Sheer relief washed over Harry as he listened to the Aurors words. He was safe, it was done and no more harm could come to him.

'It's done Harry' Dean Thomas said with the same element of relief in his voice. ' After the trial he will be extradited back to Berlin to answer the charges he faces there and spend the rest of his life in prison'

Tears rolled freely down his cheeks, words failing him, the crushing weight that had been was now no more. A hand gave his a squeeze and he gave the owner a small watery smile. To say that he had been to hell and back in the last 6 months was an understatement, the final battle of Hogwarts was nothing compared to the horror he had faced.

He had paid a dear price for his loneliness and insecurity, but he could now only banish it to the furthest recess of his mind and move on with his life as his wasn't the only one to take into consideration. Using his free hand his ran it over the planes of his abdomen and sent up a silent prayer to whichever deity might be listening and thanked them for sparing both their lives.

'I just need you to sign this report' Dean said softly, his heart clenching at the sight of his friend experiencing so much pain.

Taking the report and quill offered he let the file sit open on the top of the bedcovers. The sneering face of his now ex lover Claus Vanguard sneered up at him from the photograph attached to the report. Taking a breath he signed his name at the bottom and handed it back to Dean.

'Do you know how he found me yet?' he asked, unsure he wanted to know the answer

Four months earlier he had left his lover after the man had beaten him after ambushing him not far from St Mungo's and learning he was pregnant. With Deans and the Ministries help he was moved to safety and the search for his attacker began. Cut off from the world save for the Auror guards and Dean, Harry had begun to feel as though he was gaining his footing again, when he was ambushed in the back garden of his safe house, his Auror guards lying dead on the porch.

Claus beat Harry to unconsciousness, but before he was plunged into darkness, managed to send his owl for help. Raced to St Mungo's, Aurors were dispatched to the safe house to find his attacker, but only the guard's bodies remained. Unconscious for close to a week the Healers monitored Harry and the unborn child he was carrying, fearing that the severity of the beating would claim the child's life. By some miracle Harry awoke, Healers assuring him the baby would be fine and in time so would he.

Dean swallowed around the lump that had formed in his throat and gathered his courage before handing over another file to his friend. Harry's heart dropped when he saw the names printed on the arrest report and a sob escaped his mouth. He'd known, somewhere in the back of his mind he'd known that this person had betrayed him, had once again let anger consume him. The contorted face of Ron Weasley was attached to the file and underneath that the equally rage infused face of his sister Ginny.

'How?' Harry asked hoarsely

'He was paying someone in the protection department to feed him information as to your whereabouts, then passing it on to his sister who in turn gave the information to Vanguard. The day you were attacked he, the protection officer and Vanguard apparated to your property, he identified himself as one of the guards taking over from the other Aurors, before they could react he killed them both and before he and Ron both stood by while Claus beat you to a pulp' Deans voice wavered as he explained the terror Harry had endured.

'God' Harry exclaimed before dissolving into tears, he was pulled against a strong chest, arms wrapping themselves tightly around him, cocooning him in safety, the safety he should have been afforded.

'I think that's enough for today Auror Thomas' Severus Snape said quietly but firmly.

'More than enough' Dean replied, fighting back tears 'I'll come and see you in a few days Harry'

All Harry could do in response was nod his head.

'I can't thank you enough for this Severus' Harry said as they stood in the guest bedroom of his former Professor turned friends country home.

'No thanks needed Harry' the man said simply as he placed Harry's belongings into various drawers and cupboards. 'Once this is done, I will get Elsie to serve us lunch in the sunroom, then you can retire to your bed for the remainder of the afternoon'

'I don't need to spend all my…

Harry's protest was cut off by a stern look not akin to the ones he'd received as a student and snapped his mouth closed.

'As I thought' Severus countered and closed the final drawer before moving across the room to where Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed. 'The condition of your being released from hospital was that you rest as much as possible, that is a condition that I am going to see is honoured and I'll hear no argument from you Mister Potter'

'Yes Professor' Harry said cheekily

'Impertinent brat' Severus huffed, before calling Elsie to serve them lunch in the sunroom.

It was three weeks after the horrific events that the full force of what happened to him came crashing down on the young wizard. Despite Dean and Kingsley's best efforts, Harry had been required to attend the hearing and testify against his ex lover. After being interrogated at length, Harry stood from the witness stand and collapsed in front of the entire court. He was once again rushed to St Mungo's and he and the baby spent the next 72 hours being monitored closely.

Upon release he was given strict instructions to remain in bed with an allotted time period of an hour for him to be up. Severus being the stickler he was ensured that Harry did exactly that and complied with the Healers wishes. He seemed to fall into a deep depression after that, only eating at Severus' insistence and alternating between sleeping and crying for hours on end.

'I don't think I've ever seen him like this' Draco said one afternoon after he'd spent some time with Harry, not even after the war'

'Nor I' Severus agreed 'The full extent of what's gone on has finally descended upon him and it's going to take some time'

'It can't be good for the baby' Draco implied

'I make sure he eats and drinks enough to keep the baby healthy' Severus replied if not a little defensively 'I firmly believe he will come through this and he and the baby will be fine'

'What's going to happen when the baby is born?' Draco asked carefully

'What do you mean?' Severus questioned

'I mean is Harry going to continue staying here or is he going to find somewhere else to live?'

