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. Thanks to all that reviewed, I am amazed at how many of you didn't give up on me. Thanks again!!!

Chapter 13: She Will Be Esteemed

Hours later, after Hermione had rested and refreshed her senses, she looked around her room and wondered where Severus had gone. She sat up, the pain in her abdomen gone, but tingles of old pain remained there and a great deal of soreness. Her daughter had come quick and unexpectedly the previous night. Hermione looked over to the bassinet beside her bed and saw that her daughter was sleeping soundly, so she leaned into it and folded her arms around the lavender blanket she was bundled in. Hermione felt overcome with emotion immediately when she noticed her daughter had Wallace's hands. His hands were long and slender, the nails always carefully manicured so that they wouldn't interfere with potion work and hers were exactly the same. In her head, she'd yet to call her daughter by her name, it didn't seem real just yet until she could present her to her family.

"Madame Stuart, will you need guidance in breast feeding the baby?" Another Healer Hermione didn't recognize asked as the baby began to whimper.

"I think I have the basic concept." Hermione replied, a little embarrassed by the woman's presence during something so personal and unique. She uncovered the baby's face and brought her to her chest, wondering if perhaps she would be successful in her task of feeding her daughter. She'd never imagined doing anything else, it had always been important to her that she partake in the breastfeeding process.

"Is everything working?" The healer asked, looking over to Hermione and the baby.

"Yes, perfectly, she seems to understand what she's supposed to do very well." Hermione said. Several minutes later, the healer walked over to help Hermione move the baby to the other side.

"She's a hearty appetite." The healer mused, smiling down on Hermione.

"It seems she does. I've read, though, that sometimes the process takes quite a long time for babies to adjust to. Do most first time mothers have difficulty breastfeeding?" Hermione asked, kissing the baby's head as she leaned forward. She smelled sweetly of violets.

"Some do, but I think it depends on the babies. Most take a week or two." The healer nodded to Hermione before closing the door behind her. It felt odd being alone with the baby as she'd never really had an infant to take care of and wasn't exactly sure what to do. She was fed, didn't need a change, and was clean; what was next? The baby's slight whimper answered her question and she decided to sing her a little song. It was a hymnal she remembered from visiting her Gram's church when she was a child. Immediately, the child stopped whimpering and stared at Hermione with her dark, fathomless eyes. Hermione knew that her vision wasn't so developed that she could see her face, but she hoped that the baby did know her.

"Night, sweetheart." Hermione whispered as the baby's slowly closed. She leaned over to the bassinet and slowly placed her in the middle, trying not to wake her. The lavender blanket lay softly on top of the baby as Hermione continued to hum and slowly lull herself into a deep sleep. Morning would come soon enough and she would not have the chance to nap while others helped keep an eye on the infant.

"Hermione..." Hermione stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes to see someone at her door, whispering her name.

"Sallie?" Hermione questioned as her eyes adjusted to the new morning sun. She rubbed her eyes and sat up stiffly as the urge to use the loo overwhelmed all of her other senses.

"How are you?" Sallie asked, whispering again as she closed in on the new Mum and her daughter.

"Sallie, why are you here?" Hermione asked as the door to the room closed stiffly behind Sallie. "I asked them not to contact you." She added.

"Ron and I knew something was troubling you at the ceremony, so we decided to find you after everyone left, but no one knew where you were until Uncle Severus's head showed up in the floo at the Burrow. Why did you hide this, Hermione?" Sallie asked, gazing down at the baby in the bassinet.

"I didn't want to ruin your day." Hermione replied sombrely realizing she hadn't his the pain of her labour or discomfort very well.

"But the birth of a baby is such a blessed and glorious thing, how could she ever ruin anything?" Sallie beamed, remembering how precious Harrison had been at birth. Only a mother could love a newborn, their scrunchy faces and odd shaped heads.

"May I hold her?" Sallie asked.

