"Is it supposed to take this long?" griped Draco.

"It's been hours!" Harry, sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, knocked his head against the rounded, smooth stone. "I thought mum said she was coming ages ago."

Hermione and Luna glanced at the boys, then each other and smiled knowingly. "Boys just don't get it, do they?" Hermione quipped to the Ravenclaw.

"Not even when they're men," mused Luna and she nodded towards the Headmaster who was pacing on the other side of the Infirmary. Minerva McGonagall was seated and glaring at the older wizard.

"On the other hand," smiled Elydree at the figure of Ron snoring on one of the cots, "some appear to be old hats at this whole thing."

All three girls laughed merrily. Draco and Harry scowled and sneered, respectively, while Ron snorted and opened a sleepy eye. "Is it over?" the redhead asked.

"Go back to sleep, Ron," ordered Hermione. "We're still..."

The door to the birthing room, which had once been a hidden room, clicked open. Snape, sans robes and with the sleeves of his white cotton shirt rolled up to his elbows, and his long hair pulled into a messy ponytail, stepped gingerly through the door. Cradled very carefully in his arms was a tiny baby with pale green eyes and a soft cap of coal black hair.

"Oh Severus!" Minerva had crossed the room so silently, her presence at Snape's elbow was a little startling. "She's beautiful!"

At that compliment over his daughter, the Potions Master who found it hard to express the more positive emotions, smiled so brightly it suffused not just his whole face, but his body as well. Until Draco threw in his two cents.

"Why is she all wrinkled?"

Snape's sneer was practically a lethal weapon as he levelled it at his son, "Trust me, Draco, when you were born, you looked like you needed an Ironing Charm."

"I did not!" he huffed.

Snape snorted a short laugh. "This is my daughter and she is gorgeous," he declared.

Harry had only a few seconds glance at his new sister. He glanced up to congratulate his father, but blurted instead, "Dad! Your nose! What happened?"

At that outburst, everyone looked away from the newborn and at her father. Dumbledore actually laughed. Minerva's eyes glittered with mirth and she shook her head.

Severus Snape's nose, still as large as ever it had been, was as straight as it had been the day he'd been born!

Snape sighed, "This was a reminder from my wife about what I put her through for this child. A painful reminder."

Harry frowned. "I don't get it."

Snape scowled over faint laughter from Minerva and the girls. "The day you're a father, Harry, you'll get it. And I hope your reminder is suitably painful!" He then snapped. "Come greet my daughter!"

Harry, a bit taken aback and still confused, hung back a little. Luna stepped beside him and with a smile on her lips, she whispered an explanation in his ear. He gaped for a moment, then laughed. He then looked Luna in the eye.

"You wouldn't hurt me, would you?"

"Oh no," she vowed. "I know a very interesting spell that allows the father to experience precisely what the mother experiences."

Harry grimaced and felt a little green. He turned to the small crowd surrounding his father. Snape's scowl was gone, replaced by a more sedate smile, and pride that glistened in his dark eyes.

"Meet Eowyn Alexandria Snape."

Everyone gathered around to marvel at the new baby who yawned and let out a little 'eep' after her ordeal. Hermione and Luna and Elydree cooed over the baby while Harry and Draco seemed stunned by how tiny she was. Ron cootchie-cooed and made a few goofy faces.

Snape felt a hand grip his shoulder and he tore his gaze away from his daughter to look into the twinkling eyes of the Headmaster. "You are blessed, my boy," congratulated Dumbledore. "Truly blessed.

At some point, Snape wasn't really certain when, Madame Pomfrey had waylaid him with a Sleeping Spell. He woke several hours later, slightly disoriented, in the main Infirmary. He kicked off the blankets and sat up. He'd been cleaned by magic and dressed in a ridiculous pair of striped, flannel pyjamas.

Grabbing his wand that was on the bedside table he conjured a dressing gown from the sheet and slippers from the pillow. He slipped his feet into the slippers and put on the silk dressing gown and belted it around his waist. Rising to his feet, he suddenly wavered as it struck him that he had a daughter... a tiny baby.

Drawing in a few steadying breaths, he then made his way to the door of the once hidden room and quietly opened it.

In the soft light of the fireplace Lyrica was sitting up with several soft pillows supporting her back. Her hair hung down in loose waves over her shoulders, but was moved aside on the right as she held tiny Eowyn to her breast, feeding her.

Snape thought his wife was beautiful and perfect, but now he knew he'd been wrong. There, with her arms cradling their daughter, Lyrica was the epitome of sublime beauty. This was a memory he would protect forever.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, mesmerised by the spell of his wife and child, but Lyrica spoke his name and she patted her daughter gently upon her back.

"Isn't she the most gorgeous baby you've ever seen, Severus?"

He moved to sit beside Lyrica and kissed her softly, then he brushed his lips to the sweet head of his daughter. "She is," he agreed simply. What did it matter that he'd seen so few babies in his years? Eowyn was the only one that mattered.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly as his fingertip stroked his child's soft cheek.

"I'm very tired, but I feel... wonderful." She giggled, a little giddily. "Look what we've done, Severus!"

He smiled gently and kissed Lyrica again, a little longer this time. "Thank you, my dearest," he whispered.

"For what?" she asked, smiling gently.

"For loving me. For being the other half of my torn soul. For freeing me from my masters. For my children, and most of all for giving me this tiny miracle."

"Then let me thank you also, my dearest husband."

"And what have I done for you?" he asked smirking slightly.

"You didn't leave me behind, Severus. You allowed me to love you, you brought into my life my dear sons, my daughter, a niece and a nephew, but most of all, you kept Eowyn safe, and she is here because of you."

Snape kicked off his slippers, took off the robe, and with a wave of his hand he widened the bed. He slipped under the covers beside Lyrica and drew his wife and daughter into his arms.