Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except the one I created myself. All others belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I have only borrowed them for my amusement and hopefully yours as well.

A/N: Thanks for all of your kind words, especially to Felicia. They really do mean a lot to mean. I am afraid I have become a bit of a review junkie. Once you get a few good ones, you want more, more, more!

Chapter 45

Jolicia was finally into her ninth month. She could at last see the light at the end of the tunnel. She had no idea how she was going to make it through her last days; she was going stir crazy. She spent most of her time at home trying to keep busy. Jo felt as if she had read ever book ever written and couldn't stand to touch another one. She had been knitting up a storm and had created quite a pile of little items. She lost interest in that as well, figuring there are only so many pairs of booties you need. The students stopped by often, attempting to keep her spirits up by engaging her in conversation. This worked quite well. Ron knew he could always get her going about Quidditch – it was a sure-fire topic.

After class one morning, Severus went back home to check up on Jo. She was not there. He walked to the staff room, thinking perhaps she had gone for a cup of tea and some company. He spotted Minerva.

"Good morning, Minerva. Have you by any chance seen Jolicia?" he asked.

"Good morning. Yes, she's in the staff room. How can I say this, she's, um, not very happy. I think you better talk to her, Severus," she replied.

He said thanks and moved towards the door.

Minerva added, "If you dare."

Severus found her sitting alone by the fireplace. He bent down and kissed the top of her head. He then pulled up an ottoman and sat before her.

"Hello love."

"Hello yourself," she growled.

"Definitely not in a good mood, must tread cautiously," he thought.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong you ask? Look at me! Your wife is a whale – a big, fat ugly beached whale!"

He sighed, "You're not ugly, Jo. You are beautiful."

"Ha! You didn't say I wasn't fat!"

Severus sighed, "Don't twist my words. Jolicia Medwin Snape, you are nine months pregnant with twins. I believe that entitles you to be a little larger than usual." He ran his hands over her belly and leaned in to kiss her.

"Don't touch me! That's another thing. I am so damned randy, I can't stand it!"

Sev smiled and said, "You know very well that Poppy said we can't make love for now. It could send you into labor. It's hard on me too, you know."

"At least you can take care of yourself. I can't even bloody well do that. And as far as going into labor, that sounds pretty damn good right about now. I WANT THESE BABIES OUT!" she yelled.

"You only have a few more weeks to go. Jo, you're a strong woman, you can do this."

Her eyes shot daggers. There is a Muggle expression 'if looks could kill'…Severus would have been stone cold dead by now. Nothing he said was right; each word seemed to be making matters worse.

"Next time, Severus," she said venomously, "You can be pregnant then you'll know what I'm talking about. I'll sit there and pat your hand saying, 'there, there' and see how you like it."

Jo burst into tears and started sobbing uncontrollably. He didn't know what to do. He thought she might slap him if he touched her.

"Oh, Sev. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a bitch. My hormones are all out of whack. Do you forgive me?"

He put his arms around her and held her tight. He took a deep breath and weighed his next words very carefully.

"There's nothing to forgive, love. I understand that this is difficult for you. I wish there was more I could do. All I can say is that I'm here for you and that I love you."

For once, he managed to say just the right thing.

That same morning, Lucius Malfoy had just finished spending a good deal of time and money picking out a new wardrobe at Madam Malkin's. He prided himself on his appearance and always made sure he was dressed in the latest fashion, all tailor-made of course. He stopped for lunch in a small bistro, his favorite in Diagon Alley. Since his release from Azkaban, Lucius Malfoy made sure that he indulged in the finer things of life. Nothing he could do would ever erase the memory of that horrible place, but by Merlin's beard, he was going to try.

He had enjoyed a fine repast and was settling in with a coffee and the Daily Prophet when two witches sat down at the next table. It was quickly obvious to him that his tranquility had been permanently disrupted. The two women had not stopped chattering since they arrived. Lucius shot them his best scowl; the effort was wasted.

"Gossiping biddies! Why did they have to choose that table? Will they not shut their gobs!" he thought.

He signaled the serving witch for the check, anxious to make a hasty retreat. He was just about to leave when a snippet of their conversation caught his ear. He picked up the newspaper and feigned reading in order to hear more.

"…so I said to my Jonathan, you had better put your nose to the grindstone, my son. What will become of you if you fail Potions? Don't think that if you fail to graduate from Hogwarts that your father and I have enough Galleons to send you elsewhere."

"What did he say to that, Hester?"

"Nothing much, I'm afraid, Rowena. I owled Professor Snape inquiring about Jonathan's status. I received quite a nasty letter back telling me that if my son failed, it was because of his own laziness. Did you ever? He could have put it a little more politely."

Lucius smirked; it was obvious that neither of these cows knew Severus!

Rowena replied, "Speaking of Snape, have you heard?" Hester shook her head.

"Well, it seems that he has married one of the other teachers."

"No!" said Hester.

Rowena was obviously enjoying delivering the juicy gossip. She was practically drooling as she continued.

"That's not all, my dear. She is pregnant with twins!"

Both Hester and Lucius were shocked. He listened intently, not wanting to miss one syllable of what was being said.

Rowena continued, "Did you ever meet Professor Medwin? Yes? Well that is who he married. I must say that I rather liked her when I met her last spring. Merlin knows my Morag adores her. I remember her saying last year how wonderful she thought it was that someone who had a Muggle for a mother could be such an excellent DADA teacher. She went on and on."

Lucius tuned out the two women. What he had heard had stunned him; how could this story be true? Snape with a Mudblood? Something was very, very wrong.

"I must investigate this at once," he growled.

Lucius returned to Madam Malkin's, made another quick purchase and was off to Hogwarts in a flash.

Lucius strode through the main entrance of the school, and scanned the crowds for his son. Draco's pale blonde hair made him stand out from all the others so he was quickly spotted.

Draco was talking to Hermione, making plans for later on that evening, when he happened to glance over his shoulder.

He quickly said, "Bloody hell, Hermione. It's my father. Walk away. Now!"

"Father, this is a surprise," said Draco, trying to act nonchalant.

"Who was that?" asked Lucius.

"No one."

"I was shopping this morning and I saw this at Madam Malkin's. I thought you would like it. Here," he said, pushing the bag into his son's hand.

Draco eyed his father suspiciously. It was not like him to show up with gifts. He opened the bag and found a black leather jacket.

"Thank you Father," said Draco, trying on the jacket. It fit him perfectly. "This is brilliant!"

"Hmm. Yes. Do you know where I might find your godfather?"

"He should be in his office."

Lucius turned and said as he walked away, "Enjoy the coat."

Severus was indeed in his office. He was quite surprised to see Malfoy senior standing in the doorway, staring at him.

"Lucius, this is a surprise. To what do I owe the honor?"

"My dear Severus," he replied with a smarmy grin, "I brought something for Draco so I thought I would just say hello. Is everything all right?"

Severus replied warily, "Yes of course. Why wouldn't I be all right?"

"No reason. Just being polite. I must dash. See you at our next 'meeting'?"

"Yes."

With that, Malfoy was gone. He had left Severus with a sinking feeling that he was up to something. Unfortunately, he had no idea what that something might be.

"He is wearing a wedding ring," thought Lucius. "This is not good."

As he was leaving, he saw something that further confirmed the story he had overheard. He was careful to remain out of sight, but from his hiding place he saw Potter with a woman, a very pregnant woman.

"I must inform our Master immediately," said Malfoy to himself.