Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7869397.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Major_Character_Death, Underage
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J.K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Draco_Malfoy/Harry_Potter, Remus_Lupin/Severus_Snape
  Additional Tags:
      Series, First_Time, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Established_Relationship,
      Mpreg
  Collections:
      Ink_Stained_Fingers
  Stats:
      Published: 2004-04-05 Words: 17228
****** And Last There’s Just One ******
by Deirdra [archived by ISF_Archivist]
Summary
     The story continues for Remus and Severus as the years draw on, new
     relationships bud and old friends die.
Notes
     This story was originally archived at Ink_Stained_Fingers, which was
     created in 2002 as a home for Harry Potter slash fiction. To preserve
     the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an
     Open Doors-approved project in January 2015. We e-mailed all authors
     about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached
     everyone. If you are (or know) this author or artist, please contact
     me using the e-mail address at the Ink_Stained_Fingers_collection
     profile.
     Author's notes: The hurt-comfort isn’t much more than people being
     comforted by someone they care for after a heart-wrenching situation.
     The underage is speculative, depending on how you look at it. The
     deaths happen because the final battle ensues; people die during war.
     The established relationship is, of course, Severus and Remus. The
     first time refers to two other couples, one being het but it doesn’t
     go into details; it just merely states that it happened. Male
     pregnancy is implied and will most likely go into detail in the next
     installment. Romance is present for all the couples. Please give me
     feedback, I feel that although this story could have gone into more
     detail, it was, in my eyes, the best one out of the three so far.
     There will be more to come, just give me time to recooperate. Thanks
     to my wonderful beta Lorral; for being patient, kind, wise and gentle
     in her corrections. I couldn’t have asked for a better beta.
And Last There's Just One




  And Last There's Just One

  By Deirdra

  Remus/Severus, Harry/Draco

  R

  Author's Notes: This is the third installment of The Supposed Tale of
  Unrequited Love. There is mention of MPREG and a Het relationship. Neither go
  into detail in this story. It chronicles the relationship of Remus and
  Severus in the years between when Remus left Hogwarts then came back to teach
  in Harry's third year. Sirius breaks out of Azkaban and searches for not only
  Harry, but Remus as well. What will happen when the two old friends see each
  other? Will the past be forgotten? Will Remus forgive Sirius for his
  mistakes? Or will Sirius foul everything up as usual? What else will happen
  for the people who are part of their lives?

  Disclaimer: I don't own them, I wish I did.

  Severus sat grading papers from his 5th year potions class in his chambers at
  Hogwarts. His glass of scotch sitting on the table next to the couch where he
  was sitting. He hadn't seen Remus in weeks, due to the fact that he had
  acquired a new job and it was hard for him to get away.

  Snape looked up briefly as the flames of the fire flared green and a body
  tumbled out, covered in soot and floo powder.

  "Hello, Love," Remus greeted his lover. It had been too long since he had
  seen him.

  Severus smiled, and before he could stand to greet him, Remus was on top of
  him straddling his lap.

  "Lupin, you're crushing the students' homework." He was smirking so it was
  obvious he couldn't care less if the brats' homework `accidentally' made it
  into the fire.

  Remus nipped at the Slytherin's neck and ear, ignoring what he was saying,
  "And?"

  Grunting, Severus lifted the other man into his arms and carried him to the
  bedroom, causing the parchments that had been in his lap to fall to the
  floor. He pushed the door with his foot and it shut with a click.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It had been three years since Remus had taught at Hogwarts, and although it
  had been a hard three years, he didn't regret any of it. He had, with Albus's
  help, procured a part time job as a bartender in a small muggle pub near
  Snape Manor and had been working there since he had resigned as DADA
  professor. It was the perfect job because there was no problem getting one or
  two nights off a month for his change.

  Severus had stayed at Hogwarts to continue teaching potions, it was his first
  love after all, and they hadn't been able to see much of each other. The time
  they spent together was sacred to them and everyone made sure to leave them
  be during those times.

  The eldest of the Weasley children, Bill, had entered Hogwarts the semester
  after Remus had left; Charlie had started two years later. It had been a good
  decision for him to leave, the Weasley boys were prone to get into trouble
  and roam the castle at night. They would have figured out about the romance
  between Remus and Severus in no time. The next of the Weasleys would be
  joining within a few years as well; did those people ever stop reproducing?
  By the time Charlie had started school they had also had a daughter, the only
  female Weasley besides Molly.

  Voldemort hadn't been heard from; it was the general consensus that he had
  been destroyed by a baby, Harry Potter. Of course, Severus knew it was only a
  matter of time before the Dark Lord returned. He had stayed in contact with
  Lucius and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, since their master's demise and it
  proved to be an intelligent decision on his part; Lucius now considered him
  family.

  When Lucius and his wife, Narcissa, had welcomed their son into their lives
  they had asked Severus to be his godfather. This made him just as important
  in the boy's life as his own parents. So, as a result, when Narcissa and
  Lucius couldn't get a nanny to watch their son, Severus was called upon. He
  wasn't quite good with children, and he didn't like them much, but he felt
  comfortable with Draco. He also knew the boy would be in Slytherin when he
  attended Hogwarts, and as far as he was concerned, maybe Snape could have a
  positive effect on him and turn him from Voldemort's favor before it was too
  late.

  As the years drew on, Sev and Remus became closer and fell deeper in love.
  They never had a problem they couldn't handle when it came to their
  relationship and the public. Any time people suspected, they would `plan' a
  public spectacle where Severus would shout nasty things at Remus and Remus
  would walk out looking furious. They figured it would stop anyone from
  thinking they were together. There was only one person who knew for a fact
  that the werewolf and the Slytherin were a couple; Albus Dumbledore. And he
  supported them. He even went as far as to help them with their ruse of
  hatred.

  Remus also had a permanent mission bestowed to him by Dumbledore. He was to
  watch over young Harry from the shadows and make sure the boy wasn't
  mistreated by his mother's muggle relatives. Every time the horrid people
  would get close to doing something unforgivable, he would make sure it was
  prevented.

  Once they were about to brutally beat the young man, but Remus stepped in
  when Harry wasn't around and stopped them, then wiped their memory of his
  visit. They couldn't remember why they hadn't beaten him, but they knew they
  weren't to do it. Scared and threatened, but not knowing who had threatened
  them or when it had happened.

  This was one of the many reasons he and Severus didn't see each other much.

  Remus hadn't heard any news of Sirius. After all, the man was in Azkaban with
  the dementors. Snape had erected a perfect personality as potions professor
  at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was a mean, acidic, snarky
  bastard that all the students, and some of the staff, feared. This made it
  easier for him to act like he hated his lover whenever Remus was present in
  the castle on Order business.

  Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic let everyone believe the Order of the
  Phoenix had been disbanded, but they still carried on in secret. There were
  things about how Voldemort had disappeared that didn't sit well with the
  Headmaster and he wasn't about to let Tom Riddle get one up on him. The
  organization worked in secret, and after awhile even the Ministry believed it
  was no longer in existence.

  So when Remus came to visit on Order business, he was merely there to visit
  `an old friend'. They would sit and pretend to have tea in the headmaster's
  office but secretly discuss things in code. Severus rarely attended; it would
  be suspicious to see him near the same room as Lupin.

  They kept up the faade until one fateful day.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Dumbledore sat in his office alone with a worried expression on his face.
  Harry Potter had entered the school the year before, the two previous DADA
  professors he had appointed had either tried to kill the boy or had lacked
  the intelligence to protect him. He saw only one option; he had to call Remus
  back to him.

  He knew that it wouldn't be that much of a problem getting the werewolf to
  come back and teach. Remus had loved teaching the children about Defense and
  it would provide an easier situation for him and Severus. Also, he felt Harry
  deserved a little guidance from someone who had known his parents. The boy
  had been slightly depressed lately and maybe stories of the past would cheer
  him up.

  So, he did what was necessary; he sent an owl to Snape Manor, asking Remus to
  rejoin the staff. He could have asked him in person, but it would have taken
  away from the man's time with his lover. He also could have mentioned it to
  Severus, but he wanted it to be somewhat of a surprise for the Slytherin.
  Harry wasn't the only one who had been depressed; Severus's Dark Lord had
  come back and was demanding his servant's full attention once more.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Remus stared at the piece of parchment in his hands. He couldn't believe the
  old man was asking him back. Of course he was overjoyed; he would get to be
  near Severus and he could teach again. But most importantly, he would get to
  not only see, but teach, Harry.

  At once, the werewolf threw some floo powder into the fireplace and arrived
  moments later in the dungeons of Hogwarts.

  "Severus, Albus has asked me to come back and teach. What do you think?
  Should I accept?"

  The former Gryffindor was suspicious, but also elated; he had been waiting
  for the day when he could return to teaching. Severus was thrilled as well,
  but he knew the headmaster better than the man knew himself.

  "Remus, I don't doubt that he would more than love for you to come back for
  genuine reasons. But you know this man; he never does anything out of the
  kindness of his heart unless it came be mutually beneficial to the general
  populous."

  Severus loved Dumbledore, but he was far from nave. The old man was sneaky,
  underhanded, and very Slytherin.

  Remus nodded and considered his options for a few moments, "Mmm, you're more
  than right. But I think I should come back," he moved closer and wrapped his
  arms around his lover's waist, "I could be near you all the time, and sleep
  in the same bed every night," a sly Slytherin like grin found it's way to his
  lips.

  Scowling, though not very convincingly, Severus pulled the other man closer,
  "True, and you can help me torture those insipid brats like we used to."

  The werewolf grinned and leaned in to place a soft kiss on his lover's lips.
  This was going to be one hell of a year for all of them, if only they knew.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Severus had noticed the animosity between Potter and Draco from the day they
  both arrived at the castle, but he saw it for what it really was; an intense
  passion that would one day turn into something more than a house rivalry. In
  their second year it hadn't been any different. Of course, he loved Harry in
  his own way. Well, ok, I wouldn't go as far as to say he loved Potter, but he
  didn't hate him as much as he let on.

  In fact, the simple reason for him not hating Harry was this, not only had
  James saved his life, on more than one occasion, but Severus felt guilty for
  not being able to return the favor. He felt indebted to Potter Sr. and
  therefore that debt transferred to Harry when he joined the ranks of students
  at Hogwarts.

