Since I'll be on a bus, traveling through the country to get to my home most of the day tomorrow I decided to update a bit early. Also, a warning, the next update, and the ones following, will take place on Friday mornings (no longer right after midnight, I won't be able to access internet at that time), they will continue to happen every two weeks until my muse cooperates enough to let me finish this fic.

Thank you, now enjoy the very-much-out-of-season Valentine's Day chapter.


Chapter 27. Flowers, Rings and Commitments

Sooner that some might have expected two weeks had passed, it was Valentine's Day. It was a Saturday, and a Hogsmeade weekend, something practically every single couple in Hogwarts was ready to take advantage of.

The moment he entered the Great Hall Harry used some magic to manifest a bouquet of flowers, they were ten roses: two pink ones, two white ones, two peach-colored ones, two blue ones and two red ones; besides that, in the middle there were two red carnations which, with all the Asian friends they had, Hermione knew well enough what they meant.

"Kawaii!" Tomoyo half-squealed as she looked at the flowers.

She herself had a purple rose in her hair, Eriol's present, though he had assured her he had something special prepared for later.

"That's beautiful Hermione!" Lavender, Parvati and Ginny practically squealed as well.

"A reminder of his antics last year I imagine." Ginny commented as she looked at the flowers. "Though I don't remember seeing any carnations that time."

"He didn't give me any last year." Hermione admitted. "But they're very special nonetheless." She smelled the flowers deeply and added in a whisper. "Nadeshikos…"

"What?" Lavender, who had only half heard what was said, asked.

"Nadeshikos." Hermione repeated, louder this time. "It's what this particular flower is called in Japanese, it has a special meaning for them too…"

"And I imagine that's why it's so important…" Ginny nodded, realizing that with all their Japanese friends, it was to be expected they would pick up a few things.

"What do they mean?" Parvati asked instantly.

Hermione didn't answer, just blushed brightly.

"A red carnation is a declaration of love." Tomoyo informed them helpfully.

Yet again, squeals filled their corner of the Gryffindor table.

"So romantic…" Lavender whispered with a sigh.

"Now we're just waiting for you two to announce your engagement…" Parvati commented at the same time. "With how much in love you obviously are I was sure it would happen sooner rather than later, possibly even today and…"

At the sly look in both Harry's and Hermione's eyes Parvati interrupted her own rant, eyes widened almost comically.

"Do tell!" She demanded.

It took Lavender a second or two to get on the same page, and by that point almost everyone in the Gryffindor Table, as well as a considerable number of people in the other table were looking at them attentively.

For all answer Hermione reached to her neck, to the long platinum chain she had, pulling from behind the neckline of her blouse a beautiful dark gold ring with a princess-cut diamond framed by two small emeralds.

This time the squeal was loud enough to echo all around the Great Hall.

"Such a beautiful thing, young love is." Albus commented from the Head Table as he watched what was going on in the Gryffindor Table.

"Not just young love…" Minerva commented by his side.

She remembered clearly the bouquet of bluebells and forget-me-nots Albus had gifted her with before they went down to breakfast, a silent reminder of their love.

Albus smiled, taking Minerva's hand discretely beneath the table; neither of them were actually sure why they didn't make their relationship public, other than their wish not to be harassed by the media, unscrupulous people like Rita Skeeter…and it wasn't like the general public knowing or not knowing about them would change anything at all…

By their side Eriol kept smiling, as he thought about his own plans for that particular day, he just hoped his beloved would like it…

Back at the Gryffindor Table, it was still pandemonium, with at least half the witches their age (from Gryffindor and other houses), huddling around Hermione to see her ring.

"When did he propose?" Parvati asked right then.

"Was it romantic?" Her twin, Padma, asked at the same time.

"When are you getting married?" Sally-Anne, another Gryffindor girl inquired.

"Why aren't you wearing your ring?" Hannah wanted to know, curious.

