Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other wonderful creations from J.K.R.'s brilliant mind.

A/N: This story is rated M due to non-con, language, torture scenes, and slash

Snape's thoughts will be shown in italics

Chap. 21 Kisses and Holding Hands

Harry was indeed allowed to return to Hogwarts the following morning, all hospital staff involved in his care discreetly obliviated so no questions would be asked about the boy's sudden disappearance. Arriving by portkey directly into the hospital wing, Harry would have hit the stone floor face-first if not for Snape's tight grip on his upper arm as he stumbled due to the cast on his leg. Righting himself, he gave a sheepish grin to the man as he was then led toward the closest bed. Madam Pomfrey entered soon after, a smile upon her lips and her wand clutched in front of her, ready to get to work.

"Well, Mr. Potter," she started in her normal 'let's get down to business' tone, "Let's see about removing those casts, shall we?"

Harry could do little more than nod enthusiastically in reply. The darn things had been bothering him ever since he woke in the hospital the day before, especially the cast on his leg. There was an itch about half-way down that had been driving him crazy and he tried everything he could think of to reach it, even going as far as to sticking one of the ink pens he found in his hospital room down into the thing in the vain hope of reaching far enough within to give himself a scratch with it.

It wasn't until now that Harry noticed that she was holding a small metallic cup in addition to her wand. And as she held the cup towards him, rather than take it from her grasp as was intended, he leaned forward and peered into it, viewing the clear, innocent looking liquid inside it with disdain. He'd had enough potions before to know that they typically tasted quite awful, and the more innocent they looked, the worse the taste.

"What is it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and finally making eye contact with the elderly witch in front of him.

"Skelegrow, of course. You must take a full dose before I will even consider removing the casts and then you are on bed rest for the rest of the day."

"What?! But I just got back from the hospital and they…" Before any more could be said, Harry was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat as Snape tried to intervene before Harry's lack of manners could be embarrass him further. By now, all of Hogwarts, except Harry perhaps, knew about Snape's official guardianship over the teen, and as such, he did not want the boy's behavior to reflect badly on himself.

Harry swung his gaze over his shoulder and looked sulkily at his father. "Now, Harry, you will do as Madam Pomfrey says. The potion may mend your bones improperly if you are up and about during the healing process."

Harry cast his eyes downward in dismay, but knowing there was no way out of it, he finally reached out and took the offered cup of potion. Bringing it under his nose, he gave it a sniff and physically winced. Anything that smelled that bad had no business even being this close to one's mouth as far as he was concerned. Not able to put it off any longer, he then took a deep breath and tossed his head back in an attempt to swallow the vile concoction as fast as possible. When it was finally down, he had to mentally congratulate himself for only gagging on the taste twice during the entire process.

Once Madam Pomfrey was satisfied with her patient's compliance, she had Harry lay back on the bed as she set about removing the muggle casts. With a small flick of her wand and a quick incantation, the leg cast was the first to go and Harry could not have been more pleased. He immediately reached down and gave himself a scratch at the spot that had been bothering him, closing his eyes and giving a sigh of relief as he did so.

As soon as he settled his head against his pillow again, the other cast was removed, freeing Harry's wrist and causing him to smile brightly.

"There now," Poppy addressed the boy, "doesn't that feel better? I'll be back to check on you in an hour, but for now, I believe you have a visitor waiting." With this she motioned towards the infirmary's large entry doors and Harry glanced over to see Draco poking his head through. Upon making eye contact, the blond Slytherin smiled brightly and walked the rest of the way through the door, clutching a brown-wrapped package in his arms. He made his way quickly over to Harry's bed on the opposite side of the ward and came to a stop at the foot of the bed. After awkwardly staring at each other for a few moments, Harry decided to be the first to speak up.

"Thanks for the candy."

"Oh. It was nothing, really. So.." Draco attempted to change the subject, still somewhat embarrassed about it all, especially with Snape watching the conversation from where he sat in the chair next to the bed. "I bet you're glad to get away from those muggle healers, huh?"

"Of course! Hey, Draco," Harry eyed the package that the other teen held, "What is that?"

