Snape In Love

Chapter 46

Pain And Heaven

"Hermione?" I moaned, trying to sit up. "Hermione!"

"What? What is it? Is it Remus?" she said, waking up with a start.

"It's starting. I want Severus here, now! Get Severus! Send an owl!"

"Oh no..." she said. "It's two weeks early!"

"Yes I know that!" I snapped." Now go to wake Tom, and send his fastest owl!"

"We need to get you to St Mungo's first..." she dithered, pulling on her trousers.

"No, we need to get Severus!" I replied single-mindedly and through gritted teeth. "Now! Aargh!"

"Ella - "

"GO!"

She looked at me anxiously then made for the door, and I heard her running along the corridor.

Leaning back as the pain receded, I reached for the emerald again and looked for Severus. What I saw sent a chill down my spine. Severus' face was stricken, and he and Remus were stumbling through the darkness in open country, supporting a limping Sirius between them. I could see that they were all right, but it was evident that something had happened, and through the ripped sleeve of Severus' jacket, I noticed with a sickening lurch in my stomach that the Dark Mark burned black on his forearm. Whatever had confronted them, I prayed that the encounter was over now and that he would stay safe.

"If it's over, whatever it is, why doesn't he just come home? Why don't they just apparate?" I wondered. Then I looked at Sirius again and I knew why. Sirius was limping, yes, but his head was lolling too, and I realised he was only semi-conscious. I was filled with horror and touched the stone, stroking Severus' image with my fingertips and crying out as another contraction pulled at me. He frowned, and said something to Remus over Sirius' head. Remus looked concerned and shook his head. He was ashen, and I wished I could lip-read because it had looked as if Severus had said my name.

Hermione came back after about fifteen minutes and said that the owl was on its way, that she had sent word to Hogwarts as well, and that Tom would soon be on his way upstairs to help me to the hospital.

"What did the owl say?" I asked.

"I just said he should get to St Mungo's quickly because the baby was coming. Is that okay?" she said worriedly, helping me dress.

"Yes. Something's happened, Hermione. They're all okay, but Sirius is injured. They've seen Voldemort, I think. The Dark Mark's black on Severus' arm."

"Oh, no!" she said softly.

Between contractions I didn't feel too bad, and managed to get down the stairs unaided while Hermione hovered anxiously at my side. Tom appeared, a lantern in his hand, fully clothed but still wearing his nightcap, which he pulled off hurriedly as he noticed me glance at it.

"How are you feeling, miss?" he asked worriedly.

"All things considered, I've felt better!" I said with an ironic smile. "The owls you sent..."

"My fastest ones, miss. I don't know how long the one to your Professor Snape will take, mind, it depends where he is. Now, can you walk, do you think?"

"For now, but in five minutes or so I'll have to stop for a bit."

"Right then, let's go. There's some funny characters hang about KnockturnAlley of a night, I'll fetch Buster along with us."

I looked at Hermione, unconvinced. We both knew that Buster, Tom's huge Irish Wolfhound, was as vicious as a toothless hamster, and suspected that the denizens of Knockturn Alley knew that as well as we did.

"We'd be better off with Crookshanks!" Hermione muttered in my ear. I nodded my agreement, remembering the last time Hermione's enormous ginger cat had objected to being stroked and still bearing the scars.

"Yes, or better still, Padfoot!" I said feelingly.

St Mungo's was only twice as far away as Gringotts, but the slow trudge there seemed interminable. I had to stop three times on the way, bending double with my hands on my knees, panting my way through my contractions. We passed the entrance to Knockturn Alley without encountering any shady characters, which was a relief since all Buster could do was whine fearfully as we passed.

We arrived in the foyer of the hospital just as a fourth contraction started, and I groaned loudly, leaning against the wall with my forehead pressed to it. A small nurse bustled over with a wheelchair and once the pain had passed I sank into it gratefully, feeling as though there was a grapefruit between my legs waiting to be passed.

Ten minutes later I was in a private room and Hermione was giving my history to one of the nurses. I was alone for a while and I took out my emerald, wondering where Severus was now and how long the owl would take to reach him. An hour had passed since I had last looked, and now the three men were back in the shabby room with the bunk beds. Sirius was slumped at the table with his head resting on his arms. Remus was putting away his wand, having just performed a healing spell on Sirius, and Severus was searching frantically through his backpack for something. It was a small pouch of powder and he threw a pinch into the small fire that burned in the grate. Soon, I could see the Headmaster's head in the flames, and witnessed Severus become more and more agitated as they spoke.

