By Rita Skeeter:

The door of the cottage opened. Rose grinned to herself before turning around to see Severus and Ephraim coming in out of the snow. Rose was in the kitchen making dinner.

"There are my men," she greeted brightly. She was always happy to see her husband and son, but particularly so lately since she had started her leave from St. Mungo's. Her due date was quickly approaching, and it had become too difficult for her to work being so pregnant.

Severus moved over towards her and briefly put his arms around her from the side, letting his hand move over her belly. "How are you?" he hissed in her hear.

Rose sighed. "Well, I have been bored out of my mind," she said, giving Severus a quick kiss. "Super happy to see you both. But I've cleaned and got things done around the house, so I guess that's good. How are you?"

"You should be resting," Severus told her firmly.

"I tried," Rose complained, "but it's difficult to just be still all day long."

"Try harder," Severus told her.

Rose rolled her eyes at him before turning towards their son. "Ephraim." Ephraim had not said a word since they walked in the door. He sat himself at the table and stared down, clearly in deep thought. Rose moved over to him and leaned to plant a kiss in his hair. Ephraim looked up at her touch. "Hey," Rose said, running her fingers through his locks once. "Nice to see you," she emphasized. "How was your day."

Ephraim gaze up at his mother, his expression wiped of all emotion, a frustrating skill he had picked up from Severus. "Fine," he told her flatly.

Rose narrowed her eyes at him and then threw a look back at Severus.

Severus took a seat at the table as well. "We are not in a very talkative mood this evening, I believe," he told Rose.

Rose eased herself into a chair. "Ephraim, did something happen today?"

"No," he told her simply.

"Then why are you acting strange?" Rose questioned.

"I'm not," Ephraim protested.

Rose opened her mouth to protest.

"Why don't we eat," Severus interjected.

Rose gave him a pointed look.

Severus raised his brows at her, telling her silently to let it go for now.

Rose sighed and flicked her wand. Dishes and cutlery flew to the table along with their supper.

"I make steak and kidney pie," Rose said, clearly annoyed by the lack of communication, "like a proper English housewife." She served everyone.

"It tastes nice," Severus told her after he took a bite."

"Thanks," Rose said shortly, eyeing Ephraim pushing his dinner around on his plate. "Is there something wrong with your food, Ephraim?"

"No," Ephraim said and quickly took a mouthful of food. "I'm not very hungry. Can I be excused?"

"Yes," Severus told him at once.

Rose pressed her lips together.

Ephraim hurried from the table and moments later they heard his bedroom door shut.

"What's going on?" Rose exclaimed.

"Whatever it is, he clearly doesn't want to discuss it?" Severus told her drily.

"So what?" Rose shot back. "We are his parents. He doesn't get a choice."

"He's 13. Shall I brew a cauldron of Veritaserum?" Severus suggested sarcastically.

"But what if he's in some sort of trouble?" Rose asked, looking anxiously after their son.

"I'm going to bed," Ephraim called out his door before shutting it again.

Rose gave Severus an exasperated look. "Something is obviously bothering him."

"I agree with you," Severus told her, "but we cannot force him to talk to us."

Rose stood from the table. "I'm going in there," she said.

Severus stood too. "Give him time," he stressed. "We can address it again in the morning."

Rose looked conflicted.

"Rose," Severus urged.

"Fine," she agreed begrudgingly.

Rose was on edge the rest of the evening, tapping her foot, picking up books, and then setting them down again. Severus suggested that they go to bed early too, hoping that sleep would at least keep Rose still.

"Let's at least check on him," Rose suggested. "Make sure he's still there and didn't decide to run away or anything."

"He's not going to run away," Severus said. He had just gotten under the covers beside Rose.

Rose made to get out of bed again.

"No, stop," Severus said, throwing the covers off himself. "You stay. I will check on Ephraim."

Rose was silent, seemingly satisfied.

Severus walked into the hall. He could tell from outside that Ephraim's room was dark. Severus eased the door open and peered inside. The covers were over Ephraim's head and the light of his wand was muffled beneath.

Moments later, Severus was storming into his and Rose's bedroom. She jumped as something was tossed beside her in the bed.

"Look," Severus snarled. 'Look at what I caught 'your' son reading."

Rose's immediate thought was that this was some sort of 'Play Wizard' situation, which would have been preferred to what she found instead.

