Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Severus and Lily both were grateful that James's little daughter had the ability to stay…..little.
Madam Pomfrey saw Lily and Harriet in private for discrete check up appointments.
At each visit, Hogwarts' healer reassured Lily that her baby was fine, but the infant didn't grow very much during her first weeks of life.
Severus and Lily waited until the middle of September to formally announce the birth of Severus and Laima's daughter, Harriet Snape.
Harriet was six weeks old by then, but she was still small enough to pass as a new baby, almost as if she had slowed her own growth down to give herself and her mother a better chance of survival.
Severus knew that was impossible, however it did make the situation easier.
Voldemort and several of his Death Eaters descended upon the humble cottage that Severus shared with Lily on the evening that the news of Harriet's arrival reached the Dark Lord.
Lily was holding her infant as she sat in bed, playing the role of a woman who had just given birth, completely shrouded in her disguise.
She stayed quiet as Severus led Voldemort and his followers inside of their bedroom.
Lily was too busy hoping the cloaking charms that Severus had cast would work to conceal the true paternity of her baby girl and the maddening fears that raced wildly through her mind.
If anyone could hide anything from Voldemort, it was Severus Snape.
The Dark Lord smiled down with wicked mirth at the baby in Lily's arms.
Lily and Severus both held their breath and hoped that their trickery would succeed.
"What a beautiful child……" Voldemort purred in his eerily smooth voice.
"Thank you, my lord." Severus said with a nod as the Death Eaters peered over his shoulder at the baby in Lily's arms.
"Th-thank…..you…...m-my lord." Lily said as she struggled to pronounce the words.
Severus had given her another dose of Linguatorquin to enhance her costume.
"May I?" Voldemort asked Lily with a sneer that he thought emulated humility as he reached out his hands.
As Lily looked at the long, gray nails that resembled talons on the end of his fingers and the utter coldness in his cruel gaze, the last thing that she wanted to do was to hand her baby over to Voldemort, but as she glanced at Severus behind her veil, he gave her a practically undetectable nod and she knew that if she hoped to live, she had little choice.
Lily restrained her reluctance, ignored her instincts, bent forward, and placed tiny Harriet into Voldemort's grasp.
Harriet whimpered as Voldemort stared down at her.
He laughed in amusement at the fearful noise that he had elicited from the infant.
"A fine girl!" Voldemort proudly declared to everyone in the room as Harriet whined.
"Don't you think so, Lucius?" Voldemort asked hastily as he jerked his head to look behind his shoulder.
Lucius Malfoy wove through the small crowd of his comrades and looked down at the baby before he glanced back up at Voldemort and nodded, "Oh yes, my lord. She'll be a very beautiful witch when she grows up."
"A skilled witch, Lucius. Beauty alone doesn't go very far in this world. Severus is a strong wizard….I'm certain that he's been thoughtful enough to pass his talents onto his offspring. She'll make a fine bride for your son, Draco, just as I said…..Provided, of course, that I do not find a better use for her before then." Voldemort spoke.
It was obvious that Voldemort was telling Lucius, he wasn't asking.
"Of course, my lord." Lucius nodded with a feigned smile.
Lucius slunk back into the crowd with a deep frown of despair on his pale face.
No matter how esteemed Severus was in Voldemort's eyes, Lucius knew that his friend came from a background of poverty and mixed blood.
He was not eager for his son to marry Severus's child, but his choices in the matter were as limited as Lily's, who lay on the bed and watched in heart-wrenching terror while the embodiment of evil cradled her baby.
"It will be exactly as I command." Voldemort went on as he poked Harriet's tiny nose with the tip of one of his long nails.
"I'm pleased that you and Lucius have chosen to breed, Severus." Voldemort added as he looked up at his most trusted spy, "I will live forever, but alas, I cannot say the same for my loyal followers. Your progeny can uphold my noble cause in your place, once the day comes that your bodies fill your caskets."
"It is our honor, my lord." Lucius replied behind Voldemort.
"I would like to add the same sentiment as Lucius, my lord." Severus nodded.
A moment of tense silence passed.
Severus spoke in hopes of concluding the nerve-wracking visit, "My lord, Laima and I are indescribably appreciative that you have come this evening, but we would be unable to bear our guilt if we were to take up your entire night."
"Nonsense, Severus!" Voldemort hissed as his serpentine eyes snapped over to the supposed new father, "We haven't given our gifts yet!"
"Gifts…...my lord?" Severus asked as his heart fluttered with dread.
Gifts…….?
What gifts?
He and Lily didn't want any-
"Did you expect us to come on such a celebrated occasion empty-handed?" Voldemort jeered.
