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… and understand that a relationship between Harry and Severus will take a while to form. Kissing or any other actions probably won't happen for a while.
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Chapter 6: More Shopping and Reunions
Harry trotted behind Professor Snape, mentally coming up with excuses to shop by himself. He really didn't want to be sharing what size underwear he wore with Snape, nor did he want to pick out boxers with the man smirking behind him. Harry blushed a deep red when they passed a rack of men's sequined thongs. Snape walked faster.
"Whenever you see something desirable, tell me Potter. I don't know what it is you're looking for. If you were thinking of something in the brief department, we just passed them." Snape said shortly. He was obviously trying to accomplish this task with as much dignity as possible. Harry wondered whether Snape would have acted this way if they hadn't been soul mates. Knowing Snape, he probably would have taunted him to no end.
"Um, can we go over there?" Harry pointed to a rack with patterned boxers on hangers.
"I'll wait here." Professor Snape said stiffly.
Harry nodded thankfully, and walked quickly to the rack, hiding himself between the many hangings. He scanned the boxers that were his size and picked out some basic solid colors and plaids. He blushed when he saw a black satin pair with a red bull's eye over the crotch area. His face almost exploded when his hand brushed another white pair with lip prints and a stem of mistletoe pinned to the front button. Harry tried not to think about what the mistletoe was implying. Do men actually wear these? Harry tried to imagine wearing them and failed. An image of Snape wearing them suddenly cropped up in his head and he hastily thought of something else.
"Find anything of interest, Potter?" Snape's voice was surprisingly close, and Harry spun around, pulling his hand away from the mistletoe boxers. Snape was right behind him with an amused smirk on his face.
"You weren't thinking of buying these, now were you, Potter?" Snape asked in an arrogant tone. He reached out in front of Harry and jerked them off the hanger.
"No! I was just – um, looking for-" he stuttered.
"I see…" Snape said smoothly, trying not to look too smug and failing. "The Headmaster was correct; your taste in clothes is interesting, I must say."
Harry blushed. "I told you, I'm not buying them."
"Oh? Well, in that case I'm free to purchase them."
"What!?"
"I'm not serious, Potter." Snape said patronizingly. "You need to learn to recognize a joke when you here one." He said loftily as he hung the boxers back on the rack.
Harry stood still as the professor walked away. Professor Snape. Made a joke. Could the world get any madder?
Harry, wanting to get out of the store as fast as possible, grabbed random boxers off hangers and dashed back to the cashier. After the snooty woman was finished ringing up his purchases and packaging them, Harry ran off to find Professor Carroll. He had enough shopping for one day. He found her and Snape waiting for him by a bench outside the store. Professor Carroll led him and Snape to the alley they had come from and they waited for the signal.
"Will you be alright Harry? Would you like to floo instead?" Professor Carroll asked, concern filling her voice.
"No, no; I'll be fine." Harry said quickly. He didn't want them to think he couldn't even use a portkey. Snape gave him a searching look, but Harry ignored it, occupying himself by checking his bags.
Beep Beep
Harry braced himself, and tried to relax as he felt the tug in his stomach. His feet were lifted off the ground and he shut his eyes tight, clutching the handles of his bags as though for support. The familiar whooshing sound filled his ears, and he concentrated on blocking it out. He needed to keep his cool.
Whump
Harry's feet hit the ground and tumbled over from the weight of his bags.
"Harry!"
Harry looked up, blinking, suddenly filled with shocked happiness. Hagrid was standing over him, bending down to lift him off the ground.
"How've yeh bin, Harry, how've yeh bin?" he asked jovially, lifting Harry clear off the floor by the arm. Harry smiled.
"Good. And you?" vaguely, Harry heard Snape and Professor Carroll arrive.
"Great! Harry, yeh'll never guess who I met on me journey ter the mountains!" Hagrid's grin was wide.
Harry smiled as well. "Who?"
"Me mum!" Hagrid was positively beaming by now. Harry's jaw dropped.
"You – you did? Well that's great Hagrid!" Harry smiled. Hagrid looked so happy! Harry had to fight the urge to tear up for his friend.
"Yeah, she was surprised ter see me, ter say the least." Hagrid's beard twitched with another smile. "She liked Olympe, an' she said she was happy fer me."
