A/N Apologies for the massive delay in updating! I've been ridiculously busy and will likely continue to be so. However, I'll keep trying to plod on with this story, and I hope, at least to some extent, the length of this chapter makes up for the delay!

Chapter Two: Happy Accidents

Nathaniel had his arm inside The Romanian Puzzle Box practically up to the shoulder. 'Is there anything in here about me?' he complained as he rummaged about, occasionally withdrawing an item only to be disappointed that it was a photograph of Erin, a ticket to a show Hermione had dragged Severus to, or an invite to one of his Uncle Harry's birthday parties.

'There's plenty,' Hermione assured him. 'Oh, what about that?' she added, pointing out a piece of folded card with 'St. Mungo's - Maternity Ward' written on it in a fine, sloping script. Nathaniel pulled out his hand and the card with it, opening it up to reveal a blurry ultrasound photograph. An indistinct shape in the centre of it wriggled and writhed.

'Is that me?' he asked, squinting at it.

'Yeah,' Hermione replied, also narrowing her eyes in an attempt to make sense of the picture. 'Somewhere in all that. How about the story of how you came to be?'

'Ugh,' Isaac protested. 'I don't think we need the gory details about that!'

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'I quite agree,' she chuckled, 'but what about what happened after that bit? It was all rather…' she trailed off, trying to think of the right word.

'Melodramatic,' Severus finished for her.

Hermione faux-glared at him. 'If it was it melodramatic it was your fault!' she told him, 'anyway, I was thinking more… interesting,' she said, 'it was all rather interesting!'

~oOo~ Fourteen Years Earlier ~oOo~

The irony was not lost on Hermione. The decision to send the twins to nursery had been difficult enough, but they'd reasoned that it would be good for them; they'd get to play with other children their age, learn about Muggle society, which would do them no harm when they came time to go to Hogwarts, it would provide an opportunity for Hermione to return to work full time, perhaps finally get the promotion she'd been chasing for the past twelve months, and Severus would be able to expand his business.

'It isn't the wizard way,' Severus had initially protested. 'I can teach them here.'

But Hermione had been skeptical of his plan. As someone who had experienced his teaching style, she wasn't sure it was something she wanted Erin and Isaac subjected to, not at the age of three. 'But you're always saying,' she reasoned carefully, 'how tired you are, how you could have fulfilled a big order for St. Mungo's if only the children hadn't woken up from their naps…'

And in the end it hadn't taken too much to persuade him. It was for the best, they agreed, and so the twins had been enrolled at the local nursery. Erin had taken to it immediately, leaving Hermione unsure how she should feel when the moment they'd stepped through the door her daughter had grown wide-eyed and then skipped off in the direction of the arts corner without so much as a glance back. Isaac had been more reticent, of course. He'd clutched at Hermione's hand until his teacher could manage to prise them apart, and then he'd cried long after Hermione had reluctantly left him to head to work.

'I'm not sure I can stand that every morning,' she'd told Severus that evening. 'He'll end up with some sort of abandonment complex.'

Severus had raised his eyebrow. 'He'll settle down,' he'd said, and he'd been right. It had taken much longer than his sister but eventually Isaac had seemed to enjoy it and Hermione and Severus had felt comfortable that they had, indeed, made the right choice. Hermione had received her promotion a few months later and Severus had spent his time developing a new anti-venom for Acromantula bites which was currently being trialled at St. Mungo's.

But now it would appear there had been another development, and, as Hermione read the instructions on the back of the pregnancy test box, she couldn't help but marvel at the irony - two kids finally off to school and she finds herself pregnant with a third - though she was distracted in the next moment by the front door opening and Erin coming flying through it. Hermione had just enough time to conceal the pregnancy test back in her handbag before her daughter had flung herself into her mother's arms.

'Mummy!' she shrieked joyfully.

'Hi baby,' Hermione replied, stirring abruptly from her thoughts. 'How was nursery?'

'Brilliant! Look, I made a painting!' she giggled, holding out a piece of paper covered in splotches of primary coloured paint.

'Wow, that's… beautiful!' Hermione said, frowning as she tried to decide which way up it was supposed to go, or indeed, what it was supposed to be.

'Erin!' Severus growled, coming through the front door with Isaac, and numerous lunch boxes and book bags, in his arms. 'What have I told you about running off like that?'

'I told you mummy was home,' Erin replied.

'And so she is,' Severus said with a quizzical frown, groaning as he put Isaac down on the ground. 'You're getting too big to carry,' he told him.

'No,' the boy replied simply.

'Yes!' Severus insisted.

Hermione smiled. 'Come and give me a hug, Isaac,' she urged, holding her arms out to him. He came forwards more slowly than Erin had, though no less eagerly, and fell into them.

'I wasn't expecting you back this early. I was hoping to clear up a bit before you finished work,' Severus said, indicating the unwashed pots in the sink and the children's toys on the hallway floor.

'Don't worry about that,' Hermione assured him, 'I wasn't feeling very well so they sent me home.'

'Again?'

Hermione shrugged. 'I'm sure it's nothing a bit of fresh air won't sort out. I could take the kids to the park, tire them out?'

'If you're sure?'

'I think it's just what I need,' she said, feigning a smile. 'Come on you two! Let's go to the park, shall we?' Following a chorus of enthusiasm from the twins, Hermione picked up her handbag, kissed Severus fleetingly on the cheek, and hurried out of the door.

One side of Spinner's End, the side in which number seven, their house, stood, was always in shadow, but at this time in the afternoon the opposite side still basked in the mild warmth of the Spring sun, which just managed to peak over the roofs; so taking the children's hands Hermione marched them across the street. The rows of terraced houses, with their similar grey fronts and the narrow alleys which ran between them made Cokeworth almost labyrinthine. It had taken Hermione months when they had first moved here to learn the shortcut to the park, but today they were taking the long route.

She told herself that she just needed time to do the test, confirm her suspicions, and then she would tell Severus, but she knew deep down that this was all simply elaborate procrastination. The fact of the matter was, she was terrified of what his reaction was going to be, perhaps she was even a little worried about what her own reaction would be if that test came back positive.

'Mummy, can we get some sweets?' Erin asked as they passed the corner shop.

'What did Daddy say when you asked him that exact question on the way home from school?' Hermione replied, somewhat absently.

'He said "no,"' Erin conceded.

'Then there's your answer,' Hermione said. 'You'll be having your tea in a bit.'

'Ow,' Erin complained.

'You didn't ask nicely,' Isaac said. 'You have to say "please."'

Erin looked as though she might be about to protest but was then quickly distracted as they turned another corner and the park came into sight. Clutching both their hands just a tad more tightly, Hermione led them across another road, releasing them only when their feet were solidly on grass.

'Go,' she told them, 'be free.'

Erin ran off immediately to the slide, while Isaac found himself a stick from under a nearby tree and instead ran around the pretending he was slaying dragons with a sword. The whole park and he chose to play with stick, Hermione mused. She found her children endlessly fascinating. When she was younger she had never specifically imagined children in her future. She'd imagined a career and a town house in London. She would attend charity galas and dinners with influential people. There was, perhaps, a husband who might attend alongside her, but never really any children and 'maybe one day' had been her customary response when asked. Actually, now she thought about it, there might have been a phase when she had flirted with the idea of a daughter, an Arithmancy prodigy, but it had been fleeting.

Needless to say, her life had not turned out how teenaged-Hermione imagined it would, and adult-Hermione could not have been more grateful, though she couldn't help but wonder how a third child might unsettle equilibrium of their little family.

Severus appeared more settled than she had ever seen him; demonstrably happy. It had taken him a long time after the trial to truly be this way. At first he hadn't allowed himself to relax, never trusting that The Ministry would let him get away with making fools of them again, not believing that they wouldn't find something else to accuse him of, to incarcerate him in Azkaban for. If he heard voices in the street, he would be straight up at the window to check it wasn't more Aurors come to escort him from his home, and if the Floo flared green his instinctive reaction was to reach for his wand. But no one had come, and in time he had accepted that they weren't going to. He had allowed himself to properly enjoy the children, enjoy being a father, enjoy his work, and being with Hermione. It was all cosy, and domestic, and normal, in the best sense of the word. There had been no more surprises. No attacks, no illnesses, no trials. No pregnancies.

She reminded herself that she wasn't even sure if she was pregnant. Alison from work had been off with a bug the other week, it could well be that. Of course, a bug wouldn't explain why Hermione had struggled to fasten her jeans every morning for the past week and a half, but still, it could be a bug.

'Mummy, push me!' Erin suddenly demanded, disturbing Hermione's reverie. The child had managed to clamber into one of the swings and was kicking her feet hopelessly in an attempt to propel herself.

'Ask nicely!' Isaac reminded his sister, stick still in hand.

Erin pouted at him. 'Please!' she said.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. The children were endlessly fascinating to her.

~oOo~

Later that evening, with the children in bed and Severus apparently satisfied that she was tired but otherwise fine, Hermione lay in the bath running her fingers over the ever-so slight convex of her stomach. Her skin felt silky in the warm suds. The pregnancy test lay on the closed toilet seat, taunting her. She was trying to avoid it with her eye, but her subconscious kept drawing her back to it. She was just thankful that from her position here in the bath there was no way she could have seen the results.

Once her fingers and toes had turned prune-like, Hermione lifted herself from the tub and dried herself down, pulling on a pair of unflattering flannel pyjamas and a thick terry towelling bathrobe. It was no use delaying the inevitable any longer. She picked up the test and examined it for those thin blue lines.

~oOo~

A short while later she shuffled downstairs and into the living room, where Severus was sat reading one of his potions journals. 'Feeling better?' he asked, peering at her over the top of it.

