Hiding Under the Ninth Earth
Book 02 : A Bit Of All Right
by I Got Tired of Waiting
Part V : Together
Chapter Forty Nine : Pledging a Troth
16 August 2003
Harry was nervous. Thinking about it, he supposed it was only natural. It was a big step, even if it wasn't permanent. While the Muggles called it 'an engagement', a handfasting in the Wizarding world was a little more complicated in that they would be bound, but not forever. The import of making Closed Form vows with another was so deep, so unbreakable, they were required to prove the compatibility of the union before making it for life. There were always the odd few who might love each other, but were either unable to hold a bond or who chafed at its intimacy once cast. He shivered, hoping it would not come to that for them.
Usually, the waiting time between the handfasting and the binding was for a year and a day, but Albus had told them he would rely on the Orrery once again to determine the proper date meeting all the requirements. Sounded simple, even to him, but he'd heard tales of people made to wait years before the signs were perfect.
He looked over at Severus in his study, intently grading papers as if it were a normal evening at home. And he supposed, to Severus at least, it probably was. Just one more thing he admired about the man in a long list. Severus might agonise over a decision but once made, he never looked back with regrets or questions--he forged ahead and took whatever happened in his stride. Everything to him had a purpose even if only as a lesson of what not to do in the future. It had taken Harry a long time to understand Dumbledore's long-standing lecture and accept that things didn't just 'happen', they were always made by his choices. Even decisions by others, which affected him, were only as effective as he allowed them to be.
It took only a few moments of observation for Harry to notice that Severus was not working at his normally swift pace through the papers. He grinned--so Severus was not as calm as he appeared. Just another thing about him that he loved--Severus was very good at hiding himself from everyone except Harry. There were so many things about Severus that Harry loved, and he was relieved that Severus had not only forgiven him of all the stupid things he'd done, but had remained in love with the Harry he had become--and accepted him and his work fully. Given what he did and the potential cost to both of them, together with Severus' undeniable, inherent possessiveness, that he was willing to 'let go' approached the status of a minor miracle.
There had never been any doubt in his own mind to 'forgive' Severus of his omissions; he'd always known there were many facets to him he might never know and had always assumed it would take a lifetime for him to discover even half of them. There were nightmares and vague dreams Severus had, of which Harry had never spoken, nightmares that told him there were still many things about Severus he did not know in detail. And given the impetus of his own bad dreams, he was not certain he really wanted to know--not because he didn't want to share or relieve Severus of his burdens, but because he'd found that anything waking Severus Snape out of a sound sleep was generally much worse than anything he'd ever experienced. He also knew Severus would probably never voluntarily tell him of these experiences as there was an inner shame attached to them that Harry understood all too well.
Yet he knew Severus loved him, not in so many words, but he'd known, and he suspected Severus had never really considered it one way or the other, that Severus was not a man to express his feelings verbally, but oh, could he express them with his actions. Severus was actually quite affectionate, but he showed it in a physical way, in private. Harry was glad he had no real hunger for the spoken sentiments; he would have starved had he needed them. No, Severus showed him he loved him; Harry was enamoured of his hands, his mouth, and his voice, preferably being used on him, all at once. He shivered at the memory of the last time he'd experienced their wonders (had it really only been a few hours ago?) and considered himself the most fortunate of men.
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Feeling the weight of Harry's regard, Severus looked up from his papers and while he didn't smile, he might as well had given the brightness blossoming on Harry's face. He went back to his papers hoping Harry hadn't noticed he'd not graded one in several minutes, the words swimming on the parchments as he wrestled his unusual nervousness into a calm façade. He had no doubts this was the right thing to do, nor was he concerned over the handfasting itself. Despite appearances, he was eager to bind with Harry, not because he was afraid it was the only way to keep him, but because it was the only way he knew how to assuage Harry's lingering doubts about his devotion to him, still voiced occasionally in his dreams.
No, he was concerned about what would happen when the news became public. Banns would be published and the world as they knew it would be given the opportunity to either accept their binding--or not. Given the amount of resistance they'd met when they first became lovers, even from their friends and colleagues, he could not imagine the kerfuffle when the public got their hands on it. As the thoughts were threatening to give him a headache, he pushed them and his papers aside, finished with them for the night.
Standing, he arched his back, stretching the stiffness from the hard chair out of his spine. I really should get another, he thought, walking into the sitting room. I'm getting too old for this one. Perhaps Albus could be persuaded to conjure me up one of his infamous chairs--they're ever so much better than a transfigured one.
