Hermione's Baby
Chapter 2

Hermione followed the headmaster through the empty hallways of Hogwarts, growing more and more apprehensive as she walked. When they reached the Entrance Hall, Hermione bit her lip, all of a sudden wanting to do nothing other than bolt. Dumbledore smiled encouragingly at her, and, taking a deep breath, she followed him into the Great Hall.

To her great relief, no one was present at the student tables, and there was only one person sitting at the head table: Minerva McGonagall. This woman had been Hermione's mentor before she had gone back and time, and then also when she had gone back in time. Seeing her enter the hall, Minerva - as she had insisted Hermione call her immediately after graduating - jumped up and raced towards her.

"Hermione! Welcome back! How are you?" Minerva said, fussing around Hermione.

"I'm ok Minerva, it's alright," Hermione said, smiling slightly, "Err. . . Albus - I mean, Professor -"

"It's quite alright Hermione dear," Albus said, smiling.

"Well. . . Um. . . where exactly should I sit? I mean -"

"You may sit wherever you wish, Hermione. I am not so sure what is going to happen now. Lavender Finnegan is registered as having graduated from Hogwarts, not Hermione Granger. I will have to look into it. For now, why don't you sit at the head table, seeing as no one is here yet?"

"Erm," Hermione began, "Albus, would you mind terribly if I went somewhere to sleep? I am extremely exhausted, as I have not slept all night."

"By all means, Hermione," Albus said, smiling kindly at her, "your head girl room is just as you left it. Feel free to sleep, and you can be welcomed back when you are rested."

"Thank you Albus," she said, smiling, and headed towards Gryffindor tower. Luckily, she didn't pass anyone on the way, and collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep immediately.

*******

When she woke up, Hermione glanced at her watch - the one that Severus had gotten her for graduation - and got up. Glancing at the schedule that she had put on her wall what felt as years ago, she noticed that she was supposed to be in potions. She needed to talk to Harry and Ron immediately before it got too hard, so she decided that she would make Severus let them out.

She strode purposely through the halls, not meeting anyone on the way down, as everyone was still in classes. Reaching the potions classroom, Hermione took a deep breath, gathering all the courage she possessed, and knocked.

"Enter," barked Severus' deep voice, causing her to cringe. He hadn't used that tone on her in years.

She opened the door and stepped into the classroom, causing everyone to stare at her in confusion. She glanced at Severus and said quietly, "I need to borrow Harry and Ron."

Harry and Ron looked at her in shock. "Hermione?" they said together, looking closely at her.

"What - I mean - Where - I mean. . . " Harry was so stunned by her change in appearance that he was at a loss for words.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said in a deadly voice, "I suggest that you get back to work on your potion." Harry ignored him, still staring at Hermione. "NOW!" Snape bellowed, causing Harry to jump and go back to his potion, "The same goes for you Mr. Weasley." Ron jumped just as Harry had, and, giving Hermione one last confused look, went back to work.

Severus grabbed Hermione by the arm and pulled her to the front of the room. "I thought you were going to talk to them this morning," he hissed, glaring at her.

"I was, but I needed to go to sleep," she said quietly, "I haven't slept in three fucking days damn it Severus. Just let me talk to them before I chicken out."

He didn't answer, just glared at her. "Fine," she snapped, exasperated, "Harry, Ron, what potion are you making?"

They told her, and she snorted. "That's not on the N.E.W.T. You will be led to believe it is, but it isn't. Come with me."

The whole class was gaping at her, as Snape turned purple with anger. He opened his mouth to yell at her, but stopped as he realized he didn't know what name to use.

Hermione Snape was pissed off. She had spent the last nine months in seclusion, away from the wizarding world and any company, she still hadn't gotten enough sleep, and this man who was trying to control her was her husband, and she was not afraid of him. "Severus Snape," she yelled, whirling around so she was facing him, "Harry and Ron are coming with me RIGHT NOW. And you are going to let them without taking any points or giving any detentions or I will tell the whole -" she was shaking with rage now and poking him in the chest with each word "- school certain things that I am sure that you would NOT want them to know. For instance-" she rounded on her classmates "- how many of you would have guessed that 'Professor,'" she stressed the 'professor' part, looking pointedly at Severus, "Snape married a Gryffindor?"

The entire room was staring at her now, in awe of this girl who could talk unashamedly back to Snape. And what was this about Snape having married a Gryffindor?

"'Miss Granger,'" Severus said, deciding on a name and giving her a deadly glare that would have sent anyone else crying to Professor Dumbledore, "You are coming with me RIGHT NOW."

"No. I. Am. Not." Hermione said, giving her husband one last glare before grabbing Harry with one hand and Ron with the other and dragging them from the room.

"Wow Hermione," Ron said, looking at her in awe, "That was bloody brilliant! You completely told him off!"

Hermione smiled grimly, but didn't say anything other than, "Follow me."

Harry and Ron looked at her in confusion, but followed her wordlessly into her room. She motioned for them to sit down before collapsing on an empty chair and staring at her two best friends for a moment, here eyes filling up with tears again. They had seen her two weeks ago, but it had been over three years since she had seen them.

"Mione," Harry began, slightly apprehensively, "What exactly is going o-"

The head of Albus Dumbledore appearing in the fireplace interrupted him. "Ah. . . Hermione. . . you're awake. Very good." He glanced at Harry and Ron, and turned back to Hermione, his eyebrow raised, "Are they not supposed to be in potions?"

"Yes, well. . . I decided I needed to tell them before I lost my nerve, so I went and got them," Hermione informed him.

