Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Count Your Blessings	By : LadyOfTheNight Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 39965 -:- 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
- 10
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Count Your Blessings

<><>{Chapter Eleven: Taking Care of Business}<><>

When Hermione got back from the hospital wing later that evening she put her son to bed right away. The potion he was given had made him sleepy and Madam Pomfrey had told her she could take her son home after he was breathing clearly for an hour straight. After she put her son to bed, she went to check the lab and saw that it was spotless; everything was clean and put away.

She hoped Severus didn’t expect any thank-you’s from her after the way he stormed off yesterday. He had no right to be mad at her when he was the one breaking up with her. A pang went through her heart as she remembered that they had broken up. With everything that had happened she had momentarily forgotten about how sad she was and one lone tear escaped from the corner of her eye.

Hastily wiping the stray tear away, Hermione returned to her quarters and decided to start looking through the Daily Prophet for places for rent. She was not going to stay here any longer than necessary after yesterday; she and her son were not charity cases. She channeled all her sadness into finding them a decent place to live.

As she glanced at the list of all the apartments and homes she realized that they wanted to see a proof of employment before renting… That might be a problem considering she had not even started looking for a job yet. After telling herself to focus, she came up with a plan of action. First she would secure a job then a home. When she signed her paperwork with Filius earlier that day he had also enclosed a bank key for Gringotts with her name on it.

“What’s this?” she asked her mentor in amazement and he just grinned up at her.

“It’s the key to a vault. I have been depositing a small sum into this account everyday of your apprenticeship. You have been helping me with my work and I have valued that help greatly.” He told her seriously and she saw herself pushing the key back at him.

“Thank-you sir but this is too much…” she started but was swiftly interrupted.

“Trust me when I say it is not enough but it is customary. You wouldn’t expect your Mentors to thrust you out into the cold with no money?” He asked of her teasingly and she smiled too.

“So Severus has been doing this too?” she asked quietly and he nodded.

“All Masters pay their apprentices for their work, but the apprentices don’t receive their wages till they complete their studies and earn their license. I assure you it has been the custom for years.” He told the witch joyfully and helped her tighten her grip around the key.

She really could use this money; after the war, the ministry had filled her vault with so many galleons that, at the time Hermione felt compelled to donate most of it to charities. She kept enough to live comfortably but never anticipated having a child who out grew or seriously stained everything he wore. Not to mention the toys food, and all the accessories that came with a child. She often wondered how Muggle women did it without magic.

“If you need any recommendations I am just an owl away. I will sing your praises gladly. Could you pass the sugar?” He asked her happily as he redirected her attention to the sugar bowl.

Closing the paper, Hermione briefly glanced at the cover story; a fluff piece about a charity that had been giving out money to war survivors and rebuilding campaigns in spades, both Magical Folks and Muggles were benefiting from the Charity’s deeds. She smiled briefly that someone was doing some good out there and quickly turned to the want ads. Someone must be in need of a licensed Potion or Charm Master.

With her attention back to the paper, she turned the page to see a brightly colored and altogether obnoxious ad for The Weasley Wizard Wheezes. She laughed at the ridiculousness of the ad for a minute before remembering how George and Charlie were always asking for her help on their projects. They would definitely hire her if she begged and she was sure to have time to do her research as well.

She loved inventing new potions and charms and wanted to do that but, she learned from her masters that in order to fund your research you have to either get a wealthy investor or contract out your services to local townspeople and businesses. The Three W’s was a perfect place to start; family oriented, friends and interesting work all rolled in to one. Hermione knew she would never be bored working for the Three W’s and it would be nice to work with family.

So the next day found Hermione and Benny at the Three W’s promptly at opening, a bright an early time of ten in the morning. A chime announced their arrival and they were immediately greeted by George and Charlie.

“Hey look, it’s the Leech!” Charlie called to his brother who looked up from his paper work and smiled.

