Hermione took her time getting back to her quarters – as much as she wanted to check up on Charlotte, the idea of a few more moments away from Justin was too appealing. Hermione reveled in the silence of the stone hallways on her return. The peace was broken, however, when she reached the bottom of the stairs and turned into the corridor her rooms were off. She could hear Charlotte's ear-splitting screams, and the adrenaline kicked in, as Hermione's heart raced, terrible thoughts flooding through her mind. Her legs carried her at full speed to the wooden door that marked her rooms, and without hesitation she threw the door open. Desperately she scanned the room for her daughter, and saw Justin sitting in his armchair, quite calmly reading his paper again. Hermione followed the heart wrenching screams to Charlotte's room, tripping over one of the many unpacked boxes sitting on the floor, stubbing her toe. Ignoring the pain she pushed the door open and she saw her daughter sitting in her bed, screaming her lungs out, tears dripping down her tiny face.
"Charlotte!" Hermione exclaimed, hurrying to scoop the girl into her arms. "What's the matter, sweetie? Why are you in bed?"
"Daddy said I had to go to sleep and…and…" Charlotte hiccuped loudly as her tears subsided. "I don't want tooooo!!!!!"
Hermione hugged her daughter, softly reassuring her it was not time for bed, all the while gritting her teeth in anger at her husband. How dare he make her go to bed at three-o clock! The only reason he'd put Charlotte there was to avoid looking after her once again! Hermione had fought hard with Charlotte over the last few months to get her to go to sleep on time, and to stay in her own bed, not to come and sleep with Hermione, and this one lazy move on Justin's part would blow that right out the water.
"Well, how about you and Mummy go for a little walk? We could do some exploring?" Hermione suggested. She so very desperately wanted to confront Justin about this, but she refused to argue with him in front of Charlotte. She dearly hoped that Charlotte didn't realize what a bad state her parents' marriage was in.
"Yeah! Let's go!" Charlotte's enthusiasm warmed Hermione's heart. After helping the little girl put on her coat and shoes, Hermione took her daughter's hand and led her out of her bedroom, planning on simply slipping out the door.
"Where are you going?" Justin snapped at her, barely bothering to glance at his wife and daughter.
"Out," Hermione coldly, though she tried hard to keep her voice even.
"Well, I want my dinner in an hour."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but bit her tongue. He knew she wouldn't yell at him in front of Charlotte, and used it to his every advantage.
"I'm sure you know where the kitchens are," Hermione muttered, as she closed the door behind her. Just you wait, Justin, Hermione thought menacingly. He wasn't half going to get an earful when she had him alone – and he'd be lucky if that's all he got.
"Where we going, Mummy?" Charlotte asked, her hand grasping tightly on to her mother's.
"I'm not sure, Charlie, where would you like to go?" Hermione asked, as they headed up the stone steps at the end of the hall.
"Outside?" Charlotte questioned. Hermione looked out the window and saw the lake.
"Sure. In fact, I've got something really cool to show you."
"What?! What?!" Charlotte skipped in excitement.
"You'll have to see."
Snape sat alone in his chambers, down in the dungeons. He had been attempting to read from a large, leather bound book for the last half an hour, but in all honesty, he couldn't even remember the title of the book, let alone what he had been reading. To say Snape was distracted was a huge understatement. Though he was trying not to, his mind kept wandering to Hermione, and how she had "blossomed" as McGonagall tactfully put it, over the years. The image of her standing in the door way of the Staff room before Snape realized who she was, was burnt into his mind, and no matter how hard he tried to shove the image away, it seemed there to stay. Snape knew he should be angry at her cheek, daring to call him by his first name after he'd specifically told her not to, but he wasn't. Not that he'd ever let her or anyone else for that matter know that – she would be sure to get the message next time he saw her.
Snape shook his head, trying to remove those thoughts, and went back to his book.
