Chapter 52

Lucy took a deep breath to try and calm herself as the fourth years nervously entered her class. Snuffles stood next to her, watching every student enter and make their way to their seats. When Septimus entered, the dog growled low in his throat and took a threatening step forward.

She did get a small sense of satisfaction when the boy looked terrified and took a few steps back, but common sense overrode her desire to scare the wits out of Mr. Peaks. With her fingers she tapped Snuffles on the nose. He jumped before stepping back and looking up at her. "No," she said, firmly.

He whined before laying down and giving her a rather unhappy look.

"So," Lucy started when everyone had taken their seats. "I know we left off last class on a sour note, but I'd like the chance to explain myself to you all."

"It's okay," Jania said from her seat next to Tad, "Mum wrote back to me really quick yesterday and explained that's kind of normal for a pregnant woman. Like you get all emotional and have mood swings and stuff."

"Well, yes," Lucy said, glad they at least had an idea of what she was going to tell them, "but that doesn't make my behavior okay. Every pregnancy is different and I've apparently been blessed with rather intense mood swings. When I'm happy I cry, when I'm sad I cry, when I'm angry I cry. It seems like most anything makes me cry anymore. I don't want any of you to feel like you can't talk to me and tell me things though. I promise you that I'm doing my best to get them under control."

"Then why'd you bring the dog?" Septimus asked, not raising his hand as usual. "I keep telling Mum it attacked me last year but she doesn't believe me. I know it's true."

"Mr. Peaks," Lucy said, giving him a level look, one she hoped was up to Severus's standards, "Nothing I can say or do will convince you that Snuffles is harmless. He did growl at you, yes, but you might be interested to note that even though he isn't leashed he backed down and hasn't moved since I scolded him. Now, if no one else has any questions I'd like to start class."


"My nose is still sore you know," Sirius pouted Saturday, the day they were supposed to get married.

"Oh, stop being such a baby. I'm not going to kiss it and make it better. Besides I didn't hit you that hard," Lucy said, leaning against the wall. The Snapes were set to arrive any minute and it was easier if she was already standing when they got there.

There was a short, assertive knock at the door. Clearly Severus was the one announcing their arrival today. Lucy opened the door, grinning, "Hi! I hope you're hungry. We ordered up some fancy cake and extra special dinners."

"Extra special?" Dinah shrieked, clapping her hands together. Apparently it was Lucy's lucky day and her friend was indeed hungry. Though who knew how long that would last.

"Yes," Sirius said, coming behind Lucy and wrapping his arms around her, hands resting on One. "It is the day we were supposed to get married."

"Oh my, I nearly forgot about that," Dinah smiled and winked at them as the Snapes stepped inside, "I suppose congratulations is in order?"

"Thanks," Lucy giggled, following Sirius as he led them to the table. "You'll be happy to know I've been making progress in controlling myself in front of the students, Severus."

"Yes, at the expense of injuring your poor guard dog," Sirius teased.

"You are just fine," she said, rolling her eyes.

Severus sighed as they all settled down around the table, "Excellent." He looked like he still felt a bit guilty, though, about what had happened.

"Severus," she said gently, "I reacted poorly to the things you said and yes, you probably could have worded them better, but you were trying to help. I know. You like me," she grinned.

"Did I ever say that?" Severus demanded, clearing his throat and looking away, "I thought you said there was food here. Summon it, will you?"

Lucy sent a smirk Dinah's way while Sirius summoned up a dinner of all their favorites. Each person had their own unique meal. Dinah's, everyone noted, was especially eclectic. Lucy picked up her own fork and dug into the delicious stir-fry in front of her.

After eating about half of her shepherd's pie, Dinah switched over to her peach cobbler. And after about two bites of that she moved to her creamed spinach. She spent about a minute on that meal before eating a scoop of ice cream and then going back to the shepherd's pie. Her peas, sausages, and awful-smelling kippers were untouched yet, but Lucy had a feeling they wouldn't be abandoned for long.

"You okay?" Sirius asked, rubbing his hand across her back. "You look like you're about ready to be sick."

"It's the kippers but I'm fine," Lucy said, not wanting to make Dinah feel like she had to scarf her kippers down.

"Sorry," Dinah muttered around the mouthful of peas that she'd turned her attention to, "Sv, csta snot cnclment chrem."

"Please say you are not speaking to me," Severus said with somewhat disgusted smirk.

Dinah blushed and swallowed, "Sorry... um... cast a scent concealment charm on the kippers, okay?" she said, staring red-faced at the table.

