A/N: Hoping to get back into writing this again. I had originally just intended to take a few weeks off but then we had a death in the family and I just didn't feel like writing. Hope you all enjoy this one.

Chapter Summary - Harry and Severus return to Hogwarts unexpectedly.

Chapter Thirty Seven – The Morning After The Nights Before

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Harry and Severus successfully managed to portkey into the corridor outside of the Headmaster's office and were pleased to see that Will had been transported too. Being a Muggle though he was looking a bit disorientated and looked like he might throw up.

"I don't know why I agreed to this," Will complained, "I feel like I have been spun in a washing machine."

"That's what you get when you toss a coin with wizards," Harry chuckled, "Just take some deep breaths," Harry instructed him, "You'll be all right."

"Wow," Will said eventually, looking around him and taking in his new surroundings when everything finally stopped spinning, "You weren't kidding when you said it was a castle."

"There's loads more to it as well, Hogwarts is huge," Harry explained with pride.

"I thought that Loch Ness would have made a lovely day out," Will moaned.

"And it will," Severus said firmly, "However I believe we ought to take a look in on Draco and Ron, make sure they haven't killed each other yet."

"Fine," Will agreed, "But what can two young men get up to? Are you scared they've had some sort of wild party?"

"Certainly not," Severus said sternly, "However they have never been friends and I am certainly worried that one might have killed the other."

"For real?" Will asked looking shocked.

"A bit of careless and angry wand waving can bring catastrophe very quickly."

"Oh," Will said looking a bit overwhelmed.

"Everything will be fine, Ron's not that stupid," Harry tried to reassure Will.

Severus gave Harry a look, which said that he thought it was entirely possible that he was.

"Let's get inside our quarters and I will order some tea and some lunch," Severus suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Will said enthusiastically, he watched with amazement as Severus first opened the door into the Headmaster's office and then into their living quarters.

Severus stepped inside his quarters and froze, Will, following close behind, collided with him but laughed when he saw the state of the floor, Harry, who was behind them both, rushed forward to see what was distressing his Kin and then he laughed too.

"Could they have killed each other and made it LOOK like a party?" Will asked greatly amused.

Severus seemed to be incapable of speech so Harry spoke for him, "It would appear that they have had a party after all."

"I gave very specific instructions," Severus hissed in anger, "They were easy enough to follow even for a Weasley, Draco was to remain in bed, he couldn't even manage that, who knows what other instructions he has failed to obey!"

"Well it all looks fairly harmless enough," Will interrupted.

"Harmless?!" Severus stormed.

Will was rather taken aback by Severus' explosion, "They're just two young lads, this is what men of their age do."

"Not in my quarters they don't!" Severus continued.

"I'll wake Ron up, he will have it cleaned up in no time," Harry offered in an attempt to calm his Kin down.

"You really need to chill out, Sevvie," Will continued, "it's only a bit of curry."

"You have little comprehension of what this is about!"

"And some whiskey and a little bit of the old happy baccy if I'm not mistaken," Will continued determined not to allow Severus' seemingly irrational anger to dint his mood.

"The boy is struggling with a serious curse, barely controlled by the potions I have to brew for him, it is not just about curry! We must levitate him into bed now! Harry!"

Harry turned towards Severus, "Calm down, this won't be good for the baby will it?"

Severus tried his best to say no more and take a few breaths.

"I will help you levitate him, then we will talk to Ron about this," Harry said firmly.

Both Severus and Harry took out their wands and Will watched in amazement as Draco, together with his mattress and coverings, rose into the air and drifted towards the doorway to the bedroom.

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Harry could hear Severus still complaining to Will behind him as he approached the mound of duvet on the sofa that he was assuming was Ron. He pealed the covers back and found Ron lying on his front smelling rather unpleasantly. Ron smelled rather strongly of drink, curry and vomit. Although Harry wasn't particularly prone to nausea he had to give himself a bit of distance as he reached out and gently shook Ron's shoulder.

