How Severus Spends His Summer Hols

DISCLAIMER: JKR owns everything that is in reference to the Harry Potter world if it is in one of my works of fiction. If it is not found in one of her creations, then it is mine unless otherwise stated. I am not making any profit from the writing of this story.


“Mione, why did he give us cows for Harry? I don’t understand.” Ron said shaking his head and trying to put the pieces together. Hermione only laughed and started to explain when one of the nieghbour women spoke up.

“You should have held out for a couple of horses too.” She laughed as Grant nodded his head in agreement.

“Why is that?” Hermione asked, she did not like the idea that Snape had gotten off cheap with his bride price. Ron as usual was still trying to follow the conversation.

“If he’s already proved he can get pregnant, then he’s worth more, you know, like knowing a cow can produce before you take her to the bull.” The old woman explained and then laughed. Turning to Ron, she explained the tradition quickly.

“Severus gave you a bride price for the young man. That is a gift traditionally given when a young man marries for the first time; it’s a compensation of sorts to the girl’s family for the loss of the extra hands helping around the house.” The woman explained, Rachel and Grant only nodded their agreement and continued the job of shelling peas into the large bowl set between them. The old woman continued as the Weasleys listened; fascinated by a culture and traditions they knew nothing about.

“Now if this were say forty years ago, you could have demanded quite a high price for him, even thirty years ago Grant commanded a rather large price. Larger than what most women received back then.” She clucked as her gnarled fingers dipped into the peas and began to help with the task.

“Why was he more than most women?” Hermione asked as she moved to help as well, Ron quickly joining her as they listened raptly.

“Grant is a winkte; he’s special, just like your friend.”

“What’s that?” Ron asked, he’d heard the term earlier in the day but had forgotten to ask.

“Winkte are men that can become pregnant naturally, we consider them very powerful people. They embody both the male and female spirits. He’s also of the Rainwalker clan, a very powerful family among the Lakhota. There is a lot of natural magic in our family. And he’s also the eldest born of a Medicine Woman. He is a highly regarded person here.” Rachel replied as she spoke proudly on behalf of her first born child.

Grant smiled and recalled the look on Damon’s face as the bride price was named by his parents. It had taken the white man over a year to present it in full to his parents.

“If Severus were the one in the relationship carrying the child, then we would have been able to ask a good price for him as well. Not only is he a powerful wizard, he’s Grant’s only child, and a Potions Master as well, so he would have been quite valuable.” Rachel said proudly.

Grant spoke up then, he was worried the two visitors would feel Harry had been slighted by Severus’ offer, and from the reddened face of Ron, he guessed he was right.

“Nowadays though, bride prices are rarely seen, and if they are given, it is largely a token gift, something like a gift certificate. Harry is priceless to Severus, if you were to ask him for the moon and stars for Harry’s hand, my little bird would gladly give his life trying to fulfill your wish. As it is, this wedding was sudden and the family has come together to help him provide a suitable gift for you.”

Hermione smiled at that and Ron merely grunted, he was busy trying to figure out just what to do with five large head of steer. Hermione was wondering as well, but she had an idea, she just needed to speak the groom.

Grant turned to his mother then, wondering just what was going to happen this evening, the older woman had made herself scarce for a short time after she’d told the boys they were getting married tomorrow. He knew from experience they didn’t have time to do a full wedding celebration and he also knew that Harry and his two friends would need some instruction in what was going to happen.

“Mom, what are we going to do next?” he asked as they finished the peas and he stood with the large bowl.

“We need to drive up to Kyle and pick up your grandmother, Grant, I think she would want to be here for this, don’t you?” Rachel asked as she slipped her feet back into her shoes and stood with her son.

“Sounds good, what do you need everyone to do while we are gone?” Grant asked, opening the door and going in the small trailer. Once inside though it was easy to see that a witch lived there, the rooms easily held however many people they needed to with no issue. Ron thought to remember to ask about the spell used so he could pass it on to his mother for use at the Burrow.

“What should we do while you are gone?” Hermione asked, she wanted to be as helpful as possible as her symbolic child was getting married.

Severus and Damon walked into the trailer at that point, both men hot, sweaty, and dusty from working with the cattle. Severus quickly stripped his shirt off and mopped his sweaty face with it before walking into the kitchen and sticking his head under the cold water tap. Hermione caught her breath at the sight of the Potions Master without his shirt, all tanned, toned, and tattooed, she felt the urge to lick her lips and stopped herself just in time to keep Ron from getting miffed.