“Hullo Grangers! To what do we owe this very special visit?” George inquired. She could tell something was on his mind but knew that if George wished to talk about it he would bring it up. She smiled warmly at the two men and her son ran at them to give them both big hugs. They took turns messing up his hair, which he demanded be untied today, and made it look even more tangled; with his already unruly curls sticking out every which way, all Hermione could do was sigh at the sight of him. Benny was never one to stay tidy for long, something that both amused and infuriated his mother. Today she chose to ignore his untidy state having much more important matters on her mind than a slightly messy hair do.

“I actually came to talk business with you.” She told George as he straightened his papers and tucked them under his arm.

“I can watch the front and the Leech!” Charlie told his brother and Hermione smiled appreciatively.

“Thanks Charlie!” she told him and started to go into the back office. She heard Charlie showing Benny some of their products she quickly popped her head back in the store to add. “Keep it age appropriate, and nothing messy, please Charlie.” She called and he waved her comment off flippantly.

“Yeah, yeah!” he called and she warily went back into the office to talk George.

“So what is this business that you need to discuss with me?” he asked her interestedly as he placed his papers down on his desk.

“Well I am done with my studies and am finding myself looking for employment. I have a resume here,” She passed him a copy. “and was wondering if you had any job openings in your charms or potions departments?” George’s jaw dropped and his eyes had a slightly glassy look to them that frightened her a little bit.

“I was thinking research and development, or the production department, you know something I could do from home…” she trailed off as she watched him grab all the papers on his desk and threw them up in the air. He flicked his wrist and all of the papers suddenly burnt up in midair in a fantastic display of magic that had Hermione awed and frightened by the sudden embers floating in the air.

“Merlin’s beard, why did you do that?” She asked him with a slight hitch to her voice but a grin was slowly forming on her face as he started to do a small jig.

“Because I don’t need them anymore! I have you!” He said joyfully and leapt forward to give her a big hug. “You are the answer to all my problems!” He cried out into her shoulder and pulled out of the hug to give her a quick kiss on her forehead.

“Um… explanation please…” She asked of him worriedly, knowing anything that excited him this much was bound to be bad for someone and in this case that someone seemed to be her.

“My head of Charms just turned in her intent to leave last Tuesday…” he explained to her quickly. “And those forms were applicants to fill her spot.”

“Ginny?” She asked surprised. “She is quitting? But why” she asked surprised and frankly very shocked. Ginny loved working with her brothers and Hermione couldn’t imagine her just up and quitting.

“Well it seems Mrs. Potter is in the family way… But don’t tell her I told you; if she wanted it to be a secret she shouldn’t have told me!” He teased and Hermione felt a weird rush of emotions. On the one hand she was extremely happy for her friends as they started their own family. On the other hand she was intensely jealous; all she wanted was a father for her son and partner to love and support her but wound up single instead. Her two best friends who had everything she wanted and being jealous of them was not something she liked to feel. She quickly pushed down her negative feelings so she could enjoy her two friends’ good news.

“That’s great!” She told George honestly but noticed his annoyed face. “Isn’t it?” she questioned and he gave a big sigh.

“Mum won’t let up on Charlie, Ron and I; says we need to settle down too. Once she finds out about Ginny she will never shut up about it…” He said morosely. “At least I am seeing Angelina. It’s so much worse for Charlie and Ron, what with them being single and all.” George disclosed and Hermione knew exactly what George was talking about. Molly had been making not so subtle hints about her own marital status; she grimaced as she thought of telling Molly her news.

“I’m sure you will manage,” She told him as she tried to change the subject. “but back to the job topic…” she started and he smiled again. “I am not looking to be the head of any departments… I just want a Research and Development job or something in Productions, a low key job with good pay.” She told him again and he just shook his head in the negative.

“No way am I letting all of your talent waste away on a job that is beneath you. Plus if you head the department, think of all the people you will get to boss around…” he teased her and she playfully punched him in the arm.

“And the pay is significantly more…” He tempted her for real this time and grabbed her interest.

“How much more are we talking about? She inquired and George smiled mischievously as he wrote down a number on a paper and passed it to her.

