AN: Thanks to my reviewers. I've been out sick, but I've tried my best to finish this story. Hopefully, I will get out 20 tomorrow, and 21 on Wednesday. The epilogue will most likely be out on Thursday.
Chapter 19
Sirius watched Harry's chest rise and fall, savoring this quiet time. The last two months had been terrible as more and more attacks were launched by the Death Eaters, and the Order had been frantically trying to keep up. The only reason Sirius was here at Hogwarts was that he needed to talk to McGonagall. A lot had changed since Christmas, starting with the newsRemus had brought back thatthere had been a series of vampire attacks and even a large rash of werewolf bites. That was on top of the attacks in London, Edinburgh, and scattered half and half communities. McGonagall was now Acting Headmistress because Dumbledore had spent more time helping at the Ministry than at Hogwarts.
He was glad that Harry had his own room this year. Sirius had been able to stay the few nights possible in the Head Boy's bedroom, doing some unspeakable things to said Head Boy. Good things, but nothing he would ever mention to Harry's fathers. He cherished this time together, knowing that things outside of the castle walls were looking bleak.
Green eyes fluttered open. "Hey."
"Hey," Sirius answered back.
Harry looked over at the clock. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "Just couldn't, I guess." Sirius ran a hand down Harry's chest, stopping to play with the thin line of hair that grew from his navel to groin. "Wondering if I should wake you up or not."
Harry reached up and pulled Sirius down for a thoroughtly wet and sloppy kiss. "You can wake me up at anytime," Harry breathlessly said when he pulled back.
Sirius growled at the look on his lover's face: part angel, part succubus. He pounced on Harry, kissing him to within an inch of his life. Then he proceeded to show Harry and himself their very own universe.
As dawn broke through the curtains, Sirius felt Harry stir. The bed dipped slightly as Harry sat up and leaned over him.
"Sirius?"
He looked into the serious green eyes that held the tiniest bit of mischief in them. "What?" he asked cautiously.
"Will you bond with me? Before you leave?"
"What do you mean, bond?" Sirius asked. "Don't you just want to get married?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I mean as to bond. Not just be married." He laid down on top of Sirius and nestled his nose in Sirius' neck. "I want to be together with you in all things."
Sirius pulled back. "Harry," he began.
"No, Sirius. I want to do this. I know I'm scared about what might happen to you while you're out there fighting. I have to know if you're all right, if you're okay. I don't want to have to sit here and not know anything!"
He pulled Harry into his arms, running a soothing hand down his back. He hadn't known that Harry felt like this. All of the hurried letters that they had exchanged when Sirius couldn't get to the school had never shown anything of the sort. "Harry. Look at me."
Harry shook his head, refusing to look up.
"Harry."
Sirius saw the green eyes had a hint of moisture in them. He moved his hands up and wiped at the bottom of Harry's eyes, collecting the tiniest bit of tears. "Harry, I don't want you to rush into this. Your fathers didn't bond with each other for almost twenty years. Being married suited them just fine."
"I know." Harry's voice was a bit thick. "I've gone over this a million times in my head, but I don't want to do anything but this. I know this is what we're supposed to do."
Sirius studied Harry's hand which he held in his free one. The long fingers were strong, with callouses from Quidditch and training along his fingers and palm. There was a small scar on the back of two fingers, where Sirius remembered Harry being cut by a sword earlier in the year. These hands had brought him such loving that Sirius couldn't remember a time when he had felt like it before. Harry was so sure about his actions that this had thrown him completely off kilter.
"I'll do it," Sirius suddenly said, surprising both himself and Harry.
"Really?" Harry moved back to look at Sirius' face.
He nodded, pulling Harry into a fierce hug. "I will," he answered, even if there was a small part of his brain, left over from his rebellious teenage years, screaming that they should wait, that he needed the freedom. Another, larger part - the part connected with his heart - told him that this was the correct choice. And, indeed, it did feel like this wasmeant to happen.
James felt the baby kick his bladder for the third time in five minutes. He wished he could reason with this child, but, as he couldn't reason with his eldest child about the prospect of getting married at age seventeen, he knew it wasn't possible. He was not sure who was more insane for wanting to do this ceremony: Harry for thinking of it; Sirius for accepting; or James and Severus for agreeing that they could, but not until the Easter hols.
There was a chilly April wind rattling the windows in the teachers' common room as Albus pronounced Harry and Sirius as bonded partners and husbands. It was only family, so there was a nice chorus of 'ew, gross' from each of Harry's siblings as he and Sirius kissed. The baby kicked as well.
Severus squeezed James' hand as the two parted and greeted their family. James saw how happy his oldest son looked, and he knew that he and Severus had made the right decision. Yes, Harry was young, but Severus had actually defended the position that it was better for them to let Harry do this than to have him do it on the sly when it might end up being illegal or invalid, at least the marriage part. The bonding was absolute.
