An extra note:
I'm so sorry this didn't get posted on time! The cable in my area has been
down all day (stupid cable modem) and then I had to go get in line for
LOTR. Oh well, here it is...four hours late lol
Disclaimer: Same as it was in Chapter one!
A/N All right people, I'm officially vaklempt now. You guys are so very sweet to keep reviewing me :o) Just know that I read each and every one, and that I REALLY do appreciate them. I'm about to go stand in line for the next *nine* hours for The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers. I just CANNOT wait. I'm surprised I'm even able to get a 'day' out today. I'm just so excited he he he. I hope you all enjoy, I was having the absolute HARDEST time with Harry's task. Enjoy...
The Twelve Days Of Christmas By: Gum Acacia
On The Fifth Day Of Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me...
Harry was refusing to come out of his room. Seamus had tried to lure him out with breakfast and then with the temptation of a pilfered bottle of Ogden's Fire Whiskey, but still Harry had refused. He'd been sulking in his room all morning and Seamus truly feared that all his hard work of turning Harry's Christmas around was about to go down the drain.
Seamus entered his room again, noting that Harry had not budged an inch from his bed. "That's it Potter! You're going to get off your bum and come have some fun with me. I'm not having my only roommate left at Hogwarts sit around wasting the holiday away when there's merriment to be made!"
Harry raised himself onto his elbows. "What happens if I don't do my task?" he asked changing the subject.
Seamus sighed, "When you accept a task without at least attempting it, everyone gets a shot at your stuff. Even if your house wins."
"You could have told me that before I agreed to these stupid pranks."
"Yes well, you might have actually read your task instead of trying to show up Draco, and then you might have known what you got yourself into!" Seamus said rather hotly.
"I know, I know. This isn't your fault," Harry said lying on his back again.
"Well, at least you've go that straight."
"This," Harry said, his voice full of anger, "Is all Malfoy's fault!"
Seamus couldn't help himself, he started to laugh. He sat down on the bed next to Harry, poking him in the side. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"
"Well, if he hadn't been such a prat that night, I would have read the task!" Harry waved his hands in the air as if to emphasize the point.
"It's good to know you've put the blame where it properly belongs," Seamus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is it really that bad?" Harry nodded his head. "Did you get stuck with having to kiss McGonagall or something?"
Harry laughed, "No, nothing like that. It has to do with Dumbledore."
Seamus let out a whistle, "that is tricky. Wait a tick, you don't have to kiss *him* do you?"
"No!" he said punching the other boy in the arm. "Seamus, this is serious!"
"Well, Harry it seems as though you've got two options here. One: you can do this task and risk upsetting our beloved Headmaster. Or two: you can choose not to do it, lose all your stuff and risk alienating your house since there's no way we have a shot at winning without you, and be forced to live as a hermit for the rest of the year."
"Well thank you Mr. Finnigan, you've made my decision so much easier!"
The blonde boy laughed, swatting Harry with a pillow as he did. "That's what I'm here for mate! Listen Harry; I think you should just tell me what your task is. I know it's against the rules and everything, but no one needs to know. I mean, maybe I could help you figure out a way out of this. Or at least a way to do it without getting caught."
Harry sighed, "I'm supposed to steal something from him."
"That's all?" Seamus said sounding surprised. "Well, for crying out loud Harry just swipe a quill if you're that torn up about it. It'll still count"
Harry shook his head, "No, they specifically said what I was supposed to take."
"Well then, what is it?"
"Fawkes," Harry said his voice barely above a whisper.
"What, you mean his bird?" Seamus said sounding slightly bewildered.
"Yes," Harry said shielding his eyes with his hands. "Look, you don't understand what that bird means to him. He's had it for ages, and if it weren't for Fawkes I would have died back in my second year, Voldemort would have taken over by now!"
Seamus stood and began pacing the floor for a few minutes before he spoke again. "That is a nasty one, Harry. You get caught and at the *very* least you'll have detention for the rest of the year. But at the most...I don't even know."
"Neither do I, and I don't think I want to find out." Harry said sitting up.
Seamus stopped pacing the floor and looked at Harry. "What are you supposed to do with Fawkes once you've got her?"
"I don't know! How long do I have to keep her? What am I gonna do if I get caught? This bird is head of the order opposing Voldemort, damn it! If anything happens to her, we could be in serious trouble!"
Seamus gulped, "and I thought my task might be a bit tricky."
"And now, you see why I've decided to spend the rest of my life hiding in our room. You can just come and let me know when the worlds about to end."
"This isn't just about the bird is it?" Seamus tentatively ventured. "It's about the old man too, you don't want to do anything against him."
"This isn't just about me playing teachers pet, Seamus. Dumbledore trusts me! And to do something like this, I mean it just seems wrong."
Seamus sat back down. "Well then, what are you going to do?
"How the hell should I know?" Harry yelled a bit more loudly then he intended.
