Florence ended up taking more time of work than she anticipated. She hated leaving Eileen alone, but she found the time in the quarters dull as there was little for her to do. The only thing that kept her returning was the fear of anything happening to Eileen. She would sit and chew her lip thinking about the endless possibilities that could happen whilst she was away for the day or if Eileen left the quarters.

'Are you doing okay, Florence?' Severus asked, taking her hand.

She came out of her thoughts and nodded, 'Yeah.'

'I assumed you would be back teaching by now.' He said cautiously.

She welled up, 'I thought so to.'

He put his arms around her, 'What's wrong?' he asked.

'I can't leave her, but I hate being stuck in here daily. I'm so scared that something is going to happen to her whilst I'm away. Each time I think I'm ready to return to work I have a meltdown about Eileen.' She clung to Severus, 'I don't know what to do.'

Severus rubbed her back, kissing her forehead, 'I think we should go for a walk, take Misty out as well. I'll sort out Eileen's pram, you get yourself ready.'

She nodded, sniffing slightly, 'Okay. That sounds good.'

Severus carefully organised the pram and placed Eileen who was sleeping peacefully. He could understand Florence's concerns, he would find himself thinking about Eileen throughout the day and the relief he would feel when he would come back and see both his daughter and Florence happy and well. He hoped that by going for regular walks she would become more comfortable in leaving the quarters and eventually she would feel confident enough to start returning to work slowly.

'I'm ready now, Sev.' She said, linking arms with him as he pushed the pram, Misty followed closely, 'I'm sorry for being so dramatic. I have no idea why it's so hard to leave her.'

'It's nothing to worry about. In time you won't even think about all the bad possibilities that could happen. I reckon because motherhood is new you are just adjusting.' He gave her a small smile.

She hummed. She knew he was right, 'Do you struggle as well?'

He nodded, 'I do. But I have the luxury of working whereas you can spend the whole day thinking about what could happen.'

'True. I don't really want to start thinking about writing another book and I get so distracted with other thoughts. Thank you for being so understanding, Sev.' She pulled herself closer to him and squeezed his hand.

As they made their way towards the Whomping Willow, Florence stopped suddenly, frowning, 'Why is Remus walking straight into the Whomping Willow? I swear everyone knows that tree is dangerous.'

Severus frowned, narrowing his eyes, 'There is only one reason Lupin would go into that tree… not since the last time… Go back to the quarters, Florence. I shouldn't be too long.'

She sighed, 'Fine, but only because Eileen is here. Otherwise I wouldn't.'

Severus shook his head, 'You're always going to say that, aren't you?'

Florence grinned, turning the pram around, 'Yep. Come on Misty.' The dog followed Florence, giving Severus a sad look.

/

Florence had been pacing the room, waiting for Severus to return. She'd put Eileen to sleep and feed Misty, all of which did not distract her from the feeling of dread she felt collecting in the pit of stomach.

'I can't stay here!' she summoned one of the house elves she trusted, 'Hokey, I need you to watch Eileen and Misty for a little while. There is some milk in the fridge, just needs a little warming. She's down for a nap and has been fed so she should be fine until I get back. Misty has already eaten so ignore her if she starts begging.'

Hokey nodded, 'Yes Mrs Snape. I used to do babysitting.'

'Well that is a relief,' she grabbed her wand and took a deep breath as she closed the door, 'She'll be fine. Dumbledore said Hokey was a good choice.'

The tree was unnaturally still again, and Florence guessed Severus was familiar with the purpose of the tree. She carefully dodged the branches and noticed a small entrance. She ducked down and was surprised to see a long path that lead to various rooms and at the end of the path there was a staircase, 'Lumos.'

She noticed various fresh footprints were going in the same direction and she decided to follow them. Loud voices were coming from above her and she figured that Severus must be upstairs. She jumped slightly when she heard a loud crash and then a girl's scream.

Florence hurried upstairs and cautiously opened the door. Her stomach dropped when she saw Sirius Black standing the centre of the room, with Lupin next to him.

'Florence… go back.' Remus said, near begging.

'What is going on? Where has Severus gone?' her eyes widened when she saw the trio standing in the corner, Harry gripping a wand that was pointed firmly at Black.

Hermione nervously chewed her lip, 'H-he's unconscious, Professor.' She whispered.

Florence's stomach dropped when she followed Hermione's line of vision and saw Severus' unconscious form on the broken bed, 'Remus, what is going on?' she said firmly, gripping her wand in her pocket.

'I want to get my revenge.' Black said simply, he approached Florence, 'No one is going to stop me. Either go now or stand here quietly like the others.'

