Andromeda Part II

Usual disclaimer here, I own nothing you recognize. I'm just letting them out to play.

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CHAPTER 5: Andromeda Part II

"Well," Severus asked, looking up expectantly at Madam Pomfrey, who was changing the bandage over the wound across his torso. He was stiff and sore from being confined to the bed for nearly three weeks, and it was certainly not helping his temperament. Madam Pomfrey did her best with Cushioning Charms, but they wore off eventually. He was able to sit up occasionally, usually when Hermione and Andromeda came to visit. Severus smiled at the thought of them.

Madam Pomfrey straightened and smiled affectionately at the younger man. "You've healed nicely, Severus. I would like for you to stay through lunch, just to make sure you are able to keep everything down, and take these two potions with your food. If you do, we'll see about letting you get back to your quarters this afternoon." She placed two vials of potion on the bedside table and patted his arm softly before retreating to her office.

Severus lay back against his pillows and stared at the ceiling for a long while. He was glad to be getting out of the hospital wing, that was true, but he wasn't sure what he would do when he left. The school had remained open, and, from what Albus had been telling him during his visits, the grounds had been repaired as much as was magically possible. The new term would start next month, and Severus had all intentions of returning to his post. A war memorial had been erected by the gates, a low marble wall that skirted each side of the road to Hogsmeade. The names of all who had died or been incapacitated during the two Wizarding Wars were etched into the stone, each with the designation "Order of Merlin, First Class" beneath it. He wanted to see it, to see Samantha's name carved into the eternal stone. He wanted to leave flowers on her grave, to sit with her one more time, to tell her that he loved her and that he would take care of their little girl.

He would visit the war memorial and his wife's grave first. Severus knew that he needed to say his goodbyes to those he had loved and lost, not only Samantha but members of the staff and students as well. The people who inhabited this castle were the only real family he had ever known. Then he would begin straightening out their chambers. He would never get rid of Samantha's things. He didn't want to forget about her, but he knew that he could not move on surrounded by her possessions. He would put her clothes and jewelry in a box for Andromeda. Her books would go on the shelf with his. He would keep the pictures that had been taken since they were married, but the rest of her photographs would go back to her parents in America, along with a few of Andromeda and a promise to send more whenever new ones were taken. Severus had only met her parents twice, on their wedding day and a little after Andromeda was born. Albus said they came for her funeral and that they visited with him while he was still unconscious.

It was what to do about Hermione that eluded him. His heart pounded when he thought of her in much the same way as it did when he first began seeing Samantha. He saw her face in his dreams, even more than he saw his wife's face these days. He was happy when she was in the room, pulling back Andromeda's curls, absently arranging the lunch on his tray, patting his arm, holding his hand while she sat beside him to watch Andromeda play with her marbles, smiling at him. It was a comfortably domestic feeling when the three of them were together, something soothingly familiar in the way he could look at her face and know exactly what she was thinking.

It was as if Samantha's words to him had opened his eyes to who Hermione Granger really was. It wasn't that he couldn't still see the little girl she had been, that was nearly impossible when she held Andromeda on her lap. His daughter was a carbon copy of the eleven-year-old Gryffindor know-it-all. It was just that Severus could watch Hermione and see an attitude and mannerisms that he had known for the past seven years. It was as if he had lived with her day and night for all those years. Somehow he knew that if he held her in his arms she would fit perfectly against the planes and angles of his body.

The door at the end of the hospital wing creaked open and two nearly identical faces peered through the crack. Hermione smiled when she caught sight of him, warmth running through her when he smiled in return. She pushed the door further open with her free hand, the other already being clasped tightly by the little girl at her side. Andromeda's ever-present bag of marbles was tied to the belt loop of her pants, clanking softly with every step she took, and she carried a thin, care-worn book in her hand.

"Morning, Daddy," Andromeda squealed in a singsong voice. She practically beamed up at her father, dimples appearing in both her round cheeks.

Hermione's smile widened as she sank onto the chair by Severus' bed and leaned over to kiss him lightly on the cheek before drawing Andromeda up into her lap. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest as she busied herself pulling Andromeda's curls away from her face, waiting for the explosion to come. To her surprise, the hospital wing was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Wide eyed, Severus stared at her, his mouth gaping open. It felt as if the skin where she had kissed him was on fire. His brain was suddenly sluggish, barely registering the fact that a blush was creeping across her cheeks or that the fingers playing with his daughter's black curls were trembling. He felt as if he couldn't piece together what had just happened, not until...

