Darkness Shadows Light

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - THERE\'S NO \'I\' IN TEAM, BUT THERE\'S A \'ME\' IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH

Those few seconds felt like hours as Snape tried to force Harry to accept his magic, Madam Pomfrey on the other side of the bed monitoring his pulse and watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

Suddenly Snape felt the familiar tingle that he had experienced only twice before.

\'It\'s working!\' he said, the relief flooding through him.

For several minutes they stood there, letting the magic flnto nto Harry. uallually hilourlour started to rn arn and his breathing became less laboured.

\'That\'s enough, Severus,\' the mediwitch said gently. \'We don\'t need you passing out as well.\'

\'I\'m fine, Poppy,\' Snape snapped, but did let go of Harry\'s hand. It was true he did feel a little weak, but he was determined not to show it.

Madam Pomfrey finished cleaning Harry up using magic before heading towards the door and opening it.

\'It\'s a boy and they\'re both fine,\' she announced to the rather large crowd that had assembled outside the door. Before she could say any more, a woman with red hair barged passed her, nearly knocking her over.

\'I want to see my grandson,\' Mrs Weasley demanded. Mr Weasley was close behind her.

\'Surely this can wait until later,\' he pleaded with his wife. Unheeding she headed towards the cot next to the bed.

\'Ah, there\'s my little angel,\' she crooned, making to pick him up. Only to be stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder.

\'Neither Harry or I have had the chance to hold *our* son yet if you don\'t mind,\' Snape said in a dark voice, making sure the words sunk in.

\'*Your* son?\' gasped Mrs Weasley, but her shock quickly turned to outrage. \'How dare you try and claim this child? Ron told me himself that he was the father and he wouldn\'t lie to me!\'

\'Your son was rather a good liar, better than we realised in fact,\' Snape said dryly. \'It\'s just a shame he turned out to be such a traitor.\'

\'Traitor?\' demanded Arthur Weasley. \'What the hell are you talking about?\'

\'Ron Weasley pretended to be the father to protect us from Voldemort However in the end he told Voldemort everything and we all nearly died.\' Snape\'s tone was cutting, pulling no punches.

\'I don\'t believe it.\' Mrs Weasley said firmly, lips pursed.

\'What Severus said is true,\' came a weak voice from the bed. \'Though there\'s a lot more to it than that, but I don\'t want to talk about it now.\' Harry looked towards his husband. \'Can I see my son now?\'

Snape nodded, gently picking up the small form. He fleetingly wondered whether the baby looked more like Harry or himself, but aside from the dusting of dark hair, there were no noticeable features. Funny coloured blue eyes looked up at him and he had to fight the urge to indulge in some baby talk. Far too many people around...Instead he glared at Mr and Mrs Weasley.

\'I think you should go for now,\' he said sharply. \'This child is nothing to do with you.\'

White-faced, Mr Weasley nodded his head and pulled his wife out of the room. Madam Pomfrey firmly shut the door behind them.

\'I think we could all have done without that,\' she said starchly.

With reluctance Snape handed their son to Harry who just stared at him for a long moment.

\'He\'s perfect,\' Harry breathed. \'But is he meant to be this tiny?\'

\'He\'s premature so he\'s smaller than usual, but he appears to be perfectly healthy,\' the mediwitch replied reassuringly.

\'How is it I\'m still here?\' asked Harry suddenly.

\'What do you mean?\'

\'I felt myself dying, but then the next thing I know I was waking up to an argument!\'

\'There\'s a lot to explain, but we have plenty of time to go into details later.\' Snape said. \'I think our first priorit get getting back to Hogwarts.\'

\'Yes,\' agreed Harry fervently. \'I want to go home.\'

Snape headed to the door and had a brief discussion with the headmaster.

\'I\'m afraid it\'s going to have to be a Portkey,\' Snape said apologetically to Harry, knowing his deep hatred for them. \'All the floos here have been deactivated.\'

Harry nodded, too tired to really worry and shortly Professor Dumbledore reappeared with a vase.

