Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own HARRY POTTER and co. We all know that they belong to the fabulous, J.K. ROWLING. Any characters that are familiarized with any of her books don't belong to me.

Thanks to QueenP and Magic for betaing this chapter.

Recap

End Recap

CHAPTER THREE

BABY DON'T CRY

Severus blinked several times. He was quite sure Hermione had just appeared before him, having told him that she still loved him. Rising from his chair, he slowly walked to where he had seen her. He stretched out his hand, hoping to grab onto something. What? He didn't know.

"Hermione?" he repeated again.

When he had gotten no response his eyelids slowly slid over his eyes. Severus breathed in deeply before opening them once more. His imagination had definitely run away with him that time; either that or he was starting to go insane.

He slammed his fist against the mahogany desk in frustration. Severus willed the tears to not fall yet again as he squeezed his eyes tightly. He was broken, completely broken, and there was no possible way to repair his damage. For three eternally long years, he had tried to get over the pain caused by his young wife's death. It was to no avail. The pain remained without fail.

Failure. He, Severus Snape, was a failure--failing in his attempts to move past his wife's death. He still loved her; there was no doubt in his mind about that. She was the only woman he had ever loved. She was the one who had taught him how to love, and that loving wasn't all that bad.

Then, what did the bloody witch go and do? She had gotten herself a Crucio from that bloody idiot Karkaroff. If only he had been there to help her. If he had only ... she wouldn't be ...

Shaking his limp head, Severus slammed his other fist onto the desk.The tears were ignoring his commands to stop. His heart hammered in his chest, leaving him feeling as if his ribcage would burst apart at any second. He waited, holding his breath slightly. After a few minutes passed, his heart started beating normally.

Although his ribcage didn't break, his heart did, breaking all over again, at every thought of Hermione.

Severus had wondered what his heart would look like. He had always assumed that it was black and cold. Black ice basically. Then along came Miss Hermione Granger. The insolent, little wench had thawed his cold heart of black ice into a steady- beating, blood red heart. The heart overflowed with love for her and also for his daughter.

Severus gripped his black robes roughly; his fingers entwined into the material. This place, this place was where his heart was currently beating. Correction: Where his heart was slowly beating. Why so slowly? His heart wasn't functioning properly because it was missing something--something very important.

It was Hermione's love. Snape snorted. Hermione's love and affection, indeed. What had he turned into? An ex-Death Eater, and ex-spy for the Light... Now what was he?

I'll tell you what I am, he thought bitterly. I'm a fool.

- - -

Dumbledore paced his study in deep thought. As usual, his thoughts were revolving around something that had little to do with him. This time his thoughts were about Severus and Liana.

If the two were to discover Hermione had become a ghost ... what would happen would be anyone's guess. Severus would either be elated that his wife had returned to him, or he'd be outraged that she had returned without informing him. Of course, the headmaster was inclined to believe the latter would happen rather then the former.

But then again, who really knew? Severus was an enigma, even to himself.

Albus was sure that the younger wizard had never gotten over his wife's death, the poor man. The old wizard walked to his desk and sat in his old, worn out chair.

Dumbledore sighed, leaning against the chair. There were no major concerns any longer. With the threat of Voldemort gone, the Wizarding world was at peace--whatever bit of peace was left. Shaking his head in order to clear his mind of such a depressing memory, his thoughts wandered back to his Potions professor.

The Second War had an impact on Professor Snape as well. Walter Crabbe, Vincent Crabbe's father, had kidnapped Hermione after the Leaving Ceremony. Dumbledore remembered that memory as if it were yesterday...

- - -

Wasting no time, Dumbledore waved his wand, and a Phoenix floated out of it. "Let us depart to find Miss Granger and Mister Crabbe."

- - -

The headmaster sighed wearily. What happened next was nothing less than a tragedy. As was discovered later, Walter Crabbe had indeed kidnapped Hermione. In addition to taking the young witch, he discovered she was pregnant--a surprise to not only the captor, but also the captive.

Being the foolish man that he was, Crabbe had killed the baby without thought as to it displeasing his Lord. After finding out what had been done, Voldemort was enraged and had disposed of Mister Crabbe in a matter of moments. Hermione had eventually managed to escape the Crabbe household, thanks to a certain Mister Malfoy, allowing the young wizard to redeem himself by proving his loyalty to the Order.

