Sixteen

I'd like to thank lyn_f for agreeing to read through this for me! And now back to regularly scheduled updates... 

Monica Wilkins exclaimed loudly as she tossed a stick at her laughing husband, who thought her fall to be extremely funny. "Go on and keep laughing, Wendell! See if you get any Yorkshire pudding with our roast tonight!"

"Oh, come on then!" He extended a hand. "You can't say the way you went about falling wasn't worth a laugh." Wendell then waved his arms about wildly, pretending to topple over. Unfortunately, during his antics, his shoe slid at the wrong moment, and with a loud thump, he landed next to his now laughing wife.

Hermione had paused to watch her parents with a sad smile on her face. They were still listed as the Wilkins family instead of reverting back to the Granger name. She'd not known that. It was hard to understand why they were taking so long to truly get over what she'd done. Why couldn't they realize that her memory charm had saved their lives? She sucked in a deep breath of cool air as if to calm her mind by pulling in Qi. She pulled her cloak more firmly around her and finally spoke.

"Mum? Dad?"

Their laughter froze immediately, and each parent slowly turned to look in her direction. For a brief moment, neither of them made a move, but then her mum began to rise from the path behind their home.

"Hermione," she said in a quiet voice.

"Hello." Hermione looked at her father to gauge his reaction. He seemed surprised and slowly stood, placing an arm around his wife as if she needed protection. "I shouldn't have just come by like this, but..."

"Nonsense," her mother said, running forward to embrace her.

Both women began crying as they held each other. So much time had passed. So much pain had been endured. Hermione began crying harder when she realized her father had come to hold her as well. It felt so good to be with her parents. The past several weeks of misery and uncertainty came pouring out through her tears. How she'd missed her family!

Several minutes later, Hermione found herself sitting at her mum's table with a steaming cup of tea in front of her. Her mother sat next to her, a hand rubbing her back soothingly. She took a sip of her tea and finally felt able to talk without crying.

"I wish I'd come sooner."

"I wish we'd asked you to," her mother replied.

"It's... it is good to see you, girl," her father said from his chair across from her.

Hermione knew that he had been angrier than her mother over what she'd done, and it showed in his actions still. He was the last to greet her, he sat across from her instead of next to her, and he didn't make complete eye contact with her.

With a sigh, Hermione said, "I wish I could make you understand everything."

Her mother removed her hand and sat back in her chair, hands clasped in her lap. "Your father and I have been talking about things. Doing research. We know what you said, and trust me, it's not as though we didn't believe you... but the shock of it all."

"The fact that you didn't trust us to protect you," her father said forcefully. He then slapped the table with his hand. "That we couldn't protect you!"

There was such emotion in his voice. Hermione immediately understood his frustration. "It's not your fault, Dad."

"When you're a parent, Hermione," he began, "I hope you never find a time when you are incapable of protecting your child."

"Or not having the choice to try to do so," her mother added.

Hermione's eyes shimmered once again with tears, but she determinedly wiped them away. "Which brings me to the reason I am here. I..."

"Are we to be grandparents? Are you and Ron having a baby?" her mother asked, grinning broadly.

"No, Mum, far from it."

The tone of her voice had both parents leaning forward in alarm, their disappointment in her forgotten as the thought of something once again threatening to harm her brought out their parental instinct.

"What is it, love?" her mother asked nervously.

"Is that Voldie-whatsit back?" her father asked.

She shook her head and took another sip of tea. "Ron and I have gone our separate ways."

"Oh... I'm sorry. What happened?" Her mum gave her a sympathetic smile.

"He wanted to marry me, was ready for a family."

"And you weren't," her father surmised. "Understandable. You're still young! Lots of time for marriage and kids."

"Perhaps not." Hermione shrugged. "I... Wait. I'll get to that."

"You're worrying me," her mother said.

"Mum, I've always respected you so much. You went out and started a career before a family. You established yourself as a successful woman, followed your dreams." She patted her mother's hand. "I've always wanted to be like you."

