Ever wonder what teachers do in that staff room? Well, I think we're about to find out. I think there are a few party animals amongst the crowd at Hogwarts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The staff room was littered with decorations and confetti the following weekend, and most, if not all, of the staff was present. When Harry walked in, the din erupted, and Harry saw Severus visibly wince at the volume increase. He smiled and accepted a butterbeer, receiving pats on the back and congratulations as he sifted through the crowd.
"You don't look like you're having much fun, Severus," Harry grinned.
"Do I ever?" he retorted, sending Harry into laughter.
"No, I don't suppose you do. At least try and enjoy yourself. I promise, if you have fun, the world won't end." Snape narrowed his eyes at the youth, who merely grinned back. Before Snape could reply, Harry was swept off his feet by Flitwick's levitating charm and placed upon the makeshift stage. Chants of speech were heard all around the room. Harry took a moment to survey the crowd. So many faces he'd come to respect and admire, and now he was being celebrated, not for being Harry Potter, but for being Harry. He smiled, pulled his wand, and pointed it to his throat.
"Sonorous. It's so great to see everyone here tonight, even you, Filch!" The room erupted in laughter, and even Filch had to try to repress a smile. Mrs. Norris, with whom Harry had a pact with since his fifth year, jumped up on the stage. Harry scratched the cat lovingly behind the ear and continued.
"You know, the students must be having a field day with no teachers around. I can just see Fred and George in this situation," more laughter. "But, that's not what we're partying for! Hermione Granger and I are getting married!" If at all possible, the noise level increased, and Harry guessed there had to be a silencing charm on the door, or the castle would have shaken with the eruption. Once they had calmed down enough for Harry to speak, he grinned even wider.
"The best part of it all, if it could possibly get any better…we're having a baby!" Surprised gasps and cheers issued forth, and the party kicked off again full force. Harry had to shout, even with the magnification spell on his voice, to get them to quiet down again.
"Wow, I thought the students were bad," Harry shook his head. "I'd love to stay and socialize with you, but I have invitations to write and Hermione to visit, so I must be off." Groans were heard, but it was clear that the party was nowhere near over for some. McGonagall smiled at Harry and nodded, stepping out to attend her duties. Likewise, Filch stepped out with Mrs. Norris trailing. As they were leaving, a voice rang out above the din.
"For he's a jolly good fellow…" Then several more voices joined in.
"For he's a jolly good fellow…" Finally, the rest of the staff ended the song loudly.
"For he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny!" Hooch smiled proudly and squeezed Harry's shoulder before Harry made his way to the door, Severus right behind him. Once out in the corridor, their ears rang from the noise as they walked to Severus' chambers. Harry hissed the good news to the founder, who hissed back congratulations before Severus cleared his throat. He gave the password and the two entered, Harry flopping down on the couch.
"We weren't there very long, but I'm exhausted." Severus leveled an age-old glare that reminded Harry of his school days.
"I don't think so. You have things to which to attend, and I will not have you laying about when I have papers to grade. Come into my study and work on that invitation list." Harry groaned, making him sound ten years younger, and stood. Severus handed him a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink, and Harry sat down at the small end table while Severus occupied the desk. Harry checked the clock and saw that he had an hour before he met with Hermione at her parents' house. He began to scribble down names of people he'd want at the ceremony, then he and Hermione would compare notes and make a guest list.
The Weasleys (8), Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, The Grangers (2), Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, Sam Flitwick, Seamus Finnegan (2), Neville Longbottom (2), Hagrid
Harry thought, but couldn't think of anyone else. Sure, some of the faculty would come, but most had to go to Hogsmeade with the students. He sighed and tucked the parchment into his robes, then stood.
"I must be off. I promised Hermione I'd meet her at her parents' house soon." Severus stood as well.
"Very well, Harry, I will see you tomorrow at breakfast." Harry nodded and strode out, hissing at the founder before striding down the hall and out the doors. He still avoided Floo Powder if at all necessary, and Apparating had become his new favorite way to travel (besides flying of course). He Apparated directly into their living room, and Hermione spotted him on her way back from the bathroom.
"Harry!" She hugged him tightly and kissed him, then Harry pulled away, laying a hand on her stomach.
"How is everyone?" he asked softly.
"We're doing fine, thank you. We're all sitting at the kitchen table, come on." He followed her in the kitchen, where he hugged Vanessa and shook hands with David. Harry was a little apprehensive around them at first, not really knowing how they would react to their eighteen year old daughter being pregnant and married. But David squelched any misconceptions right away.
"Harry, we couldn't be happier that our little girl is marrying the man she loves. Call me modern, but I believe that no matter how young you are, if you love each other, that's all that matters." Vanessa smiled in agreement, and Harry sighed inwardly. "Why, Vanessa and I were only slightly older than the two of you when we were married and had our little pumpkin."
"Dad! Really!" Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly, and Harry laughed as he took a seat next to her. He pulled out his parchment and handed it to his fiancé, who perused it.
"Most of these are on my list as well, though I have to admit, Professor Snape is a shock." Harry smiled.
"Actually, he and I have been, well, not friends, but not enemies either, for nearly three years now. Once I started working at Hogwarts, we became friends. It's hard to explain Mione…he's like…like the older brother I never had. The one I'd go to for advice if I needed help." Hermione smiled in shock as she listened, then smiled.
