When Serena Met the Cursed Child

2.5.2017

Preferred Summary: A what-if in a what-if universe, sister story to When Harry Met Serena... This time, things went as planned because circumstances changed everything. Please read the other one first! This will have spoilers from basically word 1 for that one if you don't.

Fanfiction Summary: No spoilers from the book since I haven't read it. Spoilers for When Harry Met Serena... so read that one first. This is a what-if in a what-if world and this time things went as planned.

AN: Ok, so I have never read the book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child so you can be sure that there are no spoilers or if they are then it's purely coincidental, I do that a lot. The only thing I know for sure is that somehow they time traveled back further than previously stated possible. Also that no one really liked the book/scripts. So I'm just working off my own what-if universe found in the original fanfic and if the new book is referenced in here at all, its unintentional since I understood very-very-very-very little and it was quite vague from the spoilers I'd seen by accident. It's intentionally called what it is though.

AN2: This one is again FOUR YEARS and so they are FOURTEEN when they start Hogwarts. That said, very little else is the same and it's going to be a LOT shorter than the original fic. I say that now, before I've started writing but I really don't think it will be as long as in my head, I've mapped out a very different story. The years will still line up the same but it's going to be more heavily reliant in the years before Hogwarts and let's say... year 3 and beyond. The rest will fly by a bit faster. :D

That said, I am not going to have it start with a prequel because a lot of it is a prequel and it spans several chapters, most likely.

AN3: Also, I take not only a few but SEVERAL liberties with the facts from the books/movies and twist or change them as I need to. So not only is it 4 years of schooling but they've been out of school for 6 years when the story starts, not 2, making Lily and James 23 when they married and 24 when they had Harry.

WARNING: SPOILERS

I am warning you one last time, this story will be able to explain away most of the back story while going down a different path than "When Harry Met Serena..." so this story will reveal soooo many spoilers within the first chapter for that one while giving you an entirely new story at the same time. So proceed wisely and make sure you read the other one first! I swear to you, it will be worth it.

1

He Who Shall Not Be Named

The midwife had arrived hours ago. Severus paced the furniture-less floor in the living room and heard with frequency the cries and screams from the woman he called his wife. Hours!

Blasted woman! Did she even know how to deliver a baby? Had Severus been allowed in there he could have delivered the child hours ago. He'd summoned the Dark Lord hours ago. Shouldn't he have been here to see the birth of his own child?

He hadn't been too pleased to hear the summons. He gave Severus a very sharply worded reminder that no one was to know the child was his until it's birth and only then if it was delivered alive. Still, he said he would be there as soon as he could.

Severus swallowed hard as he heard Cassandra scream again. She was not his love but he had grown to care for her. She was his wife in name only but they had been pushed together in this way for over nine months now and they had gotten to know each other when he was home.

Frustration had been heard easily through the sharp exhalation of breath through his nose the first day he was confronted with her in his home. She was a Black and that meant only trouble. Either she would be insane or a traitor to her name.

She was both and neither at the same time. He wanted to hate her. She was the sister of the man who had tormented him relentlessly, had almost killed him on at least one occasion and cohort to the man who had married his only true friend. The woman who carried the Dark Lord's baby had a brother who was the brother in arms to the man he despised the most. Any child of Black was bound to be a disappointment in some way. Severus did not care that it was also the Dark Lord's child. He was not pleased to be put into this situation.

Then... Cassandra worked her magic on him. She was five years younger than her brother and Severus and so he had never met her while in school. Had he met her then she would have been in his house and he didn't know how he would have felt about her or if she would have been able to reach him, like she reached him over these last 9 months. He had grown to care about her, cared about her a lot. He might even say it was a type of love that he felt for her. A love that had not yet gone beyond friendship.

Then the screams stopped and Severus stopped too. Thankful but also a little afraid of what that meant. Then he heard another type of cry and knew it was the baby. He ran upstairs and entered just as the midwife was handing the baby to Cassandra and he came over and sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He slid his other arm under hers and the baby and smiled into the cherub face that was screwed up tightly, unhappy for whatever reason but looking precious while doing so and Severus' heart felt like it was bursting in his chest.

