Future Potter-Prince's

Chapter 7: Severus Has a Dream

That night, as the children were sleeping soundly in their own bedroom, there was quite the conundrum for Severus and Harry. Severus thought so anyway. They would no longer have the barrier of their children between them as they slept, and Harry was in no way going back to Gryffindor tower.

Severus offered what he thought was the obvious solution of him sleeping on the sofa and Harry taking the bed.

"Severus, it's your bed, you should sleep in it," Harry said, "I've slept in worse places than a sofa,"

"You deserve more than the sofa, Harry. I will be fine there, you can take the bed," Severus said gently.

"You also deserve more than just the sofa, Severus," Harry said, smiling at the man, "We could just… both sleep in the bed,"

Severus' eyes widened slightly in shock at the suggestion, "You aren't of age yet, Harry,"

"And yet we have been sharing a bed just fine since the kids arrived. We even shared the bath today. And yes, our children were there, too. But nothing happened between us. And nothing has to happen between us until we are both ready for that. If you aren't ready to share a bed without a buffer then that is fine. I will sleep on the sofa. But considering that in the future we will be sharing a bed, hopefully every night, I, personally, am not opposed to it now. I may not be of technical age yet, but I am not a child. Plus, if one of the kids wakes up and needs us in the night, it might be a tad alarming to them to see that we are not sleeping together. Additionally, I would rather like to get to know you properly, without the presence of the kids, and maybe pillow talk is the best way to do that at the moment. But it is up to you, Sev. I don't mind sleeping on the sofa, but you are taking the bed that you own if we don't share it. And I don't mind sleeping next to you either, if you are comfortable with that. Nothing has to happen other than sleeping, and maybe some talking. That's it," Harry said firmly.

Severus blinked a few times, trying to come up with any argument, but also not. Harry had some good points. One day they would be sharing a bed, hopefully every night. They had already shared a bed, and a bath. Harry may not be technically of age, but he wasn't a child. If the kids woke up, they would be confused, especially Remi. And well, only sleeping and talking had to happen. Nothing more until they were both ready for it.

And yet, part of Severus' mind was whirling with the consequences of them potentially getting caught. Though he knew, logically, that there was only a miniscule chance they would be given the wards on the rooms, he didn't fancy a trip to Azkaban for sleeping with someone who was still technically a minor, his future husband and mother of his children, or no.

"Sev, if you aren't comfortable with it, then I will go and sleep on the sofa, no problem. I understand why you are worried, but do you actually think we are going to get caught at any time? And if we are, by some horrible miracle, caught in bed together, without one of the kids as a buffer, then is anyone who could possibly catch us actually going to care enough to send you to Azkaban for sharing a bed with me? I mean, Dumbledore clearly doesn't care about my safety, or anyone's for that matter. And he's the only one I would assume to be powerful enough to get through the hoard of wards you have on this place. And he hasn't managed it yet, despite the fact he is probably trying to. But also, I am sixteen now, I become of age next July, which, given how time flies, isn't actually that far away, so realistically they probably aren't going to throw you in Azkaban for something that we would legally be able to do in a matter of months, so long as I am consenting to sleeping in the same bed with you. Which I am, so long as you are comfortable with it,

"Also, though, if anyone dares to attempt to throw you in Azkaban for something I agreed to, then know that I will do whatever is necessary to get you out of there. Even using the fame that I hate having, to make sure that you, my actual soulmate, future husband, and father of my children, are free of that place and at home, with me. No one is going to take you away from me no matter what. I promise. We are soulmates, they aren't legally allowed to break us up, for anything, right?"

Severus took a deep breath and nodded, "If anyone tries to take you from me, I will also do whatever I can to stop them and bring you home,"

Harry grinned brightly, "I know. So, are you comfortable with sharing a bed with me? We don't have to touch or anything. Just lay there, and sleep, or talk a bit if you want. Get to know each other. But if you aren't then I will be the one sleeping on the sofa. And I won't be taking any arguments about it,"

"We can share the bed," Severus said, "But nothing more until you are seventeen,"

"Okay," Harry nodded, "Do you want to use the bathroom first?"

"No, you may," Severus said.

"Thank you,"

Soon they were lying in the bed together, both wearing a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms, lying on their backs, looking up at the ceiling as they tried to settle down for some rest.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Sev?" Harry asked quietly.

"Yes. Are you?" Severus said, and Harry looked at him to confirm that he was in fact, smiling a little.

"Yeah," Harry said, smiling back at the man and being a tad daring by sliding his hand towards the man's and twining their fingers together.

