Chapter 51
Chapter 50
“Uhhm…” Severus groaned as he squinted his eyes as sunlight from the window streamed in and hit his face. Grumbling some more he proceeded to pull the covers further over his head.
“Wakey wakey sleepyhead,” Harry prodded Snape before stretching like a cat. “Just so you know, it’s a quarter past 10,”
“Harry shut up,” Severus grumbled, his throat raspy from last night’s activities. “I am sore to the bone and covered in… ugh… why in Merlin’s name did we go for five rounds last night?”
“You certainly weren’t complaining then,” Harry chuckled while rubbing Severus’s back in a soothing manner. “Why don’t we go freshen up and we can ask Tibsby for brunch in bed,”
“I don’t think I can walk right now,” Severus mumbled as his face was still halfway buried in a pillow.
“Tergeo,” Harry uttered as he cast the spell over them. Severus shivered and blushed as he felt cool magic wash over him though the man did turn around to look at his lover.
“I can be lazy too,” Harry offered as an excuse as he lounged in bed while cuddling closer to Severus. “I could do with something light to eat.”
As if on cue two bed trays appeared on either side of the bed with a bowl of what appeared to be clam chowder, a glass of orange juice, and an origami swan napkin. “Well, this is… the elves must be invested,” Harry remarked.
Severus scooted up slowly, wincing once while Harry fussed around him. “I am perfectly capable of feeding myself Harry,” Severus stated while he motioned for Harry to savor his own meal. Considering their activities last night both men were famished.
“I will be meeting with those marked at noon,” Harry said in between bites. “Could I bother you for some pain potions or any numbing potions you might have,”
“Those should not take too long to brew,” Severus remarked though he frowned while looking at his tray.
“What’s the matter?”
“There is no morning paper today,” Severus indicated. Harry raised a brow now as well. He hadn’t noticed before as he was ogling other… things but Severus was right. Tibsby always brought Sev the morning paper so why not today?
“Tibsby very sorry Master!” the elf in question appeared out of nowhere in the room, startling Harry who was in the midst of drawing his wand. The elf tugged at her ears while clutching the newspaper. Lord Malfoy and Heir Malfoy had intercepted the paper and well sir, they were debating if you should even see it,” she explained. “Sirs were muttering that yous and Master Harry not react well to the news especially while on honeymoon!”
“I will be the judge of that myself Tibsby,” Severus stated while holding his hand out for the newspaper, now more curious than ever. “And please tell Lucius that while I appreciate him looking out for my feelings I am not some waif that will blow away at the slightest breeze.”
Snape unfolded the paper while Harry looked over his shoulder. Both men froze. “How did Skeeter get two front-page articles?!” Severus uttered, completely bewildered. The first article read ‘SIRIUS BLACK CAPTURED- HARRY POTTER MURDERED’ while the other article just below it read ‘THE HEIR OF GRINDELWALD LIVES!’
“Give me that!” Harry nearly tore the paper out of Sev’s hands. “Dear readers some very pressing news has come to my attention. Yesterday the notorious Sirius Black appeared at the Ministry. Eyewitnesses report the man to seem quite out of it. Some stated that he had a crazed look in his eyes. The Auror Corps assembled quickly and contained the situation, evacuating civilians while keeping the fugitive’s attention on them. The most shocking thing witnesses have stated was that the man kept uttering ‘I killed Harry Potter,” before lashing out at the Aurors, injuring seven and killing one. Lethal force had to be implemented and Sirius Black perished in the altercation. But dear readers, this begs the questions ‘Has Harry Potter been murdered?’, ‘How did Sirius Black track Mr. Potter down?’, ‘Is this why Albus Dumbledore has been silent for so long? Did he know that Harry Potter died at the hands of a madman all along?’
“Well fuck,” Harry uttered.
“Do you need some time?” Severus asked. “He was your Godfather after all,”
“I mourned for Sirius over a century ago,” Harry waved off the concern. “I have a feeling the Headmaster orchestrated this whole show down just to get the heat off of himself. Only Skeeter brought it back tenfold.”
“You probably never cared that much for Sirius but he was still an Order member,” Harry stated as he looked at Sev but the other just waved him off.
“We’ve never gotten along and I doubted we ever would.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” Harry asked while lifting a brow.
“Nothing much. We’ve never gotten along though Ms. Weasley’s comment about the obliviation has made me suspect that Black was not that innocent. This along with the ghost of your counterpart telling me he was more than alright with me hexing Black to hell and beyond.”
“Frankly speaking I do not wish to talk about it until I’ve sorted out everything in my mind.” Severus continued. “What of Skeeter’s second article?”
Harry’s eyes scanned down towards the other bold headline. ‘THE HEIR OF GRINDELWALD LIVES!’ It is with sad tidings that I must convey this headline as the truth. Gellert Grindelwald, a wizard darker than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, has confirmed descendants. As you all know Gellert Grindelwald’s reign shook much of the wizarding communities not only in the British Isles but also on the mainland and across the pond. Case reports of the torture he inflicted on several prominent wizards are to this day still classified. Reliable sources within Gringotts have identified Miss Hermoine Jean Granger as Grindelwald’s granddaughter. This begs the question, is Miss Granger truly a Muggleborn? Miss Granger has already displayed great intelligence as well as magical prowess that may soon rival her grandfather. Will this bring about the rise of a new Dark Lady as Miss Granger seems to be following in her family’s footsteps? Should He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named step aside?”
“What the actual fuck?!” Harry exclaimed as he crumbled the sides of the newspaper out of frustration. “I know she was still sour about being kept in a jar for close to a year but this… This would ruin most of Hermoine’s future job prospects!”
“This isn’t good,” Harry stated as he pulled the covers off of himself and got out of the bed stark naked.
“Potter don’t go kill Skeeter,” Severus warned as he too got out of bed, though while wincing slightly.
“I’m not going to kill Skeeter yet. I need to get to the Weasleys. That damn beetle just opened hunting season on Hermoine. Technically this place has a floo right?”
“Yes, though it is in the salon.”
“As Lord Prince can you connect it to the network immediately?” Harry asked while hastily pulling on some clothes and grabbing his wand.
“Of course…” Severus uttered as he also hastily put on some pants and followed after Harry. They got several raised eyebrows from the Slytherins on the way to the salon and in the room itself. Severus waved his wand and uttered a password causing green flames to ignite in the large fireplace.
Harry spotted a neglected pot of floo powder on the mantle, made a beeline for it, grabbed a handful, and uttered “THE BURROW” before disappearing in a sea of green flames.
“What in Merlin’s name just happened?” Astoria asked her sister, both of whom were in the salon reading a book. Seeing their professor half-dressed was one thing. Seeing their professor half-dressed while his lover fled was another.
Harry got spat out of the Burrow’s floo like an ungraceful duckling tumbling down a flight of park steps. When he arrived it was already utter chaos. Arthur was shouting at Molly to get the kids to safety while he fueled the wards. Harry had expected Deatheaters but, with a look outside the shattered window, he saw Aurors.