The child wasn't his, not in any physical sense but in the eyes of the community unless the three parents told them otherwise, the child was his. Somehow, someway looking down on that tiny little thing, he felt like he had been branded and he was no longer his own person. Everything about him now belonged to the child. "I promise you my life in protecting you. I vow to see you grow into a strong warrior and able to take on the world. My life is yours now and forever." He removed the arm out from behind Cassandra and traced the tiny cheek.

"I see the proud parents are enjoying their daughter." The midwife beamed, glad to see it and totally overlooked the complete shock and fear that crossed both of their faces. "Well, I'll be leaving now. Take care and have lots of rest." She squeezed the child's cheek. "Goodbye little one, grow big and healthy." She left them then and they looked at each other, wondering what to do.

Severus took the girl from Cassandra and swallowed down his panic. It was something they should have planned for but the ritual they had performed should have resulted in a boy. The Dark Lord only wanted a boy to carry on his legacy and he would not hear of a daughter. He liked his soldiers a certain way and had trusted female companions but they were few and only one had his ear.

His heart engulfed the girl and he held her close, unable to feel bad about his promise, he loved her the same no matter which gender she was. Perhaps he loved her even more now that he knew she was female. He walked the length of the floor in this room but it was harder since there was a lot of furniture, it was Cassandra's and she had no problem accessorizing.

"Shh, my sweet girl, everything will be all right." He whispered to the unhappy baby and all of a sudden she gurgled in happiness. He looked down at her and she was smiling up at him. Whatever reason she had to be unhappy had disappeared without the need being met. Her happiness had won out and she was happy to be in his arms. He bounced her as he traversed the floor's lengths again.

"Could we leave?" Cassandra asked weakly, she was exhausted and worn out and he shook his head.

"Where would we go? Besides, you're too weak to travel anywhere." He rubbed the girl's back. "Do you have a name for her?"

Cassandra shook her head no. "I don't think I'm allowed to name her." It was the Dark Lord's child after all and he had a thing about names. "I would have liked to. Maybe I still will." Severus gave her a sad look and then continued on walking.

How had she ended up a girl? Not only had the incantation been to summon a male child, but the male child from history. He was a footnote in the most rare of text books and they were neither muggle books nor wizard and it was as if they were trying to hide him from knowledge but couldn't completely erase him from history. His tale needed to be known, his unimaginable power had to be acknowledged and in doing so, meant that someone down the road needed to harness that power. Yet the only way they could come up with to get that power, was by rebirth and bringing him back to life to give up his power to the Dark One.

This female was not the most powerful entity the Earth had ever seen, for starters it was a female when it was well-documented that it had been a male. Had the gender somehow reversed in the rebirth? Was she still that warrior but in a female body? Or had they messed up completely? Or, was the female form more or less powerful than the male one?

Severus had told the Dark Lord that messing with this type of magic was a mistake and now there was an innocent baby brought into this world and might have to pay for the adults' mistakes. "Cass, if you could name her, what would it be?" She needed a name and it had to be given to her by them. The Dark Lord would not name her if Severus was right about his future actions.

"Serena." Her answer was instant and assured and Severus looked down into the little peaceful face of the girl he had dedicated himself to without hesitation.

"Serena." He repeated and the name fit and he smiled down at the little bundle. "Serena Riddle."

"No." Cassandra was opposed to that and her voice showed her vehemence. "Serena Snape."

He looked at her startled and then slowly nodded, he understood why and it made sense on so many levels. "Serena Snape." He agreed and he smiled back when he elicited a smile from his wife. "She's missing a name." He thought about it. "Serena Cassandra Snape."

A soft smile graced her lips for a brief moment and then she held out her hands for the baby. Severus handed her over and sat next to them again to place a hand against the back of Serena's head and he placed his other hand on Cassandra's knee.

Their peaceful family moment was broken as the Dark Lord and his posse popped into the room that Severus was pacing earlier. Severus jumped to his feet and slid in front of the bed just as the Dark Lord appeared in the doorway on his own.

He was once an extremely attractive man, but now at 54 he was almost unrecognizable but Severus had seen his face in the mirror, had heard his thoughts and those had been the start of his dissent. He would not follow someone who was plagued by such self-doubt but at the same time he was incredibly dangerous and unstable and that made him even more dangerous.

Even now though he had some attractive qualities. His bone structure was unchanged and despite his nose widening and flattening and his eyes were getting heavier lidded. His eyebrows remained and framed his brown eyes and he still had an entire head of hair despite his age.

