The Domino Effect
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Snape
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
19
Views:
53,734
Reviews:
264
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Snape
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
19
Views:
53,734
Reviews:
264
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
A Necessary Reunion
Title: The Domino Effect
Author: Dr. Jeckell & Mrs. Hyde (aka Taran & Magdelena)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape, Ron Weasley/Draco Malfoy (secondary pairing)
Warnings: Non-consensual sex, Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Graphic Sexual Content, Rimming, MPreg
Summary: HP/SS – Slash – Chapter 15 of ?. Harry discovers that when he kills Voldemort, all of the Death Eaters will die as well because of the bond that they share with the Dark Lord through their Marks. Harry vows to do anything it takes to allow Severus Snape to escape that fate.
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters herein (only the plot). All the characters in the Harry Potter universe belong exclusively to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, and anyone else JKR chooses to allow to play with them. We are publishing our fanfiction writings only for our own selfish desire to be a part of their world.
Authors’ Note: Thanks to the incredibly wonderful Sev1970 for betaing this story.
~*~
Chapter Fifteen – A Necessary Reunion
Harry tried to steady his breathing, and to not panic at Hermione’s words. Slowly, he felt a sense of peace, as he resolved himself to the fact that he needed to finish what he had started. His voice strong and clear, he turned to meet Hermione’s worried gaze. “I need to get to Severus now.”
“Harry, that’s a lot easier said then done. Albus and Remus have been looking for Severus since he disappeared,” Hermione explained.
Ron nodded in agreement. “Yeah, mate. They’ve had Percy tracking down leads at the Ministry, and they’ve been using every tracking spell imaginable. He’s just vanished.”
“Damn.” Harry unconsciously stroked along his forearm, where the Mark uniting him with Severus lay. He tuned out the cacophony of voices around him, focusing his thoughts inward in search of a solution. All of a sudden, the answer occurred to him, and he held out his arm to the others, their voices immediately quieting as Harry’s voice rang out. “What about through this thing? It’s how Voldemort called his followers to him, and how he tracked their movements. I’ve seen him using Wormtail’s to call them.”
“It can’t be that simple,” Draco argued. “Dumbledore would have thought of it already, and come to you asking for you to try to contact Severus.”
“No,” Harry argued, “You haven’t shared your information with him, your findings about the bond we share, so he’s still thinking of the original Domino spell. Voldemort never had a Mark himself, so he always used one of his Death Eaters’ Marks to make contact, but it makes sense that if I have a Mark, I should be able to follow it to Severus.”
“Let us get Dumbledore,” Charlie urged, hearing the resolve in Harry’s voice.
“No, there\'s no time to waste. Dumbledore can wait. I haven’t come this far to let them die now,” Harry stated, calmly and certainly. “Even if I’ve lost Severus forever, I can’t lose my child.”
In a scene all too familiar from his memories during fourth year of the graveyard where Voldemort returned to corporeal form, Harry placed his fingertips to the Mark as Voldemort had, and immediately an almost uncomfortable warmth coursed through him. The Mark began pulsating against his arm, the green growing nearly florescent against his skin. “Take me to my bonded,” he commanded, and in a flash of light, he was gone.
~*~
Harry stumbled as he reappeared, his Mark still pulsing gently against his arm. The room he had apparated into was dark and the curtains were drawn. Harry retrieved his wand from his pocket, and quietly whispered ‘Lumos’, lighting the tip. The sight he saw in his wandlight made him seethe with rage even as his heart ached. Before him was the man he loved, sleeping. Severus looked worn, unbelievably thin except for the rounded swell of his abdomen, the dark circles under his eyes visible beneath his onyx lashes, and behind him, his arm thrown protectively over Severus’ abdomen, was Remus Lupin, also asleep.
Remus\' eyes fluttered open and blinked several times, adjusting to the light from Harry\'s wand. He knew instinctively, that the one holding the wand wasn\'t a threat, but it took a moment for him to focus on Harry\'s face. When he did, he sighed with relief, not seeing the look of fury on the younger wizard\'s face.
