Donovan's Sister

Getting pregnant again hadn't been a conscious decision on Hermione's part. She wrinkled her nose ruefully – getting pregnant with Donovan hadn't been part of the plan either, come to think of it, but she had learned to be grateful for little accidents.

She rested her hand gently on her flat stomach and peered at her flawless skin in the mirror over the sink. She wondered what it meant for a woman to 'glow' during pregnancy. She could see no difference, except for perhaps a new sparkle in her eye.

She lifted up the only Muggle device she knew that dispensed its own magic and smiled at the matching blue lines that told her what she had already suspected. She decided to wait until Donovan was in bed before telling Severus so that they could savour the moment as a couple. The older her son became, the less time they seemed to have together, so tonight, she decided to make it special.

***

Severus dug his spade in deeper, grunting with effort as he turned over yet another lump of solid earth. He broke up the dirt with the sharp edge of the blade, crumbling it into workable loam, before moving along the row and starting the process again.

Anything to take his mind off things.

Hermione had been distracted of late, and while he no longer jumped to wrong conclusions and assumed she was being unfaithful, he missed the closeness they usually shared. He didn't envy her the career she was successfully carving out, nor did he mind being what Harry amusingly called her 'House Husband'. He loved being at home, looking after the house and garden and spending time with Donovan. But he missed his wife. Not to mention that they hadn't made love in over a week. Severus frowned and thrust the spade downwards with relish.

He paused and wiped his brow, catching sight of Donovan as he came out of the house wearing his wellington boots, one trouser leg tucked in and one hanging loose. Severus grinned as he put his hands into the pockets of his jeans and marched towards him, looking like a miniature farmer on his way to work.

'Can I help you, Daddy?' Donovan squinted up at Severus, the sun glaring in his eyes.

Severus knelt down to eye level. 'That all depends,' he mused, ruffling Donovan's dark hair. 'Did you help tidy up the toys at school yesterday?'

'Yes I did. Megan helped, too,' he said with a small smile. Severus narrowed his eyes.

'Megan picked up all of the toys, didn't she?' he asked slowly.

'Yes. But I showed her where to put them.' Donovan looked a little smug.

Severus fought hard not to smirk. 'Better than using your magic at school, I suppose.'

'Last time wasn't my fault,' Donovan said with a pout. 'I didn't mean to make the clock go faster. Story time was boring. You tell much better stories than Miss Wilson.'

Severus smiled then. When Donovan was older, he would realise that some of the stories were not just fairytales, but there was time enough for that. The choice for Donovan to grow up in a mostly Muggle world had been a conscious one, to give him a more balanced view by the time he went to Hogwarts. Hermione was already convinced that Donovan would be placed in Slytherin, and old habits died hard where some pure-blood families were concerned.

'Come and help me pull up some carrots,' Severus said eventually. He stood and held out his hand, and Donovan took it, holding on firmly as father and son walked across to the vegetable patch.

***

Hermione stood at the kitchen door and smiled affectionately as Donovan walked back to the house with Severus. He looked every inch a little man in his own right, and she marvelled at how much alike they were, even to the way they straightened stiffly when irked for some reason or other.

'Can we play Hungry Hippos after tea?' Donovan asked as he pushed off his wellingtons.

Hermione looked up and caught Severus's gaze with a rueful smirk. 'Maybe tomorrow. I think we all need an early night tonight, Donovan.'

Severus raised his eyebrows and twitched his mouth into a hopeful smile. He hoped that meant what he thought it did. Hermione grinned and shook her head. 'Later,' she mouthed.

'Make sure Daddy gives you his wand so that he can't cheat.' Donovan turned and gave Severus a glare, which made Hermione giggle.

'He's got you there,' she said with a laugh.

Severus rolled his eyes and lifted Donovan's jacket from the floor where he'd let it fall. 'I wasn't cheating,' he murmured for Hermione's ears only. 'I was expediting the proceedings.' Severus loved being with Donovan, but he hated Hungry Hippos with a passion usually reserved for dunderheads and other such low-life.

'I've made Donovan's tea, but I thought we could wait and eat together later. Is that okay?' She took the soil-covered carrots that Severus handed to her, and he followed her into the kitchen.