He pushed past Severus and looked down at his child. He snatched her from her mother's arms and looked at her before disgust crossed his face and gave her back to her mother. "A girl." He sneered and turned to Severus. "How did this happen?" He pulled out his wand and aimed it at Serena and Cassandra pulled her into her chest and cowered away from the Dark Lord.

Severus stepped between them and took a steadying breath that wasn't noticeable to anyone. "Wait, my Lord. Perhaps we could still use this development to our advantage. We don't know what kind of powers she has."

"She should be a boy. She should be a he!" The Dark Lord shot back.

"But with the prophecy, perhaps it's better that she is not a he, we get to skip the whole, the son of the father coming back to overthrow his father." Severus pointed out and spread his hands in appeal. "Let me raise her, let me guide her in your ways and then we can use her as one of your soldiers, she'll be another Bellatrix if nothing else."

"Another Bellatrix?" He tilted his head one way and then back the other as he thought about it. "If she shows she has power, she can live through her teen years. If she shows she has those powers, then I can use her the way we intended." His thin lips twitched. "It is a risk but it is a plan. You are right Severus, it may end up being a good thing she is not a boy. When we developed this plan we did not know about the prophecy and that the child would be born at the close of July just like it was predicted."

There was silence between the three of them, Severus and Cassandra were waiting for him to leave before saying any more. The Dark Lord threw a hand out and it visually extended so his hand reached behind Severus without moving the rest of his body. Severus didn't move at first, any wrong move and they'd all die. He wasn't in the position to defend them at the moment. They were out-numbered and he didn't have his wand at the ready, not like the Dark Lord had. Severus wished he hadn't been so distracted by her birth.

He turned slowly to see what the Dark Lord wanted him to see, and he was relieved and terrified all at once by what he saw. Serena was unharmed but the Dark Lord's hand was wrapped around Cassandra's neck. He squeezed and crushed everything in that fragile column like a boa constrictor. Cassandra's eyes were calm as they looked into Severus' she knew this fate was coming the second she heard that the child she'd given birth to was a female. There was nothing she could do, this entire thing had been set up so she would be powerless against someone so much older and stronger.

Her eyes faded in intensity and her death didn't really satisfy the Dark Lord but he spun on his heel. "She failed me Severus, make sure you do not do the same thing." Then he was gone, probably out to torture some poor muggle. Severus sank onto the bed and pulled both Cassandra and Serena into his arms and held them close and cried over her death.

It didn't take him long though before he moved into action and he set Cassandra back against the bed and lifted Serena out of her cold arms and into his warmer ones. He kissed Serena's forehead and brought her to the room they'd set up for the child's first year, until he could be weened off his mother. It was all wrong for a girl, the tones were too dark and so he spun his wand around the room and changed the dark blue and green and black to silver, light green and pink. Not too much pink though, he still had to walk into this room and it was mostly silver.

He laid Serena down into the baby bed that was now white with a soft pink blanket. He kissed her forehead again and covered her with the blanket. "I'll be back." He promised and walked into the chimney. He whispered the words he had to say out loud and dropped the powder onto his feet.

He was taken from his home to the secret meeting room that changed every so often and Albus looked up in a kind of lazy curiosity. "Oh, Severus, what brings you here?"

Severus' face was drawn. "Cassandra is dead."

"Oh dear." Albus pushed himself to his feet and walked over to Severus. "Complications in child birth?"

"No, the Dark Lord is at fault." Severus crossed his arms over his chest. "He killed her right in front of me."

"Before the child could be born?" Albus was surprised by that, it was not out of character but it was strange.

Severus shook his head. "For giving him the wrong child."

Albus blinked and tried to filter that. "He isn't the prince?"

"She isn't the prince." He countered softly and Albus's eyes widened in understanding.

"He let the child live?"

"She is alive, for now. She has to prove herself to be a powerful dark witch in training by the time she's 18."

Albus stroked his strawberry-blond beard, it was so pale that it was almost gray but it wasn't quite there yet. Redheads always grayed spectacularly. "So his son will not be the one the prophecy spoke of and we don't know what she can do or will do. You never did tell me everything about his plans, just that he wishes to extract some very powerful magic from a long time ago."

