XVI

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 stood in the doorway and watched as their child was placed safely in her mother's arms. An unexpected surge of pride welled up inside of him as he witnessed the pair. Hermione's eyes began to sparkle with tears as she softly spoke to the newborn. He knew at that moment that he could never let either of them go.

He stayed at the entryway until his back and feet began to protest from the long day. His legs carried him to a chair that was next to the rocker that held Hermione. She startled slightly when she saw him. Though she tried to appear relaxed, she instinctively pulled the babe closer to her chest as if she feared him taking her away. Severus did not expect the gut-wrenching pain and guilt that this tiny act caused. She still doesn't trust me. "I am not going to take her away from you, Hermione," he reassured her.

The young brunette had the grace to appear abashed at her action. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She relaxed and looked up at him, meeting his gaze for the first time since he'd entered the room. "I'm just tired, and after the other events of the last day or so..." She averted her eyes again as her voice trailed off.

"I understand," Severus found himself saying. "You need to believe me when I tell you that I wish for us to be a... family."

Hermione nodded her head, though her eyes showed a bit of surprise at his word choice. "I didn't expect this, Severus," she said, looking back down at the bundle in her arms. "The way I feel about her, I mean. There aren't words to describe...I do believe that I would have died if I'd been kept from her."

"Yes," he replied in a neutral tone as he leant forward in his chair, enabling him a better view of his daughter. "I can understand that, as well." Although his voice was calm and unfeeling, a small smirk formed on his face, betraying his true emotions.

This was not the way that this was supposed to be, he mused. Originally, Hermione was supposed to be gone at this point in the game, a nanny hired, and the child carefully ensconced within the latter woman's care. She had been conceived to secure his family monies. He had not expected to care for the child, nor had he anticipated the deep affection that he now felt for the woman holding that child. He was not complaining.

She'd entered his life and changed a great deal of things about his view on relationships. (He was hardly able to contain the shudder even while thinking of the word.) The way that he now felt about her had seemed to slowly creep upon him. It had begun as a subtle concern for her well-being and had ended up with him not wanting to let her go. He was baffled at how that had happened. The woman that she'd become was a far cry from the obnoxious student and Potter partisan that he'd known a few years prior.

He sat back in his chair and had to restrain himself from chuckling at the memory of the gall Hermione had shown in cursing him the way she had. That had been only two days prior, yet it seemed like a lifetime had passed since.

"What is her name?" came Hermione's voice, pulling him out of his reverie.

"I was expecting you to tell me," he replied, amused. "That Healer said that when you and Miss Weasley were here, you were discussing it."

A small smile appeared on his companion's face. "Oh, well," she started, looking back down at the little girl's face, "I had told Ginny that I thought that she looked more like an Ella than a Diana... Don't you have a name already picked out?" she asked, turning her gaze back to him.

"I did, but I wanted to hear what you were thinking." He thought for several long moments before he spoke again. "I had thought of Sophia. Although looking at her, that does not appear to suit. I am not overly fond of Ella...perhaps Elina?"

Hermione peered at the infant's face, contemplating his words. She adjusted the babe in her arms. "Elina Grace," she said softly.

"Grace?"

"Yes, I think it suits. It was the first name that I'd thought of, but something Minerva said to me on Christmas made it more poignant. She told me that she thought that this child was your redemption, your salvation. I agree with her." Hermione smiled, seemingly looking for approval, though she also held that look in her eyes that Severus was beginning to know well. It was the look that shouted, Just try to argue with me, because I'm not backing down.

He allowed another small smirk to appear on his face, which she took for his endorsement. He sat back and relaxed into the chair. He would not argue over a middle name. It was inconsequential and obviously quite important to her. Besides, he was rather pleased to see such strong determination back in her again... a small glimmer of fire. Despite the way it could irritate him, her fiery personality was one of the things that drew him to her.

They sat in peaceful silence, both finally content after the tumultuous events of the last few days.

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

Hermione stepped out of the hearth in Severus' living room. She was grateful that he was able to have the Floo connected from St. Mungo's to Hogwarts for a brief period today. She hadn't thought about the finagling that he'd had to do on Christmas when he'd taken her home from visiting Minerva by Floo after she'd whinged about having to Portkey everywhere. She was allowed to Apparate again, but the approval was only for short distances while she built up her strength. She had been doing so back and forth between St. Mungo's and Grimmauld Place where she'd been staying for the last two weeks. It was easier to travel between those two locations to see her daughter. Until this ordeal, she'd not realized that it was part of Hogwarts' security to only allow the in-house Floo connections for travel unless in unique circumstances.

