While I've read some fan fiction stories I'd swear were written by J.K. Rowling, I wouldn't presume this one to be in that category.

Harry felt the situation was surreal. He was sitting in Snape's kitchen along with Ginny and Hermione having tea with potion master's wife and playing with his son. What had happened? He had stopped by to see if there was anything else he could do to assist the professor and before he realized what had happened he had found himself sitting down for tea. He mentally shook his head and focused again on Stephen.

Hermione felt numb. So much had happened since Ron had left Saturday afternoon. An hour ago the healers had told her that her husband's condition was slowing deteriorating and that they were out of options. She told the assembled family she needed a few minutes to herself and found to her surprise that while thinking she needed a peaceful place to compose herself she had instinctively apparated to Snape's house rather than her own. When Nuala had answered the door, it was obvious that she had been forgiven, for Nuala silently took her in her arms and led her to the kitchen table where the others were quietly taking tea. She blessed the fact that she had supportive family and friends.

Ginny felt queasy. Too many long distance portkeys had caught up with her. She needed some time to recover before she could face St. Mungo's again. When she had sat down, Patrick had come up to her with an armful of books and now he was on her lap. Fortunately, the pictures in the children's wizarding books were slow moving. The boy laughed whenever his touch caused the dragon to breathe fire.

Nuala felt satisfied. When she had first met her husband he'd seemed to believe that it was him against the world. After she'd broken through his barriers she'd discovered why. She was shocked to discover stories of giants and leprechauns were not myths. She was grateful that the school Headmistress accepted her husband for who he was. Now she was entertaining three friends of his in the kitchen and he hadn't objected. True, he hadn't come out of his lab yet, but she knew he felt it when anyone passed through the wards.

Stephen felt lucky. One of the best non-professional quidditch players in Britain was showing him game moves using transfigured salt and pepper shakers.

Patrick felt contented. The woman with red hair had a good reading voice.

All looked up when Snape strode into the kitchen with a stack of parchment held in his hands. He summoned a chair over and sat down heavily.

Nuala could see he needed to talk about the mysterious potion he was brewing. She put a cup of tea in front of him. "Severus, I promised the boyos I'd take them to the park before dinner. Can you keep an ear out for Fianna? She went down for a nap in her room less than an hour ago." Severus nodded without looking up from the papers.

Ginny looked up from Patrick's book. "We'll assist if the professor is busy."

Satisfied, Nuala almost kissed Snape's cheek but decided doing that would be too much in front of guests. Instead she squeezed his shoulder. She headed into the hall. "Come on, boyos." The boys grumbled but jumped down and followed her out the door. Stephen looked back one last time as he was grabbing his jacket to see the miniature quidditch figures returning to their original shapes, leaving a fine trail of salt and pepper on the table.

"Professor?" Hermione asked hesitantly and with a sinking heart.

Snape put a hand on the parchment and looked at her. "I can't get the likelihood of success over forty-eight percent."

Hermione shut her eyes. "Thank Merlin. I thought you were going to say it would fail. The healers have said it's only a question of time. I'll take forty-eight percent."

Snape sighed. "I've seen too many people die. I don't like to fail."

"Professor," Ginny hesitantly spoke up, "none of us can remotely compare ourselves to you in terms of knowledge of potions, but perhaps if you tell us in a broad sense how you've approached the problem, something new might occur to you."

Snape looked at the three of them and snorted. "It can't hurt." He straightened out the parchments. "The problem is in the proportion of ingredients added to the base. As I told you, the meteorite is just the catalyst. The amulet has to be used in its entirety – even shaving off a sliver renders it ineffective. You brought back fifteen grams of dragon shells; using more or less than fourteen grams makes the potions less effective. There's a possibility that the likelihood of success increases again at, say, twenty-one grams, but with the small amount I need to prepare I'm not inclined to believe that to be so."

The three nodded in understanding. "And the rocks I brought back – were they big enough?" Harry asked. "I can easily go back for more."

Snape shook his head. "No need for that. It turns out I actually only needed one. The freshness of the larger of the two rocks is a perfect counterbalance to the age of the meteorite. I need the mass of the igneous rock and the meteorite to balance so I actually have to shave some of your rock off."

"And the seaweed?"

"The seaweed will act as the binding agent. As such, the amount required is determined by the volume of the final product and so can be easily calculated. I'll have enough left over for several other potions."

"So the problem is how many scarabs to add?" asked Hermione, fascinated by the discussion despite the situation.

"Not so much how many, but what parts. If I use a whole scarab, the chance of success is thirty-four percent. If I use just the head, that drops significantly. Similarly, if I use just the carapace, the odds drop. The highest probability of success is if I shell two scarabs and just use their internal organs. If I use the internal organs of more than that, I don't get any increase in the possibility of success. However, I refuse to believe that I can't get the odds at least even."

