A Visitor
Snape woke with a pounding headache, but that was nothing new; ever since he had woken up four feet shorter, he had had a continuous throbbing in his brain. He could deal with it today, if he hadn't remembered that he had broken down in front of Miss Granger.
He groaned and fell back into the pillows, remembering just what had happened before he had fallen asleep. He had cried because someone was actually willing to take him in, without any incentive that he knew of, and it was someone he knew would treat him well. Miss Granger, in his experience with her, did not have a vicious bone in her body, and would certainly never harm a defenseless child.
He had then proceeded to give in to the five year old part of his brain that was screaming for comfort, by slipping his thumb in to his mouth slowly, as if moving at a slower pace would inhibit anyone from realizing what he was doing. He had allowed Miss Granger to rock him to sleep like a baby, and then she had carted him through the castle and back to his bed, where she had tucked him in. He couldn't believe what he had gotten himself in to.
Severus Snape was burning with embarrassment.
And, of course, that was the moment McGonagall and Granger chose to enter the room. McGonagall seemed far too happy, while Granger looked determined. Snape's eyes widened and he frowned; this couldn't be good.
"Good afternoon, Severus," McGonagall said with a smile, stopping at the foot of his bed and clasping her hands behind her back. Hermione glared in her direction and crossed her arms over her chest, giving the Headmistress a pointed look which quickly deflated her mood.
"Professor Snape, we're here to ask you about my proposition. Professor McGonagall seems to have misheard what I said as an outright agreement on your part." Hermione turned to Snape then, her glare softening into an open expression, giving him her full attention.
Snape fidgited, pressure building up around him the longer he remained silent. When he still hadn't spoken after a long, long moment, Hermione reached out and took his hand, crouching beside his bed so he didn't have to look up at them.
Keeping her voice so low that only Snape could hear, she smiled and said, "It's alright to take your time, sweetheart. It's a big decision. We understand." Snape turned to look in her eyes and a new life seemed to open up before him. He could have something like a mother again, a life that he actually enjoyed, a new start. Wasn't that what he had been looking forward to after the war ended, and yet had never been allowed to see because he had died so very close to the end? Didn't he deserve a fresh start?
Taking a deep breath, Snape turned to McGonagall and nodded. "I will leave with Miss Granger, if she will take me." McGonagall smiled wide and Hermione let a sweet grin show before she ducked her head and let out a satisfied sigh.
"I'm glad you said that," Hermione said happily, taking Snape's hand again, and this time he let her. He smiled timidly up at her and blushed. When she reached out and tickled his ribs, making happy little loving noises at him until he laughed in shock, the thought crossed his mind that this just might work.
McGonagall watched with a sad smile as Hermione helped Snape crawl out of the bed and stand up. She fell into the mothering role easily enough, fussing over him as if he had been living in that room for months and had a chestful of possessions he needed to gather. In truth, he only had two shirts and trousers that would be easily replaced.
"Is it alright if we leave now? Does Madame Pomfrey need to sign him off, or something?" McGonagall waved them off and promptly disappeared, watching from the opposite end of the room as they disappeared through the Floo in Pomfrey's office.
She waved in shock when Snape looked over his shoulder, holding out a hand to her in goodbye, his other hand taken up by Miss Granger. Then they were gone in a surge of green flames and McGonagall sighed in relief, her eyes falling shut, as she knew he was in good hands now.
"This is my home. I bought it a few years after the war ended. It's close enough to London but not so close that you could term it in 'the suburbs', I suppose. The house is small, but large enough for the two of us. The yard is big and there's a pond in the back." She tugged him closer to the house, but now that he was really here, Snape had a few questions. He waited until Hermione had led them into the house and deposited him on an incredibly comfortable sofa, before he tried to ask anything, though.
"Miss Granger, what year is it?" It was something that had been bothering him since he woke up. Everyone looked older, but not so old that it had been too very long since the end of the war.
"It's 2005, now. Seven years since the war ended. A lot's happened since then." She sounded wistful and sad, as the war usually made her, but she smiled sweetly enough down at her young charge. "Any other questions?"
There were so many to choose from, that he didn't know where to start, so he just clamped his mouth shut and looked up at her pleadingly.
She took pity on him and dropped it, giving him an understanding smile. "We can talk more when you're ready. There's no rush; we definitely have time."
Severus watched her move about the house with ease, stepping into the kitchen to make hot chocolate and grab some cookies. When she returned to the sofa with her treats, she smiled at how exhausted the little boy seemed.
