A/N: So, first ever fanfiction, please don't be too harsh :) Thanks for reading.

Chapter 1

Severus sighed as he leaned back into his chair in his quiet little home in Spinner's End. Lunch at the Malfoys had become some what apart of his routine over the summer holidays and he found the regular socialization not in the least bit unpleasant. Good conversation and even better food, what was not to be content about?

In the almost nine years since Potter defeated the Dark Lord his life had fallen into a routine that didn't require endangering his life on a regular basis. He had been surprised to survive the war actually. Even more surprised to see the Malfoy's, especially Lucius, had managed to avoid Azkaban. With the exception of Albus, they really were the only people he would consider friends.

He was on civil terms with most of the Order, with the exception of Black of course, but with the troubles over and most of the Death Eaters dead or imprisoned, there was little reason for the Order to convene. He had managed to avoid having to be in Black's presence for a good seven years now. Lupin however, had returned as the DADA Professor, but they got on well enough these days.

He leaned over to reach for the book sitting on the table beside his chair. A glint of silver caught his eye and instead of the book, he reached for the charm bracelet. It had sat there for...well, since the night of the final battle. It belonged to one Miss Hermione Granger. He had always hoped she would come back for it. Obviously she never did.

They had only been together the one night, but that last year had really matured her, they had worked together often on Order work and he found her company almost pleasant. In the overwhelming emotional high of winning the war against the Dark Lord, they had spent the night together. When he woke up, she was gone and he never saw her again. He briefly entertained the idea of persuing her, but considering she apparently couldn't get out of there fast enough, and she never returned for her bracelet, he doubted he would be successful. He assumed she regretted that night.

Tossing the charm bracelet aside he headed into the kitchen to pour himself a whiskey. He had only just flopped into his chair when a knock sounded at his door. Growling to himself he moved to answer it, finding Potter standing on his doorstep shuffling from foot to foot uncomfortably. Summoning his most impressive scowl, he stared the younger man down.

"Potter."

"Professor," he replied, nodding in greeting. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you about something, it's important."

His scowl became a full blown glare. "Someone had better be dying."

He did not appreciate the intrusion and was inwardly pleased when he caught Potter's visible wince. Severus stood aside and let Potter enter, leading him into the living room and transfiguring a chair for him to sit on. He never really had visitors and so felt no need to over furnish.

The boy - young man he supposed - was looking rather subdued and Severus hoped he wasn't here to try and talk about his mother again. Severus had told him everything he was willing to tell him years ago.

"Whiskey?"

Potter nodded his response and Severus returned with a glass. A long and intense stare followed as Potter tried to gather his words.

"Hermione is dying," he finally managed.

Though his countenance remained blank, he instantly regretted his earlier words. He didn't love the girl, but he did care enough to feel something over her loss.

"You want me to look into it?" He asked.

"No, there isn't anything you can do, it's terminal. Even the Wizarding world doesn't have a cure for this."

"Then why are you here Potter?"

Severus glared at him, watching as he leaned over and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He flipped it open and held it out to him, revealing a muggle photo of Potter, Granger and a little girl held between them, from the background they looked to be in an amusement park. The girl was smiling, her long chestnut curls disappearing with the edge of the photo. She was small, pale, couldn't have been much older than six or seven. Her eyes were dark, it was almost impossible to distinguish iris from pupil, but they shone with mirth as she smiled into the camera. Severus shifted to hand it back to him.

"This hardly answers my question, or makes up for your impertinence." Why in Merlin's name would he want to see some loving photo of the boy who lived and his side kick playing happy families? "I could not care any less about your little family, my debt was repaid in full if you will recall. I protected you, you survived the Dark Lord. I will not play protector or whatever it is you want for your spawn."

"Not my spawn Professor. Yours. Her name is Evangeline and she is the result of yours and 'Mione's...one night."

Severus snatched the wallet back, taking a closer look at the photo again. The eyes, of course, a dead give away. His years of complacence had apparently dulled his observation skills. Rage boiled within him as it sunk in.

"I have a daughter and no one thought to tell me?"

His voice was deadly quiet and Harry would have preferred he yelled and raged at him.

"Hermione was always so sure you wouldn't want to know, that you were finally free of your responsibilities and she didn't want to burden you with another. A child's a life time commitment."

"Why are you telling me now?"

"Like I said, 'Mione's dying. I'm Eve's Godfather and she's been living with me and Sirius since 'Mione was admitted to hospital. But we're going to be sent on assignment out of the country and there isn't going to be anyone who can take care of her. I was hoping you could."

He quirks a brow at him. "You want me to take in a child you have all conspired to keep from me? A child I didn't even know existed until a few moments ago? What of the Weasley's? Could they not take her?"

