Of Hope And Love

Of Hope and Love

*

Chapter 19:

Much Awaited Awakening

*

Kingsley slowly opened his eyes. It was apparently night time, but he could still tell that he was in an unfamiliar room. Memories flew to his mind, and he was startled. The last he remembered he'd been tortured by the Death Eaters -- had he been transferred into another place of imprisonment?

Then he woke up more, and realized that he was lying on a bed. Whilst being in the Death Eaters' cell, he'd had to sleep on the hard ground. And this most certainly wasn't a cell.

Had he been saved?

The dark-skinned wizard saw the dark figure of a human approaching, and instantly became watchful. His late experiences had proved that dark figures rarely meant anything good for him. He was still bloodied from the last time he'd been tortured by both Muggle and magical means.

Hey... wait a minute. In fact, he wasn't bloodied. He was still sore and wounded, yes, but not covered with dried blood.

Somebody murmured a quiet spell, and a dim light drove the darkness away. Kingsley blinked a couple of times, then looked at the person standing next to his bed.

Remus Potter looked down at him with concerned golden eyes. The pregnant werewolf's stomach was now gently rounded, and he was clad in only a light blue nightgown. "Are you okay?" asked Remus quietly.

"Fine..." the black wizard replied with a raspy voice. "What time is it?"

"Half past two o'clock in the morning," the brunet replied calmly.

"Then why are you here?" Kingsley demanded, needing a great effort to speak clearly. He'd spent the last -- days? Weeks? Months, maybe? He couldn't really tell anymore -- not speaking, only screaming occasionally. His voice was not at its best. "You're with a child -- you shouldn't --"

"I couldn't sleep," Remus said quietly. "The baby was kicking rather hard, keeping me awake, so I went to get a glass of water as I couldn't sleep anyway. Then I heard you moving, and came to check on you."

"Oh." He lowered his head back to the pillow. After a moment he asked, "How -- how long?"

"You were missing for almost four months," the other man replied. "I'm about seven months along now." A slight chuckle escaped his lips as he continued, "Most people in the Order are going crazy about the baby. I have just stood back and watched as the others have taken care of the nursery, baby clothes, practically everything. Only when I've absolutely wanted to have I had to do something."

The black wizard smiled briefly at this. Then, however, he again became curious and asked, "What else has happened? Has -- has the Dark Lord done anything?"

Just as he had feared, Remus' expression darkened. "They don't tell me everything," he said quietly, "as they think the stress would harm the baby. But... it's rather hard to hide it when people leave and never come back..." His voice trailed away, and he closed his eyes briefly, a sad expression on his face.

Kingsley jerked his head upwards. "Who has... have died?" he asked worriedly. 'Let it not be him, let it not be him...' he silently prayed in his mind. To be rescued only to find out that his lover had died while he was away... He had stood almost continuous torture for months, but that he could not bear.

"Well..." Remus hesitated for a moment. Then he said, "Tonks was the first to go, sadly... Then Mundungus, caught on one of his semi-illegal 'business trips'. At least twelve have died for sure, and seventeen other people have never come back from a mission. We don't know whether they are dead."

Kingsley nodded grimly. "Go on," he said quietly. He had to know everything.

Remus was still quiet for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and started, "Some time ago, we tried saving you for the first time. Severus went alone in his search for you; he was frantic to see you again." The brunet man fell silent, then continued, "Three Death Eaters surrounded him..."

"Severus -- he is --" Kingsley whispered, paling as far as the colour of his skin would allow him to. He couldn't finish the sentence, he simply couldn't. If Severus was dead, if he had died trying to save him, it'd be his fault. And for that, he would never forgive himself. Never ever.

However, it was not so. "No!" the werewolf immediately exclaimed to Kingsley's great relief. "No, thank Merlin. He was in a bad shape as we got there, but now he's alive and well. There's just... a thing you should know about, the one that made him collapse that day..."

The black wizard was just about to ask what the werewolf meant when another shadowy figure appeared against the dim light from the doorway.

"Remus?" asked a voice Kingsley knew all too well. "The babies were kicking, and I heard voices... Is he awake?"

"Severus?" the black man asked.

