That evening, as Hermione sat alone at her house and Ron tossed and turned in his childhood bed at the Burrow, Severus sat in his seat at the head table at Hogwarts, picking at the food on his plate, his mind on his son. And Hermione Granger.

He wondered if she'd told that husband of hers the truth yet and if so what he'd said. It wasn't as if he cared, however he knew that the sooner Granger broke the truth to Weasley the sooner he would be able to claim Hugo as his own. If Granger had not told Weasley by the end of the week, Severus vowed, he would find the weasel and do it for her. Nothing would keep him apart from his son any longer.

In some small part of his mind, Severus knew that Mr. Weasley would most likely be devastated by the news and that he should feel some degree of sympathy for him. To find out that the child you'd loved and raised for eight years wasn't yours would be an incomprehensible pain. Comparable, Severus thought with a sneer, only to the pain he felt when he'd seen Miss Granger and the boy who must be his in Diagon Alley and realizing that for eight years he'd had a child that he did not existed, a son that was living his life with a lie as father. So no, he could not find it within himself to dredge up even the smallest bit of sympathy for Mr. Weasley's loss. Because Weasley's loss was his gain. Besides, Severus thought, his eyes drifting towards the students, unlike himself, Weasley had another child. Rose.

He spotted her among her fellow Gryffindors, talking and laughing with her cousin Albus Potter by her side. Albus Severus Potter, he reminded himself with an inward shudder. He still could not believe that there was a Potter that shared his name. Even though he no longer viewed Harry Potter as The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Torment-Him, he thought Potter had gone unnecessarily overboard in naming his son after him. Nevertheless, he sighed. There was nothing to be done about it now.

He'd had both Albus and Rose in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Severus had been especially interested to know what his son's sister was like. And although he hated to compliment Gryffindors-or any student really-more than necessary, he'd found the girl to be bright and well mannered, although she had her mother's annoying habit of reaching towards the ceiling every time she knew an answer and quoting the textbook word for word. He hoped that Hugo didn't develop that irritating habit.

Albus Potter, he'd observed was nothing like his father or his grandfather. In fact, Severus realized, he was more like Lily than anyone else. He even had her legendary green eyes.

Severus was startled from his thoughts by the poking of Sybil Trelawney at his shoulder, eager to tell him what she'd glimpsed of his future that day in her crystal ball. Muttering about inane subjects, Severus stood hastily from his place at the table, shoving back his chair and striding from the Great Hall.

He headed to the Owlery, pulling a parchment and quill from his pocket. He quickly scrawled a note onto the parchment and, selecting a large tawny owl, tied the note to the bird's leg, sent it on its way into the night sky.

As he stood watching the owl fly off into the night, his head was filled with thoughts of his son, of Hermione Granger, a night long ago and an affair that ended before it had the chance to begin.

Hermione was still sitting at her kitchen table, tear tracks drying on her cheeks, when there was a peck at the window. Quickly turning around, Hermione looked to the window, hoping it might be Pigwidgeon, or the Weasley family's owl, or even perhaps the Potters' owl. She was disappointed when she saw an unfamiliar tawny owl with a note tied to its leg.

With a sigh, Hermione rose from her seat and opened the window, allowing the owl into the kitchen, where it helpfully stuck its leg out, allowing her to easily untie the note. She reached for an Owl Treat from a jar on the kitchen counter and after happily accepting it, the owl munched on the treat while waiting for Hermione to open the letter. Obviously, it had been told to wait for a reply.

Hermione unfolded the note, recognizing the familiar scrawl at once and bit back a groan. She had known that she had not heard the last from Severus, that he intended to make good on his threat to claim Hugo as his son, yet she'd thought she would have more time than this.

Miss Granger,

Have you told Weasley the truth yet? If you have not, tell him and soon, or I will do it for you. We are no longer on your time table, nor are we playing by your rules any longer. You've kept my son from me for eight years, I will not allow you to keep him from me for another day. Once you have told Weasley, I believe it would be best for you and I to sit down and discuss how best to tell the boy, as I do not want to cause him any undue stress. I expect your reply within the hour.

Severus Snape

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes and crumple the note in her hand. Instead, she grabbed a spare piece of parchment and quickly wrote a reply.

Professor Snape,

I have told Ron. He has not taken the news well and I want to explain things to him before talking to Hugo. I will let you know when things have become more settled.

Hermione Weasley

She tied the note to the bird's leg knowing, as she watched it fly into the night, that her response was likely to only add to his temper. But dammit, this was his fault. He was the one who'd intruded on her life, who'd forced her to reveal Hugo's true paternity, not caring what it would do to her or her family.

Shutting the window, Hermione hugged herself against the September chill that had come into the kitchen through the open window. She extinguished all the lights in the room and slowly climbed the stairs to her bedroom, the bedroom that, for the past fifteen years, she'd shared with Ron. It would be the first night she'd slept alone since their marriage.

Changing into a nightgown, Hermione brushed her teeth and snuggled beneath the covers. She found that she was too mad at Severus to miss Ron. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, all Hermione could think of was that it was all Severus's fault that things had happened this way, it was his fault that he didn't know Hugo, it was his fault that things had turned out like this, it had always been his fault..

Even in the beginning…