TITLE: My Heart is With You Always
CHAPTER: The Morning After (Chapter 01)
AUTHOR: Teigra
E-MAIL: teigra_kefira@yahoo.com
PAIRING: Harry/Severus
SERIES: Directly after 'Here With Me' in the Golden Dragon Series
ARCHIVE: My page (), and any place else, please just ask first.
CLASSIFICATION: PG-13
SUMMARY: Harry wakes up & Severus is missing.
WARNING: Mpreg
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them... She does *points to JKR* and I am making no money from this, I'm just enjoying sharing some of my own crazy ideas.
AUTHORS NOTE: I haven't had this beta'd. It has been spell checked… read by myself and one other, but all mistakes are my own.

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Severus woke up from a dead sleep; it taking only seconds to realize what woke him when his left arm started to burn again. The Dark Lord was calling his servants to his side. Careful not to waken his sleeping lover, he extracted himself from their bed, pausing only to brush his lips over Harry's temple.

Moving silently through the room, he quickly got dressed and exited the bedroom. Stopping twice on his way out of the chambers, once at his desk and once to get his cloak and mask, he was quickly gone.

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Harry rolled over in his sleep, reaching out to the place his husband normally laid. Slowly working his way into consciousness, he cracked open one blurry eye, only to confirm what his arm already told him, Severus wasn't there. Reaching out blindly towards the end table, he made a half-hearted attempt to find his glasses. After the morning he had yesterday, he'd learned that moving too fast when he first got up made his stomach lurch.

Finding his glasses, the world came into sharp focus and he put his hand on his still flat stomach, smiling. At least today he knew why he'd been feeling ill lately. Yesterday had been such a shock. He still didn't understand how this could have happened. Severus had said it was something to do with their soul bond. Harry knew that he would be spending a fair amount of time in the restricted section of the library over the next few days reading up on Soul Mates, if only to find out what other surprises he had in front of him. Hermione would be pleased at least; she'd at least have someone to keep her company as she studied.

Trying to sit up in bed caused the fast becoming normal morning stomachache to lurch. Clamping one had over his mouth, Harry ran for the bathroom, barely making it in time to the porcelain god. After what seemed like hours and every meal he had eaten in the past week, he laid his head on the seat, silently cursing his husband. He had said just yesterday that he would be here to help him, so where the hell was he?

Slowly raising his head off the seat, Harry reached over to the sink and grabbed the bottle that had been sitting there. 'If there was one good thing about having a Potions Master for a husband, its morning sickness potions,' he thought as he drank it down.

Now that his stomach was under some control, he slowly stood up and started his morning rituals. He needed to make an appearance in the Great Hall at lunch today, or people would really start to believe that their most feared Professor had killed him.

The first thing Harry did was brush his teeth and get the acid taste out of his mouth. He couldn't help but smile around his toothbrush; this was one of the few things that Hermione still got on his case about. It had seemed like the were never going to get her to respond to them again after her kidnapping and subsequent return, but one day he had forgotten to brush his teeth when he woke up, then went to visit her. She had noticed immediately and started going on about personal hygiene and how he needed to brush his teeth when he first got up in the morning. Of course, halfway through her rant she broke down into tears. It had been nearly a month since then and she almost seemed her normal self again, already caught up and ahead in her studies and immersed in her Head Girl duties. There was one change though, she insisted on having hand-to-hand fighting training, after being without her wand for over a month, she never wanted to feel so helpless again. At Severus's insistence, Harry had joined in on the lessons as well.

Placing his toothbrush down on the edge of the sink (and barely registering it clatter to the floor), he fingered his chin. Absentmindedly he wondered if he should try and grow a beard, then started to laugh as the image of him sporting a scraggily beard while eight months pregnant popped into his mind. Reaching for his razor and shaving cream, he wished for an easier way to do this. He always felt nervous while running the straight blade up his neck, even though it was from a wizarding shaving kit and so was charmed to give the closest shave possible without breaking the skin, it just made him edgy. Going through the motions, he quickly shaved and then picked up his aftershave with some hesitation, the other day it had made him nauseous. Deciding that he didn't want to chance it this morning, he put the bottle back without opening it.

