Author's Note: So it has been an incredibly long time. Tons of stuff has happened in my life and I haven't really had time for myself, let alone to sit down and write anything down. Hopefully this will be the start of a time where I can start writing regularly again.
Chapter Two: The Days Afterward
Hermione had made it
back to her dormitory before the wave of nausea hit hard. She'd had
to run to the lavatory, but made it just in time. She'd never felt
this sick in her life and did not know why, all of a sudden, she was
feeling so deathly ill. She thought it might have been the after
effects of the potion, or maybe the guilty feelings she was having
about that night. Once more she put her head over the toilet, hoping
that this time would be the last time she was in this position, at
least for the day.
Severus had seen the look on Hermione's face
as she left his dungeons that morning. He knew she was sick, and he
knew that there was something else wrong. But then again, why should
she act the same towards him? He'd had sex with her, almost against
her will. She was not in her right mind, and while he wasn't in his
either, he should have had the strength to attempt to think clearly.
His training as a death eater should have taught him to resist the
powers of whatever had come over him. It was okay that a 17 year old
girl would lose her mind and succumb to her urges, but a man his age
and his training should not have let this happen. He was able to turn
off his mind towards Voldemort, but this had slipped past him. He
felt almost bad about what had happened, it was his fault and he
should have been able to stop it. He was the strong one in this
situation and he'd ruined it for Hermione. Severus shook his head
and turned his full attention back to the class of 7th years sitting
in front of him.
Hermione had settled into her bed. She'd gotten up from the bathroom floor, changed her clothes and made it into her comfortable, warm bed. She let her head fall lightly on to the pillow and was going to drift off into a deep sleep. She curled up into a ball and deeply breathed as she closed her eyes. Hermione drifted off into a light, dreamless sleep before being awoken not five minutes later by a knock at the door of the dormitories. She grumbled slightly as she climbed out of bed and walked towards the door. She opened it and rubbed her eyes. It was Professor Dumbledore. He smiled slightly at her and motioned for her to come forward.
'Professor is there something wrong? I'm not in class right now, I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling really good' Hermione looked at Dumbledore with wide eyes, 'I just can't make it to class right now and Professor Snape told me to come back here.' She started to explain why but Dumbledore stopped her.
'Miss Granger, it's okay. I already know why you are not in class; Professor Snape has already informed me of your absence. But I would like to talk to you, if you would kindly come down to my office. I shall wait for you in the common room.' Dumbledore turned and walked back down the stairs, Hermione could see him take a seat on the armchair by the fire. She closed the dormitory door and quickly freshened up. She did not change out of her pajamas, but instead brushed her teeth and combed her hair until it looked half-decent. She opened the door and started down the stairs. Dumbledore stood up, and waited for her to descend the staircase. Slowly she walked down the stairs and was soon standing beside Dumbledore.
'My dear, are you ready to go? I shall accompany you.' Dumbledore reached out his hand towards Hermione and she took it. She was feeling a little dizzy but with Dumbledore's steadying hand, she was able to walk up to his office.
Inside the office,
Hermione took the chair closest to the fireplace. She was feeling a
little cold and the nausea was starting to come back. She shook her
head to try to get rid of the sick feeling. 'Miss Granger, are you
feeling all right? There is a lavatory to your right if you need to
use it. You are not looking well, my dear. If there is anything I can
get you, just ask.' Hermione shook her head 'no'.
'Thanks
for asking, Professor, but I am fine. I'm just feeling a little
sick, been feeling this way for a little over a week now. I think I
have a stomach flu.' Dumbledore smiled at Hermione but did not meet
her eyes. He looked at the door and checked the clock on his wall. As
if right on cue, the door opened. Severus Snape stalked into the room
and looked at Dumbledore.
'Good morning, Headmaster. Could you
please tell me why I am here; I have a class to attend to very
shortly. And you know how the 3rd years are, they will have my
classroom in disarray.'
'Yes, I will try to
explain as quickly as I can, but I have already set up a replacement
for your class. If you will please sit, I will begin explaining as
fast as I can with as much detail as I can.' Severus took a seat in
the other armchair opposite Hermione. Both Hermione and Severus
looked at Dumbledore, both trying to figure out why the other was
there. 'I know you are both wondering why you are here. You have
done nothing wrong, many people in your seats do occasionally think
they are in trouble. I have brought you both here so I can tell you
what happened on the night of the Yule Ball.' Hermione looked
towards Severus and blinked. He must have told Dumbledore what had
happened.
'Headmaster, I can tell you what happened that night.
I acted totally out of character. I shouldn't have let anything
happen. I apologize, Miss Granger, for taking advantage of you. I
should not have let that happen, I could not control myself. It is
entirely my fault and I take all the blame.' Hermione looked at
Severus; she did not remember him taking advantage of her. She could
not control herself that night and that scared her.
