Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's stuff. I am also not responsible for any typos that may occur. Oh wait, whoops, I am. But that sounded really good, didn't it?
Chapter 5 – Birthday Surprises
Harry slammed his History of Magic summer homework onto the floor with finality, and proceeded to also knock off both his Transfiguration and Potions essay onto the floor before he felt that he had successfully made a statement. From her perch, Hedwig eyed him suspiciously.
"What?" he snapped at her, "If it was your birthday, you'd be mad too!"
She gave him a sympathetic hoot as he continued to mutter under his breath, gathering up his homework as he did so.
"...Dumbledore couldn't even let me have a proper birthday...seventeen...should be able to apparate...but no, not me, my life can't be that easy...haven't even gotten a present from Silver yet..."
He knew that his last statement was a bit ridiculous, seeing as he had just woken up, but all the same, he had been expecting to wake up and find her present waiting for him, but instead Hedwig had brought Ron and Hermione's. He was more than a bit disappointed.
"Hedwig, I'm going to hex the Dursleys," he announced.
She gave a few hoots which he took to mean as approval. And really, he did need somewhere to take out his anger – what better than the people who had locked him in a cupboard for eleven years of his life? He headed for the door, fully intending to carry out his threat, when Hedwig gave a screech most unlike her. He turned around, prepared to scold her, when he saw a familiar black owl hovering outside his window. Giving a whoop, he ran to it and shoved it open, not caring if he broke it off in his haste or not. Esperanza flew in and dropped the letter, which he had this time been carrying in his beak, into Harry's hand. Harry looked at it in confusion. Just a letter? She sent him letters every day...shouldn't it be different for his birthday?
Frowning, he opened the letter and slid out a folded piece of paper. It certainly looked like a letter. Pouting a bit, and knowing that Silver would scold him for doing so, he opened it and began to read.
Harry,
I know what you're thinking – just a letter? Well, I do have a present for you, but you can't have it until you come here – Esperanza couldn't carry it. And also, this letter is just as important as the present itself. Or at least, I hope you think it is. Turning seventeen is a special time for all wizards, and I see no reason why it shouldn't be for you. I know you're probably moping about right now, or hexing the living daylights out of the Dursleys, so I thought that this would make you feel a bit better. Happy seventeenth birthday, sweetie!
After reading the first few sentences, Harry already felt better. He read on eagerly, wanting to know exactly what was so important about the letter. He found out as his eyes landed on the next line.
Seventeen Reasons Why I Love You:
1. The way you say 'I love you'.
2. The way you make my heart stop beating completely when I look at you.
3. The look in your eyes when you're determined to do something – and nervous about it.
4. The way you make me feel safe just by being near you.
5. The look on your face when you realize that we're alone in a room.
6. Your hair. It's adorable.
7. The way you look as if you've just defeated Voldemort whenever I call you 'sweetie'. (sweetie!)
8. How scared you look whenever I start to cry.
9. The way you say 'darling'.
10. The way you look at me when you want to kiss me.
11. The way you play along with my 'guessing games'.
12. Your eyes. Sincere, and beautiful. Occasionally mischievous. See #5 for further details.
13. I trust you completely – and, well, you know that you're almost the only person that I do.
14. You always know what I want – how do you do that?
15. Alright, I'll say it. Don't go all teenage-guyish, though. I love the way you kiss me.
16. I miss you so much whenever you're not around. I want to be with you forever!
17. I love you because you're you.
I could keep going, but I'd miss you so much I'd break in two! I love you, sweetie, and I'll see you soon!
Love,
Silver XOXO
P.S. Have fun using magic around your family...but you didn't hear it from me!
Harry was grinning ear to ear as he finished the letter. The thought of Silver taking the time to write down seventeen reasons why she loved him made him want to jump with happiness. Not only was it an incredibly sweet thing to do, but the fact that it was Silver doing it made it all the more sweet. Not to mention that number sixteen gave him a bit more confident about a number of things he had previously been wondering about. And besides that, it was astounding that she could think up seventeen reasons not just to like, but to love him. In honor of the moment, he lay back on his bed for a few minutes, before deciding to take her ending advice to heart. Now that he wasn't in the mood to use Crucio, he could really have some fun with the Dursleys. After all, they had no idea that he was allowed to use magic...oh yes, this was going to be fun.
