Fatal Complications

This follows my stories Complications and Further Complications and this is the final instalment in what has turned out to be a trilogy of fics! I never intended for these stories to progress this far but you know how these things are…they have an amazing ability to run away with themselves. You don’t have to have read either of the previous stories to read this – they’re not works of literary intelligence – but it might help I guess. As always, please read and review! Belle

****

Three years later and all was well with the Snape family. The four-some were happily established at Hogwarts where Harry was still the primary healer for the school whilst Severus was still Potions Master, Head of Slytherin and the Deputy Headmaster. After the stress of Harry being pregnant with Adriana and the problems that he suffered, they had settled rather quickly back into a normal life. It had taken him several months get back to eating properly and getting enough sleep. To their relief, Adriana proved to be a happy baby and wasn’t remotely fussy. She started sleeping through the night relatively quickly and it was this more than anything that helped to regulate Harry’s sleep pattern.

To their delight, Marcus had quite happily adapted to having a sibling, despite having spent four years as an only child. He was a devoted older brother and, other than her parents, was Adriana’s favourite person. As soon as she could walk the little girl toddled around after her brother who happily tolerated her, and following ‘daddy’ and ‘papa’, ‘Marc’ was one of Adriana’s first words.

Despite Severus’ admittance that he found Harry incredibly sexy whilst he was pregnant, he was more than happy to leave their family as it was rather than risk Harry’s health with yet another pregnancy. Harry had bowed to his husband’s wishes, despite a slight yearning for another child. Even though he sometimes considered what it would be like to have another child, he swiftly remembered the trial that had been his last pregnancy and all thoughts of another child disappeared rapidly.

It was therefore with some trepidation that Harry made an appointment with Poppy Pomfrey following a decrease in his appetite, an increase in exhaustion and several bouts of sickness that weren’t simply confined to the mornings. Harry listened with a rapidly sinking heart as Poppy confirmed what he had suspected; Harry was pregnant for a third time.

The medi-witch looked confused as the young healer didn’t display the delight that she had expected. “Harry? What’s the matter? I would have thought that you’d be delighted?”

Harry smiled wanly. “I am happy about this Poppy. Trust me on that. I’m overjoyed that I’m having another child. It’s Sev that I’m worried about. He hasn’t wanted me to become pregnant again. He’s too worried after the problems that I had with Adriana.”

Poppy simply clucked at him. “You’re fussing over nothing Harry Snape. You know as well as I do that Severus will be over the moon that you’re pregnant again. He loves it when you’re pregnant. He has an excuse to fuss over you and spoil you rotten. Marcus loves being a big brother and I’m sure Adriana would love an opportunity to be a big sister. Now, you go home and tell that husband of yours your good news. I’ll floo you when I want to see you again.”

Harry banded an arm around his stomach and smiled a bit brighter. “Thank you Poppy. You’re absolutely right of course. Do you know how far along I am?”

Poppy cast yet another spell. “I’d say that you’re about three weeks along. You get along and tell your husband love. I’ll floo you soon.”

Harry smiled and leaned over to hug the woman. “Thanks Poppy. I appreciate everything that you’ve done. I’ll speak to you soon.”

With that, Harry left the surgery and slowly walked along the road back to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade. As he did so, he was thinking of how he could tell his husband that he was expecting for the third time. He had left the children with the Headmistress for the afternoon, knowing that Minerva doted on the children who were like grandchildren to her. Eventually, he reached Hogwarts and meandered up to the Headmistress’ office in order to collect his children. He knew that Severus still had one more double lesson to teach and that he had just over two hours in order to think of how he was going to break the news to his husband. Once he was in the castle, he made his way up to the Headmistress’ office and gave the password to the gargoyle. Within minutes he was on the moving staircase before stepping off and into the office. As he entered the office he saw that both of his children were fast asleep on the small couch in one corner of the office whilst Minerva was seated behind her desk completing paperwork. She smiled at him as he entered.

“Harry, you’re back sooner than I thought. Is everything alright?”

Harry nodded and smiled briefly. “Everything is fine thank you Minerva. Did the children behave? They weren’t trouble were they?”

