The full moon neared in his 7th month, and Severus started worrying again. If the pattern held, the thrashing would be worse as the baby grew in size and strength, and they would be too exhausted to move all day afterwards. He tried to think of anything he could do to alleviate the discomfort on both sides, but he wasn't a healer. He might need help. He didn't want Pomfrey finding out the truth, but if it came down to keeping the baby alive and safe, he would have to risk it.

He went to the hospital wing the evening before the full moon.

"Everything alright, Severus?" Pomfrey asked when he came in.

"I'm fine, but... I feel there's going to be another incident tonight."

"You think it's going to happen again?"

"Yes. I was hoping to stay here tonight, in case…"

"I understand. In fact, it would be wise to keep you under observation so I can see for myself." She directed him to a private room. "Everything's stocked. Call for me as soon as it starts."

"Thank you."

He undressed, used the bathroom, and got into bed, knowing he would need to sleep while he could.

He woke up after dark. The moon was in the sky. The baby was thrashing harder than before, making him wince as he gripped his belly.

"Poppy!"

She came running, stopping by his bed. "Oh my!" She could see ripples forming under his skin from the baby's wild acrobatics. "They're really going!"

"You don't have to tell me! Oof!" He hissed from having his organs constantly beaten.

Pomfrey cast diagnostics and various tests. "Their heart rate is high, no surprise. And they've been acting normal all day?"

"Yes - Ouch!"

None of Pomfrey's tests were telling her anything, other than the obvious that the baby was freaking out. She held her hands to his belly and felt the frantic movements within. "I can't understand it. I don't know what's making them do this."

"Can't you calm them down?"

"I hesitate to give them anything in this state. It might make it worse." She cast another charm over him, hoping if she could watch in real time she might catch a clue. An image formed in the air, showing what was going on in the womb. She'd used it before to see the baby, but this time she gasped.

"Merlin's Beard!"

Severus' jaw dropped, along with his heart.

There was a little wolf cub thrashing inside him.

The truth was out.

He glanced nervously at Pomfrey, who was too stunned to speak at first.

"Poppy… please…"

"Severus… It's a wolf! But.. earlier…" It took time before the pieces came together. Why they'd seen a human before and a wolf now. Why these episodes only happened once a month. Why it was happening now on the same night Lupin was in the shrieking shack.

Severus was stunned as well at this development. He'd guessed the baby had inherited the wolf's affliction, but he'd never considered, not in a million years, that they were already transforming in the womb every month. It all made sense now, but he deflated at the inevitable fallout this would cause. No more secrecy.

"Severus… I'm sorry. The baby is a lycanthrope!"

"I know - Ouch! I knew. I just didn't know that they were transforming."

"You knew? You know who the other parent is?"

"Of course I know."

"Are they a werewolf, to your knowledge?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"Severus, I'm astonished!"

"It wasn't my doing! It was the wolf! A fully transformed werewolf insisted on breeding me! Ouch!" He hissed in pain.

Pomfrey stared at the moving image of the thrashing cub in his belly. "Who is it? Whose is it?"

Severus stared at the image too, struggling between disappointment and outrage through the pain.

"Severus! Whose is it?"

"It doesn't matter."

"There is no point trying to protect them."

"I am NOT trying to protect them! Oof!"

"Then you need to tell me who it was!"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does! They should answer for this!"

"... It was Lupin."

His mouth set in a thin line, while her jaw dropped again.

"Does he know?"

"No, he doesn't. He doesn't remember anything from that night - Oof! - and I've told him nothing. He has no idea the child exists."

"You need to tell him, Severus. This has to do with him as much as you."

"I fail to see that."

"This is his child!"

"It's his wolf's spawn - Yowch! - and the wolf isn't likely to pay child support, so what difference does it make? It's mine!"

"Remus needs to know too! He knew he was unlikely to ever have children, and here he has one on the way!"

"I said it's mine!" Severus growled, baring his teeth, making Pomfrey recoil a bit at his ferocity. But only for a moment.

"Severus Snape, even if you don't want him to be part of the child's life, he ought to know he has a biological child out there!"

"NO! If he finds out, he'll get all clingy and never leave! He may want to take the child for himself! Oof!"

