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

Part II : Dearly Departed
Call My Name and Save Me From the Dark

o0o

"So, it didn't work?" Harry asked, the memory clear in his head.

"Obviously not, or we wouldn't be in this predicament."

"How were we supposed to know?" Harry asked heatedly. "It's not like it came with instructions!"

"Well, I certainly didn't know. Albus did, though. When I told him what had happened, he scolded me. 'You can't do that!' Severus mimicked in a whiny voice, 'Surely you remember that!'" As Harry drew breath, Severus added, "At which time I reminded him, none too gently, that he'd left that juicy little titbit, and quite a few others, out of the primer he forgot to give us."

Harry chuckled appreciatively. "Severus, you're evil."

"Perhaps, but it might be wiser to save your applause for after the curtain-call. We're not done yet."

"So, what other pearls of wisdom did Albus give you?"

"Too many, actually. Once you become the headmaster, you can never leave the castle for any appreciable time. It's a forever job, your lifespan measured by the castle's longevity.

"Forever? But that would mean..."

"Yes. Albus told me that all the previous headmasters either died of unnatural causes--like Albus himself, or by their own hand."

"So, for a little normalcy, we traded immortality?" When Severus nodded, a smile playing about his lips, Harry chuckled. "Sounds like we got the better end of the deal."

"True, but unfortunately it was never up for negotiation and, in our case, we were twice cursed. Seems that when we set the Draconus Wards into the Earth Stone, our marriage bond inadvertently merged with the Stone; the two were inseparable. You were right; the bloody thing was--is married to us."

So how do we get a divorce?

Severus chuckled. We need to break its bond with us.

"All right, I can see that, but how...?"

"When we used the rings in the transfer, we managed to sever part of that bond, but not all. And when the castle sensed our intent to leave? It used the remnant of itself within us to make us ill, trying to make us stay. It started with me because I was the weaker of the two, but it went too far and I... died."

Harry knew how much that admission cost him.

"You know our marriage bond will never let us part?" Severus continued.

Harry nodded, "Would you have wanted it to?"

"Never. Not even before we were joined, did I ever want to part with you."

Harry wished it was more than Severus' words that could touch him.

"We were never meant to go separately and our bond is trying to reunite us. The castle is unhappy with this and the two are fighting for supremacy.

"That still doesn't tell me what we need to do."

"Do you ever pay attention?" Severus asked, exasperated. "If I can't go back, you will have to come here. When you die, they both gain a victory... of sorts. If we're together, the bond is happy. If your body remains there, the castle is content. It's close to a win-win situation for both."

"Except to those we leave behind," Harry softly said. "It was awful being alone."

Severus considered him a moment and replied just as softly, "Yes, there is that. It's not been exactly pleasant here, you know." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I'm thinking," he added slowly, "if the Wards aren't transferred fully to Colin, if we don't break the connection the Stone has with our bond, the castle might tear itself apart. Hell, the whole region, perhaps, could be vulnerable to invasion." He closed his eyes, afraid of his thoughts. "We still don't know how critical the Hogwarts Stone is to the rest of the Network. It might all collapse."

"That's a sobering thought," Harry mused. "What are the odds of it really happening?"

"Considerably better than our odds of ever fully understanding it," Severus replied with a small smile. "There is, however, one thing we need to do... if we can." Harry tilted his head in question. "We should warn Colin and Dana."

"So, we get to write the 'Headmaster's Primer'?" At Severus' ironic nod, he asked, "So, oh great and mighty one, how the hell do we do that?"

"I thought you'd never ask..."

o0o

Waking in the infirmary, Harry felt strangely lucid for someone who was dying. Severus, this had better work, he thought fiercely.

With as little movement as possible, a quick glance to the side revealed Remus and Arabella embraced in a large chair, Ron and Hermione curled together asleep on one bed, Seth asleep in the corner, and Colin with his young wife curled up in the other bed. Why it's a regular party, he thought.

