A Dark Time For The Light

84

The next morning Severus’ headmistress noticed her favourite teacher’s exhaustion plus the faint whiff of the hospital about him, he was still working too hard. She’d offered him leave of absence but he’d balked. His fifth years were almost at their GCSE’s and he didn’t want to let them down. This time she insisted, “You’re wearing youself out, Severus. He needs you. You have a fifth year class this morning. Go along and explain to them. They are near enough to the exams by now that if they haven’t taken your teaching in, then they won’t at this stage. I don’t expect to see you by lunchtime. Don’t be torn apart Severus. I was, and I lost him. My husband, that is. You will receive full pay and benefits in your absence. Now go. I don’t want to see you back before September. I value your skills, Severus. I still cannot believe that a teacher of your calibre would willingly teach this lot but you have worked miracles on them and they like you a lot”. He struggled to say that this was why he had chosen her offer, for the sheer challenge, but she waved him off with a smile. “Go. And good luck”.

He walked into his fifth year classroom and his boys greeted him enthusiastically. He stammered out the reason that he was taking the rest of the term off, to be with a friend suffering with cancer. “That’s not what the Head said, sir. She said it was your partner that was poorly, but I’d say it was your wife”, the speaker paused and looked around at his class-mates, “Or your husband”, he said meaningfully. Another spoke up, “We don’t mind if you’re queer sir”. The class laughed, “We know Philip takes it up the arse, sir, but we don’t beat him up over it”. Another said, “It would be loads worse, sir, if he was a Chelsea supporter”. “You teach us some really cool stuff to show us some of the laws of science, no-one gave a shit before, sir”. Even the densest boy in the class spoke up, “Sir, you showed us how to blow things up, but then shitloads of other stuff, like gas and air mixtures and combustability and other stuff and I won’t forget it if there’s a question in the exam”.

Severus felt his eyes tear at their honesty and thanked them, knowing this was the last time he would see most of them. The school had a rudimentary sixth form but most either went on to FE college or simply left to try and find work in whatever lowly capacity they could or to sign on. “Okay, I’m busted”. The class laughed. “I’m married to a man, now that such things are possible, and, yes, he has cancer, and I need to be with him, the treatments are very taxing on him”. He was interrupted by the boys with their own tales, “My mam had breast cancer and the chemo wiped her out”, and, “Me grandad died from lung cancer, smoked all his life, thought he was one of the lucky ones, but it still got ‘im”, and again, “I had Leukemia as a kid, had to have chemo and all me hair fell out. Has your husband’s hair fallen out?”. Severus smiled and nodded. Just then he wanted to hug everyone in his class but settled for standing and fiddling with his chalk.

Then he turned to the blackboard to start the lesson. He picked up the board rubber and lifted it to begin wiping when he stopped short as he saw what was written there. “Good luck, Mr Snape. I hope he gets better, love from 5b xxx. P.S. you are the coolest science teacher we ever had. with the signatures of the whole class surrounding the message. Severus shoved his knuckles in his mouth to prevent the sob escaping. He wiped the board underneath the message but left it there. Someone spoke, “We didn’t have time to collect up for a card, sir, else we would have done”. Severus laid his forearm on the board and laid his head on it, quite overcome. Instead of his usual lesson notes, he took up his chalk and simply wrote, “Thank you 5b, this means a lot to me. You have been a joy to teach. Good luck in your exams and I hope, maybe, to see some of you back here next year? Thank you. Regards from, Severus Snape”. Then he took them outside with some gas-filled bin bags and they blew them up in the yard all the while he asked questions about combustability, gas and air mixtures and volatility. He left at lunchtime.

