-o-
Chapter Ten
Harry woke up slowly. His emerald eyes were unfocused and Severus nervously leaned closer.
"My Prince?" he whispered. Harry's head lolled over to his direction, eyes blinking slowly. "Please do not move. The Dark Lord is perfectly fine; it's you everyone is worried about."
"Why?" Harry asked groggily, his memories a bit foggy.
"You had a massive bleeding," Severus said and Harry's eyes widened in horror. "No, the baby is fine my Prince! The baby is healthy and still with you!"
The man directed one of Harry's hands to the still round belly and the teen sighed in relief. He relaxed, took a few breaths to calm his racing heart and looked up at the worried potions master.
"What happened?" he whispered.
"The Dark Lord attacked the Hogwarts Express. There were Aurors there, as well as Dumbledore. He got in a hit on the Dark Lord and we all Apparated away immediately. Lucius, after helping getting the lord here, Apparated to the Ministry to make it look like he had been all there all the time. The Light bought it. You collapsed seeing the lord, do you remember that?"
"No," Harry said. "It was so much blood."
"Nothing that was life-threatening. You collapsed and began bleeding due to stress. Have you been stressed recently?"
"A bit."
"A bit is too much, my Prince," Severus said. "The Dark Lord wanted to know as soon as you woke up."
"Have I been out long?"
"Two weeks," Severus said and the raven-haired teen stared at him. "Yes, my Prince, two weeks. The lord is climbing the walls out of worry for you. I will get him here now if you promise me you will not move."
"I won't."
Severus nodded and went to fetch the man. Voldemort came in and Harry stretched out a hand towards him. The man stood still for a moment before stumbling to the bed, falling to his knees next to it and taking the fragile hand in his own.
"Harry..." he whispered. "Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry for anything," Harry said. "It's okay."
"It's not okay," the Dark Lord said fiercely. "I nearly lost you. You nearly died."
"But I'm okay now."
"No, you're not okay," Voldemort said and climbed into the bed. "The baby is fine but you are not okay."
"What's wrong with me?" Harry said. "I feel fine."
"Tessa was here. She fears you cannot give a normal birth."
"Why not?"
"If you do, there is a good chance you will die. The bleeding did something to you. You aren't even allowed to leave the bed. I'm so sorry."
Harry let the man pull him close but gasped in pain at the movement. Voldemort immediately drew back but the teen refused. He slowly moved himself so he was lying comfortable against the Dark Lord and relaxed there.
"How am I supposed to give birth then?" he asked after a while.
"She has to cut you open," Voldemort said. "It's more normal in the Muggle world, but she can heal you so there won't be a scar left behind. But she doesn't think you can be pregnant again."
Harry bit his lip and let his tears get soaked up by Voldemort's shirt. His hand cupped his belly and the man held him.
"I'm sorry," Voldemort whispered one last time.
-o-
"We had him, and you let him escape!"
The Order looked at Dumbledore and he continued pacing.
"So close," he hissed. "We were so close to get rid of him!"
"What about Severus?" McGonagall asked. "He was there, and he helped the Dark Lord."
"I'm afraid Severus has turned his back to us," Dumbledore said. "He must be killed on sight."
-o-
"Severus, why aren't you at Hogwarts?"
The potions master looked up at Harry and replied:
"I'm a traitor to the Light. They discovered me and therefore the Dark Lord doesn't want me to leave the Manor until it's safe."
"Isn't something Lucius can do?"
"No," the man said. "We don't want to jeopardize something. He will do something once Dumbledore is out of the way. Now you should rest."
The emerald-eyed teen sank back to the pillows and rubbed his stomach slowly. The bed was rumpled and Harry was sick of having to live in it. If he wanted to go to the bathroom, someone had to carry him. It was just to the bathroom, not even three metres! It was boring, it was frustrating and the teen was sick of it. But he was not going to test if he could walk, since he once sat up too quickly and got a bleeding again. He sighed as he slowly shifted to his side, drew the blankets up around him and closed his eyes. May as well take a nap since he was not allowed to do anything.
-o-
Voldemort watched his lover sleep with a sad smile on his face as he stroke away some raven strands from Harry's face. The teen stirred but did not wake, and Voldemort's eyes roamed over his lover's body with his hand following. He rubbed the hip gently and then slid up to the belly.
"That tickles," Harry mumbled, voice thick with sleep.
Voldemort smile turned softer and he slowly climbed into the bed behind his lover, soothing Harry all the way. He drew the blankets over them and kissed the teen's temple gently before cradling the belly just underneath Harry's own arm.
"I love you," he said.
"I know you do," Harry said drowsily. "I'm sleepy."
"Then take a nap. I'll be here when you wake up."
Tbc...
