DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything but this story.
I apologise for any spelling or grammar errors.
I actually cried whilst writing this, that has never happened before but it is a heart wrenching topic.
Harry and Severus were the happiest they have ever been. They were enjoying married life and were expecting their first child together. Severus seemed to be coping with the rare experience well, Harry was forever telling him that he looked radiant and pregnancy suited him. It was a shock at first to find out that Severus was pregnant as male pregnancies were exceptionally rare but they were happy none the less and had just found that it was a little girl.
Severus' had another child, Draco, whom he adopted when Draco's father insisted Draco take the dark mark. When Draco made it very clear he was not going to give himself to the Dark Lord, his father beat him to within an inch of his life. By some miracle, Severus walked into the room just before Lucius delivered a fatal blow and promptly cast a body bind on Lucius and called the Aurors. Severus then spent the next month helping Draco recover and their already strong bond deepened to the point were Draco started calling Severus, Dad. A trip to the ministry later and Draco was officially Severus' son after an emotional blood adoption ceremony.
Draco made a heartfelt plea to his adopted father to stop being a spy because the thought of losing him now he had a real father figure was too much for Draco to comprehend. Severus didn't hesitate to tell Albus that he was in effect 'retiring' as a spy but would continue to help Harry in any other way. Albus seemed quite relieved as the toll of seeing the man he considered his own child come back night after night from those damn death eater meetings, tortured half to death was getting too much and he was happy for Severus to retire as he already had another spy within the Dark Lord's circle.
Harry and Severus had developed a unexpected bond whilst Severus trained Harry in the art of Occlumency and Legilimency and the feelings of hate that they both had for each other changed to that of friendship which they both welcomed.
It was Draco that had persuaded them to reveal their true feeling to each other when they each confided in him that they had both fallen in love with each other but were afraid to admit it to the other. He had locked them in Severus' office, told them to declare undying love to each other and refused to let them out before they did as they were told. It hadn't taken long before they were both released hand in hand looking more loved up than ever.
They had married a month after Harry had defeated Voldemort. It turns out that although the Dark Lord was a powerful wizard, he was not immune to a swift kick in the stones followed by a knee to the chops and punch in the guts (something Severus and Draco were particularly impressed at), that had kept him on the ground long enough for Harry to Crucio him to death. No quick death for Voldemort, he deserved everything he got including the boot to the ribs that Severus and Draco each got in before Hades dragged his soul to hell.
The wedding had been a glorious day, Severus and Harry had said their vows before all their family and friends with Draco as best man. Their magic was then bonded together in an amazing display of colourful magic swirling around them and Draco, bonding them all as family although Draco refused to call Harry 'Dad', something Harry was completely happy about as he felt decidedly uncomfortable with the thought of Draco calling him Dad, he saw them more as best friends.
Their child had been conceived that night much to Severus and Harry's surprise. Severus had been warned by Madame Pomfrey to be careful whilst he was pregnant as he was in a delicate situation and so he would cast a shield around his body whenever he was teaching his Potions classes to protect himself and their child from accidental cauldron explosions. Everything had been going wonderfully until one fateful day in which their lives changed forever.
It had been a normal start to the day. Harry had become a professor three weeks earlier and had agreed to teach DADA hoping to break the one year curse so he and Severus had gotten ready together. Harry, Severus and Draco walked together to the Great Hall for breakfast, chatting happily about how they hoped their day would go. Draco was telling them how he was enjoying his apprenticeship with Severus, Severus had suggested it as Draco was exceptionally good with potions and Draco agreed as he would have the best teacher.
After breakfast they made their way to their classrooms after Harry gave Severus a kiss goodbye and gently caressed his pregnant husband's rounded tummy. Draco and Severus were half way to the dungeons before they bumped into the headmaster.
"Good morning boys, I'm glad I bumped into you. Could I have a word with you Severus?" Albus asked politely.
"Of course Albus, Draco you go on ahead and start the class off, it's 7th year Slytherin/Gryffindor so they will be making the draft of living death" Severus said.
"Of course Dad, Nice to see you Headmaster" Draco replied with a smile and headed off to the class.
"How is he doing Severus?" Albus asked.
"Wonderfully, he is very talented" Severus replied with pride.
"Excellent, lets go to my office" Albus said as he notice Severus looking a bit unstable on his feet.
"Thank you Albus, I can't stand very long these days" Severus replied with a chuckle whilst rubbing his bump.
