Dusk Departing

Notes:

Please note that this story contains extreme levels of tooth-rotting-ly sweet interactions in a queer relationship. However, it also contains a Main Character Death, if you happened to not read the tags. Violence is depicted, but it is not focused on the actual violence and is not particularly graphic.

Thank you [to anonymous magpie] for holding the Hoard Hits 650 event [on AO3]! I enjoyed writing this piece for a submission.

This work has been crossposted from my Archive of Our Own account. I decided to post it here as well, both to allow more people to find this work and to avoid any issues with people on this app claiming my writing as their own.

This cover was made in <15 minutes, so it is not a masterpiece and will never be a masterpiece lmao.

Let me know your thoughts! Much love,

Thera ~

[End Author's Notes]

Brisk wind creates the need for company. His breath freezes in the air, a dusty pink settling on his nose and cheeks. As dusk pushes the sun down upon the horizon in an orange haze, a second figure approaches him.

They stand in silence for a moment, staring at the sunset. The second figure rubs his hands together quickly.

"Morgana, it's so bloody cold, Theo," he whines, shifting his weight closer.

Theodore snorts. He offers a space within his cloak for the second figure, who gratefully slips into his arms.

"Of course it's cold. It's the middle of the winter, Ry. Us mortals do need extra layers to keep warm." Theodore eyes the thin Hogwarts robes Harry wears with an amused glance.

Harry frowns. "I didn't think it was nearly so cold, though! Plus, Ron spilled ink on my warmer robes," he gripes.

Theodore laughs lightly. "I sometimes wonder how I managed to fall in love with such a dumbass," he says, taking Harry's cold hands within his own.

They go silent again, watching the stars appear in the sky, no longer hidden from the falling sun. Their hands are entwined and Harry rests his head on Theodore's shoulder.

"I wish it were different," Theodore whispers. He sighs, melancholy and tired. "I wish that the war had ended before..." He trails off and gestures with their hands vaguely towards the sky.

The breeze settles and the world around them becomes silent aside their slow breaths. Though Theodore's family remained neutral in the war, many of the Slytherin House members, his friends, had chosen to support the Dark Lord. He and a few others have a rift separating them from their House.

They are sometimes ignored, but other times mocked and attacked by their more ambitious peers. Some try to convert him, to no avail, but it doesn't stop their constant harassment. He chooses to pretend they are not there, or use the excuse that his main priority is his family.

In retrospect, that is dangerous. They will now target his father, and despite his rocky relationship with him, he still holds a familial sense of protection and urgency towards the matter.

Harry's eyes close for a moment. "When the war is won, we will be safe. We can live together in a small cottage with several cats-" he pauses, "er, kneazles?"

Theodore brushes Harry's cheek lightly. "I'd like that."

The time ticks by and their fingers have become numb and their bodies shiver. The vibrant sun has escaped from the softly rippling lake and the sharp turrets of Hogwarts Castle. Owls take flight, searching for critters hiding in the brush.

The sun has departed and so must they. Beloveds will find themselves together again at some point in the timeline.

Beloveds find themselves at all the wrong times in this timeline. Theodore first found Harry in the Charms corridor, alone, sprawled on the floor with his nose broken and a bruise covering his cheek. He remembers staying late at the hospital wing, when Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley had left for prefect duties. He had fallen asleep in the uncomfortable chair and woken to Harry placing a blanket over him late in the night.

Now he sits behind a pillar with shrapnel embedded in his arms and legs. Harry stands in front of Theodore, screaming something unintelligible. Theodore cannot hear. His head is filled with a low hum and flashes of his childhood run through his mind.

Another red beam of light hits him, crackling with cruelty. He supposes this is his punishment for choosing love over safety. Loving Harry Potter came with its dangers, after all; he was well known to be a magnet for small Gryffindors with cameras and too many photos as well as dangerous political powers.
He screams as the curse shoots through his nerves for the fourth time. They are playing with him, breaking their prey before the final kill. Harry is bound to the pillar, immobilized. He is choking on his tears and his eyes are wide like a caged animal.

Theodore registers only then, when Harry's eyes widen fractionally, panic being replaced by shock, that he is about to die.

Harry laughs brightly as he trips over Theodore's foot and falls to the floor with a thud. "They always told me I was clumsy," he said lightly, eyes shining. He stands up and tries again and again to learn how to dance. He improves slightly.

His breath rattles. His body shakes as he is released from the Cruciatus Curse. He can no longer feel his own hands.

Harry's rough hands cup his face. He traces spirals along Theodore's cheek. The cool spring air ruffles both of their hair. Five crow calls ring through the forest adjacent to them. They caw several times before taking to the sky, leaving the sound of songbirds and frogs as the primary sounds of nature.
Harry's breath is warm and he smells like treacle tart, again. A small smile works its way onto his face.

"I want to stay here forever, Harry," he whispers dazedly. His smile grows as his beloved kisses his nose lightly.

"Forever."

The Death Eaters hit him again, taunting him with a wishful release into the calm arms of Death. His legs have no more feeling and his skin burns as if it is on fire. The red beam is his end. He locks eyes with Harry once more.

Horror and pain is carved within Harry's eyes. He cannot move, nor speak. He must watch Theodore's body and mind break under unforgivable magics.

"Theo, what do you mean you don't know how to climb trees? Come on, we are going to the forest right now!"

"Ry, we aren't supposed to go there! We'll get in so much trouble" Theodore laughs.

His mischievous green eyes glint. Harry pulls open his trunk and withdraws a silvery cloak— an invisibility cloak.

Theo laughs harder.

One last glimpse of his beloved and dusk sets. He must depart.