Severus had been staying with her, at least part of the time, during the last two weeks. He would Apparate to number twelve, Grimmauld Place, in the mornings and fetch her. They would Apparate together to St. Mungo's where together they would spend the better part of the day. The baby was doing well now and required little more than to be fed and to sleep. The new Healer, who had been brought in to replace Healer Munch, had referred to the babies in this stage as Feeders and Growers. Hermione just couldn't bear to be away from her daughter for very long, so they spent as much time in the Wee Wizard Ward as possible. They would usually leave at midday for lunch and browse the nearby shops in Muggle London, occasionally picking up newborn-sized jumpers or other items that they would need. Next, they would return for a few more hours before going up to the fifth floor for afternoon tea. Finally, Severus would take Hermione out for supper and escort her back to Ginny and Ron's house. There, he would take her up to her room and stay with her until she fell asleep...sometimes sitting in a chair beside the bed and talking while other times he'd lie down beside her and hold her. When she'd wake up in the mornings, he would be gone, but he would return shortly after breakfast.

He was not teaching. Professor Tofty had taught Severus' classes the first day that he'd missed them, and following that, he had the good sense to hire a substitute. Severus was already complaining about going back to his classes. In his mind, once he got his classroom back, the dunderheads would likely have to be taught basic skills all over again. Needless to say, he was not looking forward to returning.

Hermione was pleased that he had been staying with her. The awkwardness that had set in with the baby's early arrival had quickly dissipated, throwing them back into an old routine of pleasant conversation and serene quiet. The only topic that she'd not yet been brave enough to broach was their future plans. It was only determined that very morning that she'd be returning to the castle with him, as Elina was being discharged later in the afternoon.

He'd been very protective of both of them the last couple of weeks, even more so than he had been while Hermione had been pregnant. She tried not to complain. He obviously cared about her. Severus seemed very concerned with her eating habits, the amount of rest she received, and that she was recovering satisfactorily.

She dusted off her robes and reoriented herself with the room. It felt odd to be back. She walked to her room and opened the door. It took her a few moments to realize that this was not the same room that she'd left. "What the bloody hell...?" Hermione asked aloud, tone incredulous. Her wardrobe was gone, the things she kept on the vanity were gone, and even her shoes were gone. "Where does he get off moving my things?" She then realized that the baby's things were now where her belongings had been.

In their places were an elegantly carved cradle, a few shelves containing nappies and small blankets, and her bookcase containing a vast array of children's books and a few small stuffed toys. There was also a comfortable looking rocker with a small table next to it.

Hermione carefully walked over to it and found, placed on the table, the fairytale book that she'd purchased in Diagon Alley back in November. She ran her hand across the cover and wondered briefly how Severus had run across it. A light smile replaced her frown. She appreciated that he'd gone through the trouble to make a nursery, but she wished that he'd consulted her about it first. Where was she to sleep now? Were her things in his room? The jumbled confusion soon died down to one conclusive thought: He really wants to be a family, doesn't he?

She walked over to the shelf and grabbed a small blanket and began fumbling through the drawers, looking for suitable clothes to dress her daughter in to bring her home. Severus had told her to look in there to find something for her, but this was not what she'd expected. Hermione heard something behind her and saw him lingering in the doorway. "Severus, when did you do all this? Why?"

"When I came in last night, I realized that our daughter hadn't a proper room or a place for her things... I meant it as a surprise, however, if you don't like..."

"No," she said as she walked towards him and stopped him from completing his sentence. "It's all right. I was surprised." She smiled warmly and surprised him when she stood up on the tips of her toes and kissed him softly. Looking back up at him, she spoke again, "Erm, where are my things at?"

He looked down at her, quirking his eyebrow and smirking in amusement. "I should think that would be obvious. However, if you prefer to sleep on the settee, I believe it can be arranged."

"I think I'll pass on sleeping in the sitting room, thanks," she quipped.

"Good," came his simple reply as he leant down and kissed her more soundly. Eliciting a small whimper from Hermione when he pulled away in what she considered was too brief of a time. "I believe we have some place to be very soon," he said, a slight hint of regret in his tone. Taking a step back, he looked at the contents in her arms. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes. I am surprised that you found time to put all of these things away."

"Who said that I did any of this? That, my dear, is what house-elves love to do."

Hermione scowled at him, not pleased with casual use of house-elves as labor. She quickly pushed it aside, however, in lieu of a more pertinent question. "Why did you do this?"

He eyed her curiously, contemplating what exactly she was asking. "You mean that you still do not believe my assertions that I wish for us to be a family?" he questioned accusingly.

