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Torn	By : starstruck86 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Ron Views: 3458 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
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Ron smiled
as he stood waiting for the kettle to boil. The kitchen looked exactly as
they�d left it when they went to bed �table messy, mugs half-full of tea, and
one of the chairs broken with a leg crunched off. Looking at it Ron wondered
just how bruised Severus� leg was going to be when he woke up.

I don�t think his first experience
of being picked up and whirled about went too well. Ron chuckled as he put the teabags
into the mugs, shaking his head at his own lack of spatial awareness. Mind you if he�d not thrown his legs out
like a fucking girl it wouldn�t have happened.

Careful of
burning himself on the kettle, he finished making tea and carried both mugs
back into the bedroom, sending each one to the respective bedside table before
twitching back a curtain to look out. It was still dark. It hurt him that
somewhere along the way his ability to sleep in late on the weekend seemed to
have disappeared, whereas Severus seemed to be sapping it all. Ron climbed back
into bed and shivered slightly, even though he was unusually wearing some semblance
of nightwear �his boxers and a t-shirt.

He settled
down under the covers and stared at the ceiling, one hand lazily reaching out
to tickle Severus� stomach. George was on the bottom of the bed, curled around
his husband�s legs, snoring with him. Ron lay for a while, listening to their
combined breathing, feeling peaceful.

�Are you perving on me when I�m asleep again?� Severus� voice
groaned out to his left and Ron turned his head to look at him �he was blinking
sleepily.

�No, I was
just tickling your belly like the good boy you are,� Ron winked.

�Oh ha ha,� Severus stretched his back by flexing his shoulders
back and forth. �What time is it?�

�Half past seven.�

�What the hell
are you doing awake this early?�

�I wish I knew,� Ron yawned.

�Well,
whilst you are�� Severus extricated his legs from beneath George, who grumpily
took the hint and huffed off the bed, leaving Severus to shift closer and flop
sleepily over half of Ron, pressing his morning erection into his thigh.

�Sweet Godric, again?� Ron laughed, as Severus crept a
hand into Ron�s underwear and lazily fondled him.

�Not
necessarily,� Severus muttered into the skin of Ron�s neck. �Just
nice.�

�I�m not
going to deny that.�

�Sleep
well?� Severus asked, letting his eyes shut again as he settled around Ron�s
body.

�It wasn�t
bad,� Ron said quietly. �Took me a while to get off.�

�Mind full
of thoughts�� Severus commented.

�Yeah.�

�Some of
them deliciously filthy, I hope?� Severus didn�t want to start the day on such
a low and complicated note.

�Oh of
course,� Ron hushed his voice. �There was a rather nice one of you strung up
from the ceiling completely naked and at my mercy��

With a
groan Severus rolled on top of him completely and crushed their groins
together. �Tell me more.�

�No,� Ron�s
cheeks tinged pink and he closed his eyes.

�Oh what�s
this? Mr Call-Me-A-Fucking-Whore is embarrassed?�

�Shut up,�
Ron smiled.

Severus kissed him, gently, swiping his tongue across Ron�s plump lips. �I
could just Legilimens you to find out.�

�You do that,� Ron nuzzled his head into his pillow, pressing his lips firmly
together.

�Tell me,� Severus nosed against him.

�No,� Ron whined. �Anyway, it�ll only turn you on and after yesterday afternoon
I�ll be glad for a bit of an erection break.�

�I�m
already turned on,� Severus sighed exasperatedly. �Habitual damnation of waking
up next to you, I�m afraid.�

�I know
what you�re doing, you think if you suck up to me enough I�ll spill,� Ron told
him.

�Oh
contraire,� Severus snorted.

And then he
was gone down beneath the sheets and Ron had no time to protest or even writhe
convincingly before Severus� lips were wrapped around his prick, the tongue
teasing as leisurely as his own had done the night before. He groaned and
pressed his hips upwards into the head hidden by the bedclothes. Ron was just
getting into it when Severus abruptly sucked off with a pop and appeared out of
the sheets; hair mussed yet again, a filthy smile on his lips.

