Fic: An Accident in Time (Harry/Snape)
Don't start reading here! It's the last part. :)
Day Forty-Eight
Harry poked morosely at his dinner. He was feeling lonely and very sorry for himself. The kitchen was too quiet, and when he looked up, the place opposite his was empty. Harry sighed and shoved his plate away.
It was ridiculous. Stupid. He'd known that things couldn't last forever. They weren't meant to last, after all. Still. He missed Severus.
It had been over two weeks since he'd seen Severus. The boy Severus, that is. He'd gone to visit the adult Severus a couple of days after the youth flash had ended, ostensibly to see if the man was all right and to return his journals. Harry had been nervous before the visit. Trembling. After all, the adult Snape remembered everything Harry had done with and to Severus as a boy.
He'd known not to expect a warm welcome. But perhaps he'd hoped for it. Or at least for a welcome that didn't consist of curses and insults thrown at him.
What he'd got couldn't really be called any kind of welcome at all. He'd arrived at Snape's front door, happy to discover that the wards still allowed him in. Snape had opened the door a little later, and Harry's heart had begun beating even faster, somewhere in his throat.
But Snape hadn't welcomed him, only grunted at Harry's explanation for coming. He'd waved Harry in and told him where to put the trunk, even going so far as to thank Harry for bringing it. But he hadn't invited Harry to stay, and he hadn't seemed very interested in either Harry or the trunk. His whole demeanour had been absent-minded and vague, and his words somewhat disjointed. He'd kept hovering at the top of the stairs that led down to his lab, clearly impatient to go back down to whatever experiment was taking up all his time and concentration.
Harry, hurt, had left and not gone back again. Not for a second attempt at a visit, and since there hadn't been any alarm, not to check up on Snape in a professional capacity, either. He came home every evening to a silent house. He went out to see his friends, who kept asking after Severus. He didn't sleep very well, because his dreams kept him up - in all possible senses of the word.
It was no use telling himself it was ridiculous and stupid and impossible and whatever else came to mind.
Harry missed Severus. And he was miserable.
With a groan, Harry got up from the table and dumped his mostly uneaten dinner into a box to put it in the CoolKeep. Perhaps he'd have more of an appetite tomorrow evening.
The knock came just as Harry set his dinner dishes to wash themselves in the sink.
He sighed and glanced at the clock, then shook his head and went to answer the door, wondering who it might be. Wesley Charlton perhaps, who, now that Severus was gone, had begun to make even more and stronger attempts to come back to Harry. Or Ginny, who once again wanted to talk about how well Harry had taken care of the boy and what a wonderful, perfect father he'd make.
What Harry had not expected upon opening the door was to see a slender young man, dressed in black jeans and a dark red jumper, smirking at him in an all too familiar way.
Reeling with vertigo, Harry clung to the door and blinked at the boy - young man - who looked like a younger version of Severus Snape.
Exactly like a …
'Severus?'
'I think I figured it out.'
Harry opened and closed his mouth several times before he managed, 'You … What …?'
Severus shrugged. 'An accident in time saves everyone a lot of heartache and pain, or however the saying goes.'
Harry blinked, utterly confused. 'I don't understand.'
Severus gave him a fond smile. 'I know. You have no idea what the memory of those weeks with you means to me.' He suddenly became serious. 'That first time, I came to you because of an accident, and because I couldn't think of anything else to do, anywhere else to go in case I regressed into an underaged wizard. I thought you'd keep me safe, no matter what, especially if I appealed to your sense of fairness. But you did more than that. And I … I thought that, perhaps, my accident hadn't been entirely - accidental. In the end, we both gained something. Didn't we?'
His dark eyes were intent, but not to the point that Harry was reminded of Legilimency. Instead, Severus seemed to be looking for something in Harry's face, searching, pleading just a little.
Harry was still too bewildered to try and make sense of it. But Severus's eyes struck him as different. While they weren't as cold and bottomless as Harry remembered adult Snape's eyes being, they weren't exactly those of a young man, either. They looked as though the adult was there behind the young man's eyes.
Severus's words were even more unexpected.
'You … You remember? Your adult self?' Harry shook his head. 'But I thought you said you don't when you de-age …'
Severus's smug grin looked oddly shy. 'Told you, I figured out how to stabilise the age changing.'
'I … what?'
Severus rolled his eyes. 'The age changing, Harry,' he repeated patiently. 'I figured out how to control the flashes and how to retain most of my memories. I understand now what triggers a flash, what cancels it, and how to manipulate the triggers.' The smug smile was back.
Harry kept blinking. Did Severus just say he had deliberately de-aged himself? And that he meant to stay that way? 'But why?' he all but wailed.
Severus's smile became darkly seductive. 'Let me come in. Harry. I'll show you.'
