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Life Eternal	By : AlectoPerdita Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 10864 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Life Eternal

By Alecto Perdita

Chapter 1 - Holiday

Rating: R

Posted: November 6, 2004

Revised: September 17, 2005

Warnings: Slash, HP/SS

Email: alecto.perdita@gmail.com

Site: http://cocytus.eternity-inc.net

Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/cocytus

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. All situations, opinions and characters not belonging to J.K. Rowling are the intellectual property of Alecto Perdita.

Severus Snape muttered a few choice words under his breath- it was a melodious blend of English and French. Albus had placed him on a mandatory leave of absence. He had no doubt that Siobhan had a hand in Albus' good work. The dratted wench must have insisted that she needed his help to make the move from France back to England. Of course she must have. Otherwise, Albus wouldn't have given him this long list of tasks she wanted him to accomplish before she arrived there with the children later in the week.

Truth be told, he had not been looking forward to the move back to his ancestral home, but Siobhan had insisted. She had spent almost three hours lecturing him on the advantages of reclaiming that cursed old castle. It was her decision alone. She was the one with full legal ownership of that cursed place. No, she didn't mind all the work and the ridiculous amount of money needed to restore the place to a livable state after almost twenty long years of neglect.

Not that Severus was planning on investing much into the effort. The family "fortune" had long dried up thanks to his father and though his teaching salary sufficed for his present lifestyle, it was not luxurious- some of the ingredients he needed would literally cost an arm and a leg if the merchants could. Thus Siobhan would be the one funneling money from her accounts to the renovation effort. The ch�teau was getting far too small, she claimed. The children were all grown up and were going to get married. They would need the room for the grandchildren that she so wanted.

He continued to curse women's whim. France was good. Their ch�teau in the south of France was warm and sunny. It was a nice change of environment considering he spent about ten mouths out of a year in Scotland. France was full of friendly and enthusiastic people, and didn't carry the ghosts of his wretched childhood and memories of his heinous sins.

"Severus."

Severus looked up and was met with the sight of Draco Malfoy- the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The younger man offered him an encouraging smile. His grin only widened when he spotted the roll of parchment clenched tightly in his old professor's hand. "I see Siobhan has dug her claws into you." he chuckled.

Severus' scowl deepened. "Don't you have class to teach, Draco?"

The imp dared to broaden his smile even further. He pulled a roll of parchment from his robes and unrolled it. It must have been at least two feet long. "She has me running around England and helping with all the wedding arrangements on the weekends. I must say that Siobhan is quite persuasive."

"She and Albus share the same type of conniving and scheming mind." He brushed by Draco and continued on his way to his office.

Draco followed at his side. "What a wicked thing to say about my future-mother-in-law."

"Then I would suggest that you make an honest woman of Shavonne soon. Besides, you know it's true. Those two are unstoppable together."

Draco chuckled. "Of course. They're the only two people in this world who have power over you."

Severus shot Draco a dark glare. "Scat, boy. I have a great deal of packing to do if I'm to leave this afternoon."

