How Severus Spends His Summer Hols

DISCLAIMER: JKR owns everything that is in reference to the Harry Potter world if it is in one of my works of fiction. If it is not found in one of her creations, then it is mine unless otherwise stated. I am not making any profit from the writing of this story.


\"Of course we are going to be your family,” came a voice as the front door was opened admitting Grant and Rachel, who were helping a very tiny, wizened old woman into the living room. It had been the tiny raisin of a woman that had spoken. Severus smiled widely as he saw Mourning Dove Rainwalker enter.

“Hello Great-grandmother, I am so happy you chose to come.” He said respectfully as he helped Harry to his feet and then stood after him. He went to stand in front of the new comer and allowed her to run her hands over his face and chest, making sure he was well. The one hundred and twenty year old witch was as blind as a bat anymore, but she got around just fine in spite of it.

“Hello my little bird,” she said as she drew him down to kiss his cheek. Pulling back, she turned her head this way and that, seeking the one Severus had brought to join their family.

“Where is this little one I have heard about?”

Severus took Harry’s hand and drew him forward, placing his hand into one of Mourning Dove’s. He smiled in reassurance to Harry, letting him know that he was going to stay here with him as long as he wanted him to. Harry took a quick breath as the old woman’s hands ghosted over his face, hair and then moved down to rest on his tummy, where she stopped and smiled.

“A little girl child, good, we need more of the them.” She said as she pulled back and reached one hand out to find a chair to sink into, she was tired, and it had been a very tiring trip. Grant and Rachel had fussed at each other the entire way back until the matriarch considered throttling them both just for some peace and quiet.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Harry said as he took her arm and helped her to the chair. He stood by her side as she held his hand, trying to gauge what he was like by how he reacted to her. So far, Harry was doing splendidly; he’d moved to sit with the older woman as Grant motioned to Severus to join him in the kitchen. The raven haired man gave Harry’s hand a squeeze and pointed into where he’d be so the younger man wouldn’t feel abandoned.

“Yes, Grant?” Severus asked as he joined the tall Lakhota at the table, picking at apple slices he found sitting in a bowl. Popping a few into his mouth he waited for the older man to speak.

“Maggie stopped us on our way in, she said Harry had a fit of some sort.” He said as he took the bowl and began mixing sugar in with the fruit. “Is he okay? What happened?”

“He got overwhelmed Grant, this is all so new to him.” Severus replied quietly, he was still worried about his mate, he knew that there were other activities planned for the evening. “I think all the talk of him being a woman in the family now got to him. He seems like he is doing okay now, but is there any way we could maybe go a little easier on him?”

Grant looked over at his mother and they both nodded as they listened to the younger man speak; they had just been talking about doing something like that on the trip to and from Kyle.

“We are going to modify our activities tonight for Harry,” Rachel said as she reached out and gave Severus’ hand a gentle squeeze, “We don’t want him getting so upset that something happens to him or the baby.”

“Thank you Grandmother. What about the men? Will it be modified?”

The older woman shrugged and quirked an eyebrow, “I’ve no idea what your uncles and Damon have in store. That being said, you need to go explain the cattle to the Weasleys before Ron gives himself a stroke fussing about it.”

“Okay, I am on my way.” Severus said as he stood and leaned down to kiss Grant and Rachel on their cheeks before he walked back into where Harry was engrossed in conversation with Mourning Dove about something that had happened in the family a hundred years ago. He waited for a break in the conversation before he cleared his throat causing Harry to look up at him and smile.

“Love, I have to go back out and take care of some things, do you need anything before I go?” Severus asked as he dropped his hand to the back of Harry’s neck and rubbed the nape gently. He could tell just from his posture that the younger man was doing fine with the company he was in now. Mourning Dove turned her face to the sound of his voice and grinned.

“Little bird, you can fetch a drink of water for an old woman, can’t you?” she asked smirking. A small played on the man’s lips before he replied.

“Most certainly Great-grandmother, but I fear there is no old woman present that could benefit from the water.” His rich voice dripped in mirth and unspoken laughter as the laugh lines around her largely unseeing eyes crinkled even more. Harry put his hand to his mouth to stifle a giggle and started to stand up.

“I’ll get it for you, ma’am,” he began and then Severus pressed him back into the chair.

“Sit still, if you get up, she’ll skin me like a shrivelfig only using a dull spoon.” The older man laughed as he went back to the kitchen to get them both a drink. He quickly delivered the water and then went in search of Ron Weasley, new cattle baron of Hogsmeade. He found both Ron and his wife a short distance from the sweat lodge looking over the cattle in question, they had Damon with them.

“Hey there Ron, about the steers.” Severus began, trying to figure out just how to word things to make it not sound like charity. Ron turned and gave him a grin.

“Professor, we have a proposal for you.” Hermione spoke up as she smiled as well. Severus looked at them both and then at Damon who only shrugged and attempted to look innocent.

“Alright Mrs. Weasley, what might your proposal be?”

“We would like to exchange one half market value for one steer, and then gift the rest to your family.” She said quickly before she forgot exactly what Damon had explained to them. Instead of trying to sell all the cattle, or take them back with them, they were going to exchange one for half price, and return the rest. After all, Hermione knew exactly why the Professor had offered the bride price in the first place, and she suspected Ron did as well.

