Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—————————————————————
Severus and Lily took Harriet home to their small cottage as soon as they had recovered enough from their shock to apparate.
They cuddled their distraught baby while they slept holding each other that night after the little family laid down in the bed that Severus and Lily shared.
By morning, word had already spread throughout the wizarding world about the events of the previous evening.
Dumbledore knew about the meeting that Severus had arranged with James.
Peter Pettigrew knew that the Dark Lord had gone to eliminate the child with the power to kill him.
Gossip spread like weeds that Voldemort had been defeated, but more rumors circulated that James Potter's son had also died in the process, at the hands of the dark wizard after his father valiantly gave his life trying to protect him.
Both statements were incorrect.
—————————————————————-
Early one November morning, shortly after sunrise, Severus stood in Dumbledore's office as he and the leader whom he secretly served held a private discussion.
"It really is a shame about James." Dumbledore nodded.
Severus maintained a look of respectful neutrality but he offered no sympathetic words towards his enemy's death.
Dumbledore expected no differently and without hesitation he went on, "Surely you realize, Severus, that Tom did not perish that night."
"I saw the cloud of his own remains floating in the air, sir." Severus nodded, "His body was no more…..How could he have possibly survived?"
"There are ways……..unfortunately." Dumbledore grimly revealed as he frowned for a moment, "Tom had attained too much power…….it will take far more than a rebounding curse to erase him completely from this world. Have you heard anything about his potential whereabouts?"
"I have not, sir." Severus replied honestly, "The members of his elite are distraught…….They believe the war to be lost, which it is, of course, but ultimately lost. Most of his supporters are beside themselves with grief."
"As is often the case with infectious, charismatic leaders such as Tom." Dumbledore nodded, "Tell me, how is Harriet doing, Severus?"
"Well, sir." Severus answered, "She cried herself to sleep on…..on that night, while her mother and I held her, but the next morning she had returned to herself. She does seem to bear a scar on her forehead now…….It appeared on her flesh just after the attack, in the shape of a lightning bolt."
Dumbledore blinked for a moment as Severus added, "...Her mother and I are not sure what to make of it."
"Neither do I." Dumbledore replied with a curious frown, "There is no record of any person surviving the Killing Curse before…...It may, as you suggested, have something to do with the protection spell that Tom cast on her, but my personal opinion is that Trelawney's prophecy is truer than any of us would have guessed."
A silence fell between them before Dumbledore asked, "...And Lily is well?"
"Indeed, sir." Severus nodded.
Dumbledore noticed the way that Severus's chest seemed to swell with adoring pride at the mere mention of his precious flower.
His thoughts were interrupted as Severus asked, "...What are we to do now?"
"I'm afraid there is not much that we can do now, Severus." Dumbledore wisely replied, "Except to live and love…...and wait. Tom's return will come, I am certain, and when it does, we must be ready."
"What about my daughter?" Severus asked before he could stop himself.
The slightest hint of a smirk curled Dumbledore's lips as he asked, "Your daughter, Severus?"
Severus frowned at the tone in Dumbledore's voice before the elderly headmaster went on, "The safest place for the girl will be exactly where she is now….with her mother and with you. Lily Evans and yourself are the most capable people in our world of protecting the infant…..for several reasons."
Severus nodded in response as he held his tongue and resisted the urge to correct Dumbledore.
Harriet's mother wouldn't be Lily Evans for long, soon, she would be Lily Snape.
—————————————————————
As a new sense of normal gradually settled over Britain's magical world in the months that followed the conclusion of the first wizarding world war, Severus and Lily quietly went about their lives with little Harriet.
The Death Eaters scattered like ashes in the wind as the Ministry arrested one after another and brought them in for trial.
Many were sent to Azkaban.
Others managed to flee into the shadows.
Lucius and Narcissa were fortunate enough to buy their way out of a lifetime in prison.
Severus, Lily, and Harriet remained under Dumbledore's protection.
While everyone else was busy picking up the pieces, seeing to their own survival, or plotting ways to get revenge on their enemies, Severus and Lily quietly became Mr. and Mrs. Snape in a small chapel late one spring evening.
Harriet was cuddled in her mother's arms while she blinked curiously as she watched Severus and Lily take their vows.
"To honor and obey, till death do us part, I take you, Severus Snape, as my husband." Lily spoke very solemnly while she looked at Severus with tears glittering in her green eyes.
As she bounced Harriet in one arm, she let go of Severus's hand for a second to wipe the wetness from her eyes.
Severus drew in a breath as he contemplated how genuinely ethereal Lily looked as she stood in front of him.
She wore an ivory, satin dress with lace glovelets that reached across her knuckles and looped over a single finger.
To the world, Lily was a beautiful bride.
To Severus, Lily was a beautiful queen.
After she dried her tears and took his hand again, his onyx stare softened into molten ore as he gazed deep into her soul while he promised, "...To love and protect, till death do us part, I take you, Lily Evans, as my wife."
Harriet smiled as the officiant who stood in front of the happy couple nodded and spoke, "I now pronounce you, Mr. and Mrs. Snape! Mr. Snape, you may now kiss your bride."
Lily gasped happily as Severus took just a brief second to drink her in, exactly as she was, before he stepped forward and pressed his lips sweetly against his beloved's.
