Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Chapter 7 Another broken agreement

Harry had two circles of friends that he socialised with, or four, depending on how you counted. One consisted of his old friends at Hogwarts among which Ron, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas constituted a close-knit group since they had started at the Auror program together. Naturally, Harry was considered one of them. Ginny had made new friends at her Quidditch team whom she brought along. The Qudditch players and the Auror apprentices got along very well. Dean even found a girlfriend in the team, so the two groups quickly merged into one. They were young, merry and tireless in their pursuits of amusements as they preferred to go out in large parties. Based at London, they had a vast supply of pleasures and could give free reign to their appetite.

The other group of friends was more loosely put together and more complex, but not less attractive to Harry, on the contrary. It consisted of a few new acquaintances from St Mungo’s, among them care-wizard Hugo and his girlfriend Esmeralda who was best friends with Josepha, a newly examined healer at St Mungo’s whom Harry had met last year. Josepha was also the girlfriend of Luna, Harry’s old friend from Hogwarts. Luna had moved in with Josepha as soon as she had finished school and was now working in a second-hand shop at Diagon Alley. As such, she met Ginny now and then who worked at her brother’s joke shop only a few houses away. Josepha and Luna naturally had a network of contacts in the magical gay community of London and therefore they knew Hercules, George Weasley’s boyfriend since almost a year, but also Simmings, a young Auror who had been based at Hogwarts the previous year and whom Harry had learnt to know pretty well. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione naturally stuck together and therefore socialised in both groups in different constellations.

One late afternoon in October, the four friends were invited to Josepha’s and Luna’s large apartment only a few blocks away from Grimmauld Place together with a selection of the couple’s motley set of acquaintance. Harry had brought Teddy, his youngest friend of all, only one and a half years old, but a very go-ahead and stout young man. Remus Lupin had appointed Harry godfather of his and Nymphadora Tonks’ child only shortly before they were both killed at the battle of Hogwarts. The orphaned Teddy was raised by his grandmother, with a not unsubstantial support from Mrs Weasley, but Harry was keen on taking responsibility for Teddy as well and relieve the pressure on Mrs Tonks now and then, especially since Teddy had become such a quick and agile little fellow.

Josepha’s and Luna’s apartment was brighter and airier than the house of the Black family and was full of magical art because Josepha was a keen collector and had inherited some pieces from her family. Luna contributed with her own style to their home, with magical gadgets and trinkets of more eccentric appearance, which clashed a bit with Josepha’s more classical taste, but the couple seemed reconciled with the fact, being very much in love.

This particular evening, Luna had gone all in and made playful decorations with chiffons and bling in the ceiling of the living room where the guests mingled, and she had prepared a set of various magical creatures-alike appetisers and pastries. A set of rather hard core homosexuals were invited, mutual friends of Josepha, Hercules and of Simmings, and those had taken a particular liking to Luna and her personality.

“Darling, these are marvellous!” exclaimed a tall and thin, well-clad androgynous person, blowing a kiss at Luna before putting a petit four in their mouth. “Oh, what is this?” They made a show of displaying a horrified face as little Teddy whisked round their elegant legs; the child was riding on a small hobby-horse, enchanted to whinny and neigh from time to time.

Harry had noticed that some of the gay people had an image of not being compatible with children at all, either ignoring them or abhorring them. Maybe it was some kind of defence or self-censorship - a sort of self-preservation against the prejudices in the magical world where homosexuals were not to be associated with children, or they might be accused of improprieties, or worse assaults.

Others, like Simmings, were delighted with Teddy who got more than enough of his due of attention. Simmings did not hesitate to throw himself on the floor to play with Teddy, or to chase him throughout the room.

“Look at Teddy,” said Hermione. “He’s so fond of that pony of his! It’s as if he’s fused to that stick.”

“I know,” said Harry who had stopped playing to catch his breath for a while. “He’s fond of all kind of animals, but his favourites are still cubs and wolves. He has inherited some kind of affinity for the canine species from Lupin.”

“And the metamophmagus talents from Tonks,” Hermione supplied.

“He’s absolutely gorgeous,” said Josepha tenderly, being visibly pregnant. Harry shook his head.

“He certainly is. But when I think that I was younger than Teddy is now when my father gave me my first broom to ride…” he said.

“You were…?” said Josepha, moving her eyes from Teddy to Harry.

