Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter series of books. I am making no money from the distribution of this fanfiction. Anything you recognize is not mine.

Author notes: Thanks everyone who had reviewed so far.

Chapter 5: Baby Fletcher The weeks and months that followed kept Hermione busy. Not only did she have her normal workload, but the workload of a department head as well. Regardless, her ethic hadn't wavered, but her energy level had. She felt as though she could no longer stand to work ten hours a day and often sent work home from the ministry and then owled it back. She had received several field reports from Remus about the new wolfsbane, but nothing from Severus. She wondered often, if her words had frightened him away. She remembered when she had first told him that she loved him and how he went into this reclusive phase and ignored her. He had finally reciprocated her feelings when she had returned to the ministry and stopped her work with him. She knew that thinking of Severus would only get her into trouble, so willed her thoughts of Severus away, though really he was all she could think of lately.

She had been to see her healer at St. Mungo's and the progression of her pregnancy went smoothly. Upon her last visit, the healer had informed her that it wouldn't be much longer before her child was born. Although scared, she was less afraid of the birth than the responsibility of raising a child. She was terrified that he would be born and she would feel love for him as if he were a favourite song or dish, like a fleeting dream. When she had felt the first pains of labor, she cried herself to sleep knowing that it would be her last night being able to pretend somehow that he wasn't real. She waited nearly as long as she could and when Christopher noticed her pain, he apparated them to St. Mungo's. Hermione passed out before she could see her son. The dreams she had been having kept her occupied until at last she came upon a dream she was ready to escape. It was the night she had earned her scar and lost Severus.
****flashback****
The mist rose to her knees or at least she though it was mist, it could have been poisonous gas for all she knew. She felt constricted as the blindfold and ropes kept her from seeing her surroundings and walking properly. She felt moist, hot breath on her neck. It wasn't erotic like when Severus bent over her in the lab, this was hot and contagious. After being floated over a great distance, she was stopped in what felt like a cellar, cold and damp like death. When her blindfolds was lifted, she saw hooded men all around her, only Voldemort remained in natural form, however natural it was.
"So glad you could join us tonight, mudblood, such a pity your friends could not." Voldemorts voice boomed, full of sarcasm and triumph.
"You've not killed my friends, I know better." Hermione shouted, knowing he was trying to provoke emotion from her and break her spirit. She tried her best to paint a blank look across her face, but she knew her anger was showing. As the wind picked up outside the structure, she smelled Severus among the crowd.
"You provide yourself with undue courage, Ms. Granger. Perhaps you would benefit from a little lesson. It's called Let's disfigure the mudblood. You see this knife here has a poisoned blade, magically poisoned and once it enters your skin it will begin eating your flesh until there is no more." Voldemort's shrill laugh echoed throughout the cellar and made Hermione's skin crawl. She wondered if Voldemort planned to kill her or simply leave her for dead or torture. Severus' smell continued to haunt Hermione as she awaited her certain death. She couldn't let Severus see her afraid. She really had no one to blame but herself for the situation as she had decided not to follow Severus's orders and stay at the castle. Jealousy was a bitch named Voldemort.
"How very muggle of you, Voldemort, to bind me with rope and kill me with a knife." She hissed, the blood in her veins at a sudden boil.
"Here, Severus, you will do the honors I believe. You brought her, you finish her." Severus mask stayed tightly to his face as he accepted the knife from Voldemort's hands. He took a couple feet more rope and tied her to the chair in the center of the cellar.
"You can kill me, Voldemort, but Harry will kill you and this will only enrage him more." Hermione shouted as Severus tied her.
"You would do well to shut your mouth, mudblood." Severus hissed to little avail. She continued to spit outbursts at Voldemort. "Start with her mouth, Severus," Voldemort spat back. She cringed a bit as the blade inched towards her left cheek. Severus looked deeply into Hermione's eyes, but she saw no regret or pity; sadly, she saw determination and rage. She was almost happy she couldn't see his own mouth as she imagined a smile to be looking back her. When the blade first traced itself across her skin, she felt faint, feverish and her body rejected the ropes and chair. First light and then with pressure, the blade etched across her cheek bringing little droplets of blood to the surface and along the silver blade.