As Severus continued down the hall, he heard the unmistakable sound imitating a whip. He turned, wondering what would be more effective- an Unforgivable or one of the far more creative curses he had learned in his youth. Better yet, put the boy out of his misery, but Draco was already gone. He admitted the boy was at least smart enough to run while he had the chance. The only comfort he had was the fact that Shavonne was every bit her mother, no matter how coy she tried to act. Draco would have his hands full. He smirked.

~~~

Around four o'clock, after his last class of the day, he left the castle in the direction of Hogsmeade. That was only after he thoroughly went over his instructions personally with Hermione Granger. He supposed she would be an adequate substitute in his absence. It was disconcerting to see the girl at times- no, she was a young woman now. Just as Draco was now a young man. He found it hard to think of them as anything remotely close to being children. She was one of those people who reminded the world exactly what the war had cost them. Granger had lost both her best friend and fianc� in the last battle. She was a heart-broken young woman and there was no doubt that she would never be the same as she was before the war.

He Apparated to the home of the Snapes in the Yorkshire countryside just short of the walkway up to the castle from just outside the Hogwarts wards. The village of Snape was a quiet village of less than 400. It was an unusually dreary day. A thunder storm had fallen upon this Moppy little village. There was not a single soul on the road. It was fitting for his mood though. A bitter smile crept across his thin lips. He was "home" again.

He had Apparated to the west of the village, approaching it along the Avenue of lemon trees. The lemons would be in season for the better part of spring and summer. The castle, built sometime in the early 15th century, loomed in the distance. It wasn't an overwhelming fortress. It was nowhere in the magnitude of Hogwarts. Snape Castle had begun as Snape Manor and subsequent generations had added to the architecture. It was just as he remembered it.

The Snape lineage had its origins among the Normans before they settled in Britain in the eleventh century. They were pureblood in as far back as the family could be traced in England. It is believed that the reason at least one Squib is born each generation in his family is that they had not been so pure of blood before coming to Britain. His line had long found ways to compensate for their non-magical children. In the past, the Snapes had been very active in the Muggle politics. They were one of the few wizarding families, if not the only, to hold a noble title and land from the Muggle English Crown. His twice widowed distant great aunt, Catherine Parr, had married Henry the VIII back in the 16th century. However, the practice of participating in Muggle politics had ended with his great-great-grandsire, who bought into the pureblood sentiments that had become so popular at the time.

Severus shook his head. Now was not the time to be reminiscing about his family history- his trice damned lineage with presently worthless titles- titles that he could only pass on to Sinclair. In another fifteen minutes, he had crossed the courtyard and was standing in the entrance hall. The door recognized him but was reluctant to give him admittance. He had to threaten to turn it into firewood before it would grant him entrance. So here he was, standing in the bare foyer.

A slight pop signaled the arrival of the only house elf in staff that Siobhan had arrive early from the ch�teau. The creature stared at Severus' disheveled state before breaking into a wide idiotic grin. "Master Severus sir, you've come back! Moppy is so happy to see you sir! Moppy will get towel for Master Severus sir!"

Before Severus could stop the blundering creature, it vanished. He could fix himself well enough with a spell. He stared down at the pathetic state of his robes. He considered not changing out of them at all. Illness might be the key to getting out of this house cleaning nonsense. No. It would not be worth the long lecture Siobhan would give him.

He climbed up the long staircase to where his bedchamber, which was at the far end of the west wing. The household was sorely understaffed for a house this size but Moppy had been able to clean most of the bedchambers, the kitchen, the entrance hall, and the main sitting room in the week it had been here. It was a shame house elf magic did so little to combat household pests or any of the darker creatures that tended to take up residence in old abandoned castles.

He stopped in front of the dark door of his chamber from childhood. The serpents on the faded cherry wood panels hissed at him in welcomed return. He felt a faint smile tug at the corner of his lips. Perhaps it would not be as dreadful as he'd first anticipated. Unlike the front door, this one offered no resistance.

The room was dark as expected. A distant flash of lightning from the storm revealed a slight shadow by his window and Severus became acutely aware of the other presence in his room. He drew his wand and the intruder began moving toward him.

"Stu-"

Severus was faster though. "Expelliarmus!" and the intruder's wand flew into his awaiting hand despite the darkness. "Halt."