End.
Day Forty-Eight
Harry poked morosely at his dinner. He was feeling lonely and very sorry for himself. The kitchen was too quiet, and when he looked up, the place opposite his was empty. Harry sighed and shoved his plate away.
It was ridiculous. Stupid. He'd known that things couldn't last forever. They weren't meant to last, after all. Still. He missed Severus.
It had been over two weeks since he'd seen Severus. The boy Severus, that is. He'd gone to visit the adult Severus a couple of days after the youth flash had ended, ostensibly to see if the man was all right and to return his journals. Harry had been nervous before the visit. Trembling. After all, the adult Snape remembered everything Harry had done with and to Severus as a boy.
He'd known not to expect a warm welcome. But perhaps he'd hoped for it. Or at least for a welcome that didn't consist of curses and insults thrown at him.
What he'd got couldn't really be called any kind of welcome at all. He'd arrived at Snape's front door, happy to discover that the wards still allowed him in. Snape had opened the door a little later, and Harry's heart had begun beating even faster, somewhere in his throat.
But Snape hadn't welcomed him, only grunted at Harry's explanation for coming. He'd waved Harry in and told him where to put the trunk, even going so far as to thank Harry for bringing it. But he hadn't invited Harry to stay, and he hadn't seemed very interested in either Harry or the trunk. His whole demeanour had been absent-minded and vague, and his words somewhat disjointed. He'd kept hovering at the top of the stairs that led down to his lab, clearly impatient to go back down to whatever experiment was taking up all his time and concentration.
Harry, hurt, had left and not gone back again. Not for a second attempt at a visit, and since there hadn't been any alarm, not to check up on Snape in a professional capacity, either. He came home every evening to a silent house. He went out to see his friends, who kept asking after Severus. He didn't sleep very well, because his dreams kept him up - in all possible senses of the word.
It was no use telling himself it was ridiculous and stupid and impossible and whatever else came to mind.
Harry missed Severus. And he was miserable.
With a groan, Harry got up from the table and dumped his mostly uneaten dinner into a box to put it in the CoolKeep. Perhaps he'd have more of an appetite tomorrow evening.
The knock came just as Harry set his dinner dishes to wash themselves in the sink.
He sighed and glanced at the clock, then shook his head and went to answer the door, wondering who it might be. Wesley Charlton perhaps, who, now that Severus was gone, had begun to make even more and stronger attempts to come back to Harry. Or Ginny, who once again wanted to talk about how well Harry had taken care of the boy and what a wonderful, perfect father he'd make.
What Harry had not expected upon opening the door was to see a slender young man, dressed in black jeans and a dark red jumper, smirking at him in an all too familiar way.
Reeling with vertigo, Harry clung to the door and blinked at the boy - young man - who looked like a younger version of Severus Snape.
Exactly like a …
'Severus?'
'I think I figured it out.'
Harry opened and closed his mouth several times before he managed, 'You … What …?'
Severus shrugged. 'An accident in time saves everyone a lot of heartache and pain, or however the saying goes.'
Harry blinked, utterly confused. 'I don't understand.'
Severus gave him a fond smile. 'I know. You have no idea what the memory of those weeks with you means to me.' He suddenly became serious. 'That first time, I came to you because of an accident, and because I couldn't think of anything else to do, anywhere else to go in case I regressed into an underaged wizard. I thought you'd keep me safe, no matter what, especially if I appealed to your sense of fairness. But you did more than that. And I … I thought that, perhaps, my accident hadn't been entirely - accidental. In the end, we both gained something. Didn't we?'
His dark eyes were intent, but not to the point that Harry was reminded of Legilimency. Instead, Severus seemed to be looking for something in Harry's face, searching, pleading just a little.
Harry was still too bewildered to try and make sense of it. But Severus's eyes struck him as different. While they weren't as cold and bottomless as Harry remembered adult Snape's eyes being, they weren't exactly those of a young man, either. They looked as though the adult was there behind the young man's eyes.
Severus's words were even more unexpected.
'You … You remember? Your adult self?' Harry shook his head. 'But I thought you said you don't when you de-age …'
Severus's smug grin looked oddly shy. 'Told you, I figured out how to stabilise the age changing.'
'I … what?'
Severus rolled his eyes. 'The age changing, Harry,' he repeated patiently. 'I figured out how to control the flashes and how to retain most of my memories. I understand now what triggers a flash, what cancels it, and how to manipulate the triggers.' The smug smile was back.
Harry kept blinking. Did Severus just say he had deliberately de-aged himself? And that he meant to stay that way? 'But why?' he all but wailed.
Severus's smile became darkly seductive. 'Let me come in. Harry. I'll show you.'
End.