Part eight, YEEEYY! :) I'm working in light-speed, or something like that.. heehee. Hope you'll like it? ;)
This world can turn me down
but I won't turn away
And I won't duck and run,
because I'm not built that way
When everything is gone there
is nothing here to fear
This world cannot
bring me down
No cause I'm already here
Fragment from 3Doors Down's "Duck and Run"
The Curse, part 8
Three days after Albus had left- Severus called the professors together for a meeting. He'd been putting on so much weight lately he had to come up with an explanation. One more month of pretending like nothing was going on wouldn't do it. Minerva had started to give him snide side-looks by the dining table, and Severus was pretty sure his obvious eating disorder was the top issue in every discussion amongst the teachers. He was surprised he'd escaped the headmaster's sharp eye for so long, and was only too happy the old wizard had gone away for the convention. He wouldn't have been nearly as easy to deceive as the rest of the professors. And with Dumbledore out of the way, Severus could make a little white lie to keep the rest of the "gang" at arms' length the last six weeks of his pregnancy.
They all sat there waiting for him when he entered the teachers' lounge, probably dying to know what he had to tell them. Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick looked so impatient Snape smirked as he slowly sat down in one of the two free seats.
"So what's this important issue you need to share with us?" Professor McGonagal asked, pretending not to be interested at all. But the eager look on her face betrayed her. Severus rested his aching back against the chair and started his little speech:
"Well, as you all see- lately I've been putting on a little weight.."
"A little? A ton more likely!" Flitwick whispered to Sprout who started sniggering. Severus raised one eyebrow, ignored them, and continued:
"I guess you're wondering why, and the reason is because it's part of my research. I'm currently developing a weight loss-potion and to be sure it works well I'm gonna test it on my self. If my research is successful I'll probably have the potion ready in a month or two, and will be slim again some hours after the potion is taken."
"Are you experimenting with your own body?!" Madame Pomfry said, looking shocked: "What if something goes wrong, then you'll have to trim it off the old fashion way. And if you don't mind me saying, you're not the athletic type, Severus."
"I believe in my work," Severus simply said and his lip curled: "Why... don't you Poppy?" She blushed and looked down:
"Of course I do, Severus, I just think it's a bit risky tempering with your body like that.." Oh, if she only knew.. Severus almost burst out laughing.
The next thing on his agenda this day was an appointment with a tailor. He had avoided this as long as he possibly could, but now the buttons in his pants, overcoat and shirts threatened to pop every time he sat down, and the looks of everybody anticipating this was getting annoying. Therefore he had to bite the sour apple and make the appointment. The clothes would take a week to be finished, though, so there was still time to burst a few buttons and move uneasily around in too tight clothes. One and a half month to go, and Harry even looked kindly at him sometimes. If it wasn't for the backaches and the sleepless nights Severus would have felt blessed. He was so large now he found no sitting, standing or laying position comfortable any more. And to wobble around the halls, made him feel like a rhino on land. Big and in the wrong element. The only place he felt remotely comfortable was in water. Therefore he spent long hours in his bathtub relaxing when he had the chance. The warm water relaxed both the baby and his back, and Severus could lean back and rest his eyes.
He was starting to get nervous about the birth. He was normally a slim man and to give birth to a child should never be taken lightly, especially if the "mother to be" was a man.. He'd found some information on the subject and didn't like what he'd learned so far. There was a 30 percent chance both he and the child would die during the birth, and the list of possible complications was long and painful. But he reckoned he would manage somehow and that Albus would help if anything went wrong. He should be back until then. Severus' skin was already painfully stretched and he had no idea how it would react to another month of growth. At least the baby was doing just fine, it kicked, shifted, stretched and grew just as it should according to the books. Sometimes Severus wondered if the tiny infant was using his ribs as some sort of instrument, in that case his son or daughter would have no problem banging loose on a drum when he/she got older. Music by the way calmed the baby down. Severus had a large classical collection of muggle CDs which he played in the evenings, the only reason he actually got a few hours of sleep every other night. He still was bothered with strong mood-swings though, but he only let his guard down when he was behind locked doors in his private quarters. But there was one thing he never allowed himself to do: to dream about a future with Harry.
*-*
Hermione had been fussing all day. She was sure she had seen some signs of pain in Severus' eyes and she wanted Harry to go check on him immediately.
It was during dinner she had seen these supposed signs of pain and now she was beneath herself in worry.
"Take it easy, Mione- he has a full month left!" Harry said as they headed for the dormitory.
"But what if something's wrong?" Hermione whimpered: "What if he's lying on the cold floor down in the dungeons right now- in agony?"
