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In the beginning there was nothing. A dark, hollow void of nothingness, matter so dense it swallowed everything, even light. In the beginning there was darkness. Nothing but darkness, void, emptiness; Despair.
But have you ever wondered how something as beautiful as this planet sprung forth out of nothingness? No? Yes, of course you have wondered, haven't we all? I, for one, know that I have. I have wondered many times, over and over, and one day, I found the answer.
Let me tell you about what I found.
The story of this world is a story worth telling. It is a story of war and hardship, of elements so strong, you think they can never be conquered, a story that is so gripping it will enthral you and not let you go until it is told in its fullest, until you have reached the end. You will have to endure it, live through it completely, the pain, the hardship, the struggle.
And you may ask yourself: Why would I tell you this story, if it is so dark and sad as I warn? Why should you listen, if it is made out to pull you down like this? And that is a clever question, my dear, but you don't know about the most important thing yet. Because first and foremost, the story of this world is a story of love.
And in my opinion, love stories cannot be told often enough.
So sit back and listen, because what you are about to hear will take your breath away. Let me take you by the hand and lead you into the world as it was all those years ago.
A world full of wonder. And love.
In the beginning there was everything.
Yes, you heard that right, not nothing but everything. Everything you can imagine, swirling, lying, standing, running, jumping, flying around in the space we call our universe. Everything was there, all around us, everywhere. You can imagine it was utter chaos.
Oh no! You might exclaim now, not chaos and destruction right up front, right in the beginning of this story. But don't fear, for it was not a bad kind of chaos. No, on the contrary, it was the most beautiful chaos I have ever seen, the most beautiful chaos you can imagine.
Can you imagine it?
It was bright and colourful, loud and silent in just the right way; sparkles of wonder and light, magic and elements mixing into a never ending storm of beauty.
Because chaos, you know, is nothing to be feared. It is the state of utter freedom in which everything and everybody can be just as strange and beautiful as they long to.
Now in the beginning, this chaos was amazing. I'm sure you agree, it is a wonderful place in which all and everybody can simply be as it is.
It was so wonderful that it was dangerous. You see, it takes a whole lot of power to take in all that is around us at the same time. Just try it now: try to listen to me tell you this story all the while listening to the birds outside, smelling the scent of home and summer, and feeling the soft cushion you are lying on.
It's taxing, and so was the beginning. It was taxing. And as beautiful as that chaos was, as sad did it make the Gods.
Oh, have I not told you? This, my child, is the story of our Gods.
Gods, who watched the chaos they had created and rejoiced to see their creations at their fullest. To just do as they pleased, with no boundaries and limitations.
But soon they realised that their creations were of little value like this, boundless and limitless. They could watch them, like we can watch a drop of water fall from the sky for a short moment, but nothing more. Because as soon as they created something, the creations would vanish again, unable to understand and process all that was happening around them. The drop of water hits the ground and is gone, scattered into a thousand little droplets, too small for our eyes to see. Their creations were like that: unable to stay in this chaos, to live and thrive; they scattered and were gone, more and more of their dust filling the chaos and making it even bigger.
And the Gods became sad. Sad that what they had created was not good after all, that it was too much, too chaotic, too free.
By leaving their creations the utter freedom, they had hurt them without realising it. They had the best intentions, but they hurt them nonetheless.
But don't fear, this is not the end of the story. For they held a meeting, all the Gods coming together to find a solution, to try and find a way to make their creations last. To give them what they deserved: a home, to live in and thrive. In a community, in freedom, in peace.
It took them a long time to come to a conclusion. Many ideas were born and buried again, and the longer they thought and debated, the more something festered within their midst.
Something bad. Something that reached out its dark claws and ripped into their hearts. One by one, the Gods fell to it, their minds clouding, their eyes dimming, taking on a look of hate and anger.
They did not realise it at first, but the dark being did not only hinder them from finding a solution, it also affected their creations. They became evil, starting to turn against each other. Gone was the joyful laughter, and warm shine of sparkles. It was replaced by anger and resentment, jealousy and hate.
It seemed as if they would never find a solution.
But alas, don't give up hope just yet, because there were a handful of Gods who saw what was happening and decided to hold out against it.
One of them, a Goddess of extraordinary beauty, was the wisest of the lot, and she saw most clearly what was happening. At first, she tried to tell the others about it. She took them to the side, trying to make them see the black tendrils of hate that were clawing at their hearts. But they couldn't; they were too far gone.
