A/N : See the Voice Of Alexian review for this chapter for replies to ch30 reviews.
Beta By Kristine Thorne
Chapter Summary – Draco challenges Harry's patience and Ron has to stand between them. Severus is not amused at the result.
Chapter Thirty One – Just Like Old Times
The morning before Harry and Severus were due to go away was bright and sunny. Severus admired the view outside as he passed the living room window, opening it a few inches to let the morning owls through. Everything was in place, Ron and Draco were reasonably reconciled to being in the next room to each other for a few days and the portkey was ready to transport both him and his Kin to the area just outside of Sgoil Dhubh Lodge, early enough in the day for it to be unlikely that they would be seen.
Severus would spend the day as normal and then take Harry downstairs to the hall at dinnertime for the beginning of his birthday treat and then on to the room of requirement for the special surprise. They would sleep in their quarters, or elsewhere if Harry preferred his alternative arrangements, and head out to see Will the next morning. He hoped that he could persuade Will to let him cook for a few days and they would most likely talk and watch movies. They had also had vague plans to try to explain to Will about their lives at Hogwarts but it would depend on how things went.
Turning up in their wizard clothes would no doubt be a catalyst to such a conversation but Will was used to strange people so even that wasn't certain. What was certain was that neither Harry nor Severus could come close to being able to squeeze into their Muggle clothes any longer; they had both been rather pleased to confirm it that morning.
When Severus came out of Draco's bedroom after breakfast he found Harry sitting by on one of the sofas with Ron sat beside him. Ron had an arm round Harry's shoulders and Harry was leaning against his friend.
"What is going on here?" Severus asked with concern for Harry but making it clear that he would rip the head off the person who was responsible for upsetting his Kin.
Ron turned to speak, "Nothing, absolutely nothing."
Severus had noticed that Harry was crying, "Nothing?"
"I was just wandering around waiting for you," Harry tried to explain through sobs, "I was happy, I was thinking about tomorrow and I found that my tea had gone cold because I had forgotten about it and I don't know what happened."
"Sounds a bit preggie to me," Ron offered, "Hermione kept doing the same thing."
"Why don't you have a nice quiet morning," Severus suggested, "You can help me with the post."
Harry had a sniff and let Ron go, he went to his Kin instead and Severus hugged him tight till the tears stopped and the first owls arrived through the window. Another letter then came through the fire and Severus went to pick it up.
Severus perused the letter for a few moments already knowing before he read that it had to be internal mail if it had come through the fire.
"This requires the attention of one of us fairly soon," Severus announced, "Just a logistical problem, I will deal with it." Severus knew that despite the fact that the note announced precisely what he had just told Ron and Harry it was in actual fact very likely to be something to do with the small birthday party he had been planning.
"I'll start on the owls," Harry offered crossing the room at the same time that Severus made for the door. He kissed his Kin luxuriously and Severus used a handkerchief to help dry his Kin's face.
"If anything starts to make you feel upset just leave it," Severus instructed as he left.
"Need any help?" Ron called over.
Harry sniffed and pulled the band out of his hair so that it fell free, he leaned his head on his hand to prop it up a good reading distance from the desk, his hair spilling into a tangle onto the parchment.
"Nah," Harry replied, "I'll flood my mind with tedium, it might help."
It was a lovely day and after a while Harry pushed the window open a bit further so that he got some ventilation as well as the owls, as he worked the sun fell onto the back of his neck and it felt wonderfully soothing.
Ron picked up a book that he had found on the coffee table and was amused to find that it was a Psychic Healing set textbook that Severus had obviously left lying around as a hint. Ron decided that he much preferred Severus' postgraduate method of teaching. He pulled his shoes off and lay down on the sofa; there was no reason why he couldn't be comfortable while he studied.
Both Harry and Ron became so engrossed in their activities as the morning wore on that it was with some surprise that they heard the sound of a door opening. Harry looked towards the door to the office expecting it to be Severus returning but that door remained closed.
"Headmaster Snape?" A sweet and sickly sounding Draco spoke to catch the attention of what he thought was the elder Headmaster Snape.
"Yes?" Harry instinctively responded without it registering that the sound had come from the direction of the bedrooms. He looked around the room and his eyes eventually settled on Draco who was standing in front of his bedroom door and was dressed in some of Severus' old robes. At least Harry hoped that they were the old ones. He was leaning on the crutch that Severus had transfigured from a quill for him.
