The adult occupants of the house had already discussed the way forward, but had neglected to consult Teddy. Even Snape, not being a fan of children, felt hesitant when presented with Teddy's teary eyed face. The first time they'd taken the first sample of blood had been harrowing. Remus held Teddy securely in the crook of his arm, eyes closed while holding Tonks hand in a death grip. Tonks herself looked rather bored as Snape drew first blood off the infant. Infants went through blood tests all the time to make sure they were healthy, he would have been just as poked and prodded in Saint Mungo's and she didn't think the fact that it was Snape doing it and not a healer made any difference. She was confident her ex professor knew his fate would be worse than death if he tried anything funny. Part of the only reason Lupin had allowed Snape to pull the blood from his son was based on his previous experiences with the potions master. Even as many jabs, insults and abuses as Snape had hurled at him during his teaching year, he hadn't used the process of drawing blood from Lupin as an opportunity to express his dislike. Lupin had braced himself for the first session, and his his surprise as best he could when Snape had offered him a slight topical sedative and completed the job professionally and succinctly. Besides the personal experience he knew Snape was an arse, but thought the man above infant torture.
Once they had the sample the telly had been off more often than not (they still watched to make sure they stayed informed on the adventures of Renesmee and her beach bungalow). Snape set Tonks to work assisting him with small tasks as they all agreed Lupin was rubbish at anything potions and he was quite happy with tea and baby duties. They had a number of cauldrons going in the already cramped sitting room and two on the kitchen counter all under magical fires. In the summer with the windows closed the heat was sweltering . Lupin kept a cooling tornado around Teddy with some nifty wand work, Tonks made her jean's cutoffs, and Snape would just stare into the fridge every few minutes.
Despite the oppressive heat the first few days of work all three adults were genuinely motivated for the first time in weeks. The house had been a den of loungewear, snacking, and general slothliness. The only thing that Snape had brewed during that time was Wolfsbane, and while it was a difficult potion he had enough practice with it it didn't take long. Being sober long enough to brew it competently had been the hardest part. Now with a goal, Lupin set to work tidying while Snape drank a little less and Tonks tried her hand at her old cardio routines. In between the near constant brewing, conversation became a little easier as they all had new things to discuss other than the plot of the latest soap opera (although it was still a hot topic of conversation).
Over the next several weeks (in which Renesmee had become pregnant with twins, each twin having a different father and Teddy had learned ten more colors to morph his hair) the excitement of their initial discovery's started to wane and cabin fever was setting in. Teddy didn't even bat an eye anymore as they drew small samples from him and Snape had taught Lupin how to do it at this point. They'd had various visits from Narcissa and Harry (Snape would leave the room) bringing them a steady stream of supplies and news. Shakelbot was insisting they hold tight just a little longer. Just because Lupin and Snape were technically instrumental in the success of Harry Potter's victory, the new ministry was still having troubles getting the public to see past some things. One was werewolf scum and the other had been Headmaster to a bunch of tortured first years. There were also several Death Eaters still on the loose out for all three adults' blood, never mind Teddy's. The lunatic potion brewer who had sparked this entire rooming situation had been dealt with. Luckily no new brewers had shown up at The Lupin's little flat, nor Andromeda's house. Harry still kept watchers on both locations.
While this over cautious attitude was frustrating to the occupants of Spinners End, no one protested too loudly. Snape counted each day he had tenants as more of Harry Potter's gold in his own pocket (Lupin was also not a bad cook and it was miles above the fare Snape could have made himself). Lupin was happy for the quiet and the time with his son (the Wolfsbane supply wasn't too shabby either). Tonks was itching to be back at work, but her post baby body was giving her trouble so she was taking advantage of the forced sabbatical to get back to fighting fit. All three would never admit it to themselves but none was mentally ready for real life just yet. So they stayed put, the story being that the best way to keep Teddy safe was to make as many patents on potions as they could and corner the market. The hope was that there wouldn't be any chance of competition even on the shadier side of the market. Lupin had had to put his foot down when Snape suggested they figure out a way to patent the baby himself and Dora had been intrigued by the very idea of patenting a baby before her husband shamed them both explaining how dehumanizing that was. It was a tense afternoon after that for a while but it wasn't the only tension in the house.
Tonks was bored and more than recovered in some ways from her pregnancy, she simply wanted to have sex with her husband without a roomate lurking about. She also refused to do so in Snape's house, no matter how strong the silencing spells. Lupin was feeling cagey with not much else to do except cook and clean and tend Teddy. Snape was getting bored of the more tedious potion brewing now that the interesting discoveries seemed to be waning. (He didn't say anything to his housemates but Teddys blood may be leading them towards an advanced version of Wolfsbane. The mutating properties of a Metamorphs blood being so fused with the cursed blood made it extremely pliable and elastic. That would take years to research and experiment with to come to any conclusions, so he kept it to himself for now. ) Snape was also starting to feel resentful that Tonks and Lupin could be together but he couldn't see Narcissa as often as he liked.