The trespasser did not listen, but simply rammed into him. They tumbled to the floor and wrestled about. Severus' opponent was stronger and most likely younger, but with a burst of strength, he rolled over and pinned his opponent to the floor. He knew it was a compromising position with one leg inserted between the other man's legs. Sometime in the midst of their conflict, both their wands had escaped them and rolled away to the side.

"Lumos."

Light flooded the room and the fireplace sprang to life. Severus could finally see the face of his assailant. The man beneath him froze. Severus could see something- veiled recognition?- in the intruder's eyes and then the fear that replaced it.

Severus almost mistook the man for Draco. The two had the same silver blond hair but that was where all resemblance ended. While Draco had a delicate beauty about him as a result of centuries of careful "breeding," this man had a rugged masculinity about his features. His dark gray eyes (almost black like his own, Severus realized) brought back unpleasant memories of Severus' school years.

The young man beneath Severus squirmed slightly but Severus leaned in and restricted any further movement. "Who are you and what are you doing in my rooms?"

The man didn't offer an answer. He simply stared up at Severus. They stayed like that for a few moments and Severus began to wonder if the other man was entirely there.

A pop was heard and Moppy appeared next to them. "There you be Master Severus," it dropped the towel when it saw the two men. "Master Severus, that be Master Cedric! He is exterminator Mistress Jessica summoned!"

Severus blinked. Of course, this was the man they had hired to help clear the castle of dark creatures- the exterminator that had expelled the unregistered poltergeist from Jessica's home in the Americas. Exterminator this man may be, but he still had not reason to be in Severus' room.

Severus stood. He didn't offer a hand to help the man up. Severus could clearly see that this man was barely older than Sinclair.

Cedric, as Moppy had addressed him, climbed slowly to his feet. Severus noticed that the other man was looking everywhere but at him.

Severus took the towel the elf offered and dried his wet hair. He focused an intense glare on this "Cedric." Moppy was watching them both with a very wary expression. "I will repeat myself only once and I expect answer. What are you doing in my chamber? How did you get in here?"

Cedric straightened his posture and brushed his robes off. His eyes responded with a defiance that reminded Severus of impudent schoolboys. Cedric flung a hand forward and called, "Accio wands."

Severus narrowed his eyes. Wandless magic took an incredible amount of power and concentration, and this brat was showing off like it was nothing more than a simple parlor trick. It was a challenge of sorts. Severus smirked. The brat was trying to intimidate him.

He watched as Cedric snatched both of their wands from mid-air. Cedric offered him his wand and Severus snarled as he took it back. Cedric didn't appear to waver under Severus' unrelenting gaze. He simply stood there as they stared at each other.

"The door was open. I was just curious." Cedric stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's impossible. The doors would never let a stranger in." Severus hissed. He stalked up to the younger man and attempted to tower over him, but found that he wasn't much taller than Cedric. The maneuver was not as effective as he'd hoped.

Cedric shrugged. "It's been twenty years. Maybe the charms and wards are beginning to wear off." The man's tone was downright provocative.

"Very well," Severus gritted his teeth. "I encourage you not to enter my chambers without my explicit permission in the future." He turned away in what he knew to be a dramatic swirl of black robes.

"Cedric Remius Wesley."

"Pardon?"

"My name. Aren't you going to introduce yourself, Mister Snape? After all, it's the polite thing to do."

"I see no need to. Wesley, you'll find that I am anything but a polite man in due time."

"Seems obvious enough from the start."

Severus still heard those last lowly murmured words. He pointed to the door. "There's the exit. I trust you can find your way out just as you've found your way in." He refused to look at the brat again.

"Of course, Professor," was the soft reply Severus received in return. He couldn't help but think that the words sounded as familiar as the creak of his chamber doors closing.

"Master Severus sir?"

"I'm fine, Moppy. You may cease gawking at me with those disgustingly wide eyes." Severus snapped.

The elf appeared properly chagrined, but Severus admitted that his displeasure was by no fault of the creature's. House elves were fiercely protective creatures. He knew Moppy must have warned Wesley that certain rooms were off-limit. It was only the young man's lack of discretion that placed him at odds with Severus.

"Moppy, see to it that Mister Wesley adjourns to the appropriate room this time around."

The elf bowed and vanished with another soft pop. Severus pinched the bridge of his prodigious nose. He did not want this Cedric Remius Wesley invading his home and turning it roundabout- dark creatures or not.

