A/N: Really short, mostly transition, nothing great. I just couldn't fit the whole second shopping trip and the races into the same chapter, and I didn't want to leave a horrible cliffhanger in case I don't update for awhile. Sorry!
Chapter 5
Harry awoke to find himself alone, sleepily wondering how late he was going to be getting to work. Then, as he cleaned the sleep from his eyes, he remembered whose bed he was in.
He grinned like a Cheshire cat.
With a happy bounce in his step he slid out of bed and went into the bathroom. His eyes swept over the bathtub with a soft smile, and then to the sink where he proceeded to brush his teeth and floss. After his morning ritual was complete, donned in a robe, he practically skipped out of the bedroom and into the living room. What he saw there made his smile falter.
Severus was lying at an unnatural angle on the couch. Important looking papers and pieces of parchment were spread around him like a blanket. His eyes were fidgeting beneath their lids like restless prisoners. An empty potion bottle, that no doubt had contained some sleeping draught, sat on the coffee table. With an exasperated yet loving touch, Harry carefully shuffled the papers into something resembling stacks. He straightened Severus out on the couch, smiling when the man's long legs barely fit on the sofa. Then, he picked up the remote and eased Severus' head onto his lap. He flicked on the TV, keeping it low so as not to wake the agitated sleeper. His hand absently ran through Severus' hair, his thumb brushing over his forehead comfortingly.
His breathing deepened, and his eyes stilled. Severus had dropped into a more comfortable sleep.
And that was how Severus woke up. Harry was watching some morning talk show, the boy's beautiful profile instantly hovering over his own when he realized he was waking. Harry's hand stopped its gentle movements through his hair. He grinned at him.
"You fell asleep on the couch working." He kissed the bridge of his nose, then his forehead. "And you didn't look to comfortable, so I thought you might sleep better if I held you."
From anyone else that would have sounded demeaning to Severus, but from Harry he simply favored him with a small smile and rose out of his lap, turning to pull Harry into his own when he was sitting. Still feeling drowsy, he leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes.
"You'll have to go shopping again this morning. I know that you must loathe the chore …" Severus trailed off sarcastically, remembering how eager Harry had been the last time he'd sent him off to look for new clothing. When he was answered with silence, he cracked an eye open to see Harry nestled under his chin, chewing worriedly on his bottom lip.
"I guess I can go … couldn't you just shrink something of yours for me to wear?" He asked finally, reluctance lacing his words.
"You don't want to go shopping? Are you feeling well?" Severus asked teasingly, putting a hand to Harry's forehead.
"No, it's not that. It's just that when I went shopping yesterday I was really embarrassed. They kicked me out of one of those really expensive stores, and the snobby store manager was really rude to me in front of a bunch of shoppers. I guess it was because of how I was dressed. The manager of the hotel is a really nice guy though, so when I told him what had happened, he got me something to wear in time for the club last night." Harry explained, leaning back to look into Severus face as he told his story. "I like the manager, even if he did insist on telling everyone I was your nephew." Severus rolled his eyes and patted Harry's side, indicating for him to scoot off his lap.
"Do you remember what store it was that treated you rudely?" Severus asked in an annoyed, clipped tone. He began re-organizing the papers and parchment, his elegant hands moving like angry doves. Harry stared at them, almost entranced.
"Yeah, I remember which one it was. I got a nice view as I was ordered out." He bitterly replied, crossing his arms and forcing himself to stop looking at Severus' hands. What was he? Some kind of lovesick little puppy? Honestly, drooling over his hands like that. Then again, they were almost ethereal in their elegance. He sighed, and listened with a half ear as Severus ordered them some breakfast.
"Well, as appetizing as you look in that robe, perhaps you should go clean up and get dressed. We're going back to that store." Severus suggested as he picked up the telephone and dialed Lucius' cell phone. Harry left quickly, not wanting to look like he was eavesdropping on whatever Severus had to say to Malfoy. If this (whatever 'this' was) was going to work, he was going to have to draw a strict line between his relationship (WHAT relationship?) with Severus and his limited exposure to what Severus did for a living.
'Oh get off it Harry. You know this is going to end in a few days. Quit being so mushy.' Harry chided himself. Since Severus had already done his work at the club, he would be lucky if Severus stayed for a scant few days more.
He remembered two days prior, when Severus had given him the offer to stay. Somehow, with some flash of insight, he'd just known that staying would be a mistake. Staying would mean he would get hurt. And he was normally right about these kinds of things. For example, with the horse. There was really no way he should have been able to know if the Aethonan Severus had spoke of was red instead of chestnut, and if its mane was curly rather than straight. He couldn't describe it; he just had really good hunches about things. That's how he knew the Thestral would win today, and though he hadn't told Severus, he had a feeling, bizarre as it might sound, that he would be the one riding him.
~
Harry put on the dress pants from the previous night, but borrowed a plain, white dress shirt of Severus'. It dwarfed him a bit, but Severus thought he looked adorable in it, so he didn't bother to shrink it.
"I can't spend all day with you, delightful as that sounds, but I have enough time to show this store the error of their ways. You'll have to do your shopping after that on your own." Severus said in a tone that suggested he wished he could come along. "I'll meet you back in the lobby at two." He finished, pulling Harry into a brief kiss. They left the hotel and Harry led Severus to the shop. The man that had rudely dismissed him was working on a display in the window when the limousine pulled up. His eyes bugged out as he saw the whore from the day before step out, followed by a man wearing what he instantly recognized as an extremely expensive suit.
