Disclaimer:- I neither earn nor own anything from this story except my plot. Harry Potter and his world are the intellectual property of JK Rowling and her associates.

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A/N:- Thank you to LadyWinterlight for her beta work on this chapter, and thank you all for your reviews and alerts. I appreciate every one. I am sorry that I've been very slow updating my current stories recently, my muse is fickle and these extraordinary times have made writing—for me personally—impossible sometimes because I can't always find my happy place, which is where I write.

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Chapter Twenty – Change Over

The announcement of the change of leadership at Hogwarts was going to be handled in increments. Today it was announced that beloved headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, was retiring due to ill health. Minerva had transferred from St. Mungos back to Hogwarts yesterday, and was going extremely well after her enforced rest.

However, this was also the day that Kingsley and Luna had been planning to announce that they were going to wed, something that had its own time scale with the imminent birth of a baby. Kingsley had weighed up the pros and cons of both announcements occurring on the same day, and had eventually shrugged both were things the public needed to know, and neither were issues he had thought could wait.

Therefore, Hermione was currently looking at a picture on the front page of The Daily Prophet that proved that Kingsley had completely underestimated how popular he was. The announcement that Minerva was retiring was only a small piece at the bottom of the page, and the emblazoned headline about Kingsley and Luna's news was accompanied by a huge picture of him with a very pregnant looking fiancé.

"What the hell?" Hermione muttered. "I know I haven't seen Luna for a couple of weeks, but why does she suddenly look like she's about to pop out a baby?"

Severus glanced at the photo and chuckled. "I'm assuming it is simply your friend Luna being her usual unique self," he'd replied.

It was true that Abigail's baby was due any day, but this was strange, even for Luna.

"Well, I'm having coffee with her later, so I guess I'll find out," Hermione replied. Hermione and Severus were having a lazy breakfast in bed. Well, Hermione was still in bed, Severus was already dressed for the day, and Alice was playing next to them with her favourite blocks after already finishing her breakfast.

"I guess it will be our turn tomorrow," Hermione commented, still perusing the picture of Kingsley and Luna with a quizzical look on her face.

"Yes, the hammer will fall tomorrow, and there will be no turning back," Severus stated.

He sounded rather fatalistic, even though Hermione knew he was being practical, and she placed the newspaper down and snuggled up next to him. She also knew that he was worried that he would not be accepted as the new—or nor so new—headmaster. "Minerva has agreed to be in the photos with us, it will be fine, Severus," she assured him.

Severus doubted that he would have been willing to take this on again without Hermione by his side. They'd work together as he'd battled to bring this new reality into being since they'd returned to England from their interrupted honeymoon. Furthermore, she'd not complained or grumbled about their holiday being cut short once, and now she was here telling him again that it would all work out for what had to be the thousandth time.

"I love you," he told her, slipping his hand up to cup her cheek.

She looked at him and smiled, her whisky coloured eyes sparkling. "I love you too," she replied, and she stretched up to connect her lips with his.

Of course, that was the moment that Alice decided that she needed her parents' attention, and she scrambled up on the bed between them, narrowly missing Severus' groin with her knee in the process as she crawled over him to get between them.

Hermione cuddled her and kissed her head. "Children are the best contraceptive devices, aren't they?" she laughed.

Severus patted her stomach. "I'm not so certain about that," and turned to get up off the bed. He was almost ready to go down to the Great Hall, and he buttoned his coat and held his arms out to Alice. "Come, little one, let's leave mummy to have a bit more rest. You can go down to the hall with me."

Alice grinned. "We can see Uncle Shorty."

"Alice!" Hermione gasped. "You mustn't call Professor Flitwick that."

Alice looked at Hermione confused, and Severus answered. "It's Shorty the house elf, love. Not Filius," and his lips were twitching wildly. "Alice has taken quite a liking to him, and since she calls Argus uncle she simply extended the name to Shorty as well."

"Ohh," Hermione laughed, blushing. "I didn't know. Sorry, Alice, you go right ahead and call him Uncle, he's a lovely old elf, isn't he?"

