Chapter 5

Harry's breathing was heavy and his palms were sweating, in an attempt to rid him of the nervous energy as he wiped them on his trousers. His breath caught in his throat as he waited for Elijah to return home. Harry was not sure how he was going to have this conversation. His hands shook slightly. Harry pulled a chain from under his shirt. Two rings were held on the chain and Harry ran his fingers across them, letting the motion soothe him.

He let his mind flick back to the time that he had received these rings. One, looking at them, may have immediately jumped to the assumption that they were a wedding and an engagement ring, however that was not the case. The first one had once been his mother's wedding ring. Harry had received it from Severus after the battle of Hogwarts. The man had given it to him as an apology and a chance at redemption. Severus claimed he had found it when he had gone to attempt to rescue Lily from the Dark Lord's ire.

The ring was beautiful. It was Platinum and was delicately carved with stag head and ivy leaves climbing up one side and a delicate Lily climbing up the other. The diamond at the centre was large and was held up by the stags horns and the Lily's petals. Even with the sad memories that surrounded it Harry kept it close to his heart.

The second ring on the chain was one that Elijah had bought him; although not a wedding ring it still represented an important moment in Harry's life. It was thick platinum band that was carved with delicate engravings into the metal. There were four small gems on the metal each set into the platinum forming a diamond shape. Each gem represented a member of the family. The emerald represented Harry, the sapphire representing Elijah, the garnet representing Solomon and finally the moonstone representing Theseus.

Harry let his fingers run across each gem with a small smile. He had received the gift as a combined one from his three boys; although mainly from Elijah as the man had paid. Harry was told that his sons had chosen their own gemstones while Elijah had chosen Harry's and his own. The present had been one that marked their first Christmas together as a family. It was one that showed that Harry and his sons had accepted Elijah and he had accepted them in turn.

Harry was so lost in thought that he almost failed to hear the door open as Elijah returned from work. However he did hear the noise and as he did the all encompassing panic returned. His breath once again came quickly and his eyes were wide in panic.

"Harry" the gentle voice came through the hall and Harry felt his panic settle slightly at the soothing tone.

"In here El" Harry called out to the man that he had chosen to spend his life with. He hoped that after the conversation that they were about to have that nothing changed.

"Hello beautiful" a smiling Elijah said as he walked into the living room and pulled Harry into a hug. He gave a gentle peck on Harry's lips. However as he pulled back and saw the unresponsive and serious look on his partner's face Elijah's face changed to one of confusion and concern.

"Harry, what's wrong?" The agitation was obvious in Elijah's tone as he looked toward his partner. Harry shuffled nervously under his gaze.

"I think that we should sit down El" Harry answered in a small voice. Elijah only gave a small nod in response as he set himself on the sofa. Harry pulled Elijah's hand into his own and took a deep breath. He brought his eyes to meet Elijah's, tension radiating from his body.

"El I…" Harry let out a tense breath. "Elijah" he said as his eyes flickered shut and he steeled himself; attempting to gain more confidence. Elijah tightened his hand around Harry's own, attempting to reassure the tense man at his side. Harry couldn't meet Elijah's eyes too fearful of what he may see there.

"Elijah I'm pregnant" Harry finally managed to spew out.

Elijah froze as the words came out of Harry's mouth. His eyes were wide in shock as he heard the words. However he soon realised that Harry was more tense and his eyes were squeezed shut waiting for his partner's response. Harry was afraid of rejection and Elijah hated when Harry was afraid.

Harry was pulled into a hard chest as warm arms pulled him close.

"That's wonderful Harry" Elijah whispered with reverence in his tone. Harry opened his eyes that now looked suspiciously watery. He pushed himself back from his partner and looked at the man with the same worship that he saw reflected in Elijah's own eyes.

"You…you want to keep it?" Harry whispered. His voice was quiet and hopeful.

"Of course I want to keep it" Elijah smiled, a small laugh accompanying his words. "What would ever make you think otherwise Harry?" the question did not need to be answered other than with the smile that Harry gave it.

Harry yelped slightly as Elijah pulled Harry further into his lap and peppered his face with gentle kisses. He then pulled the black haired man into a passionate kiss.

"I. would. love. for. us. to. have. a-no-ther. child" Elijah said between peppering more kisses on Harry's face. The smile that he received in return was well worth the words. Elijah leaned back from his kisses looking at Harry directly in the eye. He gently took Harry's chin is his hands, running his thumb along the delicate jawbone.

"I love you Harry. I love Solomon and I love Theseus. Any more children that we may have I will love just as much." Elijah interrupted himself by giving Harry a small kiss. "How far along are you?" Elijah asked with excitement and a glorious smile that radiated happiness.

Harry could only echo the smile that he saw on the face of his partner. The joy that the man before him was feeling, now totally overtaking the fear and trepidation that Harry had been feeling for the past several hours.

"Twelve weeks, give or take" Harry said with a small smile. "I went to the healer today and she said I was about that far along, give or take a week or so." Harry had a smile spreading across his face as he spoke the words. Elijah pulled Harry into yet another tight embrace.

"I can't wait for the new member of our family." Elijah whispered out as he let his fingers run along Harry's still flat stomach. He continued to pepper kisses over his partner's face.

Elijah took a step back and grasped Harry's hand tightly in his he gave a bright smile to the man that he loved with all his heart.

