Yours and Mine Chapter 9: Fairytales and Make-Believe, a harry potter fanfic

Author's note: Finally - finally - I got my shit together and have a new chapter. Enjoy!

9. Fairytales and Make-Believe

Praise be to Merlin that there had only been two months left of the term following the memorial service. Word had quickly gotten round that Severus and Callie were an item. Passing by the staff room the following morning, he'd heard Professor Sprout exclaim, "Great tap-dancing flobberworms! Damn near fell outta me seat, I did! I tell you, if I'da known the lad could snog a dame like that, I might've hopped on him meself at some point."

Disturbed as he was at such a declaration, it was preferable to Chamberlain's claims of, "I knew it! I knew he was after that girl!" in that nails-on-a-chalkboard voice of hers.

Next was Freddie Cross, who had stated in a tone of complete horror, "I got rejected by a woman who is now dating Severus Snape?"

That last one had felt rather good, the Defense teacher had to admit.

A couple of his colleagues had been bold enough to come right out and inquire about when it had happened, how it had happened, and if it was serious. "Do you remember all those times we've gotten together to chat about my personal business?"

Simultaneously, Vector and Sinistra had replied, "No."

"Exactly." After that, Severus had merely wandered away from the pair.

It hadn't only been his coworkers, but the students as well, who'd been floored by the news that their current and former professors were shagging. Exclamations of "Warbeck and Snape?!" abounded, though conversation always seemed to cease immediately whenever he passed by. On top of that, the curious looks that he'd received during lessons had caused him to feel as though he had a spotlight turned on him, which only served to increase his foul mood and biting criticisms towards his pupils.

As such, he'd been looking forward to ten weeks away from everyone, save for the woman he loved. She had a month of holiday before her second year of training began, part of which they were going to spend in Greece. Prior to that, however, she was looking to get in a bit of quality time with her godson, so Andromeda Tonks had agreed to let her bring Teddy Lupin to Hogsmeade for a week.

To say that Severus wasn't quite so thrilled about the arrangement would've been an understatement. Attempting to sound as though he'd have been doing her a favor - but in actuality, seeking an escape - he'd asked if she wanted him to keep to his quarters at the castle so as not to intrude on her time with the boy.

Having seen right through him, she'd replied, "I know you're not entirely enamored of children, but is that really necessary? To quarantine yourself for the time that he's here?" She'd seemed more amused by the idea than upset.

"Children don't take kindly to me either," he'd reminded. "My presence isn't likely to set the boy at ease."

She couldn't argue that, but said, "This isn't prison, Sev, you aren't trapped here. You can do as you please."

Despite her words, he felt that he was being tested. Disappearing for a week to avoid the presence of her godchild would hurt her more than she'd admit. Still, on the morning she'd gone to retrieve the child from his grandmother, Severus had wandered aimlessly around Hogsmeade, debating whether to return to the cottage or to hide away at the castle.

The least you could do is meet the boy, the more reasonable voice inside him argued. As though he were walking to his execution, he plodded back to the cottage to find Callie and the turquoise-haired Teddy dancing wildly around the sitting room to something by the Weird Sisters. The pair didn't notice his arrival at first, and Severus looked on in silence as Callie lifted the giggling child in the air and twirled him in a circle. It was then that she spotted the Defense teacher.

"Hey!" she greeted happily, still with her godson in her arms. "Didn't think I'd see you for a while."

Severus noted that Teddy had suddenly become much less animated, surveying the former with a look of both curiosity and fear.

"We're having a dance party," Callie said. "Care to join us?"

Apparently in her excitement she'd forgotten that he wasn't one for dancing or parties. "No, thank you," he replied stiffly.

She cut the music and brought the child forward. "Teddy Bear, this is Severus Snape. He's a special friend of mine."

The boy merely gaped at him, not knowing what to make of the strange man who did not appear particularly friendly. In return, Severus simply nodded in lieu of a verbal greeting.

Callie seemed to be the only one who was perfectly at ease. To her godson, she encouraged, "Don't be shy, love. Say hello."

He hadn't yet taken his large, pale brown eyes off Severus's, and in a small voice he spoke, "Hello, Severus Snape."

"Teddy," the Defense teacher returned curtly. Less than a minute with the child and already he was aching to get the hell out of there.