"Easy easy girls, I cannot answer all of the questions at the same time." Hermione said, trying to calm them down. "Now, in order: Harry proposed to me several months ago, it was a surprise, and yes, very romantic; we haven't yet talked about a date, maybe around Christmas? And I wasn't wearing my ring because we hadn't yet decided to go public with our engagement; the last thing we wanted was a repeat of Rita Skeeter in our fourth year…"

Almost everyone had to admit she was right; and while at this point nothing bad could have been said about Hermione, it was obvious that she would still have to deal with some hate-mail, not everyone would be happy when learning the Boy-Who-Lived was officially off-market; though, those who saw Harry and Hermione together, that saw how much they loved each other, knew he'd never been in-the-market in the first place.

.-.

Tomoyo split from the rest of her friends, most of whom were actually on their way to get ready for their dates, and instead walked out of the castle and in the direction of the Forbidden Forest; Eriol had sent her a note shortly before breakfast had ended, requesting to meet him there after she was finished eating, it was until then that she noticed that her beloved had left the Great Hall at some point while most of the people inside had been focused on Hermione's ring and the news of her and Harry's engagement. She wondered if Hermione would allow her to make her wedding dress…? It had been a good thing that Sakura had given her permission since getting engaged at the end of the sixth year and Tomoyo had spent a good part of the summer working on it, otherwise she would have never had it ready for her wedding!

Tomoyo reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching the thestrals around her, none of the animals approached her, and the few that turned to look at her kept their heads down, a show of deference for someone they knew held great power; it was that way with all magical creatures, they all knew when sorcerers were around, even when the sorcerer tried to keep hidden, magical creatures could sense their presence.

The young ashen-haired woman waited at the edge of the Forbidden Forest for a few minutes, while she didn't actually fear the forest, or any of the creatures that dwelled in it (whatever the creatures, they would have a hard time taking her down, and most had enough reason to know better than to even try), she just didn't like the place. However, after a few minutes she became aware of something: Eriol's trace, like a sort of trail made of residues of his magic, it began a few feet from her and went into the Forbidden Forest…

"What are you planning now, koibito?" Tomoyo asked to nobody in particular.

In any case, she had no doubt that the trail was there for a reason, Eriol was so meticulous he wouldn't leave any clue of his presence unless he actually wanted others to know he was or had been there (part of what had driven Sakura, Shaoran and even Yue half crazy while they were changing the cards, as they kept sensing Clow's aura and yet could never track it down).

With a shake of her head Tomoyo took a quick look around, just to make sure no one might be seeing her and report what she was doing, and without further ado she went into the forest, following her beloved's trace.

It took a while, walking between trees so thick at the top very little sun could get through, making everything all the darker; she had a hard time evading all the roots, branches and rocks on her path but she managed. At times she could see, hear or just sense creatures looking at her, but none dare get close, and she chose to simply ignore them.

After what seemed like an hour, might have been more time, or even less, Tomoyo stepped through a thick bush and into what seemed to be another dimension entirely. Gone were the tick branches and leaves feet above her that blocked the sun, the darkness, the moss that made the ground so slippery and the broken branches and rocks that seemed to be trying to make her trip as many times as possible; instead she was standing in a meadow, a beautiful meadow, a bit small, no more than 11 yards or so (10 meters); in the center of it there was a huge tree, and all around the tree and the rest of the meadow lots of flowers, most were just beginning to bloom, which was normal as it was barely the middle of February and still technically winter…and it was until that thought entered her mind that Tomoyo realized it didn't feel like winter in that meadow, but like spring, even if there was very little sun (which reinforced the idea that it was still winter) everything in the meadow itself pointed more to early spring that anything else.

"Kireii…" Tomoyo couldn't help but whisper after what seemed like forever.

She noticed then that she hadn't yet reached the end of her beloved's trace and followed it to the very center of the meadow. She could heard a trickle of water, there was a small creek running behind the tree, disappearing into the Forbidden Forest on both sides of it.

Near the tree itself there seemed to be several rose-bushes about to bloom, one in particular, the flower was an impossible shade of violet, and it seemed like it would open any second.

Tomoyo couldn't help herself, she extended her hand to touch the bud, pulling back almost immediately when the rose seemed to react to her touch, to her aura, and unfurled its petals almost instantly.

