Part Two

Christmas Eve, 4:48pm

"So I told Hermione," Ron said, handing Harry his cufflinks and then taking a step back so that his friend could gaze into the mirror unobstructed, "Jean is a perfectly good name for a girl! I looked it up and it means 'Gift from God.' What name is more fitting than that for this baby, huh? I mean, she is a gift! OK, so she certainly wasn't planned for and it's going to be rough trying to figure out how to take proper care of her – financially speaking – but after everything we've been through over the past few years, I can't think of any name more suitable than one that means 'Gift from God', can you? Plus it's Hermione's middle name! It has familial significance!"

Finishing his long-winded speech and the rest of his breath, Ron gulped in another and met Harry's gaze through the reflection in the full-length mirror in front of them, his hard look and dramatic pause a clear indication that he was expecting an affirming response.

Harry denied him that response a little longer while he finished fastening the second of his two golden snitch-shaped cufflinks to his sleeve, a pre-wedding gift from Ginny. He was pretty certain they were more a peace-offering in the aftermath of their own failed relationship than a token of congratulations, despite her words to the contrary, but he appreciated the gesture and the gift. Besides, their golden color matched his ring perfectly.

Feeling the cufflink's metal clasp twist firmly into place, Harry straightened up and began to scrutinize his appearance. He looked good – or at least he thought he did – dressed in a crisp white tailored dress shirt, a silk grey vest with matching bow tie and slender-fit charcoal grey trousers. Completing the ensemble was a modern-cut ebony dress robe made from fine silk that fastened at mid-chest to hang loose and open at his waist and below. It was the most expensive garment of his wedding day attire – even more so than the chimaera fur lined black boots he'd purchased last week to match it – but it was worth it. He wanted to look his very best for his soon-to-be bondmate and husband and this outfit certainly helped with that goal.

Now, if only he could get his damned hair to lie flat for once.

"Oi, Harry – what's up with you? Kneazle got your tongue?"

"Huh?"

Ron sighed in exasperation. "The baby's name, Harry. What do you think of Jean?"

"Oh, right. Jean's nice. But didn't you say Hermione doesn't like it?"

"Well, she thinks it's OK for a middle name, but not for a first name. Says she likes the name Rose better."

"Rose is a good name, too," Harry agreed distractedly, dragging a comb through the unruly strands of hair that continued to defy gravity, sticking up like a mohawk at the back of his head. "Though I don't understand why you're so convinced the baby's a girl. Didn't you say Madam Pomfrey mentioned this morning that it's far too early to tell the sex?"

"Yeah, she did. Let's just call it a hunch, then. Because, Harry, 'Gift from God' or not, something tells me this little bundle of unexpected joy is going to be just like her mum, showing up uninvited and then winning my heart over too fast for me to complain. Yep. I'd bet my Cleansweep on it. This baby's definitely a Granger girl."

Harry couldn't help it; he laughed out loud at Ron's adamant words and nod. Abandoning his losing battle with his hair, he chucked his comb onto the bed behind him and then turned around, his smile broadening when his eyes met Ron's.

"So, are you going to propose?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Hermione had been fretting over nothing at all.

Ron snorted and rolled his eyes as if to point out Harry's stupidity for asking such a question. "Of course I'm going to. I was planning on doing it anyway when we were done with school – next September, you know, for her birthday. But now I'm thinking New Year's Eve might be a better option since the baby's due in August. Mind you, I won't be able to offer her an engagement ring like I would have if I'd waited until her birthday, but I'm hoping she won't care about that."

"Of course she won't!" Harry said, beaming. "So, you're ready to be a father?"

At that question, Ron's excitement dimmed a bit.

"No idea, mate," he answered, exhaling a shaky breath, "but that's not really the point, is it? I am going to be one and… Merlin, Harry, I still have a hard time believing it's me that she wants to spend her life with... let alone me that she wants to start a family with. I'm just so... so damned lucky to have her..."

Harry shook his head, bringing a hand to Ron's shoulder and squeezing it affectionately. For a fleeting moment, his mind drifted away from his two best friends and settled instead on Severus and himself. He couldn't help but revel in the newly discovered knowledge that one day, they too might find themselves in the same situation – contemplating baby names and feeling blessed to be expecting a new addition to their family – a situation that was only possible thanks to Severus' potion genius and because of Harry's willingness to bear them a child.

Shaking himself from his tangent reverie, Harry redirected his focus, giving Ron's shoulder another squeeze.

