Another short instalment, I doubt there will be any more, maybe one later glimpse at their lives. Thank you all who reviewed Babies and Breasts, your comments were gladly received. Hope you enjoy this as much.
First steps
"Oh dear gods," Severus put a hand over his mouth and nose and stared blankly at the tiny child before him, "How can such a tiny creature produce such a rancid smell!"
Harry chuckled and smiled down at his daughter as he changed her nappy, "Do you listen to him sweetheart, Papa has loads of worse smelling things in his stinky old stock room."
"Harry, are you sure she's healthy, it is not normal for milk to cause Green faeces."
"Poppy said it would be like this for the first few days, they have to get rid of the stuff they were fed while in the womb."
"Well thank goodness it is only for a few days," Severus replied. A small cry interrupted his thoughts as his son woke and howled for attention.
"Could you change him Severus," Harry asked as he cleaned Lillian.
"Will he also have green faeces?" Severus asked with a frown.
"Oh for goodness sake, don't be such a baby – you brew more disgusting things every day!"
"Yes, but they are not produced by my children!" Severus replied as he lay Albus down on the mat next to his sister to change him. "Why don't I finish dressing Lillian and you can change Albus?"
"Not on your life Mr Snape – why should I have all the bonding moments?"
"I hardly think that cleaning their nappies could be called bonding," Severus muttered as he stripped away the baby grow and nappy, and washed his son gently, he had just turned to pick up a clean nappy when Harry said, "You might want to be careful with …"
A sudden wet jet hit Severus on the side of his head and he turned incredulously towards his son, Baby Albus gurgled at him and his eyes twinkled in a fashion reminiscent of his name sake.
Harry laughed and he handed Severus a small towel, "You have to watch out with Albus – his aim is very good considering he is only two days old."
"Urgh!" Severus shuddered, "I need to take another shower."
"Well change him while I feed Lillian and then you can shower while I feed him," Harry laughed and scooped their daughter up in his arms.
Severus changed his son, all the while muttering to him about little boys respecting their papa's and not peeing on them, Harry fed his daughter her bottle and chuckled quietly to himself, Severus was doing very well with all the sudden changes the children had brought.
Seven months
"Harry Potter-Snape!" Severus Snape growled from the doorway, the scowl on his face reminiscent of Harry's time as a student. Harry's felt a chill in his stomach and dropped the spoon he was holding.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, an unratonal fear settling in his stomach as he observed his husbands cold demeanour.
"How long did you think you could fool me for?" Severus stalked into the room and frowned down on his seated husband.
"Fool you?" Harry asked, "Severus what are you talking about – what's wrong with you?"
"Do you think I am a fool?" Severus continued, "Did you think I could not work out the truth?" Harry stammered but Severus continued, "Did you really hope to pass them off as mine?"
Harry stood up abruptly and faced the man, "What the hell are you on about, I have never lied to you!"
"A very sweeping statement, husband of mine," Severus smirked. "But I have caught you out."
Harry was beginning to lose his temper, "What are you on about!"
"Those children," Severus pointed to the twin faces staring up at them, covered in red spaghetti sauce. "There is no way on earth that those disgusting little urchins have my genes."
"What!" Harry all but screamed, "Severus Snape, what a horrible thing to say."
Severus' smirk grew deeper and more smug as he leaned down to bring his dark eyes level with Harry's, "I refuse to believe that anyone with my genetic make up could possible be so filthy."
Harry snorted half way between a laugh and a growl as he replied, "They have to learn sometime – and all children – you included Mr Severus Snape, learn to eat with their hands first!"
"My dearest husband, how is it possible that they are actually eating anything – judging by the size of the bowl, they are both wearing more 'food' than they have eaten."
Harry grabbed Severus around the neck and pulled him down for a long kiss, spaghetti sauce and all.
Severus melted into the kiss but as he pulled Harry closer, a small, very sticky hand, pulled on the edge of his robes.
"Pa..pa…pa…pa…" Severus whipped his head around to look at his beautiful raven haired daughter and smiled, "Did you hear her, Harry – she called me papa."
Harry laughed and said, "See – how could you ever doubt they are yours!"
Looking over both children, Severus' smile grew, "They are rather precious aren't they? Even when they are covered in that disgusting stuff you call food."
Not to be out done by his sister, Baby Albus joined in his sister's chant, "pa…pa…pa…pa…"
"They obviously want you to feed them," Harry laughed; he placed the bowl of food in Severus' hand and bent to retrieve the spoon, then raced out of the room to wash the spaghetti sauce from his dark hair.
Severus growled at Harry and then turned to his children and cast gentle cleaning spells at them both.
"Now," he took the first spoonful and held it just out of their reach, "You are both Snape's and that means that you must learn to eat gracefully – no fingers in the food – its just too uncouth, and definitely no smearing said food through each others hair."
Harry finished his shower and stood in the doorway observing his husband interacting with their seven month old twins. Severus always seemed to feed them without them dirtying themselves or each other. Harry grinned as he saw a small drip of sauce fall towards Lily's bib; Severus muttered a cleaning spell and carried on with the feeding.
"You will be there all night at this rate," Harry commented.
Severus snorted and replied, "It is never too early for etiquette!"
