Unspoiled

As always, I would like to thank my wonderful betas, JENGEORGE and NervousAboutAngels, for all of their hard work on my behalf.

A big Thank You also goes out to the staff here at The Petulant Poetess. Their hard work and constant vigilance benefits us all.

This story and its characters belong to J. K. Rowling. I take no credit. I make no money.

Chapter 11

Unspoiled

"If you expect me to feed you lunch this time, forget it!" Hermione barked defiantly.

"Where's Hugo?" Ron demanded as he and another Auror marched into the kitchen. Before she could answer, Ron ordered the young man to search the upstairs. "And use the Magical Detection spell. She may have put him under a Disillusionment charm."

"He's not here, Ronald," she insisted. "Didn't you take him to school this morning?"

"I did, but I knew you'd try something like this, so I figured out a way to track him. If he turns up anywhere besides school, my house, or the Burrow, I have an alarm that goes off."

"Well, today is his birthday. Perhaps your mum and dad picked him up from school and took him out to lunch or something. Ever think of that?"

"Mum would have told me about it. Besides, I have reason to believe that he's here."

"Well, search all you like. He's not here, and I have no idea where he is." She decided a little dig was in order. "And you call yourself a good father – you can't even keep track of your child. Did you even check at the school or the Burrow before you came here? Maybe your Tracking charm is faulty."

"There's nothing wrong with the charm, Hermione. He's here and we'll find him. And when we do, I'll arrest you for kidnapping." With those words, Ron cast the Magical Detection spell and began to comb the kitchen and then the remainder of the rooms downstairs, but, of course, Hugo was nowhere to be found.

When Ron was joined, once again, by his empty-handed coworker at the bottom of the stairs, Ron strutted back into the kitchen where Hermione sat impatiently at the table.

"This isn't over, Hermione."

"Please let me know he's alright once you do locate him. You have me worried sick now." Of course she knew he was safe with Snape, but she had to pretend, if for no other reason than to make Ron doubt himself.

"Stuff a sock in it!" He walked back to the front sitting room, and she heard two more loud cracks as they finally left.

That was a close one, Hermione, she thought with great relief. She decided then and there that she'd better bone up on divorce laws in the wizarding world so she wouldn't risk a blunder like that again. The Ministry's library was full of books on the subject. She had her work cut out for her.

*****

Snape and Hugo silently appeared on the outskirts of Molly and Arthur's yard at the Burrow. But they didn't go in the house straight away. Instead, Snape lead the boy to a back-yard table with a tattered, crooked umbrella and some rusting chairs. As soon as Hugo realized where he was, he relaxed. He knew he was safe at his grandma and grandpa's house. But he still clutched tightly to Lizzy as he gazed into the endless depths of Snape's black eyes.

"Are you alright?" Snape asked him gently.

Hugo nodded.

"Is your father still giving you your potion twice a day?"

Hugo shook his head slowly side to side.

"That is most unfortunate. How are you feeling these days?"

"Pretty lousy," the boy replied meekly. "My stomach was so upset yesterday that I couldn't keep supper down. And I had one bad dream after another last night. I feel like I didn't sleep at all."

"I see... Does your father know about this?"

"No. He won't listen to me. He just keeps telling everyone that I'm fine. It's like he thinks that if he says it enough, it will come true. But it only makes me feel worse."

"You need your potion, Hugo. Do you have access to it?"

He shook his head again.

"If I send you some more by owl post, do you think you could manage to administer it to yourself while your dad is not looking?"

He nodded.

"And would you be able to write to me at least once each week to tell me what affect the potion has on your health?"

"I think so, but that might be much trickier to do without my dad's permission. Would I get into trouble if he finds out?"

"Perhaps not, if we enlist the help of your grandmother. Doesn't she pick you up after school most days?"

"Every day," Hugo replied.

Snape glanced over at the failing structure that was supposed to pass for a house. "Do you think she's home now?"

