Rosmerta sat quietly in the rocking chair in the nursery, her new daughter nestled safely in her arms. Truth be told, Rosmerta had never been sure she would ever have children, at least until she started dating Severus and her entire life had changed. Before Severus she'd had no family to speak of, and now she was surrounded by people who loved her. She had a husband, a stepson, a large extended family and now to complete her happiness she had an adorable baby girl.
Rosmerta and the baby had come home earlier that morning, only to find the entire family waiting for them. Harry and Hermione had ended up returning to school before Rosmerta had given birth as it had been a long labour, so it was their first chance to meet the newest member of the family. Harry had been pretty smitten with his new little sister, and Rosmerta suspected he would be visiting home more than normal over the last few months of school.
"Here you are," Severus said, walking into the room. He was currently trying to divide his time between his wife and new daughter and Hogwarts, but luckily he had Lucius at school to keep things running smoothly when he was at home.
"Where else would we be?" Rosmerta asked with a soft chuckle. "I'm trying to get the little one to sleep."
"We really do need a name for her," Severus mused, bending down and stroking his daughter's head.
"I did offer some suggestions," Rosmerta pointed out. After she'd given birth, she'd given her husband a whole host of name suggestions, but he'd been hesitant about every suggestion she'd come up with.
"I know you did," Severus conceded. "But we have to pick the right name, not just the first one that pops into our heads."
"Do you know how Harry got his name?" Rosmerta asked carefully. She knew her husband had played no part in naming his son, as he hadn't known of his existence until after his birth, so she was hoping she wasn't raising a sore subject at a time when they should be so happy.
"I don't," Severus admitted with a sigh. "I never got the chance to ask Lily. I do know she picked the name, rather than Potter. But I don't know why she settled on Harry."
"Maybe she just liked the name, or thought it suited him," Rosmerta replied. "Maybe that's what we should do. See which name we think suits our daughter."
"I'm guessing you already have a name you think suits her," Severus said, giving his wife a fond smile.
"My personal favourite is Caroline," Rosmerta answered, looking down at her daughter. "Little Caro."
"It sounds as if we've named her after Alecto and Amycus," Severus snorted.
"So you don't like it," Rosmerta said, her face falling slightly as her husband dismissed her favourite name.
"I didn't say that," Severus replied. "I actually like it. Caroline Snape. It has a ring to it."
"So we've settled on a name?" Rosmerta asked excitedly.
"I think we have," Severus said. Gazing down at his daughter, he smiled when she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Hello Caroline."
The baby in Rosmerta's arms gurgled in response and waved her pudgy arms in the air. With a laugh, Severus scooped his daughter out of Rosmerta's arms and pulled her close to him.
"Caroline it is then," Rosmerta said with a smile, feeling all emotional watching her husband and daughter bonding.
During the actual labour, Severus had been a nervous wreck and about as much use as a chocolate teapot, but since Caroline had been born he'd come into his own and proved what a natural father he was. He'd always been a great father to Harry, and Rosmerta knew he would be the same with Caroline. Both Harry and Caroline were lucky to have Severus as their father, and Rosmerta considered herself lucky to have him as her husband. She really couldn't ask for a better family than the one she'd ended up with.
C.O.T.D.
Ginny flounced out of Gryffindor Tower, unable to stomach being in the same room as Harry any longer. Her bitterness and anger towards Harry and Hermione was as strong as ever, and it really riled her that everything seemingly went their way. While Ginny's family had been torn apart over the last year, Harry and Hermione's had gone from strength to strength. When Beth hadn't returned at the beginning of the year, speculation had been rife as to why, and rumours soon started circulating that she was pregnant. Hermione had never officially confirmed anything, but Ginny had heard her talking about her baby sister. Now Harry was celebrating becoming a big brother and Ginny had had just about all she could take.
Storming off to the library, Ginny secluded herself in a quiet corner of the library and focused on her homework. After a couple of hours she'd had enough of school work, and she packed up, hoping that by the time she returned to Gryffindor Tower, Harry would have finished showing off. Or even if he hadn't, she could go up to her dorm room and settle down for the night.
Leaving the library, Ginny turned to head towards the staircase that led to Gryffindor Tower. However, she'd barely made it out of the corridor where the library was located when someone hissed her name from one of the empty classrooms nearby. Pulling out her wand warily, Ginny looked around to see where the voice had come from. When the voice called her name again, she pinpointed the room it originated from and stalked towards the classroom. Peering in the doorway, she found Pansy Parkinson sitting on one of the desks, shooting her an impatient look.
