Chapter six
During their lunch, Harry had people coming up to him, shaking his hand, some even shook Severus hand. But Harry noticed they didn't really stare at his scars and he knew why, they thought Voldemort did them. Harry figured it was the best way to go, let them believe that, then he never had to reveal what had taken place when he was a child. But another thing Harry noticed, Sev was receiving a lot of admiring looks, from men and woman which brought out Harry's jealous side so he would constantly hold Sev's hand.
'Never fear my love, you are all I want.'
'I can see them checking you out, you're wanted, desired.'
'Maybe, but I only want you,' Severus leant over the table and kissed Harry very gently, lovingly, 'You own my heart and soul, forever.'
Harry smiled, 'You can be very romantic sometimes, it's nice.'
'You will see that a lot more. So whether you want to do the treatment or not or even if you wish to put your glamour back on, that is your choice, but I love you for who you are, for your beautiful heart. But we've finished, we should get back to Hogwarts.'
Harry was grinning hugely before they picked up their bags, then Severus paid for the meal, they joined hands and left the Three Broomsticks.
'Oh, I want to look at something while we're here.'
'Lead the way Harry.'
Harry and Severus stepped into another shop, 'Mr. Potter, Professor Snape, congratulations,' the owner said.
'Thank you.'
'Thanks, that's why we're here, I want rings for both of us, something that matched but also suits us.'
'Follow me,' the man lead Harry and Severus to a glass counter, then pulled out four trays of men's rings.
'Oh Sev, look at these,' Harry picked up a platinum ring with three moonstones placed on the top, 'Do you mind if I try this on?'
'Of course not.'
Harry was about to slip the ring on his finger when Severus took it out of his hand, he slipped the ring slowly onto Harry's left ring finger, then kissed it.
Harry smiled so he picked up one identical to his just slightly bigger and slipped it onto Severus' left ring finger, kissing it as well.
'They look good love.'
Harry grinned hugely, 'Yeah, they do, we'll take these.'
'Then if you would just sign this form the money will transfer from Gringotts.'
Severus went to pull out his wand but Harry stopped him and took his wand out, signing his name with one swish of his wand.
'I could have paid for them Harry.'
'I know, but I wanted this, so I paid, you can buy us something else if you want, but I'm not one for a lot of jewellery.'
'Then I will have to think of something you might like. They are nice though and they match, just like we do.'
'Yeah, we do,' Harry faced the shop owner who was smiling, 'Thank you.'
'You are both welcome.'
Harry and Severus held hands again as they walked up the road leading to Hogwarts. They both stopped and stared at the ruined castle.
'Will it ever be as it was Sev?'
'Yes, with a lot of work it will look like it always did, that's why we need to help the rest of the staff otherwise it will not be ready by September.'
'I know we've been a bit distracted by each other, it's hard to stop staring at you or thinking about our time in bed. It's hard to think straight because all I keep seeing is what your hands can do to me, what your lips feel like against my naked body,' Harry groaned loudly.
Severus sniggered, 'I feel the same and you have certainly learned how to use your hands, lips and basically you're whole body.'
'Do you think a quick trip to our room would be possible?'
Severus laughed, 'I think we could spare an hour.'
'That's longer than we need so let's go.'
Harry and Severus practically ran up the long drive to the castle, they never stopped until they reached their rooms.
A few hours later Harry and Severus walked back up towards the great hall, Albus stopped them and indicated for them to follow. They stepped into one of the old ground floor classrooms that had already been repaired.
'Blimey, what's with all the bags?' Harry stared around at the dozens of large canvas bags.
'It's mail for both of you. They started to arrive early this morning but Kingsley also sent some bags that had letters delivered to the ministry. They will need to be checked for curses.'
'Do you think these are about Harry and I being married?'
'Some, yes, but I believe most are to Harry thanking him.'
'I couldn't answer all these, it would take me years. But I don't want anyone to think I don't appreciate them.'
'Then I suggest a statement, you could say how much you do appreciate all the letters you have received that way everyone will know and your hand will be saved at the same time.'
