Unexpected Places

They worked well together. Hermione had found the joy of working with someone who knew what they were doing and Snape had found the joy of someone who actually listened and followed directions well. It seemed like they had been working for only a few minutes when the baby began to cry. She looked up at the clock and saw that it had been almost three hours and it was his feeding time. She looked down at her hands, which were covered in Tentacular seed oil in dismay.

Snape saw the dismay and suppressed a smile. “If you would like, I can feed him. Just let me know where the formula is.” She gave him a relieved smile and motioned towards the bag that held the bottles and formula. He opened it and read the instructions before mixing it together. He picked up the crying baby and stuck the teat in his mouth. The baby stopped crying and began sucking.

Hermione continued working on the potion, following the directions in the book but she couldn’t help but watch him. He paced, holding the baby. Several times he paused to burp him and again she wondered where he got his experience with children.

He stopped to look at her and she realized that she had asked the question out loud. He gave her a considering look and started to say something but someone knocked on the door. He turned and called for them to enter. Harry came in flushed and looked upset.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but… Hermione there is a problem.” He said, panting. Hermione had the feeling he had run here.

“What? What’s wrong? Is it Ron?” she asked worriedly. He shook his head.

“It’s the Ministry. They want to take Alex away.” He said. Hermione froze.

“What do you mean, Mr. Potter? Who wants to take him away?” Snape asked sharply.

Harry took a deep breath. “I don’t know how they found out about him so soon but they did. There is a Ministry official from the Child Welfare Services here. He says that if the you are not the legal guardian that he must be taken to the orphanage. It was a new law that was passed recently.”

Hermione’s face hardened and she picked up her wand. “I’d like to see them try to take him.” She said in a cold voice. Harry started to say something but Hermione had pushed by him and was stalking down the hall. Harry winced and raced after her.

Snape looked down at the baby in his arms and smiled. “You are lucky to have her as your guardian, child.” He said, reaching for a blanket and following them.

Hermione hadn’t forgotten Alex but she was well aware that Snape knew what he was doing. Harry followed calling her name and she finally stopped.

“Hermione! Rushing off like that is my job not yours. You can’t talk to the official if you are mad. You tend to do things you shouldn’t and he isn’t someone you want to offend.” He said

She glared at him. “You know how the Ministry feels about me, Harry. S.P.E.W and my werewolf movement have not endeared them to me. They are probably here on a Sunday because it is me. Anyone else could have waited until Monday.” She said bitterly.

Harry didn’t deny her words. The Ministry did hate her. She forced them to look at the corruption that had festered and instead of correcting it, they vilified her. She had already been blacklisted from any Ministry jobs and she hadn’t even graduated Hogwart’s yet. Many Ministry officials crossed the street if they saw her coming.

“I don’t know what to do, Harry.” She admitted. “If I fight it, they will take him for sure. If I don’t, they will because they can. I don’t want him to go to the orphanage.” She said, throwing herself into Harry’s arms. Harry held her and patted her back, knowing she was only emotional because of lack of sleep.

“If you had waited a moment, Miss Granger, instead of letting your Gryffindor sensibilities take over, I would have offered you a solution.” A cool silky voice said and they turned to find Snape standing there, Alex cradled in his arms.

“Yes?” she asked eagerly.

“Adopt him. They can’t take him from you then. The letter from the girl gives permission so that takes care of that legality. When you find his father, it would be simple to just reverse the adoption.” He said simply. Hermione flushed that she hadn’t thought of that but she wasn’t in familiar territory. She never thought she would have to deal with a Wizarding adoption. She didn’t know what to do.

Harry answered her unspoken question. “It is a simple ceremony that the Headmistress can perform. It will only take a few minutes. I think we should do the Blood adoption though. It is more binding.” He told Hermione with a meaningful glance at Snape. “I will get the Headmistress and have Ron distract the official. I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared down the hallway. Snape watched him go thoughtfully and wondered what Harry was up to. Obviously Hermione didn’t know what the Blood adoption entailed from the blank look on her face. He wondered if he should tell her. The Blood adoption actually made the child yours, as if you had given birth to it (or fathered it) If the ceremony was done when the child was young the child would slowly gain the mother’s (or father’s) features. If the ceremony was performed no one could take the child from Hermione without a very good reason.

He decided not to say anything. If Harry had something in mind, he would let him deal with it afterwards. He had seen an angry Hermione and it was something to be wary of. When she and Ron had been captured by Death Eaters at the beginning of the summer, he had seen more than he liked. She had killed seven Death Eater’s single handedly when they had tortured Ron. He had once heard Ron say something about Hermione to the likes of ‘Brilliant but scary’ or some such and he completely agreed with it. She could be a formidable witch when she had a reason.

He looked at the sleeping babe in his arms and wondered if Harry had just given her more of a reason. She had her elf-freedom thing and the werewolf equality movement but that wasn’t personal. Now she would have something that was personal.