"Well, you've got a whole week to figure it out. In the mean time, you're not going to do yourself any good by wasting away up here! Why don't you come down and we'll play cards or something."
Harry stretched out on his bed; "I should have just stowed away with Ron. I could be in America right now having fun." Harry closed his eyes, trying to imagine it all. He saw himself helping the twins to sneak levitating powder into Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys' drinks. Ron and he walking the streets of the city, looking at all the strange sites. He'd even rather be listening to Ginny describe how much in love she and Neville were, and how she was glad Harry had told her he didn't feel the same about her back in his fifth year as Neville'd been so wonderful in consoling her.
He was just about to slip off into the dreamland called 'denial' when he felt his body being thrown up into the air. He landed on the ground with a very audible 'thud' and with blinking eyes looked up to see a very angry Seamus glaring at him. His wand pointed directly at Harry's chest.
"That's it! I've had just about enough of Mr. I'm-so-sorry-for-myelf- I-got-stuck-left-at-Hogwarts-and-now-I've-made-a-mess-of-things-so-I-think- I'd-rather-die Potter. I'm the one spending my entire holiday just trying to get you to smile! You're not the only one who's stuck at school for the Holiday's when he'd rather be somewhere else. You don't see my complaining, do you? You're not the only one who got stuck with a task they'd rather not do. You were just the only one stupid enough to accept it without reading it first! And you're *not* the only one who's worried about the war, which conveniently enough is right around the ruddy corner when we graduate, we all are! So, would you kindly GET OFF YOUR BLOODY ARSE AND COME DOWNSTAIRS AND BE JOLLY DAMN IT!"
Harry sat on the floor still in a ruck, in complete shock. He'd never seen Seamus so mad about anything in his life! The blonde boys' hair was falling wildly into his eyes, his breathing was heavy, and his wand was still trained at Harry's chest. He took another step forward, looking as though he were going to toss Harry up into the air again with another charm when Harry stopped him. He put both hands up in front of himself, looked Seamus dead in the eye with a very serious expression...and then proceeded to burst out laughing.
"Get off your arse and be jolly," Harry said between gasps for air. Tears were streaming down his face as the past days tension left his body in a mad form of tears and giggles. "I can't believe you just said that." His words were barely audible through his laughter, and it was a moment before Seamus himself put down his wand and joined in.
"Well, its bloody good advice, mind you." He said down on the floor next to Harry and for the next few minutes both boys were silent except for the sound of their laughter.
When they both fell silent, Harry sighed again. "Mind you I still don't know what I'm going to do about Dumbledore and Fawkes."
Seamus stood up, nodded his head and held his hand out to Harry to help him up. "We've got a week, mate. If between your knack for breaking the rules and my knack for coming up with brilliant plans, we still can't think of something, well then we'll *deserve* to have our rooms pilfered."
They both jumped at the sound of a loud banging noise on their dorm room door. "Harry, Seamus, are you in there?"
Harry rolled his eyes and mouthed 'Colin' to Seamus. "Ya, just a minute." Harry crossed over to the door and opened it. Colin Creevey was outside holding his camera looking as though her were about to jump out of his skin.
"Harry! Have you heard yet? We're going to Hogsmeade today! Snape's arranged the whole thing!"
Seamus crossed the room to where Harry was, giving Colin a very skeptical look. "Severus Snape, arranged an unscheduled trip to Hogsmeade?"
Colin nodded his head vigorously; "He's down in the great hall right now handing out free Christmas potions. He just came in and announced he was going to arrange the carriages to take us all to Hogsmeade and he's been handing out potions ever since."
Harry looked over at Seamus, who shrugged his shoulders as if to say he had no idea what the boy was talking about. "Colin, are you sure you haven't been drinking any of Filch's eggnog?"
He shook his head, "I know, it's crazy. If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. But I've got the pictures to prove it!" he said enthusiastically holding up his camera as if they would need no more proof. "Anyway, they're leaving in ten minutes, so if you want to go, you better hurry up!" With that Colin shot back down the stairs and out of site leaving a very suspicious Harry and Seamus.
"What do you think?" Harry asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Seamus shrugged, 'Who knows, maybe the Ghost of Christmas past told him to take the cauldron out of his arse. Anyway, I think we should go down there and see for ourselves what's going on. Unless of course you want to pass up the opportunity to see a jolly Snape and continue to wallow is self pity."
Harry lightly smacked the back of Seamus' head. "Are you kidding? The end of the world might be going on downstairs, I don't want to miss it!"
Both boys hurried down to the great hall, astonished at the crowd that was forming in the hall. Every student that had stayed on all seemed to be crowded around the front of the teachers' table. But what was truly amazing was the site that had captured every student's attention. Professor Severus Snape was wearing dark green robes, with what appeared to be a corsage of holly pinned to his chest. His hair was brushed back away from his face, and his face was lit up with a huge grin. He was demonstrating at the moment how to enchant Christmas robes to change colors.