“Little bird, don’t you have manners?” Rachel admonished as Severus rose up and shook his head, the long braid whipping water out from the end. He smiled sheepishly and mopped up the water.

“Sorry Grandmother, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Next time use the spigot outside if you are going to shake like a dog.” Rachel said as she reached up to pat his tanned cheek, she was happy with how healthy and happy he was looking nowadays. “Now give me the keys to your truck.” Severus simply raised an eyebrow and looked down at the woman.

“Grandmother you don’t drive.” He said as he reached into one pocket and retrieved the key.

“I know that silly boy, Grant is driving, we are going to Kyle to get your great-grandmother.” She said as she took the key from him. Ron and Hermione simply watched the exchange, wondering where in the world the real Severus Snape was, the one they knew would have never allowed himself to be pushed into anything by anyone, let alone a woman only five foot tall.

A smile lit the dour man’s face, it had been a couple of years since he’d seen Grant’s grandmother. He was quite pleased she would be at his wedding, she’d always let him know she truly cared for him after he’d been brought into the family. He’d spent many hours sitting at her side as she explained traditions, taught him the language of the Sioux, told him family history, and explained to him where he fit into everything now. She’d made him feel like he belonged, no longer an outsider in the new culture. He’d also spent many many hours brewing different potions and salves for her aching joints and deteriorating eyesight.

“Say hello for me please,” he said as he took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with goat milk from the ice box. Drinking deeply, he decided his brat had slept long enough.

Damon was speaking with Maggie off to one side and put a hand out to stop Severus from going down the small hallway just yet.

“We have some things to do boy. Your grandmother has a list for us. I need you to go find Max and grab Ron here, we need to aparate back to the campsite and gather what we need for the next couple of days, and let someone know to watch over things.”

“’K,” Severus said as he turned and put his hand on Ron’s shoulder. “Come along Mr. Weasley, let’s go get Max and get this done.”

Ron stood after asking Hermione what she needed brought to her, and then followed Severus out to where they found Max looking at a small child one of the cousins had brought over because of an ear ache. Damon joined them a moment later and then they left for Sturgis the easy way.

Grant and his mother got in the big black truck and left for the forty five minute drive to the reservation’s largest town to pick up Mourning Dove Rainwalker and bring her back for the celebration.

Hermione quickly found herself alone with Maggie and two other women that were quickly introduced as family members of one sort or another. It was soon explained to her that most of what needed to happen right now would happen in the kitchen. They had to get ready to feed a virtual army of people for the next couple of days.

“What should we do with the cattle?” she asked as she sat down at the small kitchen table and began peeling the apples that had been set in front of her. The other women sat with her companionably and worked along side to get as much done as possible before the others returned.

“What cattle?” asked a sleepy voice that belonged to one Harry Potter who was currently standing just inside the kitchen rubbing his eyes and yawning. He looked around and pulled up a chair and was promptly handed a knife and instructed to start slicing the peeled apples.

“Ummm….the cattle that Severus paid us for your bride price.” Hermione answered, not exactly sure just how to explain he’d been sold for walking steak. Harry looked at her and simply raised one eyebrow in a very Snapelike manner and reached for another apple.

“Oh. Where is Severus?” he asked as he deftly sliced the fruit, his tired brain trying to figure out just exactly what his friend was babbling about. “Are they nice cattle?”

Hermione looked at one of the women, she really had no idea if they were or weren’t.

“Yes, very nice. Steers ready for market, worth about twenty two thousand dollars.” One of the women answered with a smile. The cattle had come from her husband’s herd, they had been happy to help out their British cousin with the tradition. Hermione sucked her breath in sharply as she realized just exactly how much she said. Harry only grinned and kept slicing apples.

“Oh my. Oh my, well Severus went with the other men back to the campsite to get some things for the next few days.” She replied quickly. What in the hell was she going to do with the cattle? What was she going to tell Ron?

“Wonder why he didn’t wake me to go? I could have helped.” He said as he ate a few slices of apple, then looked up a little perplexed.

“They aparated Harry, you can’t now that you are pregnant.” Hermione answered and then asked “What’s wrong Harry?”

The pregnant wizard looked down at the apple slice in his hand and then looked longingly at the ice box. “It needs catsup.” He sighed and then smiled as one of the cousins reached into the ice box and handed him a bottle of the red stuff.

