Hilltop Cottage

A/N: People have been so very kind about my story and it\'s made my heart very glad, so thank you all. We\'re not near finished yet, but I just wanted to say thanks...

---

Hermione walked down the stairs and smiled at Harry, who was ensconced on her new sofa and looked almost half asleep.



‘He’s sleeping,’ she said quietly.



‘So was I, almost.’ Harry grinned sheepishly and pushed his glasses back on his face. ‘I spoke to Ginny. She’s not expecting me back for another hour or so.’



‘Thanks. It’s good to catch up properly. I feel as if I’ve been away for a lifetime, and having Donovan has turned everything upside down. Let’s have some wine?’ Hermione suggested.



She felt immensely grateful for Harry’s presence in the house, because for the last few days she had only had Donovan for company. Much as she loved him, baby talk wasn’t very stimulating.



She grabbed a cold bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the fridge and poured two generous glasses. She felt the need for some Dutch courage, because the next part of the conversation wasn’t something she had been looking forward to.



She walked back into the lounge, handing a glass to Harry and sitting herself at the opposite end of the couch.



‘You want to know if I’ve seen Snape,’ he said calmly, sipping his wine as he watched Hermione blush.



‘Am I that transparent?’ she asked.



‘No, not really, but I’m guessing he doesn’t want to know about Donovan, right? It’s a shame you won’t be able to hide his parentage, Hermione. He’s the spit of him.’ Harry moved around to face her.



Hermione frowned. Severus had never responded to her letter, but she had sort of expected that. What had hurt her most was that she hadn’t heard from Minerva either, and she had felt devastated by what she had seen as her old mentor’s total rejection.



‘I wrote to him, Harry. I told him that he was going to be a father. He didn’t respond, so I think we can assume he’s not interested in his son,’ Hermione said sadly. ‘But Minerva has cut me off too, and that’s the worst of it. I wrote to her first, so she could perhaps encourage him to make contact, for Donovan’s sake, but she didn’t respond and I’ve heard nothing for over a year. She must be disgusted with me, I imagine. I know how the British wizarding society feels about single parents.’



‘But… You mean you don’t know?’ Harry’s face was pale.



‘Know what?’



‘Minerva’s sick, Hermione, she’s been in St. Mungo’s for over a year. Much as I hate the bloke, Snape has been trying to find a cure. They’re keeping her alive in the meantime, with some fancy potion or something.’ Harry took a sip of wine.



Hermione’s face fell. ‘Oh, my god,’ she whispered. ‘What’s wrong with her?’



‘That’s the thing. They don’t know. Something was attacking her immune system, they said, but whatever Snape’s giving her, it’s stopped it getting worse,’ said Harry sadly.



Hermione stood abruptly and walked to the kitchen, tipping her wine down the sink.



‘I have to go to St Mungo’s,’ she said hastily, grabbing her light denim jacket from the banister. ‘Please, would you stay, keep an eye on Donovan? I won’t be long, half an hour at most. I promise.’ She stared at Harry desperately.



‘Me? Stay here? What if he wakes up? I don’t know what to do with kids, Hermione,’ Harry said, panicked.



Hermione grinned at him. ‘Think of it as a trial run,’ she said, then took his hand in hers. ‘Please, Harry. I just have to see her. You understand?’



Harry sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat. He flinched as Hermione pulled him to her and hugged him hard.



‘Thank you,’ she said emphatically, then immediately stepped into the Floo. With a determined look on her face, she said ‘St Mungo’s’ and disappeared in a flash of spiky green flames.



***



The long ward was bathed in half-light, a charm-made glow that was soothing and calming for the patients, but gave enough working light for the nursing staff. Hermione walked tentatively along the corridor to the nurses’ station, but there was no one there.



Looking around, she saw a chink of light coming from under a partly open door, and she walked quietly up to it and peered inside. A nurse was tending to the patient in the bed, the wand she was holding casting a yellow light as she passed it over the prone body. Hermione recognised it as a diagnostic spell, having seen Poppy Pomfrey use it on numerous occasions. Pulling back, she walked back to the nurses’ station and waited.



***



Severus tensed as he stepped into the ward. He had caught the faint aroma of something familiar, and he was trying hard to place it when he saw movement at the far end of the corridor, and his heart froze. He would have recognised her down a dark alley, but here, where he had never expected to see her, he felt unprepared and more than a little bit shaken.



Her hair was exactly as he remembered it, a bushy mop of curls that felt soft to touch and could get in the way at times. She seemed different in a way he couldn’t quite define, and his eyes scanned her frame. She had filled out, and her breasts were bigger, he was sure. Contentment probably suited her, he thought bitterly.



He paused, and then shrank back into the shadows as she looked into a room, and then turned back to the nurses’ station. Today was not the day he had chosen to come face to face with her, even though he knew it would be inevitable. Avoidance was the best policy, and his first thought was to leave immediately. Cursing slightly, he remembered he had brought the next batch of potions for Minerva, and he had no choice but to deliver them before he could go. He just had to work out how to do that without her seeing him.



***



Hermione turned, as the nurse walked out of the room behind her, and smiled widely as she realised it was Luna.



‘Luna,’ she said brightly.



‘Hi, Hermione. How are you?’ Luna walked up to her and they hugged gently.



‘Better for seeing you. How’s George?’ she asked.



‘Busy. But then, so am I, so I think it works for us,’ she replied, smiling.



‘I’m glad,’ she said sincerely.



Luna’s wedding to George Weasley was the last event she’d attended before leaving the Ministry all of those years previously, and it had been such a happy day. Smiling fondly at Luna, she squeezed her hand lightly.



Luna smiled knowingly, then moved to the nurses’ station and lifted a wad of papers.



‘You want to see Minerva, I think?’ she said, then handed the papers to Hermione, who eyed them suspiciously.



‘What is all this?’ Hermione said.



‘Her notes from the past year. You don’t have to read them all now, but I think if you want to help Severus with finding a cure, you’ll have to know the background.’ Luna ignored the puzzled look on Hermione’s face and followed as the witch beckoned her back to the room she had just come from.



‘She’s in here,’ she said quietly. ‘She’s changed quite a bit from the last time you saw her, I imagine. Don’t be too shocked. Just remember she’s better than she was.’



‘Luna, I’m not sure you understand. I’m not here to help; really, I just wanted to see Minerva. I’ve been away, I didn’t know…’ Hermione said quickly.



Luna stared back at her impassively for a moment. ‘He really could use your help, Hermione. It’s been over a year. What with helping Minerva and running the school, he’s doing too much,’ she said gently.



‘Running the school?’ Hermione said, shocked.



‘Well, yes. Someone had to look after the place for Minerva. He wouldn’t trust anyone else,’ she said.



Hermione was thrown. Not only had Severus left Spinner’s End to help find a cure for Minerva, he was also back at Hogwarts. After all that time spent in New Mills, avoiding the wizarding world and holing himself up like a hermit, he was back in the public eye in a way she would never have anticipated. She wondered what it all meant.



‘I’ll think about it,’ she murmured.



Luna nodded then ushered Hermione into the room, closing the door behind her.



Walking back to the nurses’ station, she paused and looked down the long corridor, then raised her hand in a small wave.