Warnings:
1) This story will contain some violence and some sex. I do not recommend that anyone under 18 reads it, or anyone over 18 who is upset by things like that.
2) There's OOC in this story. Specifically, cruel!Harry, broken!Snape. It's justified, IMHO, but it's still OOC.
3) This story will contain slash.
Prologue
The white marble extended as far as the eye could see.
Harry looked around, searching for something – anything - that would hint that this used to be the site of Hogwarts grounds.
Nothing. The actual school was long gone, but that wasn't all. Everything - the hills, the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade the lake had disappeared, was levelled and filled, then covered up with the white marble, enchanted with the strongest spells and charms possible.
"Only thing they could do to contain the curse," Harry's companion said. Harry glanced at him, trying to recall his name. Reid, or something.
It was disorienting at first to hardly know anyone in the Auror Department reconstituted after the war, but Harry was managing. Sort of. As soon as they released him from St. Mungo, he began memorizing the names of the new people in the Ministry, the Auror office. A week later, he started visiting the places that used to be familiar. The only place he still recognized in Diagon Alley was Gringotts. Everything else was different. Then again, it's been three years - a long time to spend in a coma.
Harry stood perfectly still, watching the way the clouds cast shadows on the pure white marble. He was almost certain he could feel the tremors under his feet, as if fire was ready to burst forth and consume its makeshift tomb.
There were no tremors of course. More to the point, there was no fire under the marble. If anything, the curse that had afflicted the ground was more like poison than anything else – or so Harry had heard.
"Ready to go?" Reid asked. If his name was really Reid.
"Yes. Thanks for getting me in."
"No problem. It won't be open to public for another two months, we want to put additional safety measures in place… can't be too careful."
"Right," Harry agreed automatically, although privately he thought it was far too late to be careful.
He dropped the flower he'd brought with him – a single white rose - on the marble. The two shades of white blended together, with only the thorny dark green stem standing out.
Should have brought red, Harry thought absently. Hermione used to like red.