Disclaimer: ::gets out her neat little lawyer style paper:: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Severus Snape, and all other characters and places and most items are the property of J.K. Rowling and her associates. In retrospect, a cool pink butterfly lamp, a ten pack of blue pens, and that secret army of dust bunnies belong to me.
A/N: Last chapter done! Woo! I might even have a -new- chapter for you tonight or tommorrow. I'm kinda sick, and this is the only thing I've got to do.
I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed, honestly, I'm touched by your kind words and all that. Every time I see an new one I get a big grin on my face.
About Chapter 16, the note/ "chapter". It's not real people! I was just joking around, and since someone told me I needed substance in my chapter so it wouldn't be deleted, I got a little silly and stuck that up. I'll be removing it when the real chapter 16 arrives.
"Severus Snape!" Hermione fumed, tossing her school robe off and walking into the living room. "How dare yo-" she started, but stopped short.
"Here she is now!" Lucius Malfoy said, a smile besmirching his face.
"Lucius just came for a quick visit." Severus said, indicating a chair with a gesture that suggested that Hermione sit down.
She froze. She did not like the looks of this. She felt her stomach take on the ill-foreboding, sinking feeling.
"Hermione?" Severus said, looking strangely at her.
Hermione blinked and shook her head slightly, taking a seat on the couch, trying to distance herself from them. Her actions did not go unnoticed by Mafloy, and he put on a smug look, as if he were congradulating himself.
"Go on with what you were saying Lucuis." Severus said in a low voice, focusing his attention on the thin man. Lucius threw a guarded glance at Hermione but Severus reassured him "Oh, don't worry about her. She won't say a thing. Will you?" he threw a glare at Hermione and she flinched reflexively, mentally berating herself for getting so nervous.
Lucius nodded slightly and said "You do seem to have her well under control. I'm sure our employer will be pleased to hear of this." He swished the whiskey in is glass around in a nonchalant manner. Lucius looked up from his glass and met Severus' eyes.
"You know, he is getting impatient with your current mission. I'd hate to see you get penalized for such an error." he purred, trying to sound sincere.
"Though, if you are incapable of completeing it, I'd be more than happy to aid you. After all, what are old friends for?" He said, throwing a glance over to Hermione.
Hermione shifted in her seat. She did not like the way Lucius Malfoy was looking at her.
"Your concern is appreciated, friend, but unneeded." Severus said, his dark eyes shifting from Malfoy to Hermione. "Tell me Hermione, how did your appointment go today?"
"Uh..fine." she said, a little uneasy about sharing this in front of Lucius. Severus looked at her, obviously waiting for her to finish. She focused on him and managed to say "A boy."
Lucius looked slightly put-out for a moment, but quickly recovered and said "Well, I believe congradulations are in order Severus."
Severus had a slightly odd look on his face. It wasn't anger or disgust, nor happiness or joy. Hermione had never seen anything quite like it in all the years she had known him. It looked almost as if he had just caught whiff of something rancid. "Thank you Lucius." he said shortly.
"Well, I think now would be a good time to say my goodbyes." Lucius said, getting up from the armchair and grabbing his cane.
"Until later my dear." Lucius grinned malevolently, throwing in an flourished bow. He grabbed a bit of floo powder off of the mantle and disappeared through the fireplace.
Silence filled the room. Neither Hermione or Severus moved an inch, not saying a word.
"What, may I ask, do you think you were doing?" Severus asked softly, but not without a hint of steel underlying his baritone voice.
Hermione's features formed a confused look and he said "On second thought, don't say anything, I don't want to know."
"What on earth are you talking about?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed together in a frown.
"Your splendid entrance, of course." Severus replied, scowling slightly.
"Well how was I supposed to know Malfoy was here?" Hermione said indignantly.
"You should never assume he's not until you see his absence for yourself."
"You sound like Moody."
"And how many times has Moody been caught off-guard?"
Hermione glared at him, not able to think of any times when the ex-auror had been surprised.
"That's what I thought." Severus said smugly.
"Yeah well..." Hermione sighed sharply and got up from the couch.
"Yes?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow at Hermione.
"Oh, nothing. You just missed a very interesting appointment today." Hermione said coldly, turning her back to Severus to rifle through a bookshelf.
"I'm sure." Severus said sarcastically.
"Really, it was most...enlightening... really. Though I think Harry'll be scarred for life from it."
"Like I care...wait..Potter was there?" said Severus.
"Well, my husband, after knocking me up, had opted to engage in other activities. I'm sure they seemed important." Hermione spat, still angry that he let her go through this by herself.
"Look, there was no way that I was going to that-"
"It's no trouble really. Though I'm afraid Madame Pomfrey might have gotten the impression that Harry was the father." she said, choosing her words carefully, knowing they would get him angry.
And they did. "What?!" Severus roared, getting up from his seat and standing next to Hermione, towering over her.
"Well if you had come with me instead of just leaving me there you wouldn't be having this problem!" Hermione protested.
"I wouldn't be having this problem? This is your problem too, you know." Severus sneered at her.
"I don't see it as a problem. And neither should you." Hermione said, glaring daggers at Severus.
"Are you trying to tell me that giving the world the impression that my wife is pregnant with Potter's child is a good thing?" he spat.
"No! That's not what I was saying!" Hermione protested.
"Then what were you?" Severus asked shortly.
"Ugh. I didn't expect -you- to understand." Hermione muttered.
"Look. I don't know what I expected here. I mean I can hardly see you, you of all people being a father. This is prolly just another bloody problem for you."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Severus folded his arms across his chest.
"What does it mean? It means that not all of us are content being cold-hearted gits who feel nothing. It means that just maybe, some of us wanted more. This is all wrong. All of it!"
Hermione paced in front of Severus, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "I was supposed to do things. Go to the university, get my degree, meet a guy, fall in love, get married, then maybe have a kid. But now, now there's none of that. If anything, it's completely backwards. Getting married, being forced to have a baby, and love?"
Hermione shook her head and looked Severus directly in the eyes. "I don't think you know the meaning of love."
She stalked out of the sitting room into the bedroom, leaving a stunned and confused Severus Snape in her wake. Hermione slammed the door for dramatic effect, and a few moments later, a pillow and blanket were flung from the bedroom.
It looked like Severus Snape would be spending the night on the couch.
A/N: Erm. Yeah I know it might read a little confusing right now. But that was kinda the point. She and Sevvie aren't on the same page at all. They're in entirely different books.
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