Time as a Healer

Hermione looked around her room and sighed to herself. She had done her best to brighten up the place and Kreacher had been a huge help. At the window she had replaced the heavy, dusty drapes with lighter linen curtains and pulled a large squashy armchair closer so she could read during the day. She placed a small table and oil lamp beside the chair for nighttime reading and instead of the old bedstead and its moth-eaten blankets, she had brought her own bed and bed linen. Under the pillow where Sam used to sleep she kept his blue satin pyjama bottoms. They still smelled of him and she would often fall asleep with them in her arms.



In spite of all her efforts, Hermione was homesick. Harry had insisted she stay because the Order needed her, although what for, he never said. He also said he wanted her to be closer so they could all look after her and the baby, that is, if circumstances didn’t change before the baby was born. Hermione sighed deeply. The reality of the situation was that she was more alone here than ever and most of her days and nights were spent rattling around the old house with only Kreacher for occasional company. The house was dingy and dark and she still wanted to go home, but she knew that she would have to answer awkward questions about Sam’s whereabouts if she did.



Hermione checked her dresser drawer. Inside were 5 phials containing Severus’s memories, one for each year. She stroked them gently and closed the drawer. She glanced at the clock. It was almost 8 pm and her stomach was rumbling.



Hermione made her way into the kitchen and opened the larder. Her sense of taste had changed since becoming pregnant. She couldn’t tolerate garlic but had cravings for bacon sandwiches. Her mouth started to water as her eyes fell on a half eaten pack of bacon and she grabbed it eagerly. She lit the hob with her wand, slapped the bacon slices onto a large frying pan and slid it over the flames. She turned and started searching the kitchen for a loaf of bread and found none.



‘Shit…’ she muttered. Now what would she do? The bacon was almost cooked.



Hermione heard a slight cough behind her and froze. She turned slowly and started to feel faint as she saw Severus framed in the doorway, his travelling cloak over his arm. He was dressed in his usual black-buttoned jacket, trousers and soft black leather boots. He had been watching her for a few moments, not wanting to startle her.



He looked at her as she stared at him open mouthed, went as white as a sheet and started to sway. She was dangerously close to the hob and he strode over to her quickly and caught her as she fainted. Lifting her effortlessly, Severus raised his wand and transfigured a kitchen char into a large armchair and sat her in it carefully. Her hair tickled his cheek and he caught a whiff of lavender and cinnamon.

He lifted his travelling cloak and covered her with it, before getting down on his haunches to look at her. Hermione’s face was pale and she was still out cold. Her full lips stood out prettily and her long lashes were resting lightly on her cheeks. He had never studied her face this closely, nor had he noticed quite how beautiful she really was.



Suddenly, Severus’s sense of smell was assailed with an aroma other than Hermione’s shampoo and he turned to see the frying pan alight on the hob, the bacon now black, crisp and definitely inedible. He pointed his wand and extinguished the flames,creating a pall of black smoke. Severus muttered under his breath and the smoke was sucked up by his wand, leaving a lingering smell of burnt food.



‘Severus…’ Hermione opened her eyes slowly and looked at him.



He looked into her eyes and realised he was inappropriately close. He stood to his feet.



‘You fainted, Miss Granger. I hope I did not startle you?’ He looked at her, his face blank.



Hermione gazed up at him. ‘No… I think I am just hungry, that’s all.’



She looked over at the remains of the bacon.



‘Oh…’ She said quietly. Without wanting to, she began to sob uncontrollably. It was all just too much.



Severus watched her face crumple and sighed a little. Hormonal females were not his forte but he recognised despair when he saw it.



‘What were you attempting to make, Miss Granger?’ He asked her quietly.



‘Call me Hermione…’ she mumbled through her tears.



‘Very well. What were you making?’ He was starting to feel irked.



‘I was going to make bacon sandwiches, but there’s no bread. And now…’ She sniffed loudly and Severus closed his eyes slightly.



‘And now…there’s no bacon!’ Hermione wailed as if it was the end of the world.



Severus shook his head at her incredulously.



‘Wait here. Don’t try to move, you will most likely faint again.’ He walked out of the room quickly and Hermione heard the front door closing through her sobs. When he returned, 15 minutes later, she had calmed down, much to his relief.



