Chapter 21

Thanks to HildeVonKrone, Leonix2009, tlc125, Trickster32, Lucyole, HGxSSAlways, Fantomette34, ChelseaAlways, and pggoodrichboggs for your reviews. I enjoyed writing this chapter.

Around 3 am, Severus' eyes began to fail him as they grew heavy, but he had Pepper bring him some wide-eye potion and resolved to confront Draco. Around dawn, he could see the bright pink hues of sunrise through the window across the corridor from his perch behind a suit of armour. Realising he had to teach in 90 minutes and still needed to shower, change and eat something, Severus gave up his vigil as a bad job. He was positive he had not missed Draco and would have been able to detect a disillusionment charm, so he assumed the boy had fallen asleep in the blasted 'Room of Many Things'. Standing, Severus heard his knees crack uncomfortably and felt the crick in his neck and left shoulder. "I'm getting too damn old for this shit," he grumbled to himself.

Severus stepped out from behind the suit of armour, and as he did, the door to the Room of Requirement creaked open. Severus was shocked by Draco's appearance. He had to admit that he had not had a good look at the boy since the night of Slughorn's party. He had become completely overwhelmed by his own life, and Draco continued to avoid any contact with his godfather. He refused to show up for requested meetings and sat in the back of the Defense class with his head down, refusing to make eye contact. The boy was clearly spending many nights in the Room of Requirement scheming; he was cracking under the stress of his appointed task, his skin was greying, he was rail thin, and his eyes were bruised with black and purple bags.

Severus approached Draco quickly and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him back into the Room of Requirement. "You will tell me what you are doing. Now."

"It's none of your business Uncle Severus!"

"Draco, I found Harry Potter stalking you at midnight. If I had not sent him to his bed, no doubt he would have waited here all night instead of me. Tell. Me. Now."

Draco gulped and took several deep breaths, glaring at Snape. Then, as though he could not help himself, he said, "I'm mending that broken Vanishing Cabinet that no one's used for years. The one Montague got lost in last year."

Severus closed his eyes, digesting the information. "Where is the pair?"

"Borgin and Burkes. They make a passageway. Montague told me that when he was stuck, he was trapped in limbo, but sometimes he could hear what was going on at the school, and sometimes what was going on in the shop, as if the Cabinet was travelling between them, but he couldn't make anyone hear him … and you know he managed to apparate out and nearly died doing it."

"And your progress on the cabinet? Obviously, you have the assistance of Mr. Borgin. Show me."

Draco led his godfather through one of the many alleyways between all Hogwarts hidden treasurers. There were thousands and thousands of books, winged catapults, fanged frisbees, chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; something that looked like dragon-egg shells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords, and a heavy, blood-stained axe. They turned right past an enormous stuffed troll, ran on a short way and arrived at the broken Vanishing cabinet.

Draco opened the door and showed the dead bird within. "I've tried everything I can think of, but any living creature that passes through returns dead. I – I don't know what else to do Uncle Severus, and I haven't slept in weeks."

The boy looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown; Severus himself knew the signs well, having not been much older than Draco when called into servitude to the Dark Lord. Severus sighed and began pacing up and down the alleyway. As he did, he based by an old crate that held a statue's bust with a dusty old wig and a tarnished tiara.

Returning to Draco's side, Severus sighed, "Draco, this stress is killing you, son. We need a new plan, and you need to let me help you."

Draco looked as if the fight had been drained from him. He slumped forward into his godfather's arms. Severus gripped the boy's upper arms and held him close as he sobbed into Severus' chest. "We will figure out something. Together. You just need to trust me again."

The next morning, Hermione sat in the Great Hall, spreading jam on her toast. As she took the first sips of her tea, Hermione felt cramping in her abdomen. She stared at the teacup, her eyes widening in shock. In a panic, she looked up at the Head Table and made eye contact with Severus. Before she could jump up from the table and run to the loo, the pain immediately subsided. Glancing down her woollen sweater vest, Hermione saw the fire topaz glowing. Conjuring a vial, Hermione covertly displaced the remaining liquid from her teacup to the vial under the table and tucked it into her robes. Looking back at the Head Table, she saw Severus eyeing her with concern. She smiled weakly before turning back to her toast. It appeared that Dumbledore did not trust them as they thought, preferring to take matters into his own hands. Hermione let out the breath she had been holding in, grateful that they had acted swiftly to move her parents yesterday.

