Baby Makes Four

Severus watched in awe as his daughter was born. He knew what to expect, because he had watched Hermione's memories of Donovan's birth. But being there and watching a miracle was totally different. Nothing could have prepared him for the emotions that bombarded him during and after the birth. His heart was so full, and yet he longed for sleep and perhaps a Firewhisky and a bit of a cry to himself.

Hermione had been amazing. Where she had found the strength to push their daughter into the world, he would never know. Her curls were plastered around her face, sweat pouring from her through sheer exertion, but as soon as she heard her baby cry, she beamed from ear to ear and told Severus she loved him, much to the amusement of the nursing staff.

A girl. He hadn't quite considered that having a daughter would feel different to having a son. He instantly wanted to protect her and cosset her, and yet she wasn't a fragile thing at all. At eight pounds and two ounces, she was a pudding of a baby, cuddly, with a round face, black curly hair and, thank the gods, Hermione's delicate nose. He cradled her close, marvelling at her soft skin and perfect, tiny fingers and inhaling her clean, intoxicating scent. Her eyes remained closed until he caressed her cheek with his finger tip, and when she finally looked up at her father for the first time with soft, blue eyes, Severus couldn't contain his emotions any longer.

Hermione started to cry as she watched Severus with their baby, his tears falling quietly as he gazed at Ciara.

'Severus,' she whispered, choking on his name through her own tears. 'Come here.'

He sat, and she gently took Ciara from him and held her with one arm. With the other, she pulled Severus close, and they kissed over and over again, their tears mingling, until he gave an embarrassed laugh. Hermione held his face with her hand briefly and their eyes met, each of them overwhelmed with joy and the shared burden of parenthood.

***

Donovan stood in the doorway of his parents' bedroom and watched. A Moses basket was sitting on its own stand in pride of place beside the bed, and his sister Ciara was sleeping inside, her hands curled around the soft, jersey fabric of her sleep suit. It wasn't the basket Donovan was looking at, however.

His father was sitting on the bed next to his mother, his arm draped around her shoulders, and they were both looking down lovingly at their new baby. It made Donovan's tummy feel funny.

'Daddy,' he said from the doorway. There was no response, and so he tried again.

'Daddy!'

Hermione glanced in Donovan's direction. 'We won't be long, Donovan. Why don't you go and play for a while?'

Donovan glared and started to feel angry. He stamped his foot in frustration and sparks flew as his magic began to build. He looked from his mother to his father and then at the Moses basket, and irrational anger towards his sister flared suddenly. With no conscious effort on Donovan's part, he felt himself lift from the floor and rise upwards, and he started to panic. Scrabbling with both hands, he managed to grab hold of the door lintel to stop himself from going any further, and he let out a scream.

'DADDY!'

Severus turned towards the sound and gasped as he saw Donovan's legs dangling in the doorway.

'Fuck,' he muttered, withdrawing his wand quickly.

'Oh my god!' Hermione shouted in shock.

'Don't panic, I have him.' Severus slowly levitated Donovan to floor and pulled the now sobbing boy into a bear hug, stroking his hair soothingly. Hermione went to where they stood and kissed the top of Donovan's head before looking pointedly at Severus. He gave a rueful shrug.

'I think he wanted some attention, don't you?'

***

Severus stepped through the Floo, his precious package wrapped in brown paper under his arm.

'Well?' Hermione stood in the kitchen doorway, cradling Ciara over her shoulder.

'It cost an arm and a leg,' Severus sighed.

'Well, you could have borrowed one, Severus.'

Hermione stepped towards him and kissed Severus on his frowning mouth. She knew very well why Severus didn't want to use Albus' Pensieve, so she decided not to labour the point.

'Let's see it then, now you've bought something that will likely become a Snape family heirloom.' Hermione smiled fondly as their eyes met, and Severus finally stopped frowning and allowed himself to relax.

'We'll have to find somewhere safe to put it. I wouldn't want Donovan getting carried away with it when he gets older,' he murmured as he shrugged off his dark coat and hung it on the end of the banister.

Hermione wisely said nothing. The fact that her husband's life had been intrinsically shaped for good and bad by the use of a Pensieve had not gone unnoticed, by her at least. The emotional ties to the Pensieve in what was now Minerva's office were obviously still so strong that he couldn't bring himself to use it.

Severus slowly lifted the heavy bowl from its wrappings and laid it in the centre of the kitchen table. Instantly, Hermione could see why it had cost so much money, for it was carved from a gleaming block of black marble. The outer edges were scribed with runes, some giving warnings about the use of the object, and some extolling the virtues of its use. It was incredibly beautiful, and as far removed from the look of Albus' Pensieve as you could possibly get.

'It's beautiful, Severus.'

Severus was frowning again as he stared at the bowl. 'I hope this is a good idea,' he muttered.

