Lyra ran up the stairs intending to leave before she caught sight of Black, who was leaning against the bannister with that stupid smirk of his, just waiting for her. "I see you've finally come to your senses."

She was close to begging him- what did he want? What did she have to do to get him to leave her in peace? "Go away, Black!" Lyra was done with him. She knew it was petty but she couldn't help but somewhat blame him for Professor Snape's reaction. If he just had left her alone… "Lyra," his voice lightened up and his smirk turned into concern when he took note of her crying face, "That bastard, I'll kill him." Even in the hurt she felt from his actions, she still felt like defending him, and she did, through her cries. "Enough of that," he interrupted, "Are you okay?"

She attempted to form a response but anything she said was incorrigible. Holding her breath in an attempt to stop crying, she finally made out, "Y-yes, thank y-you." His thumb came to wipe away her tears. It was foreign and warm, yet not the type of warmth that lit you up from the inside and made you feel like you'd never feel warmth ever again. After her face was dried, his hand still hung back on her cheek. His face, in a reminiscent manner, slipped closer and she was too drained to stop it. His lips took hers once more in a gentle kiss. "Go out with me."

"Excuse me?"

"Please, Lyra. Just give me a chance, I'm a good guy, a great one even." Her first instinct was to push him away, slap him in the face, and reject him harshly. A doubt in her head pushed to the forefront- maybe she was being too hard on him. She had marked him as one she should stay away from as soon as she was introduced to him. Perhaps that was why she felt nothing at his advances, she never even gave him a shot. He deserved a chance, right? He was a good enough guy and he still wanted her after she'd already turned him down multiple times. Besides, it was one date, what could the harm in that be?

Still, his behaviour towards Professor Snape wasn't something she could just forget. "One condition."

"Anything."

"You have to be civil towards Professor Snape, both in and out of his company."

Moments that could have been hours passed and she was almost certain that that was a deal-breaker. She was ready for him to step back and release her but instead, he nodded, "Fine. Would you do me the honour of being my date Friday?"

She took a deep breath, not being able to shake off the feeling that she might regret this later on, "Yes, I will."

Severus sat at the elegant white couch in the luxurious walls of the Malfoy Manor with a glass of the finest firewhisky that Lucius could possibly find in his hand. It even tasted expensive. He preferred Ogden's, there was just something in simplicity that could not be recreated, not that Lucius would care for that. One glance was enough to tell you that Severus and Lucius were raised completely different, Lucius among the high and mighty of society and Severus among the lowest of the low. Their similarities ended at the fact that they both served the Dark Lord and for him to be able to ever have thought otherwise was simply dunderheaded.

"Severus, sorry for keeping you waiting. I've other business to attend to, unfortunately." In translation, that meant that something came up in one of his many prosperous businesses that he was forced to look after. Severus stiffly nodded, a little irritated that his time meant nothing to him. "How is Hogwarts," the pureblooded aristocrat asked, saying 'Hogwarts' as if he were smelling dog shit, something that had become common ever since he lost his job. Salty much?

Lucius may have been sacked from his position in the Board of Governors but that didn't affect him nearly as much as one would expect. It was a wound to his pride for sure but with the number of businesses he had both in and out of Britain, money and influence were never in short supply. There was one, in particular, a vineyard in France, that produced so much profit that it would sustain at least 3 generations with no other source of income. It was his pride and joy, Severus was sure that he'd sooner throw his own son off to the streets than see that winery go.

Severus watched Lucius with caution. As casual a question it sounded, he very much doubted there wasn't something Lucius was digging for in particular. "As always, tedious. You would think in all these years, there would be at least one student with promise, but no." That was a lie, even though they were quite rare, he'd had a handful of such students. "None whatsoever?" One polishedly raised eyebrow told Severus that his answer was not satisfactory. Severus backpedalled, "My Slytherins excluded, of course."

Lucius took a small sip of his firewhisky, casually leaning back so that he was touching the back of his seat with his leg crossed at his knee. This was the most relaxed the man had ever been in front of Severus, a matter that caused great concern for him."I thought you would say that."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"A little trust here wouldn't kill you, Severus. If I didn't know you so well, I might have been offended."

"And what a shame that would have been," Severus muttered under his breath. He found a little amusement in the fact that Lucius thought he truly knew him. That might have been true once, but that was a lifetime ago. He was a different person now, a person that Lucius could absolutely not get to know. It probably should have been harder to sit here and lie to Lucius's face whilst drinking his most finest liquor but it wasn't. "And Draco's performance?"

"It is as it always was," Severus carefully answered. It wasn't a lie- Draco, being the spoiled, entitled brat he was, never found the need to do his best so why would he start now? His grades, in all honesty, didn't matter a lick, only something that his father could brag about. Not that he was doing bad in school but he didn't put in any effort, content with the satisfactory outcome it produced. Severus didn't understand why since the boy could be nose-to-nose with Hermione Granger if he actually wanted to. Alas, his true opinion of the boy was not what Lucius wanted to hear, so it was irrelevant.

