Bonds of Affection

It took less than an hour at the Hogwarts Hospital Wing for Harry to be cleared to return home.



He spent the remainder of the day, the following night, and the next morning, in his bed, with Severus by his side the entire time. From time to time, Harry would wake, ask something, listen to the answer, and fall back asleep with a wide grin on his face, and Severus pressing his lips to his forehead.



“You know,” Harry whispered dreamily, in one of his waking moments, “I finally understand... whenever I felt like ... I was just a drop taken from the ocean... or a grain of sand from the seashore... separated, and just wanting to return home and belong... Severus - you are my home.”



“I must say, Harry, this gives a whole new twist to this.. relationship,” Severus said with a wry smile.



“You can say that again,” Harry murmured. “You know, that makes so much sense... No wonder you\'ve been rescuing me all these years.”



Severus chuckled sadly. “Ah. I don\'t think though that this was the reason I was doing that, Harry. I think I was trying to rescue you because you are the sum of your parents – the people that I was meant to be united with in the first place. However, I do believe that having a fragment of my own soul in you was what made me despise you so much all these years. Almost as much as I had despised myself...”



Harry sniffled a little. “But then...”



“Well,” Severus mused. “Then ... when I overheard your conversation with your friends... you showed me something that helped me stop despising myself quite so much... and then... I could finally feel affection for you. In spite of the fragment of my own soul that was living in you.”



Harry squeezed his hand. “You know, I think that\'s how I always know what you want. That\'s how I can tell, just by watching you, or looking at you... I recognize it... and want to give it to you, everything.. so that I can belong to you...”



“You belong with me,” Severus said gently. “And you don\'t ever have to doubt that.”



Eventually, well past midnight, Harry was sound asleep; and the last thing he felt was the hand of his Master stroking his hair, soothing all anxieties and fears.



He woke up in the early afternoon, and stretched blissfully. He heard voices in the dining room – he recognized Hermione\'s and Ron\'s; and also Dumbledore\'s and McGonagall\'s. Harry smiled brightly, showered, got dressed quickly, and almost ran to the dining room.



However, the conversation he heard made him slow down his steps, and he felt a small knot forming in his stomach.



Dumbledore and Severus were arguing, quietly but furiously.



“What I do not understand, Albus,” Severus was saying in a vehement whisper, “is how a member of your Order so blatantly betrayed everything that the Light is supposed to stand for.”



“Severus, I will not deny that I am deeply disappointed in Nymphadora Tonks, and...”



“Disappointed,” Severus intoned viciously. “Disappointed. Harry could have died – no, would have died, and you are... disappointed? She reported him to the Ministry and then, she helped them kidnap him, a sixteen year old boy, knowing full-well...”



“Severus, perhaps...”



“Stop!” Harry said firmly, as he walked into the living room. Hermione and Ron glanced at him questioningly.



Severus was staring at him intently. “Harry – what is it?” He demanded.



“Tonks didn\'t betray the Order,” Harry said reluctantly. “Draco was the one who turned me in. So that Voldemort would not be able to return.”



Severus growled something under his breath.



“Bloody hell,” Ron whispered. “That... damned little coward.”



“It\'s all good,” Harry said peaceably. “Look – I think it\'s... fine. I owed him a life-debt, but I think now it\'s been repaid. And – no harm done. So...”



Hermione sighed. “If you are sure, Harry.”



“I am sure,” Harry said quickly.



“That still does not justify Tonks being a part to kidnapping a teenage boy, in order to have him burned alive,” Severus said furiously. “Albus, I certainly hope that...”



Dumbledore lifted his hand, stopping Severus in mid-sentence, and looked at Harry meaningfully.



Harry took a deep breath. “Severus... Tonks did not kidnap me. I kind of... volunteered to go with them.”



The silence in the dining room was absolute. Ron dropped a piece of his toast to the floor, without even noticing it. Hermione was staring at Harry in a calculating way.



“You aren\'t just saying it to get her out of trouble?” she asked cautiously. “Harry...”



“No,” Harry said reluctantly. “She... advised me of other options... told me I could fight it... she even offered to fight for me if the Ministry tired to take me by force. She told me I didn\'t have to come with them... but I chose to ... you know...”



He avoided looking at Severus – he was too scared to see the look on his face.



“Harry – why!” Hermione cried out. “How could you?! Without talking to any of us... without any warning to us... after everything that Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape have done to keep you alive, and safe, and free – you would do something like that!”



Harry shrugged miserably. “Look... all in all... if all it took to rid the world of Voldemort was for me to give up my own life – I didn\'t mind too much... I really believed I was doing the right thing, at the time.”



“No,” Harry heard a cold, but quiet voice. He looked up – McGonagall was staring at him from above her glasses. “Harry – you did not believe you were doing the right thing. If you were convinced you were doing the right thing, you wouldn\'t have gone behind our backs, in secret. If you were convinced that was the right thing to do – you would have been prepared to defend your decision and fight for it... but you chose the other way.”



Harry bit his lip and and fought back a burst of temper that welled up instantly.



“The truth, Harry,” Dumbledore said gently, “is that you had decided that you knew better than the rest of us put together. And that, my boy, is a dangerous way to think, especially for someone so young. It will serve you well to remember that two know better than one, three know better than two... and a community of people who care about each other knows even better. Simply put, we all need each other to solve the mysteries of fate and withstand the terrors of life.”



Harry nodded quietly – in the light of recent revelations, he could not argue with that simple statement.



Dumbledore rose to his feet, and offered his hand to McGonagall. “Let\'s go, shall we?” he said gently, and they headed towards the Floo.



“I suppose it is time for us to go as well,” Hermione said dryly. “We\'ll talk to you later, Harry.”



Ron nodded him a curt goodbye, and then, everyone departed quickly, leaving Harry alone with Severus.



Harry tensed – and glanced at Severus timidly, but his face was absolutely unreadable.



To Be Continued...