"No." It would have been a tidy bow if he had procreated his downfall. "And I still do not feel comfortable telling you about his plans. The fewer who know about it the better." Severus had been the one who had found the information and had erroneously shared it with the Dark Lord who wanted to use it for himself. Albus probably wouldn't but even he wasn't free from his transgressions.

"That leaves us with very few options. Earlier today the Longbottoms had a son and I fear that he will be the one targeted." Severus had a tick in his cheek as he listened and thought about what Albus had said. He'd met the Longbottoms a few times but they were both years older than him.

"You believe the Longbottom child is the one that will be targeted?"

"He fits the description." Albus responded. "I have not heard of another child born this month, much less these last few days. However it is my hope that if he is the only one to be born this year at this time, then it will be easier to protect him."

"Maybe." Severus agreed but he doubted it, the Dark Lord was strong and relentless and had many followers and none of whom would hesitate to cross any lines to achieve what they wanted. "I must go back and attend to her needs."

"Severus-" Albus said softly and grabbed Severus' attention again. "What is her name?"

"Serena Cassandra Snape." Severus replied and saw the respect gleaming in Albus's eyes, he understood the importance of that name. Severus had taken her on as his own in every way and Albus nodded for him to take his departure.

Severus returned home and checked in on Serena. She was fast asleep and he closed the door silently behind him and walked into Cassandra's room. Her body was still there and he wrapped her in one of her blankets and carried her back to the chimney and stepped in to use the Floo powder again. He brought her back to the Black household. Both Narcissa and Bellatrix were there and they fussed over their dead cousin and demanded to know who would have done such a thing.

When their Dark Lord was revealed as the culprit, their anger dissipated and they took her body from him and laid her onto the sofa. "We shall deal with this."

"Another thing- what should I do about Serena's future desire for food?"

Narcissa who had given birth herself several months prior was the one with the answer. "Bring her to me whenever she's hungry and I will feed her too."

"Will Malfoy be opposed?"

"It doesn't matter." She snapped. "She is my cousin's daughter and I intend to look out for my family." She hesitated. "Perhaps it would be better if she were to come live with me until she can be bottle fed."

"No." Severus would not hear of his daughter being taken from him now too. She was to remain with him and bond to him as he had to her. She was going to know that he was her father as soon as it was possible for babies to know that. No one would get between them.

Severus bid his farewell to the sisters and entered back into the Floo network and arrived home once more. He camped out outside Serena's door with his wand at his fingertips, daring someone to come in and try to take her from him through any means. He would die first. It was a good thing Albus and the others didn't have access to his place. He feared Albus would have killed both mother and child months previously for the sake of the group; if not himself, then he would have sent someone else in to do so.

Lily wouldn't and would probably make the strongest argument against it. Now that Lily was pregnant herself she'd probably freak out on Albus and scare him into agreement. Sirius, despite his many faults, wouldn't want harm to come to his nephew or niece and definitely not his sister. He would protect both children if he could.

Serena somehow slept through the night. What baby slept through the night? He could already tell that she would be a special child, he just wasn't sure how special yet. Most of him hoped that she wasn't very special, just special enough to stay alive.

She woke up crying and Severus jerked awake and went in to check on her. She needed to be changed and she was hungry. He dressed her up in a cute little black onesie with pink stitches and silver piping. He swaddled her in a matching blanket and carried her through the Floo network to the Malfoy manor. Lucius looked at Severus and the child in his arms and Severus expected derision. Instead he cooed at the girl and asked to hold her.

He didn't hesitate visually as he handed her over and Lucius spoke to her softly and kindly. He smiled down at her and she calmed and gurgled back and Severus had a hard time keeping the smile off his face when he heard the sound but Lucius didn't even bother and he smiled down at her broadly. He gave her a few more bounces and handed her over to his wife who took her off to feed her.

There was silence between Lucius and Severus. Although they had once been truly on the same side, they had never really seen eye to eye on matters. There were usually veiled digs at each other but it was never as outright as some of the members of the ministry, one in particular liked to bait Lucius.

About ten minutes later, Narcissa came out with both Serena and Draco and Lucius came forward to take Serena from her and he smiled down at the baby again. Draco's little hands poked out of his blanket reaching for his father and Severus took him instead so Narcissa could sit and rest a bit.