Minerva smiled. “You know as well as I do that they were perfect angels. They always are. They never get into the amount of trouble that you and Severus did as children. Will you be able to manage them? Do you need any help?”

Harry shook his head. “No thank you. I just need to wake Marcus up slightly so that I can get him onto my back and then I can carry Adriana.”

As the witch looked on indulgently, Harry woke Marcus just enough to get the little boy correctly positioned on his back with his arms wrapped tightly around Harry’s neck. With Marcus settled Harry cradled Adriana in his arms and bade farewell to the headmistress before returning to their dungeon quarters. He knew that he had several hours left before his husband was finished teaching for the day and planned on serving dinner in their rooms so that he could break the news once their children were asleep. He placed the children in bed in their rooms and then called for Dobby.

The little elf appeared with the small crack that normally accompanied the arrival of a house-elf. “Master Snape calls Dobby? What can Dobby get for Master Snape?”

Harry smiled. “Dobby, I’d like you to serve dinner for myself and Professor Snape here tonight. Is that okay? It doesn’t need to be a feast but just enough for the two of us.”

Dobby’s ears flapped furiously with the force of the little elf’s nodding. “What about Master Snape’s children?”

“If you could bring the children’s dinner at their normal time please Dobby. The Professor and I will eat later, at eight if you could bring dinner then.”

The elf disappeared seconds later with a bow and a “Yes Master Snape.”

That done, Harry sat down on the sofa and, whilst he waited for the children to wake up, struggled to think of a way to tell his husband to tell his husband that in just over eight months they would be parents again.

****

Severus stepped into his private quarters shortly after his office hours finished having received a note from one of the house-elves stating that his husband had arranged for dinner in their quarters. With this in mind, Severus didn’t bother going up to the Great Hall for dinner, choosing instead to stay in his private lab and brew several potions that he knew his husband needed for the infirmary. He finished his work just in time to get back to their quarters in order to read his children their bedtime stories. Both children loved their papa’s voice as much as their daddy and whilst they loved their daddy reading them their stories, they loved it even more if their papa read them. As such, regardless of how much work he had, Severus tried to make sure that he had the time to read both Marcus and Adriana their bedtime story each night. Entering their quarters, he removed his robes and left them on the hook by the door before moving to his children’s bedrooms.

Half an hour later Severus stepped out of Marcus’ room to see that a small table had been set up in their sitting room and Harry was sat there looking slightly nervous. He looked up and smiled as Severus approached him but the smile failed to reach his eyes and Severus noticed straight away.

“Harry, what’s the matter? Not that it isn’t nice but why are we eating down here? Is there something you need to tell me?”

Harry grimaced. He should have known that nothing escaped his husband. He gestured to the chair opposite him and waited until his husband had seated himself before he gathered his thoughts and started talking.

“I need to tell you something and I’m not quite sure how you’re going to react. It’s not exactly something that we’ve been planning.”

Severus’ heart was in his throat and he could feel his palms were beginning to sweat, nervous at the thought of whatever Harry had to tell him. “Harry, will you just tell me? Nothing you tell me can be that bad.”

Harry took a deep breath and started talking. “In that case, I’m just going to come out and say it. I had an appointment with Poppy this afternoon. I haven’t been feeling too well and whilst I had my suspicions as what the problem was I wanted her to confirm it for me.”

Severus was now starting to get highly worried. “Harry, what were your symptoms? And why didn’t you tell me?”

Harry sighed. “I’ve had a decrease in my appetite, I’ve been more exhausted and I’ve been suffering from nausea. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry and I didn’t know how you would react to the news.”

Severus’ quick mind was running over the symptoms that Harry had been displaying and the news that Harry thought he would react badly to. He soon came up with what he thought was the correct diagnosis.

“Harry, are you pregnant again?”

Harry simply nodded, his hands going to his stomach automatically and without conscious thought. “Poppy confirmed it this afternoon. She said that I’m about three weeks along.” He looked up at his husband through lowered eyelashes. “I’m sorry, I know that you didn’t want me to become pregnant again, but I want this baby. I can’t help it. I think it must be some sort of a ‘mother’ instinct or something.”

