XV

This story is based on the Surrogate Mother Challenge issued on WIKTT. For full description of this challenge, please see the author's notes at the end of the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I looked in the mirror this morning and was stunned to discover that I am not JK Rowling. Shocking, I know.

Special thanks to my wonderful beta, Southern_Witch_69!

Severus made his way to the Wee Wizard Ward. His thoughts consumed with what could've been going through Hermione's head. Damn her! The only thing that he could think of was that she must have realized what sort of commitment she'd be getting herself into. Strapped with a child she had not... His train of thought stilled. That couldn't really be it...could it?

The only other idea that seemed logical to him was that she blamed him. It was, after all, largely his fault that she'd delivered early. He had not told her that many of his ancestors had bore children well before their due dates. It was one reason that he'd been so overly cautious with her. Then, he'd gone and coerced her into having sex with him.

His own damn fault.

However, the child had proven her worth and served her purpose that morning. The sole reason for her conception had been to secure his inheritance. He'd met with the solicitors first thing, and the paperwork had all been finalized.

At the time, he'd thought that Hermione would actually wish to be part of his...their...daughter's life. Because of this, he'd gone to the trouble of drawing up a new contract stating that fact, though it was not binding until she signed it.

He fingered the rolled up parchment, which was presently resting in the pocket of his robes, and he wondered if he should even bother presenting it to her. He was not a man that desired putting himself out for rejection.

After the meeting with the solicitors, he'd deposited the appropriate amount of funds into Hermione's account at Gringotts, gone out and settled her old debts that had been haunting her since the death of her parents, and after that, he'd made his way to the Ministry of Magic. That had taken the longest of all.

He had gone through the process for himself a few years back, but it seemed that it took more money and more time to get Miss Granger back into good standing with the Ministry of Magic...among the hurdles of Dolores Umbridge. That horrible toad had still been holding a grudge against Hermione since she taught the girl during her fifth year and was one of the key instigators in the ruddy War Criminal Decree. Umbridge was simply one of the many selfish and arrogant idiots who were nothing but jealous of those that did something for the war effort.

Eventually, it had taken Severus' threatening the ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that he would bring Firenze down to the Ministry of Magic to get her to sign the papers releasing Hermione of her work and education restrictions. She quickly gave in of course.

When that final task was done, Severus had felt free to go back to St. Mungo's. She'd fulfilled her end of the bargain and he his. It was his hope that it had meant that they could pick up their lives and start over with a clean slate...nothing to get in the way.

Losing his train of thoughts, he looked up at the door before him. He'd finally reached the W.W.W. and opened the door uncertainly. The sight that greeted him was not the same one that he'd left the night before. The room was a bustle of activity. There were three people hovering over his daughter's bubble. Next to where his daughter was, there was a small table containing a barrage of potions and various types of wands in numerous sizes. An unexpected feeling of concern began to rise up within him.

He strode into the room and approached the small cluster of women. "What is going on in here?" he hissed in his most threatening Potion master's voice.

"Oh, Professor Snape," replied a bulky witch. "I'm so glad that you're here. I just tried the Floo to reach you, and I was getting ready to send you an urgent owl," she prattled. "I'm Healer Munch, by the way..."

"Get on with it," Snape interrupted, clearly irritated that the woman had yet to get to the point.

She looked slightly taken aback by his brusque tone. "Well, yes, well, you see there was been a bit of a setback with your daughter," she began. The Healer was obviously having a difficult time getting the words out while under the intimidating glare of Severus Snape. "She is losing her strength, as it were, and having trouble sustaining the most basic of functions. We're helping as best as we can, but we can only do so much for so long, you see. This can happen in these pre-term babes. It's the loss of magic that's affecting her the most. Otherwise some of the Muggle remedies that we're familiar with might work."

"Well, what needs to be done?" he snapped.

"That's where we're having trouble, Professor," she answered. "You see, we typically give Elixir Corroboro to these young ones that struggle."

"Then give her the bloody potion!" he snarled.

The Healer jumped back. "We did, Professor Snape!" she cried. "It didn't work. That happens from time to time."

"Then, tell me, Healer Munch, what do you do in those circumstances?" he bit out.

