Title : Nightmarish Dream
Author : Akuma
Archive : None. If you want to put my fics on your site, just email me ^_^
Disclaimer : HP characters are not mine.
Feedback : yes, please!!
Pairings : SS/HP
Rating : PG-13
Warning : slash, humour, sap
Summary : After a mishap in the dungeon, Harry got a strange dream where he was Cinderella and his prince charming appeared to be his Potion Master.
Note : This is my first HP fic. Usually I only write in one fandom but then thanks to Telanu, I'm hooked, line and sinker. After reading Jaykay's Too Wise to Woo Peaceably, I get an urge to get Harry into dress again, so here it is. Hope you like it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a usual night in Hogwarts. Some ghosts flew through the wall and one certain naughty ghost was teasing the first year students. No one knew that it was the night where something would happen and affect several students' lives and also a teacher's.
Harry Potter, a sixth year student, was heading toward his dorm when a voice called him. "Harry, help me bring these, will you."
Harry blinked as his arms were suddenly filled with stack of books. "What're these books for, Hermione?"
His friend beamed at him, "Ron asked me to find some muggle fairy tales to be discussed at the Muggle Studies class he takes. Luckily, our library also includes muggle books in it, so I don't have to ask my parents to send them."
Harry looked at the stack of books that was so high that they blocked his sight. He was sure Ron's definition of 'some' was different from Hermione's definition.
"I still have a couple of books left in the library. Go on, Harry, I'll see ya in the dorm later." With that Hermione ran back to the library, leaving her raven haired friend struggling with the books.
As he struggled to step up the stairs without dropping the books, Harry made a note to discuss the definition of 'some' later with Hermione. He was lost in his thoughts and added with the books blocking his vision, Harry was oblivious when the stairs changed direction and led him to the dungeon instead of his dorm. Harry kept walking, focusing in balancing the books and didn't realize he was walking deeper into the dungeon.
Professor Severus Snape was stirring his cauldron happily, happily in his own way, that is. He'd finally found a formula to make a potion that would guarantee he got nice dreams instead of nightmares every time he slept. He was so focused in watching his cauldron cooling down that he didn't notice one of his students wobbling into his dungeon, carrying a stack of books until it was too late. He looked up just in time to see a stack of books colliding with his precious cauldron. "Wha..."
BANG SPLASH
Harry fell down and gasped as he felt warm liquid splash on him. Thank God, it wasn't hot or he would be The Boy Who Boiled by now. Where the hell was he anyway? Was this one of the tricks Ron had learned from the twins or what? Harry tried to clean his glasses from the reddish liquid with his already ruined robe when he heard streams of curses. His blood went cold as he recognized the voice. He put on his half cleaned glasses and saw Professor Snape wiping the reddish liquid from his face and then looking up at him. Harry cringed inwardly as he saw the murderous look on his teacher's face.
"Bloody hell, Potter!" Severus bellowed as he saw the not so innocent boy sitting on the puddle of what left of his hard work.
"So.. sorry Professor, I don't mean..."
Severus didn't listen to the boy's babble. He was fuming. Harry Potter had successfully knocked the cauldron over and caused the potion in it to splash on both of them. His very precious potion! Severus would have wailed if not for the fact that he was being watched by a boy who had irritated him since the first year he was here. "One hundred points from Griffyndor!" He stood up and glared down at the raven haired boy. "I expect this room to be clean and no sign of you when I return later." With that he stomped out of the dungeon, bringing his nearly empty cauldron and leaving the red trails behind him.
Harry grimaced. Ron and Hermione would just have to forgive him this time. It was because of their books after all that made him end up in the dungeon instead of his dorm. He stood up and grimaced more as he looked down at his ruined robe and the mess he would have to clean. Well the mess was not a problem, though. Harry muttered the cleaning spell and the floor was void of the reddish liquid in a blink. His ruined clothes however were another problem. Harry wished he had practiced the cleaning spell more since he still couldn't do a cleaning spell on clothes without causing the clothes to disappear as well. And he wasn't going to try it now since the failure would mean he would have to walk naked from the dungeon to his dorm.
Harry wringed his clothes till they didn't leak of the reddish liquid anymore and then muttered the cleaning spell once again before escaping the dungeon. Harry was praying that no one saw him when he bumped into a certain blond Slytherin on a corner and transferred some of the remained reddish liquid to the boy.
"Yuck, what the heck is this?!" Draco Malfoy squeaked from where he was sprawled on the floor from the impact, rubbing off the liquid from his face.
"A poison that will turn you into a toad if you don't take a bath in five minutes." Harry obviously didn't know which devil gave him an idea to lie like that, but he could see his lie working as the blond boy widened his eyes in fear and surprise.
"Nice joke, Potter." Draco sat up and tried to appear calm.
"It's up to you to believe the potion Professor Snape made or not, Malfoy. I don't want to be a toad so I'm going to take a bath now." With that Harry quickly left Draco, who was torn between staying calm or running as fast as he could to the bathroom. It only needed a few seconds for Draco to decide, though. Cursing, the blond boy stood up and ran toward the Slytherin's bathroom. No way he would let himself turn into a toad! A ferret was enough!
Harry allowed a smirk to appear on his face as he heard the hurried footsteps faded behind him. He would be able to tease Draco about this tomorrow. Entering the Gryffindor's dorm, Harry hurried to the bathroom, wanting to get rid of the reddish liquid as soon as possible. But it appeared luck was not on his side tonight. He bumped again into Ron and Hermione on the last turn toward the bathroom. All of them were walking too fast to stop themselves from colliding.
"OUCH" Came three simultaneously cries.
Ron fell flat on his ass while Hermione staggered, same like Harry, who clutched his poor nose, which unfortunately hit Ron's face.
"Harry! There you are!" Hermione exclaimed when she had balanced herself. "We've been looking for you. What took you so long and where are the books?"
Still clutching his nose, Harry blinked in surprise. The books! He had forgotten about the books!!!
"Harry, what is this sticky thing." Ron grimaced at his ruined robe as he stood up. "Hermione, you got some on your robe too."
"Eek, what's this?" Hermione made a face and looked at Harry. "Explain."
So Harry explained how he ended up wet with the reddish liquid as they headed to the bathroom. They all concluded that somewhere the stairs had led Harry to dungeon instead of Gryffindor common room and spent sometimes cursing Snape for reducing their house points that much. It wasn't until they were all clean and arrived at the common room that Hermione remembered something.
"Harry, where are the books I gave you?"
Harry blinked and looked down at his empty hands. "Err...."
Hermione looked at him in horror. "Don't tell me you use cleaning spell on them."
"No." Harry frowned as he tried hard to remember. "The books weren't on the floor when I cleaned the dungeon. They must have fallen into the cauldron when I stumbled."
"Great, and where's the cauldron, I might ask?" Ron sighed, fearing the worst.
"Uh... Snape took it with him."
Both Hermione and Ron groaned.
"Should I ask him for them now?" Harry offered reluctantly, cursing his Gryffindor bravery at the time like this. But it was his fault this time and he had responsibility to take the books back, even it meant he had to confront the greasy meany professor Snape once again.
Hermione shook head. "I think it's better we wait till tomorrow. Hopefully his mood will get better by the time and let us have the books back without reducing our points. Goodnight, guys."