The Enchantress couldn't understand it, she wasn't a Sprite, and while it was technically true that she was one of the ones to give Noelle her powers, still, she wasn't a Child of the Earth herself, that wasn't her power…

And then the rose finished opening and Tomoyo could hardly believe what she was seeing: a ring, the band made of bright white gold with what seemed like the most delicate rose engraved in what looked like silver but felt like pure magic, and on the top of it, the clearest oval-shaped diamond she had seen her whole life.

"Oh Spirits…" Tomoyo gasped, her eyes fixed straight on the ring.

So fixed was the young Sorceress on the jewel that she didn't even notice when her beloved appeared right beside her; not until he spoke did she realize he was there.

"Marry me, koiishi…" Eriol whispered into her ear.

Tomoyo froze on the spot, as Eriol's breath on her neck caused shivers in all her body; for a moment she wasn't sure she'd heard right…

"I love you." Eriol insisted. "With all my body, mind, heart and soul…all that I am, I owe to you. Say you'll be my wife, that you'll share eternity with me…"

"Yes…" Tomoyo whispered back after what seemed like forever.

With that Eriol pulled her slightly so she would be standing right in front of him, at the same time as he dropped on one knee; with a wave of his hand the ring floated from the purple rose to his hand, and then he slipped it on Tomoyo's left hand. The moment the ring touched her finger, the diamond changed color, from the absolutely clear it was, to a mix of violet, blue and silver.

"What is this?" Tomoyo asked, marveled by what she was seeing.

"It's a magical diamond." Eriol answered. "It shines with the colors of our auras, violet and blue, and the silver I believe is related to us being soulmates…"

Tomoyo's eyes were fixed on the beautiful ring on her hand, as the colors swirled non-stop in the sparkling diamond, she couldn't remember ever seeing such a magnificent jewel before…

"I…Tsubame never…" Tomoyo began hesitantly.

"No, I…Clow was stupid." Eriol admitted after a short time. "He loved Tsubame dearly, we both know that. He called her Aihana after all…I know he wanted to marry her, but his desire to wait for the right time made it so the time never came. You…she died before he ever got the chance to have her as his wife. When I recovered my memories, and when I finally dealt with them, I promised myself I wouldn't be that stupid."

"If it helps, I think this time was more than right, it was perfect." Tomoyo said, turning to look straight at him. "But then again, with the love we share, I have the feeling any moment would have been absolutely perfect."

There was just so much love in her eyes, in her aura, Eriol could almost physically feel it touching him.

The two newly engaged sorcerers remained in that meadow for quite a while, doing nothing but bask on each other's love.

"Wonder what kaa-san will say…" Tomoyo commented at some point.

"They already know." Eriol pointed out. "They're happy for us."

"What do you mean they know?" Tomoyo asked, doing a double-take. "And who else do you mean when you say they?"

"I used a special Incantation to talk to your tou-san a couple of weeks ago, about the time I decide to arrange for all this." Eriol explained as he signaled to the meadow around them. "He agreed to give me your hand, as long as you agreed as well; it was the same with your mother. And because of how serious their relationship now is, I decided to ask Severus's opinion as well. I think he was surprised I would consider him, though I did point out how against our relationship he used to be…of course that was when he didn't know either of us. He was very convincing in his threats of turning me into potion ingredients if I ever hurt you in any way; I have to say I never heard such a convincing threat, particularly coming from someone who must know how unlikely it is he'll ever be able to do that…"

"Just like he must know he doesn't need to." Tomoyo added with exaggerate sweetness. "I can protect myself just fine."

"Of course you can." Eriol agreed instantly. "And while I cannot promise I will never hurt you, because you and I know I'm stupid enough, and I've done it before…I promise to do my best not to, and to always admit when I'm wrong…"

"And I promise you the same." Tomoyo assured him.

They continued the same way for several hours. Until the sun was gone from the sky and Eriol decided it might be a good idea to make an appearance for dinner, particularly since they had both missed lunch already.

"It's such a shame I won't be able to wear my ring in public…" Tomoyo commented wistfully as she raised her hand to look at her ring some more.

"Why wouldn't you?" Eriol asked, not expecting that.

