The Iridescent Conclusion

On Friday evening, after a day of lessons and occasional trips down to the dungeons to be with Snape and Draco, Harry felt entirely too exhausted to do anything but curl up in an armchair before the Gryffindor fire. He was definitely too tired to go head to head with Jenna, he thought sourly.

However, with no choice, he trudged wearily down to the empty Transfigurations classroom and found Jenna waiting for him.

“Hello, Harry,” she greeted him with a friendly smile. He didn’t return it but moved instead to sit down on a spare desk.

“How are you?” she asked calmly, “Professor Dumbledore told me you’d had some problems with headaches?”

Harry said nothing but stared at the woman in the vain hope that she might give up.

Jenna sighed. “All right, Harry, enough!”

Harry’s eyes narrowed slightly. Could it really be that easy?

“You clearly don’t want to be here, don’t want to talk to me and don’t want any help.” Jenna continued. “I, for my part, don’t want to waste my time trying to counsel someone who refuses to be helped. So, shall I simply give Dumbledore my report and leave the matter to him?”

“He’ll tell Fudge,” Harry said after a moment’s thought.

“Fudge?” Jenna frowned, confused, “Cornelius Fudge?”

Harry nodded dully. “I have to play by his rules now too. If I leave Hogwarts or stop abiding by his rules, I’ll be taken into Ministry custody for analysis. No doubt, they’ll all have great fun unravelling my psyche or whatever and then -”

“No.”

Jenna’s voice had been deathly quiet and silenced him far more effectively than a shout would have managed.

“What?” Harry stared at her, this time with genuine confusion.

“No. That can’t happen. I won’t allow it.” Jenna said firmly with a little shake of her head.

“Um,” Harry frowned harder, “I don’t think you can stop him. I mean, he’s the Minister of Magic; surely he can do whatever he wants?”

“That’s not quite what I meant,” Jenna said earnestly. “If this is what Fudge has said then that is how it shall be – if,” she emphasised, “I tell Dumbledore that you won’t be counselled. However, if you and I can reach some sort of compromise, then I can keep Dumbledore happy, you can stay at Hogwarts and you might even find some peace too.” She offered him a smile then and, much to his astonishment, Harry almost found himself returning it. He straightened his face and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Little steps,” she went on, perhaps missing his moment of inner turmoil. “We’ll just take tiny steps and you can call the shots. All I ask is that you’re honest with me.”

Warily, Harry nodded and then asked, “What do you want to know first?”

The smile widened and Jenna looked him up and down, “Tell me some of your favourite things: favourite colour, favourite food, what do you like doing most, who’s your best friend?”

“That’s all?” Harry lifted his eyebrows.

“For now,” she nodded. “So, favourite colour?”

“Um... blue. Although everyone thinks it’s green. Mrs Weasley – Ron’s mum – always used to make me green jumpers and she bought me green dress robes once. I guess it’s ‘cause I’ve got green eyes.”

“Hmm... ” Jenna nodded absently. “Next: favourite food.”

“Ah…” Harry grimaced, “that’s a tough one. I’d say lasagne, although I really like Sev’s gnocchi in four cheese sauce.”

“You like cheese?”

“Love it!” he announced with an enthusiasm that surprised even him. The smile had escaped too, he found.

Jenna nodded and returned his smile. Beneath her relaxed exterior, however, a part of her filed away the mention of Snape’s first name. Amidst the happy expression, as Harry had thought about foods, there had been a fleeting look of pain when he no doubt realised that this man would be just Professor Snape from now on.

“Okay, last one and then you can go to bed: Who’s your best friend?”

This time, Harry frowned and he stared at the floor in perplexity. After a minute, he looked up, “It used to be Ron, with Hermione a close second,” he said slowly, “but the one person who knows me better than anyone – almost anyone – is Draco.”

“I thought he might be,” Jenna nodded. “He’s very fond of you too, you know. He came by, just before you arrived, and asked me to leave you alone.”

