March 7, 1999
It was so quiet after Harry revealed what he did. Rather, was saying he didn't do. They asked what spell he used to vanquish Voldemort and they were stunned to learn it was only a disarming charm. Draco made a comment that was all Harry did to defeat Voldemort, and his response was that he did not defeat the Dark Lord.
"What?" Draco asked.
"I did not defeat him." Harry repeated.
"But he's dead…?" Lucius said now.
"Oh yes. He's very dead indeed," The teen paused. "But it was not my spell that killed him. Remember that he was wielding the Elder Wand against me, and I was the wand's master. Our spells met in the middle because the wand would not harm me. And in the end, after Neville killed the final Horcrux, which was Nagini, I was able to overpower him because the Elder Wand turned on him fully."
"In short, just like the night in Godric's Hollow when he tried to kill me but my mother's sacrifice protected me, the curse rebounded and destroyed his body. It happened almost the same way…As I said before that I didn't really defeat him." Harry paused. "He killed himself because he was using a wand that wouldn't hurt me. So to protect me, even if not in my hand, the Elder Wand purposely stopped responding to him."
"His spell slowly lost power without him able to control the wand to fire it, and my spell simply pushed it backwards. When my spell hit the Elder wand, his killing curse rebounded onto him. And because it was a disarming charm, it ripped the wand away from him and into my hand. And because he had no horcruxes left and barely a viable percentage of his own soul remaining in that body…"
"It destroyed his body, again. But this time, he was mortal. There was just nothing left to fall back on, so his body literally just broke itself down to pieces that burned themselves away." The teen described, leaving the other four blinking at him in surprise of the actual truth to what happened.
"Bottom line…Voldemort died from his own killing curse." Harry informed. "I just defended myself. The Elder Wand did everything…It refused to hurt me and for lack of a better way to describe it, then decided to punish him by death for trying to kill its master. And he figured that out in the end, but couldn't stop it."
"I told him before we landed in the square. What if the wand never belonged to Snape, then I wrapped my arms around his neck and threw us off the edge." Harry mentioned. "I said let's finish it the way we started it. He realized after Nagini was killed that the wand wasn't even putting up a fight against who the wand's master was, but again…He couldn't do anything."
"Yeah, that sounds like that is how it went…" Draco remarked. "So…Was the prophecy foretelling you defeating the Dark Lord because the power you had he didn't know was being the Elder Wand's master?"
Harry shook his head. "No, that was not planned or foretold. It was just an interesting turn of events. I didn't even realize it until after the battle was over. When I realized his spell rebounded on him, and also that Severus was alive. I had to go back and think about things to understand the chain of masters the Elder Wand had."
"So what was the power?" Draco pushed.
"That Voldemort didn't know I was one of his horcruxes." The teen smiled. He saw their confused faces. "The power Voldemort didn't know about, was a power he gave me when he tried to kill me in Godric's Hollow." He stated. "See…When Severus brought him the prophecy, Voldemort actually only had a small part of it. I feel if he knew the whole thing, he might not have targeted me…"
"Because the prophecy was not actually set in motion until the night he tried to kill me and his curse rebounded on him, which destroyed his body. But remember the only way to make a horcrux is to kill without mercy…And that night, he'd already killed my dad. His already tattered, fragile soul split again and when he lost his body, that broken piece latched to the only living thing in the room." Harry said.
"Which would have been you," Lucius understood. "And because his body was destroyed and his…Bodiless form, I guess, was blown away somewhere in the backlash…He didn't know the piece of his soul latched to you."
"Yes." Harry nodded. "If he'd known I was carrying a fragment of his soul, he would not have kept attempting to kill me. He probably would have refused to, and then ensured no harm came to me. Just as he told Nagini, that he had to keep her safe because he knew what she was and when he realized through our link what I was hunting down and destroying…"
"But if he knew what you were, he'd have refused to kill you and then likely shown up at Hogwarts with you as prisoner to taunt everyone that as long as you're alive, he can't die and no one would have had the heart to kill you themselves." Draco frowned.
