Chapter 8

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter Belong to JKR.

A/N: Okay, you've worn me down. I would like to thank my awesome beta...Cough Southern_Witch_69 Cough *Laughs uncontrollably* I got you!

Severus stood in the doorway of the study and watched as Narcissa paced, sipping her wine, and Lucius sat at his desk reading the Prophet while having a brandy. He'd just gotten Liam back into bed, and now he wanted a word with his... friends.

After a moment, he quietly said, "Narcissa," and had the pleasure of watching her topple her glass of wine.

"Severus! I didn't hear you come down. Is Liam feeling better? The poor dear has been up and down since you brought him home and put him to bed."

"Yes. He merely has a stomachache. I've a potion for that. You seem jumpy. I've a potion for that as well. Shall I have the elf fetch it for you?"

"Oh, no, no." She waved that suggestion away with a flick of her hand. "I'm fine. I was actually just wondering if you had the time to pick up my book today before Liam started feeling poorly."

Severus reached inside his robe and pulled out a brown, wrapped package. "Yes. Here you go," he told her as he walked to the bar to pour himself a drink.

He glanced at Lucius, who had not said a word, and noticed the amused expression on his face as he watched his wife. So, they both knew all along and never said a word. Didn't see fit to warn me. His hand tightened around his glass as he took a sip of his drink to try and calm himself.

Narcissa let out a low growl, and Severus turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "What was that, Cissy? I'm afraid I didn't hear you."

"Nothing, just clearing my throat. Um..."

Through his anger, Severus was becoming slightly amused at his old friend. He couldn't remember ever seeing Narcissa Black Malfoy at a loss for words. He decided to let her suffer, the conniving witch.

"Yes? What is it, Cissy?"

Narcissa looked helplessly at Lucius. He slightly shook his head. Severus smirked. She'd not find any help there. Likely, Lucius didn't want to become involved. Wise choice.

She walked to the sofa and sat, patting the seat beside her and motioned for Severus to join her. "Come sit and tell me about your day. Was it productive?"

"Actually, no, it wasn't."

"Oh?" she asked nonchalantly as she patted his hand. "What happened?"

"Well, as you know, I'd wanted to take Liam to pick out the furniture for his bedroom, but after we'd gone to the bookstore, we were unable to finish the furniture hunt."

"I'm sorry, Severus. Was there any... particular reason?"

Oh, you little she-devil. "Yes." He watched her face light with anticipation. He delightedly burst her happy little bubble. "Liam's stomachache started right after, and I needed to get him home."

Severus wanted to laugh at the confused expression that flittered across her face. "But... but you went out alone again after dropping him off. You were gone quite a while, Severus."

"Yes, I did. I went to the Leaky Cauldron for a few drinks and met up with an old... friend, of sorts. She and I had a lot of catching up we...me especially...needed to do."

He watched, enjoying the show, as Narcissa jumped to her feet and put her hands on her hips. Lucius simply buried his head behind his paper. Coward, Severus thought.

"You mean to tell me, Severus Snape, that you came here, put your sick son into bed, and then went back out to meet up with some... some... lady of the evening?"

"Problem, Cissy? You didn't seem to mind earlier when I told you that I had something I needed to take care of. As I recall, you all but pushed me out of the manor, telling me that Liam would be fine. You assured me that having had a son yourself, you could very well handle a little stomachache."

She began tapping her foot, and Severus hid a smile by taking a sip of his drink. "Well, if I had known you were leaving to meet up with some hussy..."

Severus set his drink down with a snap, cutting off the rest of her reply. "And just where did you think I was going, Narcissa?" It pleased him to watch the color drain from her face.

"Nowhere in particular, Severus," she said as she went to sit in the chair by the fire.

"Really? Then why were you fine when I left, never once asking me where I was going, and now that you've found out where I went, you seem upset?"

"He's on to you, love," Lucius spoke for the first time. "I think it's time to come clean."

She sighed heavily. "Obviously, you would have seen Hermione Granger when you picked up my book."

"What of it?" he asked, keeping the little game going a few moments longer. "Any dealings I had with her ended five months ago when she left Italy without a word to me. Though I will admit, I was surprised to see her there. Tsk, tsk. You should have told me, Cissy, dear."

Narrowing her eyes, Narcissa asked, "Well? What was your reaction when you saw her?"

Cocking his head to the side, Severus asked, "What should it have been?"

"For heaven's sake, Severus!" Narcissa jumped up and began to pace once more. "Don't tell me you didn't notice her belly!"

Severus stood as well and crossed his arms over his chest. "She was sitting on a stool behind the counter. I didn't see her belly. And as I had Liam with me, I wasn't in the mood for polite conversation. Tell me, what is so special about her belly?"

"Oh, well, hum. Nothing, nothing at all. I just thought that, well, you know, not having seen her for five months, and with the abrupt way things ended, that perhaps, just maybe, the two of you would have some catching up to do."

"You're babbling, Cissy. And I had Liam with me. I should have been warned!" Suddenly unable to contain his anger, he kicked the table over. "Damn you!" Looking at Lucius, he said, "Damn you both! How dare you keep from me that she is carrying my child?"

