Thank you for everyone who has followed or favorited my story. I am glad to be back. Thank you to those who left a review. This chapter is my favorite of the series so far. I hope you enjoy it like I do. I used some of the quotes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think.

The night was coming to an end. Severus and Sabrina were done looking at the photo album and Hermione was nearly finished with her book. As the clock on the mantle struck 8, Hermione put her book down and closed it shut. She put it down on the coffee table in front of her and stood up from the couch. She stretched her worn out muscles and let out a tired yawn. "Alright, Sabrina. It's time to head home. You still need to take a bath and I have to read you your bedtime story."

Sabrina stared at her mother in disbelief. Her lower lip started quivering. "No, I don't want to leave," Sabrina cried while stomping her foot on the floor. She crossed her arms angrily and began having a temper tantrum. "I want to stay here!" She began screaming and crying. She fell to the floor and started kicking her feet.

Hermione watched in horror as her three-year-old threw herself to the ground and was pitching a huge fit. She never once seen Sabrina act this way. Every time her child would get upset, Hermione knew just the trick to fix it, but she didn't know what to do in this situation. "Sabrina Katherine Snape you stop this behavior at once," she demanded. She quickly picked up her daughter from the ground and tried putting her on her hip, but Sabrina began kicking and twisting herself out of her grasp.

"No! I want daddy!" Sabrina wailed as she continued to kick and pull away from her mother. She eventually was able to wiggle out of her mother's grip and she started running towards her father crying as she went. Once she reached her father's leg, she started pulling on his pant leg. "Pick me up, daddy!"

Severus looked down at his daughter who was clearly very distraught. He didn't want to reward her bad behavior by picking her up so instead he crouched down to her level. He whispered softly to her, "Sabrina, you need to calm down. This behavior is unacceptable. You're daddy's big girl, right?"

Sabrina looked into her father's black eyes and at his words the anger she felt finally ceased. A single tear dripped down her cheek and she put her hand on her daddy's cheek. "But Daddy, I want to stay with you. I want you to tuck me in. I want you to read me my bedtime story. I want you to make me my special pancakes. You won't be there at mommy's house."

Severus softened at the child's words. All she wanted was to spend more time with me and for me to be her daddy like she deserves. Would it really hurt to let them stay for one night? You do have an extra room available. After convincing himself that this was the right thing to do, he nodded his head at the young child. "Alright Sabrina, you and mommy can stay for the night. I will tuck you in and you can teach me how to make you your special pancakes in the morning."

Sabrina's lips broke out into a huge grin. She wrapped her tiny arms around her daddy. "Thank you, Daddy! I can't wait for you to tuck me in tonight."

Hermione was startled by Severus's agreement. He's letting us stay tonight. I couldn't have asked for a better father for Sabrina. Try as she might she couldn't stop the happy tears that filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Oh, Severus thank you for letting us stay. You didn't have to do that."

Severus stood up from the floor and approached Hermione with a warm smile. "No, Hermione that's where you are wrong. I do have to do that. Sabrina is my priority. She is mine and I will do anything to make her happy." You are also my priority, Hermione. His mind continued to remind him of his true feelings for the young witch. He quickly shoved his feelings out of his mind and instead said, "So you said Sabrina needs to take a bath, right? I do have some toiletries available upstairs if you would like to use them."

Hermione smiled at him and said, "Sure, Severus. That would be great." She grabbed her child's hand, and they followed the dark wizard up the stairs. Once they reached the landing at the top of the stairs, they walked down the hallway. They passed the first door and then entered the next. Inside the second room was a large bathroom. There was a vanity, a mirror, a medicine cabinet, a toilet, a shower, and a bathtub big enough for two. Her eyes widened at the amount of space this room had.

"This room is huge, Daddy!" Sabrina squealed in delight. She let go of her mother's hand and ran to the bathtub. "Is this where I take my bath?" She stared at the bathtub in wonder. "It's gigantic! Mommy's bathtub is so small." Hermione blushed at her child's words but didn't say anything.

"Yes, that is where you will take your bath. I will leave you two alone," Severus said while heading towards the door.

Sabrina frowned at her daddy's retreat. "But daddy," she whined.

"You need to spend time with your mother too, Sabrina. I promise you will see me after your bath," Severus responded. "I will read you your bedtime story and tuck you in tonight. Don't you worry."

Sabrina smiled at his words and nodded her head. She turned towards her mommy and said, "Okay mommy, what do we do now?"

