A/N: Yes, it's Madeline! Yay!
Chapter Three: Excuses and Explanations
Moments after his abrupt exit, a harried looking older woman entered the room. Headmistress McGonagall let out a gasp as she pulled Hermione into a bone crushing hug. She sobbed into Hermione's hair, "I am so sorry, my dear girl. I never thought I would see you awake."
Hermione found herself patting the back of former head of house. "I'm fine, Headmistress. Really, I am fine."
"I am so sorry," the Headmistress repeated over and over.
After a few moments, she wiped away her tears. Pulling herself upright, she shuddered and said "Call me Minerva, dear."
"Headmistress, I mean Minerva, is Harry okay? Is he badly injured? Seems like Professor Snape has recovered. Is Bellatrix still coming after us? Did the Aurors get the rest of them?"
Ignoring Hermione's questions, Minerva leaned forward and hugged her tightly again.
"No trace of the curse, Minerva. Now, calm yourself!" The mediwitch smiled over the two women. "Hermione, dear, please call me Poppy!"
She walked over to the floo and ordered tea service from the kitchens.
The flames flared up a second time as Harry Potter burst through the floo. "Hermione!" He shouted as he ran across the room. The hugging and tears started again.
"Harry, are you okay? Did she hurt you?"
"Oh Hermione, I am so happy you are awake. I have to contact your parents, and Ginny, Ron, the Weasley's and you are awake...I didn't believe him. You are really awake" Harry stammered off.
Hermione hugged him again, "How long was I asleep? And are you hurt? Is Bellatrix after us still?"
"I'm fine, just fine. Bellatrix is dead, you don't need to worry." Harry looked at Poppy and Minerva expectantly.
Puzzled, Hermione sat up straighter, "What is going on? How long have I been asleep? And why did that little girl call me Mummy?"
~~~~O-O~~~~
Severus Snape hurried down to the dungeons with Sabrina in his arms. Normally, students would call a hello to the little girl but the look on Professor Git's face sent students scurrying out of his way. Sabrina took no notice of this as she prattled on about her Mummy waking up. Snape hmmmed and ahhed at her; not truly listening.
Arriving in his quarters, he scanned Sabrina again. Her magical reserves were low (considering the magnitude of magic she had expelled) but she seemed fine. He rubbed the leather cuff on his left wrist and sat down. Exhaling slowing, he tried to regulate his breathing. He hadn't caught his breath since his bracelet alerted him to the situation.
"Daddy, I'm hungry." Sabrina whined.
He picked her up again and carried her to the kitchen. He prepared a quick snack for her and noted her demeanor. She seemed tired.
Snape quickly conjured a piece of parchment and wrote out a cancellation notice and homework assignments for his remaining classes for the day. Duplicating the note, he called a house elf and request that notes be posted to his classroom and office doors.
Sabrina ate a little of her snack and was slowly tilting sideways in her chair as Snape reached out for her.
"It's nap time for you, little one." He stated as he carried her off to bed.
~~~~O-O~~~~
A small house elf popped into the Infirmary with tea service and placed it on a small table near Hermione's bed. Poppy prepared the tea and handed Hermione a small plate of biscuits.
"Please eat a little bit, dear. I have to check on my other patients." Poppy escaped from the room.
"Well?" Hermione asked sharply.
Harry paced back and forth running his hands through his hair.
Minerva conjured two arm chairs and sat down, "Sabrina called you, Mummy, because you are indeed her mother."
Hermione sputtered but the headmistress held up her hand, "Let me finish."
"Four years ago, Severus apparated onto the grounds with you in his arms. He sent a patronus and collapsed. When Poppy and I arrived, you were both unconscious. Your condition was worse, well, you had no life signs. Poppy immediately began working on Severus but it was grim. I couldn't stand there and watch you die. You had already been through a war, Severus had barely survived the final battle."
Minerva paused, steeling herself and then continued, "Before I could think it through or talk myself out of it, I cast a spell that was a legend in my family for hundreds of years. The spell is supposed to brings back the dead by giving the person dying a new soul so they would have a chance to live again. It's not ever used at the end of a natural life, but for a dying child or for a fatal accident. It's supposed to be cast on one person. Somehow, when I cast it; I bound your soul and Severus' soul together and somehow this created a new life."
The room was silent; Harry had stopped pacing and stand down next to Hermione on the hospital bed. He took Hermione's hand in his own, rubbing small circles with his thumb.
Minerva continued "I don't understand how it works. You are not bonded to each other or share a soul. Simply, your combined souls created Sabrina and you didn't die."
Hermione sucked in a deep breath and she seemed to forget how to exhale. Wrapping his arms around her, Harry held on as she stared unblinking at the wall just past Minerva.
Finally, her eyes focused and she sat up straighter "How long have I been asleep?"
