Chapter 4
There was only three more days before classes would resume at Hogwarts. It had been almost a month since Harry's birthday, and Harry was recovering well from his experience at his Dursleys. He ate his food, and took a glance at Harry. Harry was poking the food on his plate with his fork using his right hand and he was looking at one of the Quidditch books that Severus had bought for him which he held in the other. Severus saw Harry stick the fork into his mouth and sighed.
"Harry," Severus finally spoke, "Wouldn't you like to read that when it's in no danger of being dirtied?"
Harry looked at Severus from the top of his book and smiled at him. He closed the book and placed it on the table. "It's a good book."
"I see..."
"Erm... Severus?"
"Hm?"
"Since I've finished with all my work and all... can I go to Diagon Alley to meet Ron and Hermione?"
"You're not going anywhere without me."
Harry frowned. "But I don't think Ron and Hermione would appreciate having you follow us around."
"I don't have to be in your conversation. I can be a distance away, just enough for me to keep an eye on you."
"Must you really keep such a close watch on me?"
"We never know when Lucius will strike. We hardly even know what he's doing now."
"Okay then, fine."
There was a silence, and Harry was practically stabbing his food with his fork. Severus sighed. "You won't even notice I'm there. I can promise that."
Harry stopped his actions. "I... Yeah... Sorry... Didn't mean to throw a tantrum..." Harry shook his head. "Don't know what's wrong with me..."
"Forget it. When do you want to go?"
"Today, if that's okay..."
"Fine then. We'll go after the meal."
Harry smiled. "Thanks, Severus."
"Hn."
After they finished eating, they retreated back to their room to change and then they both headed down to Diagon Alley. As promised, Severus kept a distance away, and soon, Harry found his two other friends. Harry talked happily to the both of them and thanked them for the presents they had sent him some time back. They were talking merrily and about to go into one of the shops when someone bumped into Harry. The man apologised hurriedly and then ran off, apparently in a rush. Harry lost his balance and was about to fall backwards onto the hard floor when he heard two gasps, and less than a second later he felt himself freeze in midair. He had closed his eyes for the impact but opened them again when he felt nothing. The first thing he saw was the furious gaze of Severus Snape.
"Enervate." Severus said after he had placed his hands under Harry. The moment the spell was lifted, he brought Harry back to an upright position. "Really, Potter, you don't have to save him the trouble of killing you, you know that." He said coldly. "And falling over like that. You're not that weak, are you?" In other words, 'Are you okay?'
Harry flushed. "Sorry."
"Professor Snape?" Hermione tried to confirm, finally snapping out of her shock.
"What." Severus barked, turning to glare at her.
"Professor, he didn't want to fall over. Someone pushed him by accident!"
"Mr. Weasley. I suggest you keep that mouth of yours shut unless you want to lose house points the moment you return to Hogwarts." He snapped to Ron, glaring. Without letting them say anything, he left them.
"Geez, Harry, what has he got against you? That greasy git."
Harry kept quiet.
"Severus?" A grunt. "Thank you... for earlier."
"Hn. You really ought to keep your eyes open. I might not be there all the time to keep you out of trouble. The next time I leave you alone, who knows? I might come back to find you unconscious, knocked out cold."
Harry couldn't help it. He grinned. Severus' words sounded so much softer when they were alone as compared to when they were with others. "I'll keep that in mind."
"I don't see what's so funny, Potter."
"Yes, nothing indeed." But the smile stayed.
Severus frowned, but decided to ignore it. "I suppose you'd be going to sleep now?"
"Yeah. Tiring day out."
"I can see that. I don't know how the three of you can just keep running around the place like that. Haven't you guys have anything better to do?"
"Not really. I'll go and sleep now." Harry said, walking towards Severus' or temporarily - their - bed. In a few minutes, Harry felt a body crawl into the bed as well, and Harry leant against it instinctively. Harry heard a soft sigh before he drifted off to sleep.