\"Oh, thank Merlin you\'re here,\" Remus whispered as he carefully let go of Severus and got off the bed. He came around the bed, checked to see that Severus was still sleeping soundly, then ushered Harry out the door into the living room. He left the door ajar so he could listen for Severus in case he awoke and needed assistance.
\"I\'m so glad to see you, Harry,\" he said quietly, turning on lights and heading for the kitchen to make tea. \"Did Percy contact you? I only just found Severus a few days ago and haven\'t really had a chance to call you or Albus yet.\"
“It doesn’t take that long to make a firecall, Remus,” Harry bit out coldly, and then expelled a shuddering breath, willing himself to calm down. “No, never mind, it’s not my place to say who Severus finds comfort with. I’m glad that you’ve been able to be there for him. I know that he probably has no desire to see me, but Hermione uncovered some information that led me to believe that both he and our child would be in great danger if we continued to stay separated.”
One part of what Harry said caught Remus\' attention. \'Who Severus finds comfort with\' sounded a bit odd until he realized exactly the position he and Severus were in when Harry came into the room. He gasped at the implications of Harry\'s words and turned to look at him, his face flushed with embarrassment.
\"Harry! There\'s nothing going on between Severus and me! We were only sleeping toget-… That is… I was only keeping him company! Really, Harry, it wasn\'t at all what it looked like. He\'s… Well, he\'s been very moody and he was upset last night, so I stayed with him and we fell asleep. That\'s ALL that happened.\"
He turned back toward the teapot sitting on the counter and said softly, \"Besides, I\'m not the one he\'s in love with.\"
Harry snorted, and ran a hand nervously through his hair. “You’re not the only one who seems to believe that. My friends have found evidence that have led them to believe that the spell wouldn’t have been altered unless Severus had feelings for me too. I’m not going to believe it until I hear it from him, though.”
\"Don\'t hold your breath,\" Remus said as he set the steaming pot onto the table. They sat across from each other and Remus poured the tea. \"You\'ve a long road ahead of you, Harry, if you want to get back into his life. I\'m not saying that it won\'t happen, just not right away. Severus doesn\'t forgive easily. As for his feelings for you, however, his being in love with you isn\'t just a hopeful belief, it\'s a known fact. You may not have noticed, but he talks in his sleep.\" Remus gave Harry a smile and sipped his tea.
\"If you need further evidence, I\'ll tell you about last night. Severus was upset because I wanted to call you. I told him that he needed help, but he\'s trying to prove, mostly to himself, that he doesn\'t need to be taken care of.\"
Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew Severus wouldn\'t want him telling Harry this, but he was worried about Severus and knew Harry was the only one who could really take care of him the way he so desperately didn\'t want to need. Harry had taken care of Severus once and he could do it again. More than that, though, Remus wanted to see them both happy.
\"He started to cry and said, \'I don\'t want to love him\'. I think he meant to say that he didn\'t want to need you, but he already does love and need you, Harry. He just doesn\'t want to admit it and he doesn\'t want to feel it because he\'s been hurt so many times before. What you did, and yes, I know it had to be done, was the last thing he expected of you. The pain he\'s gone through from it should be enough proof, too. He wouldn\'t hurt so much if he didn\'t love you.\"
Harry nodded, and sipped at his cup of tea, trying to come to grips with all that he had learned in the last few hours. “I have no right to ask for his forgiveness. What I did… the lies I told him to coerce him into being with me… I don’t know if I can forgive myself.” Harry placed his cup down on his saucer. “How is he? Physically, I mean. He looks like he hasn’t been caring for himself at all.”
“But he has. He has all the right foods here. He’s really trying to make this work, Harry. He just can’t keep anything down.”
Harry sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Then it is the bond. Once again, something is forced on him. Yet another damned reason for him never to forgive me.”
\"Well, at least we agree on that,\" came Severus\' dark voice. He was standing, rather unsteadily, in the doorway glaring at Harry. \"So, you called him after all,\" he said to Remus without taking his eyes off Harry. \"I don\'t need you, Potter. Get out of my house!\"
“He didn’t call me,” Harry answered calmly but firmly, standing from his chair and turning so that he faced Severus. “For your information, I had planned on never bothering you again. However, earlier today, I found out some information about the bond. If we don’t stay together for the remainder of the pregnancy, I doubt that either of you will survive the birth. And seeing how drawn you look, I can only agree.”
