Pledges

Part 41

Severus eyed the latest intruder with distaste. \"He told you to just come right down here, did he?\"

Remus\'s jovial attitude did not seem to be swayed by the chilly reception, \"Yes, Albus mentioned
something about a meeting.\"

Severus raised an eyebrow. \"He did, did he?\"

Remus gave a smile. \"Yes, he did.\"

\"I don\'t suppose he mentioned anything else useful.\" Severus closed his eyes in resignation.

\"Just that he would be down in a moment, something about giving me time to get acquainted with
my surroundings\" his demeanor turned puzzled for a moment, \"I\'ll admit I\'ve never been in your
rooms before, but I don\'t really understand what he said.\"

Eyes still closed, he asnwered. \"It was merely another example of the Albus being a bloody
annoying know it all.\"

Before Remus could respond a voice called from further in the room, Harry\'s. \"For gods sake just
let him in.\"

Lupin\'s eyes widened in surprise. \"Harry?\"

Severus rolled his eyes, \"Yes, yes, Harry. Come in before you start attracting attention.\" He led
Lupin back into his sitting room where Harry and Black were waiting.

\"Harry, Sirius, what\'re you doing here?\"

There was a tense, almost guilty silence, finally Harry spoke up, \"It\'s a... long story, Remus.\"

\"Oh really? My favorite kind.\"

And so once again they embarked up the twisted sorted tale that was their... betrothal- good lord,
what was he thinking?

Lupin was looking more and more incredulous but held his tongue until they were done. \"That\'s
very disconcerting.\"

\"You\'re not the one living it.\" Severus said dryly.

Remus shook his head. \"No, not that.\"

Oh he was afraid. \"What then?\"

With a glimmer in his eye that resembled Albus\', Remus asnwered. \"You\'re completing each
other\'s sentences.\"

\"We are not!\" They shouted.

At the same time.

Fuck.

Remus reclined in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. \"I think I\'m just going to let that
speak for itself.\"

Severus muttered to himself. \"Bloody lunatic.\"\'

\"Ah, I see everyone is here and in good health.\" Albus appeared from somewhere near the doorway.

Dammit, he knew he\'d rewarded the door.

\"No thanks to you.\" He sneered out.

\"Now Severus.\"

\"Yes Albus?\"

Albus graced him with one of those all knowing looks. \"Do be happy in the fact that I did not choose
a more inappropriate time to send you your visitors.\"

He nearly blushed when he remembered how close a call it had been with Black. \"You\'re an evil old
man Albus.\"

\"Quite.\"

Black made a high pitched strangled sound. He ignored it. \"Why are we all here anyway?\"

\"I thought it would be a convenient way to update all of you on the plans for tomorrow.\"

\"And entertain you in the process.\" Severus shot back.

Albus shrugged. \"It\'s the simple pleasures that keep me going.\"

Severus personally thought that it was more likely some pilfered drugs from Madame Pomfrey\'s
supply closet. \"Please, just get on with it.\"

\"Certainly.\" Albus complied. \"Tomorrow, after breakfast, we will be joined by Cornelius Fudge and
two aurors-\"

Severus was incredulous.\"Are you trying to get us killed?\"

Albus looked at him. \"I did not have much of a choice, imagine his reaction to finding out after the
fact.\"

\"Imagine Lucius\' reaction to finding out that he\'s guilty without even having the courtesy of a
trial.\" Harry bristled next to him.

\"Severus, imagine all of our reactions if all does not go as we hope.\"

Damn it. He hated it when Albus had a point. \"Fine, continue.\"

\"They will join, me, you, Sirius, Remus, Minerva, Poppy, Draco and Harry at the meeting place.\"

Black broke in, \"Harry\'s not going anywhere near this insanity.\"

Before he could say anything, harry spoke up, \"Sirius, you\'re assuming that you have any say in the
matter.\"

Severus silently cheered Harry\'s obvious statement. Mangy mutt deserved to have it thrown in his
face.

\"Good lord,\" Black looked horrified, \" you\'re beginning to sound like him.\"

Speaking of things being shoved in people\'s faces. \"I\'ve already had this conversation with him
Black, there was nothing I could say that would convince him that it was a foolhardy endeavor at
best.\"

Lupin spoke up. \"Try withholding sex.\"

He favored the werewolf with a glower that would wilt flowers. \"Thank you for that entirely useless
suggestion.\"

\"And the terrible mental image.\" Black added.

Lupin shrugged. \"It always worked with Sirius.\"

Two startled silences and three raised eyebrows filled the room.

\"His girlfriends, present and past used to get together and scheme.\" Lupin supplied.

Black got an indignant look on his face, \"That would explain so much.\"

Harry sniggered. \"From what I\'ve heard, it serves you right.\"

Black\'s eyes narrowed and shot Severus a quick glance before returning to Harry, \"What have you
heard?\"

Before anyone could answer, Albus interrupted, \"Children, please, it is well past my bedtime and I
would like to wrap this up.\"

They silenced themselves.

\"Thank you, as I was saying, Lucius is scheduled to appear at approximately 11:00 he will be
greeted at the gate by a portkey, that will work for him and only him and which will take him to a
specially warded room in the dungeon, where the 11 of us will be strategically placed. The only ones
Lucius will, hopefully, be aware of will be you, Severus, myself and Draco. From there, we will
have to play it by ear.\"

Severus sneered. \"And we all know how much I love that.\"

\"Now Severus, what\'s life without a bit of adventure?\"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. \"There\'s adventure and then there\'s idiocy.\"

\"Its always been a fine line.\"

He threw his hands up in the air. \"He finally admits it.\"

\"But idiocy can certainly be fun.\"

He would never win, it was becoming clear now.

\"Thank you gentlemen, I will leave you to your evening.\" Just as Albus had reached the door, he
turned back, \"Come Severus, I\'m positive you can find several things to berate me about.\" And he
was gone.

\"He is right.\"He said, and added, mostly to himself, \"As usual.\" He turned to Harry, \"I\'ll be back in
an hour.\" With a sharp nod to Black and Lupin, he too, was gone.
______

Harry found himself alone in a room with Remus and Sirius. On a regular day he would have
enjoyed the visit. Today he had the feeling it wasn\'t going to be as pleasant.

Remus turned to him with a strangely muted smile on his face, \"So Harry, how are you doing?\"

He took a moment to really thing about it before answering, \"Well, Remus, I\'m fine. I would almost
describe myself as good.\"

Sirius peered closely at him, \"Really Harry? Because you may not have a choice about him\" Sirius
choked on the word, \"buggering you, but that doesn\'t mean you have to put up with that attitude of
his.\"

Harry laughed a bit, \"First of all, I\'d like to congratulate you on your mature handling of the
situation.\" He paused for Remus\' laughter. \"Second, I\'m really ok, he\'s treating me fine, I\'m
treating him fine, we\'re both fine.\" He watched both Remus and Sirius relax minutely at that
pronouncement. \"Third, he hasn\'t buggered me,\" Sirius looked confused, \"yet.\" He waited for Sirius
to recover, really he should have known better than to say that while he was drinking something.
\"Really,\" he continued, \"I\'m rather looking forward to it, it looked quite enjoyable.\"

Sirius\' mouth was practically on the floor, \"You mean he.. You... he let..\"

Remus just looked amused.

Harry spoke again, \"Sirius, close your mouth before you start catching flies,\" maybe he was
spending too much time with Se- Se Snape. He was going to have to get used to that name. \"Sirius,
I suggest you stop asking questions you don\'t really want to hear the answers to.\"

\"It\'s good advice padfoot.\"

\"Look, Sirius, I don\'t know how I can convince you, but we can\'t... we can\'t hurt each other.\"

Sirius let out a large sigh. \"I know Harry, I just feel so out of control in this.\"

\"Imagine how I feel.\"
______

Three lone figures stood outside the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

The red headed on leaned over to the blonde and said, \"They outnumber us in there, you know.\"

The blonde nodded. \"Most probably.\"

The brunette, the female spoke next, \"They\'re probably not going to be happy.\"

The blonde smiled. \"Of that I have no doubt.\"

Again, the red head, \"You\'re enjoying this aren\'t you?\"

Draco gave an evil grin. \"Much more than I probably should.\"

Ron turned to Hermione. \"Well at least he has that.\"

\"Come on,\" Draco said, \"I want to introduce you to the subtle art that is head fucking.\"

The only response was two deep sighs.

\"Come on,\" he urged, \"we haven\'t got all night, this type of thing requires an audience.\"

Hermione leaned closer to the portrait of the fat lady and said, \"Morning Glory.\"

\"Let me guess, McGonagall set the password?\"

\"How\'d you know.\" Ron asked.

Draco shrugged. \"She seems like the scary morning person type.\"

Ron entered first, followed by Draco and then Hermione. They didn\'t make a big production out of
it, just walked calmly though the common room. Until it became obvious that where there had once
been a rambunctious amount of noise, there was now a heavy silence.

The trio turned and faced their audience.

Ron spoke first. \"What?\" He was met with silence.

Hermione tried next, \"Do I have a spot on my face somewhere? Why are all of you staring at me?\"

Draco was especially proud of her. It normally took years of practice to perfect that sort of innocent
tone.

Colin spoke up. \"Because we\'re afraid to move.\"

\"Why?\" She asked, again in that innocent tone. She was playing them like a fiddle.

He was once again struck by how beautiful she was.

\"You might hurt us.\" Colin answered.

She shook her head and approached him like a 5 year old. \"Don\'t be silly.\"

Colin nearly tripped over himself trying to get away. \"I saw Seamus, I\'m not being silly.\"

Hermione shook her head, \"I think the rest of you are smart enough to learn from his example. Just
don\'t do anything stupid.\"

Ron turned to Draco, \"She\'s hot isn\'t she.\"

\"Not the word I would have chosen, but yes. Definitely hot.\"

The room had become quiet again.