Severus woke up the next morning, feeling a weird rubbing motion on his thigh. He opened his eyes sleepily and they quickly snapped open at what he saw. Harry was still sleeping, but he was holding onto him as he thrust himself against Severus' thigh.
"Severus..." He heard the other moan, and he blushed a bright red. Just as he felt Harry was about to come, Harry stopped and stayed very still. Severus didn't dare to move, and he just stayed there, motionless. Suddenly, Harry started to jerk and twist his body, and he started to scream. Severus jumped at the sudden screaming, but quickly regained his wits, reaching out to hold onto Harry.
"Harry, it's me. Severus. I won't hurt you." Severus cooed softly in Harry's ear. Harry calmed down and then finally all that was heard was his irregular breathing. Severus finally dared to shake Harry. "Wake up, Harry."
Harry shook his head, and then opened his eyes slowly. They were unfocused, but after some time, they focused on Severus. When they did, a bright red tinged his cheeks. "S... Severus?"
Severus sighed. "Yeah, it's me. What happened? You haven't had a nightmare in weeks. Why did it suddenly start up again?"
"I'm not very sure..."
"Not very sure?" Harry's face burned again, and Severus knew straight away that the other was keeping something from him. He frowned. "Potter, out with it."
"I... It's not something I can just say out like that."
"Try it slowly."
Harry broke eye contact. "If you want..." Harry sighed, closing his eyes. "I don't know... I was just... indulging... you know..."
"Yeah." Severus prompted.
"And then... I felt guilty.... Very guilty... and suddenly, everything stopped... and the nightmares came back at full speed."
Severus frowned again. Psychology wasn't something Severus was good at. "So, it's all in the mind? You feel guilty about it and the nightmares return?"
"I... I think so..."
"Oh. I suppose it's too personal to tell me what it was about?"
"Erm... you know... it's normal..." Harry's face burned even brighter than ever. "Wet dreams... you know..."
"Why would that make you guilty?"
"It wasn't what it was about... it was... who... and... it wasn't just sex... it was... making love... real love..." The red never lifted from his face.
"... You're feeling guilty because you're indulging yourself in love... I don't see why you should. You, of all people, deserve it." If it were possible, the red colour on his cheeks deepened. "I'm serious." A long pause. "I think the only way to solve this little problem is for you to face it. You should tell that person." Then sensing that Harry was feeling uncomfortable, he added as a joke, "And get laid."
Harry jerked his head up. "What??"
By now Severus could feel the heat radiating from Harry's cheeks. He laughed. "I was joking about the part about getting laid. But from the looks of it, maybe you do need it."
"Severus!!" At that moment, Harry suddenly became conscious of the hardness that was still between his legs. He quickly pulled himself away from the other's arms and then got out of the bed. "I... I'll be back soon... I need to use the toilet... Drank too much just now, I think..." With that said, he moved out of the room, leaving Severus to wonder to himself.
He knew better than to believe that Harry had 'drank too much', but he wouldn't say anything about it to the other if he wasn't comfortable with telling him about it.
Severus noticed that when Harry returned, his movements were hesitant and he had suddenly turned shy. When Harry climbed back into bed slowly, Severus reached out and pulled him close, causing Harry to gasp and stiffen. "Merlin, Harry, there's no reason for you to turn so shy all of a sudden." Harry kept quiet. "Is something the matter?"
"N... No..."
Severus stroked his hair. "Then go back to sleep... It's only 2 in the morning." Harry nodded, but Severus could feel that he was still as stiff as ever. Severus frowned. "Harry, if you want to go to sleep, you have to relax."
Harry shook his head.
Severus pulled away from Harry and looked at him in the face. He was surprised to see Harry with his eyes tightly closed and his face as red as a tomato. "Harry, what's wrong?"
"N... Nothing."
Severus' frown deepened, and he decided to forgo the gentle approach. "Spit it out before I get angry." Harry started to tremble, and Severus sighed. " Both of us aren't going to get any sleep tonight until you get this off your chest."
