The Fortress Within

Together


Together, they spent the
remainder of the morning with their daughter. 
When Treasure could no longer keep her little eyes open, Severus took her
from her protesting Mother’s arms and laid her down in her bassinette. Severus
took Hermione’s hand and led her to the living room. 
When they were seated together on the sofa, he turned to her and ran one
elegant finger down her cheek.  He
wasn’t sure he wanted to know the truth, but the question still had to be
asked.  “Is it over?”
 


Hermione’s eyes sparkled brightly as she grasped his hand closer
to her face, rubbing her cheek against the palm.  “Yes.  It’s
over.”


 


Those simple words filled his heart and suddenly he felt a sense of
completeness that he had never experienced in all his years. 
Hermione leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. 
When they were comfortably nestled together, her head resting against
him; his arms wrapped tightly around her, she began to tell him her story.


 


“When I knew Treasure was yours, I knew that, finally, she was
safe.  Free of my body and free of her. 
I wanted so much to stay, but I knew the only way to do that would be to
rid myself of her.  Within
myself, we battled.  Day after day
we were at odds, each one struggling for control. 
I never knew there were so many twists and turns and dark places to hide
inside of my mind.  She was always
there, mocking me, looking for some weakness to grab a hold of. 
Sometimes, I could crawl to the surface a bit.  Just enough to hear you. 
By the way, you have a beautiful singing voice.”


 


A low, rumbling chuckle answered her.


 


Sighing gently against his chest, she continued on. 
“She was too strong, I was too weak, I don’t know. 
I just couldn’t be free of her, no matter what I did. 
She was always right around the corner, ready to block me. 
Finally, yesterday, she stepped aside. 
Let me out.  I could hear you
in the living room.  You were
leaving Treasure and leaving me.  Before
I could move, she drug me back in.  ‘You
see,” she told me, ‘He doesn’t want you, he never did.  When things get too tough, he leaves.’  I tried to believe otherwise, but she just kept at me.”


 


Severus closed his eyes, recalling the words he had screamed at
Albus the day before.  “Oh, Gods,
Hermione.  I’m so sorry. 
I don’t know what I was thinking. 
I was tired and frustrated and…”


 


Hermione sat up and pressed a finger to his mouth. 
“I know,” she whispered before her lips replaced her fingertip. 
His lips parted and they met with such sweetness that Severus was sure he
would die of the sheer joy of her taste.


 


Hermione wasn’t done telling her tale yet and all too soon she
was snuggled against him again.  “I
don’t know how long it was, but I could hear Treasure crying. 
I’ve heard her cry before, but this time it was different. 
You didn’t come; no one came.  She
was screaming with such panic that I knew something was wrong. 
She knew it too, and she was trying to take advantage of the
situation.  I thought that she was
going to kill the baby.  She hated
her so much for tying me to you.  I
couldn’t let her, yet I didn’t know what to do. 
I felt us getting out of bed and I could see now. 
We were moving toward the baby, she was in her bed and we were alone with
her.”


 


Severus could feel tears wetting his robes and held her closer. 
“Then I could hear Albus and Harry. 
I don’t know how, but they were speaking to me. 
They told me about the way Lily had protected Harry when Voldemort
attacked.  It was love, they told me. 
I understood, finally, and focused all my love for Treasure and all my
love for you against her.  Then,
she was gone.  No fireworks or
powerful final battle.  She just
disappeared.”


 


Severus smiled and made a mental note that he owed everything to
Albus and (as much as it irked him to admit it) Harry. 
He pulled her up and looked into her eyes.  “And
here you are.” 


 


Her eyes didn’t waver.  “I
heard you talking to me, Severus.  I
heard the things you told me.  Did
you mean them?”


                               

Severus voice was unsteady and raw; betraying his discomfort with
such emotional exposure.  Still he
took the leap of faith, “I love you and I need you.”  There was nothing poetic in the proclamation. 
Presented more as a plea, he swore his heart had stopped beating as he
judger rer reaction.


 


Hermione’s reaction was almost instantaneous. 
Severus found her arms wrapped around his neck and her cheek tight
against his own.  Her soft voice was
in his ear, “I love you, Severus.”


 


His heart started beating again as everything that had been left
unfinished came together in those four glorious words. 
Severus held Hermione closely.  He
marveled at how right things suddenly were. 
Her body fit properly against his now, her breath flowed with his own. 
Things were now balanced.  His
world was right.


