Author: blackcoyote
Theme/kink: Mpreg, Shibari (Japanese style bondage – also known as Kinbaku or Sokubaku).
Warnings see under the cut
Rating: NC17
Word Count: 5,100 +
Compliant to: All books to HBP, minor DH spoiler (Epilogue)



Title: See and Touch
Pairing: Snape/Lupin (with past Snape/Voldemort implied)
Warnings: Mpreg, Bondage, M/M Slash, D/S, Tantalising, Sex scene, Swordplay/Frottage, Clothed sex, Strong coarse language, Angst, Some fluff, Implied past sexual abuse of power.
Summary: Snape, cursed by Malfoy and pregnant thanks to Voldemort, struggles to maintain his dignity (and sanity) whilst in hiding at the Burrow. Remus goes upstairs to ask him about something, and one thing leads to another…
Notes/Disclaimer: For the 2007 pre-Deathly Hallows Farewell FQ-Fest at daily_deviant. Fic for prompt 89: "Snape/Lupin - mpreg, shibari - RL has a baby belly fetish; SS indulges him”. This is also a sequel to McKay’s short story “In A Delicate Way” (go look for it here). I checked an online ephemeris here to get the lunar cycles & dates correct for 1997. Much thanks to my beta [Bad username: morganlefay_1958]. All remaining mistakes are my own. Written prior to Deathly Hallows, so will not be compatible with that Canon. The characters & settings in this story (c) J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic, and Warner Brothers. This author recognises that the scenario depicted in this story is a derivative work that departs from and does not follow the original Canon.

See and Touch

The Daily Prophet
Monday December 8, 1997

Snape Hiding in Cornwall?

By R. Skeeter
An anonymous Source purporting to be “close” to the ‘Order of The Phoenix’ has made claims that he knows the current whereabouts of Severus Snape, the former Professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry wanted for the brutal murder of the late Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore.

According to the source, Snape is now hiding from justice in the region of South-Eastern Cornwall. A spokesman for The Ministry is treating these new claims “very seriously,” and Aurors are already investigating the area.

Further reports that Snape is also undergoing an unnatural gestation with You-Know-Who’s Offspring have been discounted by the source, who said; “he wasn’t showing any signs of that, and I doubt whether he would have lasted for long on the run in such a condition”.

Experts on Medical Magic agree, arguing that even a wizard of Snape’s reputed skill…

Arthur Weasley folded the newspaper, making a mental note to somehow repay Mr. Shacklebolt when he could, for having kept the rest of the Ministry off their trail once again.

“Mr. Snape, do you want to have a look at this?” he asked, awkwardly offering it to a hooded wizard who sat hunched and silent over a cup of cooling tea.

Severus Snape shook his head. “Already read it,” he grunted. Arthur knew better than to encourage further conversation.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” he said. “I have to head off to work now. Mr. Lupin should be coming back here sometime today, and if you need anything at all just ask Molly”.

Severus nodded sharply in answer as Arthur ducked under the Christmas decorations to Floo back to the Ministry. Grateful for some temporary solitude again, he looked back down at his cold tea, but even thinking about it re-intensified his nausea; so he gave the cup a light tap of his wand to re-heat it.

The pleasant steam rose again, soothing his gut a little, though not enough yet to enable him to drink it. Between the morning nausea that persisted long after the time Molly assured him it would stop, and the near-constant sexual arousal that humiliatingly arose the moment the sickness was gone, he for one looked forward to the day soon when more than the war would be over.

It would be six months, one week and two days ago today since Malfoy had unintentionally put the Hermaphrodito curse on him instead of Potter, and six months, one week and one day since the Dark Lord, suspecting that something was different with his servant, took him aside after that night’s meeting. When his Lord learnt the truth in spite of Severus’ best efforts to distract him, he dared not refuse the request that followed...

Wary of what could happen should he let himself even think ill of the Dark Lord (even from the relative safety of the Burrow), Severus turned his mind elsewhere, and quietly muttered a string of oaths to Slughorn instead. As far as he was concerned, all this was as much that drunken idiot’s fault as anyone’s for having been too hung over to take the sixth-year Potions class that day.

When Madam Pomfrey discovered his condition, she quickly (if not initially) appreciated the seriousness of the situation. Severus had for the most part forgiven her moments’ facetiousness when he learnt that when she’d wept at the news of Dumbledore’s death, she did so as much for him as the man he had killed.