Severus\' anger suddenly changed to fear, which he was unable to keep from showing. He stepped back from Harry, his chest heaving wildly.
\"No, you\'re lying!\" he yelled. \"I won\'t let you take it! You can\'t have my baby!\"
Severus burst into tears and ran from the room. He entered his bedroom and slammed the door behind before either Harry or Remus could react to his outburst.
Remus stood to go to Severus, but Harry waved him off, stepping up to the door himself. “No, if we are ever going to work this out, it needs to be me.”
Slowly, Harry opened the door to the room, prepared to dodge hexes if need be. He wasn’t fully prepared, however, for the sight of Severus cowering in a corner of the room in fear. Harry approached him slowly, like he would a cornered animal, taking only a couple small steps towards Severus before he started to speak in an attempt to reassure his lover. “Severus, you misunderstood. I have no intention of taking our child away from you. In fact, the only reason that I’m here is to assure that our child survives, and that you are strong enough to carry the baby to term.”
Severus lifted his tear-stained face to look at Harry. \"You won\'t try to take it after it\'s born?\" he asked between sniffles and hiccups. He felt foolish and childish, but he had long ago given up trying to control his emotions while pregnant.
Harry fell to his knees before Severus. He began to raise a hand to reach out and touch the overwhelmed man, but stopped himself at the last moment, not knowing how Severus would react to his touch, and afraid to drive the man any further away from him.
“No, angel, this is one thing that you get to make every decision about. I’m not going to try to take the baby away from you; not now, not later. In fact, though it completely goes against my desire to protect you and our child, I need to give you another choice. What I said before was true. If I leave now, it’s very likely that both you and the baby will…” Harry paused for a moment, willing back the tears that pricked his eyes. “…will die. I saved your life once without your consent, but I won’t do it again. You get to make this decision about our lives. If you truly want me to leave, I will.”
Severus became angry again at Harry\'s words. \"You\'re only saying that so I\'ll have to let you stay!\" He gave Harry a hard shove, sending him rolling backwards, then struggled to get to his feet. Harry recovered quicker and tried to help, but Severus just pushed him away again.
\"Your blackmail and lies won\'t work this time, Potter!\" he shouted. \"No one\'s going to believe that you\'re the innocent victim in this! Not when I\'m carrying your Mark!\"
“I’m NOT lying, Severus,” Harry responded, clenching his fists in an attempt to control his anger. “You’re not the only one who’s bloody well marked.”
Severus stopped cold and stared at Harry. \"What are you talking about?\" he asked nervously, not sure what to expect, but dreading what he already suspected.
“I’m talking about this,” Harry replied, pushing up his sleeve and turning his arm to face Severus. “The Domino bond apparently has certain flaws. Up until today, I thought that the reason for my being marked was because of my feelings for you, but apparently there are other reasons as well,” he answered cryptically. “Hermione, Draco, and Ron have been researching since you left. I only found out everything today, including the threat to you and the baby.”
Severus already knew about the flaws and understood perfectly why Harry was marked as well. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing and his tears. He didn\'t want to admit even to himself that he had given in to Harry out of love. It was too painful to love anyone and he couldn\'t forgive Harry for treating him the same way everyone else in his life had, like a puppet used only to entertain, one who bent to the will of the puppet-master. He wrapped his arms around his large belly as he began to shiver in spite of the warmth in the room.
\"Fine. Stay then. I don\'t care,\" he said sadly with an air of utter defeat. He crawled cautiously into bed and struggled with the blanket weakly until it was pulled over his head. He wanted to sleep until the baby was born and after that, if Harry chose to take it away, he wouldn\'t fight. He didn\'t have the will to fight anymore and knew he couldn\'t win any argument with Harry Potter anyhow.
“Thank you, Severus,” Harry whispered. He quietly moved until he was at the head of Severus’ bed, and crouched down so that he was level with Severus’ face. Gently he uncovered Severus’ face, and as he did, risked brushing his thumb against his lover’s sallow cheek. “I promise I won’t let you down again.”
