Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Resistance	By : danniperson Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 44506 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: I did not create the Harry Potter stories or universe and I do not make any money from this

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Life continued much the same for the following months. Snape was an awful git, his wounds secretly celebrated by most students who were glad for the various substitutes they had in Potions. Harry wasn't so fortunate. While the man was still healing, they couldn't be expected to train, though Dumbledore insisted they continue to meet to work on strengthening the bond. When the time rolled around for them to copulate, Harry was hesitant as Snape was insistent, eventually finding a way to have sex without disturbing the man's injuries too much. He was back in his classroom after a week and a half, though he didn't fully recover for another month. It was an unnaturally long process, Madam Pomfrey had commented, though Dumbledore assured her that it was due to their weak bond, the disappointment the older man displayed properly chastising the younger wizards.

The two put more effort into not fighting during their conversations, even, at times, making an attempt outside of them. They had to learn how to get along, though both were very reluctant to do so. It only took realizing that not doing so came at a higher cost than both were willing to pay that gave them the determination to swallow their pride, let go of their stubborn ways, and force themselves to play nice.

For a while, though they held off their more biting remarks, they did remain very hostile towards one another. It took weeks for them to relax into their routine, slowly accepting that nothing too awful was going to take place. They never discussed anything too personal either. For a while, they focused on learning each other's likes and dislikes, covering everything they could possibly think of before realizing they had to move on. After that, they began covering topics such as school work, gossip, world events, Quidditch, Hermione's SPEW efforts, and any other safe topic they could think of. Harry learned that any reference to pregnancy or children was unwelcome, thus causing Snape to break any attempt at holding back his cruelty, normally ending their meetings in disaster. What surprised him most was Snape's willingness to help him with his homework. He was hardly pleased in agreeing to it, but like Harry figured it was something safe they could do together. For the bond. When Snape actually had to work at not being a git, he was actually a very good instructor. Most things Snape explained went completely over his head the first time they went over it, but Snape would then dummy it down for him with a minimum of snide remarks about his intelligence, or lack thereof. Voldemort was another sketchy topic that Harry liked to avoid nowadays. While the war was their main reason for entering into this troublesome bond, it was not something they should ever discuss.

Never, not once, did they allow themselves to open up too much. Already, the conversations they had revealed much more of themselves than they were comfortable with sharing. But they both had a lot worse to say, secrets they would cling to, hide and offer all of their protection to. The moment any one topic began to head in the direction of any personal stories, they would quickly cut it off, latching onto something else. When Harry's talking of his favorite television program nearly led him to his speaking of how the Dursleys had treated him, never letting him watch TV, threatening to not give him dinner if they caught him sneaking peaks, it had terrified him, leading to a very dull, awkward conversation about Snape's chair that they managed to stretch out for a good twenty minutes. Where had he gotten it? When? What color was it, really? No, he wasn't blind, but it was so dark in the room it was hard to tell! Did he always sit there? Did he let anyone else sit there? What sort of wood was used? What was the fabric? Only when they ran out of every possible way to lead the discussion did Harry manage to calm down enough to continue their list of likes and dislikes. Snape also seemed to have a few moments of that nature at seemingly strange moments. He could admit to some curiosity, but his own fears over having to say too much kept him from wanting to know too much.

Christmas holidays came and went with no great disturbance, other than Grace teasing him as well as trying to convince him to tell their parents of his pregnancy. Until Harry knew exactly what he was going to do with the babies, he wasn't open to telling them. Even then, he doubted he would want to. How exactly would he go about that conversation? Telling his friends had been hard enough. His parents were going to lose it! It had been strange enough having to tell them he was going to have to visit Snape every few days, even with the excuse of working on the bond. Christmas Eve night he had come back after a particularly rough time with Snape that had been spectacular, though it left him limping a bit the next couple of days.

Luckily, they didn't seem to suspect anything.

Now, they were back at Hogwarts. Had been for a week. A long week of returning to their usual schedule with the added pressure from all around that NEWTs were coming up before too long. As it was Sunday, Hermione tried to badger him into all-day studying session as she had on Saturday, but he declined. Normally, he tried to study with her for a few hours, at least on weekends. After losing the baby, she had sort of lost herself in her work, well, more than usual. All social activities had ceased unless she was helping other people study. If anyone tried to nudge her towards any other subject, she shooed them away. Unless it was the Soul Bond, that is. Along with studying for all of her classes, she was still doing stellar research on bonds.

She wouldn't even listen to any offers of comfort or sympathies. Anything to do with babies would cause her to promptly leave the room without another word. It was as though she wanted to go on with life as if she had never been pregnant at all. It wasn't very healthy, but no one had made any progress trying to help her deal with it. The thought of just leaving her alone all of the time made Harry feel guilty, so he offered his presence when he could, giving input when possible, though it wasn't very often. Today, though, he needed to be alone. Hermione hardly seemed bothered, only waving him off as she dragged her bag into an unused classroom. Most of her studying was done in rooms like these now, wanting to avoid people as much as possible.

Almost everyone else was enjoying their weekend. They walked the grounds with friends, planned secret rendezvouses with lovers, playing games in common rooms, or even flying around the Quidditch pitch. Harry stared longingly in the direction of the pitch as he walked alongside the lake, shoving his hands into his pockets. There hadn't been any Quidditch for a while. After Hermione lost the baby, putting the idea of miscarriage into everyone's minds, those who knew realized how dangerous Quidditch could be while pregnant pressured Harry into quitting. The injuries from the battle made a good excuse as to why he could no longer play, though he stubbornly held onto his captaincy. He needed to be part of it somehow. No one objected, as they all assumed he would be back in the game before the end of the year. Besides, it was his last year! Might as well let him.