As he came into the room Harry was in, he adjusted the fit of the new dress robes he wore. The black on black brocaded outer robe was a little stiffer than he liked, but at least it was light and almost fully covered the plain under robe of deep emerald and black jacquard silk, which was supple, heavy, and extremely comfortable. As was traditional, he wore nothing else underneath. He was amused at the colours Harry had chosen for him (since he refused to go shopping for it himself) even if the green of the under robe matched Harry's eyes. Severus' whole face lit with an inner fire as he gazed at his lover resplendent and sexy in his formal robes of deep sapphire over sea blue. There was just something formal clothes did for a man--
Wrapping Harry loosely in his arms, Severus' hands slipped easily under his outer robe to feel the heavy silk beneath. He leaned back to clearly see his face. I love his eyes, he thought irrelevantly while he enquired, "Are you ready? It's almost time."
"As ready as I'll ever be." Harry sighed his restlessness.
Severus did the only thing he could think of to help--he kissed him. Harry leaned into its sweetness, and Severus could feel his concerns dissolving with the familiar warmth of Harry's lips, the light caress of his hands down his back. When it ended, they held each other tightly a moment before stepping back, Harry's fingers ran softly down Severus' face, conveying a world of meaning not spoken aloud. Severus turned his face and kissed Harry's palm, murmuring, "It's time to go."
"Have I told you how much I love your voice?" Harry asked huskily, taking the opportunity to run his fingers lightly over Severus' lips.
"Hmmm. I think--yes, I'm quite certain--perhaps, not since this afternoon?" Severus chuckled as he pulled the Portkey out of an inner pocket of his dress robes. Grinning, Harry touched it as well. It flashed and, feeling the familiar hook-in-the-belly sensation, they found themselves in the upper balcony of Dumbledore's office where he kept his library, a place reached by a metal spiral stair they'd seen many times from below, but never visited. To their surprise, it was Poppy who greeted them, her vibrancy felt when she gave each of them a light kiss on their cheeks.
"Come, we're ready for you," was all she said as she turned to lead them through a plain door not seen when they'd arrived. Mystified, they followed and knowledge dawned when the door opened for her with no spoken command. She lives here as well, was Severus' startled thought. A quick glance at Harry showed him he was thinking the same thing. Once through the door, she bade them enter with a hushed, "Welcome to our home."
While each of them had speculated privately as to the nature of Dumbledore's rooms, sometimes quite outrageously, the reality was quite unexpected. It was cosy and close, yet elegant and spacious; Severus suspected it would be whatever it needed to be when it needed to be it. For now, the old but lovingly maintained furniture in the sitting room had been set to one side, a space opened in the middle of a plush carpet for the business at hand. The marks where the furniture normally sat were left visible in the thick pile, lending a temporary air to the whole arrangement. A plain wooden table near the back held six sparkling wine flutes and a bottle nestling in a bucket of ice. Severus snorted at this Muggle display; Dumbledore always had been fond of their wines and champagnes as much as their sweets.
Albus turned from his conversation with Moody and Remus to greet them as well. "Ah, finally--you've arrived. Welcome to our humble abode." He embraced them both together, pulling them further into the room.
****
Dumbledore was rarely astonished by anything anymore, but the tranquil face of his dear friend and protégé after so much strife was in itself worth the long years he'd waited to see it. He knew he'd taken a huge risk in giving the Time-Turner to Harry, but had counted on Harry's talents and Severus' honesty to work it out in the end. Obviously the message had been received and espoused. Severus looked so young, the lines of worry cleared from his face as he entered their quarters. Not to his office, a fact significant in its own right; their lack of surprise and acceptance of his lover so comfortable in her right to be there was in itself a revelation. To behold his two favorite people willing to openly express their love for one another put a joy back in his heart he'd not even known he'd lost.
He suspected, though, they would not be so open in public; they were by their fundamental natures, essentially private people, made more so by the roles they had played as much as the ones they had yet to explore. He understood this completely; there'd never been a breath outside these rooms of the long-standing relationship between she and he, both old enough now to smile indulgently at the quickening of youth. As if aware of the privileged place they held in their lives, Severus and Harry had few inhibitions in front of them.
He stepped aside to let Remus and Moody by him, who were also making their way over to Severus and Harry. A clap on the shoulder by Moody soon became an awkward embrace as he greeted Severus with "Ya auld sod. He finally decided to make an honest man out of you?" He pulled away with a wink and Severus gave him one of his rare open smiles. Dumbledore didn't think he'd ever seen Moody smile so wide; he looked like he might burst.
Remus was less inhibited and gave Harry a big hug with an "It's about bloody time" spoken to him softly. Harry grinned and hugged him back. When he faced him again, Remus remarked quietly, not wanting to upset him, "I wish your parents and Sirius were here." At Harry's raised brow, he chuckled ruefully. "Oh, they might have howled at first, but they would only need to see the happiness in your face to know you'd made the right choice."