"Mione, will you cut that out?!" Ron sighed. He was fed up with all the Snape talk she'd been spreading lately.
"The old bat's probably drinking some goat blood this very minute!" Hermione served him a resentful look.
"You're so unbelievably cold, you know that? You wouldn't care less if he died, would you?"
"That's not true!" Ron said, anger burning in his eyes: "I still don't like what he's done to Harry, but that don't mean I wish him dead!" Harry sighed.
"Will you two please stop bickering? What if I take you down to the dungeons, then you, Mione, will see that he's just fine and you, Ron, will see he don't drink sheep-blood or whatever you were saying." They both looked at each other and then nodded.
"Fine," Harry said and turned: "Let's go then."
This time Snape's door was locked. Harry knocked it gently as a glimpse of white skin flashed before his eyes. The door opened magically, revealing Snape at his usual spot by the desk. He looked surprised when he saw his visitors, but not afraid.
"I see you bring guests today, Potter?" He said, not standing up, as gravity seemed to root him to the chair.
"We're sorry to come barging in like this, Professor Snape, we were just worried about you," Hermione said and tried to smile without looking scared.
"Hermione was, not we," Ron interrupted as he looked around the room. Harry could see goosebumps forming on his neck. Hermione gave him a look that would have killed a strong beetle.
"During the dinner, you looked so tired. I thought maybe you were in pain." She stepped bravely forward all though she seemed to expect Snape to bite her head off any second. Snape sighed.
"They know, I presume?" He said and looked at Harry. Harry nodded and blushed.
"They were my security the night I... found out about everything.."
"Well then. I can inform you I'm just fine, Miss Granger. In fact if I were not I would probably not be able to sit here at all, and to say the least-not have dinner. I guess you caught a moment when my little secret kicked the hell out of my intestines. That hurts I have to admit, but I can live with it." His lip curled ever so slightly:
"So, why are you here, Weasley? Since you're not concerned about my well being if I got it right?" Ron blushed by the blunt honesty of the older man.
"He was curious if you drink goat-blood," Harry answered with a twinkle in his eye before Ron had even opened his mouth.
"That's not true!" Ron yelled in panic, but he soon seemed to forget his fears. It dawned on the three of them that Snape was laughing! Severus Snape was laughing so hard he had to clutch his stomach!
"Goat-blood!" He gasped between the attacks: "That's a first!" And he looked so cheerful Harry, Hermione and Ron silently wondered if the man had gone mad. They had never heard him laugh before, and the sound of his laughter was so wholeheartedly none of them believed their ears.
"Are.. you all right?" Harry asked carefully and looked at Snape in concern. As an answer Severus stood up from the chair with great difficulty and hovered over the floor towards Ron who, by the way, looked terrified. He had never seen Snape like this before and probably presumed it meant trouble.
"It isn't true, it isn't true! Harry was just making it up!" he whimpered and looked desperately around in order to find an escape route.
"Don't worry, Weasly, I'm not going to turn you into a toad or anything!" Snape laughed and walked past Ron and over to one of his many shelves with disturbing contents. There he reached for a bottle with something red in it.
"Here." He handed the bottle over to Ron: "Here's some goat-blood for you. I use it in some of my potions but I've never tried drinking it before. Perhaps you'll like to give it a try? If it tastes any good- let me know!" Ron looked like he didn't know whether to run and hide or just stand still to get smacked in the head with a blunt object. He'd grown up into a tall and strong young man the last few years, but he'd never forgotten his respect for the Potions Master Snape. Severus brushed past Harry and went over to the desk again where he sat down, very awkwardly, on the creaking chair. He looked as jolly as Santa Clause there he sat, resting his right arm on his stomach. Then his face changed and reassumed the blank features he was so known and feared for.
Hermione had a fascinated look on her face. Her gaze rested on Severus' belly.
"It's so incredible," she whispered, as if she was studying some great artwork. Harry noticed a change in Severus' eyes. He looked almost moved for a second. Then his eyes went blank again and he made a courteous wave with his hand.
"As greatly as your visit amuses me I have work to do," he said and raised a brow as his lip curled as only Snape's lip can. Harry took the hint and dragged his friends out the door. Hermione didn't seem to want to let go of the sight of Snape's abdomen, and Ron was clutching his pint of goat-blood with a cheery smile on his face.
"That's the first time Snape's actually been kinda cool!" He said as they went through the corridors, him shaking his bottle slightly: "I mean, the old toad actually laughed! I sure thought he was gonna fry me with his wand or something when he came at me like that!"
