I go for ages with nothing, and now I manage to put up two chapters in a day! The kids are quiet, and the dirty dishes will wait patiently, so here we go! LOL.


As the next few weeks went by, they did forget, for the most part. Life was back to normal, and it was nice being back at Hogwarts together without anything to come between them. When their time wasn't being taken by their classes they did things that they used to do, many years ago, when their relationship was still in its earliest stages. Severus insisted on brushing up on Tamara's potions skills, and was pleased to see that she did better now than she used to.

"I'm more patient now, is what I think it is" she commented. "I used to get so frustrated." She giggled. "Of course, being sexually frustrated due to the massive crush I had on my instructor didn't help any either, I'm sure."

"Probably not. If it makes you feel any better, most of my showers during those years were cold ones."

Tam giggled, and then picturing him in the shower, sighed. "Hmm. That's such a nice thought. Feel like taking a shower later? I'll help."

Rolling his eyes, Severus stepped behind her and put his hand over hers on the ladle of the potion she was stirring. "Later, certainly, but right now I suggest you pay attention to your brewing before you take out half the room in a raging inferno. This particular concoction leans to the volatile side and needs to be stirred consistently to ensure proper heat distribution."

With a shrug, Tam leaned forward and gazed into the cauldron. "It's a pretty color, anyway" she mumbled. Suddenly the smell reached her nose however and she gagged. "Oh cripes that stinks!"

She slid her hand out from under his and ducked under his arm to escape to the bathroom.

Unable to leave the potion at this critical point, Severus did his best to listen from where he was. Sure enough, he managed to make out the unpleasant sound of his wife losing her breakfast.

When she returned he looked her over suspiciously. "What was that all about?" he asked, eyebrow raised in question. "It's not perfume, but it doesn't smell that bad, and this isn't your first time being present for its creation."

Embarrassed, Tamara shrugged. Plopping down into a chair, she rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes.

"I don't know what it was about, to be honest. I just got a whiff of that stuff and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm not feeling well now."

"Well, this is almost done. I'll finish it, and then we'll go and have a lie down. Does that sound all right?" There was concern in his voice, and it made her smile.

"Sounds fabulous. You're not much of a daytime nap-taker though, so I must say I'm surprised." She looked up at him and grinned.

"There are no classes today, so we're free to do as we please, and you're right, I don't just laze about in bed with my beloved very often do I? Why not take the opportunity now? Besides, I'm worried about you. If you're coming down with something I want to be right there to look after you."

"I'm ok" she assured him. "But I won't argue with your logic. I can't think of anything that sounds better than spending the afternoon snuggled up with you in our warm bed. I should barf over potions more often."

He chuckled. "Charming." Using his wand to extinguish the fire under the cauldron, he turned back to Tamara and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. "Perhaps you should go and see Poppy? Get looked over, just in case?"

Tam shook her head, and grabbed his hand so she could kiss it. "Nah. I'm ok, really. Just feel a bit off. It's probably just all the stress of the last several weeks finally coming to catch up with me. Don't worry love."

They spent the rest of the day wrapped up in each other in bed, so when the next day arrived and Tam didn't want to get up, Severus found himself becoming even more concerned.

"Tamara, I know you aren't much of a morning person, but this is ridiculous. You're not going to have time for breakfast if you don't get up. What's going on?"

She peeked at him from underneath the pillow she had been hiding her head under and saw that he was completely dressed for the day and ready to go.

"I'm just tired. Sooo tired!" she whined. "I hate Mondays." Chucking the pillow across the room, she rolled herself out of bed and stretched. "I don't know how you do it" she grumbled. "You're ten years older than me, but you still hop right up in the mornings like it's nothing. Isn't fair."

Severus wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly to his body. "Life isn't…"

"Fair" she finished for him, smirking. "I know." She tilted her head up to kiss him, but mere seconds after their lips met she quickly pulled away and dashed towards the bathroom. "Not again…" she groaned.

