"Harry," Severus calls to the younger man
"Yes?" He replies from the bathroom
"You have...visitors. They're invading my personal chambers...hurry," Severus amazingly allows some emotion to slip through so Harry can hear his discomfort
"Who is it?" Harry asks while toweling his hair dry
"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger. They must be desperate to see you"
"And I'm sure you're desperate to see them go," he laughs as he enters the front room, finishing pulling on a blue t-shirt
"I'm not gonna lie..." Severus says jokingly, though not smiling
Harry does smile as he embraces his friends he hasn't seen since being secluded in the dungeons two weeks ago, though
"How've you been, Harry?" Hermione asks once being released
"Hmmm...despite the fact that I've been forced in to isolation because my life is in even bigger danger, I've been fine"
"We're so sorry this had to happen to you," Ron says
"It's fine. I understand...we understand," Harry says and looks back at Severus who nods once in agreement
"Come on, sit down," Harry leads them over to the couch, though he takes one of the chairs himself
"I'll just go work on my potions, then. Feel free to help yourself to whatever you need," Severus says as he turns to go
Harry hurriedly gets up and catches the lab door right before it closes. He enters the room with the older man and shuts them in
"You don't have to seclude yourself," he says sadly, letting the other know he's a little hurt that he thinks he does
"They came to see you, Harry, not me. I'm sure they would not be comfortable with me in the room. And I know I certainly wouldn't be able to deal with that hostility"
"But...they don't hate you, and they would be fine. I know you're not particularly fond of them, but please"
"You know I don't mind your friends," he sighs and Harry smiles
"That must've hurt"
"What?" Severus asks, perplexed
"Swallowing that much pride," Harry's smile widens, getting one from Severus in return
"Cheeky brat," he says fondly
"You know you love me," Harry grabs the front of the other man's robes and smiles seductively
"Now where would you possibly get an idea like that?" Severus places his hands on Harry's sides, pulling him close
"You know me; I've got an active imagination," he brings his face closer to the other's
"Over-active imagination," Severus amends, drawing closer as well
"Over-active a lot of things"
"Let's see if we can't break that habit"
"You know you love it," Harry teases
Severus merely nods and growls, finally sealing their lips together in a bruising kiss
"So you'll join us, then?" Harry asks once the kiss ends
"Ok...but I'm only doing this for you"
"I wouldn't think otherwise"
The pair walks back into the sitting room hand in hand to find Hermione and Ron whispering on the couch
Severus drops Harry's hand first as they sit in two separate chairs, still shy about displaying their affection
"I'm glad you brought him back out, Harry," Hermione says with a somber face, "we were actually sent down here to inform both of you of some changes"
"What's going on, 'Mione?" Harry asks
The girl looks towards Ron quickly, who nods in return
"The Dark Lord has been attacking Hogwarts' wards for well near a week now, almost constantly. We've been doing our best, but there's only so long we can hold out. Dumbledore fears that if this continues for a few more days, that the Dark Lord will get into the castle"
"Meaning he'll find us," Severus states emotionlessly
"The wards around your rooms are strong, but they may not be strong enough to withhold him," Hermione says
"Is there nothing we can do?" Harry asks
"Dumbledore thinks he may have found a way to keep only these rooms under the Obscura charm. He wants to keep the secret keeper in here with you guys so as to not take any chances of you being found"
Severus and Harry lock eyes, holding a silent conversation before nodding and turning back to Ron and Hermione
"No," Harry says
"Absolutely not," Severus follows
"But...Harry!" Ron exclaims, but Harry shakes his head resolutely, "Professor Snape," he tries next with the same result
When Hermione speaks, it's with tears in her eyes, "Why?"
"It's cowardly. This war won't ever end if I'm locked away," Harry says
"The whole castle will not be destroyed because of us"
"We fight"
"We have to"
"When did you two become so..." Ron struggles for an appropriate word
"In tune with each others thoughts, feelings, needs, wishes, desires...?" Harry calmly rattles off
"Umm...yeah; those'll work"
"You see...the first time we..." Harry struggles now, but for a word that won't scar his friends
Severus rolls his eyes, "I think 'slept together' will suffice"
Harry blushes but is unfazed, unlike his shocked friends, "Thank you, Severus. The first time we slept together, it completed a soul bond our own bodies had formed through the years. We can hear each other's thoughts, feel the other's feelings and needs, and even, we're still speculating, borrow or combine our magical energies"
Ron and Hermione sit in disbelief, Hermione looking back and forth between the two while Ron's looking at Snape in horror
Both Severus and Harry shift uneasily in their seats
Harry clears his throat and looks at Severus who returns the gaze, "Ok then...that went about as I had expected"
"Yes. At least they haven't turned violent yet. However, do you think you could make your friend Mr. Weasley stop looking at me like that?"