"Harry? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Harry was too much at a loss for words to do anything but nod. "Did we wake up in some alternate universe or something?" Seamus squeaked out.
Snape looked up and noticed the two boys finally; an even bigger grin if possible filled his face. "Potter! Just the lad I was looking for, come up here will you?"
Harry reticently moved his way towards the front table where Snape stood. In his mind he was convincing himself he still must have been sleeping. "Yes, Sir?"
Snape slapped him on the back, "Are you going to be joining us on our little excursion to Hogsmeade?"
Harry managed to nod his head, and squeak at a quiet yes.
"Wonderful! Can't have Hogwarts hero just laying around school while the rest of us are having fun, now can we?" Some of the students in the crowd looked as if they were going to either burst into giggles (which was almost every Hufflpuff) or completely retch (which was every Slytherin) at his last statement.
Harry was now sure that someone, somewhere *must* be attempting to play a joke on him. Snape...call him the hero of Hogwarts! Voldemort would sooner quit being a dark lord and join the Muggle can-can girls in France! "Uhh, Sir," he quietly ventured, "are you feeling alright?"
Snape breathed in deeply, the strangely disconcerting smile still written plainly on his face. "Alright? Why Potter I've never been better." He placed his arm around Harry's shoulders and gave a small squeeze. At this Harry nearly fainted from disbelief and half of the students let out an audible gasp.
All of a sudden there was a huge cackle of laughter coming from the back of the room. Harry looked up to see Seamus talking to a very red Lavender Brown. He head tears in his eyes and for some reason was on his knees bowing down before her in mock worship.
Just when Harry thought it was virtually impossible for things to get any more bizarre, Minerva McGonagall practically skipped into the room, she was wearing bright red robes and her hair, which was normally restricted, was let down. Harry was shocked to see that it reached down to the lowest part of her back.
Snape released Harry from his uncomfortable hold and moved over to McGonagall, who for some reason was blushing as red as her robes. "Minerva, my darling! You look absolutely ravishing!"
She giggled and actually moved to embrace the man. "Oh Severus, you are such a liar." And then they did something that caused more then one student to turn slightly green. Harry continued to chant in his head, 'this must be a nightmare' as Severus lowered his head to enthusiastically kiss Minerva on the mouth!
Harry looked into the crowd and for the first time noticed Draco Malfoy. He was sitting down on a bench, all color drained from his face causing him to look even paler then usual. His mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were not moving from the man he considered to be his hero, watching him as he continued to kiss the one teacher Draco had hated above all others. If there was any reason for Harry to take joy in what he was seeing before him, it was the look on Draco's face.
"Red and green," Snape shouted bringing everyone back to attention. "The colors of our fine houses, and both the colors of Christmas. Never before did I realize how well they blend. Truly Gryffindor and Slytherin are of a similar heart."
Harry snorted; he couldn't imagine anything more untrue. He turned once more to find Draco now staring at him. He didn't flinch or move to lower his eyes. Things had been getting even tenser between the two as of late, and Harry was sick being the one to back down first. He was tired of the whole thing.
"Well, everyone shall we go?" McGonagall shouted out to the crowd. Slowly the students all began to move towards the exit, each looking as though they could be pushed over with a feather.
Seamus was busy making his way up towards Harry; he was still holding his sides from laughter. And it was a minute before Harry could understand what he was saying. "It's a love potion!" he spouted out between breaths. "That's what Lavender's task was. She had to slip Snape a love potion, and the first person he saw was old McGonagall! But somehow, she managed to drink it too, so they're both off their rockers! Oh Harry, this is one for the books."
Harry looked at the weeping boy in front of him and began to join in the laughter. He was almost forgetting his own troubles enough to worry about Lavender. He didn't want to think of what would happen to her should Snape figure out who slipped him the potion. And McGonagall? He shuddered. There was a good possibility Gryffindor would definitely lose the house cup this year.
~*~*~*~
Harry and Seamus had managed to trek over every last inch of Hogsmeade. They had filled themselves up with ButterBeer and candied apples and Harry had insisted that they take a trip over to the Shrieking Shack. He was just finishing telling Seamus where it got its name.
"So it was Lupin who was doing all the shrieking?" Harry nodded his head, "Are you sure maybe it wasn't your Dad and Mum sneaking off for a little illicit affair?"
"Can we please not talk about any trysts that involve my parents!"
Seamus elbowed his side, "Well, how do you think you got here, Genius?
"I'd say a couple bottles of Vodka and maybe a pact with the devil," a cold voice behind them said. Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were standing a few feet away, both wearing sneers of obvious disdain.
"Malfoy," Harry said not bothering to hide the animosity in his voice, "why don't you mind your own business and just bugger off."