'We'll check them for curses over the next few days, read a couple tonight to see what has been written. It's time we concentrated on this castle.'
'Yes, still so much to do, so let's get to it shall we?' Albus left the room with Severus and Harry following. Once they were standing together at the walls of the kitchens, Albus turned his head, 'So did you get new robes Severus?'
'I ordered four sets of new robes, three in different shades of green, one the same colour as Harry's eyes, then one set in blue. Harry decided to get some robes made up at the same time and the same colour, we pick them up in a week.'
'It will be nice to see you out of those black robes Severus. So Harry, you decided to match Severus' robes for when you are helping in his classes?'
'Yes, I figured I should look good if I'm assisting, all the staff usually look nice and neat in their robes.'
Severus and Albus chuckled, 'Usually, you mean the way Severus used to look, don't you Harry?'
Harry shrugged, 'Yeah, those black robes didn't look very nice.'
'Well, you do not have to see Severus in them for much longer. But I did notice you both wearing identical rings, they look very nice. To me it shows you wish for everyone to see you are both taken, am I right?'
'Even though it was my idea to get the rings; that never occurred to me. I just thought since we are married that we should have rings,' Harry shrugged.
'True, but now everyone will know you belong to me and I belong to you. Now we should get back to work.'
'Yeah, I hate seeing this place so wrecked. But it's the dark magic that was used, it's like Hogwarts has been defiled. I hope in time that everyone can forget what took place here that night.'
'Even though books will have everything that happened, people will put it behind them, just like all of us will. The people that lost loved ones will always remember, that is natural, but they will never forget what took place here, they will be able to move on. We are fortunate that the main structure of the castle is still standing and the founders took damage into consideration when they built it. Hogwarts will always remain, no matter what happens to it over the years,' Albus stared around at the room he was in, thinking about everything he had seen happen over the years he had been living and working at Hogwarts. It was sad to see, but it will be as it was, a magnificent and ancient magical castle.
Harry and Severus tried as hard as they could to not be distracted by each other so they could help with the repairs. Harry even moved away from Severus, not far but not so he was standing right beside him. It seemed to work, Harry and Severus concentrated on what they were doing and not each other. The moment they had a break they were back beside each other and always touching.
The following morning Harry and Severus stepped into the great hall and headed for the staff table, but both of them noticed that all the staff seemed to be upset, angry even at something and all of them had a copy of the Daily Prophet.
'Is something going on Albus?' Severus asked but he never sat, just like Harry who stood beside him.
'You will find out eventually, sit down and read the main story on the Daily Prophet.'
Harry and Severus sat, Albus pushed the paper in front of them, 'Harry Potter, after more attention, more fame. It has recently come to light that Harry Potter's face is scarred, scars that weren't there until recently. It seems Mr. Potter likes to play the victim; he wants everyone to believe that he-who-must-not-be-named did more to him than what actually happened.'
'Who would do this?' Harry asks quietly.
'I believe we wouldn't have to look too far Harry. Try not to let it bother you,' Severus put his arm around Harry's shoulder.
'Well it does bother me,' Harry pushed the paper away from him, 'I'm not hungry, I'm going for a walk,' Harry stood then hurried from the hall.
Severus stared after Harry then got to his feet, 'Let him be Severus, he might need some time alone.'
'He might but not right now he doesn't. Harry gets depressed very easily, this could make it worse.' Severus swept from the great hall and headed outside. He found Harry in his usual spot, sitting behind the bushes near the black lake, 'You could set this straight if you wish.'
'Then everyone would know.'
'Yes, they would know the truth, but someone is trying to give you a bad name. I have been waiting for articles about me to turn up in the papers. I can't believe they went after you though.'
'If it was them Sev, how, we haven't seen them since they day they were here.'
'We have been out only twice, for all we know they were there, we just didn't seem them. If you think about this Harry, we do not take a lot of notice of anything but each other. What I don't get is why this story, it's not like it would make either of us want to separate.'