When the onyx eyes opened, staring at Harry in disbelief, looking so broken and needy, it only strengthened Harry’s resolve. “First off, we’re going to get you feeling better. I’m going to make you a bit of breakfast, and then if you agree, I’m going to firecall Poppy to see if she can send us some potions to help you gain your strength back. All right?”
\"I have potions, from St. Mungo\'s,\" Severus whispered, too tired to speak any louder. \"They don\'t help.\" He tried to keep his eyes focused on Harry\'s face, but he was just too sleepy now to keep them open.
“Will you let me lay with you?” Seeing the look of panic that flashed through Severus’ eyes, Harry hastily continued. “Not like that. Nothing sexual. You never have to give me anything like that ever again. I just want to hold you. Maybe if we’re physically close some of my magical strength can help you through the bond.”
\"Okay,\" he said softly, his voice barely audible as his eyes closed again. He knew he wouldn\'t be physically able to do anything even if Harry did want anything sexual. He knew as well, in spite of his anger towards the younger man, that Harry wouldn\'t push him like that, wouldn\'t ask something he wasn\'t capable of doing.
He sighed softly as he felt the bed dip. It had felt good the night before when Remus had slept with him. He felt safe and secure with someone next to him, even if that someone was Harry Bloody Potter.
Harry cautiously spooned up behind Severus, shuddering with relief as he wrapped himself around the man he loved. He then tentatively pressed a hand against the bulge in Severus’ abdomen, for the first time connecting with the child he had helped to create. He could feel warmth flooding his body as it had earlier, and his magic sparking just from being so close to his bonded. He felt filled with strength like he hadn’t known since the day of the Final Battle, even as silent tears coursed down his cheeks and he vowed again to himself to never let any harm come to either Severus or their child.
~TBC~
~*~
Authors’ Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Maggie is indisposed, due to Hurricane Katrina, and unable to post right now, so I’m doing so for her. Please send your good thoughts and prayers her way. I’m not sure when the next update will be, as Maggie and her family are currently living at her mother’s home, and without reliable net access. I’m sure that as soon as she can, she and Taran will get back to writing this story for us.
Author: Dr. Jeckell & Mrs. Hyde (aka Taran & Magdelena)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape, Ron Weasley/Draco Malfoy (secondary pairing)
Warnings: Non-consensual sex, Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Graphic Sexual Content, Rimming, MPreg
Summary: HP/SS – Slash – Chapter 15 of ?. Harry discovers that when he kills Voldemort, all of the Death Eaters will die as well because of the bond that they share with the Dark Lord through their Marks. Harry vows to do anything it takes to allow Severus Snape to escape that fate.
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters herein (only the plot). All the characters in the Harry Potter universe belong exclusively to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, and anyone else JKR chooses to allow to play with them. We are publishing our fanfiction writings only for our own selfish desire to be a part of their world.
Authors’ Note: Thanks to the incredibly wonderful Sev1970 for betaing this story.
~*~
Chapter Fifteen – A Necessary Reunion
Harry tried to steady his breathing, and to not panic at Hermione’s words. Slowly, he felt a sense of peace, as he resolved himself to the fact that he needed to finish what he had started. His voice strong and clear, he turned to meet Hermione’s worried gaze. “I need to get to Severus now.”
“Harry, that’s a lot easier said then done. Albus and Remus have been looking for Severus since he disappeared,” Hermione explained.
Ron nodded in agreement. “Yeah, mate. They’ve had Percy tracking down leads at the Ministry, and they’ve been using every tracking spell imaginable. He’s just vanished.”
“Damn.” Harry unconsciously stroked along his forearm, where the Mark uniting him with Severus lay. He tuned out the cacophony of voices around him, focusing his thoughts inward in search of a solution. All of a sudden, the answer occurred to him, and he held out his arm to the others, their voices immediately quieting as Harry’s voice rang out. “What about through this thing? It’s how Voldemort called his followers to him, and how he tracked their movements. I’ve seen him using Wormtail’s to call them.”
“It can’t be that simple,” Draco argued. “Dumbledore would have thought of it already, and come to you asking for you to try to contact Severus.”