Dumbledore was most pleased to see that the young man had chosen the most fitting way of redeeming himself. Yet, when the Order had discovered what Walter Crabbe had done to Hermione, they were furious. No one had known of Hermione's pregnancy. Dumbledore vividly remembered the look on the Potions professor's face as Draco had told the Order all that had transpired.

It was a look of anger, hurt, and to this day, an emotion that he could not completely place. While he could only suspect who fathered Hermione's child, he saw no reason to punish them any further for their actions. They had already suffered enough, and Miss Granger had already graduated; so no harm was done.

After being a prisoner of Walter Crabbe for four years, a lot had happened to Miss Granger. Dumbledore was upset that an asset to the Order had been kidnapped and that there was nothing to be done about it. The dungeon under the Crabbe household had been watched, even after Walter Crabbe had passed away. The Death Eaters prevented any possibility of Hermione escaping of her own accord.

When Draco had brought her to Hogwarts on that Halloween Night, she looked so frail. It was a sight to see. The once spirited, ambitious Gryffindor girl was broken through and through after four years of torture by Crabbe. The next thing he knew, the final battle of the second war had begun. Through much insistence on Miss Granger's part, she had participated in the final battle. He did notice that his Potions master had remained near her at all times. It didn't take an idiot to figure out that those two were ... together.

Getting up from his seat, he strode to his personal quarters, hoping to get some of that much needed rest once there.

- - -

Samuel Snape walked to the manor where his wife now resided. It was amusing to him when that fool Fudge actually allowed he and Helene to separate. No matter what, though, she'd still be his wife, and he had expressed that to the Minister. He didn't really think that the old fool really knew what he meant by that, but whatever, so long as Helene was still his wife nothing else really mattered.

Arriving at the front door of the manor, he knocked, making his presence known. He waited impatiently, frowning at the door. He didn't appreciate the fact that they were intentionally making him wait. Finally, after what seemed like several hours, the door opened with a slight creak, and a house-elf poked out his little head, large eyes widening upon seeing Samuel Snape.

"What is Isis to be doing for you, sir?" the house-elf questioned with a squeak in its voice.

"You know what I want, you stupid house-elf," sneered Samuel. "Where is Helene?"

The house-elf gulped loudly. "Mistress is telling us that she is not to be disturbed today. Isis is sticking to Mistress' order, Isis is. Sir is to be coming back next time."

Samuel raised an eyebrow before sneering once again. "Don't stand there looking at me like that, house-elf. Tell your mistress that she can stop whatever it is that she's doing and come see me at once!"

Isis' legs trembled with fear. Yet, it was determined to obey its mistress despite what this man said.

"Isis is sorry, sir. Mistress says no!"

The house-elf was slowly testing his patience, and he didn't like that one bit. Instead of bending down to talk to the insolent house-elf, he stood at his full height, towering over the poor creature.

"Go call Helene. Tell her that her husband needs to speak to her right now."

"Isis is sorry, but that cannot be done. Come back again tomorrow, sir." With that said, the house-elf forcefully pushed the door closed. Unfortunately for the creature, Snape had, in return, pushed the door open, permitting himself entry.

"OUT!" screeched the house-elf at the top of its lungs.

Samuel paid no heed to the house-elf, settling himself, instead, in a nearby chair.

"What is going on here?" A woman appeared at the doors leading into another room. Her gaze settled on her house-elf and then moved to the man sitting on the chair.

"Samuel, what is the meaning of this interruption?" Helene questioned, giving her husband a steely glare.

"Helene, love, I came by to see if we could have a little chat?" Samuel said, a smirk appearing on his face.

"What do you mean, Samuel?"

Raising an eyebrow, the man rose from the chair and walked toward his wife. "I was hoping that we could have a civilized conversation, but that appears to be out of the question," he said as he now stood in front of her.

"It always has been out of the question, Samuel Snape. Please, tell me what you want so that you can leave of my home as quickly as possible!"