Weak, he dragged himself out of the bed. When he finally got his feet over the side, touching the floor, he made a huge effort and managed to stand. Swaying, he caught the footboard to steady himself. Taking a deep breath, he shuffled across the room, shivering from the intense cold. When he finally could see his friends clearly, he held out his shaking wand. As he was about to cast a sleeping spell, Ron and Hermione's eyes opened as one and they gazed at him. With pleading eyes, he whispered, "Got to go to Severus," and as understanding and love dawned in their eyes, he let the spell loose, "Sopophorus Septus."

In Seth's hands, the spell had only relaxed Harry. In Harry's hands, even weakened as he was, the spell put all of them into a deep sleep.

After waiting to make certain they were unconscious, Harry turned to leave when it occurred to him he didn't have the strength or the energy to walk all the way to his quarters. Certainly not undetected. He thought a minute with ever increasing difficulty as the fever played tricks on him. In the end, he thought he might just make it by Floo.

He hobbled to the nearby fireplace and, after the third try, managed to grab a handful of silver powder out of the dragon's horn hung by the fireplace. Throwing the powder into the fireplace and saying "Harry's Rooms" took about all the energy he had. The grates whizzing by making him dizzy, he tumbled out of his fireplace onto the floor face down and lay there unmoving. Damn, that hurt!

Little by little, he pulled himself up to his knees and, crawling across the floor--which was tilting up at him at an odd angle, he made his way over to the desk Severus used for school business. It was closer. He'd never looked through it, but he was fairly certain Severus had pen, parchment, and ink in there.

Upon reaching the desk, he pulled himself up until he was kneeling in front of it, the cold stone floor biting into his shins and feet where they made contact. Rifling through the papers there with weaker and weaker hands, he finally located a piece of empty parchment Severus had cut off the bottom of one of the exhausting letters he always wrote.

Harry smiled fondly with the memory of the letters received while travelling, the long rolls of parchment Severus would send him every day. And between every line of homey news and gossip, Severus conveyed his everlasting love. He'd savour them each night before bed, the missives bringing him home to Severus, making him forget for one small moment the exhaustion and loneliness.

Loneliness... Alone! Damn it, Potter, pull yourself together. Just this one small thing and you can go home! The sudden anger directed at himself gave him the impetus to unstopper the ink, grab the quill and begin to write.

Almost finished with the short note, he was distracted by the rumblings of the castle. He's started, he thought panicked, writing faster as the castle shook and groaned around him. Finally done, he struggled to stand, knocking the inkwell over in his effort. His last thought before the fever overtook him was that Hermione would appreciate the irony.

o0o

"I'm so tired. Why am I so tired? And cold, oh, so cold," Harry complained listlessly.

"The spell is drawing off your life energy to bring you here. You're probably having some spectacular convulsions right now."

"Git. I want to touch you. When can I go? When can I come home?' he asked petulantly.

"You can't be through writing the letter; we must wait until then."

"Why? What does it matter? I'm so tired; I just want to come home."

Severus reached out a hand to touch him, thought better of it and withdrew his hand. His eyes conveying what his hands could not, he said gently, "Harry, just a few minutes more, love, and I promise I'll bring you home. You know it's not fair to leave Colin with no warning."

"Yes, yes. I know. I'll try to be patient." Severus gave a short laugh, knowing Harry would never succeed.

Suddenly startled, Severus' unfocussed gaze settled somewhere over Harry's shoulder, his brows puckering in concern. "They're looking for you. The spell you cast was too weak to hold them for very long. You'd better hope they don't find you before we're finished; if they touch you, this won't work."

"No," Harry panted, feeling very tired, very... thin. "I can't feel them. I can't feel you. Make me feel, Severus. Make me real. Please," the last said as a prayer.

Severus stepped behind him, his front to Harry's back. "You're right, we cannot wait any longer; I hope you've had enough time. Hold out your arms."

Harry complied and watched incuriously as Severus extended his hands over Harry's. "If Albus got this wrong, I'm going to kill him," Snape muttered.

"A little late for that, don't you think?"

"Erm... Yes, I suppose it is at that." Severus chuckled.

He carefully placed his right hand on Harry's right hand. "I know you can't feel this, but I can; you'll just have to trust me on this."

Harry lifted his head, looking back at Severus. "I always have, why should I stop now?" he asked seriously.