Dragonsblood is quite…
And there she was, yet again, but now he could hear her speaking his first name, the way the syllables rolled off her tongue, sent a pleasant shiver up Snape's spine. He felt a stirring in his pants, and looked down at the large bulge forming there.
"Oh, thank you so bloody much," he swore at it, throwing his book on to the table. He considered taking this matter into hand, so to speak, but stopped just short of undoing the front of his pants. This had gone quite far enough – fancy getting hard over that stupid Granger girl! He certainly wasn't going to sit here wanking off while fantasizing about her! Snape got to his feet, grabbed his robes from the back of the chair and strode from the room. A walk - that's just what he needed to clear his head.
Though Hermione had planned on taking Charlotte down to the lake to see the giant squid, on their way there they spotted Hagrid out working in his garden.
"Hermione!" Hagrid boomed from across the grass. He waved one giant hand at the pair of them, and then beckoned them over.
Hagrid, though keen to meet Charlotte, seemed a little confused as to what to make of her. Hermione found this quite funny, given that Hagrid seemed to have a way with all manner of beasts, yet a little girl stumped him. After a cup of tea, Hermione bid Hagrid farewell.
"Oh, wait!" Hagrid said, as they went leave his hut. "I just baked some rock cakes. Can she have some?"" Hermione panicked – she knew just what Hagrid's rock cakes were like – and she planned on her daughter keeping her baby teeth until they fell out of their own accord.
"Uh, no, thank you, Hagrid," Hermione said, as Charlotte tugged on her robes. "Charlotte's uh…allergic to them."
"No I'm not, Mummy."
Thank you so much, dear, Hermione thought sarcastically, but she smiled inwardly.
"These ones you are, Charlotte, dear," Hermione informed her daughter.
"Oh, well, next time I'll make toffee," Hagrid beamed at Hermione, and she didn't dare turn him down again.
"That would be…nice," Hermione spoke hesitantly, storing in her memory not to ever let Hagrid know beforehand she was coming to visit with Charlotte.
The pair headed across to the lake, and Hermione put her fingers to her lips as she took a seat on a rock, pulling her daughter into her lap.
"What Mummy?" Charlotte asked, staring out at the lake where her mother was looking.
"You'll have to be very quiet and you'll see," Hermione replied in a whisper. They sat there for a few minutes, and sure enough, the Giant Squid surfaced, on large eye watching its visitors, before sinking back beneath the surface.
"Wow!" Charlotte announced. "That was so cool!"
Snape heard the tiny voice as he made his way around the path that surrounded the lake. It was too early for the students to have returned for the new school year, and really the childish voice sounded much too young to be one of those dunderheads. Intrigued, Snape pressed ahead. The sight that came to him as he made his way around a clump of bushes surprised him. Hermione sat there with a small girl in her lap, staring out at the lake. He stopped and watched her for a moment, taking in the soft smile on Hermione's face, and the childish innocence of the tiny girl. It warmed Snape's heart for a moment, seeing them sitting there so peacefully. Finally, not wanting to get caught watching them, Snape cleared his throat.
Hermione jumped, clutching hold of her daughter.
"Oh, Professor Snape, it's just you," Hermione gasped, her thumping heart slowing back down, and she released her vice like hold on her daughter.
"So I'm no longer a threat, Miss Granger?" Snape inquired, bitterness to his words.
"Hardly," Hermione tutted at him, letting Charlotte, who was wriggling in her lap, get down. "Stay away from the water!" Hermione called after her.
"Yes, Mummy!"
Hermione cringed a little at those words. It wasn't that she embarrassed about having Charlotte – far from it, she was very proud of her little girl. She just didn't like the idea of Snape knowing about her private life.
"'Mummy?'" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow at Hermione.
"Yes, I do believe that is what children call their mothers," Hermione spoke defensively.
"Quite." Snape glanced from Hermione to where the girl was now playing in the sand. "How old is she?"
"Four," Hermione replied, then gave Snape a sharp look as he raised his eyebrows at her again. "Yes, Severus, I was pregnant when I finished here. Well done. Aren't you the genius."