Severus crossed his arms with a sigh, as he listened to her dry heaving from behind the door. "That's it" he said firmly. "I'm walking you to the infirmary immediately. Poppy's going to have a look at you whether you like it or not. This is not normal."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he had a thought. In truth, it was normal… at least it had been normal at certain times in their relationship. Specifically, it had been common during two specific time periods of their life together. Suddenly her words from the day before came back to him.

"It's probably just all the stress of the last several weeks finally coming to catch up with me" she had said.

Severus began to feel his own stomach clench as a possibility dawned on him. Feeling a bit dizzy, he leaned his head against the bathroom door and called in to her. "Tamara, when did you last take your potion?"

"What?" she called back.

"Your potion. Your contraceptive" he said, closing his eyes in his frustration.

There was no answer from his wife, and Severus sighed.

When she came out of the bathroom she found him sitting on their bed with his head in his hands. He looked completely defeated.

"Wow" she muttered. "I mean, I know we didn't plan on any more kids, but that was mostly my preference, as I recall. If we are having another, I don't see why it has to be such a tragedy."

When he looked up she saw that there were tears in his eyes. "It isn't that" he corrected softly. "I just…" he sighed again. "What if… Tamara, what if it isn't mine?"

She hadn't thought of that, and the very idea made her cringe. Was that possible? Could she have gotten pregnant that one time with Calderon? How would the timing have worked? Wouldn't she have noticed sooner than this if it had happened then?

It was true; she hadn't been regularly taking her potion at that time, mostly because Severus hadn't been making it for her. He was, by then, annoyed with her enough over the time she was spending with Javier that he had essentially gone on strike when it came to their sex life, and anything connected with it. He spent his nights on the sofa, so there was no need to worry about preventing possible pregnancy. Tam could have gotten more potion from Poppy (who did keep some on hand, just in case she was approached by a student who found herself in a precarious situation and was brave enough to ask), but she hadn't bothered, as there seemed to be no point.

"No" she said anyway, shaking her head. "No, that's not even possible. I'd have noticed before now if that were the case. It's got to be yours. We've been… well, we've been making up, haven't we? It makes sense. We didn't plan on any more, but everything happens for a reason I believe, and if I'm pregnant, everything will turn out fine."

Tamara sat down next him on the bed and slipped her arm around his back. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You aren't sure, are you?" he whispered.

Her eyes started to burn and her chest got tight. She didn't want to answer him.

He surprised her by turning to pull her into his lap. "It doesn't matter" he said. "It doesn't matter to me, and I don't want it to matter to you. If there is a child, it will be our child just like Sevarun and Sevina. I don't want you to worry."

"Severus…"

"It's all right" he insisted. "I mean it. I don't want to discuss that anymore right now. I want to get you to the infirmary immediately. Everything else can wait."

"You have to get to class. We're both late already."

"I've got sixth years this period" he said. "I'll go and tell them to go back over their notes while I'm out. It's not a problem. Can you make it to the hospital wing by yourself? I'll be right behind you."

"Yes, I can, but my class will be waiting too." She chewed her lip as she tried to think of a solution.

"Dody Edmonton is in my first class today" Severus offered helpfully. "Doesn't she assist you with younger classes on occasion?"

Tam nodded, smiling with relief. "Yes! She wants to do what I do someday. She's good at it. Tell her I'm ill and see if she'll go up and cover the class for me. She can do it. Even if they just have a sing along for the day, it doesn't matter."

When their plan was in place, they headed off in opposite directions. Severus made his way to the potions classroom and Tamara began up the stairs to get to the infirmary. When she arrived there she spoke to the Headmistress via floo to let her know that she was missing a class but had it covered. Minerva told her that as soon as she found out what was wrong, she wanted to hear from her again.

It didn't take long to confirm their suspicions. Tamara was definitely pregnant.

"Well, congratulations to you!" Poppy said happily. "I suppose Severus will be pleased, becoming a father again!"

Tam nodded, and forced herself to smile, but Poppy was no fool. After years of dealing with students, she knew how to read body language very well.