Finally, he stepped into the shower. Unsure as to if he was alone in their rooms or not, Harry refrained from singing that morning. He knew he couldn't sing and didn't want to subject anyone else to the pain of hearing him sing. The only time that he aloud himself the sadistic pleasure of singing in the shower, was when he was absolutely sure that no one could hear him.

Once he finished up, he grabbed a large fluffy towel, wrapped it around himself and padded back to the bedroom, hoping to find his lover there.

Looking around the room, he realized the other man had yet to return from where ever he was. Sighing, Harry picked out a pair of over sized sweatpants and sweatshirt to wear for the day, wanting to be comfortable. Last night they had talked about all the different tests that he would have to go through to make sure the baby was fine. Harry wasn't exactly looking forward to going through them. As much as he trusted Severus, he had never had a good experience with doctors until he had entered Hogwarts. As such, he only trusted Madam Pomfrey and Severus with his health. However, unless he was going to live in the school next year (which he dearly hoped he could), he was going to have to find a new doctor. At any rate, he was going to have to find an obstetrician to help hem through the pregnancy. This was one thing that Madam Pomfrey just couldn't help him with.

Muttering under his breath, Harry made his way into the living area of their chambers, looking for some sign of his husband. Looking around the room, he noticed that Severus's cloak was missing from the stand by the door and that one of the secret compartments that were in the wall was open.

"Damn it Severus, what the hell did you give me last night?" He said to the empty room while absentmindedly rubbing at his scar, knowing that at some time during the night it must have flared up.

Fuming, he made his way over to the desk, muttering under his breath the whole time. "Bloody well better of left me a note… knows I want to be woken up if he gets called… probably didn't even let Albus know… thinks he can do this on his own… has a family to think about now... Stupid, inconsiderate, greasy git..." he could have kept going save for the fact he saw the letter sitting there with his name on it.

Reaching out with a shaking hand, he picked up the letter with a feeling of dread. He wanted to blame his changing hormones for the overwhelming fear that was clutching at his heart, but this happened every time Harry woke to find him gone. Not that it happened often, at least compared to the rest of the Death Eaters; Draco's father was called at least once a week, where Sev was called only a couple of times a month and not at all since Hermione had been sent back to the school the month before. No, this wasn't the first time Severus had done this, though, he normally woke his young husband up after the first time he hadn't woken Harry up and ended up sleeping alone for a week. Harry hadn't invoked that punishment again, as it had been hell for him as well. It had been the only time in the last eight months that he had actually slept in the other bedroom.

Flipping the folded paper open, he started to read:

'Dear Harry,

I know by now you have probably already called me every name you could think of…'

"Damn straight!"

'...but I didn't want to worry you now that we have the baby to think about. You need your sleep to keep the both of you healthy.

It is about three in the morning, so I expect I'll be home before you ever get this. However, if I'm not home by then, do not worry, Riddle won't risk his Potions Master by sending him out on a raid.

Riddle knows I must contact Albus by lunchtime if I am going to be gone for the full day. If I do not send word or am not back by noon, get the Old Fox. You know the code for a message from me, for it will be sent to you, not him. The Old Fox knows this, so if he gets an owl, he will know something is wrong.

Rest and take care of yourself, do not worry about me.

My heart is with you always,
Severus Snape'

Harry read through the short letter twice before letting it fall from his limp fingers, staring at the place it had been in his hand. The only time Severus ever mentioned the noon deadline was when he expected a problem. Maybe it was because of the baby and he just wanted to be careful, but that cold hard fear that was starting to get a hold of him before, now held him tight in it's grasp.

Glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, Harry felt his heart clinch and his stomach turn. It was already 11:18, with no word from his husband. Even the most complicated potions that the Dark Lord usually wanted only needed five to six hours of consistent watching. If it was something that took longer to make, Severus always came back to the school to make it.

Worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, Harry took a seat behind the desk and tried to calm himself down. He needed to go up to the Great Hall for lunch at 11:30 and time was slipping away from him quickly. It wouldn't do for his friends to realize that something was wrong. He was going to get enough questions as it was about his mysterious illness from the day before. He didn't know what to say about that, other than he was sick and he had been kept back from class. He didn't want to let anyone know he was pregnant just yet because that would just raise questions that neither he, nor Severus were ready to answer.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and left the rooms, making his way to the Great Hall, praying there would be an owl waiting for him there.

TBC...