VI

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

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. I do not own any of the characters or things in Ms. Rowling's wonderful universe, although I would really love it if she would send me a Time-Turner!

Special thanks to my beta, Southern_Witch_69, and to my wonderful muse, Meredith! ;-)

Oh, God, I can't believe I did that. Hermione placed her face in her hands at the shameful memory. How could I vomit on him, of all people? Ruddy morning sickness! She was now lying on the sitting room chesterfield where she had been since said incident. He had not looked pleased. After a quick Evanesco, the esteemed professor had left the chambers quickly to be anywhere but with her. "Well, at least I now know how to get rid of him," Hermione announced with a snort to the empty room.

Unable to move from her place on the soft length of furniture, Hermione settled herself in and went back to sleep. She was awoken several hours later by the same professor standing over her again. Wiping the sleep away from her eyes for the second time that day, she attempted to sit up. He still bore the look of deep contempt on his face. "Good afternoon," she managed.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," he said simply while thrusting a goblet into her hands.

"I am not drinking the vitamin potion again today, Professor," she stated, albeit weakly.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Give me a little credit, Miss Granger!" he spat, clearly annoyed. "I have no desire to have to change my robes yet again today. Vanishing the actual contents of your stomach off of me was one thing; however, the odor lingered until I removed the robes entirely."

"I'm sorry, sir," she replied while looking down at the goblet. "What is this?"

"It's a Rehydration Draught. I believe I told you this morning that if you became dehydrated then you would wind up in a cycle of feeling ill. This will restore balance to your system and provide you with the necessary electrolytes." His speech sounded very stale and rehearsed. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if there was any care or compassion behind any of his thoughts or actions.

"Thank you." She drank the contents quickly. Slick and sweet, not necessarily the best combination for someone suffering from severe nausea even though it didn't come right back up. That was promising. "Why can't I just have an anti-emetic? That would be so much easier." she stated half grumbling.

"Need I remind you that you are pregnant? There are many different components in anti-emetics and anti-nausea potions that are not considered to be completely safe during the first trimester." He paused and looked at her carefully. Hermione made no move to argue. She just silently resigned herself to the simple fact that he was pulling all of the strings. "If, Miss Granger, you are still feeling like this once you reach fourteen weeks, I may reconsider."

Letting the solution settle in her stomach, Hermione was finally able to sit up fully. "Thank you," she replied genuinely.

He nodded curtly. "I believe you have an appointment with Professor Flitwick this afternoon. I'm sure you do not wish to keep him waiting." He pulled his wand from his robes and performed a quick succession of charms. Hermione's mussed up hair quickly righted itself into a neat French braid, freshly laundered robes replaced her dressing gown, and food appeared on the dining table. "I suppose a bit of a nosh is in order, as you missed two meals already today."

She smiled at up at him as she rose from the chesterfield to sit at the dining table. Once again, she would attempt to eat. "Thanks."

Hermione was surprised that she managed to keep her food down. Like many of the breakfast meals that she had grown accustomed to sharing with this man, he sat with her quietly. He read the latest article in Ars Alchemy, sipped on his beverage, and nibbled at his light meal. It was all strangely comforting. After seven years of noisy meals in the Great Hall, Hermione had become used to being among people. Her last few years of living, if it could truly be called that...more like surviving, had been solitary. Lonely. It was much like it had been in her days before Hogwarts. As an only child, Hermione only had her parents for conversation.

This, whatever it was, was nice. Someone to eat a meal with. Someone she didn't feel obligated to talk to. Someone with whom she could just be.

His words broke her from her thoughts. "If you are finished, I believe Filius is waiting for you."

"Yes, Professor," she said, rising from her chair. Wow, he didn't even force me to eat everything. Maybe I should throw up on him more often, she thought with a smirk.

"You do realize, Miss Granger, that your thoughts are rather loud at times?" he queried. "I do not need to use Legilimency to know what you are thinking," he said with a slight sneer.

