The Root of Protea: Of Snapes and of Lillies

Chapter 25 - The Snape Family

"Why do you look so upset, Sev?" Lily pouted at the worried frown on her husband's face, "Are you angry? Why are you angry? You're the one that agreed to-"

"-I.......no, I'm not.....I'm not angry....." Severus said rushedly, staring off into the distance before his eyes flickered back over to Lily, "When in July?"

"July 30th." Lily blinked, "What difference does that make?"

"It makes a big difference!" Severus snapped before he caught himself, looking apologetically at Lily as he said, "I-I'm sorry, my love.......I overheard Trelawney make a prediction today......a child born in July, a male child......according to her babblings, that child is destined to be the one who will destroy the dark lord."

"I thought that already happened." Lily said quietly, sitting down beside Severus.

Severus smiled bitterly. He really wished that Dumbledore would let him share more things with Lily than he did.

"Not quite, there's one small piece of him left, we just can't seem to find it." Severus said cryptically.

"Sev......." Lily said gently, taking one of Severus's hands into her own, "There'll be lots of babies this month, next month, the month after, and in July, there always are. There's no evidence our little one will be the child Professor Trelawney mentioned. You don't even know if it's a boy or not!"

"It's a boy." Severus declared with absolute confidence.

"Really?" Lily laughed.

"Yes." Severus said with a firm nod.

"How can you tell?" Lily asked incredulously.

"It has to be a boy, I don't think I could bear the task of looking after a girl, especially not if she's as beautiful as her mother." Severus said reverently.

"Sev!" Lily exclaimed, leaning forward to kiss his lips, "You're so sweet!"

Severus closed his eyes when Lily's lips met his.

Severus wasn't being sweet.

Severus was being honest.

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Regardless of Lily's dismissal of the potential danger their unborn child faced, Severus remained on the alert.

Severus spent much of his sparse free time thinking about ways in which he could prepare his son for the battle that he would inevitably face if he was indeed the child of which Trelawney spoke.

Severus was a talented man, adept at many precise skills from potions to occlumency, surely there were ways in which he could insure his child's victory over Voldemort.

For Lily, the joy of becoming a mother seemed to diminish the threat that the future may hold.

At Severus's urging, Lily quit her job at The Three Broomsticks to focus on her studies and caring for herself.

Early that spring, Lily completed her studies in the graduate program at Hogwarts with a handful of other students who had chosen to undertake a more accelerated curriculum.

Many needed to go ahead and graduate so they could start working full time.

Severus wanted Lily to hurry up and finish her education so she could go home and rest.

But Lily wasn't the type to rest.

Much to Severus's displeasure, Lily had already accepted a job remotely assisting a high-ranking ministry official through writing and editing letters.