A/N at the end of the chapter
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Beta by Kristine Thorne
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Chapter Eleven Summary: Professor McGonagall returns to Hogwarts to sort things out.
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Chapter Eleven – A Light In The Dark
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As a result of resuming their activities in bed after they had left the potions classroom, Harry and Severus were feeling a little tired when they arrived late for breakfast the next morning.
"I thought you were going shopping for new clothes yesterday," Hermione commented from the far end of the table as Harry and Severus took their seats.
"I did," Harry replied.
"They look the same to me,"
"They're dark burgundy, not black," Harry clarified.
Hermione was not amused and went back to her coffee.
"Professor McGonagall not here yet?" Severus taunted down the table.
Harry smiled a little at Severus' input but hid it well behind his arm.
"The open day is only a few days away, don't you think you should be organising something or other?" Hermione asked, keen to highlight any shortcomings she found.
"It's all in hand," Harry insisted even though it wasn't. The invitations had certainly been sent out, the event advertised in The Prophet on a number of occasions but there were a few things at least that needed sorting out. Everything would be fine though, Harry was sure, on the day.
*****
Later that morning Harry was watching Severus do some organising. They had taken over a classroom and Harry had nothing else to do but watch Severus at work since he had volunteered to handle the aspect of the proceedings they were currently dealing with as he had previous experience at such matters.
Harry was bored, he wasn't used to his Kin being busy, not busy in conversation anyway. He didn't leave and wander off though; he didn't want to do that even though he was thoroughly bored.
Almost without thinking Harry started to step tango moves across the floor on his own, it was as he turned back towards the door that he saw a small girl walk up the corridor, tears streaming down her face. The girl looked far too young to be out on her own and was obviously distressed. Harry looked to Severus, he was still in conversation, he looked back towards the door, it would only take a minute and he hadn't as yet seen anybody running up the corridor after the little girl.
Harry stepped outside of the room and onto the corridor, the little girl had come to a standstill not far away and was looking around, searching for somebody. She obviously wasn't finding who she was looking for, her face was red with crying and the tears still flowed. Harry approached the girl and knelt down beside her.
"Are you lost?" Harry asked gently.
The little girl nodded miserably.
"Who are you looking for?" Harry asked.
"Mummy," The girl replied.
"Where did you last see her?"
"Home,"
"Oh," Harry responded, "Where is home?"
"I don't know,"
"Oh," Harry said not knowing where to take it from there.
"Who are you?" The little girl asked suddenly eyeing Harry with something approaching suspicion.
"Harry," Harry replied, "Harry Potter," He added with some of his usual unease over using his old name.
The little girl shrank away from him.
"Severus!" A woman's voice called out down the corridor, as Harry was about to reach out a hand to the little girl and offer some words of reassurance, "Severus Snape!"
Harry knew that voice well enough, he couldn't have forgotten it even if it had been nearly a year, bright, Scottish, formidable.
Harry stood up slowly, his heart filling with dread as he turned round and found himself facing a fast approaching Professor McGonagall who didn't look very happy at all.
Professor McGonagall came to stop about two yards in front of Harry.
"Harry!" She said in surprise, noticing that it wasn't Severus she had seen in the corridor after all, "Well, it seems things have changed around here," She continued with a raised eyebrow and an inspection of Harry's attire, "Can you explain to me why the wards would not let me through without an escort?"
"Severus strengthened them," Harry replied, probably looking as nervous as he felt.
"This little girl got through and was likely halfway up to the castle before she noticed I wasn't there, what kind of ward would allow that to happen?"
Harry looked down at the girl who was now clinging to the Professor's skirts. There was a man with Professor McGonagall and she steered the girl into his care and she was led away, the man had been given his instructions to provide food. Harry knew that the wards had been altered to allow the passage of innocents, which was how the little girl had got through.
"We'll get the wards altered to accommodate you," Harry offered feeling a little embarrassed that the wards had been so strong that they had excluded the Deputy Headmaster. She must have been feeling angry at either Severus or himself when she tried to come through, Harry knew, otherwise she might have made it, but he wasn't going to share that detail with the Professor. "I suppose it's good that they work. Who was that little girl? Was she an orphan? I had heard that you were busy helping to find them."
"Yes, she was an orphan," Professor McGonagall replied with a grim expression.
"Hmm, another of the Dark Lord's victims," Harry replied bitterly, remembering how he had been tortured with visions of this immediately prior to the last battle.
Professor McGonagall looked at Harry with sadness and compassion and something he as yet didn't understand, "Her parents were Death Eaters Harry," She said quietly and gently, though no tone of voice could soften the impact of the words.
Harry just stared straight ahead for a moment, "Oh," was the only inadequate word he could mutter.
"Where is Severus?" Professor McGonagall asked breaking the silence that had been created, falling back on a bustling manner to make the moment pass.
Harry turned to the Professor as if still half in a trance and pointed to the classroom.
"I need to speak to you both," Professor McGonagall said firmly.
Harry turned to the classroom door, "Sev!" He called without thinking about not using the familiar address.
Severus appeared at the classroom door, no doubt spurred by the urgency in Harry's voice when he called. When Severus saw who had arrived he joined Harry at his side.
"Minerva," Severus greeted in an even tone, which hid any apprehension he might have.
"Severus," Minerva replied, "I would like to see you and Harry in my office in approximately half an hour."
Severus nodded; still feeling a bit shocked to see Professor McGonagall after all this time. Minerva turned away from the two stunned Kin and walked away.
"What do you think? How was she?" Severus asked Harry.
Harry didn't say anything; he turned towards his Kin and stood close to him then buried his head in Severus' chest.
