A/n: Reminder to come bug me on Tumblr giasesshoumaru!

Also, I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter, but if you have a preference as to how long/short Jacob's hair should be, let me know! I'm unsure as to what I want to do with that, so I'll take any opinions into account!

Chapter 42 - Not Enough Time

The school had been buzzing about the next house Quidditch match - Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Both had a loss this season - Gryffindor in their opener to Slytherin and Hufflepuff in their opener to Ravenclaw. He and Draco were filing in with the rest of their friends. As soon as they got settled, Marcus and Salenia started running combs through their hair - Marcus using the Hufflepuff ones and Salenia the Gryffindor. It was the first time the two were not agreeing on which team to root for.

"What do you think about the match today, Draco?" Pansy asked from Draco's other side.

"Should be a good match," he said. "We haven't seen Gryffindor since the opening match, so we don't know how Weaslette is going to be doing. They have a new Keeper, too."

"I'm sure Alana will do brilliantly," said Salenia with a bright smile, her hair now done in Gryffindor red and gold.

"No way to know until we see her play, though, is there?" Draco shot back.

"He has a good point, and Hufflepuff has the better defense," Marcus pointed out, his hair done in Hufflepuff yellow and black.

"I don't know; the Weasley twins have been doing this for a long time," said a voice from behind them. Jacob turned around to see Millicent Bulstrode sitting behind them. While she was always around, it seemed, she rarely spoke except to the other girls in her year. "But often, the game comes down to Seeker. Ginny Weasley is the better flyer, I think, and she has a Firebolt." He had to admit it was a bit weird seeing her speak so openly.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, she's got a point there," he said, and Jacob noticed that his hair was done in Hufflepuff yellow and black. His boyfriend wordlessly handed him the yellow Hufflepuff comb. "Unless Hufflepuff can take control and rack up some points, I think Gryffindor could be a dangerous opponent for them. Aside from Weaslette and Teale, they're a pretty seasoned team, and Hufflepuff often lacks the right aggression and fire."

Jacob handed the comb back to Draco, having stared at it while he was speaking as their friends, using Pansy and Daphne's combs, were all putting their hair in Hufflepuff colors. "Salenia, can I have your combs, please?" She smiled brightly at him, thrilled that she wasn't going to be alone in rooting for Gryffindor. "I think they're both going to want to redeem themselves for their loss. They're going to want to win the next two games."

"Hufflepuff's next game is against us, remember?" Draco said as Jacob handed the combs back to Salenia, his hair now done in Gryffindor colors. "I don't think they've got a chance at beating us."

"I know that. I'm just saying that's what they're thinking, yeah?" Jacob pointed out. "Every team is thinking about how they can win the season. They know that we've won our first two games, so to have a shot at winning the season, both teams have to win here. Gryffindor thinks they can salvage their chances if they can beat Hufflepuff, which they very likely will because I agree with Millicent; they just need to beat Ravenclaw in the final match. It's out of their hands from then on, and they've done all they can do. On the other hand, Hufflepuff is thinking that their chances at the Quidditch cup lie in playing a stronger game, using their defense to gain an edge against Gryffindor, and winning the game here. Then, if they can beat us, they have as good a shot as any at taking the Cup."

Draco was nodding in agreement at his words while Millicent spoke again. "Snape's right," she said. "That's probably exactly what they're thinking. Of course, all that is based upon who wins the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin game. It doesn't really matter who wins this game or wins the final Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor game if we remain undefeated. It'll be a consolation game for second place, basically."

"That is also a good point," Draco agreed. "Still, it'll be good to see how Hufflepuff matches against Gryffindor because they're up against us next." Jacob, meanwhile, was thinking that maybe Millicent should speak up more. It was nice talking about Quidditch with someone other than his boyfriend - not that he minded that at all.