Alice nodded and grinned at her mother as Severus set her on the floor and took her hand, preparing to leave. Breakfast was the only meal that he was currently taking with the few remaining teachers, but it allowed him to relate any news that concerned them, and hear anything in return that he might need to deal with. He employed the house elf, Shorty, to keep an eye on Alice during this time while he did so, just in case his attention wandered away from her.

Hermione didn't usually make it out of bed in time to join them, but as he was thinking this, she pushed herself up from the bed. "Actually, I should come, shouldn't I? People will be thinking the worst if I don't make an appearance," she said, starting to get dressed. Her morning sickness was starting to abate, but she was also starting to wear out of an evening if she got up too early.

"Only if you're up to it, but we'd love you to come, wouldn't we, Alice?" Severus replied, watching Hermione's body as she dressed.

"Yes, Mummy," Alice cried, clapping her hands.

Therefore, all of the Snape family went down to their first breakfast together at Hogwarts, and later in the morning, Hermione greeted Luna at the great doors of the castle. "My goodness," she said, leaning forward to kiss Luna's cheek. "That was a quick pregnancy," and she cackled.

Luna laughed along with her, and patted her distended tummy. "This is magic at its most amazing," the blonde witch declared. "We didn't want our new baby at a disadvantage should anyone learn the truth about her conception, so the easiest thing to do was for everyone to think that we put the carriage before the thestral, so to speak, and that we didn't want to marry too quickly after we found out."

"Oh, I see," Hermione murmured, accepting her friend's words even though she was a little sceptical of them. "That's a lovely sacrifice to make for this baby's happiness," and as she said it she thought back to what she used to do to protect Alice. Then it suddenly hit her, how far her and Severus had come since last Christmas.

In fact Severus and Alice were off gathering Valerian together as Hermione was greeting Luna, and allowing Alice to be cared for by anyone else was not something that she would have considered even sixth months ago, but now they were a family. "It's a wonderful feeling having that special someone, isn't it?" Hermione said, smiling and linking arms with Luna as she started leading her to her favourite Hogwarts courtyard.

"Yes," Luna replied. "It keeps the Nargles at bay too."

Hermione giggled and changed the subject, even though her eyes kept dropping to the huge baby bump that hadn't been there last time she'd seen Luna. "Your announcement seems to have been greeted well then?"

"Oh yes," Luna enthused. "Of course we had a few howlers, but that's to be expected I suppose," she related in her dreamy style of speaking. "Some members of the population expect that sex does not occur until a marriage contract is in place," and she laughed. "Like I was still going to be a virgin after having my boys with Rolf," she stated pragmatically and rolled her eyes.

"And that doesn't worry either of you?" Hermione asked, smiling at her friend.

"No, Kings is very popular with the public on the whole," Luna answered.

"Yes, that's evident just by the size of the headline this morning," Hermione cackled.

"Mmm," Luna giggled. "Yes, sorry about that."

"It's of no matter," the Gryffindor witch stated, still laughing. "Severus is not particularly worried about it, and Minerva is planning on taking the lead role in dealing with the reporters tomorrow anyway."

"How is the headmistress?" Luna asked, as they arrived in the Transfiguration courtyard.

"She's going very well actually. In fact, now she's back here Severus had to talk her out of sticking to our original agreement yesterday."

"What was your original plan?"

"Of him taking over in five years' time… you know, to give us a chance to raise our twins a bit before he was so busy." They sat down and their elf appeared on schedule with the refreshments. "Thank you, Shorty," Hermione said, handing a cup to Luna.

"Kingsley and I were hoping that you and Severus would stand up with us at our nuptials," Luna blurted as Hermione sat back with her own cup.

"Oh, Luna," Hermione cried, placing her cup down and levering herself up and hugging her friend. "Of course, Kingsley will have to ask Severus, but I will, gladly, and I'll mention it to Severus."

Luna smiled. "Thank you," she enthused, rubbing her belly affectionately.

Hermione watched her stomach appeared to move. "W-Was that a kick? H-How?" she gasped.

Luna grinned. "I told you it was magic at its most amazing."

"You mean you think that there's actually a baby in there?"

Smiling serenely, like she hadn't just blown Hermione's world sideways, she commented, "I've divined everything," Luna told her happily, still not seeming to notice the look of utter bewilderment on Hermione's face.

