On Cloud Nine (And Three Quarters)

Severus thought that he had known love before, but something protective and fierce rose up as he gazed down at the wiggling bundle in his arms. She was utterly pure, uncorrupted by the harsh world he had always known. Then and there, he vowed to do everything in his power to protect her. Severus knew full well that he could love someone and still let them down. In that moment, however, he also was aware that he would stop at nothing to be the better man that Hermione believed him to be, to not repeat the mistakes of the past.