Scarred Souls

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



Title: Scarred Souls



Author: Misty Moonlight/Co-author: QueenBoadicea



Beta: QueenBoadicea



Pairings: Severus/Harry



Published: 12/10/2008



Summary: A widowed Harry must bond with Snape in order to save his daughter’s life. Sev gains a family, for better or worse, and the hearts of two scarred souls will be changed forever.



Warnings: Romance, Drama, Angst, Alternate Reality/Universe, Sexual Situations, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slash, Anal, Language, Humor, possible MPreg, Bonding, Original Characters, Family, non-canon, OOC, COMPLETE



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



Chapter 48: First Day



‘Epilogue’



Five Years Later





“Brian, be sure to keep your Remembrall safe!”



“Take care of that pet crow of yours, Violet! Don’t let the kneazles eat him!”



“Come here, young lady! Five minutes out of my sight and your face is as dirty as a gnome’s. How did you get it so filthy?”



The platform holding the children for the Hogwarts Express was teeming with anxious parents and excited children. Many of the boys and girls were running back and forth, saying goodbye to their families and hello to new children they hadn’t seen before today.



Severus watched with amusement as several people nearby turned, whispered and pointed at Harry Potter. Even at 41 years of age, he was still recognizable as the Boy Who Lived and everyone looked at him like he was a god.



Not that Harry noticed. He was too busy getting James and Albus ready and trying to keep them from getting their new clothes messy.



“Now, remember, boys, be on your very best behavior.”



“We know, Dad. Stop fussing, willya?” James asked, exasperated, pulling at the collar of his new shirt.



Albus stared wide eyed at the train. “It’s enormous,” he said, awestruck. “Where will we sit?”



“Anywhere you like,” Harry said, smiling.



Lily had been chattering with Rose. Realizing her brothers were about to leave, she came running back to her family. “When can I go, Daddy?” she demanded.



“I told you this before, Lily. Not until you’re 11.”



She pouted. “’s not fair.”



“Sevvie can teach you wandwork. When you go, you’ll be as smart as James and Albus,” Harry promised.



She beamed and reached up to grab Severus’s free hand. “C’mon, Dada Sevvie! Say g’bye to Tim and Teddy!”



Severus grimaced. “If I must.”



Lily just laughed and tugged Severus away. He went, bearing the look of a martyr, but didn’t resist Lily’s grasp too much.



Theora was clinging to Harry’s hand, watching the crowd and the enormous train that stood waiting for its passengers. Just like her name, she wasn’t much given to talking. She only looked and observed with green eyes that rarely missed anything.



Ron marched up to Harry, clapping him on the back. “Merlin, Harry. Did you ever think you’d see the day when we’d be sending our kids off to Hogwarts?”



Harry grinned at him. “Ron, this is a dream I’ve had since my first year. The only surprise is the way some things turned out.”



His best mate nodded and looked at little Theora, who stared back at him with unswerving attention. “I know what you mean. Oi, Timothy! Where are you off to? The train’s over there!”



“I lost Jasper, Dad!” the boy wailed. His chameleon familiar was indeed nowhere to be seen. Then again, it could be riding on the boy’s shoulder and none of them would be the wiser until they felt it crawling up their trousers.



“Oh, for—not again,” Ron sighed. “Ta, Harry. I’ll see you later. I’ll be glad to get out of this mess, I tell ya.”



Severus stood before Draco, conversing with him on insignificant topics. They had grown close during the last year of Hogwarts, when he’d sought to protect the young Malfoy from his father’s mistakes and the Dark Lord’s machinations.



However, there were still some things Severus would never tell Draco, just as there were matters Draco refused to discuss with Severus. That was to be expected. They were Slytherins, after all.



“I think Scorpius will do well in Potions. Unless, of course, the man who replaced you is a complete idiot. In that case, I’ll probably have to hire a tutor for him.” Draco didn’t ask but his silver eyes flicked briefly at Severus.



“That’s an excellent notion, Draco,” Severus responded, without answering the unspoken inquiry. “Your hair seems…thicker than when I saw it last,” he added in an insinuating tone.