"No, Ron... you're both lucky to have each other. And your baby's lucky too, having you two as parents, regardless of what she's named."

"I–thanks, mate."

Ron moved forward and they shared a rare embrace, complete with awkward pats to the back and a hurried release. Withdrawing a few steps, Ron plunged his hand into the pocket of his crimson dress robes – no doubt to check for the third time in the past half hour that the handfasting cord was still there – and then pulled his hand back out before turning his wrist to examine his watch.

"Oi! It's almost five, Harry! We've got to go. You ready?"

Swallowing hard past the lump of nervous excitement that had just lodged itself in his throat, Harry nodded before taking another quick glance at himself in the mirror. His hair was still sticking up a bit in the back, but he supposed Severus was used to that. The only time it didn't do that was when it was still wet from the shower. He considered casting a subdued Aguamenti spell – one that would cause only a fine spray of water to settle over his hair – but decided against it. He was suddenly feeling too nervous to attempt even basic spells, let alone subtle variants of them.

"Harry! Ron! We're ready out here!"

Mrs. Weasley entered the cottage great room from its high arched gothic doorway – which she had decorated earlier that afternoon with twisted branches of holly, evergreen and mistletoe tied up with red velvet bows and silver tinsel – and bustled over to where he and Ron stood beside the four-poster.

"Oh Harry! You look so handsome!" she gushed, lunging forward and nearly smothering him in a tight embrace. Then she maneuvered Harry to stand apart from her at arm's length, her hands still gripping his upper arms as she studied him with tearful brown eyes. "You and Severus are going to be so happy together, I just know it! All my boys are growing up... so fast..."

The rest of her statement withered into incoherent sobs and emotional gasps through falling tears, her words muffled by the handkerchief pressed to her mouth. Shaking her head from side to side, she raised the cloth and used it to wipe away the tears from her cheeks and eyes. With a deep and fortifying breath, she finally gathered herself enough to speak again, her hands now busy smoothing out a couple of tiny wrinkles on Harry's silk robe.

"Well then," she said through a deep sigh, "are you ready, dear? Severus and Kingsley are in position and all your guests are seated."

Exhaling an anxious breath, Harry dropped his gaze to the Prince family Gemina bonding ring on the third finger of his left hand, feeling his face stretch into an involuntary smile. In a gesture that had become both his and Severus' habit since their engagement, he pressed his thumb to it, causing the skin-warmed metal to push against his 'point of love.' The effect was the same as it always was – a heady rush of love and desire for his lover that seemed to course through every part of him, filling his heart with adoration and saturating his very soul with warmth and peaceful contentment.

"Yes," he replied at last, moisture forming at the corners of his eyes. He blinked the wetness away, swallowed past that lump in his throat and then turned toward his surrogate mother, his involuntary smile now fully intentional. "Yes. I'm ready."

With an audible sniff and another quick dab at her tearful eyes with her handkerchief, Mrs. Weasley turned around, leading Harry and Ron through the cottage, out past the festively adorned entryway and down the front steps that preceded the garden.

As they traversed the garden, Harry glanced at its contents. Severus' once lush array of flowers and herbs that had recently been trimmed back for winter were now covered in a thin sheen of ice-blue frost that glittered like tiny jeweled sapphires in the waning rays of the setting sun. The effect was beautiful and Harry suspected that perhaps this was why Mrs. Weasley had kept this part of the cottage grounds untouched, for it alone seemed bereft of her decorative flair.

The rest of the grounds were completely transformed, a silent testament to how Molly had occupied her afternoon. Several long benches whose seats were now occupied by a few dozen expectant wedding guests, were comprised of black river-smoothed stone slats and long redwood planks trimmed in ivy. The benches faced a rustic trellis that was situated at the pond's edge, at the very base of the aged dock. The trellis was constructed from boughs of deep crimson redwood – just like the beams comprising the cottage's interior – and wreathed in wild tendrils of balsam fir, holly and mistletoe vines that cascaded in uneven falls from the dark structure.

Even the surrounding trees, Harry noticed, had not escaped the Weasley matriarch's attention. Their branches were dusted with snow and supported varying sizes of glistering icicles. Harry wasn't quite certain how she'd managed that particular feat since it had not snowed at Hogwarts in weeks and the current temperature was just above freezing, but the sight of it was nothing less than breathtaking. Even her ice sculptures – one set up on either side of the trellis – looked amazing. They were not, as Bill had voiced at their engagement party on Halloween, over the top, but that was mostly due to Severus' insistence that he be permitted to pick the subject of the sculptures. Harry had to admit, the thestral foal on his side of the trellis was beautifully carved while the Chatham raven sculpture on Severus' side was a magnificent replica of Solus.

