He paced the hallway of Malfoy Manor as Lucius looked on, amused at what was unfolding before him. Never did he think he would see the day that Severus Snape would become a father, much less anxious about the impending birth, which was strange in itself given that he had let it be known on more than one occasion that he had little desire to sire a child, let alone bring one up.

Severus Snape didn't have what Lucius Malfoy did. He didn't have a bloodline to protect, he wasn't on the receiving end of millions of galleons, a large, ostentatious mansion nor the artwork from many a famous painter through the ages hanging pride of place to accentuate. No, he had nothing to pass on but a filthy old shit-shack, a deep, bitter hatred for the world and deep-seated hate for all that he was- as Snape.

"Why are you so anxious?" Lucius asked Severus as he leaned coolly against the wall watching the man pacing backwards and forwards with the likeliness of a caged big cat at the zoo. "It's not like you want the child." He inspected his manicured nails with boredom.

He stopped and stared at him for a moment, looking him up and down with regard for a moment. "I care not for the child; however, her feelings of anxiousness and pain are so strong I am feeling them somewhat and cannot block them out in this instance no matter how fucking hard I try." He gnashed his teeth painfully, showing his disdain for the current situation he found himself in.

Lucius snapped a brow high in question, this was foreign to him. "I'm sorry, I am lost here. When did you become an empath?" Confusion tangled hopelessly in his tone. This was news to him. Severus Snape had the empathy of a pebble.

Severus sighed and resumed his pacing as he ran a shaky hand through his inky hair, looking left to right to ensure there was nobody lurking around trying to pry into conversations that they shouldn't be privy to.

"When she escaped-" He began in a hushed, low whisper, looking around once again to double check they were truly alone.

"And blew apart my dining room?" Lucius added pettily. How would he ever forget that?

"Yes. When she escaped." He chose to ignore his petty statement and continue on, "she used all of her core magic and was dying. Her magic was depleted and when a Witch or Wizard depletes their magic you know what happens. She was weak and cold so I…" He trailed off and stopped pacing, facing Lucius once more watching as he came to realisation what had happened.

"You didn't, did you?" Lucius's jaw almost hit the floor at the revelation. "You don't even care for the girl and you go and do something as stupid as taking a blood bond with her to save her life? Wouldn't you have been better off letting her die peacefully than go through all of this? To go through a life of torture and pain? You fucked a child into her and then branded while she was hanging helpless in my dungeons. There really are some fates worth than death, Severus and you chose to continue her pain."

Severus raised a brow and the look that flashed past his eyes told Lucius everything he needed to know. "You don't… care for the girl, Severus?"

Severus looked pointedly at him again. The two had known one another for so long, words were sometimes not needed.

Lucius threw his hands in the air in defeat. "Are you fucking kidding me right now? You are in love with another fucking Mud- someone of her blood status" he quickly corrected himself knowing how much it would anger Severus if he called her for what she truly was.

"Was losing the first one not enough for you when I had to pick up the pieces of that failed fucking mission several times and then again once she died. Next, you will tell me you really want this kid. You know what happened the first time you fell in love with one and you know the probability of her not getting herself killed by our Lord is very, very low. She has a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue. She is bound to get herself killed at one stage. Talk about history repeating itself."

"No. I don't want the child. I never did want the child or any child, but I do want the girl. I can't help it the heart wants what the heart wants." He shrugged.

"You have a heart?" He mocked.

"Yeah, I do actually, thanks for the concern. And besides, hopefully, everything will be over soon."

"What do you mean will be over soon?" Lucius asked with an interested and confused upward inflection. How could this be over? How could any of this be over? Harry Potter was dead, and they were doomed, nay condemned to a life of misery.

"Nothing…" Severus looked away. "I said nothing."

"I swear to fuck Severus if you have heard a whisper if you have a plan if you know a way to end my life of fucking misery, Merlin you better tell me now. I'm only weeks away from begging you to turn your wand upon me and utter the killing curse."

Severus snorted loudly. "And get charged for yet another murder, I think not."

"I think you would be given a thank you party for doing the ministries work for them, honestly."

