Chapter 1

A/N: I really appreciate the kind reviews I have gotten for this little fic. I believe that fluff should be a warning, so here it is: EXCESSIVE FLUFF WARNING!! Thanks again to the talented RobisonRocket. She beta'd Broken and Better Than Me, so I wouldn't dream of using another.

Chapter 1

Hermione's brown eyes glistened with unshed tears as she peered out the window from Ron's childhood bedroom of The Burrow. She smiled absentmindedly as she watched her fourteen-year-old daughter give a hug to Devon Malfoy, who had just Apparated into the backyard with his mother and father, Luna and Draco Malfoy. It still struck her that Draco would end up with the eccentric Ravenclaw, but somehow, they just seem to fit.

Today was the fifteenth anniversary of the fall of the Dark Lord. Everyone had gathered at The Burrow: all the Weasleys and their children, the Malfoys, the Potters, and the Snapes. Hermione closed her eyes tightly. Not everyone, she thought sadly.

In her hand she clutched a letter that she had read so many times she knew it by heart. But, it was one of the few things that she still had that gave her strength on days like this. Not only was this the anniversary of Voldemort's defeat, it was also the anniversary of Ron's death. Hermione allowed the threatening tear to slide down her cheek.

"Oh, Ronald," Hermione said out loud. "You should be here. You deserve this celebration as much as anyone else."

At that moment there was a knock at the door. Hermione heard the silky voice of Hogwarts' newest Headmaster. "Hermione, are you in there?"

"Yes, Severus, come in." Hermione didn't even try to hide her tears or the letter that she still held tightly.

The door opened quietly, and Hermione looked up. The sight of the formidable Potions master still took her breath away after all these years. She smiled gently at her husband, and he approached her cautiously.

"I thought I'd find you in here. How are you holding up?"

Hermione wrapped her arms around Severus' waist and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm okay. I've just been thinking about how much Ron would have loved this little gathering. He always loved parties, especially at The Burrow. He and Harry would be off playing Quidditch or otherwise engaged in some sort of scheming with the twins. Oh, my goodness. I can't imagine what sort of trouble he would have gotten into with the Potter twins and Gracie. It's pretty bad when Devon Malfoy is the only sane one in that group."

Severus laughed. "Ah, yes, but wait until the next generation of Weasleys comes to Hogwarts."

"Don't forget our own son, Severus. Brian can be quite a tricky sort himself. And with his big sister there to cheer him on, well... you will have your work cut out for you, Headmaster."

Severus grinned. "I never should have informed the senior twins of their brother's desire to turn their niece into their protégé. Had I known that I would marry her mother and raise the holy terror, I would have kept that bit of information to myself. However, I do believe that the evil uncles took Ronald's request to even higher levels when I became Gracie's step-father."

"Ah, come on, darling." Hermione reached up and gave her husband a chaste kiss. "Don't be so hard on Fred and George. After all, it was you who took Ron's request of watching over me to heart. When he asked you to look in on me from time to time, I'm not sure he meant for you to marry me."

"Well, I do take my responsibilities seriously. It's actually Grace that I was looking after. You just happened to be around," Severus said nonchalantly.

"Excuse me, am I interrupting something?" A voice from the doorway broke the banter.

"Of course not, Gracie," Severus said, striding over to kiss the young girl on the cheek. "Have all of the guests arrived?"

"I think we're still waiting for Aunt Ginny. Uncle Harry said that Lily was fussing about a hair ribbon that she couldn't find. Oh, by the way, Dad, Uncle Harry would like to speak to you. He's down in the garden."

"Ah, yes, I need to speak with him as well. Hermione, Gracie, I will see you lovely ladies later. Oh, and, Grace, please drag your mother down soon."

Grace laughed. "I will. Don't worry."

After the door closed, Grace turned toward Hermione and watched her intently. Hermione started to squirm under her scrutiny until her precocious daughter sighed.

"What is it, Mum? What's got you so down?"