Mrs. Weasley slowed her steps once they reached the frontmost bench on the left side and turned back around, tears once again freely flowing down her reddened cheeks. Without a word, she pulled Harry into her arms for another warm embrace and then took her seat between her husband and her eldest son.

"Go on, Harry," Ron whispered, nudging him toward the trellis with his elbow. "Kingsley's waiting."

Perhaps he was, but Harry only had eyes for Severus, standing some thirty feet away, dark eyes locked with his own. Looking deeply into those emotive depths, Harry felt his mouth go dry and his breath catch in his throat, his heart speeding up its already quickened pace. He felt incapable of moving his legs and remained rooted to the spot, green eyes widening as they roamed over the long, elegant lines of his very well-dressed lover.

Severus looked incredible, though he was not – as was his custom – dressed in all black. Like Harry, he'd chosen to wear mostly grey; his form-flattering trousers were a dark gunmetal grey while his robes were made of a light smoky grey material that opened in the front like his own. His shoes however, were a shined black patent leather and his shirt, as well as his silk cravat tie, was a deep, rich garnet.

Ignoring Ron's not-so-gentle nudge, Harry lifted his gaze and noticed that Severus' hair was different, too. It was sleek and shiny and pulled back away from his face, tied neatly at the nape of his neck. The new style afforded Harry a perfect view of his lover's long porcelain neck – now devoid of the scars from Nagini's attack after many applications of his own scar-fading potion – and immediately he began to feel much warmer than the frigid winter evening warranted, the palms of his hands becoming damp with sweat.

"Harry," Ron whispered, more insistently this time. "Stop ogling the man and get a move on! Flitwick's Maximus Warming Charm is good, mate, but it's still bloody cold out here. If we don't get started soon, we'll all be as frozen as mum's ice sculptures!"

Blinking, Harry looked around, half expecting to see their wedding guests already encased in a layer of ice. Once assured this was not the case, he returned his gaze toward the direction of his lover, focusing his attention on that spot directly between them where they were to meet and become bonded. Both he and Severus had decided early on in their planning that neither of them wanted to 'walk down the aisle' as was the tradition in most weddings. Harry had insisted it was too bride-like and Severus had agreed. Instead, they elected to have no center aisle at all, just several long rows of benches centrally located behind a wedding platform overlooking the pond. Their plan was for Harry to stand at the end of the frontmost bench on the left side with Severus opposite him on the right side. Then, they were to walk toward each other at the same time, meeting at the center point where their officiant, Kingsley, stood waiting beneath the trellis.

At another impatient nudge from Ron, Harry gave himself a firm mental shake. He took a deep breath to try and ease his nerves and then began to make his way toward Kingsley.

Severus mirrored his movements, gliding toward him with long, measured strides, his eyes never once leaving Harry's own. When they were just inches apart, Severus reached for his hands and held them in his own, their cool fingers becoming warm as they laced together.

"You're nervous," Severus whispered, the corners of his mouth curving up into a crooked grin.

"A little," Harry breathed out, "You?"

"A bit. You look stunning, Harry."

Harry smiled and looked down at their clasped hands, an embarrassed huff escaping his lips in a wisp of icy vapor. He knew he looked alright, but it was Severus who looked stunning. He wanted to voice that thought aloud but his head suddenly felt empty of words that wouldn't sound trite. Instead, he looked back up, allowing his deep admiration to show in his eyes while coaxing it to reach out to his lover through their link. When Severus' smile deepened and a reciprocal rush of love and affection surged through Harry a second later, he knew his feelings were not only acknowledged, but appreciated as well.

A deep rumbling voice snatched Harry's attention away from their silent exchange and he turned toward Kingsley who had just begun to address their guests. As the Minister spoke, Harry felt Severus squeeze his hands, the man's thumb pressing against the ring on Harry's finger. As always, the caress prompted Harry's heart to swell with emotion, his legs weakening a touch. Feeling a wave of lightheadedness, Harry swayed a fraction of an inch before Severus steadied him with another firm squeeze to their joined hands, his thumb lifting from the ring.