And it wasn't long before they were both peacefully asleep.

Severus opened his eyes to find himself in his own living room, except there were more sofas/chairs and the odd toy dotted around the room, and some other minor changes.

"Severus," his own voice called gently to him, and he turned to find an older version of himself standing a few feet away, lips slightly upturned.

"H-how am I here?" Severus said, confused as to how he was also able to do this with his older self.

"Magic," his older self smirked, "I brought you here. To talk,"

Severus nodded, still confused but accepting it because… well, he wanted to talk, maybe.

"How are Harry and the baby?" Severus asked, concerned.

His older self sighed painfully and sank into the sofa nearby, patting the spot next to him for Severus to join him, which he did.

"They are… pulling through. It is hard to say what will happen at this point. We can hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. But… it hurts, watching him struggle and not being able to do much of anything to help but hold him and take care of him. Whilst also trying to fight the bloody war, and make the world safe for our children, for us. And trying to create a potion to heal Harry, and maybe our son, too, if I can find something on time. Which I doubt, given how little time there is in the day for me to actually work on it. But, hopefully you won't have to go through this again. You can have all the children you both want without having to worry about everything going wrong," his older self said, emotion constricting his voice a number of times, and yet he somehow managed to hold himself together, despite the clear need to let something out.

Severus just nodded in understanding. He couldn't imagine having to deal with all of that, with having to watch Harry struggle to carry their child in such a way, to almost lose the baby multiple times, any of it. All whilst fighting a war, and trying to keep their children safe. Just the thought of all that twisted something in his once thought cold heart.

"How are the kids?" his older self asked, worried.

"They are okay," Severus said gently, smiling, "Perfect in every way. We have been mostly holed up in our quarters since they arrived, but they are adjusting well, and just… amazing. I-I… I never imagined that I would have this. A family,"

"I know," the older him smiled knowingly, "And yes, they are perfect. Harry is, too. Loving him, loving them, and having them love me in return is something that I will never stop being in awe of, I think. Watching him, helping him, holding him as he carries our children, births them, and mothers them… he is the most spectacularly amazing person in the world. No matter what he goes through he is always thinking about everyone else, unless I somehow get him to think about his own needs for once. But he is incredible in every way. And I hope beyond hope really that we don't… that we don't lose our son, because I don't think I can handle seeing him in that much pain again," he whispered the last bit, and the pain on the older man's face was as palpable as the pain in Severus' heart. And Severus knew that the older him wouldn't be able to handle his own pain, either, if the worst happened. But he would attempt to fight through it, and be strong, for Harry and the kids.

"Why wasn't your Harry able to tell Harry everything?" Severus whispered after a few moments.

"Because there are limitations to this kind of magic. Limitations that mean we can't tell you all the answers to solutions. All the things you may need to do. Time magic is fiddly. We are who you would have grown to be. We are on the same timeline. You would be here in however many years, supposing our friend wasn't able to help us in the way he did. Things have already changed for you, but I don't know how much. It might already be enough, because you know about the kids and will do anything to protect them. Even if that means ending everything sooner, and ending Dumbledore's claim to fame, etcetera. Whether it's enough to save Remi and our son, though, to save Harry and myself, I don't know. We can never know, I suppose. Well, myself and my Harry won't. You and your Harry will, eventually, know, though. We can tell you little things. Things that hint at what else you might need to do. But that is all. Truth be told, though, I don't know what Harry actually told your Harry. He has been rather exhausted since he connected to his younger counterpart, and has been mostly sleeping," the older him said and a spike of worry went through Severus.

"He, erm, he told Harry about him and I being soulmates. That we should go to Gringotts. About the Horcruxes. About the wars. To disarm Dumbledore, and use Rita Skeeter, the goblins, and others to help with bringing his popularity down. And a few other things. Not much really. Just what I imagine he could," Severus said.

"Hm," the older him hummed, "So he didn't mention what our friend said," he muttered.

"What was there to mention?"

"I mean, it's understandable why he didn't, but…" the older him sighed painfully, "Our friend said that there was something we could do if… if things took a turn for the worse, again, with the pregnancy. If the younger Harry agrees to it, anyway,"

"W-what?" Severus said nervously.

"I… I mean I understand why my Harry didn't mention it to his younger self, because it would… it would be difficult, painful… But I," the older him sighed shakily again and Severus looked at him with pained eyes, "There is an option to, if Harry agrees and it isn't too late," his voice cracked, "There is an option to transfer our son to younger Harry's womb, via a similar ritual that sent the other kids back to you. Harry would carry our son to term, and give birth to him, then an hour after his birth the baby would be automatically brought back to us,"

Severus stared at the man in shock and pain. He also understood why the older Harry didn't mention anything about it. He had no doubt that his Harry would agree to do it, he probably wouldn't even take many seconds to think it through. He would just want to help his older self, and their son. To make sure their son survived.