Upon hearing this, her mother seemed pleased. "Perhaps I hadn't found the right man before your father," she said, reaching across to take her husband's hand in hers.

"Only man who can put up with you," he said affectionately.

Hermione frowned a little. Hadn't Ron been the right man? "Anyway," she went on, "Ron's mum used to dream of being a Healer. She fell in love with Mr. Weasley and never followed through with it. She settled for being a mum and a wife." Hermione shook her head. "I respect Mrs. Weasley greatly. She's a very good mum, but I also feel sorry for her because she will always wonder what life would have been like if she'd actually become a Healer." Hermione leaned back in her chair. "They always only had one income and lived in poverty all this time. I saw first-hand how this affected Ron and his siblings. I guess I wouldn't want my children to go through that."

"Did you explain this to Ronald?" her mother asked.

"Yes, but he thinks his mum made the right decision, and he didn't understand why I couldn't have children right away while starting a career." She placed her forearms on the table and leaned forward. "To make this part of the story short, we bartered over the length of time he was willing to wait before having children. It resulted in him wanting to take some time apart to see what we really want. After a series of events, we decided to end things."

"We never really saw you two together as a couple, but we've always liked him and know how much he always meant to you," her mother said. "I wish things had worked out."

"There's more," her father said.

"You know how that saying goes...you don't know what you have until it's gone. While we were apart, I saw this beautiful little family and realized that I would want this with Ron after all, that I could make this work somehow."

"And he denied you!" her mother said, aghast.

"He met someone else."

"Bugger!" her father blurted.

"Wait," Hermione held up her hand, "I've left out something important. Our government had adopted a matching-making service to help people find suitable mates. Some people who were involved in the war are being forced to take part in this... basically to repay a debt to society."

"Barbaric," her mother said.

"I agree completely. Ron and I had dinner with friends. In fact, Neville, you remember him, yes?" Her parents nodded, so she continued. "He took their survey and found a perfect match. This sort of gave Ron the idea to try it. That way he might find someone who wanted to settle down right away and start a family."

Her parents looked at each other and waited for her to speak, as if at a loss for words. Hermione swallowed thickly. She was certain they might not like what she said next. "When I went over to tell him that I'd changed my mind, she was there. I couldn't bring myself to tell him, not if he might have found someone who could give him what he wants."

"But you could as well," her mum put in.

"I found out that I have endometriosis."

"Oh..." Her mother's voice was soft and full of immediate understanding. "My sister had that as well."

Her father nodded and crossed his arms in front of him. "I can understand, but you should have told him."

"Eventually, I did, and he would have chosen me instead of her, but I think it was out of loyalty. I... found out that he wouldn't be completely happy if we shared a life together and were never able to have children of our own. I just couldn't take that chance and made the decision for him in the end."

"Hermione, you don't know that it would never happen. Trust me."

"I never knew Aunt Catherine had this," Hermione said, "but I don't fail to notice that she died without any children."

Her mother had no immediate reply to that. She simply shook her head and looked at her husband.

"Catherine's death was far too early in life for any speculation on the connection of her childlessness and the endometriosis. You know that, Hermione," he said.

"Once I learned that there was a chance I may never be a mother, it felt like time had begun to work against me. It feels like each day is drawing me closer to a deadline, and if I pass it, then that's it."

"But you're a sensible girl. I'm sure you've always been dedicated about taking precautions. You have no..."

"Not always. There were a few times that I've spoken with my Healer about, and it seems that maybe this could be a factor." She shrugged. "Now to something you may not like. I took the Yenta Livery Survey myself to find a match of my own."

"Oh, Hermione," her mother said, "say you didn't."

"I did." She sat up straighter and met their eyes squarely before continuing. "I want to commit myself to a career, and I want to be a mum as well. That may not happen, but I need a husband who feels the same as I do...someone who won't secretly resent me for being barren if that's the end result, someone who can accept me for the person I am and intend to be without stipulations."

