A/N: Thank you for all of the lovely feedback on the last one-shot. I'm thrilled (and relieved) that it met people's expectations. It's really good to hear.

I've had this one-shot written for some time but it's needed some serious tweaking and editing, none of which I could bring myself to accomplish until today. I'm still heavily struggling to write, so I can't vouch for how quickly future updates will come, but please know that I am trying to work on these prompts when I can, and when the Muse is willing; he hasn't been around for some time, and I wish I could find a way to bribe him but, alas... If you're still here and still sticking with me, thank you for reading and believing in my fickle Muse.

Lastly, but not least of all, a Happy Father's Day to all the great daddies out there, including a certain UL!Severus, who is, for me, one of the best snarky dads around. :)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is copyrighted to and belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing in her sandbox and own none of her associated characters. New characters belong to me.

And Another

Severus is slightly jolted by unexpected pregnancy news.

(Prompt from notyetanotheralias, who asked for Severus's reaction to Hermione's second or third pregnancies. I chose both for this one.)

Severus lay beside Lily on a shag carpet before the fireplace, his index finger tightly gripped around his daughter's hand. She stared up at him through curiously alert, widened eyes, mimicking the contortions his mouth made when he softly spoke to her in that purr-like voice that could be either soothing or threatening, depending upon who was on the receiving end of the wizard's adoration or wrath. There were no threats to be made in the case of the little witch, however. Her father relished such small, intimate moments such as these, too much so to be his normally scowling self.

Working at Hogwarts left his time with his family limited. Whatever opportunities presented themselves to pop back round to see Hermione and interact with Lily, however, was a gladly welcomed retreat to Severus's normally stress-filled routine. This evening was quickly proving to be one of those sought-after moments.

Severus brought Lily's tiny hand to his lips, pecking it gently several times as he softly smiled down at her; a smile unrecognizable to most, subtle as it was, but still tender and admiring. Lily cooed in response, her whimsical noises warming the dark wizard's heart. No one would ever have known how affecting the child was on him, save for his wife, but all the same, nights like these made putting off the endless piles of paperwork that awaited him at Hogwarts well worth the expense.

It was difficult to fathom that his daughter's first birthday would be upon them in a matter of months. How quickly time was passing;—Too quickly, Severus lamented to himself—or was it his being separated from the little witch and his Hermione that made time speed up, teasing him for all the moments he was sourly missing out on?

Severus found himself suddenly glowering at the thought, but when he noted Lily doing so as well, he evaporated that disgruntled, somewhat frightening look of his, not wishing to upset his daughter. She looked to be on the verge of tears, and Severus quickly scooted closer to whisper contented words close to Lily's face, his finger slipping out of her grasp to tickle her chin. Lily broke out into shrills of giggles—laughter that would lighten the most miserable sod's disposition, including a certain black-haired, surly wizard sprawled out at her side, eying the small being with a protective intensity that was both comforting and oddly sweet.

Lily stretched out her arms to grab hold of Severus's face, her dainty fingers brushing his pointed nose, the cupid's bow of his mouth, and the slight stubble on his chin he hadn't seen fit to rid himself of yet. Severus returned her touch with equal affection, kissing her hands and pretending to devour them whole, thereby making her squeal with more unabated laughter.

Severus was aware of the witch at the opposite end of the sitting room watching him but pretended not to notice, even as Hermione silently tiptoed into the room to lay down on the other side of their daughter. Her smiling eyes reflected off of the crackling fireplace, catching Severus's gaze. Her head came to rest in her hand with an all-knowing smirk stretched across her face, stopping him short.

"Having fun?" she goaded, almost drunk with contentedness at the sight of her husband's attentiveness and their daughter's quiet giggling.

"Immensely," he intoned, keeping the lines of his features straight.

Hermione gave in and chuckled. Her eyes drifted from the unconventionally handsome man before her to the tiny witch wedged between them and back again, a hand eventually finding purchase against Lily's leg. Her smile lessened a little, but not enough to concern Severus—at least, not at first.

"Severus, I... I have something to tell you."

"Oh?" Severus's eyebrows rose, but his eyes had diverted back to Lily, who continued to gently paw at his nose and mouth.

"Yes... Um..."

Hermione paused. A mixture of excitement and hesitancy to present the news she had recently found out was on the tip of her tongue, and had been for nearly two days. It wasn't at all like her to keep secrets from Severus; she despised doing so, but, really, this information needed to come out when he was at least sitting down, unburdened by stress or irritability.

