A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter. I am surprised that no one came up with the next cliché but you did come up with the one for ch. 30. Anyway, to answer a question: Kidnapping gives Voldemort power by giving him a bargaining chip to Harry. He is assuming, like Rita Skeeter, that he loves Hermione and would do anything to get her back, misinformation provided by Draco of course. So he is going to draw Harry out into the open by threatening to kill Hermione. Fuller details will come in the following scenes. So, read on.
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Chapter 29: The Unforeseen
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Previously...
Severus blinked rapidly, not seeing where he was. Suddenly his eyes refocused and he seemed to come to himself. His voice was steady as he replied, "I know who they want to kidnap."
At this Lupin and Harry snapped there attention to Snape. Still calm, Dumbledore asked, "Who is it, Severus?"
Snape hesitated for a moment, as he looked from Lupin to Harry and back to Dumbledore. Softly, as if it pained him to say it, he said, "Hermione."
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"WHAT!" yelled Harry. Both he and Remus jumped to there feet as Severus collapsed into a chair. Dumbledore alone stayed calm, as if he had expected this. In a completely un-Snape-like fashion, to Harry's way of thinking, Severus seemed to wilt into the chair hiding his face behind his pale hands.
Meanwhile Harry was still ranting, "Who? When? For Merlin's sake, WHY?!" For a long moment the room was silent, before Snape looked back up, hatred, anger, and pain smoldering in his eyes. Feeling as if Snape had dealt him a physical blow, Harry stepped back as his former professor said, "To get to you, and to test me."
Severus turned to Dumbledore and said, "He suspects me, Albus. Lucius Malfoy was there and was reeking of satisfaction that even the most un-empathetic person could feel. Malfoy has never trusted me, knowing him he probably suggested this to the Dark Lord just to get me killed." Sneering at the depravity of the situation, he continued, "The Dark Lord believes he can gain a foothold over Potter by holding Hermione hostage, in the belief that Potter would go charging blindly into battle to save his friend." The expression on Harry's face attested to this belief.
Dumbledore looked at him gravely as the other two wizards stared at him in horrified shock. Sighing heavily, Albus asked, "Who are the kidnappers? How is the kidnapping supposed to happen? Did you find out how long we have to counter this?"
Pain flashed across Severus' face before returning to its normally grim expression as he answered, "The Dark Lord wishes...for me to bring Hermione before him on the December 26." Giving a humorless smile, he added, "As he so wittingly put it he is giving me Christmas Day to enjoy with my wife."
"You can't do it. He'll kill her," Harry stated vehemently.
"I realize that Potter. I no more wish to do it than you want me to," Snape snapped.
Finally Remus spoke, "What are you going to tell Hermione?"
Snape's head snapped around as he barked, "I am not going to tell her."
Remus raised one eyebrow questioningly, saying, "You can't possibly believe that this can be kept from her. It will come up in the Order meetings for one thing. For another, I know for a fact that she is the one person who will be able to see past that stone façade you wear around the rest of us. She'll be able to tell that something is bothering you. You are going to kidnap her. That is not something you can hide from her."
Snape glared at him, looking like he would argue back. Shooting one last hateful look at the other man, he slumped, defeated, as Albus quietly said, "She has to be told Severus." Knowing that he would put up no more arguments, Dumbledore turned to Remus and Harry, "I'm calling a meeting of the Order. Spread the word to everyone to be at headquarters this Saturday." He paused, looking at Severus for a moment before adding, "Let's try to keep the details to a minimum until the meeting. We never know who may be listening."
Nodding, Harry and Lupin left. For a long moment Severus and Albus sat in silence, unmoving. Deftly Albus rose and went to the table by the fire. There had been too many scenes just like this one. With a depressed and horror-shocked Severus silently coping, sitting across from an understanding and forgiving Dumbledore. After twenty years of doing this he knew exactly what the younger man needed. Silently Dumbledore poured a glass of brandy and handed it to an equally mute Severus.
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Hermione woke the next morning, comforted by the fact that Severus had returned home safely. Despite all her best resolutions she had fallen asleep on the couch, where Severus found her. She could tell something was bothering him, but had been too tired to ask him about it, before falling asleep in his arms.
Careful not to wake him, she slipped out of bed. As she stood upright she was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea, for a moment her mind jumped to the memory of the Marriage Bond, but logic kicked back in and she fought down the urge to throw up. Slowly she made her way over to the wardrobe. As she dressed the queasiness stayed with her. Thinking about breakfast just made it worse. So opting to skip the morning meal she made her way to the Hospital Wing for a potion.
