Bring Me To Life : A Continuation
by I Got Tired of Waiting

Part I : The Past to the Present
Intermission Three : So Sweet...

Albus had warned them they might have some 'problems' with public opinion. While the laws might allow them to marry, it didn't mean wizarding society 'approved' of their relationship. From the time of their first farcical press conference shortly after Albus' death they received all manner of public censure from tasteless jokes to nasty letters, mostly against Severus for defiling the public's 'darling'. Intensely private, they tended to avoid situations giving rise to such condemnation but privately thought the jokes mostly harmless and rather amusing.

However, when it became clear they intended to stay together by choice, the public's reaction against them both was mixed, but rarely positive. Despite their almost paranoid circumspection and discretion, the jokes and Howlers soon escalated into physical harassment. Usually petty, a push into a wall or a mysterious stumble in Diagon Alley, they bore the indignities in affronted silence. On occasion the pranks turned into ugly violence and, in retrospect, Harry thought these incidents, while rare, solidified much of Severus' fierce protectiveness towards him in later years.

Things settled over time, although they continued receiving the Howlers, often getting two or three a week, usually at breakfast. Conversation would gradually cease around the Great Hall whenever a Postal Owl arrived carrying the familiar red envelope. After it was dropped to the head table, either he or Severus would serenely walk it to the staff room beyond where the message could be opened safely away from the ears of the Staff and students.

Then someone invented the Self-Opening-Howler. Severus vowed that if he ever found out who it was... Well, even Flitwick had been impressed when Harry mentioned them to him.

When the first one arrived, Harry had no more picked it up when it exploded and proceeded to howl its message for the entire Hall to hear. Luckily, it was quite tame (although it singed his fingers) but the incident shook them both. When the next one arrived, Severus tried levitating it, thinking Harry's touch had set it off, but the same thing happened to him and, once again, they were subjected to the Howler's reastier message. Soon all Howlers arrived in this form with ever-increasing frequency; they could find nothing to keep them from exploding their messages immediately at delivery.

While Severus hid his deep hurt and frustration from everyone but Harry, they shared a common outrage that the students were subjected to these anonymous abominations as well. After a particularly humiliating one involving comments on their sex life, which the two of them privately concluded was anatomically impossible, Harry decided enough was enough; he would stop them.

Waiting until Severus taught his advanced levels, Harry called off his classes and went to Severus' office where he had a little chat with the castle. It took a while for him to get his meaning across, but once it understood, the castle was their willing accomplice.

From that day forward, all Howlers, regardless of the intended recipients, were sent to their quarters and while this may have made it uncomfortable for anyone else who had to wait for their distribution, it did effectively keep them private. Harry personally thought the whole thing rather boring, but knew each one cut Severus like a knife. Fiercely protective of him, Harry took it one step further.

Enlisting the willing assistance of Professor Flitwick, they created a type of Reflecting Charm. Unbeknownst to Severus, Harry wove the charm into the fabric of the castle's wards. Tired, but quite pleased with himself, he waited. Several Howler-free weeks later, the rumours flew about certain highly placed Ministry Officials receiving Self-Opening-Howlers from themselves containing 'highly-inappropriate-sexually-suggestive-material'.

It was almost inevitable that Arthur Weasley, then Minister of Magic, dropped by to see them.

Alerted by the castle of his arrival, Harry met him halfway to the Apparation point and walked him back to Hogwarts, catching up on family matters on the way to Severus' office. The closest person he had to a father, Harry enjoyed Arthur's company and respected him greatly. Quiet and unassuming, Arthur was a powerful wizard in his own right; his humility and high humour tempered and strengthened his magic much the same way Dumbledore's had. Both Severus and Harry had been hugely satisfied when he'd taken over the Ministry after Fudge.

Arthur had his own reasons for his visit, which became apparent after he'd settled comfortably on the sofa next to Harry. Severus occupied the other comfortable chair by the fire. They purposefully sat apart; it made things easier that way.

"I see the two of you have had great fun denuding my cabinet of some of its more prominent members," Arthur began after they'd exchanged the usual niceties.

