A Matter of Circumstance

Chapter 21 ~ And the Saga Continues to Continue

Early the next morning, Ron arrived at Harry’s flat. The evening before he spent a tense evening explaining to his mother and father that he and Hermione wouldn’t be marrying, and that the child she carried wasn’t his.

”What?” Molly cried, enraged, “Why, the little slut! Trying to purposely trap you into marriage so you’d support her bastard!”

”Mum, she didn’t do it though. She told me the truth,” Ron said to his mother.

“She told you the truth finally, but if the wedding hadn’t been washed out you would have been married to her, and none the wiser until the baby was born. Then I would have known. I’ve had enough Weasleys to be able to identify one of our own,” the witch said, frowning blackly, “Just wait until I see the little trollop!”

”Mum, you’re not going to say anything to her,” Ron said, standing up and meeting his mother’s eyes, “Hermione was scared and alone. She just wanted someone in her corner who she knew would support her. The baby’s father wasn’t willing to do that. She didn’t know where to turn, mum…so she turned to me.”

”I don’t care, Ronald. Not only did she lie to you but she cheated on you. She was with another man while she was with you…that’s reprehensible!” Molly snapped.

“She’s no worse than me, mum. I was with someone else too,” the wizard said.

Molly stared at him.

“What?” she asked, her face slightly ashen.

Arthur said nothing. He felt this was a matter between Ron and Hermione…no one else.

“I cheated on her too, mum. She’s not alone in this,” Ron said, “And I wasn’t going to say anything about it. Pretend it hadn’t happened.”

“Well, it’s still not the same as pretending to be pregnant by you,” Molly said sullenly.

“Mum, this is between Hermione and myself. I don’t want you saying anything to her about it. It doesn’t concern you. We’ve settled the matter, and I promise…if I find out you’ve done anything to make her life any harder, I won’t speak to you or visit the Burrow again. I’ll be just like Percy,” Ron threatened.

Molly paled. Percy hadn’t talked to her or any family member in over three years.

“You wouldn’t do that. I’m your mother,” Molly said in a hushed voice.

”Yeah I will, mum. Hermione is still my friend and an important one. She needs support now. If you can’t give her that, then leave her be. She’s always been there for me and now I’m going to be there for her. We weren’t meant for each other as husband and wife. We have to accept that and move on,” Ron told his mother.

Molly’s blue eyes met those of her son’s. Ron’s jaw was clenched with determination.

”I can’t believe you want me to just let her get away with this,” she said, dropping into a chair at the table and dabbing at her eyes with a corner of her apron.

”She’s not getting away with anything, mum. She has a lot she has to deal with and I don’t want my family adding anything to it, understand me?” Ron asked his mother.

Molly blinked at Arthur.

”Don’t you have anything to say about this, Arthur?” she asked her husband, who shook his head.

”No. Let Ron handle this. He’s a man now and this is a matter between him and Hermione. We shouldn’t interfere,” Arthur replied.

“So you’re with him on this then?” Molly said to her spouse, a look of betrayal in her eyes.

”Yes. One hundred percent. Leave it alone, Molly,” Arthur responded, “Or we’ll lose another son, this time because of your meddling.”

Molly stared at Arthur, then seemed to visibly wilt.

”Fine then. I won’t say anything, but I knew something was wrong with this whole arrangement. Thank the gods you’re out of it, Ronald,” she said to her son.

”Yeah,” Ron said, his thoughts returning to the passionate night he spent with Hermione, “Yeah.”

Now he was walking toward Harry’s flat to tell him the news. The front door suddenly opened and Draco Malfoy walked out. Ron stopped in surprise and watched as Harry appeared and Draco leaned into him and kissed him sensuously on the mouth.

“What the hell?” Ron said to himself, striding forward.

Harry froze as he saw Ron and Draco, seeing the wizard stiffened, turned to see Ron approaching. The handsome blonde wizard smirked then said, “I’ll see you later, Harry,” and started up the walkway.

”Weasley,” he said by way of greeting, the smirk still on his face as he walked past the wizard then disapparated.

Ron blinked after him, then looked at Harry.

”What the hell was that?” he demanded of the wizard.

Harry blinked at him.

”What?” he said lamely.

”Draco. Kissing you? What the hell is going on, Harry?” Ron asked approaching him, his eyes wide.

Harry sighed. It was all out in the open now.

”Draco and I have a little thing going,” the boy-who-lived said to his friend.

”A thing? What kind of thing? What about Ginny?” Ron said, frowning blackly.

Harry and Ginny had been going out forever.

”Ginny knows, Ron. She’s known since the end of my seventh year. She doesn’t mind,” Harry said to Ron, who stared at him disbelievingly.

Harry couldn’t help but think how Ron would react if he knew how many times he’d been sandwiched between Ginny and Draco over the past few years. Draco was bi-sexual as was Harry and there had been plenty of action between the three of them.