Giving his son to Madam Pomfrey, Harry carefully got out of bed, helped by his husband. All three of them put a finger on the Portkey and within seconds they were in the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

\'I don\'t want to stay here,\' Harry said decidedly. \'I want to go back to my own room.\'
Madam Pomfrey was about to object, but was silenced by a dark look from Snape.

\'He needs to be somewhere familiar,\' he said. \'Though you would think the amount of time he spent here he would be calling this home!\'

Harry looked at him strangely.

\'How did you know that\'s what I was thinking?\' he asked.

\'I\'ll explain later,\' the older wizard replied, suddenly feeling very tired. \'Let\'s go. Poppy, if we need anything we\'ll let you know.\'

Once they were back in Harry\'s room; the baby fed, changed and now sleeping peacefully in his new cot and Harry settled in his own bed; they finally looked at each other, Snape sitting on the edge of the bed.

\'So what exactly happened back there?\' Harry asked, finally breaking the silence. \'One moment I was dying and then the next moment I was waking up.\'

With some difficulty and many long pauses and reiterations, Snape told his husband what he believed had happened. He was slightly worried about Harry\'s reaction to learning they were bonded. Now that they both knew of it, they would gradually be able to read more and more of each other\'s thoughts and feelings, until they would find it almost impossible to hide anything from each other. Bonding was not common in the wizarding world and in most cases frowned upon as no divorce could break the link. Through it all Harry looked at him wide-eyed but not interrupting. When he was finally finished, Harry spoke.

\'So if we hadn\'t unintentionally bonded all three of us would be dead now?\'

\'It would seem that way,\' Snape replied calmly, his hebeatbeating slightly faster than usual. There was a pause as Harry looked deep in thought. Then he smiled.

\'Well that was quite lucky then!\'

\'You\'re not upset at all?\' asked Snape, unable to hide his astonishment. Harry looked at him, puzzled.

\'Why ever would I?\'

\'Because it means we are linked for the rest of our lives. I-I thought the idea might scare you.\'

Harry suddenly understood the older wizard\'s fear. Gently he reached out and took his hand.

\'When we married I pledged myself heart and soul to you for the rest of my life. This bond is just an extension of that. In fact...\' he grinned cheekily. \'I\'m quite looking forward to finding out what *really* goes on in that head of yours.\'

Snape smiled in relief.

\'I too look forward to that...and perhaps you will have to finally admit to those ingredients you took from my stores!\'

\'I didn\'t take them!\' Harry protested. Snape looked surprised.

\'You didn\'t.\' he finally said. \'I would never have believed it of Miss Granger and certainly not of a house-elf.\'

Harry looked slightly taken aback.

\'It really works,\' he said, it only now starting to sink in. \'But why is it I can\'t sense anything from you?\'

\'It takes time and concentration, but apparently gets easier the more practice you have,\' Snape explained. \'Go on, try Ju Just close your eyes and concentrate on me.\'

Obediently Harry closed his eyes, wrinkles appearing on his brow as he concentrated fiercely.

\'You\'re happy,\' he whispered after a while. \'But you\'re worried about one thing...You\'re worried that I\'m going to want to call our son James after my father.\' He opened his eyes and looked into the black ones facing him. \'No, I don\'t want to call him James. It\'s too close. Perhaps as a middle name. I\'d prefer something that has no ties to the past. Any ideas?\'

\'Lucas?\'

Harry shuddered. \'Too close to Lucius,\' he replied. \'How about Thomas?\'

\'Voldemort\'s real name? I don\'t think that would be a good idea.\'

\'True. Sorry, I forgot for a moment.\'

\'How about Matthew? I don\'t believe that has any significance.\'

\'Matthew...\' said Harry thoughtfully. \'I like it.\'

\'Then it\'s settled. His name will be Matthew James Potter-Snape.\'

\'Agreed,\' replied Harry wi sig sigh of contentment. \'You know there\'s one thing we still haven\'t done.\'

\'And what would that be?\'

Harry reached towards his husbands neck and drew out the chain that hung around it.