"Dotty!" Lucius yelled for their house elf. She was getting old, almost too old to work in such a youthful household, especially with a new baby. She came in and cowered back when their eyes turned to them. "Bring us some tea." She nodded and blinked out of sight and Severus rested Draco back into his mother's arms.

"I better get going."

"No, stay." Lucius invited. "Spend some time here, we're a family now, aren't we princess?" He lifted Serena higher and talked to her in a baby-voice and she gurgled at him.

Severus gave a small nod, he had not been expecting Lucius' reaction to the child and was it because she was a girl or because she was the Dark Lord's daughter?

They settled down for tea and Dotty took first Draco and then Serena and placed them in a cot so they would be nearby but out of the way for now. Severus didn't say much while they drank their tea and talked about very little. They didn't discuss plans without the Dark Lord being present and they didn't have much of a personal life to discuss. They chatted a little about what would be done about Cassandra but that topic made Narcissa sad and so they changed quickly. Whatever the cousins decided would have to do. Even though he was her husband, he had very little say in the matter, and he was fine with that.

Their professional lives weren't much more interesting. Narcissa stayed home while Lucius worked at the ministry and Severus worked at Hogwarts as the potions professor.

Sirius had protested profusely when Albus made the announcement. Severus had told Albus that the Dark Lord wanted him to infiltrate the school, to be a spy within Albus' walls and had asked to be the DADA professor. Albus had denied that request but instead had made him the potion's professor, saying he wanted to have Severus around for years to come and since the DADA position was jinxed after he denied the Dark Lord the job, he didn't think it was the proper fit. To appease Severus which had the added bonus of irritating Sirius and Lupin, who had also been there for that meeting, he'd made Severus the Slytherin head of house as well.

Severus had laughed when both of them shouted out their protests of such a respected position. Lily and James were not in attendance of that meeting, in truth there were very few who were but Albus had to have a few in his inner circle and he chose those four since they were with Severus in school all four years and would be the most suspicious of him. Even after telling them that he trusted Severus, they were suspicious of their former victim and that played in well with the narrative they were aiming for.

It was a hard balance to maintain. Many knew he was toying with the Dark Arts and had Death Eater friends in school but nothing was substantiated and he had never been accused of doing anything wrong. He had to have a clean enough record to convince Albus to give him the position of shaping young minds and being so close to them. Many Death Eaters had the same task and were above suspicion while still going out on occasion and terrorizing or even killing muggles and fellow witches and wizards.

Severus had not yet once used one of those three forbidden curses on a single soul nor used an extremely dangerous poison. Although he had helped create some but had never used it on someone himself. Although he didn't have clean hands and had done his share of tormenting and harming.

But neither did Potter. Potter had harassed Lily's brother-in-law and made fun of his muggle achievements and lorded over his position and wealth and lack of needing a job to live more than comfortable and had used his magic on the man. Potter had harassed him for being different and for being friends with Lily to begin with.

Severus was required to overlook Potter's hypocrisy and make amends with those who had tormented him in school, repent for his foolish ways and tell Albus and some of the others what the Dark Lord was up to while also informing on them to the Dark Lord and giving enough truth to both sides for it to be believable and yet not too much to be viewed suspicious, wondering why he knew so much or why the plan failed while still trying to slowly help turn the tide for the "good guys" but none of them were truly good, save for Lily. Yet even Lily was a fool, for marrying Potter, for opposing so vocally against the Dark Lord and for getting pregnant.

He supposed he was just out for himself to begin with, not really caring about either side but the more he worked with Albus the more he trusted the older man but he would never trust him completely. He was doing what he thought was right, stopping the Dark Lord from killing everyone in his path or those who were his allies. The Dark Lord was a true psychopath, he killed for very little reason and sometimes no reason at all, regardless of the consequences.

Now it was for more than just himself, now it was for Serena too. Cassandra would have been part of his plan to extricate himself from the Dark Lord but he'd killed her for his own mistakes. He was the man, he was the one that had chosen her and had forced the situation, had conjured that spell that had failed to bring forth what he had wanted and brought an innocent life into this mess instead.

He was just glad that he could help Lily whenever he could. She was currently a thorn in the Dark Lord's side being such a brilliant and talented witch who stood for everything he wanted to remove from their world but she wasn't a priority.