"You don't have to stay away if you're tired, Sev. Go ahead and take a nap; I'll still be here when you wake up." She smiled and took a sip of her drink before reaching out tentatively and tugging the boy closer to her side. He sunk into her side like butter and moaned, his eyes fluttering shut in exhuastion.
"C-could you stay with me, while I'm asleep?" he asked in the smallest voice Hermione had ever heard. Before she could say anything, though, he stumbled over himself trying to get away. "It's okay if you're busy, I understand, you don't have to do anything," he said quietly in a rush as he pushed away from her, his face turning red as he tried to get as far away from the woman as possible.
Before he could run away, Hermione set her cup down and tugged Severus up onto her lap, causing the child to squeak in surprise. She wrapped him up in her arms and pressed a light kiss to his hair. "Sweetheart, of course I'll stay with you. It's nothing to ask at all. If it will help you sleep better, I'll stay with you all day."
Severus felt his lip quiver as he wrapped his tiny arms around Hermione's neck. "Thank you, Miss Granger. It would be much appreciated." Hermione grinned and ran a hand through Severus's hair.
"You don't need to call me that anymore, you know. I'm not a student."
Severus felt his face scrunch up as he shook his head. "I can't call you by your name, that's just odd. Besides, you're older than me, now. It's a sign of respect." He sounded as if he were quoting etiquitte lessons from his youth and Hermione couldn't help but laugh.
"Severus, I'm going to call you by your name, and I give you permission to call me by mine. I swear, I know you're not being disrespectful. And we are going to be around each other quite a bit." He shifted uncomfortably on her lap, even though he was quite content there.
Sighing heavily, Hermione decided to leave the topic for later, after he had had some sleep. "Why don't we go lay down for a while, hmm?" Severus looked up at her, confused, until he felt himself being lifted up and carried to a bedroom. He looked around, noticing how inviting it looked. It was painted white and yellow, the large windows letting in the afternoon light, and the giant bed in the center of the room looked extremely comfortable.
"Is this your room?" he asked quietly, glancing up at Hermione. She nodded and tore back the extra pillows and blankets, helping Severus snuggle down before climbing into bed, herself. Before he could stop himself, Severus curled into Hermione's chest, pressing himself as close as possible to her. He wasn't doing it conciously, but the child in him wanted to be close to the one person who seemed to understand him and care about his well-being. And, she was surprisingly comfortable.
Hermione was shocked for a moment, but she tugged the blankets over them both and wrapped an arm around the boy, running a hand through his hair while she hummed quietly. Soon, they were both sleeping peacefully.
When Severus woke up, the first thing he noticed was that Hermione had disappeared. The worst possible scenarios played through his mind as he frowned around the room, looking for any clues as to where she had gone. Then, he heard voices coming from the next room.
Padding to the door on silent, sock-clad feet, he pried the door open quietly and listened to the conversation. Were they robbers? Or worse, Death Eaters come to seek revenge on him? Did everyone already know he was back? What if they hurt Hermione?!
He strained to hear what was going on. There was a man speaking, sounding a bit shocked and confused. "What's going on, 'Mione?"
He heard Hermione sigh heavily before she said, "Don't be angry with me, but I'm looking after a child for McGonagall. You should have seen her, Ron. She looked at her wit's end! I couldn't just leave him there with her."
The relief he felt when he heard Hermione's voice was frightening. She had only left him because she had a guest. Letting out a relieved sigh, he leaned against the door, continuing to listen.
"I have a feeling that grown men might scare him a bit. It's just a feeling, but from what I know of him, I think I might be right." She kept her voice low, as if she thought someone might be eavesdropping, but Severus heard everything and tried to reason it out.
She was giving Ron Weasley warnings about him, because she thought the twit might scare him. It was considerate, but unnecessary, he thought. To prove it to both her and himself, he pushed the door open and rubbed at his eyes, as if he had just woken up and was going to search for her.
He froze when his eyes landed on the very tall, very imposing figure before him; Severus had to crane his neck back to see Ron Weasley's face. No matter how hard Severus tried to move, he felt rooted to the ground as his immature body began to shake uncontrollably. His face twisted and suddenly, Hermione was crouching in front of him, blocking out his view of Ron completely.
"Hey, did you have a good nap?" Hermione asked, trying to draw his attention back to her. Behind her, he heard Ron mumble, "Is that. . . ?" before he turned and walked through a door. Severus wasn't sure where it led to, but just the fact that he had left the room allowed Severus to regain control of his body again.
