Fic Title: Love of a Leo and a Capricorn
Chapter Title: The Journey Home (08 of ?)
Author: Firesword
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong to JKR and so on. I just own the little bit of plot...
Summary: This is love between a Capricorn and a Leo. Leo will teach Capricorn all the ways to enjoy life, while Capricorn will teach Leo responsibility. Despite their differences, they have one thing in common – they love to pamper each other.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Slash, Romance, Fluff
Warnings: Slash, HP/SS, Post-HBP, OOC, un-beta'd, major fluff? Probably becomes AU later...
Rating: M (to be safe.)

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Love of a Leo and a Capricorn
By Firesword
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- CHAPTER EIGHT: THE JOURNEY HOME –

Harry felt more exhausted than usual and desperately wished to get home as quickly as possible. "So, Lucius, why were you dealing with the Inferi alone and not with the Order?" he asked quietly. He knew that Lucius would still hear him although he had only spoken with a low voice.

"I haven't been working with any members of the Order, Potter. Someone had sent me to work with bloody Aurors."

"What?" Harry was shocked and he had turned around to exchange a worried glance with Severus.

"But I thought I had heard ... damn it! Who else in the Order had been threatened by the Minister?" Charlie muttered darkly.

Harry tried to remember bits of information he had come across – both that had been passed on by members of the Order and those that he had overheard. He remembered rumors and a chill descended on him.

Percy. He was the one who had ordered Lucius to take the job. Harry turned his head and tried to look at Lucius, but Severus' shoulder blocked his view. "People from the Ministry had abandoned you, didn't they?" he asked harshly.

The silver-haired wizard snorted. "They were hoping that the Inferi would claim me before I could break the spells that they had cast upon me," Lucius said sardonically. "They disgust me. I am quite tempted to form my own band of Death Eaters and kill them. At least I will not lie that I intend to murder them with my own wand."

"Stop that kind of talk, Lucius," Severus said warningly. "The others and I have worked hard to free you – do not waste away your second life by murdering a group of bastards with too much power."

"Second life?" Lucius laughed humorlessly. "I cannot see myself living freely in the future, Severus." He paused but then he spoke again. "Can you, Severus?"

"No."

Severus' soft answer filled Harry with dread and fear, and he unconsciously tightened his arms around the ones wrapped about his midriff. It was the shadow that had continued to follow him since the day he and Severus had become lovers. It was not malignant, but it had served him as a reminder that Severus had still killed Dumbledore.

"Do not worry about it now," Severus whispered into his ear.

Harry chuckled weakly. It was funny how his lover seemed to know what was going through his mind most of the time.

"Come here."

His heart thudded and he craned his neck up to look at Severus. Slowly, Harry leaned back against the Potions master – it felt slightly uncomfortable because of the safety straps – but Severus' arms around him felt heavenly.

"No matter what happens, I will be with you."

Emerald eyes closed as warm lips, though dry, kissed his temple and he nodded, comforted by the promise. Harry rested the back of his head against Severus' shoulder and lifted one of the wizard's hands. He raised it to his lips and murmured words of endearments before he kissed it gently.

"I love you, Severus," he whispered and released his lover's hand.

Severus did not say anything after that, but he had dropped another kiss on top of Harry's head.

"Is it safe to sleep?" Lucius' sudden question made Harry and Severus jerk in surprise.

"Are you tired?" Harry asked.

"Tired?" Lucius snorted. "I'm exhausted. I have strained myself beyond my limits. I need to sleep."

"You are safe, Lucius. We will not reach home until morning. If there is trouble we will wake you."

"I am safe, if you don't get the idea to get rid of the straps that are keeping me safe," Lucius muttered and he sounded sarcastic in Harry's opinion.

"Snape is not going to do that, not while he's on Saerna," Charlie said sternly.

"How useful that he is my son's beau."

Harry watched Charlie's face in amusement. The dragon keeper had turned his head fast at the comment, and his cheeks were quite red. Lips moved as Charlie uttered silent oaths and Harry smirked.

"So, you and Draco are a couple?" Harry inquired politely.

Charlie blinked and Harry noticed him becoming redder in the face. "Not really."

"You're shagging my son and you're not?" Lucius asked in a sharp tone.

"If you must know, Lucius, shagging someone does not mean that that someone is a lover," Severus said silkily.

"Shut up, Severus. Nobody asked you."

Harry restrained himself from laughing aloud.

"I don't know, all right?" Charlie snapped. "I don't know what your son wants, because he never answers my question!"

"How disappointing."

"He loves you."

That surprised Harry and he looked up at his lover. "And how did you arrive at that?" Harry asked curiously. At the same time, he admired his lover's chin. "You need to shave soon," he observed and lightly rubbed his thumb on the tip of the chin.

Black eyes gleamed with mirth and Severus smiled faintly. "I am sure that you are aware that I act as his confidant sometimes."

"And I'm certain you remember the number of complaints that I'd made to you because of that." Harry grinned.

"Why don't the two of you get married?"

Harry raised his eyebrow at Lucius' sudden, derisive statement. "Maybe we should after this," he murmured and stared deeply into the eyes above him.