�So what was that you were saying about sucking up?� he cocked his head to the
side and trailed a finger over the first nipple he found.

�Point
taken,� Ron sniffed injuredly. �If you really, really
want to know��

�And I do
really, truly want to know�� Severus
laid on his most upper-class drawl.

�I�ll tell
you if you call me darling in that accent,� Ron bargained.

�I do
really, truly want to know, my
darling��

Severus
could have combusted in delight at the shiver which ran through Ron�s body at
the accent.

�Okay,
you�ve got me,� Ron sighed. �Not much to say� you� me� cellar� strung up by
your arms, feet barely on the floor, I have the paddle, you have nothing but
shreds of your dignity and I have my very merry way with you. Simple but effective.�

His only
reply was a growl as Severus leapt forward and pressed their lips together
again, groins meeting once more between two pairs of underwear.

�Mmmm I could just stay here and rut against you all day
long,� Severus groaned, breaking off the kiss to stroke his hands through Ron�s
hair.

�Well we can�t, not today.�

�But its Saturday,� Severus got as close to a whining tone as he could ever
manage.

�Saturday
it might be but I promised mum I�d make my walnut cake for the party and I�ve
still got to go and get Charlie�s birthday present from the Alley.�

�But-�

�But nothing
Severus Snape,� Ron said firmly.

Severus
stuck his bottom lip out in the way Ron did when he was sulking, hoping it
might have some affect.

�Don�t do that, you look ridiculous,� Ron told him in an uncanny representation
of his voice.

�Didn�t
think I�d manage to be as cute as you are when you do it.�

�I do not do that!�

�Yes, you
do,� Severus raised his eyebrows in telling expression.

�Do not!�

�You�re
doing it now!� Severus snorted, and to make his point, leant forward and
captured the jutted bottom lip between his own. �There, see? Pouting.�

�Bet I look
cute though, right?�

�Delicious.
Now. Are you going to stay with me, or am I going to
have to make you?�

Ron laughed
and finally wrapped his arms around Severus, pulling him even tighter to his
chest. �I can remember a time when it was me
having to beg you to stay in bed.�

�Mm, I
know,� Severus kissed the end of his long nose. �But that was before I truly
appreciated the benefits of staying in bed on a Saturday morning��

Ron pressed
his nose into the raven hair falling in tangles about Severus� head and
inhaled, a groan escaping through his lips as the scent locked into his nose
and drove a spike of warmth through his chest.

�Saying I
stink?� Severus teased.

�Only in a good way,� Ron assured him, and took another deep breath, before
Severus rolled sideways and snuggled against his side. �Giving up so soon?� Ron
asked.

�I know
you,� Severus smiled. �I know when you�re up for sex or not and you�re not this
morning, the twinkle�s not in your eyes.�

�Because
it�s gone on holiday to yours,� Ron rolled his eyes. �You look like a bloody
Christmas tree; you look so lit up inside.�

�Do I?�
Severus asked, startled.

Ron nodded
with a bemused smile. Severus ducked his head as a delicate blush tainted his
cheeks.

�I feel
rather lit up inside, to be disgustingly poetic,� he murmured against Ron�s
t-shirt.

�Any particular reason?�

�Oh, yes,
he�s about six foot two, red hair, leggy, nice piece
of arse� best walnut cake I�ve ever tasted.�

�You know
how rude that sounds?� Ron laughed. �Walnut cake? Is
that a new euphemism for my dick or my arse?�

�Well it�d have to be your arse,� Severus replied wryly. �But to be perfectly honest
I actually meant the cake.�

Ron was
still chuckling. �So why have I lit you up like Remus� front garden in the last
month of the year?�

�Oh good
God, its December soon, isn�t it? The official turning on of the worst
Christmas lights in Britain
and we have front row seats,� Severus groaned. �I think he�s adding more just
to piss me off.�

�I love Remus�
Christmas lights,� Ron sniffed. �At least he gets in the festive spirit.�

�Festive
spirit is waking up and opening presents, eating turkey until you feel you
might die, sitting around groaning until someone mentions the words �turkey
sandwich?� three hours later and then you eat until you might die� again. Not garishly dressing your house in fucking moving gryffins
and dancing little elves and god knows what other monstrosities he�s drummed up
throughout the course of the bloody
year.�

�Finished?�
Ron asked, his eyebrows raised with amusement.

