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Count Your Blessings	By : LadyOfTheNight Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 39948 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own or make any money off of this fan fiction because Harry Potter belongs to a Ms J. K. Rowling and not me! ^_^

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Count Your Blessings

<><>{Chapter Ten: A Family Man?}<><>

“MUMMMMY?” Benny questioned his mother impatiently gesturing to the fireplace; she simply smiled over at him from behind her book. She could tell her son was anxious to see their extended family as he paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

“We will leave soon darling, we are just waiting on Severus.” She told him as she watched his smile turn into a frown. “None of that now, I want you to be friends with Severus; spend some time with him today.” She told her son from the kitchen table. He clutched his stuffed dragon tightly to his chest as if trying to keep his favorite toy away from the man in question.

She watched as he petulantly stuck his chin up in an act of defiance.

“You don’t haaave toooo, but it would make me happy.” She told him simply and effectively leaving the decision up to him. He just clutched his dragon tighter before running into his bedroom.

“No running indoors.” she called to him methodically without removing her eyes from the text in front of her. He power-walked back into the room; in his hand he had multiple parchments which he gave to his mother.

“What are these?” she asked curiously as she looked down at the pictures he had drawn.

“Presents for my friends.” he said simply as he watched his mother look over his pictures. They were abstract swatches of color with no discernible figures but she still took the time to look over each of them and praise his skills.

Severus walked in at that moment and came to stand by Hermione. “Look Severus, Benny made these; aren’t they lovely?” she prompted trying to get him to comment on her son’s artwork. He looked over at the undefinable blobs of color for a second before looking back at Hermione. She knew he was annoyed but she shot him a look that clearly told the wizard that he had to answer nicely; or else.

“He certainly used a lot of color.” The man said with little embellishment or flourishes that caused Hermione to smile. It wasn’t a compliment but it wasn’t a snide comment. Her son however just looked at the man skeptically before pointing at the fireplace and looking at his mother expectantly.

“Alright, alright let’s go. Someone is in a hurry.” She told Severus as she put Benny’s art into her bag.

A couple of green flashes later found the trio at the Burrow; they immediately were accosted by Teddy and Victoire. The two toddlers each grabbed one of Benny’s hands and pulled him off to play. Severus watched the trio warily.

“Stop that.” She told him teasingly and he just looked at her confused. “I can see you dreading the day they get their Hogwarts letters.”

“Am I that transparent?”

“Only to me.” She told him sweetly while pulling him into the kitchen to say hello to Arthur and Molly. Severus was never fond of big social gatherings; he always left after order business was completed and rarely would stay for dinner after. As such he spent most of the day silently observing the chaos that was Sundays at the Burrow.

George was currently chasing the toddlers around the living room with his pointer fingers extended. “You lot haven’t said hello to Mr. Finger yet, or his brother!” He called as he chased them around trying to tickle them. The group of children was so preoccupied with fleeing of Mr. Finger that they ran right into Severus’ legs, almost knocking him down. Without any apologies made they quickly jumped up to continue their escape from Mr. Finger.

“Oye! Where are your manners?” George questioned as he caught Vicky in his grasp and started tickling her mercilessly. This caused the two older boys to turn around and jump on George’s back trying to rescue their friend. George abandoned the strawberry blonde to deal with the two boys currently hanging on his neck. A heavily pregnant Fleur was looking on in disapproval.

“Venir ici jeune femme!” she called to her daughter in French and the little girl came running over with a big grin on her face. Her cheeks were red from laughing and her blues were sparkling as she put her small hand on her mother’s pregnant stomach.

“Bonjour bebe!” she greeted the stomach in her tiny toddler voice and rubbed her little cheek against her mother’s bump. Hermione took in the scene and shot a glance over at her wizard. He was watching on with interest mostly at the enlarged state of the witch’s stomach. The bilingual toddler kept speaking to the baby in French and it warmed Hermione’s heart to see such a sweet interaction.

“Fleur are you still waiting to find out the sex of the baby?” Hermione inquired.

