The Fortress Within

Hermione was bored


Hermione was bored. 
Severus could see it in her face, her posture, even in the way she held
the books she was reading.  For the
past two weeks she had spent all of her time in their quarters. 
Severus had woken up early that morning and floo’d Harry. 
Hopefully, he would be arriving soon, bringing a little pick-me-up for
the mother to be.
 


“Let’s
go, Granger.  Poppy wanted to see
you again today.”


 


“Oh,
bugger off Snape.  If Poppy needs to
see me, she’s going to have to come down here. 
There is no way I’m walking up all of those steps.” 
She had followed the medi-witch’s instructions to the letter, and still
her feet continued to swell.  Shoes
weren’t an option anymore. 


 


Severus
walked over to the sofa and swept the young witch up into his arms. 
“I didn’t say you were going to have to walk.”


 


Hermione
shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck with a giggle. 
“Put me down, Severus.  I’m
much too heavy for an old man like you to be carrying around.”


 


“You
better watch what you say, wench.  Unless you want to find yourself slung over my shoulder like
the last time you made a disparaging remark about my age.”


 


She
drew her brows together and actually looked afraid. 
One hand strayed down to her stomach. 
“Oh, Severus, you wouldn’t dare.”


 


He
placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.  “Of course I wouldn’t.”


 


A
short time later she was settled on a bed in the infirmary. 
Poppy checked her feet first, tut-tutting at the size of them. 
Severus excused himself and left Poppy to her examination. 
He was pacing the corridor when Harry arrived with Ginny Weasley. 
“Albus said you were up here.  Nothing’s
wrong is it?”


 


Severus
shrugged his shoulders.  “I’m
not really sure, her feet keep swelling up, no matter how long she stays off of
them.  Poppy’s been keeping a
close eye on her.  She was about ½
centimeter dilated at her last exam, which has me quite concerned.”


 


Ginny
placed a reassuring hand on the Potions Master’s arm. 
“That’s nothing, Professor.  Many
women go weeks and weeks dilated several inches. 
Don’t be concerned.  I’m
so glad you suggested I come out here today. 
If Hermione doesn’t mind, I may stick around for the summer. 
St. Mungo’s doesn’t have a magical Mid-wife position open until
September so I have a little time on my hands.” 
With that, Ginny slipped through the door to the infirmary and was gone.


 


Severus
turned to Harry, “Damn, I wanted to fill her in a bit on Hermione’s ‘mood
swings.’  If she starts switching
back and forth between Hermione and Granger, Miss Weasley’s going to be very
confused.  Shit!”


 


Harry
sat down on the bench and looked at his hands. 
“Well, actually, no she won’t.”


 


Seveurus
eyed the boy-who-lived suspiciously.&nbsNo
No
she won’t switch personalities, or no she won’t be confused.”


 


“She
won’t be confused.  Ginny knows
pretty much the entire story.”


 


Severus
was furious.  “Which one of you
idiots shared that little tale with her, Potter. 
You or Weasley?  I have half a mind to..”


 


“I
told her about Miss Granger’s condition, Severus.” 
The Headmaster walked up behind the tall man in black.


 


“Albus,
how could you?  Why would you share
that information with anyone?  Does
she know about the child as well, how it came to be?”


 


“Miss
Weasley came to me the night after the final battle. 
She is rather perceptive for a Weasley, no offense intended. 
They are a wonderful family, but the lot of them are rather thick when it
comes to subtleness.   She had
heard the exchange between Ron and Hermione in the dungeons and had hexed him
until he had told her the part he had played in the whole thing. 
She was, of course, extremelyet wet with both Harry and Ronald. 
After the way Hermione snubbed her that afternoon, she was also afraid
that she was being held, somehow, responsible as well. 
I filled in the gaps for her and explained much of what had transpired
that her brother was not aware of.  At
that point, I was not aware of Hermione’s pregnancy, so no, she did not hear
those details from me. You can trust her to be discreet, Severus.”


