Disclaimer: I own nothing, and owe everything, to the much respected craftsmanship of the one and only J. K. Rowling.
A/N: At the end of the chapter. Please read.
INDEMNITY
Chapter One
She clamped her eyes shut, glistening tears trapped in a cringed expression. Her stomach turned and she exhaled silently through her nose. She could feel the nausea rising in her throat, but she would not succumb to it. Not now. Not here.
Sweat began to bead on her forehead, willing her to calm her resistance and let what illness would pass to pour forth. But she refused. Her small hands moved over her unswollen womb, and she wondered if her fears were worth this torture. The knowledge that in seven months time she would bear a child to the next generation seized her composure and she bore silent tears to her Professor's vision. He gave his affirmation with a glance at the door, and she rose and left amidst stares.
Tearing through corridors, she never quite made it to a stall, or even a room, and her body heaved its rejection of this new creation onto the stone floors. Clinging to the walls for support, she wrapped her arms around herself for a comfort she longed to receive from someone else. But she was alone, isolated in a cold environment far from prying eyes and warm enraptures. God she missed the silence. The blessed silence where she controlled herself and nothing depended on anyone else. The pure silence where she could rock herself into a blind stupor of rage or remorse or resilience and be none the wiser the second she heard a sound. The lonely silence where her frustrations and damnations were carried forth non-verbally into the thick curtains of her bed and dissipated into the air.
Her nausea splashed the walls and stained her robes, and she strained to sit down steadily, eventually resolving to slide down to her knees. Warm, frightened tears streaked her cheeks. She didn't want this. It didn't matter to her the love that filled her when she thought of bearing his child. Nor did it matter the joy that cascaded her veins when she imagined that she contained the ability within herself to create life, and sustain it within her. At night, in his bed, they would smile at these musings. But in her reality, her solitary consciousness, she feared it. She would wander into daytime dreams of this prophetic child and startle herself to attention drenched in a clammy, cold, full-body sweat. She did not want this.
Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, she removed her robes, revealing a Hogwarts emblazoned sweater vest over a white Oxford shirt, tucked into a pleated knee-length skirt. Dignified. Above this weakness. Slytherin. Regaining her composure, sniffling back her inner pain, she grew to her full height, threw her robes over the mess, and walked undeniably impassioned to the dungeons.
The cold did not fair her well, and she began to sway as the dampness soaked her skin. Nevertheless, she had a mission, and she moved blindly forward to the store cabinet, apparently unaware of the class she had interrupted. Severus Snape, not one to remove himself from his own gravity, swept past aisles in her shadow and reached the doors as instantaneously as she.
"Please, Severus," she dropped her voice so that it was a mere passing breath to his ear. Her eyes glazed over and she shut them painfully. "Please."
"No, Hermione," he whispered, just as beggingly. Clearing his throat, he assigned a book chapter to his third-years and enveloped the child in a cloak from his desk. He lead her to his private office, and sat her down as he knelt at her side.
"I can't do this anymore. I can't Severus," she raspily argued. She willed herself not to shake her head, for the pounding and nausea had begun to return.
He took her hand and held her close to him. Whispering the comfort that he would remain in the room, he walked to the fireplace, threw in a bit of Floo powder, and called for Draco Malfoy. A mere thirty seconds later he was by her side, just existing. Powerless.
"Sir?" Draco questioned Severus, then glanced over to the chair in the center of the room, removed from all the chaos.
Severus firmly grasped Draco's shoulder, then left them alone. This was not his to deal with. His journey would commence when the child was brought forth. His concern lay with the prophesy. It was young Malfoy's responsibility that the mother made it through as well.
~~~~~^~~~~~^~~~~~@ RWT
To be answered in the next chapter:
*What has changed in Hermione's relationship with her professor that she may now call him Severus?
*Where is Harry?
To be answered eventually:
*Can Draco help Hermione's fragile state of mind in this new situation?
*Will this child be born?
*What is the prophesy?
*What are the consequences?
~~~~~^~~~~~^~~~~~@ RWT
I didn't plan to write a sequel. I didn't plan to jump into this again. But inspiration struck me, as it often does, and I'm compelled to see where this will go with a new vision and direction. Several things will make this different from "Corrupt". First of all, I've read all 5 books, which I
hadn't even started during the predecessor. Secondly, I'm coming from a different position personally. I'm 18, a high school graduate, and facing the future. My former haunts have dissipated, clearing the road ahead, and allowing me to walk backwards to write this fic. Finally, I managed to perceive several canon facts that I had no way of knowing the first time around, such as Voldemort rising from a cauldron, and Harry being prophesied to kill Voldemort or be killed.
This is an AU fiction because the cast is in their 6th year, and are 17 years old. To pick up where we left off, Severus Snape is Asst. Headmaster to Dumbledore. Harry Potter is no longer a student, but a colleague, which will be clarified soon. Hermione Granger is pregnant with Draco Malfoy's child, which Dumbledore has alluded to having a great destiny for the House of Slytherin. Paxia Devastarium (my original character), Lucious Malfoy, and Voldemort, were killed by Harry.
Enjoy the journey with me, into refreshingly new, though probably angst-ridden territory. I don't know where this will go. But I know I stand behind every step. If you trusted my judgement in "Corrupt", I don't doubt this will live up to your expectations. Enough with my rambling.
