I'm back to update :D Okay, I guess I should confess first - there is no biting or drinking of blood in this chapter! Well, I wanted to, at first, but in the end I thought that it might impact Harry's trust in Severus, and of course, because I think Severus has a very firm sense of control... So no biting, no feeding, but maybe, maybe in the future...? I dunno.
Salinia, , Gracealma, Twi's Dreamer, Yana5, Child of the sea 134, Ywink13, Moi, Potterlover205, E-Loveless, imcck, classyannie - Thanks! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!
LittleYepa - Harry is not entirely oblivious, as you'll see in this chapter, but generally he chooses not to think too much about it. Considering his experience in love and romance, I think that would be a natural reaction for him, especially when he has other things on his mind at the moment. But the good thing is that Severus will be forced to face his true feelings!
KTT2123 - Yes, Severus is in trouble now, but not from Harry though - he's still a bit oblivious+ignoring his feelings. Well, you get to see his reactions here :)
OldestOfTheYoung - A little cliffy here and there is good for your health ;) Hmm, actually nothing fluffy of sort happens :S I think that after the incident in Fourth Year, Ron should have grown up a bit, and the Sanctuary and their operations should have helped to make him think things through better. Mentions of The Talk would probably appear in one of the future chapters, muahaha!
littlesprout - Yupp, that's why I thought that was the best punishment for Harry to use on Smith, he definitely can't stand being ignored! This is the chapter just before they are going to start the Courting, so Severus can't hide it anymore!
TheSamurai'sRose - Every writer needs a cliff-hanger every now and then to keep you interested ;D I definitely hope that it gets better especially when the Courting and the main part on the Sanctuary starts!
daithi4377 - Harry definitely would not have thought that Severus was almost about to go into a bloodlust, but it's the first time he is facing such a problem, so we'll have to give him some leeway... Well, even if Harry retracts the punishment after a week or two, the other students can choose not to forgive him, and that's the beauty of the punishment ;D Eventually Harry will come to terms with the past abuse, but that'll will take some time for them to wear down his defences around the topic.
Miyu Kokomi - I really don't know if I should be happy or sad with non-English replies... Although I'm glad that it looks as if my fanfic has diverse readers; Google translate keeps giving me weird translations... Don't hate me for cliff-hangers, people say it's a good technique Q_Q Generally I try to keep the chapters as standalone as they can be in the flow. Licking Harry's neck is probably the most intimate thing that's happening right now... I'm more inclined towards writing cuddling and fluff.
So sweet - Thanks, your reply is also so sweet. More cuteness to come when the Courting finally begins in the next few chapters!
autumngold - The three of them will definitely protect Harry to their very best. Well, Dumbledore isn't exactly a bad guy here - at least that's not what I intend to achieve - but they will protect him from whatever Dumbledore had planned for Harry to do. The Dursleys are definitely out of the story now, the most they'll appear is when Harry talks about his childhood with Lucius, Severus and Draco.
Isarma - Thanks! Severus is technically forced by Lucius to admit his feelings, Courting starts in the next chapter or so, I guess.
LikaNues - Harry is starting to realise that there is something different between his interactions with his friends and the three Slytherins, but he won't admit it until the Courting really starts.
Chapter Fourteen: Admittance, Finally
Severus snapped out of his stupor upon hearing the uncertainty in Harry's voice – what had he been thinking? Trying to feed from the innocent, unsuspecting boy? And what was this about his mate? He had no idea where that came from! There was no way he was thinking of Harry Potter as a worthy mate to pursue! He was a Potter, the son of James Potter, the bane of his existence, for Merlin's sake!
And Potter was rash and impulsive, too bold and emotional for his own good, although well, it was one of his more endearing qualities as well, when he refused to allow Severus to stay up the entire night for stirring the potion, forcing him out of his own potions lab until he had at least a nap… wait, his line of thoughts was not supposed to go there!
"Professor?"
Harry was growing more and more worried by the moment. He had seen in his nightmarish vision how Voldemort had tortured Severus when he didn't provide him with satisfactory results for whatever he was demanding – blood-letting curses and bone-breaking curses interspersed with the Cruciatus curse, he had been afraid that the professor might not even make it back to Hogwarts alive. Severus' unusual behaviour and reaction now was even more unnerving, trying his best to push away the foreign but pleasant tingling he felt from the gentle nuzzling, Harry asked again, "Professor, are you alright?"