"Severus Snape: Saint or Scoundrel" laid menacingly beside the pillow. The cover depicting a moving photograph of Severus sneering in a way reminiscent to how he looked at this very moment. Rose had only been so unfortunate to encounter this book once before. Mostly because she avoided it like a plague. A patient of hers was reading it in bed when she had entered the room. The sick witch began chatting animatedly about the content until Rose had to shut her up by introducing herself as 'Rose Snape.'

Rose picked up the book and frowned. "But where could he have gotten it," Rose muttered.

"No idea," Severus spat. "Why don't you ask him."

Ephraim had made his way into his parents' bedroom. "I didn't go looking for it," Ephraim defended at once.

"Then how did it find its way into your possession?" Severus asked coldly.

"It was given to me," Ephraim explained in a small voice. A deep blush spread across his face.

"By whom?" Severus hissed.

Rose stood from the bed and moved between her son and husband so that she was facing Ephraim. "Darling?" she asked calmly.

Ephraim shuffled his feet. "I found it in my book bag," he said to the floor. "It was wrapped and..."

"Yes," Severus said impatiently.

Rose threw her husband a sharp look. "Let him explain, Severus."

Severus chewed on the insides of his cheeks making his expression appear even more menacing.

"There was a note," Ephraim continued in a barely audible whisper. "It said it was from a secret admirer."

"Ephraim," Rose sighed sadly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Do you have any idea who gave it to you."

Ephraim grimaced. "There are a few people who could have done it," he answered bitterly.

"Was it an amusing read?" Severus said unsympathetically.

"Severus," Rose cried.

"He did not have to bring it into our home," Severus said, his voice raising in volume. "He didn't have to read it."

Ephraim stared at his father with wide eyes.

Severus scowled, wondering what Ephraim saw when he looked up at him. "Go to your room," Severus hissed. "Get out of my sight."

Ephraim didn't hesitate to hurry from the room.

"Severus," Rose groaned, briefly reaching up to massage her temples. Then she turned her attention to the book in her hand. She let the cover fall open. The book opened to a chapter called "Dumbledore's Murderer." Rose's face went white and she swiftly slammed the book shut.

"Would you like to read it too?" Severus sneered. "Maybe Ephraim will let you borrow it when he's finished with it."

Rose narrowed her eyes at him before grabbing her wand off the bedside table, taping the cover of the horrible book, and watching it incinerate into ash.

Rose brushed her hands together to wipe away the residue.

Severus watched her sulkily.

"I don't think Ephraim meant any harm," Rose told him.

"He was looking to be entertained," Severus returned, "like everyone else."

"I'm sure that's not the case," Rose said. "I'm sure he was just curious."

"Curious," Severus repeated. "How about you, Rose, are you curious?"

"No," Rose said firmly. "You have told me all I need to know. I don't need to waste my time on Rita Skeeter." Rose's face softened. "Ephraim has only heard about his father's past from what others have told him."

Severus was frowning at a point slightly above Rose's head. "He's a child and he doesn't need to be burdened with such things." Severus looked at Rose and then looked at the spot on the floor where there was a pile of ash. "I just don't want him to think of me that way," he admitted in a rare moment of vulnerability.

Rose was about to reach out to Severus when Ephraim reappeared in the room.

Severus's body stiffened

"I don't," Ephraim announced. He looked at Severus earnestly. "I don't think of you that way, Dad."

It was still foreign for Ephraim to call Severus 'dad.' He did not call him that as often or as naturally as he called Rose 'mum.' However, this time there was a truthiness about how it sounded.

Severus seemed momentarily taken aback. "Listening outside doors now, are we," he tried to say sternly.

Then without warning Ephraim moved forward and hugged Severus, which was something that had only happened once before. Then it had been shocking too.

Hands out in surprise, Severus threw a confused look at Rose, after all, everything had changed very quickly.

Rose gave her husband and exasperated look and motioned that he should hug their son back.

Stiffly, Severus wrapped his arms around Ephraim and patted his back a few times.

Ephraim pulled away looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he told his father. "I shouldn't have brought that horrible book into the house. It's just- I was just..."

"Yes," Severus said bitterly. He shook his head once at the floor, then looked at Rose and then back at Ephraim. "I don't feel inclined to sleep," he told the boy.

"Neither do I," Ephraim told Severus.

"In that case," Severus began, "perhaps, we can speak for a while."