“Maybe those were different times,” said Hermione. “But I agree, I wouldn’t dare trust Teddy with a broom, not even an enchanted one.”

“Oh, I don’t think you can start early enough,” said Ginny. “I’m sure he could handle it, Harry. He would fall off a couple of times at first of course, but then he would learn.”

“I think I’d rather wait to give him one… There’s ample of time for him to practice on a broom later,” said Harry. “I suppose I’m a wimp compared to my father,” he added.

“Harry Potter – a wimp?” asked one of Hercules’ and Josepha’s friends who was passing by, making a show of opening his mouth wide. “You’re the toughie, the super stud personified in our community, Harry,” he added and winked. Harry smiled and shook his head. He had been confused at first by the jargon used among the gay friends, but once he got used to it, he was rather amused. It was hearty and a bit disrespectful at the same time, which was a relief compared to some of the pretty star-struck reactions he met with from time to time in the heterosexual world. “Especially in the eyes of some,” the young man added pointedly, giving a glance that was supposed to be subtle at Simmings.

Simmings was on his way over to Harry and his friends with a wildly kicking Teddy in his arms. He had overheard the exchange of words and retorted:

“I actually think nothing of the sort. I think that Harry is in possession of a really good combination of softer qualities and of strength and courage. He’s a more sensitive person than you think, and more genuine too than you hardened fags will ever be,“ he said.

“If that was supposed to convince me that you’re not madly in love with him, Simmings…” the young man snorted and swept away, pretending to be affronted, but looking back studiedly over his shoulder, winking at Harry.

Simmings was handing over the toddler to Harry, which forced them close together. When Teddy had at last wriggled over in Harry’s arms, Simmings stepped back, red in his face. Harry observed an amused little smile in the corner of Ginny’s mouth. A bit confused, Harry cleared his voice.

“Thanks for playing with Teddy, Simmings. I suppose he’s getting tired – and hungry.” Bending over the now still but a bit huffed child in his arms, he continued: “Let’s give you something to eat, Teddy, and then you can sit with me and rest for a while.”

“I’ll warm Teddy’s food for you, Harry,” said Luna.

“Let’s find a quiet corner in the adjacent room,” said Josepha.

The party went on, but Josepha kept Harry company while he fed Teddy. After a while Hermione joined them at the table.

Neville was a common acquaintance, and Josepha told them that he had come by only a few days ago but that he had not been able to attend the party today.

“I like him very much,” she confided in them. “At first I was afraid that Luna’s and his friendship would come to an end when she and I started going out. He was in love with her after all.”

“Yeah, he was pretty depressed about it for a time,” Harry recalled. “It did not exactly boost his confidence.”

“No, it never does, does it? To be rejected is hard on us all in a relationship. Regardless why it ended, you’ll often blame yourself and lose confidence. Especially if you were abandoned before, I mean, in your childhood, like Neville was in a way when he lost his parents,” explained Josepha. Harry looked with interest at her.

“Do you know about psychological stuff like that?” he wondered.

“Well, a bit,” she conceded. “It interests me. I chose between becoming a mind healer and a healer for new-born magical children. In the end, I chose child medicine.”

“It must be difficult to draw general conclusions like that, isn’t it?” asked Hermione. “It must be individual.”

“It is to a great extent,” Josepha conceded. ”But there seem to be some principles that hold most of the time. When it comes to Neville, I didn’t mean to analyse his childhood, I only meant to say that I was impressed that he managed to overcome his hurt feelings and persist in his friendship with Luna. I mean, there’s not a hint of aggression or resentment towards me either. He’s the most humble and well-meaning person I’ve met.”

Harry and Hermione agreed with her.

“It’s obvious, however, that the fate of his parents has marked him as a person,” Hermione filled in thoughtfully. “Only consider that he travelled all the way to South America in the hope of finding an herb that would help his parents.”

“He did?” said Harry. “I hadn’t realised that was the aim of the trip.”

“He didn’t tell us when he came to Grimmauld Place at first, but he told me later. His hopes were crushed, however - it turned out to be false marketing: the plant was weak and useless. Now he focuses on the undoing of his parents’ Obliviates instead.”

“Oh, those Obliviatings!” They were interrupted by Hugo and his girlfriend Esmeralda who settled down at their table. “We’ve read so much about them. I truly wish you good luck with your campaign against them!” Esmeralda said to Hermione.