"A little over four years. Snape woke up a days after the attack. Bellatrix's curse only grazed him but you took the full brunt of it. You were perfectly healthy; pregnant but healthy. But nothing would wake you from the coma. We tried every treatment; wizarding, muggle, muggle witchcraft, homeopathy, crystals, Eastern medicine. You were simply sleeping."
Minerva reached out her hand to Hermione "I am so thankful you are here. I often thought I had cursed you worse than Bellatrix. Holding you here…"
Harry reached across to pat his old head of house on the arm. "Oh Hermione, I never thought that. I imagined you in every moment of Sabrina's life. What you would have said, if you would have laughed or scolded. She is amazing - it's like you were reincarnated in a tiny little person."
Harry stood up, gesticulating as he talked, "She's so smart and so bossy. And she has magic. No worries about the curse hurting her magic. I believe she will be quite powerful."
"She's already powerful. Her will is what woke up Hermione." Stated Poppy as she returned to the room. "Now, I must insist on Hermione eat before she rests."
"Rest? I just woke up after missing four years of my life. I missed being pregnant, giving birth, raising a child. Sleep is the last thing I want to do…" Hermione's voice lowered to a whisper, "What if I sleep through years again? Sabrina will be graduating college when I wake up."
"Tut, tut, dear, you need to get your strength back." Poppy stood over Hermione until she took a small sip of her tea. "I have checked you thoroughly, all traces of the curse are gone."
Hermione nibbled on a chocolate biscuit and sipped her tea until the mediwitch stepped back from the bed. She grew uncomfortable as they all exchanged concerned looks around her.
Harry stood and grabbed two cups of tea. He handed one to Minerva and sat down in the chair next to her. Poppy bustled around the room, straightening things as they sipped their tea.
Poppy handed her a small vial of Calming Draught. "The curse is gone, dear. It's truly as if you were never cursed. You will wake up."
Hugging her tightly, Harry promised to return as soon as he told everyone of her miraculous recovery and "How clever that little witch is - bringing her mother out of the coma."
Minerva patted her hands, "I'll be back in the morning. The school can't run itself, you know."
Leaning back on her bed, Hermione handed the tea cup and plate back to Poppy, "I'll bet this is just a crazy dream."
"I'll be back with something more substantial," said Poppy as the calming draught eased Hermione into a normal sleep.
~~~~O-O~~~~
Returning home, Harry cried as he told his wife of Hermione's recovery. "She's awake and she's well. It's as if she only fainted. She had no idea any time had passed, Ginny."
Ginny was dispatched to relay the news to her family while he was to contact Hermione's parents.
Sitting in his kitchen, Harry poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey as he made a phone call to the Granger's hotel in Australia. Two hours later, he had given up. Feeling like he had spoken to every citizen on the island, he finally just left messages for them with the Front Desk, Concierge and their hotel voicemail. He had run out of steam.
Ginny found him asleep in the kitchen chair with the phone still in his hand. "Harry, wake up. You can't possibly be comfortable there."
"Biggest news in years and I can't find her parents. They are on an excursion outside of the resort." Harry complained.
Scrubbing his face with his hands, Harry stood up and embraced Ginny.
Ginny rubbed his back and murmured, "You'll reach them. They will be back in the hotel tonight, I'm sure. Help me make dinner, will you?"
"But it's only three in the afternoon!" Harry laughed as he helped prepare dinner.
The phone rang as they had placed dinner into the oven, Harry stumbled over his feet in the scramble to reach the phone. He relayed the good news to Hermione's mother and his ears were still ringing for a few minutes after he had hung up.
"I'm going over to Snape's for a bit to fill him in. I'll be back in time to serve you dinner, my dear." Harry kissed Ginny before heading to the living room fireplace.
~~~~O-O~~~~
Coming through the floo in Snape's quarters, Harry used his wand to wipe up the soot. "Snape, are you home?"
"Uncle Harry!" Sabrina ran at Harry at full speed. As he lifted her up into his arms, her stuffed animal smashed his glasses into his face.
"Careful, Sabrina. We do not run in the house." Snape admonished the little girl.
Over the next thirty minutes, Harry and Snape discussed Hermione and the best course of re-introducing her to her life with numerous interruptions by Sabrina.
"It will be much easier after her parents arrive." Stated Harry.
"Agreed. I have canceled my plans for this coming weekend. You and Miss Weasley will not need to watch Sabrina overnight."
"But it's been months since you went to Greece. Ginny and I can stay here with them or bring them both back to our house. We don't mind." Harry was surprised; Snape's travel plans were quite rigid. He had only canceled once before when Sabrina had a severe ear infection.
"Sabrina, please put the chess pieces back." Snape continued, "It's best we get a routine established. My travel plans will resume after everything is settled."
Harry helped Sabrina return the chess pieces to the board as she shot dirty looks at her father. "He never lets me play," she staged whispered to Harry.
Unable to resist her pouting face; he promised her own children's chess set before he flooed to the infirmary. After ensuring Hermione was asleep and probably stay asleep through the night, Harry returned home to have dinner with Ginny.
~~~~O-O~~~~