The Enrichment Project

Hermione sighed and ascended the stairs leading to Gryffindor tower.


'This is unacceptable,' she thought as she neared the entrance to her common room. The Fat Lady was alarmed by Hermione's fussing baby and she began to sing to the little one so as to cheer him up...it had the opposite effect.


"No. Please, Lady," Hermione pleaded with the portrait, "I don't think he's in the mood for...um...music." The louder the baby cried, the louder the Fat Lady sang.


"That's enough!" Hermione demanded. She fought to remember the password but found it erased from her mind by the screaming 'baby' and 'singing' portrait. Hermione was quite startled that she could not recall the password to her own common room.


Her patience stretched thin, Hermione had just seriously considered reaching out to slap the Fat Lady when Fred and George pushed their way out of the portrait hole. Hermione started to step through into the common room.


"Is it true! Is it really TRUE!" the twins cried out to her with crazy glee.


Hermione paused and nodded her head sadly. "Yes...I'm afraid I'll only receive partial credit if Snape doesn't participate in the project. It's not right. I'm going to speak to Professor McGonagall about this and may even go to the Headmaster if...."


"NO! Not THAT," Fred cut her off midsentence, "Is it true about Ron and Harry?!" George demanded. Fred ran a few steps away, then skipped back, only to run a few steps away and skip back again--he was torn between hearing Hermione's confirmation and getting down to the Great Hall as fast as possible to see it for himself.


"Wha? Oh that...yes. Ron and Harry were paired together for the project. You see, we have and odd number of students in class and..."


The twins were almost out of sight before Hermione could register the wind on her face from their fluttering robes as they darted away. "Yes. I'll be fine, thank you!" she yelled after Fred and George and huffed into the common room. She would have slammed the portrait behind her if she'd had a free hand.


Although more than half of the Gryffindor students had already gone to the Great Hall for the evening meal, the common room seemed crowded with the addition of the fourth-year's 'babies' and all the equipment they require. House elves were scurrying around delivering supplies. Stacks of diapers, rows of bottles and the like were being arranged on a table in the corner of the room. Hermione spotted Ginny with a group of girls by the fireplace cooing at all the cute babies and showing some of the girls how to hold and feed a baby. She caught sight of Hermione and rushed over.

"Ooh! He's so cute! Isn't this something?" she exclaimed, waving her hand around the room. "All these babies!"


"Yeah. It's something," Hermione replied, shaking her head. She went to the table piled with baby supplies and stuffed a few items into her bag.


Ginny frowned, "Herm, can I help you? It's okay," she patted Hermione's baby on the head, "What's his name?"


"I haven't named him yet...I'm going to withdraw from this project anyway. I need to talk to Professor McGonagall. It's crazy! It's...It's...mental!" Hermione exclaimed, sounding very much like Ron.


Ginny raised an eyebrow in surprise. She would never have thought Hermione would want OUT of an extra project. "But what about your partner? Wouldn't that hurt his grade?"


A mirthless laugh shot past Hermione's lips. "My partner!? Haven't you heard?"


"What? You mean...NO! I thought Fred and George were joking...It can't be..."


Tears stung Hermione's eyelids, "Yes...him."


The full horror of Hermione's situation hit Ginny and she covered her mouth with her hands. "Wait!...I'll help you," Ginny put her hands on her hips as though it were all decided and stood nodding her head. She looked so much like her mother, in a way, that Hermione smiled for the first time since before Potions class. "I'm great with babies! I help all the time when my little cousins are over."


"Thank you, Ginny, but I'm going to talk with Professor McGonagall and get it all straightened out." A new wave of wailing came from Hermione's baby and she closed her eyes for a moment. "Right now however, I...er...WE," she patted the baby, "need a nap." Hermione headed for the girls dorm.


*Yes. A nap,* Hermione repeated to herself. She wasn't really one for taking naps, but the day's events had taken their toll. She entered her room and was relieved to see all the beds were empty. She sat on the edge of her bed, put the baby down next to her on the quilt, and took out her wand.

"I need a nap more than you," she addressed the 'baby.' "You're not even real," she added, in an attempt to relieve the guilt she felt for what she was planning to do next. She waved her wand over the baby and muttered a spell.


Nothing happened. It was still screaming and flailing its limbs.


Hermione tried everything she could think of...it wouldn't be silenced or its' actions suspended. She threw her wand on the night stand. "Excellent! Give us the baby today and the manual TOMORROW!" She thought of all the books she had with her in the room--none of which contained baby care instructions.

*He's hungry.*

Snape's words came back to her. "Okay. So you're hungry," she said to the 'baby.' She took a bottle from her bag. It was already filled with milk. She picked up the baby and arranged her pillows against the headboard before sitting down and awkwardly arranging the baby in her arms. Strange...Snape's tone of voice had been different...soft, in a way...*He's hungry.*


When the nipple of the bottle touched his cheek, the baby immediately began to root for it; his little mouth opened wide.
"Well, you ARE starving, aren't you?" she said and couldn't help but smile. The baby closed his mouth around the nipple but just as soon as he had, he jerked his head away and screamed even louder than before. "Now what's the matter?" A drop of milk ran from the corner of the baby's mouth and Hermione wiped it off with the back of her hand. "Oh. It's cold." She snatched up her wand and tapped it against the side of the bottle. She shook some of the milk out onto her wrist (another move she had seen on muggle television) and then offered the luke warm liquid to her 'baby.'


FINALLY! Silence never sounded so sweet! The baby drank and drank greedily. She could hear him swallowing rapidly and his eyes were closed half-way in contentment. She heaved a sigh and gazed at the baby as he fed. She found her thoughts to be unfocused. A warm feeling swelled up in her chest as she gazed at the baby in her arms. "You're not real," she whispered to him. As if to answer her, his eyes swiveled up to return her gaze as he continued to feed. The eyes were familiar, yet not. The baby definitely looked like her.

Hermione had noticed in class the each of the babies had characteristics of their 'parents.' "Probably to aid in the bonding process," she mused to herself.
He had soft brown curls on the very top of his head--her shade of brown. He had the same skin coloring as she did and his cheeks were slightly flushed, as she imagined hers must be after the day's excitement. But those eyes...they were alert, intelligent and lined with thick, long, silky lashes...they were dark...black.

Snape's eyes.

This didn't revolt her, however. They were, indeed, Snape's eyes. But...
They were soft and innocent. *Perhaps Snape's own eyes looked like this when He was a baby?* she wondered with a yawn. *No. He was born a git,* she countered herself, again sounding like Ron.
Baby Snape finished the entire bottle. Hermione figured out the burping process after a few tense minutes and then 'mother' and 'child' fell soundly asleep.

To be continued.........

A/N: This chapter is for you, ccino! I was about to sign off, but caught your review and was inspired to knock out this chapter as well. Thank you! You made my day.
G. Snapp ;)