~ chapter 16 ~

I am a nervous wreck. I can't concentrate on anything. I can't eat. All I want to do is go up to him and ask what the abnormalities in my blood were. Am I pregnant and he's keeping it hidden from me? Why would he do that? And how could I be pregnant? We have been taking precautions. We both know that pregnancy is the last thing we need right now.

Where is he? I have been trying to find him since morning but he's nowhere to be seen. He does that a lot. He just disappears and no one knows where or why. I used to think he might have a mistress, but now...it still is a possibility, but I have more important things to worry about.

At least that is what I'm telling myself.

"Hermione, wait up!"

I ignore the voice and just continue walking, making my way through the crowded hallway.

Pregnant.

A baby.

Where is Snape?

What abnormalities?

"Hermione!"

I sigh and slow down, allowing Ron to catch up with me.

He is the last person I want to see at the moment.

"What is it, Ronald?"

He seems taken aback by my cold voice, but still smiles, "Can I walk you to your next class?"

God.

I do not have the time for this.

"Actually, I-I'm not going to class," I answer truthfully.

"Why not?"

"I have some things to do."

"What things?"

I look at him, "Important things. I can't really talk about it, Ron. Not now."

He grabs my arm, "Hermione, slow down."

"I don't have time for this!" I snap, "Look, we'll talk later."

"But - "

"Ron."

"I just wanted to apologize, but now I see something's wrong. You can talk to me about it."

I almost laugh at that, "No, I really can't."

"Why not? We're still friends, aren't we?"

I pull my arm away from him, "I really can't talk here."

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Mione."

"I'm pregnant."

What did I just do?

Why did I just say that?

Complete shock. There's no other word to describe the expression on his face.

He's not even breathing. He just stares at me, mouth open, not blinking.

And I use that time to turn and quickly walk away.

He does not follow me.

ooo

I'm safe in the dungeons. No one will look for me here.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, I close my eyes and think through things. Why the hell did I say that to Ron? I'm not even sure I am pregnant.

Was it because... I wanted to see the shock and the pain on his face? I wanted to hurt him just like he hurt me when he enjoyed all the fame and the spotlight he got after Voldemort was defeated. And after all that went away he decided to come back to me and expect me to act as if everything was normal.

I shake my head.

He's unbelievable.

And then I hear something. A noise. Like...something exploding. Immediately I get up, following the sound. It takes me to Snape's private lab.

I lean against the door and listen.

I can hear someone moving, something bubbling.

It's him. He's here. But he wasn't in the morning.

Slowly, I push the door open and enter.

He's surprised to see me, but then the surprise turns into annoyance, "I thought you have learned some basic manners, Miss Granger."

"What?"

"It's excuse me or pardon," he corrects me, then adds, "And I was talking about knocking. You do know what that is, do you?"

I nod, "I'm sorry, but...where were you? I've been looking for you since this morning."

He looks back down, using a knife to cut some green plant into small pieces. curiosity gets the best of me and I move closer, trying to see what it is, but he covers it with his hands, "Is there something you need or did you want to interrupt the little free time I have left?"

I meet his eyes, "Actually...there is something I wanted to ask."

He simply raises his eyebrows.

"What kind of abnormalities did you find in my blood?"

His eyes narrow in suspicion, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Just tell me, please."

"I am working on it."

"But...you must have some idea..?"

"I would rather not jump to conclusions."

"But - "

"Granger," he cuts me off, "Is there something you would like to know?"

I tense up, "What kind of abnormalities?"

"I do not know yet," he speaks slowly.

I stare at him, trying to see through him. Would he be hiding something as important as pregnancy from me? Probably not. I'm just over-reacting.

I'm not pregnant.

I can't be.

"Alright," I relax, "I-I'm sorry for bothering you."

"Granger, what is it?"

"Nothing."

I turn and make my way to the door. Then I remember.

"Sir?" I look at him, "Why did you...why didn't you wake me up?"

This time he tenses up, "I did not want to disturb you."

"But it's your bed, the last thing I wanted was to steal your space or - "

"I did not sleep."

"Oh. You..."

He clears his throat, "I was here the whole night, working on some new potions."