"Or won't he?" she asked gently.

"Oh no, it's not that" Tam said quickly. "He will. It's just… Poppy… is there a way to tell how far along the pregnancy is? We never had to bother before because we knew dates, for the most part, but this time is a bit different."

Suddenly understanding, Madam Pomfrey gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid that's not something I can do here. You'd have to head up to St. Mungo's for that."

"Oh. Well, I suppose we'll have to do that" Tamara said, trying to keep as outwardly calm as possible.

"Your… well dear, your bad experience was over a month ago" Poppy said gently. "Honestly, you should have had your monthly by then if you were going to." She didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but it was true.

Tam's eyes widened, and to Poppy's surprise, she smiled. "Yes! YES! You're right, I should have and I DID! In Spain!" Tam laughed, relieved. "How in the hell did I forget? I suppose it's all this craziness. Either way, I DID! That means it isn't… It means that… Well, it means that everything's going to be fine. Thank you Poppy! I can't tell you how much you've just helped me."

Meanwhile, Severus had just finished installing Miss Dody Edmonton in Tamara's classroom, and was now practically sprinting back down the corridors in his rush to get to the infirmary. The Hufflepuff girl had nearly burst with excitement when Severus had told her she would have the opportunity to take on Tam's class by herself. Unfortunately, she had also been quite nervous, and Severus had felt it a good idea to escort her there so he could give the young music students a quick lecture on how they were expected to behave for their "substitute." He didn't expect there would be any trouble, as he had pledged that any student mentioned to him as a problem by Dody would be serving a month of detention scrubbing out the loos with Mr. Filch. The fear in their eyes had been reassuring.

I wonder if she knows anything yet he thought to himself, on his way through the halls. A baby, now, after all this time? I'm fifty-three years old! Tamara's forty-three. Our children are students. How will we start over now?

Of all the questions rolling through his slightly befuddled mind, the one that troubled him most by far was of the matter of the child's paternity. He meant what he had said to Tamara. If it turned out that he wasn't the biological father, he would nevertheless do his best as the spiritual one. He had learned the lesson many years ago that genetics weren't everything, and a child should not be punished for the misdeeds of its father. That particular lesson had been driven home in his mind in more ways than one over the years.

The difficult part in this situation as far as Severus could see was what to tell the child itself, and just what sort of trouble might come to the innocent as a result of its unfortunate parentage. Do we keep it a secret? Or would it be better to be honest? What do we say then, if the child asks what exactly became of its biological father? I can't exactly admit that Lucius turned him into a bloody pig and we all had a good laugh over it…

However he looked at it, this was not going to be easy. Unless… Maybe it is mine after all. Or maybe she isn't even pregnant. This could be a case of nerves, or even a contracted illness. Although they were rare among the wizarding community, they weren't unheard of.

Maybe I'm worrying for nothing. Of course, the thought of his Tamara with some sort of horrible virulent disease actually wasn't much of an improvement.

Tam was still practically giddy with relief when Severus came stalking into the room. He was white as a ghost, and looked extremely nervous. When he saw Tamara and Poppy smiling at each other his heart began to pound even faster than it already had been.

"Well?" he asked, glancing back and forth between the two witches.

Tamara hugged him. "I'm pregnant" she said.

Ah. Well. There it is then. At least she's not dying of some horrid malady.

Severus quickly did his best to muster up enough positive thought to be encouraging to his wife. He forced himself to smile at her. "Good news" he said, calling up all his skill at concealing his emotions.

Tam grinned "And I remembered that while I was in Spain I had… well, anyway, let's just say that it is good news. You are a daddy again Mr. Snape. Ready or not."

Severus blew out a huge breath of relief. Knowing that all was well, and that the child was in fact his own, he found himself suddenly feeling extremely pleased at the idea of a new baby. It had, years ago, been largely Tamara's decision to stop with two children. He himself would have had no qualms about adding more to their family. It would be difficult, at this point, to start over again, and it would take some sacrifice, but now that it was a reality, he couldn't help but be excited. I wonder what it'll be… Another girl? Another boy? Maybe even both, if there are twins… Do twins run in Tamara's family? She hasn't ever said. I'll have to ask that. Another Snape for Slytherin house, no doubt.

