The World Keeps Its Own Secrets - Chapter 7
Title: The World Keeps Its Own Secrets
Author: neddiheht
Rating: A possibly racey R in places
Pairing: Snarry (Severus Snape/Harry Potter)
Word count: 1476
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Severus Snape and all other characters, places, etc. from the Harry Potter universe are the property of J.K. Rowling. No claim of ownership is intended by this piece of fan fiction.
Summary: When Harry is sent back in time to avoid the killing curse, he finds himself in a mask of his own creation, faceless, voiceless, friendless, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts for his sole confidante, Albus Dumbledore. But one of the professors is suspicious, and won't let the secrecy of the new Defense professor go.
---
"There's no chance?" asked Harry, his customary cloak on, but with the cowl uncharacteristically down. The school year was nearly over. He would have to leave soon. It had been months since Severus first came to him in his chambers. They'd continued their affair quietly and secretly, telling no one.
"I'm afraid not, my boy," said Dumbledore sadly.
"I..."
"I have established a fund for you to draw upon, should you have need."
"Money is the least of my concerns, Albus."
"Severus?"
"He found out who I am some time ago," said Harry hesitantly, then glared at the headmaster. "Someone gave him the password to my chambers."
"Do you think it would have stopped him not to have it?" asked Dumbledore.
"No. And it would take an accomplished wizard to get through my wards even once through the door, and Severus is certainly accomplished enough to manage that with or without your help. But it tells me you wanted him to know."
"He was falling in love with you," said Dumbledore seriously. "Surely you understand. I needed him to stop. I needed for him to have a reason to stop other than me telling him to. I knew he would when he saw..."
"We didn't."
"What!?"
"We didn't stop, Albus."
"You mean you..."
Harry nodded. "He wasn't the only one falling in love."
"All this time? What are you going to do?" asked Albus.
"I cannot stay. Eventually, here, I'll stumble on a paradox that the world will notice. I've no doubt I've come perilously close already. And the world keeps its secrets. The world is far more forgiving of such things than I was taught to expect, but those rules exist because people tested the boundaries too often."
"Where will you go?"
"I'll return to the Muggle world as myself and go to University. I think a Muggle perspective is valuable. Then I'll apprentice to a witch doctor in Africa to do an advanced study of hexes and potions. I believe that's where Horace got his advanced training."
"Your master will know."
"I will not know and in not knowing will keep that knowledge from my master. Severus has agreed to brew the necessary potion. I will become the persona I created, and he will create a shell for me to inhabit."
"He's letting you go?"
"No. We will never let each other go," said Harry.
"What are you planning, Jamie?"
"You will know when it is time, Albus."
Dumbledore saw something then in the boy's expression, his eyes widening as realization hit. "If this is... I won't do it, Jamie."
Harry turned to him. "You manipulated me my entire life, Albus. Kindly and with compassion, but I still watched the people I love die. I still ended up in danger. I started fighting this war when I was eleven, after years with a Muggle family that will never forgive me for being different or special. I am going to go out into the world, in a persona that will not and cannot remember the love I feel for him. I will not do that without being bound. I'd cheat on him, never knowing, and never forgive myself for it."
"Do you know what it means to be bound, Harry? No one does it for a reason!"
"Molly and Arthur did."
Dumbledore quieted. "You know the Weasleys."
"I know how this ends, Albus. I am entering with my eyes open."
"And yet still you hope to change it."
"It is in my nature to hope for the impossible. One does not live one's life as the Horcrux of a dark wizard without learning that impossible is a state of mind."
Albus turned and stared into his eyes. "A Horcrux..."
Harry nodded.
"You are saying too much..."
"I am setting you on the path, not telling you where it leads," said Harry quietly. "But if I say more than I just have, the world will not permit it. If you had not already suspected, no doubt I would be suffering for my words. Now you know. More than you should. You will bind us together, Albus. If you do it, with that wand... my bond with Severus cannot be broken, ever. Not by any wizard anywhere. Every spell cast by the elder wand is perfect."
"You still know too much."
"Now you know how I will feel for all of my years at school," said Harry. "Please, Albus."
"When?"
"You will know."
---
"I... it is not too late, Severus, for you to change your mind." Harry looked at him, running a hand down his cheek.
"I will not change my mind. Indeed I think my mind knew long before my heart caught up," said Severus. "Are you sure. Here?"
"It is a special place, in need of new and better memories."
"You'll not explain that, I expect."
"I cannot."
Harry looked up at the moon. "It is time." He dropped his cloak to the ground. "Alimee. If you could fetch the headmaster and bring him here."
Alimee disappeared and Severus looked at Harry with a question. "You cannot apparate in Hogwarts."
"You can if you are a house elf."
"And he can bring the headmaster here?"
Harry nodded.
Albus appeared then, quite suddenly and very disoriented. "How did you do that, my boy?"
"I did not. I asked someone who could. It is time, Albus."
"You are both sure of this?"
They nodded.
Albus sighed. "There can be no barriers between you."
Severus nodded and twisted his wand so the rest of their clothes joined the dementor cloak in a pile.
"Once I start..."
