Banana Muffins

It was widely known that Severus Snape was the youngest Potions Master in the world ever. He was established as the teacher with the worst reputation Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had ever hired, courtesy of his bad temper and first-class ability to hold grudges (that reputation was fast changing for the better though). He had a great number of Potions patents to his name.

It was also known that Severus Snape was a former Death Eater who had served under the now very much dead Dark Lord Voldemort. It came out that he had been a very successful spy for a good number of years. And unlike most great spies, he had survived two wars with his mind and body quite intact. Some of his colleagues disagreed about his mental state of health though; when they heard that he had fallen in love with and married the son of his great school enemy: Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Killed-the Dark-Lord.

* * * * * *

Harry James Potter was known as the Boy-who-Lived for most of his life (at least, up until now). He had a sweet smile, dark unruly hair, and eyes that glowed like emeralds. It had also come out recently that he had been malnourished as a child, which explained his small build. He was courageous and brave and stood up for what he believed in.

It was also known that Harry Potter had been the one to strike the final blow that killed the Dark Lord Voldemort once and for all during The Great Battle of Hogwarts. He and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley had worked together to find a way of defeating the evil wizard, and in the process had managed to unite the whole student body together in their cause. As a result, none of the students joined the Dark Lord. Most of the students survived. After the war, Harry Potter had disappeared, only to surface at Hogwarts a year later. It was a miracle that he had survived the war with his mind and body intact. Although most of his friends started doubting that, when he fell in love with and married the man who had persecuted him through most of school: Severus Tobias Snape, Potions Master Extraordinaire.

* * * * * *

Severus Snape opened his eyes. His bedroom was still dark, and the soft breathing of his husband beside him told him the other man was sound asleep. His husband. The words still sent a thrill down his spine, even two years after their marriage. They had weathered some opposition to the marriage, had their fights and arguments; but they were still together. Severus turned to look at the man beside him. Harry was curled towards him, head resting on Severus' chest with a slender hand on the latter's bicep. Long eyelashes dusted Harry's cheeks, and the full lips were parted slightly as he breathed. Their legs were entangled together. Severus laid his arm on his husband's waist and pulled Harry closer to his body, resting his cheek on the unruly hair. His fingers lightly strummed Harry's back. The other man squirmed slightly but did not awaken.

Severus sighed. Harry had become strangely exhausted after they had returned from a second honeymoon, and had yet to recover. Harry was normally vibrant and energetic, but whenever Severus returned home nowadays, he was quiet and lethargic. He had stopped baking, and Severus often found him napping during the day. Harry had also turned into an emotional wreck, crying at the smallest things. Severus remembered he had returned home from teaching a month ago, to find Harry sitting in front of the television crying. There had been a pile of used tissues beside him. Harry had looked at him with wet red eyes, and flung himself into Severus' arms, crying and crying. Severus had been alarmed and quickly sat down, pulled his husband onto his lap and held him while he cried. When Harry had calmed down a little, Severus had asked,

"Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry had looked at him, face drenched with tears, and sobbed out that he had been watching a muggle film called 'Frosty the Snowman' and it had been great until the end. "Sev, Frosty melted! He melted! And he's not gonna get up and walk again and play with the children"

Relieved, Severus had burst out laughing, only to receive a cushion in the face. Harry had glared daggers at him out of still wet eyes, smacked him again with the cushion, and stalked off to the bedroom. Severus sat, stunned by the two smacks. Then Harry had stalked back out, carrying Severus' pillow and a blanket, and plopped them down on the sofa where Severus still sat.

"Just for that, Severus Snape, you can spend the night on the sofa. How dare you laugh at me! Spare some consideration for my feelings. And don't you dare touch me". He stalked back to the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Severus sat on the couch, completely flabbergasted.

* * * * * *

That incident had been a month ago. Harry had forgiven Severus the next morning, but he had not allowed his husband to touch him. As a result, Severus had not had sex for close to two months now, and he was horny. But he had learnt the hard way not to touch his husband. The last attempt had resulted in his hair being turned bright green and pink, inspiring the Headmaster's latest set of robes. Severus cuddled his husband, willing his erection to go down. Harry's so tired lately, maybe I'd best do something nice for him. Cheer him up a little. With that thought in mind, Severus began to plot and plan in the darkness.

* * * * * *

Later that morning, Severus had distracted his husband by sending him off for a walk with his two best friends. He had told his husband to go get some fresh air, and maybe get something nice to please himself. Harry had beamed, and happily trotted off. Now Severus could get down to business.

He planned to get busy making some banana and pecan muffins for his husband, ignoring the fact that he had not baked before, nor even willingly stepped into the kitchen. He chose bananas because they were a good source of potassium and would provide his Harry with energy (something sorely needed) and pecans because they were a good source of protein. First he had to assemble the ingredients.

After rummaging through the cupboards in the kitchen, Severus finally located the cabinet where Harry kept all his baking supplies. He peered at the recipe. "150g of flour". He looked at the cabinet where Harry had at least 3 different types of flour stored. "Would that be plain flour, self-raising flour or whole wheat flour?" He pondered for a while, before gingerly selecting the plain flour and pouring what he estimated to be the correct amount into a large bowl. "Now where is the baking powder…?"

