Complications

Disclaimer: Ok, so I don’t own them…you should all know that by now – I’m neither blonde, rich or Scottish!

As always, please read and review…..Belle

Severus Snape looked up as the door to his classroom was banged open in the middle of his final Gryffindor-Slytherin first year class of the Christmas term. The withering retort he had prepared died on his lips as he saw it was one of the seventh years that were supposed to be in his husband’s class at the present moment.

“Yes Miss Castle?”

“Sir, you have to come quick, it’s Healer Snape. Something’s happening. Erm, we think he’s gone into labour!”

The panting seventh year, having delivered her message, watched as her unflappable stoic potions master descended into a fully fledged panic

“What? He can’t be, it’s too early, the baby’s not due for another week! Whereabouts is he? Have you called for Madam Pomfrey? Class dismissed, your homework will be posted in your common rooms before the end of holidays. Now, GET OUT!”

Natalie Castle watched as the potions master cast a quick ‘evanesco’ at the still bubbling cauldrons before they exploded and swept out of the room, an urgency in his step. She remembered how shocked all of the returning students had been that year when the resident healer and potions master had announced that they were having a baby and that the child would be born in December. Many of them had worked out that the baby had been conceived in March of the previous academic year and that the two members of staff would have known before school had finished for the summer. The seventh year withheld a flinch as she thought of what Professor Snape would have had to go through with Healer Snape being pregnant through the heat of summer.

As Severus Snape ran along the corridors that led to the hospital wing his mind was in a fully fledged panic and he winced as he realised that his students had seen him in the same state. He couldn’t help but panic. This was the first pregnancy for both him and his young husband and he’d never thought he would ever have the opportunity to have children, let alone with someone that he was in love with. He’d been overwhelmed when Harry had first told him that he was pregnant. He’d nearly fainted. He could still remember perfectly the moment that Harry had told him.

***FLASHBACK***

Severus gave a start as he felt a hand slide down his shoulder whilst he was marking essays in his private study in the quarters that he shared with his husband. He looked back over his shoulder and met the sparkling green eyes that twinkled down at him.

“You’re back early love. I thought you were helping Poppy down in Hogsmeade until late tonight.”

The green eyes started to move shiftily, Harry unwilling to meet Severus’ gaze, and nervously twisting his fingers so Severus moved his chair back from the desk and pulled Harry down into his lap. Harry nestled against his chest, burying his face in Severus’ neck

“Love? What’s the matter? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Poppy sent me home when I fainted. She kept me while she did some tests and then sent me back here.”

“You fainted? Are you ok? Nothing’s wrong is it?”

Harry winced and started talking, obviously reluctant to get straight to the point “Nothing’s wrong per se, in fact you could actually say that it’s good news it’s just unplanned for good news.”

Severus was starting to get frustrated with the conversations lack of direction “Harry much as I love you this is highly infuriating. You aren’t dying, you don’t have a terminal disease, and you haven’t visibly injured yourself. So, will you please tell me what’s wrong?” He started at the whisper in his ear “You’re what? Would you mind repeating yourself, I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

Harry mumbled “I’m pregnant.”

“You’re pregnant? How on earth did that happen?”

Harry’s face took on a distinctly mischievous look “Well Sev, when two people love each other very much things happen….” For his trouble he received a soft slap on his arse and a soft snort

“I’m perfectly aware of how children are conceived but would you mind telling me how you, a male, is carrying a child. My child to be precise. It is my child isn’t it?” suddenly panicking for a moment

“Of course it’s your child you great bat! I’m married to you aren’t I? You know perfectly well that I spend all my nights with you unless there’s an emergency in which case I’m either in the Hospital Wing or Poppy’s surgery in Hogsmeade. So yes it’s your baby. Now, according to Poppy, male pregnancy isn’t all that unusual it’s just rare because it takes two incredibly magickal people to create a child and they both have to want it very much as the magick of both parents helps to sustain the child during the pregnancy. She actually said she’s surprised I haven’t become pregnant earlier.”

Severus was stunned “She’s surprised you haven’t become pregnant sooner than this?”