  The only problem with this was he had to make everyone think he hated the
  brat. True, he thought Harry was spoiled but he also knew the boy was very
  intelligent. It was imperative that Draco and the rest of the Slytherins
  thought he hated Dumbledore's Gryffindor Golden Boy. So he favored the
  Slytherins, which he would have done anyhow, and he treated Potter like a
  disease. Remus had no choice but to understand his lover's position and
  therefore said nothing to him about it.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Although Remus had money and nice robes, both he and Severus, not to mention
  Dumbledore, had thought it would be better if he wore threadbare robes when
  he returned; it would keep up the story that he had been living on
  practically no income and had disappeared for years.

  So, keeping with what they had decided, he boarded the Hogwarts Express with
  a fabricated past and ragged robes. He was sleeping soon after he got on the
  train, his transformation had been the night before and he was extremely
  tired. Severus had discovered the wolfsbane potion a few years earlier so he
  had been taking it since, but it was still tiring every full moon.

  When he woke, he found Harry and his friends sitting in the same compartment.
  The train ride was more eventful than he had hoped it would be, what with
  Malfoy and the dementors, but Remus kept his cool and tried to enjoy himself.
  The headmaster had suggested he be on the train to keep an eye out for Harry
  instead of just `showing up' at the castle from Severus's chambers.

  When they finally reached the castle he rushed into the Great Hall and took
  his seat at the staff table, taking advantage of the momentary lack of
  students to have a few non-hostile words with Severus. Of course, he had to
  act indifferent and Severus had to act as if he loathed Lupin, all in all
  they pulled it off nicely.

  Later that evening they found themselves in bed together, the former private
  floo connection having been reactivated between their rooms. As they fell
  asleep in each other's arms they couldn't help but think that maybe this
  wouldn't be as bad or as hard as they had originally thought, and of course,
  as usual, they were very wrong.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Even though he knew he had to do it, Draco wasn't looking forward to treating
  Harry like shite this year. His feelings had begun to change from hate, to
  curiosity, to lust. And he was frightened of what his parents and godfather
  would think if they found out how he really felt about The Boy Who Lived. So
  he acted even more like a prat toward Harry, but unknown to him, his
  godfather and his godfather's lover already knew how he really felt.

  Severus and Remus had been very careful not to let Draco find out about them,
  but Malfoy knew Snape had a lover, he was too happy to be alone. At first he
  had thought that Severus and his father were involved, but he could never
  place them at the same place at the same time in regards to when Snape looked
  `slightly tousled'.

  Oh well, it was none of his business, but that wouldn't stop him from trying
  to find out who his godfather was buggering. He spent his days trying to make
  Harry think he hated him and his nights fantasizing about how much he would
  love to drop the act and tell the Gryffindor how he really felt. Of course,
  having the dark haired, green eyed beauty naked in his bed wouldn't be bad
  either.

  Harry, on the other hand, hadn't done a very good job of hiding his feelings.
  Hermione and Ron had assumed that he was distraught over Cho, but he was
  really upset over the fact that he had feelings for his loathed enemy. So, he
  spent his days pretending to hate Draco and love Cho while his nights were
  spent thinking of ways to get the Slytherin to want him as much as he was
  wanted.

  As both of them suffered internally with the fact that they had feelings
  other than hate for each other, the year went on. It was almost amazing that
  their friends didn't figure it out. Unfortunately for the two of them, it
  would be a few more years before they even let the other know that the
  feelings were mutual.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  One night Remus was in his office alone after he had confiscated the
  Marauder's Map, it was about time for Severus to bring him his monthly dose
  of Wolfsbane but he glanced down at the parchment and noticed two familiar
  but unexpected dots. He rushed out of the castle and into the passageway
  which led to the Shrieking Shack, hoping he wouldn't arrive too late.

  Severus arrived at his lover's office and saw it was empty but that the
  charmed parchment he and his friends had created while at school was on his
  desk. He looked at it and saw two dots he was hoping he would never see
  again, and his lover was running right for them.

  Ron's leg was broken, Hermione was in shock, Harry was pissed and Remus was
  torn. He hated Sirius for what he had done years earlier, but he was quickly
  learning that one of the things he had held against his former lover for all
  those years was untrue.

  Sirius explained what had really happened and Peter didn't deny any of it,
  not very well at least. Harry forgave his estranged godfather and Severus
  burst through the door in time for him to see his lover hugging Sirius. He
  was enraged and jealous beyond belief. Remus changed and disappeared before
  he could explain what had happened.

  Contrary to popular belief, it hadn't been Severus who had told the
  Slytherins that Remus was a werewolf. The culprit was close to Remus, or had
  been at one time. But it was not his lover.

  "I'm not in love with Sirius, Sev. I found out that something I accused him
  of was not true and we became friends, somewhat. It was merely for Harry's
  benefit, I assure you," Remus was weak from the previous night's change and
  struggling with his inner anger. He needed to compose himself and not blow up
  at Severus. This wasn't the Slytherin's fault.

  "Remus, I believe you. And you know how I feel. But Sirius is still in love
  with you, any fool could see. I just hope he learned some sense and doesn't
  do something irrevocably stupid," Severus was almost at his wit's end, he
  loved Remus, wouldn't tell him as much, but he was afraid he would lose his
  lover to that mongrel he called a friend.

  They embraced and became very intimate in the privacy of their rooms, but
  they were being watched very closely. Draco had snuck down to make sure his
  godfather was alright, Sirius had snuck down to talk to Remus and let him
  know how he felt, and Harry had followed his godfather. None of the three
  knew they weren't the only one who witnessed the tender exchange of emotions,
  but only one of them betrayed the two lovers forever.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It was all the buzz in the Slytherin common room; Remus J. Lupin, Professor
  of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
  Wizardry was a werewolf. Draco wasn't surprised, well if he was he didn't
  show it. Harry didn't seem surprised either, and Sirius looked smug. The
  escaped convict had one chance to pull off what he planned and he knew he had
  to do it quickly.

  Remus stood there shocked; Sirius had just told him that Severus had let the
  whole of Slytherin know he was a werewolf. He didn't let on to his former
  lover that he knew Snape couldn't have possibly done it, but he was curious
  as to how Sirius knew before even he did. News may travel fast, especially
  through Slytherin and definitely if your lover is the head of the house, but
  the information hadn't reached Remus' ears yet.

  "Siri, I don't know how you found out, but Sev....Snape would never do that
  to me. He's a fellow colleague and I know he wouldn't risk the children's
  lives."

  He was trying to figure this out in his head without letting on that he knew
  something was up.

  "Remmy, Snape is a greasy bastard who thinks of no one but himself. Do you
  really think he would protect you? Come on! He's known your secret for years
  and he's probably been dying to tell someone! I warned you about him; don't
  you remember what he did to you our last year here?"

  Sirius was smirking internally; he knew Remus and Severus were lovers but he
  didn't want Lupin to know that he was aware. Things were going smoothly, as
  far as he could tell. Of course, Lupin was a lot smarter than people gave him
  credit for and he was on the brink of figuring it out.

  "That's exactly my point, Siri. He's known for years, why would he tell
  everyone now?"

  Of course Remus knew the real reason Severus wouldn't tell, but until he was
  sure Sirius knew, he didn't want to divulge that much about his personal
  life; after all it was none of Black's business.

  Sirius moved closer and tried to put his arms around Remus but he backed away
  before he could be caught in an unwanted embrace, "I love you, Remus. Can't
  you see that? I'm the only one who loves you."

  The werewolf shook his head, "No, Siri, no. You're not the only one who loves
  me. Harry loves me, Albus loves me," he paused and looked into the other
  man's eyes. He knew, "Severus loves me," he finished quietly.

  Then, without warning, the animagus blew up, "Damnit Remus! He doesn't love
  you! He's using you for his sick enjoyment, for his own amusement! How could
  you think that slimy Slytherin could feel anything close to love?!"

  Black was notorious for his temper, this Remus knew, but he had to diffuse
  the situation before it got out of hand. The only thing he could think of was
  to use his wand against the other man. Unfortunately, Black was at the door
  and about to leave before he could do anything.

  "I'll make you see how he really is, Remmy. You'll see. He's nothing but a
  lying, stealing, cheating, greasy, slimy, Slytherin bastard!"

  Sirius slammed the door behind him and walked as fast as he could to the top
  of the Astronomy tower; it was where he had always gone to think when he was
  a student at Hogwarts. Those nights when Remus wouldn't look at him, let
  alone touch him, in their sixth year. Gods, he was furious, but he needed to
  think of a way to prove to Remus that Snape was no good.

  He was staying for a few nights in the castle before he fled with Buckbeak,
  and was about to head for bed, when an idea hit him. He ran down to the
  dungeons to find Snape. He was going to end this charade once and for all.

  "What do you want, Black?" Severus was in no mood to deal with the animagus
  tonight, all he wanted to do was lock his room and go meet Remus so they
  could fall asleep together and forget about this madman.

  "I told you Severus, I wanted to show you how I really feel about you,"
  Sirius was sly and he wasn't about to give up. It was no wonder all of his
  family, save him, were in Slytherin.

  But Severus wasn't falling for it, he was about to reach for his wand when
  Sirius was on him, running his hands all over the body that was promised to
  Remus, grinding against him like a horny teenager and kissing him with a
  hunger that almost frightened the potions master. For a moment he was frozen,
  he couldn't move at all. When he finally realized what was going on he pushed
  Black from him like something so foul it would contaminate him if he were to
  have prolonged contact.

  "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Black?!" He was furious,
  not because Black had touched him, even though he hated the man more than
  Voldemort himself, but because he was soiling the sanctity of what he had
  with Remus.

  "I'm letting you know how I feel, Severus," Black advanced again, only to be
  met by a very nasty binding hex from the end of Snape's wand.

  "If you ever touch me again, I'll have you flogged, castrated, and put on
  display!"

  Remus chose that moment to travel into Severus's chambers through the private
  floo and saw the whole episode. He was more than furious, but he knew Sev
  wasn't to blame.

  "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Black?!"