“This is how much you would make in R and D.” he told her as she looked over the number nodding before passing it back to George. He wrote down another number and passed it back to her when he was done.

“And this is how much we would be willing to offer as the Head of the Charms Department.” He told her as her face turned from interested to completely shocked.

“Seriously… that much?” she asked him in awe and he just laughed at her reaction.

“You are a licensed Charms Master and the Three W’s is doing extremely well.” He explained and saw she was still starring at the number on the parchment in awe.

“What would I have to do?” she asked warily after she finally looked back up at him. “I was hoping to work from home so as to do my own research…” she trailed off.

“And that’s the beauty of it, you can.” He told her joyfully as the excitement in his voice was reaching a new high. “Ginny just hung around all the time because she didn’t want to spend all day at the Burrow with Mum.” He told her easily as he began to explain what the job entailed. Hermione was pleased with the job and the time it required. There were three Charms departments under her; the Research and Development, the Testing and the Production departments all would report to Hermione in a weekly meeting at the Three W’s store.

“You will be getting daily owls from the heads of each department under you, to update you on their progress but you will mostly be supervising others. You may have to occasionally meet with your ‘underlings’ in person but I am sure you can arrange for them to visit you.” George told her easily and Hermione was very impressed. With a schedule like that she would have plenty of time for her own research projects. “So you would be a fool to turn this job down…” he trailed off grinning madly.

“And we all know Hermione Granger is no fool…” she teased back and was thrown into another huge hug.

“Ugh I am so relieved, those applicants were a dull group; they all had the skills to head a department, but not a funny bone in the bunch. Anyone who works here has to have some type of sense of humor.” He told her as he brushed some ash, from the burnt parchments, off the top of her head.

“So boss, could I get you to write me a letter to verify my employment?” she asked George and she too began dusting him off as well. “I am currently looking for a place to rent for Benny and I.” she told him and he stopped his actions and looked a little shocked.

“You are moving out of Hogwarts?” He asked her with surprise. “You and Benny… and that is it?” he inquired, prying and trying not to pry at the same time.

“Yes just Benny and I. My lessons are over so I have no further need to stay at Hogwarts.” She told him nonchalantly while trying not to think about the fact that leaving Hogwarts meant that her relationship with Severus really was over. She wasn’t fooling George though and he knew something was up.

“I knew that I would only be living there temporarily and I don’t know why this is such a big deal to you.” She told him evenly and he just looked at her more suspiciously.

“I dunno maybe because it sounds like you are moving out of your boyfriend’s place.” He told her worriedly but she just smiled that he was worried; it just meant that he cared for Hermione and she would never fault him for that.

“I am fine, promise.” She reassured her friend without fully disclosing all of her news regarding her relationship status. She had always been good at compartmentalizing her emotions in order to deal with the more pressing matters. Also Hermione was still processing the news herself and didn’t really wish to see the pity and slight edge of ‘I told you so’ on her friends’ faces when they learned of her breakup with Severus.

They all expressed their concerns when Hermione and Severus had first announced their relationship but, as long as she was happy they said they would be too. She heard their whispered comments about their age difference and their opposite personalities but let them have their opinions; as long as they left her alone to make her own decisions she could care less what they thought about her choice in suitors.

Hermione found herself dreading hearing their whispers now. If there was anything she hated more than unnecessary charity it was pity. She would ward off those pitying looks as long as she could; that was how she stayed strong, just like when she had been raped…

“Well if you say so… I hope they aren’t booting you out… You should be able to have time to find a smart place that is in a low crime area… with a proper yard… and…” he lectured her and she just grinned and interrupted.

“Yes, Mum.” She teased him and he suddenly looked like he ate a whole carton of Puking Pastels.

“Great Merlin’s Ghost! I do sound like me Mum!” He cried out before pretending to pass out on his desk from shock. Hermione just laughed at the sight of him which drew her son’s attention from the store front. From around the other side of the office door he appeared, with hair a bright teal color.