Severus stood and moved over to sit by Harry, wrapping one long arm around his shoulders and thus pulling him into his side. “There is a reason that I didn’t want you to become pregnant again love. I simply couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you. Things went so wrong when you went into labour with Marcus and you struggled all the way through your pregnancy with Adriana. I simply don’t want to see you suffer and I certainly couldn’t do without you. However, I do love our children more than I ever thought possible. So no, this wasn’t expected but that doesn’t mean that I’m not happy about it. Besides, you’re even more gorgeous when you’re pregnant and I get to spoil you rotten.” Severus’ attempt to kiss his younger husband was thwarted when Harry burst into giggles.

“Love? What’s so funny?”

Harry snorted once more before he managed to get himself under control. “I’m sorry Sev, but that’s exactly what Poppy said. I was worried about how you would react; I knew that you didn’t necessarily want another child. Poppy said that I was being ridiculous and that you loved it when I was pregnant because you had an excuse to spoil me and that the children would love the opportunity to be older siblings.”

“Well, Poppy was right, I do love it when you’re pregnant and I have no doubt at all that we will love this child just as much as we love Marcus and Adriana. Now, what do you say that we take dinner into the bedroom and celebrate our good news whilst our darling children are asleep?”

The only answer that Severus needed was the bright grin that spread across Harry’s face as he scooped the smaller man into his arms and walked across to their bedroom, several of the dinner plates levitating behind him.

The couple only emerged the next morning when they were awoken by two hyper-active children at a reasonably early hour.

****

Nearly eight months later and Harry was nearing the end of his pregnancy. He had not had nearly the same amount of problems with this pregnancy as he had with the last. After the first trimester he had stopped suffering from sickness and had regained a healthy appetite. In the last fortnight however, exhaustion had struck and now, with less than a fortnight until his due date, Harry was more than ready for the pregnancy to be over. He was bigger with this pregnancy than either of the last two but Poppy and Connor were both adamant that they could only detect one foetal heartbeat. As with the last two pregnancies, neither Harry nor Severus had wanted to know the sex of the baby until the child was delivered. They had several names picked out for either sex but they weren’t too fussy as to whether they were having a boy or a girl.

Harry paused at the top of the stairs leading down to the Great Hall in order to catch his breath. He was still rather early for dinner but it was a Hogsmeade weekend and Severus was supervising and had taken Marcus and Adriana with him. Harry had spent the day in the hospital wing, puttering around and gently keeping himself occupied, but he found that he was getting bored and wanted to be in the Great Hall by the time that his family appeared for the meal.

He had just removed his hand from the banister to start the final descent when a wave of dizziness hit him. As he threw his hand back out to grasp the stair-rail he lost his balance and to his horror, within seconds he was tumbling head first down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, his final thought before losing consciousness was the thought of his unborn child. He reached a hand down and to his horror, felt the familiar cramps roll through his stomach as blackness started to encroach on his vision.

****

Severus was just returning from Hogwarts with Marcus and Adriana, following the last of the students, when he saw Rolanda Hooch hurrying down the path towards him. Icy tendrils slowly snaked their way around his heart and he knew immediately that something was wrong with Harry. As soon as she reached them, the witch moved to whisper in Severus’ ear.

“Harry’s fallen and he’s gone into labour. One of the first years found him at the foot of the stairs leading to the Great Hall. He was haemorrhaging badly and they’ve called for Healer Murphy. You need to get back to the school now. Go! I’ll take care of the children. You go and take care of your husband.”

Severus needed no further persuasion and he flew back to Hogwarts as if Voldemort himself was on his heels. Not caring who saw him he ran through the school and straight up to the infirmary. As soon as he entered through the doors he saw a sight that he had hoped never to see.

Harry lay unconscious on a bed in the centre of the room. On both side of him stood Poppy Pomfrey and Connor Murphy both covered in more blood than Severus was comfortable with, especially knowing that the blood belonged to his husband. He stumbled, and sat down on the bed closest to him, waiting for Poppy to come and explain to him what was going on. She did so within minutes.

“Severus? I’m so sorry about this. We don’t know exactly what happened but one of the first year Hufflepuffs found Harry at the foot of the main staircase surrounded by a pool of blood. From what we can work out, he must have been standing at the top of the staircase and fell somehow. The trauma of the fall caused him to haemorrhage and go into labour. Both Connor and I arrived as quickly as possible and we’ve had to do an emergency caesarean. Harry’s still unconscious but Connor is just closing him up now. We’ve managed to save both Harry and your son however there was one more problem.”