Opening his door and skipping towards the kitchen, where he heard the telltale clattering of dishes, he withdrew his wand, twirling it about happily. Once he entered, everyone froze. It was like a very bad silent movie. Aunt Petunia stopped tending to the eggs, Uncle Vernon crumpled the newspaper in the places he was holding it, and Dudley's mouth dropped open as he clapped his hands over his bottom. All of them were staring at the wand in his hand. He smirked at them as he wondered which spell to use that would thoroughly scare them.
"What...what...are you doing with that...thing?" Uncle Vernon hissed, his eyes the size of dinner plates.
"Nothing, yet," Harry replied cheerfully.
Aunt Petunia made a whimpering noise that heightened Harry's spirits as much as the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face.
"That school of yours...it'll kick you out!" he threatened, as if he knew a lot about Harry's school.
"Let's see it, then!" Harry exclaimed cheerfully, turning Dudley's sausage into a rat.
Dudley gave a rather girlish scream as he leapt up from the table, pointing with a shaking finger at the rat, who looked about to jump off of the plate. Harry transfigured it back just before it did, smirking at Dudley.
"Not hungry, Dudders?" he inquired.
Dudley gave a squeak of terror, and Harry knew that he was probably never going to eat a sausage again.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Uncle Vernon roared, his face a spectacular shade of purple.
"Magic," Harry replied simply, levitating the orange juice and pouring himself a cupful. "Accio Juice," he said boredly, allowing the glass to zoom into his hands, once again frightening the living daylights out of the Dursleys.
The Dursleys were watching with their mouths hanging open, as if they had absolutely no clue Harry was capable of doing magic.
"You...will...not," Uncle Vernon stammered finally, "In...my...house."
"Stop me," Harry challenged evenly.
For a moment, his uncle simply stared at him, until he rose from his chair, still gazing at Harry intensely, and strode from the room without a word. Dudley followed him, squeaking with fear, and Aunt Petunia was soon to follow in much the same manner. Feeling much better about himself in general, Harry began to make himself breakfast. He hadn't so much as made a piece of toast when a loud crack and a yelp from what was unmistakably Uncle Vernon caused his heart to soar. He dashed towards the source of the noise, and gave a whoop as he found Lupin standing in the front hallway. Lupin grinned at his reaction, and even more when he saw the wand in Harry's hand.
"Ready to come home, Harry?" he asked.
"Let's get my stuff!" Harry answered enthusiastically, causing Lupin to chuckle.
Lupin followed him upstairs and watched amusedly as Harry threw his things into his trunk, eventually causing an overflow before he was even halfway done.
"Hmph," Harry mumbled, shoving his things further down, "Need Silver for this."
"She does your packing for you?" Lupin inquired amusedly.
Harry grinned. "She did last time," he replied.
After a moment's debate, he decided to use an Enlargement Charm on his trunk, and managed to cram the rest of his belongings in there. He then turned to Lupin, grinning.
"Let's go!" he said enthusiastically.
Lupin chuckled. "Say goodbye, now," he said chidingly.
"Bye everyone!" Harry hollered at the top of his lungs, not bothering to elaborate.
Seeming satisfied, Lupin walked up and helped Harry grab onto his trunk. Then, placing his other hand on Harry's shoulder, Harry heard a small pop, and the next thing he knew, they were standing in the living room of Grimmauld Place.
"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks greeted from the couch.
"'Lo," Moody echoed from opposite her.
"Hello," Harry answered, feeling almost as cheerful as Dumbledore.
"Happy to be home?" Tonks inquired.
"Very," Harry confirmed.
Lupin took a seat on the couch next to Tonks, looking tired. Harry wondered if the full moon was close. He watched as Lupin turned to Tonks questioningly.
