The Healing of Enemies
Chapter 2: Beginning
Rating: R, but this chapter's not much more than PG, maybe PG-13 at the end
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, JK Rowling does.
Thoughts will be in italics
"Harry, if you don't mind my asking, what happened after you threw the killing curse at Voldemort?"
"I…I threw the curse and collapsed because it used most of my energy. Then I saw the fireball. It flung me across the Quidditch pitch. Just kind of picked me up and threw me, but the fireball itself didn't burn me. I don't know why I wasn't burned by the fireball. Then the stands collapsed on top of me, still burning from the blast. That's how I got burned. I tried calling out for someone, but I didn't have the energy. I blacked out. I came to a few minutes before you found me. That's it, I guess."
"Seems like a rather dull story. I do believe that once the Daily Prophet learns that you are alive, they will write an incredibly sappy story about how you struggled to survive against all odds."
"I think I would have rather died."
"Why on earth would you say something like that? You are a hero, and despite what I have done and said in the past, I am grateful."
Harry looked at Severus with a rather puzzled look on his face. He was expecting Severus to have a look of sheer sarcasm across his face, but Harry was met with a humble and sorrowful expression. He knew that Severus wasn't lying.
"You've changed, Professor. For the better I think. What were you doing on the pitch yesterday?"
"Thinking, grieving, searching for something I didn't know I'd lost, but enough changing the subject. Why did you say you'd rather have died?"
"All of my friends died. I watched Ron die. I watched Hermione die. And Seamus, Dean, Fred, George, even Malfoy! They're all gone, every last one of them. And now I'm all alone. What the fuck am I going to do with myself? I have no one!"
Harry broke down and started sobbing, his head in his hands. Severus sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Harry leaned into him and continued crying. After a few minutes, Harry's sobs subsided and he rested his head sleepily on the Potions Master's chest.
"Let's get some of that potion on your back, alright? I'll help you turn onto your stomach."
Harry nodded and lay down as best he could; unbuttoning his pajama top once he was laying down. Severus gently turned him onto his stomach. He pulled off Harry's top and poured a bit of the potion onto his lower back, rubbing it in with his strong hands. Harry visibly relaxed as Severus massaged his back and fell asleep shortly thereafter. Severus sat on the bed next to the sleeping Gryffindor and simply watched the slow, but steady rise and fall of his back as he breathed. He softly ran his fingers through the boy's tangled, black hair.
He's so young, yet he's been through so much. I wish that this was all a dream. We'll wake up in the morning and he'll still be a seventh year, and I'll still be my old bastard self. Then everyone who died would be alive and we could go back to normal. Normalcy is gone now and here I sit watching this beautiful boy sleep. Beautiful? Yes, Severus, admit it. He is beautiful and you've always known it. You've just been too much of a bastard to really realize it.
Severus pulled himself out of his thoughts and took one longing glance at the sleeping boy. He sighed and, picking up a worn copy of Unknown Uses for Common Potions, sat on the couch to read.
-------------------------------------Meanwhile…Harry's Dream--------------------------------------------
Harry and Voldemort were standing on the Quidditch pitch, dueling just as they had been on that fateful day. Everything was following the duel perfectly, until Harry threw the killing curse at Voldemort. The Dark Lord threw the fireball that would kill everyone, but before it got to Harry, Severus jumped in front of him, taking the brunt of the fireball, sheltering Harry from the blast. Harry was caught in a bubble where the fire didn't reach him. Everyone died, just as they had, but when the fire died down, Severus was gone too. Harry stood up and looked down at the blackened body of his former Potions Professor. He collapsed on top of the body and sobbed. He cried for Severus, for Hermione and Ron, for everyone else who died. Harry then felt at if he was watching the scene from above. He saw himself crying, holding the limp body, trying to shake some life into the man.
Why am I crying like that over Snape? He was always so nasty to me, but he's changed. He's a different man now. And he saved my life, so I owe him. But I feel something else for him. Not just gratitude, but dare I say it, love? The old Snape may have been a heartless git, but the new Snape has a soul, and I can't help but like that, like him. The feeling of his hands on my bare skin sent shivers through my whole body. Their warmth and the way he was so gentle. No other person has ever made me feel like that. But I know there's no way he feels the same thing, so I guess it's better if I keep it to myself while he's helping me get better.
