Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

The room was largely silent save for the sound of quiet breaths, the soft tick of a wall clock, and the gentle whisper of a light breeze drifting in through the open window.

Severus Snape sat in an armchair by the window that he had transfigured for himself using a rather uncomfortable looking visitor chair that had been provided. But as he was going to be sitting in said chair until morning, he decided that it would be worth it to charm the medieval torture device into something infinitely more comfortable for the duration. Closing his eyes for a moment, he inhaled and allowed himself a small smile before looking down at the tiny bundle in his arms.

Bundled up in a soft, sage green blanket was his daughter. She was so beautiful, with her shock of fluffy black hair, long fingers and glossy black lashes that were in sharp contrast to her pale skin. She was a marvel.

He couldn't believe his life; how lucky he was that he should have such a wonderful wife who would make such a little miracle with him. This was the mingling of their DNA, and he rather hoped the darling baby in his arms would be more like her mother than him. He shifted her in his arms, so they were more comfortable, reaching one of his hands up to her face and stroking his index finger down the slope of her little button nose, and across her soft, plump little cheek. He had no idea that he was even capable of producing something so pure.

Hearing a soft snore, Severus flicked his eyes up to the bed only a few feet away to his wife who was slumbering in the hospital bed, her arms flung across her eyes to block any residual light, and her mouth open slightly. Her labour had not been particularly long – clocking in at just under eight hours, but she had refused any pain management potions because their daughter had been up the wrong way and Penny Clearwater had to try and turn the baby around and Hermione knew it would be more beneficial if she could tell them how she was feeling throughout the process.

She had been such a little trooper throughout, and bore the pain very well. She was by no means quiet about it, but she complained surprisingly little, had not threatened to remove any portions of his genitalia, and had not made mention of withholding sex in the future as he'd heard women were wont to do while in childbirth. He'd stayed with her throughout, feeling rather unhelpful, but wanting to be with her to comfort her. He'd sat behind her with her snuggled up between his legs, rubbing her back and shoulders, plying her with a cold flannel, and letting her grip his fingers so hard he was sure they would break.

But his fingers remained intact, their daughter had charged into the world, belting out the loudest, blood-curdling cry he had heard in his life, and the nurses had cleaned her up, sorted out Hermione's after-birth and after a quick check of mother and child, the three of them had been left alone for a little while to meet their child.

'Severus?'

He looked up at the source of his name being spoken and saw that Hermione's eyes were open, and she tried to shift herself into a sitting position on the bed.

Severus stood up from the armchair and walked to her, gently easing the baby from his arms into his wife's. Once his hands were free, he cast a quick spell to widen the hospital bed, and the two of them snuggled together side-by-side in the middle. His arm went around her, and Hermione's head was cradled between his neck and shoulder while their daughter was in her arms, still sleeping. Apart from her initial cries as she came into the world, she hadn't made too much more noise with the exception of the occasional gurgle.

'What are we going to name her, love?' she asked him quietly as they both gazed upon her.

'I had some thoughts, if you would care to hear them?'

'Please.'

He reached up his free hand and gently ran his long fingers through the soft tuft of dark hair. 'I don't think we should name her after either of our mother's,' he said, and was rewarded with a quiet chuckle.

'No, I think that is for the best,' she replied.

'I thought Juno or Iris might be suitable names?' he offered.

Hermione tilted her face up to look at him and smiled. 'And stick with a Shakespearean theme?' she asked.

'Why not? Neither one of us has a particularly standard name, and I don't see why our daughter should be saddled with something common,' he pointed out.

'I like Iris,' she said quietly, stroking their daughter's soft cheek fondly. 'How does Iris Emilia Snape sound to you?'

'Very fitting, I think,' he answered, hugging her tighter to his side. 'I am the luckiest man in the world. Thank you.'

'You don't have to thank me,' Hermione whispered.

He brought his hand to her lips, pressing his fingers to them gently to silence her. 'I have so many things to be thankful for, but I am the most grateful to you – for saving my life, for being patient and loving me despite my austere nature, and now I have to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a father – to do something meaningful with my life.'

