Disclaimer: Never was mine / Never will be mine I am making no money from this story. Everything belongs to JK Rowling and Warner Bros.
This chapter is dedicated to my beta reader JediCandy, because she came up with a couple of the principle ideas for this chapter. Using orphanages instead of the children of Death Eaters and she helped me greatly with the finer details of the antidote and the argument. I was going to go one way and she suggested another and it was better. And the insolent little snot comment is something that happened to a classmate in her school…lol.
Warning – There is swearing in this chapter.
Beta Read by the inspirational JediCandy.
Chapter Thirteen – Voldemort Plans An Army.
Harry ran back up to his dorm. He was on cloud nine; his first kiss with Severus was beyond perfect. It was everything he had dreamed it would be and more, to him it had been magical. Perfect. Shame Severus stopped it though, he thought to himself. As he entered the common room, he was not surprised to see Ron and Hermione waiting on the couch for him. Hermione grinned at him.
"Details now!"
"We kissed, it was perfect!" He could see Ron trying his hardest not to look sick at the thought of kissing Snape. He just smiled; he was in too good a mood to let anything bother him.
"Oh, my God! Harry! That's huge! Was he a good kisser? Was he gentle? Did he like his gift?"
"Mione, calm down! Let the man answer!"
"Sorry, Ron. Harry, I'm just rally excited and happy for you."
"It's okay, I'm way too happy to let anything bother me right now," the huge grin on his face was testament to that. "Severus is a fantastic kisser! I kissed him first, but it was only a small kiss. Then he kissed me back and wow is all I can say. Yes, he was gentle and, yes, he liked his gift. He is wearing it right now."
Hermione let out what can only be described as an excited squeal. Ron just rolled his eyes. "Can we go to bed now, Mione? It's late and Harry has given you all the details."
"Oh, Ron, you're no fun."
"Sorry, but if you call wanting to know details about how Snape kisses fun, then you're stranger then he is." Ron pointed to Harry, it was said in jest because he was smiling at his best friend.
"Ron's right. It's late and I'm going to bed to have sweet dreams about Severus." Harry got up and headed towards the stairs. He heard Hermione tell Ron that she thought Harry was really sweet. Harry rolled his eyes and went to bed.
***
In hindsight Harry knew something was going to go wrong, he was too happy. Even though Severus and he had not been alone since the kiss, he knew he was on the man's mind. He could feel Severus watching him in the dinning hall and he caught a glimpse of the necklace around his neck. That made Harry really happy, even double potions was not bad. Yes, Severus had been snarky and mean to all the Gryffindors, but it was all part of the act. He was starting to find his comments incredibly funny, especially the one where Ron had found the courage to backtalk Severus in class. The class had collectively held its breath awaiting the punishment Ron would receive. Severus had born down on him and, in a dangerous low voice that made Ron visibly gulp, he dealt out the punishment.
"50 points from Gryffindor for being an insolent little snot, Mister Weasley. Five nights entertainment for Filch, I'm sorry did I say entertainment for Filch? I meant detention WITH Filch for the next five nights and a nine-foot parchment on why it is not a good idea to question ME about my marking technique. For your information, your girlfriend's potion is flawed, not perfect as you claim. The colour is wrong, as is the consistency. You should be more worried about your own grades and leave your girlfriend to worry about hers."
Ron had grumbled non-stop for an hour after class about how Harry needed to go to St. Mungos for mental health treatment for liking such an evil git. Harry though that it was rather funny but he had the brains not to tell Ron that that what he thought.
Apart from that, things were going well. Harry was happy. As he realised before, he was too happy. One night he headed to the dungeons to ask Severus if he could make some more pepper-up potion for himself, as his stock pile was running low and he didn't want to go back to what it was like at the beginning of the school year. He knocked on Severus' office door.
"Enter."
Harry entered and closed the door behind him, this was the first time they had been alone since the kiss and he was a little nervous. "Professor Snape, I was wondering if I could make some more pepper-up potion? I'm running a little low."