At the same time, Callie was biting back a grin at his obvious discomfort. To the boy, she explained, "He lives here too. But don't worry - he's nicer than he looks." Severus glowered at her while she set the boy on his feet and said, "Go on up and use the loo if you have to, and then we'll go to Honeydukes."

"Aye!" he squealed, running off toward the spiral staircase.

Turning back to Severus, the woman said, "I promised him the best sweet shop in all of Britain."

"Mm," Severus mumbled dispassionately.

Callie studied him a moment, before stepping forward and giving him a shake. "Bloody hell, Sev, thaw out! I've seen you look more comfortable sitting across from Voldemort." After a pause, she asked, "Why so tense? You work with hundreds of children every day."

"I detest those children," he reminded. "And I don't know how to speak to one that young."

With a shrug, she suggested, "Talk to him the same way you would talk to anyone else."

But to that, he gave her a pointed look and replied, "Have you never seen the way I talk to most people?" then wandered off into the kitchen. Callie followed.

"I would like it if you could exist with him comfortably for a few days," she said. "But it's not like I expected you'd become best friends. Really, if you don't want to be here, you can stay at the castle until he's gone."

Once again, he felt that she would secretly be hurt if he abandoned her. And he knew damn well that he was being unreasonable. He always told himself that there was nothing he wouldn't do for the woman. He would kill for her, he would die for her, he would go to the ends of the world for her. But apparently he drew the line at spending a few days with the child she loved as though he were her own.

With a sigh, he conceded, "That isn't necessary." After a beat, "Keep in mind, however, that I didn't get on well with children even when I was a child. If you're hoping I'll warm up to him..."

"All I ask is that you make a solid effort not to terrify or torment him. Beyond that, I didn't assume you would even interact much." She came forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So you're still going to be here when we come back?" she asked.

At exactly what point had he lost the ability to say no to her? It used to be so easy - enjoyable, even. "Yes," he replied. "I'll be here."

"Good." She gave him a brief kiss before saying, "Because I do need somebody to feed the poor thing."

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Watching a small child eat was distinctly off-putting. For one thing, Teddy Lupin was apparently quite particular about the way he took his meals. As Severus was pulling three filets out of the oven, Callie had reached into a cupboard and taken down a jar of breakfast syrup. With a furrowed brow, Severus had asked, "What is that for?"

To which she'd explained, "It's for Teddy. He was going through a fussy-eater phase, so one night Andromeda gave him syrup to dip his vegetables in, and now he puts it on everything."

Severus attempted to suppress a scowl as he watched the boy drench a thirty-galleon cut of meat in the sickly-sweet syrup. On top of that, the sound of open-mouthed chewing had made his skin crawl, and he'd wondered whether Mrs. Tonks had bothered to teach her grandson how to dine like a civilized being. The child's face and hands were a complete mess by the end of the meal.

Dinner was followed by Teddy's request for his auntie to play something on the piano. One of the only melodies she could manage was the Hogwarts school song, and after her own rendition, she'd allowed the boy to have a go at it himself. But of course, all he could do was bang on the keys discordantly while yelling at the top of his lungs, "HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS, HOGGY WARTY HOGWARTS!"

The Defense teacher was cringing to himself as he stood washing dishes at the sink. Unfortunately, the running faucet and the clinking of plates wasn't enough to block out the incessant caterwauling.

It wasn't until Callie had taken the child up for a bath that Severus's splitting headache had begun to abate. After reading him a Beedle story, she'd finally put him to bed, and with any luck he would remain there for the next ten or twelve hours.

Severus reclined in bed as the woman undressed, and he noted that she didn't look the worse for wear after a day of caring for and entertaining the boy. "You don't find this exhausting?" he asked.

With a shrug, she replied, "I don't get to see him all that often. I'm happy to let him exhaust me."

He wondered how she would feel about that if she'd had to do it every day, while also maintaining her career.

Callie grabbed up her wand to dim the lights, then turned to him and said, "I know this hasn't been the most thrilling day of your life, but I appreciate you staying."

"Yes, well... don't let him at the piano again."

"I can't promise that. But I won't hold it against you if you want to cast a Deafening Charm on yourself next time." She came over to the bed and straddled his lap, donned in nothing but her undergarments. Suggestively, she murmured, "I'm not all that exhausted, Professor."