Hermione spoke at them, \"We\'ll be upstairs if anyone needs us, try not to.\" she turned around
grabbed Draco\'s arm and pulled him in for a bruising kiss that left him dizzy. She then dragged him
upstairs with Ron following sheepishly behind them.

He was so proud of her.

Just before entering her room he said, \"I think we can move you to the advanced lessons.\"
______

Severus stalked after the headmaster all the way to his office. He watched him putter about, taking
his time getting seated, pouring a cub of tea and slicing himself some pastry.

\"Now Severus, what would you like to talk about.\"

He opened his mouth the answer, but found that he was too angry to form the words.

\"Can\'t think of anything?\"

Severus took a moment and began again. \"After last night, I find myself coherent and able to more
than the most basic tasks for greater periods of time. This has allowed me to contemplate your recent
actions with a scrutiny that I had lacked earlier.\"

\"And what have you concluded?\"

\"That you are the most manipulative, conniving, bastard I have ever met.\"

\"You\'re too kind.\"

He slammed hi fists on the desk, \"Dammit Albus, that was not a compliment! It was not a joke! You
play with my life and the lives of others as if we were mere pawns! You meddled with something so
personal that I can\'t even describe! I\'m so out of control I can\'t stand it! And all you do is sit there
with that stupid smile.\"

Albus looked at him seriously for a moment, \"What would you have me say, Severus. You of all
people know that we must do things we dislike to have won this war. Which, despite Voldemort\'s
demise, I believe is far from over.\"

\"I want some courtesy! It\'s the least I can ask for from a member of my own family!\"

An air of angry energy instantly permeated the room, a surprisingly quick hand was in the air and
casting a silencing charm. \"Watch your tongue Severus!\"

It was the closest to a yell he had heard come from Albus\' mouth since he was a child.

Albus took a moment to calm himself. \"You should know better than to say things like that where
they can be overheard. I am sorry that this is frustrating Severus, but I cannot accomplish what I
need to accomplish any other way.\"

\"So you make fools of all of us. Me especially.\"

\"While I admit that I do enjoy watching my carefully laid plans come to fruition, I do not enjoy the
machinations.\" Albus stood up and came to the other side of the desk. \"You are my only kin left, I
care about you more than you know and it pains me greatly what I have asked you to do and what I
have done to you without permission, but I take care in the fact that it had to be done.\"

\"All I ask is a little courtesy in your intrusions into my life.\"

\"I will try, but please remember that I do not always have a choice in the way that I do things.\"
______

When Severus returned to his rooms he found that they were empty, save for Harry sitting on the
sofa reading a book.

\"Where are Black and Lupin?\"

\"They left a few minutes ago. I had a tough time convincing them I was ok after that backwash of
anger I got from you.\"

\"Yes, we\'re going to need to explore this connection a bit more.\"

\"Probably.\"

They stared at each other for a few moment before Harry slowly put the book he was holding down
and stood up. They met in the center and stared a bit more.

Black eyes met green and something sparked between them. The reached for each other at the same
time, lips mashed together and fought for dominance, soft wet licks punctuation by quick nips.

Again he didn\'t remember making it to the bedroom or how most of his clothes came of, though he
did vaguely recall that it had all felt amazingly good.

Then Harry sprawled out on the bed with a look in his eye. \"My turn.\" he rasped.

Severus could only nod and reach for one of the bottles he a specially set on the night table earlier.

He lost himself again in soft gasps and the slide of skin and then he was there, harry was as ready as
he would ever be, hips thrusting in the air, back arching, eyes begging him to continue.

So he did.

Slow. Go slow.

Oh god, so perfect.

Harry\'s eyes glazed over a bit, so he waited until a shift of hips encouraged him again.

Soon he was lost in the depths of Harry, not knowing where one began and the other ended.

Face to face, for the spell would not allow anything else, they moved in an instinctual rhythm.

Faster. He needed more.

Almost too much.

But oh so good.

Hot silk heat enveloped him and coaxed him.

Muscles tightened, movement became fluid and they drove closer and closer.

Oh god, right there. That was perfect.

Keep going. Don\'t\' stop.

They needed this, wanted it so badly.

Fingers intertwined and held tight.

So close.

Close.

Close.

There!

Backs arched, muscles spasmed.

Loud gasps filled the air and finally-

-they collapsed, panting. Exhausted, they fell asleep.
______

The morning saw an angry looking crow delivering the Daily Profit directly to Severus Snape\'s
desk. The headline read:

HARRY POTTER-SNAPE? A DAILY PROPHET EXCLUSIVE!

Part 42

He woke up in layers. Only aware of a few sensations at a time. The soft feeling of skin beneath
his cheek, the sheets shifting against his back, the sound of soft, deep breathing all registered with
him.

Severus Snape, however, did not want to move. He was too comfortable and relaxed. Finally,
completely, relaxed. There was no more underlying tension permeating his body and he knew that
if he moved, the day would begin and it was just get worse and worse.

Harry twitched beneath him, causing him to jerk a bit. The movement sent a deep ache through
his entire body. Not nearly as sharp or all encompassing but still very painful. He slowly rolled
over and reached for the carefully placed bottle and drank from it. The pain ebbed and his muscles
took on a state of lethargy that he had rarely encountered. Harry moaned next to him and he
quickly placed the second bottle at Harry\'s lips and forced him to drink. Harry gave a small sigh
and settled back to sleep.

Severus laid back down and stared at the ceiling. A sense of foreboding came over him. Today
was not going to be a good day. It was never a good day when your old lover met your current
lover, and despite Albus\' plan, he knew that they would meet. Harry wouldn\'t let the man go
without at least looking Lucius in the eye. Not that he doubted Lucius would simply be allowed to
walk off the grounds of Hogwarts as easily as he had been allowed to walk in.

Harry mumbled something, rolled over and swung an arm over his chest. Possessive one, isn\'t he?
\"Harry.\" He called softly. The young man didn\'t move. Surprise. \"Harry. Wake up. You need to
make an appearance in the great hall.\"

\"All right, all right.\" The young man mumbled from the vicinity of his chest. I think this stuff is
finally beginning to kick in anyway.\" Harry rolled over and slid out of bed. He stood up and
directly into a large stretch and immediately fell to his knees gasping in surprise.

Severus sat up straight. \"Are you alright?\"

Harry gave a few deep breaths before answering. \"I think so. Just really dizzy.\"

\"What happened?\"

\"I think I stood up too fast.\" Harry slowly got to his feet. Once standing he looked uncertain for a
moment. He took a small step and nearly pitched forward again.

\"Still dizzy?\" Severus asked.

\"No.\" Harry shook his head. \"At least I don\'t think so.\" He took a moment to look around.
\"Something feels... off.\"

Severus stood up and moved next to Harry. \"Wrong how?\"

Harry looked at him and then did a double take. \"Oh my god.\"

\"What?\" He was getting irritated.

\"I\'m... No... It can\'t be.\"

\"Potter.\" He growled.

Harry\'s eyes shot up to meet his, \"Don\'t do that, I can\'t think when you do that.\"

\"Then tell me what\'s wrong.\"

Harry took another careful look around and another careful look at him before finally answering,
\"I think... I\'ve got to be at least 3 or 4 inches taller.\"

\"What?\" Severus looked carefully, Harry was right. He was taller. He began to pace.

\"Do you feel any different?\" Harry asked.

Severus took stock of his body and realized that there was something different. But what? He
paced some more. Then it struck him, there wasn\'t any pain. The repetitive motions from constant
potions plus the relative cool temperature of the dungeons had given him a touch of arthritis. He
only took the potion on days when he knew his workload was going to be high, while it did clear
up all symptoms entirely, early studies had shown that long term use did diminish its effectiveness.
Since he was of a relatively young age, he was using it conservatively.

But now. His fingers no longer had that telltale ache, his right wrist had more freedom of
movement that he ever remembered having \"Its gone,\" he said with wonderment, \"my arthritis.\"
He carefully flexed his fingers, \"They don\'t hurt anymore.\"

\"What happened?\"

\'I\'m not sure, I think,\" He quickly paved to a mirror and examined his face. The skin had
smoothed out. Small wrinkles around the eyes and mouth had disappeared. While wizards lived a
long time, they aged as muggles until their early 40s. Now looking in the mirror, he looked 10
years younger, putting him somewhere in his late 20s.

\"I think,\" he repeated, \"That this is yet another affect of the spell.\" He turned to really examine
Harry and was surprised to find a much heavier line of stubble than he had remembered from the
morning before. \"We appear to have moved closer in age. Not a lot, but enough.\"

Harry walked behind him and peered at the mirror. \"Wow. That\'s very strange. But I\'m sure that
the original spell wasn\'t meant to do this.\"

\"I\'m sure it wasn\'t. But remember, we weren\'t hit with the original spell. It was something more
intense. And the longer we delayed, the deeper it went.\"

Harry swallowed and looked at Severus\' reflection in the mirror, \"How deep did it go?\"

Severus shook his head. \"I refuse to have this conversation while the double entendres literally fly
out of our mouths with a will of their own.\"

Harry swallowed and nodded. \"I\'ll just be off to breakfast then.\"

Harry was dressed and out of his rooms in record time.

Severus took a leisurely morning, enjoying his new freedom of movement. After getting dressed
he sat down at his desk to catch up on a bit of paper work, he\'d fallen behind on his
correspondence, test markings, teaching papers.

At the top of a moderate pile was a scroll wrapped in a red ribbon. It was obviously the last thing
to be delivered. He opened the ribbon and unrolled the parchment a small piece of paper fell into
his lap. He picked it up and read it.

\'Special delivery\' Was all it said.

