Reviewer's Notes at the end of the chapter.
Beta by Kristine Thorne
Chapter Summary: Harry and Severus' first lunch at Hogwarts with Hermione and Ron in the Hall. Thing were not standing still while Harry and Sev were away.
_______________________________________________________________________
.
Chapter Four – The Great Hall
Harry and Severus approached the door to the Hall. They were a little bit late and so were set for a notable entrance on account of the fact that everybody else had started their lunch already.
Harry was first to peer round the door to look at the scene they were about to enter, finding out who was present and how many, before they actually had to face them.
"It's about half full," Harry informed Severus, who was hiding behind him, "The lower tables are as they were, lined down the room. There are family groups on one table and a line of children only on the other. There are two tables at the top instead of the long teacher's table. They are square with chairs on each side, more informal I suppose. I think I can see some of the teachers around one and Hermione and Ron are sat at the other."
"I suppose we are meant to join Hermione and Ron then?" Severus asked.
"Looks that way, Hermione doesn't look very happy," Harry commented, observing that Hermione was picking at her food as if it was a chore to eat, not a pleasure.
"And Ron?" Severus enquired.
"Stuffing food down his neck as quickly as he can manage to get it onto his fork."
"Nice to know that some things never change," Severus commented, earning himself a playful hit from Harry.
"Come on then, let's get this over with," Harry said straightening out his robes and raising himself to his full height.
Severus reached a hand out to Harry's cheek and stroked his scar gently.
"This is becoming quite a thing for us both," Harry commented as he leant into the touch.
"What is?"
"Feeling scared to death and thoroughly shagged at the same time."
Severus smiled, vowing to himself that it would be his last for the next few hours at least.
"I'll go first," Harry volunteered.
Harry approached the door again and stood looking down the hall; if anybody turned to look they would now be able to see him. They were all too busy eating though. Harry felt himself stiffen at the prospect of the long walk down the aisles till he got to the table at the bottom. It was even worse than it had been when he was a first year approaching the sorting hat.
Harry took a step forward and he could hear the sound of his boots on the stone floor despite the noise of chatter all around him, nobody else had noticed him yet. He took another step and heard Severus step forward behind him. Feeling encouraged by the fact that Severus was right behind him, Harry continued to walk.
Halfway down the hall silence descended, nobody was eating anymore and Harry could feel piercing eyes burning into him. Harry forced himself to keep going. He could hear Severus' footfalls behind him, in perfect step with his own.
When Harry reached the end of the hall he stopped in front of Ron and Hermione's table and felt Severus come to stand beside him. Hermione and Ron looked as shocked as the other inhabitants of Hogwarts, which Harry thought was strange considering that at least his friends knew that he had returned, even if they had told nobody else.
They stood silently looking at each other for what seemed like endless minutes. Harry was about to break the silence when Hermione found her voice and spoke first.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked Harry sternly.
"I was with Severus," Harry replied, "Do they all know who we are?" He asked, indicating the rest of the hall.
"Yes, I made an announcement earlier that you might be joining us for lunch, I made sure everybody knew you wouldn't want any fuss. I can't guarantee any peace once the Prophet finds out, however," Hermione said.
"They are all staring at us," Harry stated, a frown upon his face.
"I wonder why," Hermione answered sarcastically, "We waited up for you." She added in a hurt tone.
"I told you, I was with Severus," Harry defended not really seeing why he should have to, suddenly resenting it bitterly.
"We thought you would come up afterwards," Hermione continued. "We have a lot of catching up to do, it would have been nice to talk to you Harry."
Hermione was eyeing Severus with wariness and suspicion again, Harry was barely hearing a word his friend said as he detected it and fought the urge to say something to make her stop.
"It was late," Harry forced himself to say.
"And what ARE you doing wearing THOSE?" Hermione continued, shifting the focus onto Harry's attire, twisting her face with distaste at the sight of him, pitying him for having reached such a terrible state of affairs, he would have got a better response if he had been wearing tatty and dirty rags.
Harry clenched his fist hard, his fingernails digging painfully into his palm. Severus stood beside him, stony and silent, no doubt attempting to glower.
Harry had to force himself not to glower too, "My other clothes were dirty," He replied with a carefully neutral voice.
"You only had to come to us, Harry." Hermione continued. "We could have found you something much nicer."
"May we sit?" Severus suddenly barked and Harry could imagine the accompanying sneer.
Hermione nodded and Ron frowned slightly before returning to his food.
Harry began eating, he had been hungry but now he felt like he was doing it entirely for appearances, he had lost his appetite completely. He wanted to be a million miles away from Hogwarts now. Or rather, he would have liked somebody else to explain everything about Severus and the Kin Bond to his friends, and then return for a visit a few months later after they had all calmed down.
It was going to be an uphill struggle, so much had changed, so much needed explaining but Harry didn't feel that he could stand to see Severus treated in this appalling manner for very much longer.
