A/N - Sorry this took a little longer. It was harder to write than I thought it would be, also its a long one. Once Harry and Severus started talking I couldn't shut them up! Please review and tell me what you think x

Chapter 11 - A Straight Line Back To You

Harry didn't leave St Mungo's until well after dark, when Ron was starting to yawn and when the nurses had started to come into the room and glare at him. He hugged them both goodbye and left with the promise of returning soon. In all likelihood Ron would be going home in the next few days and Harry promised to come and visit as soon as they were released. Hermione intended to cast the Fidelius charm on their house as soon as possible, and Harry agreed to be their secret keeper.

He supposed he should probably cast the Fidelius charm on his own home, but he didn't really want to go through the bother. Perhaps he would talk to Severus about it. Harry was curious to know the many layers of protection that Severus had cast upon his own home and the property it rested on. It certainly wasn't usual to having to apparate to a set of coordinates and then just to follow your nose (or your patrons in his case).

He supposed he should probably take Hermione's advice and go and talk to Severus about everything, but he didn't want to push him too hard or too quickly and he honestly didn't fully know what his own feelings for the man were. Instead he decided to walk through the streets of London, revelling in the fact that he could do so without everyone staring at him. Eventually he grew tired and apparated to his home, pausing for a few seconds on the doorstep before entering.

He realised he felt awkward and uncertain about entering his own house.

He hated that his house had been compromised, that someone had violated his personal space. It just felt different now. The rooms weren't as comforting, weren't as relaxing. Or maybe it was just that for the first time they felt large and empty. Sorrell pressed against his leg meowing pitifully for her dinner, and Harry picked her up, kissing her head gently as he moved into the kitchen and busied himself making her some dinner. She had fared well in his absence, her automatic feeder dispensing food every day but she clearly had missed Harry's company. Harry put her down next to her food bowl but she still pressed against his leg in comfort every few seconds.

He didn't feel much like eating, but forced himself to make a sandwich. He had very little food left in his house, he supposed he'd have to order more groceries tomorrow, or he could even go to the store which was something he hadn't done in years.

He felt restless, and disconcerted like he was waiting for something to happen. He also had a strong sense of foreboding. Like there was something bad just around the corner. He didn't know what to make of their conversation that day, perhaps the killer wasn't dead and this wasn't over? What if it was just a random attack and this incident wasn't connected to the murders at all? He shook his head in frustration and tried not to over think things.

He went to bed early, snuggling down and covering his head with his quilt. He would just deal with it all in the morning.

Unsurprisingly in the morning he didn't feel any better, and he knew that the only way he would feel better was to go and see Severus. He felt uncomfortable about just showing up unannounced so he quickly cast a patronus and sent it to Severus with a short message asking for a visit. He didn't have to wait long for the reply. He was waiting impatiently in the front yard ready to go when the silver doe appeared before him.

'Potter you don't have to send a bloody patronus every time you want to come and visit that's idiotic, Just show up next time and while we're on the subject it's about bloody time you changed your patronus to something less offensive!' Severus's voice snapped from the doe's mouth.

Harry smiled to himself and shook his head slightly. The man was unbelievable. He re did his wards, adding an extra layer of protection before apparating to Severus' coordinates. As he made his way carefully towards his house he thought to himself that there was no way he was changing his patronus. Besides he kind of liked how it matched Severus' perfectly.

Severus was waiting on his door step, his robes typically billowing out behind him. There was a slight scowl on his face as if he was entirely put out that Harry hadn't arrived sooner.

'I'm not changing my patronus.' Harry said in an equally snappy tone to which Severus had delivered his message. 'You should know better than to ask.'

Severus smirked and held the door open for Harry to enter. 'Perhaps if you simply showed up instead of sending me a message we could have avoided this conversation altogether.' He said. 'As it is I'd thank you to not send me any future messages by that method unless it's an absolute emergency.'

'I'll keep that in mind.' Harry said, entering and wiping his snow covered feet on the mat.

'Coffee?' Severus asked, as he headed towards the kitchen leaving Harry to follow him.

'Sure.'

It was comforting to sit with Severus in his kitchen, the two of them sipping their coffee in companionable silence. Harry thought it was certainly something he could get used to.

'I believe you mentioned something yesterday about talking?' Severus said after a few moments.

'I believe I did.' Harry replied casually.

'Did you have a particular topic in mind?' Severus asked in amusement.