"We are ready, head master."
"Severus?"
"He is my love, Albus," said Snape quietly.
"Join then."
Harry stepped up to Severus, close enough for their skin to touch its entire length, foreheads one against the other, hands each clasping the other's forearm. It was close and intimate, and both their bodies were reacting to that closeness.
Albus pulled his wand then and began to chant, his voice strong and powerful and certain. And as he spoke magic twisted itself in strands and bound them, pulling them together until their bodies stood entwined in elegant cris-crossed patterns that sunk into their skin.
Albus looked seriously at Harry. "Harry James Potter. Affirm."
"I, Harry James Potter, do swear for now and all eternity this vow of love. You are my heart and my soul, and the very best that I am exists within you. I am the phoenix that is reborn. Here in my heart, my love for you will live until the world is dust. You are within me, Severus, and I bind that piece of you to me."
Albus turned to Snape. "Severus."
"I, Severus Snape, do swear for now and forever this vow of love. You are my heart and my soul, and I am nothing without that part of you within me. I am the serpent that is renewed by the seasons and the shedding of its skin. Here, where my heart will ache when we're apart, my love for you will live until the end of time. You are inside my very soul, Harry, and I bind that piece of you to me."
They felt the fire of magic then, the pain of their love embodied as their skin became magic's canvas. Across Snape's back a great serpent slithered and hissed and slid along his skin to wrap itself tightly across their joined arms. And on the other a phoenix flew, swirling it's flight around their other arm.
"You truly intend this madness?" asked Dumbledore quietly.
"We do."
"Once you kiss the binding can never be undone."
"I know what this act holds, Albus," said Harry.
"Severus?"
Severus said nothing, instead simply taking Harry's lips against his own. The magical threads that held them together began to glow and Albus spoke again, the words of primal power that would literally fuse their souls into a single entity, unbreakable, inseparable, forever. Albus knew this to be a painful process, knew that most couples cried out. Knew that most separated and broke the bond before the process could work. But Harry and Severus simply clung to each other, tears falling down their cheeks, whispering I love yous until the pain stopped.
Finally the magic holding them against one another faded, but they did not separate. Only their arms moved, each folding the other into an embrace. Harry whispered something into the air and then both he and Severus were gone.
---
"I will miss you," said Harry, pressing his hand against Severus' heart.
"Our bond travels with you, Harry," said Severus quietly, the magical tattoo slithering seamlessly from Severus onto Harry as though their skin were a single canvas. "Please... come back to me."
"It will be years," said Harry sadly.
"I will be waiting, however many years it becomes."
Prev Chapter Master Post Next Chapter
Author: neddiheht
Rating: A possibly racey R in places
Pairing: Snarry (Severus Snape/Harry Potter)
Word count: 1476
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Severus Snape and all other characters, places, etc. from the Harry Potter universe are the property of J.K. Rowling. No claim of ownership is intended by this piece of fan fiction.
Summary: When Harry is sent back in time to avoid the killing curse, he finds himself in a mask of his own creation, faceless, voiceless, friendless, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts for his sole confidante, Albus Dumbledore. But one of the professors is suspicious, and won't let the secrecy of the new Defense professor go.
---
"There's no chance?" asked Harry, his customary cloak on, but with the cowl uncharacteristically down. The school year was nearly over. He would have to leave soon. It had been months since Severus first came to him in his chambers. They'd continued their affair quietly and secretly, telling no one.
"I'm afraid not, my boy," said Dumbledore sadly.
"I..."
"I have established a fund for you to draw upon, should you have need."
"Money is the least of my concerns, Albus."
"Severus?"
"He found out who I am some time ago," said Harry hesitantly, then glared at the headmaster. "Someone gave him the password to my chambers."
"Do you think it would have stopped him not to have it?" asked Dumbledore.
"No. And it would take an accomplished wizard to get through my wards even once through the door, and Severus is certainly accomplished enough to manage that with or without your help. But it tells me you wanted him to know."
"He was falling in love with you," said Dumbledore seriously. "Surely you understand. I needed him to stop. I needed for him to have a reason to stop other than me telling him to. I knew he would when he saw..."
"We didn't."
"What!?"
"We didn't stop, Albus."
"You mean you..."
Harry nodded. "He wasn't the only one falling in love."
"All this time? What are you going to do?" asked Albus.
"I cannot stay. Eventually, here, I'll stumble on a paradox that the world will notice. I've no doubt I've come perilously close already. And the world keeps its secrets. The world is far more forgiving of such things than I was taught to expect, but those rules exist because people tested the boundaries too often."
"Where will you go?"
"I'll return to the Muggle world as myself and go to University. I think a Muggle perspective is valuable. Then I'll apprentice to a witch doctor in Africa to do an advanced study of hexes and potions. I believe that's where Horace got his advanced training."
"Your master will know."
"I will not know and in not knowing will keep that knowledge from my master. Severus has agreed to brew the necessary potion. I will become the persona I created, and he will create a shell for me to inhabit."
"He's letting you go?"
"No. We will never let each other go," said Harry.
"What are you planning, Jamie?"