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as the smells of the offensive kippers disappeared. "Thanks. I haven't had that problem in awhile but…"

"That's fine," Dinah said, digging into her scentless kippers, "Oh, good, the scent comes back when you eat them. Did you know that a large component of taste is scent? Oh, I bet you did since you're good at potions," she said, moving to her sausages, "I seem to be having a hungry day."

Lucy grinned at her friend, "I did and you don't say? And here I thought this was a normal day for you. If you keep going like this we might have to wait to have the cake."

Dinah surprised Lucy by pouting a little and Severus just shook his head and said in explanation, "Please bear with her. She recently informed me that acting childish was going to be her third-trimester affliction."

"Ah, yes," Lucy nodded, "You've reached that point now, haven't you? I guess that means my mood swings are just going to get worse…"

Severus looked at Sirius, "I believe we mentioned some sort or support group over the summer for men with mad pregnant wives?"

"Yes," Sirius nodded, "and I think we should have the first meeting tomorrow…or maybe later tonight. Especially if we exchange gifts and this one," he pointed at Lucy, "starts sobbing uncontrollably again."

"Nn," Severus made a groan of disgruntlement, pinching the bridge of his nose, and then apologized, "It is nothing personal. I am simply not... equipped for this sort of thing."

"That's okay," Lucy assured him, "Really Sirius isn't thrilled about my mood swings either." She looked down at her plate when her fork hit the solid surface. "Oh, I guess I ate it all…"

"Sorry, I'd share with you, but I can't," Dinah grinned, finishing off her shepherd's pie before dumping the remainder of her ice cream on top of her cobbler.

"That's okay," Lucy assured her, "I'm ready for Sirius to give you your present anyway. He thought of, and picked out, most of it himself and I think he did a good job. When you're finished of course. Don't rush."

"Oh!" Dinah smiled and turned a surprised expression to Sirius, probably thinking that he didn't look the type to be picking out baby gifts, "Well, thank you. That was nice, taking some of the work load off of Lucy."

"Is that an accusation?" Severus demanded.

"No, not at all," she flushed, poking at her last bit of peas, "Just a statement, really."

"Oh, it was an entirely selfish gesture, I think," Lucy said, "There's a big long note attached to the gifts that I haven't been allowed to read which probably explains everything."

Sirius, Lucy noted, was keeping his mouth shut and not looking at anyone directly.

"Um... okay," Dinah looked surprised in a different way now and exchanged a glance with Severus before pushing her empty plate away and wiping her face with a napkin, "Well, I'm done. How would you like to do this? We have a number of gifts for you, too."

"Why don't we go into the living room and you two can start us off? Lucy's libel to cry either way," Sirius said.

They all shuffled into the living room and Dinah handed a pile of four wrapped gifts of increasing size to Lucy. The gift on top was in a cylindrical wrap.

Lucy carefully peeled the wrapping off the gift inside. A long, sturdy chart was inside, with measurements counting down from the top. Right off she saw "One" written on the top with a blank space beneath it. "Oh," Lucy said, pulling out a handkerchief, "I'm sorry Severus, but I'm not in front of the students right now. Thank you," she said to both of them and turned to her husband, "See we can put the baby's name here."

"And track how tall One is," Sirius nodded.

Dinah smiled, "And I didn't know what color you would want so you can bewitch it in any way you like. If you have Two, Three, or more they'll get ones of their own too."

"That's so nice," Lucy sniffled, handing the scroll to Sirius and starting to unwrapping the next present. The same set of bug books that Dinah had gotten from Rosa soon sat in her lap. Lucy managed to hold herself together fairly well as she read the note from "Aunt Dinah and Uncle Severus" written inside the book. She tried to exert some control over her emotions so she didn't make Severus too uncomfortable.

She mumbled something incoherent to Dinah and Severus while Sirius leaned over and wiped her eyes with his own hanky. "I think that was 'thank you'," he told them.

"You're welcome," Dinah said softly while Severus grunted acknowledgement, looking embarrassed. "I'm sure you'll like them. They're some of my favorites, like I said. Mum thinks the caterpillar one appeals to my appetite, remember?" she laughed.

Lucy laughed through her happy tears, "I remember." The books were removed from her lap and placed next to the growth chart, while she began unwrapping the next present. A colorful box full of bath toys greeted her. The pictures showed a seal, two fish, a frog, duck, starfish, fox, dog, cat, and a snake came in the set. Most of the animals would squirt water when squeezed. "Oh, these are adorable," Lucy said, gathering more of her control, "And there's a fox and a dog for us," she said, smiling.