Albus offered his arm to Severus who took it readily, happy for the extra support and they made their way to the Headmaster's office where Fawkes greeted them with a happy song. Severus sat on the chair opposite Albus' desk thankful to be off his feet as Albus sat in his own chair.
"I will be retiring Severus, as soon as Draco has finished his apprenticeship and I would like you to take over as Headmaster" Albus said softly.
Severus took a moment to digest what Albus had just said before saying "What about Minerva?"
"She is happy as Deputy Head and she loved the idea of you taking over" Albus replied with a smile.
"Wow, well of course I would honoured and I'm sure Draco would be more than willing to become Hogwarts Potion Master" Severus replied, still slightly shocked at the conversation.
"Wonderful" Albus rejoiced, happy in the knowledge that his beloved Hogwarts would be in good hands when he eventually retired "Now you best be off to your class to make sure Draco is still in control of the student" Albus said with a chuckle.
"Good idea, Can I use your fireplace?" Severus asked.
"Of course child, you don't need to ask?" Albus replied with a smile, his eyes twinkling as usual.
Severus gave a nod before flooing to his office. He walked into the classroom to find Draco well in control so he flopped into the chair by his own desk and let out a sigh. Draco walked over to his father, concerned at the sigh he had released.
"Everything ok dad?" Draco asked.
"Albus asked me to be Headmaster when he retires and you are to replace me as Potions Master when you complete your apprenticeship" Severus replied still not quite believing it was true.
"Oh Merlin wow, that's amazing Dad" Draco replied amazed at what his father said "I hope I will be good enough to take over from you"
"Of course you will be, you have a natural talent for Potions" Severus said reassuringly making Draco smile.
Suddenly they heard a shout come from one of the students making them both look up. One of the students cauldrons was bubbling violently. Severus quickly jumped out of his chair and rushed over.
"Everyone move over to Draco, QUICKLY" He commanded and everyone ran to the far end of the room.
Severus then attempted to cast a containment spell on the cauldron but unfortunately was too late and the cauldron exploded violently throwing Severus across the room, causing him to hit the wall hard.
The students screamed as Severus slid down the wall, moaning in agony. Draco immediately rushed over to his father and let out a loud gasp as he found a large piece of pewter protruding from Severus' stomach. Fear gripped him as he realised Severus was bleeding profusely and needed medical help immediately.
"Theseus, can you floo to Madame Pomfrey and tell her we need her here NOW?" Draco asked the terrified student as calmly as he could, Theseus nodded and immediately flooed to the infirmary.
"Max, can you go and get Harry please?" Max immediately flooed to the DADA classroom
Draco then turned to the other students who all looked worried for their professor "I need you all to return to your dorms" All the students nodded and left quietly, some sobbing and being comforted by their fellow classmates.
Severus let out a pained groan "Draco what's wrong with me?"
"You have a piece of pewter stuck in your stomach, Dad" Draco replied trying to keep the tears that had built up in his eyes from escaping.
"I forgot to cast the shield when I came into the room, Oh Merlin please let the baby be ok" Severus sobbed.
Suddenly Harry burst into the room and rushed over to Draco and Severus.
"Max told me there was an emergency, what happened?" Harry said franticly.
"There was an explosion and Dad got hit" Draco replied pointing to the piece of Pewter imbedded in Severus' stomach.
"Oh sweet Merlin" Harry gasped caressing Severus' cheek, who was obviously in agony before Poppy came through the fireplace in Severus' office and rushed into the classroom.
"Severus, we are going straight to the infirmary ok?" Poppy said as calmly as she could.
Harry and Draco carefully helped Severus to his feet and they walked slowly to the fireplace in his office and flooed through into the infirmary just before Severus passed out.
Poppy worked for hours carefully removing the imbedded piece of pewter and managed to save Severus life. She told Harry and Draco they could stay with him until he woke up and that she would be in her office if they needed her.
Hours later Severus awoke to find Draco and Harry watching him from his bedside. Their eyes red from crying and their faces filled with worry.
"I survived" Severus whispered.
"Yes Sev, Poppy saved your life and you will make a full recovery" Harry replied sadly, Draco nodding in agreement.
"And the baby?" Severus asked hopefully.
Draco choked back a sob and Harry took a deep breath in an attempt to hold back his own sorrow before looking at Severus and taking his hand in his own "She didn't survive Sev" and his heart broke as he watched his husband's face crumple with devastating grief.