“No,” Harry argued, “You haven’t shared your information with him, your findings about the bond we share, so he’s still thinking of the original Domino spell. Voldemort never had a Mark himself, so he always used one of his Death Eaters’ Marks to make contact, but it makes sense that if I have a Mark, I should be able to follow it to Severus.”
“Let us get Dumbledore,” Charlie urged, hearing the resolve in Harry’s voice.
“No, there\'s no time to waste. Dumbledore can wait. I haven’t come this far to let them die now,” Harry stated, calmly and certainly. “Even if I’ve lost Severus forever, I can’t lose my child.”
In a scene all too familiar from his memories during fourth year of the graveyard where Voldemort returned to corporeal form, Harry placed his fingertips to the Mark as Voldemort had, and immediately an almost uncomfortable warmth coursed through him. The Mark began pulsating against his arm, the green growing nearly florescent against his skin. “Take me to my bonded,” he commanded, and in a flash of light, he was gone.
~*~
Harry stumbled as he reappeared, his Mark still pulsing gently against his arm. The room he had apparated into was dark and the curtains were drawn. Harry retrieved his wand from his pocket, and quietly whispered ‘Lumos’, lighting the tip. The sight he saw in his wandlight made him seethe with rage even as his heart ached. Before him was the man he loved, sleeping. Severus looked worn, unbelievably thin except for the rounded swell of his abdomen, the dark circles under his eyes visible beneath his onyx lashes, and behind him, his arm thrown protectively over Severus’ abdomen, was Remus Lupin, also asleep.
Remus\' eyes fluttered open and blinked several times, adjusting to the light from Harry\'s wand. He knew instinctively, that the one holding the wand wasn\'t a threat, but it took a moment for him to focus on Harry\'s face. When he did, he sighed with relief, not seeing the look of fury on the younger wizard\'s face.
\"Oh, thank Merlin you\'re here,\" Remus whispered as he carefully let go of Severus and got off the bed. He came around the bed, checked to see that Severus was still sleeping soundly, then ushered Harry out the door into the living room. He left the door ajar so he could listen for Severus in case he awoke and needed assistance.
\"I\'m so glad to see you, Harry,\" he said quietly, turning on lights and heading for the kitchen to make tea. \"Did Percy contact you? I only just found Severus a few days ago and haven\'t really had a chance to call you or Albus yet.\"
“It doesn’t take that long to make a firecall, Remus,” Harry bit out coldly, and then expelled a shuddering breath, willing himself to calm down. “No, never mind, it’s not my place to say who Severus finds comfort with. I’m glad that you’ve been able to be there for him. I know that he probably has no desire to see me, but Hermione uncovered some information that led me to believe that both he and our child would be in great danger if we continued to stay separated.”
One part of what Harry said caught Remus\' attention. \'Who Severus finds comfort with\' sounded a bit odd until he realized exactly the position he and Severus were in when Harry came into the room. He gasped at the implications of Harry\'s words and turned to look at him, his face flushed with embarrassment.
\"Harry! There\'s nothing going on between Severus and me! We were only sleeping toget-… That is… I was only keeping him company! Really, Harry, it wasn\'t at all what it looked like. He\'s… Well, he\'s been very moody and he was upset last night, so I stayed with him and we fell asleep. That\'s ALL that happened.\"
He turned back toward the teapot sitting on the counter and said softly, \"Besides, I\'m not the one he\'s in love with.\"
Harry snorted, and ran a hand nervously through his hair. “You’re not the only one who seems to believe that. My friends have found evidence that have led them to believe that the spell wouldn’t have been altered unless Severus had feelings for me too. I’m not going to believe it until I hear it from him, though.”
\"Don\'t hold your breath,\" Remus said as he set the steaming pot onto the table. They sat across from each other and Remus poured the tea. \"You\'ve a long road ahead of you, Harry, if you want to get back into his life. I\'m not saying that it won\'t happen, just not right away. Severus doesn\'t forgive easily. As for his feelings for you, however, his being in love with you isn\'t just a hopeful belief, it\'s a known fact. You may not have noticed, but he talks in his sleep.\" Remus gave Harry a smile and sipped his tea.