"What... What if..." Harry bit his lip.
"Yes?" Severus prompted.
"What if I said that I was... dreaming... of..." Harry trailed off, and his hand clutched onto a portion of Severus' shirt.
"Dreaming of?"
"dreaming of... you..." Harry said so softly that Severus had to strain his ears to hear it. Severus stared at Harry in surprise. "What if I said that I'm in love with you?"
Noticing that Harry was losing his nerves from the silence that followed, Severus allowed himself to speak. "Was that it?"
Harry snapped his head up to look at Severus. "What?"
Severus leaned forward to kiss Harry on the lips gently. Harry's eyes widened, and by the time he recovered from the shock, Severus had pulled away from him. "Go to sleep. We'll talk about this tomorrow. You need your rest now."
However, they hadn't talked about it the next day nor the days after that. Before they knew it, school had resumed, and Harry had to move back to the Gryffindor common room.
"Well then, I'll see you in the Great Hall later." Severus said when they reached the Gryffindor common room.
"Severus!" Harry called when Severus was about to leave.
"Yes?"
"It'll... It'll be hard for me to start calling you Professor Snape again..."
"You'll have to anyway. I won't have you calling me by my first name in class."
Harry smiled. "Yeah. I'll see you later then."
"Hn." Severus then walked away.
When Harry was seated in the Great Hall, he couldn't seem to concentrate on anything. He stared at the doors of the Great Hall, waiting for the students to pour in. After what seemed like eternity, the doors opened and groups of students started to enter. His eyes scanned the crowd and smiled when he saw Ron and Hermione. He had so many things to tell them that it was going to be hard to know where to start.
"Hey, mate! It's been so long. Doing fine?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Ron."
"Hi Harry, how was your holidays?"
That triggered something off within Harry and he froze. "I... I have to talk to the two of you..." When he saw both their expressions, he quickly added, "But we'll do that later. Now isn't the right time or place." Both of them nodded, but cast him a look that clearly said, 'you have some explaining to do later'. Harry smiled at the both of them and turned back to face the front of the front of the Great Hall as the students settled down and Dumbledore stood up to give one of his nonsensical speeches. Harry paid no attention to him and looked at the line of first years who were waiting nervously. One boy caught his attention. He was brown-haired and was very quiet. He had his eyes glued to the floor and never said a word to anyone around him. Finally, he looked up and walked to the front of the hall. That was when Harry realised that the sorting had already started for some time. He sat on the stool with the sorting hat on his head. For some time, the hat didn't say anything. Harry knew at once that the boy was going through the same thing that he did when he was in year one... except... where would he end up in?
"GRYFFINDOR!!" The boy took the hat off and broke out in a run towards the Gryffindor table. His face betrayed no emotion that he felt on the inside, but one look at his eyes and Harry could see a mixture of relief and fear. Quickly, he motioned for the boy to come over to sit next to him. He caught the movement and for the first time, their eyes met. His eyes were brown, as were his hair. He hesitantly walked over to their side and Harry ignored Ron and Hermione's looks of confusion. However, Harry knew that they would not act coldly to a Gryffindor first-year on his first day here. True enough, as soon as the boy sat down, Ron and Hermione smiled at him and introduced themselves.
"What's your name?" Harry asked gently. He raised his head but before he could even face Harry, he froze and looked down again. Harry quickly looked up to where he had faced earlier and saw a Slytherin staring at them, or more accurately, at the boy. "Malfoy." Harry hissed. Immediately, Ron and Harry turned to look behind them. They turned back soon enough with a scowl on their face.
"Don't care about that ferret, ... err, sorry, what do I call you?"
"Derek, Derek Walton."
"I'm Harry Potter." Harry said softly to the boy, introducing himself. The boy jerked his head up and suddenly looked at him in surprise.
