Ashes of Armageddon

Severus did not procrastinate after that night. When he showed up a few days later with a stack of books and a pile of clothes in his hands, Harry\'s face was absolutely radiant – there was no other way to describe it.



As days went by, Severus was astonished how easy and effortless it was. After years of loneliness, it should have been difficult to get used to waking up next to someone every morning, but it was as easy as getting used to breathing after nearly drowning, Severus thought privately. Harry did not talk much, but from the delighted look on his face every morning, Severus could see he felt much the same way.



In spite of their obvious differences they found that they had enough things in common to do almost every day. They played chess, they read on magical creatures, and they hiked the island, exploring every part of it. From time to time, Severus still went back to Spinner\'s place for a night or two, but as months went by, he began to realize that his old house was no longer his only home. Somehow, he had began to think of Harry\'s island as home, as well.



Even though life was as close to bliss as Severus could remember it, he would still occasionally slip into depression, but Harry never let him brood in miserable silence for too long. Whenever he noticed Severus withdrawing and sulking, Harry would take him to the headland inhabited by the Cockatrice, and they would sit in the grass, watching the creatures.



As weeks and months went by, the Cockatrice became more bold. They explored their habitat, frolicking in the grass, and even chasing each other with hesitant playfulness. Four months after being brought to the island, the Cockatrice decided to make another contact with the humans who were watching over them. One of the Cockatrice made its way hesitantly towards the two wizards, and reached for Severus\' hand, resting its head in his palm.



“I think they like you,” Harry said. “Soon they\'ll be following you in droves.”



Severus glared at Harry, not at all amused by what seemed like flippant nonsense to him, but weeks later he realized that Harry had been correct. For some strange, unfathomable reason, the Cockatrice took a liking to Severus. Whenever Severus roamed the island on his own, he would have three or more Cockatrice following him devotedly, as if he was some sort of parental figure. It would have been annoying to a normal person, but Severus found himself not minding the odd creatures.



They were still not breeding, as far as Severus could tell, but the progress they\'ve made so far was nothing short of remarkable, and he was not concerned about Remusin becoming an amusing footnote in History of Potions. The cure would be produced eventually. The werewolves had waited for over a millennium, he had told Harry, they could wait another two or three years, if that\'s what it took.



When December came, Hermione and Ron extended an invitation for the two of them to join their family for Christmas.



“What do you think?” Harry asked. “It\'s been a while since I had spent any kind of holiday with them. Might be nice.”



“A while?” Severus asked, surprised.



“I\'ve spent plenty of times together with them lately, just not on holidays,” Harry said guardedly. “When you and I .. weren\'t keeping in touch... we all thought it\'d be best if I wasn\'t around for holidays, just ... so that you could come to their place if you wanted to, without feeling crowded,” Harry explained hesitantly.



Startled, Severus stared at his beloved\'s face, for the first time fully appreciating the sacrifices Harry made to give him space, without taking away the human connections Severus had managed to establish.



“So what did you do on holidays? Sit at Godric\'s Hollow and sulk?” Severus asked bitterly.



Harry smiled. “Mostly I just got blind-drunk with Luna Lovegood and let her cry on my shoulder,” Harry said. “She still misses Neville... even after all these years.”



“Does he know?” Severus asked instantly.



“I don\'t think it matters,” Harry said. “As far as I can tell, he mostly goes alone these days. I think you and Ginny are the only close friends he\'s got.”



“Do you think he\'d be welcome to...”



He did not need to complete the question.



“I know he would be,” Harry said with absolute confidence. “Think you could convince him to join us all for holidays?”



To Severus\' surprise and delight, it did not take a great deal to convince Neville to join them.



The Christmas eve was spent with Hugo pleading to open his gifts early, Neville and Ron doing their best to distract him, Hermione cooking up a storm, and Hermione\'s parents, as well as Molly and Arthur dropping by to wish everyone a happy holiday. A little overwhelmed by all the commotion, Severus made a cautious retreat into the guest room, and sat on the bed. He was surprised by how comfortable he felt here, in this small room.



The room carried plenty of memories for him, and while they were not intensely happy ones, but they were memories of acceptance and human connections. He scanned the room, pausing to consider the small details he had always taken for granted. The color scheme of the room was changed two years ago, to resemble the colors Severus had at Spinner\'s end: darker, earthy, warm tones he was fond of. The small bookshelf contained books on Potions, and Dark Arts. A reproduction of a charcoal drawing hang on one of the wall, which Severus by now knew to be one of Victor Hugo\'s charcoal drawings. In the last three years Severus had never paused to think of these little details all at once, but now... the silent messages were unmistakable.



