It had been two weeks since their visit to the Burrow, and at the moment, they were both sitting in the living room in their quarters, all of their classes having ended just over an hour ago. Severus was seated in one of the chairs, reading, as was Hermione, though she was lying down on the couch before the fireplace.
Outwardly, she appeared quite still, with all of her thoughts neatly collected. However, something had been bothering her for the past two weeks, though she had not been able to find a decent time to mention it. It had been Molly Weasley's passing comment about Severus' previous 'love of his life'. What had she meant? Of course, Hermione knew what she had meant, but she wanted that comment to be explained further, and she wanted none other than Severus Snape to do it.
Now, she figured, is as good a time as any.
"Severus?" she asked, setting her book in her lap, closed, and sitting up to look at him.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Do you remember Molly's comment that she made while we were at the Burrow?"
"Excuse me?"
"While we were visiting there, Molly mentioned that she never thought that you would find another 'love of your life'."
She saw him noticeably tense at her words. "Oh," he muttered as he froze in place.
"Who was she?" she asked him quietly.
There were many long seconds of silence as he didn't reply.
"Are you going to answer?"
"It doesn't matter," he mumbled, running his fingers through his raven hair.
"I am curious, Severus. After all, you know all of the men that I have been with. All…well, three of them."
"Yes, that is true. However, I had been your professor for seven years before just two and a half years ago. Therefore, I have been involuntarily aware of your love life from the time that you were eleven years old."
"I know this, Severus, but that isn't my fault."
"Hermione, it does not matter. It is in my past."
"Your past. All right." At this, she stood and walked over to him so that she was standing behind his chair. Then she raised her hand and slapped the back of his head.
"What the hell was that for?" he yelled, turning around to face her angrily.
She looked at him with her hands on her hips. "It doesn't matter, Severus; it is in the past."
Sighing and rubbing the back of his head, he answered, "Very well." Grinning smugly, Hermione sat down in the chair opposite him and folded her hands neatly on her lap. He placed his hands on the armrests of the chair and sighed. "I presume you know of Narcissa Malfoy?"
The grin instantly disappeared from her face as her eyes widened in shock. "M- Malfoy?" she sputtered, not quite believing her ears.
"Yes. Of course, that was not the name as I knew her by when we attended Hogwarts together. You see, when Narcissa and I attended both attended school together, we were something of an…item."
"I see."
"At the time, I cared for her deeply."
"You loved her?"
"Yes," he said, feeling quite uncomfortable.
"How long were you together?"
"I was only with her during our sixth year. Just before summer began, however, she abandoned me for a young man just one year older than myself."
"Lucius," said Hermione.
"Yes. Lucius Malfoy, who requested her hand in marriage not long after she graduated. The only reason that Molly was aware of Narcissa was due to her close relations with Professor Dumbledore during the Order meetings in the past."
"I see. Well, then, there was an ultimate reason that Narcissa Malfoy abandoned you."
"What would that possibly be?" he asked as she approached him and, placing her hands on the chair on either side of him, leaned down so that her face was just inches from his.
"So that you and I could be together, of course," she replied, and then leaned down further and kissed him on the lips. "Now then," she said once she had pulled away from him, "we need to be getting to the Hospital Wing."
"Excuse me?" he asked, taking her around the waist and pulling her down on top of him.
She put her arms around his neck and smiled at him. "Madam Pomfrey is going to check on the baby."
"Must we go today?"
"If you don't wish to find out about your child…" she said, beginning to climb off of him, but he gently took hold of her wrist to stop her.
"No. Of course I do. However, what I meant was, must we do it this instant?"
"Yes. She directed me at my last visit there to return this day, and to bring you with me. We are due to arrive in the infirmary in just over ten minutes from now."
"I see. In that case, perhaps we should leave now."
"Thank you," she said. Then she stood and, taking his hand, pulled him to his feet as well.
"Shall we go, then?" he asked, looking down at her.
"Yes," she answered, putting on her teaching robes as she walked to the door.
During their walk up to the Hospital Wing, they were silent as they passed many groups of students, who, as they glanced at the couple of professors, were unsure of how to respond: Should they be afraid of Professor Snape, or should they smile at Professor Granger?
"Five points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Boil, for public displays of affection in the hallway," Severus snapped suddenly as they passed two teenagers holding on to one another sweetly, and not at all in a sort of vulgar display.
"That isn't fair!" one Hufflepuff girl exclaimed immediately.
Hermione, who agreed with the girl, watched as Severus turned to the students and opened his mouth to speak. At that moment, on a complete impulse, Hermione rushed forward, and, grabbing Severus around the neck, leaned up to press her lips to his for one, two seconds, and then pulled away.
"Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Snape," she whispered, and then continued on her way to the Hospital Wing, calling over her shoulder, "Five points to Hufflepuff, Mr. Boil, for spreading a bit of love in the world."
