Maternal Instinct

"What was that about?"

Hermione hiccoughed and wiped her face quickly, before turning angrily to Viktor, "Are they gone?"

"Yes," He huffed, "You were very rude to them and it is not like you. I think you spend too much time with that Professor."

"He is NOT my Professor any more." She told him, trying to remove some of her guilt about her actions with her former Professor, "I spend hardly any time with him! His daughter is very sick -!"

"You should be here!" Viktor said adamantly, "You do not put enough effort into making our own baby, but you can look after some one else’s quiet easily!"

"Don't start! I'm not in any mood for an argument tonight!"

"And I am in no mood for your dramatics!" He yelled, his fist connecting hard with one of the kitchen cupboard doors.

Hermione flinched, but her anger quickly returned and she left the kitchen, shouting, "And I CAN’T put effort into having a baby! Surely your precious parents told you how the female body works! OR DO I NEED TO DRAW YOU A DIAGRAM!"

She slammed the bedroom door behind her and warded it well; he could sleep on the sofa, because he certainly wasn't getting in her bed any time soon!

""""""""""""""""""""

Severus woke up the next morning, wishing that there was a hole in the ground that would just swallow him up. Not only did he have one HELL of a hang over, but he had kissed Hermione Granger.

Ok, so he had done a little more than just kiss her. But WHY did it have to be her? She wasn't his student, she was a lot prettier than his plastic wife, she was a lot nicer than his plastic wife, but still... WHY her?

Well, he would never be able to look her in the eye again; that was for sure. But, then again... why should he feel guilty?

They hadn't exactly done anything terrible and she hadn't exactly said no. Alright, so she had said no - multiple times - but not because she wasn't enjoying herself. She just wanted to stop because she felt guilty.

And why should she have felt guilty, anyway? She didn't love Viktor Krum - that much was clear - and the way he treated her was... Severus couldn't even think of good enough a word to describe the way Krum treated her.

Perhaps, he could turn a drunken kiss into an elaborate plan. Maybe if he could show a certain Miss Granger that she was worth more than just being used to try and make a baby, then she might leave Krum and actually CONCEIVE the baby she so obviously wanted. And, in the meantime, he would have some fun, himself. Maybe, if his timing was right, Amy could walk in whilst him and Miss Granger were BUSY, and she might actually get the hint and leave; after he had given her the divorce papers, of course.

Yes, that sounded like a brilliant plan. Severus vaguely wondered why he would feel inclined to get his former - hated - student out of such a destructive relationship, but he didn't dwell on it too long, and finally got up and dressed.

""""""""""""""""""""

Hermione pushed open the door. The ward was long, with six beds, each filled with young children. They looked up as Hermione and Severus entered, but sighed and continued playing various games when they realized that it wasn't any one to see them. A young Healer was talking to Corrin at the end of the room and when she noticed that her patient had visitors, she smiled.

"Professor," She said quietly, "We would like to keep Corrin in for another night - just to make sure the treatment is working - but you can see her now and stay for as long as you like."

She left quickly, before Severus could say anything.

Corrin sat cross legged on her bed and she beamed when she noticed them, "Hermione! Daddy!"

Her father seemed to get nervous and turned to look out of a window, while Hermione sat down next to Corrin, "Are you feeling better?"

Corrin nodded excitedly, "Yeah! Healer Sarah's really nice and she gives me medicine that tastes like chocolate! Where's mummy?"

Hermione shifted nervously, "Ah, she's not here at the moment, but you'll see her when you go home."

"Good," Corrin sighed with relief, "She'd be angry with me, because she said I might get a bit ill, but she said I had to keep drinking it... Please don't tell daddy! Mummy said that if I was prettier she would love me more and daddy would love me more, so I’m not allowed to tell him I took the potion, else he would be angry with me for not being naturally pretty."

Hermione sat, horrified. When she regained the power of speech, she sighed, "Sweetie, you have to tell your daddy..." Corrin shook her head rapidly, "He won't be angry with you. Your mum did a very nasty thing and you need to tell your dad so that he can sort it out."

The girl frowned, "Are you sure he won't be angry? I don't want him to be angry. I want him to love me, like mummy said he would if I was more beautiful. If I tell him, will he love me?"

Hermione smiled, trying hard not to cry, "He loves you anyway, Corrin; your mother was lying. He loves you a lot and it doesn't matter what you look like. Tell him now, while I go and get a drink."

Corrin nodded and Hermione stood. She cleared her throat and, when Severus turned around, she gave him a pointed look. As she left the ward, she could hear Corrin starting her story.

""""""""""""""""""""

It was SO distracting! How could one little patch of skin be SO distracting? He was meant to be concentrating on some sort of game that Corrin was showing him, but it was SO distracting!

Did Hermione Granger have to have her leg in that position, so that the SMALLEST skirt slit he had EVER seen fell open slightly? That leg was so DISTRACTING! How was Severus ever going to concentrate on his daughter with Hermione Granger and her LEG around?


However, despite the leg, Severus was absolutely furious. Amy's life would be in danger for at least the next twelve hour, until he calmed down. How a mother could feed a toxic beauty potion to her five year old daughter, Severus didn't know. Amy was not stupid; she should have known that the potion would have made Corrin ill. And Corrin was beautiful anyway, as Hermione had pointed out quite sternly, many times.

They left the ward some time after one o'clock. Back at the house, he managed to tear his eyes away from the distracting piece of skin for two seconds when she spoke.

"Professor..." He raised an eyebrow and she slowly amended, "Severus... I'm sorry -"

Severus moved fast, pinning her against the wall of the hall. She blinked a few times, surprise evident on her face.

"And why would you be sorry?" He asked quietly.

"Because, well," She said slowly, "you must be upset about Corrin and... Amy."

"So, why would you say that you were sorry?" He asked again, moving his body closer to hers.

"It's just polite." she shrugged. When one of his hands came up to brush a curl of hair from her face, she closed her eyes and sighed. After a second, she opened her eyes, "Please... don't just use me to get back at Amy..."

"I'm not the one using you," Severus said quietly, "But I think you know that."

""""""""""""""""""""

Hermione knew that she was fighting a losing battle as soon as he kissed her. She was still angry at Viktor and the desire to hurt him still raged inside her.

As a hand slid through the slit in her skirt, Hermione realized that she had nothing to lose. She didn't love Viktor and she wasn't going to have his baby, so what was the point of them being together? Nothing tied them together, so why didn't she just move out; Ron was always offering her a room in the hopes that she would leave Viktor.

Her arms crept around Severus' neck.