A Bond for the Ages

Chapter 48

Translations:
[Latin] Frater = Brother
[English text] Rebenok = [Russian text] Ребенок = Child
[English text] Paidí = [Greek text] Παιδί = Child

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She was nothing more than a silhouette in the blinding white light. Glittering royal purple threads danced around her form, swirling around the glowing blue orb in her cupped hands. Her voice echoed melodically around.

"A bond for the ages ... Together, a light will be forged ... A love found between once bitter enemies ... A bond for the ages ... The lost will be found ... Trials of pain, trials of loss will solidify their bond ... A family created from the power to protect and the desire to have ... A family the Dark can never understand, created from pure love ... A bond for the ages ... The Dark will be vanquished for they will have powers the Dark cannot possess ... In the end, a power beyond any the world has seen before for Pure Magic will live again."

As they woke, her voice became a ghost of a whisper, the words settling in their minds and a warmth, a welcome, a feeling of home and belonging growing within them.

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Severus let out a slow, deep breath as he woke, feeling the things that surrounded him before opening his eyes. Pain was radiating through his body, a burning in his forearm and a hypersensitivity in his nerves that made even the lightest brush on his skin sear. It didn't stop the comfort around him from registering though. He felt the soft mattress below him, the fluffy pillows under his head, and the light blanket covering him. He felt the light against his closed eyelids and the slight warmth of sunlight on his blanket-clad legs. He felt the brush of magic against his, not as strong as it typically was, but it was there.

He released another slow breath and his eyes slid open, blinking at the light he hadn't seen in...hours? Days?

He heard the softest of breathing and rolled his head to the left, finding the greatest sight...finding them.

A cushy grey loveseat had been conjured to sit between the door and bed, arranged to face him. Draco was tucked into a corner with his legs extended in front of him on the loveseat's matching ottoman. His head was leaning back and tilted to the side, lightly resting against the head propped on his shoulder. Harry was laying across the rest of the loveseat, one leg bent and leaning against the sofa back while his other was draped over the sofa arm, socked foot dangling. Both boys were partially covered by one throw blanket, some covering Harry's torso and some covering Draco's legs. Severus recognized it as the knitted blanket that typically hung on the library sofa. Both were dressed in simple cotton sleep clothes, keeping them comfortable. He could see the bandages and still healing wounds not fully covered by the pajamas along with the occasional tremour, but they seemed to, thankfully, be sleeping peacefully regardless.

His gaze finally moved from the boys to the doorway as Alexei came to lean on the frame, arms crossed over his chest. The vampire looked drawn and exhausted, but his face softened as he gazed at the boys and Severus.

"I couldn't get them to stay in their rooms," Alexei told him quietly. "Decided this was the best solution rather than finding them asleep on the floor."

"How are they?"

He watched Alexei push away from the doorframe and walk to the back of the loveseat. The vampire brushed Harry's hair aside to reveal a large bandage with a spot of red on his forehead and touched the back of his hand to Draco's cheek. Completing his brief check-up, Alexei moved to sit on the edge of Severus' bed.