Another Dark Star

Chapter 39


Severus stepped back through the Headmaster’s Floo in a daze. Albus was sat at his desk with an expectant look on his face. The old man seemingly never slept and he must have been waiting for news.

“Welcome back Severus, how are they?”

“Fine, just fine.” He said distractedly, sitting in one of the squashy armchairs in front of the desk. It took a lot to render the snarky potions master speechless but it seemed that watching his wife bring their son into the world qualified as one of those rare instances.

“Well?” Dumbledore pressed, anxious to hear all the good news.

“It’s a boy.” Snape replied quietly with a small smile.

“And does this boy have a name, or is he merely Snape junior?” Albus chuckled.

“Hadrian.” Snape said the name in a whisper, caressing it as though the word itself were precious.

“A lovely name Severus, and of course you will want to stay with them?”

“I would love nothing more Headmaster; however we are both aware that I am needed here. She has family, she will not be alone.” Snape replied with a heavy sigh.

“Nonsense Severus, I’m sure we can manage without you for a few days. Sadira needs you; even the Muggles take time off for a new baby. Parental Leave I believe they call it.” Dumbledore looked him straight in the eye with something akin to fondness and sorrow at the same time.

“Your first born Severus! I believe you never thought such a day would come. Enjoy your time together; there may be precious few opportunities in days to come.” He urged.

“After all, who in their right mind would allow a murderer to see his child?” Snape spat bitterly.

Now that his son was here it made it all the more real that he may never see him grow up and Snape felt the pain of the loss already by just thinking of it.

“Severus I am sorry. I cannot guarantee that you will come out of this war unscathed, nor can I say that for anyone. However what I am certain of is that Sadira will always trust and believe in you. If you tell her the truth, the whole truth, she will stand by you. Anyone who cannot see how devoted she is to you is a fool. You’re a very lucky man Severus; now go enjoy that good fortune!” Dumbledore pressed. Severus sighed deeply again, defeated.

“Thank you Headmaster.” He replied. “If you don’t mind, I’ll leave now. There are a few things at home that Sadira may need preparing before she returns.”

“Of course. I look forward to meeting the little man soon!” Albus said with a joyful twinkle in his eye.

Next morning, Sadira awoke to the smell of breakfast. That was how she knew it was morning in any case. She had not slept well. Although she was tired, she couldn’t sleep properly and Hadrian had needed regular feeds through the night.

‘So, this is motherhood?’ she thought, diving into the stack of toast the Mid-Witch brought. While eating, she gazed over to where her tiny son lay sleeping peacefully in a crib.

‘My gorgeous boy’ she thought with a crumby smile. No sooner had she finished her breakfast than Hadrian wanted his. She lifted the tiny bundle out and unbuttoned her pyjama top and unhooked her bra, offering him a heavy breast to suckle. He latched on eagerly, filling her with a strange warm feeling she couldn’t describe.

“I’m glad you know how to do this, because it’s all new to me.” She said softly.


Severus entered the little room to find his wife reading a magazine on her lap, eating a peach with one hand, her son at her breast. It reminded him of being dragged to church by his father’s family as a boy, the Madonna and child, so at peace she was. She seemed to have taken everything in her stride as usual.

“Hello Love, did you sleep well?” he asked, kissing his wife and child briefly on the forehead.

“Not really, did you?”

“A little, I was busy” he replied cryptically.

“What are you doing here? Not that I’m not pleased to see you but I thought you had classes.”

“Cancelled today. Albus is arranging for them to be covered for the rest of the week.” He said, trying his best not to laugh when Hadrian’s burp brought milk up all over his mother.

“Thank you son, I really needed to smell like rotten cheese today!” she sighed, wiping away the mess. “I don’t know why you’re so smug. It’ll be even funnier when it happens to you.” She snapped at his smirk.

“He would never do such a thing to his father I’m sure.” He replied, still smirking, lifting the now clean and fed child from her arms.

“Oh, just you wait Severus Snape!” she replied with an amused look.