It was moments like these he wished he wasn't pregnant. To be fair, there were an awful lot of moments like these. Not that he wanted an abortion. It was still in his consideration, though he felt awful about it. Doing something like that after his best friend had suffered like she had made it seem all the worse than it already did. But, as much as his moral code spoke against the procedure, it was hard to fully accept that he would be having babies. It wasn't natural! He had to miss out on Quidditch now, had to take all of these potions, had to take care of himself more, and all sorts of things! There was also the fact that everyone who knew continuously gave him strange looks, openly staring at his abdomen, whispering behind his back. Harry may have been used to the bad attention, but that didn't necessarily mean he could easily ignore having more of it.

Now his body was acting strange. The morning sickness was mostly gone by this point, but he had weird cravings. He also had to pee a lot more, was very tired, and now could even feel the babies starting to move around. Even his stomach was becoming a bit rounder. Not in any extreme way, though. Madam Pomfrey said it was natural, since he was having triplets, and that he would gain a lot more later on. Seamus had made a comment the other day about how all of that time off of the broom and in the kitchens was affecting him. How much weight would he have to gain before someone started to suspect something was wrong?

Along with all of that, his chest was beginning to feel a bit sore. That was a subject he didn't even want to think about. Morag MacDougal, just the other day, had gone into an explanation about how a woman's breasts filled out during pregnancy. He was a bloke! He couldn't have boobs! The very thought of his chest being filled with milk was highly disturbing. If he could have any wish right now it would be that the area was sore for another reason. Any other reason. Never again was he discussing his pregnancy with anyone. Regardless of the fact that these were things he could expect to happen to him, he just didn't want to know. It was very disturbing. He could hardly imagine how girls went through this, let alone how a man was supposed to.

Men just weren't supposed to have babies. It was as simple as that. Harry sighed heavily, turning around when he reached the end of the lake to start back. Could anyone really expect him to? Frowning at the thought, Harry moved to take his hands from his pockets to rub them over his stomach, but stopped hallway to shove them back in. That was another thing. Why did he want to touch his stomach so much? He barely noticed he was doing it most of the time. It was one of many things he had to be very careful with.

The temptation arose again a few minutes later when he felt that strange fluttering in his belly. It was an awful guilt that spread through him about even considering getting rid of his babies. They were his children. His flesh and blood, even if they were Snape's too. But they didn't belong here. They shouldn't even exist. That was another awful thought. Harry cringed. How could he be so callous? Snape's cruelty had to be rubbing off on him. How could anyone think that about children?

Someone who wasn't even supposed to be able to have children.

But that wasn't a good enough excuse.

He loved them, didn't he? Sometimes he thought so. Other times they were nothing more than intruders in his body. Even after three months, he hadn't fully wrapped his head around the whole ordeal. No amount of proof would make being pregnant feel normal. He couldn't accept that he was really going to be a father. Or mother, as Blaise liked to tease. Rolling his eyes at the thought, he shook his head. Then he lowered his head in shame, face heating up as the thoughts continued to circulate his mind. The babies, his babies, just didn't seem real, didn't seem human. It felt more like being implanted with tiny, baby monsters that were growing, where they would wait until they could wreak havoc on his body, destroying him from the inside out. They didn't seem like innocent babies at all. Rather like a disease, or something monstrous, sinister, unnatural…

What sort of monster felt that way about his own children?

"Fuck," Harry mumbled, raking his fingers through his hair roughly. The longer he went on with this, the worse he felt. He must have been pacing in front of the lake for hours, all of this weighing heavily on his mind. Everything with Snape, the babies, and even worrying about Hermione to start with.

Hermione. That was it. She needed someone, and he needed the distraction. Maybe he should take her up on that offer of studying. If he could even focus on it. If not, he was sure he could convince Hermione to help him with something that would prove fruitful in the area. Spinning on his heels, he made his way back towards the castle, intending to search every unused classroom until he found the one Hermione was hiding in. He desperately needed to escape these thoughts before they drove him insane.

Half of her homework was done while the other half had been abandoned in favor of reading Magical Bonds. She had already gone through it countless times, but still became so absorbed in it. She had never really read it all the way through before, only flipping to various ones whose names looked promising in the index. Yesterday, though, she started reading at the first bond in the book. Now she had reached the Present section of the book, looking at a curious one called Insignis Mors, translated to Marked by Death. It was called that due to a substance used in the Marking of the "Servants." The ink used in the Marking was actually a very infamous poison commonly used in the Middle Ages that resulted in the most gruesome death possible by means of poison. It was a thick, black potion often referred to as Death's Blood. It took the drinker at least two weeks before they would succumb to death, in which time they suffered the worst pains known to man. That was as much of the poison as the book gave, though Hermione quickly jotted down the name, determined to research it more later. It was only the timing in which the servants were Marked, how it was used in the ritual of the bonding, that kept it from actually killing them. There was much more to the bond, of course, and the more she read the more she became convinced that this was the bond that Voldemort shared with his Death Eaters.

