Back on the Job

Thursday morning Severus escorted his wife to the Great Hall for breakfast, a gesture that signaled they were both back on the job.

"Good morning, Zelda and Severus," said Professor McGonagall. "I hope you enjoyed your holiday."

"It was perfect," replied Zelda. "I suppose now you'll hijack poor Severus and give him fifty huge assignments for the day."

"Fifty? No, only two or three," she replied. "I believe Crabbe and Goyle are looking forward to seeing you today, Zelda, and I imagine you'll need a little rest too."

"Will Michael come to Hogwarts today?" Zelda asked hopefully. "I'd love it if he'll find time to see me."

"He'll be here," said Minerva. "Severus, will you come to my office at ten o'clock?"

He nodded, ready to resume his responsibilities.

Zelda ate what she could, but her appetite was diminished, so she was soon ready to leave. Severus, who rarely ate much, rose and helped her out of her chair, but no sooner had they left the staff table, they were accosted by Potter and Miss Granger.

"Hi Zelda, hi Professor Snape," said Harry. "Thanks for writing. Your letters were great and I can't wait to see the stuff you got for the house."

Zelda grinned at them. "You both look great. Can you come to see me this afternoon?"

"We're done with class at three o'clock. If we come at four, will Professor Snape be there?" asked the boy quietly.

"I'll be there at four, if necessary," said Severus.

Harry nodded and stepped back to let them pass.

"Later," said Zelda as she was hustled toward the dungeon stairs.

Professor Sinistra passed them on their way and it seemed to Zelda that the witch attempted to gaze meaningfully at Severus, but his lip curled in disgust and he continued attending to his wife. Zelda smiled condescendingly at the witch and kept walking. At the bottom of the stairs she stopped to catch her breath.

"Can we slow down?" she asked.

"I dislike the way she looks at you," he said.

"I hate the way she looks at you," replied Zelda. "It's hard for me to forget she actually pawed you."

"Never again," he said icily, opening the door to their rooms and ushering her inside. He closed the door, put his arms around her and squeezed until she squeaked happily and kissed him.

"Sinistra is supremely uninteresting, " he told her. "But it's possible she might play some spiteful trick. I'll prevent that at all costs."

Zelda sighed and said, "Will you see Michael today?"

"I'll thank him for his clever suggestion," he replied. "I'll also make sure he stops in to see you."

"After you've seen Minerva, we'll plan our schedule for the week and find time to be alone, as we planned," she said hopefully.

"Keep Rowena inside while it's raining and we'll let her go with Hagrid later. Shall I help you with your robes?"

She smiled as he removed them and hung them up. Underneath she simply wore a loose-fitting chemise.

"Crabbe and Goyle will be here soon. Will you come home for lunch?"

"Tell Dobby to bring it at noon," he told her, and then he kissed her. "Settle down in the sitting room and Dobby can let the students in when they arrive. Until lunch, my girl."

She smiled at him and he left, back to being Professor Snape again. As he climbed the stairs to the Headmistress's office, he thought how fine it was to be a man with a wife and a child on the way, a man with a family.

&&&&&&&&&

Potter and his informal spy network were nowhere to be found, so Severus went to Michael's office, where Gregory Goyle was just leaving.

"Goyle," said Severus, nodding.

You're back, Professor! Will Zelda see us today?" asked the young man eagerly.

"If you and Crabbe are available at the usual time, she'll see you this morning," replied Severus.

"We're going to finish the Quidditch project today, and decide what to research next," said Goyle, a gleam in his eye. "I never knew learning was interesting."

Severus turned to Michael, who ushered him in with a wry smirk.

"Do you feel like you wasted six years on that kid?" he asked as they sat down.

Severus winced. "If not for you and Zelda taking them on, he and Crabbe would have gone completely to waste. I cannot imagine what will happen to them when school is finished, but they're engaged by learning. That never happened before."

"They all need a connection to someone. Without that, any kid is at risk," said Michael. "But tell me about your holiday."

A faint smile appeared briefly before Severus replied, "Adequate."

Michael chuckled and said, "You look much less stressed, man. I don't want details, however."

"Good," said Severus shortly. "Zelda hopes you'll have time to come and see her today."

