Hilltop Cottage

A/N: Hi all. Just wanted to say thanks for the lovely comments. I won't post another chapter for a couple of days due to real life etc. Rest assured the story is finished and there won't be any great delay until it's fully up here. Hugs xx

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The sight of his mother crying against the shoulder of the man wearing black was obviously upsetting Donovan Granger quite a bit, because right now, his lower lip was shaking tremulously and his eyes were full of tears.

‘Mama...’ he wailed, his hands patting her face to get her attention. After a short moment, it worked.

Hermione pulled reluctantly away from Severus’s one-armed hug, wiping her eyes and smiling up at him ruefully.

‘It’s okay, sweetie, don’t cry. Mummy’s fine,’ she said soothingly, rocking him for side to side. ‘Severus, would you mind?’ She handed Donovan to Severus, who stared at her as if she was mad but took the child clumsily from her and held him at arms length.

‘Hermione, I have no idea what to do with him,’ he said in a panic.

‘Just sit with him for a minute. He’s probably thirsty, I’ll just get him some water,’ she said. Turning, she walked to the kitchen and filled a child’s drinking cup with tap water and then brought it back into the room. She looked at Severus and Donovan, and then laughed out loud.

Severus had sat on the sofa and placed Donovan beside him in the same seated pose. Donovan was staring up at him warily, not quite knowing what to make of him at all.

‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ Hermione laughed. Lifting Donovan, she placed him firmly onto Severus’s lap, took Severus’s hands and showed him how to hold him and handed Donovan his water, which he took eagerly.

Severus looked down at the black hair of his son and smirked slightly.

‘It would be impossible to hide his paternity,’ he said softly, raising his eyes to Hermione.

Hermione smiled and nodded. ‘He is definitely his father’s son. He even sleeps like you,’ she said.

There was silence for a moment, the implication in Hermione’s words lying heavily between them. Donovan began to wriggle, and Severus gladly let Hermione lift him. She sat him on her knee, facing him.

‘Introductions are needed, I think,’ she said lightly.

Severus sighed, glad that she had broken the silence. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t know how or where to start. He twisted to face them in his seat, eyeing Donovan calmly and exploring his son’s face properly for the first time. He could see they shared their colouring, and his eyes were almost identical in shape and colour already, but he had Hermione’s full lips. It was hard to say whose nose he would inherit, but Severus was hopeful that would be Hermione’s too.

‘Severus,’ Hermione said playfully, smiling at Donovan as she held out his hand. ‘This is Donovan Severus Granger. Your son.’

Severus swallowed and took Donovan’s small hand in his, stroking his chubby fingers gently and staring at them in wonder.

‘Donovan, this is Daddy,’ Hermione whispered into his ear.

‘Mama, Dada. Dada… Dada,’ Donovan grabbed hold of Severus’s finger and tried to pull it to his mouth to suck on. Severus resisted, and Donovan started to giggle loudly as a tug-of-war took place between them. The joy on his face was infectious, and soon, Severus started to laugh too. Gently, he lifted Donovan to him and held him close, inhaling the scent of his soft skin. He planted a small kiss on his cheek.

‘Nice to meet you, son,’ he said.

Hermione smiled widely as Donovan snuggled into Severus’s chest and started to play with the copious buttons on his jacket.

‘You will stay for something to eat, won’t you? You look like you could use a good meal,’ she asked, resting her hand lightly on his arm.

Severus looked up at her, his eyes warm. ‘That would be welcome. Thank you,’ he said.


***

Hermione went to great lengths to emphasise that dinner was not a romantic meal for two, as it might once have been. She made him peel the potatoes for one thing, and persuaded him to assist with getting Donovan ready for bed, even though they had yet to decide how his role as a father would look. He stayed with the boy until he fell asleep, and then came back down the stairs with a sense of wary anticipation as to what might come next.

They sat at Hermione’s new dining table, and he devoured the chicken and mashed potatoes as if it were his final meal. She smiled at him in satisfaction. She knew he hadn’t been looking after himself. Hermione purposefully didn’t offer wine. She didn’t trust herself to be respectable after more than a glass, particularly because as she watched him, her mind drew fantasies of happy family life, Donovan sleeping and Mummy and Daddy making love on the rug in front of the fire. Her face flushed, and he raised his gaze at just that moment, catching her eye.

He put down his cutlery and pushed away his clean plate. ‘That was delicious. Thank you,’ he said.

‘You looked like you needed it. Luna said you’ve been doing too much.’ Hermione cleared the plates and returned to the table with hot coffee.