"Oh," I repeat, "That's...I-I'll just leave now."

And I do, quickly disappearing from the room.

ooo

It is a week after the wedding.

I'm still getting used to living in the dungeons and I miss my friends. I miss being able to talk to them late at night or seeing them early in the morning. That is why I decided to visit Ginny in the Gryffindor Tower.

But before I could reach her room something catches my attention. All the girls are staring at me, but I'm already used to it so it shouldn't bother me. But this time there's something different. Something is going on, I can feel it. There is a group of girls standing before the entrance to the bathroom and they are all whispering things among themselves while looking at me. I'm not stupid, I know what it means.

I roll my eyes and am about to walk away when one girl walks up to me, her voice low, "I think you should go in there," she points towards the bathroom.

"Why?" I ask, starting to worry.

She shrugs her shoulders, "Just go see."

Not saying anything, I push my way through the crowd, not really knowing what to expect in the bathroom.

I enter, looking around. My eyes follow a row of sinks and then I notice a group of girls. There are four of them. And one of them is writing something on the wall.

I don't understand.

I approach them quietly, noticing the girl is using a red lipstick to write on wall.

And then I see the words.

Granger shagging a teacher.

She gave him an ohhh for an O.

For a long moment I just stand there. There are many more. Disgusting, offensive things about me and Professor Snape.

Suddenly something snaps inside of me, "What the hell is this?"

They all jump and turn to face me.

Rage is boiling inside me and I make no efforts to hold it back.

I turn my attention towards the girl with the lipstick in her hand. She seems uncomfortable and surprised to see me. But then she forces a smile, "I'm only writing the truth."

I approach her, pushing her into a wall, "What is your problem?"

She pushes me back.

I push her again.

And then it starts.

We jump at each other, hitting, scratching.

We are pulling each other's hair and before I realize it we are on the ground, screaming and fighting.

Suddenly the bathroom is full of girls watching us. Some are rooting while others are telling us to stop.

And then they finally decide to make an end to it.

I hear Ginny's voice, "Stop it! Someone call Professor McGonagall!"

A moment later they finally break us apart, Ginny holding me back while I scream and kick, seeing red.

They finally manage to drag the other girl away and I slowly calm down.

"Hermione? What is going on?" Ginny releases me and I point at the wall.

"This!" I scream, "She's going to pay for this!"

Ginny tenses up, "Hermione..."

I look at the few girls who are still in the bathroom, observing my outburst, "Get out! All of you!"

They immediately obey and soon Ginny and I are left alone.

I run a hand through my hair, "This is too much."

"Hermione, she's been...this is not the only time this has happened."

"What?"

Ginny seems uncomfortable, "It's been here on the wall since you...since the wedding."

My mouth falls open in shock, "What?"

"I've told her to stop, but..."

"You knew about this and you didn't say a word to me?"

There is regret on her face, "I didn't want to worry you! I wanted to deal with this by myself, but obviously she isn't going to stop willingly."

I shake my head in disbelief, not knowing what to say.

Ginny puts a hand on my shoulder, "It's going to be alright. We will talk to McGonagall about this."

No one can stop this. No one can help.

"It's going to be alright," Ginny repeats.

I don't believe her.

But I still nod, looking at the scratches on my arms.

ooo

I lay in my bed, thinking about getting up and finding a good book to read. Snape's library is full of interesting books and being married to him means I now have full access to those books. That's a plus. However, I might see him on the way there, so perhaps I should just stay in my room?

But I'm bored.

I sit up, hearing voices.

We have guests?

I quickly get up from the bed and then I hear fighting.

What is going on?

I rush out of the room, not really knowing what to expect.

Following the voices, I make my way to the living room and then I see them.

Professor Snape.

Ron.

They both go silent when they see me, but I know exactly what is going on.

Snape is standing there, looking at Ron down his nose, his face annoyed.

Ron, on the other hand, is looking angry and not quite himself.

I move closer to them, "What is this?"

Snape smirks, his eyes not moving from Ron, "Go ahead and tell her what you have told me."

Ron just grunts in disgust.

"It's late," I say, "What are you doing here?"

"Mione, he's using you and I won't let him!"