"Eriol-kun, please, you know I cannot do it." Tomoyo told him softly.

"I don't want you to think you have to hide anything because of me, koiishi." Eriol told her, softly but firmly.

"But koibito…I cannot allow anyone to see my ring, to know…about us." Tomoyo insisted with watery eyes. "Your job…"

It had always been hard for her, since they had begun going out, to not be able to be with him publicly, to participate in conversations with others about love and their relationships; but she loved Eriol so much she was willing to make that kind of sacrifice.

"I don't care." Eriol announced simply. "If they want to curse me, want to fire me, I don't care. You must know already, koiishi, the only reason I ever took this job, was because of you; true, I liked the idea of being my cute-little descendant's professor, found the whole thing very amusing, and the pranking possibilities…then there's the fact that I wanted to see Sakura-san again as well; but my main reason for taking this job was you. You know I've loved you for a while, even before knowing who you had once been, and the connection that side of you had with another side of me. I saw you in my dreams, I wasn't even sure back then how it would happen, but I knew you would be coming too, and I wanted to see you again, so I had to be here too." He caressed her cheek softly. "As long as I have you with me, anything else is unimportant."

With nothing further to say, he just kissed her, with all the love he had for her, all the love he refused to hide any longer, consequences be damned.

For Tomoyo, those words meant so much, they were a reassurance that their love was right, and they would no longer have to hide. Besides, with her graduating, and the duties they now had to the Eastern Council (and the Western Council if it ever came to be) they wouldn't have stayed in Hogwarts after the end of the year anyway.

.-.

Sonomi was pacing the length of the Main Common Room in the Sorcerers' Apartments again and again, she had been doing so since finishing a private lunch taken by Dobby to her own quarters. She'd been forced to give breakfast a miss, due to circumstances outside of her control, had spent most of the morning holed in her own room fighting physical as well as mental sickness; and in the end preferred to have lunch in the privacy of her rooms. In that moment she was waiting for Severus since, even with most of the students off to Hogsmeade for the day, first and second years were still in the castle and he was still the Slytherin Head, which meant he had to make sure everything was in order. He had arranged for some of the prefects to take over in the afternoon so he could spend it with Sonomi (not that anyone outside of the group of Sorcerers actually knew that part).

The sound of the door opening and then closing again and then footsteps of someone going down the several stairs to reach the Common Room were almost enough to send Sonomi into a near hysterical fit again.

"I'm here…" Severus announced as he crossed the archway into the Common Room. "Sonomi, I…"

It was until then that he actually noticed Sonomi, dressed in simple magenta robes, but particularly her sickly pallor…

"Are you alright?" Severus asked, instantly worried for his lover.

Sonomi looked at him with eyes wide; she didn't know what to say, had been trying to find the right words since finally getting out of bed, and hours later she wasn't any closer, she honestly didn't think she would able to find right words even if she spent the next month pondering on it, so she decided to simply say it and hope things would go alright.

"I'm pregnant."

Severus froze less than two feet away from his lover, eyes wide, jaw slack, not a word left his mouth for what seemed like forever.

"Sev…Severus…?" Sonomi called, getting more and more worried by the second. "Talk to me, my dear…"

"Pregnant…you're pregnant?" Severus asked, still only half processing everything.

"Yes." Sonomi answered quietly, wondering how he was going to react.

"You're going to have a child?" He seemed to want to clarify.

"Yes." Sonomi answered yet again, nearly panicking by that point.

"This child…mine…I'm going to be a father?" Severus inquired, half-dazed.

"Yes." Sonomi's answer was colder then.

She was about to slap Severus by that point, the mere idea that she might be carrying someone else's child, really…However, she never got the chance to do anything at all, as a second later she was being held tightly in Severus's arms, who let her go not even two seconds later, immediately apologizing.

"Severus I'm pregnant, not dying, or made of glass, or anything like that." Sonomi pointed out half-annoyed, half-amused.

"I know that dear, but considering how pale you look I can surmise you haven't been having the easies of times with this pregnancy…" Severus commented as he guided her to a sofa.

