Chapter 13

Hermione screamed, and Ginny seized her as she tried to get to her feet.

"Hermione, no! Look at Ron, Hermione, look at Ron!"

Her ex-husband was still standing tall beside Severus, one hand resting on his shoulder. Ron was frowning slightly, but if he displayed any anxiety at all, it was in the looks he cast at the frantically yelling and gesticulating audience in the public seats. If Ron wasn't desperately frightened for his best friend, then Kingsley must be in on the plan. She allowed herself to relax, just a little, and saw that Harry was trying to catch Ginny's attention, and when he succeeded, he gave her a reassuring little shake of the head.

Kingsley watched until the Aurors had disarmed a dozen of the most excitable of Harry's supporters and some of the irate Slytherins. Percy Weasley, who had been taking notes, hammered on the table, and the hubbub gradually died away. Kingsley turned to the Wizengamot.

"Would this satisfy you, that Severus Snape should pay the penalty for his transgressions?"

"I don't wish to be a part of the Wizengamot that condemns Harry Potter to death," an old witch stated.

"Nor I," exclaimed Iorweth ap Howells, "but I don't want either wizard to die! Innocent or not, Snape's a war hero and this is shameful!"

"Snape killed Dumbledore! He used the killing curse!" Bunter bellowed. His face was purple, and he looked rather like an overgrown toddler who had been denied his toys. "Wizards can't go round using Unforgiveables! Hang the pair of them!"

"Thank you, Chief Warlock, I think we all know where you stand on this," Kingsley said. He spoke softly, forcing everyone to quiet down or else miss his words. "Both these wizards have been found guilty; both should pay by their deaths. Each has stood up for his beliefs in a way that none of us can emulate. Harry walked out to meet his fate boldly, never expecting to return, and he underwent the Killing Curse at Voldemort's hand. Severus Snape spied for us for many years. Without his aid, Harry could not have prevailed, and he faced death at the fangs of the snake Nagini. Both Harry Potter and Severus Snape were prepared to die for all of us." He paused and glanced around. "Harry tells us that he died and was given the choice to return. Mr Malfoy assures me that his late wife, Narcissa, and some of the best Healers struggled for weeks to bring Severus Snape back from a coma that was as near to death as one can possibly be. His convalescence lasted two years. I consider that they have already paid the highest price for any sins they may have committed." He paused a moment to survey the room shrewdly, satisfied that everyone was hanging on his every word. "As Minister for Magic, I state that all convictions shall be considered spent, and both wizards are free to go."

Kingsley pointed his wand at Severus and twirled it in a very complicated series of spirals. The glow of the custody charm flared copper-gold around Harry and Hermione and silver around Severus, then blinked out of sight as Kingsley neutralised the spell.

Ginny and Hermione hugged each other, Ginny squealing, "Oh my God! Ron's a genius!" and Hermione trying not to break down and sob. "Come on," Ginny said, dragging Hermione with her towards where Harry and Severus were besieged by well-wishers and reporters.

The Aurors had formed a cordon around Harry and Severus, so it was not until they had almost reached the exit that Ginny and Hermione caught up with them. Harry looked around and grabbed Ginny. She threw her arms around his neck.

"Harry Potter, don't you dare do that to me again! I could kill you myself, you git!"

"I told you Ron had a plan. Hermione, are you okay?"

"When my knees stop shaking, I will be."

Harry grinned and moved aside so she could push past him in the crush.

Severus' eyes were bright. There was a slight flush over his high, narrow cheekbones. Hermione grasped his arm and he leaned on her, breathing fast. As the crowd surged, one of the Aurors was buffeted against them, making Severus stumble. Harry and Ron immediately took up positions flanking Severus, and they pushed forwards out of the doorway.

As soon as they were in the wide corridor, Harry seized Severus' elbow with one hand and Ginny with the other. To Hermione's complete astonishment, Severus grasped her hand. Ron came up behind them and took hold of Harry's shoulder, leaning in close to speak so they could all hear him over the noise from the courtroom.

"Kingsley says to go straight up to his office; we'll have to use the lifts unless you can manage three flights of stairs, Snape?"

As Severus turned his head to reply, Pansy Parkinson came hurrying towards them. Hermione wondered how she had managed to get out of the courtroom so quickly.

"Severus Snape!" She thrust a bunch of flowers into Severus' free hand. "I'm so glad you're getting what you deserve!"