“Bill wants to know, but I told ze ‘ealer we wanted to be surprised.” She told Hermione.

“I would want to know if it were me.” Hermione admitted to the woman and Severus couldn’t resist his next comment.

“Know it all…” he teased slightly, which she answered with a swift jab into his side with her elbow. Severus was such a stoic man that most of the family had a hard time remembering he was a man capable of human emotions; they enjoyed these little signs of normalcy that Hermione was occasionally able to pull out of him. When Severus was called away by Arthur, Fleur took the opportunity to pounce on the younger witch.

“So when is ‘e going to propose? You ‘ave been dating for almost two years…” she trailed off with a hint of a scandal in her voice but Andromeda quickly interrupted.

“Severus has always done things in his own way and in his own time. I think you are a good influence on the man. Look, he is not sneering or shooting any nasty looks at anyone; well accept George.” They looked over and heard George teasing Percy’s wife Audrey about her 3 month old daughter.

“You better keep little Molly away from Severus; he could decide that Hermione has gotten too old and move on to her next!” he joked which earned him a swift ladle throttling from his mother and a nasty look from Severus. Hermione blushed but still laughed along with the other women at George’s punishment.

Bill snuck over unbeknownst to his daughter and snatched the little girl from behind. He swung her up onto his shoulder before launching her up into the air; despite the sounds of protest from his wife. The little girl giggled loudly as she flew into the air only to land safely back in her father’s arms.

“Higher Daddy, higher!” she called down to him from the air, gaining the attention of the other two boys who had just finished raiding the crowded kitchen for snacks. She noticed Benny watching the scene with particular interest as he munched on his crackers. When Bill put Vicky down Teddy and Benny were both waiting expectantly for their turns to be tossed in the air. Bill was the only one still willing to do this for an extended period of time because of his extra strength due to his werewolf bite.

When the children were finally successful in exhausting Bill and themselves, they slowly crept back to their caregivers. Andromeda was deep in conversation with Severus about the effectiveness of healing charms versus healing potions when Teddy climbed into his grandmother’s lap. He observed the man for a few minutes before interrupting their conversation.

“You have big nose!” Teddy told the older wizard fearlessly as he pointed at it. Charlie actually spit out his drink and George started snickering; the rest of the assembled group was soon following his lead.

“Yes, and yours is small.” Severus responded equally observant and the young boy reached out to cover his own nose with his hands; without taking his eyes off the man, he ran over to Benny. The two boys began whispering together and Severus and Andromeda resumed their conversation after a quick apology on her grandson’s behalf; Severus made sure to keep his attention partially on the two scheming boys.

After lunch Bill, Andromeda and Hermione went upstairs to tuck in their little toddlers for nap time when her son said something that made her jaw drop.

“Daddy has long hair.” Benny told his mother sleepily causing the young women to startle greatly.

“What did you say?” Hermione asked of her son; she could feel her heart racing and her blood pressure rising.

“Daddy,” her son repeated and pointed over at Bill. “long hair.”

She let out a deep breath she had been holding and felt all of her muscles relax. That had to be the most frightening thing she had ever heard her son say to her; until she understood the context of the word he used.

“Yes he has long hair, but that is Bill, Uncle Bill.” She told her son. “He is Vicky’s Daddy. Everyone has a Mummy and a Daddy, and Uncle Bill is Vicky’s Daddy.” She explained simply but to the point; she silently hoped that he would be too sleepy to ask any more questions. The mother honestly never wanted to have the “Dad” conversation with her son and in a perfect world she would never have to. But Hermione was too intelligent to delude herself into believing that the subject would not come up, she just never expected to have to be starting so soon.

“Uncle Bill.” Her son repeated tiredly as he let out a big yawn and closed his eyes. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. The situation may have been temporarily averted but she knew this was only the beginning of the Daddy questions.