Pansy just sighed. She seemed to be about to say something - he doubted she was looking for that involved of an answer from any of them - but then, both teams were coming out onto the field, and Lee Jordan started speaking. "Welcome to the fourth Quidditch game of the season - Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor!" He saw Angelina shaking hands with Zacharias Smith. "This is a must-win match for both teams if either wants a chance at beating Slytherin." Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and all fourteen players shot up, Alana going in one direction and the Hufflepuff Seeker, Montgomery, going to the other end of the field. Ginny and Hufflepuff Seeker, Summerby, headed above everyone.

"It's also a test for the new Gryffindor Keeper, Alana Teale," said Jordan. "Gryffindor takes control early. Johnson passes to Bell, who passes to Spinnet. The girls were such a tight team. You can see all those years of playing together. Bell has the Quaffle again and a Bludger from Walton, but it was blocked by one of the Weasley's. That was a nice shot, but not enough. Gryffindor has the Quaffle still, and Hufflepuff is looking a bit overwhelmed at this early stage in the game. Another Bludger from Loughton, but once again, blocked by one of the Weasley twins. Smith attempts a tackle, but Johnson is too quick for him. She aims - and score by Gryffindor, who takes an early ten to nothing lead."

Gryffindor looked sharp, but Hufflepuff seemed spurred on by Gryffindor's early success. As Montgomery threw the Quaffle back into play, Hufflepuff worked the Quaffle back down to the other end of the pitch. "Hufflepuff looking a bit tighter now. One of the Weasley twins aims a Bludger, but Loughton blocks it! Johnson steals the Quaffle, passes it to Spinnet, but Calladwalder steals it. Calladwadler passes to Smith, who passes it to Lunz. Lunz passes it back to Smith, aim and score from Hufflepuff who evens the score out ten to ten."

Teale threw the Quaffle back into play, caught by Johnson, and Gryffindor was off again. They didn't go too far down the other end of the pitch before there was a Bludger from Walton, and Hufflepuff got back the Quaffle. Another Bludger from one of the Weasley twins, and Gryffindor had it again! Smith stole the Quaffle from Johnson after that, Hufflepuff was in control and blazing back down the other end of the pitch. They got in another score attempt, but Alana was ready for them and blocked it this time. "Nice block from Alana Teale. She might be getting the hang of it now," announced Lee Jordan, "and Gryffindor has the Quaffle again."

Gryffindor worked their way down the pitch. Loughton took aim, but the Weasley twins were on fire and not letting the Hufflepuff Beaters get too many shots off. Calladwalder took the tackle that time, and Hufflepuff was going back down the pitch again. "Hufflepuff has been on fire since Gryffindor's early goal, and they're off again. Attempted tackle by Johnson, but it didn't work. Bell tries to intercept, but it's caught by Lunz, who scores - and twenty to ten to Hufflepuff," Lee Jordan announced, though it was getting hard to hear by the deafening screams from the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor sections of the crowd, who almost seemed to be in a screaming match.

Gryffindor took control after that and was headed back down the other end of the pitch. Hufflepuff intercepted a couple of times. Once, a bludger stopped Hufflepuff's run back down the pitch, and the second time it was a skilled interception by Katie Bell. "Gryffindor is in control. They are hoping to even the odds here," Lee Jordan was saying. "Bell passes to Johnson, who passes to Spinnet and score by Gryffindor. They are now tied twenty to twenty. This is turning into a real battle."

Hufflepuff wasn't to be denied for long though, and soon, both teams were fighting their way back down the field again. "Great interception by Bell, and Gryffindor is in control again. She passes to Johnson, and a Bludger by Loughton," announced Lee Jordan. "Smith picks up the Quaffle. Bludger by Weasley, and it's picked up by Johnson. Johnson passes to Spinnet. She's off. Passes to Bell. Interception by Lunz, who passes to Calladwalder. Calladwalder passes to Smith. Smith tries to pass to Lunz, but it's intercepted by Bell. She passes to Johnson. Johnson passes to Spinnet, but it's intercepted again by Smith. Smith is off, passing to Lunz. Bludger by Weasley, but Smith manages to get it back. He passes to Calladwalder, who passes to Lunz. Lunz passes back to Smith, aim - and score! Thirty to twenty to Hufflepuff."

