Hazel's breath caught in her throat as her husband took a step back. She hadn't seen him in this kind of shock for a while. "You're what?"

"Pregnant," she repeated, trying to keep herself calm, if only for his sake. "Sev, I -"

"Merlin, I never had a father, not a real one... what if..." he managed, taking a deep breath and walking a circle around the living room. "What if I turn out like him?"

"Like - oh, Sev, you won't." It suddenly hit her. He'd never had a halfway decent father. The closest person he had was Dumbledore, and even then, Dumbledore had used him for his own ends. He'd hardly been happy for years, let alone had a decent example to follow. "You're not going to be like your father, Sev. I know you're going to do so much better. You are so much better."

He stopped, suddenly coming back to wrap his arms around her. "I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't be the one the one who's rattled by this, you're literally growing another human being and I, I didn't think... we only... it hasn't been that long since we decided to... we only -"

"Sev, it's alright. I'm scared too," she admitted, holding onto him tightly. "We'll figure this out together, okay? We're going to be fine," she told him, partly to reassure herself. "You looked after all of the Slytherins for years, even when you were barely older than they were. You're going to be a good father. You've already chosen to be so much better of a husband than your dad ever was to your mum. It's going to be fine."

They tried to settle down in front of the fire, but neither of them could concentrate on anything for long. When he'd set his book down one too many times, Sev stood, stretched, and went to stand at the window. He silently stared out at the ocean for a little while before Hazel came to join him. As she draped her blanket over his shoulders, she noticed how tired, how worn out he looked. He hadn't looked like that in a while. The news had taken a toll on him. "I hope it looks nothing like me. I hope it is nothing like me."

"Sev," she sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You're the most devastatingly handsome man in the world and I'm going to keep reminding you of that. You're also incredibly smart, and amazingly brave, and one of the most genuinely caring and loyal people I've ever met, even if you don't like to admit it. You're not going to be anything like your father. Any child would be lucky to be like you."

He turned to kiss her, putting an arm around her and draping the blanket over both of them. "I'm glad… I'm glad we found each other. I'm glad we found each other a lot, no matter how many times I messed up. And that you didn't hate me too much when you came back, and when I came back... And that you unfailingly see the best in me."

"You're a good man, Severus Snape. That's why I married you."

"You're just a replacement for Evans, you know that, right?" James Potter sat on the table, Sirius leaning next to him. Both of them had loosened their ties, confident as the ringleaders of the group of Gryffindor sixth-years at the ball.

Hazel had come by to compliment Marlene on her dress, but she found herself trapped by Potter and his cronies on her way back to the gaggle of Ravenclaws. "Excuse me?"

"The Pureblood ginger Ravenclaw and the slimy Slytherin nerd, everyone knows about you two." Sirius crossed his arms, not bothering to look to James for his approval. "He's only hanging around you because Evans can't stand him. I'm surprised you can stand him, given... what he is."

"I'm surprised Lily can stand the two of you. You nearly got Sev killed last year and you're still daft enough to think dunking first-years in the lake is funny," she spat back. "Look, tell Remus hi for me. And stop hogging all of the Peppermint Toads." She turned her back on them, disappearing into the crowd to find Sev again. But the thought stuck with her. Was he just trying to replace Lily? They had been friends for ages now, gotten much closer, and spent nearly every waking moment together, at least when he wasn't hanging out with the Slytherins. But was it all just an attempt to have some semblance of his old life back?

The idea nagged at her enough for Sev to notice. When he turned to smile at her from the group of mostly Ravenclaws that had gathered by the Butterbeer, she noticed something was off about him too. He looked older, much older. Impossibly older. "It's not true. It never was."

"Get out of my dream, Sev." Hazel sat up in bed, looking to where Sev was already sitting up and pretending to read the morning's copy of the Daily Prophet. "Not funny." He raised an eyebrow in his trademark quizzical expression, as if to ask what he could have possibly been doing wrong. "Legilimency - when someone's asleep they have no idea what you're doing until you're standing there in their minds. It's not fair."

"You were talking in your sleep," he answered, setting the newspaper aside. "You sounded like you wanted to fight someone. Naturally I had to find out who."

"How often do you do that?" she scowled.

"Never tried it before."

Hazel frowned, unsure if he was lying. "Well don't do it again."

"It's not true, you know." It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "You're not a replacement for Lily. You never were. You were the only one who - You understood. You always do. You were the only one outside of Slytherin who bothered to talk to me after... that. They all thought it was a good thing, what I'd done. You were the only one who realized it was a mistake and how much I instantly regretted it. You gave me a chance. And then I fell in love with you." He caught himself, realizing what he'd just said. Hazel smiled as he continued, his voice faltering only slightly. "The war broke out and I made a million mistakes. I thought I would never see you again. And then years later you came back, and I fell in love with you again."

