"What is its purpose?"

"Mh?" Albus looked at him dazed, just as if Severus had torn him out of his deepest thoughts. He probably had considering how Albus was observing the chaos in the Great Hall over his steepled hands.

Severus grimaced. "This … connection." He lowered his voice so Pomona wouldn't hear him. "What is the purpose of it? What do we have to do to sever it?"

Albus frowned and leaned back, placing his laced fingers in his lap. "You don't have to do anything, Severus. It will dissolve on its own."

"Yes, you said as much," Severus growled. "But when will it dissolve?"

Albus looked at him over the rims of his glasses but he remained silent.

And then Severus understood. He straightened up and hissed: "You thought it had long dissolved, didn't you? You don't know why it is still there either!"

The Headmaster dropped his gaze.

Severus snorted. "Do you even know what kind of potion that has been?" he asked, a little louder now, but it was so raucous in the Great Hall that not even Pomona looked at them. "Or did you just cobble it together and we have to pay for it now?"

"Calm down, Severus," Albus mumbled. "I do know what kind of potion it was. The connection will dissolve. It just takes slightly longer than I anticipated."

"Anticipated," Severus repeated scornfully.

"Oh Severus, don't be so vicious," Albus retorted and didn't sound nearly as worried as he should. "Maybe it will even do you good to encounter some genuine feelings for a change."

Severus regarded him indignantly but Albus had already found another interest. Severus followed his gaze and spotted – of course, Hermione. She'd apparently received a letter she was now reading over her scrambled eggs. Severus felt an emotion slosh against his mind that he didn't recognise. But it loosened up the grief that had accompanied her since the evening at the lake. Thank Merlin for small mercies …

Severus laughed. It was a deep and guttural sound, almost like a grunt, but it was in fact a laugh. He laughed as hard as he hadn't for years if not decades.

No, decades was exaggerated; Neville Longbottom had blessed him with more than one mirthful hour. Sometimes even Minerva had been mean (or outraged) enough to share some anecdotes about his ineptitudes.

But right now he didn't even know why he was laughing. Admittedly, the exams were entertaining – 'creative brewing' was what his Master Dendron had euphemistically called it. But that hadn't made him laugh in the last twenty years. At least not like this. It had just given him many headaches.

And then a wave of joy hit his mind so fiercely that he understood. Hermione. Severus rolled his eyes.

In the last days she'd been mournful, a condition Severus pitied as much as he welcomed it. It hadn't been that quiet in his mind for weeks! Neither her cycle nor other strong emotions had affected her. Of course, this ridiculous love and the grief about her grandfather had still been there, but he'd learned to handle that. Mostly by challenging her in the lab until she forgot to feel at all.

And now this …

All of a sudden he was serious again and shoved his chair back. Fear, arousal, grief – all good and well. But joy … that was too much!

He left his office, slamming the door shut behind him, crossed the dungeons with long strides, and ascended the stairs to the Entrance Hall – only to once more grin completely untypically and, above all, inappropriately. This time the reason was a fourth-year Gryffindor student with a big note sticking on his back: I let a candle burn at night. Severus couldn't help the urge to laugh; he had to bite his tongue to suppress it.

Scowling he turned away and proceeded to the first floor. What on earth had Hermione in such a giddy mood? And so suddenly at that! This tingling in his body, the quenchless urge to move, feeling like he'd burst if he couldn't get rid of this energy soon … Severus growled. Or was it a badly suppressed giggle?

It certainly was enough to make some Hufflepuffs on their way to lunch turn around and look at him incredulously. Severus glared at them – at least he hoped he did. But his reputation obviously sufficed; the tiddlers scurried away.

From there on Severus used seldom frequented or completely deserted he managed to get to Hermione's door almost unnoticed. He knocked loudly and didn't stop until Hermione opened. And in spite of the riot he'd caused, she beamed at him. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes gleamed almost deliriously.

Severus narrowed his eyes and peered past her. On her desk, he spotted smoking scraps of an opened Howler and that made even less sense. Normally these weren't a cause for boundless joy.

"Severus, what are you doing here?" she asked in a high-pitched voice he'd never heard from her.

He blinked. "What on earth makes you so happy?"

Hermione's grin widened, she bit her lip, and … squeaked? At least she uttered a very high, downright horrendous sound, pulled him into her room and shut the door enthusiastically. "Ginny gave birth!"

Severus arched an eyebrow. "So?" he drawled. Since when was the birth of a Potter a reason for happiness?

"Oh, come on! I know you want to be happy! Even a fraction of what I'm feeling would suffice to be deliriously happy." Her eyes flashed as he'd never seen before.

"The fact that this birth bore a scion of Potter helps tremendously to dampen my mood." He crossed his arms and looked at her annoyed. But in doing so the next wave of joy already rolled through his mind and the corners of his mouth twitched. She did that on purpose!

