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 – a soul mate, if you will(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? ^^
Hey guess what gang? Only a few more chapters till the Christmas KISSING scene!!!! Wahoo! So excited!!! But hold on for a few more chapters please?!?!! This chapter includes school re-opening and Ron & Hermione's return. Also some Severus/Harry alone interaction! *evil grin*
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Chapter 10: School Reopens
Harry watched with trepidation as Snape recounted everything to Dumbledore. Snape had woken up five minutes ago, and had immediately demanded a meeting with the Headmaster. Dumbledore had let Harry stay and listen.
"Voldemort plans for Draco Malfoy to become a spy for him. Malfoy will pretend to be a faithful spy for us while honestly working for Voldemort."
"So, he'll be like you, except the opposite?" Harry interrupted before he could stop himself. Snape gave him a swift look, as though surprised Harry was paying attention.
"Yes." He said finally.
"That settles it then," Dumbledore sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "We have lost another," a look of inexplicable sadness overcame the man's features.
"I am sorry," Snape said. Harry looked at him, surprised; he had never heard Snape speak in that self- blaming tone.
"It is not you fault, Severus."
"I'm afraid I have lost my place among them, Albus." Snape said wearily. "To return again would be…pointless."
Dumbledore frowned. "Yes, I quite agree."
"I have fail –"
"You have not failed me at all, Severus." Dumbledore said sharply. Dumbledore's expression changed to one of curiosity. "However, I am curious. How did he ever suspect you, Severus? You have never been challenged this harshly before."
Snape suddenly looked uneasy. He threw a quick look at a surprised Harry before snarling, "Someone was spying on me. They saw me with Potter in Hogsmeade."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
"It was extremely thoughtless on my behalf. Voldemort had ordered me to bring Potter to him if I ever was outside of Hogwarts with him. I had – forgotten."
"When were you with Harry in Hogsmeade?" Dumbledore looked thoroughly bemused.
"I went with him to buy potions ingredients." Harry spoke up quietly.
"Did you now?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily.
"Please Albus, it was nothing." Snape spat.
"I should hardly think so, Severus!" Dumbledore said reproachfully. "You took the initiative to spend time with Harry – without being told to do so; that is certainly something!"
"It was nothing but stupidity, Albus!" Snape stood up. "The only reason I asked Potter to go with me was because of Black," Harry jerked involuntarily. "And I foolishly went into Hogsmeade even though Black and Lupin had been attacked the night before! A spy could have easily been there! I did not pay attention. It was a childish mistake, not a stroll with my soul mate! Nothing more!" Snape sat back down, seething.
There was a tense silence.
"That man," Harry whispered suddenly. "Professor, do you remember that man? The one you said was watching me?"
Snape turned and looked at Harry, comprehension on his face.
"Do you think he could have been the one, Professor?"
Snape cursed under his breath. "Possibly," he muttered.
"What man was this?" Dumbledore asked, looking at each of them.
"There was a man that Potter felt was suspicious looking. He did indeed look – distrustful. However, I do not think Voldemort would have used such an obvious looking person."
"Was there anyone else?"
"It could have been anybody, Albus!" Snape snarled. "There were many people who could have easily spotted us!"
Everyone lapsed into silence again.
"Well," Albus broke the silence quietly. "I think we shall deal with one thing at a time. Draco Malfoy…we will pretend to believe him. Make Voldemort think he has a spy. We will give the boy some truth, but mostly false information. However," Dumbledore looked over at Harry. "I do want to see if we can – salvage the situation. Harry," Harry sat up straight. "I want you to do everything you can to help Draco see the truth. Do it subtly, and be careful."
Harry nodded determinedly.
"Good," Dumbledore peered over his glasses at Snape. "Harry, would you kindly escort Severus to his chambers?"
Snape sat up straight, protesting. "Albus, I assure you, my health is in good enough shape for me to walk to my own chambers!"
"Harry," Albus repeated.
"Yes sir."
