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's friends had been quick to congratulate him on the birth of his second child.
Ellery had only been in the world for a fortnight when the Malfoys visited the Snapes' humble cottage one afternoon.
Harriet sat on Severus's lap while Draco stood next to his mother's knee with a frown as he looked at the other family.
"He's incredibly handsome, Severus." Narcissa smiled.
There was a sharpness in her blue eyes that Lily didn't appreciate as the witch across from her paid her husband a compliment but purposely chose to neglect her.
"Thank you, Narcissa…..Laima and I are very proud." Severus replied as he stretched his arm around Lily while they sat side by side on the sofa.
The baby whimpered slightly in his mother's grasp, which prompted Lily to glance down and cuddle him closer.
"I'm glad that you can finally know the joys of having a son, Severus." Lucius nodded, although his grey eyes briefly skimmed over Lily's amplified curves.
Severus scowled at his friend's glance before Lucius met his stare as if nothing had happened.
"It feels lovely, doesn't it? The security that there will be someone to carry on your legacy one day." Lucius quipped.
"Both of my children have my full affection, Lucius." Severus nodded, "However…..I am relieved that my son's entry into this world went well."
"Of course." Lucius agreed, "The anticipation is the worst part."
"I beg to differ!" Narcissa chided with a laugh as she threw Lucius an irritated smirk.
"For husbands, it is, 'Cissa." He shrugged.
Lily remained quiet as she cuddled her baby, relieved that she had the excuse of not knowing English well.
While she had no issue with Lucius, she felt little desire to engage in conversation with Narcissa.
Harriet tried to wriggle off of Severus's lap until he helped her down to the floor.
He watched as she toddled over to Draco, picked up some of her toys from the floor, and began to show them all in great detail.
The conversation fell silent as the adults looked on and watched their children play.
Lily used a concealing spell once baby Ellery whimpered from hunger to give her small son his meal while the others were distracted.
Once his tiny tummy had been filled, the infant fell asleep.
Harriet and Draco weren't far behind him as they yawned and used their tiny hands to rub their large eyes.
It surprised Severus when Lily gently passed the baby to him and stood from the sofa.
As she glanced over, Severus used a quick, nonverbal bit of Legilimency to read her thoughts before he looked at Narcissa and nodded, "You're welcome to use Harriet's nursery if Draco needs to rest."
"Oh, that's alright, Severus. He usually stays awake in the afternoons." Narcissa answered politely.
Lucius gently elbowed his wife in the ribs as he whispered, "No, he doesn't! Don't be difficult, take the boy upstairs."
Narcissa threw her husband a scowl before she smiled tersely at Laima and stood to her feet.
Together, the two women walked over to their drowsy children before they lifted Harriet and Draco into their arms.
Lucius and Severus were left alone in the living room after their wives carried the toddlers up the stairs.
"He's a fine lad, Severus." Lucius nodded at the sleeping, black-haired baby in his friend's arms.
"Thank you, Lucius." Severus replied, "It is my sincerest hope that he'll grow to be strong."
A silent moment passed between the two friends.
Lucius's expression of cordial happiness fell away.
Severus's face slipped into a frown as he remarked, "...I can see the worry in your eyes."
"Then you can clearly observe that I'm beside myself with doubt and deliberation, day and night." Lucius sighed.
Severus's frown became even more anguished as he watched Lucius's bold confession shatter his usual, stoic demeanor.
"...Over what we witnessed in the forest?" Severus asked.
"Keep your voice down!" Lucius snapped.
Severus blinked at his hateful outburst before Lucius held up a hand in a gesture that Severus took as more pleading than demanding.
He heaved a great breath before he closed his grey eyes for a second, opened them, and revealed, "Narcissa knows nothing of that night."
Severus furrowed his brow as he drawled, "...May I ask when you plan on telling her?"
"First, I'm desperately trying to sort out our problem!" Lucius hissed.
Severus studied the etched lines that stress had carved into Lucius Malfoy's face as his longtime friend exclaimed, "Severus, what are we going to do?!"
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Lily used her ruse to the fullest extent as she and Narcissa laid Harriet and Draco down for a nap in Harriet's cot.
By the time their little heads hit the plush pillow, both of the children were fast asleep.
Mrs. Snape and Mrs. Malfoy stood next to the cot for a moment while they watched Harriet and Draco rest.
Lily expected to return downstairs as silently as she had come, but Narcissa surprised her when she unexpectedly reached out and clasped her hand.
Narcissa looked over at Lily as Lily blinked back with wide eyes.
"Thank you." Narcissa said to Lily with genuine sincerity in her voice.
"I……beg….your pardon?" Lily asked slowly, eager to maintain her deception of struggling with English.
"Thank you for giving Severus a family." Narcissa elaborated as she nodded again, "He deserves this happiness."
Lily looked directly into Narcissa's blue gaze as the other witch's stare bore into hers.
She found the moment surprisingly moving as Narcissa squeezed her hand tightly before she let go, stepped past Lily, and walked out of the nursery.
Lily blamed it on her postpartum hormones, but as she stood there for a moment while she pondered Narcissa's touching statement, tears welled in her emerald eyes.
She blinked them back as a wide smile danced across her lips after she peered down into the cot again.
In their sleep, little Harriet and Draco had cuddled against each other, soothed by one another's warmth as they skipped through pleasant dreams.
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Lucius and Severus met for occasional meetings after that day.