  He hadn't called Sirius that since the night that Lily and James had been
  murdered. The color in the dark haired Gryffindor's face drained when he
  heard the angry voice of his best friend, soon to be former. When he had
  formulated this plan, he hadn't taken the time to think it through. Then
  again, when did he ever think? Sirius Black, think before he spoke or acted?
  Not bloody likely. So now he was stuck with an irate potions master and the
  fact that this time he had gone too far. He might really lose Remus forever.

  "I want you out of my life, NOW. I don't think you understand what you've
  done, Black. I tried to tell you he wouldn't leave me. Did you really think
  someone would leave me for you?" Remus snorted. The more time he spent with
  Severus, the more alike they became. "Severus loves me. No one will change
  that, not even you."

  All Snape could do was sit back and watch, he didn't like Sirius very much,
  ok he hated him, but he didn't want Remus to give up the only friend from his
  past for him. He couldn't stand it any longer, he had to say something.

  "Remus, I'm sure he didn't think any of this through, which is no surprise,"
  he smirked, "But you can't hold it against him. It's his nature to act first
  and think later. Don't give up a friendship because of me."

  It killed him to say it, but it did bring him a tiny bit of satisfaction to
  see the look of disbelief in Sirius' eyes. Remus turned to him with a shocked
  look on his face. He wasn't shocked that Severus was defending Sirius; he
  wasn't even shocked that Sirius has tried this. What he was shocked at was
  the fact that Severus didn't think himself important enough to sacrifice
  everything for him.

  "Sev," he moved closer to his lover and put his arms around his waist, "He
  ruined our friendship a long time ago when he led you to the Shrieking Shack.
  He ruined it further by not telling me he wasn't James and Lily's secret
  keeper. And this was just the straw that broke the camel's back."

  Severus looked at him funny after that last comment and he laughed, "Muggle
  saying. Never mind that, the point is that what he did was unforgivable. He
  tried to get you to betray me, but it was the way he did it," shaking his
  head and pulling Severus close, "I don't want to lose you. And he's once
  again trying to keep us apart. I won't let him do it again."

  Dumbledore chose that moment to show up in the dungeons to diffuse a
  situation which he knew to be inevitable. He feared, as he hurried down the
  corridors, that he would be too late and one or all of the three had done
  something horribly wrong. Albus was extremely relieved when he arrived and
  Sirius was bound magically while Severus and Remus were embracing while
  telling each other that even Black couldn't separate them.

  "My children," Severus scowled as the headmaster called them `children', "I
  believe we must take care of this immediately," he turned to Sirius, "We must
  remove you from the dungeons, if not the castle."

  Sirius nodded and when the hex was removed, he stood and walked out ahead of
  Dumbledore of his own volition. He knew he had lost Remus; for good this
  time. He dejectedly walked to the Headmaster's office to wait there for him
  to return. By the time he had arrived, Dumbledore was sitting behind his
  desk. But there was something different about the man; the twinkle was gone
  and all that was in those blue eyes wad disappointment and anger. The only
  other time he had seen that look was the night he had led Snape to the
  Whomping Willow and a werewolf Lupin.

  Before flooing back to his office, he cleared his throat and said a few
  things to the couple who had resumed their loving embrace, "Severus, Remus.
  I'm sure both of you are now aware of the situation?"

  When they nodded he continued, "The Slytherins know about your lycanthropy,
  Remus. Unfortunately I have no idea who told them."

  Remus's eyes clouded and a low growl caught in the back of his throat, "It
  was Sirius."

  Snape looked at his lover, shocked. He had known Sirius hated him, he was
  also aware of the fact that the mutt was in love with Remus, but he had never
  thought the man would purposely do something so devastating just to try and
  prove to Remus that he was no good. It was way beyond stupid, even for Black.

  Dumbledore nodded and reached for a pinch of floo powder, readying himself
  for the trip to his office, "We'll have to formulate some way of letting the
  students know who told. Of course, because the Slytherins were told first, it
  would only be logical that everyone would think Severus was the one who made
  the information available."

  Back in his office he gathered his thoughts before Sirius walked through the
  door. Something had to be done about the man's destructive personality. Albus
  told himself that maybe another night in the castle before he went on the run
  would be good, some time to spend getting to know Harry and his friends.

  "This behavior is unacceptable, Sirius," he couldn't keep the pain out of his
  voice. He had been hoping the boy had grown up into a man since he had last
  seen him, apparently he hadn't.

  "Headmaster, I'm sorry for what I've done. Breaking out of Azkaban was a
  mistake, I know that now. I have nothing more to live for. Remus hates me,
  Pettigrew has disappeared again, and now I have to go on the run. I can't
  even spend time with Harry!"

  Dumbledore lost his temper for the first time in his life, at least in front
  of anyone, "Sirius Black, you know damn well Remus hates you for reasons
  which are your fault alone," he lowered his voice, "You left information
  about Remus's condition for the Slytherins to find, you tried to get Remus
  back and when that didn't work, you attempted to seduce Severus. Sirius, it's
  clear you weren't thinking; at all."

  At that moment Albus Dumbledore looked his age. Over a century and a half of
  years showing on his face and in his eyes more than ever before. Sirius's
  head hung his head in shame; he had never disappointed the headmaster like
  this before.

  It was made clear that once he left, there was no reason for him to contact
  Remus directly, and that any contact with anyone from the Order would be
  initiated by the Order, not him. He was to stay away from them all, for a
  good amount of time. Of course, Harry would still be able to stay in touch,
  Albus couldn't deny them that.

  Sirius made his way back to his room to find that Harry, Ron and Hermione
  were there waiting for him. They had all fallen asleep on the couch in the
  sitting room and Sirius didn't have the heart to wake them; Harry looked so
  peaceful when he was sleeping.

  As he entered though, Hermione stirred. He didn't see her wake up and he
  began to cry. Tears that had been held in way too long, tears that should
  have been cried twelve years earlier when he had lost his friends and his
  lover. Sirius sat down in an armchair in front of the blazing fire and held
  his face in his hands; there was no way he was going to get himself out of
  this one. He had royally fucked up.

  The animagus was so consumed in his guilt and pain that he didn't see the
  petite brunette walk over to him and he jumped when she laid her hand on his
  arm.

  "It's ok, Siri. Everything will be ok," she leaned down and hugged him, but
  he pulled her into his lap and cradled her as he cried. He needed the human
  contact; physical contact.

  At first she was surprised, but she didn't think to pull away. Hermione knew
  he needed this, needed to be held. They stayed like that for what seemed like
  forever, he held her and rocked her, she let him cry and comforted him with
  kind words and soft caresses.

  But Sirius went too far when his hands moved from her back and he began to
  caress her in a more intimate manner. She pulled back from him, her cheeks
  flushed. Black pulled her to him and crushed his lips against hers in a
  hungry kiss, not unlike the kiss he had tried to share with Snape earlier.

  When Hermione finally had her wits about her and had enough mind to pull back
  from him again she found the strength to slap him. He sat dazed for a few
  moments but she cut him off before he could speak.

  "Not even if you were the last man on earth and the existance of the human
  race depended on our procreating, would I fuck you, Sirius."

  With that she rose from his lap, walked out the door and slammed it shut
  behind her. The loud noise, not the yelling, woke the two boys up. Ron rubbed
  sleep out of his eyes and Harry blinked a few times, realizing that Sirius
  was sitting in the room and Hermione was gone.

  "Erm, I better go see about `Mione," Ron said hastily as Harry gave his
  godfather a questioning look. He didn't want to know what was going on, but
  he figured he should ask.

  "What was that about?"

  Ron shut the door quietly behind him and went in search of his friend. Harry
  was going to get to the bottom of this, if he couldn't fix his own love life
  he was at least going to try and fix Sirius's.

  Sirius just sighed and waved his hand absentmindedly, "It was nothing. I
  wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Go back to your dorm. I'll be gone
  before you wake up. I'll try to send you a letter when I'm safe."

  Potter would have argued, but he could see there was no changing Black's
  mind. He sighed and nodded, rising from his spot on the couch and walking
  over to Sirius. He gave his godfather a hug and left the room. Harry wouldn't
  see his godfather in person again for a very long time.

  Sirius didn't get any sleep that night, he left early in the morning on
  Buckbeak, not even Dumbledore knew he had gone, but the headmaster wasn't
  upset about not having said goodbye.

  When Harry finally made it back to Gryffindor tower, Ron had found and calmed
  down Hermione, but she wasn't saying what had upset her. For all they knew
  she could have been embarrassed by being found asleep in Sirius's room. They
  would never find out what had happened while they were sleeping.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Over the summer Harry began to realize what his feelings were, but he
  continued to deny it to not only his friends, but himself. Of course, Ron and
  Hermione would never expect him to like Malfoy. He knew he was safe from the
  accusations, but he would have to tell them he was gay.

  Draco was also struggling over the summer. He was about to turn fourteen and
  he couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts. Every other summer he had been
  happy to be home. To be with his mother and father in their manor. But this
  summer he longed for the stone walls and the drafty dungeons of the castle.

  Remus and Severus spent their summer at Snape Manor. They had let the school
  believe that Severus had revealed Remus's secret. He had resigned to prevent
  Albus from being even more harassed by the concerned parents of his students.
  Unfortunately their peace and quiet would be short lived, at the end of
  Harry's next year Voldemort would be back full force and the lovers would
  have to `hate' each other in public once more.

  All the other professors spent their summer preparing for classes.

  Remus resumed his job as bartender at the little pub doing odd jobs here and
  there for Albus when called upon. The Order would be called upon to fully
  reform in less than a year, and he had a very bad feeling that horrible
  things were going to happen.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In private, Harry and Draco were nice to each other. They were nothing more
  than friends. In fact, you couldn't call them friends. But during their
  fourth year they got closer. Draco confided in Harry that he didn't want to
  be a Death Eater and Harry confided in Draco that he didn't want to be The
  Boy Who Lived.

  At first the information wasn't believed by either, but the looks in their
  eyes made them believe the other was telling nothing but the truth. Ron and
  Hermione never knew that the Gryffindor and the Slytherin were meeting
  privately, but it wouldn't have mattered; by the time their fourth year ended
  Hermione and Ron would be an `item', thanks largely to Victor Krum asking the
  brunette to the Yule Ball before Ron could gather the courage.

