Fragile

Chapter 7

Time passed so quickly that Harry's birthday arrived almost without him noticing. If Severus hadn't reminded him one morning by asking if he had any wishes for his birthday, he might even have missed it. Once he remembered it though, Harry couldn't wait for the 31^st July to arrive because he would finally be of age and therefore be allowed to do magic outside school and learn how to apparate.

The evening before his birthday, Harry and Severus were engrossed in a game of chess when the older wizard suddenly clutched his arm and his face contorted in pain. Uttering a number of rather colourful expletives, he jumped up and headed for the door.

"Severus, what's wrong?" Harry called after him, even though he had already guessed the reason for his teacher's behaviour.

"Voldemort!" the Slytherin muttered. "He summons me. I must go. Don't wait for me." The lack of emotion in the Potions master's voice scared Harry. As Severus took his Death Eater robe and mask from a drawer, Harry left his chair and walked towards the other man. He gave him a quick hug and, with a sad smile, said softly: "Be safe!" Severus held his gaze for a short moment, then turned on his heel and left without another word.

The following hours were agony to Harry. He had informed the headmaster of the summoning as soon as Severus was out of the door. As expected, the old wizard had told him there was nothing they could do except hope that the spy got back safely and Harry to just go to bed and try to get some sleep. Of course, Harry was way too worried to even consider going to bed and so he had curled up on the couch with a book and tried to read. However, his eyes kept darting to the ornate clock on the mantle and he had a hard time focussing on the words in front of him. As midnight approached, he put the book aside and started pacing in front of the fire. He stopped when the clock started chiming the hour.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" he whispered to himself as he had done so many times in his life. But the joy he had felt earlier had completely been replaced by worry and nervousness. It took a gigantic effort to sit down again and pick up the book, trying to ignore the restlessness that was crawling through him like thousands of little ants. He hoped it was a good sign that his scar didn't hurt: at least Voldemort didn't feel any particularly strong emotions so there was a good chance that the meeting consisted neither of a major muggle torturing nor of a Death Eater punishment session.

It was in the early hours of the morning that Severus finally returned. Harry had dozed off at some point and almost fell off the couch when he heard the door open. He was immediately wide awake and jumped to his feet to rush to the other man's side. Severus looked pale and drained but seemed otherwise unharmed.

"I'm alright," he assured his worried-looking student. "He only had me under Cruciatus for fun for a couple of seconds. Most of tonight was a planning session." He held up one hand to interrupt Harry's inevitable question. "I know you want to know the details but I have just given my report to Professor Dumbledore and now all I want is to sleep. You will have to wait until later."

The look on Harry's face showed that the boy was anything but happy about that answer but he didn't press any further. Instead, he led the Potions master to the bedroom and silently helped him to change into his pyjamas and climb into bed, then did the same and curled up next to the older man.

*******

Harry was woken by soft feather-light kisses on his face. Sleepily, he opened his eyes and squinted up at the face hovering over his. "Good morning, Harry and happy birthday!" Severus gave him a small smile. Harry smiled back and pulled the other man down for a long kiss. Once again, he was amazed how responsive Severus had become in the past couple of weeks. When they broke apart, Severus winced.

"The morning after Cruciatus, never pleasant. I can feel every single bloody muscle in my body," he groaned.

"Let's have a shower," Harry offered. "The hot water might help." Severus nodded and got up, pulling Harry with him.

The hot spray did indeed help to ease Severus' muscle pains. The two men spent a long time washing each other, the more practical side of the touches gradually turning into caresses, kisses and more.

It was not until much later, when they lay entwined in the bathtub that Harry finally remembered the question that had remained answered in the night.

"So what was the Death Eater meeting about then?"

Severus sighed. "Voldemort has decided to change his action timing. He is planning to attack Hogwarts on the first of September, during the Opening Feast."

"But then all the students would be back. Not that Voldemort would care, but a lot of Death Eaters have children who go to school here. Surely they care about what happens to them. They can't just not send them to school, after all such a large number of absent students would make Dumbledore suspicious."

Severus shook his head. "Not necessarily. The Dark Lord advised all his followers who have children attending Hogwarts to officially transfer them to Durmstrang or even Beauxbatons. I know about several students whose parents have no connection whatsoever with Voldemort who are not going to return to Hogwarts after the summer. If the Death Eater children were all to attend schools abroad, it would only tell Dumbledore that their parents are trying to keep them as far away from the war as possible. It wouldn't at all imply an attack of the school, least of all on the first day. Furthermore, some of the older students, like Mr Malfoy, Mr Goyle or Miss Parkinson have been requested to return to support the attack from the inside." Harry whistled in mock-appreciation.

"So that's how he wants to get into the school? By making Malfoy and his cronies open the gates? He didn't involve you?" Again, the Potions Master shook his head.

"Actually Mr Malfoy and the others are to keep the rest of the students at bay, on the one hand to keep them from interfering and on the other hand to make sure they are safe. The Dark Lord wants them alive and unharmed as he considers them as a useful tool to get to their parents. It is me who should arrange for him to get into the school."

"How does he plan on getting through the wards?" Harry asked curiously.

"Every year, the week before school starts, the headmaster and a few members of the faculty renew and repair the wards around the school. Wards being a specialty of mine, I have been in charge of the wards between Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forrest, which need to be particularly strong, ever since I started teaching here. Rather than repairing them however, I am supposed to weaken and damage them so that Voldemort would have no trouble accessing the school grounds."

Harry looked relieved. "Then we don't need to worry too much really, you just strengthen the wards as usual and Voldemort's plan will fail." Severus gave him a stern look.

"Even with the wards up at all full strength, the Dark Lord can do quite a lot of damage. He himself might not be able to get into the school but most of the Death Eaters can. It would delay them but eventually, they would weaken the wards enough to allow him through."

"So at the end of the day, we have one month to prepare for a major attack of the Dark Side," Harry concluded. "That's not much time. We can't even make the students not come to Hogwarts without letting on that we know about the attack." He suddenly realised how uncomfortable Severus looked. "Dumbledore's got a plan and I won't like it. Am I right or am I right?" he asked.

"The headmaster believes that he has found a way for you to kill Voldemort," the Slytherin stated without looking at Harry.

"If I am to kill Voldemort in a month, then our connection must be broken before that, which in turn implies that we have to be bonded as soon as possible," the younger wizard deduced. Still avoiding his eyes, Severus nodded.

"Are you ready for that step, Severus?" Harry asked softly. Hesitantly, the older man looked up and their eyes met. Harry could see the swirl of emotions the other man was fighting but the formerly familiar fear was absent.

After what seemed like an eternity, Severus whispered: "I wish we had more time but as things are the way they are, I am as ready as I could possibly be."

The two men looked at each other for a long time. Finally, Severus brushed his lips over Harry's. "Let us find Dumbledore to inform him that we are ready for the ceremony. We shall be bonded tonight."