Disclaimer: I do not own, or ever will, the Harry Potter Universe so wonderfully created by J K Rowling. Please do not sue; I highly doubt I could afford it. Please excuse the lateness of this post and read the author's note at the end of the second part about the time issue. Thanks for reading!!!

Chapter 12: More Than Friends, Part 1

"Let it be brought to the Wizengamot's attention that Peter Pettigrew has been administered veritaserum and will now be able to testify freely to the court." A large cloaked man said, turning to the rows of members of the Wizengamot and bowing before he took his seat. Hermione watched from her front row seat as the momentarily stunned Pettigrew became more readily aware of his situation. Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore flanked her on either side, but she still felt slightly unprotected. She felt alone in the room full of people who cared little for her situation and the people she had really needed were absent. Ron and Sallie were present, but only because they had seen Pettigrew in the house.

"Please explain the course of events that led you to Madame Stuart's home on February seventeenth." A wizengamot member asked Pettigrew as he sat magically bound to the interrogation chair. They hadn't cleaned his face free of the dirt and sweat he had accumulated in his journey to her home and his stay in the Ministry prison.

"I was given orders to go to her house and gather information."

"Who sent you to gather this information?" This time, it was Cornelius Fudge who asked, looking down from the highest level of the seats over his rectangular glasses.

"Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, among other followers of the Dark Lord." There was a slight murmur of disbelief among the members of the Wizengamot, but Hermione couldn't quite hear what they were saying. She simply wanted to know why he had come to her home, the real information they needed.

"Why do you need information from Madame Stuart?"

"Wallace Stuart was developing a theory that proved how wizards and witches are born with magic."

"And why, pray tell, was this information important to you and the followers of Voldemort?" Another member of the Wizengamot was questioning now, but Hermione didn't pay attention to the face or voice of the member, she simply replayed what she remembered of Wallace's notes in her mind. Was there something she had missed? Some fatal flaw that could be of benefit to people like former Death Eaters?

"And why was this information important enough to enter Madame Stuart's house without permission?" The official asked again.

"His papers were in her house. We knew they had been moved from her Mum's house, so we came to Hogsmeade to find them."

"Again, to ask the same question, why are these papers so important?"

"The papers identify the exact essences of the magic. They give detailed analysis' of the exact place in the genetic code where the magic gene is located." Pettigrew's hands were dripping sweat down onto the concrete floor. His eyes looked heavy, but aware nonetheless.

"And what were you going to do with this information?"

"Use it against the witch. Steal her magic and make someone else stronger." Pettigrew met Hermione's eyes this time, her chocolate brown eyes unafraid to duel with his mousy brown eyes. Remus patted her shoulder and then beckoned her eyes to his.

"Don't worry about this, Hermione, they won't be able to use his papers or anything against you." But Lupin's words did little to calm Hermione down. She knew that Wallace had been working on some important genetics and potions work, but she never imagined he would come up with a theory to dissolve someone's magic. Her heavy sigh did not go unnoticed to the two men directly beside her, but then they hadn't the words to quell her fears, even if they tried.

"Thank you for your information, Peter Pettigrew, however it isn't enough to keep you from being severely punished. Azkaban." A large invisible gavel hit sounded in the room and Hermione stood without caution and fled.

In the hallway directly outside of courtroom four, Hermione's emotions spilled from her eyes. She hadn't felt such emotions in a while, but then, her emotions were always a little rampant lately. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket book and wiped her eyes, but couldn't bear to go back in the room. She didn't want to see Peter Pettigrew's face again or hear his slimy voice. Ultimately, she wanted to go home, have tea, and drown herself in a good book, but knew they would not take the sting away from the events that had transpired in her home. She hoped beyond the day, that Harrison would never remember Pettigrew's voice or face if he'd seen it at all.

"You shouldn't be alone out here." Came a dark calm voice she'd secretly been hoping to hear all morning.

"It's over, he's going to Azkaban." She faced him, his face softer but still severe as was normal.

"And what of his purpose?" Severus asked, trying not to pry.

"He wanted Wallace's papers." Hermione tucked her handkerchief back into her pocket book and fixed the hair around her face. Her legs felt quite weak against the ground and her large stomach protruded far more than she thought it would.

"The Order wants to move you to a safe location, but I think it would be wiser to have aurors at the house." He motioned for her to follow him back towards the main courtroom so Dumbledore and Remus could accompany her back to Sedna Station.

"I need to go somewhere, Healer Eleanor put me on bed rest, and I can see why now, my legs are swollen and my head heavy. I hate to place this obvious burden on you, but someone needs to decide what is best for me before I apparate myself home and do what I want anyway." Severus noted the intensity of her voice and set off to talk with Dumbledore, but when they returned back to the hallway where Hermione was supposed to be resting on a bench, they discovered she had already apparated.