Hermione shifted Ciara around and handed her to Severus. The effect was immediate. The lines on his face softened and his eyes lightened as he looked into his daughter's face. She gurgled happily, and an unconscious smile graced his lips as Ciara tried to grab his nose.

'She's looking more like you every day, isn't she?' he said with a grin.

Hermione took her wand and held her hand up to stop any protest before it started.

'You need to see this,' she stated firmly, withdrawing her most recent memory of Severus and Ciara. She let the fine, silver strand fall into the Pensieve, took Ciara out of Severus' arms and nodded firmly.

'I don't know what you're up to, witch,' Severus grumbled, but he did as he was instructed, knowing that Hermione would get her own way eventually.

He dipped his face into the swirling silver, its colour sharply contrasting with the black of the marble, and watched as he held his daughter. It was a revelation. He had never thought that he could look so happy. Almost reluctantly, he returned to the kitchen, and Hermione immediately replaced the memory, smiling as she relived the moment again.

'That's why we're doing this. Donovan needs to know what it was like when he was a baby, or he will think we love Ciara more than him. Goodness knows what will happen with his magic the next time, and I don't fancy Obliviating the population of New Mills, do you?' She caught Severus' gaze meaningfully. There had already been some near misses.

'Point taken.' He stepped closer and bent to kiss her lightly on her pursed lips. 'Know-it-all,' he whispered, laughing as he neatly side-stepped her poorly aimed swipe.

***

Donovan thought the shiny, black bowl was amazing. The patterns that were carved around the edge fascinated him, and he ran his fingers across them, feeling the roughness against the smooth marble.

'What are these shapes?' he asked.

'They're called runes. When you go to Hogwarts you will learn how to read them,' Hermione said patiently.

'Can't I learn them now?' he demanded.

'I might show you how to write your name. Would you like that?' Hermione smiled. Donovan Snape might look like his father, but he was as inquisitive and as eager to learn as his mother.

'That would be cool,' he said, his eyes wide.

Severus frowned. '"Cool"?'

'Everyone says cool at school, Daddy,' Donovan said with an exaggerated sigh. 'What is the bowl for?'

'It's a bit like a television, but the pictures you watch are real,' Hermione said. 'It's magical, so you must remember not to tell Megan or your other school friends.'

'I can't see a switch. Is there a remote control?' Donovan rested his chin on his hands and peered at the underside of the bowl.

Hermione laughed lightly. 'Let's show you. Daddy will go first, and then you can do it together.'

Donovan watched in fascination as Hermione took a memory with her wand and let drop noiselessly into the Pensieve. Then Severus dipped his face into the bowl, stayed there for a few moments and then lifted his head again. He stared open-mouthed at Hermione, and they shared a meaningful look. Donovan wondered why his father's cheeks were a little bit pink, and decided to see for himself. He leaned forward and had almost touched the silver memory with the tip of his nose when Severus pulled him back.

'Not for you to see,' he said firmly, and Hermione covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed.

'Sorry, Severus. I couldn't resist,' she said.

'What can I see?' Donovan demanded petulantly. Hermione removed some more silver strands of memory, and Donovan held tightly to his fathers' hand as they entered the Pensieve together.

They were in a place Donovan didn't recognise. There was a large sofa, and a huge window that let in loads of sunlight. He could see his mother, and she was holding a baby wrapped in a white blanket.

'The baby is you,' Severus said softly, placing his hand gently on Donovan's shoulder for reassurance.

The memory of Hermione kissed baby Donovan and smiled at him. 'Mummy loves you very much, Donovan.'

Donovan looked around the room and frowned, the memory started to fade, and suddenly he was back with his father in Hilltop Cottage, in a different memory this time. He was a bit older and sitting on his father's knee. Severus was dressed in black from head to toe and looked different to the father he knew now.

'What are you wearing, Daddy?' he asked him quietly.

'Those are my teaching robes. I was working at Hogwarts when you were born.'

'Is that why Mummy was looking after me on her own in the other house?' Donovan peered up at Severus, who grimaced.

'You don't miss a thing, do you?' he murmured. 'That is a story for when you're older, I think. The important thing is this.' He pointed at the memory again, and Donovan watched as Hermione sat beside Severus, lifted Donovan and they started to talk together, baby Donovan obviously fascinated by the buttons on Severus' black jacket. Donovan wanted to hear what was being said, but the noise was just a murmuring.

'What is Mummy saying?' he said.

'We were talking about you,' Severus said in a whisper. His eyes were transfixed as he remembered the moment he was first introduced to his son. He tightened his arm around Donovan's shoulders as a lump rose in his throat. 'We were saying how much we loved you and how important you are to us,' he said with a smile.