"Harry... Potter?" He stood all of a sudden and made to move away when Harry pulled him back down.
"Hey, what's the matter? I'm not going to do anything to you. What's wrong?"
"Yeah, I never knew Harry had a bad reputation. Why're you so scared?" Ron asked, almost demanding.
"Derek, is something wrong?"
Derek reluctantly sat back down, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get away. "N... nothing... it's just that... I was expected to be in Slytherin..."
Ron and Hermione looked shocked, but Harry kept his composure. "Let me guess, you pleaded with the hat not to sort you in Slytherin?" Harry whispered so that only Derek could hear.
His eyes widened. "How... how did you know? Did you... Could you hear? Oh no... my family's going to kill me if they find out..."
"Shh, Derek, calm down. No, we couldn't hear anything. It's just that," Harry lowered his voice again, "I did the exact same thing you did when I was sorted."
"You... you mean... which house were you meant to be in?" Derek asked just as softly.
"Same as you. Slytherin." Harry smiled, then brought his voice back to the usual loudness. "Listen, if you ever have any problem, don't hesitate to look for me, alright?"
"Yeah, you're our friend now." Ron supplied.
Hermione smiled. "I can even tutor you in your studies."
"Hermione!" Ron and Harry said exasperatedly. Derek chuckled.
"Thank you." The three gryffindors turned to him and smiled.
"You're welcome." They said together.
When they finally started on the feast, Harry looked up to look for Malfoy at the Slytherin table and he saw Severus at the staff table. His mood changed instantly. He quickly brought his attention back to his food, but he felt as though his appetite had left him. "Are you okay?" A shy voice cut through his thoughts.
Harry turned to Derek and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Who's that?"
"Huh? Who?"
"The man you were looking at up there." He was about to point to Severus but Harry pulled his hand down.
"He's Professor Snape. The Potions Master of Hogwarts and the head of Slytherin house."
"How's he like?"
Harry chuckled. "He can be quite scary, especially during class." He bent over to whisper in Derek's ear. "But he can be nice and somewhat caring too. But don't tell anyone I told you that."
Derek nodded, and looked up at the staff table. A shudder racked through his body. "I... I agree he's scary..." He stuttered.
"Hm?"
"He's looking this way... and not looking very happy."
Harry turned to look at where Derek was looking at and his breath caught. The intensity he saw in Severus' eyes was something he hadn't seen before. Their eyes broke contact as Severus looked away.
"...arry?? Hey, mate, are you listening?"
Harry turned to look at his two friends. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"
Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "Is what you wanted to tell us something to do with Professor Snape?"
Harry turned a slight red. "Erm... Yes, and no." He sobered up. "Actually, I..." his voice hitched. "I'll tell you guys later."
Derek looked at Harry. "Can you tell me too?" Harry looked at him in surprise, forgetting for a moment that he was there. He could see the obvious worry and concern in Derek's eyes, and he smiled nervously.
"I... I don't know..." Derek was disappointed, and as much as he tried to hide it, Harry could read it in his eyes. He sighed in resignation. "If you promise not to tell anyone."
Derek smiled. "Not on my life."
Harry sighed. "All right then. Later. In the dormitories." He looked up and saw Hermione and Ron's puzzled expression and he shook his head. "I'll explain everything later. Every single thing. Please don't ask me now."
Hermione and Ron nodded. "You owe us some explanation."
"Yeah. I know."
For the rest of the feast, Harry couldn't concentrate on his food. Instead, his thoughts kept wandering to a certain professor, and to how he was going to break the news of what happened to his three friends. All too soon, the feast ended.
After they reached the dormitory, unpacked and settled down, they went to Ron's room. Since he was a prefect and three quarters of them were guys, they decided to use Ron's room instead of Hermione's. After settling down and casting a few silencing wards, the three of them looked at Harry. "You're sure you guys want to know?"