It was nice having all of the family together, especially since it seemed like there was an attack at least once a day. James knew that Severus had been sent out several times, and Sirius and Remus were out on the front lines. He also knew that it was only a matter of time before Harry would begin to fight. Sometimes, James wished that he wasn't pregnant, because then he would be able to help more. Then he would feel guilty for thinking that. He had already lost a child, and he didn't want to lose another one. At all. So why did it feel like he was losing one with Harry being married?
"Pumpkin juice, Dad?" Hugh asked, startling James. He hadn't realized that Severus had left his side and that the small reception was now underway. Staff, Order members, and Harry's friends were floating around. Harry's friends were by far the most uncomfortable here, warily sitting next to a window, sipping their own juice. They had been sworn to secrecy regarding the marriage in exchange for being at the party, when they had left for the hols to stay with Hermione's parents.
Several of the staff were chatting with Harry and Sirius, as well as with some of the Order members they didn't normally see. James could see that Bill and Charlie were talking with Albus, while Minerva and Pomona were having their own conversation.
At least, James thought, Professor Standish doesn't know about this. James silently growled at the thought of the DADA instructor. The man had instituted a personal vandetta against Severus for 'interfering' with his discipline, even after the Board of Governors, himself included, had found that the man was quite sadistic. Not as bad as Umbridge had been, but as they couldn't find another person to take the position, they had to settle for keeping him. They were keeping a close on him all the same.
He looked over at Harry, who was wearing robes in a deep green, emphasizing his eyes. The glow on his face brightened each time Sirius kissed him or squeezed his waist. Next to him, Sirius looked happier than James had ever seen him, his dark blue robes complementing Harry's own. It had been surprising to see a philanderer like Sirius settle down with someone twenty years younger than him. James' friend had finally found his one true love, though. But if Sirius ever broke Harry's heart, he would have to deal with James as his husband's father and not as his friend. James had told him that if he ever did, he would kill Sirius, revive him, and then kill him again.
James and Hugh sat together, watching as Hamilton ran from group to group. The almost four-year-old seemed to be quite taken with Albus' robes, which were cheerily bursting into fireworks. Minerva and Poppy were charmed by the little boy, even as Pomona found her robes being used for a game of hide and seek.
Helena was over by the food table, talking with her Head of House and Madam Pince - James still couldn't say her first name after all the times she had thrown he and his friends out of the library when they were being loud while researching pranks. James shook his head at Flitwick's gestures, because when he moved his hands, his entire body followed the motion. He looked around the room, frowing when he didn't see Remus.
"Where is your Uncle Remus?" James asked Hugh.
The thirteen year old pointed to the corner behind James. "Uncle Moony's right there, Dad."
James turned around, as much as his expanding girth would let him, and saw Remus sulking in the corner. His friend looked up from his hands, which were wrapped around a goblet, in the direction of the food table. There was an odd expression on his face when he looked over there, and it turned to anger when Remus looked down. James was tempted to go over and talk to him, but he had always been wary of a brooding Remus. It wasn't because of the werewolf that lay within. Rather, it was that when depressed, Remus tended to withdraw into himself no matter who prodded at him. It was best to leave him alone at the moment, but James would satisfy his curiousity when he got the chance.
Harry and Sirius came over just as Severus returned with a plate full of food for James - with lots of pickles pilled to one side. James transfigured an extra chair into a large table, where the five of them set to eating. Hamilton climbed onto Severus' lap after a minute, and eventually Helena made her way over to the table as well, after coaxing a reluctant Remus to join them. James looked at his family and felt his heart swell. Well, it could have been indigestion, since he'd been having that a lot lately. He didn't think it was, as he looked over those gathered at the table. They had made it this far through the war, and deep inside was the feeling that he knew they would make it all the way through. He made up his mind that they would gather together every month until the war was over, partly because he wanted to see his children happy, but a lot of it was that he wanted to see that they were safe.
The air was hot under the mid-June sun. Harry and Helena had completed their NEWT and OWL tests respectively, and James had decided that they would get together outside on the first sunny day after they were done. He was chastisizing himself for chosing a sunny day, because he was uncomfortably hot, even under one of the large oaks that boarded the lake on the north side of the castle. The baby had been kicking and sleeping against various organs lately, and he was just glad that it wasn't his bladder today, as it was a very long walk up to the castle. Sleeping was a thing of the past, too, at least until school was out and he would have Poppy all to himself until the baby was born in early July.
"Dad! Dad!" Hamilton came racing over. "Look what I found on the beach!" The four year old held a common frog in both of his muddy hands. His shorts were wet along the bottom hem and his footwear had disappeared somewhere between the table James and Severus were sitting and the lakeshore where Hamilton's brothers and sister were wandering.
