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Thank you to everyone who takes time to review, it really does keep me writing! I posted a challenge on AFF but I dont know if all of my readers seen it. I would love someone to do a fanvid/fanart to go along with this story...I'm practically begging, as I am not artistically inclined nor would I have any idea how to make a vid. If your interested just let me know in a review. Now on with some pretty good reasons to avoid the bottle...

Chapter 17: It All Falls Down



“You know, its hard being a professor.” Severus grumbled, dropping an empty bottle to the floor. He had found himself half sliding off of the sofa he was sharing with Harry.

“Students!” Atheena agreed over enthusiastically. She gulped down a good portion of amber liquid.

“Miserable little beings.” Snape dropped his head to the back of the couch. “I don’t even know why I started this job. I have always, and still do, have the utmost disdain for children.” Sev pondered. “Damn Headmaster…you know…he made me do it…Hogwarts…pfffh.”

“It’s way worse being a student.” Harry pointed as if to exaggerate his point. “You’re...unpleasant.” He put a lot of thought into his words, then giggled. “The lot of you are unpleasant, but you…” He poked Snape in the chest. “You are like the..king of…” Harry rubbed his head, forgetfulness invading his mind.

“Unpleasant?” Rachel shrugged.

“Exactly! How did you know?” Potter burst out.

“You’d be unpleasant too if you were forced to listen to sniveling little snot machines piss about all day…”

“Whining and complaining.” Atheena interrupted.

“Nuh-uh.” Rachel shook her head quickly and clumsily sat up. “The teachers are just as bad as the students.” She grouched. Atheena chuckled when she realized that her partner’s eyes remained closed. “They have all of their…grown up problems. My husband is having an affair, my children don’t listen…ghaaa.” She threw herself backwards. “Shoot me.”

“How do you know?” Severus drawled, too suspiciously. His eyes narrowed in distrust.

“Rachel is the nurse at my school.” Atheena declared proudly.

“Yeah, but I had to be a spy…and a professor. A double agent.” He whispered as if his statement was a secret and nodded his head. “I walked a dark and lonely path…and I still had to put up with students. It was worse than Voldemort, really.”

At this Harry burst into laughter. “You sound like Ron, ho hum the troubles I’ve seen.” He opened another bottle. “I’m the-boy-who-lived.” He grumbled taking a large swig.
“Who came up with that anyway? The boy who lived? Lame.” Harry was lost in nonsensical laughter.

“Give me that.” Snape grabbed the alcohol. “You’re cut off. I have to do everything.” He complained.

“Like hell.” Harry snatched the bottle back. “You know...you’re bossy. I can do what I want. You can’t stop me.” Snape snickered at the impression his bonded was doing of a bobble head. “You’re all grumble, grumble do this, don’t do that…ha.” He attempted to stand but instead, fell backward.

“You’re drunk.” Rachel laughed and lit a cigarette. “Oh, I’m drunk…haha…”

“Oh, me too.” Potter snatched the pack.

“Not in this house.” Atheena pointed outside. “You were supposed to quit.” She chastised her lover.

“And I did until now.” Rachel asserted. “My wife and her family can do magic which I knew so, whatever, but now they’re gonna fight in a mystical war…it’s like…whoa.” She struggled with her lighter.

“Incendio.” Harry pointed his wand. The tip of the cigarette remained unlit but the throw pillow burst into flame.

“Extinguish.” Atheena waved her hand dismissively.

“You started a fire.” Severus teased.

“It was an accident.” Harry defended.

“I’m not bossy…I’m prepared.”

“Whatever you want to call it…I’m sticking with bossy.”

“I am not.” The man argued.

“Are too,”

“Am not!”

“I’m going to bed.” Rachel stood and pecked Atheena on the cheek. “I’ll see you all in the morning.” She patted the head of Harry, who had passed out, then left for the bedroom.

It was several uneasy moments before someone spoke. “What are we going to do about dad?” Atheena put forth.

“Miserable bastard.” Severus growled.

“Sev, what are we going to do? You know that this is only the beginning.”

“I’ll take care of it.” He finalized.

