Chapter 32 - Albus vs. Severus

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

Chapter 32 - Albus vs. Severus

"I think we shouldn't go, or at least we shouldn't take Harry with us," Albus said, still angry.

"Do you say this as a grandfather, or the Headmaster?" Severus asked sarcastically.

"Whichever you want, Severus. It would reward his behavior if we still go to Hogsmeade," Albus replied sternly.

"He has already been punished by us, Albus, and I think quite enough. You would punish the twins as well with this decision. And going with just the twins would be cruel to Harry," Severus said, beginning to become more agitated.

"Yes, maybe, but he is grounded, Severus. Going to Hogsmeade during his grounding would be inappropriate."

It was like a battle between the two men. The women sat silently around them, and Alastor was regarding the scene with concern.

"Inappropriate? It would be a double punishment, Albus. And I'm quite sure you are mixing your duties as a grandfather with your duties as a Headmaster here. Do I have to remind you how often you have patted the heads of the twins after we punished them? Or how often you gave them sweets when they weren't allowed dessert?" Severus asked.

"You can hardly compare the twins speaking back to you or Eathan's sulking with Harry hitting Draco!" Albus said strictly, his voice becoming louder.

Severus slammed his hand on the table and stood up to hover over Albus. "He has been punished for it, Albus! How often do I have to repeat it? Do you think I was too lax? Do you want to criticize our punishment?" Severus was furious. His eyes were sparking with anger.

Albus rose from his seat, the two men face to face. "Don't yell at me like that. I am not criticizing your punishment, but it is up to me to decide about the Hogsmeade weekend. You cannot tell me what I have to do."

"That's enough," Alastor said forcefully and stepped between the angry men.

"Yes, absolutely," Poppy said and came over to Severus, who was breathing hard. Something was odd. She eyed Severus closely, and when he started to get nervous, she knew that there was something off.

"I'm sorry! Please stop yelling. You are scaring the twins," a small, fearful voice called from the hall.

All eyes were on Harry now. He blushed and wished that all the adults would not stare in his direction. So he felt relieved when they all turned to look at Severus, who was clutching his chest during a bad coughing fit. But the relief quickly changed into concern when Severus didn't stop.

"What have you done this time, Severus?" Poppy asked in her no-nonsense tone. She gently pushed him back in his chair and started to wave her wand over him.

"Really, Severus, you will never learn." With a flick of her wand the Glamour was canceled and a gaunt looking Severus was sitting in front of her. He was sweating, and his cheeks were flushed.

Albus let himself sink down on his chair. Why didn't I notice it? I was shouting at him while he is still ill. "Severus-"

"No, that's enough talking for you men today," Poppy interrupted Albus sternly. "I think it's time to listen to the women now. Ivy, Minerva, I think you will find a solution for this problem. Alastor, you will look after the boys and you, young man, will follow me into your bedroom without protesting." She looked sternly at Severus, her hand resting on his chest to help him breathe with a little healing magic.

Severus followed her order without looking at anyone in the room. His chest was burning. Today was too much stress. Forgetting his potions and being up the whole afternoon without rest had worsened his condition.

Albus still sat in his chair and was staring after Severus, shocked. He blamed himself for Severus' condition. He should have known that Severus was unwell after going without rest because of the whole affair, and he should have realized that Severus was wearing a Glamour. But all his anger and his worry about Harry's reaction to Draco had distracted him too much. The short squeeze of Alastor's hand on his shoulder gave him only a little comfort.

"Come on, Harry, let's go to the twins," Alastor said and guided a shocked Harry in the direction of the twin's room.

"Really, Dad, why can't you two discuss things calmly?" Ivy said sadly and shook her head.

"I think Harry really was punished enough, Albus. That's the only weekend we could both keep free to make this Hogsmeade trip. If we don't go tomorrow, then we won't be able to for some time." Minerva tried to convince her husband.

"I know, but I just feel uneasy about it," Albus said thoughtfully.

"Why don't you give him a choice, Dad? If you go to Hogsmeade tomorrow then he has to extend his punishment to next Sunday and not only Friday. That would compensate for the one day in Hogsmeade and would be an additional day for you to not feel guilty about him having fun during his grounding. You can let him choose if he is willing to have a longer grounding for going to Hogsmeade with you two and the twins." Ivy used her puppy look at her father, and it worked, as always.

"That sounds good. What do you think, Minerva?" Albus asked his wife.

"I would have taken him with us even without the punishment extension," Minerva said truthfully.