And when even her truest friend started to show signs of infection, she despaired. She looked at their creations and saw them fight, trying to escape the black tendrils, but it was in vain. And all of a sudden, she knew what she had to do. She knew that there was only one way.
She went right to the source of the blackness, and instead of fighting it, like they had done before and failed, she welcomed the blackness home. For she was the first one to understand: strife, anger, hate, and darkness: it's a part of us. A part of them. Of their creations. Dark but necessary, for it is the shadows that let us eventually see the light in the world at its brightest.
And thus she became who we know today as Eris, Goddess of Strife. But I will call her by the name they called her then. My dear friend, Lily.
She took the darkness in, made it her own, and became their saviour. It pains me to see what she was made out to be by her very own creations later on. Goddess of Strife, bringer of hate and malevolence, war and pain. For almost nobody remembers what it was that she had actually done, and why.
You might think she had taken the power to become strong and invincible, and it is the conclusion many jumped to, but you could not be more wrong. For she had not done this out of selfish reasons. No. She had done it out of love.
Love for her creations, for the world they were about to build, and love for her friends, the other Gods, who had befallen the dark path.
She took the blackness into herself, and in doing so, isolated herself, changing her essence, her being, irrevocably. Lily, in her wisdom, had understood what the others had failed to see. To save their creations the Gods needed to bring order into their chaos. Not that their chaos itself was bad, but they needed to focus their attention. It was no good to try and be responsible for everything all at once, even as Gods they did not have the power to know and see everything. They needed to specialise.
And specialise they did, and the decisions were not easy ones to be made. They discussed and fought for a long time. At first, they feared that the hardest part would be what to do if two of them wished to be responsible for the same thing. But they were wrong.
For the hardest thing to do was to know about their own desires. So far they had not had to explore their deepest desires, so far they had just followed their instinct and done what they wanted in the moment. But if they had to do one thing for the rest of eternity… what would they want that to be?
And I'm sure you agree that this is by far one of the hardest questions to answer. What do you want to do with your time, with your life? This and what you want to eat for dinner.
And so they tried to find out what suited them, what they would do, could do, what would make them happy.
Some of them were fast to decide, their gut feeling being what had always led them. They stepped forward and declared their purpose, and the others would watch, and think about it, listening to their own emotions, their own reactions upon hearing that this part would be taken. And they would rejoice, because it did not make them feel bad, but instead they felt lighter. Lighter to know that this part was not their responsibility any more.
And just so, this planet, the very universe and world we live in today, started to take shape.
First was Earth. He was sure of it the second the Gods decided on their way forward. He wanted to be the soil and ground for their creations to grow in. The foundation of their work, the base, the nurture.
Water and Air were next, followed by Fire and Thunder. There were Gods who only took a small detail of their creations, happy in the knowledge to see them grow and thrive, and others like the ones I already named who built the structure of what was slowly becoming a whole planet.
Trees, Streams, Rabbits, Scarlet, Fairies, Elves, Music, Dandelions and Roses, Beans, Eternal Time, Faith, Flamingos, Ravens and Bluebirds, Arms, Waffles, Coconuts, Shrimp and the Sea, Lions, Serpents, Badgers and Eagles, soon they all had their own God or Goddess to watch over them.
Shouts of joy and laughter filled the erstwhile dark chaos as one after another they declared their responsibility. They were a happy group of Gods, celebrating the new path they had set foot on.
All besides two.
Two Gods were standing to the side, watching the happenings. One of them had already declared his specialisation; he had been the first to do so. The other one had yet to speak, looking sombre and defeated.
"I know you have decided, you should tell them," the God of Earth said, trying the best he could to soothe whatever hurt he felt in the other God.
"I have just lost her. I can't lose you, too."
"You won't lose me."
"Won't I? I'll abandon you, you'll abandon me."
The God of Earth sighed. He longed to comfort the other God, to do all he could to make this easier on him. "I might not be with you every day, but every night I will find you, and we will be together again. I promise."
"And the rest of the time? Where will you be then?"
The God of Earth did not have a good answer for him, so he stayed silent. There was no benefit in meaningless platitudes.
"He will be with me. I'll watch over him, my friend," a voice from beside them said.