Severus looked confused, his tea forgot. "We'd heard rumours, of course, that some of the Cabinet had been removed for sexual impropriety, which we found highly ironic, but I fail to see how we had anything to do with it."

Harry looked uncomfortable, Oh-oh, he thought, I think I'm in for it now.

Arthur gave him a sharp stare. "Now, Severus, please don't be coy. It's obvious the two of you are involved; the impropriety you so glibly speak of was the return receipt of Howlers they'd sent to the two of you. It went beyond poor taste and I'd no choice but to remove or demote them for moral turpitude. Not that I minded the excuse... In fact," he added, a suppressed smile on his lips, "it wasn't just limited to my Cabinet; several others in the Aurors and other departments had to be disciplined as well. I've also heard there were some prominent citizens less than pleased with the results."

Severus looked troubled for a moment, his eyes sliding to and resting on Harry. Seeing his uncomfortable squirming, Severus' head followed and Harry was treated to the rare piercing regard of an irate headmaster. "Potter, what have you been up to?" he finally asked in the quiet silky voice Harry knew was Severus at his most intense. Normally, he enjoyed that tone of voice, but now? He suddenly recalled why Severus had few discipline problems amongst the students.

Arthur turned to look at him as well, the suppressed smile finally teasing his mouth until he had a full-fledged grin on his face. "Yes, Harry. Do tell us what you've been up to."

Even knowing Arthur wasn't upset, Severus had no intention of letting Harry off the hook. That Harry had done something, without telling him, made him... Well, it was a good thing they weren't sitting next to each other.

"Um, well, it's like this," Harry stammered. Severus glared at him and he fell silent.

"Oh, please, Mr Potter. Please tell me what it is you've done to annoy me this week," Severus said at his most sarcastic. "I've missed your youthful peccadillos so much and eagerly await the latest in your long line of thoughtless actions."

Arthur looked at him sharply.

"It wasn't thoughtless," Harry began. "In fact, it took Flitwick and I two days to figure it out."

"Me," Severus automatically corrected, "Flitwick and me. And what was Filius doing in all this?"

"We made a Reflecting Charm to send the Howlers back to their senders. The sending part was easy, but bypassing their Anonymity Charm took a while. Professor Flitwick was brilliant," he said with a measure of pride.

"I see. And how did you use this charm?" Severus asked, his eyes narrowed.

Now, they were at the tricky part. Theoretically, Harry was charged with keeping the castle, but Severus was in charge of the wards. While Harry always executed the changes Severus wanted to make to the wards, he wasn't really supposed to work on them on his own; only the headmaster was supposed to make changes, but that didn't mean he wasn't perfectly capable of working them himself, it just meant Severus expected them to do it together.

So he shifted under the steady gaze and mumbled, "I set it into the wards."

Startled, Arthur cried, "What?!"

"I believe he said he wove it into the wards. Exactly how did you do that?" Severus was quite calm. Harry knew that calm, just as he knew they were going to have a flaming row about it when they got private.

Harry shrugged. "I just did. I told the castle what I wanted to do and then I did it. And yes, before you ask, I set the proper protections here in this room while you were teaching Potions that morning. Flitwick had no idea what I was about; he thought I was using the charm when the Howlers came in."

Arthur leaned over and asked him, "Why didn't you? Why set it into the wards of the castle?"

Harry quickly glanced at Severus, who was sitting very still, lost in his own thoughts. Turning back to Arthur he explained, "It only worked half the time. There were... reasons it had to work every time." He stopped there and thought about saying more, but sliding his eyes to Severus, he decided to go no further.

Arthur sat back, his face thoughtful. "Do you think it could be set into any ward or just the ones here at Hogwarts?"

Harry considered this a moment. "I don't know; I'm only familiar with the ones we have here. I may have knowledge of several different forms, but I'm not experienced working with them. Severus could give you a better idea about that than I."

Severus looked tired. "I would have to examine how it was set, Arthur, but I think any charm can be woven into certain types of wards. Why do you ask?"

