Who's there?
Not smut.
**
You closed the door behind you, and Professor Snape had a look around. Your room was messy. But he wasn't surprised. The room belonged to a 20-year-old with a toddler.
«I'm sorry about the mess», you said as you realised there were clothes and toys everywhere. Without thinking too much you pushed Scarlet into his hands, and once again he stood there paralysed as the toddler began to wake up.
You rushed around to put the clothes into a hamper when the toddler started crying. The harsh reality of no longer being asleep engulfed her. Stopping what you were doing you looked over at him and giggled as he looked a bit lost.
«Oh I'm sorry», you said, «just talk to her, she'll calm down». But your suggestion sounded crazy to him, as he had never talked to a child of such young age before. And to his knowledge she probably wouldn't even reply, so what would he say?
«Hello», he looked at the little girl, she had the most beautiful face, making him scrunch his nose. How could she be his? She was simply too cute. «Scarlet?», he tried again with the only word he figured would make sense to say, the word he had replayed in his mind and repeated to himself whenever he had been alone. The toddler looked up at his eyes and he felt himself soften. «Hello», he said again, and the girl stopped crying. You were putting the hamper away when you saw, realising they were having a moment. You felt moved by it, but in order not to turn into a bundle of tears you continued to gather all her toys.
«Dada», Scarlet said as she grabbed a fistful of his black hair and tugged. His eyes widened as he most definitely held back a comment he shouldn't share with a baby. You quickly went up to them and tried to get her to stop.
«Scarlet, not the hair», you said, but she didn't like it. She screamed. His patience was running out and it made you sad to see. You didn't want him to dislike her. When you got her to let go he gave her back to you.
«She needs discipline», he said slowly. You laughed, which surprised him.
«She is just a toddler, Professor», you excused her, «she's still figuring things out».
«If she'll be anything like her mother that is going to take a while», he said. You glanced at him and frowned.
«I get it, you're still angry with me», you muttered as you put her on the floor and gave her a little dragon plushie to play with. «But if you want to tell me off, can you wait till she's gone to bed?», you asked as you sighed.
Before he got to say anything there was a knock on the door. Your heart raced as you looked at the professor, who strangely enough didn't seem too bothered by it. Maybe he'd already conjured an excuse in his mind as to why he was there.
«Oh, Hagrid», you said as you opened the door to greet the tall man. He smiled as he saw you, a tray of food in his hands. Scarlet recognised the sound of his voice as he said hello and she ran towards him, screaming with glee.
«Scarlet, there yeh are little pumpkin», he smiled as he gave you the tray so he could embrace her little body in his big hands. Picking her up he froze when he saw the dark figure standing behind you. «Oh, Professor, I didn't see yeh there», he excused himself. Professor Snape gave him a forced crooked smile. Looking between the black haired man and the black haired girl in his arms he felt spooked. Glancing at you he laughed nervously. «I see», he mumbled.
«Hagrid, would you keep this to yourself for a while?», you asked him, the tension only growing.
«Anything fer yeh, Y/N, it'll be strictly between yeh and me», he said and nodded.
«Dumbledore knows», you told him.
«And Dumbledore», he repeated, «oh, and yeh of course, Professor», he smiled nervously. Hagrid looked down at the girl who was tugging on his beard, making him giggle. She did too. The professor didn't seem very pleased. Then Hagrid glanced at your tray. «Oh, blimey, I should bring yeh some more food. That's not enough», he said as he put the little girl down to grab the tray once more.
«I won't be eating», Professor Snape's deep voice spoke, making Hagrid all the more uncomfortable.
«Sure thing, Professor», he said and gave it back to you. You smiled.
«Thank you, Hagrid, I'll see you tomorrow», you said and he nodded. Waving goodbye to Scarlet she huffed at him leaving. Closing the door you sighed and went to put the tray on the table.
«Is he here everyday?», he asked, his voice monotone.
«Yes, he brings us food and gives me a hand every now and then», you explained as you tried to get Scarlet into her seat for dinner. She squirmed in your arms and had no intention to do as you wanted.
