Chapter three
All the friends who had been at Grimmauld place, were now pacing the waiting room at St Mungo's. No one could sit, they just kept pacing as they stared at the doors. Reporters finally turned up so Bill decided to give them the basic, since they still had no idea exactly what happened.
'All we know is there was a loud noise, a loud bang and then a scream. As we ran to see what was going on, Ginny raced out the front door. We found Harry unconscious and bleeding badly, Severus and Poppy brought him straight here.'
'I know you can't give facts, but do you think your sister did something to Mr. Potter?'
'Yes, but until we speak with Harry, we can't be sure what happened. All we know for sure is Harry was laughing, so he had to race to the toilet. He was only gone for a few seconds when we heard the scream. I want to get back my wife, I'll let you know when we know.'
Hermione would sit then stand and pace, she kept chewing her nails, something she normally didn't do. Neville kept his arms around Hannah who was in tears, like most of the girls. Ron, Charlie and the twins looked furious, they would glance at each other before they began to pace again.
It was only half an hour later that Minerva turned up with Kingsley and three aurors, 'I know this isn't the best time, but while we're waiting to hear how Harry and the baby is we need everyone to give a statement.'
'None of us saw anything, not really, apart from Ginny racing out the door,' Bill said.
'I know, but it's best to get this written down while it's still fresh in your minds. So if it's okay with you, we'll start with Bill, Fleur and Charlie, then continue through the Weasley's, Hermione and all Harry's friends. Since I'm not technically an auror anymore, I can't take statements.'
'Let's get this over with,' Bill nodded to everyone before he went with one of the aurors, his wife went with another and Charlie with the third.
'What about Ginny?' Ron asked.
'We have aurors out there looking for her, they also have a warrant to search the Burrow in case she's hiding there. Is there any places you can think of that she might go to hide?'
'Well, maybe at Muriel's. She might have gone to one of our cousins, but they don't want anything to do with her either,' Percy said.
'What about the shrieking shack, she spent time there when the Carrow's were at Hogwarts?' Neville said.
'We'll check, if you think of anything let us know straight away.'
One by one everyone gave their statement then went back to pacing. It was after two in the morning before Severus stepped out into the waiting room, he was still covered in blood. That sight had everyone anxious. Minerva went straight to him, made him sit down.
'How is he?'
'He's going to be okay, so are the babies, twin boys. He's weak, he will have to remain here for a week before I can take him home. Then he's on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy.'
'Is he awake Severus?' Kingsley asked.
'No, he's sedated, he won't wake until the morning,' Severus looked up at the minister, 'She shot him, with a muggle gun, the bullet just missed the babies. Has she been found?'
'No yet, but we are looking, we won't stop until we find her. Can you give your statement now?'
'Yes, they won't let me stay.'
'Then give the aurors your statement then I am escorting you home.' Minerva said.
'To our new home.'
'New home?' Ron asked.
'Yes, we've been stripping Grimmauld place back, so it can be the way it was. We were both tired of her being there all the time, I was also concerned what she might do to Harry. Most of our belongings are already at the house, we cast a few charms to creature illusions of everything so she wouldn't know. We planned to move in properly the day after tomorrow.'
'Then you will go to your new home, have it ready for when Harry comes home. I would rather you were not alone though Severus,' Minerva said.
'I'll be fine, I have to pack a bag for Harry then take the rest our belongings to the house.'
'We can stay, if you want,' Hermione said.
'I appreciate it Hermione, but I'm used to being alone. I will be here early tomorrow anyway so I'll just grab a few hours' sleep tonight. Poppy is going to remain beside Harry, just in case.'
'So he's not out of danger?' Ron asked.
'He is, but there are many complications that could arise, they are being cautious,' Severus stood, 'He can have visitors from tomorrow, after lunch, just make it two at a time.'
'Let's get you home,' Minerva said then took Severus' arm, she lead him over to the apparition area.
After they left, Kingsley had two aurors remain so they could stand guard outside Harry's door. He left, then one by one all the others left as well. Bill walked over to the reporters to let them know what was going on, hopefully they could have a big picture of Ginny on the cover so the world will know she's wanted for shooting Harry, for trying to kill him and the babies. As Bill walked away, all he could think of was he hoped Ginny was found before she could do anything else.
Minerva helped Severus home, 'Get some sleep Severus, you won't do Harry any good if your exhausted.'