Harry looked shocked at that. “He did? He did that for me?”

‘Idiot,’ Draco’s voice resounded within his head from where he was trying to do his homework in the Slytherin common room, ‘of course I’d do that for you. That and more. Anything in fact. I love you, you moron!’

Harry laughed out loud and then apologised to Jenna with a little tap to his right temple.

“Talking to you?” Jenna guessed.

Harry nodded, “At least you know I’m not crazy when I say I hear voices in my head!” He grinned and reached up to fuss and fiddle with his own dark hair.

A few minutes later, when Harry had bid her goodnight and left, Jenna paced around the classroom and thought about what the young man had said. Funnily enough, he’d said more than he’d probably realised.

He’d said: ‘the one person who knows me better than anyone – almost anyone – is Draco’. Jenna was certain she knew who the other person would be. Also, Harry had mentioned voices – plural – in his head and, although he’d been grinning, he’d also touched and fondled the hair on the back of his head; a gesture of self-comfort and reassurance. No doubt speaking of voices, he’d been thinking of Snape and thinking of Snape made him want comfort and reassurance.

Jenna knew Harry’s history – all of his history. And Dumbledore had told her that Harry had had a crush on Snape. However, judging from what she’d seen this evening, she didn’t think it was just a crush and she didn’t think it was over. What was more, she strongly suspected that Snape had played his own role in this drama and that would explain a whole lot more.

Still thinking about it, she extinguished the lamps with a flick of her wand and headed back home.

*~*~*

“Harry? Harry, Dumbledore wants to see you,” Neville announced, hurrying across the common room to where Harry was trying to focus on his Transfiguration home work and ignore the beginnings of yet another headache.

It was Sunday evening and since the episode on Thursday, he’d had to go in search of Severus every couple of hours. And despite the pain relief, it was never a pleasant experience.

Feeling angry and resentful of the Potion master’s continued refusal for anything more than a teacher/student relationship, he found himself gritting his teeth whenever he trudged his way down the dungeon steps. It didn’t help that there had been practically no telepathic communication between them since Thursday morning.

“Me?” he looked up, aware of Ron and Hermione beside him. He put aside his books and stood up, straightening his robes as he went. “Did he say why?” he asked as he passed.

“No, Professor Snape told me to find you and asked if you’d tell Mal-Draco,” Neville advised, tripping slightly on Draco’s name. Since his return to the Gryffindor tower, Harry’s friends had been trying to accept his unusual friendship with the Prince of Slytherin... with varying degrees of success.

“Hm,” Harry responded shortly, thinking that it wouldn’t have killed Snape to tell him himself. With a nod of thanks, he continued on towards the portrait hole. As he went, he sent out the thought and was answered in turn.

‘Now? Right now? Does he really want me there too?’ Draco asked, sounding harassed.

‘Apparently,’ Harry returned as he made his way along the corridor. ‘Why, what’s up?’

For a minute there was no response and then Draco sighed. ‘Greg threw a strop this morning about how much time I spend with you and Sev. He was fairly understanding of Sev, given that he’s my guardian but...’ his voice trailed off.

‘He doesn’t want you spending time with your ex?’ Harry surmised. He swore aloud softly, drawing the attention of two passing third years.

There was a pause for a minute or two and then Draco said, ‘Don’t worry, Harry. Sev said he’d come and collect me so that Greg won’t get upset.’

‘Oh.’ Harry responded, feeling distinctly miffed. So Snape was clearly determined not to speak to him at all then!

‘Harry…’ Draco sighed.

‘Forget it. It’s not your fault. If he wants to be like that, let him.’ Harry said shortly and continued on to Dumbledore’s office.

*~*~*

“Thank you for coming so promptly,” Dumbledore greeted them. “Can I fetch anything? Tea? Or coffee, perhaps?” he offered, glancing once at Snape.

They shook their heads and sat down as the Headmaster moved around to the far side of his desk.