Three nods. However, Ron and Hermione were looking at Derek. Derek seemed to notice this and his face turned red. "I'm sorry... I know I don't really know you guys... if you don't want me here, I can..." He stood up to leave, his face crestfallen, and Ron and Hermione quickly stopped him.
"I'm sorry, Derek. It's just that... Harry seldom tells us these kind of things... and we're his best friends. And you suddenly appear and he seems to be so open to you, I guess we're just... jealous. I'm sorry."
"Hermione... I'm sorry. I really don't mean to hide anything from you guys... and as for Derek... I don't know... I just feel like the both of us have a lot in common... and we just get along really well without even knowing why."
Ron sighed. "We're sorry, Derek." He reached out and pulled Derek back down to sit next to him. "We'll try to be more understanding. All right, now, Harry. Spill."
Harry took a deep breath. "I don't really know how to start... but you know... after Sirius died?" Ron and Hermione winced, not liking how this was going. "The Dursleys heard about it and... they treated me worse and worse... and... they, well, according to Professor Snape, abused me. I always thought that it was just what I deserved. After all, I was the cause of..."
"No, Harry. You're not to blame for any of it. Sirius' death is not your fault! Get that in your head!" Hermione interrupted him.
Harry smiled. "Thanks, 'mione."
"Erm... I'm sorry... but are you talking about... Sirius Black?"
Harry nodded. "He's my godfather."
"And... the Dursleys?"
"My muggle relatives."
"Oh... They..."
"They're anti-magic."
"Oh. I... I see."
"Anyway, I was brought back to Hogwarts by Professor Snape because it wasn't safe for me to stay there anymore... Lucius Malfoy is trying to become the next Dark Lord, and after Snape knew about what the Dursleys did to me, he refused to let me go back to them."
Ron snickered. "Who knew Snape had a heart?"
Harry glared at him. "He didn't know that I heard him say that. He was talking to Dumbledore and I kind of... eavesdropped."
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Oh, bugger it, 'mione. Harry didn't mean any harm."
"Yeah, and well... I've been having nightmares... and..." his face turned a slight pink. "he's been helping me to overcome them. In fact, I think he's the only one who has the ability to make the nightmares go away without the use of a sleeping draught."
Ron and Hermione stared at him while Derek looked at him with interest. "And... what's bothering you now?"
"I... I'm afraid that the nightmares may return..."
Ron and Hermione smiled. "If that happens, I'll get Professor Snape," said Hermione.
"And I'll get McGonagall." Ron offered.
Derek looked distressed. "Erm... And I'll..."
"...stay out of the way." Harry looked at Derek seriously. "I don't want you running to my side, you understand?"
"But... why?"
Harry sighed. "When Snape first tried to get me to wake up, I somehow released a magic blast and threw him across the room into the wall. And he wasn't even doing anything."
Their mouths dropped. "You... what?"
"I didn't have any control."
"That's serious, Harry." Hermione said seriously.
"I know... but I'm fine when I'm with the professor. He knows how to handle me."
Ron gave him a sympathetic look. "Has it been horrible with Snape the last few weeks?"
Harry frowned. "No. Not at all. He's been quite civil. Of course, there's still the quarreling and biting remarks and sarcastic tones and..."
"I think we get the picture, Harry."
"Well, yeah. But that's just part of him."
"I still think he's a git."
Harry laughed. "People have different opinions. Though I have to admit, he can be quite a git sometimes, especially during class." He turned to Derek, "don't expect him to be any less than intimidating tomorrow, okay?"
Derek nodded. "But... aren't the both of you prefects?" Derek asked, looking at Ron and Hermione.
"Yeah, so what's the problem with that?" Ron asked.
"Oh no... you're right. We're prefects."
"So?" Ron asked again, starting to get irritated.
Harry frowned. "Bugger. You're both prefects."
"Will someone tell me what's wrong with us being prefects?!" Ron shouted.
