King of Discretion

by Icarus

Harry arrived in fire of the Gryffindor common room, coughing and feeling a little dizzy from the wine combined with Floo travel. He really hated traveling by Floo Powder, but he and Severus had really pushed it this time, and it was the only method fast enough. Too bad it only worked one way from the teachers' quarters. Harry somehow managed to arrive backward and so stumbled over the grate into the room. A voice cleared her throat behind him.

"Harry, where have you been?" It was Hermione! Harry turned to find his friend, clad in a fuzzy pink bathrobe thrown over an old familiar knitted sweater with the letter 'R' on it, her hair poofed like an angry cat's. She was tapping her feet. "Professor McGonagall was just here."

What?! "She was early?!"

"Early? Harry, this is getting really weird. No one is supposed to know when the teachers are going to check on us."

Harry opened his mouth, but nothing came out. All his cool composure with the imposing Severus Snape melted away before the ire of Hermione Granger. Maybe because Severus was usually in the wrong, but Hermione almost never was.

"Harry - hurry upstairs! She'll be back any minute! I told her I thought you'd gone to the room over the Owlry," Hermione blushed. She never liked lying to the teachers, and Professor McGonagall was a favorite of hers. "Well, you could have gone there. You owe us an explanation. Tomorrow. Go!"

Harry could have kissed her. And Ron. He knew who 'us' meant.

Upstairs, Harry crept across the room between puddles of moonlight to his four poster. He slipped as quietly as he could under the covers. Then he heard Ron whisper:

"So… how was it?" There was a smile in Ron's voice.

"Worth it," Harry breathed. And it was.

Harry lay awake a long time trying to think how he was going to explain this to his friends in the morning. He had no idea. But it was a lot easier than having to explain it to Professor McGonagall. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He was going to have to tell Severus they should back off for a while until this cleared. Severus was always saying they had to be discreet. It was his career at stake after all.

Ron didn't even wait for Harry to reach the main hall for breakfast, but cornered him outside the entranceway. Hermione was right behind him. Harry suppressed a moment of envy, that they could be open about being together. Judging from how close Ron was standing to her, Harry suddenly suspected things were going a little bit better for him. They both had their arms folded, glaring at Harry, though Ron looked very curious.

They ducked as owls flew in through the doorways and windows about them. Harry could see Hedwig looking for at the breakfast table, puzzled he wasn't in his usual spot. She finally dropped his letters at his empty plate. One of them was smoking. Uh-oh. He'd better get that one, quickly.

"Well?" Hermione asked.

"I - I don't know how to explain…" Harry said in all honesty, thinking fast. He had not been able to contrive any plan the night before. The situation was impossible.

"Okay. Just to start with - who is it?" Ron suggested with a helpful smile, leaning against the brick wall.

"I can't tell you that!" Harry said desperately.

Ron rolled his eyes muttering "… you mean you won't. Don't you trust me? Us? We've been your friends forever!" He seemed hurt.

"No, Ron, Hermione - honest, I can't. I promised. He - " Harry stopped. He was already in trouble, after only three sentences. But he couldn't lie to his friends!

"He?" Ron asked, incredulous. Hermione gave Ron a knowing nod, and Ron threw up his hands, saying, "Alright, alright Hermione, you were right. This is starting to make a bit more sense anyway. So, Harry, who - who is…uh… he?" Ron seemed a little awkward at the idea.

"Ron, if it were you, would you want me to tell?" More to the point, when it was him, had Ron wanted him to tell? No sir.

"Uh…" Ron was clearly thinking back to the Book of Eros. And the room above the Owlry. And Hagrid's house. And the night everyone was gone to Hogsmeade. And the other time… "No. Not really. In fact - you'd better not!"

"Well then…" Harry was ready for breakfast. That letter looked like it was about to catch the tablecloth on fire.

"That doesn't do it, Harry," Hermione stopped him. "That doesn't explain the spell on that paper… and you knowing when Professor McGonagall was going to come check on us… and, oh, a whole bunch of things. Harry, if… if you're seeing a teacher, you could get into really big trouble."

"A teacher?!" Think fast, Harry, think fast! Harry scrambled.

"Who would it be?" Harry asked her, his mind racing a mile a minute.

"Professor Flickwick?" Harry asked incredulously.

Ron snickered.

"Dumbledore?" Harry suggested, feeling a little more confident.

"Hagrid??"

Ron started laughing. "Oh - Hagrid - stop, stop, please, you're killing me…"

Harry decided to risk it: "S…Snape?!"

At that thought Ron dissolved into hysterical giggles. "Snape?? Ick. You'd have to wash him first!"

Harry heart was pounding in his chest.

When Ron finally stopped laughing and wiped the tears out of his eyes, he pointed out, "You know, that's always been the major hole in your theory, Hermione. Who could it be after all?"

Hermione gave up. "Okay. I see your point. But Harry - well, never mind. You know to be careful."

Harry staggered into the hall, feeling like his life had just dangled over a chasm and he had narrowly survived. Or he just completed a full dive on his Firebolt and found the ground closer than he expected. His stomach felt hollow. He had almost called him Severus. Instead of Snape. Out of sheer habit.

Harry had nearly blown it all. In one word.

He very carefully did not look at Severus this morning. Things had to go back to normal for a while. Discretion, Severus called it? Harry was going to be the king of discretion, from here on out.

Harry decided not to tell Severus everything. He would be too pissed off and sarcastic at Harry's near stupidity and Harry didn't want to hear it. So after Care of Magical Creatures, Harry slipped downstairs during the lunch hour. He found the Potions dungeon empty. He picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote his message to Severus on the blackboard. Then erased it. Harry put the eraser in the middle of Severus' desk, so he'd know to look for the message.

Yipe! McG. early! Everything's okay, but being careful. XXX Harry

They never used the same form of communication twice, some habit or so from Severus' days as a Death Eater. Harry had thought it paranoid before, but now he appreciated Severus' caution. Though usually it had been easier just to talk during Harry's Dark Arts class.

In the Dark Arts they had returned to 'simple' spells. Harry was as much of a dud as ever. But now being a dud at Dark Magic was a matter of routine, and Harry made no particular effort to do any better: he found it comforting to know he would never go any further in Dark Magic. Harry never asked what that quicksilver stuff was, and Severus had never told him. In fact, 'the accident' was a subject they both preferred to avoid.

The next morning, Harry stepped out of the showers wrapped in a towel, drying his unruly hair. He stopped at the mirror, though it was as usual, completely steamed up. Then he saw one word write itself in the steam:

Discretion.

Harry nodded. Good. Severus found his message. Then the writing went on:

Towel - I like you better without it.

Severus was just teasing him, knowing he'd be in a towel right now. He couldn't see him. Harry was almost positive about that. Several Gryffindors came out of the showers behind Harry, laughing and joking. Harry wiped the letters clean.

In the freshly cleared mirror, Harry saw someone who was slightly taller than he had been; his hair was a little longer. He had the same scar. But his eyes were serious, determined. Harry saw there, to his surprise, a grown man.

Finis. Next: 'Eureka!'