Harry shook his head. "Hermione has been on the out with Molly, Ginny and Ron pretty much since they found out she was pregnant. Bill can't take her, he's out of the country too. George and Fred are busy with the shop and George is getting married soon so he has that as well. 'Dora and Remus have just had another baby so they're constantly knackered and I don't want to add to their stress. Luna is her Godmother, but she is also out of the country on some creature hunt or something. I suppose I could try and convince Fred to take her, he most likely would, it's just he's so busy and you're on holiday... It would only be for a few weeks until I got back. I guess I could always ask Xenophelius, but I just thought you might want to know about your daughter. She's about to lose her mum, I was hoping she could at least gain a father."

"You were hoping so much that you saved me for a last resort?"

Harry finished his drink and stood. He had covered all his bases was all, making sure Snape had no other option. If he realised there was no one else, Harry he might be more open to the idea of taking her in.s

"All right Professor, I'm sorry to have bothered you. I'll find someone. But just so you know, we didn't all conspire to keep her from you. We just respected Hermione's wishes. Luna and I were the only one's who knew who her father was from the start, but we couldn't go against what Hermione was asking of us. Oh, and I told Sirius today before coming here."

He moved to leave, but paused in his step when Severus spoke.

"Sit Potter, we are not done."

His tone was commanding and years of ingrained obedience to it had him dropping into his seat immediately.

"Does Evangeline know who her father is?"

He shook his head in response. "Hermione has always been evasive whenever Eve brought it up and eventually she just stopped asking."

"She would be...eight now?" He asked, looking down at the photo again.

He nodded. "February seventh."

She was a pretty girl, inherited her mothers delicate features, but his eyes and pale skin. No doubt she burned easily. He wondered if he inherited her mothers love of books and her extraordinary intelligence, or his own. How much of a genius would she be if she had both of her parents intellects?

"You're named as her father on the birth certificate you know, so you have rights if you want to claim them."

"How would the girl take to being dumped with a stranger like this?"

"Well, I don't leave until tomorrow, maybe you could come to Grimmauld and have dinner with us, it would be a start. Only if you decide to take her though. I don't want to tell her who you are if you have no intention of doing so."

Severus considered it. A daughter. A child, his own flesh and blood. He had never even thought of having children before, not since he was a teenager with fantasies of a life and future with Lily. Again he gazed at the photo, trying to deduce her character from it. The smile appeared happy and carefree, no trace of falseness about it.

"That picture was taken on her sixth birthday," Harry told him.

Severus handed it back. "How many weeks are you expected to be away?"

"Three."

"Very well Potter," he said after a moments silence. "I will take care of her on the provisor that when you return to collect her, should I wish it I may visit her without any opposition from you. Or Black."

Harry nodded and rose to his feet. "By the way, Eve doesn't know 'Mione has no chance of recovery, we aren't sure whether or not to tell her yet. So don't mention it around her."

At the slight raising of the older mans eyebrow Harry felt the need to explain.

"We aren't getting her hopes up either we just-"

"You're keeping her in limbo."

"I guess," he sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It's just...how do you tell a kid their mother is dying?"

"Are you asking or is that rhetorical?"

"If you have a suggestion, I'd like to hear it. Otherwise it's rhetorical."

Severus only shook his head. He didn't know how to give news like that to a child.

xXx

When Harry arrived back at Grimmauld, still expecting to hear the shriek of that hideous portrait despite having managed to get rid of it a couple of years ago, he found Sirius in the kitchen having tea and reading the newspaper.

Before Eve moved in with them, Grimmauld had been quite the bachelor pad, women coming and going at irregular hours, boozefests, and a lot of sleep ins as they were usually recovering from hang overs. However, they had adjusted their lifestyle to accomodate the little girl. Sometimes the domesticity was stifling, but Eve needed the stability and routine. Harry had tried the girlfriend thing only once after Ginny. He had thought the female presence would be good for Eve, and it had been good for a little while, the woman cooked brilliantly. None of them were very good in the kitchen and it was good to have regular meals and a frequently stocked kitchen. But the woman had quickly grown irritating. So that had never happened again. If they wanted a night out, they usually took turns and they very rarely brought women back to Grimmauld.

"Where's Eve?" He asked, taking a seat opposite him.

"In her room," he replied.

"How's she doing today?" He asked, pouring himself some tea.

"The same. How'd it go with Snape?"

"Better than I thought it would actually. No hexes or anything."

"That's scary in itself, he's probably biding his time."

Harry shrugged, raking his hands down his face. It was all such a disaster. He couldn't believe 'Mione was going to die. He had no idea how he would cope with raising Eve and getting them both through the grief they're certainly bound to lose themselves in.