 


Harry
was still studying the hairs on the back of his fingers. 
“She was furious with me for quite a while. 
Finally, I shared my pensieve with her and, well, we have been trying to
piece our relationship back together.  It’s
not easy, though.  Not that it
should be, I don’t deserve to be let off easy from anyone. 
No, I didn’t tell Ginny about the Halloween revel. 
That’s a detail that I don’t believe is necessary to share with
anyone.”


 


Harry
finally made a grim face and stood up.  “Well,
I believe Ginny will keep Hermione occupied for the afternoon. 
I brought along the plans you requested. 
Let’s get to work.  C’mon,
Albus.  Another wand will be a help
with a project like this.”


 


In
Snape’s quarters they went to work, using their wands to cut through stone,
transfigu thi this and that as per the instructions, and, allowing Albus a free
hand with the final touches.  The hours flew by until they stood side by side and surveyed
their work.


 


“Do
you think she’ll like it?”  Severus
asked in a quiet, unsure voice.


 


Harry
laughed, “I think she’ll love it.  In fact, if Ginny sticks around, I think you’ll find two
beautiful women in it more often than not.”


 


“Well,
I believe our work here is finished.  It
appears to be close to supper time.  Let’s
see if Miss Granger is up to a trip to the Great Hall.” 
Albus slipped his wand in his sleeve and, along with Harry and Severus,
made his way upstairs.  They found
that Poppy, Hermione, and Minerva on the front lawn, basking in the warm
weather.  Hermione was asleep in a lounge chair, shaded from the sun by
a large umbrella.  A short distance
away, the other two witches sat, talking quietly.


 


Minerva
saw their approach and gestured for the wizards to join them. 
Severus quickly  sat next to
Poppy and asked as to Hermione’s condition. 
“She’s hanging in there, Severus. 
She had dilated to about a centimeter now. 
Although she still is retaining a lot of fluid, her pressure isn’t
climbing up.  It’s hard to say
whether she’ll make it until the end of July, but in a couple of weeks, it
won’t make a difference.  The baby
is fine and has grown considerably in the last two weeks.”


 


“Where
did you three run off to for the afternoon?” 
Minerva inquired.


 


“Severus
had a grand idea, a surprise for Hermione. 
We were just assisting him,”  Harry
answered.


 


“Yes,
Poppy, I took your advice about what could benefit her at this stage. 
I want so much to make her more comfortable and your last idea seemed
like just the thing.”


 


A
smile broke across the Medi-Witch’s face. 
“Wonderful Severus.  Just
don’t let things get hot in there.  A
high temperature could harm the child.  Albus,
we had a long talk today with Hermione. 
If it is OK with you, Ginny is going to remain here for the summer.  I could use an experienced set of hands with the birth and
Hermione is desperate for some company.  No
offense intended, Severus.”


 


“None
taken.”


 


“Wonderful,
Miss Weasley.  I’ll have the
quarters across from Severus’ readied for you immediately.” 
Albus began to walk toward the castle, then stopped and turned around.  “You don’t mind being in the dungeons, do you?”


 


“Of
course not.  Thank you!”


 


Hermione
was stirring and Severus moved to sit near her feet on the lounge. 
Her heavy robes were lying on the ground next to her. 
She wore, again, one of Severus’ shirts, the buttons not even beginning
to reach across her middle.  A pair
of spandex shorts were tucked underneath the swelling. 
She smiled up at him, still drowsy from her nap. 
“I was wondering when you would be back. 
Couldn’t wait to rid yourself of my hormonal jags, could you?”


 


Minerva
called out to them, “We’ll see you both in the Hall in a bit for supper.”


 


“That
will be fine, Minerva.  Thank you,
Poppy, Ginny, Minerva, for the company this afternoon. 
It was wonderful to get out for a while.”


 


Hermione
looked at Severus and smiled.  His eyes were glued to the stretch-marked flesh with a
horrified look.  The child within
was writhing around.  Her abdomen
was no longer round, more of a grotesque triangle shape with the largest point
high up on her right side.  Hermione
laughed at his expression.  “That’s
his butt, sticking up there.”  She
reached for his hand and brought it up to lay on what she stated was the
baby’s bottom.  Guiding his index
finger with her own, she pressed down and he could feel the details of a
perfect, tiny rear end beneath her skin.  The
horror is his face was replaced by sheer wonderment.


