Say You Love Me

{26}

The holidays were when Hermione and Severus would decide to announce their marriage. 

It had been a spur of the moment type thing, a few weeks after the wedding with the knowledge that she was dying and he only had so little time left with her. Well, how could they not? The minister, Luna and Rolf, who else did they need? 

It would have been grand to bring along Harry and Ron, Hermione admitted, and Severus said that it would have only been right for Draco to be there as well, yet that wasn't what it was about. Their union was theirs and theirs alone, so all of the news that they had to share was kept between them while Hermione figured out a reason to their quick nuptials. 

She could claim Severus' need for privacy or maybe even just tell them she was sick, but the thought of Harry's watering eyes and messy hugs from Ron put her off it. Hermione didn't want anyone's pity, she hardly wanted to be taking Severus's time like she was, yet when he looked at her with all the love in the world, it was hard to regret the decision. 

Melancholy was her foremost feeling. 

There was much to be done for the holidays with so many new additions to the feast, as of course, the Weasley's were more than happy to host in their small home, meaning intimate and cozy moments where not a word could be heard in the whole place. She anticipated it. 

See, there was one more secret that even Severus didn't know. Luna did, of course, for she'd really taken a place as one of Hermione's best friends. And, of course, she was her healer. 

Everything was safe about it, Luna was sure. The pregnancy wouldn't affect the flowers since they'd plateaued in growth anyways, and she had a few charms in her repertoire that would make sure things continued to sail smoothly. 

Severus had talked about kids many times. He never truly hated them, he'd said. Not really. He was stuck between a few rocks and many hard places and needed to act a certain way, present himself as infallible to the Dark Lord and malleable to Dumbledore. Unfortunately, he had that same savior opinion of the old man that Hagrid did, and it almost amused Hermione to know they had something in common. 

He didn't know yet. Severus spent most of his time with her, or when she was at work, sitting over a pot attempting to find a cure for her curse. For about a year they would be able to parent together, then he would be a father on his own for the rest of his life. Having not wanted to have kids until later in life, Hermione found this development disappointing at first, but then with her shortened life span, she was actually glad to have gotten pregnant so early. 

She would get to be a mother and do a few more of the things in life that she had wanted to do. Time being shortened really put things into perspective. It's not okay that she wouldn't get to be Minister, nor would it be okay that she wasn't going to see her little one off the Hogwarts express, but Severus would. And wherever wizards went in the afterlife, Hermione was sure she'd be able to see at least that from there. 

Ready far before he ever was, Hermione was sitting on the porch in her travelling cloak, hand over her stomach, watching the cool waves splash onto the beach without any care for what season it was. She envied them, eternal in time and forever to be falling upon this same shore for the rest of existence. 

"I think I might rather swim in the waves than bear the company we are about to," Severus said as he came out into the cold with her. 

He put a hand on her shoulder and looked out with her, silent yet the grip was warm and tender. 

She felt the pull of apparition and cursed, wishing he'd at least warned her before plopping her straight into the snow before the burrow. 

"Warning might have been nice," Hermione hissed, gripping him tightly as he pulled her up. 

The smile was obvious on his face, and she could only glare.

They were received in kind, everyone was excited to see the reclusive couple. Severus more so than Hermione who everyone saw far more often than just the holidays. There were so many hugs and eye rolls, exclusively from Severus, that proved exactly how cozy it was going to be that evening. 

Hermione, of course, was soon to be pulled off by Ron and Harry and their respective partners, Severus somehow falling away with Molly. It was an interesting evening, indeed. 

Presents took several hours, and when it came time to reveal their marriage, Hermione found herself suffocated once again by attention she found unnecessary. It made her unable to tell everyone the other news she had in store for them, but it was probably best considering the way Severus reacted when he found out. 

They got home with most of their sense in tact, their hearing wasn't one of those however, so they put on the kettle and settled in by the fire before discussing the evening. 

Hermione promised one more gift, and Severus had shed enough clothing to prove exactly what he thought that gift was going to be. His shirt was loose and half-unbuttoned, trousers on and wand, of all things, holding his hair back. She was simultaneously appalled and intrigued. 

Keeping her nose in her tea, the arm around her as he settled almost sent her into a panic. 

"Is everything in order over there, Madame?"

He never seemed to get over it that she was his. 'Madame' had become the new pet name of choice. 

"Yes, things are lovely, actually."

Severus hummed in reply. 

Hermione sipped her tea and looked over at her husband, a fact which the world would know soon enough if the gossip that was Draco Potter had anything to say about it. 

"I'm pregnant."

There were certainly more delicate ways to say it. A million more, but delicate hadn't ever been their thing, it seemed. 

Severus continued to sip his tea, then met her eye and said, "Repeat that."

"I, Hermione Granger Snape, your wife, am pregnant."

He took this in, seeming to find nothing in it he could digest with any certainty. 

"Hermione-"

"Severus I talked to Luna, everything is going to be okay. I know you'll have to do most of it alone-"

"Don't say that," he interrupted, standing up with little care of their cuppas. "Don't say any of it!"

"Severus!" Hermione stood with him, a halfhearted spell to clean up the tea cast and forgotten about within seconds. "You're not any closer to a cure than you were when you started. I've accepted it now. And if one life is to be taken, why not have another in my place? Raise them like I would've wanted to, take solace in them. Find them another mother when the time is right."

"Another-" Severus could say no more, he walked out of the room with his magic practically beating through the walls. Obviously there were some things she had accepted that he hadn't quite yet. 

Balking in the middle of the sitting room, Hermione looked at the fire, surprised to hear footsteps make their way back towards her. Honestly, she expected him to have his travelling cloak on, but no such thing appeared anywhere around him, in fact, Severus stood before her and put both of his hands on her face and kissed her. 

"I will find a cure for you, Hermione, and we will raise this child together." 

A slow breath and another kiss, his statement was sealed in their embrace for the evening. They would keep it a happy holiday, and Severus would get what he thought he was getting that night from Hermione as his present, though he was thankful for the other surprise as well.  

A/N

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I literally have no excuses. Just... got busy and have had about negative writing motivation. Okay so I have a few excuses, but anyway! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it! The last couple chapters shouldn't take this long.