Severus looked up from his desk and regarded him through his curtain of hair. "You know where everything is," he gestured to the classroom, "Try not to blow anything up, Mister Potter. Filch just had Mister Weasley do a wonderful cleaning job on the room." An evil, twisted sneer graced his lips. Harry sniggered; he had learnt years ago it was not a good thing to backtalk to Severus in class. The punishment was always harsh.
***
When Harry was putting the finishing touches to his potion, Severus entered the room in a flurry of robes. Harry was impressed, he really must ask him one day how he did that. He was casting a critical eye over Harry's cauldron.
"Not bad."
"Was that a compliment?"
Severus raised an eyebrow at him, "Don't get used to it."
As if he ever would, he just rolled his eyes at Severus. "I see you are fully back."
"Back?"
"Yes, back to being snarky, evil potions master."
"Ah, he never went anywhere, he was always here. I am not a nice man, Harry. I have told you that before. I just like to relax at home, also not having to teach hundreds of dunderheads helps."
Harry was laughing; it was true. But he didn't believe the part about not being a nice man. Harry thought he was perfectly nice, just a little difficult to take. Suddenly it felt as if a lead weight had dropped in his stomach and bile was climbing up his throat as an evil desire swelled in his gut. He must have paled; Severus was at his side helping him to sit down.
"Harry?"
"MOVE!" Harry yelled at him, while pushing him out the way. He ran to the sink and threw up. He could feel Severus' hands stroking comforting patterns on his back. He helped him back to his seat.
"Do you want something for the nausea?"
"No, I'm fine. I just need a minute." Harry was handed a glass of water, which he took gratefully.
"I should take you to the hospital wing."
"There is no need."
"Harry, it is not normal to vomit for no reason."
"There was a reason it was Volde… the Dark Lord."
"The Dark Lord?"
"Yes, I need to see Dumbledore now!"
Severus helped him from the chair and to the Headmaster's office.
***
As Severus was helping Harry to Albus' office, his mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. What could have made Harry vomit so violently? He knew he felt pain through his scar, but had never heard of this reaction before. A few of the students wandering the corridors gave them funny looks as they passed, after all it was not everyday you saw the school's resident evil one helping the school's resident good one. But a few well-placed glares made sure none of them were stupid enough to approach and ask if they needed help. They reached the office, said the password and were granted admittance.
"Severus, Harry, whatever is wrong?"
"I don't know, Albus. Harry was in the potions classroom with me when he turned pale and vomited. He insisted on seeing you."
"Harry?" the Headmaster was obviously worried.
"Sorry, sir. I just need a moment."
"Of course. Tea?" Severus nodded, hell he could do with a calming potion just now and Harry was looking a little dazed. Severus didn't like that look on Harry. It was, quite frankly, a little eerie. He was about to place the teacup to his lips when Harry made a grab for it shouting some nonsense about it not being safe. Both he and Albus were a little shocked.
"Harry, you know, I would never hurt Severus!" Albus seemed a little upset that Harry would think such a thing.
"I know, sir. It's not that. It's Voldemort."
"Harry, Voldemort had not gotten into my tea supply." Albus said calmly. Severus had to hold himself in check not to laugh at that. Yes, the Dark Lord was a sneaky bastard and poisoning was a very Slytherin technique, but to kill the great Albus Dumbledore that way would look bad for him. People would believe him a coward, not capable of taking him in a fight. No, if he was to kill Albus it had to be in a real fight, he had to try and prove he was the stronger wizard. Fat chance, Severus thought. Yes, he was very powerful, but Albus was more so. He had been playing with dark wizards before the Dark Lord was even born.
"I know, but Voldemort will probably summon Severus tonight. He needs all his wits about him and calming potion will not help."
Okay, that had Severus attention, "How do you know this?"
"What happened down in the classroom was that I was feeling what he was feeling. The reason I was sick was because it was like undiluted evil. He has discovered something. I don't know what, but it pleased him greatly. He will want to gloat, and who better to do it to then his inner circle."
That made sense, but what could he have discovered? A heavy uncomfortable silence filled the room while each of them contemplated what could have made the evil man so happy. Severus had work to be getting on with; he couldn't sit here all evening pondering whether he was going to be called tonight or not.
"If you will excuse me, I believe I have reached an important point in my research regarding Harry's antidote." He got up and left.