“Well, then, firstly I have some news for you, Harry. Sirius and Remus will be moving out of the castle on Wednesday to a new home in Hogsmeade. For obvious reasons, their exact location will be protected by a Fidelius charm. Sirius asked that I provide you with the details.”

“I’m to be Sirius’ Secret Keeper?” Harry raised his eyebrows and felt Severus’ attention fall on him. Perhaps, in another time and another place, he would have realised that he was being a bastard and that Sirius didn’t really deserve this treatment from him - even from afar. However, in the current time and place, he was hurting and it was impossible to avoid sharing it around.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and levelled a very stern gaze upon him, “Harry, I do hope this unseemly bitterness isn’t going to continue?”

There was no negotiating with that tone of voice and Harry recognised a reprimand when he heard one. He hadn’t yet adopted Snape’s attitude towards the Headmaster and so he dropped his gaze to the floor in a gesture of humility.

“The second piece of news,” Dumbledore went on, as if nothing had happened, “is that I have found a possible means around the problem of your shared headaches. I should add, Severus, that it might have been better if you’d advised me of the side-effects sooner.”

‘Looks like we’re all going to be thoroughly told off, this evening!’ Draco commented glibly.

‘It’s not right,’ Harry retorted, still staring at the floor. ‘Severus works for Dumbledore; he shouldn’t be reprimanded in front of us.’

‘Except, thanks to the Nameless spell, any conversation I have will be witnessed by you two.’ Snape added, shocking Harry with this sudden communication. His tone within their minds was entirely bland but Harry imagined that he could hear an edge of resentment. He looked up then with another little stab of pain and Draco winced in sympathy and exasperation beside him.

“This cure, Headmaster?” Snape prompted.

“I don’t know that I would call it a cure as such, Severus,” Dumbledore began. “If my idea works, it will alleviate your suffering in so far as neither you nor Harry will have the headaches caused by your distance from one another. But it may be that the solution is no better than the problem at hand.”

Harry shifted in his chair and looked at Severus and Draco before returning his attention to the Headmaster in a silent prompt to continue.

“From the limited information concerning the Nameless spell, I believe that if the three of you were to cast the second phase of the spell, it would take you beyond this painful stage you find yourselves at present. As I understand, the problem was caused by too much of the spell being invoked in the first place.”

“But…” Harry frowned slightly, “What are the side-effects of casting the second phase?”

Dumbledore and Snape exchanged a long look.

“We’ll feel one another’s emotions,” Snape said finally. “Draco and I already share this effect at present but I suspect that the sensation will be more pronounced with casting more of the spell.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad.” Harry shrugged, “Anything else?”

“Harry,” Dumbledore said slowly, “given that you have…feelings…for Professor Snape, this may effect you more than you believe.”

“I’ll be fine.” Harry stated flatly, not looking at Snape. He didn’t want to think about what he might or might not feel from Severus and suspected that the emotions would be locked away just as the man’s thoughts were locked away.

Beside him, Snape sighed and Harry wondered if the man had heard his thoughts.

“Headmaster,” Snape began, “with your leave, I think it would be a good idea for the three of us to take some time to discuss this.”

“Of course,” Dumbledore inclined his head and smiled. His blue eyes, when they rested on Harry, were warm and sparkling again. “Perhaps you’d like to take the boys down to your office, Severus? If you decide that this is the way forward, then you can cast the second phase of the spell in the training room. I’ll make the necessary adjustments to the wards.”

“Thank you,” Snape responded with absolute calm and decorum. He stood, took two steps towards the door and then turned back as Harry and Draco stood to leave too. “Headmaster, what if we decide not to go ahead with this? What are our alternatives?”

“In truth, my old friend, I don’t think we have any at this moment in time. We could perhaps begin researching ways to reverse the Nameless spell?”

