To ll my reviewers:

I have been in the woods, backpacking since Friday. Yes, yes, I know, that isnt a good reason to not post a chapter in mellinias, but I longed for nothing more for when I got home to lay in a vat of oil of olay for a month. Needless to say, I don't even own any oil of olay stuff and I got out in about half an hour. I was quite hairy...lol. But now that my urge to be naked in water is over, here is CHAPTER 30!!! part-ay

~*~In the present~*~

"I don't think this charm is working." Minerva said blatantly an hour later.

"It'll take some time, patience, Minerva." He said, looking at the inner mechanisms of the muggle can opener next to him. There were random bits of muggle artifact lining the hall that they were in, close to the department of mysteries.

"Look at this toaster. It must be fifty years old."

"Not as old as this rubber ducky. I wonder what the use of this is." Severus replied.

"I'm scared, Severus." Minerva said bluntly a few minutes later.

"I know you are."

"But I'm still going. The only reason I have for staying is Albus. And even that will not last forever."

"He loves you very much."

"I know."

"Look at that." with a click, the tall metal door swung open revealing rows apon rows of banned artifacts and a very large be-tentacled brain.

~*~In the Confine~*~

"I am so bored." Harry said, after he beat Ron at chess for the sixty seventh time.

"Me too. You can only play moneyplay so many times." Severus said.

"It's monopoly, love." Hermione corrected, looking up from the huge and ancient book she was reading.

"Whatever you call it, it's been enough." Ginny said, walking into the room with Aissa in her arms. "Here, Hermione, she's got a diaper issue." Ginny laughed as Hermione took the baby.

"I'll do it, Mione. I haven't had a good stinky diaper in a long while." Draco said, laughing.

"Good. I'm sick of changing them. If only we could do magic. Just a scrougify and you're done."

"I agree, love." Draco replied, giving her a cheeky wink.

"Shuddup."

~*~Several hours later~*~

"Lets add Uno to the list of things that can only be played so many times." Harry sighed, putting down his last card.

"Agreed." Ron said, leaning back in his chair.

"Dumbledore is here, kiddies, bring more goodies for you!" Albus cried as he stepped through the thick stone wall. Parvati and Aissa were watching Jurassic park on the muggle tv, Ron, Severus and Harry were playing UNO and Ginny and Hermione were making dinner. All of the people in the confine over the age of seven months grabbed for their wands. "It's only me. I come every day."

"We're just so jumpy, Albus." Severus said, "Down here all alone with no protection except the-boy-who-refused-to-die."

"Watch it, old man. And besides, I don't know why we grab for our wands. They don't work down here." Harry countered good naturedly.

"Anyway, what do you have for us today?" Ron asked, his eyes getting as round as Christmas bulbs.

"I have taken the liberty of securing a few galleons from each of your vaults. And Mr. Wesley, I'm very impressed with the amount that you have saved lately." he said, smiling at the red haired man. "And I have also brought the new additions of all the Christmas Catalogues."

"Wonderful." Hermione said, "I was wondering how I would manage to get gifts for everyone."

"Aw, Hermione, you didn't have to get me anything." Draco said, feigning a swoon off his chair.

"Well, I woln't." she replied, laughing for the first time all day. Severus leaned up against her legs, putting his raven head on her knees.

They commenced to start looking through the catalogues as soon as Dumbledore left. He usually only stayed five or ten minutes a day there, he had far too much other work to do, getting ready.

Its so weird, Hermione thought to herself, that we are down here and up there the world is getting ready for war.

"It's ok, love." Severus said, kissing her on the temple.

"What's ok?" she asked, leaning over to be closer to him. They started looking through the Stars and Robesbook (think sears and roebuck...) catalogue.

"Everything, love. Everything will be fine." he kissed her again, on the lips, a firm but chaste kiss.

"Oh, Man, look at this!" Harry yelled from over near the kitchen. He had mounted his broom and was promptly soaring towards the ceiling, but the roof of the tower just seemed to get higher.

"Harry!" Hermione called, getting up quickly.

"No, it's ok Hermione, it's a false ceiling. I can't believe I didn't even thing about that." Severus said as he put his hand on her arm.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." he said quickly, "Anyone up for a game of Quidditch?"

"Yeah!" the other five yelled as Hermione held Aissa, firm in the fact that she wouldn't go up there.

"We can use Aissa's teething ball as a quaffle." Ron said, holding up the purple ball. "And I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't care if we still had our practice bludgers and snitch..."

"Ron! You don't!" Hermione cried, looking agast.

"Yeah, we do. We were getting ready to play a game in Venice before You-Know-Who's goons attacked us." Harry said, grinning.

"Oh, and I assume all of you brought your trusty broomsticks with you..." she said with a smirk.

"Yep." Severus whispered in her ear, "I know you've had all the broomstick you wanted, 'Mione."

"Oh, Gods, Sev!" Hermione cried, pushing him away.

"Well, lets choose some teams." Parati said, looking around and surveying the crowd.

"Well, Drac and me can be the seekers/chasers." Harry said, looking over at Malfoy for his approval.

"Then I can keep versus Parvati and Hermione." Ron said, giggling at the two underplayed girls.

"Oh, Thanks." Parvati said, laughing.

"Yeah, boys." said Hermione.

"Ok, fine. We can switch off." giggled Parvati.

"Then that means Ginny and I are beaters?" Sev asked, looking at his counterpart in the game with a weary eye. Ginny was small, but she was one solid girl with a mean thump in her bat.

"Hey, Lucius told me one time that you played every single position at least once in school." Draco commented to Severus.

"I was all right."

"Yeah, you only kept my dad from beating you for the Quidditch cup one year. You won the others, didn't you, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I started out as a seeker then moved on to beater, chaser then keeper. And yes. I did beat James Potter quite a few times." he said, smirking a bit. "Get your damn brooms."

Soon they were all assembled in the common room and Hermione, who was playing as referee for the first ten minutes threw Aissa's Teething ball up into the air. She giggled and waved her little arms around as Hermione and she flew slowly around the room. She waved her tiny baby hand in the air as soon as Sev hit the bludger straight to the other side of the 'field'

"Da!" She proclaimed, pointing to Sev with wide baby blue turned green-grey eyes. She clapped her little hands and yelled it again, "Da!"

Hermione almost fainted in suprise. She turned white and her mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

"What is it, 'Mione?" Sev yelled, catching the bludger against his chest.

"Oh, Gods!" She cried, the tears starting to pour down her smiling face.

"What is it?" Draco yelled

"She said something, Oh, Merlin, she said Da!" Hermione said as the others crowded around on their broomsticks, still thirty feet from the top of the couches. "She saw you hit a bludger and she pointed and said 'Da', oh my, she said her first word!"

"She said 'Da'?" Severus gasped.

"Yes!" Hermione cried.

"That's wonderful!" Parvati said, leaning from her broom onto Harry's shoulder. He wound his arm around her, smiling.

"Are you sure?" he asked, frightened that it was all a joke.

"Da!" Aissa cried, holding out her arms to Sev. He took her rather forcefully from Hermione's arms and hugged her close to his chest.

"She called me Daddy!" He said, lowering his broomstick along with Hermione. They touched down on the floor and he swept Aissa and Hermione into a tight hug. Aissa giggled while Hermione cried and Sev looked absolutely dumbstruck. Parvati touched down and took Aissa as they walked toward Sev, Draco, Ron and Harry's room.

"Oh, gross. They're going to do it in our room." Ron said, scrunching his face up.

"This is why you don't have a girl, mate." Draco said, slapping him on the back, "Besides, he's a lot more bearable now that he's getting some."