Draco looked down as if just realizing that he was, in fact, holding something. He blinked a couple of times and than looked back to Harry and answered, "I can't tell you; it's a surprise."

It was a well known fact between Draco and Snape that Harry loved surprises, and now he was so excited he was practically bouncing from his place on the bed. With wide eyes and poorly hidden eagerness, he asked, "Can I open it now?"

"I guess so." Draco handed the package to the other boy and attempted to explain the gift as Harry started ripping the brown packaging paper from the box. "I wanted to get you something that you could use while you were recuperating. So, I thought, what better than a…"

"Chess set!" Harry finished for him, having finally opened the box in his lap. Over the summer, Draco had taught Harry how to play chess and the boy had gotten quite good at it, enough so that Snape himself had to put forth an honest effort in order to beat him. Harry now looked at his new chess set, complete with marble pieces, as if it were the greatest gift he'd ever received. He clutched the board to his chest and grinned brightly at it as if it could reciprocate his feelings of joy. Finally, Snape stood from his chair and offered it to Draco.

"Why don't you play for a bit? I think I'll go check with Madam Pomfrey and see how well her potion stores are stocked up." The potions master then excused himself from the room and made his way into Poppy's office. After safely ensconced inside, he drew the door shut, but left about four inches of space between the door and its frame. Peeking from within, he watched the two teens for a moment. The boys were too busy setting up the board and arranging the pieces to even notice the set of dark eyes watching them.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing, Severus?"

Turning his attention to the medi-witch who was sitting at her desk, he answered in a tone that suggested the obviousness of his activities, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

In return, the witch merely cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly sending the silent message that she expected an answer.

With a small roll of his eyes and an exasperated sigh put on completely for show, the potions master responded with a crisp, "I'm spying, of course."

"Well, that much is obvious. Do you mind telling me why?" Poppy could barely keep the amusement out of her voice as she watched the man she had known since his youth continue to peer through the crack.

Instead of answering the question directly, Snape asked one of his own. "Do you think there's something going on between the two of them?"

"Who? Draco and Harry?"

"Yes. Ever since that day at Kings Cross, I've noticed Draco acting differently around Harry. You don't think there's something going on between the two of them do you?"

Poppy rose from her desk and made her way over to where Snape stood at the door. Giving a soft push, she moved him back and stuck her own face to the gap. She watched for a few minutes as the boys played their chess game. Just when she was about to inform Snape that he must have been imagining things, she saw Draco reach out and cup Harry's hand within his own. Harry's other hand paused in mid-air, the chess piece dangling from his grasp. Draco leaned forward and gave the other boy a small kiss on the cheek. "I've missed you." Harry looked up at Draco and smiled brightly, "I've missed you too, Draco." They started at each other a moment longer before resuming their game, keeping their hands clasped together next to the board.

"Hmm."

Snape knew that sound the medi-witch made; and it was never a good sign. "What? What is it? What are they doing?"

Poppy turned back around and quietly shut the door behind her, completely hiding the boys from view. Snape narrowed his eyes and asked her again, irritation coloring his words, "Poppy, what did you see?"

Having never been one to mince words, the medi-witch decided to come right out with it. "Well, Severus, you may have been right." She then paused as she watched the man narrow his eyes even more. "They're holding hands and..."

Snape interrupted before any more could be said, "Holding hands?!"

In an attempt to keep the teens in the other room from hearing, Snape lowered his voice and his tirade came out as furious whispers. "That better be all they've done so far! I saw Draco in the hospital, when he thought no one was looking. I saw the kiss he gave!"

"Kiss?!" Poppy didn't mean to blurt that out so loudly and she slapped her hand across her mouth as the potions master began pacing through the small office, only managing about four steps in each direction before meeting a wall and having to turn. But the man continued his rant, taking no notice of Poppy at all.

"That little snot! He knows Harry is not mentally ready for something like this. And after I took him in…He knows better than to pull something like this. He saw the doctor's evaluation reports! He…"

He was stopped mid-rant as Poppy grabbed his shoulders as he paced by, stopping his movement and his rampaging thoughts all at once.