Twenty minutes later she found herself staring at the mediwitch in horrified amazement. "What do you mean pregnant?" she cried, almost shouting.
Madame Pomfrey just rolled her eyes in exasperation as she said, "You know perfectly well what I said. You're pregnant, dear. And if you are as honorable as I know you to be, with Severus' child. Though how you could possibly be attracted enough is beyond the rest of us." This last she said with an ironic smile, that did nothing to divert Hermione's anxiety.
The younger witch bit her lip nervously as she whispered, "I don't understand how though. We always...er...I always took the contraceptive potion before. That stuff is strong enough to stop a giant from getting pregnant." She looked at Poppy, beseeching her for the answer.
The mediwitch frown for a moment, before saying, "Well, the potion can't be countered, so that means you didn't use it at least once. Can you think of anytime you got....er...carried away?" She wrinkled her nose in slight distaste as she hastily avoided unpleasant thoughts.
Hermione shook her head saying, "Never. I can specifically remember taking it....wait, Halloween." She frowned tight lipped as she tried to remember the details of that night.
Poppy frowned in confusion, "What about Halloween? You were at the party that night weren't you? As I recall you and Severus weren't ...on friendly terms at that time."
"You're right," Hermione said. "But the night after, I was in here. The Marriage Bond was causing me pain. Severus took me back to our rooms. We ...uh... got carried away as you put it. Anyway, I didn't take the potion that night."
Poppy nodded, "That had to be it then. The baby should be due some time in July then." She paused and said, "Unless you don't want to keep it."
Startled Hermione looked up at the older witch, "No. I want to keep it."
"Severus may have different feelings about it. He never did like children much," Poppy said, smiling ruefully.
Hermione smiled back, a mischievous glint in her eye, "He'll have to get used to it. I'll make him change his mind."
The mediwitch handed her a potion for the morning sickness, guiding her to the door, as she said, "I don't doubt that you will, child."
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Despite her words to Poppy, Hermione felt anything but sure that she could convince Severus to like children. Obviously he got over it, if they had seven children in the future, but that didn't change his feelings about them now. Some how, she had to tell him, and soon. Before he realized what her getting sick in the morning meant. The problem was how to do it so he wouldn't blow up in her face.
Nervous that he would be able to read something in her face, she avoided him for the rest of the day. Anxiety made her jumpy and finally she dismissed her last class early just to get some peace. She mulled over the options in her mind, and after an hour of debating settled for the straight forward approach, when he was in a good mood of course.
That decided she headed down to their quarters. She found him sitting on the sofa staring at the wall absently, his forehead creased in worried thought. He jumped and scowled when she cleared her throat. Turning mouth open to berate whoever had intruded on his silent contemplation, he stopped when he saw it was her. His mouth closed with a snap and his face went from red to pale and back to normal in about a second. If she didn't know him better, she would have thought she had caught him doing something he shouldn't.
Deciding to ignore his strange behavior, she casual made her way over to him and sat on the couch saying, "Hello, I'm sorry I missed you this morning. I felt a little peaky so I went to Madame Pomfrey for a potion. I meant to ask you about last night. Did you find out anything?"
He paled for a moment, with an almost guilty look on his face, before his typical diffident look returned. Little to her knowledge she needn't have tried to avoid him, for he had been avoiding her. He loathed the idea that he had to tell the love of his life that he was supposed to sacrifice her to the scum of the earth the day after Christmas. The last thing he wanted to do was put her in a position of danger let alone giver her to evil incarnate himself. Voldemort had said he would promise her safety if she was brought to him, but he didn't trust it for a moment. He couldn't think of any way this could get worse.
Taking a deep breathe he said, "Against my better judgment Dumbledore has demanded that you be told. The Dark Lord is indeed planning a kidnapping and he wants me to do it."
She gaped at him, any thoughts of telling him of the pregnancy banished for the moment. After a moment she gasped, "Who? Why do you have to do it?"
He flashed a glare that for a moment made her feel like she was back in potions class and had asked a question that had annoyed him. It was gone as fast as it had come, as he once again looked pale and tight lipped, "He demanded that you be brought before him. I believe that this is a way of testing my loyalty, though the Dark Lord claims, that it is to get Potter out in the open."
Once again, Hermione was struck dumb as she stared at her husband in horror. When she did not speak for several moments, he started to fidget uncharacteristically. He started to mutter under his breath, as thought he didn't know he was saying it out loud. Though she didn't really hear him, until she caught the phrases, "...stupid idiot...always screwing things up...shouldn't have told you...wish I could make things better...love you so much...never let them hurt you."
