Chapter 30: Gravestone

"I accepted the true nature of our bond after your second year began. It was highly disturbing to know that our bond would not be that of father and son. Not a bond of friendship, nor as a mentor and student, but as mates."

"Disturbing how?" Harry asked softly. He didn't think it was of a bad sort, but just hearing his mate say it made him feel a bit self conscious.

Severus chuckled softly, turning his mates hand over as he ran his thumb across Harry's palm. "In the sense that I would have to openly antagonize you, not only while protecting and guiding you, but also while attempting not to become too prominent in your life or reveal the bond too quickly." He explained. He was already on a tight rope, but if he had gotten too close to the child back then, he would have surely become overprotective.

"I had no problems with the bond itself, only the circumstances in which it presented itself." The man finished, still rubbing soothing circles into the hybrids hand.

Harry laughed as he watched his mate act so gently towards him. He loved this side of the man, just as much as he loved Severus' darker side. "Well I'm glad our bond went in this direction. I think I had already had a bit of a crush on you when we first met." It was extremely embarrassing to admit, but he felt mollified by the way that his shocked mate blushed.

The man was content to listen to his mate as the hybrid spoke, but once again he felt the eyes of several others on them. Looking slightly to his left he saw that there was a small group who he knew had just come into the diner less than ten minutes ago. They were looking at his and Harry's booth, but most importantly they were staring at his treasure.

He could hear them speaking about how good his mate looked, and how Rie was probably better off with someone more along their age rather than Severus', but what bothered him more than what they thought of him, was the way they seemed to salivate over his gem. Anger rose in his chest,-- alongside pride-- because he knew his mate was breathtaking, but no one in that group of muggles was worthy of gazing at Rie for more than even a moment.

Harry noticed his mates emotions change, and subtly noted the direction the man was looking through his peripherals at.

The teen smiled, pulling his mate closer to himself and claiming the mans lips in a kiss. Moving around the seat of the booth, Harry settled himself beside his mate, and out of the others view, but not before flipping them off. He didn't look at them, didn't speak to or about them, and it seemed to calm his mate more than he'd expected.

"My mate." Harry whispered. He wanted the dragon beside him to look at him instead of dwelling on others. He retook the taller wizards hand and placed it on his thigh, effectively bringing his mates full attention back. The man gifted him with a cheeky smirk, and a raised eyebrow, but neither spoke about the teen's abrupt actions.

Some woman at the counter had been staring hungrily at Severus for quite some time, but as the man had never taken notice, Harry let it be. Now however, he felt that he too could be a bit possessive over the other, and slowly moved his mates hand higher up his leg. He knew it was wrong to do such things in public, but his mates dominant anger made him lose all sense of self. He wanted everyone in the diner to know that they were off limits. That he is the dragons treasure, the man is his mate, and nothing would be able to interfere with it.

Severus could feel the heat of his mates skin, and allowed his hand to wander for a moment. Pushing up past his mates skirt, and just barely teasing his inner thighs before pulling away. Harry was already breathless by this point, and both dragons knew it was about time to leave.

Rie placed her forehead onto the table, audibly swearing to all that was holy that if he only teased her again she would seduce him into properly finishing next time. The wizard beside her smirked, dropping the muffling charm around them and calling the waitress to get their bill. The teen laughed quietly at her mate, knowing the man would enjoy her following through with her threat just as much as she would.

The waitress that came with the bill, was the same woman that had been eyeing her mate. And of course after they paid, Rie was right to be suspicious. There on the receipt was a number next to a womans name. She was trying to keep calm, the day was supposed to be about paying respects to her lost family, not fending off muggles who wanted one of them for themselves.

Rie decided to let her mate deal with it, as she knew that she would likely burn the receipt or something worse, and have to deal with several repercussions from the ministry. Not to mention the wizarding world as a whole once they found out about Harry being out with Severus. The tracker on his magic may not be in place anymore since he claimed his inheritance and became the lord of his family estates, but that did not stop him from being beholden to the law regarding harming others.