 


“I
had no idea that you could actually feel the parts of him.”


 


Hermione
laughed again, more softly this time.  “That’s
nothing, watch this.”  Still
holding his hand beneath her own, she pressed down. 
Hard.  The baby slid back
down into her until, once again, her belly took on its normal, rounded shape.


 


“Bloody
amazing.”


 


Hermione
swung her legs around until she was sitting up. 
She reached down and picked up her robes. 
Severus stood and extended an elegant hand. 
With an exaggerated grunt, he pulled her to her feet.


 


Together
they walked toward the castle.  At the steps leading up, she slipped an arm through his and
by the time the reached the last of the short flight, she was leaning heavily on
him.  Wanting to give her a chance
to catch her breath, he paused and turned. 
“Looks like the squid is active today.”


 


“Yeah,
well at least something besides this kid is active. I’m so tired of laying
around all the time.  This
afternoon, listening to that Weasley girl going on and on in her sing-song
voice.  Ahhhh, I thought I was going
to rip my ears off.  Let’s go,
Snape.  I’m starving.” 
She removed her arm from his and donned her robes. 
With a huff, she was waddling off in the direction of the Great Hall,
Severus following in her wake.


 


Hermione
made her way to her usual seat, only to be stopped by Poppy. 
“Oh, no.  You’re here at
the end of the table with those feet up.”


 


“Will
you stop your infernal hovering around?  I’m
certainly capable of deciding where I’m going to sit.” 

 


Severus
stepped in, waving Poppy off.  “Granger, if you’re going to act like this then I’ll
see you down to the dungeons before you ruin everyone’s appetite.  Now sit down, put your feet up, and shut
up!.”


 


The Deatheater glared up
at him, opened her mouth to say something, and then shut it and sat down
heavily.  Severus pulled a chair around to the end of the table and
lifted her feet up on it before taking the seat next to her.  “You don’t need to speak to me like that in front of
everyone,” Hermione hissed at him.
 


Severus’
voice was dangerously low as he replied, “You don’t need to carry on like a
spoiled child.  Believe it or not,
these people care about you.  They
care about both of you, as well as that baby growing within you.”


 


Hermione
turned to the plate in front of her, mumbling, “You mean this bastard.”


 


Severus
dropped his fork on his plate with a clatter. 
The sound caused the rest of the table to turn to him. 
He sis jis jaw and picked up his fork to resume his meal. An
uncomfortable silence reigned throughout the hall. 
When Hermione pushed her plate away, Severus rose quickly to his feet. 
“If you all will excuse us, I believe Miss Granger is a bit fatigued. 
We will see you all in the morning.” 
Not leaving her time to protest, he lifted her out of her seat and
carried her promptly down to the dungeon.  Once
in the corridor outside of their rooms, he backed her up against the wall,
standing as close to her as was possible.  He
grasped her arms hard enough that he knew she would be bruised tomorrow, and he
didn’t care.  Obsidian eyes
glittered down with a threatening edge to them. 
“If you ever use that term when referring to this child again I swear
I’ll…” His voice trailed off, leaving the promise open.


 


“You’ll
what, Snape?  Kill me, hex me, leave
me?  Go right ahead, I dare you.”


 


Severus
turned from her quickly.  Not
trusting himself to be anywhere near her right now, he entered their quarters
and slammed the door behind him.  Taking
a bottle of whiskey, he locked himself in the bedroom. 
Through the newly created door he fled, up the stairs into the garden
that he had created for her.  Albus
had put tall hedges around the perimeter to ensure her privacy. 
In the center was a small pool with candles floating along its surface. 

 


Severus
threw himself into one of the garden chairs scattered around and after downing a
good portion of the bottle, set the whiskey on a table. 

