Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!!
Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the U.K. okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -
Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?
Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens.
Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? And I've changed the rating to R for increased cursing in later chapters and naughty thoughts.
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An Interlude: What Dumbledore said to Snape at Dinner:
Albus Dumbledore smiled as he observed Severus glaring at Harry. His smile grew wider as an idea – no, a theory, entered his mind. He couldn't resist testing his hypothesis. He leaned over to speak into Severus' ear.
"The boy's blossoming into quite the attractive youth. Isn't he, Severus?" he asked slyly.
Severus jerked in his chair and his eyes widened at Dumbledore. He caught the old man's eyes twinkling and made a choked sound in his throat, before leaning away as far as he could from the obviously senile old man without sitting in Professor Sinistra's lap.
Albus's smile turned into a crafty grin. Well, who would have thought?
Chapter 4: Comperio Animus
Harry groaned softly and turned his head to the side. His brain wasn't processing thoughts and he was still exceptionally groggy. Sounds, yells, filled his ears, although they were muffled, as though the radio station wasn't quite tuned correctly. He groaned again, and slipped back into unconsciousness.
"…completely hopeless! The idiot boy thought he was making an animal transformation potion for fuck's sake!"
"Now Severus, calm down, I'm sure Harry has a reasonable explanation for-"
"No Albus! I will NOT calm down!" Snape's roars caused Harry to groan again, and his body shifted under the thin, white sheets of the infirmary bed.
Snape stopped in mid rant and turned to look at the awakening boy. Albus walked swiftly to the bed and leaned over to see Harry's face, peering down his long nose.
"Harry? Harry, can you hear me?" he asked softly. Snape grunted in annoyance.
"Of course the little runt can hear you, he's just faking it." Snape muttered to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. Albus gave him a stern look over his glasses before bending down again.
"Harry? Harry, if you can hear me but can't speak, give me some sort of sign. Open your eyes."
Harry didn't move.
"Oh for god's sake, move over!" Snape hissed. He sidestepped around Albus and pointed his wand at the sleeping boy. "Ennervate!"
Harry's eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times, the white light of the infirmary candles blinding him. There was a long pause as Harry registered what was happening.
"Am I dead?"
"Unfortunately no, you are quite alive." Snape said sarcastically.
Harry turned his head to look at him. "Professor Snape? Why are you here?" he asked groggily. Professor Dumbledore's face suddenly swam into Harry's line of vision.
"Harry? I'm afraid something rather, ah – interesting has occurred."
"Interesting my-
Dumbledore cut Snape off. "Did you attempt to make a potion just now?"
Harry hesitated. He knew that tone. It was the pacifying tone Dumbledore used when he was about to drop the news of something dreadful. What was going on?
"Yes…."
"Do you know what potion it was that you made?"
Harry's eyes widened when he heard those words. It was as though a light bulb had just gone on in his head, or a voice was telling him what an idiot he was. The voice sounded remarkably like Snape's and Hermione's mixed together. He suddenly was wide awake.
"Erm…I thought I did…"
That was when Mount Severus Snape erupted.
"YOU IDIOT BOY!"
"Severus!" Dumbledore scolded. It had no effect whatsoever.
"HAVE YOU GONE RAVING MAD?" A vein in Snape's forehead was making itself visible. "BREWING A POTION THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF? YOU CAN'T EVEN READ LATIN FOR GOD'S SAKE!"
Harry cringed and shrunk down into the infirmary bed.
"But," he whispered, "Nothing seems to have happened, I'm awake now and-" Harry stopped talking because Snape's facial expression made him forget what he was going to say. A slightly mad grin appeared on Snape's face.
"Nothing seems to have…nothing…happened." A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "Albus?" he asked, still sounding somewhat unhinged. "May I have permission to hit the boy over the head with that vase?" he asked, pointing a shaking finger at a vase filled with daffodils.
"No you may not." Dumbledore responded sternly. "What is needed at this time is understanding and support, not violence." He turned his attention back to a confused and scared Harry.
"Harry, the potion you made is called the Comperio Animus potion. Do you know what that means?"
Snape suddenly sat down in his chair and put his head in shaking hands. Harry glanced at him before answering.
"I thought…I thought it had something to do with animals…." He mumbled, looking down at the sheets. The foolishness of his actions seemed much more obvious now that he thought about it.
"An understandable assumption," Dumbledore said kindly. "But unfortunately wrong." Harry looked up.
"Animus does not mean 'animal', Harry. It means 'soul'"
Harry stared.
"Comperio is the verb, 'to find'." Snape made a choked sound in the corner. Was he crying?
Harry looked down at the sheets again, trying to comprehend what was so bad about this.
"So…what happened?"
Snape stood up.
"I'll tell you what happened." He said in a deadly quiet whisper. "Your soul found its mate, that's what happened."
This made Harry even more confused. "It…what?"