"The potion, sir, it's made with mother's milk. So, we re-brew it with another donor or preferably the mother," she said though as she spoke the word 'mother' there was a definite bit of distaste in her mouth. "But after Miss Granger's very unprofessional display this afternoon, I really don't suggest that you get her involved," she added in a self-righteous tone.

Severus took a step to close the gap between him and Healer Munch. He leant down close to her chubby face and intoned dangerously, "So, you think it would be better to let my child die than allow her mother to help her?" He took another step, backing the stout witch into the wall behind her.

"We're trying another brew with another donor," she replied in a near pleading sound.

"And if that brew fails? What do you intend to do then, Healer Munch?"

"We'll try something else, sir. Really, it...it's best not to involve the Granger girl. It will only complicate things for you in the long run," she said in a near pleading tone. A nasty smirk suddenly appeared on the Healers face and she piously added, "Besides, we give all of our surrogates and adoptive witches a potion to dry up their milk. Miss Granger will have received that before she left today."

"I get the impression that you greatly misunderstand my relationship with Miss Granger. Hermione would not have taken such an elixir," he replied. He was still uncertain as to Hermione's exact reasons for leaving, though he had a feeling that if the women who had cared for Hermione had been anything like this hag, it would explain quite a bit. Severus wondered if she truly would have taken such a potion under those circumstances. He decided that a different tactic might provide him with more information.

Severus took a small step back, giving the woman back some of her personal space in order to encourage her to speak. However, he kept his voice soft and dangerous to maintain some level of fear. "What is it that makes you think that things could become complicated by involving Miss Granger in a necessary but relatively benign way?"

"Sh-she was here, sir," the Healer stammered. "She was all teary eyed and other such rot over the baby." When Severus didn't say anything, she went on. "Well, after the papers arrived his morning stating that she'd already given up her rights, I knew that I had to put a stop to her visiting...to help stop her from developing an attachment." Severus' features still remained schooled, giving the Healer more confidence in the telling of her tale. "Can you believe it? The girl was actually discussing names that she thought suited your child."

Severus got the impression that this witch...and he used that term lightly...didn't think that Hermione was worthy of licking her boots. However, this small anecdote certainly explained Hermione's frame of mind somewhat better. His anger with Hermione ebbed as those emotions were transposed to the arrogant harpy in front of him. The only thing that kept him from throttling her was that he knew his daughter's life was hanging in the balance.

"How long does the child have?" he asked.

"If the brew doesn't work, a couple of hours," replied the Healer, her voice of quiet and fearful. "We'll try another donor after that of course."

"I am going to retrieve her mother," he leant in towards the woman, startling her again. "Don't let any harm come to her in my absence, or I will personally rip every limb from your body without magic," he threatened. He turned on his boot heel and began to leave the room.

Healer Munch gulped, she caught her breath just before he left, still foolishly determined to voice her opinion. "Professor Snape," she called. "If you involve her then you will likely find it very difficult to get rid of her. It would be best if..."

He was hovering over her, his smooth black wand jabbing into her throat in an instant. "Don't talk to me about what is best regarding my family," he sneered. Just as quickly, he removed his wand from her and left the ward before she could utter another word.

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Hermione and Ginny had arrived at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, and her friend had promptly taken her down to the kitchen to feed her. Hermione still didn't have much of an appetite...despite all of the books she'd read telling her that she should be famished. She had simply wanted to be alone to think. Following a quick supper, Ginny had escorted Hermione upstairs. Now that only Ron and Ginny stayed in the dumpy old house, they had picked the nicest of the rooms. When Ginny asked Hermione where she'd wanted to sleep, she had told her she wished to be in the old room that the pair had shared several summers ago when the house had first been taken over by the Order of the Phoenix.

Ginny fussed over her nearly as badly as Hermione would've expected Mrs. Weasley to. She was glad that the older Weasley woman wasn't there with them. She could just hear the woman's nattering in her ear, and it certainly wasn't what she would need. Silence... all she wanted was blissful, peaceful, silence.

Hermione rolled over in the bed and faced the wall. It was nothing fancy, nothing glamorous...not much of anything really...but it was... comfortable. It gave her the same feeling that she would get from eating a steamy bowl of homemade chicken soup. That was what she needed...a place where she could feel safe. It was nothing but a dimly lit room with the peeling paint on the walls and a simple handmade quilt covering the bed.