"no" Severus whispered "NO, NO, NO" he cried aloud as Harry and Draco wrapped their arms around the grief stricken man.
Poppy wept in her office as she heard the pained cries from her friend. Severus' cries seemed to echo through the corridors of Hogwarts and a blanket of sorrow fell over the whole castle.
In the weeks that followed, Severus slowly recovered from his injuries but fell further and further into a crippling depression. Harry and Draco both tried to comfort him but they just couldn't break through his grief. When Albus had come to visit him to offer his condolences, Severus had clung to him like a child, weeping into his shoulder. Albus stayed with him, whispering reassuring words and rubbing his back like a father would whilst comforting their child until Severus had cried himself to sleep.
Harry was determined to be strong for Severus and so he refused to allow his emotions to be released, he bottled up his own grief and sorrow and Draco could see that this was festering inside Harry and slowly consuming him. Harry needed to grieve properly before it destroyed him.
Draco, himself was devastated at the loss of his little sister but he chose to talk about his sorrow with Albus and that helped him greatly. He grieved properly as his father and best friend should be and so he decided, he had managed to get them to confess their feelings for each other, he would attempted to get them to grieve properly together as they should be.
His plan was carried out the following day. He asked Harry and Severus to meet him in their living room, which they both agreed to. After they had all sat down, he addressed them both.
"I love you both with every fibre of my being and so I cannot stand by and watch you both destroy yourselves. We are a family so should be dealing with this sad time as a family but we are falling apart. I want to be able to talk about my little sister without the fear I may push either of you over the edge" Draco said softly. Harry looked at him with regret and Severus silently wept at the mention of his lost child.
"Harry, you have bottled up your grief in a foolish attempt to be the strong one. You have no need to do this, it is eating away at your very soul and I cant bear to watch that happen anymore. You need to acknowledge your loss and you need to deal with it the right way, you need to talk about your grief" Draco explained to his best friend who lowered his head and nodded in heart breaking agreement.
"Dad, I know you are holding on to a misplaced guilt. It was not your fault, you have to believe me. You need to accept that she has gone and that there was nothing you could do. You are sinking into a depression so great we will not be able to reach you if you carry on blaming yourself" Draco said softly, Severus looked at his adopted child and watched as tears fell down his face "I just want my Dad back, I need you to come back" Draco pleaded as a sob tore through his throat and he dropped his head, his shoulders shaking as he wept.
Something suddenly clicked in Severus' grief addled mind and he rushed to his distraught son and pulled him into a hug.
"I am so sorry, Draco. I'm here now child, it's ok dad's here" Severus repeated over and over as her rocked his sobbing child, silent tears falling down his face as he held his heart broken son.
Harry followed suit and rushed to his family and wrapped his arms around them both "I'm sorry Draco, we should have been there for you"
After a few moments in each other's embrace Draco pulled away "I love you guys so much. Now, please talk to each other" he sniffed.
Severus then turned to Harry, the love of his life and whispered "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect her" guilt burning in his obsidian eyes.
Harry quickly embraced his beloved "I never blamed you my love, never. It was a tragic accident that was in no way your fault" Harry felt his husband's body sag with pure relief.
"She's really gone, isn't she" Severus whispered, squeezing his eyes shut tight as a wave of pure grief washed over him.
"Yes Darling, she is gone" Harry replied releasing a sob as Draco came over and hugged them both tight.
Suddenly the grief that they had all been clinging to poured out of them and they all cried together, it was at that moment their hearts began to heal and they knew they would cope with their sorrow together as a family.
"We should do something to commemorate her" Draco said with Severus and Harry nodding in agreement and they all began formulating a plan.
The next day Draco, Harry and Severus stood hand in hand, in a beautiful part of Hogwarts grounds close to the castle, over looking the forbidden forest and the black lake, the wind was gentle blowing around them. They had just planted a plant for their beloved daughter and sister so they would always have something to remind them of her, Albus had suggested the plant after they had told them of their plans.
Harry then cleared his throat "I hope you can hear me my darling. I want to let you know that I love you, I have since the moment we found out you were growing in your papa's tummy. I hope your grandma Lily came to collect you when you had to leave us, precious one, She will keep you safe until we meet again. I will never forget you, my darling although we never met, I will always remember you and you will always be my precious little girl" Harry finished by blowing a kiss into the wind that was still blowing gently around them.