Hermione sat there absolutely speechless, trying to think of something, anything to say. Finally all she could muster was, "Oh!" She wondered if Luna was simply getting hung up on this too much, or if she was actually stringing her a line, but the blonde witch seemed completely at ease with her story, and she guessed that was all that mattered, because as strange as she was, Luna was an amazing friend to have back in her life. "So, you believe…" she started but she didn't finish.

"Sometimes you just have to believe, Hermione," Luna said, a look of pure contentment on her face.

Now, Hermione couldn't even begin to fathom that comment, but she decided that it didn't matter, and changed the subject. "When are we going shopping for dresses then?"

Luna grinned, and started telling her friend what she wanted, and the morning whiled away in easy conversation and familiar friendship.

xox

However, that night once Alice was in bed asleep and Hermione and Severus were reclining on their bed, Hermione mentioned the baby conversation to Severus.

"I had the strangest conversation with Luna this morning," she commented, placing her book on the night stand and turning as best she could to look at him.

"What, stranger than that photo in the Prophet this morning?" Severus replied, putting the book he was reading down.

Hermione laughed. "Much weirder," but then she took a deep breath. "She thinks that she's actually having the baby. I have to admit that I love what magic can accomplish, but…"

Severus listened, one eyebrow cocked in thought. "Actually, if you read Broadbent's thesis on maternal witch magic, he postulates that it is indeed possible to transfer a foetus from one witch to another. It is ancient magic… and normally the two witches have to be related if I remember correctly," and his voice trailed off. "I'll be back in a minute," he said, getting up and snagging his dressing gown off the end of the bed before leaving the room.

Watching him go, Hermione wasn't surprised. He obviously wished to look something up in an attempt to bring clarity to what Hermione had just said. They both did it, so when she heard the swish of the Floo down in his office she went back to her book.

She'd just become engaged with her book again when she heard the soft swish of the Floo once more and she looked up as she walked back into their bedroom. "Well?" she murmured, glancing up.

He handed her the scroll that he'd obviously gone home to collect, and he took off his gown again before settling back in bed beside her. Waiting patiently for her to read the abstract of the article, he arched an eyebrow when she looked up at him.

"It's full of speculation and supposition, Severus."

"That it is, but the document exists, and therefore Luna could have also read it, especially when you look at the titles of some of his other works, there's a list at the end after the bibliography."

Hermione turned to the last page and cackled. "In Search of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack… Truly?" but then her expression turned worried. "Do you suppose Kingsley knows?"

Severus shook his head. "Even though this is fairly quick, I'll wager that Kingsley knows of her eccentricities."

"Who knows what's what, but she is an incredible and caring witch who wants us to stand up with them at their wedding," Hermione declared, and then looked apologetic. "Sorry, Severus, I was meant to tell you that."

Slipping his arms around her Severus said, "Kingsley owled me this afternoon."

"Oh," Hermione said, yawning.

"So it doesn't matter then, does it?" he said, kissing her head. "We both know that the pair of them have hit it off like a house on fire since the moment they meet at Alice's party, and that they are both people deserving of happiness. You go to sleep."

She yawned again. "You're right," and she slid down to a laying position. "I'm sorry, Severus, but I'm exhausted."

"Good night, love," he murmured.

"Night," she replied as her breathing evened out.

xox

The next day, Hermione stood beside Severus as the Daily Prophet insisted on an in depth story about the new power at the head of Hogwarts once the photos were taken. They presented a united family picture with Severus holding Alice and Hermione's belly proclaiming the other—as yet unborn—members of their family, as Minerva sat in the centre of the shot and Severus' ascension to headmaster of Hogwarts was very different to him taking the reins last time.

.Minerva handled the reporters beautifully. She informed them that she was perfectly happy to hand the reins on to Severus Snape, and that she was very pleased that he finally had a chance to prove himself to be the honourable and dedicated wizard that she knew him to be. She then dropped a bombshell, stating that she was very proud to be his mother-in-law, and the truth was finally out there.

If there was going to be any trouble, her announcement that she was Hermione's mother deflected things nicely. However, there wasn't any trouble about Severus returning to the role of Headmaster, and all the reporters—none of whom were Rita Skeeter, she was long forgotten now—moved smoothly on to ask Hermione questions about her mother. This was proven again the next day when wizarding Britain received their morning papers. There was not one single howler, only messages of congratulations. It appeared that in the time that had elapsed since the war, people seemed to have forgotten certain facts of his war headmastership, and for that he was truly thankful.

