Chapter 11
By Corgi
As Sirius was walking up the stairs he was chatting with Remus, telling
him about his time with Severus and the touching reunion between the taciturn
man and his godson. All through the walk Sirius was debating whether he
should lead the two to Harry and Severus. He knew he could trust Remus,
but Albus worried him a bit. Right now the man seemed happy about everything.
Sirius didn't think Severus or Poppy were too keen about seeing the old
wizard right now. Sirius, weighing his options, decided to make a run for
it and try to elude the two men.
"Damn, I forgot those things Severus wanted me to collect!" Sirius said
slapping his hand to his forehead in exasperation.
He turned to head back to Severus' rooms to grab the items and then
floo to his family home, and then play it by ear. As he turned he didn't
notice Albus casting a spell or Remus following him to the Potions Master's
rooms. Once inside Sirius quickly gathered the books Severus asked him
for and shrunk them so they'd fit in his pocket. He turned around and bumped
into Remus. 'Damn,' he thought to himself, ' I have to find a way to get
rid of Remy for a few moments.'
"Hey Remus, would you grab the vials from the medicine cabinet? I've
got to get a couple of things from the kitchen cabinets."
"Okay Sirius. Does he want all of them?" He heard the werewolf call
from the bathroom as he threw the floo powder into the fireplace.
"12 Grimmauld Place!" Sirius jumped into the fire and could see Remus
racing out of the other room as he disappeared into the flames.
Sirius arrived at his family home and quickly headed for the door. The
fire flared green and Sirius could see Remus lunging out of the fireplace
at him. He raced out the door and hoped he could get away before Remus
caught him. Just as he was disapparating he felt Remus' hand close on his
wrist. He apparated into Diagon Alley, with Remus in tow, and shook his
old friend's hand off him when the man stumbled. He raced down the street
weaving in and out of the shoppers hoping to put some distance between
himself and Remus.
He ran and ran, diving into stores then out again. Remus started to
gain ground so Sirius transformed into his animagus form and continued
trying to evade the werewolf. He ran down Knockturn Alley in hopes of losing
his old friend in the twists and turns. Padfoot caught a scent that overpowered
his senses and his animagus form's instincts took over and he rolled in
the obnoxious puddle of liquids and semi-liquids that best remained unidentified.
Hoping that the foul stench now covering him would confuse the werewolf's
heightened sense of smell, Padfoot quickly went through the other alleys
that make up the Wizarding World's center of commerce and returned to Diagon
Alley. He resumed his human form and began a series of apparations in order
to hide his trail.
Sirius' final destination was Severus' Thornwall Cottage. He quickly
cast several cleansing charms and odor removing charms and entered the
cottage. He unloaded his pockets and returned the books he retrieved to
their proper size. Once that task was done he went looking for Poppy. He
ran into her on her way to Harry and Severus' room and he quickly gave
her a run down on what happened at the school. He didn't notice Severus
and Harry standing in the door way of their room.
"Check him for tracking charms, Poppy. I wouldn't put it past Albus
to suspect Sirius to make a run for it." Severus walked over to the books
Sirius gather for him.
"You're right Severus; he does have a tracking charm on him. I guess
we should be expecting company soon." The medi-witch was fuming at their
ill luck as she dispelled the charm.
"I'm sorry everyone. I should have been more careful. Albus did find
out about the pregnancy; Remus detected the change in Severus' scent. Albus
seemed happy but I wasn't sure. I should have checked myself for spells
once I lost Remus."
"How did you lose Remus and that nose of his?" Harry asked, curiosity
written all over his face.
"Uhmm, it's a bit embarrassing. While trying to out run Remus I transformed
into my animal form and it decided rolling in something smelly would hide
its scent. I don't know what it was and I don't want to know either. Knockturn
Alley is foul enough without knowing the details." Sirius' face turned
a bright red when everyone started to snicker.
"Well now that we've had our laugh for the day gentlemen, I do need
to explain some things to you about the pregnancy, so take a seat." Poppy
ordered the men about and settled down for a long chat. Before she could
start a loud bang echoed upstairs.
"What was that?" Sirius was on his feet in an instant, wand drawn and
starting to move up the stairs.
"My house elves found out about my condition and in traditional house
elf style have gone overboard. They've moved the old family nursery here
and decided to redecorate the furniture and the whole upstairs." Severus
told the animagus with a long suffering sigh. "They never listen when you
tell them to do something discreet."
"Okay, though it sounds like they've got a couple of hippogriffs up
there with them." Sirius settled back into his seat and turned his attention
to the medi-witch, who was about to launch into her lecture.
