Chapter Twenty: Steady Hearts
Harry was under the impression that these guards, as well as anyone serving beneath Severus, had entered into the coven and swore an oath, as well as signing drafted contracts and/or pledging their allegiance to the Vampire Lord and King. It was a simple thought that eased him in his readiness to share his information, and have him the strength to divulge any answers the family asked to hear.
"Lord Potter," One of the twins spoke, "If you truly do not mind my asking, why do you eat as we do?"
Harry believed this to be Fred, as a slightly darkened freckle below his left eye set him apart from his brother who's darker freckle was to the right of his face. Or perhaps that was George for the same reasons? He would need more time to figure those two out.
"Well, my body does not require food, as the land of the dead naturally supplies me with energy which helps my magic to maintain my body, but I do still enjoy the taste every now and again." He answered. His stomach had warm food in it, and he felt at ease from the feeling it gave him. Feelings tied to the brighter moments in his life and the fantasy of having this place by Severus for as long as magically possible.
Once the boys question had been answered, Hermione spoke up with a question that called to a side of Harry that none of the rooms occupants had seen before. Severus included, which shocked the man. There were still many things he had yet to know about his little mate, and this seemed to be one of them.
"What exactly happens when one passes on from this world? What lies beyond this that is so great?" The young Lady of the Granger house asked, and Harry lit up in a whole new way.
His eyes twinkled as he started his speech on the process of passing between the two plains. "Oh! To begin, death is quite frankly unavoidable, and depending upon your method of passing, you will experience one of many things. If you suffer from a heinous or forced ending, you will still feel whatever was done towards your person for a few moments until your body adjusts to it's new state." He explained softly.
Death was a harsh topic for the living, Harry knew, so he would try to soften the blow as he went along. "If it was self afflicted, you will eventually be taken to a facility where you are to be processed and monitored for any remaining instabilities of the mind or heart. Natural passings are dealt with fairly easily, as most know that they have met their fate. Everyone however has to pass through the documentation building. We go into death knowing most everything save for the final moments of our time here above ground."
He gesticulated wildly in his excitement, hands nonverbally showing his love for this process and the world he knew as home. "Death itself is as though a dark blanket has enveloped your sight, or as if you had fallen into a dreamless slumber." The young Lord reminisced. "Waking up for many can be a shock as it will usually feel like a whimsical dream. We are processed, name, date of birth, age upon arrival, and our manner of death is usually already been filled out upon our arrival. If we are magical, held a certain station in life, any animagus forms or patroni, etcetera. And once we step upon the grass on the other side of the building, we are usually reacquainted with our deceased next of kin. There are homes set up for families, and if your body is cremated or otherwise of no use in the land of the dead, what remains of our souls are set in paint and portraiture just as you all do up here. There are no ghosts below ground as those are the souls that haunt the living, after gaining a chance to stay here for eternity."
Now he was really getting into his little lecture on the beginnings of life after death in the afterlife. He had gotten so caught up in himself that he did not notice the ever increasing dumbfounded looks upon his companions faces. He had completely poured his heart into this moment, and the way he somehow had addressed them all without actually seeing them astonished those who listened.
He was in his own world, only brought back when Severus intrupted his thoughts through their link. 'I am afraid you are beginning to lose them beloved. The Weasleys and Lady Granger seem to be trying hard to keep up with your words as you have barely stopped to breathe-- no matter how much air you may need.' The mans eyebrow lifted in his amusement, and the corner of his mouth twitched when his young mate suddenly stopped his ramblings, and blushed all the way down to the visible areas of his neck. Harry snapped his attention towards his mate, and took a moment to breathe in, green eyes looking into black orbs in order to calm himself.
"My apologies everyone, I did not mean to get so carried away." He smiled turning back towards the clan of red heads, and finished his thoughts on the matter in a much less detailed way. "Suffice it to say, the land of the dead is just as developed, and in many ways even more so than the times you all are living in. It encompasses deaths from every era, before us and after us, and the land expands to accommodate every new arrival, as they are called. We have a prison, and schools, and every new arrival is brought forth from the graveyard at the edges of the boundaries."
The boy was more than embarrassed at his over excited outburst, as he did not need the people sitting before him to think differently or speak ill of him behind his back. He knew he was as abnormal as it got, and did not want to set himself apart any further than he already had.
Pushing a bit of hair behind his ear, the boy swallowed silently before putting on a small smile to hide his insecurities. It was something he knew would get others attention away from his awkward pause. It had done it's duty, as Severus was the only one to notice the small change, and had sent his mate reassurance through their bond.
The younger wizards smile warmed up significantly at his mate's attentiveness and growing knowledge in the nuances of his facial expressions.
He turned towards the Weasleys and Hermione, and motioned for their questions to resume. He would try hard not to zone out, over explain, or anything of the sort because he truly did not seek their confusion. He just felt so deeply for his home, for the place that gave him a cozy place to live, that was responsible for him being loved and having a family he could call his own. It was infinitely more inviting than the land of the living in comparison.
"At what age were you when you passed away?" Ginerva Weasley asked, knowing that it would be less impolite to ask now, than it would have been if the Lord were still dressed as a Lady.