Mrs. Snape.
Severus's small family was nearly complete.
—————————————————————
The kiss that Lily and Severus shared in front of Harriet and the officiant was incredibly innocent compared to the hungry way their lips met that night after they had placed their sleeping baby peacefully in her nursery.
Their sheets were damp with sweat and they both gasped for breath, but neither Mr. nor Mrs. Snape seemed to mind.
Severus and Lily spent the majority of the night consummating their marriage in every position their bodies would allow while they enjoyed every physical pleasure that two lovers could experience.
They had chosen to marry in the middle of the school year.
The Snapes understood that their honeymoon would have to be taken at a later date due to Severus's professional obligations, but they remained blissfully happy.
As Lily looked down at Severus while she rode him like a war horse, his dark eyes were wide in stupefied awe as he watched her scarlet hair wave behind her while her breasts bounced obscenely.
Severus belonged to Lily and Lily belonged to him.
A honeymoon wasn't necessary when every day felt like a holiday.
—————————————————————-
When the school year ended, Severus and Lily did take Harriet on a week-long trip to a remote cabin close to the sea.
The journey proved to be the tranquil, relaxing break that the entire family needed after such a long time filled with turmoil and punctuated by unending worry.
A few weeks later Harriet celebrated her birthday in two separate parties held at Severus and Lily's cottage.
The first party was attended by the remaining Death Eaters.
The Malfoys were present, along with a few others.
Severus and Laima had to keep up appearances that their true loyalty remained to the Dark Lord and his cause.
Harriet's second party, which occurred the day after the first, was attended by Severus's mother and Lily's parents, whom the couple had discreetly notified about their daughter's survival.
As Lily watched little Harriet eat her piece of cake at both of her parties, she couldn't help but feel a bit bittersweet.
The relief that the war had ended was immeasurable, but it saddened Lily to see her baby growing up so quickly.
—————————————————————
Father's Day in the wizarding world was celebrated on the tenth of August.
Lily did everything she could to make that Saturday special for Severus.
She baked the lemon shrewsbury biscuits he preferred, prepared his favorite foods, and ensured that he spent the day doing whatever pleased him.
It touched Lily that her husband requested to pass the day by being near her and Harriet.
After the family shared a delicious dinner together, Harriet presented Severus with a very detailed drawing of their family that she had created for him.
He sat on the sofa that evening while he looked at the crayon-embellished parchment as Harriet gazed at the paper with him.
Lily had gone upstairs to fetch something, which gave him time to examine his gift from his generous little girl.
"Who is that?" Severus asked Harriet as he pointed to a black figure.
"Daddy!" She cried with a happy, toothy grin.
A pink scribble sat next to the black figure on the page.
"And who is that?" Severus drawled as he pointed to the pink splotch.
"Mummy!" Harriet squealed.
A purple streak between the black and the pink prompted Severus to ask her next, "...And who is that?"
"Me!" Harriet laughed as she grinned up at Severus.
She rolled her head back against his chest but his eyes narrowed in on a green speck just to the right of Harriet's figure on the parchment.
At first, Severus thought the green speck was a mistake, but as he looked closer, he could see the purposeful smears of colored wax that Harriet had placed there to commemorate something.
"...What is that?" Severus asked Harriet as he pointed to the green mark on the page with narrowed eyes.
Harriet giggled mischievously at Severus while she put a hand in her mouth.
"Are you not going to tell Daddy what that is?" Severus frowned.
Harriet blinked at him until Lily came down the steps and reached out her arms towards the small girl.
"Up we go, sweetheart! Time for bed!" Lily called as she walked over and retrieved Harriet from Severus's lap.
Harriet gave Severus a kiss on his pale cheek before Lily carried her away up the stairs.
Alone on the sofa, Severus frowned to himself.
The green dot on Harriet's drawing worried him.
Professor Snape didn't understand that his little girl sensed things that he hadn't yet noticed.
Lily was happy that he didn't.
It made her Father's Day surprise for her husband all the more sweeter.
In the warmth of the summer evening, the fireplace had not been lit and that provided a perfect passage for mail to travel into the Snapes' cottage.
A letter fell down the chimney and onto the dry hearth with a soft smacking sound that caused Severus to glance over.
He scowled as he stood from the sofa, glided to the fireplace, and took the letter into his hands.
The envelope bore an address:
Somewhere very close to you
Severus scowled as he slit the envelope and pulled the parchment out to read over the lines it contained:
Happy Father's Day!
I hope you are doing well, Daddy. I can't see you yet, but I suppose that you and I will meet each other soon. I'm safely hidden away for now, but I'm very excited to come and join the family. I love you very much.
The resident in Mummy's tummy
Severus felt his mouth go dry as he finished reading the letter and mused over its words.
His heart pounded in his chest as realization dawned on him.
Lily came down the stairs again a moment later and he looked up from the letter with his expression softened by loving adoration as he cried out to her, "Oh, Lily…….!"
She laughed as a happy smile lit up her face while Severus rushed forward.
While he gently swept her into his arms for a loving kiss, he wrapped her in his protective embrace as they both shared the joy of the life that was ahead of them and the new life to come.