Harry Potter and the Man Who Lived

As light from the early morning rays started to shine through the windows of Mafloy Manor, a body stirred in its bed and dark eyes blinked open slowly. He groaned, pressing his face into the soft pillow beneath his head, unwilling to face the day just yet.



"Severus...?"



Opening his eyes again and lifting his head just enough to see the owner of the voice, he saw a woman standing in the doorway, long blonde hair loosely braided and hanging over the front of one shoulder. Obviously she hadn\'t been awake much longer than he had. She was still wearing her silk night-gown underneath a long robe. But, in her hands, was a tray holding a tea pot and two cups made of the finest china. No less for Narcissa Malfoy.



As she closed the space between the door and the bed, Severus turned his face away, choosing to, instead, gaze at the window. The curtains were open just enough that he could see the patch of woods just behind the mansion. Just before that, though, was the garden. This time of year the flowers were in full bloom, and bees zipped in between each flower while birds flitted down to drink and bathe at the several bird baths positioned around the garden.



Setting down the tray and then seating herself on the edge of the bed, Narcissa reached out one slender hand as if to touch Severus\' shoulder, but hesitated before bringing the hand back and placing both in her lap instead.



"How are you feeling?" She asked, twirling the end of her braid absently as she stared at his profile.



"The same as I felt the last time you asked..." He answered, closing his eyes for a moment before forcing himself into a sitting position. As he did so, his body ached, causing him to groan softly. He then placed a hand gently against the side of his neck where there was a layer of thick bandages wrapped securely around it. It was healing...but slowly. The bite from a snake like Nagini wasn\'t something to be taken lightly. He was alive, but it had taken almost three months to even get this far. Thank Merlin he had had the sense to drink that precautionary potion before meeting with the Dark Lord. If he hadn\'t, he most certainly would have died. In giving himself the draught, he stopped the effects of Nagini\'s venom, but, unfortunately, it did nothing for the actual wound that resulted from the bite. That was going to take good-old-fashioned time and healing.



"You look better..." She said, probably hoping to see some sort of positive reaction from him. He simply sighed, but looked at her and offered a small, but somewhat fake smile. Smiling wasn\'t exactly something he did regularly. Surprisingly though she smiled back and seemed content with his response.



"Is that coffee in there, by any chance?" He asked, glancing toward the pot and cups still sitting immaculately upon the tray. Narcissa followed his gaze.



"Oh! Yes, of course!" She immediately picked up one of the cups and poured some freshly brewed, steaming coffee into it, "I remembered you don\'t take sugar or cream...I hope that\'s still true..."



He nodded and took the cup from her, "Yes, it is..." He then blew lightly across the top of the dark brown liquid before raising it to his lips and drinking from it slowly. He felt reinvigorated almost immediately. He then glanced up and blinked when he was met with Narcissa\'s gaze. Despite appearing to be concerned as she stared at him, she also looked at him with affection and admiration.



"I meant what I said before, you know..." She said, lips curving into a more genuine smile.



"And what was that?"



"You look better."



He gave a small, slow shake of his head and continued to sip from his cup.



"Why don\'t you..." She trailed off and brought her fingers to her lips as she contemplated how to continue. When she didn\'t say anything else, Severus put his eyes back on her, raising his eyebrows slightly.



"Why don\'t I what?"



"Well...I mean...Lucius and I have been talking a bit and we...well, we...we think it might do you good if you...if you..."



"Get on with it, Narcissa." She said firmly.



She sighed and looked at him imploringly, "Just let him know that you\'re alive..." She spoke with a subtle urgency that made the man\'s stomach squirm the slightest bit. However, he pretended as though he was unaffected.



"I know..." He said quietly, looking away once again and lowering his cup, hands resting in his lap.



He could tell that hadn\'t exactly been the response she was hoping for. However, at that moment, someone else appeared in the doorway of the room. Unlike Narcissa, her husband was fully dressed.



"How\'s the healing coming along?" He asked, joining the two to stand beside Narcissa. Lucius Malfoy looked as pristine as ever. His long, blonde hair - slightly paler than Narcissa\'s - hung elegantly down his back while his expensive looking black suit hugged his body in all the right places. If there was such a thing as a metrosexual wizard, then Lucius Malfoy was definitely it.



"As I told your wife mere moments ago...I am doing just fine..." He answered, ignoring the way Narcissa\'s eyes widened slightly at his little lie. Only, it wasn\'t really a lie at all. Physically he was almost back to normal. It would only be a few more days before he was completely healed. It was emotionally that he was still injured. And not just from the attack of Voldemort\'s serpant. That he could get over. It was the fact that he had caused so much of the pain that occured that night, and he was responsible for the death of Dumbledore the year before. Yes, it had been under Albus\' own orders, but every day it haunted him. He took the life of one of the most beloved figures in the magical community. He didn\'t think any amount of penance would make up for what he did...