They talked about the campaign for a while, Hugo and Josepha contributing with testimonies from St Mungo’s of Obliviate treatments with varying effects. Harry listened but did not say much - there was no point in bringing up Ginny’s predicament from the treatment again. He could hear her laughing from the adjacent room. She was popular with the gay men, worshiped for her good looks and charisma. She lapped the attention up, and they all seemed to be having a good time together. Teddy was growing drowsy after eating, leaning against Harry’s chest. Josepha suggested that he put him down on the sofa, but Harry declined, rejoicing to feel the warm little body against his and the steady breathing slowing down as the toddler fell to sleep.

“I can’t wait to have a little one like that of my own,” Josepha said longingly.

“Which week is it again?” Hermione wanted to know.

“I’m in the twenty eighth week of my pregnancy,” Josepha replied. “We’re due in the middle of January if all goes well.”

“It will,” said Luna who had joined them after having finished in the kitchen, calmly taking Josepha’s hand.

“You never know,” Josepha mumbled. “I’ve seen what can happen, trust me…”

“You’ve seen too much,” Luna replied. “It will go well.” Josepha smiled tenderly at her.

“Did you decide right after you met that you wanted a baby?” Ron who had joined them wanted to know. Hermione blushed a bit on his behalf for asking so bluntly, but Josepha answered straight-forwardly.

“I had already decided that I wanted a child. I had finished my education, I had a job, and I didn’t want to wait too long. I had already started to plan to do it on my own when I met Luna, and she thought it was a magnificent plan.”

“How…?” Ron asked, but Hermione elbowed him hard in his side. “Ouch!” he said. Josepha smiled indulgently.

“It’s OK,” she said to Hermione then turned to Ron. “I understand that you wonder, although you would not exactly ask a heterosexual couple how they did it, would you?” Ron reddened.

“No, I would assume…” he started to say.

“Well, you would be wrong in ten percent of the cases approximately,” said Josepha. “Because a lot of heterosexual couples need some assistance to have children as well. In my case… or in our case…” She squeezed Luna’s hand. “We actually turned to a Muggle hospital since there is no legal ground to get help in our own world. And, well… they did an insemination… it’s not that complicated…”

“You mean…” Hugo looked at her with big eyes.

“I mean that somewhere out there, there is a man who donated his sperms to that hospital. Someone kind and generous who wanted to help others. We’ll be eternally grateful to this man, but he will remain anonymous to us and to our child. We have no means to find out who he is, and hopefully it doesn’t matter.”

“No, hopefully it doesn’t,” Harry echoed, his thoughts wandering back to when he had learnt about his parents and who they really were, and how important it had been for him. He had sucked up every little bit of information about them, and for years – he realized that now – he had been very keen to find likenesses between himself and James, his father. He had sought the similarities out, almost deliberately it seemed to him in retrospect, cultured sides that he knew resembled those of his father, and regretted when he had been unable to meet up with the comparison. He remembered how desolate he had been when Sirius implied that he was too cautious, less courageous than James.

But then, he thought, he had never had a loving family, which this baby would no doubt have with Josepha and Luna. The donor of this baby would not be a part of the child’s history in the same painful way that Harry’s parents belonged to his. There would be no history, except that of an exceptional gift, and that of a couple who loved their child.

Harry was torn from his reverie by Ginny who had come up by his side.

“Harry… George and Hercules and the others are leaving now. I’ll go along. Pluto sent me an owl earlier to tell me that they’re going out tonight. I want to join them at the Xenophoria,” she said. Pluto was short for Plutarch who was her Quidditch captain and the Xenophoria was the most exclusive magical night club in London.

“But Ginny, we agreed on a quiet night tonight,” said Harry. “We’ve got Teddy and…”

“He’s sleeping now, and tomorrow my mother will pick him up early – I won’t be awake anyway to see him off in the morning. We had a nice little moment earlier today, Teddy and I, and I’ll soon see him again,” Ginny reasoned a bit impatiently.

“But I went out with you yesterday, and the day before that, and we had agreed that…” Harry tried to object but was interrupted.

“You know that we have agents from the French Quidditch league visiting this week, people I already met at Le Grand Eclat. It’s an opportunity for me to show myself, and I owe it to the team,” Ginny argued.