Severus had to chuckle at that one. And technically, he was already driving that bus to hell, so what was another life taken anyway should the need arise. There was no coming back from this, not morally, not legally, he was well and truly bent over and being fucked hard from behind.

"And then that son of yours could live out the life he wants with the girl he likes very, very much. You realise if you want the Malfoy line to continue you must allow it via her, there is no if's why's or maybes. How terrible, a Muggleborn continuing the great Malfoy line. Tragic."

Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose hard. "I am aware of that, Narcissa has made me aware that every single fucking day since it happened, and I am not ready to come to terms with it. Not a day went by that I didn't think of sneaking in and slitting her pretty, white throat to release my son from this insidious notion that he has to procreate with someone of her… type, but I restrained because of the backlash I am sure I would have received from not only the Dark Lord but most definitely you and now I know where your true feelings lie I am so very glad I didn't slaughter her at my hands."

Severus almost felt highly offended that Lucius wanted to kill the woman he loved, his brutishness knew no bounds when it came to protecting the Malfoy line from impure blood. But the truth was, without it, it would die off anyway. When you bred with cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, the gene pool eventually got so muddied up, so toxic that nothing would ever survive without outside influence.

"If you lay a finger on her…" Severus trailed off, anger flashed beneath the blackness of his eyes dangerously. He was almost livid that someone he considered a very good friend had even thought about killing the one person in the world that brought him some semblance of happiness.

Lucius waved a dismissive hand. "I'm not stupid enough to do it now. I know how dangerous you can be and if you have a way out, I daresay I want to stay on the right side of you."

Silence clung to the air, a weird awkwardness shrouding them. Severus a little upset that Lucius wanted to kill Hermione, and Lucius very taken aback that Severus Snape, the hard, cold and bitter man had opened his heart once more after it was stomped on and shredded to what he thought was beyond repair.

Lucius was first to break the silence moments later. "So, are you going to tell me what the dark and mysterious Severus Snape has up his sleeve to save the world, or am I to assume you are keeping tight-lipped about it?" Jutting his chin out he folded his arms tightly across his chest.

Severus sighed with resignation. He had to tell someone, he guessed should ill-fate befall him before Harry Potter graced them with his appearance. After all, this was for the greater good of the Wizarding world with or without him in it. He couldn't condemn the rest of the world to this fuckery just because he was going to be around to be in it.

"Lightning will strike twice," Severus said simply, raising a brow quickly.

"Really?" Lucius asked with the utmost interest, head titled. This was a revelation. "One can only hope that this storm has a little more power than the last."

"Indeed. It would be a shame if the wards around here were to fail in three weeks' time at Seven P.M. and nobody realised." Severus smirked dangerously.

"That would be a travesty." Lucius grinned wickedly with a wink. Fucking Harry Potter might just be his ticket out of this fucking fuckhole of a lie he had dug himself into. Merlin knew he wanted to live a life of peace again, gone were the days when he wanted to stand beside a master and take over the world. No. Now he wanted to stand beside his wife who still refused to touch him and ravish her beyond measure.

"Remember, Azkaban awaits most of us. Choose wisely and plan for this storm accordingly." Severus nodded his head curtly. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do. Would he run like a coward, or would he stay and fight as he should? He knew Hermione would be beside herself when she saw Harry and Ron march through the front doors, wands blazing, and it would be hard to convince her to leave with him and run to safety. Oh, sweet baby Merlin was there going to be some fucking back-lash from her when she found out.

The chances of her being locked in Azkaban were low, she murdered once, yes, but taken into account of where she was, who she was and what she had been through, they would most likely wipe the charge and hail her a hero on a good day. On a bad day when they saw she had taken the mark and became one of them, perhaps she would get a stint in Azkaban, not long, but long enough to break her. She appeared hard on the outside, but deep down he knew she had a breaking point far weaker than his own and it was only a matter of time before she snapped in spectacular fashion.

Severus on the other hand, he had amassed more murders and wrongdoings than she had. He had basically kidnapped her and made her his bride. He had been a Death Eater for many long, torturous years and that wouldn't fall in favour of him. No. If he were caught, he was certain he would end up with a life sentence and the kiss.