***
Back in his private labs, Severus tried to put Harry's warning out of his mind. He didn't have the time to contemplate what ifs. Not right now, he was close to something. He could feel it, all his instincts told him he was on the right track. He had books and parchment piled all over the place, and test tubes and cauldrons everywhere showing how much work he had put into this antidote. He sat staring at the original sample he had managed to get at one of the Dark Lord's meetings. It wasn't totally useless even though it had been contaminated with dirt from the floor he had scraped it from, but it hadn't really told him anything he hadn't been expecting. He heard a tapping at his door, he guessed it to be an owl and, after opening it, he discovered he was right. He untied the parchment.
Dear Severus,
Thank you for this month's wolfsbane Potion. The improvements you have made were astounding, I felt so much better in the morning, less aches and pains. Thank you again for all your time and effort.
Remus Lupin.
He rewarded the owl and it flew out of his office, not without knocking over three containers. Blasted animal, Severus thought.
But like many great potion inventions, they were discovered by accident. When all things seem lost, sometimes a spill, or a miss-measurement can bring about desired results. This time, it was due to a clumsy owl. Severus jumped up to try to stop the vials from entering his experiments. He stopped two from mixing, but the third spilled right into his cauldron. Severus groaned, it wasn't a tragedy, he was going to experiment with the fluxweed next, but it was definitely an inconvenience to not be able to measure the correct amount and time things correctly. He stopped his internal cringe when the fluxweed started to have a severe reaction in the potion. It was bubbling madly. It was going to blow so he did what any self-respecting Slytherin in his situation would do… he ran!
The lab door slammed behind him as he heard the resulting explosion. He grinned wildly, it had been so obvious and he had been blind not to see it. Warding his door heavily so no student could get in, he, Severus Snape, ran for the second time that day, and running did not happen much in his life, all the way to the Headmaster's office.
***
Severus barged in without knocking, "Albus I must speak with you immediately."
"Of course, my boy, is it private?"
"What?"
"He means do you want me to leave, Severus?"
"Minerva!"
"Well done, Severus! You are correct."
Severus threw his best scowl in her direction, "Shouldn't you be out chasing vermin or something?"
"I have no need to when all you have to do is glare at them, and they go scampering back to the Forbidden Forest."
"Children."
"Children!" Both Severus and Minerva chorused together.
"Well, if you insist on acting like them…"
"Albus, I am no child. I am old enough to be that boy's mother." She pointed indicating Severus.
Severus had a shocked look on his face, "Merlin, forbid!"
"That is enough. Now, Severus, whatever is the matter?" Albus enquired, knowing that if it were private he would indicate it to him to politely ask Minerva to leave.
"I have it, the antidote. But…" he added seeing the excited faces of his colleges, "I can not make and administer it now. I initially failed to take the date it was made into account. It was brewed on the Summer Solstice. As you are aware of, many things of a magical nature have altered results if done injudiciously on either solstice or on either equinox. If it had been made any other time, I could make the antidote immediately, but the batch Potter was poisoned with was affected by this factor and I cannot make it at this time."
"When do you believe you can make the antidote and when will it be safe for Harry to take it?" Albus asked.
"To counteract the effects of the Summer Solstice on the potion, I would have to brew the antidote on the astrologically opposite day, which would be the winter, or Yule, Solstice. As it is now late November, we only have a few weeks to wait. I would then have to put a preservation spell on it to keep its potency until the next Summer Solstice. At that time, Mister Potter can take the antidote. Unfortunately, the physical effects of the original potion will not wear off until his next birthday. After that, Mister Potter should be back to his normal, annoying Gryffindor age."
"But, Severus, that is next year!" Minerva exclaimed.
"And how long did it take you to work that one out?" if the tone had been any dryer she would have been in need of water. She just glared at him, like she did when he was in school.
Albus chose to ignore them both, "Well done, Severus! I knew you would do it. I'm sure Harry will be delighted to be his natural age again."
"Yes, I'm sure he…" Severus stopped speaking with a sharp intake of breath. The clutching of his left arm left no doubt as to what was happening in the other professors' minds. "I must go."