'She shot him. We made sure we were protected against magic, we never thought she'd use a muggle weapon.'
'No, most of us know it's against our laws. She will be found and sent to Azkaban, Kingsley will make sure. He has seen how happy Harry is now, that comes down to you and the babies. He won't let her get away with this, none of us will. You and Harry deserve to finally be happy.'
'I thought I lost him.'
Minerva could see how pale Severus still was, 'I know, but you didn't, please get some rest.'
'I will, you don't need to worry, I'll be fine. I'll have a couple of drinks which will help me sleep. I'm not taking any potions in case…' Severus shuddered.
'Alright, I'll drop into St Mungo's tomorrow.'
Severus waited until Minerva left before he headed to the office. He opened the large cabinet to see a red light.
'You will pay for what you did,' Severus sneered as he watched the tracking spell they had placed on Ginny weeks before. He unsealed the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a wand, 'No one will be able to trace this wand,' Severus stared at his old wand, one that he had no used since he first became a death eater. It was not registered to Severus. Voldemort had untraceable wands made for all his death eaters. It was time for this wand to get rid of Ginny Weasley, once and for all. He wasn't going to now, it would make everyone suspicious, he would wait a few days, maybe wait until Harry was home. With the tracking spell, he would find her anytime, he just needed some patience. He just hoped the aurors didn't find her before he did, he owed her some pain. While he was staring at the wand in his hand, an idea came to him, one that would make sure the aurors would never pin her death on him or any magical person. Either way she would die, that's all Severus cared about.
The following morning, Kingsley and two aurors stepped into the room where Harry was. Severus was sitting in the chair beside the bed, but his eyes remained on Harry.
'He's still unconscious?'
'Yes, they said he should wake soon,' Severus looked up, 'Any news about…her?'
'No, nothing, but we have people looking, she can't hide forever.'
A groan was heard from Harry, 'Harry, love.'
'Sev,' Harry groaned again, he blinked but his eyes remained closed.
'Yes love, your fine, so are the babies.'
'Babies,' Harry's eyes shot opened, 'Did you say babies?'
'Twin boys, they're fine.'
'She shot me Sev, right in the stomach,' Harry put his hands down on his stomach, caressing it, 'She said if she can't have my kids then no one will, then she shot me.'
'Harry,' Kingsley said, 'We'll need an official statement but we already have aurors looking for her.'
'She wanted to kill my babies.'
'She didn't, they're fine, they kept checking right through the night, they are both fine. You have to stay here for a week then you're on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy, but they're fine, you're fine,' Severus said.
'I have guards outside the door at all times as well Harry, she won't get near you again.'
'We've been so careful, whenever we know she's in the house we went everywhere together or Ron or Hermione would go with me while the other stayed with Sev. But I was laughing so hard I almost wet myself, so I just didn't think.'
'It's fine Harry, that's why we decided on living somewhere else, somewhere she can't get in. So when you're allowed to leave here that is where we're going.'
'With auror guards to make sure you get there safe. So let's get this statement then you can have some time alone with Severus,' Kingsley nodded to the auror with him who sat in one of the chairs ready to take down the official statement from Harry about his attack by Ginny Weasley.
The moment the aurors and Kingsley left, Severus sat on the edge of the bed, 'I was so scared love.'
Harry saw the pain on Severus' face, he grabbed his hands, holding them tight to his stomach. 'We're fine, I'm sorry, I didn't think when I hurried to the bathroom.'
'We were all relax Harry, this isn't your fault, it's hers.'
'Do you know where she is?' Harry whispered.
'Yes, I have to wait, but I had to make sure you were okay with this as well.'
'We talked about this Sev, we said we only would if she did something to either of us. She almost killed our babies, our boys.'
'Alright, but not until you're home. I had an idea though, to make sure we're not suspected,' Severus explained to Harry about his idea who thought it was perfect. Both men wanted her gone, they could never take the chance that she would do something else, not just to them but their boys. She might not do anything right now, or even in a years time, if she wasn't caught, but she could when they were least suspecting it. They both knew it was time to finish her, for good.
All their friends turned up at the same time, but they all said Hermione and Ron should visit first, so two of the golden trio headed in to see the third. The two auror guards nodded then one opened the door.
'Harry,' Hermione whispered.