"Goodnight, Hermione." Harry and Ron nodded to the girl and went into the boy's dorm. But of course, as three of them settled to sleep, none of them believed Snape would ever have a mood which could make them get the books back without a scratch. Harry climbed into his bed and thought about how to get the books back without having to confront Snape. Little did he know, but he would confront Snape sooner than he thought.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Cinderella! Stop day dreaming and get back to work!"
Harry jumped at the shout and looked around. There was a middle aged woman loomed over him. Confused, he looked around, only to get more confused as he didn't recognize where he was. He was in a large living room, strangely very classic in style.
"Cinderella, are you listening to me?" The woman yelled at him.
"Er..." Harry noticed then that she looked like his aunt Petunia. Not a good sign.
"You better finish cleaning the living room when we return from the party or I'll punish you." The woman turned around and went to another room.
What was she called him? Cinderella? Harry looked down at himself and gasped when he realized he was wearing a maid dress.
"WHAT THE HELL!??" Came two simultaneously shouts. One from Harry and one from....
"Come on, Draco. We have to go or we'll be late to meet the prince."
Harry looked dumbfounded as the previous woman came out and dragged a struggling Draco behind her. What stunned him more was that Draco was wearing a very merry party dress.
"I'm not wearing this bloody dress to the party!"
"Now now, don't talk like that in the party or the prince won't choose you as his bride."
"I don't want to be his bride. I'm a boy!!"
Harry watched as the woman dragged Draco out of the house and saw them climb into a cart. It wasn't until five minutes after the cart departed that what he saw sunk into his mind. Harry rolled on the floor and laughed loudly. This had to be a dream. A very pleasant dream where he was Cinderella and Draco was his step sis..err.. brother. He would tell Hermione and Ron about his dream tomorrow. He hiccuped when his laughter finally subsided. Deciding that he needed to drink, Harry went to find water. He entered two wrong rooms before finding the kitchen, right on time when a girl in a blue dress and hood suddenly popped up in the kitchen. Harry recognized the girl too well.
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"Huh?" Hermione looked at him and her eyes widened in surprise. "Harry? What are you doing in a dress?"
"Err.... I'm Cinderella." Harry blushed.
"Right, and I'm your fairy godmother." Hermione rolled her eyes. "My dream is really weird and a parody of Cinderella nonetheless. Helping Ron with his muggle studies about fairy tales maybe isn't a good idea."
"Wait, you ARE my fairy godmother and this is my dream not yours."
"I'm certain this is my dream." Hermione snorted and then frowned. "How can we talk like this if this is really my dream? I feel as conscious as I am when I'm awake."
"Me too." Harry frowned. "Is this really a dream?"
"I don't know. I'm not too sure anymore." Hermione looked confused.
"Okay, let's assume it's not a dream, how we suppose to get out of this situation?"
"Uh.... acting like we should be in this dream or story or whatever it is?"
"No way." Harry glared at the girl. "I'm not going to wear a dress like Draco did!"
"Draco was here too?"
"Er.. he is my step brother, I think. His mother had dragged him out to the party."
Hermione's frown became deeper. "I absolutely have no intention of including Draco in my dream. I'm getting more convinced that this isn't merely a dream. Someone must have set up us in this world. We might as well try to finish the story."
"I'm not going to the party in a dress." Harry huffed.
"Do you want to stay here and work like Cinderella for the rest of your life?"
"No."
"Then cooperate."
Harry sulked. "Very well. But when we survive this, you must promise not to tell Ron about this."
Hermione nodded. "Okay, Harry." She then took out her wand. "Now how to transfigure your dress into a better one?" She thought hard while swinging her wand mindlessly.
Harry saw some lights appear from Hermione's wand, but before he managed to tell the girl, the lights surrounded him. He blinked and the lights were gone. He felt a weight on his head and realized he was wearing a crown. Looking down, his maid dress was now replaced by a white silk dress. He pulled up his skirt and saw his feet encased with the glass shoes.
"Wow." Looking up, he saw Hermione stared at his shoes in awe. "I wished I was Cinderella."
"I will gladly exchange our roles if I could." Harry replied bitterly. He loved reading Cinderella but being Cinderella was another thing. He supposed to be the prince! Harry was more determined to finish whatever this was and find the culprit who put him in this miserable position. "Okay, it's late. We better hurry. Where's my cart?"
"Er... let's see...." Hermione looked around. "We should find a pumpkin..."
Right after she said that, Ron popped out between them, holding a pumpkin in his hands.
"Ron!" Hermione and Harry exclaimed in surprise.
Ron blinked "Oh, hey... nice to see you two in my dream.."
"Ron, this maybe isn't a dream. We...."
Hermione poked Harry. "No time for explanation, Harry. You'll be late for the party. "She then dragged the confused redhead out of the house and then waved her wand toward him. "Sorry Ron, we'll explain it later."
"Wha..." Ron took a step back as the lights from Hermione's wand surrounded him. As the lights disappeared, Harry found a beautiful carriage and two great horses with red tails in Ron's place.
"I wish it was this simple to do transfiguration spell..." Hermione looked at her wand ironically.
"You know, Ron will have a fit later." Harry said as he climbed onto the carriage.
"His face will be as red as his hair, I believe. Anyway, don't forget you only have time till midnight, Cinderella." Hermione grinned and then disappeared.
Harry rolled his eyes as his carriage took him into the palace.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"You better think me beautiful, Prince." Harry mumbled as he climbed up the palace's stairs carefully. How the hell the girls stood wearing these annoying high heeled shoes was beyond him. Cursing whoever the culprit was that got him into this mess, Harry snuck into the ballroom. It was full of lords and ladies, dancing, gossiping, and flirting. He was thankful that everyone seemed busy with their own business and no one paid attention to him. Now how to find the Prince among these seas of ladies and lords, Harry mused miserably. He just realized he didn't know how the Prince looked like.
"Bloody hell!! Stop following me around!"
Harry jumped at the shout and turned around to see a mop of young ladies throwing themselves into a black clothed man. He also saw a wailing Draco got dragged by his mother to join the throng as well. Great, that man must be the Prince. And he, as Cinderella had to compete with the girls. Harry winced as he reluctantly fought his way into the throng of obsessed girls.
"Stop following me for Merlin's sake!"
Harry frowned in the middle of his effort to get closer to the prince. Strange, the prince's voice sounded familiar to him. Suddenly the girls behind him pushed against each other and one of them bumped into him, causing him to lose balance and stumble forward.
Some girls exclaimed and some others stepped aside. Harry was all prepared to kiss the floor when a pair of arms caught him and held him tightly against the arms' owner. Harry noticed the black tunic where his head was pressed against. No doubt that it was the prince who caught him.
"Make room and don't try to plaster yourself against me again or I swear I'm going to curse all of you."
The bellow came from above him and Harry automatically looked up to see his face, only to freeze in shock as if someone cast stupefy on him. The shoulder length black hair, the crooked nose, and the tightened jaw..........
"'And you too, have you ..." Severus Snape looked down and blinked as he recognized the lady's face in his arms. "Potter?"
"Professor..." Harry squeaked in disbelief. "You're here too?"
The potion master raised one eyebrow. "Care to tell me what you mean by 'You're here too?' One second, I was on my bed and the next second, I was standing in an unknown room and someone, who claimed to be my father, told me that it was time to enter the ballroom and choose my wife and then he dragged me here to be assaulted by those horrible maniac women."
"Er..."
"I thought I was dreaming but then you appeared. There is no way I'm going to dream of you. Is this one of your tricks, Potter?" Severus' eyes flashed dangerously as he bent closer. "I admit that I'm impressed with your willingness to put on a girl's dress but that won't spare your house from losing more points."