�No! And
you know what else I hate? The way he will never admit I make better mulled
wine than him.�

�It�s his house;
he�s not going to admit it.�

�Aye but still.�

�Well you
know the way to beat him,� Ron said evenly. �You host the annual Order
Christmas Party.�

�Oh fuck
that for a bunch of bananas, absolutely not!� Severus huffily turned onto his
back and glared at the ceiling. �I�ve got no interest in opening my home so
people can tramp through it singing carols and getting one another off when
they think nobody�s looking.�

�Who got
off last year?� Ron asked.

�Oh I don�t
know but I just don�t want people abusing my furniture like that!� Severus
grumped.

�Alright,�
Ron giggled, rolling over and draping over Severus� body. �No party.�

�Thank Merlin.�

�Can I put
some fairy lights round the guttering of the house though?�

�Absolutely not.�

�Please?�

�No.�

�Pretty please?�

�No.�

�Pretty please with a kiss?�

�What kind of a
kiss?�

�A big one.�

�Not big
enough.�

�Pretty please with a kiss and a big slab of walnut cake on
top?�

�Actual or metaphorical walnut cake?�

�� Both.�

�Done.�

***

�Slice of Walnut Cake, Remus?� George pointed to the cake.

Severus and
Ron both choked up with laughter, Ron slopped his glass of butterbeer
everywhere and a walnut from the aforementioned cake lodged in Severus� throat.

�What?�
Remus looked between them curiously, watching as Ron thumped Severus on the
back, still wheezing his own laughter.

�Merlin,
don�t gag on it,� George frowned. �Honestly Ron, poisoning the birthday cake?�

That only
served to set Ron off laughing more and Severus finally dislodged the walnut
and spat it into his hand ungracefully, before bursting into laughter again.

�Think
they�ve been hexed?� George asked Remus, folding his arms over his chest and
cocking his head to watch the laughing pair.

�Never you
mind,� Severus threw the walnut in the bin and straightened. �Unless,� he
watched Remus take a bite. �You want to know our new sexual euphemism for what
you�ve just put in your mouth.�

Ron howled
with laughter and let Severus tug him into the garden, catching a glimpse of
Remus� face as they went. The air in the garden had a definite bite to it and a
gust of wind blew straight into his open, laughing mouth, wiping the breath
from his lungs. He choked and Severus instantly turned, sweeping into his arms
protectively.

�Too excited,� Ron snorted, wiping his eyes of the tears that had pooled there.
�Too funny. Bet you nobody touches it for the rest of
the day.�

�I will,� Severus said in a low, gravelly voice, a smirk turning up the corners
of his lips. �I�m rather partial to both kinds of your walnut cake.�

Pulled
flush against one another, Ron hid his laughter in Severus� shoulder as the
wind whipped around them, cutting through their jackets like ice.

�Do stop feeling one another up long
enough to give the birthday boy a hug,� came a voice,
and Ron whipped round to see Charlie behind him.

�Hey,
you�re old�er than me!� Ron broke apart from Severus
and threw his arms around Charlie�s frame. �Happy Birthday.�

�Thank
you,� Charlie grinned. �Good to be back home again; I haven�t been for so long,
it feels like.�

Ron
released him and stood aside, feeling a warm glow as Charlie bestowed the same
kind of hug upon his husband, who looked slightly shocked but pleased to be
included in the same way.

�So what�s
this I hear about a walnut cake euphemism?� Charlie looked between them. �And,
since when has George come out?�

�He
hasn�t,� Severus gave a swift look about them.