"Be that as it may, I'll Apparate to St Mungo's immediately." She put on her shoes and took a light coat from the hanger; it was surprisingly cold and rainy today. "And you'll come with me," she added when she was done, distracting him from the weather.

"I will not!"

"You will."

"Even if I'd wanted to – and I don't … The Dark Lord thinks me injured and unable to attend the meetings. Being seen at St Mungo's in the best of health would be fatal."

"St Mungo's is a hospital. Nobody would be surprised to see you there. And if you keep looking like that nobody will consider you healthy either." She grinned again.

"And what am I supposed to do in the maternity ward if injured?"

She thought about it for a moment and then completely changed her tactic: "Illusion charms!"

Severus rolled his eyes and decided to follow suit: "Why do you even want me to accompany you?"

Hermione dropped her shoulders and just looked at him. A moment later Severus sensed it. The tugging in his stomach. The longing for the fulfillment of a wish that was first and foremost not rationally explainable.

He pinched his nose. "That's not the point, Hermione."

She sighed. "I know. Never mind. I'll ask Professor Dumbledore if someone else can accompany me." She'd obviously noticed his puzzled look because without him saying a word she added: "Don't you know? After the latest attacks, we are not to be on the move alone unless it's necessary."

No, he didn't know. Maybe because it didn't concern him. Nobody could accompany him to the Death Eater meetings and no Death Eater would attack him. Still, Severus wrinkled his nose and before he knew what he was doing he felt himself nod. "Very well, I'll come with you." He was rewarded with a breathtaking smile that made his body react with a tingling in his stomach completely without any emotion from her. He wrinkled his nose even more.

While she turned to her room again, searching for something, Severus leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, scowling. What had he just agreed to?

A little while later he sullenly walked through the corridors of the huge magical hospital, Hermione right beside him. He'd used some illusion charms he'd learned from Albus. Although they weren't able to give him a completely new look (after all, they didn't work like Polyjuice Potion), they were able to change his appearance enough to only be recognised on closer inspection.

His hair was light brown now, he had a beard and looked approximately three stone heavier than he really was. He'd even changed his robes and wore a light grey cloak.

When they'd met at the gates, Hermione had looked at him for several seconds with a frown and had then clicked her tongue. "What?" he'd asked. His voice was still the same, he'd had to be careful to whom he spoke.

"I like you better without the charms," she'd replied and was Disapparated before he'd been able to say anything.

Now she strode beside him and his appearance had taken a back seat in their minds. Severus fought for his scowl. Joy … because of a child … Potters child at that. Absolutely not!

"Let me guess, you'll wait outside?" she asked when she stopped in front of room 2064.

He raised an eyebrow and left it at that. And at the same time, he tried to control this abysmal tingling Hermione's emotions tortured him with. What in Merlin's name were these emotions? Was she excited? Nervous? Happy? Everything at once? He couldn't say, it was just a mess. He hadn't experienced one of these emotions in the last years individually, let alone everything at once. It was unbelievable that so many emotions fit into a single person.

Eventually, Hermione nodded and tore him from his musings. "I thought so. But you will be waiting for me?"

"I could have stayed at Hogwarts if I wouldn't," he growled.

"Thank you." She turned to the door, knocked and entered the room after a very quiet summon. For a short moment, the door stood open wide enough for Severus to be able to see Ginevra Weasley – pardon, Potter –, exhausted and pale with a bundle in her arms. Then Hermione nudged the door and it was only because of Severus that it didn't slam shut loudly.

Shaking his head he turned away and went to the waiting area. An elderly woman sat on one of the chairs and leafed through a magazine so fast the advertisements weren't even able to recite their texts. Severus stared at her for a moment. She was the kind of person to force a chat on you. And he was the kind of person to not be in the mood for it. So he turned his back on the waiting area and went over to the window.

It was a quiet day at St Mungo's, not only at the maternity ward; the entrance area had been almost deserted as well and on their way up here he'd seen healers casually talking with each other. Severus had seen the hospital on worse days.

The faint reflection of his altered appearance looked at him from the windowpane and he tried to look through it. For him, appearance was only a shell without deeper significance. His was uglier than most of the others and the illusion charms hadn't changed anything about it. He couldn't help but wonder what Hermione saw in him. Why she … fell in love with him. He could neither score points with his appearance nor his character. There was literally nothing loveable about him.

And yet she loved him.

He wished he could still deny it but the connection left no space for doubts. It wasn't even a misty-eyed crush, not based on false assumptions. She knew who he was. Every time he misbehaved she was genuinely angry. She didn't believe him to be different deep down and that she only had to love him enough so he'd show it. Severus rolled his eyes. No. Hermione knew he was a bastard and she loved him. Not because, but in spite of it.

