Mutual Regard

I would like to thank my brilliant beta Alliean, for all of her help with this chapter.

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Chapter 27 - Mutual Regard

The final exams for the school year were slowly drawing closer, and the students who cared about their final results were going into a sort of frenzy. Hermione had been so busy all week and weekend, marking and preparing her Potions students for their exams, and being particularly hard on her O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students. After all, their results were the ones that affected their futures the most. She had been in the dungeons, and some nights during the week, Severus had needed to go and fetch her simply because she had fallen asleep at her desk and he had been a little worried about her. He was so nervous about the stress all of it was causing her that he had made sure that she would go see Poppy.

Severus himself had been busy all week preparing for the examination board of professors to come to Hogwarts, which was no simple task. He had to provide rooms, meals and seating for them, which was a tremendous effort when all of his staff were busy doing their own exam preparations. During this time, Severus had also been rather preoccupied with sorting out the delivery of some very important pieces of paperwork from the Ministry. Hermione had asked him a few times exactly what it was that he was doing, but he had waved her off and said it was Ministry work.

This was, in fact, a little bit of a lie, but he had said it with only the best of intentions, intent on surprising Hermione. This was going to be like a sort of gift to her, without it actually being so. That morning, he had gathered all of the paperwork together, signed it all himself, and arranged a meeting with a certain eleven-year-old Gryffindor girl. So far, the plan had gone ahead as he had expected, and all he needed was Megan Cabot to arrive so he could go to Hermione. As he had expected for the past ten minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"Do come inside, Miss Cabot,' he said politely.

The door opened a fraction, and the skinny little Megan Cabot entered the room quietly, closing the door behind her.

'You asked for me, Professor?' she asked softly as she approached his desk.

'Yes, indeed, I have something rather important I would like to discuss with you this morning, and I need your cooperation,' he replied, gesturing for her to sit. 'Now, I assume you must be curious, so feel free to ask me your questions now, and I will answer to the best of my ability.'

Megan nodded carefully, twisting her fingers together in her lap.

'Well, I would like to know why you asked me here for a start, sir,' she murmured quietly.

Severus took a deep breath before beginning his explanation.

'It came to my attention, especially during the Christmas break, that you no longer have any family, correct?' he asked, trying to be sensitive, but on seeing her nod, he relaxed a little more. 'Well, the main reason behind my asking you here is because my wife and I would very much like to remedy that.'

'You want to find me a family?' she asked, tilting her head a little in confusion.

'In a manner of speaking, yes, that is essentially what we would like to do,' he answered a little vaguely. 'It is not my wish for you to have to go back to the Muggle world and have to live in an orphanage.'

'So, you are getting someone to take me in?' she asked, her eyes lighting up, which Severus took as a positive sign.

'Actually, we are rather trying to have you adopted into a wizarding family,' he said slowly, gauging her face for a reaction, and when he saw none, he pressed on. 'I was rather thinking that you might not be opposed to joining my family with Hermione.'

The room was deathly silent for a moment, and Severus found himself feeling too nervous to look up and see the girl's face. He heard her chair move, and her padded footsteps on the carpet as she walked, and assumed she had decided to leave. But as soon as he looked up instead, he found that she was walking around his desk, and he soon had Megan Cabot's arms wrapped tightly around his neck in one of the most suffocating hugs he had ever been given by one so young.

'Thank you so much, Professor!' she exclaimed as she clung to him. 'I am so glad I came to this school, and I am really very grateful to both you and the professor for everything you have done for me already! I would love to be a part of your family!"

Soon, she was crying into his shoulder, and all he could do was embrace and comfort her. Obviously, she had been under a lot of stress, what with losing her parents, being alone, and going to a Magical school all in a matter of a couple of years. He liked this girl a great deal, and he felt that, even though he did not love her as a daughter, he was sure he would come to think of her as his own in time. He simply patted her back and handed her a handkerchief when she was finished sobbing.

'I-I'm s-so sorry, Professor,' she said in between breaths as she wiped her face and stood back up properly. 'I-I'm really, really happy, and I guess I just lost myself for a minute there.'

'That is quite alright, Miss – Megan,' he said correcting himself. 'Now, I know you will want some time to consider this for a little longer, but as soon as you have decided, I have the papers for you to sign.'

'I can sign them now,' she said shyly. 'I won't change my mind.'

Severus nodded. 'Very well, you sign in these three places,' he said, indicating them with a dot on each with his quill. 'And then, you touch your wand to the last one, and your part will be finalized.'

Megan accepted his quill and did as directed before touching her wand to the last signature and smiling at him when she was finished.