'I don't know.' Harry said. 'I guess I just want to get to know you more.'

'I'm not sure there's much to know. I haven't had much of a life Potter.'

Harry sighed. 'Why do you still call me Potter?'

'I don't know why. I didn't realise it was an issue.' Severus said mildly.

'I guess when I hear you say Potter I'm instantly transported back to potions class.' Harry shrugged.

'Well at least I don't say it with the same amount of venom as I did then.'

'You often say it with the same amount of sarcasm though.' Harry stated.

'Harry if it bothers you so much I'll attempt to refrain from doing it.' Severus said seriously.

'No its fine I guess. It seems a very trivial thing to be upset over doesn't it?' Harry asked.

'Perhaps, however I've often found that it's the trivial things that upset us the most.' Severus said.

'Hermione doesn't think the man I killed was the same man who committed all the murders.' Harry said suddenly changing the subject.

'Well it certainly doesn't seem to add up does it? At the very least an accomplice was involved.' Severus agreed.

'A wizard had to cast those charms; neither a muggle nor a squib could have managed it.' Harry said.

'Well under certain circumstances squibs have been able to cast magic, though usually not up to standard.' Severus said.

Harry raised his eyebrows at Snape. 'A full body bind on Hermione? Really?'

'It's extremely unlikely yes.' Severus nodded.

'It's impossible.' Harry said.

'So what are you going to do about it then?' Severus asked.

'I can't do anything about it. I'm pretty much banned from the case.'

'When has that ever stopped you?' Severus asked, the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.

Harry smiled. 'Well yes but look where that kind of behaviour got me in the past?'

Severus frowned at him. 'Precisely my point. You have a history of sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong and getting your own way. Therefore if you want to work on the case, work on it. I doubt anyone will stop you.'

'So much for leaving the past behind.' Harry muttered.

'It would appear that it's not actually that easy to do.'

'So you want talk about it then?' Harry said, resigned to the fact that unless they cleared the air somewhat it was unlikely they could successfully move forward in any kind of relationship.

'Talk about what?' Severus asked. 'The case?'

'No the past.' Harry said. 'Our past. To clear the air so to speak.'

Severus remained silent.

'Severus?' Harry asked tentatively.

'Haven't we been here before Harry? Quid Pro Quo?' Severus sighed. 'It didn't go so well last time. I believe you cut the conversation short because you didn't like what I said.'

'Perhaps I wasn't ready to hear it then.' Harry said seriously. 'Maybe I am now.'

'What if you aren't?'

Harry sighed. 'Then I never will be Severus. Say whatever you want to say. Ask whatever you want to ask about our time together at Hogwarts, or during the war. I will do the same. But this is it Severus. This is the only time we are going to discuss this.'

'I find that highly unlikely.' was the reply.

Harry sighed. 'I just want to put this behind us.'

'Do you really think that's possible?' Severus asked. 'You don't think that too much bitterness and hate had passed between us to recover? That there's too much water under the bridge?'

'I don't think so. I don't feel hate towards you anymore. I just want to understand.' Harry said.

'Then ask your first question.' Severus said. 'But like you told me the first time we played this game, you most likely won't like my answers.'

Harry just looked at him thoughtfully. 'I told you last time that I understood why you treated me so horribly, but I guess I want to know why you never gave me a chance.' He said slowly. 'You assumed right from my first class with you that I was exactly like my father, but yet you had sworn to protect me? I don't understand why you didn't at least wait to see if I was like him.'

Severus sighed, and then stood up from his chair slowly taking his coffee with him. 'If we are going to get into this I suggest we move to the sitting room where it is infinitely more comfortable.' He said. 'I suspect this will take a while.'

Harry remained silent but picked up his own cup of coffee and followed Severus to the sitting room. There was a fire burning in the hearth and the chairs were indeed much more comfortable. In truth Harry would have been happy to talk anywhere, just as long as they were actually talking. This conversation was long overdue.

Severus settled himself easily into the chair closest to the fire, adjusting his robes so that they flowed easily around him. He placed his coffee down on the table in front of him and looked at Harry. 'Imagine that you are now teaching at Hogwarts. Imagine that Draco Malfoy married say Hermione for example. Now imagine that they are both dead, and it was your fault, and that Hermione died hating you. Now you have in your class a small boy who looks exactly like Draco. He is the hero of the wizarding world and everyone worships him, strangers stop him and want to shake his hand and he is in your class at your mercy.' He said softly. 'What would you do?'