  Draco helped Harry solve some of the clues for the Triwizard Tournament and
  was actually the one who suggested to the fake Professor Moody that Harry
  should use gillyweed. All in all, they had become good friends. Draco had
  even come close to telling Harry about his parents. Things no one, not even
  Snape knew.

  During Harry's fourth year Remus and Severus had no external problems in
  their relationship, and there was never an internal one. They were happy with
  each other and no one would be able to destroy what they had. Black had
  proven that when he had tried to seduce Severus in an attempt to show Remus
  what a jerk he was. The only thing Sirius had accomplished was showing Lupin
  what an ignorant fool he was, not Snape.

  Sirius had laid low, sending sporadic notes to his godson and the headmaster.
  He had been very worried for Harry during the tournament but thankfully, he
  had been ok. Black was thrilled when Dumbledore asked him if the Order could
  use his family's house for headquarters. Of course he said yes, he would get
  to see Harry over the summer.

  Remus spent a lot of weekends calming down a distraught Severus Snape after
  every time Potter almost got himself killed. It was really worrying the
  Slytherin how close that boy came to death; he almost felt like a distant
  uncle to him. Severus wasn't as worried as he would have been if it weren't
  for the fact that he noticed Draco with Harry a few times. It made him feel
  better that the two of them had found friendship.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The summer Harry turned fifteen was a hard one. He was taken from the
  Dursley's house at Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whining, Surrey just to
  be dumped in the middle of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London. He wasn't
  at all happy. In fact, it would have been safe to say that he was pissed.

  People kept telling him that he was important in the defeat of Voldemort,
  that he was the savior of the wizarding world, but none of them would tell
  him what the bloody hell was going on! How was he supposed to save everyone
  if he didn't know what was happening? It was all he could do not to throttle
  anyone who looked at him, breathed too heavy, or spoke too loudly in his
  presence.

  Draco's summer wasn't much better; he was constantly being told that he would
  soon be taking the Dark Mark. But it wasn't his father that kept insisting;
  it was his mother. Narcissa Malfoy had always been the one in charge of their
  family. Lucius was just a mouth piece, a title. She was the mastermind behind
  the whole plot. In fact, Lucius may attend all the Death Eater meetings, but
  she was the one who carried out the plans. He was there for appearances but
  he answered to her. Narcissa was the one in the Dark Lord's favor, not
  Lucius.

  The younger Malfoy feared the day when she would finally lose her patience
  with his father and kill him then take over the Malfoy fortune and name. Gods
  above knew that's what she had been planning since the day her parents told
  her she was to marry him. And although Lucius didn't show it, he was equally
  afraid. Not of his wife, he'd snap her neck in two, but he was afraid for his
  son. The one thing he didn't wish on Draco was the life he had, a Death
  Eater's life. He would do everything in his power to make sure that didn't
  happen.

  After the battle at the Ministry, the Order did everything they could to
  rescue Sirius. Even Remus and Severus tried to help, if only for Harry's
  sake. That summer he stayed at the Order headquarters after a brief
  `vacation' with the Dursleys. But to his surprise, it hadn't been Remus and a
  group of aurors that saved him from Surrey; it was Draco and his father.

  "Come on, Harry. Your muggle relatives are away for the afternoon and we're
  here to pick you up," Draco was nervous that Harry would think it was some
  plot to take him to Voldemort, especially since his father was with him.

  Harry looked at Lucius suspiciously, "How do I know you're not going to take
  me to Vol - you-know-who?"

  Lucius' face tightened at the almost mention of his Lord's name, but he
  softened when he realized the boy was just nervous.

  "Harry, we're here to save you. If you would like us to wait for you to send
  an owl to Dumbledore and make sure, I'm positive those muggles will have
  returned by then and we'll all be in worse trouble because I'll be forced to
  hex every last one of them," he smirked when Harry grinned. Maybe he could
  get to like this boy after all.

  "Ok," Harry said cautiously as he packed his things up and left with the
  Malfoys. To his surprise, they brought him to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.
  His eyes went wide when they walked in and Lucius was greeted by Severus in a
  very friendly manner. Even his friends were being nice to Draco. He was more
  than thrilled that he could now let them know about his hidden friendship.

  Harry was reading by the fire in the sitting room the day Lucius and Severus
  stumbled through the fireplace holding up a very weak looking Sirius. He
  couldn't believe that out of everyone that was attempting to save his
  godfather, two Death Eaters had been the successful ones. Of course it
  shouldn't have surprised him, if anything could have saved Black it was Dark
  Magic.

  The rest of the summer was quite fun. Harry turned sixteen and all his
  friends were there to celebrate with him, even Draco. And he made a new
  friend in Lucius. The man had a dry sense of humor but he was funny as hell
  once you got to know him. Even Snape was nice to him.

  One evening Harry, Draco, Ron and Hermione were sitting up and talking when
  they heard something downstairs. They went down to investigate and found
  Remus and Severus having a `bit of fun'. With the exception of Ron, who was a
  horrible shade of green that clashed with his red hair and freckles, they
  were all giggling and trying to make it back up the stairs without making
  their presence known. That was the night Harry and Draco found out a lot
  about each other and themselves.

  After Hermione was finally forced to join Ginny in their room, and Ron had
  puked so much he was exhausted, Draco and Harry were sitting on Draco's bed
  chatting. Lucius was away on Order business and the rest of the house was
  either sleeping or taking part in extra-curricular activities.

  "So your father isn't a Death Eater, then?" Harry had been dying to ask for a
  very long time. The way his friend had spoken of his father, he couldn't
  imagine Lucius being as evil as he let on, especially after having gotten to
  know the man personally.

  "No, it's that horrible bitch of a mother I have. She has, well had, him by
  the balls for the last 20 years," he smirked, "She met with an untimely death
  most recently. Too bad mother doesn't smell her drinks before she consumes
  them," he snickered and almost fell off the bed.

  Before retiring to the bedroom they had found a bottle of fire whiskey and
  snuck it upstairs. Both of them were a wee bit tipsy by the time this
  conversation started.

  "Who killed her? Was it Snape? I know he makes poisons for Voldemort," Harry
  was slurring his words, but he definitely got his point across when Draco
  laughed at the way he said the Dark Lord's name.

  "No Harry. Severus didn't kill her. I did," he gulped some more liquor from
  the bottle, "She needed to be put in her place and father wasn't going to do
  it. So, I did."

  The Gryffindor stared at him for a moment. There was no way he thought his
  friend could have killed someone, especially his own mother.... But the facts
  were there. Draco admitted it himself. He had killed his mother, Narcissa
  Malfoy, the Ice Queen of Malfoy Manor. At least it was good riddance.

  "I don't hold it against you, you know. You did what you had to do." By now
  he was leaning against the blonde Slytherin and his words were a bit more
  slurred than before.

  Draco pulled away from Harry and looked him in the eye, well, as best as he
  could, "It doesn't bother you that at sixteen I killed my own flesh and
  blood?"

  The Gryffindor paused, appearing to consider the question, then said with
  conviction, "Draco, I don't doubt you had it hard. I mean, look at my life;
  living with my horrid aunt and uncle for eleven years then every summer for
  the past five years," he shook his head, "No, I don't blame you."

  Tears briefly sprung to Malfoy's eyes but they never fell. Instead, he took
  Harry's face in his hands and kissed him softly. Harry wrapped his arms
  around the other boy and deepened the kiss. It was what he had been waiting
  for, longing for, and now it was finally happening. When they broke apart
  Harry had a goofy grin on his face.

  "Bout damn time, Malfoy," he said teasingly.

  Draco pretended to pout and pulled him in for another kiss before answering,
  "I didn't know if you wanted it as much as I did. So, I had to get you drunk
  to find out," he giggled as Harry looked at him funny.

  "You're drunk too, you prat!"

  But all words were lost as they fell into each other's arms and forged ahead
  into new territory. They no longer had a friendship, but something more.
  Something deeper. When Lucius walked into the room the next morning and saw
  the two of them on the bed, naked with their limbs intertwined, he couldn't
  help but smile as he covered them up.

  The sight of them, a dark haired lanky boy snuggled up to a white blonde boy
  with almost porcelain skin, reminded him of a relationship that had never
  happened. He had regretted for years that he had never tried to see if he and
  Severus could have had something, but he knew his friend was happy with
  Remus; even if he was a Gryffindor and a werewolf.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  After it was proved to the Minister that Voldemort had returned, there wasn't
  much more to do besides combine forces. Albus convinced Fudge to give Sirius
  a full pardon, but until Pettigrew was found the animagus had to stay hidden
  from the general public. He would be residing at Hogwarts during the school
  year so he could be close to Harry.

  Remus was also given a full pardon, even though he hadn't done anything to
  need a pardon. He was asked, by the ministry no less, to return as professor
  of DADA. Remus graciously accepted and prepared for another year at Hogwarts.

  Harry and Draco weren't the only one who had gotten together over the summer.
  They had all turned sixteen that summer, but not everything that happened
  while at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was happy; Hermione and Ron had broken
  up. He was, according to Hermione, `Too immature for me. I need someone more
  intellectual....' That had led her into a relationship she would have
  initially turned down. The one man she had never thought she could be
  interested in; Sirius Black.

  It had started out simple; they had become friends after the night he had
  come back from the dungeons crying. And from there it had escalated. Of
  course Sirius wouldn't touch her until she was legal, mainly because she
  wouldn't let him, but he did have some morals, though not many. No one was
  really surprised, except Ron. They had been even less surprised to find out
  about Harry and Draco.

  Everyone that knew them said nothing bad about their relationship. Remus was
  happy that Sirius was happy and had moved on, Severus was just happy he had
  finally left Remus alone. Harry was glad that his godfather had found someone
  to share life with, while Draco couldn't care less as long as Harry was his.
  Lucius didn't have an opinion, he was too worried trying to keep himself from
  getting killed every time he stepped foot outside the Order's headquarters.

  The Malfoys had moved in shortly after Narcissa had been found dead in the
  sitting room of Malfoy Manor. The Ministry didn't press charges and neither
  did her family, the only one left was Sirius and he was just as glad the
  bitch was gone. In fact, he had almost welcomed Draco into the family
  heartily when he had found out it was him who had killed her.