Hufflepuff was immediately trying to score again. They didn't want Gryffindor to get the Quaffle back to the other end of the pitch again. Bludger from one of the Weasley Twins gave Gryffindor the Quaffle for a bit, but Hufflepuff wouldn't be denied. They got the Quaffle back, and it was another score, making it forty to twenty. "Hufflepuff now has a twenty-point lead. Gryffindor needs to get control back in this game," Lee Jordan said, as Gryffindor seemed to be doing just that, quickly gaining the Quaffle back from the other team and working back down to their side of the pitch.

Hufflepuff tried to get the Quaffle back and temporarily succeeded, but a well-timed Bludger by one of the Weasley Twins, and it was back to Gryffindor who managed to get ten more points, making the score forty to thirty to Hufflepuff. It was more back and forth after that as both teams fought as Hufflepuff tried to work their way back to the other end of the pitch. Gryffindor wasn't letting them down easy, though. Hufflepuff kept fighting, and soon they had another goal - fifty to thirty to Hufflepuff. "Gryffindor needs to get control back. Hufflepuff is keeping that two-goal lead," Lee Jordan announced as Gryffindor announced by taking the game back to the other end of the pitch.

Loughton and Walton, the Hufflepuff Beaters, were trying their best to keep Gryffindor from getting to the other end and scoring, but the Weasley Twins knew what they were doing. It was hard to tell them apart from a distance, but they were on them, immediately turning any Bludger towards the Hufflepuff team - which were also sometimes blocked by the Hufflepuff Beaters. Gryffindor seemed to be spurred on by Hufflepuff's two-goal lead and soon were trying to even the score. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie moved like one unit, anticipating each other's moves because they'd played together for so long.

"Another goal from Gryfindor, and they are not out of this yet," announced Lee Jordan as Angelina managed to score. "Fifty to forty to Hufflepuff." Gryffindor had soon taken the Quaffle back from Hufflepuff after it had been thrown into play. Hufflepuff wasn't taking it lying down, but Gryffindor quickly got the Quaffle back and scored again. "And another goal from Gryffindor, and the game is tied fifty to fifty!"

Hufflepuff wasn't having any of that, though, and soon, they were taking control back. As both sets of Beaters continued to fight for control, the six Chasers on the field were going back and forth. Hufflepuff was working hard, though, and not letting Gryffindor keep control for long - knowing if they did, the game was likely to be over. "Calladwalder shoots, and he scores - sixty to fifty to Hufflepuff, and they're in the lead again. Gryffindor has the Quaffle…" But Hufflepuff quickly took it back, trying to keep control of the match. "Smith has the Quaffle, passes to Lunz - score! Seventy to fifty to Hufflepuff, and they have their two-goal lead back."

Jacob was just wondering what the status of the Snitch was when he heard gasps coming from the other side of the pitch. "Ginny Weasley has gone into a dive!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Summerby has seen it, too, but Weasley has the better broom - a Firebolt. She's the better flyer, too. He is no match for her, and the game is over. Just like that, Gryfindor wins two hundred to seventy." Gryffindor's cheers were nearly deafening as both teams landed on the pitch, the Gryffindor team surrounding Ginny, who held up the Golden Snitch high.

"Gryffindor even things out one win, one loss, while Hufflepuff now has two losses despite a very strong game overall," Lee Jordan finished. "Hufflepuff's next match is against Slytherin, who has won both of their games. Hufflepuff needs to win that game for any other team to have a chance at winning the Quidditch Cup. It should be a very interesting match."

That was definitely true. Despite how well Hufflepuff had played - and they had - the game would ultimately come down to Draco versus Summerby. He had been no match for Ginny, and Summerby wouldn't be a match for Draco, either. "The Quidditch Cup is as good as ours," Draco said, almost reading his mind, slipping an arm around him as they made their way out of the stands.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

"We have to practice the Occlumency stuff again today, don't we?" Jacob asked his father as they were having lunch the next day.

