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 15: Your Place or MineThe next morning, Hermione, Henry and Sidney left Hogsmeade with Remus Lupin to go to Wallace's grave, which was in Caithness, eastern Scotland. Sidney's first forty-eight hours had been calm and quiet for the most part and although it was a little cold, Hermione knew that both she and Henry needed some closure. It would be a year since his death at the end of April and Hermione just couldn't wait that long. She needed something, a sign, and closure to help her know that Wallace wanted her to move on, to eventually love another man.
"Thank you for coming with us, Remus, we really appreciate it." Hermione said while she cradled Sidney in her arms and patted his hand. The portkey would activate in one more minute, so they stood relatively close and waited. As each of their hands grasped the plank of wood, Hermione smiled at the boys and waited for the familiar tug at her navel. She really shouldn't have been trying to travel or walk around so soon after the birth, but she had to go. He was calling to her.
"Henry, would you like to go first." He nodded and walked over to the large tree where just beneath his father and mother were buried. He wondered in his adolescent brain if Hermione, his Mum, felt jealous that his father was buried with his biological mother. He bent down and slowly cleared away the debris of nature and sighed heavily. No child his age should have to deal with the death of two parents before twelve. When he'd spent enough time in thought and reflection, he motioned Hermione over and they kneeled together before Wallace and Valerie's tree and wept. Hermione hadn't cried for Wallace in a long time and she truly wanted this to be the last time. In society, the death of a spouse was to be mourned rigidly for at least a year, but everything that had happened and with Sidney, Hermione felt for once that she was truly ready to bury Wallace, for good.
"You have a daughter now, Wallace. Her name is Anya Sidney, after you and my dear friend Severus Snape, our neighbour. I hope you don't mind. Oh, Wallace, we miss you so much and love you, this had been a hard year and but blessed. I can't imagine how you feel or if you feel anything or if you know what has happened to us in your absence. Henry and I have tried to cope with this in the best manner possible." Hermione stopped, rubbed Henry's shoulder and he understood that she wanted to speak with Wallace alone. He took Sidney from her arms and then walked slowly to Remus who was sitting patiently on a bench about one hundred metres away.
"I am beginning to care for Severus a great deal, Wallace, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to love him like I love you, loved you. I need to know that you approve, that you don't think me horrid for loving someone else. Wallace, how can I do this without you?" Hermione fell forward slightly and she cried hard against her hands, hoping she would gain the relief she had come to find. Her eyes finally cleared a bit and before her, a single branch of the tree began to sway. She felt no other wind around her and could hear no breeze nearby. She looked the branch over and as she sucked in air harder than she ever had before, on that March first, a blossom emerged from the edge of the branch. She plucked the blossom and smelled it's sweet nectar.
"Thank you, Wallace" Hermione whispered returning to the boys and Sidney. A huge relief had finally settled and she felt secure in returning to Hogsmeade and to Severus.
"Okay, we can go now, unless there's anything else, Henry." She took Sidney from his arms and kissed her rosy cheeks.
"No, Mum we can go." He rubbed her shoulder in exactly the same way she had earlier and they began to walk back to the portkey, which would activate again when they touched it. Thankfully the aurors were able to secure a portkey for travel, otherwise the expedition wouldn't have happened.
"Did you say what you wanted to, sweetie?" Hermione asked Henry as they came closer to the plank.
"Yes, Mum, I think I've said what I needed to today. I don't know if I'll ever except that he's gone, you know because he's the only father I have, but it's better now." Hermione stopped in her spot and realized that not only would she need to gain Wallace's support, which she believed she had now, but Henry's.
"Henry, come here for a second, there's something I need to talk with you about."
"Is it about Master Snape?" He asked as they sat down on the stone bench.
"Yes, dear, it is."
"You like him, don't you? And he likes you, I know it."
"Henry, it's more complicated than that when you're an adult. I do like him, but until I felt comfortable with your father's passing, I didn't want to admit my feelings for him, do you understand?" Henry laughed a bit and ran his hands through his sandy blonde hair.
"I understand, Mum. You don't want to get involved if you think Dad'll come back and haunt you. I understand completely. Michael and I have been trying to get you two to admit your feelings since before Christmas." Hermione pushed him lightly and laughed herself.