Severus instinctively wrapped both his arms round Harry, realising that something was very wrong, that Harry was greatly upset. "Harry?" He attempted to prompt as Harry clung to him tightly.
Harry did not respond with words but held onto Severus so tightly that he could hardly breath. Severus briefly noticed all the stares they were receiving but he had meant what he had said, he wanted them to see. Perhaps he didn't specifically want them to see him naked and spread out over a potions classroom desk, but he did think it was about time they started to see things as they were and Harry clinging to him was part of it. Instead of trying to ease Harry away from him Severus attempted to sooth his Kin by rubbing his back with his hand, their height difference meant that Severus could rest his head on Harry's.
"What did she say?" Severus asked after a while.
"How many Death Eaters did I kill Sev?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, a few hundred," Severus answered, wondering where it was leading, "You know that."
"Say it was three hundred and two thirds of them had children, let's assume both the mother and father were Death Eaters together, that's one hundred sets of parents, maybe they had two children each." Harry continued, "Do you know how many orphans the Dark Lord made?"
"No I don't," Severus replied gently.
"Neither do I," Harry replied, "But my guess is it was far less than two hundred."
Harry's shoulders shook against Severus' chest and he said no more.
"They came after you Harry, they were all there voluntarily, all with the soul purpose of making sure that you died."
"I saw this little girl crying and she was looking for her mummy and I thought she might be one of the ones, I thought I was responsible for killing the person who took her parents away but I wasn't, I am the person who took them away." Harry spoke after a while.
"Minerva brought Death Eater children to Hogwarts?" Severus asked scarcely able to believe it.
"That was why I came into the corridor, I saw the little girl."
"We will definitely be having words when we see Minerva."
"They need somebody to look after them," Harry sobbed.
"Yes, they do," Severus agreed, "But they do not need to be here."
Harry didn't say anything else but didn't lift his head away from Severus either. Severus kissed him gently on the top of his head, "Come on, we have half an hour, we'll go back down to the dungeons for a bit of quiet." Severus suggested urging Harry to leave the sea of staring eyes around them.
*****
Twenty minutes later Harry and Severus were climbing the stairs, once again making their way back into the populated section of the castle. Only this time they were going on, further up towards Gryffindor tower and Minerva's quarters. To say they were nervous would be an understatement.
Severus covered his nerves with a stony expression, his usual defence. Harry couldn't really cover his nerves at all but he attempted to take Severus' lead and pulled himself up tall, taking Severus' hand for reassurance. They took the stairs together, perfectly in step.
As Severus and Harry reached the floor they needed Hermione came out of a room and into the corridor in front of them. Both Kin stopped walking, they looked around trying to think of an escape route quickly but there was nowhere for them to go.
"Well fancy seeing you two up here," Hermione commented with a smile as she approached them.
"I am afraid we can't stop, we have a meeting with Minerva," Severus responded, trying to make it sound like Hermione should be worried, making sure that he used the familiarity of a first name.
Hermione was unaffected by the apparent confidence, "Now we'll see who is Headmaster around here."
Severus didn't reply further and they passed Hermione and continued down the corridor.
"One way or the other I will wipe that smile from her face," Severus promised as they stood in front of Professor McGonagall's door.
Almost in a trance, Harry reached forward and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Minerva called out to them as the door swung open to allow them entry.
Harry entered first and found Professor McGongall standing by a sofa, a stern expression upon her face. Dobby stood beside her.
"Severus, Harry, would you like tea?" She asked.
"We would both like tea," Harry answered.
Dobby disappeared with a click of his fingers and Professor McGonagall gestured for them to sit.
Harry was glad of the sofa, he sat down at one end and Severus sat next to him maintaining a separation of only three inches between them. Professor McGonagall took a seat on the other side of a glass-covered coffee table.
"We'll wait for the tea before we begin," Professor McGonagall announced creating an awkward silence that lasted only a few minutes but seemed to last a lifetime. Harry felt as if the Professor was trying to weigh him up from the way she observed him.
When the tea came and was poured Harry found that he had to hold his cup with both hands, he was so nervous.
"Shall we begin?" Severus said sternly when Minerva showed no sign of saying anything, "A have a few issues I would like to raise myself."
"First of all," Minerva began, "We shall be using first names here, we are all adults and this is not a school any longer. Harry, you must call me Minerva."
Harry nodded in agreement but he could see out of the corner of his eye that Severus was unmoved by the concession, probably because of the declaration that Hogwarts wasn't a school.
"What has been going on here?" Minerva asked, "I want Harry to answer."
"We took a Kin Bond, Professor Dumbledore knew that it would happen, he left us a letter giving Severus and I the jobs of Headmaster and Defence teacher." Harry replied.
"That much I read in The Prophet," Minerva responded almost snapping at them.
Harry couldn't continue, he leant into Severus and wished that they could just go.
"Shall I tell you some of the stories I have been hearing about you two?" Minerva asked rhetorically, "Stories of violence towards residents here, staff recruitment for a so-called school which doesn't seem to involve the setting up of a board of governors or any consultation with the Ministry, the first anybody knew about it was your faces staring up out of The Prophet over breakfast, that was certainly the first I had heard of it. Then there are the wards, which now seem to exclude anybody who isn't already in the castle unless they are less than ten years old! What do you have to say?"
Harry was beginning to feel as if he might overcome his nerves, "A board of governors and consultation with the Ministry has always worked out so well in the past, I decided that I would handle things myself, who knows how many Ministry members still hold Death Eater sympathies, though I can assure you they aren't likely to boast about it anytime soon," Harry began, "Besides, we made no radical appointments, at least we can be sure that we are not harbouring Death Eaters. As for the violence, this amounts to no more than a few strong words between Hermione and Severus, I imagine she dressed it up to seem like more."
