Author’s Notes: I’m surprised at the amount of feedback I’ve gotten for that one incredibly short chapter. Thanks for the reviews.

Oh, and no flames about the plot please. I didn’t exactly get any (just one um and a disgusting), but the summary clearly says Mpreg and the pairing. If you don’t like, then go away.

No recognizable names, objects, places, etc. are mine. They all belong to Queen JK Rowling.

*~* Baby, Oh Baby! *~*

Chapter Two

"Well . . . ah . . . Hermione, you better sit down for this," said Harry nervously. He waited until she’d sat before continuing. "You see, guys . . . I was thinking about someone . . . I’d really like to have him be the father of my child . . ." He winced. That sounded a little strange, considering who he was talking about . . . "I just don’t know if he’d agree . . . And I’m not sure how I’d ask him . . ."

"Stop stalling, Harry," ordered Hermione. "Just tell us who he is already!"

" . . . Professor Snape."

"Oh my," gasped Hermione.

Ron spat out his coffee, sending long streams of liquid from his mouth and across the table. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and jumped up. "WHAT THE FUCK?!! Goddamn it, Harry-"

"RON!!" Hermione shouted, yanking him back down into his chair. "I don’t like this anymore than you do, but as friends, we should hear Harry out, okay?"

Ron grumbled something that sounded like ‘old greasy bastard’ under his breath and sat down. His face was just as red as his hair and he looked furious.

Harry took in a deep breath. "Okay. Ahh . . . where should I start?"

"With why him?" grumbled his best friend. "Snape, Harry? SNAPE?!! The same man who terrorized us and our friends for seven years of our life?! The same man who put you down and picked on you for no good reason at all? The same man who-"

"Saved my life a couple of times AND helped me defeat Voldemort?" interrupted Harry in a slightly irritated voice. "Yes, that same Severus Snape. You guys don’t know him like I do."

Hermione didn’t know what to say. Harry wanted a baby for all the right reasons, she knew, but the method at which he was going to obtain one worried her. Out of all people . . . Severus Snape? She knew that they had worked together on missions assigned to them by Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix, and it was common knowledge that Snape had been there for the Final Battle, but exactly how close had they gotten?

At age twenty-one, she STILL couldn’t imagine anyone being . . . romantic or intimate with Snape. He was too old, too greasy, too cold. It just didn’t happen.

"He’s got some good qualities. Strong, brave, self-confident, extremely intelligent, a powerful wizard . . . everything I’d like for my child to be."

Hermione frowned. "But Harry . . . he’s so . . . old! And are you sure he’d do this? I mean-"

"I know there are no guarantees," said Harry quickly, "but it’s worth a try. It wouldn’t hurt to ask."

Ron snickered. "Oh, yeah? I can imagine him giving you one heck of a curse for just asking! Look, I’ve got Oliver Wood’s Muggle phone number. Last time I remembered, you had a crush on him." His red eyebrows began to move up and down suggestively. "Call him up and-"

Harry flushed wildly. "I NEVER had a crush on Oliver! I don’t know who told you that, but . . . nevermind. You’re just trying to get me off of the topic."

"Damn right I am! I can’t believe you want SNAPE to be the father of your child, Harry. I mean, it’s strange enough, thinking of you with a swollen belly and all . . ." Ron shivered. "But you want your child to have SNAPE’S genes?! Hooked nose, greasy hair . . . argh . . ." He began to envision some alien-like Snape baby and gagged. "Your kid would come out looking hideous."

Harry scowled. "You don’t know that."

"Besides, Ron, it’s not all about looks," Hermione said, swatting at him. "Don’t be so vain."

"Okay, okay. I suppose Harry’s a good-looking bloke, so his good genes could cancel out Snape’s . . . not that I approve or anything," Ron added quickly.

Hermione shook her head warily. Why had she married him again? She didn’t even know anymore. "Harry, are you prepared to explain to your child when he or she gets older why he or she has no mommy? Or why there’s only one parent instead of two? I imagine that it would be pretty . . . upsetting for a child to know that his other parent didn’t want him . . . or her."

