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Chapter 5: It's Supposed to be a Question
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The break began with a loud bang.
Neville had been invited to stay at the Burrow with the Weasleys along with Draco and Harry. The teen had never been there but would always hear stories about it from Ron or Harry at school. He had to admit he was a little worried though because the Weasleys had originally thought that Ron was the father of his kid and he hoped he wouldn't be intruding.
He had written his Uncle about his plans and the man had agreed that it would probably be best to go instead of staying at the school where there wouldn't be that many people to help him if something did happen… even if Snape would be there.
It was the homeliest place the sandy-haired teen had ever been to and he had immediately felt comfortable. Draco told him it was probably a trick so that he would like them and let down his guard enough so that they could take the baby after he had it. He had laughed but it didn't stop him from being a little more careful. Mrs. Weasley would follow him around or make him sit down if she ever thought he was moving too much. He was grateful to her, but had to assure her a few times that he wasn't due until the spring.
Molly also seemed to think that Neville and Draco were never eating enough and soon they found that she was fixing their plates with more and more food every night. Neville wanted to laugh at how easily it seemed for Draco to blend in with the family- from arguing with Ginny on what Christmas decorations should go where and catching the blond talking hushed with Fleur, both of them laughing quietly.
Bill, Ron's older brother, had come with his wife a week into the break and when they announced that Fleur was pregnant with their first child, Neville breathed a sigh of relief. The family rejoiced and the French woman had kept asking the teen questions about being pregnant and how in her country it wasn't that uncommon for wizards to have babies and they thought having babies was a beautiful thing. At first, Neville had to admit she came off a bit strong, but when she had finally stopped letting him know what pregnant wizards did in her country or what he should be doing, she was a bit easier to like.
The family had warned him that she might take a bit to get used to, but she was a nice girl. Draco told him one day that if she had gone to Hogwarts, she would have definitely been a Slytherin and Neville didn't tell the blond how he felt about that.
The next big thing that happened was when Fred, George and Angelina had shown up. First George had come into the house announcing that the reason Fred hadn't written his family in so long was because he had a surprise for them. Mrs. Weasley still looked a bit angry and stated that surprise or not, an owl would have been nice. But when Fred came into the house with his pregnant wife Angelina, all the worries seemed to have been forgotten. The twin had declared that he thought it would have been interesting to show up at the house with a baby, but he didn't want to spend Christmas away from home.
Angelina admitted that she had talked the red-head into going because she missed the Weasleys and her family was going on a cruise for Christmas. She was six months along and due in March, and she was extremely happy to not be the only pregnant one showing- even it is was a bloke. It was nice as they compared the differences in their first trimester and he took mental notes on what to expect next even if pregnancies were different for everyone. Fleur seemed to finally realize that her stomach was going to grow at the sight of Angelina who already looked like she was ready to give birth; she had assured Neville that it does stop growing after a while, but the blonde girl would sniff when she looked over at Angelina and glare slightly at Bill.
The next thing that happened: Neville had watched in amusement as Arthur Weasley accidently slipped something about Remus Lupin into one of his conversations with George, who had then been eyeing his family warily and demanding to know what they knew. The Weasleys confessed that they all knew he had been dating Remus, even Bill and Fleur because the werewolf had come and asked how they felt about it. Apparently Molly had invited Remus over that night but George wouldn't speak to him, obviously embarrassed that his whole family had known what he didn't tell them.
Fred had been on George's side at first, but then Angelina told the other twin that Lupin was right in what he did so he decided not to participate, much to George's chagrin. It had taken two days, but George had finally forgiven the older man only because Molly said he was being ridiculous and then started telling Lupin about bachelors she had met or heard about.
Neville had to say that he had never seen any family like the Weasleys but he loved everything about them. Even when Harry had been caught snogging Ginny, the family had all gone to a piece of paper that Mr. Weasley had- apparently the whole family had had bets on when the two would get together and when Harry had told them it was sixth year, Ron had become a bit richer.
It was a week before Christmas and Neville found himself wondering if he should be the one to write his Gran because she still hadn't sent him anything. But Molly and Arthur had told him he couldn't use one of their owls if he wanted to because it was important that his Gran realize that she was the one in fault and to write to him first. He begrudgingly agreed, but he still felt a bit uncomfortable about not having shared words with the woman since October.
"I do hope Charlie's alright." Mrs. Weasley looked up at her clock that said Charlie was traveling, "He should have been here by now."
She was sitting between Neville and Angelina with a picture book of how she looked being pregnant with all her kids and then afterwards while she held them in the hospital. The sandy-haired teen was grateful there weren't any birthing pictures. He had met Charlie a few times the summer before but they had been short comings and goings and he wondered if the brother would remember him.
He looked at the small plant he had in his lap; the two buds had gotten bigger and he began to wonder if they bloomed before or after the baby was born. The entire Weasley family had taken an interest in why Neville had been carrying the pot around (he didn't have his robes with him so he didn't have an enchanted pocket to carry it around in) and when he explained what is was and how it worked, he had actually received several compliments from Bill and Fleur on how dedicated he was to Herbology which had made him feel extremely happy.
Fleur had even been asking him if it was easy to take care of the plant because if it was so rare she wouldn't mind trying it out herself. He had been taken back by that until Bill told Neville honestly that Fleur didn't have an ounce of herbology skills in one of her fingers and he hoped Neville wouldn't get her hopes up too far.
