Harry Potter and the Unicorn's Tears
By Silent Cobra
Standard disclaimers apply.
AN: This is not a romance story, but there is some (very little) SSHG in it. I am trying to make this as much like a HP story as possible. When it starts, SS and HG have been in a relationship for about 2 years. Just a heads up for those opposed to that pairing.
CHAPTER ONE: Back to Number 12
Number Four Privet Drive held a secret. One that the residences hoped would never escape. The sun rose every morning and set every night on the same quiet street. The street held secrets that would never be known.
Harry Potter had finally grown. No longer small and scrawny, he was a young man of 17. His hair was unruly as always. The once knobby knees and elbows had grown into strong limbs. Harry could take on Dudley Dursley on without a wand, and win.
Harry was about to start his seventh year at Hogwarts. He was, as usual, counting down the days. Currently, he was washing Uncle Vernon's car.
"Boy! Are you almost finished there?"
Uncle Vernon cried from the window, where it was cool and nice inside.
"Yes Uncle Vernon," Harry called back wearily. All day he had been working. He had mowed the lawn, trimmed the bushes, cleaned the house, vacuumed the car, and now he was washing it.
He was beat.
He wanted nothing more than to be back at school with his friends, his broom, heck, even Snape would be worth seeing at this point.
He dried the car and coiled the hose up. He walked up to the door and it opened from the inside.
"Walk on the newspaper!" Aunt Petunia snarled.
"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry said monotonously. He walked on the newspaper and soon found himself in front of the laundry.
"Make sure all that is cleaned! Vernon, Dudley and I are going out tonight, so it better get done."
"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry repeated. He washed all the clothes and finally, three hours later, his Aunt and Uncle were gone and he was alone in the house, and he was finished.
He trudged upstairs and collapsed into the bathtub. He laid there, the hot water flowing over him, washing the girt away. He closed his eyes and sunk beneath the hot water.
He didn't hear the door open.
"BOY!" Vernon Dursley shouted from downstairs. Harry sat up, water dripping from his hair. He leapt out and dried himself quickly and threw on a pair of clean jeans and a white t-shirt. He walked downstairs.
"Yes, Uncle Vernon?"
"Go outside fire up the grill, we're having BBQ tonight."
"Yes, Uncle Vernon."
Harry hated it. After dinner that night, he sat in his room working on DADA homework. He wanted some contact to the wizarding world. Ron and Hermione weren't allowed to owl him while he was here, and he was no longer allowed to owl out.
He was alone.
He wanted to see a wizard, any wizard.
"I wouldn't mind seeing Professor Snape right now…" Harry muttered, realizing just how desperate he was if he was pining for Snape.
"Funny you should say that Potter, because I really don't want to see you."
Harry dropped his quill and spun. Snape was in his room! Snape was leaning against the wall, not wearing his usual robes. He was wearing tight, black jeans and a dark green turtleneck.
"Pack your stuff, Potter. We're leaving."
"Yes professor…" Harry began to pack his stuff into his trunk. He made sure the lock on Hedwig's cage was secure.
Harry's heart was thudding in his chest. He was leaving! He threw his belongings haphazardly into his trunk and stood up to face Snape.
The Potion's Master smiled evilly. "Now, let's go saw goodbye to your guardians, shall we?"
He waved his wand lazily and the trunk shrunk down and leapt into his hand. He tossed it at Harry and turned to the door. "They lock you up?" he asked disdainfully.
"Yes, sir," Harry muttered. Snape waved his wand and the door burst off its hinges with a loud thwack. Harry could hear his aunt and uncle's terrified screams.
"BOY! WHAT IN THE HELL-" Uncle Vernon stopped dead upon seeing Snape standing in front of Harry with his wand drawn.
"Move, you overgrown Muggle," Snape sneered. Harry felt himself smile briefly at the look of horror on his uncle's face.
"You won't be taking him anywhere!" Uncle Vernon hissed.
Snape twirled his wand idly in his fingers. "Is that what you think, muggle?"
Snape reached behind him and grabbed Harry's arm. "Hold on, Potter, Dumbledore will have my head if you die."
Snape grinned wickedly at Harry's guardians, and the two of them disappeared with a pop.
Harry found himself kneeling on the street on Grimwald Place. He thought of Number 12, and it appeared in front of him. Snape walked to the door and entered, leaving Harry to gather his things and walk in behind him.
"Severus, will you be staying for dinner?" he heard Mrs. Weasley whisper as he walked into the kitchen. His eyes darted to Hermione, sitting quietly at the table reading a book.
Harry dropped his stuff and walked to the table. He dropped onto the bench next to her. She smiled at him and set her book down.
"Albus wanted me to wait for him," Snape said disdainfully. "Will he be at dinner?"
"Yes, Severus, he will." Molly Weasley smiled at Snape, whose lip twitched into a brief sneer in return. "So you'll be joining us, wonderful." She turned to Harry.
"Oh, it's so wonderful to see you, Harry dear!" She hugged him. Harry saw Snape roll his eyes at the woman's open display of affection. The door opened and closed, and Fred , George, Ron, and Ginny walked in.
"Harry! Bloody good to see ya mate!" Ron yelled, thumping his best friend on the back. The others agreed and sat around him, chatting excitedly.
"Me and George are in the Order now," Fred said proudly. His mother shot him a warning glare, and Snape just rolled her eyes again.
Hermione stood up. "Well, I'll take Harry's stuff to his room then."
"Aw, Mione, he just got here!" Ron said. Hermione gathered up her book and stood. She pulled out her wand and stopped, remembering suddenly that she was not allowed to do magic outside of school.
Snape pulled out his wand and waved it. The trunk lifted off the ground and floated there. Snape handed his wand to Hermione with a warning glare. She nodded her thanks and bolted from the room.
Harry watched this all with curiosity. He looked at Ginny. "What's up with her?"
Ginny grinned and leaned forward. "We think she has a crush on Snape!"
Ron's faced turned an interesting shade of green and Fred and George began to laugh.
"She's apprenticing him this year, did you know that?" Ginny asked. Harry shook his head, Ron looked even worse.
"Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Weasley's voice floated through the room. Hermione came downstairs a second later and handed Snape's wand back to him. Snape checked it over, as if to make sure she hadn't damaged it in anyway.
"Sit," Mrs. Weasley commanded. The Weasley's, Hermione, Harry, and Snape (who did so rather grudgingly) sat down. Snape sat as far away from the others that he could.
The door opened again and Tonks and Lupin walked in.
"Oh Snape!" Tonks said in surprise, knocking over a chair, "You're staying for dinner?"
"The headmaster asked me to," he said stiffly as he watched Ron stuff food into his mouth.
He slowly began to eat his stew, which was actually quite good. Harry was happy for the first time in a long time. He was back among his friends and back in the wizarding world.
Hermione looked at him as there was a lull in the conversation. "Welcome back, Harry."