Highly Spirited

Summary: Chapter 14: Young Again --------- The consequences of tupping.
Warning(s): See Chapter 1 for warnings and disclaimer. I still don’t own anything.

Chapter 14 – Young Again

“Merlin, Harry, we shouldn’t have done this,*” Severus said, laying on his side, still panting from the exertion of his first orgasm since his death. Though he had not been sleeping with anyone at the time of his engagement to Tom Riddle, he had been, by no means, a blushing virgin on his wedding night.

Harry was lying on top of him, head crooked in Severus arm, eyes closed, sweat dripping off of him. “Oh, it was very...*” he nodded off mid-sentence.

---

Lost, out in the dark, Draco was trying to get his bearings. He stopped to catch his breath when he thought he had lost the carriage in the last few turns. Suddenly, the carriage reared up and he could hear Tom pleading, “Draco, this isn’t a joke anymore. Stop running.” Draco ran. The look on Tom’s face went from sad to a little angry. “For Merlin’s sake, stop boy!”

Draco ran towards the castle.

---

Harry slowly awoke to feel a hand stroking his hair. He couldn’t stop the stupid grin on his face. That had been just amazing. He turned to begin kissing the belly underneath him. He made his way up to Severus’ collar bones before he opened his eyes and saw the rotting figure of a living corpse below him. In terror, he tried to jump back, away from the decaying man.

Severus held his hand behind Harry’s head, keeping him in place.

“Severus, what happened?*” Harry asked.

“I’m rotting, Harry*. I’ve been dead for 50 years. I’m not going to look like a spring snidget.” As he spoke, a tooth fell out of his head. They both watched it as it rolled across the floor and came to a stop.

Harry finally leapt up, away from Severus. He was trying to keep his dinner down. He stood naked in the night air and barely felt it. “He who tups with the spirit…tups with the grave,*” he said, smacking his head in realization.

Severus stood up and stumbled towards him. Even the man’s robes were rotting. “Harry. Harry, forgive me,*” he pleaded and advanced towards him.

“Severus?” Harry kept backing away and finally ran out of the room and down towards the Great Hall, still in nothing. Feeling the chill finally, he grabbed a small, dark red tablecloth with gold fringe as he ran past, knocking all the items off and fumbled to wrap it around his waist.

Severus followed him clumsily down the steps as best he could on disintegrating bones. “Harry, tell me you love me. Make this right.”*

“But...you’re not Severus. You’re a corpse!”* Harry argued. Harry knew he was panicking but dammit, he was a coward. Severus had been wrong. There was no Gryffindor bravery in him.

---

Tom Riddle, still in the resurrected carriage, chased Draco all the way to the castle but realized too late that he was going to run into it. The carriage slammed into the wall, forcing Tom through the second story window and across the Great Hall right into Harry, slamming him against the wall, pinning him to it.

“Hi, Tom!*” Harry squeaked in surprise.

“Where's the husband?*” Tom asked him intently.

Harry pointed towards the stairs where Severus was lumbering along. Tom moved up the stairs as Harry ran down.

Tom looked at the decomposing Severus and turned back to Harry. “Not mine, you dolt. Yours!”*

Just then, Draco burst through the front door and into the Great Hall screaming, “HARRY! HARRY!”

Harry ran to him. “Draco, Draco – don’t get so excited. I think I know what you saw.”*

Tom Riddle came running down the stairs and grabbed Draco around the waist and spun him and began kissing his neck. Severus finally made it the entire way down and collapsed on the floor near them. Tom spun Draco so hard, he slipped out of Tom’s arms and landed next to Severus.

Upon seeing Severus, Tom backed up. “Hiya, Severus. Um, we’re just playing around, you know,*” he said by way of explanation to his spouse. Severus glared up at him.

Draco looked with disgust at Severus and then back at his own husband. “Harry? You threw me over for this? This... ugh!*” Severus crawled towards Draco and the blond man shot up and stalked towards Harry. “I mean, I know you like passive men, Harry, but he's half dead. I hope he has a great personality because this hurts,”* he yelled, pointing a finger at Severus. Behind them, Severus stood up, wobbling.

Tom grabbed the blond’s arm as Draco was yelling and pulled him away. Harry shot back, “He said he loved me, which is a lot more than you’ve ever done, Draco.” He turned as a decaying Severus fell into his arms.

Tom’s eyes widened in anger and now he pulled away from Draco. “You love him!?*” he yelled at Severus. “Ya cheatin’ scum. I’ll kill you!*” Severus glared at him some more while holding desperately onto Harry. Draco grabbed Tom’s coat lapels to keep him from moving.

“Nononononono…” Draco cried. “He looks dead enough already. Please, don’t start that again.”* Draco was hugging him now, trying to restrain him.

Tom turned to the man in his arms. “Ah, Draco.” He lifted the finely sculpted face up and gazed into Draco’s grey eyes. He bent down to kiss him, but before his lips touched, he said, “Harry, your husband is some man,*” in an admiring tone.

Harry looked at the rotting corpse in his own arms and replied, “So is yours,*” less than enthusiastically. He looked over to see Draco and Tom kissing passionately.

After a moment, Draco broke away and ran over to Harry and Severus. “Um, Harry. I was...uh, just kidding.*” He looked at Severus and then back at Harry. “You two were made for each other.*”

Tom swooped Draco away and scampered halfway up the stairs with him. Draco went happily.