Grateful that the doting Weasley submitted to Hermione's wishes and left her alone, the tired and weak woman had crawled onto her old bed, curled up under the covers, and remained there since. She still felt empty inside; although now, she had the horrible feeling that the deep crevasse would never again be filled. The final blow had been that horrible Healer telling her that Snape had sent the papers to the hospital first thing that morning. The ruddy bastard wanted to make sure that there was no mistake that she had no rights, no involvement, nothing.

Her eyes again began to brim with tears. She gripped the quilt within her hands, causing her knuckles to whiten in frustration. The one thing that would fill the void was outside of her reach. "Damn you, Snape," she muttered as she wiped away a lone droplet that had slid down her face with her other hand.

The door behind her clicked open softly. Hermione sniffed. "Go away, Ginny, please." She waited until she heard the door softly shut again behind her and closed her eyes to allow herself to be alone in her own misery. She'd never felt this desolate before, as if filled with only a loneliness that consumed her and told her that the only way she'd be at peace would be if she were to die.

Hermione felt the bed dip next to her. "I told you to leave," she mumbled. "I just want to be alone."

"It may be what you want, Hermione, but I do not believe that it is truly what is best for you," came the rich, velvety baritone voice which belonged him.

Her grip on the coverlet tightened even more as she willed herself not to breakdown any further in front of him. She squeezed her eyes even tighter and prayed that he would get out of the room and not belittle her any further than he already had that day. She flinched when she felt his hand rest on her shoulder. In the next moment, she regretted this action as she suddenly felt more alone when he removed his hand.

"Look at me, Hermione," he said brusquely.

Against her better judgment, she slowly opened her eyes and rolled to her back to look at the man who had betrayed her. His face was ever cold, ever distant. After all of the time she had spent working on getting to know him, he was completely closing himself off to her. "Why are you here?" she finally brought herself to ask.

"Several reasons," he replied vaguely. When she narrowed her gaze and felt the coldness radiating from her, he continued. "You ran off today before I could talk to you."

"Why would I need to talk to you, Severus?" she challenged, suddenly feeling more alive than she had since she'd first woken up to find herself in this horrible nightmare. She pushed herself up onto her elbows. "So you could tell me to my face to sod off? I don't need that, thank you very much. Just go away."

"No. I'm not leaving," Severus said firmly. "I cannot believe that after all of the time that we have spent together these last few months that you would take the words of a two-bit Healer to heart. Do you really have so little faith in me?" The words came off harsher than he had intended, but he was not about to take them back now. How dare she run off and sulk like a small child?

Hermione shook her head at a loss for words. "I-I don't know," she stammered. She took a deep breath. "Wait a minute. You can't blame this on me. What was I supposed to think when you are gone and all I got was a barrage of people telling me that the contract has been fulfilled and that I was nothing more than a surrogate. The way they spoke, it made me feel disposable!" Her anger and frustration began to take over the emotional upheaval, giving her sorrow a rest.

"Hermione, have you forgotten how this entire endeavor began? That was what you were hired for," he snapped. It was when he saw the horror on her face at his statement that he regretted the words that he had used. Severus sighed. "I'm not saying this right," he muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He took another breath, dropped his hand, and examined the young woman before him. She appeared tired and weary. Her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed from what he was certain was a recent bout of tears. Fine wisps of hair, that had escaped the neat plait that ran down her back, framed her face. He brought his hand out to cup her cheek. The confusion in her eyes from this simple act spurred him to speak again.

"Hermione, when this began several months ago, you were simply to have this child and walk away." She inhaled sharply and began to open her mouth. Severus moved his hand from her cheek to her chin and gently closed her mouth, placing his thumb softly over her lips. "Let me finish," he said simply and brushed his thumb over her lips and to her jaw. "That was before we began spending so much of our free time together. In these last few months, I have learnt what an intelligent, enchanting, intriguing, and beautiful young woman that you are."

Hermione was uncertain how to respond to him; it was yet another dimension to add to her already confused jumble of emotions. "Then where were you?" she demanded as she struggled to fight back the sobs. "Why did that Healer throw me out, spouting off that the contract had arrived this morning and that I wasn't allowed there?"

