677Since this platform doesn't allow for series to attach a sequel, I've gone back and forth about how to better link the two stories here and decided to add a preview for Smoke and Mirrors as its own chapter, which picks up two months after Chapter 74 and fills in some of the Maintenance Phase. This will be a story focused on all of the character's healing from the trauma caused by Malfoy Manor, a bit of mystery as Harry starts figuring out his magical situation (which of course is never as easy as they think it will be), and of course some angst from Harry and Snape learning to depend and live with one another. I have about 25k posted already with 40k written total.
If you're interested, the link is below (remove spaces):
fanfiction dot net / s / 13746927 / 1 / Smoke-and-Mirrors
Smoke and Mirrors: Sequel to The Choices We Made.
With Voldemort dead and Harry's cancer settling, life should be returning to normal for Harry and Snape but things aren't always as they seem. Instead they find themselves challenged in new ways. When dangerous events start after Harry's return to Hogwarts, can Snape figure out what's going on before they're torn apart again? HP-SS mentor A story about healing and coping.
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Saturday 19th, July 1997
Severus laid in his brand new bed, courtesy of the ongoing renovations to his Spinner's End home, thinking about what needed to be accomplished that day. The sun was shining through his street-facing window and he could hear the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen below signifying that the young wizard living with him full time was not only awake, but unfortunately had probably been for several hours now. As Severus and Harry were approaching the two month mark since their chaotic rescue from Malfoy Manor, and the death of Voldemort, there was no more denying something was not right with Harry. The teenager had been getting more and more distant with not only the professor, but his friends as well. Severus noticed - particularly since his last chemotherapy treatment, yet he admitted the timing could be a coincidence - he hadn't been sleeping nearly as well as he had been even in the first couple of weeks since their rescue. Severus was concerned, obviously, yet so in over his head on this topic, he didn't exactly know where to turn to help Harry through this challenging phase.
Which brought his thoughts back to the day ahead of them, having decided the best course of action to start figuring out how to help the Gryffindor was to discuss it with his muggle Pediatric Oncologist, Dr Meghan Swanson. It was a slippery slope though because no matter which way Severus had tried to approach his young charge with his concerns, he always said he was fine - a word the professor still loathed from last fall's debacles with Harry's mental health struggles - and therefore he didn't necessarily want the Gryffindor to know he would be reaching out to his physician for assistance; it would only make him more self-conscious about whatever he was struggling through.
The first trip they went on was to fulfill his promise to take Harry to Godric's Hollow in order to see his parents' graves. Not so surprisingly, it had been the first time Severus, himself, visited the cemetery to pay his own respects in this reality and to see it with the expectation of his son's grave being beside them was almost debilitating. After the cemetery, the pair of wizards walked into the charming village square towards where he knew a special obelisk sat in its center. Severus hadn't told Harry about the statue erected in his family's honor, afraid the meek Gryffindor would not care to see how the other residents viewed his parents' sacrifice. He knew the moment Harry noticed the obelisk change into the statue of his family when his already slow strides drastically decreased. Torn between doing what he wanted - to go up and comfort Harry - and what he thought he should do - give Harry the time and space to accept what had happened - he stood in the middle of the square with his body facing perpendicular to the distraught teen. Eventually, the Boy-Who-Lived worked his way through it and approached the statue depicting Lily and James holding baby Harry. Neither spoke as they stood by the statue thinking about how different their lives would have been had the family of three stayed intact, and Severus couldn't help feeling relieved; Harry could have stayed with his parents after being hit with the Killing Curse for the second time, and yet he'd chosen to come back.
The final part of their visit in Godric's Hollow, and the one he expected to be the hardest on the young wizard, was to the old cottage where Voldemort had attacked the family on Halloween in 1981; the event that triggered so much disparity in Harry's young life. This time, Severus did not leave his side as they stood looking out at the ruins of the home and the sign in front stating the cottage remained in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family. The sign had been filled with supportive messages throughout the years for the young survivor, and reading through them seemed to fill Harry with hope. As mournful as the day had been, it helped to heal the void in Harry; especially now with Voldemort really gone and they officially closed a chapter of his life only to be looked back upon instead of continuing to live through it.
On the second weekend, the professor brought the young wizard back to Cokeworth and showed him where his mother grew up and around Spinner's End. Severus himself had only gone back to his childhood home in this reality the one time before Christmas to retrieve the pictures for Harry. This time he had the chance to take a really good look at the place and he was surprised - and appalled - at how his former self chose to continue living there each summer. The row house was far more rundown than he remembered and he was embarrassed to bring Harry to see it. Severus had to hide his surprise over the teen actually wanting to live with him after seeing the state of the place, but as expected, Harry was humble about it all and together they made plans on how to fix it up for the pair of them to move in after the end of term. Throughout all of their planning, he found himself having to resist the urge to recreate their home from his old reality - where the memories with his son were still so strong - because this Harry was different and regardless of his own feelings about the space, he wanted to create one that would help Harry finally feel at home.
That left only one weekend before the end of term, and with it, Harry's first chemotherapy at the outpatient center of the hospital. Exams had ended the previous week, so naturally the professor assumed Harry would choose to enjoy the time with his friends. Although he did see them, in hindsight, the former spy should have known something was amiss with the young wizard then. As far as he knew - which admittedly was not as much as he would have liked - when they left the castle, Harry had yet to talk with Draco about what had happened during their time in the Manor and was probably a big part of his current struggles. Assuming the Gryffindor needed closure, Severus tried different ways to find out more information or suggest he reach out to the blonde Slytherin, but he was sure every attempt fell on deaf ears.
Unfortunately, Severus knew how difficult the first step of healing from their imprisonment could be. Only days before the end of term, and going home to Cokeworth for the summer, he managed to take his own first step in putting away the demons from that experience by having lunch in Hogsmeade with Lucius and Narcissa. He felt lighter than before the luncheon - and therefore deemed it successful- since that afternoon, however, Lucius had made no less than five different attempts to try and convince Severus to join the Malfoys apothecary research team. Unwilling to commit to any fall plans before knowing what was going on with Harry, he continued to brush off the other Slytherin's offer; so while it helped in one aspect of his life, it further complicated another.
Overall, Harry's physical health had seemed to improve as he settled into. his Maintenance Phase of treatment. The young wizard had good days where if it weren't for his tablet medication Severus would hardly know he was still fighting the Leukemia. Other times, he had bad days where the normally vibrant Gryffindor could barely get out of bed; and that was outside of his treatment days where he faced the same side effects he had all year long. By the end of the school year, they were both far more exhausted than they should have been given that the last month was spent without any classes to attend or teach and his alternating health was difficult to manage at times...
Thank you all again for reading and supporting The Choices We Made!