“Mummy! I is Teddy!” He told her with a grin as he pointed at his new hair color with pride; Charlie quickly followed with a sheepish smile on his face.

“Hey it’s not messy!” Charlie defended to the boy’s mother and George was just laughing, encouraging the boy to shake out his tangled mass of curls.

“You couldn’t have invented a joke that cuts hair?” Hermione queried mournfully; her son grabbed his head protectively after hearing his mother’s words and the two brothers began to laugh even louder.

“That can be your first project!” George told her excitedly as a spark appeared in his eyes. “You could have the spell cut people’s hair into different styles. We could do a celebrity collection and…” he started but she quickly cut him off.

“Hold up, I haven’t even started yet!” she protested and Charlie just smiled wide.

“Oh I am going to like having you two around more!” Charlie croaked out between laughs and drawing George’s attention away from his new project.

“Stick around for a bit and when Verity gets here we can take you both to lunch.” George told her and she and her son both smiled back at him.

<><>{Chapter 11}<><>

Two hours later found the Granger’s with very full bellies and happy hearts. They walked hand in hand into Gringotts; she was pulling her son along because he was totally engrossed in watching the small goblins that were running the place. They were attracting the attention of all the occupants in the bank both thanks to Benny’s colorful hair and his mother’s reputation for robbing the place.

They waited in the line patiently and Hermione watched her son take in the new place. She never had occasion to visit her vault before but now that she had access to a new vault she was interested in what treasures Filius had filled it with. Benny pulled on her hand and pointed at the goblin that happened to be walking by; the goblin was not much taller than the toddler and that amazed the boy. She smiled at her son’s fascination but noticed the goblin did not appreciate the pointing.

“Yes, they are your size, but darling it’s not polite to point at people.” She told him and made him drop his arm but his attention never wavered from the many goblins flanking the sides of the bank’s walls. When their turn arrived Benny begged to be held so he could get a closer look at the new creature. She presented her two keys to the goblin who also requested her wand for official inspection.

“What can I do for you Ms. Granger? I do hope you are not here to burgle again…” The goblin trailed off stiffly and she just smiled warmly at him in response. Goblins were severely protective creatures and they very reluctantly allowed Hermione, Harry and Ron to keep vaults within their bank only because of their status as war heroes. To goblins it was once a thief, always a thief.

“No not today, I just wanted to visit MY vaults.” She told the goblin ignoring his rude remark and adjusted her grip on her son as he shifted closer to the goblin.

“ALL of them?” the creature inquired curiously and she just gave him a sardonic look.

“Yes. ALL of them.” She repeated annoyed and the Goblin just raised an eyebrow at her cheeky tone.

As the goblin led them to the cart she felt Benny’s grip on her neck tighten and she could tell he was a little nervous about the dark dank atmosphere of the vaults. The older he got the more he felt the need to exert his independence, Molly said it was a phase, but Hermione cherished little moments like this where her son still needed her; they were coming fewer and further in between.

All of her son’s nerves and hesitation were erased as the cart started down its treacherous path towards Hermione’s personal vault. His laughter and clapping echoed off the cavernous halls earning him a few appreciative looks from the goblin driving the cart.

When they got to her personal vault she took Benny’s old baby furniture and clothes out of her beaded bag and regretfully left them in the vault. She always dreamed of having children who were close together in age but when had anything in her life gone the way she planned it? Benny waved goodbye to his baby bed as they zoomed off to her other vault. When they entered the vault she was overwhelmed by the amount of charms texts that were flanking the sides of the vault. Galleons, Knuts and Sickles were piled in the middle; it was defiantly an impressive amount of wizarding money. She picked up one of the books and thumbed the spine. He had gifted her with her own copies of all of her favorite texts and she couldn’t help but be grateful. She noticed that there were quite a few books among the piles that she had not read yet and couldn’t wait to loose herself in the new texts.

