Love is Blind

Chapter 38

The Christmas spirit had encompassed the castle with a vengeance. Albus
had taken it upon himself to enchant hundreds of pine trees to twinkle with
fairies and spontaneously belt out Christmas carols when someone walked by.
Hermione couldn’t help but be relieved that the trees sang all the right words
to the carols, unlike the suits of armor from her fourth year.

Severus had even been overcome with the holiday spirit. He had charmed a
sprig of mistletoe to pop above Hermione’s head at the most ‘opportune’
moments. Hermione guessed that if it wasn’t for her and the mistletoe, Severus
would be grumbling as he usually did during the holidays. She would smile at
the thought that she was the one to bring him out of his shell.

Severus was definitely a different man than the overbearing,
insufferable bastard that scared the hell out of her during her first year. He
had become a loving and caring gentleman along with being a wonderful husband.
Only Hermione and a few others got to see this side of the dreaded potions
master. Needless to say, the students still feared him. Hermione thought that
the idea of Snape having a wife and a sex life made the students fear him even
more.

Today was Christmas Eve and Severus was in the lab brewing potions to
stock Madame Pomfrey’s shelves. Hermione had not been feeling well and Severus
had let her sleep in. She was snuggled deeply into their bed when he went into
the lab early this morning. Many hours had passed and Severus knew that lunch
was approaching and went to check on his wife and ask her to join him for the
meal.

When he opened the door to their bedroom, he saw Hermione still sleeping
peacefully, curled up in the warm blankets. He sat down gingerly next to her
and brushed a tangled curl out of her face. She looked exquisite with her
eyelashes lying in crescents on her cheeks. Her breathing was slow and steady.
Hermione had been so tired over the past few days and Severus had assumed that
it was from the stress of getting their paper to the publisher on time.

Severus used to despise holidays. To him, holidays were just a reminder
of the pain he had felt throughout his life - the pain of mourning his parents,
the pain of rejection, the pain of deception. Now, he had Hermione. The
holidays seemed so much better, now that he had his wife to share them with.
His wife. It had been two weeks since their impromptu wedding. The past two
weeks had been the most delightful of his life. He loved being near her,
working with her, loving her. Severus had never been happier nor felt more
fulfilled. He and Hermione were definitely made for each other, in all possible
inclinations.

A small moan brought Severus out of his melancholy. He looked down at
his wife who was now curled up in a tight ball beside him. Her eyes opened and all
Severus could see in them was pain. Hermione was hurting. He quickly pulled her
into his lap, stroking her hair comfortingly.

“What is it love?” he asked softly.

“Oh gods, Severus, it hurts.”

Severus’ heart wrenched at the sound of agony in her voice. Tears
started to trail down her cheeks and Severus immediately wiped them away.
“Please, Severus, make it stop. It hurts,” she pleaded.

He pulled her closer to him, trying to keep himself calm. “Love, what
hurts?” Before Hermione could answer she curled up tighter and screamed. Her
breathing was labored and Severus tried to calm her down. He suddenly saw her
eyes glaze over as she passed out in his arms.

A sense of déjà vu enveloped him as he stormed through the halls
carrying Hermione in his arms. He rounded a corner and almost plowed over
Professor Lupin.

“Severus, what happened?”

“I don’t know. She collapsed in my arms a few moments ago.” Remus ran
ahead and opened the door for his friend. “Poppy!?” Severus called as he
entered the hospital wing.

“Bring her here, Severus. What happened?” Madame Pomfrey asked as
Severus laid Hermione on the bed and Poppy started waving her wand over the
unconscious woman. Severus sat down beside his wife trying to gather his
thoughts and control his emotions.

“She has been extremely tired the past few days. She wasn’t feeling well
this morning, so I left her to sleep. When I went to wake her for lunch, she
balled up in pain. She said it hurt. I don’t know what hurt exactly, because
she fainted before she could tell me. Please, Poppy, help her.” Severus’ tone
was pleading and fearful, begging the mediwitch to ease his wife’s pain.

“Severus, let me take a look at her. Go sit with Remus while I check her
over. I’m sure she will be fine,” she said reassuringly.

Severus didn’t feel reassured at all. He had never seen that look in
Hermione’s eyes before, and never wanted to see it again. Remus sat beside him
on a bed across the ward from Hermione.

“She’ll be all right, Severus. I know she will.” Remus offered.

Severuappeapped, “Really? How do you know that? Can you guarantee me
that my wife will be fine in a few hours or even a few days? No. So don’t try,
please… I can’t lose her.” His voice had lowered to an almost whisper. Remus
put a hand on his shoulder and Severus felt another hand come and rest on his
other shoulder. He looked up to see Albus standing over him.

“Severus, tell me what happened.”