Draco's sentence would probably be on par with Hermione's and thus, she wouldn't be alone, and she would at least have somebody. She really had no choice in the matter right now or ever. Vows and bonds could not be broken so even if she hated the two of them beyond measure after that, she was tied to them for life whether she liked it or not.

The situation was hopeless right now and probably the worst time to be bringing a child into the world. But it wasn't like he had any say in it anyway. It was done as you were told or face the wrath of Voldemort's fury.

The only silver lining here was that Azkaban or no Azkaban, there was a small, shining light that this could all be over sooner rather than later.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Brow hot and sticky with sweat she breathed raggedly. Pain shooting across her entire body and settle right in the small of her back exploding through each of her nerves. She couldn't do this; she didn't want to do this. She knew once she pushed the child out that was it, it was game over for them. But at the same time, she didn't have much of an option, either. It wasn't like she could keep it there forever. Well, she could try.

"I can't do this," she groaned, breathless to Narcissa who was sitting patiently on a chair next to the bed stroking the girl's hair that was damp with sweat in a sweet gesture to help her feel better. Make her feel as if someone cared. She knew how scary it was to birth a child.

"You really have no choice," She chuckled softly. "The baby has to come out one way or another. You can't just close your legs and hope it stays there."

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the sheets as another wave of pain washed over her as she gasped for breath. The contractions coming fast and hard and making her want to vomit she was sure the birth of the child was imminent.

"Another contraction so soon?" Narcissa asked, her interest piqued as Hermione only nodded yes as the pain made her vision blurry and her tongue dry.

Draco paced the length of the room, looking like he was about to faint. How did women do this? It was almost barbaric.

"Draco be a dear and alert your father and Severus that I am quite certain the child will be here soon. Tell your father to fetch the healer also."

Draco only nodded; he would have walked across hot coals for five minutes out of that room, but his mother had insisted he stay should they need anything.

Hermione's teeth clenched, and a wail fell from her lips. Fingers raking the sheets once more so hard her fingers were starting to tingle. This was nowhere near as fun coming out as it was making the baby, she thought bitterly to herself. She was never, ever going near another male again- ever.

Draco raced back in the room flanked by Severus, Lucius and the Healer only moments later.

Draco resumed his pacing, Lucius stood by the door preparing to make a quick exit, Narcissa stood back watching the whole thing unfold before her only a few feet away.

Severus gently grabbed Hermione's hand which was probably the worst decision of his life, because the next contraction that washed over the girl saw his hand almost crushed in the vice-like grip as she screamed at him almost incoherently. A woman possessed now lay in the bed.

"You are never touching me ever again, Severus Snape," She bit harshly through gritted teeth as he was certain the blood supply to his hand was being cut off and he wondered how long it would be before he lost all feeling in it and it would fall off, because right now, he didn't think he was ever getting his hand back and he wondered if gnawing it off was an option.

"You're very close now, you are going to have to push," the healer gently urged.

"No!" Hermione clenched her teeth hard together almost breaking them.

"Well, unless you have come up with a way of keeping that child where it is for the rest of your natural life, I daresay you don't have any choice," Severus interjected.

"No! Because… Because then he will get my baby." She broke out into heavy, gut-wrenching sobs as she broke down, crying into his thick, black robes. And it was at that moment his heart raced and his face dropped. His stomach fell to the floor and the total look of sadness in her eyes almost broke him.

"Hermione," he whispered softly, gently caressing her matted mess of hair that had managed to twirl itself into multiple knots. "We will worry about that later, right now, you have to birth this child."

"No. I don't want t- " She stopped midsentence and her eyes grew wide as the unbearable urge to push swept across her. An urge she couldn't control, she couldn't turn off, an urge she couldn't stop. No, no, no. This wasn't what was meant to happen. She wanted to be in a calm room, music playing birthing a child that was planned. That was in her ten-year plan. Not this, not terrified to push because as soon as that baby sucked its first breath in it became the property of a filthy, vile, maleficent overlord who was nothing short of a sociopath.