\'We don\'t have to hide our love anymore. Voldemort\'s dead. We can both wear our rings.\'

Snape undid the chain of the necklace and Harry did the same with his, though with more difficulty as it was entangled with the emerald pendant. Silently they took the rings from each other and in their heads re-said their vows again as they slid the rings back where they rightfully belonged. It was a sweet moment broken all too soon by Harry\'s gurgling stomach.

\'I guess what I need now is some food and a nice long rest,\' he said ruefully. As if on cue, the newly named Matthew started crying. Snape pushed Harry back down as he began to rise.

\'I\'ll see to him. You call for a house-elf and order some food. I must admit I\'m quite hungry myself.\'

Hanoddnodded his acquiescence, reaching for his wand. He gave a small gasp.

\'What\'s wrong?\' asked Snape, pausing on his way to the nursery.

\'I forgot my wand was broken and I\'ve got Voldemort\'s. I really ought to have given it to Dumbledore. It\'s evil.\'

\'Nonsense,\' replied Snape sharply. \'A wand is neither good or evil, it is merely a device to conduct our powers. If it works for you as well as your old one, then you should keep it.\'

Harry pondered as as Snape went next door. It did disturb him that this was the very wand that had been used to kill his parents, but truly it was just a stick with a feather for a core. Perhaps he would get a new one when he had time, but for the moment it was only really practical to use the one he had.

Making up his mind, he used it to summon a house-elf...

***********

After a restless nights sleep courtesy of Matthew, Harry was dozing fitfully in bed. Snape had taken their son out to give Harry some much needed peace and quiet. This was not to be, however, as he roused by a knock at the door.

\'Com,\' ,\' he called, glad that it was not locked.

He was most surprised to see Hermione, who was looking more solemn than usual. Gesturing to the chair by the bed, she sat down.

\'I\'ve just heard,\' she said without preamble. \'Please tell me it\'s not true that Ron was involved.\' Harry was not surprised by the pleading note in her voice, after all Ron had been one of her best friends as well.

\'It\'s true,\' Harry admitted reluctantly, not wishing to cause pain to his friend but having to tell her the truth. \'Ron told Voldemort who the real father of my son is and then sent me a present that portkeyed me straight to him.\'

Hermione gasped in horror.

\'Why would he do that?\' she asked in distress.

\'I think Voldemort told him a pack of lies and Ron was gullible enough to believe them.\' Harry looked down guiltily. \'I-I feel it\'s mainly my fault, if only I hadn\'t relied on him so much during the early stages of my pregnancy and made him believe that I felt lore for him than I did...\'

\'Don\'t say that!\' interrupted Hermione, her voice strangely ti \' \'Friends do what they can for one another and comfort them when they need it. You had no way of knowing that Ron would fall in love with you.\' She stared off into the distance, seeming to be lost in her own thoughts.

After a while she came back to the present.

\'So anyway, where\'s my godson?\' Hermione asked brightly, obviously trying to get away from whatever dark thought she had been having.

\'He\'s with his other father at the moment.\'

\'Other father?\' asked Hermione, visibly perking up. \'Do you mean I finally get to find out who your husband is?\'

\'You certainly do,\' said Harry with a smile. \'But I thought with all your brains you\'d have guessed by now!
He
Hermione also smiled.

\'I think I have a pretty good idea,\' she said confidently. In truth she had wracked her brains endlessly until she had deduced the only person it *could* be...Sirius!

Before she could say anything, however, the door opened.

\'I think Matthew wants you, Harry,\' Snape said, entering with their young son cradled in his arms.en hen he noticed Hermione. \'Good morning, Miss Granger.\'
Hermione\'s jaw dropped, not quite sure what was most disturbing; Snape holding a baby as if it were the most natural thing in the world; Snape speaking to Harry in a tone that was not full of contempt; or the fact that he was calling him *Harry*!

Yet still the penny didn\'t drop.

\'May I hold him?\' she asked, standing up and looking at Harry. Harry nodded.

