Don't own Harry Potter. Un-betad, therefore read at your own risk.

Catching Lightning in a Firewhisky Bottle

by WriteAlong

Chapter 6: Heat

. . . . .

Catch lighthing in a bottle - to do the impossible

NOTE: I added another ending to the last chapter and took the old one as the first part of this chapter as I wanted to add a little more depth to it- confusing right? Just to make it easy for you guys, I have added the newly made ending of the previous chapter to this chapter, but will remover that later on. I'm horribe. I know.

New ending chapter 6

Knock. Knock.

"James?"

The man in question quickly stepped into the room and turned towards the two women on the bed. Both their eyes were red - Alice's more than Lily's - and their hands turned white as they clenched each others hand in suspense.

"We found Frank... alive." He quickly added with a strained smile. "I will bring you to him."

A strangled and relieved sob escaped from Alice's lips as she quickly stood. She nearly reached James when she turned back to Lily, looking guilty that she nearly forgot one of the little boys that were asleep on her lap.

"Alice, I will keep an eye on Neville." Lily called out to her. "Go."

The woman seemed reluctant for a moment before she nodded. "Thank you. You want me to go to the front yard?"

James nodded as he stepped to the side to let her go through the door at first.

"Are you alright Lil's?" He couldn't help but ask warily.

Ever since the news that she couldn't perform magic - even after many tests, nobody was quite sure what had happened to her core - Lily had been having a very hard time. It worried him to see Lily nearly force herself to accept her... new handicap. At the same time, he was incredibly proud of her that she was taking it so well. Still, he felt like she was pretending to feel better than she actually was.

"Not now, James." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Right." He agreed, feeling slightly foolish as he quickly turned to follow Alice.

"I will come to pick you up as soon as possible." He promised.

He didn't notice the way that Lily's smile turned a little brighter. She turned back to the children sleeping on the bed. At least, Harry seemed to be asleep. Neville seemed to have awoken and was staring at her with big confused eyes. She smiled at him as she pulled him onto his feet in front of her. His clumsy wobbly legs supported him as soon as he straightened them.

They were growing so fast.

"See Little Nev, I told you your Daddy would be fine?" Lily assured him.

The baby simply blinked at her.

"D'da?

Lily froze. Alice hadn't told her that Neville had spoken yet. Had this been his first word? Oh gosh!

With a stern expression, Lily pointed a finger towards the baby in front of her.

"Neville, you are going to listen very carefully to Auntie Lily. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that mumble word that sounded suspiciously like…" She shook her head. "Anyway, as soon as your father wakes up and your mother is right next to him, then you can say your first D'ddy word. Do you understand?"

Lily refused to believe that his next giggle sounded like any word at all.

Chapter 7: Cooling down

The surface beneath his boots made loud crunching noises as he trudged through the fresh snow.

Puffs of warm air evaporated in front of his icy nose. He winched as a breeze of particular cold air glided over his face. Shivering in his coat, Dan couldn't help but wonder how the hell the drunk – the particular one that he was looking for - had managed to stay alive until now.

Seeing as they had found Whisky freezing in the snow the first time as well, the whole getting-lost-in-the-bad-weather might as well be a normal occurrence.

Seriously, Whisky needed to be more careful! How the hell did he stay healthy?

The bar owners knees started to feel numb as it started snowing more heavily. He renewed the warming charm on his coat. It didn't help of course, but at least he had tried.

Oh, he was so going to sick Julia on the drunk, he decided as he peered into another alley.

Speaking of the devil… there he finally was.

Dan's frustration made way for concern as he noticed the way the man slumped against the wall.

"Whisky?" He ignored the way that the man seemed to tense slightly at his approaching presence.

"Dan?" Whisky eventually slurred as he peered at him from under his nearly-frozen bangs.

Sober, intense – and oh so wary - green eyes met his own. Dan couldn't help but wonder whether the shiver that ran down his spine was because of the weather or from the fact that those eyes seemed to look right through him.

Dan blinked and the look was gone – replaced by hazy eyes. It had vanished so quickly that it nearly made Dan wonder whether it had been there at all.

"What ya doing here?" Whisky mumbled, momentarily drawing away his attention away from his ponderings. Whisky sighed and rested his head against the wall to look up at him questioningly, as if he wasn't sitting in a thick pack of snow.

He looked tired and now that Dan paid close attention, his voice sounded tired as well. His eyes still looked closed off. Had he imagined that horrible look in the man's eyes seconds ago?

No. Dan decided. He had seen that look too many times not to recognize it. Yet he had never seen it to such extend. The man in front of him was hurting.

And by the looks of it, more sober than he had ever seen him before.

"Well, you ran out when you wanted to go to the bathroom and seeing as you didn't come back after four hours, we were kind of worried you see?" The man answered dryly – pushing his observation to the back of his mind for later on.