This, too, was his home.



A hesitant knock on the door brought him out of his reminiscing.



“Yes?” he said. Harry entered the room and sat on a chair next to the bed.



“Too much noise,” Harry complained half-heartedly. “Sensory overload.”



“Indeed,” Severus agreed.



“Hugo is just a little bundle of energy,” Harry said absently. “He\'s going to be the terror of Hogwarts three years from now.”



“Couldn\'t be any worse than you” Severus said with amusement. The former escapades of the trio were still vivid in his mind, but the memories no longer elicited the irritation and frustration they used to. If anything... it was rather funny, he thought privately.



Harry smirked slightly. “I suppose not,” he conceded, and then said hesitantly, “Severus, I\'ve been wondering about something. Tomorrow, I get two hours to visit with Al. I was wondering if you might like to come along?”



Severus stared at him in undisguised surprise.



“He\'ll need to get used to you being a permanent part of my life sooner or later,” Harry explained. “I want him to start getting to know you.”



Permanent.



A year ago, he would have scoffed at such sentiment, but now, he could not help but smile.



“Brilliant,” Harry said.



Severus looked at him with amusement. “Shame on you, Harry. Traumatizing a child by forcing him to be acquainted with someone of my disposition.”



“Well, the lot of us had endured your disposition for years, and we turned out all right, didn\'t we?” he challenged with a playful grin.



“That\'s highly debatable,” Severus said gravely, eliciting a chuckle from Harry.



The rest of the evening flew by all too quickly. Hugo dragged out his biting puzzle, and watched Harry fumble through it, attempting to assemble the castle, and getting bitten at every turn. Eventually Harry shook his head, and said with disgust,



“I give up. This thing hates me.”



Hugo rolled his eyes. “Quitter.”



Severus chuckled, taking the offending puzzle-piece from Harry\'s hands. “Some pieces seem to be heavier than others,” he observed automatically. Old habits, ingrained by years of spying died hard, and even after all this time, Severus still noticed and memorized every minuscule detail of his environment, even in a family setting.



“Yeah,” Harry said spitefully, “probably with blood it had drained from its former victims,” causing Hugo to laugh with absolute delight.



Eventually, everyone retreated to bed. There was a brief moment of awkwardness when Neville tossed a blanket and a pillow on the couch in the living room, and waved good night to Severus and Harry. For a few minutes they stood without saying anything, until Severus went to the guest bedroom.



When he was gone, Neville finally broke the silence and said quietly,



“Look, Harry, about everything...” his voice trailed off as if he did not know how to complete the sentence.



“Yeah?” Harry prompted him guardedly.



“It\'s been a year. You haven\'t broken the Covenant once,” Neville pointed out, sounding more awkward than ever.



“What are you saying?” Harry asked.



“I\'m trying to say you don\'t need to worry about me,” Neville said softly. “I may not understand the things between you two fully, but... I can tell when something is working out.”



For a minute or two, Harry appeared speechless.



“Thanks, Neville,” Harry said finally, before making a gracious retreat for the night.



X x x



Christmas morning after breakfast, Hermione and Ron departed to the Burrow, taking Hugo along. Neville departed as well, and everyone agreed to meet up at five in the evening, once Harry and Severus returned from their visit with Al.



As the time approached, Harry began to put his coat on. When Severus followed suit, Harry reached for his collar, and buttoned up his coat for him, while Severus half-scowled, half-smirked at the sentimental gesture.



“Come with me,” Harry said, touching his elbow, and nudging him to step into the guest bathroom.



They stopped in front of the large mirror.



“What do you see?” Harry asked.



Hesitantly Severus glanced at the reflection. Harry\'s arm was around his waist. He knew all too well what his answer would have been a year ago. He would have seen an old, miserable, unattractive man, with a young lover who was humoring him for some odd reason. But now, as he looked at his own face, and Harry\'s delighted expression, he saw something else. Something normal and human.



All he saw was two people in love.



“I see two people who are going to be very late, if they continue to indulge in narcissistic frivolities,” Severus said, heavy on sarcasm.



Harry laughed delightedly as his arm tightened around Severus\' waist. “We\'d better get going then,” Harry said.



Together, they left Hermione\'s and Ron\'s place, heading down to Finsbury park.



...TBC...