Happy Bloody Christmas, Severus Snape!

A/N: Thank you for the reviews!! This is a brief update as finals are coming up. Updates are coming, just in smaller bursts. Expect a visit to Madame Pomfrey soon!

As usual I do not own Harry Potter nor do I make any money off of my story. I do not own the characters, only my own original plot.

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The peace lasted just long enough for Severus to think his streak of bad luck had ended. But it was too good to be true. Hermione may have accepted his proposal after agreeing to finish out her time at the institute, but now there was the issue of the media, and all types of morally ambiguous Hogwarts parents sending her hate mail. Severus’ response was to obliterate them all while they slept, but Hermione wouldn’t hear of it.

It was Ronald Weasley, in conjunction with the lovely Rita Skeeter of course, which had set the world abuzz with news of Hermione’s pregnancy. Misinformation involving her being mixed up with the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the saintly man -he- was, and forcing him to marry her through some made-up life debt came later. He was never quite sure how that blasted Skeeter woman got her news, but she seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with his wife to be. Everytime he stepped outside the gates of Hogwarts there she was, asking questions, taking pictures. He wanted nothing more than to throttle her, and stomp on her camera in a childlike fashion. Hermione expressed no such emotion.

It was as if the news of her being a scarlet woman had no effect whatsoever. Fair weather friends she had made during school suddenly ceased to call, children with whom she had previously kept up a repotoire gave her the silent treatment. Even worse was the treatment of the mediwizards at St. Mungo’s. Hermione was always first in line when the office was opened, but always the last to be seen. The other expectant mothers shunned her. Hermione had in one way or another been cut off from the wizarding world. Her world now consisted of the institute where the men were slightly less prejudiced, Harry and Ginerva, and himself. Yet the woman never complained or whined.

“Severus, I’m home!”

Severus turned from the book he was supposed to be reading, but had long since forgotten about, to view the lovliest woman he’d ever been privileged to know. Hermione was five months pregnant now, and she grew more and more lovely everytime he saw her.

“I had not expected you until later” he said softly, watching her move throughout his rooms as if they were her own. “Are you hungry?”

“No” she called from his bathroom “but I did want to talk to you about something.”

Severus waited for her eventual return to the common room, his mind flying to anything he could have done wrong in the past few weeks. He hadn’t insulted her muggle parentage, the way she ate her food, or the mood swings that went right along with childbearing. What could he possibly have done?

“Stop looking so scared Severus, you haven’t done anything. I wanted to ask you for a job.” She plopped down on the couch next to him, her robes gone, revealing one of many flowing gowns she had taken to during her pregnancy.

“Madam, I do not ever look ‘scared’. As for the job, are you sure you would want to raise the child in Hogwarts? It might prove difficult given the…situation.”

He watched her face fall, the first indication that the gossip had in any way affected her, and immediately regretted his poor choice of words. Severus honestly wanted nothing more than to have his wife working alongside him, but he feared for her safety. The dark lord had once invaded these halls, and it could happen again, as soon as the next despot rose into power. And even if that took some time, Hogwarts parents were just as good an enemy as any to cause her misfortune. Still, Hermione could not be the type of woman who sat at home watching the world roll by, it wasn’t in her.

“Professor Flitwik was thinking about retirement” he said softly, tugging at one of her loose curls. “Perhaps you can convince the old codger to leave sooner rather than later. Madame Pomfrey could even be your mid-wife; you wouldn’t have to deal with those bastards at St. Mungo’s.”

Hermione said nothing at first, pretending to mull it over in her mind, but her squeal of excitement was too much to contain. Teaching, he knew, had been her dream of late and not having to deal with the medi-wizards, well that was just the cherry on top. Plus Hermione was almost destined to be a teacher. She fit well into the world of research, and she could do that while at Hogwarts, but hers was a brain that liked to spread and contain knowledge. And what else did professors at Hogwarts do but produce knowledge in vacant minds.

“Now Hermione, before you get –ah—out of control. You must understand one thing.” She calmed and looked up at him with a curious look in her eye.

“I expect all of your students to remain disciplined, if any of them get out of line you must report it immediately, do you understand?”

All teachers handed out detentions, but he had the feeling that rather than berate her students for gossiping about her behind her back, she would rather bear the scrutiny. That was something Severus just couldn’t have. He had read a book or two from Hermione’s library when she wasn’t looking, something about expecting the unexpected or what to expect when the unexpected arrives (muggle books always had ridiculous titles), but in it the author had said that babies reacted to the outward environment. It was rubbish really, the idea that they could understand what was going on, but just in case…

“Severus that Rita Skeeter woman is nonsense. Don’t worry so much about me, I’ll be fine” she said softly.

Severus pulled her next to him, his long fingers stroking her belly in little figure eights. Four more months and this thing inside her would be visible to him, a child of his own to worry about, to protect. He didn’t know what kind of father he would be, didn’t know if he could love anything as much as he loved Hermione, but he was going to try. For her sake as much as his own.

“Hermione, let’s not put the wedding off” he whispered into her hair, “I want this baby to be a Snape, I want you to be a Snape.” She mumbled incoherently, and snuggled deeper into his arms.

“I love you Hermione Granger” the words had been a long time coming, but it was too late. Hermione was fast asleep.