"It's probably just a touch of the stomach flu. He seemed a bit feverish when he woke up. Or maybe it's nerves."
"Maybe…Let's go check on him." They both got up and walked out of the room, each worrying over what could be wrong with the Potion's Master, but neither knowing exactly what it could be.
A/N: Well, here we are, the last chapter of Pet. I wonder what's up with Severus. Could it be the stomach flu? Or maybe there was a wound that Harry forgot to check. Huh, it just seems strange… This chapter's short, I know. I meant it to be.
Also, Alan Rickman. On The View. You cannot deny that his voice is the most sexiest thing you will ever hear.
Chapter 20: The End of the Beginning.
A week had passed since Harry's "Return to the Dark Side" as Fred and George called it. Everything seemed to be going back to normal. The children were playing, now having even more fun with Stephanie around. Lily, Remus, and Sirius were calmer, knowing that Harry was safe. Even Tom seemed more relaxed as he petted Marvolo. The kitten had grown fairly well while Harry was gone, no longer able to fit in Tom's hand and having to be cradled like a child. Narcissa told him that he would make a brilliant father once. It gave the others enough amusement for a day to see the appalled look on Tom's face.
The only thing that was truly different, was Severus' illness. He was always sick in the morning, and sometimes throughout the whole day. Narcissa and Lily, the only two there with medical training, could not figure out what was wrong. Harry began to suspect it was the room, so the two moved to another one. It wasn't a problem, there were plenty of rooms to spare within the manor. Yet Severus still woke up sick.
It was midday now, and Severus was asleep, using Harry's lap as a pillow and showing no signs of wanting to move or even wake up. Harry's hand threaded through his mate's silky hair as he thought. They had tried almost everything short of a muggle ultrasound. If it was a stomach problem, the ultrasound would show it just as well as it would a baby for a pregnant woman or an ulcer with someone with one.
Harry began to think that it wasn't something wrong with Severus, but with himself. What if he had caused this? Had Severus' magic actually rejected him, and was trying to show it? No. He could still feel the strands of his mate's magic twining peacefully with his. Sighing, he looked at the book of magical illnesses he had open on the arm of the couch beside him. It wasn't dragon pox, or the muggle equivalent. The flu was ruled out after the second day. Fred had jokingly guessed that Harry was just too rough with sex, and it turned into a real possibility. That turned up negative though, it wouldn't last this long if he was. "…Internal injuries?" Harry finally asked as Hermione walked in, her arms full of books. She took a seat in the chair across from Harry.
"It wouldn't just go away like that." Hermione answered, opening up one book. "Now if he was a girl, we could just rule it off as cramps. I wish it was the case." She sighed. "Did you check the parseltongue books yet?"
"No, I'm still on this one." Harry pointed to the book beside him. His other hand stopped petting Severus long enough to flip the page. "I'm glad mum took Calix and Stephanie for now…I don't want to risk them catching whatever Sev has. It's bad enough he got it in the first place." Harry looked back into the book. "Small pox?"
"Disappeared, Harry. Not possible." Hermione said. "Food Poisoning?"
"Can't be, we could treat that." Harry glanced down at his sleeping mate. Severus didn't look sick, just tired. "Panic Attack?" Hermione looked at Harry. "You're right…I doubt Sev could get those…could it be kidney failure?"
"That is a strong possibility." Hermione wrote it down on the parchment she brought with the books. "An allergy or tumor too."
"Cysts." Harry blurted out. "They could cause this, can't they?"
Hermione nodded. "Has he been able to sleep well?" Harry shook his head. "We can't risk potions so we'll need to try muggle sleeping pills."
"How are we going to get them? I thought we weren't allowed to leave the house." Harry said, remembering Tom's words from last week. They were still on house arrest after the raid. Even more so now though. No one wanted to risk Severus getting sicker, or George reopening a wound. Harry had to stay indoors to keep an eye on his mate and cubs, as well as listen to Sirius' tearful saying of how his 'cub is all grown up'. He swore that was payback for worrying them all so much.
"I'll talk to Tom about it." Harry nodded as Hermione got up and left, determined to get the medicine. Harry sighed and looked at his mate. He was sleeping peacefully for once, and Harry didn't have the heart to wake him up to move him to their rooms.
"Oh Sev…I wish we knew what was wrong…" He whispered.
"Well, little brother-"
"What if he's pregnant?" Harry rolled his eyes as Fred and George apparated into the room.
