A Chance Not Taken

Chapter 2

Number 12 Grimmauld Place was filled with balloons and banners celebrating James' fifth birthday. While Sirius and the rest of the guests were downstairs, Hermione decided to return to her quarters to freshen up before joining the rest of the guests at the party. She looked around her parlor for a brief moment, taking in the sight of endless bookshelves with books she had painstakingly collected with careful thought, and smiled to herself as she contemplated how different her life was from all the other married women of her social circle. With Sirius' restored fortune after his exoneration for the murders of Peter Pettigrew as well as the muggles in that dreaded attack years ago, there was no need for her to work at all. Further, she did not have to work as a mediwitch working long shifts all the time. Yet she felt her job was fulfilling which gave her a lot of job satisfaction. Changing out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable, she returned downstairs where she found her son not with his father and the guests, but curled up in his favorite couch in the study, reading. He had an intense expression in his face as he read which blocked out the rest of the world. He reminded her so much like herself from his love of reading to the expressions of intensity while clutching the book as if his life depended on it.

"James, honey, it's time for you to open your presents! Don't you want to play with with Junior and Lily? They're all waiting for us." Harry Jr. and Lily are the twins the Potters gave birth to several years before. James had been playing with them for as long as he could remember.

"Just one more page, Mommy. Just one more!" The little boy pulled his book to himself again as he tried to finish the page as quick as he could. The book was a gift from Charlie Weasley, who bought him the book after their trip to the magical zoo a few weeks back. Ever since then, he and the book had been inseparable. Finally, after a long sigh, James carefully inserted his bookmark in the book and placed the book lovingly back on his bookshelf (decorated with dragons that move from side to side). He held his mother's hand as they walked in to the room of bustling people.

Tons of wrapping paper debris and several hours later, Hermione and Sirius retired to their quarters for the evening after tucking a sleepy James to bed despite his weak protests that he can stay awake longer. Hermione loved watching Sirius care for his son. It showed her a side of him which made her love him more. However, despite how much she loved her husband, it didn't fix her current problem.

The master and mistress of the noble house of Black had been trying unsuccessfully to have another child. It seemed strange to Hermione, if not other fertility doctors at St. Mungo's why she was having this problem. She thought back on the time when James was conceived, and wondered why it was so difficult to have another child.

Although it was years ago, I still remembered it like it was yesterday.

For my apprenticeship with Madam Pomfrey, I had to routinely assist in the making of various potions used in the hospital wing which gave me plenty of opportunity to come into contact with Professor Snape throughout my last year at Hogwarts. I wouldn’t say he turned into a totally different person while we were brewing potions in the dungeon, but the snarkiness and the sarcastic humor actually changed into clever wit, and I fondly remembered my time spent with him.

We would spend our evenings discussing all sorts of fascinating subjects, from potions to muggle literature to modern philosophy. We would have lively arguments taking different points of view, and although he would challenge my ideas, he’d never belittle them. During the day, he remained the hard to approach dreaded Potion Master of Hogwarts, but during the time when I was with him alone, I met my intellectual equal.

That was perhaps when my infatuation with him began. I began to see past the appearance and the demeanor of Professor Snape, and saw him instead, as Severus, the hero who risked his life again and again for a world where he was branded as a traitor and treated with wariness and distrust. I felt compelled to defend him in front of Harry and Ron when they would say something insulting about him. How could they continually insult and hurt him when he was summoned by the Dark Lord weekly? Of course, they never saw Severus in pain. They simply saw him as the “lousy greasy git who made their life a living hell”. I have, on a number of occasions, was awakened by the tell-tale chime of Madam Pomfrey’s bell outside her office and tended to Severus’ many wounds until the mediwitch arrived.

Not once did Severus ever thanked me, but I knew, deep down, that all the thanks I needed was the fact that I could bring him a small measure of comfort in his hour of need. And so, we continued to associate with one another. He would always address me as Miss Granger, and I would continue to call him Professor Snape, although deep down inside, he was always Severus to me.

Until one day, it changed.

Sirius could tell Hermione was off in her own little world every time her eyes looked far away without much focus. He loved her more and more over the course of their marriage, and he worried about her mental well being after their unsucessful quest to have another child. Every day to him was a blessing. He had never expected to be able to have a family, let alone a beautiful wife who loved him and a wonderful child who insisted on hearing a bedtime story every night.

He didn’t understand why Hermione insisted on working at St. Mungo’s. He had more than enough money from his recovered estates for them to live as people of leisure for the rest of their lives. James needed a full time mother, and if he himself would admit it, wanted his wife to be like other wives. Perhaps a vacation was necessary. They could get away, and then maybe for once Hermione would relax and let nature take its course. Although it’s been a dream of his to have many children, he’d settle for a happy family. Tugging her hand to get her attention, he guided her back on their bed to settle in for the night. Tomorrow, he promised, he was going to get her mind away from daydreams, and back to reality.

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Author's note: Here's Chapter 2. If you've read this far, then certainly you can review. Thanks for reading and I love feedback!