The Fortress Within

Severus could hear their laughter all the way in the living room


Severus could hear their
laughter all the way in the living room.  Hermione
and Ginny were, once again, outside in the sunshine neck deep in water. 
His little surprise for her, combined with her friend’s visit, had been
the distraction that he had been hoping for.p;
p;
Hermione was happier than he had seen her in quite a while.
 


She spent many hours outside
now, despite the oppressive July heat.  The
water served to relieve much of the strain the baby was causing to her body. 
Her feet were still swollen and the dilation of her cervix was
progressing slowly; but they were now past the point where an early delivery was
no longer a threat to the child.


 


Severus was grateful for
Miss Weasley.  It had allowed him
some time to prepare his new quarters and order in things that the baby would
need.  Hermione remained unaware,
still, that he planned to keep the child.  Any
inquiries to Albus by her were met with just the barest of information. 
A loving family had agreed to take in the child, as they had no hope of
ever having one of their own. 


 


Ginny Weasley came flying
through the living room, skidding to a stop just before plowing right into
Severus.  She was wrapped in a
maroon terry cloth robe and her hair was dripping. 
“Professor, I’m so sorry.  I
didn’t see you there.  Not to be
rude, but I’m supposed to meet Harry for lunch in an hour.”


 


Before Severus couven ven
blink twice she was out the door.  He
found Hermione sitting in a chair outside. 
She was dressed only in an oversized t-shirt which hung to her knees,
having insisted that she would have looked ludicrous in any sort of bathing suit
at this stage of her pregnancy.  She
smiled up at him, the sun glinting off the droplets of water in her hair. 
“Hi.”


 


“Hi”


 


Hermione looked troubled and
Severus took the towel from her hands, moved behind her and began gently drying
her hair, unknotting it with his fingers as he went.  “What’s wrong, “ he asked quietly.


 


“Nothing, really. 
I’m just not feeling well today.  I
didn’t want to worry Ginny, she was looking forward to meeting Harry. 
I think I’d like to go inside and lie down for a while.  I just can’t seem to get myself up, though.”


 


From behind, Severus wrapped
strong arms around her and soon had her on her feet.  Hermione leaned on him, her body sagging against his. 
With his help, she was soon sitting on the edge of the bed. 
“I’m going to call for Poppy,” Severus told her firmly, quite
worried by this time.


 


“No, Severus, don’t
pester her right now.  I’m just so
tired, I can’t seem to get comfortable at night and I really need some
sleep.” 


 


Severus was very aware of
her difficulties during the night.  The
tossing and turning and 5 trips to the bathroom afforded him very little rest as
well.  “Very well, let’s get you
changed and then you can take a nice nap.”


 


He retrieved a huge
nightgown from the closet and helped her to pull her wet shirt off.  He carefully kept his eyes on her hair, not daring to look
further.  He had caught glimpses of
her bare breasts, which were magnificent in their pregnant state. 
Severus refused to allow himself to even think about being with her in
that waysp; sp; His heart couldn’t take
it.


 


Once she was again covered,
he helped ease her down on the mattress.  “Severus,
would you stay with me?”  She
asked in a surprisingly frightened voice.


 


He kicked his shoes off and
slid onto the bed behind her, one arm wrapped around her, cradling her tummy. 
He felt an obvious tightening in the muscles of her abdomen, and felt her
tense up.  Severus said nothing, but
made a mental note of the time.  About
a minute later he felt her body relgaingain. 
Severus waited tensely and was just becoming resolved that this was only
her body practicing, when again, the muscles clenched down. 
“Fifteen minutes.”


 


After another fifteen
minutes passed and a contraction had come and once again been dispersed, he
spoke softly, “How long?”
 


“They started this
morning.”
&nbs 


“Why didn’t you say
something?”


 


“No poin gin getting
everyone all worked up.  It could
still be several days yet.  They’re
not very strong.  It’s early.”


 


“OK” Severus knew with
his clinical mind, that she was right.  Still,
his heart was beating inside his chest so hard that he thought he might have a
stroke.  He forced himself to relax
and moved his hand to her hip, trying to avoid feeling the contractions that
would only serve to make him worry more. 


 


Despite the work her body
was doing, Hermione did fall asleep.  Severus,
though, felt absolutely no fatigue, despite the lack of sleep he had been
getting.  Nightmarish visions of the
hours to come were filling his mind.  He had never, in all his years of danger as a Deatheater, had
such a feeling of panic.  What if
something happened to her?  Sure, he
was being illogically foolish, but she was going to bring a human being into the
world. 


 


After several hours,
Hermione stirred in his arms.  Her
hand came up to rub her abdomen.  “They’re
a bit stronger, now,” she said softly, breaking into his daydream of his
son’s first steps.


