Chapter seventeen

With the help from Albus, Brian was able to draw up a time table for all four quidditch teams that would like some extra coaching. Albus told Brian that he would give the time table out to the captains of all four teams when school returned. Once the term finished, Brian and Severus spent all their time together, but they did spend time with Dumbledore when he was at the school. Severus would watch Harry when he worked on his pictures that he had been taken and Severus knew Brian was trying to decide which pictures would be sent to the alternate world as the charm limited what could be transferred between worlds.

'I'm going to have this picture of us enlarged, framed and placed in my room at Hogwarts, would like a copy done for you Sev?'

'I would, but I am hoping very soon that we might share a room.'

Harry looked up from his laptop, 'Even though we spend all our time together including nights, you're talking about living together. Don't you think it's a bit soon for that Sev?'

'We've both admitted that we want to be together,' Severus stepped around the desk and knelt down, 'I love you, I want us to live together.'

Harry smiled down at Severus, 'I love you too Sev, I wasn't sure how you felt. Okay, it looks like we live together. I will need to come here occasionally to work on the pictures.'

'We can do that, so right before the new school term starts, you move your stuff into my rooms or would you prefer your room?'

'You're room, you've been there for a while, you're settled in, I haven't and I've only slept in there once. So now this picture of us gets enlarged for our room.'

'I'm not rushing you, am I?'

'No, I hate staying away from you.'

'So do I, so we can go get the picture enlarged.'

'I thought of doing it once I have all the pictures finished. I still have to get pictures of Lily, James and Sirius.'

'Then we'll do it after. But didn't you say that professor Dumbledore wanted to speak with you before lunch?'

'Oh yeah, I forgot, I get so engrossed in this,' Harry cleaned up then holding Severus' hand walked down to the great hall where Dumbledore was sitting alone at the staff table, 'Sorry, I was downloading my pictures, time got away from me.'

'That's fine Brian. Now to what I wish to speak with you about, we need a full story of you and you're parents. I believe you could stick to the story of what happened to your parents apart from how they died. This gives a legitimate reason why I raised you and why you attended school overseas, it also makes your scar legitimate. I have been asked by some of the other staff how you got such an unusual scar. Most people will not push for details if you say you do not like to talk about what happened to your parents, just that they died when you were a baby, you were with them but survived with just the scar.'

'That makes sense actually, I would hate to slip and say something about when my parents died. It was brought up often in my world mainly because I'm the only person to ever survive the killing curse and I've done that twice.'

'Twice, you only mentioned the time when you were a child.'

Harry sighed, 'Okay since no one else is around I'll explain. The night Voldemort died, there was a huge fight going on at Hogwarts, our side against his side, but he had all his death eaters, snatchers, who were basically witches and wizards that wanted part of his power, then he had dementors, giants and werewolves as well. During the fighting he called a halt, then told me to go to him. He had just set his large snake on Snape to kill him, when he left the shrieking shake I went in, Snape gave me some memories, I had no idea why or why he would give me anything. Anyway, when he died we left, Hermione and Ron went into the great hall to be with Ron's family, Fred had just died. I saw Remus and Tonks body, along with young Colin, a member of the DA. I couldn't take seeing all the dead so I ran all the way up to your office to speak with your portrait but you weren't in your portrait, all the portraits were empty. I was angry, frustrated and scared wondering how I was going to stop people dying. Everyone knew I was supposed to be the chosen one, but I had no idea what to do. Finally I decided to watch the memory to see why Snape would give me anything when he hated me. Before you died you told Snape he had to tell me something but at the right time, when Voldemort feared for the life of his snake and stopped sending her out to do it's bidding,' Harry blew out a huge breath, Severus squeezed his hand.

'What did he tell you Brian?' Albus asked.

'That on the night I got my scar Voldemort was planning on making another horcrux, but because of my mother the soul he was splitting went into me,' Harry opened his shirt, 'I let him kill me, but again I didn't die just knocked out, so was he. I went somewhere, spoke to you or your soul, you explained some things and when I asked if I was dead you said I wasn't, but I could go on if I wanted to. For a few minutes I stood there thinking, should I just leave, stay dead or go back. The prophecy said either him or me had to kill the other, we were both technically still alive, but if I stayed then I died by his hand. The thing that made me return was all my friends, everyone that turned up in the hope I could save them, I had to give it one last try, so I returned.'

'His soul protected you from the killing curse while it destroyed the soul.'

'Yeah, but you never told Snape to tell me that, just that I had to die and Voldemort had to be the one to do it. After he was dead I was sitting on the steps leading to the castle wondering how I was going to live a life I never expected to have. I had been linked to him since I was a baby, he was always after me, I was in constant danger, then it all changed in a heartbeat. I didn't know how to live, how to feel, what to do and if I didn't pick up that stone that brought me here I don't think I would have survived. I felt so lost, so alone, I felt sick, disgusted, contaminated and I knew I could never tell any of my friends what had been inside me my whole life.'

'Alright, that's enough Brian, that life is over, you have begun a new chapter now, here and with Severus. So I think it's time you concentrate on this life and not your old one. What I might get you to do is write down everything, but take your time. Once you've done that and given it to me you put it out of your mind, for good.'

'With Sev and you I think I can because I already feel better about myself.'

'Good, now let's eat, the rest of the staff will be joining us soon,' Albus patted Harry's hand then started to dish up his lunch while Harry and Severus did the same thing.