He looked at the larger scroll. The Daily Prophet? His eyes scanned the headlines and widened. If
he had been drinking tea, it would have been all over the desk. \"Bloody hell!\" He spat and ran
out of the room.

While many a student could remember the potions masters stalking through the hallways with a
purposeful pace, not many could remember him sweeping through them in a dead run, with papers
clutched in his hand.

He entered the great hall just as the swarms of owls descended on the students. Rushing up to
Dumbledore, he thrust the paper under the older wizard\'s nose.

Dumbledore\'s eye\'s widened, \"Oh my.\" He quickly scanned the rest of the article.

By this point Severus could feel Harry\'s tension, either he had just seen the article, or one of his
house mates had. A quick checked showed a very angry looking Harry, an agitated Weasley and
Granger and table full of very confused Gryffindors. It was a similar scene at the other tables.

\"I\'m afraid that this goes beyond rumor, Severus, \"Albus said, \"The article states that the author
saw the documents at the ministry. Some one must have left them on their desk.\"

\"By accident, or on purpose?\" Severus asked.

\"That remains to be seen.\" he paused. \"All of our names are mentioned, yours, Harry\'s, mine in
capacity of officiator as well as all of the witnesses.\"

\"Damnit, how did this happen?\"

\"We don\'t have time to figure that out at the moment.\" Albus stood up and approached the
podium, \"Would Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy please join me in my
office. As for the rest of you, read the article very carefully, for once, with the exception of the
headline, it is surprisingly accurate and tasteful.\"

\"I\'m sure that will never happen again.\" Severus muttered to himself.

Albus turned to Minerva, \"You too dear.\"

The seven of them trudged past questioning stares and out the main doors.

There was a tense silence when they reached the office, they all took seats.

\"Well, that was unexpected.\" Albus began.

\"Would it be entirely inappropriate to be immensely grateful that you finally didn\'t plan my most
humiliating event of the week?\" Severus muttered.

Harry jabbed him in the ribs, \"Pr- Sn- Severus, you\'re doing it again.\"

Before he could respond, Minerva spoke up. \"Mr. Potter, some respe-\"

\"Minerva,\" Severus interrupted, \"we are not in a classroom at the moment, all things considered,
he has every right to call me by my given name.\"

She looked gobsmacked, all in all, not a bad reaction.

\"What happens now?\" Hermione spoke up.

\"Well,\" The headmaster considered his words carefully, \"Severus and Harry have done nothing
wrong, I say we let it be. Harry, you may tell your house mates whatever you wish, the same for
the rest of you. Severus you will probably have the most difficulty.\"

Severus nodded.

Albus continued. \"If the rumors and howlers become too much. The both of you will have to
make some sort of statement.\"

\"Terrific,\" Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, \"the culmination of my life and professional
career will be a statement to a bunch of vultures who are salivating for any morsel they can glean
about my personal life and its supposed moral ambiguities.\"

\"Our.\" Harry corrected.

\"Our?\"

The younger man quirked an eyebrow, \"Our personal life and supposed moral ambiguities. And
don\'t tell me you still believe that I not only adore, but seek out the spotlight.\"

\"You don\'t?\"

Harry elbowed him in the ribs again, \"Now you\'re being purposefully obtuse.\"

Severus let his silence speak for itself.

The quiet was interrupted by the mellow chuckling of Draco Malfoy.

Severus turned to the blonde, young man and raised an eyebrow, \"You have something to say,
Mr. Malfoy.?\"

A pale finger pointed to the both of them. \"You two You\'re prefect for each other.\" The muffled
sounds turned into full fledged guffaws. \"Is so u-utterly re- ridiculous that-\" Draco lost it again.

The entire room was now staring at them. \"Thank you Draco for that comforting observation.\"

Draco recovered a bit and continued. \"Imagine how grumpy both of you would have been if this
had never happened. Both of you would have been too stubborn to do anything about it.\" Ron
and Hermione both elbowed Draco, but he continued on, \"and I\'m still willing to bet that in six
months time, or whatever arbitrary limit the headmaster has told you for the \'attraction\' to wear
off you will both put yourselves through hell with idiotic misconceptions and it will take some
serious knocks on the head to get it all fixed again.\"

Since they were both, patently not thinking about that, they changed the subject.
______

Severus, Albus and Draco entered the room with 5 minutes to spare and sat in a mute tension. At
exactly 11:00 there was a *pop!* and Lucius Malfoy stood there in all his glory.

Severus noted the differences in his long lost friend. The cane was missing. The clothing, slightly
less than impeccable. Hair shorn down to a few inches. And most noticeable of all, the ever
present sneer, that had become a fixture in recent years was nowhere to be found.

\"Severus.\" Lucius breathed in a soft tone.

\"Lucius.\" Severus nodded in acknowledgment.

They stared at each other for some seconds before Lucius\' eyes shifted focus, \"Draco?\"

The blond gave a sharp nod.

Lucius spoke again, \"Thank you for hearing me out.\"

\"Why weren\'t you at the battle?\" Severus asked.

Lucius shook his head, \"I don\'t know. All I know is that he asked me to stay behind. It was part
of some special plan. But as soon as he died...\" Lucius\' eyes lost focus for a moment, \"It was like
I could think clearly for the first time in 20 years.\" He looked into Severus\' eyes with stark
emotion, \"Oh god, Severus, I\'m so sorry.\"

\"What about my mother?\" Draco spoke up.

Lucius swallowed thickly, \"She fought the aurors.\"

Draco took to news stoicly.

The occupants of the room were so focused on each that they didn\'t notice the slight shudder the
ground had taken on.

It started as a faint tremor, but it soon wound its way up to a full blown shake. The foundation of
Hogwarts, literally was tearing itself apart. The walls of the room shook under some unseen
strain. And then, with a soul deep scream, it stopped and Albus Dumbledore fell to his knees.

\"Albus?\" Severus queried, unsure of what just happened.

\"The wards...\"the old mans voice sounded strained, \"the wards have fallen.\"

\"How did you do it Malfoy?\" Cornelius Fudge sneered from the doorway.

Lucius had gone completely white and was shaking his head emphatically. \"I... I didn\'t.\"

\"Of course not.\" Fudge was edging his way into the room, wand at the ready. Cornelius Fudge
may be a doddering old fool, but in his prime, before he had succumbed to politics and old age,
Fudge had been one of the top aurors in the field. Even now, the training program was not
something Severus could complain about.

He eyed the minister carefully. \"Fudge. This is not the time for this, we need to figure out what
happened before we start waving our wands around.\" He had a quick flash of double meaning
before mentally shaking his head. Damn spell.

\"Isn\'t it obvious?\" Fudge continued to inch forward. \"We let THAT onto the school grounds and
the wards fall for the first time in nearly 500 years!\"

\"He is but one man Cornelius,\" Albus was beginning to rise from the floor, \"and I have been
watching him carefully,\" he placed a hand on Fudge\'s arm, \"He did not do it.\"

Fudge turned to Albus and looked him square in the eye and nodded.

Severus lifted an eyebrow in surprise, Fudge never capitulated this early or this easily, maybe he
was as big of an idiot as he gave him credit for.

\"You\'re right, Albus, there\'s no way he could have done it.\" Fudge reached out and seized the
hand still resting on his arm, \"because I did.\" In that moment of stunned silence, Fudge\'s eyes
flashed red, used his other arm to grasp Albus firmly around the waste and dissapparated.

It was another several seconds before their unseen watchers burst into the room Their entrance
broke Severus out of his shocked state.

\"Minerva,\" Severus barked, \"Go find the other teachers, make sure the school is safe and call the
aurors. Black, Lupin, go find whoever helped him, he could not have brought the wards down
alone, they were probably right at the edge of the forest.\"

\"What will you do?\" Minerva asked.

He grabbed Harry\'s arm, \"We,\" he said with grim determination, \"will bring back Albus.\" With
that, they vanished with a soft *pop*.
______

When they reappeared, Severus had a hard time seeing through the heavy rain, but several
hundred yards away he saw blur that had to be Fudge\'s body struggling with Albus.

\"VOLDEMORT!\" He let out a primal scream.

The man stopped and turned around, \"Ah Severus,\" The voice had gotten deeper, rougher and
those red eyes looked behind his shoulder, \"..and your lovely bride. How nice. However did you
find me so quickly?\"

Harry bristled behind him, \"Don\'t.\" he whispered, \"he\'s only trying to make you do something
rash.\" he looked at Voldemort, \"I went with the theory that taking down the wards took a great
deal of energy and that apparating with another person can be especially taxing, especially if they
are quite powerful, and quite unwilling. I assumed you would head in the direction closest to the
forest. Lo and behold I was right. You always were a poor strategist.\"

\"Tom.\" Albus\' calm voice broke through. \"Must we go through this again?\"

\"Yes,\" he hissed, \"we must.\"

Severus had been creeping closer, wand in hand, \"Expellermus!\" The wand that had been at
Albus\' temple flew to his hands.\"

\"Tut. Tut. Severus. Nice try, but despite their disgusting habits, muggles have managed to come
up with one or two useful items.\" Voldemort\'s wands hand produced a large dagger. \"Its
completely unenchanted, and thus ridiculously easy to bring onto the grounds.\" He put his the arm
across Albus\' chest and rested the blade near his should.

Severus cursed silently, they were woefully unprepared. \"What do you want?\"

A small insane bit of laughter erupted from behind thick sweaty lips, \"What do I want? By now
you Severus should know very well what I want.\"

\"Very well then,\" Albus said, his voice as calm as ever, \"What do you hope to accomplish here?\"

Voldemort let out another little giggle, \"Several things, Albus\" the name was hissed out, \"several
things.\" The large beady eyes darted behind Severus for a second, \"Do you know how close I am?
Do you have any idea? Imagine if I had the next 30 years to gain strength, to gain power, to gain
followers without the likes of YOU,\" he spat at Albus, \"plotting and conniving and working
against me.\"

Severus did imagine it. It was a scary thought.

