The Supposed Tale Of Unrequited Love

So Now You Learn To Deal.

By Deirdra

Pairings: Severus/Remus, Harry/Draco

Rating: NC-17; R with one descriptive sex scene.

Author’s Notes: This is the fourth installment in The Supposed Tale of Unrequited Love. Lives go on after the end of the war and the couples evolve in their relationships while the people around them struggle with wis lis left of their previous happiness. Warnings: MPREG. Erm, that’s about it.....

Disclaimer: No, I don’t own them....


Harry sat on what seemed like the most uncomfortable chair in the whole of the infirmary while he waited for Madame Pomfrey to see him. For the past two weeks he had been suffering from horrible fatigue and a sour stomach, and because Madame Pomfrey was the only Mediwitch he knew, he was at Hogwarts for a check-up.

It had only been a little more than two weeks since Dumbledore’s will had been read and he had almost forgotten what he and Draco had done a few nights earlier. In fact, it was the farthest thing from his mind when he began to experience slight cramping and a weariness that no length of nap could cure.

She walked in briskly and sat behind her desk, shuffling papers around as if she hadn’t noticed he was there. A few minutes later she looked up and smiled; Harry was still unused to people being so cheery after all the death they had witnessed.

“Well, my dear, what brings you out here, hmm?”

And wasn’t that straight to the point. The heart of the matter; the Gryffindor was sick and seeking help. What he didn’t know was he was about to get the biggest shock of his and Draco’s lives.

“Well…I erm….I havebeenbeen feeling well lately. Stomach cramping, extreme fatigue and I can’t seem to visit the bathroom enough to relieve my bladder.”

He took a deep breath and sat back; hopefully she would know what was wrong with him and not have to poke and prod.

Poppy looked at him for a few moments with a raised brow and phrased her nwordwords carefully as to not upset him, “I think I should do a scan. I believe I know what’s wrong, but I would like to make sure before I jump to conclusions.”

Harry let out a disgruntled sigh and nodded; if Poppy needed to scan to make sure she was right, then there was a huge possibility that no one would know what was wrong with him. She had seen enough strange afflictions from working at Hogwarts for as many years as she had.

She walked around the desk and he sat still as she cast the spell and moved her wand over his body. It wasn’t the most unpleasant feeling, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant either. The trace of the magic left behind a very irritating tingle that didn’t go away for at least a half hour after the scan and he felt like he already had enough things bothering him at this very moment, thank you very much. But he wasn’t about to tell Madame Pomfrey no; that was almost worse than having a death wish.

When the scan was complete, she had a slightly smug, yet confused, look on her face. Apparently her diagnosis had been correct, seeing as she moved to sit baehinehind her desk again before speaking.

“Harry, I don’t know how to tell you this but…”

Her pause made him nervous; Madame Pomfrey, Mediwitch of the Hogwarts Infirmary did not stutter and stumble over words.

“Oh Gods, is it that bad?”

She let out a chuckle and reached over to touch his hand, “No dear, it’s not bad. At least not how I see it,” she let out a small chuckle before continuing, “Harry, dear, you’re pregnant.”

He had squeezed his eyes shut, praying that if he didn’t see her telling him, the news wouldn’t be as bad to take. He was convinced it was fatal and he was dying. Oh Gods, what if I have a tumor? What if Voldemort snuck a curse past when Draco and I weren’t paying attention and now it’s taking full effect? What if….Wait a moment.

“What did you just say?”

The green eyed Gryffindor didn’t think he heard right. He was a wizard; a male of the human species. Yes, he and Draco wanted children and yes, he had taken a pregnancy potion; but he didn’t think it would work. Neither of them really did.

“I said, you’re pregnant, dear. And if my calculations are correct, you should be giving birth in about seven and a half months.”

She had an extremely cheery smile on her face and her voice was most obviously full of laughter. Oh yes, that would be something everyone could laugh at. Harry Potter, Dumbledore’s Gryffindor Golden Boy, was pregnant. He was with child. And in about five months he would be as big as a house.

He stared at her for quite some time then finally blinked, “I’m what?”

She shook her head and laughed again, “Pregnant, Harry. You’re pregnant.”

“Right. I’m pregnant,” he looked up. “Pregnant?”

She nodded and walked back around the desk, pulling him into a hug.

“Now, I understand you are to be taking over Xiomara’s position as Quidditch coach and flying instructor?”

He could only nod; his voice leftleft him somewhere in between asking if he was really pregnant and her walking over to him.

“Right, a few rules then; Number one: No refereeing the matches; we can have Draco do that seeing as he’s an excellent flyer as well. Number two: You will eat right and stay in shape. I know you are quite fit as it is, but you’ll have to keep your heart fit as well; this means exercise. Number three: You may teach flying lessons, but you have to keep a safe distance from anything that could knock you off your broom, and it would be wise to have Draco or another professor there to make sure you’re not injured,” she paused and looked at his face which was steadily growing paler, “Are you alright, dear?”

“I’m pregnant…”

She patted his shoulder kindly and helped him stand, “Yes, you’re pregnant. Oh, and try not to use your magic too often; once you get past the first half of your second trimester it won’t be safe. Don’t apparate; it’s not healthy for the baby after the end of the first trimesterlessless you have someone with you when you do. Oh, and do try not to get yourself killed. I know Voldemort is gone, but there are still quite a few people out there who would love to harm you.”

While saying all of that she had eased him out of his chair and over to the huge fireplace where he had tumbled out of when he had arrived. She took a pinch of floo powder out of the pot on the hearth and dropped it into his palm.

“Alright dear, time to go home.”

When he didn’t make any move to throw the powder into the fire she sighed, rolled her eyes, and threw it in for him, “Number 12 Grimmauld Place.”

The flames turned green and she gently pushed him in, hoping someone would be on the other end to catch him when he arrived at his destination.

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Draco was sitting at the kitchen table at Grimmauld Place. He was spending the day watching Lily and Jamie so Hermione and Sirius could have a well deserved day off. The twins had finally gone down for a nap about a half hour before and he was nursing a cup of tea.

Damn, it had been a hard day. The Granger-Blacks had left early that morning before his ‘niece’s’ had woken up and Ginny hadn’t yet arrived; she came over just about every day to play with them seeing as none of her brothers had children yet.

Harry had left a few hours before and he was beginning to get worried; his husband was never out this long without telling him what was going on. They hadn’t kept anything from each other since before they had become friends.

All Harry would tell him was he was going to Hogwarts for a meeting of some type; maybe it had something to do with the job he had accepted as head Quidditch coach and flying instructor.

The blonde shrugged then gulped down the rest of his tea. He stood and was about to get himself a bit more when he heard a whoosh coming from somewhere as green flames sprang to life and his husband flew out of the fireplace. He rushed over and caught him just before he could fall to the floor.

“Harry, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did someone attack you? Why didn’t you apparate?”

Draco’s voice was worried and he was just hoping that his husband was alright. He had realized a short time after the final battle that he couldn’t live without Harry. The green eyed beauty made his life worth everything.

Harry looked up at him with a shocked expression on his face then began to shake his head. Now that worried Draco; Harry never refused to tell him anything.

“Come on love, what’s wrong?”

After a few minutes, Harry finally found his voice, though it was a bit strained, “I’m pregnant.”

Draco blinked and looked into the brilliant green eyes that belonged to the love of his life, “You’re….what? Pregnant?”

He was shocked, but it was more than he could ever hope for.

When Draco had realized he was gay he had thought he would never be able to have children. Yes, he’s a wizard and there are potions for that, but he never thought he would ever actually find someone he loved enough to marry and have children with. Actually, he had never wanted to get married until he fell in love with Harry.

The minute he realized his true feelings for the Gryffindor he had made a promise to himself that one day they would have children, even if he had to carry the damn brats on his own.

Harry nodded, “Well that’s great! We’re having a baby!....Oh no.”

The other man nodded, “Yeah, oh no. What are we going to do, Draco?”

He shook his head and embraced his husband, “I meant ‘oh no’ because you’re going to have to give up some of your teaching responsibilities and I know you love to fly. Not because I’m not happy about this. We’ll be fine, love. I promise.”

Harry finally calmed down and it hit him that he was pregnant. Well, ok, it hit him in a happy way. He had been so worried that Draco would be upset; but now he could be as happy as he wanted.

“This will be great. Madame Pomfrey says I can’t ref the matches; you’ll have to. And someone should be there during flying lessons to make sure nothing goes wrong. But other than that, and a healthy diet with exercise, it’ll be fine.”

“Mmm,” Draco mumbled then kissed the other man. This would be great.

They went out into the hall to go upstairs just as Ginny showed up. They each kissed her hurriedly on the cheek and gave her a brief hug then continued up to their bedroom.

She watched them go with a surprised look on her face then shrugged, everything w be be evident soon enough; those two couldn’t keep a secret for long. Not when the whole family badgered them about it constantly.

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Hermione was sitting between Sirius’ legs, leaning back against his chest on a blanket in the park. It was a wonderfully beautiful day and they were trying to get their ‘money’s worth’; the girls, although they loved them, were a handful and they were happy to have a day off.