'Not really,' she admitted, offering him a weak smile. He shifted as though expecting her to sit beside him but she opted instead to sit on the other settee. A flicker of disheartenment crossed Severus's features but beyond that, if she'd offended him, he didn't let on.

'Can I get you anything?' he asked instead.

'No… thanks.' He looked at her strangely, perhaps suspiciously, and then, with the slightest of shrugs returned to his journal. Hermione chewed her bottom lip throughout a protracted silence. 'Actually, Severus,' she said at length, 'there's something I need to tell you.' The words had burst from her before she quite knew what she was doing. She might regret not thinking this through more carefully.

'Finally,' he said. He lowered the journal but did not close it, instead keeping it open across his chest like a shield.

'Finally?' Hermione questioned.

'You've been keeping something from me for at least a week now,' he explained, eyebrow raised.

Hermione felt her cheeks flush. She ought to have know he would have noticed something was wrong. 'You never said anything?'

He let out a deep chuckle. 'I wanted you to tell me of your own accord…' He paused, frowning suddenly. 'Your illness is nothing serious, is it?'

Hermione managed to issue him a weak smile. 'I'm not ill,' she replied meekly. 'I'm pregnant.'

His expression shifted, like a shadow passing over his face, and he looked suddenly stricken, as though she'd pierced him with something sharp, not told him she was having a baby. He brought a hand up to his chest and rested his palm against his sternum, his breathing shallow and fast.

'I…' Hermione began, but she was interrupted by Severus raising his spare hand to silence her.

'Shut up,' he said. His tone wasn't unkind, precisely, but Hermione could sense from it that he was struggling.

She waited patiently, silently, for what seemed an awfully long time, until he appeared to have returned to his senses. 'That wasn't the reaction I was expecting,' she said at length, her joviality tinged with unease. She moved to sit next to him and now she was closer she could practically sense the tension in him. 'It's bad timing, I know, but-'

'-It's not that,' he croaked suddenly, 'the timing is certainly no worse than it was when we had the twins… you're absolutely sure?' There was perhaps a fleeting, flicker of a smile that passed across his lips.

'I took a Muggle test - I know how you feel about Muggle things, maybe now you can make me a potion to see for sure - but the Muggle test was positive, yes. And it would explain how I've been feeling,' she said. Severus nodded contemplatively and then sighed somewhat resignedly, half shrugging as he slumped against the back of the settee. She watched him silently for a moment, his expression fluctuating somewhere between bewilderment, joy, and frustration. In a small way this was quite comforting to Hermione, who had decided this was precisely how she felt. 'If it's not the timing, Severus, then what?'

He looked solemn. His lips tight shut as though he didn't want his explanation to escape.

'Severus?' she urged, sliding a comforting arm around his shoulder. 'What's the matter?'

He shook his head and looked down at his hand which rested in his lap. 'Nothing,' he said at length, in barely a whisper. 'It's good news, really.' He finally looked up at her, but his smile still didn't quite reach his eyes.

'I'd say so,' Hermione said, squeezing his shoulders. 'But you don't seem convinced.'

He heaved a dry, humourless chuckle and attempted to smile again; a lopsided, half-grimace that belayed his continued uncertainty. 'For two supposedly intelligent people, we're quite stupid when it comes to contraception, aren't we?'

If that was supposed to be a joke, Hermione thought it terribly ill-timed. But for some reason, she found herself laughing.

'What are you laughing at?' Severus said suddenly.

She studied him with a sigh. 'I thought you were going to tell me everything was going to be alright. That I needn't be worried because we were going to be fine…'

'So you're allowed to have reservations and I'm not?' he asked, eyebrow customarily raised.

'Oh, don't be petulant,' she admonished, somewhat halfheartedly. She didn't have the energy to argue with him. She was still feeling nauseous.

He reached out and placed a hand on her thigh. 'It's just hard,' he croaked. She wondered whether he was holding back tears and sincerely hoped he wasn't that worried about it all.

'What is?' she asked, intertwining her fingers in between his where they lay on her leg.

'The kids. I find it hard, you know?'

'But you're wonderful with them,' she stated. 'You must know that?'

He sighed loudly. 'Before we had the twins I worried about money, where we were going to live, whether I'd be able to change their nappies or feed them right. All these practical things… I still worry about those things but I've learnt that between us - you and me - we'll probably figure something out but…. but, don't you get that feeling, just there' - he paused, placing the palm of his hand at the foot of her sternum - 'like a knot of constant worry? Cos' it gnaws at me perpetually; are they alright? Are they ill, hungry, cold… happy… It exhausts me… makes me feel old. I am old. And I'm not sure my heart can take worrying about another one.'

She squeezed his hand. 'Yeah,' she whispered, 'I get that feeling. Only my knot of worry also includes you.'

'Well, I know I don't need to worry about you,' he said, returning the pressure on her hand so that they were now gripping one another almost uncomfortably tight. 'You've always been able to look after yourself.'

'Sometimes I like to be looked after, though,' she whispered in return, resting her head on his shoulder.

'Mm,' he replied, 'like now you mean?'

'Precisely,' she chuckled. 'It sounds selfish, I know it does, but as pleased as I am about this - and I am pleased. I think it'll be especially good for Isaac to have a younger brother or sister - I just can't shake this feeling that it's such bad timing. We put the twins in nursery, in part, to focus on our careers, I was just getting back into work and now I'm going to be taking another long break.'

Severus sighed pensively. 'I think if we're honest with ourselves we would never have planned this, would we? But we would never have planned the twins either and can you imagine your life without them now?'

'No,' Hermione said, smiling softly. 'Or rather I can but it's rather bleak.'

'That's what I reckon it'll be like with this one,' he said, nodding his head in the direction of Hermione's stomach. 'Right now we can think of all these reasons why it's not the ideal time when we should be being grateful that at least this time we won't have to uproot our entire lives, move halfway across the continent, and live in a dilapidated old house, with the prospect of my going to jail hanging over us.'

'That is… uncharacteristically optimistic of you,' Hermione said, snuggling into his side.

'We will be fine,' he said, turning her head with his fingers on her chin and kissing her soundly.

'I know,' she whispered in return, breaking away from him for just a moment, 'I just needed to hear you say it.'

~oOo~

Hermione sat on the settee with Isaac huddled into her side, his head rested on her chest and his tiny hand flat against her stomach.

'But how is there room in there?' he asked, gently patting his palm against Hermione's naval.

'The baby is only tiny,' Hermione explained, smiling softly, and holding a forefinger and thumb about an inch apart to show him. 'Remember, you and Erin both fit in there at the same time.'

A little crease formed between his eyebrows as he looked up at his mother perplexed. 'Is he on his own?'

'Merlin!' Severus suddenly sounded from across the room, looking at Isaac and Hermione over the top of his newspaper. 'Let's hope so!'

Hermione shook her head at him and turned back to Isaac, stroking his wayward black hair out of his eyes. 'You keep saying "he." It might be a little sister, you know?'

Isaac's eyes widened with a slight panic. 'No,' he said definitively, sitting up straight and looking frantically between his parents. 'Girls are too noisy.'

'Whilst that isn't untrue, I'm afraid we don't get a choice,' Severus then said, though now he hid behind his newspaper as he spoke.

'Well, boys are messier!' Hermione said, issuing Severus a pointed glare which he just caught as he dared to peek around the edge of the paper to smirk at her. 'We might be able to find out for sure today, anyway,' she assured Isaac, checking the clock above the mantle piece. 'Ginny's late,' she stated with a frown.

'Mm,' Severus murmured. 'And so will we be if she doesn't hurry up!'

Then, almost as though she'd heard him, the Floo flared green and a rather harassed looking Ginny stepped through it. 'Sorry I'm late,' she began, dusting the soot off her robes briskly, 'Harry got called into work for… something… again. I've got my mum watching my lot while I'm here and then we'll all meet up back at The Burrow. How does an afternoon of gnome catching sound, Isaac?'

Isaac looked skeptical and remained silent.

'If you're busy, Ginny, we can just take them with us,' Hermione offered.

'No, no! It's no problem. Just a change of plan, that's all,' Ginny said. 'They've been calling Harry into work on his days off much more frequently lately, and with the new baby and all, it's just been… hectic! Mum's helping though.'

'Calling him into work a lot why?' Severus asked, sitting forward on the settee and folding up the newspaper.

'I don't know,' she said, sounding a little bitter. 'He says its confidential, but when he says that I just know it must be some bad, or dangerous, because when it's something trivial that's happened, he always tells me, and then we usually have a good laugh about it. Anyway,' she said, pausing for breath, 'today is an exciting day. Shouldn't you two be going?'

'We should,' Severus agreed, getting to his feet. 'Where's Erin got to?'

'She was still deciding which doll to bring last time I saw her,' Hermione said, standing also. She moved into the hallway and called up to Erin who emerged at the top of the stairs a moment later, her arms ladened with porcelain skinned, rosy cheeked, dolls with cold, staring eyes that sent shivers up Hermione's spine. 'Just one, Erin,' Hermione said. This was not the first time she had had to say this. Erin looked momentarily thoughtful and then picked out one of the dolls with wavy brown hair not dissimilar to her own. 'Come on then. Quick or else Aunt Ginny will leave without you!'

'No!' the child moaned, skipping down the remainder of the stairs and bounding into the living room where Ginny stood before the fireplace holding Isaac's hand. Erin hurried to her other side and grabbed her spare hand.

'Just for the record,' Ginny said, hauling the twins into the fireplace and relieving her grasp on Isaac to pick up a handful of Floo powder, 'I think it's a girl!' and with that she dropped the powder into the grate and the three of them disappeared.