With that, she leaned in to meet his lips with hers, but when she pulled back, Severus asked, with skepticism in his tone, "You actually want to have sex tonight?"

For a moment she simply gaped at him. Then, looking puzzled, "Why wouldn't I? We have sex almost every night."

As though it should have gone without saying, he reminded her, "There's a four-year-old child in the room down the hall."

Apparently she saw no problem with this. "So? We'll cast a Silencing Charm. He's not gonna hear anything."

Perhaps not, but that wasn't the only issue. "Children awaken in the middle of the night," Severus said, "for whatever reason. Suppose he comes knocking on the door because he wants a glass of water, or he needs to use the toilet." The sole bathroom in the cottage could only be accessed through the primary bedroom.

Callie argued, "I just put him down fifteen minutes ago. He was dead asleep when I left him. If he wakes up at all, it's not gonna be for a while." Smirking at him, she asked, "How long do you expect this is going to take?"

With a sigh, he shook his head to himself and said, "I don't like being interrupted when I'm trying to be intimate with you."

She threw up her hands and exclaimed, "Oh, for God's sake, Sev! How do you think couples with children do it?"

His chest tightened a bit at that, before he replied, "They don't. Very often, couples find that their sex lives are shot to hell after children come along."

She held his gaze a moment, her expression a mix of disbelief and irritation. "Are you seriously turning me down right now?" she asked. "Just because of Teddy?"

It was a rare occasion that he turned her down for any reason, but there was no hope for getting in the mood whilst a little boy was sleeping twenty feet away. Looking away from her, he declared, "We can go one night without making love."

"He's gonna be here for seven!"

Damn it, he thought. They had never gone more than a couple of days without sex, and he truly doubted whether he could last an entire week. Then again, he'd never felt as unstimulated as he did now, with the presence of the messy, shrieking Teddy Lupin hovering in the air.

Clearly disappointed, Callie climbed off of him and moved to her side of the bed. The both of them were quiet for a moment, before she said, "Your mum and dad were never... well... they didn't kiss or touch in front of you, right? In a good way, I mean."

In response to that, he gave her a look as if to say, What do you think?

With a nod of understanding, she remarked, "I never thought about it until now, but that explains why you're so repressed."

Severus did a double take. "You think I'm repressed?" he asked in disbelief.

"At times."

He sure as hell didn't think of himself that way. Not anymore, at least. Not with her.

But she went on, "You don't like public displays of affection. And you refuse to have sex with me because there's a young'un in the house."

Growing irritated, he asked, "And you would be completely comfortable with me shagging you while your godson is asleep in the other room?"

"Yes," she replied matter-of-factly. "Because I'm not repressed."

With his arms folded, he looked away from her and pondered the situation. "I resent this," he said. "If the roles were reversed and I wanted sex and you didn't, and I turned that into some sort of character flaw on your part, then you'd call me a pig."

She kept quiet as she considered that, then said in a softer tone, "You know I only want to be with you. Come on, now, seven days of nothing? You expect me to survive through that?" After a pause, she cuddled close to him and set a hand on his chest, murmuring, "Or is this all just a ploy to get me to beg?"

Oh, bloody hell! If she started with that, he was going to lose his resolve.

Next she ran her tongue along the shell of his ear and whispered the things that she wanted to do to him. Shutting his eyes in defeat, he admitted to himself that there was no possibility he was going to make it through the whole week, so finally he relented. "God damn temptress."

She was grinning triumphantly as he leaned in to kiss her. But after a few minutes, Severus paused, reaching over to dig around inside the bedside table. When he came back with a condom, Callie snatched it out of his hand and asked, "What's this for?"

In a rigid tone, he replied, "Security."

She merely gaped at him a moment, then rolled her eyes. "Oh, you have got to be kidding! In any event, condoms aren't even as effective as contraceptive potions." Being that she took the latter daily, they almost never used the former. "This is unnecessary."

Despite her logic, he suddenly felt that it was very much necessary. "Just humor me, would you? It will make me feel better."

She raised a brow at him, then shook her head to herself and remarked, "That's not what you've led me to believe up until now."