  By the time they went back to Hogwarts for their sixth year, almost all the
  adults were going with them. Lucius was staying behind and Sirius was going
  to make sure he visited as much as he could; they had become friends in an
  odd way. There would be a private floo from Severus's private rooms and
  Dumbledore's office to the kitchen fireplace at the house. That way they
  could all go back and forth as they pleased.

  A lot happened over the course of the next few years, battles were fought,
  people were killed, and wrongs were made right.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Harry had been spending almost every night in Draco's private room. He was a
  prefect and since there were fewer students in Slytherin, he had his own
  room. Hermione had been staying with Sirius a lot, and Ron had a girlfriend
  he wouldn't tell anyone about. The trio was split, but only at night. During
  the day they were as they had always been.

  Draco would sit at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, pretending to hate
  Harry as he always had while Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor
  table and pretended to try and ignore Malfoy's piercing stare. Remus and
  Severus played their little game of insulting each other in public while
  Sirius hid away in his room so no one could bother him. It was also a vain
  attempt to keep his hands off Hermione, to him she was irresistible.

  Dumbledore sat at the staff table with an unusually knowing twinkle in his
 eyes as he looked upon his `children'. So many of them had found love, but so
  many of them would die young. He sighed heavily as he thought back to the
  vision he had seen a little over ten years ago. There was so much to do
  before that could come to pass. The one thing that most people didn't realize
  was visions were only one possible future. There was a strong chance that
  what he had seen, and allowed them to see, would never happen. He was
  determined it would, and almost precisely as they had witnessed.

  Everyone had a wonderful Christmas; they all went back to Grimmauld Place for
  Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner. They opened presents under the tree and
  had a wonderful time, not knowing that there was a great possibility that
  they wouldn't all be together and happy like this again.

  On Christmas morning they exchanged gifts, everyone having bought something
  for everyone else. It was more than true that they had become a huge extended
  family. Lucius had gotten Severus a bottle of excellent scotch and in return
  he had given the blonde a journal; it wasn't know to very many that Lucius
  had been a sucker for writing when he had been at school. Severus had also
  received a very rare potions text from both Hermione and Sirius, thanking
  mostly her and ignoring the mutt as much as he could. Harry and Draco had
  given him a set of Slytherin green robes with tasteful silver trim; they
  insisted he needed something other than black. Remus just laughed as he
  handed his lover his gift; it was a rolled up scroll with Remus's family seal
  on it. When Severus unrolled it his eyes teared and he hugged Lupin. They
  didn't tell anyone what it was, but they would eventually find out anyhow.

  Harry had received numerous Quidditch things and broom accessories from
  various people, but Draco had given him something very special; well his
  heart as well, but he had given him a ring with the Malfoy crest on it. He
  explained that it was a promise of sorts and no matter what, he had to wear
  it. A concealment charm would have to be in order; only people who knew it
  was there would be able to see it.

  Surprisingly everyone gave Lucius something, but his presents mostly
  consisted of sweets and brandy. He held the journal close to his heart; it
  had been the best present he had received in years.

  Everyone had given Ron the usual stuff, Quidditch books, a homework journal
  from Hermione, sweets, a jumper from his Mum. Severus and Remus had even
  given him a book about how to make defensive potions; a sort of combination
  of both their fields.

  There were too many gifts to mention them all, but after everyone was through
  opening presents, save two people, Sirius turned to Hermione and smiled, "I
  saved your present for last, Love," he got down on one knee and pulled a
  small box from his pocket. Everyone gasped when he opened it and the brunette
  began to cry, "Hermione Granger, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

  Sirius began to sweat, it seemed like it took her forever to answer him, but
  when she finally did, she slipped the ring on her finger, flung her arms
  around his neck as she sobbed and cried out, "YES!"

  The house was full of cheer and after that scene, no on noticed that Harry
  hadn't given Draco his present. He leaned over and whispered in his
  boyfriend's ear, "I'll give it to you when we're alone. I don't want to make
  a scene."

  Draco grinned and nodded, knowing it had to be good if Harry wanted to do it
  in private. They had a lengthy dinner and finally they all went to their
  rooms; Hermione and Sirius retired together, as did Severus and Remus. Harry
  and Draco snuck up to their room and Ron was left alone in the sitting room
  with Lucius, sipping brandy and going over the day's events. It was a damn
  good thing both Remus and Harry had put up silencing spells before anything
  could be said.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In Harry and Draco's room....

  "Ok, I didn't want to do this in front of everyone. I know it's a bit
  clich....but I want to," he walked over to where Draco was sitting on the bed
  and kneeled down in front of him. He saw the apprehensive look on the
  Slytherin's face and had to laugh.

  "It's alright; I'm not doing what you think I am."

  Malfoy laughed nervously. He would like nothing more than to marry Harry, but
  as it was, right now, he simply couldn't. Harry continued once they had both
  calmed a bit.

  "Well, where shall I begin?" He paused, thinking about something, then forged
  ahead, "I want you to know that I love you. More than anything."

  Draco nodded and Harry took that as a sign to continue.

  "I...I want to do something that could guarantee we both survive the final
  battle."

  He watched his lover's face as the information was absorbed. Harry wasn't
  quite sure how Draco would take this, how he would feel about this being part
  of his present. There was no mistaking how spoiled Malfoy was. To his relief,
  Draco seemed nothing but happy.

  "You're asking me to bond with you, aren't you?"

  The Gryffindor silently nodded. He had learned, mostly because Hermione made
  him, that certain types of bonds would protect a couple against death. The
  only problem with these bonds was they were dangerous to perform and should
  something happen to one of the bond mates, the other would also die. But
  there were more advantages than disadvantages.

  For one, this particular bond would allow them to constantly know where the
  other was, how their health was, their state of mind, if they were in danger,
  and they would be linked not only spiritually, but mentally as well. They
  would be able to speak without words. They would be able to share their
  magical strengths with one another and therefore, it would make them
  practically invincible when together.

  "I would be honored. And it's something we can keep secret. Then, maybe one
  day, after Vol - you-know-who, is dead, we can get married," Harry looked
  hopeful.

  "Alright," he replied, but he had to get one teeny weenie Malfoy-ish joke in,
  "But don't think I'm doing this because I love you, Potter," he sniffed
  haughtily, and he would have gotten away with it too if Harry hadn't been
  grinning at him, "I do love you, Harry. You're a prat, but I love you."

  Harry snorted, he really was beginning to sound like a Slytherin, he
  practically lived with one all year round, "If anyone's a prat it's you," but
  he leaned in and kissed him, "But I love you because of that, not despite
  it," Harry smirked.

  "You know, smirking isn't very becoming of you, Harry. You should leave that
  to us Slytherins."

  "And haven't I told you the hat wanted to put me in Slytherin?"

  "Yes, yes. Blah, blah, blah and all that rot. But it didn't and you're a
  Gryffindor," he rolled his eyes, "And yes, I love you because of it, not
  despite it."

  They tumbled into bed, and right before Harry lost all coherent thought at
  the sight of Draco's body sprawled beneath his, he made a mental note to
  discuss the plans for the bonding with Dumbledore the next day.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In Remus and Severus's room....

  "Why did you do this?" Severus's voice was barely above a whisper. He never
  yelled, but to anyone else, this was the equivalent.

  Remus looked floored, he had no idea his lover would react like this to a
  simple piece of parchment. Of course, there was the little matter of what the
  parchment said...

  "I thought you would like it. I....I thought it would be something we could
  enjoy."

  Snape was fuming. There was no doubt he had been touched by the sentiment,
  but there was no way they could do this now. Not yet. When he saw how
  distressed Remus was getting he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him
  close.

  "It's not that I don't want it. But a house? In both our names and a promise
  to each other?" He looked into Remus's eyes. He loved the idea of getting
  bonded, a true love bond, mind, body and soul. But now, in the midst of a
  war, was not the time. Or was it? The house was definitely out of the
  question.

  "Severus, I love you. I just wanted to show everyone," he was at a loss for
  words. He thought getting Snape Manor changed to both of their names and
  planning a bonding ceremony would be perfect. After all, they had been
  together fifteen years. He had never asked his lover for anything, not even
  when he had never once heard the words `I love you' did he complain.

  Oh, he knew Sev loved him, but the Slytherin had never said it; at least not
  when he was awake.

  Snape sighed, he knew it was all done with good intentions, and of course
  Albus had something to do with the bonding ceremony, but could he, should he,
  do this?

  "Alright. You're right. Let's do this. You've been with me for fifteen years,
  always kind and gentle," he leered at his lover and said in a seductive tone,
  "Unless we're in bed," A feral looked flashed in Remus's eyes, "You deserve
  to be happy. If this is what you want, this is what we'll do."

  Remus hugged him and held him close, "Thank you, Sev. You won't be sorry," he
  kissed him passionately; putting everything he was into it.

  Snape chuckled as he pulled back, "Don't you think I would regret it already,
  seeing as how we've been together so long?"

  The werewolf laughed and nodded then playfully threw his lover on the bed and
  proceeded to show him just how kind and gentle he really could be.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In Hermione and Sirius's room....

  The brunette was still gushing. Sirius knew she'd still be crying tears of
  joy until long after they'd been married. It's not that she had been hinting
  at it, in fact she hadn't even mentioned it, but Sirius had known. It was as
  if she was the one that had been meant for him all along. She knew about his
  past and loved him anyway. That was more than he could ask for.

  It was true that he could never love her the way he loved Remus, but he knew
  that the love he had for her already would grow into something more. She was
  beautiful and intelligent. She put up with him when he was being
  insufferable, and she most definitely put him in his place when he was being
  ignorant. Hermione would be the perfect wife.

  "Are you alright my love?" He pulled her into his arms and cradled her like
  the night he had gone back to his room crying; only this time she wasn't
  comforting him.

  All she could manage was a nod, but she leaned in and kissed him. Sirius was
  in heaven. The only men he had ever been attracted to were James and Remus;
  he had thought he was straight until that day in the showers. But in all
  actuality, he was only bisexual for them.

  His friendship with Remus seemed to be as repaired as it was going to get,
  which wasn't really much, but more than he had hoped for. Hermione had helped
  a lot, convincing Lupin and Snape that Black was completely harmless toward
  them now. And if only for that, he was grateful.

  But there was so much more about her to love.

  "Oh Sirius, I never thought....never expected. Why?" The look on her face was
  that of pure shock, but also utter happiness. How could he not love this
  creature?