He would do it in a heartbeat.

Heck, Severus would too if he was a bearer.

But to do so, and for Severus having to watch Harry do all that, to watch their new-born son disappear and not be able to see him again for however many years, that would be the most painful thing Severus thought they would ever have to survive, supposing things are being fixed for the better.

"Who is our friend that is able to do all of this?" Severus asked shakily.

"Ah, that I am not able to tell you. But all will be revealed, eventually," older him said.

Severus nodded, "I-I can talk to Harry about it for you," he whispered.

"N-no, Severus, you shouldn't burden him with that. He's sixteen in your time. He shouldn't have to even consider giving birth to a child and then having to watch them disappear," the older him said.

"Hm, he shouldn't have to consider many of the things he has had to consider in his life so far," Severus said, "He's sixteen, yes. But despite only hearing about our unborn son, and feeling him once in a dream that wasn't a dream, Harry is already in love with him. And the thought of any of us losing him is already tearing him apart. If he has time to consider everything before the potentiality of it happening, then he can make more of an informed decision. And yes, it will hurt, both of us, to watch our new-born son disappear, but it is already going to hurt us when the other four disappear and we won't see them for however long before their births. We are prepared for that pain, and though it won't make it any less painful, we will be able to handle it. We could handle this, too, so that you don't have to worry too much about the baby, so that Harry has time to heal, so that you can focus truly on making the world safe for our babies. We could handle it, for them, so long as we have each other. We are soulmates, right? I will speak to him about it, so that he knows what might be able to happen, for our children,"

"He shouldn't have to-"

"I know. He shouldn't have had to do anything he's done in his short life. But as parents we do what we can for our children, right? To keep them safe. And healthy. And alive. And happy. Even if that means letting them go when the time is right. And he should have the time to think about it before it's too late. He should be given the choice to help you in this way, if he wants to. To help our son. Though, I should probably ask what that will mean when Harry is pregnant with him in the future?"

"Erm, well, he will, supposing everything goes okay for you in your new timeline, have a healthy pregnancy, and the baby will be born when he was meant to be born," the older him said, and he nodded in response.

"You shouldn't tell him, Severus. Harry hates himself for even thinking about asking for help. I hate myself for bringing it up to you. But… "

"He deserves to know," Severus cut his older self off, "I think we all deserve a healthy baby boy after everything else we have been through. After everything we know. Harry and I are so bloody worried about you both, and the baby. If something were to happen, and we didn't get the opportunity to help you, to help ourselves, then we would have been eaten alive by it. We… If it ends up happening, if Harry births our child for you, then yes, it will be the most painful thing to let him go, but we will get through it. Together. Because we know that he will come back to us, hopefully in a better situation than what you guys are struggling with. We can get through anything together, right? We're soulmates. And he does deserve to know. He worries about everything too much, he needs to know that if something happens, he will be able to help, so long as he wants to. He already wants to help. I know he does. And I do, too. If this is what it takes so that our son will survive, and Harry can heal, then no matter how painful it is, if Harry agrees to do it, then we will do it. For you. For us. For the kids. I will speak to him,

"I know and understand why you wouldn't want to tell us. Because, yes, it will hurt like hell to lose him. But it's worth it, right? If you and Harry have something more to keep you going through the war you are fighting. If the kids are happy, and safe, and healthy. All of them,"

"I can't really control you, can I?" the older man huffed, "You're me, and you will do what you can for your family. I don't even really know why I brought it up,"

"You need to know that there is a chance," Severus whispered, "That there is a chance your baby will survive against all odds. That you have more time to create a potion to heal Harry. That you don't have to worry too much about your unborn child, and your husband, and your other kids, when you have so much other crap to worry about. And it is all perfectly understandable. You are hurting, and you want to know that there are options available to you and Harry, to keep your babies safe from the dangers of your world for a while, whilst you are fixing things. And whilst we are fixing things on our end, too,"

The older him nodded solemnly.

"Is there anything else we need to know? About anything?" Severus asked.

"Not really, you are both smart enough to figure out things yourselves. I just wanted to know how the kids are, so that I can put Harry's mind to rest when he is awake. How has Remi been?"