"Take care, my boy. And come home safely." Albus looked worried. Who wouldn't be after Harry's warning earlier in the day? Minerva just looked pale and worried. He had no time to think about it; he had to get a move on. The Dark Lord waits on no one.
***
After bowing and scraping at the evil wizard's feet, Severus took his place. Harry was right; he did look immensely pleased about something. No doubt he would find out soon.
"I have some exciting news, a discovery that will quicken our war efforts; something that will speed up my eventual victory over the tainted and un-pure. Avery, fetch my surprise."
They were all waiting for the revelation of the 'surprise.' Severus had a feeling this was going to be bad on a catastrophic level. Anything that made the Dark Lord appear to be bouncing in excitement was never good, in any way! Avery led in a shackled youth of about nineteen or twenty into the room. Severus did not recognise him, which was a little unusual. He rarely forgot past students, especially ones that would have only graduated a year or two ago. He may have gone to one of the foreign schools. The young man was not just crying, he was bawling like a child and his mannerisms were a little odd. Severus had seen grown men cry in the Dark Lord's presence before, but this was over the top.
"Splendid! Is he not?" The Dark Lord asked. He was met with a puzzled silence. This just made him laugh. It was an evil sound, not pleasant at all. "I see I shall have to explain. This child was only ten years old when he came into my possession yesterday."
Quite murmuring broke out throughout the dining room. Severus' heart beat loudly in his chest. FUCK! His mind was screaming. How had he found out, he had presumed the potion was all gone with the test tube he had witnessed being smashed. How wrong he was.
"Silence." All talking stopped, "This brat was given the wrong poison by one of my lower ranking Death Eaters and left to die. Imagine my shock when, this afternoon while taking a walk through my cellar, I find the brat not only not dead but ten years older as well! Imagine the possibilities, I could swell my ranks with children whom had been given this potion, after all, do not all children wish to grow up faster? Ha! I will take unwanted children from orphanages and children's homes and train them up to be loyal to me before they have had a chance to have their opinions formed and influenced by Dumbledore! They would be the perfect vanguard for my army. They will decimate the enemy. Any losses among them will be no great loss to ME for I can create however many I need whenever I need. When they have annihilated the enemy, I will take over the wizarding world with my loyal followers at my side!"
Cheering was quickly spreading through the room; Severus wanted to follow Harry's example and throw up. His worst nightmare was coming true, innocent children used as the ultimate disposable solider.
"However, there is one thing I am interested to know and, Severus, perhaps you could tell me the answer? After all are you not my spy in Hogwarts?"
Severus bowed his head. Shit, he knew what was coming and it was going to hurt. "My Lord?"
"If the potion had this effect on this brat, then why the hell does Potter look seventeen? It was the same potion, Severus."
"I don't know, my Lord, Dumbledore only tells me so much and Potter looks the same to me." He knew it was not a good enough answer.
"He must have changed. Otherwise, why would he run to that old fool in the summer? Yes, I believe Potter has changed and you should have been aware of it, Severus!" The anger was building.
Severus gritted his teeth as he mentally prepared for the punishment he knew was not far away. "I am most sorry, my Lord."
"Some mistakes can be rectified, Severus, and this is one of them. But you will have to be punished; I cannot show favouritism. Crucio."
He was braced for the pain so when it came it was not too much of a shock to his system. He could also feel the necklace Harry had given him take the edge off it. But it still hurt like hell and caused his nose to bleed and his knee hurt from his crashing to the floor on it.
A minute later, "Get up Severus." He did as he was told, though he was a little shaky. "The reason I did not punish you as severely as I should have is that I had, unfortunately, killed that young potion brewer from Italy so he is unable to reproduce the potion for me. But with your skills, Severus, I know you CAN reproduce its effects for me."
"Of course, my Lord, it is an honour to serve."
"Excellent." He handed Severus a vial of the potion. "I expect it in a few weeks for our first raid on an orphanage." The glint in his eye was pure evil as was the smile on his twisted lips. "Oh and, Severus, this brat will need to be killed, he knows to much. You will have that honour, I know you don't have as much blood thirst as you used to, but it's always good to keep your hand in, don't you agree?"
