Proof of Life

The Bids Not High Enough



The rest of the summer, what was left of it, was spent in a haze of nightmares and halfhearted arguments with Harry, which eventually waned, as Severus\' rage and irritation gave way to dreary numbness.



At the end of the summer, Severus was simply tired. He was worn out by the lack of sleep, by his own weakness, and by the fact that his life appeared to be at a standstill. Was it due to his own frailty, or due to the restrictions on his freedom, or both? He didn\'t know, and eventually, he stopped caring. Severus would have lost track of the days altogether, if not for the work he did for Hannah in her rooftop garden.



The first day of September greeted him with the faint rattling of the autumn rain against the windows. He got up, shaking his head to cast off the remnants of the nightmares, and headed to the shower. He leaned against the shower wall, and sighed tiredly, as the sound of the rain and the sound of the running water mingled together to form a quiet, anxious drumming.



When he finally exited the shower, feeling neither rested nor refreshed, he heard echoes of subdued conversations in the living room. He recognized Luna\'s snicker, Harry\'s voice, and voices of others he couldn\'t identify. Severus got dressed quickly and headed downstairs.



When he entered the living room, he halted in his steps, seeing Amos Diggory himself, in the middle of the living room, with four uniformed Aurors standing behind him with their wands drawn.



Harry was sitting on the couch, facing them. Luna Lovegood was curled up in the armchair across from Harry, with a slender hardback book resting in her lap. She appeared to be completely focused on reading, as if there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happening right in front of her.



“Good morning, Professor,” Luna said brightly without lifting her eyes.



“Mr. Snape,” one of the Aurors said in a businesslike tone. “We\'re here to request that you come with us to the Auror office for a... conversation.”



“Really?” Severus said indifferently. “What sort of conversation?”



“He means interrogation,” Luna clarified helpfully, without lifting her head from the book. “He\'s just trying to make you feel better.”



“There\'s no need to be dramatic,” the other Auror said tersely. “We understand that Mr. Snape spent the last seven years in one of the Death Eater compounds. Whatever knowledge he has, may prove to be helpful in dismantling Death Eater compounds in the future. So, Mr. Snape, if you\'ll come with us, you\'ll be back home by evening.”



Severus bowed his head. He could smell the lie hanging in the air, but he didn\'t know what the nature of the lie was. He only knew, with absolute certainty, that if he set his foot outside of Harry\'s home, he would not be back by evening, or possibly at all. Still, he didn\'t see any way out of disobeying the lawful authorities, and a moment later, he suddenly realized that nothing mattered – not really. For a second, it seemed like a strange, incongruous way to end his life – rendering the short-lived post-rescue euphoria utterly meaningless. But the disappointment that should have come with this thought just wasn\'t there. In it\'s place was a blank, all-pervading apathy, and Severus simply nodded to acknowledge the impersonal order.



“All right,” Severus said quietly, without looking at anyone. “That\'s fine.”



Harry lifted his hand and that simple, authoritative gesture stopped Severus in his tracks.



“No,” Harry said in a very calm tone of voice. “Nobody is going anywhere, except Mr. Diggory and his colleagues, who were just leaving.” Harry turned his head towards his former employer and a small, unpleasant smile crossed his lips. “Weren\'t you?”



“We aren\'t leaving anywhere without him,” Diggory said. “Harry, I realize that you no longer work for the Office, but surely you are still willing to help prevent further terrorist attacks on innocent civilians?”



“Funny,” Harry said quietly, bemused. “Two months ago, you made it blindingly clear that you won\'t accept a Pensieve, or the results of Legilimency scans to establish his innocence. And yet, now you\'re more than willing to raid his mind for information that\'ll be helpful to you. Can you explain this apparent incongruency to me, Amos? Because I seem to be missing something.”



“There are new, experimental disinhibiting potions that are stronger than the traditional Veritaserum,” Diggory replied quickly. “And there are also aggressive Legilimency scans that can bypass the normal Occlumency shields...”