"Now as I've told Severus earlier, male pregnancies always produce a
wizard. Unlike female pregnancies the child in a male carrier survives
on the magic of both parents; which is the reason why Severus was in distress
the other day. When the child is conceived a bond is formed between the
parents and it communicates the needs of the carrier and baby to the other
parent. The pregnancy is very difficult since it drains the carrier's magic
to the point he can't use his magic. That point usually arrives around
the sixth month of pregnancy. Like witches, the wizard will carry the child
for nine months, but from the sixth month a potion and charm must be used
to instigate the formation of a birth canal. There several complications
that could occur but since I've been seeing Severus since the first month
of his pregnancy I don't see most of them happening. The more worrisome
problem would be if the potion and charm fail to form the birth canal.
Then the carrier must be transfigured so that one is formed. The main problem
for you two would be that Severus will not be able to brew the potion,
so he'll have to coach Harry through it from across the room."
Severus moaned when that last bit of information was aired and looked
over at Harry, hoping that his love didn't take offense. Harry on the other
hand was quite pale and looked on the verge of panic.
"Don't worry Harry. There won't be any Slytherins here to add extra
ingredients to your cauldron." Severus was rewarded with a tremulous smile
from Harry.
Poppy was going to say some more but they were interrupted by a knock
on the door. A thread of worry laced through everyone as Sirius waved off
the house elf that was going to answer the door. Sirius walked to the door,
took a deep breath and yanked the door open.
"Good evening, Sirius. May we come in?" Albus asked with a smile on
his face and the infernal twinkle flashing merrily in his eyes. Remus was
standing behind Albus looking over his shoulder.
Sirius stood aside and allowed the two men to enter. Both men were greeted
by a very angry Poppy, who threatened both men with their very lives if
they caused once ounce of distress to her patients. Sirius struggled to
hold back a laugh at the stunned and shocked look on both Remus' and Albus'
faces. Not many people can shock the Headmaster and it was a priceless
sight. Poppy led their two guests to the sitting room where Severus was
laying couch sleeping using Harry's lap as a pillow.
Remus and Albus both hurried over to Harry and offered their congratulations
in quiet voices. Once done with that they sat in the chairs the house elves
brought from the manor and Poppy went through the lecture she had just
given Harry and Severus, liberally seasoned with threats to Albus.
"If I had known about the pregnancy, Poppy, I would have brought Severus
to the Lair to be with Harry." Albus said with remorse. "I never wanted
to hurt either of them I just wanted Harry to be safe as he recovered."
"I didn't want anyone to know, Albus." Severus' voice cut into the conversation.
"I didn't want the baby to be treated the way Harry was. I had no intention
of telling anyone who the other father was. Poppy figured it out by herself."
"I will not interfere with the child's upbringing, my boy, and I promise
to help shield your son from the wonders of the wizarding press."
The stress in the room went down noticeably as the conversation continued.
We all discussed our future plans as we listened to the noise of the busy
house elves upstairs.
The following five months went well enough, that is, if you can discount
Severus' discomfort. Sirius couldn't help but feel sorry for his old rival
and he continued to suffer from morning sickness. The minute the smell
of cooking food hits the poor man's nostrils he'd run for the bathroom.
Sirius noticed that, despite Severus' continued worshiping of the porcelain
god, the pregnancy was doing much to improve the taciturn man physical
appearance. His thin face filled out and the signs of bitterness and discontent
virtually vanished as his pregnancy advanced, though Sirius didn't know
if latter was due to the pregnancy or Harry's presence; perhaps it was
both. Either way, Sirius guessed it really didn't matter. Harry and Severus
were happy and completely absorbed in each other and the child they created.
As the time for the special potion to be brewed drew near, Harry began
to panic. He read over the instructions for the potion several times a
day and continued his downward spiral despite Severus' reassurances.
"Sirius, I can't do this! I'll poison them both!" Harry wasn't making
any attempts to hide his increasing hysteria. "Not all my potions in school
were sabotaged. I did mess a ton of them up on my own."
"You have no choice, Harry. Your magical signature has to be imprinted
on the potion or it won't work. Severus' body won't accept the potion if
it isn't brewed by you and you alone. Severus will be across the room barking
orders at you. You'll do fine, relax." Sirius was at his wits end trying
to reassure his godson.
"If you really think so, Sirius," was Harry's not so sure response.
If there was one thing that hadn't changed over the years it was Harry's
lack of confidence in his abilities.
The time to start the brewing drew near and Severus sat in a chair across the room with the recipe in front of him. His eyes never left Harry as the younger man began preparing the ingredients. Harry constantly looked at Severus making sure he was doing everything properly. When it was time to add the first ingredient to the boiling water in the cauldron there was a huge explosion that rocked the building. Sirius ran out the front door and saw a bright red light flickering in the direction of the Snape family mansion and to his horror floating in the air above the location was the Dark Mark.
~tbc~