Harry swallowed when the black eyes bore into him. Their noses almost touched and Harry felt lightheaded from the closeness.
"My boy! Finally you found her!" A loud voice boomed near them, causing Harry and Snape jerked apart in surprise. Harry turned to the speaker, who happened to be a fat man not taller than him and was slapping Snape's back happily. "Good job, son. I finally can have grandchildren! Everyone, make a room for my son and his soon to be bride to dance." The crowd stepped back from them and there was enough space around them. The man smiled proudly at Snape. "Go on, dance with her, son. Don't be shy."
Severus glared at the man dangerously. "I am not..."
Harry realized the danger his professor presented and hurried to find a way to stop Snape from exploding, thus ruining the story. Acting quickly, he tugged at Snape's arm and spoke up. "Come on, let's dance, dear." Taking advantages from Snape's surprise at his words, Harry quickly dragged the stunned professor away from the fat man.
When Harry put one arm around Snape's waist and the other hand reached for Snape's hand, the potion Master seemed to get over his surprise. The older man glared down at Harry. "'Dear', Potter?"
"This isn't a joke, Professor. Dance and I'll explain." Harry spoke hurriedly and clasped his hand with Snape's.
"Why should I dance with you?" Severus stood stubbornly while the crowd waited in anticipation for their prince and soon to be princess to dance.
"Because that's how the story goes." Harry said impatiently and squeezed their joined hands. "This is not a trick, Professor. Someone put us in here. Dance and I'll explain it to you."
"Us?"
"Me, Hermione, Ron, and Draco Malfoy. You can see him at that corner." Harry pointed at his chin to where Draco was stubbornly hugging one of the palace's pillars while his mother tried to pull him, no doubt wanting him to seduce the prince.
Severus stared at the blonde perplexedly. He looked hesitant for a second and then straightened, turning his gaze to Harry and putting his hand around the raven haired boy's waist. "Okay, dance and explain or you get detention for a month."
Harry rolled his eyes and followed Snape's lead. Thank God, he had learned to dance on the fourth year. He just had to remind himself that he was the woman and Snape was the man in this dance. Ooh and ahh could be heard from the spectators around them as Prince Severus Snape dance elegantly with his soon to be bride.
"I never thought you danced this well." Harry unconsciously spoke his thought aloud. To say he was surprised was understatement. He never danced this smooth and well before and his partner was Snape of all the people.
"Thank you for the praise." Severus said sarcastically. "Now explain about this charade."
Harry told the potion master about his conversation and Hermione. "We didn't plan this, Professor. I don't know about Malfoy but the rest of us also suddenly found ourselves in this story, like you did. From what Hermione and I concluded, someone had pulled us from our dreams and put all of us in this story. We thought if we ended the story like how it supposed to be, we could get out of here."
Severus frowned and then nodded. "Very well, we'll try to end this story. If later I don't find myself in my bed when I wake up, you know the consequence." He released his hold on Harry's waist and lifted their joined hands above Harry's head.
"You have to cooperate if you want to get out of here." Harry huffed and twisted around, causing his lower dress to swirl elegantly.
"I will." Severus retorted and put his hand back around Harry. "You seem to know this story. Tell me how to end it."
Harry blinked and leaned closer to the older man. "You don't know Cinderella story?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you." Severus barked.
"You're kidding. Glass shoes, fairy godmother, pumpkin turned carriage, and the midnight limit." Snape's face was blank as Harry listed the keywords. The boy finally realized why Snape didn't seem to know the story. "It seems that you don't know about this muggle fairy tale story, Professor."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "I'm raised as a wizard, Potter. I never know any muggle fairy tale stories. How did you learn about this story, anyway?"
"My elementary teacher liked to tell us stories before we went home."
"Whatever, now tell me how to end it."
"It's quite simple..."
DONG
Harry jumped up at the loud bell. Merlin! It was midnight already!!! And according to story, he had to get out of here before the twelfth bell or he would become the poor Cinderella and the story would be ruined. "I have to go!" Harry stormed out of the palace in panic.
"You haven't told me how to end it, Potter!" Severus chased him.
"You have to find me." Harry shouted as he trotted down the stairs.
"How can I find you in this messed up story?" Severus shouted back. "Do I have to knock all the doors here one by one?"
"Yes."
"What?!" Severus exclaimed loudly.
"I almost forgot. Here catch this. You can use it to find me." A shoe flew at his face. Severus gaped and luckily managed to catch the shoe before it hit his face. He lowered his hand, clutching the shoe tightly and looked for the sign of Potter but the boy had already disappeared.
"Great, just leave the hard task to me." Severus grumbled.
"Son, why did you run so sudden?" The loud voice came from behind him and the potion master grimaced as his "father" came to stand beside him. "Where's your bride?"
"He...she's gone"
"What?" The king was surprised. "Have you asked her where she came from?"
"No."
The king now looked close to tears. "You should have followed her. Now we have to find another girl for you to marry."
Severus grimaced at the prospect being surrounded by the too obsessed princess. He looked down and saw the shoe in his hand. He suddenly realized what the shoe was for. Holding the shoe up to the fat man, he spoke up. "I'll marry the girl whose foot can fit this shoe."
The king brightened up and took the shoe from Severus' hand. "As you wish, son. I'll ask the girls to line up to try this shoe."
Of course none of the girls could fit the shoe. And since he only wanted to marry the right girl, his father sent Severus with some soldiers to find the missing bride, bringing the glass shoe as the hint.
Morning turned noon and still he couldn't find Potter. Near sunset, Severus was agitated and in sour mood. He had knocked almost all the doors he ran into! When he got his hand on the culprit who put him in this miserable story, he would wring the life out of them!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Cinderella! Have you cleaned the kitchen yet?"
"I have."
"Good, now wipe away the dried leaves in the garden!"
"Yes, Ma'am." Harry replied sullenly.
"I have to tend Draco, she looks very pale and ill. She must be disappointed that the prince didn't choose her."
Harry snorted as the woman left him, still rambling about her cute Draco. "Disappointed my ass, he was in shock after what he had gone through last night. Bet he never thought of wearing dress and almost getting married with a prince." He walked to the garden and found his friend standing where he had left him a few hours ago. "Where's Hermione?"
"I ask her to find your Prince and guide him here. The sooner he finds you, the better I'll be." Ron answered miserably. Hermione had explained to him the situation and Harry had updated him with had happened in the palace, though Harry didn't tell him who the Prince appeared to be. The redhead glared down at the pumpkin in his hands. "How in Merlin's name, I happen to be a pumpkin while you all are humans, anyway?"
Harry smiled in sympathy at his redhead friend. It turned out that as a pumpkin, Ron couldn't move on his own. Someone had to drag him to move him from one place of another place. "I don't know, Ron. But when we find the one who did this to us, we'll make sure they regret this."
"If we can get out of this story, that is." Ron huffed. "Where's your Prince charming? It's almost sunset already. Don't tell me, he needs weeks to find you."
"I don't know, Ron." Harry shrugged. "But I think he won't be happy if he has to spend weeks looking for me."
"Bloody right!"
Harry and Ron jumped in surprise and turned around to see Snape scowling and standing with arms crossed over his chest. "Professor!" Ron gawked in shock while Harry took in Snape's appearance. The man had bound his hair behind his back and shed his cloak. Wearing black boots, gloves, and pants and black tunic with some white elegant lines, Snape looked so sexy.
