The Space Between Failing and Falling • Snarry •

Chapter 11: Founder and Fulfilment

"Thank you so so much, Mr Sev—!" "I'm s-so happy!" they cry at the same time.

"Be very careful, in future," Severus says. "Keep her on a lead, especially in our estate. I might not always be here to help."

"Go home, loves, I just need a word with Sev," she says to the children. Once they've skipped away, she continues, "I don't know how to thank you enough. It would have been more than a thousand quid, I'm sure, and I just know we would've had to put her down—"

"Don't mention it."

She hesitates before continuing, "Me grandkids, and sanity aside, I also wanted to say—I'm sorry about your mum."

He looks at her sharply. "My mum?"

"I think about her sometimes, how I've not seen her for donkey's years, and I miss our chats." Her arms tighten around the dog. "You probably don't remember, you were only a lil 'un, but Eileen gave me her wedding dress so I could marry me ex."

"I didn't know," he says quietly. "Thank you."

She purses her lips as she studies him. "You've got your mother's eyes—big and kind," she says. "Well—thanks again. For helping us." And with that, she turned and left.

When he closes the door shut behind her, he sees Grandma dabbing at her eyes with a lacy handkerchief.

Severus tries not to think about his past—any of it—and resolves to sell the house.

He has a quiet coffee in the sunshine by the back door and tries to imagine how horrified Dad would've been at having a young magical boyfriend.

Harry.

He feels sick again. It's the morning of Harry's party (his actual birthday isn't until Tuesday), and he stops procrastinating and starts panicking.

Robes or trousers?

Early or on time?

Who will he speak to, when inevitably Harry is inundated by friends and family?

In the end, he needn't have overreacted.

Arthur keeps winking at Severus whenever he catches his eye.

Draco, Lovegood, Longbottom, and Abbott show up with armfuls of Butterbeer and spare Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones.

A host of Weasleys make a particular effort to speak with him, Teddy drags him off to show him gnomes, and he spends most of the Quidditch match talking to Hermione rather than refereeing. She says she's getting the hang of Ancient Greek, and helps Ron on a Computer in order to succeed in the Business Studies course he's doing part time at a Muggle college.

When it starts to rain, they pile into the marquee.

"Severus?" Dromeda calls. "Sit with me, if you will."

He hesitates, to make certain he understood correctly, before joining her. She's in flowing magenta robes, with light brown hair piled on top of her head. It's startling to see a much kinder version of Bellatrix.

"Mrs Tonks," he says with a bend of his head.

"Oh, pooh, call me Dromeda. And this is Dracula. Ah, she likes you!" A Crup bounds onto Severus's lap and he nearly cricks his neck in an attempt to stop her from licking his chin. He scratches Dracula behind the ears.

"Come and spend next Saturday with me, dear," she demands. "Harry is calling on his cousin, so I surmise you are available."

This doesn't seem to be an insult, so he says, "You surmise correctly."

"Cissy is visiting, and you are both so good with young Teddy. I do crave the presence of intelligent adults since I lost Nymphadora and Ted, and got the little monkey every other week."

"As charming as that boy is, he is no substitute for adult companionship," Severus says. "Do you play bridge?"

"I do."

"You are welcome to come over for cards and wine in two weeks' time, I have a little gathering once a month with some old colleagues. You'll know Minerva, of course—"

"Naturally, she's an excellent woman."

Severus flounders in his conversation when Harry briefly meets his gaze across the crowd and smiles.

He manages to gather his wits about him. "And Aurora, our old Astronomy professor, and Bjørn who transferred from Durmstrang to teach Defence—"

"Astronomy was a favourite subject of mine, but it must be strange socialising with a former teacher."

Severus raises an eyebrow.

"It was always different with Minerva," she says, "since Ted and I were in the Order. But you know what I mean."

"Perhaps I am simply young at heart."

"You must be," she replies with a twinkle in her eye. He doesn't need Legilimency to know that she is thinking of his match, twenty years his junior. "Of course, you were the youngest teacher by far."

"Cissy can come too, but it's best to have even numbers. Harry doesn't yet know how to play. And my parlour is small, to say the least."

"It would be a pleasure. Mention it to her when you come by Saturday next."

****

When it's time for presents, he shoulders his way through the throng to be by Harry's side, and carefully watches his face as he opens his gift. He has attended few birthday parties, and given gifts to a vanishingly small number of people.

"A compass?" Harry asks, lifting out the bronze instrument.

"An Ever-North Compass—" Severus begins.

"My word!" Arthur says.

"In case we are walking in a Muggle area and can't use Point Me," Severus explains. "Should you desire, I can secure it so it only opens to your touch, and will point towards wherever I am if we are separated and I am...indisposed."

"Cool!" Ginevra says. "Is it Dark?"

"Nah—blood magic!" Bill says. "You should, Harry. Sounds dead handy."

Harry holds it nearer to better see the inscription around the edge as Hermione stands on tiptoes to peer over his shoulder. "Wow," Harry breathes. "It's beautiful."

"'The Road Not Taken'," Severus says. "I will read it to you, someday. It's a poem that both is and isn't about individualism. Harry..." He looks up from the compass to meet Severus's gaze. "I want you to have this," he says with a swallow, "to show that, come what may, I will never regret loving you."

Harry flings his arms around Severus's neck and kisses him, on the lips, in front of everybody.

After only a second, there are wolf whistles and cries of, "Get a room!" so Severus pulls back. He flinches when Harry buries his face in the crook of his neck (from the pain, certainly not because of the public display of affection), and he doesn't know where to look.

"Thank you," Harry says into his neck. He can feel Harry smiling. "I like it. I really do."

"You're welcome," Severus says through the lump in his throat, and tightens his arms around Harry. "You're welcome."

He won't leave Harry's side for the rest of the day.

"Er, right, who's next?" Ron asks.

"Me!" Mr Jordan shouts. "Prepare yourself, Harry. I want a really big kiss for this one. You should know that I thought long and hard about what to get you. It's from the heart—"

Bored of all the chatting, Ginevra helpfully unwraps the gift. She hops up onto a chair and holds it aloft as though she's the Statue of Liberty.

"Is that a singing toilet brush?" Miss Lovegood asks. "How wonderful!"

****

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