Hermione wondered if she had chosen such unusual blooms because they were ingredients for potions. She recognised lobelia, marigold and a single velvety black rose. Then a hook grabbed her behind her navel, and she was dragged violently into darkness, her only contact with reality the grip of Severus' slender hand in her own.

oooOOOooo

Hermione was thrown fiercely from side to side, tumbling helplessly as the Portkey dragged her through space. She felt herself falling, to land with a thump that jarred all the breath from her body. Her head hit the floor so hard that white stars burst through her vision and she could do nothing but lie there, trying to drag air into her lungs. Someone else slammed onto her, pinning her to a cold stone floor. She heard a woman swear, and a man cried out in pain or alarm. Then everything stopped, and Hermione found that she could breathe again, although in small, shallow sips due to the heavy body sprawled across her middle. She made an ineffectual attempt to push it aside and felt it stir, and the female voice exclaimed, "Ow! That's my eye, you oaf!" and she realised that she could hear Ginny.

"Sorry, Gin," Ron gasped and dug a knee painfully into Hermione's ribs, making her grunt.

"Everyone keep still a minute," Ginny said. "I'm on the top, so if I get off first, we can sort ourselves out."

Hermione heard movement, and then Ginny said breathlessly, "Right, who's this?"

"Me," Harry told her. There was more scuffling and Hermione opened her eyes. The light was very dim, but she could make out Harry and Ginny standing over her. "Is this you, Ron? Can you get up?"

"Yeah. Blimey, that was a bloody awful Portkey. Whoever set it deserves to be hexed." Ron scrambled off Hermione, and she drew in a deep gulp of cold, fresh air.

"Everyone okay?" Harry asked. "Ginny?"

"All right apart from what's going to be a very black eye."

"Ron?"

"Bruised but okay."

"Hermione?"

"I hit my head," she said, reaching up to feel the very tender spot that was already starting to form a bump, "but it isn't too bad, I'm okay." She rolled over to get up and discovered that someone else still lay beside her, someone who was curled up and breathing in quick, shallow whoops, someone whose rounded body was immediately familiar. "Severus?" she whispered, reaching to run her hands across him.

"Sounds like he's winded," Harry said, coming to kneel beside her. "Here, put this under his head." He pulled off his cloak and rolled it up, and Hermione carefully slipped it under Severus' skull. Then Harry drew his wand and said, "Lumos."

Nothing happened. He gave his wand a little shake and tried again, but it didn't produce a single spark. Ron and Ginny both attempted the spell next, but without success.

"Well," Harry said in a carefully neutral voice, "that confirms where we are, doesn't it?"

"Somewhere with anti-magic wards," Ginny muttered. They were silent for a moment. Severus' breathing had eased to steady little gasps. Just on the edge of hearing, a seagull called, and nearby, there was the delicate trickle of water. Hermione looked up at the high, barred window that showed nothing but unbroken cloud. The room was small, about four paces across, and the single door was a blank rectangle barely distinguishable from the stone wall. Ron strode to the door but there was no handle, and he was unable to hook his fingernails around the edge to lever it open.

"Azkaban," Hermione said, and no-one disagreed.

"Pansy Parkinson put a Portkey in the bouquet," Ron said. "If it was Pansy."

"Probably not," Harry said. "She likes Snape. She'd be an obvious person to Polyjuice into if you wanted to get close to him, though. Has anyone still got the flowers?"

"They're here." Ron picked up the rather battered bouquet. "Hey, Gin, remember that 'language of flowers' stuff Mum used to go on about? What do you make of these?"

Ginny took the flowers from her brother and held them up under the window so that the grey daylight fell on them, the only colour visible in the gloom.

"Well, if we'd had our wits about us, we'd have realised."

"I thought she'd chosen them because they were potion ingredients," Hermione said.

"They probably are, but in the language of flowers, these carry a pretty grim message. Look." She picked out a couple of evergreen sprigs. "Cypress, that's for death and mourning; and cherry laurel, perfidy."

"There's a rose," said Ron, for whom Herbology had never been a strong subject.

"Yes, but it's been stained black, so it stands for death and hatred, the same as the fumitory. Aloe is for grief, lobelia for malevolence, marigold for pain and this one," she held up the large bundle of delicate yellow flowers, "this is bird's-foot trefoil; Merlin knows where she got it from at this time of year, but this is the clincher. There's loads of it and it stands for revenge. The whole bunch means hatred, perfidy, revenge and death."

