Note: BSL (as well as ASL) is not merely signed English. BSL is an entirely different language with its own grammar. The signing in this story is not literally translated. Also, in places where there are bold words mixed with normal font, this is what Severus is able to sign at this point.

Chapter 20: Go Fly A Kite

Two little words changed everything. Severus hadn't imagined how much his willingness to learn sign would mean to Harry. In his whole life, he couldn't think of a time he had made one person near so happy as he had made Harry that day. Gone was the cool facade that Harry had worn the for the last month and a half. The boy's eyes told the depth of his gratitude as he swiped at the shimmering tears that welled up in them. It made Severus want to kiss him senseless.

Instead, Severus merely gave a wry smile. "You are far too easy to please, boy," he murmured.

Harry cocked his head to the side and began a flurry of rapid fire signs. His hands moved elegantly forming words that Severus had no hope of understanding. The boy stopped, obviously waiting for Severus to respond. Feeling very much like an idiot child, Severus tried to think back to his few lessons with Dumbledore for the words for "I don't understand," but he was drawing a blank. Harry frowned and tried again a bit slower. Severus still was helpless to comprehend what the boy was trying to tell him. This was what Harry must have felt so many times, Severus realized—the burning need to understand, to have someone understand him. Swallowing hard, Severus shook his head.

Harry heaved a heavy sigh, but then began again. He pointed to Severus and then brought his right hand to his forehead in a C shape and then closed it.

"Me?" Severus inquired pointing to himself.

Harry nodded and brought his hand to his forehead once again. The sign looked damn familiar. Severus knew it was one that he had learned. And then it struck him.

"Learn," he said repeating the sign.

Smiling widely, Harry made one last sign. With his fingers wide, he moved his hands near each other in an almost fluttering motion before bringing his index fingers together and apart. That one Severus recognized.

Severus nodded. "Yes, I am learning sign." A sense of satisfaction spread throughout Severus as he leaned back against the pillows. There he had done it!

In the days that followed that first painstaking exchange, Severus found himself learning a great deal more sign. Dr. Lupin was quite adamant that Severus remain abed until his side had healed more. Between Lady Weasley and Hermione, Severus had little choice but to stay in bed, and learning signs was a great deal more stimulating than staring at the walls. In the mornings, while Harry had lessons of his own, Hermione would come to his room and show him some basic words and phrases, and Mr. Weasley came in the afternoons. In the evening, Harry brought him his dinner tray and then stayed for a brief visit. It galled him to admit that Hermione had been right; sign language was indeed complex and took a great deal to learn. His own progress was coming in small strides, but it seemed to make Harry so blissfully happy that he kept on with it.

Aside from his lessons, Severus was often visited by Lady Weasley, who would appear with little warning to check on him and then disappear. Lady Weasley was a rather singular woman, Severus soon found out. The mother of seven and wife to a scholarly baronet seemed little concerned with the gossip rags from London or the latest fashion plates smuggled in from France. There was enough about the house to keep her more than occupied. Lady Weasley seemed the sort of woman who took things well in stride, not even minding the prolonged stay of two injured guests. She told him that the doctor had also ordered Daniel to rest for a few days, but that the younger man was recovering quickly enough to be rather perturbed by his own inactivity and sometimes required a bit of "urging" to remain tucked in his bed. Lord Snape had no doubts that Daniel hadn't a chance of escaping their hostess.

It took four days of bed rest before both Remus and Lady Weasley would allow him up and about. The first time he stood he was assaulted by a bout of dizziness that nearly took him from his feet. Sneering at his own weak body, Severus dressed in a fresh set of clothes that Lady Weasley had unpacked for him. Severus glanced at his own reflection as he straightened his cravat. The face in the mirror was indeed that of a sick man. His complexion was a tad paler than his already ghostly skin tone, and his cheek bones shone a bit more prominently than they had before. Thankfully, Lady Weasley had helped him shave that very morning. He doubted the addition of stubble would have improved his visage.

The short journey from his bed to the Weasley parlor was enough to leave him exhausted, and Severus sat himself in an overstuffed armchair. He was weary to the bone, too much so to present himself in the dining room for luncheon as he had intended. Instead, he decided to rest here for just a moment before continuing on. It felt as though Severus had merely blinked, but it was some time later when he was awakened by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Looking up, Severus saw a man standing near him who could be none other than Sir Arthur Weasley. Though his host had not made a trip into his sickroom—for which Severus was thankful—he recognized the color of the man's hair. He was middle aged and quite average looking with thinning red hair and ink stained fingers. "My lord, perhaps you would be more comfortable back in bed," Sir Arthur suggested.

Severus shook his head. "No, thank you. I had not meant to spend the day asleep...Sir Arthur, I presume?"

"Quite right," the scholar confirmed. "On other circumstances, I would have introduced myself much sooner, but who needs a pack of strangers crowding around when you are trying to recover."

"The courtesy is much appreciated," Severus told him honestly. "I am much in your debt, sir."

"On the contrary, it is an honor to be of service, my lord. I have long admired your works," Sir Arthur admitted.

"Really? I was under the impression that no one read my papers aside from a few other botanists," Severus quipped dryly.

Sir Arthur laughed. "They were not as titillating as most novels, my lord, but it is still quite fascinating work. I am not much of a scientist myself. My expertise lies in historical linguistics, but I do enjoy a nice break from deciphering Middle English now and again."

"I understand, entirely," Severus agreed thinking of the numerous books lining the shelves of his study. "I must say I do find Jacob Grimm's work to be most interesting."