"Tell me," Lucius said, his voice becoming a whisper, "What do you think of the Dark Lord's return?" Blindsighted by the lack of subtlety, Severus was left speechless for a moment. He recovered quickly but not without any suspicion. "It is fortunate he has found his way back to the mortal world."

"He does have a temper, don't you think?"

Severus merely shrugged, "As would anyone should they face as much betrayal from their own servants as the Dark Lord has. It is a surprise most find themselves with a beating heart, still."

"I see."

"Do you doubt me, Lucius?" And that was the real question here. Was his recent performance as a spy lacklustre? If Lucius suspected him, the Dark Lord surely must as well. A thousand questions hit him in one moment. His heart felt as if it were being clenched and he couldn't breathe anymore. Outside, he maintained a steady demeanour, wrapping himself in Occlumency wall after wall, praying to whatever gods there may be that his cover wasn't blown. His worries were put to rest when Lucius waved his question off. "Of course not. I was merely checking in with you, it would not be hard to catch yourself falling for that fool's lies." How hypocritical he was, Severus inwardly fumed, when it was his own Lord whose lies Severus foolishly fell for. His voice raised a pitch as he saw red, "Albus Dumbledore is not a fool!" In an effort to redeem himself, he calmed down, "And for you to think that would be the mark of a fool."

Lucius obliged him if only to shut him up. A little miffed, Severus finished the rest of his firewhiskey, staring out the window once it was finished. It just occurred to him that should Lucius be unsure of his loyalties, his sudden outburst would not help, but it didn't matter. He'd be damned if he allowed anyone to say a word against the Headmaster.

Lucky enough, Narcissa walked in with a tray holding tea and biscuits. She set it down with grace that only suited a pureblood witch such as Narcissa. Abandoning her manners uncharacteristically, she then slid back, sitting down on the arm of Lucius's chair and resting her hand on his knee. The change in Lucius was almost imperceptible but Severus could make out his body loosening up at the contact. That was one thing Lucius had going on for him, he loved his wife for certain. It made Severus uncomfortable, he was glad when Narcissa asked, "How's Draco doing?"

That was the difference between the two, Severus supposed- Lucius worried about how their son made him look and Narcissa worried about her son's welfare. That wasn't to say that Lucius didn't love his son, it was that he showed his love for his son in a 'tough love' type of way. "He's well, Cissy."

"I'm sorry, Severus, I just worry about him."

He put her worries to ease. She worried about her son a lot. Actually, he was surprised that Narcissa allowed Draco to attend school at all but that must have been the cost of Lucius allowing Draco to go to Hogwarts rather than Durmstrung. "He's a big boy. And, for what it counts, I am there to watch over him, should he need it."

"And you, Severus?"

"I am well." He quickly changed the subject, not wishing to spend much more time on a topic that he was lying to her about. "Lucius," Narcissa turned to her husband after a while, "Would you leave us be? I have some things to talk about with Severus."

"What things?"

Narcissa smirked, "Girl talk, Lucius." Severus watched him grumble something under his breath and leave the room. "You know, Cissy, despite the long hair, I'm very much a male."

"Oh, you boys and your precious masculinity." Here, with just the two of them, Narcissa's demeanour lightened up. The twinkle of her youth almost reached her eyes. He could almost envision the 16-year-old girl she used to be before she was married off to Lucius, back when she was still full of hope and dreams. She loves Lucius for sure, there was no question about that, but getting married to the heir of one of the most prominent wizarding families in Great Brittain meant losing your childish naivety- it meant becoming jaded and coldhearted, prim and proper. It might have been the Narcissa at home with her parents but it wasn't the Narcissa he remembered.

Lucius may have loved her with all he was but with that love, he completely ruined her and Severus could never forgive him for that. "Don't you have your girl friends to discuss such matters with?"

Her nose scrunched, "All they want to talk about are trivial things like household charms and their favourite recipes to make their husbands- aren't those menial tasks meant for house-elves? You wouldn't be interested in such topics, would you, Severus?"

"Hmm, I don't know, Cissy, the weather is quite an intriguing topic, don't you think."

"You know what else is an intriguing topic?" He looked at her in silence, not liking where this was going. Maybe he could make his excuses and leave. "Magdalene. How is that going?" That stupid look in her eyes told him that she knew he broke his will and saw her again. Gritting his teeth, he responded, "It's not."

"Oh, come on Severus. Don't you want to get married one day? You're not getting any younger, you know. Magdalene is a respectful young lady-"

"There is nothing respectful about the way she asks me to fuck her." Against his wishes, Narcissa didn't shy away. She was not like pureblood witches in that respect, she was open to talking about sex. "Is your sex life the problem?" He squealed out her name, hoping she would have mercy on him and abandon the topic at hand. He might be quite comfortable with engaging in such activities but ask him to talk about it and he reverted to an embarrassed 12-year-old boy. He had no such luck. "Because there are ways to fix any aspect you feel she is lacking in."

"And, how do you know I am not the problem?" Severus asked, thoroughly mortified. Narcissa and Albus would get along well with how much the two seemed to get off on his humiliation. Maybe the universe just hated him, that would explain why all those closest to him loved watching him squirm. And, maybe he was a masochist since he kept said people around. "I've never heard Magdalene complain."