Neville looked up at the clock that had to be the neatest thing in the house- it didn't tell time, but instead told them where their family was. He had asked Mrs. Weasley where she had gotten it and it turned out to be one of the last things Mr. Weasley's brother Bilius made before he died. He watched the clock as Molly returned to talking about her photos with Angelina, the hand with Charlie's face on it moving to home.
The sandy-haired teen faced Molly to say something but he caught Arthur's eye, who then shook his head and smiled, mouthing 'she likes surprises'. Neville grinned and nodded. He looked around the family room and saw Bill and the twins taking bets on who would win the chess game that Ron and Draco had started again- it looked like Ron had to concentrate pretty hard this time. Harry was watching them with amusement as Ginny read a book, leaning against him in front of the fire. And both Lupin and Mr. Weasley were staring at the door, waiting for Charlie to come through it.
Neville noted that it seemed to be taking a while because Arthur would look back at the clock to make sure that it said Charlie was home and then look back at the door again, but suddenly someone knocked loudly and the door opened, revealing a buff ginger who wasn't as tall as the rest of the Weasleys looking a bit confused.
"Is there a reason Severus Snape is pacing in our front lawn?" The red-head looked at his family, who had gotten up to greet him but were now moving to look out the window.
"Oh goody," Draco smirked and slid out of his chair as he made his way to the door and outside. Neville got up slowly, blushing slightly; Snape was here already? The man said he was going to come on Christmas Eve… He paled slightly. What if something happened? He put his plant down on the table beside the couch and moved a little quicker over to the door but as he got there, Draco was already tugging the older man inside.
"I need another Slytherin…" The blond smirked and then pushed the man through the door and Snape stopped right in front of Neville. He looked a little disgruntled and embarrassed but was pulling himself together nonetheless, looking down at the younger teen.
"You're early." Neville smiled up at him questioningly.
"I am." Snape nodded curtly.
"With a greeting like that, no wonder the whole school knows." Fred said sarcastically, glancing over at his twin.
"It's a miracle they were able to keep it a secret for so long." George drawled back but then stopped and looked over at Bill and Charlie who were staring at Snape and Neville stunned. Fleur smiled and walked over to the black-haired man.
"I remember 'ou." She took the now startled man's hand and pulled him into the house, "Oh 'ou shou'd 'ave told us Nevi'lle." Snape looked back at them questioningly.
"Sorry, thought you knew." Neville flushed as Bill and Charlie's shocked gazes fell on him.
"Sorry dears, I thought I told you as well." Mrs. Weasley laughed at her sons. "Come to the kitchen, Severus, you look a little peaky, how come you didn't just come inside?" The woman and Fleur both pulled the man into the kitchen and Neville tried to ignore the expression that had appeared on the man's face when Molly had called him peaky.
"You and Snape?" Bill put his arm around Neville, grinning, "I had been thinking that talking about the father of your kid might be a little taboo but now that he's here. Like older men, Neville?"
"You're pregnant, plant boy." Charlie looked at Neville, still in a bit of shock. Neville blushed but nodded, suddenly remembering that Charlie had never once gotten his name right so the man had just started calling him plant boy since he was always found in the greenhouses.
"You know Neville…" Arthur emphasized the name, glaring at his son slightly.
"You really don't know anything, do you?" Fred joked at his older brother.
"He's pregnant with Snape's kid." George pointed a thumb at the kitchen and Charlie was still staring at Neville in shock. "Poor dear."
"It's too much for him." Fred tsked, shaking his head; he looked over at Neville. "He never was any good at Potions."
"Alright, that's enough, boys." Arthur smiled apologetically at Neville, "Sorry, so many of 'em we forget if we've told them all."
"Understandably." Draco was smirking at the kitchen door Snape had gone through.
"Sorry… just…" Charlie shook his head. "Wow. Never thought I'd see the day when Snape snagged someone."
"Knocked them up, you mean." Fred teased before looking around the room. "What else have you missed?"
"I know George and Remus are shagging." Charlie seemed to be thinking seriously about this. Remus blushed brightly and didn't look Arthur in the eye. "There was something about Ron, but one of the dragons burned it before I could read it properly." He looked over to his brother.
"He's snagged himself a Malfoy, that one." Ginny laughed at Ron who started to blush, but Malfoy just smirked and grabbed his hand.
"Bloody hell." Charlie looked at the teen boys.
"About time!" Draco snorted and looked at Ron waving his hand over to Charlie. "That's a proper reaction! The only sane one in your family, I'm afraid."
"And Angelina's pregnant too?!" The red-head had finally noticed the pregnant woman sitting on the couch giving him an amused look.
"I did invite you to the wedding, didn't I?" Fred looked at his brother, bemused, before laughing. "It's alright, no one else knew about that until recently. But seriously, Charlie, I'm starting to doubt our family's communication skills."
"I'm your little sister." Ginny raised a hand up, laughing.
"Oh, I'm dating your little sister." Harry waved over at Charlie who brightened slightly at that.
"Who won?"
"Sorry bro, that's me." Ron laughed as Charlie handed him some money.
"I wish I had known about that bet." Ginny sniffed idly.
"Is there anything else I might have missed?" Charlie now looked around at the room looking amused. "Or can I go to bed to process all of this now?"
"Oh! Fleur is pregnant too. We just found out." Bill patted Charlie lightly on the back with his arm still around Neville.
"Congratulations to everyone who deserves it." Charlie grinned before stretching. "Do I still have a room or have you given it to someone else yet?" He looked over at his dad.
"You still got one." Arthur laughed and hugged his son good night. "You should go talk to your mother though and see if you can save Severus."
