Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter, however, I do own the lovely Victoria and the plot.

Secretly, My Daughter

Prologue

Chaos! Sheer, utter chaos! How could she expect him to…? With he a…? No, a solution would be found. It is imperative. And such were the thoughts of Severus Snape as he paced about the sitting room of his house in Spinners End. His emotions were in turmoil - he was shocked and confused, angry and also hurt, the type of hurt that could only be induced by a loved one - as were his thoughts turbulent while he recalled the last few hours with disgust at his own hopeful naiveté and inability to change the circumstances of the situation.

He had just received a letter from Lily telling him that she urgently needed to see him at her mother's house (her father having died over a year ago). He quickly set the letter down, grabbed his cloak, headed out the door, and Apparated away.

As Severus walked toward Lily's house from the park that they used to play in while they were children, he wondered why Lily needed to see him. Perhaps she finally realized that she loved him and not Potter, especially after their drunken night together the day before they left Hogwarts. Yes, that makes perfect sense; she must be leaving Potter for him! This could very well be the happiest day of his life, and to think it had started off unfavorably.

With these hopeful thoughts swirling about his mind, Severus spotted the house and quickened his pace to an almost jog. He soon reached the front door and rang the bell, eagerly awaiting his love. Within moments, the door opened and he was greeted with a sight he hadn't seen in months, save in his dreams. It was Lily, his Lily. Oh, how he had missed her.

"Lily," he breathed.

"Hello Sev," she said with a tired smile, "please come in. I need to discuss something with you." She led him through the house, into the sitting room, and motioned for him to sit down..

As he followed Lily, Severus realized just how much he missed her; the sound of her voice, her lovely, thick, red hair, and her eyes, those vibrant, emerald eyes. He missed her eyes the most, though they looked tired and were circled in black. Now that he was paying more attention, he noticed how paled and tired she looked. Was she ill? He hoped it wasn't serious; he couldn't bare his having his Lily in such a condition.

"Sev, do you remember the last time we saw each other, that last night in the castle?" At his affirmative nod she continued, "Well, there's no easy or proper way to tell you this. There were some… well, there was an unexpected result of that night. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I was so frightened when I found out and then I had to think about James and what this would do to him. I didn't know what to do. I was so afraid and so confused. I still am, but I now what I have to do. Oh Sev, I'm so, so sorry!"

He knew it. She had fallen in love with him, finally. "Lily, calm down, you're babbling. You know you can tell me anything. I've never stopped being your friend, even after that despicable event in our fifth year. Now, what's gotten you acting this wa - " and before he could finish talking he was interrupted by a rather loud wail coming from the second floor and Lily running up the stairs, presumably to investigate.

The sound was somewhat reminiscent of a banshee to him. But it couldn't be a banshee. They were much louder than that; unless it was sick. Could banshee's even get sick? Severus had no idea.

The wailing stopped and he realized that he had left Lily to deal with the sick banshee all by herself. Cursing himself as all manner of fool, Severus stood up and was beginning to make his way out of the room when she came back in with a bundle of something in her arms. Was that the banshee? No, it was too small to be a banshee. Perhaps it was a baby banshee. Yes, that would explain it. It must be a baby bansh - …baby… unexpected result… it couldn't be!

"Lily, what is that?" he asked with trepidation.

"This is your daughter, Severus," she said with a small smile and a slightly shaking voice. "Her name is Victoria Eileen Snape, after both of our mothers. She was born a few days ago on March the twenty-ninth at 10:27 in the evening. She looks just like me except for her hair and her hands. I think she is also more like you in personality. Just yesterday when I stopped feeding her, it seemed like she was staring at me, and then she lifted her eyebrow the same way you do.. I laughed so hard when she did that. Would, would you like to hold her?"

He nodded mutely at her and held out his arms. Lily gently set the now sleeping Victoria in Severus' arms and then stepped back, smiling sadly at the stunned, wondering look on his face. Yes, they would be good for each other. She had made the right decision, though it was breaking her heart.

He had a daughter? He and Lily had a daughter? He was a father. This was unbelievable, completely unbelievable. How could this have happened? They had taken precautions, hadn't they?

"How?" was the only word he could croak out.

She shook her head slowly, "It would seem that the combination of alcohol and sex make for improper spell casting. I wish I had a better explanation, but I can't remember everything that happened that night."

He nodded again and continued to stare at his daughter. This was surreal. He had a daughter. He still couldn't believe it. She was so tiny, so delicate. She looked just like her mother, beautiful. Victoria chose that moment to yawn and snuggle closer to her father's chest, and at that moment he knew that he was smitten.

"Severus? There was more than one reason for me asking you here today. I need you to take Victoria. I cannot keep her. And I can't leave James. We're engaged. If I had known that I was pregnant when he proposed, I would have said no and left the country to raise Victoria away from this war. But it's too late. I am bound to James for the rest of my life. You have to take her. She'll be safer with you than with me, and James can never know. Please Sev, say you will, say you will take her. Promise me you will always care for her and protect her no matter what. Promise me!" she cried almost hysterically.

She wanted him to take Victoria? But as he looked at his Lily staring up at him with glassy-eyed desperation, he knew that he could not say no. He never could when she looked at him like that.

"I will take her. I will care for her. I promise, no matter what."

This was preposterous! How was he supposed to protect his daughter? He was a Death Eater. His daughter was the illegitimate child of a Halfblood and Muggleborn, the child of a Slytherin Death Eater and an intelligent Muggleborn Gryffindor. If the Dark Lord ever found out, all three of them would be murdered. And he would probably be made to watch as first Victoria and then Lily were tortured to death.

That was it. He could no longer be a Death Eater, not that he much enjoyed it anymore anyway. He must protect them at all costs. But how to do it? How could he protect them from the Dark Lord while staying alive? As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help and some sort of cover story. Who could help him? Who could he trust to never betray them, even unwittingly?

And then it came to him. Albus Dumbledore, the only person the Dark Lord had ever feared. Yes, he needed Albus Dumbledore.

A/N: Greetings and salutations to you dear readers! I hope that you liked the beginning of this new story of mine. Please review and tell me what you think about it so far, even if you didn't like it. And I know, I know, a story similar to this has probably been written already (Snape and Lily have a daughter), but this idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave, so I had to write it. Anyway, I will probably post the next chapter within the next month. Ta for now.