"Bloody Weasley's, I presume," Snape sneered, his anger bubbling, though for reasons he didn't like. He should not give a damn about Hermione Granger's private affairs. He would not care.
"Not that it's any of your business, but no. My husband's." Hermione said this defensively, but inside her heart sunk. If only Charlotte's were Ron's – he would surely have made a better father than Justin. Heck, Hermione thought scathingly, Snape would've made a better father than Justin.
"Not that I care, Miss Granger, but for the sake of addressing you in the proper manner, who precisely is your husband?"
"Professor Granger will suffice nicely," Hermione spoke through gritted teeth.
"Well, we'll have to see if you can earn that title."
Hermione bit her tongue as she saw her daughter watching their exchange.
"Mummy! I want to see that…thing again!" Charlotte announced, looking at the water hopefully.
"You'll just have to wait, Char," Hermione said, her voice now much softer.
Snape pulled out his wand, and Hermione panicked, reaching for her own.
"Little jumpy, aren't you?" Snape drawled, looking down his nose at the wand just inches beyond it.
"What precisely are you going to do with that?" Hermione nodded at the hand that was holding his wand.
"Well, I thought I would allow your daughter to see the squid again," Snape's snarled. "But then again, I have better things to be doing."
Hermione looked at him a few moments longer, then hesitantly lowered her arm.
"Really Mister? Can you make it come out again?" Charlotte exclaimed, jumping to her feet, and rushing over.
Snape scrutinized the child for a moment. "I could. But it seems your mother would rather I didn't."
Bastard, thought Hermione. He knew exactly what he was doing.
"Be my guest," Hermione replied politely, making sure Snape caught her sharp glare.
Snape magicked up a large loaf of bread, then using a levitation charm, sent the load over the water, allowing it to splash in a safe distance from the shore.
Hermione watched on skeptically, yet sure enough the squid resurfaced, much to Charlotte's excitement.
"That was really cool!" Charlotte squealed, racing back to her mother. She looked up at Snape in wide-eyed admiration.
"Yes, Bravo," Hermione drawled, slowly clapping her hands in a patronizing manner.
Snape gave Hermione his most Snapeish glare before addressing her daughter.
"Not a problem. Charlotte is it?"
"Yep. What's your name?"
Snape looked at Hermione, a wicked smile crossing his lips, before returning to Charlotte. "You may call me Severus."
"Charlotte!" Hermione exclaimed, hurrying to scoop the girl into her arms. "What's the matter, sweetie? Why are you in bed?"
"Daddy said I had to go to sleep and…and…" Charlotte hiccuped loudly as her tears subsided. "I don't want tooooo!!!!!"
Hermione hugged her daughter, softly reassuring her it was not time for bed, all the while gritting her teeth in anger at her husband. How dare he make her go to bed at three-o clock! The only reason he'd put Charlotte there was to avoid looking after her once again! Hermione had fought hard with Charlotte over the last few months to get her to go to sleep on time, and to stay in her own bed, not to come and sleep with Hermione, and this one lazy move on Justin's part would blow that right out the water.
"Well, how about you and Mummy go for a little walk? We could do some exploring?" Hermione suggested. She so very desperately wanted to confront Justin about this, but she refused to argue with him in front of Charlotte. She dearly hoped that Charlotte didn't realize what a bad state her parents' marriage was in.
"Yeah! Let's go!" Charlotte's enthusiasm warmed Hermione's heart. After helping the little girl put on her coat and shoes, Hermione took her daughter's hand and led her out of her bedroom, planning on simply slipping out the door.
"Where are you going?" Justin snapped at her, barely bothering to glance at his wife and daughter.
"Out," Hermione coldly, though she tried hard to keep her voice even.
"Well, I want my dinner in an hour."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but bit her tongue. He knew she wouldn't yell at him in front of Charlotte, and used it to his every advantage.
