A Little Game of Chess

Word spread quickly enough about Hermione's altered state of being and it was well before she had even begun to show that most of the school knew she was expecting. "Expecting," Seveerus said to her one day, fairly out of the blue as they played a game of Wizarding Chess, a sigh to his voice, "I never fully understood why anyone ever used that term to begin with."

"It was simply a more polite way of saying a woman is pregnant, as opposed to 'knocked up'," she said with a smirk, commanding her knight forward.

"I know that," Severus responded, insult lacing his voice, not wanting to seem uneducated in any subject, "But it seems to me that its far too vague a term to use for such a specific situation. 'Hermione is expecting,' they say. Makes me want to ask all those gossiping students what exactly you're expecting. A package? An owl? Exam scores?"

Hermione giggled softly at her husband's pondering. She should have expected the ever precise Severus Snape to be baffled by such an imprecise turn of phrase. "So you're saying you'd prefer 'knocked up'," she said, tapping her fingers on the table alongside the board. He had forgotten the game, but she knew better than badger him about making his move. Improperly greeted Hippogriffs had nothing on an irritated Severus.

"Not in the least," he said, sitting back in his seat and leveling his gaze at her, "I'd much rather they simply say 'pregnant'. That is what you are, is it not?"

"No, Severus, I'm not pregnant," she said with a snigger, "I'm simply carrying a football under my robes. Would you like to see it?"

"No, you impertinent arse," he said, finally adding in a move in the game as well, "I would not." Invisible to most, Hermione saw one corner of his mouth give way to the slightest of upturnings. She had still yet to see him fully smile, teeth bared and face crinkled, or laugh at all, but she knew that she amused him, occasionally, and one of her favorite things to do lately was try and see if she could make him laugh or smile--she had come close on a few occasions.

"Don't call me an 'arse'," she shot back, making the move that brought her one spot away from checkmate. She may have protested the name, but she knew that it was more a term of enderment, like 'honey' or 'darling', than anything. She couldn't imagine Severus ever uttering those words.

"I'll call you what I want, Mrs. Snape, especially when you joke about my child," he had realized the position her last move put him, and the game, in and quickly tried to rectify the situation, to no avail. She would win this one. It was only her third win in a series of some thirty matches, but he took every loss badly.

"Well, at least you're finally calling me Mrs. Snape of your own volition," she said with a grin as she made her final move. "Checkmate."

A/n: Sorry its so short! It's not exactly what I was intending to write, but I sat down and it came to me. And again, as always, sorry for such a delayed update. Thanks for sticking with me. Much love, Liv