"Friends, family, loved ones. We are here tonight to celebrate the enduring love shared between Harry James Potter and Severus Tobias Snape and to witness their commitment and promise to each other as they enter into their new journey as bonded souls. They have chosen to express their intention to join through the ancient Muggle ritual of handfasting and by utilizing the time-honored traditional magic of the Gemina bonding ring. We shall begin with the handfasting ceremony.

"Mr. Weasley, the cord please?"

Ron stood up from where he had just taken a seat on the front bench between Hermione and Ginny and approached the standing trio, his hand withdrawing the gold braided cord from his robe pocket.

Harry watched as Ron wrapped the binding rope around his and Severus' enfolded hands two times, relieved that his friend's movements at least were identical to what they had practiced last week at their rehearsal ceremony. He only hoped the less-than-studious redhead would abide by the script he and Severus had agreed upon as well, instead of blurting out a depraved variation of it as he did then.

Clearing his throat softly, Ron looked up at Harry's nervous features, gave him what appeared to be an attempt at a reassuring grin, and then began to recite the words to the handfasting ritual.

"Harry, will you share in Severus' pain while seeking to ease it and in his burdens while seeking to alleviate them for all the days of your lives together?"

"Yes," Harry replied hoarsely, his eyes locked with Severus' now, "I will."

"And Severus, will you share in Harry's pain while seeking to ease it and in his burdens while seeking to alleviate them for all the days of your lives together?"

"I will," Severus answered softly.

Ron took hold of the longest end of the golden cord and wound it once more around their hands as he continued, "And so the binding is made."

Harry shared a knowing look with his lover then, relief passing through both of them via their link at Ron's perfect recitation. A small breath, filled with both nervous energy and excitement, escaped Harry when he saw Severus bite down on the side of his lower lip a second later – something he used to do often when he was eighteen, but now only when he was feeling overly nervous. Seeking to ease his lover's anxiety, Harry squeezed the man's hand, sweeping the tips of his fingers across the back of it in a gentle caress. A wave of warmth and peace flooded him then and Harry watched as Severus released his abused lip, the dark eyes closing for a moment as he breathed out a slow, measured breath.

Ron's words as he continued his recitation caused both of them to break from their private moment, Severus' eyes snapping open.

"Harry, will you share in Severus' dreams and in his laughter, will you always look for his brightness, his potential and his joy and revel in it as if it were your own?"

"I will."

"Severus, will you share in Harry's dreams and in his laughter, will you always look for his brightness, his potential and his joy and revel in it as if it were your own?"

"I will."

"And so the binding is made."

Again, Ron reached below their merged hands for the cord, wrapping it around them loosely before speaking one final time.

"Harry, will you honor Severus in this union as an equal, as another part of you, heart, mind and soul, now and forever?"

"I will," Harry said, though it was barely audible, his treacherous voice beginning to fail him. His breathing was starting to pulse, becoming short and shallow. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he let the air out a little at a time, trying to shake off this seemingly overwhelming feeling of love and happiness welling up in his chest, but it was no use. He was a mass of swirling emotions at the moment and he doubted that would change before the ceremony's conclusion.

"Severus, will you honor Harry in this union as an equal, as another part of you, heart, mind and soul, now and forever?"

"I-I will," Severus replied breathily, voice cracking with emotion. The dark eyes were wet now, glassy and reflective like the icicles hanging from the surrounding trees and Harry felt his chest tighten as he looked deeply into their vitreous depths, heart racing and throat burning with the effort not to pull his lover into his arms right now.

"And so the binding is made," Ron said, looping the cord one last time around their hands before returning to his seat.

Kingsley then stepped forward, placing a hand beneath Harry's and Severus' hands and lifting them slightly as he proclaimed, "Just as these hands are bound as one, so too are their hearts and spirits, joined in a union based on love and trust. May these hands be blessed this day. May they always hold each other. May they have the strength to hang on during future storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment unknown. May they remain tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their fated love. May these hands be healer, protector, shelter and guidance for each other for all the days of their bonded lives."

Reaching down to the dangling end of the cord, Kingsley loosened the binding, letting the loops slide back to both Harry's and Severus' wrists and allowing their hands more mobility as he whispered, "Harry, the ring?"

Giving a shaky nod toward the Minister, Harry breathed out another fettered breath as he struggled to stave off the tears that were now begging to be released. Then he grasped onto the Gemina bonding ring with his right thumb and forefinger. As he began to slide it toward his knuckle, he looked up, meeting his soon-to-be husband's moist eyes before speaking the words he'd decided weeks ago would be for Severus' ears only.

In a voice softer than a whisper, he breathed out the words, feeling his hold over his emotions slip as a tear slid down his cheek.

