Soul Bond

The occupants of the hallway stood in stunned disbelief as they watched the events unfold before them. Everyone had known that Lilly was a Medium, but Harry and Draco had only told Hermione about Siri being a seer. Shocked eyes went from one Potter-Malfoy child to the other and then back to the prone child lying unconscious on the floor. Arthur was the first to come back to his sense as he heard the banging of the door at the opposite end of the hallway.

“Harry, quick, take the children out of here! Lestrange is coming!” he hissed coming forward to pick the dead women up into his arms.

Molly moaned in sorrow as she watched her husband stager under the weight of the woman. She had been a wonderful person who would be well missed. Molly grabbed Hermione by the arm and pulled her back into the room. “You shouldn’t be here!” she growled at the pregnant woman.

“Where else would I be?” Hermione snapped. She was tired, she was cranky, and she was tired of being told what to do. She quickly reached for a handful of floo powder and then stopped. “Where, Harry?” she asked. She knew that Lilly couldn’t return to the Malfoy Manor.

“St. Mungo’s,” Harry said, needing to make sure that Lilly was all right and on the progress of Draco.

“No!” Severus shouted, stopping Hermione from throwing the powder into the flames. “Take her to my home. It is new and there are no ghosts. Her privacy must be protected at all costs now,” he said. “She will no longer have Arabella to shield her.”

“Adrienne’s Folly!” Hermione shouted, trying to hide a smirk when she thought of the name her cousin had named the new home that Severus had built for her. Adrienne had hated the gloomy ancestral home of Spinners End and Severus, wanting to please his bride, acquiesced to building her a new modern home.

Harry, holding both of his children in his arms, stepped through the flames as he heard Arthur scream. He was to far in to step back and seconds later he stumbled and fell to the floor, rolling to shield his weight from his children. He set Lilly down on the floor out of the way of the floo and told Sirius, “Don’t even think of moving from this spot!” and went back to the fireplace. He picked up the yellow powder sitting in a container next to the mantle and called, “Lestrange Manor,” but the floo connection refused to work. “Damn!” Harry cried in frustration.

“It will only work from home, Dad. Aunt Bellatrix and Grandmother kept the connection open for their use, but nobody else can enter,” Siri told him.

Harry threw another handful of powder into the flames, shouted, “Malfoy Manor,” and stepped into the fireplace, arriving moments later in his own study. He then turned and threw another handful of floo powder into the fireplace and yelled, “Lestrange Manor,” and watched in horror, as again, the connection didn’t work. Lestrange must have disconnected the floo. He looked around the room thinking that the house was unnaturally quiet and decided he had better quickly check on the babies before he returned to Severus’ home to retrieve the other children. He knew that Sirius would not disobey him again right now.

He ran down the hall and up the stair, yelling, “Flunky?”

A second later the house elf appeared and said, “Yes, sir, master?”

Harry snorted. “Where are the babies, and who is here with them?” he asked as he continued on his way towards the nursery.

“Zozo is here with them. She returned as the children ran through the floo, sir,” he said.

“Thank god for small favors,” he whispered as he walked into the nursery. “Zozo,” he said in acknowledgement, and went to look into the crib of his sleeping daughter. Zozo was holding one of the twins in her arms feeding him while the other one was lying in his crib staring at the magical musical toy that spun around above his head. Harry smiled and reached for James, pulling him into his arms for a quick snuggle. He set him back down in his crib again, much to the disgust of his son who put up a fuss. “Uh, sorry Zozo, I couldn’t help it. I have to get back to Lilly and Siri. I am going to go to St. Mungo’s and check on Draco. If anyone comes looking for me, please tell them that is where I am.” He reached out and touched the silky locks of Sev, who turned his eyes to look at his father, and then left.

“You thought that you could barge into my home uninvited?” Rabastan Lestrange raged. “Now you are all stuck!” he shouted. “I have closed off the floo and the wards are up!”

“Rabastan,” Severus drawled, “Perhaps we can discuss this rationally,” he said.

Rabastan was taken back. He couldn’t believe that Severus Snape was in his home. He had been an honored death eater who had proven to be a traitor. “What is this? Blood traitors and backstabbers in my home!” he screamed. “Why are you all here?” he demanded.

“We only came for the children,” Severus said trying to calm the enraged wizard.

“All I wanted was the key to the vaults! I just needed the key!” he sobbed falling to his knees. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! Oh my love, I am so sorry!”

Severus sprung into action. He flicked his wand immobilizing the sobbing wizard and took his wand from his slack fingers. He was still in the dark and had no idea what was going on, but now the threat of danger was neutralized and he stood back staring at the distraught man at his feet. He knew that Harry and Draco would be able to fill him in later.

“Perhaps I can take him to the Ministry,” Arthur said. “I’ll put him in a holding room until Harry and Draco decide if they want to press charges.”

Molly and Hermione, who stood clutching onto each other in sadness, stared at the man before them. His actions had brought on the death of a wonderful friend and mentor to Harry and his daughter and neither woman thought that he would take lightly to it. “How do we get out of here?” Hermione asked. “If he has warded the house and closed the floo network,” she said.