Blaise spoke up this time, "Why don't you and the little whore of Gryffindor bugger off. I think we like it here."
This time Seamus stepped forward, "So says the slut of Slytherin. Are we out today without our little red bow? Shame it wasn't as big as I would have thought." Seamus smirked at the way Blaise flushed.
"Really? I couldn't tell your disappointment by the way you were gawking at me the whole time." Blaises' hands went to fists at his sides.
Seamus moved a step closer, "Nice of you to notice."
Harry stepped in between the two boys who both looked as if they were about to attack each other at any moment. "Malfoy, why don't you take your new lackey and just get the hell out of here."
Malfoy pushed Blaise to the side taking his place, only a few inches from Harry. Harry felt his stomach tighten at the sudden close proximity. Malfoy just grinned, raising his eyebrows up and down. "I don't think I feel like it. I think I'd rather stay right where I am."
Harry flushed. "Funny, it seems this place has lost all its appeal to me." He started to move away but Draco grabbed him. Harry's flesh felt as if it were on fire where Draco roughly held him. "Get your hands off me, Malfoy."
Draco gave a mirthless laugh, "I keep my hands where I want them."
Seven years of snide remarks, and catty looks seemed to boil up inside Harry, and before he even knew what he was doing he felt his fist connecting with the other boys jaw. His knuckles felt as if he'd hit a brick wall, but he didn't register the pain as he watched the silvery- blonde haired boy fall into his friend.
Seamus was at his side in an instant and before Harry realized what he was doing, he was jumping on top of Malfoy, pushing his head into the snow. Blaise tried to pull Harry off his friend, but Seamus immediately tackled him and all four boys were throwing clumsy punches at each other, less then half actually hitting their intended target.
Wands were completely forgotten as the boys wrestled around, trying to both pin and punch at the same time. Harry couldn't bother to see how Seamus was fairing because he was busy trying to hold down a surprisingly strong Draco. He managed to wiggle out from under Harry and force the other boy to the ground instead.
Draco straddled Harry and was trying to pin his arms to the ground. Harry tried to buck him off, but the other boy just laughed. "You can do better then that, can't you Potter?"
Harry thrust up as hard as he could, knocking Malfoy off balance and managed to free one of his arms. He punched Draco as hard as he could in the eye, which was less then he hoped because of his poor leverage. Draco was soon on top of Harry again, and Harry's eyes flashed open in wide surprise as he felt Draco bite down on his neck. His skin felt superheated, and his heart was pounding loudly in his ears. Harry's stomach clenched into knots when he felt the others boys' soft lips and teeth scrape his neck. 'Soft Lips?' Harry seemed to shout to himself, 'what the hell are you thinking?'
He managed to push Draco off just as a strong pair of hands pulled him from behind. Harry turned around to see a grinning Snape behind him. "Boys, what are you doing?"
Even in his very altered state, all four boys still recognized that there was a teacher in front of them and immediately stopped fighting. The boys rushed to stand up wiping both snow and blood off themselves. "We were just having a bit of fun, Professor." Draco's drawling voice called out, his eyes hard and cold, daring Harry to try and dispute him.
"Ya," Harry managed to squeak, "just got a little bored is all."
Snape made a clucking noise with his tongue, "Well, I think maybe you should find some other way to amuse yourselves. If I didn't know better I would have thought you were fighting! Let's all head back to the carriages, shall we?" Snape turned around and started to move his way back to the front of town.
"You're lucky he came along, Potter." Malfoy smirked, his lip bleeding slightly. Blaise shouted a few obscenities to Seamus, and both boys turned to follow their head of house.
"Well," Seamus said slightly out of breath, "that was fun." He gingerly rubbed his jaw, which was already starting to look bruised and slightly swollen. "That wasn't exactly how I was planning on tackling him for the first time, but I must say, it's a start."
Harry was barely listening. He was watching Draco walk away, a strange look on his face. His stomach felt like it had dropped out from him, and he felt as if his heart was going a mile a minute. The place on his neck Draco had bitten was still tingling. 'Soft Lips' was ringing through his head. "What the hell was I thinking?" Harry mumbled to himself.
"I dunno mate," Seamus said, thinking Harry was talking to him, "Sometimes things just have to come to a head." Harry was silent the rest of the way back to Hogwarts; he listened without amusement as the amplified voice of Severus Snape rang through the air singing Christmas carols. Christmas tasks, best friends far away and now this? Harry was beginning to think his chances at a Merry Christmas this year were completely hopeless.
A/N ::::In a sing song voice:::: Harry got turned o-on, Harry got turned o-on. Boys, instead of just snogging they punch each other...go figure! E.G 'Come to a head' HA! No gay pun intended. I'm sorry, but I've always thought it would be funny for Snape to be sappy sick in love. And I just had to do it.
