Child of New Beginnings

-----



Chapter 33



Severus watched Hermione walk along with Narcissa outside the pool garden area in Malfoy Manor. Both women were finishing up with the final touches of Sebastian’s first birthday which was about to start in a short while. As he watched them, he thought back on the day in which she had given him her Christmas present.



---



“Bastian’s sound asleep,” Severus informed Hermione as he walked into the living room.



“All gifts are wrapped up,” Hermione said sighed as she rubbed her temples. She was seated on the floor right in front of the Christmas tree. All the gift wrapping and tasking had made her head ache.



Severus saw her discomfort and was at her side right away. “You’re head in aching again isn’t it?” he asked as he sat down right next to her, putting an arm around her. “You still need a lot of rest and sleep.”



“It’s not so bad Severus, really,” she said with a small smile. “I did take my potions earlier.”



“I worry about you,” he murmured against her temple.



Hermione wrapped her arms around him and enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms. She glanced up at the clock on the mantle, and it was already passed midnight. “Merry Christmas Severus,” she greeted him as she looked into his eyes.



“Merry Christmas Love,” Severus replied sincerely. It was the first time he said those words with meaning, instead of him just grumbling it. He also looked forward to spending more Christmas’s’ and holidays from this day forward.



“This is for you,” Hermione told Severus after she grabbed a package from beneath the tree, handing it to him.



Severus raised a brow as he looked down at the package.



“Open it,” she urged.



Severus did as told and opened his gift. When he had gotten to the chest and opened it, he stopped breathing. No! It couldn’t be.



“Something wrong?” Hermione asked with a frown.



“These are the Cobra vials from India,” Severus stated in a whisper. His fingers gently brushing on each one of them.



“They are,” Hermione said. She was starting to worry for she couldn’t read the emotion on Severus’s face. “You don’t like it?”



“I’ve been searching for them for ages when I first saw them in a potions magazine,” Severus said as he took one vial and brought it up to his eyes to examine it more closely. The vial itself looked so much better than a picture in a magazine. The eyes of the cobra sparkled more and its scales were intricate.



Hermione watched Severus’s eyes widen as he looked at the vial closely. He seemed like a child that had gotten a new toy or a limited edition card from the chocolate frog packages. The vials were very rare indeed.



Severus lowered the vial, and placed it back inside the small chest gently. “They are beautiful,” he said softly. He turned and gave a small smile to Hermione, before pulling her back into his arms. “It is the best Christmas gift that anyone has ever given me. Thank you.”



“You’re welcome,” Hermione said as he nuzzled her nose against his cheek.



Deep in thought, Severus thought about the gift that he had for Hermione in his nightstand next to his bed. He then decided that it wasn’t going to be given to her just yet. He was going to delay it just a little longer, and hopefully, she would love and accept the gift.



---



“Dada!” Sebastian said as he grabbed Severus’s nose. “Bi?” he asked, which was short for Norbi.



Severus reached into his pocket and pulled out Norbi and gave it to Sebastian. Tonight was the night in which he would give her his gift. With a few romantic gestures under his sleeve—or at least he hoped they were, he hoped to surprise Hermione later on.



“And where is the birthday celebrant?” Lucius asked as he walked towards the two.



“Roo!” Sebastian called as he reached out an arm to him, squirming out of Severus’s arms.



Lucius chuckled as he carried his godson in his arms. “I talked to my architect. The renovations will cost you Severus,” he told his friend.



“I don’t care what it costs Lucius,” Severus stated firmly as he still looked at Hermione. “I want Snape Manor to not just be livable and fixed. I also want it to be a home. I don’t want to do wrong with my family.”



Snape Manor was Severus’s old home which hadn’t been lived in or fixed in years. Renovations needed to be done because his abusive father had nearly burned down the place long ago. He didn’t have it in him to discard and just sell the place. It did have a few memories with him and his mother. To Severus, the place was never called a home. With Hermione and Sebastian in his life, he intended to make it one.



“You could never do them wrong Severus,” Lucius informed him. He smiled and was pleased to actually hear Severus call Hermione and Sebastian family for the first time. “Now come Sebastian,” he said as he looked at him, “let’s head off to the gift area and see what gifts you already have.”



“Don’t spoil him Lucius!” Severus stated as he watched him walk away.



“Look who’s talking!” Lucius smirked back at him.



Severus turned and watched Hermione again. He reached into his pocket and wrapped his hand around the small box inside—Hermione’s gift. Yes, tonight was going to be the night.



---



“…Happy Birthday to you!” everyone sang and clapped as the song ended.



Sebastian clapped laughed and squealed as he tried to reach out for the cake again. It was a huge Norbi that was in front of him. He had to get it and hug it. “Bi! Bi! Bi!”



“Now blow out the candles Bastian,” Hermione told him.



“Bi!” Sebastian said louder, as his little fingers stretched out. Then, the cake started to move towards him.



“Oh shit!” Severus muttered when he saw the cake start to tower and fall towards him, Hermione and Sebastian. It was too late to move, the three of them and other people nearby were soon in a sticky mess.



Soon enough, a number of people around the table ended up laughing.



“Take the picture Potter!” Draco laughed as Harry took out the digital camera and took shot after shot of the mess.



“Bi! Bi!” Sebastian clapped and laughed as he loved the mushiness of the cake in between his fingers.



“Why does he always have to mess the cake?” Lucius asked as he started to wipe off the cake pieces that had landed on him.



“Bastian!” Severus growled. Out of all the others, he was the one that had gotten the most damage.



Sebastian turned to his father and laughed again. He then stuck his little hand in Daddy’s mouth and made him shut up.



“Now, who had the idea that we would have a Norbi cake?” Hermione said through clenched teeth as she tried to pull out the cake pieces in her hair. Whoever it was should have known better.



Harry and Draco then stopped laughing, knowing how Hermione could get when she got angry. Without saying a word, they both pointed a finger at each other.



“The both of you are so dead meat!” Hermione said as she got up from her chair. When both Harry and Draco started to run on their feet, she ran after them.



-----



AN – Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I’m sure you all know what will happen next. Review!