"Yeah," she nodded. "We're, uh, we're going to try to work it out, see how things go." "You know, for cranky prats, you could do a lot worse." "Thanks, Ron," she gave him another half-smile. "I should probably get going," he muttered, hearing Lavender calling for him. "Yeah. See you." He gave her another awkward smile as he disappeared from the room. "He took that pretty well, didn't he?" Harry muttered after they heard the door close below. "He's probably just relieved that he's not going to be a father," Ginny said, leading Hermione back to the couch. "Speaking of which, how is the dad-to-be?" "Believe it or not, he asked me to marry him," Hermione chuckled. "No, he didn't!" she gasped, glancing at Hermione's left hand. "It wasn't in any kind of romantic, down on one knee fashion. It was more his way of telling me that he wanted to be part of my life and our son's life, probably coupled with a more traditional idea of what happens if a man gets a woman pregnant without being married." "Please tell me we're not going to your wedding any time soon." "No. Maybe a double date, but I told him I'm not ready to get married." "But you're going out with him?" "Yeah," she chuckled. "You finally got what you wanted, huh?" "What?" she looked surprised.
And he is your son. I think it would be beneficial for him to know you. I just don't want to be those people that shout at each other every time they're in a room together. And our relationship has been genial at best, downright spiteful at worst." "Genial? It's a little harsh to say that's the most we've been to each other recently." "I'd consider it an accurate description." "And what of that night?" "I won't deny that I had some sexual frustration. I'll assume that you did as well, and all that night was simply relieving ourselves of that frustration. It wasn't the start of anything, it didn't make us anything more or less than what we were before, it just gave us more of a physical knowledge of each other." "And the fact that you're carrying my child?" he raised an eyebrow. "I'm not the first woman to carry the child of a man she does not love," she whispered, pretending to study the wood of his desk as casually as possible. How she kept her voice from breaking was beyond her. He opened the envelope and pulled out the papers. He glanced at each of them, where her solicitors had affixed little stick-on arrows where his signature was needed, as if he would just place quill and ink to it without reading. Maybe that's what they were hoping for. I'll charge you loads of gold to draw up some papers, you take them, he signs them, you bring them back, we file them, that's the end of that, no real work on our part. What would they do if he refused to sign the papers? What would they do if he, just from spite, made them earn their fee? That would probably upset Hermione, which was certainly not his goal. "I'll sign," he said, lifting his quill, then looking into her face. She tried not to betray her emotions, but her features had fallen
"Speaking of debates," she said in an irritated voice, looking over the flowers. She saw something nestled in the stems she hadn't noticed before. She stood and walked over, reaching in and extracting a small envelope. "What is it, Mione?" Harry asked, looking at the letter. "My guess, based on the look and feel, is a letter," she shot back, holding open the top and looking at him in annoyance. "Thanks for the information, o wise one!" he smiled back at her. She rolled her eyes as she opened the note. Inside was a single piece of parchment, on which a short note was written in the familiar scrawl of the Potions Master. Meet me in the park two miles from your house. She glanced at Danielle, then Harry, folded the note slowly and put it in her pocket. "What did it say?" Danielle asked. "Nothing," she said, walking to her coat closet and pulled out a light jacket. "Where are you going?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "I forgot I have to be somewhere... important meeting for, uh, work." "Right. Say hi to Snape for me." "I will. See you later," she said, rushing out the door. She decided to take her car, hopped in, and pulled out of the driveway. She drove to the park and started walking around. She finally found him sitting on a bench overlooking a pond. She walked over, not wanting to seem too eager by running, and sat next to him. "I was wondering if you had gotten my note," he said. "I had to send it after I had sent the flowers, as I didn't want someone to oversee it." "It was quite clever," she nodded, sliding so she was right next to him. "My intention was to stop by your home, as I had matters to discuss with you that you had made clear you didn't want discussed on our outing, but seeing as I would have been interrupting..." "It's just Harry and Danielle, my sister." "I wasn't sure it was time for introductions," he muttered, taking her hand gently in his. "What were you wanting to talk about?" she asked, looking up into his face. "I am aware you have already seen the Healer once, possibly twice." "I went to see her again a couple of weeks ago. I have two more weeks before I have to go again." "The financial burden of this should not fall only on your shoulders, Hermione," he said, looking down at her. "Please tell me what you're paying the healer so I can provide you the gold for your next visit. Also, taking into account the girl you were at Hogwarts, I'm sure you're starting to plan a nursery for the baby, and I will, of course, be picking up half of that as well." "Severus..." she muttered, feeling her cheeks go pink. "I'm not expecting you..." "I have told you before, Hermione, that it is my obligation to assist you in any way you may need it." "Thank you," she whispered, then she thought of something. "Why don't you come back to the house and we can talk about the nursery? Plan it together. And I'm sure you'll be needing some stuff as well, if you're going to be caring for him at Hogwarts." "I would come, but again, I don't believe it's time for introductions to your family quite yet." "You got me pregnant, Severus," she pointed out, sounding annoyed. "You're going to have to meet them at some point, they're going to want to know the father of my child." "But now isn't the time," he stated firmly. "The time is not when we're in the delivery room. Remember that, because if I have to make introductions while I'm in labor I can all but guarantee you that you won't like what I call you." She saw the corners of his lips upturn in a slight smile. "I have been called worse." he assured her. "You'd be surprised," she said stubbornly before shifting herself so she could press her lips to his. Neither one noticed that a few meters away a blonde girl and a raven-haired boy with a lightening shaped scar were watching them from behind a tree, both looking triumphant.