She took the opportunity to get a shower, leaving father and son to bond. They looked an odd sight; the fearsome Potions Master clad in black, holding a tiny white-swathed bundle, pink fingers and downy black hair appearing wherever he wriggled.

When she returned, Severus was stretched out on her bed with Hadrian in one arm while the other stroked his little pink hands, smiling in wonder when the skinny digits grasped his own.

“So this is what family feels like.” He sighed to himself, gazing lovingly at the woman next to him and the child in his arms.

“I love you Severus.” Sadira said, kissing him softly. A knock at the door signalled the Ward Healer.

“Come in.” Sadie called. The Healer was not especially young, but still remembered Snape with no small amount of fear.

“Professor Snape!” he greeted in surprise. The young woman on the bed looked more like his daughter than his wife.

“Norman Devlin, class of ’85 I believe.” Snape drawled.

“Um, yes Sir! Good Afternoon Mrs Snape. Are you well?” the Healer asked, retrieving her notes on a clipboard.

“I feel fine, the pain is still there though.” She replied.

“That’s normal; the Mid-Witch will bring you something for that shortly.” He said, scribbling away.

“She already did, and performed all the checks on me.”

“Excellent, and the little fella, he feeding regularly?”

“Yes, every three hours for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time.” She replied.

“Good, and his urine and faeces normal?”

“Yes; frequent and disgusting, but normal.” She joked, making Devlin smile.

‘At least the poor kid has one parent with a sense of humour.’ He thought.

“Good, right well, I see no reason to keep you in any longer.” He tapped the parchment with his wand and duplicated her notes, passing a copy to Sadie. “Just be sure to keep up your pelvic exercises, eat healthily and get plenty of rest. Give the notes to your community midwitch when she visits.” He replied.


Severus grabbed her bag while she carried Hadrian warily through the floo. She walked straight through to the bedroom and placed him in the Moses basket by the side of the bed. Severus followed shortly after, dumping the hospital bag at the foot of the bed and standing behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her affectionately and watching over his son with a mix of pride and worry.

“Happy birthday Daddy!” she said, turning in his arms to face him.

“The best present I ever had is the two of you here with me. Thank you, for everything.” He said quietly, kissing her softly.

“You’re more than welcome Love. Are you staying tonight?”

“Yes, Albus gave me the whole week off to help you settle in.” He said.

“Good, you look like you’ve had about as much sleep as I have. Come on, let’s try and grab a couple of hours before he wakes up again.” She said, peeling off her t-shirt and jogging pants and climbing into bed in her underwear, snuggling happily under the thick duvet.

“Mmm, it’s good to be home again.” She sighed. “Hospital beds are so uncomfortable.”

Severus stripped down and joined her, pressing his warm body to her back and wrapping his arms protectively around her again and lacing his fingers together over her now only slightly saggy stomach.

“I agree, it feels good to be home again.” He concurred, enjoying the opportunity to pretend they were just like any other married couple, the wars and wizarding conventions forgotten as they slept, recovering from the physical and emotional intensity of the last 24 hours.


They enjoyed a whole day together undisturbed before they received their first visitor.

“Where’s my new nephew?” Molly gushed when Severus opened the door.

“Good afternoon Molly, good to see you too.” Snape replied drily.

It was then that she realised that he looked more casual than she had ever seen him; in just his shirt and trousers, his coat abandoned and barefoot. His hair was greasier than ever and he looked slightly bedraggled and quite tired.

“I’m sorry Severus. I’m just excited. How are you all?”

“Mother and baby are doing fine; they are sleeping at present although Hadrian is due to wake soon. Can I offer you some tea while you wait?”He said civilly.

Molly was one of the few people he could tolerate, partly because she always made an effort to make him feel welcomed, and partly because she was close to Sadira.

“Don’t be silly Severus, I’ll make the tea. You look exhausted. Have you been resting?” she fussed.

“I try, however I am not the one who went through almost twenty hours of labour only to continue to be disturbed every few hours to be sucked on.” he replied.

“No, but I bet you have been doing everything else for her while she rests?” Molly prompted. His silence spoke volumes.