"Not really, but then again, it is normal." Sonomi assured him. "I went through more-or-less the same when I was pregnant with Tomoyo. There's also the fact of my age, witch or not, it's not easy for a woman to go through a pregnancy after they're forty…"

Severus nodded, he knew that, it was something all women seemed to have in common, magical or not. Even if witches, just like wizards, tended to live at least a few decades more than their non-magical counterparts, that didn't mean their child-bearing ages weren't the same. Even if no one knew why it was like that exactly.

"We're going to have a baby…I'm going to be a father…" Severus was saying, until suddenly, it was like something hit him over the head. "I cannot be a father…"

"What?" Sonomi certainly hadn't been expecting that one.

"I cannot be a father Sonomi." Severus repeated, though it was obvious in his eyes how much those words pained him.

"And why not?" Sonomi demanded.

"I'm a Death Eater, what's more, I'm a double-agent." Severus pointed out grimly as he refused to meet her eyes. "We both know what will happen to me if I'm ever discovered by the Dark Lord, or his followers. It won't be good…Do you have any idea what they would do to you? What they would do to our child? I knew and accepted the consequences of my actions when I became a spy for the Light, but I cannot put you or any child of ours in that kind of danger…" suddenly he looked absolutely horrified at the thought. "Oh Spirits! What have I done…?"

By that point Sonomi decided she'd had enough, she slapped Severus.

The Potions' Master certainly hadn't been expecting that, his face had actually turned at the force of the blow, and the bright red mark on his cheek looked as if it had been created out of pure fire. It hurt so much. He was about to comment on it, when he noticed the tears running down his lover's eyes, in that moment he decided that his cheek didn't hurt, and in any case, nothing could ever hurt as much as his beloved crying, particularly since he knew it was all his fault. He was such an idiot…

"Sonomi…" He began, making a move to take her hand.

She refused to let him touch her and even went as far as getting on her feet and a few steps away from him; then, ignoring the tears on her cheeks, the sorceress/witch steeled her expression as much as she could before talking.

"You listen to me Severus Tobias Snape, and listen good." Sonomi said with absolute seriousness. "I am pregnant, with your child, I am going to have this baby, with or without you. If you wish to separate yourself from me, from us, know that it will be on you. From the very beginning of my relationship with you, I knew what I was getting into, I knew the dangers, the very possible grief and tragedy that laid in my future, and I took it all on because all the bad was worth it for the good of being with you. Now it is up to you to decide if the good of being with me outweighs the bad!"

There was silence for almost a full minute as Severus forced himself to process everything his lover and the mother of his unborn child had just said. He'd obviously known all the dangers when beginning a relationship with Sonomi, and it was for that very reason that he'd had made sure no one but those he trusted unconditionally knew about their relationship; he was also sure that if he were to ever be found he would be able to make sure the Dark Lord didn't find out about her, no matter what he did. However, with a child in the way, the situation was very different, it was no longer just him and Sonomi at risk, but their unborn child as well. Could they continue as they had that far and be sure their baby would be safe? Could he actually walk away from the two of them if the answer to the previous question was no?

The answer, at least to the last question, was no, he couldn't, and that made him focus on what he knew he had to do.

Sonomi was watching Severus attentively, trying to make out what was going through his mind as the silence extended and made the already stressful situation all the worse; she knew stress wasn't good for her, or the baby, but it couldn't be helped, she was already three months pregnant, if she had waited any longer Severus might have resented her. Then there were Tomoyo and the others, their powers made it so it was likely they already knew she was with child, even if they had chosen to keep silent for the time being, but that attitude obviously wouldn't last forever.

So deep the woman was in her musings that it took her a moment to notice Severus was moving, it wasn't until he was on a knee in front of her, holding her hands gingerly in his own, that the full implications of what he was doing on hit her, ever more when he actually said the words to seal it:

"Marry me, Sonomi."


Don't kill me please. There's a very good reason why the chapter ends there...and while I appreciate the cliffhanger potential...that's not it. There are things that will follow that declaration, scenes too long to include here, I had to end the chapter somewhere.

In the next chapter we'll see more romance, as well as an explanation regarding differences in unions between some of the pairings...see ya then!

Please do not forget to review!