Her brain seemed to unfreeze as the warmth of these last things flooded through her veins. She watched him for a few more seconds as he gently stroked her hand in unconscious comfort. He stopped talking as she gently touched his face. She lifted his head and met his eyes and saw the pain and self loathing there. Swiftly she kissed him until he couldn't breathe, but he didn't care, for his world had shrunk until there was only her and nothing else. Finally when the need for air came too great they broke off, foreheads resting against one another's. An involuntary shiver ran down his spine as her warm breath caressed his cheek as she whispered, "I love you, Severus Snape. No one can hurt me so long as you love me too. No one."
He kissed her softly before responding, "I will never stop loving you and I will never let anything happen to you. I can't lose you again." They sat there for several moments just enjoying being in each other's presence. Finally he spoke again, "I didn't want you to know. But Lupin said you would probably figure it out anyway. I just didn't want you to think you had to endanger yourself, what with your Gryffindor bravery and all." This last, he said with a smirk playing on his lips.
Suddenly she felt guilty. She didn't feel brave. After all she still hadn't told him yet. He felt her stiffen slightly and pulled back as she turned towards him to look him in the face. She gathered her resolve and facing the storm she knew to come said, "I'm pregnant."
It was his turn to stare as the blood rushed from his face to rush right back, making him feel like he was on fire. All at once he felt like his heart was inflating inside his chest, as if he would burst with happiness. The word pregnant seemed to echo loudly in his head. Imaginary scenes played behind his eyes: Hermione with a swollen belly, his hand resting on it, feeling the tickling movement...a family picnic by the lake...a head full of dark curls and laughing brown eyes...Lucius Malfoy laughing maniacally as he pointed his wand at a bruised and battered Hermione...Madame Pomfrey telling him that she and the baby hadn't been strong enough. He jerked away from this last haunting image, as the real Hermione said, "Severus...Severus please say something."
He tried to speak, but found his mouth too dry to form any sound. He licked his lips and tried again, finally managing to croak, "When?"
She sighed in relief that he wasn't going to yell. Hoping to head off any arguments she answered, "The night after Halloween. I'm due in July. I know that we agreed that we shouldn't have children until after the war was over one way or the other, but this can not be helped. And before you even suggest it, I am not going to abort. I am having this child whether you like it or not. Get used to it. I want a large family. After growing up as an only child I want my kids to have siblings. I..." She paused as his mouth covered hers.
For a surprised moment she resisted before melting into the heat of his kiss. As he let go of her mouth, she raggedly drew a breath, saying, "So...you're ok with it then?" His response was to kiss her again. By the time they parted, she was leaning on him in order to stay sitting up. Pushing back her hair distractedly, she said, "I'll take that as a yes."
He looked at her searchingly for a moment, and then deadpanned, "Yes."
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"You're not going," Severus said a note of finality in his tone. Hermione looked at him reproachfully.
George Weasley responded, "I don't see why she can't. She's proven herself perfectly capable of handling this kind of situation. There was that time with Umbridge, and then in sixth year with Avery and Lestrange trying to make off with her while everyone else was fighting by the lake. So long as Snape is there to watch out for her and we have an adequate back up plan I don't see why she can't just play the bait like she's supposed to."
"As much as I hate seeing her put herself in danger, I must agree with George. She has proven herself capable," Mr. Weasley stated.
Snape sneered as he said, "She can't go because she is pregnant." Hermione glared at him as everyone started talking loudly in reaction to that simple statement. Harry, Ron and Ginny had instantly gotten to their feet and Fred had fallen of his chair while everyone else just stared at either her or Snape in shock.
As everyone calmed down a little, Ginny managed to ask, "Is it true, Hermione?"
Steely faced, she answered, "Yes, it's true. I am pregnant." Shooting a scathing glare, at her husband she said, "But that doesn't mean I can't do my duty. I'm only two months pregnant, and I'm hardly bedridden at this point. With loose robes I wont show by the time I'm supposed to be 'kidnapped.' Pregnancy doesn't impair my use of a wand you know. I will still be able to defend myself if necessary, and with the plan we've come up with I see no problem with me participating."
