Twenty-Five: Inari to Korkia-Maura
Sunlight spilled across the table. Harry's porridge had the consistency of troll snot.
He'd got up after ten and felt better rested than he'd feared, but he was still annoyed.
He mashed the banana into a squishy pulp, until bubbles of air popped out on top. The oatmeal didn't look as disgusting as it tasted, so it needed the help to match up visually. If Snape were here, he would tell him off for playing with his food, but too bad: he wasn't.
'Are you going to tell me where he's gone?' he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
'He didn't say,' Kauko repeated. 'He told us he'd probably be back this afternoon. Won't you have more of your oatmeal?'
Harry groaned. Leeni passed him another banana to ruin. As he accepted, his eyes snagged on the magazine she was reading—it had just arrived by owl post this morning. The photographs showed potted flowers and twisting shoots, reaching out of the frames and pushing at the letters. It was all Finnish, he thought, because he couldn't read it. But numbers were the same in every language, and there, at the top of the page—
'What day is it?'
'Oh, Wednesday.'
'No, no, like, the date.'
'July 31st,' Leeni said without looking up.
Harry sagged in his seat. 'It's my birthday,' he said, bewildered.
Kauko's eyes widened. 'Your birthday? Oh no, we had no idea—happy birthday, Harry.'
'Yeah,' he nodded, feeling lost. 'I forgot.'
It wasn't even as though he'd slept through it: he'd been awake at midnight last night and he never made his wish, never did his ritual. It had slipped his mind entirely, and he found now that he didn't even feel bad: he tried to imagine putting on his ordinary birthday celebration, sneaking around in the attic as the rest of the house slept below, and he could tell it would have felt horridly embarrassing. It had been a comfort once. Now, he'd only have felt pathetic.
It never would have crossed his mind last year, to think himself pathetic for this secret. He stared at his own hands. He felt like a stranger to himself.
He was vaguely aware Kauko had asked him a question. He replayed the sound in his head until he understood. 'Oh, uhm, I don't know. I don't really do anything much for my birthday usually. I'm not a big birthday person, I guess.'
'Neither am I,' Kauko agreed.
'I am,' Leeni said. 'I won't be happy if we don't celebrate.'
'That's true. We can do something small.'
Kauko and Leeni's idea of small immediately diverged from Harry's. They came up with countless activities to go and do, but Harry managed to convince them to stay and wait for Snape to come back; so they baked a birthday cake for him instead, swathed in chocolate and larger than the four of them could ever hope to finish. Leeni went through the cabinets until she unearthed an old box of firework candles to put in it.
Lunch was fresh trout and butternut squash. Harry's stomach twisted with a strange anxiety, but the smell of the cake that was cooling on the counter served his overall mood, and he didn't find the food nearly as revolting as he had breakfast. Every birthday, he'd thought he should have felt different, being an entirely new age and all, but today, he did genuinely feel it: new thoughts swirled in his mind, and when he'd looked in the hallway mirror, it was like looking at another boy.
Was it possible that Snape leaving without a word had something to do with his birthday? Harry didn't suppose Snape knew when Harry's birthday was in the first place; but Harry was sure he had mentioned at least that it was coming up, so maybe it wasn't entirely incongruous that Snape might have asked Dumbledore about it, and then decided early this morning that he would get him something to mark the occasion. It was a long time to be picking a present, but then Snape would have had no idea what children liked: he would need a while to get this sorted. Whatever he ended up bringing would likely be horrible anyway. Potions books, maybe, or like, a new stirring rod.
It wasn't likely, Harry tried to remind himself. He shouldn't be thinking about it.
They were just finishing up frosting the cake when blue light erupted from the corridor, and the sizzle of the fireplace unmistakeably announced Snape's arrival. Harry licked his fingers clean and rushed to the back room, Leeni and Kauko on his tail.
Snape had circles under his eyes. His lips were peeling. It seemed he was the one who ended up not getting any sleep last night.
'Everything alright?' Leeni asked.
Snape seemed for a moment like he hadn't understood the question. 'Oh—yes. Yes, everything is fine. How's—how are things here?'
This was a bizarre conversation. 'We're going to Korkia-Maura!' Kauko's enthused. Snape failed to hold in the wince. 'Tell him what it is, Harry.'
'Uh, it's this cave, right? It's on one of the islands, and it's got ice inside that never melts, and you can get to this bit that has a lot of natural magic. So much they had to border it off from muggles.'