"I don't know."

"Let's find out, shall we?" He stood and took Hugo by the hand, and they walked up to the back door where Snape rapped sharply with his knuckles.

A bewildered Molly Weasley opened the door as a look of shock invaded her face. "Severus Snape – and Hugo? What on earth?"

"Good afternoon, Molly. May we come in?"

"You two know each other?" asked Hugo in amazement.

"Off and on over the years, your grandfather and I have worked closely with Professor Snape to help bring about the defeat of Lord Voldemort. So yes, we've known each other for a very long time."

That one statement changed Hugo's entire perspective on Professor Snape. He looked up at the stern dark man with a smile, and Snape immediately smiled warmly back.

This surprised Molly. In all of her years, she had almost never seen Snape smile at anyone, least of all a child.

"Please sit, make yourself at home, Severus. Care for some tea?"

"Thanks, but I can't stay." Snape proceeded to tell Molly what had just transpired, as well as the fact that Miss Granger had indeed attempted to attend Hugo's party but was denied entrance by her son. Then he continued with the importance of the potion to Hugo's health and asked that she help Hugo with his weekly updates to Snape about his condition. Molly understood how much the potion helped and that he needed it even more under the circumstances. She vowed to make sure Hugo continued to receive the necessary dosage and that Snape was informed of his progress.

As he stood to leave, Snape looked deep into Molly's eyes with great concern. "The boy needs his mother, Molly. And you of all people must know how she feels. You know what it's like to have one of them taken from you."

Even after all these years, the thought of losing Fred still brought tears to her eyes. She nodded in agreement.

"You must convince your son to let them have access to each other. It would be better for everyone."

"I'll do my best," she promised.

Snape knelt down once again to look Hugo in the eye. He placed his hand gently on the boy's shoulder. "It will all work out, don't worry. Your grandmother will see to it."

Hugo smiled and impulsively flung his arms around Snape's neck. Molly had to stifle a giggle at the shocked expression that came across his face as he awkwardly patted the boy's back.

"Thanks for saving my mum today." He pulled away just enough to see Snape's face. The expression in the boy's eyes tore at his heart. "It would have been horrible if she had ended up in Azkaban just because she wanted to see me!"

"I'm glad I was able to help," he said with a touch of embarrassment as he stood up to leave. He was certainly not used to children showing him affection.

"It was good to see you again, Molly. Give my regards to Arthur."

"Good to see you too, Severus. I'll see to it that Hugo gets back to school."

With those assurances, Snape marched to the perimeter and Disapparated back to Miss Granger's house.

*****

"You selfish little fool!" Snape bellowed the instant he had reappeared in Hermione's kitchen.

Since Ron's departure, she had been impatiently pacing the kitchen floor, awaiting Snape's return. But the abrupt harshness of his voice almost made her jump out of her skin. "What are you talking about?" she retorted defensively. "Where did you take my son?"

"He's at your in-laws' house. Do you have any idea what your imprisonment would have done to your child's self esteem?"

"I just wanted him to know that I love him. I didn't realize..."

"Hermione Granger didn't do her homework," he spat with a viciously mocking tone. "You...of ALL people! Have you any idea how close you came to ending up in Azkaban?"

"I didn't know... I didn't know," she pleaded with him to understand as she broke down into sobs and collapsed onto the nearest chair.

"Your ignorance is no excuse!" he shouted with red rage. "His emotional well-being would have been crushed. He would have blamed himself for your incarceration!"

"I would never have done it if I had known..."

"Can't you see what it would have done to him?" He glared at her with fire in his eyes. "It would have hardened his heart, leaving him forever to make cold and calculating choices with no thought of the consequences."

Hermione gasped at Snape through her tears. He was describing what he thought to be himself, and he hated the thought that Hugo would end up like him. But she knew better. Somehow, her logical mind began to climb to the surface of her pain. She finally saw Snape clearly for the first time. This complex, angry man cared deeply for her as well as her son. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be nearly this angry with her. It didn't make his words sting any less, however, for she knew that he was right.

