Welcome Home
Short, sweet and incredibly fluffy. I love Albus and Severus.
Whenever I am feeling down, or things in the world are not quite right, or I have argued with those I care about, and I could do simply with a break - I come here. And the moment I am among you, my friends and comrades, fanfiction writers and fanfiction readers alike, I know I am one thing.
I am home.
Love, SS19
It was not quite as painful as he had imagined, in the end. It did truly feel like simply going to sleep, something he had wanted to do for a long time, and he did not fight it.
He had slept for an age, or at least, that is what he imagined. It was probably only seconds.
And now he was wandering this misty landscape, looking for — something — anything — perhaps a building, or a tree, or some flowers — lilies? — or a shadow — but there seemed to be nothing. And he did not know how long he had been wandering. Nothing hurt, but he still felt incomplete, as if there was something missing, not from his body or from his mind, perhaps not even his heart −- perhaps his very soul.
He stopped and tried to evaluate what he was looking for. What could he possibly be searching for now, even in death?
And then it hit him — he was not looking for something. It was not a what.
It was a who.
And when his mind focused on those blue eyes and that white beard and those appalling dress robes and the smallest of smile touched his lips, he heard the voice.
"I've been waiting for you, Severus, dear boy."
There was a rush of many emotions in that second — anger, because he was angry at that man, and he wanted to rant at him for sacrificing him and not telling him; there was jealousy, because he was jealous of that man and that boy, who had had such a close relationship, and he had been left on the outside, looking in; there was fear, because he did not know how that man would react to his presence, had he failed him in his final moments; there was hate, because he hated that man, hated him for making him into a murderer and splitting his soul
But when he turned, these emotions faded away.
And he focused on those still blue eyes and that still white beard and those still appalling dress robes, and the smallest of smiles touched his lips.
Albus Dumbledore took a step closer, "Are you here to stay?"
Severus realised that he was no longer walking. He had stopped wandering. He had found what he had been searching for.
And so he let Albus Dumbledore hug him close, and the anger faded into acceptance, and the jealousy faded to amusement, and the fear faded to strength, and the hate faded to love.
"I'm here to stay." He replied gently.
And Albus smiled at him, drawing back and running a hand through Severus' dark hair. "Welcome home."