How Severus Spends His Summer Hols

DISCLAIMER: JKR owns everything that is in reference to the Harry Potter world if it is in one of my works of fiction. If it is not found in one of her creations, then it is mine unless otherwise stated. I am not making any profit from the writing of this story.

Damon woke a couple of hours later and found Severus still tucked in between him and Grant, the younger man looked innocent and at peace in his slumber. A nagging pressure on his bladder propelled the older man to leave the comfort of the communal bed; he sat up and stuffed his feet into his shoes before leaving the tent to take care of nature.


Back in the Snape tent Harry slept on, content and sated from the explorations the night before, still unaware of the trials and tribulations that his beloved had endured before dawn. He stretched cat like and rolled up tighter in his blanket. Morning would not come for awhile yet for the young man.


In the tent in which the Weasleys were billeted, Hermione moved around quietly, not wanting to wake Ron. She’d been awake last night when Ron had spoken with the old couple, but she hadn’t seen the Potions Master fall. All she knew was that her husband had finally pulled his head out of his arse and was going to stop being an awful git.


Personally she couldn’t wait until Harry’s baby was born; maybe it would convince Ron that they were ready to start their own family. It would definitely bring some life back to the Burrow and to Molly Weasley after losing Arthur a year earlier to health problems.


She heard someone moving around outside and thought she might go join them after she dressed. Right now she still had to think of what she was going to say to Dumbledore when they returned. She knew the old wizard had told them to make sure Harry was safe, and to bring him home if they felt they needed to, but she had the odd feeling that the man had already resigned himself to the fact that neither Severus or Harry were ever coming back to teach. Actually, come to think about it, he seemed pleased by the fact.


In the Sorens tent, Max lay on his right side as he gently rubbed his wife’s back, she was miserable this morning. They had slept well due to the fact Max had charmed their tent to keep out noises after seeing Severus drop the Silencing Charms on his own tent. Allie sipped at her bottle of water and nibbled her cracker before lying back down and pulling the blanket back up over them. Sleep was not long in returning for the couple.


Grant opened his eyes almost a half an hour after Damon had left, stretching slightly; he draped one arm over Severus and gave him a hug. Severus sighed in his sleep as he woke reluctantly, opening his beetle black eyes and raising them to meet Grant’s steady gaze. Biting his thin lower lip, he started to move away, not wanting to overstay his welcome.


“Settle down little one, just be still, it’s too early to be that active,” Grant yawned as he caught the younger man’s arm and held him close. Severus rolled over so that his back was against Grant’s chest and then picked up Grant’s gnarled hand in his and traced his fingers over the skin and knuckles. Grant let Severus gather his thoughts together before he spoke.


“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked softly, feeling Severus twine his fingers with his own. The younger man wiggled around a little more, reminding Grant of Evan and Jamie’s six year old daughter, just couldn’t stay still.


“I’m okay” Severus replied as he rolled to his back to stare at the ceiling of the tent, the dream catcher over the bed catching his attention. Reaching up with one hand, he gently brushed a finger against one of the hanging feathers, setting it to swing gently.


“It really works.” He said wondrously to himself as he watched the feather sway.


Grant followed his gaze and smiled.


“Does it now?” he asked as he watched the younger man.


With a solemn nod Severus answered.


“Oh yes,” he breathed, “I didn’t have any bad dreams after I laid down here. They are all up there in the web.”


“We need to talk Sevvie.” Grant said as he sat up and pushed the quilt to one side. Severus sighed to himself, he wasn’t looking forward to talking, but he knew he had to.


“I know,” he said softly and sat up as well, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.


“Stand up a minute.” Grant said as he moved to the edge of the bed after Severus stood, he leaned over and plucked up his hairbrush and a bag of elastics from the small table next to the bed. He motioned for the other man to sit on the ground between his legs. As Severus settled with his shoulders between the other man’s thighs he closed his eyes a moment and just enjoyed the feeling of being taken care of. A feeling that was sorely absent from his childhood from either parent, one beat him savagely and the other used him as a shield to protect herself from the other.


Grant began to run his fingers through the raven black hair, gently tugging at knots he found, concentrating on not causing pain before he started to speak.


“When were you with Orion last, Sev?”


The younger man flinched at the mention of his father’s name and didn’t speak for a long moment. Grant picked up the hairbrush and began to gently brush the strands of his black hair, taking his time and running his hand repeatedly over each tendril he brushed. He wanted to soothe the younger man while they spoke.


“At Easter time, I had to attend a dinner in my father’s home.”


Grant closed his eyes and silently cursed whatever deities that kept the old bastard alive. His hands not stopping, he continued to play in Severus’ hair, letting the tendrils fall like black silk through his fingers.


“It didn’t go well, did it baby?” he asked.


Severus only shook his head in answer, he didn’t want Grant to know what his father had done to him in the evening after the family had departed, leaving the house virtually empty of witnesses.


“There is something I want you to do for me, Sev,” Grant asked as the brush slid unheeded through his hair now, all tangles banished.


“What’s that?” he asked, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the simple pleasure of having someone brush his hair.


“I want you to start coming to my office once a week when we get back home. You need to work through a lot of issues Severus and hurting yourself in order to deal with the problem is not an answer.” Grant answered as he pulled the hair back to the nape of Severus’ neck and secured it with an elastic. Letting his fingers linger for a moment, he traced a newer looking scar that ran along the younger man’s hairline.


“What happened here?” he asked as he ran his fingers over it and felt Severus flinch under the touch. Sighing to himself he picked up the hairbrush again and began to brush the ponytail.


“Can we meet at your house instead of your office?” Severus asked as he dropped his head forward to rest his forehead on his upraised knees. He was trying to avoid the last question.


“That will be fine, now what did you do?” Grant was persistent if nothing else when it came to the younger man.


“It happened at my father’s.” came the quiet reply as he felt Grant start to tug at his hair.


“I see.” Grant acknowledged as he worked the thick black hair into a braid. “I want you to tell Harry about what your father has done to you.”


Severus shook his head adamantly, he just couldn’t. He didn’t want Harry to feel like he had had the mantle of protector thrust back upon him, not now that he was with child and more vulnerable.


“I’ll tell him with you, Sev, he has to know. We’ll wait until we are home and you’ve had a few sessions to deal with how you feel first.”


Severus sat quietly, digesting the information of what was going to happen in the future when he felt something cold and wet drip down onto the part in his head. He jerked his head up with a start.


“What’s that?”


“Sit still, it’s an astringent for the grease in your hair.” Grant said as he rubbed it in gently and then patted the other man’s shoulder.


“There you go, baby, now go back to Harry so an old, wrinkled man can get dressed and get your breakfast together.” He growled gruffly and helped Severus to his feet.


Severus turned and bent down at the waist to wrap his arms around the older wizard, he didn’t care a thing about genetics, or surnames, this was his mum.


“Thank you for everything Grant….I don’t know where I’d be without you and Damon.” He murmured as he hugged him tight and kissed his cheek before he left the tent to get Harry.


Grant looked after him for a moment and sadly whispered, “I’m glad we’re here baby, I know where you’d be without us and it scares me to death.”


Ten minutes later Grant was outside putting coffee on with his husband attempting to give him directions and Hermione asking questions about Sturgis and the motorcycles.

A/N~ felkoi…please be my guest and archive, just let me know where
Ashira….let me know if you move and can’t keep up with updates, I’ll send you hardcopy…and Orion is in for it
Everyone else…..huge hugs and I swear I’ll have a big assed bbq at my house and y’all are invited.