"Hermione knew what I was…Right after I viewed Sev's memories to learn what I was, I told her and Ron I was going to the forest to face Voldemort. I told them there was a reason I could sense the horcruxes and hear them…They understood. They knew I wasn't going to the forest to fight, they knew I was giving myself up to let the piece be destroyed. I told them after I was gone, it would be just the snake…And then he'd be mortal, and anyone could kill him." Harry revealed.
"Everyone made a big deal out of the prophecy, that I was the chosen one who would defeat Voldemort. I was their beacon of light and hope, their savior…The problem with all that was that it was never me who was foretold to vanquish the Dark Lord." Harry paused.
"The whole prophecy said; Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." Harry finished.
"But it never said I would be the one to kill him. Just that I'd have the power to, and as I began with when you asked, Draco, it's a power he gave me. If he hadn't come after me, my mother wouldn't have sacrificed herself, thereby leaving me with her protection. Which meant that his killing curse wouldn't have rebounded to destroy his body and land a piece of his soul latching to me." The teen informed.
"And he never knew it happened, and he didn't sense the piece of himself in you or figure out that his own soul in you is why you two were linked. Why you could hear and sense the others. Dumbledore said it's even why you could speak to snakes." Severus recalled.
"Actually…I don't know if it was his soul piece that caused that or not…" Harry admitted.
"Why? You're not a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, nor the Dark Lord…" Draco questioned.
The teen sighed. "Because even though that piece was destroyed…I haven't lost my ability to ssspeak like thisss." All four of them stared in shock.
"You…Can still speak Parseltongue?" Severus sat forward now. Harry nodded. "How is that possible?..."
Harry shrugged. "I don't know, but I can. I realized it during the clean up and rebuild of Hogwarts. I…Came across a random snake. I thought someone was hurt or trapped, but when I followed the sound, I realized it was a snake and I still understood it and was able to speak back." He admitted. "This particular fact…I've not revealed to anyone but you four. And only because it came up in conversation…I don't know how people would react to knowing…"
"People might assume the Dark Lord is not truly gone, that he possessed you and is living your life…Waiting for a moment to strike…Or use you to come back…" Lucius mentioned. Harry nodded softly, that being exactly what he worried about.
"Well, we're not gonna tell anyone, obviously…I would hate to imagine how people would respond." Narcissa said firmly. "Are you sure there's nothing in your family history that would explain this?"
"If there is, I haven't found it yet." Harry confessed. "But to my knowledge currently, no, there is nothing that reveals they were Parselmouths."
"Maybe it's not in the Potter history, Harry…" Draco offered. "You said before when you talked about the Invisibility Cloak that it belonged to the youngest of the Peverell brothers, right?"
"Yeah…?" Harry nodded.
"Well, the original legend is written out as a story from the Tales of Beedle Bard…About the three Peverell brothers. Harry…You said you had all three Deathly Hallows. We know the Elder was obviously passed down from master to master starting with the oldest brother, right?" Draco mentioned as Harry nodded. "And the third brother had the cloak…" he paused again as Harry nodded to confirm once more. "Who was the middle brother?"
"Cadmus Peverell. He got the stone. I think, but he killed himself when he realized that bringing back his lover who died did not return her the way she was in life." Harry responded.
"Where did you get the stone from, Harry?" Draco asked.
"Dumbledore. It was hidden inside the Golden Snitch that I caught from my first match as Gryffindor's Seeker. I didn't know the stone was in there until I stood in the forest about to face my death from Voldemort…But I'd been given the snitch when Scrimgeour showed up at the Burrow to read Albus's will. He left all of us something. Hermione got the storybook which put us on the trail to realize Voldemort was after the Elder Wand." Harry tried to remember.