“Oh, you mean the kind that cause irreversible brain damage?” Luna inquired nonchalantly. “I don\'t think I like that. I\'m quite sure Mr. Snape isn\'t fond of the idea, either.”



“Mr. Snape\'s opinion isn\'t relevant,” one of the Aurors said tersely. “As far as the law of the Wizarding World is concerned, he\'s not human. He\'s a piece of property. And we have a subpoena...”



Harry\'s face acquired a genuinely malicious expression.



“You know, over the course of the last two months, I\'ve had a chance to catch up on a lot of reading,” Harry said in a neutral tone of voice that didn\'t match the fierce glare of his eyes. “It\'s amazing how much you can learn from old law articles. One thing that I clearly recall is that a piece of property can\'t be subpoenaed.”



“Property can be confiscated to aid the war effort,” Diggory said stubbornly.



“We\'re at war then?” Harry countered instantly. “That\'s very interesting. Because just a week ago, the Prophet cited you saying that there\'s no war, and that everything is under control.”



“This is very exciting,” Luna confirmed, flashing an obscenely innocent smile in Diggory\'s direction. “I can\'t wait to publish that in the Quibbler. May I quote you on that, Mr Diggory? Will you be declaring a state of war soon?”



Diggory\'s face acquired a stormy expression, and he turned away from Harry. His eyes fixed on Snape instead. “Tell me one thing, Snape,” Diggory intoned coldly. “Are you in good health? You appear to be. I find it very curious.”



“Enough,” Harry snapped abruptly. “We are done here. Get out.”



Diggory ignored Harry altogether, as if nothing had been said.



“I find it very curious,” Diggory continued to talk without missing a beat. “You see, Snape, other prisoners we\'ve rescued from your kind over the years have been mutilated beyond recognition. They are missing limbs, eyes, ears, tongues, internal organs. My own son didn\'t last a minute after falling into your colleagues\' hands. You, however, seem to be... just fine. So tell me, if you really were a traitor to the Dark Lord\'s side, what did you do to escape unscathed, with all your limbs intact?”



Severus shrugged apathetically. He knew full well that Diggory was baiting him, trying to force some sort of outburst – but Severus\' mind was completely blank, and no response made itself available.



Harry stood up abruptly and walked towards Diggory quickly, until he was nose to nose with the older wizard. There was nothing naive or peaceful or youthful about Harry\'s expression then. The green eyes shone with an unearthly rage that reminded Severus all too well that those eyes had seen the light of Voldemort\'s Killing Curse four times. A small chill ran down Severus\' spine, because he suddenly had the distinct impression that something very unpleasant was about to transpire.



“I\'ll be very direct with you,” Harry told Diggory, staring at him without blinking. “You\'ve overstayed your welcome. You\'re trespassing. Remove yourself and your people from my home at once.”



Diggory, however, didn\'t seem to think that Harry was a force to be reckoned with.



“Or what?” he challenged Harry, and his lips curled into a contemptuous smile.



“Or I will remove you,” Harry informed him, without reaching for his wand, his arms still crossed. “Don\'t even think for a moment that an illegal arrest is going to work here.”



“And just how are you planning to remove us?” Diggory continued to taunt. The four Aurors behind him moved to raise their wands.



A moment later, the door of Harry\'s house swung open. An invisible force, that felt like a gush of freezing wind when it brushed past Severus, struck against Diggory and his men, immobilizing them, lifting them off their feet and tossing them out of the house in a blink of an eye. As soon as the intruders were out, the door slammed shut, and locked itself.



Luna lifted her head and gave Harry a small, dreamy smile.



“That\'s very nice, Harry. I didn\'t know you could do that.”



~ * ~



As soon as Diggory and his goons left, Severus slipped away and hid in his study. He realized that the prospect of being arrested and imprisoned again should have left him terrified, maybe angry, but at the moment his affect was one long flatline, without a single spike.