Knowing she couldn’t linger as long as she liked because of her son’s short attention span, she quickly put a few texts into her bag and they headed back to the cart. She was so distracted by her son’s joyful shouts on the cart ride that she didn’t realize they were going further into the vault until they stopped outside another vault.

“Where are we?” she asked the goblin warily as she looked around quickly realizing that she had never been in this part of Gringotts.

“You asked to visit ALL your vaults… and this is one of your vaults…” The goblin trailed off tiredly, his feelings of superiority were overinflated at having to explain something so basic to her.

As she entered the vault she was immediately assaulted with a fresh herby scent. Looking to her right she found a trunk full of potion ingredients from exceedingly rare to the most common. Severus had given her a completely stocked trunk full of ingredients; enough to last her a long while. Another trunk was lying on the other side of the vault that was stuffed full of potion texts and journals. Among the various piles of currency were cauldrons of various sizes and consistencies; copper, brass and pewter too. He had given her enough supplies for her to have a fully operational potions lab.

Suddenly she was torn between being grateful and scornful. Of course having the right tools was necessary to being a proper Potioneer and those tools were not cheap. She felt wrong accepting such an elaborate gift from the man considering their relationship status. She decided to leave everything in this vault alone and let her son pull her towards the cart for their last ride of the day. When they got to lobby Benny was all smiles and Hermione was praying his good behavior lasted till they got home but knew that was just a pipe dream. Her son may protest, but he still needed his nap and was getting dangerously close to skipping it.

As is on cue he let out a large yawn and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Benny was no longer running ahead of her; instead he began to drag his feet as he tiredly trudged along through the bank. Despite their snail’s pace Benny refused to be held; he was exercising his small amount of independence and Hermione was perfectly fine with letting him. One thing she always appreciated about her parents was that they never tried to stifle her creativity or sense of independence. She was given the freedom of choice and that was something she always planned on giving her son, even if it did mean sometimes traveling at a snail’s pace.

<><>{Chapter Eleven}<><>

Severus was brewing in the lab when he heard muffled noises coming from the other side of Hermione’s door signifying that the woman had returned. He told himself that he wasn’t waiting for her to come home but he knew that the potion he was brewing was arbitrary. Light came streaming from under her door and he quickly glanced down to the paperwork that was currently awaiting her signature.

After clearing the contents of the cauldron Severus walked over to her door with the papers in hand. With his other hand on the door handle he paused for a moment remembering that he should probably knock now before entering. He knocked and waited feeling very awkward as he heard her moving about the room before opening the door a crack.

“Is there something I can do for you?” Hermione asked him a little coldly without any signs of an invitation inside.

He felt his confidence waiver at her cold body language and tone. Severus knew his behavior the other day had been a less than admirable but when was he known for saying or doing the right thing, romantically speaking that is.

“I have the paper work for the Ministry; it just needs your signature and I can send it off.” He handed her the papers and she took them rather roughly from his grasp. Using her wand to display her signature on the appropriate lines, Hermione thrust the papers back into hand.

“Is there anything else?” She asked him roughly but she couldn’t hide the sadness in her eyes; she had the most expressive eyes. He knew that he needed to apologize but he had trouble figuring out how to start.

“Hermione, I…” He stopped when he noticed her hand clutching the door tightly, as if she was bracing herself for whatever it was he wanted to say to her. Everything about her body language and tone suggested she was on her guard.

“I need to talk to you but would rather not do it with this door between us.” He told her softly and noticed her stern gaze falter slightly but the door did not move.

“Well I am sorry but I have more pressing needs to meet; yours are no longer my concern.” He watched her try and close the door but he intercepted her motions by putting his foot in the door frame and catching said door with his hand; he was not pulling the door open, just keeping it from closing.

“Will you not let me apologize?” he queried and he heard her give a great sigh before the door was opened the rest of the way. She walked past him and into the lab, making sure the door to her quarters was left open. She didn’t make herself comfortable but fixed her gaze on him expectantly, making it clear that her stay would be brief.

