—————S—————

"Would you like me to do it now?" Severus deadpanned. "Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, not quite yet. I dare say the right moment will present itself."

"Oh, quite likely," Severus said, a touch of viciousness to his voice. "With an audience, I would wager. Which is why I was creating the spell. To make it appear as though you are dead until we can revive you. Only now, you've gone and gotten yourself cursed!"

"In this case, Severus, you will be saving me from what would surely be an embarrassing and painful death."

"Because Merlin forbid the wizarding world ever see you as anything less than infallible," Severus sneered. "And any spell I use? Hardly less painful. I believe my father was alive a full minute before he bled out, and had Bob not been so far gone, he'd have taken just as long."

"No, Severus. I think you must use the Killing Curse to prove yourself Tom's above all others."

Severus huffed. "An Unforgivable? You realize, of course, that you have to mean it. I may not always care for you, Albus, but I certainly don't hate you enough to kill you."

Albus smiled that damned twinkling smile, and Severus' gut churned.

"You may come to find, Severus, that you may have more reason to kill me than you think."

"I want another baby," Hermione said to him, pressed against his side, the feel of her skin against his enough to stir a desire to give her exactly what she wanted.

He smiled, turning to look at his wife. His beautiful, wonderful wife, who seemed to take to motherhood like a fish to water. She still worked, of course, lending her considerable talents to many establishments that needed a bit of Arithmancy. She was consulted frequently since some of the Master Arithmancers had gone into retirement, and Septima Vector had decided to join the Hogwarts staff. But Hermione was able to keep up with the requests while spending more than adequate time with their daughter. And for six months old, Severus thought she had a bright, intelligent gleam in her deep brown eyes that shone with curiosity and mischief.

He loved that little girl, and her existence made him love Hermione even more.

"Another? So soon?" he asked, rolling onto his side, making Hermione lie on her back. The blankets shifted in a way that nearly exposed her, and his eyes took in the expanse of skin revealed to him.

"Well, there's no saying that we'll fall pregnant anytime soon. It takes time for your body to be able to handle a pregnancy. And even if we were to right away, it would be nine months or so before the other baby would be here. Aurora would be one by then and..." she trailed off as Severus shifted over her. "I want another baby with you," she said in a hushed tone. "I want a family, a wonderfully large, loving family."

"How large?" he asked, brow raised. "Are we talking Weasley large?"

She chuckled. "Goodness, no. Three, maybe four. Definitely four. I want four."

His chest rumbled with deep laughter. "And are we trying for genders?" he asked, kissing her neck. "Or do you already know?"

She sighed. "I only knew of Aurora. I don't remember her mentioning siblings."

He peeked at her, seeing her eyes had closed in ecstasy, and he smiled against her ear as he brushed her hair with his nose. "Then we should try to make your wish for four a reality."

"I'm pregnant," Hermione said, a bit too loud for it to be solely directed at him.

"About time," he said with a smirk, taking his daughter from her as she kissed his cheek. Bouncing Aurora on his lap, he grinned as she snatched a clump of egg off his plate. "And what say you, Miss Aurora? Are you pleased to be a big sister?"

Aurora merely babbled while busily stuffing her face with egg.

"Another child," Albus said with a frown. "When could this have possibly taken place?"

"Albus," Minerva scolded, glancing out at the mass of students in the Great Hall. "It is not something we should be asking in the first place, but the location is less than tasteful."

"I merely meant that Severus is quite busy, and Hermione is often... away," he said. "How has the Ministry been?"

"Quite busy, actually," she replied as she settled in her seat beside Severus, peeling a banana to hand to their grabby daughter. "I think they want me to come aboard full time to the Department of Mysteries, but that may change with another baby on the way."

"To become an Unspeakable would be quite beneficial," Albus said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. The thoughtfulness in his eyes made Severus uncomfortable, it did not speak of good intentions.

"What did your letter from Lily say?" Severus asked his wife, ignoring the way he felt Dumbledore's eyes on the back of his head.

