A/N: Apparently this chapter is never quite right! LOL! It had been corrected in a few places once again. Thanks goes out to reviewers and all three of my beta's Athena, Lori and most especially GinnyW who I have sent a thousand emails to that always seem to come back five minutes later.


A sense of humor that is what old Solarius Snape had. It was Solarius' binding, but it was bound in blood. In Snape blood.

Each Snape was to take part in ensuring the Snape name and blood be passed on. They are bound as are many other pureblood families. It didn't matter which member of the Snape family produced the next generation, but the next generation would have to continue or every living Snape would pay dearly with their life and in many cases their soul.

It was not as if there was any need to continue the Snape line. They had all been lying, murderous, pureblood old cranks anyway. Better that it ends with himself he had always thought. The money could go to the poor. If it had only been an option his family could live with.

Severus Snape loved his sister. Grudgingly, he had to admit he also loved his mother. Nobody spoke of his father.

And so it was that Severus Snape, learned master of potions, found himself in his study during the early morning hours. There was a large mug of coffee in his right hand and a scholarly journal of arithmancy in his lap.

You are avoiding it old boy. You had better find out.

The damage that the Cruciatus Curse can do to the human body is inconceivable. One can never know exactly what organs have been ruined. For some the stomach ulcers can become so excruciating that continued exposure can cause a person to feed from a tube for the rest of their days. The mind is what suffers for others; the Longbottoms could pay fine testament to that.

But Severus' concerns lied with another member of his anatomy.

Could he have viable offspring?

Rising from his leather seat and bringing his coffee with him, Severus sat down at his desk.

Requesting an appointment with the resident family planning specialist at St. Mungo's Hospital as soon as possible. Attatched is a referral from resident Mediwitch Poppy Pomfrey from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Professor Severus Snape


Three weeks later

"He didn't!" Sitting with her legs crossed on the locker room bench Hermione nearly spat out her apple.

"I am not even kidding you," Ginny laughed, "And when dad got home she sat everyone down at the table and said in near tears 'Arthur our first-born son has knocked up a bloody Muggle!' Oh Hermione! I have never seen mum in such a fit. All of the boys were so uncomfortable."

Bill had sent an Owl on his father's birthday to tell his family that grandchild number five was on the way. Needless to say Molly Weasley did not take the news of his unwed son having a baby all that well.

A lot had changed over the years. Ginny and Harry had been married. After they had both finished their education Ginny gave birth to a set of twins with blazing red hair. They had been dubbed Lily and Molly, after both grandmothers respectively. Fred and George had, of course, opened a joke shop and proved to be enthusiastic and excellent babysitters.

Charlie was still the same old guy. He had proven to be something of a devoted bachelor. He was still very kind and warm.

The youngest of the Weasley boys had excelled in his position at the ministry. Ronald Weasley was now the best detective in The Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Percy was a defense attorney.

Percy was a defense attorney. He had married an older Ravenclaw girl. They now had two young boys and didn't visit often.

Hermione had done well for herself too. She was now a very competent fertility and child-birth specialist at St. Mungo's Hospital.

Ginny had also demonstrated her intelligence was the assistant administrator of the hospital. It was an exceptionally difficult job, especially considering the economic climate of the country. Many cutbacks had been pushed down the line to her. Over the last year, many long term patients had been forced out onto their families. The Longbottoms were included.

Hermione looked over at Ginny. The air had become a lot more serious. The hospital had been forced to send away five patients today and the shift was only half over. Not enough beds used to be the problem. Nowadays syringes, medication and staff had been cut back so heavily that women who gave birth were being sent home, not the next day, but the next hour in a magical taxi.

One of the ladies sent home today had been told she would be waiting three months for removal of a benign, however uncomfortable, tumor in her leg. A mother with immediate and awful postpartum depression and her yellow colicky baby were sent home. Luckily, she was a pureblood woman, who could afford to hire a wet-nurse and had two house-elves and a husband on hand.

There was no time. Almost everyone admitted to the hospital was an exceptionally rich patron or in critical condition.

