All That You Leave Behind

Dear all. Huge apologies for the delay. Both myself (Q) and A have been working on other material, and ATYLB kind of got forgotten for a bit. That and huge problems in managing to be on line together for longer than about ten minutes have meant that this story has been grounded for a bit.



Lilith aka Ducky - we need an email addy to add you to the update list.

Elna - Sorry you feel that way. Neither of us feels the story is "weak". We take great care to write fluently and descriptively. Just because it doesn\'t meet your own expectations of what a Snarry is does not make it weak. It might disappoint you, but it doesn\'t make it weak.



For SickPuppy - for letting us borrow and adapt the "Malfoy maxim" from \'Fall Out\'.



Chapter Twenty-Six



Later, Harry would wonder what his huge rush had been about. He\'d completed Auror Training, and Ginny had made a name for herself with the Harpies in seemingly no time at all. The three years of his training had passed incredibly fast, and soon enough he found himself waking up on his wedding day. As he got out of bed, he could hardly believe it. And even though the time had passed quickly, a lot had happened since he and Ginny had argued over his selfishness. He still went cold when he considered just how close he had been to throwing everything away with Ginny. God he had been an arrogant prick!



Harry couldn\'t even begin to catalogue all the ways that Severus had helped him as he had prepared for the wedding, for Ginny playing her first match, his Auror exams, and all the day to day stuff that went largely unnoticed but which made his life that much more enjoyable. Severus always had a witty or scathing (sometimes both!) comment when he returned from his work, and he marvelled at how his once hated Potions Master had now become such an integral and necessary part of his life.



Harry stepped into the shower pondering just how much Severus had come to mean to him. His heart lightened when he saw Severus, and he had caught himself smiling ridiculously sometimes when he thought of the older man. But Severus still had the ability to infuriate him, to challenge him, to push him to be the best that he could be. He wasn\'t always sure whether or not he wanted that push. He dreamed dreams sometimes where he finally managed to win a verbal argument with the man. The other dreams he couldn\'t remember about Snape made his stomach churn, made tension twist in his gut...



Tension twisted in Severus\' gut as he contemplated the wedding. He thought about what this day meant for Harry....and for himself. He was glad Harry had someone he trusted, someone he loved, but a little voice within him wouldn\'t be quieted. I could give him all that. Sometimes, Severus dreamed that Harry won an argument with him by the simple act of kissing Severus. Other dreams, dreams he tried not to think about during the day, made his body ache with longing, and his heart pound in his chest. He wasn\'t quite sure when his feelings for Harry had changed, but he knew they weren\'t just physical. He\'d, somewhere along the line, come to love the boy, not only as Lily\'s son, and certainly not as his own son. No matter how Harry looked upon him.

But, he wanted him to be happy; had encouraged it. And sadly, given Severus’ own feelings, it was Ginny, not Severus, who made Harry happy in the way he deserved.



I hope I can make Harry as happy as he deserves.



Ginny stared at herself in the mirror. Her long red hair flowed silkily down her back. She shivered a little, not sure why. Sometimes she could almost swear that Severus looked oddly at her, not like the benign father-figure he had become, but something more intense. Yet, whenever she thought she had seen that look, it was gone before she could be sure. Perhaps she was just seeing Severus looking intense over another issue.



*****************************



Harry stood beside Ginny, so pleased and proud she was to be his wife. He looked at Ron standing on the other side of him, and smiled. He was happy to have Ron there, his best friend, and even happier at Ron\'s delight that he was marrying his baby sister, but he couldn\'t help but feel a small sense of disappointment that it was Ron instead of Severus standing beside him as he took this huge step. He understood Severus\' reasons -- he couldn\'t be there as himself for safety\'s sake - -but still Harry had wanted him there. Severus who had always been there for him, even when Harry hadn\'t realised he was. Severus who had always looked after him. Harry needed to know the older man was there. Would always be there.



The ceremony had been beautiful. Simple. Elegant. Everything it should have been. Severus was happy to be standing on the sidelines, not anyone\'s focus of attention. Even polyjuiced he felt exposed. He could only guess what he would have felt like had he accepted Harry\'s request to be best man. He had wanted it. Had wanted to stand at Harry’s side, but he had known it would be too difficult, too exposed. More than he could take.



As classical music played, the new Mr and Mrs Potter mingled with their guests, smiling and accepting congratulations. Severus avoided the general crush, he merely nodded to Harry, one eyebrow raised, a smile on his lips. Harry beamed before turning his attention back to the group about him.



Skirting around the outer edges of the crowds, Severus was able to watch the couple without being watched in return, just as he liked it to be. The band began playing a formal dance tune and the groups of chattering people dispersed into the traditional formation. He smiled indulgently as he watched Harry stumble on Ginny’s dress.



His smile faded when he realised who he was suddenly standing beside: Lucius Malfoy. Quite how the blond had managed to wangle an invitation he didn\'t know, nor did he care, so long as the other man didn\'t ruin Harry\'s day. Severus nodded coldly to the man.



“And how do you know the couple?” Seemingly unaware of the other man’s hostility, Malfoy asked the conventional question.



Severus bit back the expletive he was thinking. “I work with Harry,” he said, the lie tripping easily off his tongue.



“Oh?” the sound held a nuance of disbelief in it.



“And you?” Severus asked, wondering just how Malfoy had managed to get to an invite-only wedding.



“I scarcely know them,” Lucius admitted, “but the invite for Deanna Trey had “plus one”. She graciously requested that I escort her.”



Knowing Deanna, and knowing Malfoy, the poor woman had probably had no choice. Severus sneered slightly, angry that the blond was here.



“You do remind me of someone.” He tapped his bottom lip with one finger, as though struggling to remember who.



“Oh yes, I know who you make me think of: Severus Snape.”



Severus felt his breath leave his body in a rush.



Lucius\' tone was casual, almost friendly, but his next words were not. "I have spent numerous years watching that man sneer at me. Perhaps he thought that his actions had been unnoticed, or forgotten. Malfoy\'s never forget. We retain all things, explore their intricacies and then … we exploit.” He dropped all pretence and directly addressed the younger man. “And now I know I can recognise you, Severus, whatever skin you may have on. Never forget that."