"Mr. Boil, you have detention with me, this Saturday night, understood?" Severus growled, his cheeks becoming a deeper shade of red with each passing second.
He glared at the boy, who responded, "Why, I'm not the one who just kissed you!"
"Get out of my sight," he commanded, sneering.
"The detention, sir-"
"Not so long as you are gone by the time I blink."
Quickly, the cluster of Hufflepuff students scampered away as Severus glared at them from down the hallway. Then he turned on his heel and began to follow Hermione to the Hospital Wing. When he arrived, she was waiting for him just outside the door.
"How dare you, Professor Granger," he growled at her.
"I beg your pardon?"
"They were breaking the school rules."
"Forgive me, but I have never read anything in Hogwarts: A History about public displays of affection being banned at this school."
He stared at her for a moment, and then, scowling, passed her to enter the Hospital Wing. Smirking, she followed him inside.
"Ah, there you two are! I was quite afraid that you were not going to come, but here you are," Madam Pomfrey said the moment she caught sight of them.
"Good afternoon, Poppy," Severus greeted her as she led the professors to one of the empty beds.
"Hello, Madam Pomfrey," said Hermione, smiling pleasantly at her.
Once they had been directed to a bed and had had the curtains drawn around them, Madam Pomfrey performed a Silencing Charm around the tiny "room" that she had created, so that no one else in the infirmary, like the students, could hear their conversations.
"Now then," she said, approaching Hermione. "I'm going to need you to lie down on the bed. There, yes, that's it. Severus, you may sit in that chair beside her. Now then, Hermione, I assume that, being a Muggleborn yourself, you are familiar with the concept of a Muggle ultrasound?"
"Yes," she said, nodding.
"Good. Very good. And Severus?"
"Yes, of course," he snapped.
"No need for biting remarks, Severus," Madam Pomfrey replied to him shortly, and then continued, "As a Healer, I was required to gain knowledge of how such a procedure operates, despite it being a Muggle concept. Of course, Hogwarts does not hold the required Muggle equipment, and so the magical world has discovered a way to do this without using such things. We have determined a way to perform an 'ultrasound' magically. Now, the way that it will work is this: Hermione, I will touch the wand to your stomach and perform a particular spell, just the way I did when determining whether or not you were pregnant. A sort of image will appear of your child there, on that curtain, which will serve as a screen that the image will be projected upon. Would you like to get started?"
Hermione nodded, while Severus simply sat still beside her, and so, smiling pleasantly, Madam Pomfrey did as she had said that she would: she moved to the side of the bed and, after she had lifted Hermione's shirt up to just a couple of inches above her belly button, touched the tip of the wand gently to her stomach. Then she muttered a few choice words under her breath, not loudly enough for either Hermione or Severus to hear, and then, Hermione's stomach began to glow a silver color. Just as that silver color began to recede, an image appeared on the curtain, just like in a Muggle ultrasound.
"That, Hermione Granger, Severus Snape, is your baby," Madam Pomfrey said.
Smiling, Hermione looked up at Poppy, and then studied the picture. After she had done this for several minutes, she looked over to Severus, beginning to speak, "Severus, look. Isn't that-" However, she stopped when she caught sight of him.
He was sitting in the chair, staring at the image. She could see his body moving softly with his steady breathing, and it seemed that he did not blink as he stared at the picture on the curtain.
"Severus?" Hermione asked gently.
"Merlin," he whispered, without taking his eyes from the picture.
Hermione glanced up at Madam Pomfrey, who was smiling at them. "I'll just give you two a moment," she said, leaving quietly through the curtain.
Hermione watched her leave, and then turned back to Severus, smiling at him. "Severus, are you all right?" she asked gently.
"That is our child?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Yes," Hermione replied, grinning at him and reaching over to take his hand. "That's our child."
"Incredible," he muttered, staring at the image that appeared on the curtain.
"Can you believe it, Severus?" Hermione asked him, squeezing his hand.
"We made that," he said.
"Yes."
"It is unbelievable. We made that, together. There is another human being living in your stomach, that we made."
"I know, Severus," she laughed softly.
"I just never… I don't think it hit me until just now."
"Is that a good thing?" she asked, suddenly unsure.
He turned to her, taking his eyes from the picture for the first time since it had appeared, and replied, "Yes. Of course it is."
Grinning at him, Hermione turned her attention back to the image before them.
"That is our baby," Severus said quietly.
Beaming, Hermione replied, "Yes. That is our baby."
OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo
After they had both returned to their chambers together, Hermione watched Severus as he prepared for bed. He seemed a bit distant, as though his mind was someplace else entirely different.
"Severus?" she asked, looking up at him from her book, as he was grading essays at the desk.
