When All is Lost One is Found

Chapter 119: Everything

When All is Lost, One is Found

Author: Rinoaebastel

Chapter 119: Everything

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.

AN: This story may contain scenes taken from the Harry Potter movies and books, but it's not exact dialogue, just rewording of dialogue or omission. It is not marked.

May, 1998

Everything ached. His eyelids even seemed to protest every blink. But he could breathe and move and he was alive. The quiet house where Hermione and he resided was an excellent place for him to recover in peace.

He looked out the window as he waited for Hermione to return from her task of getting supplies. This house didn't seem like it belonged to people who had a daughter. She'd done an overall good job in erasing her existence here.

But it was a peaceful place and a routine had quickly been established. His routine consisted mostly of sleeping. In his waking hours she'd read to him, talk to him, and he'd taken his treatments.

He'd eaten very little, but that wasn't unusual for him even when he was healthy-ish. She'd apologized for the canned soup, but he couldn't mention he was used to eating such things as a child, and they'd improved from that time till now.

Today, he might get a chance to speak with her and at least tell her he appreciated the things she was doing to help him recover. Each time he'd tried to speak, or stand on his own, she'd scolded him and set about taking care of him with the treatments Pomfrey gave her.

She'd taken care of him with a tenderness that she'd never expressed, frequently giving him light kisses on the cheek, lips, and forehead after doing something she thought might hurt him. He'd also shared some affection when he could.

Now that neither of them had such danger hanging over their heads, they were free to express their affections to each other without much worry.

The nightmares hadn't stopped but each time she'd been there to soothe them away. She'd whispered it was over and they'd survived and each time it took a full minute for him to realize that truly was the case.

He heard footsteps and looked up at the door to the master bedroom just as she entered. She was holding a tray with a bowl of soup on it. He furrowed his brows for a second. He hadn't seen her come into the house.

"Good Morning," she said.

He lifted his hand and placed it on his bandaged neck. She sat down next to the bed and sat the bowl on the nightstand. She reached up and covered his hand with hers.

Dark circles stained under her eyes and her hair was more frizzled than usual. She was gaining a bit of the weight she lost during the entire Horcrux search but it was coming slowly.

He knew he wasn't the only one suffering from nightmares. He'd heard her screaming sometimes in the dark of night. It was difficult just lying there waiting for them to fade and not being able to go to her and wake her like she woke him.

Both of them still had a lot of healing to do. Physically and mentally.

He took a deep breath and met her gaze. Her brown eyes held worry and affection. Then, she leaned forward and pressed a slight kiss to the corner of his lips.

"Morning," he said. Though his voice was raspy, it still held the deepness it'd always had.

Her small smile widened into a much larger one. "I'm so happy to hear you talk," she said. "It's a good sign you can speak. Pomfrey said that will be the last step of your healing even though you'll be weak for a while yet."

She sat the tray of soup onto his lap. He picked up the spoon and began eating.

"That's ty-typical of the ve...venom," he said. He figured the more he talked the more his voice would get back to its normality.

"The Prophet came today with Pomfrey's potions. You were awarded a First Class Order of Merlin. Welcome to the club, Severus."

His hand lost its grip on the spoon and it fell back into the soup bowl. His eyes widened and he looked at his witch. She didn't notice since she was busying herself with unfolding the newspaper. She turned it towards him to show him. On the first page was an old picture of him, standing, with his arms crossed. He scanned the titular and contents of the article.

Much about his life as a spy, that Potter knew, was revealed in the article, but Potter had kept his promise about not revealing his relationship with Hermione.

He grabbed his spoon and took a big sip of the soup. He didn't like people knowing so much about him, but the result was satisfying. He wouldn't be going to Azkaban or punished for what he'd done.

And an Order of Merlin was recognition of his power and actions. A younger him would feel pride at that. Someone had finally acknowledged him in a positive way.

It now felt empty and pointless. He was shocked of course, but it didn't mean much. Their acknowledgement didn't matter. The only person that mattered was this witch beside him.

"They wondered where you were, but no one knows we're here," she said.

She scooted to rest her body at his side. He put the spoon on the tray after eating as much soup as he could.

"Wha...do you wish to do now?" he asked. He spoke slowly, deliberately drawing out his words to get a grasp for the speaking again.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "You know what I want," she said. "But, what about you? Are you free of her? Have you put your past to rest?"

He let himself smile and looked at her. She shouldn't be worried over Lily anymore. His affections for Lily had been nothing when compared to his love for her. He had to pay his debt, but now that he had, this fluffy haired witch was all he wanted. She was a woman he was more than willing to die the most painful death for if he had to.

He handed her the tray so she could put it on the table beside her, then took his wand from its place under his pillow.

"Severus?'

He smiled at her first and then focused on the actions of his wand. He let every happy memory he had with her fill him, and then waved the wand.

The silver mist swirled into the air, mixing slightly with the smoke from a candle burning nearby.

She gasped as she watched the mist take form. He looked at her from the corner of his eye as she lifted a hand to her mouth.

The otter flew around the room, playing as if it were in an invisible lake. It came toward them and stopped, its nose twitching.

"Does this an—swer your que...stion?" he let his wand fall to his side and allowed the otter to do as it wished. It jumped towards Hermione's legs as if it recognized her as the other part of his soul. "Also, Amor...tentia smells like you."

She looked at him and smiled. "What are we?"

That question again. She'd asked it a few times through their relationship, but this time he could answer it.

"We're everything."

AN: I hope you liked it and let me know what you think. There are still a lot of chapters for this to end, and even after that, it's possible I will make some companion pieces. Don't worry there are still a lot of chapters until the 144 and I hope you continue enjoying each one of it. See you on Wednesday!