"You know, my dear, I was over at Lucius Malfoy's house today. He was on his death bed, poor bloke," he said as he walked around his wife, enjoying the shudder that traveled down her back.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and in fact, I found out some very interesting news about our son, Severus, from Lucius." Samuel was eyeing his wife, seeing if there were any movements from her that would signal that she knew what he was talking about. "You see, dear wife, he told me that Severus had gotten married. And do you know to whom he got married, hm? A Mudblood! A filthy, little Mudblood!" His voice was escalating rapidly now, expressing his intense anger at the idea. "And do you know what else I found out, Helene? He has a daughter. A Miss Liana Snape."

Helene's eyes widened a fraction at the mention of her granddaughter. She was hoping and praying to Merlin that her husband would never find out about Liana. Unfortunately, he now had.

"Really now?" she said, pretending to be unaffected with what Samuel had just said. "I had no idea that Severus..."

"Lies!" hissed Samuel as he stopped walking, and now stood directly in front of his wife. "All lies, Helene."

"Samuel, I honestly do not know what you are talking about," Helene said sternly. "If that is all you wish to speak to me about, I suggest you go back home. Your business with me is done, and has been for a long time."

"If that is the way you're are going to be. But I still don't believe you, Helene," he said. "I'll find my granddaughter for myself."

Helene Snape watched as her husband left her house. Walking over to one of the windows in the foyer, she peered through it. Her heart beat faster than ever. It had taken her so long to convince Severus to let her see her granddaughter, Liana. She would be damned if she would let that cruel man see the precious little girl. No, that would never, could never happen. As long as she was Severus' mother, she would do everything in her power to see to it that her granddaughter would never have to meet Samuel Snape.

Hurriedly walking over to the fireplace, she threw in some Floo powder. The flames turned emerald, and Helene shouted, "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts." Sticking her head into the flames, she looked around the room.

"Albus?" she called out to the empty room. Hearing the door shut quietly, she swiveled her head around to face an old, wrinkled man. His white-silver hair hanging over his shoulders, and his twinkling, blue eyes behind half-mooned spectacles turned to look at her.

"Helene, what a surprise to see you," the old man said, a small smile forming on his lips.

The woman smiled slightly. "Yes, I suppose it is," she replied.

"Is there something you wish to discuss?" asked Dumbledore as he sat in his worn-out leather chair.

"Yes. I just received quite a shock." Helene shook her head, breathing deeply before continuing. "He knows, Albus."

"Who knows?"

"Samuel. Samuel knows Albus! He knows about Liana!" her voice trembled, her fear evident as she looked into the eyes of the headmaster. "I'm afraid what will happen if he finds her. We know that he'll come to Hogwarts. It's widely known that Severus is still teaching there."

"I see," he said quietly. "We'll have to inform Severus, then."

"Please," said Helene quietly. "I know that Severus... ignored his father ...majority of his life, I just hope ... Albus, I wouldn't know... what to do if something ..."

The headmaster walked over to the fireplace and gave the old woman a reassuring look. "We'll find a way."

- - -

Severus walked into his personal quarters, a frown marring his face. He had just come from an impromptu meeting with Dumbledore. The news that Dumbledore had presented was not what he had expected to hear. His father knew about Liana. Severus had spent much time and effort in order to prevent his father from finding out about his daughter. Merlin, he was frightened for his little girl. Apparently, his father had gone to visit his poor mother.

He needed to contact her. He needed to know how his father had obtained such information. His eyes swooped over the room; his daughter wasn't here yet. Assuming that she was still with Ginevra Malfoy, Severus sat at his desk and ran a hand over his tired face, sighing.

Determining that he needed to owl his mother to ask for details on how his father had found out about Liana, he reached for a piece of parchment. As the rough texture of the parchment rubbed between his finger pads, he grabbed a quill. After dipping the fine tipped writing utensil into black ink, he placed it on the piece of parchment, rapidly firing off questions for his mother. His anger grew as he wrote until his head felt as though it were spinning.

He couldn't even begin to think about his father's actions if the older man ever found Liana. His head lifted as he heard noise coming from the outside. Listening closely, he heard someone, a little girl, complaining. A small smile formed on his lips. It was Liana complaining to the Weasley girl about something.