"I always have time for her. Is she feeling better?"

"You were right," admitted Severus. "She needed to be away from here. She's much better."

Relieved on that subject, Michael schooled his face to professional neutrality and said quietly, "Any lingering lust for Professor Sinistra?"

"No," said the wizard quietly. "I'm sorry I told you. It no longer seems real and there's nothing there I could respect or care for, even if Zelda weren't in my life."

"What you have with Zelda is remarkable, but the best relationship suffers when you're under stress. From what I've seen, being married is hard work," said Michael.

"Harder than I imagined, but as the days go by it becomes more real," said Severus. "It reassures me too, that when things aren't going well, she's still there. Yet I've buried my emotions for so long that I deal with her badly at times."

"Pretty insightful," Michael commented. He paused, and then added, "Have you talked with Zelda about this?"

A tiny smile curved the thin lips as Severus replied, "She told me all that matters is that we're honest and committed to working out our problems."

Michael grinned as he pondered that. "Pretty smart girl, isn't she? Are you honest and committed?"

"Deeply committed, but my honesty is generally unconstrained by kindness," he murmured ironically. "Zelda is proud, and sensitive too. I don't want to hurt her."

"Don't worry too much," said Michael. "Now, how are you feeling about work after being away for a week?"

The rest of the session covered a wide range of topics, and went by quickly.

"What time shall I tell Zelda that you'll be down to see her?" asked Severus as he prepared to leave.

"I'll be done here around half past three and come down for a few minutes. We should plan to get together again before the baby's born, possibly with Lily and Elijah."

"Very well," said Severus. "I'll tell her when I go down to lunch."

Opening the office door he saw that Malfoy was waiting for his appointment. He nodded politely and departed.

&&&&&&&&&

"Thirty five weeks of fetal development," said Dilys on the following Saturday. "It has slowed somewhat, but I expect your labor will begin in the next week or two."

They were back at Potter's cottage again, a place where Zelda felt comfortable. Elijah and Lily were there with Potter, waiting in the sitting room for news.

Zelda was prepared for the news, so she looked at Severus. He met her gaze seriously.

"No backing out now," she told him. "I'm scared, but excited too. Do you have a name picked out?"

"Not yet," he confessed. "Do you?"

"I'm working on it," she replied guiltily. "But let's go tell the kids. Dilys, thanks for letting Harry drag you out here."

"I'm glad to see you spending time with your family," replied the Healer. "Have a good weekend and I'll see you Wednesday at Hogwarts."

Severus reflected painfully that Potter now seemed part of the family. Zelda was delighted to include the bloody boy in her own small brood, but for himself… Severus had spent seven years watching over the boy, trying to teach and protect James Potter's son, a child who'd hated him from the beginning. It felt eerily like he'd already been a father, a miserably unsuccessful one. He hoped he'd do better with his own child.

Pushing aside these unprofitable thoughts he said goodbye to Dilys and went to spend this time with Zelda's children, since they wouldn't be together again before the baby was born.

&&&&&&&&&

Zelda's eyes filled with tears as she said goodbye to Lily and Elijah on Sunday afternoon.

"I'm glad you could come here," she told them, kissing and hugging them in turn. "Lils, take good care of the cats, especially Marshmallow. The others bully her sometimes."

"Everything at home is fine, don't worry," said Lily reassuringly. Turning to Harry, she added, "You'd better get word to me the minute my baby sister's born, boy."

She kissed Harry's cheek and hugged him, her own eyes filling with tears.

"I'll let you both know as soon as I can," Harry promised.

"Ladies first, Harry, and I'm the oldest too," she said firmly.

"Let's go, then," he said, offering his arm.

He Disapparated away with Lily and Elijah was left alone with Zelda and Severus.

"You'll be okay, won't you?" he asked her in a low voice.

"I'll be fine. I'd say I wish you could be here, but really, how scarring would it be for you to watch me give birth? I promise you'll know right away, and you'll see the baby as soon as we can manage it."

She hugged Elijah, realizing how much taller he'd grown in the past couple of years. But he was still young and frightened for her safety.

"Take care of yourself," she murmured, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you soon."

Harry reappeared and said, "Ready, Eli?"

