Disclaimer is in the first chapter. My ass is covered. Leave me alone.
This chapter is dedicated to my beta, Lexi who is fast, accurate, and puts up with my randomness, and my best friend Sarah, who is having a bad week.
In the actual text of the story, italics are flashbacks. Bold is for emphasis. Translations from Latin to English are in the text. Um… yeah… on with the story.
Part Four: Open Windows
"Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to live like that
Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to love like that
I just want to touch your
heart
May this confession…be the
start."
-"Elaborate Lives" from Aida
The months passed with an agonizing pace. Whenever Severus wasn't working, he was tirelessly scribbling in an unmarked black journal. It must have seemed rather strange to the others, him writing on black pages, but he had charmed them to shield his work from unsympathetic eyes.
At least he ate more frequently, Minerva mused.
He capped his ink bottle and turned from his desk, blowing out the candles surrounding it. Sev's attention then fell to the black leather sofa.
The lithe form on his sofa was asleep, nestled in a grey Norwegian wool blanket that nearly swallowed him whole. Severus smiled as he brushed the fringe from Harry's eyes. For one so small there was an innate strength about him that Sev adored. And yet at the same time, he could be so intensely vulnerable, like when he slept. Of course, that was only when Voldemort was not troubling the boy's dreams. Luckily, the Dark Lord seemed to be taking the Yule holidays off.
He sighed. He hadn't meant to take so long, but one thing led to another, and Sev had been grading essays for hours, it seemed. He glanced at the clock. Seven to be precise… and he was just barely finished with the third years. Silently, he slid his arms under the prone figure and lifted Harry, carrying him to bed.
Sev quickly disrobed and changed into his night clothes before slipping under the black covers next to Harry.
"About damn time, Severus," Harry murmured with the stupor of sleep still hanging in his voice. His green eyes opened blearily and he smiled.
"You know I had grading to do…"
"Severus Septimus Snape, it's Christmas Eve… or was a few hours ago! Work can goddamn well wait! You have a whole week before the bulk of the students return," he snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Sev's solar plexus. "The entire point of this holiday is to spend time with family, or in the absence of such, loved ones, and whether or not you believe in the mythology of the holiday, it is important to me! So next year, you are coming to bed at a decent hour, so help me…"
Faced with the rising ire of his teenage lover, he acquiesced. "Fine."
"Promise me," Harry said, folding his arms.
"Fine, I promise to go to sleep by 11 on Christmas Eve from now on, Harry."
"And what about work?"
"For you, work can god," he said, kissing the boy for punctuation. "Damn. Well. Wait."
They didn't talk much more that Christmas.
Severus sat in his new drawing room, sipping from a goblet of mulled wine. A photo album lay open on his lap and he wore black turtleneck jumper and blue jeans.
No one had ever seen the enclosed pictures before except for Severus and Harry. He caressed the edge of a photograph that showed a blazing fire in the hearth of his flat in the dungeon, with both Severus and Harry asleep in front of it. It had been that next Christmas morning, and both were exceedingly tired, as Harry had insisted on opening presents at 8 in the morning. It was a good thing, too, as Voldemort had attacked a Wizarding village near Stonehenge and placed several people under Cruciatus. Harry had needed several potions to recover his strength, and was sleeping it off, while Severus had been dozing lightly, protectively by his Harry.
Sev took another sip and then set the goblet down. Christmas would never be the same. Despite his maturity, Harry had always loved Christmas with the exuberance of a small child. It was a joy that Severus found infections only when he had looked into Harry's emerald eyes.
Severus sat in a chair, Harry laid his head upon Sev's left shoulder. Sev hadn't even known that Albus had taken the picture, per Harry's request.
He turned to the inside cover.
'Sev, I know you hate pictures of yourself, but I didn't think you'd mind these. Even in the darkness, there is light. Remember this, my love. Dum vita est, spes est. Te amo, Severus. --HJP'
A knock came on the door as Severus mulled over those words. He got to his feet and opened the door. "Evening, Minerva."
"Severus, you missed dinner," the witch said, arms crossed.
