geetac: Thank you! :)

Snape's PoV:

Severus woke up the next morning to find Potter already awake, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. "What, have you been up all night?" It was only seven.

Potter laughed, and Severus tried to ignore the warm feeling in his chest. "No. Just for a half hour. I went to have breakfast with Ron and Hermione before we left."

"Well let's get going, then," Severus said. "I'd prefer if we don't miss the train."

Potter was ready to go, surprising Severus. He'd expected some complaining, but Potter had never been the whiny type.

When they got on the train, Potter claimed a seat next to him instead of across from him. Trying to ignore the closeness, Severus took out his book. Immediately, Potter gasped. "I love that book!" he said. "Hermione got it for me one year for Christmas, to help me get better at Potions. It's a good one."

They talked about the book for the first half of the train ride. Severus hated to admit it, but he liked actually having someone to talk to about books. After a while, they finished discussing the book and Severus read while Potter slept - with his head on the Potions Master's shoulder.

Severus looked down at the boy in astonishment, furious with himself at the fluttering in his heart. Knowing he wasn't going to be able to concentrate on his book now, Severus closed the book and set it beside him on the seat, and leaned his head against Potter's.

Harry's PoV:

Harry woke up when the train jolted, realizing with horror that he'd fallen asleep against Snape. But the other man was asleep as well, leaning against him. Harry had never seen Snape asleep before, and he looked surprisingly younger. He didn't want to wake him up, but they were at Hogsmeade.

"Wake up, Professor. We're here," he said. Snape sat up and they both stretched. Harry stood, exhausted, and accidentally hit his head on the ceiling. Snape followed him off the train, and Harry completely missed Snape's amused look as they stepped off the train.

"Where do you need to go first, sir?" Harry asked.

They spent the morning at a bookstore, much to Harry's delight. He wished Hermione could have come with them, she would have loved this place, but he was sure that she'd already been here when they were still in school. It was weird to think that they weren't in school anymore. And weird to think that he and Snape might be becoming friends, despite their long and complicated history.

"Potter!" Snape called from a few bookshelves over. Harry snapped out of his thoughts. "I need your help carrying these books."

"Of course, Professor." Harry grabbed the book he was going to get for Hermione, and put it on top of the three Potions books Snape handed him.

Snape pointed to the book. "Are you getting that?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, for Hermione," he told Snape, and if he didn't know any better - if it wasn't Snape - he'd have thought the older man looked almost jealous.

They bought their books and then wandered down the street. Harry saw the Shreiking Shack in the distance - it looked beautiful and although less creepy in the daytime, still a bit creepy. "Want to go see the Shreiking Shack?" Harry asked.

Snape followed him over to the gate and they looked out in the distance. The house now held a memory that was still very vivid to Harry, even though it had happened in third year. "I'm sorry I attacked you," Harry apologized. "I didn't know what else to do."

"It's all right," Snape replied, not meeting Harry's gaze. "I'm sorry about Black. And Lupin. You were close to both of them?"

"Very close, yes." Sirius was the only family he had left, and Lupin had been like a father to him. And he'd lost both of them, just like his parents. He had never gotten a chance to live with Sirius like they'd planned. He felt a pang in his chest. He missed Sirius and Lupin so much. He didn't remember his parents, so this felt entirely different. They had both treated him like a son and had been incredibly kind to him. And Harry had had a crush on Lupin during his third year. He'd told him after the year was over and Lupin resigned. He'd hugged Harry tightly and said he was flattered but uninterested, and then he'd had to leave Hogwarts.

Harry jumped when Snape put a hand on his arm. They stood like that for a while, both lost in their memories of what had went down that night during Harry's third year. He wanted to move closer to the other man, but...well, this was Snape. After what felt like a long time, Snape cleared his throat. "We should get going, Potter," he said.

They walked down the street in comfortable silence and eventually stopped for lunch. Harry got Snape to try some of his Butterbeer, and Snape liked it so much he ended up getting one of his own.

One store they passed after lunch sold cauldrons, and Harry noticed Snape glancing at the cauldron in the middle of the store's window with interest. Harry made a mental note of where the store was, so hopefully he would get a chance to buy the cauldron for Snape.

He did indeed get his chance when Snape said, "I have some other business to attend to, Potter. You may wander around as you like, just make sure you meet me at the train station by six."

Harry had half a mind to stay with his former professor, because he was having a wonderful time, but he wanted to get that cauldron. So he parted ways with Snape and wandered down the streets. After buying the cauldron, he wandered around some more until it grew dark and he headed towards the train station.

"What is that?" Snape asked, pointing to the cauldron.

Harry handed it to him. "I got it for you. I saw you looking at it."

Snape gaped at him, speechless. "I...Thank you, Potter."

"You're welcome."

They were silent on the ride home. Harry gazed out the window at the sunset, and sometimes he caught Snape looking at him. What was going through the man's head?

When they arrived back at Hogwarts, Harry sat down at the table to do some work while Snape started working on a potion. He was only a few minutes into his work when he heard, "Ahhhh!" followed by very creative cursing.

"Professor! Are you okay?" Harry jumped up and rushed over to him.

"I burned my hand! I wasn't supposed to touch that ingredient!" Harry looked down at Snape's hand to find some very nasty blisters already forming. "Potter, go in my bathroom and get me my first aid kit."

Without another word, Harry rushed into Snape's bathroom. He realized it was the first time he'd ever been in Snape's bedroom/bathroom area and suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable. Quickly, he grabbed the kit and ran back out to the kitchen, almost running into the table on the way.

"What do you need? I'll help you," said Harry.

"Get the - the bandages." Snape winced. "And the disinfectant."

Harry obeyed, wiping Snape's hand before wrapping a bandage around it. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Potter." Snape sighed as he watched Harry wrap his hand. He looked up and their gazes locked. Harry felt suddenly nervous, and he became aware of how close they were standing. And the small fact that he was holding Snape's hand.

There was a knock on the door then, and they both jumped. Disappointed, Harry said, "I'll get it," before opening the door to find Ron.

Harry glared. "What?"

"Sorry, is this a bad time? Hermione and I are going to dinner, if you want to join us," Ron said.

"I think I'll pass tonight," Harry said. "Maybe some time this week?"

Ron agreed and left. Harry turned back to Snape to find him watching Harry curiously. "Why didn't you go eat with your friends? You've been stuck with me all day," Snape pointed out.

"Maybe I like being stuck with you," Harry said as he sat back down at the table to finish his work.

AN: Thank you all for reading my story! I hope you all have enjoyed it so far! Updates soon :)