"Oh shit." He exclaimed bluntly, accidentally knocking the arm off the mannequin with his nervous fumbling. He would be fired for sure.
~
Harry had never been so pampered. Severus handled the rude store employee, demanded an apology from the manager, and then informed them they were all loosing their jobs for their "small mistake". As Severus strode from the store, Harry felt suddenly very guilty.
"You won't really have their jobs, will you?" He asked nervously when they were back in the limousine.
"Of course I will. They insulted you, and by doing so insulted me. I do not take kindly to being insulted." Severus replied sternly, for once not giving in to Harry's pleading look. The rest of the ride was uneventful, as Severus had the driver take him to some glittering skyscraper, before he sent Harry back on his way to finish the shopping. Despite the fact that Harry was giving him a guilt trip, he didn't get out of the car until he'd gotten a sound kiss goodbye. Even though he was miffed with him, Harry didn't seem to mind too much.
~
Once again, Severus found himself sweeping into the lobby looking for his date. He found him quickly. Harry was sitting at the piano while some employee from the hotel played an amateur showy piece that had Harry enthralled. Severus watched angrily as the flirtatious employee leaned over and whispered something to Harry, causing him to break into a wide smile. He then proceeded to place Harry's hands on the piano, showing him which keys to press while discreetly scooting closer to him. Severus felt his fist clench involuntarily. He let his wand slide down the arm of his blazer, appearing to study the button on his cuff as he murmured a spell that made a nearby waiter spill a bucket containing cold wine and ice water over the bellhop daring to flirt with his Harry. The young man screeched at the cold water and the purple stain spreading over his uniform. Harry had hopped away as well, his clothing still stain free. Severus chose that moment to stride up to them, cast the whining bellhop a look that told him he'd like to rip off his balls, and casually laced his fingers with Harry's.
"I'm sorry about that, Jeff, but I have to go. Thanks for playing for me!" Harry chirruped, completely oblivious to the challenging glares passing between Severus and the bellhop.
"Come along, Harry. We can't be late." Severus said in his dangerous voice, sending chills up Harry's spine as he looked at Severus questioningly.
Back in the limousine, Harry got his explanation.
"Little heathen had his hands all over you … I can only imagine what he might have tried if I hadn't showed up." Severus mumbled angrily, ignoring Harry nibbling on his earlobe. Harry laughed.
"Honestly Sev, he was just showing me how to play some little tune. He didn't have any bad intentions." Harry assured. He crawled into Severus' lap and showered his face with butterfly kisses.
"I missed you." He purred seductively, lazily rolling his hips over Severus'.
"Why do we always end up in this position when we're in the limousine?" Severus asked amusedly, toying with the buttons on Harry's shirt.
"Because I can't keep my hands to myself when I see you." Harry replied honestly, real sincerity in his voice. Severus smiled, finding himself lost in Harry's eyes.
How was he ever going to be able to let him go?
Review Replies:
Mousey – Thanks for such a helpful review! Don't worry, Harry will have his scene or two with Draco at the races, but on the whole I'm trying to show that Harry is really a good person, still naïve and a bit innocent. I want him to really contrast with the rich snobs, and I want Severus some where in the middle. So probably, Harry won't be too attracted to Draco (I mean, he acknowledges that Draco is handsome, but he's not interested) but that's not to say that Severus won't THINK Harry likes Draco. Thanks for the review!
Moraco- Yay for the Pegasus! I'm rather fond of them to, but you'll have to wait till next chapter!
Thursday St. Giles –Alright, no-Harry doesn't know much about his parents, doesn't care. They were just two people out of the hundreds of people Voldemort killed. Similarly though, Dumbledore and the "good" side has killed a lot of Voldemort supporters, as there are more of them in this story and the line between good and bad is more fuzzy. Voldemort and his supporters are more like a political party if you will. It's not like it is in the books. And no, Harry never faced Voldemort. He doesn't have a scar, he's not famous, and no one knows who he is. He doesn't even have many wizard friends because he was only there for a year, and he wasn't very social (got teased etc. cuz he was a squib) So no, the Potters held no significance to Voldemort except that they were Aurors working to take him out. When he killed them, he wanted to kill Harry too, but it wasn't a big priority. Then, when Harry went to Hogwarts, Voldemort expected him to be a powerful wizard for Dumbledore, but when he found out that he was a squib, he didn't care about Harry anymore. Thanks for the review, hoped that helped!
JustandalwaysMo – Hmmm. I think you said you liked it. Well, I'll pretend that's what you said! Thanks for always reviewing!
Ginger-Mao- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it and took the time to review!
Tigerblack- Very funny … and don't worry, I'll try not to disappoint with Draco.
Kate- Aw thanks, yeah I love that story, but I'm a bit stuck. I'm halfway done with the next chapter but I don't know when I'll post it. Sorry!
Angel of Blood – Thank you! Yeah, there will be a rape attempt from someone, but I won't tell who yet
Whatever – Hey whatever, how are you doing? Thanks for reviewing, and yeah, I agree. Wizards need more sports.
Switchknife- Hello again! Thanks as usual, and I'm glad you picked up on what I'm trying to do with Harry. I'm glad I'm not just seeing things here.
QrYx- Yes, after reading your review, I had to re-watch the movie as well. I was like, "what necklace? I don't remember any necklace?" so now I remember, and I'll make sure to come up with something for it, thanks for reminding me!