"You will know when it is time, Albus."
Dumbledore saw something then in the boy's expression, his eyes widening as realization hit. "If this is... I won't do it, Jamie."
Harry turned to him. "You manipulated me my entire life, Albus. Kindly and with compassion, but I still watched the people I love die. I still ended up in danger. I started fighting this war when I was eleven, after years with a Muggle family that will never forgive me for being different or special. I am going to go out into the world, in a persona that will not and cannot remember the love I feel for him. I will not do that without being bound. I'd cheat on him, never knowing, and never forgive myself for it."
"Do you know what it means to be bound, Harry? No one does it for a reason!"
"Molly and Arthur did."
Dumbledore quieted. "You know the Weasleys."
"I know how this ends, Albus. I am entering with my eyes open."
"And yet still you hope to change it."
"It is in my nature to hope for the impossible. One does not live one's life as the Horcrux of a dark wizard without learning that impossible is a state of mind."
Albus turned and stared into his eyes. "A Horcrux..."
Harry nodded.
"You are saying too much..."
"I am setting you on the path, not telling you where it leads," said Harry quietly. "But if I say more than I just have, the world will not permit it. If you had not already suspected, no doubt I would be suffering for my words. Now you know. More than you should. You will bind us together, Albus. If you do it, with that wand... my bond with Severus cannot be broken, ever. Not by any wizard anywhere. Every spell cast by the elder wand is perfect."
"You still know too much."
"Now you know how I will feel for all of my years at school," said Harry. "Please, Albus."
"When?"
"You will know."
---
"I... it is not too late, Severus, for you to change your mind." Harry looked at him, running a hand down his cheek.
"I will not change my mind. Indeed I think my mind knew long before my heart caught up," said Severus. "Are you sure. Here?"
"It is a special place, in need of new and better memories."
"You'll not explain that, I expect."
"I cannot."
Harry looked up at the moon. "It is time." He dropped his cloak to the ground. "Alimee. If you could fetch the headmaster and bring him here."
Alimee disappeared and Severus looked at Harry with a question. "You cannot apparate in Hogwarts."
"You can if you are a house elf."
"And he can bring the headmaster here?"
Harry nodded.
Albus appeared then, quite suddenly and very disoriented. "How did you do that, my boy?"
"I did not. I asked someone who could. It is time, Albus."
"You are both sure of this?"
They nodded.
Albus sighed. "There can be no barriers between you."
Severus nodded and twisted his wand so the rest of their clothes joined the dementor cloak in a pile.
"Once I start..."
"We are ready, head master."
"Severus?"
"He is my love, Albus," said Snape quietly.
"Join then."
Harry stepped up to Severus, close enough for their skin to touch its entire length, foreheads one against the other, hands each clasping the other's forearm. It was close and intimate, and both their bodies were reacting to that closeness.
Albus pulled his wand then and began to chant, his voice strong and powerful and certain. And as he spoke magic twisted itself in strands and bound them, pulling them together until their bodies stood entwined in elegant cris-crossed patterns that sunk into their skin.
Albus looked seriously at Harry. "Harry James Potter. Affirm."
"I, Harry James Potter, do swear for now and all eternity this vow of love. You are my heart and my soul, and the very best that I am exists within you. I am the phoenix that is reborn. Here in my heart, my love for you will live until the world is dust. You are within me, Severus, and I bind that piece of you to me."
Albus turned to Snape. "Severus."
"I, Severus Snape, do swear for now and forever this vow of love. You are my heart and my soul, and I am nothing without that part of you within me. I am the serpent that is renewed by the seasons and the shedding of its skin. Here, where my heart will ache when we're apart, my love for you will live until the end of time. You are inside my very soul, Harry, and I bind that piece of you to me."
They felt the fire of magic then, the pain of their love embodied as their skin became magic's canvas. Across Snape's back a great serpent slithered and hissed and slid along his skin to wrap itself tightly across their joined arms. And on the other a phoenix flew, swirling it's flight around their other arm.
"You truly intend this madness?" asked Dumbledore quietly.
"We do."
"Once you kiss the binding can never be undone."
"I know what this act holds, Albus," said Harry.
"Severus?"
Severus said nothing, instead simply taking Harry's lips against his own. The magical threads that held them together began to glow and Albus spoke again, the words of primal power that would literally fuse their souls into a single entity, unbreakable, inseparable, forever. Albus knew this to be a painful process, knew that most couples cried out. Knew that most separated and broke the bond before the process could work. But Harry and Severus simply clung to each other, tears falling down their cheeks, whispering I love yous until the pain stopped.
Finally the magic holding them against one another faded, but they did not separate. Only their arms moved, each folding the other into an embrace. Harry whispered something into the air and then both he and Severus were gone.
---
"I will miss you," said Harry, pressing his hand against Severus' heart.
"Our bond travels with you, Harry," said Severus quietly, the magical tattoo slithering seamlessly from Severus onto Harry as though their skin were a single canvas. "Please... come back to me."
"It will be years," said Harry sadly.
"I will be waiting, however many years it becomes."
Prev Chapter Master Post Next Chapter