The young men grinned and Disapparated, leaving Zelda to turn around and hug Severus.

"Perhaps we can stay sane and have a baby," she told him. "It was a good weekend, even without Michael and Kingsley."

"They invited themselves to stay with us next weekend," he reminded her. "How lucky that Dobby enjoys assisting your habit of entertaining pests."

"Let's go home," she said. "My legs won't support me much longer and we'll meet Harry there."

Rolling his eyes at the prospect, he closed the door of the cottage behind them and they Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts. Rowena and Fang were trotting back and forth there and they wagged their tails frantically when they saw the new arrivals.

"Where's Hagrid?" Zelda asked the dogs as they entered the grounds.

They fawned on her, ignoring her absurd question. But Severus heard something from over the rise that chilled him. There was screaming, a young man's voice, and then a familiar voice rang out.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Harry furiously.

Severus gripped Zelda's arm. He didn't dare to leave her, but could he take her into danger?

"That's Harry! You have to help him," she said breathlessly.

He glanced toward Hagrid's cottage. The way seemed clear, so he said urgently, "Take the dogs, keep them with you and go to Hagrid's."

"Okay," she replied. "Take care, love."

She changed direction, unable to help worrying about Severus, but knowing she must keep their child safe. She softly called Rowena to heel, which brought both dogs to her, and doggedly pushed on to safety, breathing heavily.

&&&&&&&&&

Severus watched for an instant as Zelda left him, but there was no time to be wasted. He ran forward, slowing as he got to the top of the rise.

Harry Potter was dueling with four students, all of them wearing hoods on this clear spring evening. Potter stood close to the fallen bodies of Crabbe and Goyle, obviously disarmed and under the influence of hexes. Potter was doing quite well, he noticed dispassionately, although using a verbal disarming spell had obviously been foolish. It was unwise to distract the boy, so Severus advanced silently, grasping his wand firmly. Standing on the highest point, he decided on the simplest course and then acted.

"Incarcerous!" he thought, making no sound.

Snakelike ropes flashed through the air and tangled around the four aggressors, more and more until they were borne to the ground and silence fell.

"Professor Snape," breathed Harry. "I'm glad to see you!"

Severus ran forward to kneel beside Crabbe and Goyle. They'd both been hexed repeatedly with various spells and were unconscious. Irritably he removed the spells, one after another. The pair remained unconscious, breathing heavily.

"Potter, where's Malfoy?" asked Severus, wondering how these two came to be alone outdoors and under attack.

Harry froze, not having had time to think what it all meant. He whipped out the Marauders Map and tapped it with his wand. One glance told him what he needed to know and he took off running.

Severus studied the hooded students who remained on the ground. Ernie Macmillan's shocked face was partly uncovered and he stared up with a horrified expression at his teacher.

"I'll be back to sort this out," Severus promised curtly as he pointed his wand toward the castle and sent his Patronus away. He followed Potter, wondering what was next.

Nearer to the lake, Potter was kneeling by something, which proved to be an unconscious Draco Malfoy. Severus knelt on the muddy ground and began examining the young man. There was spell damage, which he began to remove, but there was a bruise beginning on the pale cheek and Malfoy's nose was bloodied and broken.

"They were kicking him when I ran up," said Harry dully. "They've gone now, but he could be badly injured so I stayed."

"Do you know who they are?" asked Severus softly.

"Yes," Harry hissed, bitterness in his eyes.

Severus Conjured a stretcher and carefully moved Malfoy onto it, binding him gently as Harry watched.

"Levitate him back to the hospital wing while I watch the others. The Headmistress is aware of this, so we'll sort it out tonight."

Harry was surprised that Professor Snape would trust him to do this job, but concentrating, he pointed his wand and the stretcher slowly rose and began to float toward the castle. If he was going to do it right, he could think only of the task at hand. It took patience to move along smoothly.

Severus returned to where four bound students lay on the ground. He removed the hoods and discovered that besides Macmillan he had caught Zacharias Smith, Pansy Parkinson and Seamus Finnigan.

"An odd way to practice inter-house unity," Severus muttered coldly as he turned back to Crabbe and Goyle.

Goyle was sitting up, holding his head and looking down at his fallen friend.

"Professor," he said slowly. "Is he okay?"