He was safe for now, since Moody had placed the Burrow under a Fidelus Charm. He had been given a room of his own that he retired to whenever those wretched twins appeared, or the Potter boy and his friends turning up for one foolish reason or another. Getting used to his growing body was difficult, but Molly and Arthur treated him respectfully and even Lupin kept his distance; Severus only needed to glare to make him stop whenever he caught him staring.

That the Hermaphodito curse and the pregnancy were playing tricks on Severus’s sexuality as things advanced was another thing he tried not to dwell on too much, but he hoped that would return to normal once it was all over. He reminded himself that Arthur was married to a good witch, Lupin wasn’t worthy to scrub his chamber pot, and that there were only three or so more months to go.

Molly Weasley came into the room, breaking his reverie. He nodded politely as she picked up his breakfast plate.

“I suppose you would have heard about what happened with Tonks and Mr. Lupin,” she said while tidying up, “Such a pity they decided to part. I thought they’d seemed so happy together”.

Severus nodded again, to be polite. Personally, he had not been surprised to hear that. He’d expected the relationship between Miss Tonks and Lupin not to last since Tonks, in his opinion, was the type of witch who required someone with much more strength of character than that spineless creature could ever manage.

Besides which, to Severus the very thought of Lupin being with a woman was ludicrous, having had a good guess at what Lupin’s proclivities were since their schooldays. He had often caught him giving longing looks to some boy or another back in school, usually when he thought no one was looking. He could even remember incidents when Lupin had looked at him (of all people) in ‘that’ way, both before and after he’d fallen in with Potter’s odious little gang.

“Such a pity,” Molly repeated as she offered him a plate of sandwiches; “they would have gotten on so well if they’d only tried to give it a chance. Please have one Severus - I’ve put nothing else but ginger marmalade on these, so they should be all right for you”.

“Thank you,” Severus said as he took one and risked a bite – trusting that a witch who was a mother of seven would know much more about weathering a pregnancy than a wizard awaiting his first. He also appreciated that she (usually) refrained from lately staring at his midriff as if a nest of Skrewts was about to erupt from it - unlike certain others. That Werewolf, for a start…

“Has Professor McGonagall been having any more problems with the Ministry?” he asked, steering the conversation to a comfortable topic.

“Not much more than usual,” she replied, “there was another article about the ‘You-Know-Who baby’ rumour this week, which you’ve probably already seen in the Daily Prophet. Judging by the letters to the editor people aren’t believing that as much lately, thank goodness”.

“Thankfully,” Severus muttered in agreement, risking a second bite of the sandwich. The nausea felt like it was finally fading, though that also meant that soon he would need to find a way to keep himself distracted from more embarrassing sensations.

“I’d better be off to do the laundry, then”. Molly said. “If Mr. Lupin comes in, please let him know that I think we may have got another Boggart up in the attic. Poor Ginny thought she saw Harry’s body there yesterday when she was fetching a cauldron, but the thing hid itself before she could get it”.

“I will handle it,” Severus said, pushing himself up from his chair.

“You will do no such thing!” Molly retorted, “Mr. Snape, I’ve told you once and again that you’re in no condition at the moment to go off fighting things like Boggarts! You’re becoming even more awkward on the stairs than I was with Fred and George at that time! It can just wait until Lupin gets here, meanwhile I’d like to see you get some more food into you”.

“Yes Madam”.

Seeming to be satisfied with his acquiescence, Molly went off to do her chores. Closing his eyes, he listened to her working to take his mind off the last bit of nausea that persisted. When that failed, he turned on the radio – going through the stations with flicks of his wand until he found one that played half-decent music instead of Quidditch.

After listening for a few minutes, he decided that Molly seemed preoccupied enough not to notice, so he got up as quietly as he could, and headed upstairs to the attic. He was damned if he was going to risk letting anyone see what his greatest fear had become lately.

* * * *

It was late afternoon, almost time for Arthur to Floo back from work, when Remus Apparated to the Burrow. He found Molly was waiting for him at the kitchen table, sorting through a large box of Mr. Fudwuddle’s No-Drip candles. He guessed that she was checking to see if the charms on them hadn’t been tampered with.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Weasley,” Remus said.

“What did I serve you for supper before you left?” she asked, wand poised.