Harry was stunned, he hadn't expected to encounter the young man, who according to Severus was avoiding both he and Ron like the Muggle plague. Draco didn't say anything immediately either, he had obviously been so used to Harry and Ron going elsewhere that he had always thought that it would be the case, even when Severus hadn't come to get him.
Harry hoped that he would go back into his bedroom once he realised that Severus wasn't there.
"Potter!" Draco said eventually with venom, not moving from the spot where he stood.
"Yes," Harry confirmed, he really didn't want to get into anything at all with Draco on a day like this, when a cold cup of tea had seemed like the end of the world.
"What DO you think you are doing at Severus' desk?" Draco demanded to know.
Harry sighed and hoped that his face wasn't still puffy from crying, he hadn't thought that he would need to get Ron to clear that up, "I am answering some of the owls," Harry replied going back to his work to hopefully show Draco that he was determined not to be disturbed. One of the owls made a fly past the window taking a look to see if Harry was ready, the other owls continued to circle outside, knowing that they couldn't all clutter up the Headmaster's quarters while they waited.
Draco was not prepared to be so courteous and didn't mind cluttering up the living room at all. Despite the fact that he couldn't be that great on his feet yet, he continued to hover by the desk.
"That is going to be my job, did Severus tell you? I am going to be his personal assistant," Draco attempted to crow as Harry stubbornly continued to write with his quill.
"Really?" Harry said in a flash of irritation and anger, "Then it's a wonder that he didn't come and get you when he was called away elsewhere this morning, isn't it?"
"He won't like it you know," Draco warned.
"Won't like what?" Harry asked reluctantly taking his eyes away from his work.
"You might think that you can get into his good books by doing this, but he wants me to do it, he won't thank you for just deciding that you are going to do it."
"I offered to do this before he left and Severus readily agreed, now go away Draco."
"No." Draco insisted.
Harry threw down his quill and stood up, he came round to stand in front of the desk and he noticed that Ron was pretending to read his book, but the shake of his shoulders betrayed the laughter he was fighting to suppress. Harry's emotions seemed to be on a bit of a roller coaster and he had to smile at his friend.
"Do not laugh at me!" Draco ranted.
Harry heard a squeak coming from Ron's direction and it did nothing to help him control his composure.
"You can laugh! But there are things that you don't know and at the end of the day I promise that you won't be laughing any more. Severus has promised me that I will be his!"
"Oh go back to your room, he has done nothing of the sort," Harry answered dismissively, "Go away before you make an even bigger idiot of yourself."
Ron lost his battle and laughed out loud.
Draco continued in his rage, "You had better stay away from Severus, I am warning you, because your efforts are pointless!"
"If my efforts are so pointless then why are you warning me?" Harry asked, he took a glance at Ron who had tears running down his face; Harry couldn't help letting his grin broaden in response.
This only served to heighten Draco's anger though, "I will wipe that smile off your face," Draco threatened.
"Why, what are you going to do?" Harry asked without concern since he knew Severus was safely his Kin and no other's to have and nobody in the entire wizarding world could cause him any harm, not unless he let them.
"I may not have my wand but I will do everything in my power to make sure you are well and truly discouraged from crossing me Potter! Let's see how Severus likes you with a smashed up face shall we?" Draco threatened, the fact that the two former Gryffindors were laughing at him robbing him of all reason, the fact that Severus had warned him against precisely this kind of thing forgotten in the heat of the moment, he took a step forward.
Ron had stopped laughing when he heard the confrontation in Draco's voice. He used the walker to join the two by the desk his face now composed through concern. He wasn't at all worried that Harry couldn't get the better of Draco but rather that he might lose his sense of perspective and over do it. The last thing he wanted to see was a sword needlessly waved.
Draco thought, however, that Ron sought to protect Harry when he came to step between them.
"What are you going to do to stop me Weasley?" Draco asked with disdain.
"Anything I can," Ron asserted not knowing exactly what he could do himself.
"Well Potty, very revealing, you must be hardly worth fighting if Weasel here thinks it's worth stepping in."
"Just try me!" Harry said.
"Not helping," Ron complained to Harry.
"Oh I will!" Draco promised Harry, "As soon as fatty here gets out of the way."
"Stop it both of you," Ron attempted to intercede, "Severus is not going to be pleased when he finds out you've been fighting."
Draco sneered, "In case you have forgotten, this is how it works. I fight you two and tell Severus that you attacked me and I was only defending myself, then you two get chucked out because I am a Slytherin and he was my House Head. It'll be just like old times."
"I think you will find that the rules have changed a little since graduation," Harry warned.