Severus shut the door behind them and headed to the guest bedroom. He started to slowly make the queen size bed that was in the room. His mind was running a mile a minute. His mind was only on one thing and that was Hermione. Her brown curly hair is so beautiful. I want to wrap my hands in it and just kiss her beautiful lips. I have been alone for so long. I want this to work. I don't want to ruin it. Everything I ever had was ruined by me. I can't bear the thought of her running away. I care about her so damn much. Ever since her sixth year and hearing her defend me time and time again to her moronic friends, I knew this is what I wanted. How can I get her to want to stay with me? I want her to share my bed. I want to hold her at night and brew potions with her for the rest of our lives, but could she ever want someone like me? He shook his head clearing the thoughts in his mind. He couldn't risk having her run away if he moved too quickly. Instead, he focused on making sure the bedroom was ready for them once Sabrina was finished with her bath.

Once he was finished making the bed, he waved his wand and made a child's size bed for Sabrina. He then started to make the bed. He made sure it will be perfect for his child. Once he was finished, he left the guest bedroom. He walked down the end of the hallway until he reached his room. His bedroom was warm and comforting. The walls were painted with a light blue color. His bed was big, and it had a black duvet on top of it. Below the black duvet laid black silk sheets. Besides the bed, in the room was a large wooden bureau with gold metal handles. Inside the drawers laid his clothes. Beside his bed was a small bedside table with two drawers. On top of the bedside table was a white lamp and a book that he was reading from the night before. He approached his bedside table, and he opened the first drawer. He was searching for the book that he knew Sabrina would want to listen to before she fell asleep. In the drawer he took out the book The Tales of Beedle the Bard. As a child, his mother would read this to him. When she passed, he ended up keeping the book for himself and now he can finally share it with his own child. He took out the book and headed out of the room in search of Hermione and Sabrina.

Hermione grabbed a big fluffy white towel from the bathroom closet and said to her child, "Alright Sabrina it is time to get out now." She turned to the bathtub and watched as her child splashed around in the water in delight. "Come on Sabrina it is late, and we have to get you into bed."

Sabrina frowned at her mother but chose not to argue with her. She wanted to see her daddy and hear her bedtime story. She stood up from her bath and let her mommy towel dry her off. "I don't have my nighttime clothes here mommy. What will I wear to bed?" Sabrina asked curiously.

Hermione was in the middle of drying her child's back when she stopped abruptly by her child's words. "I am not sure, Sabrina. Maybe there is something here that we can have you sleep in." She continued to dry her child and with a quick tap of the wand her child's hair was no longer wet from the bath she just took. "Alright Sabrina, let's go find your daddy." She saw a robe hanging on a hook on the back of the bathroom door. She took it off the hook and with a wave of her wand she altered it to fit her child's body. She helped her get into the robe and they left the bathroom together.

Severus came out of his bedroom and saw Hermione and Sabrina leave the bathroom. "How was your bath, Sabrina?" he called softly to them.

Sabrina turned towards him and smiled warmly at him. "It was great daddy, but I don't have any pj's here to wear. Do you have anything?" Sabrina looked at him questioningly as she thought of the predicament she was in. "I don't want to wear my clothes from earlier and this robe is a bit itchy."

Severus nodded at her. "I do have a pair of pajama pants that you can wear and a t-shirt. It's not perfect but we can fix it to have it fit." He returned to the bedroom and opened one of the drawers to his wooden bureau. He took out a pair of black pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He tapped the pair of pants and the shirt gently with his wand. The pair of pants and shirt started to shrink into a child's size pair of clothes. He returned to Sabrina and handed it to her. "What do you think? Would that be better?"

"It's not like my pink rainbow ones at home, but it will do. Thank you, Daddy," Sabrina responded. "I want to be a big girl and put them on by myself Mommy." She reentered the bathroom and closed the door. A few minutes ticked by, and Sabrina opened the door with her new pajamas on. "Daddy, can you read me my story now?" Sabrina asked with a tired yawn.

Severus smiled at the young child. He led them to the first door that they passed by earlier. He opened the door and said, "This will be your room tonight. I hope it meets your expectations."

Hermione entered the room and smiled at the sight. "It's perfect, Severus."

Sabrina entered the room following her mother. She went over to the smaller bed and said, "Come on daddy. I think it's time for you to tuck me in."

Severus smiled at her and helped her get into her bed. He wrapped the blanket around her tightly and sat in the available chair next to the bed. He opened the book he brought from his bedroom and began to read to the little girl. After ten minutes went by the room was filled with Sabrina's soft snores. Severus closed the book quietly being careful not to disturb the little girl. He bent down and kissed her forehead. He stood up from the chair and turned to see Hermione staring at him in wonder. "What?" Severus said defensively.