A door creaked open and closed, and they looked over to see Dumbledore walking in.
"Hagrid! You're back! Did it go well?" Dumbledore gestured to the seat opposite his desk, and Hagrid sank into it. The chair magically expanded to accommodate him.
"Well, we didn' ge' as far as we could 'a hoped fer, but we made some progress." Hagrid reported gruffly.
"Good, good, what progress did you make?"
Their conversation seemed private, so Harry backed up to where Professor Carroll and Snape were waiting. Snape opened the door for him, but Dumbledore stopped them.
"Severus, Harry, I would like a word with you both before you leave. Thank you, Matilda."
Professor Carroll nodded, and stepped out of the door.
Hagrid was looking curiously at them, but didn't say anything.
"Severus, Harry; I think you'd both better hear this as well." Dumbledore conjured up two more chairs, and Harry and Snape both sat down. Dumbledore gestured for Hagrid to continue.
"Olympe an' I met with some o' the head giants. Me mum was one o' 'em."
"Hagrid, that's wonderful!" Dumbledore exclaimed. Hagrid smiled.
"Yeah, it was. She wasn' anythin' like what that Skeeter woman made her out ter be." Hagrid looked proud.
Harry smiled. He was happy for Hagrid; he deserved this. Harry glanced over at Snape. He was shocked to find that Snape was already looking at him. Harry looked quickly back at Hagrid.
"Anyway, they didn' really wanna get involved, an' ter tell yeh the truth, most of 'em wanted You-Know-Who ter win. But me mum told me she would try ter persuade 'em. She said if it came down ter it, she would leave 'em an' join us… she didn' know me dad had died…. " Hagrid finished. It seemed like there was more to this story, but Hagrid wasn't ready to tell them at the moment.
"Well Hagrid, I must thank you," Dumbledore said quietly. "It took great courage to go and find the giants, much less confront them with such a controversial issue." He sounded tired. "Hopefully, they will see reason. Where is Madame Maxime?"
"Oh, she wanted ter go back ter her school," Hagrid said. "She said she was gonna try an' get the French Minister o' Magic in this…I hope that's all righ'?"
Dumbledore looked delighted. "Of course! I'm glad she took the initiative! The French minister was a strong ally before. I hope he will prove helpful this time." Hagrid nodded, glad to have brought the good news.
Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry and Snape. "Hagrid, there is something I need to tell you…" Harry's eyes widened.
"Last week, Harry arrived. We wanted him here, in case anything came up," Hagrid nodded. "Well, to make a story short, Harry made a potion that found his soul mate. The potion pointed to Severus here." Dumbledore said all this pleasantly, as though announcing the engagement of his daughter.
There was silence.
"He…what?" Hagrid looked completely baffled.
"Harry made a potion-"
"He heard you, Albus." Snape sneered.
Harry wanted to slide down out of his chair and into the floor. Hagrid turned and looked at Harry.
"Why would yeh make a potion like that?" his expression was one of disbelief.
"Well I – er, sort of did it by accident…" Harry muttered.
Snape sighed loudly. "Albus, I have already heard this pitiful tale, and reliving it will undoubtedly make me ill; may I please be excused?" Harry cringed.
"Yes, Severus. You must be tired from the trip, I understand."
Snape's back straightened at the jibe. "No, I am not tired, Albus, I simply wish to be excused."
"Of course; I will see you at dinner." Snape stalked out of the office.
"Harry?" Hagrid said hesitantly. "You made the potion by accident?" Harry nodded. Hagrid looked dumbfounded. "An' Snape's yer soul mate?" Again, Harry nodded. "An' is he, er, bein' nice ter yeh?"
"Well," Harry said hesitantly. He didn't want to bad mouth Snape in front of Dumbledore. "He was kind of upset before, but he's been okay, I guess."
"Righ'" Hagrid said gruffly. "You jus' tell me if he gets hard ter take, an' he'll be hearin' from me, yeh can coun' on it"
Harry couldn't help but smile.