Ron, after a number of months of experience, recognised the tone in Harry's voice and knew that it meant trouble unless he succeeded in defusing the situation. He remained between Harry and Draco. Draco came up really close and tried to push him out of the way but fortunately the young man wasn't very strong yet and wasn't able to shift him with one arm.
"Severus will not be pleased with you Draco whatever you say, just stop it now," Ron tried to insist.
"Let me at him!" Draco continued to rage, "Get out of the way!"
Draco pushed Ron more strongly this time and he lost his balance, holding onto the walker to help regain it, it distracted him just long enough for Draco to attempt a lunge at Harry. Draco managed to push Harry with the palm of his hand before Ron recovered and held onto the walker with one hand, he tugged Draco backwards by grabbing hold of the robes he was wearing hoping that being pulled suddenly would also affect his balance a bit.
Ron managed to get himself back in the way as Draco lunged again but he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold him back for much longer, "Stop it!" Ron uselessly tried to insist again.
"No!" Draco insisted.
"He's pregnant!" Ron burst out without even knowing that he was going to say it.
It might not have been planned, it wasn't the real reason why Draco shouldn't fight Harry and it was probably not the best thing to say to him, but it certainly caused him to stop.
"What?" Draco said incredulously.
Ron took a deep breath and repeated it, "Harry is pregnant, and you can't fight with him."
"Pregnant? Did I hear you correctly Weasel?"
If he was honest Ron was already considering the repercussions and wishing he hadn't mentioned it, but it was too late, "Yes."
Draco snorted a laugh, "Impossible, that's the sort of thing girls do, hasn't anyone ever explained that to you Weasel?"
"It's true," Harry said quietly from behind Ron.
"He hasn't eaten himself into that shape you idiot, that's a pregnancy," Ron added.
Draco snorted another laugh as the responses began to form in his head and he took a peak at Harry's slightly rounded abdomen. Harry wasn't very big yet but what was there was definitely more up front in the abdominal area and hardly anywhere else, "Well, well, Potter! What HAVE you been up to?" Draco began with glee.
Ron and Harry remained quiet not seeing that there was any point in encouraging Draco. They both supposed that they would have to wait till Draco ran out of ammunition or Severus came back, at least he wasn't threatening physical violence any longer.
"What was it? A potion's accident maybe? Some accidental wand waving, who knows what you careless Gryffindors are likely to get up to." Draco began, "I take it Severus wasn't able to reverse the magic or maybe he thought it was more fun to watch you live with the consequences of your actions for a change. Maybe you're finding his approach a little different to Dumbledore's. Did the spell or potion make somebody impregnate you or did the pregnancy just appear? Obviously not a wanted pregnancy though, ey Potter? Hey, was it a parting gift from a Death Eater? That would be funny wouldn't it Potter, finding that you were cooking up a new piece of evil? Maybe the baby will have the soul of the Dark Lord reborn."
Ron was tensing but Harry was suddenly in a different mood entirely, with dismay Ron heard Harry sniff.
"My baby will not be evil!" Harry blurted out.
Harry was crumbling in hormonal emotion and Ron knew that it would only encourage Draco.
Harry struggled to control his tears but failed, he wiped his face on the sleeve of his robe.
"Oh what a pitiful sight, how pathetic." Draco commented.
"My baby will be perfect!" Harry sobbed.
Draco snorted another laugh, "So what was it? Potion or wand? Does it have a father Potter? It's not Weasel here is it? Is that why he wants to protect you so much?"
"I am not protecting Harry, I am protecting you, from yourself! Idiot!" Ron informed Draco but he wasn't listening.
"You know," Draco ranted on, "Severus may not have had the inclination to get rid of this little problem for you, but I could do it, I could make sure you have a miscarriage right now. What do you say?"
Ron's eyes went wide when he heard Draco's words and his heart thumped through his body to the floor. He swung round to face Harry and sure enough his expression had changed.
"Harry, get out, I will deal with this!" Ron tried to insist.
"He wants to kill my child!" Harry stated in a voice that Ron recognised very well and even Draco might grasp the meaning of in the few minutes that he didn't have available to him, if, like they suspected, in the back his mind he might know what a Kin Bond was from his family connections. Harry's hand began to go for his sword and was only slowed by the fact that Ron was shielding Draco.
"Harry," Ron insisted again, "I will deal with Draco, go upstairs."
"No!" Harry insisted, "Get out of my way!"
