Darkness Shadows Light 2

Chapter Seven - Death Is An Acquired Trait

At the same time that Harry, Snape and his parents were having their
difficult discussion, Hermione and Sirius were also contemplating a
troublesome matter.

\'She\'s old enough to be told the truth, Sirius,\' Hermione said in
exasperation. \'If we leave it much longer, there\'s always the chance
that she\'ll find out the wrong way. There are plenty of people at
Hogwarts who know that Ron is her biological father.\'

\'But I\'m her real father,\' Sirius said stubbornly. \'I\'ve brought her
up.\'

\'I\'m not denying that!\' Hermione exclaimed `That\'s not the issue
here. She has the *right* to know. It will hurt her a lot more if
she hears about it from someone else.\'

Sirius\' pale eyes regarded his wife solemnly. He knew she was
right. Yet, the thought that Ashanti might not love him anymore when
she found out he wasn\'t her natural father was tearing his heart in
two. He couldn\'t help but remember the conversation he had had with
Snape in the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley one lunchtime. Snape had
ostensibly been up to collect some rare potion ingredients. Sirius
knew better. Snape had practically ordered him to meet him. He
could smell Harry all over it. Not surprisingly, the talk had
quickly turned to Ashanti. Snape had made no bones about his belief
that keeping things hidden tends to come back and kick you in the
butt. He had urged Sirius to let Hermione tell their daughter the
truth He stated that in his opinion, Ashanti was well rounded enough
to accept it.

`I guess you\'re right,\' Sirius admitted at las his his wife. `We\'ll
tell her once Christmas is out of the way.\'

Hermione hugged her husband with delight. `Thank you, I\'m sure it\'s
the right thing to do.\'

Sirius hugged her back. `I know,\' he said quietly. `I know.\'

********

Christmas dinner was eaten where much wine had been imbibed by those
old enough. Matthew, Ashanti and Ashanti\'s two siblings, Elliot and
Seleny, were sitting on the floor in front of the fire, all still
entranced with their presents. Even Matthew seemed to have put aside
the attitude that had been worrying his parents and was acting like
any normal twelve year old. Hermione and Sirius were curled up
together on one sofa, watching the children with a faint smile.
Harry and Snape were in a similar position on the other sofa, Harry\'s
head resting lightly on his husband\'s shoulder. Remus sat in an
armchair, enjoying being part of this extended family. There was a
general feeling of relaxation and well being.

That was all about to be disrupted.

Snape cleared his throat. \'Harry and I have an announcement to
make,\' he began. The room instantly quietened and everyone looked at
him expectantly. Harry\'s hand found his and squeezed it lightly for
encouragement. \'There is going to be an addition to the family,\' he
continued.

\'Are you getting a dog?\' Elliot piped up excitedly, bringing up what
*he* had really wanted for Christmas and which subsequently was the
main thing on his mind.

Snape couldn\'t suppress a smile. \'No, not a dog,\' he replied
reprovingly. \'And you should know better than to interrupt your
elders.\'

\'Sorry, Uncle Severus,\' Elliot chirped, looking not the least bit
repentant. Snape sighed. Neither of the two younger Black children
had the healthy fear he relied on to control his classes. He dreaded
to think what they would be like when they came to Hogwarts.
Retirement had never looked so tempting… He quickly shook himself
from these brooding thoughts as he realised everyone was still
waiting for him to carry on.
\'By an addition to the family, I mean a baby,\' he clarified. There
was a stunned silence. Eventually, Hermione spoke up.

\'But that\'s wonderful news!\' she said excitedly. Her eyes rested on
Harry. \'I hope this time you\'ll give me a chance to be more
involved. You never let me close enough to study your pregnancy
properly last time.\' 'I t'I think that would be Severus\' decision,\' Harry said dryly, amused
at Hermione\'s enthusiasm he hadn\'t really seen since their schooldays.

Hermione looked puzzled. \'What do you mean?\' she asked. Then,
understanding dawned on her face. \'You mean…\' her gaze turned to
Snape and dropped to his stomach. Now that she was looking, she
realised that the potions master was not as stick thin as usual. She
blushed. \'Oh.\' It certainly answered her and Sirius\' long standing
speculation on whether Harry was strictly a bottom in their
relationship! \'Well, congratulations…I guess,\' she finished weakly.

Snape inclined his head, hiding his amusement at Hermione\'s
discomfort. Amusement that was quickly dispelled when he heard a
snort of laughter from Sirius, who was obviously having a hard time
controlling his mirth.

\'Pregnant!\' he chuckled. \'Oh, this is just too much! Way to go,
Harry!\'

Snape scowled at his old schoolmate. \'I do not consider this a
laughing matter,\' he said stiffly.

\'No, of course not,\' Sirius replied, trying and failing, to keep a
straight face. \'Anyway, congratulations.\'

\'Yes, congratulations,\' came Remus\' soft voice. \'I couldn\'t be more
pleased for you.\' The sincerity in his voice was unmistakable to
Snape and Harry. He was truly happy that the pair had got their
relationship back on course.

