HONK! HONK! HONK!
"Come on! Move it, bub!"
"Charming place, isn't it?"
"Oh, come on, Harry. You sound like that when you're driving and someone's not moving fast enough for you."
"Do I?"
"You can't tell?"
"I've never noticed." The teen chuckled. "Ah! Here's the place. See? Just where it says-the alleyway down the street from the Plaza Hotel, approximately around 795 Fifth Avenue. Just walk into the alley and input the password with your wand."
"What's the Plaza Hotel?"
"It's that nice looking place down the street." The teen answered, nodding towards the monstrous white building next to the big park.
"Oh?"
"I'll take you in there tomorrow, if you'd like."
"Maybe."
With as much subtlety as he could manage, Harry pulled Ginny and the sleeping Severus into the alleyway between the two fancy-looking buildings and took out his wand. "There's supposed to be a bunch of bricks here with letters on them."
"Like those?" His girlfriend asked, pointing to twenty-six letters chalked into the wall on the right, next to a chalked doorway. All the marks seemed to be glowing strangely in the twilight.
"Exactly like those." Taking out his wand, Harry tapped on a series of bricks with the tip. S-Q-U-A-R-E-T-I-M-E-S-B-B. Peering over his shoulder one last time, Harry checked to see that no one was looking before tapping on the chalked door three times with his wand.
"What does BB stand for?" Ginny asked.
"Bed and Breakfast." Harry replied, taking Ginny's hand.
All of a sudden, the door that had been chalked onto the wall began glowing brightly. A vivid bluish light began circling the doorframe and within seconds, the glowing door floated off the wall and settled itself before them-in the middle of the dark alleyway. Out from the sides of the doorway grew a fancy steel fence, complete with vines entwining each of the black rails. The fence was as tall as the doorway and stretched itself out until it touched either side of the alleyway. Finally, after all the vines had entwined themselves firmly around the posts supporting the fence, the doorway stopped glowing and settled into its surroundings, looking for all the world like it had been there all along.
"Shall we, my love?" Harry asked with a smile. Raising his wand, the teenager tapped on the rounded door three times once again, grinning in delight when the knob turned of its own accord and the door creaked open. A lush garden full of various kinds of flowers and shrubs greeted them as they stepped inside. A winding path of gravel led the way from the doorway, which was now quite obviously a gateway, around a few flower beds full of roses and wildflowers, over a bridge which spanned a small stream that flowed towards a miniature cascade, and finally up a series of stone steps that led to the porch of a gorgeous red brick house with white trimmings and a cozy air.
"Welcome to Square Times Bed and Breakfast, sir!" A big black doorman with a really deep voice greeted them from the porch. He had the door open for them and was waving them inside. Harry and Ginny exchanged a smile before walking down the path and up the stairs, hand in hand. "I hope your portkey here was satisfactory, sir?"
"It was indeed." Harry replied, shrugging out of his jacket and helping Ginny with hers. "Thank you for asking!"
"It was my pleasure, sir." The doorman replied, offering them his hand, "My name is Ifeanyi and I am both the doorman and the owner of this fine facility."
"Both the owner and the doorman?" Ginny asked with a laugh.
"I know!" The doorman nodded with a booming laugh of his own. "I am both at the very bottom and the very top!"
The doorman's booming laughter startled the infant awake and he jerked up in his sling across Ginny's chest. "Ah, ah, ah!" Severus soon began to cry.
"Oh!" The doorman/owner exclaimed, trying to get a hold of himself. "I am so sorry! Did I wake up your baby? I didn't realize he was there-"
"No, no, it's alright." Harry interjected, waving him off as Ginny tried to soothe Severus, "We needed to wake him up anyway. Key-lag and everything, you know?"
"Oh, yes! Yes, of course. I still apologize, though."
"It's alright."
"Where are you keying in from?" Ifeanyi asked, closing the door behind them and steering them towards the front desk.
"Uh...Ottery St. Catchpole." Harry replied, checking his pockets to see if their luggage had made it through with them. "It's in the UK."
"Ah! Yes-England!" The doorman nodded, "That's in Devon, isn't it? I have a cousin that lives by there. Godric's Hollow, I think it was."
"Oh, we live in Godric's Hollow!" Harry interjected, gesturing towards his girlfriend and his ward, "Yeah, my in-laws-her parents-live in Ottery St. Catchpole. That's in Devon. Godric's Hollow is not quite in Devon, but it's close by. It's in the West Country."
"Yes, yes, that's right. Well...have a great stay, sir! Ma'am! Little sir!"
After the doorman/owner had excused himself and Harry had checked them into the hotel, the three took the lift up to their hotel room.
"Wehw we?!" Sev squeaked, frowning at Harry. He was just a bit moody after having been rudely awakened from what should have been a nice, twelve-hour nap.
"We're in New York City, cub." Harry replied, showing him the picture of the Statue of Liberty on their key card. "We're in America."
The infant's eyes widened. They were in America? In America?! How long was he asleep for?!
"We just got here, love." Ginny explained. "You fell asleep about two hours ago, just before we left the Burrow. We took a portkey here from there and landed...where was it again, Harry?"
"Central Park."
"Now we're here at the hotel in New York City."
"Don't fall asleep yet, cub." Harry added, opening the door to their room. "It's only six o'clock here, whereas it's eleven o'clock at the Burrow. You body's clock will get thrown off if you fall asleep right now."
"Key-lag." Ginny explained.
Severus groaned. Why did they have to go so darn far away?! Why couldn't they have gone somewhere within the same time zone? This whole key-lag business was right irritating. He wanted to go to sleep now!
"Two-and-a-half hours, cub." Harry interjected. "Just stay up for two-and-a-half more hours and then you can go to sleep."
"Oh, he's going to be cranky about that the entire time." Ginny warned, lifting Severus out of his sling and passing him to Harry so that she could unpack.
"Uh-huh!" The infant agreed, sticking his tongue out at the teenager. "Wamp sweep mow!"
"It's already way past his normal bedtime anyway."
"Wamp sweep mow!"
"You know," Harry started, bringing Severus over to the couch and settling down. "just last month, you didn't want to sleep at all. No matter what I did, you didn't want to go to sleep, but now you want to sleep as much as you can?" The teen raised a playful eyebrow.
