Disclaimer: Nothing belonging to the Harry Potter universe belongs to me.

Author's Note: Okay, quick timeline. The last chapter occurred in late July, since Harry had gotten pregnant in late April and was already three months into his pregnancy as of last chapter. It is now mid-August, two weeks before school starts on September 1. Just wanted to clear that up and keep confusion to a minimum.

Chapter Two: Adjustments

Harry sighed in relief as he finally finished packing for his move to Hogwarts. He and Severus were due to arrive a good two weeks before school started, so that they could spend some time with the other faculty and polish off last minute details before the students arrived to torment them.

Harry smirked, taking one last look around his and Sev's bedroom before turning and walking down to the foyer to meet his husband. Severus had been grumbling all morning about having to leave Snape Manor and return to the school to try and teach more annoying little dunderheads topics that they didn't give a damn about. Harry just shrugged to himself – he thought he might enjoy teaching, at least for a year or so. After all, he'd have a child of his own soon, and that would take a great deal of his time.

Stumbling down the steps in a show of pregnancy-induced clumsiness, Harry Potter wished to all that was good in this world that the pregnancy would be over and done with soon. Unfortunately, he still had a good five months to go. He grinned wickedly – Remus and Sirius were both traveling right now, but they would return in about another four months for Christmas, which is when Harry would tell both his godfathers that he was eight months pregnant. He eagerly anticipated the looks on their faces when they found out.

Of course, there was a far more practical reason for them to return in December. Since Harry would likely be having his child in January, Remus needed to be there to take over his Defense courses until Harry could come back. It had already been planned between Harry, Severus, and Albus, so he wasn't really worried about it. He knew that Remus would take the position temporarily, even if it was on such short notice.

Smiling, Harry greeted his husband with a kiss before tugging playfully on his arm and smiling winsomely. "Are we ready to go now, Sev?" he asked, his eyes alight in joy and anticipation. Severus smiled gently as his young husband – the man really was looking forward to teaching. Just wait until he met the brats. Then he'd know that the potions professor had the right idea in making all the kids cower before him, afraid to do anything that might disrupt his class and capture his attention...and his wrath.

Looking over his husband thoroughly, he nodded. "I see you've covered up properly," he stated, and Harry grinned at him. They had decided to mask Harry's pregnancy for as long as possible. Eventually, glamour charms wouldn't be effective in covering up the pregnancy, and would take up to much of Harry's energy, leaving the unborn child vulnerable to attack. They were hoping to keep the glamourie in place until Halloween. Any longer, and it would become dangerous for both child and father.

Grabbing his trunk, Severus apparated, leaving a startled Harry to follow after him. In a matter of seconds, Harry was standing beside him at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, which he looked towards longingly. Severus sighed, "You know why you can't, Harry. I'm sorry, but I won't risk you and our child like that." Harry nodded. He no longer shifted into Amarth save on the nights of the full moon, when it couldn't be prevented. There was always the danger of a miscarriage should Harry shift too often, altering his body with the child inside, so he only ever shifted once a month, when he had no choice. The threat was still present then, but not as strongly.

Turning towards the school, Harry led the way up to the front doors, which opened upon their approach to show a smiling Headmaster, eyes twinkling as he gazed down at his two favorite children. "Welcome back, Severus. Harry," he nodded, earning a smile and returned greeting of, "It's good to be back, Albus," from Harry, and a curt nod from Severus. Moving back, he allowed the two men entry into Hogwarts.

Once inside, two House Elves appeared to take their trunks down to their joint chambers. They would share chambers as they had last year. One of the House Elves looked up and squealed in delight. "Oh! The great Mister Harry Potter is here, he is here again! Dobby is happy to see the Master looking so well. Is Master staying to teach?" he babbled. Severus just turned to Harry, one eyebrow raised.

The raven-haired man just rolled his eyes in Severus' direction before turning back to the hyperactive House Elf. "I'm glad to see you too, Dobby. Yes, I'm here to teach, for one year at least. I thank you for your words, Dobby. Now, could you please take our things down to our chambers, Dobby?"

Dobby bounced up and down eagerly, nodding his head fervently. Quickly, he dashed in and gave Harry's legs an enthusiastic hug before grabbing his trunk and disappearing with a crack. The other House Elf grabbed Severus' trunk and also disappeared, much more subdued than Dobby.