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Harry, taking his duty seriously, stuck close to his professor's side all the way down to the dungeons, despite Snape's best efforts to shake him off. In a valiant attempt, Snape sped up, then stopped suddenly. Unfortunately, his long robes caught the tip of his boots, and he stumbled slightly.
"Are you sure you're all right, Professor?" Harry asked, concerned.
Snape grumbled and hitched up his robes. "I'm fine Potter!"
Harry winced at the man's irritated hiss, but kept walking. Struggling for some conversation to cut the silence, Harry voiced his worries.
"You're not going back to him, Voldemort I mean, are you?" Harry could have chewed his tongue; what a dumb question.
Snape curled his lip, no doubt thinking about how imbecilic he was. "Correct, Potter. We no longer have a spy." He said this in a voice dripping with self-loathing; Harry winced at that too.
"Don't be so hard on yourself."
Snape sneered down at him. "Who are you to tell me what I should and should not do?"
Harry scowled. 'Your soul mate,' he thought grumpily. "I just don't want you to blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "And how, pray tell, did your addled brain come up with that stunning theory?"
Harry paused for a second. "I didn't have to go with you…," he said slowly. "I said yes when you asked me. It was my fault." He finished with a bit more conviction, and looked up at Snape.
Snape snorted. "If I hadn't forgotten the rules, I would have forbidden you to come."
"You couldn't have stopped me."
Snape looked down at him with something like amusement twitching on his lips.
"Oh?"
"Well," Harry blushed. "I wanted to go…. I would have come anyway."
Snape's infamous eyebrow rose again, accompanied by an amused smirk. They had reached his chambers.
"Maybe you are my soul mate, Potter."
Harry blushed and shuffled his feet while Snape muttered the spells to unlock the doors. The compliment made his neck warm and tingly, and he anxiously twirled a few loose strands of hair.
"Goodnight, Potter."
Harry looked up to see Snape shutting the door. "Goodnight, sir."
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The last weeks of summer flew past much too quickly for Harry's liking. Although there were several memorable moments from the summer, one in particular stood out in Harry's mind. The night when Snape had made that comment. Harry had taken to blushing every time Snape looked his way during dinner. Several of the teachers were noticing this, and Professor Flitwick, who sat next to Harry, never failed to twitter loudly behind his hands. Harry hated meal times.
Harry had maintained a certain amount of calm during the Last Day of Summer Feast. He had purposefully avoided looking in the direction of his Potions Professor, but he should have known Dumbledore wouldn't let him off.
"Severus, why don't you help Harry move back into Gryffindor Tower?"
Harry cringed. If there was one thing he had learned from this experience, it was that Dumbledore was a ruthless man. So, a half an hour later found Professor Snape and Harry walking up to the tower, Snape levitating Harry's trunk and Harry carrying Hedwig's cage.
When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Snape muttered the password "swashbuckler" then strode in.
"How do you know the password?" Harry asked, scrambling through the portrait hole behind him.
"All of the teachers know the passwords in case of an emergency." His tone was clipped, so Harry didn't ask any more questions. He led Snape over to the boy's staircase and ran up them, feeling eager to see his old dorm.
The door now had a sign that said "5th Years". Harry smiled and reached for the doorknob, turned it, then held the door open for Snape.
"Which one is yours?" he grumbled. Harry walked over to his bed and sat down on it, running a hand over the clean red blanket. Snape levitated the trunk and dropped it at the foot of Harry's bed. He stood for a moment, then, as though coming to a resolution, sat on the edge of the bed. Harry gulped.
"Potter," Harry wriggled uncomfortably, but forced himself to look at Snape.
"Tomorrow the school reopens. No one is to know about us, do you understand? Not even Weasley or Miss Granger."
"I know." Harry surprised himself at how strong and clear his voice sounded.
"We must act as though nothing has changed; I will not suddenly favor you in class or anything of the sort."
"I know," Harry said again. "I didn't think you would."