Severus nodded his head tiredly, he desperately needed a good rest right now, he was definitely not in the right mind.
Harry continued guiding their way back to Severus' quarters, "I asked Dobby to bring Professor Malfoy and Draco down, I hope you won't mind – I'm not sure I know exactly what to do with the injuries…"
"Stop rambling, Potter," Severus muttered, "I just need minor healing and some sleep."
"Oh, um, okay," Harry kept quiet after that, taking care not to trip over anything.
As they got close to the rooms, Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak off, there wasn't a chance of running into anyone here – even Filch and Mrs. Norris avoided the dungeons. The portrait guarding Severus' quarters didn't even ask for the password as he saw them approaching, just swinging forward at the right time to allow them to pass through without question.
"Harry, what on earth did y- Severus?" Lucius stopped mid-sentence as he took in the state Severus was in, hurriedly moving forward to help Harry bring Severus to the closest couch.
Draco started removing the healing potions from the bag his Father brought with him, pulling out several blood-replenishing potions in addition to strengthening potions. It was a silent process in which Lucius healed all of the open wounds, with Harry thrusting the healing potions into Severus' hands, watching him gulp down the contents, as Draco retrieved nerve-soothing potions from Severus' stores.
Finally when they were certain that Severus' conditions were as good as he can be, Lucius asked, "What happened, Severus? Did the Dark Lord summon you now? But why was it Harry who asked for us to come down?"
Severus leaned back on the couch, too exhausted and confused to process coherent thoughts. Harry asked Dobby to keep the prepared broth warm before answering Lucius' questions.
"You know that I sometimes have visions of what Voldemort does, right?" Lucius nodded his head, he had heard of the connection between Harry and the Dark Lord, especially in light of the event at the Ministry the year before.
Harry rubbed his scar instinctively as he explained, "I had a vision tonight – he was anxious and frustrated, he wanted something really badly, but I still don't know what he wanted… I saw Professor Snape enter the room, and he demanded something from the professor, but he didn't have it, then Voldemort crucioed him and – it was so awful – he kept cursing Professor Snape, but casting healing spells now and then to make sure the wounds weren't fatal – he was toying with him, Merlin I-" Harry's voice broke off. He could remember so distinctively the emotions that went through Voldemort's mind at the time even as the pain from the connection erupted in his head – the frustration and rage from not getting what he wanted, the sadistic pleasure from torturing one of his followers, the perverted sense of arousal from blood and suffering – he felt so sick.
Draco apparently sensed his distress and moved closer to him on the couch, placing his arm over the younger teenager's shoulder, letting him lean into his taller frame.
Lucius' gaze softened as he saw Harry being upset over this, and walked up to the back of the couch, reaching out to place his palm on Harry's head, massaging his scalp soothingly. "The Dark Lord is cruel and insane, Harry, do not fret yourself over the brutality of his actions, it is what we are all aware of, and prepared to deal with it."
Severus was close to nodding off but still conscious enough to place a hand on Harry's trembling fingers, giving him an understanding look, but not wakeful enough to offer words of comfort or reassurance.
Seeing that it was already two o'clock in the morning, Lucius shooed both Draco and Harry off back to their dormitories to get some sleep before turning back to Severus. Although Severus appeared only to be exhausted from his injuries, having known the man for so many years, Lucius could tell that his friend had more things on his mind than the two boys thought.
"What else happened?"
Severus scowled, he wanted to be left alone to rest and think over his actions and feelings carefully, but Lucius just had to meddle! "What do you mean? Nothing else happened."
Lucius' brows rose high, "Are you sure? You look troubled, and you did not allow Harry to sit by you just now when he was administering the potions. Do not attempt to fool me, Severus, did you not see that Harry felt hurt when you snapped at him to move away?"
Severus groaned inwardly. He didn't intend to hurt the boy, but he was too afraid of his reactions towards Harry being close to him, his survival instincts had pushed his Daemon nature far closer to the surface than he would have liked.
"Severus?"
Severus sighed as he rubbed his temples, seems like he is not getting any sleep before Lucius is satisfied with his answer; he might as well try to get this off his mind. "I cannot stay beside that boy, Lucius."
Lucius frowned, not understanding what Severus was about to get at.
"I nearly attacked the boy! For Merlin's sake, I almost fed from him right there and then, when he was totally unaware of it, Lucius! I could not control myself, all I could think of was how sweet his blood smelt, and how soft and warm his skin was, as if he was my mate-" Severus' rant stopped abruptly.