She took the baby from his arms and held him close. Despite the stress he caused, she loved him already. He was an adorable baby, not too fussy. She had always wanted to wait for kids but if she had to adopt him to protect him, then she would. She gazed down at him and smiled. Snape had been watching her and when he saw that smile he froze. It was beautiful and motherly and for the first time, he saw her as a woman.

Her long brown hair fell to her waist in smooth waves. She had finally changed it from the bushy mess that it had been. She wasn’t tall, only 5’5” and her curves were perfect for her height. He saw her as a woman and it was uncomfortable.

“Let’s go back to my workroom. Professor McGonagall can meet us there.” He said finally. She smiled up at him and he winced slightly. Why did she have to be so beautiful all of a sudden, he thought as he walked back to his workroom with her by his side.

In the workroom, she lay the sleeping baby down in the crib and turned back to the potion they were working on. It was going well, bubbling like it should.

“Well then, it should be fine for six days before we have to do any more. Will you tell me where you got your experience with children, Professor?” she asked curiously but his earlier moment of weakness had passed and he just scowled at her.

“Have you chosen your seventh year project, Miss Granger?” he asked, changing the subject. She immediately nodded, understanding she wouldn’t get any answers from him yet.

“I am going to research Polyjuice potion. There has been speculation in Potions Monthly about improving it. I would like to see if I can. Since second year…” she trailed off guiltily.

“Since second year? What happened second year?” he asked suspiciously, afraid of the answer. He was almost always afraid of the answer when questioning the trio’s activities.

“Well, IturnedmyselfintoacatusingthePotion” she said quickly, wincing. He stared at her for a moment processing what she had said and then his eyes widened.

“How in the bloody hell did you do that? It’s only for human transformations!” he exclaimed. She winced again and explained what had happened. He listened avidly, impressed that a twelve year old had been able to brew such a difficult potion successfully, despite her mistake with the hair. He mentally noted everything she said.

Soon there was a knock on the door and Harry and Professor McGonagall entered. Harry had the letter in his hand.

“Are you sure of this, Hermione? It is a big step.” Professor McGonagall asked doubtfully. Hermione nodded firmly and turned to Harry.

“Explain why you want the Blood adoption. I have read about it but I want to know why you feel I should do it.” She said. He sighed and nodded. He had hoped that she hadn’t known what it was.

“It’s protection. If the father is… unsuitable… then he would have to fight to get Alex away from you. It is safer this way.” He said and she nodded. It was the answer she had been expecting. She turned to Professor McGonagall.

“I want to do this. He is my son.” She said resolutely. Harry and Snape both admired her conviction and Professor McGonagall smiled.

“Very well, let’s get started so that we can get rid of that Ministry man in my office.”

The ceremony was short and sweet. Hermione had to swear to love and care for him for the rest of his life and then blood was exchanged. Alex didn’t cry when his tiny foot was pierced to draw blood, which Professor McGonagall took as a good sign. Soon it was over and Hermione signed the paper. Harry laid the letter they had found in the baby carrier over the adoption papers and Professor McGonagall said a short spell. A woman’s name appeared on the parchment as the former guardian. It was legal and finalized.

Hermione rolled the parchment up after making several copies. Harry agreed to stay with Alex while Hermione, Snape and Professor McGonagall went to speak with the Ministry official. The man was waiting alone in Professor McGonagall’s office and seemed very impatient. When they entered, he jumped to his feet and glared at them.

“Hello, I am Hermione Granger. You were here to see me?” she said politely.

“I am here to pick up a child. I was told it was a boy named Alexander.” He said haughtily. She gave him a feigned confused look.

“Why would you be here to pick up my son?” she said a little more coolly.

“Last June a law was passed stating that any child not living with relations must be put into the orphanage. I am here to pick up a child that was abandoned.” He stated firmly.

Hermione smiled coldly. “He is my son. You will not be taking him anywhere. You can try but I can tell you now, you won’t get far.” She said icily fingering her wand. The man’s eyes widened and he seemed to realize he was in some amount of danger. He looked to the Headmistress and Snape but neither offered any reassurance.

Hermione handed him a copy of the adoption papers. “I was going to file tomorrow, since today is Sunday. I trust you will file for me?”

The man unrolled the parchment and read it. He paled as he read it and then nodded. “Of course Miss Granger. There must have been some mistake. I apologize for the inconvenience” he said and then fled the room.

Professor McGonagall waited until the door shut before bursting into laughter. Hermione and Snape just stared at her.

“I have never seen anyone to get that man to run except for Professor Snape. Quite a feat my dear. You must have a reputation with the Ministry. I trust everything is going well?”

Hermione assured Professor McGonagall it was and walked with Snape back to his dungeon workroom. Before they reached the workroom he stopped her.

“Miss Granger, I wonder if some afternoon you would consent to have lunch with me? I would like to converse with you about your Polyjuice ideas.” He said uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to asking for something from a student.

She gave him a surprised look and nodded eagerly. She had always wanted to get the Professor alone to discuss potions. She planned to purse a career in potions and who should she learn from but the best. He nodded and they went to retrieve her son.