AN: Sorry, it took a while! but now I'm back.

I don't own Harry Potter and don't make any profit.

When they arrived at St. Mungo's the receptionist didn't even bother looking up and just said, "Babies aren't allowed on the wards."

Hermione felt anger bubbling inside her, her voice dangerously low, vibrating with fury she said, "Listen to me. First of all 'Merry Christmas to you too'!"

The woman still didn't feel the need to look up.

"Second of all it is rather rude to not look at somebody, while addressing them!"

Finally her head snapped up and her jaw dropped.

"And third of all, it's Christmas and my dear friend here, is going to visit his parents, who by the way helped to make our world a better place, just as he himself. You might even say all three of them are war heroes. I guess it's not going to be a problem if we are going to take little Elena here with us today. It is Christmas after all."

The receptionist just nodded and said with a faint voice, "Miss Granger, Mister Longbottom, Professor S...S…Snape you know the way?"

"Yes thank you. Come on boys!" Hermione said and stormed towards the lifts.

Severus stood frozen to the spot with an awed look on his face and mumbled, "I love her."

"I know," Neville laughed and pulled him after Hermione.

"I didn't want to play the 'war hero card', but she didn't leave me a choice," Hermione said once inside the lift.

"So apparently I didn't have to say 'Luke' to make her explode …" Severus chuckled.

"You say that name once again you get the 'Luke treatment'."

He laughed.

"So there we are," Neville said with an insecure expression and opened the door.

"Neville!" came a thin voice from the other side of the room.

"Mum!" Neville said and hurried over to a small woman with white hair.

"It's Christmas today, did you know?"

"I know Mum. Merry Christmas!" he kissed her cheek.

"Merry Christmas Dad!"

He walked over to his Dad, who was sitting on his bed and bent down to hug him.

"Neville, you came!" he beamed at his son. "Where is Mum?"

"I'm sorry she couldn't make it today. She is on holiday. She'll visit you as soon as she is back. But look I brought some friends."

"This is Hermione and this is…"

"Severus!" Frank exclaimed and a small smile appeared on his face.

Hermione gasped and Severus quickly pushed Elena in her hands and hurried over to Frank, "Merry Christmas Frank, how are you?"

"Not so good," he grumbled.

"Why?" Severus asked carefully.

"My Mum couldn't make it for Christmas!"

"I'm sorry Frank! But look your son Neville is here," Severus gestured towards Neville.

"Yes he is. You know he is a great guy!"

"I know. He is a good friend of mine!"

Hermione gasped a second time and Neville blushed and stammered, "Thank you!"

"So I think we should go for a walk first and have presents afterwards," Severus suggested trying to support Neville.

"No. Presents first," Alice squealed with excitement.

"Well presents it is," Severus chuckled.

Alice hurried over to her nightstand and revealed a crumpled piece of parchment and handed it to Neville, "I drew that for you. Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Mum!" he kissed her cheek once again. When he looked at the picture a tear escaped his eyes.

"Don't you like it?" Alice asked with wide eyes.

"No Mum. I love it! You did a beautiful job. I'm just sad Grandma couldn't make it today."

Neville handed the parchment to Hermione and she feverishly had to blink away some tears, when she looked at the picture. It looked like a children's drawing, showing three people holding hands. The person in the middle did resemble Neville with his dark hair and round face, holding the hands of his parents, with their white hair. It looked like they were his children and he was the father, since the Neville in the picture was quite a bit taller, than his parents.

"I have some chocolate frog cards for you, Neville. Merry Christmas!" Frank handed him a whole lot of cards.

"Thanks Dad! I also brought some presents for you," Neville said and handed each of them a big box with Christmas motives on them.

"Wow! Look I got some crayons and water colours and there is a picture of us three and a story book and sweets," Alice said excitedly digging through her box.

Hermione watching them suddenly turned around and hurried out of the room.

"I'll be back in a minute Neville," Severus said and went looking for Hermione. It didn't take him long to find her, she was just sitting outside the room on a bench, weeping bitterly into Elena's back, who looked at her father with big fearful eyes.

"Don't worry Elena, Hermione is just feeling a bit sad. Come here sweetheart," Severus said lifting her out of Hermione's arms and he sat next to Hermione hugging her with one arm.

After a couple of minutes Hermione calmed down and said, "I think we need to go back. I'll just quickly let the medi-witches know that we might go for a walk soon."

While Hermione went to talk to the medi-witches, Severus went back to the Longbottoms. When he entered the room, Frank was flipping through a book, while Alice was drawing a picture with her new crayons.