"What are you talking about?" I demand while Snape only shakes his head in disbelief.

"He got you pregnant! You won't be able to finish school and he'll just lock you up in here. I won't allow that!" Ron is visibly upset and I suspect he's a bit drunk as well.

Snape smirks, sending him a cold look, "And where did you get that entertaining idea?"

"Hermione told me herself."

I tense up, meeting Snape's eyes.

I can see many emotions pass his face.

Confusion.

Realization.

Shock.

He's unbelievably pale.

He opens his mouth to speak, but there is no voice coming out.

My own voice is shaking, "I-I-I just..."

"You are pregnant?" he asks, ignoring Ron completely.

I shake my head, "No, I-I don't know. I thought you would know."

"How am I supposed to know that?" he demands.

"You said something about abnormalities in my blood and I just - "

He cuts me off, "You are not pregnant, you foolish girl."

"I'm not?"

"No," he says firmly.

"You're not?" Ron joins in on the conversation again.

I shake my head. This is all too much. I can't deal with both of them at the same time.

"Out!" I raise my voice, "Both of you!"

Snape raises a brow, "You are throwing me out of my own dungeons?"

"Hermione," Ron tries to walk over to me, but Snape steps between us, blocking his way.

"I think you ought to leave now, Mr. Weasley."

"I will leave when she says I can leave," he hisses back.

A short laugh escapes me, "What part of get out didn't you understand? It's late, I'm tired and I don't have time for this!"

Ron seems a bit hurt by that, but he quickly covers it, nodding, "Alright. I'll go. Now that I know you're not...you know."

He turns to leave, but then Snape's voice stops him, "Oh, one more thing, Mr. Weasley," a pause, "One more assault and you can say goodbye to this school."

"Assault?" Ron seems surprised, "I haven't done anything."

"I am not referring to tonight's incident," Snape replies calmly, "I am talking about your attitude towards my wife."

Wife.

A chill goes through me. He rarely refers to me as his wife. I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing it from him.

Ron looks at me, then back at Snape, "What are you talking about?"

Snape smiles politely, but his eyes remain cold, "I believe you know what I am talking about. Keep your hands and your mouth to yourself from now on. Is that clear?"

I freeze.

"You told him?" Ron asks me.

I guess I did. Though I don't remember when.

Silence.

Ron simply blushes and then turns, almost running out of the dungeons.

And then it becomes really awkward.

I hug myself with my arms, waiting for the inevitable.

"Correct me if I am wrong," he starts, "But you thought you were pregnant and you chose Mr. Weasley as the most appropriate person to share that information with?"

I bite my lower lip, "No, it's not like that."

"Explain it to me."

"It's complicated and...a long story."

"I am a very patient person."

"I'm sorry, I just thought you were hiding it from me," I meet his eyes.

"And why would I do that?"

"I don't know."

He sighs.

Silence.

I need to say something. All the tension is making it difficult to breathe.

"I told you about Ron and that...kiss when I was drunk, right?" I ask, grimacing a bit.

He only stares at me and I take that as a yes.

I lick my lips in hesitation, "Did I do something else? The memory is still a bit hazy."

He does not react at all. As if he didn't hear the question.

I raise my eyebrows, "Well?"

Nothing.

Alright.

Does this mean our conversations has ended?

"You were drunk," he finally speaks and I look up at him, "You were acting like a spoiled child. You wanted to argue."

I force an apologetic smile.

"And then you...made your lips meet mine...on purpose," he forces out, his voice impassive.

What?

"I kissed you?" I breathe out.

"I would rather you not use that phrase."

"I kissed you," I say to myself.

"It's late. You should go to your room."

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. It will not happen again. I have removed all drinks with alcohol from our dungeons."

I'm still in shock.

I kissed him. On purpose.

Why?

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off, "Good night, Miss Granger."

I allow him to leave, desperately in need of some alone time. The moment he is gone, I drop onto the sofa, hiding my face in my hands.

Why did I kiss him?

What was I trying to prove?

And why am I not completely disgusted by it?

Why do I want to remember it?

What was it like?

How did he react?

Why am I blushing only thinking about it?

I'm going insane. That's the only logical explanation.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Next chapter - drama and angst. ;)