'Your life has never been meaningless, my love,' she said insistently.

'Yes, but now it can be meaningful for me,' he said seriously. 'Before my life had meaning because I was useful to a cause. Now I have autonomy – I get to decide what gives my life meaning. And right now, everything that means anything to me is in this very room.'

He heard her breath hitch before she choked out a soft sob, and he rolled sideways to find tears streaming down her cheeks. She smiled and shook her head, laughing softly. 'I'm not upset, truly,' she told him. 'That was such a lovely thing to say.'

Letting the breath he was holding out slowly, he wrapped his arms around his wife and their sleeping infant, nuzzling his nose into her brown curls. Hermione had decided to maintain her shorter hair style out of practicality, and because she thought it was prettier now that it wasn't a long, heavy mop. He thought she was always beautiful, but he had to admit, with her hair a little shorter, he had much easier access to kiss her neck, and he no longer woke up with the long curls trying to suffocate him in his sleep.

Severus closed his eyes, the fatigue overcoming his desire to watch over his family. He dozed lightly, waking up immediately if he even so much as heard a squeak or yawn come from the tiny creature held carefully in her mother's arms.

Later when he woke he could see that the sun was rising, and Hermione was sitting up in the transfigured armchair, her robe pushed to the side as she nursed the little girl in her arms. The baby was suckling hungrily at her breast, and it was one of the most astoundingly wholesome and beautiful moments he had ever witnessed. Hermione's eyes rose to meet his and she smiled serenely at him. Stretching his limbs out, he slung his legs over the end of the bed, and stood up, walking over to join them in three strides.

'How are you feeling, pet?' he asked.

'A little tired, a little sore, but very ready to go home today,' she answered. 'I'm sure my parents will be concerned that we haven't returned yet.'

'I sent your parents a letter via the Floo network to keep them updated,' Severus told her. 'They are expecting us home today.'

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Her parents were with them at their home in Hogsmeade, having arrived a few days earlier to be in the country for the birth of their grandchild. Severus had been grateful to have his in-laws present, specifically Jean, who was able to reason with and calm his emotional wife. They would be there with them for another couple of weeks most likely, and so they had chosen not to go to St. Mungo's and give the two of them some space, something which Severus had been deeply grateful for. He appreciated all of their family and friends, but hated making a public spectacle.

'Penny came by earlier to let me know the lactation specialist would come by to check on me before we will be able to leave,' Hermione explained.

'You appear to be faring quite well,' he said, gesturing to where their child was still greedily drinking.

'It was a little tricky, so I wouldn't mind getting a little more advice nonetheless,' she replied.

He nodded in understanding. He wanted his wife to have the best chance at success with these early days and adjusting to their new lifestyle as the parents of this wonderous little girl.

As promised, a short while later the lactation specialist came by to see them and he patiently listened on as Hermione and the older woman spoke to one another about a few troubleshooting tricks to get the baby to latch on even when she was being finicky. He learned more than he ever thought he would about her nipples and how to be careful they never became blocked to prevent infection, how to breastfeed, and general tips with caring for their child and how to switch her from breastfeeding to formula when the time came.

When the woman left, he cradled their child to him while his wife changed from her hospital issue robe into some comfortable maternity pants, her nursing bra, and a large, oversized jumper that she would easily be able to adjust in order to breastfeed later. Once she was ready to leave, they nestled their child into the baby carrier they had brought with them for the Floo journey home, and made their way to the ground floor to make use of the facilities. Penny greeted them there with the discharge papers, and embraced Hermione tightly.

'I'm so happy for you both!' she exclaimed, putting a hand on Severus's arm while she maintained a hold on Hermione. 'I'll come by to visit you when you are ready for visitors – just let me know.'

He inclined his head, and they said their goodbyes before stepping into the green flames one at a time, calling out their destination.