“I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted the other night.” Hermione’s gaze did not falter and she gave no signs of interrupting him. “My feelings for you remain the same; I… still love you and that is why this is so hard…” he admitted to her and watched as her eyes closed and remained shut. “The other night I insinuated that you were to blame for our relationship’s end and that is something that was spoken by a man in an extreme amount of emotional pain. I want to make it clear that your needs for a larger family are important and deserve to be met.” Her eyes opened in shock after his last statement. She looked very confused but still made no movements other than her facial expression.

“I am the one who falls short in this equation and when I heard you confirm that I just lost it. I apologize for any hurt I have caused.” He told her in his somber tone, the one she knew he only used when he felt truly sorry.

“Severus, I… before I accept your apology I have one thing to say: NEITHER of us falls short in any equations. Our life goals just aren’t compatible; we want different things and neither of us is wrong for wanting what we want.” She told him steadily and he could see that her lip was trembling. “I… thank-you for saying that though and I appreciate the apology.” She told him and she took another calming breath before giving him a shaky smile.

“I want for us to be friends, but… right now I really need space. I can’t get over you when you are always just behind the door…” she trailed off wistfully and he knew exactly what she was speaking of, having spent most of the day lingering around in the lab waiting for her to appear.

“I understand, just know that if you ever need anything I am just an owl away.” He told her truthful while conveying that he would be there whenever she was ready. He knew from experience that she appreciated having options. When she smiled at him he saw that happiness reach her eyes just for a moment before an awkward silence settled on them.

“I have something for you…” Severus said and in an attempt to break their silence he produced a large Gringotts key out of his robes. He noticed her about to protest but he silenced her with a stern look.

“I’m sure Filius has already explained that this is a customary gift for a Mentor to give his protégé when they reach the end of their studies.” He told her and held the key out for her to grab.

“Surely considering everything it wouldn’t be proper for me to…” She started to argue.

“Nonsense, you accepted the key from Filius did you not?” he asked of her and she simply nodded in agreement. “Then you would hurt my feelings by not also accepting my key as well. You earned everything in that vault.” He told her truthfully and saw she was shaking her head to negate his last statement.

“It’s too much.” Hermione told him as he placed the key in her hands.

“How can you tell? For all you know there is a huge vault in Gringotts with one Sickle in it.” He teased her gently but noticed that familiar red hue on her cheeks.

“Actually, I do know… I went to see my vaults today and the Goblins misunderstood me and took me to this vault as well.” She said gesturing to the key in her hands and he let out a small chuckle. She really did live up to her know-it-all nickname.

“And they are supposed to be good at guarding secrets…” He murmured aloud.

“To be fair, it is MY vault.” She defended the creatures, just like she did with the House Elves.

“So you’re keeping it then?” he asked of her interestedly and she gave another sigh.

“I suppose so. I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings after all…” she teased him and he had to restrain himself from caressing her cheek. It was hard to remember boundaries when they were so comfortable around each other. She must have sensed his awkward motions because she quickly cleared her throat and broke their gaze.

“Well I, uh better get back to house hunting…” she trailed of as she started to walk backwards into her quarters. “I guess I’ll see you… later.” She finished lamely and he nodded in consent.

“Good-bye, Hermione.” He told her and watched the door close both on the room and their relationship; two weeks later she and her son were gone leaving behind a castle full of annoying students, even though Minerva assured him that they were the same as always.

<><>{End of Chapter Eleven}<><>

A/N: Whew! I know, I know. I promised excitement but this chapter got a little longer than I thought and I had to put the exciting bits in the next chapter or this one would have been three times as long! Big plot points are on the horizon and we are heading into our downward descent towards the end. I anticipate at least five more chapters, but seeing how I haven’t fully written them yet, that is subject to change… lol

Thanks to all of the readers, reviewers and raters! I appreciate your comments and special thanks to Sera21 for pointing out my folly in toddler speak. I went back and edited that to make it seem more realistic! Have a lovely evening!
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Count Your Blessings