A/N: Thank you to Bri892 for being my beta reader. I appreciate your eyes and proper grammar skills.

Chapter Seven: Playing House

Hermione was nervous as she followed Snape to the living room of his quarters. He stood beside an armchair, "Please, sit down, Miss Granger."

Looking up at him from the large chair, she felt like Alice in Wonderland. She had already fallen through the rabbit hole. Was this the part of the evening where they would discuss how to play house?

"Would you like some tea?" He asked cordially, his face impassive.

Tongue tied, her eyes darted up to meet his eyes and she nodded hesitantly.

Snape went into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a tray floating before him.

"How do you take your tea?" He asked.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione calmed herself, "Two sugars, please."

Handing her the cup, Snape sat down across from her. Sipping his own tea, he leaned back and relaxed into the chair.

"Professor Snape, I don't know how this all happened but I would like to thank you for raising Sabrina and being so kind to my parents and friends."

"Our daughter has brought joy into my life; of course that is compounded by your friends being in my home constantly."

"Are we going to discuss co-parenting now? My mother said that you had a plan in mind for us on raising Sabrina. Will I live here? Do I act as her mother? Will it affect her development with this situation changing? " Hermione asked.

She was surprised to find him chuckling; his tea cup tipping.

"The question gene is present in all three generations of Granger women. I may never get a break from the non-stop questions."

He straightened up. "Your mother introduced the muggle concept of co-parenting along with another twenty or so parenting methods" The last part of his statement was muttered under his breath.

Snape continued, "Parenting, yet alone co-parenting, were new concepts to me. I would prefer that you take on the role of Sabrina's mother as you see fit. She is your child. If you wish to live here or elsewhere, you will still be her mother with all the rights as such. As far as her development, I don't believe this situation to be detrimental. I believe she will blossom in your care."

Hermione finished her tea and sat back. "I hope so; she is so amazing. Can you tell me about her? How much did she weigh when she was born? What was her first word? When did she learn to walk? Do you have photographs?"

Snape held up his hand to stop her barrage of questions, "Yes, I will tell you about her and we have many photographs, both wizarding and muggle. She was full term; born on September 3rd. She weighed 3 kilograms* exactly. She was a strong willed child from the very beginning. Between Poppy and Anna, I learned to care for her needs. It has become significantly easier as she has grown."

Hermione smiled at him, "You refer to my mum by her first name."

"Yes, Miss Granger. I consider both Mark and Anna friends."

"Please continue, sir."

"Sabrina did not sleep for more than a two hours at a time for the first few months. It became difficult to care for her needs. Filius expanded my quarters, adding a guest suite. Your parents stayed to help with her care. Your mother took a year long leave of absence from the dental practice and cared for Sabrina during the day while I was teaching."

The professor walked over to one of the bookcases and chose a large photo album. Handing it to Hermione, he continued the life story of their daughter.

"Sabrina's first word was book; she started talking at nine months and hasn't stopped since." Startled, Snape stopped talking at the sound of Hermione sobbing.

Her fingers traced Sabrina's face from photograph to photograph as tears ran down her face. Handing her his handkerchief, Snape returned to the bookcase and pulled out two more photo albums for her.

Excusing himself, he left Hermione alone to view Sabrina's life in pictures.

~~~~O-O~~~~

Snape retired to his quarters, his brows furrowed. He hadn't expected this much emotion from her. Mark had warned him to expect tears and an emotional outburst here and there. 'Hermione,' he had said, 'is not one to bottle up her feelings for long.'

He could understand her nervousness and tears but she was sobbing so hard her body was shaking.

As head of Slytherin house, he routinely saw girls crying about their marks or boyfriends. As Minerva would say, 'this was heart wrenching'. Contemplating how he would feel if he was brought into Sabrina's life years after she was born; he would feel sad, maybe hurt but she seemed to be more than just hurt. Anguish may be a better description, he thought.

Routine and structure will get her through this. They were similar, he thought, recalling her approach to her studies. She needs information and a set schedule routine to work with; the information she could gather on her own but he would make sure that Sabrina stayed on a firm schedule. It would benefit all three of them. That would be the way to get through this adjustment period.

Snape reached for the floo powder on his mantle and made a call about tomorrow.

~~~~O-O~~~~

*3 kg is 6.6 pounds