'Exactly,' Kauko praised, as if Harry were slow and needed a gold star for retaining any amount of knowledge. 'It's good you're here, Harry wouldn't leave without you.'
That made it sound significantly more embarrassing than it was, and like he was forcing Snape to come along. He scoured his mind. 'No, it's just because I wasn't sure I could—I mean, you said the thing about the detention last night, but I didn't really remember what we, uh, agreed on.'
Snape blinked at him. He was the one being slow today, Harry thought bitterly.
'Well?' he insisted. 'Can I go?'
'What? Yes, fine. Of course. I thought—' he turned to Leeni. 'I thought you had some business in town today.'
'I did, but that was before we knew it's Harry's birthday.'
'It's Harry's birthday?' Snape repeated flatly, like he could not think of anything less exciting. 'Oh, fantastic.'
Outrage boiled in Harry, hot and fast. He wasn't disappointed that his birthday present theory turned out a fantasy, because that would have been pathetic; but he had every right to be angry about his birthday being treated like some horrible inconvenience.
'You don't have to come if you've got better things to do,' he told him.
'No,' Snape ran a hand down his face. 'No, of course I'll come. Just let me change.'
They took the boat out. The water shimmered, parting easily for its pointed nose. The red-roofed houses by the port grew blurry with distance. Kauko paddled leisurely, but it was only for show: Leeni held her wand in hand, and the air around the tip was dense with magic.
The lake and the islands, and the views and the roof of white skies—Harry supposed that it was all fairly charming. He didn't enjoy it. Snape was a tangle of tension next to him, staring into the distance like he'd seen something terribly interesting there, and the feeling seeped from him and into Harry until he wanted to scream with it. What did Snape have to be unhappy about anyway? Harry was the one whose birthday was being ruined.
'Are you feeling well?' Snape leaned across the space between them. Harry shuffled away: the sudden motion rocked the boat and Snape reflexively grabbed his shoulders to keep him still.
Harry shrugged his hands off. 'Why wouldn't I be?'
'You're being very quiet.'
'What, is that not allowed?'
Snape sighed. Harry didn't see that he had any right to be annoyed.
They left the boat on the pebbly shore, securing it to a log overgrown with kelp. Everything on the island was pushed tightly together, the trees and the moss and the scents of pine and rain. The earth squelched under Harry's walking boots. Leeni had lent him those, transfigured into a smaller size; they were an awkward fit, though it had nothing to do with size and everything to do with knowing they'd belonged to her.
He felt the entrance to the cave before he spotted it amid the silver crags: it pulled at him as if he'd been secured to something deep within it with a piece of string. Leeni said no lights, because it was safer to get your eyes used to the dark, but Harry had little need for sight: he raised his legs to climb boulders and stepped around pointy pebbles like the ground itself had told him when. The others struggled more and called out to him to slow down, but he wouldn't—the chill of the cave felt like feathers on his skin, the water that sloshed around with his every step like it was parting just for him. The dark walls were braided with white crystals, and the ice—the ice under his feet, over his head, it glinted a sunny sort of blue, deep and vivid and unbreakable.
He knew when he'd passed the ward set up against muggles, because it looked as though going straight through a wall of ice. But Harry didn't even think about it, he strolled through at full speed and now he was getting closer, closer—the voices of the others dissipating among their own echoes—
Here. The magic rose around him, crisp and immediate. He normally liked to touch the ground with bare skin to best connect with natural magic, but there was no need for it here: he was breathing the magic in and out, and the idea that he might touch the wall right there, the cool stone—he was afraid it would be too much.
'Harry!'
He was too overwhelmed to feel annoyed. 'Huh?'
'Do you mind?' Snape was breathing hard. 'Kauko's nearly twisted her bloody ankle. Are you on this trip on your own?'
That was an obviously stupid question. 'You didn't have to chase me,' he argued. 'I was going to wait at the end.'
'That is not the point—'
Leeni and Kauko emerged from behind the turn. Their trousers were stained with grime from the water, but they didn't look nearly as annoyed as Snape did, their faces illuminated with awe.
'It's beautiful, isn't it?' Kauko asked Harry. 'And the magic, can you feel it?'
Harry nodded. Leeni had walked up to him and lain a hand on the wall; her eyes were closed, her face slack. Seeing her do it gave him courage.
The moment his palm made contact with the cold stone, he fell to his knees.
Water splashed around him. He was wet now and the temperature stood well below zero, but Harry felt perfectly warm.
'It would be dangerous to try and do anything with this magic,' Leeni told him, her eyes still closed. 'It's too potent, we would never be able to control it. But it's very nice to feel.'
