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Chapter 9: Getting Over It
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"Are you coming to breakfast mate?" Ron asked, pulling a jumper on over his head. He didn't get a response. "Harry… Harry… HARRY!""What?" Harry replied, startled at the shout.
"Are you coming to… what's that you've got?"
"It's a letter from Severus" Harry said, waving it in his hand. "I got it last night. He's effectively ended our relationship."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But… you said last night that you were thinking of dumping him anyway."
"I know, but…"
"You didn't really mean it did you?"
"Exactly. I just wanted him to understand how much it hurt me, the way he spoke about me to Sirius. I wanted him to be truly sorry."
"Why don't you try and talk to him, tell him that?"
"What's the point? He says in his letter that it was never going to be a long term thing and we'd had our "fun." It obviously didn't mean much to him."
"So what did it mean to you?" Ron asked, sitting on the end of Harry's bed.
"I was in love with him Ron."
"Blimey… look, if it wasn't meant to be and he's going to treat you like this, would you really want to be with him?"
"I guess not."
"You'll get over it, it's not as though you're in your eighties and your love life is at the end of the road. This is the beginning. You'll meet someone else and you'll think back to your relationship with Snape and wonder what the fuck you were doing."
Harry laughed. Ron was right; of course he didn't want to be with someone who classed him as a bit of "fun." There were plenty of fish in the sea… as they say.
"Are you coming to breakfast?" Ron asked again.
"I'll be down in a bit, you go ahead."
Ron left him to it. He reread the letter from Severus a few more times before ripping it up into small pieces and putting them in the bin. It was going to be fine; he would get over Severus no problem.
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Before he even reached the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry's thoughts of getting over Severus were wiped completely from his mind. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Severus exited the Great Hall and clocked him. Harry walked up to him cursing under his breath.
"Mr Potter" Severus said professionally.
"Professor" Harry replied in the same manner.
"Overslept? Breakfast has almost finished."
"Yeah, something like that."
"Did you receive my letter last night?" Severus asked.
"Yes I did. Thank you for being the one who said what we were both thinking, its best that it happened sooner than later."
"Indeed. Do you wish to discuss it any further?"
"I don't think there's any need."
"Very well… I'll see you in class this afternoon."
Severus swept off and Harry let out a huge sigh. The way he'd just been spoken to had been a major turn on for him, it almost felt as though they were role playing an act before having sex. Harry could have done with a cold shower, but he'd already left his breakfast to the last moment, so reluctantly joined Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table.
"What did Snape want?" Ron asked as soon as he sat down.
"Just enquiring as to whether I had received his letter."
"Ron told me about it" Hermione said sympathetically. "I'm sorry, are you ok?."
"Thanks, yeah I'm fine. It's not the end of the world is it?"
But Harry wasn't fine. Getting over Severus was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He just couldn't fall out of love with him overnight, but he wasn't going to let the bastard know he still wanted him.
Later that day during their potions class Harry did his best to seem happy and smiley. Severus didn't wander over to their table once and Harry missed the inappropriate feeling up he used to do to him and the whispered words into this ear. Despite his best efforts, he found himself staring on several occasions and had to snap himself out of his daze. Luckily Severus was doing his level best not to even glance in his direction, so at least he wouldn't have seen.
"Harry, are you sure you're ok?" Hermione whispered. "You keep looking at him."
"I don't think I'll be able to get over him" Harry admitted. "Seeing him everyday… how are you suppose to get over someone when their constantly in your life? It's not as though I can even meet someone else to take my mind off things."
"It's not been long; you're bound to feel like this on the first day. Things will get bet-"
"Miss Granger, Mr Potter, ten points each for talking" Severus called out from his desk at the front of the class. For some reason this seemed to anger Harry and he stood up from his chair and started walking towards Severus.
"Don't you want to know what we were talking about sir?"
"Mr Potter, sit down or I'll take a further fifty points fro-"
"Fifty? Why don't you make it a round hundred you fuc-"
Harry was caught off guard by the end of lesson bell ringing. He looked around and saw several shocked faces turned his way. Severus had risen from his desk and was making his way towards him.
"Everybody get out!" he shouted, his eyes firmly fixed on Harry's.
Harry didn't dare move. All around him people were packing their bags and hurrying from the room. The door slammed shut as the last person left, leaving Harry alone with a very irate looking Severus.
"Care to explain your behaviour?" he asked Harry slowly.
"No" Harry replied.
"The question wasn't optional Potter."
"Will you stop calling my Potter!"
"What would you propose I call you instead? I am your professor and you are my student. Your name is Potter is it not?"
"Don't get sarcastic with me. For goodness sake, how can you be so…?"
"So what?"
"So… you" Harry spat.
"Is being myself offensive towards you in any way?"
"We… we we're having sex two days ago, and now you're treating me as though..."
"As though you are my student? That's because you are. So evidently when I asked you this morning if you wished to discuss things further, your answer should have been yes."