"Are Snape and Silver back yet?" he asked.
Back? Harry's mind echoed, Meaning that they're not here?
"No, not yet," Tonks replied with a sympathetic glance at Harry.
"Back from where?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore was taking them to look at a house," Moody supplied, sounding bored, "Another one."
"Another?" Harry echoed dumbly.
Lupin gave a snort of laughter, and Tonks giggled. "Yeah, Snape's a bit on the picky side," she said.
Harry got the feeling that was an understatement from the look on Moody and Lupin's faces.
"The Weasleys should be here soon, though," Lupin said, glancing at the clock.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and a myriad of voices could be heard outside.
"And here they are," Tonks said cheerfully, rising from the couch with Lupin to go let them in.
Harry tailed behind them, and the moment he entered the hall he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug from Mrs. Weasley.
"Happy birthday, darling," she gushed, squeezing him even tighter.
"Thanks," he choked, wondering if he would ever breathe again.
"Mum, let the poor boy go," one of the twins said from behind her, "I mean, I know he's made it to his seventeenth birthday and all, but he's not ready to die yet."
Harry couldn't tell if it had been both of the twins speaking or just one of them, but Mrs. Weasley abruptly let him go, beaming at him as she did so.
"Now don't you worry about not having a party today," she said in a chiding voice, "We're going to wait until everyone gets here to do that, alright sweetie?"
He grinned at her, nodding, and then winked at the twins as she proceeded to make her way towards the kitchen.
"Hey, Harry," Ron greeted.
"Hey," Harry replied, "Wanna help me get my trunk upstairs?"
"Sure," Ron said agreeably, following Harry to his oversized trunk.
"Enlargement Charm," Harry explained as he grabbed one end, and Ron the other, "Didn't want to bother with folding."
"So you'll just have Silver do it for you, right?" Ron sniggered.
"Probably," Harry admitted unashamedly.
"Where is she, anyhow?" Ron asked, looking around and peering into the bedrooms as they walked past.
"House-shopping with Snape," Harry said, a bit irritably.
"Oh," Ron said simply.
They set Harry's trunk down, and Harry looked up to find Ron looking at him oddly.
"What?" he asked.
"Well," Ron said, looking uncomfortable, "I was wondering if...maybe...we could talk...about stuff...later."
By this time, Ron's ears were a brilliant shade of red, and it was beginning to spread to his cheeks. Harry was momentarily puzzled, until he remembered him and Silver's talk at the Valentines Day Ball.
"Sure," Harry replied, "When did you have in mind?"
"Later," Ron mumbled, studying the ground intently, "Maybe tomorrow."
"Alright," Harry agreed, trying to look as if he were clueless, instead of amused.
He and Ron ended up walking down into the living room to join Fred, George, and Ginny, seeing as the adults had all congregated to the kitchen. Harry hardly paid attention to anything being said, waiting to hear the front door open and Silver to walk in. He was able to make out that Ron looked vaguely upset about something, but he wasn't paying attention enough to link it to Hermione's absence.
"Harry...earth to Harry...Harry?" George was saying, waving a hand in front of his face.
"Wha..." Harry said dreamily.
"She is going to come home, you know, but until she does, you could try to pay attention to what we're saying," Fred replied.
"Kay," Harry replied noncommittally.
Ginny giggled, and the twins rolled their eyes. Harry noted that Ron, like himself, seemed to be a bit out of it, and wondered if it had to do with the talk they were going to have.
"Say, Harry," Fred said suddenly, "I reckon you're going to have an even harder time getting her away from Snape."
"Why?" Harry asked, immediately snapping back to attention.
"She's refused to leave his side the whole summer," George replied, everybody suddenly becoming serious, "She wouldn't even go to Hermione's house. But it's not because of, well, whatever reason she usually is around him. She's actually scared to be without him."
"Why?" Harry questioned again.
Fred and George exchanged glances, and Ron, whom had been actually paying attention, looked at the ground. It was Ginny who spoke.
