Magic
by Kittie

Saying Selected:
36. Please don't interrupt me when I'm ignoring you.

~*~

Sometimes, Chris mused gloomily, being mostly engaged to a wizard did have its downside.

The magic was really cool most of the time, especially when Severus used it to heal his various cuts, bumps, and bruises in a matter of moments, or when he surreptitiously boosted the effectiveness of Chris' pranks from wildly annoying to epically brilliant, or when he got to spend several minutes chasing a chocolate frog around the room, but turning Eminem into a newt? That was simply not a good thing.

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, staring blindly out his hotel room window into the darkness of the night. At first he'd thought it was cute how protective Severus was of him. Sev hadn't had many friends for most of his life, he'd confided, most likely due to his naturally caustic nature. Now that he had found someone who not only didn't mind his cantankerousness, but found it, well, sexy, he was determined to keep that person safe and sound for as long as was humanly—or wizardly—possible. Not that Eminem was of any threat whatsoever.

Just yesterday, Chris had been listening to "Without Me" in the car on the way to rehearsal, rapping along quietly, barely paying attention to the lyrics anymore, after all this time, when Sev had suddenly stiffened, his eyes flying from the window to the CD player display. "What... did... he... say?" he'd ground out dangerously, lips barely moving.

Chris had only laughed. "Oh, yeah! Isn't it great? I'm famous! Well... more famous, anyway. I had no idea my name rhymed with that. Go fig."

Severus has stared at him for a long moment, eyes glittering, before turning back to the window. Chris had forgotten all about it, until he'd turned on the news this morning. And really, what other wizard in the world would be pissed enough at Eminem to do that? Not that it was warranted. At all. And then Severus had the nerve to refuse to change him back! And they'd fought. Hard.

That was the unfortunate thing, Chris sighed to himself, about being in love with a brilliant, sour man like Severus. He really knew how to flay a person alive with words. That had been part of why he'd fallen in love with him in the first place, really. Severus was a breath of fresh air after hanging out with the guys for ten years. Especially JC, the king of nice. And Joey wasn't much better. Justin tried, but he just didn't have it in him. Chris was mostly grateful for that, anyway, that Justin had stayed nice despite everything. He could have turned into a... a... Malfoy. Lance had his moments, but his sharp tongue paled in comparison to Severus'. Chris had learned a lot from the man about the subtle art of insults. He'd been good at it before, but after months of being with Sev, he was damn near brilliant. Near brilliant. He'd probably never achieve Sev's level of expertise at the sport. He was too nice to hone the skill on people he cared about. A major character flaw, according to Sev. But really, he just couldn't bear to make JC cry again. Once had been enough.

Chris pulled his knees up to his chest, momentarily surprised as always when they didn't creak or pop or otherwise complain. Sev's work. It was Sev's work that he was here at all, instead of dead, or worse. He let his mind drift back to the day they'd met....

~*~

Chris bit back a gasp as his back spasmed once more, pain shooting down his legs like flames only to vanish, terrifyingly, into nothingness, at just above the knee. His lungs felt tight and constricted, and every breath was a struggle.

JC's hands shook as he stroked Chris' forehead gently, clearing the sweat-soaked hair from his eyes. "Just hang on, Chrissofer," he begged, voice breaking. "Help is coming, soon."

Chris closed his eyes, teeth clenched against the pain. "Can't feel my legs," he groaned, the fall replaying again and again in his shocked and terrified mind. "'C...."

"Help is coming," JC repeated. "Please Chris...."

And that was when he heard it. The swish of robes, a growl of frustration, and a low, unfamiliar voice. "Bloody hell." A hand touched his chest, something hard tapped his sternum, and Chris cried out, startled and afraid. Then that voice muttered a string of unintelligible words, and Chris' world exploded in light.

When he came back to himself, JC was crying, cradling his limp body and begging him to "come back, please come back." Then the pain was gone, his lungs were clear, and he could feel his legs again. The hand was still on his chest, and he was facing a pale, dark-haired stranger who was kneeling next to him, staring at JC with a strange mix of concern and disgust on his face.

"Who are you?" Chris blurted, and JC's arms tightened almost painfully around him. "Not you, " he clarified, pointing to the stranger, "him."

"You can see me?" the man asked, voice strangled.

Chris didn't get to answer him because JC started wailing again, begging Chris not to go toward the light.

The next few minutes were utter confusion as the rest of the guys, Johnny, and about five million paramedics burst in, shoving the stranger away without acknowledgement and fussing over Chris with grim efficiency. It took Chris forever to explain to their satisfaction that "No, really, I'm fine. It must have been psychosomatic, or something."

But the stranger stayed, anyway.

~*~

Chris smiled to himself despite the lingering anger and hurt. Severus had been following them around for weeks, drawn to the strange magic he swore he could sense deep within Chris.

"It's like nothing I have ever encountered before," he had explained, long, elegant fingers lightly tracing the veins on Chris' neck, making him shiver. "It is... old, and powerful. It thrums as thought it has a heartbeat of its own. It's what drew me to you, why I...."

"Followed me around obsessively for weeks on end?"

"I was not obsessive," Sev had scowled. "I was... curious. Besides, we both know where you would be, had I not."

Chris hadn't needed to respond. He knew only too well.

He shook himself out of his reminiscing. Severus had stayed. Even after they had managed to get the curse broken, when he could have returned to his old life at Hogwarts and forgotten all about Chris, he'd stayed. He did go back to teaching, but returned to wherever Chris was every evening, every weekend, to spend time with his....