«Why don't you eat with the others?», he asked, feeling confused.
«They don't know about her, only Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore», you said as you struggled with the child, but finally she was in her seat. You wiped your forehead as you gave him a smile, «and Hagrid I suppose».
«Why?», he asked.
«Because I wanted you to know her first», you said as you put a plate in front of the hungry girl.
«Right», he said as he simply just stood there.
«Do you want to sit?», you asked him, he hesitated for a moment but decided to sit on a chair next to you. He watched the toddler play with her food. «You know», you looked at him as you paused for a second, «I named her after you».
Professor Snape looked at you, «my name isn't Scarlet», he said slowly.
Your eyes widened, «no, no, it's the-»
«It was a joke», he said, as the side of his lips curved upwards.
«Oh», you laughed, «sorry, it was just unexpected».
«Fair», he mumbled. Then he looked at you and grabbed your hand. The touch of his skin on yours surprised you. «Thank you, it's a beautiful name», he said slowly as he kept looking at the girl, who now had food all over her face and hair.
«Thank you», you murmured and stared at his hand on yours. He saw this and cleared his throat as he withdrew. His demeanor immediately changing.
«I should get going», he said.
«I'm about to give her a bath, are you sure you don't want to stick around?», you asked, your eyes glistening with hope. It couldn't hurt to just ask.
«Sounds messy», he said.
«Children are messy, Professor», you sighed. Maybe this just wasn't for him. Maybe it had already been too much for him to take in. But you wanted to give it time. «You don't have to», you said as you helped her get the food on her spoon, «I'm doing fine on my own».
«If you say so», he said as he stood up and walked to the door, turning to look at you he just glanced at the girl before he left and closed the door behind him. Him leaving like that you wondered where you'd misstepped. It was as if you were walking on egg shells trying not to trigger him. And you were not sure what did.
«He just needs some time», you whispered to Scarlet as she licked her spoon clean, hoping to convince yourself as well. Grabbing the second plate of food you ate too. Your appetite had restored shortly after the news of your pregnancy, not because you'd wanted to, but because you had to. If taking care of yourself meant that the baby would be okay, then that was all that mattered. After all, loving her was way easier than yourself.
Watching her fumble with her food she made you feel a lot better. Her little cheeks, her round nose, plump lips and the most gorgeous smile. She was your heart. But when she nearly pushed her food to the floor, signaling she was done, you furrowed your eyebrows and wished she would just be a good girl.
Maybe he would've stayed then.
Sighing you picked her up and kissed her head. She put her arm under your jumper, the warmth of your skin calming her down. «Let's get you in the bath», you whispered.
-
Just when you'd thought you'd gotten through to him, it all just stopped. He didn't talk, and he didn't look at you. After you'd uttered your concern to Dumbledore he had once again told you to be patient. However, that was harder than you thought.
Especially since you'd tried to hide Scarlet till he was comfortable. But it had started to dawn on you that there was a chance he never would. And hiding her just didn't seem fair. You wanted to let her be around others, and not just be in your room or in the hospital wing, where you'd told Madam Pomfrey to hide her if anyone would come in.
But the sight of a toddler at Hogwarts would probably conjure a lot of rumours. However, that was inevitable either way.
So when Draco had asked if you needed help studying you'd said yes.
It had been a week since Professor Snape had been in your chambers. Soon, though, Draco would be there instead. If anyone had told you that when you were hiding on the Hogwarts Express with a disguised child, fathered by your own professor, you would've told them they were nuts. Especially since you had told yourself you would never want to have anything to do with the Malfoys again. You'd escaped that forever connection only by a glimmer of chance. It had truly been 50/50.
Alas, Draco was just a friend.
When you heard the knocking on your door you put Scarlet in a play pen for safety as you left the room to talk to him outside for a brief moment. He looked confused as to why you wouldn't let him in right away.
«What's going on?», he asked curiously.
«I have to tell you something», you said as you waited for students to pass to talk again, «before you come in».
«Why? Can't you just say it in there?», he said, not understanding anything.