\"If you need further evidence, I\'ll tell you about last night. Severus was upset because I wanted to call you. I told him that he needed help, but he\'s trying to prove, mostly to himself, that he doesn\'t need to be taken care of.\"
Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew Severus wouldn\'t want him telling Harry this, but he was worried about Severus and knew Harry was the only one who could really take care of him the way he so desperately didn\'t want to need. Harry had taken care of Severus once and he could do it again. More than that, though, Remus wanted to see them both happy.
\"He started to cry and said, \'I don\'t want to love him\'. I think he meant to say that he didn\'t want to need you, but he already does love and need you, Harry. He just doesn\'t want to admit it and he doesn\'t want to feel it because he\'s been hurt so many times before. What you did, and yes, I know it had to be done, was the last thing he expected of you. The pain he\'s gone through from it should be enough proof, too. He wouldn\'t hurt so much if he didn\'t love you.\"
Harry nodded, and sipped at his cup of tea, trying to come to grips with all that he had learned in the last few hours. “I have no right to ask for his forgiveness. What I did… the lies I told him to coerce him into being with me… I don’t know if I can forgive myself.” Harry placed his cup down on his saucer. “How is he? Physically, I mean. He looks like he hasn’t been caring for himself at all.”
“But he has. He has all the right foods here. He’s really trying to make this work, Harry. He just can’t keep anything down.”
Harry sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Then it is the bond. Once again, something is forced on him. Yet another damned reason for him never to forgive me.”
\"Well, at least we agree on that,\" came Severus\' dark voice. He was standing, rather unsteadily, in the doorway glaring at Harry. \"So, you called him after all,\" he said to Remus without taking his eyes off Harry. \"I don\'t need you, Potter. Get out of my house!\"
“He didn’t call me,” Harry answered calmly but firmly, standing from his chair and turning so that he faced Severus. “For your information, I had planned on never bothering you again. However, earlier today, I found out some information about the bond. If we don’t stay together for the remainder of the pregnancy, I doubt that either of you will survive the birth. And seeing how drawn you look, I can only agree.”
Severus\' anger suddenly changed to fear, which he was unable to keep from showing. He stepped back from Harry, his chest heaving wildly.
\"No, you\'re lying!\" he yelled. \"I won\'t let you take it! You can\'t have my baby!\"
Severus burst into tears and ran from the room. He entered his bedroom and slammed the door behind before either Harry or Remus could react to his outburst.
Remus stood to go to Severus, but Harry waved him off, stepping up to the door himself. “No, if we are ever going to work this out, it needs to be me.”
Slowly, Harry opened the door to the room, prepared to dodge hexes if need be. He wasn’t fully prepared, however, for the sight of Severus cowering in a corner of the room in fear. Harry approached him slowly, like he would a cornered animal, taking only a couple small steps towards Severus before he started to speak in an attempt to reassure his lover. “Severus, you misunderstood. I have no intention of taking our child away from you. In fact, the only reason that I’m here is to assure that our child survives, and that you are strong enough to carry the baby to term.”
Severus lifted his tear-stained face to look at Harry. \"You won\'t try to take it after it\'s born?\" he asked between sniffles and hiccups. He felt foolish and childish, but he had long ago given up trying to control his emotions while pregnant.
Harry fell to his knees before Severus. He began to raise a hand to reach out and touch the overwhelmed man, but stopped himself at the last moment, not knowing how Severus would react to his touch, and afraid to drive the man any further away from him.
“No, angel, this is one thing that you get to make every decision about. I’m not going to try to take the baby away from you; not now, not later. In fact, though it completely goes against my desire to protect you and our child, I need to give you another choice. What I said before was true. If I leave now, it’s very likely that both you and the baby will…” Harry paused for a moment, willing back the tears that pricked his eyes. “…will die. I saved your life once without your consent, but I won’t do it again. You get to make this decision about our lives. If you truly want me to leave, I will.”
Severus became angry again at Harry\'s words. \"You\'re only saying that so I\'ll have to let you stay!\" He gave Harry a hard shove, sending him rolling backwards, then struggled to get to his feet. Harry recovered quicker and tried to help, but Severus just pushed him away again.