"Will you stop taking the piss out of me" Harry sighed, annoyed.
"I can assure you Pot… look, you're obviously not comfortable in my presence at the moment, perhaps we should find an alternative to you coming to my class."
"I don't… I want… yeah, not coming to class will probably be best."
"Ok, I'll speak to Dumbledore and see what arrangements we can come up with."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it… you can go."
"What about the hundred points?"
"Class yourself as on probation. Another wrong move and I'll make it two hundred points."
Harry laughed, then picked up his bag and left the room. Severus sat back down at his desk and placed his head in his hands. He hoped to god things would get better because right now all he wanted to do was rip Harry's clothes off every time he saw him. Treating him as though he was any other student was the only way he had to cope, trying to pretend it was all a dream and that it had never happened. In a way he was glad Harry didn't want to be in the same room as him, their classes were going to be hell for him. He would ask Dumbledore to give Harry private potions lessons.
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"Harry" Sirius called as Harry was walking up the stairs, on his way to Gryffindor tower. He turned and waited for Sirius to catch up.
"It's over, he finished it" Harry said, knowing what Sirius was going to ask him.
"Oh… right."
"What, no shouts of glee? No "I told you so's?" This is what you wanted wasn't it?"
"Well yeah but… are you ok?"
"I have to be, don't I?"
"Harry, I want you to be happy, more than anything. I don't want to make things difficult for you; I want what's best for you. Snape isn't right for you, and you will realise that."
"I'm sure I will and I know your just looking out for me… anyway I have to be off."
"Are we cool?"
"Yeah."
Harry continued his way to Gryffindor Tower. He joined Ron and Hermione by the fire and threw his bag into the corner of the room out of sheer frustration. Forgetting he hadn't closed it, his books and the entire contents went flying.
"Fuck."
"So did you get detention?" Ron asked.
"No, just a warning. But we've agreed I shouldn't attend his classes for time being. He's going to think of an alternative for me."
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A month had passed since Harry and Severus split up. Things were going ok for Harry, he was having potions lessons with Dumbledore and rarely saw Severus other than sitting at the staff table, but had grown used to diverting his eyes from the area. His relationship with Sirius was back to normal and although he still thought about Severus when lying awake at night, he was no longer overwhelming his thoughts.
Today was the start of the Christmas holidays. As Sirus and Mr and Mrs Weasley were all spending the holidays abroad, Harry, Ron and Ginny had to remain at Hogwarts. Hermione had decided to stay behind too. After a long breakfast Harry decide to take a walk in the grounds. Not bothering to fetch his coat, he braved the cold weather and made his way down towards the lake. He sat himself down on a rock and watched the ripples in the water and the leaves swaying in the trees.
He was going to miss Hogwarts when he left, it had really been a home to him the past seven years. He started to shiver in the cold and almost jump out of his skin when he felt something on his back. It was Severus, and he was putting his coat around his shoulders. Immediately Harry felt a wave of warmth cover his entire body, but also felt his heart begin to race.
"You'll catch your death out here" Severus said.
"Thanks… for the coat" Harry replied. "I just felt like a walk, winter is my favourite season."
"Mine too" Severus agreed. "There's just something about snuggling up in a thick coat or a warm duvet when it's freezing outside… it's comforting."
"Don't let anyone else hear you say that, you'll totally lose you reputation."
"I'll have to trust you to keep it to yourself… remember I still have those house points I can dock from you." Harry laughed and Severus couldn't help the smile that had spread across his face. "How are the lessons with Dumbledore?"
"They're ok actually. He goes off on one sometimes, telling me stories, but they're always really interesting so I don't mind. And he's got me drinking gallons of tea as well."
"Yeah, sounds like Dumbledore… so do you think you'll be coming back to class any time soon?"
"Sir… Severus."
Severus jumped at the use of his name. The smile faded and he looked at Harry intently.
"Yes Harry?"
"Why are you talking to me? We've not said a word to each other for a month."
"Do you wish I left you alone, because if that's what you'd prefer, I'll keep my distance."
"No, it's not that, I just wondered."
"Harry, just because we're not… it doesn't mean I don't like you or have no desire to speak to you. I've had the impression you've been avoiding me as best you could over the past few weeks, so I've left you to it. I saw you shivering when I was taking a stroll and was drawn to you… I would have done the same for anyone."
Harry stood up from the rock he had been sitting on and walked up to Severus. Placing a hand on the back of his neck, he pulled him down for a kiss. Drawing backwards, they stared into each others eyes.
"Do you… want to?" Severus barely managed to get out.
"Yes" Harry replied.
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Coming up in the next chapter: Harry and Severus do the deed. What will happen afterwards? Will there be regret? Will they get back together?
Reviews: If you're reading this, please take a few moments to leave me a review. I really do appreciate them and they do help immensely with my motivation. My profile has details of all my story updates.
(This chapter was posted on July 4th)
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