"Never in a million years did I picture you tucking in a child and reading them a bedtime story," Hermione muttered with amazement. "You truly have taken on this father role better than I thought you would." Without thinking she wrapped her arms around the dark wizard and put her head on his chest. "Thank you, Severus. I appreciate all that you have done for us."

Severus was taken aback by the hug he just received. He recovered quickly and awkwardly hugged her back in return. "No need to thank me Hermione. Now, I think it's time we both get some sleep." He pulled away from her.

Hermione nodded at him in agreement. "Goodnight, Severus." Severus left the room closing the door behind him. Hermione turned towards the bed and got in. She wrapped the covers around herself and began to fall asleep.

Hermione's eyes opened big and wide. She heard a familiar hissing noise. Her eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the dark room she found herself in. It was so familiar. She blinked a few times and finally her eyes adjusted to the site in front of her. There in front of her was Lord Voldemort and his dreaded snake Nagini. She now felt extremely afraid. She was terrified. In the room was also Severus Snape. He was standing in the corner of the room and that's when Hermione realized where she was. The Shrieking Shack.

She stared in horror as Lord Voldemort started talking to Severus. "Why did both the wands I have used fail when directed at Harry Potter?" Voldemort hissed at him with anger.

"I cannot answer that, my lord," Severus lied with a small, tiny gulp.

"Can't you?" Voldemort roared at him. "My wand did everything I asked of it except to kill Harry Potter. Twice it failed. Why is that Severus?" Voldemort's patience was wearing thin. Hermione watched in fear unable to move. She knew what was about to happen and she couldn't stop it.

Severus begged, "My Lord, let me go to the boy. Let me get Potter for you." He was trying to get more time for himself. If he can just leave this shack and tell Harry what he needed to know.

Voldemort glared at him. "The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not it's true master. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live the wand cannot truly be mine."

Severus felt sweat starting to drip down his forehead. He raised his wand and protested, "My lord!"

Voldemort continued on speaking, "It cannot be any other way. I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last."

Hermione watched in horror and began screaming when she saw Nagini come out of the cage and begin attacking Severus. "No! Leave him alone!" She tried in vain to get their attention, but no one heard her. The snake and Lord Voldemort apparated away leaving Severus to succumb to his injuries. She ran to Severus and dropped to her knees in the pool of blood that surrounded him. She reached out and put her hand to his neck. "No, please don't die. Come on you have to get up!" She continued to try to get him to get up, but she watched as his eyes closed and he became unresponsive. "Severus please! I love you!" she called out.

Severus was sleeping soundly in his bed when he heard someone screaming. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his wand from the bedside table. He opened his bedroom door and followed the screams until he reached the guest bedroom. He opened the door ready to start shooting spells at whoever was in the room but instead he saw Hermione twisting and turning in her bed. She was the one who was screaming. Poor girl must be having a nightmare. He approached the bed and gently started shaking her awake.

Hermione woke up abruptly by someone shaking her. She stared into the dark eyes of Severus who she just witnessed dying in her dream. Tears welled up in her eyes and they began to fall at a rapid pace. She couldn't stop crying. It felt so real to her. She still felt terrified like she did in her dream.

Severus was startled by the young witch crying inside the bed. He didn't know what to do. "Hermione, please stop crying. It was just a dream," Severus said with a soft calming voice.

Hermione shook her head in denial. "No, it was not just a dream. It was real," she blubbered.

Severus found his courage and he quickly got into the bed with her. He held her to him while she cried. He let her cling to him, and he waited patiently for her tears to dry.

Finally, Hermione's tears stopped, and she looked up at him with a watery smile. "Thank you for helping me Severus. It was all so real and it's so hard to shake."

"Does this happen often, Hermione?" Severus asked quietly.

Hermione looked down at the blanket and nodded her head. "Every night. I either can't sleep, or I have nightmares. The war really messed me up to be honest. I can't get those images out of my head. They stay with me."

He held her even tighter to him. "What was your dream about?"

She blushed and continued to look down at the blanket in embarrassment. "The dream I had tonight is a dream I can never seem to get rid of. I have that dream very often. I used to have that dream every night but now I have it 3 to 4 times a week. The dream never changes. It's the same every time and it leaves me feeling so scared and very inconsolable." She took a deep shaky breath and continued speaking with a shaky voice. "The dream I have is of you, Severus. I find myself back in the shrieking shack. There is you-know-who and his fucking snake. I watch you die time and time again. I try to wake you up. I try shaking you and screaming but it doesn't work." Tears again started to fall down her face.

He reached out gently and cupped her cheek with his hand. He wiped the tears way with his thumb and whispered to her, "I am right here, Hermione. I didn't die." Without thinking he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.