Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit is the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

September 1998

He stood in front of the bed and looked in the mirror as she knelt behind him with her chin on his shoulder and tied his white tie. She did it just right and then brushed at his shoulders and straightened the hang of his tails. "You look perfect. I'll never understand how you came to be so frequent a guest at Malfoy Manor that you have your own tailcoat, yet you've never learned to tie a bow tie."

"All the better to have a pretty woman do it for me." He turned around to peer at her. "Why aren't you dressed?"

Her shame showed in the redness of her face. "I was asked not to go."

"Not invited? Why do you suppose that is?"

"Witches in my situation aren't received in polite company. It's a bad influence on the daughters. If I were married..."

"We've been all over that and I've explained why it cannot be." She looked chastised and he slid his hand under her chin in a comforting gesture. "You've done nothing wrong. I don't see why they think what they think."

"Because everyone in Wizarding England knows how to count except, it seems, for Severus Snape."

"It doesn't matter what it adds up to. I know what is and isn't possible."

The bleak look in her eyes simply got bleaker. He had a thought.

"What about me? If they think that about you, I must be considered just as bad."

"You're a hero, and quite eligible, not to mention you look magnificent in formal dress." She bit her lip hard and blinked.

"I don't think I should go if you're not going."

She looked worried, then. "You have to go. They're expecting you."

"What do you want from me, Andromeda?"

"I don't know," she whispered. She lay on her side and curled up with her back toward him. "You need to go so you won't be late."

He reached his hand to touch her, but something about the set of her spine warned him off. He consulted his pocket watch, grabbed his gloves and opera cloak, and left.

His return roused her from an achy sleep that had done nothing to dispel the effects of the tears she had shed while he was gone. He sat next to her on the bed, barely able to control his happiness. She saw that she had been right to make him go. She was perhaps equally right to have stayed behind.

She forced herself to be cheerful. "Let's see it."

"You knew?"

"Why do you think I pushed at you so hard to go?" She knelt up on the bed and slid her hands under his cloak along the lapels of his jacket. "I thought there would be a medal."

"It came on a sash, if you can believe it." The cloak came off with a swirl and he unbuttoned his jacket to display the bright gold and violet sash with the Order of Merlin attached to it. She slid her fingers under the medal to get it better into the light.

"First Class," she gloated. "You're a great man among wizards, Severus. Everything you ever wanted to prove has come true tonight. Congratulations."

"Not entirely everything I want," he answered. He slid his hands along her waist. "I wish I could believe—"

She put her hand over his lips. "Please let's not fight about it again. It hurts too much. I love you, and if this is all we can have, I'll take it."

"Some day I want it, Andromeda."

She shook her head. "Please don't tell me of someday. I can only think as far as January. After that, a lot of things might or might not happen. Right now, let us have as much of us as we can."

He didn't know how to dispel her mood, so he kissed her, tasting salt on her lips. Her hands reached for his bow tie, undoing her own handiwork. Within minutes his entire tuxedo lay forgotten on the floor, including the sash with the shiny new Order of Merlin, First Class.

April 1998

They were invited to Malfoy Manor for a family dinner a while after the Dark Lord's visit. Andromeda wore the green dress robes and in the eyes of the wizard looking at her, she looked lovely. He was becoming more and more impressed by her self assurance. Yet tonight she looked at him and he could see the worry in her eyes.

"You have nothing to fear. You're part of a family that's practically royalty."

"Trixie killed my husband. She tried to kill me and my daughter..."

"She will do nothing to you tonight except smile. This is your début as the returning member of the Black family."

"Severus, there's something..." She trailed off when she saw that he was fumbling through a drawer in his wardrobe. He looked around the door inquisitively. "Never mind."

He went back to his rummaging and finally said, "Here it is!" He came out of the wardrobe holding a small gilt box. He handed it out to her. "Your neck looks bare."

She opened it to find a gorgeous set of pearls with an emerald clasp. "It's—I can't accept this."

"Please?" He looked so sweet for once that she couldn't resist. He stood behind her and fastened them. "They were my mother's, and they're perfect with your robes."

"Just for tonight, then," she answered. "You will want these for someone else, I'm sure." She became thoughtful.

He was looking at his watch and missed her expression. "We need to get going." He settled her cloak over her shoulders and led her to the fireplace.

When they emerged at Malfoy Manor, Andromeda found herself face to face with Narcissa and Bellatrix. In a back corner stood another woman who came toward the fireplace.

"I want to see my lost daughter!" Druella Rosier Black pushed Rudolphus and Lucius aside and took Andromeda's hands, looking her up and down critically. "You still have your looks, my dear. How have you been?"

Perhaps Mother would want to know about her great-grandson. Andromeda took a deep breath. "Well, my daughter—"

"Never mind about your past indiscretions, dear. I want to know how you've been at Hogwarts, since Snape took you in hand."

She took a deep breath and willed the flash of anger away. "Severus has been most kind and has treated me quite well."

"The Dark Lord saw you and said you were much improved. He encouraged your sisters to bring you back into the family fold."

"He said...?" Andromeda let her voice drift off and thought quickly. "I'm surprised that the Dark Lord had time to think of me."

"So am I," put in the elder sister. "I think he was kind to you because you're my sister."

"I'm sure that was it," said Andromeda, glad to have a safe port to sail into.

Dinner was longer than anything Andromeda had ever experienced. She was seated at the right of her younger brother in law. He was charming and she tried in vain to be equally so.

"You must visit more often, Andromeda. Your younger sister has missed you more than you can know."

"Really?" Her eyes strayed down the table to where the hostess sat and looked nervously over everything.

