Ashes of Armageddon

Once they reached the children\'s play area in the park, they saw instantly a female figure, sitting on the bench. A child, whom Severus recognized as Al, was roaming the play area, stomping in the small puddles of slush and mud. It seemed like an inhospitable and unfriendly place for this sort of visit.



Harry and Severus approached Ginny together, and she stood up to greet them. Severus glanced at her. Ginny Weasley hadn\'t changed much since last time he saw her, which was over a year ago. She was still remarkably beautiful, although her face has grown slightly more tired and unhappy.



A year ago, Severus would have been threatened by her mere presence, in fact he used to be threatened by the reminder of who she was; but now he found himself unconcerned, to his own surprise. For once in his life, he dared to believe that he was not competing for someone\'s affection. The feeling was unfamiliar, but quite welcome, after years of guarded loneliness.



Ginny nodded to Harry with a cautious smile on her lips.



“Hi,” Harry said. “Happy Christmas, Ginny.\'



“Happy Christmas, Harry,” her eyes darted to look at Severus and widened when she recognized him. “Professor?” she asked uncertainly.



“I\'m afraid the title is no longer applicable, Ginny,” Severus said evenly.



“All right,” she said, staring at him appraisingly. “What should I call you?”



“My name will do,” he offered with a small smile of his own.



She nodded, a little uncomfortably. “Well, go on, Harry,” she said, giving him a small nudge in Al\'s direction.



“Thanks,” Harry said, and headed over to the playground, where Al was waiting for him, staring at him guardedly.



Severus watched as Harry crouched on the ground next to Al and for a few minutes, the father and son talked quietly to each other, or rather, Harry talked, while Al listened suspiciously. The boy\'s posture was timid and defensive, as if he was expecting Harry to lash out at him any moment.



“Did you have a nice holiday?” Ginny asked suddenly.



“Hmm?” Severus was surprised by her attempt at small talk. “Yes. You?”



“Yes.”



Another awkward pause ensued, and Severus watched Harry and Al, while Ginny was studying Severus, now with undisguised suspicion.



“Why are you here?” she demanded with ruthless bluntness he had remembered in her.



“Harry wanted me to meet Al,” Severus said neutrally.



She nodded slightly, and fell silent. For a while they watched as Harry coaxed Al to go on a swing. All climbed on, and Harry started pushing it gently, and Al appeared to be lost in the activity for the moment.



“He is very good with children,” Severus observed.



“Yes,” Ginny agreed absently, not taking her eyes off the two of them.



For a few seconds Severus was tempted to add something else, perhaps a suggestion for Harry to be spending more time with Al, but the tense look on Ginny\'s face led him to believe that it was far too early for such a statement to come from him.



From across the playground, Harry stared at Severus and waved at him.



“Severus! Come join us!” Harry shouted enthusiastically. “It\'s great fun!”



Ginny\'s tension next to him was almost palpable.



“Anything the matter, Ginny?” Severus asked.



She shook her head. “No. Everything\'s fine,” she said in an almost normal voice.



He sighed quietly. Everything was clearly far from being fine, but he was not about to start prying just yet. Slowly, he made his way towards the playground, feeling Ginny\'s gaze on his back the entire time.



Al was still perched on the swing, dangling his feet, looking down.



“Hey, Severus!” Harry said cheerfully, and pressed his lips to the top of the Al\'s head. The boy tensed slightly under his father\'s kiss. “Al, I want you to meet Severus Snape.”



“Hello, Al,” Severus said with a small smile.



The boy lifted his eyes to look at Severus, and something like recognition flashed in the boy\'s gaze. The child\'s face acquired an expression of pure terror.



Al jumped off the swing, falling to the ground. Harry rushed to help him, but Al pushed his hand away. The boy\'s eyes were fixed on Severus, studying his face. Seeing Al\'s fear, Severus took a step back, to give the boy some space, and the boy stood up abruptly. When Al opened his mouth, he hissed something in Parseltongue, something that was clearly angry, and clearly directed at Severus.