 


Severus unwound himself and
sat up.  Hermione rolled onto her
back and gazed up at him, he bottom lip caught in her teeth.  “Do you want me to get Poppy?”


She shook her head
vehemy.&ny.  “No, not yet. 
Please, Severus, I want this to just be the two of us for as long as it
can.”


 


Severus wanted to argue with
her, he didn’t want to be here, alone, with her. 
He wanted Poppy and Ginny, they knew what to do. 
He was useless.  He was scared.


 


The terror must have shown
on his face.  Hermione raised a
gentle hand to his cheek, “It’s going to be OK, Severus. 
If you can’t do this, I understand. 
Call Poppy and go see Albus.”


 


“I bloody well will NOT go
see Albus while you are bringing this little boy into the world. 
I can do this.  Tell me what to do, Hermione. 
Tell me.” 


 


“Just be here. 
Talk to me.  Wait a second,
you said, little boy.  Oh, Gods,
Severus.  I just call it a he. 
It sounds so harsh to say ‘it’ all the time,” Hermione gigggiggling
now.  “I didn’t mean for you to
think it was a boy, I didn’t even think about it. 
I don’t know what this baby is, anymore than I know who…” her voice
trailed off.  “Fuck me sideways!  Ah,
damn it, this hurts.  Where the fuck
are you going, Snape.”  Severus
had been moving toward the fireplace, prepared to call Poppy.  With a longing look at the floo powder, he was back at her
side.


 


The Deatheater’s nails bit
into the skin on the back of his hand.  “Shit,
no way, I’m not going to do this.  I can’t fucking do this. 
Son of a Bitch.”  Her head
wasashiashing around wildly as her free hand clutched frantically at the
coverlet beneath her.  Her movements
stilled and the eyes that had been shut tightly against the pain slid open
again.  “Oh, Gods, Severus. 
I’m so sorry.”


 


He gave a short laugh and
smoothed damp hair from her forehead.  “Don’t
be sorry, sweet.  It’s just my
flesh.”  Her eyes were confused
until he showed her the bloody half moons on the back of his hand. 
“No, no, I’m not sorry about that. 
Well, yes I am.  But, damn
it, Severus.  My water broke.”


 


He looked down at the wet,
spreading mark on his bed.  Ok, he
could see her through the contractions, but this… “Oh, Gods, Hermione. 
That’s it.  I’m getting
Poppy.”  He crossed quickly to the
fireplace and after a hastily thrown handful of floo powder called, “Poppy
Pomfrey.  Get your ass down here
NOW!”


 


He turned back to the bed
and with a whispered word, the head of the bed rose, inclining the crying witch. 
“Hermione, love, calm down.”  Severus
was back at her side.  “Witches
have babies every day.  It’s going
to be OK.   Poppy will be here
soon, then Ginny, and they’ll check you out.” 
Her tears were a waterfall now, and her chin was quivering. 
“Oh, sweet don’t be frightened. 
This will be over soon, it has to be. I don’t know….”


 


“Severus, shut up. 
I’m not frightened by this birth, but right now, you’re scaring the
hell out of me.  Get a grip,
please.” 


 


“Severus, maybe you had
better wait outside while I get her changed and get this mess cleaned up.” 
Poppy’s voice came from the doorway and sounded oddly like that of an
angel’s.  “There’s a box of
supplies with her name on it in my office. 
Could you get it fo ple please?”


 


Poppy walked to the
terrified wizard and with gentle hands on his shoulders pulled him up and
steered him towards the door.  “And
do try to find Ginny for me, if you would be so kind.”


 


As the door shut behind him
he heard Hermione’s voice.  “God’s
here it goes again.”


 


He spun and ran for the
door, carried along by sheer adrenaline.  As
he turned the corner in the corridor he ran right into Harry Potter, knocking
him to the floor.  Behind him,
Ginny’s face went white.  “Ginny,
get down there now.  The baby…
Hermione…ah fuck, just get down there.”


 


With a leap, he was over the
man lying on the floor and taking the steps two at a time. 
After locating the requested supplies, he was back in the dungeons in
mere minutes.  By the time he opened
the door to his chambers, Albus and Harry were both there. 
Harry was pacing restlessly and the Headmaster was seated on the sofa, a
hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. 
Severus rushed for the bedroom door, tripping over a chair in the
process.  With a crash, he came down
hard on the table next to it, rendering them both into firewood. 
The bedroom door flew open and Poppy walked out, her eyes blazing. 
“SEVERUS SNAPE.  WILL YOU CALM DOWN.”  She
stormed over to his liquor cabinet and brought out a bottle of bourbon and a
glass.


