Love is Blind

Chapter 31

Drinks with Severus and Hermione were nothing like Draco had expected. Here he was
sitting across from his wife’s best friend and his godfather, who sd tod to be
very entranced by each other. Severus had sat on the couch beside Hermione,
with a brandy in one hand and her fingers entwined in the other. Draco had
never known his godfather and pseudo-uncle to ever publicly show any type of
affection. Even something as simple as holding hands, would normally be foreign
when associated with Severus Snape. But this seemed... natural.


Draco looked over at Hermione, who was now wearing sunglasses instead of the huge
bandages that were wrapped around her head at dinner. Ginny seemed to notice
the same thing and asked Hermione how her treatments were going.


Hermione smiled and acknowledged Severus with a nod before speaking. “Well, after over a
week on the third stage, I am able to see, albeit blurry, but even baby steps
are progress. I didn’t even realize anything had changed until I took the
bandages off.”


“That is wonderful Hermione. I am so glad that this is working.” Suddenly the redhead
turned to the potions master. “Severus, is this why you needed the blood last
month?” Severus nodded as he put a comforting arm around Hermione. He wasn’t
sure if this was still a sensitive subject for Hermione and wanted her to know
that he was there for her.


Hermione spoke up before he could say anything, “I wanted to thank you for your donation
Ginny, seeing as I was unable to fill the need.”


“It was nothing Hermione, I’m sure that if the timing were different you would have
done the same. He just didn’t tell me it was for you. You know that it’s more
potent if the person needing to be healed uses their own blood in the potion
right? Why didn’t you just wait a few weeks and use your own, you might have
been healed by now.”


Hermione stiffened up and Severus tried to pull her closer to him. She wasn’t about to
be weak. She knew she had to tell Ginny. She trusted Ginny and Draco saved her
life. They deserved to know. “Ginny, I wouldn’t have been able to fulfill what
you did.” Hermione gave it a moment for Ginny’s confusion to settle before she
elaborated. “Draco, do you remember what was happening when you found me and
your father?”


“He had you under the Cruciatus, but you were able to fight it.”


“Right, I fought it from affecting my mind, although,
my body was not so lucky. Do you remember where his wand was aimed, Draco?”


Draco gasped and buried his face in his hands. “Oh, gods, Hermioneam sam so sorry.”


Hermione’s tone was soft. “Draco, you are not responsible for your father’s actions. He
was trying to make sure that I could not bear another mudblood child. He hated me. He hated the fact that me, a
muggle-born know-it-all, was just as powerful, if not more, than most pureblood
wizards.” Hermione tried to suppress the shudders running through her body. She
could hear Ginny softly hiccoughing and sniffling. Severus wrapped his arm
tighter around his love and gently kissed the top of her head.


“You see, Ginny, I couldn’t give Severus the blood, because I have not had a
menstrual cycle since that day. Lucius’ torture had disfigured my uterus and it
is doubtful that I will ever be able to have children.”


Ginny slid off of her chair and crawled over to Hermione and laid her head in her
friend’s lap. “Hermione, I had no idea. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Hermione
softly ran her hand over her friend’s hair, trying to prove to her that
everything was all right. Ginny sat up abruptly and wiped her tears with the
back of her hand. “Hermione, have you looked into possible healing treatments
for it?”


Hermione shook her head. “I was in the midst of researching the wolfsbane potion and the
cure. I told myself I would wait until all that was done before I worried about
my own healing.” She smiled slightly. “One benefit was I never had to worry
about any ‘accidents’ to take me away from my research. Now that we’re almost
done, I might look into possible healing potions and such after the first of
the year.”


Ginny nodded, but Draco sat there with his jaw hanging slightly open, stuck on only
part of what she had said. “W-What do you mean, you’re almost done? Did you do
it?”


“Yes, my boy,” Severus broke in. “Hermione has indeed cured Professor Lupin and we
are working on the papers to have them published by Christmas.”


Hermione was attacked again by the tiny redhead wrapping her arms around her. “Oh,
Hermione, why didn’t you tell me? This is amazing. I always knew you could do
it!”


Now that the tone had lightened up, Severus and Hermione proceeded to explain to
the excited couple about the cure and how Remus acted under the full moon on
Halloween. After the first bottle of Brandy was gone, the conversations started
to take a personal turn.


“So...” slurred Ginny. “How did this
happen?” she gestured between her friend and ex-professor. Severus pulled
Hermione closer to him before he started to speak, but once again Hermione beat
him to it.


“After the potion accident, Severus stayed with me in the hospital wing. He never
left. I got used to him and tried to keep him with me as much as possible. He
seemed to blame himself for the whole ordeal. Through our arguments and
discussions, I started to fall in love with him. I looked forward to smelling
sandalwood and spices coming through the doors. I wanted to be near him all the
time. One day, we confessed our growing feelings for each other... and the rest
is history.” She smiled brightly as she snuggled into Severus chest.


“Is that really what happened Uncle Sev?” Draco asked disbelieving. Severus nodded.


Ginny swallowed the rest of her glass of brown liquid and continued on. “So, what
brought on the engagement? How did he propose? When did he do it?” She sounded
very much like a fourteen-year-old Pavarti Patil and Hermione laughed.