"But people will be looking for us and they'll find us soon enough," Hermione said rather desperately, "won't they?"

"There are thousands of empty cells in Azkaban," Harry told her quietly. "They keep all the doors locked, and they might check the entire place once a year when they go through and clean it. No-one knows we're here, I'm afraid."

"I suppose there's no point in making a noise?"

"If anyone did hear us, they'd think we're just inmates kicking off," Ron said disgustedly. "What about these wards, Harry?"

"Might as well do a proper diagnostic," Harry told him, "see what we're up against. You fire and I'll detect."

"Any particular spell?"

"How can you use magic in here?" Ginny asked.

"Ron's going to fire spells into the wards. I'm good at detecting magical traces, so I'm going to look for any echoes of magic bouncing around. If anything at all comes back, it means the wards haven't entirely dampened the spell in that particular spot and there might be a weakness we can use."

They stood together, wands extended, and Ron began muttering spells while Harry spun his wand in tiny concentric circles. They worked steadily, turning on the spot, moving their wands in a pattern up and down the walls.

"How's Snape?" Ginny asked as she and Hermione returned to the curled dark figure in the middle of the room. He stirred as Hermione touched his shoulder and pushed himself up into a sitting position. His head drooped, black hair veiling his face, and inside his cloak, his arms were wrapped around his belly.

"Are you hurt?" Hermione asked gently. She heard him swallow.

"Where are we?" His voice was barely more than a croak.

"Azkaban."

He gave a soft grunt and she realised he was trembling.

"Who else is here?"

"Ginny, Harry and Ron."

"Oh." He raised his head, black eyes wide in a glimmering white face. "Dream team."

She gave a little gulp of laughter. "Yes, that's right. Harry and Ron are testing the wards, but there'll be plenty of people looking for us."

"Do not," he said hoarsely, "attempt to placate me with empty reassurances."

He straightened his back. Inside his cloak, Hermione could see his pale hands moving, pressing around the circumference of his heavy abdomen as if checking its boundaries.

"Is Hugo all right?"

"At present he is kicking away in his normal fashion."

"At present?" Ginny repeated, sounding wary, "Do you expect that to change?"

"Inevitably, Mrs Potter." Severus shifted his weight uneasily from side to side. "The Portkey journey had the unfortunate result of rupturing the amniotic sac."

"Your waters have broken?" Ginny asked, as if needing him to confirm what he had just said. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm fucking sure, you stupid girl!" He drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly through his nose. "I apologise."

"It's okay," Ginny murmured, rubbing his shoulder briefly. "Shit. Are you having contractions yet?"

"I have had mild cramping and a backache since early this morning."

"You were already in labour during the court case?" Hermione demanded. "Severus, why didn't you tell anyone?"

"He did," Ron said, interrupting Harry's diagnostic procedure. "He told me at lunchtime, told me to tell Malfoy, who promised he'd Floo Severus' Healer and get her lined up all ready to take the baby out this afternoon."

"But you didn't tell me," Hermione said, not caring that she sounded like a petulant child. Severus reached up and briefly cupped her face with one hand.

"Had Hugo moved quickly, I would have told you. I was unsure if this was true labour, and you were worried enough."

"You didn't mind worrying Lucius, though."

"I doubt he was particularly troubled."

"Looked worried sick to me," Ron muttered, but Harry elbowed him and they returned to their wand work.

"Isn't he early?" Ginny asked.

"Only two weeks. Healer Strood said he's already nice and big. Severus was going to ask for him to be removed tomorrow anyway." Hermione grasped Severus' hand in her own. For a moment he tried to pull away, but then probably realised she needed the comfort for herself and curled his fingers around hers. "It looks like he's going to be born the usual way after all."

"Urgh," said Ron. "Is that possible? I mean, how's he going to get out?"

"Through the birth canal, you dunderhead," Severus snarled. "What did you expect, that I would void him out of my anus?"

"Well, I dunno, do I? You're a bloke."

"Thank you for that astute observation, Weasley."

"The charm Molly cast gave Severus a vagina," Hermione explained.

"Bet Malfoy liked that," Ron muttered.

"Yes, he did!" Severus snapped. "Would you like to know the details?"