"The Potions classroom was destroyed." Minerva interrupted.
"The Potions classroom sustained no more than a few broken cauldrons."
"Severus threw those cauldrons at a pregnant woman and again this morning the classroom was found in a terrible state."
"I assure you that Hermione Granger deserved everything that she has managed to goad out of Severus," Harry snapped, he was now well past nervous.
Severus got to his feet, "I will not have Harry upset."
Harry stood up too, "I will not stay to allow it to happen."
Minerva stood up and drew her wand but before Harry and Severus had had a chance to respond she cast a strong silencing charm and put it away again.
"Well that clears that up then," Minerva said in an affable tone before sitting down again and helping herself to a biscuit. "More tea?"
Severus and Harry stared at Minerva and then looked to each other, trying to figure out what had just happened. Slowly they sat back down on the sofa again.
"I am sure somebody will have been appointed to try and listen in, it will serve our interests to have them all think you've been given a telling off, even though it is not my place to do so." Minerva said by way of explanation.
"Our interests?" Harry queried still with suspicion.
"Albus spoke to me before he left, he told me about the letters, about his intentions for you both," Minerva admitted, "He told me most things, I was Deputy in more things than just those relating to school matters."
Harry looked to Severus and found that this had taken him by surprise too, Harry thought that he could see Severus trying to get his head round what information Minerva knew that he had recently thought had died with Albus.
"Tell me Harry," Minerva said for the first time risking a smile, "Are you pregnant yet?"
Harry hadn't known before that moment that he could blush quite so violently as he did, "Erm no, I don't think so," He managed to reply.
"How much do you know?" Severus asked.
"The disruption in the Potions classroom seemed to be very close to where Harry used to sit Severus, Hermione showed me the destruction personally." Minerva commented, seemingly enjoying every moment of their embarrassment.
"How much do you know?" Severus persisted maintaining his composure.
"I know about the swords and your brother, why Albus had to take you in," Minerva answered, "The rest, well Severus, it only takes someone to care enough to figure it out, I suppose we were in rather short supply of caring. Your outbursts occurred approximately twenty-eight days apart, that was how often I had to rescue some poor little Gryffindor from being expelled or some such incident."
"So where do we go from here?" Harry asked still finding it hard to take in.
"Proceed exactly as you were doing, I will try to do something with Hermione but I wasn't having much luck with her before, I am sure she will reveal what is going on under those unruly curls of hair in her own time."
"Getting Hermione to leave us alone would be a great help," Harry added.
"They've had it hard, Ron especially."
"I know," Harry said remembering what he had seen.
"I will teach Transfiguration if you need me to, I should be free by September," Minerva offered.
"Will you stay for our open day?" Harry asked.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Minerva replied, "Though if you want anybody to be able to attend you should sort out those wards, you wouldn't believe the chaos down in Hogsmeade at the moment. There have been some reports that the castle has disappeared altogether. Hundreds of people have come to hound the saviour of the wizarding world and not one of them can get through. Did neither of you notice how quiet it had been?"
"We retreated a bit, things haven't been too good, and we just wanted to be alone." Harry explained.
"Alone? After all these months?"
"Exactly, alone with Severus, being his Kin with no criticism, nobody hounding him or trying to split us up."
"Hmm, I must admit that although I know about the Kin Bond, I perhaps don't understand it fully, non of us actually ever saw it last time, for reasons which I imagine are obvious." Minerva responded, "So who was trying to split you up?"
"Hermione of course," Harry answered, "I thought we could still be friends but she's obsessed with the idea that Severus is abusing me in some way, that she has to save me or something."
"Given your past history with Severus I can see why she might think that," Minerva answered, "But you know that there is little she can do, I would be inclined to just let her rant on."
"I can't," Harry pleaded, "She has to stop, sometimes I feel like I will hurt her, and I don't mean a few flying cauldrons. I don't want to hurt her, but if you understand anything about the Kin you will know that if she ever does anything to Severus, I will kill her."
Minerva looked a little unnerved at Harry's words but quickly composed herself. Harry was assuming that Minerva knew that if Severus died that he would kill himself too, he left it unsaid.
"I will speak to her," Minerva volunteered.
Minerva served up more tea and Harry and Severus relaxed a little bit. There was one item for discussion which Severus wanted cleared up immediately however.
"I must respectfully mention that I think it is inappropriate to bring the children of Death Eaters into this castle," Severus began.
"Oh Severus, she is just a small girl who managed to get through your wards better than I did."
"I will not have Harry upset or endangered," Severus persisted.
Minerva was amused, "Why Severus, you are even more paranoid than you ever were."
"Even paranoid people have enemies, the question is, whether I am paranoid enough." Severus countered, "Harry may soon be in a more vulnerable state."
"Fine, I will find somewhere else for the children to live," Minerva gave in, "Now enough of all this, let's have some cake."
*****
When Harry and Severus left Minerva's quarters Severus reached for Harry's hand and Harry was smiling, they might not yet be happy but they were getting closer to it.
It was lunchtime, Harry noticed people heading for the hall, he didn't feel at all hungry after the cake they had eaten. He could imagine Minerva right at that moment serving tea to Hermione, steeling herself for a little chat.
"Before we go any further," Severus suddenly announced, "I want you to give me the rest of the fertility potion, I know you have more."
Harry's heart sunk, he had known that he wouldn't be able to sneak any more past Severus but he didn't want to give it up either. Severus held out his hand expectantly and they stopped walking.
Harry didn't give any protest, not in the middle of the corridor with people they hadn't even met walking past them every few seconds. Harry retrieved the potions and handed them over to Severus, feeling suddenly overcome with emotion, a reaction that was partly due to their stressful meeting with Minerva, he was sure.
