Chapter I

AN: I do not own the rights to the world of Harry Potter and its characters. Some characters may seem extremely out of character – especially Ron Weasley seeing as I believe he would never in his right mind abuse Hermione in any way. Also dates and ages have been altered for narrative purposes (especially when it comes to the children)

Hermione's hand tightened around her young daughter's hand, pulling her through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley, hushed whispers followed her every step. Being a member of the Golden Trio had thrown her into the spotlight, ever since the end the war, up until now nearly six years after the fall of the Dark Lord. It drove her mad, she hated how her life was projected for everyone to see; when she had given birth to her daughter four years' prior, Ron had been the first to step through the doors of St – Mungo's to announce the birth of their daughter; Hermione had been furious.

"Mummy, can we go to the bookstore?" Rose asked sweetly as she pointed towards the bookshop, tripping over her little feet as Hermione dragged her away. Hermione couldn't help but smile down at her daughter, she saw herself in her daughter; despite her flaming hair and ocean colored eyes, Rose Minerva Weasley was exactly like her mother in every way possible: she loved reading and learning, she also couldn't care less about Quidditch –something that bothered Ron to no ends- her hair was just as frizzy as her mother's had been at that age, and her facial features mirrored those of her mother. If it hadn't been for her hair and eyes, nobody would have thought her to be a Weasley.

"Of course sweetheart. I just need to stop someplace first." Hermione said as she leaned down to pick up Rose, who immediately wrapped her short arms around her mother's neck; Hermione flinched, her ribcage throbbed in pain. Hermione slipped through the archway that led towards Knockturn Alley, ignoring the men that roamed the alleyway. "Make sure you don't touch anything, okay love?" Hermione said sternly, her daughter nodded, snuggling her head further into the crook of Hermione's neck.

Hermione took a deep breath as she pushed open the door to Brewed Glory, a small apothecary shop that sold only the finest potions and ingredients. The shop itself was small and dimly lit, comparing greatly with the Potions classroom she visited two times a week for the course of six years. Dark mahogany shelves lined the walls, various sized flasks were exposed to her. "May I help you?" She tightened her grip on her daughter as the silky voice filled the room.

She walked towards the counter, nearly tripping over her pounding heart. "Yes, you can Professor." She felt Rose twist in her arms.

"Well if it isn't Mrs. Weasley." Her breath caught in her throat as he came into view. He had not changed in the slightest since she had last seen him. A few age lines framed his face, ones that hadn't been there last time she had seen him; granting the last time she had taken a close look at his face he had been in the middle of the Shrieking Shake, on the verge of death no less.

"Don't call me that." She spat bitterly, she carefully placed Rose down on the ground; she didn't want to let go of her, but the pain coursing through her body was too much to handle. "Remember sweetheart…"

"Don't touch," Rose said with a smile as she swayed from foot to foot, looking around at the shop excitedly.

"Good girl," Hermione said with a smile as Rose turned on her heel. She turned back towards her old Potions professor - he was eyeing her daughter carefully. "Don't worry she won't touch anything. She knows better"

"What can I help you with Mrs. Gran... -Hermione? " He asked curiously as her name rolled off his tongue. He eyed her carefully; She didn't look like the Hermione Granger he had seen countlessly during her school years, she seemed frail and weak; perhaps a scar from the war that had never healed? She was wearing a dark brown long sleeve turtleneck and a pair of faded blue jeans, her hair had tamed significantly over the years and now rested against her back carefully.

"I need two things actually," she said quietly as she walked closer towards the counter. "I need some Skele-Gro potion and a sterility potion," she mumbled the last words quickly; so quickly that he nearly missed her request.

"I can get you both of those no problem but it will be costly," he muttered, his curiosity peeking. "Sterility potions are quite difficult to brew and it will take a little bit of time for me to brew it." She looked up towards him, her eyes filled with fear; she sighed.

"I understand," she mumbled looking back towards her daughter, who seemed transfixed by the countless amount of flasks and colorful mixtures that lined the wall. "How long would it take roughly?"

"It would take me about a month," he said coolly.

"I'll take both," she said quickly placing her hand bag on the counter. "How much?"

"Mommy this place is awesome!" Rose said loudly as she skipped towards her mother. "Can we come back!" The little girl wrapped her arms around Hermione's legs; Hermione's breath hitched in her throat, she fought back a groan as she looked down at Rose – something that didn't go unnoticed by Severus.

"We'll see alright love." She looked back towards Severus, he looked almost concerned. "How much do I owe you?" She repeated; she had to get out of her –fast. Her hands trembled as she started digging through her bag.

"You can just pay me when you come and get the potion," he told her sincerely. Her hands stopped shaking and she looked up towards her ex-professor. "I'll send you an owl once it is complete."

She shook her head. "Don't." She said quickly, looking down once more at her daughter –Rose looked back at her with those mesmerizing blue eyes that she had fallen in love with years ago. "I'll come. Just please, don't send an owl." She continued, bringing her hand towards her face, pushing a loose strand of hair away from her face.

Severus's eyes snapped towards Hermione's wrist as the sleeve of her shirt slipped down her arm, exposing a nasty looking bruise. Hermione trailed her gaze towards her wrist. "Bloody hell," she whispered to herself as she quickly pulled the material of her shirt down.

"That's one knut for the swear jar mommy," Rose said happily as she looked up towards Severus. She quickly ducked behind Hermione's frame –peeking out occasionally to observe him; her bright blue eyes twinkled in the dimly lit environment. Severus had never been fond of children, and children had always seemed scared of him; it was a mutual agreement, one that Severus was completely okay with. However, for some reason this child; daughter of war hero's Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger didn't seem scared of him, it was the complete opposite; she seemed interested.

"Very well." Severus said as he walked from behind the counter. He slowly started making his way towards the rows of potions on the shelves, occasionally glancing towards the young Weasley girl who kept looking up at him. "Will you have enough with one flask?" He asked as he grabbed one of the bottles from the shelf.

"Yes." Hermione sighed as she walked towards him, dragging Rose along with her. "One bottle will be enough." She grabbed the vial from his outstretched hand and carefully placed it into her bag. "Are you sure you don't want my payment now? I can give it to you, I have the money…"

"I'll see you a month Hermione." He said with a frown as mother and daughter slowly started making their way towards the door. "You are aware that marital abuse is punishable by law in the Wizarding World Hermione."

She froze in the doorway, Rose bumped into her mother's backside seeing as she hadn't been paying attention to where she was walking. "I am aware Mr. Snape." She muttered breathlessly, not turning back to look at him. "I do also know that my marriage is none of your business." Without another word Hermione stormed out of the shop –little Rose Weasley in tow behind her.

Severus took a deep breath as he looked out of the window as Hermione disappeared from view; his mind racing at the thought of what other bruises she was hiding beneath the layers of her clothing. He quickly stormed towards the backroom, grabbing the various ingredients he would need to concoct the sterilizing potion. Who would have thought, after countless newspaper clippings of the famous lovers proclaiming their love for each other… who would have thought? He placed the ingredients on the counter and sighed deeply, he closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Why would she be needing a sterilizing potion? Was the abuse so bad that she was worried for the sake of any future children? He quickly got to work, trying to get the image of little Rose Weasley and her bright blue eyes out of his mind…

AN: So I know this was fairly short, but it is not meant to be a super long fanfiction and I would assume it's going to be roughly five parts, seeing as I am working on a much longer fanfiction currently. Please review and let me know what you all thought, and do remember that I do not hate Ron Weasley, I really don't, it's completely for the sake of this story and nothing else! As always thank you for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed!

Penny x