"Also," Snape looked just as uncomfortable as he felt. "Dumbledore suggested that I tutor you in advanced medical potions. 'For the war' he said. But it's obviously some ploy of his to get us to spend time together, and you obviously have no interest in potions –"
"No! I want to learn." Harry said quickly.
Snape raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Be sure, Potter. It will be taxing on your free time, and I do not tolerate foolishness; I take my work seriously, and judging from your classroom performance, you do not."
"I do!" Harry said defensively. "Malfoy just screws things up."
Snape looked down at him and sneered. "Never blame another for your own incompetence, Potter."
Harry gaped; why was Snape sticking up for Malfoy? He knew he was bad!
"But – he's always putting things in our cauldrons, and –"
"I am unimpressed, Potter. Mr. Malfoy is a talented young man. You, however, have failed to show any amount of talent when it comes to Potions. Your lack of ability got us into this mess; or have you forgotten?"
Harry couldn't believe it. Anger overcame his features.
"Goodnight, Professor."
Snape looked slightly abashed at Harry's tone, but quickly recovered himself, throwing Harry a sneer. He got up without a backward glance and stalked out the door, slamming it behind him.
Harry threw himself onto his bed, burying his face into his pillow. He was suddenly mortified at his previous behavior. God, what an idiot he'd been, flushing and blushing around Snape! The man was an insufferable bastard, whose mission in life was to make Harry miserable and confused; maybe Sirius was right…after all, he wasn't that great at Potions…maybe he had made a mistake.
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Harry spent the next day in the tower, refusing to go the Great Hall; a house elf brought him breakfast and lunch. Harry sat on the common room, playing Exploding Snap by himself, and skimmed through his homework making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He knew it was childish to avoid Snape, but he didn't care anymore. What was the point? Whenever he thought he had actually made progress, Snape squashed down on something and Harry was right back where he started. 'Well, I'm through with that' Harry thought to himself.
After he finished polishing his Firebolt, he looked at the clock and saw that he had twenty minutes before everyone would start arriving. Somewhat reluctantly, he put his Firebolt in his trunk, dressed into his school robes, and then walked as slowly as possible to the Great Hall.
When he arrived, he noticed immediately that the four house tables were back in position; he wouldn't be sitting with the teachers anymore. Hmmm, he'd miss that. The teachers were already seated, except for Hagrid, who was no doubt on his way across the lake right now, and Professor McGonagall, who was most likely waiting for the first years. Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down on an end seat. He glanced up at the teachers table saw Professor Carroll and Professor Flitwick waving at him. Harry smiled and waved back; Professor Flitwick had turned into a sort of pint-sized grandfather, and ever since the shopping trip, Professor Carroll always said 'hello' to Harry.
Harry sat up straight as he felt that now familiar tug; Professor Snape was looking at him. Harry's eyes swept the table and he caught Snape's before the man had time to look away. Snape lifted an eyebrow at the challenging glare Harry threw at him, and, surprisingly, held his gaze. This was interesting; usually, Snape would have thought this was some childish game and would look away. Harry raised an identical eyebrow and summoned up his most Snape-like glare he had. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dumbledore chuckle. Snape leaned forwards and his lip curled slightly. Harry met this with a defiant tilt of his chin. Dumbledore was positively beaming now. Snape narrowed his eyes and Harry did the same. 'Bastard' Harry thought.
Harry was broken out of his staring trance by the sounds of many footsteps outside of the Great Hall. Harry swiveled around and faced the huge doubled doors anxiously; he couldn't wait to see his friends.
The doors opened and the first students in were some sixth year Ravenclaws that Harry knew by sight; some of them were Cho's friends. Next, some younger Slytherins entered, and Hufflepuffs followed closely afterwards. Some of them threw Harry suspicious looks, wondering why he was here before them, while others looked at him sadly. Harry shifted uncomfortably when some of the older Hufflepuffs came in. Harry looked down at his knees to cover up his uneasiness. Harry looked up again when he heard some loud catcalls, and a smile appeared on his face as Fred and George Weasley came in wearing identical grins and waving at him, Lee Jordan at their side. Harry couldn't help it; he stood up and raced towards them, eager to see a friendly face.