Either way, Severus simply lifted a brow at the number, ripped that section off, and dropped it on one of the stacked plates, letting it get ruined by the remnants of food. He said nothing, and hardly acknowledged the woman who was only a few feet away, before standing and offering a hand to Harry.

Helping his gem out of the booth, Severus kept a hold of her hand, and told the teen that they would not be going back to that diner again. As they left, Harry let the fresh cool air calm his thoughts. Soon after his anger settled, he found himself blushing.

That reaction was so much like how he remembered seeing older teens act back when he still lived with the Dursley's. It was a sort of need to claim the man beside him in such a way that would leave no doubt in anyone's mind that they were only interested in one another.

Either way he thought of it, he knew it definitely could have gone worse. There could have been a full on fight, but because there wasn't he simply let his mate guide him into a shaded area where they then apparated away.

Once they got to their next destination, Rie was still deep in thought about the scene they had just left. She wondered what everyone was thinking after they left. They hadn't really disturbed anyone, and she'd made sure not to cause much of a spectacle but still. In the end, she decided to leave those thoughts alone, as they came upon the area where her family was buried.

The two had apparated in on a pathway, leading to many different smaller paths that ended at graves of the other deceased. Severus ushered the teen down a path to the left where the moon was visible in the morning sky. As they passed several graves, Rie felt her throat start to close up.

This was it. This is the place where her parents a d godfather were put to rest. They had all died trying to protect her, and in the end, she hoped that she could make them proud of both herself and her achievements in life. She prayed that they were still able to see her move forward and avenge them for all of their sacrifices in a war that they could have, in all honesty, run far away from.

Her parents each had a headstone and foot stone, and as they came up to them, Rie ran a hand along both headstones. Sirius had a flat headstone that was beside his fellow Marauder, which the teen dusted off gently.

Each headstone was adorned with a section of silver that had delicate engravings of their patronus, and the hybrid took stock of them and the other graves on this side of the path. Many of the graves had flowers on them, some fresh and others wilted, and she realized they had nothing to offer.

A few footsteps sounded behind her as she knelt down in front of the three she had come to see. Severus came to kneel beside her, pulling a shrunken case out of his pocket. Rie looked over at the man as he resized and opened it to reveal three bouquets of preserved flowers.

There were giant pink Tiger Lilies, which the dragon motioned for Harry to place at his mothers headstone with the directive; 'For Lily.'. The process was so simple, but it brought tears to the sirens eyes. A whispered message of 'I miss you' was all he could get out before he had to pull away.

For his father there were Marigolds, an odd choice the teen thought, though he had no idea why these bouquets had been chosen. Placing them above his father, he spoke the same message and blinked back more tears.

Finally Severus passed Harry a bouquet of blue Hydrangeas. Another odd choice, the teen inwardly mused, as he placed the flowers on the ground. He spoke the same words to his godfater, and looked at the man beside him, trying to stifle the few tears that had escaped.

Severus was still kneeling there beside him, and Harry asked why he had chosen those particular bouquets.

"Most flowers have a meaning, each specific or correlative to a message you wish to send. In this instance I chose the Pink tiger lilies for Lily to symbolize the virtues of mercy and compassion. She was always a headstrong woman, but her heart was that of gold. For James I chose Marigolds, to say that even now I do grieve for your loss. As for Sirius, the Blue Hydrangeas symbolize togetherness and unity. In the sense that even when he was falsely accused, or lured into a trap, he thought first of those he loved and is now united with them again." This was all spoken quietly while the man gazed at the headstones. Harry pulled the man into a hug and thanked him, before pulling away.

It was a few moments before Harry finally backed up to speak to them all. Severus stood and took a step back in order to give the teen a bit of privacy.

He knew that even if they could hear him, they would be unable to answer, so he decided not to ask them anything that would never be answered.

"I miss you all... and every year it's hard to go through today, knowing how you died, and having that memory of you fighting for me. But I know that we'll get through this. Severus has been a huge help for me over the years, so have Remus, my adoptive family, and all my friends... We're getting closer to the end of this war, and I have you lot to thank for getting me this far." The teen paused, unsure of how to word his next thoughts.