"Professor, why are you here? Are you the one behind this all?" Ron's voice snapped Harry from his straying thought.
"If I am the one who did this, I don't need to go through every door looking for Mr. Potter here." Severus glared at the redhead as he approached them.
"Every door? Looking for Harry?" Ron squeaked. He looked at Harry in horror. "Harry, he is.... He is..."
"Yes, he is the prince, Ron."
At Harry's answer, the redhead stared at Snape in shock. "No way. This is the worst dream I've ever been stuck in. Harry and Snape, euwww."
Severus glared at Ron. "Stop gawking, Mr. Weasley. I have had enough knocking and searching for your friend without having to hear your opinion." He then turned at Harry. "I have found you, Potter. Care to tell me why we're still stuck in here? For you know, I have to tell the fat man who keeps calling me his son that I'll bring home my bride to make him stop wailing. I certainly won't want to go back to that blasted palace with you and meet the fat king who will quickly get us married."
Harry went several shades of red. "Err... " He glanced at Ron, who had known the ending from Hermione and now looked at him in sympathy. "Let's talk in the house, professor." He didn't gave Snape a chance to reply and pulled the black haired professor into the house, leaving Ron alone in the garden.
The second Harry and Snape entered the house, Hermione popped up next to the pumpkin turned boy. "Ron! I can't find the prince.... "
The girl's next words were overridden by a loud bellow from inside the house. Hermione jumped in surprise at it and looked at her redhead friend who looked as if he didn't know whether to grimace or to snicker.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! This must be a joke!!"
Hermione blinked as she seemed to recognize the voice. She prodded her friend. "Who's shouting?"
"The prince." Ron finally chose to snicker over grimace.
"The prince has found Harry?"
Ron nodded, hearing some more bellows from the said prince.
"NO! Absolutely not!"
"His voice seems familiar to me." Hermione frowned.
"I don't want to go back to that irritating fat man!"
"Is he one of Hogwart's students, who got stuck in here too? Why did he sound so angry by the way?"
Hermione's question was answered by a loud bang as Severus Snape strolled out. Harry followed behind him silently while the older man cursed all the way. "If this doesn't end the story, I'll strangle you right away after that, Potter." Snape mounted his horse and looked down to see Harry stare at him in astonishment. "Now what?"
"I didn't know you could ride."
"Of course I can, I'm your prince after all..." Severus said in sarcasm and hauled the raven haired boy up with him. "I don't want to get stuck in here any second longer. The sooner I wed you, the sooner I can find the culprit behind this and beat the light out of them." He then ushered his horse forward while Harry waved weakly at Ron and Hermione who looked at them with her jaw dropped.
It was a full minute later Hermione came to her sense. "Ron!!"
"Yes, Hermione?"
"That was Snape!"
"Yes, Hermione."
"He is the prince!"
"Yes, Hermione."
"This is nightmare!"
"For Harry, I can't agree more."
Hermione kept gawking at the direction where her friend and their potion master disappeared while Ron snickered. He was sure this was his dream and he couldn't wait to wake up and tell Harry what he dreamed of.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The king was delightful when his son returned with his soon to be bride in tow. He didn't want to waste any time and ordered the wedding ceremony to be held within an hour. It was obvious that the king was desperate to get his over thirty years old son married. Severus and Harry soon found themselves dragged into different directions by delightful maids. They were returned in front of the king an hour later. Severus scowled in his white imperial uniform, black pants, and green plaid over his shoulder while Harry blushed red in his white wedding gown.
"Let's the ceremony begin." The king beamed on the couple in front of him and gestured for the priest to start his speech, which turned out to be very long and boring.
Severus tuned out the speech and glanced on his still blushing soon-to-be-bride. "Considering I get to see the famous Harry Potter in wedding dress, this dream seems not too bad."
Harry glared up at the potion master. "You wouldn't say that if you were the one who had to wear this hot tickling heavy blasted dress!"
"I'm not wearing the dress, fortunately." Severus smirked, eyes looking at the priest.
"Greasy git." Harry intended to be heard by himself, but apparently he had underestimated Snape's hearing ability.
"Ten points from Gryffindor."
"This is a dream. You can't deduct points in here!" Harry protested.
"Who said that?" Severus looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow
".........and you may kiss your bride to seal the wedding." The priest ended his speech in booming voice, not noticing the prince and his bride had frozen at his last sentence.
"....... Don't tell me I have to kiss you, Mr. Potter." Severus spoke threateningly.
Harry felt the urge to slap his potion master with the flower bouquet he held. "I don't have any intention to share my first kiss with you, thank you very much." To hell with the dream, he would never ever kiss the greasy git.
Severus was about to retort back when his happy "father" appeared beside him and slapped him on the back. "Don't be shy, son. Kiss your bride and give me a lot of grandchildren. That's all I ask from you." The king then pushed forward Severus, who had blanched at the mention of grandchildren. Harry, who also had blanched for same reason, didn't have time to dodge. His eyes widened and saw Snape's eyes were also as wide as him when their lips touched. Shock ran over his body even after his teacher quickly steadied himself and broke the kiss. Harry stood still, not wanting to believe what had transpired just before.
"Now I pronounce you husband and wife." The priest's cheerful announcement didn't help his denial either.
He was kissed by Snape!
His first kiss was his greasy Potion Master!
Harry staggered and shook his head. He stepped a step back and got his foot entangled in his gown. Losing his footing, Harry braced himself for the impact. He felt himself falling ......
.
.
.
.
..........and landed with loud thump on the floor next to his bed in Gryffindor dormitory.
Harry blinked and looked at the familiar ceiling of his room. He needed several minutes to grasp what had happened. Draco in dress, fairy godmother Hermione, pumpkin Ron, and .... Prince Snape..... the kiss....... Harry grimaced. A dream. It was a dream......... wasn't it? He stood up slowly and sat on his bed. Slowly, he brought his hand up and touched his lips. Soft and warm.... He still could feel the kiss.... Nonononono!! IT WAS MERELY A DREAM! A very bad dream! Harry repeated the last sentence over and over.
Ron's yawn drew his attention. He turned to his roommate and saw the redhead sit up slowly. "Morning Ron."
"Morning Harry." Ron answered with blurry voice. He stretched and then grinned at Harry. "You won't believe this, but I think it's the most hilarious dream I ever have."
Harry tensed. "Dream?"
"It's about muggle faery tale called ..." Ron frowned in concentration. "Mione said it was Cindera...or something."
"Cinderella?" Harry felt his heart beat faster. It was impossible for Ron to have the same dream as his.... If it was really a dream......
"Yes, Cinderella." Ron brightened. "It's so funny. Draco dressed as a girl, Hermione as a fairy, I'm a pumpkin and you're Cinderella, Harry. The funniest thing is..."
"Let me guess..." Harry cut in. "Snape is the prince."
Ron looked surprised. "How did you know?"
"I had the same dream." Harry groaned and plopped back onto his bed. There was no way two people could have the same dream, so it obviously wasn't a mere dream.
"Harry! Ron! Wake up!" Hermione shouted from behind the door.
Yup, if Hermione felt a need to bang the boys' dorm in this early Saturday morning, this might be because she had the same dream too. Definitely not an ordinary dream. Harry buried his head in his pillow and wished he could disappear. He so didn't need to be reminded of being Snape's bride and got kissed by the greasy git above all!!
To be continue someday...