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When he wasn't preparing their meals, Severus really had no place among his girlfriend and her godson. Not that she had given any indication that he was unwelcome, but watching the pair together left him with the feeling of being a "third wheel." By midweek, he was craving time away from both the boy and the woman, and he'd found himself wandering toward the castle, though he'd made no conscious decision to end up there.

Perhaps it wasn't solitude he'd been longing for, but the company of another adult - one who was not preoccupied with fairytales and games of make-believe. Because, without giving it much thought, he'd made his way up to the headmistress's quarters. Thankfully, she had not been off somewhere enjoying her holiday.

"Rather surprised to see you here," she said, pouring him a cup of tea. "When we actually needed you around, you were frequently absent."

Despite the fact that he retained his living quarters in the dungeons, he had effectively moved himself into the cottage months ago. And since he had been spending significantly less time at the castle, McGonagall had appointed Professor Harlow as the unofficial Head of Slytherin.

Presently, Severus sighed to himself and asked, "Do you expect me to prioritize the students over the woman I love?"

"Certainly not," McGonagall replied. Taking a seat across from him, she went on, "That wasn't meant as criticism. I only thought that you'd have liked to take advantage of your time off."

"For the moment," Severus said, "that's exactly what I'm doing." He sipped his tea before explaining, "Calista is hosting her godson at the cottage for the week. I don't particularly care to be around for that."

McGonagall considered that, then asked, "Teddy Lupin, yes?"

"Mm."

The woman kept quiet for a moment. Severus could tell that she was contemplating something, and he waited for her to speak again. What she said was rather unexpected. "I can imagine that you aren't especially fond of the boy."

Taken aback, Severus said, "I'm not. But why do you assume that is?"

"Well, he's the child of Remus Lupin. The two of you never got on. Similar to the way that you abhorred James Potter, and look at how you took that out on Harry."

Truthfully, he hadn't given that matter any thought. Teddy wasn't a carbon copy of Remus, like Harry was of James, so maybe it was easier to disassociate the child from the father. Or maybe it was that he hadn't hated Remus to quite the same extent that he'd hated James. Whatever the case, he shook his head and replied, "That has nothing to do with it. I simply don't like children in general."

"Well of course - everybody knows that. But I'd have hoped you'd make an effort with your girlfriend's godchild."

"I am attempting to tolerate him."

"Oh, how sentimental of you," she replied with sarcasm.

"I'm not sentimental. She knows that about me." After a pause, "There's no reason to pretend that I enjoy having him around."

There was a moment of silence, before the headmistress asked, "And how do you expect Callie is supposed to feel about this hostility you have towards the boy?"

"I've been perfectly civil towards the boy," he countered. Once again, they fell quiet, and Severus kept his head down, absentmindedly stirring his tea as unsettling thoughts plagued him. It was several minutes before he spoke again. "Did you ever want children, Minerva?" he asked quietly, not meeting her eye.

She gave it a second of thought, and replied, "I did, once. Then Elphinstone died and I no longer had the option." After a pause, "Why do you ask?"

He hesitated to express himself. Partly because it was still a struggle to open up to anyone but Callie, and also because he didn't want to acknowledge the issue that Teddy's visit had brought up for him. "You said it yourself," he began, "everyone knows I despise children. Callie certainly knows that. I haven't tried to hide it." On the contrary, he'd gone out of his way to hammer that in. "But she gets on well with them," he continued. "She enjoys being with them. There's a distinct possibility that she's going to want some of her own one day. And if I intend on being with her for the rest of my life, it goes to follow that I would have to be the one to give them to her."

Becoming a father was not something he'd ever desired for himself. Even his fantasies of a future with Lily that he'd entertained in his younger years hadn't featured a little girl or boy with dark hair and emerald-colored eyes. But now it wasn't merely his own desires that had to be taken into account. And of all the ways in which he and Callie were incompatible, this was the one thing that couldn't be compromised on.

The headmistress took in what he'd had to say, looking rather taken aback. Finally she remarked, "I suppose I'd underestimated the extent of your commitment to one another. The two of you are discussing children?"

"No, we aren't," he corrected. "The subject hasn't yet come up." He rose up to pace the room as he went on, "But it's only a matter of time. I see the way she interacts with Teddy and I know she wants to be a mother. Eventually."