Harry tried to breathe through the sensation. He looked up to see Kauko watching him, a sad smile on her face. 'Can you feel it?' he asked, struggling to imagine how anyone might not.
'I'm not sure,' she said. 'Definitely not like you feel it. I feel something, I'm just not sure if that's what it is.'
'What do you feel?'
'It's like—shivers, down my neck. In my head. And this—amazement—like there's more space in me all of a sudden, inside my body,' she chuckled awkwardly, glancing away. Harry had never seen her embarrassed before. 'That doesn't really make any sense, does it? I'm just impressed with the sights, I guess.'
'No, no,' he said quickly. 'I think that's it. Uh, maybe I can—do you want to take my hand?'
She looked over to Leeni, perhaps expecting her to interfere, but no protest came. She kneeled on the ice right next to Harry, uncaring for the water and the chill, and wrapped her fingers around his palm.
Harry bit his lip. The warm tickle in his right hand where it lay against the wall, the shimmer of pure air in his head, the largeness in his chest—he directed all of it into his left hand until the tips of his fingers went numb, and the pins and needles pressed and pulled at his palm so terribly he could barely take it.
Kauko drew in a sharp breath. She caught his eye and smiled.
'That's what it feels like to me, I guess,' he said, a little shy. 'So, if that's what you felt, then that's, you know, the right thing.'
Kauko drew her gaze away to meet Leeni's eye. 'Yes,' she said, disbelieving. 'That's what I feel. Just less—less.'
They sat there, feeling it, for a good while, until they were run dry with it.
Leeni and Kauko got going first, swaying like drunks.
'Will you show me?'
He glanced up at Snape, who'd extended an expectant hand. Harry scrambled up to stand, ignoring it entirely. Snape was a wizard, so surely he could feel the magic too: it was a question of degree, maybe, of some small difference in intensity. He wasn't going to indulge him in something so pointless.
'And why not?'
Harry shrugged. Perhaps once Snape decided to start sharing some info on his comings and goings, Harry might consider answering his questions again.
He started up the ice tunnel, anger brewing hotter with every step he took.
He heard the splashing of water behind him as Snape caught up.
'Harry—'
'What?'
'What? Well, for one, would you care to explain why you're so upset with me?'
'I'm not upset.'
Snape ignored him. 'Is this all really because I forgot it was your birthday? Believe it or not, I had a few more pressing matters to occupy my mind—'
'I don't care if you remember my birthday, I'm not some little kid. It's not even about that.'
'What is it then?'
'Nothing!'
'If it is nothing, then I suggest you cease being unpleasant.'
Harry sped up. They were almost caught up to Leeni and Kauko, and the darkest corners of the cave were coming into focus again. He heard a bird trill in the distance. 'If you thought I was so unpleasant, then you didn't have to come,' he spoke sharply. 'You should just go away again and do whatever you want instead.'
'Is that what this is about? Heavens, Potter, it was important that I met with the Headmaster. Today is the last day of the trial and we were discussing next steps. Alright?'
Harry paused. 'What next steps? Do you know where I'm going to stay?'
Snape glanced up at Leeni and Kauko, who had stopped to wait, and were now listening with unconcealed interest. He swallowed. 'We will discuss it when we get home.'
'No, I want to discuss it now.'
'And I do not. You will be perfectly fine waiting another hour.'
'And why do you get to decide?' Harry's voice hitched. 'It's my life! I want to know what's going to happen to me!'
Snape disregarded him completely. He kept walking.
Harry ran ahead, then spun around so he was planted firmly in Snape's way.
Rolling his eyes, Snape stepped to the side. So did Harry. With the boulders and the dropping walls, there wasn't much room in the cave to manoeuvre.
'Harry,' Kauko said carefully. 'Come on, let him through.'
'No!'
'I know this is frustrating, but we're all wet and cold. Let's just get home first, I'll make both of you a cup of tea, we'll have your cake. And then I'm sure Professor Snape is going to tell you everything—'
'Oh, do not attempt to placate him,' Snape snapped. His eyes bore into Harry, who returned the glare in full force. 'He's done nothing today to deserve the consideration.'
Kauko blistered. 'I just think that maybe we should try not to ruin Harry's birthday.'
'If anyone's ruining his birthday, it is Harry himself.'
'No, it's you!' Harry shouted. His chest felt all wrong, like something had got stuck. 'You're the one ruining it!'
