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He was awoken quite suddenly from a deep sleep. It took several moments for him to wake up enough to recognize the silvery blue glow of a patronus in the gloom of his darkened bedroom.

"Severus," the little otter said in Hermione's voice, sounding stressed, "I'm sorry and I know it's late, but could you meet me at St. Mungo's? I'll explain when you arrive - I need you."

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand, he groped in the dark with the other for his wand and pocket watch. He lit the candles in the room with the first and flipped open the second to peer at the time - almost 4:30 in the morning.

He was too tired to bother with the buttons on his teaching robes, throwing on his Christmas jumper over a white shirt, yanking on his pants and stomping into his Dragon hide boots. He sent off a patronus to the Headmistress informing her of his departure and promising a more thorough explanation as he became apprised of the situation.

He hurried through the secret passageway leading out of the dungeons and past the wards of the school for the first time since the end of the war, barely breaking stride once out in the cool early June night to Apparate away. It was as he approached the front desk of St. Mungo's that it occurred to him that he ought to have let Hermione know he was on his way, if only to soothe the nerves that had been so obvious in her middle of the night summons.

"Can I help you Professor Snape?" The bleary eyed receptionist asked, looking up from her novel; a former Hufflepuff, if memory served, but he couldn't put the face to a name.

"Yes, I'm not entirely sure why I'm here, but I'm looking for Hermione Granger?"

She nodded, "She mentioned asking for someone to come sit with her - Children's Ward, room three-hundred ninety-four."

"Thank you," he was off again, taking the lift up to the proper floor and finding Ronald Weasley standing in the hallway looking ashamed outside room 394. "Mister Weasley," Severus nodded curtly.

"What are you doing here, Snape?"

He didn't have the chance to answer before a bushy mass of brown curls collided with his chest, "Hermione, is everything alright?"

"Ronald put Rose on a broom last night and she fell. She's broken an arm and has a concussion; the Healers want to let it heal on its own because of her age." She glared at her ex-husband, "The coward didn't even tell me until eleven and I've only just convinced Molly and Arthur to go home."

"What can I do to help?" Severus studiously ignored the redhead glaring in his direction.

"Just stay with me, please."

He threaded his fingers through hers and gestured toward Rose's room with his free hand, "After you, my dear." To Weasley, he added over his shoulder, "I suggest you go home, Mister Weasley, glaring at me will not absolve you this evening and your presence is clearly undesired by your child's mother."

Rose was asleep in her hospital bed, the blankets tousled and thrown back as though Hermione had been tucked in beside her. There was a lone chair perched at the bedside and a small round table tucked in the corner by the window. Hermione climbed into the bed with her daughter after tucking the blankets around the girl better; Severus dutifully sat in the chair and got comfortable. It only took a few minutes of watching her back rise and fall slowly before he reached out to gently run his hand back and forth along her spine in an act of comfort.

"Thank you for coming," she whispered.

"You needed me, Hermione, of course I came."

"I'm sorry I robbed you of your sleep."

He chuckled, "I have been robbed of sleep for far less noble causes."

It was well after eight in the morning when he left her and Rose asleep in the bed to send Minerva an owl. He stopped by the cafeteria on his way back for a spot of breakfast for himself and Hermione. Rose's Healer was in the room casting diagnostic spells on the girl upon his return, smiling uncertainly at him - another face he recognized but could not name. "Good morning, sir. I wasn't aware you knew little Miss Weasley."

"How is she?" He asked, dismissing the man's implied question.

"Oh, quite well, considering. The concussion wasn't severe, and at her age, her arm will heal quickly."

"That is good to hear, her mother made it seem much more serious when she summoned me in the wee hours."

He dispelled his last set of diagnostic runes and reached for Rose's chart to jot down notes, "Many parents simply panic when their children get hurt, because there's nothing they can do. You can tell Miss Granger that Rose may be discharged when she wakes up."

Severus nodded dismissively, waiting to approach the bed until after the Healer had departed. He carded his fingers through Hermione's hair; she stirred and turned toward his hand, "Mmh, Sev'rus? What time is it?"

He passed her a cup of coffee after she sat up and swung her feet down to the floor. "Nearly ten, you just missed the Healer. He said you can take Rose home after she wakes."

She sighed with relief, "Good, that's good. Thank you so much, again, for being here."

"Hermione, I have come to care about Rose and about you very much since Christmas - if you need me, I'm going to be there for you if I can."

He was hugged tightly, "Thank you all the same."

"You're welcome, my dear."


The arrival of summer meant endless free days usually spent with Rose until Hermione finished with her day in the apothecary downstairs.

