A man, looking to be in his late twenties, stood still as if stone, enveloped in a silvery crystal, hidden in a room which hadn't been visited in centuries.
He had slept. For a long, long time his eyes had been closed, body frozen and cold in a state not quite alive but not yet dead.
He hadn't meant to, much less wanted or intended all those years in the past, but he had, and in the end, that was all there was to it. One action leading to another, and an inevitable chain had been created. He wasn't even sure which one of them had made the first move to begin with, which one of them that had come up with the idea and started the process.
Then again, that was just one other thing that didn't really matter when one looked at the bigger picture.
But now, it was time to wake up. He had felt the connection he had waited, anticipated and longed for during all his time standing here surrounded by crystal, being made just moment ago, and he didn't care much for lingering now that he finally was able to live again. Breathe again.
The material that was layered over his skin began to shine brightly, before it evaporated and swiftly disappeared as if nothing had been there in the first place.
Stretching his stiff arms out up above his head, he tentatively took a step forward, not completely trusting his limbs to cooperate properly. Happily finding that even though he was stiff as a board, he was able to move somewhat according to thought, he inhaled a bit too forcefully and found himself coughing something terribly, all the dust and dirt in the air disrupting his ability to breathe right.
Getting his throat under control again, he searched for the connection that had to be there now. The reason and the person who had made him wake from his enforced slumber which had stretched for over a millennia. His purpose for even being in this age that wasn't his own.
Sensing the link - still weak and trembling from its recent birth - to his other in his core, he focused on it - a serene smile appearing on his face – and disappeared without a sound.
Harry Potter's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the man who had suddenly materialized in front of him, merely minutes after the clock had turned twelve and he had turned seventeen.
He wasn't afraid – which was strange in itself seeing as people rarely appear in front of you like that when inside an anti-apparition ward – and neither was he cautious. He knew this man, he didn't know how he knew him, but he had learned enough about Magic over the last couple of years to understand that when she told you something, you better listen carefully.
And right now Magic was whispering in his ear that this was her gift for him, a chance to be happy, safe and loved. He didn't plan on questioning that no matter what his friends or teachers or pseudo-guardians said.
He lifted a small and thin hand up as he stepped forward to stand directly in front of the much taller male, carefully – as if handling fragile glass – he touched a tanned cheek and stroked it gently. He gasped as eyes as blue as his was green opened and proceeded to untangle all the lies, secrets and truths that made up just Harry, and shivered at the slightly uncomfortable feeling of being completely uncovered, something he hadn't been since his early childhood at the most ordinary and normal street of Privet Drive. Million years ago and yesterday.
"Hello," a burly voice, rough around the edges and so very male in a manner that he himself would never accomplish, greeted him after the silence had stretched for minutes.
Harry smiled brightly and returned the greeting, both completely unperturbed by the widespread pandemonium that surrounded them, Magic herself shielding them.
"Harry! What are you doing? He could be-"
"I've waited for you a long time." The red-haired male – not strawberry blond or even the darker brownish red of the Weasleys, but crimson in the shade of fresh blood – said as he lifted his own hands up to cup Harry's face.
" – dangerous! Step away from him now."
"I'm glad." His emerald eyes widened slightly at his choice of words, and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he quickly amended. "Not that you had to wait such a long time, it mustn't have been very pleasant, but that you're here, I mean."
"What is wrong with you, young man!?"
A low grumble vibrated the air around them and Harry realized the older man was chuckling, making his cheeks turn even redder than before. "It is quite alright. It might not have been the most appealing of situations, but being here, meeting you now, by far makes up for it. You needn't worry yourself about it, my pretty little bird."
" – somebody get this damn dome-"
Harry bit his lip, still feeling slightly guilty for being the one waited on for so long. "So you're not mad?" He turned his face towards the ground, the old floorboards of the Burrow suddenly much more interesting than before.
Patiently tilting the young man's face upwards once again, waiting until the almond shaped eyes opened and met the gaze bestowed upon them, the older replied in an unquestionable voice, daring anyone to contradict him. "Never! I could never be mad at you for something out of your control, and especially not in this case. You were meant for me, as I for you, and nothing would make me regret the events which led me here, as if without them, I would never have met you."
Smiling softly again at the exclamation, Harry leaned into the tall man which quickly moved his arms to embrace him, both sighing at the relief they felt from the contact.
"Then I am glad."