Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does.

xxxx

A New Year

At the German prison, Mrs. Quirrell and Harry were led to a small room. A man that Harry had only seen the pictures of was led into the room in chains. The guard in broken English told Mrs. Quirrell and Harry the rules for visit. Harry offered the second chair to his mother since his father was seated in the other chair.

"How could you bring that demon into this room?" Frank Quirrell asked.

"He's your son. How can you look at him and deny your own blood?" Mrs. Quirrell asked.

"I've read the transcript in the paper. Our son is dead. A ghoul inhabits his body," Frank said.

"In every way measurable he's our son."

Harry walked into the corner of the room.

Mrs. Quirrell walked over to him. "Son, he needs time. He hasn't lived with you. He doesn't know."

Harry sat down at the small table opposite the man that he called father in his letters. "Father, please. Look at me."

"You aren't Quirinus."

Mrs. Quirrell put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Darling, you'll be up for parole soon. Quirinus still teaches at Hogwarts."

"He's in a contest as a student. I'm not naive."

"Father, it was a mistake," Harry explained. "I didn't know who I was. I'm returning to teaching in the fall."

"Son, we can talk to him another time," Mrs. Quirrell said.

"I don't want you to bring him here again," the man said.

A guard took Mr. Quirrell away. Another guard led Mrs. Quirrell and Harry out of the prison visiting room and to a door that led outside.

"Inus, I'm sorry," his mum said.

"He's still my father. The headmaster of Durmstrang owes me a favour. Dad still has concurrent time to serve at Azkaban and it isn't likely that they would spend the time to extradite him. Karkaroff wouldn't turn in another Death Eater."

"Don't say a word to him until it's done."

"I won't. Mum, with a job offer, they aren't likely to refuse his parole. I don't want him to know that I made the arrangements. I don't want him owing me a favour."

"I understand."

xxxx

Harry returned to Hogwarts late New Years Eve. He unpacked his things and made his way down to the dungeon. The portrait was glad to let him in. Severus was on the settee in front of the fire rather drunk.

Harry sat beside Severus. "I've been thinking about our relationship."

"It's only sex. Both of us were desperate," Severus slurred.

"No. You talk to me. We need each other." Harry moved a hand over Severus's greasy hair.

"You're beautiful and look at me."

"You're seeing me with rose coloured glasses."

"You're the Hogwarts' champion. I'm a has been." Severus spread out on the settee.

"I thought about what you said about us sharing a flat next year. I think it would be a great idea. I'm starting to realise the rules of the game." Harry put his hand on Severus's hand and brought those stained yellow fingers to his mouth. Harry licked them one at a time before he continued to speak. "No one talks about it. Like in Brideshead Revisited, it's there but it is never mentioned."

"Do you want to live like that?"

"It depends if you intend to drink yourself to death. I recall your speech on better living through chemistry." Harry kissed Severus's nose.

"It was New Year's and I was alone."

"I'll make you some coffee and hang over relief potion." Harry kissed Severus's hand.

"Thanks."

Harry went to the small kitchen in Severus's room and made instant coffee. He handed Severus a cup. "Barty mentioned under veritaserum that we were naked when he cast imperius. The papers know but they'll never report it. They want us to be the heroes and heroes don't shag each other."

"Minerva showed me the story about your girlfriend in the colonies and how you plan to live there next year." Severus took a sip of the black coffee.

"I needed a story for their readers. Alisha knows that I care for you." Harry licked a finger then placed it on Severus's face. "I wanted to bring in the New Year loving you."

Harry hummed the song by recorded by the Eagles on their Christmas album, Please Come Home for Christmas.

"I don't know the song." Severus laughed.

"Please come home for Christmas, if not Christmas then New Year's Eve. I'm here New Year's Eve. Next year, we'll spend Christmas together."

"I was jealous of Sibyll."

"You knew I needed a date. I couldn't bring you as my date. I thought you understood."

"Remus brought that mutt as his date."

"He isn't Hogwarts' champion."

"Do you have anything cheery that we could dance to?"

Severus looked through a pile of disks that looked a lot like muggles records. "I have some muggle standards accompanied by an orchestra."

"That should work." Harry smiled as he heard a ballad fill the air.

Severus stood up and put his arms around Harry. "May I have this dance?"

"Certainly." Harry put on hand on Severus's shoulder and the other on his waist.