'Okay, all done,' she announced, placing the quill back on his desk.

'Thank you very much for that,' Severus said kindly, in his most sincere tone. 'Now, all that is left to be done is get Hermione's signatures and the Ministry department's stamp of approval. And then you shall remain with us for as long as you should like, and we will provide for you henceforth from that time.'

'Thank you again, Professor,' she said, hugging him around his neck again.

'You may call me Severus when we are not in front of any of the other students,' he told her seriously. 'When I become your adoptive father, I think it would be rather silly for you to have to call me "Professor" all of the time, don't you think?'

'I like your name, Severus,' she said cheerfully, sounding natural as she said it. It was as though she was supposed to be a part of his and Hermione's life together.

'I suppose I should be glad then,' he answered teasingly, allowing her to see a little of the man he was behind all of the snark and sourness. She was going to be his daughter, so she had a right to see who he truly was. 'Now, I am sure I have interrupted some very serious studying for you, so you should run along and get that done. Perhaps you would come back and have dinner with Hermione and me this evening?'

'I will be here at six,' the girl answered with a grin.

Hugging Severus once more, she then skipped her way out of the room giddily and closed the office door behind her. Severus sighed and smiled, looking at the papers before him with both their scrawled signatures. He had done the right thing that day; he could just feel it. He was about to stand and head to his and Hermione's chambers when a familiar voice came from behind his chair, sounding very much like someone clearing their throat for attention. Severus reluctantly spun his chair around to face Albus Dumbledore's portrait.

'Is there something you wanted, Albus?' he asked in a mildly bored tone.

'Nothing more than to congratulate you, my boy,' the older wizard said with a chuckle. 'It does me good to see that your little family is slowly getting on in size. I always did think you would make a good father.'

'You think the same about everyone, Albus,' Severus said sarcastically.

Albus shook his head and sighed. 'I do hope that you are not intending to keep your family here all summer, Severus,' he said seriously, stroking his beard in thought. 'Perhaps you could relocate to your estate in Spain. I am sure Hermione would love that, and young Miss Megan looks as though she would be thrilled at the prospect of spending her summer in a Spanish villa.'

'You do have a valid point,' Severus mused. 'I cannot very well begin my family in this godforsaken castle. I'm not sure we would stay all summer in Spain were we to go, however. Hermione will want to return here for her confinement in the last month, I think. I am under the impression she wants Poppy to deliver the twins.'

Albus clapped his hands together cheerfully.

'Splendid, splendid! I am glad you decided to listen to me this time, Severus,' the former Headmaster teased.

Severus scowled at him for that. 'Don't you have someone to go and visit in the castle, or something? I still have other work to be getting on with,' he asked skeptically. 'You can either go off for visits, or I'll shut the curtains on you.'

'I'll take that as my cue to leave then, shall I?' Albus asked jovially.

'Quite,' Severus replied gruffly.

After Albus left his portrait in search of a friend to visit, Severus decided to take a short break and sat back to relax in his chair. He was just about to get up and go over to open the windows to the office when Hermione Flooed in, looking a little haggard and definitely distraught. She rushed into his open arms, and he hugged her tightly before swinging her into his arms with practiced ease and carrying her over to the chairs and sitting with her on his lap.

'What is the matter, love?' he asked, stroking her hair as she sobbed. This was the second lot of tears to stain his robes that day.

'I'm just so tired, and I can't keep awake long enough to finish my marking for the sixth year students, and all I want to do is curl up in bed with you, without you having to come and find me in the dungeons sleeping on my marking,' she said as she hiccoughed and cried.

Severus soothed her and stroked her hair and back until her sobs calmed and she was simply just breathing and snuggling into him. He had been wondering when she was going to crack from the stress with her being both a professor and his deputy. He was sure she was feeling it a lot worse, especially with the twins. Soon enough, her breathing became even, and he knew she had fallen asleep. He stood from the chair and took her into their chambers, laying her down on the couch and propping a pillow under her head. She deserved to sleep for a while and recuperate. He would just have to give her the news about Megan later.

He Summoned the papers from his office and placed them on the coffee table near the lounge so that his wife would see them when she woke up, then left for his office once more to finish his paperwork for the day. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and got busy, working conscientiously until he heard Hermione's voice yell for him, growing louder as she approached. She burst into his office with amazing speed and threw herself onto him.

'Oh my god, Severus Snape!' she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. 'How could you not tell me we are adopting Megan?'

Severus smirked at her. 'I thought I just did,' he murmured before claiming her lips in the sweetest of kisses.