"Never thought I'd see you blush, Mum." Henry added, bringing his arms around her neck and laughing a bit more. "I think Master Snape is a good man, a little scary sometimes, but a good man. He loves his family and I think he loves you too and Sidney, the way he was looking at you two at breakfast. He watched you sleep last night and tucked Sidney in tighter after you fell asleep." Hermione blushed again thinking about Severus watching her sleep.
"Well, if you change your mind, let me know, okay?'
"What could be better? If you and Master Snape get married, Michael and I can live in the same house in summer and everything." Hermione laughed and stood slowly, thinking it was impossible to show Henry it was much more difficult that all that. She moved to pull Sidney's blanket tighter around her face when she heard a muffled scream from behind her where Remus Lupin was supposed to be standing. As she turned to see what had happened, she saw him. Platinum blonde hair and all, Lucius Malfoy flanked by Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Fancy meeting you here, Madame Stuart." Hermione fumbled for her wand awkwardly with Sidney in her arms. She didn't want to let go of her daughter, but didn't want her to be unprotected either.
"How may I help you, sir." Hermione held her wand out at arm's length and paced a circle with the older man, the evil man who obviously wanted what Peter Pettigrew hadn't gained.
"Only you, Madame." She could see him mentally preparing himself for the battle, for the curse that would inflict the most pain and least amount of resistance. She stepped further away from him, glancing around shortly for Henry and Remus. She finally saw them, Remus was unconscious near Wallace's tree and Henry was lying next to him, seemingly unconscious as well.
"I don't have what you need, Malfoy. They took everything away from me, my memories, the papers, everything." Hermione reasoned, but being an untrained occlumens, she couldn't tell if he was using it against her. She tried desperately to think of anything besides Wallace or the genetic research.
"Tisk, tisk, mudblood, I see that you aren't being truthful. But, we don't want to kill you, it's your brain we need after all and your magic. We don't, however, require the snivelling brat." In an instant, Sidney flew from Hermione's arms straight into Bellatrix's and before she could run after her, she heard Lucius cast the petrifying spell.
"Now, I'm going to tie this around your eyes so you can't see where we're going." Hermione couldn't protest, move, anything. She couldn't see what Bellatrix was doing to her daughter and instantly, felt completely helpless. Her life now blackened by the blindfold, she tried to hear things, to see if perhaps she could sense where they were going, but they hadn't moved yet. In seconds, she felt her senses disappear entirely as she lay stiffly on the cold, March ground.
"She's opening her eyes, you might want to stand back, Severus." Hermione heard Poppy say as she scanned the room wondering where she was now.
"Where…" Hermione gasped, her breath was icy against her lips and throat.
"Hogwarts, dear, you are at Hogwarts." Poppy answered towelling her head once more and trying to offer her some soup.
"Where Sid, Henry?" Hermione asked, trying to sit up in the bed, but falling miserably back against the pillows. Tears began to form and flow down her wind-blown cheeks and she tried desperately to see if Severus was still in the room. She needed his comfort.
"Henry is in the next cubicle and Sidney down the row. Lay down and relax, Hermione, they are fine." Hermione watched as Severus shot Poppy a glare she remembered so well from her youth. Poppy was obviously lying.
"Truth, please." Hermione finally managed to sit up and looked down towards the end of the hospital wing and saw a bassinet where she imagined Sidney to be. She threw her legs over the edge and tried to stand to walk to her. She concentrated all of her energy on making it down the long pathway to the bassinet and finally made it to the wooden trundle only to find it empty and then collapsed immediately from exhaustion.
"You shouldn't have said Sidney was in here, Poppy." Severus said snidely rushing to Hermione's limp form and bringing her back to her bed.
"I didn't realize she'd go down there, Severus." Poppy helped Severus make Hermione more comfortable on the bed and then left the pair alone.
"Did Bellatrix kill her?" Hermione asked, hoping against all hope that Bellatrix hadn't killed her daughter, her only daughter.
"No, Hermione, she did not kill her."
"Then where is she, Severus, I want to see her." Severus grabbed both of Hermione's hands and kissed her finger tips, he wanted to comfort her, to reassure her that everything would be fine, eventually.