"Harry, whatever they did to her – it scared her," she said quietly.
"We heard Lupin talking once," George said hesitantly, "He was saying that she had nightmares."
"Every night," Fred added, "But we don't know, because we haven't actually spent a night here yet. Guess we'll find out tonight."
"She never said anything to me," Harry said slowly, more to himself than to the others.
"Us either," Ron replied suddenly, "We wouldn't have known anything if we hadn't heard Lupin, and then Snape the other day."
Ginny made a movement suspiciously like elbowing Ron, except she tried to make it look like an accident.
"What did Snape say?" Harry asked, fixing Ron with a look that clearly stated he had better reply truthfully.
"Well," Ron said hesitantly, "He said that Dumbledore didn't believe that Silver hadn't been...that she couldn't be...well, pregnant."
Harry's eyebrows rose. "Wouldn't he be able to tell if she were?" he asked uncomfortably.
"Well, he might, but Silver's so slender that it might not actually be noticeable until..." Ginny trailed off, shaking her head slightly.
Harry's mind was spinning with the information. "Why doesn't Dumbledore believe her?" he asked finally.
Ron gave a snort. "That's exactly what Snape said. He was so mad it wasn't even funny...well, at least not until afterwards."
Fred and George chuckled softly, but they still looked serious.
"She does seem happy, though," Fred commented, "Hasn't been depressed or anything, that I can see."
"Me either," George agreed, "And Snape's different. When he thinks no one's watching, that is."
At this, all four of the Weasleys sniggered. Harry almost made a reply when the sound of the doorknob turning caused them all to silence, and he was able to see for himself what they meant. The sound of Silver's laugh drifted through the doorway, and when she spoke, Harry was overcome with both a desire to see her, and the feeling that he should wait for her to see him.
"No, not green!" she exclaimed, "Your house was decorated in green before! It's too Slytherin!"
"It is not," Snape replied, sounding offended.
"Is too," she replied in a sing song voice, "What about-"
"No," Snape answered before she could finish, "I'm not putting bloody Gryffindor red in my house."
"It's not red," Silver protested, "It's...crimson!"
"I won't have it," Snape declared stubbornly.
"Oh, come on!" Silver begged, a smile evident in her voice.
"There's nothing wrong with green," Snape told her, "In fact, I quite like it, for your information."
"But you've gotten to have it ever since you had your house," Silver argued, "That's like...forever."
"Are you calling me old?" Snape inquired.
She giggled. "Yes," she replied.
Suddenly, she gave a squeal. "No!" she exclaimed, "No, I didn't mean it!"
Harry heard quick footsteps, and the sound of giggling. Silver suddenly appeared in the doorway, and stopped short when she saw them, her eyes wide with surprise. Snape came into view only a second later, nearly colliding into her.
"What are you d-"he began, but he stopped as he saw them.
Immediately, he straightened up and cleared his throat, his eyes passing over them with an air of superiority. Only when they came to Harry did he do a double-take.
"Potter," he said, shock evident in his voice.
"Harry!" Silver squealed, suddenly making a run for him.
He got up just in time to catch her in his arms as she pounced on him. "Harry," she murmured, "How did you get here? When? Why didn't you tell me? Did you-"
"Whoa, there," Harry said, tugging gently at her hair, "Too many questions. I got here this morning – Lupin apparated me over. I didn't know I was coming any more than you did."
"Oh," she said, her voice muffled due to the fact that her face was buried in his neck.
She pulled away, looking at him with a bit of a blush on her cheeks, although he wasn't sure why.
"Did you get my letter?" she asked shyly.
He felt a grin spreading over his face. "I did – thanks," he said, awkwardly aware of the others in the room.
She beamed at him and hugged him once more, and he wasn't sure if it was to hide her blush or just for the sake of hugging him. Snape cleared his throat, gaining the attention of both him and Silver. His eyes were focused questioningly on Silver.
"I'll...stay here," she said uncertainly.