"She's been okay. She had some tremors this morning, but Phoenix helped us to know how to help her. She's tired a lot. And she clings to Harry or I whenever she can. But she is okay. I think," Severus said softly.

"Good. Do you know what nerve potion to brew for her? She needs to take it once a month, every thirty days,"

"It was in her scan, yes. I will get started on it asap as Phoenix said she had it before the kids arrived, and it takes a while to brew," Severus said.

"Thank you," the older him nodded, "I believe it's time for us to go now. I will come back every so often to get reassurances about the kids for Harry. I hope you don't mind,"

"Of course not. Though I do believe you need them yourself," Severus said, his lips upturning slightly.

"Indeed. Look after them for me, Severus. All of them,"

"Always," Severus said.

Severus blinked awake to find himself in bed with Harry still, though he was now lying on his side and looking at the younger man next to him, their hands still joined, and Harry's spare hand resting gently on his flat stomach.

And Severus' heart hurt, a knife twisting pain into it as he thought of what could happen, one day, if things don't go well with his future husband's future pregnancy. And he hated himself for even thinking about telling Harry, because he knew the man would jump to agreement, no matter what, and it would tear both of them apart to have to do such a thing. To have to give away their child, even if he wasn't theirs yet. So soon after birth as well.

But Severus knew that Harry was already tearing himself apart with worry for their future unborn child, and his older self. And he truly did deserve to know. Just in case something did happen and his older self thrusted it upon him in a moment of pain and worry.

He deserved to know so that he could think about it, properly. But Severus hated the thought of telling him.

He would, but… Merlin would it hurt.

All of it would if it actually came to pass, but telling him now when there was still a slight possibility of it not being actually needed was damn near unthinkable.

He was sixteen, for Merlin's sake. He shouldn't have to do this, any of this. Shouldn't even have to think about it.

He had already been through too much. Lost too much.

But he still deserved to know the options.

He deserved a choice.

A proper one.

And Severus would give it to him. For the sake of their babies if nothing else.

Hiya, how are you all?

So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, though I understand if not. What do you think is going to happen? Is older Harry going to be able to make it through the pregnancy mostly okay, or are things going to take a turn for the worst and our Harry will be called on for help? Will Harry be able to help if the need arises? Who else is going to come into this story and when? Are they ever going to leave their quarters or are they going to stay hidden until the kids disappear? I am bringing Luna and Neville in for the next chapter by the way, and others will be joining soon, so ya know, lots to come.

Anywho, I posted an essay/petition where I (un)officially explain why I think I should be cast as my favourite character, Severus Snape, in the new HBO series, despite the fact that I am a woman. It would mean a lot if you went and read it, but no pressure. It isn't going to lead to anything, unless, by some miracle, it goes viral, but it was fun to write. Feel free to go and check it out.

Also, I am working on some Spotify playlists for my fanfics, so if you can think of any songs you think work with the stories as they are so far, or where you think they are going, or songs that give you the vibes you get from the stories, then please do let me know and I will give them a listen, then potentially add them to the playlists. I will let you know as soon as they are ready, though it may take a few weeks because life.

I have a Facebook group called Maraudering_Paige which you are all welcome to join if you would like to and are able to. It is where we can talk about Harry Potter, fanfics, life, share memes and more. It is also where I have somewhat of an update schedule for my fics and will be keeping you up to date on what I am working on, in regards to fanfics, original works, and more things. So if you are interested in joining then I am more than happy to accept you all.

I also now have a TikTok and an Instagram for my fanfic writing escapades. The username is maraudering_paige on both of them so feel free to follow me, and we shall see how often and what kinds of content I can post when I can. But it is another way for me to keep you all up to date if you don't have Facebook and such, and for me to spread the word about other things I am working on and things I want to do and such. So yeah, feel free to join me on those if you are able.

And finally, if you like poems, then I write them and I have started a where you can read 1 or more poems every month depending on how many I have the time to post. You also get access to information about my original books I am working on before anyone else. And you get your name listed in the acknowledgements section of any book I publish whilst you are a Patron. For £2.22 a month. If you would like to join me over there and read some rants I call poems, and get updates on original work, then you may. My username over there is Paige_Makepeace. No pressure, by the way, you certainly do not have to if you can't or don't want to. I understand. I just thought it would be a cool thing to try. Any money made from this will go towards helping me write and publish the original novels I am working on. Including the one I am hoping to publish first which is a slow-burn, witchy, bisexual/lesbian enemies to lovers book.

If there are any other platforms you think I should join you all on then let me know and I will have a think.

I hope you are having an amazing day!

Kind regards,

Paige xx