"So, tell me what's new," Harry began once they had moved on to the sweet, forcing a cheery voice.
Harry could have sworn that he saw Hermione blush a little as she finished off a mouthful of food, getting ready to speak.
"Hermione is pregnant," Ron said, not sounding at all pleased about it and cheating Hermione of the right to convey the joyful news herself, Hermione gave Ron a freezing glare but he took no notice.
Harry was instantly jealous but pleased for his friend all the same.
"Oh Hermione," Harry gushed, ignoring Ron's apparent attitude, "That's wonderful, how far along are you?"
"About five months," Hermione replied.
"Four and a half, about mid December wasn't it?" Ron cut in with a stern voice that Harry didn't understand; he could feel the tension again.
"Yes, about then," Hermione replied.
"You must be really looking forward to it, I can't wait now that I know," Harry continued. "Another Weasley, ey Ron?"
"The baby isn't mine," Ron replied, then continued eating.
"Oh, are you sure?" Harry asked without thinking, too deep in shock.
"Oh yes, Hermione wanted to 'wait'," Ron replied bitterly.
"Do we have to do this again, Ron?" Hermione snapped at him.
"I just think that Harry should know," Ron replied trying to sound as if he had innocent intentions, when what he was really doing was raking up the muck.
Harry could see that Hermione was getting upset but Ron was oblivious to it.
"So, tell me about your heroics during the Hogwarts battle Hermione, I saw Ron and a lot of the teachers but I didn't get to see you in action that night," Harry said trying to draw the conversation away from what was obviously a sore subject.
Ron made a snorting noise, muttered something about there being plenty of 'action', but continued to eat. Hermione didn't say anything.
"Oh," Harry said preparing to backtrack. "I didn't mean to, whatever I've just done."
"Hermione was in the Astronomy tower that night, isn't that right Hermione?" Ron began again.
Hermione didn't answer but seemed to be fighting back tears, probably spurred on by pregnancy, Harry thought, since Hermione had never been the crying type.
"With Oliver Wood, apparently," Ron added.
"You can crawl back to Gryffindor on your own Ronald Weasley," Hermione suddenly snapped, she stood up and then ran from the hall.
"Are you going to tell me what that was all about?" Harry asked Ron.
Ron carried on eating, "I would have thought it was fairly obvious," Ron managed to snap in between mouthfuls.
"You have no idea how she is feeling, being pregnant can make you feel very vulnerable," Harry accused.
"And you would know that how exactly?" Ron snapped back.
Harry turned to Severus, "Should I go after her?" he asked his Kin.
"I think you had better," Severus replied.
Ron had looked up to watch the curious interaction between Professor Snape and Harry but he quickly returned to looking at his food when he noticed that Harry was leaving and he was alone with Professor Snape, who was glowering at him.
Harry quickly caught up with Hermione, she hadn't gone far and he found her sitting in a window alcove almost as if she was waiting to be found. Harry sat down beside his friend and observed that she was trying not to cry.
"I should have noticed before, you're starting to show underneath those robes," Harry said kindly.
"It's only just starting to seem real," Hermione said with a sniff, leaning towards Harry.
Harry knew what he was supposed to do but an over emotional, woman sized version of his school friend was a new experience for him. He nervously put an arm round Hermione and patted her arm tentatively.
"Was it a serious thing with Oliver?" Harry asked, not knowing if it was the right thing to talk about or not.
"No," Hermione answered, "It was just the once."
"Once?"
Hermione smiled sadly, "Yes, though I believe it only happens like that when you don't want to get pregnant, special rule of life."
"Hmm." Harry replied, thinking of his own adventures the night before. "At least you won't have to put up with 'you know what' for a while, being pregnant."
"Harry!" Hermione said looking at Harry like he was mad and had grown two heads, "We do not talk about THAT sort of thing, you're a boy."
"Man," Harry countered.
"A 'man'? Really?" Hermione said, amused by Harry's assertion.
"Yes," Harry replied, then more quietly, "Well mostly."
"I was so glad to see you last night," Hermione continued, failing to pick up on what Harry had been discreetly trying to say, "I was starting to get really frightened, I'm not in an ideal condition for lengthy duels to the death."
"Looks like I killed the Dark Lord just in time then," Harry replied, letting it go.
"Oh what a mess, here you are, back after all these months and you get dragged into our little soap opera, before you have even had a chance to eat."
"Didn't quite work out like we planned it on the train did it?"
"When we were on the train, you were already planning to do a runner and you never said anything," Hermione accused but Harry could tell that she wasn't really angry about it.
"I couldn't, it was better that you didn't know."
"Who would have thought it?" Hermione continued.
"I know," Harry said smiling gently.
"Me like this, and you getting stuck with that old bat," Hermione continued.
Harry immediately tensed, he was going to have to tell them all about Severus very soon, before he ran the risk of seriously snapping.