Hermione sucked in a nervous breath and finally blurted out what she had been dying to share, "I'm pregnant, love."

Severus, in the midst of pretending to eat Lily's fingers again, halted what he was doing to stare long and hard at his wife. He didn't so much as blink as he studied Hermione's angst-ridden expression, his mouth falling open in rare form. It was as though his bookworm wife had just informed him that she no longer worshipped the written word. Only, she hadn't told him that. She had said she was pregnant.

At first, Hermione bit her lip, but then her nerves dissipated into amused laughter. "Merlin, Severus, should I pinch you to make sure you haven't turned to stone?"

Severus made a grunting noise but, somehow, words still escaped his grasp. Pregnant? Again? Another one? his mind struggled to process. Eventually, he blinked and shifted onto his side, turning to face his glowing wife fully. And she was glowing, in that mesmerizing manner that only a pregnant female can. His mouth was still limp as he stared across the small gap that divided them.

"You're..." Unable to bring himself yet to repeat the words, his eyes merely searched hers. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, Severus, I'm certain," she returned collectedly, giving the wizard time to process the news.

"How... How long have you known?"

Hermione surveyed their daughter for a pause before her soft gaze fell back to him. "About two days."

Severus's eyes narrowed, just as Hermione suspected. "And you didn't tell me till now?"

"I was in shock, Severus! I didn't want to stress you out during the work week either. You were coming home tonight; therefore, I waited."

"I see..."

Hating the break that followed, not to mention the unnerving tension in the atmosphere, Hermione inched closer. "Please tell me what you're thinking?" She added, in the hopes that it might alleviate some of the troubles she could detect brewing in Severus's eyes, "Remember what we discussed about names and—"

"Yes, but that was intended for several years away, Hermione. Not... Not now."

Hermione found the strange flicker in those obsidian irises disturbing, enough so that she instantly reached out a hand to clasp his. "You're upset, aren't you?" she asked, the frown that had formed on her mouth deepening. "Oh, I should've known you'd react this way. I've gone from excitement to crying since I found out, and I don't know what—"

"Hermione, stop." Severus's tone was firm but hushed. He took in a shaky breath before replying, "I'm not upset, all right? Shocked, yes, and worried, to be frank, but I... I'm not upset."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, of course." Severus's eyebrows tapered. Realizing his reaction to the news had been rather unbecoming, he squeezed his wife's hand to try to reassure her. "Why would you think I'd be angry?"

Hermione eased her grasp on Severus's hand a little. "I know the kind of stress you've been under, Severus, and, well..."

"That has nothing to do with us, Hermione."

"I know it doesn't, but it does affect your mood sometimes." Hermione's voice mellowed as she continued, "And I don't mean in the usual sense that tension affects a person. For you, it...it's quite different, love. You know that."

Severus slowly turned away from her, privately processing her words, but Hermione held steadfast to his hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze of her own. "I'm sorry to spring this on you, Severus. I... I'm still really stunned myself, but, well... I'm pregnant." Her voice grew unsteady, a tearful, yet joyful, smile resurfacing that gave the stunned wizard pause. "We're going to give Lily a sibling."

To this, Severus couldn't prevent the slither of a smile that emerged. Another one of these? he considered in awe, peering down at Lily in wonderment. So soon?

Severus wasn't aware that, in very un-Slytherin-like form, his shock, joy, and apprehensions were quite decipherable to his wife at the moment. He didn't catch Hermione wiping at her eyes, only when she retook possession of his hand in hers and glimpsed at the faltering happiness her eyes took.

"Please..." she implored quietly, choking back on her words. "Please tell me you're happy for us?"

Severus's eyes fluttered, completely unraveled by such a remark. He could make out the stress lines forming on Hermione's features, aware that they weren't from taking care of their daughter, or the sleepless nights such care taking for a child brought, particularly without a second pair of hands to assist, but from how concerned she had been about him. From the overwhelming stresses of his job, his looming health problems, the bouts of sickness that sometimes plagued such family get-togethers, it was clear that Hermione was anxious as to how this news might negatively affect him, more than anything else, and it was an additional surprise Severus was unprepared for. Between an intense work week and his own physical limitations, Hermione was evidently worried that he would take the news far worse than he had. Determined to put Hermione's mind at ease, Severus reached out a hand, which was somewhat cold to the touch, and delicately rubbed her tears away, making sure to look deep into her worried eyes as he did so.