"He's telling Severus, he must have had his owl already!" I said to myself with relief.

I watched as Severus sat down at the table beside Sirius, taking his shoulders and shaking them, talking to him urgently. Sirius raised his eyes to Severus and nodded, and Severus immediately sprang up and began to stuff everything back into his pack while Remus too made ready to leave.

"Hermione, they're coming!" I told her as she came back into the room. "They're on their way! Oh, I'm so relieved they're coming!" I repeated as the pain started again.

Dawn broke, and my contractions were no more frequent than they had been hours before. I walked around the room as much as I could, and even out into the corridor, since I grew tired of two of the paintings in my room offering me well-meaning but conflicting advice. However, I was standing at the window with Hermione when Severus finally arrived.

There was a flurry of noisy activity outside in the corridor, loud clattering footsteps, and I heard a beloved voice snarl,

"Which room is Miss Redemte's? Come on, woman, where is she?" followed by nurses saying

"Oh my! Bring him over here!" and "Which one of you is the father?" and "You can't all go in there!"

"I am! And I think you'll find that we most certainly can!" the voice countered acidly.

"Severus!" I shouted, and started across the room with Hermione's help. They burst through the half-open door, Sirius pallid between Severus and Remus, and Hermione ran to help Remus so that Severus could stride across the room to me.

I sobbed with relief as we flung our arms around each other and we both murmured of our love as we kissed one another's' faces ardently. Then I began to feel my abdomen tense and I wound my arms around Severus' neck and leant into him, bending my knees slightly. He braced himself to support me, and asked urgently,

"Love, what can I do?"

"Hold me! Hold me!" I gasped, burying my face in his chest and baring my teeth in a rictus of pain.

When the contraction wore off I straightened and looked up into his eyes, which were dark with concern and love, but troubled too.

"I missed you so much!" I told him.

"I'm here now," he said softly, brushing my hair back from my face.

"Tell me what happened to you? Oh! Sirius!" I remembered, turning to look past Severus over to the armchair by the fire where Sirius sat, flanked by Remus and Hermione, and a nurse who was performing a healing charm on his ribs. Severus helped me to sit down on the couch, where he joined me, and I greeted the others properly.

"I did what I could, but the healing charms I used to use on myself are for superficial wounds, not broken bones!" Remus apologised as the nurse finished attending to Sirius.

"You did very well, then," replied the nurse brusquely, "although I hate to think what the three of you have been up to!"

She glared at Remus and Severus in turn as she left, and Severus scowled after her.

"She has no idea!" he snarled.

"Tell us!" I repeated, and he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers then, with a heavy sigh, wrapped his arms around me soothingly.

"It can wait."

"No, it can't! I saw you in the emerald. Show me your arm!"

Reluctantly he released me and rolled up his torn sleeve.

"Severus, it's still black!"

"Yes," he said grimly, meeting Sirius' and Remus' eyes in turn.

"We found them in Russia," Remus volunteered. "Malfoy and Fudge. They had Draco with them. He had the Mark already,we were too late to prevent it."

"And Voldemort?" Hermione asked uncertainly.

"He was with them," coughed Sirius weakly.

"Well, he was there somewhere," added Severus. "We don't know what - form - he was in. But he has some power, since this has been burning ever since we got up the mountain."

I took his hand in mine and turned it over, tracing the outline of the Dark Mark on his forearm. He winced a little, and gave me a sad frown before pulling me to him once more and resting his chin on the top of my head.

"Draco was under Imperius when we arrived. We took them by surprise, but it wasn't enough. We duelled, and Draco tried to cast AvadaKedavra on Severus," Remus continued.

"It wasn't his fault!" interrupted Severus as I stiffened in his arms.

"Sirius deflected the spell, but Fudge used Cruciatus and Sirius fell down a scree - hit a boulder on the way down..."

"Stupid! I was stupid!"

"Thanks, Sirius!" said Severus ironically.

"For falling, you idiot!" Sirius wheezed.

"And what was Malfoy doing while all this went on?" I asked.

"Playing with his son as if he was a puppet," spat Severus bitterly.

"Oh, God..." Hermione whispered, shaking her head. Remus squeezed her hand and she embraced him, her tears soaking the grey of his shirt.