'I very well might if you continue with this behaviour,' Snape promised menacingly. 'Now let me pass.'
'I like standing here.'
'Enough!' Snape bellowed. 'I do not care if you're in a foul mood, you're going to start controlling yourself. We have all taken the time out of our day and cancelled plans to bring you here, and you've been nothing but disagreeable—'
'Shut up!'
Snape's eyes widened. Harry knew he'd gone too far, but it was too late and now he had to stand his ground, even if it was pointless, even if he would never win and he should have just ignored Snape to begin with, and gone home—
'Fine,' Snape ground out. His eyes flicked again to Leeni and Kauko. Maybe he was gauging whether they were likely to come to Harry's aid if he decided to strangle him. 'Since you must know, I have asked the Headmaster to name me your guardian. Should he win the trial, you will come stay with me provided that is something you want. Though your behaviour now certainly suggests otherwise.'
Harry took a breath. Then another.
'Stay with—' he breathed again. They were coming in too close one after the other, he thought. 'You asked him?'
'Yes.'
'But—really? And he said yes?'
'Provided that it is something you wish to do, yes.' He drew his eyes away from Harry, then back, like he was bracing himself. 'Well, do you?'
'I—I don't know—'
Snape hunched in front of him, which made it more difficult to avoid his gaze. He was getting water on his trousers, Harry thought.
'Look,' he said brusquely. 'I realise that I am not—I am not particularly good at this. But I can promise you that I will do my best to learn. I have grown to be—very fond of you, and it would make me happy if you accepted.'
This was all so wrong. He wanted to run away and keep running until his legs fell off. 'But what about—I mean, you're supposed to pretend you're a Death Eater, aren't you? So, won't they realise that you're not anymore if I start living with you?'
'They most likely will,' Snape agreed. 'But this is more important.'
Then, Harry started crying.
'I'm—I'm sorry I yelled at you—'
'It's alright,' Snape clearly didn't know what to do with his hands, rubbing at Harry's shoulders and back and neck like he was a cat whose petting spots he hadn't figured out yet. 'Harry, I said it's alright, there's no need to cry—'
Harry chose to escape the weird ministrations by pressing himself as close as possible. Snape swayed on the heels of his feet at the momentum, one hand finding the ground for support. Harry hoped he wouldn't think to touch him with it: it was all filthy now.
'I want to,' he muttered into Snape's shoulder.
'You want to cry?'
'No, not that,' he whispered. 'The other thing.'
'You want to stay with me?'
He nodded.
Snape's breath was warm on Harry's ear.
'Alright,' he said.
The boat skittered over waves on their way back, the breeze full of sun and mosquito swarms. Harry killed one that was trying to bite into him through the fabric of his shorts, another on his head, one more on his left knee. He got one on the back of Snape's neck, too, though he might have slapped a little too enthusiastically—Snape's answering jerk rocked the whole boat, like some strange déjà vu.
Harry patted him where he'd struck to apologise, which Snape found funny, until he realised the mosquito had already started drinking and his neck was stained with blood that Harry was rubbing all over the place. He hitched up his sleeve to reach into the water and ladle some up to wash it off.
As he did, Harry caught a glimpse of the black tattoo on pale skin. Before he could think about it, he reached out to touch—not the tattoo itself, he'd tried that before and it hadn't gone well, but the forearm around it.
He'd expected Snape to tell him off, but he let Harry pull the hand into his lap and stayed still through the examination, not saying anything. The skin around the tattoo was smooth, untainted, normal. The fingers curled reflexively when Harry ran a digit over a sensitive spot. He pressed on a jutting vein, satisfied when it popped back up as he let go.
'You're not going to work for him anymore then?' he asked. 'Not even pretend.'
'No.'
He should feel guilty about that, about Snape giving up something like that. Hadn't he said that he needed to do it to make up for the bad things he'd done in his life? Harry was so selfish.
'The Prophet said I'm the new Dark Lord,' he remembered. 'So, now you can just serve me instead. It's much nicer.'
He flipped Snape's hand round to look at his knuckles next. The skin here was just a little loose, and he could slide it back and forth over the cartilages. His eyes were fixed on the hand, not on Snape, but he could feel his gaze on Harry's cheek. He squirmed: it felt like being tickled, or burnt, or something else really uncomfortable.
'You're looking at me weird,' he complained.
'My apologies,' Snape said smoothly. 'I suppose I should be lowering my eyes before my new master.'