She suddenly looked up at Severus and said, "The girl, I forgot her name, she likes you very much."

"You mean Hermione?" Alice nodded and her attention was back with her drawing.

Neville grinned, but didn't say anything.

"I told you, you get that from your mother," Severus grumbled to Neville.

Hermione came back with a wheelchair.

"We are ready to go."

"I want Severus to push me," Frank said and sat down in the wheelchair.

"It will be an honour, Frank. But you need to put on a jacket first. It's cold outside. Come on, I'll help you," Severus said, gently helping Frank into his jacket.

Hermione, who was watching, was amazed by the gentle expression on Severus' face. She never saw him like that with anybody else, except for Elena. When they were ready, Neville smiled at the scene. Hermione was pushing Elena in her pram, Severus was pushing Frank and he himself was walking arm in arm with his mother.

"You know Severus. I can't walk that far anymore," Frank said.

"I know Frank. That's what I'm here for," Severus smiled.

After an hour they came back with rosy cheeks and ruffled hair from the strong wind outside.

"I think we have to leave you now, Elena needs her nap. But before I forget Hermione and I brought you something for a nice afternoon," and he pulled a couple of bottles of pumpkin juice and biscuits and other sweets from his pocket and extended them to their original size.

"Thank you," Alice said beaming at them.

"Mum, Dad would you like me to read you a story from your new story books?"

They both nodded eagerly. When Hermione, Severus and Elena were ready to go, Neville and his parents had settled on a sofa to read the book, Neville sitting in the middle, his Mum cuddled to his side.

"Do you want to come by for dinner later?" Severus asked Neville, who just nodded in response.

"I'm exhausted!" Hermione said, flopping down on Severus' sofa.

"Some tea?"

"Tea would be nice, thanks."

Severus placed Elena in Hermione's lap and went to make tea and some food for Elena. While Hermione was sipping her tea, Severus was feeding Elena, both pondering on their thoughts.

"Elena do you want to open the presents I got for you now," Severus asked after she was finished with her meal.

"This one is to remember your Mum," Severus said with a trembling voice and opened the present. It appeared to be a scrapbook.

"Look that's a picture of you with your mum, when you were born and there is another one with the three of us. I've written everything down for you in this book, so you know what kind of person your mum was and how her pregnancy went and all that stuff." Severus was browsing through the book, lost in his thoughts, just a huge yawn from his daughter brought him back.

"Okay let's move on to the next present, or maybe not. You seem to be more interested in the wrapping paper. I should have given you that as a present," he chuckled at the sight of Elena scrunching the shiny paper.

The second present he gave to Elena was a toy for her cot.

"I tell you something, I'll fix that to your cot now and then you'll have a little nap." Another big yawn from her said it all.

"I thought so. I'll just put her down for a …" he said looking at Hermione, but stopping mid-sentence, as Hermione was sleeping.

He smiled affectionately at her and left the room. When Severus came back after a couple of minutes, he quietly called for Trinky. The elf appeared with a quiet 'pop'.

"Can you please make us some sandwiches for lunch? If you could bring them up in half an hour that would be fine, since Professor Granger is sleeping now anyway," Severus said.

"Certainly Sir," Trinky replied and disappeared.

Severus carefully sat down next to Hermione, but she opened her eyes anyway and smiled sleepily at him.

"Shh go back to sleep Hermione. Lunch is not for another half hour," he whispered, causing her to close her eyes again and curling up next to him on the sofa, resting her head in his lap. He gently stroked over her hair.

"Mmh, that feels nice," she mumbled.

After lunch they went out for a walk, Severus carrying Elena in her baby carrier, wearing her new hat, scarf and mittens, happily peeking out, taking in her surroundings.

"Don't tell anybody about that, I feel quite stupid," Severus growled.

"I think it looks cute and you wouldn't stand a chance with the pram, there is just too much snow outside. Come on you two," Hermione laughed, happily bouncing down the stairs at the main gate.

They walked along the lake.

"Tell me why you were crying earlier?" Severus asked, not looking at her, so he wouldn't make her more uncomfortable than she already was.

Hermione sighed and didn't answer right away.

When she finally did, her voice was thick with emotion, "It broke my heart, when I saw Neville's parents like that. Even if they seemed to be doing so much better, then when we saw them a couple of years ago. I was thinking how I miss my own parents, how they died and if it would be better if they would still be alive but be like Neville's parents."

"And?"