Twitching one side of his lips, Lucius tried very hard to refrain from smiling, "I see, so that was the main reason you were afraid, then. Not because you nearly assaulted him, but because you find your instincts desiring Harry as your mate.
"But what is the problem, Severus? Surely you are not fretting over something like not being good enough for the Saviour of the Wizarding World?" Severus glared at him but Lucius continued anyway, "Your ages are not even as far apart as Harry and I – not that I am holding back at all – and you do not need to seek a mate who is of the same inheritance or clan; so what is the problem?"
"… You do not understand, Lucius," Severus sighed audibly. "We- we don't have the best of history between us... I have been belittling him ever since he came to Hogwarts, and Merlin knows he hated me for all of the five years before this summer! Are you expecting him to accept my advances at all, Lucius? You must be delusional!"
Lucius nearly laughed at Severus' outburst, "Really, Severus, I would have thought you understood the boy much better than this. I had an even worse history with Harry before this, if you remember, I was never in his good graces ever since we met – Draco probably did not help with improving his impression of the Malfoys either. While you have not shown him kindness in the past, you have sought to protect him; and do you think he is so ignorant to actually ignore this fact? If he can forgive me for my past actions, why can he not extend you the same privilege?
"Do not forget, Severus, Harry is extremely soft-hearted and compassionate. He has treated us with respect, and if I dare say it, even affection, you should do him the same, even if only for courtesy," Lucius explained, "The boy is starved of love and affection, surely you could offer him this and protection in your pursuit?"
Severus thought seriously for a while, before scrutinising Lucius closely, "I can see that you are interested in Potter yourself, Lucius, why are you persuading me then?"
Lucius smirked, "I have no doubt that our little Elf is more powerful than he thinks, grounding his magic will be no easy feat; I am prepared to share with his other mates, which of course, would be preferable if it was someone I know and trust – like yourself, Severus, and my son too, of course. And Harry deserves so much more attention and love than he has ever had, who am I to deny him that?"
"You have talked to Draco about this?"
Lucius shook his head, "But I doubt it will be long before Draco decides to confront me about it."
"And if Draco does not wish to share?" Severus quirked his brow in question.
"He will have to learn, him alone will not be sufficient to support Harry in any way he needs," Lucius' expression hardened, "If not, may the best man win. I will not hold out against my son." He had come to realise that whatever feelings he harboured for the young Elf was extremely strong and possessive, the delectable teen was definitely more than worthy, no matter personality, appearance or magic, and he will not give up – unless Harry desires so.
"I see," Severus tightened his lips in contemplation, "I need time to think about how I will deal with this, Lucius, now kindly leave my quarters so that I can at least get some sleep before dealing with the dunderheads tomorrow."
Lucius laughed heartily as he moved towards the door, "Before you start considering Courting intent gifts, you might want to think about calling him Harry, you know, I am sure he will appreciate it a lot."
Severus scowled at Lucius' retreating back but he knew that it was true – the look of disappointment on Potter, no, Harry's face when he had continued calling him Potter after his confession about the Sanctuary in the Room of Requirement was still fresh in his memory. Every time he called the name "Potter", he was constantly reminded of James Potter and his friends, even though he was well aware that Harry different from his father, he still tended to still act relatively harsher towards the boy than he had wanted to.
Perhaps, yes, perhaps he will start doing so tomorrow.
Harry came down to the Great Hall the next day, stifling a great yawn as he tried to decide whether he wanted to sit with the Slytherins this morning, or his fellow Gryffindors (not that he had sat with them once ever since he started having breakfast with the snakes, and he was starting to get complaints from his Housemates); he hadn't been able to get some sleep after the incident the previous night – every time he closed his eyes he was bombarded by the remnants of the emotions he felt over the link with Voldemort, and it would immediately shock him out of his sleepy state.
An arm slid across his shoulder as a familiar warmth pressed against him from the back, "You look tired, did you get any sleep after Father sent us off last night?"
"Morning, Draco," Harry couldn't hold back another yawn, "Couldn't sleep, was a bit restless."
Draco frowned, he guessed that there was some lingering effects of Harry's vision of Voldemort, but he also knew that the boy would not divulge what he thought were petty worries. Taking Harry's hand, he guided him towards the Slytherin table, intent on making sure he eats enough this morning.
"How many people did you think you were feeding?" Harry stared incredulously at the pile of sausages, muffins, bacon and scrambled eggs on his plate.