"No! Flaming hell, I was kidding." Ron turned around, making Harry growl with annoyance. "Look, Snape, I hope you don't think you can mess around with your bum-chum now that you're with Hermione, because Harry and I won't stand for..."

"Ron!" Ginny leaped up, her hands on her hips, looking and sounding so much like a slimmer version of her mother that Hermione shivered. "Stop being so thick! Snape and Malfoy and Hermione are a threesome, or hadn't you realised that?"

"Can we please finish this diagnosis before I get a cramp in my wand hand?" Harry demanded, and Ron turned back with a muttered apology.

"Good," Ginny said, kneeling down again. "Well, I can't say I've had formal training or anything, but I've had two babies and I was with Fleur when she had Etienne, so I've a fair idea of what to do."

"Since I had no intention whatsoever of doing this, my knowledge is minimal." Severus said. "I suspect it will involve a great deal of mess, indignity and pain."

"The indignity comes first, Professor. Then it hurts so much that you don't care, and then when you get the mess, you're so relieved that it's over that you don't care about that, either."

"You're not helping, Mrs Potter."

She patted his belly. Even in the semi-darkness, the power of his glare was considerable.

"Sorry, I just had to do that. How far do you think you've dilated?"

"I have no idea what you mean."

"How far has your cervix opened? I assume that you have one, of course."

He shrugged.

"I'll need to look," she said. "Can you lie down and open your legs?"

"Certainly not!"

Ginny grimaced and shifted to sit beside him.

"Professor Snape, I'm not doing this to embarrass you or anything, but if we're going to help you, you need to trust us."

"There is not a great deal you can do," he told her. "Allow me to retain a little dignity until I have no choice, if you will."

"Okay. Just don't push, right? You mustn't push until the cervix is really open; otherwise, you'll damage yourself, I do know that much. Try to relax and rest while you can, gather your strength for later. Are you warm enough?"

He must have been cold; Hermione certainly was. The stone floor and walls seemed to suck the heat from her. Nevertheless, she took off her travelling cloak and wrapped it around him. He lay down, his head pillowed on Harry's folded cloak, his knees pulled up and hands tucked around his belly.

"Here," Ginny said, shuffling next to Hermione and opening her own cloak. "We'll share this one." They sat shoulder to shoulder as Harry and Ron continued their methodical testing of the wards.

oooOOOooo

"We're not going to get out of here easily," Harry said, sitting on the floor next to his wife and putting his arm around her.

"That's the understatement of the year," Ron muttered.

"There's a – well, I wouldn't call it a weakness, more of a soft spot, up in that direction." Harry pointed with his wand. "There's a little bit of give. When I've had a rest, I'll see how strong it is."

"You can't possibly break out of Azkaban, Harry," Hermione said. "Both Sirius and Barty Crouch escaped by stealth; no-one can get through these wards."

"Shut up, Hermione!" There was a faint note of panic under the irritation in Ginny's voice. "Are you saying we shouldn't even try? We should just sit here and – and starve to death?"

"The wards are built to hold prisoners," Harry said with an air of forced calm. "They haven't got wands and they're held singly. We do have wands and we can work together. Anyway, we don't need to break out, just lift the wards long enough to get a message out."

"Patronus?" Ron asked and Harry nodded.

"If I can lift the wards for a moment, just long enough for you to send a Patronus, we'll be okay."

"We should all try sending," Ginny said "In the hope that at least one can get through. I'll send a Patronus to Dad. Hermione, you can send..."

"To Lucius," Hermione stated, but when Ginny gave a little snort, she added defensively, "He'll be going mad with worry and he'll get us out of here; he's still a mover and a shaker."

"Do you want to get out?" Ron asked. "I'm sending mine to the Governor of Azkaban. He's only a few hundred yards away. Snape, you send yours to Kingsley."

Severus ignored him. He was huddled on the floor, shivering slightly and hugging his middle.

Harry stood up, pointed his wand into the far corner of the ceiling and began muttering under his breath. The others watched him, hardly breathing. Harry clasped his wand with both hands, braced his legs and cast a charm so powerful that Hermione felt her teeth rattle. The wards absorbed it within a second, and a single spark fell from the tip of his wand to fizzle out on the stone floor.

"Shit." Harry dropped to his knees, panting. "Those are some fucking wards."