Sliding his chair back, he stood up and walked towards the door. Opening it, he watched as his daughter's frown left her face, and a huge, bright smile replaced it. The little girl lunged forward, hugging her father's legs tightly. A pregnant woman walked slowly behind her.

"Professor Snape," the woman said in relief. "Would you mind if I Floo back to my rooms from here? My legs hurt from all the stairs."

"Of course, Ginevra," Severus replied as he made room for the very pregnant woman to come in. "Why you chose to walk down to the dungeons in the first place is a mystery to me."

Ginny grinned and waddled across the room to the fireplace. "Ana wanted to walk down here. She's as stubborn as Hermione," the redhead said shaking her head.

Severus nodded, not responding to what she had said. "Thank you for watching her," he said.

"It was no problem, Professor."

She threw a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace and walked into it as she stated her destination. Sighing slightly, Snape closed the door. Sometime during his conversation with Draco's wife, Liana had left the room. Knowing that she had gone to her room, he set about finishing his previous task. Before reaching his desk, though, he heard quiet sobs coming from his daughter's room.

Frowning slightly, he walked to her room. The door was slightly ajar, and, as he peered in through the crack in the door, he saw his little girl face-down on her bed crying.

- - -

Hermione frowned at the scene before her. Her husband had just walked into their daughter's room to find the little girl crying on her bed. She stayed against the wall, ensuring that at least a part of her body was touching it. If she failed to touch a solid object, she would become visible to the room's occupants.

"Liana, what is the matter?" asked Severus as he sat next to the little girl on the bed.

The little girl looked up at her father and threw herself at him. Shocked at what his daughter had just done, Severus patted her softly on the back. After a while, he carefully pried her away from him and asked, again, why she was crying.

"Why don't I have a mum?" Liana cried, her shoulders shaking.

Astonished at the sudden declaration, Severus tried to grasp what his daughter was asking. "Liana, you have a mother, remember?" he said. Severus pointed to the picture on the little girls table.

"Why isn't...hic... she here then?" Liana asked, hiccoughing through her tears.

Resisting the urge to sigh, Severus pulled the sobbing girl into his lap. "I thought we had discussed this already."

The little girl shrugged.

Meanwhile, Hermione was watching the interaction from afar. The ghost witch clutched her heart in agony. She so badly wanted to reach out to her daughter and tell her that Mummy was here. That she really hadn't left.

"Liana, why have you started crying about this nonsense? Even after we have discussed this topic countless times before."

Once again the little girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Liana, I want an answer this instant," said Severus in a firm voice.

"Patty and Tim went over to Auntie Ginny's while I was over," Liana said. Severus nodded his head, urging her to continue. "We were baking, y'know the thing Nana and I do while I'm over there. And then, while we were making cookies, Patty and Tim started talking about their mums, Katie and Fleur. Then Tim asked me what Mum did, and I didn't know what to say."

Severus held his daughter tight against him, not knowing what to say. Bill and George's brats should've kept their mouths shut. He really didn't know how to handle this. Running his fingers through his daughter's hair, whispering into her ear, "It's going to be okay, Sneaky Snake."

Hermione watched with tears in her eyes. She so badly wanted to comfort her daughter, but she was held back. She knew she couldn't do so and pain of that knowledge was killing her.

"Daddy?" the little girl said after calming down. "Will Mum ever come back to us?"

Severus took in a deep breath, and gave his daughter a heartbroken smile. "I don't think so, Sneaky."

"Why not?" Liana demanded, her small fists clenching in anger. "I've been a good girl, haven't I, daddy? I always make my Christmas list short and always put my mum as the number one thing on my list. So that Father Christmas would know that Mum was the only present that I wanted."

"Your mother is dead, Liana," Severus said, albeit too harshly as tears started to form in the little girl's eyes. "There is no possible way to bring her back."

Hermione covered her mouth, tears flowing down her cheeks. Leaning back against the wall, she fell through to the other side. Looking at her surroundings, she saw that she was now in the Ghosts' quarters. Shaking her head, she walked into her room with Severus' words spinning in her head.

There is no possible way to bring her back.

END CHAPTER THREE

"Baby don't cry, you've got to keep your head up." - Baby Don't Cry by Tupac Shakur