When Severus stepped out of the fireplace into their sitting room on the other side, Hermione was dusting a little soot from her pants and he could see his in-laws sitting on the sofa waiting, big smiles plastered to their faces. Dutifully he placed the baby carrier down on the armchair nearby and carefully lifted their yet again sleeping child from within, and walked over to Jean who accepted the little bundle with glassy eyes.

'Who do we have here?' Jean asked, as Robert reached over to stroke her fluffy hair.

'This is Iris Emilia Snape,' he told them, stepping back to join his wife so they could observe her parents with their granddaughter unimpeded.

'She is stunning,' Robert said with no small amount of pride in his voice. 'This little girl is going to keep you on your toes, old boy.'

Severus chuckled, but was inclined to agree. He was going to have his hands full with this girl if she was anything at all like her mother. 'I'm looking forward to it.'

'She is an angel,' Jean said, cuddling her close and breathing in her sweet baby scent. 'I am so glad we were here for this.'

He wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist and tugged her closer to him, pressing his lips to her temple in an affectionate kiss. She turned her face up to look at him, putting her hand over his where it rested on her, smiling at him. He could see the exhaustion in her eyes still, and knew that she had still not had a very restful sleep in spite of his efforts. Now they were home though, and their bed was infinitely more comfortable than the one at St. Mungo's.

'Why don't you go upstairs for a while and get some rest,' he prompted, releasing her and turning her towards the doorway.

'You have had even less sleep than I have,' she began to argue, a petulant look coming over her face.

He sighed heavily. 'I didn't just give birth to our child, my love.'

'Why don't you both go up and have a little nap?' Jean interrupted, somehow sensing that they were both going to stubbornly butt heads on this. 'This little one is going to sleep most of the day anyway. We will watch her and come up to wake you both for lunch in a couple of hours?'

Severus saw his wife open her mouth to argue, so he acted quickly and grasped her hand, tugging her in the direction of the doorway. 'Thank you,' he told her parents with a nod. 'Come love, let's go rest a while.'

She closed her mouth and pouted, but allowed herself to be led out of the room and up the stairs, and they could both hear her parents chuckling at her behaviour on their way. At the top of the stairs they walked right and into the master bedroom to find it had been tidied since the last time they were there the morning before. Grateful for her parent's presence once more, he turned down the covers of the bed and gently nudged Hermione towards it. She looked more exhausted than earlier if it was possible as she kicked off her shoes and slid into the bed wordlessly.

Severus walked to the windows and cracked them open manually, shedding his open frock coat and draping it over the head of the armchair in their room. He toed off his own boots, leaving on his socks and joined her in bed, spooning up behind her and draping an arm over her as he always did. She sighed happily then, shuffling backwards to that she was flush with his front.

'I'm sorry for being so stubborn,' she murmured quietly.

'Don't worry about it,' he told her, pressing his warm lips to the back of her neck. 'You just gave birth and you've had no sleep.'

'I wonder if we should have left her down there so soon,' Hermione said nervously. 'I mean it's only been twenty-four hours and I feel like I've just abandoned her.'

Severus sighed and rubbed his hand over her belly gently, still rounded, although a little less so since their daughter was no longer housed within. 'Love, she is asleep, and your parents are both very capable people. They raised you after all. I am sure that we will not be missed for the couple of hours we are about to sleep. Soon they will have to return to Sydney – let them have some time with their granddaughter and let's just try to enjoy the extra sleep before they leave us to fend for ourselves, yes?'

'You don't always have to be so obnoxiously right all the time,' she huffed, putting her hand over his on her belly.

'It's part of my charm,' he replied, earning himself a dry laugh. 'Sleep now, pet.'

'Fine.'

After a few minutes he heard her breathing even out and slow, indicating that she had fallen asleep. Pleased, he too shut his eyes and allowed sleep to claim him.