 


“Bastard”
The word echoed through his head, reverberating, growing until there was nothing
else.  Hermione’s voice warped and
changed until the voice was no longer hers. 
It was his father’s voice.  Although
it was not an accurate term, it had been applied to Severus often when he was
growing up.  His parent’s marriage had not been a happy one and Severus
had borne the brunt of his father’s dissatisfaction with his family. 
In a drunken rage his father would sweep into his room late at night and
drag him from his bed.  A toy left
out, or a book not replaced would be the catalyst for hours of torment and pain
at his father’s hands.  That word,
bastard, punctuating every blow.


 


The
old man was found dead one morning, lying at the bottom of the stairs, a half
empty bottle of bourbon still clutched in his hand. 
Severus had remained at the gravesite after the service until everyone
had left.  As the casket was lowered
into the ground, Severus uttered only one word before turning away, never to
return.  “Bastard” With an
agonized cry, he was again on his feet at whipping the bottle over the hedges. 
He was satisfied to hear the tinkle of glass as it shattered somewhere in
the darkness.


 


No,
his child would never hear that word fall from his mouth. 
He would be sure that this child grew up knowing nothing of the hatred a
parent can hold for a child.  This
child would be surrounded by love.


 


Darkness. 
How long had he been sitting there? 
He returned to their quarters and found Hermione reclining on the sofa,
waiting for him. 


 


“Severus?” 
She inquired softly.  “Don’t
let her get you so riled up.  She
didn’t mean anything by it.”


 


He
scoffed at her.  “No, they never
mean anything by it, do they?”


 


Hermione
was off the sofa, mover quicker than Severus would have thought possible. 
She crossed the room to peer up at his face intently. 
“Who, Severus?”


 


“Nevermind,
it’s not important.  Come back to
me someday and I’ll tell you all about it.” 
He dropped a quick kiss on her head. 
“C’mon, I have a surprise for you.”


 


He
led her into the bedroom and with a grand, sweeping gesture, indicated the new
door.  She looked at him, clearly
confused, and then opened it to peer up the flight of steps. 
“Umm, if you think I’m walking up them, you’re seriously
deranged.”


 


“I
may very well be deranged, but Albus isn’t the most powerful wizard alive for
nothing.  Stand here and hold on to
the banister.”  Hermione stepped
onto a colorful tile on the floor.  Gently
the square rose into the air and glided upwards, setting down again at the top.


 


Hermione
looked around, clearly astonished with the sight. 
Here and there, small flowerbeds were overflowing with fragrant blossoms. 
Stretched between the two oak trees, a hammock hung invitingly. 
Beneath her feet, a soft carpet of green grass tickled her feet. 
A marble dragon spouted water into the pool with a pleasant, bubbling
song.  “Oh, Severus, it’s
beautiful.”


 


Severus
walked toward the pool edged in ceramic tile. 
You can walk in at this end, ned ted to climb in or out. 
The opposite end comes to about your neck. 
There are seats here and here.”  He
was walking around the perimeter, when he stopped to press the dragon’s head,
the water was brought to life.  “Poppy
said the temperature of the water needed to be kept down.  She assured me the water would do much to ease the tension in
your back.”


 


“You
did all this for me?”  Hermione
twirled around in a clumsy circle, taking it all in.


 


“Yes,
well,” Severus was clearly uncomfortable. 
“You’ve been so out of sorts and tense. 
I just wanted to give you a place to relax and somewhere to go otthanthan
the stuffy dungeons.”


 


“I
can’t wait until tomorrow, to try it out. 
It’s a little late tonight and I’m tired.” 
Severus nodded and pressed the dragon one more time to still the waters. 
As he passed her on his way to the door, her hand on his arm stopped him. 
Not one conscious thought went into his next movements. 
Severus moved to stand behind her, encouraged by her small gesture.  He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her stomach in his
large hands.  Hermione relaxed into
his embrace.  “Thank you,
Severus.”


 


“MmmmHmmm.” 

 


They
stood like that for quite a while, not speaking. 
Above them, the stars twinkled brightly. 
Unbeknownst, to each other, each had lit a tiny flame of hope deep in the
dark recesses of their hearts; a flame that would be fed by caring gestures like
these; big and small alike.  And
beneath his hands, the child was quiet, allowing thems qus quiet, uninterrupted
moment of comfort and love.