'I can see where you're coming from Severus, despite the fact that Hermione has never been anything but my closest friend, the analogy is close enough.' Harry said thoughtfully. 'I would like to think I wouldn't bully the kid before he'd spoken a single word though.

'Yes I am sure that you yourself would probably treat the boy fairly.' Severus said softly. 'I'm only trying to help you understand. I never said it was fair. I did not have your innate goodness nor did I have the support structure you currently have. All I had was 11 years of regret and self-loathing.'

'I'm trying to understand.' Harry said. 'It's not easy to accept though knowing what I know about you now.'

'Now imagine that the boy looks up at you and has the exact same eyes as his mother.' Severus said.

'That would surely make it easier to like him rather than dislike him.' Harry said, still uncertain of where Severus was going with this.

'That's the point Harry. In all those years between the two wars I never for one second believed that Voldemort was dead. Especially in your first year when Quirrell was acting so strangely. I looked at you and felt emotions I hadn't felt for many years. You looked so much like your father but you had your mother's eyes, you had her soul. It was my job to protect you. That vow was all I had left to hold onto and the only way I could do that and stay sane was to hate you. I couldn't for one second allow myself to have any positive feelings towards you for fear that Voldemort would discover them and use them against us both. Can you understand that?'

Harry nodded. 'Yes I can. That makes sense to me, but you also treated my friends terribly. You bullied us all; you know you did and don't just say you hate all students and treat them all terribly again. That's a cop out and you're better than that. You must have had a better reason.'

Severus shrugged slightly 'Other than my carefully nurtured anger towards all Gryffindor students? I wish I could say that I regret it but I don't. My job was to protect you but you didn't make it easy for me, and neither did your friends. And rather than be punished for your repeated stupidity you were rewarded time and time again.'

'Okay in relation to Ron and Hermione yes I can understand that. It must have been so frustrating for you. But what about Neville Severus? What did he do to deserve that kind of treatment?' Harry asked.

Severus sighed. 'The prophecy could have referred to either of you. When I saw how useless he was…'

Harry cut him off. 'He wasn't useless Snape!' he snapped.

Severus glared at him. 'If you can't control yourself we aren't going to continue this conversation. He was useless, you know he was. When Neville arrived at Hogwarts he had barely any magic ability whatsoever and it angered me. It angered me because I realised that there was no way the prophecy could ever have been about him, it was obviously about you Harry. Despite how useless you were at potions you had magical ability coming out of your very pores. I blamed Neville for his ineptitude yes because my life would have been entirely different if the prophecy had been about him.'

'Do you think your life would have been better?' Harry asked incredulously. 'As a true servant of Voldemort's?'

'I didn't say better you idiot.' Severus snapped. 'I said different. Your mother would have been alive, and I would most likely be dead. I know I could not have served him faithfully for long. I would have turned away from him eventually I'm sure, much like Regulus did. And then I have no doubt that I too would have been executed.'

'That's probably true.' Harry agreed. 'For that reason alone I would gladly go through all of this again.' He said. 'I don't know what I would have done if you had died.'

Severus was silent.

After a moment Harry spoke again. 'You've more than answered my first question Severus.' He said softly. 'Feel free to ask your own.'

'Why did you look in the pensieve?' Severus asked.

Harry looked away. He didn't want to answer that question, why did he have to bring that particular memory up first?

'In your fifth year, during your occulmency classes, I know you what I'm referring to.' Severus continued when Harry remained silent. 'I want to know why you did it. Was it so you had a chance to get even? Was it your intent to use those memories against me?'

Harry sighed. 'I don't know why I did it.' He said. 'I suppose I was curious about you. I wanted to know what was so terrible that you wanted it kept from me, and I was surprised you felt the need to remove anything at all. I didn't think you thought it likely that I would ever succeed in breaking into your mind anyway so why bother removing memories? I was curious.'

Severus looked away from Harry and stared into the fire. 'You know we've spoken about my behaviour towards you but we didn't touch on your behaviour towards me. A Professor gets used to being ridiculed by his students, behind his back or even within earshot. I always dealt harshly with those I caught making fun of my nose, or hair or how awful I was in class. I suppose that you lot couldn't imagine that no matter the person, or no matter his age and disposition those remarks would still hurt.'