\"Now,\" Voldemort continued, \"Imagine those 30 years without you or Harry Potter as well!\"

What? There was a startled yelp from behind him, he whirled in time to see the 2 aurors who had
been following Fudge around, remove Harry\'s wand from his grasp.

Shit. Why hadn\'t Albus warned him, not that it would have done much good. He slowly turned
back around to face Voldemort. \"So you\'re going to kill us then? A bit pedestrian for you, isn\'t
it?\"

\"Sometimes to simple way is the best.\" The grip on the dagger tightened.

Albus\' eyes flashed to his. He was prepared to do something. Just awaiting a signal. All right then.
He raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, he used three fingers. There was a mental nod
from Harry, stating that he was ready as well. Slowly he dropped one finger. What spell should he
use? Stupify was out, too easy for Voldemort to doge. In fact, he KNEW that he could. It had to
be something dark then. He lowered another finger. He hoped Albus we be able to get away in
time. As his last finger drop his wand hand shot out, \"*CRUCIO!*

Behind him he heard Harry yelling stupify twice, in quick succession. But he didn\'t turn he was
too horrified by what was happening in front of him. Albus hadn\'t moved. Hadn\'t tried to move.
And now they both wore identical faces of pain. Albus did not scream out. But Voldemort did.

He didn\'t dare stop it yet. He needed Voldemort incapacitated long enough to remove Albus from
his grips before finishing him off. He watched them sink to the ground and fall forward heavily.
Voldemort was trying to resist, but even he wasn\'t strong enough.

Suddenly, Albus\' head shot up, an indefinable look in his eyes. His body stopped quivering and
remained perfectly still for a moment and then fell forward, and began spasming with an even
greater intensity.

Voldemort\'s eyes rolled up into the back of his head.

Severus ended the curse and watched both men topple to the ground. He ran to them and kicked
Fudge\'s body off the headmaster. He raised his wand, \"*AVEDA KEDAVRA!*\" he spat. The
body twitched and spasmed and was then still. \"*AVEDA KEDAVRA!*\" He said again, just to
be sure. It didn\'t move. \"*Incendio*\" He whispered harshly, and then cast a quick containment
charm and he walked away to let the body burn.

He rushed back to Albus who hadn\'t moved. Kneeling down, he rolled him over and-

No.

NO!!

The dagger was sticking out of Albus\' chest and pool of blood had formed on the wet ground
beneath him.

No.

This was not the way things happened.

Albus Dumbledore did not die and Severus Snape did not cry. Any deviation in those two
constants meant utter chaos.

It was not supposed to happen like this. He was supposed to have time, to prepare.

He gently pulled Albus into his lap, \"You had no plans to move did you, you crazy old man.\" he
took a deep, unsteady breath, \"I\'m not ready.\" He choked out.

Eyes opened painfully. \"My boy,\" Albus rasped, \"when are we ever?\"

\"No...\" He protested again. \"I\'ll take you back to Hogwarts, to Poppy...\"He wasn\'t supposed to
be sitting here, in a pool of Albus Dumbledore\'s blood. In his dreams, this day had never
happened like this. If anything, they were supposed to be reversed.

\"Too late...Severus, my child, you were like a son to me.\" For the first time ever, Albus sounded
his age.

Hot pinpricks swept across his eyes. \"You can\'t. I won\'t let you.\"

\"Even your stubbornness has to know some bounds, my boy.\"

The first person to accept him, love him unconditionally did not deserve to die on the cold
ground, surrounded by mud and blood, like a gutter rat. What a horrible parody. \"I don\'t want to
say good bye.\" He blinked and felt hot liquid trickle down his face. Impossible. He did not cry.

The old, pale lips twitched upwards. \"Then don\'t.\"

He pulled to fragile body closer, buried his face in the scraggly beard and repeated, \"I don\'t want
to say goodbye.\"

\"Severus.... child... look at me...\"

He lifted his head. Albus\' face swam before him, fuzzy and out of focus. He blinked and more hot
liquid dripped down. But he did not cry.

\"Live your life, be happy, be at peace. That is all I ever wanted for you.\"

\"Thank you for being the only person to understand... to accept me...\"

Albus\' eyes focuses past his shoulder, \"But not the only one... not anymore.\"

A strong hand fell on his shoulder. Harry. The body in his lap convulsed and a harsh, wet
coughing sound met his ears.

\"Severus... you.... are.... the most.... honorable.... man.... I\'ve ever.... had.... the privilege... to...
know...\"

Harry slid down to his knees and pressed himself against his back.

Albus continued, his voice getting quieter with each word. \"Tell Minerva... I would... have
married... her.... if... she... would... have.... let.... me...\"

He watched those sparkling eyes fade. His vision blurred beyond help. He leaned back into the
strong arms that had wrapped around him and Severus Snape cried.

Part 43

They sat there for endless minutes, a strange picture of sorrow. Three bodies, one unnaturally
still, the others shaking in grief.

The storm had lessened to a drizzle, it was as if the very sky itself was grieving with them. In the
sudden silence the end of the battle had brought, a small sound came to them, the movement of air
could be heard. The flapping of wings. And then, a bright spectrum perched on his shoulder.
Fawkes.

Fawkes!

He turned, muscles stiff in protest and with bleary, puffy eyes examined the bird. \"Fawkes...\" his
grief roughened voice spoke, \"Fawkes, please...\" he couldn\'t get the words out, his lips felt too
clumsy. Harry\'s hands absently rubbed small circles into his back and he found strength again, \"Its
not too late. Please...\"

The phoenix looked at him, looked him in the eyes and an over whelming sense of \'No.\' pervaded
his senses. \"Why...?\" he asked.

A voice, full of warmth and compassion and love spoke to him. \"Because he does not wish it.\"

He blinked, but the voice was gone leaving him with nothing but a blinking avian. He shared eye
contact with it for a few more moments before it leaned forward and brushed against him. Beak
against cheek in strange gesture of comfort.

Fawkes left his shoulder and went to his fallen master, the bird looked incredibly sad. Again, it
leaned forward in that same gesture of comfort, and spread his wings in a close approximation of
a hug. Then, with as little fanfare as he had ever seen come from the phoenix, he disintegrated
into a pile of ashes.

They both sat there, staring, wide eyed at the remains. Until it moved.

A small golden beak appeared, followed by glossy black feathers with golden highlights. She, and
Severus knew without a doubt it was now a she, spread her wings and once again settled onto his
shoulder.

\"What now?\" Harry asked, his voice laced with wonder and rough with emotion.

Severus removed his cloak and wrapped it carefully around the fallen headmaster\'s body. \"We
bring Albus back.\" He answered with grim determination.

Harry nodded and moved away to give Severus room to work. He gently brushed away the ashes
and with the utmost care he cradled the body to him and stood on shaky legs. Then carefully he
began the slow trek back to the main doors of Hogwarts.

Harry walked next to him offering what support he could.

A figure was waiting was waiting for them at the threshold, Minerva. \"Severus, what-\" She
gasped, finally understanding what his burden was. \"Oh no...\" she turned her head slightly and
yelled, \"Poppy!\"

He shook his head, \"That won\'t be necessary, Minerva. Please clear the hallways.\"

She nodded and called the other teachers and had them check the hallways on the way to the
infirmary.

Once he arrived in the infirmary he laid his burden down on an empty bed. Harry and Severus
arranged him carefully and slowly pulled the sheet over his head.

Gradually, they became aware of their surroundings. Draco was in the infirmary, sitting next to a
bed on the other side of the ward looking at them with a deep sadness.

\"Draco?\" he asked.

The young man gestured to the bed next to him, \"They poisoned him.\"

Harry and Severus moved closer.

\"Madame Pomphrey thinks it was something he took days, maybe weeks ago that was waiting for
some sort of trigger.\"

There were poisons that could remain distilled indefinitely until someone released them. It could
be charmed into mixing within a human body. Poisons like that could lay dormant for months.

The still, familiar form on the bed froze him. Lucius. Dead. Lucius was dead. Gone was every
chance he ever had to find some peace with his past. A reunion, a conversation that was 20 years
overdue, would never happen. Fawkes nuzzled his cheek and Harry placed a hand on his arm.

Draco looked at his father and murmured, \"I\'m an orphan for the second time in under a week.\"

\"Draco.\" Severus placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on the younger man\'s shoulder,
\"Go find Ron and Hermione.\"

Familiar blue-grey eyes looked at him in surprise, \"Yes sir.\"

Draco was gone and they were left alone. Harry carefully prodded him to turn around and pulled
him in for a hug. Their new height difference made it easier. Their chins now rested on each
other\'s shoulders and their arms easily found purchase.

Poppy found them in exactly that position a few minutes later.

\"Well, now that the secret out you two don\'t seem to be concerned with hiding it.\"

\"Shut up.\" They both answered her.

She made shooing motions with her hands. \"Out, both of you, I need to make sure there are not
lingering surprises on both of them.\"

Severus nodded in understanding. Just as they were leaving she called after them, \"Minerva needs
helps, she\'s in no condition to lead alone.\"

Severus nodded again and they left.
______

They found Minerva in her office, talking to a floating head from the Ministry.

\"I don\'t know what happened!\" she yelled, \"I wasn\'t there! The H- headmaster is dead and I\'m
assuming Fudge is as well. The wards are completely down, we need protection now!\" Minerva
was at her finest, but it was obvious she was having difficulty keeping it together.