She sighed contentedly as her husband ran his fingers through her hair, “A knut for your thoughts, love?”

She chuckled and turned in his arms so she was facing him and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“Mmm, I was just thinking about how much I love being married to you and having your children.”

He flashed a blinding smile at her and wiggled his eyebrows, “We could always try for more.”

She swatted him playfully and laughed, “Yes, we could. But we have our hands full with the two we have now. And besides, I think Harry and Draco have something to tell us. Harry’s been very sick lately and Draco has been fussing over him.”

Sirius sighed; he loved his wife, but sometimes she just over analyzed everything too much, “I’m sure it’s nothing. And I don’t want to talk about any of that; it’s our day off and I would like to enjoy it with my beautiful wife. Sans chin ann and family problems.”

He leaned in to kiss her and she relented, kissing him back and wrapping her arms around his neck. It really was nice to be in his arms; warm and loved. He always made her feel like there was no one else in the world.

Hermione had known since the beginning of their relationship that she was his second choice, and that his first, Remus, was with someone else. Sirius could never have Remus so he was settling for the next best thing. Or so she hoped. But the day their daughters were born she had been lying in bed, cradling the twins one in each arm, with him behind her. He had thought she was sleeping so he whispered in her ear that he loved her more than anything. To this day she could still remember what he said word for word like it had happened yesterday.

Flashback.

After hours of labor and breast feeding later, Hermione was out like a light. All their family and friends had left already and it was just the four of them alone in the infirmary.

Sirius looked over his wife’s shoulder at the two beautiful babies that were his daughters, Lily and Jamie. Thinking she was sleeping, he leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“I know in the past I loved Remus. And to this day I still do, but if I didn’t have you in my life I wouldn’t be living. You are my heart, my soul, my other half. I’m glad you’re my wife and I would do anything to keep you safe. If anything happened to you I don’t know what I would do. If Remus were to come to me tomorrow and tell me he wanted me back, I would tell him no. I wouldn’t give you up for the world, Hermione Granger-Black.”

Silent tears fell down her face as he kissed the back of her neck and began to drift off then she finally fell asleep as well.

End Flashback.

She had never confronted him about what he had said that night, and she didn’t plan on it either. He obviously couldn’t get up the courage to tell her when she was awake, and it didn’t matter anyhow; he had said it to her, whether he had known she was awake or not. To Hermione it was the same as if he had shouted it from the rooftops. He had said it and it was enough.

They spent a few more hours lying in each other’s arms in the park then ducked behind a huge bush to apparate back to Grimmauld Place. Their day had been full of love and surprises, but it was nothing compared to what awaited them at home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus and Remus had been spending the past week and a half at Snape Manor. Although they loved their extended family, they wanted a honeymoon. They had decided to spend most of their summer residing at Grimmauld Place, but had taken about three weeks to themselves; after all, they deserved it as much as anyone who had fought so diligently in the war against Voldemort.

Their days were spent lying in each other’s arms and reading or doing research and their nights were spent with their limbs tangled. If anyone had been in the house or close enough to hear, they would have heard some very interesting sounds coming from Lupin-Snape Manor.

They had joined the title on the house so it would no longer just belong to Severus, making it Lupin-Snape Manor to them, but everyone else still called it Snape Manor. Oh well, they didn’t care as long as they still had a place to get away to when they needed to get away.

That particular day they were lying in front of the fire reading. Severus had a potions text and Remus was reading a book about Vampires; he had to brush up on some things for his lessons the next school year. He was just a bit out of practice.

The two had no idea what was going on at Grimmauld Place, or that they were going to be called home early from their honeymoon to hear some very interesting news. Neither of them would be expecting what they would hear, but one thing was for sure; Severus Snape would have something witty and snarky to say about the whole situation.

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Lucius and Ron both worked at the Ministry of Magic. Ron was an auror, though he didn’t really do much field work now that Voldemort was dead, and Lucius had a nice, cushy, desk job. The two of them would commute to and from work together seeing as just about everyone lived at Grimmauld Place.

They were on their way home and stopped in a little pub to have a few drinks, knowing Hermione and Sirius were out for the day and they would have to deal with Lily and Jamie without the help of the girl’s parents; Draco and Harry just encouraged the girls to torture the blonde and the red head.

By the time they got to the house, Harry had already come home from Hogwarts and Ginny was there. Hermione and Sirius had still not returned from their day out.

As they walked through the front door, two bushy haired girls launched themselves at the men from the bottom step.

“Uncle Won! Uncle Wucy! You’we home!”

Lily screeched as she clung to Lucius’ neck and planted wet kisses all over his face. Ron just stood there and laughed as Jamie attached herself to him as well.

“Uncle Won! Uncle Hawwy and Uncle Dwaco awe in their woom!”

Lily just nodded at what her twin said, pausing briefly from slobbering on Lucius to do so.

This is what happened every day when they got home. If the girls were there, they threw themselves into the arms of the men and screamed how happy they were to see them; telling the men what everyone else in the house was doing was also something they had a tendency to do. Well, they wouldn’t be working for British Intelligence if they kept telling everybody everything that went on.

Because they were barely over one, they could talk, but their speech was a bit amusing. ‘Ron’ came out like ‘Won’ and ‘Lucius’ ended up being ‘Wucy’, their r’s were non-existent. It made Ron laugh to hear the blonde man being called ‘Uncle Wucy’ while it made Lucius visibly cringe.

They both loved the twins very mund wnd would do anything for the girls; which was why they put up with the horrid nicknames and slobber that accompanied the beautiful young ladies.

Lucius and Ron both set the girls down as Ginny walked into the room with a smirk on her face which earned her a weak glare from the elder Malfoy.

“Sorry,” she said holding in a laugh, “But every time they call you that I can’t help but laugh.”

“Ha ha, Ginny. Very amusing. I shall add it to my list of things that are cutesy wootsey and what not.”

That made the red headed female burst out laughing. She doubled over, causing the girls to giggle even though they had no clue what the adults were laughing. That made Ron laugh as well.

Lucius scowled, “Well, what they call you isn’t exactly something straight out of Shakespeare either!”

She stopped laughing briefly enough to answer him, “Yes, but they call me Aunt Gin-Gin. That’s not half as bad as Uncle Wucy!”

That did it; she fell over laughing as Lucius stalked past her into the drawing room and poured himself a brandy. This day was just getting worse. Little did he know that there would be even more excitement in about seven months.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Ginny had shown up, the two lovebirds were on their way to their room. When they finally got there they locked themselves in and let no one bother them. They had things to talk about and plans to make.

The first issue was when to tell everyone.

“I don’t know how long I want to wait, but I also don’t know if I want to be present when they find out,” Harry had an amusing look of half horror on his face as he said this and Draco couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh love, I don’t think you have to worry about how they will generally act. I can tell you now what will happen; Granger will fawn over you and make both of us ill, Sirius will pat you on the back and feel a bit awkward, but happy at the same time, Remus will hug you until your ribs almost break and then back off and smile apologetically, asking when you’re due, Severus will no doubt have something witty and snarky to say, something along the lines of ‘Leave it to a Gryffindor to get pregnant even though he’s male.’, my father will be shocked and pleased; he’s always wanted grandchildren to carry on the Malfoy name, and Ron….well….Ron will have kittens. The rest of the Weasleys will be thrilled and you know it.”

Harry just sat there and stared at his husband in awe; when did the stuck up, arrogant, vain, spoiled brat Slytherin become this wonderful, knowing, gentle, kind and loving man who is his husband? He would spend the rest of his life wondering when Draco had become the man he was when Harry fell in love with him.

He sighed and leaned his head on Draco’s shoulder. Harry was soon realizing there was nothing like being pregnant to make you understand what it’s like to truly love and be loved. The life growing inside him was more than enough to bring him to this conclusion.

Draco smiled and wrapped his arms around his lover, “We’ll tell them whenever you want. How about yourthdrthday? It’s only about a week away and we were planning on having everyone over anyhow.”

Harry nodded; that would actually be the best choice. That way everyone would be there for his party and he wouldn’t have to call them over without a reason and make them suspicious and worried.

“Perfect. I knew there was a reason why I married a Slytherin,” Harry said then smiled and leaned up to kiss the blonde.

Draco laughed and pulled away slightly, “You married me because I’m a Slytherin Sex God and you couldn’t get enough of my fine ass.”

Harry laughed as well and pulled Draco close, entwining their limbs and falling back on the bed. They would tell their family about Harry’s condition, but not tonight. Tonight they would be just Draco and Harry, husbands, friends, and lovers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Harry sent out the invitations for his party. He invited all the Weasley’s; Fred, George, Percy, Charlie, Bill, and Ginny; Remus and Severus, they would be coming home a few days later, but he hoped they would make an appearance that night so he wouldn’t have to break the news more than once; Sirius and Hermione, who lived there with them but they gave them an invitation anyhow; McGonagall, because she had been there for them no matter what; Ron and a date, if he could find one which was highly doubtful because the redhead spent most of his free time with Lucius; and then there was Lucius, one of the most important guests because it was, after all, his son who was becoming a father.