Daphne sniffed indignantly, adding another generous portion of eggs, "I assure you that is how much Blaise eats every morning."
"What? You must be kidding me!" Harry cried out in disbelief.
"What? I'm offended, Daphne, I can eat far more than that!" Blaise huffed, and snorted when he saw Harry looking at him as though he was insane, "I am a growing boy, and I think Weasley eats even more than I do, Harry, spare me that look, I am perfectly normal."
Harry grudgingly started on his plate, muttering about "impossible teenage boys" and "evil plot to fatten me" under his breath, to the amusement of the other Slytherins at the table.
As he was halfway through the mountain of food, Lucius stopped by their table and bent down towards Harry, gently caressing his forehead, "You do not look well today, Harry, perhaps you would want to take the day off?"
"I'm fine, sir," Harry insisted, "It's just one night of restlessness, it's nothing."
"If you are sure, Harry," Lucius brushed away a few stray locks of hair on Harry's forehead, and tucking it back behind his ears, "If you feel less than well later in the day, will you promise me to go to the hospital wing and allow Madam Pomfrey to check you up?"
Harry murmured a vague agreement, but Lucius knew it was the best he could get.
Draco's lips tightened and frowned, looking at his Father's hand that had yet to leave Harry's face – even though he was used to this show of physical affection, it had never been this long, neither had it been this intimate (he was sure Harry could even feel Lucius' breath ghosting over the top of his head!).
The other Slytherins watched in fascination as Draco narrowed his eyes at Lucius' overly affectionate display; all of them knew of Draco's infatuation with Harry Potter, but they were guessing that the older Malfoy was also more interested in Harry Potter than a mere prodigy, but of course, Slytherins would never say it out loud, they will just observe quietly and side with the final winner.
"Then I will see you later in class today, Harry," Lucius gave a final flick at Harry's cheek, and walked off towards the Head Table.
Harry let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. He was used to Lucius gentle caring touches every now and then – it was really comforting and endearing – but today it seemed different, it felt more personal and deep than it used to be, as if there was more to the action than mere caring and worry, but he couldn't pinpoint what he actually felt from the gesture.
Shrugging, he pushed the thought aside for the time being, and focused on trying to clear his plate. But before he could continue his breakfast, a hand appeared from his right side, and placed a potion vial next to his plate.
"Professor Snape?" He saw the strict professor as he turned back.
The professor looked carefully at his face and spoke, "I know that you will refuse to rest now, you should take the potion at least, to keep yourself functioning for the rest of the day."
Harry took a closer look at the vial, and realised that it was a Pepper-Up Potion. He nodded his acceptance, "Thank you, Professor."
Severus nodded in satisfaction, stepping back and added, "If you find it necessary, I have some modified Dreamless Sleep available, Harry, you may ask for it." He turned and left before Harry gave a response, although not before seeing the slowly growing smile on his face as he registered that the Professor had just called him by his name.
Draco was baffled, both his Father and his Godfather was acting differently today. First his Father had to come over and fawn all over Harry, touching him a tad bit too long for his comfort and looking at Harry in a way far more gentle than he used to; then his Godfather comes to offer a Pepper-Up, calling Harry by his given name – and was that a smirk at the end? – what are the both of them up to?
And then there was Harry's reaction to worry about. He swore Harry blushed when his Father caressed his cheek with a tender gaze, and the smile aimed at his Godfather was definitely more brilliant than any other he had ever seen... A sense of urgency was suddenly emerging – was he going to lose Harry's affection to competitors?
Harry happily tucked into his breakfast, not even complaining when Daphne and Pansy snuck a few more pieces of bacon onto his plate. Professor Snape had just called him "Harry", something he had hoped for ever since he told them the truth of the Sanctuary and Speaker; he had hoped that the stoic professor would acknowledge that he was just Harry, not Harry Potter, the evil spawn of James Potter, or the poster boy for the Light Side, especially since their relationship was more and more amicable every day... Merlin only knows how jealous he was every time he saw the closeness Draco shared with his Godfather, something he no longer had a chance to achieve.
Blaise grinned and nudged Draco's ribs, whispering softly so that Harry could not hear, "Seems that your Father and Professor Snape are being extra nice to sweet little Harry here, Draco dear, whatever will you do?"
Draco scowled at Blaise's obvious enjoyment of the situation, but made a mental note to meet his Father after this to clarify his intentions towards Harry. Well, he had to admit he did see it coming for a week or two, at least for his Father, but his Godfather? It must be the incident last night that created some sort of understanding or awareness, then.
