Standing His Ground.

[pekeleke]

Title: Standing His Ground.

Fandom: Harry potter (Snarry)

Characters: Harry Potter, Severus Snape.

Author: pekeleke.

Rating: G.

Word count: 972.

Disclaimer: Don't own these characters. No money is being made out of this work.

A/N: Unbetaed. Written for the adventdrabbles 2012 Prompt 15: Christmas morning.

This is the fifteenth part in my Seeking Home series.

Summary: Life is a never-ending loop of expectations and responsibilities. When love and family are at loggerheads, Harry must stand his ground or risk losing... everything...

 

Standing His Ground.

“The children wake around four and knock on everyone's door until all of us are up. They ran all the way downstairs and it's impossible not to smile at their enthusiasm. We stumble into the lounge and plop on the first cushioned surface we come upon and that's when Mrs. Weasley brings out the hot chocolate. The feeling of that warm cup warming my palms, while the aroma of hot cocoa fills the air, is what lets me know that Christmas morning has finally arrived.”

 

“Sounds... loud”

 

Harry laughed brightly:
“Yes, it is. But it's also fun. You're going to love it, Severus”

 

Severus stilled, looking straight at him with crystal-clear dismay.
“You expect me to spend Christmas morning at the Weasley's?”

 

“Where else would you be? This will be our first Christmas together. You don't have any family and the Weasley's are the closest thing I've got to one... I assumed we'll go there, it's what I do every year”

 

“I'm spending the day with Draco. I promised him.”

 

Harry's heart dropped to his feet and he had to bite his tongue in order to avoid snarling something unforgivable in response. He counted to one hundred very slowly before allowing himself to voice a single word:
“I didn't realize you guys had already made plans. I wouldn't regularly ask you to re-schedule, Severus, but... Do you really want us to spend our first Christmas apart?”

 

“I can't let him down now, Harry. I wont. The Weasley's have each other, their family is so huge that there's enough people to fill the Burrow to the rafters at this time of the year. Draco is desperately alone and he doesn't deserve it. I can't allow him to spend Christmas morning by himself. That'd be beyond cruel. It'd be unconscionable. I wont do it, so don't ask it of me, please”

 

Harry's frustrated gaze settled over the pale features of the man he loved to distraction, recognizing Severus' tension in the sudden rigidity of his posture. The slytherin was preparing for some sort of mayor blowout. He could read the heartbroken resignation in those shadowed dark eyes as clearly as if he'd written it himself upon blank parchment.
“Tell me he's at least coming here”

 

His heart plummeted to the floor when Severus whispered quietly:
“His mother won't leave the manor, so he doesn't like to stay away for long. He can't bear the thought of leaving her alone. It'd be even worse on Christmas morning, with a hundred and one memories of better times crowding their minds... They need to be together, Harry, not apart”

 

He took a hasty sip of his rapidly cooling coffee, trying to think things through, but he couldn't find a way to fix this mess.
“I understand that, but he won't welcome me in his house, Severus. It'd be easier for everyone involved if we convince him to come over, instead.”

 

Severus looked horrified.
“You plan to stick around? I thought you'll go to the Weasley's. We could meet here after lunch or something...”

 

The small amount of coffee he'd consumed started to churn unpleasantly in Harry's stomach.
“I love the Weasley's very dearly, Severus. They are my family in every way that counts and that's how I know they'll understand this. I need to be with you on our first Christmas together. If that means visiting Malfoy then so be it.”

 

“You're being needlessly stubborn about this. I know the holidays are important to you and I'm willing to spend the afternoon pandering to whatever you feel like doing, but... bringing you to Draco's isn't a good idea. Seeing us together will hurt him unnecessarily and I don't think...”

 

“You can't sacrifice yourself for the benefit of others forever, Severus. I understand what you're saying, I really do. You love him enough to put his interests before yours, but that won't help him move on in the long run. What will happen on New Year? Or Valentine's day? Or your birthday? Or his? How long are you going to shelter him from seeing us together? You can't live a double life in order to save him from confronting what he'll have to accept sooner or later. We're together now. We're a couple. You can't deny us in front of him, Severus. That will give him the kind of hope you can't afford to give him. He'll start believing that there's still a chance that you'll choose him in the end. He'll hang onto his feelings until you have no other option but to hurt him even more...”

 

Severus sighed wearily. He stood up abruptly and walked towards his small Christmas tree, stopping right in front of it to stare thoughtfully at Draco's beautiful reindeer. The figurine shone in the light, reflecting the orange flames that danced in the grate with cheerful disregard for its owner's distress.
“He's so fragile, Harry... I know you're right about this, but I fear he might shatter like this glass if I pressure him further.”

 

Harry approached Severus quietly in the growing silence, coming to a stop directly behind him and embracing his thin waist in a reassuring gesture:
“This won't be easy, but it has to be done, my love. We're a family now, Severus. We can't hide that. We shouldn't. I wish I could tell you to go with your instincts, but that'll only make things worse in the long run. There's no way to fix this situation. This is the kind of sorrow that can't be soothed away or even avoided. It has to be endured. He has to see that we're happy together. He has to accept us or he'll never turn his back on you. He won't ever stop hoping. He won't give himself the chance to understand that his heart can find love with someone else...

back.

next.