Yes, this was not at all what they'd planned, and it was a significant hiccup, but life was very good, and the icing on the cake occurred the next day when Filius—the current deputy headmaster—came to an arrangement with Severus for the remainder of the summer holidays. "I have nowhere else to be," the diminutive Charms professor had told him. "Therefore, I am happy to step in as acting head for the holidays."

"Thank you, Filius," Severus said, and he promptly packed up his witches and took the three of them back home before Filius could change his mind.

xox

Severus sighed happily as he glanced from the happily playing pair of Alice and Molly the terrier, to Minerva taking in the late afternoon sun from her wooden deck chair on the lawn, and then to his beloved wife. Hermione looked up at him and kissed him before resting her head back on his shoulder as the fingers on the hand of the arm he had around her caressed the underside of her breast while they relaxed together.

They were very pleased to be able to be back at home, even if the remainder of their honeymoon had been placed in the 'perhaps later' category, but they were still having some time to themselves thanks to Filius and Filius' chief organiser, Pomona Sprout. The pair of them seemed inseparable, whatever Filius did Pomona wasn't far away, and they were a formidable pair when they pooled resources, but that was another story entirely.

Hermione sat quietly, her eyes on Minerva. "It's so good to have Minerva here, and she's going to be a great help with the children," she murmured, snickering softly. "In fact, both her and Poppy," she told him, rubbing her distended stomach gently.

To tell the truth she was slightly alarmed at how quickly she was expanding, but she was aware that two babies took up twice the room that one did, and she had been rather large with Alice too.

"Then we should let them," Severus murmured, chuckling decadently.

"What?" Hermione asked, glancing up at him.

"It appears that it is going to be my lot in life to be surrounded by witches," he told her, taking advantage of her upturned face to kiss her. He sighed softly as he broke the kiss. "Then let it be," and he claimed Hermione's lips once more, and this time they kissed until Alice arrived and started pushing in between them. She was obviously growing tired, and she snuggled up between them.

"I haven't told you yet," Severus said, breaking the silence as they arranged Alice between them. "Argus told me this morning that he's planning to propose to Poppy. So, it looks like Minerva will have her best friend here as well."

"Is Poppy planning to retire?" Hermione asked, noting that Severus' wandering fingers were now bunching up the material of her top to further explore quietly.

"She is, at Christmas time."

"Oh, god, I'll likely resemble a blimp by then," Hermione commented.

Severus chuckled. "You'll be our blimp," he said, kissing her, as she swatted at his arm before glancing down to Alice snuggling in between them.

"We better get Alice's dinner ready for her I think," she said, seeing how tired the little girl was. It really had been a very full week. "Perhaps she'll actually go to bed early today.

"Yes, and she'll need her rest with Luna, Kingsley and the boys coming for lunch tomorrow," Severus added.

"Yes," Hermione agreed, moving forward to allow Severus to slip his arm out from behind her.

"Why don't you and Alice have a bath together and I'll start dinner," he said, picking Alice up.

"Would you like Mummy to have a bath with you, Alice?" Hermione said, looking at Alice.

The little girl grinned. "You can play submarines with me," she cried, and she turned to her father. "You too, Daddy," she enthused.

"Daddy's going to start our dinner, love," Hermione told her, glancing at Minerva and seeing that she'd gone to sleep in her chair. "Oh dear," Hermione said, "she'll get cold out here soon."

"Don't worry, love, I'll see that she's shifted to the sitting room fire in a minute or two," Severus stated, as they started walking back into the house. Then he looked down at Alice, and added, "Besides, Daddy might like to play submarines with Mummy later," he told her, squeezing a handful of Hermione's bum affectionately, to make his intentions very clear.

"Severus!" Hermione gasped. "Little girls have big ears," she warned.

He chuckled again and kissed her. "You two enjoy your bath," he said, and continued off into the kitchen.

xox

Once Severus had dinner on and Shotsie supervising it, he levitated the soundly sleeping Minerva inside and went to the bathroom. He was a little confused that there were no loud splashing noises, a sound that always accompanied Alice's baths, but when he opened the door he instantly smiled. There was Alice in earnest conversation with her baby brothers. Her eyes seemed to be trying to bore a hole through Hermione's stomach as she said, "I wish you'd both hurry up and cook, because I can't waits to meet you."