Hermione sighed, smiling sadly. "She's bored," she said, her eyes glistening. "James is starting to go a bit insane. No one's been there since Harry's birthday." She sniffed. "I just... I wish... but then..."

Aurora grew quiet as her mother became upset. Severus rested a hand on her arm, and Hermione took a fortifying breath. She was shaking, and he thought he saw her lips change from pink to purple from lack of oxygen.

"Sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "Hormones."

"You knew," Severus said, unable to get those two words out until the sun had risen. Everything, his head, heart, soul, ached. Hermione didn't look much better, except she hadn't moved once, not once, since he'd come home just after midnight. Aurora, thankfully a sound sleeper, had not roused for the day, and so they stayed in bed, clothed and miserable.

"Yes," she croaked. "I've had to live with the knowledge of this day for ... for seven years."

"How... how could—"

"Don't you dare, say 'how could you', Severus. Don't you dare say it!" she hissed vehemently.

"No," he said, feeling a fresh wave of tears emerge as she finally turned to face him, and he noticed just how pale she was. So pale, so much like Lily when he found her. He feared that the grief of losing their friends, the whereabouts of their godson unknown, the loss of their pregnancy, would be too much for his strong, wonderful witch to bear. "No, I would never say that. Not to you. I could say it to so many, but never you. Hermione, why would you ever think—?"

"She was your best friend since childhood and I knew from the moment I met her that she was going to die," Hermione gasped, but more out of grief than her Vow. "I knew and I could do nothing. Nothing! Not a single warning, not a bloody thing!"

"And that is exactly why I can't blame you. I can blame Albus for tucking them away in a Secret-Kept house. I can blame Black for clearly giving away the secret. I can blame the sodding Dark Lord for being so egotistical that he truly believed a child—a baby —could be his undoing. But not you. Never you."

And he finally pulled her into his arms, finally felt that he could. She went willingly and began to sob anew in his shirt, and he clutched her tightly, letting his own tears fall silently.

He'd lost Lily. Lily, whom he once thought he could have a future with, who was the first real friend he'd ever had. He would never hear her laugh or see her smile again. Little Harry had inherited nothing of hers but her eyes, and he was starting to worry he would never see them again.

He's been betrayed by Black, a man he'd begun to think of as a friend. No, a man who had become his friend. But he was a man willing to kill his friends for a psychopath.

He'd lost his second child, long before he'd ever met them.

And so, as Hermione wept, so did he, until they were both too tired to continue.

—————S—————

"Their funeral will be tomorrow," Albus announced. "I've canceled classes for the day."

"There really wasn't a need," Minerva said, filling Severus' tumbler with some of her best scotch. "Only Severus, Rubeus, and I will attend."

"True, but I feel it is appropriate for us all to take some time and mourn the loss of Lily and James Potter."

Severus scoffed. "She'd not have wanted that," he said, sipping his scotch, feeling it burn. "Potter might have, but not Lily." He then cut his gaze to Albus. "She'd also have wanted Hermione and me to raise Harry."

"And how would you explain it to your friends?" Albus asked, and Severus' lip curled at the blasé term. "No, Severus. You have a cover to protect."

"What cover?" he demanded, standing abruptly and slamming his tumbler so hard it cracked. "The Dark Lord is dead! There are no Death Eaters, no uprising, no cover to protect! There is, however, an orphaned little boy whose godfather is a lying, twisted fuck who can harm him if he has custody. I demand to know where Harry is!"

"Severus," Minerva said, a hand resting on his shoulder, but he knew she was looking at Albus.

Who was staring at him .

"What endearing terms you have for the father of the child you're already raising as your own," Albus said calmly, and Severus felt a hex dance on his fingertips.

The resounding clap of magic and deep burn on Dumbledore's face, however, did not come from him.

"How dare you say such a vile thing, Albus Dumbledore," Minerva ground out. "How dare you tarnish my niece's good name with such despicable accusations! Aurora is Severus' daughter, without a doubt!"

"Are you certain? I don't believe Severus and his wife had much contact with one another during that time."