"I got the snitch. And the Sword of Gryffindor, but no one knew where it was at the time." He stated. "On the hunt, all three of us tried to figure out why Dumbledore would leave me the snitch…Then Hermione reminded me that snitches have flesh memories…Ron pointed out I'd touched it plenty of times and it never did anything…"
"But you never touched the snitch when you caught it in that match…" Severus mentioned. "You almost swallowed it."
"Yeah, we realized that too. So after much debating, I pressed it to my lips and all that appeared was one sentence. I open at the close. This obviously made no sense…Not until I stood in the forest about to face Voldemort to let him kill me. That was the close. So I kissed the snitch again and it opened…Revealing the stone. I knew what it was right away…I saw the symbol for the Hallows on it…"
"You seem so sad all of a sudden…" Narcissa pointed out.
"I'll tell you after why," Harry promised and she nodded.
"Okay, Dumbledore gave you the stone…Where did he get it from, do you know?" Draco asked.
Harry had to think back to if he'd seen it before finding it in the snitch. "It…I think it was on an object, something Dumbledore showed me when we got Slughorn's real memory and realized what-," Harry stopped.
"What? What did you remember?" Draco pushed now.
"It was set on a gold ring that had been a horcrux! It was the one Dumbledore touched that got himself cursed. We learned about horcruxes from Slughorn's memory, a conversation he had with Tom Riddle when he was probably sixteen." Harry said quickly. "The ring…Fuck, what did Dumbledore say about it…" He tried to dig the information out of his memories.
"Voldemort's mother. The ring belonged to his mother, or her family, at least. It was another old pure-blood family, not on the sacred twenty-eight thought…I think? Tom said he was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin…Which means his mother's line and Slytherin must have crossed somewhere with a Slytherin female marrying into Tom's mother's line." Harry paused now.
"Um…What was that line…" He was giving himself a headache to try and remember the man's past. "Gaunt. Dumbledore said he found the ring hidden in the Gaunt shack. It was also in Little Hangleton, down the hill from Riddle Estate. So…Parseltongue ran from Slytherin to Gaunt and it made all those descendents from that marriage into Parselmouths." Harry explained.
"Okay, that works for why Voldemort would be a Parselmouth, but not you." Draco grumbled.
"What if…" Harry paused. "Well, the only thing I can think of is that another marriage link would have to be that the Slytherin line also mixed with the Peverell line before the three brothers were born…"
"That might work. That would give any three of the brothers the ability. There's no history to prove it, of course, but it might make sense?" Lucius agreed.
"And it's obvious that Cadmus's descendents, somewhere, married into the Gaunts. Which explains how the stone would have ended up in her family." Severus nodded. "But what doesn't make sense in the theory is how there were no Parselmouths in Harry's family until him."
"Yeah, I guess that's a little bit of a brain twister…" Draco sighed.
"What if there were and no one realized it?" Harry suggested.
"Meaning?" Severus pushed.
"Well…I didn't know I could talk to snakes until I was, like, nearly eleven. I only found out because when my aunt and uncle took my cousin to the zoo for his eleventh birthday…We ended up in the reptile exhibit and while they wandered around to other reptiles after Dudley deemed a python as boring…I stayed at the snake tank and talked to it. I wasn't expecting a response. I mean…I spoke like I am now, but the snake heard and understood me…" Harry told them.
"I don't think I actually spoke Parseltongue until that day you sent a snake at me in the dueling club…" Harry added. "Maybe it takes a trigger until you master it? Or it could be like the squib and muggle-born thing."
"You refer to the studies that muggle-borns pop up randomly in muggle families due to the fact that squibs carry magic, but can't use it…And that more or less makes them live muggle lives, so muggle-borns usually trace back to having somewhat recent squib ancestors. And when you trace those lines, you end up back at half-bloods and pure-blood lines? So to assume that the magic comes from those roots and just…Strike up strong enough in a muggle-born generations later?" Lucius arched a brow.