'I'm fine,' Harry smiled weakly as Severus got up off the bed and sat in the chair to allow Hermione and Ron some room with Harry. They both sat on the bed, one on either side. But Hermione couldn't stop crying as she held Harry's hands, 'It's okay Hermione, I'm fine, the babies are fine.'
'I want to kill her for what she did,' Ron growled.
'Don't say that Ron. She will get caught and go to Azkaban, if anyone deserves that place it's her,' Harry said.
'Come on mate, surely you want more than that.'
'Yes, but we're not like that, we don't kill,' Harry had to make sure no one got suspicious, 'If she dies in Azkaban or in a fight with the aurors, I won't care, but we don't, it's not us. We never killed during the fighting even though we thought about it, did we?'
Ron sighed, 'No, it sucks to be good all the time though.'
Harry chuckled, 'It does, but we are, we can't let her make us into the bad boys, into killers. We're better than her.'
'Harry's right, we might want her…dead,' Hermione hesitated, 'but we don't kill. I think you would have to admit Harry that if you or the babies…well, you know, then I think we all would have…'
'I know,' Harry cut Hermione off, 'I know, I hate this but I wouldn't hesitate if anything happened to the babies.'
'Twins, blimey, have you thought of names?' Ron asked.
'We're still working through names. Severus has agreed I can have Sirius and my dad's names as middle names if I want. We're still talking about it though.'
'It would be hard on Severus to have his sons named after two men he did not like,' Hermione smiled kindly at Severus.
'I would if Harry really wanted it, but we agreed they will be used as middle names.'
'But not Sirius and I think he would be fine with it. We'll go with Sirius' middle name for one of the boys middle names. We'll do the same with my father's middle name.'
'What was Sirius' middle name?' Ron asked.
'Orion, it's nice.'
'Yeah, that's okay, so one will have Orion and the other will have your father's middle name.'
'Yeah. I didn't want to use Harry and I knew it wouldn't be right to use James. I'm still angry with him anyway. I figured he's middle name is a nice name and it's from his great grandfather, Charlus Potter.'
Harry and his two best friends kept talking until they decided to give everyone else a chance to visit. So even though it would be a long day, Harry didn't mind. He almost died so he wanted to spend some time with his friends, with his family.
'They will not care when she's gone,' Severus whispered as the last visitor left.
'No, not really, I mean she still is family so it would be natural to be upset, but I think they will be relieved.'
'They will, all of them have been watching her, as often as they could. I wonder how she got the gun though.'
'Arthur knows a lot about muggle stuff, it's not hard to imagine he knew about them as well. But there are a few of us that know the muggle world, any of them might have spoken about guns where she heard it. Do you think Arthur and Molly knew she was planning this?'
'I don't know, I have thought about it, but it's hard to say. Let's forget her and them for now, I will be made to leave soon.'
'Lay with me,' Harry moved over a little to make sure, Severus removed his shoes then lay beside Harry, 'We haven't bought everything for them and now we need two of everything.'
'I'll get most, but we can go through a lot of owl order forms so you can help decide.'
'How about you take Hermione with you, she has good taste, she might have idea's.'
'Are you saying I do not have good taste Potter?'
Harry chuckled, 'No, that is not what I'm saying Snape. It's always good to have another opinion though. So I can look through forms and give ideas but you and Hermione can see how anything I pick out really looks.'
'Yes, alright, I'll ask Hermione, but we have time. First we make sure you're settled then work on ways to keep you occupied.'
'We can get a television for the bedroom, just for now I mean. I can watch DVDs, even play games while I'm stuck in bed. Oh a lap top computer would come in handy, Hermione could help with that.'
'Yes, but only while you are confined to bed. I would rather not have you distracted with other things while in our bedroom.'
Harry grinned, 'I wouldn't be distracted if I saw your glorious naked body babe.'
'That is out, until after the babies are born.'
'Oh your kidding, please tell me you're just winding me up?'
'Sorry love, healers orders, but we can get creative without actual penetration.'
Harry sighed, 'Fine, we can blow each other but can't have actual sex, now I do want to kill her.'
Severus chuckled, 'Behave love,' Severus ran his fingers over Harry's stomach, 'So what about those two names we kept arguing about?'
'We get to use them both, it'll be good. Now are you sure you don't mind Ron and Hermione being godparents?'
'No, they are loyal and as much as I hate admitting this, true Gryffindor's. They will protect our boys with their sometimes stupid bravery.'