They turned around, watching the newly declared God of Daylight walk over to them. His blond hair was wafting in an invisible wind, looking like sun rays that fell through a cloud on a warm summer morning.
"Lucius," the undecided said, greeting him.
"Go on, my friend, you will see, it's going to be alright."
And so they went back to the rest of the group, and he was the last to declare his destiny. He would be the God of the Nightsky.
And so all was set, the world as we know it was built, and the creations could finally thrive. There was laughter again, and joy, and love. Animals roamed green forests, and humans built huge cities and buildings to worship their Gods.
And the God of Earth held his promise; he visited his friend every night, they spent the time together, watching over their creations and exchanging stories of what had transpired.
And this is the story of how this world came to be.
And now it's time for bed.
Good night, sleep tight.
Severus pulled the door to the bedroom closed with an almost inaudible click.
"One of these days he will see it, you know, and then you will have a lot of explaining to do," Harry said.
Severus turned around, and Harry could see his soulmate, his lover, his destiny.
"I'm sure he will. And we both know that when that day comes we will manage just fine," Severus answered, stepping up to him.
"If you say so."
Harry looked up at the love of his existence, at the face he knew so well, the eternal wisdom in those dark, star-filled eyes, and felt it again: the warmth, warmth of a love that could overcome lifetimes of obstacles.
"You look sad," Severus said, laying his hand on Harry's cheek. Of course, he would notice Harry’s mood instantly.
"You know that listening to our story always makes me a little sentimental, makes me doubt our decision. I feel like we have abandoned them, left them to fend for themselves when we had sworn to protect them."
Sadness flitted over Severus’ face and a shooting star crossed his right iris at the very moment. ”Don’t be,” he said, pulling Harry closer. “We don’t owe them anything. They have forgotten us, and although it pains me just as much as you, we have to see it as the chance it is. Their abandonment has been our new beginning. And who would have thought that we would receive another beginning after all this time?”
Harry nodded, resting his head against Severus’ shoulder. “Yeah, I know,” he whispered, fighting to hold back the tears that were clamping his throat shut. “I know.”
Fingers ran through his hair, massaging his scalp, Severus pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. “Come, let’s sit outside lest we wake Teddy again.”
Harry let himself be guided through their home, down the stairs, through the kitchen and out of the door onto the wooden terrace. But Severus did not steer him over to the loveseat near the wall, but instead he kept walking, pulling Harry along into the soft grass of their garden.
”Look, Harry,” he whispered, pulling him close again. "Look at the beauty we have created."
It was a warm summer evening, birds chirping and bees humming all around them. The sun was tinting the sky a warm pink and orange, like fire high above. But Harry only had eyes for his love.
His love, Severus, who stood right in front of him, his black hair floating around on this windless evening as if a gentle breeze had taken the strands into its fingers and was playing with it. His eyes held the darkness of the moonless night and the glittering light of a thousand stars, ever moving, everlasting. He looked misplaced in the midst of all this colourful brightness.
But he was right where he needed to be, right where he belonged.
Harry sucked in a breath when all the love he held for this man, for this world, filled him. He felt the earth underneath his bare feet tremble, his emotions getting the better of him after all.
“Do you remember what you told me that day?” Severus asked, taking both of Harry’s hands into his own.
“What day?” Harry asked back, a smile stealing onto his face. “There have been countless days so far, and even more things I have said to you.”
Severus smiled back. “That very first day, the day we invented days.”
Harry didn’t have to think for long, because he had heard his own words retold mere minutes earlier. “I told you that I would find you, over and over again, and that we would be together.”
Severus nodded, squeezing his hands. “And not only have you kept that promise, but done even more: you gave me whole days with you where I had only ever dared to hope for nights.”
A single tear escaped Harry, running down his cheek and falling from his chin towards the earth. He watched it fall, remembering Severus’ story from before, about the drop of water falling and scattering.
But instead of scattering, the tear stayed intact once it reached the ground, shimmering on a blade of grass like a sparkling diamond. Severus leaned down and picked it up, balancing it on the tip of his finger. He raised it to his lips and blew on it, and Harry watched how it rose into the air, higher and higher until it vanished from sight. He could not see it now, but later, once the sun had set, Severus would pull him close and show him the new star that would watch over them from now on.
A star born from Earth’s tears and Nightsky's magic, born from love and made to protect all those who saw it, even if, or maybe because, they had forgotten.