The Tragedy of Heroic Impulses
(title subject to change)
Chapter 1
By Parariillusion
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The end.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
An ominous wind whistled under the strangely benevolent star-dappled ceiling of the Great Hall as black robes fluttered to the ground. A long silence followed, with each wizard staring at the spot where their menace for nearly half a century– unconsciously or consciously acknowledged– had stood.
Then, Harry Potter's muffled sob vibrated through the silence. Ron whooped with joy and ran past all the survivors of the final battle to his friend, yelling, "It's over, Harry! It's over!"
Hermione, though, turned to Severus Snape, who had been shielding her from Bellatrix Lestrange, sighed deeply, and embraced him tightly, whispering, "It's over, Severus, it's over..."
Moody, of course, turned to the Death Eater in front of him and declared, "Constant vigilance!" and proceeded to Banish each Death Eater to the Bermuda Triangle prison.
A silent roar of joy crescendoed as more wizards and witches realized that they were not dreaming, that Voldemort was gone. Soon, the Great Hall was reverberating with ecstatic joy, relief, and triumph. Witches and wizards were gathered around the Great Hall, administering to the injured, rejoicing with their allies, helping Moody clean up, and congratulating Harry Potter. So it was not so much of a surprise that no one noticed the apprehension and disappointment flooding Harry Potter's and Severus Snape's eyes. They all took the tears as a side-effect of long years of fighting, when the longtime enemies were whispering in their hearts, "It's...over?"
Six months later, Harry Potter was still whispering, "It's over?" in the midst of luxury (all a byproduct of the Ministry's gratitude), frenzied crowds of fans (Lockhart included), and the cacophonous bunches of reporters (which, sadly, Rita Skeeter was not a part of). Jealous witnesses of Harry Potter's money, fans, and front page talent took his empty expressions as a haughtiness that had, undoubtedly, dated back to the scarring of his large head. Friends took them to be as an unfortunate result of the long years of toil. Only Severus Snape understood that look on Harry Potter's face, and it was a subconscious understanding. He did not want to acknowledge that the reflection of the face he saw every morning in the mirror after a shower (and yes, he washed his hair every morning at Hermione's insistence) and during a good, thorough flossing and brushing (it wasn't his choice, but what could one do with one's lover's parents being dentists?) was identical to the face he saw on the Daily Prophet's front page. Why would he want to acknowledge that Harry Potter's face was in any way similar to his, thus drawing the conclusion that Severus Snape, by some strange twist of fate, looked like James Potter?
It was an expression cultivated through a feeling of unusefulness and despair. The two of them, having both been heroes, had suffered greatly, but they suffered more through the fulfilment of their ultimate goal. It had been the path, not the destination, that had mattered to them. In other words, Harry Potter and Severus Snape had withdrawal symptoms due to a severe case of heroic impulses.
A/N: This marks my momentary return to fanfiction, thanks to a history assignment! Unlike my other stories, this will be satirical and contain lots of dry humor (which is more suited to my personality than my dark fics anyways)... Review!