'He and the baby will stay right here, where I can keep an eye on both of them' Severus said plainly

'Oh?' Draco quirked a brow

'Do refrain from doing that Draco, you look far too much like your father when you do that' Severus said smugly and delighted in the look of abject horror on his godsons face. 'Now are you staying for tea or is there someone else's life you need to meddle in?'

'Not until tomorrow' Draco shot back and followed his godfather into the parlour.

The blonde's words resonated with Severus for the remainder of the day and into the evening. There was indeed an element of truth to what he had insinuated. Since Harry had been staying with him, the pull of wanting to take care of him and the baby for the long term was getting stronger and he couldn't deny that the idea had merit.

Since the fall of the dark lord he and Harry had become close and formed something of a friendship that in years following only became stronger. Leading a life of solitude had left him craving for companionship but not in the way some people might think. He craved to care for and protect Harry to offer comfort and affection and to be so bold as to think he might want to offer love as well?

'What does that do Mr Joseph?' a curious Teddy asked, as Severus' gardener worked in the flower beds, the energetic five year old only too happy to totter after the older man.

'Poor Joseph is going to need a holiday after spending the day with Ted' a voice chuckled coming to stand beside Severus who was reading on the back terrace.

'He revels in it' Severus replied, watching his gardener answer Teddy's questions with ease

Harry had started to venture back into the land of the living in the last few weeks, slowly freeing himself of thick fog that had cloaked itself over him. The clincher had been the first time he'd felt the baby move, and proceeded to seek Severus out in the library and tell him as much. Harry took his hand and placing it on his swollen belly to feel the tiny fluttering of feet against his hand. That's when the older wizard knew he was well and truly doomed, absolutely and utterly doomed.

'Still he'll need a rest at the very least' Harry smirked 'What are you reading?'

Severus held up the book to show Harry who let out a guawff of laughter

'Isn't that the 20th time you've read that book' he smiled

'Your point' Severus scowled

'Only teasing Sev' Harry chuckled lightly and rested his hand on the man's shoulder.

Severus reached up and placed his own hand over Harry's and the reaction was almost instantaneous. Harry's blood pooled in regions it had no right to go, his face heated up and every nerve ending flickered to life.

'Be back in a minute Sev, nature calls' Harry said hurriedly and scarpered inside as fast as he could go. Making a beeline for the downstairs bathroom, Harry locked and warded the door, before shoving down his pants and taking hold of his traitorous manhood.

He shuddered at the sensation his cockhead gave him while he stroked his thumb over his slit, closing his hand around the turgid flesh he tugged and pulled and in an embarrassingly short amount of time, succumbed to the orgasm that tore through him, leaving him boneless and panting.

It was becoming a habit and an ill-timed one at that, entering into the second trimester of his pregnancy had brought with it not only the most outrageous cravings and more gas than he was sure was good for him, but causing him to be hornier than he'd ever been in his life, teenage hormones had nothing on pregnancy ones, wretched things they were. The worst part was that he wayward mind was joining forces with his errant appendage and offering up all sorts of images featuring the man on the terrace and it wasn't Joseph.

Severus could only chide himself as he tiptoed away from the bathroom door. He had never considered that the term perverted dirty old man that sort his pleasure by listening to others chase their own applied to him, but here he was proving both those theories wrong. He'd read enough books on pregnancy in recent months to know the stages Harry was going through and he couldn't deny that this was perhaps the most intriguing stage of them all. It only confirmed that his feelings for the young man had changed intrinsically and it was most definitely love that he felt.

It had been a day of joy, heartache and a reminder at just how lucky he was. A visit from Dean and the Minister on a Wednesday morning nearing the end of Harry's fifth month of pregnancy, apprised of the news that Ginevra Weasley had been found dead in her cell in Azkaban prison causes at that stage unknown. Ronald Weasley had been sentenced to the KISS after killing another inmate in the exercise yard, one he'd believed to be responsible for his sisters death.

He felt numb and had no words that would come close to conveying how or what he felt. Apart from the horror his former lover had subjected him too, the knowledge that his once best friend and confidant had betrayed him cut deep, hurting him more than anything ever had. How someone he had trusted so implicitly could hurt him so badly he was sure he'd never understand.

'I can't dwell on her death and the demise of Ron's soul. I can be sorry for Molly and Arthur because lord knows they didn't ask for this, despite what they thought of me. The only thing I can do is be thankful l am alive and safe and the baby is safe and healthy' he'd stated

Stars came to life in the evening sky and a gentle breeze lifted the curtains from their place against the windowsill. Harry sat on the edge of the bed staring aimlessly out the window, tears rolling down his cheeks, his hand resting on his ample stomach, rubbing smoothing soothing circles over the bump.

'Harry are you ok?' a gentle and concerned voice asked from the doorway

'Yeah, just having a moment' he replied, roughly wiping the tears away from his eyes.