A preview for tomorrow - Snape's pissed, Harry is in denial about getting turned o-on (lol) and Dumbledore decides to set up some games. Oh yes, Harry and Draco get-ta play!
Disclaimer: Same as it was in Chapter one!
A/N All right people, I'm officially vaklempt now. You guys are so very sweet to keep reviewing me :o) Just know that I read each and every one, and that I REALLY do appreciate them. I'm about to go stand in line for the next *nine* hours for The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers. I just CANNOT wait. I'm surprised I'm even able to get a 'day' out today. I'm just so excited he he he. I hope you all enjoy, I was having the absolute HARDEST time with Harry's task. Enjoy...
The Twelve Days Of Christmas By: Gum Acacia
On The Fifth Day Of Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me...
Harry was refusing to come out of his room. Seamus had tried to lure him out with breakfast and then with the temptation of a pilfered bottle of Ogden's Fire Whiskey, but still Harry had refused. He'd been sulking in his room all morning and Seamus truly feared that all his hard work of turning Harry's Christmas around was about to go down the drain.
Seamus entered his room again, noting that Harry had not budged an inch from his bed. "That's it Potter! You're going to get off your bum and come have some fun with me. I'm not having my only roommate left at Hogwarts sit around wasting the holiday away when there's merriment to be made!"
Harry raised himself onto his elbows. "What happens if I don't do my task?" he asked changing the subject.
Seamus sighed, "When you accept a task without at least attempting it, everyone gets a shot at your stuff. Even if your house wins."
"You could have told me that before I agreed to these stupid pranks."
"Yes well, you might have actually read your task instead of trying to show up Draco, and then you might have known what you got yourself into!" Seamus said rather hotly.
"I know, I know. This isn't your fault," Harry said lying on his back again.
"Well, at least you've go that straight."
"This," Harry said, his voice full of anger, "Is all Malfoy's fault!"
Seamus couldn't help himself, he started to laugh. He sat down on the bed next to Harry, poking him in the side. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"
"Well, if he hadn't been such a prat that night, I would have read the task!" Harry waved his hands in the air as if to emphasize the point.
"It's good to know you've put the blame where it properly belongs," Seamus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is it really that bad?" Harry nodded his head. "Did you get stuck with having to kiss McGonagall or something?"
Harry laughed, "No, nothing like that. It has to do with Dumbledore."
Seamus let out a whistle, "that is tricky. Wait a tick, you don't have to kiss *him* do you?"
"No!" he said punching the other boy in the arm. "Seamus, this is serious!"
"Well, Harry it seems as though you've got two options here. One: you can do this task and risk upsetting our beloved Headmaster. Or two: you can choose not to do it, lose all your stuff and risk alienating your house since there's no way we have a shot at winning without you, and be forced to live as a hermit for the rest of the year."
"Well thank you Mr. Finnigan, you've made my decision so much easier!"
The blonde boy laughed, swatting Harry with a pillow as he did. "That's what I'm here for mate! Listen Harry; I think you should just tell me what your task is. I know it's against the rules and everything, but no one needs to know. I mean, maybe I could help you figure out a way out of this. Or at least a way to do it without getting caught."
Harry sighed, "I'm supposed to steal something from him."
"That's all?" Seamus said sounding surprised. "Well, for crying out loud Harry just swipe a quill if you're that torn up about it. It'll still count"
Harry shook his head, "No, they specifically said what I was supposed to take."
"Well then, what is it?"
"Fawkes," Harry said his voice barely above a whisper.
"What, you mean his bird?" Seamus said sounding slightly bewildered.
"Yes," Harry said shielding his eyes with his hands. "Look, you don't understand what that bird means to him. He's had it for ages, and if it weren't for Fawkes I would have died back in my second year, Voldemort would have taken over by now!"
Seamus stood and began pacing the floor for a few minutes before he spoke again. "That is a nasty one, Harry. You get caught and at the *very* least you'll have detention for the rest of the year. But at the most...I don't even know."
"Neither do I, and I don't think I want to find out." Harry said sitting up.
Seamus stopped pacing the floor and looked at Harry. "What are you supposed to do with Fawkes once you've got her?"
"I don't know! How long do I have to keep her? What am I gonna do if I get caught? This bird is head of the order opposing Voldemort, damn it! If anything happens to her, we could be in serious trouble!"
Seamus gulped, "and I thought my task might be a bit tricky."
"And now, you see why I've decided to spend the rest of my life hiding in our room. You can just come and let me know when the worlds about to end."
"This isn't just about the bird is it?" Seamus tentatively ventured. "It's about the old man too, you don't want to do anything against him."
"This isn't just about me playing teachers pet, Seamus. Dumbledore trusts me! And to do something like this, I mean it just seems wrong."
Seamus sat back down. "Well then, what are you going to do?
"How the hell should I know?" Harry yelled a bit more loudly then he intended.