"I'm sure you know where the kitchens are," Hermione muttered, as she closed the door behind her. Just you wait, Justin, Hermione thought menacingly. He wasn't half going to get an earful when she had him alone – and he'd be lucky if that's all he got.
"Where we going, Mummy?" Charlotte asked, her hand grasping tightly on to her mother's.
"I'm not sure, Charlie, where would you like to go?" Hermione asked, as they headed up the stone steps at the end of the hall.
"Outside?" Charlotte questioned. Hermione looked out the window and saw the lake.
"Sure. In fact, I've got something really cool to show you."
"What?! What?!" Charlotte skipped in excitement.
"You'll have to see."
Snape sat alone in his chambers, down in the dungeons. He had been attempting to read from a large, leather bound book for the last half an hour, but in all honesty, he couldn't even remember the title of the book, let alone what he had been reading. To say Snape was distracted was a huge understatement. Though he was trying not to, his mind kept wandering to Hermione, and how she had "blossomed" as McGonagall tactfully put it, over the years. The image of her standing in the door way of the Staff room before Snape realized who she was, was burnt into his mind, and no matter how hard he tried to shove the image away, it seemed there to stay. Snape knew he should be angry at her cheek, daring to call him by his first name after he'd specifically told her not to, but he wasn't. Not that he'd ever let her or anyone else for that matter know that – she would be sure to get the message next time he saw her.
Snape shook his head, trying to remove those thoughts, and went back to his book.
Dragonsblood is quite…
And there she was, yet again, but now he could hear her speaking his first name, the way the syllables rolled off her tongue, sent a pleasant shiver up Snape's spine. He felt a stirring in his pants, and looked down at the large bulge forming there.
"Oh, thank you so bloody much," he swore at it, throwing his book on to the table. He considered taking this matter into hand, so to speak, but stopped just short of undoing the front of his pants. This had gone quite far enough – fancy getting hard over that stupid Granger girl! He certainly wasn't going to sit here wanking off while fantasizing about her! Snape got to his feet, grabbed his robes from the back of the chair and strode from the room. A walk - that's just what he needed to clear his head.
Though Hermione had planned on taking Charlotte down to the lake to see the giant squid, on their way there they spotted Hagrid out working in his garden.
"Hermione!" Hagrid boomed from across the grass. He waved one giant hand at the pair of them, and then beckoned them over.
Hagrid, though keen to meet Charlotte, seemed a little confused as to what to make of her. Hermione found this quite funny, given that Hagrid seemed to have a way with all manner of beasts, yet a little girl stumped him. After a cup of tea, Hermione bid Hagrid farewell.
"Oh, wait!" Hagrid said, as they went leave his hut. "I just baked some rock cakes. Can she have some?"" Hermione panicked – she knew just what Hagrid's rock cakes were like – and she planned on her daughter keeping her baby teeth until they fell out of their own accord.
"Uh, no, thank you, Hagrid," Hermione said, as Charlotte tugged on her robes. "Charlotte's uh…allergic to them."
"No I'm not, Mummy."
Thank you so much, dear, Hermione thought sarcastically, but she smiled inwardly.
"These ones you are, Charlotte, dear," Hermione informed her daughter.
"Oh, well, next time I'll make toffee," Hagrid beamed at Hermione, and she didn't dare turn him down again.
"That would be…nice," Hermione spoke hesitantly, storing in her memory not to ever let Hagrid know beforehand she was coming to visit with Charlotte.
The pair headed across to the lake, and Hermione put her fingers to her lips as she took a seat on a rock, pulling her daughter into her lap.
"What Mummy?" Charlotte asked, staring out at the lake where her mother was looking.
"You'll have to be very quiet and you'll see," Hermione replied in a whisper. They sat there for a few minutes, and sure enough, the Giant Squid surfaced, on large eye watching its visitors, before sinking back beneath the surface.
"Wow!" Charlotte announced. "That was so cool!"
