Disclaimer: I've got no rights to Snape, but that won't stop me from writing.
Don't Call Me Daddy
Chapter 4- Fatherly Fears
Valentine's Day was one nuisance after another. Severus scanned the Great Hall for signs that students were displaying detention-worthy public affection. He saw none. Disgruntled, the Potions Master crossed his arms and pursed his lips.
"What's the sour face for, mate…no amorous students to bring the wrath of Snape down upon?"
Continuing his vigilant inspection of the dancers' conduct, Severus' lips quirked,
"The night is young…and why aren't you dancing with your pink-haired partner?"
A bark of laughter received a fleeting smile. Lupin had a sense of humor, he'd give him that. Shaking back long grey-streaked brown hair, the werewolf grinned,
"Tonks swept Lorelei off to 'powder their noses'."
The men shared a look of commiseration. Females never seemed to use the loo for necessary reasons alone. They had to bring a friend or more along to chat and there was no telling what would come of it. The saturnine man hoped his wife didn't share the morning sickness episodes with her friend. Remus would use the knowledge against him during their next darts match.
Time passed. Bored, Severus decided to patrol the corridors. He would encourage any couples using niches behind statuary in an inappropriate manner to return to the Hall- after he detracted House points and gave them detention. The professor's brows winged upwards at the sight of Hufflepuffs scurrying away from the statue of Gregory the Smarmy. He hadn't thought such paragons capable of clandestine snogging.
Striding toward Bertha the Behemoth's appropriately large statuary, his acute ears heard the muffled sounds that indicated a 'kiss and cuddle' was in progress. Stealthily, he stepped forward. A husky male voice caused him to stop in order to assuage idle curiosity.
"I still can't believe that you left the dance to meet me. I…I've loved you since the first moment I saw you…you're so beautiful…and amazing…and I've dreamt about holding you like this for years…"
Unable to stomach the sound of passionate kissing, Snape moved forward, but halted in disbelief when a feminine voice gasped,
"Merlin help me, I love you too…but I'm older than you are…"
The listener's mind reeled with such shock that his body actually swayed. This couldn't be happening. The response heard next assured him that it was,
"I don't care. Nothing matters except us and the way we feel about each other."
A seductive, siren laugh made Severus' insides twist,
"I love the way you feel, Mr. Potter."
Outraged, Snape swiftly moved to confront the pair. They didn't notice the black robed figure at first, engrossed in snogging as the couple was. When the black, unruly head of the male moved to trail kisses down the pearly skin of his partner's neck, her midnight eyes opened and widened in horror. A slender hand rose to shakily push long black spirals out of a guilt-stricken face. Her lover caught sight of the wrathful man and held his lover protectively against his chest. Emerald green eyes glared defiantly. Delicate features crumpled while the girl said despairingly,
"Father, I love him!"
Surging upwards to a sitting position, Severus raked his fingers through black strands, breathing heavily in reaction to the nightmare. It was the second one this week. The other had been even worse- he'd dreamt that his seventeen year old daughter was behind the statue with her Defense Against The Dark Arts professor Harry James Potter!
"Bad dream, baby?"
His wife's slender arms encircled him while her still-slender body pressed to his back. Loving hands caressed his chest to help him relax. He nodded,
"Yes"
"Not the Harry dream again?"
He laughed shortly,
"Not quite, it was his son Sirius Harry Potter this time."
"Oh dear"
Against the musculature of his back, he could feel her silent laughter. Unwillingly, he admitted that the disturbing visions were darkly amusing. The thought that any daughter of his would have anything to do with anyone with the name Potter was laughable. He would explain, in a firm, logical manner, what reckless, bold, arrogant rule-breakers had sprung from that line and his child would want nothing to do with them.
"Your heart rate has slowed…feeling better now?"
Shifting to press Lorelei back against the pillows, his lips curved,
"I will be"
The following evening, the Potions Master noticed that Minerva had switched to a perfume that was unobtrusively floral. He appreciated the change, although his bizarre 'sickness' had finally passed. Monitoring the behavior of the students, a side-long glance confirmed that Professor Malfoy was keeping a close eye on his favorite Gryffindor. The smug smile on the man's face made Snape remember when Draco first came to Hogwarts. How proud the boy had been swaggering up to sit on the stool. The Sorting Hat barely touched platinum strands before announcing, 'Slytherin!'