Severus inspected the potions bottles and Harry wondered why he didn't just pocket them and then they could continue on their way.
"I see he wasn't stupid enough to try and sell you the cheapest kind they had," Severus commented.
Harry sighed and looked at the floor, this was a million times worse than the so-called punishment he had received the previous day.
Severus pulled the stopper from one of the remaining potions and drank it down. "Hmm, they've done a nice job of eliminating the taste, anybody else in the entire wizarding world would not have known it was there," Severus continued, "Of course I could have produced a similar potion without the Ministry additive but it would have been quite time consuming and I see that you are a little impatient."
Harry had been too preoccupied with sulking to notice that Severus had drunk the potion. Taking pity on his Kin at last, Severus stopped teasing and held out one of the phials to Harry.
"Come on," Severus urged Harry, "Drink up, I want you thoroughly shagable by the time dinner is over."
Harry took the potion eagerly and drank it straight down in one, only calling Severus a 'pig' after he had managed to swallow it all.
Severus smiled a little at the name, "Seriously Harry, it shows your commitment to this endeavour," He commented, "It's quite sweet really."
Harry thumped Severus on the arm playfully and they carried on down the corridor, heading for the hall and a Hermione free lunch.
*****
Harry rolled over onto his back to lie beside Severus, they had had a Hermione free lunch and dinner and they had been celebrating. As soon as they reached their quarters in the dungeon the two Kin had headed for the bedroom and had been there ever since.
Harry's head was still swimming and his body was singing, the expensive fertility potions were turning out to be quite a buzz. It was refreshing to find the considerations of effectiveness and enjoyment being catered for in equal measure.
Severus was soon leaning over Harry, ready to continue.
"Well that was fun but nevertheless pointless, shall we start making use of those potions?" Severus suggested.
Harry pulled Severus down over him and kissed him, "Don't talk about yourself like that."
"Tell me I'm not right," Severus responded ducking down to nibble at Harry's neck.
"Not the point," Harry replied arching his neck to let Severus have all the access he needed.
"Harry! Severus!" A voice called from the living room fireplace, "Hermione would like to speak to you both, we will be down in a few minutes."
Harry sighed, "Minerva, wonderful."
Severus collapsed on top of Harry and growled with frustration.
"Pity you're not a bit younger or we might still have made it," Harry commented as he rolled Severus off onto his side and stood up.
"Hermione wants to talk," Severus commented as he sat up, "At least before, they left us alone down here."
Harry ignored Severus' grumbling, there was nothing they could do about the situation. If Hermione wanted to apologise and Minerva had brought it about then they had no choice but to accept.
Harry had only just finished pulling his robes on when the knock at the door came; he left Severus still pulling at his shirt to go answer it.
"Good evening," Minerva greeted Harry as both she and Hermione entered the Snape Kin's quarters, she said it mildly enough but had a questioning eyebrow raised. Harry presumed that he must look like he had just got out of bed or something, he smiled warmly back, and he didn't care what either of them thought.
Hermione didn't seem to notice Harry's appearance at all for once; she was too busy looking around the room, she was obviously curious to see how Severus lived despite her dislike of him. Harry watched her in her distraction, he had become used to avoiding her eye, sitting as far away as possible, doing anything to avoid contact. He was sure Hermione had grown since they had come back to Hogwarts. It was to be expected since she was in her sixth month of pregnancy but the knowledge didn't help Harry feel less jealous as if it was there only to taunt him.
Harry had to force himself to think less negatively, Hermione was there to patch things up, and he couldn't go spoiling it. He could understand how Severus had felt though, when he had thrown the cauldron.
"Hermione has something to say," Minerva began, "To you both, where is Severus?"
"He'll be through in a minute," Harry replied gesturing to the closed bedroom door by way of explanation.
Minerva raised her eyebrow again in response and Harry felt his face turn a little red and he felt like grinning back at her. Hermione had stopped looking about now and was facing Harry, watching him and fidgeting with impatience and irritation, he managed to maintain his composure. Apparently she thought that Severus was keeping them waiting intentionally.
When Severus entered the living area, Harry nearly laughed, Severus had pulled his clothes back on but he had done nothing to tame his ruffled hair.
Hermione didn't make a move at first, she still fidgeted which Harry to think she might actually be nervous about approaching him and not irritated at all. Minerva nudged her a little and she approached Harry.
Suddenly Hermione had launched herself towards Harry and wrapped her arms around him, it was as close as they had ever been. Harry would have had to wriggle free but Severus had come to his side and had laid a reassuring hand on his arm, he found that he could bare it for a while.
"I am so sorry Harry," Hermione said with emotion in her voice, she might have even shed a tear, Harry couldn't tell, "We were only worried about you."
Hermione continued to hold Harry but said no more, it was an awkward hold with Hermione being so big. Harry tried not to panic and let her hug him as much as she wanted to but he suddenly felt a kick up against his abdomen. He was pressed up against Hermione and it had been her baby he had felt, he had to separate then, he tried his best to just step back and ease away rather than anything more sudden.
"There we are," Minerva announced, "We can have a chat over a game of chess now, I'll order some tea and cakes."
Harry could almost feel Severus bristling with irritation stood silently at his side.
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TBC soon
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Next - Chapter Twelve Summary - The Quidditch Pitch - Strange goings on at Hogwarts, in the past and the present. Warning: the R rating isn't for the bedroom, not in this chapter, on no, things get very nasty.
Refers to events that took place in the prequel Dance In The Dark Of Night, might not make much sense at first if you haven't read the other story.
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_______________________________________________________
.
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.