Everyone responded within a few days, all those who also lived in the house just gave their verbal R.S.V.P. and the others sent theirs in, save Ginny who practically lived there anyhow and just said ‘Can I bring a date, then?’ Cheeky little brat, but they said yes.

When the reply came from Snape Manor, Harry opened it with trembling hands; Severus may be Draco’s ‘Uncle’ but he wasn’t Harry’s biggest fan. He was hoping that Remus was the one who had responded but Harry had no luck at all.

As he opened the envelope he heard Snape’s booming voice;

“I, Severus Lupin-Snape, along with my husband, Remus J. Lupin-Snape, would be…honored.”

‘The man apparently had something large up his ass when he had given their response,’ Harry thought to himself, then cringed as he tho of of what that might be.

“To attend the birthday party of one Harold J. Potter-Malfoy. We will arrive at the specified time, not a minute sooner or later. A gift will be procured for the guest of honor…..”

It went on and on. Snapuldnuldn’t just give a simple yes or no answer, maybe Remus hadn’t been there when the invitation had been received.

Draco shook his head as he entered, “Uncle Severus was always one to make his point. Has to over analyze everything and say more than is needed, doesn’t he?”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss Harry, who was beginning to hate this pregnancy even more; the stomach cramping had just seemed to get worse once he had found out what was really causing it. Ok, he didn’t hate the pregnancy, he was happier than he had ever been in his whole life, save the day he married Draco, but it was getting down right irritating to empty the contents of your stomach every time you even thought of food.

Harry heaved a sigh and retired to their room; he would need all his energy in five days for the birthday party that he was soon referring to as ‘The Party From Hell’. He could only hope that his friends and family took his news better than they took Hermione’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the day of the party drew nearer Draco began to decorate, with the help of Ginny and Hermione and under the watchful eye of his father. Harry, after all, was now a Malfoy and deserved the best money could buy; he wasn’t about to let his son-in-law have a Hee-Haw party if he could help it.

Harry was more than content to stay in their rooitheither sleeping or pretending to. All he told his friends was he was sick and nothing more. He wanted to wait until the party to break the news about his ‘delicate condition’. They were, no doubt, suspicious; Hermione more than the others. She seemed to pick up on things like that, it was down right irritating.

So, in order to keep away from his best friend’s prying eyes, he stayed in his room and refused to come out unless there was a minimal amount of people around.

Draco brought him his meals in bed, wanting him to rest so he could save his energy for the party. He would have to see about asking his uncle for a morning sickness potion after the news was broken.

The night of the party Draco was getting dressed while Harry lay in bed; he was refusing to get up and dress and he was going to be late for his own party.

His husband finally convinced him to get up and go downstairs. They made it down as the last of the guests were arriving. Everyone was there.

Molly and Arthur came together as always; Ginny had a date with her, Terry Boot; Fred and George brought their long time boyfriends; Oliver Wood and Lee Jordan; Charlie came by himself, his girlfriend was unable to leave Romania where she worked with him and the dragons; Bill brought Fleur, his fiancé; Percy brought his wife, Penelope Clearwater, and their daughter Genevieve, named after her mother; and Ron had actually scrounged up a date, Luna Lovegood.

Severus and Remus walked in closely followed by Lucius, who had gone out at the last minute to pick something up for Harry; he had been busy with overseeing the decorations. The two Slytherins were deep in conversation as they walked through the door, and as for Remus, well Remus was rolling his eyes.

After all the pleasantries and hellos the crowd finally sat down for dinner. Harry and Draco steered the conversation away from their relationship in the hopes that everyone would leave it to them to make their announcement when they were ready.

When dessert was finally finished, and everyone felt like loosening their waist bands, Draco stood to make what everyone thought was a toast.

“Well, it’s been a long and bumpy road for all of us.”

“Here here!”

“Damn straight!”

“You’re just picking up on this now, Malfoy?”

Lucius and Severus just snorted at the responses of their fellow guests.

Draco continued, “And all of us have come out alive and well. Harry turns 18 today,” he looked down at his husband with a very Slytherin gleam in his eye and Harry tried to stop him before he could say something else; but he was too late, “Harry and I have been married for a little over a year now, and we’ve both wanted children for quite some time now. Harry’s pregnant!”

The blonde sat down and smirked, watching the looks on the faces of their nearest and dearest who were seated around the table. Harry just had his face in his hands, trying to hide the varied emotions it was no doubt displaying.

General gasps were the collective response of everyone there.

“Harry’s WHAT?!”

That would be Sirius.

“Oh how wonderful!”

That would be Hermione.

“But…but….he’s a bloke!”

Of course, that’s Ron.

“Damn, I knew I shouldn’t have given them that potion.”

That was Severus with a scowl and a very shocked werewolf staring at him with his mouth agape.

Lucius just looked smug along with his son.

Molly fainted.

When everyone had gotten themselves together, accepted the fact that the Boy Wonder was with child, and said good-night, they left. Harry and Draco were sent upstairs while Remus, Hermione, Sirius, Lucius, Ron and Severus cleaned up the mess from the party.

“Well,” Draco drawled, “They took that better than we thought they would.”

Harry looked at him incredulously, “You could have said it a bit better than that, love! It’s called tact.”

“I could have, but what would have been the fun in that?”

He smirked and pulled the other to him, “I just figured it would be better if we told them quickly and straight to the point. It was easier and they got over it quicker.”

Harry nodded and sighed, snuggling close to his love, “I suppose; but I hope Molly will be ok. She hit her head pretty hard when she hit the floor.”

They couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at that. It was quite amusing to see the slightly heavy-set red headed woman fall like a ton of bricks. But they only found it funny once they had found out she would be ok.

They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Downstairs, while they cleaned, the men and woman were discussing their friend and family member’s current condition.

“Well, I think it’s just wonderful,” Hermione stated. She couldn’t be happier for them; Harry was her best friend and she had gotten to quite like Draco.

Sirius knew it was futile to fight so he just agreed with his wife.

Lucius was positively glowing, he’d have a grandchild.

Severus was still scowling, but Remus had a nostalgic gleam in his eye; he had always wanted children more than anything, save Sev.

Severus’ scowl deepened and he shook his head at his lover, “Lupin…”

The tone was warning but the gaze was warm; he knew how much his lover wanted little cubs of his own.

Snape chuckled internally, ‘Cubs,’ he thought. ‘Only with a werewolf as a lover and husband would I be referring to offspring as cubs.’

Severus and Remus went back to their ‘honeymoon’, Sirius and Hermione went up to check on the girls then headed to bed, and Lucius and Ron stayed up drinking brandy as they did every night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weeks rolled by and Harry had already gotten used to the idea of being pregnant, along with everyone else. Sirius was treating him as if he’d break, Hermione was gushing, Remus and Severus were spending most of their time alone and away from prying eyes, Ron looked at him slightly funny; he still wasn’t used to his best mate being pregnant, Lucius was nicer than usual, and Draco was fussing over him enough to make Harry want to hex him.

Finally, in the middle of August, Hermione, Sirius, Harry, Remus, Draco, and Severus went back to Hogwarts to prepare for classes to begin.

Hermione was not only the Charms professor, but head of Ravenclaw as well. Severus had his usual position of potions professor and head of Slytherin. Remus was DADA professor and head of Gryffindor while Sirius was the new Transfiguration professor. Harry was to teach flying lesson and be head Quidditch coach, Draco helped out both Hermione and Harry with their responsibilities. Everything had worked out as Dumbledore had ordered, erm, excuse me, requested.

When they arrived at the castle they walked into the staff room to take a breather before dinner where they met up with Neville; he had taken a Herbology apprenticeship with Professor Sprout.

They all talked for awhile, then Lily and Jamie decided to fuss that they were hungry so the odd group of professors made their way down to the Great Hall where McGonagall and the rest of the professors were waiting for them to begin dinner.

The first few months that Harry was back, he felt slightly odd; it was strange to him to be in the one place he felt like home without Dumbledore, but the man had lived a full and wonderful life.

The pregnancy progressed normally; though Harry got extremely moody about having to use the restroom constantly. Madame Pomfrey wouldn’t leave the poor man alone when it came to his monthly check-up, and for the first few flying lessons she had sat nearby to make sure he obeyed her rules.

Draco refereed the few matches they had before Christmas and went back and forth taking over some classes for Hermione when the girls needed her and for Harry when his morning sickness was just a bit too much to handle. Severus wouldn’t give him a morning sickness potion because he felt ‘The boy needs to learn from his mistakes and that pregnancy isn’t the wonderful experience everyone says it is.’

Of course, if he had known what was to happen to him in late April, he wouldn’t have said that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Christmas nearly all of the students went home, leaving a few sporadic ones in each house, but they were all upper classmen. The adults were more than happy to have the hols to themselves; Harry and Draco more than the others.

Hermione and Sirius were trying to get pregnant again, though Sirius couldn’t understand why. They had twins and it was more than enough for him at the moment. He wanted more children but he wanted to wait about a year to have more. Alas, Hermione was determined to be pregnant before the end of the year.

