Togetherness

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.


A very special THANK YOU to Tarallynne Moon for outstanding beta work



Chapter 11 Surprise, Surprise

Harry sat in Draco’s lap on the bed waiting for Poppy. Hermione looked at the two, smiled, and took the head of the bed across from them. Severus took the end of the bed and crossed his arms, trying his best to glare at the two young men and avoiding looking at Lucius at all.

Harry was the first to break the silence. “Will someone tell me why I’m not dead? Even though I am very grateful, I was sure I was dying earlier.” Draco looked at Severus and then back to Harry. “Harry, love, lets leave that for the time being. I’m wondering what has Poppy so distraught.”

Poppy came bursting back into the room and headed, first, for Lucius. She handed him several vials and waited while he drank them then handed him a goblet of pumpkin juice to wash it down. She made him lay down and pulled the covers up to his chin and tucked them in. “There. That should help you regain your strength. I’m going to tell you now, you’re going to need all you have and maybe more. More is not for me to say at the moment.” Poppy turned on her heel and walked back to the two beds. She cast a silencing spell around the two beds and pulled up the chair that was between them. “Well. I must confess, in all my years as a mediwit hav have never, never seen anything like this. And I thought Mr. Potter had opened up all the new vistas for me. I was wrong. Now the next part is going to be difficult for all of you. Some more so than others, I’m afraid.” Poppy looked at the people around her and pulled out four little Muggle boxes. Hermione gasped when she saw them and looked at Poppy.

“You have got to be kidding me. I know what those are and there is no way, no way I’m telling you, that I need one of those.” Hermione was adamant and livid.

Severus was growing impatient. “Why don’t you tell us then what they are, Miss Granger, since you seem to be under the impression Poppy is insulting you with them.”

Harry just blushed and burrowed further intoco’sco’s neck and held him that much tighter.

Hermione glared at her potions teacher. “You are supposed to be the Potions Master that knows everything. But just this once, it is a pleasure to know something you don’t sir. Those are called E.P.T.’s or Early Pregnancy Tests. And before you even ask and I am tempted to smack you silly, no I have never needed to use one, I had several friends in London who have had to in the past. The only question is, Poppy, who are they for why why do you think they are needed?”
Poppy raised an eyebrow that made Severus sit up and take notice and in appreciation. “Miss Granger, since you are the only female in here with three men, it seems it would be obvious to at least you why I have them. I am not accusing you of relations with them. This is a back up for my scanning wand. I think it is malfunctioning, but we have to be sure. The wand showed three of the four of you are very recently pregnant. So recent in fact it barely registered and then gave me anomalies. This is just a precaution. Mr. Potter, please get out of Mr. Malfoy’s lap.”

Harry looked at her and slid off Draco’s lap but stayed as close as possible. Poppy just shook her head.

She stood up and looked at them. “When I give these to you, I want you to sit and read the instructions very carefully. I then want you to go to the loo and follow the instructions implicitly. Do you understand? I will come hold your hand if you need me to, but I am sure you can do this on your own. It will then be a matter of minutes before we either have a positive or negative and we can ask all the questions then, maybe find the answers.” Poppy stood and turned to Hermione, holding out a box. Hermione turned brighter than a Weasley’s hair, but took the package. She moved over to Severus and repeated the actions. Severus automatically held out his hand, took the package and gave her his best glare. She didn’t flinch, just shook her head and turned to the two on the bed.

Poppy walked over to them and contemplated them for a long minute. She had the package in her hand and stood looking at them some more. With careful deliberation, since they were sitting so close together, she stretched out her hand to Draco. Draco looked at her in total shock and shook his head, like a dog shaking water off its coat. Poppy could only nod at him and watched him hang his head before glaring at Harry.

Hermione looked at them and asked Poppy to lower the silencing spell so she could go through and get this farce over with and get back to Ron and classes. She stalked to the girl’s bathroom and entered, did what the directions called for, and waited.

In the meantime, Severus had read the package three times and snorted each time. He knew it was an impossibility for him to be pregnant – you had to have had sex or a very powerful potion or spell to get pregnant and he hadn’t been with anyone in years and was positive no one had hit him with a spell or potion. He decided to humor Poppy and took off for the gents. Poppy turned to the two young men.

“Draco. You need to do this, no exceptions. Run along. The sooner done, the sooner finished.
Draco still looked shocked and stood and swayed on his feet. Harry jumped to his feet to help, but Poppy beat him to it. “Mr. Potter, get on that bed and lay down until I tell you different. I will help Mr. Malfoy.”

