Okay, so I've had a lot of people tell me that Only Fools Rush In has made them cry or tear up. This actually makes me very happy. Does that make me a sadist? Written 3,000 words today, but I'm running out of steam, so I need my lovely readers to give me lots of motivation.

Oh, quick note for anyone who hasn't read Art of Potions: Draco and Harry pretended to date in school to keep suspicion off of Sev and Harry- that's where they became friends. Anastasia King is Sev's psycho bitch of an ex that served as my villain in AoP


Severus was reading pamphlets in the sitting room of Malfoy Manor when Alcander came in, looking dejected. "I got a whole lot of nothing," he declared, flopping down on a sofa and sprawling out. Severus knew Draco would probably have a fit if he saw the antique furniture being used in that manner, but what Draco didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "None of my old friends from the Auror corps have anything info for us, although they were all supporters of Shacklebolt so Brankshaft likely…" Alcander trailed off, eyeing the pamphlets in Severus' hands. "Okay, this picture does not make any sense. What're you looking into speech therapists for? You're the most well-spoken person I've ever met."

Severus put the pamphlets aside. "You know very well that this isn't for me."

"I was hoping." Alcander ran a hand through his blond hair, the gray strands barely visible. "Please tell me you're reading those because you have some brilliantly mad plan to blackmail Brankshaft with them or something, because I don't want to hear the only other reason I can think of."

"Alcander-"

"I thought you were finally giving this Potter fellow up! I mean, Merlin Sev, I'd have thought you learned your lesson with King."

Severus narrowed his eyes. "This is nothing like what happened with Anastasia, Alcander, and I do not appreciate the comparison."

"No? Let's recap shall we?" Alcander tapped his forefinger against his lips, a look of great concentration on his face. "Your ex who treated you like shit comes back after years of you not hearing a word from them. You let them back in, find out they have an agenda and kablammy! You find yourself in a life-threatening situation."

"Kablammy?" Severus repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Alcander scowled. "Don't try to change the subject. You have to admit that there are some parallels there."

"Anastasia never actually meant me harm. And Harry doesn't have an agenda."

Alcander sighed, straightening up into a sitting position. "I'm not trying to say that he does." He leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him. "I just don't want to see you hurt again. You don't exactly have the best track record with your exes, you know?"

Severus snorted. "By that logic, I should be avoiding you at all costs."

"You and I both know that we were never that much to each other. Friends with benefits, maybe, but nothing more." Alcander was looking down at the rug as though it was an essential part of the conversation. "I kept it secret, you know, you and Potter. I thought maybe he was good for you- you were certainly opening up more than you ever had after that bitch King. I knew it was inappropriate and just this side of legal, I knew it could cost you your job, and I knew that there was a very good chance that Potter wouldn't survive the war and you'd get your heart broken. But I kept it quiet because I thought it made you happy. Now I wonder if you wouldn't have been better off if I had gone to Dumbledore with it."

Severus gave Alcander a long look. "Albus wouldn't have done anything to stop it if you had. He knew."

Alcander whipped his head up to stare at Severus. "You told him?"

"No, he figured it out on his own." Severus steepled his fingers together in front of himself. "When I brought Harry to him after... he asked me if I was the most appropriate person to stay with him while the Healers tried to save him. He had that disapproving look on his face, and I knew." He pressed his forefingers to his mouth. "There's no telling how long he had known. Maybe from the very beginning. Albus always did know everything that went on in that castle."

Alcander's eyes were wide. "You mean, he just let you carry on an affair with a student? Merlin, what sort of school was he running?"

Severus shrugged. "He needed both myself and Harry under his thumb and at his disposal. Were he to try and separate us, that would have the opposite affect. Albus was nothing if not shrewd."

"But once he knew that Harry had defeated You-Know-Who, he kept you from him," Alcander filled in, his sharp investigator's mind working it out. "That's why you didn't know that Potter was still alive."

"I always assumed that Harry would have found a way to contact me if he were able to. When I didn't hear anything..." Severus trailed off, his throat constricting. "The wound was terrible, Alcander. When I saw it, I didn't think that he could survive it. And as you well know, the war didn't end with Voldemort's passing. When it finally was, Albus was dead and the world was convinced that Harry was as well. There was no way for me to find out what had happened."

"Jeez, Sev. I didn't know." Alcander shook his head. "I'm sorry, really I am. But that doesn't mean I want to watch Potter stomp on your heart again."

"I have no intention of letting anyone 'stomp on my heart.'" Severus picked the pamphlets back up. "I'm simply repaying my debt to him."

"Just try not to split your focus too much, all right? The rest of us are trying to stop Brankshaft from persecuting you, and it won't do much good if all you're focused on is finding Potter the nation's best speech therapist." The worry didn't leave Alcander's face, despite his words. "I still think you'd be better off if you just left Potter be-"

"Our current circumstances are hardly allowing for that," Severus interrupted dryly.