~oOo~

'Mmm, smell that!' Hermione said, shoving a book under Severus's nose. 'The smell of new books is the best smell in the world.'

'Yes. Thank you,' Severus grumbled, swatting her away with a look of disdain.

They were currently perusing the cramped and crooked aisles of Flourish and Blotts; Hermione's happy place. Severus liked it too, though you might not guess it from his expression today. Hermione supposed he would merely prefer it if the book shop wasn't somewhere so busy as Diagon Alley. They had already been forced to pose for a photograph with an eager American tourist who'd recognised them in Madam Malkins, and as always they were followed by stares wherever they went.

Their morning had been spent at St. Mungo's, on the maternity ward to be precise, where Hermione had undergone a scan and blood tests to make sure everything was well with the baby. They had been assured that it was healthy and that, indeed, there was only one of them in there, but as to its gender they were still none the wiser. It had been laid in an odd position, obscuring one's view any tell-tale signs. The usual conversation of 'I don't mind what we have so long as it's healthy,' had passed between them.

'These are lovely editions,' Hermione said, holding up two powder-blue, leather-bound copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard back in the book shop. 'They're not cheap, though. You definitely think a copy each?'

'Definitely,' Severus replied tiredly, 'I'd rather invest in preventing the arguments than dealing with the aftermath. It's just the way it has to be until they learn to share.'

Hermione smiled. 'And you agree with the Flitterby broom for Erin, and the potions set for Isaac?'

'I think they both sound dangerous.'

'That isn't exactly disagreement. Is it the best I'm going to get?'

'Anything but another one of those horrific dolls for Erin and I'm happy!' he said, pulling down a heavy Potions volume off a high shelf and flicking through the pages.

'Hard to believe they're four already,' Hermione replied, examining an illustration from 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune.'

'Mm,' Severus murmured, distracted by the book he was reading.

'Yes. Goodness,' an uncanny, sharp, voice suddenly sounded from behind where they stood. Hermione spun around quizzically and felt Severus stiffen by her side. A quick glance up at him suggested he recognised better than she did to whom that voice belonged. He looked up from his book and closed it slowly, then slid it back into place on the shelf before also turning to face their addresser. A twisted smile marred the hollow, sunken features of a familiar face. Grey eyes, framed by long, silvery hair glanced between the two of them. If it hadn't been for the arrogant glint in those eyes, which had not diminished like the rest of his appearance, Hermione might never have recognised that it was Lucius Malfoy. 'How time flies and how things change,' he said, his sly grin revealing his neat teeth. 'You both look so… well.'

'Yes. We are well,' Hermione replied stoically. Severus remained silent and fidgety beside her. 'Have a good day,' she added, nudging Severus towards the exit. They could come back and buy their books later.

They'd taken perhaps a couple of steps passed Lucius when he continued the conversation as though there'd been no disruption. 'Are you looking forward to your little party?' he asked, turning to face them and smiling in a way that made Hermione to want physically hurt him.

Both she and Severus came to a halt. She was vaguely aware that Severus had taken hold of her sleeve in an apparent attempt to stop her from marching back across the cramped shop to where Lucius stood. She could tell he wanted to leave but Hermione wasn't one to stand down to a bully. 'What party?' she asked derisively, unable to help herself from rising to Lucius's bait. She unhooked herself from Severus's grip and closed the distance between herself and Lucius. He was tall. Taller than Severus even, and thereby much, much taller than Hermione.

'If I'm not mistaken, it's the ten year anniversary of your… victory coming up soon. I hear there's to be a party at the school.'

'You hankering for an invite?' Hermione asked, scowling at him. She sensed Severus stiffening over by the door but he said nothing.

Lucius scoffed. 'I have a prior engagement, unfortunately,' he said, twisting his gait to look at Severus. From where she stood, Hermione couldn't tell what had passed between them but whatever it was made Severus shrink into himself. 'In fact,' Lucius said, turning back to Hermione, 'it seems like you have nothing but things to celebrate of late!' he gestured towards the slight mound of Hermione's stomach and she felt herself bring a hand protectively over it. 'I have to say, there is an admirable arrogance in your persistent procreation of filthy blooded offspring.' He glanced over at the shop clerk to check he hadn't been overheard.

Hermione, on the other hand, couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard. No one spoke like that anymore. In fact, it was so long since Hermione had heard anyone talk like that, she'd forgotten how much it stung. She looked to Severus for support but found none to be forthcoming. 'What did you just say?' she stammered, addressing Lucius.

'I congratulated you on your pregnancy,' he replied, affecting nonchalance with a small shrug.

'You want to watch your mouth, Malfoy!' she spat in return.

He smiled that smile again and turned back to Severus, 'you going to allow her talk to me like that?'

Severus's jaw was clenched, the muscle dancing with tension, but refused to look at either of them now.

'Allow me?' Hermione groaned.

'This is what happens when you give Mudbloods even a sliver of liberation,' Lucius continued undeterred, almost conversationally, 'they get ideas above their station.' He looked back at Severus as though expecting to find some sort of comradeship, like teenage boys who haven't quite matured enough to appreciate the misogyny of their own humour. Whatever he was looking for he was disappointed anyway, because Severus still said nothing, although he was now looking at Hermione with a slightly pleading look in his eye.

She shook her head in disbelief, in part at Lucius and in part at Severus, but there was something about Severus's prolonged silence that was making her uneasy, unsure. She walked passed Lucius and over to the door where Severus waited for her.

'I'll, err, see you soon then, Severus!' Lucius called after them.

Glancing up at Severus, Hermione saw him screw his eyes up as if he were in pain, but he made no other response to Lucius's words. He put his arm around Hermione's shoulder and she only shook him off once they were out of Malfoy's sight. He stopped walking with a sigh, but when Hermione continued without him she heard him quicken his pace behind her to catch up again. A part of her just wanted to go home, but a bigger part of her didn't want to give Lucius the satisfaction of having ruined her day, so she led Severus into Duffin and Dobbins Delectables.

'You can buy me a tea and scone,' she told Severus as they sat down at a table.

'Right,' he said, going back to the bar to order their lunch. By the time he returned a moment later carrying a tray laden with teapots and China cups, Hermione had had chance to gather her thoughts.

'Why didn't you say anything?' she asked, stirring a cube of sugar into her tea

'What?' Severus asked, though she suspected he knew full well what she was talking about.

'Did you hear what he said about your children? About their "filthy blood?" And you just stood there and said nothing!'

He didn't seem able to meet her gaze and instead focused his attentions on scooping up the froth of his coffee with his spoon, before patting it back down and smoothing over the top of it. A repetitive cycle that grew increasingly irritating the longer he remained silent.

'Severus?' she persisted, her voice low.

'What did you want me to say?' he asked, sounding agitated, if barely audible.

Hermione frowned at him and leant in closer. 'I wanted you to defend us, to tell him that what he was saying was despicable. Your silence practically condoned it.'

'No it did not!' he snapped. He fell silent again and then, inhaling deeply and holding his breath, he pressed his palms against the surface of the table and spread his fingers. His whole body bristled with a frantic energy, and Hermione could tell by the rigidity of his posture, and the way his jaw was still clenched, that it was taking every fibre of his being not to lose his temper and make an exhibition of himself. She felt herself retreat slightly into her chair, her fingers still wrapped around the mug as though it were some sort of shield. It wasn't that he scared her, it was more that she felt out of control, and this was not a feeling she typically enjoyed under any circumstances. But then, as suddenly as it had begun, Severus relaxed his posture, exhaling that breath slowly and defiantly through his nose. He now looked solemn and suddenly old. Hermione recognised instantly the shadows in his eyes; haunting memories from long ago which he had not thought about in a very long time.

'Can we get the bill,' he said briskly, addressing a passing waitress. 'I want to go home,' he added, turning back to Hermione. She frowned into her half-full cup of tea, but decided now wasn't the time to push this.

When the waitress returned with the bill, Severus dropped enough Galleons to cover it on the table without actually reading it and then stood to leave. He was outside the café before Hermione had even pulled on her coat. The walked in silence back to King's Cross Station and remained so practically all the way back to Cokeworth.

~oOo~

'So we're just carrying on as if nothing happened,' Hermione said. She was explaining to Ginny what had happened with Lucius Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts. 'When we got up the next morning Severus was behaving as though the whole thing had never happened.'

'Haven't you asked him about it since?' Ginny asked, sipping a glass of fresh lemonade. It was only mid-April but the Spring weather was mild and so they sat in the Potter's large back garden watching the children play on a rope swing tied to a large willow tree. Ginny bounced an eight-month-old Lily on her knee.

Although not ostentatiously so, Harry and Ginny's house was large. A three story Victorian terrace in the suburbs of London. The garden was similarly vast, reaching over a hundred metres from the back door to a docile canal at the bottom where friendly Muggles passed by on barges.

'It was just a bitter and twisted old man imagining he could intimidate us,' Hermione said. She had almost convinced herself of this.

'I take it you mean Lucius, not Severus,' Ginny said with a wry grin.

'Of course!' Hermione insisted, 'I suppose I was just a little… disappointed that Severus didn't jump to our defence.'

'Maybe he just didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of the shop?' Ginny suggested. 'He's not one for scenes is he? Severus I mean, not Lucius… Malfoys love any excuse to be the centre of attention.'

'Well, not so much any more,' Hermione said ponderously. 'When do you ever hear anything about the Malfoys these days?'

'They're hanging their heads in shame,' Ginny replied, 'just as they should be after everything they've done. Not least what Lucius tried to do to Severus at his trial.'

'Narcissa and Draco came through for him in the end,' Hermione reminded her, 'in their own way.'

