AN: Thanks to everyone that has reviewed! They are what keep me writing this story, even when it seems like I'm getting nowhere. Also, I would never kill off anyone without a good reason. And since I can't think of a reason to bump off any of my favorite characters, I don't see that as happening anytime in the future. Also, we get to see the first glimpse of Helena's gift, but everyone won't know what it is until Chapter 20.
And to Agnus Dei: Yes, fourteen. And then they proceed to do nothing until he is sixteen, which is the legal age in the UK - with permission from his parents. (Same as the US - the part with parental permission, at least. One of my good high school friends was married at 16 and had been engaged since 14.)
Chapter 16
Severus was tired. He settled himself onto the sofa, a finger of scotch in his right hand, trying to get his mind to relax. There had been another attack on London today - the third one for the month of December. The Order had gone to each of them, and it was beginning to wear on every member.
Between going out to stop the attacks and his normal duties for school, there were some things that had fallen to the side. One of those was the 'family nights' they had begun last year. Severus hadn't realized just how welcoming it was when these rooms were filled with the chatter of his children. Now that it was silent, he missed it more than he would have believed.
Most of November had been spent dealing with the aftermath of an attack on Gringotts. The bank was secure, but it had primarily been aimed at the humans inside. The death eaters had attacked during the noon hour, when most of the Ministry was at dinner, prolonging a counter force's arrival. Severus hadn't personally gone to help, but he had spent several hours each evening making potions, because the first attack - Halloween evening - had been on the major supplier of St Mungo's: Gildencrantz and Rosenstern medical Potions Supply Company. All available apothecaries and Potions Masters and Apprentices had been pulled into action. That meant, unfortunately, Severus had to speak with Master Finn, the man he had apprenticed under. The man hadn't been a good master, tending to drink himself into a stupor with absinth rather than teach. Finn had taken over the potions lab at St. Mungo's, while aurors had scrambled to rescue what potions and ingredients had survived.
While that had been going on, several Slytherins had been attacked by various people. The first years had been severely hexed, resulting in the boys residing under Poppy's care for several days. Severus had as yet to catch that particular culprit, but the others had severed or were serving detention with Filch.
Gryffindors, Severus mused as he took a sip of his scotch, believed too much that the world was strictly black and white. At least Harry didn't think that way.
A knock on the door sounded as Severus stood to pout another finger of scotch.
"Who is it?" he asked the portrait of Slytherin.
"It is your husband, youngest son, and Lupin."
Severus' eyes shot to the clock even as he strode to the door. What were they doing here at a quarter after midnight? He opened the door, revealing a bloodied James, with Lupin holding Hamilton. Each looked fairly ruffled, their robes showing signs of fighting.
James practically flew into Severus' arms. He could feel the slightly shorter man tremble the tiniest bit, as if he were hiding his pain,asSeverus guided him through the doorway. "What happened?"
"I was ambushed on my way from the office to pick up Hamilton," James said as he straightened, then winced. "They couldn't tell where I was going because of the Fidelis Charm, but were close enough to Sirius' old house that they have a general idea where it is."
"Did you tell Albus when you arrived?" Severus asked.
"Sirius is with him," Lupin answered. "We came ahead to put Hamilton down for the night. I'll get him ready and then get out of your hair for the night."
Severus looked at the toddler. His head lay on Lupin's shoulder, thumb firmly between his lips, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. The toddler clutched the unicorn that had been passed down to each of the Potter-Snape children, the doll tightly held with his free arm.
"Put him on the bed, Remus, okay?" James asked as he shrugged out of his robes. "I need Severus' expertise for the moment." He rolled up his sleeve, laying bare a long gash that was oozing.
Severus scowled at James as the other man took Hamilton into the other room.
"When you are better," Severus growled, "I am hexing you."
"It's almost like five years ago, only with you, Hugh, andHamilton here," Helena said as James carried the last of the Hogsmeade bags into Severus' rooms. While he had been down to the village, his daughter and oldest son had decorated most of the teachers' wing in addition to their father's rooms. Madam Pince had stopped him to compliment their taste. House neutral colors were draped along the hall, with small placards above each of the professors' doors with their name and a little decoration suited to that person. James had noticed that Severus' had a potion vial with a sprig of ivy growing out of it. But it did make him wonder just who drew the pictures, because none of his children were any good with paints or pencil drawing.