Hermione decided to skip lunch in the Great Hall, opting to have Winky deliver her food in her dormitory, not trusting Dumbledore again. When classes ended at 3 pm, Hermione immediately fled the Ancient Ruins classroom for Severus' office. They arrived at the office at the same time; opening the wooden door, Severus, ushered her in and warded the door shut.

"What happened this morning?" he asked urgently.

"I drank my tea and felt intense cramping, then the topaz started glowing, and the pain instantly subsided. I'm certain it was Albus."

Severus clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, when he wheeled around and punched the stone wall behind him repeatedly, "That fucking bastard. I will kill him right now."

"I know Severus. It's fine; we got the stone in time and catastrophe was avoided."

"Fuck Hermione, at this rate, if he suspects anything, he will curse you with your back turned."

"He won't find out Sev. Create the glamour charm, we will sneak out for the midwife appointments, and the enchantments on the stone will continue to hold up."

"Shhhh, Sev, we can't have Winky intercept all of my food, and I can't avoid the Great Hall for every meal … I'll make sure to only eat from communal bowls and to eat with Harry. Dumbledore won't try to poison Harry!"

"If he's using natural herbal abortifacients, it won't matter. Did you bring a sample of the tea?"

"Oh yes!" Hermione rummaged through her schoolbag, extracting the unbreakable vial full of tea.

Severus sniffed the vial. His sensitive olfactory senses indicated that the tea was very sweet smelling, which was odd as Hermione only drank her tea with one lump of sugar. Leading Hermione to the floo, they travelled to their laboratory; dumping the tea into a cauldron, Severus began to separate the components of the liquid.

After a quarter of an hour, he had vials filled with Ceylon tea, milk, sugar, and blue tansy oil. Hermione looked at the vial curiously while Severus' face was white with rage, his black magical aura appearing deadly. Hermione felt the spike of magical energy in the room and lifted her eyes from the vial to Severus. Reaching out to place her hand gently on her forearm, she whispered, "What is the blue oil?"

"Blue Tansy Oil. Powerful anti-histamine, potent sedative, natural abortifacient and highly toxic. A few drops more and he would have been trying to kill you, as well as Cub."

In a sudden outburst, Severus smashed both fists onto the table before flipping it, the sounds of cracking wood along with clattering pewter and smashing of glass, made Hermione flinch and draw her wand. She knew that Severus would never hurt her, but he had honed her battle instincts, and her reaction was to fight.

Panting, Severus turned around. When he saw Hermione in battle stance, he unclenched his fists and took several deep breaths to calm down. When he re-opened his eyes, Hermione had also relaxed. He approached her carefully, realising she was now skittish and grabbed her hand. "I need to do a diagnostic spell to make sure all traces of the tansy oil are gone from your system. Prolonged exposure could poison you.

Hermione nodded, and Severus led her back into the floo where they landed in his private chambers. Gently guiding her into his bedroom, he had her lay down on the sumptuous bedclothes of the massive four poster bed and began incanting the spells. Once he was finished, he sat on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, and held his head.

"Severus? Is something wrong? You're scaring me?"

"N-n-no," he shuddered, "Nothing is wrong. The tansy oil has been purged from your system. You are a bit anaemic, so you need to eat more Iron and Vitamin C to absorb it. If you're still anaemic after your appointment with the midwife I can brew you something."

"Well, that's something then. Come lay down with me until dinner Severus; I think we're both emotionally wrung out."

He obliged, kicking off his dragon hide boots and peeling off his teaching robes and frock coat. Clad in his shirt sleeves and trousers, he laid down and gathered her into his arms; Hermione yawned and snuggled up into the back of his chest.

For the rest of the week, despite Harry's determination to catch Malfoy out again, he had no luck. Every night, he and Ron would pull out the Marauder's Map and scour the parchment for him, often finding him in his dungeon dormitory with Zabini, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle. Becoming increasingly desperate, Harry began carrying the map in his schoolbag and dashing into the loo between classes to check. Hermione would roll her eyes since Draco was in most of Harry's classes.

Hermione noted that Draco seemed to have some of the colour back in his face, and the boy looked like a huge burden had been relieved from him. This made her think that he had found a way actually to kill Dumbledore himself and she made a note to mention it to Severus that weekend.