Alcander frowned at him. "I just don't want you to get hurt again. So be careful, all right? Whatever you two had, it clearly doesn't mean all that much to him anymore and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move on and be happy."

"Trust me, Alcander. I accepted that a long time ago."


Neville Longbottom sitting in Malfoy Manor never boded well for anyone, Severus figured as he swept into the sitting room. Draco had sent him an urgent summons, and he and Longbottom were sitting together, talking in low, urgent voices. Draco looked up at Severus' entrance. "Neville says his wards were breached," he explained, worry evident on his face."There's no way to tell if they actually got in." Longbottom shrugged. "I checked everywhere, but I couldn't find any sign that they did."

"Still, we can't assume that they didn't." Severus sat on the sofa next to Draco. This was a worrying development. Maybe they'd followed Severus there the other day. There was no other reason for them to think Harry was there, not in the short amount of time that they'd been looking. Unless they'd been looking for a lot longer than Severus had realized. Oh Merlin, it couldn't mean what he thought it did, could it?

"Harry didn't see anything?" Draco asked, interrupting Severus' train of thought.

"No. But he also said that the wards didn't alert him until after the fact." Longbottom was worrying at his fingernails with his teeth. "Whoever they were, they were good."

"Harry can't continue to stay there. He should come here-"

"Absolutely not," Severus said. That would be the absolute worst thing that they could do right now.

Draco was looking at him with disgust. "Look, I know you two have issues, but I'd think you could deal to be in his company for a few days if it meant Harry's safety."

"Don't be an imbecile, Draco," Severus growled. "The timing is too coincidental. Mere days after I go to see Harry at Longbottom's nursery, the wards are breached. Tell me, what does that say to you."

Draco's eyes widened. "They still have you under surveillance. They have my damn house under surveillance."

Severus nodded. "And they're trying to goad us into moving Harry. My guess is that they didn't even enter your property, Longbottom. They know that Alcander strengthened your wards, and they want to know why. They'll be watching there now as well. The minute we move Potter, they'll know where he is."

"So what do we do?" Longbottom's voice was small and Severus was suddenly reminded of the boy he'd been at school, skittish and shy, a bumbler who looked to adults to make things right, and was still forced onto the front lines. Severus hadn't been able to make things right for him back then. He should have.

"The same that we've been doing." Severus shook his head to clear it of those memories. "Anything out of the ordinary will look suspicious. We'll send Alcander over to check on your wards, just as he would normally. You should probably even contact the department of magical law enforcement to report a possible break-in."

"And if they want to search the property?" Draco arched an eyebrow at him, an expression Severus knew the brat had picked up from him. "What then?"

"We let them." Severus saw Draco opening his mouth to protest and held up a hand to stop him. "It would look suspicious, else. Potter can hide well enough under that cloak of his. There's no reason that he'll be discovered."

"What if they did get in? What if you're, err, wrong? Sorry," Longbottom added, looking sheepish. "Harry's just going to stay where he is?"

Severus was amused that Longbottom felt the need to apologize for suggesting that Severus might be wrong. It had been known to happen, after all. "If they did get in, then chances are they already know and moving him will do nothing. If they don't already know, they will when we move him. The best thing is for him to stay where he is."

Longbottom was frowning. "Will he be able to go out again?"

Draco snorted as though he was amused. "Harry doesn't go out. It's not like that will be a problem."

Severus raised an eyebrow at Longbottom- it was his expression first, dammit!- who shrugged. "I hadn't had the chance to tell him yet."

"Tell me what?" Draco looked back and forth between the two of them. "What happened?" He turned to look at Severus accusingly. "What did you do?"

"Why is it that you immediately assume the worst? I merely took your advice. You should be pleased."

Draco's mouth dropped open. "You went to talk to Harry?" Severus nodded. "And you got Harry to go out? Merlin, why does no one tell me these things?" He whirled on Severus. "What happened? What did you say? What did he say? Where in Merlin's name did you go?"

"There is a time and a place, Draco, and this is neither. Please keep your mind on the task at hand." Severus turned back to Longbottom, ignoring his godson's shock and outrage. "It should be all right. They already know that you have an employee working there full time- or at least, they should if they are at all intelligent, and Harry isn't immediately recognizable as he is. Glamours are suspicious however. He won't be able to use those any more." He tapped a finger against his lips. "I have some Polyjuice Potion stockpiled back in my workroom, but..."

"We have it here as well," Draco injected. "Father always insisted that one should have a supply at hand at all times, in case the need should arise. It was one of the reasons I was so good at Potions when I started Hogwarts; Father taught me to brew it when I was eight."

Severus could imagine. Lucius had always hated brewing. Severus wasn't surprised that he'd had his son do the work for him as soon as Draco was tall enough to see over the rim of the cauldron. The thought made cold anger twist in his stomach. He should have done his duty as godfather and gotten Draco out of this house much sooner than he did. He'd failed all the children in his charge, it seemed. "Polyjuice is much more difficult to detect than any other sort of magical concealment. They won't realize he's using it unless they're looking for it specifically. Your friend Mr. Thomas would be the best candidate for Harry to impersonate, as he's known to often come and go from your nursery."

