Chasing Moonbeams. Ch16.

[pekeleke]

Title: Chasing Moonbeams.
Author: pekeleke
Pairing(s): Severus Snape/Harry Potter
Rating: NC-17, eventually.
Length: 82K+
Warnings: Extremely Slow burn. Pre-slash to slash. Enemies to friends to lovers. Pinning!Harry. Oblivious!Severus. Implied Bottom!Severus. EWE.
Disclaimer: Don't own these characters. I make no profit from writing fanfiction.
Summary: “Really?” Harry beams, green eyes wide and full of wonder. “You’re going to let me snog you to my heart’s content?”

“Of course not.” Severus replies contrarily, curling elegant digits around the brat’s neck and tugging him down low enough for a quick and dirty kiss before the Savior has a chance to protest. “I’m going to let you snog me to my heart’s content, Potter.”

Chapter 16.

 

The special edition of The Prophet arrives in a flutter of wings. The bird who delivers it is the same frazzled bugger who does his morning rounds and is, therefore, familiar enough with Severus’s moods to curl a razor-sharp claw around the newspaper roll and hold onto it until Severus offers a slightly dried-up owl treat in payment for its services. The beast hoots at him indignantly and drops the paper on the floor instead of aiming for Severus’s expectantly open palm. Severus huffs in amusement and slams his window closed behind the cantankerous owl. He stands beside the windowpane for a second, looking out towards the darkening lane. The sky looks like a purple bruise this evening and, as he looks down towards the rolled-up pages at his feet, Severus sincerely hopes it’s a coincidence and not some portentous omen foreshadowing what awaits him.

Potter’s statement is a work of art. It’s short and to the point. A brief description of the bakery, explaining he’d chosen it because Severus is fond of cranberry-flavored baked goods, and that place happens to offer truly lovely fruit scones in its menu. They’d shared three pots of tea and about two hours of casual conversation before parting ways. Yes, Potter is aware of Severus’s war-time reputation. Yes, he’s seen the Dark Mark Severus still carries on his arm with his own eyes. He has also been inside Severus’s head and seen some of his memories. Severus Snape is a decorated war hero. A man Potter admires deeply. There is no former member of The Order Of The Phoenix who, in Potter’s estimation, can compete with Severus Snape for bravery. They are friends, and that’s all there is to it. He reminds them all that Severus is a very reserved man, and urges the general public to respect his privacy.

The article is expertly titled ‘Harmony Across The Lines?’ It features the expected picture of the outing itself, and Severus can plainly see his stiff figure sitting across from Potter’s far more relaxed one. The brat’s clever allusion to Severus’s reserved nature will act as de facto explanation for Severus’s obvious discomfort in the shot, particularly when compared to the other photograph of him. The image shows Severus laughing. He is dressed casually in dark slacks, and a soft, green, pullover jumper with the sleeves pushed up high enough to display the bottom half of the Dark Mark branded onto his left forearm. His long hair is tied haphazardly in a ponytail, and the reading glasses he never wears in public perch precariously on the very tip of his nose. He is barefooted, pale toes curled in the deep pile of Minerva’s colorful fireside rug, and feet half-buried under the veritable sea of ripped wrapping paper that’s collected at the base of his chair. A small Christmas tree brightens the left-hand corner of the image, and portraits of long-dead Hogwarts’ headmasters hang from the walls, their prestigious inhabitants looking down in amusement at a Severus Snape who is clearly busy trying to stifle his laughter and hold up a pair of truly atrocious socks for the photographer’s benefit at the same time.

Severus knows precisely when this picture was taken, and he can’t believe it’s here, gracing the front page of The Prophet’s special edition, so carelessly exposing him to the entire world’s derision. The worst part is that he’s got no one to blame, save himself. Potter asked his permission to do this. It’s not the brat’s fault, nor Minerva’s, that Severus failed to realize the true scope of the savior’s strategy. In a single masterstroke, Potter has turned a former Death Eater into a man of flesh and blood. Now Severus has no mask to hide behind.


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Comments

[teryarel]

The picture Harry chose was lovely indeed, but it was also way too intimate to share with the entire world. This level of exposure will feel very invasive to Severus.
I hadn't thought of it like that. I, too, was so enamoured with this beautiful picture that I didn't stop to think what it would really mean for Severus...

He likes to keep the truth about who he really is carefully hidden, like a treasure that he only shares with the people he finds worthy of his trust.
And he is right, I guess. This should have been something he'd share with his close friends. I mean this picture was posted where everyone could see it - even people in Germany knew of it! On the other hand he did give Harry permission. I'm undecided if I agree with Harry's choice of picture or not... But it's out there now, and that's it.

Now the mask he uses to hide behind is broken, and everyone is aware that he knows how to laugh, has friends, can wear colors other than black, and receives Christmas gifts, just like every other human on the planet.
Le gasp. :O The horror! Severus is a human being?! Sweet Merlin and Circe. Who'd have thought...

[pekeleke]

”Le gasp. :O The horror! Severus is a human being?! Sweet Merlin and Circe. Who'd have thought...” I think that is the exact thought Harry was trying to get the rest of the Wizarding world to have when he chose Severus’ picture. And I think he succeeded. I’m with you about being undecided when it comes to whether Harry should have been a bit more careful of Severus’s privacy, but nothing less than this sort of in-your-face exposure would have gotten the same kind of results in so short a time. Ultimately, I think Harry’s main goal was to limit the backlash for Severus. Harry simply wanted to protect the man he loves from the public's scorn. He did that by forcing everyone to see the Severus Snape he sees, so they'd have no other option but to adore him just like Harry himself does. :D