Snape heard the tiny voice as he made his way around the path that surrounded the lake. It was too early for the students to have returned for the new school year, and really the childish voice sounded much too young to be one of those dunderheads. Intrigued, Snape pressed ahead. The sight that came to him as he made his way around a clump of bushes surprised him. Hermione sat there with a small girl in her lap, staring out at the lake. He stopped and watched her for a moment, taking in the soft smile on Hermione's face, and the childish innocence of the tiny girl. It warmed Snape's heart for a moment, seeing them sitting there so peacefully. Finally, not wanting to get caught watching them, Snape cleared his throat.
Hermione jumped, clutching hold of her daughter.
"Oh, Professor Snape, it's just you," Hermione gasped, her thumping heart slowing back down, and she released her vice like hold on her daughter.
"So I'm no longer a threat, Miss Granger?" Snape inquired, bitterness to his words.
"Hardly," Hermione tutted at him, letting Charlotte, who was wriggling in her lap, get down. "Stay away from the water!" Hermione called after her.
"Yes, Mummy!"
Hermione cringed a little at those words. It wasn't that she embarrassed about having Charlotte – far from it, she was very proud of her little girl. She just didn't like the idea of Snape knowing about her private life.
"'Mummy?'" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow at Hermione.
"Yes, I do believe that is what children call their mothers," Hermione spoke defensively.
"Quite." Snape glanced from Hermione to where the girl was now playing in the sand. "How old is she?"
"Four," Hermione replied, then gave Snape a sharp look as he raised his eyebrows at her again. "Yes, Severus, I was pregnant when I finished here. Well done. Aren't you the genius."
"Bloody Weasley's, I presume," Snape sneered, his anger bubbling, though for reasons he didn't like. He should not give a damn about Hermione Granger's private affairs. He would not care.
"Not that it's any of your business, but no. My husband's." Hermione said this defensively, but inside her heart sunk. If only Charlotte's were Ron's – he would surely have made a better father than Justin. Heck, Hermione thought scathingly, Snape would've made a better father than Justin.
"Not that I care, Miss Granger, but for the sake of addressing you in the proper manner, who precisely is your husband?"
"Professor Granger will suffice nicely," Hermione spoke through gritted teeth.
"Well, we'll have to see if you can earn that title."
Hermione bit her tongue as she saw her daughter watching their exchange.
"Mummy! I want to see that…thing again!" Charlotte announced, looking at the water hopefully.
"You'll just have to wait, Char," Hermione said, her voice now much softer.
Snape pulled out his wand, and Hermione panicked, reaching for her own.
"Little jumpy, aren't you?" Snape drawled, looking down his nose at the wand just inches beyond it.
"What precisely are you going to do with that?" Hermione nodded at the hand that was holding his wand.
"Well, I thought I would allow your daughter to see the squid again," Snape's snarled. "But then again, I have better things to be doing."
Hermione looked at him a few moments longer, then hesitantly lowered her arm.
"Really Mister? Can you make it come out again?" Charlotte exclaimed, jumping to her feet, and rushing over.
Snape scrutinized the child for a moment. "I could. But it seems your mother would rather I didn't."
Bastard, thought Hermione. He knew exactly what he was doing.
"Be my guest," Hermione replied politely, making sure Snape caught her sharp glare.
Snape magicked up a large loaf of bread, then using a levitation charm, sent the load over the water, allowing it to splash in a safe distance from the shore.
Hermione watched on skeptically, yet sure enough the squid resurfaced, much to Charlotte's excitement.
"That was really cool!" Charlotte squealed, racing back to her mother. She looked up at Snape in wide-eyed admiration.
"Yes, Bravo," Hermione drawled, slowly clapping her hands in a patronizing manner.
Snape gave Hermione his most Snapeish glare before addressing her daughter.
"Not a problem. Charlotte is it?"
"Yep. What's your name?"
Snape looked at Hermione, a wicked smile crossing his lips, before returning to Charlotte. "You may call me Severus."