"I suppose that I'll have to get you a new ring then." Harry frowned at El's words and watched as the man's face adopted an overly exaggerated quizzical look, before the smile broke free again.

"Harry" Elijah knelt before his partner, hand still grasped tightly in his.

"James" he looked into the man's eyes with adoration

"Potter." He set a small kiss on Harry's hand.

"Will you marry me?" Harry thought that his heart may stop. He felt tears begin to well up in his eyes before he let out his breathy response.

"Yes" he said in barely above a whisper. "Yes" he said older this time, puling up El from his position on the floor as he himself stood.

"Yes. Yes. Yes!" He shouted as he pulled El down into a passionate kiss.

"Yes" he whispered as the two separated.


Solomon and Theseus sat in the great hall, Scorpius at their side. The boy had become a part of the pair, forming a trio. It seemed that no one else in Slytherin had been able to bridge the gap to the island that the three had made around themselves. Hufflepuffs were however a different matter. Teddy Lupin was another addition to the group on occasion. He seemed to have wiggled his way into the twins' affection. Scorpius also seemed not to mind the company of the young man, either.

The three Slytherin boys were often seen together and over the past few months they had become much closer friends. Their local friendly Hufflepuff also joining them on several occasions. Scorpius was shy, shyer even than Theseus was, yet he seemed to gel with the twins perfectly. The three of them were able to sit together for hours on end with no discomfort or awkwardness. On the occasions that Teddy joined them he also fit in well with the three Slytherins.

As the three began to eat, a familiar owl flew toward the twins, a letter dropping between them.

Theseus took the letter into his hands, noting the familiar handwriting of his dad. Although he knew that his Papa would have overseen the scrawling of the messy script that his dad had never seemed to grow out of. Hopefully the letter inside would be written by Papa. At least then it would be more legible than that of their dad.

However as he opened the letter he realised that it didn't matter who had written it. The content was far more important. His eyes quickly ran across the paper with a sense of urgency. He hastily shoved the letter to Solomon, forcing the knowledge on the boy that he had just received.

"Are they serious?" Solomon's mouth was agape as he looked at his brother. The volume of his voice caused many of the Slytherins and several members of other houses to turn and look at him. Theseus gave him a shrug of his shoulders before a small nod. "We need to talk to them."

"I think we should go somewhere more…private Sol." Theseus stood and grabbed at his brother's hand; pulling him from the table.

"Sorry Scorpius, we'll see you in lessons, yeah?" Theseus pulled his brother out of the hall without waiting for a response. The two boys didn't notice the dark pair of eyes that watched them from the head table in concern. He would question such behaviour from any of his Slytherins let alone his newly discovered sons. He would ask them about their sudden disappearance and a more appropriate time.

Meanwhile Theseus was still pulling his aggravated brother along with him, back to the common room.

"What do they mean Thee? I mean…Dad, pregnant? It's…isn't it gonna change things?"

"What are you talking about Sol? Of course not." Theseus tried to comfort his older brother who still hadn't come to terms with finding out that his father was Severus Snape. This was yet another revelation that the boy was not quite ready for. He was only eleven after all.

They reached the common room and pushed the door open before quickly making their way to their room.

"But Thee, what if…well, what if they decide they like the baby better?"

"What the hell are you talking about Solomon? That makes no sense."

"Well, now that we're at Hogwarts we won't see them as much and, well, Dad didn't really want us to begin with anyway." Solomon sniffed, trying to hold back his tears. "He might just give us to Snape so that he can have a family of his own and-and…" the frog in his throat cut him off as tears began to trickle down his face.

"I'm calling Dad and Papa." Theseus took control. He grabbed the two way mirror and quickly called out his Dad's name. Soon enough a face appeared on the small mirror, although their dad looked as though he was in a rush as he was making his way through the house holding the mirror, his breathing a little faster than normal.

"Ah Theseus, how are you sweetheart? I didn't expect you at this time. I've got work soon darling so I cant talk for that long. What's the matter?"

"We just got your letter…"

"Oh" Harry stopped. "Oh, are you and Sol okay? Your papa and I are so happy. I thought you would be excited, when you were little you always wanted-" The mirror snatched from Theseus' hand, the rest of the words interrupted by Solomon's hand.

"Don't leave us Dad" was wailed by Solomon through the mirror. "We still want to come home and for you to love us the same. Don't love the baby more-"

"Whoa darling, I need you take a deep breath. You're okay my little star." Harry gave a wide smile. "Don't be so silly. There's no way you're ever getting rid of me. Even when you have kids of your own me and your papa are gonna nag you about keeping your room clean."

Theseus chuckled at the image, even though he couldn't see his dad's face. Solomon gave a watery smile to the mirror.

"You promise?" the little boy asked.

"With the lack of common sense you have there Sol I'm amazed you even made it to school." Harry said with a laugh. "Of course I promise. Now take a look at the picture of the baby I sent you and think about how exciting it's going to be to have another little brother or sister to boss around." Solomon did laugh this time.

"Alright dad," he looked far happier now.

"I'll speak to you later Sol, I love you and you're never getting rid of me. I'll speak to you tonight darling" he blew a kiss to the little boy. "Now pass me to Thee so I can say goodbye."

Solomon did and with a few final words the two said their goodbyes.

"Come on you big wimp." Theseus said good-naturedly as he ruffled his brother's already messy hair. "We better get to class. Severus will kill us if we're late for potions."

"Yeah you're right. We better run."