Disclaimer: Except for my OCs, the characters here an the world in which they live are the creation of JK Rowling. This chapter takes place during the timeline of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There is one direct quote from that book in this chapter.

The Snapes went into town on the next Hogsmeade Weekend. The air was unusually mild for December and the shops were quite festive. The possibility of extra cash from the foreign visitors had inspired the Hogsmeade shopkeepers to have particularly fine displays. As they were shopping, Emily was stopped by a flurry of activity in her womb. “Hold on a minute, Severus,” she said, “your child is going crazy.”

He pulled her into an alleyway and slid his hands within her cloak to feel for himself. The baby was indeed moving quite a bit right then. As had happened with her first pregnancy, the sensation of life within his wife brought a sweet desire to Severus. It hadn't been quite the same with Marcus, due to the pressures put upon them by the Dark Lord, but they could both rejoice in the pleasures of this pregnancy. He pressed her against the wall they were standing near, and kissed her.

---

Padfoot kept to the shadows, looking for his godson. He hadn't found Harry yet, but as he slunk through one alley he came upon a couple snogging against a wall. He couldn't tell who the girl was, but the figure of the man was undeniable. Severus Snape had buried his face within the hood of the girl's cloak, and his hands were somewhere within her cloak, too, doing who knew what. Sirius Black could guess, based upon what he would do with a girl if given the opportunity.

He transformed back to a man for a moment and stood close to the couple, although still well in the shadows. “So, Snape, I see you've found a girl to carry on with. Are you going to shag her out here in the cold? And what will you say to your wife when you get this one knocked up?”

There was silence and then a quiet murmur. “I think his exact words were 'You fill me with delight,'” came from inside the woman's hood, accompanied by a familiar giggle. Two faces turned to him as Emily said, “Unless you're referring to what he said as he actually impregnated me, but surely Sirius, even you don't want to be privy to such intimate conversation.”

“And, my dear, it would be hard to ascertain exactly which time that night we conceived the child, and therefore the exact conversation.”

“You're right as usual, Severus. He might find it tedious to hear all of our conversation that night.”

Sirius looked at the couple again, and saw that Severus's hands were pressed against Emily's expanding middle. “Pregnant? You're having his kid, again?” Emily smiled and nodded.

The baby started making some decisive thumps again. Severus lifted one of his hands to tilt his wife's face back toward his own. Emily thought she would fall as the look in his eye melted her and his lips returned to hers. She was grateful for the wall at her back which gave her support, and her husband's neck, around which she had put her arms. She held on tighter as her knees grew weaker.

Sirius had never been so casually dismissed in his entire life. He was also feeling the slightly ill sensation similar to that of a teenager who comes upon his parents in a tender moment. It was unbelievable that Severus Snape had a better sex life than Sirius Black. The Animagus returned to his dog form and wandered away.

Eventually the baby stopped moving and Severus released his wife from his embrace, if only in order to return more quickly to Hogwarts. Emily insisted on one last stop. She went into the Three Broomsticks and had a hamper filled with a good dinner. They went out and looked through the alleyways until they found Padfoot again, and gave him the hamper. “You looked very hungry. Please try to stay out of trouble and leave us alone, okay?”

The dog looked at Emily balefully, but took the handle of the hamper in his mouth and wandered off. As they resumed their path toward the school, Severus groused. “You know that once you feed a stray you can never get rid of it...”

Emily laughed and said that it was a consolation prize of sorts. She suggested that they look ahead to what they would do with the rest of their afternoon alone in the dungeon. Distracted by this pleasing proposition, Professor Snape lengthened his stride to the fastest Emily could keep up with, and only put half his attention upon scowling at the students they passed along the way.

---

Margo Snape had just finished putting her hair into place as her date for the Yule Ball arrived. She wore very grown-up looking dress robes in black and dark green. They fitted her trim form nicely, although she wished there were some way to fill the top out a little more. “Don't worry, dear, that will come, and with it a great deal of trouble,” her mother told her, a little too cheerfully, Margo thought. Mum tried to distract her with some yarn about how she was sixteen before her figure filled out, but it wasn't much consolation tonight.

Mum herself looked quite womanly. She lacked nothing to fill out the top of her dress robes, although she was obviously pregnant and filled out the middle of them quite convincingly, too. Hers were midnight blue in color, and tonight she seemed made to fit within Daddy's arm in his dress robes that were in unrelieved black.

Theodore Nott was really sweet, giving her flowers that he'd had owled in that day. “You look really nice,” he said.

“Thank you.” Margo blushed. She liked Theodore well enough. He kept to himself as much as she did. If it hadn't been really awkward, they might have been friends, but Margo tended to avoid the common room since Malfoy would practically sit on top of her if he were there, and the other Slytherins treated her funny because of who her father was. Margo wondered idly if Neville and Ginny Weasley were having this awkward a moment, but decided probably not. None of their parents would be present.

---

Emily was exhausted and left the Yule Ball early, after dinner and only a dance or two with her husband. She had dozed on the sofa of the sitting room, but woke when Hope came in. They shared mugs of hot cocoa as she asked her daughter about the event.