~Akuma~
Author : Akuma
Archive : None. If you want to put my fics on your site, just email me ^_^
Disclaimer : HP characters are not mine.
Feedback : yes, please!!
Pairings : SS/HP
Rating : PG-13
Warning : slash, humour, sap
Summary : After a mishap in the dungeon, Harry got a strange dream where he was Cinderella and his prince charming appeared to be his Potion Master.
Note : This is my first HP fic. Usually I only write in one fandom but then thanks to Telanu, I'm hooked, line and sinker. After reading Jaykay's Too Wise to Woo Peaceably, I get an urge to get Harry into dress again, so here it is. Hope you like it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a usual night in Hogwarts. Some ghosts flew through the wall and one certain naughty ghost was teasing the first year students. No one knew that it was the night where something would happen and affect several students' lives and also a teacher's.
Harry Potter, a sixth year student, was heading toward his dorm when a voice called him. "Harry, help me bring these, will you."
Harry blinked as his arms were suddenly filled with stack of books. "What're these books for, Hermione?"
His friend beamed at him, "Ron asked me to find some muggle fairy tales to be discussed at the Muggle Studies class he takes. Luckily, our library also includes muggle books in it, so I don't have to ask my parents to send them."
Harry looked at the stack of books that was so high that they blocked his sight. He was sure Ron's definition of 'some' was different from Hermione's definition.
"I still have a couple of books left in the library. Go on, Harry, I'll see ya in the dorm later." With that Hermione ran back to the library, leaving her raven haired friend struggling with the books.
As he struggled to step up the stairs without dropping the books, Harry made a note to discuss the definition of 'some' later with Hermione. He was lost in his thoughts and added with the books blocking his vision, Harry was oblivious when the stairs changed direction and led him to the dungeon instead of his dorm. Harry kept walking, focusing in balancing the books and didn't realize he was walking deeper into the dungeon.
Professor Severus Snape was stirring his cauldron happily, happily in his own way, that is. He'd finally found a formula to make a potion that would guarantee he got nice dreams instead of nightmares every time he slept. He was so focused in watching his cauldron cooling down that he didn't notice one of his students wobbling into his dungeon, carrying a stack of books until it was too late. He looked up just in time to see a stack of books colliding with his precious cauldron. "Wha..."
BANG SPLASH
Harry fell down and gasped as he felt warm liquid splash on him. Thank God, it wasn't hot or he would be The Boy Who Boiled by now. Where the hell was he anyway? Was this one of the tricks Ron had learned from the twins or what? Harry tried to clean his glasses from the reddish liquid with his already ruined robe when he heard streams of curses. His blood went cold as he recognized the voice. He put on his half cleaned glasses and saw Professor Snape wiping the reddish liquid from his face and then looking up at him. Harry cringed inwardly as he saw the murderous look on his teacher's face.
"Bloody hell, Potter!" Severus bellowed as he saw the not so innocent boy sitting on the puddle of what left of his hard work.
"So.. sorry Professor, I don't mean..."
Severus didn't listen to the boy's babble. He was fuming. Harry Potter had successfully knocked the cauldron over and caused the potion in it to splash on both of them. His very precious potion! Severus would have wailed if not for the fact that he was being watched by a boy who had irritated him since the first year he was here. "One hundred points from Griffyndor!" He stood up and glared down at the raven haired boy. "I expect this room to be clean and no sign of you when I return later." With that he stomped out of the dungeon, bringing his nearly empty cauldron and leaving the red trails behind him.
Harry grimaced. Ron and Hermione would just have to forgive him this time. It was because of their books after all that made him end up in the dungeon instead of his dorm. He stood up and grimaced more as he looked down at his ruined robe and the mess he would have to clean. Well the mess was not a problem, though. Harry muttered the cleaning spell and the floor was void of the reddish liquid in a blink. His ruined clothes however were another problem. Harry wished he had practiced the cleaning spell more since he still couldn't do a cleaning spell on clothes without causing the clothes to disappear as well. And he wasn't going to try it now since the failure would mean he would have to walk naked from the dungeon to his dorm.
Harry wringed his clothes till they didn't leak of the reddish liquid anymore and then muttered the cleaning spell once again before escaping the dungeon. Harry was praying that no one saw him when he bumped into a certain blond Slytherin on a corner and transferred some of the remained reddish liquid to the boy.
"Yuck, what the heck is this?!" Draco Malfoy squeaked from where he was sprawled on the floor from the impact, rubbing off the liquid from his face.
"A poison that will turn you into a toad if you don't take a bath in five minutes." Harry obviously didn't know which devil gave him an idea to lie like that, but he could see his lie working as the blond boy widened his eyes in fear and surprise.
"Nice joke, Potter." Draco sat up and tried to appear calm.
"It's up to you to believe the potion Professor Snape made or not, Malfoy. I don't want to be a toad so I'm going to take a bath now." With that Harry quickly left Draco, who was torn between staying calm or running as fast as he could to the bathroom. It only needed a few seconds for Draco to decide, though. Cursing, the blond boy stood up and ran toward the Slytherin's bathroom. No way he would let himself turn into a toad! A ferret was enough!
Harry allowed a smirk to appear on his face as he heard the hurried footsteps faded behind him. He would be able to tease Draco about this tomorrow. Entering the Gryffindor's dorm, Harry hurried to the bathroom, wanting to get rid of the reddish liquid as soon as possible. But it appeared luck was not on his side tonight. He bumped again into Ron and Hermione on the last turn toward the bathroom. All of them were walking too fast to stop themselves from colliding.
"OUCH" Came three simultaneously cries.
Ron fell flat on his ass while Hermione staggered, same like Harry, who clutched his poor nose, which unfortunately hit Ron's face.
"Harry! There you are!" Hermione exclaimed when she had balanced herself. "We've been looking for you. What took you so long and where are the books?"
Still clutching his nose, Harry blinked in surprise. The books! He had forgotten about the books!!!
"Harry, what is this sticky thing." Ron grimaced at his ruined robe as he stood up. "Hermione, you got some on your robe too."
"Eek, what's this?" Hermione made a face and looked at Harry. "Explain."
So Harry explained how he ended up wet with the reddish liquid as they headed to the bathroom. They all concluded that somewhere the stairs had led Harry to dungeon instead of Gryffindor common room and spent sometimes cursing Snape for reducing their house points that much. It wasn't until they were all clean and arrived at the common room that Hermione remembered something.
"Harry, where are the books I gave you?"
Harry blinked and looked down at his empty hands. "Err...."
Hermione looked at him in horror. "Don't tell me you use cleaning spell on them."
"No." Harry frowned as he tried hard to remember. "The books weren't on the floor when I cleaned the dungeon. They must have fallen into the cauldron when I stumbled."
"Great, and where's the cauldron, I might ask?" Ron sighed, fearing the worst.
"Uh... Snape took it with him."
Both Hermione and Ron groaned.
"Should I ask him for them now?" Harry offered reluctantly, cursing his Gryffindor bravery at the time like this. But it was his fault this time and he had responsibility to take the books back, even it meant he had to confront the greasy meany professor Snape once again.
Hermione shook head. "I think it's better we wait till tomorrow. Hopefully his mood will get better by the time and let us have the books back without reducing our points. Goodnight, guys."