“To show yourself…” on the dance floor? Harry was close to saying, but bit his lip in time. He did not want to argue in front of the others.

“You do understand don’t you, Harry? You always do,” Ginny said, cradling her fingers through his thick black hair, cajoling and convincing now. Harry swallowed.

“Yeah, well…” he said reluctantly.

“Pluto sent an owl expressly for me, you see, and I answered him that I would come.” She spoke very softly and persuadingly now.

“Yeah, I see…” said Harry, realizing that the case was already lost.

“I knew you would understand. You always do, Harry,” said Ginny, adding with more impatience: “I long for those simplified security watches to appear on the market – they’re more amenable than owls after all, more elegant and affordable. I’ve told George to get me one as soon as they come out.” She put a gentle hand on Teddy’s head, bent down gracefully to kiss Harry on the mouth, glanced at the others and said good-bye. More guests were waving good-bye and blowing kisses at them from the door. Luna and Josepha rose to accompany Ginny and see them all off.

When the great majority of the guests left at once, the apartment suddenly turned very quiet. Ron cleared his voice.

“I wonder,” he said in a slightly unnatural voice, “whether the upcoming security watches are going to replace owl mail altogether in the future – do you think so? What a pity if they do.”

No one answered him. Hugo looked with a mixture of embarrassment and pity at Harry. Harry’s head had been studiedly bent down over Teddy since Ginny left, stroking the child’s soft hair repeatedly. The child started to stir, and Harry stopped abruptly, letting Teddy settle again.

“She’s young, your girl-friend,” Hugo stated gently. Harry glanced up at him, smiling sadly.

“Yes,” he said in a quiet voice. “She’s a year younger than the rest of us.”

“And it’s her first time living in London,” Hugo went on. Harry cleared his voice.

“It wouldn’t be a problem, really,” he said. “I do understand that she wants to… that she needs to have fun and go out, but…” His gaze met Hermione’s who averted her eyes, and Ron looked self-conscious.

“It’s been a bit too much lately,” Harry explained. “Even Ron who often accompanies Ginny and her friends thought so.” Ron cleared his voice.

“Yeah,” he conceded. “I reckon we were a bit over enthusiastic in the beginning. All the pubs, all the clubs – the old gang all together… and new friends on top of it… It resulted in many nights out… and a bit too much booze sometimes… a bit too often, you know… We needed to set it right, to reach a balance…”

“So we had a discussion, the four of us, only a couple of weeks ago, because we realised it was not going to hold,” Harry explained.

“On the other hand, Harry and I were accused of taking our studies too seriously,” Hermione filled in. “Ron and Ginny wanted us to accompany them more often, and to loosen up a bit…” She sighed. “At the beginning of a program you’re naturally keen to keep up. You don’t really know the level they’re expecting of you, and it’s quite possible that I was overzealous. I always seem to aim high.”

“And I understand,” Ron said quickly. “I wouldn’t want you to fail because of me, Hermione. But the Auror program is more practical and physical, so I don’t need to study so much in the evenings. Harry on the other hand has two programs to keep up with. And Ginny doesn’t study at all…”

“We were out of tune with each other so to speak,” Harry explained, “but in the end we all reached an agreement where Hermione and I would make sure to have at least two nights off every week.”

“Except in view of upcoming exams,” Hermione added.

“I actually agreed to going out three nights a week,” Harry added. “You don’t want to be accused of being a boring boyfriend…” He made a wry face.

“But we also agreed…” Hermione said.

“…on having at least two early nights a week,” Ron filled in.

“Visiting friends like today, or only having a quiet evening among ourselves,” said Harry.

“I have enjoyed slowing down a bit,” said Ron. “I don’t mind cuddling up in front of a fire at Grimmauld Place.” Hermione smiled at him, but then turned a desolate face toward Harry.

“Ginny didn’t keep the agreement today…” she said.

“I’ve been trying to tell you that she’s overly restless,” said Harry. “Staying at home makes her anxious.” He did not expect an answer from his friends. He bent over Teddy and murmured: “OK, let’s get you home without waking you up, shall we?”

“Will you make it through the fire place?” asked Luna.

“No, it’ll wake him up, I think. We’d better walk, the Muggle way you know.” Harry smiled. “It’s not far away. I’ll carry him. You’re coming along?” He looked inquiringly at Ron and Hermione who nodded.


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