Snape's eyes widened in disbelief. "Not only are you foolish, Potter, but you are the dimmest creature I have ever met!"
"Severus, please!" Dumbledore's eyes flashed and he stepped in front of Snape to address Harry.
"It's not my fault!" Harry said angrily, his face flaming. "No one's giving me a straight answer!"
"Harry," Dumbledore interrupted. "Your soul has found its mate in Professor Snape."
Harry stared.
"You said you wanted a straight answer." A faint twinkle returned to the Headmaster's eyes.
"There is nothing humorous about this, Albus!" Snape shouted angrily.
"The childish way in which you are handling this is extremely so." Dumbledore said flatly. This shut Snape up.
Harry was still staring.
"But-" his voice trembled. "It must be a – a mistake."
Snape snorted. "For once in your life, Potter, upon examination, the potion was correct. Too bad it happened to be this potion."
Harry gaped. This was…this was all wrong, there was no way…no way!
"I am sorry, Harry, but Severus is right. The potion was indeed correct." Dumbledore's eyes held sympathy, and Harry quickly turned his gaze from them. This couldn't be happening.
"So…what, he's my soul mate?" Harry's voice began to increase in volume and he was shaking.
"Now Harry, calm down." Dumbledore put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "A soul mate doesn't necessarily have to be romantic mate." Snape shivered very obviously behind the Headmaster. For some reason, Harry felt offended.
"Some people that are affected by this potion are siblings, or parent and child. It is rare, but it is possible that a pair of soul mates do not become involved in a romantic situation." Dumbledore smiled kindly down at Harry.
Harry thought for a moment. "If I did the potion right, then how come Professor Snape wasn't unconscious?"
"He was," Dumbledore said, still smiling. "I found him while on my way to dinner. There was trail of magic leading from him to you. That's how we found you."
"Oh." Harry said quietly. His one hope that maybe this was all a mistake was dashed out of the window.
"Yes." Snape stepped next to Dumbledore. Harry jumped, and avoided looking at Snape. "Well, since that has been taken care of, I would like to have dinner." He started to leave.
"I don't think so, Severus." Dumbledore called. "We have a lot to discuss." Snape stopped in his tracks and turned around on his heel.
"What's to discuss, Albus?" Snape said silkily. "Besides the fact that our lives are ruined? I can't be a spy for you any longer?" Snape was snarling like an angry dog by now. "What else, Albus? Did I miss anything?"
"No, but you are incorrect on both counts." Dumbledore said tersely. He was obviously getting annoyed with the other Professor. "You will still be a spy, Severus. No one is to know about this. Not anyone," he said, suddenly looking at Harry. "Harry, please understand; if your godfather got wind of this…"
Snape blanched.
"But… he has to know eventually!" Harry protested. No way was he facing this alone!
"Yes, he will know eventually. But I'd rather wait to tell him until you are both more…amendable to the idea." A secret smile crossed his face and then disappeared as quickly as it had come. Snape sputtered.
"Albus, I assure you, I will NEVER be amendable to this," he spat, throwing a look at Harry as he said the word, 'this'. Harry turned bright red with rage.
"I won't either!" Harry shouted, glaring at Snape.
Snape turned and looked down at Harry, sneering. "Thank God." he muttered. Harry's face became, if possible, even redder.
"Now, now you two." Dumbledore chided. "I want to be able to hold a civil conversation with you both present. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Harry muttered. Snape didn't say anything but simply looked over at Dumbledore, ignoring Harry.
"Good. Severus, in response to your thoughts, you will remain a spy for me. You will not inform Voldemort of this for any reason."
Snape nodded.
"As to your lives, I do not believe they will be ruined. In fact, I believe that this union will prove to be most rewarding to both of you."
"I highly doubt that."
"I'm sure you do Severus. But of course, you have made several wrong judgments in the past, haven't you?" Dumbledore said sharply.
Snape froze.
Dumbledore's face changed to one of shock. "I apologize, Severus. That was cruel. I don't know where that came from."
Snape let out a deep breath. "It's all right, Albus. I understand. You are right, of course."
"I am sorry, Severus."
Snape nodded and sank down in a chair. A pensive look came over Snape's face, and he fell silent as Dumbledore began to speak.
"You soul's are two halves that will soon become one, and you should consider yourselves lucky that you have found one another. I suggest that you two get to know each other before the soul-sealing ceremony-"
"Wait, what?" Harry interrupted. He had been sitting, spell-bound for the last minute, watching the headmaster and Snape, but he couldn't stop himself from interrupting.
"The soul-searing ceremony. It will bind your souls together, allowing you to know exactly where the other half of you is, and what they are feeling."
"Oh," Harry said, dumbfounded.
"Don't worry, Harry, that won't happen for a while." Dumbledore chuckled. "We will perform the ceremony as soon as you are both comfortable with each other, and I have a feeling that that will take a long time."