His what? Chris stared darkly into his reflection in the window, pondering that. What was he, exactly, to Severus? An amusement? A curiosity? A... possession? Why did he stick around once the curse had been broken and he could once again interact with anyone he wanted? Chris was no longer his only option for companionship, after all. Perhaps it was curiosity. Sev never had figured out why exactly Chris had been able to see him when no one else could. Never had categorized the strange magic within him. Sev hated uncertainty. Hated not knowing things. Oh, he had theories, of course....

~*~

"It is... wild, untamed, yet dormant. As though if unleashed, it would have great power—perhaps more potent than my own." He stared hard at Chris—almost through him. Chris shivered. "It is not like mine. Its... color... is different."

"Color?" Chris asked, annoyed when his voice squeaked.

Severus' thin lips twitched, a tiny smirk settling on his features. Then he was serious again. "Tell me, had you ever seen me before the accident? Heard me, at all?"

Chris shook his head. "No. But just before you healed me, I heard you. I heard someone moving, and your voice. Felt your hand on my chest, and... your wand," he realized suddenly. "You tapped me, here." He placed his own fingers where he remembered the phantom touch of wood. "And then there was... the magic. When I opened my eyes, there you were."

"You were near death," Severus mused. "Perhaps that had an impact. And then afterward...." He squinted, reaching out once again to touch. "Yes. It is not as dormant as it was. It is stronger now. I think, perhaps, I woke it, when I used my magic on you. It moves more quickly now."

"Is that... bad?"

Severus didn't answer. "What do you see, Christopher," he asked instead, "when you look at me?"

"Um.... You?"

Severus shook his head impatiently. "Not the physical. Look at me. What do you see?"

Chris squinted at him, unsure of what, exactly, he meant. He saw a man, like any other. Pale, thin, elegant. Completely out of place here, in his home, surrounded by cozy knickknacks, family pictures, and various "muggle amusements." He saw.... "Power," he answered, then shook his head and blinked, amazed and unsure of where the knowledge was coming from, yet confident in it all the same. "Darkness, pain. Fragility, need, loneliness."

Severus smiled humorlessly. "You would not see any of that without the magic. You would see only what everyone else sees. A used-up old potions master, ex-spy, ex-Death Eater, greasy git—"

Chris cut him off with a hand over his mouth. "No. I would see an intelligent, funny, lonely man who needs—"

"Needs what , Christopher?" Severus' dark eyes were flashing with anger and no small amount of fear.

"Love," Chris finished, leaning down and kissing him softly.

~*~

Chris came back to himself with his fingers on his lips, savoring the memory of that first tentative kiss. He wasn't quite sure what had made him do it, but it had been so wonderful for a while. Even with the other guys thinking he had gone mad, always talking to his "imaginary friend," it had been wonderful. Maybe—

He stiffened as the locked door clicked open behind him, his skin tingling with the familiar feel of Sev's magic. Resolutely, he kept his back turned, his posture stiff. In the darkness of the night, the window acted as a mirror, and he could see Severus gliding into the room, absently re-locking the door with a flick of his wand and a muttered word. He stood just at the entrance of the room for a long time, regarding his lover's back in silence. Then he spoke, his voice a low purr. "Christopher...."

Chris shivered involuntarily at that voice, but squared his shoulders. "Please don't interrupt me when I'm ignoring you."

Maddeningly, Severus chuckled. "Christopher, don't be this way. I... I did not mean the things I said this morning." Chris didn't answer. "The timing was regrettable," Severus admitted, moving slowly closer. "I had to return to Hogwarts or risk being late for my morning class." He paused. "Though perhaps that would have been acceptable. Christopher, I...." Chris waited. "Are you going to make me say it?" A stifled sigh. "Very well. I... apologize. I should not have turned that insufferable, ignorant boor into a newt without consulting you first."

"You shouldn't have done it at all!" Chris burst out, unable to resist breaking his silence. He whirled to face his lover. "It's just a song, Severus, nothing more! He'd never really hurt me! I told you that, but you don't listen! You just... do whatever you want to do, and to hell with what I want!"

"No. No! I do listen to you! I listened to you when you suggested we return to Hogwarts together in order to have the curse broken, did I not?" He placed both hands on Chris's shoulders, squeezing slightly. "And I listened to all you did not say after I was restored and offered back my position. I did not simply abandon you to return to my old life—repugnant as it was. I listen to you all the time."

"Then turn him back," Chris demanded. "Stop being such a... a... jealous, overprotective jerk and turn him back!"

Severus grimaced. "For you, alright." A negligent wave of his wand, some muttered words, and a tingle, and it was done. "There, satisfied? And I hope he was in a jar or a cage when he was restored."

Chris snorted rudely, then narrowed his eyes. "And you won't go around turning people into newts whenever they insult or threaten me?"

Severus' lips tightened, but he nodded his head shortly. "No. I... promise."

"No newts, no toads, no roaches, no nothing, Severus. I fight my own battles, wizard or not."

Severus quirked a somewhat disappointed smile. "You know me too well. Very well, then, you have my word. No more."

Chris relaxed, letting Severus fold him into a tight hug. "Okay, then. Okay." He hugged back, resting his head on Severus' chest. "I'm sorry I called you a jealous, overprotective jerk."

"No worse than the things I said this morning," Severus shrugged. "And really, I thought I had taught you better than that. You have been more creative, in the past."

Chris snickered. "I was, this morning. Besides, you know I can't really cut loose with people I... love."

Severus pulled his away, just far enough to look down into his eyes. "A major character flaw we will need to remedy as quickly as possible."

Chris smirked. "Yeah. Love you too. Jerk."

~*~

Miles away, Eminem was being fitted for pants that would allow his long, scaly tail to hang free.

End

Email: kittie.verdena@gmail.com