the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 72 Moving Forward

It was well past lunch by the time Harry and Severus flooed from the Hospital Wing to their own rooms, neither of them wanting to walk through the halls and risk running in to any of the other students. Harry was tired of being stared at, tired of answering questions, and Severus couldn't blame him at all. To top all that, both of them were bloodstained - Harry had gotten a great deal of blood on his own clothes when he'd rushed to Severus' aid. And certainly Severus' clothing had seen better days.

Harry made tea, while Severus went to clean up first in the shower. He knew the boy was unsettled, and probably wanted to talk to him further. Truth was they had so much to talk about that Severus hadn't a clue where to start. He understood now why Harry had done what he'd done with Malfoy, but it didn't change the fact that he was still worried about what Lucius Malfoy might do if he had any access at all to Harry. Harry might trust the Paths of Destiny - but Severus did not.

Once he was cleaned and dressed in his usual black teaching robes, he let Harry have the bathroom to clean up himself. While waiting, Severus ordered some lunch from the overeager Dobby who seemed to second guess their needs before he asked. The lunch was waiting on the coffee table practically before he was finished ordering.

Severus fished the notebook Aventine had given him out of the inner pocket of his ruined robe, along with the shrunken scrolls he'd retrieved from the Guild. He was relieved that none of them were damaged - he'd completely forgotten about them while he'd been dueling. He thumbed through the notebook briefly, recognizing the unreadable squiggles lining the pages from Slytherin's diaries. The handwriting was different, but the characters were the same - all of it completely indecipherable. He couldn't help but wonder when Harry would find time to translate this - he barely had time these days to go class. And yet he knew the boy would make time - he had promised the Vampire aid, and he wasn't the type of person to break such a promise. With a sigh, Severus set the book and the notes aside for later.

Hungry from the exercise he'd gotten that morning, Severus sat tiredly on the couch and started in on the sandwiches Dobby had delivered, wincing slightly when his leg twinged in pain. Poppy had healed his wounds, but it would be several days before the tenderness vanished. His mind flicked briefly over the duels he'd fought - Clovis had been the hardest of all of them, though they had all been challenging. And he had to admit that Black had done a good job despite the fact that he doubted the man had fought any sort of duel since prior to his imprisonment. Much as he hated to admit it, Lupin's supposedly accidental manipulation of the shields protecting the spectators had been hilarious. Merlin knew he'd been on the receiving end of the Marauders' pranks often enough - it was nice to finally benefit from them.

He couldn't help but replay the moment Harry intervened over in his mind - the young man's power was frightening at times, particularly when it got away from him the way it did. Oddly enough however he suspected that Harry's intervention might end up causing him more problems in the long run - no doubt by morning the world would know exactly what Harry Potter felt about anyone challenging his bondmate to a duel. Rather than risk his wrath again, he suspected they'd just send assassins next time. He should have been more careful, he supposed - but he honestly hadn't expected to be challenged so soon or so openly.

Taking a second sandwich he glanced up as Harry emerged from their bedroom. Dressed once again in his school robe, the boy sat down across from him and grabbed a sandwich for himself. They ate in silence for a few moments, and Severus took careful note of how little the young man ate. Apparently the stress of the day had robbed him of his appetite.

Harry looked pensive and was gazing hard at the chicken sandwich in his hands as if it held the secrets of the universe. Severus couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind - he almost laughed at the thought. There was so much - the attack of the Elder Demon, finding himself declared King, the Calling, the events at the Ministry - was it any wonder the boy looked so lost in thought?