After their nap the toddlers were recharged and ready for more mischief. Severus was bullied into helping Molly in the kitchen and Fleur and Andromeda were chatting away about the new baby so Hermione offered to take the little kids out to play. Bill, Charlie, George and Harry were already outside helping out with the ever present gnome problem; when they arrived outside George had just released a particularly large gnome. The young children cheered as the gnome flew across the field and landed squarely on his rump. They all giggled as the dizzy creature stood up and ran around in circles trying to in vain to find its home. Vicky lost interest quickly and decided to pick flowers instead. While helping Vicky pick flowers, Hermione noticed the boys inching closer to the older men and quickly called to them.

“Boys stay over here!” she told them knowingly as they both looked over at her innocently.

“We want to see gnomes Aunty.” Teddy told her truthfully. “They look funny.” He told her and her son nodded enthusiastically. Harry had just finished pulling a rather small gnome from the ground and was holding it up proudly for his Godsons’ to see.

“Oye! Look what I got!” He called over to the boys who were waving him over excitedly.

“Bring him here Harry! We wanna see it!” Teddy called and Harry, never being one to say no to his Godsons’, happily brought the struggling creature over; he explained what they were doing to the creatures and why. Vicky noticed the creature after she had picked all the nearby flowers and strolled over to them with a curious look on her face.

“What that?” she asked Teddy clearly disgusted by the gnome; she made it clear that she did not want to get too close, but she was still interested in what was going on.

“A gnome! Nana Weazey no like em so they gotta go!” Teddy told her his simplified version and she just nodded her head in agreement.

“Yucky!” she agreed and made the cutest little scrunched up face. The little creature started to struggle in Harry’s arms and flung a little mud on her pink jumper. It was as if time froze; the girls lip began to quiver, her eyes became glassy and soon the garden was filled with her shrill crying.

“Oh honey, don’t cry; I can fix it for you. It’s just a spot of mud.” Hermione tried to sooth the younger girl while motioning for Harry to take the gnome away from the crying girl. Vicky dropped all of her flowers and ran into the house before Hermione could pull out her wand. Teddy was laughing as she ran crying into the house but Hermione noticed her son was bent down picking up all of Vicky’s discarded flowers.

“Benny is a giiirlll!” Teddy teased him when he noticed his friend with the flowers and changed his hair to match Vicky’s before skipping around. Benny just ignored his friend and continued to pick up the flowers until he had all of them.

“Vicky is sad.” Benny said seriously and went into the house to give the girl her flowers with a now somber looking Teddy following close behind. She had never been more proud of her son than she was at that moment; no matter how much he looked like his father, it was moments like these that reminded her that he was unique and his own person. She followed after the boys while waving good bye to Harry and the others.

Upon arriving inside she found Vicky, with a freshly cleaned jumper with both her arms wrapped around her son, giving Benny a big hug. Fleur had summoned a vase for her flowers and everyone was smiling at the toddlers. Well, everyone but Severus but he was fine as long as he wasn’t sneering. She looked over at him as he watched her son playing with his friends; his face and body were relaxed as he took in the scene. Maybe a family with Severus wasn’t as impossible as she made been made to believe.

<><>{Chapter Ten}<><>

“No, no that is not soon enough. He can’t spend another year in that place. He won’t last.” Draco let loose again to the room. He had hired council to petition for a parole hearing for his father; his father had been a model prisoner after all. He hardly made a peep, never broke any rules and was far less dangerous, an offender than many of the other prisoners currently overcrowding Azkaban so he thought it would be an easy enough task; he couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Mr. Malfoy, he was sentenced to five years and has only served three of those years; it is clear that the parole board is not interested in accepting your petition for parole for at least another year.” He repeated again.

“Did they say that to you?” Draco questioned the middle-aged man once again. “Those exact words?”

“They suggested that waiting till next year would probably yield a more favorable result.” He told the man who was pacing the room.

“Draco sit down all that pacing is making me dizzy.” Mr. Dobbson told Draco.

“Well they just suggested that we wait. Go ahead and put in the petition. We don’t HAVE to wait.” He said ignoring his older friend.

