegations about many of those involved. He recalled one article that claimed he had secretly been a vampire and the story of his recovery after being bit by Nagini was simply an elaborate cover allowing him to bear the scars on his neck to the world.
He nodded as he turned back to the floo and absentmindedly waived his wand between the pair of them, turning himself into the disguised version of himself with whom he had become very familiar since Hermione had sent him her thesis for review in advance of it's publication during her mastery.
Turning back toward Hermione to offer his hand before they stepped into the fireplace, Severus suddenly paled in shock as he realized he recognized the disguised face staring back at him...
A/N: And we finally have the reveal! Now I can fully share why I wanted Hermione's memories of that night to disappear (at least for a time) and why I decided paternity charms in this tale would only be possible after the baby is born...I didn't think it would be nearly as interesting if Hermione figured out the child was Severus's before he did (mostly because this is normally how these events play out lol). I've seen those circumstances unfold in stories before, and that isn't to say I haven't enjoyed them (because I do), but I thought it would be fun to turn the idea on it's head and have Severus realize he's the baby's father before Hermione did in this case and see how that might impact the future for our couple.
Things are getting interesting folks, and we'll have to see how Severus handles the news in the coming chapter(s).
I hope everyone is still staying safe and healthy! I do have an update with my husband's situation because I am considered so high risk: they are working on getting him the capability to work remotely! We were thrilled by this news, but we also learned this week that he has already been exposed as one of the patients from his unit is one of the confirmed cases in our state. Both of us are healthy and showing no symptoms for now so we're just hoping and praying it stays that way! Please continue to think positive thoughts for all the healthcare workers on the front lines around the world. They need all the positive energy we can give them right now, and if you are someone continuing to work in an essential job, THANK YOU!
Please keep the reviews coming! I love hearing everyone's thoughts on the story so far and hearing your predictions about where you think it's going or how things might be revealed. Hopefully this chapter gives you some more to speculate about!
