It had been two weeks since the first attack by the mysterious creature lurking within the castle. Luckily, no other students had been attacked since then. Two house elves had been found dead, however, in a similar condition, the only difference was that their small size had made the numerous cuts lethal. By now, the entire school knew of the attack on the first year Slytherin, but none knew of the house elves... yet, it was only a matter of time. The girl had no memory of the attack, only remembering that she had gotten lost on her way to the dormitories. Students were being subtlety encouraged to travel in groups and curfew was being enforced more strictly than ever before.

Then, as if an unknown deadly creature roaming the halls wasn't enough, the Toad Woman (really someone should give McGonagall an award for coming up with that name) was becoming a meddlesome pain in the posterior. She had made it quite clear that she supported Fudge one hundred and ten percent and would do anything necessary to discourage the beliefs in Voldemort's return.

The Weasley twins, however, were making her life as difficult as possible and didn't even bother being covert about it. It seemed as though someone had let it slip that since they were Professor Snape's apprentices, they answered only to him. Therefore, any misdeed on their part had to be reported to the professor, who had no strong inclination to "stop their educational experimentation in the realm of which they were being instructed" and in fact encouraged their "enthusiastic inventiveness." Of course, the twins had to give credit were it was due and when they began marketing their version of the camouflaging tablets that a ten year old Severus had taught them how to make, they rightly called them ‘Sevy's Stealth Screamers.' Sales for this particular item rocketed when Umbridge volunteered to do a demonstration. It turned out she really was a toad.

Of course, the fact that Professor Snape was becoming more withdrawn with each passing day may also have had something to do with his reluctance to take action. Since the night of the first attack, he had become steadily more withdrawn. He no longer even bothered showing up to his first and second year potions classes, leaving the instruction completely to the twins. He made almost no appearances in the Great Hall for meals and even the most unobservant students were beginning to notice how...distant he seemed as of late. Of course, on the increasingly few occasions when he was teaching his class, he was incredibly short tempered, more so now then ever. It was even rumored that he took points off of a Hufflepuff fourth year for sneezing during a lesson.

To add to the Potions Master's depressed mood was the fact that he still hadn't told his father that Serenity was pregnant and that he had to go with her to a doctor's appointment this afternoon. The latter thought pressed heavily on his mind as he forced himself to sit through breakfast in the Great Hall on Friday morning, picking at his food. After about half an hour of picking at his food and being shot concerned glances by the majority of the staff, Severus stood up from the table and slowly made his way to the dungeons to prepare for his first class of the day.

..................................

"Harry, you need to tell the Captain." Hermione stated impatiently for the millionth time since Harry's first detention with Umbridge.

"No!" Harry practically yelled at his friend tired of having this conversation. He continued on impatiently. "I'm not some stupid little kid that has to go running to daddy when things get difficult. I can handle Umbridge."

"Yeah, because you've handled her so well before, right mate?" Ron's sarcastic remark took his friend by surprise.

"Harry stop!" commanded Hermione in an unusually commanding voice, which caused both boys walking with her to stop dead in their tracks and look at her in surprise. Heaving an exasperated sigh she pulled them into a deserted classroom, hoping they could discuss this quickly so that they wouldn't be late for History of Magic. "Look, Harry, this is the deal: if you don't tell the Captain by Monday, then Ron and I will. Right Ron?"

At Hermione's expectant look, Ron shifted his gaze nervously between his two friends. After a moment, Ron sighed and squared his shoulders a bit before looking Harry in the eyes and replying. "She's right, mate. If you don't tell the Captain, then we will. Just because you're willing to let her hurt you doesn't mean we are."

Harry glanced angrily between his friends before replying bitterly, "I thought you were my friends. I thought I could trust you, but I guess I was wrong." With that Harry stormed out of the classroom, set on ignoring his friends forever.

...........................

The second his youngest son stormed into the classroom alone, Tobias knew something was wrong. However, as the rest of the class began trickling in, including Hermione and Ron, who kept looking worriedly at Harry, Tobias didn't have time to address the issue. He did have time to think about how he really didn't need two upset and moody sons. He should have had girls. Things would have been so much easier.