McGonagall argued, "You don't know that if you haven't talked to her about it."

"I can't assume she's unlike every other woman and wants to remain childless."

"Now that is simply ridiculous, Severus," she replied, appearing vexed. "Many women reject motherhood. So before you jump to any conclusions, how about sitting down and discussing it together?"

Yes, that would have been the reasonable course of action, but what good would come of it? "There is a foolish part of me that's hoping we'll be on the same page about this," he said, shaking his head to himself almost imperceptibly. "But I know better. And once the topic is brought up, there'll be no more pretending that this won't be a problem." He paused for a moment, before concluding, "I don't want to face it."

Again, the woman pondered everything, then replied, "But you can't ignore it forever."

No, he couldn't. But he also couldn't bear the thought of losing her over this. It was a conversation that he didn't have the heart to initiate. "You know I've barely said a word to Teddy since he's been here," he admitted. "I hardly even look at him."

With a sigh, McGonagall said, "Merlin's beard, Severus, he's only a little boy. It wouldn't kill you to be a bit more welcoming."

"It isn't Teddy himself who's unwelcome." He took a second to gather his thoughts, and explained, "I don't want to give her any idea that I would be open to the possibility of being a father. Or particularly adept at it. I want her to see for herself that I'm not made for that." He returned to his seat and shook his head again, a mix of frustration and anxiety in his expression. "Bloody hell, this is it," he declared. "This is going to be what separates us."

"Oh, Severus, don't think so catastrophically," the headmistress urged. "The girl is training to become a healer. That's a demanding profession. For all you know, she may not want to have children either."

He couldn't take any comfort in that. Not when he saw the way her face lit up when she was with Teddy. After a moment, he asked, "And supposing she does - what then?"

McGonagall considered that, and replied, "Then you'll both need to decide what you'd be willing to sacrifice, and what you're not content to live without."

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Upon returning to the cottage, Severus was met with the scent of vanilla in the air and a clattering noise coming from the kitchen. "I wanna lick the spoon!" he heard Teddy's excited voice calling out.

"You did that last time," the godmother spoke. "Too much and you'll get sick."

Severus wandered toward the pair and found the woman mixing up a bowl of batter while the boy beside her pleaded for a taste. "Please, Auntie? I won't get sick, I promise."

"No more batter," she said a bit more sternly. "But have a bite of this." She scooped up a spoonful of passion fruit and held it out to him. The boy took a look at the yellow-green pulp and his face scrunched up in disgust.

"It's icky," he declared.

"It's the same stuff that's in the icing."

The boy pondered that, and asked, "Can I eat the icing? Looks better than that yellow gook."

With a smile, Callie suggested, "Let us compromise, eh? Try the yellow gook and then you can have a teaspoon of icing."

"Ugh!" he groaned, but reluctantly powered through the bite of fruit in order to acquire his treat. Before he could get it, however, he looked up and spotted the Defense teacher hovering nearby. "Hi, Uncle Sev!" he greeted. "We're making tropi-cupcakes!"

Severus was entirely caught off guard by the child's name for him. Up until now, he hadn't really addressed the man at all. And suddenly he was "Uncle Sev."

But that wasn't the only thing that had stopped him in his tracks. The Metamorphmagus child typically sported turquoise blue hair, but at the moment it was black. Just like his godmother's - as well as his own. By God, if the three of them were to walk down the street together, people would assume they were a family.

When he didn't speak for several seconds, Callie asked, "All right there, love?"

In a quiet voice, he replied, "Just a bit taken aback." Nodding toward the boy, "I almost didn't recognize him."

The woman's expression turned a bit sheepish, and she bit her bottom lip before explaining, "Okay, so I was a little curious to see what my own kid might look like. I asked him to do it."

Damn it to hell, he thought, attempting not to convey his distress.

"It isn't weird or anything," Callie went on defensively. "He changes his hair all the time." Returning her attention to the child, she demanded, "Teddy, go ahead and change it back."

He did as told, but Severus had noted that it wasn't only the hair. The normally pale brown eyes were also black. If she had wanted an idea of what her offspring would look like, then they should have been blue-grey. But instead they were the same color as the Defense teacher's.

She hadn't made him up to look like her child, but theirs.