"Something has to be done, Gin. We are both lucky we even have jobs."

"What could we do? There is only one hospital for all of Wizarding England and we can't even find the money to run it properly. There is no interest in the field anymore. We don't have the money to import foreign Healers. We can hardly keep our own. It will get better eventually. It has to. Meanwhile I think we have both taken a long enough break."

Nodding Hermione stood and tossed her apple core into the small tin garbage can in the corner. She told Ginny she would see her later and washed her hands before returning to work.

At the reception desk of the fertility and maternity floor Hermione picked up her chart and went over it with her pencil.

This is too much, she thought looking down at her chart.

"Professor Snape is waiting in room number three?" She asked.

"Yes, Healer Granger."

"Are these the results of his sample?" Hermione asked, flipping the next page of her chart.

"Yes, they came back from the lab a few moments ago. He's been waiting for the better half of an hour. He doesn't seem pleased."

"I'm sure you're right." This would be far too much fun.

Straightening her clothes and hair, she entered room number three.

"It is no wonder I have been kept waiting for such a ridiculous period. Miss Granger, do you not feel it slightly unethical that you are now involved in a very personal matter of your former professor's health?" Snape sneered in a very displeased tone when he saw the once bushy-haired Gryffindor know-it-all enter the room.

Hermione smiled, keeping her calm and sitting down on a stool and reviewing the chart again quickly. She was a professional and, after all, she was not the one presently adorned in a paper nightdress. She had to admit to that the teal set off his raven hair and prominent nose.

"Professor Snape, it is lovely to see you again! I should remind you I am no longer Miss Granger, but Healer Granger."

"Of course."

"Now to address your ethical concerns: I am afraid I happen to be the only person on staff in all of England that can help you with this problem. Government funding has been cutback and as such we are hardly functioning. You are quite lucky we ensure time for our most generous patrons such as yourself and lovely mother. I do have the option of referring internationally. If you like I can refer you to Healer Plommer at the Regal Inland in Paris. I hear he is on vacation right now, but he should be back sometime in the next month. He tells me Jamaica is lovely this time of year."

He shifted, though not uncomfortably. "This situation will have to suffice, so long as it is a level of professionalism you are capable of."

"It certainly is, sir."

Hermione herself did not smile but she was beaming inside. He was squirming. He was trying to make is seem as though he was concerned for her discomfort and not his own. Sipping at a glass of water she took a deep breath.

"Now professor, the situation indicated by the sample is very common. You are manufacturing semen and seminal fluid. I am going to have to ask you some questions although I am quite certain I know where your problem lies."

He nodded.

"Are you having difficulty urinating?"

Severus thought he would die of humiliation at the sheer injustice of such a question. He glared and answered her with nothing more than a half nod.

"And exactly how long has this been a problem?"

Forcing himself to unclench his teeth, he bit out his answer, "Since birth."

"And for how long has there been blood in your urine and seminal fluid?"

"Since before Potter," he jabbed.

Hermione nodded and went on, "Now, Professor Snape, it is very likely that you suffer from a condition called hypospadias. This means that the urinary opening, or urethral meatus, lies farther back on the bottom of the shaft. This by itself is not a significant problem, and surgery is only recommended if it is difficult to deposit semen into the vagina, or if it is difficult to urinate. There are many degrees of hypospadias, beginning from just below the tip of the penis, to well back to the base of the scrotum."1

Taking a deep breath, Hermione continued, "Your condition would be quite operable if not for the complication of the bleeding. I will have to run some tests but I suspect that there has been some damage to the urethra. It could be from infection or perhaps even involuntary and violent muscle contractions."

He nodded.

"I am about to ask you some more personal questions sir, and your cooperation would be appreciated."

Ha! He wondered, how this woman could ask a question any more personal than the ones she was already asking. Amused he sneered and muttered,"whatever."

"Well, Professor, there are a few ways this kind of damage can occur in our world. And this is most important. Have you had regular anal intercourse at any point in your life?"

He shook his head no.