"He's no match for you," Ron tried to reason with Harry, "I will have more fun and I can manage fine, please Harry, let me deal with this, just go."
"I was just joking anyway," Draco added, either because he had realised the danger or he rather fancied a go at Ron instead after all.
"Sure?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Ron insisted, "I don't like to see you having to get your hands dirty with this kind of crap, you don't deserve it. Besides, I promise you, it will be the most fun I've had in months."
"I can quite imagine it will be the most fun you've had in your entire miserable life but that's hardly the issue," Draco retorted.
"Shut up, Malfoy, you don't stand a chance against me!" Ron responded.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not going to fight you, you pathetic fat lump of an excuse for a wizard, it's hardly worth risking a finger nail over," Draco continued to taunt Ron.
Harry reluctantly left the room and went through to the office, a moment later footsteps could be heard on the attic floor above them. Ron turned back to face Draco who was looking a whole lot more confident now that Harry had gone.
"Are you going to hit me then Weasel?" Draco asked cockily.
"No, we are going to talk this through like adults."
"Pathetic!" Draco said half turning to walk away, looking back as he turned to sneer at Ron.
Ron kept a hold of the walker with one hand as he leaned back he hoped that it would know what he wanted to do and cooperate. He brought his arm back and before Draco could realise what was happening Ron had struck him in the face with his fist putting as much strength behind the blow as he could manage.
To Ron's relief rather than delight Draco stumbled back and thumped down onto the floor. Before the former Slytherin had a chance to recover himself Ron threw himself down on top of him and landed a fist into his abdomen. Ron was quite determined that he should win this fight, if Draco managed to get onto his feet and follow Harry it would be the last thing he ever did.
Draco was a bit winded and when the fist had impacted with his nose it had brought tears to his eyes. Falling readily had helped take a bit of strength out of the blow though and he quite quickly brought both his hands up to Ron's throat.
"Is that the best you can do Weasel?" Draco taunted as he tried his best to tighten his grip.
Ron had been right, Draco wasn't particularly strong and now they were on the floor and Ron didn't need to keep his balance, he had the advantage over him. He prised the hands from his throat and tried to pin Draco down. They wrestled and struggled on the floor for what seemed like an age before Ron eventually managed to decisively get the upper hand. Draco panted breathlessly with Ron's weight pressing down on him and his arms restrained. He still tried to struggle beneath Ron but he was increasingly coming to realise that it was useless.
"Get off me you lunatic!" Draco shouted resorting to verbal abuse once again.
"I was saving you, you idiot!" Ron retorted.
"Saving me from a pregnant cry baby? Yeah right!"
"I'll let Harry deal with you next time, then you'll see."
Draco tried a fresh, if half-hearted, struggle, "Bring it on, I'm not scared of Harry bloody Potter!"
Ron laughed, "You really have no idea have you, he was going to kill you."
"I'd like to see him try."
"He was going to pull his sword on you."
Draco suddenly stopped moving, "Sword? What sword?"
Ron sighed, "The sword that Severus gave him, believe me, you really don't want to mess with Harry these days."
Draco looked understandably stunned, "What do you mean?" He demanded.
"I would have thought you would have guessed, being a Malfoy, your family being friendly with the Snapes, how did you think Harry managed to kill all those Death Eaters?"
Draco's face twisted in an expression that seemed to be something between rage and pain, "A Kin Bond? With Severus?"
"Yes, a Kin Bond with Severus, you threaten Severus, Harry or Harry's unborn child and you had better be prepared to die." Ron explained, "This is how Harry became pregnant, it is Severus' child too."
"The youngest of the Kin can bear a child," Draco said almost in a daze, confirming that he knew more about the subject than Ron had at this stage, "Harry has... But he would have had to have... with Professor Snape."
"Yes," Ron agreed, "I find it is better not to think too much about that part."
Draco seemed to suddenly snap out of whatever stupor he had fallen into and Ron had released his hold a bit when Draco had stopped struggling. Draco somehow managed to fight his way free.
To Ron, Draco seemed to be possessed with a primal rage that consumed him and oozed out of him in his every action. He seemed to be finding energy and strength from places that he hadn't been able to access before. Ron now struggled to remain in control as Draco rained blows upon his body. When Ron managed to get the upper hand for a second he didn't dare let it go, he pummelled his fists into Draco's abdomen over and over and although Draco struggled he couldn't escape the impacts.
Suddenly both Ron and Draco's bodies went lifeless and floppy like rag dolls and they fell apart onto the floor, unable to move.