"Severus, are you okay? I thought you might react that way, that's what I was trying to explain to Ron." She rubbed the child's arms and smiled sweetly, trying to distract him from his reaction to Ron being in the room.
"I-I'm fine," he mumbled, taking a deep breath. His lips pressed tightly together, he could feel his face heating up in embarrassment. Hermione smiled.
"Don't be embarrassed; I thought something like this might happen."
"But I didn't!" Severus whined, bunching his fists up in his shirt. "I knew that was what you were thinking would happen and I wanted to prove that it wouldn't, but it did." He looked down at his feet unhappily.
Hermione scrunched up her face in thought for a moment, and then reached forward, bracing Severus by holding his shoulders. "Would you like to go say hello to Ron with me? I promise, I'll have you the whole time. He won't come too close, either."
Severus studied her face, intent on figuring out if she was simply making fun of him or if she was serious. All he saw in her face was truth, so he nodded. She lifted him up and braced him against her hip; he, in turn, held on to her shirt until his knuckles turned white and Hermione had to loosen his hold a bit.
"Everything's going to be fine; remember, I've got you," Hermione whispered into his ear, and Severus too a deep breath, closing his eyes until she pushed the kitchen door open. Severus turned and peeked out at Ron from the curtain of hair he hid behind.
Ron looked better than the last time he had seen him during the war; he was less dirty, taller, and much more muscular. He still had that goofy grin, however, and he aimed it at the boy clutching to Hermione like he was scared to death.
"Blimey, 'Mione. He's a tiny one, isn't he?" He took a step forward but stopped moving when he saw the boy shaking, his eyes closed tightly. "Hey, mate. It's okay, I'll stay over here. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Severus felt his embarrassment and anger boiling to the surface as he grumbled petulantly, "Not scared." He pouted over at Ron but felt himself calming slightly. "Hello, Mr. Weasley."
Ron grinned again and looked to Hermione. "Is that who I think it is? Because, if not, it could be his bloody kid! Professor Snape?" Ron turned down to the child when Hermione just grinned back.
"Yes, of course I'm Professor Snape. However, if you call me that in public you might receive some funny looks." He seemed to ponder something for a moment, before he turned back to Ron and smiled. "You can call me Severus," he said quietly, shyly.
Ron grinned and sat down at the kitchen table. "Well, hello there, Severus. Pleasure to see you again; it's been far too long." Hermione walked closer and breathed a sigh of relief when Severus didn't flinch back.
"Guess what," Ron said quietly, conspiratorally, to Severus, whose eyes went wide. Hermione found that these childish games always seemed to get him excited.
"What?" Severus whispered loudly, his eyes huge, as he leaned toward Ron and disentangled himself from Hermione. He quickly found himself sitting on Ron's lap instead, and Ron was cupping his hands around Severus's ear.
"Have you noticed 'Mione's left hand, yet?" Severus snapped his gaze up to Hermione and studied her hand, gasping as he saw the sparkling ring on her hand.
"Are you two getting married?!" Severus asked excitedly, bouncing in Ron's lap with a big smile. A vision of a beautiful party, with everyone all dressed up and smiling and laughing, filled his mind for a long moment and he grinned wide. Maybe they would let him help? Suddenly, he seemed to realize what exactly he was doing and stopped, his eyes going wide once more, before he slid off of Ron's lap altogether. He was being stupid! Why would they want him helping, or even there? He moved over to stand behind the shelter of Hermione's legs, his face as red as Ron's hair.
"It's alright, Severus. Yeah, we're getting married. That's why Ron popped in; he lives here, too. I was just worried about how you would react to him, was all." Hermione ran her fingers through Severus's hair and the boy quickly felt himself start to loosen up, his muscles going slack as he leaned against Hermione's legs.
After a deep breath, he leaned away from her. "I apologize for my behavior. That was... odd. However, congratulations on your engagement." He stood stiff and straight, his hands clasped behind his back as he nodded to Ron and Hermione. He felt quite foolish.
Ron was openly gawking at him, but Hermione just sighed and went to the sink, filling up a kettle to make some tea and hot chocolate. "Why don't you sit down, Mister Prim-and-Proper." Ron suggested with a calm smile after he recovered from the sudden change in Severus. He nodded to the chair beside him and Severus felt his face heat up, but he did as Ron suggested and took a seat.
If he was going to build a life with this young family, he would need to be able to get along with them, as well. He felt this might be harder than he had originally thought.