"Honestly, what did your mother tell you my fifth year? Just because you can use magic doesn't mean you have to all the time." He scolded, worried that the noise would have woken Severus. But his luck had prevailed once again, Severus just curled closer to him in his sleep. "And that's impossible! Men can't get pregnant."
"But-" A glare from Harry silenced Fred. It was impossible! His mate couldn't be pregnant, there's no way. Severus had started the sick spell the morning after their first time. And from what Harry had heard from everyone, Severus hadn't gone to anyone else while Harry was dead. The brunette sighed again. "Have you even tried every spell to check?"
"All the ones that are unisex or only apply to men." Harry admitted. "I've been reading up on the books on Winged Cats, adding pages to them too from what I've learned. Those are the only spells we need."
"Yes, but Harry-"
"Fred! George! Get in here, NOW!" The twins cringed at Draco's tone as he yelled to them from another room. Harry guessed it to be the playroom, judging from how loud Draco's voice was.
"What did you two do now?" He asked.
The twins grinned. "What haven't we done, dear brother?" They asked simply before walking out of the room to their upset boyfriend. Harry shook his head and leaned back against the couch.
"This is starting to look like the time after my first raid…everyone in and out of the room…" He chuckled lightly, stopping when he felt Severus stir. "Sev?"
"Harry? What time is it?" Severus' voice was soft, full of sleep still. Harry looked at him, noticing that he looked a bit better. His eyes were clearer, not full of pain, and he wasn't as pale.
Casting a quick spell, he checked the time. "Just a few minutes past noon. You were out like a light around ten." Harry informed him. "And if you plan on sleeping more, I think we should move to the bedroom where it's quiet." He advised.
Severus shook his head, leaning against the other side of the couch and pulling Harry over to him. The younger crawled onto his lap, curling up against his chest as Severus' arms wrapped around his waist. "I'm comfortable here. The noise isn't bothering me."
"Alright…" Harry wasn't convinced, but wasn't about to fight with him about it. "How's your stomach feel?" He rested a careful hand on his mate's stomach, eyes narrowing at something strange. His magic leaped at the touch, twining with Severus'.
"It feels ok…weird with the magic though." Severus admitted, allowing Harry's magic to twine over his. "Where is everyone else?"
"Hermione was just here, talking about medicine. Fred and George were less helpful with their thought that you could be pregnant, Draco took care of that though. He yelled at them to go to the playroom for some reason. As for the others, I think Nagini and Vipera chased them out to let you sleep. Although Calix and Stephanie are just in our room."
Severus nodded, closing his eyes and resting his chin on Harry's head. "Where did they get the pregnant thing from?"
Harry shrugged. "They've seen Molly pregnant twice, maybe your symptoms are close to hers or something. It's impossible though." He purred as Severus' hand began to rub at his side absentmindedly. It was times like this that he missed the most in the month that he was gone. The times that they could just sit around and do nothing but pay attention to each other. Just able to be with each other, no interruptions, no worries, nothing. Harry's purring got louder as Severus kissed him gently, moving to pin him against the couch. The kisses were gentle, comforting. Reassuring each other that everything was ok. Harry slowly brought his arms to wrap around Severus' neck lightly, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss ever so slightly.
"Harry I-….Really? Is this what you two always do when one's sick?" Severus broke the kiss and sighed, glaring at Hermione. Harry just pulled Severus back down, kissing him one last time before looking over to Hermione.
"What is it 'Mione?" He asked.
"I got permission to go get the medicine. I was just going to tell you that Tom said not to do anything that could upset Severus's stomach anymore than it already is." Hermione answered him.
"I know. We weren't going to do anything. I don't want to risk it." Harry smiled. "Now go get that medicine. The quicker we have it, the- hopefully- quicker that Sev gets better." Hermione nodded and swiftly left. Harry listened for the front door to shut before smiling softly again. "I hope one of these works."
"They should." Severus told him, relaxing once the girl had left. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"
Harry looked at the man lying fully on top of him now, and chuckled. "Sev, you and me both weigh next to nothing, there's no possible way to-" Harry cut off as he felt something push against his magic, and himself. "Sev, did you feel that?"
Severus nodded, confusion clear in his gaze. "What in Merlin's name…" The small push came once again. "That's it…we both must be hallucinating. This sickness needs to go away, and stop infecting you too."
"I don't think that's possible Sev." Harry laughed. "Seeing as we're always around each other, it's expected that I get sick too. Maybe Luna's right, and Nargles are real, and they just love fucking with you." Harry said with a grin. Severus rolled his eyes.