Julia would be less than pleased to find out that he had let the man freeze simply because he had been taken back by a certain look in his eyes.

It didn't sound like a particular sound excuse.

The drunk stared at him as if he had grown an extra head. Dan couldn't help but feel sad – and dare he say pity - as he took in the surprised expression on the man's face.

"Ya worried f'r me?"

"Yes." Dan confirmed somewhat awkwardly, scratching the stubbles on his cheeks in discomfort. "Anyway, -" He quickly changed the subject and held out his other hand for him to take. "Let's get you out of the cold."

The man's eyes zeroed in on the offered appendage and suddenly Dan felt nervous. Though the man in front of him looked unsteady, he probably was sober enough to stand on his own feet. Human contact – especially by choice – was considered to be a precious show of trust. Especially considering that this man had been hurt badly during the war – of that Dan was certain.

With just a handshake, someone could apparate someone away. He could curse him within a second. He could poison him with an odorless and colorless potion. He could hide something, a weapon, in his sleeve and strike him the moment that he was within reach.

Whisky seemed to realize this as well. His green eyes looked slightly less hazy as they focused on him again before he looked back down.

Even though weeks had passed and Dan had grown fond of the man, it was still the question whether Whisky would return those feelings.

So, Dan waited with an understanding and questioning look in his eyes for Whisky to make up his mind.

Said man hesitated – his hand clenching slightly - before he slowly took Dan's firm hand, only slightly fumbling to reach it. Dan let out a breath that Whisky's grasp was surprisingly steady.

He must really have run out of alcohol? Dan frowned when noticed the way that the man grimaced slightly as he pulled himself up.

"Are you alright?" Dan couldn't help but ask as he moved the man's arm over his shoulder to support him – just to be sure.

The man let him, though he oddly avoided looking at him as he shrugged. "M'fine." He sighed when he noticed the pointed look Dan shot him. "J'st cold.'

The bar owner decided not share that he didn't believe him for a second. If the drunk noticed his disbelief anyway, he didn't comment on it either.

"May I cast some magic to keep us warm and dry?" He asked warily instead. The memory of the last time that he had cast a spell on the man was still too fresh in his mind to try anything else.

"S're. If it mak's ya happy."

Seriously, was the man freezing at all?

With a quick warming and drying charms later, the two trudged back to the Two Broomsticks in an awkward silence. They both ignored the spluttering angry 'Baldy' on their way – though Dan couldn't help but wonder why the man seemed so aggravated with the drunk. The glare that the man was shooting his – dare he say it – friend spoke of a story behind it.

"What did you do to him?" He nudged the drunk, noting that the man was actually quite steady on his feet as well.

His eyes narrowed when he saw Whisky flinch again. "What's wrong."

"N'thing."

Right.

With a sigh, Dan let the matter drop – for now - and caught the man as he suddenly staggered. Maybe he was still slightly drunk after all? Concerning Whisky, it was sometimes so difficult to tell.

Dan sighed in relief as they entered the now closed The Two Broomsticks not much later. The warmth and smells that welcomed him always made him relax ever so slightly.

"Drink?" Whisky asked as Dan settled him into a chair at a table.

"You should go and sleep, Whiskey." Dan admonished as he turned his back to the man to ward the door – as was still his habit after the war. When Dan turned back he couldn't help but stare as the drunk had somehow managed to 'magic' his own liquor into his hands again.

He sighed and decided not to comment on it for now. He probably needed it anyway.

"Why don't you sit down and I will get something to eat for you." He offered instead and wasn't surprised when the tired man nodded gratefully.

He wasn't surprised either that when he returned with the food, Whisky was sound asleep.

"Figures. Just when I wanted to ask for your name." He mused out loud.

Dan took out his wand in order to levitate the man to bed, before he once again remembered the last time he had done that. He winched and decided for another safer approach.

"Accio blanket."

He carefully pulled it over the man's shoulders and put a warming spell on the food. There, his job was done.

He would leave the reprimanding to Julia or Rosmerta – whoever found him first.

As he left the man to his sleep, Dan never saw the small smile on the man's lips. Nor did he notice the green eyes that watched the figure walk up the stairs, before they closed again.

They cared for him?

Harry wasn't quite sure how to feel about that yet.

"How is he?"

The healer looked up from the readings that she had just recieved and turned towards the anxious woman. Seeing the expression on her face, the woman straightened and glanced towards the man on the bed and sighed.

"He's stable. His mind is still whole as well."

The woman visibly relaxed and sat down on one of the chairs as anxious energy left her body.

"But...?" Alice muttered after a moment, knowing that there must be a reason for the other woman to sound so wary, besides the fact that her husband wasn't awake yet.