.
Beta by Kristine Thorne
.
.
Chapter Eleven Summary: Professor McGonagall returns to Hogwarts to sort things out.
.
.
__________________________________________________________________________
.
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.
.
Chapter Eleven – A Light In The Dark
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As a result of resuming their activities in bed after they had left the potions classroom, Harry and Severus were feeling a little tired when they arrived late for breakfast the next morning.
"I thought you were going shopping for new clothes yesterday," Hermione commented from the far end of the table as Harry and Severus took their seats.
"I did," Harry replied.
"They look the same to me,"
"They're dark burgundy, not black," Harry clarified.
Hermione was not amused and went back to her coffee.
"Professor McGonagall not here yet?" Severus taunted down the table.
Harry smiled a little at Severus' input but hid it well behind his arm.
"The open day is only a few days away, don't you think you should be organising something or other?" Hermione asked, keen to highlight any shortcomings she found.
"It's all in hand," Harry insisted even though it wasn't. The invitations had certainly been sent out, the event advertised in The Prophet on a number of occasions but there were a few things at least that needed sorting out. Everything would be fine though, Harry was sure, on the day.
*****
Later that morning Harry was watching Severus do some organising. They had taken over a classroom and Harry had nothing else to do but watch Severus at work since he had volunteered to handle the aspect of the proceedings they were currently dealing with as he had previous experience at such matters.
Harry was bored, he wasn't used to his Kin being busy, not busy in conversation anyway. He didn't leave and wander off though; he didn't want to do that even though he was thoroughly bored.
Almost without thinking Harry started to step tango moves across the floor on his own, it was as he turned back towards the door that he saw a small girl walk up the corridor, tears streaming down her face. The girl looked far too young to be out on her own and was obviously distressed. Harry looked to Severus, he was still in conversation, he looked back towards the door, it would only take a minute and he hadn't as yet seen anybody running up the corridor after the little girl.
Harry stepped outside of the room and onto the corridor, the little girl had come to a standstill not far away and was looking around, searching for somebody. She obviously wasn't finding who she was looking for, her face was red with crying and the tears still flowed. Harry approached the girl and knelt down beside her.
"Are you lost?" Harry asked gently.
The little girl nodded miserably.
"Who are you looking for?" Harry asked.
"Mummy," The girl replied.
"Where did you last see her?"
"Home,"
"Oh," Harry responded, "Where is home?"
"I don't know,"
"Oh," Harry said not knowing where to take it from there.
"Who are you?" The little girl asked suddenly eyeing Harry with something approaching suspicion.
"Harry," Harry replied, "Harry Potter," He added with some of his usual unease over using his old name.
The little girl shrank away from him.
"Severus!" A woman's voice called out down the corridor, as Harry was about to reach out a hand to the little girl and offer some words of reassurance, "Severus Snape!"
Harry knew that voice well enough, he couldn't have forgotten it even if it had been nearly a year, bright, Scottish, formidable.
Harry stood up slowly, his heart filling with dread as he turned round and found himself facing a fast approaching Professor McGonagall who didn't look very happy at all.
Professor McGonagall came to stop about two yards in front of Harry.
"Harry!" She said in surprise, noticing that it wasn't Severus she had seen in the corridor after all, "Well, it seems things have changed around here," She continued with a raised eyebrow and an inspection of Harry's attire, "Can you explain to me why the wards would not let me through without an escort?"
"Severus strengthened them," Harry replied, probably looking as nervous as he felt.
"This little girl got through and was likely halfway up to the castle before she noticed I wasn't there, what kind of ward would allow that to happen?"
Harry looked down at the girl who was now clinging to the Professor's skirts. There was a man with Professor McGonagall and she steered the girl into his care and she was led away, the man had been given his instructions to provide food. Harry knew that the wards had been altered to allow the passage of innocents, which was how the little girl had got through.
"We'll get the wards altered to accommodate you," Harry offered feeling a little embarrassed that the wards had been so strong that they had excluded the Deputy Headmaster. She must have been feeling angry at either Severus or himself when she tried to come through, Harry knew, otherwise she might have made it, but he wasn't going to share that detail with the Professor. "I suppose it's good that they work. Who was that little girl? Was she an orphan? I had heard that you were busy helping to find them."
"Yes, she was an orphan," Professor McGonagall replied with a grim expression.
"Hmm, another of the Dark Lord's victims," Harry replied bitterly, remembering how he had been tortured with visions of this immediately prior to the last battle.
Professor McGonagall looked at Harry with sadness and compassion and something he as yet didn't understand, "Her parents were Death Eaters Harry," She said quietly and gently, though no tone of voice could soften the impact of the words.
Harry just stared straight ahead for a moment, "Oh," was the only inadequate word he could mutter.
"Where is Severus?" Professor McGonagall asked breaking the silence that had been created, falling back on a bustling manner to make the moment pass.
Harry turned to the Professor as if still half in a trance and pointed to the classroom.
"I need to speak to you both," Professor McGonagall said firmly.
Harry turned to the classroom door, "Sev!" He called without thinking about not using the familiar address.
Severus appeared at the classroom door, no doubt spurred by the urgency in Harry's voice when he called. When Severus saw who had arrived he joined Harry at his side.
"Minerva," Severus greeted in an even tone, which hid any apprehension he might have.
"Severus," Minerva replied, "I would like to see you and Harry in my office in approximately half an hour."
Severus nodded; still feeling a bit shocked to see Professor McGonagall after all this time. Minerva turned away from the two stunned Kin and walked away.
"What do you think? How was she?" Severus asked Harry.
Harry didn't say anything; he turned towards his Kin and stood close to him then buried his head in Severus' chest.