Harry snorted and pulled at Snape's arm, turning on the bench until he had his back on him. This way, he could still play with the hand, but Snape couldn't stare at his face like it was so very interesting.
After that, it was as if the whole world were a fog. Harry went through the motions: he helped tie up the boat, he set out plates for dessert, he licked some of the cream that had dripped onto the cake platter. But through it all, he couldn't think about anything. It was like trying to focus in a dream. Leeni lit the firework candle and it spit sparkles into the air that Harry could see long after they went off, every time he closed his eyes.
Kauko had pressed some traditional candles into the soft cake too, and they sagged and dripped wax on the cream. When he blew, Harry wished for Snape not to change his mind.
Halfway through his slice, he realised maybe he should have checked with Snape before he started eating because of how he'd acted in Korkia-Maura. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be having cake—that was a thing, wasn't it? He glanced at him now, but Snape only smiled when he caught Harry's eye, and told him he had chocolate on his nose. It was actually chocolate whipped cream, and Harry wiped it off with a napkin. He resolved to remember to check with Snape next time about things like that—and other things, all manner of things, to be safe—because he was not going to make any mistakes if he could help it.
Kauko gave him another slice after he'd finished the first one. Snape informed him he was going to make himself sick if he had it, which Harry knew very well.
'No, I'm not,' he said, but didn't pick up the fork in case Snape did feel strongly about this.
'Shall we split it?'
Harry nodded. He chuckled nervously when he lifted half of the slice to put on Snape's offered plate and it crumbled, cream dripping on Snape's fingers. He hated that he was being so awkward all of a sudden, with no reason: it was as though some switch in him was being flicked there and back.
'You know, Harry,' Kauko said, in the tone she used when she could tell he was embarrassed. It only made him more embarrassed when she did that. 'His heart is clearly set on this, so I think you should negotiate a little. How about: yes, I will come live with you, but only if I can have all the chocolate cake I like?'
Harry gave another awful chuckle that sounded like he was five. He was staring at his cream-stained napkin.
'Or how about, only if you give me top marks on every Potions exam from now on,' she grinned. Snape was glaring at her, but only in a joking way; it seemed everyone except Harry was enjoying this. 'Or maybe: only if you buy me a dog.'
That reminded him. 'Wait, can I bring my owl?'
'Of course,' Snape said, then turned to Kauko. 'And you would do well to remember that as opposed to some, Harry is not in fact an opportunistic middle-aged hag.'
'Oh!' Kauko laughed. 'This is too much fun though, Severus.'
'You have an owl?' Leeni butted in before Snape could answer.
'Yeah,' Harry forced himself to smile. 'Her name's Hedwig. Hagrid bought me her for my birthday last year. Hagrid's the, uhm, the gatekeeper at Hogwarts. He's my friend.'
What would Hagrid say when Harry told him he was living with Snape? What would Ron and Hermione? Snape had said if the trial today went well, they might be going back to Britain as early as tomorrow, but Harry probably wouldn't see them until the beginning of the school year. It seemed impossible that he would have been living with Snape a full month by then. All of this was just too weird for words.
'I hope you realise you will be getting a birthday present,' Snape spoke in a low voice. Harry had the distinct impression this was expressly so that Kauko wouldn't overhear. 'It will simply need to be late.'
Harry had already got a present as far as he was concerned, and it was so good it made his mind all foggy and his heart beat like a hammer even as he sat. But if Snape wanted to buy him a new stirring rod on top of that, who was Harry to stop him.
The skies clouded over. Rain pattered against the sills. Leeni brewed a pot of herbal tea that burned Harry's throat. Dumbledore was supposed to come the moment that the trial was over. What were they even talking about for so long?
It would only feel real, Harry thought, once it was official, once Dumbledore had confirmed it. Well. Maybe. It might not feel real in any case; but at least Harry wouldn't be sick with anxiety and excess cake anymore.
Later, they moved to the drawing room to be closer to the fireplace. Snape sat in the armchair, elbows and knees at right angles, tight-lipped and silent. Kauko brought out some old albums to show Harry what Inari looked like in winter; he didn't really care, but it was a good enough distraction.
'I bet you don't get this much snow in Britain,' she whispered into his ear. Harry shook his head. His foot was tapping wildly against the carpet. Leeni kicked at it, only gently, which made him slow down at least.
'It'll be kind of sad to go back,' he said, though what he meant was, I'll miss you.
Kauko put an arm around his back. She smelled like coal and wet earth. 'No, it will be exciting. You'll see your friends again, your owl. And you'll move into a new house. I bet you can convince Severus to give up the master bedroom if you try.'
