Conscious of the Dark ~ {Severus Snape fanfic} BOOK ONE

20. The End

Regina pulled back, her heart raced inside her chest. "I'm pregnant", she blurted out. She just couldn't hold it back anymore. "You're going to be a dad..."

Severus' onyx eyes widened and his skin became paler. He would become... a dad?!

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There was silence after that. It was like they were holding their breaths, all three of them. Severus could swear, his heart stopped beating for a long moment after Regina's announcement. Regina couldn't tell if Severus was shocked, exited or scared. Narcissa neared them, keeping her blue eyes mainly on Severus.

"Is this a joke?", suddenly Severus stepped away, his brows furrowed in confusion. "You told me the Dark Lord cursed you. You sounded very sure when you told me that. Are you playing with me?"

"I am not", Regina looked at him and her hurtful gaze said it all.

"She is not", Narcissa confirmed. "She made the unbreakable vow. If she was lying, she would be dead by now."

"The unbreakable vow?", he seemed more lost now, looking back and forth between the two women. "Care someone to explain?"

With a long sigh, Regina closed the distance between them and took his hands in hers. "The Dark Lord made a deal with me. My compliance for the baby's life. I didn't know I was pregnant until he told me. Apparently the curse vanished after his downfall but my body protected the infant when I got pregnant by you. This is why Poppy couldn't detect the pregnancy. But the Dark Lord can terminate the pregnancy any time he wants. So....", she breathed out, her eyes never leaving his. "...I promised to remain his follower."

"You made the unbreakable vow for him??", Severus snapped, pulling his hands away from hers rather harshly.

"No, she made it for me", Narcissa stared at him coldly.

"Why?!", he shifted his fiery gaze to the blonde witch.

"Because the Dark Lord forced me to tell everything to her or else he would", said Regina. "I prefered to do that myself. It was more decent. Narcissa didn't suggest the unbreakable vow. I did. I vowed to not have any sort of romantic relationship with Lucius and...", she trailed off. "I vowed to make Narcissa our baby's godmother."

Severus arched an eyebrow, looking at the two. "This works for me."

"Actually, we never asked for your opinion", Narcissa rolled her eyes.

"Don't push your luck", Severus glared at her.

"Can we not, please?", Regina looked at them. "Severus, I can't return to Hogwarts. Voldemort wants me here..."

"This is absurd", Severus huffed. "I am not leaving you here."

"The unbreakable vow, Severus", Narcissa reminded him. "She can't have any sort of romantic relationship with my husband."

"You think, this is my problem?", he shifted his attention to the blonde. "I trust Regina. She is not even interested in him anymore."

Regina couldn't help but smile. Finally he trusted her.

"Then what's your problem?", Narcissa narrowed her eyes.

"I fear for her mental health and the baby's well being. Voldemort will try to break her."

"I'm afraid she doesn't have much of a choice", the blonde said. "For one thing I can assure you, Severus. I'm not going to let anything happen to the baby."

"What about Regina though?", Severus was stone cold.

"I don't need protectors", Regina interfered. "I can endure Voldemort. I did it for so many years, I can handle it."