The Potions Storeroom

Thanks as always to Snarkyroxy, my very talented beta.

Chapter Three: Epilogue

Two years later….

He stopped outside the camouflaged door and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. It had been two years since he had stepped inside the Potions Storeroom, and every time he had entered it before that, he had thought of the dreams that plagued him every night.

Hands shaking, he released the wards and grasped the doorknob. He inhaled sharply, yet sighed deeply, when the door opened and revealed nothing but Professor Slughorn's disorganized mess of ingredients.

Severus Snape leaned against the doorframe and tried to still his rapidly beating heart. He knew she wouldn't be here, and yet he had still allowed himself to hope that she would.

He stepped inside the room, but one look at the ladder reaching toward the ceiling sent him reeling back out into the corridor again.

"Are you all right, Professor?"

He gasped at the voice and turned to find the object of his torment standing a mere five feet away across the hall.

When she realized he was not going to answer her, Hermione Granger stepped forward with a nervous smile. "Professor McGonagall told me you would be here." Her eyebrows furrowed. "I guess I shouldn't call her Professor anymore, or you, either, now that the school has closed."

Snape took a deep breath. "The school has been closed for a full year. Why are you here?" He was pleased that he managed to keep his voice from trembling.

She stepped closer and looked into the storeroom before glancing at him and then finally finding interest in gazing at the carpet.

"Miss Granger?" he prompted.

She looked up again, and into the depths of his dark eyes. "I came looking for you."

Her gaze felt as if it went straight to his soul. His lips and throat were suddenly dry.

She knew. Dear Merlin… she knew.

Hermione looked away nervously. "Um… she told me you would be gathering what was left of your supplies, now that you've been found innocent of the charges brought against you." Hermione stepped closer still, until she was nearly to the door and a breath away from the dark-haired wizard who had killed Albus Dumbledore and escaped imprisonment yet again. "I had to see you to know if it was true."

"Here I am, so obviously what you heard was true." He moved to step away, but halted when her hand touched his arm.

"That's not what I meant."

Snape looked down and away. Her gaze was too much for him. "What did you mean, Miss Granger?"

Hermione swallowed. "The dream… I've been having it for two years." She crossed her arms over her chest protectively. "I feel as if I'm going crazy."

Snape frowned. She was having a dream… Could it be the same as his?

"You're going to think I'm daft," Hermione continued, on the brink of tears.

He looked up at her as her eyes searched his face. She was attempting to appear brave and was beginning to fail.

Hermione let her hand drop from Snape's arm. "I recognized the writing on the envelope that arrived at the Weasleys' this week. I've never been allowed to receive it myself during the last six months it has come, but they were away and…" She entwined her fingers and twisted them nervously.

"The Headmaster had… he said something during my exam that made me think… that is… I just need to know if you're… that is… I really am daft for coming here thinking…"

"It is true, Miss…" He paused, unable to address her so informally after all that had happened. "Hermione."

She trembled at that one word, and felt a rush of heat flood her body, yet she shivered as if chilled all in the same moment.

"I am the father of your child," he managed a bit shakily, afraid of what her reaction might be.

"I had a feeling." She began twisting and turning her fingers again. "It started with the dreams first, and then the money started coming in, not long after she was born. Molly wouldn't tell me who it was from, but while the Weasleys were away, the envelope came, and I knew it was your handwriting… and the Headmaster had made a comment to me toward the end of my sixth year, during the medical exam that found me pregnant…" she babbled.

"I have indeed been sending you money. It was the very least I could do. I only wish I had been able to send it to you sooner, but with the war and my trial…"

Hermione nodded in understanding.

Snape wanted to take her hands to keep them from trembling, but he was afraid of frightening her off.

"You said something about a dream?" He arched one eyebrow in an attempt to keep some formal distance.

She nodded, wiping at her eyes that were now damp with tears. "Yes. Ever since that detention that really wasn't a detention here in the storeroom. I have the same dream almost every night."

"Tell me about it."

She blushed and shook her head. "I couldn't possibly."

"We were in the storeroom and you inquired about a scar on my neck," he started, his voice low in volume. He brushed back his dark hair, which had grown several inches longer than when he'd been a teacher. The scar was there, as it had been in her dream.

"You received it shortly before coming to Hogwarts, from your father, because he was drunk and you were up late out of bed," she said aloud.

He nodded.

"And then I… that is… we…" She flushed brighter than she had before.

He nodded again. His eyes closed as he relived the memory of her lips upon his. "Then we kissed, which lead to unexpected…" His eyes opened and his pale skin flushed. "…intimacy between us."

She inhaled sharply. "How could you…? How did you…? That's my dream."

"I, too, have had the same dream every night since then. We both thought it to be a dream, but it was real."