An indeterminate amount of time later, there was a soft knock on the bedroom door that jolted him from sleep. He sat up, detangling himself from his wife and walking around the bed so he could open it. He saw Jean standing there with Iris in her arms, and he could see the baby was smacking her little lips together in a way that could only mean she was ready to feed. She didn't cry though, and Severus thought to himself that she was a curious little thing. He opened the door wider and allowed his mother-in-law to follow him in.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed closest to his wife, he lay a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, trying to wake her. Her warm brown eyes flickered open slowly, and she put her hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn, stretching her arms out afterwards before taking note of her mother standing with their daughter to the side.

'Is she ready for a snack?' she asked with a grin.

Jean nodded, and Severus stood to move out of the way as their daughter was passed to her mother. The older woman stroked her hand over her brown curls fondly, and Hermione began the task of adjusting her clothing to feed the hungry infant.

'We'll just nip down to the kitchen to finish making lunch while you feed, yes?' Jean said.

'I'll be down in a little while,' Hermione answered.

Severus leaned over and kissed her forehead before he followed Jean out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen where they found Robert setting the kitchen table for lunch.

'You have made our little girl so happy, Severus,' Jean told him, patting his arm fondly as she walked over to the hob and removed the kettle she had boiled to make tea. 'Every time we see you both, she sparkles. After her fourth year at Hogwarts, we weren't sure if we would ever see her sparkle again, and you brought it back.'

He looked at her in surprise, the words surprising him. He'd had several candid conversations with her parents over the years about Hermione and their experiences in the war. He held nothing back from them and was always honest – he never wanted anything to come between Hermione and her parents. Especially not him. They seemed to genuinely care for him in a way that his own parents had not, and it filled him with happiness and sadness both. Hermione had given him far more than he would ever be able to give her – he had no family but the ones he gained by his association with her.

He would always be grateful to the Grangers for accepting him as he was into their lives and hearts, just because their daughter loved him.

'I am just lucky that she chooses to shine her light on me,' he said quietly, and Jean beamed at those words before ushering him over to the table to join Robert.

He chatted quietly to his in-laws as they waited for Hermione to join them after feeding Iris. Fifteen minutes later, the table was laden with food, and he heard the sound of Hermione's soft footfalls as she carefully descended them. She had their daughter wrapped in his blanket and snugly tucked against her when she walked into the kitchen. Once she was seated at the table, he summoned the small bassinet from the other room so they could settle the baby within and eat.

After lunch, Severus and Robert cleaned up the kitchen and packed away the leftover food into their Muggle refrigerator before joining the two women in the sitting room. Jean was cuddling Iris to her once more, but passed her to Robert so that he could hold and bounce his granddaughter. They discussed when they would be leaving – in two weeks – what their plans were for the rest of their stay – babysitting – and Severus wondered what he and Hermione would do without them there, but squashed the feeling. They would be fine.

'We would love it if the two of you might join us for a little while over the summer? I know Hermione said the two of you were a part of Harry's wedding, but perhaps after the wedding you might be able to find some time?' Robert asked, gazing fondly down at the little girl in his arms. 'It's going to be so hard to leave here now that this little girl has captured our hearts.'

'Of course,' Severus answered, without hesitation.

He glanced at Hermione and saw that she was beaming at him, and his stomach flipped. It was telling that even after the years they had spent together, she was still able to make him feel this way. Sometimes he still worried that this was all just a vision or a dream, and he would wake up and find himself alone once more. But he never did, and Hermione was always there.

'We will have a couple of weeks at the start of August following Harry and Luna's wedding,' Hermione offered.

'That's perfect,' Jean said, grinning. 'It will be the end of winter then – much more agreeable weather.'

Hermione chuckled. 'From what you've said, I didn't think there was such a thing as bad weather over there,' she quipped.

'Sydney has its own share of weather problems,' Robert said with a soft laugh, bouncing Iris gently when she stirred and put her tiny fist in her mouth. 'Do you have a pacifier for her?'

