He Must
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
7,137
Reviews:
19
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
7,137
Reviews:
19
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 4
*Hogwarts, 23.12.1997*
Christmas holidays had come, and the hustle and bustle that came with the seven years worth of students had cd dod down a bit. Not as much as Severus Snape would have liked, since a couple of dozen students had remained in the school during the holidays as was usual, and they were enjoying the empty castle and their free time to the fullest.
Severus had not even considered going back to Aequus Rus for Christmas. Its emptiness would have brought up too many memories; he wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on the research.
After Potter had offered to help him two months earlier, the research had gotten a fresh wind. Even though Severus would never admit it, Potter was a great help after he had first studied the anatomy of both men and women thoroughly and gotten to the actual work. He had a better understanding of charms and transfiguration than Severus, and an ability to think in new ways. Potter’s limited experience with hexes was a hindrance, but he was working on it.
Severus didn’t know what Potter had told to his friends and, quite frankly, didn’t care as long as they didn’t make a fuss about it. The bottom line was that Potter spent his Saturday nights and Sunday mornings in Professor Snape’s private chambers, and occasionally a night or two during the week. If the subject was innocent enough, Potter could do research in the school’s library, too.
At the moment Potter was sitting in an armchair in front of the fire in Severus’ study, reading the reports of the ‘newest’ pregnancy and comparing them to the notes he had done about the earlier ones. Severus was skimming through a dusty tome about potions ingredients and their properties, written in the 17th century, to get some insight to why some ingredients that he himself had deemed useless had been used in some potions. They were reaching the end of the first stage of their project: learning where, exactly, the others had gone wrong, and why.
Potter closed his book and stretched.
“I think I’m done, professor.”
Snape glanced at the clock and grunted.
“Good. Go amuse yourself elsewhere and come back after dinner, Mr. Potter. We should be able to make the conclusions then.”
“Yes, sir.”
~*~
“Mr. Potter, have you understood what our combined reports tell us, or are all these details overflowing your limited understanding?”
Potter glared the sneering professor angrily.
“I dare say, Professor Snape, that I understand the reports.”
“Do repeat it for me, Mr. Potter. I’m not willing to take the risk that you misunderstood or overlooked some part of it. This /is/ the foundation of our later work.”
“Fine. First the reasons for the ultimate catastrophes. The reason for the paralysis was that the womb was too far back, and it grew too rapidly. It pushed and finally broke the poor chap’s spinal cord,ch ich in turn caused the miscarriage. In two cases the miscarriage was caused by a lethal ingredient in the potions they had to take. The other miscarriages happened when the transfiguring charm or the curse making it possible for the womb to anchor broke. The deaths were results of severe internal bleeding after both the womb and the zygote came out tearing a lot of tissue.” Potter paused.
“And?” Snape arched his eyebrow. The boy rolled his eyes and continued.
“Secondly, not one of them seemed to know what they were actually doing. They knew they needed an egg cell and a womb, but that was it. No idea about hormones or the strain the extra parts would cause to the male body. Not to mention that half of the potions, charms, and dark arts rituals were completely unnecessary or even harmful, causing extra strain and nasty side effects.
“What comes out as good, are a couple of transfiguring spells, a few nutrition potions, one dark arts ritual for slow long term changes, one hex to make space for the womb, and a few charms to help the body accommodate the changes. None of them can be used as they are, though.”
“I’m impressed, Potter. You actually managed to comprehend what you were reading and hearing. Now you have to once again decide if you want to continue with this or are you backing out.”
“No way am I backing out, professor! Now begins the truly interesting part. I really want to know what comes out of this.”
“If you say so, Mr. Potter.” Severus said wryly. “How ever, I think it would be best if we continued tomorrow as it is getting late. Come here after breakfast.”
“Yes, Sir. Good night.”
*Hogwarts, 24.12.1997*
“Good morning, professor”, was Harry Potter’s cheery greeting when he arrived in the potions master’s chambers.
“Morning, Potter. I see you are still determined. Do sit down.”
Severus had for a long time wondered what was motivating Potter in this research. At first he had been afraid it would be adventure, but after seeing how much time and effort he was putting in it, that theory had faded. Potter seemed to have genuine interest in what they were doing. ‘Considering the risks, that was a good thing’, Severus thought sardonically, ‘it would be a shame to land in Azkaban because of an ill-advised adventure.’
Potter was not known for his academic ambition; he was an average student, but didn’t really try very hard. That gave Severus reason to be genuinely surprised by his input in the work. He wanted to know what was the motivating thing in this research that gave him the spark to excel.
“Why do you want to do this, MR. Potter?” Severus asked when they were both sitting in front of the fire.
The boy blinked, obviously not expecting the question.
“I want to learn if male pregnancy is possible or not, of course.”
“Of course”, was the dry response, “but /why/?”
Potter did not answer immediately. He turned his gaze first to the fire and then to his own hands.
“Does it matter?” he asked warily.