"Thank you for helping me home, Harry. I know that things have been strained since the beginning of the year, but I do miss your friendship." She smiled at him, thankful that he had been able to sneak her away from the ministry.

"Do you need anything else?" Harry asked, folding the blankets around her down so that her arms could move freely. Her face seemed foreign to him as he helped her pull her long, curly locks away from her neck. She was happy, yet in such time that most people would be stressed and unable to find such happiness. Before he could think on the issue further, he realized why she was so happy as she rubbed her belly and smiled down at it. Her child made her happy.

"No, I am fine now. I want to be nice and rested for the wedding tomorrow." She patted his hand and beckoned him to sit next to her on the bed.

"How is Susan?" She asked, knowing that their marriage was experiencing difficulties. She wanted him to understand that she would listen, be objective and understand the situation as well as she could, but she could never love him the way he loved her, it wasn't possible.

"Have you talked with Ron?"

"No, or at least not about you, why?"

"We're trying to work things out." He said, blandly. Hermione nestled up to him a bit and all the happiness she had felt upon remembering her child was safe and secure disappeared when she thought about how unhappy he was. Even if she could never love him as more than her best friend, she didn't want him to be so despondent and bitter.

"Have you picked out names for your son?" She asked, remembering he had said Susan wanted to name him James.

"She still wants James, I think it would be good to have something different and James as the middle name. But, I ultimately left the decision to her as she has to carry the baby." Hermione grinned and pulled her arms tight around her chest. She wanted Wallace to be with her, she wanted his strong arms to be tight around her chest, not her own. She needed to feel his breath on her neck as they slept and to feel his tight muscles fold around her. Nothing seemed to feel as lovely as his arm draped across her back in the mornings or his legs rubbing against her in the wee hours. She sighed, her eyes began to tear and absentmindedly she began to crumble on Harry's lap. She shivered and wept so heavily, it felt as though she could never stop.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his warm breath whispered into her ear. She shuddered, it shouldn't have made her cry harder, but it did.

"I want Wallace." She sobbed, wiping her tears on her sleeve. He stroked her thick mane before trying to cover her again in the thick, woollen blanket.

"He is gone, Hermione." Harry said, his voice angry but comforting.

"I know that, I just want him. I want him to be here, I don't want to do this alone." She screamed, her sobs making her hiccup throughout.

"You need to calm down, you're going to get ill."

"I don't want to calm down, I want to yell. I want everyone to know the pain I feel everyday. Everyone thinks Hermione can handle everything and never be discouraged or pained. I have been in agony for six months and I can't do it anymore. I will not pretend that my heartache isn't real or that the whole lot of you have made me feel recovered. I don't feel better, in fact now I feel worse because I've brought an innocent child into this wreck. I can't pretend anymore. I want my husband back and my life, I want to live in Caithness and work on potions with him in our lab. I want Henry to look at me and understand that I can't replace his father, that I am not his real mother, even though I love him so much. I love him more than anything right now, and he's at Hogwarts away from me. I want to be loved again, like Wallace loved me, except I don't think I'll ever be able to let myself get to involved again and that just isn't fair. I have all these feelings I cannot express because I don't want people to think me horrid, but I still feel them. I still know that they lurk in dark places in my mind. I want Wallace back so bad, but I know I can't have him and..." She paused, looking in Harry's brilliant green eyes. Could she admit her secrets to him, could she admit that her feelings for Severus Snape had taken a form so unavoidable and overwhelming?

"What, Hermione, please, you can tell me anything."

"I feel as though I am betraying my husband everyday. I wake up, remember he isn't alive anymore, go about my day, but in my heart, I both love him and loathe him. I care for someone, Harry, I care for someone I shouldn't." She covered her face with the hem of her sleeve and wiped her eyes. She didn't want to give him false hope because he looked slightly surprised and promising.

"He is the type of person who would never love me, but I can't help but care for him. I have never wanted to have an affair, I mean when I was married to Wallace, I couldn't fathom looking to another man for what I shared so beautifully with my husband, but in my heart, I feel as though I am cheating on his memory with these feelings I have." She lay more squarely on her pillows and looked back at Harry who seemed stoic and surprised, less promising than before.

"Do you think this man could ever return your feelings, I mean eventually?" Harry asked, bringing the covers around her again. His hands graced her shoulders, his touch felt like Dumbledore's had, fatherly and friendly. She could never feel anything but the love of a friend for him.

"I don't know. He's not very forward or affectionate." Hermione smiled again, rubbing her large belly and thinking that her two good friends would be getting married the next day. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, picturing how lovely Sallie would look in the dress robes they had bought in Hogsmeade. She thought of Ron's nervousness and joy in finally finding someone who could do for him what Wallace had once done for Hermione.