"Well, you've got a whole week to figure it out. In the mean time, you're not going to do yourself any good by wasting away up here! Why don't you come down and we'll play cards or something."
Harry stretched out on his bed; "I should have just stowed away with Ron. I could be in America right now having fun." Harry closed his eyes, trying to imagine it all. He saw himself helping the twins to sneak levitating powder into Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys' drinks. Ron and he walking the streets of the city, looking at all the strange sites. He'd even rather be listening to Ginny describe how much in love she and Neville were, and how she was glad Harry had told her he didn't feel the same about her back in his fifth year as Neville'd been so wonderful in consoling her.
He was just about to slip off into the dreamland called 'denial' when he felt his body being thrown up into the air. He landed on the ground with a very audible 'thud' and with blinking eyes looked up to see a very angry Seamus glaring at him. His wand pointed directly at Harry's chest.
"That's it! I've had just about enough of Mr. I'm-so-sorry-for-myelf- I-got-stuck-left-at-Hogwarts-and-now-I've-made-a-mess-of-things-so-I-think- I'd-rather-die Potter. I'm the one spending my entire holiday just trying to get you to smile! You're not the only one who's stuck at school for the Holiday's when he'd rather be somewhere else. You don't see my complaining, do you? You're not the only one who got stuck with a task they'd rather not do. You were just the only one stupid enough to accept it without reading it first! And you're *not* the only one who's worried about the war, which conveniently enough is right around the ruddy corner when we graduate, we all are! So, would you kindly GET OFF YOUR BLOODY ARSE AND COME DOWNSTAIRS AND BE JOLLY DAMN IT!"
Harry sat on the floor still in a ruck, in complete shock. He'd never seen Seamus so mad about anything in his life! The blonde boys' hair was falling wildly into his eyes, his breathing was heavy, and his wand was still trained at Harry's chest. He took another step forward, looking as though he were going to toss Harry up into the air again with another charm when Harry stopped him. He put both hands up in front of himself, looked Seamus dead in the eye with a very serious expression...and then proceeded to burst out laughing.
"Get off your arse and be jolly," Harry said between gasps for air. Tears were streaming down his face as the past days tension left his body in a mad form of tears and giggles. "I can't believe you just said that." His words were barely audible through his laughter, and it was a moment before Seamus himself put down his wand and joined in.
"Well, its bloody good advice, mind you." He said down on the floor next to Harry and for the next few minutes both boys were silent except for the sound of their laughter.
When they both fell silent, Harry sighed again. "Mind you I still don't know what I'm going to do about Dumbledore and Fawkes."
Seamus stood up, nodded his head and held his hand out to Harry to help him up. "We've got a week, mate. If between your knack for breaking the rules and my knack for coming up with brilliant plans, we still can't think of something, well then we'll *deserve* to have our rooms pilfered."
They both jumped at the sound of a loud banging noise on their dorm room door. "Harry, Seamus, are you in there?"
Harry rolled his eyes and mouthed 'Colin' to Seamus. "Ya, just a minute." Harry crossed over to the door and opened it. Colin Creevey was outside holding his camera looking as though her were about to jump out of his skin.
"Harry! Have you heard yet? We're going to Hogsmeade today! Snape's arranged the whole thing!"
Seamus crossed the room to where Harry was, giving Colin a very skeptical look. "Severus Snape, arranged an unscheduled trip to Hogsmeade?"
Colin nodded his head vigorously; "He's down in the great hall right now handing out free Christmas potions. He just came in and announced he was going to arrange the carriages to take us all to Hogsmeade and he's been handing out potions ever since."
Harry looked over at Seamus, who shrugged his shoulders as if to say he had no idea what the boy was talking about. "Colin, are you sure you haven't been drinking any of Filch's eggnog?"
He shook his head, "I know, it's crazy. If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. But I've got the pictures to prove it!" he said enthusiastically holding up his camera as if they would need no more proof. "Anyway, they're leaving in ten minutes, so if you want to go, you better hurry up!" With that Colin shot back down the stairs and out of site leaving a very suspicious Harry and Seamus.
"What do you think?" Harry asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Seamus shrugged, 'Who knows, maybe the Ghost of Christmas past told him to take the cauldron out of his arse. Anyway, I think we should go down there and see for ourselves what's going on. Unless of course you want to pass up the opportunity to see a jolly Snape and continue to wallow is self pity."
Harry lightly smacked the back of Seamus' head. "Are you kidding? The end of the world might be going on downstairs, I don't want to miss it!"
Both boys hurried down to the great hall, astonished at the crowd that was forming in the hall. Every student that had stayed on all seemed to be crowded around the front of the teachers' table. But what was truly amazing was the site that had captured every student's attention. Professor Severus Snape was wearing dark green robes, with what appeared to be a corsage of holly pinned to his chest. His hair was brushed back away from his face, and his face was lit up with a huge grin. He was demonstrating at the moment how to enchant Christmas robes to change colors.