"Yes." That was all the answer he gave, but in that one word, it said a lot. While Jacob knew that his father never gave away anything that he didn't want to. He had gotten to know him fairly well over the past several months. He had noticed the shorter he was, it usually meant something was bothering him. If this situation was bothering him, then it was probably for a good reason.

"Do you really think I'll need it when we… meet him?"

"I don't know." Severus must have seen something in his face because he continued. "I don't think so, not unless you give him a reason to. He's got no reason to search through the minds of any of our children yet. But I would rather be prepared, and either way, you will need it."

Jacob nodded. He knew that was true enough. "I just… I don't know how good at this I will ever be," he admitted. He remembered yelling something similar at him once when he'd gotten upset at him, feeling like he didn't care. Things were different now, of course. "It's just… has it… I just don't know that I will ever be as good at this as I might need to be." He looked away from his father. He had started noticing some similarities between them, of course, but they were very different people all the same. "I'm not you. I can't compartmentalize my emotions the way you can."

"Nor would I want you to," Severus said. "I would not want you ever to have to experience the things that have made me the man I am. You shouldn't have to." Jacob glanced up at him. "I don't think you can master this skill the way I have. Few can. Dumbledore says that I am even better at it than he was. Not everyone could be adept at this, I suppose. I hope you do understand why I insist that you keep trying."

Jacob nodded. Yes, he did, or at least he was pretty sure he did now. It was his best way of protecting himself and his father, and with the position they were in now, he knew it was important that his identity remain a secret. He knew that Severus was doing what he could to help Jacob protect himself. There wasn't much else he could do. If the shit hit the fan, a lot of people could be caught in the crossfire, like Draco or his father - and he was not going to let anyone work for him.

Jacob looked at his father, who was watching him carefully. Yes, he knew what he was saying. "I guess I'll need to make sure that he doesn't have a reason to look further," he said. At least not until he could kill the bastard.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

Jacob was still wondering later on how much progress he had really made despite Severus' words that he was making progress. It didn't feel like that, but he supposed the prospect of having to meet Voldemort as Jacob Snape and not Harry Potter made him a bit anxious. However, it was another DA meeting tonight, and he was actually looking forward to this one.

"Are you sure about this, Hermione?" Ron was asking. It was just him, Hermione, Ron, and Draco sitting in the Room of Requirement. They had arrived early, and no one else had come yet. He and Draco were sitting near the middle of the room, close together. Draco was leaning into him. Hermione sat across from them while Ron paced.

"Yes, Ron, we talked about this." They had, yesterday while waiting for his father to arrive for their defense lesson yesterday morning. Hermione had told them about an idea she had - a dueling competition, so to speak. Very loose, of course, but basically one on one until there was only one left standing. "I'm not sure what you're so worried about."

"I just… aren't there things that can go wrong?" he asked. "Don't we need more practice?"

"We're only using Expelliarmus and Protego, remember?" Ron stopped and looked down at her. "You're good with a wand; you've been getting lessons from Professor Snape. Why are you so nervous?"

"What, afraid you're going to get knocked out by your first opponent, and everyone will laugh?" Draco sneered. Jacob elbowed him while Ron just glared.

"Ron, it'll be fine. It's two simple spells," she said. "Now sit down while everyone arrives, come on."

He wasn't sure why Ron was so nervous; maybe Draco was right, but he shouldn't have said it. He did well in the lessons. He had a naturalness about his wand movement that he didn't think either he or Hermione had, but he lacked focus. "Just have fun with it, Ron," Jacob told him. "There's no pressure here. It's just us. It's just a way to get some practice, that's all."

Ron nodded. Jacob knew that Ron had insecurities stemming from having five big brothers, but it wasn't something that he really understood. He knew that as far as his participation went, he'd need to… tone it down a bit, or at least that's what Hermione had counseled to him yesterday when she'd suggested the idea. At least Ron seemed to have calmed down a bit, and he didn't seem as nervous when everyone else slowly started filing in.