The two men gathered under the pretense of aiding the Dark Lord, but really, their conversations during those moments consisted of whispered ideas about potential ways to bring about his destruction.
Neither of them heard anything further from Yaxley or Voldemort.
After several months of peace, in the blur that came with living a happy, domestic, family life, both Severus and Lucius became too comfortable with the sublime humdrum of each passing day.
As Lily healed, Harriet played, and little Ellery grew, Severus felt his fascination with his wife and children grow.
Lucius retreated to his mansion, his millions, Narcissa's lap, and his son's attention during the times that he brought Draco with him on his business errands.
One evening, soon after the new school year had commenced, Severus rummaged through a trunk in the bedroom he shared with Lily while she waved her wand around in the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Baby Ellery lay swaddled against her chest in a sling.
Harriet sat on the floor and flipped through the picture book she held in her hands.
At least five different pots had been filled with food for the evening's meal.
Between the cooking and the baby, Lily didn't have much focus to spare on other matters.
Over the noise of the kitchen and the baby's little whimpers, she failed to hear the quiet knock that came at the door.
The sound was slight and it escaped Severus's notice as well while he stood upstairs and scowled down at the items in his trunk, frustrated that he couldn't seem to find one particular ancient potions book he needed to reference.
From her position halfway between the kitchen and the dining room, Harriet was the only one in the house who heard the knock.
She blinked as she clutched her picture book, stood to her tiny feet, and scurried over to the door.
Harriet watched as the lock unlatched itself and the door slid open.
A smile crossed her face as she recognized her old friend.
As resourceful as ever, Voldemort had succeeded in securing a body that looked very similar to the one he had lost.
From his towering height to his serpentine eyes, most children would have screamed and ran after taking one look at the Dark Lord's pale skin and blurred features, but Harriet greeted him fondly, "Hello!"
"Well….hello, little one." Voldemort purred to his favourite child in an eerily calm voice.
Harriet raised her arms towards him in silent expectation.
The Dark Lord had never been one to turn down a potential follower.
A wicked grin cracked across his thin lips as he bent forward and swept Harriet up into his arms.
As he moved, his long, dark robes swished over the floor of the Snapes' cottage like furls of ominous, black smoke.
While Severus and Lily had their backs turned, Voldemort grinned at little Harriet as he walked over to the simple dining table and casually sat at its head.
Harriet settled herself on his lap and laid her book down on the table, eager to show her friend some of its best pictures.
She glanced up to make sure she still had Voldemort's attention as she flipped through the pages.
His frigid stare seemed devoid of all human sympathy but Harriet felt perfectly at ease as she leafed through her book.
While she busied herself, Voldemort decided to quiz Severus's daughter.
"What's that?" He asked as he pointed a long, skeletal, pale finger to a page with an illustration on it.
"Dragon." Harriet nodded.
"Very good." Voldemort grinned. He watched as Harriet turned a couple more pages before he slipped his finger in front of the child again and asked, "What is that?"
Harriet blinked at the image for a moment before she looked up at Voldemort in confusion.
"Thestral." Voldemort informed her with a sinisterly joyful smile, "Can you say 'Thestral', Harriet Snape?"
"The——-sal?" Harriet blinked.
"That's close enough for now, I suppose." Voldemort chuckled mirthlessly, "They're known as the horses of nightmares…….and can only be seen by those who have witnessed death."
Harriet stared at her friend curiously.
She was far too young to understand but Voldemort's grin only widened as he hissed, "Do you know what death is, Harriet Snape?"
It was at that exact moment that Lily finally turned around.
If baby Ellery had been in her arms instead of his sling, she would have dropped him to the floor.
Lily's wand fell from her hand as a gasp of horrified shock left her throat.
Her emerald eyes widened.
She shrieked before she stopped herself, "AAAAAGGGHHH!"
Severus dashed down the staircase after he heard his wife's terrified shout as baby Ellery shrieked in protest at his mother's loud exclamation
"WWWAAAA!"
"WWWWWAAAA!"
Severus glided off of the stairs, rushed into the dining room, and frantically glanced around the small kitchen.
Lily clutched their baby.
Severus's mouth fell open.
Harriet stared down at her picture book as if nothing was amiss, but Voldemort looked up with an evil grin.
He enjoyed the chaos his appearance had caused as he smirked while his snakelike eyes flickered between Severus, Lily, and little Ellery.
"Oh my, Severus!" Voldemort laughed, "It appears your family has grown in my absence."
"WWWWWAAAA!"
Severus glided over to Lily and stepped in front of her protectively as he nodded, "Yes, my lord……it has, indeed."
Mr. and Mrs. Snape had previously entertained Voldemort in their home.
They knew that the Dark Lord was aware of their cottage's location, and yet……..seeing him there, unannounced, at their dining table, with Harriet on his lap, felt like an intolerable invasion.
"Congratulations to you both, then, Severus, Laima." Voldemort nodded at Lily and Severus.
Lily nodded back but Severus barely managed to do the same as he clenched his jaw.
"You've found a new body, my lord." Severus whispered.
"I have, yes!" Voldemort cackled, "Severus, my most loyal servant! It is you I chose to reveal myself to first! Perhaps I can enlighten you this evening? And give a gift to your newest little one, if you'll allow it?"
Severus and Lily both wanted to scream.
Instead, Lily forced a polite smile on her face while Severus nodded, "Of course, my lord. It will be our honor to have you as our guest tonight."