At the reference to himself, Ron snaps out of his trance-like state, followed closely by Hermione
"How can you be so sure?" Hermione asks
"It's kind of hard to miss. You, above all others, Miss Granger, should know the benefits of research and the security it brings," Severus says before Harry whimpers in a way akin to loss, and his own eyes look pained
"What's wrong?" Hermione looks worried
"I..." Harry tries, eyes sad now, too
"Please, Harry," Severus says softly, his harsh demeanor all but lost
Harry looks at his friends as he stands up, "I'm sorry," he says before straddling and settling on Severus' lap
Both pairs of arms secure around the form of their partner, Harry's face settling in Severus' neck, Severus' face nuzzling Harry's left cheek
They both release a sigh of happiness and a sound signaling their content
"I love you, Severus," Harry whispers just loud enough for the man to hear
"I love you, too, Harry," he whispers back, placing light kisses on his face
When Severus opens his eyes, he's met with the stares of Harry's two friends
Hermione looks perplexed while Ron looks...intrigued
"The bond," Severus begins, voice at a neutral tone and level, "makes it so we can't, or simply don't want, to be away from each other for an extended period of time. Away also includes touching. As you have just witnessed, the bond decided we hadn't touched in awhile, causing us to be sad and lonely. If we had stayed apart, it would have led to pain, then heartbreak from there. We are sorry you had to see this; I mean, we're not the most openly affectionate couple to begin with, but it was necessary"
"The time that we can stay apart slowly increases as the bond settles more," Harry says, turning so his right side is pressed against the other's body, head against his shoulder so he can see his friends, "For the first day or so, we couldn't even go to the bathroom or shower alone, because we had to constantly touch"
"Ok, now we're getting into too much information," Hermione says
"It doesn't really matter anyway," Harry agrees
"It still doesn't change the fact that we will fight when the Dark Lord breaks in," Severus says
"If he does," Ron amends
"No, Mr. Weasley. I said what I meant"
Ron's face loses all color, as does Hermione's
"We will remain down here, that is fine, but we will not have a charm placed over our rooms," Harry says forcefully
"And if we find out someone did -and trust me, we will find out- it will not be a pleasant experience for the guilty person or persons," Severus growls
"We will deliver the news," Hermione chokes out
"See that you do," Harry says, standing up and leading his friends out of the room
Once the door's closed, Harry sighs as he leans his back against it, eyes closed
Severus stands and envelopes the younger man in his arms as soon as he's within reach
"If he doesn't find us..." Harry begins
"We will find him," Severus finishes
Harry looks up at the other in shock
"What? You think I don't know the mind that I'm connected to? As soon as they mentioned it I knew it'd be the case"
"You don't have to fight him"
"Harry, for you to fight while I stay down here...it would kill me"
Harry nods, burying his face in the broad chest before him
"If either of us dies..." Harry trails off again, this time questioningly so
"The other will perish, as well," Severus confirms
Harry lets out a shaky breath, "Well, at least we won't ever be apart," he chokes out and ends on a sob
"Harry," Severus says sadly, choking on his own emotions as he holds the small frame closer
"It won't be as long as they say," Harry whispers a few minutes later
"What do you mean?" Severus pulls back a little
"The Dark Lord will break in within the next day"
"How do you know?"
"I can sense it"
"Then let us enjoy the calm while it still lasts"
And they do
I'm incredibly sorry for the long delay. It's the end of my Senior year of High School, so I'm becoming more bogged down with work, as well as becoming less and less motivated to do anything. Senioritis is a killer...I'm surprised it doesn't account for more deaths
Anyway, I hope this chapter is satisfactory. There is one more chapter for this installment...I think. There will be a third part, though I think it will be very short (two or three chapters?)...it depends on which road I choose to go down with it
I hope I got the Obscura charm correct...and if not, I'd appreciate kind words telling me that I have it mixed up and I will be more than happy to change it