"Do I get to call him that now?" Charlie looked a little excited.
"Lord knows we will." Fred and George looked at each other and laughed.
"I think this is going to be a fun Christmas." Bill looked down at Neville. "Best one yet, I might dare say."
XXX
"This is our room." Neville flushed as he was showing Snape around the house and they had finally gotten to the rooms. "We share with Draco too though… Do you mind sharing a bed?" The teen looked at the two beds in the room that he and Draco had been sharing. Molly had seemed to think that Neville and Severus would want to share a bed… Neville blushed brightly; they had never done it before or even slept in the same room together.
Harry and Ron were sharing Ron's room. The twins got their room with Angelina and Remus. Ginny still got her room to herself until Hermione showed up, she had written she was coming for New Year's because her parents had decided to go America to celebrate there and she wasn't too keen on airplanes. Draco, Neville, and now Snape were in Percy's old room- which had been changed into a guest room. Charlie got a room to himself and Bill and Fleur were sharing his room.
Neville was honestly amazed at how many people were in this one house.
"I'll sleep on the fl-"
"Left side? Good because I like the right." Neville blushed, not meeting the older man's gaze as they walked into the room. Snape put down his black bag right next to Neville's trunk, watching the teen warily.
"Everything is alright?" Hazel eyes looked up to coal black ones and Neville nodded with a small smile.
"Yeah." Neville patted his stomach. "I'm still getting bigger though, it's kind of uncomfortable."
"How so?" The man watched the teen sit on the bed.
"Well, I have to work around it," Neville laughed, "and I feel fat, but Angelina told me that's a normal feeling for pregnant wo- people."
"Three pregnant people in the same house." Snape snorted before walking over to the teen, "Help us."
"I don't know how I feel about that comment." Neville laughed lightly before looking up at Snape who was in front of him. The older man leaned down and gently placed a kiss against the teen's lips.
"That's it- I'm making Harry switch rooms with me." They both turned to see Draco snort and leave the room, but he closed the door behind him and Neville laughed. He looked over at Snape and realized that the older man looked really tired with small bags forming under his eyes.
"You look tired." He stood up, using the older man for support and started to leave the room. "I left the lily downstairs. You go ahead and get some rest." He stopped at the door and saw Snape watching him. He blushed slightly and nodded at him before leaving and closing the door behind him.
He sighed as he felt his heart hammer against his chest. Would he be able to share a bed with the older man? Was it going to get awkward? He hadn't seen the man since the day Snape had taken him to see his parents and all Neville knew was that he was falling for the man harder than before.
He wondered if Snape felt the same way.
"Wow, you got it bad." He turned around to see Angelina grinning at him in almost a Weasley twin manner.
"Huh?" He looked at her, a little confused.
"I have to admit, at first I thought it was one of Fred or George's jokes when they told me about you and Snape, but right there… just a second ago, your facial expression…" She smiled at him. "It's a nice feeling, right? To be in love."
He flushed hotly and stammered. He turned back around and started heading down the stairs to hear her behind him laughing softly to herself. Maybe she was just teasing him. He knew he liked Snape. But love Snape? He flushed again.
He was in love with Snape!
He didn't know why it surprised him so much, but it really did. He had never really thought of loving someone before, but this definitely had to be it. He found his mind wondering if the older man felt the same way but shook his head; the man liked him right now. He probably didn't love him… yet, he found himself adding to the end of that and grinned slightly.
"Oi, Fred!" He jumped, forgetting that Angelina was behind him. He heard her laugh slightly but he walked into the living room where his plant was. Fred and George were talking to each other in hushed voices which reminded Neville of his fifth year when Umbridge had taken over the school. Lupin was eyeing them warily but kept talking to Bill about Egypt.
Fleur, Ginny, Harry and Ron must have been upstairs getting ready for bed. He yawned, grabbing his plant and looking at the two buds. He heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley laughing in the kitchen with Angelina who must have been going down for a snack.
"Oh, Fred." He looked over to the twins to make sure he had their attention. He didn't bother trying to tell them apart when they were in their twin mode. "Angelina is looking for you." He remembered her calling for him as the foot of the stairs.
"Hm?" The twin on the left smirked slightly and stood up to follow his wife's laughing, obviously wondering what it was.
"Night, Neville." Neville waved his hand at George and went up the stairs again. He stopped at his door and looked up when he heard laughter upstairs.
"Get him!"
"No! *gasp* Stop. *laugh* Draco!!" Neville tried to stifle a laugh and pictured the blond tickling Ron. Times sure had changed.
He opened the door slightly and slid in, closing it behind him just in case Snape was already asleep. He looked over at their bed in the darkness and saw that the man was on the left side, he smiled slightly and walked over, quietly placing the lily on the nightstand before going over to his trunk to change. Since his stomach had grown so much, he couldn't wear his normal night pants, but Mrs. Weasley had given him an old night gown. It was a simple white and she said that it would be more comfortable than having something snapped against your waist and Neville had been surprised because it was very comfy, even it was a bit girly. It buttoned from top to bottom but he was thankful that it just slid over him.
He quickly changed and put his clothes, in the trunk not wanting to cause a mess. He looked over at the bed nervously. Snape was already asleep so he could do this. He flushed and tried to crawl in as gently as he could and lay in the bed, still not wanting to wake the other man.
But at that moment, the older man turned to face him and his eyes met coal black ones. He felt himself warm up again, lying in the comfortable bed with a source of warmth beside him.