Just as Harry struggled to finish the last few bits on his plate, he received a light tap on his shoulders. Twisting his head around he saw Ernie Macmillian staring at him intently, expression firmly stoic as he informed him, "We have spread word of Smith's actions in our House, everyone has agreed that the punishment is fair and just, and all have declared intention to participate. No Hufflepuff will be seen voluntarily in Smith's company, and his partnering in class will be on rotation basis, he will no longer be part of the Hufflepuff House for as long as he is being punished."
Harry widened his eyes slightly, he had thought Smith wasn't popular in his own House, but to the extent that not a single soul in the most loyal House would support him... it was unthinkable. Maybe that would push him to regret his actions sooner.
"I understand," Harry inclined his head, "I appreciate your efforts, and he will be forgiven only when he understands his mistakes and agrees to make up for it."
Ernie nodded his head, muttering darkly, "Don't even know if we ever want to forgive him..."
Pansy added as Ernie left the Slytherin table, "After learning what he has done, none of the Slytherins would want to associate themselves with him, how dare he mess with one of our snakes!"
Harry smiled, it seems that the punishment would be more effective than he thought. Just as he was prepared to leave the table, a tawny owl flew towards him in the flurry of morning posts, dropping a letter onto his empty plate and staring at him balefully.
He fed a spare piece of bacon stolen from Theodore's plate before opening the missive, frowning upon seeing the name of the sender, only to deepen further as he read along the letter.
Draco attempted to read over Harry's shoulder, asking when he couldn't get the full view of the missive in Harry's hands, "Who is it from?" There wasn't many people or things that could elicit such a response from Harry, he is deducing it is one of the ministry morons – even those obsessive fans wouldn't be able to make Harry so angry, and he doesn't think that there are Death Eaters who would consider sending the Boy-Who-Lived letters.
"The new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour," Harry sighed. "Apparently he wants me to play poster boy for the Ministry and support him in their campaign of some sort..."
Draco merely lifted a brow, "Why?"
Harry snorted and burned the letter without second thought, "He thinks that my support of the Ministry will increase the public's confidence of them... especially after the report of the commotion in the Department of Mysteries came out in the Daily Prophet."
"Will you?" Theodore asked nonchalantly, "Support the ministry, I mean."
Harry gave him a disgusted look, and Pansy answered for him, "Really, Theo, do you even need to ask? The ministry under Fudge was a total joke, and Harry has been discredited by the previous Minister so many times; instead of offering a public apology to Harry on the behalf of the Ministry, he asks for public support – what kind of man is the minister if he doesn't even know what he's supposed to do first?"
"Definitely not a Slytherin," Draco drawled, "It's appalling to even imagine a snake without proper etiquette."
"I doubt he's a Ravenclaw," Blaise added, "Not smart enough; but even a Hufflepuff knows better, being loyal and understanding and all. So that leaves..."
Harry glared at him when he directed a wry smile over, "I'll be really offended if he was a Gryffindor, lions may be tactless but not stupid, you know."
"Oops?" At least Blaise knew he stepped on the wrong foot. "What if your lack of response pushes the Ministry to discredit you further?"
"Won't be first time either, I can't see the harm done," Harry shrugged, then smiled mischievously, "Then at least I'll have legitimate reason to sue them for slander and damage of reputation, won't I?"
"True, but..." Draco's words trailed off as he saw another note come flying towards Harry. Harry read its content and glanced at Dumbledore, nodding his head subtly and vanishing the note, gulping down the Pepper-Up Potion as he did so.
Draco and the other Slytherins who noticed the exchange narrowed their eyes, and a quick glance at his Father and Godfather showed that they have noticed it as well, and were probably just as clueless about what it was about.
"Harry?"
Harry shook his head in response to Draco's unasked question, "I can't say anything about it yet, Draco; it's something I'd rather validate first before I tell any of you about it."
Draco frowned, not liking the sound of it.
"I'll tell you, your Father and Professor Snape about it, soon enough," Harry promised in a low tone, preventing the other Slytherins from overhearing it, "But until then, please trust my judgement on not divulging the information."
"Okay," Draco accepted grudgingly, but he knew better than to keep pushing. "Let's go to class, then."
Please Read and Review! Next chapter will be when Lucius, Severus and Draco comes to a common understanding on how to go on with the Courting!
YUU