"So where did you sleep last night?" Hermione asked.
Harry began to feel even tenser, "In the dungeon."
"Urgh, wasn't it cold and damp down there?"
"No, it was all right," Harry defended, "We went to Severus' old quarters."
"Snape's quarters?" Hermione said, again with the look of revulsion on her face.
"It was warm enough with the fire on," Harry defended again.
"Never mind Harry," Hermione continued, "You don't have to be stuck with Snape any more and you can help me, I'll get through this, even if Ron is determined to behave like a complete prat."
"You did cheat on him though didn't you?" Harry asked, glad to be diverting from the subject of sleeping arrangements.
"Yes," Hermione answered miserably.
"If that happened to me, I would behave like a prat too," Harry pointed out, thinking of how he would probably just kill who was responsible rather than mess about being sulky.
Not that Severus was actually capable of turning to another, Harry thought, probably just as well.
"Hey, just think, with the Dark Lord dead, you could find a nice girl and settle down, have the family you always wanted," Hermione suggested.
"I've never been much for girls," Harry began, wondering if this time he would get to successfully explain something.
"I know, but it was the war wasn't it," Hermione continued, "You were never one for anything but you're certainly not 'seeking for the other team'."
"Did I ever say that?" Harry asked.
"Not in so many words, though I remember once in the common room, last year or the year before, one of the boys bringing that magazine in for a laugh, you know, the one with the pictures of the two men 'doing it'. You looked like you were about to throw up when you saw it, from what I could see of you before you ran from the room," Hermione recalled, clearly amused.
Harry remembered very well, it had been memories of his Uncle, which had caused him to flee from the room, and he really had thrown up once he was on his own.
"That magazine was the wizard edition, the pictures were moving, yuk," Harry replied, forcing himself to maintain some cheer, he didn't want to tell anybody about his uncle, even now when he was trying to explain about something else and could find no other way. "So what happened to Oliver? Is he not going to have a part in this?" Harry asked trying to change the subject.
"He's dead," Hermione answered.
"Oh," Harry said hugging his friend and completely lost for words. "Sometime today I am going to stop putting my foot in it."
"A lot has changed," Hermione said shrugging.
"It certainly has," Harry replied.
"It feels weird to be sat at the dinner table with that vulture watching over us, can't he sit anywhere else Harry?" Hermione asked twisting her face in distaste again.
"Severus is as much responsible for the defeat of the Dark Lord as I am," Harry said, trying to keep his voice steady and neutral as he felt the rage well up within him, "And please don't call him a vulture, he is my friend now. We can talk about all this at the meeting later."
Hermione sighed, "Your friend? I suppose if you are stuck with somebody for months, anything is possible. All right, I'll try." She nestled into Harry's shoulder. "Talk to me Harry, take my mind off this." Hermione said after a short while of silence.
"Actually, now that I have you alone, there is a thing I would like you to do for me," Harry began, suddenly thinking of something that would certainly be helpful and would help take Hermione's mind off her predicament for a while. It would also help him explain to his friends about the situation that existed between himself and his Kin.
"Oh? What is it?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Do you still like to look things up in books?" Harry asked.
Hermione perked up a little. "I am pregnant Harry, not an alien from another planet."
Harry smiled, "Good, then there's something I need you to find out about for me, in the restricted section."
Hermione sat up, "The restricted section to which I have given myself full and complete access. I have all the teacher's private book collections at my disposal now too."
"Excellent," Harry continued, "I am guessing that you don't want to return to the hall, so why don't you go to the library now and then we'll meet up later, in the Defence classroom, we'll have that meeting."
"What do you want to know?"
"Kin Bond Swords, everything that you can find."
"Is that a Dark thing?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Harry had to admit, "You will probably find out most of what we need to know amongst the Dark stuff."
"No problem."
"Can you tell me something else?" Harry asked.
"Of course."
"Is there a Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher at the school at the moment?"
Hermione smiled, "Don't be silly Harry."
Harry smiled to himself, at least he wouldn't have any obstacles from another member of staff to contend with, when he and Severus made their announcement later that day.
"Are you going back to the hall?" Hermione asked standing up.
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Will you look after Ron for me?" She asked.
Harry wasn't keen on the task, he wondered what Severus was going to make of it all, but he agreed anyway. Hopefully it would only be for a couple of hours.
Harry returned to the table in the hall to find the situation there apparently unchanged.
"So you two didn't manage to kill each other in my absence," Harry commented to the two men, one stony, and the other looking anywhere but at Severus.
"I can't stand up without falling over, otherwise things might have been different," Ron snapped.
"Lucky for me," Severus responded.
"Hmmph," Ron added, lacking further verbal response.
"Lovely," Harry forced himself to say brightly, "Would you like a walk outside in the sunshine? It's been a while since we've had to stay indoors for any length of time."
"With you both?" Ron asked, making no effort to hide the disgust in his voice, "No thanks, I will just stay here till its time for the meeting. Where is Hermione?"