It spoke of the bond holder, or the Death Master, and his control over his servants, most of this acting through their Mark. The Mark often took on a shape that represented the Master with no input from him or her. It confused Hermione for a while as to how they were able to Mark the servants without going through the usual tattooing process, but eventually found that the Master only held the needle, the words in the ritual guiding his hand through the Marking. She shuddered as she imagined Voldemort putting his Dark Mark onto his Death Eaters. The more she read about the ritual itself, the more horrified she became. It required the servants to provide a sacrifice to the Master, blood sharing, traditionally through a vampire's methods, and self-harm from the servants. It was also stated that sex was used, between the Master and each of his servants, then a massive orgy for the entertainment of the Master and to bind the servants to one another as well.

Most of the bond seemed very similar to Voldemort in the way he could call on his servants using the Mark or punish them through it, if the rumors she heard were true. But it also spoke of the sServants' inability to betray their Master, which didn't make much sense. Snape had been spying for them for years. So much of the bond made sense that she began to panic, questioning whether or not Snape really was on their side. But further reading assured her that there were tamer versions of the same bond. She wasn't sure why Voldemort would use a tame version, but eventually theorized that it would be impossible for him to ensure all aspects of the ritual, and that specific missing areas would affect the bond in various ways. Only now Hermione was very curious about just what the bond entailed for the Death Eaters.

Using a spare bit of parchment, she Transfigured it into a small, maroon bookmark and placed it at the start of the Insignis Mors before moving onto the next bond. The Familia Mancipium was used to enslave one family member to another and required incestuous rape in the bonding ritual. It was morbid curiosity that drove her to read more of it, though the more she read the more furious she became. A lot of the other Dark bonds she encountered, including the previous one, left her in this state. She hated them! How could anyone do that to another human being? Let alone someone in their family! She did have to wonder why it was in the Present section, since most illegal bonds were placed in that area. Surely all slavery bonds would be in the Past area. Though she figured Insignis Mors, and a few others she had read, seemed like they should also be illegal. That was another thing she was going to have to look into later.

Halfway through reading the ritual requirements, she became aware of the chair in front of her being pulled out and someone taking a seat. Quickly scanning over the rest of the page, she looked up as she flipped to the next, half expecting to see Harry, surprised to find that it was Ron. "Yes?" she asked waspishly, eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. If he had come to try to get her to talk or cheer her up, he had another thing coming. Really, she had hoped that, after this long, her friends would get the point that she did not want to talk, or even think about, what had happened. Only Harry seemed to be willing to respect her wishes. Ginny and Grace were the worst of it. She knew they had good intentions, but it was very aggravating to deal with them when they decided she wasn't handling the situation in a healthy manner. She was dealing with everything just fine, in her opinion!

"Err…What are you reading?" he asked.

"Magical Bonds: Past, Present, and Future," she replied. "How did you find me?"

"Oh, uh, I asked around. That Morgan girl…"

"Morag?"

"Yeah, her. She said she saw you come in here earlier," Ron explained.

"Do you need help with your homework?" she asked, lowering her eyes back down to her book, though his presence was too noticeable by now to just ignore it.

"Uh…No. Not really. Well, probably, but…that's not why I'm here."

"Then you should probably go before your wife starts to become suspicious."

"Geez, 'Mione. This isn't about Hannah."

"Of course it's not," Hermione sighed. There were rumors circulating that the Hufflepuff was pregnant. Grace and Ginny seemed to think she had done so purposely out of jealousy over Ron's obvious feelings for his ex-girlfriend. She had a snide remark on her tongue about needing to care for his pregnant wife, working hard to keep herself from thinking too much about the day of the Battle of Hogsmeade. With Hannah's predicament in mind, though, she pulled a sheet of parchment from under the book, writing a quick note she had meant to make when she first heard the rumor about Hannah Weasley. It seemed to reaffirm her idea that the bond must have something to do with pregnancy, with so many bonded couples ending up that way. It also made her all the more certain that the bond had something to do with Harry's condition. She'd have to do more research, though she couldn't mention it to anyone. Just saying the words pregnancy or babies would create a whole mess she did not want to deal with. "I don't want to hear it, Ronald. Please leave."

"No!" Ron said firmly, reaching out to grab her hand. Hermione made to pull away, but Ron tightened his grip, waiting until she glared up at him. "I love you."

"Stop it, Ronald!" Hermione hissed. "You're married! You left me, remember? Don't…don't sit here and try to play with my emotions this way! It's not fair!"

"But it's true, 'Mione!" Ron said pleadingly, such a sadness in his blue eyes that her anger faltered. "I love you so much. I'm so sorry. I was a total prick to you and ruined everything. Okay? This is all my fault! If I hadn't been such a git then you would have never done all that with Malfoy, never gotten preg…"

"Don't say it!" Hermione hissed, shaking her head furiously, ripping her hand from Ron to grasp her face tightly. Nails dug into her temples, down the sides of her cheeks. Go away, go away, go away she pleaded, shoving the memories, thoughts, and accusations to the very back of her mind, to the darkest corners where they belonged.

"Sorry, sorry," Ron muttered. "Only…I'm sorry about everything, 'Mione. That was the worst mistake I've made, you know? Letting you go." His face was redder than his hair by now. Hearing the words melted Hermione's heart. It took a lot for Ron to be able to express himself in such a way. He was never all that romantic, couldn't help his insensitivity, but there were rare moments when she couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again. Were they still together, this would have been one of those moments. There would always be a place in her heart for him, her first love, but those feelings weren't nearly as strong as they had been just last summer. What remained could have led them through another relationship had things between them not fallen apart so brutally. Especially not now that her heart seemed to belong to someone else.

That was something else she didn't need to think about, doing her best to shove all thoughts of Draco Malfoy away from the forefront of her thoughts.