At any rate, it was a much better activity for Harry than to be off with Sirius, who was decorating his new rooms. He did not want to think of his sixteen year old son snogging with a thirty-seven year old man that James himself had watched blow kisses at the giant squid as they crossed the lake as first years. And that was just as disturbing as having one of Severus' Slytherins ask him for permission to date his daughter. James longed for the days when he was teaching them their letters and could send them out to the sandbox to play.
"Dada?" Hamilton reached for James as soon as he set foot into the small kitchenette that had been added to Severus' rooms two years back. He reached down and plucked his youngest child off the floor where he had been playing with his blocks.
Remus smiled as James sat down at the small table as Hamilton began to play with his collar. "Hamilton has been 'helping' me make some biscuits," theamber-eyed manstated when James asked. "It keeps him out of the way."
James tickled the toddler, who giggled loudly. "What kind are you making?" he asked over the laughter.
"Chocolate chip," Remus said. "And not one of them is burnt."
"You didn't burn any?" Sirius asked as he stepped up behind James. "It's a miracle!"
"Ha ha," came the sarcastic response. "Because of that, you get to take them out to the sugar fiends." He thrust a loaded tray into Sirius' hands and pushed him out of the small room. There followed the rabid sounds of three teenagers - well, Hugh was almost teenaged - descending on junk food.
"You're evil," was James' comment.
"Yes, I am."
James looked at the pile of bodies and almost retched. The Order had been called out today when there had been an attack in London. It had mainly been concentrated at and aroundWestminster Abbey, but because it was Christmas Day, there had beenservices going on.
"From what we can gather," Albus was saying, "is that the Death Eaters were aiming for the Royal Family. We were lucky that they are in Scotland this year."
At that moment, Severus came from the side. "There are three survivors that we found in the Nave."
"Only three?" James asked.
Severus nodded.
"That makes it a total of eight alive out of three hundred?" Minerva sadly asked, her brogue even more pronounced than usual.
"Albus!" Shacklebolt came running up. "Hogsmeade! It's under attack!"
James spared a glance at Severus, who nodded slightly and apparated. James turned to the headmaster. "The Honeydukes tunnel is closed, but not the Shack. I'm going to make sure it's secure."
The white-bearded man nodded. "Do you need a partner?"
"No." James shook his head. "If I'm not in front of Honeydukes in twenty minutes, send Severus or Remus."
He left with a soft pop as the air was displaced, landing behind one of the overgrown shrubs a short distance from the dilapidated building. There was no sign of anyone, but that meant nothing to a wizard who could create a portkey. Cautiously, he approached the shack, masking everything he could, from his footsteps to his body heat. The dust lay undisturbed in a thick blanket as he made his way through the run down structure, but something told him that he wasn't alone. James cast an impenetrable barrier around the room and swept it with an accio spell.
He dropped the rat with a surprised gasp. As the rodent shook itself, he noticed one of the rat's front paws was glowing slightly in the gloom of the winter's late afternoon light. James pulled back a leg and gave a solid kick to the thing, smiling with satisfaction at the thud that resulted.
"I should have known you would slink out of custody, you lowlife," James spat as he trained his wand at the immobile rat. "How did you manage to get out anyway?"
He bent over to pick his former friend turned nemesis up when James felt his ward fall. He turned around just in time to get hit with a cutting hex across his shoulder, the move keeping him from losing his head. Holding the bleeding wound, James looked up to find Voldemort standing in the doorway, red eyes glowing.
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Severus scanned the village, looking for James. When he didn't find him, he fought his way over to Albus. "Where's James?"
The old man nodded his head in the direction of the school. "He's at the Shrieking Shack."
Several things ran through his mind at once, the most prominent being, "Bugger it all! If James gets himself killed, I'll kill him!" He pulled his magic together to disapparate. He felt the familiar nothingness, but remained in Hogsmeade, shifted one foot over.
"Severus?"
"Anti-apparation ward," was the terse reply. "He knew we were coming." Severus looked around for Black as he began running towards the shack. If he was around, the animagus would be able to run much faster as a grim. As he approached the outskirts of the village, he had just enough time to see the Shrieking Shack burst into flames as a curse slammed him face first into the ground.
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"Where's this thing I have to push?" Neville asked as the entire group stood in front of the wildly thrashing willow tree.
Harry pointed at the knot. "Right there, Nev."