"Hi, everyone," Hermione said as she stood up. "Tonight, I wanted to do something a bit… different. I wanted to do a little… dueling competition." There were some excited whispers at that. "For this time, I wanted to keep it simple - just Expelliarmus and Protego. You'll try to disarm your opponent. Block them from disarming you, and then disarm them. Since we haven't done this before, let's not do anything crazy. One round at a time, until there's only one person left."

Everyone looked around and started pairing up. Hermione spoke up again. "I think we should… go with someone you don't know. Find someone from another house," she said. "We're all on the same side here, so let's… branch out a bit." she nodded a bit nervously.

Jacob glanced at Draco, and both of them reluctantly moved away from each other. It was probably best that way because he certainly didn't want to go up against Draco in the first round. He found himself in front of Hannah Abbott, who looked at him a bit nervously.

"Hi, I don't think we've formally met," she said. "I'm Hannah."

He bit back a 'Yeah, I know who you are', and just nodded. "Yeah, I'm Jacob. Nice to meet you."

She gave him a small smile as they both got ready. Hermione started the event, and before Hannah could get her spell off, he got his off first. Her wand flew out of her hand, and he caught it. They backed off a bit, making sure they were out of the way of any other spells as the first round died down. He handed her back her wand, and she gave him a polite smile.

He looked around to see how things had played. Salenia had been unlucky enough to go up against Ron, who had won their duel, while her girlfriend, Alana, had lost against Millicent Bulstrode. Ginny had beaten Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hermione had beaten Theodore Nott. Daphne Greengrass had taken down a Ravenclaw named Anthony Goldstein. Neville Longbottom had won against Cho Chang. Marcus had taken out Dean Thomas. George Weasley had taken out Marietta Edgecombe; she was a Ravenclaw and a friend of Cho's, he thought, but he wasn't sure. Fred Weasley had been surprisingly taken out by a Ravenclaw he thought was named Luna Lovegood. Draco seemed to have been paired up with Dennis Creevey; he wasn't sure how that happened. He had beaten him, of course.

As the second round started, Jacob found himself in front of Lee Jordan, Quidditch commentator and a friend of Fred and George. They both gave each other polite nods as they prepared themselves. Once again, he wasn't going to give Lee a chance to get a spell off, and soon, he had Lee's wand. He gave the wand as soon as possible, receiving congratulations from Lee before they separated.

Katie Bell had taken out Lavender Brown. Neville had taken out Daphne. Hermione had defeated Hufflepuff Beater Alex Walton, while Ron had taken out his best friend and partner, Adam Loughton. George had taken out Marcus; Fred seemed glad to have at least one of them still in the game, and he heard him mentioning to George that Luna had just been faster. Ginny Weasley had been surprisingly taken out by Padma Patil, who seemed very focused.

After that, there was a problem - an uneven number. Hermione looked instantly nervous and muttered, "Oh, I didn't think about this…" and seemed to be scrambling to think of a solution. Very smart and logical, Hermione was, but she was still not used to leading at times, and neither he nor Ron had thought about how numbers would affect this, either.

The answer ended up coming in the form of Ernie MacMillian. "Just sit this round out, Hermione," he said. "You're leading and teaching us. You can take on one of us that makes it to the next round."

There seemed to be a consensus, and Jacob found himself against George. George blocked his first spell, but Jacob blocked his and managed to get off his spell before George could block again. The redhead just shook his head as Jacob handed him back his wand. "Nice job, Jake," he said. "I tried to block you. I suppose I had a good run."

"You had a very good run," he said, as George smiled at him as the next round started.

Jacob found himself against Neville Longbottom. Neville blocked him a couple of times, but Jacob eventually got out a good Expelliarmus and won the duel. He clasped Neville on the shoulder afterward, telling him that he had done a good job before looking to see who had won the other two duels. Ron had beaten Ernie MacMillan, and Hermione had taken down Padma.