As the bell signaling the beginning of class rang, Tobias stood from his desk and was immensely pleased when that action alone silenced the entire class. Making his way to the front of his classroom he began today's lesson. "Well, as I'm sure you know, today is our open discussion day. After our discussion we will play the trivia game. Put your desks in a circle, and Mr. Crabbe I believe it's your turn to present us a topic to discuss."

Tobias had decided that in conjunction with the trivia game he played with all his classes, he would have a discussion time as well. The students would take turns picking a topic and the whole class would engage in a discussion of them. Moving one of the student desks, Tobias took a seat between Brown and Goyle and waited a moment for the rest of the students to move their desks. Once everyone was seated Tobias directed his attention to Crabbe. "Well, Mr. Crabbe, I trust you have a topic ready for us to discuss."

"Yes, sir," Crabbe said politely; though Ron would later swear he saw the larger boy grimace as he did so. "On the first day of class you explained someone called ‘Hitler' to the class and mentioned something called ‘genocide' I was wondering what that was."

"Very, good, Mr. Crabbe. Does anyone have an answer for him?" Tobias scanned the room, unsurprised when Hermione Granger's hand shot up. "Miss Granger, during discussions there is no need to raise your hand as long as everyone is polite and everyone gets the opportunity to speak."

Hermione blushed slightly at having to be reminded of the rules. "Yes, Captain. Genocide is the mass extermination of a particular group of people based on ethnicity, religion, race, or creed."

"That's right," Tobias agreed before taking the question a step further. "Now, the real question is, why do some people get away with genocide and others don't?"

"People get away with it?" asked Dean Thomas, sounding shocked.

"All the time, Mr. Thomas. Does anyone have any idea as to why it's allowed at times and not at others?"

"Because there's no one there to stop them?" Patil spoke up quietly.

"Is that a question or a statement, Miss Patil?" Tobias questioned firmly but not harshly.

"A statement, Captain," the girl replied much more confidently.

"Perhaps. Any other ideas?" Tobias scanned the circle, trying to get this class to openly discuss anything was worse than pulling teeth. Escaping from Voldemort had been easier. "Mr. Malfoy, maybe you have a theory?"

"No, sir," Malfoy stated firmly.

Tobias was not willing to let him go that easily, however. "Come now, Mr. Malfoy, Imagine for a moment you were the Minister and somewhere far, far, away - for the purpose of the discussion let's say Siberia - a lunatic had been given enough power to, in his realm, exterminate a massive amount of people because they spoke a different language. What would you do Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy looked confused for a moment before answering rather unsteadily, though he would never admit it, "I don't know, sir."

"Someone help our poor Minster out. What should Minster Malfoy, here do about this horrible ordeal?"

"It depends," Harry spoke up quietly.

"What does it depend on?" Tobias prompted when it didn't seem like the boy would continue.

"If it benefits us."

"Explain." Tobias said not unkindly, but with just enough impatience in his voice to let the boy know he was tired of dragging answers out.

"Getting involved would obviously cost us something, whether it's money or lives. So we would have to weigh what we would get out of it, if anything, to what it would cost us. If the benefits outweighed the cost, then we should get involved."

"Precisely, now, Minster Malfoy, say the benefits didn't outweigh the cost on an economic scale. However, you are receiving pressure from the public to take action, though getting involved would only cost us. What would you do then?"

"I wouldn't go. Forget about the public, they don't know what's good for them."

"True, however, the public is where you get your votes from. Without their support you would have no power."

"You compromise?" Ron spoke up slightly unsure, but he continued at the encouraging look from Tobias. "Don't send people to help, send money instead."

"Ah, but Mr. Weasley what if I don't want to send my tax dollars to a place I've never been to or could care less about?"

Ron's face crinkled for a moment but he quickly formed an answer. "Well, if the public wants something to be done, then taxes would have to go up, but you could always put pressure on charities and organizations to give aid."

Tobias turned back to Draco, "Well, Minster Malfoy I do believe we've found your top advisor."

..................................

Severus felt exceedingly awkward sitting in the waiting room of the muggle gynecologist. There were three other women present aside from Serenity and one seemed as though she might go into labor at any moment. He had donned muggle attire for this occasion which consisted of a black collard shirt, black pants and a black jacket, which stood out horribly against the light pink color of the waiting room.

Eventually, a nurse led Serenity back to the examination room and Severus was left alone in the pink waiting room with three pregnant women. He tried not to slouch back into his chair.