Severus explained everything to the older wizard. Just as he was
finishing, Madame Pomfrey came back from behind the curtain around Hermione’s
bed.

“Severus, I need you to get Hermione a change of clothes, the other ones
are ruined…”

“What? Poppy what happened? What is wrong with my wife?”

Poppy sighed and looked at Severus calmly. “When was Hermione’s last
menses, Severus?”

“She hasn’t had one in years, Poppy. What is this all about?”

Poppy smiled slightly. “Severus, Hermione is fine. She got her period.
She…”

“Got her period? Poppy that’s ludicrous. Hermione’s uterus is so
deformed that its impossible for her to menstruate.” Poppy held up a hand to
the potions master.

“Severus, I know when a woman gets her period, and that’s what this is.
If she hasn’t had one for years, that explains everything.” At Severus’
confused face she went on, “She has lost a lot of blood. Her body is trying to
rid itself of all the scar tissue built up. You said that she was in pain?”
Severus nodded. “It the the uterus trying to mold itself back to its natural
state.”

Severus looked dumbfounded at the mediwitch and then back and forth
between Dumbledore and Lupin. “How is that possible? Where did this come from?”

Albus chuckled lightly and grasped Severus arm. “Severus, there is a
blue bottle in your lavatory cabinet. I believe it holds the answers.”

Severus looked up at the old man. Of course, the potion. But Hermione
said she wasn’t ready for this yet. Severus nodded stiffly. “Will she be
all right?” Severus asked Poppy as she walked back toward them.

“Yes, she will be fine. I have stopped the bleeding, and everything
seems to be healing normally. She fainted because of the blood loss. Was there
blood on the bed when you found her?” Severus shook his head. He hadn’t noticed
anything, but their bedsheets were black, it wouldn’t have been obvious. He had
been so concerned for Hermione that he noticed very little beyond the fact that
something was wrong. “Severus, take a deep breath, go to your rooms and bring
me some clean clothes for her. She will be asleep at least for another hour.
Go. I will let you know if anything changes.”

Severus nodded reluctantly. He did not want to leave her side. When she
was in here after the potions accident, he didn’t leave, he wouldn’t leave. Now
he was her husband, he wanted to stay. The looks on Poppy and Albus’ faces,
although, left very little choice in the matter. Severus trudged down to the
dungeons, leaving Remus, Albus and Poppy with Hermione. His mind wandered
whilst he walked through the halls. When did Hermione take the potion? What
changed her mind? Was she really ready for such a big step? Was he? Severus
had so many unanswered questions running through his head that he barely
realized he was back to their rooms until he was in them staring at their bed.

Now, upon inspection, Severus could see that there was indeed a large
bloodstain on their sheets. The top sheet was missing; he had wrapped her up in
it to carry her to the infirmary. He sighed at the thought of Hermione going
through such turmoil and he didn’t even have a clue. There was so much blood.
He cringed at the sight of it. With a flick of his wand the bedsheets were
changed and the soiled ones were sent to the house elves for laundering.

Slowly, Severus entered the bathroom and opened the cabinet. There on
the shelf was the little blue bottle that Virginia had given them two weeks
ago. He picked it up. Indeed, it was empty. Hermione had taken the potion
without telling him. He was so worried about her lying unconscious in the
hospital wing that his mind could not see the emotions that were behind her
action.

Severus gathered some clean clothes and her robes and headed back up to
the hospital wing. When he arrived, Poppy and Albus were standing beside
Hermione’s bed talking jovially. Severus glared at the pair. How could they be
so happy when his wife was lying unconscious beside them? There was nothing to
be happy about until she woke up. Poppy reached for Hermione’s clothes, so that
she could change her. Severus pulled away. “May I do it?” he asked softly.

Madam Pomfrey exchanged glances with the headmaster and smiled. “Of
course, dear,” she said as Dumbledore pulled her away from the newlyweds.
Severus looked down at his wife’s prone body. He had spent many sleepless
nights watching over her, in this very room, in this very cot. He shook his
head at the irony of it all. It all started here, and it will come back
countless times throughout their lives. But the sight of an unconscious
Hermione lying on a hospital bed will always take him back to that day in
September when both their lives changed.

Severus slowly and methodically dressed his wife. He didn’t want to use
magic for such an intimate gesture. He was her husband, this was what he was
supposed to do. When he finished buttoning her blouse, he chanced a look at her
face. He couldn’t help but smile back at her. Hermione had woken up sometime
while he was dressing her and now she was smiling up at him with bright eyes.
“Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi,” he said against her lips. Softly kissing her, he expressed the
relief he felt at seeing her awake. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m all right. What happened?”