"H-hey," his voice cracked and he looked away from the older man, not wanting to make Snape uncomfortable. But then there was a strong hand turning him over so he was on his side facing the black-haired man.
The hand moved to his stomach and Neville bit his lip, enjoying the sensation as it started to rub circles. He kept his eyes on the older man's, starting to think it was unfair how he could never tell what Snape was thinking. He put his hand over the older man's on his stomach and could feel his lips twitching into a smile.
"I haven't felt it move yet." He whispered softly, leaning forward, slightly towards the other man.
"Too early." Was the silky reply and Neville grinned, placing a kiss on the older man's lips. "Hmmm…" Snape moaned slightly into it and they both stopped, blushing. The older man seemed startled at himself for making such a noise, but Neville wanted to hear it again.
He kissed him again, this time nibbling on the dark-haired man's lower lip and he couldn't hold back the giggle of excitement that came out when the older man made the same noise. Snape pulled away, glaring at the younger man who blushed and covered his mouth.
"I missed you." It just seemed to come out of his mouth randomly, but Neville knew he really had missed the older man. Without notice, he started to yawn.
"Good night." The older man turned over again and Neville smiled as his body relaxed and he fell asleep.
XXX
"Sshhhh!"
Neville opened his eyes to see Draco turning to shush Fleur and Ginny who were both giggling softly. He glared at them but then realized there was an arm around him. He looked down at it and saw black night robes. He flushed brightly and looked up just in time for a flash of light to blind him and he shrank back in shock but suddenly the arm around him was gone and there was a thud on the ground.
Neville flinched; he had just knocked Snape off the bed. He glared over at the intruders who were running out of the room laughing.
"Accio camera." A cool voice was behind him and he turned to see the older man holding up his wand while trying to pull himself back on his feet from an obviously rude awakening.
"No!"
Neville smirked when he heard Draco shout as the camera flew into their room and into Snape's hands. The man proceeded to yank open the back and with a swish of his wand, vanish the film. The older man sighed before looking at Neville and the teen shrugged apologetically.
"What time is it?" And in the most human moment Neville ever witnessed of the older man, he yawned, half covering his mouth. This caused the teen to flush and then turn to look at the clock beside their bed.
"Almost nine." He looked back the man, willing his blush to go down. "There's probably breakfast already." And it seemed that after he had said that they could hear people's voices downstairs and it sounded like they were already eating.
"Nice gown." The older man smirked slightly at the teen who looked like he was wearing a large white gown that was a few sizes too big. Neville flushed again and got out of the bed carefully, he never had that good of a balance in the mornings. He went over to his trunk and grabbed a pair of muggle pants that were a few sizes too big for him normally but fit fine with his new growing belly and slipped them on under the gown. He moved to take the gown off but glanced over at the older man who was changing as well and could feel his face warm up.
Snape was unbuttoning his top, revealing a pale chest when he stopped halfway down and looked over at the teen who was staring with a crimson face. Neville quickly turned his gaze away and took the gown off, turning his back in the direction of the older man as he put his shirt on and left the room, wanting to give Snape some privacy.
He didn't hear the small deep chuckle before he closed the door.
"Oh dear, you're a little flushed, are you feeling alright?" The second he walked into the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was sitting him down with her hand on his forehead. "You don't feel too warm, but your hair is getting long, would you like me to cut it?"
"That would be nice." Neville smiled, his hair had been growing and now with it getting curly, it was getting hard for him to deal with.
"So sad, 'ou 'ave lovely cur'ls." He smiled thankfully over at Fleur who in return started playing with his hair. Mrs. Weasley sat a large plate of waffles in front of him with some milk.
"Yes, well, not everyone is as attached to their hair as Bill." Molly sniffed as Bill laughed over at his mother.
"But 'e 'as beautiful 'air." Fleur left Neville and went over to her husband and began to play with his long ponytail. "Don't eve' cut it." She smiled down at him and kissed his forehead.
"At least he can still grow it out." Mr. Weasley laughed as he sat down in the kitchen. "Ooh! Waffles!"
Neville suddenly felt like someone was watching him and he looked over at Draco who was eyeing him impishly. He flushed, realizing the position the blond had saw him and Snape in before he glanced over at Ginny who was blushing and obviously making a point not to look in his direction.
"Ah, Severus, join the fun!" Fred got out of his seat to grab the man who just came into the kitchen; he glared over at the teen who dragged him to sit beside Neville.
"How did you sleep last night, Severus?" George was pouring Snape some milk and he turned to glare at the other one.
"Boys, that's enough." Molly huffed before smiling apologetically at Snape. "Sorry, dear."
Obviously not liking being called that either he grunted but let her put some food on his plate. Neville watched the older man, amused; it seemed that Snape wasn't used to this kind of environment either. "So how are the holidays fairing at Hogwarts so far, Severus?" Mr. Weasley smiled over at the black-haired man.
"Well, considering there's only one Gryffindor, rather peacefully." Harry, Ron and Neville laughed when the man glanced over at Harry. "A few Hufflepuffs have taken to trying to break into empty classrooms for some…" He coughed slightly, "Privacy, I should say but Peeves likes to call them out."
"Good ole Peeves." Fred and George laughed, sharing a mischievous glance.
"Nothing ever changes does it?" Remus laughed.
"Who's the poor Gryffindor left alone?" Draco raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Creevy seems intent on having the school papers planned for the rest of the school year." Snape sighed, taking a drink of milk.