Hermione watched in open mouthed horror as he flipped the top and squirted a liberal splash on the fruit and then shoved it happily in his mouth. Closing his eyes, he chewed in absolute satisfied abandon, his tummy was happy now. He opened one eye and looked at Hermione and grinned….oh yes cravings were going to be fun.

The small group worked quickly as they made short work of much of the peeling and chopping of various fruits and vegetables, only looking up as Damon and the others came noisily into the trailer and started to pull bags out of their pockets. Severus walked over to Harry and pulled him up from the chair to claim his mouth in a gentle demanding kiss.

“Did you sleep well?” the older man asked as he wiped a bit of catsup from the corner of Harry’s mouth. The younger man darted his tongue out and licked Severus’ finger with the tip of his tongue.

“I did. Mione said you paid her and Ron in cows for me.” He said with a grin, he had a good idea that this was how his Master had thought to help out his friends with the expenses and still let Ron keep his dignity. If they had not been being watched by the older man’s family, Harry thought he might have gone to his knees to thank his lover in a more personal manner. Severus just nodded and dropped his head down to nuzzle Harry’s neck, he couldn’t get enough of the younger man’s scent, especially now that he was with child. He smelled sweeter somehow.

“I did, I paid them five nice steers for you.” Severus murmured as his lips trailed up Harry’s neck and nibbled at his ear. Self conscious of the others watching, Harry tried to keep his reaction contained, but a small whimper left his lips regardless. Ron snickered and coughed. Damon smirked and grabbed his adopted son by the back of the shirt.

“Come on Romeo, we have to get the sweat lodge ready for later. Grant will be back soon and do you really want to not have everything done when Mourning Dove steps foot out of your truck?” he growled good naturedly as he pulled Severus off of the smaller man. Harry bit his lower lip and sighed as the other man’s body left his.

“Yeah, I know Damon, but…” Severus began as Maggie stood and shooed the men out of the kitchen and towards the door.

“Sweat lodge gentlemen. You will find wood stacked behind it, and the water buckets are just inside the door.” She said as she firmly closed the door after them and returned to the table, gently pressing Harry back into his chair and handing him a block of cheese to cube.

“Who’s Mourning Dove?” Harry asked as he bent to his task, already missing Severus being close to him.

“She is Grant’s grandmother and little bird’s great-grandmother.” Maggie answered. Harry nodded at the answer and thought of another question.

“Why do you all call Sev little bird?”

“The name he received in his bonding ceremony with Grant and the rest of the family was Raven, which is a good strong name, but since he joined us as Grant’s child, we call him by a diminutive, which is little bird.” She explained, smiling. “Now that he’ll be married tomorrow and an expectant father, we’ll need to start calling him Raven if he wants us to, but I get the feeling he kind of likes to be called by the other by his family.”

Harry thought for a moment and then spoke, “I think I agree with you. This is the most obedient I’ve ever seen him, it’s good for him.”

Hermione laughed at that as she thought of the strict taskmaster that had taught them for seven years. She was hard pressed to identify the man that just held Harry with the same man that would take house points for simply breathing too loudly when he had a headache. As disconcerting as the change was, she found herself enjoying the company of ‘little bird’, she hoped that the couple would stay in contact with her and Ron after the wedding and everyone was in their respective homes.

“You know Harry, you get a new name too tomorrow night,” Maggie said with a sly grin. The young man looked up, not sure if he should be happy or terrified at the prospect.

“I..I do? What is it going to be?” he stammered as he set down his knife, placing one hand protectively on his belly. Part of him wanted to go find his mate, he wasn’t comfortable with all of these people he didn’t know, even if he were going to be part of their family in a short while. He wondered if it were just too late to go find Sev and run for the hills. Maybe elope and send everyone a postcard from somewhere remote.

“My choice is Wren, but it is up to Mom and Grandmother, so not much telling.” Maggie said, reaching over to pat the man’s trembling hand. She knew by looking into the boy’s brilliant green eyes that too much had happened to him in his short life, that too many people had expected too much and taken all they could from him. If she was right, and she knew that most of the time she was dead on when she got a feeling, then the young man sitting next to her was a victim of heinous abuses from several different people, and not in the too distant past either.