Once the cupcakes were in the oven, she sent Teddy up to change into a pair of swimming trunks. When the adults were alone, Severus asked, "Did you tell him to call me that?"

"Aye. What else is he supposed to call you?"

"I'm not his uncle."

"So what? I'm not really his aunt but he calls me that anyway. And Harry is 'Uncle Harry' and Ginny is 'Aunt Ginny.' It doesn't have to be literal."

To that, he had no response.

"Anyway," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "how about you come out to the lake with us?"

"No, thank you," he replied, taking it upon himself to begin cleaning up the mess she and the child had made. "You know that I enjoy neither sunlight nor swimming."

"Aye. But I do know how much you enjoy looking at me in a bikini." Severus glanced over at the woman, who made a show of slowly and teasingly popping open the bottom buttons of her blouse. The little vixen was attempting to entice him with a ruby gemstone dangling from her belly button. "Come along and help me rub oil on those hard-to-reach places," she invited, shooting him a wink.

Unaffected - or at least, pretending to be - he replied, "Such an idea isn't quite so exciting when you factor in the little boy who would be watching us."

Her shoulders sank, and with a roll of her eyes she said, "Fine, then take out those cupcakes in half an hour."

As she wandered away in disappointment, Severus called out, "Any chance they'll be edible?" Her only response was to give him the finger.

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The next couple of days were much the same as the first. Severus kept to himself while Callie entertained the child, though occasionally he would watch from the window as they frolicked in the lake, or chased each other around on brooms, keeping close to the ground. One afternoon, she had brought him to the castle to visit the myriad creatures in Hagrid's care, amazing the boy when she'd taken him for a ride on a thestral. Which, of course, had been invisible to him.

"We were flying, Uncle Sev!" he'd announced upon their return home. "Without a broom or anything. We were flying!"

Privately, the Defense teacher had asked, "Did you not tell him about the thestral?"

With a sly grin, she'd replied, "No. He was so much in awe, I didn't want to ruin it."

When they were indoors, she indulged him in fantasy games in which his set of model dragons was the cast. Another favorite pastime of the child's was Gobstones, during which he would cackle hysterically whenever one of them was shot with the stones' rancid liquid. He also enjoyed playing hunter, tracking down the "Mighty Medusa, Queen of the Serpents," whom Callie had let loose and tasked him with capturing.

Every evening was concluded with the reading of a story, and Callie would alternate between magical and muggle authors. Tonight was muggle night. Severus perused the Prophet while the woman read aloud, encouraging the boy to try and sound out a few words himself.

"'Hoh- How can we... feel so...'" He spoke slowly and with strain before trailing off.

Callie helped him along. "'Diff-er-ent.'"

"'Diff-er-ent,'" he repeated, "'and be so muh... muck-'"

"'Much.'"

"'And be so much...' er..."

Pointing to the troublesome word, the godmother spoke letter-by-letter, drawing out each sound. "A... LI - leye... 'K' sound - kuh."

"Like-y!" he shouted triumphantly.

Smiling, Callie corrected, "No, actually it's just 'like.' The 'E' is silent; you don't say it."

"Then why do they put it there?" Teddy asked.

She met his eye and explained, "Because English is weird." He appeared to be satisfied with that. She went on, "'I think this is quite a mystery,' Flap chirped. 'I agree,' said Stellaluna. 'But we're friends. And that's a fact.'"

She shut the book, and Teddy commented, "I like that one."

"Mm," Callie mumbled in agreement. "So do I. Ya know I used to have a pet bat?"

He perked up in excitement. "Really?!"

"Aye. His name was Bela."

"Like 'Stella!'" he said with a smile.

"But he was a boy."

Teddy got a curious look on his face, and asked, "What happened to him?"

At this, Severus looked over at the pair, thinking to himself, Oh, bloody hell. The truth was that Bela the bat had been killed by Alecto Carrow, as a means of tormenting the creature's owner. How was she supposed to explain that to the child?

For a moment she sat biting her lip, looking to choose her words carefully. "Well..." she began, "Bela died. And he went up to Heaven."

Without sadness, his tone unexpectedly casual, Teddy remarked, "Like Mummy and Daddy."

Severus felt as though his blood had turned to ice at that statement, but Callie remained composed as she replied, "That's right, sweetheart. And what do we say about Mummy and Daddy?"