"Goodnight, Hermione." Harry and Ron nodded to the girl and went into the boy's dorm. But of course, as three of them settled to sleep, none of them believed Snape would ever have a mood which could make them get the books back without a scratch. Harry climbed into his bed and thought about how to get the books back without having to confront Snape. Little did he know, but he would confront Snape sooner than he thought.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Cinderella! Stop day dreaming and get back to work!"
Harry jumped at the shout and looked around. There was a middle aged woman loomed over him. Confused, he looked around, only to get more confused as he didn't recognize where he was. He was in a large living room, strangely very classic in style.
"Cinderella, are you listening to me?" The woman yelled at him.
"Er..." Harry noticed then that she looked like his aunt Petunia. Not a good sign.
"You better finish cleaning the living room when we return from the party or I'll punish you." The woman turned around and went to another room.
What was she called him? Cinderella? Harry looked down at himself and gasped when he realized he was wearing a maid dress.
"WHAT THE HELL!??" Came two simultaneously shouts. One from Harry and one from....
"Come on, Draco. We have to go or we'll be late to meet the prince."
Harry looked dumbfounded as the previous woman came out and dragged a struggling Draco behind her. What stunned him more was that Draco was wearing a very merry party dress.
"I'm not wearing this bloody dress to the party!"
"Now now, don't talk like that in the party or the prince won't choose you as his bride."
"I don't want to be his bride. I'm a boy!!"
Harry watched as the woman dragged Draco out of the house and saw them climb into a cart. It wasn't until five minutes after the cart departed that what he saw sunk into his mind. Harry rolled on the floor and laughed loudly. This had to be a dream. A very pleasant dream where he was Cinderella and Draco was his step sis..err.. brother. He would tell Hermione and Ron about his dream tomorrow. He hiccuped when his laughter finally subsided. Deciding that he needed to drink, Harry went to find water. He entered two wrong rooms before finding the kitchen, right on time when a girl in a blue dress and hood suddenly popped up in the kitchen. Harry recognized the girl too well.
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"Huh?" Hermione looked at him and her eyes widened in surprise. "Harry? What are you doing in a dress?"
"Err.... I'm Cinderella." Harry blushed.
"Right, and I'm your fairy godmother." Hermione rolled her eyes. "My dream is really weird and a parody of Cinderella nonetheless. Helping Ron with his muggle studies about fairy tales maybe isn't a good idea."
"Wait, you ARE my fairy godmother and this is my dream not yours."
"I'm certain this is my dream." Hermione snorted and then frowned. "How can we talk like this if this is really my dream? I feel as conscious as I am when I'm awake."
"Me too." Harry frowned. "Is this really a dream?"
"I don't know. I'm not too sure anymore." Hermione looked confused.
"Okay, let's assume it's not a dream, how we suppose to get out of this situation?"
"Uh.... acting like we should be in this dream or story or whatever it is?"
"No way." Harry glared at the girl. "I'm not going to wear a dress like Draco did!"
"Draco was here too?"
"Er.. he is my step brother, I think. His mother had dragged him out to the party."
Hermione's frown became deeper. "I absolutely have no intention of including Draco in my dream. I'm getting more convinced that this isn't merely a dream. Someone must have set up us in this world. We might as well try to finish the story."
"I'm not going to the party in a dress." Harry huffed.
"Do you want to stay here and work like Cinderella for the rest of your life?"
"No."
"Then cooperate."
Harry sulked. "Very well. But when we survive this, you must promise not to tell Ron about this."
Hermione nodded. "Okay, Harry." She then took out her wand. "Now how to transfigure your dress into a better one?" She thought hard while swinging her wand mindlessly.
Harry saw some lights appear from Hermione's wand, but before he managed to tell the girl, the lights surrounded him. He blinked and the lights were gone. He felt a weight on his head and realized he was wearing a crown. Looking down, his maid dress was now replaced by a white silk dress. He pulled up his skirt and saw his feet encased with the glass shoes.
"Wow." Looking up, he saw Hermione stared at his shoes in awe. "I wished I was Cinderella."
"I will gladly exchange our roles if I could." Harry replied bitterly. He loved reading Cinderella but being Cinderella was another thing. He supposed to be the prince! Harry was more determined to finish whatever this was and find the culprit who put him in this miserable position. "Okay, it's late. We better hurry. Where's my cart?"
"Er... let's see...." Hermione looked around. "We should find a pumpkin..."
Right after she said that, Ron popped out between them, holding a pumpkin in his hands.
"Ron!" Hermione and Harry exclaimed in surprise.
Ron blinked "Oh, hey... nice to see you two in my dream.."
"Ron, this maybe isn't a dream. We...."
Hermione poked Harry. "No time for explanation, Harry. You'll be late for the party. "She then dragged the confused redhead out of the house and then waved her wand toward him. "Sorry Ron, we'll explain it later."
"Wha..." Ron took a step back as the lights from Hermione's wand surrounded him. As the lights disappeared, Harry found a beautiful carriage and two great horses with red tails in Ron's place.
"I wish it was this simple to do transfiguration spell..." Hermione looked at her wand ironically.
"You know, Ron will have a fit later." Harry said as he climbed onto the carriage.
"His face will be as red as his hair, I believe. Anyway, don't forget you only have time till midnight, Cinderella." Hermione grinned and then disappeared.
Harry rolled his eyes as his carriage took him into the palace.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"You better think me beautiful, Prince." Harry mumbled as he climbed up the palace's stairs carefully. How the hell the girls stood wearing these annoying high heeled shoes was beyond him. Cursing whoever the culprit was that got him into this mess, Harry snuck into the ballroom. It was full of lords and ladies, dancing, gossiping, and flirting. He was thankful that everyone seemed busy with their own business and no one paid attention to him. Now how to find the Prince among these seas of ladies and lords, Harry mused miserably. He just realized he didn't know how the Prince looked like.
"Bloody hell!! Stop following me around!"
Harry jumped at the shout and turned around to see a mop of young ladies throwing themselves into a black clothed man. He also saw a wailing Draco got dragged by his mother to join the throng as well. Great, that man must be the Prince. And he, as Cinderella had to compete with the girls. Harry winced as he reluctantly fought his way into the throng of obsessed girls.
"Stop following me for Merlin's sake!"
Harry frowned in the middle of his effort to get closer to the prince. Strange, the prince's voice sounded familiar to him. Suddenly the girls behind him pushed against each other and one of them bumped into him, causing him to lose balance and stumble forward.
Some girls exclaimed and some others stepped aside. Harry was all prepared to kiss the floor when a pair of arms caught him and held him tightly against the arms' owner. Harry noticed the black tunic where his head was pressed against. No doubt that it was the prince who caught him.
"Make room and don't try to plaster yourself against me again or I swear I'm going to curse all of you."
The bellow came from above him and Harry automatically looked up to see his face, only to freeze in shock as if someone cast stupefy on him. The shoulder length black hair, the crooked nose, and the tightened jaw..........
"'And you too, have you ..." Severus Snape looked down and blinked as he recognized the lady's face in his arms. "Potter?"
"Professor..." Harry squeaked in disbelief. "You're here too?"
The potion master raised one eyebrow. "Care to tell me what you mean by 'You're here too?' One second, I was on my bed and the next second, I was standing in an unknown room and someone, who claimed to be my father, told me that it was time to enter the ballroom and choose my wife and then he dragged me here to be assaulted by those horrible maniac women."
"Er..."
"I thought I was dreaming but then you appeared. There is no way I'm going to dream of you. Is this one of your tricks, Potter?" Severus' eyes flashed dangerously as he bent closer. "I admit that I'm impressed with your willingness to put on a girl's dress but that won't spare your house from losing more points."
