Smoke & Mirrors

Disclaimer The characters and sheer genius belong to J K Rowling. Any smut is mine, but I don't make a penny/eurocent/cent from my warped imagination.

Chapter 23 Light and Shade

It was the night before Christmas Eve and a thin sliver of moon had just risen over the distant hills. Harry sat up in his room, staring out at the patterns of light and shade on the frosty snow. Time had gone by in a succession of noisy days and lonely nights. The twins had decorated MacNair's old mansion with holly, ivy, mistletoe, and an enormous Christmas tree lit with real fairy lights. The house-elves from Vix's, helped by Dobby and hindered by Kreacher, produced a succession of delicious meals accompanied by elf-made wine and Butterbeer. Mulled mead and Ogden's Firewhisky warmed everyone up after a series of vicious snowball fights in the grounds.

Harry had thrown himself into the noisy drunken fun, trying not to think, trying not to remember Vix dying in Snape's arms, shutting his mind to what might happen next. But at night, alone in his room, the thoughts and fears came crowding in. He gave himself a mental shake, and concentrated on the view from his window.

He saw a couple of ugly little gnomes break cover and run across the snow-covered lawn, hotly pursued by Crookshanks. Their little kilts swung above their knobbly hairy little knees. Obviously Scottish gnomes were much hardier than the southern variety he'd seen in the garden at the Burrow. A couple of figures emerged from the trees and followed the cat slowly across the lawn. As they came into a rectangle of light spilling out from a downstairs windows Harry recognised Ron and Hermione. They were holding hands. Harry smiled. At least his friends were together.

As far as he knew, Snape was still helping Kingsley Shacklebolt with his enquiries. Tonks had arrived the previous night from an emergency meeting at the Ministry, to tell them that Rufus Scrimgeour was likely to resign ("to spend more time with his house-elves?" Fred had sniggered) and that Kingsley was the hot tip as the next Minister for Magic.

"Don't worry, Harry," she had said. "Kingsley knows that Snape had no choice."

But had he? That still preyed on Harry's mind as he stared out of his window. And what exactly had been their relationship, he wondered. Had Snape seen Vix since the brutal sexual encounter Harry had viewed in the Pensieve? He remembered Snape saying something about visiting a brothel in Knockturn Alley that night he had gone rampaging after Quercus. Presumably that had been Vix's Vices... what had happened between them that night?

With a sigh, Harry turned away from his window, to see a dark figure motionless in the doorway. It was Severus Snape.

"May I come in?" Snape said quietly.

Harry stared at him, his mind a confused jumble of thoughts and emotions.

"Why did you do it?" he burst out at last.

Snape didn't pretend to misunderstand him. "He threatened you," he said, his voice harsh and uncompromising.

"But to kill him?..."

"He would have killed you," Snape said simply.

Harry swallowed hard. "I recognised him as the rent-boy in that memory of yours."

Snape nodded, his face wary. "I hurt him so much in bed, I'm surprised he wanted anything more to do with me. But I seemed to have become an obsession with him."

"Was that why you ran away? Why we had to go abroad in such a hurry?"

"In a way. When I discovered that he was trying to hurt me through you. I realised then that he was obsessed, would go to any lengths. And you had only just recovered from that business with Fenrir Greyback. I wanted you safe, out of his way." His thin lips twisted in a wry smile. "As it turned out, his reach was further than I thought."

"I wish people would stop trying to protect me," Harry said, his temper starting to rise. Then it suddenly evaporated, to be replaced by the dull, cold ache he'd been feeling ever since watching Vix die in Snape's arms. He turned away and stared out of the window again, biting his lip.

Snape came to stand beside him, not too close. "What now for us, Harry?" he asked. There was a long silence. "Do you want me to go?"

"I don't know," Harry said, his voice bleak.

Snape nodded, and walked slowly towards the door. "You need time," he said. "I understand."

His hand was on the door-handle when Harry called out to him. "Don't go."

Snape looked at him in silence, then at the four-poster bed.

"I'd like you to stay," Harry said slowly. "But I don't feel like sex."

Snape smiled wryly. "Neither do I."

~*~
The next day was Christmas Eve. Harry woke beside Snape; they washed and dressed in silence, not looking at each other. But the icy feeling around Harry's heart had slowly started to melt.

Downstairs, surrounded by his noisy friends, a glass of Old Ogden's in his hand, he felt happier. He looked round at the others. The twins were busy bewitching a pile of crackers; every so often they glanced over their shoulders and sniggered.

"We got the idea from that Chinese fortune cookie," Fred told Harry confidentially. "We're making sure everyone gets a really appropriate motto in their cracker tomorrow."

Ron kept stealing uneasy glances at the corner where Hermione was talking earnestly to Jason.

"It's OK, bro, they're only discussing house-elf rights," George said, giving him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "He's not giving her the dirt on your hot boy sex."

Everyone was happily laughing and chattering away when Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived. "I can't stay long, but I thought you might like to know the latest news," he said. "For a start, your squirrel pal managed to get away."

Harry nodded, not sure whether to feel annoyed or relieved that Quercus had escaped justice. "One thing," he said, "if he shows his face in the Forbidden Forest again, he'll get short shrift from the centaurs."

"Corvid Simonides wasn't so lucky," Kingsley continued. "He was killed in a duel with one of my Aurors. And Vix... well, you know about him." He glanced from Harry to Snape, then quickly looked away. "We've discovered a stack of compromising photos hidden away in his private office, and we're going through them with a fine tooth comb. Several more members of the Ministry of Magic have been suspended, pending an inquiry. And Rufus Scrimgeour has resigned."