"Well, that would be the long explanation of what I was suggesting…But yes. Maybe the ability was always there and no one knew until something triggered it. Like me with the snake in second year. Once I spoke it that first time…I didn't have to really try to learn it. Everything was just there." Harry said.
"When I speak Parseltongue, you hear a lot of whispery-toned hissing words. With any word with an S gets extra of the S sound. But all I hear is exactly how I'm talking to you right now. And yes, I know when I'm talking English and when I speak Parseltongue…I'm just saying that for me, it's like auto-translation. It's the same if I read Parseltongue." The teen shrugged. "I see it normal whereas you'd see symbols or another language."
"That could explain it, better than the it only spawned in Harry idea." Narcissa agreed. "But there is…One other possibility. I thought of it when Lucius explained the squibs from half and pure-blood lines marry muggles and then it's all muggle down the family until, let's call it the magic gene, is strong enough in a child and that's how we end up with muggle-borns…"
"Alright…What's your theory, Mother?" Draco inquired.
"What if we're looking on the wrong side of Harry's family?" Narcissa offered.
"You're suggesting it came from Lily's side?" Severus stared.
"You can't say it's impossible with the actual studies behind how muggle-borns come about." Narcissa argued lightly. "All I'm saying is that using Lily as the example…We don't know her family tree, so maybe it's possible that far enough back could take us to some squibs, which we know come from half and pure-blood lines who…Inter-breed too close with one another."
"And forgive me, but I recall the mother's line. Voldemort's. The Gaunts. Another old family, and yes…There was a marital link that combined the families. Slytherin eventually died out and became Gaunt. Here's the thing about it though…The Gaunts have roots both here in Britain, and in America." Narcissa reminded.
"She's right. In the 1600's or earlier, there were two Gaunt sisters who were descendents of Salazar Slytherin. Rionach and Gormaliath. Rionach did not agree with the pure-blood supremacy, but married a pure-blood named William Sayre. They had a daughter, Isolt. When she was five, Gormaliath killed her own sister and brother in law in a house fire. Magical, assumingly." Lucius began.
"Gormaliath took Isolt, raised her with pure-blood ideology for twelve years before she escaped. She did get her Hogwarts letter, but her aunt refused to let her go. So at seventeen, Isolt stole her aunt's wand, and a Gordian Knot brooch that belonged to her mother and fled from Ireland, where she had lived, to England. She cut off her hair, lived as a boy with a fake name for some years to avoid her aunt." The man continued.
"In 1620, she managed to get on the Mayflower, which took her to North America. Once there, she lived alone for a while. But then made friends with a creature, adopted two boys who lost their parents, and fell in love with a muggle, who she married. Together, they built the Ilvermorny magic school. It's like Hogwarts, just for all of the witches and wizards who live in America." Narcissa took over with a smile.
"Eventually, Isolt and James had kids of their own. Twin girls. One was a witch, and the other was a squib. Now, Isolt's aunt returned for revenge but ended up killed by Isolt's creature friend." Narcissa paused. "From what I understand, Isolt's witch daughter refused to marry, not wanting to pass along the Parseltongue trait…And it's not said if Martha had it and just couldn't use it because she was a squib."
"We know Martha married a muggle, lived a muggle life…But history on where her life went after marriage seems to be lost. But there are pieces that direct that line back overseas and land in Britain. There have been marriages to witches and wizards, which would reactivate the magic in the line, but there were also other squibs born." She shrugged.
"So on and so forth…But one thing that was not negotiable, is that there were confirmed instances that in all the pure-blood, and half-blood born children from this line…Could speak Parseltongue. But none of the squibs or muggle-borns could." Narcissa mentioned.
"And this meant that if two children were born from someone in this Gaunt line, though, the name changed likely when a female Gaunt married into another line and likely disappeared like Slytherin and Peverell did with marriages…If one child was pure or half-blood, they could speak Parseltongue. But if the sibling was a squib or muggle-born, they could not." The woman looked at the four males sitting around her.