�Oh, I just
thought he� seemed much happier?�

��I think he�s seeing someone,� Ron leant
forward. �He won�t tell me who though, terrified of Fred overhearing, I think.�

�Still not
told him, then?� Charlie sighed.

Ron shook
his head but shot him a warning look as George bounded through the back door,
heading towards them.

�You two
are disgusting,� George informed them, looking between the pair of them.

�But you
love us anyway,� Ron smiled acidly.

�I suppose
I do,� George gave a regretful sigh. �So! Who wants to play a game of
�lets-get-out-of-building-the-bonfire-by-sloping-off-to-the-pub?��

�Build what
now?� Severus asked Ron.

�Dad
insists we build bonfires like Muggles,� Ron�s mouth was a grin. �Why do you
think I was so unenthusiastic?�

�But that�s
just-�

�A hideous waste of time?� George threw in.

�A way to splinter your hands up nice and good?� Charlie laughed.

�The reason
I told you this was a daft idea,� Ron raised his eyebrows smugly.

***

�Ron and
George have been at the pub for an awfully long time,� Severus muttered to
Charlie as he bent to pick up some twigs.

Charlie
snorted, �You won�t see them back until the food comes out. This should be
enough, I think.�

Severus
banished the wood sneakily with his wand into the organised mound built a fair
way from the Weasley home. �Good, it�s freezing.�

�Unusually cold for so early in the year. So, really, George hasn�t come
out?�

�Why don�t
you go and ask him?� Severus looked up, bemused at all the questions.

�Sorry� I
just. The only reason I was happy about going off and leaving him was because I
knew you�d watch out for him.�

�And you
couldn�t have told me of that grand plan?� Severus raised an eyebrow.

�You�re smart,� Charlie shook his head with a grin. �Knew
you�d figure it out.�

�I do try
and watch out for him but you know what he�s like. He�s just so scared of
Fred�s reaction it tends to stop him even talking about it. I don�t think he
even likes that you and Ron know, really.�

�I�d be
scared too,� Charlie sent his own armful of wood away too, and turned to walk
back to the house. �But he can�t keep this up much longer.�

***

Ron and
George still weren�t back by the time Arthur finally gave up trying to get the
bonfire to spark naturally and set his wand to it. Severus wanted to cheer as
the flames went up at the prospect of finally getting some feeling back in his
hands.

�Oh no you don�t,� he dodged in front of George, who was trying to make an
inspection of the burning pile of wood. He stooped and picked the dog up, which
was no easy feat considering that when standing on all fours, he came up to
Severus� mid-thigh.

Paws
haphazard, George snorted indignantly and wriggled.

�Fire
burns,� Severus said near the dog�s ear and shook him slightly. �Stick your
nose in that and it will hurt.�

Severus
watched as his words sank in and the dog flicked his eyes between the burning
wood and himself. Oh Merlin I LOVE
magical animals and their intelligence.

He set the
dog down and was thrilled when George no longer edged closer to the pyre,
instead choosing to sit down beside him. �Good boy.�

�If only my
daughter would listen like that,� Bill said from his side, his arms firmly
clamped around a red-faced Victoire; the two-year-old looked hideously grumpy.

�Want to
look,� she said in her sweet, chiming tone, with all the precociousness magical
advancement could give her.

�Well you
aren�t allowed to, are you?� Bill repeated, clutching her just a little bit
tighter.

Her answer
was to burst into noisy tears and thump her father on the shoulder with her
fist.

�You don�t
hit daddy,� Bill told her sternly, with an exasperated look at Severus.

Her cries
only escalated and Severus bit his lips together in an attempt not to laugh.

�Don�t you
laugh at me,� Bill�s eyes took on a gleam. �You�ll learn. Here, Victoire, go to
your uncle for a bit.�

Bill
foisted the snotting toddler into Severus� arms and smirked. �You need the
practice, so I hear.�

�Who told
you that?� Severus shifted Victoire into his good arm and bounced her slightly.
�Come on now, you don�t cry like that for me normally do you?� He lowered his
voice. �Not when you come to our house.�

Victoire
looked at him with big grey eyes and blinked, lips trembling.

