Simple Suggestions

Madbrilliant is, without a doubt, the awesomest beta ever! And so are my readers and reviewers!

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Chapter 15 - Simple Suggestions

In traditional Wizarding families, it was usually seen as unseemly for a child to be born outside of wedlock.

This was a tradition that was very important to the Snape family. And so, Severus had come up with a solution that would hopefully satisfy his family and Hermione. He knew that he would be satisfied if the situation was favoured by all parties. He would love to be married to Hermione, but was unsure if she would be amenable to being his wife. He believed that she loved him, but that did not mean that she wanted a bigger commitment than bearing his children.

He smiled when a sudden thought occurred to him. If she agreed, there would be a Professor Snape teaching Potions at Hogwarts again. That most certainly was an interesting thought to contemplate. But what amused Severus the most was the thought of a Snape being the Head of Gryffindor house.

However, as scared as Severus was about asking Hermione to marry him later that day, he still intended on asking. She, at the present time, was downstairs in the dungeons, teaching class as usual. Afterwards, she would be coming to see him in his office, and then he would either ask or make the suggestion to her. He sucked in a deep breath and released it as a sigh. It was times like these that Severus appreciated having Albus' portrait hanging up in his office.

He spun his chair around to face the painting, only to find the former Headmaster feigning sleep. 'Albus, quit that, will you?' Severus said with a frown. 'I know very well that you aren't actually sleeping, you old coot.'

Albus opened one eye and peeked at Severus, smiling and then opening the other one. 'I suppose there is no fooling you, my boy,' the man in the painting said cheerfully. 'I hear that I should be wishing you happy.'

'Thank you, Albus,' Severus replied with a nod. 'But therein lies the problem.'

'What can I help you with?' Albus offered immediately.

'I'm going to ask Hermione to marry me, but I'm afraid that she will either say no, or she will say yes only because she feels obligated to me because of the children,' he said, a frown crease appearing between his brows.

'Severus, surely by now you have realised that Hermione is both an intelligent and capable woman and witch,' Albus replied patiently to the man who was like a son to him. 'She could easily raise two children on her own. She is not concerned about societal expectations either, and she would not mind having your children out of wedlock,' he continued. 'Surely this means that, if she agrees, it will be because she truly wants to be your wife.'

Severus took in what Albus was saying and sighed heavily. Why did the old man have to be so right all of the time? He knew that Hermione was a singularly amazing woman. She was just so good at everything she did, so raising their children would be like a walk in the park for her. He smiled at that thought.

'I know you're right, Albus,' Severus admitted aloud. 'But there's no need to gloat about that, old man.'

'You ask that lovely young woman to marry you, and live a happy and full life now, my boy,' Albus said simply, sitting back comfortably in the chair of his portrait. 'Now, I am really going to take a nap, so be a good lad and draw the curtain for an old, retiring wizard.'

Severus snorted at Albus' last comment. The man was already dead and yet he was still in no way a retiring wizard. He snapped his fingers and the curtains closed over the painting, leaving the room in complete silence. He was beginning to get a little fidgety from nerves, so he pulled a pile of paperwork towards him and put on his glasses. He hated that his eyesight was not as good as it once was. He picked up his favourite quill, dipped it into the ink well, and began to read and write.

About half an hour later, the door to the office opened, and Hermione slipped inside, closing it softly behind her and smiling at the man she loved. He returned her smile and beckoned her over to him. She went to him willingly and moved around the desk, making him push away from it a little, before plopping down onto his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

'Hello, my love,' she said in greeting, kissing him on the lips.

'Hello to you,' he said with a broad smile, kissing her back a little more aggressively. 'How was your class then?'

'Oh, it was average at best. Who would have ever thought that fifth years could be so ridiculously clumsy?' she said with a laugh. 'I had one boy let his potion boil over, but that was the extent of the damage, I think.'

'I know you are not stupid, love, but in your condition, please be a little more careful in the classroom with those dunderheads,' Severus implored, trying to look a little apologetic for asking.

Hermione nodded understandingly. He was just like every man when they were faced with becoming a father: overprotective and worried about every little thing. 'I promise to be careful,' she agreed. 'But I won't stop teaching until a month before the birth, are we agreed?'

Severus sighed, but he nodded in agreement. 'Very well,' he said softly. 'I can see that there won't be any changing your mind.'

Hermione grinned and kissed the end of his nose playfully and then hugged him around the neck and breathed in his wonderful, clean scent. Smelling his scent sparked her arousal a little, and she smiled wickedly, leaning in and nipping his earlobe gently between her teeth. She heard him groan into her neck and bite down, but just as she was about to take it further and engage him in a quickie between classes, he pulled back and pushed her away just enough so that he could look at her properly.