Harry grinned, 'We rush in to save the day, it's just us. But I am part snake as well, so I believe our two little boys might just end up in Slytherin. Sev, do you know if you can pass things on, like speaking with snakes?'
'Yes, that is why Voldemort was a parselmouth, from being related to Salazar Slytherin.'
'Like Morfin and his old man, they could both speak to snakes. I've thought about this, I figured I wouldn't be able to now the soul is gone, but I still can. The thing is, I was related to the youngest Peverell, Voldemort was related to the middle brother, so since we're sort of related, that's why I'm a parselmouth.'
'Or it's why you were able to receive that ability from him in the first place. It's all speculation, we will never be able to find out, not for sure. It could be because you are related or it could be the soul, it's hard to say. But now let's get off that subject, it's unpleasant.'
'It is but it also could happen Sev, our boys may end speaking parseltongue, we have to be prepared for that.'
'We will, when we know for sure. We will make sure they are prepared for what will happen when people find out, if they find out. Now we can talk about that later on. Let's talk about some of the items we need to buy, apart from the obvious.'
'What's the obvious?'
Severus rolled his eyes, 'Cots, clothes, nappies, bottles, toys, books, so get thinking Mr. Potter.'
'Fine Mr. Snape, that sounds strange, it was always Professor Snape. Snape or the dungeon bat, I don't think I've ever said Mr. Snape before.'
'Hopefully you will never say it again,' Severus kept is fingers running over Harry's stomach as they discussed what they needed to buy. Even though they knew they should write everything down neither of them wanted to remove their arms from touching the other so they just decided to talk about everything, leave making a list for another time.
It was a week later that Harry was allowed to leave St Mungo's. Severus, Hermione, Ron, Kingsley and two aurors were with him to make sure he got home safely. Once Severus got Harry settled into bed, the others were allowed into the room.
'Are you sure you don't want me to leave a guard here?' Kingsley asked.
'She has no idea where this place is but Severus is going to put some enchantments around it anyway.'
'Alright then, but if you change your mind just send your owl. Rest okay, we're all anxious to see the Snape-Potter boys.'
'I've already asked Sev to bring in the television and games console. Hermione's going to help find me a lap top computer since I can't bring the big one in here.'
'Okay, I'll drop in occasionally just to see how you are, but we'll send word if we find her.'
'Thanks Kingsley, thanks boys,' Harry smiled at the two aurors who both nodded then the three men left.
'I will get you some lunch while you talk to your friends.'
'Thanks Sev,' Harry kissed him then watched him go, 'I want you to go with Sev to help him shop for the boys, it's good to have another opinion and you have good taste Hermione.'
'I'll help, but are you sure Severus won't mind?'
'He doesn't, we spoke about it. I'm going to look through a heap of pamphlet's so I can pick out some stuff, but seeing it for real will be better. I just can't go out to shop for them so this is the only way.'
'You're going to go stir crazy stuck in here for another five months,' Ron said.
'I know, but it can't be helped, I won't risk losing them,' Harry caressed his stomach, 'Have you spoken with your parents about her?'
'We all did, they keep saying they have no idea where she is. They also said she doesn't have any money or any of her belongings with her.' Ron said.
'We're not sure if we believe them but it's not like we can pour veritaserum down their throats. They haven't done anything illegal, so there's nothing we can do.' Hermione said.
'So, no sign of her and no idea's where she might be hiding,' Harry sighed, he had to make sure his friends never got suspicious that Harry knew exactly where she was.
'No, we've gone to all the relatives places, nothing. Charlie went to visit Muriel, he was the only one she seemed to like, she said she hasn't seen Ginny. No one has, so wherever she's hiding it's not anywhere we could come across her. Maybe she's in the muggle world, she did use a muggle weapon.'
'There are a lot more people in the muggle world which would make it easy for her to disappear. Even if she didn't have money, she could be using magic to get it then just hide out somewhere. She could use a muggle or magical methods to stay hidden, like dying her hair,' Harry said.
'Using magic would mean having to recast the spell every day, using dye would last for months. If she used spells in the muggle world it would get picked up unless it's an address the ministry have on file, like my home. I think Ginny will go with a dye as there is less chance of being caught. The ginger hair is easy to spot so that is probably the first thing she did. But we wanted to ask you something Harry, about the law.'
'What about it?'