Remus smiled as he entered the hospital room, “Come to see me on your dinner hour, love?”. Severus grinned and related his morning, “I’ve been given leave of absence on full pay until next term”, then stretched out once again toeing off his shoes and being taken into his lover’s arms. He was asleep in moments, a slight smile on his softened features. The nurse bustled in to change Remus’ drips and was shushed with a grin from her patient. It had been the talk of the nurses station, these two’s devotion to each other, their recent marriage. She grinned as she changed his drip, then fastened his arm to a board to keep it still while the next treatment was administered precisely drop by drop, even though it made this poor chap nauseous, but he was such a stoic as he took his treatment, his other arm about his sleeping lover.

He woke later as the drip was removed and his arm freed from it’s restriction. He flexed his aching hand and arm then flung it around a still-sleeping Severus and held him tight. The nurse murmured something that Remus didn’t catch, intent on enfolding his lover in his arms and burying his face in his hair, able to turn onto his side at long last. Severus moaned in his sleep as he was held and pressed back against Remus. The nurse watched for a moment from the doorway, then shaking her head and blushing, she left them to it.

Severus rolled onto his back to see Remus leaning up on his elbow regarding him with mellow hazel eyes. He slowly shook himself awake apologising to be silenced with Remus’ mouth covering his own. He opened his own willingly and took that naughty tongue in, replying in kind, thoroughly ravishing his husband’s mouth. Someone moaned, who cared who. Then Remus lay back amongst the pillows and Severus made love to him, slowly and gently, having to clamp a hand over his beloved’s mouth to stopp him screaming the place down as he came, Severus drilling him into the mattress. Sev showed his own restraint by grabbing Remus’ hand and stuffing his mouth with knuckles as he felt his own orgasm wash over him. They came down slowly and just lay together. Remus could feel Sev’s heart beating against his and held him tight, “Love you, Sev”. Severus couldn’t speak, but ghosted small kisses over his lover’s chest as they both settled into sleep. He finally managed, “Love you too, my Wolf”, to light snores.

The next day, the doctor cleared him to go home, “We’ve done the usual tests and we haven’t found anything”, the ‘yet’ hung between them all. Severus helped Remus to dress and took him home in a taxi. Remus grinned to be back in his own bed again and pulled his husband down beside him.

Harry and Draco were not nearly so chilled out. All week, Alice’s story bugged them. Eventually they called up the Internet and Harry typed in ‘Pendle Witches’ into the searchline, to see several sites devoted to the Nutter family and their suposed descendants. The rumours and speculations that the family had not been wiped out after all and the likelihood of a descendent somewhere. “You doubt her?”, were Draco’s words on the matter. Harry shook his head, “No, I just want to find out more”. There was no doubt that the bloodline existed, the family had existed and the Magic certainly existed. He sighed as he turned off the computer, “Guess she’s real after all. For many years, I’ve thought it was all about me, just me, and now it isn’t. It’s a bit of a shock, to be honest. For years everything pointed to me and him in the final face-off. Then there was the Prophecy and it’s hers too. It’s just so weird....”, his voice trailed away.

Draco commanded those beautiful green eyes to look into his. “Harry? At the end of the day, does it really matter whose damn Prophecy it is?. We have the two possibles fighting together in the same team and that must mean something. To you both”. Harry grinned and pulled Draco into his arms, “Actually I find it strangely comforting. A Witch of Alice’s calibre being the other in this. God help us all if it was a little first-year Hufflepuff”. This made Draco bark with laughter. Harry continued, “That poor woman has suffered so much abuse, and I thought I was abused. Her story is so tragic”. Draco warned, “Don’t cloud your head with stories Harry”. Harry glared at him then let his glare soften, “To be honest, I feel she is probably a more worthy opponent for him than I am, ‘But he will have powers the Dark Lord knows not’. It keeps reverberating round my head. Is it me or is it her?. It’s bloody well one of us. I’m confused. It was always supposed to be me. Doubly so since we discovered the Prophecy during the fight at the Ministry. The certainty was established then and to possibly find out....”, his voice stilled to silence. Draco wrapped his long arms around his Harry and held him.