Severus chuckled lightly at her as he answered this one. “After she told me of what
Lucius had done. She thought that I would want nothing to do with her. I knew
that it didn’t matter to me. I went into Hogsmeade and bought the ring. I found
her sulking by the lake...” he got a nasty look from Hermione, but chose to
ignore it. “...We talked and I put the ring in her hand. I asked her and she
said yes.” Everyone could hear the pride in his voice.


Hermione lifted her hand and took off the sunglasses. There were slight gasps heard, but
Hermione was focused on the ring on her finger. “I can’t wait to see i kno know
it’s beautiful, but I want to see the color of the stone and the light
reflecting through it.”


Severus bent over slightly and whispered into her ear, “Soon, love. Soon.”


Severus looked up to see that Ginny and Draco were gaping at Hermione and realized that
she had taken her glasses off and they could see her scarred and scabbed
eyelids. “It actually looks a lot better than it did. When it happened, the
scar tissue covering her eyes was almost a centimeter thick.”


Ginny shook her head. She knew that the accident was bad, but this was more than she
expected. It wasn’t all that bad, per se. It was just, that looking at Hermione
with the sunglasses on, you couldn’t tell that there was anything wrong with
her eyes. Now they looked bloodshot, and were only open a sliver. Ginny was
still staring and trying to overcome the ache in her heart, when Hermione
yawned and announced she was going to bed.


“I think I’m going to turn in, too,” said Draco. “I’ll walk you to your rooms,
Hermione.”


She stood and took his proffered arm after kissing Severus lightly on the lips and
whispered “My room, later.” He smiled as he watched his godson lead her down
the hall.


Severus turned to Ginny, who was staring at him. Her stare was very disconcerting and
Severus shifted slightly in his seat. After a few moments of making Severus
very uncomfortable, Ginny dropped her eyes to the floor and spoke softly. “Severus,
I know you love her. That is obvious. I also know that Hermione has always
wanted to be a mother. We used to sit at the Burrow and she would talk about
how she loved being in the middle of the chaos. Being an only child was a bit boring.
She admired my mother for all she could do. She wanted to have that happiness,
that fulfillment, but with less kids.” She smiled and looked up to meet Severus
confused gaze.


“Severus, do you want children?”


“If she is the mother, more than anything.”


Ginny smiled. “I think, I might be able to help you. As you know, I am a mediwitch.
But I am also a healer at St. Mungo’s, mainly in the birthing area. I work with
witches that are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. There was a woman that
came in last month, who was barren due to spell damage. She is now 3 weeks
pregnant. Do you want me to help?”


“If you could help her, why didn’t Hermione go to you before?” Severus asked
dumbfounded.


“She only knows I am a mediwitch working sometimes with Madam Pomfrey or
occasionally in the spell reversal department at St. Mungo’s. She has no idea
what all I do. It started in the birthing ward as a favor to a friend who was
shorthanded on a full moon. I think they had 20 babies delivered that night. I
liked it, and I stayed. Draco and I are not ready for our own children yet, so
I can live vicariously through the women I treat. I would love to be able to
help two of the most important people in my life.”


Severus looked down at his hands. “I never thought I would ever get the chance to be a
father. I want to so badly, but look at me. I am an ex-Death Eater. I am old
enough to be its grandfather. I have absolutely no experience with children. My
parents died when I was young, so I didn’t have any influential role models. I...”


Ginny came over and sat next to Severus and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Severus,
I know that you helped raise Draco. He is what he is because of your influence.
You would make a wonderful father. Let me do this for you. If you want, I can
just send the potions needed and you can give them to her. Maybe give her the
choice.”


Severus looked at the young woman beside him. He had watched this girl go through some
of the worst things he could imagine. She was just as strong as Hermione, but
for different reasons. He could still see the scared eleven-year-old that had
been possessed by Tom Riddle, but her eyes showed much more pain and experience
than that. Severus had been shocked when Draco announced that he wanted to
marry the youngest Weasley. But they seemed to be suited perfectly together.
The perfect mix of Slytherin and Gryffindor... just like he and Hermione.


He looked into Ginny’s waiting eyes and nodded. “Thank you, Virginia.”


She hugged him fiercely. “The only stipulation is that if you hurt her, I will hurt
you.” She sneered at him. Severus suppressed a chuckle at the sight of this
petite woman sneering at him, but his musings were cut off by her words. “You
know how my mother can be, Severus. Just imagine her times ten.” Severus smiled
at her lightly. He knew that Molly Weasley’s temper was a force to be reckoned
with. He didn’t doubt that her daughter could hold her own, especially growing
up with six brothers and being married to Draco. The girl had to have some fire
in her.


“Virginia, I swear, that if I hurt her, I will hurt myself first.”


Ginny nodded to him and bid him goodnight. As she walked out the door, she stuck her
head back in. “Now go be with her. I know she’s waiting.” Before Severus could
reply, she was gone.


He slowly walked around his chambers, dimming the lights and cleaning up their
glasses, thinking of what Ginny was going to do for them. He may have the
chance of being a father. That thought made his heart sing, but at the same
time he was more scared at being a father than he was of Lord Voldemort
himself. He walked slowly up to Hermione’s rooms and entered to see her lying
seductively across a rug in the middle of her common room. The glow from all
the candles, making her look like an angel. At that moment he knew that all he
wanted was her. He would do anything for her. He would be a father to her
children and try his damnedest to be a good one.


Severus closed the door behind him and met her on the floor, not letting a moment pass
before he captured her lips with his. Oh, yes, he would do anything for the
angel in his arms.