It was Arthur's turn to squirm. "You're not the only ones receiving them. I find them a distasteful invasion of privacy, especially when the sender can choose when and where they arrive. When I'd learned you were sending them back to their recipients, I'd hoped we could do the same at the Ministry and elsewhere. If we could make the knowledge common, they would lose their effectiveness and their use might stop."

Harry had a flash of insight. The Trio. They were getting them as well as their father, and probably the rest of their families as well. Before Severus could speak, Harry jumped in, "I'll be more than happy to give you the charm and explain how I set it. You can use it as you see fit."

And that was the end of Severus' objections. Resigned, he told Arthur he would Owl him with the information on the morrow. Sensing the tension between the two, Arthur wisely called it a night and bid them adieu, saying he could find his own way out.

Severus sat in his chair a few very long moments, his eyes closed, a look of long-suffering weariness on his face. Harry watched him silently, but with no apprehension. He knew he'd done the best he could and Severus would just have to deal with it.

Severus rose from the chair and sighed, saying to Harry in a low calm voice, "Come, let's get it over with, but not here." He strode out of the room, Harry only a few steps behind him.

The walk to their quarters was made in silence and once the door was closed, Severus turned to Harry, his eyes blazing. "I find it singularly perverse that you chose this moment to turn defiant. What in the hell were you thinking of? No, let me rephrase that. What in the hell were you not thinking of?!"

Harry balled his hands into fists to keep his temper in check. "It was not thoughtless. Pay attention! I thought we'd already established this. I couldn't stand by helpless another day watching you get those goddamn things, watching you tear yourself apart over them. I decided to do something about them. And if you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it elsewhere, because I'd do it again and again and again if I had to."

"Even if it means destroying the castle and everyone in it?" Severus asked with deadly quiet.

"Yes! Even if it brought the whole goddamn castle down around our ears."

"Then I would call that thoughtless disregard. A child's reaction. I Don't Sleep With Children," he stated implacably.

Harry was now truly pissed off. How could he explain this, make Severus see? "The castle helped me, for gods' sakes. It showed me what to do. It can't hurt itself and it can't hurt us! Only those damned Howlers hurt us. Hurt you. I couldn't do nothing! I couldn't find the senders, couldn't make them pay for the damage they caused you. So I stopped them the only way I knew how. It had to be done! And if that's childish, then... then you're too damned grown up." He stopped, panting, his eyes perilous.

Severus regarded him with hooded eyes for a moment, admiring the passion, the resolve and, once again, thought just how dangerous Harry was when provoked. He allowed himself one small moment of wounded pride... until he felt the tightness...

Quicker than thought, he closed the distance between them. Wrapping his arms around Harry, he crushed him in a tight embrace, his mouth stopping any more words Harry might utter. Overwhelmed, Harry responded in a manner that soon had both men groaning.

Severus pulled back, breathing heavily and looked Harry in the eyes, smouldering black to blazing green.

"Idiot! I understand why you did it," he whispered intensely into Harry's ear while nipping the soft flesh of his neck beneath it. "And I am grateful for the results."

Nip...

"But if you ever,"

Bite...

"Ever do that again,"

Suck...

"Work the wards without back-up,"

Lick...

"Without me,"

Tasting...

"Castle or no castle,"

Worrying the lobe with his teeth...

"I will nail your entrails to the wall,"

Bite...

"And then, let one of Hagrid's more interesting pets finish you off."

He bit his neck hard, running his hands down Harry's hips. Cupping his buttocks, he pulled him close into his own hardness. "Am I clear?"

Harry pulled his neck away from Severus' tender ministrations and bit his bottom lip. Severus groaned but didn't back down; pulling Harry even closer, the concern for Harry was clear in his eyes. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Yesss," Harry said, taking Severus' mouth, plunging his tongue into the sweet depths, tasting his surrender. Severus shuddered and groaned his satisfaction into Harry's mouth, his grinding hips sending ripples of pleasure through them both.

Well, that was a little intense, Harry thought as he and Severus tumbled to the floor.

Short, but sweet. Oh gods, the making-up is so sweet.

TBC