II

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 if she would give me a Time Turner!

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

Severus Snape had been through a very long and tiring process. This entire ordeal had begun nearly eight months prior. He had hoped that he would have been nearly done with the entire mess by now. As the war with the Dark Lord had ended, Severus Snape found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. Throughout the war he had positioned himself in such a way that no matter the outcome, he would be safe. If the Dark Lord had won, Severus would have been praised as one of the Dark Lord's right-hand men. If Dumbledore had won, Severus would have been named a war hero who had sacrificed himself above all else in order to ensure the survival of the Wizarding race as it had been known.

The one outcome that Severus had not imagined was the fall of Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore, and the boy-who-didn't-live. Sure, he had anticipated their demises. However, the damned Ministry of Magic took full advantage of the death of these prominent wizards. In the Ministry's infinite wisdom, as well as their fear of public outcry for retribution, the Minister had named the Order of the Phoenix members nothing more than a group of vigilantes---no better than the Death Eaters. The Ministry behaved the same as they had three years prior to the final battle when they had declared Albus Dumbledore and bloody Harry Potter outcasts.

Severus Snape, along with many other members of the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix, quickly discovered the value of a Galleon when placed in the proper hands. It had cost Severus nearly his entire fortune: monies he had acquired through his years of teaching, spying, and raiding, not to mention the inheritance from his mother. The simple fact that he had been both a Death Eater and an Order member with loyalty lines obscured somewhere in the middle had cost him more than any of the other persons who had to 'buy their way' out of Azkaban. At the time, Severus was actually thankful that he had been allowed to keep his job as Potions professor at the school.

Now, it was three years after the fall of the Dark Lord. Severus was still employed at Hogwarts. He hated it just as much as he had before the war, if not more. The loathsome idiots that plagued his doorways on a daily basis were almost enough for him to wish that the Dark Lord had survived, enabling Severus to at least be able to do something different. He had very little in his vault at Gringotts now. He was thankful his living expenses were so low. However, after reviewing his monthly account, he figured it would be nearly seventy years before he could retire from teaching, and that was not even a full retirement. That would be contingent on him being able to continue his Potions research, and hopefully, he'd be in high enough standing to enable him to contract some work.

He had reviewed his notes over and over again during the course of several weeks, and then he had taught a class with a student who could rival Longbottom in his abysmal lack of skill in Potions. That was when he decided he needed to do something to get him out of that Hellhole sooner rather than later.

Severus' remaining option, aside from attempting to rob Gringotts, was his father's will. At his father's demise, Severus had not cared about the stipulations in his father's will. Stephen Snape had been a horrible man, and Severus hated every part of him. The mere thought of touching his father's estate was so abhorrent that it had taken his current financial predicament and a seventy year sentence of teaching for him to seek out the exact interpretation of his father's Last Will and Testament. Severus had no need and no use for his father's monies before, but now he was seeing that accepting the finances could help him put the past to rest, as well as get him out of his disdainful life of teaching.

The conditions were simple. To inherit the monies and properties from his father's estate, Severus simply must supply an heir. Severus had read the terms carefully and had hired a Wizarding solicitor to review the will in detail to assure that Severus was not required to marry, that the child could be of either gender, and that the child need not be a Pureblood. The only stipulation was that the mother of said heir must be a witch, no matter her bloodline.

Severus had reviewed his options after that point. He had spent so long spying for the Death Eaters and for the Order that he had not had time to pursue a 'love life'. Neither had he had any desire to pursue such a thing following the war. He had pondered the possibility of having a child. There were a few options. If it had not been for the fact that his father's will had stated that the child actually needed to be of Snape blood, then he would've adopted a sixteen year old war orphan and been done with the matter.

He had also quickly decided that he was not about to waste several years on some relationship with a witch in the sole attempt to obtain an heir. Finally, he had decided that the simplest and most effective course of action would be to hire a surrogate mother to carry his child.

After making his decision, he had contacted Wilhelm Wigworthy's Wombs for Went. Such an idiotically stupid name, he thought each time he saw or heard it. He had met with a consultant stating what was required. The consultant had informed him that the selection process would be more difficult for him because Severus required the egg of the surrogate mother as well. After the preliminary work had been completed, the tedious interview process had begun.

Severus had reviewed no less than 75 applications. He had been surprised at the vast quantity until the Wilhelm Wigworthy representative informed him that they were applications taken from their offices all over the world. Whenever Severus had found an applicant that he felt was worthy of his more scrutinizing attentions, he would request an anonymous interview where he could view the entire exchange between the mediator and the applicant from a secret room. He had the distinct pleasure of appearing for eight such interviews when he came across Miss Granger's file.