"Oh, Gracie, just thinking about the way life use to be, the way things might have been, and the way things are. I'm sorry, love. I don't mean to be so melancholy. Tell me, how is young Devon?"

"Don't even think about changing the subject. You're thinking of my father, aren't you?" Grace asked, sitting on Ron's bed.

Hermione sat down next to her and put her arm around her shoulders. "You were always a perceptive child. Yes, I was thinking about Ron. You are a lot like him, you know. He would have been so proud of the young woman you're growing into. Of course, I don't know what he would think about you fancying a Malfoy," Hermione teased.

"I told you not to change the subject. Devon and I are very good friends. I'm too young to be thinking about boys." Grace smiled prettily at Hermione.

"It sounds to me like Severus has been sending you subliminal messages. I can see him now: while you sleep, he is whispering in your ear, "I am too young to like boys," over and over. He is so worried that you will grow up too quickly."

Grace blushed. With her brown eyes and dark, curly hair, so much like her mother's, she was quite a beauty. But, she had a fight in her that was so much like Ron's that Hermione felt herself thinking about him every time she looked at her daughter. Grace was a mischievous girl, with the help of her Uncles Fred and George and her Uncle Harry, who always had a hard time hiding his guilty grin when Grace would get into trouble. Hermione knew that Harry had his hand in whatever it was that Gracie got caught doing.

Hermione smiled at her daughter. Yes, Ron would definitely be proud of his little girl. Hermione unconsciously tightened her grip on the letter.

Gracie frowned at her mother. "What is that, Mum?"

Hermione gave her daughter an exasperated sigh. "Oh, it's nothing for you to worry yourself about, Darling."

"Okay. Tell me something, Mum. Are you unhappy? Are you and Dad having problems?"

"Of course, I'm happy. I love Severus very much. I just get this way on this date. I wish you could have known your father, Grace. He was such a wonderful man. He used to drive me mad, though. He and your Uncle Harry were absolute nightmares in school. It was difficult trying to keep those boys on the right track. But, I loved them dearly. Even before I fell in love with Ron, I loved him as a good friend. I think that's what I miss the most – his friendship."

"When I watch you play chess or Quidditch, Merlin, you look just like him. Sometimes it will be in the way you laugh, or the twinkle in your eye, or even the way you cock your head to the side – you remind me so very much of him."

"And then... well, I don't know what I would have done without Severus. He saved us both, Gracie. He was such an arse when I was in school – completely the opposite of Ron. But, he has always been a good man. He loves you so much, you know. He has never looked at you as Ron's daughter, or even my daughter. You've always been our daughter."

Hermione laughed. "Although, when you aced your Potions exam last term, I believe you were just his daughter."

Gracie grinned. "And when I get into trouble?"

"Oh, that's when you become the Weasley twins' evil niece or, my personal favorite, Potter's Prodigy."

Grace sighed. "I do wish I could have known my real father, but I think I got pretty lucky with the father I got."

Hermione frowned at her daughter. "But, Gracie, you do know him."

At Grace's look of confusion, Hermione continued. "Ronald Weasley is in the air that you breathe. He's in your face every time you look in the mirror. He's in every chess move you make and every goal that you save. He's in your laughter and in your tears. When I was in school, Harry told me something that our old Headmaster told him. Those who love us never really leave us. Ron will never leave us, Gracie. He died fighting for a world where we could all be free from darkness."

Grace let a rare tear slide down her cheek.

Hermione hugged her tightly. "You're right about one thing, though. You are a very lucky girl to have been raised by Severus Snape."

"Indeed," Severus softly replied from the doorframe.

Hermione wiped her eyes and giggled. "How long have you been standing there? I thought you were speaking with Harry about something."

"In answer to your first question, I have been standing here long enough to hear how you used me to help you raise this delightful little terror," Severus teased. And I did speak to Potter. However, I don't think I need to be saturated with his company longer than necessary. Besides, I'm a man on a mission. Ginevra and her daughter have just arrived. She asked me to fetch you--something about a photo album."