Draco smiled coolly, unflappable as always. “Does it? I hadn’t noticed.”



Severus knew his hair restorer salve was an excellent product. Many wizards—and some witches—bought it. He kept his hand in the business end of it and knew that caseloads of it went to the Malfoy Manor, carefully diverted through other channels so no one knew that that Draco ordered them. Severus was also aware that thinning hair and baldness were hereditary. He very much expected to have Scorpius, Percy Weasley and his children buying from him someday.



Draco looked Severus up and down. “Your salve must be working well on you. Your hair is almost as long as my dad’s used to be.”



Severus smirked. “Actually, I’ve never needed it.” Harry liked the lengthiness of his hair; Severus could tell from the way his husband continually ran his hands through it. So he’d simply let it grow—no hair salve needed.



Slightly apart from his father, Scorpius Malfoy stood on the platform, a shiny new trunk beside him. He bore the trademark fair looks of the Malfoys, though his eyes were a nondescript hazel rather than silver. His lips pursed and his face was a little haughty as he scanned the crowd. However, Severus detected distinct signs of nervousness in the nervously shuffling feet.



Suddenly, Albus ran up to him. “Hey, Scorpius!”



Scorpius nodded cautiously. “Hello, Albus.”



Albus peered at the brand new chest. “What’s in the trunk?”



“Oh, just a few things.”



“Toys?”



Scorpius scowled, like he was about to snap at Albus. Then he shrugged and mumbled, “Some. Most are books and other objects Father thought would be useful.”



Harry, Ron and Hermione watched this scene with varying degrees of amusement and surprise. “Hmm. I didn’t know that Al knew Scorpius, Harry,” Hermione said.



“Neither did I. They look all right, though, yeah?”



“Blimey. Never thought I’d see the day when a Malfoy wasn’t taking potshots at a Potter,” Ron said.



“Let’s just hope Scorpius is less of a prat than his dad was,” Harry added.



Finally, the children were boarding the train. The parents watched, some in tears, as their little ones leaned out the windows and waved. Last-minute instructions, advice and warnings were yelled from the adults as the train began to pull out of the station.



Harry found Severus—easy, given his height, even in this crowd—and wound his arm around him. “Shall we go home now, husband?” he murmured.



“Gladly. I need the peace and quiet to soothe my nerves. Hearing all these shrieking children was rather traumatic. It was like being in Hogwarts all over again.” Severus shuddered.



“Poor baby.” Harry grinned when Severus glared at him. “Let’s get going. Winky says she’s got a new recipe she wishes to try.”



“Actually, I thought I’d make a few stops in Diagon Alley first,” Severus murmured.



“Oh? I thought we could go home and celebrate.” Harry gave Severus a slow smile and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.



“Celebrate what?”



“Successfully getting the twins here.”



Severus raised an eyebrow. “Ah, so you’re glad to be rid of them too?”



“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Harry retorted.



“I have difficulty following your attempts at conversation at the best of times, Harry,” Severus smirked. “So what did you mean?”



“I meant how far you and I have come, that you can be with my children and me as a member of the family.” When Severus stared at him, Harry shrugged in frustration. “That’s the best I can say it.”



“I understand. There were times when I thought I would cheerfully strangle your firstborn before they reached their 10th year.” Severus said this with a smile, hoping that would take the sting out of it.



Harry peered sideways at him. “Keep up that kind of talk and you’re sleeping alone tonight.”



“Do you think that I’m so desperate for your touch, Potter?” he asked haughtily, looking down his nose at his husband.



Harry flashed one of his bright smiles. “Yes.” He stretched up on his toes and kissed Severus on the lips. Severus returned his embrace and then kissed the scar barely peeking out of the bangs.



Severus decided he could dispense with the trip to Slugs & Jiggers for now. Today was a day for celebration, after all.



In spite of his teasing, he understood Harry’s sentiment. He still found it hard to believe that he was here with Harry Potter, now watching their children going off to Hogwarts as Severus himself had done half a century ago. In spite of a meddling Headmaster and a pernicious Dark Lord, Severus Snape had achieved happiness at long last.



He hugged Harry to his side and walked from the platform, Harry holding Theora, Severus Lily, their two little girls walking beside them.