Severus removed his hand from her. "I am sorry," he replied, staring into her eyes and allowing her to see the mixture of emotion lurking in his gaze. "The contract that went out this morning was the original contract we both signed in August. The solicitors did not know that anything had changed, and truthfully, I did not consider that it would affect anything immediately. You must admit, Hermione, that things did not go as planned. You were not supposed to deliver for another two months."

She slowly nodded, conceding to his reasoning.

"As to where I was," he continued, as he pulled a scroll of parchment from his robe pocket. "I had business that I needed to finish today. I felt, Hermione, that it would be best to get all of this behind us. I ensured that the remainder of the old contract was fulfilled and had this drawn up."

Hermione sat herself up all of the way and took the proffered scroll from his hand. She unrolled it and quickly read through it twice. "Is this...? Are you serious?" she asked.

"Quite," Though a plain answer, he allowed a slight smirk to grace his face.

Hermione closed her eyes. She wanted to smile, but she could not quite bring herself to do so. She had fallen to the deepest depths that she'd ever experienced, and here he was quietly and patiently offering her a lifeline. Unable to stop herself from asking, she allowed the question to fall from her lips, "Do you have any idea the hell I've been through today?"

"Only an inkling," Severus answered honestly. "I had a short discussion with Healer Munch before arriving here. That left enough distaste in my mouth to show me some of what drove you to leave. Then, once I arrived here, your friend, Miss Weasley, barraged me with questions and told me some of your trials before she finally consented to let me up here to see you. Now, sign that thing so that I can escort you back to St. Mungo's."

"What exactly are you offering me, Severus?" she asked, holding the parchment up.

"I thought the contract was simple. All of the rights that you surrendered in the original contract are reinstated. What don't you understand?"

"I want to know what you expect. This is just reinstating my rights. What else do you want?" Hermione felt she was being explicit enough, but at his continued puzzled look, she went on, "Where does this take us? What does this say about our relationship?"

He narrowed his eyes as her words washed over him. "I thought that was obvious, Hermione." Severus began fidgeting uncomfortably; this was not an easy discussion for him. "If I wanted you gone, I would have left the old contract unchanged, and I would not be here right now." He grabbed her chin. "I know that you've had a rough day, so I'm not going to ask you to do anything but think about this...I want you to stay in my life."

Her gaze met his, and she saw the honesty swirling behind his black eyes. She did not move as he leant towards her and kissed her softly on the mouth. Hermione closed her eyes and felt his thin lips press against hers. Severus pulled away all too quickly, and she opened her eyes. "Sign the parchment, and we will leave. There is more that must be attended to this evening."

Hermione looked at him questioningly as she took a quill from him and quickly signed her name to the contract. Next, she allowed him to pull her up, escort her out of the room, and down to the foyer where Ginny stood waiting for them.

The redheaded young woman genuinely smiled at Hermione and asked if she was all right. When Hermione responded that she was doing better, Ginny squeezed her arm and promised she would check on her in the morning. With that, Severus led Hermione outside and Disapparated with her back to St. Mungo's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside the Wee Wizard Ward, Hermione grabbed onto Severus' sleeve. Regardless of what he'd said before, she could not help be feel unwelcome there. Reassuringly, he grasped her hand. "I did not tell you this before," he began somewhat uneasily. "But there was another reason for bringing you back here so quickly."

"What? Is everything all right?" Hermione asked in a fruitless attempt to keep the worry out of her voice.

"No. The baby is not doing well. Her system is overtaxed. They have been giving her potions to try to help, but thus far, nothing has worked." She looked up and saw the worry and concern plastered plainly on his face. "Hermione, one of the potions that they wish to use has failed once and likely a second time. It's brewed with mother's milk. They have tried two separate donors, but they may need you for a third attempt. I do not wish for you to think that was the singular reason that I came to retrieve you this evening." He briefly paused to assess her reaction to his words. "Healer Munch informed me that they administered a potion to you to prevent you from lactating. Regardless of that, I believe you should be here."

"No," she said shaking her head. "I didn't take the potion, Severus. Besides, I wouldn't think that you would only bring me here for that singular reason. I would do anything to help; you know that, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Severus opened the door to the ward and motioned for Hermione to enter.