"Oh, Severus, we just thought..."

"Not we," Lucius corrected. "You. You thought. I wanted to tell him as soon as you'd discovered it."

Turning to Narcissa, Severus asked, "How could you, Cissy?" He didn't quite hide the hurt in his voice and eyes. "That's my child. I should have been told the moment you knew."

Deflated, Narcissa sat back down in her chair. "I wanted to give her the chance to tell you herself. Besides, I wasn't even certain that the baby was yours. I can't believe that she'd keep something like that from you if it were. And then when you'd been here a couple months without mentioning it, I realized that you still didn't know. So, I sent you there to pick up my book, knowing that you'd see..."

"I see. She claims that she was going to tell me, via letter, but I don't believe her. I should've been informed straight away. And I would have thought, Cissy, that you wouldn't have sent me in there...unprepared...with Liam."

"No, you're right. I apologize for that. I admit I wasn't thinking there. But, Severus, you needed to see her, to speak with her."

"Oh, I spoke with her all right. I told her that I'm going to see a barrister to ensure my rights as a father."

"You didn't!" Narcissa said, shocked. "Severus, that's not the way to handle things at this point! Pregnant women don't need to be stressed that way!"

Severus shrugged. Bending down to right the table he'd kicked over, he told her, "I will tell you what I told her. I will be involved in my child's life."

"Of course you will," Narcissa soothed. "I never thought otherwise. But, Severus, you don't need to rush off and begin a court battle at this point. It could cause you not to have a child to fight about at all in the long run if she's too terribly stressed."

He held up a hand. "Enough. I will handle things my way. And from now on? Keep out of my business!"

As he strode out of the room, he heard Lucius mutter, "I told you that sending him to her store unprepared was a bad idea, my love."

***

The next morning, as soon as she'd sent Rose and Hugo off with their grandparents, Hermione headed to Harry and Ginny's, knowing that their kids were with hers. It would be the perfect time to talk.

She stood, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for someone to open the door. Once the door opened, Hermione smiled because it was Ginny. "Hello, Ginny."

"Hermione! Come in!"

As she was walking in, Hermione asked, "Is Harry home? I thought that since today is Sunday, he'd possibly be off work." The fact that it was Sunday had calmed her a bit. Severus wouldn't be able to go see his barrister today, as he'd threatened.

"Sure, let me get him. Have a seat, and I'll brew us some tea."

Instead of sitting, Hermione walked over to the fireplace to look at the pictures displayed on the mantel. She smiled at the one of her, Ron, and Harry, arms flung around each other. She missed those days. Though they weren't uncomplicated, they were special. Suddenly, she missed Ron terribly. Not Ron her husband, but Ron her friend. She sighed at the ache in her chest.

She turned when she heard Harry walk into the room.

"All right, Hermione?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Not really. Harry, I want to know why you never told me that Severus is still alive."

"Because I was asked not to tell anyone." He walked to her and put his hands on her rigid shoulders. "He wanted a chance to start over, go somewhere where he's not known. I didn't think you would care so much."

"Of course I would care! There at the end, I thought a lot of him! I thought we told each other everything, Harry." And that was what stung the most. Harry had kept such a monumental secret from her.

Harry pointedly looked down at her stomach. "Apparently not. Why didn't you tell me he was still alive when you'd gotten back from Italy?"

She huffed and stepped away from him. "It's not the same! Besides, you already knew that he was alive!"

"True," he agreed, walking to her once more, but not touching her, "but you didn't know that. You had an affair with the man, for Christ's sake, and are having a baby with him! I begged you to tell me who the father was, and you refused!" Harry said, his anger starting to build.

"Yes, but I didn't tell you because you wanted to run to Italy and confront him. You purposely didn't tell me about Severus. Deliberately hid it from me. Did you tell Ginny? She seemed to have known." Then a horrifying thought occurred to her. "Did Ron know?"

"No, I never told Ron." At her bland stare, he said, "Now, Hermione, Ginny's my wife. A husband and wife shouldn't keep things from one another. Not if they want a strong marriage."

"Apparently," she said, looking back at the picture of the three of them sadly.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Think nothing of it. It's fine." She smiled, pointing to the picture. "Besides, those memories aren't sad."

Looking at her stomach once more, he gently asked, "What will you do now?"

Hermione turned to speak just as Ginny walked back into the room with tea and biscuits. "I'm just going to leave this here, and then I'll go and let you two talk in private."

"There's no need," Hermione told her, grinning. "I'd rather Harry not bugger things up when he tells you what I've said. After all, he tells you everything."

Hermione and Ginny both laughed when Harry blushed. "Thanks, Hermione. I'd rather hear it from you, too. What will you do now?"

Hermione took a cup of tea and sat down, taking a sip. Nibbling on a biscuit, she said, "Severus came to my flat last night after I'd closed. He's threatened to go see a barrister."

"What?" Harry demanded, setting the cup of tea he'd started to drink down on the table. "He thinks that he's going to take this baby from you? How dare he?"

"No, nothing like that. He claims he just wants to establish his parental rights."