Once Serenity's examination was complete, the nurse led Severus back to the doctor's office where Serenity was seated across the desk from the young doctor. Severus took the only remaining seat, next to Serenity, and waited rather nervously for the doctor to acknowledge him.

Finally, the doctor looked up from the file he was studying, as though just realizing Severus was there, and smiled kindly, before offering Severus his hand from across the desk. "I'm Dr. Tebresh, you must be Mr. Snape."

Severus inclined his head, and they shook hands but he did not speak.

"Well, you're fourteen weeks pregnant, with an expected due date of, I'd say, around the first week of April. So far, everything looks fine. Do either of you have any questions?" The doctor smiled kindly once more and glanced back and forth between Severus and Serenity.

"How sure are you of the due date?" Serenity asked neutrally, not even trying to act cheerful.

The doctor sighed but his smile didn't falter. "Well, this early in the pregnancy it's hard to tell, really. I can only give you a general idea. If your concerned about taking time off work, I would advise you to hold off as long as possible."

"Thank you," Serenity began, offering a polite although forced smile before continuing. "If we have any other questions we'll be sure to ask you."

The doctor's brow furrowed a bit, as though he just noticed the forced civility behind Serenity's words, but he quickly regained his smile before showing them to the door and asking the nurse to arrange their next appointment.

Walking out of the doctor's office Serenity directed Severus towards her car. "I've made an appointment with a lawyer as well, so we can take care of legal paperwork." Serenity got into the driver's seat of her car fully expecting Severus to climb into the automobile after her.

Serenity's words however affected Severus more deeply than he even realized possible. For a moment, he paused with his hand on the door handle. He stared unseeingly at the top of the car oblivious to the world around him. People passed by him on the street without acknowledging him, cars raced by in the background all creating a dim buzzing sound in his ears as sudden realization struck.

This was real, but how was he going to be a father?

......................

It took a pathetically short amount of time at the lawyer's office to terminate Serenity's rights to the unborn baby and establish a legal set of rules she had to follow until the child's birth. It took less then an hour for his unborn child to be completely written out of his mother's life.

Severus apparted back to Hogwarts after seeing Serenity home safely. He slowly made his way through the castle ignoring the stares and whispers of the students he past along the way who had never imagined him in muggle attire before, heading straight for his father's quarters.

Once there, he quietly spoke the password and door swung open, allowing him entrance. His father was seated on the couch grading papers and Harry was curled up in the easy chair studying. He stood watching them for a moment, not sure what to do before clearing his throat and speaking in a quite voice. "Dad, could I...speak to you for a moment, please?"

Tobias glanced briefly at Severus, but gently, careful as to not move too slowly or make any sudden moves, he slid down on the couch a bit and gestured for Severus to take a seat before turning his attention to Harry. "Harry, will you please go study in your room for awhile?"

Harry was watching his brother with concern, and though he wanted to know what was going on, he nodded his head and began to gather his things up.

"A verbal response would be appreciated." Tobias stated firmly, but gently.

Harry suppressed a sigh, but rolled his eyes (though his father couldn't see the action) and said, "yes, sir," quietly before leaving the room.

Tobias turned his attention back to Severus. "What is it you wished to speak to me about?" Tobias was careful to not sound forceful, least Severus change his mind about talking.

Severus swallowed, but refused to meet his father's eyes, preferring instead to stare at the fire. After a moment his quiet, sad, voice meet his father's ears. "A couple of weeks ago, just before school started, Serenity and I broke up."

Severus paused for a moment and Tobias took the opportunity offer his condolences in a quite voice. "I'm sorry to hear that Severus." Tobias knew his son was leaving something out.

"She also told me that she was pregnant." Severus's voice was barely above a whisper, but Tobias heard him perfectly.

"That's great!" Tobias kept his voice low, but couldn't hide his excitement at the news.

Severus turned his head sharply at his father's outburst. "Great?" Severus swallowed, desperation, sadness, and confusion coating his words. "Dad...she doesn't want him. We just took care of all the paperwork to terminate her parental rights to him. She just wants to disappear out of his life. I don't even know all her reasons for not just terminating the pregnancy. I...I just don't...I don't know what to do."