The baronet blinked. "Really, my lord?"

The two scholars chatted amicably for nearly an hour before a slender girl with the signature Weasley red hair appeared. "Father, leave the lord be. I am sure he would rather rest peacefully," she chided gently.

"Lord Snape, I would like to present my daughter, Ginerva," Sir Arthur introduced.

"A pleasure," Lord Snape said as the girl curtsied.

"Thank you, my lord. I do hope that you will please overlook our family's oddities. We are not used to entertaining anyone from London society," Miss Weasley said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"London society is not something I should wish upon someone," Severus commented.

The girl laughed. "Mother sent me to offer you something to eat. Our cook has made some wonderful sandwiches."

"That sounds delightful as I have missed luncheon it seems," Severus said apologetically.

"Not an uncommon occurrence in this household, I'm afraid. My mother assures me that missing meals is a trait that all scholarly gentlemen share. Father has quite the habit for it," Miss Weasley told him in mock secrecy.

Despite himself, Severus found himself quite charmed by the county miss. She was just the type of girl that would be overlooked by the majority of foolish young men at the London balls, but he had no doubt she would make the perfect academic's wife—as her mother before her so obviously had. He made a mental note to offer his London home to the Weasleys for the season. It simply wouldn't do to be beholden to a family that he hardly knew.

By the time Severus had eaten, the Weasley family had already settled into their daily routine and Harry was already in the middle of his lessons. Left to his own devices, he found himself seeking out Daniel—who had also been released from bed that morning. With a book in one hand and his right arm still in a sling, Daniel was seated outside when Severus located him. The courtesan smiled and rose to his feet when he saw Severus approach.

"My lord, it is good to see you looking so decidedly alive," he said teasingly.

"I could say the very same for you. Last I recalled, you were bleeding in my arms," Severus reminded him with very little mirth. He took a seat and picked up the book. "Emma? Exactly what kind of drivel are you reading?"

Daniel simply shrugged. "It was something that Miss Weasley told me she rather enjoyed, and decided to try it. However, it certainly is more suited to a woman's tastes. I doubt I will finish it. But something tells me it isn't my literary critique you wanted to talk about."

"No, it isn't," the lord confirmed. "How much do you recall after I was shot?"

"To be honest, nothing. I lost consciousness before you were injured," Daniel confessed. "I was quite convinced that I would die right there."

"As was I."

"You don't think he's dead, do you?" Daniel asked.

"Logic would say that he couldn't have survived," Severus replied.

Daniel unconsciously reached toward his injured arm. "I didn't know that such evil existed, and I was quite content believing that he was rotting in hell. Do you think Harry is safe here?"

"I do," Severus assured him. "There were no other riders with him that survived and even if he lived, Riddle is in no shape to come after us so soon. A few more days and we will head for Spinner's End. From there, you are free to stay as long as you wish or to return to London."

Daniel nodded. "London is tempting," he said with a slight shyness, "but I do believe I have reason to stay."

Severus was not given time to digest Daniel's words as a familiar form came rushing up to him. With his cheeks flushed and a slight bit of perspiration on his forehead, obviously Harry had been running. His hands moved equally as fast forming signs too quickly for Severus to grasp nary a one.

"Slow down," he told the boy—words he learned the signs for in his very first lesson with Hermione. It seemed Severus wasn't the only one lost by Harry's quick movements.

Grudgingly, Harry repeated himself. This time, Severus was able to make out a few signs from the mess. Come...me....Mr. Weasley...up.

Severus nodded and stood. "It seems there is something he wishes to show me," he told Daniel.

Harry led Severus to the pasture behind the house where Mr. Weasley was waiting. The teacher smiled at him and held up a kite. "Harry wanted you to come see it fly," he explained. "It took us a few tries to get it up earlier, but there is a bit more wind now."

"Wonderful," the lord said flatly. He offhandedly wondered if his disinterest was as apparent in his features as it was in his voice, for the deaf man did not seem to mind his sarcasm. If not for Harry's obvious enthusiasm, Severus would have simply rolled his eyes and returned to the house. At the moment, his side was aching fiercely and he felt the coming on of one hell of a headache, but the boy looked so damn happy. Resigned to spending the remainder of the afternoon watching this frivolous kite business, Severus took a seat on the ground.

True to Mr. Weasley's prediction, they had no difficulty getting the kite into the air. On the very first try, Harry managed to get it soaring proudly above them. The late day sun made it hard for Severus to keep his eyes on the sky, and he spent more time watching the boy than he did the kite. Severus wondered if in all of his life something had ever made him as happy as this bit of paper and string did Harry. The boy's wide eyed jubilation made Severus realize all the more that he was a selfish man for wanting Harry the way he did. Though he couldn't quite say why, he knew that he wanted Harry as a part of his life even if it meant being dragged across a pasture to watch a kite flying.

When the kite came down, Harry and Mr. Weasley came back over to where Severus sat. Harry plopped unceremoniously on the ground beside him and began signing. Severus was exhausted from his first day about and not in the mood to try to decipher more signs. He looked to the teacher for assistance. "What does he want?"

"He wants to know if you have ever flown a kite before," Mr Weasley said.

"When I was very young perhaps, but I can't recall," Severus replied.

Harry gave a sad smile and raised his hands to speak."When I was little," Mr Weasley interpreted, "I used to fly kites with other children. I missed it very much."

"Ask him if he remembers much about how things were before he lost his hearing," Severus requested. Mr. Weasley did as he was asked.

Harry looked away for a long moment before his eyes returned to Severus. Without warning, he stood up and began walking back to the house.