"Lunch is canceled!" he growled through clenched teeth. "The sight of you has robbed me of my appetite."

He bared his teeth and hissed like a wild animal about to strike. Hermione cowered in her chair, afraid of what he might do next. She watched in horror as he drew his wand, but he tapped himself on the head and began to fade from her tear-streaked view. When she no longer sensed his presence in the room, she laid her head down on the table and openly wept. But she knew that Snape had spoken the truth. She had to educate herself so as to prevent a similar incident from happing in the future. And the Ministry library was the perfect place to start.

*****

Snape made sure that no prying eyes were watching before removing the Disillusionment charm as he made his way up the riverbank to Spinner's End. Since the neighborhood had cleaned up this area, the warmer months of the year made the place much more inviting. More often than not, a few of the neighborhood children, or a young couple entwined in romantic activities, dotted the riverbank during all hours of the day. So he had gotten into the habit of Disillusioning himself before Apparating back home. Today was no exception. Even though Muggle school was still in session, a couple of miscreants stood ankle deep at the river's edge, skipping stones across the water's surface.

"Shouldn't you two be in school?" Snape barked viciously as he revealed himself from behind some bushes.

The two boys stared in wide-eyed disbelief at Snape since they had inspected the area thoroughly before beginning their activity and thought they were alone.

"If I catch you here again during school hours, I'll tell your parents!" he hollered after them as they took off running.

He plodded slowly up the bank towards his house, but as he thought back over the previous few minutes, his spirits sank lower and lower. Once again, he had been unnecessarily cruel to Miss Granger. And although he felt greatly disappointed in her for not educating herself on the subject before attempting this stunt, he also felt that there were much more eloquent ways of conveying that fact that would not have resulted in her emotional collapse. But the look on Hugo's face, the concern in his eyes, the potential for guilt and pain that lay dormant there... One wrong move from Miss Granger, and her son would plunge over the same emotional cliff that he had himself fallen off of as an adolescent. He simply could not let her do that to him...or to herself.

When Snape opened the door and entered alone, Winky understandably displayed great puzzlement and disappointment. But Snape simply held up his hand. "There will be no luncheon, Winky. So sorry to have troubled you for nothing."

"But, Master Severus..."

"Please, I just need to be left alone for a while." As he began to ascend the staircase, he noticed that Winky was crying.

"Winky," he added with concern, "I said I was sorry."

"Winky doesn't cry for Winky, Winky cries for Master Severus." She stared up at him with unblinking tennis ball eyes as the tears streamed down her face. "Winky feels Master's pain. Isn't there anything Winky can do to help?"

"Not unless you possess a Time-Turner... I really made a mess of things, Winky." Snape swallowed hard. He felt his own eyes begin to well up, and he didn't want to cry in front of her, so he continued slowly up the staircase.

"Miss Granger will forgive Master, don't worry. She always has."

Snape silently nodded as he disappeared into his bedroom and closed the door. The instant the door snapped shut, he let the tears flow freely. Why had he gotten so angry with Miss Granger? Didn't she need him this afternoon more than ever? Didn't he want to be there to comfort her? He could be rocking her in his arms at this very moment if he had only held his temper. But the thought of her in that awful place simply sent him over the edge, not to mention the damage it would have done to Hugo. Now that Snape had actually met the boy, he saw an unspoiled version of himself in that innocent face and wanted more than ever to keep him unspoiled.

But as he continued to analyze the reasons behind his actions, he realized that he had been the selfish fool, not Miss Granger. It would have caused him great pain to see her thrown into Azkaban. His feelings were at risk here. No more fragrant letters, no more IM's, no more lunches. And with her out of the picture, surely the wooden-headed Mr. Weasley would deprive him of any access to Hugo whatsoever, no matter the consequences to Hugo's health. This scenario would mean absolute torture for Snape. He would rather serve her sentence for her than to have that happen.