Severus’ head snapped up and he gestured to her to continue.

“I don’t know why we couldn’t detect this but Harry wasn’t just carrying one child Severus, he was carrying twins. The positioning of one of the twins completely obscured the other foetus from all of our scans. Unfortunately, when Harry fell, the way that he fell injured one of the foetuses. We could save Harry and your son but we couldn’t save your daughter. I’m sorry Severus, but she was already dead by the time that we started operating; the fall killed her.”

Severus closed his eyes as her words sank in. He and Harry had another son but they had lost a daughter. “I want to see them.” He managed to rasp out.

“You can see your son but not Harry just yet. We still need to work on him for a bit longer. Harry lost an almost fatal amount of blood and we need to make sure that everything is stitched properly. However, here is your son.”

With that, the medi-witch placed an incredibly small bundle into Severus’ arms. As he looked down, as with his last two children, he fell in love immediately. The little boy in his arms was almost identical to the pictures of Severus himself as a child, only with Harry’s emerald green eyes.

“Our daughter?” He asked eyes still fixed on his newborn son.

“She’s under a stasis charm until you and Harry are ready to bury her. They were fraternal twins Severus. Now, I hate to ask but I need to know for the documentation. What is your son’s name and did you have a name chosen for your daughter?”

Severus nodded as tears rolled uncontrollably down his face. “Poppy, I’d like you to meet Alexander Hadrian Maximilian. Our daughter would have been called Luciana Armina Elizabetta.”

The woman squeezed Severus’ shoulder gently, trying to convey the sympathy that she was feeling. Just over ten minutes later she was back at Severus’ side, informing him that he was now able to go and see Harry. She told the potions master that although his spouse was still un-responsive he was no longer comatose and that he could sit at his husband’s bedside. Still cradling their newborn son, Severus slumped into the newly transfigured comfortable chair and grasped Harry’s hand in one of his own. Slowly he guided the hand up to his mouth where he kissed it before leaving it simply lying within his grasp as he spoke.

“You need to wake up love. I need you awake and you need to see your new son.”

****

It was now a month since the fatal consequences surrounding Alexander’s birth and things were not going well in the Potter-Snape household. Despite an almost fatal blood loss, Harry recovered fairly swiftly from both the caesarean and the emergency surgery but for the first time he was struggling with post-natal depression. Nothing seemed to be able to lift his depression including his children. He was also struggling with his guilt over the death of Luciana, as was Severus.

Both men, despite both suffering from guilt, refused to talk to each other about it and, instead of growing closer, they drifted further and further apart. Both men had their own coping mechanism and neither mechanism was healthy. Harry retreated into himself completely, refusing to talk to his husband and his friends about it. He avoided any discussion of the daughter that he had lost and instead concentrated on his new son. To his relief, Alexander was a perfect angel. He fed with no fussing; he slept through the night fairly quickly and put up with Harry’s coddling and fussing. Harry was reluctant to let any of his children out of his sight after the traumatic birth of his youngest son. In contrast, Severus returned to the sarcastic, irritable teacher that he had been prior to his marriage to Harry. Detentions were given in triplicate, house points were being taken left, right and centre and even the Slytherins weren’t safe from their house master.

The major problem lay in the fact that both men blamed themselves, but as they both refused to talk through their problems, they couldn’t sort things out. Harry felt that the death of Luciana was his fault in that he shouldn’t have continued working right up until the time that he did. If he hadn’t, then there might have been a possibility that he wouldn’t have been as exhausted and thus fallen down the stairs. In contrast, Severus believed that the death of his second daughter was his entire fault. He felt that he should have put up more an argument when Harry announced his pregnancy all those months ago. He felt that he should have made his concerns about Harry carrying another child more vocal. He didn’t know what he would have done if he had actually lost Harry that day in the hospital wing.