“It’s very good of you to look after her like that, not many wizards would, but you mustn’t overdo it. You’ll be no good to anyone if you run yourself into the ground.” she warned.

A small but high pitched cry cut into their conversation. Severus’s eyes flickered to the mantelpiece clock.

“Bang on time.” He drawled. The cry stopped suddenly, indicating that Sadie had woken and was seeing to him.

“I’ll let her know you’re here.” He said, walking into the bedroom, while Molly disappeared into the kitchen to make some tea and sandwiches.

Ten minutes later, Sadie came out of the bedroom in china blue flannel pyjamas and a denim blue fleece dressing gown, little Hadrian leaning against her shoulder in a pale mint velour sleepsuit.

“Molly, I’m glad you came.” She said sleepily.

“I’ve been dying to see you since I heard.” Her aunt replied. “I hope I haven’t disturbed feeding time?”

“No, he wasn’t hungry, just stinky. Weren’t you my stinky little man?” Sadie said with a smile, babbling to her son. Molly beamed as she wondered what Sadie’s colleagues in the Ministry would say if they saw the tough, no-nonsense Auror in her pj’s in the middle of the day, babbling baby talk to her newborn.

“Can I hold him dear?” Molly asked, desperate to hold her great-nephew.

“Of course you can, here.” She passed the tiny baby to her aunt.

“Oh, Sadie, he’s gorgeous.” Molly cooed.

“I know, he’s the image of his father isn’t he?” Sadie smiled.

“Poor sod.” Severus grumbled.

“I heard that!” Sadie shouted, making him chuckle as he settled into ‘his’ chair.

“At least he doesn’t have the Snape nose.” Severus countered.

“Not yet at least. All babies have button noses; the cartilage grows when they get older.” Sadie informed him.

“Well let’s hope he gets that particular attribute from your side of the family.” Severus said, slouching in the chair and resting his bare feet on the coffee table.

“I think he’s adorable.” Molly praised.

“Me too Moll, shame Arthur couldn’t come.” Sadie added.

“He’s been snowed under since the promotion but he sends his best and says he’ll come see you soon. I brought the camera in any case. Now have some lunch, I bet you’re starving and I bet poor Severus has been too busy to eat too.” She insisted.

“Probably; Severus, do you want some of these sandwiches?” Sadie called over but he was fast asleep in the chair, snoring softly.

Sadira smiled fondly, standing up and covering him with the chenille throw from the other chair. Taking care not to wake him, she kissed him gently on the cheek as she tucked it round his broad shoulders.

“You’d never guess he’s an insomniac usually.” She whispered to her aunt. We seem to be working shifts, I do days and he does nights.”

“Arthur and I had a similar system ourselves.” Molly reminisced. “How are you really?” Sadie sighed.

“To be honest Molly, I’m scared. I’ll miss him so much when he goes back and I’ll be all alone with Hadrian. I’m not sure how I’ll do it.” She replied.

“You won’t be on your own, I’ll help you. You know you only have to floo me and I’ll come round, and Tonks and Fleur will both pop in from time to time.” Molly reassured her.

“It’s not just that. Severus and Albus are planning something important for the Order. It’s caused a bit of tension between them and I don’t know what it is. I’m scared I’m going to lose him Molly.” She said tearfully, hormones and impending war not being a good mix.

“Oh! Oh hush now, we’re all in danger, every one of us, but Severus is very clever and as cunning as a Slytherin can get. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Molly placated, handing her son back to her so she could hug her properly.

“Have you ever seen the Dark Lord, Molly?” Sadie asked through a veil of tears.

“N, no dear.” Molly said, a little afraid herself now she was allowing herself to dwell on it.

“I have; both in the flesh last summer and in Severus’ memories. I know exactly what he faces and it scares the hell out of me. If anything were to happen to him while he was undercover, I have no guarantee they would let me see him, or make arrangements should the worst happen. No-one cares about Death Eaters’ families.” She sobbed.

“No matter what happens Sadie, you are family. I will always care, you’re not just a niece, you’re as good as a daughter to me.” Molly assured her.