Neville enjoyed breakfast as they all talked about random things involving Hogwarts or family. He looked down at his plate and couldn't help but think of his Gran; he looked over to ask Snape a question and realized he didn't know what to call them man in present company. The adults were calling him Severus and probably expected him to call him that as well but the older man had told him not to unless they were alone… Then again, that had been before they were developing much of a relationship. He probably couldn't get away with calling him Professor without someone making a dirty joke or some kind of reference to what kind of relationship they might have.
He sighed, he could call him Snape but that just seemed too weird to be calling the man his last name in front of his face without the 'professor' part being attached. He looked up again and noticed the man giving him a questioningly look; he flushed slightly in response. Leaning over so that he could whisper softly, he asked, "What am I supposed to call you?"
He knew he had to have turned bright red when the man's lips twitched up in a smirk. "If I let those dreaded twins call me Severus, surely you can."
Neville nodded, embarrassed, and looked around to make sure no one had heard him. Thankfully, it looked like no one had been paying attention to him.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful with eating food and just hanging around the house. Neville decided to take a walk to the lake that wasn't too far from the house and was happy to see Snape stand up when he asked if anyone wanted to go.
"Oh, sweety, you need to wrap up more, it's snowing." Mrs. Weasley handed Neville another scarf and gave Snape a woolen hat. He inspected it before politely putting it on his head and opening the door for the teen who laughed at the bright purple color now coating the man's hair.
They walked quietly down to the lake and Neville decided that he really like the country. His family lived in the city and he started wondered if he would be able to get a house far from the busy streets. It would be better for all the plants he wanted to grow as well; most of them would be able to be planted outside as long as there weren't any muggles around, and it would be nice to have space for the kid to run around and play; he had never had many places he could explore when he was younger.
He took a deep breath of air and looked over the frozen lake, it was so beautiful. He looked over at the older man and flushed when he walked over to him and grabbed his hand. "It's beautiful out here."
"I could tell you enjoy it," was the emotionless reply but Neville smiled, yawning and leaning against the older man. But then there was a loud pop and they both jumped slightly as birds flew off of their trees. He couldn't explain it, but the second he heard the noise, a strange sense of dread had come over him and he held on tighter to the older man's hand, trying to shake the feeling.
That was someone apparating wasn't it? Who could it be? Maybe they had forgotten something and had to go get it, whoever it was.
"What's wrong?" He shook his head, not wanting to ruin their time alone but he looked back at the Burrow, they could barely see it from where they were.
"I feel like something might be wrong." He answered truthfully, looking up with worry at the older man. That seemed to be enough to make Snape hold onto his hand tighter and walk over to the house, keeping a steady pace to make sure that Neville didn't overexert himself or trip. He stared at the house as it got closer and saw a group of people outside talking; his heart started racing.
He recognized the man who seemed to be talking urgently to Arthur while Molly had a hand over her mouth.
"Algie!" Neville shouted frantically, letting go of Snape's hand, and he took off toward the house but he could hear Snape running behind him. His great-uncle turned around quickly and it took him a second, but he saw Neville running up to the house and he ran over to meet him.
"What's wrong?" Neville breathed harshly as he got to the man, he noted how pale his great-uncle was and the bags under his eyes. "What's wrong? Is it Gran?" He couldn't hide the worry in his voice as he grabbed the man's shoulders.
Algie shook his head, gasping for breath, but this didn't help Neville's nerves at all. He felt himself trembling and even before the man said it, he could only think of one other thing that would put his great-uncle in such a state.
"It's your parents."
XXX
He couldn't breathe, everything was going too fast. He ran as fast as he could to the room he had visited so many times in his life. He ignored the protesting doctors and nurses that he passed and didn't answer anyone's questions as he turned down the all-too-familiar hallway, gasping for air and letting the area spin around him unable to focus.
They couldn't be dead.
He saw a nurse and doctor standing outside the doors that led him to his parents talking in hushed voices, the nurse paled at the sight of him and the doctor tried to grab his arm as he made his way to the door.
They couldn't be dead.
"Son, maybe you should…" He whipped his arm out of the man's grasp glaring angrily, before frantically throwing the doors open.
There was no way they could…
His Gran looked up from her seat between two still bodies; there were tears pouring down her face and her eyes widened at the sight of her grandson. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it, and he watched her face contort in pain as she fell to the floor bursting into sobs. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the bodies on the beds, but he could still feel the hot tears falling down his face.
Dead.
He walked over to his mother's bed and grabbed her cold hand; it looked like she was sleeping peacefully as she had been before in the many times that he had visited. He lifted a trembling hand to her face and barked out a sob.
"Why?" He let himself go as he looked at his mother. Why did they have to die? He felt his legs tremble but willed himself to stay standing; he did his best to ignore the sobbing woman on the floor. He heard the door click and looked to see the doctor approaching him slowly, but for some reason seeing the man standing there opened something inside of him.
He walked over to him, punching him when he was within reach. "Why?" He cried out, letting the tears fall, "They're in a bloody hospital! How did they die? You were supposed to take care of them!" He grabbed the man's white robes violently.
"We did the best we-"
"Like hell you did!" Neville sobbed, now holding onto the man for support to stay up. "They should still be alive!" he took a gasp of air, "They should still be alive!"
"You need to calm down, Mr. Longbottom."
He leaned against the wall, running his hands through his hair as he looked through his tear-filled eyes over at the bodies of his parents and his grandmother sobbing on the floor.
