Snarry-a-Thon11: FIC: The Midnight Wanderers Title: The Midnight Wanderers Author:mrscake Other pairings/threesome: Brief mentions of other pairings. Rating: PG Word count: 1,746 Warning(s): (highlight for spoilers) *The ages of the children involved don't correspond exactly with canon.* Prompt: #210: Teddy, James, Al, and/or Lily play matchmaker for Harry and Severus. A/N: Only four kids are mentioned, but I used a few more. After all, Harry and Severus need all the help they can get.
The Midnight Wanderers
The corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were quiet, the students were tucked up in bed, and even the professors had stopped patrolling and gone to bed.
In a part of the castle that was rarely used were the old dueling rooms. There it wasn't so quiet. Sitting in a circle were the Midnight Wanderers Club. From Gryffindor: Teddy Lupin, a seventh-year; James Potter, a third-year; Hugo Weasley, a second-year. From Hufflepuff: Victoire Weasley, a sixth-year (holding hands with a smiling Teddy). From Ravenclaw: Rose Weasley and Lily Potter, both in first year. And from Slytherin: Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, both in second year.
“I’m worried about Uncle Harry,” Teddy said without preamble.
The others nodded in agreement. “Daddy’s been getting worse since mum died.” Lily noted.
"I heard Mum and Dad talking to Granny Weasley. They think Uncle Harry needs to get married again. Dad said, 'It’s been ages and a man has needs'. What needs?" Rose asked innocently.
Teddy cleared his throat, "Um, well, ask your dad. But he's right about one thing - Uncle Harry needs someone."
"I don't think he'll marry another woman,” James told him. "Dad doesn't know we know, but we do know, and I guess it’s time you knew."
Scorpius sniggered, and Al smirked at his elder brother.
"What my ever-eloquent brother is trying to say is, our Mum and Dad were never the big love story everyone thought they were. They got married because Mum wanted to have a stable home and Dad wanted the press and pestering women to stop. It was a marriage of convenience. They were best friends, brother and sister even. Which makes our existence strange, but we weren't conceived in the conventional way. They used something called artificial insemination."
All the faces around him with the exception of his siblings looked confused. A blushing James took over the story. "Basically, have you ever seen a turkey baster? Well Dad, you know... Then mum would..." James looked pained and the whole room was glowing red.
"We get the picture," Victoire stopped him from continuing.
James looked grateful. "Mum and Dad loved us more than anything in the world. I think Mum might have had a boyfriend sometimes, but not Dad."
"So what do we do? Find him a girlfriend?" Hugo asked.
"I think a boyfriend would be more along the right lines," Scorpius suggested.
"What makes you say that?" Teddy asked.
Albus blushed. "He caught us kissing over the Christmas holidays. He just said, 'follow your heart son, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise'."
"Cool," Hugo said with a nod. The others murmured in agreement.
"So we need to find him a man then," Lily said frowning. "But who?"
"What about Uncle Nev?" Hugo suggested.
"Don't be silly, he's married to Auntie Luna," Rose reminded her brother.
"Oh, yeah."
"If my father wasn't disgustingly head-over-heels with his new boyfriend I'd suggest him." Scorpius mused.
"But he is in love with Uncle Bill. And you don't seem to think it’s disgusting. Normally you say, 'ahh aren’t they sweet'. After all we did set them up."
The group as one smirked, (Albus and Scorpius had been giving them lessons.) Six months ago the club had decided Draco Malfoy had been alone long enough, his wife having left when Scorpius was eight.
"Who else is there?" Lily asked. "It has to be someone who doesn’t mind kids."
"Someone who understands Dad's a teacher and that he's here all year," James said.
"Uncle Harry reads a lot so they'd have to be smart," Hugo added.
"Dad can have a really bad temper sometimes, so he needs someone he can have a proper fight with, not someone who will just back down," Albus added to the growing list of requirements.
"What about looks?" Victoire asked.
"Taller. Definitely taller," Rose said emphatically. "Mummy says it’s good to have a taller partner."
"There are no other men on staff," Hugo lamented.
"Of course!" shouted Teddy excitedly.
"What?" The others asked when he didn't continue.
"The Headmaster," Teddy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But they hate each other," James pointed out.
"There is a very thin line between love and hate," Victoire said knowledgeably.
"I think they'd be perfect for each other," Lily said dreamily.
"That might be, sis, and god knows I could use another snake in the family, but how do we go about it?" Albus asked.
“We could send them love letters signed by the other,” Rose suggested.
“They would never fall for it.” Scopius shook his head.
“We could set them up on a blind date then.” James offered, “You know, soft music, dinner, that kind of cra... stuff.”
Lily and Rose giggled. “Well what then?” James asked in a huff.