"Thank you for saying that. And I'll always love you, Ron," she confessed quietly, feeling awful for the hope that lit up his blue eyes. "But we can never be together again. Too much has happened."

"But…we could try," Ron said desperately.

"Why don't you give your marriage a try, hm?" Hermione said gently, patting his hand.

"How can I? I don't love her the way I love you!" Ron exclaimed exasperatedly.

"You committed to her, Ron. You owe it to her to give it a real effort," Hermione said patiently.

"She's not you! We were meant to be together, Hermione, soul mate or not!" Ron said. "Don't you see that?"

"No, I don't," Hermione whispered sadly. "I used to, but it's too late now. We can't."

"Yes, we can! You're just scared because of what Malfoy did…You know, going out with Gin," he said, wrinkling his nose. Ron had been none too happy about Draco and Ginny dating, having made this clear at every opportunity, but the ferocity of his younger sister made it hard for him to do much. The last time he tried hexing Draco for hurting Hermione and trying to defile his sister, Ginny had cast the Bat Bogey Hex on him. It lasted almost a week! "Dunno how anyone could do that to you."

"Well, it's Ginny," Hermione said uncomfortably. Draco was not a subject she wanted to discuss, though she figured it was safer to hurry up with it rather than ignore it altogether. "She's very beautiful, talented…Loads of blokes want to date her. Draco certainly isn't the worst choice. Besides, it's not like I care about him that way. I'm happy for them."

"Right. Well, that's good. See? All the more reason," Ron said.

"No, Ron, it's not," Hermione said firmly, starting to become irritated with him again. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Either…" She paused when the door opened, Harry sliding into view. He paused when he saw Ron, frowning.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"No, no. Come in, Harry!" Hermione said, relieved. "Either let me help you with your homework or leave."

"Yeah, well," Ron said, shifting as he glanced uneasily at Harry. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat then I'll get my homework. Meet you guys here later?"

"Sure, Ron," Hermione said, struggling to sound polite. "Don't forget, we're meeting the others in the Room of Requirement after dinner."

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Sure. See you later. Harry."

"Ron," Harry said, sitting down as Ron stood up. It was only then that Hermione noticed that the boys didn't seem as comfortable with each other as usual. Then again, was it surprising? She had been missing a lot lately.

"Is everything okay with you and Ron?" she asked curiously.

Harry shrugged. "I guess so. Been a rough year, hasn't it? We've got NEWTs this year, stuff with the Order, Horcruxes, bonds…He has Hannah, I have…Snape," he wrinkled his nose here, "babies…Just been hard to really do stuff together, I guess."

Nodding, she nearly closed her book before remembering she needed to save her place. It was natural that they might not be as close to each other. There was a lot going on this year. They were making new friends, had new responsibilities…Truthfully, not many people stayed as close to the same people their whole lives. It was a sad thought. Ron and Harry had always been her boys. The Golden Trio, people called them. They were supposed to be friends forever.

"What about you?" Harry asked. "You and Ron okay?"

"Oh, we're fine," she lied. "I stopped homework a while ago. I've been reading the bond book, though I should probably focus more on the Soul Bond."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe you can find useful information learning about the other bonds."

Hermione paused. "You know, I never did think of that. How strange. If you'd like to help, there are the other books. If you need help with homework, though, I can get that back out."

"No, that's fine. We can do this," Harry said, grabbing a nearby book and pulling it towards him. She pursed her lips, watching him as he flipped it open to a random page. There was something off about him today, though she wasn't sure what. He seemed a bit distracted.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Never better," he said, staring at the page. She had a feeling he wasn't really reading, but reluctantly let it go in order to read more about the slavery bond. The next ten minutes passed by in silence. The Familia Mancipium was very interesting, gruesome, awful, and not at all helpful. That seemed to be the end of the sub-section of Dark Bonds, moving on to Marriage Bonds. Placing her finger on the page introducing the Marriage of Hearts, otherwise known as the traditional Wizarding wedding ceremony, she quickly glanced up at Harry. His hands were gripping either side of the book, staring at it with wide eyes.

"Harry?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine," he croaked, quickly glancing up at her. Emerald eyes seemed almost wild, anxious, as though lit up by some realization and hope that kept her from being too concerned.

"Find something?"

"Yeah. But I don't…I'll tell you later," he said, quickly dropping his head back down to read some more.

Hermione pursed her lips, leaning over to try to catch a glimpse of the page, but Harry's body was so hunched over it she couldn't make out anything. Huffing, she straightened herself up then went back to her own reading. Maybe marriage bonds would give her more insight to the Soul Bond. After all, marriage and the mating of souls were certainly more related to any of the slavery bonds she had just looked through.

Studying may not have been a favorite pastime of any student, but some of them did so anyway. Draco and Ginny weren't too pleased with their current predicament. Both were more interested in Quidditch practice, but neither teams had mandatory meetings and they were well aware how important their current project was.

"I don't understand," Draco growled in frustration, kicking the chair of the unused classroom they were sitting in. The box on the table he had been trying to transfigure into a hat was, instead, a smoking bit of rolled up parchment that Ginny was trying to blow out.

"This has been happening a lot, Draco," Ginny reminded him.

"Yes," he sighed.

"It's not awful," she said. "Harry had it worse. These are mistakes most students make. But you're not most students! You're a very gifted wizard, Draco. There's a problem."

"Which would be?" he demanded irritably.