Piercing dark eyes became focused on a slowly forming internal vision…
A line of first years entered the Great Hall. Beside him, Lorelei clutched his hand tightly underneath the table. She whispered,
"Look at our son!"
The boy sauntered ahead of the rest, not gaping at the enchanted ceiling or in awe of the enormous chamber's grandeur. Raised at Hogwarts, the eleven year old was exceptionally mature, as his father had been.
Hearing the girl behind him gasp when a shooting star fell overhead, the youth smirked in amusement. A chorus of feminine sighs made the elder Snape smirk as well. Although he had his father's height, build, straight black hair, and mannerisms, the boy was as un-fairly and un-naturally attractive as the rest of his mother's family of selkies and sirens.
The Sorting Hat sang its inane song about the Houses and diversity of interests not precluding unity of purpose. Tuning the garble out, Severus' lips turned up at the corners to see his wife's glow of maternal pride and his son's confident demeanor. Just last night, after reading together from the seventh-years accelerated potions text, the boy had said,
"When I get sorted into Slytherin House and move into the dorm, remind mum that I'll still come by for tea, will you father?" Grinning in the bewitching way that would no doubt cause parental headaches in the future, the boy had admitted, "The way she keeps getting misty-eyed and squeezing the stuffing out of me makes me feel bad to look forward to becoming part of the best House at Hogwarts."
Gently patting his son on the shoulder, he'd reassured,
"Don't worry; I'll make consoling your mother my first priority."
Knowingly, the future Slytherin had snickered,
"With kissing, right…how come girls like kissing so much? They're always asking me to kiss them. It's very annoying. I might hex the next one who tries to slobber on me."
"You won't always feel that way."
Looking highly doubtful, his son had hugged him goodnight and settled down in bed, smiling when his mother came in to kiss his cheeks and stroke his hair. In the corridor outside their child's room, Severus had seen Lorelei's lips trembling and taken action.
"Are you consoling mum already?"
The impertinent shout had received a quelling,
"Yes, go to sleep"
McGonagall's brisk instructions jolted Snape out of his recollections. Strolling up to the stool, his son flashed a bright smile at his parents before sitting down. A strange feeling swept over the man who watched the Sorting Hat move and speak to the lad. Why was this taking so bloody long? The boy shook his head vigorously. The Hat gave a rumble of laughter that was heard by every expectant person in the Hall.
"Gryffindor!"
"Good heavens, Severus, what on earth has put such a fearsome scowl on your face? I really must ask you to cease arranging your features in that manner at once. Sensitive children are starting to cry."
Standing abruptly, he nodded curtly to Minerva and stormed from the Hall. Black robes billowed with the quickness of his strides. Knowing that it was illogical to be enraged by a daydream and yet unable to stop the emotions coursing through him, the man headed for the Astronomy Tower after a short stop at his office. Rapidly ascending the stairs worked off some of the negative energy. Several pulls from the bottle of firewhiskey he'd brought along dissipated the rest.
"I thought you might come here. What happened in the Hall?"
Meeting Lorelei's gaze, he gave a condensed version of the vision. She smiled,
"How sweet you were to say that consoling me would be your first priority."
He stared. Their son had been wrongly sorted into bloody Gryffindor House, an outrage that would no doubt cause Snape ancestors to literally roll in their graves and that was all she remarked on? The ridiculousness of the situation hit, and he began to chuckle. His smile became speculative when his wife said earnestly,
"Right now, my first priority is consoling you."
"Really…how are you planning to do that?"
Straddling his lap and lifting her mouth, she promised,
"I'll think of something."
What the siren thought of needed a Levitation spell to accomplish, but it did cheer him immeasurably.
Severus' mood remained calm and content for days. At the end of the week, Lorelei glided into his laboratory and waved a message,
"Piper just OWLed- he and the band will be playing in Hogsmeade tonight. Another group was scheduled to play at the Fall Festival they're putting on in the village but backed out at the last minute. Gaelic Uprising got the gig." Her lovely face became radiant, "His wife Shea's coming along and bringing the baby!"