The Dark Lord looked over at the Death Eaters in his company and made a quick, slashing motion with his hand.
They nearly fell over each other as they rushed forward and piled the presents they had brought with them at Severus's feet.
Boxes, packages, and a couple of blankets with bows, Severus nodded to each of his assumed comrades in gratitude as they gave gifts to the baby that Voldemort was actually hunting to kill.
The gifts themselves weren't an odd occurrence, Severus knew that.
Voldemort had a taste for the dramatic and a twisted desire to make himself appear caring although he lacked the capability.
The Malfoys had also been presented with treasures when their son had been born a few months prior.
Severus himself had given the boy an enchanted rattle.
……..But……..
When Harriet started to fuss, Lily's torture ended as Voldemort at last handed Harriet back to her mother and smiled as he asked her, "And how is Mrs. Snape faring?"
Through her veil, Lily blinked at Voldemort while she wondered what she should say.
Had Severus told him they were married?
Severus formed a response before she could think, "The midwife said she's well, my lord. Forgive my impudence, but we remain unwedded."
"Unmarried!" Voldemort laughed as he turned to Severus with a sneer, "As you will, Severus, I won't meddle there. Besides…..I sense that the midwife was wrong."
Lily's pulse quickened as Voldemort narrowed his eyes to slits as he glanced over at her suspiciously.
She tried to quell her anxiety as Voldemort passed his hand over her, from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet, but she failed when she glanced over at Severus and realized from his stoic but terrified expression that he had no idea what Voldemort was planning.
"The mother seems to be in a great amount of pain….." Voldemort mused as he took his hand away from Lily.
"I-..." Lily stammered but Voldemort cut her off.
"Take your daughter, Severus." Voldemort snapped in an ominous tone.
Lily watched her lover's face fall in mortal dread.
"My lord….." Severus said in a breathless gasp of restrained protest.
"Take her, Severus!" Voldemort spat hatefully.
His harsh command earned him a terrified wail from Harriet as Severus stepped forward and plucked the crying baby from her mother's trembling arms.
Voldemort pulled out his ivory wand and pointed it at Lily while he spoke to her in a voice of feigned sympathy, "Poor, poor Laima, a foreign witch in a foreign land, scarred, silent, and in love with a man who thinks so little of her as to treat her like a whore and keep her in his house without his name or his true affection…..."
Lily swallowed thickly and braced herself for what was to come.
Severus had told her a great deal about Voldemort.
She knew that his words were a mockery, he wasn't able to feel empathy.
Severus bounced Harriet gently as her frustrated cries turned to wild shrieks.
"WWWWAAA!"
"WWWAAAA!"
"Tell me, Severus…." Voldemort called over Harriet as he turned to look at his loyal spy, "Is it true that you had a….desire…. for James Potter's lovely wife?"
Severus knew better than to completely deny that claim.
Lucius knew that he had harbored at least a crush on Lily during their school days, but Severus decided that was all he would admit to, a simple crush.
"WWWAAAA!"
"I desired her, yes, my lord in the early, foolish days of my youth. It was nothing more than a fleeting school boy's fantasy." Severus replied stoically while he continued to try and console Harriet, "There are many other women of purer blood who are much more deserving of me, such as Laima."
"WWWWAAA!"
"Be that as it may, Severus, I want everyone here to witness that I am indeed, a great and merciful lord." Voldemort said as he smirked arrogantly at everyone in the room.
Lily was glad that she was in her disguise with her face safely hidden, it spared her dignity as her tears fell.
She wasn't nearly as frightened of dying as she was being seperated from Severus and her baby, but as she watched Voldemort raise his wand at her, she braced herself for the onslaught of eternity.
"WWWWAAAA!"
"WWWWAAAA!"
Lily closed her eyes in the instant that she saw the light shoot from the tip of the Dark Lord's wand.
She internalized her daughter's cries and lamented the fact that it would apparently be the last sound she heard on earth as Voldemort chose to keep his magic nonverbal.
Severus cried out.
His shout mixed with Harriet's desperate wails as that grim burst of bright light rocketed from Severus's wand and smashed into Lily.
She felt the force shake her lithe frame helplessly and she closed her eyes as she was thrown into a pit and tumbled down, down, down to hurtle towards her death.
It only took an instant, but to Lily it felt like hours until she found herself on the same bed, in the same room, listening to Harriet's same wails, startled and shocked, but very much alive.
"WWWWAAAA!"
"Behold, Severus." Voldemort ordered with a haughty sneer as he held out his arms in a grand gesture, "A gift for you both~."