"Researching in the library," Harry replied.
"Figures," Ron responded, picking up a piece of fruit.
Severus stood up and joined Harry, standing at his side. Harry hoped that Hermione hadn't meant him to stay with Ron at all costs, he clearly didn't want their company and he didn't feel like staying indoors all day with the amount of tension that was hanging in the air.
"Oh dear, that was awful," Harry commented as he left the hall with Severus.
"Well Harry," Severus began, "If I had known how entertaining things could be on the Gryffindor table, I would have joined you and your friends years ago."
"Shut up Sev," Harry replied, suppressing an understanding smile and giving his Kin a discrete dig in the ribs with his finger.
Harry walked through the corridors and out into the grounds with Severus. Not a single person approached them on the way out; all they received were some brief wary glances. Harry wondered at the power of Hermione's influence, in his school days even Albus Dumbledore had been unable to stop people hounding him.
Once outside they found that the air was bitingly cold, but they had become accustomed to that over the months. It was fresh bitingly cold air and Harry breathed in deeply and enjoyed the feel of the weak but bright sun on his face.
"Shall we walk to the lake?" Harry asked Severus, realising that they stood on the section of the grounds where he had seen the teachers fighting and dying in the vision.
Severus had relaxed noticeably once they had left the confines of the castle and he now extended a hand to Harry.
Harry wrapped his fingers round Severus' hand and they walked out to the lake.
Nobody else was there, of those that were out of doors, most kept near to the castle. They came to a stop by the edge of the water and Harry stood close to his Kin, still holding his hand, feeling the warmth of his body. They did not speak and Severus wrapped his free arm round Harry, holding him close. Severus looked over Harry's shoulder towards the castle, keeping watch.
They stood for a while, just remaining close, Harry didn't know how long it had been, he was comfortable and happy and in such circumstances time meant less.
"I think your friend Hermione is coming," Severus suddenly announced.
Harry immediately stepped away from Severus, keeping a hold of his hand, unwilling to relinquish the contact for anything. He came to stand to the side of Severus but slightly in front, their entwined hands subtly concealed by the drape of their robes. It was indeed Hermione approaching.
"What did you do with Ron?" Hermione demanded as soon as she could be sure that Severus and Harry would hear.
"We left him in the hall," Harry answered, feeling Severus tense up again.
"I asked you to look after him," Hermione continued.
"He's not a baby," Harry countered.
"No, but he was in a reckless huff. He's quite capable of doing something stupid just to make me feel guilty."
"Sorry, I didn't think it would be a problem," Harry snapped beginning to get annoyed. It was no wonder Ron was behaving as he was, if Hermione had been treating him like a child for the past four months, as appeared to be the case.
Hermione sighed in apparent exasperation and looked like she might be about to leave but instead Harry felt as if she was looking him over. A frown appeared upon Hermione's face. Harry wondered if she had found out enough about the Kin Bond to see the truth. To Harry, anyway, it seemed fairly obvious, his whole body seemed to breath 'oneness' as he stood holding Severus' hand.
"He isn't in the hall anymore," Hermione suddenly said after a few minutes, "You had better help me find him Harry."
Harry felt angry at Hermione's words, it wasn't as if she thought them to be 'one', it was if she was trying her best to ignore Severus' existence altogether. One more insult to his Kin, Harry thought, and he would be unable to remain silent on the subject any longer.
"Where is he likely to be?" Harry asked.
"Somewhere in between the hall and the Defence classroom probably, I will check up in Gryffindor, though I doubt that he could have made it up there," Hermione snapped.
As Hermione left them and went striding back across the grass to the castle Harry let out the breath he had hardly been aware he was holding. Harry turned towards Severus again and laid his head on his chest. Harry felt strong arms wrap around him once again.
"I am beginning to think I was wrong to come here," Harry began.
"I know how you feel Harry, as you can imagine, but maybe things will begin to improve once we've had a chance to explain."
"Severus?" Harry queried with a smile, "An optimist?"
Harry felt a small laugh and a shrug of shoulders as he remained close to his Kin.
"So where is this friend of yours then?" Severus asked as Harry lifted his head up to look at him.
"Probably in the Defence classroom or somewhere in between there and the Hall, that's why we've been assigned to that particular duty," Harry replied.
"How so?"
"Because Hermione doesn't want to find him to prove a point, and Ron wants to be where we're all supposed to be going, to prove a point," Harry replied.
"How mature," Severus commented.
"It's part of an argument, it's not meant to be mature," Harry countered.
"Come on then, let's get looking, before Hermione notices that we haven't done anything," Severus said tugging affectionately on Harry's hand.
.
.
.
TBC very soon
In the next chapter next week: The Meeting: Harry and Sev try to explain how they defeated the Dark Lord but Hermione's research causes things to backfire a little.
___________________________________________________________________________
Thanks to all those who reviewed this chapter.