Once again, they were left with an uneven number. Mutters from some of the rest of the DA about a three-way duel were heard, but Ron offered the suggestion. "Snape and I go against each other, and the winner duels you for the win?" Hermione nodded. Jacob was grateful for the suggestion because they hadn't talked about three-way duels in the DA yet, and while he, Ron, and Hermione did it every week, he didn't want anyone to think they did it too easily or knew too much. Especially him.

That was what he was thinking about was Ron cast his disarming spell - what if he beat Ron? What would people think? Should he be this good? He had been told to take it easy, after all. Of course, him being distracted allowed Ron to get off the spell, saving Jacob from having to think about it.

"You hesitated," Ron said as he handed him back his wand.

"Yeah, was thinking too much instead of acting," he responded as he walked over to stand next to Draco, where he was leaning against the wall.

"You let Weasley get you," he said. "You hesitated."

"I know. You let Ernie MacMillian get you," he shot back. "How did you end up against Dennis Creevy in the first round?"

"I have no idea," Draco started, but any other words were cut off as Ron and Hermione began their duel.

There was some back and forth, Ron trying to block Hermione from getting out a good spell. Eventually, though, Hermione got through, and Ron's wand flew into her hand. She finally allowed herself a smile then, and applause went out from around them, along with some people muttering that they wanted to do it again - try again to get farther, some to even get out of the first round.

"Don't be sore," Jacob told Draco as Hermione concluded the meeting after saying a few more words to everyone. "Someone else was just faster, that's all."

"Yeah, but Ernie?" Draco said as people started slowly filing out of the room. "Don't be wrong, he's decent, and all, but… for him to beat me in a duel is just sad." He gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I'll give him next time. You let Weasley beat you, though."

"I did not." Draco didn't look convinced; however, he didn't blame him for that. "I didn't. I just… hesitated, and he took advantage of it. I should have been paying more attention." He wasn't sure what people would have thought if he'd have beaten him and ended up in the final duel against Hermione. He probably should have held back a bit more now that he thought about it. No one seemed to really notice or care, though, so perhaps he was just overthinking things, he thought to himself as he and Draco made their way back to the Slytherin common room.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

As soon as they got back to the common room, Salenia insisted on trying out their combs. Pansy muttered about where everyone had gone off to - studying, of course - but was soon distracted by the combs. Draco and Marcus, of course, continually refused to play along, knowing that these were for pictures. All the spring combs were pastel, and after agreeing to let her put some pastel blue in his hair, he took it out, and he and Draco made their way upstairs.

Draco was one of the few people he felt himself with, and these stolen moments at night were the highlights of his day. It was hard to believe sometimes that they'd only been together about four months now. He wasn't sure he should be feeling the way he thought he did, but then again, he'd known before they'd even got together that he was falling for him. It wasn't much of a secret at this point.

The feeling of Draco's hands and lips were intoxicating. After four months, they were getting to know their bodies pretty well. Jacob was very grateful for the silencing charms that Draco put up every night. He couldn't wait for the summer when hopefully, they would have a bit more time for… all of this and everything to come.

It felt like they hadn't been here, been doing this, long enough when Draco pulled away. Jacob slid off them, lying next to him and cuddling up against his side. Draco put his arm around him, drawing him closer to him. He seemed to be thinking about something, but the look on his face was gone soon enough as he leaned in, capturing Jacob's lips in another kiss.

Jacob was more than fine if he wanted to stay a bit longer, but he pulled away. Their faces stayed close together. He wondered if he should say something. They were both pretty young, and four months seemed like a good time frame to be dating, but he wasn't sure. There was no reason to push things yet. He wondered if Draco was thinking the same thing. The moment was over soon enough, though. "I should go," Draco said. "It's getting late."

Jacob knew it was, and with a nod and another kiss, Draco straightened up his clothes, putting on his pajama top again before slipping out of bed. Jacob straightened up his bottoms. Was this normal for a relationship? He had no one to ask, but everything felt… right. He was sure the right time would come to be talking about… such things like feelings. For the moment, this was right where they needed to be.