«Well», you lowered your voice, «just know that I left Hogwarts two years ago for a good reason». He squinted at you, wondering what it could possibly be. When you opened the door and let him in, a lone professor watched from afar.
A playful squeal left Scarlet's lips as she noticed the stranger standing by the door. Draco's face had gone white and he stood there frozen in disbelief. «Holy s-»
«Not in front of her, please», you interrupted him, grabbing his arm.
«Is she yours?», he asked.
«No, I stole her», you said sarcastically.
«Where?».
«No, Draco, of course she is mine», you said and huffed. Draco walked over to the play pen and sat down to look at her.
«Hello, what's your name?», he asked.
«She can't tell you yet», you said, smiling at him, «her name's Scarlet».
Draco smiled, «hello Scarlet», he said and ruffled her hair. She grabbed his hand and put it in her mouth.
«Be careful, she's teething», you said as you walked over to the table. «Could we look at Transfiguration first please, I think it's what I'm doing the worst in», you said as you tried to find the book.
«You're just not going to tell me the rest of the», he looked at you and to the little girl, «story?».
«If I tell you I'm not ready, would you be okay with that?», you asked.
«I mean», he stood up, «do I have a choice?».
«Not really», you replied and chuckled. Draco pushed you playfully.
«Look at you though, a mummy and all», he said as he grinned. Pushing him in return, you rolled your eyes.
«Yes, which means you're going to have to explain this..», you said as you pointed to a page in the Transfiguration book, «while I feed her and hopefully she will fall asleep».
«Okay», he murmured as he grabbed the book and sat down. You picked up the little girl who was already in her pyjamas. Warming a bottle for her you sat down on the bed to give it to her. You'd wanted to be able to breastfeed, but your body hadn't cooperated. But luckily she'd taken to the bottle, and although she was big enough to eat some solid foods you still gave it to her in the evenings. It was calming for her, and it felt like a bonding moment to you. She usually snuck an arm under your shirt as well. Skin on skin contact. Draco watched you as you sat there. He wondered how the hell you'd ended up like.. that. But he thought it suited you, nonetheless.
«So», he cleared his throat, «turtoise to trumpet», he said, sounding surprised. «I didn't think you found this hard at all», he added.
«No, well, let's just say my head is a bit more foggy than it used to be», you excused yourself, «it takes longer for it to stick».
Draco started reading, and as he read he explained it to you. Just watching him explaining was entertaining as the hand gestures just got more and more creative. So what you'd thought was just going to be a boring study session turned into a moment of laughter. You'd missed hanging out with people you're own age, after having basically been alone for two years - with a toddler. When you went to put Scarlet into her crib, Draco had come with you. Standing by you as you put her down he whispered, «she's very cute», and then looked at you, «just like you». You smiled and rolled your eyes.
Leaving the room you'd just about fit her crib in you let the door be ajar. You both sat down on the floor, across from each other. Talking for ages you tried not to laugh too loudly, as to not wake up the little girl. He had a lot of gossip to share, mostly about Crabbe and Goyle and something about Hermione Granger. Which you'd found odd. «So how's Astoria?», you asked.
«Good, I think», he said.
«Which means?», you raised your eyebrows.
«We've been on a couple of dates», he added.
«Good to hear, what does Pansy say? Does she know?», you asked curiously, wrapping your arms around your legs.
«She's Pansy», he smiled, «same old». Then his smile faded and he akwardly fixed his hair for a second, «Y/N, I've been meaning to apologise».
«For what?», you asked.
«The way I... you know, basically forced you into that potion», he mumbled.
«Oh, that's-»
A knock on the door startled you both. And before you even got around to stand up to open it, it opened on its own revealing a dark figure.
«Professor Snape», Draco said, surprise evident in his tone. The professor looked at both of you, his face emotionless.
«Do you two know what time it is?», he asked slowly. Panic rushed over you when you realised you'd completely forgotten.
«Sorry, Professor», you said as you stood up, fixing your skirt. Looking you up and down, the professor turned his attention to Draco.
«As the Head Boy I expect more from you than breaking the rules», he said, «it is well after hours and staying in her room is highly.... inappropriate», he continued, seeming annoyed. Draco stood up and sighed.