She visited only a handful of times but always to make some declaration of how fabulous this or that charity event she was organizing was going. Same as with the first war Narcissa Black Malfoy had thrown gold at the ministry buying her and her son out of facing time in Azkaban. She begged off any prolonged visits, saying the stuffy air couldn't possibly be good for her skin or the baby (her stomach was still flat as a board).
As summer started to peak all the occupants were starting to wilt. All of them had been in some form of hiding for a year or more before this stint and were getting more than restless. As Narcissa had predicted the telly had lost its pull entirely, Lupin was trying his best to vary meals but everyone was itching for a curry. The potions process was now down to the listing of what potions Teddys blood wouldn't improve, which was vast. They brewed everything from wart remover to Amortentia, marking off how the blood ruined the potion or did nothing. lt was incredibly tedious work, both Snape and Tonks were on autopilot most of the time.
They had exhausted both men's collections of records and refused to introduce anything Tonks was able to produce into the rotation. She had gotten fed up with their moody tastes and had gotten a Weird Sisters album on one of her escapes, but both men refused to let her play it. Tonks had been "sneaking" out in various morphed forms but had felt guilty she couldn't take Teddy with her and didn't do it as much as she could have gotten away with. Both men were envious of her ability to get fresh air as they had to keep the house locked up or risk the air tampering with the brewing. Lupin only went out during full moons to a secured location and then hurried back to recoup. Snape hadn't been out at all because he didn't have an excuse and was used to glowering in his house or dungeons but even he had enjoyed a brisk walk every once in a while.
Just as all three were contemplating how theyd murder Lupin if he asked if anyone wanted tea for the thousandth time, (Lupin was ready to do himself in as well) Snape finished bottling the last potion on the never ending list. Tonks automatically handed him another vial (eyes on the sheep herding competition on the telly she was now invested in) when Snape told her no, that's the last of it. They were done.
Tonks tore her eyes away from the penning portion of the contest and Lupin stopped in his tracks on the way to the tiny kitchen. It was done. They were free.
Tonks was the first to rush to open the windows. She snatched up Teddy and burst into some bars of "Let the Sunshine". Snape organized the copious notes and asked Lupin to put crates on the next shopping list for Kreacher. Lupin sent a patronus to Kingsley.
Harry showed up the next day, surprisingly bringing Draco with him. The Malfoy boy had indeed been setting up shop for a new apothecary space he'd purchased in Diagon Alley. With little fanfare, Draco took the supplies with Snape and Tonks over to the shop. The next stop was to take a sample of everything and have it patented and tested at the ministry (the potions patenting office hadn't needed much recovery, they'd been little affected by Voldemort's regime). Everything was patented under Tonk's name. She had insisted, she was Teddy's mother and Snape hadn't argued (he just wouldn't tell Narcissa). Harry said they'd deal with the public's mistrust and he would post guards outside the Lupin home for a while just as he'd done for Narcissa Black (as she had rebranded herself). Harry and Snape spoke for the first time since their confrontation to make an appointment to meet at Gringotts.
The Lupin's moved out rather smoothly, onky staying an extra night as they aired out there old flat and Aurors checked it for signs of tampering. Snape surprised them all by asking to say goodbye to Teddy, and then Snape was alone in his home at Spinner's End once more. The Lupin's occupation felt like a fading fever dream.
Snape spent one night and day alone, floating through the house, the daytime drama he'd watched with Tonks lost its pull when he didn't have anyone to mock it with. He had to admit Lupin made tea far better than him. He thought about getting pissed and wallowing, but the urge wasnt there as it had been at the beginning of the summer. Snape grabbed his coat and took Narcissa to a muggle film, which she greatly enjoyed. So much so that she went out and bought the biggest screen she could find and every laserdisc available ("They're so much more elegant than those black box tape things, muggles would be fools not to use these!"). He'd spent the evening setting it up for her and it was late enough he agreed to stay the night. After that he just never left back for Spinner's End other than to grab his records and keep the place tidy (Narcissa threatened to burn his old clothes so he didn't bother).
Nine months later Snape left the back of the Diagon Alley shop early, Draco in tow, to meet Narcissa at St. Mungo's maternity ward. She gave birth to a daughter, thankfully blonde and petite like her mother, but with dark eyes indicating she was indeed Snape's. He argued at least two of the three Black sisters had had dark eyes and it proved nothing. He also pointed out how amazing it was her gestation period had lasted a whole year, asking sarcastically if that was a pureblood witch "thing". Narcissa ignored him while she admired him handling the baby with ease. Teddy had been good practice.
A/N: I like to make fun of the UK for thinking it ever gets "hot" there but I tried not to let my personal opion belittle the characters suffering. Weaklings.
Also Narcissa is fantastic and is ABSOLUTELY correct about laser discs.