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "The bond! You're both suffering a rough patch ever since losing the baby!" Draco flinched. She felt bad for bringing it up, but they both had to come to terms with what happened sooner or later. "You haven't spoken. Not one word to each other since that day. You two were always working so hard on being friends just to make the bond work, but now it's all just gone because of this. I'm not saying it's wrong to mourn your loss, but you can't turn on each other because of it. If anything, you should be more determined to see this through and make it work! Do you want your son to have died for no reason?"

"Is that what you think?" Draco yelled at his girlfriend.

"Of course not! I'm trying to make you see sense!"

"That was my son, Ginny. Yeah, maybe he was never really…you know…here. But he was! I never got to hold him. Never got to know him at all. He never even got a name!"

"Oh, Draco," Ginny sighed sadly.

Draco shook his head, pacing the room. It had been about three months since the incident. Life went on. Some days he was happy. He was lucky. Ginny was there, they had a great time, and things just felt normal. But then there were those days when he remembered. When all he could do was think about Hermione and their dead son. Days like these were rotten. Guilt consumed him for moving past things so easily, for just letting Hermione fall into her world of despair and denial, for not mourning their loss more than he did.

It was hard feeling the loss when he had never known his son. He had never held him, never seen him, barely was able to talk to Hermione about things. In all reality, he hadn't wanted to face the reality of parenthood. That made him feel even worse. Then, the more he thought about the things they were all missing out on, forcing himself to realize that he had a child and that child had been taken from him, brought all of that pain back that he had experienced on the first day. Only this was a worse pain. This was the ache of loss in his heart, the nausea in his stomach produced by guilt, the tears stinging his eyes, the way he could barely breathe when he conjured up those images of what things could have been like if he was still alive.

He grabbed the back of the chair he had kicked, gripping it hard as he bowed his head, trying to control his breathing. Suddenly, he felt slender arms wrap around his waist, Ginny's face pressing into his back, soft hair tickling his arm, her fresh flower scent filling his nostrils. No matter how crazy he could get with things, she always stuck by him. She always told him when he was being a jerk or an idiot, but she was also his comfort, stability he was unfamiliar with. Sighing softly, he turned around to pull her into his arms, holding her close, burying his face into the familiar scent of her hair. He no longer feared the tears that rolled down his face. At least not in her presence. His body shook slightly, causing her to tighten her grip on him, pressing her lips to his shoulder.

"It's alright, Draco," she whispered. "I'm here."

"I can't face her after what happened," Draco whispered. "How can I…? She hates me."

"She does not hate you. Hermione just…She doesn't know how to deal with this any better than you do," Ginny said, rubbing his back.

"No, she hates me," Draco said. "I see her glare at me in class. She doesn't want to be near me. I don't blame her. I was supposed to take care of them, Ginny! She's my soul mate and he was my son. I didn't do enough…I should have…"

"You couldn't have done more than you did," Ginny said for what felt like the thousandth time. They had had this conversation before. "There were too many of them."

"They're my family," Draco whispered. "It was my responsibility to…"

"Don't," Ginny said firmly. "You did all you could. Hermione did all she could. The only people to fault are the Death Eaters who attacked her. Okay?"

"I should have been there more all along."

"Yes, you should have."

Draco sighed heavily, kissing the top of her head. "She looks at me like she can't stand me sometimes. Other times she's so sad…sometimes scared. How can I make that better?"

"How do you figure she does all that? I wasn't sure she looked at anything other than a book these days," Ginny laughed. She sobered up when Draco didn't, kissing his shoulder again. "You could try. There's no one thing that's going to fix what happened. But you should be there for her. Not just for the bond, that is important, by the way, but because she's our friend. She's the mother of your child. Even if he's gone, she's still that. She needs someone. We've tried. She won't listen to anyone else. Maybe that's…maybe you're supposed to be the one to talk to her."

Before she even finished speaking he was shaking his head. "I'm not."

"Sure you are. You can be," Ginny said calmly. "If not to get yourself some help, then for Hermione's sake. You know how she's been! It's not healthy. She hasn't cried since those first few days! All she does is bury it in all of her work. One day that's not going to be enough and she's going to fall apart. And, by then, it could be too late. By then, things can be so messed up that we don't know how to fix it! She might try to pretend she's fine, but she's suffering and making it worse on herself. You're the only other one who could understand. Don't you think you owe it to her? To yourself? To…" She had meant to say he also owed it to his son, but found the words stuck in her throat. After a moment, she only coughed then sighed, giving up.

"I hate talking about it," Draco said miserably.

Ginny laughed sadly. "I know."

"She hates me enough now. She won't want to talk about it."

"You don't know that. And she doesn't hate you. Just try to make her listen."

"I don't know, Gin."

"Don't be such a coward about this, Draco! It's fine! I promise."

Draco's lips pressed into an unhappy line at the mention of him being a coward. Her patience was growing thin, but the sadness weighing heavy on him made her feel guilty. Her irritation was starting to waver at the agony etched so deeply into his expression. They both needed help, she knew, and she was trying to make them help each other. Only neither of them was very open to receiving such a thing. If they had their way, they'd never discuss it! At least with Draco, Ginny had broken through to him a few times. Hermione's behavior, though, was bordering scary. She had always been a bookworm, but she had never been quite this dedicated to her studies. Ginny could see the mental breakdown coming in the near future.

"She really needs this. I'm really worried about her, Draco!" Ginny sighed. "Please?"

Gray eyes glanced away, not looking too pleased, though he did seem as though he was relenting.