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Later that night at dinner, Harry sat next to Hagrid and Professor Carroll. It was nice to have someone to talk to again. Dinner was louder than the nights before, mostly because Hagrid was back, but the aura seemed more up beat. This was probably because of the good news Hagrid had brought. Everyone was talking about the possibility of France and the giants helping. From what Harry gathered from the chatter around him, France had helped out the last time Voldemort had been rising. Apparently, they had an excellent Auror Task Force and a famous school for upcoming Aurors.
Everyone was also excited about the possibility of the giants as allies. Several of the giants had been against them because of discrimination and prejudice, but Hagrid had reported that most of the giants that had been part of Voldemort's supporters had been killed years ago; all that was left were a few scattered giants who were against wizards in general. The rest of them just wanted to live out their lives in peace. It seemed as though, with the correct methods, the giants would possibly help; Hagrid also reported that the giants had yet to be approached by any Death Eaters or Voldemort. This boosted the morale incredibly. Harry was so swept up in conversation that he totally forgot he even had a soul mate. Everything seemed to be going well.
The Great Hall doors opened with a bang. Remus Lupin stood in the doorway, a shaggy black dog at his side.
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Ten minutes later, Harry sat in Dumbledore's office, watching the scene unfold in front of him in a sort of trance. Remus and Sirius had arrived, tattered and torn. Apparently, in Hogsmeade, they had been attacked by a group of unidentified wizards. The wizards weren't wearing Death Eater masks, but Sirius was sure they had been Death Eaters, while Remus said that they shouldn't jump to conclusions without being sure.
Harry had already shared hugs with each man, and now sat in front of Dumbledore's desk. Sirius was pacing next to him, while Remus recounted the attack to Dumbledore for the third time.
"Yes, we were walking in the street; Sirius was in dog form-"
"And they didn't say anything?" Dumbledore asked. "Didn't taunt you, just came up and attacked you?"
"If they were robbers, they would have said things, would have asked for money." Sirius said, running his fingers through his hair distractedly.
"But they did take my money bag…" Remus pointed out. "So they could have been robbers."
"If they were robbers, they wouldn't have attacked you, because I was there," Sirius snapped. "Robbers don't go after people with dogs."
"Is that a proven fact?" Remus asked skeptically.
"Well no-"
"We have no proof that they were Death Eaters." Dumbledore said tiredly, sitting in his chair. "We don't know if they knew where you were headed or not, or who you were." He began to massage his temples. "All we know is that you were attacked by a group of wizards in Hogsmeade."
Harry looked down into his lap. This wasn't going well. Sirius was angry, Remus was worried, and Dumbledore was frustrated. He hated to see the aging man upset. It reminded him that he was growing old.
Harry heard the door bang open behind him. He turned around to see Snape.
Oh no
"Hello Severus." Remus said pleasantly.
"Lupin." Snape nodded his head curtly. "Black." Snape repeated the action, and kept the sneer on his face to a minimum.
Sirius said nothing, simply nodding back.
"Ah, Severus, you might want to hear this as well." Dumbledore said.
Snape walked over to the second chair in front of Dumbledore's desk that Remus and Sirius had neglected, and sat down. Harry was suddenly feeling very awkward. He sincerely hoped that Dumbledore wouldn't mention the whole soul mate thing. He had a suspicion that Sirius would have a conniption fit if he found out. Harry sat in petrified silence while Remus and Sirius told Snape of the attack. Snape listened carefully, looking deep in thought. Finally, he spoke.
"How many were there?"
"I'm not sure, it happened so fast."
"Approximate then!" Snape snapped.
Remus appeared unruffled. "I'd say about…six, wouldn't you say, Sirius?"
"Sounds about right."
"Hmmm." Snape went back to thinking.
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wanted to know how long Sirius and Remus were staying.
"Er, Sirius?"
Sirius stopped pacing to look at Harry. "Yes Harry?'
"How long are you and, er, Professor Lupin-"
"Remus, please, Harry." Remus said smiling. Harry smiled back.
"How long are you and Remus staying at Hogwarts?"
Dumbledore stood up. "Actually, that brings me to why I called you here." Remus and Sirius turned to Dumbledore curiously.
"I already have Professor Moody here as the current Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I am hoping to start a Dueling class this year." Remus' eyes widened. "I would like you to be the Dueling professor, Remus."
