Epilogue

A/N: Initially, I had no intention to write an epilogue, but found, instead of working, I thought about a way to end this story properly. This is which I came up with. Now there's only the sequel left to write...

Many thanks to CharmedForce, shellsnapeluver, and notsosaintly for betaing!

Epilogue

The knock on the Potions master's door was faint, if not to say hesitant – it was so very clearly a frightened student knocking that Snape didn't even bother to pick up his wand.

"Come in," he bellowed, being in a relatively bad mood as his jacket refused to be found when he was already in a hurry. "Come now, or do I have to drag you in here by your worthless neck?"

Yes, 'bad mood' was probably a mild description of his state of mind. Not only was his jacket gone, but his shoes refused to be found as well, and if he didn't hurry up he would miss the overture plus a considerable part of the opera.

"Sir?" a small voice piped, and Snape, half-dressed and furious, nearly hexed the boy out of his living room for his impertinence.

"What?" he snapped. "What do you want? And what are you doing in my private quarters? I don't allow students in here! Detention, Leonard, and ten points from Hufflepuff!"

The boy paled visibly. He was about fifteen years old, slightly podgy, with a mild and friendly face and huge feet. He trembled, shuffled, and shifted. He couldn't stand still and avoided his teacher's eyes with effort. Eventually, when it seemed clear that Snape wouldn't cast a Cruciatus Curse at him, he mumbled, "You already gave me detention, sir. That's why I am here. Could you please tell me... where Mr Filch awaits me?" Ducking his head, he looked as though he expected several bombs to emerge from thin air.

Snape, kneeling on the floor, whipped round and knocked his head on the sofa. He stared at the boy, piercing him through and through with his charcoal black eyes. "Detention?" he asked, then cast a quick glace towards his bedroom door. "Of course. You are the boy with the ridiculous amount of siblings and cousins. I expected you; you are late."

"Erm..." Sam Leonard managed. "Erm... yes, sir, sorry, sir. I have four older sisters. One younger brother. Three baby sisters – triplets, a year old. Twenty-five cousins, give or take a few, all between three months and twelve years old. Um, Mr Filch, sir? Detention? Please?"

Snape had found one shoe and put it on. Luckily, the second one was hiding close by. A moment later, the great bat of the dungeons looked more like himself again as he didn't walk around in socks any longer. "Jacket... money... wand," he murmured under his breath and then remembered the boy once more. "So, you have some experience with babies, have you?" he snapped, causing Leonard to stagger back a few steps.

Nodding eagerly, Sam folded his hands behind his back, apparently to stop them from shaking. "Endless experience, sir. My mum works at St. Mungo's, my dad at the Ministry. I feed my baby sisters, change their nappies, sing lullabies, bathe them..."

"Perfect. Come with me, Leonard." Snape turned and pushed open a door Sam had tried to ignore so far – the bedroom door. What lay behind it was something the boy really, really didn't want to think about. Quite possibly, Snape's bedroom was the most horrible thing to experience; there might be... chains... and cauldrons... and no bed but a rack instead... dark and smelly... in short, a room to cause nightmares.

"Today, boy! I don't have all night!"

Slowly, Sam followed his professor into the bedroom and was stunned into speechlessness; it was not horrible! Actually, it was even quite... nice. Cosy. Dimly lit by half a dozen candles; a faint fragrance of orange flowers. And no rack, but a big bed stood in the middle of the room. Not a common four-poster; the bed looked handmade and old, the wood darkened by the years, and it suited the feared Potions master as it was not fancy, not fragile, but strong and beautiful in a unique way. A quilt was thrown across it, its colours bright and friendly. A rose stood on the bedside table, and bookshelves were covering the stone walls. Sam found he liked the room.

Huh. How horrible, to like a teacher's bedroom!

Only one thing was strange. In the left corner, right next to the bed, a big basket hung off the ceiling. Made of willow branches, it swung gently in a non-existent breeze. And this basket was where Snape was heading. Silently, the Potions master stepped closer and stilled its movement; not abruptly, but in a tender way. He peeked in; his expression was covered by his long hair.

Then he reached out and touched whatever was in the basket. What's in there? Sam thought and curiously came a bit closer as well. Kittens? Snakes? It's definitely alive, or he wouldn't be so careful not to wake it.

Impatiently, Snape snapped his fingers, ordering the boy to step next to him. Clumsily, Sam obeyed and would have fallen if his professor hadn't steadied him with a swift grip round his arm. Before Sam could take a look into the basket, Snape hissed right into his ear, "If you wake her, I will kill you with my bare hands! It took me over an hour to sing her to sleep, so you better be quiet!"

That was the moment Sam nearly fainted – the moment when he finally saw that not snakes or kittens were sleeping in the cradle, but a tiny little baby girl. Peacefully, she had one of her chubby fists buried into the fur of a big teddy bear, the other one had found Professor Snape's little finger and held it close.

Sam's jaw sagged open. Staring at the child, he observed her rosy cheeks, her Slytherin green-and-silver pyjamas, and the raven black hair. The teddy bear was nearly as big as she was and had a red-and-gold ribbon round its neck. The baby couldn't be older than a few months; she was extremely cute, and why on earth did Snape look so positively at a loss for words? He just devoured the little girl with his eyes, and Sam was certain that if he had said something then, his professor wouldn't have heard him.

The moment was gone quickly. Snape freed his finger gently from the child's sleepy grip and instead locked his hand on Sam's shoulder. He pushed the boy out of the bedroom again, back into the living room, closing the door behind him without making a sound. "Do you think you can look after her for a few hours?" he asked coldly; he could have been asking about a particularly nasty potion recipe as well.