"Harry! How'd you get here before us?" George demanded mockingly. Harry was about to answer when he was distracted by Fred picking him up in a bear hug and spinning him around.
"We were right worried about you, weren't we George?" Harry smiled sheepishly as Fred let him down and ruffled his hair. Harry couldn't help but notice that both Fred and George looked too old to be here; their seventeenth birthday had been in April, and they were fast approaching eighteen.
"Oh," Harry grinned up at them, suddenly shy. "I was alright."
"Mum was really upset when your birthday gifts came back," George said.
"Oh!" Harry clapped a hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot about that!" Harry suddenly felt terrible.
"It's okay, mate. She's always like that." Fred laughed reassuringly.
"Oh, and Harry," George leaned forward conspiratorially. Harry leaned forward, smiling at George's tone. "We think ickle Ronniekin's got a crush on Hermione."
Harry laughed and shook his head. "You don't say?"
Fred smirked, then ruffled Harry's hair again. "Knew you were a smart one."
"Harry!"
Harry looked behind Fred and George excitedly. Ron and Hermione were bounding towards him, Hermione's hair flying.
Hermione reached him first and she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Harry blushed, though was really quite pleased, and hugged her back. Hermione stepped back, and Ron stepped forward. Only when Harry looked at him, he was looking at his chest. Harry tilted his head back.
"Ron?"
Ron laughed and pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Yeah, it's me, Harry."
"You've – um, changed." Harry stammered.
Changed was an understatement. Ron was, indeed, a tower. He was tall and lanky as ever, but had grown into his long nose and big hands and feet. He was very possibly taller than Fred and George, taking after Bill and Percy, while the twins took after Charlie. Harry also couldn't help but notice that when his best friend hugged him, he was hugged by a strong arm and pressed into a broad chest.
"You have too, mate." Ron looked down at him. "You've gotten shorter." Harry blushed, and mumbled something about not eating much, and Ron just laughed. It was a deeper laugh than Harry remembered.
"Yes, he has." Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned to see Malfoy, smirking as wide as ever. Crabbe and Goyle were, as always, flanking him. What was different this time was that Malfoy was taller than both of his bodyguards. Harry gulped.
Standing before him was the new Draco Malfoy. It was obvious that Malfoy had grown out of the whiny boy he used to be and had become a smooth-talking man. He had also gone through a growth spurt, and was now standing as tall as Ron. His voice was a silky drawl that sounded way too much like his father's for Harry's liking. Draco's hair was slicked back, and his skin was pale with candle light flickering against it. He looked, in Harry's opinion, like the ultimate personification of a snob.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron spat. Harry was suddenly very grateful for Ron's new height; if it ever came to blows, there was no way Harry would ever win against Malfoy.
"Oh nothing," Malfoy said innocently. "Just wanted to say hello to Potter…catch up on old times."
"Well you've said it, so go."
"I don't believe I was talking to you, Weasley." He sneered, practically spitting the name.
"Hello, Malfoy." Harry stepped forward.
Malfoy smirked down at him. "How are feeling, Potter? Confident?"
Harry glared, but before he could respond, the Great Hall doors opened again. Everyone hurried to find their seats as the Sorting began.
TBC
Hey, 7 pages! So, what'd you think? Even though there was a step back in Severus and Harry's growing relationship, there was some unintentional flirting happening on several occasions! Okay fine, only twice, but still! And yes, I don't know how mature Draco would be, but I know Ron is almost sixteen because in a J.K. Rowling interview, she said Ron's birthday was March 1st. So there! Ron's mature. I guess they're a little more mature than they should be, but I wanted Malfoy to be intimidating, and Ron should be tall because he's always been tall.
Exams are almost up!