The other boy nodded and slowly changed into his animagus form: a kingfisher. The small bird darted through the branches with a flash of blue as the tree tried to hit Neville's animal alter ego. The tree suddenly stopped and Harry darted through the branches down into the small hole. Making sure everyone was in, he led the way down the tunnel to the shack.
He was about to push the small hatch open when fire engulfed the wood and began to burn his hands. Instinctively, Harry mentally built a shield around himself and the others. As it closed, he realized that someone was still inside the shack. Rushing into the flames despite protests, he stumbled over something. Twisting around, he was horrified to find his dad on fire.
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Sirius pulled Severus back as he attempted to rush into the burning building. His chest tightened as the man in his arms totally collapsed. James and Severus had bonded last summer, and with the way Severus was acting now, it wasn't looking good at all. Behind him came the sound of many people apparating, but whether it was coming or going, Sirius really didn't care.
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"Dad?"
The blackness surrounded him, but he could clearly hear Helena calling out.
"Daddy? Can you hear me?"
The blackness shifted the tiniest bit to where there was a hint of light, as if far in the distance.
"Dad?"
He realized his eyes were actually closed. Slowly opening them, he saw a blurry face in front of him. Blinking, his vision partially cleared but not enough. He must have lost his glasses somewhere.
"Are you okay, Dad?" the face asked.
Oh. Helena must be in front on him. Where was Severus? And why did he feel so strange?
"Daddy, you were really hurt bad," Helena said. "But that's not all. The baby's hurt, too."
James came fully awake at that. "Baby? I'm pregnant?"
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Severus felt the bond loosen slightly before tightening. He could feel James on the other end, but it was muted, muffled as if under a cloth. He sucked in a quick breath as a tingling sensation came through, followed by a pain so sharp he passed out.
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Harry felt what must be a river of sweat running down the back of his neck as he strained against the forces pushing against his shield. He had managed to push it far enough into the burning building long enough for Hermione and Blaise to float his dad back into the tunnel. As they did so, the door that sat between them caught fire and heat flowed through the small tunnel.
Hugh and Neville had run back through the tunnel to the school to try and find Madam Pomfrey. Ron and Luna had surprisingly teamed up to erect cooling spells as Harry warded off the flames themselves.
He couldn't see what Helena was doing as Hermione and Blaise were casting charm after charm. He wanted to help. Harry knew, though, that if he moved, the ward would move as well, and he couldn't afford it if it went in the wrong direction.
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James looked around. The dim room seemed hazy, despite missing his glasses. What he could make out in the orange glow was nothing further than his daughter's face.
"Daddy?" Helena asked, her voice surprisingly solemn. "I have a question to ask, Dad."
His head felt heavy all of a sudden, but he won the struggle. James looked at Helena.
"Dad, you need to make a choice: to live or to die."
"What about the baby?"
James made out tears running down Helena's cheeks. "I don't know if I can save it. She's already slipping away from my hold on her."
"Just do the best that you can, honey," he slowly said.
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Sirius watched in awe as a huge bubble came out of the ground near the shack. Inside the semi-opaque orb, he could make out several figures with black hair. His heart almost stopped when he recognized the slim shoulders and messy hair of his Harry, who was holding up the bubble from the inside. Just as it cleared the tunnel and moved a few dozen meters away, flames burst out of the hole in the ground. The earth moved as an explosion rocked through the dilapidated building. Several members of the teaching staff racing across the path from the school were knocked over by the blast.
In his arms, Severus finally stirred. Sirius let go of him as he took off towards the bubble, although very unsteadily. Sirius quickly followed, even as the professors collected themselves and made their way over.
Severus and Madam Pomfrey arrived first, both of them crouching over the prone figure of James. He saw that Helena was slumped next to her father, the Zabini boy holding her as she breathed hard. Sirius was also concerned about Harry, who seemed to have collapsed with the release of the orb. He was torn between helping his goddaughter and his lover. At that moment, Helena looked up and they connected. Sirius nodded and headed for Harry.
He gathered Harry's limp body into his arms, pushing back the sweaty hair that lay across the scar. The skin underneath was hot, even in the chilly winter air. Sirius transfigured his scarf into a large blanket, the ragged ends from the recent battle melting and expanding to cover both of them.
Sirius looked up to find that Madam Pomfrey was still working on James even as Severus hovered at her side. Across from them, he found Remus wrapping Helena up in a blanket of her own as Zabini made his way over to where some of the professors had gathered. Hugh was next to his sister, being wrapped in a blanket conjured by Dumbledore.
