Comments: My my, but everybody is just dying to hear Harry's conversation with Snape, aren't they? I'm thinking next chapter...yep. Just so you all have something to look forward to. –grin-
Chapter 8 – Rest?
"Just rest, now," Mrs. Weasley said, yet again.
"I think he gets it, mum," Fred volunteered from beside the bed that Mrs. Weasley was tucking Harry into.
"Yeah, and if you tighten those sheets any more, you're going to cut off his circulation," George added.
"Nonsense," Mrs. Weasley replied, "He's not nearly snug enough."
"Actually," Harry began, feeling as if she was strapping his arms to his sides by tucking the blankets in, "I'm fine..."
She simply shook her head and continued to make sure that every inch of him was 'tucked in' before standing up and beaming at him.
"Just rest, now," she said again.
Harry managed a nod, feeling as if he had been mummified. The twins and Ginny, whom were currently in the room with him, held back their laughter until Mrs. Weasley had left the room. Then, they exploded.
"Snug, Harry?" Fred inquired cheerily.
"No," Harry grunted in reply, attempting to loosen himself.
"...no," came Silver's voice suddenly, along with a giggle, "I really didn't-"
She stopped short as she appeared in the doorway to his room, being followed by Snape. Both of them looked nothing short of utterly amused to see Harry entrapped in his own bed.
"Harry," Silver finally managed, looking as if she was holding in a laugh, "What happened?"
"Our mum happened," Ginny volunteered.
Silver let out a small giggle as she walked up and began to free Harry from his trap. "And none of you thought to free him?" she inquired.
"Oh, we thought of it," George assured her.
She giggled as she pulled Harry free, allowing the circulation to run in his arms again. He grinned his thanks, and she kissed him on the forehead, sitting down at the edge of his bed and lacing her fingers through his.
"How're you feeling, sweetie?" she asked, giving him a warm smile.
"Fine, actually," Harry replied, "I don't see why everyone's making such a big deal out of it."
"Harry," Silver replied patiently, "You ran into the kitchen and passed out mumbling to yourself. Remus was so frightened that he got Dumbledore's permission to take you to St. Mungo's. You were out for two and a half days. I think that's a big deal."
"Maybe," he admitted grudgingly, "But I feel fine now."
"I'm sure you do, but you're still going to rest today," she replied, "At least until Dumbledore comes to talk to you. Alright?"
"Alright," he agreed, "When's Dumbledore coming?"
Silver turned to look at Snape questioningly, and he responded at once. "Two hours," he said shortly, "And he wanted you to get some sleep."
"I've slept for-"Harry began, but he was cut off, both by Silver's warning squeeze on his hand and Snape's words.
"Well you're going to sleep longer," Snape growled, glaring at him.
Harry reluctantly nodded, and Silver beamed her approval at him. "Everyone out," she directed to the three Weasleys in the room.
The twins and Ginny filed out, muttering something about going and finding out where Ron and Hermione were snogging.
"Hermione's here?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Yes," Silver confirmed, "She came this morning, after Ron brought you breakfast."
"Oh," Harry answered dumbly.
"G'night, sweetie," she said quietly, bending to place a quick kiss on his lips.
"You have to leave?" he asked in disappointment when she pulled away.
Her eyes betrayed her nervousness even before she spoke. "Yes...Dumbledore wants to see me before he does you," she explained quietly.
"What for?" Harry asked tentatively.
He glanced at Snape, who was pointedly looking the other way. Upon transferring his gaze back to Silver, he saw that she looked hesitant to speak.
"It's probably nothing important," she said finally, "I'll send Remus up to keep you company, okay?"
Before Harry could argue with her to let him know what it was, she had gotten up and slipped out the door, with Snape closing it behind her. Frowning, he waited impatiently for Lupin to come up and tell him what was really going on. After a good amount of time, Harry heard footsteps approaching, most definitely not Lupin's. He realized that it must be Silver and Dumbledore – and most likely Snape, and listened as they passed and finally paused and entered what must have been Sirius' room. A minute or so later, Lupin entered, looking worried. Harry noticed that there was not a sound in the house.
"What's going on?" he demanded immediately.
Looking vaguely amused, Lupin responded. "Between you and Silver, things are getting a bit tense, is all."
"What's happening to Silver?" Harry answered immediately.
Lupin gave a small sigh. "Nothing she's going to like," he replied, "Dumbledore's convinced that she's pregnant, for some reason or another. He thinks they might have performed a memory charm on her, since she's denying it, but...well, we'll find out today, won't we?"
"What do you mean?" Harry replied, "What's he going to do to her?"
"Just a charm to see if she's pregnant or not," Lupin said, "It's relatively easy to perform, and nearly always accurate, but it's known to cause pain afterwards, whether emotional or physical I don't know."
"If she says she's not, she's not," Harry said impatiently, making as if to go and tell Dumbledore so, "Dumbledore needs to-"
"Do what he thinks is right," Lupin answered, pushing Harry back down, "And you're not going to interfere."