Beta by Kristine Thorne
Chapter Summary: Harry and Severus' first lunch at Hogwarts with Hermione and Ron in the Hall. Thing were not standing still while Harry and Sev were away.
_______________________________________________________________________
.
Chapter Four – The Great Hall
Harry and Severus approached the door to the Hall. They were a little bit late and so were set for a notable entrance on account of the fact that everybody else had started their lunch already.
Harry was first to peer round the door to look at the scene they were about to enter, finding out who was present and how many, before they actually had to face them.
"It's about half full," Harry informed Severus, who was hiding behind him, "The lower tables are as they were, lined down the room. There are family groups on one table and a line of children only on the other. There are two tables at the top instead of the long teacher's table. They are square with chairs on each side, more informal I suppose. I think I can see some of the teachers around one and Hermione and Ron are sat at the other."
"I suppose we are meant to join Hermione and Ron then?" Severus asked.
"Looks that way, Hermione doesn't look very happy," Harry commented, observing that Hermione was picking at her food as if it was a chore to eat, not a pleasure.
"And Ron?" Severus enquired.
"Stuffing food down his neck as quickly as he can manage to get it onto his fork."
"Nice to know that some things never change," Severus commented, earning himself a playful hit from Harry.
"Come on then, let's get this over with," Harry said straightening out his robes and raising himself to his full height.
Severus reached a hand out to Harry's cheek and stroked his scar gently.
"This is becoming quite a thing for us both," Harry commented as he leant into the touch.
"What is?"
"Feeling scared to death and thoroughly shagged at the same time."
Severus smiled, vowing to himself that it would be his last for the next few hours at least.
"I'll go first," Harry volunteered.
Harry approached the door again and stood looking down the hall; if anybody turned to look they would now be able to see him. They were all too busy eating though. Harry felt himself stiffen at the prospect of the long walk down the aisles till he got to the table at the bottom. It was even worse than it had been when he was a first year approaching the sorting hat.
Harry took a step forward and he could hear the sound of his boots on the stone floor despite the noise of chatter all around him, nobody else had noticed him yet. He took another step and heard Severus step forward behind him. Feeling encouraged by the fact that Severus was right behind him, Harry continued to walk.
Halfway down the hall silence descended, nobody was eating anymore and Harry could feel piercing eyes burning into him. Harry forced himself to keep going. He could hear Severus' footfalls behind him, in perfect step with his own.
When Harry reached the end of the hall he stopped in front of Ron and Hermione's table and felt Severus come to stand beside him. Hermione and Ron looked as shocked as the other inhabitants of Hogwarts, which Harry thought was strange considering that at least his friends knew that he had returned, even if they had told nobody else.
They stood silently looking at each other for what seemed like endless minutes. Harry was about to break the silence when Hermione found her voice and spoke first.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked Harry sternly.
"I was with Severus," Harry replied, "Do they all know who we are?" He asked, indicating the rest of the hall.
"Yes, I made an announcement earlier that you might be joining us for lunch, I made sure everybody knew you wouldn't want any fuss. I can't guarantee any peace once the Prophet finds out, however," Hermione said.
"They are all staring at us," Harry stated, a frown upon his face.
"I wonder why," Hermione answered sarcastically, "We waited up for you." She added in a hurt tone.
"I told you, I was with Severus," Harry defended not really seeing why he should have to, suddenly resenting it bitterly.
"We thought you would come up afterwards," Hermione continued. "We have a lot of catching up to do, it would have been nice to talk to you Harry."
Hermione was eyeing Severus with wariness and suspicion again, Harry was barely hearing a word his friend said as he detected it and fought the urge to say something to make her stop.
"It was late," Harry forced himself to say.
"And what ARE you doing wearing THOSE?" Hermione continued, shifting the focus onto Harry's attire, twisting her face with distaste at the sight of him, pitying him for having reached such a terrible state of affairs, he would have got a better response if he had been wearing tatty and dirty rags.
Harry clenched his fist hard, his fingernails digging painfully into his palm. Severus stood beside him, stony and silent, no doubt attempting to glower.
Harry had to force himself not to glower too, "My other clothes were dirty," He replied with a carefully neutral voice.
"You only had to come to us, Harry." Hermione continued. "We could have found you something much nicer."
"May we sit?" Severus suddenly barked and Harry could imagine the accompanying sneer.
Hermione nodded and Ron frowned slightly before returning to his food.
Harry began eating, he had been hungry but now he felt like he was doing it entirely for appearances, he had lost his appetite completely. He wanted to be a million miles away from Hogwarts now. Or rather, he would have liked somebody else to explain everything about Severus and the Kin Bond to his friends, and then return for a visit a few months later after they had all calmed down.
It was going to be an uphill struggle, so much had changed, so much needed explaining but Harry didn't feel that he could stand to see Severus treated in this appalling manner for very much longer.