"His mind appears whole, but it has taken a hit. It will recover fully, but it is best to let the mind rest for a bit. It might take some time for him to wake up. We will keep him asleep until he is ready. I'm sorry Alice, I wish I had better news."

"This is good news." The woman assured her, though her eyes were heavy.

"If that someone hadn't helped him…" She muttered, thinking back to what James had explained to him. That someone was going after the Death Eaters and apparently had gotten air of Frank's situation. Whether is had been about saving Frank or simply to crush the death eaters present, Alice didn't know - and honestly could currently care less about.

"Let's focus on the present." She muttered.

The healer nodded in agreement, even though she had the feeling that Alice had mostly said it for her own sake.

"Go and rest Alice, I will warn you as soon as anything happens."

"Calm down, Sharon. You shouldn't overdo it."

"But Grandma!" The seven-year-old complained as she tugged her mother along. "I feel fine!"

"I know darling, but just be careful alright? You don't want to spend another day in bed because you have gotten too tired, do you?" She smiled warmly at the vibrant child and chuckled as the girl reluctantly complied with a sigh as she slowed down slightly.

"Alright Grandma."The girl agreed reluctantly.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" She questioned her, causing Sharon to shrug awkwardly.

"What if Mr. Whisky already left?" The child muttered worriedly. "Then I can't thank him."

"I'm sure he is there Sharon. I have seen him sleeping this morning, so he should still be there."

Merlin knows what would have happened if Dan hadn't found him again. They hadn't seen him come back that evening and she had barely refrained themselves from going out to search for him herself. She had been very relieved when Dan told him that Whiskey was back.

Dan had seemed disappointed that the girls hadn't been able to reprimand him in the morning. He had somehow managed to get to his bed during the night.

"Grandma, what are you thinking about?" The girl's question broke her out of her thoughts and she realized that they were already in front of the bar.

"Nothing you need to be worried about Sharon, let's say hello to Uncle Dan first and then I will talk to Whisky for a moment alright?"

Everything had gone according to plan, Harry decided. Well mostly where Bella was concerned.

Still, he felt like he was forgetting something.

So there Harry Potter stood, completely silent, deep in thought as his eyes stared down at the movements on the street. His forehead pasted against the cool glass. So now and then his breath fogged the glass, before evaporating – repeating the cycle.

He was too late to react to the knocking, but he noticed immediately when his door opened. His body tensed, his hand twitched, but he remained still.

It didn't surprise him when Julia's perfume filled the room. The door didn't open completely. He hadn't expected it to do so. Julia was polite when she wasn't too annoyed with him.

"Goodmorning… are you decent?"

He couldn't hold back the snort that escaped from his mouth, which Julia took as an invitation to open the door completely and to step in.

"Hi." She simply said as she took in his silent appearance. "You look…" She couldn't finish her sentence, but he could practically hear her thoughts anyway. He looked worn and sober. The wizard knew that she was surprised – it was probably the first time she didn't see him with a bottle filled with some kind of liquor.

"Hi." He muttered, feeling too tired to raise his head from the glass. She didn't seem to mind his somewhat rude gesture. Rosmerta and Dan also seemed to become quite resistant to them. In fact, they were starting to be able to read them… which was, in the past or future – whatever – a sign for him to 'stumble' on.

He didn't feel like moving away from here though.

"Are you alright?" Julia asked carefully not wanting to come across as nosy or rude. He appreciated the gesture and shrugged. How did he feel? He wasn't really sure.

"I'm too sober." He eventually decided to admit out loud.

A small smile ghosted over her face.

"I would like to get to know the sober you." She admitted gently. "If that's too much for you though, I can offer you a drink at the bar? There is someone that really wants to meet you if that is alright with you."

Someone wanted to meet him? Apprehension automatically raised its ugly head and he closed his eyes for a moment to keep his calm. He wasn't on the run anymore, he reminded himself.

After a few moments, he could get his lips to move again. "Who wants to-?"

He didn't finish when he heard the door creak again. Watching the reflection in the window, he saw a small child carefully step into his room towards the mother-figure. He felt his body straighten automatically as he carefully turned around. His eyes met with the wide curious hazel eyes that were locked onto his figure.

Sharon. He remembered his accidental trip to Julia's memories well enough. He swallowed as memories crashed down on him – though these were memories that weren't associated with this girl. They were associated with another girl… his girl… she had… His fist clenched.

He craved the haziness again. Just a tiny swig, he told himself. He tried fighting it, before he felt his magic fluctate with his first wave of emotion. He was too unpredictable, even for himself. That could be dangerous to his visitors.

So, with a heavy sigh Whisky raised his hand. A second later, a familiar bottle flew into his grasp. He made a move to take a swig, but a hand gently grasped his wrist. He barely kept himself in check. He was a second away from hitting her. Looking into her eyes, he guessed that Julia knew that very well.