"I'm just saying that it's possible…That Harry got this from his mother's side. It would make sense that any muggles, obviously, but then squib or muggle-born children couldn't speak the language. But Lily was muggle-born and married a pure-blood, James." Narciisa explained.
"And Harry is a half-blood…So maybe that's why. Cause in that particular branch of Gaunts that had descended from Salazar, the Parseltongue jumps around and appears in pure or half-blood witches and wizards. It would be the only thing that makes sense…" Narcissa stated, glancing at the other three as they also agreed it might be a valid reason.
"I mean…It is possible." Harry agreed. "But who knows where it came from, and I don't care enough to go digging. All I know for certain is that it was not because of Voldemort's soul piece. And it doesn't matter because again…I've kept this information quiet. I don't want anyone to freak out and think the Dark Lord possessed me or whatever other crazy things they could come up with." He rolled his eyes.
"You'd end up feared, treated differently…Possibly imprisoned or a test subject for the Unspeakables. Don't worry, we understand, Harry. It's more than fair that you keep it quiet. No one has to know and we won't tell anyone…" Severus promised.
"I appreciate it." Harry smiled.
"Wonderful. Now then…Harry, back to before…" Narcissa paused. "Talk of how you got the Resurrection Stone upset you. I'm curious…I know you said you'd tell us after, but of course, I don't want to make you uncomfortable or upset…"
"Talk of the stone brings back the memory of when I had it and it was…Well, I don't know if I have the word for it. But let's leave it to the imagination. The memory is what happened right before I stood before Voldemort to let him kill me. It was…A brief little moment of…Comfort." Harry said.
"When I realized I had the stone…It sort of floated out of the snitch and into my hand. I closed my fist around it, then my eyes. I didn't exactly know what possessed me to hold it, maybe pray or just enjoy that I had such a powerful object in my hand before I destroyed it. I knew I had to. But…The next time I opened my eyes, I saw that my parents, Sirius and Remus had appeared before me…" He paused.
"Not brought back to life…Just there like semi-corporeal spirits. I guess just holding the stone lets you call forth spirits, but not revive them. And when I'd closed my eyes holding the stone…I'd prayed that they'd be there with me. And there they were. We talked for a few minutes, that comforting moment I mentioned." Harry said softly and looked at Severus now. "This is how I knew, Severus…"
"What do you mean? Knew what?" Severus inquired.
"That mum and dad forgave you…" Harry revealed as the potion master's eyes widened, his breath getting caught in his throat. "I told you it was whispers in the wind, and one day I'd tell you how I knew for sure. This is how…The stone let me see and speak to them."
"They told me that they forgave you. I didn't realize it then because I was walking to my own death, but she told me to pass it along…I suppose that's how I had a feeling you were still alive when I survived and the fight was over…Because mum wouldn't have told me to pass it along if you had died. She would have told you herself…" he trailed off gently.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" the man asked.
"There was a lot going on," Harry admitted. "And…We didn't see each other much after your trial. Letting go of that stone and destroying it was one of the hardest things I think I ever had to do. I knew if I'd kept it…I could see them any time just to talk…Get to know them since I was only a baby when they died."
"But I also knew if I kept it and Voldemort realized I had it…We would have lost the war. Dumbledore did know I had to die…But he didn't know I'd end up master of the Elder Wand, so when Voldemort killed me…I didn't actually die. Dumbledore left me the stone as a way to come back. I think…With everything else he did, including that marriage contract which bet on me dying, I've assumed he did not want me to survive."
"But perhaps it was just more of the plan. For the stone to be found on me, then have Molly or Ginny bring me back on the off chance that I died before marrying and knocking her up? Or would the stone give me the choice to come back or not?" Harry shrugged. "Either way…If Voldemort found it, everything was over. Cause he would have figured out I wasn't actually dead and at that point, he could have used any wand to kill me and I'd have stayed dead."