Severus pointing his wand and said the password and they felt the wards lower. “Arthur, you take Lestrange to the Ministry, and I will take Arabella to St. Mungo’s. Hermione is if you and Molly could return to my home and check on Harry and the children,” he said taking charge.

Hermione clutched her stomach and said, “Perhaps I should accompany you to St. Mungo’s as well, Severus,” she said dropping to the floor.

“Hermione!” Molly shouted.

“Quick! Out of my way!” Severus shouted. He reached over and picked the pregnant witch up into his arms. Rushing to the fireplace he threw a handful of powder in and yelled, “St. Mungo’s!” the fire roared and before he stepped through he said, “Don’t leave Arabella Figg here,” hand disappeared into the flames.

Molly stared in horror at the retreating figures into the fire realizing that she would be the one who would have to take the dead woman with her. “Oh gods!” she said.

“I have to take Lestrange, Molly, and I don’t know if I floo to the Ministry if I will be able to get back in here. You will have to take Arabella. We owe it to her to make sure he body is taken care of,” Arthur told his wife.

Mustering up all the internal strength that she had left after such a trying day, she nodded. “Help me get her closer to the fire. I won’t be able to carry her,” Molly said.

With Rabastan still under the stunning curse, Arthur was able to help his wife. He watched as she wrapped her arms around the witch and pulled her towards the fire. “Call it, Arthur,” she demanded.

He reached for the floo powder, which was almost empty, and shouted, “St. Mungo’s.” Molly watched the flames change color and then disappeared into the fire. A second later he took Rabastan to the Ministry of Magic.

“Lilly, wake up, please,” Sirius whispered. He knew that his sister was going to be all right, but it unnerved him that she was so still and unresponsive. He layed down on the floor next to her and wrapped his arms around her. He wouldn’t leave her side. He was going to make sure that his father and dad didn’t let Lilly leave again.

He lay there holding his beloved sister in his arms, softly singing every song that he could think of to her in his soothing voice. He wanted her to know that she was loved and protected, to feel safe and protected. He would make sure that nobody ever harmed his beautiful sister again.

Lilly felt the warmth that surrounded her body and tried to open her eyes, but she was to exhausted. She heard the soothing sounds of her brother’s voice and knew she was safe so she succumbed to the exhaustion that over took her and let herself disappear into the dark bliss of unconsciousness.

Later, Adrienne walked in the room to find the two angelic children asleep on the floor of her husbands study. “Oh!” she whispered. She hadn’t seen Lilly in ages and was amazed at how much she resembled her father. She, not wanting to waken them, pulled a blanket from the couch and covered them, leaving them were they were to sleep. It was times like this that she wished she were magical and could wave her wand and move them to a soft bed to sleep in.

Neville raced into the quiet room to find his sleeping wife. She looked peaceful and comfortable nestled among the pillows. His heart raced in despair when Molly told him that she had collapsed and they had taken her to the hospital. He reached down and took her soft hand in his. “Mione,” he whispered.

Her eyes fluttered and she slowly opened them. She softly smiled and he leaned in to kiss her lips gently. “I’m sorry,” she whispered with tears running down her face.

“Oh love, everything will be fine!” he told her.

“I was so stupid! I should have slowed down,’ she said.

Neville wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook his head. “You don’t have it in you to slow down,” he gently chided. “That’s why I love you,” he said.

“But Neville, I almost lost our baby!” she cried.

“I could live with that, as long as I don’t loose you,” he said pulling her tightly against his chest. “You and I, my darling wife, are going away together for a long rest. I have talked to Minerva and she will replace me until the end of the year.”

“Oh, Neville!” she said sobbing. “What about my work?” she asked.

“You can research until your heart is content, but you will not be running around any longer on one adventure after another. It’s time to slow down, love, just for a bit.”

She nodded her head and leaned into her husband’s strong body. “I love you so much, Neville Longbottom.”

“And I love you as well, Hermione Longbottom.”


“How are you feeling?” Harry asked his husband. They had gone to Severus’ picked up their children, and gone home. Lilly had assured them that after the power transfer that she was now safe. She said that Grandfather and Grandmother had promised that the house ghosts would not bother her. Harry had his doubts, he knew from first hand experience how sneaky the Malfoy’s could be, but the ghosts all seemed to be proud of the family Medium and had decided to do what they could to protect, even if she was a half breed.

“Exhausted, but elated at the same time,” he said.

“We finally have all of our children home together under one roof,” Harry mused.

“I am sorry that Arabella has lost her life, but I can’t say that I am disappointed that it happened so much sooner than we anticipated. Severus will be able to guide Lilly. He is the Soul Book keeper now. He said that the soul book speaks of Mediums because they are only born from a soul bound pair.”

“Do you think that our other children will be normal?” Harry wondered. “We have a seer and a medium. What next?”

Draco grinned. “Did I tell you that there is Veela blood in the Black line?”

Harry paled. “Oh gods, Draco! Don’t tell me that!” he groaned.

“I’m just kidding,” he laughed. “You should know that there would never be anything normal about a Potter-Malfoy match!”

Harry leaned in a passionately kissed his spouse. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, lover.”

A/N:
One more chapter and then the epilogue...the number of reviews I get determines how fast I post...they are both already written! how is that for blackmail???