"And a Happy Christmas Eve to you as well, Headmistress," he said smirking, the photo album tucked neatly under his arm. "I did not miss dinner. Dobby was so kind as to fix me a plate." He gestured to the end table where a nearly empty plate sat, beside a half empty decanter of wine.
Her stern façade evaporated. "Sorry, Severus."
The Potions Master shrugged. "By the way, step in for a second. I have a gift for you."
She seemed stunned. "Of… of course."
He set the album down on top of two others and walked to the bedroom.
Minerva looked almost completely out of place as she stood in Severus' drawing room.
He returned with a merciful pace, carrying a package with red paper and a golden bow. "Here."
"You wish for me to open it here?"
He nodded. "It's not only from me. Actually it was all his idea," Severus explained as she tore away the paper and gasped.
It was a thin volume labeled L'Arte de Transfiguraicion. "There… there are only three copies of this in the entire world," she stammered.
"I know. You had mentioned it before now, and I remembered seeing it when I went to Knockturn Alley a few days after your birthday. We had bought gifts for everyone before June," Severus clarified. "Don't have a clue what I am going to do with the other gifts, however."
Minerva opened the book. "Severus, I don't know what to say. It's so wonderful. Thank you."
"I wanted to give it to you now… I've got some friends to see in Godric's Hollow," he admitted.
"Of course," she said sadly. "Thank you for telling me, Severus. I'll see you on Boxing Day, then." She frowned. "Don't you usually work Christmas Eve?"
"I used to. He made me promise that on Christmas Eve, I would never put work before us, or be late to go to bed tonight either. Although, I suspect that he assumed he'd be here for several more of them." He picked up the album again. "These were all gifts from him at some occasion or another. So, really, I've been with him all day."
He smiled and opened another. He then opened the one that he had received most recently.
"What is it, Severus?"
"'Dum vita est, spes est.' He wrote that. The next one says, 'Et spes est caritas.' Then, 'Ergo caritas est vita.'"
"I don't quite…"
"He wrote, 'where there is life, there is hope. And hope is love. Therefore, love is life.'"
"Have you found him yet, Severus?"
He sighed. "Not yet, Minerva. He's out there… but I'm getting close. I can feel it."
The snow covered the ground at the cemetery in Godric's Hollow. Severus pulled the winter cloak tightly around his shoulders. He knelt before the gravestone and brushed the flakes from the engravature. "Hey, it's me again. It's been 6 months, you know. The angels wept the day we were parted. I'm sure they're crying today."
He brushed an ebony lock behind his ear and sighed. "Minerva loved the book. You were right. I never knew what to give them any more."
He sighed again. "I don't even know why I'm here anymore, Harry. I know you're not here, but this is the last place I saw you, love. And I miss you so much." A single tear escaped before Sev wiped both eyes. "I hope you're happy… I am so behind in my work. I haven't touched a single essay since term ended. I may never catch up again."
A soft laugh escaped his lips. "I finally put it together, you realize. 'Love is life.' It only took me half a year to realize what you were trying to say with that. But there's more… more you didn't say. 'Caritas est aeternitas. Ergo, es aeternitas.' 'Love is forever, therefore you are forever.'" He stood, but not before kissing the gravemarker. "Until I find you, my beloved."
He disapparated, never seeing the glowing eyes amongst the shadows. "You have no idea, Severus, how very right you are."
The Potions Master silently walked to his rooms, only to find someone already in them. A figure in a black cloak with pale white-blonde hair stood in the center of the room. "Evening, Professor."
The sibilants were nearly hissed, and Sev nearly swore that the temperature dropped as he saw the open window. The drapes fluttered in the winter breeze, as did baby fine white hair.
"D… Draco?"
The figure turned and he smiled, revealing elongated canines. "Hello, godfather." Ice grey eyes fixed on Snape's face. He frowned. "All due respect, you look like shit, Severus."
"You're not yourself, either, Draco." He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "So you didn't cross over."
His godson smiled with ruby red lips and then laughed. "Congratulations. I wondered how long it would be before you figured it out! I've tried to keep an eye on you, but between feeding and learning the vampiric ways, it's a bit difficult to find the time to sneak past the wards." He paused, crossing his arms. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get into this place?"