Harry was getting quite uncomfortable; he was seven months pregnant and hating every minute of it. Well, ok, he loved being pregnant. The feeling of a life growing inside him, they way the baby kicked him hard when Draco spoke to it through his abdomen, how the baby seemed to love flying as much as he did.

By then he wasn’t allowed to fly anymore and he was right pissed off about that. Flying was his first love in the wizarding world. Now he had Draco and Sirius as well as his other friends, but he loved flying, and he couldn’t bloody well do it. Do you know how hard it is to keep your balance on something as small as a broomstick when you feel big as a house?

They all spent a very romantic Christmas together, going back to Grimmauld Place for Christmas dinner with all of the Weasleys as well as Lucius. Surprisingly enough, it was Lucius who couldn’t keep his hand off of Harry’s swollen abdomen; he was apparently a sucker for pregnant…erm….people.

When the Christmas hols ended, and all the students were back for the next semester, they wouldn’t stop gurgling and speaking baby talk to Harry’s abdomen; he eventually decided he was going to stay in his and Draco’s rooms unless he absolutely had to leave them.

The staff was no better, groping and prodding him; it was almost worse than his monthly visits with Madame Pomfrey; almost.

Draco could tell his husband was having a hard time of it, so he planned something special for Valentine’s Day. They would lock and ward their rooms so no one could bother them and Draco would make Harry feel better than he had in months.

As February 14th drew nearer, Draco enlisted the help of Hermione; she had quite a few plans of her own for the Golden Boy and his blonde Adonis.

“Ok, here’s what you’ll do….”

They leaned their heads together and she told him her ideas. He was very impressed; nodding and smirking the whole time. Harry was going to love it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had always hated Valentine’s Day; he had never had a significant other on that day and it made it worse for him. Of course he’d had Draco the year before, but considering his size and how emotional he was, he was beginning to feel as though Draco wouldn’t want him anymore.

As he walked through the corridors he shot every student who tried to come near him and ‘feel if the baby is kicking’ a very nasty Slytherin death glare that he could have only picked up from the one and only Severus Snape. Of course, Snape had seen it and smirked to himself; maybe there was hope for the Gryffindor yet.

When he finally made it to his and Draco’s private rooms, he opened the door with a sigh of relief. He was going to take a long, hot bath; with lots of cherry scented bubble bath, take a nap, and hopefully not wake up until long after this dreaded day was over.

But his plans were interrupted when the door shut and locked behind him with a soft click. He could feel the whoosh of magic as the wards went up into place; and a strong one at that. He finally looked at the room he had neglected to glance at when he entered and the sight took his breath away.

There were lit candles hovering throughout the room, black rose petals covering the floor, and the air had a slight cherry scent; cherry is Harry’s favorite scent.

His eyes swept the room as tears formed in his eyes and he finally rested his gaze on the couch where Draco was sitting with a huge grin on his face; he was wearing a green satin robe trimmed in silver with the Slytherin serpent over the left breast and black satin pajamas trimmed in silver underneath it. There was a similar ensemble lying next to him on the couch. A red satin robe with gold trim and the Gryffindor lion over the left breast as well as black satin pajamas, also trimmed in gold, made to perfectly fit Harry.

The raven haired man ran over to his lover and flung his arms around his neck, “I love it. But they won’t fit after I have the baby. And I doubt they’ll fit now. I’m bloody huge.”

Draco chuckled and pulled him close, “They’re magically enhanced; they mould to fit whatever size you are. After you’ve had the baby they’ll shrink and still fit you. Do you like them?”

Harry’s green eyes began to overflow, “I love them, thank you.”

The blonde leaned in and kissed him softly, “And you can put them on, but not just yet. I have something for you first.”

He looked skeptically at his husband, “Draco, Madame Pomfrey said we can’t have sex; it’s too close to the due date and I could mis..”

Draco shut him up with another kiss and a chuckle, “No, love, nothing like that. I have something better. Now, come over here and strip then sit down facing the back of the chair.”

He stood and took his husband’s hand, leading him over to a chair that looked similar to a chaise lounge but without the side arm on it.

Harry nodded and stripped down (he hadn’t had time or energy to try and find underpants to fit, so he wasn’t wearing any) then sat facing the back like Draco had told him to. He heard the distinctive pop of a potion vial and sighed as the scent of gardenias permeated the air; his second favorite fragrance.

Draco rubbed his hands together to warm the oil a bit, even though it was self warming, then began to massage his husband’s back. His hands slid up along the spine, kneading all the knots out and rubbing gently over each vertebra. He worked his hands in a circular motion up either side of Harry’s spine, using his thumbs to rub out the kinks in the other’s neck once he had relaxed him slightly.

Harry moaned with pleasure as all the tension seeped of hof his body and he hoped it would stay gone. He arched slightly as Draco moved lower to massage the area directly above his buttocks which earned him a low chuckle from behind him. The hands on his back moved back up to his shoulders and he leaned back against a warm, satin chest, leaning his head back on the blonde’s shoulder as the knots there were also worked out.

Draco’s hands moved down and began to rub gently on his swollen abdomen, closing his eyes and trying with every fiber of his being to capture this moment forever.

Harry kissed his lips gently and he opened his eyes, smiling, “Ready for your next surprise, love?”

Being as relaxed as he was, the Gryffindor could only nod. Draco stood and took his hand, leading him into the bathroom they shared.

There was a huge porcelain claw foot tub filled with cherry scented bubble bath and steaming water. Draco smiled as he helped his husband ease into the tub. He had known Harry would love a bubble bath; the man was always bitching and complaining about how he never had enough time to indulge in one
Th
The blonde lovingly massaged and washed his lover, not missing one single spot; he wanted Harry to be relaxed and feel loved. For some reason he had been getting the feeling that Harry was drifting and feeling slightly depressed lately.

When the raven haired man was clean, Draco helped him out of the tub and dried him with a large, soft, black towel. He dressed him in his black satin pajamas trimmed in gold then wrapped him in the red robe.

They moved to the living room where there was a warm fire burning in the fireplace and Harry sat in a chair close to the fire. Draco pulled a foot stool over and sat in front of him, pulling the oil out once more and lifting one of his husband’s feet into his lap; the night wasn’t over yet.

He massaged Harry’s feet until the moans that slipped from his mouth had faded and his eyes had drifted closed.

Draco smiled as he watched the love of his life sleep for a few more moments; he had never thought he would have such joy. When he was younger he was convinced, by his mother mostly, that he would be following in his father’s footsteps and become a Death Eater. He had never wanted it and was happy he had found a way out.

He gently lifted Harry into his arms and laid him in bed, crawling in beside him and laying his head on his belly. His hand instinctively moved up beside his face, caressing gently.

“Mine,” he whispered.

He closed his eyes and drifted off, listening to the sounds of his unborn child and his husband. To him; life couldn’t get any better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next month flew by for everyone; even Harry was in a wonderful mood. Draco’s surprise had made him feel silly for thinking Draco couldn’t love him anymore.

The blonde had profusely thanked Hermione for her suggestions and had even sent her expensive gifts which Sirius was furious about, but she accepted them nonetheless.

The school year went on as usual, but as April 1st drew near the Slytherins began to plot.

Every year Slytherin house would play horrid pranks on each other; it was mostly the older students playing pranks on the younger ones and Severus would just turn a blind eye. This year he had dropped hints that they should play a prank on Draco. He may no longer be a student, but he was still a Slytherin and no one had ever played one on him before. When he had attended school everyone had feared him, but more importantly, his father.

So, they went about getting Harry involved; he was, after all, married to the Slytherin which made him an honorary Slytherin, not to mention the fact that the hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin in the first place. He readily agreed, having always wanted to get one over on his husband since the day they met.

They all decided that he should fake going into labor as the prank. Even Severus found it highly amusing. Remus was a bit skeptical, but felt Draco could use a bit of laughter, as well as Harry.

The whole school was buzzing as April Fools Day got closer, each day a few more people knew of the prank and who the target was. It seemed that the only one who didn’t know was Draco himself. Even Lucius and Ron were in on it, Lucius only too happy to pull one over on his son.

On March 31st the Slytherins and Harry gathered to go through the plan one more time; Harry would burst into Charms class, Draco was teaching it the next day, and say he was having labor pains. Draco would freak out and drag Harry down to the Infirmary then faint. Meanwhile everyone would be watching and laughing and whatnot. Harry was excited and couldn’t wait to see the look on his lover’s face when he realized he’d been ‘punk’d’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco had been getting increasingly suspicious; Harry was hanging out with the Slytherins and Snape, and although he loved that fact, he also knew it was about time for a prank. He just knew he had to be the target, but how and why would Harry be involved?

When it finally dawned on him what they were going to do he was determined not to let them think they had fooled him; he would show his husband and his house along with the rest of the school.

He acted as if he knew nothing so they wouldn’t change their minds and he could catch them in the act. He never expected what happened to actually be real.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On April 1st Harry James Potter-Malfoy walked through the corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a smug look on his face; this was the day he had been waiting for since the day he had met Draco in Diagon Alley almost nine years earlier. The day he would play a huge prank on him and show him he could be conniving and sneaky too.