“Mr. Malfoy it is important that our first petition be strong. When your parole petition is denied that goes into account the next time the parole board reviews your file, thus making it more difficult to receive parole.” The lawyer told them man with a lazy drawl.

“I’m sorry; am I boring you?” Draco raged at the little man who was now cowering in his seat.

“Do you have something better to do? Or would you like me to continue paying your over inflated salary?” his face was red and he was having a hard time keeping his composure.

“As long as you work for me you will do what I say and I say get my father out of Azkaban.” Draco told the man, leaving him little room to argue.

“Yes sir.” Then man replied and turned back to his paper work As Draco stormed out of the study and down the hall before stopping at the drink cart. He was taking his first sip of his firewhiskey when Dobbson came to place a comforting hand on the young boy’s shoulders.

“He can’t stay there Dobbson. I don’t think he will last much longer.” Draco told the man in a small voice that revealed the turmoil the boy was feeling.

“I understand but Draco, you should really apologize to that man. It’s not his fault that people on the parole board seem to hold a vendetta against your father. He is just trying to do his job to the best of his ability.” The older man told Draco quietly only to have his hand shrugged off.

“I know, I know but it’s just so stressful when you need to do something and it feels like everyone is against you.” He explained to the older man; his frustration was evident in his tone. “My father is not perfect, far from it, but if he stays in there much longer he’s going to lose it; whatever he has done in the past no one deserves to lose their mind.” He told his mentor who listened quietly. A long silence fell on the two as Draco took another sip of his drink.

“You know you never explained why you ran from that little boy in the bookstore…” Dobbson trailed off trying to change the subject and effectively breaking their silence. Draco took another big swig of his drink before answering the man.

“I already told you I don’t want to talk about that.” Draco said stonily; his face was as cold as ice but that didn’t deter the older wizard from pressing on.

“Sometimes talking can make you feel better.” The man commented generically but Draco was shaking his head no.

“The only thing that will make me feel better is getting my father out of Azkaban. Everything else can wait till after that is accomplished.” The wizard told his mentor as he placed his now empty glass back on the drink cart.

“Draco is that really wise? We have a business to run and you have your charity…” Dobbson started and Draco cut him off.

“Sod the business and sod the charity…” Draco started but was cut off abruptly by the older man grabbing his shoulders roughly.

“Now you listen here! Your father wanted you out of Azkaban so you can live your life and you can’t do that if you obsess over things you can’t change. Go in there and apologize to that man and then leave him alone to do his work; so we can do ours.” He told the boy with such an air of authority that Draco didn’t even try to argue as the older man pushed him back into the study where the lawyer was working.

He may be a full grown wizard but Draco was not above a swift kick in the pants; he cared for his father but that was something his Godfather always used to do. Maybe that’s why he felt drawn to the older man; he reminded Draco of his godfather.

<><>{Chapter Ten}<><>

When they arrived back at Hogwarts later that evening Severus was sporting the world’s worst headache. The Burrow was twice as loud as he remembered it to be; most likely due to all the children running about. Molly and Arthur’s children were proving to be just as good at procreating as their parents; how wonderful for Hogwarts and its staff.

All day long Severus was accosted by rude children, with dirty hands and loud mouths. He wondered if it was just a trait one picks up from close proximity to the Weasley’s or if all children were as wild, unruly, messy and loud as the ones he encountered today. He looked down at his robes which very recently had been covered in little boy’s hand prints. The children had been finger painting in the garden when he had made the grave mistake of stepping out to talk to Hermione. Her son must not of approved the loss of attention because Severus was soon accosted by four little hands covered in paint. It took all his self-control not to yell and berate the little boys as they laughed at his misfortune. Teddy claimed they only wanted to give him a hug but Severus knew better; children did not hug him. Instead of yelling he had opted to take a long walk to cool his temper.

Over the day he had grown to really dislike the little Lupin boy mostly because he was fearless when it came to Severus. Trying to knock him down, coloring him with paint and pointing out flaws were all signs of a serious troublemaker in the making. Lupin was the ringleader and Hermione’s son was his partner in crime.

