Disclaimer: See Part 1.
Part 18
When Harry woke up the next morning it was to find Severus absent from the bedroom. He took a moment to wake fully before daring to stand slowly. He lifted himself carefully into a full standing position. As his weight pressed down on his leg, he waited for the sharp aching pain to surface. He sighed in relief when nothing happened. He lifted his leg and than lowered it again. No pain.
Harry felt tears come to his eyes. It didn't hurt. He sat down again feeling a large smile spread across his face. He let out a small laugh of joy and slowly pulled his loose pajama pants from his bag and up his long legs. He stood up again and pulled on his t-shirt. He took a step forward and then another, testing out his stride, not feeling the urge to limp at all. He took one rather long stride and winced as the new muscle and skin pulled tightly. He frowned pulling his pants down and trailing a few long fingers over the still pink skin. It was tender, new, like skin that had been burned slightly.
Harry smiled at the lack of constant pain and decided he would take what he could get. At least he could walk in a normal stride without the limping and the constant pain now. He slipped on some slippers and headed out to the main room. Which is where he found Severus dressed for the day and drinking coffee. He was noticed rather quickly.
"Good morning, I let you sleep in a little. Would you like something to eat, Harry?" Severus asked, folding up the Daily Prophet and placing it on the table.
"Yes please, Severus." Harry walked quickly to the table before taking his seat beside his colleague. "I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. You'll never know how much it has meant. I feel so much better already, barely any pain at all. It's such a relief to move without aching." Harry said with great sincerity. Severus looked up at him with concern.
"*Barely* any pain?" he asked, looking at him critically.
"Yes, only if I stretch out my stride too far. I'm sure that it's because of the muscles you regrew for me. They probably just need to be conditioned and stretched into normal working order." Severus nodded and dropped his frown.
"As long as it's all healing well, it shouldn't be a problem. The second potion couldn't completely heal you. Your body has to take care of some of it on it's own. I would be careful for the next few days, allow your body to adjust." Harry nodded.
"I was hoping I could take a spin on my old broom before the students returned. I haven't flown since the morning of the final battle." Severus smirked.
"You and your Quidditch. I see some things never change.." His amusement was clear.
"What? It was the one thing I could do really well without trying. I was as natural at swooping around on a broom, as you are at swooping around the halls like a giant black bat!" he retorted. He watched a real smile flit across the narrow face in response.
"Well, we all have our favorite pastimes. I can't really fault your considering what some of my personal favorites consist of."
"What else is there? Reading and rereading dusty old potions journals? Making difficult and labor intensive treatments for silly ex-students of yours?" Severus smiled again.
"Among other things.." he trailed off, before summoning a house elf to order a late breakfast.
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It was nearly dinnertime when Harry gathered his nerves and courage enough to un-shrink his old Firebolt 1000 and head out to the Quidditch field. He walked to the center of the field. He had been unable to talk himself into walking out there, since his return to the school, and stepping into the large open air stadium was like coming home again. He just stood there for five minutes turning in a circle, looking at both goal posts, and each pillar of seats. He sighed, smiling to himself and running one hand over his Firebolt. It had spent the last 10 years shrunk to the size of a key chain and tucked safely away in an unbreakable box at the bottom of his bag. He had looked at the small piece of wood periodically with both disdain and longing. Now he had its full length and width in his hands. Now he was faced with the chance to actually ride it again, to fly through the air and feel the wind on his face as he hadn't in so long. He smiled, looking at the gold lettering on the handle. It was the last present he had been given from his Godfather, the Christmas of his seventh year. He smiled. Sirius had been so excited when he'd handed the long easily recognizable shaped gift to him. He had been there, in hiding for the entire break before leaving on the mission that would get him captured and killed. Harry smiled sadly and dropping it to hover beside him, mounted with little to no difficulty.
He rose slowly into the air, wavering slightly in the effort to regain his balance. He gripped the familiar wood with both hands and smiling widely directed it straight up into the air. In a split-second he was gone, flying in the air at break neck speed.
Harry laughed, barely feeling the freezing December air. He only felt he exhilaration of flying so freely flow through him. He leaned forward, bringing the broom to a halt. He laid down on the broom, pressing his face to the cold wood and smelling the old layer of broomstick polish and Quidditch pitch grass. He laughed again, feeling some of the pain in his heart easing away from him in one swift gust of wind. He opened his eyes to see a man sized blur walking through the knee-high snow of the pitch. He recognized the man. Severus Snape. He smiled and made to land. The man abruptly stopped and raised one hand into the air. He released a small golden ball.
Harry felt his heart constrict as the golden snitch took off across the stadium. He felt his heart lift further as he steered his broom around and took off after the small winged ball. In a matter of minutes he had caught the squirming ball of metal and was landing before the tall dark man. He came to a stumbling halt, flushed pink and out of breath from the effort and the cold thin air.
Severus was standing waiting for him, hands clasped at his abdomen, smiling and slightly wind blown. Harry lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the other man and hugging him tightly. Severus was unbalanced by the added weight and they fell backward into the snow. Harry landed a top the older man, still laughing in real joy. Severus smiled up at him, his own arms going around the smaller man.
"Hi." Harry whispered, one hand braced beside Severus, the other still clutching the struggling snitch. He was eye to eye with the older man.
"Hello. Did you enjoy your flight?" Severus asked. Harry nodded.
"Yes, thank you." he relaxed a little against Severus. There was a moment of silence.
"Harry?" it was whispered. Harry didn't reply, he instead bent down and lightly touched his mouth to the thin lips of his colleague. He pulled back slowly, fear spreading through his eyes.
"I... I'm sorry, Severus," he whispered, using the hand braced on the ground to start pushing away. One long pale hand went up to the back of his head, pulling Harry back down again.
"Don't be." Severus whispered leaning up to press his own mouth to Harry's. Harry pressed closer, smiling into the mouth opening against his own. It was heat and passion and every warm emotion that Harry could imagine.
Tbc.