“No.” Snape’s voice was hard, “That would not be a good idea. The risk in such a venture is simply too much and in any case,” he glanced at Harry, “Mr Potter would benefit nothing in us returning all his magical powers to him.”

Dumbledore made a small sound of acknowledgement and then said nothing as the three of them filed out of his office.

“Sir,” Harry paused at the doorway, “do you have the details of Sirius’ new home?”

“I do, Harry,” the old man smiled. He reached into a pocket and extracted a slip of paper. “Read this. The charm will embed itself into your memory.”

Taking the slip, Harry read: 14, Market Street, Hogsmeade.

“Hogsmeade has a market?” he asked, looking at the address.

“On Wednesdays,” Dumbledore smiled at him, “they set up their stalls right outside Sirius’ house but no one will ever know he’s there so long as the charm is in place.”

Harry nodded, started to follow Draco and Severus out of the room and then turned back. “What happened to the boy?”

“Boy? Oh, Oscar is with his aunts – Alison and Jenna Litworth,” Harry’s head came up at the mention of his psychoanalyst but Dumbledore continued as if he’d made no response, “and they’ll be moving up here in the next couple of weeks. Oscar is an orphan, you see and well…”

“It’s only right that he’s with people who love him,” Harry finished, thinking of all the years he spent with a people who detested him. “Actually, though, sir, I meant the boy that Remus mentioned on Thursday. He said that he and Sirius went to a funeral and that the... well... he said he wasn’t much older than me.”

“Ah.” Dumbledore’s eyes clouded for a moment. “I see. His name was Thomas Litworth – Oscar’s father, you know. He was murdered by Death Eaters.”

Harry stared at him for a moment, feeling bad that he’d been so caught up in his own troubles that he’d known nothing of what had been happening around him.

“It’s all right, Harry,” Dumbledore said then, as if reading his mind. “Perhaps when things settle down a bit, you can visit with Sirius and Remus?”

He nodded vaguely, thoughts in turmoil as he turned and finally headed down to the Slytherin dungeons.

*~*~*

Over the past few days, coming to this office to simply be close to Severus had been torture. But now, here, knowing that they should be talking and yet not being able to find the words, this was far worse.

Harry sat on the wooden chair near the wall and watched as the Potions master made a cafetiere of coffee. Beside him, Draco took another chair and rummaged about under piles of homework until he found the biscuit tin.

‘So are we going to do this spell then?’ Draco asked, looking idly at the assorted assignment scrolls on Snape’s desk as he munched a biscuit.

“Do we have much choice?” Harry countered.

“Not really,” Severus replied. “We can’t continue as we are indefinitely and we certainly can’t reverse the spell. Therefore, our only option is to take it one step further.”

“The rings or the Legion Device won’t help?” Harry asked hopefully, looking at the slender gold band on his left hand.

“I don’t think so,” Severus shook his head. He paused for a moment as he poured coffee into three mugs. “As far as I’ve been able to find, the Legion Device was simply an ornament. Something with which the original three celebrated their own special abilities.”

‘Or maybe it was a way for them to announce to the world that they were together?’ Draco suggested softly.

They contemplated this for a moment and the silence was only broken as Harry moved to grab the sugar from the shelf. “You made it too strong,” he noted in response to Snape’s raised eyebrow. A sense of déjà vu made him pause for a moment and then lift questioning eyes to Snape.

‘We have to do this,’ he said silently. ‘I can’t be with you, it hurts to be apart from you. This is our only option.’

“And the emotions?” Severus asked quietly, “Bear in mind too that there may be another side effect that hasn’t been catalogued before.”

Harry nodded and looked at Draco.

‘Let’s do it,’ Draco agreed and took a sip of coffee.

*~*~*

The floor of the training room was decorated with the same three Celtic knots, each linked to one another and each connected to a triangle in the centre.

“How will this work?” Harry asked, staring at the space within the triangle and remembering how their power had been poured into it before getting back equal shares.