"She is with Minerva in transfiguration class. We didn't want her cries to wake you up before you had proper rest. I will fetch her, wait right here." Severus leaned forward and kissed Hermione properly on the lips and began to leave the infirmary.
"Henry, what of him?" Hermione asked. Severus stopped suddenly and turned to her, his eyes quite dark.
"He's with Michael." The tone in his answer made Hermione think that perhaps everything wasn't as joyous as it seemed. Yes, they'd all survived whatever had happened; yet neither of her children were with her and now Severus had gone too.
"She's been asleep for around thirty minutes, Minerva said." Severus brought the bundle to Hermione and thrust her slowly into Hermione's arms. He still was no aficionado at holding babies and rather liked it when they were older and could hold their own heads up.
"And she isn't hurt?" Hermione sat up with ease and opened the blanket to peer at her tiny daughter. Everything seemed to be in order, but then Bellatrix was a tricky woman and a curse could be hidden quite easily.
"We've all checked, there wasn't enough time for Bella to inflict any real damage." Severus answered, coming to her side and joining her on the bed. At first, he sat rigid as if unable to relax against the soft cotton and then seeing the approval in her eyes, he leaned down beside her and let his eyes travel over the sleeping form of her daughter.
"And Henry, he was unconscious when they blindfolded me, what happened to him?"
"He passed out from shock, we assume. He isn't talking to anyone aside from Michael. I am afraid that your husband's tree was destroyed in the process of saving you from Lucius and Bella." Hermione eyes met his instantly, her face mournful and devastated.
"His tree? Gone?" Her eyes left Severus's briefly and met her daughters hazel green eyes, eyes that should be blue with pigment still and she wondered if that was the sign that Wallace had meant to give.
"We saved this, it was in your hand when they brought you here." Severus reached over to the nightstand and handed Hermione the single blossom from the tree. It was still white and pure, unwrinkled or bruised.
"I know this sounds silly and I am most sure that you will chastise me for doing so, but the whole reason I went to his grave today was to let go. To make sure that I would be able to freely give my heart to someone else. I stupidly asked Wallace to give me a sign that he would be okay with me having a relationship and maybe someday marrying someone else. Before I left, this single blossom sprouted from his tree and I knew he approved. Is that crazy?"
"Yes, it is crazy." Hermione turned to him and saw before her for the first time in ages a snarky smile from Severus. She'd missed that smile, the one she always received when he was being playful.
"Honestly?"
"Honestly, you're loony. But, it is a nice gesture nonetheless and I will gladly hold the fellow to it." Severus took the blossom from her hand again and then shifted to get out of the bed.
"You need to rest, Hermione. Sidney and I are going to make sure Henry is fairing well enough and then we'll bring you dinner." Severus took the small babe from her arms and turned to leave the infirmary.
"What about Remus. What a selfish fool I've been, how is Remus?"
"Fine, a little bruised and unhappy with me, but fine."
"Why is he unhappy with you?" Hermione asked, laying her head on the cotton pillow.
"I was alerted by Albus's clock that sensed you in danger, so Minerva, Hooch and I went to Caithness to make sure nothing was amiss. When we discovered Lucius and Bella trying to sabotage you, and also Remus unconscious, we had to defend the situation to our best knowledge. Unfortunately, Bella escaped, once more. Lucius has been returned to Azkaban."
"And Remus, why would he be upset?"
"Perhaps I was a bit forward with him about your protection or rather lack thereof." Severus turned abruptly and walked further to the large doors.
"Thank you for saving me, Severus." He heard Hermione whisper. His steps increased at a steady pace until he was clear of the infirmary and safe near the dungeons, his old home. He walked several corners until he reached the Slytherin common room where Michael and Henry were having a game of chess on Michael's four-poster.
"She is awake now, Henry, but resting. Would you like to go to her?"
"I fainted. What a great use I was." Henry yelled, tossing his pieces at the wall. Severus handed Sidney to Michael and stood directly in front of Henry.