'No I don't suppose we did.' Harry said thoughtfully. 'But we were children Severus. It's not an excuse for bad behaviour but it's a circle. You bullied us and we ridiculed you and we were all wrong for doing it.'

Severus nodded. 'I know. And by that stage I had grown so used to being ridiculed that I could easily tell myself that it didn't matter.' he said, and then paused for a moment before looking into Harry's eyes. 'I would have given much for that memory to remain hidden. It was not something you ever should have seen, and if you hadn't been such an arrogant little fool who thought he knew better then you wouldn't have. That was a piece of myself that had been long buried Potter. It should have remained that way.'

Harry sighed. 'It wasn't buried at all though was it? Otherwise you wouldn't have dug it up and removed it from your head to protect it. I understand your anger Severus, but much like you I don't regret it for a second.'

'Because it gave you power over me?' Severus asked through clenched teeth raising his voice slightly. 'I always wondered when you would use that memory to taunt me. Just how many of your friends did you tell? I imagine you laughed for a long time.'

Harry could see the pain in Severus' eyes as he spoke. 'I wasn't the boy you thought I was Severus.' He said gently. 'I didn't tell anyone. It made me sick to my stomach actually; I nearly vomited every time I thought of it. The only person I told about it was Lupin. I questioned him, wanting to try and understand why my father had behaved the way he did. Lupin wasn't much help though, he simply said that you also cursed my father at every opportunity you had. I knew better though, I'd seen it.'

'Surely you must have enjoyed watching me be bullied like that after all the similar memories of yours I had seen?' Severus asked. 'I refuse to believe you got no pleasure out of it.'

'Did you get pleasure out of mine?' Harry asked.

Severus was silent.

Harry took that to mean he probably had but decided not to push it any further. 'No actually it made me feel worse. Up until that point my hatred of you was mostly fuelled from the way you spoke about my father. I believed him to be kind and brave and good.'

Severus laughed bitterly.

Harry chose to ignore him. 'Your memory of him showed me he was exactly what you said he was, an arrogant asshole and a bully, and that made me feel horribly sad for myself and for you. It also made me feel like a fool.' Harry said sadly. 'I saw more of myself in you than in him, and it made me feel sick because you hated me so much and I hated you. I didn't know what to do or how to feel.' He took a deep breath. 'And I didn't understand how you thought I could be like him before you even knew me.'

'Hate blinds us.' Severus said softly, having calmed somewhat. 'But if that's true it doesn't explain your behaviour to me afterwards.'

'You threw a jar of cockroaches at me Severus.' Harry said. 'What did you expect me to do?'

'I don't know.' Severus admitted. 'But if that's how you felt it doesn't explain why you blamed me so entirely for Black's death. You knew I did everything I could under the circumstances.'

Harry took a deep breath. 'This is going to sound like an excuse but it's not, it's just the truth. I was young, only fifteen. I was immature, hurt and angry. I felt betrayed by Dumbledore who wouldn't even look me in the eye anymore. I felt betrayed by my father who appeared to not be the person I thought he was, and then I felt betrayed by you. You were supposed to teach me, you were meant to protect me, and you didn't help me when I needed you to. The only person who loved me for me, not for what I could bring to the war was dead, and while it was my fault and no one else's I couldn't cope with that guilt so I shifted it to someone else. You already hated me with every fibre of your being and so you were an easy target.' Harry paused. 'I'm sorry.'

Severus raised his eyebrows. 'Do you still blame me?'

'Of course not.' Harry said. 'I know now as I did then, that you did everything you could, and perhaps if I had listened to you, or Hermione or Professor McGonagall then Sirius would still be alive.' He paused for a moment. 'Hate does blind us Severus, but not anymore. I'm not blind to you now.'

'I'm sorry I threw a jar of cockroaches at your head.' Severus said.

Harry shrugged. 'That's okay I'm pretty sure I deserved it.'

'Perhaps.' Severus said with a smile. 'I was more angry with myself though for losing my temper so thoroughly. I pride myself on keeping my cool and you made me lose it so completely.

Harry nodded. 'I imagine that I made you lose it more often than anyone else.'

'Indeed.' Severus agreed. 'That particular time was one of the worst though, I was so terrified of what you had seen and what you would do with the information that lost control of myself. I vowed to never lose my temper so completely again.'