A dull aching pain in his lower back had been bothering him all day and he’d had slight cramping which he wouldn’t recognize as the early signs of labor; contractions.

He was walking toward the Charms classroom to put the plan into action when something happened; he doubled over in pain from a particularly strong contraction and bit into his lower lip.

‘Damn,’ he thought to himself, ‘Now I can’t play my damn prank on him. I’m actually in labor.’

He struggled to get control over himself and threw the door to the Charms classroom open, falling to the floor just inside the door as he managed a whispered, “Draco….”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco had been prepared the whole day; he knew they were going to have Harry fake going into labor, why else would he be in on it if it didn’t involve him?

What he wasn’t prepared for was Harry practically falling through the classroom door. The man had done a wonderfub ofb of looking pale and drawn, like he was actually in pain. And they had apparently made it look like he had bitten through his lip during one of the ‘contractions’. Draco laughed, ‘They’ll never get one over on me,’ he thought in an amused manner.

His amusement came to an end when Harry whispered his name and all but passed out. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his head that this wasn’t a prank. He mentally reached out for Harry and realized at once that it was not.

He ran forward and lifted the other man into his arms, holding him close and pressing a kiss to his temple.

“Go get Professor Snape,” he said to one student and to another, “And you, go inform Madame Pomfrey at once that we will meet her in the infirmary.”

He turned back to his husband as something very wet whooshed onto his feet; Harry’s water had broken. There wasn’t much time now.

They made the long trek down to the hospital wing with students asking if they could help and a few staring along the way. They were met by not only Madame Pomfrey and Severus, but Hermione, Sirius, Lily, Jamie, Lucius, Ron and Remus as well.

“Shite, what a time for a family togetogether,” he muttered then helped Harry over to a bed.

When they had finally gotten him settled the Mediwitch made everyone but Severus and Draco leave; it was unsanitary for that many people to be crowded into the tiny room when Harry gave birth.

The blonde leaned over to speak to his beloved as Severus looked on, “Harry, remember; I love you more than anything. I wouldn’t change this for the world. And think, soon we’ll have our baby; ours. Just ours. And we can name him or her whatever we like. The family we always wanted will be ours.”

He kissed him on the forehead and took his hand; this was going to be long, drawn out and painful for both of them. Severus would have said something vaguely snarky and sarcastic, but he refused to ruin the moment for his nephew. There had been so little in the young man’s life that had made him happy and Harry and the baby about to be born was, so far, the only thing he’d ever had worth mentioning.

Now, there was a lot of pushing, a lot of swearing, a lot of blood along with other fluids, and a lot of fainting; but I’m not going to go into detail. So, we go into the future, about ten hours later; the same room, the same people. The only difference is Harry is crying, not from pain this time, and holding a beautiful baby boy. Draco is sitting on the edge of the bed, an arm around his husband and a finger grasped tightly by his son. Severus had his arm around Remus near the window, both of them looking on the scene with tears in their eyes.

Ok, Severus Snape does NOT cry, but he was damn near close that day.

Sirius and Hermione were trying to keep Lily and Jamie from disturbing the couple and their newborn, rushing in to kiss him on his forehead and give both men a quick hug before retiring to their rooms.

Ron stopped in briefly and said hi, grinning at the new member of the family before going off to meet his girlfriend Luna.

Remus was obviously caught up in the moment, “I remember the day Harry was born; Sirius and I were waiting outside the delivery room. James wished he could have been out there with us; he was a bit squeamish.”

Severus laughed, yes; he laughed in front of people other than Remus, and led the werewolf out of the room, “Let’s give them some privacy.”

Lucius nodded at them as he passed them when he walked into the room; he was the last to see his grandson out of the immediate family and friends, but he had wanted to wait until the crowd had dispersed.

He looked down at the baby and saw white blonde hair and brilliant green eyes. The elder Malfoy reached out a hand and ran his fingers down the baby’s face, gasping as he stirred and made cute little squealing noises when he yawned.

“Would you like to hold him, father?” Draco was beaming, and although Harry looked like death warmed over, he smiled and held out the baby for Lucius to take.

As he held his grandson he did something he had never done before in front of everyone; Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater, right hand man to Lord Voldemort himself, began to cry.

“What have you named him?” His voice was thick with emotion and he couldn’t take his eyes off the gorgeous child he held in his arms.

It was Harry who spoke, his voice tired and strained but cheery nonetheless, “His name is Armand Lucien Potter-Malfoy.”

Lucius looked up, “Armand Lucien? Beautiful name, Armand. But why Lucien?”

Draco smirked as he drawled, “For you, father. We gave him a name similar to yours for his middle name.”

See, it was a little known fact in the muggle world that to give a child a name, middle or otherwise, that was the same as someone close to you while that person was still living was a bad omen. This way, they could show their love for Draco’s father but without all the bad luck.

“I thank you. And I’m very proud of both of you. Since we rescued you from those horrid muggles, I’ve felt you were like a son to me, Harry. Thank you for making it true and providing me with a long awaited grandchild.”

Draco playfully swatted his father on the arm, “Hey! I helped too!”

They all laughed and fawned over the baby a bit more then Harry went to sleep. He’d had a trying day and needed his rest; the next year was going to be quite hard for him indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The week following the birth of their son Draco and Harry spent their time planning a small get-together as well as waking up at un-godly hours to feed and take care of Armand.

According to wizarding tradition, although Hermione and Sirius didn’t abide by it, it is customary to hold a ceremonial dinner to announce the child’s name and the names of the godparents. Seeing as both Draco and Harry came from long lines of pureblood wizards they felt the need to follow through with this particular tradition.

Among those invited were Severus, Remus, Lucius, Ron along with his date, Hermione, Sirius, the girls and the Weasley family. The party was to be a celebration of their son’s life and life in general; they weren’t about to let anything go wrong do they made sure to take care of every possible problem before it could arise.

When the day of the party finally arrived Harry was feeding Armand as Draco ran around and tried to finish getting things ready for their guests. Harry began to laugh as his usually so put together husband was running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

Draco’s hair was hanging in his eyes and very messy; unlike its usual style where every last hair was in its perfect place. His eyes were slightly puffy from planning the party and never letting Harry get up with Armand. The young Slytherin just ’t l’t letting his husband do anything; Draco was such a perfectionist that he had to do everything himself.

By the time the guests were arriving Harry had forced Draco into calming down and getting ready. While the blonde took a long awaited hot shower Harry fed Armand and got him ready for the party. By the time Draco had emerged in a cloud of steam both his husband and child were attired in their best dress robes and awaiting him.

Dinner went well and everyone had a wonderful time. The ceremony was to take place after dessert, which was one of Harry and Draco’s favorite; tiramisu. The happy couple moved to the drawing room followed by their guests.

“Tonight, following an ancient ploodlood wizarding tradition, we announce the name and godparents of our son.”

Draco felt the need to be formal, though everyone in the room was like family.

“Yes, and to begin we would like to thank everyone that has been there for us throughout our relationship. Through our hatred, our feuds, our friendship, and our love.”

Harry was a bit informal, but he was never one to hold to ceremony if he could help it.

“Very good point love. Now, would my father, Lucius Augustus Malfoy please step forward.”

Lucius, with his head held high, moved toward his son, son-in-law, and grandson. This was the moment he had been waiting for his whole life; to have grandchildren. It had been the only good thing that had come out of sleeping with Narcissa and it was most definitely the only reason he didn’t regret it. Armand and Draco were the only things worth anything to him in his life. And now he had Harry as well.

“According to wizard tradition, as my wonderful husband has informed me, it is unheard of to name a child after a living relative or friend. We have found a way around that. I present to you, Lucius Augustus Malfoy, your grandson; Armand Lucien Potter-Malfoy.”

Harry handed his son over to Lucius and watched as the closed off silver blonde Slytherin began to cry. Although he had already known the child’s name he was still touched by the fact that they had given the child more than just the legacy of the Malfoy name; they had also, in a small way, given him Lucius’ as well.

Pulling himself together he held the chil his his chest and addressed both the parents and the guests, “It is my great honor to have this child named partially after me and to have him as my grandson. There was only one day that was as special to me as the day Armand was brought into this world; the day my own son, Draco Xander Malfoy, was born.”

There was a collection of applause and tears as Lucius fhed hed his speech and handed the child back to Harry, who was crying himself. The hormones had apparently not worked their way out of his system yet.

“And on to the godparents of our beautiful baby boy,” of course Draco was biased. “Would Remus John Lupin-Snape and Severus Magnus Lupin-Snape please step forward.”

The two men in question were awestruck and beside themselves. Never in a million years did they think that Harry and Draco would choose them as Armand’s godparents; they had thought that Hermione and Sirius or Ron and Lucius would be chosen.

They walked up to where the Potter-Malfoys stood with their son and Harry handed the child over. Severus and Remus both held him together as they looked down at the tiny fingers and toes then back up at the young men in front of them. It was that moment when they realized they wanted children more than anything else in this world. Only two men noticed the look they shared; Lucius and Ron. And there was a lot of planning going on in their heads as the ceremony progressed.