Harry watched himself cry for a little while longer before drifting into a deeper sleep where dreams would not plague him.
-------------------------------------------Back in the Real World-----------------------------------------------------------
A few hours later, Harry woke to the feeling of warm, strong hands again massaging his back.
"Mmmmmmm"
"Oh, you're awake. Sorry to have woken you, but I thought it was time to reapply the potion. I'm almost done, so you ca go back to sleep."
"I can't think of a better way to wake up," Harry said before he had a chance to suppress the thought. Severus stopped immediately and wiped his hands on a small towel. Harry mentally punched himself for having said something so stupid.
How could I have said something so stupid? Now he knows that I have feelings for him and he'll never speak to me again. Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Severus watched the potion shimmer on Harry's back as he breathed. He was in a state of shock.
Did he say what I think he said? "I can't think of a better way to wake up." Maybe he has the same feelings for me as I have for him. What are the chances? One in a million, but there's still that one.
Severus snapped out of his shock and stood up. He looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly dinner time.
"Are you hungry? You slept through lunch."
"Umm, yeah, something to eat would be great."
Severus went to his desk and ordered dinner for two from the house elves. The feast appeared on the dinner table in a matter of seconds. Harry turned onto his back and sat up. The Potions Master ducked into another small room and reappeared with a wheelchair. He moved his armchair and pushed the wheelchair against the edge of the bed. Harry looked slightly puzzled. He'd seen a wheelchair before, but why did Snape have one in his guest chambers?
"What's this for, Professor?"
"It's for you, foolish boy. I thought you might like to get out of that bed. You've never been the stationary type. Can you manage getting from the bed into the chair?"
Harry pulled himself into the wheelchair and got his rather useless legs situated before going to the dinner table. They ate in relative silence again, but now they were both highly confused as to what they were feeling for the other. After dinner, Harry went around exploring Severus' guest quarters. He found the kitchen, the bathroom, a large closet, and a small study with a desk and a small collection of books. He picked out a rather dusty tome bound in deep green leather entitled Quidditch: Everything You Never Wanted to Know and, after dusting it off, began to read. Harry read for a couple of hours, intrigued by the gristly tales of his favorite sport's early years. Yawning, he went back into the bedroom/living room area and found Severus dozing on the couch, a book on the floor. He had obviously fallen asleep while reading. Harry gently nudged Severus and the Potions Master stirred and opened his eyes.
"I'm going to bed now, Professor. Sorry for waking you, but I thought you'd be uncomfortable sleeping all night like that."
"Thank you for your concern, Harry. And please, call me Severus. I am not your teacher anymore."
"Alright, Severus. Before you go to bed, I think I need more of this potion put on my back."
"Yes, you do. I'll put more on as soon as you decide to lie down. Do you think the potion is helping at all?"
"Maybe, I'm not really sure, though. My legs still feel like they're in blocks of ice and I can't move them. If it doesn't work, and I'm stuck like this, I'll get myself a new wheelchair and you can have this one back."
"Don't think like that. You'll get better and then I can transfigure the wheelchair into a new office chair for my study."
At the thought that someone else had hope in his getting better, Harry smiled and lifted himself onto the bed. He got comfortable on his stomach; Severus climbed onto the bed and straddled Harry's hips, hoping the Gryffindor wouldn't object to such an intimate position. Not hearing anything from the boy, Severus started massaging the potion into Harry's back. He kneaded the boy's sore muscles and soon Harry was a puddle of wizard under the Slytherin's skillful hands.
"There, I'm done. Good night."
"Good night, Severus."
Severus pulled the blanket up to Harry's shoulders and turned off the lights. Harry snuggled into the mattress and quickly fell asleep. Severus slunk into his bed and fell into a light sleep, hoping to wake up and have his life back to normal, before the battle.
*fin capitulo dos*
A/N: Well, I would like to thank the Academy…Just Kidding. But anyway, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and left praise and/or constructive criticism. Special thanks go out to lee Lee Potter, The Red Dragons Order, lilah, Tanya, Wittchway, Creamy Mimi, hippy flower, Deity, and Luna Rose and Phoenix Child. I'm totally in love with all of you in a strictly platonic way.
Please review more!!!! Gracias a todos ~ Laura