'I suppose,' Ginny agreed, though she sounded reluctant to admit it, 'but that doesn't right all that they did in the war.'

'No,' Hermione agreed. 'Anyway, he hasn't been right for weeks. Probably not really since I told him I was pregnant.'

'I thought you said he was happy about that?'

'I thought he was. He said he was, but… clearly there's something the matter and that's the only thing that's changed.'

'Then you know that's something you're going to have to talk to him about,' Ginny said with a sympathetic smile.

'I know,' Hermione agreed with a resigned sigh. 'I know… anyway, enough about my boring life… what's going on with you?'

'Not much,' Ginny replied with a stiff shrug. 'Harry's had to work a lot so we haven't been up to much. That's why I was so glad you could come down today, I've been bored witless,' she said, covering Lily's ears jokingly as the baby sat gurgling contentedly in her lap. 'Don't get me wrong, I love being with the kids, but all this maternity leave and so little adult conversation can begin to send you a stir crazy after a while! He's even been working weekends!'

'That's no good and it's the anniversary next Saturday though,' Hermione said, 'he has to be there for that. He's the whole point of it.'

'I've told him all this,' Ginny said, 'ten years is a big deal, but he says if he has to work, he has to work.'

'Hmm… and you still think there's something suspicious going on?'

Ginny looked thoughtful. 'When Harry is at home, people keep popping out of the Floo in his office and I've tried listening in on their conversations-'

'Ginny!' Hermione reproved.

'I know,' Ginny grinned mischievously, 'but, I want to know.'

'And what has your morally dubious eavesdropping revealed?'

'Well… not much, except I think it might have something to do with some sort of group that's been gathering. They kept talking about "the meeting place" and dates and times… there was mention of "ideology", and… and Voldemort… I don't know, that's just the impression I came away with, that people were gathering and, at the very least, discussing Voldemort, or something to do with Voldemort. Not Death Eaters, but something like Death Eaters.'

Hermione frowned. 'Like… neo-Death Eaters?'

Ginny looked aghast. 'Like I say… it was through a door so it wasn't clear and it seems unlikely.'

'Does it?' Hermione enquired, looking over at Ginny with her eyebrows raised. 'What's to say that isn't precisely what's given Lucius Malfoy his newfound confidence?'

'The Malfoys don't have enough authority to gather anything anymore, let alone a new legion of Death Eaters or whatever.'

'Mm,' Hermione murmured, 'let's hope so.'

Ginny looked away and Hermione followed her gaze down the garden to where the children played at the water's edge.

~oOo~

When it wasn't transporting school children to and from Hogwarts, The Hogwarts Express made stops at various wizarding train platforms up and down the country, carrying wizards and witches who preferred a more sedate and scenic method of transportation than Apparation. Manchester Piccadilly station, platform fifteen, provided one such stop, and it was here where Hermione, Severus, and the twins currently awaited the arrival of the train. Travelling by train was by far the easiest option when you had two young children and morning sickness to contend with; the other options were simply not worth the effort.

'It's here!' Isaac suddenly announced, pointing in the direction of the ruby red engine puffing its steam out into the blue-skied morning, so excited he began bouncing on the balls of feet. He'd talked non-stop about the prospect of riding on the train for the last two weeks. Severus grabbed his hand just in time to stop him steaming forward towards the edge of the track.

As the train slowed to a stop and the carriage doors swung open, the little family clambered aboard and found their compartment, where Hermione quickly withdrew the colouring books and toys she'd brought along to keep Erin and Isaac occupied throughout the journey.

'I wish they were old enough to understand what was going on,' Hermione said, nodding her head in the direction of the twins as they pulled out of the station and began passing a blur of green fields. 'I mean, properly understand.'

'They will one day,' Severus said with a shrug. He maintained an ardent reticence regarding the children learning of his role in the War. He worried, Hermione thought unreasonably, that it would change their opinion of him. 'By the next anniversary they'll have learnt all about the War at school,' he said, a little bitterly.

'It's your first time back at the school,' Hermione observed. 'How do you feel about that?'

'I've thought about that a lot, actually' he said. 'There was a picture of the school in The Prophet the other day, you know that article about The Last Battle? It just looked like a building. Bricks and mortar. Like all the magic had drained out of it leaving behind this sort of hollow husk. It was depressing.'

'Oh,' Hermione replied, 'I'm sorry you feel that way.'

'Yeah,' he said, looking out of the window a little solemnly. 'Me too, a bit. I think I'd been building it up in my head. I think I'd convinced myself that it'd be just like old times… very old times, when I couldn't wait to get there. But if it ever meant anything to me, it doesn't now. I ruined that in the last year of the War.'

'You might feel differently once we get there, when you see it for real.'

'Maybe… I just want this day to be over.'

Hermione smiled at him fondly. 'I know you didn't want to come today,' she continued after a moment, 'but I glad that you did. I think it's important.'

'I think you're probably right,' he replied, 'though it doesn't make me feel any better about it.'

~oOo~

'Hermione! Severus!' Minerva greeted them warmly the moment they stepped through the gates of the school grounds. 'And look at you two!' she said, turning her attention to Erin and Isaac. 'You're getting so big!'

Erin beamed proudly. 'We're four!'

'I know!' Minerva said, smiling. 'Before you know it, you'll be coming here to school!'

'My Mummy and Daddy came to school here,' Erin informed her.

'Oh,' Minerva said, 'I remember it well!' She turned to Hermione and Severus again, still smiling fondly. 'I'm so glad you came,' she told them, and then, more to Severus, 'I wasn't sure you would.'

He shrugged. His eyes scanning the castle perhaps a little fearfully, perhaps a little longingly.

'Well, there's food in the marquee - we've got some of the students helping out in there - and then we'll have a little ceremony in about an hour, and there'll be a charity Quidditch match later this afternoon,' Minerva explained.

'Sounds great,' Hermione replied. 'Come on, shall we go get some cake?'

They made their ways across the lawn to the marquee, which was already abuzz with guests.

'I might just… go for a walk,' Severus said, anxious within such a hive of people. 'I'm fine,' he continued in response to Hermione's concerned expression, 'my old stomping ground,' he said, nodding his in the direction of the castle, 'I'd like to have a look around, I think.'

Hermione nodded. 'You know where we'll be if you need us,' she said, squeezing her hand. With a quick, self-conscious look around the marquee, Severus placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and made his way back out into the fresh air.

Towards the end of the war, changing seasons had been of little concern to Severus, but the change of Spring into Summer had always been his favourite prior to that. The sun dappled castle walls, which cast their long shadow over the lawn and part way across the lake, surrounded by the green and purple hues of the Scottish wilderness at this time of year had always inspired in him a sense of peace he could only attribute to the seasons. Though, of course, there had been a certain melancholy to it also; the knowledge that the dawn of Summer meant he would be returning home soon. Now it stirred within him a strange nostalgia, not precisely a longing for the past, but something closer to the desire to acknowledge it, reconcile with it, and accept it as a part of him.

He pondered this conflict as he made his way through the throngs of guests, Ministry workers, alumni, civilians, current students in their black robes. He could not deny the satisfaction he felt at having had a part in their all being able to be there. He was a modest man, but it would be foolish to deny one of his greatest achievements, even if it was only to himself. Reaching the edge of the crowd he made his way up the slope of the lawn, running his hand lazily across the cool brickwork of the castle once he reached it. He followed the perimeter around to the main doors, where he hesitated. Perhaps, if the doors were open, it wouldn't hurt to look in… he pushed his palm against the oak and the door swung inwards on its hinges.

'-heard the rumours, Draco. There's no solid evidence of anything. I'm tired of having this conversation with you.' Severus heard a hurried voice almost immediately as he stepped into the shadowy chill of the entrance hall. It was almost instinctive, the slightness with which he moved towards the din.

'My father's word isn't evidence?'

'Has he seen them with his own eyes, Draco? Saved any of the correspondence they've had?'

'Well… no, but I can tell you that they're meeting today! They're having their own memorial to the dead-'

'-We need solid evidence, Malfoy, before the Wizengamot will let us go bashing down the doors of Muggle pubs.'

'So you're just going to wait until someone is hurt, or killed? Until they've recruited enough people to rise up? Is that the kind of evidence you're waiting for? I think I've managed to convince my father to stay away, but for how long, I have no clue.'

'He'll be arrested right along with the rest of them if he does,' Harry warned, 'remind him that conspiring to bring about Pure Blood rule is still illegal - oh, Severus,' Harry said, looking startled, though perhaps a little relieved that it wasn't someone else, as Severus finally made himself known to them. Harry issued Draco a warning look and, with a quick nod of acknowledgement in Severus's direction, the slim blonde sloped back down the corridor and out of the main doors.

'Surprised he was invited,' Severus said, watching Draco disappear before turning back to Harry.

Harry shrugged. 'I wasn't in charge of the invite list,' he said simply, clearly insinuating that if he had, Draco wouldn't have been on it. 'I've just been to see Dumbledore's portrait - I do that sometimes, of course you know that - and he followed me… did you hear what we were just talking about?'

'Just like old times, me catching you and Draco sneaking about the castle,' Severus smirked.

'Such fond memories,' Harry replied. Severus got the impression he wasn't in the mood for a ribbing.

An uncomfortable silence descended, until, unable to bear it any longer, Severus broke it. 'I hadn't realised things were so serious,' he said, feigning nonchalance.

Harry looked consternated. 'What things?' he asked.

'Your wife mentioned you'd been busy at work.'

'Yeah, so?'

Severus shifted uncomfortably, his eyes falling on the main entrance door. 'He's right… Draco, I mean.'