He looked at Harry for a moment before nodding. "I'll be in the kitchen, no doubt," he told her, looking at Harry once more. "Behave yourself, Potter," he added menacingly before leaving. The change of tone in his voice talking to Silver compared to talking to Harry was nothing short of amazing.
As Snape left, Harry felt silver tense. He looked down at her to see that her eyes were looking anxiously at where Snape had disappeared. Apparently the twins hadn't been kidding.
"Hey," he said, touching her arm to get her attention, "Wanna sit down?"
She visibly jumped as he touched her, and her head whipped around almost accusingly, until she saw him. She smiled at his question, and nodded wordlessly. A bit puzzled, Harry walked over to the couch and sat down. Silver immediately snuggled up beside him, clinging to him as if she were afraid he would vanish at any moment.
Over the course of the day, Harry found that when in the same room as Snape, she would become completely at ease, but when separated from him, she latched herself onto Harry nervously, and flinched at the touch of anybody but him. After lunch, however, everybody adjourned to the living room, Snape included, and Harry chose an armchair in the back corner of the room for him and Silver to sit in. She willingly climbed onto his lap, giving him a slightly mischievous smile as she placed her arms around his neck.
"So," she murmured softly, bringing her face close to his, "Did you miss me?"
Without giving him a chance to answer, she pressed her lips against his. Harry immediately pulled her close to him, something that he hadn't been able to do the entire summer. Abruptly, she pulled away, much to his disappointment. She giggled softly at the look on his face.
"Come on," she whispered, taking him by the hand and pulling him up from the chair.
Willingly he followed her, not missing the way she made sure Snape wasn't watching before pulling him from the room and towards the kitchen.
"Where are we going?" he inquired curiously as she pulled him past the table.
"Backyard," she replied simply.
He grinned widely. "To those hidden places you wrote me about?" he asked.
She giggled. "Mm-hmm," she replied as she pulled the door open, "Thought we'd do a bit of exploring. But you have to be quite, because Charisma's napping, and she won't leave us alone if she wakes up."
Harry nodded, and saw what she meant as he stepped outside with her. Charisma, now fully grown, was sleeping much in the same position as a dog, her sides moving peacefully up and down. Putting a finger to her lips, Silver led him past the sleeping animal and towards a patch of trees. Upon entering, Harry saw what she meant by magically expanding – it was like entering a forest. She led him to a pile of gigantic boulders, set up in a kind of triangle on the grass.
"Come here," she told him, kneeling and crawling in.
He tried very hard not to look at her as she crawled in, for the thoughts that were going through his head had nothing to do whatsoever with 'exploring'...at least not the forest. As he followed her through, he found himself in what must have been a magically expanded cave. They were surrounded by rock, but the ground was soft and mossy. There was a bit of light filtering through where they had just crawled, but not nearly enough to see anything.
"Where are you?" he asked, squinting.
"Right here," she replied, kissing him playfully.
He reached for her, only to find that she wasn't there. "Hey," he protested, groping around in the darkness for her.
He felt her arms slide around him from behind, and she giggled in his ear.
"Looking for something?" she inquired.
"Not anymore," he replied, twisting around and pulling her into his arms.
"Cheater," she accused against his lips.
"Want me to let you go?" he replied, having no intentions of actually doing so.
"Mm, no," she assured him, "But I would appreciate it if you'd stop talking."
He grinned as he bent to kiss her, not about to argue with her when she was in such a good mood. She pushed one of her hands through his hair, her other one gently caressing the side of his face. Suddenly and without warning, she deepened the kiss, pulling him to her with passion. He felt himself leaning forwards, and through doing so, pushing her downwards. Immediately accommodating him, she pulled him down with her as she fell backwards, her eyes glittering with anticipation. He gave a low growl as he lowered his lips to hers, placing one hand in her hair and the other on her waist. He had missed her for so long, and now her scent was intoxicating him, her arms welcoming him, and her every curve tempting him.
"God I missed you," he murmured against her lips, the hand on her waist tightening.