Her eyes shot up to him as he led her out of the rooms to the dungeon halls. Blast!

"Do not think for a moment that your recent bout of emesis will result in me being any less hard on you," he disparaged. "I still expect you to comply with my wishes; they are in your best interest."

"Of course," Hermione answered. She was uncertain which meaning she should take from his last statement. Would he harm her if she did not comply, or was he only requiring things that would help her? Either way, she thought it was best to leave well enough alone. They walked the rest of the way to Professor Flitwick's Charms classroom in silence. Once there, Professor Snape quickly left her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," squeaked Professor Flitwick jovially from a pile of books behind the desk.

"Hello, Professor." Hermione smiled. It was oddly comforting to see her old professor perched on his stack of books. It was the same way she had seen him while she was a student at the school. Some things never changed. She realized, at that moment, that she no longer saw Professor Snape as her teacher though. Really odd, that. Why has he changed in my eyes? Hermione sat down at a desk in the front row of the class. "Good afternoon."

"Well, I've heard that it's been a rough few weeks for you."

Hermione snorted in reply. "That would be an understatement, sir."

"I am not going to pry, Miss Granger. I just wanted to talk to you about next year."

"Please, call me Hermione. I really don't want to feel like a school girl right now," said Hermione with a chuckle.

"Yes, yes, I can understand that," he said, giving her a cheeky smile. "Well, Hermione, Professor Tofty will be retiring at the end of the school year." He laughed. "Oh, come now! Don't look so surprised. He never should have been put in as Hogwarts' Headmaster to begin with. You know that as well as anyone." His beady little eyes glinted mischievously.

Hermione nodded. "Too right," she agreed with a knowing smile. The acting headmaster was nothing more than a joke. The poor man truly should have been allowed to retire, not forced to sit in the position as the head of a school so that the entire Wizarding world could witness his mental faculties failing.

"Well, I will need a new Charms professor when I take over as headmaster. I would really like it if you would fill that position."

Hermione watched the small wizard closely. What was he playing at? This was almost a dream come true for her. Teaching! It was such a perfect career for a bossy little brain. However, reality and fantasy were still too far apart for Hermione to begin confusing the two. "You know, as well as I do, Professor, that you cannot offer me that job. To do so would be violating three separate decrees, mind," her voice cracked before she added, "I would love to do so." Hermione stood up as a wave of nausea passed over her. This time, however, she wasn't certain if the nausea was from the pregnancy or from her disgust with the bloody Ministry of Magic, the set of great miserable wankers!

Professor Flitwick hopped down from atop his pile of books and came over to where she was standing. "I am aware of the Ministry and their decrees." The Charms professor gave her a small smirk. "I also know some of the agreement that you have with Professor Snape. He will uphold his end of the agreement, Hermione. Nothing to fear there...which means that you will be eligible for employment before the next school year."

Hermione matched Professor Flitwick's grin. She felt as if a small weight, one that had been sitting on her shoulders for years, had just been removed. It was a relief! A small piece of her freedom was being given back to her. "Of course, Professor Flitwick, I would love to teach Charms. Won't I need more education? Training? Something?" Too excited to stand still, Hermione began pacing throughout the classroom.

"Calm down, child. Normally you would mentor with someone for a semester and slowly begin to take over the classes and what have you. However, in your case, that would not be legal." He wriggled his bushy brows conspiratorially. "So, I think that it would be best if you met with me a few evenings each week. We can go over what I've done in the lessons during the day, have you work with the essays, and get a feel for the written work. Nothing but busy work for now, but I'm sure that a little bit of busy work may be exactly what you need right now?"

"Yes, sir. Busy work is exactly what I need," she said with a small smile as she sat back down.

"After the Holidays, I can work with you on some more advanced Charms. You need to be practicing your magic daily, you know. But, I daresay that you are likely finding it a little temperamental right now?"

"Yes, it is."