 


For a long time they lay together, neither one feeling the neo
eo
examine the moment. Treasure had other ideas and was soon reminding them of her
presence.  He left the two women in
his life in the bedroom, with Treasure happily drinking her lunch. 
Before Severus could floo for a tray for his and Hermione’s own repast,
Ginny, Harry, and Albus arrived.  Severus
was shocked as the red-headed witch placed a quick kiss on his cheek before
moving to the bedroom to talk with Hermione. 
He was fairly certain he knew the subject of their talk. 

 


Albus waited until they were seated before coming right to the
point.  “I assume that you have
re-thought your decision, correct?”


 


Severus hung his head, ashamed at his behavior the day before. 
“Correct,” was the humble response.


 


A bright smile lit the Headmaster’s face. 
“So, when do I perform the wedding?”


 


Severus’ jerked his head back up. 
“What are you talking about?  We
haven’t talked about a wedding.  Give
us a little time.”


 


The Headmaster nodded, but kept a secretive grin on his face.


 


Severus was still in need of some answers that only Harry and Albus
could give him.  “I would like the
two of you to explain, please, what transpired here last night. 
I’m not complaining, mind you, only curious.”


 


Harry jumped on that one.  “Well,
after you acted like such a complete ass last night, I returned here to Hogwarts. 
Albus and I had a long discussion about the situation and came to the
mutual agreement that some desperate steps had to be taken. 
So, we placed Treasure in her bassinette and left.”


 


Severus couldn’t believe his ears.  “You just left her there alone. 
What if it hadn’t worked?  Are
the two of you daft?”


 


Albus chuckled.  “No,
not daft.  We stayed out here and
observed what was going on through a magical window. 
We knew her dark side could not be trusted and we were prepared for her. 
Through the help of a little old and powerful magic Harry and I were able
to break through to Hermione and with a bit of direction she freed herself of
the darkness.”


 


“Ginny spent the night here with her,” Harry explained,
“Giving her some help with feeding and the like. 
When you saw us this morning, she had just left Hermione. 
Boy, did she hightail it back here when she saw you return.”


 


Severus was sincere in his next statements, “Harry, my actions
last night were reprehensible.  I
owe you a tremendous debt; you and Albus.  I’m
not sure how or if I will ever be able to repay it; but, I thank you.”


 


Harry blushed profusely.  “No
thanks are necessary.  It is I who
is in your debt, Severus.  I will
never be able to make things up to Hermione. 
With you, she’s happy, and for that I am grateful.”


 


Albus was positively beaming. 
“Right then!  Well, as soon
as you two take your vows, you can move to your new quarters. 
I’ll have them properly expanded, of course, now that it will be three
of you.  You’ll need an extra
bedroom, just in case, mind you.  And
I’ll make sure you out outside access to your garden. 
It will be a wonderful place for your children to play. 
I’ll even…”


 


“Albus,” Severus interrupted, clearly irritated by the turn the
conversation had taken, “I told you we have not spoken of vows. 
By the same part, we have not discussed living arrangements or any future
progeny.  Now can we please just
drop the subject?”


 


“Very well,” the Headmaster conceded.  “Just one final comment and I will leave it alone.” 
Severus set his jaw firmly and listened. 
“I don’t need to remind you that you are a member of the faculty of
this school.  A romance between staff members is one thing; but the birth
of a child out of wedlock is quite another. 
The students and most of the staff are not aware of the events that have
transpired leading to this moment.


You have an example to set, Severus.  The students look up to you and I can only imagine what they
will think when they return and find you and Miss Granger are unwed parents.”


 


Harry burst out laughing.  “Oh,
Albus, that was low even for you.  Good
one!  So, Sev, what’s it going to
be?”


 


“OUT!”  Severus
roared.  “Out, both of you. 
This isn’t any of your business and I refuse to be led about like I
have a ring in my nose.”


 


After they left, Severus sat and waited for Ginny to leave. 
The look on her face as she practically ran from the room told him that
she, and Hermione as well, had heard part or all of the goings on between the
three wizards.  He entered the
bedroom warily.  Hermione was
sitting in bed, Treasure lying on the mattress in front of her. 
All recollection of the wizard’s conversation left his head as he
watched Hermione playing with their daughter. 