“Well, if she’s right and it takes two powerful wizards then I can see why she would be. I mean, I killed Voldemort with your help when I wasn’t even 18. We’ve been married since I was 21 and that was seven years ago now. But, I mean that doesn’t matter, it does matter what you think. I know its big news and it’ll change everything but I can’t help thinking that maybe it would be a good change. I suppose the real question I’m asking is do you want this baby?” Harry looked nervous and had one hand splayed over his belly unconsciously

Severus thought about it for a moment and realised that although it was a huge revelation and completely unexpected he did want this baby. It was as if the knowledge completed something in their relationship that he hadn’t realised what was missing. He covered Harry’s hand on his belly with one of his own larger hands and pressed a soft kiss to his husband’s mouth, “I think its wonderful news. It just came as a bit of a surprise but I’m highly delighted. I think it’ll be a perfect addition to our family. Just one question remains really, when can we expect the new addition?”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief without even realising it and, leaning forward, pressed a kiss to Severus’ lips before nestling his head in his shoulder “Poppy said I’m about six weeks pregnant so I guess in about seven and a half months which means I’ll be giving birth about Christmas time.”

“Our own Christmas miracle then”

***END FLASHBACK***

Severus smiled smugly as he remembered that conversation had ended up, like so many of their others, being continued in the bedroom where he had proceeded to ravish his young husband in appreciation of the news he had just given him. He shook himself out of his thoughts as he realised he was stood outside of the Hospital Wing along with the six seventh year students that his husband taught as part of a preparatory healing course for those interested in a career in medi-wizardry once they had graduated from Hogwarts. The current head-boy Robert Windsor looked up in relief

“Professor Snape! You’re here, thank Merlin! Healer Snape threw us out after he had me floo Madame Pomfrey and sent Natalie to get you.”

“Thank you Mr Windsor. If you would like to get back to your common rooms or wherever you want to go I think it’s safe to say that the rest of your class is cancelled.” He held up a hand to stall the inevitable questions “I can assure you that you will know how Healer Snape and child are doing by the time you leave for the holidays.”

Robert smiled and nodded to the Slytherin “Thank you Professor, come on guys, let’s go.”

Severus watched them go before letting himself into the wing and stopping as he saw his husband pacing up and down the wing “Love?”

Harry looked up with a smile “Sev, Natalie must have been quick off the mark for you to be here so quickly. You did clean up your lab didn’t you? There aren’t likely to be any wounded first years?”

Severus let out a short bark of laughter “I think the only thing that’s wounded is my pride and my dignity. I ran through the halls and almost had a complete panic attack in front of my first year class. What’s happening? Are you ok?”

“I’m fine Sev; my waters broke about twenty minutes ago so there’s still a while to go yet. Poppy was just sending home the last of her patients then she was going to get her stuff and floo straight over. I just need to keep moving.”

“Ok” and with that single comment Severus banded an arm around Harry’s shoulders and joined his husband pacing up and down the length of the infirmary silently tolerating Harry’s fingers digging painfully into his ribs whenever a contraction occurred.

It wasn’t until nearly an hour and a half later that Poppy flooed into the infirmary from her practise in Hogsmeade. The healer had started her own healing practise in Hogsmeade as soon as Harry had qualified as a Medi-Wizard and expressed an interest in returning to Hogwarts. Severus and Harry had been married for almost nine months when Harry had graduated and neither of them had wanted to separate from each other so that Harry could work in a practise. Hogsmeade had no practise of its own and despite wizarding travel, the physical and mental demands of being a Medi-Wizard were gruelling to say the least. Whilst Harry had been training he had lived with Severus at Hogwarts and helped the elder professor with his marking, some teaching of the younger years and helping to tutor the duelling club. Albus had retired once Voldemort had been defeated and Minerva had taken over as Headmistress of Hogwarts leaving wide open the position of Deputy Head. Filius Flitwick had turned down the role admitting he felt too old to perform the role adequately. Pomona Sprout admitted that she had never wanted to be considered for the role leaving Severus as the only Head of House qualified and willing to perform the role. He had never mentioned it but Harry knew how much his husband loved the role, including the whole process of sorting the new first years. As a result of becoming the Deputy Headmaster as well as remaining as the Head of Slytherin Severus had to remain on the Hogwarts site at all time meaning that they couldn’t live in Hogsmeade or any of the other nearby wizarding villages.