"I think it would be better if I lead. I saw you drag Sibyll all over the dance floor."

"I wasn't that bad, but you may lead." Harry held Severus close and put his head on Severus's shoulder as he moved to the soft music. "I told my mum that we were together. You've been invited for Sunday dinner."

"If another Death Eater knows I left Hogwarts, it would ruin your mum's dinner." Severus held Harry close.

"I want you come to my mum's house. We'll tell her only a few days in advance and warn her not to tell her friends and after what happened with Barty, she realises you aren't paranoid." Harry kissed Severus slowly. "We'll get through this."

xxxx

Harry spent the next day and half with Severus. On the morning on the second, classes resumed. Minerva stopped Harry in the hallway after curfew. "I told you not to be out past curfew on a school night. You can't give Karkaroff a reason to penalise you."

"I'm sorry."

"Did you have a good holiday?"

"My father said that I wasn't his son. I had to dry my mum's tears."

"I'm sorry."

"He's still my father and I own him respect."

"Give him time."

"He called me a demon. I don't think anything is going to change that." Harry touched Minerva's arm.

"We can talk in my office. You need to get some rest."

"Thanks, Minerva."

xxxx

Alastor Moody called Harry into his office after class. "I'm so sorry. I stress constant vigilance and I didn't see it coming."

"He pretended to be his father. Nobody saw it. If Severus didn't push me to the floor while fighting off imperius, we would both be dead."

"I was sent to watch Karkaroff and he was supposed to be arrested upon entering England, but the contest gives him diplomatic immunity. Barty Crouch Sr. died on my watch."

"What kind of man put his own son under imperius for years?"

"It doesn't excuse my lack of vigilance." Alastor motioned for Harry to sit down.

Harry sat in the chair in front of the desk.

"I'm only going to be teaching this year. You'll have your job back."

"I couldn't take a pity job. After Voldemort died, I had to prove to myself and everyone else that I could do the work."

"Harry, you're a good man."

"I'm scared of my shadow."

"Bravery is being terrified and doing it anyway. I'm scared half the time. If you listen to my associates, they'll tell you more than half. I just wanted to give you a heads up."

Harry looked Alastor in the eye although he felt like he was shaking inside. "Because of the events of years, I have to return to teaching. I plan to take my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s as scheduled."

"I'll tell Headmaster Dumbledore that you need to see him."

"Thank you for your time." Harry shook the man's hand.

"My pleasure."

Harry was called into the headmaster's office after dinner.

"What did you do now?" Ron asked.

"Moody confided in me that he's only teaching one year. I'll be returning to my previous position next year," Harry said.

"Good luck," Hermione said.

"We're supposed to go to school together," Ron said. "We're mates."

"I'm sorry. Things never go the way I plan," Harry said.

"It's not your fault. I'm just angry," Ron said.

"We'll talk later." Harry left the Gryffindor common room.

xxxx

Harry snuck down to the dungeons after his meeting with Dumbledore. The portrait told him to return to his room.

"I would like to talk to Professor Snape," Harry insisted.

Professor Snape exited his room wearing only a dressing gown with his hair wrapped in a towel. "Must you always interrupt me?"

"I'm going to be teaching next year. We'll only need to keep our relationship secret a few more months." Harry said as he entered through the portrait door.

"You want to get me sacked before then," Severus said.

"Legally, I'm thirty years old and you aren't teaching me anymore. No impropriety is occurring." Harry removed the towel from Severus's hair and located a comb. "Let me stay. You smell so nice and clean."

"You want to get me dirty again."

"We could shower together." Harry started to comb Severus's hair.

"Inus, the students won't accept you as a teacher."

"Nonsense. They don't accept me as another student. They see me as an old man."

"You're only thirty." Severus kissed Harry deeply threading the fingers of one hand through the other man's hair while this other hand roamed over Harry's back. They parted breathless. "You still a young man."

"I'm old compared to my classmates. I see things differently than they do. I have no memory of the first twenty-seven years this body lived, and yet the imprints are there. I'm not a teenager."

"You don't have to pretend to be someone that you aren't." Severus walked to the bedroom.

"I want to talk first." Harry put his hand on Severus's face."I love touching you. Did you ask me before?"

"You told me no when I asked you to dinner. You made an excuse that you had lesson plans to complete. I'm not one to be told no twice so I didn't ask again."