"Harry? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Harry was too much at a loss for words to do anything but nod. "Did we wake up in some alternate universe or something?" Seamus squeaked out.
Snape looked up and noticed the two boys finally; an even bigger grin if possible filled his face. "Potter! Just the lad I was looking for, come up here will you?"
Harry reticently moved his way towards the front table where Snape stood. In his mind he was convincing himself he still must have been sleeping. "Yes, Sir?"
Snape slapped him on the back, "Are you going to be joining us on our little excursion to Hogsmeade?"
Harry managed to nod his head, and squeak at a quiet yes.
"Wonderful! Can't have Hogwarts hero just laying around school while the rest of us are having fun, now can we?" Some of the students in the crowd looked as if they were going to either burst into giggles (which was almost every Hufflpuff) or completely retch (which was every Slytherin) at his last statement.
Harry was now sure that someone, somewhere *must* be attempting to play a joke on him. Snape...call him the hero of Hogwarts! Voldemort would sooner quit being a dark lord and join the Muggle can-can girls in France! "Uhh, Sir," he quietly ventured, "are you feeling alright?"
Snape breathed in deeply, the strangely disconcerting smile still written plainly on his face. "Alright? Why Potter I've never been better." He placed his arm around Harry's shoulders and gave a small squeeze. At this Harry nearly fainted from disbelief and half of the students let out an audible gasp.
All of a sudden there was a huge cackle of laughter coming from the back of the room. Harry looked up to see Seamus talking to a very red Lavender Brown. He head tears in his eyes and for some reason was on his knees bowing down before her in mock worship.
Just when Harry thought it was virtually impossible for things to get any more bizarre, Minerva McGonagall practically skipped into the room, she was wearing bright red robes and her hair, which was normally restricted, was let down. Harry was shocked to see that it reached down to the lowest part of her back.
Snape released Harry from his uncomfortable hold and moved over to McGonagall, who for some reason was blushing as red as her robes. "Minerva, my darling! You look absolutely ravishing!"
She giggled and actually moved to embrace the man. "Oh Severus, you are such a liar." And then they did something that caused more then one student to turn slightly green. Harry continued to chant in his head, 'this must be a nightmare' as Severus lowered his head to enthusiastically kiss Minerva on the mouth!
Harry looked into the crowd and for the first time noticed Draco Malfoy. He was sitting down on a bench, all color drained from his face causing him to look even paler then usual. His mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were not moving from the man he considered to be his hero, watching him as he continued to kiss the one teacher Draco had hated above all others. If there was any reason for Harry to take joy in what he was seeing before him, it was the look on Draco's face.
"Red and green," Snape shouted bringing everyone back to attention. "The colors of our fine houses, and both the colors of Christmas. Never before did I realize how well they blend. Truly Gryffindor and Slytherin are of a similar heart."
Harry snorted; he couldn't imagine anything more untrue. He turned once more to find Draco now staring at him. He didn't flinch or move to lower his eyes. Things had been getting even tenser between the two as of late, and Harry was sick being the one to back down first. He was tired of the whole thing.
"Well, everyone shall we go?" McGonagall shouted out to the crowd. Slowly the students all began to move towards the exit, each looking as though they could be pushed over with a feather.
Seamus was busy making his way up towards Harry; he was still holding his sides from laughter. And it was a minute before Harry could understand what he was saying. "It's a love potion!" he spouted out between breaths. "That's what Lavender's task was. She had to slip Snape a love potion, and the first person he saw was old McGonagall! But somehow, she managed to drink it too, so they're both off their rockers! Oh Harry, this is one for the books."
Harry looked at the weeping boy in front of him and began to join in the laughter. He was almost forgetting his own troubles enough to worry about Lavender. He didn't want to think of what would happen to her should Snape figure out who slipped him the potion. And McGonagall? He shuddered. There was a good possibility Gryffindor would definitely lose the house cup this year.
~*~*~*~
Harry and Seamus had managed to trek over every last inch of Hogsmeade. They had filled themselves up with ButterBeer and candied apples and Harry had insisted that they take a trip over to the Shrieking Shack. He was just finishing telling Seamus where it got its name.
"So it was Lupin who was doing all the shrieking?" Harry nodded his head, "Are you sure maybe it wasn't your Dad and Mum sneaking off for a little illicit affair?"
"Can we please not talk about any trysts that involve my parents!"
Seamus elbowed his side, "Well, how do you think you got here, Genius?
"I'd say a couple bottles of Vodka and maybe a pact with the devil," a cold voice behind them said. Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were standing a few feet away, both wearing sneers of obvious disdain.
"Malfoy," Harry said not bothering to hide the animosity in his voice, "why don't you mind your own business and just bugger off."
Blaise spoke up this time, "Why don't you and the little whore of Gryffindor bugger off. I think we like it here."