Ron slowly began to wake up, he looked very much like he had a very impressive hangover and was reluctant to open his eyes. Ron turned his head and gazed blearily at Harry.

"You're back!" Ron mumbled eventually.

"We're back," Harry corrected, "And Severus is on the warpath so you might want to get up now."

"Warpath? What have I done now?" Ron complained, "I did my best!"

"That's what worries me, I believe you did."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ron snapped coming a little more to his senses at last, he looked towards the other sofa, "Where is Draco?"

"He's back in bed, where he should have been," Harry said sternly, "Really Ron, all you had to do was follow the instructions."

Ron glowered blearily at Harry, he wondered if Draco had been right all along, "What do you know about it," He snapped.

Harry was a bit put out about Ron's response, "Fine, I can let Severus talk to you, I am sure he would be a lot more eloquent."

"I am sure he would be just as short-sighted." Ron snapped straight back.

"What has got into you?" Harry asked not knowing why he was receiving quite so much hostility.

Ron laughed grimly, "That's good, what has got into ME!"

"Ron," Harry began to plead, becoming rather puzzled.

"I have had enough of this, I am tired and I am going to get some more sleep," Ron snapped as he pulled himself up onto his feet using the walker.

"Ron! What's the matter? What happened here?" Harry called after Ron.

"That should have been the first question, not the last," Ron snapped without turning round.

As Ron made his way to Draco's bedroom he knew that he would have to pass Severus and he could see that Severus was ready for him, their Muggle friend stood next to him. He made to walk straight past without giving Severus any attention.

"I demand to know what has been going on here, I don't like you talking to my Kin in that way!" Severus thundered.

Ron stopped and looked up at Severus, it was the same old Severus that he remembered from school, the same Severus pulling the same tricks to intimidate. Ron felt calm and exhausted, something had happened while they had been away, he didn't know what, but Severus' didn't have the same effect on him as he used to, "Tough," Ron replied defiantly, he turned for Draco's bedroom and got himself enclosed within before Severus had realised what he had just said.

Ron waited; he sat down in the chair beside Draco and waited. Severus didn't come, he couldn't hear what was going on in the living room but at least they didn't come in.

Draco still lay sleeping and Ron took his eyes off the door after a while and watched his face move in his sleep. He would be hungry soon and then he would wake, Ron decided that he would just continue with his duties till Severus came in to haul him out.

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Severus stood facing out looking out of the window across the mountains, Will stood on the other side of the desk feeling a bit confused.

"I think you're overreacting a bit, I mean they're just two lads," Will began.

"You said that already, is youth an excuse for everything in the Muggle world?" Severus snapped back.

"A short while ago you were worried that they had killed each other, now you find they've just been drunk," Will tried to reason with Severus.

"The house elves aren't going to get rid of this, some of it is days old and it would have been gone already," Severus complained.

Harry joined his Kin's side, "We'll get rid of it all somehow, I'll make it smaller, we'll think of something."

"I don't want to go anywhere near it, I just want it out of here!" Severus continued.

Harry could feel how affected Severus was by the whole incident, he turned to look around the room, hoping to be able to deal with the problem on his own, since it appeared that Ron wasn't going to clear up his own mess, "Hmm," Harry contemplated, "If I make it smaller and group it together I still have to put it somewhere."

"What about the bin?" Will asked wondering what all the fuss was about, he had to put it down to something to do with male pregnancy.

"Bin? We don't have a bin, the house elves take care of it, usually," Harry answered.

"You can explain what house elves are later but I'm thinking that they must put it somewhere when they take it away."

"I don't know, I could transfigure it but then I would have to do each bit individually and that would take forever."

Will shook his head, "All the things you two have told me about, the battle and getting rid of the evidence, all the magic, the potions and the spells, and you can't get rid of a bit of normal mess?"

"What do you think we should do then? I don't want to touch this stuff, it stinks." Harry complained.

Will said no more, he decided on action rather than words. He went around the living room picking up the empty takeaway cartons and hurled them all in the fire. In a matter of minutes they had combusted into ash.