Severus took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking up at the blue sky "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Princess. I would have loved for you to join us in the world but sadly it was not meant to be. We named you Rose, little one and we planted this rose bush for you as a reminder that you blessed us with your presence even though it was only for a short time. We will meet again but until then I will think of you everyday, I will never forget you. I love you so much my little rose bud" Severus also finished by blowing a kiss into the wind which caressed his face as he closed his eyes, tears falling silently down his face.
Draco looked up at the sky as his father had "Your daddies may have named you Rose, but you were always Squirt to me. Do you remember when I used to talk to you while our dad was sleeping on the sofa, Squirt? You used to kick up a storm when I talked to you, you were so feisty I used to tell you that you were going to be born in the year of the Dragon and your feistiness suited you and I told you that Draco means Dragon. I used to tell you about all the things we were going to do like playing pranks on our Dad's, teaching you how to swim, how to make potions, we were going to have so much fun but now your gone and we can't do those things. Please watch over our Daddies, Squirt because if you do it from up there and I do it down here then we have them covered" Severus rubbed Draco's hand that he was holding with his thumb in a silent thank you "I have a gift for you little sister, I have been practicing this all night, I hope you like it" Draco said and noticed Severus and Harry had moved behind him, tears falling down both their faces as they both hugged him from behind, Draco looked back up at the sky "I will always love you Squirt" He then blew a kiss into the wind just as Harry and Severus had done, however as he blew out, hundreds of butterflies flew into the breeze making Harry and Severus gasp in shock. Some settled on the rose bush, others settled on Harry, Draco and Severus while the rest gracefully fluttered in the wind. "For You, Rose" Draco whispered as silent tears fell down his face.
Severus and Harry hugged Draco tighter as they all stood standing watching the butterflies, the sun was setting and the sky was filled with beautiful colours as if mother nature herself had given a breathtaking tribute to Rose.
Suddenly Draco glanced back at the castle and gasped at the sight, Harry and Severus looked up and both let out a sob at the sight of the students and staff standing watching them. Albus, Remus and Sirius raised their wands and said "For Rose" before casting their patronus'. From Albus' wand a Phoenix burst out, From Remus' a wolf and Sirius a dog and they flew down to Draco, Severus and Harry, circling them before each bowing to the rose bush. Everyone else followed suit and a unified "For Rose" was said before hundreds of patronus' were cast and a plethora of silvery animals flew to the three men each circling them before bowing to the rose bush.
Harry, Draco and Severus nodded their heads gratefully at the staff and students before turning back to the silvery animals and they all burst out laughing at the sight of the hundreds of patronus' playing together, chasing each other, scampering about and generally frolicking.
"She would love this" Draco said with a smile for the first time in weeks.
"So carefree" Severus agreed before casting his patronus, the Doe gracefully bowed to the rose bush before bowing to the three men.
"So innocent" Harry also agreed before casting his own patronus, the stag bowed respectively to the rose bud and to the three men, before walking over to the Doe nuzzling her gently.
Draco looked at the silvery creatures and sighed sadly, he had never been able to successfully cast a patronus, the last attempt being the night when he was viciously beaten by Lucius. Severus sensed his son's upset "You don't have to do it Draco, your butterflies were a beautiful gift" he said soothingly.
"I want to try for her" Draco replied before taking a deep breath and closed his eyes. He thought of all the good memories he had like the day Severus rescued him, the day Severus adopted him, the day he managed to get Severus and Harry together, being best man at their wedding. He opened his eyes to find his wand started to glow white so he thought some more about the day he found out he would be a big brother, the first time Rose kicked to the sound of his voice, the first time he realised she would be born in the year of the Dragon. The memory that the was the strongest was when Severus told him that he would have a little sister and the protectiveness increased tenfold, he had never seen his father look so happy. He reopened his eyes and shouted "EXPECTO PATRONUM", White light exploded out of the end of his wand and a huge silver dragon formed, its magnificent wings spread out and it let out a silent roar. The dragon then bowed to Severus, Harry and Draco before curling around the rose bush protectively.
Draco fell to the ground, weeping at the realisation he had finally managed to cast a patronus and that it was a magnificent creature that represented both him and his beloved sister. He looked up at the stars twinkling in the inky black sky before whispering "Thank you Rose".
Severus and Harry joined Draco on the ground, Severus on one side of Draco, hugging his son close to him with Harry on the other side with an arm around them both as they watched the dragon protecting their beloved rose bush. They sat holding each other, sharing the same grief but safe in the knowledge that their little Rose Bud was safe, watching over them and forever in their memories.