A sharp retort dying on his lips, Severus hesitated a moment as the import of Harry's words filled his heart. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Harry's cheek, even knowing he couldn't feel it. "I don't know how to respond to that; I need some time to find something suitable... how about eternity?" he asked humbly.

"I think I could... live... with that," Harry quipped. Severus smiled.

"Are you ready?" he asked, all business again. At Harry's nod, he breathed in his ear, "Now we go home," his left hand settling firmly on Harry's, rings mating. Harry knew his hand was there... he could see it but couldn't feel it.

The surge of power once again flowed through them. The first thing Harry felt was the heat of the ring on his finger, burning, melting, melding into the ring on Severus' hand.

"I can feel your hand!" he cried with joy.

"Concentrate, Harry. Don't lose me." Severus growled

Arms now outstretched like a benediction, Harry felt currents of raw power stirring his robes, his hair, pushing him back, back, back into Severus, the firm body supporting him.

Inch by inch, muscle by muscle, he grew aware of the much-loved body behind him, the arms touching him, the soft breath in his ear. With each passing moment, he felt weaker and weaker as his earthly power left him--bringing him to life--with Severus. As his body began to sag, Severus caught him around the waist with their mingled right hands, left hands never separating. Severus grunted with the combined effort of holding Harry and continuing the flow of the magic.

"One--last--push," he croaked, voice and body strained. Harry increased his concentration, feeling one life leaving him, feeling the other beginning.

More...
Need more...
Oh, gods... yes... that's it...
Almost...
Almost... Oh, yes... there...

With a bright flash of light, Harry felt the last of his power drain out of him, the new supplanting the old. He felt so alive, so strong, so--

"Oh gods, we did it," Harry cried joyously, turning to take Severus into an ardent embrace. Severus couldn't get enough of him; Harry never wanted to let him go. Their lips and hearts met and time stood still.

The spell was gone, spent, but they didn't need it anymore. They could and would stand on their own.

After an eternity, arms still wrapped around each other, they leaned back enough to see each other--dark burning eyes to blazing green. "Don't ever do that to me again," Severus muttered, his lips lowering to find the sensitive spot under Harry's ear. "It's been torture here without you."

Harry pulled his head away to look at him, incredulous. "Torture? Who sat helpless watching you fade away to nothing? Who left first?" His eyes filled. "Who buried you? Who greeted the faces of those you left behind?" The tears leaked over his lids, falling unchecked down his face. "You took all of you with you and half of me as well. You left me... alone."

Overcome at last by the whole ordeal, Harry buried his face in Severus' shoulder and purged his sorrow, his fists desperately grasping Severus' robes at his back, shoulders shaking with the force of his grief. Severus tightened his hold on Harry's familiar waist, his hand buried in his hair, stroking the nape of his neck. He willingly accepted Harry's remonstrations and tears, pouring all the love in his soul into him. Falling to their knees in the warm grass of the Hinterlands, they spent their torment.

Nestling his face even deeper into Severus' neck and shoulder, Harry released all his anguish and distress of the last few days. Cleansed, he sighed and relaxed into the loving embrace, the tears turning into ones of elation, his hands flat on Severus' back trying to draw out of him all the strength he'd lost. Severus, his own cheeks wet, ran his hands gently up and down his back.

"It's good to be home," he said softly, lips trailing across Harry's cheek, drying his tears with each soft kiss.

"Home. Home," Harry murmured, hands trailing fire down his spine. "You've been my only home. Don't ever go away again... please?"

"I promise." And a searing kiss sealed it.

o0o

Harry stood swaying, fevered, alone in the middle of the room, unaware of his surroundings, his face full of ecstasy. His gaunt body leaned back at an impossible angle, his hands extended part-way from his body, palms down facing the floor, fingers fully extended.

The castle walls rocked. Bits of stone and plaster fell from the ceiling as it writhed with the effort to hold him there.

He swayed, the heat rising continuously in his body until with a strong flash of light, he arched back in one final convulsion, his face a study of complete triumph.

The castle rumbled and groaned, the very foundations shaking as it ungraciously gave up its struggle. Harry's lifeless shell crumpled to the floor, a flutter of parchment lying by his hand.

TBC