“Nettle soup,” he replied.

“And which tureen did I use?”

“The one with the round lid and knob-shaped handle on top,” he replied; the one that’s reminding me a bit too much of what Severus’s belly is starting to look like he thought, before stopping himself in case he blushed.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Lupin,” Molly replied, “how did things go with the pack this time?”

“As well as can be expected,” he said, wanting to say that Tonks had nearly made another scene while accompanying him to the pack disguised as another Werewolf. “There’s a raid on Ewesborough that they’ve been planning with Greyback’s pack, which I have informed the others about. I’ve managed to get out of it though, but apart from that nothing much else this time,” he told her instead. “By the way, there’s something I wish to talk to Severus about. Do you happen know where he is?”

“I suppose he would be up in his room,” Molly replied, “though he’s been a bit quiet all day…” she paused for a moment before adding; “I should hope he’s not gone up to the attic to go looking for that Boggart”.

* * * *

Severus closed the door behind him, and sealed it with a locking charm. A quick check of the room revealed no twin-devised bugging devices to disturb his privacy should the creature turn up. When, after a few minutes of searching it didn’t, he decided that he might as well find a seat and wait a little while for it to come out.

He noticed when he sat down into a convenient armchair, that the belt of his outer robe felt uncomfortably tight. So, grimacing in disgust, he unfastened it and took it off. Easing himself back down, he began working on the belt with his wand to make yet another extra hole. He wondered how many more of them he would need to add in the next few weeks.


I’m already the size of a bloody cow, he thought as he checked his handiwork, God knows what good I’ll be if Potter ever needs my help before this is over. As for that wolf he thought annoyedly, remembering Lupin The bugger must think he has nothing better to do at this house than stare at me…

…It was a mistake to think of the latter at this time, for his mind immediately betrayed him; a vision of himself lying naked and helpless came vividly to mind, and then he saw Lupin, part-man and part slobbering beast, slowly groping his way up his legs, sniffing expectantly at Severus’s belly… and then he looked up to see that happening right before his eyes. He raised his wand.

“Riddikulus!!!” he roared at the Boggart.

Thin ropes of black hemp appeared, snaking around the werewolf and binding him from the wrists outwards in an elaborate pattern as the bloated spectre of himself vanished with a crack. The Boggart reappeared as the single form of Remus Lupin, nearly human again save for a comical set of wolf paws, ears and tail. He grunted, growled and snapped, but the bonds kept the creature helpless. Severus raised his wand again, with a mocking smile.

“Riddikulus!” He repeated, and ‘Lupin’ the Boggart exploded.

“And good riddance,” he sneered as the wisps of smoke cleared.

Smoothing down his robe, he frowned as his hand brushed over the firm curve of that lump again… but then he noticed the pleasant sensation of another, less unnatural firmness below that.

Well… Severus had not thought he’d have enjoyed the sight of Lupin tied up that much. He assured himself that it was only the beauty of the bonds, and the thought of controlling the bugger that caused such excitement.

The sound of someone banging on the door reminded Severus that he wasn’t supposed to be up here, and with a little blush he remembered to use an anti-arousal charm on himself before opening the door. It was a pity that it would only last a few minutes; there were anti-aphrodisiacs that could work for much longer, but these were all potions; of which he was only permitted to take the ones he’d been prescribed.

“Enter!” he ordered, unlocking the door. Lupin came in.

“Good afternoon Severus, I hope you don’t mind if I have a quick word with you about something… oh,” he said, spotting the tangle of black rope still on the floor; “what were those for?”

Severus realised that he must have conjured the bonds more solidly than he’d intended. “Excuse me,” he said, and vanished them. “A Boggart,” he added, hoping his face wasn’t looking as red as it felt.

* * * *

Remus had learnt earlier that the werewolf pack he’d infiltrated had been invited to run with Greyback’s pack against a wizarding village next full moon. He’d managed to excuse himself, but this meant though that he would have to ride out the change at the Burrow, since there were no suitable Potion makers available to brew his Wolfsbane in time, nor was it safe for Severus to make it for obvious reasons.

A spare room at the Burrow could be cleared and fortified for Remus’ containment, but the Order had made it clear to him that further precautions would need to be arranged. He wanted to know if Severus was skilled in a particular charm he’d been considering for that.