"I know," she replied breathlessly, kissing him softly, "Trust me."
He hovered above her for a moment before rolling onto his side, facing her. She definitely looked disappointed, much to his amusement.
"Your letter," he said quietly, tugging on her waist.
"I meant everything," she told him, snuggling up against him.
"It would have gotten me through the summer," he replied.
She looked up at him, smiling. "Really?" she asked.
"Really," he confirmed, kissing her briefly.
"Well," she began, playfully fiddling with his shirt, "Now that you're here..."
She was cut short by the sound of a voice that was unmistakably Snape's echoing through the backyard.
"Silver! Stop snogging Potter and get in here!" he yelled irritably.
She burst into giggles. "Did he just say snogging?" she asked through laughter as she got up.
"I think so," Harry replied, not nearly as amused at the idea of leaving the rather cozy cave.
He followed her out of the opening, to find that the forest had suddenly become much too bright for his liking. As he got up, Silver linked hands with his, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Try to look innocent when we get to the house," she advised.
"Thanks for the advice," he replied wryly.
When they entered, Snape was glaring at Harry with every ounce of hatred in him, and everyone else was smirking slightly. Silver leaned over and whispered quietly into his ear.
"See you later, sweetie," she said, kissing him on the cheek before bounding cheerily over to Snape.
He glared down at her for only a moment before softening and setting a hand on her head. "Come, child," he said quietly, turning towards the stairs and removing his hand.
With a glance over her shoulder and a wave at Harry, Silver happily followed him, bouncing on each stair her foot landed on. He reluctantly turned away from her and walked over to where Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny where snickering.
"You should've seen the look on his face when he realized you two were gone!" Ron crowed, "I thought he was going to use a summoning charm on Silver!"
Harry snorted at the thought of Snape summoning Silver to him. In a way, it wouldn't surprise him.
"He's awfully clingy to her, is what he is," he said defiantly, leaning back against the couch.
"I think that's the most they've been apart all summer, Harry," Ginny replied, "You should feel honored for being the reason. Or maybe scared..."
Harry grinned, and then looked out towards the stairs again. "Where'd they go?" he wondered aloud.
"We won't see 'em again 'til dinner," George volunteered, "They never come downstairs until breakfast, and sometime before dinner they either go to Diagon Alley, Dumbledore's office, or upstairs to work on some type of potion or another. They come back exactly at dinnertime. Then, they sit in the living room. Snape reads a book and Silver falls asleep on the couch next to him."
Harry frowned. Dinner seemed like a long time away. "She'll come down before then," he said confidently.
George just shrugged, and challenged Ginny to a game of Wizard's Chess. Nobody looked very believing of Harry's statement.
Harry realized why some few hours later, when neither Silver nor Snape had come back downstairs. As he walked into the kitchen, he mumbled incessantly about being too clingy, not sure if he was talking about Snape or Silver. The others seemed to find this amusing, especially George, who had a look on his face that as good as shouted 'I told you so!' After everyone had sat down, the door opened and, amazingly, Snape walked in unaccompanied. Everyone looked shocked, including Snape, as his eyes scanned the table to find no Silver.
"Where is she?" he demanded suspiciously.
"Right here!" Silver sang out suddenly, bursting through the door and enveloping him in a hug from behind.
Looking relieved, Snape patted her arms where they lay around him. "Alright now, sit down," he ordered, attempting to sound annoyed.
She chose the chair across from Harry, and Snape sat down beside her. Harry was a bit annoyed that she hadn't sat next to him, and he speared a piece of chicken with particular vigor after Mrs. Weasley had set his plate down in front of him. Suddenly, he felt something rubbing gently up and down his leg. He choked on the chicken, causing everyone to stare at him. Gulping down the juice that had been presented to him, he chanced a glance at Silver. She was wearing a satisfied smirk that she quickly replaced with a look of utter innocence as she looked at him. For the remainder of dinner, the two played at that game, each retaining a cool, calm exterior as they ate, while, although occasionally Silver would burst into giggles. All in all, Harry completely forgave her for her absence as of earlier during the meal, which he found was particularly enjoyable.