He was a bit taken aback by the question, as he was sure that his age had come up before just then. Perhaps he really hadn't spoken his age, or the girl was trying to confirm her thoughts? He would not know, mostly because he did not care enough to ask these questions in return. "I met my fate at age fifteen." Was his answer. He really wanted to elaborate a bit more and give them the chance to understand him, but he similarly did not want them knowing who he was just yet in case they deemed him worthy of judgements or pity.
Right now he longed for neither of the emotions, and should they be given, he would not hesitate to speak his opinion on it. "Oh Merlin! Fifteen?" Molly asked no one in particular. It reminded her of the last time she had seen the boy past their days in school. The woman had last seen the Lord alive a few months before his death, and because they were on two opposing sides of the street, she never attempted to cross to speak with him. He was so preoccupied, and he walked with such a purpose that she did not believe a bout of small talk would be beneficial to the boy.
Not to mention any married woman conversing with a single Lord that was both younger and not related to herself in the times they lived in, or even now would have been heavily frowned upon. However she felt that she should have done something more to have him open up. Perhaps having visited with Arthur would have given her reason to speak with the boy, as well as introducing him to her husband?
It was much too late now to think back on, so she instead tried not to be insensitive in her approach to her second and rather controversial question. "Forgive my question if it is too much dear, but what of your anatomy? How do you function as one should whilst alive?"
She spoke slow, in case Harry clammed up or shut down while her inquiry unfolded, but the undead Lord did neither. Perhaps his eyes did widen a bit as he realized just how much she was asking to know in the vaguely phrased question. "I function very much the same as you... As any of you. Though it may be seen as a parody of life, I am-- for all intents and purposes living-- a reanimated corpse I may be, but my body moves as it had in life."
Molly sighed and smiled a bit, as she wondered how the boy could stay so young in body and still live with the common afflictions of the living? He still needed breath to speak, and circulation to move his limbs, least he not need this, and his heart truly was unbeating?? Did his body rely on magic in order to maintain its basic functions, or had magic kick-started his body into working once again?
Harry's heart did not beat, as anyone with keen hearing could tell, though there was a circulation in his veins. What went through them though, no one-- not even Harry himself, knew. He was not inclined however to speak on this, as human experiments were becoming widespread and heinous now a days. If anyone happened to be just far enough outside of the normal within the muggle community, they would strike it down, or let it die naturally and perform inhumane expirements on them for as long as humanly possible.
This was why factions of the magical world were encouraging the separation from the muggle world. They were not being allowed the right of gaining justice and avenging those who were lost, and essentially a divide in cultures and living was forming. They would no longer be integrated with their non magical halves quite soon, and he was happy for both sides to find their own sense of normalcy, so long as neither side culled one another for scientific research. Recollecting his scattered thoughts, Harry turned to his mate, knowing that the man could have his own questions that may not have come up in their very limited casual conversations in the past.
Severus smiled, as he knew his mate wanted him to move the conversation along, and preferably away from his body and it's intriguing machinations. "And what of your favorite flower my dear mate?" The man did not know this, and on Harry's behalf, he hoped the small simple question would bring everyone a step back from how his mate managed to live between life and death for the moment.
A smile meant just for the man beside him graced the boys face, and his cheeks pushing up caused his eyes to close just a bit. "Well, up until you and I met, I had no favorite flower. They all held their own beauties and meanings, but when you paced that iridescent rose within my hair I knew it was the flower I'd readily accept as my favorite." After this, the boy cleared his throat and twiddled his thumbs beneath the table where no one could see his silent anxiety.
"Oh, do you perhaps have a favored animal?" Ginerva asked shyly, to which Harry gave her a patient smile and replied. "Indeed. An animal I can say I have come to love dearly in life and death, are serpents, specifically the Death Adder which is native here."
"What caused that?" Ron asked, face a bit uneasy, though there in his blue eyes was a bright light of curiosity. "They are quite the conversationalists." It was said so nonchalantly that the occupants of the room were better able to intake the information. They now had reason to believe that the dead man had the ability of a Parselmouth, with extraordinary magic capabilities. They knew of his favorite sport, and flower, though not of his favorite book, or if he played the piano, danced, sung, knew the arts of combat, or simply was a book lover, or author. He dressed in different ways to most, not confining himself to any one genders wardrobe, and was an overall amiable young Lord, who has been snubbed by fate a few times too many.
Severus smirked, his mate was truly something out of a storybook. The boy wanted anonymity when it came to those around them, yet he failed so deeply at it that it was once again just another trait that endeared him to the elder vampire. To reveal something so trivial as his favorite flower, then present those before him with such a rare piece of himself like it was nothing? He had to give the boy some credit however, because in his fumbled search for creating a mystery around himself, Harry had caused a very well knitted confusion towards those within the room. This gave him a way to cocoon himself and stay out of others line of sight, and thus their line of fire.
Of course that certainly did not mean he would not be talked about or speculated over. He may become bombarded by curious eyes, or envious tongues, but he would have also given others reason to keep their distance lest he turn out to be the stuff of true nightmares. He would be fawned over for his beauty as well, and there was no way for the black haired man to discourage this besides leaving his marks upon the boy in any way he knew how. Whether those methods be magical, physical, scent wise, or with his family's crest or heirlooms, marking the smaller man as his intended.