Albus laughed delightedly. "I see that you seem to have made quite the admirer out of Dobby," he said to Harry. Harry grumbled under his breath, "I don't know why I even bothered. He very nearly killed me with his 'help'." Severus turned to him quickly, concern etching itself in his features, as well as a minimal amount of anger that was growing steadily, aimed towards the creature that had dared to hurt his husband.

Harry, seeing the direction this confrontation was heading for, hurried to diffuse the situation. "It's okay, Sev. He was Malfoy's House Elf that I freed during my second year. Lucius had been the one to place Riddle's diary in among one of Ginny's books. Dobby tried to prevent me from going to school, and failing that, he attempted to injure me enough so that I'd leave." Severus waited patiently for further enlightenment, and Harry sighed, flushing in embarrassment.

"Dobby was the one who dropped dessert over the heads of some of my uncle's guests. I got into a lot of trouble for that, and almost got myself expelled from school. He also closed the gate to Platform 9 ¾ so that we couldn't get through it. That's why Ron and I took the flying car. Finally, he was the one who set that rogue bludger on me during the Quidditch match against Slytherin, when that...when Lockhart tried to fix my broken arm," he grimaced. Severus snorted, letting Harry know exactly what he had thought of that pompous, arrogant, incompetent embarrassment of a wizard. Even Neville was less shameful than that blonde-headed twit had been.

"He really wasn't all that bad though," Harry continued, setting them back on track. "When I returned Riddle's destroyed diary to Lucius, I placed a sock in there. He threw it down, right at Dobby, setting him free. Lucius was furious at me for losing him a House Elf, but Dobby blasted him backwards several feet, defending me, and Lucius stormed away." Severus smirked wickedly at this, murmuring, "I would have paid a great deal to see the look on his face after you cost him a House Elf. You, a twelve-year-old boy. No wonder he decided to join you alongside his son. Not many people can make a fool of Lucius and get away with it. You must have been a force to be reckoned with if he backed down from you."

Harry shrugged. "He didn't back down from me. He backed down from Dobby, which is worse." Severus shook his head, disagreeing. "He may have backed down from Dobby, but it is rare that a House Elf will help anyone other than his or her current master. The fact that he had tried to help you before, against his master's wishes, said a great deal about you, Harry." Harry flushed in a sort of pleased embarrassment, not used to hearing such compliments from his older husband.

Albus coughed gently behind them, reminding them of his presence, and they turned towards him quickly, Harry trying to prevent the light blush that was sweeping across his face. The old wizard just smiled at them both and said, "I expect that you'd like to get settled in before tonight's staff meeting. Dinner is at six in the Great Hall, and the meeting itself will start at seven. Now go relax for a few hours, and I'll see you at dinner." With that, the Headmaster turned and walked away, leaving the two men to make their way down to their chambers.

Once safely ensconced in the living room, Harry dropped the glamour over his midsection in relief. Even only going to Halloween, it would be a stretch on his endurance. Being a were-Jachyra helped a great deal, as it gave him two slightly different forms of magic to utilize, but they had decided to not risk using his magic more than necessary. He went without the glamour charms in their chambers, where no one would be able to see him. If anyone did come to visit or to talk to one of them, Severus' wards and Harry's keen Jachyra senses would warn him of anybody approaching their rooms so that he could replace the glamour until they had left.

Severus smiled at him before summoning a House Elf and ordering a light lunch, looking at Harry sternly when the young man opened his mouth to object. Snapping his mouth shut, Harry sighed in resignation and sat down, succumbing to Severus' wishes. He knew that he had to eat to keep the child healthy, but he really wasn't hungry and felt that his husband was going a bit overboard on this whole thing. Then again, he hadn't anything or anyone to compare Sev's reactions with, so he really had no ground to stand on in this.

When lunch – tea and sandwiches – had been served, Severus sat down across from him and opened the conversation. "You have your schedule prepared?" he asked. Harry rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at Severus. The man had practically breathed down his neck to make sure he got it completed within two weeks of being hired for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Severus smirked lightly at him and continued, "All right, pointless question. Do you know how you're going to catch and hold the attention of the little brats?"

Harry shrugged lightly and grinned cheekily up at his husband. "I'm hoping that being the Man-Who-Defeated-Voldemort will put them in awe of me and what I can do. I also plan to show-off a bit in the first class I have with all of them – perhaps with my basilisk Patronus. Or maybe my stag, if I don't want to frighten them." Severus arched an eyebrow, conveying a very clear question, and Harry nodded, "Yes, I have multiple Patronuses. I have a basilisk, a stag, a wolf, and a Grim. It really depends on my mind- set and which memory I choose to conjure up at the time."