"Sev," Tobias's voice was thick and filled with empathy, even as he temporarily pushed all his anger aside for the moment. "Sev, do you want the baby?"

When Severus's eyes meet his father's once again, Tobias was amazed at the emotions that easily flitted across the deep ebony depths. A gruff whisper was all the younger man seemed able to produce. "I don't know, dad...I don't know how to be a father. I'm not prepared for having a child and everything that comes with it. I...just don't know."

Tobias almost smiled, but refrained from doing so (though just barely). Here he was, thinking for the last two weeks that his son was keeping some sort of dire secret that would determine the fate of the whole universe, yet it was a normal phenomenon something every parent went through, though some more intensely then others. "Severus, son, no one's ever ready or prepared for parenthood. No one. Though your case is a bit different than most, it's not unusual."

Severus didn't look relieved. In fact he looked more desperate then before with a look that seemed to scream ‘you don't understand.' "Dad, I...it's not...for Merlin's sake, I screamed at Harry the other day and kicked him out of my office because he asked me what was wrong!" Severus sounded truly aghast at his own actions. "If I react like that to people being worried about me, how will I react to an infant?"

"Severus," Tobias couldn't help the curling up at the corners of his mouth as he spoke soothingly to his son. "Severus, Harry is your brother, and though there is quite a bit of an age difference between you two, it's not unusual or wrong to lose your temper at him. You like your space and Harry got to close to you, so you snapped at him. Rest assured though, son, when it's your own child it's quite different. From the second you hold that small bundle of flesh and bone..." Tobias paused for a moment looking down at the hands he had held in front of him their movements frozen during their gesturing, while he remembered and searched for the right words to describe the feeling he had when he first held Severus. "From that moment on, something inside of you changes. Everything you do is for that screaming mass of tissue and cartilage. There are no words to describe the feeling."

Tobias paused again before looking back his now adult son. Reaching out he placed a weathered hand on the side of his son's head, covering his ear, before sliding the hand down his hair and neck eventually coming to rest on a shoulder, where it gave a slight squeeze before returning to Tobias's lap.

Silence descended for a moment, as both Snapes became lost in their own thoughts and stared at the fire. Eventually, Severus in a barely audible whisper gave voice to one more thought. "I'm scared, dad."

Tobias turned his head away from the fire and looked at his son solemnly. "You should be." Severus's head snapped towards him at his words. His son had obviously expected reassurances, but was met instead with a serious look and somber tone. "In fact, you should be mortified." Tobias swore he could hear his son's heat beat increase as his panic one again began to mount. "You now have the single greatest responsibility ever. You have to care for another life, you have to teach, and feed, and clothe, and love a small infant that won't even be able to lift its head up at first. You have to provide and guide him as he grows. Children do not come genetically predetermined to be good people. They have to be taught. And, yes, Severus you will make mistakes in raising this child. You will yell at him, and teach him bad habits you didn't even know you had. But, Severus, in thirty years you'll be able to sit beside him and see how good of a man he has become and it will be worth ever second of it. You see, Severus, for every minute you put into your child's life, whether good or bad, it pays out in the end."

Severus looked at his father for a moment running everything he had heard through his mind. He was still terrified of what was to come, but he somehow felt better about it. His next words were said dryly. "That didn't help much, you know."

Tobias laughed, knowing that he had succeeded in getting his son to snap out of his sulk. Collapsing back on the couch, he grew quiet and the smile faded from his lips only to be replaced a moment later with a silly lopsided grin. "I'm going to be a grandfather."

"I'm going to be a father," Severus's agreed, a grin creeping onto his face as well. Every doubt he had seemed to be slowly melting away . . . or at least pushed aside in favor of the overwhelming delight and excitement that was beginning to bubble up, within him.

..............................

In his room Harry had no longer felt like studying and collapsed back on his bed trying not to think of Ron and Hermione. How much time had passed before he heard his father's voice becoming louder he could say, but, eager for a distraction he left his bed and quietly made the way to his door. Not wanting to disturb his dad and Severus he ever so quietly and cautiously opened the door, just a crack, to better hear their conversation. After a few moments it was clear what his dad and Severus were talking about. He didn't even realized he was speaking out loud until both Tobias and Severus's heads snapped around to meet his own matching eyes at his quiet exclamation. "I'm going to be an uncle!"