He would have to make it up to her somehow. But what could he possibly do that would convince her that he was truly sorry? He wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to speak to him again, but he had to try, so he decided, without deliberation, that a handwritten letter of apology was the best way to start. He pulled out a stack of parchment, a piece of 100% papyrus, his favorite quill, and began to write. It took him several tries, but he finally found just the right words to convey his genuine remorse and proper request for forgiveness. He then copied the words to the papyrus, sealed the letter with a Slytherin wax stamp, and opened the window.

Gomez and Morticia had begun to construct a nest under the eves in an odd architectural detail at the apex of his roof-line. The two birds seemed so happy together that he almost hated to call Gomez away. For a fleeting moment, he thought of delivering the note personally, but a vision of having the door slammed in his face made him think better of the idea.

"Gomez, sorry to break up your little party, but I am in need of your services." He attached the letter to the bird's leg. "Take this to your owner, will you?" he requested with a sad tone. "And give her a hug for me." He stood at the window and watched the owl fly towards the horizon until he was no longer visible. Then he closed the window and plopped himself down on the bed in disgust. Merlin, please let her find it in her heart to forgive me.

*****

After a good cry at the kitchen table, Hermione had resolutely picked herself up, brushed herself off, and grew a new determination to learn all she could about child custody cases in the wizarding world. She would get her kids back with or without anyone's help. There simply had to be a way. She replaced the Anti-Apparation wards on her home and walked across the street to the park to Disapparate back to London. Once she was back at the Ministry, she headed straight to the library and checked out every book she could find on the subject. The pile was so big she had to shrink it considerably to fit it into her purse.

When she finally made her way back up to her office, Gomez was waiting patiently at the window. As soon as she opened it, he jumped in and fluttered up to her affectionately with wings outstretched. She pulled him back just long enough to remove the letter from his leg, and then he began to rub up against her again as he made soft cooing sounds. She had never seen an owl act like this. He even put his face next to hers at one point.

She caressed his head and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Gomez, I needed that." She glanced at the letter and recognized Snape's handwriting immediately. She swallowed hard as tears began to well up in her eyes again. "Don't leave yet," she told the owl, "I might need to send a reply."

With great trepidation, Hermione opened the letter; then she sighed with relief. Well at least it's not a Howler, she thought as she unfolded its single page. 100% Papyrus again. This was a good sign.

My Dearest Miss Granger,

Severus Snape

Hermione stared at the page in amazement. Not only had he said that he was sorry, but he wanted to make it up to her! He was willing to help her with the research. And not only did he seem to genuinely like Hugo, he also put in writing that his life without her would be much less pleasant! It was more than she could ever hope for. And his salutation... "My Dearest." She had read his anger correctly. He did care. But for the first time, he had actually signed his name instead of just his initials. This was indeed a significant gesture. This let her know that his words had come from his heart.

Hermione's mind drifted off into a daydream about the next time she would see Snape. Would he finally allow her a hug? She imagined him wrapping his arms around her for side-along Apparition to his house, and as the spinning stopped at their destination, instead of letting go of her, he reached down and bestowed a kiss on her welcoming lips. Would he ever kiss her? She was legally separated now, and Ron was deep in a relationship with someone else already. As far as she was concerned, there was no reason whatsoever for her not to kiss him if he wanted her to. And it most certainly was not against the law to dream about it...

"Are you OK, ma'am?" asked her coworker, Cecelia.

"Oh, yes," stammered Hermione as she was rudely startled out of her musings.

She quickly pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled a note in reply to Snape's letter. Then she attached it to Gomez's leg and gave the bird a kiss on the cheek. "That's for the Professor," she said with a giggle. "Off you go, then." And she watched the bird fly over the rooftops with a ray of hope in her heart once again.