He felt bad for the Longbottoms but he was glad that it wasn't Lily. She would be freed from this fate, thankful she wasn't due for another month. Now he had to be extra careful what he said to everyone and what he did. His first priority now would be that little girl being held by her uncle, nothing else mattered. She was his daughter in every way but blood and to him, blood was overrated. He and the Dark Lord had tried to run from half of their bloodlines and tried to chase after the other half. Look where it had gotten them: a war, a quest for power and death, lots and lots of death.

Severus looked away from the other two adults and glanced at Serena. Death would not come to her while he was still alive. He would not be one of those parents who watched a child die. He would protect her from whatever harm he could.

He was there for about an hour and he decided it was time to leave, for now. He would either call on Narcissa or come back the next time Serena needed something to eat. He would be over here a lot over the next several months. They should probably figure out something else to do, a way to feed Serena without coming over constantly. They would get sick of him, just as he would them.

But for now, they were all still dealing with the loss of their relation and trying to figure out what to do, how to do it and a way forward. Severus rose to his feet and went over to pick Serena up. She was sleeping peacefully again and he rested a hand on Draco's belly for a few seconds. He turned to them. "I'll probably be back for dinner." He nodded down towards Serena, it would be dictated by when she wanted dinner.

They nodded back. "We'll see you then."

Severus returned home with Serena and for awhile she slept and then when she woke up, he played with her, very simple things but just letting her know that he was there. She slept some more and he paced the downstairs living room again. He had only a month before he was due back at Hogwarts. He had planned to leave Serena with Cassandra while he taught but now... now he wasn't sure what they would do. Perhaps he should take time off or even the entire year off. Albus and the Dark Lord would not be happy about that but he had to dedicate himself to Serena.

Severus held Serena in his lap and thought hard about his plans for the future. He could not remain here with the child and the Dark Lord, eventually he would come for her. But where could he run to that the Dark Lord would not eventually find? They would both die then and until she turned 18 there would be a trace on her. It might have been better had she been the fabled one, then they could have run off to the Moon and nobody would have been able to follow.

He bounced her on his legs for a bit longer and then brought her everywhere he went. He had things to do and it was too quiet now in his house without Cassandra. He had grieved a little for his dead wife but not much. It had only been a day but he wasn't one to outwardly show his emotions too much. The few tears he'd cried for her had been more than he usually showed and while it wasn't nothing and while he had cared for her and was saddened by her death, he had to move on and continue functioning. It might seem heartless to some but she wasn't the love of his life and he had cared for her the best that he could.

Albus' face appeared in his fireplace unannounced and Severus jumped and looked around. He had plenty of wards on his place so no one could see in whether he was home or not but Albus did not usually appear unannounced like this. He didn't usually show his presence at all in Severus' house, although he could and Severus would have an easy way to explain it away, seeing as how Albus was his headmaster.

Still, he could not know if Severus was alone or with another Death Eater. Even with the ability to explain it away, the Death Eater might fear being recognized for what they were, especially if they were in mid-sentence. Some didn't care and didn't hide their association. Bellatrix would have proudly stood by the Dark Lord's side but she had a role to play for now and she wouldn't be able to see her sister as often had she been outed already.

"Headmaster." Severus spoke to him as if he were only the headmaster and as if someone were in the place with him. He could never be too careful.

"Ah, Professor Snape. I have some interesting news to tell you of your old classmates Lily and James. They've had their child today, on the 31st of July at 5:43 p.m." He waited while Severus digested that.

"That's rather early, isn't it? The child wasn't due for another month."

"He came early, these things do happen." Severus sank onto one of the only items of furniture in the room.

"He?" He had bet too soon on their fate. The Longbottoms had their son almost 30 hours earlier and he had thought, there, that's a clear path to follow, an easy fix to this whole sorry mess. Now there were two families that would be targeted. Resources would be divided, plans would be altered. There were so many things now that would change. He had no chance to reconcile with Lily, truly, because she and the boy would have to hide for as long as it was possible. The boy had the trace too but it wouldn't be activated until he was 14, just like Serena's, but then the Dark Lord would find him and his family and he'd be weak and vulnerable.