She helped Draco as far as the bathroom door. “Draco, do you need help or can you comprehend what you need to do?” Poppy was beginning to worry about the young men in her care. Draco shook his head and entered the bathroom just as they heard a loud scream and wailing from the girl’s bathroom. “OH FUCK! THIS IS JUST SO WRONG! I WANT A SECOND OPINION!” There was no doubt to anyone involved in this fiasco, what those results were. Poppy went hurrying to the girl’s room. Snickers were heard from the men’s room.

Minutes later, there was an even louder yell reverberating through the infirmary. It was the combined forces of Severus and Draco. The funny thing, if any of this was funny, was they were saying the same thing in volume, sounding like Muggle stereo. It ran real close to the eloquence of Hermione’s earlier outburst and they both came running from the room waving little white plastic “wands”.

Severus was the first to gain his speech. “Poppy, there has been an error in your little Muggle practices. There is no way that I am pregnant. Draco and Miss Granger, well that’s a physiological possibility, but not me. What do you suggest next?”

Poppy pursed her lips and shook her head. “It might have been my wand or the E.P.T.’s that were wrong, but not both. I need you all to retake your seats. We need to figure this out and now.” Poppy moved to her office and called for Albus to join her. She waited with the others, and soon Albus was there.

“Well Poppy, what is the verdict?” Albus was very calm and his eyes sparkled and twinkled more than the noonday sun reflecting off of a lake.

Poppy looked at him and grinned. “Albus, we are being blessed with at least three new witches and wizards. It’s still very early, and I mean very early. It seems like it happened within the last twelve hours by my wand’s calculations. The question is, since it wasn’t conventional, how did it happen and from where?”

Albus looked at his mediwitch and shook his head. “Poppy would you be so kind as to escort Miss Granger to a bed for her to rest on while I review a few things with these gentlemen.” Poppy got up and escorted Hermione to a bed in the opposite corner and had her lay down and rest.

Albus cast a silencing bubble around the four of them. Albus looked at all of them “Severus, I think we should find out what exactly you discovered about Harry’s treatment in St. Mungo’s.”

Severus looked at Albus and the ideas began flowing in his brain and he hung his head and shook it. “Un-fucking-believable. Mr. Potter, you have been attacked with the most vile, reprehensible and outlawed process known to wizards. It was performed during your recovery in St. Mungo’s. Do you have any recollection of a ‘healer’, and I use the term loosely, named Simon Snarkle?”

There were several tense moments as Harry’s memory traveled back to his hospitalization after the Final Battle. “I remember a lot of the doctors traipsing in and out. Would he have been from the DoM, Muggle Treatment Section? I vaguely remember someone named Snarkle. Why? What does he have to do with this?”

Severus took a deep breath, inhaled and looked to Albus who signaled for him to continue. “It seems Harry, this Snarkle person, used an outlawed technique the Muggles tried perfecting and then abandoning since it was unreliable and unstable. Snarkle did his homework and appary pey perfected it himself. You, Harry, have had your mind tampered with and convinced you to become what the muggles refer to as Psychosomatic. In simple terms, you convinced yourself you were dying and exhibited all the symptoms. We gambled it would only take a Pepper Up Potion administered at the crucial time to pull you through. We were all prepared, anyone on staff around you was prepared, the same as Draco here, even if he could not find it earlier.”

Harry looked at Severus. “So what you are telling me is that even though Voldemort is dead, someone is still messing with my head and it’s outlawed, too? What are my options and how do I find the sucker? I feel a case of mean coming on real big.”

Draco finally started following the conversation. “That’s great, we can string the manipulative little bastard up in a wonderfully accommodating dungeon I know, but how did the three of us get pregnant? I know how Granger and I could, but Uncle Severus? Is it possible they are magically induced?”

Albus beamed at the Slytherin in front of him. “Very good, Mr. Malfoy. Ie the the files and I have cast upon them a spell to reveal anything the writers did not want seen and had covered in magic. It seems that not only did he play with Harry’s mind, he played with his magic also. Have any of you noticed an unusual aura enveloping you lately, especially if emotions were running high?”

Hermione gasped along with Severus. Hermione was the first to speak. “I remember seeing a blue light surround Harry and Draco when Draco was kissing Harry as we thought he was dying and then when Draco grabbed Professor Snape there was a yellow light flowing between them and around them. I didn’t think anything about it when I joined them in the hug. I guess I got hit with the same thing. Is that what happened? Harry impregnated us on his death? Eeeww, how squicky is that? What can we do about it?”