"Yes, my Lord." Severus stepped towards the man-child and raised his wand, he would have given anything not to have to do this to yet another innocent child but he had no choice. Albus had to find out what the Dark Lord's plans were and, if he refused, he would be killed and another brewer found to make the stuff and Albus would not find out until it was too late. Sacrifice the one to save the many, he chanted in his head. "Avada Kedavra" and the man-child was dead. The Dark Lord looked pleased.
"Dismissed." Everyone left the hall in a hurry; most were excited about the possibilities of this new army that was planned. Severus wanted to get away fast; back to the Forbidden Forest to throw up everything he had eaten in the last 24 hours.
***
After being thoroughly sick, Severus gathered his wits about him and headed back into the castle and up to the hospital wing. He still did not feel well and his nose would not stop bleeding. He needed Poppy to perform some of her special brand magic on him to get himself back in balance.
***
"Severus, you look pale. What happened?"
They were in one of the private rooms in the back of the infirmary, and several silencing spells had been cast to ensure them privacy. "Nothing too bad, Cruciatus Curse once for about a minute and I vomited for about ten minutes outside in the forest."
"Why? Do you still feel nauseous?"
"I wish to only relive it once, will you do me a favour and call Albus down?"
"Of course. Lie down while I do so."
She left the room and Severus did as she asked. He didn't have the energy to fight her right now; his heart wasn't in it. He heard the soft patter of steps enter his room, the footfalls were all wrong to belong to either Poppy or to Albus. As quick as a blink of an eye, he had his wand out and pointed directly at the heart of a very startled looking Harry Potter. Severus groaned and lay back down. "Pot… Harry what are you doing here?"
"I was worried, I couldn't sleep. I saw you cross the fields from my dorm window and wanted to make sure you were alright."
"I'm fine. Go back to bed." He could not deal with this now; he did not need to look at Harry while he dealt with the figurative blood on his hands from the death of an innocent. He closed his eyes and hoped the boy would be gone when he opened them again. No such luck! Instead the steps came closer and he felt soft fingers stroke his cheek. He sighed, what was he going to do? He should never have kissed the boy, but he basically lost control. And it was nice. He couldn't keep the small smile from his lips; it would only give the brat encouragement.
"Hello, Harry, Severus."
Severus snapped his eyes open to meet the twinkling gaze of Albus Dumbledore. He would never live it down, being caught with a smile on his face, albeit a small smile, in the company of Harry "I'm a bloody Gryffindor and too cute for words" Potter.
"Albus."
"Headmaster." Harry looked as guilty as sin; Severus again wondered how in the hell did this boy get away with so much?
"Isn't it time you were in bed, Harry?" Thank Merlin; Albus was going to send him away.
"I want to stay."
"No. I will not allow it. Not this time."
"Calm down, Severus. You are not well." Poppy had already started thrusting cups of potion at him.
"Harry, why don't you wait outside? You may see Severus after we are finished." Harry looked a little unsure, but complied with Albus' order.
Once Harry had left, Severus turned to Albus. "He has discovered the use of the potion. It was accidentally tried on some child that was kidnapped last night. The idiot Death Eater thought it was poison. The Dark Lord discovered the child this afternoon, hence his extreme happiness. He has ordered me to make some more."
"More?"
"Yes. In about two weeks he is going to raid an orphanage and start building his disposable army."
"I guess you have no choice but to make the potion. There are not many wizard orphanages in this country. We will have to get order members to guard each one. At least now we know the antidote should something go wrong. What of the lad Voldemort has in his custody?"
Severus paled again, if there had been anything left in his stomach it would have come up at that moment. Poppy noticed though, "Severus, I'm guessing this has something to do with your nausea?"
"You are correct, Poppy. The Dark Lord ordered that I kill him. I made sure it was quick and as painless as possible." His voice was no more then a harsh whisper, a weaker man would have cried.
Albus looked saddened. "I know you did, Severus. There was nothing you could have done." He patted him on the arm "I shall leave you to get some rest."
Poppy, ever the professional, barely stopped what she was doing when she had heard of the child's fate. "Severus, you will be fine. You may return to your rooms, but, if possible, please eat something at breakfast. You need your strength."
"I will, Poppy, thank you."