Severus instinctively wrapped both his arms round Harry, realising that something was very wrong, that Harry was greatly upset. "Harry?" He attempted to prompt as Harry clung to him tightly.
Harry did not respond with words but held onto Severus so tightly that he could hardly breath. Severus briefly noticed all the stares they were receiving but he had meant what he had said, he wanted them to see. Perhaps he didn't specifically want them to see him naked and spread out over a potions classroom desk, but he did think it was about time they started to see things as they were and Harry clinging to him was part of it. Instead of trying to ease Harry away from him Severus attempted to sooth his Kin by rubbing his back with his hand, their height difference meant that Severus could rest his head on Harry's.
"What did she say?" Severus asked after a while.
"How many Death Eaters did I kill Sev?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, a few hundred," Severus answered, wondering where it was leading, "You know that."
"Say it was three hundred and two thirds of them had children, let's assume both the mother and father were Death Eaters together, that's one hundred sets of parents, maybe they had two children each." Harry continued, "Do you know how many orphans the Dark Lord made?"
"No I don't," Severus replied gently.
"Neither do I," Harry replied, "But my guess is it was far less than two hundred."
Harry's shoulders shook against Severus' chest and he said no more.
"They came after you Harry, they were all there voluntarily, all with the soul purpose of making sure that you died."
"I saw this little girl crying and she was looking for her mummy and I thought she might be one of the ones, I thought I was responsible for killing the person who took her parents away but I wasn't, I am the person who took them away." Harry spoke after a while.
"Minerva brought Death Eater children to Hogwarts?" Severus asked scarcely able to believe it.
"That was why I came into the corridor, I saw the little girl."
"We will definitely be having words when we see Minerva."
"They need somebody to look after them," Harry sobbed.
"Yes, they do," Severus agreed, "But they do not need to be here."
Harry didn't say anything else but didn't lift his head away from Severus either. Severus kissed him gently on the top of his head, "Come on, we have half an hour, we'll go back down to the dungeons for a bit of quiet." Severus suggested urging Harry to leave the sea of staring eyes around them.
*****
Twenty minutes later Harry and Severus were climbing the stairs, once again making their way back into the populated section of the castle. Only this time they were going on, further up towards Gryffindor tower and Minerva's quarters. To say they were nervous would be an understatement.
Severus covered his nerves with a stony expression, his usual defence. Harry couldn't really cover his nerves at all but he attempted to take Severus' lead and pulled himself up tall, taking Severus' hand for reassurance. They took the stairs together, perfectly in step.
As Severus and Harry reached the floor they needed Hermione came out of a room and into the corridor in front of them. Both Kin stopped walking, they looked around trying to think of an escape route quickly but there was nowhere for them to go.
"Well fancy seeing you two up here," Hermione commented with a smile as she approached them.
"I am afraid we can't stop, we have a meeting with Minerva," Severus responded, trying to make it sound like Hermione should be worried, making sure that he used the familiarity of a first name.
Hermione was unaffected by the apparent confidence, "Now we'll see who is Headmaster around here."
Severus didn't reply further and they passed Hermione and continued down the corridor.
"One way or the other I will wipe that smile from her face," Severus promised as they stood in front of Professor McGonagall's door.
Almost in a trance, Harry reached forward and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Minerva called out to them as the door swung open to allow them entry.
Harry entered first and found Professor McGongall standing by a sofa, a stern expression upon her face. Dobby stood beside her.
"Severus, Harry, would you like tea?" She asked.
"We would both like tea," Harry answered.
Dobby disappeared with a click of his fingers and Professor McGonagall gestured for them to sit.
Harry was glad of the sofa, he sat down at one end and Severus sat next to him maintaining a separation of only three inches between them. Professor McGonagall took a seat on the other side of a glass-covered coffee table.
"We'll wait for the tea before we begin," Professor McGonagall announced creating an awkward silence that lasted only a few minutes but seemed to last a lifetime. Harry felt as if the Professor was trying to weigh him up from the way she observed him.
When the tea came and was poured Harry found that he had to hold his cup with both hands, he was so nervous.
"Shall we begin?" Severus said sternly when Minerva showed no sign of saying anything, "A have a few issues I would like to raise myself."
"First of all," Minerva began, "We shall be using first names here, we are all adults and this is not a school any longer. Harry, you must call me Minerva."
Harry nodded in agreement but he could see out of the corner of his eye that Severus was unmoved by the concession, probably because of the declaration that Hogwarts wasn't a school.
"What has been going on here?" Minerva asked, "I want Harry to answer."
"We took a Kin Bond, Professor Dumbledore knew that it would happen, he left us a letter giving Severus and I the jobs of Headmaster and Defence teacher." Harry replied.
"That much I read in The Prophet," Minerva responded almost snapping at them.
Harry couldn't continue, he leant into Severus and wished that they could just go.
"Shall I tell you some of the stories I have been hearing about you two?" Minerva asked rhetorically, "Stories of violence towards residents here, staff recruitment for a so-called school which doesn't seem to involve the setting up of a board of governors or any consultation with the Ministry, the first anybody knew about it was your faces staring up out of The Prophet over breakfast, that was certainly the first I had heard of it. Then there are the wards, which now seem to exclude anybody who isn't already in the castle unless they are less than ten years old! What do you have to say?"
Harry was beginning to feel as if he might overcome his nerves, "A board of governors and consultation with the Ministry has always worked out so well in the past, I decided that I would handle things myself, who knows how many Ministry members still hold Death Eater sympathies, though I can assure you they aren't likely to boast about it anytime soon," Harry began, "Besides, we made no radical appointments, at least we can be sure that we are not harbouring Death Eaters. As for the violence, this amounts to no more than a few strong words between Hermione and Severus, I imagine she dressed it up to seem like more."