Relations between the two had deteriorated so much by four and a half months after Alexander’s birth and Luciana’s death that although they still shared a bed they slept back to back rather than how they did normally; with Harry wrapped in Severus’ arms as physically close to each other as possible. Normally, whilst they were in their quarters, Severus was quite happy to touch Harry all the time whether it was a kiss, a hug or simply a gentle touch to the arm. However, all of those touches had disappeared. Harry refused to touch Severus simply for the reason that he felt that Severus hated him for working too hard and losing their baby. Severus felt that he didn’t deserve Harry, that it was his fault that Harry had nearly died and that their daughter had died. He couldn’t bear the possible thought that if he reached out to Harry, his husband would flinch away, disgusted by his touch.

They had lived this way for just over four and a half months when something happened that brought both Harry and Severus to their senses. Harry had returned to his duties as healer as soon as he was recovered enough but he was still listless and greatly relieved that he had very few patients to look after. Whilst he was working he was also looking after Marcus, Adriana and Alexander. Both of the older children still had naps in the afternoon or Marcus spent the time quietly reading a book unsupervised whilst Adriana slept and Alexander still slept a lot due to his extremely young age. Since this was a set schedule, Harry knew there was sufficient time for him to break down. Each afternoon whilst the children were asleep, Harry would sit in his office and sob out his grief for the daughter that he lost. He got away with this unnoticed for five months until one afternoon. He had set the two younger children down for the sleep and left Marcus reading a book before retreating to his office before he started to cry. Unknown to Harry, Marcus had swiftly lost interest in his book and come to find his daddy in the hope that he would entertain him. What he didn’t expect was to find his daddy in his office crying. He didn’t like the fact that his daddy was crying and decided that he needed to go and find his papa because his papa could make everything better.

Carefully, he slipped out of the hospital wing before treading the familiar path down to the dungeons. He knew that very soon his papa would be finished teaching because before the bad thing happened his papa used to come and spend this time with him, his sister and his daddy. He managed to make it all the way down to the potions laboratory and passed it before going one door down to Severus’ office. Once there he pressed his hand against the door and it slid open, the wards having been keyed to open for not just Severus but Harry and the children as well. Inside the office, Marcus scrambled up into his papa’s chair and waited for him to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long. Mere minutes after the lesson had finished, Severus stormed into his office only to stop abruptly as soon as he saw the small child sat in his desk chair.

“Marcus? What are you doing down here? Why aren’t you with your daddy?”

Severus was completely unprepared to have his oldest son fling himself into his arms with a huge sob. “Marcus? What’s the matter little one? Why are you crying?”

“Something’s wrong with daddy. Ana and Alex still asleep. Daddy put them to bed and I got to read but I got bored. I went to see Daddy but he was crying. He cries lots when he thinks we can’t hear him. Why’s Daddy sad Papa? Why aren’t you and Daddy the same anymore? I don’t like it.”

Upon hearing his son’s childish pleas for answers, Severus felt his heart sink. Harry was crying whenever Severus wasn’t around and when he thought his children couldn’t hear him. Just how much had passed him by? He resolved to sort things out there and then. Still holding Marcus in his arms he moved to the fireplace and took a pinch of floo-powder. He wasted no time in throwing it into the fire and calling out “Headmistress’ Office.”

To his relief Minerva was though and was alone. “Minerva, I wonder if I could ask you a favour. Several problems have arisen and I wondered if you could come to the hospital wing in five minutes or so and look after the children for a while?”

The witch smiled. “Of course I will Severus. It would be a pleasure. I don’t get enough time to spend with them as it is. I’ll be through in a few minutes.”

With that taken care of, Severus ensured that Marcus was balanced on his hip before making his way up to hospital wing. Within minutes of his arrival the Headmaster arrived through the floo and with a kiss to each of his children, saw them safely into the fireplace. Once it was done, he made his way silently through to his husband’s office and stood silently, watching the scene within. He realised immediately that things were not well at all. Unaware that he was being watched, Harry’s sheer misery was written across his face and tears ran uncontrollably down his face. Severus’ heart sank at the thought that his beloved spouse had been suffering so much alone for the past four and a half months. Knowing that he couldn’t carry on watching the scene, he stepped forward and cleared his throat. Harry started immediately and started trying to remove all evidence that he had been crying before Severus moved forward and stopped him.