\'Aren\'t you pleased, Matthew?\' Ashanti asked, turning to
him. \'You\'re going to have a baby brother or sister!\'

Everyone turned to look at Matthew. His face was white and his hands
were clenched into fists.

`No I am not pleased,\' he said coldly. `And that\'s even if it\'s my
*full* brother or sister.\'

The room went eerily quiet. Harry and Snape looked at each, horror
and understanding on their faces. Hermione and Remus looked worried
whilst the rest of the family just looked completely confused.

`What do you mean?\' asked Sirius, finally breaking the silence.

`I *mean* that on my birthday I found out that Papa and my own
godfather had been having an affair.\' Matthew dropped the bombshell
to a stunned audience. He looked directly at Snape. `I hate you,\'
he said vehemently. `I bet that baby isn\'t even dad\'s!\' With that
he rushed out of the room. They all heard the front door slam.

Harry immediately rushed to the door to chase after his son. He
found himself held back by two sets of hands: Snape\'s and Hermione\'s.

`I think he needs some space,\' Hermione said gravely. `I don\'t think
talking with him now will do any good. Give him time to cool down.
He\'s obviously been bottling that up for quite a while.\'

Harry only had to look into his husband\'s obsidian eyes to know he
shared the same opinion. He nodded reluctantly. `If he\'s not back
in a couple of hours though, I\'m going to get him.\'

Snape nodded his agreement and then, seeing the desolateness in his
lover\'s eyes, he swiftly pulled him into an embrace.

`Well, that\'s just lovely isn\'t it.\' An irate voice intruded into
their moment. `I knew you were never good enough for my godson and
this proves it!\'
rry rry and Snape slowly broke apart to stand side by side, fingers
still entwined. Sirius was glaring at them furiously. Snape knew,
without doubt, that he was going to be blamed *entirely* for this.

`I think you should stop there, Sirius,\' Remus said firmly, coming up
to stand beside his friend. `This has nothing to do with you.\'

Sirius turned to stare at the werewolf. `It certainly has something
to do with you though, doesn\'t it?\' he said unpleasantly.

`It has less to do with Remus than you\'d think,\' Harry said
quietly. `Severus and I had a lot of problems and what happened
between them was just as much my fault as theirs.\'

`How can you say that?\' asked Sirius disbelievingly. `They *slept*
together.\'

A look of pain crossed Harry\'s face, but he quickly composed
himself. `I know that,\' he responded levelly. `It happened, it
hurt, we even split up for a while. Yet, we got back together and
we\'ve never been happier. This new baby proves that.\'

Sirius snorted. `That\'s if it\'s not like Matthew says and it\'s
actually yours.\'

`Sirius!\' exclaimed Hermione, hardly believing her usually easy-going
husband would say such a thing.

`I\'m going to pretend you didn\'t say that,\' Harry said
stiffly. `Otherwise, I\'m not sure I could forgive you.\'

`Really? It seems to me that your forgiveness is a gift easily
given,\' Sirius said sarcastically.

`You have no idea what you\'re talking about,\' Snape interjected
angrily. `It took *months* for Harry to forgive me. Sometimes, I\'m
amazed he ever did.\'

`Can you please leave it now,\' Hermione said to her husband, looking
tired. This was all resolved a long time ago and really isn\'t your
problem.\'

Sirius looked to his wife with suspicion wrought on his face. `Did
you already know about this?\' he asked.

`Yes,\' admitted Hermione uneasily. `But not until Matthew\'s
birthday.\'

`I asked her not to tell you,\' Harry said quickly. He didn\'t want to
cause any more arguments today.

`And why not?\' demanded Sirius of Harry. `Didn\'t I rate the courtesy
of knowing what was going on in your life?\'

`Not when we knew you\'d overreact like this,\' Harry replied
defensively. `I had enough problems at the time without worrying
about you trying to kill my husband!\'

`I\'m overreacting like this because of the *way* I\'ve had to find
out! We\'re supposed to be famil Sir Sirius retorted. `Keeping
secrets like this just makes it a hell of a lot worse when they do
finally come out.\'

`Perhaps you ought to practice what you preach,\' Snape muttered
darkly.

Sirius gave him a sharp look, suddenly becoming aware that all three
of his children were in the room. They all looked rather stunned at
the animosity that had been flying around the room in the past few
minutes.

`What does Uncle Severus mean?\' Ashanti asked her father, her eyes
wide with curiosity. Sirius, for once, cursed the fact that she was
as observant as her mother.

`Nothing,\' he said giving her a look that was worthy of Snape
himself. Ashanti, wisely, decided to keep quiet. However, she knew
there was something going on and was determined to find out what it
was.

With the reminder of his own secretiveness, Sirius calmed down
considerably. He still wasn\'t happy about the situation and didn\'t
think he would be able to forgive Snape and Remus in the near
future. However, Harry was obviously happy enough now (well maybe
not *now* exactly what with Matthew running off) and before the
bombshell he had been thinking how well Harry and Snape seemed to be
getting on. Still, he couldn\'t wait to get Hermione alone, so he
could hear the *full* story.

