9 months

Severus didn't know where he was when he first opened his eyes. He knew he was in a large amount room. After a few blinks of his eyes he realized he was lying in a bed in the hospital wing.

His head was spinning and he felt like he had been asleep a month. His eyes just felt very heavy and it was hard to move.

Outside the window he could see only darkness. That only told him that he was night time. It didn't tell him how long he had been out.

"Poppy," he said weakly. Again he repeated her name only louder. "Poppy!"

A moment later Poppy rushed in holding a pitcher. She was smiling at him.

"Thank Merlin," she said setting the pitcher down on his nightstand. "We weren't sure if you'd ever wake up."

"How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Nearly a month," she said pouring him a glass of water. "You need to drink something."

Severus didn't feel like drinking anything but he knew there was no point in fighting with her. He took the glass and slowly sipped it. When he was done he handed it back to her.

"Hermione," he said suddenly. "Is she alright? What happened to Voldemort?"

"Calm down," she said setting the glass back on the nightstand. "Hermione is fine. They roughed her up a bit but she is fine. Voldemort is gone. You did it. You killed him. How are you feeling? Do you want something to eat?"

"What did they do to her?" Severus demanded.

"You two can talk about that in the morning," Poppy explained. "I'm sure she'll want to see you."

"I won't eat or drink anything until I know what they did to her," he said.

Poppy pressed her lips together tightly. She looked down at Severus with a thoughtful look.

"I mean it Poppy," he warned.

"She was raped," Poppy said. "A couple of times. She's alright through. The babies are fine."

"I'm to blame," he whispered. "I should have went after her when she ran off. It wouldn't have happened."

"Don't beat yourself up," she said pouring him another glass of water. "When Voldemort makes up his mind something is going to happen it happenings. A person is blessed when they avoid his plans for him. Hermione is strong. She is going to be alright. I'm going to have the house elves bring something up for you."

Severus didn't really want to eat but he wasn't in the mood to fight. His poor Hermione. Raped. The thought was almost too much to handle.

His babies were alright and Voldemort was dead. That was enough to make him smile and rest his head on the pillow. Everything was going to be alright.

---

Hermione crawled out of bed. Every day it was harder to get up. The walk up to the hospital wing to check on Severus seemed longer everyday. Every work day seemed longer. Everyday covering Severus' classes seemed longer.

She was going out of her mind. She was almost four months pregnant and her husband was in a comma. Poppy didn't know when he would wake up or if he would wake up at all.

The thought of him never waking up nearly killed her. She could live the rest of her life without seeing him. She couldn't raise her babies alone.

It was a day she was supposed to cover for Severus in his class so she had a little time to spare. She would be able to sit by his bed a while before she went to breakfast.

She walked out of the dungeons and headed up to the hospital wing. She was surprised when she met Poppy half way there.

"Hermione," she said. "I was just on my way to see you."

"What is it?" Hermione questioned with a hopeful voice.

"Severus woke up early this morning," she explained. "He is eating and drinking. You'd never know he has been in a comma."

"Why did you wake me up?" she questioned. "I would have come right up."

"It wouldn't have been good for Severus," the older witch explained. "He is coming out of a comma. He needed some time to wake up and realize what happened to him."

"Can I see him now?" she asked.

"Of course," she said headed back to the hospital wing.

Hermione followed her without a word. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Her husband was finally awake.

Severus was sitting up and waiting for her when she walked into the hospital wing.

"Severus!" she cried running over to him.

It took him a moment to take in what he was seeing. Hermione looked different. She was really showing her pregnancy. Her hair was shorter and her eyes seemed dim. She looked like she had been very depressed.

"Hermione," he said smiling at her.

"How are you?" she asked sitting in a chair next to his bed.

"I'm fine," he answered. "How are you? You look like you've been crying."

"No," she said shaking her head. "I've just been depressed. I didn't know if you were ever going to wake up."

"What happened that night?" he questioned. "Did Ginny make it away alright?"

"Oh yes," Hermione said nodded. "She is a tough little girl. Most of them just ran away when they saw their dark lord die. A few hit you with curses. Luckily they didn't kill you. They just threw you into a comma."

"Poppy told me what they did to you," Severus explained. "I am so sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

"I was stupid for running from Harry's house," she said. "They only got me because I was being dramatic."

"You were scared," he said bringing a hand up to touch her face. "I'm sorry I didn't go after you."

"How did you find me anyway?" Hermione explained. "No one knew where I was."

"Serenity told me," he explained.

"Serenity?" she asked. "Who is that?"

"Our daughter," he said. "She was the one Voldemort wanted. I saw her in a dream. She told me how to find you. When I was in the woods it felt as if she was leading me to you."

"How is that possible?" she asked.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I just know what I saw and felt. It was almost as if she was right there beside me when I was fighting him."

"Serenity," she whispered placing a hand on her stomach. "I like that name. Serenity Grace. What do you think?"

"I love it," he said leaning up to kiss her. "I love you. I love her. I love our son."

"Son?" she asked.

"Sam," he said nodding. "Sam...Samuel."

"I like Samuel Sebastian," Hermione said nodding. "That is perfect."

---

The next few months passed without incident. Severus was able to go back to work shortly after he woke up. The babies due date came and went.

When the two of them finally came they were nearly two weeks late. Hermione was nearly to the point of wishing she had never gotten pregnant by the time the babies came.

On March twenty six Hermione finally went into labor. At five in the morning Serenity Grace Snape was born. A few seconds later Samuel Sebastian slid out.

Serenity was a full seven pounds while Samuel was barely five pounds. Both children were heath and really for a full life.

As Severus and Hermione stared down at their children they knew why they had battled through the first war, why the had struggled to get pregnant, and why they had lived through another attack why Voldemort. They were destined to raise and love those two two wonderful children.

the end
---

Ok. I plan on starting another story right away about Serenity and Samuel's years at Hogwarts.