  "Because I love you. And because you're going to be mine and only mine even
  if I have to shout it from the rooftops and fight for it," he had always been
  a romantic guy, wooing all the girls when he had been a student at Hogwarts.
  But with her it had always been different.

  "I love you too."

  They didn't make love that night, but fell asleep in each other's arms. To
  them just being able to lie there, touching the one they loved, that was more
  than enough. To sleep in someone's arms was so much more intimate than having
  sex with them. It showed a trust, being at your most vulnerable, in someone's
  arms. Trusting them to protect you. For years Hermione would remember this as
  her favorite Christmas, if not the best one.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In the sitting room downstairs....

  Lucius and Ron were indulging in some fine brandy when the conversation took
  a turn neither of them thought would come about.

  "What do you think is happening up there?" Ron's words were a bit slurred,
  but could you blame him? All of his friends were with someone and either
  getting married or bonded. And even though Harry hadn't told him what he was
  up to, the green eyed Gryffindor hadn't taken one thing into consideration;
  Ronald Weasley was NOT stupid.

  The blonde looked up from his snifter and quirked a brow, a smirk on his
  delicious lips, "Why Ronald, I thought you knew as much."

  That made Ron turn the shade of his hair, but it was more than true. Of
  course the boy had to know that his friends were taking part in the physical
  aspects of their relationships. Although, there was more than just that going
  on, and Lucius knew it. He sighed mentally and sipped his brandy.

  Ron shot him a weak glare before speaking, "I know that much, Malfoy. I was
  wondering what Remus got Snape and what Harry got your son."

  The redhead would usually only be brave enough to call him sir, possibly
  sometimes Mr. Malfoy, but he had never called him Malfoy or Lucius; the
  blonde was amused at his housemate's new behavior. Perhaps liquor was just
  what everyone needed to loosen up now and then.

  "Weasley, whatever it was I'm sure when they want us to know, we will."

  Lucius rose to pour himself another drink and offered Ron some more, which he
  took. The two of them had become odd sort of friends, they were still the
  goofy looking Gryffindor and the nasty Slytherin, but they had formed a bond
  that no one would be able to break.

  Lucius and Ron had both experienced similar things growing up but at very
  opposite ends of the spectrum. They were both constantly surrounded by
  people, but the people surrounding Ron loved him, the people around Lucius
  had feared him. Because of this the two of them grew up to appreciate
  everything around them, though it took Lucius marrying Narcissa to make him
  realize.

  Ron nodded and leaned back in his armchair, "Yes, they'll tell us when they
  want us to know. But I want to know now."

  Lucius couldn't deny that the redhead was whiny, it was irritating to no end,
  it was just a good thing that bringing up the master whiner, Draco, had made
  him immune to it. He just shook his head and silently drank his brandy,
  hoping that when morning came there would be some explanations.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The next morning Dumbledore showed up to speak to the three couples. They had
  all met with him individually and he had told them all similar things.

  To Hermione and Sirius he had said, "I'm very happy for the two of you, but
  make sure you know what you're getting into before you go through with this.
  Yes, yes, I'll perform the ceremony. Of course we can have it as soon as
  possible. But we should at least wait until the summer, if not until after
  Miss Granger finishes school. No? You don't want to wait? Alright, this
  summer, then."

  With Draco and Harry it had been a different story, "Congratulations my boys!
  I was wondering when this would happen! Of course we'll take care of this
  right away. Oh yes, right before Harry's birthday, yes. That would be
  wonderful. Oh, but the two of you don't want to get married? Hmm, I suppose
  we could add that on later, after you're both out of school, oh there's no
  question, yes I'll perform the bonding. Yes, as soon as we can arrange it."

  But then, there was what he said to Remus and Severus, "Bout damn time! I
  thought you two were never going to take this to that level, even though I
  knew you should....Mmm? Oh, well we can do it at Easter, yes. Perfect timing,
  mmm hmm. We'll need witnesses, what's that? Sirius, Harry, Draco and Lucius?
  Perfect, yes. Alright, I'll make the arrangements as soon as I get back to
  the castle."

  And before he left each meeting, he had said to each couple, "I think your
  families deserve to know everything as soon as possible. Which means you
  should tell them tonight."

  He gave them all a piercing look then went back to Hogwarts to plan three
  commitment ceremonies. What Draco and Harry didn't realize is the bonding
  they had chosen was a very ancient form of marriage. Having noticed they
  weren't ready to know this yet, Dumbledore hadn't mentioned it. Remus and
  Severus had chosen one similar but with less magical emphasis. They were also
  incorporating some marriage vows into the bonding ceremony. Sirius and
  Hermione were not bonding. She had put her foot down. Hermione knew Sirius
  loved her, but she also knew that she couldn't allow him to bond to her when
  it wasn't what he wanted. But then again it would make it harder for her if
  she were to allow it. There was also the little matter that she couldn't do
  magic currently nor have it performed on her....

  That evening at dinner, they all began to speak at once.

  "Draco and I are going to be bonded."

  "Severus and I are to be married this Easter."

  "I'm pregnant."

  All eyes, including Sirius's, were on Hermione, she hadn't let him in on that
  little bit of information. It was just like her, to keep things inside and be
  brave, noble, handle them on her own if she thought it would hurt someone
  else. Which is why she hadn't told Sirius, she didn't want to `trap' him into
  marrying her, but since he proposed without knowing, she was satisfied that
  it was what he really wanted.

  "You bastard, you knocked her up! Is that why you're marrying her? Because
  you got her pregnant? You filthy mutt, we never should have looked for you
  after you disappeared behind that fucking veil!" Ron was ranting; he was
  still in love with Hermione, no matter how many girls he invited to his bed.

  Surprisingly, it wasn't Remus or Harry who tried to calm him down; in fact,
  they had been thinking something along the same lines. Calmly, Lucius rose
  and dragged a protesting Ron from the room, Severus got up to follow.

  Hermione looked about to cry, she hadn't even been able to defend Sirius
  before Ron had been removed from the room. She looked around at who was left
  and she finally found her voice, "Actually, he just found out. I didn't tell
  him because I didn't want him to ask me to marry him just because I'm
  pregnant," she looked to her fianc, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but see
  what would have been believed?"

  Sirius pulled her close as the other three just sat there and watched. It was
  evident to those in the room that Sirius hadn't known about the pregnancy,
  but he loved her and seemed to be truly happy.

  "It's alright, `Mione. Ron will come around," Harry felt bad for her; Ron
  could be such an arse sometimes.

  "Yeah, Granger, Weasley won't be able to stay pissed long. Not with my father
  and Severus talking him out of it," Draco shivered as he thought about being
  alone in a room with the two men at the same time. Very scary thought.

  Remus just blinked for a few moments. He didn't agree with what Sirius was
  doing, sure he needed happiness, but he didn't need to hurt innocent people
  in the process, "Congratulations, Siri."

  Black smiled; Remus may not have used the nickname Padfoot in a while, but at
  least he wasn't being called Black tonight. His old friend had called him
  Siri; a nickname that only he and James had ever called him. It made him warm
  inside to know that his old friend was happy for him.

  After having calmed the irate Weasley down, the two Slytherins returned to
  finish their dinner. Shortly after, Ron reentered and took his seat, making
  sure not to look anyone in the eye.

  While seeming to examine his plate in a very interested manner, he addressed
  his friend, "'Mione, I'm sorry for what I said, but it seemed like he was
  only asking you to marry him because of your condition," he paused. This
  wasn't going very well. Severus gave him a stern look, "I know he wasn't
  aware that you were pregnant when he asked you, but I just didn't think....I
  didn't think."

  Hermione was still livid, and her hormones weren't exactly helping her
  situation, "That's right, you didn't think. Hang your head, say you're sorry
  and promise never to do it again. Just like you always do," her voice was
  full of sarcasm and venom, if he hadn't been shaking while alone with Severus
  and Lucius, he was shaking now, "Sorry isn't good enough anymore, Ron. We're
  adults now. I'm pregnant, Harry and Draco are happy together and getting
  bonded," she paused, an evil smirk coming to her lips as she said the next
  line, "The only one who seems to not have grown up is you, Ronald Weasley.
  You're still acting like a child, maybe it's because we all have someone and
  you don't. But if you continue to act this way, I'm going to cut myself off
  from you. I don't need my child growing up around this kind of behavior."

  Nobody dared argue with Hermione when she was like this, so they just kept
  their mouths shut. Ron felt bad enough as it was and they all knew she would
  eventually forgive him for what he had said.

  After that the conversation was lighter, everyone was talking about their
  plans for the bondings and the wedding. Hermione was pouting about the fact
  that by the time they married, she wouldn't fit into a dress. Sirius just
  chuckled and told her that no matter what, he would always love her and she
  would always be beautiful to him.

  When the hols were over, everyone returned to Hogwarts, but there were
  problems that no one had accounted for. People who would find things out that
  were none of their business, and plans that had to be changed because someone
  was careless.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  By the time Easter rolled round, there had been a change in plans. Severus
  and Remus couldn't be bonded, at least not yet. Voldemort was getting
  suspicious about his loyal servant, especially since Lucius had disappeared.
  Any bonding ritual would be able to be detected by the Dark Lord; he could
  sense that kind of magic in someone in his presence. That meant he and Remus
  couldn't follow through with their plans until after Severus either stopped
  being a spy, which wouldn't happen yet, or Voldemort died.

  They were both devastated by this, but they couldn't risk putting each
  other's lives in even more danger. However, there was one couple whose
  relationship was quickly becoming well known. Someone had accidentally let
  slip that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were not only friends, not merely
  lovers, but were going to be bonded as well. Wonder who the jackass was that
  spilled that load of information....

  Anyhow, the word had begun to spread faster and faster as the days went by,
  and soon, not only the whole school, but the whole of the wizarding world
  knew. Damn Ron anyway. All of this meant that Harry and Draco had to bond
  sooner than later; having learned this information, Voldemort was planning to
  attack sooner. The Gryffindor and the Slytherin had to have full protection
  against the Dark Lord, and the only way they were going to accomplish that
  was to bond like they had planned.

  So, instead of Severus and Remus, Harry and Draco were to be bonded at
  Easter. By then Hermione was beginning to show, Sirius was overjoyed, Remus
  and Severus were disappointed, Lucius was proud of his son, and Ron was, yet
  again, ashamed of something he had done.