* * * * * *

There! All the ingredients were finally assembled. Laid out in a neat row was an assortment of bowls containing the different ingredients: milk, butter, chopped pecans, two mashed bananas, an egg and a bottle of vanilla essence. It had taken a while to locate each ingredient. Harry had every kind of essence imaginable, and some of the labels on the bottles had worn off. Severus had to sniff each bottle before he found the vanilla essence. The bananas and pecans were easy to handle; after all, he was a Potions Master! Chopping and mashing were things he did every day. But he found the recipe instructions for 'one large egg, beaten' a little difficult to understand. 'How large is large?! Hagrid's house? Eggs come in one size!' But let it not be said that Severus Snape was not a smart man. He had figured out that one large egg was the equivalent of two small eggs.

* * * * * *

"There!" Severus closed the oven door with a satisfied bang and set the timer. He had done it. The muffins were in the oven and all he could do now was hope they came out edible. Then he turned around surveyed the mess he had made to Harry's beloved kitchen. "I had best clean up before the brat comes back. Speaking of the brat, where is he? Weasley and Granger better not keep him out too long!" He began to clean the kitchen.

As the last sparkling bowl danced back to its place in the cupboard, the floo in the living room flared to life and Granger's voice was heard calling, "Professor Snape, are you there?"

He hurried out of the kitchen. Granger looked positively relieved to see him. "thank goodness you're here, Professor Snape. We need you to come to the hospital wing immediately".

"Hospital Wing?" fear and panic closed his throat and he could not speak for a moment. "Did something happen to Harry?"

"Yes, we were just returning from Diagon Alley when he suddenly collapsed…" Hermione Granger found herself speaking to empty air.

* * * * * *

In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey fussed over Harry, who had recovered from his faint and was sitting up drinking a hot drink. As she turned to head back into her office for her medical instruments, a blur appeared in front of her and she shrieked. The blur turned out to be a frantic Severus Snape who dashed to the side of his husband and began firing off anxious questions.

"What happened to you, Harry? Did you eat lunch? How come you fainted? Is there something wrong with him, Poppy? Are you sick, love? Do you need more hot cocoa?"

Harry looked amused and placed a hand on his husband's mouth, stopping the incessant flow of words. "Sev, I've never heard you fire off so many questions before! Now, sit down beside me, take a deep breath, and let's hear what Poppy has to say, alright?" Harry tugged Severus' hand. Severus took a deep breath, and happy that Harry had finally touched him, sat down on the bed and pulled Harry onto his lap, holding the smaller man around the waist.

By this time, Poppy had recovered her wits, and glowering alternately at Ron and Hermione who were laughing in the corner and the couple snuggled in the bed, she approached the bed with her medical wand and began to scan Harry's body. She frowned at the readings she was getting and scanned again. Suddenly her face broke out in a smile.

Harry and Severus, who had been observing the mediwitch's expression, were a little nervous at her sudden changes of mood. Harry plucked up his courage to ask, "Poppy, is there something wrong with me?"

The mediwitch beamed at him. "Oh, you're not to worry, Harry dear. There's nothing wrong with you. And if you take it easy for the next 6-7 months, you should have an easy delivery".

The men looked perplexed, but on Hermione's face, understanding was beginning to dawn. Faintly exasperated with the men's lack of understanding, Poppy announced, "Harry, you're two months pregnant."

Silence. The couple on the bed did not move for a long moment. Then Harry's hand moved to his stomach and rested there, and tears flowed down his cheeks. "I'm pregnant? But how?" Severus looked shell-shocked. Hermione answered, "Harry, it's possible for men to get pregnant in the wizarding world. When two wizards love each other very much, it is possible for their love to create a baby in a magical womb".

Harry turned to his husband behind him, and blurted, "Sev, we're having a baby! We're having a baby!"

Severus finally recovered the use of his limbs, and his arms around Harry tightened, and he buried his face in Harry's hair. So many emotions poured through him and it took a long while before he found his voice. "I know, Harry, I know. Oh merlin…" He raised his head and took Harry's face into his hands, looking into the green eyes, before bending down and planting a soft kiss on the full lips. Then he stood up and lifted Harry into his arms.

"Thank you, Poppy, Weasley, Granger. If there is nothing else, I would like to bring Harry back to our rooms to rest".

Poppy nodded, but added, "Do be careful now, Severus. Remember to bring him back next month for a scan and check-up. Make sure he eats healthy foods, especially more iron-rich foods".

The tall dark man nodded, before sweeping out of the hospital wing, his husband in his arms.

* * * * * *

Once back in their rooms, Severus let Harry slide down his body. The couple proceeded to hold each other, taking the time to work out their emotions. Harry whispered, "Sev, how do you feel about this? About me being pregnant?"

"Harry, this is an opportunity I never thought I would have. I never expected to find the love of my life in you, I never expected that we have already been married two years and are still happy together, and I never expected that I would have the chance to be a father. Thank you, Harry, thank you so much! I love you."

Severus knelt down and kissed Harry's stomach, before rising to his feet and carrying Harry to the couch. They sat on the couch, cuddling together. Harry was almost lulled to sleep by the quiet and Severus' body heat, when the man in question sprang up.

"Oh merlin, my muffins!"

Curious, Harry followed Severus into the kitchen, where he saw the man gingerly pulling a tray of blackened muffins out of the oven. Severus cursed at the damage done to his muffins; they were positively inedible now. He was interrupted in his recriminations by Harry's soft laughter.

"Oh Sev, you baked for me? Thank you so much"

"I'm sorry that they're ruined…."

"Hey, hey, it's OK. Come, dispose of those and come cuddle me in bed yeah?"

Harry tugged on Severus' hand, and gently tugged him into their bedroom. The door closed quietly behind them.

Yes, it's finished! This plot bunny bugged at me all day while I was baking banana muffins, hence the title. I like to think of it as a sequel of sorts to Chocolate Brownies. Let me know what you guys think!

Love, anastasia87