“I’ll invoke the first stage of the spell,” Severus advised, lighting another candle with a burning taper, “and then, when our magic returns we’ll invoke the second part.”

“We?” Harry’s head snapped up in surprise, “You want us to work the spell with you?”

“Yes,” Snape retorted sharply, sounding impatient. “The second and third parts require the will of all three individuals.”

‘It’s kind of like giving the spell permission to link us all together.’ Draco added, giving his guardian a little glare for being curt.

“Here,” Snape said then and handed them each a slip of parchment. “We read from this together as the magic flows back.”

Draco, however, shook his head. ‘I don’t need to read the words. I know the spell already.’

“What? How is it you know the words of the Nameless spell?” Severus demanded in shock. He looked far more appalled at this notion than Harry would have expected, given Draco’s background and family life.

Draco, for his part, was looking slightly sheepish and was gazing down at the knot beneath his feet.

‘I told you I’d read about it,’ he said a little defensively.

“But to know the actual spell – and well enough to recite?” Severus shook his head. He paused then and frowned. “Draco, you weren’t going to conjure this spell yourself were you?”

There was a long pause, during which Harry received no hint of whatever his best friend was thinking. And then finally, with a nonchalant little shrug, Draco murmured, ‘I might have thought about it…once…in fourth year…’

“I see,” Snape replied carefully and suddenly Harry saw the Potion master’s memories of that particular year. From his own perspective, the fourth year had been extremely trying; with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, falling out with Ron and the final ordeal in the graveyard with Voldemort. At the time, he’d simply thought that Draco was being his usual irritating, vindictive self.

However, now, in just a few moments, he saw a very different image of the blond youth. He saw anxiety over Moody’s presence at school; the terribly humiliating experience as a white ferret; the jealousy over Harry’s position as fourth champion and his father’s screams of verbal abuse when Harry had escaped Voldemort’s clutches at the end of the summer term.

‘I just wanted my own group.’ Draco said very softly, stepping off the Celtic knot once more. He paced to the far end of the room and then turned, looking solely at Severus. ‘I wanted to belong to something – like Harry belonged with Granger and Weasley. Like my father belonged with the Death Eaters. If I could have conjured the Nameless spell with some of my friends -’

“Like Crabbe and Goyle?” Harry asked out loud. “Draco, I know you love Greg but you must admit, his skills with magic leave a lot to be desired.”

“No,” Severus said though, “not Crabbe and Goyle. It was more likely to be Nott and Zabini, eh, Draco?”

Draco shrugged and then gave Harry a funny look. ‘I don’t love Greg,’ he said incidentally. ‘I like him but I don’t…I mean, we haven’t…’

“Anyway,” Severus said, interrupting, “I think we’ve established why the spell went wrong before. I knew the next words of the spell. And although I couldn’t prevent myself from thinking about them, my thoughts alone wouldn’t be enough to bring them into effect,”

‘But two would,’ Draco finished. He looked up then, ‘But I really tried not to think about them.’

“That doesn’t work,” Severus shook his head and then said, “Imagine if I said, don’t think about tomatoes. What are you thinking about?”

‘Tomatoes.’ Draco replied with a wry little smile.

“Precisely. Therefore, when we finish invoking the second part of the spell, kindly focus very intently on something else. Think about Potion ingredients, for instance. So,” he said then, moving back to his own position, “before we begin, is there anything either of you need to say or do?”

‘Only this,’ Draco said, just as he had when they’d cast the first phase of the spell. He stepped across to Harry and, holding his face between his hands, he kissed him softly on the mouth.

A sigh from Snape drew them apart and Draco stepped to his own position without a word.

“Anything else?” Snape lifted an eyebrow in a slightly challenging and intimidating manner.

There was something else; Harry wanted to kiss Severus but didn’t think that the Potions master would permit it. Therefore, he simply shook his head and lowered his eyes to the floor.

With a short nod, Severus then lifted his hands, closed his eyes and began to cast the spell. “Ashe Lan Y Eron! Vor krasso pa mieren.”

