A/N: Two chapters in 10 days...this should make some people very happy...perhaps... Happy reading! :)

Same disclaimers apply

Harry was writhing underneath a long, lean, strong body. He was being assaulted with kisses to his throat, chest, and they kept trailing farther and farther down his torso. "Mmmm," he moaned, running his fingers through the long, soft, black hair that was tickling its way down to his waist. He canted his hips up and he heard a low chuckle. "Patience, love," the deep, silken tone admonished. Harry bucked up as he felt and heard the long intake of breath and the roughness of cheek sliding up his cock. He howled as he felt himself enveloped in warm wetness and he cried out before spilling himself, "Severus!"

Harry awoke with a start to a wet pulsing beneath him. He was lying face down in the bed in his room at the Weasley's. He groaned and buried his head into his pillow, fumbling around before grabbing his wand from the nightstand and giving it a flick to remove the sticky mess underneath him. He dropped the wand back on the side table without raising his head from the pillow.

"Fuck," he cursed at no one in particular. He crawled out of bed and headed to the loo to take a shower. Patience is overrated, he thought to himself, remembering his dream; definitely overrated.

As Harry toweled off from his shower, he heard a knock at the door.

"Harry?" Ron's voice was muffled.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"There's someone here to see you," Ron replied.

"Who?" Harry asked, drying his hair.

Apparently, Ron had left, because there was no answer to Harry's question.

Harry dressed and made his way downstairs, where he received a strange look from Hermione and a light jerk of her head into the sitting room, where he assumed his visitor was waiting. He had no idea who that might be, who would come to the Weasely's on a Sunday to speak with him. He stopped short when he saw the figure sitting awkwardly on the sofa.

"Hullo," Harry said gingerly as he made his way around to face Severus.

Severus inclined his head stiffly. "Minerva said you would be here. She instructed me on how to find you."

Harry didn't say anything. He sighed, not conveying anger or hostility, but tiredness, his body language giving away how haggard the situation over the past several weeks had made him. Severus looked like he had something to say but wasn't sure how – or wasn't able to. He opened his mouth and closed it abruptly, twice, before Harry closed his eyes and shook his head, relieving him of his discomfort.

"I know," he told Severus, shoving his hands into his pockets. "If anyone should know that you hex first and ask questions later, it's me. I shouldn't have done it. At least, not like that. I should have woken you up. I'm sorry, I…I just…" Harry looked down at the floor and bit his lip.

Severus stood and spoke deliberately. "I should not have reacted that way."

Harry shook his head again, eyes still on the floor.

"You have been nothing but understanding towards me since this incident occurred. I should have thought about that before…" Severus swallowed uncomfortably. "I should have thanked you for interrupting the nightmare."

Harry finally looked up at Severus, a tight smile playing at his lips. "I know you don't understand, but," Harry paused, unsure of if he should continue. "I just miss you," he turned his head and gazed out the window.

Severus stared at Harry, trying not to see James. Although Harry was turned slightly away from him, he could still see the vibrant green eyes through the glasses frames. "I think I might understand a bit more than you realize," he responded, thinking of how much those eyes reminded him of Lily. His face hardened. He would not think of her now.

There was an awkward silence between them until Ron stumbled into the room, followed closely by Hermione, who was clearly trying to stop him.

"Oh," he mumbled, sensing the tension in the air. "Sorry."

Hermione rolled her eyes and swatted him on the arm. "I'm sorry," she said, looking at Harry. "I thought maybe you'd both like to head back over to Hogwarts and get the ingredients for the antidote?"

Severus visibly relaxed, thankful to be saved from his awkward apology – or what he hoped had passed for an apology – to Harry.

Harry smiled at Hermione, genuinely glad to be reminded that there was a chance that he might have his lover back by the time he was ready for bed. Although if that happens, he thought to himself, I'm pretty sure there won't be much sleeping going on. He smirked.