Hermione leaned against the wall for support. "I always wondered if this… was when she was conceived, but…" She looked to Snape again, realizing he looked even thinner than she last remembered, if that was possible. "Who told you it was real, and how did you know about me being pregnant?"

Snape breathed deeply. "Albus Dumbledore told me just before I..."

Hermione frowned. "Harry said neither of you spoke before it happened. He just said the Headmaster pleaded with you."

"We did not speak aloud, but Dumbledore spoke to me through other means."

"I was fully prepared to break my Vow and end my life when Albus entered my mind and showed me a vision of you in the Hospital Wing of the school. You had just learned you were pregnant, and you were terribly confused, since you didn't remember engaging in physical acts with anyone."

Snape exhaled loudly. "The vision ended abruptly and Dumbledore asked me if I was seriously willing to leave my child without a father. I was startled at such news. He told me the dream I'd been having was real, and I was worth much more alive to many people than I was dead. Shortly thereafter, I gave in to his wishes and let him find peace from his ailments. He knew all along of my plan to sacrifice myself... and of my dreams. Nothing ever got past him."

Hermione shook her head sadly. "No. Nothing ever did."

"I believe he was pleased that I… that we…" Snape looked into her eyes. "You gave me a reason to live."

There was silence for a few moments before Hermione said, "I clearly remember you Obliviating me. How is it that I remember all of what happened here? And didn't the Headmaster Obliviate you?"

"I never told the Headmaster what happened. I Obliviated myself after I yelled at you to leave. You must put feeling behind a spell when it is cast or it will not work properly. I put no true feeling into either of those Obliviates, and as a result, we have both been plagued with memories of what happened that night."

"Except we thought they were dreams because they seemed so highly unlikely."

Snape nodded. "I should never have cast those spells on us. I should have told the Headmaster, regardless of the consequences. I thought I was protecting us both."

Hermione put a hand on his arm and slid it down to clasp his hand. "You did protect us. We're both still alive and well."

"Yet, because of my inability to think of nothing but protecting you from the Dark Lord, I did not think to protect you from myself."

Hermione's brows drew together in confusion.

"You should have taken a contraceptive potion before our… intimacy, or a potion after it. What I did to you is unforgivable."

Hermione shook her head. "I'm as much to blame for the events as you, because I didn't think of a potion either, but I don't regret having your child. I… I would never have given myself to you if I didn't feel something for you. I won't be so naïve as to say I loved you, but I cared about you. I wasn't sickened by the knowledge that I was carrying your baby, just very surprised and confused, since I couldn't remember us ever being intimate."

"But you know now."

"We both know." Hermione looked down at their joined hands and gave his a gentle squeeze, which he returned. "Why didn’t you find me after you were released?"

Snape looked away, but focused back on Hermione when he felt her hand on his face. "I thought it would be best to stay away. I did not know what your reaction to me would be."

"My reaction was to keep this quiet and to myself. Other than the Headmaster and myself, only Molly Weasley knows you are the father of my child."

"Potter would have a fit. As I'm sure young Weasley would."

"Yes, Harry would. He's not happy you escaped Azkaban yet again, and I don't think he will ever forgive you, but sometimes that is how life works. As for Ron… it's going to take some time for him to get used to the fact that he can't be the father of my child. He was shaken when he found out I was pregnant; he was repulsed for a while, but he's come around. I've kept my distance from him though, because I knew I wanted to find you."

Snape raised his free hand to Hermione's face and smoothed back the wild hair behind her ears. She was twenty years old now and more beautiful than he remembered. She had gained weight, most likely because of the birth of their child. Snape pulled her close to him and she leaned her cheek against his chest; she still smelled of lavender.

Guilt assaulted him mercilessly. He had not been there when she had grown round with his child, to offer her potions or foods to settle her stomach, or to hold her hand as she brought their child into the world. Tears clouded his eyes.

"What did you name our child? You had a girl?" he asked, trying to conceal his distress.

She nodded against him, and then raised her head to look into his eyes. She saw the tears in his own, and was reminded of long ago when he had cried after they had been intimate. "We had a daughter. I named her Morgan."

Snape smiled. "I shall very much look forward to meeting Morgan Granger."

Hermione shook her head and the wizard who held her felt his heart constrict with the thought that she might not allow him to see his child.

"Just Morgan. She doesn't have a last name."

Snape's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why ever not?"

"I told the mediwitch that I didn't want Morgan's last name on the certificate until her father had the chance to see her and claim her as his… if he wanted to. I told the witch Morgan's father was involved in the war, and that it wasn't safe for any of us if his name was revealed at the time."

The wizard blinked. "You wish to give her… my name?"

"Only if you wish her to have it."

Snape brought one of Hermione's hands to his lips and kissed it gently. "And what of you, Hermione? Do you wish to share my name?"