"Herminny kissed Daddy!" Andromeda giggled and covered her mouth with her hands to hide it.

"Andromeda!" Hermione scolded playfully. She cast a glance at Severus, who looked away quickly, his eyes darting nervously. She decided to take pity on him. "Madam Pomfrey says you might be able to go back to your quarters this afternoon. I suppose you're glad to be going home."

"How did you know I was getting released? I wasn't day dreaming that long, was I?" Severus replied, chuckling nervously and still unable to meet her eyes.

"Aunt Pop-pee's head was in the fire," Andromeda said matter of factly. "She wants to talk to Herminny."

Hermione smiled and glanced over to Madam Pomfrey's office. "I think I'll just pop in and see what she wanted. Andromeda, why don't you keep Daddy company, okay? I'll be just a minute, love," she said, standing and placing Andromeda in the chair. She smiled softly at both of them, crossed the hospital wing, and disappeared into the mediwitch's office.

Severus watched his daughter for a moment as she stared silently at the closed office door through which Hermione had just disappeared. He smiled and, sitting up a little more, said, "Come here, darling." He patted the bed next to him and gathered her close when she climbed up beside him. He craned his neck to look down at her. "I want to talk to you about something."

Wide green eyes stared back at him, black curls bouncing as she nodded in silent consent, looking far older than her years. "I want you to tell me what you think about Hermione. Do you like her?"

Andromeda's round face lit up as a smile spread across her lips. She looked up at her father, her two tiny hands holding one of his. "I like Herminny lots, Daddy. She pways with me and reads to me and says she wuvs me when I go to bed. Herminny says she misses Mummy, too, and that it's okay for me to cry. She gives me lots of hugs and kisses when I cry. She kisses my boo boos when I fall and makes me toys to pway with in the bathtub. She tells me stories about you and Mummy. Herminny tells stories about Won and Hawwy, too." The little girl stopped and took a deep breath before her face went terribly serious. She held her finger up to her nose and poked it a few times to make sure it was still firmly attached to her face. "Won twys to take my nose, Daddy! Hawwy gets weally mad and fights with Won to get my nose back and Herminny laughs at them! Won and Hawwy tell me I'm pwetty and that I don't look like you. But I do look like you, Daddy. Herminny says so."

He sat in silence for a long while, listening to his daughter go on and on about the things Hermione said and did, the games Ron and Harry played with her, and the sweets Gampa Albus gave her when Hermione wasn't looking. Finally he sighed and covered her mouth slightly with his hand to stop her talking. He smiled at her and chuckled softly.

"Hermione has taught you how to talk non-stop as well, I see." He kissed the top of her back curls and moved his hand. "What would you think if I asked Hermione to come and have dinner with us when we go back home? Would you like that?"

Andromeda looked confused for a moment and crawled up on her knees so she was eye to eye with her father. "Why? Is Herminny not taking care of me anymore?" she asked, tears begging to well in her green eyes. Severus' heart nearly broke at the sight.

"No, darling, not every day. Daddy gets to go back home today and you have to come back to stay with me. I'm sure we could ask Hermione to visit us sometimes. If she isn't busy she could play with you and read you stories while I work." Severus stopped as the little girl at his side dissolved into terrible sobs. She covered her eyes with her hands and sniffled as tears streaked down her cheeks. He pulled her carefully up into his lap and held her as she threw her tiny arms around his neck and cried even harder. "What is it, love?" he cooed, "Tell me what's the matter."

"I don't want to weave Herminny! I want Mum!" she wailed through her tears. "I want Herminny! I want her to be my Mum!"

Severus could hardly believe his ears as his daughter continued to scream that she wanted Hermione to be her mother. He stroked Andromeda's curls and whispered words of soothing to her even as his thoughts raced in panic. What if Hermione could hear her screaming? What would she say? How could he calm her without making promises he wouldn't be able to keep, even if he wanted to?

After a while, Andromeda's sobs tapered off into intermittent sniffles and hiccoughs as she pillowed her head on his shoulder. One of her arms released his neck so that she could suck her thumb as she drifted into an exhausted sleep. Severus lay back against the pillows, his daughter sleeping against his chest, waiting silently for Hermione to reappear out of Madam Pomfrey's office.