"Hamilton," Severus began as he pulled his nose out of The Potions Journal. "Why don't you let the frog go back to its family and grab your shoes. Then tell your brothers and sister it is time to eat."
"Severus..." James began as the little boy raced back to the shore.
He turned to James. "I heard both your and Hamilton's stomach growling. Then it is possible that Harry's stomach is trying to consume itself, and that Hugh is currently digesting his small intestine, his stomach having been consumed an hour ago."
James laughed at the imagery. "That is quite possible," he agreed, remembering trips down to the kitchen at midnight under his invisibility claok to satisfy the cavern his stomach had become.
The children came racing up, Helena and Hugh neck and neck, with Harry, carrying Hamilton in his arms, close behind.
"I won!" Hugh crowed as he touched the table. The four scrambled onto the bench across from James and Severus.
"Too bad Sirius and Remus aren't here," Harry said as he piled his plate quite high.
"More food for us," Hugh said as he filled his plate even higher.
Helena slapped Hugh on the hand as he reached for the crisps over her plate. "Next time you do that, I'm hexing off your thumbs."
James rolled his eyes at his children's antics as he filled up a plate for Hamilton, who gravitated towards the chocolate if left to himself. Well, all of the family did really, but a four year old had no reason to eat vegetables. Beside him, Severus was smirking at the hexing remark.
They were halfway through pudding when two figures approached from the castle. They were quite a ways off when one shrunk into a black mass and sped across the lawn. Harry rose from his seat and just as the Grim would have knocked him over, the large beast turned into a grinning Sirius with a slight pop. Sirius grabbed Harry around the waist and swung him around a couple of times. Then both met each other in a fierce kiss that had all the Potter-Snapes closing their eyes so they couldn't see the horror.
"You can look now."
James opened his eyes as Remus sat down next to him, even though there was plenty of space on the opposite bench next to Helena. He mentally shrugged off the idea forming and looked at his friend. There was some more gray hair at the temples than a month ago. James was growing more and more worried that the curse was really starting to kill Remus. After all, it was rare that a werewolf lived past the age of twenty, and Remus was only seven months older at him, making him thirtyeight to James' thirtyseven.
"Would we be able to go to Hogsmeade?" Hugh was asking. "I'm seriously short on cockroach clusters, and no one else in Hufflepuff has any either."
"And I wonder why," Helena muttered.
James looked at Severus. He had no problem with going into the village if they stayed together, as it was unplanned and it would be more likely for the Death Eaters to try and attack during a weekend when the students were visiting. His husband, though, was wearing a quite serious expression. It was obvious that Hugh had seen it as well, because he continued to send several sad-looking faces in the direction of his father.
It was another hot hour before James tired of the battle between Severus and Hugh.
"We will go into the village. Severus and Hugh will go together, Remus and Helena are together, and Sirius... you go with Harry. But there will be no stopping at the Hog's Head."
No one looked totally happy with their partners, excluding Helena, who was playing old maid with Hamilton on the blanket James had laid out for the boy's nap. James himself would be taking Hamilton for a short while before they left for home. He glared at the culprits, who backed down, inwardly grinning at the thought that sometimes it was nice that people were afraid of angry, pregnant people.
1:1:
Sirius had been tempted to sneak into the Hog's Head until James had said no. Even then, he thought he should try it, but he remembered when James had been pregnant with Hugh and he'd taken Harry and Helena up on his motorbike. The carnage still made him shudder with fear even after all these years.
Instead, Sirius and Harry had gone into Gladrags to start looking for Helena's birthday present. Harry had scoffed at the idea of a robe until Sirius had pointed out that she was turning sixteen, and girls needed to have a pretty dress for dates. After that, Harry had told him about who his sister had been dating. Sirius was impressed by how Harry was up to date with that, although he was hoping that Helena didn't know what was going on between he and Harry. He shuddered again.
He looked through various styles of robes, trying to keep his mind off the delectable arse of his husband as Harry walked in front of him. It was strange, he thought, how much he liked doing this type of thing with him. He'd certainly never gone shopping with anyone he'd ever dated, but this was different. Harry made all the difference. When he was out on missions, Harry was the most important person in his thoughts. And he loved that. As much as he loved James and had been a part of the family, now he was family. Considering just who had raised him, that was saying a lot.
"How about this one?" Harry asked.
Sirius eyed the deep blue robe. "That is a man's robe."
Harry grinned. "I know. I was thinking of it for you."
"Stick to finding one for your sister," Sirius chuckled. "We'll go shopping in London once school's out."
"Really? Or when we finally get a honeymoon?"
Sirius pulled Harry into a tight hug. "Yes. Where do you want to go?"
Harry kissed his jaw, right below his ear. "I was thinking Ta-"
An explosion outside the shop blew them into a rack of women's underclothes. As Sirius struggled to disentangle Harry and himself, he heard several screams from the street.
