Unwanted

Severus brought Tristyn home three days later, having visited and stayed with Hermione and his daughter almost constantly. He'd gotten two house elves, Maaki and Dopey (someone had watched too many Muggle cartoons!), to take care of the child when he wasn't home, as well as the continued promise (threat?) of Molly Weasley's self-invitation to visit and help as much as possible. He placed the babe in her bassinet, centered in the room adjoining his master bedroom. He hadn't realized just how little Hermione had done to prepare for the birth of Tristyn. Everything they had bought was in the room, unopened, some of it not even out of the store wrappings, dropped haphazardly around the nursery.

He should have seen it coming, should have noticed that although she seemed to have come to terms with everything that had happened, it was all a smokescreen. Hermione may not have realized she wasn't getting better though, he reasoned to himself as he smiled softly down at his daughter, a dark blend of both of them. She lay looking up at the stars and moon mobile above her, waving her hands and making little baby sounds. With the potions administered to her in the last three days, she'd gained enough weight to put her at the lower end of a child born at term.

"Don't worry, little one. Mother will get better with the doctors help. You will get your chance to know her soon, but right now... right now Mother's not feeling well." He brushed some curls from her forehead and bent down to kiss her lightly. Had anyone from the Order been there, they'd have been astonished, but alone, he could let his guard down. He sighed and cast the spell to warn him if she needed him and headed into Hermione's room for some of her things. He'd be sending them to St. Mungo's in the care of Potter, since the healers felt that his presence only upset Hermione in her fugue-like state now.

She'd been conscious for a day and a half now, but none of her friends had been able to get a response from her. Not even a twitch of an eyebrow. His voice though would cause her to convulse and flinch, and the baby's cry would make her close her eyes and frown until Tristyn stopped. He wished he'd been able to help her more.

Dopey entered the room, his tea cozy green with a silver serpent embroidered around the edging. "Master Snape, Potter is here for the Missus' things. He wondered if he could see the little Miss."

"Tell Mr. Potter I will bring his... goddaughter," Damn, he hated doing it, but he thought that it might have caused Hermione to reaction in some way, "down in a moment. Pack appropriate clothing for Miss Hermione along with a few books and have them ready in ten minutes. That's all the time I can stand in his presence."

Snape bent down and lifted the girl into his arms again. If she continued to get so much attention, she'd be spoiled rotten. And the last thing he wanted was a spoiled child like Draco Malfoy. "Yes, little Tristyn, your 'uncle' Harry is here, undoubtedly with another armload of toys you'll not be able to play with for months if not years." He spoke to his daughter in a soft, firm tone. He always rolled his eyes at everyone else's falsetto babytalk to the child. She was much too young to understand their idiocy, thank Merlin!

he made a mental note to take a headache potion after Potter left. He entered the living area, noticing The-Boy-Who-Lived standing near the bookcase with a teddy bear seated in the chair next to him. It was as big as the mastiff Severus had had as a child. He rolled his eyes and nodded a greeting. He fought a smile as Tristyn cooed.

"Mr. Potter. Dopey is packing Hermione's things right now."

"I can't believe someone named their house elf Dopey...jeez. Poor guy. I, uh, got Tris something."

"Her name is Tristyn. Do not use a diminutive, please. I find it demeaning. And I see that she has received yet another gift. Perhaps I should think about building an addition to my home, or perhaps just buy a larger one for all of her toys?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I thought it was kind of cute when I saw it in Muggle London yesterday."

"I'm sure she will appreciate it soon enough." He cocked his head to one side, seeing the boy's anxious look. Potter wanted to hold the baby again. He had only had a brief moment when Severus had named him Tristyn's godfather before Molly Weasley had commandeered the baby for a feeding. With that Severus could at least empathize; the Weasley matriarch was constantly taking over the care of his daughter while in the hospital.

He hoped Bill and Fleur would give her the grandchild she obviously needed before he had to hex her into the next decade and made another mental note to look up that fertility charm he'd come across a few years ago, not that a Weasley needed help in the fertility department, but this charm was too strong for any contraceptives.

"Can I?" He held his arms out a little, his head cocked to one side.