"Wamp sweep MOW!"
"How about a movie? Let's watch a muggle movie. I hear they have a muggle entertainment-"
"Wamp sweep MOW!!!" The infant whined. Turning towards Ginny, he complained to her, "Immy! Wamp sweep mow! Wamp sweep MOW!" His little voice cracked, making him sound like he was on the verge of tears.
"Oh, for goodness sake! Harry, just let him sleep now. We'll let him oversleep in the morning."
"Uh-huh!" Sev added, pointing to Ginny in agreement. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!"
"Alright, alright. We'll go to sleep now." The teen conceded, knowing he was outnumbered. "But first, you need a bath. You've been running around with gnomes all day."
Throughout his bath, during which Severus was too tired to even play with his bath toys, Harry told him of all the wonderful things they were going to do while they were here in New York City. "This guy that I used to know told me all about New York and the places to go around here. He used to be a minister here, you see. Except, he worked in the Bronx, which is just a car ride away from here." Severus yawned and leaned sleepily against Harry's chest as the teen bathed him. "It's a less well-off part of town, compared to where we are right now-Manhattan Island, which is probably why he was sent to work there before moving on to East End of London. Anyway, he told me all about the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and baseball and the New York Yankees. He told me about the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center and its Christmas tree, and Central Park and its ice skating rink and the Plaza Hotel. He told me about Broadway, about SoHo and about the city's Financial District, oh! And the World Trade Center! Cub, I guarantee you-you're going to love the view from the Top of the World!"
"Harry?"
Ginny's voice made Harry pause in his monologue as he turned towards her, "Huh?"
His girlfriend graced him with an amused smile from where she leaned against the doorframe. "He's asleep, love." She said with a laugh, nodding towards the infant in the sink.
Harry turned back to find that Severus was indeed sound asleep, leaning against his chest.
"You're talking to yourself."
The young wizard chuckled and shook his head. "Oh well..." Bending down, he lifted Severus out of the sink and carried him to the bed, where Ginny had laid down his towel and his night clothes. "I'll just tell him all of this in the morning."
"He's had a long day anyway." Ginny added.
"Can you believe it's still Christmas?"
"Ours was extra special this year." His girlfriend pointed out. "It was five hours longer!"
"That's why I wanted to take you and Severus out to do something extra special tonight, since it's only...seven o'clock. And we're in New York! On Christmas!"
"Harry..." Tossing her shoes into the closet, Ginny came over to her boyfriend's side and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No matter what Severus and I are doing, you being there is what makes it extra special."
Harry wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and sighed, "I know that, but-"
"But you don't believe it. I can hear it in your voice." Ginny countered, narrowing her eyes at him playfully.
"I do believe it." Harry argued weakly.
Ginny snorted. "You're such a liar." Leaning up, Ginny gave Harry a long, passionate kiss. "Come on, love," she said after a while, taking his hand, "I'll tell you how you can make the rest of this evening special. How about..." She held open the bed sheets as Harry laid Severus down in the middle of the bed, "...you and I lie down, and you tell me about all the wonderful things to do in this city. How does that sound, love?"
Harry sighed and shrugged, taking his cue from his girlfriend and changing into pajamas. "I suppose...I am a bit tired."
"You've been chasing after the boys all day."
The teenager sighed as he climbed under the covers and wrapped an arm around his infant and his lady. He heard Ginny sigh in contentment from her side of the bed. "Two weeks, love," Harry said, reminding Ginny why he had decided to come here to begin with. "In just over two weeks..."
"...he'll be our son." Ginny finished, wrapping an arm around Severus and leaning up to give Harry a kiss. "Don't you worry about a thing, Harry. We're home free..."
"I hope you're right..." He replied worriedly.
Harry and Ginny drifted off to sleep that night listening to the sounds of New York City through their hotel window, background music to the enchanting melody of their baby's breathing.
Six days. It had been six days since they had arrived here in New York City, and Severus never ever wanted to leave! He was having the time of his life!
The family had all slept in that morning after they arrived. Ifeanyi had to come and knock on their door several times before it even registered in Harry's mind that somebody was trying to wake them. Only then did he drag himself out of bed and open the door. It turns out the friendly owner/doorman was there to make sure they arrived before breakfast stopped being served for the day.
"After all, my mother's favorite part of staying at a Bed and Breakfast whenever we went on a family vacation was the free breakfast!" The big black man commented, his booming laugh startling Severus awake for the second time in less than a day.
"I completely agree." Harry replied, giving their host a groggy smile. "Thanks for waking us, sir. We'll be right down."
"Absolutely!" Ifeanyi replied with a grin. Looking past Harry's shoulder, he waved at Ginny, who was seated at the edge of the bed. "Good morning, ma'am!"
Like Harry, Ginny had responded with a flimsy wave and a sleepy smile.
They had gone to all the popular sites near the hotel that day. First, Harry had taken them to the Plaza Hotel, where Ginny marveled at and photographed the spectacular lobby for a while before cajoling Harry into taking them for a walk through Central Park. The teenager had initially been reluctant to do so, as he knew some areas of the park were popular with muggers, but his girlfriend had convinced him that he had taken on Voldemort, for Merlin's sake!
"What are you afraid of muggle muggers for, Harry?!"
"Fine." Harry had answered begrudgingly. Yet Severus didn't miss the sudden appearance of Harry's wand in his sleeve as they began walking down the path that started across the street from the Plaza hotel. At this point, Sev started making a fuss in his stroller, asking to be let down so that he could walk.
Harry had been reluctant at first, eyeing their surroundings warily as if someone was about to jump out of the bushes and make a grab at his kid. Ginny, being slightly more reasonable than her paranoid boyfriend, decided to strike a compromise and thus Severus ended up walking with the condition that he hold on to both Harry's and Ginny's hands. The infant had agreed and had happily strolled along next to Harry and Ginny as they continued down the path. His enthusiasm for walking, however, lasted for all of about twenty minutes. After that, he had let go of his guardian's fingers and jumped in front of his stroller, demanding to be let back on.
"It's alright, cub." Harry had replied as he lifted him back into the stroller, "It's cold out anyway. You'll enjoy it better under a blanket. If the greens are open, you can run around on them.