"I don't know. Neville's parents seem to be happy. But thinking about what they used to be, very gifted Aurors and now they are like little children. And thinking about being tortured into insanity, that just makes me wanna throw up. I still don't understand how anybody can torture somebody," she said in a feeble voice.

"Hate," he simply said.

"Hate? Tell me why Bellatrix' hated me so much, she tortured me. She didn't even know me?"

"Well okay Bellatrix might be the one exception. She was a psychopath in the end and there wasn't anything human left in her left. But she wasn't always like that. She was once a quite funny and clever witch. Azkaban didn't do her any good. Sirius maybe the only person I know, who came out there not being insane. I guess that was because he always knew he was innocent."

"But Severus she tortured Neville's parents before her time in Azkaban."

"I know. Torturing somebody means power, the power to hurt somebody, even if it's not the one who hurt you in the beginning. Aggression can be an outlet for anger, grief or hurt."

"How come you know that?" she asked him quietly

"Can't you guess that?" He replied just as quietly.

"I want to hear it from you." She looked at him with wide eyes.

"Because I tortured people, using the Cruciatus curse," he confessed, looking into her eyes.

"Who hurt you so much, making you want to hurt other people?"

"My parents."

"What did they do?"

"They didn't love me. They didn't hate me, but they didn't love me either. I was a neglected child. And together with losing Lily and becoming friends with the wrong sort of people it was just spiralling downwards from there."

"Did you rape anybody?"

Severus inhaled sharply, "No. I didn't. How do you know that there were rapes?"

"Severus I'm not stupid," she said with sad eyes," That's being the daily fare of a war, killing, torturing and raping. Did you kill anybody?"

"Except for Albus? No," he said his eyes swimming in tears.

"Well that doesn't count," Hermione said softly.

"Does it not? Hermione I killed someone," he said harshly.

"Elena will always have a murderer as a father."

"You did it for the Greater Good."

"I hate that word."

"You did it because Dumbledore asked you to do it. He sacrificed you," Hermione reached out to push a strand of hair out of his face and then gently cupped his cheek.

He captured her hand with his, held it in place at his cheek and closed his eyes.

Severus swallowed hard a couple of times, before he opened his eyes releasing her hand and whispering, "You are too kind to me. I don't know how I deserve you."

Hermione blushed and quickly looked away.

After a couple of minutes walking in silence Hermione said, "You said Bellatrix was funny and clever. How did she become evil? She wasn't a neglected child."

"You know being raised in wealth and as a pureblood doesn't mean you can't be neglected. Being raised as a pureblood normally means, living strictly after a certain protocol. It's all about doing what is befitting, making money, marrying the right person, that sort of thing. I guess purebloods aren't allowed to have a proper childhood. They are sometimes only there to carry on the family name or just because it's the thing to do, to get married and have children. Love is a rare thing in the world of purebloods, the Weasleys being the big exception. Anyway so mix it together with a bit of pureblood brainwash and a very handsome and manipulative Tom Riddle Jr. and there you go, you have created yourself a very vile woman."

Hermione turned to Elena, "You are very lucky to have such a loving father."

Elena beamed at her.

"You know that don't you," Hermione smiled.

"Tell me about her mother. You told me a couple of months ago you didn't love Sophia, but just before when you were looking through the scrap book your eyes said otherwise," Hermione said curiously looking at Severus.

"Okay, I had a crush on her otherwise I wouldn't have slept with her in the first place. I'm not the one to sleep with somebody without emotion. Anyway it wasn't the great love. I don't think she would have become the love of my life. But she was very kind to me. She came from a poor family and didn't have much money, but still was full of life and enjoyed her life. She loved being out in the sun and despised rain. She loved going to the cinema. Sophia was so happy being pregnant and really looking forward of becoming a mother. Unfortunately she didn't have much time with Elena."

"Did Sophia choose the name Elena for her?"

"Yes she did! Do you like it?"

"Yes."

"You know thinking back now Sophia will always have a special place in my heart, being my baby's mother. Maybe that's what you saw in my eyes earlier. But I can assure I'm not in love with Sophia."

Somehow that announcement lifted a weight in Hermione's heart, she didn't know existed. They were walking in silence, Hermione glancing over at her companion every so often. She took in his appearance and actually liked what she saw. The shorter hair really suited him. His features had clearly softened since she was his student and he looked younger than he used to. His eyes seemed to be smiling, when he was relaxed like today. The cold air had coloured his cheeks and gave him a healthy complexion and the ruffled hair from the wind made him look adorable she thought to herself.

AN: So I hope you liked it!?