Severus noted that the room was just as busy now as it had been when he'd been there earlier. He guided Hermione over to a small huddle of Healers that were gathered around their baby. The medical staff moved aside to allow them to come forward. Hermione looked at the small infant and leaned back into her Severus' chest. He wrapped an arm around her and turned his gaze to the nearest attendant and asked, "Is there any change?"

From behind them came a voice. "Professor Snape, sir. I am glad that you've returned."

Severus turned to find Healer Munch again there to do the talking. The stout woman stopped short and scowled when she spied the young brunette in his arms. To her credit, Hermione gave the woman nothing more than a cursorily glance and turned her attention back to the newborn. The infant was turned on her back, and Hermione watched with concern as she noted that with each rapid intake of breath her small chest retracted in slightly. She turned her attention back to the horrid Healer to find out what was going on. Hermione jumped when Severus snapped at the older witch. "Get on with it, woman! What is her status?"

"This brew doesn't seem to be working either, Professor. Her heart rate and respiratory rate are way to fast for her to be able to maintain them for long," replied the woman. "I was thinking of trying..."

Severus cut her off before she could utter another sound. "You will re-brew the potion, Healer Munch, with Miss Granger's colostrum. Thankfully, she showed more sense than you gave her credit for, and she did not consume your potion."

The gray-haired old woman looked at Hermione with no small level of disgust present in her face. "Professor Snape, as I'm sure you are somewhat familiar with the Elixir Corroboro, it will likely make no difference if this woman does anything. The other donors didn't help, and she will be no different. She was nothing more than your brood mare."

Severus swiftly released his protective hold on Hermione and grabbed the short Healer by the collar. "You know nothing, you vile excuse for skin. Do not ever say anything like that about Hermione again. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, hissing hatefully. "She is worth more than a dozen of you." He slowly relinquished his hold on the older witch. It was then that Hermione realized that he had actually lifted the short woman slightly off of the floor and was only now setting her down. "Now," he said a little more calmly, as the Healer righted herself. "We will go brew the Elixir Corroboro for our," Severus indicated between himself and Hermione, "daughter. You, Healer Munch, are going to help us, and you had best pray to whatever Deity that you believe in that she can be helped."

Hermione glanced around the room to see that the other attendants were pretending to ignore this byplay between the legendary Hogwarts dreaded Potions master and this nasty woman that shared a horrible reputation with her sister. She thought that she even saw a couple of quick glances and sly grins, though she could not be sure.

"Y-y-yes, Professor Snape," came the stuttered reply of the Healer.

Hermione held back a small smirk at the terror in the Healer's voice. For the first time ever, Hermione truly appreciated Severus' downright frightening way with people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been the longest night of Hermione's life. They'd successfully brewed the elixir and administered it to her child. Now, they were again waiting. Severus had explained the properties of the potion. There were two theories on what made it effective: one was similar genetics, and the other was the love of the donor for the recipient. If it were simply a matter of genetics, then it would be very seldom that a donor's milk helped if they weren't family. None of it truly mattered; all that she was waiting for now was to see if it had worked.

She sat in a chair next to the bubble while others scurried around to examine the baby, taking notes and watching. Hermione was tired. She was beyond tired...completely exhausted. Regardless of that, she couldn't sleep. She had to know if everything was going to be all right.

She looked at the women bustling around; each seemed to have their own job to do. She wondered how she'd been able to come into the room undisturbed earlier that day, but she then realized that it had been only when her daughter was stable and none of the infants had required this level of attention. Lavender had told her that there was always someone present on the unit, but during lunchtime, most of the staff was gone while the main Healer typically sat in her office...watching things from afar. Hermione was grateful that since Severus had put the old harpy in her place, she'd pretty much ignored Hermione.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was just over twenty-four hours since this entire mess had begun. It felt like it had been weeks, not just a simple day. Her emotions had been in such turmoil...now, that was an understatement...both due to her raging hormones and the extenuating circumstances. She wondered absently if she would have been able to hold up to her end of the original contract had things been different. After actually experiencing pregnancy and feeling a life grow inside of her, she knew that it would have been very hard to give up that life, but she also knew that she would have held up her end of the contract regardless. No matter how much it would have been bound to hurt, she would have done as she had agreed to do.