“Al!” Harry exclaimed. “What...”



Another hissing statement in Parseltongue, and Al took off, running away from the playground. He did not even ran to his mother; he was just running away from Severus as fast as he could. Harry chased after him, and caught up with him shortly.



Ginny ran towards them as well, and this time, Al rushed to her, grasping her with both arms, and burying his face in her coat.



“What happened?” Ginny demanded, staring at both Harry and Severus grimly.



“What happened, Ginny,” Harry said in an almost calm voice, “is that my son speaks Parseltongue.”



There was no surprise on her face, Severus noticed. Apparently, Harry noticed that, too.



“You knew my son spoke Parseltongue and you never bothered to tell me,” Harry spat bitterly.



“Because I knew you would blow it out of proportion,” Ginny said defiantly, placing her hand on Al\'s shoulder.



“That\'s not fair, Ginny,” Harry protested. “You\'ve got no right to keep something like that from me! Not after all that happened...”



Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and the expression on her face grew very harsh and unpleasant.



“Always the victim, Harry,” she said coldly and just with a touch of contempt.



Color rose to Harry\'s cheeks, but before he could say something spiteful, Severus interjected, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a negative shake of the head. Harry took a moment to compose himself, and Ginny did as well.



“We are done here,” Ginny said firmly. “I am taking Al home. Harry, next time you bring company, maybe give me some warning.” She turned away and fled the playground, with Al clinging to her for dear life.



Severus turned his attention to Harry. Harry\'s face was ashen, and he looked absolutely frozen as he watched Ginny walk away, leading his son with her When Ginny and Al disappeared from their sight, Harry sat down on the bench, staring down numbly.



Severus crouched on the ground next to him, taking Harry\'s hands in his. Absently, Harry allowed him, but the blank, stunned expression on his face hadn\'t changed.



They were alone in the play area, and even if they hadn\'t been, Severus might not have cared at this point. He knelt before Harry, and pressed his face to his knees, while reaching out with his arms to embrace him; a pose Harry had always found comforting and reassuring. Instantly, Harry leaned forward and buried his face in Severus\' hair, sobbing tearlessly.



“Riddle\'s Dust again... Severus... what have I done? What possessed me to father a child?” Harry lamented. “I should have never... I knew there was something wrong with me, but I still went ahead and did it!”



“It\'ll be all right,” Severus said softly, with all the confidence he could summon.



Harry issued another choked sob, and pressed his lips to Severus\' forehead. “I wish I could believe it,” Harry whispered. “But... you know, I used to have nightmares for the first two years. I\'d wake up, and for the first few moments, I couldn\'t remember who I was... I used to dread falling asleep, because I was afraid I\'d wake up someone else... but this? This is worse...”



“It\'s not worse,” Severus said firmly. “Harry, listen to me, please. It will work itself out.”



Harry gave no response, only stiffened in his embrace. From personal experience Severus knew this physical reaction all too well – it belong to someone who was flooded with memories of the past, helpless to do anything but endure their assault, and hope to survive it.



Slowly Severus stood up, and placed his hand on Harry\'s shoulder.



“Let\'s get out of here,” Severus offered softly. “Let\'s go for a walk. It\'ll help you clear your mind.”



Harry shook his head tiredly.



“Come on,” Severus insisted. “Trust me. It\'ll help. Let\'s do something normal. ”



“Something normal?” Harry repeated with a mirthless smile.



“Let\'s take the tube home,” Severus offered. “Let\'s get a coffee, go for a walk, anything.”



“Why,” Harry whispered. It wasn\'t even a question, just a statement of utter hopelessness, Severus thought.



“Because you need to calm yourself and have a clear head in order to start figuring things out,” Severus said reasonably.



Reluctantly, Harry rose to his feet as well, and allowed himself to be led out of the park.



TBC....