He could not find him in his room, so he tried the attic as Molly suggested. This time, when he knocked there was a reply and the door opened, and Remus found Severus waiting for him with wand in hand. With the other, he stroked at a small goatee that he had recently grown. Remus was sure that Severus’s beard was a compensation of sorts for his (likely) feeling emasculated by the pregnancy.

“Good afternoon Severus,” Remus said as he came in. “I hope you don’t mind if I have a quick word with you about something… oh,” he said, as he spotted a tangle of black rope lying in a pile on the floor; “what were those for?”

“A Boggart,” Severus replied, after excusing himself to vanish them. Remus noticed that his sallow cheeks looked distinctly redder, and he guessed that the embarrassment was over more than just rope. In spite of the care Severus had taken to arrange his robes just so; they failed to disguise the roundness of his figure. Remus was a little shocked at how much it had grown in the fortnight he was away; he knew that six months was far enough along but if he was that big already, how much more so would he become later...?

“Still incapable of keeping your eyes to yourself?”

“My apologies,” Remus replied, averting his gaze (after one more look). “May I have a quick word with you about something?”

“What is it?” Severus snapped.

“I will need to stay here for the next full moon, but I may not be able to take Wolfsbane this month since there’s no one else around who can make it for me in time. I may have to use other safety measures for the next transformation,” Remus replied.

“Even if you did begin to receive the potion, it is now too close to that time for it to be effective in preserving your control for this cycle,” Severus said. “I assume that you are not planning to run with your pack next weekend?”

“They are planning to attack Ewesborough with Greyback’s pack then,” Remus said; “and no, I won’t be going with them this time”.

“Why?”

“I made an excuse that looks like it will hold,” he explained. “I said that my mates’ leader made a request for me to hunt with her pack that night. They seemed to accept it”.

“Your mate?” Severus asked, with an amused sneer.

“Tonks”. Remus replied bitterly. “In disguise,” he added.

“Then I will arrange to have one of the rooms in the cellar prepared for you,” Severus said. “I will make it secure, but considering the other occupants of this house, I will also require you to take a further precaution. You will need to be placed under physical restraint”.

“I understand,” Remus said. “That’s what I had been hoping to talk to you about. I was wondering if you knew that version of the Incarcerus spell that lets the bonds adjust with a changing body shape”.

Severus’s face reddened again, and his free hand brushed over the curve of his midriff before he realised what he was doing.

“I, uh, mean when I go though my change next weekend,” Remus added hurriedly.

“I should know it,” Severus said as he lowered himself into an armchair, “since I was the one who invented that version”.

He eased back in the chair, hands on the arms, and regarded Remus with narrowed eyes. His belt, strategically placed to distract from the bulge when he stood, seemed to only highlight it now he was sitting. His wand was angled slightly across it, protectively.

Remus realised he was staring again.

“Neither is it the only… version that I have invented,” Severus added. “I could give a demonstration if you like”.

There was a soft drawl to his voice this time, and it took Remus a few seconds before he remembered that it was the Incarcerus spell Severus was talking about, not anything else. Was it himself, or had the atmosphere in the room suddenly become even more charged?

He scratched his ear to stop himself from further daydreaming, and before he realised what he was doing, said; “of course, I’d love you to!”

Severus’s response was immediate.

“Incarcerus!”

This was not the first time Remus had heard Severus utter the spell, though this time there was a lilt or accent to it that he’d not heard before. Thin ropes shot out from the wand Severus had flicked in his direction, curling loosely and gently around Remus like serpents of black hemp. Suddenly they tightened, binding him from the wrists outwards in an elaborate pattern.

He fell to his knees, and then to his side. Severus rose from his chair and walked up to him. Remus looked up, at the thin, expressionless face looking down from above him, and the… oh God! he thought; Severus looked positively huge from that angle.

A tightness at his own crotch warned Remus that he was becoming aroused again, and this time he could not slink away to deal with it in secret. Neither were the bonds exactly helping with his self-control.

“Interesting method,” Remus said, vainly trying to distract himself. “What is it called?”

* * * *

“The method is a derivative of Hojo-Jutsu,” Severus replied, “the art of prisoner restraint, as traditionally used in Japan. The ropes of course will be charmed to adjust along with your transformation, as you requested. Because of that though, I did not use a strictly classic tie in your case. Considering the safety of the other members of this household, it will be necessary for me to put thoroughness before tradition”.