“I don’t know, but I think having Headmaster Snape as a new daddy would be really cool. Al and me can talk to him about Potions, and I bet he'd tell great stories. They could have more babies so I can be a big sister. I wonder if he'd let me braid his hair?"
The laughter was loud that time and it took them a few minutes to calm down.
"Please can I be there when you ask Great-Uncle Sev that?" Scorpius begged.
"'Great-Uncle Sev?'" Hugo and James asked with almost identical grins.
"Father calls him 'Uncle Sev', that makes him my Great-Uncle. Plus it annoys him no end when I call him it. I haven't since school started. They might never find the body." Scorpius shivered.
Teddy sniggered, "Yeah, because you lower years are so terrifying," he teased.
"You’re thinking like a Gryffindor. Between all of the lower years in the room, we can get all the houses’ first years to start hugging the headmaster on sight. When we do, the other years will think it’s a spectacular prank and join in. Soon most of the student body will be doing it. For the headmaster, that will be hell," Albus explained.
"Remind me never to piss you off," Teddy said impressed with the 11 year old.
Albus grinned.
"Dad always says that I inherited his Gryffindor half, Al got the Slytherin half, and Lily got a mix of both." James beamed at his brother.
"It still doesn’t answer how we get them together," Victoire pointed out. "We could arrange a masked ball and set them up as blind dates," she suggested.
"Good idea, but Uncle Harry never goes to balls," Rose pointed out.
"Neither does the headmaster," Hugo added.
"What about casting a spell to bind them together for a few days so they can get to know each other?" Scorpius offered with a shrug.
"They'd fix it, or kill each other in half an hour," Albus said with an apologetic glance to his boyfriend.
"We could make them lose all their memories apart from general stuff. They wouldn't have any reason to hate each other then would they?" Lily was bouncing with excitement now.
"A great idea, Lils, but there is no such spell. At least not a temporary one." Teddy sighed, rubbing his temple in a way his father used to do when stressed, although he didn't know it. "We could lock them in the Room of Requirement until they kill each other or..." Teddy broke off embarrassed.
"Shag," Lily finished helpfully.
"Yeah, that," Teddy agreed blushing and trying not to look at his girlfriend.
"We could kidnap Dad then send a ransom note to the headmaster to come save him," Albus thought aloud. He’d deny it to his dying day, but he was a true romantic at heart and the thought of a handsome prince rushing to save his... prince was appealing.
"That might work," James agreed.
"Yeah," Teddy agreed, "but they'd kill us."
"There is that," Albus nodded.
"Or we could..." Rose started.
"Or you could all go back to bed," suggested a deep voice from above them.
As one, they slowly looked up. In the auditorium surrounding the dueling platform they were all lounging on, was the headmaster, sitting as calmly as you please leaning against the railing and looking down at them.
As if in slow motion Snape rose and descended the staircase to stand before them, the wayward students all having scrambled to their feet.
“If you go back to bed now I will not put you in detention for the rest of the school year.”
James, showing why he was in Gryffindor, piped up. “But if you put us in detention you’d have to explain to Dad why, and then you could ask him out.”
Albus slapped James on the back of his head, “What my moronic brother is trying to say is, if you wanted to ask our dad out you could. You’d have our blessing.”
Snape closed his eyes for a moment, “Go to bed now,” he directed in a voice that brooked no argument.
Lily was the last to leave the room, “If you marry my dad I’m going to call you Papa,” she told him solemnly, then hugged him around the middle and ran off leaving Snape with his mouth open in shock.
When he had recovered, he looked to one corner and smirked. “You can come out now, Mr Potter.”
“How did you know I was there?” Harry asked, removing his cloak.
“Being the Headmaster does have its benefits,” Snape deadpanned
“Mm hum,” Harry obviously didn’t believe him.
“Fine, you were sniggering,” Snape relented.
“Well, some of the things they were saying were very funny.”
“True. You and I in a relationship, as if. We’d kill each other.”
Neither man realised they were edging closer together.
“We’d be constantly fighting,” Harry agreed.
“Exactly, although I’m sure the make-up sex would be just as spectacular,” Snape almost whispered.
“I bet we’d even fight about that. Who would top, and stuff.” Harry was looking directly into Snape’s eyes now.
“No, we wouldn’t.”
“Yes, we would.”
“No, we wouldn’t.”
“Are you trying to pick a fight with me?” Harry asked, now almost chest to chest with Snape.
“Yes,” Snape whispered against Harry’s waiting lips.
“Well, we haven’t killed each other in the last six months,” Harry smiled happily.
“We have years left to keep trying,” Snape teased.
When they kissed, not only did stars explode between the couple, but so did the seven watching children in the auditorium around them.