The Order of the Phoenix.

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It was late night and Severus Snape felt the warm sweetness of the woman beside him. He cursed himself under his breath. He had a wonderful wife, they both had good jobs that would lead to solid careers, and they had a baby on the way; yet he was not entirely happy.

Today the mental house of cards he had built for himself fell crashing down. He should have anticipated this as yet another one of the inevitable days when he would only know the grief of what he could not have. His wife had been so gentle when she had told him that Lily was pregnant and then she had comforted him as only Emily could.

It wasn't fair, the life to which Severus condemned his wife. There were moments when he knew that she looked at him wistfully, wishing he could love her as he loved Lily. He pretended not to see, hoping it was better for her that way. There were some nights when she poured her heart out to him, thinking he was asleep, telling him how much she loved him. He tried to ignore that as well. He tried to make up for his shortcoming by being extra kind and affectionate with her but he knew he was still withholding the one thing she really wanted.

His baby was active again, the gentle taps of a few weeks ago having become stronger movements. He usually gloried in feeling them and would sometimes wake Emily with the passion they inspired in him. Tonight however, these movements mocked him, reminding him that another man would share this with Lily. He knew that he would hate that other child for being the proof of the greatest disappointment of his life.

Emily stretched and ran her hand down her husband's side. Severus caught his breath as she so easily caught his full attention. She leaned up and kissed him while her hands did something else to him. He couldn't stop himself from taking all she offered and he felt a tremendous guilt. He wasn't sure if it was because he had not remained true to his love for Lily or because he was thinking of someone other than Emily when she gave herself to him so freely.

---

Severus had an appointment to meet with the Headmaster to apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. He went to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade to meet with him. It would be good for the Snape family to get out of London. Blood status arguments were becoming more fierce than ever and even Eileen and Margo had at last found a point upon which they did not agree.

Dumbledore would know what to do about the pursuit from the Dark Lord, too. Severus and Emily just wanted to be able to live their lives and raise their baby. Severus wanted to continue his studies in deeper forms of magic and Emily wanted to become a full healer, but most of all they wanted their child to be safe.

Severus walked along the hallway wondering where he was supposed to meet Dumbledore. Suddenly an odd voice started pronouncing. He realized it was a prophecy. “THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES...BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES...” He backed away, feeling suddenly ill.

The innkeeper came up the stairs at that moment and saw him. “Hey, you! No lurking around like that.”

Severus looked up. “I have an appointment...”

“Doesn't matter. Out! Out!”

Dumbledore's head came out of a room. “We did have an appointment, but Severus, there is something I must attend to here right now. We will speak another time.”

Severus inclined his head. “As you wish, headmaster.” There was something he desperately wanted to check on, anyway.

He went home and found Emily resting on the sofa in the sitting room, a damp cloth over her eyes. She had clearly been struggling with nausea again. He put his cloak away and then went into the kitchen and prepared the potion that eased her discomfort. She took it gratefully and he lifted her legs to sit underneath them.

“Thank you, Severus. I don't know why they call it morning sickness, nor why it's continued all along for me when usually it's just the first few months.” She peeked out from under the cloth and saw that his face was tired and drawn. “There's dinner if you want it.”

“I'm not hungry right now.” He traced her knees where they peeked out from under her skirt. He didn't want to seem too interested but he had to know. “When did you say the Potters would have their baby?”

“Early to mid August,” came out from under the cloth. “Why?”

“Oh, something I heard today.” He sighed. “Dumbledore wasn't able to see me tonight, after all, but he said he'll be in touch.” He allowed himself to relax and smile. Whoever had babies in late July would be susceptible to attack from the Dark Lord, but at least it wouldn't be Lily. His attention returned to Emily's knees. Really it was turning into a good evening.

He wanted to keep the conversation going. “Did you say you were going to visit with my mother today?”

He let her describe the details Eileen had given to Emily about the progress the baby was making. The knees under his hands were quite inviting. As Emily wound down her narrative, he found another subject had captured his attention.

“Emily?”

“Hmmm?”

“Are you feeling better?” His voice was a husky whisper.

She pulled the cloth away and smiled invitingly. “Yes, much better, thank you. Are you asking for a reason?”

He slid his hands, and the skirt, up her legs. “I was feeling a sort of a hunger, if you weren't too unwell.”

“Nauseous one minute, amorous the next,” she said with a giggle, “that seems to be the way of pregnancy.” She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Severus marveled yet again at the sense of raw energy that moved between them.

A/N: I've never really accepted that Trelawney's description of that night was exactly what happened.