Part 5

Part Five – Harry

Days have passed since I approached Snape, and I’ve kept my word. When we go in the vicinity of his shop, I make the effort to walk by and not even look at it, lest he’ll think I’m spying. The night is much cooler than normal, as it rains off and on, so I find myself out on my balcony once again. Interestingly enough, the rain doesn’t keep away the hordes of people from Bourbon Street. There seems to be at least fifty packed into a very small place called Huge Ass Beers. Huge beer, small premises. Yet the people don’t seem to mind, knowing the shower will pass quickly enough. Even the hot dog selling blokes don’t bother to take permanent cover when the downpour starts, standing under a large umbrella or the awning of a nearby business.

I smirk as a drenched barn swallow lands on the metal railing and begins ruffling its feathers in an attempt to rid itself of rain droplets. “Not a good night for a flight, mate,” I say, saluting it with my bottle of beer, “but you’re welcome to hang out all the same.”

The bird shakes its lovely blue wings while twitching its long forked tail and seems to glare at me. This causes me to snicker. “You look familiar.”

And to my surprise the bird hops down onto the chair next to me and begins to morph into none other than Severus Snape. “How’d you know that was me?” he asks curiously.

Trying to cover my shock, I shrug, take a swig from my bottle, and then say, “I’d know that glare anywhere, Professor.”

This causes him to smirk. “I’ve thought about what you said.”

“Oh?” My heart begins to beat wildly. Does he want to talk? Can we be friends then?

“Maybe we… Have you another of those?” He nods to the Budweiser in my hand.

“Yep. Hang on.” I quickly jump up, feeling nervous, and nearly trip over the doorway while going to fetch a beer for him. Once done, I am horrified to see my hand shaking slightly as I hand it to him.

“Thank you,” he says quietly, taking it and looking away from me. He pops off the top easily and takes a small sip, grimacing. “Definitely not Rosmerta’s finest, eh?”

“Definitely not,” I agree, chuckling slightly. After a moment of silence, I ask, “Ever miss home?”

“Sometimes, but believe it or not, I’ve come to appreciate my life here.”

“Tell me about it… if you’d like.”

“First, Potter, tell me about your wife. What happened to Ginevra?”

This isn’t what I expected. “She died almost two years ago.”

“I am… sorry to hear that. She was a fine young woman.”

He’s sincere. “I appreciate that, Snape.” I take a deep breath and begin my tale. “Ginny’s always liked Quidditch, and if you’ll remember, she was a right good player—Chaser or Seeker.” When he nods, I continue. “After Lily started at Hogwarts, she tried out for the Holyhead Harpies and made the team. They’d just let Gwenog Jones go—had a nasty snit and turned three of the coaches into woodlice—so they needed a new Beater. Ginny tried for Beater, but when they saw how she handled her broom, they made her Chaser instead and moved one of their Chasers to a Beater position.

“Two seasons ago, they made it to the British finals and had to play against the Falmouth Falcons—”

“Oh, I hate those wankers,” Snape interjects with a growl. “What’s their motto, ‘Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads’?”

“Yeah, that’s them,” I say sadly, “and I hate them as well.”

“Go on.”

“Remember those bothers, the Broadmoors? Played years ago?”

“I’ve read of them oft enough. Karl and Kevin, I believe. Rough players.”

“Right. Karl’s son, Kip Broadmoor, made Beater, and he was just as violent as they used to be. The Harpies won, having caught the Snitch, by ten points, and when the team flew together, celebrating, Kip flew at them and threw his Beater bat. It hit Ginny right here,” I point to my temple, “and she just fell off her broom like a rag doll. The mediwizard said she died instantly.”

“Potter, I’m… That’s horrible.”

“Yeah. The kids and me, we were there. I almost killed him with my bare hands, and nobody even tried to stop me.” I look down at my hands, remembering them around the bastard’s neck. “But I let him go somehow, and he’s still in Azkaban. It wasn’t deliberately aimed for her, but he wanted to hurt anyone he could. She just happened to be in the way. I don’t think she ever knew what hit her. All she knew was that they were one step away from going to the World Cup. That was her dream.”

Instead of wallowing in the memory of that night, as I normally do when I dwell on it, I feel as if a great burden has been lifted. It’s sort of nice to talk to someone about it who isn’t weeping or trying to smother me with sympathy. It was a long time before he spoke.

“I’m glad she didn’t suffer and passed happy.”

Nodding, I say, “It makes it bearable. We had it rough for a while. Lily, she’s so much like her mum and was close to her.”

“When I saw her, I couldn’t stop thinking about your mother. Do you realize how much like her she is as well? If she only had your eyes…”

I smile. “I see the resemblance there, too. Al’s the only one who got that from me. James has Ginny’s brown eyes, like Lily.”

“What are they like, your kids?”

Pleased, I say, “James, well, I expect you’d give him detention as often as you could.” I shrug with laughter. “He’s been using my map with his mates for a long time now and is in Gryffindor, plays Quidditch like me—Seeker of course.”

“A Potter family tradition,” he says dryly before taking another drink of beer.

“Lily’s a Ravenclaw, surprisingly enough. I guess it’s only right that her middle name is Luna, who was also a Ravenclaw.”

“After Lovegood?” Disbelief laces his voice.

“Yes,” I say firmly. “A good, loyal friend who did a lot to help me.”

He simply nods, though I can see the slight curve of his lips.

“Al’s a Slytherin.”

“Indeed?”

“Yeah, he was so worried about being Sorted into Slytherin before he went to Hogwarts—James had taunted him of course—and that’s right where he ended up.”

“I expect that made him angry, to be left out of the grand house of Gryffindor.”

“No, not after I talked to him.”

“Oh?”

I gaze right into his curious black eyes and say, “I told him that he’s named for two Hogwarts headmasters, Dumbledore being one, and you being the other, who was a Slytherin and yet one of the bravest men that I’ve ever known. It put him at ease, and the Sorting Hat did its job.”

Snape looks uncomfortable. “I remember you calling me a coward.”

“I was wrong. And, Snape, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

Nothing more is said for a long time as we drink the last from our bottles. When he places the empty bottle beside him and rises, I say, “So… you’re a bird Animagus, too, then, eh?”

He snorts. “Interesting that you are as well.”

“Maybe we can go for a flight,” I say lamely, cringing slightly.

“Perhaps.” He sneers and nods out towards the crowds below. “It doesn’t do to fly outside the city limits over the woods, however, as many of the locals round here like to hunt and shoot at anything with wings.”

I laugh in response and watch him phase back into his Animagus form and fly away. While he hadn’t stayed all that long, it seemed like much progress had been made. I realize then that he left without telling me anything about his life. I’d done most of the talking.

“Dad?” James pokes his head out the door and yawns.

“Yeah, son?”

“Were you talking to someone?”

“I was.”

“Who?”

“Ah, would you believe a bird?”

He shakes his head and sleepily makes his way back to the room he shares with Al. I didn’t exactly lie, now did I?

AN: Thanks again to beaweasley2 and rdholmantx for beta reading this! :)