Harry Potter and the Star of Senkrad
Author: l'Ciel
Fandom: Harry Potter
Disclaimer: JKR, and some more I think – I don't own anything but the plot – oh, and Ice Drakes, that's mine too! And that sexy nurse (god bless her brainless boobs)
Rating: hard R for implicit sexual content, NC-17 for explicit sexual content
Warnings: violence, brain washing, non-con,
Pairings: HP/DG, SS/LM; side pairings: HP/BZ, NM/LM
Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance, Angst
Summary : After the events of OotP, Harry runs away from the Dursleys. The only one to find him is Snape, but where do the spy's loyalties truly lie? Slash & Het, war-story
Main characters: Harry, Snape, Lucius, Voldemort, Dumbledore
14) Winter Heart
The annual winter storms rattled at the windows of the manor and a mix of snow and rain had soaked the soil, turning the gardens and fields into enormous pools of mud. Those of the inhabitants who still had to get out returned soon and cursing in the brightest colours of speech.
Severus sat on the couch next to the hearth, tucked into a thick wool blanket and reading a book. Or rather, he held a book in hand but had not turned a page in minutes, staring thoughtfully into the fire.
The last few attacks of the Dark Forces had been successful, mainly because he had been unable to gain much information for Dumbledore, but there had also been great setbacks. For example the Azkaban raid had freed many supporters and he was glad to have Lucius and especially Draco back, but the bitter consequence was that since the holding cells in the Ministry were limited, captured Death Eaters would not be imprisoned anymore, but executed.
The job had gotten riskier and riskier, and a stone had set on many of his fellow's hearts. The mood was quiet, observant. Nobody could allow himself to fail, one mistake fatal!
Turning around he saw Lucius sitting on the armrest beside him. Leaning into the open arms of his lover, he sighed dejectedly and pressed a firm kiss onto the smaller man's brow.
A cloud passed by and a few meagre rays of sunlight passed through the glass of the high windows of the sitting room. In the weak light of the sun and the flickering of the flames in the hearth Lucius' pointed features stuck out even more sharply. It pained Severus to look at him; before the imprisonment Lucius had been completely healthy, well built, here and there a small sign of age, but mostly he had looked as magnificent as the day they had met again as adults. During his imprisonment the blonde had lost a terrible amount of weight; his skin was sickly pale, not the silky white it was before; and small wrinkles had formed around his eyes. The shiny blond hair had become lifeless and white.
He kissed him again. Lucius smiled, before getting up and walking over to the window, but his eyes were filed with sadness. Draco was not recovering as well as had been expected, and he and his mother had moved to a larger cottage some miles down the river that had originally been used as a summer house, but had been abandoned for some years now. Blaise Zabini, Draco's best friend, had joined them there along with four house-elves.
The cool light of the November sun was reflected on each strand of hair, letting his whole being look translucent and so frail, so terribly frail…
Lucius coughed and held his chest, before smiling again. Severus got up and wrapped the blanket around his lover's shoulders, before embracing him tightly.
How he wished he'd never have to let go…
Many miles away, a young man stood at the Cornish cliffs near Dover and gazed toward the horizon. His light reddish curls flew around his head in the wintry breeze that came from the sea. His blue eyes were narrowed against the weather while he kept observing the sky. But no miracle rose from the iron depth of the waves thundering against the cliff he stood upon. Gazing down into the roaring depth beyond, he grew a little dizzy and stepped back with a sigh.
He could not do it.
So, if suicide was not a option, he would have to face reality. Which, in itself, did not seem much of a brighter path. At least he could have spared his mother much grief by simply leaving this world for good. Not that he had any use in it.
Struggling back over the meadows between the enclosures too typical for the Muggle side of this island, he hid between the hedges and apparated away.
AN/ R&R
