AN: Sorry this took so long to update. I started it then sort of came to a brick wall. Then I wacked my head a week ago and haven't felt much like writing, especially as I've had and still have a constant headache. Today seems to be the day for writing though, and I got most of this written on a bus on my new Blackberry, I love my papa. Anyway, this is written from a different pov from normal, I hope you like it. Remember reviews are loved, let me know what you think.
Chapter Ten: A Lesson On Miscommunication
Bill Weasley sighed as he swirled his drink round his glass, he really wished that he could do something to sort out the mess that had occurred, mainly because it was interfering with the time he could spend with his lover. Mark was forever out at his boss's beck and call at the moment, something that was wearing thin with Bill. He didn't mind the man spending time with his boss, they were friends after all, but he wished that it wasn't on his days off. He could have gone with him, but despite the dinner that they had shared a month ago he had never spent time in a social setting with the other man, and he was quite unnerved by it.
He had known that something had been going on in his adopted brother's life for a while now, the stuff with his hair was just the first clue. At first he had thought that he was trying to act his station in the Wizarding World and he had said as much when he spoke to him. Harry had had no idea what he had been talking about and Bill had explained a bit about Wizarding society and recommended a few books. Harry had shown from then on an improved knowledge of customs and social norms of the Wizarding world. Not just the mens customs, but the womens customs as well. It was something that Bill had taken note of. Harry was showing a great amount of knowledge about women for a gay man.
He had watched Harry carefully after that and as a result picked up on a lot of things his family woukld have missed. The nail polish for a start, he had dated Fleur for a while, he knew a French manicure when he saw one. He had even taking to trying to keep track of his movements, hoping that he could find out who it was that was encouragijng him in this pursuit. Harry wouldn't have thought about lengthening his hair or trying nail polish himself, Harry had always been rather clueless about looks and beauty, it was one of his rather endearing qualities.
Bill knew that Harry had been disappearing somewhere every Sunday afternoon for a while and he had looked forward to finding out where he went. There would be no way that his mother would let him out of the house without finding out where he was going. Harry's shock and upset as he realised the time told Bill a lot; whoever he was meeting meant something to Harry, it was clear on his brother's face that he was falling for the man. Now with that knowledge Bill's mission changed, no longer was he trying to figure out what his baby brother was doing, but rather who he was doing it with and whether or not they were good enough for him. He used Harry's distracted state to place a tracking charm on him. He knew that his brother could remove it easily, but he hoped that he wouldn't notice it due to the rush he was in.
He didn't leave straight away, not when the starter was his favourite soup, his mother's own recipe as well. He ate his starter before escusing himself, his family knew he was meeting someone for dinner that evening. Bill left the kitchen, applying a disolusionsment charm to himself and apparating when the tracking charm indicated a location other than Harry's flat. He arrived in what appeared to be an expensive block of flats. Harry was stood outside a door, waiting for someone to answer. This must be where Harry's mysterious man lives, or where they meet, but he assumed like Harry appeared to that the guy had given up waiting.
While Bill was wondering about who lived behind that door Harry had apparated away again, this time to a familiar location. Bill didn't know what to do, he could follow Harry and run the risk of Mark seeing him, or leave it alone and hope that Harry was able to work things out with the other man and that he could meet the guy and assess and threaten him another time. Bill decided on the latter, he didn't want his lover to think that he was checking up on him at work. Instead he removed his charm before walking out of the building and placing a notice me not charm up so that he could unshrink the motorbike hidden in his pocket. He had to hide it, his mother gave him enough trouble as it was about his hair and his earing, he didn't need to give her anymore ammunition.
He felt the tracking charm change again as Harry arrived back home. Bill wondered if his quick arrival back home meant he had found the man had been looking for or not. The more Bill thought about it the more he realised that he really didn't want to know.
He pulled up in front of the restaurant just minutes before Mark arrived. His lover had come straight from work and as such was bedecked completely in black. Bill turned his eyes to the back of the bike, looking for the man that should be there. Mark had told him that it was time that he met his best friend and boss Sev. To say that he was surprised to see a tall black-haired woman get off the back of Mark's bike was an understatement. Mark didn't seem phased by his shock, he almost seemed to disregard it completely.
Mark smiled as he climbed off his bike, "Bill baby, this is Severus. Sev, this is Bill."