"Let's try pooling our magic," Ron suggested. "You have a rest, then we'll try together, okay?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. We'll crack them, don't worry."

"You won't." Severus' voice was sharp and clear. He pushed himself onto one elbow, his face pale in the fading daylight. "There was barely a tremor in the wards. Do not exhaust yourself for no purpose, Potter."

"What do you suggest, then?" Ron snapped. "We give up and starve, like Ginny said?"

Severus gave him a glare that seemed to dissolve away as he closed his eyes, holding his breath and compressing his lips into a thin line. When he could breathe again, he swallowed audibly and continued as if Ron had not spoken. "There are a number of possible outcomes to my predicament, all of which generate magic that you will use to augment your own."

"Birth magic," Ginny exclaimed, "of course!"

"You do know how to gather magic and utilise it, don't you, Potter?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, Ron and I have pooled magic before."

"Good. If I successfully give birth, you will gather the birth magic."

"What about the other outcomes you mentioned?" Harry asked warily.

"If Hugo dies, you will use the magic generated by his death; similarly, if I die, you will trap and use my magic. If I fail to produce the child, and it is clear that I am weakening, you will open me using whatever means you have at hand – your fingernails if nothing else presents itself – and use the birth or death magic, whichever is available."

"Fucking hell, Snape, you're telling us to kill you!"

"I am telling you not to let my death go to waste. If Hugo is too large to pass through my pelvis, or if I become too exhausted to complete the process, he and I will die anyway unless we can get medical assistance. If you pull him out of me, he has a possibility of life and then you can utilise my magic to save yourselves."

"Severus," Hermione whispered past the lump in her throat, "please don't die."

She knew it was a pathetic, inadequate and unhelpful thing to say. Severus' black eyes flickered as he blinked, and then his hand emerged from the folds of his cloak as he reached out. She shuffled herself to his side and wrapped his thin hand in both of her own.

"Severus, you're freezing!"

"The prisoners are given straw and blankets," he said, "We do not appear to have that luxury."

"We need to share our body heat," Ginny told him. "We're going to be stuck here until Hugo decides to be born, and the cramps will be even worse if your muscles are cold."

"Hate to say this," Harry muttered, "but I need a piss."

"In that corner you will find the outlet from a pipe which delivers drinking water," Severus said. "The water runs into a gulley and exits through the hole in the floor used as a toilet."

"You were imprisoned in Azkaban, weren't you? I forgot about that." Harry went across to the corner, and they all politely pretended not to listen as he relieved his bladder. When he returned, they arranged themselves with Severus in the middle, Ginny and Hermione on either side of him and Harry pressed against Ginny. Rather to Hermione's dismay, Ron came to sit next to her.

They spread two cloaks on the floor to insulate themselves from the cold stone and shared all the others, so that they had three layers of travelling cloaks over them. Ginny rolled down the top edge of the cloaks on the floor to create a thin pillow.

Severus stopped shivering after a while. He lay on his side, his head tucked in against Hermione's shoulder. Hermione could feel where his ribs flared out over his abdomen, the occasional jerk as Hugo kicked, the rise and fall of his breathing and the steady beat of his heart. Then everything suddenly went hard and tight under her hand, and he hissed through his teeth.

"You need to keep breathing," Ginny said. Hermione realised she was rubbing Severus' back. "Try to breathe while you're riding the contractions, okay?"

"Rather hard to think about doing anything," he mumbled. "How the hell did your mother go through this six times?"

"She just likes babies. You can scream if you want to – none of us will hold it against you. Will we, Ronald?"

"No way," said Ron. "You do what you need to do. I just don't want to see the messy part."

"You are not setting eyes on my bits, Weasley."

"Don't want to, thanks, Snape."

After a while, Ginny wriggled out of the cocoon of comparative warmth.

"Sorry, people, but I've got to go to the toilet. What do prisoners use as toilet paper?"

"Straw," Severus told her.

"Hold on, I've got a packet of tissues in my pocket," Hermione said. "I thought I'd end up crying in court, one way or another."

"Thanks. I'll try and be as economical as I can. Isn't this embarrassing?"

"I want a drink of water," Ron said, "so we might as well all do what we need to now and then try and get some sleep."

Severus clambered laboriously to his feet. Hermione shook out one of the cloaks and wrapped it around him.

"How are you feeling?"

