Chapter 2
“We have to hide her, Severus. He cannot find out about her. We cannot change the plan now.”
He closed his eyes tightly. They’d known this was coming but he wasn’t ready. He’d never be fucking ready for this. He looked down at the tiny girl who blinked back at him, before she yawned, his own eyes replicated on her face. She had her mothers nose, thank the Gods.
After the Prophecy that had implicated Lily, they had all been wary. He’d agreed to spy, he was the one they had all expected to join Voldemort's ranks when they were at school, so he had agreed, hoping that it would keep them safe. He still didnt give a flying fuck about Potter but he loved Lily, and he had no urge to see her son hunted, so they had devised a plan. Lily, Potter, Dorcas and him. The three of them would join the Order as was expected and he’d finally give in to Lucius' pleadings and join Voldemort. He’d feed them information, his marriage would be kept secret and hopefully they could help stop this war before it all got out of control. How naive they were.
The second Prophecy took them all by surprise. Harry had arrived screaming his displeasure at the world he’d been forced into at the end of July, Dorcas had been with Lily during the birth. He had been summoned, the Dark Lord panicking about a second Prophecy, demanding that his followers find this other child.
The one to vanquish the Dark Lord will have assistance
Raised by those thought less, the half-blood Princess will be the key.
Her loyalty to the Chosen one will be absolute
Her power will be legendary and together they will remake the world.
The Half-blood Princess will be the key, born as the leaves begin to fall from the trees
She will be the power behind the Chosen one
Together they are unstoppable.
The half-blood Princess will be the key.
Severus’ blood had run cold when he heard it. Dorcas, in a wonderful feat of sheer stupidity, had taken the wrong potion after too much wine one evening. They’d found out she was pregnant not long after. Severus had wanted a family his entire life, he thought he had finally found one with his wife and he was desperate for the day he was finally allowed to stop hiding her. It didn't seem as if that day was coming any time soon.
Their daughter was born on the 19th of September in the middle of a war and as he held her in his arms, he finally felt whole. She was tiny, with large dark eyes and her mothers heart shaped face; he could see a covering of dark curls gracing her head. Dorcas hated her hair with a passion and lamented the fact that she appeared to have passed it on to their daughter. He thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Hermione Eileen Snape. She was everything he never knew he needed, and holding her close, taking in the intoxicating new baby smell, he finally felt the few cracks Cassie hadn’t been able to reach, begin to heal.
He had returned to the Potters following his summons, where the atmosphere was joyful. New life should be celebrated after all, even in the direst of circumstances. It was James who found him with his head in his hands, unable to face them, unable to bring the realities of the war back into the bubble they’d created. They had reached an uneasy truce over the years. Their wives had demanded it. Severus’ clear devotion to Dorcas had also helped soothe James’ fears that he was just biding his time until he could steal Lily away. Severus thought the man was insane. No one could ever convince Lily to do something she didn't want to, so if she ever left Potter, it would not be because someone else had talked her into it.
“Meeting that bad, mate?”
Severus turned to look up at him, registering James' sharp intake of breath.
“Do you want to talk about it?” the man asked gently, bracing himself for whatever had put that look on Severus Snape's face. The man was usually impossible to read, so whatever it was, it must have been horrific.
“There was a second prophecy. I think it was about Hermione.”
“Fuck. Are you sure?”
“Reasonably.” He looked at the man who had been his enemy since they were eleven, hoping to God he had the answers. “I don't know what to do,” he whispered.
“Tell me what the Prophecy was, maybe you’re reading too much into it.”
And so he did. By the end of it, James was pale, looking as shaken as he felt. “Fuck. Severus. You have to tell Cassie. We’ll figure something out, we can hide them. He doesn't know Hermione exists. Few people do. We just need to come with a plan.”
Cassie chose that moment to appear in the sitting room, Hermione on her hip, the smile slowly sliding off her face as she took in the two men in front of her.
“What happened?”
“Cas, love. Come and sit down.”
She shook her head, standing stubbornly, clutching the baby to her like a lifeline.
“Cas, please.”
She closed her eyes before giving in to his request; Severus never pleaded. Perching on the end of the sofa, she placed Hermione on the floor, now she was mobile, she was rarely content to sit still. The baby looked between them before crawling over to him, pulling herself up on his knees and grinning up at him. “Dada!” And the dam broke. He picked up his only child, hugging her tightly to him as he sobbed. He felt Cassie sit next to him, slowly peeling the startled baby out of his arms, handing her to James.
“Severus, I can't help if you don't tell me what's going on love and you’re scaring me.”
He forced his shields back up, fighting to get himself under control. “There was a second Prophecy. We were all instructed to find the child it was about.”
“I see. What was the prophecy?” Her grip on his hands was painfully tight, as she guessed who they thought the prophecy was about.
He told her, haltingly, hating the sounds of the words on his tongue, as she paled.
“You think it means Hermione.” It wasn't a question.
“You don't?”
“I don't want it to.” She whispered.
“None of us want it to. But in case it does, we need a plan.”
And so they tried. Thanks to his Mark, they couldn't hide like the Potters. Dorcas could, but the stubborn witch refused to hide without him. If he intended to fight, she said, she’d be fighting right alongside him. And so they hatched a new plan. A plan that would hopefully keep their little girl safe until they could claim her again. It had seemed so easy in theory. Dorcas’ cousin and her husband were lovely people. They’d been trying for a baby for years with no success, and they’d agreed to care for their daughter, willingly, until things settled back down. But now it was here. He held his daughter in his arms and he wasn't ready. The thought of handing her over to someone else made him feel sick, but they had no choice. Lily had arranged for Remus Lupin to come and collect her within the hour so that they had no idea where she would be hidden. When it was over, Remus would reveal the location. In the event of his death, he had hidden the address under enchantments, the instructions for which would arrive at Hogwarts for Minerva to find. It wasn't foolproof but it was the best they had.
Standing in the middle of the livingroom, listening to Cassies sobs, Severus felt his heart breaking. She was gone. Their little girl was gone until they could end this and he wished he could say that it strengthened his resolve but the truth was, it just hurt. It hurt more than anything had ever hurt him in his life, he’d willingly take the Dark Lords crucio if it meant he’d be spared this. He had no idea how to comfort Cassie, part of him hated her for coming up with this plan in the first place. It was unfair of him, he knew, but the urge to lash out, to hurt something as much as he was hurting was strong. He knew that if he didn't leave, he’d do irreparable damage. Leaving Cas with Lily, he left the house in search of a bar. Any bar, in the hopes of numbing the pain.
A month later, Cassie was dead. She had thrown herself into Order Missions, trying to bury her own pain, trying to end this quickly. She’d caught the eye of the Dark Lord, who had eventually dealt with her himself. And just like that, Severus’ entire world lay in ruins.