"I love you, Sev." She leaned in to give him a kiss before laying her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head as she asked, "What was that you were reading? Page four, I think. Something about a yeti sighting in Siberia?"

"Do you want me to read it to you?"

"That would be nice. We don't have anywhere to be, at least not until we get hungry enough for breakfast, and I haven't felt like stomaching much in the mornings for days now."

"I've always hated my name," Sev mused, Hazel setting down the book of baby names she'd been flipping through. "Two thirds of it were my father's, after all."

"Sev -"

He turned to look at her from where he was perched on the hearth, stirring handfuls of shredded porlock fur into a cauldron. "I only started to like it when I first thought it might be yours."

Hazel smiled, carefully getting up from her armchair to join him. "I think it's a fine last name. You know, I still smile when I have to sign for things because it's finally mine. I like that it's mine. I like that you're mine." She reached out and hugged him, adding, "As for your middle name, well, you're just proof that names can't carry curses. You're not going to be anything like him, Sev."

He let go of her, turning back to the cauldron. There was no place for emotion in potion-making. "That's not what I'm worried about. Not now, anyway. Severus Snape is a war criminal, a murderer, one of the most wanted men in Britain. Sure, my name is technically cleared, but anyone who bears it... It's like having a Dark Mark. You - you're used to it. You put up with so much for me. But a child exposed to that much hate... I almost think going with 'Ashmore' or 'Prince' would be better. 'Snape' is... if not a curse, certainly a blemish. No way to start out a life. And how do I even begin to explain what I've done?"

"By the time they're off to Hogwarts, everything will have calmed down. We'll figure it out," she promised. "It'll be alright. This child is going to be just as proud to have your last name as I am." She put a hand on his shoulder, adding, "As for explaining everything, we'll make sure she knows that you're a hero. Not everyone does the right thing at first, but you ended up in the right place, and that's what matters."

But that wasn't what Sev hinged on. "She?"

"Surprise," Hazel smiled, kissing his cheek. "I'm thinking Eileen Lily."

He bent to kiss her stomach, looking up at her with a clever smile. "I have a better idea."

While he had always been protective of her, Sev got even worse as time wore on. He refused to let her do anything remotely dangerous - including carrying just a few things up the stairs. "Levitate them," he called, watching her walk past with a couple of books.

"Sev, I'm fine," she laughed, kissing him on the cheek as she passed by.

He doted on her even more than usual, making tea and drawing baths and insisting that he cook as much as he could. He'd hunt her down in the middle of the day to take a walk through their ever-expanding garden, telling her that fresh air would be good for them both. He kept a couple of cauldrons of potions going at once, all sorts of concoctions that Hazel didn't recognize but Sev insisted would be good for her. She didn't object, even if it did seem like a lot.

Sev would sit up at night reading to them both, adamant that it would make their daughter smarter than even her parents. He'd fall asleep holding onto her, a hand on her stomach. Every time she got up, he got up, asking if she was okay. When she started feeling sick in the mornings, he would sit on the bathroom floor with her and keep her company, rubbing her back and promising he'd come up with a potion to help.

When she woke up and looked at the clock, groaning at the sight of a glowing green "3:07 AM", Hazel got up, noticing that Sev was already awake. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said, standing next to their bed. "She's decided to kick me in the bladder again. I'll be right back." When she returned, she lay back down next to him, Sev giving her a kiss. "What are you up worrying about?"

"Dad wasn't... the way he was at first. It started when I was four or five. What if there's something... evil lurking in me that I don't know about?"

"There isn't," Hazel assured him as Sev pulled her close.

"How can you be so sure?"

Her next question was a simple one. "Did you ever actually enjoy hurting people when you were a Death Eater?"

"No. I, I never lashed out for fun. Not like some of them."

"There you go. You're a good man, Sev," she assured him as he put a hand to her stomach. "You've had a lot of bad things happen to you, but you choose to be good. You're never going to turn into your father. You've taken such good care of both of us already. I don't know how you've managed to look after me and get her room all set up and read all of those parenting books and kept up with your research," Hazel smiled, leaning in for a kiss. "You're going to be fine, Sev."

"She really is kicking you, my goodness. Dear, settle down. Your mother and I need to sleep."

Sure enough, she stopped kicking so roughly. Hazel had to laugh. "Looks like you're her favorite already."