�You�re a
good girl when you come and stay with us, aren�t you?�

�Because Won lets me play with broomstick,� Victoire smiled.

�Is that
the only reason?� Severus bounced her again.

She shook
her head and her hair flew. �I like it.�

�So will
you be a good girl and stop crying and stop trying to hurt yourself in the
fire?�

She turned
her head and looked at the dancing flames. She was still young enough to not
gather that there was a magical barrier surrounding the flames which would stop
her from getting too close to it anyway, the same which would have stopped
George from setting himself on fire. She narrowed her eyes and turned back to
Severus, and nodded her head.

�There�s my star,� Severus grinned at her, and she giggled and threw her arms
around his neck, her tears immediately gone, her face paling to normal again.

�Oh heaven
preserve me,� Bill shook his head disbelievingly, looking at his now-happy
daughter firmly glued to Severus� torso. �Mind if I just pack her off to you
until she�s eleven?�

�Novelty
would wear off for her pretty soon, I think,� Severus laughed. �So, really, who
did you hear that Ron and I need practice from?�

�Oh come
on,� Bill rolled his eyes. �You think mum could keep something like that under
her hat?�

�I wasn�t
aware Ron had really said anything,� Severus said sheepishly, keeping back the
fact that he had asked Ron to say
nothing.

�Ron tells
mum nearly everything, surely you know that by now?� Bill raised an eyebrow.

Severus
said nothing and returned his eyes to the fire which was shooting up higher
than before, gathering pace. Arthur was casting charms to contain the fire so
the wind wouldn�t buffet it in the direction of the house. It was only when his
hair blew into Victoire�s face that Severus gauged
just how windy it had actually gotten.

�You don�t
know what she�s like,� Bill said softly. �She�s always had the distinct ability
to needle things out of her children that they want to keep private. The only
ones of us that have ever been any good at keeping her out were the twins. And,
surprisingly, George is better at it than Fred.�

So that explains how he�s still not
out then. �I
understand that.�

�I know how
it is. Fleur gets angry at me, when things slip out that she�s asked me to keep
quiet. And I do try. But she is our
mum. And we�ve grown up telling her everything. He was always going to tell
her, Severus. I don�t want to insult your intelligence by calling you a fool,
but that�s what you are if you don�t accept that soon enough.�

Severus
wanted to react angrily to the dressing down he was being given by the brother
of the man who�d fucked him over his antique desk the night before, but somehow,
in the heat of the fire, with Bill�s daughter plastered around his body,
Severus couldn�t. He merely nodded with a swallow, and gave him a small smile.

Bill made
to smile back, but there was a sudden snarling bark and a loud shriek. Severus
immediately looked around for his dog and saw him about a hundred yards from
the fire, prancing slightly, yapping at something on the ground, before
another, louder shriek rent the air.

�Molly!�

Arthur�s
worried cry cut through the air and Severus swung Victoire back into Bill�s
arms and ran to the dog, trying to see why he should be so upset. It took all
of five seconds to figure it out. A trail of charred grass led from the fire,
right up to where George was still hopping about, yapping. Molly was on the
grass, bent double, shaking. And not five feet from both of them was an
absolutely colossal Ashwinder, rearing, jaws open, burning whatever it touched
whilst it�s fangs gleamed in the bonfire�s flames.

�Shit and arse,� Severus hissed, pulling his wand
out from the inside of his leather jacket, pointing it at the creature which
turned its face towards him, hissing slightly. �HARRY!�

His shout
echoed over the yard, filled with concerned faces and he was relieved when
Harry appeared by his side, staring curiously around for the cause of all the
trouble.

�Jesus
Christ,� he exclaimed, watching as the snake neared.

