Fate Set Right

Chapter 30

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July 30, 1977

Hermione stared out the window and watched as the rain poured down the pane. There wasn't any work to do in the greenhouses, and impervious or umbrella charms wouldn't hold up to the summer storm they were experiencing. So, as she did on her forced days off, she studied.

She was surrounded by her advanced texts on Arithmancy, Transfiguration, and Runes in the little nook by the window. And, of course, Severus' textbook. She had probably studied that the most, to the point Slughorn would preen over what a great pupil she was and wonder how he'd overlooked her. Not that she cared; Hermione was well past wanting the approval of her teachers. Severus was gone, and while he wasn't her whole world, he had been a large part of it. She'd kept in touch with Sirius and Remus, sporadically with Lily, who only spoke of a mystery beau, but it wasn't the same. She wondered if she would have been this detached during her last year at Hogwarts if she had stayed in her previous era. The first three years had been fraught with trouble, and she doubted very much the last four would have been any different.

"Emonee," Oliver's little voice called from the hallway. "Emonee pay!" he squealed as he came into her room with two stuffed toys.

She smiled, picking up her wand from beside her and making his stuffed bunny spring out of his hand and dance around the room. He squealed, clapping his pudgy little hands.

Oliver, not quite a year and a half, was one of the highlights of coming back to the McGonagalls' home. He was also a reminder of how alone she was. It had occurred to her upon returning that she had actually spent less than a year of her life with the couple. And while they still welcomed her home warmly and treated her like family, it was more obvious without Severus there to draw her attention that she didn't quite fit in.

"Ollie, leave Hermione alone, sweetie," Delia said in a tired voice before coming into the room.

She was still lovely, but there were fresh lines around her eyes, and her posture was a bit more worn down than it had been three years ago. But there was also a bliss about Delia that Hermione couldn't deny.

"It's quite alright, I don't mind," she insisted.

Delia scooped up Oliver, who promptly fell silent and tried to squirm out of her arms. Delia huffed, trying to get a better hold on her wiggling toddler. "I know, and believe me, you donea know how much I appreciate it when I gotta get dinner goin'. Whenever you watch him, I have the most relaxing couple of hours I've had in a while. But I also know..." Oliver finally stopped trying to escape, flopping on Delia's shoulder. She rolled her eyes, then looked at Hermione sympathetically. "But I also know how hard it is to distract yourself while your love's away. Watching a baby isn't going to help, just makes you wistful for the future. Which I also know feels uncertain right now."

Hermione pictured a vague image of Aurora Snape, and she wished she could remember if she shared any resemblance with Severus' daughter.

"It feels so uncertain," she confessed.

Delia sat beside Hermione. "Bob didn't ask me to marry him before he left for his apprenticeship either. You know I worked for Flourish and Blotts right after Hogwarts, and I liked my job, but it didn't keep my mind from running off. Wondering if there would be a lass Bob fancied more than me. And Min, well..." Delia sighed. "There are two sides to a coin, Hermione. Taking a chance and not. I took a chance and waited, and I've been quite happy with the outcome. Min, well, she fell in love after Hogwarts with a local boy. Man now, I suppose, but you know. He was a handsome lad in his younger days, and Min was quite taken with him. Accepted his proposal, too. But she called it off, went to work for the Ministry."