"I almost forgot about that. I'd better go." Hermione stuffed the letter into the pocket of her robes and left the room.

Grace started to rise and follow her mother when Severus stopped her. "Sit down, please. I'd like to speak to you."

Grace did as he said and sat back down on Ron's bed. Severus didn't speak right away. He took in his surroundings for a moment. The room was still bright orange in tribute to Ron's favorite Quidditch team. There were still clothes in the closet, and Ron's school trunk was left open at the foot of the bed. Severus smiled at Molly Weasley's insistence that Ron's room remain untouched.

Grace couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Did I do something wrong, Dad?"

Severus gave her a penetrating look. After all of these years, he still loved to hear her call him that. "No, you didn't do anything wrong – that I'm aware of. I'm sure the twin idiots and Potter will have you into all sorts of nonsense before the day is over, however. No, I want to talk to you about your mother, and I also would like to speak to you about your father."

Grace was taken aback. In her entire life, he had never talked to her about her real father. "What do you want to talk about?"

Severus took a tentative seat on the bed next to her. Although he and Hermione had an eleven-year-old son who loved Quidditch and insisted on plastering the evidence all over his bedroom walls, Severus still seemed out of place in Ron's childhood room.

"This day is always hard on your mum. You know the circumstances as to why that is. I have always done my best, Gracie, to stay out of her way on this occasion. I can't deny my own ridiculous tinge of jealousy whilst I witness her sadness. It's like this every year, but somehow... I don't know why, but this year seems to be even more difficult."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "There was one other day. You have probably forgotten."

"What day?" Grace asked.

Severus' black eyes bore into her brown ones. "The day you went to Hogwarts. Your mother was nearly inconsolable. I think she cried harder on that day than she did at your father's funeral."

"Why do you think she's having such a hard time with this year, then?"

"I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we have gathered here at his childhood home. We usually celebrate at the old Order Headquarters where the Potters live. This year, however, Molly wanted to gather here. Your grandmother has never liked Apparating, and she says that she feels like a bone breaks every time she uses the Floo."

Grace snorted. "I think she likes to fuss over everyone, and she feels more comfortable doing that in her own home."

Severus chuckled. "You definitely have the measure of Molly Weasley."

The room grew silent again. Grace gave him a curious look. "Dad, why are you telling me all of this?"

"I'm telling all of this because you are growing up, Grace. I don't like it, but it's a fact. I'm afraid that if I blink, you will be too grown up for me to sit with you like this. I'm afraid that if I go to sleep tonight, you will be graduated and have a career by morning. I used to think people were crazy when they spoke of intimate and sentimental issues. I used to think they should just let destiny happen and to hell with the rest of it."

"What changed your mind?" Grace asked.

"Ronald Weasley changed my mind. On the day he died, he told me all the things he wanted everyone to know. He spoke of his love for his family and for Hermione. He spoke of how happy he was to be having a daughter. He loved you before you were ever even born. It was an honor to be the recipient of his message."

"So, that's why we're having this little talk. You are afraid that if tomorrow never comes, you would be sorry that we didn't have this between us?"

"Exactly," Severus answered simply. "I don't want another day to go by without you knowing how much I love you and how great a privilege it is to be your dad."

Grace threw her arms around Severus' neck. With a choked sob, she said, "I love you, too, Dad."

Severus had to fight tears of his own. He scowled at her. "Look what you and your mother have turned me into. I'm a sentimental old codger. Albus Dumbledore would have a field day with this."

Grace giggled.

They both turned toward the window when they heard loud shouts.

"Well, it sounds like your uncles are here. Let's go down and see what trouble those twits can get you into."

"Just give me a minute, okay? I want to sit in his room for a little while."

Severus kissed her cheek and used his thumb to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. "If you ever need anything, Grace, you need only ask. I would steal the moon for you if it were in my power."

Grace merely nodded, and Severus swept out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts and the whispering walls of her father's bedroom.

A/N: There will only be a couple more chapters on this fic. I meant for it to only be a one-shot, but the fates have chosen to make it more. Please review.