“She knows? And it’s all right with her?” Ron asked his friend.

Harry nodded.

Ron studied Harry a moment.

”So…are you a fruit or what?” he asked the wizard.

Harry shook his head slightly.

”I don’t think I am. I’ve only been attracted to Draco like this,” he replied, “I still like women. Well, Ginny anyway. So you don’t have to worry about me trying to bugger you. You’re not my type.”

Ron scowled.

“No I wouldn’t worry. I’d hex your balls off if you came anywhere near my ass,” Ron said with a shudder.

Ron found that Harry being with Draco didn’t bother him so much since he liked women too. It was just…strange. But then again, the idea of Draco with a cock up his pureblood ass had its appeal. Ah, well.

”Hermione and I called off the wedding,” he told Harry, whose mouth dropped open.

”She found out about you and Lavender?” he asked.

Ron shook his head.

”Well, no. She doesn’t know it’s Lavender, but she knows I’ve been shagging someone. But she has too, Harry. In fact, the baby isn’t mine. It’s his,” Ron informed him.

Harry went silent for a minute, absorbing this.

”What? It’s not yours? Whose is it then?” Harry demanded.

”Snape’s,” Ron said, his blue eyes darkening.

Harry’s mouth worked up and down soundlessly as he tried to find the words to express his horror and revulsion.

”Snape? That greasy git? What the hell did he do, rape her? I’ll kill him!” Harry seethed.

“No. No. Hermione says she loves him. They got together a while ago and she couldn’t bring herself to tell me. Then she got pregnant and he told her he didn’t want to be a father. She was scared, Harry. So when I proposed to her again, she accepted because she knew I’d take care of her and the baby,” Ron said.

Harry stared at him, then said in a dangerous voice, “What did you do to her, Ron?”

”I didn’t do anything to her, Harry,” Ron replied.

”I don’t believe you. I know you, Ron. Did you hex her? Hit her? Where is she?” Harry demanded, his green eyes furious.

“Harry, I swear I didn’t do anything to her. She’s safe at Hogwarts,” the wizard responded, “I wouldn’t hurt Hermione. She told me the truth after all. She could have gone ahead and married me, but she didn’t.”

Harry looked at Ron as if he didn’t know him.

”Ron, you always overreact,” he said, not believing the wizard didn’t do something terrible to the witch in reaction.

”Not this time, Harry. I understood why she did what she did. She was desperate and didn’t know where to turn. If Snape hadn’t been such a bastard, she wouldn’t have done it,” Ron explained.

“So what’s going to happen. She’s going to have to go it alone?” Harry asked Ron.

”Well, I talked to Snape. He said he’d take care of the baby…and Hermione too,” the redhead said.

”What made him change his mind?” Harry asked.

Ron shrugged.

”I don’t know, but I think he means it,” he said.

Harry’s expression turned black.

”He’d better mean it, because if he doesn’t, he’s going to have to answer to me,” he swore.

”Me too,” Ron agreed.

The two friends talked a bit more then Ron left.

He had to get to work.

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The goddess Hera sat in the throne room, looking thoughtful. Zeus had left, saying he was off to take his daily sabbatical. The Queen of the Gods waved her hand and a mirror appeared before her.

”The life of Severus Snape,” she said to it.

Immediately the life of the Potions Master began to pass before the goddess’ eyes, his childhood, adolescence and adulthood. She studied his experiences and actions carefully, seeing how his outlook on life was formed. He had been abused as a child by his father and targeted by his peers, yet when it came time for him to stand up, rather than allow how the world treated him to dictate his actions, he chose to serve the Greater Good, and at a great personal price.

There wasn’t a semblance of love in the wizard’s past. He found physical release with whores and the occasional pickup from taverns. She saw one instance of him having some feeling toward a woman, who scoffed at his affections and broke his heart.

He was a dark mortal, cold and sarcastic. It seemed he cared for nothing, but in every instance when given a choice between right and wrong, he chose the right way…though the way he went about doing his duty was often questionable.

Still, the mortal wasn’t a womanizer. He only dealt with women to meet his physical needs and now he had relegated himself to one. His generosity toward the pregnant witch showed that he could be a good provider, despite his callousness toward her emotionally. Still, the wizard’s reaction to witnessing Hermione with Ron showed that he felt something akin to possessive and jealousy, if not love itself.

Hera tapped her chin thoughtfully.

Zeus had forbid the gods and goddess under his reign to interfere with these mortals, but Hera was no underling. She was his wife and the daughter of Cronos. His equal. He could not dictate to her like the other gods…at least not do it and expect to get a good night’s sleep.

Hera was not only the Queen of the Gods but the Goddess of Marriage and of jilted women.

Maybe Aphrodite had been knocked out the box…

but she hadn’t.

All in all, Severus Snape looked like good husband material if he could be locked down.

And if anyone knew how to lock a male down, be he god or mortal…it was Hera.

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A/N: Thanks for reading.