The bed dipped beside him and a soft hand rested on his. He took a breath trying to calm himself at least for the baby's sake if not his own.

'Want to tell me about it?'

'I guess everything has hit me all at once' he said shakily 'I don't know if I've ever really processed any of it you know, not until day at least'

Severus could understand that, it had been a huge day seemingly jumping from one topic to another; he wasn't surprised Harry felt like he did.

'When the healer told me I was having a girl, I thought this is it, it's really real now, there is a little girl growing inside me who will be here very soon and rely on me for everything. I was given a second chance and I'm not going to ruin, I'll protect her with everything I am, she'll never be short of love. In three months I'm going to be a father and I haven't the first clue how to be one'

'We'll work it out together Harry' Severus said softly

'We?' Harry asked

'Yes we, I want to care for you and the baby Harry, I want to be the one to help you raise her, love her and you the way you both deserve'

'Love me, you- you love me?' Harry stammered

'More than you know' Severus whispered 'I want you both to be mine, always and only mine'

'She was always yours Sev, I had hoped, dreamed and prayed from the time I found out I was pregnant she would one day be yours, that I would be yours'

It had been no secret that Harry had visited a magical fertility clinic in order to become pregnant with a child. It had long coveted a family whether with someone else or on his own he had remained steadfast in his decision. Severus was certain that Harry's decision and determination to go through with procedure that would allow him to have a child without or without his lover had been the trigger for his violence against Harry.

He had accused Harry of sleeping around of being unfaithful during the course of the relationship, when nothing could have been farther from the truth. The clinic in which Harry had visited had a team of highly trained experts that created embryo's of and from magic, Harry being as powerful as he was it was no surprise that the procedure had been a success.

'You are mine, forever and always mine' Severus replied, leaning forward and capturing Harry's lips beneath his own. They were soft, pliant and everything the older man had imagined they'd be. Harry opened his mouth freely, inviting Severus to explore, to taste.

'Love me Severus' Harry said pulling back, his voice scant 'show me what real love is, what it feels like'

'With pleasure' and kissed Harry soundly again.

He undressed him with care, and laid him down on the bed as though he were fine crystal. He had never seen a more beautiful site than Harry lying naked, pregnant and green eyes dark with want and need. He whispers to Harry to lie on his side it will be more comfortable that way, and removes he clothing, drinking in the sight of this gorgeous creature before him. Spells are whispered as he pulls Harry to him, kissing and nipping his neck, running his hand over the smooth planes of his lovers body, hands resting on the life created, moving down to gently skim long fingers over hardening flesh, revelling in the shiver it brings and the light breathy sounds.

'You are exquisite' Severus tells him as he pushes past that whorl of muscle, joining him and Harry as one. 'Such a privilege it is so love and make love to you'

'I dreamed of this' Harry whimpers as Severus gently thrusts forward

'Did you picture this moment when you touched yourself Harry?'

'Every time' comes the broken response 'I came alive when you touched me, however fleeting, my body sung at your touch'

'And it will sing again and again at my touch' Severus tells him as he increases his thrusts. A hand moves down and takes his lover's prick in hand, a slender finger swipes over the head and collects bead of pearly liquid. 'Taste yourself' he breathes as he offers the digit to Harry, who opens his mouth willingly and sucks the liquid from the questing finger.

'Oh god' Harry mewls; this may be the single most erotic thing he has ever done.

He moves his hand over Harry's dick now languidly, applying pressure when needed 'tell me my love what do you feel when my hand is on your cock?'

'Like fire is coursing through my veins, so right, so safe, so sure'

'In my arms you'll always be safe Harry' his thrusts a more frantic now more purposeful, he pulls Harry to him and holds him tight.

'Mmm, harder Sev please' Harry whimpers and arches his back at the feel of this wonderful man inside him.

'Will you bear my children Harry in years to come, will you let me fill you with my child' Severus is panting the sensations overwhelming him and consuming him. When Harry answers with a strangled Yes, god yes, it pushes him over the edge, orgasm crashes over him like rain, like waves against ragged rocks, He feels Harry's release white hot over his hand following his own. Basking in the feeling of being wrapped in one another they let slumber take them.

Three months later

'She is just beautiful' Draco croons as he holds the tiny bundle in his arms. 'Got your nose and all Harry'

A high-pitched yelp echoes around the room as Severus cuffs his godson up the back of the head.

'Arrest him at once' Draco orders Dean who is standing on the opposite side of room. 'I'm sure there is some law that prevents being subjected to physical violence whilst holding a minor'

'I've heard of no such law, now hand over my goddaughter' the Auror insists and gently takes the swaddled bundle from the blondes' arms

'She's my goddaughter too' he mutters indignantly

'Enough you pair' Harry grumbles from his place in the bed, it had been a long and difficult labour and he was beyond tired. 'Hand me my daughter and leave me in peace'

When everyone is gone and there is only silence, Harry stares into the dark brown eyes of his daughter and smiles. 'Welcome to the world Olivia Grace Potter Snape'