"It is designed rather effectively to be that way, Draco. To protect the students from any threat," he said, unfreezing from his place by the door.
"Except from the other students and their parents, godfather." Draco came closer, and after a moment's hesitation, embraced his godfather, sadly. "I've missed you so much, Severus." He felt the older man shiver, then broke the hug, waving his hand at the hearth and lighting it wandlessly.
"Draco, what happened?"
Draco bowed his head and sighed. "Since you're not entirely surprised to see me as a vampire, I'll assume that you knew that I was bitten on the battlefield. Well, those of us who were turned arose with the new moon. All of the victims of the vampires, and the different clans came to claim us. It didn't matter that their ally Voldemort was dead. We would not have survived without their guidance. We would have been staked, or starved… not a good thing to think about… but it was the truth." He sank into the sofa and waited while Severus took the chair across from him.
"How many, Draco?"
"76 died in the final battle. 14 had been turned."
Sev rubbed his forehead. "Damn. So all this time, you have been with your clan?"
Draco nodded. "Yes and no. One other and I had no sire to claim us, so I was taken in by a small coven outside of Godricstown. Just another bloodletting ritual with more pain that I thought I'd be in after I died and all…"
"How did you know where I was? My rooms have been moved," Severus asked, confused.
"I saw you on Christmas morning… and I followed you. You have no idea how hard it is to Apparate into shadows so that you don't get flamed nicely. It's why I have the cloak… much easier to avoid burning in a black cloak." He tucked a blonde strand behind his ear, as it now reached to his jaw. "I thought you should know that I followed you, and I'm sorry if that upset you."
Sev chuckled and smiled. "I'm glad you did. And besides, it proves that I managed to teach you well enough to avoid being seen, my dragon."
Draco smiled shyly. "Thank you, Severus."
Sev frowned. "Draco… certainly you knew who I was talking to… you could not have easily missed it. You're fine with the fact that I am in love with him?"
Draco sighed, long-sufferingly. "I come back from the dead, and you ask me if I mind that you love another man. I AM the living undead, don't you understand? The fact that you're not freaking out running around screaming that your dead godson has come back from hell to kill everyone is a rather good sign. I think I can handle your bread being buttered on that side, alright?" he asked sarcastically.
Severus smiled at this, but it rapidly faded. "Draco… is Harry…?"
Draco sighed deeply, his eyes seeming dimmer. "Are you entirely certain that you want to know?" he asked quietly. "The muggles have a saying. Ignorance is bliss."
With a speed that impressed the vampire, who already had super-fast reflexes, Sev shot up from his chair and grabbed his godson by the shoulders. "Tell me, Draco."
The vampire raised an eyebrow, completely unruffled by the manhandling and removed his godfather's hands from him. "Very well. Yes. Potter rose at the same time I did. He did not have a master, so I am uncertain as to which clan he went with. Besides, I was unable to do much of anything after the claiming."
Obsidian eyes became dull and he collapsed on the couch. "Shit," he breathed. "I'd suspected it ever since Halloween… but I was never sure."
"Why?"
"A walking spirit told me. He had said that both of you were still earth-bound." Severus swallowed. "Do you know where he is?"
"No," he replied, dusting off his cloak. "But I have a kind Master, Severus. Write a note or something and get your cloak. I have an idea. If we ask nicely enough, Lord Demius will help us find Potter."
--00--
Thanks to all of my reviewers… please keep them coming… I like to hear what I have screwed up at… or done well at… but you forget… I am a cynic…
Lady Maria - yes… yes… I am messed up. According to my counselor I am…
Maria - I attempted to fix the error you pointed out… what I get for posting unbeta-ed, I guess… thanks again.
Crystal*Fantasy - Hang on for the ride… I promise, you won't be disappointed. And I hope this clears some shit up for you.
Rae - Here's more... please R&R
The Fallen Caryatid - Thank you. I hope you like the latest bit.
By the way, would you believe that you can claim fluency in Latin on med school applications in the US? Thought I would share that random fact.
S
RHF
5.24.2003