Hermione was his best and oldest friend. Ron had been such a prat about Hermione's pregnancy and refusal to marry him. Harry had of course, sided with Hermione. It was her decision after all and Harry just didn't think Ron had it in him to raise another kid as his own. And Hermione had never even led Ron to believe there was anything more between the pair of them than friendship, but Ron had acted as if he were entitled, which only infuriated Hermione more.

The strain between him and Ron had carried over to his relationship with Ginny, as well as how much time Harry spent taking care of Hermione during the pregnancy and all the time he spent with her and baby Eve. They eventually broke up which put him on the outs with Molly who had practically already planned the wedding. But Harry couldn't lose 'Mione, and she had no one else. He could never turn his back on her.

"How are you going to tell Eve?" Sirius asked, dragging him from his thoughts.

He let his head smack into the table. He was only twenty six and just did not feel up to parenting full time. These kinds of decisions and situations were just way over his head.

"I don't know, any suggestions?"

"Blunt honesty?"

"I guess I better do it now, we wouldn't want a scene when Professor Snape gets here."

Sirius nodded. "Eve! Get down here!"

A few moments later the little girl appeared in the kitchens doorway. She was almost unnaturally quiet, it disturbed them both how she could pop out of seemingly nowhere sometimes. It had been hot lately and she was barefoot in nothing but a sleeveless blue dress. She climbed into the chair beside Harry and watched both her uncles curiously.

"Eve I..." Harry began, searching for the right words before just giving up any illusion of trying to be tactful. "I paid a visit to your father today."

Her brows furrowed but she remained quiet and waited.

"He is going to be joining us for dinner tonight. He wants to meet you."

"Why has he never come sooner?"

"He didn't know about you."

Harry explained everything to her, about how they were going to be away for a while and that she would be staying with him. He assured her Snape was a good man, but could come off a bit cold and distant. But he was honorable and would take care of her for the few weeks they would be away. And it would be a good opportunity to get to know her father.

She took it all with calm, or numbness, he couldn't be sure. She had seemed to be rather detached since Hermione fell into a coma and was admitted to hospital. But then, she had never been very emotive and he wondered if something like that could be inherited, because if it could, no doubt she got that from Snape. Though she was infinitely more pleasant.

"Will he take me to visit mum?"

"I'm sure he will."

Eve had a lot more questions running through her mind but kept them to herself. The questions were there, but the burning curiosity to know was just gone. The question of who her father was had plagued her constantly, but now she just felt like she was trading her mum for her dad. Why couldn't she have them both?

xXx

As soon as Potter had left, Severus flooed right back to Malfoy Manor and dropped his news on them. Both Draco and Lucius had been shocked to say the least. They had sat there for a good long moment, drink in hand and staring at him as if he had gone mad.

Draco just could not believe his Godfather had slept with the know-it-all girl they had both spent so many years despising, and to top it off, he had knocked her up.

And now Severus was fuming as he paced the floor in front of them, exceedingly angry Potter and Granger had kept his child a secret for so long.

"You never even wanted children Severus," Lucius pointed out. "And you certainly don't like babies, remember how you were with Draco?"

Severus glanced disdainfully at Draco as if he were seeing the baby who had once spit up white all over his pristine black robes.

"That is hardly the point Lucius. I should have been informed."

"I admit, you had a right a right to know, but what would you have done about it?"

"I would have taken responsibility for my actions."

Draco almost choked on his drink. "You would have married Granger!?"

"Perhaps, but I was more referring to the financial responsibility and anything else being a father entails," he replied.

Draco only nodded. "What's wrong with Granger anyway? What's killing her?"

"I'm not sure. I will find out more at some point."

Draco and the magnificent three had never become friends, but they had at least reached polite civility and even he could admit it was sad she would die and leave behind a little girl. Draco didn't know what he would have done without his mother through everything.

"And your daughter, what's her name?" Lucius asked.

"Evangeline."

"Well I would certainly be interested to meet the child of Severus Snape." The look on his face was as close to a grin as Lucius could get without it morphing into the arrogant smirk the Malfoy men were so known for.

"You meet her tonight?" Draco asked.

Severus nodded.

"Are you going to do anything about the fact they kept her from you for eight years?"

Another nod. It was Hermione's decision, but he could hardly take his anger out on her at this time. Black and Potter would have to suffice. He dropped into his chair.

"What am I to do with her?"

"What do you mean?" Lucius sipped at his brandy, watching his old friend.

"I teach children, not entertain them. What am I to do with her for three weeks?"

"Considering her parents, she'll probably just read," Draco muttered snidely.

Severus felt that would be too much to hope for and didn't want to raise his expectations.