“Harry, don’t. Please. I’m sorry. I didn’t realise.”

Furious emerald orbs turned on him in an instant. “Don’t what Severus? Grieve for our dead child? You didn’t realise what….that I was suffering? Well, guess what, I have been! It’s my fault our daughter died. Did you think I wouldn’t regret that?”

Severus just gaped in shock at the words that were being hurled at him. “Your fault? What do you mean it was your fault that Luciana died? It was my fault.”

Harry laughed bitterly. “How could it be your fault Sev? I’m the one who insisted on keeping working until my due date arrived. I believed that I could cope with two children, being pregnant and running a hospital wing in a school of Merlin knows how many teenagers! I was exhausted and I insisted on carrying on because I didn’t want to appear weak. It’s my fault that I fell down those stairs and it’s my fault that our daughter died.”

At the end of his speech, Harry slumped in his chair as if the mini-speech had sapped the remaining energy he had left.

Severus just stared in shock, as if realisation had just dawned. He shut the door behind him to ensure their privacy and, withdrawing his wand, cast a silencing spell just to be on the safe side before enlarging the chair that Harry sat in into a love seat. He ignored his husband’s protests and moved over to sit next to him, gathering Harry into his arms and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“We have been completely stupid but it stops now. You weren’t the only one to blame yourself for Luciana’s death. I felt that it was my fault that she died. I thought that I should have protested more when you announced your pregnancy. I felt that I should have made my concerns more vocal about you carrying another child. I should have noticed how exhausted you were and insisted that you find a replacement for the last few months of your pregnancy. Both of us have blamed ourselves but the blame belongs to neither of us. Yes, we could have altered things, but no-one even knew that you were carrying twins. Poppy and Connor couldn’t detect a second heartbeat and there is a possibility that even if you hadn’t fallen that one or both of our children may not have lived. We need to deal with it and move on. We will never forget Luciana but we can’t leave things the way that they are. It’s affected our relationship and it’s affecting our children. Marcus came down to my office today. He saw you crying and he’s seen it before. He wanted to know why we were both sad and why we weren’t the same anymore. We need to deal with this and we need to do it together. We have three beautiful children and we have each other. I might learn to cope with losing Luciana but I could never cope without you.”

As he finished speaking, Severus gently tilted Harry’s face up and captured his lips, tasting the salt from his tears. The kiss was only brief but conveyed everything that the couple were feeling. They then simply sat in silence holding each other. Things were far from right but they were both confident that with each others help they could be made right.

****

Harry snuggled back into the strong arms that held him, relishing the fact that he was sharing a bed with his husband once more. The last six months had been difficult for both Severus and Harry but things were gradually getting back to normal. During the last month in particular, things were as they had been when they had first been married. Now, the couple were enjoying a second honeymoon. Two weeks spent in the Italian lakes, just the two of them. The children were staying with their Aunty Poppy for the duration and, upon their return, they would be collecting the children and going for a family holiday.

It had taken a distressed question from Marcus to show both Severus and Harry the problems that they had been having and the fact that they needed to sort things out. They had had several long conversations and realised that neither of them had been to blame for the death of Luciana. It had been Healer Murphy who had suggested that the two of them take a holiday together and redefine their relationship as a couple and not just as parents. He had been right and both men felt that their relationship was stronger for it.

They had been in Italy for just over a week now and that time had been spent doing absolutely nothing. The most they had done had been to walk down to the local town for drinks or dinner in an evening. Most of their time had been spent lounging by the pool, swimming or in bed. When they arrived in Italy, Severus had been distraught to realise how much of a toll the last six months and the trauma of losing one of their children had taken on Harry, both physically and emotionally. The younger man had suffered from nightmares, insomnia and his grief had left him unable to eat, his appetite all but dead as a result of the trauma his body had suffered. Harry’s already pale skin had become almost translucent and deep black circles were etched under his dull green eyes. They had lost their vibrancy at the same time that they had lost Luciana. When Severus had undressed his husband, he had been horrified to realise that Harry’s ribs were clearly visible and he felt horribly frail in Severus’ arms. He had sworn then and there that he would change it.