\"I\'m sorry,\" the floating head said, \"but we cann-\"

Severus gently pushed Minerva aside, \"Now listen to me, you pompous little windbag! We. Are.
Defenseless. The wards are down and there are not enough wizards of sufficient power to raise
them again and remain upright afterwards to run the school! You will send Aurors who are skilled
in spell sharing immediately and you will post guards around the perimeter of the castle! You will
also refrain from telling any of this to any reporters. And you will do it NOW!\" The last word had
practically been roared.

\"Y-yes sir.\" the bureaucrat stammered.

The connected ended and Minerva\'s shoulders slumped. \"Thank you, Severus.\"

\"Don\'t thank me, I always enjoy a good yell.\"

Harry snorted, \"Well that explains a lot.\"

Severus jumped, he had almost forgotten that the young man had been by his side, he had been so
quiet. Physically and mentally. \"Yes, well, I needed to find he bright side to the monotony of
teaching brainless children who care more for an idiotic game than something that could one day
save their lives.\"

Harry blinked, \"You\'ve been wanting to say that to me forever, haven\'t you?\"

Severus just blinked for several seconds before returning to Minerva\'s side. He could feel Harry\'s
amusement at his non-answer. He turned his attention to the woman in front of him, \"We need to
address the school. Assess the damage, take a head count, plan the next few days.\"

She nodded slowly. \"I know. Just sometimes, I remember and I have to... I can\'t...\"

He stepped in front of her and gently took her into his arms, \"I know. But we must.\"

\"Yes,\" she nodded, \"We must.\"

\"Start the rest if the staff checking for damage, Black and Lupin should keep a lookout for the
aurors. It will probably take them a while to realize that they can apparate directly here.
Bureaucrats are notoriously narrow minded when it come to these things.\"

Minerva chuckled a bit.

\"The three of us will check on the students. After, we\'ll make plans to reinstate the wards.\" He
concluded.

With a tentative list of things to do, they left.
______

Draco stood in front of the fat lady for a good 5 minutes before uttering the password he had only
learned the day before. The portrait looked at him funny, but opened up anyway.

Stepping inside he looked around. There were Gryffindors littered everywhere. They all seemed
to look up as one. He stood there, tense, waiting for some sort of confrontation.

A blonde one, Creevey, stepped up. Draco stiffened. They stared at each other a bit.

\"They\'re upstairs.\" Collin said. \"You know they way.\" With that he turned and went back to
doing whatever they had been doing.

He stood there in a slight shock for a few more seconds. Seamus spoke up, \"We took a vote.
We\'re more afraid of Hermione than we are of you.\" Then, as one, all of Gryffindor went back to
what they had been doing and started studiously ignoring him.

Blink. Well that had been interesting. With a shrug he went up the stairs.

Hermione answered the door with a worried look on her face. \"Draco.\" she breathed. \"You\'re
ok?\"

\"Define ok.\"

She practically dragged him inside and enveloped him in a hug. A warmth molded to him from
behind. Ron.

He took comfort in the two warm bodies pressed against him. Surprisingly he didn\'t feel
prompted to push the intimacy any further. In fact, their current position felt more intimate than
most of their time in bed. \"Could we just...\" he wasn\'t sure what he was asking, what he wanted.
Hermione pulled away a bit and he felt cold. Too cold. \"Wait. Can we stay like this? Just laying
down?\"

Moist lips ghosted over the back of his neck. \"Sure.\" Ron answered.

\"Just laying down?\" He felt more unsure of himself now than when he had faced his father.

\"Just laying down.\" The red head confirmed.

As he was being led to the bedroom he got the unshakeable feeling that everything was going to
be alright.
______

Checking the dorms had been relatively easy. It seemed as if the only operatives that Voldemort
had managed to get inside Hogwarts were the ones he brought with him. All of the students had
been quickly rounded up and sealed in their towers. Head counts had remained at the same levels
as they had been before the attacks. They were all thankful for that. Any more tragic news might
have been too much.

Black and Lupin had apparated 3 very confused looking aurors into Minerva\'s office. At their
confused faces Severus said, \"Didn\'t they tell you anything?\"

They just shook their heads.

Oh good. No sense in making this any easier. \"How many others are there?\"

Black spoke, \"Enough to adequately cover the castle. Barely.\" He looked annoyed. It was
probably the bare minimum needed.

\"Then let\'s get this done.\" Severus turned to Minerva, \"Do you have the list?\"

She nodded and produced a slip of parchment, \"I wrote them down, in order. I\'m glad A-\" she
stopped a moment, her voice catching, \"I\'m glad be made me memorize them.\"

He took the parchment without comment and scanned it quickly. He turned to the aurors. \"I
assume you are well versed in spell sharing?\"

They nodded.

\"Minerva, would you call Filius and have him meet us in the headmaster\'s office?\"

She nodded.

He turned to Black and Lupin, \"Watch those Aurors. Carefully.\"

Orders given, they dispersed.

The short, stout charms professor met them at the entrance to the office. He had a serious look on
his face.

\"The wards?\" Flitwick asked.

\"The wards.\" Severus answered.

They all trudged up the stairs. The headmaster\'s office was at, what one might call, the magical
apex of the castle. It was almost like a magnifying glass for spells. It also allowed castle wide
spells to be performed without having to evenly distribute the casters outside the castle. It was
often a useful trait.

Minerva, Severus and Filius formed a circle in the center of the room. Each auror stood behind
them.

\"Harry,\" Severus called, \"Stand next to me.\" He turned to Minerva, \"Traditionally you would be
the anchor, as you are most probably the next headmistress, but we do not have the luxury to wait
for you to recover. I suggest that Harry and most probably by extension me be the anchors, only
temporarily.\" He hastened to add.

Minerva gave a weary shake, \"No Severus, even if they offered it to me, I could not take the
position. I understand your reasoning and I am not offended.\" She turned to the younger man
standing by his side, \"Harry, you do understand what Severus wants to do.\"

Harry considered the question carefully before answering, \"Intellectually, I think I do. But I\'ll
probably find that once you do it, I wasn\'t prepared at all. But that\'s nothing new. I want to help
and if that means I get to be put under some powerful, all encompassing spell, that is more than
likely to be incredibly overwhelming, why not?.\"

She smiled fondly at him, \"Then stand in the center.\"

For magic this powerful, involving this many people a circle needed to be invoked, to not only
contain it but to help focus it. Once that was done, the aurors said a simple incantation that would
allow their the wizards to \'share\' the spell with them. Then with wands raised the three professors
began. It was a complex layering process, one protection after another was laid down, with Harry
at the center of it all.

The final spell, a binding of sorts, the glue that held it all together sent a warm glow up the stone
walls, the castle suddenly felt alive again. Normal and whole. Harry on the other hand looked
deathly white and ready to collapse. The rest of them didn\'t look much better but at least they
would probably recover in a few minutes.

The aurors were instructed to head down to the medical wing and Severus carefully guided Harry
to a large comfortable chair.

\"Are you alright?\" He asked.

Harry\'s eyes were closed. But he answered anyway, \"I don\'t know. Its very... indescribable.\"

Severus nodded. He had felt a small wash of what Harry must be feeling.

The young man continued, \"I feel... so week, but powerful. The castle... its talking to me, almost
getting to know me.\"

\"Let it.\" Severus told him. \"Its probably easier.\"

Harry nodded and relaxed back into the chair.

Minerva and Filius were whispering in the corner, he walked up to them.

\"We both have many things to take care of, announcements and other... plans can wait while he
recovers. I\'ll make sure you two aren\'t disturbed.\" Minerva said to him before ushering Filius out.

He stared at the closed door for a few moments more before returning to Harry. In those few
seconds he had fallen asleep, he carefully moved the sleeping man over and sat down beside him.
Gathering Harry into his arms, he felt the exhaustion of the day seeping into him. The exertion in
the last 2 hours had been enormous. His eyes became heavy and he slowly drifted off to sleep.


Part 44

He woke up feeling much like he had the last several days, tired, sore and not in the mood to
move. Harry stirred briefly in his arms before settling back down again. A quick glance at the
clock on the wall told him that they had been there for the better part of 5 hours and felt more
tired that when he had fallen asleep. Considering the stresses his body and mind had been put
through, he shouldn\'t be surprised.

There was a soft knock coming from the door. Gently disentangling himself from Harry he stood
up and winced at protesting muscles. Younger than he was, but still not young enough to sleep
for 5 hours on a couch.

He opened the door to greet a tired looking Minerva. \"Severus, may I come in?\"

He stepped aside, \"It is not my domain to dictate over.\"

She entered, giving a tired chuckle, \"If its anyone\'s right, its Harry\'s.\"

He motioned for them to go to the far side of the office, on the other side of the room from the
young man sleeping on the couch. \"Please, continue to remind me of how completely complicated
and impossible this situation is.\"

Minerva gave him a stern look. \"Do not remind me of the complexities of the situation, I have
spent the last 5 hours thinking about them while you were relaxing in here!\"

He put a hand up to forestall any more arguments, \"I\'m sorry. It has been horrible day for us all.\"

She blinked. \"Well, it\'s nice to see he\'s been a good influence on you.\"

He raised an eyebrow in question.

\"Manners, Severus. You\'re starting to have manners.\"

\"However will I survive?\"

They shared a moment of companionable silence before she spoke once more, \"The horrible day is
not over, Severus. The children do not know.\"

He started, \"You didn\'t tell them?\"

Minerva removed her glasses and rubbed her temples, \"I have not been avoiding it, there simply...
wasn\'t time. I didn\'t want to let the students out of their dormitories until we were sure it was
safe and then, by that point, it was almost time for supper anyway.\" She stopped for a moment
and put her glasses back on, \"I figured if we let them all out at once, they could eat and then we
could...\" She trailed off unable to continue.

He nodded in agreement, \"And they will all be in one place...\" He followed her reasoning. \"And
I\'d rather have a few children vomiting than an entire school unfed.\"

She nodded.