“Oh, no. We’re not doing that. You don’t get to take this all on yourself. You have other things to worry about.” She patted the knee of the young man that was in deep slumber on the couch. “We need to figure out a way to fix this. Rachel and I will be fine, but they can find you. I don’t want you to go up against Voldemort until absolutely necessary. If they get their hands on you or Harry…”

“No!” Severus slammed his fist into the coffee table. “He may be destined to destroy the dark lord, but I’ll not allow him to fight our battles. The evil in this family will not touch him!” His body visibly shook.

Atheena smiled softly. “Whether you want to admit it or not Sev, your battles are his now.” She shook her head to try and rid herself of the spins. “And you’re marrying him, this family, evil or no, is also his. I know it’s hard. It took me years to let Rachel all the way in, you don’t have time as a luxury. This storm is just on the horizon. You have to be ready now.”

“I don’t want him to bear my load.” The man seemed utterly defeated. “He sacrificed his happiness to save me. I’m no fool. He never would have chosen this if he had options…” His eyes were full of sorrow as he glanced at his bonded. “…he never would have chosen me.” Snape seemed to be crying, yet no tears fell.

”You can’t possibly know that. Even if this wasn’t his first choice then, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t his first choice now.” She implored her brother to see what was right in front of him.

“Atheena, do not patronize me. I’m over twice his age, I’ve spent the better part of my life serving an evil he loathes, I aided in the death of his parents for Christ sakes. He’s already said I’m unpleasant. I’m snarky, bitter, distant, cruel and domineering. And let’s face it, I’m not much to look at. I mean he’s…and I…just look at me.” He massaged his eyes regretfully.

“Sev…” His sister tried.

“No.” He stood. “I’m just going to take him to bed.” He didn’t make eye contact with the woman as he easily lifted Harry into his arms. “Good night, Atheena.” He was gone before she could protest.
*** *** ***
Snape pulled the blankets up to his chest after tucking in his partner, shame and regret filling his thoughts.

“Wanker,” Harry’s voice echoed one of their early nights together.

“Pardon?” Snape asked with little emotion.

“You think I’m here because I’m stuck.” He twisted him self to face his lover.

“You are stuck.” Snape stared through a skylight at the stars.

“I could have said no. I could have let you rot.” His speech was still slightly slurred.

“You should have. At least then you would have had a choice. You could have found something better.” Severus breathed.

“This is fucking ridiculous and you’re a damn idiot.” Harry shouted.

“Excuse me?”

“Sev, I said yes because the thought of having you with me brought a smile to my face and I may not have known all that it entailed then, and I can’t promise I would have made the same choice if I had. But now that I know you, now that I’ve seen you…”
He cupped the older face in his hands. “…Now that I’ve felt you…I want to marry you. I love you, Severus. You are, by far, the sexiest, kindest, strongest man I’ve known. I want you to be my husband. There isn’t one person I’d want with me more to fight this war. I’m not missing out on anything. They’ve allowed me to find you and that’s all I want or need and if you can’t see that then…you’re a ponce.”

Snape remained silent longer than Harry was comfortable with. “If it hadn’t been for my idiocy you could have had a semi-normal life. You could have found a girl, had a family, you could have been safe.”

“Oh yeah, you know once I defeated the worst wizard of all time, safe as houses, of course that is, if he didn’t kill me first. And some girl? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever head you say. Do you think I could desire her half as much as I do you? Impossible.”

“You have no frame of reference.” Snape pointed out.

“Damn it, Sev! I don’t need one! You’re my soul mate!” Potter was agitated. “When we…I can feel you in my soul. Whenever you touch me it’s like fire. When you hold me it’s like all of Voldemort and the war fades away and I can just…be. No one else can give me that. Can you honestly tell me that I’m not the best you’ve ever…”

“That’s not even a question!” The professor finally turned on to his side. “Harry, I’ve never loved anyone…at all. Even when I was dead you made me feel alive.” He gently pulled the irritated man into his arms. “I just can’t comprehend how you would want me. I’m ugly and old. I…”

“Shut up or I’ll hit you, I swear it.” Harry allowed himself to be held. “We’re only having this conversation once. I love you, only you. I want to spend eternity with you. We’ve been given that gift. If you won’t believe that, if you’d rather live in doubt, thinking I want to be elsewhere…I can’t do anything about that except promise that I’m yours, mind, body, and soul. I don’t know how to make that enough.”