"Well, I think you\'re looking a hell of a lot better." Lucius said, looking at his wife who turned her eyes up to him, smiling and nodding.



"That\'s exactly what I told him."



It was then that Lucius\' eyes softened and he stepped around Narcissa to place his hand on Severus\' shoulder.



"Its not your fault, you know." He said, his voice somehow coming out sounding rather warm and comforting. Despite himself, Severus shifted his gaze to look up into Lucius\' pale eyes, which brought a hitch to his chest. He had never seen the other man this concerned about him before, "You need to let go of that guilt and get back to your old self." His thin lips curved smoothly and Severus found his own expression softening.



"You mean a snarky bastard who all the children at Hogwarts despise?"



Smiling wider, Lucius nodded and gave his friend\'s shoulder an affectionate squeeze, "Exactly."



Severus smirked and allowed himself a short chuckle, before placing his own hand over Lucius\'.



"Thank you..." He whispered and Lucius smiled, "But, not just for that...you\'ve been more than generous, allowing me to rest here while I recover..." Lucius simply shook his head then leaned forward to press a brief kiss against the other man\'s forehead.



"No need to thank us. It was the least we could do for an old friend." He pulled back and Severus looked at them, both faces smiling warmly back. He felt a slight clench in his chest and had to look away, using one thumb to quickly rub at each eye.



"Father? Are you here?"



The three looked up as the Malfoy\'s only child appeared in the doorframe.



"Oh, Professor Snape..." He stopped and smiled a bit sheepishly at his parents and the man in bed, "Sorry if I\'m interupting..."



"No need, Draco...you weren\'t interupting anything." His father said, stepping back from the bed, "Was there something you wanted?"



Draco stepped into the room and reached the foot of the bed where he stopped, thin fingers running over the ornate wooden frame.



"Well...I just thought you ought to know that I ran into Harry Potter yesterday in Knockturn Alley..."



Severus\' eyes widened a fraction, and apparently Draco noticed because he looked away quickly.



"And what happened?" Lucius asked.



"Basically I just apologized for the way I had treated him at Hogwarts all those years..." He paused for a moment, glancing up to meet his father\'s gaze. Lucius raised his eyebrows at Draco, waiting for him to continue.



"He accepted the apology quite easily." He continued, but left out the part about them hugging, "However...I may have accidentally let something slip about you, Professor..." After that he kept his eyes down, but the eyes of the other three adults widened before the two Malfoys looked at Severus.



The dark-haired man lowered his eyes and sighed deeply, drumming his fingers lightly against the cup in his hands.



"Its alright, Draco. You shouldn\'t worry about it, nor should you have to worry about keeping my secrets..."



Everyone remained silent for a moment, but Draco lifted his eyes, slightly surprized by his former professor\'s words.



"I went to see him...I went to the Burrow, in the middle of the night...to see him..."



"You what?" Lucius demanded, staring at him in disbelief.



"It was the night before last...I saw him, but I\'m not sure if he saw me...odds are he did though..." The Malfoy\'s exchanged worried glances, "I Disapparated before he could get outside...he probably thought I was nothing but a ghost or hallucination..."



"Well, no wonder you\'re not healing properly!" Lucius said, shaking his head as he stepped away from the bed, hands going to his hips, "Getting out of bed in the middle of the night to Apparate halfway across the country just to risk being seen!"



Narcissa stood and went to her husband, placing one hand on his shoulder.



"Darling, I\'m sure Severus was just worried about Harry...isn\'t that right, Severus?"



Severus didn\'t look at her, but nodded weakly.



"Professor?" Draco suddenly spoke up, stepping around the corner of the bed to come closer, "When are you going to let Harry know you\'re alive?" He seemed genuinly concerned, "Yesterday he seemed really depressed when I saw him...and after I accidentally said what I did, I saw something in his eyes that hadn\'t been there before...I think...I think he misses you..."



Severus\' eyes immediately shot up to Draco\'s, an expression between disbelief and indignance burning deep within the inky depths.



"Harry Potter does not miss me." He said slowly, reaching over to set his cup back upon the tray, "I\'m sure he\'s quite happy to have me out of his life. You remember, Draco, the hell I put him through during his school days...why on Merlin\'s green earth would he want me back?"



Draco looked at him then sighed and lowered his eyes in defeat.



Severus was lying to himself. Simple as that. He knew what the situation was. He knew the feelings and desires burning within his own heart. He knew of the deep magic that was soon to reveal itself - a powerful, ancient magic that no human on his planet could hope to escape from. Not many people knew of it. These days it wasn\'t as strong as it had been hundreds of years ago. Every spell wears off eventually, some just take longer than others. It was still there though. Pulsing deep within his soul and calling out to him. Even in his dreams he could hear his voice and see his face. During his waking hours, it was the same. There was a constant pull on his heart, as if an invisible string was tied tightly around it, connected with the one person he longed to be with more than any other.