"Hermione, dear, you don't understand. Pregnancy in witches is different. It affects our magic like it does our moods. By the third month control over your magic is erratic at best. For example you may be able to control your expressions well but if you lose your temper you may unconsciously blow something up. So it is not just the physical aspects that we are worried about. While you can eventually learn control over all but the most extreme reactions, it may take you until your fifth or sixth month before it resembles anything like normal. So you see, dear, you just can't go," explained Mrs. Weasley. Severus eyed her warily. He had never heard of this phenomenon before, but then again he had never been around a pregnant witch before either. He noticed that Hermione seemed a little less determined to fight, so for her sake he hoped Molly was right. But for his sake later, she hoped it was just a very good lie.
Hermione opened her mouth to say something but only got as far as, "But I...," before being interrupted by Harry, Ron, and Severus saying, "You're not going." For a moment all was silent as the three of them stared aghast at having agreed on something. While Harry and Severus had called a truce at the wedding, they still didn't agree very often and Ron had never been a part of that truce.
For a few more seconds the silence dragged on before the rest of the table broke out laughing. The twins were beside themselves pointing at the trio and commenting on their expressions of horror and disgust. They relaxed back into their seats the tension resolved somewhat. From the look on Hermione's face, she found nothing funny about it and Severus would be sleeping on the couch tonight.
Before she could make another argument however, Lupin spoke, "If she is not going, then what are we going to do. If she doesn't go Severus will be exposed as a spy and we will have lost a way of gathering information. Draco has been doing a lot but he lacks the experience. So what is the alternative?"
To everyone's surprise it was Draco that had the answer, "She will go." They all turned to stare at him. Severus made to give a scathing denial, but the younger Slytherin interrupted him, "Hermione will be their in form, but not in actuality. I suggest some take her place using the polyjuice potion." This pronouncement was met with a profound silence.
Hermione was the first to react, "I think it's a great idea. I guess, if everyone is insisting that I can't go, this is the next best thing. Who would take the polyjuice?"
A few moments passed as everyone tried not to meet anyone else's eyes. This was not a role to be envied. "I'll do it," Ginny said, raising her hand.
Instantly, Harry was on his feet, Ron right behind him. Whatever they were about to say in response was cut off by Mrs. Weasley, "Absolutely not! I will not have you endangering yourself that way. I may have let you join the Order but I will not stand for you volunteering to get killed."
"But Mum, I...," Ginny exclaimed.
"No Ginny. While I realize this is the only way for us to keep Severus and Hermione safe, I will not stop worrying until it is over. And I will not be worrying about you. I can't stop anyone else, but I can stop you. The answer is no. Someone else can go," Molly said firmly. Harry and Ron had returned to their seats while she spoke.
A few moments of silence passed, as they wracked their brains for a solution. To everyone's surprise, it was Draco who said, "I'll do it." For a moment no one reacted. Ron, frowning, opened his mouth as if to deny it, but was stopped by Harry elbowing him in the stomach.
It was Dumbledore who broke the silence, "What a wonderful idea. You would be the last person they would suspect of being Hermione's double. The question is how well can you act?"
Remus commented, "To be a spy in Voldemort's presence requires a good deal of exceptional acting. It is more of the question, how well does he know Hermione? They were, after all, enemies in school."
Draco gave an ironic smirk. "I've come to realize that you often know your enemies better than your friends. It is partly why Slytherins always know everyone's secrets. Even your friends are enemies in Slytherin. I could probably fool even these two," he said, pointing to Harry and Ron."
"That will be the test then. If he can convince Harry and Ron that he is me, he can go in my place. But if he can't fool them, I go anyway," Hermione said. Severus reached out a hand as if to hold her back but she just looked at him and said, "We have just enough time to brew the polyjuice. By the time Draco has a chance to try it there won't be time to train anyone else on how to be like me. It is a last resort. If and only if he can't do it, will I go. You have to trust me." After a long moment, he gave a curt nod of ascent.
Dumbledore broke the tension by clapping his hands together and saying, "Well, since that's taken care of, I adjourn this meeting. Molly is that meatballs I smell?"
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A/N: Okay, so now you know what the cliché was. Mione is pregnant and Snape is a daddy. To warn you I will be trying to wrap the story up in the next five or six chapters. As much as this has been fun, I am running out of clichés and my fingers are getting really tired. At the end of the last chapter I will be putting a list of all the clichés I used, if anyone is interested.
A/N2: By the way I am looking for a new beta. Anyone interested: Copy and paste one of my chapters that you have found errors, spelling, grammar, wording, in into a word document. Correct the errors as you see fit. Put the corrections in bold face or underline so I know what they are. The best one gets you the position of my new beta. Thanks for reading. P.S. This chapter has not been beta-ed.