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Hermione felt as if Madam Pomfrey would never stop talking. The entire reason for Hermione's visit was disposed of within the first two minutes of their conversation. Madam Pomfrey wanted her to check in on Professor Snape every day just to make sure he was okay. Hermione was more than willing to oblige, especially if it meant that she would get to spend more time with him. She begged away after nearly an hour of the mediwitch's gossiping, saying she needed to take Andromeda to lunch and let Severus rest.

The breath was nearly knocked out of her when she came out of the office and caught sight of father and daughter sleeping. Severus was lying back against the pillows, one arm at his side and the other holding onto Andromeda, who was sleeping atop him with her head on his shoulder. Andromeda was sucking her thumb and grasping handfuls of her father's long, dark hair. Severus looked more peaceful than he had since he learned of Samantha's death. The harsh lines on his face disappeared and a smile softened his features. Hermione smiled and pressed her hand to her mouth as her eyes stung with tears.

She crossed the room and sank into the chair beside his bed. How long she sat there she couldn't say, only that she couldn't bring herself to look away from the sweet sight before her. She would do anything to be able to see this every day, to wake up to Severus lying next to her and Andromeda running into the room toting Crookshanks and squealing for breakfast. Hermione loved them so much it hurt, and she felt the tears welling up as Severus stirred awake.

His dark lashes fluttered as he woke, his eyes darting between the warm weight on his chest and Hermione sitting next to the bed. "Is she still asleep?"

Hermione nodded and reached out to disentangle Andromeda's hand from his hair before taking her into her lap. The little girl whimpered for a moment before burrowing into the young witch's warmth. Hermione looked down at the child in her lap and stroked a few curls away from her forehead before giving her a gentle kiss. "I'll take her back and let her finish her nap. Madam Pomfrey is going to Floo when she has released you, and I'll bring Andromeda by with her things then." Hermione tried to ignore the echoes of Andromeda's cries in her head. She had heard them even through the mediwitch's warded office door. "Madam Pomfrey has asked me to stop by for the next few days just to make sure you are okay. I will do my best to not intrude, Severus, but I promised her that I would check on you."

Instead of springing out of his bed and storming into Madam Pomfrey's office as she expected, Hermione was surprised when Severus nodded and stared down at his hands. "I suppose that will make things easier for Andromeda. She was not happy when I told her that you would not be taking care of her every day. I'm surprised the two of you didn't hear her tantrum." His heart pounded and his mouth went dry. He chanced a glance at her and asked, "You didn't hear it, did you?"

Hermione tried to school her expression into surprise as she answered with a shaky, "No." By the incredulous look on Severus' face she knew he didn't believe her. She sighed and looked at the floor. "Oh, alright, yes. I did hear her, but I didn't take anything she said seriously. She's become attached, that's all. A few days without me around and she'll be fine. Shite," she looked apprehensively at Andromeda, "perhaps I shouldn't have promised Madam Pomfrey anything."

Severus smiled faintly and shook his head. "She has just lost her mother, Hermione. You have been there to comfort her at night when she has nightmares, to make sure she brushes her teeth, and to give her a kiss goodnight. And you must admit, you are remarkably like Samantha. Although, I don't dare say that she can't tell the difference between the two of you. She has dealt very well with losing her mother, and I suppose I have you to thank for that. I would be a terrible father if I took her away from that, forcing her to lose two people she loves in such a short time." He stopped and took in the sight of Hermione cradling his daughter to her chest, stroking her curls, and rocking back and forth slightly.

"Perhaps," he said, looking slightly nervous, "we can come to some agreement to keep that from happening. We may work out the details later, but would you be willing to sit with her while I am working during the holidays? Provided you yourself are not busy, of course. When term starts I will have to make other arrangements, but I think Andromeda will transition better if you were to remain in her daily routine. If that is the case, would you be willing to spend evenings with us, have dinner and help put Andromeda to bed?"

Hermione smiled, her heart thrumming against her ribs. She felt like shouting her answer at him but restrained herself. "I think I could do that, Severus. I would like that very much."

Notes from The Mistress: Things are moving along nicely, although I'm sure some of you are wondering when this delightful piece of romance and angst is going to earn its NC-17 rating. Yes? Well, I suppose after Andromeda is asleep there isn't any problem with Severus and Hermione getting to know each other a bit better. See you next chapter!