Chapter 6

"Sev-us"

As the small group watched, Severus felt himself caught up in the memories.  And he gladly let them carry him away, remembering the love, laughter and sometimes tears that had been his past with Hermione.

Summer was a nice time for all teachers, and Severus Snape was no exception.  He really did in truth love Hogwarts, but even more so once all of the young hellions flew the coop. 

The war had come and gone, and he had been surprised that he was left alive.  If he had been honest with himself…and he was…he admitted that he was in truth a tad bit disappointed, it was a bit of an anti-climax if you asked him.  Death seemed like it would be rather pleasant, like a long needed nap…or maybe more like one long endless summer vacation.

The war had been hard on both sides, and in war everyone loses.  But for them they had lost too many to count, among them Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Professor Vector, Hagrid, Amos Diggory, Oliver Wood and Bill Weasley…and so many more, that he was almost ashamed to admit he could not remember their names or faces.

It was hard to remember a time when he had not been in love with Hermione, but looking back on it he had to admit that when he had seen her walking down the quiet hall of Hogwarts, that he thought at first she was a ghost.  It took him a few seconds to remember that, yes; in fact she had survived the big battle.  That she had finished off the rest of the year and left quietly, with no fanfare the night of the Leaving Feast.  Funny now that he thought about it, he should have remembered as he had given her a letter of recommendation.  Something he rarely did, and that he could count the times he did had on one hand.  Hermione Granger, she really had been really quite promising; they should be hearing great things about her in a few years time.

She had changed; she looked like she could use a good meal and a nap.  She almost reminded him of Professor Lupin every time he came back to help out, and looked like she had been under too much stress.  He would bet a golden sickle that she didn't weigh much over a hundred pounds.  Her hair was only slightly tamer than it had been as a child.  But on her face was a content smile; and she looked like she was at peace with herself.  She passed him by, not noticing him in the shadows and headed down the hall towards the Headmasters office lost in her own world.  He wondered in an off-handed way what she was doing here, but not enough to follow her and find out.

At dinner that night Albus had announced that Hermione Granger had agreed to teach Arithmancy, and would be moving into the castle sometime that week.  He couldn't honestly say he was pleased; but the currant Arithmancy Professor was almost a bigger ass then Lockhart had been, if that was possible.  Hermione may not have been his favorite person, but at least she should be able to hold an intelligent conversation…that is, if he felt so inclined to have one with her.

When he walked into the small staff dining room a few nights latter, he was quite astonished to see that she had not arrived alone.  Why the bloody hell nobody told him she had a child…one that was most certainly of a Weasley verity he thought with a sniff of distain.

Within five minutes he had changed his mind about the conversation at table being any better than before, what with the other Professors having a disgusting orgy of baby love.  The only talk around the table was that of babies…in god-dammed baby talk.  Disgusted he remained standing, trying to decide if he was in fact hungry enough to stay, or if he should take the time to return to the dungeons and order himself a solitary meal.

Hermione for her part, was busy trying to get the little rag-a-muffin to eat.  Could she not see that it did not want the carrots?  Obviously not, as she seemed determined to shove the orange mash into its tightly closed mouth.

.

Hermione said in a wheedling voice "Come on Jillian…you love your carrots…Yummy…"

"Nah." Said the baby eyeing the carrots with distain, and pushing the spoon away from her face.

"Well you can't have any pudding if you don't eat your carrots."  She said in a nice strong voice this time, almost convincing.

"Nah" Red curls shook emphatically  "Nah…down.  Down?  Down!  Mama Down…peas?" She said pointing a chubby finger towards the floor and smiling winningly.

"Oh, Hermione.  She is just adorable." Said Lupin.

"It must be your time of the month, Lupin." Said Severus unkindly.  "You judgment is always impaired before you transform."  All he got was several disgruntled looks, but alas, no arguments for all his trouble.  .  His arrival to the room had not gone unnoticed; as the baby had been giving him interested side looks from the time he had arrived.  Her eyes tracked him, and she continued to gaze at him in a wholly uncomfortable way.

Lupin had turned back to the baby, offering his arms to the little girl.  "Here Jillie, let Uncle Remus take you out of your chair."

Jillian regarded Remus with a look of loathing on her face.  "NAH!"  She yelled at the top of her lungs.  Severus had to force himself not to cover his overly sensitive ears.

Remus looked at Hermione questioningly.

"Don't worry Remus," She said patting his hand, "you're just to nice.  Don't worry about it; you're in good company.  She had a fit when Albus tried to hold her, won't have anything to do with him.  No matter how nice he is to her," She shot a stern look at the Headmaster.  "Even when try's to bribe her with his sweets behind my back.  But nothing doing, she likes a…well…a more acerbic personality."  She said giving Remus a shrug and a smile.

At if to prove her statement was in fact a true one, in walked Professor McGonagall for dinner.

"Yaaaaaaay!  Kitty, Kitty, Up, UP" Squealed the baby happily clapping her carrot covered hands, forcing Hermione and Remus to duck for cover.

Minerva walked over and looked over her spectacles at Jillian.  "Certainly not!  You are covered in baby ooze."  She said in her best no nonsense teaching voice.

Jillian only smiled sweetly at her, dimples almost not showing under the layers of carrots.  "Kiss?" she asked.

Minerva's huff was her only answer.

"Kitty…peas?"  She asked entreatingly.

"Maybe once you wipe off that disgusting goo, but I'm warning you, if you attempt to pull my tail again, well, this Kitty has sharp claws."  Minerva said.

"Kitty…pwee peeas?"  This was said in a beseeching voice.

"Jillian," Hermione said firmly.  "Let Aunt Minerva eat her dinner first."

erH

Severus quickly accessing the seating sat down taking the seat between Trelawney and Lupin.  The better of the two remaining seats in his opinion, forcing Minerva to sit down next to the baby. 