"It makes sense Harry." He looked at her quizzically. "Well, you never knew your parents, and your aunt and uncle weren't much help at all." Harry snorted in disgust, "And Sirius was more like…an uncle than a father figure, and the Headmaster was a grandfatherly figure for you. You just needed someone to turn to when you'd screwed up and needed to be reprimanded not coddled, or given advice instead of told what to do. Like an older brother, a father, a mentor." Harry's eyes widened.
"When did you get so smart, Mione?"
"When she was five," Vanessa exclaimed, "And we realized she knew more about the world than we did." Hermione tinged slightly, but turned back to the list. After debating for hours, they finally had everything planned. Finally, the wedding was done, and they turned their attention to the baby.
"Well, you could stay here until you get settled. We have two extra room upstairs for you two and the baby." Hermione started to argue with her father, but he held up a hand, "Just until you get on your feet and get a proper home."
"I'm sure McGonagall would let you stay at Hogwarts, but I think that would be too stressful for you and the baby. I think we should stay here." Hermione nodded, knowing she was defeated, and they began to plan how to turn the extra bedroom into a nursery.
Being dentists, they didn't know a whole lot about architecture, but David said one of his clients did.
"He's coming in for a check-up next week; I'll talk to him." David and Vanessa stood, yawning.
"It's late, we'd better be getting to bed. Goodnight pumpkin, Harry." Hermione kissed both her parents goodnight and they walked back to their room, talking in hushed tones.
"Why do I have this feeling that their discussing us?" Harry asked. Hermione scooted closer and leaned up against him.
"Because they are," she answered. Harry sighed and shifted a little before speaking again.
"Mione, we have to discuss personal matters involving our baby, like names, godparents, things like that." Hermione shifted a little.
"Who were you thinking of in terms of godparents?"
"Well, naturally, I would say Remus, but the Ministry won't allow it because he's a werewolf." Hermione chuckled.
"You want Professor Snape." Harry looked down at her.
"How did you…never mind. I think so. If things were different, I would, without a doubt, say Ron. And Draco…" he thought for a moment about whether or not he should tell her, "He's got his hands full at the moment." If she asked, which she undoubtedly would, he would tell her. Surprisingly, she remained silent, thinking about it.
"Harry, Professor Snape will do perfectly, but what do we tell Remus?"
Harry smiled, "Aw come on, you think Remus would want to be the kid's godfather? Godfather's have to be able to keep the child in line, you know, act as an authority figure when the parents' aren't around. Remus will want to teach the kid all the Marauder ways and pit him against us."
"Then why did your parents pick Sirius? Surely they could have found someone better in that sense?"
"Well, Remus couldn't do it, naturally, and there was no way my Mum would have agreed to Wormtail. So it became Sirius by default! Remus would have spoiled me rotten, just as he will our child.
"And Professor Snape will keep him in line," Hermione added, and Harry chuckled. "So how about names?" Hermione shifted back to her chair, and they began to write names down on the parchment.
"Alright, boys' names. I've always liked the name Elijah. I don't know why." Hermione scribbled the name down, along with Jonathan, her favorite, then began to list more names on the paper.
"Did you, uh, want to use your father's name?" Harry thought, then shook his head.
"Not really, I'd like to think up original names for the child."
"Are we going to use your first name as his middle?"
"Only if you want to," he replied.
"It is a wizarding tradition for purebloods. And since you are a wizard, and I am a witch, our child is a pureblood." Harry smiled.
"You are a know-it-all, you know that?" She nodded softly.
"Well, Jonathan Harold just sounds…odd, so that's a no," she scratched out Jonathan. "Elijah Harold Potter?" Harry shook his head. She continued to go down the list, but they couldn't come up with a suitable name.
"Alright, Mione, girls' names now. Let's see if we can get somewhere tonight." She chuckled and pulled out another piece of paper. "Alyssa," Harry suggested, and she wrote it down under Jane and Kathryn. They were much more productive this time, and actually managed a few names they could agree on.
"So we've got Tyra Jane and Alyssa Michelle. What do you think?" Harry thought for a moment.
"I like them both. Why don't we wait? Maybe the name will come to us once we see him."
"Him? You're so sure it's a boy?"
"Yes I am. After all, all the firstborns in the Potter line have been male, so it's only natural to assume our first child will be a boy." Hermione smiled.
"That is probably the most logical thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth. But it's late," she punctuated with a yawn, "And I have work to do tomorrow."
"But tomorrow is Sunday!"
"Yes, well, work doesn't sleep, only people do. And don't forget to tell Professor Snape. I'm sure it will be the shock of his life. Goodnight Harry." She kissed him on the lips, and he deepened it, savoring every moment with her. They finally parted, and with a word, Harry was gone.
He reappeared outside the barriers and smiled. "Oh no it won't," he began talking to himself as he walked up to the castle. "The shock of his life was probably me coming to see him that night."
"Harry Potter, who are you talking to?" Firenze came galloping out of the forest.
"Oh, hi Firenze. No one, just myself." Firenze nodded, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
"Mars is bright tonight," he said. Harry looked up and smiled.
"Indeed it is, Firenze."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whoo hoo! I got a chapter out before I left for the Retreat! I'm leaving for a retreat this weekend here in a few hours and I won't be back until Sunday. So the next time I can get to a computer is Monday. So for all you Black Secret fans, I posted the 37th chapter and now this! Hope everyone enjoys!
May Salazar Slytherin honor you,
Rickman's Girl