"Worried about both of you," she added quickly. "It's not just about the two of you dealing with this together, right? The whole reason this was brought up was because the bond is starting to fail. I don't think you'll ever get to the place Harry and Snape were at, but it's still bad. You saw Neville and Cedric that day, didn't you? They were amazing together! Their bond is probably one of the strongest in existence right now. That is what we need to win this war. Hell, to survive! If things don't get better, the next time we're attacked, you could die. Your magic isn't as strong as it should be and you know it. It's for your own good. Both of yours. In more than just one way! So see…This…Doing this would do a lot of good. Even if it is scary."

"Bloody terrifying," Draco muttered, sighing as he pulled out of the embrace. She watched him as he looked all around the room before letting his gaze settle back on her. His shoulders slumped as he muttered, "Fine. I'll try to corner her sometime this week."

"Good!" Ginny said, smiling.

"But…"

"But?"

"What if pushing her too much makes her hate me more?" Draco asked. "Wouldn't that do the opposite of helping the bond?"

Ginny pursed her lips. The way he asked made her question whether or not he was looking for an easy out to the difficult conversation that was in his future. He did raise a good point, though. "At least try. But, I guess, don't push too hard. Let her know you're there for her. Harry's already given up on trying to make her talk, and she does seem to be the most comfortable with him."

A pang of envy hit deep in Draco's chest. Even if there was nothing romantic between Potter and Hermione, he was still closer to her than he ever would be, closer to her than he was now.

"As long as you don't completely give up on trying to help her, just do what you can. Grace and I will just keep pestering her, I guess," the redhead teased.

"Are you sure that forcing her to talk really will help?" Draco asked.

"Positive," Ginny said. "She's not dealing with it at all. Trust me. She needs to get it out. I don't know why she's trying so hard to push it away. I know it hurts, but…I dunno. I just thought she would deal with it…differently."

A thin blond eyebrow quirked up. "You thought she would deal with it better you mean."

The young witch blushed, having the decency to look ashamed as her brown eyes darted away. "Well, yes, actually."

He snorted and shook his head. "We'll figure it out. She'll have to deal with it eventually. Can't hide from it forever, you know. The only thing we should worry about is being there for her whenever she needs us."

"I'm not giving up on her, Draco," she scolded, eyes narrowing. "She's my best friend! I'm not just going to sit back and watch her do this to herself!"

Draco stepped back, raising his hands. "Not even suggesting that, Ginevra. I only mean don't push so hard. Maybe she needs to feel more acceptance than judgment."

"I'm not judging her!"

"I'm not saying you are! I don't even know what you say to her. But I do know you, Ginevra. And then with everything you're trying to make me do…Just go a bit easy on her, alright? We'll…we'll help her get better. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that," Ginny swore, raising her finger to him. He was a bit startled to see the wetness in her eyes, the blazing determination and hurt he hadn't seen before.

"Gin?" he said, holding out his arms to her.

She shook her head, stepping back. "I hate that this happened to her, and that I'm so helpless in fixing things. But…" she cleared her throat then returning to the desk she originated at. "We came here to get you homework help. Let's see if we can get you any better at this and worry about all of this later."

"Do you want to…need to…I mean, I'm here if you…" Draco said, fumbling over his thoughts and words. "Talk?"

"Oh," she laughed. "I'm fine. Gosh. Just worried, like I said. But there's not much we'll be able to do about it right now."

"And you say she's 'hiding from her feelings'," he said, doing an awful imitation of her voice. As she raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a death glare, all he could do was laugh, walking over to where she was to hug her. That heavy, suffocating sorrow hadn't quite abandoned him altogether, but he could feel it starting to slip away again. For now, he distracted himself with the girl who had been his only consolation since the incident.

"You need to get back to work," she scolded, shrugging away from him playfully, shoving him lightly. Her tone wasn't the smooth teasing it usually was, but Draco wasn't feeling too lighthearted himself at the moment.

"Not even a snog before I give it another shot?" he suggested. The upturn of his lips required more effort than usual.

"No," she giggled. "Not until you show some improvement."

"What? Improvement? You just said…! It's not going to get better until…! Ginevra! You mean just while we're in here, right?"

Ginny could only grin while her boyfriend sputtered, then gloomily stepping aside to draw his wand.

For all of Neville's friends, life had been very unkind. Everyone was so unhappy, torn apart by misery and drama enough to last a lifetime. While they suffered, he found it very hard to feel any of their sorrow. Things had never been better for him! Mediwizardry was a tough job, the training taking up a great part of Cedric's day, but Neville still saw his soul mate a lot. They always planned at least one small date a week while making time for one another, even if it was only a few minutes, every day.

Being a Sunday, they had more of an opportunity to be together. There weren't many injuries or illnesses to look after on weekends, so the wizards were making the most of their time. With so many people in Hogwarts knowing about the Room of Requirement, they had taken a page out of Hermione's book and holed themselves up in one of many unused classrooms. They normally spent a good deal of time carefully plotting which room to use. What location was the best with the least likelihood of someone stumbling upon them. Most people didn't care for the unused classrooms, normally keeping to the Room of Requirement, the Astronomy Tower, broom closets, lavatories, or even dark corners in the hallways.

