Bound To You

Part 4

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR and other miscellaneous big shots I have not taken the time to memorise. I'm honestly not worth suing.

Rating: PG-13 as of yet

Pairing: SS/HP

Summary: A prank results in the bonding of two professors who are notorious for their hate for each other. Could there be any other revenge so sweet? But what happens when the prank backfires?

----

Harry tugged at the Potions Master's arm even as the man began to struggle. He'd taken the first reaction of numb acquiescence as agreement and was already three-quarters of the way out the door before Snape began to protest. Not that he would have stopped even if Snape had been struggling from the beginning. He was desperate and nothing the potions professor could have done or said could have deterred him from leaving that room.

It was cabin fever. Harry knew it had to be. He needed to see other people, to talk to more than just house elves and the Headmaster. Being cut off from the rest of humanity must have addled his brain because he was certain that he wouldn't be thinking the things he had been thinking about lately if it hadn't.

A bubble of maniacal laughter almost escaped his lips as he dragged Snape through the dungeon corridors, giving little care for the danger of coming across students. Not that there were any. Classes were in session and no teenager in their right mind would be wandering the dungeons on a free period or playing hooky, no matter how melodramatic Snape was being about it.

Harry needed a distraction… Needed someone to take his mind off everything. The bond. Snape. Their sleeping arrangements. He had assumed that as the bond faded, so would the sexual impulses that he had noticed so early on. Apparently he'd been wrong. Very wrong. And there was no way to relieve himself of certain problems without having the subject of his uncomfortable ponderings present and that would have been the most mortifying situation he'd ever endured.

It didn't help that Snape was showing no sign of the same symptoms. No sign of burning desire or even that he was any more uncomfortable with the close contact than he had been from the beginning. In fact, Snape wasn't showing any sign that he was growing tired of the seclusion. Yes, there was still annoyance present, but because of Harry himself, not the growing agitation at being cut off from other people and the outside world.

And really, it shouldn't have surprised him. How often had he actually seen Snape outside of the school? How many times had he even seen the man outside of his office, classroom or the great hall? Very rarely. There had been a few chance encounters in the hallways and once in Diagon Alley, but these were few and far between. If Harry had ever seen his former teacher in a social setting he suspected he would have reacted with a great deal of shock. Severus Snape was definitely not a people person.

In all likelihood this forced stay in his quarters was not too far from the way he usually lived, minus Harry of course. Looking back, Harry couldn't even remember where Snape stayed during the summers, if he left the school grounds or stayed like a few of the other professors. By the look of his rooms, Harry would bet it was the latter. They had the air of someplace that was inhabited all year long, with the accumulation of knick-knacks that were more often found in somewhere considered 'home'.

Though having come to love Hogwarts while and after attending classes, Harry in no way considered his suite of rooms a 'home'. Howarts itself was his home and it didn't matter where his rooms were just so long as they were somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds. It was the only place he felt he fully belonged and he'd never even thought of purchasing a permanent residence, even before being accepted for the DADA position. Summers were spent jumping from friend to friend, places that were made special because of the people that inhabited them, not because of any emotional tie to the actual area.

Hogwarts was special and perhaps Snape felt the same way, only without the support of friends. When looking at things from this perspective, Harry could see and wonder if he and Snape weren't so very different. They both felt a deep loyalty to both the school and the headmaster, had grown up in less than loving environments and had both been intensely involved in the ultimate downfall of the Dark Lord. The only real difference Harry could see was the love and care he had found from friends and family. He knew from the pensieve episode that this was something Snape's life had been sorely lacking. Companionship. Not even the other Slytherin's had liked the boy during his school years. Where as Harry had the same foundations, differences in his adolescence had changed his over all outlook in life as an adult.

It made him wonder, that if he hadn't had so much support from those around him, if he would have become something like Snape. Cut off and bitter.

The contemplation was like a cold bucket of water and he found himself stopping abruptly, only stumbling slightly as Snape's body collided with his own. Seemingly without much thought, they both moved to steady each other. He could feel Snape's arms wound around his waist and one of his hands clutching tighter at the other man's arm.

They froze and Harry felt another spurt of desire course through him. Breath suddenly caught in his throat, he straightened abruptly and, almost hesitantly, the arms fell away from his waist.

Feeling distinctly embarrassed, Harry found himself looking at his shoes, a habit he'd been sure he'd grown out of once he'd graduated. "Sorry. I'm just… sorry."