She knew her ‘nephew’ was also battling ongoing abuse from his natural father, but when she had tried to talk to him several years ago after she’d caught a glimpse of his scarred abdomen as he was healing himself behind one of the sheds before everyone stripped down to go swimming. He had quickly shut her out, telling her that it was nothing to worry over, that he had it under control. She’d tried to get him to go to Grant and Damon with it and when she threatened to do so herself, she’d seen a side of Severus Snape she never wanted to see again. Enraged would have been a mild term to use to describe the young man from that summer day, he’d made her a promise that it would not happen again, that no one would ever touch him in anger again, anything she wanted short of telling the Wolffes or her telling them herself.

She smiled warmly at Harry and reached out to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind his ear, putting warmth and understanding in her touch to calm the man.

“You know Harry; we need to charm your hair soon. We need to braid it before much longer.”

“Braid it?” Harry asked as he reached one hand up to touch the hair at the nape of his neck, the other women smiled and nodded as Maggie retrieved her wand from her bag beside her chair. “Why braid it?”

“Harry, you are basically Severus’ bride. You are taking the female role of the ceremony and the relationship. Don’t be surprised when the cousins and aunts call you little sister, as a winkte, we recognize that the female spirit is shining through right now.” Maggie said as she stood up and moved behind Harry’s chair. Hermione watched her closely and reached out for Harry’s hand. Maggie continued to speak as she stroked Harry’s unruly dark hair. “A woman will keep her hair long and braided a certain way. Did you do Severus’ braid this morning?”

Harry shook his head, he was relaxing slightly as he listened to the older woman talk and felt her fingers in his hair, it was different than when Sev did it. This felt maternal, not possessive. He was trying to decide just how he felt about Severus’ family viewing him as a female; it would take some getting used to. He’d hoped that when the results had come back positive from his blood test to see if he carried the gene for male pregnancy, that at some point Severus would want to father a child with him. Now that it was actually happening, all the attention he was receiving from the man’s family was almost frightening.

“I didn’t do his hair, I thought he did.” Harry answered.

“I think Grant did it Harry, his braids always have a little twist to them. You are going to need to learn how to put a proper braid in his hair and to properly braid your own. Those are some of the things we are going to teach you tonight. Now will you allow me to grow your hair out?” Maggie asked as she gave his locks a playful tug. Numbly, Harry just nodded and a few moments later his scalp tingled and he could feel the soft weight of hair at his mid back.

“Oh Harry, it is so beautiful,” Hermione breathed as she reached out and ran her fingers through the dark tresses.

“Thank you Mione,” he said softly and then bent his head down and concentrated on whatever task was placed in front of him. So much was running through his mind, he was questioning his own identity, everything was pear shaped right now, he really wanted to talk to Severus right now. Actually, he didn’t really want to talk to him, he just wanted to be held and be reassured it was all going to be okay.

Harry was unconsciously following the same route he had whenever Morgan had thrown him into situations that were new and unknown to him. He would simply do as told, afraid to question for fear of abandonment, do what he had to do in order to get through whatever was asked of him regardless of pain, pleasure, kindness, or humiliation. It didn’t matter, Harry had retreated to the point in his mind where he was little more than an object in his eyes, something for others to use as they pleased.

No one seemed to notice the young man’s silence or his faint smiles and nods when he was asked questions. He sat quietly and allowed Maggie to brush and tug his newly lengthened locks into a tight braid, his head being pulled this way and that by the old woman. He simply sat there and took what he thought he had to in order to make Severus proud of him and his family happy. He could do this, he knew he could.

Hermione watched him closely for a few minutes, trying to figure out what was running through his mind, and when she could not get anywhere, she thought the best thing she could do was to go get the one person she knew for a fact Harry would respond to. The young witch stood and excused herself, closing the front door behind her as she went in search of Severus.



A/N~ a winkte is what the Lakhota Sioux call homosexuals. In my story male pregnancy occurs when the male wizard is carrying a specific gene enabling him to become pregnant. There is a blood test that male couples have done to see if one of them is a carrier so that appropriate measures can be taken if no children are wanted. Harry and Severus have had this test and knew Harry was a carrier, they had been using contraception. It is not only male wizards that carry this gene, but muggles as well, the only reason muggle males do not pop up pregnant is that the gene requires the magic of two parties to come out of dormancy and activate, which explains why Harry’s last wannabe Master couldn’t get him pregnant. So a male wizard does not need to be known as a winkte, he just has to be a carrier of that gene, or willing to take some very very strong potions to get preggers. Chris took the potions.