"What is going on here!?" Severus boomed as he came to stand towering above the young men, his wand still in his hand. Realising after a few seconds of silence that of course the two young men were unable to answer, he pointed his wand at them both and released the spell.
Draco and Ron didn't need a spell to keep them routed to the spot now though, the sight of Severus towering over them, his face a picture of fury, served very well instead.
"Speak!" Severus thundered in a voice that neither boy had heard in a long while.
"Ron attacked me," Draco found his voice first, keeping to his promise about trying to drop Ron in the shit, "He started it."
Ron wasn't worried however, "Because Draco threatened Harry."
Severus turned his attention to Draco; "I did not spend hours toiling over a hot cauldron just to enable you two to fight in my quarters," He shouted at the young man, "I will be making no more potion for you! Perhaps healing you enough to walk wasn't such a good idea, you were much more agreeable company when you had to be spoon-fed!"
Ron was starting to relax a little when Severus turned his attention to him, "A threat being made to Harry or anybody else is no excuse to defile my quarters with expressions of violence, use your wand next time to immobilise your opponent. You attacked a defenceless man, Draco has no wand and little strength to defend himself with."
Ron stayed silent, he knew Professor Snape when he was angry from school days, it was no use arguing that, although he did sometimes carry a wand, he was even more useless with it than he used to be due to the effects of the curse. There was no point in mentioning that Harry hadn't thought to immobilise Draco either. No point mentioning, that for a weak cripple, Draco had done a rather good job of breaking at least one of his ribs.
Ron burned with the unfairness of it all, he had been trying to save a very volatile situation and he still believed in himself that he had done that very effectively. They hadn't even broken any of the Snape's possessions while they were rolling around on the floor and he had tried initially to just pin Draco down before he started fighting like a wild animal.
That was Snape though, unfair and biased, Ron reflected, except that he wasn't biased towards Slytherins any longer, something that he thought Draco might be taking very hard; he was biased towards Harry and Harry only.
The silence stretched on and Ron didn't know if Snape was going to say anything else or if he was expected to explain himself further or not. He was beginning to feel the effects of the fight. His ribs were throbbing and it was painful to move, he could taste blood on his lips and his right eye was throbbing intensely.
"I suppose it was too much to hope that either of you could behave like adults," Severus spoke in more subdued tones than before, "Where is Harry?"
"He's up in the attic," Ron offered before Draco could speak.
"Right," Severus said with chilling calm that didn't encourage Ron to relax one little bit, "Get out."
"What?" Ron blurted without thinking.
"Get out," Severus repeated as if he had been too stupid to understand the first time, "Both of you."
Both Ron and Draco were routed to the spot.
"Get out, go down to the hospital wing to get yourselves healed up, I believe Mediwitch Meg likes this sort of thing," Severus expanded.
Ron breathed a sigh of relief, he was only being sent away to get some treatment, maybe Snape wasn't as bad as he had been at school after all, he crawled over to his walker and slowly pulled himself to his feet.
Severus approached Draco and in the same icy cool voice told him to leave too.
"I can't," Draco whined unwisely, "I have never walked that far, I can't."
Severus grabbed Ron and hauled him over to stand beside Draco, "Maybe on your way there you can both learn to cooperate with each other," Severus snapped handing Draco his crutch and planting his other hand firmly on the side of Ron's walker.
Severus pointed to the door with an icy glare upon his face. Ron and Draco made slow progress towards the door but they were leaving as Severus had instructed. Draco suddenly stopped.
"I can't go out there looking like this," Draco started to complain but he found that by the time he had finished the sentence he was sounding Scottish and looked like Oliver Wood once more.
"I have restored your disguise but without hiding your injuries, I only had to remove part of the revealing spell so it will last indefinitely," Severus instructed, "Now get yourselves away and after you've finished in the hospital wing you can find yourselves somewhere else to sleep, Gryffindor Tower perhaps," He added with a note of finality.
Ron nearly protested in shock but realised in time that it would be useless and stopped himself from saying anything.
"You have both betrayed my trust and I don't trust readily," Severus added coldly as the two young men left.
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Ron made his way down the staircase with Draco in tow knowing that there was no way he was going back to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione would have a field day and torture him for something seeming like forever. He was quite determined that he was going to ditch Draco as soon as possible too, quite apart from anything else, having to converse with him looking like Oliver Wood was too creepy for words. He would leave him in the hospital wing, let Meg think of what to do with him.