�No spell
is going to get rid of that now it�s threatened,� Severus said quickly. �Direct
it back into the fire to burn in Parseltongue.�

Harry did
as he was bid and Severus shuddered at the hideous hissing noise which emitted
from the mouth of the young man that he would never quite like. The snake,
thankfully, obeyed him, and slithered beyond George, who whimpered, and past
Molly, still on the grass, back to the bonfire, and vanished with a hiss. Bill
instantly wiped out the fire and they were suddenly choked with thick stench of
smoke.

�Thank you,
Harry-� Severus was cut off.

�MOLLY!
Answer me, what�s- Severus, come here, I need help-�

Wide eyed,
both Harry and Severus darted forward, looking down at the man and his wife on
the grass.

�She�s not
responding to me,� Arthur shook his wife. �The snake bit.�

�Where?� Severus dropped to his knees. �Harry, light.�

They were
flooded in brightness and Severus� stomach dropped out when he saw just where
the snake had bit. Somehow, straight over the pulse point in Molly Weasley�s neck.

�She must
have been bending over,� Arthur muttered. �Severus, can you-�

He didn�t
need to ask, Severus already had his wand over the puncture marks, uttering the
incantation to draw the venom backwards. But the thudding of his heartbeat was
already telling him that it would have been so far quickly into the
bloodstream�

Molly
jerked suddenly and her eyes flew open.

�St. Mungo�s, now,� Severus
broke off the incantation and cast another to try and stem the blood flow from
the wound. Sealing it would simply seal the venom inside. �Quickly.�

***

�Look, you
can�t all trounce off to the hospital,� Severus said loudly, massaging his
forehead with his hand. He knew if he looked up he would be met with the
mutinous glares of four pairs of Weasley eyes. Bill and Charlie had accompanied
their father to the hospital and Percy hadn�t come to the party anyway.

�This is
mad, we don�t know anything,� Fred complained.

�Then have
you considered that there�s nothing to know yet?� Remus tried softly, doing his
best to help Severus out.

Severus
didn�t know why, but the second Molly, Arthur, Bill and Charlie had left, most
of the people in the house had looked to him as a sort of leader on what they
should do next. He didn�t know when any of them, bar Ron, had come to value his
opinion so much. But that didn�t mean they agreed with him when he imparted it.

Fred�s only
answer to that was throw himself moodily into an armchair and glare at the pair
of them as though they themselves had been the striking snake.

Severus was
glad when he felt a warm arm sneak around his waist, and he looked up to see
Ron standing next to him, a worried expression fixed to his face. Both he and
George had returned from the pub, smelling of beer, shortly after Arthur had
left. Severus wasn�t quite sure he would ever forget the way his husband�s face
drained of blood when they told them what had happened, and suddenly understood
a lot more about how Ron felt about his mother. His worry about a snake bite
was more than endearing.

Not just a simple snake bite though,
was it? It was a fucking huge Ashwinder. Right over the
artery�
Severus swallowed the thoughts and hoped his actions had been quick enough to
draw back the poison. Had he had antidotes he could have done more, but calling
for them would have wasted valuable time.

Ron formed
a ring around his waist and gripped him tightly, pressing into his side.
Severus lifted his arm and put it around Ron�s shoulders, and placed a kiss on
the top of his head.

�Is George
alright?� Ron whispered.

�Burnt his
front paws. I don�t know what he was doing, whether he was trying to play with
it or whether he was trying to protect your mum. I�ve fixed him up, though.�

�No lasting
damage? Those things feel like infernos.�

�I don�t
think so, but we�ll have to be careful.�

Ron
shuddered and looked sullenly over to where George was sleeping on the floor.
Severus had often wondered how Ron would react if anything happened to the dog,
and that full-body shudder told him everything he needed to know. Thank Merlin for the fact George is likely
to live for at least twenty years then.

�I need a
drink,� he whispered to Ron, and moved into the kitchen, where he found Harry
slowly washing up by hand at the sink.

�Oh, hey,�
he looked up, distracted.

Severus
inclined his head awkwardly and made his way to the kettle, trying to ignore
the steady pulses of worry which claimed him through the chain bond. Of course he�s worried.