"Ah. . ." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "I am guessing that Severus did not take that very well?"

"No, of course not," Said Hermione, waving her hand as if putting that aside, "But I didn't expect him to. But Albus," Hermione paused, glancing at Harry and Ron, both of whom looked at her in shock when she called him Albus, "Should I tell them about. . . well. . . you know?"

Albus looked at her thoughtfully and said, "I don't think so. . . no. . . at least not yet. He has to accept it first. I am assuming that you have accepted it?"

Hermione nodded.

"Excellent. I expect the three of you to be present for dinner. Good afternoon." And with that, he broke the connection.

Hermione turned around and faced her two childhood friends, unsure of where to start. After a moment, Hermione said "Well. . . I guess that I should tell you the truth."

Harry and Ron nodded, frowning in confusion.

"Well... You know how I fell into Neville's cauldron?" She asked, pausing to let them nod in confirmation, "Well... The potion I fell into transported me into the past. I awoke in the year 1978, when, Harry, your parents were in their seventh year."

Harry and Ron stared at her. "But-" Harry began, looking at her in confusion, "you were only gone for two weeks! Why do you look so much older?"

Hermione sighed. "While it might seem like two weeks to you, I spent around four years in the past." She bit her lip when she saw the shocked looks her two best friends were giving her.

"Why did it take so long?" Ron asked, "Couldn't Dumbledore have found a way to get you back in less than four years?"

Hermione buried her head in her hands. She truly had absolutely positively NO idea how to explain it to them. How would they understand that she had stayed to be with Severus? How - her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's gasp.

"Hermione," Harry said slowly as Hermione raised her head to look at him, "Hermione. where did you get that ring?"

Hermione bit her lip, looking at Harry, unsure what to say.

"Hermione, are you-" Harry's inevitable question was cut off by the door to her room bursting open to reveal Severus Snape.

Hermione's chair was the only one facing the door, so Severus didn't see Harry and Ron as he snapped, "Lavender, we need to talk. NOW."

"Lavender?" questioned Ron, looking back and forth between his best friend and his least favorite teacher, "Who's Lavender?"

Severus whipped around so he was now facing the two boys, whose faces immediately turned white in fear, "Potter. Weasley. Get-"

"This is MY room, Severus," said Hermione quietly, "They need to know the truth and God damn it I am going to tell them. So if you want to talk to me you are going to have to wait. You can stay here or go away, whichever you want; it makes no difference to me." The truth was, however, that it did make a difference, and she didn't miss the look of pain that flashed in Severus' eyes when she said that.

Harry stood up, and, looking at Hermione, he said "Okay, Hermione, look. You can tell us the rest of the story some other time, but first I want you to answer two questions I have: One: What is going on between you and Snape?" he ignored the daggers being shot at him by his Potions professor, "And Two: Who are you married to?"

"Wha - you're married?" Ron gasped, staring at Hermione as if she had grown an extra head, "But, I mean, you're - well. I mean... well-" Still in shock, Ron's stream of babble faded into nothingness.

Hermione glanced at Severus and sank down into her chair. There was silence throughout the room as Hermione gathered her thoughts before beginning. "Harry... Ron... I am going to tell you the story of what happened, but I want you to promise me that you will just accept it, and you will let me tell my story from start to finish before you say anything."

Harry nodded, sitting back down. Ron started to nod, but then a thought occurred to him. Glancing at Severus he said, "But, why is h-" before Hermione cut him off.

"He has a big part to play in the story. Just let me tell you, and then you will hopefully understand." Hermione said, and, when they agreed, she began her tale.

She began with what she had told Severus in the headmaster's office about how she had wound up in the past and how she had chosen her fake name, and continued with the tale of her stay in the past. She gave them a detailed summary, but left out certain details that she didn't think they could handle as well as the part about the baby, just as Albus had requested.

While she told her story, Harry and Ron kept their promise that they wouldn't say anything until she was finished, but their eyes widened in shock as she told them what had happened to her, and their gazes shifted back and forth between their best friend and Severus in shock.

As for Severus, as she told her story he slowly moved nearer and nearer to her until he was right behind her, his hands placed gently on her shoulders. He was shocked at the detail she was sharing with these two boys, but didn't interrupt her.

She talked for what seemed like days, entrancing the men with her story, until suddenly she was done.

A/N: Thanks to all you faithful readers who have reviewed me! Keep the reviews coming, even if they are only a few words. Reviews make me happy and more likely to update again soon. Oh. and if you like Severus/Hermione stories, check out my other story Minnie Ranger Snape, or all of the stories on my favorite stories lists. They're all very good. (

Ok... so I was planning on having the next few chapters be about what happened while she was in the past, but I really don't feel like getting stuck in the past for too long. Or should I? Do you think that I should make the majority of my story about what happened in the past or what will happen now? So anyway, tell me when you review and you'll make me happy. (

Pinkchubbymonkey: Thanks

AnnabelleElizabeth: Thanks! Well. you'll have to wait a little longer for the reactions

michelline: Thanks! Yeah. Seamus was kind of a random choice. lol

killtheposeurs: Oh. time travel fics confuse you? Well... I hope that this one won't be as confusing as some are... As to how I came up with it... well... there are tons of stories about Hermione having Severus' baby, and tons of time travel fics, but I thought that this would be an interesting conflict. Truth be told, my mind was wandering in math class... I'm sure everyone can understand that ( and this kinda popped into my head!!!

Stefanie14: Thanks!

headncloud: Thanks!

DistinctVagueness: Thanks! I love your story too!!! Please please please update that soon!!! (