The door opened again and he could hear more voices before suddenly Snape was in front of him and he felt himself break down, clinging to the older man as he cried. He remembered strong arms wrapping around him as he cried and yelled and screamed until he couldn't do it anymore and they both slid to the floor with the older man supporting him.
He stared blankly at the now empty beds in the room, not having noticed when the nurses had taken his parents' bodies. Snape had a hand in his hair, massaging his scalp in the same soothing motion that Professor Sprout would use whenever he had gotten upset when he was younger. He knew there were other people in the room, but he didn't pay them any attention as he stared at the beds.
His back hurt from his position on the floor and he knew the older man couldn't have been too comfortable either. He remembered that his Gran had spoken to him in a hoarse voice at some point, but he couldn't remember anything she had said; he guessed she had gone to get things prepared for a funeral. Algie had been helping her stay up.
He noticed the window in the room was now a bright orange color, signaling that the sun was setting and began to wonder how long he had been in that room staring at the now empty beds.
It wasn't fair.
He shook his head; life wasn't fair, everyone knew that. He… he had just… he could feel the warm tears form in his eyes again and wiped them with his sleeve. He turned his head to look up at Snape, who was staring at the empty beds with a solemn expression, but the coal eyes turned to him as soon as the older man realized that he was being watched.
"I don't want to be here anymore." His voice was hoarse and cracking, but the older man nodded silently and helped the teen stand. Neville flinched at how his back screamed at him angrily but ignored it and looked up to see Molly Weasley, Harry, Ron, Draco and Charlie all standing in the corner of the room talking quietly. Draco looked over to see that they had both gotten up and walked over to the sandy-haired teen, instantly pulled him into an embrace.
If Neville had thought he had cried as much as he could earlier, he was proven wrong. He grabbed onto the blond's robes, bracing himself as he felt the tears roll down his face again, but the blond just rubbed soothing circles on his back and Neville noticed that he seemed to be humming something. He sniffed and pulled away; wiping his face with his sleeves again, and smiling gratefully at the blond.
Mrs. Weasley handed him a glass of water to rehydrate himself as they left the room. No one said anything, but their presence alone seemed to comfort him and he felt himself growing tired. A warm hand took his and he looked over at Snape, noticing the worried look on his face. He leaned against the older man as they walked when he saw his Gran sitting at a chair at the exit- her brother Algie talking to her softly and soothingly.
He stopped as she noticed him and stood up. For the first time in his life, he could actually see how old she really was- her eyes were swollen from crying. She walked over to him silently until she stood in front of him.
He stared down at her, not really knowing what to expect. She had just lost her son and daughter-in-law. She nodded at him sadly and then grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly as she put a piece of paper in it before turning around and walking through the exit with Algie.
He looked at the small folded up piece of paper and opened it up.
'Neville, I'm sorry.'
He felt his eyes warm up again. Underneath the note was a date and time for the funeral; he knew they would be buried in the Black Pool cemetery with the rest of his family. He folded the paper up and slipped it into his pocket.
The group left the hospital together. When they had gotten back to the Burrow, he exchanged a few words with everyone but went up to bed soon after. Mrs. Weasley brought him a plate of food and a large glass of water, looking like she had cried as much as he had, before she kissed him on the forehead gently and left.
He ate as much as he could and drank all of the water before slipping into the night gown and crawling into bed. He laid staring at the roof, not knowing what to think. He was exhausted but too much had happened to let him fall asleep easily. He could feel tears form again, his parents were dead.
The door opened and he turned away from it, not wanting whoever it was to see that he was crying again, but it shut again and he could hear footsteps walking to the bed. He felt the mattress dip and turned to see Snape crawling into the bed behind him. Seeing the older man with him, he felt the tears fall more freely and then there were hands turning him over so that his body was facing the older man. A hand slipped into his hair, playing with it again and another arm wrapped around him tightly.
He grabbed the older man's robes, sobbing into them.
They would never meet the kid he was going to have. They would never be able to see the house he was planning to build in the country. They would never…
There were warm lips kissing his face, his eyes, and following his tears. He opened his eyes to look over into the coal black eyes, and kissed the man gently on the lips. Wiping his eyes on his gown, he pulled himself closer to the older man, whose arms tightened around him.
He felt himself drifting to sleep and he looked up at the older man as his eyes felt heavier. "I love you."
XXX
It was December 23rd when they buried his parents. It had been a rather large ceremony as many people in the Ministry paid their respects. It was a beautiful ceremony fit for the most loved Aurors who had ever entered the field. He stayed throughout the whole ceremony and thanked people for coming, but left early with Snape. He hadn't been able to talk to his Gran as much as he had wanted to, but they had come to an understanding.
He decided to spend the rest of the holiday at the Burrow with the Weasleys like he had planned and his Gran didn't argue with him.
He didn't know what to feel about her at the moment.
He looked over at the man sleeping beside him. Snape looked so peaceful and a lot younger without his usual scowl on his face. He smiled up at him and kissed his forehead lightly, not wanting to wake the man. He had been finding it hard to sleep since his parents had died, but he knew from the books that he had read that sleeplessness was common in the second trimester of pregnancy.
The strong arms wrapped around him tighter and he curled as well as he could against the man's chest. Snape had never replied to his confession and he wondered if the older man had thought he was just being extra emotional due to the circumstances. Neville decided not to say it again until the moment felt right. He looked down at his stomach that was close to matching Angelina's and she assured him that her stomach had grown pretty fast as well.