"Of course I’ve thought about it! But having one loving parent is better than none, like I had." Harry was getting angry. It seemed as if they were tying to find every possible reason as to why he should NOT have a child, instead of standing behind him like friends were supposed to. "Look, if you guys don’t think I should do this, then say so. Don’t beat around the bush."

Ron leaned over the table and looked directly into Harry’s eyes. "I don’t think you should do this."

Hermione groaned and hit him again. "Don’t listen to him. I just think that adoption or waiting until you found a loving spouse would be a better idea. Provides for a more stable environment and all."

"There WILL be a stable environment, Hermione."

"Well, what’s wrong with adoption?" she countered.

Harry sighed. "I’d like to have a baby of my own flesh and blood. It’s not really fair that quote-unquote normal couples are able to experience the joys of childbirth while homosexual couples can’t. This procedure is like . . . an answered prayer! And I want to take advantage of it!"

Ron burst out laughing. "Gee, Harry, you sound like a spokesperson for gay couples or something!"

Harry jumped up out of frustration. "Fine! Fine!! If you won’t take this seriously, then I’ll just do this without your opinion!"

"Wait, wait, I’m sorry, man." Ron grabbed his friend’s arm and sat him back down. "Okay . . . here’s what I think. Do what Hermione says. Wait for someone to come along and then get this procedure done, or just adopt. It’ll be easier that way- for everyone."

"Maybe I don’t want to take the easy way out," said Harry stubbornly. "Thanks for your input, but I’m going to go through with this anyway. I just wanted you guys to know what was going on, that’s all. You can’t change my mind."

Ron threw up his hands. "Whatever. If that’s what you want to do, then . . ." He let out a huge sigh. "I’m behind you. Just . . . don’t expect me to like Snape or anything. That’s pushing it."

Harry grinned. "Thanks. Now, all I have to do is break the news to Sirius and Remus . . ."

Hermione’s mouth fell open. "You mean you haven’t TOLD them?! Sirius is going to flip and you know it. He HATES Snape."

"Yeah, more than I do," Ron put in. "Well, you’ll tell us how everything goes, right? I mean, if Sirius doesn’t kill you first . . ."

Once Harry was gone, Hermione and Ron sat in silence for a while, thinking of the strange conversation they’d just had with their best friend, wondering if they’d said the right things, if they’d handled the situation properly . . . until Ron said,

"Hermione, dear . . . why are my pants wet?"

*~*

Harry made a quick stop at his apartment in London to collect himself before Floo-ing over to Sirius’s house, where Remus also lived. The two had ‘gotten together’ shortly after Peter Pettigrew was caught and was forced to confess to blowing up a street full of Muggles, along with giving away the secret location of the Potter’s whereabouts to Voldemort.

There had been no Azkaban for him. Just the Dementor’s Kiss.

A nice and formal, public apology was made to Sirius from the Ministry of Magic, but Harry’s godfather didn’t seem to think that was enough for all of his years of solitude in the wizard prison. He sued the Ministry for a large sum of money, apparently for not investigating his claims well enough and pinning the blame on him. There was a quick settlement that left Sirius and Remus living quite comfortably, with tons of money to spare.

Harry was glad that his godfather and Remus were finally happy, but most importantly, happy together.

With his goal in mind, Harry Floo-ed over to Sirius’s home.

They were expecting him- he’d sent an owl indicating his estimated time of arrival, and were sitting in the comfortable living room, practically draped over one another. It was cute, but Harry really didn’t want to see his forty-something year old godfather being intimate with someone.

"Ahem," he interrupted softly, brushing a bit of soot from the sleeve of his shirt.

Remus nearly fell out of Sirius’s lap and flushed. He scooted over and straitened out his clothes. "Oh, sorry about that Harry. We didn’t hear you . . ."