Harry rolled his eyes defiantly, glaring at Lupin.
"Listen, Harry," Lupin began, "I know that it's hard to believe that Silver could-"
He stopped talking abruptly as the sounds of a very angry voice reached their ears.
"You what?" Snape roared at the top of his lungs.
A few moments of silence, during which Harry supposed Dumbledore was speaking, and Snape spoke again.
"No!" he bellowed loudly, "She will not be harmed! I refuse!"
A loud thump followed his pronouncement and Harry was betting that Snape had taken his anger out on whatever object was closest to him.
"I said no!" came Snape's voice again, "Look at her! She's terrified! I will not allow it, I will not!"
Again came silence, and then the creaking open of a door. Shortly afterwards, Dumbledore's last words could be heard.
"...as she trusts you more, I will allow you to perform the charm, Severus. I will be waiting downstairs – you have an hour and a half left, I believe."
The door clicked shut, and Harry could hear Dumbledore passing by his room.
"Why doesn't he talk to me while Silver and-"he began, but he stopped as his question was answered by the sound of Silver's voice in the other room.
"No! I don't want it!" she cried.
"I don't want you to have it, child, but it must be done," Snape answered, exasperation evident in his voice.
"I'm not pregnant!" Silver yelled.
"Hold still!" Snape replied, sounding annoyed.
"No!" was her defiant response.
"If I have to petrify you, I will!" Snape threatened.
This succeeded in bringing forth what sounded to be a river of tears. "I d...don't...want...t...to...get...h...h...hurt!" Silver sobbed.
"I don't know from firsthand experience, but I imagine it would hurt more giving birth than undergoing a pregnancy test," Snape retorted.
Silver only sobbed more. Harry wasn't so sure he wanted to be in the room, then, after all. The topic made him slightly uncomfortable. After a few minutes, her sobs subsided considerably.
"Are you ready now?" Snape inquired.
Harry couldn't hear the answer, it was so soft-spoken.
"Very well," Snape said, "Stand like that....no, relax, child. Good, now stay like that."
Harry didn't hear anything for a moment, except for an odd zapping noise. Then, suddenly, Silver cried out.
"No, don't move!" Snape instructed.
"It...hurts!" Silver protested, sounding as if she was gasping for breath.
"It's almost over," Snape answered, "You're doing fine, just a few more seconds..."
A popping noise and a small cry from Silver signaled the end of the charm.
"Ah!" Snape cried suddenly, "What are you trying to do, knock me over?"
Instead of replying, muffled sobs could be heard.
"It's over now, child," Snape told her, "And – you're not."
"I...t...told...y...you," Silver sobbed accusingly.
"I believed you," Snape defended himself, "It wasn't my idea."
"I k...know," Silver managed through sniffles, "I'm s...sorry."
"Don't be sorry for something you haven't done," Snape answered in a sensible tone, "Now, are you hurt?"
"Kind of," Silver answered in a small voice, "It's hard to explain. I just feel bad."
Snape seemed to think a while before answering. "I suppose chocolate ice cream would help?" he suggested, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Mmm, I think it would," Silver agreed.
"Just wait here, then," Snape replied, "You need some rest, too."
"Alright," she agreed sweetly.
Harry heard Snape's robes swishing by a few second later, and let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He heard Lupin do the same, and the two exchanged a relieved glance. It sure would've complicated things if Silver had been bearing a child.
"That's a relief," Harry commented quietly.
"Yes," Lupin agreed fervently, nodding.
Harry gave a sigh, and suddenly Lupin seemed to remember something. "You're supposed to be sleeping!" he hissed.
"Yeah," Harry said boredly.
"Get to sleep!" Lupin answered, "Or Dumbledore will have my head!"
"Fine," Harry retorted, "But you have to stay with me and be bored out of your mind."
"How will you know, if you're asleep?" Lupin replied mischievously.
Harry glared at him before closing his eyes. Much to his surprise, he was much more tired than he had thought himself to be, and it only took him a few minutes, during which he might have heard Lupin chuckling quietly, to fall asleep.
He awoke to the sound of Dumbledore's ever-so-cheery voice.
"Morning, Harry, wake up now," Dumbledore was saying as he took a seat in an armchair he had conjured up for himself next to Harry's bed.
"It's morning?" Harry asked in astonishment as he opened his eyes, peering towards his window curiously.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Figure of speech, Harry, figure of speech," he answered amusedly.
"Oh," Harry said, giving a sheepish grin as he propped himself up, "So, I suppose you want to know what happened."
"That would be nice, to start with," Dumbledore agreed amiably.
"Right," Harry agreed, and without further ado, he began to tell Dumbledore every detail of what had happened.
Amazing how he had gotten used to doing so.
......................
Note: Yeah, I know it was short. But, well, I want to start on Harry's talk with Snape and all, and if I tried to fit that into this chapter, it would end up being a bazillion pages long. So instead of thinking up some half-baked idea to fill space, I decided to stop it here. –guiltyness-