"Of course." Hermione replied watching Sallie lean into the bassinet and take the baby into her arms.

"What is her name, Hermione, I feel so odd not calling her something." Hermione thought to the week before, when she'd been in the same hospital and of the names she'd picked out in her mind for her child. She'd wanted Wallace to be prominent in the naming process as it was still his child as well, but she also wanted to give credit to Severus who had saved her daughter.

"Her full name is Anya Sidney Granger-Stuart, but I am going to call her Sidney."

"Sidney suits her very well." Sallie gushed, laughing as Sidney cooed and slobbered on the blanket.

"Uncle Severus wouldn't let anyone come to visit you until this morning. We all tried to sneak in last night, but he stood at the door the whole time. I've never seen him so determined." Hermione fidgeted with her blanket and laughed nervously towards Sallie, who seemed oblivious to Hermione's uncomfortable laugh.

"Where did she get all this dark hair from?" Sallie asked, running her hands over the smooth roundness of Sidney's head.

" Mine was that colour when I was born and my eyes too, were that dark I mean. They lightened as I grew older."

"The healer said Uncle Severus was with you the entire time, was he civil?" Hermione's breath caught in her throat and she let go of her blanket, remembering his stunned face after Sidney had been delivered. He'd seemed so fragile and meek, his eyes horrid and impassioned at the same time. She couldn't remember quite what she'd said to him before falling asleep, but she knew in her heart that she'd finally admitted that she harboured feelings for him.

"What's wrong, are you okay?" Sallie asked, noticing Hermione's tears that had been silently forming for the seconds after Sallie had asked her question.

"I feel as though I am betraying my husbands memory. I just gave birth to his daughter and my thoughts are on someone else. He's not been dead a year yet and I have set my affections on someone else." Hermione cried out. She couldn't contain her plight any longer. In that instant, she knew Sallie understood exactly what had been plaguing Hermione. After all, she'd seen it developing for months.

"Sometimes things happen that we cannot change. You didn't ask for Wallace to die and just the same, you didn't ask to fall for someone else."

"You waited three years to marry again." Hermione retorted.

"I didn't find Ron until much later, and I wouldn't have been ready any sooner. I was only seventeen when I married Draco and completely unprepared. It is real with Ron, I know it is."

"I feel guilty and unscrupulous. I was holding his hand as I was pushing and, I don't even know if I can admit this...somewhere, in my heart, I wanted her to be his." Hermione murmured, burying her face in her hands, knowing that by admitting her intense emotions to Sallie, they had become real. She waited for Sallie's reply, wondering if she thought her utterly insane or selfish.

"You may very well have his child in the future." Sallie replied, trying not to imagine her Uncle copulating with a woman. She smiled towards Hermione and then down at Sidney. Sidney...where had she heard that name before.

"Where did you find her name?" Sallie asked.

"Anya was Wallace's mother's middle name and he asked that we use it if we ever had a girl. The last time I was in the hospital, Ron thought it would be a respectable idea to give my child a name after Severus because he's helped me so much and saved the baby. So, I decided that if I had a girl, she would be Anya Sidney and if I had a boy, he would be Olivier Aureliano. And since I never really liked the name Anya, I chose to call her Sidney and now I couldn't imagine anything else." Sallie looked once more from Hermione to Sidney and smiled, she couldn't imagine a more fitting name either.

"Have you told Uncle yet?"

"No, I didn't get a chance." Hermione laughed a bit and then grinned as Sallie handed Sidney to her, all bundled in her lavender blanket.

"I think she's getting hungry." Hermione said, as Sidney's whimpers grew louder.

"I am hopeful for you, Hermione. And congratulate you on such a fine daughter. Sidney is remarkable." Sallie patted her hand and kissed her cheek softly. Hermione hadn't ever had many female friends and she had rather liked it that way, but Sallie's friendship meant a great deal to her. Sallie didn't mind that Hermione cared for her Uncle and that pleased Hermione a great deal.