Instantly, the figure swept nearer. "Thank Merlin," Severus sighed. "We were beginning to think you wouldn't wake up at all!"

Kingsley, however, barely registered the words. His eyes were locked at Severus -- or, rather, at the huge bulge on the front of his lover's nightgown. "Oh, Merlin," Kingsley whispered. "What a stomach!"

"Well, that's only to be expected," the no-more-lanky Slytherin huffed. "I'm seven months along with triplets, after all." He placed his hands gently on his round abdomen, eyeing Kingsley like challenging him to say something.

"You -- you're pregnant?" stammered Kingsley. But... how could this be? He hadn't even known...

Severus nodded and then bit his lip. "Are you mad?" he asked softly.

"Hell no," the black wizard replied firmly. How could he be mad for such a thing? He wanted children, that was for sure, and even though the time wasn't the most opportune one, well, they would just have to deal with it. They would win the War and raise their children in peace. "But -- why didn't you tell me?" Unnoticed by both men, Remus had now slipped out of the room, a slight smile on his lips.

"I didn't know how you'd react," Severus replied, sitting on the edge of his bed. "And... I thought..."

"What did you think, love?" Kingsley asked gently. It was truly unusual to see Severus this hesitant.

"Have you ever wondered why I haven't become pregnant even though we've been sleeping together about forever without any protection?" As Kingsley nodded carefully, Severus went on, "Well, to tell the truth... I have. Four times before this, to be exact. And, every time, I have miscarried before I could tell you. I thought that'd happen this time, too... And then, just as I was going to tell you, you disappeared..."

"And left you alone," the other man finished, sighing. "If I had known about this, I would never have gone to that blasted mission at the first place. I wouldn't have left you to deal with this by yourself."

"I know that," Severus replied. "And that's also one of the reasons why I couldn't tell you even though the pregnancy had gone on far longer than ever before. If you hadn't gone, then who would have? One of the Weasley twins, maybe? Or Arthur himself?"

"I get your point," Kingsley sighed. "But I still would have wanted to be with you through this."

"And I would have wanted you to be with me," Severus replied quietly. "But it wasn't possible, for reasons not under our control." He gently grasped Kingsley's arm. "You are here now. That's all that matters."

"Right." The black man reached his hands to gently stroke the rounded stomach. "Is -- is it really triplets?"

The pale man nodded slowly. "Two identical boys and a girl," he said softly. "They're due in about two months now, like you perhaps figured already. Healthy, well-growing babies."

"Oh...." Kingsley was quiet for a moment. He spread his fingers protectively over his lover's stomach. "It's not going to be easy," he said then. "We have a War going on, and to bring three little babies in the middle of it all..." The black man made again a slight pause, then continued with a firm, yet warm voice, "But we are going to make it." And they were, he would make sure about that.

"Yes," Severus agreed, resting his hand atop Kingsley's. He then moved the other man's hand a little. Kingsley's eyes widened as he felt small, firm movements inside Severus' stomach. The pale Slytherin noticed his amazement and smiled gently, knowing the feeling himself.

For some time they stayed like that, together feeling the babies inside Severus' belly. At last, the kicking lessened. Kingsley noticed the yawn his lover was trying to hide, and smiled. Severus should have gone to sleep... But not before a certain aspect had been taken care of.

He took his hands from the rounded stomach, grasping on Severus' hands. "Severus Philip Snape," he said, hesitating only a little, "will you marry me?"

At first Severus just stared at him. Then, slowly, his lips curled into a small smile. "Yes, Kingsley Thomas Shacklebolt, I will marry you." He then yawned again, then went on, "But as much as I do love you, I'm now going to go to sleep. I'm exhausted; the triplets have kept kicking all night."

"You could sleep here," Kingsley replied instantly. As Severus looked thoughtful, he hastened to add, "The bed is well large enough. You look really tired; you'd better just stay here."

Severus nodded sleepily. Then he crept under the covers, lying down next to the black man. He curled himself into a fetal position, his hands tugged under his head.

Kingsley spooned his lover from behind, one arm wrapped around the no-more slim waist, his hand resting on the round stomach. 'My family,' he thought sleepily. 'My family.'

Within minutes, both were asleep.

*