Cedric had packed a small picnic for them that they enjoyed on the floor behind the old teacher's desk. With most of the food gone, Neville was now settled between Cedric's legs, leaning back against his chest while his soul mate was propped up against the desk. Firm arms encircled him, his own covering them. Never could he remember being so content. Sitting here in the warmth of Cedric's arms, surrounded by the musky scent of his cologne and the minty flavor of his breath, was so completely perfect that he swore his heart might burst. This had to be a dream. Even in his wildest dreams he had never imagined being so at ease with anyone, so happy, so in love…

Neville couldn't help but grin. His smile grew as Cedric leaned forward to nuzzle into his neck, pressing his lips gently against his warm skin, causing him to shiver. "What are you thinking about?"

"How lucky we are," Neville replied quietly. He didn't dare speak too loudly; too afraid of bursting this fragile bubble of peace they were floating in.

He felt Cedric's lips turn up against his skin. "Mmm…We are, aren't we?"

"Yes."

The brunette leaned back, moving one of his arms out from under Neville's, fingertips sliding up his chest, stroking along his jaw before cupping his cheek and turning his face towards him. Noses bumped, causing them both to chuckle quietly as hazel and gray eyes met. He twisted his body slightly to face his soul mate more comfortably. His breath caught in his throat, heart skipping at their nearness. The grin he wore was so bright he felt almost silly, though he couldn't make it go away. Cedric just smiled back but, even when he leaned in to kiss him, Neville found it hard to make his lips cooperate. It took some coaxing, but Cedric never gave up until Neville was able to reciprocate, kissing him gently.

"You know," Cedric murmured, pulling away only slightly. "I really l…Really never felt this way about anyone before."

"Neither have I," Neville promised. Cedric had been the only one for him. He had been the first person Neville ever had a crush on, and after him there hadn't been many others. No one really captured his interest the way Cedric had. Not to say he hadn't felt some attraction to other men, only that he never really felt anything for anyone the way he had always felt for Cedric.

"I'm glad," Cedric said with a smile, kissing the tip of his nose. "So, I was thinking that maybe we could…hide less?"

His ears perked at this. The heart that had been going through so much excitement this afternoon now jumped hopefully at the implication of the man's words. "You mean…come out together?"

"Exactly," Cedric said uncertainly. "If you're worried, we don't have to. But I'm not worried. Not anymore. I've never been happier and I don't want to hide that."

"We shouldn't," Neville agreed. Truthfully, the idea of quite blatantly admitting to the whole school that he was gay and in love with Cedric Diggory was a bit scary. Everyone had their ideas of how things should be. Homophobia wasn't the biggest issue for bigots, but it still existed. Now, more than ever, he felt more ready to come clean with things. It would be a relief to finally have it out in the open, though he was well aware of the flack they would both get from a majority of people. But Neville had his friends who he knew would have his back. More importantly, he had Cedric, who would make it all well worth it.

"Maybe we can start with the meeting tonight," Cedric suggested.

"Even though most of them already know," Neville pointed out.

"Most of them," he agreed. "But not all of them."

Some of their friends, particularly Hannah and Astoria, could be a bit slow with things. They would be easiest to start with. At least letting their friends know that they were ready to take their relationship to that level would give them some warning of the things they could expect in the near future.

"How long have you been thinking of that?" he asked curiously.

"I've always thought about it," Cedric admitted. "Just wasn't ready for it. Until now."

"And you're sure?"

"Positive."

"Is there a plan?"

"Well I don't think any big announcement is in order. We don't want it to be a bigger deal than it already will be," Cedric said. "We'll just be like any other couple. Everyone will figure it out when they see us together. Holding hands, kissing, pet names, and all of the other activities that make being in a relationship so obvious."

"That sounds good," Neville replied. It was still a bit nerve-wracking, no matter how they did it. But he thought it would send a nice message if they didn't make it seem as if it mattered all that much. People would still have something negative to say about it. He had no illusions that people were going to be very accepting right off the bat. Though he didn't want to shove it down their throats. It wasn't his style. Cedric's idea, though, was perfect for him. For them.

"Is there anything you want to do before the meeting?" Cedric asked.

"I'm fine with what we've been doing," Neville assured him, settling back into their original position. "I'm not bored or anything. Are you?"

"Merlin, no!" Cedric laughed. "Though I might prefer doing this outside, under a tree by the lake or even just facing the castle. Anything with a better view than the blackboard."

"What's wrong with the blackboard? I thought you liked my drawings," Neville teased, glancing up at the doodles he had been working on earlier. To be fair, he didn't think anyone would guess the drawing at the top left corner was a dragon even if he told them what it was. The depiction of the Leaping Lotus, a flower with what looked like a frog's body that hopped away from danger, was only slightly better.

"Oh…err…it's a masterpiece."

"Liar," Neville laughed, wiggling against the older wizard until the arms returned, tightening comfortably around him.

"It's called being polite."

"Call it what you want, it's still a lie."

They laughed quietly together before falling back into the easy silence they were so accustomed to. The world outside of them was quickly forgotten. It would be a miracle if they could pull away in time to head to the Room of Requirement for their meeting. As wonderful as these dates were, it was always so hard to leave them. Returning to the real world after them was difficult to handle. How could you go back to normal after experiencing such perfection? Knowing it existed but always feeling as though it had only been a dream.

The group that met in the Room of Requirement had grown in the past few months. While Hermione had her ways of keeping their secrets from leaving the room, that didn't mean people couldn't talk about the bond. That was how Grace had aided Luna and Morag in finding one another. For this reason, Hannah was able to bring her close friends Susan Bones and Megan Jones into the fold. Susan proudly proclaimed that the handsome Roger Davies was her soul mate, while Megan often went pale at the question and refused to answer. Grace also brought in her friend Demelza Robins and her soul mate, Seamus Finnigan.