"Yes," replied Severus. "Hold still, so I can examine you."

There was no sign of physical trauma, so Goyle must simply have been reacting to the spells he'd been attacked by. Relieved, Severus turned to look at Crabbe.

"He got hit by a big rock," said Goyle helpfully. "When I went to help him, they all showed up and started firing spells at us."

Upon closer examination, there was a lump on the side of Crabbe's temple where the rock struck him. Severus decided to wait until he was in the hospital wing before reviving him. Impatiently he looked toward the castle and was relieved to see Minerva McGonagall heading for them, Professor Flitwick close behind. He was alarmed to see Hagrid running up behind them, since it meant Zelda was alone.

"Goyle, I sent Zelda to Hagrid's house with the dogs. She must be alone there. Go to her, tell her everything's fine and I'll be there soon."

It took a moment to process the rapid instructions, but Goyle nodded and started jogging toward Hagrid's cottage.

"Severus, is it under control?" called Minerva as she ran up to the scene.

He nodded. "Crabbe needs the hospital wing and these others will require questioning, I fear. Did Potter arrive at the castle unscathed?"

"Just as I received your message, I got word that Potter was approaching with an injured student. Poppy went to assist them."

Professor Flitwick stood over the bound students, looking down at them sorrowfully. He gathered their fallen wands and said, "I'll bring these students to your office, Headmistress."

She nodded grimly, sickened at what she was about to learn.

"Severus, where's Zelda?" asked Hagrid.

"I sent her to your house with the dogs when I realized there was trouble. I didn't know you weren't home," Severus said. "Goyle has gone to her, but I must go too."

"Come to my office as soon as you can," said Minerva, watching him depart.

Severus ran, not bothering to look behind him. He feared that Zelda had overexerted herself and wondered if such a thing could bring on childbirth. As he drew near the small cabin, however, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He saw Zelda sitting in a huge old armchair outside the cabin, watching him approach. Goyle stood by her side, along with the dogs. When Rowena saw him approaching, she ran to greet him, followed by Fang.

"Good dog," he told her, petting both dogs perfunctorily as he approached Zelda. "Are you all right?" he asked his wife.

She nodded, smiling with relief at the sight of him. "Hagrid's not home, but the dogs stayed with me and then Gregory came. He brought me a glass of water and told me what happened. Is everyone all right?"

"We must return to the castle and sort things out," he said. "But not until you feel able to move."

"I can move," she said, rising to her feet and taking his offered arm.

Goyle paced along with them, thinking that if anyone attacked them Zelda would need protection. She walked slowly, leaning heavily on Professor Snape. The young man liked this kind woman and often forgot she was a Muggle. He worried about her, knowing how many students still had hateful ideas about Muggles and he hoped no one else needed to know Mrs. Snape was a Muggle for a long time.

The nearest castle door opened and Hagrid came out to meet them.

"Everything all right?" he asked anxiously.

"It's all good," replied Zelda, panting slightly.

He looked shrewdly at her and then at Severus. At a nod from the wizard, he scooped a startled Zelda up in his huge arms and carried her rapidly the rest of the way.

"Thanks, Hagrid," she giggled, blushing. "Sev, you'll have to go, but will you bring Rowena in before you leave?"

Severus called the dog to heel and they all entered the castle, leaving a disappointed Fang outside the door.

"He'll go home an' wait fer me," said Hagrid, listening to the sad howl as the door closed.

"Poor Fang," said Zelda. "Mr. Filch would have a fit if two big dogs ran around in the castle, but I don't like to hurt his feelings."

Severus flung open the door and stood aside for Hagrid to enter. The half-giant set her carefully on the drawing room couch while Severus lit the fires in that room and the bedroom.

"Goyle, wait a moment. You'll need to accompany us to Professor McGonagall's office," said Severus.

Rowena leaped onto the couch next to Zelda and settled down.

"Go ahead. I'll be fine," she said, smiling as Severus caressed her cheek briefly. "Thank you all."

"Take care, Zelda," said Hagrid, saluting her kindly.

Severus closed the door carefully, setting a quick spell on it so no one would enter in his absence. He followed Hagrid and Goyle up the stairs, wondering how bad this situation would turn out to be.