'No, Severus, that is not what happened. I cannot say that what you say happened in your private studies that night did not happen. I am almost sure that it did happen, but the circumstances that surround it are not your fault. It is not Miss Granger's fault either. That night, someone, most likely playing a prank, put a powerful lust potion into the punch. I do not know who this person is, but they intended to wreak havoc on the school. After seeing what had happened to the two of you, I quickly disposed of the punch. You were the only two affected, but it has affected you greatly. You both lost your wits, and Severus, do not blame yourself. This potion was so powerful that even the strongest of men would not have been able to control themselves. What happened that night happened because of someone's prank. You two know what happened while you were alone and nothing can change that. But I need to know, Miss Granger, are you on any form of birth control?'
Hermione was taken back
by this comment. She had been a virgin up until that night. She
didn't have a boyfriend and was not seeing anyone seriously or at
all. She hadn't had to think about any of that. She hadn't
planned on thinking about it until she had a serious relationship or
at least was thinking of a serious relationship.
'I am not. I
wasn't planning on having sex or anything and I was definitely not
planning on this happening. I didn't think I had to worry about it
yet.' Hermione looked at Severus, panicked.
'Now, Miss Granger,
it is not your fault. I would like you to go down to the hospital
wing. Madam Pomfrey has already been informed that you are on your
way. She knows what to do. Severus will accompany you, as this is
important to him too. Severus and Hermione, I wish you this best in
whatever the outcome is.' Hermione and Severus knew that this meant
they had to leave. Hermione got up first and walked towards the door
and Severus followed.
'Thank you, Headmaster.' Dumbledore
nodded and bent his head over the sheets of paper on his desk.
Severus and Hermione walked slowly down to the hospital wing. Neither of them spoke or even looked at each other. They arrived a couple minutes later and Madam Pomfrey greeted them solemnly at the door.
'Miss Granger, please go behind the curtain. Severus, you may take a seat right here. We will be out in just a minute.' Hermione walked behind the curtain and saw that there was a bed set out. 'You can take a seat on the bed, Miss Granger. This is not going to hurt. I am just going to put my wand up to your tummy. After saying the incantation, the wand will spark. If they are blue, you are pregnant, if they are pink, the test was negative. Let's hope for the best.' Poppy put her wand up against Hermione's tummy. A cold feeling came over her as the wand started to shake. Blue sparks started to shoot out of the tip of the wand.
'You now have two choices.' Poppy did not give Hermione any time to think about what was happening. 'You can continue this pregnancy or I can help you terminate it.' Hermione stared at Madam Pomfrey, she did not know what to say. This was becoming too much for her.
'I'd like to talk to Professor Snape first before I make any decisions.' Poppy nodded her head and pulled back the curtains to allow Hermione to leave freely.
As Hermione walked back to where Severus was, he looked up. He could see the fear in her eyes and knew that she was not going to have any good news for him today. Severus stood up and looked Hermione in the eye, he wanted this to be over with and he wanted her to tell him now. 'Professor, it was positive. I'm pregnant.' Severus knew that this was coming. He could see the tears starting in Hermione's eyes, but he looked away. He did not want a child, especially with a girl who was just a child herself. He did not want to be in this situation, he wished he could find the prat who had put the potion in the punch. He'd kill whoever did this, they had ruined his life and ruined the life of a girl who was going to go on and do great things.
'Well, what do you want to do about it?' Severus knew there were two choices, but from his point of view, he could only see one viable option. He did not want a child, neither did Hermione, or at least he thought she didn't. He did not want Hermione to ruin her life because of one night of pleasure that was never supposed to be. 'If it were up to me, I'd say terminate the pregnancy.'
'How can you say that? This is our child, even if we did not want to create this baby, we did. Even in this situation, I cannot terminate the pregnancy.' Severus glared at her, she was a child, she did not know what was right. She did not know how hard it was to raise a baby; she did not know anything about the subject. Hell, she was 17, what did she know? She hadn't lived or really done anything in her life.
'I want this pregnancy terminated, there is no other option. I do not want this child and you shouldn't either. We can get this over with now and then we'll never speak of it again.'
Hermione was starting to get angry; she was also hurt that Severus could say such things about this child. 'Professor Snape, there is no way I am terminating this pregnancy, come hell or water high, this is not what I want to do.' Severus looked at Hermione with utter disgust.
'How is this not what you want to do? I have a life to live, and reputation to uphold. This child is unwanted.'
'It was an accident, it doesn't make it an unwanted child. I will not go through with this.' Severus shook his head.
'Well I don't know how you're planning on raising this child of yours. I will be no help in the matter. I am going and next time I see you, I hope that you will be childless.' With a sweep of his robes, Severus turned and stormed out the door. Hermione burst into tears and sat on the chair that Severus had previously occupied.
Madam Pomfrey looked at Hermione with pity. This was not a nice situation to be in and she did not know how to help. Instead of offering comfort, she asked Hermione, 'Have you made your choice, are you continuing this pregnancy or are you terminating it? I need to know now. If you are terminating it, we can start right now. If not, you can leave.' Hermione looked at her and then quickly averted her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She put her face in her hands and wept.