\"Have you told Poppy to expect some sick students?\" He asked, his mind already sorting out all
the problems the evening would bring. \" I will have to bring Harry down. The students will feel
better seeing him.\"

She looked in Harry\'s direction, \"Will he be up to it?\"

He shrugged, \"He needs to eat. I\'ll help him. Make sure there is a place at the head table. Might
as well make this a show everyone can see.\"

A quiet voiced called from the couch, \"Severus? Professor?\"

They walked to the other side of the room, Severus knelt next to Harry, \"Yes?\"

Still not opening his eyes Harry spoke, \"Oh good, I\'m not hearing voices... well more voices.\"

Minerva and Severus shared a look before he spoke, \"How are you feeling?\"

Tired eyelids made an effort to rise. Harry was still ashen, dark smudges marring the skin under
his eyes. Eventually tired, green eyes peered up at them. \"Not sure.\" A slow blink. \"Did the castle
always have a personality? Or is this a new thing?\"

\"Not new.\" Severus answered, \"You\'re just more aware of it.\"

Harry closed his eyes again, \"Oh good. Not insane.\"

\"Who said that?\" Severus asked.

Keeping his eyes closed, \"Fine. More insane.\"

Severus chuckled, \"Did you see that Minerva, he said I was right.\"

\"Did not.\" Harry protested.

Severus shrugged, \"Implicit, explicit, its all the same,\" he turned to Minerva, \"I always said we
should offer the more basic courses, such as grammar and literature. There were would be far
fewer communication problems.\"

\"Snob.\" Harry\'s quiet voice accused.

\"Have I ever denied it?\" Severus asked. The expected smart comeback from Harry was absent.
\"Harry?\"

\"I\'m here, sorry, it\'s just distracting.\"

\"Harry,\" Minerva spoke up, \"Did you hear what we were talking about?\"

\"Something about dinner?\"

\"That\'s correct.\" Severus answered. \"We want you to eat dinner in the Great Hall.\"

Harry made an effort to open his eyes again, \"Why?\"

\"I want them to know you\'re alive.\" Severus pursed his lips, adding, \"When we make the
announcement.\"

\"I understand.\" Harry struggled to sit up, \"You\'re going to have to help me.\"

Severus gently pushed the young man back down, \"Not now, we have a bit more time, gather
your strength.\"

Harry nodded and relaxed into the sofa, going still.

He gestured for Minerva to follow back to the other side of the room. Once there he hesitated a
moment, \"Minerva... I... he asked... he expressed a sentiment to me before he...\" Severus looked
at Minerva and saw a strong women trying desperately to remain in control.

\"Yes?\" Her rough voice asked.

There was no delicate way to say it, \"He would have married you.\" he simply stated.

Her hand went to her mouth and she made a small sound of surprise and sorrow, \"Oh Severus. I...
I don\'t know what\'s wrong with me.\" Her breathing hitched.

\"Nothing is wrong, you are a fierce, proud woman who has had a tremendous loss. You are
allowed to grieve.\" He took her gently into his arms. \"I know you want to be strong, just
remember that there are things to do and that you will feel infinitely better falling apart when they
are all done.\"

\"When did you get to be so wise?\"

\"It runs in the family.\"

She pulled back to look at him, \"Family?\"

His lips twitched upwards, \"You would have been my great aunt.\"

She looked so startled that Severus thought she might topple over and then suddenly she let loose
a beaming smile, he momentarily thought she\'d lost it.

\"Oh Severus, that actually makes me feel better.\"

Yes. Definitely lost it. He raised an eyebrow.

\"Just the thought that he\'s not all gone. Something of him, however small still lives.\" She wiped
away an errant tear.

He shook his head in resignation, \"Gryffindors.\"
______

Severus later reflected that it must have been an odd sight that greeted the students of the main
hall that looked up to see the back door opening. Harry was leaning heavily on him for support as
they made their way slowly to the head table. The room slowly quieted as student by student, year
by year, table by table noticed their entrance.

There were two empty places, Severus noted that they were closer to the middle than normal, but
then, he had asked for a show. Must make sure everyone can see them.

They sat down and he watched Harry, slowly and carefully take food onto his plate. He leaned
over and quietly said, \"Tell me if you need something.\"

Tired eyes looked at him, \"I didn\'t know you cared.\"

\"I don\'t, I just don\'t want you to drown in your mashed potatoes.\"

Harry smirked, \"Yeah, yeah and I suppose your new and improved back still can\'t take the strain
of carrying me back to bed?\"

He quirked an eyebrow, \"Who says I\'d save you?\"

Harry\'s eyes locked with his and a flash of their indiscretion from the hospital room appeared
before his eyes. The ridiculous nonsense that he\'d uttered in what was a futile attempt to dissuade
Harry from kissing him again.

\"Just,\" his suddenly dry voice cracked, \"Just eat your food.\"

Eventually the students returned their attention to the plates in front of them and the volume level
returned to normal.

The time loomed closer and Severus found himself wishing he was back in his rooms avoiding it
all. This was not an announcement he wanted to hear, let alone take part in.

Eventually Minerva stood up and asked for attention, it took less time than normal. Children had
amazing intuition, especially when it came to adults keeping secrets.

\"Children, thank you for your attention.\" She swallowed thickly, \"As many of you may have
noticed, something unusual happened this afternoon. I\'m going to be honest with you, because it
is simply what you deserve.\" She took a deep breath, \"Voldemort attempted one final attack.\"
She paused to allow the students gasps of surprise pass, \"As for him, we are certain this time that
he is gone. But there are other things I must tell you. In the course of defeating Voldemort, your
headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, sacrificed himself to save you.\" There were loud cries of disbelief
that echoed through the hall. She continued on, \"Professor Snape and Mr. Potter were the last
ones to see him alive and I have asked Professor Snape to share a few words with you.\"

He stood up and began speaking through the sudden lump in his throat, \"First, I would like to
assure you that Mr. Potter is in perfect health, he is simply recovering from a very taxing day.\"
There was a small sigh of relief that could be heard over the sniffling of the student body, \"Albus
Dumbledore cared more for this school and its inhabitant than I ever thought possible, a few
hours ago he proved his dedication to the protection of this school by simply not allowing
Voldemort to use him as a hostage.\" The room had gone silent in the wake of his words, \"I know
that many of you do not like me, that I am the least favored teacher here and that there are,\" he
paused, momentarily unsure of the word to use, \"stories,\" he finally decided, \"currently working
its way through the rumor mill, so I do not know with what grain of salt you will take this, but...\"
he trailed off for a moment, lost in thought, \"But, to his dying breath he made every effort to
comfort me. Trying to make me feel better about his death and I cannot possibly explain better
than that how badly I will miss him. How badly we will all miss him.\" He stopped talking and sat
back down again.

A strange stillness permeated the crowd. Deep, quivering breaths could be heard coming from all
sides. The students looked devastated.

Next to him, Harry was making an effort to stand up, \"Help me.\"

Severus hooked an arm under his shoulders and took Harry\'s weight onto him. A placed a hand
on Harry\'s throat and whispered, \"*sonorous*\"

\"Excuse me.\" Harry\'s trembling voice echoed through the great room. The students, once again,
silenced themselves. \"I... I don\'t know what to say really.\"Harry wavered a bit \"I always thought
it would be me. The one who lived finally dying, 17 years over due. He wouldn\'t let that happen.
That was why Voldemort was here, me. It was always why he was here. He saved my life and I
don\'t think I will ever fully grasp the meaning of that.\" He waved his hand and the banners of
Hogwarts turned black. Harry turned to him, \"Can we go now?\"

Of course, the whole hall heard it, but they said nothing. He removed the charm and led Harry out
of the room.
______


By unspoken agreement they headed back the headmaster\'s office, by pure technicality it was
Harry\'s anyway. Why not use it?

They settled back down on the Sofa.

\"How are you feeling?\" Severus asked.

\"Um..\" Harry sluggishly repositioned himself, \"Like I suddenly understand half of what Albus was
really saying.\" tired eyes turned to him, \"Did you know he really DID have a word with the castle
about cooperating with us?\"

\"Somehow,\" Severus answered, \"I didn\'t doubt it.\"

Harry continued to struggle to find a comfortable position, Severus leaned back and swung his
legs onto the couch, he then pulled Harry up and between them, leaving Harry\'s torso on top of
him, \"Better?\"

Harry nodded, \"Can I ask you a question?\"

\"I thought we\'d established that you would ask me weather I wanted you to or not.\"

\"True.\" Harry stopped speaking for a moment, considering his words, \"I\'ve been thinking.\"

\"Always a bad sign.\"

\"Hush,\" Harry admonished, \"I was thinking, since that night when we... well when we finally did
what the spell wanted I\'ve been much more clear headed. Things started coming together and
began to stand out.\"

Severus rolled his eyes, \"Just spit it out, Harry.\"

\"Why are you being so nice?\"

He sighed. A damn good question. One he\'d been thinking about as well. \"There are several
reasons. The most prominent however is... the spell itself I believe.\"

Harry tensed up, \"What do you mean?\"

\"Well, things like this have a way of... acting in self-preservation.\" Severus fumbled for words,
unsure of what he was talking about, \"It wants to live, because it knows the alternative...\"

\"The alternative is what?\" Harry prompted.

\"Insanity.\" He answered., the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. \"Without completion, we
most likely would have eventually lost our minds.\"

\"Oh.\"

\"Quite.\" Severus debated for a few moments before continuing. \"Also. Malice requires a great
deal of energy. Energy which I simply do not have.\"

\"What about sarcasm, how much energy does that take?\"

\"I will always have the energy for that.\"
______

While Harry lounged, semi-conscious on the sofa in the headmaster\'s office, several meetings
took place. Arrangements for now parentless students, a new semester schedule needed to be
made, the board of governors had to schedule a special meeting, funeral arrangements needed to
be made and as much as Severus hated to admit it, a press conference needed to be held.