It had surprised him that the Gryffindor know-it-all had stooped herself to the level of selling a part of her self. As soon as he saw the girl's name on the application form, he had been inclined to discard it immediately. After a few minute's contemplation, however, he had quickly breezed through the positive aspects of Miss Granger being the genetic mother of his child. The sheer fact that she had survived his constant attempts to degrade her during Potions class, and she had still wound up scoring higher than even he had on her N.E.W.T.s, was by and large very admirable. He had made arrangements to schedule an interview with the young woman at her earliest convenience.

Following her initial interview, Severus had to admit that he had been impressed by the young woman's tenacity. She had obviously not been as lucky as some of the other Order members had been. No money to 'buy her way out' of her situation simply had her at the mercy of the Wizarding world. Why she did not just go back to the Muggle world, he did not know, but he had decided that he would ask her when he had the chance.

After that time, Severus spoke with both the representatives from Wilhelm Wigworthy's and his personal Wizarding solicitor to work up a feasible contract to present to Miss Granger. The representatives had informed him that requiring the woman to live with him was above and beyond normal expectations; he had conceded by adding additional monies to the contract. There was one point he would not concede to. If a woman was going to carry his heir, he was going to watch her like a hawk to ensure that she was taking proper care of his progeny. He was uncertain as to how much Miss Granger could be swayed by monetary means; however, he figured it was at least a starting point for negotiations.

Over the last three years, since depleting his stores to save his own hide, he had acquired enough Galleons to pay the required fees to Wilhelm Wigworthy's and to supply the necessary living expenses for himself and the surrogate. The moment the child was born, his father's estate would be released to him, and he could pay whatever remaining fees were necessary to the young woman and be able to quit his Godforsaken teaching job.

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He was silently pleased as he watched Miss Granger struggle with her decision. She is finally showing some sense, he thought, as she put down the quill she had been twirling with in her fingers and refused to accept the proposal in front of her until she met the man that she was signing a portion of her life away to. She was refusing to sign until she met Severus Snape.

He tapped his wand on the invisible barrier that was between himself and the table where Miss Granger and the consultant sat. To him, it was merely a step across an imaginary line. To the others in the room, he knew, it appeared that there was an actual wall that was melting to reveal the rest of the room. Miss Granger didn't appear to notice the wall to her left melting away to unveil a tall man in long black robes. "That is a very wise decision, Miss Granger," he found himself saying in his most intimidating, low voice. A slow smirk grew on his face as he saw her surprise at his sudden appearance.

"P-Professor Snape!" she exclaimed when she realized who was standing in the place where the wall had been.

His dark eyes met her large brown saucers. She was, obviously, surprised. Severus found that he had to bite back a chuckle. It was enjoyable to watch another person's surprise. It was even more enjoyable to be in complete control of a situation and to manipulate the direction of every event. "Miss Granger, please close your mouth as it accomplishes little more then to aid in your imitation of a goldfish," he said to her with his best sneer. As an afterthought he continued, "Although, I must say that it is an improvement to the beaver that was ever present until that unfortunate hex from one of your classmates." He could tell by the flashing in her eyes that he had successfully hit his mark. He conjured a simple straight-backed chair next to the Wilhelm Wigworthy representative and sat down directly opposite of his prey.

"Miss Granger, I believe that you were considering signing that document in front of you, were you not?" he finally inquired after surveying her thoughtfully for several minutes.

She appeared to gain her composure rather quickly as she replied with a simple, "Yes, sir."

"Well, Miss Granger, what is the delay?" he asked, gradually becoming more and more annoyed with the chit sitting in front of him. He watched her take a deep breath, seemingly to organize her thoughts.

"First of all, why do you want to have a child, Professor?"

"I do not see how that is any of your business, Miss Granger," he retorted.

"You are asking for my egg, genetically my child," she said sternly. She stared deep into his black eyes and continued. "I have every right to know why you are seeking to have a child."

"I wish simply to have an heir that can carry on the Snape family name and traditions," he answered straightforwardly. There was no reason to inform her of the monetary perks involved.

She eyed him quizzically. "And, how do you think that you will take care of a baby, Professor Snape?"

He quirked his eyebrow at her and shot back, "And, what makes you think that that is any of your business, Miss Granger? I have the financial means to provide for a child, and I do not appreciate the liberties you are taking in your questions."

She looked slightly taken aback as she looked down at her hands which were now again holding the illustrious quill in her hands. "I'm sorry, Professor. I just want to make sure this is the right thing."

