"Just close your eyes, you'll be alright. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound." -Taylor Swift

Severus saw him fall, from two feet left from where he himself stood. The streak of bright light coursed through the air, over the hundreds of corpses and wounded bodies, and slammed into the shield of Harry Potter. For a heart-stopping moment, the shield erupted in light, the edges curling slightly. It seemed that the shield would hold. 

But then Harry Potter's last reserves of energy wavered, and the shield shattered into a hundred million pieces, disintegrating as it fell to the ground. The light tore through the short distance and hit its target, right in the middle of the torso.

Sectumsempra.

Ironic, how it brought about all this, and now, ended it.

Stains of red spread from the wound as Severus leapt through the distance between them, reaching for him just as Harry hit the ground. He found the boy's hand and squeezed it, tightly, feeling it squeezing slightly back.

"I'm sorry," the boy whispered softly, his breaths shallow.

Severus shook his head. "No. You did well. You've got nothing to be sorry for."

Harry frowned, and shook his head. "I didn't. My shield broke."

"So it did."

Silence fell. Severus knew the boy was coming to terms to everything, to the pain, the final escape.

"I really did well, didn't I?" Harry said, after a while.

"Yes. Very well," Severus said. Both pairs of emerald eyes shone at him, one from the past, another in the present. "Your mother would've been proud."

"You'd think so?"

"Positive."

"You think they'd be there?"

Severus wiped a stray tear away from the dirt-stained face of the body he held as he nodded. So this is how it felt. To have one's recently discovered heart torn apart again.

He cradled the boy, squeezing the boy's hands, like he'd held them countless times on sleepless days and painful nights before. The tears on Harry Potter's face were no stranger anymore; he'd seen them too many times, wiped them away on too many occasions.

Harry's tears were precious, Severus remembered thinking.  He didn't think the boy'd ever cried. But that night, in the Astronomy tower with Hogwarts under siege, he saw the boy's tears for the very first time. The boy had stood on the edge on the tower, seconds away from falling when Severus had pulled him back.

"What is the matter with you? Are you out of your bloody mind?" Severus had yelled, his heart leaping despite his own feelings towards the boy. The boy had had the guts to try an unknown dark spell --a dangerous dark spell he, Severus, had invented-- before his eyes, and now he was trying to end his own life.

The boy didn't say anything; he simply stood there, staring blankly at the floor. He didn't even seem to recognise Severus' presence.

Severus saw red. "Answer me, Potter!" He'd reached out to shake the boy out of his stupor, to shake some sense into the stubborn sixteen-year-old when Harry lifted his eyes.

Clear emerald eyes filled with colourless liquid shot straight into Severus' own dark ones. Severus was shaken speechless. But it wasn't the striking resemblance to Lily that shook Severus. It was the old weary look in those eyes which had seen too much, raw and painful.

A single tear slipped from the corner of Harry's eyes, and before Severus knew it, Harry had collapsed, silent sobs shaking the frail sixteen-year-old body.

"I can't do it. All those p-people... I c-can't watch them f-fight and die because of me. I can't t-take it anymore." Harry struggled to get the words out. Severus heart clenched for the teen.  He understood best, the weight of the world upon your shoulders, watching one after another leave and die, saying goodbye and goodbye and goodbye, while you lived on alone, wondering when was your turn.

 Severus pulled the boy into his arms, pushing him firmly against his chest. He didn't release his hold, didn't push him away. If anything, he tightened it. This boy had seen too much, felt too much, pushed too far. The siege had scraped all their nerves raw. They had all been pushed too far.

He stayed there, quietly holding the boy until his sobs subsided.

"You're not alone, Harry."

I remember tears streaming down your face as I said I'll never let you go

When all those shadows almost killed your light

I remember you said don't leave me here alone

But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

After the failed suicide attempt, Harry found refuge at Severus quarters, wandering back again and again after sleepless nights until Severus told him to stay.

Severus never left any Daily Prophets where Harry could see it. The boy knew what was going on; that much was enough. It showed in the amount of food the house-elves began to serve. It showed in the lines around both their faces. It showed in the way Harry slumped lower and lower, and Severus slept lesser and lesser.

Don't you dare look out your window

Darling everything's on fire

The war outside keeps raging on

Harry ventured less and less out to the castle. He had locked himself in Severus' quarters, often looking glassily into the distance. The Golden Trio was no more, from what Severus understood from Harry's frequent nightmares, both lost in a battle destroying Horcruxes. The Gryffindors were all lost too, some in defending Harry, others in the frequent Death Eater attacks.

There wasn't any reason for Harry to smile anymore. There wasn't any reason for anyone to smile anymore.

Then, Severus had dug out Lily's old music box from his personal collections. He recalled the light in Harry's eyes when he saw the music box. The disbelieving, childish delight on the child's face was priceless, especially in times as such. Harry had looked up at him with so much joy and devotion that Severus couldn't bear to look away.

That night marked the first of the few Harry slept soundly, lulled to sleep by his mother's keepsake. Severus stood watch the whole night, trying to memorise the boy's face, finally seeing the boy as he was.

A boy.

Severus made another oath that night. As he left Harry's room, he made a silent prayer to whatever god still out there.

Hold on, Harry.

Hold on.

Hold on to this lullaby

Even when the music's gone

Every night since then, the old lullaby crooned them to sleep. Harry had taken to bringing it everywhere he goes.

Even now, as Harry's eyelids drooped lower and lower, the old music box fell out from his robes.  Severus picked it up and wounded it up, letting the soft melody wash over them. The eerie harmony rang soft and clear amidst the battle, growing louder in their ears until it was the only sound in the world.

The sun was setting, its bright blazes dimming like the rest of the Hogwarts folks. Their numbers were dwindling quickly as their fortitude faded together with Harry's life force. The war was coming to an end.

"Don't miss me, Dad." Came the weak voice of Harry.

"I won't."

Harry smiled this time, a true smile that spread to his eyes. He winced slightly, the pain almost too much to bear. He was so tired now, so tired he wanted to sleep and never wake up. Severus' hand squeezed tighter.

"Close your eyes. Rest now."

As Harry closed his eyes, he heard Severus singing along to the lullaby, his deep voice soft in his ears.

Just close your eyes, the sun is going down

You'll be alright,

no one can hurt you now

Come morning light,

you and I'll be safe and sound

 "Close your eyes, Harry. I'll see you in the morning."