"You gave up the only chance to have them all in your life. Not revived, but present in some way. And you didn't know you'd survive because you didn't know you were the wand's master. So you actually sacrificed a chance to come back, and keep your closest family in your life who were all taken from you unfairly…In order to make sure Voldemort couldn't win." Narcissa said gently as Harry nodded.
"Did you…Get to ask them anything you wanted to know?" Draco wondered.
Harry shook his head. "I knew if I started, I wouldn't want to stop. I couldn't stall…I didn't want Voldemort to leave the forest thinking I wouldn't show up, then go back to Hogwarts and attack again."
"So…They were just there? And asked you to pass the message of their forgiveness to me?" Severus asked.
"It was short…Meaningful conversation that gave me comfort I wouldn't be alone facing my death. And that they'd be there when I died…But I ended in that middle space with Dumbledore. I told you about all that already…" Harry looked at the ceiling, remembering what they told him.
"Mum immediately reached for me when they appeared in the forest. We couldn't touch though. My hand went right through hers. She told me I'd been so brave, and I asked why they were all there…She told me that they never left. I looked at Sirius and asked him if it hurt, dying. He said that it was quicker than falling asleep. Dad said I was nearly there."
"I apologized that they all died because of me, especially Remus…He could have been home with Tonks and their son. Of course, he only told me that people would tell him what his mother and father died for, and one day…He'd understand. I asked if they'd stay with me, dad told me until the end. I asked if Voldemort would be able to see them, and Sirius said no. Then added that we were here and he pointed to my heart…I understood the reference. Something he told me four years ago…That the ones who love us never really leave us, you can always find them in here…"
He put a hand over his heart. "Then mum said it was time and if I should run into you, Severus, to please let him know that we forgive him. And it's time he forgives himself, that I demand it of him as his best friend. If he asks about that, tell him I forgave him as soon as he apologized to me…And that I only walked away because he refused to give up his experimenting with dark magic and spell-crafting." He revealed.
Severus's face showed everything…The shock, the guilt, maybe relief. "I knew all his snake friends were pulling him away from me and towards their side, joining the dark…And I never wanted us to end up in a position where we ended up staying friends and ending up having to fight one another…Or that be put in a place to choose between me or him dying. I'd rather let go of our friendship if it meant he'd never get forced to make a choice like that."
"But in the end, I made a mistake…And I was wrong. Me walking away pushed him right to Voldemort. If I had stayed his friend, maybe I could have kept him away from all that. I wasn't there when he needed me…So tell him I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left and all I wanted to do when I learned he defected to protect us was hug him and beg him to forgive me because I really missed my best friend." Harry informed.
"Sirius also made a comment that she raved while in hiding that when she got you back, she and James were going to get re-married and you'd be her best man and that their next child, you'd be named godfather." The teen knew that probably hit Severus in the feels hard. "I promised to relay the message…But at the time, I believed you were already dead and I was…Heading to my own. I figured you and I would end up seeing each other after we passed on…"
"But turns out we both survived, so I guess I'm keeping my promise to tell you…" Harry laughed a little. "I knew if I tried to tell you this that day in the infirmary, you never would have believed she said all that…That's why I left it simple, and would tell you how I knew for sure one day…" The teen mentioned. "I've been waiting for you to ask again, but since we got on the topic, I'd reveal everything…I'll show you the memory if you want to hear her say it all."
"You will not be doing any of that advanced memory retrieval magic until after you have that baby," Draco ordered. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, dearest," Harry snarked. "But after all that, I asked them to stay close to me…And mum told me always." Severus only flinched a little at the word. "Then I closed my eyes and let go of the stone. I blasted it with Draco's wand into nothing, then tucked the wand away and walked on." Harry paused. "You know the rest of how that all went…I suppose thinking about the conversation with them now, it's one of the reasons I almost decided to take the train that took me on instead of home."