Pomfrey finally saw the fear behind the anger. "Severus, he does not have full rights as a werewolf. It's frowned upon for werewolves to reproduce in the first place. He is quite unlikely to win custody of the baby even if he wanted to."

"He'll still try and meddle! He's enough of a sap - Ouch! - to try something! I don't want him getting involved!"

"You can easily keep custody and deny him visitation rights, as the birth parent. I'm just saying he ought to be informed that his 'wolf' produced a child."

Severus stubbornly shook his head.

"At least let him help you with the baby's unique needs! What if the baby needs his help to deal with this?"

She finally found his weak spot. Severus wavered, but he offered up more resistance.

"He can't help now. He's already transformed."

"He won't be around during full moons, true, but he may have insight you need. He's your best chance of getting help with something most people won't know about. He might even be able to stay with them during transformations."

"That assumes he can be helpful in the first place, which is not my experience with him. Ouch!"

"At least give him a chance, Severus. Or are you determined to do this alone and deny the baby even the possibility of getting assistance?"

Severus set his head back in frustration, groaning from the frustrating conversation and the constant acrobatics in his belly. "Fine."

He endured the spasms until morning, when the baby calmed down. He and Pomfrey watched as the projected image showed the cub morph back into human form and settle into a curled position.

"Astounding," Pomfrey murmured.

"That's one word for it." Severus wearily rubbed his bump. He had such a sore belly.

Pomfrey checked the baby's vitals and confirmed they were satisfactory. "At least now we know why they're so tired afterwards. Get some sleep, Severus. I will tell the headmaster you must be excused from classes today."

"You won't tell him why?"

"... No. I'll keep this secret. At least until you and Remus decide how you want to handle this."

Severus groaned, but was too exhausted to argue. He settled into bed and went to sleep.

Remus and Severus both slept most of the day. When Remus was ready to get up in the evening, Pomfrey told him Severus was there too and had something to tell him. Curious what that might be, Remus followed her to another private room. He saw Severus lying in bed and wondered why he was there.

"Is he alright? Did I get out? Merlin, did I bite him?"

"No, no, you didn't bite him. But you do have something else to discuss." She shut the door behind her as she left.

Remus cautiously approached the bed, like coming up on a hibernating bear. Severus had the blankets up to his armpits, but he was shirtless.

"Severus?"

The potions master opened his eyes and regarded him with his usual disdain. "Lupin."

Remus sank into the chair, still feeling weak. "Poppy said you had something to tell me."

"Hmph. She didn't give me much choice in the matter."

"Yes, Poppy is a force," Remus agreed with a weak smile.

After a few seconds of silence, Remus asked, "So, what are you in for, Severus?"

"I had a rather rough night."

"So did I."

"I know. It's your fault I'm here."

"Poppy said I didn't bite you. Did I attack you? Scratch you?"

Severus hesitated, then pulled down his blanket. Remus' eyes went wide as he saw Severus' swollen belly.

"... You look different since the last time I saw you." Remus tried lamely at humor.

"I've been disguising it. This happened 7 months ago. During the full moon."

Remus slowly let this sink in. "No...You mean…?"

"You conveniently neglected to take your last dose. I tried taking it to you, but your wolf decided it would be more fun to make a cub."

"Severus… I had no idea."

"Of course not. I never meant for you to find out."

Remus hung his head, running a hand through his hair. "Merlin… All this time… Severus, I'm sorry. I don't recall any of it."

"I know. I was counting on that."

"I didn't even know… I mean, that the wolf could, or even you could…" He was staring at the belly again.

"Apparently a bearer is capable of being bred with anything," Severus said shortly. He pulled the blanket back up so he could stroke his belly unseen.

Remus tried again at humor. "No wonder you've been glaring me down all this time. I was wondering what it was. You must hate me."

"I already hated you. Now I loathe you."

"Fair enough. Has it been difficult? Is that why you're in here?"

"Other than the fact that carrying your wolf's issue has literally made me sick, something else has... come up. I've been getting stomach pains every month, with increasing intensity, on nights with a full moon. Last night I had the dubious pleasure of feeling my child thrash within an inch of their life all through the night… in wolf form."