'Right about what?' Harry demanded frustratedly. 'Stop talking in riddles.'

'He was telling you that a group has formed, a Death Eater revival, even though they'll never really understand the gravity of that title. He's telling the truth that they're meeting today.'

Harry's eyes narrowed. He chuckled darkly. 'And how would you know about that?' he asked, something sly about his tone.

Severus's jaw clenched. 'I was invited,' he said.

~oOo~

She found Severus sat on a bench in the shadows of a semi-enclosed walkway between the main school and the greenhouses. Where an array of plants and herbs had broken free of the glassy confines of the greenhouses, they now spread across the roof, draping their foliage down the open side of the path which looked out over the school grounds towards the lake. The party was still in sight, but the din was more bearable here. Severus's position offered a peripheral perspective, which Hermione couldn't help but believe was intentional on his part, a reflection of how he felt.

'And how are you getting on?' she asked, perching on the bench beside him.

'Cake's a bit dry,' he said with a shrug.

Hermione chuckled. 'Well, if that's your only complaint then I'd call this whole thing a success. In fact…' And with that she plucked the fork from his hand and helped herself to a bite the lemon drizzle. 'This isn't dry!' she exclaimed, 'just as I suspected, you've found nothing to complain about so you're just making things up.' Severus scowled in a manner that suggested he didn't like that she could read him so well. Hermione studied him for a moment. 'Minerva wondered whether perhaps you didn't feel as though you ought to be here,' she said carefully after a long pause.

He stopped with a forkful of cake halfway to his mouth and then abandoned it altogether, depositing the plate on the floor beside the bench. He might have visibly paled but it was hard to tell in the warm, golden glow of the setting sun. 'I was invited somewhere else today,' he said. Hermione frowned at him confused. His response was so incongruent to the comment she'd made she wondered whether he'd heard her correctly. 'You may as well know now because I've spoken to Harry about it. In fact, I imagine that's why he's gone off.'

'What are you talking about?' Hermione enquired. 'Ginny is so angry with him.'

Severus sniffed and looked out over the grass to where Erin and Isaac were laughing at the giant squid as some of the students were coaxing it to do a sort of dance with its tentacles. 'We're not the only ones marking the anniversary,' he replied at length. 'The… other side have seen reason to… celebrate as well. I was invited to their gathering also,' he explained, then, in a tone of unnecessary derision added; 'perhaps Minerva feels I would have found a greater sense of belonging had I joined them?'

Hermione felt something clench within her chest and something like a shutter come down in her mind. There were a million questions in there, vying for prominence, clambering to be asked, but she found she didn't have the heart to learn the answers to them. She felt a little disgusted. Not at Severus, precisely, just at the notion of his having been in touch with the so-called Death Eaters, and perhaps a little at him not having told her about it. She chose to remain silent on the matter, and so they sat on the bench, not speaking and unmoving.

'You don't have anything to say about that?' Severus asked after a moment.

Before replying Hermione smiled to acknowledge a group of passing students, who blushed and giggled at having seen two characters from their history books up close. 'Not here,' she replied eventually, having waited for them to get out of earshot. 'The party's coming to an end anyway. Let's just say goodbye to Minerva and we can get home.'

He sniffed again, looking out over the expanse of grass before them. Hermione watched him expectantly. 'I did feel something,' he said at length, 'when I saw the castle. It all came… screaming back to me.'

'Bad feelings?'

'Mixed feelings… I might have a walk down to The Shrieking Shack while you say goodbye to people.'

'Oh, you… you think that's a good idea?'

'I just don't know.'

'Well, if you feel you need it we can meet you at the station in half an hour?'

He reached over and squeezed Hermione's hand thankfully, and then stood and began moving across the lawn. Hermione watched him go for a moment, heading in the direction of the winged boar-flanked gates, and then stood herself to collect the children and bid farewell to her old teachers and the last stragglers of the party.

~oOo~

They sat across from one another in the train compartment, Isaac asleep on Severus's lap and Erin with her face pressed up against the window, distracted by the city lights that whizzed passed. Severus looked out of the window too until Hermione caught his attention by gently nudging his foot under the table.

'You know that… of course you belonged there today,' she told him, whispering so as not to attract Erin's attention or wake Isaac. 'If it wasn't for you, none of us might have been there.'

'Mmm… you know, some of them,' he said, and she knew he meant the Death Eaters, 'still consider me a "hero," just like you fools do.'

'They do?'

'Oh yes. According to their letters they think I've outsmarted The Ministry, that my being with you, having children with you, attending the official anniversary celebrations and fraternising with Harry Potter of all people, are all a huge ploy to trick The Ministry into sparing me from Azkaban.'

For a fleeting moment, that she would never admit to Severus, Hermione wondered whether this might be true, but she immediately dismissed the thought as ridiculous when she saw Severus's expression of distaste. 'Well that's ridiculous,' she said definitely, scoffing slightly for added emphasis.

Severus studied her, or at least she could feel his eyes on her; she was determinedly avoiding his gaze, pretending there was something interesting beyond the fields they were now passing. 'It is,' he murmured after a moment.

'How was The Shack?' she asked then, keen to change the subject. She wanted, no, needed to know more about this business with the Death Eaters, but now didn't feel appropriate.

'Not a good idea,' Severus replied, shaking his head. 'I could…' he lowered his voice as he continued, and pointed to his neck where Hermione knew, beneath his collar, lay the scars of Nagini's attack. 'I could feel it again,' he said.

'Feel what, daddy?' Erin suddenly asked, pulling her forehead away from the window and turning to him inquisitively.

'Nothing,' he said quickly.

'But feel what?' she insisted.

Severus looked at Hermione pleadingly. 'Erin,' she said, turning to her daughter beside her. 'Would you like to colour? Or play with your doll?'

The girl pouted at Severus, then took the doll her mother offered her from her bag and began pretending she was combing her hair.

'A day will come when they have to be told,' Hermione said reasonably, turning back to Severus now Erin was suitably distracted.

'Yes, but today is not that day,' he replied bitterly. 'Nor will any day soon, I hope. The longer they don't know the truth, the better.'

~oOo~

'Can I ask you something?' Hermione said, later that night, deciding, for reasons unknown to even herself, that now seemed like a good time to broach the subject of the Death Eaters again. They lay on their backs in bed, the warm orange glow of the street lights beyond the curtains the only illumination. Apparently ignorance in regards to this was not bliss; it was keeping her awake.

'You,' Severus replied sleepily. This was his automatic answer to the question she asked him every night: what it was he was grateful for that day.

'No,' Hermione said, turning onto her side. 'Not that.' In the dim light she saw him open his eyes, but he did little else to acknowledge her. She bit her lip. 'Were… were you tempted?' she asked, 'to join the Death Eaters?'

He closed his eyes again. 'Of course not,' he said tersely.

She could sense he was getting annoyed but something inside her wouldn't let her stop prodding. Would she ever learn? 'Oh… good. The whole thing makes me feel a bit weird.'

'Makes you feel weird about me?' he asked, and she felt his body tense as though he was expecting to receive the answer like a physical blow.

'No - well, not exactly. Although, I suppose I don't like being reminded that you were a Death Eater - I just… the idea that anyone could still subscribe to Voldemort's ideology after everything we went through it's… it's terrifying!'

He sat up suddenly and switched on the bedside lamp. 'You're not worried?'

'What? No, if you say you weren't tempted to meet with the Death Eaters then I believe you-'

'-No. I mean in general,' he snapped, clearly wishing she'd stop mentioning him in the same sentence as the Death Eaters.

She swallowed hard and thought about it. She remembered how it had felt the first time she'd been called a Mudblood. She'd read about it before that, of course. She knew that was a word used to describe witches and wizards of Muggle parentage, and she knew all that the word connoted. But to hear it directed at her for the first time had still struck the wind out of her: 'filthy little Mudblood.' It was just a word, she had reasoned with herself her whole life, but still it was capable of filling her with a cold dread. After that first time the word had drifted around her head at night in bed, a ghostlike chant. Dirty blood. One could start believing those things if one heard them often enough. She'd never really told anyone how it had made her feel. She was supposed to be intelligent, and intelligent people didn't let words get them like that.

'Hermione… don't,' she heard Severus say.

He reached out and his fingers brushed her hand, which she realised she was using to stroke the silvery scar on her wrist. Her constant reminder. She looked down at her forearm, lying limply on the bedside with Severus's left arm, his pinkish Dark Mark scar beside it in a warped juxtaposition. Now she thought about it there was actually something quite satisfying about seeing those two marks side-by-side. They weren't supposed to be side-by-side. They weren't supposed to live in harmony and yet here Severus and she were.

'If you are worried,' Severus continued, taking her hand, 'there's no need to be. You know I would never let anything happen to you, or the kids, for that matter.'

'I know,' she replied at length. 'It's just…'

'I know,' he said, shifting closer to her in the bed. Her baby bump pressed against his stomach. 'How dare they! After everything, how dare they try this again!'

'Yeah,' she croaked. 'It's not… fair.' She sounded petulant and felt embarrassed. 'After everything we went through last time, it doesn't seem fair that they could do this to us. We won…'

'The Aurors are dealing with it,' he said matter of factly.

'Are they? How do you know?'

'Potter said. I think Lucius might have had an invite too - I suppose they want to recruit some of the old crowd for advice or… whatever, I don't know. Anyway, Draco found out and he's been trying to convince the Aurors to take it more seriously, but with only third hand information there wasn't a lot they could do. Lucius himself is apparently denying all knowledge.'

'Now they have first hand information?'