“Do you, Severus Magnus Lupin-Snape and you, Remus John Lupin-Snape, agree to take care of this child and love him like he was your own, bestow upon him every dream and wish his heart could desire, should anything happen to us?”

Draco’s eyes teared as he spoke the words, he knew his uncle wanted children, had always wanted children, but had never had the chance to have them.

“We do,” the men said in unison.

Harry nodded and continued, “Please raise your wands and chant the appropriate incantation to transfer some of yourers ers to the child.”

Everyone in the room held their breath and watched as the two powerful wizards gave some of themselves to the tiny baby. Armand didn’t cry once, but looked up at his godfathers with wide, wondering eyes as they performed the spell.

When it was through, they each kissed him on the forehead and embraced both Harry and Draco then took their places among the crowd once more.

All the guests came up, one by one, to see Armand and give Draco and Harry their best wishes. By the time everyone had come up front and left to go home for the night, it was nearly midnight and Armand was fast asleep in Draco’s arms. They gave Lucius, Hermione, Sirius, Severus and Remus one more hug each then retired for the evening.
on Son Severus and Remus were also tired and heading up to bed as were Sirius and Hermione. Lucius was left to himself while Ron escorted Luna home and said goodnight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Ron returned to Grimmauld Place he found that everyone, save Lucius, had gone to bed; he found the blonde in the drawing room sipping Brandy as per usual.

“Hey! You usually wait for me before you get pissed!”

The red head walked over to the chair next to Lucius’ in front of the fire and poured himself a generous glass of the amber liquor then turned to his friend who was looking quite inebriated at the moment.

“Aww, what’s wrong Wucy?” He said snickering.

Lucius turned to him and scowled; this was going to be a long night.

“For your information; nothing is wrong,” he took a long draught of his drink, finishing it and pouring another. “I am getting pissed simply because I can. Not that it’s any of your business.”

He went back to sipping as Ron stood there with his mouth hanging open in shock.

“But…but Lucius,” he sputtered. “I thought we were friends. You can tell me what’s bothering you, you know.”

The blonde sighed; he supposed he was drunk enough to tell Ron the story.

“Well, you know how gay I am,” Ron nodded. “So you must be wondering how Narcissa got pregnant.”

The red head was shocked, but he had always wondered. He nodded again seeing as words were evading him this evening.

“Then I suppose I shall tell you the story of how he came to be.”

He emptied his glass once more and filled it, settling back against the chair and looking into the flames of the soothing fire.

“Back when I was young I learned that I was to marry Narcissa Black. She was very beautiful, if you go for that kind,” he paused and laughed then looked at Ron. “Female.” Weasley laughed and Lucius continued.

“My father knew of my preferences but couldn’t care less. He was a man of tradition and ‘No son of mine is a pouf; blah blah,” he sighed. “So I was to enter into this marriage and sire an heir. I thought I could handle it, even though I found the thought of touching a woman nauseating.

As time wore on I found I couldn’t bring myself to do it. There was a clause stating that I could have lovers as long as I was discrete; which I was. If nothing else is said of Malfoys; they are very discrete and keep secrets well. An, I , I was with this wonderful man named Claude Deveraux. He was amazing. Claude had the air of sophistication that even I don’t. The man could seem indifferent about the most important things to him in life. He wouldn’t bat an eyelash in public even if his mother was murdered in front of his eyes.

I’m getting off track here. Narcissa found out about him and was so jealous that she paid him to leave me. He took the money at first, then came to me the next night and told me what she had done. Unfortunately for both of us she had been spying on me because she knew he would never leave. We devised a plan to get rid of her so we could be together.

We made love and fell asleep in each other’s arms, but when I awoke the next morning he wasn’t in bed with me. I went searching for him everywhere. I ran into Narcissa in the dining room, she looked quite smug and I should have known then. She had a letter, addressed to me from Claude, telling me that he had found someone else and he must leave.

Narcissa comforted me, which was another dead giveaway because she had a heart of ice, and poured me a drink. It was, as I found out later, laced with an aphrodisiac. She then proceeded to seduce me. We had sex, during which I was thinking about Claude, and that was the day Draco was conceived. She knew she wouldn’t be successful in getting me to sleep with her more than once so she took a potion that would insure pregnancy if we only copulated once.

That evening, after waking from my drug induced slumber, I went out for a walk in the gardens. What I found still haunts my dreams to this day.”

Lucius paused to weep a little and Ron knelt in front of him on the floor.

“You can tell me, love. It’s alright. She’s dead now and nothing you say is going to be repeated.”

The blonde was grateful; he had never told this story to anyone, ever.

He nodded and continued, “I found de lde lying among the lilies. His throat had been cut as well as his wrists and he had a look of horror on his face,” he took another deep breath. “What disturbed me the most was; she didn’t use magic to kill him. She used muggle means.” He looked up, his face tear streaked and his eyes red and puffy. “Claude was a muggle. He knew I was a wizard and he didn’t care. I know everyone has always said that the Malfoys hate muggles…We don’t. I raised Draco to be wary of muggles because I didn’t want the same thing to happen to him.

You see; if he hadn’t been a muggle Narcissa wouldn’t have resorted to killing him herself, or even at all for that matter. She would have just gone to my father or the Ministry and told them I was in breach of the marriage contract. She killed him because a muggle would have ruined her marriage. Her life. It was then that she began to hate muggles and joined Voldemort. She was the one who raised Draco to hate muggles, not me.”

Lucius broke down sobbing and Ron embraced him; that had to have been a hard story to tell. Lucius was usually so composed and never let anything bother him. Then again, that incident may have been why he was the way he was.

The red head pulled back and looked his friend in the eye, “It was not your fault and you will stop blaming yourself. She was a horrible woman who is now dead. I don’t think you have to worry about her killing anyone else.”

Lucius smiled and hugged Ron again, “Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome. Now, how about some laughs to lift our spirits, eh?”

He poured them both more brandy and they began to drink; telling old tales of when they were both at Hogwarts. Then they got on the discussion of Luna.

“Yeah, I think she’s great. And I want kids one day. Hermione is, most obviously, taken, and Luna seems like a good choice. She’s down to earth and great with children. She’ll be graduating this year, so you never know.”

Lucius’ eyes sparked, “Speaking of children, did you see the look Severus and Remus shared during the ceremony?” he snickered and giggled slightly, which was very un-Malfoy like. “I think we should play a little trick on Old Sevvie.”

Ron burst out laughing. “We should,” he said as laughing. “But what can we do?” Then an idea struck him. “Snape probably still has what’s left over from the fertility potion that he made for Draco and Harry. I know that stuff doesn’t go bad….” He paused to think and Lucius took up where he left off. “We could dose Severus with the fertility potion and the next time he and Remus have sex, Sevvie will get pregnant!”

They both fell over laughing and they must have been very loud because said Potions Master was awoken and dragged his arse down the stairs to yell at them.

Now, I don’t know what amuses me more; the fact that Lucius Malfoy is giggling, the fact that he called Severus ‘Sevvie’, the fact that he’s plotting with Ron Weasley, or the fact that he’s practically a Weasley twin, finishing Ron’s thoughts.

“What in the hell is going on down here?” A very imposing, disheveled looking Snape was standing in the doorway, looking down at the floor where his best friend and his former student were practically entwined; laughing their asses off.

The sight of him just made them laugh harder, “Nothing Sevvie, we were just talking about the good old days.”

Severus eyed Ron; the only other person who had called him that was Lucius, who was apparently drunk off his arse, and he hadn’t liked it any more when the blonde had said it either.

“Well, you’re not going to have any more ‘good old days’ to laugh about if you call me that again; ever.”

The two men struggled to untangle their limbs and Ron stood, winking at Lucius, “I think I need to visit the loo.”

Lucius giggled again and finally found his way to his chair.

“Sit down Severus, let us talk about the old days when life was nothing more than O.W.L.’s and house rivalries.”

Snape sat down scowling and rolled his eyes, “Don’t you think you’re a little old to be getting drunk? And with Weasley, of all people.”

The blonde chuckled, “Oh Sevvie, you were never one for fun, were you?”

Severus scowled again and leaned back in his chair feeling somewhat defeated.

Meanwhile in the hallway…..

Ron passed the bathroom and wandered down the hall to his old professor’s private lab. He muttered an unlocking charm and entered; knowing Severus would kill him when he realized what was going on but too drunk to care. He scanned the shelves and squealed when he found the right vial, hoping he could somehow slip it into Snape’s drink before he went back to bed.

The red head slipped out of the room, locking it again, and walking back out to the drawing room.

“Well, that was a relief,” he said loudly and winked at Lucius as if to tell him ‘mission accomplished’.

He walked over to the bar and poured and nice sized drink for his former professor, pouring the potion into it when Lucius had him distracted.

Now, a few things you should know about our dear Professor Snape. He never accepts drinks from others, noes hes he drink anything without checking it first. A very cautious and suspicious man, our Severus. But he must have been very tired this evening because without even glancing at the glass in his hand he downed it in one gulp. He would most definitely look back at this event and curse his foolishness but then again he couldn’t be too mad at his friend and Weasley because they ultimately ended up giving him something he never thought he’d have; a family.