His wife had become consumed by what Tonks called 'baby fever'. Every small child was cooed over and smiled at like they were the greatest thing in creation. A lesser man might be jealous of the fixation, but he realized that it was merely a phase in maternal development. Her goblin friend's sixth month old daughter would no doubt be carried about and gushed over immoderately. Snape smiled indulgently. It would be excellent practice for their own baby, who really would be the most intelligent, superior child in creation.
Later that evening, he watched Lorelei sway with the tiny goblin child. Intense features softened. Next autumn, it would be their child cradled in her arms. The band began to play a lively folk tune. The singer rushed over,
"Lorelei, I'm feeling sick to my stomach. Can you sing a song for me while I go…find a loo?"
"Sure, Mairi"
Intimidating brows contracted,
"How will you be able to sing while holding a baby?"
Instinctively accepting the bundle thrust into his arms, Severus' jaw dropped when his wife said blithely,
"I won't. You'll hold Elora Danan for me. She's an angel, won't give you a bit of bother. I'll be back as soon as possible."
Kissing his cheek, she smiled…cheekily…and swanned off toward the band. He was left awkwardly holding the baby, who stared up at him with solemn little black-button eyes. The man tried to smile. The infant girl began to cry. Snape began to…become concerned. A rocking motion was hastily tried and abandoned. Tiny lips trembled piteously between wails. He felt like a bigger monster than Voldemort. Heartily glad that Lorelei couldn't hear the babe screaming over the Gaelic music; the dark eyes darted around, looking for inspiration. A father across the green was walking back and forth with a young child held against his shoulder. The boy wasn't shrieking. He'd try it.
Maneuvering the baby up in a manner befitting a combustible potions ingredient, Severus walked slowly and carefully. Elora seemed to enjoy the new position. Bright little eyes looked interestedly at the people milling around. The moment the man began to congratulate himself on his problem solving skills; however, his gaze met that of the baby. Miniscule eyebrows appeared to rise in alarm. Tiny lips turned downward. She cried. He sighed heavily,
"Elora Danan, I am not accustomed to children who cannot express themselves verbally. If I knew what would prevent these outbursts of yours, I would do it."
Severus was unnerved to realize that the babe was listening. When he stopped talking, Elora's lips immediately trembled. Hastily, he offered,
"You appear to enjoy the sound of my voice. What a strange child you are. Most of the students I have taught through the years gave every indication that a fingernail sliding on chalkboard was preferable."
Incredibly, the rosebud mouth curved. Relaxing slightly, he asked conversationally,
"Would you care to hear the opening speech I used to give all my first year students? It was my favorite. I still get to say it, but only to my wife, who calls it verbal…ahem…" Breaking off, because innocent ears should not hear words like 'foreplay', the Potions Master unconsciously slipped into a darkly mesmerizing tone, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making…"
Two sets of dark eyes locked together. The child barely blinked through the words the man knew by heart. With relish, Snape told Elora his favorite part, "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
A tiny gurgle sounded,
"She likes you!"
Straightening abruptly, Severus handed the infant over to her mother, demurring,
"She's too young to know who she likes."
Smiling in a way that showed rows of sharp white goblin teeth, Shea countered, while the babe began to fret,
"Say her name."
"Elora Danan"
The fretful noise stopped. A coo sounded. Masculine brows rose,
"She is obviously an exceptional child."
Coming up beside his wife, Piper agreed,
"Yes, we call her our little princess."
Lorelei slipped her arm through her husband's,
"Come dance with me Severus."
He allowed himself to be led to join the couples circling around the bonfire. His wife twined her arms around his neck and praised,
"I watched you with Elora. You'll be a wonderful father."
Snape modestly explained,
"The babe liked my voice, so I recited my first years' speech."
Full red lips pouted,
"I'm jealous!"
A slow, promising smile transformed lean features as he leaned down to whisper darkly, "You are here to learn…"
A/N: Snape's learning a few things, eh? Did you enjoy his fears of the future? Yes, brilliant, perceptive readers, I did indeed use Elora Danan from the film 'Willow' for Piper and Shea's baby. I love that film. Yeah, I know, I love lots of films, but Val Kilmer's great, and the baby- amazingly cute. Warwick Davis, who plays Flitwick in the Potter films, is the little hero Willow. If you've never seen it on cable, get it from the library or go rent it- it's so old it'll be cheap! LOL Before you say adieu, Review:D