Harry nodded and remarked with conviction, "Oh, they're here, Remus." He touched the older man's chest. "They always have been." Remus smiled and Dumbledore was as pleased as the day when Harry had first understood this--the day he'd learned how to use his mother's presence within himself as a means of protection--one that eventually saved his life and defeated Voldemort.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Shall we begin?" At the various replies around the room, he continued, "Harry and Severus, please stand separately here," indicating a spot in the middle. "Remus, you stand to the side of Harry. Alastor, you do the same on the opposite with Severus." He gazed fondly at her. "Poppy, you may sit wherever you like."
"But, I thought--" Harry began, confused.
Poppy spoke up while sitting comfortably in a chair to the side where she could see everything. "There only needs to be two witnesses and while I refuse to miss this, I yield precedence to Remus and Alastor as family to you both. It is more fitting they stand with you, although you will never know the depth of my pleasure to be included as one of yours."
Severus formally bowed his head to her. He shifted back and patiently waited for Dumbledore with steady resolve.
Reaching into an inside pocket of his ornate burgandy outer robe, Albus brought out the box with their rings. He saw Harry's eyes widen in surprise as he glimpsed the simple band on Dumbledore's left ring finger; Harry's quick glance to the side confirmed the matching one on Poppy's hand. He caught Severus doing the same thing. Their gift to them both--the lifting of the Obscurus spell under which their rings had been placed--mostly to protect Poppy. Albus nodded as he removed Severus' and Harry's rings from the case; his eyes, looking at them significantly over the top of his spectacles, slid to the men beside them. With their nods, he knew the message was received and understood--their friends were none the wiser--this was a special knowledge for them alone. Poppy, his wife of 73 years, beamed at them.
Putting the box back in his pocket, Albus silently floated the banded Gimmal rings, sans the inner hearts, in the air in front of them. Speaking a single spell, Pateo, the four remaining bands of the rings glowed briefly and then lay open to the next steps of the rite.
Quietly into the portentous silence, he began the formal ritual. "Severus Snape and Harry Potter, you have called us all here together. What is your purpose?"
They spoke the ritual formula in unison: "We have come to be handfasted in the sight of this company."
"You do this freely, with no coercion from each other or from any outside sources?"
"We do."
"And you are prepared to test this bond for a prescribed length of time determined solely on the time of your births and the rising of the moon?"
"We are."
"You are prepared at the ending of this time of trial to either enter into a Closed Form Final Binding or else step away from it, letting each other go separately, willingly, and freely, with no ties?"
"We will comply with the strictures of the probation."
"Very well." To Remus and Moody, he addressed his next remarks. "Alastor and Remus, you have been asked to witness this handfasting. Do you do so of your own free will?"
At their affirmative replies, he continued, "Is there anyone present who objects to this union?" He waited a few heartbeats. "Hearing none, we can proceed."
He waved his wand over the rings still hovering before him, saying as he touched it to them separately, "Adstringus Severus In Harry." His powerful magic caused the rings to waver, morphing until they settled back into their original form. They were ready for the simple exchange.
Dumbledore raised his wand and gently placed the tip on Severus' forehead. As he pulled the wand back, a strand of his intentions pulled back with it, similar to the threads of memory pulled for a Pensieve. Once separate from Severus, Dumbledore hung the strand in the air and with a twist of his wand it lengthened and transformed into a silver silken cord. He did the same to Harry, carefully avoiding his scar, the captured filament transforming into a gold silken cord. With a third touch of his wand to the cords, they twisted and twined into one shimmering whole. With great care he bent the cord into a loose open circle, the rings threading themselves on the ends.
Harry and Severus turned their regard from Dumbledore's work and faced each other, their eyes locked. Their right hands rose to press together, palm to palm, fingers to fingers, the thumbs folding over the back of the other's hand.
Severus spoke first, the dulcet voice low, his eyes intense as he uttered the first half of the prescribed rite meant for both:
"I promise here to keep thee always
Safe from harm and all fear
Whilst on our travails through life's byways
My troth, my love, I swear.
In this brief time of trial we face,
Overcoming all strife,
I'll meet thee again in this same place
To vow to thee my life."
He plucked a ring from the end of the cord facing him and taking Harry's proffered hand, slipped it on the third finger. It moulded snugly to fit. He looked perplexed for a moment, as if he couldn't believe it had been that easy, but his brow soon smoothed and he gave Harry an almost shy smile.
Harry, his eyes never leaving Severus', spoke softly the second half, the words spoken for them both:
"I promise to give thee my heart's fire
To find the good and fair;
Thou art my life's greatest desire
My troth, my love, I swear.