He sighed wearily, and settled at his desk, staring at the clear surface. He was still too tired to do anything, but not so tired as to brave falling asleep and facing nightmares until it was absolutely necessary.



He heard soft, tentative footsteps behind his door and tensed, waiting for Harry to knock.



“Severus?” Harry called out, giving the door a quiet tap.



“Yes, Potter?”



“May I come in?”



“It\'s your house,” Severus said dryly. “You may come and go as you please.”



“What do you prefer?” Harry asked. “Do you prefer that I stay out?”



“I\'d prefer for you to make up your mind and do as you please,” Severus said indifferently, feeling that the conversation through the closed door was getting to be a bit ridiculous.



The door opened with a quiet squeak, and Harry entered the study, casting a cautious glance at Severus.



“Are you all right?” Harry asked, coming up to his desk and sitting down across from him.



Severus shrugged indifferently and shook his head.



“You should have just let them take me, Potter,” he said tiredly. “You\'ve done what you could. The rest... is not your responsibility.”



Harry\'s eyes flashed with the same intensity that they had half an hour ago, while he was talking to Diggory.



“You\'ve only just begun to live,” Harry said. “Why would you want to throw your life away so soon?”



“I see no point hanging on to something unattainable,” Severus said, without any resentment or irritation. “We both know that the Ministry will never allow me to be vindicated. We both know that I\'ll never be free. And we both know, that I\'ll never...” Severus shrugged, unsure what to say, or how to express the faint, inexplicable longing that Harry\'s proximity sparked. He still remembered the welcome of the arms that held him up in his darkest hour, and for the briefest of moments he was tempted to stand up and reach out for Harry, allowing himself to be soothed and pitied the way he never had been until Harry re-entered his life.



Somehow, he had the presence of mind not to do that, and simply continued to sit motionlessly, with his arms crossed on his chest.



“Never what?” Harry asked quietly, watching him with concern.



“I\'ll never have a normal human life,” Severus said in a barely audible voice. “I\'ve never mastered the art of simply living. You\'re wasting your time on someone who can neither repay you for your efforts, nor make good use of them. It\'d be wise to give up on this particular project and cut your losses.”



Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair, and looked down.



“You aren\'t a project,” he said in a voice that was both soft and firm at once. “You\'re my friend. You\'re tired, and you\'ve hit a rough patch, but the situation is far from hopeless. You have other friends too, and we\'re working on restoring your name. Don\'t think that this state will last forever – it won\'t. It might take some time, but... it will get better, I promise. Just – please, give us time, and give yourself time, as well. All right?”



Severus stared at Harry blankly, suddenly realizing that some sort of answer was expected from him. What was it? Ah, yes. Time. As if continuing to plug away automatically at meaningless tasks was going to make up for the seven years of life lost, never to be recovered.



“Time,” Severus echoed mindlessly. “Very well, Harry. As you wish.”



Harry winced slightly, as if Severus had said something wrong, which he might have, without even recognizing it.



“Well, you should get ready,” Harry said softly.



“Ready?” Severus repeated. “For what?”



“Work. It\'s Tuesday. Do you feel up to it?”



Severus shrugged again. As weeks went by, and he\'d devised more and more intricate spells to automate the upkeep of Hannah\'s rooftop garden, he realized that his presence there was no longer required. He suspected that she was simply keeping him out of pity, as a convenient excuse to pass some money to him, the money he\'d been giving to Harry to cover at least some of the expenses that Harry had doubtlessly incurred while hosting him. The thought of being pitied didn\'t irk him as much as it would have even three weeks ago. It merely underscored the impossible stupidity of his situation: accepting charity of one person, in order to partially repay the charity of another.



“I don\'t think you require my income from the Leaky Cauldron,” Severus said listlessly. “If you need money to pay for my stay with you, you can sell my house at Spinner\'s End.”



“I\'m not selling it,” Harry said flatly. “It\'s your home.”



“You\'re assuming I have some sort of sentimental attachment to it. I don\'t.”