Albus and Severus looked at each other and then turned their eyes to Poppy. Sadly, all three adults shook their heads. Poppy was the first to utter the condemning words. “I am afraid, Miss Granger, there is nothing we can do to rid you of a magically induced pregnancy. You will have to carry it to term as will Professor Snape and Draco.”

The groans echoed through the infirmary and brought Lucius up to attention. The others had forgotten about him, but this looked serious and if his son and Severus were involved, he needed to know. Fighting his way out of the covers, he carefully made his way over to the others and leaned on the bed. Albus saw him and conjured a comfortable chair for him. He sat down and held out a hand to his son. Draco looked at him and with an anguished cry, threw himself at his father’s feet, laid his head on his father’s knees and sobbed as if Harry was dying all over again. Lucius made shushing noises and Hermione burst into tears and went to Poppy for comfort. Severus just looked at them and muttered, “Damn, I need a firewhiskey and can’t have one. Lif sta starting to suck major big time, Albus. I waited all my adult life to get rid of the weight around my neck. I was not expecting to be saddled with an infant. Isn’t it enough that I have all these students with me all the time? Now this? What the hell did I ever do to Lady Luck or Fate that they have to come after me like this?” Severus was still quietly grumbling.

Albus looked at the one quiet person in the group. Harry sat on the bed. Albus wasn’t sure what he was feg atg at the moment, but the green eyes were sparkling, Harry’s eyebrows were drawn together in a frown and he was sitting there rocking himself.

Albus had to get his attention. “Harry, talk to me. What are you planning, Harry? I’ve seen that look before and now it bids ill for someone.”

Harry delivered an evil grin that would have done Severus or Lucius proud. “ I need to make a little trip to St Mungo’s, Headmaster and I want Hermione to join me.”

Hermione sniffled one more time on Poppy’s shoulder and turned to look at Harry. After a moment, her grin matched Harry’s for a level of evil. This time Albus, Severus and Lucius all saw it. Three grown men looked at the young witch and cringed. Somebody was going to be on the receiving end of a major case of ass whopping and they were glad it wasn’t them.

Hermione looked at Harry. “When do we leave?” Harry grinned back at her. “How does tomorrow sound? Do a little more research? I need to take care of Draco, Lucius and Severus tonight. What about you, do you want to join us?”

Hermione shook her head. “As you said, we need a little more research done. I’ll get started on it after dinner and will be ready by 9:00, after breakfast. Meet in the entrance.” Hermione gathered herself and asked if she may be excused. Albus stopped her briefly. “Miss Granger, I think it would be in the best interest of all parties, if word of this did not get around?” Hermione looked at the Headmaster. He could question her loyalty and silence after her help to the Order during the? “H? “Headmaster, just let me remind you who was the spell keeper and finder during the war? I know what is needed and will make sure it is right. I will see you all at dinner. Harry, dinner at your place? I want a complete large pasta dinner.” Hermione turned and left them in various positions.

Draco watched her go and looked up at his father. “I may have been just slightly behind her in classes, but I have a question. If I was impregnated by my love, and I in turn impregnated e See Severus and both of us impregnated Granger, does that make my father a grandfather 3 times over?”

Severus had had enough. “Oh fuck it all. Draco drop the Uncle routine. I am having your child, courtesy of Mr. Potter. So your father is the grandfather to the child you are carrying and to my child. He will also be the grandfather to the child Miss Granger is carrying through its connection to you. Fate, my dear Draco, is a sadistic bitch with a knack for revenge. Beware the bitch.” Severus got up to leave. “Poppy, I will come see you tomorrow after classes. It will be book work tomorrow for classes until we establish the effects of brewing on a fetus.” Severus and his robes swirled and stalked towards the door.

Harry perked up again. “Professor, dinner in our suite at 7 tonight. Please join us.” Severus nodded once and continued out the door.

Harry slipped onto the floor next to Draco and wrapped his arms around him. “I’m sorry love. I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have had this happen now for anything that the world could offer me. Let’s all go back to our suite where it’s more comfortable for all of us and you can be yourself. C’mon my Dragon, I hear the couch calling you and a bed calling your father.” Harry stood and pulled Draco up against him. He kissed him tenderly and moved the blonde hair out of his face. “I love you Dragon. I’m right here and will be.”

Harry extended a hand to Lucius and helped the man up out of the chair. “Headmaster, we are going to our suite. You know where we will be tonight, so don’t look for us in the Great Hall.”