you raise me up || harry potter

chapter 68

»»————-　song:　————-««

love is a flower, you are its seed
(ai wa hana, kimi wa sono tane)

★ harumi miyako ★

❝ some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed.

some say love, it is a razor
that leaves the soul to bleed.

some say love, it is a hunger,
for its endless, aching need...❞

♢ ♢ ♢

"On a scale from one to ten, how badly are they going to take the news?"

"It's okay, seriously," Harry assured Snape. "It's only going to be a couple of days, right? I'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Snape said dubiously. "The consent forms have already been sent out to them. Hopefully they haven't ripped them to shreds or anything. They're magical documents... if they're ripped, new ones will have to be sent out according to protocol..."

"Likely, but unlikely if they actually took time to read it," Harry said. "They'd do anything to get me off their back."

"From what I understand, it was sent disguised as Muggle mail, so I suppose that shouldn't be a problem," Snape said. "Will they treat you differently, do you think?"

Harry shrugged. "Doubt it. After they accepted that I would be going to Hogwarts, they pretty much ignored me all summer... although I guess they might still be pretty mad about the whole Marge situation. The only thing they could possibly be upset about is losing their house elf." He grinned. "I'll just tell them I have an ex-convict escaped mass murderer as a godfather, and an even scarier Potions professor-turned... er, guardian. They don't know Sirius is innocent, and Petunia knows how scary you are... They won't bother me."

"Outstanding Slytherin move," Snape replied. 

Harry hefted his bag over his shoulder and stood up. "I'll see you, I guess," he said. "I'll go finish packing now."

"A few days, at most," Snape promised. "Be well."

Harry waved, and was gone. 

Snape watched as the door closed behind him. 

And so another door opens, Snape thought.

He could not lie to himself. He was usually good at it, but he could not push it down any longer. There was a bubble of doubt rising through him, and it would only be a matter of time before it burst into a shower of mistakes. 

What the hell am I doing? 

♢ ♢ ♢

Harry hugged Ron and Hermione goodbye. "I'll be okay, guys," he said after seeing their concerned looks.  Both looked extremely reluctant to leave his side. 

Hermione's parents pushed their way through the mass of people. Harry could tell by the father's quite frizzy hair, and Hermione was her mother's spitting image otherwise. He realized it was the first time they had come face to face—Harry hated lingering around the station and usually just waited in the parking lot.

"Hermione, sweetheart," she said, giving her a big hug. 

"Missed ya, kiddo," Hermione's father said, ruffling her hair affectionately.