Harry knew it was coming, could recall almost every moment of when Severus had cast the spell before, but still, when a hard jolt almost tugged him off the knot beneath his feet, he gasped. His magic was slipping away, draining steadily towards the triangle on the floor.

“Mia treden, fre sarden et yarren vo eben.” Snape continued calmly and then, growing steadily louder, he concluded the first part in a loud, commanding voice, “Nereim ap ossark röv, nore y nal esha!”

The magical energy flooded back in a surge of blue-white light that struck Harry squarely in the centre of his chest.

At a nod from Severus, he lifted the parchment and read aloud, hearing Severus and Draco’s words within his head. “Sez haria. Col torron, y vro treden, sarden et eben. Cia tre garedin; via nal fuordon. Sten duae hyssaa.”

And then, picking up from the other two that the last should be whispered, he concluded:

“Laas vensis, vror trenda. Miat derra, lya veren bri stora.”

The second phase of the spell was completed. There was no roar, no clap of thunder; little in fact to announce that the spell was a success or failure.

Except…

The magical signatures blending with his own were of course exquisitely familiar. They rolled over his body with a slow, sensuous caress that almost drew a moan from his throat. The gold band on his little finger sparked and flared and, for a second, he closed his eyes…

And they were with him. He was wrapped in Severus’ arms, kissing the man’s mouth and feeling the soft brush of his sleeves against his back. When had he lost his shirt?

Draco was suddenly behind him, pressing in close and reaching around to pinch and tweak at his nipples. With a sigh, Harry drew back from Severus’ kiss, dropped his head back onto Draco’s shoulder and felt Severus feast hungrily upon his bared throat.

They lingered like this. With Draco rubbing languorously against his arse as he licked and kissed his shoulders and Severus nibbling and sucking at his throat, there was no fear, no panic and no unwanted, intrusive memories; nothing for Harry to concern himself with, other than riding the sensations and wallowing in the passion and pleasure.

He lifted his arms, sank his fingers into Sev’s hair and stifled a whimper as the Potions master gave a long, hot lick up to his earlobe. They said nothing, thought nothing and yet Harry felt loved, cherished and adored.

Like siblings, like the very closest of friends... like lovers... their love encircled him. They were protecting him; wanting only to love and pleasure him. And in turn, Harry wanted nothing but to return their love ten-fold.

As Severus paused and drew back long enough to run light, gentle hands over his torso, Harry turned and drew Draco into his embrace. They fit perfectly; hip to hip, chest to chest and nose to nose. If Harry tilted his head just slightly, Draco could press just that last fraction closer and then... oh! Draco’s tongue filled his mouth; exploring and tasting and sliding in a torturously fine glide across his bottom lip.

Long, lightly-muscled arms came around both of them as Harry felt Severus bury his face in the back of his hair. He wanted more. He wanted Draco’s hands to cease their game of skating across his chest and playing with his nipples and to move down and undo his trousers! And Sev! He wanted him naked too; wanted him stripped and ready because he was going to...

Harry came too with a little start. It took him a moment or two to realise that he was alone on the floor and that the sound he’d just heard was the echoing thud of the door closing behind Snape. He rubbed at his eyes and looked over to where Draco was sat, leaning against the far wall.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked silently.

In answer, he found himself feeling Draco’s emotions: confusion, abandonment and disappointment. Then, reaching out, he felt Snape’s sense of milder confusion, over shadowed by intense agitation. And behind both of these, was a strongly suppressed sense of yearning.

‘Well it worked, I guess.’ Draco said with a tired, lopsided smile that failed to reach his eyes. ‘You’re picking up our emotions and the headaches -’

‘Have stopped.’ Harry finished. Aside from the emotions, however, he wasn’t picking up any of Severus’ thoughts.

He sighed and rested his chin on his knees, staring moodily at the door and wondering how he’d managed to lose his shirt.