He nodded. 'I've told them what I know. I know they were meeting today, although I don't know where or when. I never replied to any of the letters they sent me, in fact, I burnt them practically as soon as I'd read them and I think they were reluctant to share too much information with me if they weren't absolutely sure I was cooperating. I think Potter was a bit annoyed at me actually, for not saying something sooner.'

'Oh, God,' was all Hermione could manage to say. She had an overwhelming feeling of becoming embroiled in something much bigger than herself and she felt momentarily as though she were drowning. The tranquility and steadiness of their lives, which they had worked so hard to establish, was being unsettled, and numerous and various ways, and it left her feeling slightly panicked. 'I don't like that you've started keeping secrets,' she told him.

'Me either,' he agreed, 'but I got the invitation right around the time you told me you were pregnant and we were so happy, I didn't want to ruin that by telling you about something I didn't think mattered.'

Hermione sighed, which turned into a yawn. 'Such a mess,' she said, snuggling into her pillow.

'Maybe, but it's got nothing to do with us now.'

~oOo~

By mid-August Hermione's maternity leave had begun, and with the twins off school for the summer holidays their days were spent with strolls along the canal, trips to the park, lunch and ice cream in little villages in the Peak District, and building dens so there was somewhere shady to sit in the back garden. It was the last few weeks they would have together just the four of them and whilst the imminent arrival of the baby was something they were all looking forward to - the children growing particularly impatient as the due date neared - there was a sense that this time should be well spent, quality family time. Indeed, it was on one such day, as the four of them stood in the living room, double checking they had everything they needed for a picnic, that the Floo suddenly flared green and Harry emerged into their midst.

'Harry!' Hermione greeted him with no little surprise. 'We weren't expecting you.'

'Hi, Uncle Harry!' the twins said in chorus, Erin running forwards to wrap her arms around his legs.

'Hey guys,' he said, patting her on the top of her head. There was something about the hastiness with which he did this that suggested he wasn't here on a social visit.

'Has something happened?' Hermione asked. They hadn't heard anything from Harry, at least not regarding what had happened at the anniversary, since then.

'No,' Harry assured her, his gaze flicking to Severus for just the briefest of moments. 'I do need a word though.'

'Well, sit down. I'll put the kettle on,' Hermione offered. 'We were just off out, but there's no hurry really.'

'Actually,' Harry said, sounding serious and waving a dismissive hand. 'I need to speak to Severus alone,' he explained, looking uncomfortable and a little apologetic.

'Oh,' Hermione said, puzzled. 'Well… maybe I can take the kids to the park, or something?' The twins were stood by the picnic basket, looking silently between their parents and their Uncle Harry.

Severus was about to tell her not to bother, to maybe just wait upstairs, or take the children out the garden. Inexplicably he wanted her close, whatever Potter had to say to him. But Harry was faster. 'Good idea,' he said. 'We won't be too long though, I hope,' he added, with a quick glance in Severus's direction.

'Ow, but what about the picnic?' Erin complained.

'We'll take the picnic the park,' Hermione suggested, hoping to assuage a tantrum before it had even begun.

'What about Daddy?'

'Maybe Daddy will come and find us once him and Uncle Harry have finished talking!' she said, looking at Severus for confirmation.

'Yeah,' he replied, 'go on now, and behave for your mum.' He kissed both children on the head as Hermione ushered them towards the door.

'See you in a bit then,' she said to both Severus and Harry as she went. As she moved out of the room she let her fingers slide over Severus's forearm, and he could still feel their trail long after she had gone.

'What is it?' Severus asked impatiently, once Hermione had left, closing the living room door behind her.

Harry waited a moment, tilting his head in a way which suggested he was waiting until Hermione and rallied the twins and left the house for certain before he said whatever he was here to say. Only when they'd heard the front door click shut and their voices receding down the street - with Harry peering through the window to be sure - did he eventually speak.

'I'm sorry to call on you like this, Severus. But I'm here on behalf of the Minister… There's something he would like me to ask of you.'

'Did you tell him if there's something he wants he'd be better off asking me himself rather than sending you?'

'As a matter of fact, I did,' Harry said with a fleeting smirk. Severus schooled his features and met Harry's gaze. It had been a long time since he'd practiced Legilimens but Potter had always been an easy target. 'Oi! I know what you're doing! Stop it!' Harry complained, dodging out of Severus's eye line.

'You'd make a far more effective Auror if you'd ever bothered to learn Occlumency,' Severus said, bored sounding. 'Shacklebolt wants me to accept an invite to one of these gatherings of Death Eaters, or whatever they are, does he?'

Harry sighed and fell onto the settee. 'They're proving impossible to penetrate - we intercept letters but their all written in code - we can't figure out where and when they're meeting. Lucius is under watch but we reckon they've given up on him as a bad job. Now it has been proposed that perhaps you would be the best person to… infiltrate them, considering how they seem to want you amongst them in the first place.'

Severus felt the edge of his mouth curl into an incredulous smile. A hollow chuckle escaped him. 'You're asking me to spy?'

'I… I hadn't thought of it exactly like that,' Harry said. Severus pushed down the familiar, though ugly, pleasure he experienced at seeing the boy squirm. 'But… essentially yes, that's what they're asking of you. You are quite skilled in that field, to be fair.'

'There's something audacious, don't you think, about The Ministry asking this of me after everything they put me through?'

'To an extent,' Harry replied, cautiously. 'Although, perhaps it shows that they really do trust you.'

'Mmm… perhaps,' Severus said, unconvinced. He sat down beside Harry with a sigh. 'It's really serious then?'

Harry nodded. 'There's been graffiti popping up in Diagon Alley - vile stuff just in time for the Muggleborns and their parents to visit to pick up school supplies. Minerva's already had three Muggleborns withdraw their place from Hogwarts. There's been reports of intimidation, verbal abuse, mild hexing… an attempted kidnapping… small stuff, relatively, but-'

'-But that's how it starts,' Severus said, nodding knowingly.

'Precisely. So..?'

~oOo~

'And… what did you tell him?' Hermione asked, later that evening, once Harry had left and Severus had told her what they'd discussed. She leant coolly against the old brick outhouse in the garden, an absent minded hand stroking the her stomach as she watched Severus harvest the freshest crop of Snowdonia Hawkweed from his little raised flowerbed.

'I said yes,' he responded, getting to his feet with an aching groan, surveying the flowerbed and dusting soil from his hands. There was a long silence and it took him a moment to realise that Hermione was looking at him oddly. A half smile on her face as though she wasn't sure whether or not he was joking. 'What?' he asked, half smiling unsurely in return.

Her expression slipped and she now looked at him somewhat incredulously. 'You said yes?'

'Course I did.'

'Oh… right,' she said in a small voice. She looked perhaps as though she was holding back tears; chewing her bottom lip and frowning.

'You think I should have said "no"?'

'Yes! No! Well… I don't know.' She hung her head, shaking it slightly. 'It's so dangerous.'

Severus moved closer to her, placing both his hands on her shoulders. 'I just have to write to them, build rapport… find out when the next meeting it. I might have to go along to that, but Harry assured me it'll just be the once. Nothing bad is going to happen,' he said. He had wanted to sound reassuring but realised the words sounded trivial, almost as though he was telling her "don't be silly".

'You can't promise that,' she said, meeting his gaze. Her eyes were welling with tears. 'You came this close' - her fingers held an inch apart - 'to missing out on the kids growing up once before. Why would you want to risk it all again?'

He sighed. 'Don't you see that's precisely why I have to do it? If we don't act now the kids - our kids - will be growing up in a world where their heritage makes them practically worthless. You heard what Lucius said about their "dirty blood", and you don't think that was him singling out our kids? If I do this, make them think I'm on their side, we can nip this in the bud before its even really started.'

She shook her head an wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek away with the heel of her hand. 'You must do whatever you feel is necessary, but I can't condone this. How could I live with myself if I agreed to this and something were to happen to you? How could I explain to that to the children?'

'You'd tell them I died trying to make sure the world was a better place for them to grow up in.'

'You've done your bit, Severus. It's someone else's turn now. You said yourself, this is nothing to do with us.'

'Potter says they can't do this without me.'

'Is that what Dumbledore used to tell you too?'

He stiffened and pulled away from her, overwhelmed by a sudden fury. He withdrew from her and turned away dismissively. He wasn't sure why her question had caused such a stab of fury, perhaps the insinuation that he was weak, or perhaps the fact that it was precisely what Dumbledore had used to say to him.

'I'm sorry, Severus,' she whispered, reaching out for him, to which he responded by twisting he body out of her reach. 'No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.'

He shook his head. 'It doesn't matter,' he said with a slight shrug. 'I've made up mind. I have to do this and obviously I'd appreciate your support but… either way…'

This was a followed by a long moment of silence in which he didn't dare look at her. 'It's only because I love you so much,' she said eventually, he voice shaky but determined.

'Same,' he said, returning to his gardening.

~oOo~

A letter had arrived, Severus's written on the envelope in what had quickly become a familiar handwriting. Hermione didn't know precisely to whom it belonged, but she knew it belonged it one of them. Two or three of these letters arrived everyday, and just as many, if not more, were sent from Severus to whomever this was from.

'That should do it,' Severus announced, coming into the kitchen where Hermione was feeding the delivery owl bits of cold ham from the fridge.

'What should?' she asked.

'The protective wards,' he explained, a little shortly. 'We'll be alerted if anyone… undesirable comes within a mile of the place.'

'Right,' she said. 'This just came.'

She handed him the letter which he made to open before apparently thinking better of it and tucking the envelope in the back pocket of his jeans. Not only did she not know who these letters were from, she also had no idea of their contents. Severus had become increasingly secretive over the last week or so since he'd told Harry he would act as spy. He stayed up late, rose early, and attended meetings at the Ministry he was forbidden from telling her anything about.