"Yes?" he said, without glancing at her.
"Are you all right?"
Then he looked up at her, his quill poised in the air. "Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"
"You've seemed a bit preoccupied since we got back from the Hospital Wing. Is anything the matter?"
"No. Nothing is the matter."
"Would you admit it to me if there was?"
"Unlikely. However, I guarantee you, there is nothing wrong. On the contrary, I am quite…content."
"Are you happy?" she asked.
Staring at her, he stood from his chair and walked over to her. When he had reached her, he stood at her side and gazed down at her, as she looked up at him.
"What is it?" she asked, the corners of her mouth twitching upward in the beginnings of a huge grin.
Shaking his head, he leaned down to her and pressed his lips to hers. Then he pulled back and replied, "Nothing. Nothing at all."
At this, he straightened himself up, looked down at her thoughtfully for a few more seconds, and then walked into his bedroom, not bothering to shut the door behind him.
Smiling, Hermione snapped her book shut and followed him into the bedroom. Leaning against the doorway, with her arms crossed over her chest and the book in her hand, she gazed at him as he sat on the edge of the bed. She walked forward, setting the book down silently on the dresser as she went, and finally, when she reached the bed, climbed on top of it. Then she crawled over to him on top of the blankets. When she reached him, she stood on her knees behind him and slid her arms down his shoulders and chest. She kissed his neck and uttered quietly against his skin, "You are ready to be a father."
"Do you honestly think so?" he asked, turning his head slightly to her and covering her hands with his.
"I know so," she replied
He fell back slowly onto the bed, and Hermione sat down on her bottom, gazing down at him and brushing his hair out of his eyes.
"You are going to make a wonderful father, Severus."
"Thank you," he muttered, staring at the ceiling.
"Don't you think so?" she asked.
He answered, "I am not entirely sure."
"Believe me, Severus. Please, just believe me."
"I will try," he murmured, and then he sat up again and turned around to face her. "Have you realized that, in just one year from this very moment, there will be a screaming child in this room?"
"In this room, here?" she asked, looking around.
"Or in the next room," he said quickly, looking away from her. "That is to say, if you would like for the baby to sleep in this room, in its cradle, then so be it."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course. However, it will need an actual bedroom, of its own, as well. We could add one, just beside ours. What do you think?"
"Fine," he answered, climbing underneath the blankets. She sat at the foot of the bed for several more minutes, watching him as he lay back against the pillow and closed his eyes.
"Good night, Severus," she finally whispered as she magically turned off all of the lights in their quarters, so that everything was pitch black.
His only response was a grunt as he rolled over. Hermione then lay down beside him and closed her eyes. However, she was far from being ready for sleep to come.
In just several hours, she had observed something miraculous. She had seen Severus, for the first time, as actually wanting this baby, truly and honestly, and it was these few hours that had convinced her, above all else, that he would indeed make a wonderful father to their child.
Not long after she had closed her eyes, she felt a stirring beside her as Severus shifted his weight, and then laid his hand gently on her stomach. She made no movements, not even to smile or to open her eyes, for she was quite curious to see what he would do next.
"Hello," she heard him whisper, so quietly that she was forced to strain her ears to hear him, and caught herself just before she furrowed her brow.
What the-?
"I am your father," he continued, and realization suddenly dawned on Hermione.
He must have assumed that I am asleep, she thought to herself, amused.
"I understand that I am a cold, rude man, but I swear to be…to try to be a satisfactory father to you. I can only hope that I am an excellent father, as your mother tells me I will be. Though I harbor doubts concerning this matter, I promise you, I will…try.
"I also realize that you have absolutely no choice in the matter, and that the outcome has already been determined, but I would greatly appreciate it if you might be female. Although your mother has never actually informed me of this, I believe that she wishes greatly for a daughter.
"I have always wanted my own child, and not to simply care for those of others, as an educator. Now, I have been granted you.
"I could not believe it when I viewed the image of you as we sat in the infirmary earlier today. However, I must say: You were beautiful."
Again, Hermione felt him shift his weight, though he did not remove his hand from her stomach. She heard his breathing slow, and after a long while of lying beside each other in silence, Hermione dared to open her eyes. They had adjusted to the darkness, she observed, and gently, she rolled over so that she was facing Severus. He was lying on his back, and she assumed that he was asleep. Slowly, she propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at the man beside her. Then, she lay down again and lightly rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes as she did so.
And in that moment, she could not believe how very lucky she was, just to be there, with him. Lying beside him, in the darkness. Yes, how very lucky she was.
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! It was greatly appreciated!
Happy New Year to everyone!
Disclaimer- I don't own anything in this entire story. J.K. Rowling does.
As always: Please review! Even if you hate my story, please tell me what you dislike and I will try to work on it in the future. Thanks!