CHAPTER 6

Bear-Bell: Severus uses "beloved", "husband of mine" and other terms of endearments to imply the opposite of what they actually mean. He is being extremely sarcastic and hurtful by doing so. Harry starts imitating him. It is stated in the previous chapter that the endearments between them are warped and express dislike. Hope that clarified things.

xxx

Harry reached the door to their rooms. He did not like going back inside. He felt as unwelcome and unwanted as he had felt at the Dursleys. On the other hand, he was freer with Severus than he had been with the Dursleys. Severus avoided him scrupulously, he could do magic, had access to the library, was not starved and treated like rubbish by three people at once (although Severus was a formidable challenge), could go out for rides on his broomstick, had no chores to do etc. And, of course, Dumbledore was around. Still, it did not change the fact that Severus and he could not abide each other.

"Stupid password," he grumbled, glaring at the portrait. Then he frowned. He was sure that the snake coiled around the pestle had just blinked.

He took a step forwards.

The head of the snake turned towards him.

"You are his husband and share the Potions Master's rooms. He has not said that you are not allowed to change the password," she hissed in a good-natured manner.

"I may change the password?" Harry asked, automatically speaking in Parseltongue.

"Ah! A Parseltongue! Wonderful! Bilingualism is always an asset," the snake answered.

"Well…Uhm…I actually found out by accident that I can speak Parseltongue," Harry said uncomfortably, remembering what Dumbledore had said about Voldemort unintentionally transferring some of his powers to him.

"A modest wizard, too. Perhaps a little insecure, somewhat like the man who lived alone for ages in here before he married you."

Harry preferred not to dwell on Severus's insecurities or on his.

"I am Harry Potter. And you are?"

"Who doesn't know who you are? All the pictures in the castle are speaking about your marriage. I am Nessa."

"Nessa. I like it," Harry said.

"Thank you, young man. This place can always use a breath of fresh air. It reeks of stagnation. Now, have you got a new password in mind?"

Harry thought hard. He toyed with the idea of choosing a password which would annoy Severus but decided against it. It would be immature, to say nothing of potentially dangerous for his personal safety.

"Monkshood and wolfsbane," he said finally, recalling his very first Potions lesson.

"I think the Potions Master will like your choice," Nessa remarked with approving beady eyes.

"Oh, and please don't tell him the new password at once. Let him…uh…try a bit and figure it out with hints. Oh, and would it be possible to not change the password for a month?"

Nessa made a hissing staccato sound which sounded suspiciously like a snicker.

"I am surmising that the Potions Master did not consult you on the first password."

"He didn't."

"One month it is. When he changes the password, I'll tell you at once. You are a Parseltongue and he is not. Moreover, you are a lot more…civil."

"Thank you, Nessa," Harry smiled.

Severus was not in their rooms; everything was dark. Severus usually left the lights on in the hall, even if he was in another room. Harry could not help grinning vindictively. Severus would come back and discover that the password had been changed by his nemesis. It was another half an hour before Severus returned.

"HARRY POTTER!" he roared, stepping inside the room, his black eyes narrowed ominously.

Harry emerged from his bedroom.

"I thought you would like the password, it deals with Potions," he said innocently.

"You changed the password without my permission," Severus snarled, "and that disobedient snake informed me that it will stay the same for a month!"

"I found the first password rather discouraging," Harry said calmly.

"I am a factual man, Potter," Severus retorted, striding towards Harry and glaring into his green eyes.

"If you were factual, then-" Harry broke off. This was not talking to the man. It was quarrelling.

"May I call you Severus?" he asked.

Severus raised an eyebrow at the unexpected question.

"I mean…we are married and bonded," Harry added, "so I feel weird calling you by your last name even though we are retaining our own last names."

"I am quite aware of that, Potter," Severus barked. "But don't ever expect me to deign to call you by your first name. And there's another thing."

His gaze crackled.

"You accuse me of being a pervert and have the gall to point out that we are married?" he breathed fiercely.

"Severus, I wanted to…talk. I mean…you know…I don't want to quarrel with you anymore and…I'm sorry for yelling at you and saying what I did."

