"Ouch," Ernie said with a wince. "And I doubt that would work too well with the Slytherins. The ones who were his pets would lord it over those who weren't."
His eyes widened. "Nine? But... that would mean... his son was born while we were still at school? Whoa." He shook his head. "Bet that's a good story. Hard to think of him as a father though." He paused and thought about the boy stuck down in the dungeons with Snape. "Maybe... if you thought Snape would agree... Faustus could come to the estate with you and Ben. That would give Ben someone to play with other than us."
He quite happily let Terry draw him into a kiss, wrapping his arms around the other man as it deepened. He suspected they were getting stares but he knew that the Muggles had passed laws recently allowing civil unions between same-sex couples so he knew that they probably wouldn't get anything more than stares.
He smiled at Terry when they finally pulled apart. "That's a great way of keeping warm."
He laughed. "Well, at least you can always use the excuse that they're Muggle machines and don't work in magical areas. That would work until he gets older."
"Neither can I," he said. "I haven't been back to the estate for a couple of weeks." He smiled again when Terry linked their fingers. "So there is." He looked up at the Gatehouse. "I have the most enormous urge to do a big processional when we come back out through there. That's where all the groups from the Tattoo emerge from."