"Where are you going to sleep tonight?" Draco asked in a rather pleasant Scottish lilt just when Ron had decided that he was likely to get to the hospital wing without having to hear it, "I am certainly not going to sleep in Gryffindor Tower."
"Anywhere where you aren't," Ron replied, "Now shut up and don't say another word to me."
"He'll calm down," Draco said confidentially.
"You still don't understand do you?" Ron snapped, "You threatened to kill Harry's baby."
"I didn't mean it!"
"Doesn't matter."
"You didn't tell Severus."
"No, but Harry might, then you are dead."
Draco had the decency to at least sound a bit nervous, "He won't will he?"
"I don't know." Ron answered irritably, the temptation to finish beating Draco up was very strong, though it would have been rather hard to explain if anybody caught him doing it in the corridor with him now looking like he did.
"I don't think he will," Draco added.
"You have just lost me my home and my potential occupation," Ron stopped walking and turned on Draco, careful not to use his name, "Will you just shut up? Just please please please stop talking. Just don't fucking well talk to me ok?" He yelled.
They started walking again and came upon the main staircase, Draco mercifully kept quiet for the whole of the descent and Ron was very relieved.
When they reached the right floor for the hospital wing they turned into the corridor and Ron noticed that it was deserted.
"Ron?" Draco began to speak.
"Shut up!"
"But Ron!" Draco whined.
"NO!" Ron insisted, remembering the death of the man who had become his friend when it was nearly too late and who had betrayed his trust and died before he even knew it, "Not a word, not in that voice, it just isn't fair."
"But Ron I..." Draco persisted, but trailed off without finishing the sentence.
Ron felt a tug on the walker then the recently familiar pull of Draco leaning on it was gone altogether and the lack of it was accompanied with a soft thump on the floor beside him. Ron stopped and looked around him, Draco was lying on the stone floor with his eyes closed.
Ron sighed in irritation, "You can stop that crap right away, you have caused me enough trouble for one day without pulling stupid attention seeking stunts."
There was no response, Ron became a little unnerved and lowered himself down onto the floor, the pain in his chest and his head screamed at him, he poked Draco firmly in the ribs with his finger but he didn't respond.
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Severus climbed the staircase up into the attic after he had taken a few good deep breaths to help calm him. He didn't think it was too much to ask, to enjoy his pregnancy in peace after all these years of waiting. He didn't want anybody other than Harry to be glad about it, he didn't need the approval of the rest of the wizarding world, he just wanted to do his job and remain relaxed enough to protect his baby's health. He didn't want to have to distress his baby with ranting and raving, if the silly young men thought that they had got off lightly it certainly hadn't been for their benefit that he had lowered his voice.
When Severus noticed Harry he was curled up on the floor of the attic his head resting against a table leg, he was crying but he tried to stop when he saw Severus.
Severus sat down beside his Kin and Harry melted into his arms the crying coming on more strongly despite his efforts to stop.
"I don't know what's wrong with me today," Harry sobbed as Severus offered him his handkerchief again.
"I have a fairly good idea and I'll knock both their heads together when I see them next," Severus commented.
"I heard the shouting, they were still at it then?"
"Oh yes," Severus answered with obvious anger.
"Ron was only trying to help," Harry defended, he then told Severus all about how it had happened and how Draco now knew that he was pregnant. He didn't tell Severus that Draco had threatened to kill his baby, it would only have led to bloodshed and he didn't want his Kin to go running off now.
"There were better ways of dealing with the situation," Severus observed sternly.
"Maybe, but I wasn't much help either."
"Don't blame yourself Harry, " Severus tried to soothe, "They've probably been itching to get their hands on each other all along. In any case, now they will have to get along because we are still going away tomorrow."
Harry tried to smile, "And tonight?"
"All set for tonight, all you have to do is make yourself look irresistible."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Harry grumbled feeling miserable and self consciously pulling his hair over his scar, normally he didn't bother with it, "I only have these clothes and I wear them all day."
Severus got to his feet and went to the corner of the attic; he came back with a box and laid it beside Harry.
Harry smiled at Severus and opened the box, knowing that Severus must have got him clothes for the occasion but nothing could have prepared him for what he found, inside lay the most beautiful robes he had ever seen.
"You had better be planning on wearing something similar." Harry said feeling the wonderfully smooth and silky velvet with his fingers.
"Tonight I wear the burgundy and you wear the black," Severus answered.
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TBC soon
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Chapter Thirty Two - Requirement - Chapter Summary - Ron comes close to his worst fear, only this time it isn't a boggart and Harry celebrates his birthday in style.