Sev had briefly wondered what a green was until they came about a huge clearing covered in snow! There were clumps of people scattered about the area and kids running around, throwing snowballs at each other. Ginny had remarked briefly about how she thought the green would look absolutely gorgeous during the summer and that was when Sev decided he wanted try out what the other kids were doing. What started out as an attempt to hit Harry in the face with a snowball turned into a mini snowball fight between Sev, whom Ginny sided with, and Harry. In the end, the victors, who had managed to corner their prey behind a tree and pelt him with snowballs, consoled their victim by giving him a big hug, a big kiss, and a big snowball down the back of his shirt. Sev hadn't had that much fun in his life!
The family stopped for a quick lunch at the Tavern on the Green before Harry commissioned one of the famous horse-drawn carriages on Fifth Avenue to take them on a ride through the park. Sev, never having ridden in a carriage before, embraced the opportunity to feel like a member of the nobility in the days of old; when horse-drawn carriages were a sign of wealth and prosperity.
"Money has nothing to do with the wealth and prosperity you have now, cub." Harry had whispered in his ear.
Thinking back to the best Christmas gift he ever got, Sev smiled and knew he was right. Harry and Ginny could have been dirt poor and Sev still would have considered himself one of the wealthiest people in the world.
After the carriage ride was over, Harry conceded slightly, admitting that he was "a bit" wrong in his initial assessment of the park. It indeed appeared to be "a bit" safe. Yet Sev didn't fail to notice his repeated use of "a bit", nor the fact that the wand under his sleeve never quite left his hand.
"Blimey! This park is huge!" The teenager exclaimed out of the blue as they made their way down their original path to another end of the park. "There's so much here!"
Ginny snorted. "You're just only noticing that, love?" Severus had rolled his eyes. Harry had the tendency to be a bit thick at times.
"The whole of The Met fits inside a small fraction of this place!" He continued.
"What's the Met?"
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sev's eyes couldn't get any bigger as they strolled through the Great Hall of the museum. He felt like he was in a Roman cathedral! There was so much to see, so many places to go, so many things to think about. Sev didn't know where to start! Thus, the infant settled for gaping at everything in general. Their collections were spectacular! Sev saw pieces of art from all around the world and from different points in history. He even saw pieces of art from Merlin's time!
"It's spectacular, isn't it, cub?" Harry remarked with a smile.
"Uh-huh..." Sev muttered in reply, gawking at the life-sized Egyptian temple before him. How were they able to fit that thing through the door without magic?!
"You never quite know with these muggle engineers." Harry had replied, steering them away from the small temple and towards another part of the museum, "If one sets one's mind to a task, one is capable of doing some spectacular things, I guarantee you!"
The best part of that first day, in Sev's opinion, came about when Harry took him and Ginny ice skating in Central Park, under the canopy of stars. The teen had placed him in his carrier and had taken Ginny's hand as she struggled to find her balance and learn to glide gracefully. It had taken an hour, but Ginny had eventually learned to ice skate on her own, and Severus had ended up sandwiched between them as they slow-danced/skated to the music that had started playing in the background.
"Where is that music coming from, Harry?" She had asked.
"I don't actually know." The teen had replied with a shrug. "They could be playing it on a stereo somewhere around here, or a band could be playing it somewhere close by."
Whatever the source, Sev thought it a grand ending to a great day. They had played in the park, had a snowball fight to end all snowball fights, rode a horse-drawn carriage, saw wicked pieces of art, and went ice skating under the stars. At the time, Sev thought the trip couldn't get any better than that.
Boy, was he ever so glad to be wrong!
The view from the crown of the Statue of Liberty was absolutely amazing! And Sev was never happier that he wasn't completely able to walk for long stretches of time. Harry had carried him from the top of the pedestal all the way to the top of the crown-all 354 steps! Severus had been laughing on the inside the entire way up, especially whenever Harry groaned at the site of more steps. Ginny had offered to help him carry the load, of course, but, being a gentleman, Harry had naturally declined without hesitation. Sev actually found that rather interesting. He would've given it a second or maybe a third thought, perhaps, if he had to carry himself up twenty-two flights of stairs. Well...he might have back then, in his old life. Now, however...
Anyway, the view from the top of the Statue of Liberty was phenomenal, but it...somehow...paled in comparison to the view from the Top of the World.
"So...they built two of them?"
"Two buildings, which stand at almost exactly the same height." Harry nodded. "It's amazing, if you really think about it. I mean...the engineering!" The teen exclaimed with a grin as he admired the view out the window. "It's one of the tallest buildings in the world and one of the landmarks of New York City, really."
"You mean two of the tallest buildings in the world." Ginny reminded him with a smile, "There are a pair of them, remember?"
"People call them the Twin Towers." Her boyfriend nodded.
Severus could not stop gawking at the view before them. He could see clear to the Pacific Ocean!!!
Well...not really clear to the Pacific Ocean, but...he FELT like he could see clear to the Pacific Ocean! They were incredibly high off the ground! He wondered why he wasn't feeling sick right now. Was this how it felt to be this high? Was this how it felt to sit atop the clouds and be away from all your problems? Was this how it felt to be on top of the world?!
"Well, this place is aptly named, no question there." Harry chuckled, "The Top of the World Observatory."
Despite the people and the crowds and the noise and the bustle, Severus had felt at peace up there. That was a place where his mind had just completely cleared. All the voices in his head had been silenced and it left him with a sense of calm and tranquility. He could've stayed up there for hours, just staring out the windows of the world. He absolutely loved that feeling-that sense of mindlessness, that point where all thoughts ceased to form and all that was left was a sense of absolute awe at the wonders before him, be they natural or man-made. Severus was starting to crave that feeling. And if being over a thousand feet in the air was what caused that feeling...
...then Sev couldn't WAIT to try out that new broom Sirius gave him for Christmas! He couldn't, he couldn't, he COULDN'T!!! He wanted to fly it SO badly now!
Needless to say, Harry and Ginny had a hard time trying to drag him away from the World Trade Center.
"MO!"
"Come on, cub, you can't stay here forever."
"MO!"
"We'll come back next time, love. Come now."
"MO! MO!"
"The World Trade Center's not going anywhere."