The first of many tasks to be scheduled was the issue of Draco Malfoy\'s guardianship. Severus
summoned him to the office.

\"You asked to see me sir?\" Draco sat down in the chair opposite him.

\"Yes, Draco. The staff and I have been busy trying to find everything that needs to be done in the
wake of... recent events.\" Severus looked at the blonde carefully before continuing, \"You are
aware that you are three months shy of your 18th birthday?\"

The blonde nodded. \"Yes sir.\"

\"And that you have been left without a legal guardian?\"

A rueful smile, \"It had crossed my mind.\"

Severus nodded in approval, \"The ministry has given me permission to take on that role until you
come of age, we decided it would be the easiest thing to do.\"

Draco nodded. A small sound from the corner alerted him to Harry\'s presence in the room. \"You
have something to say about this?\"

Harry sleep muffled voice spoke up, \"No. Nothing, we discussed it and I had no problems with
it... its just. I was thinking about it... and well...\" He seemed to be racked with spasms.

\"What, Potter?\"

A mirthful look appeared on the young man\'s face, \"Does this make me your step-father?\"

A look of such horror came over Draco\'s face that Severus could not think of anything else to do
but laugh. Loudly. With great gusto. It could almost be called a guffaw.

Draco turned and glared at him, \"You\'re not helping.\"

Severus regained control of himself and said, \"I am finding that a world seen from the
technicalities is an interesting world indeed.\"

Draco was looking at him strangely, \"Sir, you\'re starting to sound like him.\"

\"Who?\"

\"Professor Dumbledore.\"

That stopped his cheer cold.
______

Because of the delay it would take to schedule the funeral, simply because it would probably be
the most attended event in 150 years, Albus\' personal papers, his last messages, as wizards often
left them, were distributed accordingly.

There was one however, was marked to be shown to all of Hogwarts, as a whole. He and
Minerva thought it might be better to show it sooner rather than later.

The next morning, at breakfast, Minerva got up to make a short announcement, telling the
students of what they were about to see.

She opened the envelope and warm sparks flew into the air slow cascading down and creating an
image. Albus Dumbledore stood before the masses in all his twinkling glory and it was a most
painful image to behold. But the dagger cut deeper as he began to speak.

\"If you are watching this message then I am most likely dead.\" the image began, \"I am sorry, my
children that this is the last message that you will ever receive from me, because this was made in
the event that my demise was caused by Voldemort or the like. It pains me just as much to make
this as it is for you to listen, but please bear with me until I am finished. I do not often take the
time for grand speeches and preaching my views of the world, but I believe I may have earned it.\"

That earned a few sad chuckled from the crowd.

\"My children, you have had the misfortune of growing up in troubled times. Times filled with hate
and anger and violence and death. Those are not things I would wish upon anyone, even those I
hated.

\"There is much prejudice in the world today, based on blood, based on money, based on magic,
and even... based on the four houses of Hogwarts. I find that I must remind you that they are
simply that, houses. Built to put like minds together, in a hope that you will find it easier to fit in,
make friends. That you would come together and understand what working as a team really
meant.

\"The house cup was a means to an end. Winning it meant more than having the most points. It
meant that you understood how you to get those points and keep them. I\'m not talking about
behavior, because rarely was there an instance where behavior truly came into play enough to
ensure, or destroy a house\'s chances for victory.

\"I would like to attempt to dispel the worst prejudice of them all. The Slytherin house. A noble
house, with a long and fine tradition. At least, that is what it was known as when I attended this
school so many years ago.

\"Yes, it is true, Voldemort, Tom Riddle, was sorted into Slytherin, but that has little to do with
what he became, with perhaps the exception of how he did it. I would remind you that children
are eleven years old when they are sorted. Eleven year olds can often be mean, cruel and perhaps
a bit vindictive, but that can apply to ALL eleven year olds, whether they are Hufflepuff,
Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or Slytherin. But evil? There are very few truly evil children. Evilness
takes time to fester to grow, it becomes a part of you, it sinks in and takes hold with claws so
tight that it is almost impossible to escape.

\"Ravenclaws are smart and intelligent. Hufflepuffs are loyal and true. Gryffindors are brave
beyond common sense and Slytherins are clever and sly. They are our spies, our intelligence
gatherers. They are our secret keepers and our most favored allies, because they are the planners,
the strategizers.

\"As I mentioned, I too, once attended this wonderful institution as a student. I too was called to
sit upon an old wooden chair in front of everyone and have the sorting hat placed upon my head. I
too was judged for the qualities of my personality and was placed in a house. A house that I
cherish to this very day. A house that I hope will understand my actions, just as I hope the rest of
you will. A house that I call Slytherin, my home.\"

Severus\' head shot up at the last statement, unsure if the visage of the man he had come to know
as the master secret holder had really just said that, but the astonished looks of the students
confirmed it, as well Harry\'s gasp.

It seems that Albus Dumbledore had once more managed to shock them all.


Part 45

Severus Snape was wrecked. No. He was sick. Horribly, terrible, gut wrenchingly, nauseatingly
sick. To the point where he actually rolled out of bed and began walking with a brisk pace
towards the bathroom. Around three paces later, he stepped it up to a brisk jog, followed shortly
by a dead run.

He had a scant few seconds to appreciate the plush throw rug with the always-dry charm that
shielded his bare legs from the cold tile floor. Those few seconds, however, ended as he became
intimately acquainted with the inside of his toilet bowl.

Between the excursions his stomach kept trying to take through his esophagus he noted that it
was a very nice toilet. The color evenly covered the base and did not fade in spots. It was also
well maintained and very clean looking, at least it had been when he first got there. He was in the
middle of thinking up a good reward for the house elves when his stomach decided to take
another tour.

Harry appeared somewhere in the middle, but he was too busy trying to aim in the correct general
direction that he couldn\'t be sure as to when he had actually arrived. A cold wash cloth was
applied to the back of his neck, it was oddly calming. And the new sensation distracted him from
his churning belly. He leaned back into a warm embrace and Harry shifted the cloth to rest on his
temple.

A glass was held to his lips, \"Sip.\" Said a quiet voice. \"Just wash the taste out, spit into the
toilet.\"

He weakly did as he was told, glad to remove the acid taste from the back of his throat. They sat
there for a few minutes... just breathing deeply, silently thanking the person who invented the
smell-be-gone charm for toilets.

\"Stomach calmer?\" Harry asked.

He nodded mutely.

\"Good.\" he raised the cup back to Severus\' lips. \"Sip, this time you can swallow.\"

He did just that. Taking shallow bits of water into his mouth, savoring the cool, flavorless liquid
as it slid down his abused system.

He wasn\'t sure how it happened, the annoying whelp must have taken advantage of his weakened
state. But someone he found himself, once again, at Poppy\'s not so tender mercies. She poked
and prodded and asked numerous invasive questions that if he didn\'t answer Harry would simply
speak up. Damned spell.

An hour later, feeling throughly violated in more ways than he had in years, Poppy abruptly left
them alone to contemplate the stark white walls of the infirmary. They had fallen into an
uncharacteristically tense silence. Well, only so far as that this one was, for once, not sexually
charged. He was too damn tired for that.

Poppy returned a few minutes later with a bottle, which was shoved unceremoniously into his
hands with a terse, \"Drink.\"

He did, without question, another testament to how bad he must have been feeling. Immediately
he felt the affects, more energy, the last of the nausea gone, various parts of his body that had
been complaining stopped.

\"What was wrong?\" Asked Harry.

Poppy just shook her head and tsked. \"I told Albus this could happen.\"

A bit of anxiety started in his stomach and gave way to a feeling of absolute dread. He had an
inkling of what Poppy might be referring to; he himself had had similar ideas, but had dismissed
them out of hand as ridiculous and highly improbable.

\"Just tell me, woman.\" He finally ground out.

She appeared to think about how to say it and his hopes for an overactive imagination were
sinking lower and lower. \"Well Severus... It seems... It seems that you\'re pregnant.\"

\"WHAT?!\" Harry practically shrieked. \"But... but... that\'s not possible! How is that possible!\"

\"Yes,\" he seethed, \"And while you\'re explaining that, please go on tell us why you saw fit to not
inform us of ALL of the possible consequences?\"

Poppy wasn\'t afraid of him, she looked him squarely in the eye and answered, \"We thought it was
such a remote possibility that it wasn\'t even worth discussing.\"

\"Not worth discussion?\" Quiet rage moved on to loud anger, \"And how often does the nearly
impossible happen in this infernal castle on a daily basis?! Not to mention the daft idea that *if* it
*did* happen that I would WANT to carry a child to term!\" He was just getting started when the
black spots appeared before his eyes. The world swam and went black...

...only to come alive again with 2 sharp screams, dark rooms, tangles, sweat soaked sheets, and a
second harshly panting body next to his.

A dream??

A BLOODY dream??

More like a bloody nightmare!

\"Stop thinking so loud.\" Harry muttered next to him, \"and I agree.\"

Severus sighed and covered his face with his hands, \"Oh don\'t tell me, you had the dream too.\"

\"Yup. Right there with you from morning sickness to Poppy\'s wonderful announcement.\"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, \"My life is steadily becoming the stuff of torture chambers.\"

Harry smacked him in the ribs, \"Would you stop acting like this is the only affecting you.\"

Not bothering to open his eyes, he asked, \"Please enlighten me as to your hardship.\"

\"Well, there\'s the same loss of privacy, loss off control, loss of choice, having been manipulated
by the loveable old coot. Also, while your dreams are pretty damned weird, mine are going to be a
site more... unseemly.\"

He propped himself up on his elbows, \"Potter, what on earth happened to your vocabulary?\"

Harry tapped him on the nose, \"What did I tell you about using my last name in bed?\"

Severus rolled his eyes.

