Catching Tadpoles in the Rain
Hermione looked out the window and saw Severus crouching in the mud, looking for something. Her heart seemed to clench in her chest and she sighed, watching the unbelievably serious child searching through the water of the pond as the rain hit it. He looked like he was getting quite frustrated, so Hermione decided to intervene before he could throw a proper tantrum.
Throwing on her raincoat, Hermione stepped outside, making her way slowly to Severus's side. He looked up at her uncertainly when she stopped, trying to hide the jar he had been holding behind him. Hermione only smiled, crouching down to his level and looking around.
"Hmm, and what are you doing?" When Severus only stared at her, Hermione put on a thinking face, over-exaggerating as she hummed. "Were you... splashing in puddles?" When Severus rose a disappointed eyebrow, Hermione pouted and tapped her finger against her chin in thought. "Hmm... were you counting raindrops?" Severus's head drooped and he glared up at her through his lashes, as if her inability to figure out what he had been doing was disappointing in the gravest way. "Oh, no? Umm, I know! Were you catching tadpoles?" Severus looked shocked for a moment before he nodded, edging away from Hermione ever so slightly to protect his jar of baby frogs.
"I wasn't gonna do anything with 'em!" he said quietly, defensively, as he wrapped his arms around the jar with a pout. "I was just gonna catch them and put them back later! I swear, Hermione. Don't make me. . . ," he didn't finish his sentence as he looked down at the jar sadly, already waddling toward the pond to replace the tadpoles. But Hermione gently stopped him.
"It's alright, honey. You can catch tadpoles; there's nothing wrong with that. Hmm, how about we look for a grown up frog? Wouldn't that be fun?" She knudged Severus in the shoulder playfully when he looked at her with wide, confused eyes. She pretended to ignore his look and began searching through the tall grass. When she found a suitable creature, she began hopping after it. Severus stared at her in shock, as if she had just gone mad.
"Come on, Sev! Are you just going to stand there and watch or are you going to help me catch this frog! It's a fast one. I might not be able to get him!" Hermione kept running after the frantic amphibian and slowly, Severus began following her. The rational part of his mind was grumbling at him about the childishness of the endeavor, but the part that was dominant in this moment really wanted to catch that frog before Hermione.
He began running ahead of her, stopping to see where the frog would go. When it stopped, apparently unsure of which way to go, Severus pounced. He held the squirming frog close and grinned wide up at Hermione, surprised to find her smiling radiant down at him.
"Oh, you beat me! You caught him first. Good job, Sev!" She stood up and held her hand out, knudging him toward the pond again. "Why don't we put him back in the pond with his babies? Then we can go get some hot chocolate, hmm?" Severus took her hand tentatively (this woman had been his student at one point!) and followed her to the pond, where he gladly released the squirming frog. Hermione handed him the jar of tadpoles, and he gently poured the contents back into the pond.
"Good job, Sev. Let's go inside now, yeah? It's getting a bit cold out here." Severus didn't argue and followed his guardian into the house, glad it was just the two of them today. She led him into the mud room, helping him kick off his muddy boots and sopping wet raincoat. While she threw her own coat and boots off, Severus hovered at her side, still uncomfortable in her house.
Once she was finished, she took Severus's hand and led him to the kitchen sink, where they both washed their hands, Hermione lifting Severus up so he could reach. Then she set him down and he took a seat at the table. As she busied herself boiling the water, Severus spoke up.
"Miss Granger?" Hermione sighed and turned around, a calm smile on her face.
"I've told you to call me Hermione, Severus. You know that." She turned back to the sink, but when Severus didn't continue, she peeked over her shoulder and saw that the boy was staring at the table now, pouting. "Come on now, sweetie. You know what I mean. And you know I'm not angry with you." She knelt down and rubbed his arms to warm him up and give him a bit of comfort.
Severus seemed to grind his teeth as he turned to look up at her. "I'm still me, Miss Granger. There is no way this is going to work out. I remember too much and I can't enjoy any of this. I can't. I'm... sorry." Hermione smiled sadly and rose when the kettle began whistling. She filled two mugs with hot chocolate and nodded towards the living room. Severus sighed but followed her direction, stepping silently behind her as she settled on the sofa, the fire crackling warmly before them.
She set the cocoa on the table and leaned back, patting the seat next to her for Severus. With another put-upon sigh, Severus did as he was asked and crawled up next to her. She wrapped him up in a blanket and a hug, squishing him against her side but not uncomfortably so.
Unconciously snuggling closer, Severus took the offered cup and began to sip. Miss Granger had added a cooling charm, to keep him from burning his lips and tongue on the hot liquid. He smiled, content, all thoughts of doubt sliding away for the moment.
'Miss Granger will make a wonderful mother when she has her own children', Severus mused.
Hermione stroked his tiny shoulder and watched the flames jump about in the fireplace. They sat in silence for a bit, until they had both finished their drinks, and then Hermione lifted Severus onto her lap, snuggling him close. He didn't argue; he even curled closer, his eyes closed sleepily.
"Severus, you know I care about you so much; I love you like you're my own child. And I know that this is going to work. I'm going to make this the best childhood ever, and you're going to be so happy." She seemed to think over her statements for a moment, before she grinned and whispered into his hair. "Well, you're not going to be happy all the time, but you'll survive." Severus smiled sleepily into her hair and sighed happily.
He felt better, immensely better, about his situation. Hermione had this way of making all his fears and doubts disappear with a few well-said words. She always seemed to know how to make him feel better. He felt like he wouldn't mind calling her Mum, one day. Maybe.