The headmaster surveyed the area before conjuring stretchers. When he came to where Sirius was sitting with Harry, he lifted the sixteen year old into his arms and gently set him on the stretched canvas. Sirius noticed, but couldn't really think about it as he guided Harry's stretcher towards the castle.
James had often wondered, after Hamilton's birth, about having another little girl. Girls were generally quieter, even if he loved how rambunctious his sons were, even his youngest. The strange thing about this, though, was the thought of just how Helena knew the baby was a girl, when James himself didn't know that he was with child.
Madam Pomfrey had confirmed that it was a girl, just past the twelfth week, meaning that she had been conceived during James and Severus' celebration of Severus' birthday. How could James have missed the signs that he was with child? He was devastated to find he'd had the nausea and sleeplessness that had plagued the early month of pregnancy with Hugh and Hamilton. But then, how come it hadn't shown up on the medical scans that Poppy had run after the run-in with the Death Eaters at Grimmauld? Poppy had pointed out on her examination yesterdaythat she hadn't been checking for pregnancy when she took care of his arm.
Severus had tried to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, but James couldn't help but feel guilty for going to the Shrieking Shack alone. He should have known better than to go anywhere near a battle without a partner or some other type of backup.
A mumbling voice came from beside him, and James looked over in time to see Severus shift a little, digging his head a little deeper into the pillow he and James shared. A smile half-formed as he watched his husband sleep.
A noise from the outer room caught his attention. He was half-tempted to go see what his children were up to, but he was too comfortable in this position. Besides which, moving meant disturbing Severus, who hadn't been sleeping well since the attacks three days ago. The door opened, revealing a tiptoeing Hugh.
"Dad?" Hugh whispered into the room.
"Yes?" James whispered back as the twelve year old crept forward.
"Is there another cup for Hamilton? He's thirsty and I can't find the one from yesterday."
James looked over and found his husband still asleep. If he hadn't woken up by now, he wouldn't wake if James got out of bed.
"Go back to bed, Hugh," he said as he stuffed his feet into his slippers after sitting up. "I'll take care of Hamilton." He followed his son out into the living area to find Hamilton snuffling into Hugh's pillow.
"Ew, gross! Baby snot!" Hugh exclaimed in a loud whisper.
James looked at the boy as he picked up the toddler. He pointed his wand at the pillow after adjusting Hamilton to a more comfortable position. "Scourgify!" James looked at Hugh again. "Is that better?"
Hugh smiled, even in the face of James' snarky question. "Thanks, Dad."
He felt a little guilty after that, but he was still tired, having been unable to sleep half the night. James looked over at his two oldest children, who had both refused to share a bed with Hamilton, and like him had refused to stay in their dorms while they were still on 'holiday.' Sirius had offered his room, but James wasn't about to let Harry have a 'sleep-over' anytime soon. Harry, of course, was almost entirely hogging the bed, leaving a tiny ledge upon which Helena was clinging to. Trust his oldest son to inherit his sleeping habits.
Going into the kitchen, James quickly made up a cup for Hamilton. He looked at the clock, surprised to see that it was almost six in the morning. He must have at least slept for quite a while, because he hadn't spent that much time brooding.
Twenty minutes later found James watching Hamilton eat when Severus entered the small room. The slight circles under his eyes had all but disappeared, but there was more than a hint of tiredness in his stance that James went over and embraced him.
"Are you all right, Sev?" he quietly asked.
Severus said nothing, but tilted his head to one side, meaning no in Snape-speak. Their bond also thrummed with that same slow energy that seemed to surround Severus these last couple of days. James pulled back enough to give his husband a light kiss.
"I think Poppy should check you out again, Severus," James stated.
Surprisingly, Severus nodded, making James' worry skyrocket.
Sirius held back a smile as Harry made a perfect shield, warding off Dean's and Hermione's curses. It wouldn't do to show favoritism towards his lover, especially when it was a no-no for a student-teacher relationship before the student's seventeenth birthday. Even though he had the grudging acceptance of the situation from Severus and the more welcome permission from James to 'woo' their son, he still couldn't do anything as long as he was teaching. All of which meant he had to keep his hands off Harry until Easter Break, when his replacement was coming for the month he would now have to spend at the Ministry, preparing for the election of the new Minister. Then he would be back to finish out the year and retire from the Ministryand be able to dedicate himself solely to work for the Order until the end of the war. After that, he was taking Harry traveling.