'I vowed the same thing.' Harry said seriously. 'Didn't stop us from both losing it the very next year though did it?'

Severus narrowed his eyes. 'On that subject just where is my copy of Advanced Potion Making Potter?'

Harry swallowed nervously. 'Do we really have to talk about this one right now? Right when we just finished talking about the pensieve incident?'

'You brought it up.' Severus pointed out. 'You're ashamed. So you should be.'

'No actually I'm not. I mean I am about the pensieve thing but not about Advanced Potion Making.' Harry said. 'I am however concerned that this conversation will lead to an argument and I don't want you to hate me again!'

'There's no reason thing that. You're the one who ended this conversation the last time we spoke about it.' Severus said. 'And who says I don't still hate you now?'

'You do.' Harry said seriously. 'I'm in your sitting room, drinking your coffee calling you by you first name. How many other people have had this privilege?'

Severus looked up into Harry's eyes. 'You're the first.' He said, holding his gaze.

Harry's heart skipped a beat. 'Then I think it's safe to say you no longer hate me.' He said softly.

Severus looked away. 'You are indeed correct. However you do still infuriate me terribly and I like this idea of clearing the air. I agree it may be the best way forward for us. I want to understand you Harry.'

'And I you.'

'So tell me about Advanced Potion Making.' Severus said.

Harry got up from his chair and moved to the coffee table, he collected Severus' now empty mug and moved it to the side table next to the couch on the opposite side of the room along with several quill, some parchment and three large and heavy books.

'What on earth are you doing?' Severus snapped.

'Removing ammunition.' Harry said seriously. 'I don't want there to be anything within reach for you to throw at me.'

'You're just making a point you insufferable Gryffindor. You know perfectly well that if I want to throw something at you I can simply conjure it out of thin air.' Severus growled. 'Now stop stalling before I do and tell me how you managed to get your hands on my book!'

Harry sighed. He didn't sit back down in his chair; instead he began pacing the floor of the sitting room. 'Slughorn gave it to me.'

'Hmmm.' Severus said. 'I always assumed you stole it.'

Harry frowned at him. 'You really have a low opinion of me don't you?' he said.

'Had a low opinion of you.' Severus corrected. 'My opinion of you now is quite high actually.'

Harry smiled 'Really?'

'You're here aren't you?' Severus pointed out. 'Stop trying to change the subject. Why would Slughorn have given you my book?'

'Neither Ron nor I managed an Outstanding OWL in Potions.' Harry began. 'So naturally we assumed we wouldn't be continuing and therefore didn't buy any supplies prior to the year starting. When we discovered that Slughorn would take us in his NEWT class we had to explain to him that we didn't have any materials and we didn't have the required text book.' Harry explained. 'He told us to take whatever supplies we needed from the store cupboard and that in the back we would find a few old copies of Advanced Potion Making. I ended up getting yours.'

'Of course it would be you who ended up with it. No wonder you were so good at potions that year.' Severus growled. 'I suppose you didn't want to return it when you discovered its value?'

'Pretty much.' Harry said. 'Turns out you were a good potions teacher after all.'

'Careful Harry.' Severus said. 'My patience does have its limits. I wondered how you became so brilliant at potions seemingly overnight. When you used Sectumsempra on Malfoy I realised of course. You had been cheating.'

'I wouldn't call it cheating exactly.' Harry said turning red. 'I know you think that but it really isn't true.'

'What would you call it then?' Severus asked.

'I'd say you were tutoring me.' Harry said. 'Unwillingly.'

'That's quite the stretch. You may call it tutoring; I call it no different to standing behind you and telling you what to do.' Severus scoffed. 'You're right about the unwilling part though.'

Harry smiled. 'Hermione agreed with you. She thought it was cheating too. Ron said she was just jealous because you knew more than she did.'

'I imagine that was true. She never did deal well with competition.' Severus said. 'If you had been in my class you would have failed.'

'If I'd been in your class I probably wouldn't have tried it.' Harry said seriously. 'I'd be too afraid of getting caught. Or at the very least I would have been more subtle about it.'

'I expect Slughorn didn't even notice you weren't following the precise instructions did he?'

'No he didn't.' Harry confirmed. 'It's ironic that for that whole year I thought I was doing better because I didn't have you breathing down my neck every five seconds and had a proper teacher for once, then all the while it turned out it was you who was actually teaching me!'

'I can only imagine your horror when you discovered whose book it was.' Severus said softly.