Hermione almost reached out her hand to tap the Potion Master on his arm but stopped herself. "It's okay, Professor. Maybe it's not possible to improve the odds. If you can't do it, no one can. If Ron –" she bit her lip and took a deep breath, "doesn't make it, I'll know nothing could have been done." She choked back a sob. Ginny reached over to hug her.

As if in sympathy, Fianna started crying. Snape stood up to get her. He suddenly stopped before leaving the room. "Perhaps …" While the three guests watched in silent bemusement, he sat back down again and picked up the quill. He rifled through the pages. When he found what he was looking for, he took that one out and pushed the rest aside with his arm. He began to frantically alter the equations, ignoring the continual wailing coming from down the hall.

"Umm, Professor, I'll pick up your daughter," Ginny said rising from the chair.

Snape nodded distractedly. He looked up as she was about to step out of the room and firmly directed, "Don't change her!"

"Professor, we have been through three of our own. Ginny won't hurt her," Harry broke in.

"Just don't!" was the snappish response.

"Sure, Professor," Ginny said soothingly. A minute later she returned to the kitchen with the noisy and smelly infant in her arms.

Snape finished the revised equation he was working with a flourish and finally looked up. "Sixty-seven percent!" He stood up and carefully took Fianna from Ginny. He kissed the top of her head. "That's my wonderful witch!" he said to her with a note of pride. He stepped out of the room towards the lab.

The three watched him go. "Umm, you don't think he's going to use his own daughter in the potion?" Ginny asked in confusion.

Harry shook his head. "No way. He loves her and that wouldn't change even if she turns out to be a squib."

"Both Steven and Patrick are wizards," Ginny pointed out. "I'm guessing Fianna is magical too."

Harry shrugged. "She's too young to have displayed accidental magic. She might not be."

"No, Harry," Hermione corrected him. "When I made my oath, the magic wrapped around both of them. It wouldn't have done so if she didn't have a magical core. She's definitely a witch." She reached for the paper Snape had been working on. "Merlin, I don't even know what some of these symbols stand for. Let's see, here is where he was revising. If this means scarab, then this .. I don't know!"

"And that's why I'm a Potions Master," said a dry voice coming from the door. The three spun around. In his arms, Snape was holding a now cooing Fianna. "I'm sorry, Professor," Hermione began, "I just wanted…"

"… to know what I was working on. If it was a secret, I never would have brought it into the kitchen while you were here." He smirked. "My fine scarabs are busy even while we speak happily preparing the final ingredient for the potion." He became serious. "I still can't guarantee success, but it is promising. At least what I have will stabilize him and give me more time to search for something better."

"You said the scarabs are preparing the final ingredient … you don't mean…" Harry asked slowly.

"My brother's going to eat dung?!" cried out Ginny.

"And only the most pure," Snape confirmed. "Using dung from adults would increase the chance of success to sixty-one percent, but Fianna has consumed solely mother's milk."

"Does it matter that Nuala is a muggle?" asked Hermione hesitantly.

Snape shook his head. "The oath that binds you to her makes up for the fact that my wife is non-magical. Even if you know a witch with a newborn with whom you are willing to put yourself into debt, that would increase the chance of success to sixty-five percent. With Fianna it's slightly higher because I am brewing the potion. When I do so, my magic will interact with that in the dung since her core still recognizes mine."

Ginny looked slightly ill. "My poor brother. We don't have to let him know what's in the potion, do we?"

"Since no one outside this room and Rose will ever know I'm creating it, he will never know my daughter's innate magic was crucial to his survival." Snape's expression momentarily faltered. "Hopefully so. Remember, there's still a thirty-three percent possibility of complete failure. It will be three hours before I can add the final ingredient, and then it will take thirteen more for the potion to be finished." He kissed his daughter gently on her forehead before turning back to the company. "While I appreciate what you have done, you are not needed here. Mrs. Granger-Weasley, bring your daughter to the same spot we met before tomorrow morning at nine."

ATDATDATD

At a quarter to nine, Hermione discretely took Rose from the waiting area. Her daughter was smart enough not to say anything until she was out of hearing distance.

"You don't really want me to accompany you to the cafeteria, do you mom?" Rose asked quietly.

Hermione shook her head. Even though she did not see anyone, she kept her voice in a whisper. "I need you to meet up with the Professor again and then to return to the house." She squeezed her daughter's hand.

Rose replied in an even softer whisper, "Does that mean …?"

Hermione nodded. "It may not be a complete cure yet, but at least it's something."

