Please note that this story will probably be more fun to read, if you`ve already read my stories Ultimate Proof and Silent Night, since this fiction refers to certain scenes in these fictions.
Appreciation: This story wouldn`t exist without YenGirl. She urged me to write this fiction, so that Harry wouldn`t feel left out, since she already posted her awesome Crossover fiction Welcome to the Club with Severus as the main character. I also have to thank YenGirl for her beta-reading and her suggestions to improve the story. Thank you, dear! The story wouldn`t be the same without you!^^
A Dream to come trueIt was dark. The crowns of the large trees masked the night sky so that not even the light of a single star illuminated his surroundings.
"Lumos," Harry murmured.
The light of his wand was just bright enough to drive the darkest shadows away and show him exactly where he was.
The Forbidden Forest!
Harry swallowed nervously. He didn't know how he had come here. The last thing he remembered was going to bed, so could this possibly be just… a dream?
The young Gryffindor took a shaky breath.
To him, the Forest seemed as eerie as ever, but when he concentrated he could tell that it was much quieter now compared to any of his former trips into this underwood. There weren't any screams or even the faintest whisper of a dangerous creature nearby.
Harry would be the first to admit that he had never paid much attention to the natural sounds of the Forest, since he had had to run or fight for his life whenever he was in here, but he was fairly sure that it had never been this quiet. Not even after Umbridge had been kidnapped by the Centaurs a year before.
That made him finally decide that it was definitely a dream and whatever happened here, frightening or otherwise, wouldn't have any consequences upon awakening… unless it turned out to be another vision of Voldemort's.
Harry clenched his wand even harder. He knew that he wouldn't be able to influence the outcome of his dream and he might even have to endure witnessing all kinds of crimes, if he had somehow slipped into Voldemort's mind again, but the feel of his wand gave him at least some sense of security.
Praying that this wouldn't turn out to be a nightmare, Harry started to walk, going even deeper into the Forbidden Forest. It might seem stupid to take this route and not search for a way out of this dangerous place, but somehow, he just knew in which direction he had to go.
It was as if some invisible force was leading him there.
Harry only stopped when he reached a clearing. The gentle light of the stars welcomed him here. It was a nice change given the former, impervious darkness of the forest. Nevertheless, he was careful when entering this illuminated place. He had had enough bad experiences to know that even the most innocent looking scenery could hold danger. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if a dozen Death Eaters suddenly appeared in front of him.
Harry had just finished that thought when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. Before he could even react, a man appeared right in front of him, moving unnaturally fast.
To his shame, Harry actually tripped over his own feet in an effort to get away from the stranger and he would have fallen to the ground if a firm grip on his upper arm hadn't prevented it.
"Whoa, look out! It doesn't seem to be a good idea to lie defenseless on the ground in this forest."
Harry blinked. The voice didn't sound harsh or angry, but rather amused, and for the first time he dared to study him closely. The stranger didn't look much older than he was, although he was almost a head taller. But this wasn't remarkable, most of Harry's peers were taller than him.
No, more surprising was his unusual appearance. Strands of fine hair flashed silver in the starlight, a red tattoo covered one side of his neck and various studs adorned both his earlobes.
Harry's gaze moved further and finally locked onto the most astonishing eyes he had ever seen. They were a deep shade of violet, with tiny specks of silver and seemed to lead right to the soul of their owner. Of course, they still weren't as fascinating as the dark orbs of a certain Potions Master, which always made Harry feel as if even his most hidden secrets and desires lay open to them. Nevertheless, that couldn't be true, because if it were then Severus Snape would know that Harry didn't despise him like his father James Potter did, but rather…
Harry shook his head slightly. Now was not the time to think of such things. There were more important matters to consider.
"Enough staring for now?"
Startled, Harry blinked and blushed furiously when the young and, in fact, quite handsome young man winked at him.
"Uh, I was just…"
His new acquaintance waved his words aside.
"I'm used to it by now and I assure you it's much better than the heated stares of a certain pureblood."
Harry didn't know what to make of these words. Normally, he assumed that when someone used the term 'pureblood', they were referring to a wizard who did not have any Muggle blood in them, but this man didn't seem to be a wizard.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot. I'm Zero Kiryu, vampire hunter and sent here to tell you a few things about fanfiction, fangirls and other such nonsense."
"Harry Potter," the young Gryffindor managed to stammer.
Vampire hunter?
Fanfiction?
Fangirls?
Somehow, he didn't really know if this was any better than another vision of Voldemort and one of his torturing sessions. Wait a moment…!
"Sent? Who sent you?"
The weary sigh that escaped Zero's lips didn't do much to calm Harry's nerves.