Harry nodded. The more Dumbledore said, the more Harry began to think that he was dreaming; this was absolutely insane.
"Now, we have six weeks until school opens. I know I am asking a lot of you, but I am hoping that you will be able to perform the ceremony by Christmas. The advantages of your soul's bond may well prove to be essential in the war."
Harry started. He had totally forgotten about Voldemort for a second.
"In the mean time, I want you two to spend as much time as possible together, before the school reopens. Once school is back in session, it will be hard to keep this a secret if people see you together."
Harry nodded, understanding.
"Will the faculty know about this?" Snape said tiredly.
"Yes, I think that would be best." Dumbledore answered.
Snape sighed heavily.
"I think it would be best if we had dinner now, don't you?"
"Gladly," Snape stood up and headed for the door.
Harry slid out from under his covers and also stood up. He stepped into his unlaced shoes and bent down to tie them up. After he was done, he straightened and looked up at Dumbledore.
"Professor? I have a question."
"Go ahead, Harry." He said kindly. Snape stopped and listened while trying to look like he wasn't.
"May I, er, shrink my clothes?" Whatever the headmaster expected, it wasn't that.
"What do you mean, Harry?"
"Well, all my clothes belonged to Dudley at one point, and they're all too big to wear…"
"You mean, you don't have any clothes of your own?" Dumbledore frowned.
"Just the sweaters Mrs. Weasley made for me, and my robes." Harry said sheepishly, and he shuffled his feet. Snape turned and looked at him, his forehead furrowed in question and his mouth open, as though he was going to say something.
"Yes Harry, you may shrink your clothes. Perhaps maybe the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Carroll, can take you into muggle London and you can purchase clothes of your own there. How about tomorrow?" He still looked worried.
"Er... okay." Harry answered.
"Oh!" Dumbledore shouted eagerly. "Severus! You could go with Harry! It could be your first outing with your soul mate!" The Headmaster sounded downright excited now.
Snape paled.
"With all due respect, Albus," Snape said. "I'd rather not."
"Oh come now, Severus," Dumbledore waved his hands dismissively at Snape. There was a scheming gleam in the old man's eyes. "It will be fun! You can learn about Harry's taste in clothes!"
Harry, who wasn't aware that he had any such taste, began to panic.
"However intriguing that may be," Snape said dryly. "I think Potter would prefer if I did not attend."
For once, Harry was thankful for Snape's comment.
"Nonsense, Severus! Harry doesn't mind, do you Harry?"
Harry opened his mouth to respond.
"See? Now that that's taken care of, let's go to dinner, shall we?" With that, the Headmaster strode out of the infirmary, leaving a pale Harry and a quietly seething Snape behind.
Harry glanced at Snape, who looked like he was capable of destroying the nearest object.
"Erm, shall we go, Professor?" Harry asked timidly.
Snape jerked out of his trance.
"Yes, yes, go Potter." Snape held the door open.
Harry was a little nervous about walking past Snape, but he did as he was told and walked quickly past the tall man.
"Potter."
Harry turned to look back at Snape, who was closing the infirmary door.
"Why don't you have your own clothes?" Harry was surprised by the curiousness in Snape's voice. Was that worry he heard there as well?
"Well, the Dursleys didn't want to spend any money on me. So they gave me all of Dudley's old clothes, once he grew out of them."
"Was it the same way with everything else?" Snape seemed like he was trying to cover up something in his voice.
"Yes." Harry said quietly.
Snape was looking at him, as though calculating something.
"I slept in a cupboard until I got my Hogwarts letter." Harry said suddenly. He instantly wished he could take his words back. Why had he said that?
Snape's eyes had widened. "You did?"
Harry nodded. He realized he was making eye contact with Snape. 'It's not so bad' he thought vaguely.
"Severus! Harry!" the Headmaster called.
Snape looked away, and started walking. Harry did the same and followed him.
'This is so weird…'
TBC
Well, I figured out that you can't post a link on ff.net. How stupid is that? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I will be posting a new chapter every Sunday except for this Sunday because my mom and I are going away for Spring Break! YAY! For Harry's hot picture, drawn by impishie, the only way to see it is to type in 'Magical Intrigue' in search or something. It's in the artwork section of 'Rhysenn's Magical Intrigue' (website).
Or, if you leave me your email address and ask for the picture, I'll just send it to you.
So, how did you like the dialogue? I hope I got it right; it's hard to do Dumbledore and Severus together. Did you like confused!Harry? Wasn't he so cute? I think so! Tell me what you thought, please! And I appreciate all the ideas about what present to give Harry, but I still don't know what the present should be. Oh well. And as for Professor Carroll, I don't know what the Muggle Studies teacher is named, so I made it up.
REVIEW!!! I really appreciate it!!!!!!!!!