'Actually my horror happened earlier than that.' Harry said. 'It's my turn for a question.'

'Yes?'

'Did you really invent Sectumsempra?' Harry asked.

Snape nodded slowly. 'Yes Harry I did.'

'It's a horrible spell Severus.' Harry said flatly, part of him had hoped it wasn't Severus' invention.

'Actually it's a very useful spell when used properly. I'm not the one who was so foolish as to cast it on someone without knowing what it did.' Severus said gently. 'You had no idea did you?'

Harry shook his head. 'No I had no idea. I never dreamed that the book would hold a spell that was so destructive. I had been working my way through all the spells you had written in the margins and they were all fairly harmless, and genius by the way. I was completely enamoured with the person who wrote it. I read it every night, convinced that the owner was some mysterious, brooding, brilliant student. I had quite the crush. I never considered for a second that it could be you. It seems so obvious now. Who else would it have been?'

'Who else indeed.' Severus said. 'How disappointing for you.'

'I wasn't disappointed. I felt betrayed, and foolish. I suppose that served me right for being so naïve.' Harry paused. 'You must have been so angry with me when you found I had cast that spell on Malfoy.'

Severus nodded. 'I have never been angrier at you than I was in that moment Harry. Not only did I feel violated knowing you had read my text book but knowing you had cast a spell so dark, created by me? When I was supposed to be keeping you safe from darkness? It was almost my undoing.' He said softly.

Harry finally stopped his pacing and moved to sit on the floor at Severus' feet, leaning up against his chair. 'I'm sorry I violated your privacy Severus, no matter how unintentionally. I'm sorry I cast that curse at Malfoy, you have no idea how sorry I am.'

'I know you are. I knew even then. It was written all over your face.' Severus said, lifting his had to rest gently on Harry's shoulder. 'However you say you're sorry about invading my privacy but also that you aren't ashamed. Would you tell me why that is?'

'I had no idea whose book it was. It was given to me. I didn't steal it, and I learned more from it than from you in the previous five years. I'm not ashamed of wanting to learn Severus. But I am sorry it caused you pain, and I am sorry I caused Malfoy pain. Despite what he was about to do to me.' Harry growled, leaning back slightly into Severus' hand. 'He was about to cast cruciatus on me.'

'I have no doubt.' Severus said softly, taking the opportunity to raise his hand to lie on Harry's neck, his fingers sneaking upwards to run gently through his hair. 'Don't judge him for it though. You yourself tried to use it on me only a short while later.'

'I don't even remember that.' Harry said softly. 'I'm sorry.'

'It's okay Harry, you were nearly apoplectic with rage at the time, and I'm not surprised you don't remember.' Severus said gently. 'And If I had been in your place I would have done the same. Only I probably would have succeeded.' He added.

'Why didn't it succeed?' Harry asked. 'Did I not mean it enough?' He asked hopefully.

'I blocked you with a spell of my own before you managed to completely cast it.' Severus said shortly. 'Trust me, you meant it.'

Harry leaned back even further into his touch, letting his cheek rest in the palm of Severus' hand. 'Severus?' he asked.

'Mmmmm?'

'Thank you for stopping me. If I had succeeded I couldn't bare it.' Harry whispered.

'You're welcome.' Severus said gently stroking Harry's cheek with his fingers.

'What's happening between us?' Harry asked tentatively.

'I don't know.' Severus replied honestly.

'Talking like this confuses me.' Harry confessed. 'Remembering what you were like when I was a child jumbles my feelings up inside. I understand completely now why you behaved the way you did but I can't lie to you the hurt is still there. It's confusing.'

'For me also Harry.' Severus said. 'I sometimes find it hard to believe that the war is over, that we both survived and I can actually feel any way I like about you. As for the hurt, well I wish I could take that away but I can't. What happened between us in your youth happened, and I don't think I would change it now anyway.'

'I'm not sure I would either' Harry agreed. 'In many ways I feel like it all happened just to get us here.'

'Where's here exactly?' Severus asked.

'Here in this room right now, here in this place where we can discuss the past freely with understanding, here where we have mutual respect for each other.' Harry said. 'Just here.'

'I think I understand what you mean. Although this is the first time we've managed to successfully talk about our past in a rational manner.' Severus said. 'Perhaps we needed to go through everything again to get to this point.'