"We'll come back in a few years, baby. And we'll bring Remus and Dora and Teddy with us. How's that?"
"MO! MO! MO GO!"
"Wow, he really liked this place, huh?" A stranger commented with a smile as she passed them on her way to the lift.
Harry snorted. "He's certainly acting like he's never going to see it again."
It had taken some sweet-talking, and more than a few stern warnings, but Harry and Ginny were eventually able to calm Severus down and get him to willingly leave the complex. Fortunately, his sense of awe had come back later that night, when Harry and Ginny had taken him to see a Broadway musical called The Lion King. A simple Confundus charm had everyone thinking Sev was a lot older than he looked. The infant laughed at all the glassy-eyed looks he received whenever people turned in his direction.
"Best-show-ever."
Sev couldn't agree more.
"The music was certainly nice."
‘Nice' did the music absolutely no justice at all! Sev made it a point to leave with a recording of the music else make a scene until they did. Fortunately, he didn't have to resort to that, as Harry went ahead and purchased something called a ‘CD' during intermission, which had a recording of the musical imprinted on them.
Other highlights from the rest of the week included trips to the biggest Christmas tree Severus had ever seen, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the holiday window displays all around the city, shopping trips, and, of course, Times Square...during the day.
Times Square at night was a scene reserved for tonight and only tonight.
New Years' Eve.
"New Years' Eve is not complete without a funny hat."
"HA!" Ginny snorted as she combed her hair in front of a mirror. "Says you!"
"What do you think, Sev?" Harry asked.
The baby pushed himself to a sitting position on the bed and glanced in Harry's direction. What he saw made him laugh so hard, he collapsed back on the bed in a fit of hysterical giggles. Harry was wearing what resembled a black wide-brim hat with colorful pictures of confetti on the top, a colorful banner around the middle with the words Happy New Year printed along the sides, and a brim lined with soft blue-and-black striped fur. The pose Harry was currently striking while wearing said funny hat did nothing to help his manly image, Sev could tell you that.
Ginny laughed as she glimpsed Harry's image in the mirror she was using. "I think he likes it, love." She answered between giggles. "I think it makes you look...fabulous!"
"Oh, hush up!" Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. Taking off the hat, he threw it onto the bed, where it landed atop Severus' laughing face. The sour look on Harry's features as he turned away made the infant's laughing start anew.
"Good evening, sir!"
"Good evening, Ifeanyi! Happy New Years' Eve."
"And to you too, sir!" The doorman/owner replied with a friendly smile. "And speaking of which, is it safe for me to assume that you all are going to tonight's festivities down in Times Square?"
"It is, sir."
"Then here's a map of the apparition points near Times Square. You should be able to apparate directly to the front of the hotel once you get back. Will your little one be needing a stomach soother?"
"No, thank you, we brought our own." Harry replied, accepting the map with a grateful smile.
"Great! Have fun tonight, sir! You all have a special treat coming your way. It's the start of the last year of the millennium, you know!"
"Will do!" Harry replied with a smile as he closed the door behind him. He didn't need Ifeanyi to tell him that tonight was going to be a special night. He knew that from the get-go. He had been planning this ‘special night' for months.
"Alright! Forget about the funny glasses and the funny hat and everything. Gin, if we don't go now, we're not going to find a good spot!"
"Relax, Harry! I'm almost done!" His girlfriend replied, checking herself in the bathroom mirror once again.
"Oy!" With a roll of his eyes, Harry threw himself back onto the bed and pulled a giggling Severus against his chest. "Women!" He whined, louder than necessary. He could hear Ginny blowing raspberries at him from inside the bathroom. Sev muffled his laughter against Harry's shirt.
Ten minutes later, the family was out and heading for the apparition point outside the hotel. While Ginny fussed over Sev's clothing, Sev's jacket, Sev's hat, Sev's mittens, Sev's scarf, Sev's blanket, Sev's sling, and finally her own means of staying warm, Harry checked, double checked, and triple checked his jacket pocket, making sure his special gift was in there and had stayed in there in the three seconds between the last time he checked and the present.
"Do you think he's going to be warm enough, Harry?"
The teen glanced down at the infant inside the sling on his chest. Severus scowled up at him from under what looked to be several thousand layers of clothing and blankets. Echoes of the words, "That woman is the definition of overkill..." reverberated at the back his mind. Harry snorted. "He's going to be just fine, love."
"Tell her I'm beginning to sweat under all this unnecessary fabric!" Sev screamed in his mind.
"When we get out there in the frigid cold, we'll see if it's still unnecessary." Harry replied just before stepping out the door.
Boy was it necessary! The moment the cold winter air hit his face, Severus wished there was something to cover that as well! The infant almost wanted to whine until they cancelled the whole Times Square business and stayed at the hotel all New Years' Eve! Yet he knew how much both Harry and Ginny had been looking forward to tonight as the days passed, and since they had both been indulging him these past few days, he figured he might as well repay the favor and let them have their one night of "adult" time. Yet how they were going to have their "date night", as Sirius called it, while he was there, he didn't know. Thus, he resorted to the easiest solution, which was to simply stay as quiet and unobtrusive as possible. Perhaps he could take in all the sights, like he did when he admired the view at the World Trade Center, or the show during The Lion King. The only challenge to that plan would be to actually find something in Times Square to pique and hold his interest for however long this whole midnight excursion would take.
As it turns out, finding that interesting thing wasn't all that hard.
It was round, it was shiny, it was bright in the sense that it was basically a ball of light bulbs, it was high-really high-and Severus couldn't take his eyes off it.
"Wha dap?!" He exclaimed, pointing all the way up to the ball on top of the tower.
"That's the New Years' Eve ball." Harry replied, making sure he had a good grip on Ginny's hand as he steered them through to the crowd to the middle of the Square. "It starts to drop from the tower at exactly 11:59 and completes its descent at exactly midnight, New Years' Day. When that ball comes close to its base, you'll hear this entire crowd count down the final seconds of the year. It's absolutely amazing, from what I hear."
"That's an interesting tradition." Ginny remarked, glancing up at the ball Severus kept gawking at. "How did it start?"