"Thank you for listening to me, Harry. I feel like a major burden has been lifted."

"I am your friend, Hermione, you can always count on me." Harry poked her side softly and then laughed, she was reminded of their younger days.

"I am glad we are friends." She replied and with that, Harry understood that they could only ever be friends. Regardless of the feelings he held for her, she could never return them.

"Do you need anything?" He asked, removing himself from her side.

"Tea would be nice." She said, laying her head down again on her pillows and closing her eyes briefly.

"I'll be right back." But as Harry opened the door to leave her room, he saw two faces, one that looked rather shocked and one that looked quite content.

"She's resting now. I am going to get her tea and then we need to discuss the schedule of Auror's who will be watching the house. She needs someone here twenty-four hours a day until we are sure she is out of harms way." Harry looked first to Albus Dumbledore, and folded his arms.

"She demands to go to the wedding tomorrow, so we'll need to make sure someone can escort her from here to Hogwarts and also to make sure she rests because Healer Eleanor does not want her walking around too much." He stopped and sighed, he couldn't help but worry for his friend.

"I don't know if she's up to talking right now." He added, turning down the hallway to the stairs.

"We will not disturb her then, Severus, please come with Harry and I to the kitchen to finalize the plans." Severus, Albus, and Harry all walked down the stairs to the kitchen where warm smells of spices and bread filled the air. Hermione's kitchen was one of the most domestic one's Severus had ever encountered. But, his thoughts did not remain on the smells for long, instead they drifted to her yelling. He obvious grief over her husband's death and then her feelings for someone new. He'd heard every word and yet didn't know if he should be pleased or down trodden. Was she talking of him?

The next morning, Hermione awoke refreshed and ready for the wedding. She sat up slowly and wondered who had been assigned the first shift of watch. Before she could ponder any longer, a harsh knock came at her door.

"If you plan on attending the wedding, I would advise you to start getting ready, Madame Stuart." She heard from the hallway. Severus's words were harsh as well, but his tone was slightly cheerful.

"I cannot stand." She said as her legs fell over the side of the bed, trying to stand but going quite weak before she could put more pressure on them.

"Are you decent?"

"Of course, what do you think, I sleep starkers waiting for dark wizards to come and ravish me, all eight months pregnant?" She whispered the last part under her breath, feeling slightly put off at her admission to caring for someone to Harry.

" Perhaps you would feel more comfortable if I had Potter come up here." He said, turning the doorknob and opening the door slowly.

"If you would rather not help me, call Harry, he has no problem seeing me in my night clothes." She said playfully as he walked to her side and looked down at her, his eyes betraying his supposed distress at having to help her.

"I am sure once I stand, I will be fine, I just can't seem to put pressure on them right now." She said, lifting the hem of her nightdress to reveal her white legs.

"Put your arm around my neck." He said, bending down to help her up. She acquiesced his request and put her left arm around his shoulders. He smelled sweetly of the pumpkin bread she'd made the morning of the attack. Her eyes met his instantly as her lips graced his cheek after falling forward trying to stand.

"I'm sorry." She said, but in her heart, for the first time since Wallace's passing, she wasn't sorry to have felt the skin of someone she cared for on her lips.

"Do you feel anything in your feet?" He asked, avoiding her eyes.

"Yes, thank you, I feel I can make it to the bathroom now." He'd helped be more than halfway across the room, and was reluctant to release her from his grasp. She seemed fragile just then, when she'd fallen forward and practically kissed his cheek.

"I'll wait for you downstairs as I am accompanying you to Hogwarts." She nodded and surged further to the bathroom. He noticed that her eyes were free of the pain he'd seen at the Ministry. Her face seemed relaxed and young again, so beautiful.

"Thank you, Severus." With that, she closed the door and made to freshen up. After her quick shower, she changed into fresh underclothes and walked out into her bedroom where Severus must have laid out her dress robes. The burgundy colour was not one she normally wore, but Sallie had wanted it and as a witness, Hermione wanted to oblige her friend. It took several minutes to button the under dress and ensure that the fabric lay perfectly on her larger figure. When she had buttoned the final length, she stepped in front of the mirror and fixed her hair. Without magic, she wouldn't be able to smooth it down so keenly and pregnancy had made it several times more unmanageable than before. So, she braided it in several different braids and made a circular design in the back. When her hair was finally done, she put on her light make-up and set off down the stairs to meet Severus in the kitchen.

"You were finished in adequate time." She heard from behind her left shoulder.