"They're watching me from Heaven and smiling."

"Exactly." She wrapped him in her arms and declared, "And they are so proud of you for how well you read tonight." A pause. "Your Mummy's hair - I'll bet it's pink tonight. Pink for love."

She kissed his cheek, and they sat quietly for a moment. Then Teddy straightened up and said, "I wanna see Daddy."

Again, Severus turned his eyes to them.

"You wanna see Daddy?" Callie echoed. She took his hand and the both of them stood up. "Let's go see Daddy."

At this, the Defense teacher furrowed his brow as the two of them made off toward the back door. "Calista?" he called out, halting her. When she turned back to face him, he asked, "What is this?"

She locked eyes with him as she thought, rather than speaking aloud, Andromeda told him that he can see Remus any time he wants. All he has to do is look up at the moon.

Severus remained silent, and the woman left him with a soft smile before wandering off with her godson.

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All sorts of thoughts plagued his mind as he lay in bed that night, Callie cuddled up beside him, sound asleep. All the history with Lupin, their mutual loathing of each other - under no circumstance would he ever have imagined himself acting as some sort of surrogate caregiver to the offspring of his former enemy.

Oh, don't give yourself any credit. You've barely interacted with the boy since he's been here. Perhaps that wasn't a bad thing, however. Surely Remus and Nymphadora Lupin wouldn't have been so happy with him, of all people, taking care of their son.

Is this what it would be like? he asked himself. If he and Callie had a child, would the bulk of her time and attention be devoted to them? He didn't want to take part in anything she and Teddy did together, and the boy was attached to her hip all day long. The only opportunity that Severus had to be alone with her was when they got in bed at the end of the night. More than once, he'd been struck by a feeling of resentment for the boy, for whom he had been cast aside as though he were of lesser importance to the woman.

You're jealous of a four-year-old, his rational side mocked. He could cease thinking like a petulant child long enough to remind himself that he only had to endure this for two more days.

But there was still the prospect of that inevitable conversation: "I want to have children, Sev."

And I don't. So where does that leave us?

He would never have it in him to walk away from her. She would have to be the one to do it. Or else he could simply grit his teeth and give her what she wanted.

Eleven years and they'd be off at Hogwarts, he thought. And then it would just be the two of us again.

Yes - she and him. And a child whose father had never wanted them. He knew that child well enough. He was that child.

"Damn it all to hell," he mumbled to himself, releasing the woman in his arms and rising up. He made his way into the hall, intending to head down for a bourbon. But the guest bedroom door was open, and he paused at the sight of Teddy sitting up on the bed in the dark.

Looking in at the boy's wide-eyed expression, Severus spoke. "Teddy?"

In a small voice, the other asked, "Where's Auntie Callie?"

"She's asleep," he replied. "In her room." After a pause, "What are you doing awake?"

"I'm scared."

With a furrowed brow, Severus inquired, "What are you scared of?"

The child hesitated, before replying, "The leprechaun."

At this, the man's brow shot up. "I'm sorry?"

"The leprechaun. He's coming to get me, Uncle Sev."

Merlin's beard, what ridiculous fantasy was this? "There are no leprechauns in this part of Britain," Severus informed him.

Teddy insisted, "But I saw him! He was ugly, and he had bad teeth and a green hat. He was chasing me, Uncle Sev!"

Struggling to not let his irritation show, Severus muttered, "I see," then stepped into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. "You were having a nightmare," he explained matter-of-factly, "and the leprechaun you saw wasn't real. He was only in your imagination." The boy didn't look particularly convinced, but Severus urged, "Go back to sleep, Teddy. There's no leprechaun."

Such was his distress that he was on the verge of tears. "He came while I was sleeping. If I go back to sleep he might come back!"

Oh, damn it, I'm not in the mood for this. Stop being difficult. But young children were not to be reasoned with. He considered waking Callie to come and take care of it, but then he thought of all the years that he'd been haunted by nightmares himself. "All right," he said after a moment. "What if I could give you a special potion that would keep the leprechaun away while you slept?"

Dropping his eyes from the man, Teddy replied, "I don't know."

Hoping that Andromeda wouldn't be opposed to him giving her grandson a Dreamless Sleep draught, Severus explained, "I used to have my own leprechauns. I took that same potion and it made them go away."