Hermione knew she had better explain anyway. She had never had a man admit to her that he had had anal intercourse. Perhaps it was just the traditionalist homophobia in the Wizarding world. But it was her practice to explain whether they answered yes or no. "That type of intercourse can cause severe infections if unprotected or uneducated. Those infections if not looked after can be quite damaging. If that were something a person was involved in they would want to buy a book on the sub-"

"Miss Granger, I see now why you have chosen the profession you did. You get to explain things to people for a living. While I appreciate your demonstration of know-it-all-ism could you please get on with it? I have indicated that this information is not applicable to me. I assure you that I am a very busy man."

A miniature Hermione inside of her skull shrieked in frustration. She just needed to get through this and everything would be ok. She was so embarrassed!

"Pardon me Professor. This will likely be my last question. You have been victim to repeated exposure to the Cruciatus Curse?"

"Yes."

"And the blood in your fluid was more noticeable after these bouts of Cruciatus?"

"Yes."

"Professor, this is likely to have caused your urethra to partially collapse and narrow. I can check this now with a charm or schedule a referral if this kind of contact makes you uncomfortable."

He looked miserable and a lot like a gothic teenager stripped of his pride in his teal paper nightdress. "Let's get it over with."

"You will only feel a slight pinch," the healer said, rising from her stool. "Can you lie on your back and put your feet on the stirrups please."

The Potions professor complied.

The patients and Mediwitches in the halls heart a very loud scream coming from room number three.

After a few excruciating minutes it was over with.

"It is of concern to you that you have a child?" Hermione asked surprised after she had finished the examination and allowed her professor to dress so as to make him a little more comfortable.

"Yes, an heir is of concern to me. What options do I have left in your professional opinion?" He asked sipping at the water glass she had given him to calm down.

"Well, Professor, I can give you a potion to lessen the difficulty when you urinate, but it is unlikely you will ever be able to have an heir by intercourse."

"Healer Granger, there must be a Snape heir. As you are likely aware many pureblood families have no choice but to die suffering or reproduce. My sister is sterile. She was born with Trisomy 21. There must be another option." He had feared that this would be the outcome. Standing he began to collect his things and leave the room.

"Well, you are not sterile, you still produce viable semen. You do have options, Professor."

He paused, giving her his attention

"There are some Muggle techniques which could prove helpful."

"Such as?"

"You could have an embryo implanted into your partner's uterus. If you have no partner, you could hire a surrogate mother."

Surrogate mothers in the magical world were not the same as surrogate mothers in the Muggle world. Surrogate mothers in the magical kingdom were career surrogates. They conceived through intercourse, had the baby and were sent away. They were generally quite unsavory women. The kind often hired as entertainment.

"Is it dangerous at all?"

"Oh no! It is just as safe as a regular pregnancy. Sometimes conception is a problem, but there are usually five or six embryos used to give it a better chance. Now it is likely because of the pureblood nature of your family that you could consider a Muggle surrogate to give some genetic variation. If Trisomy 21, or as Muggles refer to it Down syndrome, has already affected your immediate family, it is likely that should you stay away from the pureblood gene pool. Although it may be less likely to have a magical child with a Muggle or even a Muggleborn, the child is far more likely to be healthy. I generally do not recommend any of the Wizarding surrogate agencies. The tradition in this world is somewhat more shady and of a very different nature."

"I do not approve of using a Muggle and neither would my family."

An older woman peeked her head in the room looking very frantic and seemingly trying to whisper. "Healer Granger, we have a very difficult birth. We are going to need to do a caesarian in the next few minutes. But there are no beds! And there is not one operating table!"

"I understand," she said to the woman. "Perhaps there is a friend or acquaintance you could consider, sir. Good day." She nodded to him with such sadness in her eyes that he almost felt sorry for her and the ugliness the hospital staff was dealing with.

While walking out of the hospital Severus saw line-up after line-up. The halls were crowded with sick babies, the elderly and many people who looked as though they were carrying the world on their shoulders. Some of these people looked like they had Pnemonia, and he swore he saw a whole family in the waiting room coughing into bloody handkerchiefs.

TBC


A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Writing has become such a treat!