She felt rather than saw him shrug.

"Complaining won't make me feel any better. I need to walk a little, I'm getting stiff."

"It might help," Ginny said, returning the pack of tissues to Hermione. "Whatever you feel most comfortable with."

"Wish we'd got something to eat," Ron mumbled. "Don't suppose you've any food in your pockets as well, Hermione?"

She didn't answer right away and Ron crowed, "You have! I knew it, good old Hermione and her beaded bag!"

"All I've got is a small packet of raisins."

"We could share it?" Ron suggested after a long pause, then sighed melodramatically. "Yeah, okay, shall we toss a coin?"

"Snape needs the energy more than we do," Harry said. Ron grunted a reluctant acquiescence and threw himself down onto the cloaks.

Severus was walking slowly around the perimeter of the room. He stopped and reached out to lean on the wall, his hand pale against the stones.

"I wish I could help." Hermione went to him and he grasped her shoulder, breathing hard. "Sorry. I just feel so helpless, and helplessness seems to breed platitudes."

"Walk with me. You can hold me up when the contractions hit."

"Would you like to eat these raisins now? They're not much but they might give you a bit of energy."

He held out his hand and she shook some raisins into it. They made a couple of circuits of the room, and he had just swallowed the last of the dried fruit when suddenly he hunched, hugging his belly, and staggered slightly. Hermione caught him, and he leaned on her until the pain receded.

"Bad one?" Harry asked in the solicitous tone of a father who had attended the births of both his sons. Ginny snorted.

"They're all fucking bad," Severus growled. "Imagine having the Cruciatus curse aimed at your belly every ten minutes. I need to urinate, if you'll excuse me."

"Do you do that like a bloke or a girl?" Ron asked curiously. Severus ignored him, going to the corner and fumbling with his robes.

"He's still male, Ron, if it's any of your business."

"That was nearly me, you know. I was kind of wondering what I'd narrowly avoided."

"A very nasty hexing, if you don't watch it, Ronald. Severus might not be able to hex you now, but he'll remember it."

"Hey, I was the bloke who kept him out of Azkaban!"

"Um, actually ..."

"Yeah. Right."

Severus had had enough of trying to walk, and so they settled back into their uncomfortable huddle on the floor. Hermione wrapped her arms around him, tucking her head in against the side of his neck. She had barely slept the previous night from worrying about the court case, and despite the cold and the discomfort, she felt her eyelids slowly begin to close. She fell asleep to the faint, familiar sound of Ron Weasley's snores.

oooOOOooo

Hermione was horribly hungry and uncomfortable, and for a moment, she thought she must be in a tent in the middle of nowhere with Harry and Ron. Then she heard the sound that had woken her: someone was trying to stifle an agonised moan.

There was a different quality to the faint daylight, and she realised that the sun was rising over the sea. Ron lay next to her on his back, snuffling rhythmically, and on her other side, Ginny curled in Harry's arms. Suddenly anxious, Hermione raised her head.

Severus sat with his back to the wall. He was gripping his raised knees, and as she watched, he leaned forward, his belly pressed between his splayed thighs, his face contorted with pain. She wriggled out of the cocoon of cloaks and crouched next to him. He raised his head and gazed blankly at her from beneath drooping eyelids.

"You had better wake the others," he told her, sucking in sharp, shallow breaths between the words.

There was no need; Ginny was already getting to her feet and Ron and Harry were both stirring sleepily.

"Okay," Ginny said, retying the ribbon that held her long hair out of her face, "how often are you getting contractions?"

"Minute or two," Severus mumbled. "Belly's killing me. Dear God ..."

"Come on." Ginny pulled at his arm. "Hermione, help him to lie down over on the cloaks."

Severus attempted to shove them away, but between them, Ginny and Hermione dragged him over to the makeshift bed, where he rolled onto his back and threw an arm across his face. Ginny pushed up his robes and removed his underpants before he realised what she was doing. He made an ineffectual attempt to cover himself, but another contraction interrupted him and he grunted, pulling up his legs. Ginny took her chance to push his knees apart, peering at his genitals.

"Too damn dark," she muttered. "Sorry, I'm going to have to feel you."

"Blimey," Ron muttered, turning away. "Never thought I'd watch my sister fingering Snape's equipment. How's he doing?"

"Dilating," Ginny said with satisfaction.