"Not yet. I need to get the rings first." Severus continued to smile lovingly. Harry blinked and wondered if Severus had said that just to tease Lucius and Charlie.

But…. Severus appeared too smug and calm, and Harry's eyes slowly began to widen.

"You don't say..." Charlie's voice trailed off.

"You were planning to, weren't you? I knew it." Lucius laughed and his laughter joined the flapping sounds of Saerna's wings. "Still, I'm surprised that it should be him."

"I won't settle for anyone else but him," Severus reaffirmed.

The bespectacled young man blushed furiously and he hastily turned his face away, but when his eyes met Charlie, he groaned loudly.

"You never told me you were planning that," Harry muttered.

"You never fantasized about being my husband?"

"Merlin save me!" Charlie and Lucius exclaimed at nearly the same time.

Harry ignored them. "It's not that ... but..." Then he sighed. "Never mind." He smiled ruefully. "It was meant to be a surprise, right?"

"We will get married, once I have the rings."

"You sound as though you're not purchasing the rings but making them," Harry commented.

Severus chuckled. "I am."

"What?"

"No more of this sweetness!" Lucius barked. "I'll gag the two of you if you continue this."

"I thought you said you were exhausted," Severus began, in a somewhat dangerous voice.

"Why don't you sleep?" Lucius countered. "I won't be disturbed out of my rest should my hearing become receptive to a sappy discussion," the wizard said waspishly.

"All right, all right. That's enough. I will go to sleep," Harry interjected quickly. "Severus, can you make your shadows release me for a moment? Don't worry, I won't fall."

His lover released the tendrils of safety, and Harry worked with his safety belts quickly.

"Cloying," he heard Lucius mutter.

He ignored Lucius and carefully charmed the belts to slide down Saerna's back.

"Harry." Severus grabbed his shoulder. "Will you please sit still?"

"I will, Severus, and don't worry. Just give me a moment," Harry said with a brief smile. Finally, he was in a position where Severus could embrace him easily. Safe and secure in his lover's arms, the shadows came to wrap around him. "I wish we were at home." He sighed softly.

"Rest."

He nodded and closed his eyes.

"I love you," Severus said softly.

Harry smiled and settled into a light doze. However, it felt like he had only closed his eyes for a few minutes when the smell of smoke penetrated his nostrils. He coughed and roused from his doze. He blinked his eyes owlishly and it surprised him to see the sky was a pale pink color. It's morning. He coughed again and his eyes swept the area.

"Did you rest well?" Severus' soft question startled him slightly.

"It had felt like I had just gotten a few winks." Truthfully, he still felt exhausted. "What's that sm…." His voice trailed off when he realized that they were not alone.

"You were sleeping so deeply that I could not wake you to tell you that the dragons had returned," Severus said to him and Harry looked at the dragon flying low near Saerna's left dreamily.

"I wish we were home," Harry said faintly. Severus was rubbing his cheek against his hair and Harry really, really wanted to be somewhere where he could snuggle properly with the Potions master.

"Soon," Severus whispered.

"If I could do as I wish, I would throw the two of you off the dragon's back," Lucius' voice reached his ears.

"Shut up, Lucius," Harry said absently. "Did we come across any more Inferi?" he asked as he choked on the acrid air again.

"Yes, but they were manageable as there were more than one dragon to eliminate them."

Their conversation halted when Saerna gently swung her head back and forth. Harry bit back an exclamation and stretched out his hand. There was no need to panic, as Charlie had awakened to his dragon's shaking immediately.

"Oh. Okay. We're nearly home," the dragon keeper announced sleepily. "Damn it all ... I need to sleep in a bed." Charlie shook his head vigorously and straightened up. "Harry."

"What?"

"You have to get off near the dragon camp and go back on foot."

"Oh. I forgot that Hermione and the others had set protections around the Hollow. Your dragons can't get near, then?"

Charlie nodded. "But that is if all the protections are still in place, which I hope they still are."

The sun was well over the horizon when they had reached the area where Harry and the others had to get off. His friend, Ron, was going with them as well, but as they were walking on the ground cautiously, Harry had the feeling that he was slightly uncomfortable with Lucius' presence.

Harry had his wand out like the rest of the wizards, and he had one of Ron's arms draped around his shoulders so that his friend could walk with his aid.

"Did you find him when we had stumbled across the Inferi earlier?" Ron asked in a voice that could be heard by Lucius.

"Yeah."

"All alone?" Ron's tone was skeptical.

"Yeah. Alone."

"Is he mad or something? Going up alone against the Inferi?"

"Concern from a Weasley. How touching."

"Ron, ignore him," Harry sighed. His friend growled under his breath but did not respond to the silver-eyed man. Harry glanced at his friend briefly, but he did not say anything that was in his mind.

Harry looked ahead of him and watched as Severus and Lucius checked every oak tree they came across. The trees were not damaged in any way, which was a relief to Harry. That would mean the safety perimeters set around his village were still working and the people living inside it were still safe.

They reached the entrance of Godric's Hollow finally, and Severus first went through the hollow of the huge, ancient tree.

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To be Continued on Chapter Nine