'Don't let that bird leave,' he said, shifting towards the doorway. 'It won't take me long to reply to this.'

'OK,' she said, attempting a smile which faltered almost instantly.

With a small sigh he closed the space between them and kissed her on top of the head, then turned and left the room. Hermione watched him disappear into the dining room, closing the door behind himself with definite click.

~oOo~

He sat down at the dining room table - which he had been using as an office of sorts ever since he'd agreed to help The Ministry - and swallowed the tangle of anxiety which rested in his chest. As awful as it had been during the war, there had been an undeniable thrill in the secrecy and danger of it all, but now, a little older and a little wiser, the secrecy and danger evoked little but panic. He knew what this letter contained: the place, date and time of a gathering.

It had begun with Severus simply replying to the person who had sent him the first invite. Initially, he had ignored the first invite altogether and so had half expected to receive no reply, however, not even a day later, an eager, adulatory even, response had arrived strapped to the leg of a tawny owl. Severus got the impression that it had been written by someone young and keen to impress. Someone who reminded Severus a lot of himself when he'd been in his early, post-school years, writing to Lucius.

He peeled back the wax seal and took out the small sheet of parchment within: The Hanged Man, September Equinox, Witching Hour. Severus frowned and shook his head gently. There was something embarrassingly juvenile about corresponding in code, indeed, this whole thing had begun to feel like children merely playing at being Death Eaters.

But, it didn't matter. He didn't have to like these people. They didn't even really need to like him. They seemed eager for him to join them regardless of his late replies and constant stalling whilst, although unbeknownst to them, he updated Harry and his team on their discussion.

'Very convincing,' Harry had said when Severus had shown him the first letter he'd sent in reply. He folded it neatly, running a finger and thumb sharply down each seam. 'Are you sure you're faking it?' he asked, a raised eyebrow all that told Severus this was an, albeit distasteful, joke. Harry had certainly been annoyed at Severus for not telling them what he knew sooner, and embarrassing him in front of the other Aurors was his little revenge.

Severus glanced at Harry's colleagues, who shifted uncomfortably behind their boss, pretending they weren't all-ears, waiting for Severus's reply. Harry broke the silence with a small chuckle and handed Severus the letter back. 'Send it,' he said at length, 'and lighten up.'

Severus had scowled and Apparated directly back home, where the tawny owl awaited.

And thus, things had developed. The first letter, a quick reply, rapport building, trust establishing… lies. It was slow, laborious, tiring, but eventually he convinced them that he was apparently serious about this: that it had merely taken him a long time to decide because there was so much to consider.

Now, if everything went to plan, then by the end of the summer this whole thing would be over. Over before it had even begun. If everything went to plan.

He had wondered whether there wasn't more to it, this personal insistence that he was necessary, nay essential, to the Auror's plot. As Hermione had pointed out, if Severus did the ground work, gaining the group's trust and finding out when one of their meetings would be, then surely the Aurors could deal with this from there on their own. There was no real need for Severus to be anywhere near the meeting himself. It was true, Severus thought, all true.

No, maybe this had more to do with Severus's needs rather than protecting a future. Maybe he was bored of the domesticity. He hadn't thought so, but perhaps subconsciously that was true. During his years and spy and a fugitive he had longed for the type of tranquility family life might offer, but the grass was always greener, he thought wryly. Maybe, despite his current anxiety, he missed the excitement and danger? The glory? No, not that. It didn't matter what was motivating him now anyway, he was in too deep.

He shook his head and got to his feet. Moving to the old cabinet in the corner of the room he pulled out two sheets of parchment and flattened them out on the table. On the first he wrote he response to the invite, stating simply that he would be there, and the other he addressed to Harry. Plans would need to be made now. Dangerous plans. A more sedentary life than he'd lead during the war had left Severus out of shape, and unpracticed in defensive magic - not that he would need it, Harry had assured him (and he, in turn, had assured Hermione) - but still, he didn't like the feeling of vulnerability that plagued him whenever he thought of attending this meeting, despite the fact that there would be practically an army of Aurors right there with him.

~oOo~

Hermione guided Severus's hand to where the baby was kicking and watched as a small smiled spread across his lips. 'It has Erin's temperament,' she told him, 'it squirms about all day like that. Isaac was always more placid.'

'Three weeks?'

'Three weeks, three days!' she said, and then, remembering suddenly, she shifted her position so it was more awkward for him to have his hand rested on her stomach. 'Say it,' she spoke again after a long moment, her voice wavering slightly.

She heard him sniff, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. 'You,' he said, almost inaudibly, then, 'go to sleep, and I'll be back in the morning as though nothing has happened.'

'How can I sleep, knowing you're Merlin knows where fighting a pack of Death Eaters?'

'They're not Death Eaters,' he told her, for the millionth time, she knew. 'They're just kids.'

'Then why do you need to go at all?' she asked, trying not to yawn. She was going to fall asleep despite herself, and he probably knew that as well as she did.

He sighed and rolled towards her again so he could wrap his arms back around her. There was no way she was going to protest. His mere closeness was always a comfort.

'You know why,' he whispered into her ear, 'to make sure-'

'To make sure there's a safer world for the baby to grow up into. I know, I know!'

'Then you understand.'

Hermione shrugged, feeling just a little bit justified in her petulance. 'Just…' she paused, rolling over so they were facing one another. She could smell the mint of his toothpaste. 'Just be safe,' she said at length, kissing him soundly.

'I will. Now sleep,' he ordered, with one last peck on her forehead.

~oOo~

'Severus! Severus! Wake up!' she said, jabbing him in the shoulder with her finger.

'What?' he said, snapping awake and switching on the light.

Hermione winced as another jolt of pain shot through her body, her hands gripping the bedsheets so tightly her knuckles turned white. 'It's coming!' she managed through gritted teeth.

He took a moment to process what she had said. 'It can't be,' he then replied frantically, throwing the covers back and sitting up on his knees. 'Three weeks, three days, you said! It's too soon!'

She shot him a sharp glance. It was strange that she had forgotten this pain since her last labour. She'd promised herself "never again" and yet here she was. 'Oh, I'll tell it to wait then shall I?' she snapped.

'OK… OK,' he replied, and she could tell he was panicking. 'Err…'

'Go fetch my - agh - my mum, to watch the kids!'

'Right.' He pulled on some jeans and a shirt which he buttoned up unevenly. Having made himself somewhat presentable he hesitated, looking down at Hermione on the bed with an expression she hadn't seen him wear since they'd lived in Romania; a mingled look of worry and uselessness. 'I-I might have something for the pain,' he offered. Hermione shook her head, screwing up her eyes as another contraction ripped through her abdomen. 'OK… I'll be quick.' And with that he disappeared downstairs.

In his absence, time passed with confused irregularity. Hermione couldn't have said whether he was gone for minutes or, perhaps, hours. The only thing that made sense was the quickening pace of her contractions, which were growing closer together at an alarming rate, much faster than they had when the twins had been born. During a brief lull between them her thoughts drifted to the twins asleep in the next room, and she hoped beyond hope that the noise wouldn't wake them.

'Hermione, darling, how are you doing?' a voice said in the next moment, stroking back stray strands of damp hair from her face.

'Mum,' Hermione groaned, relieved. 'This is not good!' She tilted her head slightly to look at Severus, who lingered in the doorway, clearly unsure what to do for the best. 'We don't have time to get to St. Mungo's. This baby is coming now!'

She saw him look at his watch, and her own eyes fell on the clock beside the bed. It was just passed two-thirty in the morning. She felt her heart sink - he was already late to meet Harry and the other Aurors - but in the next moment he was knelt on the floor beside the bed, taking her hand. He looked about to speak when she was wracked by another contraction, which stunned him into silence as she squeezed his hand with all her might.

'Then we need an ambulance,' Georgia said. Severus looked up at her vaguely appalled. Muggle medicine, indeed Muggle anything, he was not fond of. 'What?' Georgia asked, unable to read his expression.

'Can't we manage?' he asked, 'I have some potions and things and… well, you're medically trained aren't you?'

Georgia smiled down at him. 'Yes, Severus,' she said, 'but in dentistry. This is really rather the wrong end!'

'The twins were - oof - born in a Muggle hospital, Severus,' Hermione managed. 'And they turned out fine. In fact, everyone here was born in a - ouch - Muggle hospital!'

Severus took one more moment to look disdainful and then issued a reluctant, 'fine.'

Georgia nodded approvingly and was attempting to find her mobile phone in her handbag when a sudden confusion of light burst into the room; something silvery, ghost like swirled about their heads for a moment before adopting the visage of a stag, which reared by the bedroom window.

'Oh my!' Hermione heard Georgia gasp, her handbag dropping to the floor.

'Where are you?' the stag demanded in Harry's voice, undoubtedly furious. Then it snorted, more animalistic now, and began to dissipate.

Severus looked between Hermione and the fading Patronus.

'You…' - she paused, squeezing his hand and groaning until the latest contraction had passed - 'you should go,' she told him.

'Go?' Georgia questioned, but Hermione silenced her with a look that said everything was fine.

'No,' Severus said after a short moment of deliberation. 'No, I can't leave you!'

'But-'

'It was supposed to be all over by the time the baby came. I didn't sign up for missing this!'

'But - ow - the future - oof - the kids!' she said, gesturing at her stomach.

The future? The excitement? The danger? The glory? Severus wondered. It did not matter. Everything he needed was right here. It was enough. 'The Aurors will have to manage without me,' he said firmly.