Severus nodded and waved his hand in the direction of the staircase, and in a moment, a small pacifier zoomed into his hand. He walked across the room to his father-in-law and cast a cleansing charm on the object before nuzzling it against his daughter's mouth. She mouthed it awkwardly, and as she opened her mouth, he slid it forward and soon her fist was forgotten in favour of suckling the little rubbery plastic contraption Hermione had insisted they buy.

The child seemed to be settled by this, and assumed the task of suckling on the pacifier greedily as if she were nursing. Severus found watching her amusing, and indeed, when Robert handed his daughter back to him, he sat in the armchair across from the two women, and spent a good while observing her.

The rest of the day was spent talking babies, holidays, food, whether the food at the new restaurant opening near Diagon Alley was any good. They had a summer tomato gazpacho for dinner to offset the heavier lunch meal. Hermione's mother was an excellent cook, and had taught Severus how to make it the last time he was in Australia. After dinner they took tea in the sitting room and Hermione nursed their child once more, careful to keep up with regular feedings – Penny had explained that the first couple of weeks she would be sleeping and eating a lot and doing little else.

Jean and Robert politely retired for the night, and soon Severus was leading Hermione and their child up the stairs to their bedroom. There was a small cot set up in there near the bed so that if Iris were to wake, all Hermione would need to do was lean over the side and pick her up to feed and soothe her. They took turns showering, washing themselves properly for the first time since they had gone to St Mungo's to have the baby.

Hermione settled into bed first, propping herself up on her elbow so she could gaze into the little cot at their child. He found her that way when he walked out of the bathroom for the night in just a short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of sleeping pants. One of her hands was gently, brushing through the dark, thick wisps of hair.

'Time to sleep, love,' he told her, sliding into the bed beside her.

She didn't roll over to face him, but she allowed him to press his longer legs behind her and throw an arm over her to rest a possessive hand on her belly. He pressed his lips to the nape of her neck, and sighed heavily from the exhaustive nature of the past couple of days.

'Hermione?' he asked quietly.

'Yes, love?' she answered.

'Have I told you how much I love you lately? How pleased I am to have you and our child in my life? What a wonderful mother I think you will be?'

'I love you too,' she told him, wriggling against him.

His arms tightened around her and he felt his eyes burn with emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him. But he had Hermione, and her parents, and the delightful little bundle that was sleeping soundly in her cot beside them. He blinked, and a singular tear made a salty track down one side of his face, and he shook his head to clear it.

He was content.

The international departures at Heathrow airport were loud and filled with people, all scrambling to check-in on time and get to their flights.

Severus never really understood why his in-laws chose to fly back to Australia via conventional Muggle means. The people at the airport were generally rude, the staff were largely unhelpful, and then they would be forced to spend upwards of nineteen hours crammed into narrow seats inside a flying metal death-trap. But they had always flown whenever they had gone overseas their whole lives, and it wasn't about to change just because they had a magical daughter and son-in-law.

For his part, Severus was a little more disappointed than usual to see them leave this time. Having Jean and Robert there had been a great source of comfort to Hermione during the first three weeks of having Iris home with them. He would also be returning to work at the beginning of the following week to relieve Neville who had stepped up to act as Deputy Headmaster in his absence. As Minerva had told it, the Herbology professor was doing a wonderful job, but knew that he would be happy to relinquish the role on his return. Being the Deputy Headmaster was a large additional workload on top of being Head of House and a Professor.

Severus heard an announcement in the distance over the crackling airport internal broadcast speakers that brought him back to the present.

He glanced beside him to see his daughter caught up in the arms of Jean who was cooing and cuddling her affectionately. Tucking his hands into his trouser pockets, he lounged with his back against the wall, observing his family with a small smile. Robert noticed the look on his face and moved away from the two women and over to stand beside him.

'It's going to be strange going back to work and not being able to see my girls every day,' he said with a sigh. 'You'll make arrangements to come in a few months, yes?'

Severus inclined his head. 'I wouldn't dream of keeping them from you.'

'We'll look forward to seeing you as well, my boy,' Robert said, clapping his hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture. Severus offered his father-in-law a smile and nodded. 'We always look forward to visiting you,' he replied, pulling his right hand out of his pocket and holding it out to shake hands. 'Australian summers are far preferable to ours here.'