He looked over at the smirking boy who had his arms wrapped tightly around his mother’s neck. When the little boy noticed Severus’ stare he lifted his hands up, palms facing the wizard in a threatening gesture that mimicked the paint incident perfectly. Severus knew the boy was trying to goad him so he simply raised his eyebrow at the young wizard and held his gaze. The little boy erupted in giggles before giving a tired yawn and slumping back onto his mother’s shoulder.

‘Impertinent little boy.’ He thought grumpily as he held open the door to the Granger’s quarters. ‘And she wants more children…’ he thought again and inwardly shuddered. He knew after today that children were defiantly not in his future, unless you count the students. To be fair he was pretty sure of that fact before today but after this afternoon he was resolute in his decision. He looked over at Hermione and his heart softened. Why did things always have to be so difficult for him when it came to relationships?

“Benny go get ready for bed.” She told her son and he scampered off to get ready. “Brush your teeth!” She called after him and soon they were alone in the sitting room.

“Shall I put some tea on?” she asked him quietly while putting her bag on a hook by the door.

“Nothing caffeinated.” He told her thinking of both his headache and the late hour. He sat down at her table and watched as she set the tea tray up by hand, something he always found amusing. Once she had the water set to boil and the tray prepared she excused herself to tuck her son in for bed. It was usually a long process which involved reading a children’s book but Severus didn’t think the boy would last long tonight. Sure enough not ten minutes later she came out of the room and closed the door behind her.

They sat in companionable silence, drinking their tea.

“Filius thinks I am ready to end my apprenticeship with him.” She told him for the first time. Filius must of told her on Friday and he wondered why she hadn’t told him yet.

“Congratulations.” He told her with pride but he was a little hesitant about where the conversation was going. “You should be very proud.” He finished and watched her finger the handle of her tea cup.

“I could probably release you from your potions apprenticeship also.” He admitted after a few more moments of silence.

“I would have to leave Hogwarts.” She said simply and he watched her shiver.

“Not right away, but eventually you would be expected to procure a permanent home.” He told her quietly; this was another conversation he was dreading. He took in the hurt look on her face and realized how cold he sounded.

“Hermione, please listen. I don’t want you to think I am kicking you out, by any means. I have been debating on whether or not to release you from your contract as a full-fledged Potion Master for awhile now. I fear I may have kept you longer than necessary for selfish reasons.” He admitted truthfully and watched as a small smile tugged at her lips.

“If you want me to stay all you have to do is ask.” She told him and he saw her fidgeting with the sleeve of her robes nervously.

“I wish the situation was that simple.” He told her tiredly. “But there is still the issue of…”

“Children.” She finished for him and looked down at her cup. “I guess from your tone I can assume you still do not want any children.” She told him sadly and he nodded his head in agreement.

“No chance you will change your mind?” she joked to hold back the tears.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” He said to her sadly and they were both quiet again.

“Hermione, I love you but I have come to realize that I am not the man for you; I can’t make you happy. You want more children and you are perfectly in your right to have them.” He told her.

“You are young; As much as it pains me to say this, there are plenty of other men out there that are better suited for you and your son’s needs.” He said quietly and watched as the first tear fell from her honey colored eyes.

“Please don’t cry, you know how I feel about tears.” He complained as he pulled her into a tight embrace; she gave a slightly breathy laugh and he felt her tears gathering on his shoulder.

“I think that tears are warranted in this situation.” She told him which she followed with a small hiccup. She pulled out of his arms and he could tell she was doing her best to stop her crying. They were quiet for a while and Severus could tell she was thinking over what he had said; no doubt she was trying to counter his decision for ending the relationship. The silence was deafening but he made no move to end it; after what seemed like hours Hermione spoke.

“I know that I can’t keep pushing you for children for the rest of our relationship, it’s not fair to you… or me.” She told him sadly. “I think that you are right.” She conceded and he felt his chest tighten. He expected her to argue or put up more of a fight but instead she was agreeing, and he hated how much it hurt. He knew that this end was inevitable but he never expected it to hurt this much.