"You almost chose to pass on completely?" Lucius repeated.
"Everything I've suffered because of Voldemort…I was so tired of fighting and I knew if I went back, even with Voldemort gone, nothing would ever be normal. I'd still be famous. People would still praise me. Celebrate that I lived and defeated the Dark Lord…Everything that has happened since chose to come back. And I chose for reasons I already explained…"
"After Dumbledore vanished from sight in that space, I was left alone…I thought about it, looking left and right at the trains. One would have followed the same direction Dumbledore went, where I knew that my parents, Sirius and Remus would be waiting…Like they promised." Harry paused.
"And like I said…I was tired. I knew how things would be if I came back…But then I heard a noise and saw what was the physical manifestation of the piece of Voldemort that was latched onto me. It was under a bench and dying…And it made me realize that my job wasn't done yet. Voldemort was still alive and everyone here likely didn't stand a chance at getting Nagini without Voldemort distracted and enraged that he failed to kill me again…"
"So I gave up what I saw as my chance at finally resting. Having peace and an eternity with the four people I loved and never got to know well." Harry admitted. "And coming back is everything I knew it would be…But I knew what I had needed to do outweighed what I had wanted to do…You know me, always doing the right thing…"
"It was very selfless, and brave." Narcissa smiled. "I know you said destroying the stone was one of the hardest things you had to do…I can't imagine walking away from your peaceful afterlife was easy either…"
"No. That was probably the second hardest thing I had to do…But," Harry paused. "I knew I was needed here. And in the end as I went to board the train to return, I saw them again…They didn't try to change my mind or stop me. I was told that they understood, and not to feel guilty about leaving them. Because they weren't going anywhere. Their lives were over, but mine wasn't and I deserved to live free and happy."
"They sent me off with hugs, kisses, and I love you's…" Harry said. "As I got on the train, mum said that it wasn't goodbye…Just until my time actually came and we'd have forever together. Sirius did that cheeky grin and wink as Remus shook his head. Dad told me that they'd all still be with me even if I couldn't see them. When the doors closed, they all just smiled and waved mouthing until next time."
"The train darted forward, a flash, and I was back on the forest floor while Voldemort was demanding someone make sure I was dead." Harry informed.
"Wow…" Draco blinked.
"It seemed like a tender moment." Narcissa said. "I see why it's meaningful and would upset you. I apologize if talking about it made you emotional or hurt…"
"I'm pregnant, I'm always emotional." Harry chuckled. "It's alright. I'm in a better place with it than I was…"
And just then, Harry felt the baby kick. Again and again. Nothing hard, but he never really got to enjoy it. Most of the time he was in classes, or sleeping. Harry placed his hand over his stomach.
"What is it?" Severus asked. Harry felt a particularly hard kick and hissed. "Something wrong? It started like this last time too…"
"Easy in there." Harry told his child.
"Are you alright? Is labor starting again?" Draco was on his feet, ready to act.
"Will you two calm down?" Harry sighed. "I'm fine. Baby is just active right now, usually after I eat…Or right before I'm about to go to bed…" He grumbled. "Here…" Harry reached over to take Severus's hand, and placed it on his belly. "You always miss it since the kicking started when I entered the fifth month."
The man seemed stiff. He'd touched Harry's belly before, but never felt kicks. And if it happened when they slept, he didn't feel it then either. "I guess it's settling-," He started and then stopped fast as he felt something push against his hand. Severus immediately looked at Harry. "Is that-,?"
Harry nodded. "That's our baby kicking."
The three Malfoys watched as Severus put his other hand on Harry's clothed belly, a genuine happy smile gracing his lips. And it was slight, ever so slight…But they swore they saw little tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Of course, none of them said anything. It was nothing to tease about. If anyone deserved this happiness, this moment after everything they'd been through; it was Harry and Severus getting to bond over their baby kicking.