Still, she was able to remain calm as she spoke towards the little girl.

"Sharon honey, I told you to wait." She reprimanded the girl, who twitched guiltily. "Why don't you tell Uncle Dan about school for a moment? We will be down in a few minutes alright?" She said pleasantly.

The child looked quite skeptical, but the pointed look that her grandmother shot over her shoulder made her think twice of arguing.

"Fine."

The moment the girl was out of the door, her demeanor changed into a worried one. "What happened Whisky?"

She was too close and still touching him. Restraining his arm.

"Don't touch me." A dark mutter escaped him and he looked away from her surprised gaze. "I'm fine. Just… give me a moment." He gruttend as he tried to calm his magic.

She let him go without a second thought, though she stubbornly kept a hand on the bottle. He let her and turned back to his previous position, eyes closed.

The drunk turned his head against the glass, peering at her.

"You're bleeding!" The woman suddenly cried out.

He tensed. "I'm not?" He lied.

"Let me see."

"Its nothing."

"Then show me..."

Damn it!

Damn it!

He hated the feeling of being watched…

Though he had to admit that having the feeling didn't always necessarily mean that he was being watched. Nor did not feeling like he was being observed mean that he wasn't being observed.

Whoever this guy was… he couldn't be quite sure until he announced himself.

"Good job with the wards." A soft voice echoed through the dark cold room.

At the sound, a lone figure swirled around to face the empty room behind him. His dark eyes flickered warily from side to side in search of his visitor. The tenseness in his shoulder relaxed ever so slightly as he recognized the voice and his hand fell away from his wand. He turned back around.

"You are not here to congratulate me." The man accused the presence.

"That's partly true." The presence admitted easily. His voice was difficult to pinpoint, which annoyed him greatly. The wizard had difficulty trying to suppress his urge to force him to become visible. The first time he had tried though… He wouldn't try again without good reason.

This man was dangerous.

"Are you alright?" The voice spoke again – too genuine Severus Snape decided.

The idea that his answer would matter, made Severus feel nauseas. He – whoever he was - was just another player of the game. Severus was just another pawn. He couldn't believe that anyone would really care.

The only reason that he was here was that this person seemed to really want to protect the enemies of his enemy Voldemort – and therefor Lily would be protected.

Even Albus had failed protecting her like this mysterious invisible figure had.

"What do you want me to do?" Snape whispered, watching the snow fall from the sky. He absently noted that even the reflection of the room didn't show him anything. That limited at least a couple of tricks of invisibility. He would have to research more thoroughly, he realized.

"Voldemort is not dead."

The dark wizard tensed as he heard his name being spoken, before the message itself registered.

Not dead.

Absently he noted that he hadn't used the words 'Voldemort is still alive', but his thoughts focused on the presence's implications instead. So, there was still danger…

He silently gritted his teeth, feeling like he should rebuke the statement somehow. He wanted to. He wanted this chapter of his life to be over with and never look back. He wanted to tell the man to stop lying to him, but in the end, the ex-Death Eater didn't comment.

He sighed.

"You already suspected. You just don't want to admit it." The man's voice continued softly, making Severus momentarily wonder whether he could read his thoughts as well.

Instead he pushed away from the window and headed towards the door. "I want out. I never meant to hurt her."

"He will go after them again." The voice came from right in front of him.

Wand - his hand twitched in reflex before he lowered it again. He glared as he could practically imagine the amusement that his reflex had caused. Instead, the presence's voice sounded very serious as he asked him his question.

"Where do you want to be when it happens?"

Had he not been surprised by the sudden close confrontation, he would have been surprised now as he realized what he had just been asked. For once, his mask fell away and his surprise showed on his face.

Where did Severus want to be?

"Yes. What do you want?"

Had he muttered that out loud? Slightly irritated at his own blunder, the wizard crossed his arms and looked down, his face emotionless once more.

"You are taking me for a fool."

The chuckles took him off guard. "Oh no, Snape. You may have made many foolish mistakes – foolish indeed - but you are not fooling me. You are no fool."

His eyes shut in an unconscious attempt to flee from the confronting words. A tiny part of him – one that Snape had desperately pushed away to the back of his mind - felt glad for the reassurance that the voice provided.

"So Snape… I have told you last time what I want, but what do you want?"

There was a long pause as the man pondered about the question that seemed so alien to him.

After minutes passed, Severus absently wondered whether the presence was still there when he answered. Once it came however, his words were filled with determination and - dare he say it – hope. His dark eyes shone with a light that hadn't been in them for many years.

"I want to be my own man." He stated, somehow knowing that the presence was right in front of him – listening.

Smiling sadly.

What would you choose?

Ever faced a difficult decision yourself?

l'm curious.