She sucked in a breath, gripped his hand tighter than she had it already and screamed the loudest, pained scream he had ever heard escape a human body, and he had tortured and murdered many people.

"I. Don't. Want. To. Do. This," She huffed between breaths as she felt the overwhelming urge to push again. Her body growing tired and the pain she was currently feeling made her want to vomit as she shook violently.

"Shhh Shhh," Severus cooed softly to her, still stroking the matted, messy blonde hair on her head in a bid to calm her down. A small gesture that maybe he did care about her more than he let on.

"I can't." Her body heaved with sobs as she bit her lower lip once more, her body convulsing. She willed herself not to push again but she was on autopilot.

Draco looked over and gagged at what he saw, that was not natural in any sense of the word. How could something that big, come out of somewhere that small?

A loud, shrill wail filled the air. A wail that only an infant could make. Despite all of her effort to keep the child where she wanted it, she failed.

Hermione, spent, laid breathless in the bed, not caring she currently had blood and amniotic fluid running down her legs, down her butt and pooling on the sheets beneath her. She was so very, very tired. And sore. She wanted to sleep.

The healer wrapping the babe in a blanket that had been sitting on the floor beside her, she fished around in her pocket for a pair of scissors and cut the cord with precision and finesse as she checked him over.

Narcissa almost swooned at the sight of the newborn in the healer's arms. She was sure her uterus was going to jump out of her body and get itself pregnant if she didn't.

The look on her face made Lucius reel. Surely the daft woman didn't want to bring another pretentious and almost useless child into the world, did she? Well, they could only improve on the last one and that was if she could even hold a pregnancy, something that hadn't happened since Draco made a dog's breakfast of his mothers once delicate lady garden.

The young healer stood up and gently went to place the baby in Severus's arm. He froze, breath stuck in his throat. He wanted nothing to do with this wretched child and he didn't care if he ever laid eyes on the inconvenience. It was better if he didn't take it. He didn't want to take the child.

After an awkward pause and felt every pair of eyes in the room focused solely on him and what he would do, he felt obliged to take the child. He gently cradled the newborn in his arms. "Your son." The healer looked pointedly at Severus before going back to tend to Hermione.

Looking down at the tightly swaddled bundle his heart skipped a beat or two. Shit. Was this love at first sight? The child had his eyes. Light, perfect skin. The small smattering of hair that the baby had on its head was inky black, just like his. The innocent babe cooed softly to him as he stared down at the perfect human he had helped make. He held the baby tighter to his chest and just stared at him with adoration in his eyes. He was perfect. Now he totally understood it, the instinct that a person seemed to inherit the moment their child was born. Love, at first sight, was possible.

He traced a long finger over the baby's tender forehead before dipping down and gently brushing his lips over the child's soft skin. He had no idea what had overcome him, an almost animalistic magnetism to his son.

"Weak," he heard Lucius whisper, which only earnt him an extended middle finger.

Just as he went to pass him to Hermione when the door to the room flew open. Voldemort.

"Ah. I hear congratulations are in order," He hissed, snaking his way over to Severus and peering at the young boy. "Looks just like you, Severus. Poor child."

Severus clamped the tiny child closer to his chest and Hermione tried in vain to leap from the bed but couldn't. Her insides felt as if they were about to become outsides if she moved too quickly or moved at all.

"I thank you two for your loyal service." He looked pointedly at Hermione and Severus, "But I am here to claim what I have waited nine long months for."

"M…My Lord, surely you don't need the child right now. She hasn't even had a chance to hold him."

"Well actually, I do need the child right this instance, Severus and it is best if she doesn't, you know, create the maternal bond by holding him. Sullying him with her filthy blood any further is not needed."

Severus stood slack-jawed at what was unfolding before him. He knew the man was cold and heartless, but he didn't realise the extent of that until right now. Voldemort reached out and carelessly took the child from Severus's arms.

"You aren't taking my baby." Hermione winced as she tried to prop herself up on the pillows painfully.

"I am, and I will." Voldemort's red eyes flashed dangerously at her daring her to stop him, daring her to fight.