In this brief time of joys we face,
Sharing pleasures so rife,
I'll meet thee again in this same place
To vow to thee my life."
Harry took the remaining ring and slid it easily on Severus' finger; the ring sized to fit perfectly. He grinned like a child after a job well done. Severus raised one brow, the smile on his lips reaching his eyes.
Without prompting, their left hands joined in the same manner as their right ones, their arms crossed in the middle. At this intersection, Dumbledore wordlessly placed the soft length of silver and gold cord, which he looped loosely twice around and tied in a complicated knot. Laying his wand on the joining, he said, "Adjungo." The cords melted into them almost as if being absorbed by their skin, which perhaps they were, until they were not visible to the eye.
Severus felt it first, a tingling in his chest, as the joining melded with the protective spell he'd cast just two days before. A warm pervading sense of well-being and joy suffused him as he received in full the emotions and love welling through Harry at the moment. The golden feeling was brief but profound; he'd never experienced the like before and knew the effect would only increase with time, although not as intensely as it would with the final binding.
Harry in his turn felt a breath of Severus' keen protectiveness and fierce love he bore him. Like molten silver, it flowed smoothly through him, melting all his uncertainty; until tempered by Severus' gentle and tender regard, its intensity overwhelmed. He'd always known Severus loved him, but not like this; he was humbled and shamed he'd ever doubted him. While fading, the essence remained, but he wasn't worried; it would grow stronger each day he let it touch him.
Dumbledore could sense the 'fasting' spell wrapping around the wards they bore. He shouldn't have been surprised. Severus had always been protective; to know he was letting Harry protect him as well gave Albus heart. He hid his pleasure at their inner reactions to each other--gold and silver they were; no, neither one of them had truly comprehended the depths of their affections until now. As Harry and Severus continued their silent exchange, Albus felt the amalgamation of their clean, burning commitment. It took his breath away and he found his eyes seeking Poppy's, their own bond singing.
Eventually, Harry and Severus came back to themselves, separate. Unaware of their surroundings, their hands came apart slowly and Severus leaned in a little to touch Harry's cheek, meaning to place a chaste kiss on his lips, with much more to follow later when they were private. Harry had other ideas though and easily turned it into one of their serious kisses, their lips meshing perfectly. He slid his hands sensuously along Severus' waist under his outer robes, and pulled him close, the flash of green calling to his mind the lushness of the forests they'd explored. Severus slid the hand at Harry's cheek into his hair, the other holding him firmly under his robe, the bold sea blue under his fingers almost as slippery cool as the ocean on hot sandy beaches.
As Harry arched into Severus (who pulled him still closer), Albus cleared his throat, certain the public joining was complete. "I believe the ceremony is done," he said, a knowing smile on his lips as they started and pulled apart, awareness replacing the hunger in their eyes. "Best wishes to you both."
Poppy rose from her chair, her eyes suspiciously moist, and reaching them first placed a hand on their cheeks to give them her best wishes. She quickly stepped aside.
Through the years, Remus and Moody had both attended numerous ceremonies like this before--had even participated as witnesses. Thinking this one would be no different, each had (in their own way) come prepared to be adversely affected. Moody always felt more alone afterwards when he made his way to his solitary home. Remus usually experienced an aching loneliness, although more so in recent years with Sirius gone. But neither one had seen it through the eyes of people they cared so much about and so were not prepared for the utter joy that flowed through them from their friends, which somehow made it all right and took the sadness away. With much back thumping and simple hugs, they told their friends how genuinely pleased they were.
Dumbledore once again interrupted them. "I believe we still need to set a date for the Final Binding?" he asked, the twinkle definitely wicked now to those who knew him. "Come, Severus. Harry? We will consult The Orrery." The way he said it raised questions and brows and he knew they were asking themselves, 'had they not already seen it in his office?'
With matching, mystified expressions, they followed him up another stairway that hadn't been there a moment before. Poppy winked at them as Albus passed her; Severus and Harry climbed right behind Dumbledore. Poppy, remaining behind with Remus and Moody, turned to take a seat. She and Remus settled down to wait in the comfortable chairs while Moody kept himself busy opening the champagne and setting up the glasses for their return. The last thing Dumbledore heard before he reached the top of the stairs was Poppy assuring them it would only be a few minutes. He chuckled to himself--it would be much longer, but to them, it would only seem that way.
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* "travails"--Old English obsolete--A most wonderful word meaning both travels and burdens/trials
* "Pateo"--Latin for "Open"
* "Adstringus Severus In Harry"--Latin for "Bind Severus and Harry."
* "Adjungo"--Latin for "Join"
**** TBC ****