He found that he liked teaching at this level,though Sirius absolutely hated it at the auror level. Even with Fudge gone with the fallout of the battle at the ministry, there were still a lot of higher-ups that wanted to take control of the auror program, and he was sick of having to deal with it. It didn't hurt that Harry had taught his students very well. Most of the sixth years were at the same level as second year auror trainees, and even some of the younger students were doing very advanced work.
Class ended ten minutes later, and as the students filed out, Harry stayed behind.
"What's up?" Sirius asked when Harry was silent.
Harry shrugged. "Just wanted to talk, I guess."
Sirius grinned even as he said, "My next class is in ten minutes, Harry. How about we meet after your next class in your father's office? I'm pretty sure we could use it, since your dad's taken over mine, now that he's staying here instead of your house."
Harry shyly smiled. "That would be great, Padfoot. I'll see ya then."
Sirius shook his head as the young man ran out of the room to catch up to his friends. If anyone had told him even five years ago that he would wait - patiently - for a sixteen year old to finish school, while 'wooing him,' he would have called them crazy. Hell, when he was sixteen he wouldn't have waited for anyone. And he didn't, since he had left a long trail of broken hearts behind him.
"Sirius?" Harry asked later that afternoon as they sat in the potions master's otherwise empty office.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Would you be able to teach me some of the more advance spells from auror training? I mean, more than the ones we're doing now with Dad. I mean, he's still doing the stuff he would normally be doing at home or Cambridge, because the only reason he is here is because of Patri's headaches. And I don't want to bother Patri because of them."
Sirius mentally sighed, wishing that his friend and his husband had told their children the true cause of Severus' 'headaches.' He didn't feel comfortable telling Harry the truth, since he knew that this was a family matter he should stay out of.
He would have to show Moony next time they met that yes, he had learned the meaning of tact.
"Yes, I'll teach you," Sirius suddenly said, startling both of them. Recovering, he told Harry, "but you have to keep this totally to yourself, just like the rest. We could both get in big trouble if anyone finds us."
Harry nodded and grinned, taking hold of Sirius' hand, pressing it to his chest. "Thank you," he said in a sincere voice.
Sirius was touched at the tone, even as an almost overwhelming urge to snog Harry breathless hit him. He managed to beat it down with a big stick and smiled back.
Severus looked over his second year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class, watching their potions carefully for any missed steps or wrong ingredients. He had set them making the potion from memory, and there was always at least one student who managed to mess the potion enough to cause an explosion. As much as he didn't like the resulting mess, this potion was often on the OWLs, and that was the only reason he taught it. There were three other potions that did the same job, and not even Longbottom could mess up those.
Hugh looked up and grinned at Severus before turning back to his Ravenclaw partner. Severus himself hid a smirk. His son wasn't the best at potions, but he was enthusiastic about it all the same. His little - Severus looked again at how Hugh towered over his partner - well, not-so-little Hufflepuff was definitely the odd one of the family.
He took a sharp breath as his temple began to throb for the third time this morning. The damn headaches were getting worse, as well as more frequent. Severus mentally cursed the fates for this appearing when it was welcome the least. It wasn't welcome at any time, but this was the worst timing for this to happen.
"Professor?" a timid voice asked. "Are you all right, sir?"
Severus went to lift his head from the papers he had been shuffling and found he couldn't.
"Patri?" Hugh's worried face ducked down enough to look into his father's face.
"Call Madam Pomfrey, Hugh," he managed to get out as the fierce pounding tripled into an even more demanding chaos. Severus felt his body move, but couldn't tell which way was up. Then came a disorienting trip through what must be the corridors to the hospital wing. There was another jolt, when he was set against something soft, but he still couldn't tell what was up, down, or sideways. He felt a soft warmth attach to his hand. James was here, then, even if he couldn't seem to open his eyes or hear anything above the roar in his head.
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James felt the tension slide from his husband's hand as Severus fell asleep. Poppy had poured so many potions down the man's throat that he had lost count. His own tension tripled as the mediwitch shook her head.
"I'm sorry, James, but it looks like that evil mark has infected his brain.Now, I'm afraid that it's only a matter of time before he passes."
AN2: Evil cliffie! (muhahahahahahaha!)