"No!" She screamed, sobbing once again as she tried with all her might to get out of the bed. Ever so gently she pulled herself to her feet, shakily feeling as if her insides might fall from her body and end up around her feet. Blood and fluid trickling down her bare legs. "Give him back to me."

"No." His voice icy cold.

Hermione's chest began to rise and fall rapidly as she struggled to breathe. Her throat and mouth dried up and she began to shake and feel lightheaded. Tears began to fall heavily down her cheeks. "Give. Him. Back. Now." Her teeth gritted as anger flashed behind her usually pleasant and happy eyes. She needed a wand but if she couldn't get one, she would fight tooth and nail for this child even if it meant her own death.

He ignored her.

"GIVE HIM TO ME," She screamed at the top of her lungs, lunging for Voldemort, Severus reached out and easily managed to grab her. The blood of the birth still wet on her legs; her bare bottom half exposed to the world but she didn't give a damn fuck right now who saw her bear naked.

Magic crackled thick in the air as her eyes turned darker, evil. The electricity in the air was palpable, dark magic, Severus's Dark magic that now inhabited her veins began taking over and clouding her judgement.

"Severus," Lucius warned, "She's about to blow another room of my house apart."

She fought against Severus, clawing at his hands and neck as he drew her in close. She snarled with the ferocity of a rabid dog as the magic began to build and crackle around her. She was a bomb waiting to go off.

Long nails clawed mercilessly at his pale skin, every inch she could scratch, she did. Blood was drawn and eyes now darker than the night sky she was ready to fight. She was ready to kill. Severus held her steadfast, never wavering despite the assault on his skin.

"Do something before she kills us all," Voldemort snapped at the healer as the intense magic began to come to head. Her magic mixed with Severus's was somewhat strong, but the fact she wasn't allowed a wand or to practice magic that was not stored deep within her core. And a witch or Wizard that cannot use magic frequently can become very, very dangerous.

The healer rummaged around her bag, pulling a syringe with a needle from her bag, with haste she managed to stick it roughly in Hermione's exposed, naked leg and within seconds, she went limp in Severus's arms.

He placed her gently on the bed, covering her with a blanket for some modesty and dignity, not that she had much left right now.

"What did you give her?" Severus's hissed at the healer.

"Draught of living death," She squeaked back.

"Are you daft?! You can't be injecting that it could bloody well kill her. What if she never wakes up again? It's volatile at the best of times when ingested, but to inject it is just pure negligence."

"Well I had to do something; she was going to kill us all. It's a very weak dose, she will only be out for a few days."

"You want to hope so," He snapped. He couldn't bear to lose Hermione so quickly after his son had been snatched from his arms unceremoniously and he had no way to get him back without risking either of their lives. If he snatched the child and ran, Hermione was currently too incapacitated to be taken along without being a burden, and if she were left behind, she was as good as dead.

"Thank you for your contribution to our cause, Severus." Voldemort smiled evilly as he left the room, Severus's flesh and blood cradled haphazardly in his arms.

"Well. That was a fucking shit show," Draco piped up from where he had stood and witnessed everything in silence. Are you just going to let him traipse out of her with your first born?"

"I don't see I have much of a choice, Draco," Severus bit hard, sinking onto the mattress beside Hermione, head held hopelessly in his hands as the healer finished tending to the girl.

"We will just have to wait patiently for the next storm," Lucius piped up trying his best to throw some positive into the entire negative of what had just happened.

"Indeed we will," Severus muttered hopelessly, not looking up. He didn't want anyone to see the complete hurt and desolation etched into every line of his face, the total devastation that lingered in his eyes, the heart that was breaking in his chest and the tears that pricked his eyes.

A/N: I just realised I started this story over a year ago now. Where the hell has the time gone?! Chapter 36 already. Wow.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate every single review I am gifted. I have the next three chapters all half written in the direction I want to go, some hopefully it won't take me long to polish them up into what I want and post them for you all. The storm is coming and with it, people must make split-second decisions that will map out their entire lives.

-Aliasmel1