A Dark Time For The Light

100

The sun was now up, albeit a red ball on the horizon, glowing through the pollution but it still looked good. Alice sat, a joint and a can in her hands, “I fuckin’ love sunrises”, she murmured to no-one in particular, then yawned, saluting the sun with her tinnie, turning away from the others to watch it properly. She felt someone at her side and turned, Hermione. They exchanged a look, then lifted their cans in a silent toast to each other, then turned back to the beauty of a sunrise, a new day, a new beginning.

Another presence behind and to her left, an arm around her shoulders, Remus, also saluting the sun, then another, beside his beloved, an arm around him and a hand on Alice’s right shoulder, Severus. She grasped his hand lightly, grazing a kiss over the knuckles as she held it, then a light stroke in her hair and another, kissing her head before moving to a good vantage point beyond Remus. Harry and Draco. Another kiss to the back of her head, a hand trailing down her back before setling behind her lover, Ginny. Then gentle biffs to her shoulder, three, all different as they stood behind them, Ron, Dean and Seamus. She tipped her head back and winked at all three of them, then faced front again.

Draco draped his tired arms around Harry and looked into his rapt face, watching his Harry watch the sunrise. Harry turned to him, his eyes sexily lowered and smiled slightly, then tipped his head and drew his Dragon to him for a kiss, their first as free men. They devoured each other’s mouths, then pulled slightly apart. Draco’s eyes went wide and he gasped, pushing Harry’s hair away from his forehead, “It’s gone!!”, he squeaked. “Your scar!!. It’s gone!!”.

Harry’s hand flew to his forehead, then a small mirror was pushed into his hands as the outcry went around, Lavender had it in her bag and passed it to him. Harry stared in disbelief at his face, scarcely clean of the blood and dust. He pushed all of his hair back. A relatively clean and scar-free face looked back at him. He felt a tap on his arm, Alice. “Lend me the mirror”. In a daze he passed it to her. She hoicked up her t-shirt and directed the mirror to her lower back. Nothing. “I’d had that scar since I was born, over forty-seven years ago”, she breathed as she saw unmarked skin. “Sev. Cissie, let’s see your arms”, her voice rang out without the benefit of Sonorus. Cissie stood, grinning and wound back her sleeve to show a white fore-arm, then bowed at the cheers that greeted this and sat again, her leg still sore from the battle. Jenny’s arms were around her in seconds and she gave her mouth up to be kissed to localised cheers.

Then the chant was up, “Sev, Sev, Sev”. Severus had already checked, in the van before Remus had transformed back. He made a meal of undoing his cuff, then casting flirtatious glances around the gathered crowd. He heard a murmured, “Tart”, and suspected it came from Alice. He rolled his shirt sleeve back and back, then above his elbow. No Dark Mark. Just a few scars from cuts sustained earlier in the evening. He shrugged dramatically, “It has gone as you can see”, then started to laugh as he sank back down into Remus’ arms.

There was a random comment from one of the brats, Seamus or Terry, he wasn’t sure, “We should see you smile and laugh more often, Sev, it suits you”. He was beyond caring as he found his husband’s mouth with his own and they kissed like they meant it. Severus murmured, “Let’s get you home”, and Remus rose with him, leaning into Severus’ side and they both wobbled off to the ladder. They climbed down and, as they pulled out, everyone who had a drink raised their cans.

Ron spoke for everyone when he said, “You know what memory I’ll carry away from all this, from tonight?”. Everyone shook their heads and Ron continued, “Harry, you may have killed him, but Remus fucking destroyed him”. Harry shook his head, laughing, “It was a joint effort. It took three to kill him and one to devour the remains, then a few more to kill off what was left. I always thought that when I had to face him for the last time, I would be alone, well tonight proved otherwise. I had friends and allies and you all rose to the challenge. Tonight wasn’t about just me. Not even a little bit, it was about us all. Being Magical and fighting for our Magic. Defending it. Expressing it. Using it. Then complete Mundanes moving in and finishing the job for us. Tonight was about Magicals and Demi’s and Mundanes all at once and the job was done, and I thank you all for standing behind us, the Children of the Prophecy”, and he angled a bow at Neville and Alice who both blushed, then he stumbled backwards over his own feet and sat down again, rather hard, Draco had to put out an arm to stop him diving over the side of the building.

“Whoa, Harry, you bloody elephant. I don’t intend losing you now”, but there was no sarcasm, just a worried tone in Draco’s voice. Harry scooted closer to the love of his life and was wrapped up in warm arms, “That was what you called me the first night we kissed. A bloody elephant”, he peered mischievously into Draco’s concerned face and grinned, “You’d better look after me then, as I’m obviously quite incapable of looking after myself”. Draco swatted his arm, then gathered him up and kissed him soundly. As they drew apart, Draco murmured, “Take me home, Harry”, he leaned in again so Harry could feel heated breath on his ear that made him shiver, “Then take me hard”. They held each other for a while longer, then excused themselves and climbed down from the roof. Instead of heading for Harry’s bike, Alice watched as Harry dragged Draco to Bunker 7 and pull him inside.

Several hours later, they emerged, groggy and grinning. They hadn’t noticed the party ending, nor yet, the stream of taxis that took everyone away. As they climbed on to Harry’s bike, adjusting their helmets, they didn’t notice Alice, still sitting on her roof, alone and nursing a can and joint, they didn’t notice her tears as they left without a backwards glance, and they didn’t notice her salute as they roared out onto the main road, “Thanks, lads. For everything. See you all soon”.

THE END