Poppy smiled as she saw the two-some slowly pacing up and down and called out “Harry?”

The heavily pregnant young man turned round and moved towards Poppy as quickly as he was able to “Poppy, thank goodness you’re here. I think Sev was starting to panic!”

Severus walked up behind Harry and wrapped an arm around his waist, slowly massaging his distended stomach to help with the pain of the contractions “And why wouldn’t I be panicking love? As far as I know this is the first child for the both of us and despite your profession I do not believe that we truly know what we’re in for.”

Harry smiled, and leaned back into Severus’ arms, brushing a kiss against his jaw line, the only part of the older man he could reach without having to stand on tip-toe. “I think it’s sweet that you’re panicking” suppressing a smirk as he did so at the glare he was favoured with at being called ‘sweet’, “Come on Sev, what’s the worst that could go wrong. I mean, okay so there hasn’t been a male pregnancy in a long time but that doesn’t mean that we don’t know anything about what’s going to happen. Poppy and I are perfectly aware of what’s going to happen and we’re prepared for every eventuality.”

***

Severus winced as Harry grabbed his hand and held tight for the duration of yet another contraction. They were much closer together now but they had to wait for a specialist from St. Mungo’s. Whilst Harry had planned on a natural birth, complications had arisen necessitating an emergency Caesarean section, and whilst Poppy was more than qualified to complete the procedure she could not do so by herself. He looked down as the grip on his hand slackened and brushed the sweat-soaked black hair out of tired green eyes.

Six hours had passed since Natalie Castle had burst into his potions class to announce that his husband had gone into labour. All of a sudden there was a sudden roar of sound as the floo system activated allowing a main in the familiar healers garb to step through.

Poppy sighed in relief “Connor! Thank goodness. Severus, this is Healer Connor Murphy, a specialist in gynaecology at St. Mungo’s. Connor, this is Professor Severus Snape, Harry’s husband and the other father.”

Connor nodded his head briefly “Professor. There’s nothing to worry about – you’ll have your husband and child in no time at all. Do you know whether you’re having a boy or a girl?”

Severus shook his head with a wry smile “No. Harry didn’t want to and who am I to argue with him. Besides, it will probably be a boy – Snape’s don’t have girls, although knowing who my husband is….” Here Severus trailed off

Suddenly the healer’s manner became more businesslike. “Right, what seems to be the problem?”

Poppy smiled grimly “The baby hasn’t turned and I was worried about Harry’s blood pressure and his magick levels. I think the safest choice for him and the child is a c-section.”

The other healer nodded in agreement “In which case let’s get the screen set up and a numbing potion applied. Professor, if you’d like to sit by your husbands head and talk to him; this can be a surreal experience.”

Severus quickly complied, not wanting to watch. He was sure that had it been anyone else morbid curiosity would have set in but he had no desire to see his husband cut open with a wand. Taking a seat by Harry’s head, he smiled at his husband and took the hand that reached out to him.

“Did you hear that love? We’ll be meeting our child before you know it.”

“It’s about bloody time. I’m warning you now Sev, we’re not doing this again until this kid’s at least 2 years old!” The statement was accompanied by a weak chuckle and a pause “Sev, you said that Snape’s don’t have girls but seeing as how I’m quite good at the impossible…..would you mind if we have a girl?”

“I truly don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl just as long as it’s healthy.”

Severus’ statement was accompanied by the wail of a newborn. Both of their heads snapped up to see Poppy wrapping the infant in a blanket.

“Congratulations Professor Snape, Healer Snape, you have a very healthy baby boy.”

The faces of both parents were wreathed in smiles as they stared down at their son. There were small tufts of black hair already visible on his head and when he yawned his eyes opened revealing the same impossibly black orbs as his father.

Harry smiled in delight “Sev! He’s got your eyes!”

“And your hair no doubt too, brat”

“The only question remains is what are you going to call him?”

The two men simply smiled at each other.


Twenty minutes later the Great Hall of Hogwarts fell silent as the Headmistress stood

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to announce the arrival of Marcus Severus Evan Snape who was born just over half an hour ago. Professor Snape assures me that both Healer Snape and Marcus are both doing well and would like me to wish you all a Happy Christmas and Blessed Yule on behalf of all three of them.”