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Chapter 41: What?
"Yes" was her reply before gnawing at her lip.
Severus took a deep breath trying to calm his disappointed heart.
"Do you think we can get married during the summer?" asked Hermione pushing forward as Gryffindor thinking with her heart and not with her head that had all negative thoughts.
Her question totally shocked Severus. He almost choked. Doing a double take he asked, "You want to marry me?"
"I said yes didn't I. You asked silly. Of course I want to marry you as I love you too," she said before pulling him closer to her and capturing his lips again this time it was a gentle and encouraging nibble. She pulled him close so she could hold him close in a strong hug. He leant his forehead on her shoulder. She kissed the joining of his neck to his body in the crook of the join; on his skin she placed gentle kisses that teased him. His breathing hitched he just couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Severus was sure she could feel his pulse on her lips as it raced.
Lifting his head and looking intensely into her chocolate eyes his inky black pools regarded her while one of his hands caught itself in her mane of hair. "Hermione would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" Severus formally asked.
"Most certainly Severus. Ten thousand times yes. Yes I want to marry you." Hermione advised him. Her grasp on his un-entangled hand squeezed his hand with her enthusiasm. When she realised it was his left hand Hermione pulled it up to her lips so she could kiss him on his ring finger just in the place a wedding band would sit.
"Thank you" he said. His voice was full of his heartfelt emotions and then she had barely had time to blink before he ravished her lips expressing his joy and wonderment at her answer. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Suddenly the pair of them found that they had being elf popped. Landing on a large bed Hermione wondered where they were when Sammi the elfess who had popped them informed the couple "Noes making little Snapeys in my kitchen yous uses his bedroom" before she popped back to her domain.
The large bed had a dark brown, cream and blue Asian style print covering not that Hermione was really taking much notice of her surroundings. She was crying too hard. Severus hugged her allowing her tears to soak his shirt. Rubbing soothing patterns on her back he was totally confused. The sound was not that of happy over the moon with joy tears but rather of absolute anguish when someone has died. What was going on?
"Shhhh. Mia what ever it is we can work it out but first I need you to tell me what is wrong. So we can together work out a solution to whatever has upset you so much?"
It took several moments for the tears to abate to sniffles. He was then able to work out the odd word between the sniffles. It was something about little Snapeys and not being able…
"Mia love if you want children we will have children" he said to her to which she intensified her tears again before he went on "We have a 1000 children in the school they can be our children". She lifted her head up from his chest to look at him with wonder. The tears were still tracking down her face and her nose was red. Hick-upping "You would be happy if we don't have children of our own?"
"Hermione why do you think we can't have children of our own?" he asked countering her question with one of his own.
"My medical conditions make it highly unlikely" she said morosely.
"The optimum words 'Highly unlikely' does not sound like a definitely not to me" was his professorial questioning response.
"But But" she stuttered.
"Let look at this logically. What medication are you on?" he said plainly asking the questions as though he was holding a revision session.
"You know this" she replied not yet realising what he was trying to do.
He wanted her brain to engage and look at the problem logically rather than the emotional rollercoaster she currently was. "Humour me my sweet" he carefully encouraged her cause she had an incredibly short fuse at the moment.
"Oxynorm, Fluoxetine, Cocodamol, Iron supplements and Pregabalin" she flatly stated.
"So… Oxynorm is an opioid and not good for pregnancy or any nursing infant.
Fluoxetine is an anti-depressant. They have you on a fairly high dose which surprises me that you are not zonked out."
There seemed to be some logical reasoning so she was just going to go along with him until she worked out what he was doing. "It makes me sleepy so I only have it now at night in the evenings" she explained about her Fluoxetine distribution.
"Fluoxetine should not be used in the first and third trimester. Again this drug is not recommended for pregnancy. Cocodamol yet another drug that is not recommended in use during pregnancy. Iron supplements always a good thing for pregnancy so far the only drug that you have in your daily medication list, which is OK to use in pregnancy. And then we have the kicker Pregabalin, while it is a wonderful drug for stopping pain signals but terrible drug for any foetus and nursing mother. So we have four out of five medications that you regularly use that are not conducive to pregnancy. Now are you on any form of contraception?"
"Umm no." she mumbled into his chest.
"Were you on any form of contraception before your injury?" he inquired even though he already knew the answer.
"Umm No. I was not active that way"
"Of course you had the three monthly check ups with Poppy that all female students have once they start their menses as per the school policy."
"Of course. I am not a rule breaker", she asserted.
After laughing heartily at that comment he went on to explain that he knew that was not exactly true. "Most of the time but I do believe you were the one who stole boomslang skin from my potion ingredient cupboard and successfully brewed polyjuice potion in the 2nd floor girls toilets during your second year. However, let us return to the matter at hand. Did Poppy ever give you a blue coloured potion when you visited her as part of your routine visits?"