 


Severus looked up at her
from the floor as she filled the glass to overflowing. 
“Poppy, surely this isn’t the time for you to….”


 


“SHUT UP AND DRINK
THIS.”  He found the glass thrust
up under his nose.  With a shaking
hand, he took it and downed it in two gulps. 
Poppy wrenched the glass from his hand and filled it again, halfway this
time.  Obediently, Severus drank
this down as well.


 


With an irritated huff,
Poppy picked up the box lying amidst the wreckage on the floor. 
“Now, when you can behave yourself and stop acting like a child, you
can come back in.”


With a slam of the bedroom
door she was gone.


 


Albus could contain himself
no longer.  The wizard was roaring
with laughter.  Soon Harry joined
him.  “Severus, if you could have
seen your face….” Harry removed his glasses to wipe tears from his eyes. 

 


Severus collapsed backwards
onto the floor and stared up at the ceiling. 
“Gods, what am I going to do.  What
if something goes wrong.  What if
there’s something wrong with the baby, wha som something happens to her, what
if….”  Before he could finish,
something hard hit him in the stomach. 


 


“Better drink up
Severus.”  Harry’s voice told
him. “At this rate, you’re never going to get in that room.”


 


“I can’t go in there. 
I mean there’s gonna be blood, her blood. 
And that water stuff, that was just too much. 
She’s rolling around and moaning and…”


 


The Headmaster’s amusement
had been worn thin now. “Severus.”  He
commanded.  “Calm yourself down
and get in there.  You were a
Deatheater and a spy and you brought about the downfall of Voldemort.  I think you are most capable of sitting in there and holding
Miss Granger’s hand while she brings a child into this world. 
Get your arse up off the floor and get in there NOW! 
She needs you, man.”


 


If there ever was something
more frightening to Severus than facing Hermione in the throes of labor it was
Albus Dumbledore angry.  Like an
obedient child, Severus was on his feet and slipping through the doorway into
the next room.


 


Hermione was in the grips of
a contraction, clutching Ginny’s arm fiercely as she thrashed about, unaware
of his presence.  Poppy came over to
him and spoke in a whisper.  “She’s
at about 6 centimeters now, and 50% effaced. 
It will be a few more hours yet, I’m afraid. 
Her two selves are switching so fast, I can’t keep track of who’s
who.  See if you can keep one of
them focused.”


 


“Get your hands off me you
little bitch.”  Hermione shrieked
from the bed, sending Ginny scurrying back. 
Angry, cinnamon eyes settled on him 
“Snape, finally swallowed down your stomach enough to return?”


 


Snape crossed over to sit on
the edge of the bed and reached for her hands. 
“Don’t touch me.  I swear
if you do, I’ll castrate you myself.”


 


“I’d like to see you
try, Granger.”  Despite her
protests, she allowed him to take both of her hands in his. 
He looked into her eyes and spoke in the velvety voice that she responded
to.  “Hermione.  
Hermione.  C’mon love. 
Don’t hide from me.  Let’s
go now.  We’re going to do this
together.  Just you and I.”


 


Her eyes fluttered shut as
another contraction wracked her tired body. 
“Listen to me now, breathe.  In….
and… out.  In…. and…..out. 
That’s my girl, again.  In….
and… out.”  She obeyed his commands until the last of the pain had ebbed
away. 


 


Hermione opened her eyes and
smiled at him.  “Do it together,
huh?  How about you lay down here,
Severus, just for a little while?”


 


He reached to the basin
beside the bed and wrung out the cloth in it. 
Gently, he wiped her sweaty face as he spoke.  “I would if I could, darling. 
I would if I could.”


 


She groaned and tried to
roll to her side.  “My back is
killing me.  I have to get off of
it.”  With his help, Hermione made
her way to her side by the time the next wave was on her. 
Together, they made their way through it, his voice softly giving the
pace next to her ear.  Hermione
clung to the front of his shirt and did her best to follow his lead. 
“In…and…out.   In…and…out.”


 


She lay this way for a long
time, his strong hands kneading their way across her back, her hips and the
tired muscles of her stomach between every contraction.  Gentle hands bathed her with cool water. 
Long, nimble fingers placed small pieces of ice in her mouth when
requested.  Severus couldn’t tell
you who was in the room with them, if anyone. 
He focused all of his energy on the woman he loved he she struggled with
nature’s wrath.


 


Day turned into night. 
Hermione began to move around restlessly, from her side, to her back, to
her other side.  No position was
comfortable anymore.  The touch of
Severus’ hands on her body had quickly become an irritant. 
Suddenly, her scream lit up the night. 
“Gods, Gods, Severus, it hurts so bad.”