Amour

THE OMEGA

Months had started to go by and Hermione was continuing her job at Hogwarts, while Snape was more than willing to stay at home and take care of his lovely daughter. It was rare that she returned home and not find the very responsible father baby-proofing the whole house or disposing of dirty diapers and at times she found him sound asleep on a recliner will Emma, also asleep, on his chest, but his protective grip on her never to have slackened. On nights, too worn out after a hard day's work, if Hermione was ever awakened from her sleep, by the sudden cries from the baby-cot, before she could fully pull the covers off of herself and get up with a groan, Snape would always stop her with a hand, saying, "I got this." And she would again fall back into a slumber, not before watching with a smile, her husband bundle her daughter up in his arms and rock her back to sleep, occasionally even humming a lullaby or two. During the weekends, Hermione tried to spend as much time with the apple of her eyes as possible, letting Snape enjoy some alone time as well.....................................
"Emma! Em- Emmanuela Snape, you get your naked butt back here right this instant!"Hermione ran after the little minx with a towel, because she refused to dry her hair after her bath. The little toddler had not as yet started forming full sentences but was already up to every kind of mischief available to the book. She slid down the armhold of the great staircase and dodged Mrs.Reynolds, who made a feeble attempt to get hold of her. Hermione reached the end of the stairs, almost loosing her footing trying to keep up with the child, but was short of catching her yet. She suddenly realised where she was headed. "No, Emma, don't you dare go into the library! Your Papa is working in there and he doesn't like to be disturbed when he's doing his research- no don't Emma-" But there was no stopping the little troublemaker, who cackled and whooped in all her glee, crashing into the great oak doors of the library. After a moment, the doors creaked open and out came the brooding figure in black with a frown upon his brows; apparently frustrated by the raucous outside. There was a minute of stunned silence, where Hermione was reminded of the very first time she saw him and both she and Mrs.Reynolds stood stock still, knowing that the mischievous little girl had surely pissed her daddy off. Snape stared down his hooked nose at Emma on the ground, looking up doe-eyed at him, unbothered by his vexed expression; a sheepish but notorious grin playing across her face. Then to everyone's surprise, he reached for the towel from his wife and with an indulging smile, dried Emma's hair himself- she not offering any resistance at all. Hermione looked at the scene before her with her hands on her hips. "Huh, so, father and daughter is teaming up against me? Very well."she scoffed. Snape stopped his game of tickling Emma and looked at his wife. "Mrs.Reynolds, would you please take Emma to the dining room? It's time for her lunch."he ordered Mrs.Reynolds, who merrily carried her away. He then pulled Hermione closer and hooking a finger under her chin, he made her look up at his face."You do know that I still love you more, my Princess?"
"Blah blah..."
A deep rumble of a chuckle emanated from his throat, but his eyes glinted lustily. "In case you have any doubts about the matter...let me show it to you."..........................................
Almost two years had passed and Hermione was expecting again. The morning sickness and other things were not as bad as the first time but she was still very exhausted in general. She had only just taken her maternity leave and Snape carefully closed the door behind him after having tucked her in for the night. He was seeking a glass of water but his feet stopped in front of Emma's room, as through a sliver of the open door, he saw light pouring out from inside. He knocked and pushed the door further open to find her up and about. "May I come in?"he asked, wondering what she was up to, this late at night. Emma quickly tried to hide what she was playing with but there was no escaping her father's hawk-like eyes. He found her seated in front of her small dressing-table, armed with a lipstick and a deep shade drawn across her lips with amateurish hands.
"What are you doing, sweetheart?"
She looked down sheepishly at the floor, trying to hide the cosmetics behind her miniature frame. He pulled out a stool and sat down before her, demanding an explanation. "I was...trying to be like Mamma."she confessed in a small voice. Snape sighed, although smiling; it was common knowledge that Emma had grown up to look more like him, with her black eyes and straight black hair, that she had started to grow out, although in her mannerisms she had many of Hermione's traits, but since he had been there with her all the time, the mother-daughter duo hadn't had the chance to connect with each other as much as they would have liked. Hermione had also failed to conceal her disappointment when Emma's first words were 'Papa' instead of 'Mamma'. So he was glad that the love Emma had for her mother was no less than what she had for her father, if not more. Moreover, she actually wanted to be like her, held her as some kind of an idol, which he believed she should. With a smile, he wiped out the lipstick off her mouth, gave her a book to hold in her arms instead, and messed up her hair to make it look bushy. He forced her nose to shoot up in the air and commented,"Now you look more like your Mamma. The insufferable little know-it-all." "Really?"Emma asked, delighted while she checked herself out in the mirror. He sat back and watched her frolick about the room happily. Out of sheer joy, she made the sparkly lights over her bedstead to magically flicker on and off on their own. It was the first sign of magic she had shown and she received much deserved appreciation from a proud father. Then she took him by the hand and dragged him back to his bedroom, where Hermione was still sleeping. Emma jumped into the bed, snuggling in close beside her mother, placing a hand adorably over her baby-bump. Hermione's sleep was momentarily disturbed but when she realised who it was, she hugged her tightly to herself, mumbling lovingly in her sleep. Snape also climbed in beside his family and wrapped his hands around all (soon to be) three of them. He kissed Emma's head and she looked up at him. "Now all I wish is that someone would love me as much as you love her."she whispered, indicating her mom. He let out a contented sigh,"I wish that for you too, my darling girl."......................................