"Fine, let me be the guilty one," Albus said and stood up. "I will go and speak with him, then."

"Albus!" He stopped when he heard his wife calling him. The tone of her voice was something to be concerned about. He turned to her, and her face was another indication that she was angry with him. Her lips were thin, and her eyebrows were drawn together. "If you are going to be like this tomorrow, then you can stay at home. I won't let you spoil the trip for the boys."

"I'm angry at myself at the moment, Minerva. I can live quite well with Ivy's suggestion. Do you want to accompany me while I tell him?" He looked kindly at Minerva, and she relaxed a little.

"Yes, I think so. What about you, Ivy?" Minerva asked.

"I will look for Severus. Maybe Poppy needs help."

Minerva snorted. "I don't think so, but if you feel better by doing it..."

///

Meanwhile in the room of the twins

"Calm down, Harry. They will sort it out," Alastor said as he gently pushed Harry onto Eathan's bed.

The twins were sitting tear-stained on the same bed. Alastor pulled a chair near the bed and sat down. "What's up, boys? You already know the tempers of your father and grandfather. There is nothing to worry about." He gently stroked their hair, and suddenly his lap was full of two crying boys. Alastor's heart broke for the lonely boy on the bed, who looked so lost. "I would offer you my lap, too, but I fear there isn't enough room." This worked, and Harry grinned.

"No problem, sir," Harry said, already feeling a little better. If that was the normal way of discussion between Albus and Severus, he didn't have to feel so bad about it.

"No need for the formality, Harry. I'm Alastor."

"Okay," Harry said uncertainly. He had been surprised how quickly he had started to become comfortable using Ivy's and Severus' first names. Using Minerva's and Albus' first names still made him feel a little uneasy. With Alastor it would be the same, Harry believed.

"Will grandpa be nice to Daddy again?" Lysander asked worriedly.

"Of course he will. You know him well enough, boys."

"Will you and Aunt Poppy go to Hogsmeade with Harry, Lysander and me tomorrow?" Eathan asked his godfather.

"I think your grandparents will find a solution, boys. And even if they decide against the trip, you should accept it. There will be another opportunity one day."

"But we wanted to show Harry the toy shop. We have saved all our money to buy him a plushy," Eathan explained while his brother was busy sucking his thumb, almost drifting into sleep.

Alastor grinned while looking at a blushing Harry. In that moment the door opened and Albus and Minerva came in.

X-X

Meanwhile in Ivy and Severus's bedroom

"Severus, you are really unbelievable," Poppy scolded the Potions Professor. "I thought we agreed that you would stop using a Glamour."

"What should I do? I had to deal with Harry and Draco. Nobody else could have done it. Should I have let them see me like this? They are kids. Just thirteen years old," Severus explained exhaustedly. He was glad to be in bed now and getting the right potions to soothe the pain in his chest and make breathing easier.

"Why not?" Poppy asked him. After getting a raised eyebrow from Severus, she continued, "Really, Severus, you don't have to hide your condition from the boys or anyone. The times of Voldemort are over. He was the only one you had to wear your mask in front of. Your kids and your godson would not think you are weak. Right now you are a bad role model for them. You scolded Harry for using a Glamour, but you yourself are using it. What do you expect to teach him by that?"

"Poppy...," Severus said, sighing.

"Don't 'Poppy' me, Severus. Think about it. You have worsened your condition again. You could have been up tomorrow without any problems, but now..."

"No, Poppy. You won't ban me from teaching any longer. Albus has already ruined my whole schedule in Potions this week." Severus tried to sit up but was gently pushed back into the cushions by Poppy.

"I won't decide now if you will teach next week. When it comes to you, I never could say early on if you would be able to teach on Monday. James and I will decide on Sunday. Tomorrow you will rest as much as possible. With the boys out of the house, you should have nothing to distract you. I will tell Ivy to keep a close eye on you."

"You can be sure of it," Ivy said while entering the room. She came over to the bed and sat down opposite Poppy. Her eyes rested worriedly on her husband. Her hand touched his face and stroked a loose wisp of hair out of his face.

Severus groaned and moved his head away from her hand. "Please, Ivy, I'm not one of the boys. I hate it when you do this."

"Then don't behave like one of them, Severus," Poppy said sternly. She looked over to Ivy and explained, "He is okay. Tomorrow he should stay in bed as long as possible. He doesn't have to sleep, but at least he has to rest. Please see that he obeys my orders this time. I will inform James, and I'm sure he will come to see Severus as well."

