"Such sunken beauty," the man whispered into the boy's ear as he reached for the zippers on his jeans. The boy shivered. Not because it was so cold in this run down place, or that he was very aroused, but he could not resist the way this stranger made him feel.

Chapter One

A Cold Deep Blue

Harry Potter moved to New York just a month ago. He had graduated from a community college in London, and had saved up enough money to move to the bustling metropolis. There was not much about his background, he was just an ordinary boy with dreams of living in a big city. His father worked for a computer software company, and his mother worked as a office clerk for a dental clinic. Harry did fairly well in highschool. His best friends being an aspiring lawyer going to Stanford, and an upcoming writer for football soccer plays who made his fame at the local school games. Harry was happy, but he wanted to move out after seeing about New York in movies and television shows. The place made him wonder about what he could not find in his hometown. Harry had all sorts of jobs to start saving for his trip. He worked at bakeries, delivered newspapers, helped at his father's workplace, cleaned as a janitor for a business building, served as a waiter in a diner, and every oppurtunity he had to make money.

Harry Potter was eager to see what the world would offer him.

Severus Snape lived in New York for most of his life. He moved from London to attend Juliard when he was given a scholarship. The scholarship was given in a competition for his rare interpretation of classical works on the piano. But after graduating from college, he soon realized there were too many out there just as talented as he was, and his oppurtunities were scarce. At first, he played in concert halls, with glory and encores and cheered on with bravos. But the audience quickly found someone else, playing with more emotions and skills than he did. Severus was becoming less and less popular. Soon, the the audience turned him away completely. He managed to make a living playing in clubs on weekdays, but he didn't like it there, no one payed attention to what he played. The atmostphere was always filled with rude laughter and strong alcohol, to him it was the scent of degradation. On weekends, all he did was stay in his barren apartment. He didn't socialize very much, he didn't do a lot of things very much, he preferred to keep to himself. Severus spent most of his savings when he first came to New York on this small flat and a grand piano. Being so used to compliments as a prodigy when he was in the spotlight, he couldn't stand the treatment he was given. Severus was told he had a gift, and that he should never let it go. He didn't, and now he currently resides in this bustling metropolis, composing short suites and playing in clubs.

Severus Snape was a proud and bitter man.

Harry didn't know what to do, as he was just fired from his job at the donut shop for being late for the fifth time. The place wasn't that great anyways, the guy who cleaned the bathroom always grabbed him in places. And when Harry turned around to ask him to stop, he would crack an unpleasant smile and go back to work.

Harry thought he would be okay as he walked down the street, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He strode down fifth avenue, trying hard not to cry. He knew no one else here but his drunk room mate, Scott, who smelled like sweat and grease. At night, Scott would bring other drunk girls back to the apartment, and they would laugh wildly and drink. Harry would be in his room staring out the window, wondering why New York isn't the place he thought to be.

With his destination unknown, and a little lost, he wiped his eyes on his red and yellow scarf as he continued walking down the empty sidewalks. All of a sudden, he passed by an old brick building, and he heard a faint and weeping melody coming from atop. His footsteps stopped as he leaned his head back and tried to see which window it came from. It was already dark in the december evening, the sky was a cold deep blue, and the air was chilly as it had been drizzling. Snow was on the tips of balding branches from planted trees on sidewalks, and each tree had a coil of Christmas lights on them. The music gave Harry a stirring feeling his gut, and he felt indescribably moved from this scenery. He was rather motivated to go meet this pianist that made his day.