Before they got too far, Tom stopped and looked back, “Goodnight, Severus. Sorry for killing you for the last fifty years.*” And then both Draco and Tom ran up the remaining steps.

Severus finally wearied and sat on a nearby sofa. “Harry, you said you’d love me forever.*”

Harry ran his hands through his hair. ‘I know, I know…it’s just, you were so different, then.*”

“Only on the outside, you imbecile,” Severus said. “Inside, I’m still the same.*"

Harry knelt down beside him, looking sympathetic, and whispered, “I know that looks aren’t everything, but it’s just that they help so much.*” Harry whined as he tried to pull himself out of Snape’s withering arms.

“Our magical cores are compatible. Do you know how rare that is?”

“You mentioned that before. What is it?”

“It means our magic is in sync. We enhance each other’s magical energies. Makes our magic stronger.”

“Is that why I fell for you so quickly?” Harry asked. “Because, really, that’s not like me.”

“It didn’t force you to love me, if that’s what you’re asking. It just makes you more open to it. You chose to love me.”

“Oh…” Harry said. He still had a slight look of disgust on his face, but he was unsure whether it was about Severus or his own conflicting emotions.

“Harry, kiss me.*” Severus said, pulling Harry to him.

Harry tried to back up. “Kiss you? Maybe we should get some moisturizer first, chapstick?*” he hesitated, “Or some medical supervision.” Harry looked around nervously and gulped, trying not to be disgusted at the thought of touching the decaying flesh.

“There’s no time,*” Severus said, pulling him closer.

---

Tom chased Draco through the castle in a flirtatious game. At times, he’d be behind Draco. Other times, he got ahead of him. Draco laughed as he tried to figure out where the man had got to.

Tom would yell Draco’s name and Draco would follow it. Finally, Draco found Tom sitting in an open window.

“Oh, there you are,*” Draco said with a smirk.

Tom reached out an arm. “Draco, you do love me, don’t you?*”

Draco rolled his eyes and smoothed his hands over his chest and groin, “Oh, yes…*” he breathed huskily.

---

Harry licked his lips nervously, but then in a big surge of bravado, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth and let himself be pulled to Severus. At first, it was all he could do not to gag. The feel of the decaying lips, the taste of rotting tongue about made him heave, but within a few moments, the lips turned suppler, the taste, fresher. The kiss lingered on and on and on and Harry began slapping the sofa back in an effort to tell the man that he still needed to breathe even if Severus didn’t.

Finally Severus pulled away. “You do love me, don’t you, brat?” He stroked his long fingers over Harry’s face. “Look at me,” he said.

Harry opened his eyes to see the Severus he had fallen for, restored to his darkly stern self.

---

Tom turned and held out both arms. “Then be with me, Draco. Be with me forever!”*

In excitement, Draco agreed. “Anyway you want it!*” And he ran towards Tom Riddle’ open arms and promptly went right through him and out the fifth story window.

Harry and Severus heard Draco screaming. Harry looked up. “Draco?” Severus disappeared from beneath him. In a panic, Harry stood looking around. “Draco? Severus?!”

He ran outside to where he thought he heard the screams. Just outside the front door, the carriage was in a heap and just past that was the body of his husband. Harry ran. “Draco? Draco?” He fell beside him and checked from any signs of life but there were none. “Oh, Draco…*” Harry cried. For all their issues, he had loved the man at one time.

“Oh god, what have I done?*” Harry cried. He buried his head in his hands and wept.

The body beside him began to change. The hair became darker and longer. The back became a little wider. It began to move a bit.

“I never meant for this to happen,*” Harry was mumbling through his tears. Two long hands touched his and pulled them away from his face. When he looked up, Severus was sitting in front of him in Draco’s grey cardigan and jeans, which were far too short. Harry’s eyes widened.

“Forever, Harry,*” Severus said simply. Dawn was beginning to break and the two stood together in the pale light. Harry looked around, confused.

He poked Severus’ face which earned him an irritated look. Harry half-smiled. “You’re alive.*”

Severus answered him with a kiss.

---

Inside, Tom was carrying Draco, now in Severus’ robes, bridal style into his room. He gazed at Draco adoringly and Draco asked disbelievingly, “What do you mean, I'm dead?*”

Tom smiled and sat him gently down on the window seat he had just fallen from. “Take my word for it.*”

“You're just saying that so you can have your wicked way with me,*” Draco said with a small smile.

“Draco, if you weren't dead, I couldn't have my wicked way with you,*” Tom sniggered. “I wasn’t Slytherin and the Dark Lord for nothing.”

“You could’ve had your wicked way with me in the shower when I was still alive,” Draco said, unconvinced.

“Aye – but that was dark magic that allowed me to touch you as a corporeal being for those few minutes. It would have been grand to make love to you then, but you’d have died shortly afterwards and my powers would have absorbed your energy. I knew from the moment I saw you that once would never be enough,” Tom explained.

“This is ridiculous,*” Draco replied as Tom leaned in and kissed him. They vanished into thin air as the sun’s rays came into the room.
---

Morning found the rest of the group scattered throughout the woods but relatively unharmed. The ghosts had all disappeared once dawn arrived. The guests all made their way back to the castle now that they could see where they were walking.


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* Verbatim dialogue from the movie 'High Spirits'. * inside the quotation marks means just that sentence. Outside the quotation marks would indicate everything inside the quotation mark, not just the individual sentence.