This time Seamus stepped forward, "So says the slut of Slytherin. Are we out today without our little red bow? Shame it wasn't as big as I would have thought." Seamus smirked at the way Blaise flushed.
"Really? I couldn't tell your disappointment by the way you were gawking at me the whole time." Blaises' hands went to fists at his sides.
Seamus moved a step closer, "Nice of you to notice."
Harry stepped in between the two boys who both looked as if they were about to attack each other at any moment. "Malfoy, why don't you take your new lackey and just get the hell out of here."
Malfoy pushed Blaise to the side taking his place, only a few inches from Harry. Harry felt his stomach tighten at the sudden close proximity. Malfoy just grinned, raising his eyebrows up and down. "I don't think I feel like it. I think I'd rather stay right where I am."
Harry flushed. "Funny, it seems this place has lost all its appeal to me." He started to move away but Draco grabbed him. Harry's flesh felt as if it were on fire where Draco roughly held him. "Get your hands off me, Malfoy."
Draco gave a mirthless laugh, "I keep my hands where I want them."
Seven years of snide remarks, and catty looks seemed to boil up inside Harry, and before he even knew what he was doing he felt his fist connecting with the other boys jaw. His knuckles felt as if he'd hit a brick wall, but he didn't register the pain as he watched the silvery- blonde haired boy fall into his friend.
Seamus was at his side in an instant and before Harry realized what he was doing, he was jumping on top of Malfoy, pushing his head into the snow. Blaise tried to pull Harry off his friend, but Seamus immediately tackled him and all four boys were throwing clumsy punches at each other, less then half actually hitting their intended target.
Wands were completely forgotten as the boys wrestled around, trying to both pin and punch at the same time. Harry couldn't bother to see how Seamus was fairing because he was busy trying to hold down a surprisingly strong Draco. He managed to wiggle out from under Harry and force the other boy to the ground instead.
Draco straddled Harry and was trying to pin his arms to the ground. Harry tried to buck him off, but the other boy just laughed. "You can do better then that, can't you Potter?"
Harry thrust up as hard as he could, knocking Malfoy off balance and managed to free one of his arms. He punched Draco as hard as he could in the eye, which was less then he hoped because of his poor leverage. Draco was soon on top of Harry again, and Harry's eyes flashed open in wide surprise as he felt Draco bite down on his neck. His skin felt superheated, and his heart was pounding loudly in his ears. Harry's stomach clenched into knots when he felt the others boys' soft lips and teeth scrape his neck. 'Soft Lips?' Harry seemed to shout to himself, 'what the hell are you thinking?'
He managed to push Draco off just as a strong pair of hands pulled him from behind. Harry turned around to see a grinning Snape behind him. "Boys, what are you doing?"
Even in his very altered state, all four boys still recognized that there was a teacher in front of them and immediately stopped fighting. The boys rushed to stand up wiping both snow and blood off themselves. "We were just having a bit of fun, Professor." Draco's drawling voice called out, his eyes hard and cold, daring Harry to try and dispute him.
"Ya," Harry managed to squeak, "just got a little bored is all."
Snape made a clucking noise with his tongue, "Well, I think maybe you should find some other way to amuse yourselves. If I didn't know better I would have thought you were fighting! Let's all head back to the carriages, shall we?" Snape turned around and started to move his way back to the front of town.
"You're lucky he came along, Potter." Malfoy smirked, his lip bleeding slightly. Blaise shouted a few obscenities to Seamus, and both boys turned to follow their head of house.
"Well," Seamus said slightly out of breath, "that was fun." He gingerly rubbed his jaw, which was already starting to look bruised and slightly swollen. "That wasn't exactly how I was planning on tackling him for the first time, but I must say, it's a start."
Harry was barely listening. He was watching Draco walk away, a strange look on his face. His stomach felt like it had dropped out from him, and he felt as if his heart was going a mile a minute. The place on his neck Draco had bitten was still tingling. 'Soft Lips' was ringing through his head. "What the hell was I thinking?" Harry mumbled to himself.
"I dunno mate," Seamus said, thinking Harry was talking to him, "Sometimes things just have to come to a head." Harry was silent the rest of the way back to Hogwarts; he listened without amusement as the amplified voice of Severus Snape rang through the air singing Christmas carols. Christmas tasks, best friends far away and now this? Harry was beginning to think his chances at a Merry Christmas this year were completely hopeless.
A/N ::::In a sing song voice:::: Harry got turned o-on, Harry got turned o-on. Boys, instead of just snogging they punch each other...go figure! E.G 'Come to a head' HA! No gay pun intended. I'm sorry, but I've always thought it would be funny for Snape to be sappy sick in love. And I just had to do it.
A preview for tomorrow - Snape's pissed, Harry is in denial about getting turned o-on (lol) and Dumbledore decides to set up some games. Oh yes, Harry and Draco get-ta play!