Hermione frowned and in different circumstances might have questioned him, but a pressure in her lower abdomen prevented it. She winced again as the pain grew almost unbearable but just managed to issue Severus a look she hoped conveyed her appreciation.

~oOo~

Nathaniel arrived five minutes before the paramedics. A healthy, screaming bundle of pink whose cries ricocheted about the house, waking his older siblings. Erin and Isaac had made their way tentatively into their parents bedroom and climbed up onto the bed as the paramedics checked mother and baby's vitals before declaring all was well and going off on their way.

'It's a boy,' Hermione explained to the twins, news which, surprisingly, they had both accepting with broad smiles.

Then, throughout the day, there was an influx of well-wishing visitors; grandparents, neighbours, and old friends. When an owl had scratched at the bedroom window, where Hermione and Nathaniel were finally managing to sleep, Severus had whipped across the room to let it in. Whilst Nathaniel's arrival had created a substantial distraction from the fact that Severus had not attended the meeting last night, now he was alone, and the house was quiet (Georgia having taken to the twins out for McDonalds), he'd had opportunity to dwell on the fact that last night he had betrayed two influential and powerful groups, who were bound not to take it lightly. Thus, the arrival of the owl set a peculiar chill through Severus's core. Would it be from someone at the group, warning him of some impending reprisal? Was it from the Ministry, informing him that his absence amounted to little less than treason? That more innocent people had died because of him…

He silently reprimanded his own melodrama and, looking down at the sleeping, twitching Nathaniel, knew that he had made the right decision whatever the repercussions.

'Who's it from?' Hermione asked sleepily, lifting her head from the pillow and frowning quizzically in Severus's direction.

'It's for you,' he said, handing it to her.

'Oh, just Ginny,' she said, peeling back the wax seal. Severus relaxed a little. 'I sent a quick note earlier to tell her the baby had come. She and Harry are going to pop round this evening.'

He's alive then, was Severus's first thought. 'Right,' he said instead.

~oOo~

'Sit down here like this,' Hermione instructed, 'let's put a pillow here and then maybe Daddy could help, if he sits there and supports baby's head.'

Erin sat with her back against the headboard, her arms out in front of her and a very serious expression on her face. She had been desperate to hold her new brother and finally her parents had acquiesced under the condition that be very, very sensible about it. Isaac sat on his knees, slightly off to her side, observing from a safe distance as Nathaniel was placed in her arms.

'He's so cute!' she giggled.

'But he's not a toy,' Severus reminded her.

'I know that!' she assured him, in a tone which suggested he was stupid.

This was followed by a sudden whooshing noise from the Floo downstairs and then quick footsteps across the wooden floor. Severus felt that chill through his body again and was quickly on his feet and out on the corridor, peering over the bannister. Hasty, official sounding footsteps. Numerous people. The Ministry wouldn't just burst into your house through the Floo, he told himself.

'Hermione? Severus?' a voice bellowed from downstairs. Potter. Or apparently they would.

'Up here,' Hermione called, and the footsteps grew louder as they came up the stairs. Harry was in the lead but behind him, much to Severus's relief, was Ginny, James and Albus. Harry shot Severus a strange look as they passed him on the corridor, somewhere in between strain and relief.

'This is my little brother!' Severus heard Erin announce as the Potters entered the bedroom.

'Oh, my goodness!' he heard Ginny's reply.

He moved to the bedroom doorway and watched as the Potter clan loomed over Hermione and the baby. The kids all crowded round him and Ginny and Harry fussing and cooing. He let this go on for as long as he could stand it before reaching out and tapping Harry on the shoulder. 'Potter,' he said, in a low voice, careful not to disturb the rest of them. Harry turned and observed Severus's gesture to follow him out of the room. Severus could feel Hermione's eyes on them for a moment, but she was soon distracted by Ginny asking if she could hold Nathaniel.

'I should apologise,' Severus began slowly, once they'd shifted out of the room a little, 'for backing out at the last minute. But…' - he jerked his head in Hermione's direction - 'I couldn't miss this again. I'm sure you can understand.'

'Yeah,' said Harry, chewing his lip and glancing back into the bedroom where everyone sat on the bed, taking it in turns to stroke Nathaniel's head or kiss his forehead as he lay contentedly in Ginny's arms. 'I do… anyway, it was probably for the best.'

'For the best?' Severus questioned.

'Well - oh, Merlin… I think you've had a lucky escape! When you didn't turn up everyone was pretty pissed, especially when you didn't reply to the Patronus-'

'-sorry.'

Harry waved a dismissive hand. 'In the end, when we couldn't wait any longer, we just went in without you. At first we thought we must have misunderstood the message or something, there was no one there, and then, all of sudden… they attacked,' he paused, looking as though he was remembering something harrowing. 'I haven't see The Unforgiveables used in a long time, not even in my line of work, but they had no fear. They've made a mess. The whole pub is smashed up - I've still got men not he ground Obliviating the Muggle locals, and a few injured Aurors and "Death Eaters" in St. Mungo's - no deaths, thank Merlin!'

Severus was horrified. 'You think they knew it was set up?'

'No,' Harry said, 'I think they were waiting for you, and you alone.'

'You think they were going to attack me? I thought…'

'They've admitted as much, now we've hauled them in for questioning,' Harry explained. 'They went after Lucius first. I think they thought he'd be easier to win over than you, and of course he was. They did a similar thing, made out like they revered him, that they were going to make him their leader or something, and obviously he couldn't wait to get back in with a group of supposed Death Eaters. If Draco hadn't managed to convince him to stay away…'

'That certainly explains why he was acting so high and mighty when we bumped into him in Diagon Alley earlier in the year. He thought he was going to be hailed as the second coming!' Severus said, shaking his head.

'Quite possibly,' Harry admitted. 'They played up to his need to have his ego massaged, but in reality, they didn't really want him to be their leader. They wanted to punish him for heresy in the War. Heretics have - had - no place in their new order. With Lucius a lost cause, I can only imagine how thrilled they were to eventually receive your letter; the jewel in the crown so to speak. No one betrayed Voldemort quite like you did.'

'So…' Severus balked. 'So they were luring me to kill me?'

'Kill? I don't know. Certainly exact some type of punishment. Make an example of you.'

'Merlin!' Severus breathed.

'So you've had a lucky escape, I'd say,' Harry said, smiling at last. 'Baby came just at the right time.'

'Yes… and…'

'What?'

Severus shifted uncomfortably. 'There won't be any repercussions from The Ministry, about my not turning up?' he said, his voice small.

'Definitely not! You did enough just gathering reconnaissance!' Harry said, patting Severus's shoulder in a jovial, familiar way, that made Severus muscles stiffen. 'Couldn't have done it without you… once again!'

Severus nodded, utterly relieved. In the absence of anxiety, he suddenly realised how tired he was. 'Can you do me a favour then?'

'Of course.'

'Never ask me to be a part of anything like this again. I can't say no and it drives Hermione crazy!'

Harry laughed. 'Hopefully this will be the last time we ever have to worry about anything like this again.'

'I shan't hold my breath.'

~oOo~

'What were you and Harry talking about earlier? And don't pretend you don't know what I mean. When you were huddled in the corridor, whispering to each other?'

Renewed tranquility blanketed Spinner's End. With him, Nathaniel had brought a sense of peace. The twins, burnt out from the excitement of the day, were fast asleep in the next room and Severus and Hermione sat on the bed in their own room, Nathaniel latched to Hermione's breast as he fed.

Severus sighed, stroking the top of the baby's head with his thumb. He proceeded to tell her, perhaps omitting some of the perilous parts of the story, what Harry had told him.

Hermione nodded, an expression on her face which suggested she was refraining from telling him she'd told him so. 'Two happy accidents in one day then,' she said instead, looking down fondly at the baby.

'So it would seem,' Severus agreed, perching on the side of the bed beside her. 'Harry-'

'-Oh,' Hermione interrupted him, '"Harry" now is it? Not "Potter"?'

Severus gave a small shrug and, smiling, took a now full and content Nathaniel from her. 'If I call him Harry, and don't look at him, I could almost forget he's a Potter altogether.'

'Right,' Hermione chuckled. 'Hey, now you've said that, actually, would it be pushing it too far to maybe use "Harry" as a middle name for this little fella'? You know, to repay the favour, so to speak.'

Severus snorted and rolled his eyes. He was perpetually unimpressed that Harry and Ginny had chosen to name their second son after him. 'But we're sticking with our choice of first name?'

'Nathaniel Harry Snape,' Hermione said, trying it for size. 'Yes, I think so.'

Severus nodded appreciatively. 'Nathaniel Harry Snape it is then.'

~oOo~ The Present ~oOo~

'So, if it hadn't been for you, Nate, arriving when you did, Merlin only knows what would have happened

Nathaniel looked thoughtful. 'So, really,' he said, a broad grin spreading across his face. 'Technically, I prevented a Third Wizarding War?'

'Potentially,' Hermione chuckled. 'You could look at it that way!'

'If I hadn't arrived precisely when I did, which obviously I had total control over and planned down to the second, we might very well be facing another Voldemort right now!' Nathaniel said, puffing out his chest a little and smirking.

Isaac rolled his eyes.

'Like I said,' Severus added, issuing Nathaniel a look which suggested the boy was getting a little ahead of himself, 'melodramatic.'

'No, no,' Nathaniel persisted, 'I'm just like Uncle Harry! The Chosen One! That's really why you named me after him, isn't it?'

'You can't both be The Chosen One,' Isaac pointed out.

Nathaniel frowned. 'Whatever.'

'My turn again then,' Isaac said, snatching The Romanian Puzzle Box back from his brother.

'No,' Severus said, plucking it deftly from the elder boy's hands. 'My turn.'