"You see, this is one of those things I want to explain to you. There's a fanfiction writer. Her name is Schattengestalt and…"
"Schattengestalt? You mean like creature of the shadows?"
An icy cold feeling crept through Harry's veins. The name didn't sound very trustworthy. A few years ago, there had been a German movie, which even made it into the cinemas in England. The original title was Schattengestalt, with the English subtitle as Creature of the Shadows. Naturally, Harry hadn't watched the movie – the Dursleys never took him to the cinema – but thanks to some of his classmates, he knew that the creature was nothing but utterly cruel. If the author was anything like this creature then… he was in big trouble right now.
Zero snorted, watching the play of emotions on the boy's face.
"I assure you she doesn't belong to the persons, who want to torture and kill you, although I can't say that she won't harm you," he said dryly.
The young hunter watched Harry`s face very closely. When his words sank in, the boy seemed to relax, at least a little. The author had told him beforehand about Harry`s life and the danger he was in most of the time, so Zero understood how the young Gryffindor felt.
Yes, he would have even been able to feel for Harry if he hadn't been so angry at said author for putting him in this weird dream in the first place. Obviously Zero's only chance of leaving this godforsaken and imaginary forest was to tell Harry of the things Schattengestalt wanted him to tell.
Zero sighed and started to explain in detail what authors of fanfictions did in order to satisfy their overactive muses.
Afterwards, Harry had the feeling as if his head was going to explode very soon, a feeling he had, so far, only gotten after one of Hermione's lectures. Normally, he would just nod to get the lecture over with, but since the subject was obviously connected to his life, he dared to ask about something he hadn't quite understood yet.
"So, in her stories, there are always… gay pairings?"
To his astonishment, a very faint blush crept into Zero`s cheeks.
"Well, not always, but mostly, yes."
Harry nodded and knitted his brow at the same time.
"So, she will pair me with, for example, Ron or…"
"No!"
Harry almost jumped a foot at the desperate cry, but couldn't help feeling very relieved. He liked Ron very much, but he couldn't imagine… No, he just couldn't, although if his best friend had long black hair and dark eyes, were over a head taller than him and hopefully look at him with a heated gaze then… he wouldn't be Ron Weasley, but Severus Snape.
"Who were you thinking of?"
Confused green eyes met amused violet ones and then Zero smirked.
"Just now, when you realized that you wouldn't be paired with your best friend, you thought of someone else, didn't you?"
Harry nodded, but otherwise remained silent. He wasn't about to tell him that he had been dreaming of Severus Snape, the most hated teacher at Hogwarts, secret spy for the Order and sadly, the only person who would never return his feelings, not in a thousand years.
"You know, everything is possible in fanfiction and even the two most unlikely persons can fall in love with each other."
Harry gazed at Zero skeptically. Surely that didn't include two people who hated each other? Well, on the Potions Master's part at least. Harry couldn't imagine how it would be possible for Severus Snape to look at him the same way Ginny did.
"What if… if the person doesn't even like me and…?"
Zero snorted.
"Do you really believe that would stop them?"
He made a vague gesture, as if they were suddenly surrounded by crazy authors and slowly, Harry got the sinking feeling that that was exactly the case.
"She will just create a scenario, which will help you figure out that you don't really know the other person half as well as you thought and you'll find out that he isn't so bad and then, slowly, but surely, you will fall in love with each other."
Harry swallowed.
If this was true – and there was no reason to doubt Zero's statement, when he didn't look like he had anything to gain by it – then it was possible that the dour Potions Master might fall in love with him someday.
Harry nibbled at his lower lip.
Fall in love with Severus Snape, the tempting words echoed inside his head. That would mean that they would spend time together, not just in classes, but also… in private.
Suddenly, the darkness of the forest didn't seem so bad anymore. At least Zero wouldn't be able to see him blush here.
"You're still a virgin, aren`t you?"
"WHAT?"
Now Harry was sure that Zero could see his blush, even in total darkness.
Chuckling, the vampire hunter held up his hands in a defensive gesture.
"See, I didn't intend to upset you, but the way you were acting… let's say it was kinda obvious."
Harry didn`t say anything. He was too shocked to react in any way since his thoughts were now playing havoc inside his mind. Was it really that obvious that he hadn't so much experience… in fact, hardly any at all? So that would mean that it was even more obvious to someone like Severus Snape, who was very good at reading other people…
Harry shook his head slowly. He didn't think that a relationship with his Potions Master, even in a fanfiction, would work out. It had already been such an awkward moment when he had kissed Cho Chang for the first time. How would it be with Snape, who was surely far more experienced than Harry was?