"About time," Pansy muttered, jumping off the desk and shutting the door behind Ginny. "I thought you were going to ignore me."
"I was tempted, since I didn't know who was calling my name," Ginny replied. "What do you want, Parkinson?"
"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Pansy tutted.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at the Slytherin witches use of the word friend. It was true that since the start of term, Pansy would occasionally speak to her and recall the moment when Ginny hit Hermione. But in no way were they friends. In fact, most of the time Pansy didn't even acknowledge her, and when she did, all she was interested in talking about was Hermione, and how much she hated her.
"We're not friends, Parkinson," Ginny finally pointed out.
"You're right, we're not," Pansy agreed with a nod. "But we do have a common enemy."
"If this is going to be another rant about Hermione, I'm not in the mood," Ginny snapped.
"Not even if I told you I knew a way to silence for her good?" Pansy questioned with a devious smirk.
"What do you mean by silence her?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Get her out of the way," Pansy clarified. "I know how you can do it."
"Me?" Ginny questioned with an unamused laugh. "Why can't you get rid of her?"
"Because it's more than my life's worth to mess with The Dark Lord," Pansy answered. "My entire family would be destroyed if it was ever discovered I'd tried to get rid of Hermione."
"And it doesn't matter if my family is destroyed, I suppose?" Ginny snorted.
"Not to be rude, but your family had already been blown apart," Pansy pointed out. "You're an enemy of the dark without having to do anything. Wouldn't you rather exact some vengeance on Hermione while you have the chance? They will come after you. Just like they came after your brothers. Take this opportunity while you have it, or you might just live to regret it."
"Why would you risk getting rid of Hermione?" Ginny asked. "Even if I do the dirty work for you, what do you gain? You may not like her, but why take such drastic measures?"
"That is simple," Pansy replied with a slow smirk. "If she's out of the way, I get my shot at Draco."
"Malfoy?" Ginny spat. "You're risking everything for Malfoy? I'll admit he's hot, but he's also trouble. He's not worth risking your life for."
"I beg to differ," Pansy said with a careless shrug. "Look, my motives don't matter here. I can give you the power to destroy Granger. Do you want it, or do I find myself someone with more guts than you?"
Ginny hesitated as she weighed up her options. She really wanted to be the one to take down Hermione, especially with all the trouble her family had caused for the Weasleys. But on the other hand, she didn't want to end up like Ron, or even like Bill and Charlie. She wanted so desperately to fight, but she was aware that her family had already lost so much already. One more tragedy might just push her mother over the edge, and Ginny didn't want to be responsible for destroying Molly.
"Clearly you haven't got what it takes," Pansy declared with a disgusted snort as she headed to the door. "I overestimated you, Weasley. I thought you had guts. I thought you were capable of standing up to that bitch Granger."
"I am capable of standing up to her," Ginny insisted, stopping Pansy just before she reached for the door handle. "She doesn't scare me."
"It looks like she does from where I'm standing," Pansy shot back.
"I'll do it," Ginny cried without thinking as Pansy reached for the door handle.
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Pansy asked, slowly turning back to face Ginny.
"I can handle it," Ginny confirmed with a steely nod. "I can bring her down. Just tell me how."
"It's too dangerous here in school," Pansy said. "I'm risking a lot even talking to you."
"We can meet in Hogsmeade," Ginny suggested. "There's a trip next week."
"I need to put some things in place before we can meet," Pansy replied cryptically. "Besides, meeting in broad daylight is too risky."
"What do you suggest, a night-time meeting?" Ginny joked.
"Exactly," Pansy replied, her face deadly serious. "Meet me just outside of the school gates on the last Friday of the month at midnight. We can go down to Hogsmeade together, and I can give you the key to destroying Hermione."
"How do you expect me to leave school grounds in the middle of the night?" Ginny asked.
"Use your ingenuity," Pansy replied with an unconcerned shrug. "Unless, you're not smart enough to sneak out of the castle after curfew."
"I'll be there," Ginny vowed.
"I'll look forward to it," Pansy said with a smirk. "See you at the end of the month, Weasley."