Severus groaned again. "You act as if I'm dying. It's just a stupid bronchitis. Why do I need two Healers to fuss over me?"

"Because one isn't enough to talk sense into you. Now drink this," Poppy ordered.

Severus eyed the vial skeptically. "I don't need a sleeping draught."

"Who is the Healer?" Poppy asked, annoyed.

When Severus looked sternly at Poppy, Ivy said, "Please, Severus."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Why do you always have to team up against me?" But seeing the worried face of his wife, he grabbed for the vial. "You always scare her with your fussing over me, Poppy. I'm just a little tired."

Poppy just snorted. "Tell it to James tomorrow. I'm sure he will be all ears."

Severus glared at Poppy.

"Your potion, Severus," Poppy said warningly.

Severus hadn't even drained the whole vial when Poppy had to grab quickly for the vial so it wouldn't fall. Severus was sound asleep.

"Just tired." She shook her head. Seeing Ivy's worried face, she laid one of her hands over Ivy's. "He will be okay, Ivy. You know him."

Ivy sighed. "I wish he would take better care of himself. It hurts me when he always worries about others but not about himself. He could have been much better if he had just listened to you and James. I can't watch him all the time, and I'm not able to see when he wears a Glamour."

"I'm sure James will speak with him about it tomorrow. He always listens more to him than me. He is quite macho."

Ivy took Poppy's hand. "He really respects you, Poppy. Please never believe anything else."

"I know, Ivy, I know. I just hope James will find a way to make him cooperate more. I would hate to set him on bed rest again on Monday. "

X-X

Back in the room of the twins

"Grandma," Eathan shouted and ran over to Minerva.

She lifted him in her arms, and he hugged her tightly. Soon two more chairs were conjured and they all sat down. Lysander was almost asleep in Alastor's arms. Harry sat quietly on the bed, and Eathan was cradled in Minerva's lap.

Albus sighed and looked at Harry. "I'm sorry that you had to hear Severus and me shouting, Harry. Sometimes we forget that there are others around us."

"It's okay. The twins were crying, and I didn't know what I could do." Harry lowered his head. "I felt guilty that they were crying because you and Severus were arguing because of me."

"You don't have to feel guilty, Harry. Severus and I should have handled this situation more calmly. I'm sorry for worrying you and the twins."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not, Harry. I'm really sorry." He paused for a moment and then went on. "I had a problem with going to Hogsmeade while you are grounded. You already know that I was disappointed with you about your trouble with Draco. I think your punishment is well deserved, and so I wouldn't feel right breaking it to have our Hogsmeade weekend."

"I understand. But please, at least go with the twins. They were looking forward to it so much," Harry said sadly.

"But we want to go with Harry. Right, Ly?" Eathan asked his brother.

"I fear you won't get an answer from him, Eathan," Alastor said as he stood up. He gently carried the sleeping child over to his bed, changed his clothes into pajamas and tucked him in.

"We could still all go, Harry. But there is one condition." Albus eyed Harry closely.

Hope rose up in Harry, and he looked eagerly at Albus. "What condition?"

"You have to accept an extension of your grounding until next Sunday."

"Yes, I will accept," Harry answered quickly.

"Yeah," Eathan said, jumping out of Minerva's lap and over to Harry.

"Then that's settled," Albus said and stood up. "You, young man, will go and brush your teeth and wash your face and then off to bed," Albus said to Eathan.

"But Ly got to sleep without brushing his teeth and washing his face," Eathan said and started to sulk.

"No sulking, Eathan. You want to be fresh and well rested for our trip tomorrow," Minerva said and took Eathan's hand.

"I will be well rested without washing," Eathan tried again.

Minerva just laughed. "I'm sure you think so, but that doesn't change that we both will visit the bathroom now to clean you up."

"Okay, Grandma," Eathan said and followed Minerva. Suddenly he stopped and looked up at his grandma. "And Harry? He also has to wash."

"Harry hasn't even eaten, yet. He will have to eat supper, first." Minerva glanced at Albus.

"I will make sure he eats something," Albus promised.

When Minerva, Alastor and Eathan had left the room, Albus turned to Harry again.

"Are you still mad at me?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Harry, I already told you that I was disappointed in you, but your punishment will be enough to make you understand that what you did was wrong. I'm no longer mad at you, and we will spend a nice day together tomorrow. Don't worry. And now you have to eat or the women of these quarters will hunt me down for starving you."

Harry grinned and followed Albus to the living room.