Her mouth opened in surprise, and then she closed it, knowing that she probably looked like a fish. "You would share it with me? Are you asking me to be…"

Snape nodded and kissed her hand again. "Yes, Hermione Granger. I am asking you to be my wife, if you will have me as your husband. Like you, I do not claim to love you, but with time…" He pressed a kiss to her cheek and she threw her arms around his neck.

They held each other tightly, relishing in the heat of each other's body and the comfort it brought them.

"What do you say?"

Hermione kissed him hard on the mouth and gave him all the answer he needed. He pressed back, the fingers of one hand sliding along her jaw while the other hand caressed her back. They broke apart, breathing heavily. Hermione was most surprised to see the twinkle in Snape's eyes.

"Oh, Severus, I was so afraid I'd never see you again that Morgan would never see her father." She stroked his face.

"I am not going anywhere now that I know you wish me to be in yours and our daughter's lives." He placed a kiss upon her lips and Hermione pressed back hungrily.

"Why don't you get a room!?"

"Snogging in the hallway! Most improper!"

Hermione and Snape broke apart, startled by the voices that filled the hall.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves! Acting like love-sick fourth-years!"

The portraits were most disturbed by the display in their hallway. Several of them, dressed in their sleeping garments, were shaking fists at Hermione and Snape or turning away in horror.

"Shall we continue this elsewhere?" Snape asked Hermione.

"See that you do!" one of the portraits of an older man called out. He shook his night cap at them and then pulled the covers of his bed up over his entire body to block them out.

Hermione took Snape's hand and dragged him toward the Potions Storeroom.

Snape shook his head. "Not there. I have a much better place in mind." He quickly closed the door and warded it with only the first few wards. He took Hermione's hand, and she followed him as he jogged through the dark, deserted school.

He took her first to the hospital and raided the cabinets for a small bottle of something that he deposited in his pocket. Then, he lead her deeper into the castle until they reached a certain door, and he ushered her inside.

Once within the room, they both gasped in surprise.

"The Room of Requirement…" Hermione announced aloud.

It was lit with candles, and furnished with a large bed dressed in deep blues.

"Apparently, we both had the same thing on our mind." Snape grinned deviously.

Hermione blushed and Snape chuckled, pulling her to him. Hermione kissed him and immediately started undoing the buttons on the black frock coat he was wearing. She stopped when his hands covered hers.

"We are both eager, Hermione, but there is something that must be done before we can continue." He withdrew the bottle from his pocket, wiping the dust it had collected during the past year.

"A contraceptive…" Hermione let out in a rushed breath.

"As much as I am certain I will love our daughter, I will not bring another life into this world until we are settled."

She nodded and drank the potion, her eyes squinting at the horrible taste.

They spent the next hour relearning everything about each other. Their bodies twisted and turned on the satin sheets of the bed and their skin was slick with sweat as he bent over her, prepared to join them both together again. They reached their climax nearly at the same moment, gasping out each other's name. Snape gathered Hermione in his arms and pressed kisses all over her face. Tears clouded his vision again.

Nearly everything he wanted was lying in his arms, pressed against his body and cradling him gently within her.

"What is she like?" Snape asked some time later. He and Hermione were still in each other's arms and he was still joined with her, too afraid to let go for fear this might be a dream.

"Hmmm?"

"Morgan, our daughter. What is she like?" Snape tilted his head and his long hair cascaded down his shoulders.

Hermione smiled, running her fingers through his hair. She loved it this length and had told him so many times while they made love that evening. "You will adore her, Severus. She's a very good baby and has inherited both her parents’ intelligence and their knack for getting into trouble."

Snape smiled and pressed a kiss to Hermione's cheek.

"What about her appearance? Did she inherit her mother's beautiful eyes?"

Hermione smiled and blushed. "Yes, she has my brown eyes. She has her father's dark hair, and I dare say that she's got his temper, too!"

Snape chuckled. "As long as she hasn't inherited her father's nose!" He pressed his own to Hermione's cheek. She turned to the side, grasped his face and pressed her lips to his nose.

They both laughed and then quieted. Snape ran his fingers along Hermione's nose, across her cheek and then her lips. "I'm falling in love with her already… just as I am falling in love with her mother."

Hermione's lips parted in surprise at his admittance of admiration.

"Next week…" Snape breathed heavily.

Hermione could feel him growing firm again within her womb. "What about next week?" she moaned as he shifted and pleasure shot through her.

"I wish to marry you next week. Sooner, if possible, if you will have me."

Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist drawing him further inside her. "Next week… I should like that very much. Besides…" She arched her back causing Snape to moan.

"…I already have you and I'm never letting you go."

Snape grinned and brushed back her wild hair. "Likewise, my future wife."

The twinkle was in his dark eyes again, causing him to appear much younger.

They found completion together again, and sometime later they left the Room of Requirement and Hogwarts to collect their daughter.

~Fin~