"Ron! Use your brain. We're prefects. Our rooms are away from the others. So if Harry does get nightmares, we'll be somewhere else. How can we call the professors if we don't even know that Harry's having a nightmare?"
Ron froze. "You're right..."
Suddenly, Derek smiled. "I know! I can call the both of you. Then I can go and call for Professor McGonagall or something. I'll have to call Ron..." he stopped. "Erm... sorry, may I call you by your first names?"
Ron and Hermione laughed. "Of course you can."
"Erm... yeah, so I have to call Ron first since his rooms are nearer to the boy's dormitories, and then I can call Hermione since it's on the way."
Hermione smiled. "I can keep the other Gryffidors back in case they get hurt, and anyway, I am the head girl. It would be my duty."
"So that just leaves the two of you. One of you will have to get Snape, and the other will have to get McGonagall." Harry said pointedly at the two boys.
"That's not a problem, Harry. They don't have a choice since Derek doesn't know where Professor Snape's quarters are. Ron will have to go to look for him in the dungeons."
"What?! You're kidding me!"
Hermione glared at Ron. "No, I'm not. You can't expect Derek to get lost while looking for Professor Snape, can you?"
Ron pouted. "All right..."
"Thank you." Harry said. "I appreciate all this."
The three smiled, though Ron did so rather reluctantly. "No problem."
"In that case, I think we better get back to our rooms. It's approaching curfew."
"Yes, Hermione."
"Bye Ron." Derek said softly, before running to join the duo who were leaving.
"Goodnight." Hermione and Harry said to Ron, before they left with Derek.
"BOY!! Haven't I told you that you're not allowed to use magic in this house!!"
"But I didn't."
"Well then, why would Dudley say you did?!"
Harry sighed inwardly. He should have known. "I really didn't. He tripped on the telephone wire and fell. It had nothing to do with magic."
Vernon's face turned a bright red, and Harry froze in terror. "SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT DUDLEY IS LYING?!!"
"N... no... I'm just saying that... that... it's a misunderstanding..."
Vernon entered a room, and Harry backed up against the wall as Vernon emerged out a few seconds later with a whip in hand. "I... I'm sorry Uncle Vernon..."
"YOU'RE SORRY?! YOU'D BETTER BE!! I WON'T HAVE YOU ATTACKING DUDLEY AND KILLING HIM LIKE YOU DID TO YOUR GODFATHER!!" He lifted the whip and then brought it down on Harry, sending him screaming.
A loud scream pierced through the boy's dormitories. Derek bolted out of bed abruptly and ran to the sixth year dormitory. Sure enough, Harry was having a nightmare. He quickly turned and ran in the direction of the prefects' rooms. He banged on Ron's door and shouted as loud as he could. "Ron!! Harry's having a nightmare!! You have to get Snape now!! " No sooner had he said that, the door opened to show a very messy Ron.
He only stayed long enough to nod at Derek before he ran off in the direction of the dungeons. Derek wasted no time and ran to look for Hermione. After Hermione left her rooms for the boy's dormitories, he sprinted to McGonagall's quarters. "Professor! Professor McGonagall!!"
The room door opened. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed now?"
"Harry! Harry... he's..." Derek took a deep breath, and realised that 'Harry's having a nightmare' sounded like a silly reason for why he should be running to her.
"What's wrong with Potter?"
"He... he's having nightmares... and... he had them during the holidays and only Professor Snape can help him. If anyone else tries to get near him, he... I don't know... but I heard that he sent a magic blast at Professor Snape during the holidays that threw him across the room. And it was when he was having a nightmare..."
McGonagall frowned. "I'll call for Professor Snape."
"Ron went to call him already. I... I was to get you."
"All right then, let's go." She walked briskly towards the common room. "You're a first year, aren't you?"
"Err... yes, 'mam."
"Mr. Walton, was it?"
Derek nodded, and neither said anything for the rest of the journey.