'Sirius…' Remus said, trying to reason with the angry man.

'Talk then, Black.' Florence spat, Black grabbed her arm and Florence let herself be led to Harry, Ron and Hermione. As she brushed his hand off her arm she gasped as she felt herself be pulled into a memory.

She saw Black and Pettigrew in the alleyway, 'Why did you betray them, Peter?' Black hissed, throwing him against the wall.

'You don't know the power the Dark Lord had!' Peter Pettigrew whimpered, 'I had to give them up, his was going to kill me, Sirius.'

'Then die! James and Lily would have sacrificed themselves for you!' Sirius screamed. He took a deep breath, backing away from Pettigrew.

Sirius heard Pettigrew yelling out to passing Muggles and he ran up to him, trying to silence him. Sirius looked horrified as Pettigrew cast the Blasting Curse and quickly cut a finger off, transforming into his animagus.

The next moments happened quickly as those who were injured slightly cornered Sirius, accusing him of causing the explosion and the murder of his friend.

'He's telling the truth.' Florence said suddenly. Black looked at her strangely, clutching his hand.

'What?' Harry said, confused by her change of heart.

'I saw his memory. The rat. The finger. Everything. Pettigrew admitted it but he faked his own death.' She said, her eyes drifting to the squirming rat.

'Prove it.' Harry said to Black and Remus. He glanced nervously at Florence who was checking Ron's leg.

Sirius took the rat from Ron and carefully put it onto the piano, him and Remus attempted to turn Pettigrew back to his human form. They finally managed to and everyone was surprised to see Pettigrew. His time as a rat had had an impact on him as the attributes of a rat had made it's way into his human form. His teeth had become large and his hands were claw-like.

'S-sirius my old friend! And Remus!' He stammered, screaming slightly as Sirius lunged forward, his wand raised.

'How could you?' Sirius hissed, 'We'll kill you together.'

'The Dark Lord had much power. I couldn't refuse him.' Pettigrew said, shaking. His gaze met Harry and he stumbled over, 'Your mother was kind, she wouldn't let me die like this!'

Pettigrew whimpered and clutched at Florence's arm, 'You wouldn't let me be killed?'

Florence pushed him away, 'This is not my business.' She said simply, Pettigrew let out a terrified shriek.

As Remus and Sirius prepared themselves, Harry stopped them suddenly, 'We'll take him to the castle. The Dementors can take him and Sirius, you can clear your name.' Pettigrew's whimpering became erratic at the thought of the Dementors.

'Thank you, Florence is it?' Sirius said.

She smiled, 'Yes. And that's okay. I hope you can build a bond with your godson.'

'Are you coming, Professor?' Hermione asked as they started to return to the castle.

'I'll stay here and wait for Severus to wake up. He's going to be furious.' Hermione looked worried, 'I'm sure you have nothing to be worried about.' Florence gave her a smile as Hermione followed Harry and Lupin out of the Shrieking Shack.

She waved her wand to repair the bed and she sighed at the sight of Severus. She lifted his head and sat down, resting it on her lap, 'I hope you won't be too mad when you wake up.' She said softly, brushing back the stray hairs from his face.

He stirred slightly at the sound of her voice, 'Why does my head pound?' He asked groggily.

She beamed, 'I'm not overly sure, but it turns out Sirius Black was innocent!'

He shot up, 'Where is Black and why are you here?'

'They left with Pettigrew to go back to the castle and I was worried, so I followed you.' Her smile fell at the look of anger on Severus' face, 'it's okay, Sirius Black is innocent.'

He paced nervously, 'It is a full moon tonight, isn't it?'

Florence nodded, 'What's that got to do with anything?'

'Lupin is a werewolf… and I don't think he's had his potion… Please stay here, Florence.' He squeezed her hand and then ran out of the room.

Florence sighed, laying down on the bed. She stifled a yawn and closed her eyes.

'Professor?' Florence yelled out in shock as Hermione Granger woke her up.

'What happened?' She said, rubbing her head.

'Professor Snape sent me to get you. Harry and Sirius Black were found unconscious after some Dementors attacked and Ron needs some help because of his leg. I'm sorry for waking you.'

'Don't worry, Hermione, I'm just tired because of the baby.' She laughed and then nodded, 'Okay, let's go.'

As they left the Shrieking Shack, Hermione asked Florence about her return to teaching, 'I reckon next week.' She gave Hermione a smile, 'Yes, I will be back starting next week.'

Severus had managed to bring Harry and Sirius Black back to the Whomping Willow and he looked relieved when Florence arrived with Hermione.