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



Severus slowly removed his robe while watching Harry shuffle off his clothes. Even after all these years, observing his husband in this simple act never palled.



Quidditch continued to hold its fascination for Harry, so much that he played it even in his 41st year. Secretly, Severus had to admit that he liked watching his husband soar aloft on a broom. It left the Gryffindor amazingly fit and that in itself was reason enough to allow his husband to pursue this childish pastime.



Harry twisted as he dropped his robes over a nearby chair. In spite of Severus’s constant chiding, the man was as messy as a first year. You would think that years of being with him would have taught Harry something of tidiness.



First, the stomach was revealed as the hem of the shirt was lifted. Ridged and sporting the dark hair crawling down to the waistband, Severus imagined his tongue trailing over it to the nipples. Those were the next to be shown, still challengingly flat. He licked his lips, in his mind seeing them start up into tight little peaks, begging to be sucked and nipped.



Harry half-turned as his shirt followed his robes. The human back held no charms for most people—but Severus had never thought of himself as most people. Harry’s back possessed a youthful innocence, perhaps the only part of him that still did, except for his eyes.



Those emerald eyes were turned towards him now, quizzical and yearning at once. “Severus? Aren’t you getting undressed?”



“Of course.”



This was a joy as well, having Harry watch him, and it filled Severus with wonder and confusion every time. He’d been awkward as a youth, ugly as a man and truly repulsive after his scars had appeared. But Harry’s eyes never flinched from caressing him all over.



Severus gathered him close and lowered them both to the bed. At 61 years, he was hardly an old man by wizarding standards. But heaving Harry into his arms and carrying him was no longer an option. Once Harry, in a spirit of playfulness, had picked him up. Severus had yelled and rebuked him soundly. But secretly he’d rather liked being cradled in such a manner.



Harry wriggled his bum on the bed and leaned up to steal a swift kiss. “Severus, why do you always insist on having sex in your room? I thought you liked your privacy too much.”



“I do like my privacy. I simply find my room more comfortable.”



Harry ran his fingers across the sheets. “You just like feeling silk against your arse.”



Severus sniffed. “That has nothing to do with it.”



“Bollocks,” Harry said, smiling. “You’re secretly a pleasure-lover. You still wear silk boxers, yeah?”



Severus felt himself flushing faintly. Harry had never forgotten those boxers he’d worn the first time they slept together and had even made a present of six pairs to Severus on his birthday once. Severus recalled being highly discomfited. But he hadn’t been able to deny how great they felt—or Harry’s appreciation when he’d worn a pair to bed later.



He had enough of this line of conversation and decided shutting up his husband was in order. The lips parted under his, with a texture much more pleasing than any silk sheets. Severus lipped all along the chin and down his throat. When he dragged his tongue along the bobbing Adam’s apple, Harry gasped and writhed in the sheets.



“Umm, Severus…” Intense green peeked at him from beneath feathered eyelids. Harry reached up and splayed his fingers across Severus’s chest. The Gryffindor proceeded to caress his body with complete absorption. By now, he knew every intimate part of Severus but at times the younger wizard stroked his skin as if learning him all over again. It was endearing and almost disgustingly sweet.



Even though he was a-quiver to get on with things, Severus took care to prepare Harry. It wasn’t because gentle lovemaking was his preference. He didn’t mind giving or getting it hard and fast sometimes. But, at his age, erections took longer to rise, so to speak, and his recovery periods were longer. Slow lovemaking meant he got all the time he needed to prepare.



So Severus tasted Harry’s ribs, breathed and nuzzled at his armpits, licked him in the narrow canal that ran down his ribs to his navel. Harry’s cock throbbed steadily and Severus couldn’t resist licking at it. When his husband moaned, he took it into his mouth. This act always pleased Severus because he knew he could drive Harry out of his mind with his skillful touches. When he licked at the heavy balls, he smiled to hear his husband shout.



Summoning his favorite lubricant, Severus dipped his fingers in it. Sunk deeply into Harry, he wriggled and stroked, watching as the flush mounted to his lover’s head. Harry drew his legs up, panting, and humped his arse into Severus’s hand. When the Slytherin kneaded and cupped his balls, Harry began crying out, his breath catching at every other word.