"I am happy, Hermione. Forgive me. I... I can hardly believe it. I wasn't expecting to come home to such news but," he paused to stare down affectionately at Lily once more, his understated smile widening, "it's wonderful news, truly."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief but continued to regard him seriously. "I know why you're concerned, Severus. I have mine, too, believe me, but... It is rather exciting, isn't it?"

Seeing the hopefulness in those warm, enriching eyes, Severus didn't have the heart to not play to her emotions. After all, this was supposed to be an exciting moment for parents-to-be, and, as far as he was concerned, it shouldn't be undermined by the grim circumstance for which he and Hermione found themselves in. Thus, instead of letting the moment be snatched away by reality, Severus brought Hermione's hand to his lips to bestow it with a proper kiss, just as he had done so for Lily minutes before.

"Indeed, it is," he purred, making her heart skip a beat. "It's very exciting."

The happy couple returned their attention to Lily, only to find the curious little witch had drifted off to sleep in the midst of their conversation, her arms stretched lazily over her head as she snored softly, wedged securely between her parents. "Well," Severus murmured, leaning down to peck his daughter's forehead, "if her sister sleeps as well as she does, this should be a piece of cake."

Hermione couldn't stop the smirk that spread across her cheeks. "Sister?" she baited, enjoying the blush that effaced Severus's cheeks.

"If the Mirror of Erised is anything to go by, and unless Merlin chooses to give me a bloody break," he snarled, tightening his jaw but in a teasing fashion, "then it will, in all likelihood, be a girl."

Hermione lost it; she covered her mouth to keep from snickering too loudly, for fear of waking their sleeping child. "You're hopeless, Severus Snape! And don't think you can trick me into thinking you wouldn't delight in another little girl skipping about this house."

No, Severus reflected internally, though he was certain his wife could sense his innermost thoughts, of course I wouldn't object...

Severus returned her jest with a playful sneer, which only made Hermione cackle harder. She hunched over their sleeping little one to cradle her in her arms, but not before Severus craned his neck to offer one last bedtime kiss. He didn't catch his wife's appreciation as she watched the tender exchange between father and daughter, knowing in the back of her mind that, despite her own trepidations, her husband was far happier about the prospect of a second child then he had let on.

Two little girls, her mind pondered warmly before she had to fight back another burst of laughter as she took Lily up to bed. Poor, dear Severus.

Hermione finished magically cleansing the dishes and stocking them away when the echo of loud shrieks and cackling reached her ears. Smiling humorously, she turned around to find an exasperated Severus dragging his boots into the kitchen, but he wasn't alone. Two small children, one with fair hair and one with dark locks like him, were strapped to his legs, refusing to let go and hanging onto the wizard as if he were a broomstick to ride.

"Girls, enough," he snarled, huffing his way into the room whilst hauling a two-year-old Lily and one-year-old Surina with him. He turned to Hermione, most desperate for some support. "They've been fastened to my ankles for nearly an hour," he hissed, throwing out his hands to convey the direness of the situation.

As the wizard suspected, Hermione didn't help matters by proceeding to laugh, staring down at their daughters with nothing less than encouragement. "Having fun, you two?" she added, snickering at the glare Severus shot at her.

Surina bound her arms tighter around Severus's right leg. "Move!" she insisted, beaming up at him and bouncing on the toe of his dragon hide boot. "Move, Daddy! Mush!"

"Mush?" Severus all but growled down at her. Lily had been echoing that phrase for the past hour that it would seem the littlest had picked up on it as well.

"Yes, Daddy!" Lily also insisted, giggling up at him. "Mush! Mush!"

With another aggravated sigh, Severus thrust his legs forward, and the girls' shrills of laughter started all over again, squealing with delight at being dragged about on the ground. Once he reached the sink, where Hermione stood teasing him with an amused smile, Severus halted his efforts, taking a moment to stare down his hooked nose at her in a manner that was no longer intimidating or harsh, though he still tried his utmost to garner such a reaction at times.

"I think you two should hop on your mother's legs," he suggested, the sliver of a smirk forming when Hermione smacked his arm.

"Oh, no you don't! Besides, I have something to tell you."

"As you can see, I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."