�It�s weird
when it�s like this, isn�t it?� Harry asked, turning his attention back to the
plate he was over washing.

�Like what?� Severus tried to remember which cupboard held the mugs.

�When you
feel like you�re intruding on them when you shouldn�t be,� Harry looked at him
again.

�Yes. It does feel like that,� Severus agreed, and finally located the mug
cupboard. �Do you want?� He pointed at the kettle, hating how around Harry his
vocabulary turned short and unintelligent.

�Would
prefer something stronger.�

�That�s the second day running you�ve given me that answer,� Severus told him.

Harry
laughed. �Yeah, well.�

�It
wouldn�t do for The Boy Who Lived to get caught up in an alcoholism scandal.�

�You don�t
have to do that whole protection and advice bollocks now,� Harry smirked. �I
can drink myself into oblivion if I want to and you don�t have to give a damn, Sna-� Severus.�

Severus
thought on that as he made himself tea. �No, I don�t. But Ron does. And I give
a damn about Ron, so by proxy��

�And you
just hate that, right?� Harry finally stopped swiping at the plate which had
been clean five minutes before, and put it in the drying rack before turning to
face Severus properly, wet hands dripping on the floor.

�I just
think it�s going to be a very long life if we continue as we have been,�
Severus averted his eyes to the teabag he was squeezing against the side of the
mug.

�Fair
enough point, I suppose,� Harry mused, but he was stopped from continuing by a
new voice from the living room.

From their
point in the kitchen they just about heard Bill�s voice say that Molly had kept
consciousness and the Healers were hopeful they had pulled all of the venom out
in time. He even passed on a message that Molly hoped they�d save her some
cake.

Relief seemed
to gust through the house like a gentler version of the wind battering The
Burrow at the news of the house matriarch�s health. Harry shot Severus a
relieved smile and Severus managed to return it as Ron walked through the
kitchen door.

�Did you
hear?� He asked of them, and smiled when they both nodded. �Thank God,� he
breathed, and leant over and picked up a massive chunk of cake from the table,
before shoving half of it into his mouth.

�Your
stomach is unbeatable,� Harry grinned. �Happy, you eat. Relieved, you eat. Sad,
you eat. If you ever don�t eat, we�ll know there�s something horribly wrong.�

Severus
couldn�t fault his assessment.

***

It was
late. Severus was crammed into the corner of the settee, with Ron asleep by his
side. He was reading a book, unable to sleep with other people around him.
Ginny and Harry had retreated to her old bedroom, but Fred and George had
fallen asleep in the living room. Remus and Tonks had gone home with Teddy when
they couldn�t stay any longer, and Bill and Charlie had remained at the
hospital.

Ron hadn�t
wanted to leave until they�d had another update, but he�d fallen asleep before
it could arrive. Severus was the only one awake to hear it if it did, or he
thought he was.

George
stirred and stretched where he was uncomfortably sprawled into an armchair, and
he yawned looking about.

�Do you
ever sleep?� he asked of Severus.

�Not usually
when there are other people about,� Severus closed his book quietly.

George gave
a sleepy chuckle and yawned again, shaking his head slightly. �Is dog George
alright?�

�He�s burnt
but he�s fine, not in any pain,� Severus looked thoughtfully to where the dog
was sprawled on the rug in the middle of the living room, front paws bandaged
up as Severus had left them. �Little bugger bit me as I healed him though.�

�Well, you
would bite someone too if you�d just had the skin burnt off your paws,� George
said fairly, also looking at the dog.

�True,�
Severus raked a hand through his hair.

The mood of
the house had instantly relaxed with Bill�s last message, and Severus didn�t
really see why the three brothers in front of him had insisted keeping up a
vigil in the living room, but he knew them well enough to protest.

�Sorry if we got a bit ratty before,� George said quietly. �When
you were trying to stop us descending on the hospital.�

�Nothing to apologise for.�

�Funny how
we all seemed to gravitate around you for answers�� George mused.

�It was
really quite odd, you scared me to be frank,� Severus smiled at him.