"Well..." Harry shrugged, "It depends on who you ask. Supposedly, there was this ball that accidentally dropped from one of these towers some odd years ago and it dropped at exactly 11:59 and hit the ground at exactly midnight, and supposedly it was that accident that started this tradition." Harry smirked. "But then there's this much tamer story that has to do with time balls and how, over two hundred years ago, time balls were dropped from the tops of towers at specific times and they descended at certain rates, and depending on where on a tower a time ball was, a sailor at sea, who could see the time ball on land, could know the exact time and thus calculate their exact latitude. So...sailors used to use the time ball method to tell time, and so when this whole tradition was getting its start in the beginning of the twentieth century, the designers made a time ball that would take exactly a minute to drop from the top of the tower to the base."
"And the rest is history?" Ginny asked with a smile, releasing Harry's hand and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"As the saying goes." Harry nodded, wrapping his own arms around his girlfriend's waist. Severus was now effectively sandwiched between the two of them. "So I'm guessing this is the spot we're going to be standing in, come midnight?" He asked with a smile.
"Don't pretend like you weren't leading me to this spot the entire time." Ginny replied with a roll of her eyes.
Harry smirked and looked away with a shrug. "Maybe..."
"You can't play innocent with me, Henry James Potter." Ginny countered with a smirk.
As Ginny rose up on her tiptoes to give her boyfriend a smooch, Severus pushed up in his sling to peer over both their shoulders and up at the interesting-looking ball on top of the tower. Harry sure knew how to pick a spot-that was for sure. They were standing at the very center of Times Square. Severus could see clear from one end of the Square to the other and he had a perfect view of the bright and shiny ball at the top of the tower, looming precariously over the unlit numbers 1-9-9-9.
If he squinted, Severus could just make out a man in a black coat about a block away from them. He was standing atop a stage, set up next to one of the buildings, and speaking into a microphone, directly into a big black box that Harry said earlier was a muggle camera. Behind him, at the very top of the stage, hung a banner that said, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Everyone around them seemed to be working themselves up into a frenzy. Couples were holding each other, kids were jumping up and down, and people were waving funny hats, funny glasses, and colorful streamers around their heads. The overall aura of the place was one of expectation, excitement, and hope.
"Let me hold Severus for now, Harry."
"Are you sure?"
"Mm-hmm!"
The infant barely noticed as the sling was transferred between Harry and Ginny. He was too busy taking in his surroundings. The screams, the laughter, and the positive vibes coming off the people, the bright lights, the sounds, the sweet smells-everything-were contagious and before Sev realized it, he too was bouncing in his sling, eager to see the ball drop from the top of the tower.
"Looks like someone's caught the New Years' Eve bug." Ginny commented with a laugh. Severus felt her soft fingers run through his baby hair and his view of the proceedings was obstructed for a moment as she bent down to plant a kiss atop his forehead.
"It's kind of hard not to when you're in the middle of the biggest New Years' Eve party in the world." Harry replied, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend from behind. Ever so gently, he turned them towards the ball that was set to drop at any moment.
Sev loved this. He absolutely LOVED this! He wanted to come here every New Years Eve from now until the end of his life. It was amazing!
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! The lights from the big screens surrounding them and the camera lights and the stage lights and the ball lights...They all lent themselves to the air of glamour that this place held. There was something about this place, at this time, in this moment, that made it feel magical. And it was the sort of ‘magical' that Sev had felt very few times before. It was different than what he was used to. The sort of ‘magical' that described the air of Times Square on New Year's Eve, Sev likened to being in the presence of some kind of divine. It was the feeling that one got in one's soul only in times like this-surrounded by a crowd of people and feeling at one with the rest of them. Feeling the energy they generated flow through oneself and contributing one's own energy into the mix.
The sounds of the crowd of people blended together to form a unique symphony that sounded like music to Sev's ears. He could see the smiles, hear the squeals of laughter, feel the excitement, the anticipation, the hopes and the dreams. Wishes and prayers and pleas and cries floated by his ears on their way to the invisible divine. The new year was approaching, and with it came the chance at a new life.
The roar of the crowd reached deafening proportions. Sev could just barely hear the voice of the black-coat man on the stage via the handheld TV of the gentleman next to them. "There it is! There it is! It's beginning to drop!"
"The ball's coming down, Sev." Ginny exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the flashing ball that was slowly making its way down the tower.
FLASH! Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle. FLASH! The ball lights were alternating between bright flashes and dim sparkles, making it look like a gleaming package coming down from the heavens, and wrapped within its sparkling folds, the hope that comes with the start of a new year.
"They can see it! This is when the excitement hits in Times Square. What is it going to be like for the year 2000 if it's like this for 1999?!"
FLASH! Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle. FLASH! Sev looked around him at the smiling faces and the hats and the streamers and the colors and the lights, he heard the voices and screams and the shouts of pure joy in the street, he took a deep breath and smelled that crisp night air, allowing it to flow through his little body and carry out all his lingering negative feelings. He didn't want them to spoil his moment.
"They are ready! Are they ever ready!"
Sev felt Ginny's arms come around him and hold him tight, and just beyond them he could feel Harry's own arms embrace the both of them from behind. The warmth from both his parents filled Sev with a different kind of warmth and the infant could no longer keep the giant smile from erupting across his face. He was less than a minute from the new year.
He was less than a minute from his new life.
FLASH! Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle. FLASH!
"Thirty seconds. Thirty!"
Sev leaned back against Ginny's chest and just grinned at the dropping ball in the distance. He could feel the excitement in his bones. He wanted nothing more right now than to see that 1999 light up in a blaze of glory, signaling the official start of his new year and all that it brought with it.
"I have one more gift for you, love." He heard Harry whisper into Ginny's ear.
Sev bit his lip to prevent himself from giggling like a madman. He knew what that ‘one more gift' was.
"Twenty seconds to 1999!"
"And I think I'll let it speak for itself."
Sev's toes curled up in anticipation and he grinned into his blanket. His eyes kept darting between the dropping ball atop the tower and the small, blue, velvet box that had suddenly appeared in Harry's hand. He didn't know which he wanted to stare at most!
FLASH! Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle. FLASH!
"Because it says how much I love you," Harry whispered, opening the box and holding it up for Ginny to see, "And how much I need you in my life."
"Fifteen seconds! Oh, it's getting close!"
"You and Sev are everything to me, Ginny!"
"It's in 10...!"