In the middle of the week, Severus held Draco back after DADA class, and for the first time since September, the boy actually obeyed and stayed after.

"Thanks to the incident in which you nearly killed Miss Bell, who is still in St. Mungo's, I might add, it is obvious that you were not just mending the vanishing cabinet. Are there any other cursed objects in your possession or the possession of others, trying to make their way to the Headmaster?"

"Ummm…"

"Draco. Just tell me."

"Well, I may have," Draco had the shame to look down at his feet, "hadMadamRosmertasellpoisonedmeadtoSlughorn."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled, "Repeat. I know you had elocution lessons as a boy and can correctly enunciate."

Draco took a long steadying breath and, looking up at his godfather repeated, "I may have put Madam Rosmerta under the imperious curse. That's how Katie Bell received the necklace in the loo of the Three Broomsticks. I also had her sell Professor Slughorn a bottle of poisoned mead when he said it was a present for Dumbledore."

"Sweet Circe Draco! Are you an imbecile? I thought, given my extensive involvement in your education – since the day you could talk – that you had more sense than this. Anyone who knows Horace Slughorn would know that there was an excellent chance that he'd keep something like that for himself. I'm assuming it was a costly bottle of mead?"

Draco nodded his head glumly as his shoulders slumped.

"He's kept it for himself then. Merlin, you're lucky he hasn't opened it yet. Fuck!" Severus shouted, kicking one of the classroom desks, "Go to Transfiguration. I will try to retrieve the bottle from Horace. No more schemes Draco. You do not act without my express permission. Understood?"

"Yes Uncle," Draco murmured before stalking out of the classroom.

Rubbing his temples, trying to quell a migraine he felt coming on, Severus pulled out his O.W.L curriculum for the Slytherin/Gryffindor class that would be entering in a few minutes and tried to think of a plausible excuse to visit Horace that night.

Severus was typically very utilitarian at mealtimes, filling his plate with a balanced portion of food and eating quickly so he could leave the little beasts in the Great Hall and finish some work. While not the most genially of professors, Severus had always been deemed a workaholic by his colleagues. Only Minerva rivalled him in his meticulous review of essays, not just checking for content but trying to improve his students' grammar and writing structure. The purebloods were the worst, having been educated at home, and since the majority of them were in Slytherin, he felt an especial duty of care to them.

Tonight, however, he wanted to wait for Horace so he could time his visit perfectly. It was no wonder that Horace was an enormous man – to him each meal was a feast – and each dish had to be tasted and savoured. So, Severus purposely showed up late and ate as slowly as he could. There was no enjoyment in it; he masticated his food so much it felt like baby food by the time he swallowed. Several times, Hermione's eyes flicked up at him concerned, knowing he rarely spent more than 20 minutes eating in the Great Hall for each meal. She gave him one final look as she stood to leave and he just grimaced at her and indicated he'd fill her in later.

Finally, at ten minutes to eight, Horace patted his large waist, wiped his mouth, stood and began to waddle towards the Entrance Hall. Albus and Minerva had been deep in discussion for most of the meal, and while both had finished eating ages ago, they were still chatting over cups of tea, keeping an eye on the few remaining students. Finally, Minerva glanced at him curiously on the other side of Albus. Conjuring a cup of tea, she insisted that he join them for a few minutes since he was never around this late to indulge her.

Since he considered Minerva, his only female friend, Severus accepted the teacup and scooted closer to the pair.

"Severus, I've meant to ask you. How has Hermione handled the aftermath of the attack over Christmas? She has seemed a bit off to me. We used to have tea regularly, and she never stops by anymore. Between that and this whole nonsense between her, Weasley and Brown, I must admit I am concerned about her. Does she open up to you in your lessons?"

Not expecting this line of questioning, Severus swallowed his mouthful of tea took quickly, burning his throat as it passed. Composing himself, Severus pointedly stared at the Headmaster before turning back to McGonagall.

"She is quite recovered from the attack. She handled herself well, and we used the experience to double down on her training. I must admit, her skills are quite advanced. I do not doubt that she has surpassed Potter in her defensive and duelling skills. In fact, she could probably take on most of the Order members, except maybe the trained aurors."

"Severus, you complimenting a Gryffindor! I never thought I'd see the day."