~~~

Harry James Potter, better now known as Cedric Remius Wesley, raced down the hall to his temporary quarters. He kept glancing back over his shoulders- half-expecting Snape to swoop down on him like a great bat and ship him back to Dumbledore, Hogwarts, and the rest.

Harry threw open the doors of his chamber and quickly slammed them behind him again. He stumbled into the bathroom and planted himself in front of the mirror over the sink. His knuckles turned white as he clutched the porcelain sink and stared long and hard at his reflection.

Snape couldn't possibly recognize him as a former student- much less Harry Potter. Harry had put his disguise together very carefully. He had only dyed his hair the night before so he wouldn't have to repeat the process for another few weeks. His contacts were in place. His scar was hidden under layers of Muggle make-up reinforced with anti-smudging and waterproof charms.

This was all a mistake. This was all one big horrible mistake. An inner voice- one that sounded much like Snape to Harry's disgust- chided him for not checking into the background of his clients as he usually did. He had simply taken the job when Jessica Powell sent him the request to help clear out a castle in the town of Snape that had not been lived in for over twenty years because he had worked for her before and found her to be a generally amiable person. When she sent him the initial offer, it seemed too good to be true. He had been offered a generous sum of galleon for his services along with room and board. He thought the name village name, Snape, to be a mere coincidence- that his old teacher had been named after the village and not the other way around.

Harry turned on the tap for cold and splashed water on his face. He had to calm down. If he didn't, he risked blowing his cover. It had been foolhardy of him to perform wandless magic in front of Snape. After seven years of the older man looking down on him, he just felt he had to show his old teacher one up. It was a good thing that "Harry Potter" did not know wandless magic.

He dragged himself out of the bathroom and onto the old sofa in front of the unlit fireplace. He looked around. The room was painfully bare. The walls were empty of any paintings one might expect to see in a castle such as this and there wasn't even a chest of drawers leaning against the wall. Harry's trunk sat at the foot of his bed covered with faded sheets and blankets. The whole castle gave off a desolate, abandoned feeling. All that was missing was the layers of dust but Harry assumed that the house elf had gotten to that already.

Harry closed his eyes but found no peace. He felt them, thousands of lives teeming within the castle walls and grounds. Most were slightly dark. The curse tugged at him. It wasn't necessary to his survival to satiate that hunger but Harry found it made his life more bearable. Yet that curse could never be fully sated, it always craved more and more. Here in this castle, there were just thousands of lives calling to the darkness within Harry. Reaching out further, Harry could feel the presence of Snape just down the corridor.

He found his thoughts wandering back to Snape again. It surprised him how little his old professor had changed. The bastard was still as unwelcoming and as harsh as he had ever been but Snape did seem to clean up a bit though. His hair, though stringy, was less greasy. His teeth were less yellow. It also seemed as if Snape had actually gotten a few hours of sunlight for the first time in his life. The man was still no better looking than he had been years ago but it was an improvement. He supposed that Snape had more time to worry about hygiene now that Voldemort was gone.

Harry jumped to his feet and set out to find out more about this castle and his old teacher. He didn't have to go far since a house elf popped in to check on him.

"Master Cedric find everything to be good?"

Harry nodded. "You are?"

"Moppy, sir."

Harry smothered the laughter in his throat. He thought it best not to insult the elf when he wanted information about Snape.

"Can you tell me about Snape?"

The elf stared at him blankly. "You mean Master Severus, Mistress Siobhan, Master Sinclair, or Mistress Shavonne?"

It was Harry's turn to be confused. "There's more than one of them?" His question sounded stupid even to his own ears.

"Master Severus and Mistress Siobhan are the masters of the castle. They are Moppy's masters."

Harry's head whirled at the implications of the statement. He had to be sure before he jumped to any conclusions.

"Siobhan is Severus' sister?" It felt strange to address his former teacher by his given name.

The elf quirked its head in confusion. "Master Severus have no siblings."