When they reached the common room, McGonagall found the whole population crowding by the door of Harry's room. "All of you! Get back to bed now!!" Immediately, the whole group of them turned to look at her and quickly scurried back to their own rooms. She heard screaming and then noticed Dean on the floor.
"Professor McGonagall! I got the rest to stay out of the way but Dean was hit by an energy blast before I managed to get here. And Professor Snape just came a few seconds ago." Hermione said frantically.
McGonagall looked around. "Mr. Finnigan, please take him to the hospital wing." Seamus stepped forward and practically dragged Dean out of the room. No more than a second later, someone flew across the room and into the wall. "Severus!"
A few screams were heard. "All of you! Stay back!" He hissed, standing up again. "Minerva, get them out of the room now. I'll handle this."
McGonagall nodded, turning around. "You heard him. Get out. All of you. Wait downstairs." All of them filed out. As soon as they were gone, Severus approached Harry again.
"Harry... I'm Severus. I won't hurt you..." He said softly as soon as he was by his bedside. "Listen. I'm Severus." He reached out a hand and touched Harry's forehead. "I'm here..." He sat down by the side of the bed and then pulled Harry into an embrace. The tossing and squirming lessened immediately. Severus stroked his hair a few times, and Harry stopped his fit totally after a while. Severus sighed, and then carried Harry up in his arms, walking out of the room. "I'm bringing him to Poppy." He said to McGonagall as he passed her at the door.
"Severus!"
"Yes?"
"Stay with him tonight."
"Do I have a choice?" Severus snorted before stalking out of the Gryffindor common room.
"Pro... Professor... may we..."
"No, you may not, Mr. Walton. Nor you, Mr. Weasley. You will both return to your rooms now and go back to sleep." She turned to the rest of the Gryffindors. "As will all of you. Get back to bed now."
I should have known this was coming, Severus thought on the way to the infirmary. "Poppy!"
"Yes, Severus? Harry!"
"Yes, the boy had another nightmare." Pomfrey understood perfectly as Severus had informed her of what had happened during the holidays just before school had started in the event that it happened again.
"Put him on the bed."
Severus nodded and then brought him to a bed, laying him down. However, Harry refused to let go of his cloak. "Poppy, we have a problem."
"What is it now, Severus?" Pomfrey looked at the two of them. "Oh. I see. Hmm... I think you'd have to bring him inside to the private beds." Severus sighed, and then carried him in. He busied himself by taking both their shoes off, ignoring Pomfrey's look. "Forget it Poppy, trying to get him to let go of me won't work. I've tried." He then climbed into bed with Harry. He frowned as Harry snuggled closer to him. "Poppy, keep everyone out until we're rid of this... problem."
Pomfrey smiled. "Sure thing, Severus. I'll make sure you two aren't disturbed. Oh, you know what to give him if anything happens in the night, right? Everything is in the drawer."
Severus nodded. Flashing him one last smile, she left them alone. "Harry." A small movement. "Harry?" No reaction. "Potter!" He said loudly, but not enough to scare the other.
"Huh?"
"We need to solve this problem."
"Hnn... What problem?" Harry snuggled even closer.
"This problem. We can't have you needing me by your side every night."
Harry slowly opened his eyes. "What?" He looked into Severus' eyes and then quickly let go. "I'm sorry! I didn't..."
Severus rolled his eyes. "No point getting worked up now. We've done this the whole holidays. And there's no one here now."
Harry nodded, and his arms worked their way around Severus again. Severus raised an eyebrow in question. "I feel more comfortable like this..." He supplied.
"I'm sure."
"Don't worry. This doesn't happen all the time. Tonight was just... Tonight..." He suddenly looked up. "Severus, did I hurt anyone?"
"You threw one of your roommates and I across the room. I forgot about your tendency to do that, and I blindly rushed to your side in my haste. As for your dorm-mate, he's fine. He's outside in the main ward right now resting."
Harry reached up to touch the back of Severus' head. "Merlin, I hurt you again... Why isn't it tended to?"