Hermione had a fond smile on her face as Severus walked into the room and held a towel out for Alice, his eyes wandering over Hermione. She looked so luscious, her body blooming with his children. "Come on, Alice, let's allow Mummy some relaxation time while we get you into your night clothes."

"Thanks," Hermione told him with a smile as he started guiding Alice towards her bedroom, and she relaxed back into the warm water. She didn't often get time for a bath, and she relished the opportunity whenever it arose.

She was still thinking when Severus came back with Alice by the hand and said, "We'll go down to the kitchen for dinner, come down when you're ready."

"Okay," she replied.

xox

As soon as Alice was asleep Hermione and Severus went to their own room. Coming back from cleaning her teeth, Hermione striped off the long tee-shirt she'd had on through dinner and pulling the covers back she climbed into the bed.

Severus watched her. "Had I known that you were deliciously naked under that shirt I would have been working harder to get in here before now," he commented.

Hermione smiled suggestively at him. "Then it's a good job you didn't know, isn't it?"

He returned the expression as he hung up his coat on its hanger.

"Things take as long as they take, Severus," she told him, stretching out on the bed rather cat-like.

"True," he replied, "and I would not short-change Alice on her stories."

"Neither would I," she answered, but then turned on her side and said to him, "Severus?"

"Mmm?" he intoned thoughtfully.

"You have never spoken about your parents, why?"

He did not turn from the wardrobe. "What's to tell, they're both dead," he answered.

Hermione saw him stiffen slightly and heard the hurt in his voice, no one else would have, but she did, and she slipped over the edge of the bed and walked over to him. She laced her arms around him from behind and kissed the middle of his back. "It doesn't mean that they don't matter, darling," she said softly, knowing that she'd hit a nerve, and that it was one that he hadn't excised yet. "Will you tell me about them, please?" she asked, slipping in between him and the wardrobe to hug him.

His arms wrapped around her, and he caressed her as he held her. "Hermione, my father was a loutish brute who regularly beat both my mother and I, and my mother was a witch who was too weak to defend herself, or me, with magic against him. I do not wish to soil you with more of an explanation than that."

"You rose above that," she replied.

"It took me a very long time to do so… When I first met you as a student I was still wallowing in the abyss that my start in life had given me… I prefer not to remember that time."

"It helped to make you the amazing man you are today though," Hermione pushed, even as a yawn escaped her control.

Severus sighed. "Yes, I suppose it did. Come, let's go to bed," and he kissed her head. "I love you," he whispered.

"And I you," she replied, turning her face up to his.

His lips descended on hers as he leant down and picked her up to carry her back to bed. He placed her on the bed as he continued to kiss her.

"Mmm," she sighed into their kiss, holding him close. "Get into bed," she told him as soon as the kiss ended, her hands slipping down to finish undoing his half open trousers. She was still thinking about how sad it was that he did not want to acknowledge his parents in any way, but she wasn't going to push it too hard. He would be ready to discuss it one day, and she accepted him into her arms as he crawled onto the bed and settled between her open legs.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured, his eyes taking in the entire picture of her from the halo of thick chestnut curls on her head down her body to the thicket of dark curls between her legs. He never tired of seeing her like this, but he could see that she was particularly tired tonight; it had been another busy day and she was currently making two small humans, so he kissed her once more and settled himself into bed beside her as he pulled her into his arms.

She sighed and nestled against his chest, and despite what she'd obviously wanted from him, her breathing evened out into sleep rather quickly.

He smiled and kissed her head, and his thoughts went back to earlier in the day when he'd been considering his readiness to take on the headmastership once more, and he realised that with this witch at his side his life was utterly complete. She was the reason that he was happily not running from the position of Master of Hogwarts. He could see now, that even though he'd run from his responsibility that he'd actually run in a circle straight back to it, but that he'd gathered so much along the way.

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Extra note: This story is very close to being finished now, and I just thought I would say that I'm planning one more chapter and an epilogue, so you're all prepared for it. :-)