Remus buried his head in his hands. He didn't say anything for a few minutes. Severus kept stroking. The baby was quiet.

"Merlin's Beard…" Remus murmured. "I was afraid of this very thing happening. This is precisely why I wasn't going to have children. Severus, I'm so sorry. I never intended-"

"What you intended makes no difference now. The child has your condition, and that's that."

Remus looked miserable. "I'm so sorry. That poor child… I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"I don't need anything from you, Lupin. I wasn't going to tell you at all if Poppy hadn't forced my hand. I'll raise the child myself. I'm not going to demand anything from you." All thoughts of giving the baby up for adoption had flown out of his head the past month. Possessiveness had snuck in and taken root.

"But it's my fault, it's my baby-"

"No," Severus snapped. "It's mine. You have no claim on this child. Your wolf may have put it in me, but that is the extent of it. I'm the one carrying them, I'm the one who will give birth to them, and I will be the one raising them. You have done quite enough."

Remus looked hurt, but pressed on. "I could help with support-"

Severus scoffed. "You can barely take care of yourself. I have steady employment, I'll be fine."

"At least let me help with their condition," Remus insisted. "It's a lonely life, having everyone afraid of you, no one wanting to touch you, like you're contagious. Transforming every month is a painful, terrifying experience, no matter how many times you do it. Even if you give them all the love in the world, they'll need to know that someone knows what they're going through. Even if it's the same dumb wolf that gave them their condition in the first place."

Severus thought for a minute, secretly stroking his belly under the blanket. He knew deep down, grudgingly, that he couldn't give the same support as someone who was like them. He would have to lock them up every month, lock up his child alone to deal with the pain of transformation. He'd already seen and felt the intensity of it happening inside him, and his baby would be too exhausted to move all day. They were safe inside him for now, but what about when they were older?

"I'm not giving you custody," he said quietly.

"I'm not asking for custody. They can be legally yours. You don't even have to name me as the other parent. All I'm asking is the right to visit them, just once a month. We can deal with the wolves together, so they won't be alone."

Severus knew he was licked. It wouldn't be right to make his child endure something painful and frightening all alone that he couldn't personally help with. "Fine. Monthly visitation only. And we don't tell them you're the other father until they're grown. If we ever tell them."

Remus' shoulders relaxed. "Thank you, Severus."

"Hmph."

After a moment, Remus asked in a lighter tone, "So, do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"No. I'm waiting to find out." It sounded better than to admit he hadn't found out to avoid getting attached. Too late for that now.

"Have you picked any names?"

"Haven't decided yet." Which sounded better than to admit he hadn't even thought about it. Time to start thinking about it.

Remus nodded. "You're a brave man, Severus. And kind."

"No I'm not."

"You're keeping a werewolf baby who already transforms inside you every month. Not everyone would be willing to do that."

"... I know something about being different and alone."

"So long as they have your understanding and care. You'll be a good father."

Severus wasn't sure. The doubts lingered, even if the desire had grown.

"Get out. I'm tired."

Lupin got up without a word, leaving Severus stroking his belly as he tried to get some rest.

"For your sake, little one, he had better come through. But even if he doesn't, and I imagine he won't, I am here for you. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

It was nerve wracking for Severus not to feel the baby move all day, missing the little nudges and kicks he usually felt every now and then. He'd needed Pomfrey's assurance that the baby was still alive before he left the hospital wing, in exchange for the promise that he would be back for observation next month. Each transformation needed to be monitored until they were born. Only a few more left.

Whenever he passed Lupin, he wouldn't even look at him. Just because his hand had been forced to tell the sire about the baby didn't mean he had to trust him. With any luck, he could learn what he needed from Lupin about caring for a lycanthrope, then ditch him before things could go south. He was not about to put his child's welfare in the paws of an idiot who couldn't always be bothered to take his rare, expensive, time-intensive potion to make himself less dangerous. Hopefully the werewolf gene was the only dominant one the baby had inherited from their sire, and they would take after their bearer more.

He was quite relieved when the baby resumed squirming the next day.

As Severus feared, Lupin was watching him all the time now, aware that beneath the glamor Severus was swelling with his biological child. Lupin was opening doors for him, pulling out chairs for him, watching him come and go, asking if he needed anything, which quickly grew tiresome for the expectant father.