‘It is an uphill struggle. I’m at a dead end, if I’m being truthful. I just don’t know what to do next.’ Severus sighed, and Hermione saw the dark circles and worry around his eyes.

‘I’ll help you,’ she said finally. ‘But first, we need to talk.’

Severus nodded, and followed Hermione as she went through to the living room. When they were sat comfortably, Severus turned to her, sensing that this might be his only chance to say his piece.

‘I never forgave myself for letting you go,’ he said, his eyes on her hands as they cradled her coffee.

‘I had no other choice. You couldn’t trust me; you couldn’t be honest about your feelings. What else could I do, Severus? I had to move on.’

‘I know.’ Severus nodded sadly. He looked into Hermione’s eyes for a moment. ‘I wrote to you. You left the letter behind,’ he said quietly.

‘Yes. I knew that I would be weak, that anything you said would have me rushing back to you and we’d be back in the same place. I thought I was doing the right thing,’ Hermione said.

‘Was it?’ he asked.

‘I keep asking myself that. I wonder if I didn’t take some bad advice at the time,’ she said ruefully.

‘Advice, from whom?’ Severus scowled. He could guess exactly who that was.

‘Harry, and Alicia. They both said I’d be better off in America, that I’d get over you, move on, more opportunities.’

Severus glowered darkly but said nothing.

‘For a time, I was able to pretend you didn’t exist,’ she laughed lightly. ‘And then I found out I was pregnant, and I realised I was just fooling myself and everyone else,’ Hermione said sadly. She stopped talking then, afraid she would say too much, too soon.

‘You didn’t have to keep the child,’ Severus mused, staring into his mug as the black coffee swirled around.

‘Our child.’ Hermione said, a little harshly. ‘Would you have preferred that, Severus, that I hadn’t had him?’ her voice took on a steely edge, and Severus was quick to placate her.

‘He’s an amazing child, and you are a wonderful mother, Hermione,’ he said. ‘I would never have wanted you to destroy something so precious.’

Hermione beamed at Severus then and laughed lightly. ‘I might be a good mother now, but in the beginning I had no idea what I was doing. I was a mess. Without Alicia, I don’t know what I’d have done,’ she said.

‘Perhaps you could show me what it was like, one day?’ Severus looked at her carefully.

‘I’d like that,’ she said.

Hermione stood and took their mugs to the kitchen, and when she returned to the living room, Severus was stood, obviously ready to leave.

‘I need to visit Minerva and return to the school,’ he said smoothly, his composure regained as he assumed a more familiar role.

‘Of course.’ Hermione felt a pang of sadness. Things were very different between them now, she could sense it. Perhaps there was no going back after all, but at least Donovan had a father at last, and for that she was immensely grateful.

Severus coughed lightly. ‘I would like to visit again, if that is acceptable?’

Hermione smiled warmly at him. ‘Severus, all I ever wanted was for Donovan to know his father. You are always welcome,’ she said.

His dark eyes flashed with something she hadn’t seen for quite some time, and she felt her cheeks flush and her pulse quicken. He held her gaze for what seemed like forever, and she felt his powerful energy overwhelm her. Suddenly, he looked away and walked to the Floo, and Hermione felt herself trembling.

‘Severus,’ she said, her voice loud in her ears. He turned and looked at her blankly, and she stepped up to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

Severus nodded, and stepped wordlessly into the Floo. Hermione raised her hand and waved at him as he disappeared.

***

Severus had Floo’d to his quarters at Hogwarts, and as soon as he arrived he sat, exhausted, in his chair. He had a son. His son, who looked like him, but was a happy child who giggled and said his name already and would be walking soon. He would take him to purchase his first wand, teach him to ride a broom, prepare him so he was advanced of other first years before he even made it through the gates of Hogwarts. He would encourage an interest in Potions, perhaps build him a small lab where they could brew and Donovan could learn the basics. All of these thoughts assailed him as he recalled his son’s face vividly, and the feel of him in his arms.

His thoughts of Donovan mixed with those of Hermione. Even dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, the witch beguiled him and surprised him in equal measure. She had welcomed him, not pushed him away as he had feared. She had gladly borne his child, and encouraged him to be his father. Her compassion overwhelmed him, but it was more than that. Hermione was able to love unconditionally. Severus summoned his Firewhisky and drained the remainder of the bottle into a glass. He sipped, and his brow furrowed in thought.

If he played his cards right, he could have a family before the year was out. He had never wanted anything as much in his life.