"Fucking hell, is that what you call it?" Severus asked, his voice shaking. "I'm going to split open – shit!"

He twisted, as if trying to find a position that didn't hurt quite so much, and then he flopped, panting. "Got to push," he gasped.

"Yes, push down on the next contraction. Get ready to gather the birth magic, Harry."

"Have your wands out to cast your Patronuses, then."

"Patronuses or Patroni?" Ron wondered aloud, loosening his wand in his sleeve holster.

"Hermione?" Severus gasped, as if he couldn't see her through the blinding pain. When she touched him, he grabbed her hand and clenched it in his own.

"I'm here, Severus. You're almost there, you can do it."

"Rub his tummy," Ginny suggested, and Hermione used her free hand to massage the solid shape of the baby. Hugo kicked and struggled, distressed by the swift, hard muscular spasms that rippled through Severus' body. She could feel Severus straining through the next contraction, trying to force Hugo through the narrow exit from his body.

"Tell Lucius," Severus whispered, and Hermione leaned closer.

"He knows, Severus."

She squeezed his hand and he screwed up his face, pushing hard.

"That's it, push through each one," Ginny urged him as she got up to collect some water from the slow drip in the corner of the cell.

The contractions kept following on one after the next, relentlessly, and Hermione wondered if even Severus had ever fought this hard before in his life.

"Not moving," he said, as Ginny brought water back in her cupped hands. "He's not moving."

"He will," she said, waiting until a brief respite and offering the water. Hermione supported him as he lowered his head to sip thirstily.

"If he doesn't, you will take him out of me. Promise me."

"Yes," Harry said, clear-eyed and pale in the growing daylight. "We promise, but only as the very last resort. We won't stand by again to watch you die unless we have no choice."

"Hermione?"

"Here, Severus."

He held on to her, as though able to tell her what she meant to him only through the medium of their hands.

"Never have sex again after this!" he exclaimed, and Ginny laughed.

"That's exactly what I said! Don't worry, though, you will."

He curled, grunting with effort, and then heaved himself onto his elbows.

"Not fucking moving."

Ginny pushed him back with a hand on his chest and felt between his legs.

"Yes he is. You've dilated a bit further, just keep working at it."

For all Ginny's quietly competent assurances, Hermione could tell that Severus was tiring. He had barely slept for the last two nights, barely eaten, and was trying to give birth on a cold stone floor. She had to keep her rising panic clamped down, under control, in case she infected him with her own fear.

"Come on, try walking for a bit," Ginny said suddenly, "it'll speed things up."

"Can't," Severus said, sounding mutinous. Ginny gripped his arm, and she and Hermione got him to his feet. Then she felt Harry take her by the shoulders and move her aside.

"Ron, let's walk him around for a few minutes, give the girls a break."

Hermione took the chance to relieve her bladder, rinse her hands and walk a little of the stiffness from her legs. Severus slumped between Harry and Ron, an arm around each of their shoulders and his head drooping.

"Hurts," he mumbled.

"I know," Harry said gently. "It'll be over soon, I promise."

"Is that what you said ..." Severus panted, pausing to groan through a contraction before continuing, "... to Dumbledore?"

Ron gasped, but Harry was no longer an impetuous schoolboy.

"Yeah, it was. We killed both the old buggers between us, didn't we? Just like he planned."

Severus snorted impressively. "Bastard would have laughed himself sick to see this."

"Yeah, wouldn't he just – Severus Snape up the duff and Harry Potter foiled by a bunch of flowers."

They walked in slow circles for a few minutes, until Severus' legs threatened to give way completely, and then Harry and Ron lowered him back onto the pile of cloaks.

"Opened a bit further again," Ginny said cheerfully.

"Keep your cold hands off my genitals, woman!"

"Get on and push him out, then, and I won't need to."

"You sound like Madam Pomfrey," Harry told Ginny.

"Yes, well, if you men would just do as you're told ..."

Severus gripped Hermione's hand again, and she realised he was holding onto Harry as well. As she looked at her friend's face, she read the barely concealed fear in his green eyes.

Time seemed to slow down, minutes measured by Severus' laboured breathing between pauses in which he struggled unsuccessfully to deliver her son. He no longer wasted energy in speaking or even groaning. Even Ginny's brightly encouraging comments began to wane until she checked between his legs, looked around and asked quietly, "Does anyone have a knife?"