“As I told you in the beginning, this research is risky. After this point when we start to form our own theories, we could easily land in Azkaban for the rest of our lives. I want to the reason you are risking your neck – as well as mine – and I sincerely hope it is not just for fun.”
“Why are /you/ doing this, then?” Potter asked suspiciously.
Severus glared.
“It is asonasonable question, Professor, if you want to know my reason.”
The professor’s glare turned colder, but after a moment he said:
“Fine, I’ll tell you. /If/ your reason is worthy.”
Now it was Potter’s turn to glare at Severus. Finally he gave a slight shrug and relaxed a bit in his chair.
“My reason is quite simple: I want a family. Not being able to have children was the only reason I had problems to accept that I am gay; having kids of my own has been my dream ever since I can remember. If this project is successful, I’ll have my dream back.
“A secondary reason is to give other gays the same possibility, and maybe make gay-marriages better accepted in the society.”
“Don’t get your hopes too high”, Severus snorted. “Wizarding customs and laws are extremely difficult to change. New laws are easy to pass and almost impossible to change afterwards. The marriage ceremony is a good example of that. And if Hogwarts wasn’t originally for /all/ wizards and witches, muggle bourns still wouldn’t be here.”
Potter shrugged.
“It’s not the most important thing in this. It would be a good bonus, but I could live with the scorn. Getting a child is my main interest.”
Both men were silent for a moment.
“Well, Professor. Are my reasons good enough for you?” asked Potter finally.
The older man aimed a level at at him. After a scrutinizing and thoughtful look he said:
“I suppose your reasone ade adequate. Not many or very good, but personal enough to keep your interest and not risk the secrecy.”
“Good… And… er… your reasons, sir?”
“Severus glared at the boy.
“I expect you to keep quiet about the things I’m telling you now. I do /not/ want these things to end up in the gossip mill.” Potter nodded. “Fine. The reason I started this project and why I’m interested in the subject…”
~*~
A/N: This is not a cliffy! That scene ends there. Sev will just tell about the testament and such. *sigh* I’ve got a nasty feeling both Sev and Harry are out of character in this chap. This has been ready for two weeks but I’m so not satisfied with it that I haven’t been willing to post this… I might have to rewrite this later. This is killing me. And is on the short side, too. *wail*
Thanks for the wonderful reviews, I loved them! They did help me to fight this bloody thing down.
(This fic will not be continued anytime soon – i.e. at least 6 months – because I find it stressful. The characters won’t cooperate with me. I’m also trying to get into another university this spring/summer, and the required tests are likely to turn out more than enough to fret over… I might write something else, though; something that comes easily…)
Christmas holidays had come, and the hustle and bustle that came with the seven years worth of students had cd dod down a bit. Not as much as Severus Snape would have liked, since a couple of dozen students had remained in the school during the holidays as was usual, and they were enjoying the empty castle and their free time to the fullest.
Severus had not even considered going back to Aequus Rus for Christmas. Its emptiness would have brought up too many memories; he wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on the research.
After Potter had offered to help him two months earlier, the research had gotten a fresh wind. Even though Severus would never admit it, Potter was a great help after he had first studied the anatomy of both men and women thoroughly and gotten to the actual work. He had a better understanding of charms and transfiguration than Severus, and an ability to think in new ways. Potter’s limited experience with hexes was a hindrance, but he was working on it.
Severus didn’t know what Potter had told to his friends and, quite frankly, didn’t care as long as they didn’t make a fuss about it. The bottom line was that Potter spent his Saturday nights and Sunday mornings in Professor Snape’s private chambers, and occasionally a night or two during the week. If the subject was innocent enough, Potter could do research in the school’s library, too.
At the moment Potter was sitting in an armchair in front of the fire in Severus’ study, reading the reports of the ‘newest’ pregnancy and comparing them to the notes he had done about the earlier ones. Severus was skimming through a dusty tome about potions ingredients and their properties, written in the 17th century, to get some insight to why some ingredients that he himself had deemed useless had been used in some potions. They were reaching the end of the first stage of their project: learning where, exactly, the others had gone wrong, and why.
Potter closed his book and stretched.
“I think I’m done, professor.”
Snape glanced at the clock and grunted.
“Good. Go amuse yourself elsewhere and come back after dinner, Mr. Potter. We should be able to make the conclusions then.”
“Yes, sir.”
~*~
“Mr. Potter, have you understood what our combined reports tell us, or are all these details overflowing your limited understanding?”
Potter glared the sneering professor angrily.
“I dare say, Professor Snape, that I understand the reports.”
“Do repeat it for me, Mr. Potter. I’m not willing to take the risk that you misunderstood or overlooked some part of it. This /is/ the foundation of our later work.”
“Fine. First the reasons for the ultimate catastrophes. The reason for the paralysis was that the womb was too far back, and it grew too rapidly. It pushed and finally broke the poor chap’s spinal cord,ch ich in turn caused the miscarriage. In two cases the miscarriage was caused by a lethal ingredient in the potions they had to take. The other miscarriages happened when the transfiguring charm or the curse making it possible for the womb to anchor broke. The deaths were results of severe internal bleeding after both the womb and the zygote came out tearing a lot of tissue.” Potter paused.
