Rating: PG-13
Genres: Romance, Angst
Warnings: N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Summary: After the war, Severus watches as Harry slips away.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. belong to JK Rowling. Song and lyrics belong to the artist and/or songwriter. I am making no money off of this and do not mean to defile the song/characters in anyway.
Song: X-hilarating Sadness
Artist: Saw Doctors
Note: Alright, so I sort of cheated. The song is called "Exhilarating Sadness," but I really liked the lyrics for this song, and I couldn't find a good song that started with "X," so this will have to do.
Author's Note: Originally a songfic, the lyrics have been removed from this fic to comply with FF rules. Song lyrics can be found here: www (dot) lyricsplanet (dot)com (slash) index (dot)php3?stylelyrics&id12617
For the original version of this fic, please check out my livejournal:
www (dot) livejournal (dot) com (slash) users (slash) Harry (underscore) sev (slash)
xxx
Severus Snape was surprised to see Harry Potter at the bar that day. Most people were out celebrating Voldemort's downfall with their friends and family. Suddenly Severus realized why Harry was there. All of his friends, the people he had come to think of as his family, were dead. None of them survived the war. Severus knew why Harry didn't feel like celebrating. Hell, he didn't feel like celebrating, and he hadn't lost anyone to begin with. Severus watched as Harry ordered himself shot after shot of some unknown beverage. Severus knew that Harry was trying to forget, and he couldn't blame him. If he were Harry, he wouldn't want to remember, either.
xxx
Ever since that first day in the bar, Severus took to watching Harry. The partying never seemed to stop, and Harry never seemed to go anywhere else. One night the Weird Sisters decided to hold a free concert. The music was blaring, and everyone was singing and dancing and having a great time. Everyone except for Harry. Harry sat in his own little corner, staring off into space. He didn't seem to care what was going on with the rest of the world. The rest of the world, however, seemed to care what was going on with Harry. Severus watched angrily as people stopped what they were doing to shoot Harry curious glances. They whispered about how Harry had finally lost his mind. He was finally broken. Harry didn't hear the whispers, but Severus did. And each time he heard someone say something like that about Harry, the more determined Severus was to prove to them that Harry was not broken.
xxx
There were a few times when some of the bar's occupants tried to get Harry to join them. The girls begged Harry to dance with them. The boys offered to buy Harry drinks. Harry always shook his head. Most of the people walked away looking rather put off. But one night a man wouldn't take no for an answer. Angered by Harry's lack of response, the man moved to draw his wand. Severus was before Harry in an instant, warning the man not to so much as think of jinxing Harry unless he wanted to find himself tied to a fence in the middle of town buck naked with his ass in the air. The man walked away fuming. Harry shot Severus a small, appreciative smile. Severus was captivated, not by the smile, but by the look of extreme sadness radiating from Harry's eyes. Severus vowed to try to make Harry happy.
xxx
Seven years had passed since that night in the bar. Severus had slowly begun to join Harry at his little table in the corner of the bar. Harry eventually started talking to Severus, though not about anything important. He never brought up the war, and Severus knew better than to try. He joked with Harry about trivial things and was pleased to see a light of happiness in Harry's eyes that he hadn't seen since before Voldemort fell.
Harry and Severus had slowly entered a relationship. Severus was careful not to rush Harry for fear of breaking him even more. Some nights Harry woke up crying and screaming, another nightmare shaking all thoughts of sleep from his head. During those nights Severus would hold Harry and gently rock the boy to sleep. Somehow, during their time together, Severus had grown to love Harry. He couldn't pin-point the exact date, but somehow he found that his feelings of concern and protectiveness had blossomed into love. And though neither ever spoke of their feelings aloud, Severus knew that Harry loved him as well. Harry also knew that Severus loved him. The gentle caresses and the way Severus was always so careful and protective around him gave it away, as did the small smiles and cuddles Harry always shared with Severus.
Harry no longer spent all his time in bars. His time instead was spent curled up around Severus. Severus was overjoyed whenever he managed to make Harry laugh, and he was even pleased to see Harry cry. Crying was a way to deal with the painful memories and move on. Severus knew this, and thus knew how to comfort Harry whenever needed. Harry was still the same shy, quiet young man he had been at the end of the war, but Severus knew that Harry wasn't as depressed. He was improving slowly but surely.
Severus smiled as he looked down at the man he loved. Yes, he thought, I will do everything in my power to make Harry as happy as possible.
And he did.
A/N: Please tell me what you think. This wasn't how I had planned this, but this is how it turned out. I didn't quite know how to end it. I hope it wasn't too bad.