The poison was cold as ice when it first entered her blood but then life fire as it began to deteriorate her flesh. When he thrust the blade inward, she felt it swim across her teeth and pierce her tong a bit. It ripped her flesh until it reached her mouth, tearing her frown. All the while, from what she could see in Severus's eyes, there was no remorse in his eyes. No solace, no sadness. It seemed as though he was enjoying his charade of power. He started to the right cheek, but suddenly he felt a hand on his motioning it downward. She felt the blade grace across her abdomen and things began to grow darker.

Thoughts of her unborn child were brought immediately to view. She couldn't help but be remorseful and traumatized, but couldn't show Severus or the other Death Eaters that she was afraid of losing her child, the child that didn't exist to any of them. The gash of what remained of her cheek felt suddenly as if a million fleas were jumping about feasting on her blood. She couldn't stand the pain anymore and the tears she had been trying so hard to will away came in floods. When the blade cut across her abdomen, she felt a sudden urge to save herself. Before it seemed as though there was no choice, submit and die. Now, she felt a renewed sense of courage and pride and she wanted nothing more than to escape her current hell.

With all of her remaining strength, she kicked a kneeling Severus in the chin, making the blade delve a little deeper into her stomach. He let go of the blade quickly as he fell backwards. Her restraints proved to be less than effective as it only took her seconds to shake them off. Her next task was to acquire a wand and get away from the cellar. As she tried to gather Severus's wand, she felt his hand grasp her wrist and pull her towards him. It looked to Voldemort as if Severus was pushing the knife further into her stomach, but he was really releasing his wand from his robes.
"Accio wand!" She cried as she saw the wand. She stunned the four other death eaters that had been watching and awaited the death cruse from Voldemort. She paced the floor and tried to see where the door was to escape the area and saw the only door directly behind Voldemort. She watched Severus gain ground and stand to attack her. She stunned him as well, leaving only Voldemort and her awake in the room.
"Go ahead and kill me, Voldemort, it's why you brought me here." She shouted edging closer to the less than human form.
"I don't intend to kill you, Ms. Granger. If I can humiliate and destroy you, my job for the day is done. Besides, what I wanted done is done." She felt the blade in her stomach retreat quickly as he beckoned it. "You weren't deserving enough, Ms. Granger, not for him." With that, he stood away from the door and let her leave. The flesh on her face still retreating and the pain in her abdomen growing by thousands. She ran from the cellar as quickly as she could and out the doors on the main floor. She ran from there until she was sure Voldemort wasn't going to cast the killing curse and she was sure she was far enough away. The house seemed miles away as she apparated to the gates of Hogwarts. She had always enjoyed returning to the school, but felt considerably relieved and glad to see her old school this particular time. She felt the flesh retreating exponentially off her face as she turned towards the stairs towards the infirmary. She collapsed finally at the door and remembered nothing after seeing Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore waiting for her. She saw their looks of horror and then sadness and then nothing.
****End flashback***
"Don't tell me I lost him." Hermione whispered in panic.
"He's fine, Hermione." Christopher replied.
"What, he lived?" Hermione replied, as she gained consciousness.
"Open your eyes, Hermione, he's right here." She opened her eyes and saw the dark-haired boy of her dreams, only this one was real and not dead.
"Hand him to me, please." Christopher handed the small bundle to Hermione. The baby was tiny, in fact smaller than she had believed he would be. She studied his face finding traces her herself and Christopher in him. The baby's eyes fluttered to reveal sparking blue-green eyes almost like violets. He also had little dimples, like the child in her dreams.
"What shall we call him?" Christopher asked, starring at his wife and their hours old child.
"I always said if I had a boy with dark hair and light eyes, I would name him after Harry. I guess I never really expected to have a child and since I don't like the name Harry, his middle name will be James like Harry's is. I rather like the name Fletcher, but since I chose James, you can decide his first name."
"I think Fletcher is perfect, Hermione." Christopher took the child from Hermione and sat in the rocking chair in the corner. For an instant, very briefly, she saw Severus sitting in the chair, holding a child that could've been there's. She feigned sleep and wept softly to herself as though she hadn't cried about the loss the first time.