Christmas Eve was a party all day and he enjoyed everyone's company. Even Snape seemed to have lightened up and he found the man making sarcastic jokes with Arthur and Remus. They stayed inside as the snow built up around them for most of the day, but towards the end, George, Fred, Ginny, Harry, Draco and Ron all had a contest to see who could build a snowman that looked closest to Snape without using magic.
Draco cheated and then proceeded to destroy everyone else's snowmen when he had been disqualified which had amplified an intense snowball fight. A few hours later, all of them were sitting as close to the fire place as they could get, wrapped in blankets and sipping warm Butterbeer.
Angelina and Fleur pulled him into a conversation about baby names. He hadn't thought about it at all and both girls had seemed really surprised. He didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, so he didn't want to choose a name and then have to switch later.
He heard giggling and saw Mr. Weasley holding a piece of mistletoe above his head as he pulled Mrs. Weasley into a kiss. He smiled, watching them, and wrapped the blanket he had around himself tighter. He glanced over at his Praegnan lily which had surprisingly gotten slightly bigger again.
"Such a strange flower." He looked up to see Lupin smiling down at him. "I've never seen buds not bloom for such a long time."
"Me either." Neville shrugged, looking at the plant again. "I think it might not bloom until the kid's born. It makes sense since it needs to be raised by a pregnant person and it forms a bond with them."
Lupin nodded his head, dipping down to get a closer look at the rare plant. "Such a rare gift." The older man smiled and went to go see what George and Draco were doing as the two of them huddled in a corner and started whispering.
He thought about the word the older man used… gift. He looked at the plant; it had been a gift from Professor Sprout when he had asked about it. Gift. He put a hand on his stomach; children were described as gifts sometimes. He looked up at the two buds.
The buds were the most useful part of the flower, so he was getting two gifts from his lily. He stared at it before his eyes widened. The plant had bonded with him when he was pregnant and it grew with the kid inside of him. He had read that much about the flower, but he couldn't remember any mention about how many buds the plant had. He bit his lip; he was getting ahead of himself.
Plus Krum still hadn't responded to his last letter, and he figured the Bulgarian was busy spending time with his own family before he was free to answer questions about flowers.
He put both of his hands on his stomach this time.
No, he was getting ahead of himself; it probably was just a multiple budding plant. It was a rare plant so it made sense that not many people had documentation on it. He made a note to start writing a report on it after Christmas.
He laughed softly to himself and decided to join Angelina's and Fleur's conversation on what was going to happen after the baby was born. There was still a lot of planning to do.
XXX
Christmas breakfast had been the best breakfast Neville could ever remember having. He laughed as Molly kept telling her children to remain seated as each of them seemed itching to get to the presents under the tree. Apparently it would never matter how old you were, Christmas would always be a day of presents.
By the time they had all gotten seated in the living room, Ginny and Fred had put everyone's respective presents into different piles. Neville had been surprised to see he had a few wrapped boxes and looked over to see Snape had some as well. He shrugged at the older man and they sat down next to each other as everyone decided to rip into their presents.
Apparently it was a free for all at the Weasley house.
A lot more enjoyable by far.
Neville laughed as he pulled out a planting calendar from Hermione- it told him when it would be best to plant which plants and when they were most useful for which potions. Snape had commented on that and he blushed, telling the potions master he still had a few months to meet his goal of one good potion for the year.
He also got a green sweater from Mrs. Weasley, which had to whole family laughing as they all put theirs on too. Draco had received a grey one and seemed startled to have received it. Neville got a book on the Praegnan lily along with a notebook from Algie with a note to correct all the mistakes by the other herbologists and to write a book of his own. A pack of random seeds from Ron and Harry who both shrugged and said some of them might be rocks.
He looked over at Snape who had a green scarf that matched Neville's sweater wrapped around his neck and was looking at the box from the sandy-haired teen. He blushed as he opened it; Snape raised an eyebrow at the other teen when he pulled a cauldron out of the box.
"Figured I owed you some." Neville laughed nervously, but then heard everyone else laugh too and looked to see that people had been watching them. Snape picked up his other parcel and looked over at Lupin who had just opened a present from Snape.
It was a calendar that had each week before the full moon highlighted. Remus looked over at the black haired man a small smile tugging at his lips, "Thanks."
Snape nodded, his lips twitching in a smirk, he opened his present from the werewolf and pulled out a potions' timeline. Neville looked over it and blushed when he noticed that the year he was born on it was marked, along with the year Snape was born. He looked over at the black-haired man to he was glaring at a laughing Lupin.
They played with the wrapping paper for a while, throwing it at each other before Molly made them all clean up their messes. Well, she made everyone who wasn't pregnant clean up their messes so he, Angelina and Fleur sat on the couch together looking over a baby-guessing book Angelina had gotten.
It had random questions like what color is your baby's hair going to be? And when your child goes to Hogwarts, what house will they be in? It was like a game and Neville thought it seemed interesting.
The family returned and all guessed with the questions but answered it a few times for Neville too. Like for the hair color everyone said Angelina's and Fleur's were going to have the Weasley ginger hair but Neville's was probably going to have black.
"Mine will probably be a boy too." Angelina laughed as she filled it out.
"I 'ant a girl." Fleur looked down at her stomach that wasn't even showing. "A lady."
Everyone looked over at Neville who then looked at Snape and shrugged, "I don't really know. I guess it'll be a boy."
"It'd be hilarious if it was a girl," Draco leaned over to Ron, "considering they're both guys."
"What about mine… what house?" Angelina looked up, but then laughed at Fred's expression. "Of course, Gryffindor, I wouldn't want to ruin the family's tradition."