Hermione finished her work off at Hogwarts; she had been so immersed in correcting essays that she had completely lost track of time. She quickly cleared her desk, hawled her robes over herself and signed off for the day. But when she tried to enter through the fireplace, she found the path to her home to be blocked. Bewildered, she walked all the way out to the Hogwarts gates and then apparated in front of Chatsworth castle. The door was opened by their ten year old son, Alexander Snape. "Welcome madame." She ruffled his hay-coloured hair, the mane he already took pride in. "What's going on Alan?" He was a shy kind of a boy and always preferred to be immersed in books but tonight, he was game. "All in due time, mamma." She entered to find the house strewn with candlelights and Emma hopped down the stairs in a pretty skater dress. "You made it mamma! He is through there." She indicated towards the dining hall and Alan also stood, dressed in a new shirt and trousers, grinning broadly, gesturing to her to follow suit. So Hermione followed their directions and entered the room. "Surprise!" Snape was sitting at the end of the table full of food, with a glass of wine already in his hand. He stood to greet her, but she halted in her tracks. "Oh crap! It's not our anniversary is it?" He cocked his head,"No...oh wait," he thought about it himself just to make sure, then said with more assurance,"No." They both giggled, thinking about the awkwardness it could've caused if both of them had forgotten. She was somewhat relieved and came up to him to give him a kiss. "So what is this for then?" He helped her into her chair and poured her a glass of wine too. "So many years into marriage, it's very easy to take each-other for granted. I want you to know that I will never do that." "Neither will I."she assured, clinking their glasses together. Taking the first sip, she suddenly remembered,"But honey, the kids-" "I have arranged for Mrs.Reynolds to take them to the Weasleys. They wanted to visit their friends Fred, Jessie, James and Teddy anyways,"he reached across the table to put his hand over her's,"Tonight is all about me and you." They had their dinner and a nice conversation, where Snape also informed her that McGonagall was retiring and had offered the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts to him. Hermione nearly choked on her food while blurting out excitedly,"Wha- darling, that's great news! Did you- please tell me you said yes." Snape smirked at her,"I did." Hermione clapped in joy and hugged him. "I thought our children have grown up and Emma is going to start her first year and Alan would soon follow, so when my whole family is at Hogwarts, how could I be anywhere else? And it's been a while since I've criticised people and deducted certain house points...my hands are almost itching!" Hermione laughed out loud and he joined in. Then they went into their bedroom and made mad love.
Afterwards, when they lay back, contented under the sheets; Hermione laying her head atop his beating heart and he casually combing through her hair with his fingers, Snape remarked,"I don't know why I am suddenly this way today, but I was thinking about it when I was planning this evening for you. I wanted you to know that I still love you and I guess, I needed the reassurance from you too." She kissed at his pecks."I do. I love you." He continued,"I was also grateful thinking, we really are lucky, that we still have this. You know, Minerva once told me, 'Marriage changes you in ways you can't imagine'. That's what happens, doesn't it? People change. They don't call each-other to make sure they have eaten their lunch, stop noticing the attire that made the other look particularly fabulous some evening, forget to kiss goodbye before leaving for work, not bother to ask how the other's day went, stop staying up to have dinner together. Their 'I love you's turn to quick 'love ya's and their lives are spent tending to their children, forever waiting for their own lives to finally start. Although, I can't say that we haven't changed at all or we have completely sidestepped these landmines, but I know one thing that has remained the same- every night, I'll turn towards you in my sleep and find your arms already around me, clutching me tightly to you, as if holding on for dear life. Your warm breath on my chest and our souls fused as one. And we'll always be back in our time." Hermione listened, silently; only the sound of soft sighs came from her. He spoke again after a while,"Was that too much? What is it about today that has made me so..prophetic..?" She shook her head, saying she didn't know. Her phone pinged at that moment and she checked it, staring at the screen. "Severus...it turns out, today is our anniversary!"..................................
Emma and Alan was one step short of turning the whole house upside down, getting ready for school; running around trying to make everything ready for their journey. Hermione entered her bedroom to find her husband getting dressed too, for his new session as the headmaster. "Wow...I feel like ripping those sexy black clothes off you." She made a lion-like low rumble of a roar, clawing at his coat. "Honey, don't- the kids. They'll see us-"He looked around to make sure their privacy was not invaded and then took her hands instead, giving her a light peck on the lips. She pouted,"By the way, that should've been my line. And I just overheard our ten-year old tell our twelve-year old, 'My room is an organised mess- I don't expect you to understand'. So, yeah, I'm feeling rather old." He chortled, then guided her outside by her arm. To their surprise, Emma and Alan were all ready to go and they met up with the Weasleys and Potters as they reached King's Cross station. They each took hold of one of their children and together, passed through the enchanted wall to arrive before the steam-emanating Hogwarts Express. All the other parents nodded or touched their hats towards the Headmaster and the esteemed teacher of the wizarding school their children went to and the Snapes made their way through the crowd smiling, followed by their other friends. Snape and Hermione stood back, arm-in-arm, watching their kids board the train, along with the others; saying goodbye for the time being, but knowing that they'll meet again, only later that same day. As the train whistled out of sight, Hermione wiped away a stray tear, while Snape rubbed affectionately at her arm, holding her close. “You know, I look at them and it’s funny; they don’t remind me of myself exactly, but of a certain time. I remember what I used to think love was then. I thought it was the fireworks, the explosions, the highlights. But it’s not. It’s time. To go through the seasons together, through change, through the ups and downs, to be able to look your beloved in the eye and say; ‘We did that together, as one. We chose each other above all others.’ That’s love. It’s unexplainable. It’s a secret that can only be known once you’ve done the time.”
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Hey guys, so this is the end, or should I say the beginning of a new phase. I am finally done with this book. My heartlfelt thanks to everyone who has read and constantly voted for my work. Thank you for all the comments and criticisms. A shout out to everyone who has stuck with Hermione and Snape for all this time. ❤
I'm working very hard on another Snamione fanfic, but I'm not going to publish it till it's fully complete. Please do check it out. For now- Namaste. Lots of love. Now and Always.
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