"Severus, calm down or I'll be forced to make you take a calming draught!"

Snape narrowed his eyes in challenge to the elderly witch, but she cocked an eyebrow at him and warned, "Those death glares of yours don't work on me, young man, so go take a seat." She pointed toward her desk and the few chairs that sat around it.

At first, Snape didn't move. He just stood in that one spot, breathing heavily through his nose, his mouth drawn in a tight line and his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"Now!" she ordered him.

Reluctantly, the potions master stalked over to one of the seats and threw himself into it, all propriety lost in his anger. The medi-witch soon sat in a chair as well, and she spent the next several minutes staring at the man sitting across from her, waiting for his temper to cool so a rational conversation could actually be possible.

"Now, Severus, I want you to hear me out on this, o.k.?" She stared at the man a few moments longer before he finally gave a single, stiff nod of his head indicating his unwilling cooperation in the matter.

"Those two boys in there are at the height of their sexual…"

Snape took a deep breath and opened his mouth to interrupt, but Poppy pointed her finger at him and said in a commanding tone, "You promised to hear me out!"

Snape pursed his lips as his fingers dug into the arms of the chair in frustration, but the medi-witch took no notice of this and continued her little speech.

"They are at the height of their sexual development, no matter what Harry's evaluation report says, and his body is still going to react like any other seventeen year old's. Granted he may not understand why he feels the way he does towards Draco, but that doesn't negate the fact that he has the capabilities to feel those emotions. And as long as you sit Draco down and make sure he understands not to take things too far, I don't see any reason to stop those two from getting closer."

Poppy took a few calming breaths and continued in a softer tone. "Harry has been through a lot. He has been given the chance to start over and have a happy life, and that is a very rare opportunity, indeed. If this has the chance to develop into a healthy relationship over time, I think you should allow it to happen. Just talk to the boys, let them know their limits. Besides, if you put your foot down and forbid them to continue, then they'll just find ways of carrying on behind your back. Trust me; if you'll just talk to them, and get everything out in the open, then you'll all end up happier."

As she spoke, the look of seething anger on the potion masters face fell away and the man now sat in his chair with a look of deep contemplation. After waiting several moments for some kind of reply and not receiving any, Poppy silently rose and walked into her storeroom, leaving the man to brood over his thoughts alone in peace.

Thirty minutes later, having run out of things to organize in her storeroom, Poppy came out to find her office empty. Slightly confused now, she made her way into the main room of the infirmary and saw Harry sitting alone on his bed wearing a similar mask of confusion.

"Harry, dear…"She called to him as she walked to his bed. "Do you happen to know where your father went?"

"Um,…" Harry looked towards the medi-witch and back to the entry doors several times before answering. "I don't know where they went, but Dad came out and said he needed to talk to Draco and they left a few minutes ago. He didn't even let us finish our game first." Harry then looked down into his lap where the chess board sat with its pieces still in mid-play.

Feeling slightly worried about the whole thing, Poppy sat in Draco's abandoned chair and ran her hand through Harry's raven hair. "They'll be back soon, I'm sure. Why don't you try to get some rest for now and I'll make sure to let you know when they get back, alright?"

Harry reluctantly handed Poppy the chess board with its pieces still on top and she sat it on the chair by the bed. He made himself comfortable and smiled at her as she tucked the blanket up around him. Staying long enough to see him settle down and shut his eyes, Poppy then left to her office to wait it out for Snape's return.

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A/N: I just wanted to forewarn you all: After this chapter is posted, it may take up to a week or two to post the next chapter. Tomorrow, the 20th, I'm having back fusion surgery done to alleviate some of the pain I experience due to Degenerative Disk Disease. I plan on bringing my husband's laptop so I can continue to write during my following stay in the hospital, so I hope I'll be able to keep mostly on schedule as far as posting is concerned. Please bear with me during this time, as I have no way of knowing how long it will take me to recoup from all of this. Don't worry; I have no intentions of letting more than a week go by without a new chapter, if I can help it! Thank you.

Now, that having been said…PLEASE review! You know you want to. Besides, getting LOTS of reviews will make me heal faster!

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