"Foolish Gryffindor."
"Snarky Slytherin. Love you."
"Love you too, brat."
Another week had passed since that day, and no medicine seemed to be working. The sickness had slowed down though, only coming for five days out of the week. It gave everyone peace of mind, thinking that it was going away. Yet Harry could still feel the push and pull on his magic. He knew Severus was feeling the same thing. Another oddity was how Calix would laugh and clap while on Severus' lap, fansinated by his stomach for some reason.
"Maybe it's not a human disease." Harry sat up at the statement and glanced at Lily.
"What do you mean mum?" He asked, letting his long black tail curl around his mate and kitten. Harry had began to do half transformations again, for the times that Severus was too sick to make it back to bed on his own. The ears helped him hear if anything was wrong, and the tail helped him keep his balance. Even if they almost weighted the same, Severus was still taller, making it harder for Harry to help him.
"Well, he has two animagus forms. Maybe it's a bird disease or a cat disease." Lily offered. "If it's one of them, then we're treating it wrong. I've heard of a few illnesses in cats that could cause something like this."
"It might be." Severus said. "I don't see how though, I haven't been in either forms since the full moon."
"Well maybe it's that then." Remus said. "I remember Prongs getting sick when he didn't transform for a while. Try transforming into your leopard form, if it is a cat illness then we can treat it when you're in the form."
Severus nodded, setting Calix down on the floor of the library that everyone was gathered in. Luna, Blaise, Neville, Hermione, Draco, the Twins, Bill, Charlie, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Tom, Bella, and Harry watched as the man transformed. Nothing seemed wrong at first glance. His fur was sleeked down just as his hair was, too keep it manageable. There were no extra scars, Harry would have noticed if there were.
"Stand up please." Luna asked. Severus stood up. No one else could see anything wrong, but Harry and Luna caught something right away. Harry was never more grateful for the sharpness of his eyesight than in that moment. "…No, that can't be." A coldness filled the room at Luna's tone. It wasn't the dreamy one that she always held, this one was filled with disbelief as she got on the floor next to the professor. Harry was at her side in an instant.
"Luna please tell me you don't see what I see. Tell me that I need my eyes checked again." Harry begged.
Luna sighed, resting her hand against Severus' side. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. "Harry I wish I could, I honestly do. But I see it too. It certainly levels out our possibilities, but you know what I'm going to say."
"It's impossible! You said it yourself!" Harry hissed.
"What? What is it?" Luna's other hand stopped Severus' head from turning to see his distressed mate. "What is it?"
"Yeah, don't just leave us here like this! What's wrong with Severus?" Lily asked.
"Mum, can you get the book on Winged Cats, the one in cat speech?" Lily blinked at the request, but nodded. She grabbed the book from the desk, bringing it over to Harry. He began to flip through the pages.
"What's wrong?" Lily repeated. Harry shook his head. "Harry James Potter."
"Mum, when I find what I need, I'll tell you what's wrong." Harry growled, eyes skirting over the page faster than a snitch could fly. Reading barely every other word, he had almost reached the last page before giving a mewl of surprise. "Wh-…how…"
Fred looked over his shoulder at the book, having a bit of trouble translating, but getting what he needed. "I knew it!" He announced. Harry just stared speechless at the page. "Hey, is it possible for him to go into shock?" Fred looked to Luna, who had taken the book, hiding it from Severus' wandering eyes.
"Symptoms started not even a full day after…due to gene mix up…violent sickness…showing signs at two weeks…lasting only 15, a few more than a cat…" She muttered, not noticing that it was in pure English that she spoke.
Tom listened closely, his eyes going wide. "Lily, I want a full examination. Leave nothing out." He ordered.
"But we've already tried-"
"Leave. Nothing. Out." Tom interrupted, looking at Severus again. His gaze wandered to what was barely there. "Severus, transform back, lose the shirt."
"What?" Severus whipped around to glare at Tom. Had it been anyone else, in any other situation, Tom would have hexed them before they could turn.
"All of you except Lily, Luna, and Harry, outside." The others scrambled to obey the order as Tom ignored Severus' outburst. "Do it Severus!"
"Harry? What did you find?" Severus asked worriedly as he transformed back, taking off his shirt for the examination. Harry's eyes widened.
"I…I know what's wrong…" As soon as Harry finished the sentence, Severus doubled over in pain. Harry snapped into action as soon as he did, moving Severus to a comfortable chair. No one could ignore it now. The book was right.