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Severus left the amazing laughing morons shortly after his drink and went back up to bed with his husband. He hadn’t been feeling particularly affectionate before he left the bedroom but he could blame the alcohol. Which he would; and he’d be half right.

The sight of Remus sprawled on the bed only wearing a pair of black silk pajama bottoms with his hair strewn out over the pillow was enough to make him bite his lip and moan softly under his breath.

The sleepy werewolf opened his eyes and gave his mate a feral grin, “Why don’t you come over here and show me how much you love me.”

It was more than enough to make Severus practically launch himself at the bed. He landed next to Remus and began to devour his mouth and neck.

For some reason, still unknown to Professor Snape, he had been aroused before even reaching the top of the stairs. And when he was this turned on he liked to bottom. You’d think that it would be the other way around, but in Snape’s opinion there was nothing better then having Remus buried inside him when he was this horny. So he deviated from the norm, which was Remus being on bottom, to flipping his husband over so he was lying on the bed.

Although this surprised the werewolf he wasn’t about to argue so he went about preparing his lover with a gentle, loving hand, all the while whispering sweet nothings in his ear about how beautiful he is and how good it’s going to feel to be buried inside the tight heat.

Severus bucked against the fingers that were opening him and giving him pleasure, begging for more. At long last, after what seemed like an agonizing eternity for the Potions Master, Remus steadied and positioned himself at Severus’ entrance.

In one quick, yet fluid motion, he was fully buried inside his lover and he paused so they could both adjust. In the span of the few minutes that Remus held himself still above and inside of him, Snape had the time to look deep onto the other man’s eyes and see something he had always known to be there but had never taken the time to notice; eternal, undying love. It was in that instant that he finally realized just how much he loved this man. The only problem was that with that revelation he also realized one more thing. He had never told Remus just how he felt about him.

Blame it on the minute amount of alcohol in his system, blame it on the aphrodisiac, or even blame it on the fact that Severus Snape actually had a heart, but that evening he had the best sex of his life. And it was all due to the fact that he had come to accept his love for someone other than Albus.

Their love making was slow and meaningful and for some reason, which neither of them would find out until at least a few weeks later when Ron would eventually fess up to the ‘prank’ he and Lucius had pulled, it was hotter and more passionate than it had ever been as well. They were more than content to let it pass as both of them being extra horny that night anyhow.

But as they both began to reach completion something happened. Severus felt the familiar tingle of a potion working its way through his system, yet another thing he wouldn’t ‘notice’ until a later date, but was distracted from his thoughts when Remus re-angled himself and hit Severus’ prostate in the process; causing him to moan and arch his beck in the most delectable fashion.

A hand found its way in between their bodies and began to stroke the weeping cock in time with the thrusts, adding to the immense pleasure both men were feeling. Now, truth be told, in order for the potion to work effectively, they do not have to climax at the same time. But being as they have been together for so long and are very in tune with each other, that is exactly what happened. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t climaxed together before, in fact they had many times, but this time was different for one reason and one reason only.

When Remus felt himself getting close he leaned in to capture his lover’s mouth in a kiss. Their tongues tangled and dueled for a few moments before Sev pulled back and squeezed his eyes closed. Then Severus Magnus Snape did something he had never done before in his life. As he felt his balls draw up and he knew Remus wouldn’t be more than a fraction of a second behind he opened his eyes just as his seed spilled over the skilled hand that was coaxing his climax from him and whispered, “I love you, Remus.”

With a cry the werewolf emptied himself inside the now pulsing flesh. His movements stilled when he heard the four little words he had been waiting twenty some odd years to hear. It was almost as if he had dreamed it, and at first he thought he had. But when he finally opened his eyes and saw the loving gaze of his husband he knew it had been real.

He gently pulled out of the other man and laid beside him on the bed with his arm around him while running his fingers through his hair. Long after Severus finally drifted off Remus lay there with the man he loved in his arms silently crying. The werewolf had waited years without once complaining that he had never heard the words, and now they had been said. He was so unsure as to what he should say. But before he could say anything Severus had fallen asleep. Once again, something they would think was just the effects of lots of randy buggering when it was really a side effect of the potion.

Needless to saemusemus Lupin-Snape had the best sleep of his life that night, as did the famously snarky Potions Master of Hogwarts who had been terrorizing helpless students for decades. He, of course, would never admit out loud, and have a hard time admitting to himself, that his peaceful slumber had been a result of realizing his love then expressing it.

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The Next day everyone went back to their respectable jobs; most at Hogwarts and some at the Ministry. But something just wasn’t right. For the few weeks after the ceremony Severus was feeling quite ill. More than his usual weakness after a ceremony such has the one he took part in. He wasn’t worrying, but Remus was.

Life was pretty much normal; Hermione and Sirius had a time trying to keep the girls from wandering the castle during classes, and even though they had a few house elfs watching Lily and Jamie, they were most definitely their father’s daughters. At every chance they got they were stirring up trouble, not unlike the Marauders, and Hermione found it hard to discipline them correctly. No punishment seemed to be working and Sirius tried to tell her as much but she ignored him, claiming that children just need a firm but steady hand and the girls would one day come around. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Ron had been spending a lot of time with Luna and they began to get closer. He finally proposed to her, eveoughough she was still in school, and they decided they would marry as soon as she graduated.

Harry and Draco were more than busy with their teaching and coaching positions as well as having a baby. But with the end of the term drawing near no one seemed to care much that they weren’t getting very much rest. With Easter only about a week away and the term ending in June, people were more at ease. Everyone except the snarky, greasy, bastard of a git known as Hogwarts’ Potions Master.

ecamecame quite evident to him during one of his lessons with his seventh year Slytherin and Gryffindor class after which he couldn’t decide which was worse; getting sick in front of those horrid Gryffindors and his own house, or finding out what caused him to get sick. I’d say that over the years both choices ran pretty neck and neck.

Severus Snape was sitting behind his desk in the Potions classroom, as per usual, grading quizzes in between walking around and helping students with their potions. Ok, not helping, and correcting wouldn’t be a good word either. I think the best choice of words for what he was doing would be criticizing, seeing as that’s what he did best. He was about to stand to make another sweep through the room, thanking whichever deity was responsible for not giving him another Longbottom, when he got a sudden bout of nausea.

Not wanting to lose his lunch in front of the students, he tried to at least make it through the door that led to his office, but he found, as he neared the door, that one of the empty cauldrons along the wall was just as good a place to vomit as a toilet. Well, better than the floor at any rate. The Gryffindors were too shocked to do anything and the Slytherins were too scared of their head of house to try and help, so as he stood bent over the cauldron, retching anything that had graced his stomach that day, his class sat there with their mouths hanging open.

It was probably lucky that Lupin had a free period and was on his way past his husband’s classroom, as he did out of habit to sneak a peak at Snape torturing the students, when he noticed the sounds coming from the room. They were not his husband’s normal sounds of telling his students off or reading instructions to the inept children, but sounds of someone trying their hardest not to sound like they were throwing up.

With a resigned sigh he entered clasclassroom, thinking it was just somer str student who had been forced to try a potion that wasn’t brewed properly and he was about to offer to escort said student to the infirmary. His mouth hung open with the words on his tongue as he took in the sight. Severus Snape; bent over a cauldron and throwing up like a sick child. In one swift movement he was at his lover’s side, rubbing soothing circles in his back and holding his hair from his face. When Severus had calmed down some Remus turned back to the class with a look that could rival his husband’s.

“I want everyone out NOW. You should have been doing something to help, but you were sitting on your lazy arses with your mouths hung open. You will all report to Mr. Filch for the next week for detention, and I want you to write a three foot essay on the risks of improperly brewed Vertiserum should someone be dosed with it. I am appalled at your behavior today and rest assured; the Headmistress will be hearing of this little episode.”

His tone was icier than Snape’s at his worst but what shocked the students even more was the fact that this was their kind, gentle, DADA professor delivering the speech, not Snape. They didn’t even bother to wonder how he knew what potion they were studying in class that day, but had they thought abou, th, they would have remembered that the two men were married.

After all the students had left, he eased Severus into the chair behind his desk and conjured a damp cloth to wipe off his face.

“What happened, love? Are you sick? Do you need me to get Poppy?”

Snape’s head was reeling; he really didn’t want anymore people to get wind of what had happened but he knew that was inevitable because it had happened in front of the Slytherins and most importantly the Gryffindors. They may be brave and noble but they couldn’t keep a secret for shite; loyalty was a Hufflepuff trait. He just nodded, knowing Remus wouldn’t give up until the Mediwitch had told him herself that Severus would be fine.

He took a pinch of floo powder and fire called Madame Pomfrey, who came at once, and began her evaluation of the professor’s health. She tut-tutted and tsked as she moved her wand over his body, shaking her head in disbelief. It’s not that she couldn’t believe what was going on, Severus was a Potions Master after all, she just didn’t think they were aware of what had happened; which made the mystery all the more curious.