“I will draw up the paper work for the end of your apprenticeship. I should have it ready by tomorrow’s end.” He told her formally trying to hide the pain he was feeling by reverting back to his cold tone and body language. “Until you find a new residence you and your son are welcome to stay here.” He said and was about to stand up when he felt her hand on his wrist.

“Is that how it’s going to be now? Is it that easy for you to move on?” she asked confrontationally and he turned quickly to face her trying to control the anger he suddenly felt.

“You are the one who wants more so go find it and leave me alone.” He told her coldly and retreated back into his office. He could hear her sobs as he left but he was too hurt to care about her pain; he had his own wounded heart to tend to.

<><>{Chapter Ten}<><>

Monday afternoon found Severus in a very unpleasant mood. He had drawn the paper work to send to the Ministry, registering Hermione as a Potion Master and all he needed was her signature. He hated thinking of her leaving, but after many drinks and broken glasses he had come to realize it truly was for the best. He was the one who called it off and then got mad and stormed off when she agreed; he was in the wrong here and he knew it. Embarrassed by his childish antics he had stayed away from her all day; he also didn’t think he could stand to see her cry again.

When Hermione had cried an overwhelming rush of guilt fill his senses. Guilt that he couldn’t give her what she wanted; he didn’t want to be another source of disappointment in the young woman’s life and he knew he owed her an apology. With just one more meeting left he could not wait till this day was over. Severus could hear the stair case moving outside his office door and new his guest would arrive in mere moments. He looked down at his calendar to see who this person was again and noticed that this Mr. Cyril Dobbson requested the visit and Severus remembered the name on the order forms for one of the apothecaries he was under contract. He summoned his files and saw that the man worked for Superior Red, also known as the Malfoy Family business.

Severus would not renew his contract with the company and had already informed them of this a week ago. He wondered if this Mr. Dobbson was here to change his mind as he heard a knock on the door. After greeting the man he invited him to sit waiting for him to explain the purpose for his visit.

“Headmaster Snape, Good afternoon and thank-you for taking the time to meet with me today; I want to apologize first off for deceiving you about the intent for the visit. I have no plans on discussing your contract or contribution to the company in anyway.” He heard the man admit honestly and was intrigued. The smile on the other man’s face indicated that he was not a threat but Severus still kept his guard up; not all witches and wizards believed his role as a spy was genuine and he did not want to be too relaxed around this man, just in case.

“I am here on behalf of your godson, Draco Malfoy.” The man stated plainly and much to Severus’ surprise. Keeping his face neutral he responded.

“If you are here on Draco’s behalf than you must know that I do not wish to speak to him.” Severus told the man coolly and without emotion. The older man nodded his head briefly and Severus continued.

“I am not interested in talking to Mr. Malfoy in any capacity, whether it is directly, through the post or through his hired help.” He told Dobbson and folded his arms on top of his desk but the man just smiled despite the insult of being called the hired help.

“I think you are misunderstanding my intent. Draco did not ask me to come speak with you. In fact if he knew I was here he would probably be very angry with me.” He truthfully disclosed again and Severus was intrigued for the second time during that meeting.

“What exactly is your interest in Mr. Malfoy?” Severus asked the man in a guarded tone with his eyes narrowed suspiciously at the man across the desk from him.

“I’m surprised you care what with your lack of communication since his incarceration.” Dobbson answered with a haughty smile.

“Just because I am not speaking to him it doesn’t mean I wish him any harm either.” Severus told the other man with an obvious warning intended. “The situation is much more complicated than it seems.” The air of finality in Severus’ voice was like a challenge that the older man felt obligated to meet.

“I just wanted you to know that whatever he has done to push you away I can assure you that he feels deep regrets and guilt about his past.” Dobbson told the Headmaster who responded with a low chuckle.