"Rose," he said one such morning at the end of July, while the girl was occupied on the floor with her dolls and he was reading a Potions journal, "May we talk about something?"

"Yes sir, Mister Severus," her toys were promptly abandoned and the five-year old climbed into his lap.

Severus set his journal aside and regarded her very seriously, "How do you feel about my seeing your mother?"

Her nose scrunched in thought, "Well, I like you a lot and you're way nicer than daddy, you never make me fall and get hurt. And I know mummy likes you a lot, she was never this happy with daddy or after we moved here. Why do you want to know, Mister Severus?"

"Well, with your approval, I'd like to ask your mother to marry me."

The girl in his lap squealed and launched forward, excitedly attempting to strangle him with her hug. He chuckled and returned the embrace, "I take that as a yes?"

She leaned away from him without breaking her grip on his neck, "Does that mean you'll be my daddy instead of daddy? Will I still have to call you Mister Severus?"

Severus smoothed back her hair, "No, Ronald will always be your father, I would be your step-father, so it would be like having two fathers. And you may call me whatever you wish, Rose. But first your mother has to agree. And you must help me keep it a secret, okay?"

"Yes!"

"Good, now let's go see if she'll let you accompany me to Diagon Alley."

Rose was halfway to her room to fetch her shoes when she stopped to ask, "Why do we have to go to Diagon Alley?"

"You'll see, go put your shoes on, I'll be downstairs."

The shop was fairly quiet, a cauldron bubbling in the back and Hermione steadily chopping ingredients behind the counter where she could keep an eye on the cauldron.

"Hermione," he said, loudly enough to get her attention, but not so loud as to startle her from her concentration.

"Yes, Severus?"

"Would it be alright for Rose to accompany me to Diagon Alley in the course of the morning?"

"Of course; would you mind stopping in at George's to pick up Harry's birthday present? George said it would be ready today."

"Certainly, dear. Anything else, while I'm out?" He agreed, gently gripping the curve of her waist and leaning around her shoulder to kiss her cheek.

"No, thank you." Rose stormed down the stairs then, "Be good, Rose, and have fun."

"Yes, mummy! Come on, Mister Severus!" She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him from the shop.

Gringotts was quiet and Rose hung onto his hand tightly, half hiding behind him in the face of the stony faced goblins. She squealed and giggled on the rail car and waited there with their goblin escort while Severus retrieved what he needed from his vault. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes proved much busier, Rose disappearing into the stacks before he could say anything to the contrary.

"Rose, don't run off like that," he admonished a few minutes later when he found her sitting on the floor with her uncle playing with one of his inventions.

"Sorry, Mister Severus,"

"Hello, professor," George greeted, "How can I help you today?"

"Hermione asked us to pick up Harry's present while we were in the Alley."

"Ah, yes; I'm quite proud of 'Mione's ingenuity on this one."

Severus looked at him questioningly. Rose took the momentary lull in conversation to blurt out, "Guess what, Uncle George!"

"What, munchkin?"

She leaned in and stage whispered, "Mister Severus is gonna marry my mum!"

George looked up at him both eyebrows raised. He sighed and shook his head, "So much for keeping it secret, Rose."

"Oopies. Sorry, Mister Severus."

"Your secret is safe with me," George grinned, rising to his feet, "I'll go get Hermione's package."

"I very much doubt that, Mister Weasley, though I'll appreciate you not telling Hermione."

"Naturally,"


It was well after lunch when Severus and Rose returned to the shop, the latter bounding in first, dodging around the shelves, "Mummy, mummy! Guess what, guess what!"

"What, Rose?" Hermione laughed, shooting glances between the girl and Severus taking his time rounding the same shelves.

"Mister Severus got me a bat! It's sooo cute!"

Lo and behold, he finally rounded the display, brightly wrapped package in one hand and a pretty house shaped bat box tucked under his other arm. "I could hardly say no, the way she fawned over it; I hope you don't mind? It's an Egyptian fruit bat, reasonably sized when full grown and easy for a child to feed."

"Not at all," she smiled, accepting the Wizard Wheezes box from him, followed by the chaste peck he left on her lips. "I appreciate your careful thought in selecting a pet - I hate bugs. What else did you two get up to in Diagon Alley?"

"Can't tell! It's a surprise," Rose beamed.

Severus shot a look at the girl, "And by that she means she already told someone she shouldn't and we had to have a talk about surprises over lunch."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the pair, "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing," they insisted together.


See, first time skip. The next will be jumping us ahead to Christmas time and the very last one (the epilogue, I suppose you could call it) will take us all the way to Rose's first year, where most of the plot noodling happens.