"So, it was Vix who was behind it all along? There wasn't really a mole at the Ministry?" Hermione asked.

"It seems not. Just a few pathetic individuals being blackmailed... oh, and apparently he was blackmailing a couple of reporters too, hence those stories in the Daily Prophet. But he managed to give the impression of a highly-placed mole: he was a master of misdirection."

When Kingsley had gone, the others looked at each other. "I wonder what happened to Draco Malfoy?" Remus said. "Has he been suspended from the Ministry, I wonder?"

"I can tell you that," Snape said. "He hasn't actually been suspended, but I think you'll find young Draco a lot more polite in future."

"How come?"

"While we were waiting for Shacklebolt to question us, I gave Draco a personal viewing of that, ah, improved memory... thank you for the potion ingredients, by the way," nodding towards the twins. "I pointed out a few possible... consequences... if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Narcissa, for example."

"You blackmailed him?" grinned George.

"I prefer to think of it as... Slytherin... incentive."

"But will she mind?" Ron asked. "I know MY mum would go spare... but, well, Malfoys..."

Snape gave a thin smile. "I did point out to him that the... other parties... involved were mainly half-blood. Even a couple of Muggle-borns, I believe."

Fred gave a crow of laughter. "Yeah, being gang-banged by Dark Wizards is OK, but a pure blood Malfoy being shagged by Mudbloods? – oops, sorry Hermione – he'd never live it down."

"So is Kingsley to be the next Minister for Magic?" asked Hermione. "He didn't say."

"Oh, it's pretty certain," Tonks said. "It'll mean a lot of changes – I think Dolores Umbrage will be looking for another job, for a start."

"Maybe her anti-werewolf legislation will be repealed at last," put in Remus. "And if you wanted to apply for Auror training Harry, I'm sure they'd take you, with Kingsley in charge."

Harry looked across the room to where Snape was eyeing him questioningly. It was a question he wasn't sure he could answer.

But later, in their room, Snape asked Harry if he did still want to become an Auror. "It was your most cherished ambition, once, I recall."

Harry looked doubtful. "Do you still want to teach Dark Arts at Durmstrang?” He realised that he couldn't bear it, after all, if he and Severus were to part.

Snape regarded him quizzically. "If I were to accept the post at Durmstrang – would you come with me?"

Harry stuck out his chin. "Yes. Someone's got to stop you getting too immersed in the Dark Arts." He hesitated, then said tentatively, "And if I really, really wanted to be an Auror – what would you do?"

Snape smiled thinly. "I dare say I would assist you. Someone will have to brew healing potions for your inevitable injuries."

Harry grinned, his heart miraculously lightning. "Come here."

~*~
Severus and Harry sat together, naked, on the end of Harry's large four-poster bed. They felt oddly shy with each other.

"It really turned me on, how you prepared me with your wand – in those dreams," Harry began, a bit shamefaced.

Severus shook his head. "I don't know how your dreams interpreted what I was doing to your photograph. I didn't actually have my wand with me at the time – Vix seemed to think I was... less threatening... without it."

"Oh," Harry said. "Er, well... in my dream, you stroked my cock with your wand, and then..."

Severus smiled at him and picked up his wand. "Like this?" he murmured.

"Oh... yes..." Harry groaned.

"And then?" prompted Severus.

"You touched my tip... "

"Like this?"

"Mmmm..."

Severus leaned in to brush his lips against Harry's, then groaned and returned for a deeper, but still gentle kiss, as he continued to stroke and probe with his wand until it was glistening with precum. Harry was amazed and deeply moved to feel the salty wetness of his lover's tears against his face. He brought his hands up and buried them in his Severus' hair.

"Is it as good as your dream?" murmured Severus, between long, slow, increasingly passionate kisses.

"Better..." whispered Harry. The sensations the wand was producing and the sense of Severus' presence were as in his dream, but enhanced tenfold by the actual feel and smell of his ardent lover.

Severus suddenly seized Harry's legs and crooked them over his shoulders so the youth's opening was exposed and vulnerable. Severus' wand stroked along Harry's shaft, circled his balls, then slid into his arse. Harry gasped and relaxed his arse muscles to allow the intrusion. Severus leaned forward and kissed him again, then leaned away, supporting himself on his hands, to give Harry a loving look. Harry lay back and smiled up at him.

A murmured spell and Harry's passage was moist and ready. Severus withdrew his wand and the far thicker head of his cock nudged into Harry's opening in its place. Harry lifted his legs up to give his lover full access, and clasped Severus' head between his feet. Severus stared down into Harry's eyes as he slid home. They held each other's gaze as they enjoyed a slow, satisfying and loving fuck. At the last moment Harry closed his eyes, his face twisting with almost unbearable ecstasy as he came, feeling Severus' spunk flooding him an instant later. Afterwards, spent, they lay together drifting into sleep.

The next morning Harry emerged from a long soak in a hot bath, feeling relaxed and at peace for the first time in months. He stood in the window alcove of their bedroom, a towel wrapped round his waist, staring out at the falling snow.

Severus came up behind him and put his arm around Harry's shoulders. "If there's one thing I've learned these past few months," he said hoarsely, "it's that I don't want to be without you again. Ever."

Harry's heart was too full to speak. He knew how difficult it was for Severus to admit to his deepest feelings. He felt, as never before, that their future together was secure, wherever it might be; at Hogwarts, in the Aurors' office, at Durmstrang, anywhere in the world. Silently, he put his arm round Severus' waist and the two of them stood side by side looking out at the snow, which was falling softly on the garden outside... on the distant hills... and all over Scotland.

THE END

A/N This story is now COMPLETE. Please let me know what you thought of it!