“Your assurances mean little to me, considering that you know not what you speak of.” Severus dismissed again and started to stand up but was interrupted by an explosion coming from the laboratory; black smoke wafted in from under the door and he found himself moving towards the smoke without a second thought to his guest’s presence or his irritable mood.

He threw open the door and was accosted by a wall of smoke. After clearing the air with a spell Severus ran in to find his apprentice staring at him from her quarter’s doorway looking just as scared and confused as Severus.

“Benny!” she called to him and they both rushed over to the still smoking cauldron to find her son’s crumpled form on the floor near the back wall. He wasn’t moving and the room was silent besides their hurried footsteps and the slightly hissing cauldron. When they reached the boy Hermione pulled his crumpled form into her lap and franticly searched for a pulse. Severus cast a status charm and realized the boys lungs were filled with smoke. Having done the spell many times, he expertly withdrew the smoke from the boy’s mouth and nose. Hermione watched franticly as the smoke followed his wand away from the boy. The last bit of smoke left the boy and he began to cough as his eyelids fluttered open.

“Mummy…” he choked out in a raspy voice and Severus watched as Hermione clutched the boy to her chest ignoring the fact that he was covered head to toe in soot.

“I wanted… to help…” he gasped out as his mother started crying. “You sad…” he coughed again only to be shushed by his mother.

“Shhh, just rest darling; I’m here.” She comforted as she looked up at Severus. “Thank-you Severus, I will clean up this mess when I get back from the hospital wing.” She told him a little more stiffly than he thought necessary and watched as she left the room in a hurry. A knock on his open office door drew his attention back to his guest.

“Was that Miss Granger? And her son… are they alright?” he heard calling from the door and rolled his eyes all of his irritation from before returning with a vengence. He stood up and turned back towards his office.

“How do you know my apprentice and her son?” he asked suspiciously as he closed the door behind him.

“We met a couple days ago at the book store, her son ran into me, literally.” The man rushed out. “Is everything okay in there?” He inquired again worriedly. “That was a lot of smoke.”

“Thank-you for that astute observation, but I assure you that everything is fine.” He couldn’t hide the annoyance in his tone. Who was this man to come here and ask questions of him? Sticking his noise in business that was not his and trying to mend bonds that were too frayed to salvage. Severus hated meddling fools.

“I’m going to keep with my honest streak and just tell you what I think is going on. Miss Granger and Draco had some type of star-crossed lover affair that resulted in Miss Granger’s son. Because of his involvement in the war and subsequent imprisonment she has banned Draco from all contact with the boy.” He finished but quickly added. “Feel free to correct any of my errors; this is all based off my very limited knowledge.”

Severus looked over at the man and shook his head. If only that were the truth; unfortunately for this man, he would receive no information from Severus.

“If you called this meeting so we could sit around and gossip like old biddies over tea, then I think it’s time for you to leave, Sir.” Severus said coldly and held his office door open, indicating for the older man to leave. He thought that this Mr. Dobbson was going to protest but after a quick “Good Day.” The man left his office and he let out a sigh after the door closed. Severus would have to look into this Dobbson fellow and make sure he wouldn’t cause any trouble for Hermione or her son.

That reminded him of the boy’s accident and he briefly wondered if he should go in and check on the boy. Ultimately he decided that his presence would be unwelcomed and instead opted to spend the remaining time before dinner cleaning the laboratory. He knew smoke inhalation, Poppy would keep the boy for hours; he told himself he didn’t want the lab to be kept in this state that long knowing he was lying to himself.

<><>{End of Chapter Ten}<><>

A/N: So there it is. Chapter Ten… I am sure most of you are fuming and are about to send me angry reviews but please… try to think of Severus covered in paint handprints and bear with me! The story is not over; the next chapter is going to be very exciting I promise! I hate being a perfectionist when it comes to my plots because it takes me forever to get it just right… Sorry for the delay on posting.

And thanks to all my reviewers/readers yall are awesome!

Venir ici jeune femme: means come here young lady.
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Count Your Blessings