Twist of Fate
Chapter 5
Secrets Revealed
October 31, 1996
Ron and Hermione were not talking to him. They knew that there was something that Harry was keeping from them, and they were none to happy about it. In the past they believed that they were privy to all of Harry's secrets and the fact that they had been left out of the loop for this one was driving them crazy.
For all of Hermione's research there were no answers and for all of Ron's pleading Harry came no closer to telling him. They both wanted to believe that Harry had a good reason for lying to them, but they were hurt by his actions. One way or another they were going to find out what Harry was keeping from them.
XXX
Harry hated this day more than any other of the year. There were far too many bad memories associated with All Hallows Eve for Harry to ever be comfortable with it. Something bad always happened on this night and he knew that this year would be no exception.
The day so far had been calm, too calm. Shay and Rose were both very good for Dobby and Winky. His classes had gone off without a hitch and he was ready to head off to the feast with the twins safely in the hands of his two favorite elves who would be able to get a hold of him, Severus, or Poppy at a moments notice.
After he left his room and made sure his door was secure behind him, he was able to get caught up in the general flow of students as they headed to the Great Hall for the feast. He hated leaving his children so much, but it was the only way to keep them safe and secret.
Harry's absence after the birth of his children had been blamed on a bought of Wizard's Flu which also happened to be a good excuse to keep the visitors away. He had been forced to start back into his classes as soon as Poppy deemed him fit enough and so he had only missed about a week. Harry was able to keep his 'friends' out of his room by saying that the Headmaster had determined that it was unsafe for him to have student visitors as it defeated the purpose of him having the privet rooms to begin with. Harry had spent the minimum amount of time possible in the Gryffindor common room with his friends and had managed to placate their queries into his absence by telling them that it was easier to study in his rooms.
Harry had spent a good portion of the last month in Severus' company and had gotten to know the man quiet well. He would have never thought that the two of them would have so much in common, but their pasts were not so different. He felt a pull toward the older man that he could not explain with words, but that was very real.
Severus had become a fixture in his life over the past month and he was more than just a little grateful for the man's help.
Both Shay and Rose seemed to like Severus and that was just one more thing on Harry's 'Why Severus Snape isn't Such a Bad Guy' list. It was a list that was ever growing. He had been using it to justify his new 'feelings' toward the man, but it was doing nothing to abate the dreams that he had been having ever since 'The Kiss.'
In his mind he knew very well that it had only been a chaste kiss on the nose, but his heart was trying to tell him that it was more than that. His heart was winning.
Little did Harry know that Severus was in a similar predicament.
XXX
Severus watched as the students made their way into the Great Hall for the feast. He met Harry's eyes briefly as the younger man entered alone and he could tell that Harry was once again lost in his thoughts. He tried not to think about why he was so concerned for the young man and just accepted that he was. To delve to deep into the why would take him to a place that was more than a little inappropriate for a teacher and student.
Granger and Weasley had stopped speaking to him when Harry refused to tell them why he had been missing and he knew that it was weighing heavily on him. Severus could understand Harry's reasoning in keeping the twins secret as the more people who knew the greater the danger that someone might slip up and say something to the wrong person or where it might be overheard. As it was the only people who knew about Rose and Shay were the headmaster, McGonagall, Poppy, and himself.
Thinking of the other two students made Severus look around the hall, but he only noticed one shock of the classic Weasley hair. He tried to dismiss it, but something just felt wrong about it. He pushed the thought aside for the moment and tried to focus on his meal, but his thoughts kept straying back to where he did not want them. He often thought about Harry and the twins, but this was ridiculous. He just couldn't get it out of his head that something was wrong.
He at last gave in and stood up from his chair. He made his was silently through the hall, only briefly meeting the headmasters gaze to let him know that something was not right. He stopped behind Harry. "Mr. Potter I need to speak with you about your detention." Harry looked at him confusedly for a moment and then his eyes lit with comprehension.
"Yes, sir." Harry made his goodbye to his friends and followed Severus out of the hall. "What's wrong?" He asked a little apprehensively.
"I don't know, but something is, and I have a suspicion that it has to do with the twins and why Weasley and Granger where missing from the feast."
Harry stopped dead, "You don't really think…" He trailed off, but Severus knew very well what Harry was getting at.
Severus turned to Harry and looked him in the eye, "Yes, I do."
Harry didn't respond, but took off running down the hall. "Harry, wait!" But it was too late the young man was already in maternal mode and he would do anything to protect his children. Severus had no choice but to take off after him and had anyone been in the halls, they would have seen something that even they wouldn't believe: Severus Snape chasing Harry Potter.
