Between Dusk and Dawn

Disclaimer: Same as before.


This was not the same unsure young man who finally destroyed the Dark Lord, Severus was sure of it. There was a feral look in his eyes and a steely tone to his voice. Harry Potter was definitely a man, and it appeared he was a man with demons. Nodding his acquiescence, the former Death Eater set his saucer on the table and resolved to find out what exactly was going on with the man across from him...eventually.

With his stomach now full to bursting, Severus found his eyes drooping and his mind drifting off toward sleep. Harry was talking about something else, but the words really didn’t register, except for ‘potions lab’ and something about ‘ingredients’. The words stopped and he felt kind hands gently tilt him over onto the black pillow and stretch his body out on the couch. He sighed when the fleece blanket slid across his battered form. Oh how he hated himself for allowing this, and how he hated himself more for knowing it was Harry Potter making him feel cared for and content after almost a year of torture at the hands of the dementors.

Did Snape just snuggle into the blanket? Harry though idly as he watched the prone form with a look of contentment across his harsh features. He studied the man for a moment. His usually sallow skin looked almost jaundiced from his time in prison. His once long, greasy hair had been shaved down to mere stubble; Harry presumed it was because the Ministry did not want a breakout of lice in the prison. His overly large nose looked even more pronounced against his sunken cheeks and prominent cheekbones. Yes, Harry would definitely have to get the man to gain at least three stone, if not more.

Harry once again cast a monitoring charm on Severus, and walked through another sitting room, this one more formal and decorated in shades of blue with a matching leather couch and chair and throw rugs strewn across the wooden floor. He walked into the set of rooms that were now Severus’. These had always been Harry’s favorite rooms when he was down. There was black carpet wall to wall in both the bedroom and small sitting room. The settee was in actuality a pale gray, but it looked white against the dark rug. The walls were lined with shelves, which were stacked with books. Since the war, he’d taken up reading basically anything he could get his hands on, and ordered books from Diagon Alley almost weekly. He perused the spines and chuckled when he found his old advanced potions text. It looked new on the outside, but it still held the secrets of the half-blood prince.

Next he wandered into the small kitchenette. There was nothing special about it, really. It held a small ice box, a small sink and stove, and a few cabinets to store food in. He would make sure that Severus had anything he could want in there, so that he would have no reason to leave his room at night. The bedroom and bathroom were much the same as the sitting room, decorated in black and lush, with all of the amenities one could ever hope for. Harry sighed. There would be no hiding away in his dark sanctuary for some time with Severus here. He would have to be content to spend his time in the red room. That was not a happy thought.

The monitoring charm alerted Harry to Severus’ waking up and he stepped back through the blue room into the green room. “Feeling better?”

Snape scratched his almost bald head and grimaced. “Marginally,” he replied his voice still raspy and devoid of the silken sound it used to carry.

“Would you like to see your rooms?”

“I’d like a lavatory,” Severus replied.

Harry chuckled and helped ease his former professor up from the couch. When Severus steadied, he walked slowly beside Harry through a blue furnished room and into a black room. He smirked. These were his kind of accommodations. Harry pointed to a dark door and said, “It’s through there.”

Severus stepped through the door and into a large bedroom, furnished with a king sized bed and what appeared to be silk sheets. The door to the bathroom was open and he stepped into an equally opulent bathroom. There was a large claw foot bathtub and a shower stall with a floor length mirror standing beside the large basin. He stepped over to the toilet, lifted the lid, and did his business before letting his eyes wander around the room once again to find a set of fluffy black towels hanging on the towel rack and a deep green dressing robe of the finest silk hanging on the back of the door.

Walking out of the bathroom, Harry was nowhere in sight, so Severus took in the bedroom. He supposed that he would be sleeping there, and walked over to the bed. He ran his hands over the duvet and fingered the edge of the pillowcase. It was definitely the finest silk on the market. This was the only room where the furniture did not match the wood grained paneling, trim, or flooring. The walls were as black as the carpet yet it was trimmed in what appeared to be Ash. The bed, chest of drawers, and sturdy nightstand were mahogany, Severus was almost sure of it. “Is this to your liking?” Harry’s voice drifted into the room.

Severus looked up to find him standing in the doorway with an expectant look on his face. “This will suffice,” he replied.

Harry raised his eyebrows. “If it’s not to your liking, I can put you somewhere else. Would you prefer more neutral colors like tan or cream?”