They didn't all meet all of the time. Some days they had other obligations to tend to. No one faulted them. But most of them tried to attend these meetings as much as possible. It seemed more and more like their own private club. "Like the D.A.! Only more fun and less work," Susan once said. Today happened to be one of those days when everyone was able to show up. Even Hermione, who was absent more than anyone, arrived with Harry and Ron, sitting between them on a fluffy purple couch. Hannah glared on disdainfully, frantically turning to Susan and Megan for advice.

The last to arrive were Cedric and Neville, both red faced and clutching hands. A few people had to look twice at them and their obvious show of affection, but didn't seem to think much about it. Only Hannah and Susan gaped in open shock while Megan laughed at them. Across the room Astoria also looked stunned, though she quickly glanced away from them, her face turning pink as she began to whisper to her sister.

"They're gay?" Hannah demanded.

"They're together?" Susan added.

"You didn't now?" Megan giggled.

"Blaise was right! Bugger. Why are all the good ones gay?" Astoria sighed mournfully, glancing at Harry before turning back.

"Which one were you after?" Daphne asked, eyebrow quirked.

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Astoria muttered.

"My guess is Longbottom," Blaise said, sitting on the arm of their loveseat. "He's the one I was pestering about being gay before."

Astoria didn't say anything, but the way her cheeks flamed further confirmed it.

"It's about time, you two!" Seamus called from across the room, throwing a paper airplane in their direction. Demelza sat in the chair next to his, folding a piece of parchment charmed to be red into an origami lion.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked, the shakiness disturbing his attempt at an innocent voice.

"About time? They've been together," Harry laughed.

"Well, I know!" Seamus said. "But it's about time they stopped hiding it."

"They were trying to hide it?" Ron asked. "Bloody awful job at that, mates."

"Shut up," Neville muttered. Cedric pulled them to a stop at the two empty chairs, pulling out his wand to combine them into a comfortable blue loveseat that they could sit on together. Neville blushed as his soul mate daringly draped his arm across his shoulders, pulling him closer.

"Awww!" Grace squealed. "They are so adorable!"

"Thank you, Grace," Cedric grinned.

"You two will have cute babies one day," Grace declared excitedly.

Neville choked on air. "What?"

"Well, Harry's up the duff. And I'm sure both of you has better sperm than Snape!"

Harry glared at his younger sister. Blaise, Daphne, Draco, Ron, and Seamus all tried to stifle their laughter. Demelza could only roll her eyes at the antics of her friend while Hermione didn't seem to be paying any attention at all. Morag shook her head, Luna smiling serenely at her side. Cedric had taken on a thoughtful look, glancing from Neville to Grace to Harry. The others looked rather scandalized as they stared at Grace for spouting off such things.

"But! We don't even know how Harry got pregnant!" Susan squeaked.

"They've been having sex?" Astoria demanded.

"Even though we still don't know what caused Harry to become pregnant, doesn't mean it's impossible for another male to become that way," Morag stated, straightening her glasses. "I highly doubt it's some fluke to where only he can become pregnant. Personally, I'm certain it must be something in the combination of potions that were in his system. Once Professor Snape discovers what they are, he could easily market a line of male pregnancy potions. By now, I hardly think the idea of Neville and Cedric being able to reproduce is so strange."

"S…sex?" Neville stammered, gaping at Astoria.

"He means 'no'," Cedric said with a forced smile, patting Neville reassuringly on the knee.

"You know, I think Gracie has a point. They would have the most adorable babies ever," Daphne giggled.

"It's a bit soon, I think," Cedric coughed.

"Don't you have a bun in the oven, Hannah Banana?" Grace asked.

"Can't you mind your own business?" Hannah muttered, face burning.

"Wait, what?" Ron demanded. "Hannah?"

"Harry? How are the triplets?" Hannah asked desperately.

"Hannah!"

"I think your husband wants you," Harry muttered, slumping down in his seat, glancing down at the book Hermione had opened in her lap. She was still reading the bond book.

"You hadn't heard yet?" Daphne asked, confused.

"Daphne!" Hannah wailed. "Shut up!"

"Hannah, would you answer me?" Ron said. His voice was just as high pitched as it could get when confronted by spiders, his eyes just as wide, face just as pale.

"It's a girl! Surprise! So Harry. The babies?" Hannah asked.

"Girl? Baby? Why didn't you…I just…Oh Merlin," Ron muttered, sliding down in his seat.

"Geez, mate. I don't envy you," Seamus muttered.

"Seamus!" Demelza exclaimed, slapping his leg. "Be nice."

"I am nice! I was only saying," Seamus said.

"Girls are nice. Do you have any names picked out?" Grace asked.

"It was two girls and a boy, right, Harry?" Hannah asked.

"Two boys and a girl," Ginny offered.

"Yeah," Harry said, clearing his throat as he sat up. Since the topic of the babies had come up, he might as well get it over with. He had his mind set on this announcement before leaving his studying with Hermione, but the entire walk here he had questioned that. Especially now that he could feel his nerves strike, making his hands sweat and his mind race as he stood up. Almost everyone quieted down to look at him except for Hannah, Susan, and Megan who were all sharing a whispered conversation while Morag was quietly talking with Luna about the prospects of a future Longbottom-Diggory child. "So…I just thought I would let you all know that I've…I've made up my mind."

Author's Note: Thanks so much to my reviewers for continuing to give me feedback and my beta Dani for all of her hard work! Love you guys!
- 31
- 32
- 33
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Resistance