Harry swallowed when the black eyes bore into him. Their noses almost touched and Harry felt lightheaded from the closeness.
"My boy! Finally you found her!" A loud voice boomed near them, causing Harry and Snape jerked apart in surprise. Harry turned to the speaker, who happened to be a fat man not taller than him and was slapping Snape's back happily. "Good job, son. I finally can have grandchildren! Everyone, make a room for my son and his soon to be bride to dance." The crowd stepped back from them and there was enough space around them. The man smiled proudly at Snape. "Go on, dance with her, son. Don't be shy."
Severus glared at the man dangerously. "I am not..."
Harry realized the danger his professor presented and hurried to find a way to stop Snape from exploding, thus ruining the story. Acting quickly, he tugged at Snape's arm and spoke up. "Come on, let's dance, dear." Taking advantages from Snape's surprise at his words, Harry quickly dragged the stunned professor away from the fat man.
When Harry put one arm around Snape's waist and the other hand reached for Snape's hand, the potion Master seemed to get over his surprise. The older man glared down at Harry. "'Dear', Potter?"
"This isn't a joke, Professor. Dance and I'll explain." Harry spoke hurriedly and clasped his hand with Snape's.
"Why should I dance with you?" Severus stood stubbornly while the crowd waited in anticipation for their prince and soon to be princess to dance.
"Because that's how the story goes." Harry said impatiently and squeezed their joined hands. "This is not a trick, Professor. Someone put us in here. Dance and I'll explain it to you."
"Us?"
"Me, Hermione, Ron, and Draco Malfoy. You can see him at that corner." Harry pointed at his chin to where Draco was stubbornly hugging one of the palace's pillars while his mother tried to pull him, no doubt wanting him to seduce the prince.
Severus stared at the blonde perplexedly. He looked hesitant for a second and then straightened, turning his gaze to Harry and putting his hand around the raven haired boy's waist. "Okay, dance and explain or you get detention for a month."
Harry rolled his eyes and followed Snape's lead. Thank God, he had learned to dance on the fourth year. He just had to remind himself that he was the woman and Snape was the man in this dance. Ooh and ahh could be heard from the spectators around them as Prince Severus Snape dance elegantly with his soon to be bride.
"I never thought you danced this well." Harry unconsciously spoke his thought aloud. To say he was surprised was understatement. He never danced this smooth and well before and his partner was Snape of all the people.
"Thank you for the praise." Severus said sarcastically. "Now explain about this charade."
Harry told the potion master about his conversation and Hermione. "We didn't plan this, Professor. I don't know about Malfoy but the rest of us also suddenly found ourselves in this story, like you did. From what Hermione and I concluded, someone had pulled us from our dreams and put all of us in this story. We thought if we ended the story like how it supposed to be, we could get out of here."
Severus frowned and then nodded. "Very well, we'll try to end this story. If later I don't find myself in my bed when I wake up, you know the consequence." He released his hold on Harry's waist and lifted their joined hands above Harry's head.
"You have to cooperate if you want to get out of here." Harry huffed and twisted around, causing his lower dress to swirl elegantly.
"I will." Severus retorted and put his hand back around Harry. "You seem to know this story. Tell me how to end it."
Harry blinked and leaned closer to the older man. "You don't know Cinderella story?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you." Severus barked.
"You're kidding. Glass shoes, fairy godmother, pumpkin turned carriage, and the midnight limit." Snape's face was blank as Harry listed the keywords. The boy finally realized why Snape didn't seem to know the story. "It seems that you don't know about this muggle fairy tale story, Professor."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "I'm raised as a wizard, Potter. I never know any muggle fairy tale stories. How did you learn about this story, anyway?"
"My elementary teacher liked to tell us stories before we went home."
"Whatever, now tell me how to end it."
"It's quite simple..."
DONG
Harry jumped up at the loud bell. Merlin! It was midnight already!!! And according to story, he had to get out of here before the twelfth bell or he would become the poor Cinderella and the story would be ruined. "I have to go!" Harry stormed out of the palace in panic.
"You haven't told me how to end it, Potter!" Severus chased him.
"You have to find me." Harry shouted as he trotted down the stairs.
"How can I find you in this messed up story?" Severus shouted back. "Do I have to knock all the doors here one by one?"
"Yes."
"What?!" Severus exclaimed loudly.
"I almost forgot. Here catch this. You can use it to find me." A shoe flew at his face. Severus gaped and luckily managed to catch the shoe before it hit his face. He lowered his hand, clutching the shoe tightly and looked for the sign of Potter but the boy had already disappeared.
"Great, just leave the hard task to me." Severus grumbled.
"Son, why did you run so sudden?" The loud voice came from behind him and the potion master grimaced as his "father" came to stand beside him. "Where's your bride?"
"He...she's gone"
"What?" The king was surprised. "Have you asked her where she came from?"
"No."
The king now looked close to tears. "You should have followed her. Now we have to find another girl for you to marry."
Severus grimaced at the prospect being surrounded by the too obsessed princess. He looked down and saw the shoe in his hand. He suddenly realized what the shoe was for. Holding the shoe up to the fat man, he spoke up. "I'll marry the girl whose foot can fit this shoe."
The king brightened up and took the shoe from Severus' hand. "As you wish, son. I'll ask the girls to line up to try this shoe."
Of course none of the girls could fit the shoe. And since he only wanted to marry the right girl, his father sent Severus with some soldiers to find the missing bride, bringing the glass shoe as the hint.
Morning turned noon and still he couldn't find Potter. Near sunset, Severus was agitated and in sour mood. He had knocked almost all the doors he ran into! When he got his hand on the culprit who put him in this miserable story, he would wring the life out of them!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Cinderella! Have you cleaned the kitchen yet?"
"I have."
"Good, now wipe away the dried leaves in the garden!"
"Yes, Ma'am." Harry replied sullenly.
"I have to tend Draco, she looks very pale and ill. She must be disappointed that the prince didn't choose her."
Harry snorted as the woman left him, still rambling about her cute Draco. "Disappointed my ass, he was in shock after what he had gone through last night. Bet he never thought of wearing dress and almost getting married with a prince." He walked to the garden and found his friend standing where he had left him a few hours ago. "Where's Hermione?"
"I ask her to find your Prince and guide him here. The sooner he finds you, the better I'll be." Ron answered miserably. Hermione had explained to him the situation and Harry had updated him with had happened in the palace, though Harry didn't tell him who the Prince appeared to be. The redhead glared down at the pumpkin in his hands. "How in Merlin's name, I happen to be a pumpkin while you all are humans, anyway?"
Harry smiled in sympathy at his redhead friend. It turned out that as a pumpkin, Ron couldn't move on his own. Someone had to drag him to move him from one place of another place. "I don't know, Ron. But when we find the one who did this to us, we'll make sure they regret this."
"If we can get out of this story, that is." Ron huffed. "Where's your Prince charming? It's almost sunset already. Don't tell me, he needs weeks to find you."
"I don't know, Ron." Harry shrugged. "But I think he won't be happy if he has to spend weeks looking for me."
"Bloody right!"
Harry and Ron jumped in surprise and turned around to see Snape scowling and standing with arms crossed over his chest. "Professor!" Ron gawked in shock while Harry took in Snape's appearance. The man had bound his hair behind his back and shed his cloak. Wearing black boots, gloves, and pants and black tunic with some white elegant lines, Snape looked so sexy.