'No, Hermione, we can't just now,' he said a little breathlessly.

She frowned and pouted at him, crossing her arms petulantly. 'Why ever not?' she asked in a huff.

Severus took a deep breath and let it out slowly, reaching out to cup her face between his hands gently, drawing her close to rest his forehead against hers. 'I asked you to come here because I wanted to talk to you about something very important,' he said in a serious tone of voice.

Hermione's eyes widened with worry. 'What is it?' she asked, panic already a little evident in her voice. In her impregnated state, her emotions had been up and down at the drop of a hat.

'No, no, love – it's nothing bad,' he soothed, pulling her close to him for a brief hug and then releasing her. 'It's about our future, love.'

'Okay, I'm listening,' Hermione agreed, calming down slowly.

Severus took another deep breath, and quickly reached a hand into his pocket, pulling out the ring he found there. It was a family heirloom, had been passed down from generation to generation, and was always the engagement ring for the next woman to marry into the Snape line. It was old, rich gold, finely woven in a Celtic pattern and had a dark, almost black, emerald set in the middle of the knot. He had always liked the ring, and he felt that it would be perfect on Hermione's hand.

'What do you think of this ring?' he asked, holding it out on his palm for her to get a good look at it.

Hermione gasped softly, covering her mouth with her hand. 'It's very beautiful,' she mumbled quietly in reply.

Severus nodded and took her left hand in his, kissing her knuckles lightly. 'Hermione, I'm not sure if I'm ever going to work up the courage to do this again,' he said to begin with. 'But it doesn't mean that the offer is worth less. You don't have to decide right now, but I would be much honored, and the happiest man alive, if you would consent to being my wife.'

He gazed into her eyes nervously then, feeling his stomach trying to make the trip up his throat. She was silent, a tear leaking from her right eye and making the trek down her cheek, to be followed soon by others on both sides. A smile curved her lips, and she threw herself at him and hugged him hard, kissing all over his face repeatedly, surprising him completely. When she pulled back, she leaned back in and kissed him full on the lips, tangling her tongue with his. By this point, Severus had rejoined reality and was kissing her back with equal fervor.

'Yes!' she said in between kisses. 'Yes, I'll marry you!'

Once they couldn't maintain the kiss any longer from lack of oxygen, they sat back, and Hermione allowed Severus to slide the ring onto the correct finger of her left hand. It shrunk automatically to fit her finger just right, and they both admired it, sparkling and twinkling up at them. It looked very nice on her, the darkness of the stone a sharp contrast with her milky skin.

'Beautiful,' he murmured, before lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing the tips of her fingers, and her knuckle nearest the ring.

Severus let that memory play through his mind for the rest of the afternoon after Hermione returned to the dungeons to teach her final class for the day. He was acting like a besotted fool, he knew, but he was the happiest besotted fool in the school that day, he was sure. In any case, he told himself that it was okay to be acting so foolish. After all, Hermione, his one true love, had just agreed to marry him.

When the school day was officially at a close, he tidied up his office, summoned a few school owls to deliver the paperwork and mail he had to send off, and then headed into his chambers. Hanging his robes on the coat hooks near the doorway, he began to strip off his frock coat beneath it and dropped it on a chair as he made his way into his bedroom, intent on taking a shower. What he found there was not what he had expected at all. Hermione was sprawled on his bed, lying on her stomach, her chest rising and falling evenly with her breathing.

Severus smiled, kicking his shoes off, climbing onto the bed, holding himself off her with his arms, and leaning his mouth close to her ear. 'Who's this sleeping in my bed?' he asked teasingly.

Hermione stirred and rolled over onto her back, facing him and grinning. 'Sev, I was just thinking...' she began slowly. 'And I have come up with some baby names that I think you will like,' she added.

He nodded a little warily. 'What were you thinking of?' he asked.

'Well... I was thinking maybe Alexander Severus for our little boy, and Luciana Iris for our girl,' she replied hesitantly, unsure if he would approve.

Severus paused for a moment in thought, rolling the names around in his head. 'They are actually quite acceptable,' he answered. 'At least you're not trying to name our son Severus directly.'

Hermione grinned, pleased that he approved of the name choices. 'I thought about naming him after you at first, but then I realised that you wouldn't really like it, so I will settle for his middle name,' she said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close for a kiss. 'And what about the girl name?'

'Perfect I think,' he replied with a smile. 'But we'll wait until they are born before we make any final decisions about names, okay?'

Hermione nodded in agreement without saying another word; mostly because she was more interested in divesting him of his clothing than speaking at that moment.