Sev looked up to see Ginny's eyes sparkling in the city lights. She too had her bottom lip stuck between her teeth, and as she turned to peer up into her boyfriend's eyes, a single teardrop made its way down her cheek.
"...9..."
"I love the two of you more than life itself!" Harry continued, leaning his forehead against Ginny's and looking into her eyes.
"...8..."
"And I would be honored..."
"...7..."
"...if you would spend the rest of your life with me."
"...6..."
"Will you marry me, Ginny?" Harry asked, his voice cracking at the end.
"...5..."
Ginny's arms tightened around Severus. Sev's eyes darted from the ball to the ring to Harry's and Ginny's faces and back.
"...4..."
They both had their eyes closed and were leaning their foreheads against each other. A smile tugged at the corners of each of their lips.
"...3..."
Then all of a sudden, a smile erupted across Ginny's face and before Severus knew it, their eyes were open and each was staring deep into the other's soul.
"...2..."
FLASH! Sparkle. FLASH!
"...1..."
"Yes."
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"
Severus grinned up at the heavens above just as a loud pop echoed throughout Times Square and a shower of colorful confetti came fluttering down from the sky.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Harry and Ginny locked in a passionate kiss, but he found that a might less interesting than the fireworks that suddenly popped out of the big tower after the ball hit base and the number 1999 lit up in a blaze of glory.
Oh, he was definitely coming back here every New Years from now until the day he died!
All of a sudden, he felt Harry and Ginny give him a big wet kiss, one on either side of his cheeks, just as the hum of a familiar tune hit his ears. If seemed like the entire crowd was singing one song!
"Should old acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot
and days of old lang syne?"
Sev saw Harry slip the ring onto Ginny's left ring finger just before she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. The infant, however, was too preoccupied with the shower of confetti that had just reached his level after fluttering down from above.
"For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne!"
Severus shut his eyes and smiled up at the sky and whomever was watching. All around him, he could hear people celebrating, ringing in the New Year. The pieces of confetti that fluttered down his face felt like the fingers of angels, caressing his cheeks, and blessing him with good fortune for the coming year. Just above him, he could hear Harry's and Ginny's voices blending together with the rest of the crowd as they began swaying gently to the music.
"For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lange syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lange syne!"
As the crowd erupted into another round of raucous cheers and applause, Severus relaxed into his sling, his eyes still closed and the giant grin still glued onto his face.
Best-New Year's Eve-EVER!
Above him, he could tell Harry and Ginny were still dancing and making out at the same time, but he didn't mind. He was comfortable and warm in his sling, and happy and excited about the coming year, and delighted that his parents were getting married. He was a bit tired as well, which was why he was making himself comfortable in his makeshift bed, but that was an aside.
Severus felt like he was on top of the world, on cloud nine, words did no justice to how happy he felt right now.
The infant felt like ABSOLUTELY NOTHING could ever make him feel sad EVER again!
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Harry groaned and rolled over on the bed, tightening his arm around Ginny and Severus. "We're skipping breakfast today, Ifeanyi. Thank you!"
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Go away." The teen groaned. Why couldn't he be as deep a sleeper as Severus and Ginny? Although...he had to admit, he was still three-quarters of the way in the threshold of slumber. Not entirely awake.
BOOM!
Harry was out of bed and onto his feet in a millisecond. Yet regardless of the fact that adrenaline was now pumping through his veins and he was a thousand times more awake than he was a millisecond ago, he had still reacted too late. Five big, brutish thugs had all jumped on him at almost exactly the same time and now had him pinned to the ground in such a way that a regular bystander would've feared him crushed to death by now. Above him, he heard Ginny scream and Severus begin to cry.
"Henry James Potter and Ginevra Molly Weasley," someone started saying above him. The remote tone of voice gave Harry the impression that whoever it was was reading something off a piece of parchment, "by order of the Ministry of Magic,"
"Who are you people?!" Ginny screamed.
"GET OFF ME!" Harry boomed, trying to gather up all his energy in order to push the massive thugs off him.
"Put him in a body bind!"
Harry's eyes widened and he quickly put up a shield charm, feeling as a massive wave of energy bounced off its surface.
"You are hereby ordered to surrender one Severus Tobias Snape,"
"OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!" Harry roared. Using all the strength he could muster, he was able to push the five thugs off him long enough to get out from under them. Yet the moment he had freed himself, five more jumped on him from behind. They were joined a millisecond later by the five he just pushed away.
"Hang the ridiculous proclamation, you fool!"
"MALFOY!" Ginny spat at the top of her lungs.
"What-" Harry was able to put up a shield charm just in time to block a wave of four or five body binds that were being sent his way by the ten brutish thugs who were physically holding him down.
"Grab the infant and let's go!"
"Over my dead body, you will!" Ginny exclaimed, shielding Severus with her own body.
"That can be arranged." Malfoy spat, pointing his wand at her.
"Draco!" An unfamiliar voice exclaimed.
"Mr. Malfoy, might I remind you that I am a representative of the Ministry of Magic and young Mr. Snape's social worker!"
"Hestia?!" Ginny exclaimed in confusion, squinting at the silhouette of the now-familiar woman by the door.
"Ginny, I'm sorry," she sighed, "Mr. Malfoy has brought serious allegations against you and Harry-"
"Johnson, grab Snape!" Malfoy ordered.
"Touch him and die!" Ginny roared.
"Take him and go, Gin!" Harry exclaimed, blocking yet another attempt at a body bind. He had yet to put down his shield charm long enough to send out a wave strong enough to push the ten brutes off him.
"That would be considered kidnapping, Potter!" Malfoy retorted haughtily, smirking at his currently preoccupied arch-rival. "But go ahead! Be my guest!"
"He's right, Harry." Hestia replied sadly. Ginny could sense each of the words were being forced out of the social worker's lips. "Draco Malfoy has quite publicly submitted allegations and proof of claims that indicate that you, Harry, might make an unfit guardian for Severus and thus I've been forced to revoke your guardianship rights-"
"Mo wamp go!"
"But why does he-"
"Severus is directly connected to the Prince family line and Mr. Malfoy has shown proof of being directly connected to the Prince line via his father." Hestia explained with a sour face.