"Whoodat?" The baby said with an almost adult nod in his direction.

"Jillian Granger I'd like you to meet Professor Severus Snape"

"Sev – us" she said with a small nod, and than with what Severus would have sworn was a calculating glance at Lupin turned to him said.

"Sev-us….Up!" Doing the whole charming bit that she had done with Minerva, once again.  Then gave him a pouty lip when he refused to even acknowledge her.

"No offence to anyone in this room…but I'm beginning to worry about her.  Yesterday Filtch brought the rest of my baggage to our rooms and she demanded that he hold her.  I couldn't believe my eyes, when he actually did.  And he seemed quite taken with her, and she with him.  He said that she was a good judge of character."  She snorted.

"Itch?"  Jillian said putting her hands up in a questing way.

"Mr. Flitch isn't here, Jillie."  At her daughter's sad face, she said "But I bet we will see him tomorrow.

This seemed to satisfy her and the rest of dinner the she ate heartily, happily watching the goings on at the table with much interest. 

"So Hermione, where is "Uncle Dobby"? Questioned Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

At this Jillian began to chant, "Daaaawbeee…Daaaawbeee…Daaaaaaaabeeee!!" banging her sippy-cup on the table.

"Well I insisted that he take the summer off, and I had to physically make him go.  He refused to take a paid vacation, but a vacation he will get from me.  But I suspect he's gotten himself a summer job somewhere."  She said stopping Jillie from breaking the plastic cup, by distracting her with a bowl of pudding.

Smear over every unmoving object she could reach was more like it, thought Severus watching, repulsed as the child happily smeared the pudding in her hair.

Dumbledore smiled, "Yes, I do seem to recall getting some extra summer help.  So I expect you'll be seeing him soon."  He said shaking the crumbs out of his long beard.

Thus the nicknames began, behind closed doors of course.  And it was the verbal little tikes' fault.  Well ok…so maybe it was his fault too, it was him who called Filtch "Itchy" the next day in the staff room.   But he was tired dammit, and it just slipped out.

Lupin got off easy with "Lew", and Minerva was of course "Kitty", Filtch of course was stuck with "Itchy", and Albus for some reason known only to Jillian was  "Laurie"…go figure.  Happily she didn't mutilate his name too badly, so he at least was safe…or so he thought.

And so it went for the rest of the summer.  Jillian shunning Lupin openly, giving Albus the cold shoulder. And poor tiny Professor Flitwick, as she would scream bloody murder if he even dared to get within five feet of her.

She would happily clamor for Minerva's attention, Delight in Filtch as he hauled her around like a sack of potatoes.  And she was in seventh heaven the night Mad-Eye came to dinner.  They saw wheedling at it's finest, like it was an art form.  Mad-Eye was so riled, he did something he would never have considered doing before, and he firmly turned his back on the "enemy".  Then she cried so brokenheartedly, casting him longing looks, until Hermione finally took pity on him and took her up for a "nice relaxing" bath.  But nothing compared to the outright warfare she had going with Snape.

Every time she saw him, she would chortle with glee.  Clapping her hands, and chanting "Sev-us!  Sev-us!  Up…up…Sev-us…UP!" opening and closing her pudgy fingers for him.  Hermione would smile apologetically at him, and just shrug her shoulder.  Jillian was her own person, and Hermione could only distract her to a point after all.

He could ignore her; tell her firmly in no uncertain terms that he was going to have none of it.

Would she listen?  

NO.  She would not.

All in all she had most members of the staff firmly wrapped around her pudgy little digit by the time term started.  Severus would burn in hell before admitting that he enjoyed her cunning, but he was overheard telling Lupin that Jillian was a  "Smart little shite…"  and that was as much a complement as he seemed willing to give.

In his mind Jillie most definitely took after Hermione.  Smarter than average, her speech seemed to expand daily.  Her looks she had gotten from a Weasley, but which Weasley was the big question.  Minerva had mentioned a redheaded boyfriend from collage, telling them that Jillian was not a Weasley at all. But even that didn't stop the speculation.  Almost everyone agreed no matter what Minerva had said, that Jillie's father was probably Ron Weasley, a few guessed George / Fred (they as always were interchangeable), and someone even suggested Charlie.  The idea of Hermione having a sexual relationship with the good-looking Charlie Weasley, he somehow found slightly disturbing, but he pushed that thought away not caring to analyze it.

Thanks to all you have taken the time to review, I love reading them.  I'm fixing the spelling errors as I go, and only have chapter 5 to fix still.  If you see any mistakes you can e-mail me and let me know.

Jackie:  You asked why Hermione did not Apparate out of the car…in my little world witches have trouble with their magic when they are:

Before they start their first menstruation…at the age when "normal" girls get into that ugly stage. When they are pregnant When they go into magnetopause

Their power takes a "dip" and then will return to normal after a bit.  That is why I had Fleur being flown over on the broom, and taking Muggle transportation.   It's up to you to decide if Hermione tried to Apparate and couldn't get the power, of if she tried to take her mother with her and just couldn't manage to get the "three" of them out.  Or maybe she froze, or if everything just happened too fast for her to react, all of them I think are plausible.

Red Writing Hood:  That's exactly what I'm hoping to show; sometimes it's not nature vs. nurture but both.  Jillian is going to have a big personality, and hopefully she will have a good measure of all "parents", while still being 100% Jillian.

I know someone said Ron was being prat.  I hope I've showed that yes, Ron was a prat, but he just went through a war.  I was trying to have him show signs of  "stress" related directly from the war.  In my story Ron and Hermione would have never been together if not for the war.

Once again the last two chapters have not been checked by my beta yet…so all mistakes are mine, and Amber will take no blame!

Lorie