Madam Pomfrey interrupted his happy thoughts when she spoke up. "From what your wife tells me of the date of her last menstruation, you should expect an August birth."

Severus allowed himself to smile openly at the matron. "That'll be a change. We're used to Winter babies."

"We're used to teenagers" Tam quipped, shaking her head. "Well, nearly, in Vina's case. This is going to be…"

"Fine" Severus said, cutting her off. "It's going to be fine."

They each returned to their classes when they were finished, and Poppy said she would floo Minerva to tell her that there was nothing to worry about. Tamara wanted to wait to explain her present condition until after she and Severus had decided just how it was going to impact their arrangement.

Tam could continue teaching on up to the end of the school year, barring any complications. The baby wouldn't arrive until late summer, and if she so desired, she could likely return to Hogwarts when the new term began in September. The question was would she desire to?

Severus had stayed with their older children, taking care of them, and tutoring them personally to prepare for their futures at Hogwarts. Only when Sevina had been ready to come to the school had he been willing to leave home to return to teaching. Now that he was back, Tam didn't want him to decide to quit again so soon.

There were of course other options. There were plenty of nannies for hire in the wizarding world. Plenty of witches and wizards made careers out of caring for and tutoring young magical children. Severus himself had been practically begged to take on extra pupils during his years of teaching Sevarun and Sevina. It was mostly the wealthiest families who could afford such a thing, and the money would have been good. In spite of this, Severus had refused. He loved teaching his own children, but did not want to worry about other people's at that point in his life, no matter what the pay would be.

Now, Tamara knew, the expense of hiring a witch or wizard to look after their own baby would likely be more than they could realistically afford. They were financially comfortable, but by no means could they be considered wealthy.

"Maybe a house elf?" she suggested, laying her head on her husband's chest that night in bed. Merlin he's comfy she thought to herself. No better pillow in the world.

"A house elf?" Severus asked, irritated. "You cannot be serious."

"Why not? They are more than capable, and I've met some really fantastic house elves in my day. Remember dear Dobby? I loved that little sweetheart. So brave." She bit her lip, feeling herself begin to tear up. Damn hormones.

"Oh darling, don't start to cry. Yes, Dobby was a credit to his species. I have nothing against house elves per se; I just don't think that anyone outside of our family should be entrusted with our child. Minerva will have to find another potions professor. It's as simple as that."

Tam sighed. "Severus, you just got back."

He shrugged. "Yes, well, circumstances change. I can't say it bothers me very much anyway. I like the idea of training another wizard prodigy." There was pride in his voice, and it made Tamara smile.

"I'm sure you do, but I really think you should follow through with what you've started. You don't have to personally attend to every aspect of our kids' lives Severus. Maybe we could talk to Molly? She's been looking after her own grandchildren for years. I doubt she'd charge us much as a professional nanny and I'd trust her completely. She's practically family."

Severus cringed. "Please don't misunderstand… I too trust her, but I can't say I feel good about my offspring having his or her early education placed in the hands of a Weasley."

She slapped his arm and gave him a dirty look. "That's awful! You are impossible sometimes, you know that?" She sighed. "How about this… We'll talk to Molly. If she likes the idea, and wants to do it, we'll give it a try. In a couple of years, if you still feel that you want to take over, you can go back into retirement and train your little protégé however you see fit. Is that a deal?"

He considered it for a moment. "We'll go back to living at home so that we'll be with the baby every night?"

"Yes" she said.

"And the weekends?"

"Yes" she laughed. "Of course."

He nodded. "All right. The woman had seven children; she must know something about babies." Remembering his experience teaching Molly's large brood he sighed. "I just hope that if there is any influence that it turns out like Ginny or Bill."