Lily grabbed her wand, casting the examination spell again. This time, she left no tests out. Looking at the list that appeared in front of her, she gasped. "Luna, what did that book say…"
"According to it…this is the first time since Fira's son."
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Severus snapped, glaring at the four in the room. "What are you hiding from me?"
Harry summoned a mirror wandless and wordless. "Sev…Stand up." Severus shook his head, not seeing how it could solve anything. He stood up anyway, looking at his reflection.
"What am I supposed to be seeing?" He asked, looking at his mate. Harry walked over, standing behind him and wrapping his arms around Severus' waist.
"Look, just above my hands." Harry rested his hands on Severus' hips, pressing a light kiss to his neck. "Merlin… I-I didn't know this could happen…" Severus looked at Harry's hands, his eyes widening when he finally saw what everyone else was seeing. There, just barely visible, was his stomach. Usually flat from exercise and chasing around the cubs now. He rested his hands on the barely there bump, feeling the familiar tug on his magic. He thought, all this time, it was just Harry's magic being needy and pulling at his.
"…what…"
"Congratulations, Sev," Lily whispered. "On being the second case of male pregnancy in the world…ever…"
A/N: Alright, I don't usually put these at the end of chapters, but this is the last Chapter of Pet, and I want to clear things up before I start on A Dangerous Mind, the Sequel that picks up a day after Pet left off.
First thing, the whole sickness the day after thing. Yes, I know that all pregnancies, in OUR world, would not show signs this early because your body would not recognize it yet. You may not even be pregnant yet seeing as sperm can usually live for three days….but for the sickness early, it was his magic reacting to the new "cell" as you could call it at that stage. Like how your white blood cells react to the flu or something. His magic didn't know what it was or what it did, so it reacted. No, the first week was NOT morning sickness. He mainly got sick in the morning because it was that time between being fully awake and fully asleep. Everyone can feel a bit sick at that time and his magic took advantage of that.
Next, the showing at two weeks. This is caused by Harry. Winged Cats and their mates have a gestation period of 15 weeks. Normal cats have ones that are 10 weeks to three months long. I have it at 15 weeks because of magic, once again, as well as Harry's heritage. Winged Cats are more powerful than cats, and their blood is more dominate than the human blood in him. It is controlling the fetus right now.
Third, the all around murder of Severus' character in this chapter. Once again, caused by Harry. Winged Cats are dominate by nature, for the first mating if in a same sex mating. After that, it's fair game. Harry's dominance was still showing in this chapter because of the time that he spent dead. He did not want to lose Severus like Severus lost him, forcing Severus to deal with it. Their relationship is in no way ruled by a dominance/submissiveness playbook.
Lastly, the cutting of Pet into two different stories. I did this just because of the course that Pet is taking. It has run it's course of the song that it is named off of. This also is to show the significance of what has happened, and allow character development of the others. The next part is called A Dangerous Mind, but the chapters will have song names as well. They will focus on the main plot still, including the new pregnancy, Harry's confrontation with Dumbledore, the end of the war, and what happens after. But it will include some nonsense, angst, hurt/comfort, and humor from the other pairings here. There will be flashbacks, so if you want something covered that was not covered. MESSAGE ME OR REVIEW AND TELL ME. I cannot stress that enough. I cannot read minds through a computer. If something is unclear, tell me. Maybe someone else finds it unclear as well. And I will address it either in the A/N(If it is something simple such as more about Winged Cats) Or in a chapter(such as how so and so got together.)
And now, I shall leave you with this poor short chapter, and the wonder as to what will happen in the next part.
Sneak Peak; A Dangerous Mind: (Note: This may or not be word for word. But it does contain the elements of what I will put into the first chapter.)
"Severus, please go lay down." Harry begged. His worried gaze grazing over his mate. The stubborn leopard was stumbling down the hallway to the kitchen. "I can bring you something to eat."
Severus shook his head. "Harry, I'm feeling alright…better than yesterday. She…she seems to like walks."
"She?"
"Yeah, you know. I just have a feeling we're having a girl. A little sister for Stephanie and Calix." He explained before continuing his uneven gait down to the kitchens.
Harry sighed. Once an idea was in Severus' head, there was no way to get it out. It was times like this that he wished for Lucius to be back. The blonde male would have the guts to tie Severus to the bed against his will and keep him there. "On second thought…that may be a bit harsh…" Harry mumbled before following his leopard. "Dobby! Do not let Severus anywhere near that oven!"