Remus looked shocked. A troubled look filled the former professor's eyes. "I – I don't know Headmaster… the parents-"
"Should be ignored." Dumbledore's ice blue eyes were steely. "If the parents of our pupils are more concerned with the teaching staff than whether or not their children are safe, that's their problem, not yours." he finished firmly. Remus' jaw was slack, and he looked shocked, yet Harry could see the raw emotion in his eyes.
"Thank you, Albus." He said, somewhat choked. "You won't be disappointed."
"Of course I won't be." Dumbledore turned to Snape. "I am counting on you to make the Wolfsbane potion. I trust you will?"
Snape nodded. "Yes. Yes, of course." Harry couldn't help but feel a bit proud that Snape hadn't said anything biting yet. It was a weird feeling to have.
"Sirius, I would like you to stay as well. Obviously, you can't be a teacher, but you can stay in your dog form as Remus' pet, if you like."
Sirius nodded gratefully. "Yes, I would like to stay."
"Good! That's settled then. Hagrid will be happy to find Buckbeak in his house tonight!" Harry's smile went from ear to ear. "Of course, he will also have to remain a secret…"
"Now, Remus, Sirius, I trust you would like to settle in. You will find your room and office on the second floor; it's behind the tapestry of the duelers. Severus, Harry, I would like a word before you go."
Remus and Sirius said goodbye and left. Dumbledore sat back down and leaned over his desk.
"You may both have noticed that I did not tell Sirius about the potion." Dumbledore looked sternly over his glasses at them. "I have no doubt that they will both know by lunch time tomorrow. Many of the professors aren't clear on what a secret is," Dumbledore smiled wryly at this. "I advise you to be careful, Severus. When Sirius finds out, I'm sure there will be an explosion. We will meet this hurdle when it comes. I bid you both goodnight."
Harry and Snape got up and headed for the door. Snape opened it and let Harry go through first. This seemed strangely kind. They stood in silence on the stairs. Harry, almost desperate for some conversation, broke the silence.
"So, er, what are you doing tomorrow?"
Snape stared down at him, eyebrow raised
"Erm…okay then..." Harry looked at his shoes.
"I will be going to Hogsmeade to purchase the ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion."
"Oh."
Snape looked hesitant. Then, "What do you have planned for tomorrow?"
"Oh, er," Harry was surprised Snape was continuing the conversation. "I haven't really thought about it. Do homework, I guess."
Snape nodded, then looked back up. They were almost at the bottom of the stairs. Snape inhaled a deep breath.
"If you don't have anything major planned, would you consider joining me?"
"Huh?" the stupefied exclamation was out of Harry's mouth before he could stop it.
Snape sneered. "Never mind."
"No! I mean – er – I'd like to, um, go with you… if that's okay?" Harry couldn't believe he'd just said that.
Snape smiled. Well, almost. His eyes didn't look as empty as usual anyway, and his sneer wasn't as pronounced.
"Are you sure, Potter? It will be boring. Undoubtedly educational, as well." Snape smirked at that. Harry wondered if that was another joke.
"No. I'll go." Harry was almost determined to show Snape that he was mature enough to spend a day on potions. They'd reached the bottom of the stairs. They stepped off the moving stairs and walked through the sliding wall.
"Well, goodnight I guess…see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Potter." Snape immediately stalked away.
Harry stood there for a few more seconds. What had he gotten himself into?
TBC
So, did you like? Next chapter will be out by April 4th. I almost didn't make this deadline! School is really heaping it on lately. This chapter didn't really have a lot of Harry/Severus action, but trust me, the next chapter will! I've already done outlines of the next few chapters, and I have the first kiss planned! It will be in the Christmas chapter! Aren't you all excited!? But hold on, we still have Harry's birthday, Sirius' reaction, august, school reopening, Thanksgiving, and class room banter! It takes a long time for a Harry/Severus relationship to start! Give the poor men some time! You all may have also noticed the development of the Voldemort plot. You can't have a story in Harry's fifth year without Voldemort! Oh yeah, I will write some of this story in Severus' perspective, but only when I feel it's absolutely necessary, because I want to keep this as close to the format of the books as possible, and it's also great leave people in the dark about what that sexy bastard is thinking! SO REVIEW AND GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS!!!!!