"You were not able to save your mother because you are an untrained adolescent wizard who should not be concerned with matters in the Dark Arts. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange are not adolescent untrained wizards. Had you not been unconscious, it still wouldn't have been that much help to Hermione, in fact you more than likely would've been killed. Do not pity yourself, boy, for it does no one good. I expect you to go to your mother before curfew." Severus turned from the astonished boy and headed to the common room to find Michael.
"She hardly makes a sound. Not like Harrison at all, right Uncle Severus?"
"She is quite quiet." Severus retrieved the baby from Michael and walked with her quietly through the walls of Hogwarts waiting as long as he could to return to the infirmary. He paced the library, the Great Hall, the gardens, the quidditch pitch and lastly the Astronomy tower. For once in many years, he felt like he was finally home in a sense. Snape Manor was a home he had barely lived in as a child and one he hadn't the fondest memories of, yet he continued to live there to pay homage to a father who wanted him to be a ideal son.
"Aren't you ready to turn her over yet?" Hermione asked as Severus reappeared in the infirmary.
"Did you rest?"
"Of course, Doctor's order and all that. Let me have my baby please." Hermione held out her arms and waited for Severus to hand Sidney over, yet he hesitated a minute before doing so.
"We need to talk about something that I find may seem uncomfortable." Severus said, as Sidney stirred in Hermione's arms.
"Yes, what is it?"
"The Order had discussed the necessary precautions for your safety. It seems unwise to send you back to your home. Lucius may not be able to retain you, but Bella is relentless and until she is captured, your safety is imperative. Albus has offered you to stay here and live in the extra dorms." Severus paced the floor as he spoke. He felt more like her superior again than the person he hoped he'd become in her mind.
"Why would this make me uncomfortable. I could live here again as long as it wasn't for a great deal of time."
"I put in my own suggestion, merely as a safe place for you to reside. I realize that our new, affection, changes my original plan of simply having you live in Snape Manor without it seeming awkward, yet it would be the next safest place to Hogwarts with more comforts of home." Hermione sniggered a bit as the faintest of blushes crept over his cheeks.
"Are you asking me to move in with you, Severus?" She asked, toying with him. He stopped, starred her down to the bed and turned from the room.
"I was only joking, Severus. I know exactly what you are asking. You want to know if I would mind living at Snape Manor, not as your, well whatever, but as a guest, right?" Hermione watched him stop and turn again. She wondered if he was getting tired at all with all the pacing and walking he had been doing.
"Yes, that is exactly what I meant."
"If the Order thinks it wise, then who am I to disagree?" Hermione smiled shyly back at Severus and then down at Sidney who looked ready to have her dinner too.
"But that doesn't mean that my affections are going to stop. I've finally admitted them and feel free to pursue them and…" She stopped, sighed and waited for a sarcastic comment or stalk off in return.
"No doubt, Madame Stuart."
"Sidney is quite hungry Master Snape and I do think Poppy would find it entirely inappropriate if you were to be in here while she was fed." Hermione saw the blush rise again to his cheeks and then he turned finally to leave the infirmary for good that night, or at least until he was sure that she was asleep and that there was no possible way he would be put in an uncomfortable situation again.
Author's note: Sadly, Bellatrix has not disappeared and the threat on Hermione has not either. Moving into Snape Manor and some explanations (Eleanor) in the next chapter.
AN 2-2-05 I re-did this chapter to fix errors and such. Thanks to those who have reviewed and sorry for the poor grammer and spelling.
Makalanie Astral : I know it's about time…
Becky Benson: Glad you came over to read it. I have actually been working on it for a year. I had it all written and then my computer ate it, so I am slowly re-writing the end. I won't give away the ending, but it will be a happy one.
Crissy: thanks a lot, I am glad you like it.
Kate: I strive to make Hermione seem more mature and Severus more free from the life he led while she was a student. It's hard though, because I do see him as a severe person.
Azulkan2: There will be more soon, I promise.
Moldanubikum: Thanks for sticking around!
Anarane Anwamane: Thanks again for your reviews
KdarkMaiden: I actually didn't think about it until you brought it up. That's interesting. I must have done it subconsciously.
Annabel: I posted more and sorry for the wait. It's the same story for everyone, I know school and such. I am doing my master's right now, so I don't have a great deal of time. But more will be posted.