Severus nodded towards the ground, speaking louder in an effort to be heard over the little witches' ceaseless laughter. Finally, he reached down to pry their tiny arms from around his trousers, and the two girls whined in protect as their father tugged them rather effortlessly to their feet; but Severus set to appeasing their disappointment by unfastening his long cloak and throwing it over top of the tiny tots, who barely rose to his knees.

Two small lumps shrieked excitedly and shuffled about underneath the cloak, trying to find their way out of said heavy material. When they emerged, their hair tousled with playful grins stretched from ear to ear, Lily and Surina tried to seize it from one another, wrestling about in a game of tug of war. Using the cloak as a decoy proved to be a small bit of brilliance on Severus's part, for the girls dragged it out of the kitchen, each bellyaching to have it for themselves.

"What was that you were saying?" Severus prodded once Lily and Surina were out of sight.

Hermione sportively laughed and allowed her wizard to draw closer, wrapping one hand around her waist. "Watch those hands, Mister."

Severus, who had leaned in to taunt her with an enticing kiss to her neck, paused to narrow his eyes. "Not in the mood?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Now?"

"No, next week, witch," he deadpanned through a low growl, his voice suddenly heavy with lust.

Hermione was caught off her guard as her eager husband's opposite hand came to rest around her midsection, easing her into his chest so that she couldn't wiggle herself free. At first, Hermione didn't mind, caught up in the moment and feeling rather playful herself; that was, until she remembered that she had something rather dire to break to the dark-haired man now kissing every inch of her neck, leaving warm, shiver-inducing sensations all over her body.

No, not there, she fleetingly thought when Severus proceeded to lightly bite her ear, but, alas, the rest of her was quite reactive to that sensitive spot. "Severus!" Hermione gasped, attempting to reel him in and regain some control. "Stop it! The girls—"

"They'll be preoccupied with that ruddy cloak for a while." He set to recapturing her neck in haste, ignoring her breathless pleas to cease.

"How do you know they won't come tromping in here in the next two minutes?"

"Just a quickie!" Severus insisted, pinching her firm backside and causing the startled witch to yelp.

"You're helpless!" she giggled against his mouth. "Cut it out, you! I have something important to tell you!"

Severus reared back, eying her over with fresh suspicion. "Something tells me I'm not going to be in the mood after this..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Depends on how you look at it."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Go on," he coaxed, waiting.

"Erm, well..." Hermione's cheeks took on a brighter flush of red. "I know we didn't plan on it, per say... Heck, we haven't even discussed the prospect of another...um, well..." She abruptly cut herself off, seeing the flicker of panic that emerged in those colorless eyes.

"Merlin, don't tell me," Severus whispered, his mouth having gone dry. "Are you..."

His eyes trailed down to her stomach and back up to her face, where he found confirmation in Hermione's brightened expression. Slowly, she nodded and pressed down on her lower lip.

"Yes, I - I am. I decided to test myself this morning since I was late."

The children's laughter trickled in from the sitting room, otherwise filling the tense-filled silence that stretched out for what seemed like ages. During that time, Severus could only stare back at his wife in shock, though Hermione's face morphed from trepidation to anxiety to downright concern by the unnerving quietude.

"Severus?" she prodded in a strained, hushed voice. "Please say something."

"I..."

"Are you upset?"

"Upset?" he responded, his eyelids fluttering. "I've barely had a moment to process the fact that you're pregnant, Hermione. How could I be upset?"

"Oh..."

With a weighty sigh, Severus tugged Hermione back to his chest and wrapped his arms around the now troubled witch, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry. I... I truly don't know what to say—yet. I'm stunned."

"It's just like we saw in the mirror, though." She paused, cautiously peering up at him, as if that comment were some sort of viable explanation. "You remember?"

"Yes, of course I remember, Hermione, but..."

"But what, love?" Hermione reared back to look deep into Severus's eyes that now appeared hesitant and unsure.

"So soon?" he finished quietly.

Hermione allowed a small, heartfelt smile to curl the edges of her mouth. "I know. It is rather quick—"

"Quick?" His darks eyes flashed like a wildfire. "Surina's only a year old! And Lily's barely two!"

Hermione chuckled softly, her smile stretching in spite of her husband's overt reservations. "I know, Severus. You think I haven't considered that? I didn't bend over and get myself pregnant, you know! You had something to do with it, Mister!" Severus's cheeks blushed profusely and his mouth clamped shut, silenced by the witch's hefty words; but Hermione merely snickered and thoughtfully brushed away stray hairs from his reddened face. "It's not ideal timing either, I know, love, but, well..." She gazed down lovingly at her stomach and rubbed it with a certain conviction that secretly made Severus's breath stall. "It's a blessing, all the same. Don't you think?"