"Professor, why are you here? Are you the one behind this all?" Ron's voice snapped Harry from his straying thought.
"If I am the one who did this, I don't need to go through every door looking for Mr. Potter here." Severus glared at the redhead as he approached them.
"Every door? Looking for Harry?" Ron squeaked. He looked at Harry in horror. "Harry, he is.... He is..."
"Yes, he is the prince, Ron."
At Harry's answer, the redhead stared at Snape in shock. "No way. This is the worst dream I've ever been stuck in. Harry and Snape, euwww."
Severus glared at Ron. "Stop gawking, Mr. Weasley. I have had enough knocking and searching for your friend without having to hear your opinion." He then turned at Harry. "I have found you, Potter. Care to tell me why we're still stuck in here? For you know, I have to tell the fat man who keeps calling me his son that I'll bring home my bride to make him stop wailing. I certainly won't want to go back to that blasted palace with you and meet the fat king who will quickly get us married."
Harry went several shades of red. "Err... " He glanced at Ron, who had known the ending from Hermione and now looked at him in sympathy. "Let's talk in the house, professor." He didn't gave Snape a chance to reply and pulled the black haired professor into the house, leaving Ron alone in the garden.
The second Harry and Snape entered the house, Hermione popped up next to the pumpkin turned boy. "Ron! I can't find the prince.... "
The girl's next words were overridden by a loud bellow from inside the house. Hermione jumped in surprise at it and looked at her redhead friend who looked as if he didn't know whether to grimace or to snicker.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! This must be a joke!!"
Hermione blinked as she seemed to recognize the voice. She prodded her friend. "Who's shouting?"
"The prince." Ron finally chose to snicker over grimace.
"The prince has found Harry?"
Ron nodded, hearing some more bellows from the said prince.
"NO! Absolutely not!"
"His voice seems familiar to me." Hermione frowned.
"I don't want to go back to that irritating fat man!"
"Is he one of Hogwart's students, who got stuck in here too? Why did he sound so angry by the way?"
Hermione's question was answered by a loud bang as Severus Snape strolled out. Harry followed behind him silently while the older man cursed all the way. "If this doesn't end the story, I'll strangle you right away after that, Potter." Snape mounted his horse and looked down to see Harry stare at him in astonishment. "Now what?"
"I didn't know you could ride."
"Of course I can, I'm your prince after all..." Severus said in sarcasm and hauled the raven haired boy up with him. "I don't want to get stuck in here any second longer. The sooner I wed you, the sooner I can find the culprit behind this and beat the light out of them." He then ushered his horse forward while Harry waved weakly at Ron and Hermione who looked at them with her jaw dropped.
It was a full minute later Hermione came to her sense. "Ron!!"
"Yes, Hermione?"
"That was Snape!"
"Yes, Hermione."
"He is the prince!"
"Yes, Hermione."
"This is nightmare!"
"For Harry, I can't agree more."
Hermione kept gawking at the direction where her friend and their potion master disappeared while Ron snickered. He was sure this was his dream and he couldn't wait to wake up and tell Harry what he dreamed of.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The king was delightful when his son returned with his soon to be bride in tow. He didn't want to waste any time and ordered the wedding ceremony to be held within an hour. It was obvious that the king was desperate to get his over thirty years old son married. Severus and Harry soon found themselves dragged into different directions by delightful maids. They were returned in front of the king an hour later. Severus scowled in his white imperial uniform, black pants, and green plaid over his shoulder while Harry blushed red in his white wedding gown.
"Let's the ceremony begin." The king beamed on the couple in front of him and gestured for the priest to start his speech, which turned out to be very long and boring.
Severus tuned out the speech and glanced on his still blushing soon-to-be-bride. "Considering I get to see the famous Harry Potter in wedding dress, this dream seems not too bad."
Harry glared up at the potion master. "You wouldn't say that if you were the one who had to wear this hot tickling heavy blasted dress!"
"I'm not wearing the dress, fortunately." Severus smirked, eyes looking at the priest.
"Greasy git." Harry intended to be heard by himself, but apparently he had underestimated Snape's hearing ability.
"Ten points from Gryffindor."
"This is a dream. You can't deduct points in here!" Harry protested.
"Who said that?" Severus looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow
".........and you may kiss your bride to seal the wedding." The priest ended his speech in booming voice, not noticing the prince and his bride had frozen at his last sentence.
"....... Don't tell me I have to kiss you, Mr. Potter." Severus spoke threateningly.
Harry felt the urge to slap his potion master with the flower bouquet he held. "I don't have any intention to share my first kiss with you, thank you very much." To hell with the dream, he would never ever kiss the greasy git.
Severus was about to retort back when his happy "father" appeared beside him and slapped him on the back. "Don't be shy, son. Kiss your bride and give me a lot of grandchildren. That's all I ask from you." The king then pushed forward Severus, who had blanched at the mention of grandchildren. Harry, who also had blanched for same reason, didn't have time to dodge. His eyes widened and saw Snape's eyes were also as wide as him when their lips touched. Shock ran over his body even after his teacher quickly steadied himself and broke the kiss. Harry stood still, not wanting to believe what had transpired just before.
"Now I pronounce you husband and wife." The priest's cheerful announcement didn't help his denial either.
He was kissed by Snape!
His first kiss was his greasy Potion Master!
Harry staggered and shook his head. He stepped a step back and got his foot entangled in his gown. Losing his footing, Harry braced himself for the impact. He felt himself falling ......
.
.
.
.
..........and landed with loud thump on the floor next to his bed in Gryffindor dormitory.
Harry blinked and looked at the familiar ceiling of his room. He needed several minutes to grasp what had happened. Draco in dress, fairy godmother Hermione, pumpkin Ron, and .... Prince Snape..... the kiss....... Harry grimaced. A dream. It was a dream......... wasn't it? He stood up slowly and sat on his bed. Slowly, he brought his hand up and touched his lips. Soft and warm.... He still could feel the kiss.... Nonononono!! IT WAS MERELY A DREAM! A very bad dream! Harry repeated the last sentence over and over.
Ron's yawn drew his attention. He turned to his roommate and saw the redhead sit up slowly. "Morning Ron."
"Morning Harry." Ron answered with blurry voice. He stretched and then grinned at Harry. "You won't believe this, but I think it's the most hilarious dream I ever have."
Harry tensed. "Dream?"
"It's about muggle faery tale called ..." Ron frowned in concentration. "Mione said it was Cindera...or something."
"Cinderella?" Harry felt his heart beat faster. It was impossible for Ron to have the same dream as his.... If it was really a dream......
"Yes, Cinderella." Ron brightened. "It's so funny. Draco dressed as a girl, Hermione as a fairy, I'm a pumpkin and you're Cinderella, Harry. The funniest thing is..."
"Let me guess..." Harry cut in. "Snape is the prince."
Ron looked surprised. "How did you know?"
"I had the same dream." Harry groaned and plopped back onto his bed. There was no way two people could have the same dream, so it obviously wasn't a mere dream.
"Harry! Ron! Wake up!" Hermione shouted from behind the door.
Yup, if Hermione felt a need to bang the boys' dorm in this early Saturday morning, this might be because she had the same dream too. Definitely not an ordinary dream. Harry buried his head in his pillow and wished he could disappear. He so didn't need to be reminded of being Snape's bride and got kissed by the greasy git above all!!
To be continue someday...
~Akuma~