“Are you certain of that?” Severus asked, he wasn’t really surprised that Damon had spoken to them, nor was he surprised by the offer. Although he had been quite prepared to give the full market price for all five if they had asked, he was not going to short change Harry’s bride price. Grant was right although Severus had no clue of the previous conversation, the man would have given them anything he could to have the hand of the one he loved.

“Quite certain Professor,” Ron said as he stuck out his hand to shake on the deal.

“I’ll need to get to the bank as soon as it opens in the morning then if it is decided.” Severus said as he sealed it with his hand in the red heads.
With that decided, he thought he’d ask Damon about the evening activities, as soon as he broached the subject, the men all looked at Hermione until she got the hint and left for Rachel’s in a bit of a snit.

Not a half an hour later, all the adult females of the Rainwalker clan, Hermione, along with Grant and Harry were all headed down to the women’s swimming area which had been reserved for the evening. Amidst the laughing and teasing, Harry was finding that he was fitting in fine with the others, it had helped him quite a bit watching how the women interacted with Grant. He didn’t feel quite as alone as he had before and not quite as different either, he felt very accepted.

At the water’s edge, Harry stopped in shock. Everyone was stripping down and sinking into the cool waters to soak. Oh he couldn’t do that, there was no way, he couldn’t be undressed in front of these women, and oh Merlin, there was Hermione completely starkers as she leaned back against a large rock.

Harry began to back his way down the path, trying to escape unnoticed. He was doing fine until he backed into Rachel herself.

“Where are you going?” she asked, stripping off her own shirt.

“I…I…oh Merlin, I can’t do this, I’m a boy….” Harry stammered, his face as bright red as it could possibly be. She stood there a moment with her hands on her hips, just looking at him.

“Harry, are you pregnant?” she asked quietly. He nodded, he knew she knew he was.

“And how is that baby coming out?” she asked again, still looking at him. She didn’t think it was possible, but he turned even redder. Just at the moment she was about to speak again, Grant walked up behind them.

“I’ll talk to him Mom, you go get in the water with Grandmother. She’s threatening to switch Maggie again for splashing.” He said as he rested one bony hand on Harry’s shaking shoulder.

Harry looked at him with wide eyes and shook his head.

“I can’t take my clothes off Grant, I’m sorry, but oh Merlin, I just can’t.” Harry said, his head was hanging now, he hated to disappoint these people after the trouble they were going to for him.

“It’s okay Harry, Mom and them forget that you aren’t one of us, that this is not how you were raised.” Grant said gently, he knew Harry had been badly upset earlier and he didn’t want this to turn out the same way. Harry stood there with his head down, his hands clutched in front of him protectively, and his eyes closed.

“Harry, look at me,” Grant said as he touched the upper arm of the other man. Harry opened his eyes and looked, then started to laugh. Standing before him was his future ‘mother’-in-law wearing a pair of Scooby Doo boxers and nothing else. Grant grinned as well and clapped the younger man on the back.

“We are winkte Harry, not women, we do things a little differently if it suits us.” He winked. “Just strip down to your unders and call it good, no one will say a word.”

It didn’t take Harry very long at all to join the party in the water and once he was comfortably seated and was listening to yet another ribald tale told by some cousin or aunt.

“What are the women’s rituals we will be doing tonight?” asked Hermione, Harry had known he could count on her to find out for him.

Rachel looked at Hermione and laughed before she answered.

“First we soak and gossip about the men, then we go back up to the house and eat and gossip about the men, and then those of us that can, will drink and gossip about the men.”

There was a long and loud round of laughter at the announcement and Harry felt a little out of place, he had an idea they were changing things because of him, but at a squeeze from Grant’s hand, he decided it was going to be okay.

“What will the men be doing, some type of warrior ritual or something?” Hermione asked again. This time the laughter started before the answer.

“Well they are men, you see, so that means they are going to make rude body noises, drink too much, eat too much and talk about women and cars. And if that isn’t what they do, I don’t care.” Grant laughed as the others joined in with him.

Night settled in over the area and it didn’t matter what group you were closest to, all you heard was laughter and talking. It was a good beginning of the new family relations for Harry. And at the end of the evening when everyone was parting ways to sleep, he found himself curled up between Hermione and Rachel, family from both the old and new parts of his life. He laid there missing Severus, who he could hear talking low in the other room; he had been told that they were not allowed to spend the night together, so he drifted off to sleep listening to his man talking to the others, the deep baritone keeping him safe.

A/N~~~Okay…..Harry is treated as a woman simply because this is how most Native American tribes have historically treated berdache or winkte, they treat them as the opposite of their born gender. Even though Harry is a warrior, he has willingly submitted to Severus, he has the right to ask to be treated more along those lines, but he really doesn’t want it, he wants the simplicity of someone looking after him for a change.

As for Morgan…yes he is still alive, yes he will be making an appearance, but not until they are settled in Echo. Yes I do intend to let the story follow their lives….if you all object let me know. I hate the idea of doing a sequel, I’d simply just rather keep writing this as they go.

Yes I know this chapter kind of ended oddly, but hey, vicodin does odd things to my brain.