Ginny didn't even have a chance to reply before Pansy pulled open the door and slunk out into the corridor. By the time Ginny crossed the classroom and exited it, there was no sign of the Slytherin witch. Her mind rolling over the possibilities of finally getting rid of Hermione, Ginny returned to Gryffindor Tower in high spirits. Let Harry and Hermione walk around as though they were untouchable. Ginny was about to prove they weren't. She was about to bring their entire world crashing down around them, and she couldn't wait.
C.O.T.D.
Hermione watched from the shadows as Ginny emerged from the classroom, a triumphant smile on her face. Once she was sure Ginny had gone, Hermione slid from her hiding place in an alcove opposite the classroom Ginny had just exited, and turned and headed towards the head dorms. Since it was nearing curfew, there weren't a lot of students around and Hermione passed no-one as she walked to the head dorms. Giving the password to the portrait, Hermione sauntered into the common room and smiled when she found Draco lounging on the sofa, a book in his hand.
"Hey gorgeous," she greeted with a smile.
"Creepy," Draco remarked with a grimace as he looked up at Hermione.
"Excuse me?" Hermione frowned.
"I know it's you, but all I see and hear is Pansy," Draco said. "As I said, creepy."
"It's just a bit of polyjuice potion," Hermione replied with a roll of her eyes. "And hopefully, this will be the last time I need it."
"So she bought it?" Draco asked. He'd been sceptical when Hermione had told her how she planned on luring Ginny out of the castle on the next full moon.
"Hook, line and sinker," Hermione replied with a grin, settling down next to Draco on the sofa. As she did so, she felt the polyjuice potion begin to wear off and within five minutes she was back to her normal self.
"Now that's better," Draco said with a smile. Leaning down, he brushed his lips over Hermione's in greeting. "Welcome back."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco, even though she was pleased that he waited to kiss her until she was back to being herself. Even if he knew it was her, she didn't like to think he would kiss her when she was looking like Pansy.
"So back to Weaselette," Draco said. "She really fell for it? She really believes Pansy will give her a way to get rid of you?"
"She does," Hermione replied with a nod. "To be honest, I kept waiting for her brains to kick in and for her to realise that she might be being set up, but it never happened. Even when she hesitated about getting involved, a few barbs about her lack of guts had her doing exactly as I wanted. Honestly, she was so easy to manipulate it was laughable."
"So we're all set for the end of the month," Draco said quietly.
"We are," Hermione confirmed. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Draco answered, giving Hermione a quick smile. "Don't worry Hermione, I know you'll be safe."
"I already knew that," Hermione replied with a chuckle. "I'm always safe when I'm with you."
"Even when I'm a wolf?"
"Especially when you're a wolf," Hermione insisted firmly. "You would never hurt me, in either form."
"I wouldn't," Draco agreed. There was still a small part of him that worried about Hermione being so close to him when he was a wolf, but he doubted that would ever go away, even though he knew she was the love of his life and he would die before he let anything happen to her.
"All we have to do is keep Ginny out of the school grounds while we attack," Hermione said. "Severus was insistent on that. He doesn't want any comeback on Hogwarts."
"Understandable," Draco said with a nod. "Although I won't have any control over her after I've attacked. If she turns, I can't stop her going back up to the school."
"We can't have that," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "I'll speak to Severus and see if he and Lucius can erect a ward that will prevent Ginny from getting back onto school grounds if she turns."
"We also have to think about getting you back to school as soon as possible," Draco added. "You know I won't hurt you, but we can't say the same for Weaselette."
"I think you're forgetting that you'll still be there," Hermione said with a small smile, edging closer to her boyfriend on the sofa. "If Ginny does to try to hurt me, she'll have to get through you."
"Not happening," Draco said firmly. "If she attacks you, I can't promise that she'll survive. No-one hurts you and lives to tell the tale."
"Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you're all possessive?" Hermione asked in a purr as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and nuzzled his neck. "I love it when you're all domineering."
"I can show you domineering," Draco growled.
Crashing his lips against Hermione's, Draco pulled his fiancée against him. Quick as a flash, he had her pinned under him on the sofa. Hermione grinned up at Draco, more than happy to let him take control. Since becoming a wolf, Draco's possessive streak had grown a fair bit and Hermione was more than happy to give herself over to him as he staked his claim on her. She was his, and she didn't care less who knew that her heart, body and soul belonged to Draco.