Harry shrugged. 'Yeah, but this was the best summer I've ever had. And the best birthday.'
Kauko made a cooing sound that would have embarrassed him if he weren't feeling so sad.
He didn't want to be sad on what could well be his last night here, so when Leeni smiled at him, he forced a grin. 'Maybe I'll become a fugitive again next year. What's a good crime?'
Snape glared at him from his armchair.
'How about if you—'
Harry slapped his hand squarely over Kauko's mouth.
'No, don't tell me now when he's looking!'
Her eyes creased with laughter. She peeled his fingers off.
'Come here,' she commanded. He leaned in so she could whisper into his ear. She wasn't saying anything at all, just nonsense, but he made an appropriately scheming face. 'What do you think?'
'That's good,' he agreed. 'Or maybe I could—'
They whispered back and forth like that, until at last Harry's ear grew numb and he started feeling bad for laughing at Snape so much. He slipped off the sofa and wandered over to the armchair to give him a little pat on the chest, like he had before on the boat, hoping it might amuse him again. It did.
'Are you cold?' Snape asked, laying a hand over Harry's exposed forearm. 'You're shivering.'
Harry shook his head, then nodded. He wasn't cold, but he was. He felt first and foremost like he had something important he needed to be doing but couldn't think what, and it was making him lose his mind.
Snape hesitated, then pulled Harry up to sit in his lap, pushing against the floor with his foot to angle the armchair toward the fire. Harry fidgeted and squirmed at first, feeling decidedly strange—he'd sat in Snape's lap before, back on the minibus, but it had been purely pragmatic then, and also he was fairly sure he'd had heatstroke. But this was warm as well as odd, and soon, that became the more important thing. Snape's arms were heavy, too, pinning Harry's to his sides, which made shivering significantly more difficult, and eventually his body seemed to give it up.
'Are you happy?' Harry asked.
Snape exhaled into his hair, making him jerk. It tickled. 'Yes,' he said. 'I'm happy.'
Harry was too, he decided, despite everything odd and wrong. He felt like he had back in the cave, and earlier than that, in Berlin as the sun rose through the mist, and every minute he lay in the garden in Zakopane, and strolling up Korenlei at night—like everywhere on his body tingled with warmth. Like there was suddenly more room inside him, stretching out and out until he felt that familiar prickling in his fingers. It didn't make much sense: his feet weren't even touching the ground. He couldn't be sure, because this wasn't anything that Leeni had ever taught him, but he thought that if he asked the magic to push at the armchair they sat in and then catch them as they fell, he would get his wish.
Then, the fireplace roared blue and Dumbledore stepped through. He wasn't smiling.
Snape stiffened behind Harry, arms dropping to his sides. 'Who's won?'
'No one,' Dumbledore said. 'The jury decided neither myself nor the Ministry will be able to adequately see to Harry's needs. They will instead form a committee that will make any decisions on Harry's care collectively.'
'What does that mean?' Harry's voice came out shrill.
'It means that if all goes well and I am awarded a place on that committee, I will have a say in where you are placed, Harry. Even if any of those we worried might wish you ill manage to secure a seat, they should not be able to achieve the majority they'd need to place you anywhere unsafe. But equally, should I put forward the motion of placing you anywhere that might be construed as unsafe, I will not achieve that majority.'
Harry didn't understand.
'Out,' someone was pushing at his shoulders. Snape. The mental fog was back, making it difficult to see or hear what he was being told. 'Out, get him out of the room, now.'
They did. Harry never even tried to stop them.
Uhm, so... I'm sorry? I hope you've enjoyed the fluff, because the next chapter is a real angst-fest :/
Thank you for all your comments and follows. See you Saturday!
Guest review replies:
J (Jan 30, Jan 27) - I hope both Harry's and Dumbledore's reactions lived up to your expectations ;) Thank you for the review!
Guest (Jan 30) - Aah, you're so sweet! I'm glad you're invested! In terms of a sequel, I'm still not sure myself if I want to write one - I have some ideas for it, but then I also feel like the ending to this story makes it feel complete in some way. I will definitely ask readers to let me know what they think about a sequel after the epilogue comes out!
Guest (Jan 28) - Thank you! It's always great to hear from new readers who've binged to catch up. It's good to have you with us :)
Guest (Jan 27) - You picked up on so many of my favourite bits in these two chapters! Thank you for the review, it was a joy to read!
Fifiotoole (Jan 26) - Thank you!