"Then I believe you need to brush up on your basic biology, Albus, because much is not none, and that is how little time was needed for that little girl to exist."

Albus smiled, not a sincere one by any means, but he nodded his head.

"To the matter at hand," he said. "Harry will remain where he is, with Lily's sister's family, and will do so until he comes to Hogwarts."

He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised not to have seen Petunia there, but it had. The Evans had only been gone a few months now, Lily was all the family she had left. And yet, she was not there, so neither was Harry, and Severus desperately wanted to see the little boy and know he was all right. Know that he was going to be okay.

Adjusting his daughter on his hip, he knocked.

It took some time, but the door opened and a stunned Petunia Dursley stood on the other side.

"Let me in or I will start causing a scene," he threatened.

She looked at Aurora and sneered. "I'm not an orphanage."

"I'm not about to give my daughter to you," he sneered back. "If I could, I would take the boy as well. As it is, I merely wish to see him."

Petunia looked as if she tasted something awful, but Severus had to wonder if that was not, in fact, her natural state. Eventually, probably when one of the neighbors he heard leaving their home spotted him, she hurried him inside and shut the door.

He set Aurora down, much to Petunia's displeasure, and she toddled off in Harry's and a small pig's direction. Or another boy, perhaps. It was really hard to tell.

"You weren't at the funeral," he said simply as he watched Aurora plunk down to play with Harry.

"I didn't want to be around freaks," she said, crossing her arms tightly. After a moment, she asked, "Did she suffer?"

"It would have been quick," Severus replied, taking in the small boy his daughter took a liking to. The pig was too busy with cars, a mass pile of them, while Harry and Aurora were pleased with the spoon and plastic container between them. "I had best see him at Hogwarts in ten years."

Petunia scoffed. "They let people like you teach?"

"In my world, I am a respected Master in my field, the youngest in a century, married to a witch who is one of the leading in her own field," he said, not missing the way Petunia flinched at the word witch.

"I can't believe someone married you," she spit out.

"I could say the same, though looking at the thing I assume to be your son, you were the best they were going to get." Petunia's face went red, but he ignored it. "Harry will arrive healthy, happy, and well-cared for."

"If you are so concerned, take him yourself."

"As I said, if I could," he said, looking one last time at his best friend's child, "I would."

"Severus Snape!" an Auror bellowed as he came into the Great Hall. "You're under arrest for suspicion of Death Eater activity."

The students started to whisper, but Severus ignored it. He knew this would happen once Lucius was called in for questioning. He had suspected that, all things as they were, he wouldn't hear from the Malfoys again. But he'd received a Floo call from Lucius that evening, asking if they were late for cake.

While Aurora's first birthday was not what they had envisioned, it seemed oddly close to normal to have the Malfoys celebrate with them. Of course, Lucius had also come with a warning. People were talking now that the Dark Lord had fallen, and anyone mentioned as part of their group was being brought in. Most were being arrested.

Calmly, Severus stood, kissing his wife on the head, then his daughter, and then slowly went around the table with his hands out at his side. The Aurors came up to him, the tallest removing his wand from his sleeve with a silent Accio .

Severus said nothing as he was magically bound and was led from the room with his head held high.

But in his mind, he was cursing, wondering if the man who forced him into this position would come through for him.

He sincerely doubted it.

—————H—————

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do?" Hermione snarled at Dumbledore.

"He has the Mark, Hermione," he answered, shrugging as if there were truly nothing he could do about it. "I'm afraid he won't be able to explain that away."

"I never said he had to. But you asked him to. You all but branded him yourself, and you're saying you're letting him stay in prison?"

Albus rose from his chair, making his way over to his office door. "I do believe in a couple days you will be receiving your Dissolution of Marriage form. Your daughter's father is in Azkaban, Hermione. I suggest you save face in whatever way you can," he said, sweeping from the room, most likely heading down to the Great Hall.

Hermione collapsed in one of the guest chairs, trying to wrap her head around what he'd just said.