ATDATDATD

When Hermione and Snape-as-Rose returned to the waiting area, they found one of the healers talking to Molly, Arthur, and Harry. Snape-as-Rose went to the observation window where Hugo and Charlie were standing. Ginny, Bill, Fleur, Percy and Audrey were in a tight huddle in one corner while George and Angelina were holding hands on the sofa. Teddy was staring into space from a chair. The healer patted Hermione on the arm as she joined them while Snape-as-Rose went to the stand next to next to Hugo and Charlie. "I'm sorry. If there's anyone else you would like here to say farewell, you may wish to contact them now. The drain on his core is accelerating quickly now."

Snape-as-Rose looked up. "Mom, I want to say good-bye in person."

The healer shook her head. "I can't recommend it. Any drain on his core could result in a quick final spiral downward."

Hermione looked at the healer. "Thank you for your concern, but if it's only a question of time, then my children have the right to hug their father one last time."

Hugo looked up. His eyes were red. "Mom, I don't .."

Hermione hugged him. "Oh, Hugo, you don't need to do anything you don't want to. You understand Rose needs to have the chance to say good-bye in person, though, don't you?"

Hugo nodded, tears beginning to roll down his cheek. "I just can't …" Hermione drew him close to her.

Unexpectedly, Molly spoke up. "Healer Dunsworth," she said with a catch in her voice, "It's been over three decades since my brothers were killed, and I still regret not saying good-bye to them. Let Rose in." For the first time, Hermione felt slightly guilty about her deception.

The healer shook her head again. "It's your decision. Let me check on his current condition."

Snape-as-Rose approached Hermione. She pulled her "daughter" into an embrace and motioned to Ginny to take Hugo.

Leaning on her shoulder as if seeking comfort, he whispered into her ear. "I need you to create a major diversion to take everyone's attention away from the window when I go in. I don't want to risk anyone seeing me giving Mr. Weasley the potion."

Hermione thought rapidly. "I can swoon by the couch."

"Just make sure everyone's attention is focused on you so ham it up."

Hermione gave a weak smile. "I just came up with a better idea …" She gave Snape-as-Rose a final hug for the sake of the others and approached Harry while gesturing at Ginny.

A few minutes later, Snape-as-Rose was cleared by the Healer to enter Ron's room. Hermione, standing next to the door to the hall, raised her voice. "You are so dense, Harry."

Harry raised his voice as well. "You're the one who said it, Hermione. Don't deny it."

Ginny pushed Harry back, shrieking, "Haven't you ever heard of sarcasm, Harry?" By this point all eyes were on the trio. "When she said of course you were responsible, she was trying to get you to see how ridiculous you were being."

"But she's right!" Harry replied, rubbing his eyes. "If I hadn't …" His voice broke into a sob. "I did this to my best friend. If I hadn't asked Ron …"

Molly and Arthur had quietly approached. The three were carefully standing so everyone watching them had their backs to the observation window. With a quick glance Hermione saw Snape-as-Rose putting a vial back into the robe's pockets. She couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like he was casting some sort of spell with his wand. She turned her attention back to Harry and gave him a slight nod.

Molly grabbed Harry's arm. "Harry! You're not to blame for this!"

Hermione, Harry and Ginny looked down as if ashamed to be fighting when Ron lay dying in the room next door. "Thank you, Molly," Harry muttered slowly with a catch in his throat.

A softly crying Snape-as-Rose left Ron's side and returned to Hermione for a comforting embrace. When silence once again reined, he and Hermione quietly slipped out. When Hermione reached an unoccupied room she grabbed Snape-as-Rose's arm and slipped into it, warding it for privacy. She collapsed onto a chair. "When will we know if the potion will work?"

Snape-as-Rose looked out the window. "In a couple of hours. I know it did no immediate harm, so that's promising." He sighed. "It's time to retrieve your daughter. She should be here for real in either case."

ATDATDATD

Hermione was able to pass what Snape had told her to Harry, Ginny, and Rose, and the next two hours passed excruciatingly slowly for the four of them. Healers came and went, visually checking the hovering monitors from the observation window. The routine was broken when one healer suddenly left the area to return with four others. The five stood in a huddle, talking in low intense whispers.

Hermione approached them while the rest of the family looked on. "What is it?"

One healer held up a hand to motion for her to wait. After another flurry of discussion, he turned to her. "We don't understand it, but the monitors show that your husband's core has stabilized." Guarded cheers erupted in the room.

The cautious healer looked around. "We can't be sure of anything yet. This may just be a small blip of activity."

Arthur smiled gently. "This is the first glimmer of good news. We'll take it."

Hmm, the potion needs another ingredient. What could it be? Please review!