Now, they just had the long wait for Matthew to come back.

********

Matthew sat down on an old bench in the empty park. It was starting
to get dark and he knew it wouldn\'t be long before his parents found
him. In fact, he was surprised that they hadn\'t found him already.

`You look upset.\'

Matthew started at the voice. He looked up and saw a man looking at
him with concern. He cursed himself for being so caught up in his
own misery that he had not even heard the stranger approach. `I\'m
fine,\' he said quickly, hoping the man would get the message and
leave him alone.

`I know who you are,\' the man commented almost casually. `You look
just like Harry did when he was your age.\'

`Do you know him?\' asked Matthew doubtfully. He didn\'t like the way
this conversation was going and tightened his grip on the wand he
hadn\'t erealrealised he was holding.

`Yes, I knew him. Actually, I knew him quite well. You see, we were
in the same year at Hogwarts.\'

\'Really?\' asked Matthew his interest peeked. \'What house were you
in?\'

\'I was in Gryffindor with him,\' the man replied. \'In fact, I was his
best friend.\'

\'Don\'t lie to me,\' Matthew said angrily. \'Aunt Hermione was Dad\'s
best friend in school.\'

\'Did he never mention anyone else?\'

\'Well, only Ron Weasley, but everyone knows he betrayed Dad and Papa
and disappeared. Most reckoned he was killed off by the other Death
Eaters that managed to escape.\' Matthew replied nonchalantly.

\'That\'s not quite what happened,\' the man said with a thin
smile. \'Otherwise, I wouldn\'t be sitting here right next to you.\'

Matthew looked at the older wizard in horror and disbelief. He got
ready to flee, but suddenly found a strong hand held tightly around
the wrist his wand was in. \'You\'re Ron Weasley,\' he said flatly.
Part of him was scared. This was the man who had delivered his
parents to Voldemort. This was the man his parents refused to talk
about. Most of what he had learnt about the incident had come from
other sources or overheard conversations that instantly stopped when
they noticed he was listening avidly. Another part of him was
intrigued. Why was the wizard revealing himself to him, Matthew?

Ron smiled almost sorrowfully at the son of his best friend who was
looking at him with fear in his face. He would never hurt Harry\'s
son. He had risked a lot by revealing himself to the young wizard,
but he had heard the rumours and had judged the time was right to
approach him. It was now make or break. \'I am,\' he said quietly.

\'You tried to kill my parents!\' Matthew spat out angrily, his fear of
the danger of the situation overridden by his fury.

\'It was a mistake,\' Ron said earnestly, looking Matthew right in the
eye. \'I never wanted to hurt Harry. He was my best friend and I
loved him. I just knew that Snape wasn\'t the right person for him.\'

\'But they\'re supposed to be soul-mates.\' Matthew protested a good
deal less vehemently than he ought. \'I wouldn\'t be here otherwise.\'

\'Wouldn\'t you?\' asked Ron, fixing Matthew with a piercing
stare. \'I\'ve done a lot of studying on the subject. The fact is
that there are so few cases of magical male pregnancies that it makes
any of the so-called facts, very shaky.\'

\'Then the new baby *could* be Remus\'!\' Matthew exclaimed.

`What?!\' asked Ron. A dark look crossed over his face. `Is Harry
pregnant again?\'

`No, Papa\'s the one who\'s pregnant,\' Matthew replied, looking
startled and a little afraid at the sudden change in the older
wizard\'s countenance. He suddenly became aware that Ron still had a
tight hold on him.

`Really?\' Ron asked curiously. `What exactly has Remus Lupin got to
do with it?\'

`Papa and Remus have been having an affair,\' Matthew replied
bitterly. `Dad found out about it, but he *still* forgave both of
them and took Papa back.\'

`I knew Snape was never good enough for Harry,\' Ron said in a tone as
bitter as Matthew\'s. He looked intently at Matthew. `That must have
really upset you. I\'m not sure I would be able to forgive my father
if he had ever done anything like that to my mother.\'

`I\'m not sure *I\'ll* ever forgive my father,\' Matthew said angrily.

`I don\'t blame you,\' Ron said solemnly. `I don\'t even know how Harry
has put up with him all these years. I don\'t want to upset you.
But, I think that if it hadn\'t been for you, they would have never
gotten married.\'

`Why not?\' asked Matthew, intrigued despite his anger.

`You have no idea how much Snape hated your dad when we started
school,\' Ron began. He then went on to tell Matthew all the things
Snape had done during the first six years of Harry\'s education at
Hogwarts. He described how Snape had treated Harry during the first
few months of his pregnancy. Matthew listened keenly, hanging on
every word. At some point, Ron let go of Matthew\'s wrist. But by
this point, Matthew had no thought of running, let alone hexing the
other wizard into oblivion.

Once Ron had finished his skewed version of events, Matthew looked
very pale.

`You\'re right,\' he said quietly. `They shouldn\'t be together. Dad
deserves so much more.\'

`Yes, he does. The question is now, what are you going to do about
it?\'

TBC.