“I am what?” Severus asked, staring at the healer in shock. He had expected to be told that he had food poisoning, or that he had gotten the flu. Anything but this.
“You’re pregnant, Mr. Snape,” the healer said calmly, fetching the different pamphlets the man would need. They would tell him what potions to take, how to cope with the morning sickness, and how often he needed to see a healer, as well as recommending books that would explain the topics in more depth. “Your partner will be pleased, I have no doubt. I’ve known couples who’ve taken that potion for months before they conceived.”
No, Severus thought wryly, no Lucius will not be pleased. He is enjoying newlywed bliss with the new Mrs. Malfoy, and likely trying for a child with her. If he found out that he had a child with me…
Severus shook his head, accepting the pamphlets from the healer and scheduling his next appointment before leaving. He needed time alone to think, to decide what he was going to do next.
Pacing in his living room for over an hour only cemented one thought in his mind. He was not going to tell Lucius. The man would never claim their child, the product of a relationship with a halfblood. Abraxas Malfoy would never accept it, and Lucius would do nothing without his father’s approval.
He moved to sit at the table, beginning to write out the list of things he would need for the baby. He would need to put his mastery studies on hold, some of the potions they would have him brewing had fumes that were harmful to the baby if he inhaled them. He would need to find something else, something in the muggle world if necessary. He had completed his muggle schooling while going to Hogwarts, he’d needed a backup in case something went wrong and he’d needed to leave the wizarding world.
Summoning the newspaper, he turned to the help wanted section. He could work as a substitute teacher, at least for chemistry. It was close enough to potions that he would be able to do it. There was also an opening at the general store, and another in the library. Any of those jobs would pay well enough for him to be able to afford things for the baby and medical expenses until he was able to continue his studies. He made a note to check out each of them the next day, and then went back to planning out what he would need to take care of the baby. He was not going to go into this unprepared.
“Once I had come to terms with the pregnancy, I decided that I would not tell your other father, as he was already married to a woman who his family approved of,” Severus continued, shaking his head to banish the memory. Potter did not need to know everything that went through his mind. “I knew that I could not continue my mastery studies, many fumes are harmful if inhaled while pregnant, so I resolved to find a job in the muggle world. At the time, I was not showing, so there was nothing to conceal. I planned to use glamor charms once I became further along, to hide my pregnancy from the muggles as they would not understand otherwise.”
Harry nodded, he didn’t think any muggles who had encountered Snape while pregnant would have drawn the correct conclusion. He was surprised that the man had decided to work as a muggle when his studies needed to be put on hold, but it did make sense. Especially if he wasn’t going to tell the other parent.
“Why didn’t you tell him anyway? I mean…I was his child too, didn’t he deserve to know? Or would he…would he have claimed that I wasn’t his?” That was a sickening thought, but he had seen how some purebloods could be. Blood status meant everything, and a child who’s parent was a halfblood…they would not be accepted by many purebloods.
Severus sighed, setting his mug aside. “He was in line to inherit his family’s fortune when his father passed. He was the man’s only son, and as long as he did what his father wanted, he would remain the heir. His father wanted him to marry a pureblood witch and have a child, so that is what he did. He would not have accepted you while his father was alive, because the old man would have never accepted you.” And, at that point, Abraxas’ approval meant everything to Lucius.
“Did he…do I…I mean, did he have a kid? Do I have a…half-brother or sister?” It was a weird thought, especially if the other person had known about him, or at least about Henry Snape, and had known that they could have had a half-brother if he hadn’t ‘died’.
“He and his wife conceived a child shortly after they married, with the aid of fertility potions.” When two purebloods married, it was increasingly common for them to need fertility potions to conceive, as the gene pool kept getting smaller and smaller as many of them would only marry and have children with other purebloods. “In January, I received a letter from him, informing him that his wife was pregnant and that he wished for me to be the godfather of his child. At that point, I was three months pregnant while his wife was barely one, so it was an awkward position for me. I had stayed out of the wizarding world for the most point once I had discovered my pregnancy, and so I had not seen him since we had separated. Still, he seemed inclined to salvage our friendship if nothing else, and after much thought I agreed to be his son or daughter’s godfather.”
Harry thought that that would have been a bit cruel, as though the man was rubbing his happy life in Snape’s face, but he didn’t say that. He didn’t know the particulars of the relationship, before or after he was conceived, so he didn’t know what had happened. Still, he thought it had probably hurt Snape, having to agree to be the godfather of his partner’s child while his partner would be nothing at all to their own. “So, you were going to raise me by yourself?”
“That was the plan initially, yes,” Severus admitted. “But life has a way of changing one’s plans. Especially when one runs into his former partner and said partner’s wife while shopping for baby clothes.”
To be continued...