Gathering the ingredients had not taken as long as Harry had anticipated, although he figured that might have something to do with the fact that, although his partner was the most highly regarded Potions Master in Britain, Harry had still not figured out how to brew so much as a basic calming draught without bollocksing it up somehow. When the foursome returned to Harry's and Severus's quarters, Hermione had announced they would be going into the laboratory to brew the antidote. Harry and Ron had followed after her and Severus, but she had shot them an exasperated look (after Severus had glared dubiously at Harry) and he realized "they" did not include Ron or himself. Hermione and Severus went into the lab and shut the door. Harry was reasonably sure she had warded it to keep them out – and probably prevent them from listening in.

Harry and Ron had sat down in front of the empty fire grate and tried to hold a decent conversation, but Harry was distractible. Ron finally suggested they play a game of chess to take Harry's mind off of the wait, and that had worked – for the first two games. Then Harry had enlisted Ron to help him mark essays. That worked until Ron became so fed up with the drivel the students had put on the paper that he swore of teaching forever. Harry suggested another game of chess.

"How much longer are they going to be?" Harry's glance stole toward the laboratory door for what must have been the hundredth time in the last half hour.

"You're asking the wrong person, mate," Ron sighed as he scoured the chess board, looking for a move to prolong the game. Harry, who wasn't usually a strong opponent, had turned this game into a useless excuse for a match, focusing his attention squarely on the laboratory door.

"How long have they been in there?" Harry tried to think about what his next move would be, but failed spectacularly, his whole body now turning to face the laboratory.

Ron glanced at his watch, and then the door. "I dunno, close to two hours?"

"They have to be done soon, then," Harry said, more to himself than to Ron. "She said it would only take a few hours."

"D'you want to go down to Hogsmeade?" Ron thought that might be a better distraction than chess. And definitely better than marking papers.

Harry snapped his head back to stare at Ron in disbelief.

"We could go fly around the pitch," Ron suggested. "You know she'll send her Patronus out to us if we're not here when they finish."

"I'm not going anywhere," Harry said with finality.

Ron shook his head and rolled his eyes in sympathy. "I'm so sorry, mate. I don't know how you're dealing with this so well. If it were me, if this had happened to Hermione…I'd be going spare."

"Yeah, well," Harry stood up and stretched. "Let's just hope the two of them together pull off the greatest magical feat of our time."

Just then, the door of the lab opened and Hermione came out, followed by Severus, who held an opaque green glass vial in his hand.

Harry dropped his arms and hurried over to Hermione, who had an expectant smile on her face.

"Well?" Harry's eyes darted between Hermione and the vial and Severus.

"It's ready," Hermione took in a deep breath.

Severus stopped walking, vial held some distance out in front of him. "Harry, I…" he paused, his brows contracting and his mouth pressing into a thin line. "I should remind you that this is not likely to work. It is a trial. You should prepare yourself – for disappointment."

"That's cheerful," Ron muttered behind Harry. Hermione threw him a warning glance.

"Well," Harry inhaled sharply. "We won't know until you try." He nodded, his head gesturing to the vial.

Severus unstoppered it, locked his eyes with Harry's, and swallowed the contents in one gulp.

Harry's eyes were trained on Severus's face, waiting for some sort of indication of success or failure. Hermione's eyes were on Harry, waiting for a reaction. Severus's eyes were on the empty vial. Seconds ticked by without so much as a breath. Finally, Harry couldn't stand it any longer.

"Well?" his body tense with anxiety, his face taut with nerves.

Severus's eyes flickered up to meet Harry's for the briefest of seconds, then went back to the vial. Without warning, he flung the vial to the floor, shattering the glass and causing Harry, Hermione, and Ron to jump. Severus whirled around and fled the room, darkness evident in every feature on his face.

The three friends stood, dumbfounded, for a moment longer, and then Hermione turned to Ron and said, in an apologetic voice, "I suppose you should go tell McGonagall to keep Slughorn on for a while longer."

Harry's heart sunk to his feet.