Severus took a deep breath. “You were bleeding. Poppy says that you got
your menses. Your body was trying to clean all of the scar tissue out, that’s
why you were in such pain.” He took her hand in his and brought it up to his
face. “God, Hermione, I was so scared. This is the second time I have had to
carry you into this room. I pray I never have to do it again. I don’t think my
heart could handle it.”

Hermione turned her hand so that she was cupping his cheek. “I’m sorry
Severus. I didn’t mean to scare you. I should have told you. That night after
Ginny and Draco left, I couldn’t sleep. All I could think about was that damned
potion. I decided that I was just making excuses. There was no guarantee that
it would work. There’s no guarantee that I’ll get pregnant. But you and me, us,
we’re worth taking that chance. I can still do my research. And if someday we
find out I am pregnant, I will embrace it and work with it, not against it.
There is a child waiting in the wings for us. I didn’t want to make it wait
longer because of my stubbornness and fear.”

“Hermione, you could have told me.”

“Like I said, there was no guarantee that it would work. I didn’t want
either of us being overly hopeful, just in case. So, did it work?”

Severus nodded slightly. “I think so. Poppy will be able to tell you
more. She said that everything seems to be healing just fine. Yoody ody just
needed to rid itself of the cursed tissue.” Hermione smiled.

“Hermione, my dear, I am glad to see you awake. You know, this is becoming
a bad habit of yours. needneed to stay out of here on the holidays.” Poppy
smiled at her as she took some more readings. “First your birthday and now
Christmas Eve. Tsk. Tsk.” Hermione laughed at the mediwitch, but Severus sat
there dumbfounded. Her birthday? When was her birthday and why was she in
here?

Poppy stood up and smiled at the young woman. “Well, everything seems to
befectfect. I hope you don’t mind, but Albus informed me of what happened with
Mr. Malfoy. I am sorry, child, for all that you went through. It seems a bit
ironic that it was his daughter-in-law that gave you the potion to heal you.”

Hermione’s eyes started watering Healed? “So, it worked?”

The mediwitch nodded. “Yes, my dear. Your uterus is now round and smooth
and perfect. There are no signs of any damage to it at all. I am very happy for
the two of you. I hope the next time I see you in here is to deliver your
children.” She patted Hermione’s hand before turning away to wipe threatening
tears from her eyes. “When you feel strong enough, Hermione, you are released
to go,” she said as she left the curtained area to go back to her office.

“Thank you,” Hermione said to her retreating back. She turned back to
Severus who was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the last interlude. “Severus?”

Severus shook his head to clear his mind and looked at his wife,
questioningly. “You were here on your birthday?” She nodded. “I feel idiotic,
but we have been married for two weeks and I don’t even know when your birthday
is, let alone why you were here.”

Hermione smiled even bigger. “You put me in here, after all. You should
know why I was here. I’m not complaining though, because I got you as a
birthday present to make up for it.”

He looked at her shocked. “The accident?” She nodded again. “It was your
birthday. That’s why you were so sensitive. Oh, gods, Hermione I am so sorry.”

“I’m not. If it weren’t for our argument and the explosion, I wouldn’t
be married to you right now. If I could go back to September 19th and change
things, I wouldn’t, not one iota. I love you Severus. I thank the fates for
giving you to me. So what I was unconscious for my birthday and a couple days
after? I got you in the end. That’s the best birtday present anyone could have
given me.” She smiled at him and tried to sit up to wrap her arms around him.

“Let me,” he said as he lowered himself onto the bed and embraced her
tightly. “I love you Hermione. You make me so happy. Just promise me one
thing,” she looked up at him lovingly. “Please don’t ever scare me like that
again.”

She sniggered at him. “I will try. Now lets go back to our chambers and
start working on our next project.” She emphasized the last word with a
wink.

Severus’ eyes bulged out of his head, “You’re serious?”

“Hmhmm,” she breathed seductively into his ear. Ses dis didn’t have to
be asked twice. He cradled his wife in his arms and carried her back to their
rooms. He knew he would end up back in the hospital wing again. It didn’t
escape him that two major chapters in his life started out with him watching
over her in the hospital wing. He will be there every time with her to start
each new chapter and every new experience. As long as she was with him, he knew
they could make it through.

He sighed contentedly that night as he lay in bed next to his sleeping
wife. If anyone would have told him last year, that this Christmas would be
spent in the arms of a Gryffindor know-it-all - his wife, in his bed, making
love, starting a family - he would have marked them as insane. He had loved her
even then, yes he did. He just never expected her to return his love see seems
that the old adage is true. The most obvious things are staring us right in
the face. Severus and Hermione had danced around each other for years,
never seeing what was so blatantly obvious in the other’s eyes. It is true,
love really is blind.

A/N - This is the end! - Thank you all for supporting me. I can’t
believe I actually finished a fic; at least one that is longer than 10 chapters.
I will have an epilogue posted shortly. Thank you.