"Yes. You haven't had any wine. You really should drink it."

"I tasted it, but I'm really not sure..."

"Drink up. The wine with the next course is even better."

He plied her with compliments and then started inserting hints about her position within the family. Toward the end he told her that she would be expected to marry the Death Eater of the Dark Lord's choosing within the next several months.

"I thought... Severus..."

"He may well be my choice for you, Miss Black, but the final choice will be mine," the Dark Lord said from the doorway. Everyone instantly rose and bowed. Andromeda followed suit. "Come closer, Andie, if I may call you that."

Her legs felt like gelatin, but she managed it. Under the strength of his gaze she sank to her knees. He looked into her eyes and rifled through her emotions. "Ah, another just as your sisters. I knew the Blacks were the garden of my strength." He looked into her eyes and found her deepest secret. "A garden indeed, Andromeda. You please me, and I believe you please Severus even more." He released her and the party broke up soon afterwards.

Severus undressed her quietly that night, sensing that she was troubled. He wrapped her in the sheets and brushed out her hair. His long fingers against her scalp felt so soothing that she dozed as she sat against him.

"Andromeda."

"Hm?"

"You did well tonight."

"Thank you."

"If I might be so bold to mention it, though, Lucius was a little offended that you didn't drink his wine."

"I tasted every one of them and complimented him on them. I just didn't feel like drinking tonight. I was so nervous, and my head aches a little, I guess."

"Does this help at all?"

"Yes, thank you."

"What about this?" He turned her and kissed her.

"Oh, much better."

He pulled her into his arms then and kissed her until she was dizzy. Then he simply looked at her for a moment, his dark eyes alive with passion. She spoke her second deepest secret into his ear as his hands slid along her back. He stopped for a moment and looked into her eyes. A look of surprise crossed his face and then he started again.

"I don't know what to say," he told her later as his fingertips traced the lines of her face.

"You don't have to say anything."

"Andromeda, I don't have room for love in my life."

"Lucius said that I'm supposed to marry one of the Death Eaters."

"I doubt it will be me. I'll always be a half-blood."

"Will they want me after I've—everything?"

"They're fools if they don't."

She turned her head away from him. "I thought we—since we—and then there's... I don't want to give this up."

"There's a long time before it's likely to come up," he answered. He leaned over and placed small kisses all along her face. "Maybe by the time it happens, you'll be tired of me." She opened her mouth and he put his finger over her lips. "Speaking of tired, we have a breakfast date. If I know Narcissa, and I do, she took your offer seriously and has already sent an owl. Your nephew will be here sooner than you think."

She snuggled into his arms, wondering if it was possible for her ever to tire of him, and of this. In another life, she had been a cherished wife, but that had been another time. She was fast learning that the life she had with Ted was impossible and had only happened because of the strength of his will. Tonight she learned that what she had with Severus would end at some point and she would be turned over to some other wizard. It would get complicated fast, now. She forced herself to breathe deeply. That was a problem for tomorrow.

It seemed only an instant before Severus was nudging her with his nose and speaking into her ear. "It's time to get up."

She lifted her head from the bed and moaned. "I don't know if I can." She flopped down.

"Come now. You handled your sisters and mother and this is just your nephew. You can handle a seventeen year old boy." He kissed her and slid his arm around her. "Look at how well you manage me." He sat her up and prepared for his day.

She got up and dressed a bit less quickly, being careful of her head and tummy. Somehow she would get through this breakfast, she would charm her nephew, and she would make it through the day's work. When it was all over, she would need to broach a subject with Severus. She had no idea how he would respond, but the time had come to discuss it, especially since the Dark Lord had discovered it.

Severus and Draco were in the Headmaster's office, sitting at the table brought out for breakfast, when she arrived. They stood when she arrived and Draco held her chair for her as she sat.

"Thank you, Draco."

"I trust you found my parents in good health last night?"

"Yes, they seemed quite well, and your grandmother, also. Mother couldn't stop bragging about you. Your father tells me you're the star of the Slytherin Quidditch team. Tell me about it."
Draco looked at the Headmaster, who nodded, and started describing that year's Quidditch cup standings. Andromeda smiled and nodded, commenting about the parents of the current students as she remembered their skills at the game. Fifteen minutes passed pleasantly and sipping tea with a generous amount of sugar seemed to settle her stomach.

He started asking questions about his mother and Aunt Bella as children and she told him a few stories of the days before Bellatrix got married. She had him smiling over an impression of his mother at the age of five, complaining about her dolls not having functional wands.

Breakfast arrived. Andromeda looked at the steaming dishes on the table and swallowed hard. When the smells started to hit her, all of her self control was lost. She put her hand over her mouth and ran to the nearest bathroom.

As she finished retching, she looked up to see Severus standing in the doorway. He stepped into the room to get a washcloth and dampened it in the sink. As he dabbed at her face, he asked quietly, "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine now."

"Are you sure? Maybe you caught something."

"It's not like that."

"Maybe there was something you ate last night..."

"Severus." Something in her tone of voice made him stop. When she was sure she had his full attention, she looked into his eyes and continued. "I've known this for several days, and now the Dark Lord saw it when he was looking through my thoughts last night. Severus, I'm almost positive that I'm pregnant."

He just looked at her for a moment. Then he was a flurry of motion. He scooped her up and carried her toward the bedroom, saying over his shoulder, "Draco, please go to the Infirmary and ask Madam Pomfrey to come to my quarters."

A/N: The inspiration of this story was an unused prompt from the Severus' Shorts LJ Community for the Short-Shorts challenge: A child is born on Severus's birthday and he doubts that it is his.

Trickie Woo was quite kind to beta read this.