Severus squeezed his mate harder than ever before. “Gods, Harry, it is enough. I just want you to be happy. I never thought I was worthy of you. All I want is to give you the life you deserve.”

“That’s easy. Just give me you.” That simple answer was all Snape needed to wash away his uncertainty.

“You have me. I’ll always be yours.” Severus stroked the hair of his betrothed. “Go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Promise?” Harry questioned. He got his answer.

“Forever.”
*** *** *** ***

“Severus, wake up!” There was an urgency in Atheena’s voice.

“Do you think you could manage to lower your tone a couple of notches below that of a banshee?” He struggled to sit up and press his hands to his temples. “My head is splitting.”

“Well, get over it. We have a problem.” Atheena smacked his leg.

“What are you blabbering on about?”

“Well, for starters Sirius Black just stuck his head through my fireplace, which by the way, weird. Isn’t he supposed to be locked in Azkaban for mass murder?”

“He was framed. He’s Harry’s godfather and he teaches at Hogwarts.”

“You know, I could easily bring into question the company that you keep. Anyway, he said that Dad and Corvus and Marius are sitting in Dumbledore’s office and they refuse to leave until they’ve seen both of us.”

“Last night was a bad choice.” Harry complained as he joined the conversation. Snape was busy mumbling curses under his breath.

“Well we had to deal with this sooner or later. This looks a lot like sooner.” Rachel leaned against the doorframe. “How do we get there? I can’t…”

“We don’t.” Severus’s voice held a coldness to it. “None of you are coming.”
Harry cleared his throat. Visions of the previous night pushed themselves to the front of Snape’s mind.

“Harry…” He pleaded.

“Sev, this isn’t how this is going to work. I’m coming with you.”

“As am I.” Atheena spat irritably.

“And what of Rachel?” The man crossed his arms menacingly.

“She’s coming too. She knows the risks and it’s time. Remember Sevi, you have to let people in.”

“Fine, since everyone is going against me wishes, get ready. And might I recommend Dramamine for Rachel? Flooing can be quite unsettling for muggles.” He turned to his sister.

“When we get there, if things go wrong, I’ll help you the best I can, but my priority has to be…”

“Harry,” She finished with a grin. “As it should be. Everything is going to be fine. They are not going to try anything with Dumbledore and the Order there. At most it’ll be inconvenient.”

“You do remember how to use a floo?”

“Oh, please.” Snape was surprised to find that his sister was hugging him.

“Rach, you wouldn’t have a camera handy would you?” Harry teased.

“Fireplace!” Snape bellowed, pointing.

“Dumbledore’s office or our quarters?”

“Our quarters. I want to make an entrance on our own accord.” Sev answered

“Hey…” Harry caught his lover’s attention. “It’s going to be fine.”
Severus shot him a doubtful look then disappeared into a cloud of green smoke through the fireplace.

“Drama queen.” Atheena giggled. “Harry, would mind taking Rachel? It’s been awhile.” She explained.

“Of course.” When Atheena vanished Harry looked to Rachel. “Ready?”
She shook her head. “No wait. We just go in there and then poof? We’re in England?

“That’s about it.”

“What if you loose me somewhere along the way?” The woman was unsure.

‘Hardly ever happens.” Harry jested. “Just hang on to me.”

“Ok.” She said with a shaky voice.

“I’m just going to throw this powder down and then we’ll be done. You’ll just feel like you’re floating.”

“Ok…alright…go.” Rachel squeaked and closed her eyes. When she opened them she found herself in the Dungeon rooms of Harry and Severus.

“Bit of a ride isn’t it?” The young man smiled, releasing Rachel.

“Yes, it’s a joy. Can we just do this?” Snape ground out by the door. “I’d wish everyone luck, but since you’ll all do as you please anyway…” He threw open the large doors and billowed down the hall.

“I guess we might as well.” Harry took the first step after his bonded.
They remained silent the entire journey through the large corridors of the school. Rachel had to be pulled along, as she stopped every few feet to stare at the moving pictures or a ghost. Atheena picked nervously at her cuticles and Harry wondered what they would be having for dinner. He found he had woken with a huge appetite.
When they reached the door to the Headmaster’s office everyone stopped. Snape squeezed Harry’s hand without looking at him. Rachel stopped breathing. It was Atheena that pushed the doors open.