  Lucius, Severus, Sirius and Hermione were to be their witnesses. Albus began
  the ceremony by performing an ancient ritual to prepare Draco and Harry's
  minds and souls for the merge. The two of them stood in a protective circle
  facing each other while Albus stood before them and chanted. The other four
  were just outside the circle at four different points, all holding hands with
  each other to complete the connection.

  A very old, powerful magic surged around Potter, Malfoy and Dumbledore as the
  ceremony continued. The air around the couple and the headmaster had turned
  bright blue and prevented the witnesses from seeing what was going on, but
  once the smoke cleared, they could see the naked torsos of Harry and Draco,
  both of them looking into each other's eyes while Dumbledore stood there
  twinkling, damn the man.

  The two of them walked toward their friends and family looking older, wiser,
  happier and more powerful than before. The one thing all of them noticed was
  a small tattoo had appeared on the inner part of their right forearms. It was
  a small Celtic love knot. Apparently it automatically appeared when that
  particular bond was created between two people that were made for each other.
  Not just soul mates, but two souls that were created just for the purpose of
  being together, souls that had found each other in more than one life and
  would find each other in every lifetime for all of eternity.

  Turns out they didn't have to be married formally, they already were from
  past lives and the bonding ceremony had just solidified that fact. When
  Voldemort found out that they had gone through with the bonding earlier than
  planned, he was so furious that he killed a handful of Death Eaters just
  because they were standing near him at the time.

  So that set the pace for the rest of Harry's sixth year. Hermione was getting
  bigger by the day once summer came and she was begging to not only get
  married, but to get this thing out of her already.

  On the night of Harry's birthday party, Hermione was extremely uncomfortable
  and very cranky. She was already seven and a half months pregnant, wishing
  she could get married already, and get this damn thing out of her. So,
  Dumbledore moved the date up of their ceremony. The only people who would be
  there were close friends and family anyhow, so no one important would miss it
  if it were to be changed at the last minute. Hermione's parents could still
  have their muggle ceremony after she gave birth.

  Everything went smoothly that day, except for the fact that halfway through
  the ceremony she went into labor. She was three weeks early, but what was
  inside her wanted out, not that she was complaining. All she could do was
  practice her breathing and do her part in the ritual when she was supposed
  to. Within moments of the marriage being official, she went into full labor
  right there in the sacred circle of protection.

  Ron fainted, Draco made a face of disgust, Severus quirked an educated brow
  and watched over Poppy's shoulder giving her advice every five minutes, Remus
  tried to get his lover to leave them alone, Harry grinned like a loon, Albus
  tried to get everyone to leave the room, and Sirius held his wife's hand as
  she gave birth to their twins. Ok, so she had twins, and yes, magic could
  have told her that. Hell, a muggle doctor could have told her that, but for
  purposes which I won't reveal, one being I'm the author and I said so, this
  little bit of information was withheld.

  Having said that, both Hermione and Sirius were exhausted afterwards and the
  only ones they would allow in were Hermione's parents. This was mostly due to
  the fact that they didn't understand wizard traditions and there was no
  telling the Dr.'s Granger no.

  When Harry was finally allowed to see his best friend and godfather after the
  labor was over, he couldn't help but smile at the sight before him; Hermione
  holding twin girls while Sirius looked down on them and talked baby talk. It
  was a sight that both he and Draco would comment on for years, the happiness
  of two people when they look down upon the life that they created together.
  He just hoped that one day he and Draco would have that same happiness.

  As he walked over Hermione looked up at them, "You know Harry, these girls
  need a godfather. In fact, it couldn't hurt for them to have two godfathers,"
  she looked at her friends as if she was willing them to catch on.

  They exchanged a look before answering.

  "'Mione, we would be more than happy to be their godfathers. Now, what have
  you decided to name my goddaughters?"

  Draco elbowed Harry in the side, "Our goddaughters," he said with a smug
  smirk on his face. There was no denying Draco loved his friends as if they
  were all family. And now they would be, "Yes, what will you name them?"

  Sirius and Hermione looked at each other for a few minutes and she nodded,
  "Well," Sirius said, "One is Lily, after Harry's mum. The other is Jamie,
  after Harry's father. I know it sounds odd, but that was what we always
  called him, Jamie. So, Lily and Jamie," he hoped Harry wouldn't be upset, but
  there were tears of joy in his godson's eyes.

  "Thank you," it was all he could manage before he began to cry and Draco had
  to lead him from the room gently. Malfoy found it very touching that they
  named their children after Harry's parents, and it saved him from having to
  argue with his husband over what they would call their children when they had
  them.

  Draco blinked and thought to himself, `Since when is he my husband and since
  when are we having children?' He shook his head; apparently all this crap was
  getting to him. Maybe he needed to distance himself from all these happy
  families....

  But he knew it would make his husband happy, there it was again. He thought
  about this logically for a moment; their souls had been together for
  millennia, the bond they had created had married them as well, there was a
  record of it at the Ministry, and they had the Celtic knots as well as proof.
  `Ok', he finally admitted, `we're married, he's my husband, but when did we
  decide there's going to be children?'

  Draco and Harry went back to their room; they all lived at Grimmauld place
  after all, and lay in bed talking.

  "Do you think we'll ever have that, Draco?" Harry asked him as he drew lazy
  circles around one of his husband's nipples.

  Draco smirked, trying to hold in a laugh, he was very ticklish, "Harry, I
  think we could have that. You know, there are potions and spells that can
  help wizards get pregnant..."

  But Harry cut him off before he could finish, all this he already knew, "No,
  Draco. I know one of us can get pregnant, I took sex ed with Madame Pomfrey
  just like you did, but do you think we'll have that joy? The simple ness of
  just being able to love our children without having to worry about what will
  happen? I mean, do you think we'll be allowed to experience such happiness?"

  Draco knew he had a point; as long as Voldemort was alive there was no way
  they could have that. Once he realized this, Draco was determined; they would
  defeat Voldemort once and for all so Harry could finally get the happiness he
  deserved. He just sighed and pulled the Gryffindor closer, "One day, Harry.
  One day."

  They fell asleep in each other's arms, as they did every night.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The ritual to become Lily and Jamie's godparents took place not too long
  after they were born. Harry and Draco passed along a bit of their magic to
  the two babies and were therefore bound to them for all their lives. If
  anything were to happen to Sirius and Hermione the girls would be taken care
  of by Harry and Draco.

  The rest of the summer past almost uneventfully; Voldemort tried to attack,
  but was thwarted before he could even get near Harry. He would try again very
  soon and it would be devastating to everyone involved.

  When they all went back for their seventh year at Hogwarts it was different
  than the previous years. Hermione and Sirius had private rooms near
  Gryffindor tower and she took most of her classes in the rooms for the first
  few months so she could be there with her daughters. Draco and Harry
  permanently moved into Draco's private rooms down in the dungeons because
  they were now married, but Remus and Severus had to keep up the ruse that
  they despised each other.

  It was harder for them than anyone else because they had been together longer
  than any of the others and they were the only ones who had to hide their true
  feelings. Remus continued to teach DADA and Severus was still the professor
  of Potions.

  It wasn't until near the end of Harry's seventh year that anything drastic
  happened; Voldemort attacked, and it was the end of it all. The final battle
  was upon them before they knew what was happening. Tom Riddle had somehow
  breached the castle's wards and the battle took place at the school.

  Both professors and students fought, some against their parents and friends.
  Lucius finally stood up against his Dark Lord as did Severus. Voldemort was
  not at all happy that his two most faithful servants had turned against him,
  but it was too late for him to punish them now.

  The battle raged on with a field hospital where the students diligently
  helped Madame Pomfrey heal the wounded from both sides. Her logic was this;
  even if the Death Eaters came to the tent for help, she couldn't let them
  die, this way she could restrain them after they had been healed somewhat and
  detain them until the battle was over and the aurors could take them away to
  the Ministry.

  As people fought all around them, Draco and Harry found themselves being
  drawn to the Quidditch pitch where the fighting hadn't yet reached. There
  they found a very smug looking Dark Lord who challenged them to a fight. This
  was it, the final showdown between the savior of the wizarding world and his
  dark nemesis. There was one difference, he had help. Draco was there, not
  only for moral support, but to help him defeat the man who had made his
  entire life miserable from the day he was born.

  While everyone was fighting outside, Hermione was safely inside with her
  children. She wanted nothing more than to fight, but she refused to leave her
  children unprotected; and she didn't want to risk them being left without
  both of their parents. Even thought she knew Draco and Harry would always do
  what was best for the girls, she knew how hard it had been for Harry to grow
  up not knowing his mother and father. So, while Sirius went out to fight for
  their future, she stayed inside, praying to the Gods that her husband and
  friends would make it out alive.

  Sirius had seen the two young men leave the battle field and had done all he
  could to prevent their battle being interrupted. He kept all the fighting
  away from the Quidditch pitch, hoping Harry and Draco would be the victorious
  ones.

  As the number of casualties mounted, Harry and Draco faced Voldemort, without
  any outside help.

  "Well, Tom. It would seem that we meet again. Do you really think you'll be
  the one to come out victorious?" Harry was feeling quite cocky, but why
  shouldn't he? He had the love of Draco and the support of his friends and
  family. He knew he could beat this man once and for all, for that's what he
  was; Voldemort was merely a man, Tom Riddle.

  Draco stood bravely at his husband's side, "You won't win this time. We've
  had enough of your shite."

  Voldemort just smirked; he had been hoping they would be this careless and
  foolhardy. The only problem was; he didn't know just what he was in for, "Of
  course, my dear children. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to get on with
  ruling the world. So if you wouldn't mind cooperating and dying very
  painfully, I can get back to what I was doing."

  Draco threw the first hex, knowing it wouldn't do much, but hoping it would
  at least distract the enemy long enough to give Harry time to throw the next
  one. Anticipating what his husband was doing, Harry readied himself to throw
  a hex immediately after Draco, knocking Voldemort on his back, but failing to
  injure him.

  The Dark Lord just laughed, "Did you really think that would even put a
  scratch on me? You must be joking. I'm going to teach you what it's like to
  be on the receiving end of a painful curse."