Severus just nodded, replying, "Typical. The Gryffindor knack for showing off and being the center of attention will always run true in you, Mr. Potter." Harry just rolled his eyes, the only indication that he had even heard the barb. He was used to Severus' acerbic tongue by now, and knew when he was serious and when he was just teasing, like now. "Well, my reputation's got to be good for something," he retorted. "After all, the only thing it's done for me so far is lured Evil Overlords towards me, attempting to take my life. I find that I'm rather partial towards it now, thank you very much," he sniffed, but neither of them missed the serious tone that had crept in at the end.

Harry may have something to live for now, but they both remembered a time when Harry had been at the mercy of the Dursleys, a group of muggles that were supposed to take care of him, as they were his relatives. Instead, they had abused the poor boy until he felt as worthless as they had always told him he was. They had gotten away from the courts with little more than a slap on the wrist, and Harry had been forced to go back to them. Fortunately, he hadn't had enough control yet to stay away from his bonded for that long, so Dumbledore had enough influence and legal footing to ensure that Severus, Remus, Lucius, and Draco went to stay with him for the summer. After Harry had succeeded in bringing Sirius back from behind the Veil, he too had gone to live with them for the remainder of the summer.

Now, Harry finally had what he had longed for all his life – a family he could truly call his own, though none were blood-related to him. And it was growing every day. Severus, Lucius, Draco, Remus, Sirius, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione were all part of his new family. Not to mention the rest of the Weasleys, whom Harry had always considered to be his surrogate family.

Sighing in contentment, Harry leaned back, full for the moment, closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair. Severus snorted, but Harry didn't move, only deigning to crack open one eye to see what had amused his love. Severus rolled his eyes and stood, moving over to Harry and picking him before carrying him into the bedroom. Harry just sighed happily and snuggled into his husband's chest, warm and satisfied. Severus undressed him down to his boxers and tucked him into bed before stripping himself and sliding in underneath the covers next to Harry, whereupon the young man curled into his side and wrapped strong arms around his waist, using his shoulder for a pillow. Severus quickly set an alarm due to go off an hour before the staff meeting, and the two lovers quickly drifted off to sleep.

Three hours later, they were rising again, preparing for the staff meeting. Or, more precisely, Severus was getting ready, while Harry was eating some crackers and milk to satisfy his husband. It was small, but as long as he ate something, it made Severus happy. Polishing off his food, Harry replaced the glamourie and stood by the door, waiting for Severus to join him, which he did a minute later. Together, they headed out of their quarters and up to the Headmaster's office.

Speaking the password to the gargoyle, "Bottlecaps", they let themselves be carried up the revolving staircase to the door. Not bothering to knock, since Albus undoubtedly already knew of their arrival, they entered the room, to find themselves the first ones there, other than the Headmaster and Fawkes, who greeted them happily, then coughed and burst into flames. Severus snorted at this display, while Harry hid a smile behind his hands, opening the mind-link and showing Sev the first time he had witnessed one of the phoenix's Burning Days. This time, Severus did laugh, and Harry turned to Albus, who was twinkling back at them, apparently remembering the same thing. "That's two Burning Days you've witnessed now, Harry, although I must admit, your reactions are much different this time around."

Harry laughed, "Of course, Albus, sir. This time, you were here as well, so I know it can't have been my fault." A small peep sounded from Fawkes' perch, and all three wizards looked over to see an infant phoenix rising from the ashes of the burned one. "Hello again, Fawkes. Welcome back," Harry greeted amiably, grinning. Fawkes just peeped at him again, turning to look over its ugly, infantile body. "Don't worry about it," Harry reassured the featherless bird, "we only have a staff meeting today, so everybody'll be coming through here, since they haven't already." Fawkes gave a cry of alarm and looked to Albus, who just laughed. Phoenix's were rather vain creatures, and for anybody but these three, and perhaps Minerva McGonagall, to witness him as an infant was just embarrassing for Fawkes.

Dumbledore nodded to them and said, "You two may head back into the back room. The others will be here soon." Harry and Severus nodded and moved towards the back room, where staff meetings were held. Harry frowned and asked his husband, "Why don't we just use the staff lounge instead of this room?" Severus shrugged. "We usually do use the staff lounge, because this room was used for meeting of a more...secretive nature." Harry knew that he was talking about the meetings of the Order of the Phoenix, having attended some of them himself, as the Shadow King.