Looking somewhat hopeful, the child asked, "Really?"

"Yes, really." He summoned a bottle of the potion, poured out a dose and handed it to Teddy. "Come along now. All of it." The child did as told, and Severus ordered, "Now lie down. Shut your eyes." Tucking him under the covers, he added, "No more leprechauns," then stood up to leave.

But the boy called out, "Uncle Sev? Will you stay here until I fall asleep?"

I really don't want to, the man thought. But with that frightened, pleading face came the idea that he would have to be a complete and utter prick to leave a little boy alone and afraid in a house he wasn't used to. Reluctantly, he returned to his spot on the bed.

Apparently that wasn't enough. "Will you tell me a story?" Teddy asked.

Merlin, you're a pain in the arse. He thought about it for a moment, then began. "Once upon a time there was a princess. A very naughty princess. Always she was getting into trouble, speaking rudely, misbehaving. And then one day, a valiant knight came along. And he said to himself, 'I really don't like this princess. She's an irritating little twit...'"

He went on until he was sure that the child was out for the night. And he never got to the part where the knight and the princess lived happily ever after.

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Callie returned the boy to his grandmother two days later, and this would have been a great relief for Severus, if not for the anticipation of what might be in store when she flooed home from England. He knew that sooner or later he was going to have to face what might be an irreconcilable issue, and so he'd decided to lay it all on the line and pray that somehow he wouldn't end up losing the best thing that had ever happened to him.

His heart ceased to beat for a moment when the green flames appeared in the fireplace. "Sorry that took so long," Callie said. "We stopped for ice cream at Florean's. I was reminded of myself and Daddy." This she said with a happy smile as she joined him on the sofa and set her legs over his lap. "Took a while to get home because he asked Andromeda if he could have a pet bat. She said yes, so I bought him one."

"Am I right to assume that he named it Stellaluna?" Severus asked.

"No, actually. He named it Flap."

They fell quiet for a moment, and Severus was working up the nerve to broach the subject of children. But every time he was about to open his mouth, a voice inside would shout, No! Don't ruin this, you bloody fool!

Suddenly the woman spoke, "Do you hear that? Listen..." He froze in place and wondered if his thoughts had projected into her mind, but after a beat, she concluded, "Total silence." Gazing around the room, "It feels so empty now."

Empty - was that how she felt when it was only the two of them?

"Ya know, I already miss him," she went on. "I almost can't wait until he comes to Hogwarts. Weekends in the village - he can visit us. This'll be the party house."

Oh, grand. But he'd been struck by her use of the word "us." As though it were a given that they'd still be together in seven years' time.

"Eh," she said, "would you mind terribly if I brought him back for a week in December?"

"Why December?" he asked.

She explained, "Because I'll have another break from the program then." After a pause, she shook her head in thought and remarked, "I don't know how working parents do it. This past week would've been impossible if I'd had to be at the hospital for eight hours every day."

The Defense teacher maintained an impassive expression, but McGonagall's words were echoing in his head - "The girl is training to become a healer. That's a demanding profession. For all you know, she may not want to have children either."

Could that possibly be the case?

He didn't want to say anything that would knock her off this track, so he simply agreed, "Yes, I imagine so."

She kept her eyes on his for a moment, looking pensive, then said, "I have to say, I really liked the sound of 'Uncle Sev.' You oughta have the students call you that."

At this, he shot her a pointed look, which was met with a devilish grin from the woman.

"So," she said, jumping up from the sofa, "now that we've got the whole house to ourselves again... what do you wanna do?"

Well, he had planned for a long and potentially painful conversation that might leave them sleeping in different beds from that night on. But once again he found himself thinking, I can't do it. Maybe she wanted children; maybe she didn't. Maybe he'd only fall deeper in love with her the longer he put it off. But he wasn't ready to see her reaction when he told her he was fine with being "Uncle Sev," but that he'd never be "Daddy Sev."

What did he want? All he wanted was to be with the woman he loved, and nothing more.

"I have a game that I think you may find rather stimulating," he drawled, rising to stand before her. "It's called 'The Naughty Princess and the Valiant Knight.'"

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Author's note: I always love hearing people's thoughts and opinions. Please review/comment. It encourages me :)