'Do you know much about the law and criminals?'
'Not really, just the basic, why?'
'Well, if they catch Ginny, she will face a trial, we know this, but she will be questioned using Veritaserum.'
'Yeah, I get that, Kingsley mentioned that he had that law passed after so many death eaters lied after the first war.'
'Right, they didn't want that happening again,' Ron said, 'But depending on her answers or the way she behaves when questioned, they might have her examined by a healer.'
'Oh shit, like in the muggle world, if she's found to be crazy or unstable, she won't go to Azkaban.'
'Right, she'll be placed in a restricted ward at St Mungo's.'
'Will she go to Azkaban if she ends up okay later?'
'It depends, if they find out that she is still considered a danger to you or anyone then yes, but if she's found to be fine, that she just…well, snapped, then no, she will be released.'
'Would Ginny know this?' Harry asked.
'We don't know, she was always cunning and sly, so we're not sure. She knew she couldn't use magic on you or Severus so she was smart enough to work out a muggle method. To all of us, that doesn't sound like a crazy person.'
'Ron's right, it doesn't, though she may still be a little unstable, just not crazy. She could use this to her advantage if she does know how this all works.' Hermione said.
'She can't get away with this, it would mean we're always waiting for her to try something else. I know I wouldn't allow the boys out of the house if she was free, I won't risk their lives.'
'We know, we're all going to be witnesses so we can say how she was, from the very first day she found out she couldn't get you or your money.'
'Which means Severus and I will, but we can't tell how we found out. It might not be illegal but it's not something that would look good if they heard Severus went into her mind without her consent or knowledge.'
'Then we'll have to work on how you found out.'
'Well, I did go to the ministry to check marriage bonds, I found my parents then I could say I saw my name which made me curious. Everyone knows I've used my cloak a lot over the years, I could just say I decide to watch Ginny to find out if she knew about it. But knowing when it might be talked about would be difficult, then hard for anyone to believe I just happened to be there when she spoke about it with her parents.'
'Then we say we mentioned you and how you didn't want to get into a relationship right now.'
Harry smiled at Ron, 'Thanks Ron but I don't want you two lying for me.'
'She deserve what's coming to her, now more than ever. She could have killed you Harry so I don't mind lying to make sure she ends up locked up in Azkaban,' Hermione said.
'I feel the same, she's been saying and doing a lot over the last few months yet none of us knew she would kill.'
'She didn't want me to have my babies, whether she wanted to kill me is another matter. Okay, I'll leave it up to both of you if you want to lie for us, it's your choice.'
'And we've made it,' Ron said.
'Someone is going to lie,' Severus said as he walked into the bedroom with a large tray floating in front of him. He allowed the tray to float onto the bed then handed out smaller trays to Hermione and Ron before fixing Harry with a tray that sat over his legs.
'It's about when you went into her mind, if she gets caught we can't say you did that,' Harry said.
'So we're going to say we worked out a plan with Harry, he used his cloak while we brought up Harry in conversation,' Ron said before forking some food into his mouth.
'Like how Harry is working on his life, he's not sure about a relationship with her is right, something that. We just need to fine tune it, so to speak.'
'You have wonderful friends my love.'
'Hey, we're family now Severus,' Ron said with a mouth full of food making Hermione roll her eyes and Harry laugh.
'Yes, we are family,' Severus sat on the other side of the bed with his own tray, 'Which is why we want both of you to be godparents to the boys.'
Harry laughed as Ron's mouth fell open, Hermione's eyes went wide, 'You two have stuck by me through everything, not to mention you are both loyal and trustworthy. Who else would I want to look after my children if anything happened to me and Sev?'
'I agree with Harry, you are loyal and you are trustworthy. If something did happen to Harry or me, then our boys could not have better people caring for them.'
'Blimey, godfather.'
'Thank you, both of you. Well, I will make sure they learn from a young age. I can teach them about the magical world and the muggle world.'
Harry and Severus laughed as Ron rolled his eyes, 'She can, while I teach them about Quidditch and the Chudley Cannons.'
'The best of both worlds, but you also forgetting that you will teach them how to be brave and loyal and to be great friends,' Harry smiled at his two best friends before he began eating. It was true, Ron and Hermione were the best friends he could ask for. Yes they might have had a few rough patches over the years but they always worked it out, now they were closer than ever. So Harry knew his children would have the best people around them as they grow.