XXX
Harry made it to the portrait entrance to his rooms in record time and almost a full thirty seconds before the potions master, which gave him just enough time to yell the password and storm into his living room, wand drawn, to find exactly what he had been dreading since Severus had mentioned it.
"Just what the HELL do you think you are doing?" He heard Severus stumble in the portrait behind him, but he kept his wand leveled at the two people sitting in his living room, each holding one of his children.
Hermione and Ron had both looked up when the portrait opened. They had only been sitting there for a few minutes and hadn't expected Harry to be back so soon. "We came to find what you were hiding." Hermione said in a blunt tone.
"You had no right. There was a very good reason why you were not told." Hermione was watching Harry expectantly waiting for an explanation while Ron still looked dazed from his entrance. Hermione was to be disappointed. "DOBBY!"
"Yes, master Harry Potter sir?" Harry looked around at the house-elf who had been wringing his hands in the corner.
"Is there a reason that you let these two have my children?" Harry asked venomously.
"Dobby thoughts that they was being Harry Potter's friends, sir." Harry growled low in his throat, but try as he might he could not stay mad at the elf.
"You can go back to the kitchens for now Dobby I will call you if I need you and take Winky with you as well." Dobby nodded hastily, "And no punishing yourselves." He called just before the elf vanished.
Harry was trying desperately to reign in his anger at his two friends. He crossed the room slowly and picked Rose up out of Hermione's arms and nodded for Severus to do the same with Shay and Ron. "You two stay right there." He said firmly to his two 'best friends,' as he and Severus took the twins into their room so that they could be put down.
It was instinct for Harry to check every inch of them, but as they were both blessedly asleep Severus put a restraining hand on Harry's arm as the younger man tried to strip them from their pajamas. "They didn't hurt them, Harry."
Harry sighed heavily and leaned into Severus' chest. The older man just wrapped his arms around Harry as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I know that Ron and Hermione would never hurt the twins, but it scared me." Harry said softly as he buried his face in Severus' shoulder.
"I know." They stood like that for a few moments and then Severus broke the silence. "We need to go and talk to them. Procrastinating won't make this any easier."
"Can't we just obliviate them?" Harry mumbled into Severus' shoulder. He could feel the older man's laugh as much as hear it and he had to smile to himself.
"We could, but I doubt that you could live with yourself afterward."
Harry sighed again, "Your right." Harry pulled away and met the older man's eyes and it was only then that they realized what they had been doing. Harry blushed bright red and surprisingly so did Severus, but both recovered quickly when they heard the low murmur of Hermione and Ron talking to one and another.
They made there way back into the living room causing the other to look up. Hermione stood and looked Harry in the eye, (which was very easy as she was slightly taller than him). "Why didn't you tell us Harry?"
Harry took a deep breath and sat down on the loveseat not even really noticing when Severus sat next to him. "It's complicated Hermione. To be honest I didn't tell anyone. The only reason that anyone knows is that I was dying, and Dobby went and got Professor Snape when I was in labor to save me."
Ron was the first to recover from the 'when I was in labor comment' and Harry suspected that Hermione had been like him and not known it was possible. "I don't get it mate, you never even said you liked anyone, let alone were in an intimate relationship or were gay. I thought you liked Cho."
Harry looked from Ron to Hermione and back again. He could help the laugh that bubbled up. It took a moment for him to sober, "It is a lot more complicated then that, Ron. I didn't even know I was gay when this happened."
Hermione seemed to come back to herself. "But then why were you sleeping with someone like that and who?"
Harry gave a self depreciating smile and glanced at Severus, who just nodded his encouragement. "I didn't exactly have a choice." Harry said at last without looking at either of his friends.
All the color drained from Hermione's face and Ron went bright red at the same time. Harry knew that Ron was about to explode and did a quick one-way silencing charm on the twin's room so that he could hear them cry but they would not hear Ron scream. "WHAT! YOU WERE PREGNANT BECAUSE YOU WERE RAPED?"
Harry winced at the term, but nodded anyway.
"Oh my god," The voice was small, but Harry heard it and turned. There standing in the portrait hold, which must have been left open, was none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Well shit."
AN: Sorry, this has taken so long to post. I'm hoping to post the rest of what is written either today or tomorrow. I am hoping to start writing again. Some of the stories I will be Co-Authoring with my sister Sakura Snape-Malfoy.