"The Potions classroom was destroyed." Minerva interrupted.
"The Potions classroom sustained no more than a few broken cauldrons."
"Severus threw those cauldrons at a pregnant woman and again this morning the classroom was found in a terrible state."
"I assure you that Hermione Granger deserved everything that she has managed to goad out of Severus," Harry snapped, he was now well past nervous.
Severus got to his feet, "I will not have Harry upset."
Harry stood up too, "I will not stay to allow it to happen."
Minerva stood up and drew her wand but before Harry and Severus had had a chance to respond she cast a strong silencing charm and put it away again.
"Well that clears that up then," Minerva said in an affable tone before sitting down again and helping herself to a biscuit. "More tea?"
Severus and Harry stared at Minerva and then looked to each other, trying to figure out what had just happened. Slowly they sat back down on the sofa again.
"I am sure somebody will have been appointed to try and listen in, it will serve our interests to have them all think you've been given a telling off, even though it is not my place to do so." Minerva said by way of explanation.
"Our interests?" Harry queried still with suspicion.
"Albus spoke to me before he left, he told me about the letters, about his intentions for you both," Minerva admitted, "He told me most things, I was Deputy in more things than just those relating to school matters."
Harry looked to Severus and found that this had taken him by surprise too, Harry thought that he could see Severus trying to get his head round what information Minerva knew that he had recently thought had died with Albus.
"Tell me Harry," Minerva said for the first time risking a smile, "Are you pregnant yet?"
Harry hadn't known before that moment that he could blush quite so violently as he did, "Erm no, I don't think so," He managed to reply.
"How much do you know?" Severus asked.
"The disruption in the Potions classroom seemed to be very close to where Harry used to sit Severus, Hermione showed me the destruction personally." Minerva commented, seemingly enjoying every moment of their embarrassment.
"How much do you know?" Severus persisted maintaining his composure.
"I know about the swords and your brother, why Albus had to take you in," Minerva answered, "The rest, well Severus, it only takes someone to care enough to figure it out, I suppose we were in rather short supply of caring. Your outbursts occurred approximately twenty-eight days apart, that was how often I had to rescue some poor little Gryffindor from being expelled or some such incident."
"So where do we go from here?" Harry asked still finding it hard to take in.
"Proceed exactly as you were doing, I will try to do something with Hermione but I wasn't having much luck with her before, I am sure she will reveal what is going on under those unruly curls of hair in her own time."
"Getting Hermione to leave us alone would be a great help," Harry added.
"They've had it hard, Ron especially."
"I know," Harry said remembering what he had seen.
"I will teach Transfiguration if you need me to, I should be free by September," Minerva offered.
"Will you stay for our open day?" Harry asked.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Minerva replied, "Though if you want anybody to be able to attend you should sort out those wards, you wouldn't believe the chaos down in Hogsmeade at the moment. There have been some reports that the castle has disappeared altogether. Hundreds of people have come to hound the saviour of the wizarding world and not one of them can get through. Did neither of you notice how quiet it had been?"
"We retreated a bit, things haven't been too good, and we just wanted to be alone." Harry explained.
"Alone? After all these months?"
"Exactly, alone with Severus, being his Kin with no criticism, nobody hounding him or trying to split us up."
"Hmm, I must admit that although I know about the Kin Bond, I perhaps don't understand it fully, non of us actually ever saw it last time, for reasons which I imagine are obvious." Minerva responded, "So who was trying to split you up?"
"Hermione of course," Harry answered, "I thought we could still be friends but she's obsessed with the idea that Severus is abusing me in some way, that she has to save me or something."
"Given your past history with Severus I can see why she might think that," Minerva answered, "But you know that there is little she can do, I would be inclined to just let her rant on."
"I can't," Harry pleaded, "She has to stop, sometimes I feel like I will hurt her, and I don't mean a few flying cauldrons. I don't want to hurt her, but if you understand anything about the Kin you will know that if she ever does anything to Severus, I will kill her."
Minerva looked a little unnerved at Harry's words but quickly composed herself. Harry was assuming that Minerva knew that if Severus died that he would kill himself too, he left it unsaid.
"I will speak to her," Minerva volunteered.
Minerva served up more tea and Harry and Severus relaxed a little bit. There was one item for discussion which Severus wanted cleared up immediately however.
"I must respectfully mention that I think it is inappropriate to bring the children of Death Eaters into this castle," Severus began.
"Oh Severus, she is just a small girl who managed to get through your wards better than I did."
"I will not have Harry upset or endangered," Severus persisted.
Minerva was amused, "Why Severus, you are even more paranoid than you ever were."
"Even paranoid people have enemies, the question is, whether I am paranoid enough." Severus countered, "Harry may soon be in a more vulnerable state."
"Fine, I will find somewhere else for the children to live," Minerva gave in, "Now enough of all this, let's have some cake."
*****
When Harry and Severus left Minerva's quarters Severus reached for Harry's hand and Harry was smiling, they might not yet be happy but they were getting closer to it.
It was lunchtime, Harry noticed people heading for the hall, he didn't feel at all hungry after the cake they had eaten. He could imagine Minerva right at that moment serving tea to Hermione, steeling herself for a little chat.
"Before we go any further," Severus suddenly announced, "I want you to give me the rest of the fertility potion, I know you have more."
Harry's heart sunk, he had known that he wouldn't be able to sneak any more past Severus but he didn't want to give it up either. Severus held out his hand expectantly and they stopped walking.