\"Your blackmail and lies won\'t work this time, Potter!\" he shouted. \"No one\'s going to believe that you\'re the innocent victim in this! Not when I\'m carrying your Mark!\"
“I’m NOT lying, Severus,” Harry responded, clenching his fists in an attempt to control his anger. “You’re not the only one who’s bloody well marked.”
Severus stopped cold and stared at Harry. \"What are you talking about?\" he asked nervously, not sure what to expect, but dreading what he already suspected.
“I’m talking about this,” Harry replied, pushing up his sleeve and turning his arm to face Severus. “The Domino bond apparently has certain flaws. Up until today, I thought that the reason for my being marked was because of my feelings for you, but apparently there are other reasons as well,” he answered cryptically. “Hermione, Draco, and Ron have been researching since you left. I only found out everything today, including the threat to you and the baby.”
Severus already knew about the flaws and understood perfectly why Harry was marked as well. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing and his tears. He didn\'t want to admit even to himself that he had given in to Harry out of love. It was too painful to love anyone and he couldn\'t forgive Harry for treating him the same way everyone else in his life had, like a puppet used only to entertain, one who bent to the will of the puppet-master. He wrapped his arms around his large belly as he began to shiver in spite of the warmth in the room.
\"Fine. Stay then. I don\'t care,\" he said sadly with an air of utter defeat. He crawled cautiously into bed and struggled with the blanket weakly until it was pulled over his head. He wanted to sleep until the baby was born and after that, if Harry chose to take it away, he wouldn\'t fight. He didn\'t have the will to fight anymore and knew he couldn\'t win any argument with Harry Potter anyhow.
“Thank you, Severus,” Harry whispered. He quietly moved until he was at the head of Severus’ bed, and crouched down so that he was level with Severus’ face. Gently he uncovered Severus’ face, and as he did, risked brushing his thumb against his lover’s sallow cheek. “I promise I won’t let you down again.”
When the onyx eyes opened, staring at Harry in disbelief, looking so broken and needy, it only strengthened Harry’s resolve. “First off, we’re going to get you feeling better. I’m going to make you a bit of breakfast, and then if you agree, I’m going to firecall Poppy to see if she can send us some potions to help you gain your strength back. All right?”
\"I have potions, from St. Mungo\'s,\" Severus whispered, too tired to speak any louder. \"They don\'t help.\" He tried to keep his eyes focused on Harry\'s face, but he was just too sleepy now to keep them open.
“Will you let me lay with you?” Seeing the look of panic that flashed through Severus’ eyes, Harry hastily continued. “Not like that. Nothing sexual. You never have to give me anything like that ever again. I just want to hold you. Maybe if we’re physically close some of my magical strength can help you through the bond.”
\"Okay,\" he said softly, his voice barely audible as his eyes closed again. He knew he wouldn\'t be physically able to do anything even if Harry did want anything sexual. He knew as well, in spite of his anger towards the younger man, that Harry wouldn\'t push him like that, wouldn\'t ask something he wasn\'t capable of doing.
He sighed softly as he felt the bed dip. It had felt good the night before when Remus had slept with him. He felt safe and secure with someone next to him, even if that someone was Harry Bloody Potter.
Harry cautiously spooned up behind Severus, shuddering with relief as he wrapped himself around the man he loved. He then tentatively pressed a hand against the bulge in Severus’ abdomen, for the first time connecting with the child he had helped to create. He could feel warmth flooding his body as it had earlier, and his magic sparking just from being so close to his bonded. He felt filled with strength like he hadn’t known since the day of the Final Battle, even as silent tears coursed down his cheeks and he vowed again to himself to never let any harm come to either Severus or their child.
~TBC~
~*~
Authors’ Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Maggie is indisposed, due to Hurricane Katrina, and unable to post right now, so I’m doing so for her. Please send your good thoughts and prayers her way. I’m not sure when the next update will be, as Maggie and her family are currently living at her mother’s home, and without reliable net access. I’m sure that as soon as she can, she and Taran will get back to writing this story for us.