It was a joy for him to watch her active mind working overtime her face showed it all "Um not to my knowledge"
"Nor to mine either. From my memory I had a professional consultation with Poppy Pomfrey in your first year over the fact you failed the standard potions allergy test before the prescription of routine contraceptives. So here we come down to the nub of the matter. You can't take normal contraceptives and you have to take medication that is down right anti-conducive for pregnancy. So what would be the standard advice? To avoid pregnancy at all costs. Added to that we also have your family history, the scaring left thanks to your little escapade in the Department of Mysteries and of course your time as a feline thanks to a polyjuice accident.
Umm not good. Pregnancy would all ways be a high risk and difficult medical care problem for the treating physician. So what is the standard self serving healer or medical practitioner's option in this situation going to do when they already have an extremely high overload of patients and patients care to supervise? Tell the patient that they shouldn't get pregnant. Now how they communicate this information to the patient and how it is perceived by the individual is up to those who were involved in the communication process.
"Why did Poppy talk to you about me?" she asked with some heat in her question. How dare Poppy break patient confidentiality? I couldn't believe she would ever do that was one of the many anxious thoughts that raced through her brain at lightening speed.
"You really must be over tired to not be logical at all. Hermione who was the resident Potions Master in Hogwarts during your first year?" he asked with one eyebrow raised at her.
"Umm that would have been you?" Was the sheepish reply when Hermione had realised that she had failed to apply logic to the discussion but rather had gone half cocked over patient confidentiality.
"I have been called in many times by Poppy to provide a consultation over you and your friends in the last eight years. Who brewed the potion that reversed your feline problem, the mandrake potion for your second year petrification and all the potions that are used in the school infirmary? Oh wonder of wonder that would be me. I have two years of Healer training as part of my potions mastery so I am bound by the patient protection oaths. I may not have my mediwitch licence but I certainly have advanced knowledge in this area particularly when it relates to potion ingredients won't you agree?" he asked her using logic to explain his position.
"Yes you would be the logical person for Poppy to consult with", admitted the witch who was now blushing with embarrassment.
Wiping the tears from her cheeks and then placing the handkerchief over her nose in the universal silent command to blow, Severus helped to clean up Hermione. "If you want a baby we can try. It won't be easy but between the two of us we can do the research and find a solution for your medication. I am pretty sure with your award anyone in the International Union would jump to provide a professional consultation for you so we could see the best and the brightest in reproductive healing.
Spinal cord injury women have babies all the time so there is no reason why you cannot be one of them. If we don't find a solution that allows you to carry a child we have other options like IVF surrogacy, adoption and of course honour mothering to all the students here at the school. We can also look at magic and ritual processes as well.
So my dearest one why don't we do the normal thing of go out and just be a couple for a while, and then set a date sometime in the summer for a small personal wedding with just our family and immediate friends."
"That sounds wonderful" was her confident and happy reply. There was no sign of the blubbering tears that she had been in when they arrived in his private quarters.
"So what is the plan for us my beautiful Mia we have two extremely busy school weeks ahead of us. We of course must remain discreet, as I am the Headmaster and we currently have some of the School Governors here in the school. Thank god you own the Prophet cause imagine the headlines if Rita had got a whiff that we are a couple."
That last comment brought about a rippling laugh from his witch. Yes Rita Skeeter would have a field day. It was heavenly to hear the change in her mood with her laughter indicating to him that she was so much happier
"Hermione what are your plans for the Summer?" he asked as she had not put anything in yet officially. The deadline was Sunday so she should have some idea.
"I sort of hadn't done any plans yet I was going to talk to Harry tomorrow or should I say today. I have to go through my parents' things, may be potter round Grimmauld Place gardens, do my assignments, read and possibly take a holiday somewhere. I haven't really had a holiday in years."
"How do you feel about having a house guest?" he inquired.
"Well that would be one way we could get to know each other better?" she agreed. Yes they could stay at Grimmauld and get to know each other better it was protected so they could retreat from the glare of the rest of the magical world.
"Would you be my house guest here at Hogwarts for the next two weeks?" was his reply. He wanted to find a way to spend time with her here in the school even though it was possible one of the busiest times of the year for him.
"I would love to my adored one but it wouldn't be discreet if I am seeing coming and going from your rooms. Plus my rooms have all the adaptations I need" she explained. She was a little nervous about her virginity and her readiness for sex. She was unsure and her mother had always said if she was it meant she really wasn't ready for that next step in the relationship. That had been one of the sticking points between Ron and her. He wanted sex and she didn't, as she wasn't ready.