'I need you to take the students to the Hospital Wing. Black is going to be locked up until the Minister arrives.' He looked pleased at the prospect of having Sirius Black caught.

'What about Pettigrew?' Florence asked.

'He escaped.' Hermione said.

'I think Black played a nasty game on you all.' Severus hissed, purposely letting the unconscious Sirius Black knock his head on a rock.

Florence ignored Severus' comments, instead creating a floating stretcher for Harry, 'Come on, Ron, let's get your leg healed.' Hermione and Florence slung one of Ron's arms around their shoulders.

'But you saw Sirius was innocent!' Hermione protested.

'I did. But if the majority of the wizarding community believe he isn't, what's one person's word against everyone else's. Plus, as Professor Snape proved, they'll say he created those memories.' She said, 'And it doesn't help Pettigrew got away.'

Hermione sighed, 'Harry is going to be devasted.'

'There wasn't much you could do.' Florence said, shifting Ron's weight.

Poppy insisted on keeping Hermione in the Hospital Wing overnight and Florence returned to her quarters, waiting for Severus to return. She was glad to see Hokey had been brilliant with Eileen, 'She slept the whole time, Mrs Snape! The big dog also slept.' Hokey said happily.

'Thank you, Hokey.' Florence gave her a couple of galleons as a thank you, 'Don't try and give it back to me, you've done a lot for me.'

Hokey fidgeted, 'If Mrs Snape insists…'

'I do.'

'As Mrs Snape wishes.'

Hokey clicked her fingers and disapparated. Florence gazed down at Eileen who had a smile on her face as she slept, 'I think you'll be okay with Hokey or nursery.' She whispered.

Florence heard the door open and then close, 'Florence?' Severus called out.

'In here.' She replied, folding up Eileen's blankets.

'The Minister wants a Dementor to give Black the Kiss.' Severus said.

'He's innocent, Severus!' Florence said, shaking her head. She gripped the edge of Eileen's day cot tightly, 'I saw.'

'Isn't it possible Black twisted that memory?' Severus asked.

Florence turned to face Severus, 'I trust what I saw. The memory didn't seem tainted.' She wrapped her arms around herself, 'It doesn't happen often, but it seemed real.'

Before Severus could respond there was rapid pounding on the door, 'Black's escaped!'

Severus' face hardened, and he furiously opened the door, 'What did you just say?'

The ministry worker's face paled, 'Black has escaped.' He whispered.

'Potter.' He hissed, storming out of the quarters furiously, slamming the door shut. Florence sat on the sofa, she sighed in relief at knowing Black had managed to avoid the unfair punishment.

/

Severus returned in the early hours of the morning. Numerous Aurors, Ministry workers and some of the staff searched the castle and the grounds in the attempt to locate Sirius Black to success. Florence had already gone to sleep so he got himself ready for bed, 'I'm sorry for earlier.' He murmured, brushing hair away from her face and kissed her gently.

Despite his need to sleep, he laid in bed staring at the ceiling. He wanted to catch Black. He wanted to make the person who'd caused him so many years of pain to feel pain. Despite Florence's insistence that she knew Black was innocent, Severus couldn't bring himself to believe it. He needed more proof. He needed to see Pettigrew was alive. Then he could accept Black's innocence.

Each time he dosed off, he kept reliving finding Lily's body. The anger he felt then at Black kept resurfacing. He needed the closure that he would've had through Black's sentencing. Seeing Black again brought those feelings back. He hadn't felt the anger, guilt and emptiness for three years and they'd came flooding back the moment his eyes locked with Black's.

He found himself sitting in Eileen's nursery. The guilt came back. Now he had a child of his own, he kept picturing how Lily and James must've felt when the Dark Lord came to kill their son. The guilt felt worse somehow. His young jealousy had unintentionally torn the family apart. He would do anything to protect Eileen and Florence. Just as James Potter did.

He was pulled out of thoughts by Eileen stirring. He carefully picked her up and rocked her in his arms, moving around the room, 'Let's try not to wake your mother.' He murmured, patting her back.

Eileen made a sleepy squeal before resting her head on Severus' shoulder. He awkwardly sat down, trying not to disturb her. He found himself starting to feel exhaustion come over him and he carefully laid her down in her cot, tucking her up with a blanket. He smiled contently, perhaps, he thought, it was time to let go of the past. After all, the rumours of Lupin's real identity had been spread by Malfoy and Black had reclaimed his freedom.

There was no need to keep holding on to the past. He kissed Eileen softly on her forehead, 'Sweet dreams.' He whispered.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Originally Misty was going to be a cat, but a dog seemed to fit into the story far better. Please enjoy and review!