"I'll send the others in after she's eaten." Sallie said, opening the door and exiting with a knowing smile traced on her pale lips. Hermione untied the ribbons holding her gown together and helped Sidney to nurse. She wondered what the name meant and then thought to look it up later that evening when she was finally home and rested. Of course, the aurors would still be present, yet she felt much less putout that she thought she would. It would be comforting to have someone around in case anything should happen. Sidney's face flicked open and closed as she nursed. Hermione wondered what her daughter would grow up to be, if she would be a witch, or if she would forgive Hermione for all the wrong and ill-thought-out things she'd done in her life. She wondered also, if all daughters hated their Mum's or had troubled relationships with them. Kissing her forehead, and tying her gown back together, Hermione realized twenty minutes had passed. She wiped Sidney's tiny mouth and placed her on her thighs, bringing her knees closer to her chest.

"What a precious baby." Hermione said, envying her daughter's pink, flawless skin and perfect dimples.

"Mummy loves you already, Sidney." Hermione nuzzled the tiny girls against her chest and giggled a little, feeling completely happy for the first time in a while.

"Ready for company?" Sallie asked, peeking in the door.

"Yes, that's fine." Hermione fixed her gown to make sure nothing could be seen and cradled Sidney in her arms. Harry and Ginny came in first, then Ron, Arthur and Molly Weasley, and lastly Albus and Minerva. She felt blessed to have such first-rate friends and family. Sidney had remained docile during the event and Hermione hoped she would remain such a content baby.

"We'll be returning shortly to your home in Hogsmeade, so gather your luggage and I will prepare the rest." Severus said, coming into the room some five hours later after both Hermione and Sidney had been cleared health wise. Upon opening the door, he'd caught Hermione scooping Sidney in her arms. She seemed so naturally a mother, so comfortable and fresh. He was amazed at the fact that even though she seemed quite exhausted and drained, a constant smile was on her face.

"We'll be right along." Hermione cooed, wrapping a fleece blanket around Sidney. She shrank the bags she'd brought and placed then in her knapsack, which she didn't shrink down.

"Can you hold her for a second, I've got to use the loo." Hermione asked, staring promisingly towards Severus.

"Very well." He replied, taking the tiny girl in his arms and peering down at her face. The fluffy lavender of her blanket made a stark contrast against his black wizarding robes.

"You are going to be trouble." He whispered as Sidney opened her eyes and locked with his. He noticed that they seemed less black and greyer. He also noticed that along the edges of her face there was a honey tint to her curly locks; much like her mother's hair. The more he stared down at the infant, the more he thought of Hermione. He'd seen the baby birthed, a sight no man could ever imagine for what it truly was: gruesome, gooey, and glorious. And the sheer strength of Hermione's labour; she had yelled and squeezed his hand, but hadn't asked for any numbing potions. He admired her strength a great deal. A slight snivel brought him back to his right mind and he focused again on the baby's face.

"Is she acceptable?" Hermione asked, coming out of the bathroom and enjoying the sight before her.

"She's an infant, they all look the same." He replied dryly. Hermione's face fell slightly and then, she decided it didn't matter if he thought Sidney was beautiful or not, because Hermione would always believe she was.

"You haven't asked her name." Hermione noticed, as they stepped out of Osgood's Hospital onto the apparation point.

"No, I have not." She paused before him and sighed, he seemed so nonchalant and unfeeling. Had she misinterpreted his affections? Had she let her own feelings cloud the real feelings he shared for her or maybe didn't.

"I can take her back now, thanks." Hermione said, pushing her knapsack up her arm and reaching for the infant, the smile that hadn't left her face for over twenty-four hours was now gone. Sidney now bundled against her chest, she wondered if her affections for him had been magnified by the fact that she had given birth and lost her spouse.