'Is everything alright?' he asked quietly, watching her face closely for clues.

'Everything is fine.' Hermione dumped the carrots in the sink and then returned to hug Severus gingerly. She wrinkled her nose. 'Except that you smell.'

'That's honest sweat, wench. I'll have my shower now while Donovan eats. You're sure everything is fine?' He looked down into her warm eyes with concern. Hermione smiled warmly and kissed him firmly on his smooth, soft lips.

'I promise. I'll get Donovan's tea into him while you shower.'

Hermione watched as Severus walked towards the stairs, pausing briefly to hug Donovan on the way. Her heart felt suddenly full, and she brushed away sentimental tears.

***

Hermione had barely touched her wine. Severus watched as she fiddled with the stem of her glass, the pale liquid swirling but never touching her lips. They hadn't spoken much, and Hermione had only picked at her steak, while Severus had devoured his. Gardening always made him ravenous. He lifted his own glass and drained it, then pushed his empty plate away with a contented sigh.

'That was excellent,' he said quietly.

'Thanks.' Hermione made to stand, but Severus stopped her with his hand on her arm.

'Stop pussyfooting around, Hermione. Sit down and spit it out, then perhaps we can enjoy the rest of the night without me sitting here on tenterhooks waiting for the other shoe to drop.' Severus stared at Hermione earnestly, and she had the good grace to blush.

He was absolutely right. Of course. She had been waiting for the right moment, but in the meantime she hadn't been able to relax, her thoughts veering from the excitement of her news, to concern at Severus potential reaction. She took a deep breath and smiled warily.

'Sorry,' she whispered, sliding back into her chair and deciding to ignore the detritus around her. 'There is something I've been meaning to say.'

'I know,' Severus said with exasperation. 'I didn't think you would allow me to avoid Hungry Hippos for no reason.'

Hermione laughed at that, and the tension lifted. Severus took her hand in his and stroked her fingers gently. 'Well?'

Hermione looked into his dark eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat quickly.

'We're pregnant,' she whispered.

Severus mouth fell open and his eyes widened in surprise. Whatever he'd been expecting her to say, it certainly wasn't this.

'We are?' he asked, and a smile he couldn't fight spread across his face.

Hermione nodded, tears in her eyes, and they both started to laugh.

***

The fire was slowly dying, but they were still lying on the rug, their legs twined around each other after they had made love ever so carefully. Hermione had protested that they wouldn't harm the baby, but Severus wasn't as confident. He gazed into the embers, still in awe at their change in circumstance.

Hermione was dozing against his shoulder. Her breath huffed out, causing the curls of her fringe to flutter softly. Severus smiled and adjusted his position to wrap his arm around her, holding her closer as she rested her head against his chest.

'Love you,' she mumbled.

'I know,' he replied. 'Bed, I think.'

Hermione opened her eyes and smiled up at him sleepily. 'Happy?' she asked him.

'Always,' he whispered.

***

The following evening, Donovan was sat between his parents on the large sofa. They had just told him about the new baby. When Megan's mummy had her baby, she had been really fat, but his mother's stomach wasn't fat at all. He wondered if witches were different.

'You're not fat, Mummy,' he stated.

'Not yet. I will be when the baby gets bigger,' Hermione said.

'Will the baby come to my birthday party?' he asked, seriously. He wanted to sit next to Megan, not his new sibling.

Severus chuckled. 'The baby won't be here for a long time yet.'

'Okay. Now can we play Hungry Hippos?' he said with frustration.

Severus looked aghast from Donovan to a sweetly smiling Hermione and knew he was cornered.

***

The day after Donovan's fourth birthday party, Hermione and Severus stood on the small landing of Hilltop Cottage and pondered where to put a third bedroom. Severus had strong views about magically expanded rooms and the risks that came with them, hence the brick-built extension that housed his potions laboratory. He was even more insistent that the same principles should be applied when making space for the new baby.

'What about extending over the top of the lab?' Hermione mused, worrying her bottom lip in thought.

'Not safe,' he muttered. 'I rarely use volatile ingredients now, but we don't know where Donovan's interests may lie in the future. It's not worth the risk.'