Hermione instantly regretted her query. "I'm sorry. Of course, I believe you," she replied quickly. "I was just surprised. We've not discussed the future." Her brown eyes looked searchingly into his eyes.

Severus held her gaze. "Simply stated, I do not ever intend to let either of you out of my sight for long." Allowing his aloof façade to slip, he showed her some of the emotion swirling behind his eyes.

Catching a glimmer of his feelings, which were suddenly staring out at her through dark orbs, she suddenly felt overwhelmed. She could see longing, desire, passion, caring, and something more. Love, maybe? Perhaps it was. However, she rapidly decided that it was best not to try to push things. He would say and do things at his own pace.

One additional chaste kiss...soft, sweet, and inlaid with her own emotions...and they were off to retrieve their daughter.

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

Hermione sat in the rocking chair in Elina's room, her little one bundled in her arms and suckling at her breast. It was late. Idly, she wished that there was a clock in the room. The three of them had been home for nearly two weeks, and Hermione was surprised to see how quickly she'd been thrown for a loop...she'd not expected to be so tired.

Severus was helping, surprisingly enough, as were a few select house-elves. Ginny had been by a couple of times to also ensure that Hermione got some much needed sleep, as well. However, since she was insisting on nursing, she still was up and needed the bulk of the time...until Severus demanded that she attempt to store breast milk. Only then was she able to sleep in longer interludes. Severus still berated her because, more often than not, Hermione still insisted on attending to their daughter, even though it wasn't always necessary.

Thinking about Severus, she smiled. He had been... surprising. Since giving birth, she'd found herself with occasional odd thoughts. One was the idea of Filius berating her for not speaking with Severus about staying on at Hogwarts at the end of the year. She thought the image rather amusing. The very idea of tiny Professor Flitwick speaking to her like that was very unlikely. However, that did not stop her from feeling slightly guilty that she'd not spoken to Severus about it.

Taking the first opportunity she could, once things had settled themselves down, she broached the subject. After a lengthy discussion, Severus confessed to having hired her to produce a child solely for the family fortune, which would enable him to have some freedom over his life. To say that Hermione had been somewhat stunned by this revelation would be an understatement. Even though it was a very selfish reason, she did not think any less of him. Hermione was grateful that he'd actually told her the truth. She was in no position to judge. She'd signed the contract for the very same reason.

It took some convincing, but Hermione was finally able to convince Severus to stay on for at least one more year. Explaining that she had spent the last several months working towards becoming a professor and that she did not wish to let Professor Flitwick down. She felt that it was too late to try to hire someone else and that it wasn't fair, considering all of the time the Charms professor had spent on mentoring her. Also, she did not wish for Severus to take off to one of his homes with their daughter.

Eventually, he conceded that he'd really felt trapped by the prospect of never being able to retire due to his previously tight finances. Perhaps, with the monies now available to him, he'd feel more comfortable about his time at school. Hermione had been smart enough to point out that he would not be happy sitting idly about; he was a person who loved knowledge and desired learning. He would grow bored if left to laze about, though she was sure that he was simply placating her. There were certainly plenty of things he could do if he wasn't teaching...independent research for one.

Hermione smiled into the semidarkness. He was certainly holding to his words, she realized. They'd been sharing a room, sharing a bed, though nothing much transpired between them save a few kisses and shy caresses. Not for a lack of trying. It was simply a lack of energy...mostly on Hermione's part. Sleep came whenever possible. She was positive that if she were to document all of the time that Elina slept, it would total over fifteen hours. However, all of the baby's sleep was broken up throughout a twenty-four hour day, and Hermione just couldn't fall asleep that often or that easily.

Feeling a pinching at her nipple, Hermione adjusted the position and latch of the baby. Once again comfortable, she began staring at the cradle in front of her. Hermione could just make out the designs in the dim candlelight. Severus had obviously put in many hours of time and love into the project. She was impressed with his dedication to such a Muggle task.

It had taken an intense amount of precision and patience for him to create the images that he had. The scene on the wood was of a small forest glade filled with various creatures...both from the Muggle world and the Wizarding world. A large tree was carved near the head of the cradle. Upon the tree, coiled around a branch was a small snake. In the rest of the scene, it was easy to pick out a thestral, a couple of faeries, a Runespoor, which was hiding behind a patch of tall grass, a unicorn, and a small lion cub. Hermione found it to be rather curious that he had included both a snake and a lion on something he was making. It just proved to her that he'd been thinking that she would be part of their lives for longer than just a few weeks.