"Erm..." said Sam. "I..." he continued. "How...?" he finally managed and heavily sat down on the sofa. Rubbing his face with both hands seemed a good idea; maybe he could get rid of the confusion he felt.

Snape took a single step closer. Too close. Sam felt the little hairs on his neck stand up as his Potions professor intruded on his personal space, towering above him like the gallows towered above the condemned.

"Ask," Snape growled. "Ask your questions. Then answer mine – can you look after her? You have that one chance; I can always assign you for cleaning out the Owlery as well."

Sam hated owls. He made a quick decision. "I have no questions, sir," he hurried to say. "I can baby-sit. I like to baby-sit! Honestly. And I won't wake her. I won't even go back into your bedroom! I will sit here and do nothing but... but..."

"Your homework, Leonard," Snape finished for him. "Your last essay was a shame. Do it again. And inform me immediately if she wakes up." With that he put more distance between him and his student again. From his pocket he produced a Galleon and handed it to the boy. "Tap it with your wand and say the message you want me to receive. The coin is charmed; I will get your message instantly."

"Yes, sir," Sam said. What else? He wanted to get out of here alive. Baby-sitting for Snape – no one would believe it! "Does she... What is her name?"

"Sasha," a new voice said, and Sam jumped up from the sofa when he saw the woman standing in the door that led to the bathroom. "And no, Severus has not kidnapped her. Nor is he a vampire, keeping her for a midnight snack. In case you have wondered, she is his daughter. And mine, of course."

"Hermione!" Snape scowled. "You just ruined my reputation!"

The young woman – Hermione – smiled a malicious smile, stood in front of Snape, and rearranged his tie. "Your reputation is nasty enough without students thinking you eat up little babies, love. And tomorrow you can assign detention to anyone who crosses your way, proving you haven't gone mellow only because you have a child."

Sam looked from him to her and back and couldn't believe what happened here. Snape had a child? And... this woman... was she... did she just call him 'love'?

"Oh, and Sam," Hermione said. "You will get paid for baby-sitting for us. Just in case Severus didn't make that clear to you."

Sam shook his head. "Detention," he objected weakly. "I blew up a cauldron today. I can't get paid!" Panic laced his words when he said that. Whoever this woman was, she must be mad to assume she could make Snape do what he didn't want to do.

Apparently, she was mad enough to kiss the great bat of the dungeons. "You scared the life out of the boy," she said, disappointment ringing in her voice. "I won't have that! No one is looking after my daughter who doesn't get paid properly, is that understood?"

Sam expected Snape to hex her for her impertinent words. Instead his lips twitched. "Absolutely," he replied. "But if he messes this up I will turn him into a toad. Agreed?"

"Turning people into toads is my speciality." Hermione smiled and took Snape's hand in hers. "We have to go. Tonks and Remus are waiting, and I don't want to be late. I haven't seen them in a while, you know that. Sam, have a nice evening. We will return around midnight or if you call us back earlier. Sasha doesn't usually wake up after she's fallen asleep. Tell the house-elves to bring you some snacks, if you like. And if this works out fine, think about the possibility of baby-sitting for us again. Sometimes Severus has a hard time looking after Sasha when I am at work."

Sam opened his mouth to say something. Then, he closed it again when he saw Snape walking arm-in-arm out of the door with her. Since when did Snape touch people? Since when did Snape smile? Come to think of it – since when did Snape have a woman, and a child, and a life?

Shaking his head in disbelief, Sam picked up a toy wand from the floor. Now he saw that there were several toys all over the place – children's books, a doll, some blocks, and a fluffy rabbit. Snape's daughter Sasha quite obviously was allowed to mess up the Potions master's room thoroughly.

Actually, Sam liked the idea of baby-sitting for them again. He just witnessed first-hand how Hermione had kept the Potions master in check with a smile and a kiss. He had seen the great bat of the dungeons speechless at the sight of his sleeping daughter. His position would be unique, as there were no other students with his experience in baby-sitting. It was unlikely that he'd ever get expelled for blowing up cauldrons. A perfect arrangement for each side.

"Hell, I would give up my Chocolate Frog Card Collection to know how that relationship started," Sam murmured and went back into the bedroom, checking on the baby. "Perhaps someone hexed him. Or gave him a potion so he'd act human for a change. Hehehe, maybe a love potion. Man, that would be a story to tell: Snape ruled by lust!"

But, of course, the thought was ridiculous. Who would be mad and stupid enough to dose Snape with a potion? "I bet not even Harry Potter would have come up with such an unthinkeable prank," he said with a grin. "They possibly met whilst shopping or something equally boring. As always. There's just no romance left in the world." Sam gave a final sigh and tried to figure out what he wanted to eat.

Author's Note (the last one for this story, promise!)

Endless thanks once more to my wonderful betas, Dreamy_Dragon and CharmedForce. Dreamy has found all the changes in POV I managed to put in the chapters and has nagged me until I had them fixed. Her comments on characters and storyline were invaluable as well as most needed. She and CharmedForce gave feedback in abundance and thus, they helped me tremendously to make this story better than it was before it landed in their caring hands. They did the cheerleading, told me to hurry up, scolded me about wrongly used gerunds and strangely shaped sentences. My dears, I simply love you!

Special thanks to shell who made the banner for me. Sorry, but I had to put it on every page ;-)

In addition, I wish I could hug notsosaintly in person. Thoroughly. She did the final check at the Poetess. And found some more mistakes. Huh. I swear I am chased by commas and gerunds each night...

To all my readers

Thanks for staying with me so long, thanks a lot to each one who has left a review or will leave one. To get read is the sole reason why I write, and reviews are proof that I get read. Hugs to all of you. In case you are interested, there's a sequel: "Journey's End" (Click here to read).