"So, tell me what's new," Harry began once they had moved on to the sweet, forcing a cheery voice.
Harry could have sworn that he saw Hermione blush a little as she finished off a mouthful of food, getting ready to speak.
"Hermione is pregnant," Ron said, not sounding at all pleased about it and cheating Hermione of the right to convey the joyful news herself, Hermione gave Ron a freezing glare but he took no notice.
Harry was instantly jealous but pleased for his friend all the same.
"Oh Hermione," Harry gushed, ignoring Ron's apparent attitude, "That's wonderful, how far along are you?"
"About five months," Hermione replied.
"Four and a half, about mid December wasn't it?" Ron cut in with a stern voice that Harry didn't understand; he could feel the tension again.
"Yes, about then," Hermione replied.
"You must be really looking forward to it, I can't wait now that I know," Harry continued. "Another Weasley, ey Ron?"
"The baby isn't mine," Ron replied, then continued eating.
"Oh, are you sure?" Harry asked without thinking, too deep in shock.
"Oh yes, Hermione wanted to 'wait'," Ron replied bitterly.
"Do we have to do this again, Ron?" Hermione snapped at him.
"I just think that Harry should know," Ron replied trying to sound as if he had innocent intentions, when what he was really doing was raking up the muck.
Harry could see that Hermione was getting upset but Ron was oblivious to it.
"So, tell me about your heroics during the Hogwarts battle Hermione, I saw Ron and a lot of the teachers but I didn't get to see you in action that night," Harry said trying to draw the conversation away from what was obviously a sore subject.
Ron made a snorting noise, muttered something about there being plenty of 'action', but continued to eat. Hermione didn't say anything.
"Oh," Harry said preparing to backtrack. "I didn't mean to, whatever I've just done."
"Hermione was in the Astronomy tower that night, isn't that right Hermione?" Ron began again.
Hermione didn't answer but seemed to be fighting back tears, probably spurred on by pregnancy, Harry thought, since Hermione had never been the crying type.
"With Oliver Wood, apparently," Ron added.
"You can crawl back to Gryffindor on your own Ronald Weasley," Hermione suddenly snapped, she stood up and then ran from the hall.
"Are you going to tell me what that was all about?" Harry asked Ron.
Ron carried on eating, "I would have thought it was fairly obvious," Ron managed to snap in between mouthfuls.
"You have no idea how she is feeling, being pregnant can make you feel very vulnerable," Harry accused.
"And you would know that how exactly?" Ron snapped back.
Harry turned to Severus, "Should I go after her?" he asked his Kin.
"I think you had better," Severus replied.
Ron had looked up to watch the curious interaction between Professor Snape and Harry but he quickly returned to looking at his food when he noticed that Harry was leaving and he was alone with Professor Snape, who was glowering at him.
Harry quickly caught up with Hermione, she hadn't gone far and he found her sitting in a window alcove almost as if she was waiting to be found. Harry sat down beside his friend and observed that she was trying not to cry.
"I should have noticed before, you're starting to show underneath those robes," Harry said kindly.
"It's only just starting to seem real," Hermione said with a sniff, leaning towards Harry.
Harry knew what he was supposed to do but an over emotional, woman sized version of his school friend was a new experience for him. He nervously put an arm round Hermione and patted her arm tentatively.
"Was it a serious thing with Oliver?" Harry asked, not knowing if it was the right thing to talk about or not.
"No," Hermione answered, "It was just the once."
"Once?"
Hermione smiled sadly, "Yes, though I believe it only happens like that when you don't want to get pregnant, special rule of life."
"Hmm." Harry replied, thinking of his own adventures the night before. "At least you won't have to put up with 'you know what' for a while, being pregnant."
"Harry!" Hermione said looking at Harry like he was mad and had grown two heads, "We do not talk about THAT sort of thing, you're a boy."
"Man," Harry countered.
"A 'man'? Really?" Hermione said, amused by Harry's assertion.
"Yes," Harry replied, then more quietly, "Well mostly."
"I was so glad to see you last night," Hermione continued, failing to pick up on what Harry had been discreetly trying to say, "I was starting to get really frightened, I'm not in an ideal condition for lengthy duels to the death."
"Looks like I killed the Dark Lord just in time then," Harry replied, letting it go.
"Oh what a mess, here you are, back after all these months and you get dragged into our little soap opera, before you have even had a chance to eat."
"Didn't quite work out like we planned it on the train did it?"
"When we were on the train, you were already planning to do a runner and you never said anything," Hermione accused but Harry could tell that she wasn't really angry about it.
"I couldn't, it was better that you didn't know."
"Who would have thought it?" Hermione continued.
"I know," Harry said smiling gently.
"Me like this, and you getting stuck with that old bat," Hermione continued.
Harry immediately tensed, he was going to have to tell them all about Severus very soon, before he ran the risk of seriously snapping.
"So where did you sleep last night?" Hermione asked.