She knew Severus wouldn't stay in Azkaban, he would be her professor in ten years and would be around at least as long as Percy's tenure. But she'd been relying on Albus to speak for Severus. He had, as she reminded, been the one to push Severus to take the Mark. So how was she possibly going to get Severus out of this?

"Here," Alastor's gruff voice reminded her that she was not alone, and it surprised her to find him at her side, offering her a nip from his flask.

"Ha, why not," she said, taking a hit of whatever it was he kept in there. It was certainly his alcohol flask: the burn was intense. "I've lost my husband, my friends, my godson, and another baby all in four days. I may have known at least part of that was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier."

"Talk to that foster mother o' yours 'bout the baby. She knows that pain too well, she can help ya," he said, coming around and perching on the edge of Albus' desk in front of her. "Your godson might be better off with his aunt for now. Famous now that he is, he might be better kept away from all the hullabaloo."

She had to chuckle a little at such a ridiculous word coming from such a rough man.

"Not much you can do for yer friends. If Lupin wants to take off and sulk with his tail between his legs, it's his call. Took off mighty quick after the funeral, and I get that we all grieve different, but ya'd think he'd have stuck around for those still kickin'."

"Remus didn't just lose his friends. When Sirius was brought in, he lost his lover, too."

"Well," Alastor said nothing more on that matter. "As for your husband, I got that covered. Might take time, but."

Hermione looked up at the grizzled old wizard and felt a fresh wave of tears coming over her. "Is there anything you need from me?"

"No," Alastor said, shaking his head, a gentle smile warming his features. "No, lass, I have it."

"Order in my court!" Barty Crouch Senior called, and the room fell silent.

There were no reporters, per Alastor's orders. Every person who entered the room was forced into a Vow of Silence, as was the standard for all private trials. The remaining Order of the Phoenix was in attendance. Something, Hermione noticed, Albus didn't seem very pleased about.

A cranking sound came from the middle of the room, and Hermione looked at the caged dome rising from the floor. When her husband's head emerged, she took a sharp breath. In the years she'd known Severus, she'd never once seen him so utterly unkempt.

His hair was so heavy with oils that it nearly clung to his face. His face looked gaunt beneath the patchy beard. His frame seemed thinner in the prisoner's robes, and she suddenly wished she hadn't decided to sit through this. She was glad Aurora was sleeping in her lap.

Severus' eyes fell to her, and he seemed to drink in the sight of her and Aurora.

"Severus Snape," Crouch called, pulling Severus' gaze from them to the head of the court. "You have been brought in from Azkaban, as it has been said that you were not a willing Death Eater. Is this true?"

Severus nodded. "It is."

"Explain."

Severus glanced at Alastor, who nodded.

Severus looked down, then back to Crouch. "At the age of sixteen, I was being courted by some in Tom Riddle's inner circle. The Master I was placed with for my apprenticeship was one of his Death Eaters before his passing. It was during this courtship by the Master and the Death Eaters that I was approached by Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody with the prospect of spying on the Dark Lord, to provide them with information to lead to his defeat."

"You committed crimes under this cover?" Crouch asked.

"Yes."

"Your Honor." Minerva stood. "If I may speak?"

Crouch stared at Minerva for quite some time but nodded.

She cleared her throat. "I have known this young man since he was a boy. And he is, through marriage, part of my family. He was there when my brother was murdered by Tom Riddle's followers. My former sister-in-law is not here now, for she has found she left Britain after her husband's death. But she would attest to his character as much as I. The night the Death Eaters raided a small Muggle village, Severus immediately went to the home of my brother, his wife, and their son. He saved them with his warning. He saved my mother by letting my brother go to her, and when my brother was caught and tortured, Severus gave him a-a quick demise. He has committed crimes, but he does them only when needed."

"I can go on for days about the good this man's done," Alastor said, rising. "He doesn't deserve to be locked up."

"And what say you, Dumbledore?" Crouch asked. "You have said nothing in favor of this man and allowed his arrest at Hogwarts. Is Severus Snape a spy? Or a Death Eater capable of deceiving the best?"