“Then you can sell it yourself when you\'re ready to leave,” Harry said reasonably. “But right now... there\'s no need.”



“If money isn\'t an issue, then why are you worried about my work at the Leaky Cauldron?”



“I thought you were enjoying it,” Harry said hesitantly.



“I was,” Severus confessed – even though at the moment he couldn\'t quite remember what enjoying anything felt like.



“Then my suggestion is to stick with it,” Harry said evenly. “I know it\'s not much for now, but... you never know what might come out of it, you know?”



“No, I don\'t,” Severus said quietly. “However, I suppose you\'re right. I\'ll get ready.”



“Good,” Harry said. “I firecalled Hannah, told her you\'re running a bit late. I also told her to watch out for Aurors ready to make an unauthorized arrest, and contact me immediately if Diggory tries something like that.”



“I see,” Severus said, and remembering his manners, added, “thank you for that.”



Harry nodded slightly and stood up. “I\'ll see you in a couple of hours then. One thing at a time, all right?”



~ *~



When Severus finally departed to work, Luna lifted her head from her book and gave Harry a sad smile.



“I wonder what that was all about,” Harry said thoughtfully, stretching out on the couch and shutting his eyes.



“What do you mean?”



“Just – I wonder what Diggory and his goons want with Severus,” Harry said.



“Well, on the surface, it seems reasonable that they\'d want to question him, and collect any information they can on the Death Eater compounds,” Luna pointed out sensibly.



“Yes, but they didn\'t want information,” Harry said with growing irritation, feeling like he was onto something important that nobody else appeared to have noticed. “If they\'d wanted information, they would have bargained. They\'d have asked to question him right here, in my presence. They\'d have requested a Pensieve. But they didn\'t. They wanted Snape to come with them. No, Diggory is playing some kind of game...”



“True,” Luna conceded, bemused. “Can you prove any of it?”



“Absolutely not,” Harry said wearily, causing Luna to issue a tiny, unhappy chuckle.



“So what are you going to do?” Luna asked.



“I\'m going to send a message to Ron at home tonight and tell him to keep his ears open,” Harry said, turning to lie on his side, and shutting his eyes.



“Good. By the way, that was quite a feat – throwing Diggory and the Aurors out like that,” Luna pointed out. “Very dramatic. How did you do that?”



“Well,” Harry muttered sleepily. “Technically, it wasn\'t me.”



“Oh?”



“It was the house wards. They respond to unspoken commands,” Harry explained. “Dumbledore installed some really powerful wards when my parents went into hiding here. Obviously, the wards weren\'t nearly enough to protect the house against Voldemort – but against Diggory, they\'ll hold up without a problem.”



Luna\'s voice was thick with astonishment. “You\'ve managed to access wards that are quarter of a century old and restore them? Harry, that\'s incredible!”



“It\'s not that incredible,” Harry dismissed the matter quickly. “I\'ve spent the last five years dismantling the wards on Death Eater compounds. It\'d be a shame if I didn\'t learn anything.... by the way,” Harry added absently, “I\'m sorry, I forgot to tell you, you didn\'t need to come over today. Ginny took Lily to see Bill and Fleur, and I\'m not going to the Burrow... I think I\'ll just sleep, and take Severus shopping in Diagon Alley today.”



“That\'s okay, Harry,” Luna said. “If you just want to spend time with Severus this afternoon, I\'ll house sit for you while you are out. I don\'t mind.”



Harry turned to face her and nodded gratefully. Even though the recently improved house wards were as secure as they could get in the wizarding world, having someone in the house at all times still made him feel better.



“You won\'t miss too much work because of us, will you?” Harry checked.



Luna smiled serenely. “Of course not. In fact, I\'m going to bill my father for the time I spend here.” Met with Harry\'s confused gaze, Luna explained, “Once we\'ve got everything worked out once and for all, I reckon I\'ll have quite a story to tell.”



To Be Continued...