Harry didn't give any protest, not in the middle of the corridor with people they hadn't even met walking past them every few seconds. Harry retrieved the potions and handed them over to Severus, feeling suddenly overcome with emotion, a reaction that was partly due to their stressful meeting with Minerva, he was sure.
Severus inspected the potions bottles and Harry wondered why he didn't just pocket them and then they could continue on their way.
"I see he wasn't stupid enough to try and sell you the cheapest kind they had," Severus commented.
Harry sighed and looked at the floor, this was a million times worse than the so-called punishment he had received the previous day.
Severus pulled the stopper from one of the remaining potions and drank it down. "Hmm, they've done a nice job of eliminating the taste, anybody else in the entire wizarding world would not have known it was there," Severus continued, "Of course I could have produced a similar potion without the Ministry additive but it would have been quite time consuming and I see that you are a little impatient."
Harry had been too preoccupied with sulking to notice that Severus had drunk the potion. Taking pity on his Kin at last, Severus stopped teasing and held out one of the phials to Harry.
"Come on," Severus urged Harry, "Drink up, I want you thoroughly shagable by the time dinner is over."
Harry took the potion eagerly and drank it straight down in one, only calling Severus a 'pig' after he had managed to swallow it all.
Severus smiled a little at the name, "Seriously Harry, it shows your commitment to this endeavour," He commented, "It's quite sweet really."
Harry thumped Severus on the arm playfully and they carried on down the corridor, heading for the hall and a Hermione free lunch.
*****
Harry rolled over onto his back to lie beside Severus, they had had a Hermione free lunch and dinner and they had been celebrating. As soon as they reached their quarters in the dungeon the two Kin had headed for the bedroom and had been there ever since.
Harry's head was still swimming and his body was singing, the expensive fertility potions were turning out to be quite a buzz. It was refreshing to find the considerations of effectiveness and enjoyment being catered for in equal measure.
Severus was soon leaning over Harry, ready to continue.
"Well that was fun but nevertheless pointless, shall we start making use of those potions?" Severus suggested.
Harry pulled Severus down over him and kissed him, "Don't talk about yourself like that."
"Tell me I'm not right," Severus responded ducking down to nibble at Harry's neck.
"Not the point," Harry replied arching his neck to let Severus have all the access he needed.
"Harry! Severus!" A voice called from the living room fireplace, "Hermione would like to speak to you both, we will be down in a few minutes."
Harry sighed, "Minerva, wonderful."
Severus collapsed on top of Harry and growled with frustration.
"Pity you're not a bit younger or we might still have made it," Harry commented as he rolled Severus off onto his side and stood up.
"Hermione wants to talk," Severus commented as he sat up, "At least before, they left us alone down here."
Harry ignored Severus' grumbling, there was nothing they could do about the situation. If Hermione wanted to apologise and Minerva had brought it about then they had no choice but to accept.
Harry had only just finished pulling his robes on when the knock at the door came; he left Severus still pulling at his shirt to go answer it.
"Good evening," Minerva greeted Harry as both she and Hermione entered the Snape Kin's quarters, she said it mildly enough but had a questioning eyebrow raised. Harry presumed that he must look like he had just got out of bed or something, he smiled warmly back, and he didn't care what either of them thought.
Hermione didn't seem to notice Harry's appearance at all for once; she was too busy looking around the room, she was obviously curious to see how Severus lived despite her dislike of him. Harry watched her in her distraction, he had become used to avoiding her eye, sitting as far away as possible, doing anything to avoid contact. He was sure Hermione had grown since they had come back to Hogwarts. It was to be expected since she was in her sixth month of pregnancy but the knowledge didn't help Harry feel less jealous as if it was there only to taunt him.
Harry had to force himself to think less negatively, Hermione was there to patch things up, and he couldn't go spoiling it. He could understand how Severus had felt though, when he had thrown the cauldron.
"Hermione has something to say," Minerva began, "To you both, where is Severus?"
"He'll be through in a minute," Harry replied gesturing to the closed bedroom door by way of explanation.
Minerva raised her eyebrow again in response and Harry felt his face turn a little red and he felt like grinning back at her. Hermione had stopped looking about now and was facing Harry, watching him and fidgeting with impatience and irritation, he managed to maintain his composure. Apparently she thought that Severus was keeping them waiting intentionally.
When Severus entered the living area, Harry nearly laughed, Severus had pulled his clothes back on but he had done nothing to tame his ruffled hair.
Hermione didn't make a move at first, she still fidgeted which Harry to think she might actually be nervous about approaching him and not irritated at all. Minerva nudged her a little and she approached Harry.
Suddenly Hermione had launched herself towards Harry and wrapped her arms around him, it was as close as they had ever been. Harry would have had to wriggle free but Severus had come to his side and had laid a reassuring hand on his arm, he found that he could bare it for a while.
"I am so sorry Harry," Hermione said with emotion in her voice, she might have even shed a tear, Harry couldn't tell, "We were only worried about you."
Hermione continued to hold Harry but said no more, it was an awkward hold with Hermione being so big. Harry tried not to panic and let her hug him as much as she wanted to but he suddenly felt a kick up against his abdomen. He was pressed up against Hermione and it had been her baby he had felt, he had to separate then, he tried his best to just step back and ease away rather than anything more sudden.
"There we are," Minerva announced, "We can have a chat over a game of chess now, I'll order some tea and cakes."
Harry could almost feel Severus bristling with irritation stood silently at his side.
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TBC soon
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Next - Chapter Twelve Summary - The Quidditch Pitch - Strange goings on at Hogwarts, in the past and the present. Warning: the R rating isn't for the bedroom, not in this chapter, on no, things get very nasty.
Refers to events that took place in the prequel Dance In The Dark Of Night, might not make much sense at first if you haven't read the other story.
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