"Will you stop?" he hissed under his breath as Lupin held a door open for him again.

"I'm trying to be helpful."

"You are hopeless at subtlety. Everyone is going to assume there is something between us."

"Well, there is someone between us," Lupin said, nodding at the hidden belly between them.

Severus rolled his eyes and stalked through the door. Lupin followed.

"It is unnecessary to treat me like porcelain. I'm fine."

"I can't be nice to the mother of my cub?"

"Shh!"

"We teachers can't be nice to each other?" Lupin amended as a knot of students went by.

"Nice is one thing. Smothering is another."

"I'm not smothering."

Severus ducked into an empty classroom, Lupin right behind. Once the door was locked and a silencing charm cast, Severus impatiently rounded on the lycanthrope.

"Listen here," he hissed. "Just because I've given permission for you to help the child does not mean you get to coddle me. I've taken care of myself my whole life, and I've taken care of this child for 7 months without your blatant meddling. If you don't back off, I will rescind my permission."

Lupin stood there maddeningly calm, hands in his pockets. "You're really not used to anyone doing anything kind for you, are you?"

"I wouldn't know," Severus snapped. "Certainly not from the wolf who nearly killed me once then knocked me up later."

Lupin looked chastised, which made Severus feel a little better. "Alright, then what would genuinely help you?"

"To be left alone. Until the child is born, I don't require anything from you."

"Then I don't suppose you'd like my opening the question of my being there for the birth?"

Severus' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "No."

"Hear me out, Severus. I've been thinking-"

"How highly ambitious of you."

Lupin grinned self-deprecatingly and let it go. "I know I won't be around for them besides full moons, and I'm not asking for more involvement in their life. But this will be my only biological child, and I thought it might be nice to at least be there when they're born. If only for the memory."

Severus scoffed. "How terribly sentimental of you."

"Yes, I know, but just consider it. I won't be raising them, and I at least want to be there when they enter the world."

"... It won't be quick, and it won't be glamorous."

"That's fine."

"I mean it." Even though this would be his first birth, Severus had done plenty of research on the subject through the years ever since finding out he was a bearer. "It will be a long, bloody affair. I may choke you to death before the climax."

Lupin smiled bashfully. "I'm willing to take that chance. I suppose I'd have it coming."

"You would." Then Severus dropped his gaze. "I... I won't be at my best. I don't know… how well I'm going to handle it."

Lupin caught the unease and fear that Severus ordinarily hid beneath sarcasm, recognizing he might not want an audience while he was feeling vulnerable. "I wouldn't either, honestly, if I was in your place. I meant what I said, about you being very brave. If you'd rather not have me watching, I understand. But I'll try to do whatever you need to make it up to you, even if it's just using me as a punching bag. I just, I would like to see them once they're born. That's all."

Severus was silent, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I wasn't in the room when Lily had Harry, but I got to hold him the next day. He was so small and red and fragile, I was terrified of hurting him. I thought that holding my best friend's baby was the closest I would ever get to holding a child of my own. It always seemed irresponsible for me to ever sire a child, and then finding out that there's one on the way… I got worried, and I may have overreacted. I'm sorry."

Severus cursed his hormones as he blinked back tears. If he started crying in front of Lupin he'd have to kill him. "I may take you up on that punching bag offer," he growled instead.

Lupin smiled a little. "That's the spirit."

"And no amount of sucking up is going to change anything. I still hate you."

"I understand."

After that, Lupin toned down his following Severus around and trying to do everything for him. He would simply ask every now and then how he was doing, and Severus would give veiled answers in case anyone overheard. They ended up with a code of sorts they used in public.

"How is progress on your project?" Lupin asked at dinner.

"Going swimmingly." Severus felt the baby rolling around as he took another bite of his roast. He was craving red meat a lot these days.

"Have you thought about what to name it? After yourself, perhaps?"

"Hardly. I'm narrowing it down."

"Any supplies you still need to get?"

Severus wasn't going to admit that nothing had been done to prepare for the baby's arrival, since he'd only recently decided to keep it. "This and that. I'll be fine."