Draco was looking at him oddly, but Longbottom nodded. "All right. I'll go talk to Dean, right before I report the break in to the Ministry. Thanks, professor, Draco."

When he was gone, Severus expected Draco to pounce on him as he had before, but his godson was simply looking at him contemplatively. "You called him Harry."

"Is that not his name?"

Draco shook his head. "You've been calling him Potter, like you did before you two were... you know. But just now, you referred to him as Harry."

"Old habits die hard I suppose."

"Maybe." Draco was still watching him like Severus was about to do something extraordinary. "So, tell me, how did your talk go? Did the two of you clear the air?"

"We went to a cupcake shop, Draco. We did not have a heart to heart conversation."

"A cupcake shop?" This time, Draco raised the both of his eyebrows. "You mean like a date?"

Severus sighed. He should have known that Draco would read too much into this. "No, not like a date. He knew the woman that ran the shop before the war. It was suggested to me that Potter could use some prodding to leave the nursery, and I thought that would be the best place to start."

"Suggested to you? By whom?"

"Someone you know very well."

Draco shook his head. "He's such a meddler sometimes," he said, but he couldn't quite keep the fond smile from his lips.

"He's a Gryffindor," Severus pointed out. "They have a tendency to meddle."

Draco didn't disagree. "So are you going to see him again?"

"Perhaps," Severus conceded. "But only if you first tell me why you seem so eager to have us back together."

"Not necessarily together-together," Draco clarified, looking down at his fingernails. "But I'd be happy if you two could be friends at least. You were both happy together, any idiot could have seen that. You know, Neville told me that Thomas figured out Harry and I weren't actually together, but he kept it quiet because he knew whoever Harry was actually seeing was making him happy."

Just like Alcander had. But Harry couldn't have been that happy if he was willing to let Severus believe he was dead. "Harry expressed to me that he is embarrassed by his stutter. I've been looking into muggle speech therapists for him, as well as a number of potions that might help him with that."

Draco smiled. "Thank you," he said, pulling Severus into a brief embrace.


For the first time in a very long time, Severus dreamt of Anastasia. She was holding a syringe and standing over a bloody body. She smiled at him, her mysterious smile, always so full of secrets. "I told you, Sev," she said to him. "I told you that this would always have to end this way. I told you I would take you from him. You're the one who's alone now."

Severus knelt beside the body. It was still breathing and Severus couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse. Merlin, the poor bastard had to be in utter agony. The skin on the right side of his body was hanging off in strips as though something had exploded out from under his skin.

One green eye opened at him and Severus felt his heart stop. No, not Harry! It couldn't be! He had to find Albus. He reached down to pick the boy up, but Harry frowned at him. "Who are you?" he asked, the skin on his face flapping in a macabre way.

Severus woke with his heart pounding and something wet on his face. That wasn't what had happened. Anastasia had been admitted to St. Mungo's permanent wing months before, and when Severus had found him, Harry had been blessedly unconscious. He hadn't woken, hadn't said anything. And Severus had been convinced he barely had a chance at survival. Anastasia hadn't had anything to do with it.

But that syringe. She'd tried to dose Harry with the Oublier L'Amour potion, a potion that if taken willingly, would completely erase a loved one from memories, as though they hadn't existed at all. If taken unwillingly, it would remove all relationships and the ability to forge more. Severus and Alcander (and that snowy owl, too) had been able to stop Anastasia before she could. Except...

Except the plunger had been pushed in. A small amount of the potion had entered Harry's blood stream. Severus hadn't thought about it in years. He'd kept a very close eye on Harry for weeks after the incident, but he hadn't seen any change in his behavior. But then Harry faced Voldemort. There had been so much magic that night, racing through Harry's body and his blood, was it possible that it had awoken the Oublier L'Amour in Harry's system? Harry hadn't gotten a full dose- maybe instead of making him forget Severus altogether, it had made him forget what they had. Or maybe that it had made Harry forget that what they were to each other had once been important to him. After all, Albus had kept him hidden away for two years. There had been nothing to contradict the potion, and maybe it had all faded away to the back of his mind.

Severus stood to fetch a glass of water from the bathroom, feeling sick. Is this your revenge finally coming to light, Anastasia? he thought, staring at his sallow reflection in the mirror. Has it taken you ten years to finally get back at me?

Severus didn't know which he preferred- Harry ignoring him because of a potion or Harry ignoring him because he no longer cared. But he did know that he wouldn't be able to rest until he had figured out which it was. He had made a promise to Harry after that night. He'd sworn he'd never let Harry forget him. If this was because of the potion, he had a vow to live up to. And if it wasn't...

He'd survive. He always did.


Word Count: 18,908

Write or die has been very useful today. Anyone who wants to try it go to writeordie (dot) com. Seriously, it's a great word count boost. I'm off to do another one.