She left with Albus to apprise him of the physical injuries; Severus just hoped he could cope with the mental ones as well.
***
He was just about to leave the room when Harry entered. Damn! He had forgotten about him. He just wanted to go to bed and try to forget tonight had ever happened. He was good at that.
"Severus, how are you?"
"Tired." Before he could get another word out to send Harry away so he could get some peace, the boy had flung himself into his arms. He winced in pain. Harry pulled away immediately looking horrified.
"Merlin, Severus, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be, I'm fine. I just need some rest."
"What happened tonight?" Severus just growled at the boy, he was never going to get to bed. "Please."
"The Dark Lord has discovered your condition and plans to use it on other children to build an army. Happy now? May I leave?" Severus was aware his tone was sharp and that Harry did not deserve it. "Sorry," he mumbled after seeing how upset the boy was. Harry was visibly shaking.
"You were punished by him tonight, weren't you? Because you didn't tell him about me."
"Yes, it was not…"
"It's all my fault! Everyone I care for ends up getting hurt because of me." Anger and guilt was evident in the boy's tone, what he was angry about Severus wasn't sure.
Severus was not in the mood for this! "Quit the self pitying act! There is more at stake here than your pathetic self. The world does NOT revolve around you!"
"This is not self pity, it's a fact. Look at you, you're hurt because of me."
His response was a frustrated growl. "Harry…"
"Let's just go and get out of here. Leave."
"That's the best thing you have said all night. Goodnight." Severus got up to leave, but never made it past Harry.
"No. I mean leave here, just go. Leave Voldemort and everything else behind,"
The boy had clearly gone insane, he wondered if Albus was aware of this fact. "And go where exactly?"
"Anywhere, a tropical island." He actually sounded sincere.
"Harry, go to bed" Severus' temper was threatening to come out.
"No! Voldemort is never going to leave me alone! He will keep picking and picking until I am all alone!"
"Where is your famous Gryffindor courage? I know it's a shit hand you have been dealt, but DEAL with it. We all have to deal with shit we don't like but we do. Sure, run away and the devil take everyone left behind! You self-centred little shit! So the Golden Boy is a little tarnished about the edges. I would not have expected this cowardice from you, from Black, yes, but not from you." To hell with keeping his temper in check, the boy was pressing all his buttons right now. One thing he hated was a self-pitying whiner. And right now Harry was exactly that!
"Why are you getting angry at me? This is not my fault." Great, now the boy was being petulant.
"Keep up with your own complaints, boy. Just now you were complaining that it was all your fault. Make up your mind." Fuck temper, he actually wondered if anyone would notice if he killed Potter!
"I meant your anger, why are you angry at ME! I didn't ask for this, I don't want to be the fucking saviour!"
"Piss off and do your martyred messiah routine for someone who cares. Every sacrifice that has been made for you…your parents must be spinning in their graves right now! Or do their efforts mean nothing to you, you conceited little twit?" Teeth were bared and venom was dripping from his voice. Why wouldn't the boy just leave him alone?
"Why are you so pissed off at me? What have I done?" Tears started to fall down the boy's cheeks, he felt as though someone had forced all the air from his body at one time. First Sirius, now his parents…
"I'm pissed off at you, because you wouldn't let it go, when I clearly asked several times for you to let me be." Severus started to walk away.
"All I wanted to know was if you were okay? And you went off on me." Harry screamed after him.
Severus could feel the tension building in the infirmary. It was never a good idea to have two powerful wizards embroiled in an argument in an enclosed space. Shit usually smashed that way. He just wanted to get away; Harry's tears just reminded him of the man-child he had killed in cold blood.
"I was just worried, Severus, I care about you!" Harry had caught up with him. He spun on his heel.
"Well, you shouldn't, Potter. I have told you before and I will tell you again, I-am-not-a-nice-man! You should not care for me. I have done things that would make you sick, things that would make you flee in terror." His voice was low and dangerous.
"I don't care, Severus, what I care about is you. Why can't you see that?"
"You shouldn't." He tried to leave again, but Harry was not giving up so easily.
"Why shouldn't I? Why are you being like this? You didn't act like this when I last saw you after a meeting."