"The store in London had about a thousand different animals to choose from to customize your own set of ten," Dinah explained with a smile. "So after I picked our most relevant animals - the cat's for Dora and I knew you had a thing with rubber ducks - I filled out the rest with aquatic animals."

"That's so fun," Lucy grinned, "Now I wish I'd thought of something like that! Maybe we can play with them later," she said, winking at Sirius. When she caught Severus's scowl she laughed, "Oh, please! We can't do anything and I wouldn't use them for that anyway."

"I see," Severus smirked, but then smiled when Dinah reached for his hand as Lucy began unwrapping the last gift.

It was a small, two-drawer, nightstand. The four house colors flickered over the surface, changing at a slow place. On each drawer there were two of the house symbols craved on each side of the handle. It was adorable and didn't show any house preference whatsoever. "Oh, this can go right next to the big comfy chair you got me, Sirius!"

"Yes," he agreed, "It'll look good there. Thank you both."

"You're very welcome," Dinah smiled, "I'm glad you liked everything."

"You're welcome," Severus gave a sincere nod, though he still held himself a little more distant than Dinah.

"Now, I'll be right back," Sirius said, disappearing into the nursery.

"Send the part I picked out first!" Lucy ordered. A large wrapped bundle came floating toward them while Sirius stood in the doorway so that he could watch Dinah open her gift. He caught Lucy's gaze for a moment and gave her the smile that had gotten her to agree to 'have spaghetti' a few months ago in Hogsmeade House. The smile that had landed her in her current state. She blushed and fingered her version of the heart necklace she'd given Dinah at the baby shower. "This is the only part I helped with," Lucy told Dinah.

"Thank you," Dinah said, unwrapping her gift to reveal the deep brown and pale green diaper bag Lucy had picked out. The side was decorated with pale green and white designs that looked like leafy plants or trees. "It's so cute!" Dinah gushed, slinging the handle over her shoulder to try it on for size, "And I can use it in both worlds. Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Lucy grinned. "Now you both need to close your eyes because the other part isn't wrapped."

Dinah grinned but Severus put on a grouchy expression and said, "I will not partake in such a childish - Dinah!" he cut himself off with a growl of protest when Dinah covered his eyes with her hands.

"Shh, just close your eyes and cooperate," she laughed, closing her own eyes while Severus grumbled incoherently.

Once Lucy determined that their eyes were closed, she signaled to Sirius to bring out the next gift. With the help of a featherweight charm Sirius brought in the large changing table he'd ordered for the baby. It was a gorgeous piece of furniture, Lucy thought. The light wood finish had pale green cushion on top for changing the baby and each house was represented by their animals that chased each other around the piece. It had drawers for storage and places to hold diapers and wipes and other such things that would be needed to have close by.

"You can open your eyes now," Sirius said, when he'd placed the changing table in front of the other couple, clutching the letter she knew he'd written in his hands.

"Oh!" Dinah exclaimed when she opened her eyes and removed her hand from her husband's. She stood up from the couch and reached out to finger the wooden frame, "Oh my, it's... lovely, Lucy! I mean Sirius! It ... but this, and the necklace, and the bag... it's so much..." she murmured as she stroked the cushions, Severus just sort of staring at the whole ensemble.

"Not nearly enough," Sirius murmured, holding out the parchment to Dinah, "There's a letter in there explaining more but really there is no way I can repay you for everything you've done to keep Lucy safe for me. Both of you," he said, moving his gaze to include Severus too, "Seeing her that way… last year… when I'd gone to the LeStrange mansion… and when Henley showed up in Hogsmeade this year… I'm very grateful that you were there. There's also a document in there for a trust fund I set up for the baby. I plan to do the same thing if you decide to have more kids too."

Dinah's fingers closed slowly around the envelope that was handed to her but she did not put it into her robes or do anything with it right away, just stood there staring at Sirius with her mouth hanging open just a tiny bit, eyes wide. Both Snapes, in fact, looked like gaping statues.

"Trust fund...? I... but..." Dinah stammered, her voice shaking slightly as her gaze shifted down to the envelope and her eyes started to tear up a little, "Sirius, this is... too much! So much!" she shook her head and looked up at him, whispering, "Thank you. I don't even... there aren't really words... don't think I did enough to repay you for..." she muttered with a vague gesture to the gifts Lucy had just opened.

Sirius shook his head, "You've done everything. If Lucy wasn't here I wouldn't be either. I…she makes me a far better person then I ever was before her."