The last few words were barely a mumble. He was slightly discomforted by her last few words until he remembered, Oh, yes, a ruddy Gryffindor! Severus quickly decided that a new tactic was in order.

"Tell me, Miss Granger, what is it that brings you to such desperate measures?"

"Money," she replied frankly, as she looked back up at him. He grabbed a hold of the wand in his pocket and thought the spell in his head. Legilimens! He held her gaze and briefly caught a few images flashing through her mind. Meandering through the remains of a house that was devastated by fire. Reading a summons for a trial in front of the Wizengamot. Standing at the mock grave of Harry Potter. He was jolted back to his present surroundings by what felt like someone shoving him in the chest.

"Did you see enough to satisfy your curiosity, sir?" Hermione shot at him.

He did not allow the feeling of shock at this young woman's apparent aptitude for Occlumency to appear on his face. "Nearly," he said.

"Ask your questions so we can get this over with, Professor, and stay out of my mind!"

"Very well, Miss Granger, what is it, specifically that you require money for?"

Hermione appeared to be thinking on this, and when she spoke, it seemed that she was forming her words carefully. "Well, sir, since the war I have not been able to find gainful employment, nor is anyone willing to take me on as an apprentice." She began speaking faster as she spun out the details of her parents' deaths, their large amount of debt that they had accumulated while Hermione had been a student, and finishing off with how the Muggle world had now discovered Hermione's second job as a housekeeper at the Leaky Cauldron. She even told him that they were threatening to garnish her wages.

"Miss Granger, surely you are aware that the Muggle world cannot strap you with your parents' debt after their untimely demise."

"In most cases, Professor, you would be correct. However, my parents applied for and received a large amount of financial aid to pay for my school supplies and education. Thus, the debt was in my name. And, before you tell me that Hogwarts doesn't cost any money, you need to think about the Muggle-born children that are about that don't pay taxes into the Wizarding Government. All of my parents' assets were liquidated to pay off all of their back taxes and miscellaneous bills. However, the education loans made it impossible for me to pursue my career through strict academic means. Then, the Ministry of Magic had to pull that whole "you are a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a vigilante" crap! I have spent the last three years barely scraping by, Professor Snape, and I need a way out of this mess." She had rambled through all of this quickly, and her temper seemed to be flaring. This was obviously something she had thought about on numerous occasions.

Severus sat back in his chair, deep in thought.

Hermione leaned over the table and broke the silence, "Professor, if I could afford to hire a solicitor in the Muggle world or the Wizarding world, I may have a chance of fighting some of this. However, I have found it very difficult to do anything. I feel blocked at every turn. I need to get out of this miserable existence, and right now, money seems to be the only way to do that."

Severus looked at the young woman's face. He didn't need Leigilmency to see the truth behind her deep brown eyes. "So, Miss Granger--Hermione--you are willing to sell your soul to the devil?"

"No, sir, I am willing to sell my body for my soul." Both sets of eyes looked down at the contract in front of her. Both seemingly contemplating the situations.

Severus finally spoke, "What if we change the conditions of the contract, Hermione?" She looked up and again met his gaze.

"I will hire a solicitor that specializes in both Muggle and Wizarding law to clear up your financial problems. I will ensure that your Ministry criminal record is non-existent." The disgust in his voice at the word 'criminal' did not go unnoticed by Hermione. Severus paused momentarily before continuing, "and I will see that you are able to pursue whatever form of academia that you prefer, whether it be to study as an apprentice or continue on to university." As he spoke these words, the payment terms on the contract changed to reflect his promise. He watched her grip the quill ever more tightly in her fingers and place the tip of the quill to the parchment. She laid the quill back down before signing her name.

"I have another question, Professor."

He rolled his eyes. "Now why does that not surprise me, Miss Granger?" he drawled. "Ask your question."

"Why do you want me to live with you?"

"Because I want to ensure the health and safety of my heir, Miss Granger," he replied simply. "It is nothing more than that. I assure you."

She simply nodded, reached out, and grabbed the quill again. She signed the scroll with a tight, messy signature. The scroll immediately rolled itself up and vanished. She looked back up at him. "So, now what happens?"

"Well, now, Miss Granger, I'm sure that your mother didn't die before telling you about the birds and the bees?" The evil grin he had worn when he had first entered the room now returned to his face as he saw, again, the sheer look of horror appear on the young woman's face. He again found himself biting back a chuckle.

A/N: Sorry, I like evil cliffies. ;-)

B/N: All questions will be answered eventually. Ginny is very secretive and loves suspense.