Two contractions later, more nurses came in and Sirius was taken to a room a little further along the corridor where he could recuperate. Hermione and Remus accompanied him, Remus planning to use the fireplace in his room to give Dumbledore a full report on their mission.

"So, you had to leave Malfoy, Fudge and Draco behind?" I asked Severus.

"We had no choice. We couldn't apprehend them on our own, not without great risk to ourselves. We couldn't do anything about Draco, and we needed to help Sirius. Hopefully, the aurors we alerted will have dealt with them, but I don't know."

"That's the second time you've called him Sirius. What happened to 'Black'?"

Severus gave another weary sigh and stroked my back tenderly.

"He saved my life, Ella. Then Remus and I saved his. I - I feel I should try to make more of an effort. Under the circumstances."

"You told me you wouldn't get yourself killed, Severus!"

"I didn't, love! I'm sitting right next to you, aren't I?!" he observed laconically.

"Only because of Sirius!" I frowned up at him. "You thoughtless, foolhardy bastard!"I yelled as another contraction built up inside me and threatened to overwhelm me. Severus ran one hand round my neck and under my hair, amusement in his eyes as he gazed at me, breathing me through it until it passed.

"Better?" he asked solicitously.

"Yes, it's gone now."

"Good," he said, kissing me tenderly. "And we even managed to change the subject!' he continued smugly, getting to his feet and helping me up. I opened my mouth to object but he just smirked and kissed me again, and then I didn't want to object to anything any more. I simply wanted his presence by my side.

The second nurse came back then, and instructed me to lie down on the bed so that one of the doctors could examine me. I wouldn't let her shoo Severus out of the room, so he stood at my bedside and held my hand while an old witch in long white robes examined me and announced that I should expect a long wait, since not a great deal was happening 'down below'.

"But I keep getting contractions, and my waters broke five hours ago!"

"Baby will come when baby is ready!" she beamed at us.

Severus stopped glaring at her just long enough for us to look at one another dubiously and, in unspoken agreement, we each gave her a weak smile. She seemed satisfied with our co-operation, and left us alone.

As soon as she had gone Severus leaned over me and brought his face down to mine, his hair brushing lightly against my lips and cheek as he murmured,

"Do you want me to put a hex on her?"

I burst out laughing and wound my arms around him, pulling him on to the bed with me.

"I can't believe you're here!" I said as I kissed him. His left arm snaked around my waist and with his right hand he cupped my face and neck, pushing his fingers into the hair behind my ear. I shivered at his touch, and felt a familiar tingling sensation in the small of my back, a sensation that only his presence could elicit.

"Oh, I've missed you!" he breathed, his lips brushing mine as he spoke.

"I know..." I murmured. "I watched over you like you asked me to... I know just how much you missed me the other night."

He looked deep into my eyes, his penetrating gaze making my heart race, as he tried to ascertain my meaning. Realization dawned and a slow smirk crept across his face as he drawled,

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? I had an itch, and you weren't there to scratch it!"

"And did you wish I was?"

"Oh, yes..."

"It was quite a show!"

He kissed me again, laughing softly against my lips.

"Mmm, I'm a sick man!"

"Why's that?"

"For finding you so desirable even though you're in labour!'

"Yes you are!" I admonished, digging his nails into my shoulders while another contraction overtook me.

When it was over we leant back on the raised pillows facing each other, and talking about our separation. Severus told me how his relationship with Sirius had improved even before Sirius deflected the Killing Curse, and how he and Remus had even talked about Hermione and me. I could hardly believe what I was hearing, and told him so. He shrugged, and simply told me that the circumstances had been unusual, and that talking about me had helped him to feel closer to me,

"Since you were on my mind all the time anyway!"

I told him how I had spent the last two weeks, and described the eccentric Mr Sprawls to him, then went on to describe our new rooms. He smiled as I talked on, resting his cheek on the pillow, nuzzling my nose with his, stroking my back and breathing with me through my contractions, but eventually he just said,

"Ella, you do realise I'm not really listening, don't you?"

"What?" I frowned.

"I'm listening to the cadences of your voice, watching your mouth form the words. I have absolutely no idea of what you've just told me!"

"Oh!"

"I want to hear you talk. I love to hear your voice. Just don't test me on it later!"

He laughed as I pretended to take offence, and then his mouth was on mine once more and he was wrapping his limbs around me. I melted into his strong arms and surrendered to his touch, basking in his solicitude and the warmth of his love, waiting for his baby to arrive.

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