"Not to worry, he should grow up to be tall like his father, there's no reason for alarm, a month early isn't the end of the world." Severus breathed heavily at Albus' words, because it felt like it nearly was, at least for him. Lily was in danger. The Dark Lord may not know about his birth yet, he didn't think he knew about the Longbottom boy yet either but soon he'd find out and soon they'd be hunted down. "They're going to go on a little trip now." Severus nodded and closed his eyes, it wasn't the end of the world, he reminded himself. There were still moves that could be made.

"Thank you for letting me know." Severus took a second and then told Albus what he had just decided.. "I am not able to teach at Hogwarts for the next year."

Albus was quiet for a minute before he slowly nodded. "I understand. You've got a little one to care for and I wouldn't be surprised if you decided that a few years would be needed before returning to the school. It is why most professors do not have families. Let me know when you are ready to come back." Albus disappeared before Severus could say anything more.

Severus breathed noisily in frustration and then swept from the room to go check on Serena. She was staring up at the ceiling but didn't make a sound. Severus left her alone, he didn't know if she would go to sleep or start crying that she needed something and he would come if she started crying.

It took the Dark Lord 6 weeks to learn of the two boys' births. Severus didn't know why that knowledge came so slowly but he learned of it when the man came storming into the Malfoy Manor and saw that Severus was there. "Good, I want you to hear this too." He walked the length of the room they were in.

"My Lord, is there something wrong?" Lucius asked getting to his feet and then down to one knee and rested his forehead against it. Severus did not follow suit, he never had before and he wouldn't start that now. Many of his followers did the same thing Lucius had but not all. The Dark Lord thought the ones who did were simpering idiots and he respected those who didn't prostrate themselves for him but still did his bidding and feared him. Many of those though still threw themselves at his feet when apologizing. Severus didn't do anything that required apologizing, at least not yet and not insofar as the Dark Lord knew.

He still stood and bowed his head, as did Narcissa but she didn't kneel either. "The boy that will vanquish me has been born." He snapped. "There are two that have been born, one on the 30th and one on the 31st. The prophecy said that he would be born on the closing of the month. It must be the Potter boy it speaks of, he was born on the final day."

"Only in the Western Hemisphere, my lord." Severus stuck in there. "For half the world it was the 1st." It was pointless but he hoped it would create some tiny doubt for the man.

Those dark eyes slid to Severus and narrowed. "I know you hold some sentimentality for the mother. Are you sure that is not clouding your judgment?" The Dark Lord raised an eyebrow. "You know how women you care about fair when they do something that opposes me."

Narcissa cried out against that, Cassandra had been her cousin. Bellatrix too had felt the pain of that loss. The Dark Lord's eyes snapped to her and sneered. "She and I were close." She bowed her head again. "I'm sorry my Lord, I did not mean to speak out of turn."

He nodded and turned back to Lucius. "They have gone into hiding. Find them."

"Yes, my Lord." He pushed to his feet and paused in thought. "Who, sir?"

"Both of the boys!" He growled. "Both could be the source of my death!" He turned back to Severus. "Where is the girl?" Narcissa ran from the room and brought Serena to him and Severus' stomach rolled at the sight. The Dark Lord looked down at her and touched a finger to her cheek and Serena started bawling. Severus closed his eyes tightly, she had never done that before. Perhaps she was scared of the strange looking man or perhaps she sensed something was wrong with him. "Take her away." He shouted annoyed at the sound and Narcissa did as he bid. Severus breathed easier once he was sure nothing would happen to her. "You must teach her Severus how to be stronger."

Severus nodded. "I will sir, but at the moment she is only a baby and cannot understand."

His lips tugged downward and pulled out his wand and aimed it at Severus. "Is that insolence I am hearing?"

"No sir, I only meant to explain." He bowed his head and stood as relaxed as possible without appearing too relaxed or too scared.

The Dark Lord put away his wand. "I will be taking progress reports periodically."

"Yes sir." Severus did not look up while he was there and he thankfully left soon.

The three adults in the room visually relaxed and sank into the chairs and couches they once occupied. "Dotty!" Lucius shouted and the elf appeared instantly. "Bring the children."

Dotty disappeared and reappeared with Draco and Serena. Lucius took Draco into his arms this time and held him while Severus took Serena. She calmed down significantly once she was back in his arms and basically snuggled in and slept. "You should get a house elf Severus." Narcissa commented as she looked on, wanting to take her son into her arms but also respecting her husband's turn with him.

