Chapter 29: Severus and Harry's Confrontation
Harry let out a sigh of relief. The feeling of just slipping neck-deep into a hot bath could not be rivaled. He leaned his head back and stretched his toes in the cool air. Harry concluded he was overworked. He had spent the entire day running around doing the silliest cases. One estranged wife had decided to spell her husband's package to their front doorknob... needless to say, Harry hadn't been greeted pleasantly when he barged in looking for the reportedly missing wizard (the wife had left him without his wand and his family had worried since they hadn't heard from him in a week). Another older witch had reported someone stealing her purse, only the find it in her sitting room at home a few hours after questioning just about everyone in Diagon Alley. Let's not forget having to save a Kneazle from a tree, telling off a new up-and-coming reporter from the Prophet for making up facts in a recent murder case, and somehow getting roped into getting coffees and pastries for the entire auror office!
Harry groaned. He could easily die happily right here and now in this tub surrounded by these wonderful bubbles and with an angry Severus Snape charging right at him-!
"WHAT THE!?" Harry flipped out and quickly started scooping bubbles closer around him but to no avail as he was bodily jerked from the tub. Goodbye heavenly bath and hello furious Potions Master!
"You have some nerve, Potter." The scariest part about Severus was that he wasn't screaming at the top of his lungs. Besides the burning anger in his eyes, he was composed... the scary part was how his words dripped with a slow, silky ire. Harry shivered at the feeling of vulnerability. He decided he was under-dressed for this reunion.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Okay, so Harry himself wasn't anywhere near composed. Severus still had a bruising grip on his bicep and he was dripping wet and getting colder by the second.
"You have to nerve to question me when it is you who have disgraced all courtesy and morals with the little stunt you pulled."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Harry yelled as he attempted to jerk away. He tried very hard but had no success. "I really, REALLY have no idea what you're talking about! I haven't done anything immorally wrong since... well my tumble with Malfoy-"
"Is that why you did what you did? To get back at Draco for a little spat?"
"What do you mean? WHAT DID I DO?" Harry asked/shouted. Severus hissed and pulled out his wand. "SEVERUS! SEVERUS, WHAT DID I DO?"
"Like you do not know, Potter. Only you would be brash and idiotic enough to use Amoris Rings to get back at your childhood rival. What were you thinking!? Ah, but you are a useless Gryffindor who only thinks about himself-"
"What's an Am-amortis ring?"
"Amoris Ring." Severus auto-corrected.
"What is it?" A tense silence fell upon the couple. Harry had hoped that at some point Severus would forget he was cutting off the circulation in his arm, but the man never relented his grip. Meanwhile, Severus was debating cursing the living daylights out of Harry now or obliging the buffoon by answering his questions. Was it entirely possible that Harry Potter could magically betroth his child to that of his rival's and not know what he'd done? Cursing him sounded more delightful... "Please, Severus," Harry looked at Severus with pleading eyes (those damned eyes!), "please, what happened? What is this ring? Is James and Albie okay?"
"Damn you." Severus hissed under his breath. He lowered his wand but refused to let Harry go. Guilty until proven innocent was his new standing method. "Amoris Rings are a set of rings typically used by pureblood families as a means to betroth two participating yet unacquainted persons. It allows the persons of an arranged marriage an easier transition into their bonding. Nevertheless, they are complicated. There are rules to be followed, charms and spells that come into play-"
"W-wait!" Harry couldn't breathe for a moment. Arranged marriage!? What had Severus said? That he was supposedly trying to get back at Malfoy? "OH GOD! WHAT HAPPENED! ARE YOU SAYING SOMEONE WAS FORCED TO MARRY MALFOY? But... Astoria, he's already married!"
"Scorpius, you fool." Severus replied. "Scorpius is betrothed to Albus!"
And the world just seemed to topple off it's axis... Harry's mouth gaped open, staring at Severus Snape in disbelief. There was just no way... There was just no way! No way! "Oh. My. God. ARE YOU FU- NO! NO! NO!" Harry was beyond pissed. There was no way he'd marry his son off to Malfoy's! And here is Severus Snape stomping into HIS bathroom during his BATH (which was cold now, by the way, thank you very much), accusing HIM! Harry laughed like a crazed person. Snape had this one SO wrong! The only other person it could be was... "THAT BASTARD!" Harry was extremely pissed.
"Do not lie to me, Potter. I know it was you. Draco would never-" The tides had turned. Harry latched onto Severus and pushed him back. Severus found himself immersed in a cold tub with a furious and very much naked Harry Potter on top of himself.
"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLE THINK I WOULD FORCE MY SON TO MARRY A MALFOY! I HATE MALFOY!" Harry shouted, "I'm so mad, I could just... just..." Harry looked down at the drenched professor (who looked very much out of his element at this point), and just allowed his insides to simmer. He was going to kill Malfoy. Dead. Without a trace. But first. "I'm going to wash your hair."
"Don't even dare!" Severus growled out, already trying to push his way free. Harry grabbed the bottle of shampoo and the struggle began.
Ginny had just arrived home. It sounded like Harry was trying to bath a Hippogriff in the upstairs bathroom so she deemed it necessary to investigate. Finding her husband nude wrapped around Severus Snape (with lathered hair) like an octopus was definitely not on her list of what to expect.
"It's burning my eyes!" Severus hissed as he tried to stand up out of the tub.
"It wouldn't if you'd sit still!" Harry hissed back. He managed to shove the professor back under the water in an attempt to rinse out the long locks of black hair.
"...Harry?" Ginny asked, managing to halt most movement until Harry realized that Severus was still under the water and yanked the spluttering man back up to the surface.
"Gin? Hey! Um, it's not what it looks like!"
Ginny tried to count to five in her head before remarking on her husband's statement. "Harry, not in a million years would I even be able to tell you what I think this is. Obviously, something is wrong. So, when the two of you are done, " Ginny gave both men a stern look, "you both will come downstairs and have a cuppa. We will talk. Do not think I will not hunt either of you down." Ginny turned around and figured she'd have to talk to Hermoine about performing a memory charm to remove that scene from her mind.
Little did Draco Malfoy know, as he sipped on his perfectly made tea in the Yellow Rose Garden, that trouble was brewing for him.
At the same time at Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius had managed to inform Rosie of their latest situation. The Ravenclaw was able to deduce what type of charmed jewelry they were wearing based on what they had told her. She wasn't sure how she wanted to break the news to them yet. She wanted to think on it overnight.
A/N: :D I updated again! Yay! ^_^ I wonder what happens next! Thank you TigerInTheMoonlight for the review! Yes, things are gonna get ugly...