"Did you actually say something nice about Professor Snape for a change?" Hermione sniggered as she gave Ron an elbow in the side.
This world can turn me down
but I won't turn away
And I won't duck and run,
because I'm not built that way
When everything is gone there
is nothing here to fear
This world cannot
bring me down
No cause I'm already here
Fragment from 3Doors Down's "Duck and Run"
The Curse, part 8
Three days after Albus had left- Severus called the professors together for a meeting. He'd been putting on so much weight lately he had to come up with an explanation. One more month of pretending like nothing was going on wouldn't do it. Minerva had started to give him snide side-looks by the dining table, and Severus was pretty sure his obvious eating disorder was the top issue in every discussion amongst the teachers. He was surprised he'd escaped the headmaster's sharp eye for so long, and was only too happy the old wizard had gone away for the convention. He wouldn't have been nearly as easy to deceive as the rest of the professors. And with Dumbledore out of the way, Severus could make a little white lie to keep the rest of the "gang" at arms' length the last six weeks of his pregnancy.
They all sat there waiting for him when he entered the teachers' lounge, probably dying to know what he had to tell them. Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick looked so impatient Snape smirked as he slowly sat down in one of the two free seats.
"So what's this important issue you need to share with us?" Professor McGonagal asked, pretending not to be interested at all. But the eager look on her face betrayed her. Severus rested his aching back against the chair and started his little speech:
"Well, as you all see- lately I've been putting on a little weight.."
"A little? A ton more likely!" Flitwick whispered to Sprout who started sniggering. Severus raised one eyebrow, ignored them, and continued:
"I guess you're wondering why, and the reason is because it's part of my research. I'm currently developing a weight loss-potion and to be sure it works well I'm gonna test it on my self. If my research is successful I'll probably have the potion ready in a month or two, and will be slim again some hours after the potion is taken."
"Are you experimenting with your own body?!" Madame Pomfry said, looking shocked: "What if something goes wrong, then you'll have to trim it off the old fashion way. And if you don't mind me saying, you're not the athletic type, Severus."
"I believe in my work," Severus simply said and his lip curled: "Why... don't you Poppy?" She blushed and looked down:
"Of course I do, Severus, I just think it's a bit risky tempering with your body like that.." Oh, if she only knew.. Severus almost burst out laughing.
The next thing on his agenda this day was an appointment with a tailor. He had avoided this as long as he possibly could, but now the buttons in his pants, overcoat and shirts threatened to pop every time he sat down, and the looks of everybody anticipating this was getting annoying. Therefore he had to bite the sour apple and make the appointment. The clothes would take a week to be finished, though, so there was still time to burst a few buttons and move uneasily around in too tight clothes. One and a half month to go, and Harry even looked kindly at him sometimes. If it wasn't for the backaches and the sleepless nights Severus would have felt blessed. He was so large now he found no sitting, standing or laying position comfortable any more. And to wobble around the halls, made him feel like a rhino on land. Big and in the wrong element. The only place he felt remotely comfortable was in water. Therefore he spent long hours in his bathtub relaxing when he had the chance. The warm water relaxed both the baby and his back, and Severus could lean back and rest his eyes.
He was starting to get nervous about the birth. He was normally a slim man and to give birth to a child should never be taken lightly, especially if the "mother to be" was a man.. He'd found some information on the subject and didn't like what he'd learned so far. There was a 30 percent chance both he and the child would die during the birth, and the list of possible complications was long and painful. But he reckoned he would manage somehow and that Albus would help if anything went wrong. He should be back until then. Severus' skin was already painfully stretched and he had no idea how it would react to another month of growth. At least the baby was doing just fine, it kicked, shifted, stretched and grew just as it should according to the books. Sometimes Severus wondered if the tiny infant was using his ribs as some sort of instrument, in that case his son or daughter would have no problem banging loose on a drum when he/she got older. Music by the way calmed the baby down. Severus had a large classical collection of muggle CDs which he played in the evenings, the only reason he actually got a few hours of sleep every other night. He still was bothered with strong mood-swings though, but he only let his guard down when he was behind locked doors in his private quarters. But there was one thing he never allowed himself to do: to dream about a future with Harry.
*-*
Hermione had been fussing all day. She was sure she had seen some signs of pain in Severus' eyes and she wanted Harry to go check on him immediately.
It was during dinner she had seen these supposed signs of pain and now she was beneath herself in worry.
"Take it easy, Mione- he has a full month left!" Harry said as they headed for the dormitory.
"But what if something's wrong?" Hermione whimpered: "What if he's lying on the cold floor down in the dungeons right now- in agony?"