Severus stared at him.

"Are you sure you are feeling well, Potter?"

Harry flushed angrily.

"We're going to have to live together for quite some time. You are my husband and my Protector, due to our blood bond. That's more than just pieces of parchments connecting us. Quite apart from the fact that I owe you my life."

"What has brought on this sudden plunge into remorse and reason?" Severus asked with a sneer. "Did hitting your arrogant conceited face have such a beneficial effect and rattle the few brains your possess into something that resembles thinking?"

Harry continued staunchly, refusing to retreat in the face of Severus's withering contempt.

"You were forced to do…it…the consummation. It was non-consensual for both of us," Harry said at last, "and I am sorry that I accused you of forcing me. It was wrong of me. We were both forced…This whole thing is wrong."

"Of course this whole thing is wrong, Potter. Things always go wrong around you."

"My father and godfather are dead, but you continue hating them, and you hate me because of the past," Harry said tiredly.

"Spare me your outbursts of sentimentalism and psychological assessments, Potter."

"Look…I'm trying to make an effort," Harry said in a strained voice.

"Make the effort to remove yourself out of my way and sight, Potter."

"Do we really have to live together like this?"

"The Golden Boy expects to live harmoniously with me for his own peace of mind. Husband of mine, you are a spoilt coddled brat who was probably worshipped on knees by his awed relatives-"

"That's a lie," Harry whispered, "and you know it. You saw into my mind during the Occlumency lessons. I was never spoilt and coddled. I never had a real family, Severus. Never. The Weasleys are the closest people I have for a family and Hogwarts the closest thing to a home. And you, whether you want to admit it or not, are family, and your rooms have become my home, although I am unwelcome in them."

Severus was silent. The two wizards stared at each other for a few moments. Then Harry turned and went back to his bedroom.

"I give up, Hermione," he said to the wall.

The weather was beautiful on Harry's birthday. Severus sourly observed the owls swoop to his husband with presents and notes. He himself did not bother to wish Harry a happy birthday or give him a gift. Even Nessa the snake and the ghosts remembered his birthday. Harry spent the day with Hagrid, who noticed Harry's dejection in spite of Harry's valiant efforts.

"Did Snape get yeh anything for yer birthday, Harry?" he asked shrewdly.

Harry flushed and shook his head.

"Why should he? He hates me, Hagrid," he said.

"He's yer husband. I guess yeh got ter be patient, Harry. Snape's a bit…sensitive," Hagrid said delicately.

"His birthday is on January 9th. It's on our marriage contract. Still got plenty of time to think of what to get him. Perhaps something with which to decapitate me."

"Ah, Harry. Yeh'll see. Things'll settle down. Got ter think positive. Snape's yer Protector. He'll take care of yeh, and I bet yeh'll take care of him too."

He patted Harry on the back, and Fang put his head on Harry's knee.

Severus was absent when he returned to the hostility of the dungeons. When he came back, he found Harry sitting on the sofa, reading.

"Your intellectual pursuits do not impress me, Potter," he drawled.

"Where were you?" Harry asked curiously, looking at his husband's travelling cloak.

"Where do you think, beloved?" Severus snapped.

"Did Voldemort call you?"

"Do not say his name!"

"I am your husband, not your student!" Harry flared.

"Most unfortunately," Severus remarked coolly, removing his cloak.

"Was the meeting, er, okay?" Harry asked persistently.

"It was wonderful, Potter. The Dark Lord hosted a cocktail party and played the fiddle to us afterwards," Severus said acidly.

"I just wanted to know," Harry said, his temper starting to wear thin.

"The Dark Lord was and is especially interested in my sexual explorations of your scrawny body, Potter."

Harry stared at his feet.

"Entertaining him with elaborate fake memories is so relaxing, Potter. You can't imagine it," Severus whispered furiously, striding out of the room and slamming the door.

Harry stood up and slowly went back to his bedroom. What a way for his birthday to end! He sat down on his bed, surrounded by the letters and presents from his friends. He felt better after going through them all again.