«Just helping her study, Professor», he defended himself.
«Do you normally laugh when you study, Mr. Malfoy?», he challenged. You started to feel annoyed by the older wizard.
«Draco was just about to leave», you interrupted them, handing Draco his books, «thank you for the help», you said and smiled at him.
«See you around», he replied and sent the professor a glare as he pushed past him.
Having decided to give him space and not push him for a while, you jusr told him good night. But when you were about to close the door he stopped you from doing so.
«I know you have been away for two years», he sneered, «but I didn't think that would be enough for you to forget the rules». You frowned at him. He was just being unfair at this point. You were tired of it.
«Sorry», you said, «it won't happen again, good night now», you pulled on the door. But it wouldn't budge as his foot was in the way. Looking up and into his eyes you furrowed your eyebrows. «You're not done?», you asked.
«As it turns out, I'm not», he said slowly.
«Do you want to come in?», you asked, your voice not hiding the fact you were both annoyed and fed up. Instead of replying he walked straight in. You clenched your jaw.
«Why was he here?», he asked as you closed the door.
«Like he said, he helped me study», you said.
«I expect high achievements on your NEWTs then, studying for six hours», he spat.
«Six hours? Wait», you furrowed your eyebrows as you were in deep thought, lifting your hand you pointed at him, «how did you know?». The professor seemed uncomfortable. You realised he must have seen Draco arrive and you sighed as you sat down on your bed. «What is this really about?», you asked.
«Huh?», he pretended not to know what you were talking about.
«You're angry. Is it Draco or is it me?», you asked.
«How about both?», he admitted. You shook your head in disbelief as you held out both your arms as to signal you were ready to take his scolding. He cleared his throat. «What did you tell him?», he asked.
«About her?».
«Yes», he said slowly.
«Nothing. Just her name. And that she is mine», you explained, leaning back on your arms on the bed. The professor eyed your legs, and let his eyes scan your body, he felt as if his shirt tightened against his throat, and his palms turned sweaty. You noticed how he couldn't stop looking, so you parted your legs just a little, trying not to smirk. He got distracted by it and forgot what he was going to say. «Was that all?», you asked, holding back a grin.
«Uh», he looked away, «detention». You frowned.
«Detention?», you spat, «you know I can't, I have to take care of her».
«You should've thought about that before you broke the rules», he sneered, trying not to look at you. The sight of your body when you sat like that made him want to do things.
«Professor», you said, «you didn't give him detention. Is this truly about the rules?».
He pulled on his collar, feeling hot. This hadn't really gone to plan. Though he hadn't really had one, he had simply acted on jealousy. Draco just never left your chambers.
Huffing he turned his back towards you, «No».
«Then what? I know you're angry, but I can't take it all back», you said, letting your head fall back in annoyance. It felt like you kept going in circles.
«Two years is a long time», he muttered.
«I am truly sorry, Professor. I don't know what more to say», you said. He turned back around.
«What did you and Draco do for so long?», he asked, gritting his teeth he was annoyed about the fact that he needed an answer.
«I told you, we studied», you replied, «and talked».
«Do you like him?», he asked slowly. You widened your eyes, your memories of this exact conversation going by in a flash.
«I told you I care about him as a friend, that is still the case», you said, but Professor Snape didn't seem to trust it. «He knows that», you added.
«Hm?».
«I told him. And he likes that Greengrass girl anyway», you said, parting your legs just a little bit more. Professor Snape's eyes immediately sensed the movement.
«Is that so?», he asked, still keeping his eyes on your thighs. He was torn between the need of protecting his heart, and the lustful desperation he had for you. You moved your thighs just a bit more, and his eyes immediately refocused and jumped to your face. «What are you doing?», he asked.
«Nothing», you attempted an innocent look.
«Liar», he snapped as he walked closer to you.
«Shh», you put a finger up to your lips, «she's sleeping».
«I suppose you're going to have to be quiet then, Miss Y/LN», he said as his eyes clouded with desire.
Then the door locked itself behind you.