"WWWWAAAA!"
Severus stared at Lily and tried not to wail along with Harriet in relief that her mother was at least alive.
Lily was still recovering her wits when Voldemort reached over and jerked her hood down as he ripped her veil off with one, rough swipe of his hand.
The Death Eaters gasped behind him as they looked upon the face of Lily Potter.
Voldemort's spell was less effective than he thought, since Lily was already Lily, but he didn't doubt himself for a moment as he took credit for healing Laima from all of her scars, wounds, and refiguring her face, hair, eyes, and body to be exactly as the one that Severus ultimately wanted.
All Voldemort really did was give Lily a burst of energy and free her from having to wear that detestably inconvenient costume.
Lily had no interest in the Dark Arts, but as she looked up at Severus with her crimson hair as vivid as flickering flames and her green eyes shining as brightly as polished emeralds, she couldn't deny that she felt…….good.
Voldemort's gift had rid her of the aching tiredness that came with caring for an infant.
Lily didn't remember a time when she had ever had more exuberance in her life or felt so incredibly strong.
She drew in a deep breath as she looked at Voldemort and he silently answered her with a wicked smirk.
Harriet's wails continued in the background.
"WWWWWAAAA!"
"WWWWAAAAA!"
Voldemort let out a soft sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a growl as he looked over at the baby that Severus clutched and added, "Of course, I won't forget your daughter, Severus."
Before Severus could protest, Voldemort snatched little Harriet from his arms and smiled down at her red, shrieking face as he announced over her screams, "I'll bestow upon her the same priceless privilege that I shared with Lucius's son!"
"My lord…..!" Severus called.
He and Lily both rushed forward and reached out towards Voldemort, but they moved too slowly.
Pressure weighed the room down as if a great, incomprehensible force were squeezing the walls themselves while Voldemort held his wand over Harriet and let its tip glow softly with a gentle, deceptively soothing light.
It lasted only a few seconds.
Everyone gasped as they were released from that vice-like hold as the glowing light on the tip of Voldemort's wand faded away.
Harriet's cries quieted and Voldemort handed her back to her mother.
Lily barely heard him speak while she looked over her baby worriedly.
Severus gave Voldemort an incredulous look that silently asked the question which Voldemort was generous enough to answer, "A protective seal over your daughter, Severus, so that no harm may come to her. An invaluable gift, you can tell anyone who asks, from the Dark Lord himself."
"Thank you, my lord….." Severus managed to mutter before Voldemort and the Death Eaters took their leave of Severus's humble cottage.
Severus watched out the window until they all apparated away.
Only once he was certain that the danger had passed for the moment did he turn to Lily.
The emotional sob that rang out from her chest as she clutched Harriet close was difficult to hear.
Lily and the baby were alright.
Severus was nearly giddy with relief as he climbed onto the bed and pulled his lover into his lap.
He cradled her close, but the trauma of the evening and the mind-numbing sense of fearful suspense about what could have happened remained.
"Sev!" Lily cried as she buried her face in the crook of Severus's neck and clutched onto his chest, "Sev!"
"I'm here, Lily." Severus whispered in his velvety voice as he held her tightly to him and stroked her back lovingly, "I'm right here. I won't let him hurt you, my love, or the baby."
In her mother's arms, Harriet had fallen into such a deep sleep that it may have been presumed Voldemort's gift was either very taxing for her to process or that it contained sedating properties.
"I love you……" Lily whispered against the dark fabric of Severus's black robes.
Severus moved her red hair out of her face and gently lifted her chin towards him as he vowed to her in a low, serious drawl, "I will keep you both safe, until my dying day, Lily…...until my dying day."
Severus waited for Lily to respond but she chose not to utter words.
Instead, Lily crushed her lips against his in a deep, intense kiss that conveyed the level of affection most people only dreamed of every giving or receiving.
Severus took a hand to gently hold Lily's jaw and face while he nibbled at her lips, eager to give her the reassurance that she needed while she fed his soul with proof of their love.
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It was a chilly evening for the middle of September.
As a particularly chubby rat scurried along the forest floor, he shivered slightly despite his heavy fur.
Peter Pettigrew's paws slipped over the wet leaves, slick with condensed moisture and slimy mildew.
He didn't know where he was headed exactly, but he was certain that he would discover his intended target sooner or later.
When the rat stumbled upon the modest cottage that Severus shared with Lily, he raised up on his hind legs as his nose twitched in curious delight.
Under the gentle glow of the autumn moon, Severus and Lily continued to kiss, while Harriet slept in their arms.
The trio were blissfully unaware that outside, the chubby rat scampered towards them.