"No beginning and no end, yet intuitive of the journey there and back again. Our love is like this ring, Severus. Infinite. Forever. One becomes two as two become one."

At Harry's final words, the cool metal encircling his knuckle turned hot and pliant just before it halved into twin bands of brilliant gold amid a pulsing flash of white light. As soon as the luminance receded, Harry pushed the innermost ring back into place on his own finger and then removed the outer one, sliding it past the tip of his finger and immediately onto the third finger of Severus' left hand. He took his time placing the band in place, relishing the gentle quake to Severus' hand as he held it within his own and the soft sounds of his lover's tremulous breaths.

Keeping a firm hold on the shaking hand, Harry looked up into those beloved dark eyes which had at last, like his own, succumbed to their tears. He lost himself in the tearful depths, in the open expression of enduring love within them that was just for him.

"I love you," Severus whispered under his breath, trembling lips barely moving.

"I love you, too," Harry returned, barely able to get the words out.

"Severus and Harry," came Kingsley's rich baritone voice, loud and authoritative, "you are now bound to one another for life. You may celebrate this new union with a customary kiss."

Severus was the first to rouse himself from their handfasting, curling his fingers around the braided cord and pulling it away from their clasped hands. He placed one hand to the back of Harry's neck and pulled him close, his cool lips pressing forward in a breath-warmed kiss that lingered as Harry moved closer, wrapping his arms around his husband's back.

A moment later, they broke apart to a tumult of applause and exuberant cheers, Kingsley's booming voice barely carrying above the enthusiastic din.

"Dear friends and family, it is my great honor to present to you for the first time… Messrs. Potter-Snape!"

The applause increased in intensity, roaring in Harry's ears like a thundering herd of hippogriffs, but he never once turned his tearful gaze away from his new husband. His nervousness, so acute moments ago was gone now, replaced with a profound sense of soul-deep contentment and a seemingly endless well of abiding affection and love that was coursing through him. He knew Severus felt it too, their channel somehow more open now, their emotions flowing as freely between them as they always did during their most private moments of intimacy.

With effort, Harry gathered himself, tamping down on his runaway emotions long enough to reach up and remove Severus' hand from around the back of his neck, twining their fingers together and letting their joined hands fall between them. He turned toward their gathered loved ones, studying all their beaming grins and tearful eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to Severus and asking, "Shall we, Severus Potter-Snape?"

"Yes, Harry Potter-Snape," Severus replied, his joyful smile twisting into a wicked-looking smirk at the name. The smirk only intensified as they made their way hand-in-hand past the right flank of benches filled with their applauding guests, through the frost-covered garden and up the few steps that led to the high arched gothic doorway of their cottage.

Soon, they would be Apparating to the Burrow for their reception, as their guests were already beginning to do, but not quite yet. They had previously decided to take these first few moments as a newly bonded couple for themselves and arrive fashionably late. Considering their mussed state – eyes glistening with happy tears and cheeks flushed from the cold – Harry was even more grateful for this decision, needing some time to compose himself.

Once they reached the cottage door, Severus – his devious smirk still in place – leaned into Harry and spoke softly into his ear, his whispered words sending chills of anticipatory excitement to surge through him.

"You realize I will be collecting on our deal this evening. If you recall, the price for me agreeing to go along with the name Potter-Snape, as opposed to Snape-Potter, was one night where you are completely at my mercy. Very fitting that it should be our first night together as bondmates."

Then he brushed a feather-light kiss below Harry's ear and added with a little chuckle, as if he could sense Harry's surprise, "Don't worry, love. It will involve nothing depraved, I assure you. I've something very special planned for us tonight."

Withdrawing from the reddening ear, but remaining close, he turned so his warm breath caressed Harry's lips, their foreheads now touching. Their gazes locked again and those dark eyes pinned Harry with an expression that was suddenly much more earnest as Severus spoke once more in a hushed breath of voice.

"Very special, Harry."

Chapter End - To Be Continued.

A/N: Two parts down, one more to go! I hope you're all enjoying this story so far. I know I'm having a blast writing it. And I realize that I've already credited and thanked my Beta, Yen, in the beginning of this story, but I just can't help doing so again. She was a huge help sculpting and tweaking this chapter and her brilliant touches, additions and suggestions really made all the difference. Thanks so much, Yen!

I hope to post the next and final chapter to this story by the middle of next week. I'm shooting for Christmas Eve. ;)

Please Review.