"However, since the Order is no longer needed for the time being, this is being used as the ordinary staff meeting place. At least here, we won't be disturbed by that idiot Peeves." Harry snorted – every child in the school hated Peeves, the irritating Poltergeist that did nothing but cause trouble and try to get every student in trouble at least once. Unfortunately for Harry, he had been one of the pest's favorite targets, landing him in quite a few detentions, mostly with Professor Snape. Harry smiled – it seemed ages ago that he had despised the potions master, hating him in turn for being hated for things he didn't even do. Now, he couldn't see his life without the man.

Harry and Severus were seated by the time the other teachers started trickling in. Minerva was the first to enter, and she greeted both of them warmly. Severus smiled back at her as he returned her greeting. She was a good friend, even when he was being a snarky bastard. Harry enveloped his professor in a hug, startling the both of them, but obviously pleasing the cat animagus, because she practically purred, causing all three of them to chuckle lightly, stopping immediately when the next person – Sybil Trelawny – arrived. Of course, her tea leaves had probably told her that there was a staff meeting that day, they were sure.

After the Divinations fraud came the rest of the professors – Flitwick, Hooch, Sprout, Hagrid, and a few others that Harry had never met, such as the professors of Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies. Those he did know were greeted warmly, and enthusiastically in the case of Hagrid. The others all exchanged polite greetings with Harry, knowing only of his reputation, but never having actually met him in the classroom, although they all knew his best friend, Hermione Granger.

Once all the professors were in attendance and accounted for, Albus Dumbledore swept in, closing the door behind him and beaming at the staff members in the room. Most of them returned his warm smile, except for Severus, who just scowled, and Sybil Trelawny, who had a rather glazed look in her eyes.

Seating himself, Dumbledore opened the staff meeting. Harry was introduced to the staff as Harry Potter-Snape, or just Professor Snape, which many of the teachers, Harry included, found rather amusing. After all, the children were terrified of the Potions Master, and now there were two Snapes in the school. Of course, it might work the other way around, and the children would adore Harry and realized that their potions professor must have some redeeming qualities. Hell, they might actually realize that the vicious wizard was human, despite the rumors implying otherwise.

After introductions, each teacher gave a basic outline of what they planned to cover for each class. Harry was relieved that his schedule seemed to be on par for the children. He had spoken to Remus before he went on his travels with Sirius, so he knew what they had covered last year. He also knew that they were still rather far behind, despite the werewolf's best efforts. At least his first and second years would be on par. He'd have to quiz the rest and find out exactly where they stood before altering his schedule slightly to accommodate their knowledge in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The meeting lasted well into the evening, with the professors voting on everything from getting new brooms for the Quidditch teams to leaving the popular make-out spots 'unattended'. Harry was rather amused to learn that the teachers all knew very well where their students made out, but had decided to leave those areas seemingly unmonitored so that the students didn't go searching for new places that the professors weren't aware of.

Harry pulled out the Marauders Map and showed all the teachers the various secret passages within the school, including all the ones leading to Hogsmeade. Minerva looked up at him, shocked. "Harry! Why didn't we know about this sooner? And why are you showing it to us now?" Harry grinned unabashedly. "Well, Professor, I am no longer a student in this school, so now the students will be left to fend for themselves. Besides, I see no reason why we should make their life any easier," he grinned, catching Severus' amused smirk out of the corner of his eye.

Severus had found out about the Marauders Map only recently, when Harry had shown him how it worked. He had always wondered how it was that the Marauders managed to escape him and the professors in the school, and why they often arrived late at night with bounty from Hogsmeade. Harry just knew that he was going to hold this over Sirius and Remus' head when they returned. They may be Harry's adoptive parents, but that didn't mean that they were free from the teasing that Severus bestowed upon them. To the dark wizard, they were the Marauders, banes of his existence, first and foremost, and he'd always act accordingly.

Finally, the meeting ended and Harry and Severus left for their own chambers, promising to see everyone the next morning for breakfast. By the time they reached their quarters, Harry was stumbling in exhaustion. Severus had apparently decided that he could wait to eat, because he was already tucking Harry into bed and removing the glamour before Harry knew what was happening. When he went to leave, Harry reached out and clung to him, silently entreating him to stay with him. With a sigh of resignation, Severus once again slid into bed with his husband, where they fell quickly into sleep.