"Um... I bet you're wondering why I'm here dressed like this with Severus, and that's because I--" He cleared his throat, a deep blush heating up his tan cheeks. "Well I heard that you guys already knew about the paths our bond could take before you died. A couple years ago my body went through a lot of changes, and last year Severus started courting me, so er... yeah."

Severus could only smile at his little mate. How flustered the teen had become over recounting his last few years to his parents. He allowed Harry to speak without interrupting, and as the next two hours passed he watched as his young mate loosened up. Talking more freely about his life and friends, his hardships, and even their courting. Of course once it came too close to lunch the dragon caught his gem's attention, and helped the teen stand on wobbly legs.

Harry hadn't known just how long he sat there, on the cool dewy grass speaking to his family, but once he saw the afternoon sky he knew it was time to go. Standing on his own now he dusted himself off, said his goodbyes, and started on his way back.

Only he could not hear any footsteps safe for his own. Turning back he watched his mate kneel down and speak quietly to the three family members Harry had lost. It was only then that he realized that these three were important to his mate as well. Rie's mother had been like a sister to the man, her father and godfather were almost like friends to the older dragon as well. She had taken up so much time trying to get a sense of closure, but he hadn't had a chance to get a word in edgewise after his explanation of the flowers.

Walking back towards the three graves and her mate, the teen stayed silent while he spoke.

He was quiet, asking the three to watch over her, himself, and all of their future children. Rie was about to kneel back onto the grass until her mate was done, but in that moment the man turned, and slowly pulled her closer.

Still standing, Rie watched in confusion as her mate reached into his pocket and pulled out another box. Inside the box revealed two very stunning engagement rings made of white gold and black tungsten metals. One was a thick banded ring with a center inlay of alexandrite, the other was a bit thinner with alexandrite and moss agate in the center inlay. The teen wanted to laugh in her excitement. Severus had already asked for her hand. He had already spoken to her adoptive human family, her adoptive draconic family, and her friends. He had courted her, and was still courting her, though technically they were already married, but this was just as surprising as the first time.

"You have accepted my claim on you several times before today. Though I have been courting you for less than a year, I know that even if you were not my mate, I would still always want to choose you. Will you accept this ring as a physical reminder of my promise to always love you, and give yourself to me until the end?" The Dragon asked, taking his Sirens left hand into his own and kissing her palm.

"Sevvy you know my answer will always be yes. I love you too, and I'm sure I always will." The teen smiled softly, pulling the man to his feet and into a chaste kiss.

The cold shock of metal touching her warm skin make the siren smile, and the warmth of protective magic caused her to gasp as a shiver ran up and down her body. The dragon moved away, stopping himself from taking the innocent kiss any further, or pulling his minx up against his chest in the middle of this cemetary.

The two needed to leave, so that his fiancee could meet her friends and get a filling meal before the ball tonight.

Guiding the dazed teen back down the path, Severus smiled.

(Am I the only one who saw that??) A voice whispered from a nearby tree.

(No, Severus really did smile James. He's been known to do that once or twice.) Lily laughed, pulling her husband back towards their headstones. (We'll see them again, right?) She asked uncertainly, hoping that they hadn't missed their chance to speak to their only child.

(Yes, Lily we will. And next time I hope we get here before they have to leave.) The man spoke softly, watching the two apparate away before he and his wife settled back into their graves. They hadn't had enough magic to manifest until now, and the veil between the dead and living wasn't even fully open yet, so it seemed fleeting. They would rest and hope that next time they would see their son face to face.

HPSSHPSSHPSS

Back in Hogsmeade, the two mates made their way into a small bar, and straight to the floo network. After paying for and grabbing the powder, they each called out their destination then left, traveling back into the quarters of Severus Snape.

Harry's day had already had a few twists and turns, but it was overall a truly wonderful experience that he wouldn't give up for the world. But it was time for the teen to go back to her own dorm, and after the glamour was taken off, she kissed her mate goodbye and stuck to the darkened halls until she reached the Ravenclaw tower. Most students were already in the great hall but a few were lingering in the halls so she made sure to move fast and silently.