"So where is this cup of tea then?" Will asked throwing himself down onto the sofa.

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Ron tried to curl up in the chair and get back to sleep but he was feeling far too upset and he didn't have a shirt on or a blanket to cover himself with.

He had been barely awake when Harry had started on him and he had become annoyed very easily. He knew that he had definitely gone too far but they hadn't even noticed that Draco had been perfectly well looked after, he had had his potions and he was lying on his mattress, he was clean and comfortable, every bit as well off as he would have been had he been lying in his bedroom. It hadn't been his fault that he had had another seizure and they hadn't even listened to him. The living room had been a mess but there had been nothing spilt, it was only a few cartons and even they wouldn't have been there if they hadn't come back so early.

Ron was starting to feel as if Draco was right, much that he hated to admit it, it was as if he had been Harry's pet, just something to keep him amused and now the novelty was wearing off. Soon Harry would be feeling the movement of his baby and then it wouldn't matter whether he had said 'tough' to Severus or not, he would have to find himself somewhere else to sleep anyway.

Ron gave up trying to get to sleep and checked on Draco, he was still asleep and Ron almost missed having him there to talk to. Ron knew that because of the seizure he would probably have to do mealtimes again and he knew that Draco wouldn't be very happy about it, he had been getting bored with being stuck in the living room and now he would be stuck in the same bedroom all day.

Ron turned round in the chair quickly when he heard the door to the bedroom open. It was Harry and he was carrying a potions case.

"Has he had his potions this morning?" Harry asked.

Ron glowered at Harry, "Yes, he has."

"I only asked," Harry defended, "You were soundly asleep, you could have been there all night."

Ron grunted, "You can leave them for later."

"Ron, you smelled awful, I know you've been drinking," Harry persevered, "How did you think Severus was going to react?"

"I'll take care of meals as well," Ron responded, "I will manage, I will continue to manage."

"You want to stay in here?" Harry asked looking between Ron and the still sleeping form of Draco; he found it hard to believe.

"Might as well be in here as anywhere else."

"Ron, don't be like this."

"Like what? Draco is comfortable and still breathing, if he'd been left with you, you would have chopped him up into bits by now. He was bored and he needed feeding up, I ordered curry, so what. I didn't meticulously clean up after myself in case you two came back early, boo fucking hoo. Is there anything else?" Ron snapped.

"No, I think that about covers it," Harry snapped back before he left.

"Well that told them," Ron muttered to a still sleeping Draco who said nothing in reply.

Harry had left Ron the potions case and he got it up onto the bedside cabinet to check the contents. There was enough for a few days and Ron decided that he would only use the bathroom when the Kin were gone for meals.

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Harry returned to the sofa where Will and Severus were starting to eat their lunch.

"Those little house elves make really nice ham sandwiches," Will commented, apparently taking the sight of the little creatures in his stride.

Severus shrugged his shoulders, still fuming from his encounter with Ron.

"Ron is going to carry on giving Draco his potions, he says," Harry told his Kin as he reached for a sandwich.

"Do you think he can be trusted?" Severus snapped.

"He seems to have been administering them as you directed, the stocks are correct apart from the pain potion where there is more than we left him with. I think that he seems to have been following those orders at least."

"Really Sevvie, your brother was never this uptight," Will commented.

Severus glowered back at Will but it had little effect, Will only glowered back like a stern parent. Harry had to stifle a laugh as he watched Severus turn away defeated but defiant.

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Ron sat in the armchair and laid his head on the side of the bed using Draco's mattress as a pillow.

"Do you have any idea how my life ended up like this?" Ron asked his sleeping patient, "What did I do? I did have a drink but so what, it's not like anything would have happened any differently if we hadn't had good food and enjoyed ourselves a little. How did your life end up like this?" Ron continued to muse, "I suppose we know the answer to that one, I don't have any parents to mess up my life anymore though, first I had Hermione and now I have Severus making sure I get no fun out of life at all. Why did sitting here talking to you seem more right than sitting out there with them? When exactly did THAT happen? I am tired of this; I am tired of dragging myself around, tired of always feeling as if I'm about to fall over, at least I can't fall anywhere when I'm crawling on the floor, there's your answer to that one. It doesn't matter how well I do they'll always think that I'm an idiot, I suppose I am more annoyed with myself, why did I think that I would get any praise. I wish I had had as much fun as they think that I've had, but I didn't, I was scared, sometime in the middle of the night I was very scared." Ron sighed, "It's cold in here for August."