“Oh…fuck, yes, yes…just a little…oooh.”



He wasn’t speaking Parseltongue yet and Severus wanted to hear it. He couldn’t bring himself to ask for it; he wanted Harry to say it on his own, without prompting. But occasionally Harry withheld the sibilance, knowing how it would drive Severus mad. The man could be an unbearable tease that way.



“Mmm, more. I love…that.”



Then Severus could wait no longer. He shifted over Harry’s body. “Look at me, Harry.”



The eldritch eyes lifted to his. No matter what other changes life made to Harry, Severus was sure those green eyes would remain unaltered, and he would love them all the same. It would not be for the remembrance of his lost childhood friend but for Harry’s sake alone that he would love the sight of those sparkling orbs.



Still holding that bright, beautiful stare, Severus pushed carefully into his husband. “Oh, Merlin. How can you be so tight still?” he whispered hoarsely.



Harry gave him an impish grin, one that soon slid into shock as Severus nudged against his prostate. That, too, never seemed to change and Severus hoped he would see it always when they were just like this.



Soon, they were rocking together and it was getting more and more difficult for Severus to keep to his deliberate pace. “Harry…Good God. More, love,” he gasped and then bit his lip as Harry clenched all around him.



“Severus…Sev…” Harry eyes squeezed shut as he flung back his head.



“Fuck, Harry, my love…more, I need…let me hear it,” Severus ground out.



“Ssshhhllllllisshhh.” There it was at last, that singular language that Harry used only in the bedroom, for him alone. It served to engorge Severus to the point where he thought he’d burst if he didn’t come.



“Yes!” Severus gasped, his back bowing as he thrust harder.



“Ssshhakkkkllllisssshhiillltttttsshshshshs.”



Usually, Severus could never identify whatever Harry said in the snake language; the patterns of Parselmouth were too complex for him to decipher. But he knew this particular sequence.



Sinful tongue. Severus smiled and whispered, “Harry, you look so wanton like this. You’re all spread out, taking my cock like an eager little slut. You want me here, deep inside you, fucking you until you can’t walk or see straight.” He reached down and began stroking his husband’s cock, gradually increasing his manual strokes until Harry was gasping for air.



“Shhllllltttt!”



“Yes, it’s good, isn’t it?” Severus purred. “You want me to split you open. You like being nailed to the mattress like this, with my prick up your sweet little arse. You’re nothing but a naughty little bottom, Harry, and this is what you should have got from the beginning.”



Lithe arms and legs wound around Severus, melding him to the tense body trapped beneath his. The spurts of Parseltongue were spitting out at him, the tongue lapping at his neck, his chin, at his mouth until the lips parted and he was sucking the air from his Gryffindor lover in tiny ferocious sips.



“To have you here, in my bed, milking my prick…Sheer. Fucking. Bliss,” Severus panted. “Mine, Harry, mine. As long as I live!”



The green eyes opened wide and Harry let out a shriek as he came, clenching on Severus like he never wanted to let him go. That vise took Severus so much by surprise that his orgasm raced to meld with Harry’s, both of them crying into each other’s mouths.



When it was over and Severus lay looking smugly at the ceiling, Harry whispered, “Hssshssarrrahhha.”



“English, Harry, English. How many times do I have to tell you?” Severus muttered.



The other man ignored him. Instead he began licking down Severus’s body, removing every trace of semen until Severus was purring with happiness. When his head lifted up, their lips met in a torrid kiss as Severus fed off the taste of his own seed from his husband’s mouth.



Harry pulled back to look him in the face properly. “Severus?”



“Mmmm?”



“I, um, I went to see Poppy the other day.”



Severus’s eyes narrowed to see his husband looking dizzy, happy, smug and nervous all at once. “You went to see Pomfrey? Why?”



“Oh, good news. I think.” He grabbed Severus’s hand and moved it over his abdomen. “What do you think of Claresta Fay for a girl or Bran Hugh for a boy?”



“WHAT?!”



Harry James Potter had managed to surprise him again.





The End