Simply put, she had already allowed herself to become attached to the baby. It happened very early on when she had first begun reading the storybook to her womb. Then, it quickly snowballed when she'd begun feeling the subtle taps and later jabs from the ever-active fetus. As soon as she'd realized that her feelings for the Potions master were deeper than she had originally thought, all hope was lost. She had found a quiet, compelling, nearly passionate soul lurking beneath the grumpy, surly exterior, and she had known that despite the baby, she'd fallen for the father.

Her gaze fell to where he currently stood, as foreboding as ever, watching the activity in the room with the same masked look of indifference that he typically wore. Hermione knew it was an act, and she was grateful for that. Severus was a very private man, and few ever saw past the brusque exterior. She was thankful for the time that they'd spent growing to truly know one another over the last few months. It had been a slowly growing and moving relationship...one that she felt had the potential to last. If someone would've asked her that a few hours ago, she would have said the same thing, save that she'd been floored when he'd left her with no explanation. Hermione knew him better than that. Therefore, it was just another case where she'd let her out of control hormones get the better of her.

Her eyes fell back on the sleeping infant. The small child's breathing had slowed, and she seemed to be breathing easier. Hermione was grateful for that and just seeing the more relaxed form caused her to calm down some. She felt confident in her heart that this meant that the potion was taking effect. Leaning her head back against the chair, she closed her eyes and let out a small sigh, at last releasing some of the tension that she had pent up within her body.

In what felt like only a few seconds later, she was jostled awake by one of the attendants. "Miss Granger," came the soft voice. Hermione opened her eyes and fought to focus on the woman. "I'm sorry to wake you. I just thought that you'd like to know that she's out of danger."

It took a moment for the words to register in her fogged brain. "She's all right?" she asked.

The young woman smiled. "Yes, quite strong, actually. Healer Munch doesn't think that it will be long before she'll be able to leave. Honestly, the potion used works at varying degrees; we never know how it will work...in this case, it seems to have exceeded all expectations."

Hermione smiled and looked around the room for Snape. "Where did Severus go?" she asked. A small part of her was worried that he'd left her there.

"He just went to go speak with the Head of the Department." The woman glanced conspiratorially about the room and leaned in closer to Hermione. "Personally, I think that now that his daughter is out of danger he went to complain about Healer Munch's behavior. I say that it's high time somebody did, and I have a feeling that man's complaints won't fall on deaf ears, not with the way he commands attention and dares someone to defy him."

Hermione could not help but to chuckle slightly at that. She looked to the infant sleeping in front of her. "Can I hold her yet?" she asked tentatively.

"Normally, the answer would be no. However, she's come such a long way these last few hours, you would never guess she was so early. Thankfully for you, she's strong enough to handle it." Hermione began to stand up, and the woman stopped her. "No, stay there. I'll get her for you."

The woman pulled out her wand and conjured a pillow, which she placed on Hermione's lap. Next, she dispelled the bubble away to be replaced by what looked like a bassinet. The attendant swaddled the infant tightly in a fresh blanket and carried her the short distance to Hermione's waiting arms.

She looked in the sleeping face of the tiny being in her arms, tears welling up in her eyes. Hermione marveled at the soft pink skin and began to slowly examine everything about her. She carefully unwrapped her so that she could look at the tiny fingers and toes. Again, she noted how tiny she was; nothing like the chubby looking cherubs in the countless books she'd read. The baby had black hair adorning her head and a soft downy hair across her shoulders, arms, and back. Hermione was amazed that the child stayed asleep during her close scrutiny. She ran her fingers along her baby's chest, having them stop to feel the rapid thumping of her heart beneath the tiny ribs.

Not wanting her daughter to catch cold, she carefully wrapped her back up. Holding her close to her body, Hermione watched her breathe. She was quickly enthralled by the cadenced inhales and exhales of the small body in her arms. Her own cheeks became damp for the countless time that day.

Hermione did not notice the dark figure of Professor Snape that had entered the room and was now standing just inside the doorway, mesmerized by the touching interaction he was witnessing.

A/N: Well, I hope that this was satisfying for you. It was for me, though it was very difficult to actually get it all down. I'm glad that it finally is, though. There is more to come, but we're winding down. Not too much left. :-)

Corroboro is Latin meaning to strengthen.

Southern's Notes: I'm quite happy that things seem to be looking up and that Snape put that funky Healer in her place. I hated the last chapter, but this makes up for it.