  But before he could even lift his wand to follow through with his threat,
  both Harry and Draco raised their wands and shouted at the same time, "AVADA
  KADAVRA!"

  Normally, this wouldn't even faze the other wizard. But seeing as both Draco
  and Harry were not only powerful wizards, but they also shared their magical
  powers, not to mention the fact that they had cast it at the same time, it
  had worked better than imagined.

  A look of shock and disbelief crossed Tom Riddle's face right before his eyes
  went blank and he fell to the ground like a rock. His body lay motionless and
  staring blankly up at the sky. From where they stood, Harry and Draco could
  hear blood curdling screams from the battle field.

  They ran to the source of the sound, and saw all the Death Eaters, including
  Severus and Lucius, falling to the ground and clutching their left arms.
  Apparently, when Voldemort died, it released them from the hold he'd had over
  them. All the remaining people that had been fighting for the Dark Lord
  surrendered when they finally realized what had happened.

  The aurors gathered them up and took them to the ministry as the professors
  and students began to determine what the death toll was. Everyone worked from
  one end of the field to the other, quills and parchment floating behind them
  and recording the names of the deceased. Among them were both Crabbe and
  Goyle, along with their fathers, Millicent Bulstrode, MacNair, Avery, Parvati
  Patil, Lavender Brown, Padma Patil, Xiomara Hooch, Filius Flitwick, and Dean
  Thomas. Pettigrew had been one of the Death Eaters that were captured.

  When they reached the other side of the grounds, they all gasped; there,
  lying with the rubble of one of the towers, lay Dumbledore's body. He was
  badly wounded and very near death. Poppy ran as fast as she could to where
  the headmaster was laying and performed as many healing spells as she could
  before announcing that only time would tell if he would live.

  Once they had made their way back to the castle and the injured were safely
  in the hospital wing, they made their way to where Hermione was hidden with
  Jamie and Lily. The news they gave her wasn't the greatest, but at least the
  father of her children and her best friends were alive.

  Ron had been badly injured in the battle but he would live, Sirius left the
  battlefield with little more than a few cuts and bruises, Severus, Lucius and
  Remus were all fine, but spending the night in the hospital wing where Poppy
  could monitor their conditions. As for Draco and Harry, they didn't even have
  the smallest of injuries; nothing could have touched them during that fight.

  The day Dumbledore awoke from his coma, he insisted that he spoke to Remus
  and Severus privately.

  "My boys," he struggled to speak, "Before I die I want to see you bound and
  married."

  They began to shake their heads; they knew if he were to perform the ritual
  it would kill him. But then again, it was his decision to do so, not theirs.

  "No children, I want to do this. It must be done. There's only one other
  strong enough to perform it, and you can't expect him to do this, given the
  current circumstances."

  Once again, they had no idea what the old man was talking about, but that was
  nothing knew. The meddling wizard was omnipotent and knew everything about
  everyone, even before the people who were involved realized it. So they
  settled for letting him do what he thought best.

  "Alright Albus, but not until you're stronger," Severus hated seeing him like
  this. The older wizard had been like a father to him most of his life and he
  couldn't bear to see him dying. But he was, and it was inevitable.

  Dumbledore smiled, shaking his head, "No, Loves. Give me a few days, enough
  time to build up the strength to stand. We will perform the bonding this
  weekend."

  And with that, he dismissed them so he could get some rest.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  True to his word, Dumbledore stood in the protective circle not five days
  later in front of Remus and Severus who were facing each other. Lucius,
  Harry, Draco and Sirius were there to witness, and as before, stood just
  outside the circle with their hands clasped, completing the connection.

  Green light and smoke enveloped the couple and the headmaster as the ritual
  came to a close, but when the smoke cleared, it wasn't a truly happy sight.
  Both Snape and Lupin were kneeling beside Albus, who had fallen after he had
  uttered the final incantation. His body was stiff and his eyes were open and
  staring into nothingness, but he had a content smile on his face. They could
  tell he died happy.

  Everyone held a mass memorial for the dead, all but Dumbledore. There was a
  private ceremony for those he considered family. His will was read, and it
  specified the following;

  I, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
  Wizardry, hereby bestow the following things to these particular people;
  Minerva McGonagall, the one love of my life, will take over as Headmistress,
  she is the only one suited for this job. Her position as Professor of
  Transfiguration will then be left open, I would like for Sirius Black to fill
  it. As for Deputy Headmaster, Severus Lupin-Snape shall have the honor,
  leaving him to continue teaching Potions long after I'm gone, as I know it's
  his other love in life. The new head of Gryffindor house could only go to one
  man; Remus J. Lupin-Snape; I can see no other filling Minerva's shoes. He
  loves the children as much as she does.

  Harry, who was reading it aloud, looked up, "He has specified that the rest
  of the will has been modified since the last battle. He would like to suggest
  which people will take over in the following teaching positions," he paused
  to laugh, "Which means these are the new professors. We all knew Albus didn't
  take no for an answer," he read on.

  Seeing as there were many dear friends that have passed who were professors
  at our esteemed school, it's only fit that we fill their positions with those
  who best meet the requirements. In the position of Quidditch Coach and flying
  instructor, Harry Potter-Malfoy; this young man has shown exemplary skill on
  a broomstick and I can see no one better suited for the position. Hermione
  Granger-Black shall take the position as Charms professor and seeing as she
  has two new born children, Draco Potter-Malfoy will share the
  responsibilities.

  Not many know this, but the castle was not only a school, but my home. It has
  been in my possession for many years and I would now like to pass it on to
  someone new. Although this person has not yet been born, I would like to
  leave my home in possession of the first child born to the Potter-Malfoys.
  Until that time it shall be left in Minerva McGonagall's trust.

  I want you all to know that I loved you all very dearly and you need to all
  carry on as usual. Don't let my death be in vain; live your lives to the
  fullest and happiest you possibly can. I did not die not knowing the
  consequences of my actions; I never did anything unless I was aware of every
  possible outcome.

  We are all sad about the losses, but don't let the pain live your lives for
  you. Death is an impossible casualty of war; no one could have prevented it.
  If you had been able to save those who died, others would have died in their
  place.

  No worries, my children, you will be able to visit my likeness in the
  Headmistress's office and on all chocolate frog cards that have my name on
  them. If anything, live with the memories of the happy times, not with the
  fact that I've passed.

  Harry looked up from the parchment he held in his hands to see tear streaked
  faces; everyone missed Albus tremendously. No one more than Severus. There
  were so many happy things the wizard had done in the last few years of his
  life; everyone chose to remember those. The marriage of Hermione and Sirius
  as well as the bondings of Remus to Severus and Harry to Draco.

  There had been two beautiful babies born and little did anyone know that
  there was another on the way. It was too early for anyone to know, but Harry
  and Draco had been discussing having children. A few nights before the
  reading of the will, Harry had taken a potion that, if it worked properly,
  would make him and Draco proud parents. They had done everything right and
  had also felt the spark of life being created within Harry's abdomen, but
  they refused to get their hopes up by believing the conception had happened.
  All that was left to do was wait two weeks then go see Madam Pomfrey, only
  time would tell.

  To Be Continued....

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  I would like to make you aware of some things after having read this story.
  There were situations that occurred differently than they were previously
  indicated;

  The bonding ritual of Severus and Remus is one of them. The main thing I
  would like to point out is this; premonitions and visions are only one
  possible outcome of the future. There is nothing that guarantees these things
  will happen as they're seen; this is why Albus makes sure to keep Remus and
  Severus together. He wants to make certain his two favorite pupils experience
  as much happiness as possible. This is also why he insisted on performing the
  ritual.

  Don't berate me for killing Dumbledore, chances are J.K. Rowling will do the
  same. He may have been a powerful wizard but he was old and had knowledge
  beyond his years.

  I chose to change the ending slightly. I know in the previous story Ron was
  trying to win Hermione's favor in the vision and Draco was there and Lucius
  wasn't, but you have to understand something; the characters had evolved in
  their relationship since they had the `vision'. They had ended up chosing to
  perform a very dangerous ritual that was not open to the public; therefore
  the professors as well as Hermione and Ron, could not be present, only the
  witnesses.

  Even though Hermione wasn't supposed to be around strong magic during her
  pregnancy, she was able to attend the bonding of Harry and Draco, this does
  leave a hole in the previous stated `rules', but for the simple fact that Ron
  wasn't exactly welcome may indicate why she was still chosen. I assure you
  she was well protected, as were her children.

  There was no indication, whatsoever, that Hermione and Sirius would end up
  together and yes, the names I chose for their daughters were a bit clich, but
  did you really think Draco would allow Harry to name any of their children
  after his parents? I thought not.

  The issue that Hermione is a bit young never phased me, I worried more over
  the implications of Draco and Harry beinig so young and marrying each other.
  I was probably undaunted by the Hermione/Sirius relationship because he's
  older and stable, whereas she's more mature than he is. They balance each
  other out, and the fact that she's more mature makes me forget, as I write
  her, that she is only, in fact, a teenager.

  When Severus and Remus returned, the private floo network between their
  chambers was reactivated and it said nothing about Dumbledore's fireplace
  being connected as well, use logic; he's the headmaster and has access to all
  rooms in the castle.

  Another thing; Sirius calls Snape Severus. Now, I know this seems like
  something he would never do, but the man was trying to seduce him; what
  better way to seduce an old enemy by playing on the one thing that bothered
  the Slytherin about the Marauders? He just wanted friends, people to call him
  by his given name. Sirius felt he should exploiot Snape's weakness,
  thankfully, Sev is a better man than Black, at least in my eyes.

  For those of you who have read the story and begged me too make Remus happy,
  I have done that somewhat. I know Severus never tells him he loves him, but
  if you had lived Snape's life, devoid of happiness, love, and being told
  you're loved in rerturn, would you want to voice it? Anyhow, Lupin knows Sev
  loves him; he will say it eventually.

  Having said all that, I would also like to point out that comments are more
  than welcome, even if they're negative. I can only better myself and my
  writing from these; even if it's criticism, as long as it's constructive.

  Thank you for reading and I hope you look forward to reading the next
  installment, I know I'll enjoy writing it. If you find any other
  discrepancies in the story that I haven't mentioned, let me know and I'll try
  my best in the next story to explain them.

  ~Deirdra~

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