"Are you ready, or do we need to waste another five minutes staring blankly down the street." Hermione met his eyes briefly and thought perhaps she saw something like disgust. She looked down at her clothes, her fuchsia summer dress and hunter green cloak seemed to look presentable. Sidney was presentable as well in her honey coloured jumper and white cotton pants, altogether too big, but nothing seemed out of place, why would he be disgusted with her?

"I believe I can make it home without a guide." She stated, pulling her overcoat tighter around her shoulders as Sidney rested in her free arm.

"I am required to accompany you home."

"I relieve you of your duty, Master Snape, and ask that you refrain from following me." Hermione quipped, downtrodden and sickened in her heart and stomach. What had happened between the night and morning to remove his kind words and emotion-filled glances? She turned from him and began walking towards a red telephone booth near the hospital to call on Willet, Wallace's Mum.

"Are you trying to get yourself kidnapped?" He asked, silky and smooth in her ear. It wasn't enough that he had insulted her wandering mind, now he was insulting her intelligence.

"You aren't my keeper, and now that I can use magic again, I doubt anyone will be sneaking up on me to steal me away. I can't imagine anyone who would want me now, Wallace's papers are destroyed, and I am quite hormonal, that's enough to drive any man away." She said through clenched teeth as not to raise her voice or frighten Sidney. She didn't want people to yell around her daughter.

"You are being stubborn, Hermione."

"And you have turned into a pumpkin again." She replied, remembering Cinderella from her youth and recognizing his distinct change in personality like the pumpkin, mice, and girl. She decided against using the telephone and walked past him back to the apparation point and breathed in a deep breath as tears invaded her eyes. She couldn't stop them, she couldn't stop her heart from pounding so recklessly against her chest. Sidney began to cry as well, the first wail she'd let loose in her first twenty-four hours.

"Sidney, please don't cry, I'm sorry sweetheart, Mummy didn't mean to get upset." Hermione shushed the tiny girl into a calmed state once more and locked eyes with Severus. It wasn't healthy for her to be feeling such horrible and painful things. She felt foolish and imprudent looking at him now. Had she really confused her feelings so tragically?

"Thank you for staying with me during this ordeal and for..." She paused, she didn't know what to say. He'd been like a husband to her, a lover so aware of her feelings and passion and yet, she should've known he wasn't capable of such affections. She could recall many times in her life when he'd been more than cruel and less forgiving. How could she have forgotten so many hateful slurs, glances, and spells?

"Goodbye." She whispered, closing her eyes as not to have another painful image to add to the others. She landed on her doorstep seconds later and hoped he hadn't followed her. She wanted freedom to think about what had happened, if she had overreacted to his normal, callous behaviour or if he didn't care for her at all. She smiled softly down at Sidney, but the happiness of her daughter, for an instant, did not outweigh the unhappiness of her situation. Before she willed herself through the door, she thought of his face when he'd taken Sidney in his arms and seemed so content, if only for the brief time in which he seemed to have let down his shield and become human. She felt silly, a fool in admitting to Sallie that she felt such deep fondness for him. It wasn't love, as she hadn't devoted herself so completely to him; yet, in her heart she knew it was more than friendship or a passing fancy.

"I'm scheduled for the first shift." Remus Lupin said, opening the door for her and taking her knapsack off her arm.

"How was the trip?" He asked as she removed the heavier fleece blanket from Sidney and began to climb the insurmountable stairs.

"Where is Severus? He was supposed to come back with you so there were two of us to help, in case you needed it." Remus continued, following her up the stairs and around the corner to her bedroom.

"I don't know where he is." Hermione replied, taking a seat in her rocking chair and pulling Sidney closer to her body.

"Has something happened?" He asked, his eyes soft and fatherly looking towards the baby.

"Nothing has happened." Hermione countered, starting to hum and rock. She wanted the first days of Sidney's life to be without turmoil and pain, yet she'd gone and mucked up another relationship. Remus beamed towards her and closed the door slowly allowing her privacy.

"Call me if you need me." He said, lightly.