Hermione nodded in agreement, and cast her eyes upwards.

'The attic, then,' she said with a resigned tone.

'Not keen, are you?' Severus grinned at her.

'I don't like the thought of the baby being up there and not just across the hallway.'

'I've already thought of that. Let's brave it, shall we?' With a flick of his wand, the wooden hatch opened, revealing cobwebs and draughty darkness above them. Hermione shivered. 'I suppose you want me to go first?'

Hermione nodded firmly and watched in awe as Severus levitated himself up through the hatch and sat himself on the edge. Casting 'Lumos', Severus gazed around the attic and let out a low whistle. The space covered the whole top floor of the house, and the angled pitch of the roof meant it was large and roomy on one side and narrower at the other. They would need to put a couple of windows in, but the space would make a great bedroom once it was boarded out and decorated. Apart from a couple of old packing cases in the corner of the room, and the families of spiders that had obviously made themselves at home for years, the room was empty. They could have the whole place done in no time.

'Well?' Hermione called up to him.

Severus let himself drift back down and looked at Hermione's worried face. 'It's fine. I'll have some work to do, but it won't take me long.'

'Is it big enough for a nursery?' she wondered aloud.

'Too big, I think. But it's big enough for a four year old with far too many toys.' He grinned as the penny dropped and Hermione smiled up at him.

'I love you,' she said, tipping her face upwards for a kiss.

Severus kissed her, gently at first and then deeper. Hermione didn't object when he shuffled them awkwardly into their own room and closed the door.

***

The sun was just setting over the roof of Hilltop Cottage, and Hermione lay on her bed watching from the window as the soft, orange glow dipped behind the hills in the distance.

The baby moved a foot, and she rubbed her stomach softly to ease the discomfort. She felt as big as a whale, her ankles were swollen and she was overdue by four days. Severus had insisted she stay in bed and rest and had provided her with a substantial pile of books. She had read over half of the stack already, and now she was bored and restless. Not to mention her back was aching. She reached for her wand tentatively. The last time she had called Severus he had charged into the room like a bull, thinking she had gone into labour. She made sure her message was clearer this time, and her Patronus gambolled down the stairs quickly.

She didn't have to wait long before Severus came into the room, followed by an ever-inquisitive Donovan, who ran and jumped onto the foot of the bed with a grin.

'Gently, Donovan,' Severus admonished. Secretly, he was glad of his son's enthusiasm for the new baby and only hoped it would last when the child finally arrived. 'Are you quite well?' he asked Hermione.

'I could do with a back rub, and perhaps a glass of water,' she sighed, shifting herself in the bed.

'Donovan, please go to the kitchen and get some water for your mother,' Severus instructed.

'Can't you use your wand, Daddy?' Donovan looked up at him with pleading eyes.

'The water won't be cold enough. Do as I ask, please,' Severus insisted.

Donovan looked to his mother for support, and she grinned at him in amusement. 'You heard your Daddy, Donovan. I promise you won't miss anything,' she said with a laugh.

As Donovan left the room, slowly, Hermione took Severus' hand in hers. 'He's like your shadow at the moment, isn't he?' She smiled.

Severus sat beside her and kissed her softly. 'How are you feeling?'

'My lower back aches. I think I should get up and walk a bit.'

Severus pulled back the covers and helped Hermione onto her feet. As she stood, she felt a gentle dragging in her abdomen and her waters broke with a gush. At that moment, Donovan walked back into the room, carrying a half-full glass of water. He stared as a pool of water appeared at Hermione's feet and stared at his parents as they looked at him in shock.

'Daddy! Mummy wet herself!'

***

In the early hours of the morning, before the sun started to rise again, Hermione Snape gave birth to her second child, a girl with a mop of tight, black curls and a little snub nose. Severus stayed by her side the whole time and Donovan stayed with Auntie Ginny and Uncle Harry.

Later that day, a steady stream of visitors arrived at St. Mungo's to welcome the new baby. Donovan stood guard by his sister's cot, telling everyone to be quiet because Ciara was sleeping.

Severus looked at Hermione with a smirk, and Hermione wondered just when Donovan had perfected the Snape glare.

The End