After dinner, Silver sat with him and the Weasleys for a good time as Snape sat at the end of one couch, reading a book. She began to yawn more and more frequently as the hours ticked by, and seemed to be struggling to stay awake. Finally, she gave a small sigh and gave Harry an apologetic glance.
"I'm going to go to bed," she announced.
"Night," everyone chorused.
"Night everyone, night Harry," she said, leaning forwards to give him a kiss goodnight.
He smiled at her as she drew away, and she smiled back sleepily. When she got up, instead of heading for the stairs, she made a beeline for Snape's couch. He looked up from his book as she approached, at first looking annoyed at being disturbed, and then amused.
"A bit tired, are we?" he inquired.
"G'night," she replied sleepily, placing a pillow beside him and laying down there.
Snape took the liberty of levitating some blankets over her already sleeping figure, and then went back to reading his book. Harry watched with a mixture of confusion and jealousy. He wouldn't have minded if she had fallen asleep next to him.
"This happens every night?" he inquired.
"Without fail," Fred confirmed.
"I think it's cute," Ginny volunteered.
"I think it's disgusting," Ron replied, "He's way too nice to her."
Harry just shook his head. The four stayed up for another couple of hours before Ginny left, too tired to continue, and it was only a matter of minutes before Harry and Ron followed suit. All in all, Harry supposed it had been a very nice birthday, although he hadn't had a party. All that really mattered to him was that he was no longer at the Dursleys, and he was with Silver. He couldn't help but be troubled thinking of what had been reported to him as far as her fears went. If she couldn't handle a day without Snape, how was she going to make it through school – it wasn't as if she could sit in Potions class all day long, every day. He continued to think about her for a very long time, until he was somewhere in between wakefulness and sleep. He vaguely heard the door creak open, and saw some light reflecting on the wall, but he figured it was just Mrs. Weasley checking on them. Immediately he feigned sleep, attempting to make his breathing deep and even. As such, he was extremely shocked when he felt warm breath on his neck, followed shortly by a soft kiss.
"You're bad at faking sleep, did you know that?" Silver asked curiously.
He rolled over to be greeted with a very pleasant vision, indeed. Silver was smiling at him, dressed in her pajamas, which were rather attractive. They consisted of what appeared to be very soft pants, and a spaghetti strap top that fit her very well. He grinned at her, reaching up a hand to brush her hair out of her face.
"Nah, nobody's ever told me," he said in answer to her question.
She looked at him a moment, seeming to consider him thoughtfully, before reaching out and pulling back his covers slightly. He watched with a mixture of amazement and surprise as she slid in beside him, making him think a million things at once – at least half of which were not appropriate. However, she didn't seem to be thinking along those lines as she snuggled up to him sweetly, making him feel ashamed of his earlier thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, causing her to sigh with contentment.
"I missed you," she murmured quietly against his chest.
"Not half as much as I missed you," he replied, kissing her atop the head.
"Mmm," she replied contentedly, snuggling even closer.
For a good few minutes, they were silent. Her hand lay on his chest, her thumb rubbing him lovingly, and he gently stroked her hair, both of them content to be in the arms of the other. Harry wondered how long she was planning on staying, and found himself becoming drowsy after a while, so much so that he almost missed the most important words of the night.
"I love you, Harry," she whispered.
For a moment, he was silent, allowing the sincerity of her words to sink in to their fullest extent, before he answered.
"I love you, too."
There was no response, but he knew that for once, she hadn't needed to hear him say it back. And that was what mattered.
Note: Wow, I would reply to all of your lovely reviews, but it's much too late at night for that. So thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, and I will try and do a response to reviews next time!
Oh, and nobody worry - we will find out what Harry's birthday present is, we will find out what Silver's locket means, we will find out who her father is, we will find out what the picture in the living room means, and we will find out about Harry's talk with Snape! And we'll find out about all those other things I'm sure I forgot, too. Meh. XP