"I come to reclaim my nephew, if you please." Malfoy smirked at the girl on the bed.
"MO, IMMY!"
"MALFOY!" Harry groaned, trying to block several spells and deliver one at the same time. The effort cost him a momentary hole in his shield charm and a portion of Harry's face went numb of a second.
"I'm sorry, you guys." Hestia continued sadly. "There's nothing I can do."
There was a loud thumping noise, as if someone was running down the hall towards their room, before a familiar voice exclaimed, "Harry! Ginny!"
"Sirius?!"
"Mo go, Immy! HAWEH!"
"What are you doing here, Black?!" Malfoy spat.
"Certus, Harry, do it!"
"CERTUS!" Harry screamed, half out of desperation and half out of frustration from having to keep a shield charm up against ten spells at the same time while trying to catch his breath and deliver a spell of his own.
"Oh, thank Merlin!" Hestia sighed, clasping a hand against her chest.
"What?!" Malfoy snapped.
"Get your brutes off of him!"
"No!"
"Mo, go, Haweh!"
"I invoke the right of certus!"
"What does that mean?!" Malfoy barked at the social worker.
Hestia ignored him. "Do you have a counter-claim, Harry?"
"Yes!" Harry groaned, trying to push the brutes off him once again. "Draco Malfoy is an alcoholic! And I have the proof to that claim!"
Malfoy paled. "That's it! I'm taking the child." The teen growled, advancing on Ginny.
"MO!"
"Touch him and die!" Sirius growled, jumping in front of Ginny and Severus and holding his wand up against Draco and his gang.
"Mr. Black!"
"Hestia! Goddamn it!"
"I still have claims for him! They have no proof of their claim against me at the moment." Draco argued, scowling at the social worker.
"That's true-"
"What?!"
"Harry invoked the right of certus, Hestia." Sirius reminded her.
"What is that?!" The blonde-haired teen snapped.
"Yes, but he's right. You have no proof of your claim at the moment and since Harry and Ginny's guardianship rights have been revoked, Severus has no legal guardian at the moment, which makes Malfoy's claim take precedence."
"MO!!!"
"Yes!" Malfoy countered with a smirk, taking a step towards the bed.
Sirius moved his wand to his neck. The animagus' eyes turned dark and cold. "I keep my word, Malfoy." He growled.
"But I invoked-" Harry, in his anger and frustration, had managed to push the ten giant men off him for a fraction of a second, yet a split second wasn't enough and they landed back on him shortly after.
"Yes, Harry invoked the right of certus," Hestia continued with a nod, "which means he has made a counter-claim and officially challenges you in court, Mr. Malfoy." Hestia flicked her wand and out of the end flew a short piece of parchment. Hestia handed it to the scowling teen who pocketed it without a glance, as he had yet to take his eyes off the angry animagus before him.
"If you want to take this to court, Potter, we'll take it to court!" He snapped. "The Wizengamot and nothing less!"
"Mo wamp go, Immy!" Severus cried, tears pouring down his face. "Mo wamp go!"
"And since Mr. Potter has invoked the right of certus, that means we can no longer trust either of you." Hestia continued to explain.
"What?!" Malfoy snapped, his eyes shooting towards the social worker in surprise.
"You still get precedence only because they currently do not have proof of any of their claims, yet it is enough for me to doubt your ability to care for the child. Thus, a representative from the Ministry of Magic will be accompanying you and Mr. Snape back to Malfoy Manor to observe your child-care methods."
"WHAT?!" Everyone in the room exclaimed.
"Why does he get custody of Severus?!"
"Why can't he stay with us until the court date?!"
"That's not what the law says!"
"MO! MO! MO!!!"
"I am his uncle by blood! I get precedence!"
"I challenge this claim!"
"MO WAMP GO!!! MO WAMP GO!!!"
"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen!"
"This isn't right!"
"GET OFF ME, NOW!!!"
"THAT IS MY FINAL DECISION!!!" Hestia exclaimed above the din. "Alastor Moody!"
All of a sudden, there was a loud Thump-Clunk, Thump-Clunk, Thump-Clunk outside the room. The familiar silhouette of none other than Mad-Eye Moody appeared outside the door moments later. Silence instantly swept about the room.
"Yes?!" He snapped in his usual gruff manner.
"Will you accept the responsibility of observing the Malfoys with young Mr. Snape during his weeklong stay in Malfoy Manor until the date of the custody hearing on Friday, January 8th at 9AM?"
Moody's magical eye locked onto Malfoy and it narrowed at him suspiciously. The blonde teen gulped involuntarily. "I do!" He snapped in return. Thump-Clunk. He began making his way into the room. "And I also accept the responsibility..." Thump-Clunk! "...of assessing the situation in Malfoy Manor..." Thump-Clunk! "...to the best of my abilities!" Thump-Clunk!
Stopping next to the gang of ten brutes on top of Harry, Moody banged his staff against the floor, sending out a wave of energy powerful enough to throw all ten burly men clear across the room. Harry breathed a sigh of relief the moment the men were off him. "You need to learn how to effectively split your focus, Potter! No matter how many ways it has to go!" He snapped, his tone still gruff but his words not holding their usual sting.
Harry shot to his feet and adjusted his shirt. "Yes, sir!" He replied, clearing his throat and rubbing his chest.
Thump-clunk! "Step aside, Black." Moody growled, taking Sirius' place in the stare-down between him and Malfoy.
"Yes, sir." Sirius muttered under his breath, taking a seat on the bed, where Harry and Ginny were now seated, trying to calm a crying Severus.
"Now you listen to me, you little ferret, and you listen well." Moody snarled, getting in Malfoy's face and making the teen flinch involuntarily. "You will not lay one harmful finger on that child-"
"You will not lay a finger on this child!" Harry interjected from behind.
"Potter, you're not helping!" Moody snapped, turning his good eye onto his trainee while he kept his magical eye on Malfoy. Harry's mouth snapped shut immediately. "If you want to get permanent and unquestionable custody as quickly as possible, I suggest you say your goodbyes to him for a week and prepare the strongest case you can!"
"It's not going to be strong enough-"
"AND THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!!!" Moody bellowed at Malfoy, making the teen and his entire entourage jump back in fright. "Get outside and wait for him out there!"