With some reluctance, Snape handed his small charge over to Hermione. ugh ugh he was unable to prevent a derisive comment.

\'I would most appreciate it if you didn\'t drop my son. We haven\'t had him long.\'

At that point Hermione nearly *did* drop him!

\'Your son?\' she gaped.

Harry looked at her in surprise.

\'I thought you said you\'d worked it out?\'

\'I thought...Sirius...\' she trailed off, her cheeks turning red with mortification as she realised her mistake.

\'Sirius?!?\' Harry said with a shout of laughter. \'You thought I was sleeping with my *godfather*?!?\'

\'It fitted all the facts,\' replied Hene dne defensively.

\'But that is so icky!\'

\'Oh and sleeping with the Potions Professor that you\'ve always loathed is *so* much better!\' she replied sarcastically. \'When I think of some of the things you\'ve called him...\' she stopped suddenly as she remembered he was standing right there. \'Sorry Professor.\'

\'Oh no, please do go on, Miss Granger,\' Snape said in an amused voice. \'I would love to hear what my husband calls me behind my back.\'

\'You and Harry are married and this is your son,\' Hermione said in a dazed voice, it finally sinking in. \'This is so strange...\' She felt quite dizzy and it obviously showed on her face as Snape quickly took Matthew from her and placed him on Harry\'s lap.

Hermione sat down.

\'I\'m sorry,\' she said apologetically. \'It\'s just a lot to take in.\'

\'No problem,\' said Harry, though still slightly concerned. For a moment his friend had looked positively unwell. \'I mean you thought it was *Sirius*!\'

\'You\'re not going to let me forget that, are you?\' Hermione said ruefully.

\'Not likely!\' laughed Harry. \'I can\'t wait to tell Sirius...\'

\'Tell Sirius what?\' asked a familiar voice, a head poking around the door.

\'Sirius!\' exclaimed Harry. \'Come in. Where have you been? I thought you\'d have been here yesterday.\' The last part came out almost accusatory.
\'Sorry, I was held up by the Ministry of Magic. One of those Death Eaters you caught was Peter Pettigrew and the long and short of s ths that I\'m free!\' he said joyfully, the shroud of Azkaban seemed finally ld and and his blue eyes were sparkling.

\'That\'s brilliant,\' said Harry happily. \'Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Sirius came over to the bed and looked down at the baby.

\'This is Matthew James,\' Harry said.

\'Nice name...well at least he hasn\'t got Snape\'s nose,\' he said cheerfully. \'Don\'t know where he got those eyes from though. You sure he\'s yours?\' he asked Snape cheekily.

\'Don\'t be so ignorant, Black. You know all babies have those coloured eyes when they are born.\'

\'I know, Snape. Just kidding. I\'m kind of still on a high about the whole being free thing.\'

\'Quite understandable,\' said Hermione.

\'So anyway, tell Sirius what?\' he repeated, remembering where he had come in.

Hermione blushed as Harry told him what she had thought.

At the end of it, he burst out laughing.

\'That\'s priceless,\' said Sirius, wiping a tear of mirth from his eyes. \'Sorry Harry, but as much as I love you I definitely prefer girls.\'

\'Damn, and I thought you and Remus might get together,\' Harry teased gently.

\'No, Remus is much too mature for me,\' Sirius said good-naturedly. \'Besides I don\'t want to go anywhere Snape\'s been.\'

There was a stunned silence.

\'What do you mean?\' Harry asked, not sure whether he wanted to know the answer.

Sirius looked accusingly at Snape. \'You haven\'t told him?\'

\'No.\' Snape replied forbiddingly. \'It\'s never come up before.\' He turned to Harry who was looking at him with rising comprehension and horror. \'Remus and I were together for a short while at school. It ended when I found out he was a werewolf.\'

\'I can\'t believe you never told me,\' Harry said in a strangled voice, a look of betrayal on his face. \'I thought it was a bit strange that you invited him to our wedding and my birthday. I thought you did it because you knewwoulwould make me happy...\'

\'And it was,\' Snape replied earnestly, sitting down on the bed next to Harry. \'Remus and I have not been on good terms for many years. Please try and understand.\'

Harry closed his eyes.

