"I'm surprised you're letting me continue to stay in your private rooms, Snape."
Snape sneered at him, disgust etched on his face. "I assure you, Potter, there is no hidden message in my sharing my rooms. I believe you have the same goal as I do and I wouldn't find it horribly inconvenient to follow that goal through."
Harry couldn't find a suitably snarky response. "Good." He answered as amiably as possible.
Harry stood and watched as Snape made himself comfortable with a book, something on potions, and sat opposite the fire. He felt strangely out of place and something in his heart was ringing like an alarm with longing. He ignored it with a small scowl.
When Snape spoke it made him jump, a habit he had acquired due to his stay in the Wizarding prison. "I hope you have been using your day well."
The tone implied the man thought the opposite was true. "I've been catching up with my reading. Quite a collection."
Though he saw Snape tense slightly there was no other outward reaction.
"Of course," He drifted closer to the chair. "I could be doing much better things with my time."
It was unexpected but Snape's indifferent attitude snapped. "Potter, you have been prostituting yourself to me every moment we are alone and no doubt you will continue to do so in public! I would assume you were mentally and emotionally damaged from your period in Azkaban but it is only to me!"
Harry wondered if maybe he should just sit down and explain everything to Snape but shook the thought off immediately.
"You don't want sexual favours, Snape? What do you want? Money? A slave? Your own personal potions tester?"
"I don't want anything from you, Potter, not a single thing!" The man was going red in the face.
Harry decided to stop beating around the bush. "I like you. I like your body. I like the fact that you don't treat me like I'm fragile equipment or a hero. I'm willing to take a step past sexual favours. What do you say? Wanna jump in the sack?"
If anything, Snape went redder. "Potter, that was positively crude."
"How could I be anything else?"
"The answer is no, I do not want to 'jump in the sack'. If you touch me again you will lose something you would much rather keep." His voice was stone cold.
Harry was surprised to feel something sink. "I will win you over, Snape." He whispered as he walked past the other man.
There was no call after him as he closed the door to the guest bedroom. He was surprised Snape even had a guest bedroom. Harry was pretty sure Snape did not have guests. He may have been sleeping alone in the guest bedroom, but his eyes were set on the master bedroom.
0-0
Sirius met him outside the Great Hall. Harry had not slept well. He was in no mood to deal with his apologetic godfather.
"Fuck off, Black." The name came out easily but Harry wasn't comfortable with naming the man at all.
"Harry, please, I just want to talk." The tone was submissive and Harry had a fleeting thought of treating Sirius as a servant of sorts. As pay back. But it fled as soon as it came to mind, Harry wasn't that sort of a person.
"Just fuck off." A haunted sympathetic look passed over the man's face.
Harry sighed in frustration and faced away from Sirius. "I don't want your sympathy. I don't want your pity. I don't want to see you."
The words seemed to register as Sirius walked through the doors of the Great Hall. He turned back. "Remus wants to talk to you."
"I'll see."
Harry waited until he was sure Sirius would be seated. Then he took a deep breath. "It's now or never." He muttered to himself.
A laugh startled him. "You make it sound like a big ordeal." Charity Westinghall's big brown eyes stared at him, amused.
For some reason the comment made him feel slightly bitter. "You have no idea."
"Come on, we have to sit next to Jason, he's dying to meet you."
"Straight, you said?"
"He thinks you're a real hero."
"Even when I was incarcerated?"
"Even when you were rotting away in Azkaban with an article on your duplicity appearing in the Daily Prophet every week or so, even then he thought you were amazing. He said you had guts for killing your opponent in the Tri-Wizard Tournament back then. Now he says you have guts for surviving the prison."
Harry ran a hand through his hair, a move not nearly as satisfying as it was with longer hair. "He sounds like a real piece of work."
"He's nice."
"Don't talk to me about Azkaban again." His bad mood didn't stop him from warning her. Great, he was alienating one of the only people willing to talk to him normally.
"Whatever you say."
She grabbed his arm but he jerked away.
"And don't touch me."
This time she frowned. "Is that because of...?"
"Just don't."
Charity nodded solemnly.
0-0
"So you're staying with Severus?"
Brienne wasn't bad, Harry had to admit. There were several mistakes Harry had made when sitting next to the two. Brienne and Charity were much younger than Harry, bubbly to an annoying degree and far too eager to pry.
"Yes, I am."
"I'm surprised, that man is as cold as ice, I didn't think he'd let someone stay in his quarters, much less you, Harry Potter." Brienne said the name with a tinge of awe, which made him grind his teeth in a way that couldn't be healthy.
"We have a truce." Harry answered shortly, glancing at Snape, who was sitting two chairs down. He looked tired.
Harry still got the occasional stare from the students but luckily they kept it to a minimum.
"Notice how that boy's eyes have been on you since you arrived?" A low whisper from Charity made his nerves tense.
He followed Charity's gaze.
"He's Draco's."
Harry sat back. He looked the boy over. The child looked to be very similar to his father but Harry couldn't place the mother.
"The brat is Malfoy's?"
"Draco probably has him keeping a look out for you."
"Why?" Harry wondered if there would be a nasty trick waiting for him around each corner.
"Why not? You're Harry Potter, his old school rival, went to Azkaban and suddenly 'poof' he's innocent and residing in the same castle as his cherished son. Of course he's going to be wary." Charity rolled her eyes.
"Cherished?" Harry asked quietly, unable to keep his eyes off Malfoy's kid. The familiarity...
"Loves the boy more than he loves himself." She said jokingly. "He's changed quite a bit from your day, I've heard, still a bit of a prick though, if you ask me."
"Who is his mother?"
"Was," Charity's tone was subdued. "She was Susan Bones."
Harry's eyes glanced from the boy to Charity. He didn't say anything. Charity seemed to realize he wouldn't be conversing with her any time soon and started up a debate with Brienne about the quality of alcohol compared with the cost.
His gaze remained on the boy for the rest of breakfast.
0-0
End of Chapter 4
Thanks to: DaughterofDeath, sami1010220, lonlyheart, thesecretcharacter, kears, aikidobrat and athenakitty.
Next chapter: Ministry, Voldemort and Malfoy.