Harry began to feel even tenser, "In the dungeon."
"Urgh, wasn't it cold and damp down there?"
"No, it was all right," Harry defended, "We went to Severus' old quarters."
"Snape's quarters?" Hermione said, again with the look of revulsion on her face.
"It was warm enough with the fire on," Harry defended again.
"Never mind Harry," Hermione continued, "You don't have to be stuck with Snape any more and you can help me, I'll get through this, even if Ron is determined to behave like a complete prat."
"You did cheat on him though didn't you?" Harry asked, glad to be diverting from the subject of sleeping arrangements.
"Yes," Hermione answered miserably.
"If that happened to me, I would behave like a prat too," Harry pointed out, thinking of how he would probably just kill who was responsible rather than mess about being sulky.
Not that Severus was actually capable of turning to another, Harry thought, probably just as well.
"Hey, just think, with the Dark Lord dead, you could find a nice girl and settle down, have the family you always wanted," Hermione suggested.
"I've never been much for girls," Harry began, wondering if this time he would get to successfully explain something.
"I know, but it was the war wasn't it," Hermione continued, "You were never one for anything but you're certainly not 'seeking for the other team'."
"Did I ever say that?" Harry asked.
"Not in so many words, though I remember once in the common room, last year or the year before, one of the boys bringing that magazine in for a laugh, you know, the one with the pictures of the two men 'doing it'. You looked like you were about to throw up when you saw it, from what I could see of you before you ran from the room," Hermione recalled, clearly amused.
Harry remembered very well, it had been memories of his Uncle, which had caused him to flee from the room, and he really had thrown up once he was on his own.
"That magazine was the wizard edition, the pictures were moving, yuk," Harry replied, forcing himself to maintain some cheer, he didn't want to tell anybody about his uncle, even now when he was trying to explain about something else and could find no other way. "So what happened to Oliver? Is he not going to have a part in this?" Harry asked trying to change the subject.
"He's dead," Hermione answered.
"Oh," Harry said hugging his friend and completely lost for words. "Sometime today I am going to stop putting my foot in it."
"A lot has changed," Hermione said shrugging.
"It certainly has," Harry replied.
"It feels weird to be sat at the dinner table with that vulture watching over us, can't he sit anywhere else Harry?" Hermione asked twisting her face in distaste again.
"Severus is as much responsible for the defeat of the Dark Lord as I am," Harry said, trying to keep his voice steady and neutral as he felt the rage well up within him, "And please don't call him a vulture, he is my friend now. We can talk about all this at the meeting later."
Hermione sighed, "Your friend? I suppose if you are stuck with somebody for months, anything is possible. All right, I'll try." She nestled into Harry's shoulder. "Talk to me Harry, take my mind off this." Hermione said after a short while of silence.
"Actually, now that I have you alone, there is a thing I would like you to do for me," Harry began, suddenly thinking of something that would certainly be helpful and would help take Hermione's mind off her predicament for a while. It would also help him explain to his friends about the situation that existed between himself and his Kin.
"Oh? What is it?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Do you still like to look things up in books?" Harry asked.
Hermione perked up a little. "I am pregnant Harry, not an alien from another planet."
Harry smiled, "Good, then there's something I need you to find out about for me, in the restricted section."
Hermione sat up, "The restricted section to which I have given myself full and complete access. I have all the teacher's private book collections at my disposal now too."
"Excellent," Harry continued, "I am guessing that you don't want to return to the hall, so why don't you go to the library now and then we'll meet up later, in the Defence classroom, we'll have that meeting."
"What do you want to know?"
"Kin Bond Swords, everything that you can find."
"Is that a Dark thing?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Harry had to admit, "You will probably find out most of what we need to know amongst the Dark stuff."
"No problem."
"Can you tell me something else?" Harry asked.
"Of course."
"Is there a Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher at the school at the moment?"
Hermione smiled, "Don't be silly Harry."
Harry smiled to himself, at least he wouldn't have any obstacles from another member of staff to contend with, when he and Severus made their announcement later that day.
"Are you going back to the hall?" Hermione asked standing up.
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Will you look after Ron for me?" She asked.
Harry wasn't keen on the task, he wondered what Severus was going to make of it all, but he agreed anyway. Hopefully it would only be for a couple of hours.
Harry returned to the table in the hall to find the situation there apparently unchanged.
"So you two didn't manage to kill each other in my absence," Harry commented to the two men, one stony, and the other looking anywhere but at Severus.
"I can't stand up without falling over, otherwise things might have been different," Ron snapped.
"Lucky for me," Severus responded.
"Hmmph," Ron added, lacking further verbal response.
"Lovely," Harry forced himself to say brightly, "Would you like a walk outside in the sunshine? It's been a while since we've had to stay indoors for any length of time."
"With you both?" Ron asked, making no effort to hide the disgust in his voice, "No thanks, I will just stay here till its time for the meeting. Where is Hermione?"