"That's normal, what with all of those hormonal changes. It will settle out nicely by the time you are well into your second trimester."

"That's good to know. I've been afraid that I'd turn Professor Snape's socks into pink mice while trying to reheat my morning tea." Hermione laughed. It was almost half-true. She truly had accidentally turned Professor Snape's socks pink, and one had even squeaked! Thankfully she was so quick to fix the problem that she didn't think that he had noticed.

"Oh, I bet Nyx would love that," laughed the tiny professor. Hermione was caught off guard by this remark, but before she could comment, Professor Flitwick changed the topic. "Actually, speaking of Severus...there is one favor that I have to ask you, Hermione."

"What is that, sir?" she asked, sitting back down again.

"Well, normally I wouldn't bring this up, but since you are in an unusual position, I was hoping that you would be able to influence him some." She noticed that Professor Flitwick's tones were squeakier then normal, and she vaguely wondered if he'd already tried to talk to him. "This school would be nothing without that man trudging through the halls and scaring half of the student body. I would appreciate it if you could convince our Potions master to stay on at the end of this school year."

"Sorry?" she asked, suddenly numb.

"Severus intends to leave Hogwarts and end his stint as a professor here. I need your help, however I can have it, to get him to stay on."

Hermione had spent the next hour only half listening to Professor Flitwick's ramblings. Apparently the wizard had an odd notion to begin a choir at the school. She could recall utterances of the choir singing during various feasts during the year, something about giant toads, and some wonderful chorus music with the lyrics inspired by the witches in "Hamlet". She was too focused on his request to convince Professor Snape to stay on at the end of term to listen much to the Charms master's desire to lead a school choir.

She wasn't sure why the news of Professor Snape's plans to leave at the end of the school year came as such a surprise to her. They had not spoken about his plans after the baby arrived. In passing, he had briefly clipped, "It's none of your business, Miss Granger."

It gave her a feeling of unease. She had pictured Snape raising their...his...child at the school. It was almost comforting to know that people like Filius Flitwick and Neville Longbottom would be around to see that the child was being cared for. When Flitwick had offered Hermione the teaching position, she had a brief image of being around the child much more than she had originally anticipated. It had given her a small thrill...a brief glimmer of hope...from the part of her that was hoping that Snape would not hide the child away from her. Then, to hear that Severus was leaving at the end of the school year was almost like squashing a dream. Odd really. This was not what she had expected. She had signed the agreement giving him full rights, full custody, but was that really what she wanted? Bloody hell! I'm confused. She didn't know anymore. This child, barely larger than a grain of rice, was somehow having an emotional effect on Hermione that she had not anticipated. It must just be my hormones, she decided.

It was all becoming so confusing that she wasn't certain what to think anymore. She wished that she could talk to someone about it, but thanks to the secrecy clause, she had no one to voice her true concerns to. Best not to think about it, she told herself.

Hermione ultimately decided to draw a bath to ease her troubles. She always thought better in the silent seclusion of the hot water and the fragrant soaps. It was nearly suppertime. The professor would be returning from his classes soon, and they would attend the evening meal in the Great Hall.

Hermione slowly walked through her rooms, into the bathroom and began filling the tub. Twenty minutes later, the shouts of profanity issuing from the bathroom were loud enough to be heard in the Potions classroom where the sixth year Advanced Potions students were just finishing up for the day.

Southern's Notes: I'm anxious to find out what happens next! I just know our little Gryffindor will want these questions answered...and soon! Ginny's take on this challenge is quite believable, and I adore it. I'm wondering what Hermione is confused about (feelings, perhaps, for her baby's father?). Sigh...I have to wait patiently like the rest of you. : ) Cheers!

A/N: You are too funny, Southern. You know way more than anyone else! I'll get more up soon, already started on the next chapter. I have the rest of the story mapped out to be 8 more chapters and an epilogue...will see if I actually hold to that. ;-) ~Gin