"Thank you, Remus." Hermione replied, softening to his voice. She'd always respected him and found him calming. Before laying Sidney in her new bassinet, she kissed her cheeks again and then her forehead, it was odd to her how something could change a person so quickly. She loved her daughter, her son who had yet to see his sister, and the memory of her husband that had vanished for a moment, but had returned. She loved Wallace, she'd wanted to have a child with him desperately and now she had his daughter, her daughter. Sidney closed her large eyes and breathed softly.

"I love you." Hermione said strongly and with hope to the little girl. She hoped she had misread Severus's intentions that morning and that eventually, they could talk about Sidney's birth and the fiasco of watching said birth. She hoped he wouldn't become a stranger again because she'd rather gotten used to him being around. Her eyes flittered with tears again and she hoped the effect wouldn't last much longer as she was tired crying and needed a good nights sleep.

Up the road, Severus apparated home confused and downtrodden. Had he done something ill towards her? He couldn't recall doing anything out of the ordinary, but then he did have a skewed view on what was ordinary.

"What happened?" Sallie asked as she and Ron came out of the breakfast room with their bags, leaving for Spain.

"I don't know." He replied, shaking his head.

"Is Hermione alright?" Ron asked, locking eyes with Sallie and then with Severus.

"I don't know." He replied again. He walked past them to the bar to pour himself a fire whiskey and relax.

"Is she home?" Sallie asked, now a bit put off by his nonchalance.

"Yes, I believe so. She wouldn't let me accompany her home this evening."

"What did you do?" Sallie asked, putting her bags down on the floor and folding her arms.

"Watch that cheek, Sarah, you may be a married woman now, but that does not give you the right to talk to me in such an impertinent manner." He barked at her.

"It's clear now, perfectly clear. You weren't talking to her this way this afternoon, were you?" Sallie replied, ignoring his previous comment.

"In what way am I speaking?"

"Like you're talking out of your arse, that's how. Sometimes I can't believe we're related the way you treat people. Hermione was so delighted when I left her, she told me all these amazing things and now, I can almost guarantee she's hopeless." Sallie looked to Ron, who seemed completely ambivalent to the situation and then at her bags. She had never talked to her Uncle that way before or expressed her feelings so powerfully. It felt extremely empowering.

"Sallie, maybe we should get going and let your Uncle relax, he has been at the hospital a long time." Ron quipped, shrinking their bags and bringing them on his lap.

"Sidney, did she name her Sidney?" Severus asked, sipping his drink and then shooting it all in one fell swoop.

"Yes, Anya Sidney. Anya is some family name on Wallace's side and Sidney is for you, Uncle, for all that you've done for her. It was Ron's idea and Hermione really liked the name anyway." Sallie walked over to him and took his arm in the crook of hers, hoping to talk some sense into him.

"I know you have trouble expressing yourself sometimes, Uncle Severus, and I know you don't ever admit when you are wrong, but obviously you have done something wrong because if you hadn't, you would be with Hermione now and not here, alone." Sallie squeezed his hand and followed Ron out of the breakfast room.

"Anya Sidney." He said, aloud to no one in particular. "Sidney." The name melted on his lips with the fire whiskey and he instantly remembered the night in the hospital when she asked him what his middle name was. He remembered how pleased she'd seemed, as well. In that moment, he vowed to discover what he had done to make her so unhappy and cross and to explain to her how highly he regarded her now, that he esteemed her above all others.

Author's note: To the issue on the time of water breaking and birth and such... The ceremony of the wedding was around three-ish and the reception around four-ish. I stated that she didn't think her contractions had started until later, but they did in the morning. Her water broke around 4:30, then she went home around 5:00 and then at 8:00 they went to the hospital. They spent about an hour in labour there and she was born around nine thirty...it was a short birth, but I attribute it to Hermione having already been in labour once before. My mother had me rather quickly and also my brother, so I am better at writing short births. Hope that cleared some things up...