Severus was again in the Shack. Right in front of him Voldmort. He conciously knew what would come after that, but he just couldn't stop the chain of actions even if it was his dream. In terror he saw the snake again, charging against him. He tried to fight it, he really did. He felt it's fangs on his troat, gasped for air.

"Severus! Severus, please. Wake up. Please, Severus. You need to wake up."- He heard a voice calling him from some faraway place. It felt so urgent...

Next thing he knew, he was in a living room in front of a fire with someone grabbing him and calling him out. He instinctively gasped for air again and was surprised to see that he could. But right away he started coughing, his lungs fighting with the gush of air.
The person that was grabing him made Severus lie down as soon as the cough became manageable.

"Shusssh. It's ok. Breath, Severus. Breath. It's ok."- Harmony's calming albeit shaky voice came to him in his mind, the feeling of her hand on his cheek.

Now he remembered. Harmony. He was with her. He was... Safe. He finally opened his eyes to look at the green ones above him. Harmony smiled, even if her expression suggested she was trying to recover from a big scare.

"It's ok now. You're awake, Severus. I'm here."- She tried to calm him down while keeping her hand on his cheek, stroking his skin.

Severus closed his eyes again, checking automatically for the one thing that embarassed him to no end after every nightmare. He cursed his bad luck.

"What is it, Severus?"- Worried Harmony, sensing various feelings inside him but no concrete thought.

"I'm... I'm wet."- Severus managed to answer her, even if the thought disgusted him.
Harmony sensed his disgust and embarassement along with the thought. He was bitting his bottom lip, eyes closed, trying to control his emotions. She could only imagine how a powerfull man like him must be feeling in that moment.

"Severus..."- She called out softly, while lowering herself so she would stand right above his face.
Severus opened his eyes to find her less than a inch from his face. Her green eyes expressed more than any words.

"Don't feel ashamed for something like this, please."- He heard her voice inside his mind. As if she couldn't express her emotions through her lips.

This was so ... Intimate. Again he thought he had never shared a connection with anyone in his life. Something like this was completely foreign for him. Disturbingly foreign. In his mind he felt a warm wave of feelings invading him. Hope, comprehension, sadness, pain. But never pity, he noted.

"Promess me, Severus. That you will try to stop feeling ashamed of yourself."- The words ringed inside him, making Severus remember someone else from his past. He took a deep breath, calming himself again before answering.

"I will. Sorry, I must have scared you a lot."- Severus apologized.

"No matter. Just... Try to get better,ok?."- She gave him a shaky kind of smile before prooping herself up again. With a wave of her hand, he was dry again. As if nothing had ever happened. -"See? No reason to feel bad, Sir."

"Call me Severus. I don't mind, Harmony."

"You don't?"- That was a surprise.

"No."-He assured the girl.- "Actually, I think I will enjoy it."

Authors Note:

First of everything, sorry for the absence.

Second, while writing this scene I was listening to Delta Goodrem- Lost without you. If you wish for a soundtrack for this fiction, this could be it.

I sincerely hope you do like this chapter as the entire story. All of the chapters were softly revised before uploading this one. Be sure to get at look at them if you want to see if I made major changes.