"Yes well, you'll never hear it in the classroom, but about our extra-curricular, I will give it freely. Her brewing skills are also excellent. She could pass the N.E.W.T today with flying colours."

"Well if she's recovered from the attack, do you have any idea what's bothering her. Is it her crush on Ronald?"

Severus snorted into his teacup, "Doubtful. She has intimated to me that since the attack she fears for her mother and father's safety. Now that the Dark Lord is actively attacking Muggles, nothing is stopping the Death Eaters from going after her parents. She is a muggle-born and the best friend of Harry Potter. I admit they have a large target on their backs."

"Well, the Order must be offering them some form of protection! Even those terrible Muggles who raised Harry to have …" Minerva glanced at Albus and saw his red-tinted cheeks, "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! Please tell me you have offered the Grangers some form of protection since the Order was reformed? You strong-armed that girl into joining the Order, putting herself in far more danger than just being Harry's friend. If she had been captured over Christmas …" Minerva shuddered, "I don't even want to think what would have happened."

Dumbledore began mumbling about resources being spread thing, no immediate threats and arousing Voldemort's suspicions when Severus cut him off, Slytherin cunning coming through, "You know Minerva, I did place some basic wards over their home when I delivered Miss Granger to her parents, but perhaps they should go into hiding."

"Now Severus, that seems quite excessive…" Albus interjected.

"Yes Severus, I agree, we need to concern ourselves with the Grangers protection," she glared at Dumbledore, "we protect our own, we always have; and if one hair on the Granger's head is hurt between then and now Albus Dumbledore, you will answer to me."

"As you wish," Severus intoned, standing up from the table and giving her a short bow, "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have a matter of great importance to discuss with Horace in private."

Severus stepped down from the platform, smirking as he heard Minerva berate the Headmaster as he stuttered. "Gods bless that woman and her Gryffindor brashness," he muttered.

Striding out of the Great Hall and winding up the staircases and always seemed to move at his voiceless command, Severus was quickly on the sixth-floor, outside of Professor Slughorn's private quarters. Looking at the portrait, Severus rolled his eyes. Of course, the salacious man had chosen a painting of water nymphs. The nymphs were frolicking around the lake. Severus looked at them critically, "Is he available?"

One of the nymphs had long, long curly brown hair and a heart-shaped face that reminded him of Hermione. She winked at him before turning around, flicking her hair and diving under the water. Severus shook his head, and the portrait opened up.

Sitting in a squat armchair, Horace called out, "Severus, my dear boy! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Can't a man just come and enjoy a drink with his colleague and former professor Horace?"

"Oho! You cannot fool me you sly Slytherin, or did you forget that you took over both my positions all those years ago?"

Severus just smirked and held up his hands in surrender, "No dubious motives Horace. I just wanted to see how you're fairing so far this term. I know your year on the run was not easy for you."

"Oh Severus, my boy! Weak chest. Wheezy. Rheumatism too. While I'm so glad to be up here on the 6th floor, teaching in the dungeons day after day and then trekking back up, it's not healthy for a man my age. I've resorted to flooing back and forth."

"Sensible. I know you will want to go back into retirement soon enough? Honestly, I'm not sure which class is more painful to teach for accidents, Defense or Potions. They're all dunderheads no matter the class."

"Severus," Horace chided, "I will admit, not all of the students are passionate about their studies, but each year brings a student or two that makes being an educator worthwhile. Yourself and Lily Evans or Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."

"Now that Miss Granger has stopped reciting the textbook in her essays, I will admit, she is a formidable student. Harry Potter though, is …"

"Now Now Severus, he is much more his mother than his father. All temper and compassion that boy. Fiery and his potions work reminds me so much of your own."

'Of course,' Severus thought bitterly to himself, 'Because he's stealing my work."

Interrupting his thoughts, Slughorn continued, "I fancy a nightcap."

As the portly man made to stand up, Severus beat him to it, hoping he could find the poisoned mead. As he made his way to Slughorn's drink cart, his job was made infinitely easier, "Grab the bottle of oak-matured mead my boy. Meant to give it to Dumbledore for Christmas, but we may as well enjoy it! He won't miss what he never had, and it's not every day you come visit me."

Severus grabbed the bottle, pulling off the cork, he smelled the cork before sniffing the contents of the bottle and getting a hint of bitter almonds. "Don't you trust me, Severus?" Horace chortled.