�Well,
there�s no doubt about it now� you really are an accepted Honorary Weasley.�

Severus
made a sarcastic cheering motion which he knew wouldn�t offend George, who
proved him right by snorting with laughter.

�And you�ll
be that in more ways than one soon, I hear� providing Weasley grandchildren.�

�Oh good
God has your mother told everyone?� Severus huffed.

�Pretty
much,� George grinned with a shrug. �Don�t blame Ron; she�s a master of
inquisition.�

�So I�ve
heard,� Severus muttered. �So how on earth are you still in the proverbial broom
closet, then?�

�I am a
master of deception,� George winked, but the smile faded from his face slightly.

�Are you ever going to tell them?� Severus shot a surreptitious look at the
sleeping form of Fred as he asked.

�I don�t
know how,� George admitted.

�It�s not a
big shocker, you know. Maybe, if you were the first� but you�re not.�

�I was
thinking of sending them a cake, you know, with it iced on top.�

Severus had
to fight not to wake Ron as his chest shook with laughter. �Say it with icing. Never thought of that.�

�I am going
to tell Mum and Dad, though, soon.�

�She
probably already knows,� Severus advised him. �Remember, two have gone before
you.�

�But she
had absolutely no idea about Ron,� George frowned. �Has Ron never told you what
happened when he told them about you and him?�

�In bits,�
Severus thought back. �Not entirely.�

�Well let�s
just say Mum had absolutely no idea. And she had a very stiff brandy at six in
the morning.� George winked.

Severus was
about to reply when the fireplace turned green, and Bill and Charlie both
stepped out. Both Severus and George looked up on them expectantly, smiles on
their faces.

Both were
wiped as clean as a slate as they took in pallid complexions, sombre
expressions and red eyes. Severus made to get to his feet but Ron�s grip
prevented him from doing so.

�Charlie,
what�s going�?� George had made it up but he saw the tense swallow in his
brother�s throat and his mouth fell open in shock. �What are you�?�

Severus
felt Ron jerk awake at the panic in George�s voice.

�Where�s
Ginny?� Bill asked, in a strangled voice. �And Fleur, and
Harry?�

�All asleep
upstairs,� Severus got to his feet; realising Ron had let him go. �Bill,
something�s wrong?�

�Beyond wrong,� Severus wanted to look away as Bill seemingly lost whatever
composure he�d managed to gather for the conversation. �Mum d-died about half
an hour ago.�

***

�How?�
The question was tremulously repeated into the sitting room at large, for what
felt like the millionth time.

Nobody
answered.

Ron felt
like somebody had kicked him hard in the chest and shattered a hole through his
ribcage and lungs and from it numbness spread into every single part of his
body.

�I need to
get back to Dad,� Bill got to his feet and swung his cloak back around his
shoulders.

�I�ll stay
here,� Charlie said quietly. �There are� we need to get messages out to the
family and such.�

�I need
some air,� Ron gasped, as he felt an overwhelming surge of nausea creep up his
body, and he walked numbly out of the living room, into the kitchen, heartland
of their family home, and out into the wind whipping the yard.

It was
pitch black. He managed to make it beyond the chickens before he doubled up and
released his shock in a stream of vomit, which seemed to be his body�s natural
response recently. It had never been that way before he was attacked. And now
it seemed it was the only way he
reacted.

He didn�t
say anything as he felt a hand smooth up his back, and kept quiet as his hair
was taken back from his face, and gently held at the nape of his neck as he
retched again. He could only see the black boots of the person behind him and
they were the only shining beacon. Ron straightened and spat on the grass,
willing himself rid of the evil taste lingering.

�Ron?�
Severus� voice was gentle as he released the hair he was holding.

Ron said
nothing as he turned into the embrace, choosing to simply hide his face away
where nobody could see it. He was too emotionally shot to remember that Severus
felt everything through the chain bond anyway.

Severus
said nothing more. What on earth can I
say?

Blank
nothingness swooped around them both.
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Torn