A/N: Rewatched OotP today and need the Snarry goodness now.
Disclaimer: Of course it's not mine, if it was mine Snarry and Dramione would have happened long ago. JKR is still amazing, though.
Occlumency
"Are you even trying, Potter?"
Snape was getting frustrated. Potter didn't even appear to be trying to master his Occlumency. The glare Potter was currently giving him told him otherwise, but Snape didn't care.
It didn't help that his heart skipped a beat whenever Potter looked directly at him. Like now.
"I'm trying, sir," Potter snapped. "I just can't seem to clear my mind! It doesn't help that you never let me rest between attempts on my mind!"
Snape glared right back at him, attempting to ignore the fluttering of his heart. This crush wasn't right - but that didn't stop it from existing, and Snape was both curious to explore it and hated it.
If Potter felt the same, which there was probably no chance of.
"You don't look like you're trying," Snape snarled. "And keep in mind: when the Dark Lord discovers your link - and he will - he will not rest. He will not stop until he has you, and with full access to your mind, it will not be long until he does!"
"I won't let him get in," Potter insisted.
"Then prove it," Snape growled. "Prove that you can do Occlumency. Prove that you are not as incompetent as your father."
"My dad wasn't incompetent!" Potter protested.
"He proved that over and over," Snape muttered, too quiet for Potter to hear.
They fell silent for a moment, both of them glaring at each other. Then Snape raised his wand again.
"Prepare yourself, Potter," he muttered. "Try to keep me out this time."
Potter glared at him some more, but Snape noted the way he tensed, as if preparing for a fight. He sighed under his breath, then said, "Legilimens!"
Once again, he met little to no resistance in entering Potter's mind. But this time, what he found shocked him.
He saw some of the usual - Weasley and Granger, Luna Lovegood showing him the thestrals, his parents' photograph, the door of the Department of Mysteries (though of course Potter didn't know that's what it was). But this time a new memory surfaced - Potter and Granger, alone in the common room. It looked like the memory was from last year, while Potter and Weasley weren't getting along. This time, the memory had sound - not all of them did, and most of them were silent, so when he ran across one with sound it was interesting.
This memory certainly qualified as "interesting".
Potter and Granger were in the Gryffindor common room, talking by the fire. "Alright, spill," Granger was saying.
Potter shifted restlessly in his seat. "What do you want me to -?"
"Harry, I know you've got a crush on someone, and it's not Cho, however much you act like it," Granger interrupted. "So who is it? Spill."
Potter shifted again, then said, "Promise you won't tell anyone? Not even Ron?"
Granger nodded. Potter took a deep breath and admitted, "Honestly...it's Snape."
Snape pulled out of Potter's head to find panic written all over the young wizard's face. Snape regarded him with a new curiosity. So he did feel the same. The boy was a good actor, Snape would give him that. He wouldn't have suspected at all had they not been having these Occlumency sessions. But now...well, there was a new avenue of possibility there.
"Oh, god, please don't be mad at me," Potter said.
Snape put his wand away. "Now why would I be mad at you, Mr. Potter?"
"I - you just - Professor, with all due respect, with what you just saw, I'd be more surprised if you weren't mad at me," Potter managed. "I mean...you act like you hate me. To find out that I have a crush on you..."
Snape almost smiled. God, the boy was ignorant.
"Presicely, Potter. I act like I hate you." Snape put more emphasis on the word act than was strictly necessary to get his point across.
Snape could see the moment it dawned on him. "You mean -?"
"Yes, Potter," Snape sighed, exasperated.
Potter smiled. "And here I was thinking you hated me."
"I hated James," Snape corrected. "Not you. It's your eyes, really, that draw me in - Lily's eyes." There was a lot more pain in Snape's voice than he'd like to admit.
Potter - no, Harry - crossed the room and laid a hand on Snape's arm. "You knew her?"
"We were close for years," Snape admitted. "Then, fifth year, she and I had...a disagreement. She never forgave me for it. Then, sixth year, she started dating James, and I felt even more left out than usual. She was one of my only real friends at Hogwarts. To lose her trust...that's what drove me to the Dark Lord in the first place. Then I heard he was planning to kill her, and I switched sides."
Harry looked like he was at a loss for words. Snape couldn't blame him - he'd barely known his parents, and to hear all the conflicting accounts of what they'd been like...
"Why did you hate my dad so much?" Harry asked.
Snape drew in a shaky breath. "Please, not now. Talking about Lily always pains me. Talking about James is worse. I'll explain eventually, but for now..."
"It's alright, I can wait," Harry said.
Snape regarded him. He was being honest - there was nothing in his features, so much like his accursed father's, that said he was lying. Snape found his eyes drawn to Harry's lips and all but forced himself to meet the younger wizard's eyes instead.
"I know," Snape murmured.
Black eyes held the green for a few moments, neither quite noticing they'd been leaning in until their faces were barely an inch apart.
Snape closed the distance and kissed him.
Harry returned the kiss immediately, gasping and letting him in when Snape decided to take it deeper, his tongue teasing across Harry's lips. Snape was satisfied when he heard a low moan from Harry, then gasped as Harry bit down on his lip, turning the tables on him.
Eventually, air became a necessity, and Snape pulled away, blinking open his eyes to find Harry smiling at him.
"I think that was a little more than a crush," Snape remarked.
"Yeah, a bit," Harry replied. "Where'd you learn to kiss like that?"
Snape smiled - actually smiled - at Harry's question. "No idea."
Harry's smile only grew wider at the sight of Snape's. "So you can smile," he joked.
"Harry," sighed Snape.
"Wha-at?"
Snape shook his head fondly. "You are going to be the death of me."
"Am I now?" Harry was teasing him. Snape rolled his eyes.
"Harry, do me a favor and shut up," he said.
"That's no fun," Harry pouted. "Also, that's the second time you've used my first name, Snape."
"Severus," Snape corrected. "If I'm using your first name, you might as well use mine."
Harry smiled at him again. Snape used the moment to kiss him again, lighter this time but still with a lingering passion behind it that Snape knew Harry felt. Pulling away, Snape proceeded to press kisses to Harry's throat, prompting him to tilt his head back and give Snape more room to maneuver.
"Not liking this at all, are we, Harry?" Snape murmured.
"Just shut up and keep kissing me, Severus," Harry ordered. Snape smiled and complied.
Snape finished by kissing Harry on the lips again, then pulled away to a small mewl of protest from the younger wizard.
"Hey! I was enjoying that!" Harry protested.
"You do realize this was technically supposed to be an Occlumency lesson, correct?" Snape reminded him.
"Damn," Harry muttered. "I was hoping you'd forget."
Snape smiled and shook his head. Harry really was going to be the death of him.
"Come on, back to practicing," Snape said. Harry scowled but obeyed. "Actually try this time, will you?" Snape added.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I have been trying!" he protested. "I don't want Voldemort using you to get to me. I don't want Voldemort using anyone I love to get to me."
"What exactly are you saying, Harry?" Snape asked.
Harry smiled. "I'm saying that I love you, Severus Snape. So are we going to get to this, or not?"
Snape smiled back. "We are," he said, raising his wand. "And for the record - I love you, too."
Aww yay with the fluff! I hope you enjoyed. Please review and tell me what you think!