"Old habits die hard; however, I think this time it may have just saved both our lives…." Grabbing a decanter, Severus dumped the mead into the transparent container and watched the white sediment collect on the bottom.

'Cyanide,' Severus thought, 'That boy is an imbecile. No wonder the Dark Lord gave him this task. He was so clearly going to kill someone who wasn't Albus and wind up sharing Lucius' cell.'

Horace turned as white as a sheet at the contents, "I've been buying from Rosmerta for over 30 years! How did this happen? Oh, Merlin, what if I'd given this to Albus for Christmas? Thank the gods you are here Severus."

The dark-haired man was feeling a little overwhelmed by the compliments his former Head of House, whom he'd loathed as a student, was piling on him. He had always felt that Slughorn didn't give him the time of day as a student. He never intervened on his behalf against the Marauders, and he clearly favoured Lily and her beauty to the poor, ugly snake. Maybe he judged people too harshly.

Hermione jumped out of bed Saturday morning, eager to meet Severus and apparate to London to see the midwife. The pregnancy had been taking a lot out of her lately, and the previous night she had been in bed with a book, but today was pure adrenaline. She found a wool dress and a pair of tights to pull on. Looking in the mirror in the bathroom she shared with Lavender and Parvati, she turned to the side and cupped her belly. There was a tiny swell, not noticeable unless she drew attention to it. Hopefully, Severus finished the glamour charm soon.

Sitting on her trunk at the foot of her bed and pulling on her tall winter boots, Hermione was ready to trek down to the dungeons. Hopefully, if no one saw her before she woke up, she could explain the absence later instead of trying to get away from her friends.

She hurried down through the deserted corridors; the whole school seemed to still be in bed. She was looking out the windows she passed, watching the sun rise over the black lake when a noise ahead made her glance up, and she saw Malfoy walking towards her. "Where are you off to Granger?" Draco said curiously.

"None of your business Malfoy."

Malfoy sneered, and as she continued down the stairs, the blonde-haired boy grabbed her wrist. Whirling around, Hermione pulled her wand out of her bun and pointed it against his chest.

"Let me go Draco. I'm not the enemy."

"Could have fooled me. All you've done is chase after Potter for the last six years."

"And last I checked, Harry didn't command you to murder as a punishment," she hissed.

Malfoy's eyes widened, and he dropped her wrist like she'd burned him.

Her wand still pointed at him; she murmured, "Leave me alone Draco, and your secret is safe with me."

Before he could question her further, Hermione continued down the stairs, heading for Severus' quarters. Feeling Severus' wards admit her entrance, she slipped into the professor's quarters as he emerged from his bedroom half dressed in trousers, barefoot, while ringing out his long black hair with a white bath towel. Hermione had to bite her lip as she drank in the sight of him. His lithe, toned frame with its broad shoulders, slender waist made her mind run wild. She could hear him speaking words, but nothing she was absorbing nothing as she thought of a whole host of depraved things. As he approached, he tipped her chin and placed a light kiss on her lips, "Good morning," he rumbled.

Blinking rapidly to clear her mind, Hermione looked up at him with a half-smile, "Good morning. Maybe we could skip the appointment and stay in here all day?" she suggested.

Severus let out a chuckle, "As tempting as your offer is, I think I'd like to see your scan and ensure that cub is all right after this week's events."

Hermione leaned forward and placed light kisses over his left pectoral, "Well, if you're sure."

He let out a low growl, before gripping her hips, "After witch! Now, have you eaten anything?"

Shaking her head, no, Severus pushed her towards the couch and had Pepper bring a large spread.

Nibbling on a piece of fruit, Hermione looked up as Severus summoned a charcoal grey jumper and pulled it over his head, "So …. Draco seems different. Lighter."

So, Severus filled her in on the week, the vanishing cabinet, the poisoned mead, his conversation with Minerva and Albus, his conversation with Slughorn, and how that made him feel.

He had such a confused look on his face, so as he sat down next to her, Hermione turned and hooked a leg over his lap, straddling him. Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed his cheeks, "So many people love and respect you, Severus, you just have to let them in. I know it's hard, but you don't always have to think the worst of people."

Giving her a small quirk of his lips, he nodded, "I will try."

"Good! Now, I'm going to finish this plate of fruit, and I read that I have to drink a quart of water before the scan, then we'll go."