“I prefer the darkness,” Severus whispered, almost to himself.

A smile lit up Harry’s face. “I thought you might, Sir. These rooms also have their own kitchenette for you if you get hungry at night. I’ll be sure to keep it stocked with whatever you might want.”

“Are you trying to kill me with food, Potter?”

Harry chuckled at the question and then looked almost sad. “No, Sir, I am not trying to kill you, but you need to gain at least two stone, maybe three and I remember what Sirius said about the food in Azkaban. And,” he hesitated, “I know what it is like to go without food for days on end. No one should have to do that.”

Severus raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t imagine that the perfect spoiled little savior had ever been made to go without anything, much less food. Harry’s sigh pulled him from his thoughts, and then the young man smiled. “Come, I want to at least show the rest of the first floor and some of the grounds. We still have much to do before dark.”

Harry took him on a tour of the bottom floor of the manor. The green and blue rooms were not the only sitting rooms. There was another done in deep browns that had a charmed piano in one corner. There was a large library with two desks, several chairs, and several small tables. There were also two more bedrooms, one done in pale purple, and the other done in cream. The bedrooms all held the opulence befitting a manor such as this, yet the other rooms were very much understated in their elegance. There were tapestries hanging on some of the walls in the sitting rooms, others had beautiful paintings and replicas of famous art. Severus was deeply impressed with his surroundings. The manor was beautifully furnished yet did not have the cold feel of the manors of most pure-blood families.

It was obvious that as the men walked through the kitchen and onto the wrap around porch, Severus was becoming exhausted. Harry led him to one of the wicker chairs looking out across the yard and walked back in. He emerged within a few minutes carrying two steaming cups of tea. “Here,” he said, “this will keep most of the chill at bay while we are out here. I added a bit of invigoration draught to yours so you will not be quite so tired when we decide to go in.”

The back yard was a Potions Master’s dream. Harry had planted many common herbs and flowers with a small path weaving through it. Asphodel plants stood proudly among each of the arrangements, though it was obvious that almost everything had already been harvested. “Why Asphodel?” Severus asked after several moments of silence.

“There’s one for each person I lost during the war. The ancients consider it the preferred food of the dead. I suppose, though, I planted them as a way to help me grieve. See the two side by side near the front?”

Severus nodded. “Those are for the Weasley twins, are they not?”

Harry smiled sadly. “They are. I planted miniature marigolds around them because no matter where Fred and George went, they were always larger than life and the center of attention.”

“And the two under the arch of roses, those represent Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger?” Severus asked as he gazed upon what, in the spring, would be beautiful arrangement of Lavender, Rosemary, and Roman Chamomile planted around two Asphodel plants, all of which were under an arch, claimed by a deep red climbing rose. He could imagine what the plants would look like in the summer in full bloom.

“They do,” Harry replied solemnly. Of everyone he lost in the war, he missed his best friends the most. They kept him sane when times got tough, and now, well…

The sun began to sink low in the sky. “Sir, I believe that it is time that we retreat into the manor. I still have to cook us something before the sun sets.”

Severus sat at the table watching Harry chop and throw ingredients into a large pan. They were having soup, apparently. Both men were silent until Harry sat down their bowls and a loaf of French bread between them. “Is that enough?” he asked pointing to the large bowl he sat in front of Snape.

“It should suffice,” Severus replied. He really was still tired from their walk around the manor, but he was hungry, too, and his stomach won out. He had been hungry all day, but refused to say anything to Harry. After months of little to no food, Severus still wasn’t sure how he was keeping anything down, but he was grateful that he was. The green eyed man spoke of inconsequential things such as the small potions lab he had down in the basement of the manor and all of the books that could be found in the library. If Severus hadn’t known better, he would have almost sworn by the way Harry talked to him that the young man was lonely.

After two more bowls of the hearty soup for Snape, Harry cleared away the table and looked out of the window. The sun was almost halfway down the horizon. Turning around with a panicked look in his already haunted green eyes, Harry said, “Sir, I’m sorry, but you need to get to your rooms right now. Please don’t argue, just go.”

Severus scowled. He did not like being told what to do. Harry turned away again and put his hands on the sink. His voice cracked as he spoke again, “Go. Now!”

TBC

A/N: Oh! There's a cliff hanger for you! Let me know what you think is going on in a review!! *hint, hint*