\"So what was that about, anyway?\" Harry asked, obviously referring to the dream.

\"We\'re married,\" he almost avoided the involuntary shudder, \"and quite unexpectedly it only
makes sense that the mind would supply even more ungainly surprises in a related thread and
throw them at us.\" He let his arms straighten again and he slid back down to the bed with a sigh.

\"You\'re sad.\" Harry murmured in surprise.

\"Not sad.\" He protested.

\"Fine then, melancholy.\" Harry traced his fingers lightly down Severus\' arm. \"Why?\"

\"Even if I did not want it, the thought of creating a life, is not a wholly unappealing one.\" He
answered, knowing that Harry would simply drag it out of him if he kept avoiding the issue.
\"Someone to be proud of, to raise and teach what I deem is important from the start.\"

\"To love you unconditionally.\" Harry whispered.

\"Don\'t be foolish.\" He spat.

Harry reached across him and planted soft pliant lips against his own.

Involuntarily he responded, dragging the younger body across himself. They broke apart breathing
rapidly, \"It\'s a nice thought, a romanticized notion. I said it would be nice, I never said I actually
*wanted* the little brats. Now that I know the situation wasn\'t real I can value its, barely
recognizable, merits. I\'d like to think that my supposed children wouldn\'t be as loathsome as the
ones that appear in my potions class on a regular basis.\"

This time Harry rolled his eyes and dove back in for another kiss. They continued in that fashion
for a few minutes before Severus firmly pushed Harry away. \"We will not submit to our
hormones.\"

Harry gave him a look.

An exasperated sigh. \"Yet.\"

Harry smirked.

\"How are you fairing with the Castle?\" He said, ignoring Harry.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, \"Better. I\'m not exhausted anymore.\" He thrust his hip at
him as proof.

Severus\' eyes briefly rolled to the back of his head before regaining his equilibrium. \"Have you
noticed anything unusual?\"

Harry settled himself more firmly against him and answered, \"Other than knowing the shortest
route from here to the other side of the castle and the faint feeling that it finds the antics of its
inhabitants amusing, no.\" He began exploring the skin of Severus\' neck.

It was getting harder to concentrate. \"I...*aah*... noticed that... *ooh*\" his eyes rolled up into his
head again, \"..stop that...\" he hissed. \"I noticed that we\'re not feeling each other\'s experiences as
intensely. If my reaction to you being hit with a bludger was any judge, I had expected to be more
*aah*\" he hissed as Harry found a particularly sensitive spot, \"...more affected by the castle.\"

Still nuzzling Severus\' neck, Harry spoke, \"Yes... I noticed that. I think, our,\" He took a good
lick, \"Wedding night,\" he smirked, \"stabilized something. I have to actually try to invade your
privacy.\"

Severus was momentarily distracted by the audacity, \"TRY?\"

Harry licked his ear, \"Not on purpose, but I have to want the information instead of it just... being
there.\"

Severus grabbed both of Harry\'s arms, shifted his feet so that they were flat against the bed and
rolled. He landed between Harry\'s legs, shifting just enough to send sparks of pleasure coursing
through both of them.

It was Harry\'s turn have his eyes roll back.

\"Listen to me Harry.\" Severus thrust, \"We. Will. Have. This. Conversation. Now.\" He said the
words with a menacing glare and it would have worked if he hadn\'t punctuated each one with
another thrust.

They were both panting harshly. Bright green eyes met black ones and Severus gave up and
pounced.

Sometime later, they were both much more relaxed.

\"Now, what did you want to talk to me about?\" Harry asked lazily.

\"I should let you go in unprepared.\" He said.

\"Go where?\"

\"The press conference.\" Severus would have smirked at the look on Harry\'s face, if he hadn\'t
understood where it had come from completely.
______

The room was full. Full of drooling, salivating, hungry, vicious reporters. It was enough to make
even Severus Snape quake in his boots.

Of course, he was too much of a professional to do so. Though, it didn\'t stop Harry from
smirking knowingly. Should just walk out. Let the brat defend himself.

The moment the door opened, the throng of glassy eyed, headline seeking reporters followed their
every move. Out of curiosity and a little bit of malicious cruelty, he picked up an errant quill
laying on the podium. He idly twirled it in his fingers then passed it to his other hand and
seemingly nonchalantly proceeded to never leave it on place for more than a few seconds. The
reporters looked like they were watching some sort of demented squash match.

Finally he\'d had enough and delaying any longer would simply mean that the task was no done, so
he began. \"I have been told that it would be polite to thank you for coming, however, since I am
neither polite, nor am I happy that you are here, I think we can dispense with that formality.\"

The group as one went from ecstatic frenzy to merely excited.

He continued, \"I will make a brief statement and then you may ask questions,\" with a raised
eyebrow he gave his audience a warning look, \"Do try not to annoy me.\"

Excited gave way to hoping they could write a story without getting fired or maimed.

\"Two days ago Albus Dumbledore was killed defending this school. During that time Cornelius,\"
he made an effort not to sneer too badly while saying his name, \"Fudge also... perished. I cannot
say much more than that because the ministry is still rather... disorganized and we have not had
the chance to discuss,\" this time he did sneer, \"the incident in question fully.\" He took a deep
breath, \"So I cannot answer most of your questions.\" Oh that was fun. They looked like he\'d
cancelled Christmas.

Continuing on, \"As for the subject of the next headmaster, there have been numerous discussions
but nothing has been finalized. So I cannot comment on that either.\" Even better, they had that
kicked puppy look now.

Now for the most painful part, \"As to my supposed marriage to one Harry Potter,\" another deep
breath, \"It is true.\" Damn they looked happy again. He opened his arms in a welcoming gesture,
\"Please, ask your questions.\" It would have almost been a warm gesture, if he hadn\'t been silently
daring them to piss him off.

One daring reporter in the front row started, \"I notice that you\'re the one making the statement,
does that mean the Minerva McGonagall is somehow incapacitated?\"

He looked down his nose, \"Your powers of observation astound me, its not wonder that you\'re a
reporter. The reason I am making this statement is simple, we flipped a coin, I lost.\"

Let them chew on that.

Another one spoke up, \"It seems like you have very little information, why are you making this
statement now?\"

Glaring menacingly, he responded, \"Let\'s not pretend we don\'t know why all of you are here, be
adults about this, I know exactly why you are here and which part of my statement you were most
desiring to here. Simply, despite the fact that its none of your business, you\'re going to write
about it anyway, I might as well provide you with the correct facts. I\'m warning you now, one
quote out of context and\" he lowered his head and glared at each and every one of them, \"you
will never write again.\" he said each word with the type of precision that left no doubt in their
minds that he didn\'t mean they would be out of a job.

\"Do you have any comment on the story that the Daily Prophet ran a few days ago?\" Someone
from the middle asked.

There was a startled silence, while every eye in the place went to his wand hand, for fun, he
twitched. He\'d have to ask the mutt later which ones wet themselves.

\"I will use the words of Albus Dumbledore, \'it is surprisingly accurate and tasteful\' a feat that I\'m
sure will not be repeated any time soon.\" He looked balefully over the crowd, \"However, if I ever
find out how that information was leaked, I will be a very happy man, others however, will not.\"

More startled silence, then, \"How does Mr. Potter feel about this?\" the same daring one as before.

\"How would I know?\" he asked, being stubborn.

\"I\'d assumed you\'d talked between bouts of uncontrollable shagging.\" The anonymous voice
drawled.

Damnit! Where was that reporter. He couldn\'t hex him if he didn\'t know where he was!

\"If any of you know what\'s good for you, you\'ll give up your compatriot now, or I stop the
questions.\" He glared at them for several seconds before the crowd parted leaving slightly
uncomfortable but still confident looking young man. \"There, that\'s better, I always prefer being
insulted to my face. It makes revenge easier.\"

The young man raised his chin defiantly. \"It was decent question, you\'re the one who refused to
answer.\"

Was there steam coming out of his ears? It certainly felt like there should be. He ground his teeth
together and answered, \"I dare say, Mr. Potter\'s feelings are similar to mine.\"

\"Who knew he had feelings.\" Someone muttered.

\"I heard that,\" he said without turning his head, \"10 point from Ravenclaw.\"

\"But I don\'t go here anymore!\" the young reporter protested.

\"I know, but your brother does.\" That shut them up, he continued, \"As I was saying, Mr. Potter\'s
feelings are similar to my own, we loathe the lack of control and privacy that this has brought
upon both of us, beyond that,\" he took the time to glare directly at several people, \"it\'s none of
your business.\"

\"Are you planning on staying married?\" From another brave soul in the middle.

He raised an eyebrow, \"Now do you really think I\'m going to give you that sort of satisfaction?\"
he watched their faces fall, excellent. \"Now, I have no more time for this childish excuse of an
exercise. Please leave the grounds immediately before I set some of Hagrid\'s nastier excuses for
lesson plans on the lot of you.\" With that, he swept away and out of the room.

On the other side of the door, he found Harry, collapsed on the floor, tears in his eyes.

\"What\'s the matter now, Mr. Potter?\"

Harry looked up at him, clearly still laughing, \"You have a great act, you should tour.\" he
managed to get out before collapsing again.

He had just enough time to raise an eyebrow before he was attacked by several stones of Harry
Potter. A breathless, \"And what did I tell you about using my last name?\" was whispered in his
ear.

\"Oh, and since when was this a bed?\" he asked, pointedly ignoring the wiggling body on top of
him.

Harry pulled back and smirked, \"Use your imagination,\" and pounced.

Maybe the day wasn\'t so bad after all.