“Well, Severus, you seem to be in perfect health. Your vitals are fine, there’s no stomach bug going around, and I can’t seem to find any viruses in your system,” and on a last note, after pausing for dramatic effect (dun dun dun…) “Oh, and your baby is fine as well.”

The potion she had given him to take in order to replenish the nutrients which had left his system with his stomach contents sprayed out of his mouth, covering her in a fine mist as she wrinkled her nose and blinked a few times.

“Thank you, I was in need of another shower anyhow,” she joked with a smile.

“My what?”

While Severus was sputtering and cursing, which she scolded him for and said “You’re going to be a mother now, language like that isn’t appropriate,” to which he scowled and glared in response, Remus stood there with his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, failing to blink.

The whole scene was quite comical, actually. Severus was sitting there cursing in every language he knew, which was a lot, Remus was making little squeaking noises in the back of his throat because his vocal chords seemed to not be cooperating, and Poppy was trying to calm both men down. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful time for Sirius to show up?

“Erm…hello?”

Sirius stood in the doorway of the Potions classroom with a look of amusement on his face. He had caught a few students, ok a whole class of students, running in the hall and they told him where they had come from and that it involved Remus. He had run down there to make sure his friend was alright, and arrived just in time to hear Madame Pomfrey’s diagnosis.

“Ahh, I hope its twins,” he said with a smirk.

The first to notice he was there was Snape, who went on another rant about mutts and how a certain few always manage to either fuck up his life or are there to take joy in his fucked up life. Poppy was still attempting to get Remus to snap out of it when Black walked in and snapped his fingers in front of his friends face. Lupin blinked and came back to reality.

“Wish I had thought of that,” Poppy said with a chuckle.

Sirius smirked and slapped his childhood friend on the back, “You’re going to be a father, mate,” he turned tope ape and said in a sickly sweet voice, “And you’re going to be a mummy!”

With a loud war cry and a low growl, Snape launched himself out of his chair toward Black. He would have beaten the mutt within inches of his life if it hadn’t been for Poppy, who was surprisingly strong, holding him back. Remus was still in shock and couldn’t say anything more than “I’m going to be a father…” with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Sirius, who found this whole situation funny as hell, was rolling on the floor, laughing his arse off with tears streaming down his face. Every time he began to calm down, the image of Snape with child made him laugh even harder. Snape wearing maternity robes. Snape with morning sickness and swollen ankles. Snape with….he couldn’t finish the thought because he was now finding it too hard to breathe he was laughing so hard.

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For Easter dinner everyone was gathering at Number 12 once more to celebrate. Severus had decided he was going to make his announcement that night, and hopefully before the mutt could open his mouth and tell everyone. He shuddered to think what that mongrel would say about his condition; there was no doubt in his mind that he had to be the one to tell everyone.

So all of their close friends and family began to gather in the drawing room on Easter Sunday. It was a most happy get together because there had been so much for them to be grateful for in the past year. Lily and Jamie looked absolutely gorgeous in their little pink dresses and Armand looked very dapper in his dress robes. The baby was only a few weeks old, but looking at his fathers you would only have to assume he got his fashion sense and good looks from them. It was common knowledge that both of the men were born looking good.

After everyone had settled and they were gathered around the table for dinner, light chit chat began to break out amongst the guests. Molly, who was seated to Hermione’s left, kept asking her when she was going to have more little ones. Sirius, who was on her right, kept smirking and lookoverover at Severus who was scowling; oh, that mutt was no doubt just waiting for the right moment to bring up his pregnancy.

Molly continued to badger a weary looking Hermione and without pause Sirius turned back to Severus and asked the ill-fated question, “So, Sevvie, when are you and Remus planning on having a few cubs of your own?”

Severus growled, he had no idea how Sirius had figured out Lucius’ nickname for him, and Remus kept his hand on his arm to keep him from launching himself across the table at Sirius. Hermione looked as though she could use a nap and Ron looked as if he had just seen a ghost; Lucius wasn’t looking much better than his red headed friend. Snape noticed their expressions and made a mental note to talk to them later; they looked like they knew just a little too much.

All this was going on while Hermione was trying to fend off Molly. Poor Hermione; she was at her wits end and about to knock Molly to the floor to get the woman to shut up. Finally, after about a half hour of listening to the red head spew things about having as many children as the higher powers let you, she stood up and yelled, “I’m pregnant again. Are you happy? Pregnant. Shall I spell it out for you? P-R-E-G….”

Sirius had been in the middle of asking Severus when he planned on having a baby, again, when he grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth before she could finish. But when the shock of what she had said hit him, he hit the floor. There was a smug look on Severus’ face and the last thing Black heard before he blacked out was, “Oh, and we plan on having one in about eight months.”

Too bad Sirius hadn’t been awake to see the result of Snape’s words because he would have found it quite amusing. Molly dropped her fork and stared with her mouth open, Hermione smiled and said “Congratulations,” then went back to slapping Sirius’ face to try and wake him up; she was slapping him a little harder than necessary, Harry and Draco were thrilled because they knew how badly the two men wanted children, but the funniest reaction would have had to been Lucius and Ron’s.

Ron stood up and ran from the room, his face a lovely green color that did all but compliment the color of his hair and Lucius gently set down his napkin while calmly speaking to all of the guests, “Well, I should go see what has our young Mister Weasley in such a dither.”

And with that he rose and walked out of the room after Ron. The only thing that kept Severus from following the two men was Remus’ hand on his arm and the fact that everyone was asking him questions. He answered as politely as possible,ch wch wasn’t very nicely considering this is Severus Snape we’re talking about, and tried to excuse himself.

By the time he had successfully done so, the two men he was searching out had left; presumably for the pub to get pissed and forget that his condition was their fault. He was no idiot and he knew quite well what had gone on that night when they had offered him a drink. Granted, he didn’t know what was going on until later, but he still knew. Hindsight is 20/20 and he knew that better than anyone else.

As he stood at the door, watching the front walk for signs of the blonde and the red head, the rest of the guests were chattering in the dining room over the news they had heard this evening. It wasn’t for about another fifteen minutes before Remus came out and wrapped his arms around his husband.

“I wouldn’t worry about them. They’re fine and they’ll be in good health when they return,” Severus turned to say that he couldn’t care less if they are ok after what they had done, but the werewolf cut him off, “That way you can inflict on them whatever punishment you feel is worthy. I know we’re both happy about this, but I also know you’re fit to be tied over how it happened.”

Snape scowled, “Fit to be tied is much more than an understatement, Remus. I could kill them and send them into the beyond to be punished by Albus himself, I’m so furious.”

Lupin laughed and hugged him close, “Yes, and that would be a sight to see, but you can’t kill them.”

Severus was about to protest that he could rightly kill the two morons and no jury in the world would find him guilty when Remus cut him off once more, “Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t torture them, love.”

They kissed briefly then Remus stood behind his husband with his arms around him and looked out the window at the night sky. Their lives hadn’t been easy and they had to hide their relationship for most of the time they had been a couple, but everything had been more than worth it if this was their reward; a child that they would both love more than anything else in this world. Although life had been horrid while the Dark Lord had been alivefe wfe was sure as hell looking very good right about now.

To Be Continued….

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I have a few things I would like to say now that you have read the story:

I had planned on writing more than what I have, but there was just so much that I wanted to go into detail with that if I had chosen to put it all in this fic it would have taken me forever to write and it would have been so long that I never would have been able to get anyone to beta it. There will be more fics in this series than previously planned and I already have the titles picked out. I may even end up writing more than I now expect.

Ok, so Lily and Jamie are not even one yet and their talking, but they’re magical children. Witches and wizards mature faster than muggle children and can therefore talk at a younger age as well as walk and climb up and down stairs. I realized that they were just babies and doing these things after I wrote it, but they are witches and would be able to do these things normal children wouldn’t.

I know I said previously that it is generally not a good idea to name children after a living friend or relative and I named Penelope and Percy’s daughter after her mother. Having said that Ii would like to point out that it most likely means Penelope’s mother has passed away. I may not have mentioned her family at all in the past, but I needed a name for their child.

On a similar note; I know that in wizarding society, as I have pointed out, the name of the child is announced at the child’s godparent ceremony. Lucius did ask the name of the child, and they did tell him, but maybe it would be a good idea to insert a clause in that statement. Grandparents can ask, but can be refused an answer, and that is why Lucius asked. He had also had such little happiness in his life that I felt he deserved that little bit of joy.

And lastly, for now at least, I would like to comment on Remus and Severus and perhaps set your minds at ease; Severus finally said he loved Remus, albeit in a very odd situation, but they never mentioned it again. Don’t worry, they will and Severus will say it again. I wouldn’t hope for him saying it every time you see them, or every time Remsu says it; he wouldn’t be Severus Snape if he did that. But he will be saying it.

After all that, I hope you review this story and email me if you like. Visit my website to read my other fics or just to see it. I appreciate everyone who reads this and reviews it, whether they liked it or not; at least it was read. So, having said that, I leave you to it so I can work on the sequel to this as well as other things. Enjoy, I hope you do.

~Deirdra~