As a result, Severus fussed over Harry like a mother hen. He was forever trying to get Harry to eat and making sure that he got sufficient sleep at night. Harry had to admit that his well-being improved as soon as Severus stopped being the evil git that he had been prior to marrying Harry. Without the sarcastic quips and antagonistic comments things between the couple settled down and the two of them lavished attention on each other, as if both recognised that that was what the other needed.

Harry was brought out of his musings as he felt a kiss pressed onto his shoulder at the same time that the arm around his waist tightened. Harry smiled and pushed back further into the warmth of his husband before looking shyly over his shoulder. He looked straight into warm onyx eyes and within seconds his lips were claimed in a soft but passionate kiss. As they broke the kiss his husband’s voice slid over him, causing him to shiver in pleasure.

“Morning love. What are you thinking about so early?”

Harry sighed before rolling over and burying his face in the crook of Severus’ neck. “Hmmm, not much really. Just the last few months.”

He felt another kiss dropped onto the top of his head before Severus spoke.

“I am so sorry Harry. If I hadn’t been such a bastard and blamed myself for what happened then things wouldn’t have taken so long. I hate the fact that I left you to cope for so long by yourself.”

Harry pressed a kiss to Severus’ shoulder. “It wasn’t just your fault Severus. I’m to blame as well. If I hadn’t blamed myself and become so introverted then things wouldn’t have become as strained as they did. It was both our faults but we’ve talked it through and come to terms with it. We’re never going to forget Luciana but we have three wonderful children waiting for us at home. Now, what do you say to us enjoying the next week before we have to take our children to Disneyland next week.”

Severus grimaced as Harry’s delighted laughter floated around the room. “I still can’t believe that you and those hellions of ours managed to persuade me to attend that travesty. You’re going to owe me a serious debt for consenting to that trip.” He moaned slightly as Harry started pressing a series of soft kisses along his jaw. “I think that if you keep on doing that an agreement can be reached.”

He swiftly rolled the two of them over until Harry was trapped underneath him and pressed a kiss to the laughing lips beneath him. “I mean what I’m about to say as I know I don’t say it enough. I am truly sorry for the last six months Harry. I love you and our children more than anything in this world. However, regardless of our children, I could not live without you. I would not be able to survive. I have never loved anyone or anything as much as I’ve loved you. I swear that I will spend the rest of my life making things up to you and atoning for the way that I have treated you. I do have one condition that is non-negotiable though. That is the end of our family. We stop with three children. I do not want to have to go through all of that worry again. I could not cope without you and neither could our children, so another pregnancy is simply not an option. I’m not saying this to be controlling, I’m saying it as a fact.”

The strength and slight harshness of his last words was mitigated by the soft kiss that he pressed to Harry’s lips, one that was returned whole-heartedly.

“You have no worries there Sev. I couldn’t do that again. I’m more than happy with you and the three children that we have. Besides, Connor said that as a result of the fall, I won’t be able to carry anymore children. It’s now physically impossible. You’ll just have to content yourself with thoroughly spoiling me and the children that you have now.”

Severus glared at his grinning spouse. “I’ll have you know that I don’t intend on thoroughly spoiling any of our children. I have no desire to end up with three versions of Draco Malfoy. A bit of spoiling won’t hurt them but I think I will thoroughly spoil you for the remainder of our time here. I need to store as many positive memories as possible as I believe I’m going to need them all to survive this holiday with our children.”

Harry couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped him. He was still struggling to believe that his husband, ex-Death Eater and the bat of the dungeons had agreed to visit Disneyland Paris with their children. “I know you’re not looking forward to it Sev but I really appreciate the fact that you’re making the effort. Besides, I’m sure I can think of a few ways to make it worth your while. What do you say to that?”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. I also think we need a bit of practise; after all it has been quite a while. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not leaving this bed for the rest of day other than to floo our children.”

“What about dinner?” Harry protested half-heartedly.

“Dinner can be consumed in bed. I’m fully aware that you need to eat but I’m not letting you out of my sight.” Severus practically growled before claiming Harry’s mouth.

Harry gave up his complaints as his husband swooped down and claimed his mouth in a gentle but passionate kiss. He happily surrendered himself to his husband, knowing that finally, all complications aside, all was right with his world.