“Of course,” Lupin said.

“So now that you know, I shall release you”.

“Please don’t… I mean, not right now”.

“Why not?” Severus asked, suppressing his alarm. He was hoping that he could get through this quickly, before the anti-arousal charm wore off. After that, the sight of Remus Lupin tied up before him would not help his composure in his current state.

“I don’t really want to explain right now,” the werewolf babbled in reply. “It’s a little bit… well, it is a bit embarrassing you understand”.

“I think I understand very well,” Severus said, turning on his heel and walking back to his armchair. Once seated, he studied Lupin – using more than a little bit of Legilimency. It was obvious that the beast was sexually interested in him, and he realised (with a small wave of disgust), that his pregnancy had much to do with that.

Still, to be honest with himself it was a most pleasant thing to look at Lupin like this, safely bound and under his control. There was movement inside him, and without thought his hand moved over near the spot where his and the Dark Lord’s son was paddling his feet against his vitals again. He then remembered that Lupin was watching all this, and scowled.

“Tell me when you are ready,” he snapped.

“Yes… yes I will,” Lupin replied, his voice raspy from arousal.

Severus would have banished Lupin from the room had he let himself do that in other times. It would still make good common sense right now to do the same thing - if Severus ever managed to survive the war and stay out of Azkaban, he foresaw himself needing to raise his son alone and in seclusion. The boy would find little mercy in the world because of his ancestry, and that way would give him the best fighting chance.

Romance with Lupin would be out of the question; he had no preference for men before all this, and he was sure he wouldn’t afterwards. Even if he did, the werewolf was far from his idea of good company.

Still, it was also possible that he, his son and everyone else could be dead tomorrow, or next week… or next month.

He felt the anti-arousal charm beginning to fade as his son stopped hammering at his organs and went back to sleep. He could also see that Lupin was getting close to climax, by the heaviness of his breathing. Maybe… if it turned out to be a wasted exercise, there was always the Obliviate charm…

He rose from his chair again, and went back over to Lupin. Crouching down by his side, he asked; “What do you most want me to do?”

“Lengthen the ropes binding my hands to my body, but don’t untie them”. Lupin answered.

Surprised by his unexpected candidness, Severus asked again; “how much?”

“Far enough to let me touch you”.

Severus applied an adjustment charm to the ropes, and then Conjured a large cushion upon which he propped Lupin’s head and shoulders. Straightening his back, he again admired the view, stroking a finger along a line of rope that ran along a thigh…

“Enjoying this, wolf?” he asked.

“Yes… yes,” Lupin gasped. “But please Severus, if you’re going to go further with this, please let me reach you!”

“And reach you where?” Severus replied, though he had a fair idea.

“Your… your, oh God, I can’t say it…”

“My what, exactly?” Severus said, a corner of his mouth turning up in a sneer.

“Please don’t make me have to say it,” Lupin begged, “you know what I mean… please Severus, this is really embarrassing me…”

“If you wish to mention embarrassment, how do you think it has been like for me these past few months? No, you will have to do much better than that”.

“What do you mean?” said Lupin. “What has this got to do with it?”

“I know what you want, Lupin,” said Severus, demurely letting his outer robe drop so that it obscured his figure; “and if you are not worthy, I won’t give it to you”.

“Please, Severus… please”. Lupin’s words sent a chill through Severus, but he held out.

“Only if you are worthy”.

“Please, what must I do?” Lupin asked.

“I already told you. Tell me what it is that you want… and if you can somehow manage to find the courage to do that, then I may consider you worthy enough to repay”.

“Bloody hell, Snape! Don’t be so damned mercenary at a time like this!”

Severus replied; “consider my life, Mr. Lupin. I have found that attitude has served me well, and I have no time for cowards”.

“Your… oh hell Severus, you are too bloody hard a man, do you realise that?! Your… your… belly… oh hell, what did I just say?!”

“Say it louder,” Severus said, “So I can hear it clearly”.

“I… want to reach your belly,” Lupin panted, “so I can see it, touch it… hold it”.

“And that is all?”

“Why don’t you try finding that part out for yourself, Snape?” Lupin hissed.

“I consider that a reasonable effort and a good start,” Severus said, his sneer growing into a fierce smile. Pulling his outer robe aside, he moved in closer to Lupin, and took his hands.