Severus took Harry's hand and pulled it away. "I forgot about it. I'll go get a potion for the both of us. You were screaming quite loudly just now. I suppose your throat is sore by now."
Harry nodded, shifting so that Severus could leave the bed. Severus came back after a while and drowned a potion before handing the other to Harry. "Thank you." He uncapped it and held his breath, swallowing its contents in one gulp. After he was done, he placed the bottle on the bedside table and then settled himself in Severus' arms again. "Severus?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I should be recovering soon."
"Hn. Recovering? I sure hope so. I don't think I can stop myself from sending you to detention and taking a hundred points off Gryffindor the next time you throw a magic blast at me."
Harry chuckled. "I was worse before, remember? I don't think you forgot the amount of blood that was on you the last time I did it to you. I sure remember it as clear as day. At least it's not as bad now... I think I've managed to control myself better now."
"Thank Merlin. Now go to sleep."
Harry nodded, closing his eyes. "Goodnight, Severus." He whispered, breathing in the other's scent.
"Goodnight."
"Harry, wake up. It's morning and you need to get ready for classes." Harry could hear every word, but he didn't move at all, too tired to do so. "Your friends and... boyfriend's going to get worried."
Harry's eyes snapped open. "What boyfriend? Since when did I have a boyfriend I knew nothing of?" Severus looked somewhat hurt. "Well, other than you. You're the only person that's anywhere near to being my 'boyfriend', but I doubt that you'll find it flattering if I called you that."
"What about that year one? The both of you were acting so intimately during the feast."
Harry's eyes widened. "You mean Derek? I just met him yesterday! We just hit it off really well, and we have a lot in common, so... wait. Severus, are you jealous?"
"Abosolutely not!! What nonsense!" However, Severus couldn't stop himself from asking, "But, what is it that the both of you have in common that your bond is so strong?"
"We... understand each other. And he is the only other person I've seen that went through the same thing as I did when we were being sorted. He's like my younger brother or something. The both of us begged the hat not to put us in Slytherin even though we were supposed to be sorted there, and both of us ended up in Gryffindor. As for the 'intimacy' you accused me of, I was only telling him about my going through the same thing as he did. Ron and Hermione knew nothing of the fact that I was to be sorted in Slytherin, and I wanted to keep it that way. So both of us were whispering."
"You were supposed to be in Slytherin?" Severus asked, shocked.
"Yeah. But at that time, I heard that all Slytherins were bad. And I didn't want to be in that house." Severus' eyes hardened and Harry tightened his hold on the older man. "But that was then. I don't believe that now." Severus said nothing. "Severus?"
"What."
"Was that why you were glaring at us last night during the feast?"
"No."
Harry had no idea how, but he knew that the other was lying when he said 'no'. "All right then, if you say so." The only answer he got was a glare. "You were saying something about getting up?"
"Yes, but I can't do so with you sprawled over me like that."
Harry blushed, realising their positions. Harry was almost fully on top of Severus, and his legs were draped over the other man. He quickly shifted and reluctantly moved away. They both sat up and Severus stretched. "Severus?"
"Hm?"
"I guess I'll see you later during Potions?"
"Yeah. 4th period if I remember correctly. I have a lesson with your... friend 2nd period."
"Severus, he's really nothing more than my friend."
"I never said I didn't believe you."
Harry sighed. "All right then." He looked at the clock, putting his glasses on. "Thanks for waking me."
"I'll see you later." Severus said, putting his shoes on and throwing on his cloak. "I have to prepare for lessons and eat breakfast."
"Yeah. See you later."
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A/N: I present to you - Chapter 4!! And a new character to the mix! Was it too long? Anyway, please review! I'll really appreciate it!
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Thank yous:
Desdemona321, Sylvanus Snape & Dracula5555: Thank you =) Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. I won't be updating so fast and regularly sometime in the near future though... I've got my exams coming up. -.-;;
