Chapter 20

Hermione got up from the table and went to Snape. She pulled back the curtains from the bed and helped him off the bed. Slipping her arm around his waist, she walked with him to the table. He sat in the chair she had vacated, and she got him a bowl of stew.

“Professor, how do you feel?” Harry asked.

“Severus, Harry, no need for titles among friends.” He took a bite of biscuit and spooned some stew into his mouth.

Harry nodded, suddenly emotional. “Severus,” he said slowly, trying the man’s first name out.

Severus grinned. “Weird, huh?”

Harry laughed. “Very.”

“Did I hear you were spending the night? I guess you’ll have to transform the couch back into a bed.”

“Do you mind? If it’s too awkward, I can go home to the Burrow.

“No, it’s fine. I know it’s late, but I would like to talk to you a bit more. As for tomorrow, it would be best if you leave before I take the potion. It might be an easy transition or a difficult one, and I do not know how I will react. Hermione can send her Patronus if she needs help.”

“Of course, sir. If that’s what you want.”

“I’m sorry I fell apart earlier. All the changes this last month have been amazing, and I guess I haven’t gotten control of the idea and reality of actually being able to be happy. The emotion is overwhelming at times.”

“I’m a bit shell-shocked over this whole thing myself,” Harry said, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

“Headache?” Severus enquired, surprised to feel such concern for the boy he had pretended to hate for years past.

“A bit.”

“Hermione, would you get some of that headache reliever?”

She went to get the reliever from the bathroom.

“Harry, thank you for what you said earlier. I’m still shocked you would consider forgiving me.”

Harry said, “Believe me, it was very difficult to come to that conclusion, and I had some rough nights after you ‘died.’ Once Voldemort was gone and the celebrations were over, I spent a lot of time reviewing the memories and realizing my gross errors all these years. I felt responsible for your death.”

It was Snape’s turn to feel gobsmacked. “No one was responsible for me. I made terrible, selfish, foolish choices as a young man, and I have paid very highly for my mistakes. But I also will never be able to atone for all of them.” His face began to show the strain the conversation was taking on him.

“Severus,” Harry said with passion, “you must let go of it all. I have. Ginny taught me how much love can heal, and I think you have found that through Hermione. Embrace that love and let go of the past. We all must forgive the transgressions of the past and live in the world we all helped forge. It’s because each and everyone who fought on the side of good gave their best. You were among the hardest working—a man who no longer cared what happened to himself. Do you know how much I have grown to admire those qualities in you?” He swallowed. “And for the record… you had a right to hate my father. He was cruel and a bully. I was angry because I didn’t want to admit my father could do anything so wrong, but the memories speak for themselves. I’ve had to accept that.”

Severus saw the growth and maturity in the young man’s face. This Harry Potter was an adult of wisdom and strength. Somehow, the boy had grown up to have more character than his father ever had. Yet he admitted, “Even your father grew up. Your birth curbed his rebel days. He became a father you could be proud of. Even Sirius matured with the responsibility of being your godfather.”

Harry blinked away the emotion Snape’s words made him feel. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that insight.”

Hermione came back then with the potion to relieve Harry’s headache. She had lingered to allow them to have private time to talk, and Severus gave her a grateful nod.

Hermione said, “Severus, you’re exhausted, and it is very late. You need to have your strength when you take the potion tomorrow.

Severus smiled up at her. “You’re correct, my apprentice.” Teasing her, he said the word like he would have sarcastically said “mother.”

Hermione made a face and slapped Severus’s shoulder playfully.

Harry was shocked for a moment, but when Severus laughed lovingly up into her face, he laughed, too.

Severus got to his feet, and Hermione got her wand and made the couch into a bed for Harry. She also used her wand to clean up the kitchen. Severus loaned Harry a nightshirt. And when he came back from the bathroom, he endured their laughter good naturally. He was still about 6 inches shorter than Snape, and the gown dragged on the floor.

Snape took his wand and altered the gown.

Harry grinned. “I guess I should have thought of that.”

Severus grinned back, and Hermione grinned at both of them. She couldn’t imagine a happier moment than having the two most important men in her life talking comfortably together. “To bed with you,” Snape said.

Harry nodded, crawled into the bed, and turned his back to them as they prepared for bed. Once behind their curtains, Snape put a silencing charm around their bed.

Hermione grabbed him in a big hug as they settled against the sheets. “I can’t believe he’s here and the evening went as it did. I’ve dreaded Harry finding out about you. I knew he felt differently, but I didn’t realize how much. Severus, I’m so happy tonight. One way or the other tomorrow, we have choices to make. I know you want restoration of your body. I understand that, but what we have already is wonderful, isn’t it? If we had to share the way we have the last few days the rest of our lives, would you find peace in that?”

Severus settled on the pillows, and she laid her face against his chest. “If you’d asked me that several weeks ago, I would have said no, never. But now, I could be happy. As long as you are with me, Hermione, our future will be bright. I’m no longer afraid to walk out of this place.”

She suddenly rose up on her elbow and turned to look into his face. He looked years younger, and there was no sign of stress. He looked like a happy man. She kissed him gently and felt his arm tighten around her. She grinned. “How private is this privacy shield?”

He chuckled at her and said, “Go to sleep, Hermione. We do have a difficult day ahead of us. From tomorrow on, whatever happens, I will never turn down an offer like that as long as I’m able.”

She laughed at him. “I’m going to hold you to that promise.” She settled down again, and soon they were both asleep.

******

Many thanks to the TTP Ladies for their hard work.

Also many thanks to Lisa, my Beta. I could not do this with out her. I appreciate the wonderful reviews my readers have taken the time to write. Thank you so much. Three more chapters to go.