"Too bad because I bet Fleur's is going into Slytherin." Draco smirked over at Bill, "Especially if it's a girl."
"Oh goo'd." Fleur clapped her hands, "They wer' very pre'tty in Slyther'in" She smiled over at Draco, ignoring the family's startled noises.
"They are." He corrected before laughing at Ron's expression.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Bill laughed.
"I guess Gryffindor." Neville shrugged, he decided he didn't really understand why everyone thought this was fun, it wasn't going to happen for a while. He looked over at the older man who smirked at Neville. "Or Slytherin."
"Oh, that baby's going into Slytherin." Draco snorted, "No doubt in my mind."
No one seemed to want to argue the matter of Snape's child ending up in Slytherin so they went to the next question. Neville leaned against the older man, not caring who was watching, but then there was an arm wrapping around him and he flushed slightly.
"Oh, it has tips!" Angelina smiled, showing Fred. "It says talking to the baby before it's born will help it recognize you as the parents along with develop some of their cognitive skills."
"Like spitting out of your stomach isn't much help letting it know who its mum is," Ginny laughed.
"Oh, Arthur spoke to all of you before you were born." Molly smiled and held her husband's hand.
"Didn't get as much time with the twins though." The older man joked which caused everyone to look up in interest, especially Fred and George; Bill laughed. Mrs. Weasley blushed. Arthur noticed he had the attention of everyone in the room and laughed, "When your mother found out she was having two… Well her mood swings were everywhere, she went to stay with her mum."
"I remember that." Bill laughed, "I thought mum had gone crazy."
"I knew it." Fred sniffed at George, "We weren't wanted."
"No!" Mrs. Weasley blushed furiously. "It was just that with twins… I had gotten really fat and well, when you're pregnant it's hard to control your emotions and well-" She smiled at them. "I wanted every one of you."
"She tells us now." George sighed dejectedly and Lupin put an arm around him.
"Oh boys…" Molly huffed at her sons who just laughed.
They continued for a little while, just talking and then going to eat when they had gotten hungry. Neville had decided to take a nap since he was tired; he seemed to not be getting much sleep. He got into the bed, leaving his robes on and flopped himself on the pillows. He laid staring at the window before a thought hit him, Snape hadn't gotten him anything.
But it seemed that the thought had called the older man into the room as the door opened and Neville turned to see Snape pulling off bows and ribbons that the twins had probably put on him. He looked over at Neville.
"How are you feeling?"
Neville watched the man make his way to the bed and crawl down on it, lying beside the teen.
"Just tired." Neville yawned but immediately found himself curling up against the older man. There was a hand in his hair again.
"I noticed you haven't been sleeping well." The older man whispered into his ear and the teen shivered. He looked up at Snape and noticed that the older man looked tired as well… and there was something different about his expression.
"How are you feeling? You look like you need more rest." Neville kissed Snape's hand that wasn't in his hair. He looked back into the coal black eyes and stopped. "Is there something wrong?"
"Did you mean what you said the other day?" Neville's mind raced instantly, going over things he said and flushed immediately. He had told Snape he loved him not too long ago.
"I love you." He nodded, flushing a bright crimson. He couldn't look the older man in the eyes at that moment and settled for playing with the pale hand he had captured earlier. He loved Snape.
The older man made a noise and Neville couldn't help but look up, but his face was instantly blocked by the older man kissing him on the lips. He opened his mouth so it could be deepened and he tasted the pumpkin juice and the sweetness of waffles that they had that morning. He grinned, loving every ounce of it and when the older man went to pull away, he captured his lower lip, sucking on it softly before releasing him.
The older man was leaning over him, keeping himself propped up so he wouldn't be putting weight on the stomach which just reminded Neville of how gentle the older man had always been with him. He lifted up a hand and traced it down the black-haired man's face.
"I love you." He whispered it softly this time and flushed brightly when he noticed the older man was blushing too. He put a hand on the man's forehead, it didn't seem warm but the older man leaned into his hand. "Are you alright?" He asked, a little worried when he realized the older man was shaking slightly.
"I want you to marry me."
Neville froze, looking up at the older man wide-eyed. He immediately realized what seemed so off about the older man: he was nervous and Neville couldn't remember ever witnessing the older man be nervous before. His eyes warmed up as he grinned brightly at the older man.
"I thought it was supposed to be a question." He laughed lightly and Snape grinned down at him in an almost un-Snape-like manner.
"I don't ask." And the older man leaned down, kissing the teen, but Neville made it a bit hard by laughing and wiping his eyes with his sleeves. Snape seemed to relax and pull himself together again and wrapped his arms around the teen when they heard noises outside.
"He said yes!" Draco was whispering rather loudly over other people's muffled voices. Neville laughed again and Snape waved his wand at the door and there was a clicking noise.
"I don't think we want to interrupt them." He heard Molly shoo the crowd outside their door and looked at the older man.
"This is going to be crazy." Neville pulled himself against the man and one of Snape's hands started massaging his stomach. He yawned but shook his head, not wanting to fall asleep after this but then the man's other hand was in his hair and he glared slightly over at him.
Snape kissed him gently on the lips before he fell asleep.
"I know."
XXX
TBC
XXX
Thought I would put my note at the bottom this time haha! I can't believe it was really a month since I updated! Sorry guys! I've had this sitting here but I didn't want to post the chapters too close to each other…forgive me?
Haha I hope everyone liked this chap! Please Read and Review!!