Severus struggled to reply. "I... Well, yes, of course it is but..."

At that moment, Surina and Lily suddenly reemerged—the dark-haired tot wrapped, or engulfed rather, in her father's cloak whilst Lily held up the back end, as if it were some kind of a train. Hermione burst into laughter and beamed down at the pair of them.

"What are you doing, little ones?"

"Surina getting married!" Lily explained, pointing to the large cloak that seemed to be swallowing Surina whole. The only viewable part of her was her head, as the rest was buried beneath the stark material.

Severus raised a befuddled eyebrow. "In my cloak?"

"Yes, Daddy!" Surina smiled up at her parents proudly, earning more pleasant laughter from her mother.

Severus's lookalike came pounding over to him, along with Lily, and he immediately reached down to scoop her into his arms, whilst Lily leaped into Hermione's embrace. Hermione watched the angst and uncertainty thaw from Severus's disposition as he held their second daughter close, wrapping her securely around him with both arms. It put her mind and heart at ease to see him less angst-ridden then he had been mere moments ago. The news was jolting, to be sure, and not without its share of concerns, but, for now, Hermione couldn't have been happier, surrounded by her family with the prospect of another addition in their future.

Surina threw an arm around her father's neck, continuing to keep his cloak woven around her little being as much as possible. Severus turned considerately from the child to his wife and eldest daughter, the faint trail of a smile mapping its way across his mouth and replacing the worrying frown that had been there before.

"Lily, Surina," he addressed the girls softly, in an affectionate tone that mirrored his body language as he snuggled his face against Surina's, "how would you feel about having another sister or brother?"

The two witches eyed their father curiously at first, not truly comprehending the weight of his question. Surina pointed to Lily and grimaced, her features heavily concentrated.

"Another Lily?" she asked curiously, to which Hermione and Severus both nodded their heads. Surina's button nose scrunched up, and when her emphatic response came, it wasn't pleasant but, to her parents, it was certainly humoring and very much like the young tot. "No," she replied moodily.

Lily, on the other hand, clapped her hands with enthusiasm. "Yes, yes! Another sister!" She shot her younger sibling a glare that would rival Severus's, however. "One who's not like Surina, though!"

Hermione completely lost her composure, but Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head in defeat. He bundled Surina closer and reached out a hand to encase Lily's much smaller palm as well. Then he locked eyes on his beaming wife last, his sharp look easing at the receiving of her attractive smile.

"Do we really intend to have another one of these buggers hollering and screeching and carrying on about the house?"

It wasn't a serious question, though, and Hermione knew it; she could see how smitten the wizard was behind the sly smirk he bore to cover his tracks, as well as the subtle delight in his eyes, particularly when he looked upon his two daughters with such care and devotion as to, an outsider, not to be believed.

Hermione shook her head as well and leaned in to receive an affectionate kiss from her husband, one that would seal the exciting news for the entire Snape family and act as a form of celebration. "Yes, love," she giggled, amused, her cheeks emitting a mother-to-be glow that left him breathless. "Believe it. There will be another one of these little ones here before you know it."

In truth, Severus was still quite staggered by the thought of another child. And yet, surveying the two little witches before him, his heart swelled with pride. Perhaps no one would have sensed that fatherly affection, that fierce devotedness, or the sheer force with which Severus Snape regarded his children, but he could very well sense it washing over him and taking hold; it was not only an unfailing love for the two daughters he had but also for the third baby that was soon to join them.

A pair of miniature fingers touched Severus's cheeks and the tip of his large nose, pining for his undivided attention. Severus scrutinized the petite creature in his arms before pretending to devour her neck with kisses. Surina squealed with joy and tried to pull away, but to no avail.

"Very well," Severus concluded, swallowing his reservations and, instead, focusing on the immense bliss of it all. "I'll take another one of these." He snarled—contentedly—and continued to 'munch' on Surina's flesh, whilst the rest of his family looked on with equal humor and delight.

A/N #2: I was determined to get this one-shot posted for Father's Day, even if the writing/editing portion killed me without having a Muse to rely on, so I hope you enjoyed it!

It's been a tough several weeks not being able to write, so please let me know your thoughts. They bring me so much joy. Thank you!