Ten months
"Severus," Harry called gently through the baby monitor system they had charmed from their bedroom to the nursery, "Come see."
Severus swung his long legs out of the bed and padded through to the nursery, where Harry was (for the twentieth time that night) checking on their children.
"Harry, the idea of moving them into their own room, was so we could have some time alone," Severus put his arms around his smaller husband from behind and looked down into the pale blue crib of his son, finding both children in side, he added, "why have you put them back together?"
"I didn't," Severus could feel Harry smile, as he leaned on his cheek, "Lillian obviously wanted to sleep next to her brother."
"Accidental magic?" Severus asked in awe, "But they are only ten months old."
"I know," Harry whispered, "But I came in to check on Albus, he was restless, and found her here – she must have sensed he was upset."
"Uncanny – should we put her back in her own bed?"
Harry gently lifted his daughter and placed her in the pale pink cot beside the blue one, Harry pressed a kiss on her head and then said quietly, "You are both getting too big to share one bed, sweetheart."
Severus and Harry returned to their own bed and Severus pulled his husband close and kissed him. "Now my dear husband, will you relax – they are fine in the other room. And I am in need of your undivided attention!"
Twelve months
Severus was stalking up the aisle of his third year, Gryffindors and Slytherins class, when a silver dart shot through the door and Harry's head sounded urgently in his head, "Severus, come quick!"
Without a thought for his class, Severus ran out of the room and raced towards their quarters. Harry had never summoned him from class before – ripping open the door to their suite, Severus raced inside, "Harry, what's wrong?"
Harry turned his head and looked at Severus with tear filled eyes, Severus' heart stopped as he quickly evaluated the room. The twins were sitting on their bottoms babbling baby nonsense to each other, and Harry was on the floor next to them.
"Albus took his first steps," Harry replied and broke into a huge grin.
Severus sagged in relief onto a spot on the floor next to his children, "You idiot," Severus muttered affectionately to his partner, "I thought something was wrong."
Albus pushed himself up onto his little fat legs and took a step towards Severus, "Papa!" the child called.
Severus laughed and held out his hands to his son, "Come on then, let's see what you can do."
Albus teetered over and fell into his fathers waiting hands, "You clever boy – I always knew you were a smart boy!" Severus praised him and kissed the top of his head. Lillian was obviously unwilling to miss the attention, copied her brother's actions and stepped towards Severus, both fathers held their breath as she wobbled with the first step and fell on her bottom.
Harry scooped her up in his arms before the tears could start, "And you are a clever girl for trying," he kissed her and smiled as he added, "You can't be the first to do everything don't worry, you'll get it."
Lillian had shown her first signs of accidental magic at ten months and now at almost a year old, Albus still hadn't done anything. But now Albus was looking rather pleased with himself for being the first to walk, he wriggled out of Severus' hands and teetered towards Harry and Lillian. "Daddy," Albus chattered, "Want Lil down."
Harry chuckled and put his daughter down facing him; Lillian took a wobbly step forward and grabbed Albus' small hands.
Harry and Severus shared a smile over their heads and then Severus gasped, "Oh shit ….I abandoned my third years – they'll have blown up my classroom by now."
Harry chuckled and said, "Gryffindor/Slytherin?" Severus nodded as rushed out of the room.
New arrivals
Harry and Severus raced up to the hospital wing and were greeted by a busy looking Poppy Pomfrey. "Just in time, Gentlemen."
Harry went behind the screen and greeted Sarah with a kiss on the forehead, "How are you feeling?"
Sarah screwed up her face as another contraction hit, "I…urgh….I'd forgotten how much this hurt, damn it."
Harry wiped her forehead with a cool damp cloth and said, "I know – but you can do it…and you only have to do it once this time."
Sarah smiled and asked, "Where are my beautiful Godchildren?" then she groaned through the next contraction.
"They're visiting their Grandpa, Albus," Harry replied. "Let's concentrate on you for just now."
Sarah gripped Harry's hand and said, "Is Severus here yet? I don't want him to miss this."
"He's checking your potions with Poppy – you know what he's like."
"A perfectionist," Sarah replied with a smile.
"Talking about me," Severus breezed in behind the screen and lent down to kiss Sarah. "I just want to make sure you get the freshest potions when you need them."
Sarah groaned and then smiled, "I think it's time guys."
"Poppy," Severus called as he took his place at Sarah's bedside.
Poppy Pomfrey came clucking in and immediately took charge. Harry and Severus helped Sarah through her labour and were rewarded with their second daughter. When she opened her eyes, they shone like emeralds and Severus leaned down and kissed her gently, "I don't think we could call her anything other than Jade," he smiled at his husband, "She has your eyes."
Harry smiled and said, "Welcome to the word, Jade Snape – we have been so looking forward to meeting you."
When Poppy had finished cleaning her up, Severus and Harry went back to see how Sarah was.
"Thank you so much," Harry brushed a kiss on her forehead. "Our children are the luckiest alive to have such a wonderful Godmother and surrogate mother."
I am happy to do this for you all; you deserve to have a happy family."
As though on cue, Albus Dumbledore waltzed into the hospital wing, with the two dark haired children, walking – one on each hand.