"Don't worry about that," Zero interrupted his thoughts as if he had read them. "Before anything happens at all, he'll have to catch you first."
"Catch me?"
The young hunter nodded.
"Yes, see, Schattengestalt loves to put her two favorite characters in a situation where one person misunderstands the other, or where the feelings of one of them are hurt. Then this person, who is the… er, less dominant one," a crimson blush colored the pale cheeks, "runs away and the other has to find and… comfort him."
Harry couldn't do anything more than stare at Zero with, he was sure of it, his mouth wide open. He couldn't, for the life of him, imagine that the strong willed Severus Snape would ever run away because of some minor misunderstanding…
Oh!
Sudden realization dawned on Harry and his shoes seemed suddenly very interesting. He didn't dare to look up and meet the gaze of the sure to be amused young hunter.
"How… does he comfort him?"
Zero was very happy that Harry wasn't looking at him right now, otherwise he would have seen his own bright red face, but as long as the boy didn't meet his eyes, he would be able to tell him everything he needed to know… and what the crazy author wanted him to tell.
"First of all, he will declare his undying love to you, embrace you and kiss you."
A soft sigh escaped past Harry's lips.
That sounded great, to imagine that Severus would hold him close, press their bodies together and kiss him, until…
"And then?" he asked somewhat breathlessly.
Zero smiled evilly. Actually, he had told Harry everything he needed to know and it probably wasn't fair to the boy to let him picture the more… graphic activities, but it was his little revenge to the author, for all her stories in which he had had to put up with a most annoying pureblood.
"Oh, you know… other stuff."
"Other stuff?"
Harry peeped up to find Zero nodding at him with a serious expression.
"Yes, you know, ripping off your clothes, touching each other everywhere… and I mean everywhere, until you are both so hot that you can't think of anything else other than to fu… uhm, make sweet, passionate love with each other."
The green eyes had grown wider with each uttered word and now seemed in acute danger of falling out at any moment. Zero chuckled to himself. This was actually quite fun.
"That would be normal for Kaname and myself, but since you're still a virgin, there will probably be chocolates, candlelit dinners and many sweet words involved, before you give your virginity to him."
Harry didn't know who this Kaname was, or if the raging heat in his body was because he was about to die of sheer embarrassment, or because he was really hoping that his Potions Master would do all those things Zero just told him about.
A sudden picture of Snape, naked and leaning over Harry, telling him how much he would like to… make love to him popped up in the young Gryffindor's head, making him shiver in anticipation. He looked up and found himself smiling at Zero.
"You seem happy about the news."
Harry nodded shyly, making the young hunter sigh.
"Well, seems like she has you where she wants you and that means that we will part now… you`ll probably find yourself in a fanfiction when you next open your eyes."
They shook hands and just a moment later, Harry saw the surroundings starting to fade. With a gasp, he sat up in bed.
"Harry, mate, are you all right?"
Harry blinked. He was in his bed in Gryffindor Tower, with Ron regarding him worriedly. So, it really was only a dream. Harry sighed in frustration, but then grinned slightly.
So many visions of Voldemort had come true, although they had been terrible, so there was no reason for this dream to come true as well. He drew back the covers and got out of bed, ignoring the irritated stare of his best friend.
They had Potions today, and even if this wasn't a fanfiction, that didn't mean that he couldn't try his luck with Snape, right? After all, he had already done the impossible when he survived the killing curse as a baby. How hard would it be then to win the heart of his Potions Master?
Whistling, Harry got dressed and at the same time, thought of ways to make Severus Snape fall for him.
OOO
Around the same time, in an apartment in a city far away, violet eyes snapped open and glared at the ceiling.
Zero hated such dreams! Dreams in which he had to admit what Kaname and he did when they were in private.
"You are very verbal when you are dreaming, Zero."
No, the young hunter groaned to himself. That couldn't be true… but it was because when he opened his eyes, Kaname Kuran, who had decided that Zero's bed was big enough for two, was lying next to him and in fact, smiling down innocently at him.
"If I heard you correctly, you want to make sweet, passionate love with me and since you were the one who ran away, you will also be the one who…"
Kaname was silenced by a deep, passionate kiss that left him breathless and gave Zero the opportunity to climb on top of the – now attractively flushed – pureblood.
To hell with the author and that Silent Night fanfiction as well, Zero thought. He had only run away from Kaname once! He wasn't going to submit to Kaname – every time – just because of her stupid ideas.
No, definitely not, Zero decided with a grin when he remembered the other things he had told the dark haired, green eyed boy in his dream.
Kaname wasn't going to leave this bed in the next few hours. That was for sure.