"Mione, will you cut that out?!" Ron sighed. He was fed up with all the Snape talk she'd been spreading lately.
"The old bat's probably drinking some goat blood this very minute!" Hermione served him a resentful look.
"You're so unbelievably cold, you know that? You wouldn't care less if he died, would you?"
"That's not true!" Ron said, anger burning in his eyes: "I still don't like what he's done to Harry, but that don't mean I wish him dead!" Harry sighed.
"Will you two please stop bickering? What if I take you down to the dungeons, then you, Mione, will see that he's just fine and you, Ron, will see he don't drink sheep-blood or whatever you were saying." They both looked at each other and then nodded.
"Fine," Harry said and turned: "Let's go then."
This time Snape's door was locked. Harry knocked it gently as a glimpse of white skin flashed before his eyes. The door opened magically, revealing Snape at his usual spot by the desk. He looked surprised when he saw his visitors, but not afraid.
"I see you bring guests today, Potter?" He said, not standing up, as gravity seemed to root him to the chair.
"We're sorry to come barging in like this, Professor Snape, we were just worried about you," Hermione said and tried to smile without looking scared.
"Hermione was, not we," Ron interrupted as he looked around the room. Harry could see goosebumps forming on his neck. Hermione gave him a look that would have killed a strong beetle.
"During the dinner, you looked so tired. I thought maybe you were in pain." She stepped bravely forward all though she seemed to expect Snape to bite her head off any second. Snape sighed.
"They know, I presume?" He said and looked at Harry. Harry nodded and blushed.
"They were my security the night I... found out about everything.."
"Well then. I can inform you I'm just fine, Miss Granger. In fact if I were not I would probably not be able to sit here at all, and to say the least-not have dinner. I guess you caught a moment when my little secret kicked the hell out of my intestines. That hurts I have to admit, but I can live with it." His lip curled ever so slightly:
"So, why are you here, Weasley? Since you're not concerned about my well being if I got it right?" Ron blushed by the blunt honesty of the older man.
"He was curious if you drink goat-blood," Harry answered with a twinkle in his eye before Ron had even opened his mouth.
"That's not true!" Ron yelled in panic, but he soon seemed to forget his fears. It dawned on the three of them that Snape was laughing! Severus Snape was laughing so hard he had to clutch his stomach!
"Goat-blood!" He gasped between the attacks: "That's a first!" And he looked so cheerful Harry, Hermione and Ron silently wondered if the man had gone mad. They had never heard him laugh before, and the sound of his laughter was so wholeheartedly none of them believed their ears.
"Are.. you all right?" Harry asked carefully and looked at Snape in concern. As an answer Severus stood up from the chair with great difficulty and hovered over the floor towards Ron who, by the way, looked terrified. He had never seen Snape like this before and probably presumed it meant trouble.
"It isn't true, it isn't true! Harry was just making it up!" he whimpered and looked desperately around in order to find an escape route.
"Don't worry, Weasly, I'm not going to turn you into a toad or anything!" Snape laughed and walked past Ron and over to one of his many shelves with disturbing contents. There he reached for a bottle with something red in it.
"Here." He handed the bottle over to Ron: "Here's some goat-blood for you. I use it in some of my potions but I've never tried drinking it before. Perhaps you'll like to give it a try? If it tastes any good- let me know!" Ron looked like he didn't know whether to run and hide or just stand still to get smacked in the head with a blunt object. He'd grown up into a tall and strong young man the last few years, but he'd never forgotten his respect for the Potions Master Snape. Severus brushed past Harry and went over to the desk again where he sat down, very awkwardly, on the creaking chair. He looked as jolly as Santa Clause there he sat, resting his right arm on his stomach. Then his face changed and reassumed the blank features he was so known and feared for.
Hermione had a fascinated look on her face. Her gaze rested on Severus' belly.
"It's so incredible," she whispered, as if she was studying some great artwork. Harry noticed a change in Severus' eyes. He looked almost moved for a second. Then his eyes went blank again and he made a courteous wave with his hand.
"As greatly as your visit amuses me I have work to do," he said and raised a brow as his lip curled as only Snape's lip can. Harry took the hint and dragged his friends out the door. Hermione didn't seem to want to let go of the sight of Snape's abdomen, and Ron was clutching his pint of goat-blood with a cheery smile on his face.
"That's the first time Snape's actually been kinda cool!" He said as they went through the corridors, him shaking his bottle slightly: "I mean, the old toad actually laughed! I sure thought he was gonna fry me with his wand or something when he came at me like that!"
"Did you actually say something nice about Professor Snape for a change?" Hermione sniggered as she gave Ron an elbow in the side.