'They want to hurt me and I think it was Hermione that gave them the idea.'
'Why would you believe it was her over the two Weasley's when they have very big tempers?'
'When Ron left, Hermione and I were alone for weeks. One time I woke and Hermione was staring down at me, she looked upset, sort of sad. I never let on I was awake and it wasn't until she left to go have a shower that I got up. I realised that blankets had slipped down so my scars were showing. I'm usually the first awake, I shower and put the glamour back on, that morning I woke late because of Voldemort. He was torturing some death eaters that displeased him, so between the pain I felt in my scar and my nightmares I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. The glamour fades during the night, I should have removed it then did it again to last longer.'
'Alright, say Miss Granger told them what she saw and one of them has seen you since you've dropped the glamour. Why would she do this to you, she's not one for getting angry, not like Mr. Weasley or Miss Weasley?'
'After the fighting, the three of us walked back down through the castle, at first we just kept talking about being alive and he was dead. Then she said that her and Ron talked a bit about the future, how they would like to get married, she said when I marry Ginny we'll all be family. That's the only thing that makes sense; otherwise it wouldn't worry her who I ended up with. But since we've been together Sev I realised something, Ginny and I would never have made it anyway, we're too different. Even though I thought you and I were different, we're more alike than I realised. But Ginny, no, she's just too different from me and I know sometimes that doesn't matter, but with me I know it would.'
'I noticed that myself, she does tend to get loud, she likes attention, she has a temper, she talks a lot and she likes to be around a lot of people. You are anything but loud, you do not like attention nor do you have a temper. Normally you don't talk a lot and you do not like being around lots of people, it makes you uncomfortable. Yes I know opposites attract, but usually there has to be some similarities for the relationship to work. I believe apart from the bond, we work as we are similar. We are both normally quiet men, we do not like attention and we do not get loud or lose our tempers at the drop of a hat. Maybe that is why our real feelings emerged right after Albus activated the bond, we are very similar.'
Harry nodded but noticed Severus staring at him, 'You want me to tell what happened?'
'It would put all these rumours to rest. You do not have to put everything in a statement, just that you were hit constantly which is where the scars came from, then how you were forced to use your aunts make up to hide the scars, how you learned to use a glamour charm when you first arrived at Hogwarts. That is all anyone needs to know and it will put these lies to rest.'
Harry moved so he was sitting against Severus, 'Maybe I could put in that I'm thinking about having this procedure done in the hope it will remove most of my scars. I want to feel good about myself Sev but every time I see them, in a mirror or a reflection it makes me remember and I don't want to remember. I want to bury that part of my life forever.'
'Then we will speak with Poppy. How about we go back inside, eat some breakfast and work on your statement?'
'Even though you don't mind them, I do, it's always there, the looks, the pain, the humiliation.'
'Then I'll be right beside you while it's being done. It will take a while Harry, it has to be done gradually, one scar at a time. You will be red while it heals, creams and charms done twice a day, every day until they heal.'
'With the amount I've got, I might still be having it done after Hogwarts opens again.'
'You might, we have to speak with Poppy about that.'
'You said they take skin from another part, won't that scar?'
'No, the procedure works so you don't scar. The skin is carefully sliced from you then the healing starts right after, takes a while but it heals completely. These scars would have healed if you saw a doctor or a healer right after they were done. Naturally the deeper ones might have faded but not disappeared, but they would have needed to be treated straight away, even by one of our healers would have needed to treat them right after being done.'
'Okay, I want to do this and not just for the article. Ever since I dropped the glamour I just haven't felt good about myself.'
'Then let's go eat and we'll speak with Poppy.'
Harry nodded, kissed Severus' perfect shaped lips, stood and pulled Severus to his feet. They put their arms around each other and headed back towards the castle. What Severus didn't tell Harry that he caught a glimpse of movement down towards the gates and if he was right, one was a Weasley the other was Granger. They probably wanted to see how Harry reacted to the story. Now Severus hoped they would realise that their story backfired once Harry released a statement with the truth behind his scars.