An hour later, Hermione and Severus found themselves in front of a medical centre in London. Hermione grabbed his hand tightly and squeezed, looking for reassurance. Tucking a curl behind her ear, Severus leaned down and murmured that everything would be fine. Walking inside, Severus found a couple of seats while Hermione checked in and grabbed a clipboard full of paperwork. It had been nearly thirty years since Severus Snape had darkened the doorway of a Muggle clinic and he looked around fascinated. This was clearly a modern, posh clinic unlike the run-down, understaffed hospital in Cokeworth. He glanced over Hermione's shoulder shocked and the volume of information she was required to fill out and was secretly happy it fell to her. He wouldn't even know where to begin.

As she finished and signed the bottom of the last form with a flourish, a door opened, and a nurse called out, "Hermione Granger."

Getting up, the couple followed the nurse to the exam rooms, "you don't have to be accompanied if you don't want to dear," the nurse said, looking up at Severus.

Hermione glared at the nurse and hooked her arm through Severus', "He is the father of the baby, and his name is Mr. Snape. He will attend most if not all of my appointments, and you will treat him with respect, or we will be seeking care elsewhere," Hermione growled.

Severus looked a little dumbfounded, as he always did when Hermione became his fierce lioness but remained silent. The nurse, to her credit, looked chastened and didn't say another word as she took Hermione's vitals and had her weighed and measured. When finished, the nurse murmured it would be a minute for the midwife to come in and left the couple alone in the stark white exam room. Uncomfortable, Severus stood up and starred at the various posters on pregnancy before finding a model of female anatomy and staring at it curiously.

"Love, come sit down."

"Maybe I shouldn't have come," he murmured.

"Don't be foolish! You deserve to be here. You deserve to see cub too."

Turning to face her, his eyes full of pain, "This is what it will be like for the rest of your life, if not worse. This is just some muggle woman who doesn't know us but is judging us for the age difference. What happens when the wizarding world finds out? You will be a social pariah."

Hermione scoffed, "I'm already a social pariah. Remember Rita Skeeter's articles about me? Someone sent me bubotuber pus in an envelope for 'breaking Harry's heart.' I'm tougher than you give me credit for Severus. Worse comes to worst, you have a home in Austria, and we leave Britain.

Before Severus could argue any longer, the midwife came bustling. She was a slight woman with a short blond hair and looking up from her clipboard smiled at the couple, "Good morning dears. I'm Mrs. Jones, but please call me Bryony. Now, Hermione, I understand you think you're about twelve weeks?"

Hermione nodded and gave a tentative smile to the midwife. "Excellent! Well let's get your twelve-week scan then, and we'll be able to measure the fetus and set a due date and make sure everything is ok with your little nugget. So why don't you just pull down your tights a bit, scoot up on the bed and lift your dress so we can use the sonograph?

While Hermione got settled, the midwife caught Severus' eye and smiled at him, "and you must be the proud Papa?"

Severus croaked, then clearing his throat, nodded, "Yes. Severus Snape. Good to meet you."

"Well no need to be nervous Severus, if there are any abnormalities, we will refer Hermione to a specialist, but most likely everything will be fine. You can sit in the chair next to Hermione. That will give you the best view of the screen.

Once Hermione was situated on the long table, the woman switched on the monitor and began drizzling the clear gel onto Hermione's stomach. "Sorry if it's a little cold," Mrs. Jones said before lifting the transducer.

Hermione was regretting all the water she had drank in preparation as the transducer was pressed into her abdomen, putting pressure on her bladder. In a second, the room was filled with a loud noise, not dissimilar to the Hogwarts Express pulling into Hogsmeade station. Hermione's eyes filled with tears at the sound of the healthy heartbeat. "If you look here," Mrs. Jones pointed at the screen, "you'll see the baby's head. There are the arms and legs. Look they're waving at you."

Hermione gave the midwife a watery smile before turning to Severus, who was gazing transfixed at the monitor. Hermione lightly placed his hand in hers and squeezed. Blinking out of his trance he gave Hermione a charged look. Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed and murmured, "Thank you. You… You have given me the greatest gift Hermione."

Looking back to the screen, Severus entirely focused on the tiny, blurry black and white image on the screen. His baby. Their baby. Their cub. Nothing else in this world mattered anymore. He would devote his life to his child, Dumbledore and the Dark Lord be damned.