AN: A lot of these pregnancy symptoms are going to be what I went through and should in no way be interpreted as medical advice.
Hermione felt the cool of the porcelain seep into her fingers and the rough cotton below her cheek as her eyes fluttered open and took in the figure in front of her.
Severus had his head bowed down and the shallow breaths he was taken were almost invisible to her. His hands rested on both his naked knee and his wand on the floor below him. The ratty old navy tshirt was creased in a way that told her he had been in her as long as she had.
Hermione gingerly tried to roll over onto her back without her vision going wavy. Severus was alert as soon as she moved. He started peppering her with questions"How are you feeling? What do you need?" etc and Hermione smiled before wincing as his voice carried- the normally silky tones that had been ravaged by Nagini were even more ragged now with so little sleep. Her eyes closed quickly as he stood up and made her vision swim. "Can I have an orange love?" she said softly, not even trusting the volume of her voice.
A while later while they both were finally situated in bed Severus turned to Hermione before rolling back over and pinching the bridge of his nose. It had been two weeks of this. The only thing helping her through this was oranges. The sweet smell practically radiated off her and anything even remotely scented would blend and have her racing for the loo and it was the only thing getting her off the bathroom floor without being sick.
Severus opened his eyes and focused on the stained ceiling above him and let a wry smile grace his lips. They would be seeing Poppy in the morning- well Hermione would walk in first and be basically used as a shield between himself and the matron. She was the only one Severus would trust with his woman and their child, even if she still hated him. Severus knew as much as Poppy might still hate him for his actions in the last two years she would never turn a member of the Golden Trio away.
It killed Severus to see her like this, the sickness and the tears and the helplessness. Hermione was in pain and was ill and nothing could be done to help. Potions this early could cause a miscarriage as well as damage to the mother. Nothing Muggle had worked either and for not the first time Severus wished his mother was alive for her help.
His thoughts were interrupted when a small whimper crossed his lovers lips and her hand found his in the darkness. As he kissed her fingers and slowly fell to sleep, the wizard prayed.
Poppy Pomfrey had seen a lot of things in her days at Hogwarts. She had fixed the wounds of both wars, she had trimmed the dressings on the numerous wounds in the Era of Potter (junior and senior) and had even mended Dumbledore's broken arm back in her first week as a Healing apprentice.
There had been little she could be shocked with.
Hermione Granger pregnant with Severus Snape's child was one of the few exceptions.
Hermione was sitting on one of the beds as Severus peered at Poppy from over Hermione's shoulder. Half expecting to be hexed or worse, he only moved a few inches at a time before realizing the woman was in some state of shock.
"Perhaps she would like some tea Severus," Hermione said softly. Severus nodded and gave Poppy a wide berth as he circled back to her office. He had been here several times delivering potions and had even been a few times as a social call during his school days. Hiding from James Potter took some imagination but hiding in a teachers cupboard had only worked for the first few months as first year. The Healer had always kept a square of chocolate in her office for him Severus thought with a wry smile as he boiled the kettle and soaked the tea-bags before bringing a cuppa back into the main ward.
It took a better part of an hour before Poppy seemed to snap out of her shock, the tea apparently was quite effective.
"Leave Severus, I want to do a proper check-up on Miss Granger before we go any further," she said briskly, although not quite unfriendly.
Severus gave Hermione a look of worry before she waved him off to sit on one of the benches outside the Hospital Wing.
Poppy turned back to Hermione after hearing the lock shut, her eyes soft and understanding. "I suppose this can't be much of a surprise to me Miss Granger, Severus is a man you either love or hate," she said softly before patting Hermione's wrist. "I am going to run some scans just to get a picture of how things are and then we will talk more alright?"
Hermione nodded and laid back, she was already familiar with how woman visits went and was startled when Poppy chuckled. "Nothing invasive dear, just a bit of charms to get a picture of the baby, which are completely harmless to both of you. Do lay back though- that's it."
As Hermione lay back Poppy took stock of how the young woman looked. Her cheeks were a bit more shallow than the last time she had seen her, which was saying something since it had been the last day of the war and her eyes were bloodshot from obvious exhaustion.
"Morning sickness has been a bit rough has it?" Poppy asked as she took in the last of Hermione's vitals and was beginning the movements to check on the baby. The brief nod Hermione gave led to a pat on the hand and Poppy was surprised to a stop when she was asked if Severus could come back in for this part.
She was even more surprised when Severus popped up as soon as the doors were opened and glided like a raptor over to her side.
Letting out a sigh and starting the wand movements again, Poppy felt a level of unease take over her. This man had killed Dumbledore before letting a reign of darkness take over the school. That man was nothing like the one in front of her. It had only been five months and he was already looking better than the last ten years she had seen him. The lines around his face had faded and his eyes didn't hold any emptiness she had always seen.
"Well lass, let's get you up and seated before we go over everything," she said with a small smile. Severus took Hermione's hand before she turned to Poppy. Worry across both their faces.
"It looks like you are about a month gone and everything looks fine as it is," and before either of them could speak Poppy continued. "The morning sickness could simply be that the magic your child is developing is stronger than normal at this point, nothing wrong with that at all and it should ease in a few weeks at the latest. You will however take it easy. Floo calls are alright but nothing more than full transportation once a week. Apparation will be alright in short, and I mean short young lady, distances." Another flick of the wand and a stack of books and pamphlets appeared on the bed besides Hermione. "Here is a stack of reading material you will need, including foods and potions ingredients you may possibly be around that will need to be avoided," the last part of her words had included a stern glance over her glasses. "I mean that Miss Granger. Potions can be volatile and as you both well know their ingredients are not always healthy for a single person, let alone a mother and child."
"Now-" she said softly while pulling out a chair to sit on. "We need to discuss something else." Hermione went pale and Poppy saw Severus tighten his grip on her shoulder. "I am willing to be your healer on this if you would like. I know you are friends with the Weasley's and you are a healer Miss Granger, but I would have no problem helping you though this. Severus may not be my favorite person in the world but I have known him since he was a boy and you a young girl. The public will tear you apart and there is nothing better than a familiar face when going through this process. I will be with you every step of the way if you decide I may help you. I will swear to it that nothing will leave my lips without you permission."
Before either Severus or Hermione could reply, the doors to the ward were thrown open and a familiar face stormed in.
"Severus Tobias Snape! How dare you enter my school!" said Hogwarts Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.