"What if we both keep our rooms and we have you popped here each night so we can spend time together. I am not saying we jump straight into full sexual intimacy but rather we get to spend time together. We get used to being in each other's arms and physical affection. We will only progress further in our relationship when we are both ready for it. You are not the only one who isn't ready for sexual intimacy at the moment" Severus said in a moment in open honesty that had surprised her. She had to check if she understood his meaning.
"Severus, are you a virgin like I am?" was the soft gentle enquiry.
"Yes." Was the honest reply along with a furious blush. She wondered how far it went as even his neck was red. She could feel the heat of his face on her forehead.
"I am surprised" was her simple reply. Their current conversation was a little like an Argentine tango, Quick quick Slooow. "Why?"
Oh God she was like a three year old with the constant questions, questions and then more questions. After taking a moment to think Severus sighed before saying, "It is sort of complicated."
"Does this have something to do with Harry's mother Lily?" she carefully inquired hoping she would not be treading on too many toes bringing up the past needing to know any way.
"Sort of. Yes. No. Umm. Yes I was in love with Lily in my fourth year but she did not return my affections. I was just a friend for her. Then I got angry and lashed out at her in our fifth year. Lily while a sweet girl had a redhead's temper and could seriously hold a grudge. I had hurt her and she wasn't going to forgive me easily. It wasn't until after we had left Hogwarts did she finally forgive me. By then I was already marked thanks to my immature hormonal jealousy. As a Death Eater I wasn't really able to avoid some of the activities but I managed to make sure that they believed I was participating when I had not. I made sure that I was not aroused and could not be aroused thanks to some potions that I brewed for myself.
Bella even found it impossible to seduce me. She made many attempts even with a lust potion. So I never really had an opportunity to have a physical relationship. It was not like I could have a girlfriend as a double agent. I am really totally inexperienced physically and emotionally. While I have some academic knowledge I am like you. I have no real practical experience. We will be learning together," he advised her. No longer feeling embarrassed when he saw her look of admiration in her eyes and her sweet smile solely focused on him.
"Lets put some of our theoretical knowledge into application", she suggested before kissing him at first gently but then it became more demanding as the fires of their passion ignited. It was a sizzling snuggle and kissing session between the two of them. Coming up for some air she had a coy smile on her face when she asked, "So since I am your girlfriend and sort of fiancé can I stay here with you tonight?"
"I would be honoured to spend time with you. I can think of nothing better than waking up with you in my arms".
"Tinky" he called.
The elfess appeared with a smile on her face and holding her hands over her eyes "Sammi be saying you be making baby Snapes. So are you decent?" she asked.
Laughing Severus answered, "Yes we are decent. We won't be making baby Snapes for a while. Not even practicing even though Miss Mia has agreed to be my wife. That's a secret for you to keep. Now for the next couple of weeks Miss Mia will be sleeping here with me however we need to maintain her rooms like she is there. So of course we will need an elf or an elfess to help with the popping of her to and from her room. Harry mustn't find out about her sleeping here in my rooms. We will be telling the family when we are ready but not just yet. So do you think you can do this for us"
"Yes" agreed the ecstatic elfess who was bouncing up and down. It reminded Hermione of a dear friend who had died during the war the house elf Dobby.
"So do you think you can help out this evening Miss Mia here needs to get some sleep" advised Severus. Hermione was suddenly popped out of his room. While she was away he showered and prepared for bed. Severus was propped under the covers reading a detective fiction when Hermione was returned to his bed beside him. She was wearing a very soft tee shirt jersey material nightgown. It had been made so it was like the ubiquitous tee shirt dress but rather it had gathers over her bust line that came from the bottom of the square necked yoke. The nightgown was a little like a summer dress with wide straps over her shoulders and a large open back.
Tinky brought Miss Mia's book and arranged on the other bedside table a glass of water, a Dorset pill box, a tens machine and some lavender. She then produced a glass of water for him on his bedside table. "What time Snapey should I be waking you two?" she asked the couple. "6am sounds nice", suggested Hermione.
"7am is more realistic," countered Severus who after many years of broken sleep and spying had a firm belief that there really should be no time before 7am in the morning.
"Harry will be finishing his shift and coming to see me for breakfast so I thought we could be up and ready to see him then. I will need to be back in my own rooms so what time?" asked the witch.
"Alright 6 am. I supposed I am going to have to learn the phrase yes dear" grumbled the man.
"Yes dear" was the response and even the little elfess had to hold a titter in.
"Night night then don't let the bed bugs bite. That includes you Snapey no hickey kisses on her neck now," admonished the elfess before popping out of the bedroom. The two settled down to read quietly before going to sleep. Severus ended up taking the book off her and placing it on his bedside table when he heard Hermione's breathing change to the gentle sound of sleep. Putting his book away Severus then used his wand to turn the bedside lamps off with a "Nox" before settling down to cuddle the witch beside him falling asleep wondering which goddess had bless him today.