“If it’s any comfort, I believe Alice has a plan and it will involve both of you. She doesn’t know either. I think she has plans for Remus in Wolf mode and all the Occlumens who can take it”. Harry nodded pensively, “Me too”. He cast frightened green eyes at his lover and Draco melted, kissing him gently, then increasing the slight pressure of his mouth until it was answered by Harry’s lips opening under his and letting his tongue in. Draco dissolved at that point and kissed Harry thoroughly. “Love you, my Gryffindor”, he murmured as rational thought fled and pure lust took over, sweeping them along in it’s wake until it dumped them, sweaty and sated, in each other’s arms and they slept in a sweet heap.

The classes stepped up as the summer drew on and the private Occlumency lessons continued apace with Draco joining in. One evening, Alice took Harry to one side, “You and I need to have a chat, love, about who you want in the front line. You know everybody here better than I do. Are there any from the other cadres for instance. I mean, I wouldn’t mind Lee at our backs, and Neville too. I believe he was shy while you were at school together, but he’s not like that now, is he?. Think about it and let me know. We’ll invite everyone down here. I think it’s about time we started to train together. After all, good footie players are only as good as the team they’re in”. He smiled as he left, promising to give it some serious thought.

The night was warm as the boys made their way to Sev and Remus’ flat. Severus hadn’t been at classes that night as he was recovering along with his beloved from the effects of Remus’ change the previous night. This time he had used all of the tranquiliser injections, but was shattered having to stay awake and administer all of the shots, one an hour, throughout the night. Harry phoned for some food as it was too hot to cook and a large Chinese banquet turned up.

While they ate, Harry was laying on his stomach with a notebook open before him and chewing on the end of a biro. The list of names on the page before him was growing. So far, he had the four of them, the House, Minerva and Poppy, Dean, Ron and Blaise. Then from the cadres, Justin, Neville, Lee, the Patils, possibly Lavender and Angelina plus Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott who was now in Leeds with Justin’s crew. Remus suggested a few others among the older wizards and witches in hiding as did Severus, as well as Alice and among the demi’s Caroline, Veronica and the other outstanding members of the classes. There was Pansy and a few others of the Manchester cadre and the list grew to over 70 people, “And anyone else who wants to volunteer”, Harry finished.

“If we are all to train over the summer, Harry, we will need considerably more living space than we have available right now”, noted Remus. Draco nodded, “I don’t mind a flat-ful for the odd night here and there, but for a whole summer, it could be very trying”. Harry had a bright idea and phoned their landlord. As he waited for the phone to be answered, he murmured, “Hussain has loads of student houses that are empty over the summer, he may give us short lets for a reasonable price”. Then his posture changed, “Hi, Hussain, we have a bit of a problem and we wonder if you can help.....”. He stated his request and the others saw his smile spread. He closed his phone, “He’s got eight empty houses over the summer. The students have paid his retainer to keep the place on over the summer, so he’ll be willing to rent to us for half price so long as we look after the places and hand them back before next term begins”. Draco laughed, “The guy’s a star. It’s not enough, but it’s a start”.

Later, in their own bed, Draco asked, “Why are we letting Alice do so much of the planning for this?”. Harry chuckled, “Because she’s good. Because she lives a huge part of her life beyond the law. Because she can use a gun. I dunno....because I trust her I suppose. I wasn’t sure at first, but she’s a complete natural at Magic and she works bloody hard at it and her Legilimency skills will make your friggin’ hair stand on end. She hasn’t had a rummage in your head yet, has she?”. Draco shook his head, “I don’t look forward to that time, either. Father taught me some Occlumency, as did Sev, but I wasn’t that good yet when the lessons stopped after I did a runner from home in sixth year, the Easter holidays if I recall”, he glanced sideways at Harry, smirking. Harry leaned over and kissed him, a long languid kiss full of memory. Draco pushed him away slightly, huffing out a long breath, “It’s too damn hot”. Harry shot him his evillest look, “How about a nice cool shower”. Draco moaned and bit his lip, “Capital idea” and allowed himself to be led to the bathroom.