Chapter 27
Harry had slept through the afternoon and into the evening, until Severus, as promised, woke him for dinner. He was unusually sleepy all through the meal of leftover turkey and went to bed earlier than usual, reasoning that the past few weeks of work and worrying lack of progress with the marauders had caught up with him. Especially when coupled with the relief of having things back to normal with Severus and of finally getting through to Sirius. Severus followed him up, moving back to his own bed, rather than settling back into Harry's as he had done earlier in the day. Harry quickly vetoed the decision, almost dragging the protesting Severus beneath the covers. It was very difficult to be intimidating in stripy pyjamas, however, and Severus quickly gave in.
It was a very comfortable way to sleep, Harry reflected as he burrowed into his lover's warm side. Severus let out a small sigh and shifted against his cheek before falling still once more, one arm draped over Harry. Both were glad to have their relationship back to normal, although neither really regretted their argument. It had tested their boundaries, after all, and every couple needed to do that before they became close.
Such a thought worried Harry because, try as he might, he could not forget that he must soon return to his own time. The tiny bottle in the bottom of his trunk saw to that. And although Severus had his sincerest thanks for all his hard work on the potion, he couldn't help the pang of sadness that reminded him, always, that they would be separated soon.
HPSSHP
The following morning greeted Harry with a burst of flame as Fawkes appeared before him. Beneath his head, Severus' chest rose and fell with a groan as his arm rose to cover his eyes.
"God, I hate mornings." He grumbled. Harry grinned and reached up to stroke Fawkes' bright feathers. The phoenix trilled a happy note before rising back up to perch on the bedpost.
"What are you doing here?" he asked the bird. Fawkes just stared at him. "I'm sorry," he apologised. "I know I haven't been paying proper attention to you lately." Fawkes continued to stare reproachfully at him.
"Do you want to come and have some breakfast with us?" Harry asked. The phoenix bobbed it's head and let out another high note.
"Fine," Severus mumbled beneath the covers. "Just get that bloody bird off the bed."
Harry looked in amusement at his boyfriend before speaking again to Fawkes. "You go down to the hall. I'll be down in a minute."
Fawkes took off in a flutter of large wings before bursting into flame once more and disappearing. Harry turned back to his disgruntled lover.
"Come on, Severus. Time to get up."
HPSSHP
Breakfast was a rather quiet affair, considering the early hour. Harry was busy feeding bits of bacon to Fawkes when the marauders, minus Peter, entered. Remus slid into a seat beside Harry.
"Hey, Neville," he said. "Hi, Fawkes." Fawkes nipped him in a friendly manner on the shoulder. Beside them, Sirius was obviously making a huge effort to be civil to Severus.
"Snape," he muttered as he sat down.
"Black," Severus replied, pushing his bowl of porridge between them in a rather defensive manner.
"Snape," James said, albeit in a slightly more friendly tone. Harry hid a smile. Obviously, both Remus and Lily had been having words with his father. His suspicions were confirmed when Lily settled next to him.
"Good morning, Neville," she said brightly. Harry was reminded rather forcefully of Hermione as he noticed her charms textbook clasped in one hand.
"Good morning," Harry replied. He watched as James left Sirius to fend for himself against Severus and joined Lily, slipping one arm around her waist.
"You're finally together then?" The two gaped at him.
"How-"
"Oh, please," Harry waved a hand dismissively. "You couldn't possibly have made it more obvious you fancied each other."
Lily blushed bright pink and buried her face in the charms book, while James did a lot of throat clearing. "Yes, well…"
"I'm happy for you."
James looked up at him. "Thanks, Potter. You're not so bad, are you?"
"Why, thank you," Harry replied dryly. His attention was distracted again by Fawkes, who was slowly tearing away the sleeve of his robe. "Ow! Repairo. What do you want, Fawkes?"
In reply, his pet pulled the bacon from his hand before flying out of the open window at the far end of the hall. Harry watched Fawkes fly away, turning to find that both Lily and James had done the same.
"A phoenix is an international symbol of being trustworthy, you know," Lily said, giving her boyfriend a meaningful look. James looked uncomfortable, even more so when Severus came up and tapped Harry lightly on the shoulder.
"Are you coming?" he asked. Harry nodded and was just rising when an unfamiliar owl soared through the window and landed on the table. It held out it's leg to Severus. Severus looked confused, but unwrapped the scroll as Harry stroked the glossy black feathers and offered his unfinished orange juice to the tired bird. Severus unrolled the scroll, looked at it, then rolled it back up and stalked out without a word. Harry shared a worried look with Lily before following Severus.
He found the other boy outside. He was rereading the letter, not noticing the think white flakes drifting down from the sky.
"Severus?"
"He's dead." Severus then lapsed back into silence.
Harry sat down beside him. "Who?"
"My father." There was a remarkable lack of emotion with which these words were spoken. Harry wondered if it was shock, or Severus' infamous control over his emotions, or perhaps Severus simply didn't care. What was his father like? Harry had never found out, had never thought about it.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Severus stood up, shaking off Harry's consoling hand. "Don't be. I don't need pity. My mother is safe. She is going into hiding."
"Why?" Harry was confused. How exactly had Severus' father died?
"He was murdered. Voldemort murdered him. You do know who Voldemort is, don't you?" Harry nodded wordlessly. Yes, he knew.
Severus looked at him steadily. "A great pity." He walked away, leaving Harry on the steps of the school, mind filled with whirling thoughts, and the terrible knowledge that time was running out.
