Date: 2008-03-15 12:06 Subject: In the Spring Security: Public Tags: author: sweetmelodykiss, harry/draco, ides_of_march, snape/harry

Title: In the Spring
Author: sweetmelodykiss
Fandom/Pairing Harry Potter, Harry/Severus, Harry/Draco implied
Prompts: Spring, Rome
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Harry is at a loss, but Spring is the season for new beginnings.
Word Count: 1175
Disclaimer: I do not own them. All are owned by JKR. No profit is made from this writing.
Highlight for Warnings: * Death Fic *
Beta: alwaysasnapefan



"Harry? Please..." Severus' voice was weak, but still strong in tone. Harry, sitting across the room, reading a book, looked up.

"Yes, Severus, I'm here, love." He marked his place in the book, set it on the night table, and got up. "Can I get you something, some water or tea perhaps?"

Severus, still young for a wizard, but dying of a multitude of old curses, could still smirk. "If it's late enough, I'll have fire whiskey; otherwise, no, just you."

Harry sat on the edge of the bed, smiling, and took Severus' hand in his. It was dry, the skin papery, hiding the curses that were eating Severus alive. "I'm here." Harry answered his voice thick with emotion.

"You know I love you, don't you, Harry?" He tried to squeeze Harry's hand but hadn't the strength. "More than anyone, more than any lover. Not that I‘ve had many." He let out a sigh, weak from the exertion.

"I know, Severus. I know, and I love you too. I've loved you all this time, ever since I got over being afraid of you," Harry chuckled.

Severus smirked. "Did I really frighten you, Harry? You always seemed quite defiant."

"You did. Probably for most of the first year I was at Hogwarts." He leaned down and kissed Severus on the forehead. "Then, after the final battle, I figured out that you were just an old fraud."

Severus' breathing rasped and came out increasingly labored. "It's time, Harry. I just couldn't go without telling you how much I love you." He went suddenly rigid, and then relaxed, his last breath taken. He closed his eyes and passed into eternity and, Harry hoped, peace at last.

Harry sat on the edge of the bed for a while, petting the limp hand he held. Then he got up, crossed the room and fire-called Severus' Mediwizard. "It's over," he said when the Mediwizard stuck his head in the fireplace.

"I'll be right there."

A few hours later, it was done. Severus was gone, his bed freshly stripped and all the trappings of grave illness banished from the room. Harry sent the staff home, and then found himself at a loss. He ambled through the house aimlessly, looking for... what? He didn't know.

He finally came to rest in the library, perhaps his favorite room in the house. He lit the fire wandlessly, put some ice in one of the Waterford glasses, poured himself a drink, and settled into his favorite chair, a large wingback, covered in rich green fabric, that Harry had hated when Severus first brought it home. It had grown on Harry, though, and now there were two identical chairs, side by side, facing the fireplace, with a small table between them. The empty chair loomed largely in the flickering firelight.

Harry drank some of the cold, dark whiskey and settled back, letting his mind wander.

~~~~~~

It was late spring, just before Harry‘s twenty second birthday. The war was over and Harry felt at loose ends, not knowing what direction he wanted his life to take. Having nothing else to do, he ended up in the Headmistress's office at Hogwarts. Minerva took pity on him and put him to work immediately. Apparently, Snape needed an assistant to help him with the chopping and brewing. After Nagini's attack, his hands didn't work as well as they used to, and Snape had managed to run off everyone else Minerva hired to help. This was a last ditch effort on her part. It was either this or forced retirement for Severus.

Harry took the job after a long conversation with Severus. In just under a week's time, Harry settled into a firm routine. He tended to tune out the yelling, scowling and threats until Severus finally settled down and accepted Harry for the man he was now and not the boy he used to be.

The first time they made love, Harry was instantly addicted. He knew then that he would never leave. Harry was always happiest when Severus' cock was buried deep inside his ass, but it wasn't just about the sex. Harry truly loved Severus and he knew the feeling was mutual just by looking into the older man's eyes.

They actually got on well together, and after a year or so, most of Harry's friends saw them as a couple. Two years later, Harry and Severus bonded in a formal ceremony attended by all their friends.

For his part, Harry ran the household and went everywhere with Severus. He helped him more and more as he grew older, taking care of Severus' needs with love and devotion. They'd been together more than thirty years, much to some people's surprise. Harry never regretted one day of it. They fought, they screamed at each other and they made up just as passionately. Thirty years seemed to pass in the blink of an eye until the final days when Severus' life began to ebb away.

~~~~~~

In the morning after Severus' death, Harry showered, dressed and went down to the kitchen. He made himself some tea. He didn't feel like eating. The house was so quiet that he could almost hear the sound of Severus' labored breathing if he listened carefully.

For the rest of the morning Harry just walked around the house and garden, thinking, remembering, and missing Severus.

It took several months for Harry to figure out what to do with himself. Ultimately, he realized that his whole life had been devoted to Severus, and now it was coming up empty. He needed a change, a change of place, a change of people.

So he closed up the house, gave generous bonuses to the staff, and left to find out just where this newfound freedom would take him. He traveled all over the world, seeing the sights, and experiencing the different cultures. Time passed in a blur, and eventually the numbness began to recede.

It was late in the spring when Harry found himself in Rome. He liked it there. The men had dark hair and eyes, reminding him somewhat of his lost love and he decided to stay for a while. Harry sat at the bar of a local hangout near his flat, sipping on wine and taking in the ambiance, when he noticed a very white-blond head that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Harry got off his stool and sidled up to the blond-haired man at the other end of the bar. Draco smirked at him. "It's been a long time, Potter. I'm very sorry for your loss. I wish I could've been there. Severus was a good man."

"Yes, he was and I understand why you couldn't be there. You've had some losses of your own to deal with and I do sympathize. May I buy you a drink?" Harry asked as he took the empty seat next to Draco.

"Thank you, Potter. Things have been difficult, but I'm sure they have been for you as well. A drink would be lovely." Draco smiled warmly, and Harry's heart began to flutter for the first time in three years.

Finished