"Take a blanket, I'm warm enough," Draco replied.

Ron froze wondering how much of his rant Draco had heard, "Are you awake?" Ron asked as he reluctantly but gratefully took possession of the topmost blanket.

"No, go to sleep," Draco mumbled sleepily.

Ron frowned as he curled up in the armchair, he didn't know what Draco was up to but he was sure that he couldn't have kept a straight face if he had heard everything that he had said, but then he shouldn't have known that he needed the blanket either. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep again, he was much to tired and upset to think about it.

Will looked from Severus to Harry and then back to Severus again, the silence was becoming too much.

"I would never have come back here with you two if I had known that it was going to be like this, here we are in a magical castle with wizards and witches and you two couldn't look more glum if you tried." Will criticized.

"Ron was very upsetting," Harry sniffed, revealing that he was actually trying very hard not to be teary.

Will looked back at Severus and found him with his head turned away, chewing a fingernail.

Will sighed, "Is there any more to the world of magic than two pregnant wizards with hormone trouble? A guided tour of the castle would be nice."

"Yes," Harry replied trying to pull himself together, "I'm sorry Will, we should have offered, are you coming Sev?"

"I suppose I should check on the other staff and residents, I am the Headmaster after all," Severus replied sternly.

"That would be a 'yes' then would it?" Will said in lightly criticizing tone before jumping to his feet.

Harry and Severus left their quarters with Will and immediately met with curious eyes though they could hardly keep introducing him to everyone in person. Harry decided that he would cover the situation by presenting Will at dinner and letting them keep guessing for the rest of the afternoon.

Harry and Severus led Will to the main staircase and Will lent over the banister and looked down to the bottom, the moving stairs shifting around a few times before they noticed that somebody was there.

"I thought they weren't supposed to do that anymore," Harry commented to Severus.

"Maybe they only do it when they know Hermione isn't there and Ron hasn't been out for days," Severus replied.

"Cool," Will commented as he continued to watch the stairs and the moving pictures that covered the walls.

Harry encouraged Will to move on, they had to cover most of the important areas of the castle and dinner wasn't that far away in their minds.

Somewhere just outside of the Great Hall they came across Hermione waddling back from the library with a couple of books. Harry introduced Hermione to Will and seemingly quite the gentleman when confronted with such situations, Will stepped forward and took the books from her.

Hermione took the opportunity to glower at Harry and Severus, "You choose your Muggle friends well."

"You must be one of Harry's school friends," Will observed, "Take my arm if you want, you're nearly due, are you heading our way?"

"I very much doubt it, I was going back to Gryffindor Tower," Hermione replied.

"Well we can't let you walk back on your own can we boys?" Will said brightly whilst smiling at Hermione, "Where is Gryffindor Tower?"

"All the way back up the stairs," Severus snapped.

"Well why don't you two stay down here," Will suggested, "I am sure that I can find my way back."

Harry and Severus watched in amazement as Will got Hermione to take his arm and they turned for the stairs.

"Well our Muggle friend seems quite keen on Miss Granger," Severus grumbled to Harry.

"Did you not notice?" Harry asked.

"Notice what?"

"How Will touched her hand ever so briefly?" Harry clarified, "I bet you he was just trying to read her."

"Well I for one will be interested to hear the results of that later." Severus added with a mischievously raised eyebrow, forgetting momentarily how annoyed he had been trying to be.

Harry smiled, "Me too."

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Next Chapter: Will explores life at Hogwarts and gets a new perspective on his gifts from one of the teachers. Draco and Ron continue their journey down a road neither of them ever thought they would travel.