"You\'re lying..." Lucius suddenly said, returning to stand next to the bed. Severus looked up at him in surprise.



"You accuse me of lying, Lucius?"



"Absolutely, Severus."



They stared at eachother, eyes narrowed in determined glares. Narcissa and Draco looked on with worried eyes. Then, without any warning, Severus smirked and shook his head.



"You know me too well..."



Lucius didn\'t smile, but relaxed his stance and lowered himself onto a chair that sat near the bed.



"Its the Bond, isn\'t it?" He asked after a moment, staring intently at Severus\' face. He had asked the question so calmly and bluntly that it took the other man a second or two to respond. Narcissa and Draco simply watched, both somewhat confused.



"Yes..." Severus finally answered, not meeting Lucius\' eyes. The other man gave a nod and crossed his arms.



"Yes, I thought it must be something like that..." He then began stroking his chin with one hand, "I\'ve heard you calling his name in your sleep. It was only too easy to put two and two together...and then after you confessed to leaving your bed in the middle of the night just to see him...well, there was no question."



Severus looked up to glare at his friend, annoyed that he\'d been able to figure it out so quickly.



"Sorry, but...what is this...Bond?" Draco asked.



Severus and Lucius looked at eachother before Lucius held out his hand, motioning for Severus to explain.



He nodded and took a calming breath.



"It is a magical connection that occures between two people with magical abilities...usually it only happens between a man and a woman, but sometimes, though rare it may be, it will choose two men or two women to bond together. The spell was originally cast thousands of years ago by a group of fanatical wizards who believed it would keep the magical bloodline pure. In other words, they didn\'t want wizards and witches interbreeding with Muggles. Eventhough the Bond doesn\'t affect every witch or wizard, it does touch enough that we are able to maintain the bloodline." He paused, lifting a hand to touch his neck softly.



"Eventhough it probably would have done the world a great good if I had been eliminated from existance, in reality, its a very good thing that I wasn\'t killed that night..." Draco tilted his head slightly in confusion.



"If I had died...Harry would have died too..." His voice had gotten lower and he spoke as though he was afraid someone might overhear him.



"Then...you mean...you and...Harry...?" Draco seemed surprised by this news, bringing a slight smirk to Severus\' lips.



"That\'s right...me and Harry Potter...how ironic this world can be."



Lucius and Narcissa had been listening silently, but Narcissa chose to speak up.



"Then...Severus...explain to me why you don\'t want Harry to know you\'re alive..."



He looked at her and sighed softly, "I am not even fully healed yet, Narcissa...I very much doubt if he would be pleased to see me in this state..." She bit her lip as she stared at him.



"I just mean...well, it might make you feel better if you could talk to him...it might even speed up your healing..."



He just shook his head, "No. When I do see him...if I see him...it will be after I am back to normal."



"But, you have to see him!"



Everyone looked over at Draco, who had just cried out, determination etched deeply into his face.



"You have to see Harry, Professor...when I saw him in Knockturn Alley...he looked...like he had lost something and he was trying to find it. I know he was there with Weasley and Granger...yet, he had gone off on his own and ended up there when I found him..." Draco\'s voice was bordering on frantic, "He needs you! And you need him! If this bond thing really exists between you two, then you have to be with him! Or else...I\'m afraid that...that he might do something stupid..."



Severus raised one eyebrow and looked at Draco a bit more seriously.



"What do you mean, Draco?"



The youngest Malfoy\'s hands closed into fists at his sides.



"I\'ve been hearing things...I\'m not even sure if they\'re true or not, but...apparently Harry has become suicidal..."



Narcissa\'s hands flew to her mouth and Lucius stared at his son with wide, horrifed eyes. Severus felt as though someone had just pressed a knife against his back.



That explained the strange sensations he had been having the past month. At unexpected moments, usually late at night, he would feel as though he couldn\'t breathe and like he was close to death, but not actually dying. Those must have been moments when Harry had been about to...



"Severus, you must let him know that you\'re alive!" Lucius demanded, standing quickly and putting his hands on the bed next to the other man, "You must!"



Biting his lip and putting one hand over his eyes, Severus tried to calm his breathing and slow the rapid beating of his heart. How could he have been so foolish? He thought that by keeping himself away from Harry he was protecting him. Infact, it was the exact opposite...



A moment or two of tense silence passed before he finally lowered his hand, letting it slide down his face and across his mouth before stopping at his neck.



"One more week..." He said softly, keeping his eyes straight ahead and not meeting any of the Malfoy\'s, "One more week...then I shall reveal myself..."



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there may be some slight smut in the next chapter. so look forward to that. >3

thanks to everyone who\'s taken the time to read my drabble!