"Researching in the library," Harry replied.
"Figures," Ron responded, picking up a piece of fruit.
Severus stood up and joined Harry, standing at his side. Harry hoped that Hermione hadn't meant him to stay with Ron at all costs, he clearly didn't want their company and he didn't feel like staying indoors all day with the amount of tension that was hanging in the air.
"Oh dear, that was awful," Harry commented as he left the hall with Severus.
"Well Harry," Severus began, "If I had known how entertaining things could be on the Gryffindor table, I would have joined you and your friends years ago."
"Shut up Sev," Harry replied, suppressing an understanding smile and giving his Kin a discrete dig in the ribs with his finger.
Harry walked through the corridors and out into the grounds with Severus. Not a single person approached them on the way out; all they received were some brief wary glances. Harry wondered at the power of Hermione's influence, in his school days even Albus Dumbledore had been unable to stop people hounding him.
Once outside they found that the air was bitingly cold, but they had become accustomed to that over the months. It was fresh bitingly cold air and Harry breathed in deeply and enjoyed the feel of the weak but bright sun on his face.
"Shall we walk to the lake?" Harry asked Severus, realising that they stood on the section of the grounds where he had seen the teachers fighting and dying in the vision.
Severus had relaxed noticeably once they had left the confines of the castle and he now extended a hand to Harry.
Harry wrapped his fingers round Severus' hand and they walked out to the lake.
Nobody else was there, of those that were out of doors, most kept near to the castle. They came to a stop by the edge of the water and Harry stood close to his Kin, still holding his hand, feeling the warmth of his body. They did not speak and Severus wrapped his free arm round Harry, holding him close. Severus looked over Harry's shoulder towards the castle, keeping watch.
They stood for a while, just remaining close, Harry didn't know how long it had been, he was comfortable and happy and in such circumstances time meant less.
"I think your friend Hermione is coming," Severus suddenly announced.
Harry immediately stepped away from Severus, keeping a hold of his hand, unwilling to relinquish the contact for anything. He came to stand to the side of Severus but slightly in front, their entwined hands subtly concealed by the drape of their robes. It was indeed Hermione approaching.
"What did you do with Ron?" Hermione demanded as soon as she could be sure that Severus and Harry would hear.
"We left him in the hall," Harry answered, feeling Severus tense up again.
"I asked you to look after him," Hermione continued.
"He's not a baby," Harry countered.
"No, but he was in a reckless huff. He's quite capable of doing something stupid just to make me feel guilty."
"Sorry, I didn't think it would be a problem," Harry snapped beginning to get annoyed. It was no wonder Ron was behaving as he was, if Hermione had been treating him like a child for the past four months, as appeared to be the case.
Hermione sighed in apparent exasperation and looked like she might be about to leave but instead Harry felt as if she was looking him over. A frown appeared upon Hermione's face. Harry wondered if she had found out enough about the Kin Bond to see the truth. To Harry, anyway, it seemed fairly obvious, his whole body seemed to breath 'oneness' as he stood holding Severus' hand.
"He isn't in the hall anymore," Hermione suddenly said after a few minutes, "You had better help me find him Harry."
Harry felt angry at Hermione's words, it wasn't as if she thought them to be 'one', it was if she was trying her best to ignore Severus' existence altogether. One more insult to his Kin, Harry thought, and he would be unable to remain silent on the subject any longer.
"Where is he likely to be?" Harry asked.
"Somewhere in between the hall and the Defence classroom probably, I will check up in Gryffindor, though I doubt that he could have made it up there," Hermione snapped.
As Hermione left them and went striding back across the grass to the castle Harry let out the breath he had hardly been aware he was holding. Harry turned towards Severus again and laid his head on his chest. Harry felt strong arms wrap around him once again.
"I am beginning to think I was wrong to come here," Harry began.
"I know how you feel Harry, as you can imagine, but maybe things will begin to improve once we've had a chance to explain."
"Severus?" Harry queried with a smile, "An optimist?"
Harry felt a small laugh and a shrug of shoulders as he remained close to his Kin.
"So where is this friend of yours then?" Severus asked as Harry lifted his head up to look at him.
"Probably in the Defence classroom or somewhere in between there and the Hall, that's why we've been assigned to that particular duty," Harry replied.
"How so?"
"Because Hermione doesn't want to find him to prove a point, and Ron wants to be where we're all supposed to be going, to prove a point," Harry replied.
"How mature," Severus commented.
"It's part of an argument, it's not meant to be mature," Harry countered.
"Come on then, let's get looking, before Hermione notices that we haven't done anything," Severus said tugging affectionately on Harry's hand.
.
.
.
TBC very soon
In the next chapter next week: The Meeting: Harry and Sev try to explain how they defeated the Dark Lord but Hermione's research causes things to backfire a little.
___________________________________________________________________________
Thanks to all those who reviewed this chapter.