"You two talk about me?" He was surprised Narcissa still liked him if that was true, which, a moment later, he found was. "Did she...did she ever tell you how we met?"

"Severus," her voice was calm and soothing like one would talk to a crying child (not him, he was clueless as to how to react to tears), "That wasn't your fault. She doesn't blame you for it and I don't blame you for it either. If that is what's stopping you from marrying her, perish the thought. Keep in mind that she won't wait forever, she's a lady in her prime." That was just the thing, Severus was afraid that she would wait forever. Magdalene was in as much a hurry as he to get married. He was quite sure of this since not only did she never bring it up, but she also led the topic to safer waters the one time that he approached the thought of marriage. He took it to mean that she was just as content with this...whatever this was between the two of them as he. "We'll see."

They carried on in conversation until they started to feel the tendrils of drunkenness start to grasp at their consciousness, which was when Severus made his leave. He stayed longer than he had intended, that was the way it usually was with Narcissa. She was one of the few people he could unashamedly call a friend. Honestly, he wouldn't even bother with Lucius if it weren't for her, that was a friendship Severus was content with leaving back in the past.

He found Albus waiting for him in his quarters upon his return. More than a little annoyed at the invasion of privacy, Severus asked what he was doing there. Ignoring him as usual, Albus demanded an answer from him, "Where were you?"

"Malfoy Manor," Severus answered truthfully, "Lucius wanted a progress check on his sons' grades and Narcissa wanted to chat."

"I see." Severus already knew that Albus didn't approve of his continued friendship with the Malfoys but there wasn't much the Headmaster could do about that. Whether he trusted Severus or not wasn't something Severus was privy to, but he knew that Albus at least could count on his loyalty. Albus held out a letter, peering curiously over it. "You have some mail, from a 'Magdalene.'"

Severus quickly snatched it away and stuffed it in his pocket, putting his temper back in check. "Headmaster, may I ask, once again, what you are doing here?"

"I'm just checking up on you, Severus. You've not been eating well recently."

"How do you know that?"

"I do pay attention to my staff." Severus waited for his anger to erupt at the Headmaster but it didn't come. Instead, he felt this odd sensation that tugged at his heart and made him feel all light inside. Actually, he didn't think he cared that the Headmaster blatantly showed concern for his well-being. Even though his concerns were valid, Severus waved them off, "I am fine, Headmaster. I don't like eating before a meeting."

"Weren't you just at one?"

"That was a couple of weeks ago." What Severus did hate was the pity on his employer's face. He didn't need it. He could probably eat, the Dark Lord didn't call that much during the school year, but by now, it had become somewhat of a habit. The Headmaster left him alone after telling him that he was expected in the Great Hall for dinner.

He might as well get started on grading papers to pass time. He was terribly behind, between his snakes, the Dark Lord, the Order, and the Wolfsbane Potion, but it was unavoidable. These days, teaching was more like a 5th job. He sat down at his desk, determined to get through at least a stack of them but then he remembered about Magdalene's letter. Damn her timing. Severus told Albus everything- everything except for her and just because the Headmaster didn't press on the issue now didn't mean he forgot about it.

He ripped open her letter out of the envelope it was in.

Severus, I think something's wrong. Please come over ASAP.

So much for grading. The insufferable woman, she knew he couldn't just ignore that. But, maybe she's really in trouble, the small part of him that insisted on remaining naive suggested. For, how many times had she sent such a message to him and how many times have they actually been urgent?

An image of Magdalene laying still on the floor covered in her own blood inserted itself at the forefront of his brain. It was all it took for him to get his travel coat on. He made his way to the apparition point and one quick 'pop' later, he was standing outside the gates of her house. It was big but not large enough to be considered a Manor. Still, it was decorated elegantly similarly to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa must have helped her with it.

The front yard was covered in green grass, each blade cut evenly. A fountain carved of stone stood to the right, a robin perching on it at the moment. The door was left unlocked, a fact he'd have to make her aware of. In this day and age, it simply wasn't safe. "Magdalene?"

"Up here!" Her voice didn't signify that she was in pain at all, he thought annoyedly. He ran the marble stairs three at a time, only to find her in a lack of state of dress, but otherwise, perfectly fine. "Magdalene, what the fuck?"

She grinned up at him slyly, "Join me, Severus."

"No!" He blushed but not in arousal, as she took it to be, but in anger. He felt embarrassed, but he couldn't put it into words. How could he explain that he thought that something was genuinely

wrong? How could he be so stupid to still believe such a thing even after all these years? "But-"

"I've got shit to do, Magdalene." His eyes avoided her cleavage- he knew if he didn't, he'd be joining her there in no time. He wanted to curse at her but he held his mouth. He owed her more than he could ever repay, after all. Just as he turned to leave, Magdalene blurted out, "I'm pregnant!"

His heart stopped.

A/N: I know, I don't like the pregnancy trope at all either, but stick around, I can promise you won't regret it.