"Have you found this person?" her father asked. His expression showed no emotion, but his tone voiced his disapproval.

"I have." She ignored her mother's sigh. "He's someone I've known all my years at Hogwarts, and after speaking with him and comparing our questionnaire answers, I think we might be a well-made match after all."

"Someone in your year?"

Hermione bit her lip briefly. The moment had come. "No. He's... It's Severus Snape."

"What!" her father exploded. "That same professor who made that comment about your teeth!"

"And more or less goaded you into using magic to shrink them!" her mother added.

"Really?" Hermione said, sitting back in her chair. "A comment he made about my teeth when I was a teenager... that's all you can think of?"

"Well, we are dentists," her mother said, "and we disapprove of using magic to fix things!"

"Obviously," her father added, glaring slightly.

"Dad, you're going have to get over that eventually!" Hermione said heatedly. "Severus can explain to you exactly what Voldemort had planned for the two of you if you'd like! Then you might see that I did the best thing for you! If I hadn't, you would've got yourselves killed!" She stood up so quickly, her chair toppled over.

"I came here because I want to get married with my parents as witnesses. Severus may not be a conventional beau, but he's the best choice for me. No, we never got on well while I was at Hogwarts. I thought he was quite rude, but if it weren't for him, the sacrifices he made during the war, I'd be dead right now, along with my best friends." She wiped angry tears away from her cheeks. "All this hiding you've been doing here, not wanting to come home, all the time we've lost because of your anger... I hope you know how much I've suffered without you, how much guilt I've felt! How much more do I have to feel before I can be forgiven and have my parents back? You know, from your last email, Mum, I thought maybe you'd finally come round to seeing things my way!"

She shoved a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of parchment. "Here's the address where Severus and I are staying. We're going to be married tomorrow night. If you want to be there, I would very much appreciate it." She started for the door and turned back to look at them. "And before you wonder too much, the reason I know that Ron wouldn't have been truly happy with me is because I used a truth serum on him... without his permission. Maybe I am a terrible person after all." Her voice caught as she said her next sentence. "I'm sorry to be such a disappointment. I will always love you no matter what, even with all of this. I just wish that you both felt that way, too." Unable to say more, she stormed off, not caring what they thought of her. She'd known it wouldn't be easy, but she'd hoped for something better.

"It's done now," she said to herself before Disapparating to the rooms she shared with Severus.

He looked up from his book as he relaxed in a chair by the fireplace. His expression softened when he saw her state. "I'm sorry," was all he said.

"I need to be alone," she said before hurrying to her room and closing the door.

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Severus closed the door to the Grangers' home with a click and adjusted his scarf before following the little path to the narrow pavement on the side of their home. Sometimes one had to improvise a little to see things done. Oh, her parents would see things her way now; he'd seen to that. He thought back to how she'd looked when she'd popped into their quarters earlier. Her eyes had been puffy, her cheeks red and swollen, tears everywhere.

Instead of feeling disgusted, he'd felt... protective. And guilty. He was partly the reason she was in pain, though not completely. That explained the guilt. However, the protectiveness, well, he attributed that to the fact that she would soon be his. Mine, he thought. Was it not his duty to keep her from harm and pain, even if that pain was caused by her family? In fact, the ferocity he'd felt well up inside him had surprised him. He'd not felt that way since... Well, it had been a long time. Instead of Disapparating, he decided to have a bit of a walk, enjoying the cool evening and the sounds of nature. He added a bit of whistling to the mix and continued on.

SW's Notes: I do know this is one of those chapters that says a lot of what you know already, but it was necessary. In other news, summer school is done within the next day, and I will have taken my Praxis 2 (English Content) by the time you've read this. ~Crossing my fingers~ Thanks again, my sweet Lyn, for helping me with beta reading. I'm excited to get this back on its schedule. Peace, all!