Once in her dorm the teen changed her clothes, going backetting comfy in a pair of baggy black lowrise cargo pants, and a grayish blue long sleeve shirt. She left on her makeup, deciding that all the work put into it would be ruined if she only wore it for less than six hours.

From there she grabbed her wand from where she set it down on the bed, and her cloak before heading down to the great hall to meet her friends.

No one was very surprised when he came in, dressed comfortably and wearing makeup. But what did catch several eyes was the glint of the ring on his finger. The kaleidoscopic nature of the alexandrite was easy to spot, and the layered green inside the clear moss agate stone seemed to add to the eye catching factor.

Harry noticed the new attention, and tried to brace himself for whatever his peers had to say, but settled down when he saw it was only from his friends. It was as if no one else could see the ring, and he released a sigh hoping that it wasn't a fluke.

His friends didn't speak on it, but he did invite them to his dorm to tell them about his day, and catch up with the group before they all left to get ready for the halloween ball.

Lunch passed in silence, the teen only glancing at his fiance once before being dragged away by Hermione. He and the other teen hadn't had much time to talk alone in a long time, and as he was pulled out of the great hall, he promised himself to speak with her alone soon.

She was right beside him, and as they walked, the hybrid could see that his friend was near to bursting with her questions. It wasn't long before she was saying the password to the house portrait, and hauling him into his room.

The rest of their friends were right behind them, and it didn't take long before they had all settled on or around his bed and small sofa.

"So how did it go?" Hermione asked almost as soon as the door closed, the quiet snick of the door and the click of the wards snapping into place being drowned out immediately.

The hybrid took the time to recount his entire morning to the group, only really leaving out what titles came with his inheritances. He didn't really have much to tell the group outside of how the engagement ceremony had gotten out of hand, their visit to the diner, and then his parents. It only took about an hour for them to be caught up with the fact that he and their Potions Professor was soul bonded and married in all eyes save for that of the Ministry.

The courting was only really for show now, but even then Harry was elated that he was another step closer to being with his mate.

"Congrats! But why are you still bound by Wizarding courting laws?" Aubrey asked, pulling the teen close and into a hug. She wasn't sure about courting laws that creature bloods were beholden to.

"Because we're both living in Hogwarts which is under the Ministry, and even though he's a full dragon, he'd still be expected to follow the proper channels because he's been living as a wizard most of his life."

Harry knew that both he and his mate were coming up to the end of what they could endure with this forced separation. Neither wanted to break their courting early, or rush into a marriage only for it to be revealed too soon. Severus was still a double spy, and now he had a secret life that had to be kept from both sides. It was a lot of pressure on the dragon and the hybrid to stay as inconspicuous as possible.

"We can't live together until after marriage, but even then it would cause too much attention from the Headmaster and staff if we did. Voldemort is still looking to make Severus distract me with a friendship so he can gain more power, and Dumbledore is almost playing into his hand."

"How?" Was all Hermione needed to ask for the other teen to understand what she wanted to know.

"For years he's wanted us to stop being so peeved at each other. For us to become something close to friends since were both on the same side and of dragon blood. So now we have to act like we are starting to slowly trust one another, while still keeping this buried, and continuing our research." Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"What happened after Gringotts?" Draco asked, his comfortable position on the sofa making the Veela seem less stressed than he was, than they all were.

"We went to a diner for breakfast. It was nice, and the food was good. He let me order for him, but we had to leave after the muggles started sending us flirty looks." His friends laughed at the admission.

"How many were trying it on you?" Neville smiled, knowing that his friend was attractive either way he dressed.

"A small group of guys, no more than three. And one waitress was openly eyeing Severus." The Siren sneered. In all actuality he was still miffed about the woman. "She tried to slide her number to him on the receipt and didn't take the many hints I gave her to back off, until Sev dropped her number on top of the syrup on my plate, watched it sink in, and then we left. I wanted to burn it, but I don't want to deal with Fudge or his ministry just yet."

Harry was still trying to calm down that side of himself that was overtly possessive of his mate. Just thinking about the woman today made him want to leave his mark on the man and preen everytime he saw it. Fiddling with his choker made the urges settle, and he changed subjects again.

The group continued to talk well into mid afternoon, catching up with each other.