 


It was a shorted led lapse of memory as Hermione saw him standing
in the doorway.  She gave him a
suspicious look.  “What was that
all about?” she inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.


 


“What was what all about, my dear?”  “That’s it, act innocent; like you have no idea what
she’s talking about.”


 


Hermione just stared at him knowingly.  “Wrong answer.” He thought.  Severus decided to defend himself, “They started it.” 
Still, eye eyes.  He shook his head and walked slowly to the bed. 
Sitting down next to his daughter, he paused long enough to tickle a
waving little foot, before facing Hermione. 
“OK, they are try to coerce me into marrying you.” 
Once again, Severus knew he had chosen the wrong words.


 


The brown eyes staring at him wavered a bit, and he thought for a
moment that he saw tears shimmering in them. It was time to do some groveling. 

 


Severus grasped her hands in his. 
“Oh, Hermione, I’m sorry.  That
came out all wrong.  I just think
that now, tonight isn’t the right time to talk about things like this. 
You’ve been through so much and I think you need time to decide what
you want.  The circumstances that
threw us together were extenuating, to say the least. 
You’re young and you have so much ahead of you.”


 


Her face remained carefully impassive, “Don’t you want to marry
me?”


 


Hermione’s words hit him hard, square in the chest like a brick. 
“Do I want to marry you?  Oh
Gods, yes, I do.”


 


The blank face was gone, replaced by a stunning smile, “Then
it’stledtled.”


 


Severus looked at her and blinked several times in rapid
succession, “Settled?”  She
nodded confidently, “Yes, settled.  You,
Severus Snape, are getting married.”


 


Oh, yes, Severus was being led around by a ring in his nose. 
Hermione held the chain. And he didn’t mind in the least.


 


“By the way, what’s this about new quarters?”


 


Severus realized that he needed to share something with his witch. 
He was nervous about revealing the information, not sure how she would
react to his deception.  “Well,
Albus has arranged a new set of rooms for me. 
You see, I had planned to keep the baby all along. 
It didn’t matter who the father was, it only mattered that she was
yours.  I’m sorry for keeping it
from you; but, given the situation I knew that the information would only serve
to make things more difficult.”


 


He expected her to be shocked and angry.  Instead, her eyes grew soft and she pulled him to her. 
“Severus,” she whispered just before she brushed her lips against
his.  All was forgiven, all was
forgotten, and they were lost in that meeting. 
Forgotten, at least until Treasure began to shriek as a reminder that she
was still lying there, being jostled around in the struggle to pull themselves
closer to each other.  Hermione giggled as Severus reached to pick up the indignant
little girl. 


 


The rest of the day was spent together, as a family. 
Treasure had her first trip outside. 
After a warming spell on the water, she also had her first swim. 
Her little legs kicked and arms splashed and she seemed to thoroughly
enjoy the near-weightless feeling of the water. 

 


Hermione and Severus lay together in the hammock, keeping a close
eye on the baby sleeping on a blanket in the shade.  Severus tried to keep things light as he worked up hisve
ve
to ask her.  Idly, he played with a
strand of her hair, twirling it round and round his finger.  “So, when do you want to be wed? 
Albus believes seeing us as unmarried and with a child will be a bad
example for the students, as well as a distraction for the staff.”


 


He could hear she was smiling as she answered him. 
“I suppose it should be soon, then.” 
Hermione sat up then, a worried look on her face. 
“We can’t, though.  It
will be at least a couple weeks until my body…. 
Well, that is to say… umm….”


 


Severus smiled at her attempts to discuss their wedding night. 
“Relax, we can take the vows as soon as you want. 
The, ahem, consummation can wait until you’re ready.”


 


“Tonight, then.  No
make it tomorrow.  I need to send an
owl to my parents.  It will be quite
a shock for them.  They were aware
that I was undertaking a clandestine operation, but they had no idea what it
entailed.  I haven’t been able to
contact them in over a year.  I’ll
send them an owl right now.  I’m
not sure what to tell them, though.”


 


Hermione fought her way out of the hammock, nearly flipping Severus
onto the ground in the process.  She
paused and looked back at him.  “I’ll
make it simple.  I spied, we fell in
love, we fought, we won.  Oh, and by
the way you have a granddaughter.  Please
come to my wedding.  How’s that
sound?”


 


“It sounds magnificent.  Put
it on a parchment and send it.  Then,
we’ll see Albus about performing the ceremony.”