A/N: At the end of the chapter. Please read.
INDEMNITY
Chapter One
She clamped her eyes shut, glistening tears trapped in a cringed expression. Her stomach turned and she exhaled silently through her nose. She could feel the nausea rising in her throat, but she would not succumb to it. Not now. Not here.
Sweat began to bead on her forehead, willing her to calm her resistance and let what illness would pass to pour forth. But she refused. Her small hands moved over her unswollen womb, and she wondered if her fears were worth this torture. The knowledge that in seven months time she would bear a child to the next generation seized her composure and she bore silent tears to her Professor's vision. He gave his affirmation with a glance at the door, and she rose and left amidst stares.
Tearing through corridors, she never quite made it to a stall, or even a room, and her body heaved its rejection of this new creation onto the stone floors. Clinging to the walls for support, she wrapped her arms around herself for a comfort she longed to receive from someone else. But she was alone, isolated in a cold environment far from prying eyes and warm enraptures. God she missed the silence. The blessed silence where she controlled herself and nothing depended on anyone else. The pure silence where she could rock herself into a blind stupor of rage or remorse or resilience and be none the wiser the second she heard a sound. The lonely silence where her frustrations and damnations were carried forth non-verbally into the thick curtains of her bed and dissipated into the air.
Her nausea splashed the walls and stained her robes, and she strained to sit down steadily, eventually resolving to slide down to her knees. Warm, frightened tears streaked her cheeks. She didn't want this. It didn't matter to her the love that filled her when she thought of bearing his child. Nor did it matter the joy that cascaded her veins when she imagined that she contained the ability within herself to create life, and sustain it within her. At night, in his bed, they would smile at these musings. But in her reality, her solitary consciousness, she feared it. She would wander into daytime dreams of this prophetic child and startle herself to attention drenched in a clammy, cold, full-body sweat. She did not want this.
Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, she removed her robes, revealing a Hogwarts emblazoned sweater vest over a white Oxford shirt, tucked into a pleated knee-length skirt. Dignified. Above this weakness. Slytherin. Regaining her composure, sniffling back her inner pain, she grew to her full height, threw her robes over the mess, and walked undeniably impassioned to the dungeons.
The cold did not fair her well, and she began to sway as the dampness soaked her skin. Nevertheless, she had a mission, and she moved blindly forward to the store cabinet, apparently unaware of the class she had interrupted. Severus Snape, not one to remove himself from his own gravity, swept past aisles in her shadow and reached the doors as instantaneously as she.
"Please, Severus," she dropped her voice so that it was a mere passing breath to his ear. Her eyes glazed over and she shut them painfully. "Please."
"No, Hermione," he whispered, just as beggingly. Clearing his throat, he assigned a book chapter to his third-years and enveloped the child in a cloak from his desk. He lead her to his private office, and sat her down as he knelt at her side.
"I can't do this anymore. I can't Severus," she raspily argued. She willed herself not to shake her head, for the pounding and nausea had begun to return.
He took her hand and held her close to him. Whispering the comfort that he would remain in the room, he walked to the fireplace, threw in a bit of Floo powder, and called for Draco Malfoy. A mere thirty seconds later he was by her side, just existing. Powerless.
"Sir?" Draco questioned Severus, then glanced over to the chair in the center of the room, removed from all the chaos.
Severus firmly grasped Draco's shoulder, then left them alone. This was not his to deal with. His journey would commence when the child was brought forth. His concern lay with the prophesy. It was young Malfoy's responsibility that the mother made it through as well.
~~~~~^~~~~~^~~~~~@ RWT
To be answered in the next chapter:
*What has changed in Hermione's relationship with her professor that she may now call him Severus?
*Where is Harry?
To be answered eventually:
*Can Draco help Hermione's fragile state of mind in this new situation?
*Will this child be born?
*What is the prophesy?
*What are the consequences?
~~~~~^~~~~~^~~~~~@ RWT
I didn't plan to write a sequel. I didn't plan to jump into this again. But inspiration struck me, as it often does, and I'm compelled to see where this will go with a new vision and direction. Several things will make this different from "Corrupt". First of all, I've read all 5 books, which I
hadn't even started during the predecessor. Secondly, I'm coming from a different position personally. I'm 18, a high school graduate, and facing the future. My former haunts have dissipated, clearing the road ahead, and allowing me to walk backwards to write this fic. Finally, I managed to perceive several canon facts that I had no way of knowing the first time around, such as Voldemort rising from a cauldron, and Harry being prophesied to kill Voldemort or be killed.
This is an AU fiction because the cast is in their 6th year, and are 17 years old. To pick up where we left off, Severus Snape is Asst. Headmaster to Dumbledore. Harry Potter is no longer a student, but a colleague, which will be clarified soon. Hermione Granger is pregnant with Draco Malfoy's child, which Dumbledore has alluded to having a great destiny for the House of Slytherin. Paxia Devastarium (my original character), Lucious Malfoy, and Voldemort, were killed by Harry.
Enjoy the journey with me, into refreshingly new, though probably angst-ridden territory. I don't know where this will go. But I know I stand behind every step. If you trusted my judgement in "Corrupt", I don't doubt this will live up to your expectations. Enough with my rambling.