"I find that everything can be done in good time." She turned to face him and saw that he too had changed. He seemed free from any pain, any remnant of a difficult life. He wore royal blue dress robes with a fitted vest and long scarf of a lighter blue. His hair was tied back in a light ponytail revealing a pair of onyx eyes she scarcely remembered being so lovely and light. Before she could comment, the baby's head rested on her bladder, almost causing her to relieve herself in the foyer. The look of embarrassment must have shown on her face as Severus stepped forward a bit and tried to help her stand more comfortably.

"The baby is active now, I can hardly rest with it kicking me." She took his arm and they walked out of the hall onto the large patio where she saw a carriage ready to take them to Hogwarts.

"Sarah is waiting for us in the Great Hall." He said after helping her into the carriage.

"I imagine she is nervous. My wedding day was so catastrophic, I don't know how either Wallace or I survived it." She smiled to herself, feeling free in talking about him and not guilty.

"Ron will take care of her, Severus. He loves her and Harrison. He has never loved like this before, but I know it's right." Hermione's eyes pleaded with Severus's to take her words to heart.

"I believe you and that is why I am consenting to allow them to marry. She is my only niece and I felt obligated to be cautious. My brother was a fool and his consent of her marriage to Draco Malfoy a mistake, nasty and irrational. I wanted Sarah to truly know her feelings before I could consent to her marriage. I saw into her mind and knew it was right. She will have a fulfilling life and Harrison a hundred Weasley cousins to entertain him."

"It will be sad not to have them in your home, I'm sure."

"Yes and not to teach him anymore. They have elected to enrol him at Hawthorne's where Ronald attended."

"You will have Atticus and I am certain he is a handful." Hermione repositioned herself on the cushion and thought of Henry and how glad she would be to see him again.

"Atticus has but three years left."

"Well, my child will be ready for tutoring in four years, which will give you a break between Atticus. Perhaps he or she won't be a great know-it-all or annoying, in that time you could teach it."

"It is inescapable that a child of yours will have a thirst for knowledge."

"'Thirst for knowledge', my that sounds a great deal nicer than some of the other's I've heard." Hermione giggled and patted his sleeve. She expected him to tear his arm away from her grasp, but instead he allowed her hand to remain on his sleeve. The carriage came to a stop quickly and Severus stepped down to help her out of the carriage.

"Thank you." She said, stepping down. Her feet were already sore from the shoes, but she didn't dare complain. They walked together to the Great Hall, passing students and professors alike.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Hermione, I couldn't do this without you." Hermione took Sallie's hands in her and kissed them lightly.

"You look so lovely." Hermione said, admiring the ivory robes Sallie wore.

"Uncle Severus, you aren't wearing black." Sallie walked to him and embraced him tightly." I love you." She whispered in his ear, making him close his eyes and hold her tighter. Hermione admired the scene and decided that her perception of him being unaffectionate may have been wrong.

"Are you ready, Sallie Snape?" Albus Dumbledore announce, peeking in the doors.

"Almost, we'll be right along." Sallie pulled a leather book from beneath her bag and handed it to Hermione.

"This was Draco's book. I would like you to hold it during the ceremony so that he is included." Hermione too the book and walked to the door. Severus and Sallie took arms and followed her through the large doors to the pathway, which would lead Sallie to her fiancé. Hermione held her head up towards the muted sunlight and flashed suddenly to her own walk down the path. She had been wearing her mothers dress and a silver over-cloak to protect the dress from the snow. Her hair had been down in long curls around her face and down her back. She remembered seeing Wallace at the end of the uncovered path, his golden hair shining unaided by the winter sun. She cried that day, knowing she would be so happy with the man and unafraid of all that marriage would bring, including his seven-year-old son. Henry had been behind Wallace in his smart robes of hunter green, smiling towards her as if she was truly his Mum. Wallace had hugged her so closely to him when she reached him, she could hardly breath of the excitement of their hand-fasting.' I love you Hermione Jane, always.' The words hadn't left her, but seemed more powerful now that he was gone. Painfully, the baby's feet collided with her ribs once more and she stopped on the path, a foreign pain also joining the other. It subsided and Hermione continued again forgetting the pain and smiling towards the guests of Sallie and Ron's wedding. Fred and George met her at the beginning of the marital path and helped her walk down the aisle where she stood beside Albus Dumbeldore and watched Ron's face as Sallie began walking. Momentarily, she looked to Sallie and Severus, their faces so alike now that Severus's looked free of turmoil and strife. Hermione also noticed Severus looking back at her, his face seemingly content. When they reached the platform, Sallie hugged Severus and kissed his cheek lightly. She took Ron's hands in her and awaited Albus's speech. Hermione locked eyes with Severus as Albus spoke, but another gripping pain swept over her and before she realized how terrible and long it had been, the hand fasting was completed.