Snape was married! Who knew? He remembered how he and his fellow Gryffindors had speculated about Snape's love life or lack thereof many nights in the Common Room. It seemed they were all wrong. No one had ever dared to consider the possibility of Snape already being married.

"And Sinclair and Shavonne are?"

"Mistress Siobhan's children."

And Snape had kids� Hell must have frozen over.

~~~

Severus accepted the glass of port that appeared at his side and leaned back in his seat. He watched as Wesley picked at his food. The other man shifted uneasily under Severus' gaze. Severus could cut the tension in the air if he cared to. He took a sip and scowled at the glass.

"So, what are we going to do first?"

Severus placed his glass down and rested his chin against his propped up folded hands. "We'll be starting in the lower levels with the dungeons and such. Siobhan insists I clear out the dungeon and lab areas before she arrives. Hopefully, we'll work out way up to one of the towers by next month's end."

Wesley nodded and seemed to insist upon some type of dinner pleasantry. "Uhhh�you're a teacher, right?"

"Yes." Severus snorted and would offer no further information.

"School isn't over for another few weeks."

Severus could hardly maintain the barely civil tone of this conversation. "The esteemed headmaster was possessed of the notion that I was in dire need of a sabbatical. It would appear that it was such an emergency, he had to place me on a leave of absence just two weeks before my Seventh Years take their N.E.W.T.s."

Severus watched as Wesley chuckled. It was interesting to watch the amusement play across the man's face. He wasn't really sure why he was entertaining Wesley's questions.

Wesley pressed on. "Tell me about where you teach. What's the Headmaster like? I've always heard such great stories about him."

Severus snorted again. "Albus Dumbledore is a menace to society. He may be one of the greatest wizards of all time but he is nothing more than a meddling old coot. Hope to the heavens he never corners you to have tea with him."

"Will he be visiting?"

"I do believe so." Severus was curious if not a bit terrified at the sudden grin that overtook Wesley's face. "I'm sure he and Siobhan have taken tea together to conspire about how to make my life all the more unbearable."

"But you care for them anyway." Wesley teased.

Severus considered the other's man statement for a few moments. He pushed back the chair away from the dining table and rose to his feet. Without so much as another word, he strode over to the exit. He stopped just as his hand rested on the handle. "Yes." he breathed very softly but he knew the other man heard him.

~~~

Harry was still having trouble adjusting to the fact that Snape had a family. Snape had spoken of his wife with veiled fondness. He couldn't imagine what kind of woman would tolerate Snape's less than kindly attitude. It would have to be a woman of very strong convictions and one that could take more than a few verbal hits. Snape had children too. Harry hated to think about how those kids turned out- most likely emotionally traumatized for life.

Harry draped himself over the sofa and stared up at the stars. It felt sort of good to reminisce about people he knew from his far-off childhood. Part of him desperately wanted Dumbledore to visit so Harry could see the elderly wizard again. He wondered if Dumbledore knew where he had been for the last few years. The Ministry had promised to keep his secrets but his old headmaster could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. He wondered if Dumbledore would know he was Harry Potter if he saw Harry now.

He rolled over onto his side and sighed. He found himself wondering about Hermione now. He felt so guilty for abandoning her so soon after the final battle- so soon after Ron's death. He couldn't stay. It was too dangerous for them if he stayed. Voldemort had found his everlasting victory within Harry.

Darkness bred darkness. That was the most dangerous concept of all and he drew things of the darkest nature toward him.

Harry's eyelids drooped. It had been a long day and wrestling Snape had not helped. He drifted off on his spot on the sofa. He couldn't summon the energy to drag himself across the room and into the bed. He never noticed the winged shadow that settled outside his window with its gleaming crimson eyes.

*To Be Continued*

I know some of you may be having doubts at this point but I assure you this is slash. Much love to my betas: epysiarch and Amanda Saitou. Thanks ahead of time for all reviews!
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Life Eternal