Sirius just grinned. "Sit down, sit down! You said you had something important to tell us . . .?"

Harry sat across from the two lovers and watched as Remus began moving closer and closer to Sirius. Their hands joined together, as if they’d moved out of their own free will. Harry felt a sharp pang of jealousy deep within his chest, but pushed it away. "Yes, I do. Well . . ." Hmm . . . I guess it couldn’t hurt to open up the discussion like I did with Hermione and Ron.

"I’ve decided to have a baby," he said, mentally crossing his fingers.

Both men looked startled. "A . . . baby?" asked Remus, his voice squeaking when he spoke the second word.

"Yes, a baby."

"Adoption?" This was from Sirius. "Harry, don’t you think you’re a little bit too young for a child? You’re only-"

"I know, I know. But I’m ready. You and I both know, Sirius," Harry stated seriously, "that just because the war is over doesn’t mean there still aren’t people out to get me. I don’t want to miss out on anything in life. I want to be a father."

Remus gave Harry a smile, remembering how happy James had been when he’d found out that he was going to be a father. He’d never seen his friend so pleased. "James was so excited when he found out that you were on the way, Harry . . ." said Remus in a slightly dazed voice. Harry beamed.

Sirius frowned. "I don’t know . . . How far along are you in the adoption process?"

Oh, boy, here it comes. "Umm . . . you see . . . I’m not exactly adopting . . . A medi-wizard who specializes in giving infertile women the chance to have a baby has created a procedure that would allow two males to have a baby of their own. That’s what I plan to do."

"What? Is this safe? Has it been tested properly?" barked Sirius. "And who exactly are you planning to be the other male?"

Ron and Hermione hadn’t asked anything about safety, but he was prepared to answer. After all, he’d sat with the medi-wizard for hours upon hours, going over every aspect of the procedure. "As for it being safe . . . the risks are like any normal pregnancy, but it hasn’t exactly been tested on humans-"

Sirius wrenched his hand away from Remus’s and clenched them in his lap, trying very hard not to loose his temper. What was Harry thinking? He wanted to do something that wasn’t even tested yet? "No. Absolutely not. You don’t know what could go wrong!"

Harry shook his head. "But no one will know if it’ll actually work is SOMEONE doesn’t try! This isn’t just about me. If this works . . . if I deliver a healthy, normal baby, imagine how many other people in my position could enjoy fatherhood! It could be a medical breakthrough!"

Sirius scowled. "What if something goes wrong, huh? You would’ve survived Voldemort, the most dangerous wizard who ever lived, only to be struck down by some medical folly!! I don’t think so!"

Remus, on the other hand, thought that it was a great idea. Maybe it was because he liked the thought of having a baby himself . . . But Sirius didn’t seem to approve. He wondered what his lover thought about children, particularly one of their own . . .

Remus patted Sirius’s thigh. "Calm down. I think it’s a great idea, Harry. You seem to have put a lot of thought into the whole thing."

"Oh, I have. I didn’t make the decision over night."

"So, who do you have in mind as the other father?" questioned Remus. "Have you finally met someone?"

Harry gulped. He briefly considered moving closer to the fireplace, in case a quick exit was necessary, but decided that if Sirius wanted him that bad, he’d just jump in after him. Be brave, Harry. After all, you kicked old Voldie’s ass, so you can do this.

"Actually, I was thinking about a . . . er . . . a sperm donor. I DO have a specific person in mind . . ." Harry drifted off. "Umm . . . please don’t go crazy or anything, but I was considering Professor Snape."

Three . . . two . . . one . . .

"WHAT THE FUCK?!!!"

 Author’s Notes: Sorry, guys, had to end it there. There was more but I just found out that there was an earthquake in Tokyo and my Japanese teacher went there for the summer. I’ve gotta e-mail her and see if she’s okay, so excuse any misspellings and stuff. Later.

NOTE: Harry mentions some conversations he had with Snape here. They will be included in the story later on.

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