Bill was startled for several reasons, the first of which was that he hadn't expected his lover's male boss to turn up to dinner dressed as a woman, the second thing being that Severus wasn't a very common name, he only knew one Severus and he didn't think that there were that many out there. The way the man paled when he was introduced to him told him everything though, this was the Severus he knew.
The whole evening was a train wreck in a way, he had managed to squeak out 'Professor' in his shock on his way into the restaurant, the look he received in response confirmed Severus's identity without words. Dinner itself wasn't too bad, even though Mark had wanted to know everything about how they knew each other. Snape had seemed a bit down about something and not that he had found out his secret life, but Bill really didn't want to pry.
That evening was probably the weirdest one of his life and he'd played russian roulette with the goblins. After the meal Mark insisted on taking Severus home, even when the other man had said about taking a cab. Bill knew that he had probably been intending to apparate straight home, but Mark would not be disauded. Pulling up in front of Severus's building gave Bill pause, he had been there before, earlier that evening in fact.
Things started to fit together in Bills mind, but he wasn't sure what to do with the picture it was creating. As Severus's heels sounded on the front steps of the building he realised that this is what his baby brother had been learning. The hair, the mannerisms, hell the manicures, it all made sense now. Snape had been teaching him how be a woman, or dress and act like one at least.
He had been wondering though if Snape was upset that Harry had missed meeting up with him, or if it was for some other reason. He was not going to allow anyone to hurt his baby brother's feelings, he'd been hurt enough over the years. If that meant he had to take on the potions master then so be it.
It was now Samhain though and neither man had made any attempts to contact each other or sort things out. Mark had told him what had happened between Harry and Severus and how Severus didn't want to put himself out there for rejection. Bill didn't know what was holding Harry back, but he was just as depressed as Severus. The only time Harry really smiled at the moment was when he was in the club watching Severus sing.
Harry had been turning up to the club each weekend to watch Severus perform before leaving straight away after a quick glance at the bar. Bill hadn't mentioned it to either Mark or Severus and he definitely hadn't said anything about it to Harry, but his little brother was beginning to worry him. To be honest he was beginning to worry the whole family, and his mother had even tried an intervention. It had been amusing to say the least. She had called the whole family together and had them all sit around the kitchen table, placing Harry at the head of the table. She had then told him that he had to tell them what was going on with him and how to fix it. When he wouldn't talk she told him that if he was going to be a child and suck she would treat him like a child and ground him, in a literal sense. She had continued to berate him telling him that until he spoke to his family about what was bothering him he wasn't allowed to fly. Harry had told her then that it was personal and that it was something he had to sort himself.
Bill came out of his thoughts as the band began to play, looking up at the stage to see Severus's entrance. This was a performance he would never forget if what Mark had told him was truth. It had been Mark's idea, and for some reason Severus had decided to go along with it. All the songs that night had something to do with Halloween or horror, and the song that Severus was singing was one Mark had picked but had said was totally appropriate.
Severus came onstage wearing a black leather miniskirt, thigh high leather boots and a blood red corset. Bill heard the gasps from several of the male patrons and smirked to himself, he knew that a large proportion of those men were completely straight, mainly from Mark's gossip. He looked over to the corner that had become Harry's usual spot and smiled at the transfixed look on his face, his baby brother certainly had it bad, he just wondered why he hadn't done anything about it. When Severus reached the chorus Bill couldn't help but chuckle when he belted out about being a sweet transvestite, Mark sure had a way of picking songs, he could just imagine what people would think in the Wizarding World if they saw that performance and knew that it was Snape.
As Severus sang through his set Bill made his way towards Harry, he was ending this tonight. Mark was his and he was sick of Severus dominating his lover's time. Bill made a small production of bumping into Harry, making sure to ask what he was doing there, and asking if the boys were with him. When Harry admitted to being on his own Bill insisted that he join him for a few drinks, he was soon leading Harry towards the side of the club and the private room that had been set aside for Serena later that evening. It was becoming a habit, Bill would come to the bar each week to spend some time with Mark and then Mark and Severus would slope off to sit and talk and get drunk while Bill watched some of the other acts. He would then make sure that they both got home alright, but tonight would be different. He should only have to get Mark home that night if all went well, hopefully the job of sorting Snape out would be one that Harry took willingly.