"What the hell?" Harry asked as Sirius pulled him upright.
"Let's find out."
1:1:
Severus couldn't see through the smoke that still littered the air of the small village. Still, he could sense that Hugh was next to and slightly behind him. Gripping his wand that much tighter, he kneeled on the ground, pulling Hugh with him.
"Patri?"
"Quiet." Severus strained his ears for any sign of his family, but all that he heard were strangers and Death Eaters. For once he was glad that James had split the children up, as there was an Order member with each of them. But not with James...
He turned to his son. "Hugh," he quietly said, "find the nearest store and hide in it, as far back from the street as possible. If there is a fireplace, floo the headmaster and tell him that Hogsmeade has been attacked."
"But..."
"Now!"
He waited a minute to make sure that Hugh was sufficiently out of the way before standing and blasting the smoke away from him. As it cleared, several spells flew towards him. Using the instincts honed from previous battles, he avoided each one and strode towards the point where they were coming from.
"It's the traitor."
The smoke cleared even more to reveal several Death Eaters around the fountain at the end of the street. With James and Hamilton. One of the masked men held James under wandpoint and Hamilton around his upper arm, pulling the little boy up. Severus stopped dead in his tracks, his mind running through several situations that did not end exactly as he wanted them to as he heard Hamilton whimper in pain.
"Let's see what the traitor will do to rescue his husband," one of the Death Eaters said. The voice was young sounding, but not very familiar.
"Patri!"
He swore as Helena ran up next to him, with Remus close behind. Severus held out his hand to stop her. "Go back."
A flash of a spell passed between father and daughter, almost hitting Remus' feet as it impacted the ground.
"I don't think so, Severus," a sibilant voice practically hissed. A tall figure made its way through the dissapating smoke from the village limits. A black cloak swung wide as the figure stopped, his red eyes trying to bore holes through Severus' own. The white, snake-like skin stretched over his face shone in the June sun, reflecting the light back onto the followers he stood behind. "Tsk, tsk. I believed that when you joined me, Severus, you were sincere. From the mudblood lover you married, that obviously wasn't true."
Severus held back the reply he wanted to say. He wouldn't take the chance that James or Hamilton would come to harm. He was about to say something when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't a Death Eater, but other than that he couldn't tell who it was. The figure moved to the back of the Death Eater holding his husband and son. Another shadow moved towards Voldemort from the back as well. But the only person that could be was Harry, if the glasses were any indication.
Foolish, selfless boy, he thought.
Beside him, he saw Helena raise her wand. Several of the Death Eaters chuckled at the sight.
"I thought I killed you, girl," Voldemort hissed.
"Well, I'm obviously not dead," was Helena's reply.
"And what are you going to do about it, little girl?" asked a Death Eater directly to Voldemort's right.
"This. Torpedo one(1)!" A brilliant green light exploded from her wand, shining into the eyes of the Death Eaters.
"Torpedo two(2)!" came from behind Voldemort a moment later. A blue wall rushed over the Death Eaters, knocking down many off their feet while they were disoriented by the light.
While the Death Eaters were bombarded by Helena's then Harry's spells, Severus had raced towards the one who held his husband and son. As he arrived, Black popped up in back and grabbed Hamilton as Severus took James. His husband was disoriented from the light, but had not been hit by the blue wall. He carried James over to the relative safety of a shop just as several Order members appeared in the street, while still more apparated almost directly into the fight. Next to him, Black was setting Hamilton down next to James.
James waved him on as Hamilton burst into tears. "Go, Severus. Here comes Molly."
As he hurried back, Severus swore he heard his husband cry out in pain, but when he glanced back, James was turned to face the Order members. There was a mental push through the bond, followed by what felt like a door shutting between them. A chill ran down Severus' spine, but he was suddenly in the midst of the fight. The air was turning smoky once more as several fires from missed curses burned robes, cloaks, and the ground. Severus and Black fought their way through the black cloaks, trying to find the others.
He didn't know how long it was until the only sounds he heard were that of the other Order members. A strong gust of wind swept past Severus, revealing a scarred landscape, Albus standing in the twenty or so yards between himself and Harry. He moved around, trying to spot Helena.
"Where's your sister?" he asked Harry as they passed each other.
"I don't know," Harry tiredly answered. "I can't find Remus either."
Hugh came running over. "Patri! Come quick! Dad's going into labor."
He looked at Harry, who said, "I'll keep looking, Patri," as Severus ran back with Hugh.
(1) and (2): As I said in my author's note above, I've been sick. I meant to find an appropriate Latin phrase for these spells, but I really don't feel like searching for an hour for the two online. Especially on dial-up. (You can thank the weather for knocking out my dsl, and I'm putting this up at my parents' house.)