Confused, Ginny asked, "Well, why would he need to do that? Of course you'd let him see the baby, have a part in raising him."

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not so sure. I don't really know him that well, certainly not well enough to just hand my baby over to him for overnight visits."

"Hmm. You certainly knew him well enough to create a baby with him, but now you're saying not well enough to share the baby? Are you sure that's the problem?"

"Ginny!" Harry said, appalled that his wife would suggest such a thing. "How could you say that?"

"Quite easily, Harry." She turned to Hermione. "You have no qualms about sharing Rose and Hugo with Ron."

"I know that," Hermione snapped, frustrated that Ginny had repeated the same thing Severus had said. "But they have grown up with Ron, they know their father."

"Exactly. And if you let it, this baby will know his father, too." Gently, Ginny laid her hand over Hermione's and rubbed. "Is he really that bad? He seems great with Liam, from what I've seen."

Irritated, Hermione rose and crossed to the window. "I just don't know. I've never even met Liam. That's part of the problem. We...or he rather...never spoke of anything personal. And part of that is my fault for just accepting things. But let me tell you, when it comes to my child, I won't be so accepting."

"Then you need to get to know him."

Hermione nodded. "Normally, I would agree. But you didn't see him when he left yesterday. I don't know if he'd be willing to try now. He thinks I never intended to tell him about the baby."

"Did you?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I'd written a letter I had planned on sending today, once Rose and Hugo left with Molly and Arthur. I didn't know how he'd react, and I wanted the kids away in case there was a confrontation."

"That's reasonable," Ginny told her. "What did the professor say when you told him that?"

"He didn't believe me. And that's part of the reason he's so very angry." She rubbed her eyes, fighting the beginnings of a headache.

"Do you have a plan?" Harry demanded. "You can't just let him come here and dictate how things are going to be. Why don't you just let me talk to him, 'Mione?"

Hermione cocked her eyebrow. "You mean so that you can dictate to him how things are going to be? No, Harry, I will handle things with Severus myself, my way." She patted his cheek. "But I do love you for wanting to help me. I need to go. I'm tired."

"Yes, you need to rest and try not to stress over things," Ginny said. "If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to Floo or owl us. We love you."

Hermione hugged Harry and then Ginny. "Thanks. I'll talk to you later."

***

Almost a week had passed, and Hermione still had not heard anything from Severus or his barrister. Waiting for the wand to strike was causing her sleepless nights and loss of appetite.

She sighed as she closed the store for the day. Business had been good, and for that, she was grateful. She loved being surrounded by all of those books. As a matter of fact, she had one in her hands now.

When she walked inside, she thought about heating some soup, but tiredness suddenly over-took her, and she opted for a shower instead. Once she got out, she would make a light snack and snuggle in her bed with her book, she decided. She just didn't have the energy for anything more.

The first thing she did was check her mail by the window. She smiled at the letter from Rose and Hugo. There was an impressive picture of a Chinese Fireball breathing fire. And though it was a different type, the dragon made her think of Norbert and Hagrid. Chuckling, she sat down and read the letter.

The kids were having a lot of fun, and she was grateful for that. One less thing she needed to worry about. They were even excited about visiting their father and working in his shop. Her chest tightened when she thought of it because it made her think of Severus and wonder when he was going to strike.

A knock on her door pulled her out of her musings. She placed her photograph down and walked to the door, cautiously opening it. She only sighed when she saw Severus standing on the other side.

They both stood there a few moments saying nothing when suddenly an aroma caused Hermione to look down and see the bags in his hands.

"Hungry?" he asked, raising the bags a bit higher.

"What are you on about, Severus?"

Not waiting for her to invite him in, he walked past her and into her kitchen. Setting the bags on the table, he turned to look at her. "Plates? Silverware? Tea?"

"What are you up to? What's all this?" she asked him, moving her arm in a sweeping motion towards the table.

"Dinner. Please, have a seat."

"Dinner? Have a seat? How dare you think that you can just come here with food and expect me just to welcome you? Have you completely forgotten what happened the last time we were together? The threats you made? Now you think you can just show up and all will be forgiven?"

"Hermione," he said gently, "I admit that I was somewhat rash the last time we spoke. I was taken completely off guard. I've had the chance to think things through. I admit that a lot of what you said makes sense. We should get to know each other better. Or rather, I should let you get to know me better. I thought before barristers were brought in, we'd give dinner and conversation a shot. What say you?"

Not answering him, Hermione went to the cabinets. After getting the plates, silverware, and setting two pumpkin juices on the table, Hermione sat across from him, jiggling her leg in a nervous shake. She was extremely curious to hear what he had to say.

He began placing food on their plates, still not saying anything. She started rolling her fingers on the table in time with her leg, and he gently put a hand over hers.

She looked up at him, gobsmacked. He'd never touched her in such a way before, and it was confusing her.

He sighed and placed the serving spoon back on the table. Clearing his throat and taking a sip of his drink, he said, "I met Lily when we were kids, before we even started Hogwarts."

Hermione straightened and listened intently. She understood he was about to get very personal with her. She didn't want to miss a word.

A/N: Hmm, starting with Lily. Tales of Shannon and Liam can't be far away!