It seemed that Draco Malfoy was still interested in Margo Snape. He took advantage of dancing with her to press for a closer relationship. He even mentioned that his parents had fixed up an arrangement with hers the previous summer, something Mum flatly denied on behalf of herself and Daddy. There would be no marriage contract for Margo Snape until Margo Snape wanted it. Hope had gone to her room in great relief and Emily was still up when Severus came to their quarters.

“How was the rest of the evening?” she asked.

“Which part? The part where I had to watch horny teenagers pawing each other, the part where Karkaroff wanted to compare Dark Marks, the part where Dumbledore wants to re-sort me, or the part where your daughter danced with that boy?”

“You may start where you like.” Emily sat back on the couch and patted the seat next to her. Severus started pacing. “I take it you're not talking about Theodore Nott?”

“She danced with Nott several times, and even with some of her other House mates. She's such a good little snake, sometimes, and does exactly what is expected of her. No, you know whom I mean. They only danced together once, very late in the Ball, and acted as if it were a dare from House mates. When they were together, though, you could tell that they're quite good friends. Particularly good friends, Emily.”

“They didn't--”

“No, they were quite circumspect, but it was all there in their posture. He held her—heaven help us, if he would only look after his potions the way he looked after her person! After tripping all over the Weasley girl, he danced with our daughter as if--” He paused. “And the last time I saw that look in a female eye, you were giving it to me as we danced, earlier.”

Emily laughed. “Do you think we need to start negotiating the contract then?”

“This isn't funny, Madam!”

“Perhaps not.” There was still humor in her voice. “I think, though, you might consider the possibility that this is just a passing romance and let it run its course.”

“What if it doesn't pass?”

“Why are you so worried about this?”

“He can't possibly protect her! His skills are so badly wanting!”

“Wait a minute, Severus, you told me yourself about that Shield Charm he put up last spring, protecting your daughter and three other students from each other.” His shoulders slumped just a slight bit. “You just told me that he took good care of her as they danced. Is it possible that he's becoming more capable than you give him credit for?”

“She shouldn't be with anyone unworthy of her.”

“Do you honestly think our daughter, your daughter, Severus Snape, will love anyone who isn't worthy of her? She's as Slytherin as you are, you know. And why are we worrying about this at all? They're still so young.”

“She's turning into a grown up woman before my eyes. Emily, I'm losing her.”

“Don't rush it, and would you rather the alternative? We have to let life go at its pace.”

“I don't have to like it.”

“Come see what life is doing this very minute.” She reached for his hand and pulled him down next to her. The baby was kicking and thumping quite hard just then. Severus buried his head in his wife's neck and breathed deeply. Emily continued, “I'll ignore the hormone-ridden teens, but what about Karkaroff?”

“Igor's Mark is getting darker, too. He wants me to tell him what to do. I think he intends to try to run away when he's summoned.”

“That's not going to work, is it?”

“The Dark Lord as we knew him last was worse than the most jealous of lovers. I don't think anyone would survive running. You and the children, though...”

“We belong with our husband and father. I fear for you, Severus. I fear that he will be angry with you. You were so dismissive toward Quirrell.”

“Dumbledore and I have discussed it. It will work out. We discussed Igor and then he said, 'Sometimes I think we sort too soon.' I think he meant that I should have been in some other House.”

“With your skills, loyalty, and brilliance, you could have gone anywhere and been a success, but, Severus, you are Slytherin House.”

He worked his hand under Emily's robes to touch her belly. “Emily, I want you...”

“Hmm, we're in perfect agreement,” she responded as she allowed him to guide her to their bedroom.

---

Hope was in her bedroom, staring at the door, thinking over what her parents had said about her. If only she had gone to the dorm instead of coming to her parents tonight! Mum had really wanted to talk about the Yule Ball, though. There was no reason not to come.

Daddy thought that she and Neville...it was too odd to consider. Yet, when they were dancing, wasn't it the best time she had all night? She told herself that was just because she could be with her friend in public for five precious minutes. Wasn't it? It was just natural to enjoy his company. A small voice inside pointed out that it was a little bit thrilling, too. She found parchment and quill and started writing.

Dear Lucky,

I now know exactly what my parents have been arguing about all this time. “That boy” wasn't your dorm mate after all. I don't think I can discuss it right now. It's all so strange and unsettling. I feel like that dream where the school staircases have moved under me but I didn't go with them when they moved and then I'm standing over open air. Have you ever had that dream?

You had asked for help with some of the potions ingredients. Since I won't be sleeping tonight, I'll tell you how they sort out...

Sincerely,
Hope

He would notice that she hadn't mentioned their dancing together. That wouldn't do at all. She might as well use pink ink to draw a circle around the fact that she was thinking about it. She snorted and scowled. It might as well be a big pink heart, she mocked herself.

PS: I enjoyed our dance together. It was nice to be able to be friends in public for a few minutes.

There, that was just right. Now she could give it to him at breakfast, somehow. When she finally lay down on her bed, she found she was sleepy enough to drift off. Maybe Mum could help her understand what she was thinking. No, Mum was laughing. Hope thought she was laughing at Daddy, but maybe she was laughing at Hope. Maybe... Grandma. Yes, Grandma would help her sort it out. Maybe she could go to London for the rest of vacation. The budding heart was much eased by the thought of that, as she went to sleep at last.