The simple fact that Severus had used the tools that her father had used touched her greatly. Severus had a skill that she'd not known, but she figured that being a wizard had helped. Severus had the distinct advantage of being able to erase his mistakes and retry while her father had not had that luxury.

Thinking about her father brought tears to her eyes again. Silently cursing her overactive hormones, she thought about her parents and what they would say about her current situation, about their grandchild. It is unlikely that her parents ever would have approved of the way and the reason that the child was conceived. Regardless, Hermione could picture the gleam in her mother's eyes when holding Elina for the first time...all would have been forgiven at that moment. Smiling sadly, she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Sniffling again?" came a silky voice from the doorway.

"I feel like a human hosepipe," Hermione answered. "I can't imagine what you must think of me. I'm really not usually like this."

Severus approached her. "I think that you have more hormones raging through your system than that of the entire lot of first and second year females at this school," he said dryly. "I also believe that you are still not getting enough sleep and that you need to be taking better care of yourself."

Hermione snorted.

"Now," Severus continued. "You've been up with her for over an hour. I'm sure that she's eaten plenty." Before Hermione could protest, he reached down to take the baby from her arms. Breaking her daughter's latch from her nipple, Hermione gave in. She was tired and had no energy or desire to argue with him.

Severus carefully took the infant and placed her in her cradle. He then summoned one of the house-elves that had been helping them. Giving the creature instructions to watch over the sleeping babe, he escorted Hermione back to bed.

Hermione felt a cross between frustration at being told what to do and intense comfort. It was a pleasant feeling to be cared for, fussed over, and worried about. Whether he ever said it or not, she could tell that he cared by the way that he fussed over her well-being.

Removing her robe, she crawled into bed. She sighed when he climbed in after her and rolled up behind her. Her body molded into his as he pulled her body close to his and kissed the top of her head. Allowing herself to relax, she fell into a contented sleep.

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

Hermione found herself in what appeared to be the nursery of a very large house. She spun around looking at the room. A beautiful, ornate child's bed sat against the far wall. Walking over to it, she found that the bed was empty. Suddenly, she could hear giggling coming from outside.

She went to the window and peered out to look down on a bright and sunny afternoon. Down below, she could see the blooming flower garden. The laughter of a small girl floated up to her again. Opening the window so that she could peer out a bit farther, Hermione leaned over the ledge and saw a young girl no more than three years old chasing after an enchanted ball.

Watching her, stiff and overdressed as ever, was Severus. Hermione noted that though he was not smiling, his features were soft. As if sensing her gaze, he turned his head up to look at her. He quirked one corner of his lips as he caught Hermione's eyes. Smiling back, Hermione stepped back from the window and went towards the door to make her way down to join the pair outside.

She opened the door exiting the nursery and stepped out into the hallway. Suddenly, she found herself back in the Potions classroom in Hogwarts. Damn dreams, she mentally cursed. Abruptly, she recalled another dream she'd had right after Elina had been born; it took place in this very classroom.

Upon inspection, she noticed a simmering cauldron on one of the worktables near the front of the room. Flashes from the previous dream invaded her brain, and she remembered brewing it. The silver mist that was swirling above the cauldron had a glittering quality about it, reminding Hermione of twinkling stars.

A voice from behind her made her jump. "It's about time you came back."

Hermione whipped her head around to see a dark-haired, bespectacled young man leaning against Snape's desk with a saucy grin on his face. "Harry," she said, pleased to see him smiling.

"Do you remember now?" he asked simply.

"My dream? Yes, I remember, but I don't know what it means. You need to tell me."

Harry chuckled and walked over towards her. "Where is the clever girl that I knew?" he asked teasingly.

"Honestly, Harry. I've looked, I've read, and I still don't know what it is that I'm supposed to do."

"Just remember the dream, Hermione. You'll know what to do then," he reassured.

She looked carefully at him and then back at the cauldron. The words, Not just a Charm, Hermione, echoed through her head. Her eyes snapped back to Harry. "This potion, Harry?" she asked. "I didn't recognize the base," she muttered, mostly to herself.

"You didn't know the base before," he said simply. "You do now."

Before she could say anything else, he was gone. She sat in the desk before the steaming cauldron, the last bit of information niggling at her mind and pulling at her memories. Comprehension suddenly fell upon her.

Hermione snapped her eyes open and sat up in bed.

"What is it?" came the groggy voice of her sleeping companion.

"I know how to help Harry," she said determinedly.

A/N: Now we're getting somewhere. Next up, Hermione will involve a few of her friends and they will work on a way to help Harry.

Southern's Notes: I love how things are progressing and am glad that they've gone home as a family. I am likely most excited that there is hope for Harry.