Beautiful. You did such a wonderful job taking such a simple h/c premise and turning it into something truly outstanding. There is so much quiet regret there. Both Horace and Cornelius seem suspended in the no-man's land between the war in the past and the lives they will lead in the future, and there is a strong sense of healing and emotional growth, in both of them. I love how you take the canonical motif of Horace seeking out the young and the beautiful - and how you let him find comfort with an old friend. And this exchange is so poignant and honest:
There was another silence, broken by a hitched breath from Cornelius. "Part of me wants," he said with eyes half-closed, "to tell you that if you're doing this out of pity, you should leave well alone."
Horace could think of no answer to this except to tighten his grasp.
"But," continued Cornelius, "I don't have the strength."
And then there's this:
Four months after Voldemort's death, two aging men relaxed in a garden and discussed the goings on of the world. So simple and understated, and yet so full of hope and, perhaps, even happiness.