Lucy thought he was struggling to explain himself. Talking about their innermost feelings just wasn't something men did much but he seemed to think it necessary right now.

"There is…so much in my life now that there never would have been…even if everything had worked out and it had been me and Harry. Eventually Harry would have gone on with his life and it would have been just me. When I look at Lucy there is a joy and a love in her eyes that is beyond anything I ever thought I'd have, that I don't want to lose… believe me. You've done enough."

Lucy pulled out another handkerchief to blow her nose. She hadn't known all this about the trust fund, the letter, the way he felt…

Dinah had also removed a hanky and was wiping her eyes, finally tucking the letter away into her robe pocket and offering Sirius an awestruck, watery smile, "Thank you. I still think it's too much, but..." she reached out and then hesitated, "Can I hug you? You're not going to be afraid of me this time? Like over the summer?" she managed some light teasing through her emotion.

"Well, I suppose if you're not afraid of Lucy's attack dog, I shouldn't be afraid of you," he teased back.

"Snuffles is cute, not scary," she smiled, giving him a warm hug, "Thank you," she whispered.

"Tell that to Septimus," Lucy muttered.

"As far as Septimus needs to be concerned, Snuffles is the scariest thing on this planet," Sirius frowned and turned to Dinah, "You don't have to keep thanking me. You help keep my heart safe. The best I can do is help your child's future."

"Oh," Dinah murmured, clutching her hand to her heart, "Stop saying things like that. You know my emotions may be more stable than Lucy's but I'm still a pregnant woman," she said, pulling her handkerchief back out again.

Meanwhile, Severus had stood and put a gentle hand on his weeping wife's shoulder before moving to stand in front of Sirius, "You've changed," he declared, thoughtful, as though noticing it for the first time.

"So have you," Sirius said, "I told you she makes me better."

"Mm," Severus said, glancing at Dinah, "I know the feeling." He turned back to Sirius and, very slowly, extended his hand, "Thank you." As far as Lucy knew this was only the second time he had extended a hand to shake Sirius's. He had during the summer visit, but that had been more... grudging, somehow. This was highly thought out and sincere.

A smile spread across Lucy's face as Sirius also reached out his hand, grasping the other man's and giving it a firm shake. "You're welcome…and thank you," he said, nodding towards Lucy though his eyes were locked with Severus's.

Severus gave a brief nod as the men lowered their hands and Dinah came up to wrap her arms around her husband, looking so happy at both the gift and the turn of events it had brought about.

The Snapes shared a very personal moment in the way they looked into each other's eyes, and then Dinah turned back to Sirius, still clutching Severus's hands, "It was nothing, you know? I'll do anything to help Lucy, and everyone that I care about. And I know he won't say it but I'm sure Severus feels the same way," she said as her husband's eyes wandered around the room in embarrassed distraction, but there was no denial in his expression.

Lucy grinned, "I told you Severus likes me." She thought a bit of levity was called for after all the emotional speeches.

Severus made an agitated growling noise, "I never said that I hated you."

Dinah laughed, "Well... I think I'm a little overwhelmed still, by all of this, and Severus probably can't take any more of this bonding stuff for one night, so it might be good to go ahead and turn in."

"All right," Lucy nodded, trying to lever herself up off the couch while Sirius went to the window to answer the owl that had started tapping on the glass.

The Snapes were still in the room as Sirius came over to help Lucy off the couch and hand her the letter. She was halfway to her friends when she noticed the handwriting on the parchment and stopped.

"Lucy?" Sirius asked.

Instead of answering him she opened the letter and began to read it out loud, knowing whatever was inside couldn't be good. "Does he know? Do your friends know? Does your boss know? Your students? Do their parents? It will all come out soon enough."

"Well, who does he think he is?" Dinah huffed, hands on her hips while Sirius and Severus simply looked angry. "If he knew anything about friends he'd know none of that matters to any of us."

"Henley's just trying to scare me," Lucy said, making sure the sender's identity was clear. "But I'm not going to let him," she crumpled up the letter and tossed it towards the fireplace and the fire that was keeping the room nice and cozy.

It didn't reach the fire but Sirius stopped her from pulling out her wand to flick it the rest of the way. "We might want to keep that," he said, "In case we need to show it to Minerva or someone later."

"Wise, I suppose," Severus smirked. "Do you still need us?" he asked, a little impatiently. Perhaps Lucy's willingness to toss it into the flame had convinced him she was handling this better on her own.

"No," she shook her head, "No, we're fine." She started chewing on her lip, watching Sirius pick up the letter from her father. She was handling it better, but she wasn't sure that she was handling it well.