* * * *

Remus had considered giving up when the bastard had started toying with him - but when Severus knelt over him afterwards, letting him see as much as he wished, and guiding his hand over and around the firm, springy curve of his body, he found it all every bit as good as he’d imagined it would be.

When, somehow further along the way they found themselves rubbing shafts with their robes pulled up over their thighs, Remus was pleased to feel Severus’s hardness grinding against his own. It reassured him that that the other wizard must have been every bit as aroused as he all along.

Remus remembered the time when he was sure he’d felt something move just below his fingers even as his lover had him pinned him by the shoulder, and the kisses that had felt just as hard and ruthless as his cock. Such a divine contrast to the belly he’d worshipped with his immaculately bound hands. He remembered his orgasm that exploded out from his loins, and in the tingling afterglow the satisfaction of bringing Severus to completion when he’d (almost accidentally) put his fingertips in just the right place.

His hands were free now, Severus had loosened and Vanished the ropes when they were finished. He’d hinted strongly that he wished Remus to stay afterwards, which Remus did not protest; after all, in the morning Severus might throw him out… but for now, he seemed to want his company.

He carefully reached out and touched Severus again, feeling the tight skin that he’d held before not long ago, when the ropes were on them and all around his body; the other man stirred, but did not waken. He was very tired, and Remus could not blame him.

It had been so unexpectedly good that Remus wondered now if he really deserved it. Probably he would have to leave when Severus awoke, but when he looked again at the place where the last of Slytherin’s line was growing, and the man who carried it, something animal and protective stirred in the back of Remus’s mind (the wolf?), and he hoped not.

Epilogue (Eleven Years Later)

A tallish, gangling boy with black hair pushed his way through the crowd at Kings Cross station in London, dodging past Muggles on his way to the column between platforms nine and ten. His father and stepfather followed a few paces behind, along with his younger half brother and twin half sisters to see him off to his first year at Hogwarts. It would be two years before his brother would be old enough to join him, and he hoped he wouldn’t be lonely there until then.

Here and there, he recognised fellow wizarding folk in the crowd by their luggage and demeanour (he had his own owl with him, an Eagle owl bred from one of Mr. Malfoy’s own, and trained by his stepfather; he was very proud of her). Hanging off the trolley just below the cage was also one of his father’s old cauldrons, and the boy still couldn’t understand why his father had been so insistent that one was better than the brand new cauldrons that all the other new students seemed to have.

“Wulfric!”

It was his father’s voice calling. “Yes, Pa?” he answered, hiding his impatience.

“Since we are early there is no need to attempt to outrun the rest of us, Wulfric Snape!” His father drawled, sternly.

Wulfric Snape, for that was the boy’s name, looked anxiously up at the lined, narrow face of his surviving parent. “Will I still be all right in Hogwarts instead of Durmstrang? I won’t get picked on because of who my other father was, won’t I?”

“Hogwarts is a school of good reputation, and you know I prefer that you did not go to a place where I teach,” his father replied, studying his son. The way the boy was growing, he was likely to be every bit as tall and charismatic as the wizard who’d sired him. It was also obvious that he had inherited the distinguished nose of the one who’d carried him, though that feature hadn’t seemed to have passed on to his brother and sisters.

Putting a hand on Wulfric’s shoulder, he said; “You will do well so long as you look out for yourself properly, and follow the rules. If there should happen to be any trouble that you are unable to handle in the right way, speak to Professor Longbottom about it”.

“I probably won’t get Sorted into Griffindor, though!” Wulfric replied, a worried tone in his voice.

“It does not matter,” his father replied. “Mr. Longbottom knows me well, and he has good friends in the Ministry. He is also himself very capable in dealing with troublemakers, since his House seems to gain more than the usual share of them every year”.

“Thanks Pa,” Wulfric said, “I’ll probably go into Slytherin though, won’t I?”

His father’s expression relaxed into a near-smile at those words.

“All you need to remember,” he said, “is to work hard, study hard, always do what is right… and be very, very careful of the friends you make. I especially mean the last”.

Taking his hand off the boys’ shoulder, he nodded to a platform border by which a thin, middle aged wizard with sandy grey hair was attending to the shoelaces of one of two young dark haired witches, while her sister and brother bit pieces off the struggling jelly dragons they were holding.

“Your stepfather, brother and sisters are already there and waiting for us,” he said, “it is time that we joined them”.

- END -