He would have to take some time today and rescent the shorter wizard. No doubt Harry felt the same, or at least similarly enough to readily accept the man's special claim on him.
The questions carried on, and those around the table settled into a sort of smooth conversation. It wasn't just questions for Harry, but for the whole table, as everyone had their own thoughts and confusions to clear up.
"How did you and mother meet?" Charlie questioned, aimed more at the undead man two seats away rather than his mother Molly. This required a bit for thought and time, as Harry had to reach far for his memories. Finally coming up with the day he had met the wonderful woman across the table, he replied.
Reaching out for the woman's hand for a moment, he smiled, "The two of us met upon my first day at Hogwarts. I had just been sorted into Gryffindor house, and she was assigned to help the girls find their way in the castle." A hand was raised-- as if he were teaching a class-- belonging to Arthur. "Yes?" He said, turning towards the elder man.
The man finally asked his first question, as he had sat back and watched his family the entire time. "So you must have been going by Lady Potter in your time there?"
The perpetual boy nodded quickly, stating that that was the only way is family would allow him to enter school; if he had a severe handicap from a societal standpoint. They would burn every article of mens clothing he may have brought back until he stopped buying them or bringing them back with him, which did not take very long.
He would leave whatever he purchased at the school until summer, when the family was less inclined to burn away his belongings in the already stifling heat. He did not divulge this part of his past to anyone, though his mind was still an open book to his vampiric mate.
"Nevertheless, your wife was my single human friend during my school days, up until the winter break of my fifth year, when I died." He finished.
Honestly he only had a few inquiries for the family, like how Hermione dealt with the proposal from Ron. She painted a picture of her back gardens, the red haired boy on bended knee, and holding her smaller outstretched hand in his own. How the boy stuttered through his explaination for wanted her as he did, and the obvious answer he recieved. It made the man of which she spoke blush several shades of vermillion, and caused his brothers to lightheartedly poke fun at him for a few moments.
She asked Severus and Harry in turn how the two felt upon meeting each other for the first time, and how the proposal was done for the two of them.
Taking a deep breath Harry waited to hear what his mate thought leading up to meeting him. Seeing his wide eyed mate's interest in his answer, the elder man smirked. "Simply put, I thought myself insane." This made his little one choke on air for a moment and he chuckled before continuing on. "To have been pulled deep into the forest by one magic is nothing to scoffed at, especially when that pull is laced with warmth and the promise of undying devotion." It felt like a mate, he thought to himself, though he looked to his side at the one he felt so enamoured by.
Crossing his legs beneath the table, the man settled in a bit more comfortably, posture still emaculate. Harry, who had a faint blush covering his cheeks, shyly reached a hand over to the other mans, which was settled on the arm of his finely decorated chair far past what anyone would see without looking at or around improper areas.
"To bring this to a close on my end, after seeing my mate in the forms of a tree, a hoarder of butterflies, and as a corpse in his true form, I was..." He paused for a literal second trying to find the perfect wording for how seeing his mate's face for the first time felt. "fairly attached to his courage and beauty."
The boy beside him was at a lost for words, a hearing this mate his throat close up a bit. He had to blink twice before he was calm enough to give his perspective. "I was extremely happy to have found a way to come up here, though when I realized what had set the ritual in motion, I was terrified. Who could my mate be, how would they handle the sight of me, would they stay...?" His words were soft, and beneath the table he and Severus entwined their fingers.
"I listened as he spoke the traditional vows to me, watched with unfocused vision as he made do with what was around us, so far into the trees, and felt as he placed his ring onto my finger. Yet once it as all over he stood to leave, and I knew that if I did not answer him, he may very well have thought himself crazy." He reminisced eyes unfocused as he spoke.
A smile graced his face and he laughed lightly. "My dear Severus truly is a marvel of a man, and I too feel for his open mindedness, and getlemanly attitude." a small sigh left his lips and the boy was nearly lost to his own fantasies again.
He felt a lot for the man who held his hand so dearly. Who treated him like a precious gem worthy of reverence, or a sight so beautiful to see that it would be followed for an eternity.
After coming back to reality, the romantic boy sat silently while those around him talked to one another, up until he was asked his favorite candies or surface questions about his family, and if he could play the piano or dance or sing.
This was asked by various Weasleys, candy from Ron, his family from Bill, and his extracurricular activities by Ginerva.
Shaking the haze from his mind, the boy answered. He felt so wrong for zoning out as much as he had today, though his brain was being heavily questioned, on top of his unerving rest earlier in the day. Not to mention his family and their seeing Severus for the first time since their days in Hogwarts.
"Please forgive my frequent daydreaming, for I am unused to remembering so many past events in one day." He said, hoping it would be tough to explain his behavior to those around him. He was coming towards the end of his rope as far as his brains cooperation went. "Ever since I was first inroduced to it at 11, I have always been fairly partial to a good chocolate frog." The first question down he tried his best to sum up his family in as few words as possible before he felt to taxed to even get to the final questions.