Severus walked over to the hob and cleaned the frying pan with his wand. He removed a fresh pack of bacon, an uncut loaf and a block of butter from the paper bag he was carrying and turned towards the table, removing his jacket and hanging it over the back of a chair. He glanced briefly at Hermione, who had curled herself up in the armchair, her eyes puffy. She hugged her knees to herself as she watched him through tendrils of chestnut hair.



Severus rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and without speaking, he cooked the bacon just how Hermione liked it, cut the bread into slices, buttering them liberally and in moments, a huge plate full of bacon sandwiches was sitting on the table in front of her. With his wand, Severus summoned a pot of tea and two mugs and sat in the chair beside her.



He looked at her for a moment. Her eyes were the size of saucers.



‘Eat.’ He directed her.



Hermione smiled slowly as he poured the tea. He didn’t know it, but this was just like old times. She grabbed a sandwich and bit into it gratefully. It tasted so good, she moaned and rolled her eyes a little. Severus watched with amusement as she almost had an orgasm over the food in her mouth and looked away quickly. The look of rapture on her face had forced decidedly filthy thoughts into his head and he pushed them firmly aside.



‘These are delicious, Severus. Thank you. I’m craving them at the moment.’ She mumbled between mouthfuls.



‘You are just craving what your body needs.’ He responded.



Hermione paused as she reached over for another sandwich and their eyes met. She knew exactly what her body was craving and he was sat only a few inches away from her. An image of herself straddling him in his chair flashed before her eyes and she blushed prettily, her mouth slightly parted as she ran her tongue across her bottom lip.



‘Do you think so, Severus?’ She whispered softly.



His breath hitched in his throat and he tore his eyes away from her gaze, adjusting his position in the chair slightly.



‘It is a symptom of pregnancy.’ He replied. He was starting to feel quite warm and his crotch tightened a little. Gods, this witch was captivating, even in her pregnant state.



He glanced at her. She was eating again.



‘Miss Granger…’ He paused as she looked at him. ‘Hermione…’ he paused again, revelling in the sound of her name on his tongue, ‘why are you here, on your own, in this grim place? And I apologise if you find this too personal a question, but where is the father of your child when you need him?’



Hermione almost choked on her sandwich and he passed her tea to her. She took a large mouthful and gasped.



‘Forgive me. It was impertinent of me to ask you that.’ Severus frowned slightly. It was really none of his business, but for some reason he really wanted to know.



Hermione shook her head. ‘No, it’s fine that you asked me. The others are all tiptoeing around me, pretending I’m not pregnant. You would think that the constant throwing up and the fat belly would give them a clue, wouldn’t you?’ She laughed and smiled warmly at him.



Severus’s mouth twitched slightly. ‘Indeed. Although I would be inclined to say nicely rounded, not fat…’ He glanced down at her neat bump.



Hermione beamed at him and he flushed as he realised what he had said.



‘I didn’t know you knew how to pay a lady a compliment, Severus.’ She said softly.



He smiled a little at her. ‘It is not in my usual sphere of experience, I can assure you.’



Hermione smiled at him, her gaze meeting his eyes softly.



‘In answer to your question…’ she sat forward in her chair,’ I was engaged to the father of my baby but…he had to go away for a while..’ She paused and absently ran a hand across her stomach. ‘He doesn’t know I’m pregnant, actually.’



Her eyes glassed over with tears as she looked into his face and she brushed them away with the edge of her sleeve.



‘Why didn’t you tell him? He should be with you, making you bacon sandwiches and catching you when you feel faint…don’t you think?’ Severus frowned at her, his voice firm. He sounded just like her old Potions Master.



Hermione nodded sadly. ‘You’re right. I wish I had told him. He would have been so happy…’



‘I am sure.’ Severus murmured. He pondered the situation for a moment. ‘When will you see him again?’



‘I don’t know if I ever will…’ She said softly. He felt a flutter in his stomach at her words and wondered why there was a part of him that hoped her fiancé really was gone for good.



‘My house is being watched and it is unsafe for me to return there at present. You should not be here alone, you obviously need someone to…. To care for you. If it is agreeable to you, I will stay here also.’ He looked at her.



Hermione stared at him. She wanted to pinch herself. Severus was offering to look after her during her pregnancy…it was almost too perfect for words.



‘Hermione?’ He spoke her name, she had drifted off somewhere.



‘Sorry… yes, Severus, please stay… I think that would be very agreeable.’



He smiled at her shyly and her heart leapt.





*****



Ahhh, bless his buttoned jacket,I think I am in love with Severus! Please R & R, thankyou!!