"I prefer my privacy." He didn't trust house elves, anytime you invited something into your home the home became less secure and less private. Even though they were sworn to their masters, secrets still leaked. That's why he didn't even have any portraits in his home. He looked at Dotty waiting in the corner of the room, looking terrified and his lips twisted, the wretched looking thing looked tired and tattered. Cassandra had told him of the ill-treatment of her own house elves growing up and how many of their heads were mounted on a wall. She had made him see how wrong it was to treat another being that way and given him more reason not to want one. He looked down at Serena who was basically nuzzling into her blanket and he smiled at her, at this age she was more of a secret keeper than anything else could be. She was such a happy baby, she only really ever cried when she was hungry or overly tired.

Also he found despite his intense love for her, that babies, especially at this age were really boring. She became like a stuffed animal or statue for him. He would prop her up somewhere that he could see her and have easy access to and would talk to her like she could not actually hear him. She wasn't like an animal, at least they were entertaining and could move on their own. She could barely move, everything was just a reflex, even newborn kittens and puppies had more mobility.

Although watching Draco these last few weeks had given him hope that things would improve soon with Serena. Draco was nearly six months now and had far more mobility and did far more interesting things. He could at least roll over and mimic a crawl. It required everyone to be vigilant so he didn't suffocate while on his belly but he was grasping at things and smiling and laughing.

He was very excited for Serena to get to that age. She at least then would be responding at a more cognitive level to his words and letting him know a bit better what she wanted even if she couldn't speak yet. She was definitely following him now with her eyes and he knew she was seeing him, recognizing him for what and who he was and she wasn't scared of him.

Six weeks had passed quickly and slowly at the same time. Six months would probably pass in a blink of an eye and be tortuously slow at the same time as he worried over every single little thing she did or did not do and he would worry about Lily and her son.

"I'm starting Draco on solid foods next week." Narcissa commented. "I will create some bottles for you to take with you for the evening and morning meals but if you'd still like to come for lunch, that would be fine with me. It should give you a bit more freedom to come and go as you please rather than be reliant on one or both of us."

"Oh." Severus had thought something similar in the past but this was a new development. He hadn't even really known when children switched to solids.

"It might not take at first." She said gently. "Draco might reject the idea at first and so it might be another month or so before it happens but at least this way we can ensure I don't dry up before Serena is ready for solids herself."

"I understand." He did, he didn't understand all of it but he got the basics. He should probably do some studying on rearing children. He had always figured Cassandra would have the handle on it and he would come and go as he pleased or as the child needed him but would be told that he was needed by his wife.

Narcissa shook her head. "Some days you are such a male." She stood and lifted Serena out of his arms to kiss her on the cheek and ran a hand over the soft blond hair coming in. "Such a bright looking child, I don't understand where she gets her coloring from." Neither did Severus, she had bright blue eyes and blond hair that didn't seem to be getting any darker the longer it got and the older she got. He thought the prince had dark hair and eyes, perhaps this too was the result of the spell they'd cast. Perhaps she changed genders and colors because of something that went wrong. He hoped she wouldn't have any health issues because of it.

She'd been almost a month late whereas the Potter boy had been a month early. It would be ironic if their fates weren't so terrifyingly up in the air.

Lucius handed Draco back to Dotty and she took him back to his bedroom. "I must go work on locating the Longbottoms and Potters. Severus." He nodded to him before walking over to kiss Narcissa on the cheek and placed his hand on the top of Serena's head. Then he apparated from the room.

"I should go too." Severus held out his hands for his child back and Narcissa handed her over. "I shall be back tomorrow."

She nodded and he headed to the Floo network with Serena. He needed to start looking for houses in or near Hogsmeade. He shook his head as they traveled home. He had never wanted to work at Hogwarts, he had wanted to be as far away from that school after he graduated as possible but he ended up right back there and would probably die in that place. Even if it had only been a year or so working there, he couldn't imagine doing anything else but teach.

The students were trying most days but he felt like he was doing something positive and he would actually miss it this next year.

EAN: Let me defend the choice before anyone says anything about Narcissa. If you look at history, it's how nursemaids/wet-nurses got their jobs, they had to have had a child within a year of their lord and lady having one of their own, typically a girl since boys were allowed to bond with their mothers in that way. This is very similar and technically true, Voldemort is their "lord" and so Serena would need a nursemaid.