He could feel the weight of Snape's gaze on him, but refused to meet the assessing black eyes. "I take it your lapse of sanity is quite finished?"

Harry winced at the return of the biting sarcasm and suddenly felt very much like he was fifteen again and about to receive a dressing down from his potions professor. "I… Uh… I think so. Sorry.." He was just barely able to cut himself off before tagging on the habitual 'sir'.

Snape studied him for a few more moments before turning and Harry followed, still holding the man's arm.

The silence was oppressive as they made their way back to their rooms and the urge to run, to hide away from it all, was greater than it had ever been. And even less possible. There was something deeper here and Harry felt like he was drowning in it all. The new realisations, wants and desires… It was all too soon too fast and he hardly knew what to do with himself.

He'd always been very capable of feeling intense emotions, always controlled by them, but it was so very rare that he understood them and could find their origin. It was always so much easier to just run from new feelings that made him uncomfortable, to pretend they weren't there. But he couldn't do that in this situation. Couldn't get away from Snape and couldn't get away from the strange new emotions. The constant presence of the man only seemed to compound upon his confusion and for the time being Snape was a permanent fixture in his life.

And even after this spell wore off, what would happen? Would they go back to hating each other? To the ever present animosity? Not that they'd become the best of friends, but there had seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them in the past few days. Would it just disappear, this time pushed aside like it had never happened?

Harry wasn't sure he wanted that. There was something inside him that was changing, whether for good or bad, he couldn't yet tell. All he did know was that it was there and it showed no signs of stopping. Maybe it was this new insight into Snape's character or a startling look into his own psyche or even a combination of both. Whatever the difference was, it was going a long way to turning his conceptions upside down. Somehow, he didn't think he'd ever be able to go back to disliking his snarky colleague with the intensity he'd felt before.

The sound of the door closing with a quiet thud nearly made him jump and Harry realised just how strung out he was. Despite how seemingly insane his earlier actions now seemed he was still restless. He was an active man by nature and all of this idleness was starting to set him off. Reading was a great hobby, but it was something he did while relaxing at the end of a busy day. From the looks of it, his reluctant roommate was completely content with their inactivity and it only worked in compounding upon Harry's fidgety state.

With a sigh, he followed the potions professor towards the sofa and plunked down beside the him. They sat there, silently as Snape opened his book and found the place he'd been reading. Harry shifted restlessly, pretending not to notice the withering glares that were shot at him every time he jostled the man next to him.

Finally, Snape shut his book with a snap and levelled his keen black eyes at Harry. "Alright, Potter. Where is it you wish to go?"

A smile split Harry's face before he could stop it. "I'd suggest the quidditch field, but that'd be basically pointless. Other than that, I don't really care. Just somewhere outside, away from these rooms."

Snape shook his head and stood, Harry not far behind. "There are still a few hours left until the students are set free. As long as we stay away from the busier corridors we should be able to avoid being seen." He paused at the door and turned towards the younger man, frowning at the almost manic grin plastered on to Harry's face. "Don't think I'm doing this for you, Potter. I'm merely choosing the lesser of two evils. If I can get you to settle down, at least I might have a few hours of peace."

That said, he resumed stalking out the door. Harry's grin never even faltered.

---To Be Continued---

Shade: Still making that small attempt to keep this fic going. Admittedly not a very good attempt, but an attempt none the less. There is considerably less dialogue in this chapter than I would have liked and just a tad too much blithering on my part. A little too short, as well, but I've never been well know for my long chapters. Just glad to have finished it and will try working on the next chapter some time in the immediate future.

Though I've never done this before, just thought I needed to clear up something a reviewer questioned. Kittyover16 - Perhaps Harry's aversion to having children of his own is a bit out of character, but I sort of based that on myself. At the same time I can see where Harry would be hesitant to do the whole parenting thing. He never really had a real parent figure growing up, so he has nothing to really base being a father off of. Or maybe it's just that he doesn't want to bring a child into the environment of being the boy-who-lived's son. Also, Harry hasn't had many relationships in the past that was serious and having children is a big commitment. Harry wouldn't want to start a family unless it were based completely on love, which he hasn't found yet. That is, of course, subject to change. As for Harry not being very popular with his students… I've written him to be a fairly strict professor. Not quite like Snape, but pretty similar to McGonagall, I should think. He'd still have students who like him, but the majority of the school population doesn't look past the hard lessons and stern attitude.