The memory shifted again, and he watched as Severus put him to bed in his old cot. He watched as his father stoked his cheek with his finger. He had seen him do that with Ciara, but never with James Potter or baby Lily. He looked up and saw his father smiling at the memory as he watched, and he put a thin arm around Severus waist.

'I love you, Daddy,' he said.

Severus looked down at Donovan, his eyes wide and more than a little watery. 'Let's go home, shall we?'

With a slight tug, Donovan found himself back in Hilltop Cottage, his hand tightly grasping his father's. They looked at each other, and Severus bent his head and said, 'I love you too, son.'

'And Ciara?' Donovan asked, his gaze drifting to where Hermione sat cradling the baby, just as she had cradled him in the memory.

'Both of you. We love both of you. You are our children.'

***

It took a week or two to get into a new routine with the children, and Severus was exhausted. He had expected the tiredness associated with a newborn, but juggling feeds, laundry and bath time, not to mention the seemingly endless stream of visitors, and looking after Donovan, was quite a challenge. Added to that, Hermione had also needed some tender loving care as she recovered from childbirth. Not that he minded. He hadn't thought it possible that he could love his wife more than he already did, but each day since Ciara's birth had proved this to be wrong. He was totally in awe of her.

He was sitting on the sofa with Ciara propped in the crook of his arm and Donovan sleeping soundly against his other shoulder. It was only four in the afternoon, and yet Severus felt that he could sleep for a week. He was just closing his eyes when the Floo whooshed into life, startling Ciara awake. Donovan jump up with a surprised shout, and Ciara began to cry. Severus groaned, ready to hurl abuse at whoever had interrupted what could have quite possibly been the best forty winks of his life so far. He groaned even louder when the fuss died down to reveal the dishevelled but grinning face of Harry Potter.

'Sorry, Severus. Did I interrupt some special family time?' Harry grinned as he took in Severus' exhausted face.

'Just be glad the children are within earshot, Potter,' Severus grumbled. 'Is this a social call or did you time your visit with the particular intention of waking the household?'

Harry laughed. 'I think you'll find my timing is just right, judging by the look of you. Ginny and I thought you could use a break, so I've come to take the children for a little while, if that's ok?'

'You what?' Severus stared at Harry as if he had misheard him.

'Babysitting, Severus. You know, it's when some one else looks after your kids so you can go out, or, I don't know, maybe sleep for a while,' Harry said patiently.

'But you have your own kids,' Severus said with what he belated realised was a pathetic tone.

'Molly has them. All the time, it seems. Go on, Severus. You look bloody knackered, and I'm sure you could use some time alone with Hermione.'

That clinched it.

'Right. Donovan, gather up some of your toys to bring to Uncle Harry's house,' Severus said quickly.

'Yes!' Donovan shouted, running around the room with his arms out. 'Look, Uncle Harry, I can fly!'

'So you can,' Harry said with a laugh.

Donovan stopped mid-flight and stared seriously up at Harry. 'I can too. Daddy, tell him.'

Harry looked at Severus, who raised an eyebrow. 'Like father, like son,' he smirked. 'Uncontrolled magic at it's very worst.'

'Oh, god. He won't...' Harry made a fluttering movement with his hands.

'Just don't ignore him for too long and you'll be fine.' Severus smiled slowly as Harry paled.

'Right... Good. I'll take Ciara while you get her things together, shall I?' He reached for the still grizzling baby.

Severus paused long enough to pass a worried glance between Harry and his daughter's reddening face. Ciara had been the centre of his world since her birth, and suddenly he wasn't sure he wanted to be without her, even for an hour.

'Harry!' Hermione walked down the stairs and gave Harry a warm hug. 'What are you doing here?'

'I came to take the children for a couple of hours, give Severus a break. It doesn't look as if he wants to let go of Ciara, though,' he said softly.

Severus looked at Harry indignantly. 'I was just working out what you would need.'

'Harry, this is so kind of you.' Hermione gently took Ciara from Severus' arms and passed her to Harry with a kiss. She walked quickly around the room, throwing things into Ciara's changing bag, threw the strap over Harry's shoulder and chivvied him towards the Floo.

'Donovan, you be good and help Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny with Ciara, won't you?'

In the space of five minutes, Harry had left with the children, leaving Severus staring non-plussed at his wife.

'Let's go to bed, Severus,' Hermione whispered, taking his hand in hers.

'You can't surely be ready for... you know?' Severus followed Hermione meekly as she led him up the stairs.

'Not really. A hug would be nice, though,' she said with a smile.

Wearily, Severus undressed and climbed into bed beside Hermione, curling his tall frame around hers and pulling her close. Nuzzling her neck was the last thing he remembered. When Severus awoke, it was dark outside and he was alone in the bed. Quickly, he went down the stairs, to find that Hermione, Donovan and Ciara were all sound asleep on the sofa.

He grunted at the irony and went to make a cup of tea.

The End