"But-"
"MOVE!!!" Moody ordered, raising his wand at Malfoy and making the teen run away in fright. The rest of his group was not far behind him.
"I'll wait outside, Potter." Moody continued in a more conversational tone. After nodding at Ginny and Hestia, he turned on his heel and marched out the door.
"MO WAMP GO!" Severus wailed, rivers of tears running down his cheeks. "MO WAMP GO! MO WAMP GO! MO WAMP GO!!!"
"Hush now, cub..." Harry ordered gently, rocking the child against his chest. "Hush now..."
Severus didn't want to hush. He didn't want to stay quiet. He didn't want to leave Harry and Ginny. He didn't want to go! "MO WAMP GO!!!"
"Moody will be with him the entire time." Hestia interjected half-heartedly. "He won't take his eye off him, I guarantee you. You can't get any safer than that."
"Oh, yes you can!" Sirius countered. "We can send our house elves in there, can't we?" He asked the social worker.
Hestia grimaced and took a quick survey of the room. "On the record, no. Off the record, send as many as you want!" She replied with a smirk.
"Moody and Dobby and Kreacher too, cub." Harry said, not exactly willing to release Sev from his embrace either. "They'll all be watching you this week."
"MO WAMP GO!!!" Sev wailed, hooking his arms around Harry's neck and gripping for all he was worth.
"I guarantee you we will win you back, cub." Harry added, "And after all this is over, the adoption papers will kick in..." He glanced up at Hestia for confirmation and she nodded, "...and we'll be a proper family, okay?"
"MO WAMP GO, MO WAMP GO, MO WAMP GO!!!" The infant cried, grabbing onto the fabric of Harry's shirt and holding on.
"We don't want you to go either, sweetheart." Ginny replied with tears in her eyes. Pushing up onto her knees, she wrapped her arms around both Harry and Severus. "But this is something we just have to do. Sometimes people need to do things they don't really want to do, love."
"But we're sending the best protection team known to man with you."
"You got that right." Sirius muttered. "Moody's an entire protection team all in himself."
Yet Severus, much like Harry and Ginny, simply refused to let go, and out of desperation, he let his true feelings known to all. "MO WAMP GO, DADEE!!! MO WAMP GO MUMMEE!!!"
The pain in both Harry's and Ginny's chests all of a sudden intensified tenfold. Mummy and Daddy-the two words they had been patiently waiting for Severus to say, uttered in the moment when they were about to lose him.
"Mummy, Daddy!"
Ginny turned to Hestia in desperation. "Can't we do anything?!"
The social worker had tears in her own eyes and she was clutching her chest as if she too felt their pain. "My hands are tied, Gin...I'm sorry!"
"Why can't he stay with us?" Sirius asked.
"Malfoy has claims against you. And they're valid! And it was made in front of a lot of witnesses. I'm sorry, guys!" The older witch replied sadly.
"Why can't Dumbledore keep him?"
"He's the Head of the Wizengamot! He can't appear to show favoritism. And it's hard enough to say ‘no' to Severus." Hestia added, waving at the crying child. "Guys, I can't appear to show favoritism. Else, they'll assign him to another social worker, and those people are less inclined to share my viewpoints on proper child care."
"MUMMY! DADDY!!!" Severus whined, his voice reaching new heights.
"I'm sorry, Harry, Ginny." Hestia repeated for what seemed like the thousandth time that morning. "But I'm going to have to take him." She continued, hesitantly reaching towards the infant in their arms.
"MO WAMP GO! WAMP STAY!!!"
"He can bring his lion with him." The social worker said with a hopeful shrug.
"There. You see, love? You'll have Simba with you the entire time-"
"MOoooooo...!" The infant wailed in agony. Now even Sirius could feel the physical pain in his chest from listening to Severus' desperate cries.
"We love you, Severus." Harry whispered into the infant's ear as he pushed off the bed and made his way towards the door.
Sensing the movement, Severus began shaking his head and gripping Harry's robes with a vengeance. "Mo! Mo! Mo!"
"We'll be inside your mind the entire time." Harry continued, nudging Severus with their mental bond, reminding him that it was still there. "You're beginning to sense Ginny in there too, did you know that?"
"Mo wamp go, mo wamp go, mo wamp go..." Sev chanted into Harry's shoulder, soaking the material with his tears.
"Harry and I will talk to you every minute of every day, love." Ginny added with a whisper. "Remember what I told you about the darkness? Don't let it put out your light, Sev."
"Picture it like a test, my boy." Harry added. "You walk into a nightmare alone...with our protections around you...and you emerge out the other end in a dream, and that dream will never end. I promise you that."
"Mo wamp, mo wamp, mo wamp..." Sev replied, shaking his head into Harry's sleeve.
"Every time you close your eyes, we'll be there, my love." Ginny whispered into his ear before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"We love you, Severus." Harry whispered into the other, planting a kiss atop that temple.
Severus closed his eyes and found his stuffed lion cub being held to his chest. The infant hugged it for all he was worth and buried his face into the soft material as he felt himself transferred from Harry to an unfamiliar set of arms. They were a woman's, but he knew they weren't Ginny's.
"We're back here, my love." Ginny's voice echoed into his mind.
"We'll be here the whole time, cub." Harry's voice added.
"We love you, Sev, and we'll get through this!"
"You have my word on that..."
Harry's word. He had Harry's word. Harry's word meant that Harry would go the ends of the Earth and beyond, move Heaven and Earth, if need be, do every conceivable thing in the universe to get Severus back and keep it that way. Harry's word meant that if any Malfoy laid a finger on Severus, Harry would make sure that they ended up with a fate worse than death. Harry's word meant that he would have the best protections while he was there-in enemy territory. Harry's word meant that he needn't worry about a thing.
And Severus took Harry at his word.
Thus, when he was carried out of the hotel and into the cold, silent New York night, Severus didn't worry about catching a chill. Moody took care of that. When they touched back down on English soil after a short trip via international portkey, Severus didn't need to worry about sicking up everywhere. Hestia took care of that. And when Severus was placed inside an empty black crib with naught but a blanket and a pillow, in a dark green room with a black tile floor, devoid of any windows and any semblance of warmth, Severus didn't need to worry about the things that went bump in the night.
At least...he hoped...