CHAPTER 10

"Alright, how are we going to do this?" Marcus looked down at his little boyfriend.

Harry grabbed a few sheets of parchment, two quills, and a bottle of ink.

"We should each write him a letter. If we send them now, he might have a chance to calm down before the next time he get's here."

Marcus really doubted it, but grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill anyways. This surely beat telling Severus Snape to his face. Marcus wasn't suicidal.

He tried to make his letter sound as sincere and as apologetic as possible but knew that it wouldn't be enough.

Meanwhile, Harry decided to try a different tactic. He was going to act like a complete Hufflepuff. He started with telling his dad how much he loved and respected him. Then he went on to talk about how much he loved Marcus and how much Marcus loved him. Then he started talking about how "making love" was the ultimate show of ones' affections ("as you know very well, Dad"). Finally he gave a very rushed story of what had happened followed by more declarations of love for his dad.

He dreaded his father's response to the whole mess. His dad was going to be furious.

HPSSHPSS

The weekend had just started when the fireplace turned green and Severus Snape stepped out. So much for giving him time to calm down.

"Harry, come with me." Severus completely ignored both Marcus and Tom as he headed for his quarters.

Harry shot his boyfriend a desperate look before following his father out of the room. As they reached his dad's quarters, Harry looked at his dad to try and determine what he was thinking. Unfortunately, Severus' face was completely blank.

"Sit." Severus pointed to a chair next to the fireplace and sat in the chair across from it.

"You will explain what happened."

"Yes, sir." Harry chanced a glance at his dad before looking back down at his hands.

He quickly explained how he had handled things after everyone had left for Hogwarts. He went on to mention how Tom and Marcus had tried to keep him distracted but had failed. Finally he talked about the fire whiskey and waking up in bed with Marcus.

Once Harry was finished talking, Severus was silent for several minutes. Finally, Severus stood up, walked over to his son, and kneeled in front of him.

"I'm not going to lecture you. But I want you to know how disappointed I am in you. I also expect you to handle the situation appropriately if you are pregnant. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." As soon as Severus opened the door, Harry took off for his bedroom.

HPSSHPSS

Marcus quietly followed his boyfriend's father into the sitting room of Snape's quarters. He didn't say anything as he sat down across from the forbidding presence of the Potion's Master. Silently he wondered where his boyfriend was but knew better than to ask.

"When I left, you swore to me that you would take care of my son! My only son! Getting him drunk and sleeping with him is not taking care of him. It is taking advantage of him."

Marcus quietly watched as the older Slytherin stood up and began pacing.

"Harry is all I have left. Everything I am doing now, I am doing in the hopes of protecting him. But how can I hope to protect him if you get him pregnant and he needs medical help? How am I supposed to keep that from Dumbledore?"

Marcus didn't say anything when Snape turned to look at him. What could he say?

"I will tell you what will happen now. If you got my son pregnant, you will marry him and then I will send the both of you out of the country until Albus Dumbledore is taken care of. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir. I will do whatever is necessary to protect Harry."

"You had better."

Marcus accepted the unspoken dismissal and left the room to look for Harry.

HPSSHPSS

The next morning, Tom led Marcus and Harry into his office where he explained what was going to happen.

"Next week, Severus is going to send Harry a potion. This will tell us whether or not he is pregnant. If you are, Harry, I am going to send the both of you to a villa I own in southern France. Of course, this is after the two of you get married. If you are not pregnant, we will continue the way we are going. But you will have new restrictions."

"Yes, sir." Harry didn't look up from his hands. Marcus and Tom both shot him concerned glances but decided not to say anything…yet.

"Do you have any questions?"

"No, sir."

"Alright, Harry, you can go. Marcus, I need to speak with you."

Harry took off without saying anything. He didn't care what Tom had to say to Marcus. What did any of that matter anyways? Why should he care?

Once Harry was out of sight, Tom turned to Marcus.

"You do realize that he is most likely pregnant, don't you?"

When Marcus shot Tom a confused look, Tom explained.

"Harry is very powerful. His magic would encourage the conception of a child. This leads us to our problem. Whatever was said between Severus and Harry has deeply upset Harry. So it is going to be your job to make sure he takes care of himself. He cannot afford to miss meals right now."

"I understand, my lord. I'll see if I can find him and get him to eat some breakfast."