An announcement calling their flight to start moving through customs sounded over the speakers, interrupting any further conversation about the summer. Severus shook hands with Robert, accepted a tight hug from Jean, and both he and Hermione stood over at the departure gate and watched as they descended the escalator. Once they were out of sight, he turned to his wife who had tears glistening in her eyes. She wasn't normally this emotional about them leaving, but he knew this time her hormones were still heightening many of her emotional responses.

'Come, pet,' he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and leading them out of the departure terminal.

She allowed him to lead her through the airport until they reached the thicket of heavy shrubbery that served as a popular Apparition point for magical folk. She passed their sleeping daughter to him, and he held both of them close to him, Apparating them both in tandem to their home. They reappeared in the sitting room, and Hermione went to relieve him of Iris, but he simply shook his hand and continued to cradle her close.

'I'm fine to hold her for a while, love,' he told her. 'Would you mind terribly putting on the kettle though?'

'Not at all,' she replied, putting her hand on his cheek fondly and sweeping her thumb over his cheekbone.

He watched as she disappeared through the doorway and into the kitchen, while he held and bounced their daughter as she slept. She was almost three weeks old now, and he couldn't have imagined a life without her – he was besotted. His tiny daughter had already managed to lay claim to his heart. When he heard the kettle whistle on the stove a few minutes later, he joined his wife in the kitchen and sat at the kitchen island on a stool as he rubbed his large hand over their little girls' back soothingly- though he wasn't sure who was a comfort to whom.

'Do you want to talk about it?' he asked. He always knew that silence was not a good sign when it came to his wife.

She looked up from the tea pot she was busily arranging and sighed. 'I am scared,' she admitted quietly.

'Would you care to elaborate?'

Hermione smiled at him and poured hot water into the pot. 'It's just you and I now. What if I mess it up? I don't know the first thing about being a mother.'

'Don't be silly, pet,' he rebuked lightly. 'You have been doing a wonderful job so far. Your parents being here with us was immeasurably helpful, and I am grateful to them. We already learned the basics of what we need to know – the training wheels have just come off now.'

She chuckled quietly. 'Well when you put it that way,' she said, pulling out two mugs for their tea.

'Hermione, you are already a wonderful mother,' he told her seriously before looking back at the face of their sleeping daughter. 'This little girl could ask for no one better.'

She pushed the two mugs across the kitchen bench and rounded it, perching on the stool beside him and laying a hand on his shoulder. Mindful of their child between them, Hermione tilted her head a little before leaning in and pressing her lips to his tenderly. He parted his lips just a little to kiss her back a little more thoroughly. He missed kissing the beautiful woman seated beside him. Their affection had become a lot more tame and perfunctory since the arrival of their daughter, and Hermione's body was certainly not ready to be submitted to anything other than kissing and cuddling in bed, but he missed kissing her until they were both breathless and her toes were curled.

When she pulled back, her lips were a little puffy and pink and she leaned her head against his shoulder, humming happily.

'Be patient with yourself, love,' he told her, breaking the silence.

'Not my strong suit, as you know,' she quipped, lifting her mug to her lips and blowing on it before taking a sip.

He shifted so Iris was comfortably tucked into the crook of his right arm and chest, and picked up his mug, taking a sip of his own hot tea. It was just as he liked it. His wife always made a perfect brew – years of being together meant that there was very little surprise left in their relationship. Not that he would trade it for all of the surprise and uncertainty in the world. Not knowing made things more exciting, but he'd had a lifetime of that and was pleased with his lot in life.

Smiling, he dropped a kiss to the top of Hermione's head, enjoying the warmth of the two bodies pressed into his.

To be continued.

A/N - Thank you to everyone who expressed an interest in the sequel! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter for a small addition to the AEFM universe. As always, I am grateful to my beta Aurora_Borealis3406 for her hard work! x