“And?” Snape arched his eyebrow. The boy rolled his eyes and continued.
“Secondly, not one of them seemed to know what they were actually doing. They knew they needed an egg cell and a womb, but that was it. No idea about hormones or the strain the extra parts would cause to the male body. Not to mention that half of the potions, charms, and dark arts rituals were completely unnecessary or even harmful, causing extra strain and nasty side effects.
“What comes out as good, are a couple of transfiguring spells, a few nutrition potions, one dark arts ritual for slow long term changes, one hex to make space for the womb, and a few charms to help the body accommodate the changes. None of them can be used as they are, though.”
“I’m impressed, Potter. You actually managed to comprehend what you were reading and hearing. Now you have to once again decide if you want to continue with this or are you backing out.”
“No way am I backing out, professor! Now begins the truly interesting part. I really want to know what comes out of this.”
“If you say so, Mr. Potter.” Severus said wryly. “How ever, I think it would be best if we continued tomorrow as it is getting late. Come here after breakfast.”
“Yes, Sir. Good night.”
*Hogwarts, 24.12.1997*
“Good morning, professor”, was Harry Potter’s cheery greeting when he arrived in the potions master’s chambers.
“Morning, Potter. I see you are still determined. Do sit down.”
Severus had for a long time wondered what was motivating Potter in this research. At first he had been afraid it would be adventure, but after seeing how much time and effort he was putting in it, that theory had faded. Potter seemed to have genuine interest in what they were doing. ‘Considering the risks, that was a good thing’, Severus thought sardonically, ‘it would be a shame to land in Azkaban because of an ill-advised adventure.’
Potter was not known for his academic ambition; he was an average student, but didn’t really try very hard. That gave Severus reason to be genuinely surprised by his input in the work. He wanted to know what was the motivating thing in this research that gave him the spark to excel.
“Why do you want to do this, MR. Potter?” Severus asked when they were both sitting in front of the fire.
The boy blinked, obviously not expecting the question.
“I want to learn if male pregnancy is possible or not, of course.”
“Of course”, was the dry response, “but /why/?”
Potter did not answer immediately. He turned his gaze first to the fire and then to his own hands.
“Does it matter?” he asked warily.
“As I told you in the beginning, this research is risky. After this point when we start to form our own theories, we could easily land in Azkaban for the rest of our lives. I want to the reason you are risking your neck – as well as mine – and I sincerely hope it is not just for fun.”
“Why are /you/ doing this, then?” Potter asked suspiciously.
Severus glared.
“It is asonasonable question, Professor, if you want to know my reason.”
The professor’s glare turned colder, but after a moment he said:
“Fine, I’ll tell you. /If/ your reason is worthy.”
Now it was Potter’s turn to glare at Severus. Finally he gave a slight shrug and relaxed a bit in his chair.
“My reason is quite simple: I want a family. Not being able to have children was the only reason I had problems to accept that I am gay; having kids of my own has been my dream ever since I can remember. If this project is successful, I’ll have my dream back.
“A secondary reason is to give other gays the same possibility, and maybe make gay-marriages better accepted in the society.”
“Don’t get your hopes too high”, Severus snorted. “Wizarding customs and laws are extremely difficult to change. New laws are easy to pass and almost impossible to change afterwards. The marriage ceremony is a good example of that. And if Hogwarts wasn’t originally for /all/ wizards and witches, muggle bourns still wouldn’t be here.”
Potter shrugged.
“It’s not the most important thing in this. It would be a good bonus, but I could live with the scorn. Getting a child is my main interest.”
Both men were silent for a moment.
“Well, Professor. Are my reasons good enough for you?” asked Potter finally.
The older man aimed a level at at him. After a scrutinizing and thoughtful look he said:
“I suppose your reasone ade adequate. Not many or very good, but personal enough to keep your interest and not risk the secrecy.”
“Good… And… er… your reasons, sir?”
“Severus glared at the boy.
“I expect you to keep quiet about the things I’m telling you now. I do /not/ want these things to end up in the gossip mill.” Potter nodded. “Fine. The reason I started this project and why I’m interested in the subject…”
~*~
A/N: This is not a cliffy! That scene ends there. Sev will just tell about the testament and such. *sigh* I’ve got a nasty feeling both Sev and Harry are out of character in this chap. This has been ready for two weeks but I’m so not satisfied with it that I haven’t been willing to post this… I might have to rewrite this later. This is killing me. And is on the short side, too. *wail*
Thanks for the wonderful reviews, I loved them! They did help me to fight this bloody thing down.
(This fic will not be continued anytime soon – i.e. at least 6 months – because I find it stressful. The characters won’t cooperate with me. I’m also trying to get into another university this spring/summer, and the required tests are likely to turn out more than enough to fret over… I might write something else, though; something that comes easily…)