A/N: I don't own anything you recognize
(MCD)
New fears settled in her chest. New things she'd never considered even thinking about. The fears from the war had been rational; death, being captured, Voldemort winning. These new ones, they weren't like that. They were flights of twisted fancy; kidnappers, choking, crawling away and vanishing, being accused of being Dark just because of who Rose's father was.
She knew there were some roots to them, that they were possible, but the sideways glances she got in Diagon Alley, those were all in her head. No one was looking at her like that, there were no Death Eaters waiting in the shadows to grab the pram and vanish into the night. Things were safe now. No one was coming for her or the baby.
She reminded herself of this fact every time she left the house, his house. Maybe if he was here, she wouldn't be so afraid, wouldn't have all these fears? He hadn't even gotten a chance to meet little Rose. Hadn't gotten the chance to be a father. She tried to remember if she'd even had a chance to tell him before he'd been killed. She was sure she'd had mentioned it, but her thoughts about that time were fuzzy, vague, so many things happening at once, things her brain wanted to forget in order to protect itself.
Hermione had stopped trying to think about those times, she had Rose to raise, his name to clear, and a whole new life she was supposed to be living. It was Ginny who suggested going to a mind healer, someone to help her alleviate these fears. Talking had helped, helped her see how remote some of the possibilities were, but she still thought they were watching her, whispering about her when she and Rose stepped out.
She paused, listening, she thought she knew what they were saying, talking about her and Severus, about how he'd been a murderer, a Death Eater. But soon the real words hit her ears, words about the weather, about how cute Rose was, how one witch hoped her son wouldn't be a Gryffindor.
They weren't talking about her, not really. It was all in her head, her imagination. She smiled, realizing the darkness she kept holding onto, the fear she kept close to her heart, it wasn't there anymore. The world was changing and she was going to have to start facing her past and change with it, for her sake and for Rose's.