"Because LAST time I didn't have to KILL a petrified ten year old in cold BLOOD!" The one thing Severus didn't want Harry to know had just slipped out in anger. He dearly didn't want the boy to think him a monster. To late for that, the logical part of his brain said. Harry was pale and looked horrified. The silence between them was deafening. Severus turned to leave.
"Why?" it was a whisper.
Severus' anger had left him, now he felt defeated and oh so tired. "Because I was ordered to, because I sacrificed him to save many more, what does it matter? I did it. I murdered a child trapped in an adult body without a second thought. So that makes me a heartless bastard."
"That's not true, if you didn't care you wouldn't be so upset now. I guess you did what you had to do. No matter how hard it was. You are stronger then I."
He could tell the boy was telling truth, he could see it in his face. But he was not ready for forgiveness just yet. "I am sorry I lost my temper with you. It has been a hard night." He tentatively reached out and wiped a tear away from the boy's cheek with his thumb.
"I'm sorry also. I should have just let you leave when you asked." Harry stepped towards him and hugged him. He eagerly embraced the boy back, welcoming the comfort. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I never want to hurt you, I love you to much to want to hurt you."
Even though the boy was speaking into his chest, there was no mistaking what Harry had said to him. This just added a whole new set of complications in his life. Nice ones, hopefully. He tilted Harry's face up and gently pressed his lips to his in a soft and tender kiss.
Next Chapter: Harry continues his Dark Mark and Animagi studies; and the first orphanage raid takes place!
Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read my story and big hugs to all that have taken the time to review.
Rhysel Ash – Thanks very much for your review. I'm sorry you didn't think the necklace wasn't described enough, I think the problem was I knew what it looked like in my head and forgot everybody else doesn't. I promise to try and be more descriptive in the future.
Athenakitty – A hatchet in the head would have been hilarious! They will have the chat on how to pop Voldie's clogs later on, a nice one I promise.
Calani – Thanks for your review. On the Harry Potter Lexicon website, Bill was three years behind Severus and Harry's parents in school. So Bill was just in love with an older boy, hey we have all been there!
Badassgothicgirl – Thank you for your kind words. The DADA's teach will come up against Sev soon!
Lu – Thanks, as I said in my e-mail to you, I try to update once a week at the weekends.
rema ciphers – Thanks for your review. The school rule has been mentioned before and Hermione discovered it, but it will be bought up again.
Leeleepotter – Thanks for your review. I think Hermione will work it out.
Sandi_Bebop – Thank you very much. And I have added your story to my too read list. I promise I will get around to it!
Penny – Thank you as always. I think they will start to get a little suspicious soon, after all how many students spend that much on a gift for a teacher!
Miss. Charlet – Thanks. I agree with you it was time for a fluffy chapter. Don't worry about your spelling, mine is amazingly crap. Thank God for brilliant betas.
Jedi Buttercup – Thank you. The Bill and Severus story will have a conclusion in slightly later chapters. I'm also glad you liked the mature Harry.
Eriolgurl – Thank you. Yes they had a little fling at school.
Necromant – Thank you. This chapter answered a lot of the questions about the antidote.
Kristine Thorne – Thanks. I think the chapter in book five 'Snape's worst memory' was responsible for a lot of people staying away from this pair as a couple.
Jane Silver – Thank you. The snake is currently in Harry's dorm and will be back again.
AmandaMarsters – Thank you for your review. I have written Harry as if he still was.
kizna2 – Thank you. Yes there was a thing between Sev and Bill. This will not be a death-fic. I like happy endings.
Really big thanks go out to the following; you were all very nice and kind with your reviews. So big hugs to all;
Kateri1 / Wanderingwolf / Obviations / c[R]ud[E]dly / TheSecretCharacter / Snifflesaboutsnuffles / bramblerose-proudfoot / ennui deMorte / Lillipad / Amber-and-Ash / Mikee / Goldenpaw / Sadie Leigh / Blackrose / ShaeLynn / Calyx-girl / LNR / Esmerelda Black / Pam Briggs / Fuzzy-Bumpkins / Stephanie / Queen Slash / Tate Soyker / Ruth / erristal.
I hope all you guys enjoyed this chapter, thanks again for taking the time to review.