Severus focused on his reflection again and looked himself in the eyes. They hadn't changed. Hermione had to see something in him she found lovable. What exactly he couldn't see through her feelings. And he shied from using even the mildest forms of Legilimency on her right now; she already was forced to share more with him than she wanted. He wouldn't demand more.

At this moment Hermione's hand on his forearm tore him out of his thoughts. She already took a breath but then she noticed something. Maybe in his gaze. Severus jutted his chin. "Can we leave?"

She blinked as if his words had broken a spell and shook her head. "Ginny asks if you want to join us."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "What for?"

She shrugged. "Ask her yourself."

He frowned. He really didn't want to go into that room, not even because of Ginevra Weasley – Potter … She'd always been a pleasant student. Not overly intelligent or talented with potions but clever enough to be unsupervised for ten minutes without blowing up the classroom. As far as he remembered she'd never melted a cauldron. But …

"By the way," Hermione added as if she'd read his thoughts, "Harry's not there. And Ginny's alone in the room." She laid her hand on his arm again. "Please, Severus."

He narrowed his eyes. "Do I even have a choice?"

"You have."

Her answer surprised him so much that he was speechless for a moment. And it was this answer that finally made him nod. A smile blossomed on Hermione's face and her eyes gleamed. In Severus, something began to tingle and to hum and he really didn't know if it were her feelings or his own.

Hermione took his hand and dragged him towards Ginevra's room. Severus looked to the left and to the right before he entered after her. Then he stood at the foot of the bed and was faced with two pairs of beaming eyes. Disgusting. "Mrs Potter," he said stiffly because it had already been hard for him to call Hermione by her given name and because he and Ginevra weren't even remotely close enough for that.

She smiled. "Hi, Professor Snape!" Her gaze wandered over his appearance. "Nice," she commented smirking.

Severus quirked an eyebrow. Then he said: "My best wishes for your … child." His voice snarled a little. He couldn't help it, even though he could hardly see the child within all the folds of the blanket. But it was a Potter! A leopard really couldn't change his spots.

"Thank you." Her smile widened – if that was even possible.

"Well, Hermione said you asked me to accompany you?" He started feeling like a leopard – in the zoo. Ginevra as well as Hermione stared at him as if they waited for him to do … something.

"Yes. You don't need to stand in the corridor. I don't bite, James is asleep, and Hermione is tense like a bow and keeps looking at the clock. Maybe you can ease her a little."

James … Severus grimaced and reproachfully looked at Hermione, who was staring at Ginevra. She'd blushed and her eyes had widened. "Thank you, Ginny," she said dryly.

"You're welcome!" she replied sweetly.

"So you believe Hermione will be less tense when I'm standing here?"

She replied with a shrug.

"I'm afraid I have to ruin your hopes. She is as tense as before. No, actually tenser, and even I'm astounded that is possible without her getting a heart attack."

Ginevra laughed an I-didn't- sleep-enough-and-life-is-great-laugh while Hermione now scowled at him. "She is present, by the way!" she hissed.

"And now a certain ill-humour blends into the tenseness …" He squinted his eyes and raised a finger. "No, actually anger! I assume it could get interesting if we wait a little longer." Severus smiled mischievously. Yes, he enjoyed teasing Hermione. He was a bastard. And she loved him. In spite of it.

"Are you two now done mocking me?" she asked but she was only half as ill-humoured as she let it sound.

"Who mocks you?" he asked deceptively.

Hermione huffed.

And Ginevra bit her lip, but her gaze remembered him so much of Albus's omniscience that it gave him a chill. She only averted it when Hermione drew nearer, pushed down the blanket and looked at the baby with a doting glance. Severus rolled his eyes because of the feeling that accompanied that action. "Merlin, you just wanna cuddle him!" she sighed and Ginevra smiled.

"Then do it!" Hermione looked at her in bewilderment, then she nodded and sat down at the edge of the bed before she took the huge bundle Ginevra passed her.

Severus used the distraction to once again approach the window. Arms crossed he leaned against the window sill and watched Hermione cradle the baby. Normally he'd have only noticed her misty eyes and would have shaken his head about so much female mushiness.

But now he also sensed something that was completely alien to him. Something ascending from deep down, reaching for him with cold, but slowly warming hands. Grabbing him so hard he couldn't help but understand what this little being meant. He suspected he even understood what it meant for Ginevra personally. And he felt the longing to experience the same. From Hermione, not from him. But for a moment it felt so real he forgot.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. Children … They'd never been a part of his plans for the future and never would. He'd had horrible parents and he was a horrible teacher. He couldn't handle children, nobody wanted him to have any.

Still …

No! Severus scowled at the women. Children … ridiculous!