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Chapter 1

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May 2, 1998

Severus Snape had been conscious for exactly thirty-nine minutes before he apparated away from the Shrieking Shack. Phoenix tears, a bezoar and a clever antivenom he'd created to "help" the Dark Lord make Nagini's torture last had done exactly what he'd hoped they would do and now, blood drying against his skin as the bite wound slowly closed in on itself, he was on the move again. Whilst the battle raged at Hogwarts, the tug of apparation took Severus to a quiet street in what he suspected was the middle of Ireland. Where he was didn't matter as much as why, though, and he strode down the street until he felt a pull of magic tugging him toward a quaint, one-story home.

The wards seemed to share his sense of defeat as they acknowledged his presence and allowed him to pass over the crisp, well-cut lawn and through the blue-painted front door. Severus Snape was a man who was always prepared. His backup plans had backup plans and he was not prone to underthink things the way certain former students did. While that foolish Potter boy got himself killed to save everyone in the wizarding world, Severus was following up on the last promise he had made. One he had hoped to never need to keep.

With his magic tugging him through the house, Severus barely spared a glance at the sparse furnishings or photos hung on the walls. He let himself be directed down the lone hallway and to a closed door. There he hesitated, casting a handful of cleansing spells to get as much blood and dirt off him as possible before he knocked once–lightly–and opened the door.

"P-professor…"

Two long strides carried Severus from the doorway to the small twin bed where Sassa Rowle laid drenched in sweat. Her stomach protruded into the air and her hands rubbed it with every contraction and her skin was pale and off-color. Configuring a chair from one of the stuffed toys strewn about the room, he slid next to her and reached for her hand.

"How long?" he asked.

Sassa was a lovely witch, even as sickly as she was. Not a day older than twenty-five with beautiful golden curls and eyes as blue as robins eggs. Severus had known her since she was a knock-kneed eleven-year-old trotting over to the Slytherin table. His musings ceased as she rhythmically clenched his hand, noisily breathing her way through the contractions. It seemed to him they were coming one on top of the other and he reluctantly transfigured her robes into a short hospital gown to allow himself more access. Their time was short.

"Thirty-four hours," she finally gasped.

Arching his eyebrow, Severus nodded. "And Calder?"

Hissing, Sassa attempted to sit up and failed. Instead she waved her hand in the air and gasped out, "I put him in our room. S-said goodbye. Sleeping potion. D-didn… Didn't want him to see…"

Mournfully Severus nodded his head. She didn't want him to see her die. Shedding his frock coat, he rolled what remained of his shirt sleeves up his arms and murmured yet another set of cleansing spells. Moving his position to the bottom of the bed, he laid a hand on the young woman's knee. He himself wasn't looking forward to that but they'd been prepared for this day for years. Ever since Voldemort punished her for having Calder. Severus looked over Sassa's arcing stomach and met her gaze, seeking permission.

"The Dark Lord?" She asked.

"The boy will be defeating him any time now."

"G-good. And Thorfinn?"

Severus shushed her. They both knew he wouldn't be there if Thorfinn was still alive. "You need to save your strength."

She nodded and her eyes fluttered closed as Severus went to work checking the labor's progression. His adam's apple bobbed up and down as he buried his guilt and shame beneath a layer of cool professionalism. Sassa was farther along than he had dared to hope, of course he'd always been a pessimist, but Severus tucked the sheets around her hips anyway, preserving as much of her modesty as possible given the circumstances.

"I want you to start pushing soon," he said.

Sassa whimpered but nodded. As Severus leaned back in his chair to wait for the next contraction, she bent forward and patted his hand with her clammy one.

"Professor?"

"Save your strength, Sassa," he snapped, meeting her eyes at the insistent patting of her hand.

Her blue gaze was piercing and she looked as determined as she had when he told her she couldn't get an O in Potions. "Don't let my daughter be born into a world where He's alive."

Clenching his own jaw, Severus nodded. They didn't have much time to wait before the curse took Sassa and the child but he knew Potter couldn't procrastinate too much longer. The wizarding world was hurtling to its fate and, with the memories he'd let the boy collect, he knew it wouldn't take long for it all to end. One way or another. Merlin, he hoped that boy wasn't incapable of finishing it.

It wasn't until he felt his arm split open, the curse of the Dark Mark ripping through flesh as the caster died, that Severus ordered Sassa to push. He stemmed the flow of blood as much as possible, twisting a pale blue set of sheets from the dresser around his arm before coaxing Sassa's child from her dying body. Not that it mattered much. He waited until Sassa's final heartbeat stuttered to silence before he cut the cord, stowing the precious ingredient away in a spare vial as he cradled the sobbing infant to his chest. Looking down into the babe's innocent face, Severus Snape brushed a finger across her cheek. She ceased her cries and he spoke a blessing over her.

"Child born of a curse. Fatherless. Motherless. Accept me and I will be your father. Trust me and I will find you a mother. May your life never know the struggle and sorrow of your parents. May you never know the terror or witness the horrors I have. Receive this blessing, child, and accept me."

The baby blinked in response. Magic settled around them like a warm cloak and Severus felt a twinge in his heart as she accepted him. Running a long finger down the babe's cheek, he whispered the name her parents had chosen over her. Their last gift to the child they would never meet.

"Sassa Honoria Snape."

Five minutes later, Severus Snape left the Rowle home. In one hand he held a basket, with his newborn charge tucked inside. In the other he carried a young boy no older than three, his blond hair bright against Severus' dark cloak. Without looking back at the home where Sassa Rowle's body remained, Severus pulled both children close to him and thought of home. Books, tea, potions. Home.

Thank you for reading. I intend to publish each chapter as they are edited so there won't be a set schedule but you can expect at least one chapter a week. This story should not be more than 20 chapters long and completely disregards giant chunks of canon as well as the epilogue.

Blessings.