'Like everything we've been through was just a straight line back to you.' Harry reached up and touched his hand to Severus' where it still touched his face, his fingers still gently stroking his cheek.

'How very poetic of you Harry.' Severus smirked.

Harry smiled. 'It was the only analogy I could think of.'

'It fits'. Severus said softly.

'This has all happened so quickly though. I feel like I've been asleep for the last 5 years, and you've finally woken me up.' Harry said.

Severus snorted. 'Does that make me Prince Charming?' he teased.

Harry turned towards him, kneeling up on both knees and resting his hands gently on Severus' thighs. 'Why don't you kiss me and we'll find out?' He asked seriously, his heart pounding furiously.

Severus took a breath, his dark eyes locked on Harry's green ones. 'Are you sure?'

'I'm sure.' Harry said and leaned in towards him, grabbing the front of his robes and pulling him in.

Severus went willingly and pulled Harry up towards him to sit awkwardly in his lap crushing his lips to his, and running his hands from Harry's waist up his back and into his hair.

Harry adjusted himself slightly so he was sitting astride Severus and deepened their kiss pushing his tongue in to meet Severus', curling his tongue around his and nipping gently at his lower lip. Severus growled and pulled Harry even closer before breaking their kiss and lowering his head to Harry's neck placing a feathering of kisses along his jawline. Harry leaned his head back and moaned, and ground his hips into Severus' pushing their erections together.

'Harry fuck, we should stop.' Severus said breathlessly.

'Why is that again?' Harry asked, pulling Severus face up towards him and kissing him furiously.

Severus pulled slowly away just far enough to stop them for a few seconds. 'Harry, please stop for one second and think about what it is we're doing here. It's way too soon for this.'

'Don't you want to?' Harry asked, allowing just a touch of hurt and rejection into his voice.

'Shhhh Harry of course I do' Severus said softly, running his hand down the side of his face. 'I just want to make sure you realise what this means. We don't have to rush into this.'

'Fine, I'll stop.' Harry said softly, leaning in to kiss Severus again gently. 'Just as soon as I've kissed you again.'

'Harry.' Severus murmured between kisses.

'Mmmmm' Harry murmured in return, pushing a little bit closer.

'Wait Harry.' Severus said seriously sitting upright, placing a hand over Harry's lips. 'Did you hear that?'

Harry stopped and listened. 'I don't hear anything.' He said.

'Someone's outside.' Severus said quickly.

Harry quickly pushed himself off Severus' lap. 'That's impossible.' He said quickly. 'Your wards?'

Severus shook his head. 'It should be impossible, the wards are still up.'

Severus reached into his robes and withdrew his wand.

There was an audible thump against what Harry assumed was the front door. 'Severus' he said cautiously. 'That I heard. There's definitely someone here.'

Severus pushed Harry behind him as he moved towards the front door. 'Stay behind me please.' He said.

'Severus I'm fine.' Harry replied quickly following him.

'For Merlin's sake Harry don't fight me on this. You don't have a wand, I know you can do wand less magic but please do what you're told for once in your life.' Severus pleaded.

'Okay I'm here, I'm right behind you.' Harry said again gripping Severus by the hand firmly while remaining behind him.

They approached the front door with caution; Severus slowly opened it with his wand outstretched.

On the doorstep there was a parcel wrapped in a grimy looking cloth tied with string. There was a note with it addressed to Harry. Severus levitated it inside with his wand closing the door tight behind him before sealing it with a number of spells. He brought the parcel to the kitchen placing it gingerly on the table.

'You want me to open it?' Severus asked Harry, keeping a firm grip on his hand.

'I suppose one of us should.' Harry said grimly. 'There doesn't seem to be anything magical about it so it most likely can't harm us.'

Severus nodded, and flicked his wand at the package. The string slowly untied and the fabric folded back to reveal another note sitting on top of what appeared to be a severed human hand.

'What the fuck is this?' Harry asked tightly.

Severus unfolded the note with another flick of his wand and they both leaned in to read.

'Did you really think it would be that easy?

Think again.

This is merely a small sample of my next masterpiece.

You have 24 hours until it is complete.

Use them wisely'

Severus pulled Harry in towards him in a fierce embrace. 'We have to get out of here.' He said quickly.

'Agreed.' Harry mumbled into Snape's chest.

'Don't let go.' Severus said as he wrapped both arms firmly around Harry and turned on the spot.