\'You didn\'t tell me because it wasn\'t important,\' he said slowly. \'But you planned to tell me soon.\' Harry\'s features relaxed. \'It\'s okay, I understand now.\' Harry opened his eyes and found one relieved and two extremely confused pairs of eyes on him.

\'What was that all about?\' Sirius asked.

\'We are bonded,\' Snape said simply. \'It was one of the reasons that we were able to destroy Voldemort.\'

\'Yes,\' agreed Harry. He looked down fondly at Matthew. \'Junior here was another.\'

He felt Snape stiffen next to him.
hat hat do you mean by that?\' asked Snape in an odd voice.

\'Didn\'t you feel it?\' asked Harry with astonishment. \'It wasn\'t just your power that fed into me, Matthew gave me his as well. What\'s wrong?\' he asked as he noticed his husband turn slightly pale.

\'Don\'t you see?\' asked Snape. \'He\'s helped kill someone before he was even born!\'

\'So? It was Voldemort and if he hadn\'t we might all have died.\' Harry replied, not understanding what the older wizard was trying to say.

\'He has already tasted the darker side of magic. It is a powerful addiction.\'

\'Don\'t be so melodramatic!\' Sirius cried out. \'He\'s just a baby, he won\'t even remember it.\'

\'I hope you\'re right,\' Snape replied darkly.

\'Well the Daily Prophet seemed to have missed most of the juicy details,\' Sirius said in an effort to dispel moodmood.

\'What did the paper say?\' asked Harry eagerly. \'I haven\'t seen it yet.\'

\'Not a huge amount,\' replied Sirius with a shrug of his shoulders. \'They\'ve obviously spoken to Dumbledore and he\'s been his usual mysterious self. He merely said that Harry was captured and Snape\'s cover was broken and between you, you managed to kill Voldemort. There was talk about Order of the Merlin awards for you both as well,\' Sirius said with a sly glance at Snape, remembering the last time he had nearly got that award.

\'So they don\'t know about Matthew\'s parentage yet?\' asked Harry.

\'No, it seems not, though I doubt that will last for long.\' Sirius replied.

\'It doesn\'t matter now though,\' said Harry with a smile. \'Because I want everyone to know who I love.\' He gazed adoringly at his husband who returned his look.

They were only interrupted when a strange tawny owl flew into the room and dropped a letter into Snape\'s lap.

\'Who\'s that from?\' asked Harry curiously.

Snape sat at if turned to stone.

\'This appears to be my father\'s writing,\' he finally said. With trembling fingers he opened it and perused the contents. \'He wants me to visit. It would appear that he has also been readine Dae Daily Prophet.\'

\'But that\'s great news!\' cried Harry.

\'Is it?\' Snape replied, his features closed. \'I\'m not so sure.\' He stood up. \'Please excuse me, I have some thinking to do.\'

Harry watched helplessly as his husband left the room. He shot his godfather an imploring look. With a sigh, Sirius got up.

\'I\'ll go talk to him,\' he said with a martyred expression on his face.

After he had left roomroom, there was a brief interlude of quiet.

\'So how are you?\' asked Harry.

\'Fine,\' replied Hermione, but Harry detected an air of evasion.

\'Are you sure?\' he asked uncertainly.

\'Harry...there\'s something I need to tell you...\' she looked at him apprehensively. \'I\'m pregnant.\'

\'Pregnant!\' gasped Harry. \'What does Justin think about this?\'

\'He\'s pretty angry.\'

\'Angry?\' queried Harry. \'But it\'s just as much his fault as yours.\'

\'That\'s the problem,\' replied Hermione, her eyes filling with tears. \'It\'s not his fault at all. Because it\'s not his.\'

\'Then who?\' he asked, staggered by this turn of events.

\'It-It\'s Ron\'s.\'