Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related characters/locations, etc.

Author's Note: The name of this chapter comes from the song "Change your Mind," by the All-American Rejects. And yes, this chapter is really short. Sorry. I'll post more tomorrow!

Chapter 3: Yesterday was over, today I'm fine without you

Severus sat in his usual seat at the Head Table. For a moment he seriously considered sitting somewhere else so that he would not have to face Harry when he came down, but Severus knew that if he moved he would only draw attention to himself. So instead of moving he took his usual seat at the table and prayed that he would finish his meal before Harry arrived.

Apparently the gods didn't think Severus deserved to have his prayers answered. Just as Severus was finishing up the last of his meal, the door opened. Severus looked up, and his eyes met Harry's. He could see something in the boy's eyes, but he couldn't tell what it was. Probably embarrassment. Or shame. The boy did look awfully small like that. Severus felt a wave of disgust surge through himself as he thought about the pain he had probably put Harry through. After all, being raped by your evil, ex-Potions professor wouldn't be at the top of anybody's to-do list.

Severus's thoughts were confirmed when he saw Harry's eyes fill with tears right before the boy fled that hall. Severus sighed quietly to himself. He had really fucked things up this time. He heard Albus comment on why Harry looked so sad. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Severus took another sip of juice. He waited until his departure wouldn't be suspicious before getting up and heading down to his office.

Once he was there, though, he didn't know what to do. His eyes fell on a stack of papers on his desk. He would grade papers! Yes, that was it. Taking a seat and pulling out a quill and a container of red ink, Severus started to read the first essay.

'Love potions are used to make one person believe they are in love with another. Usual side effects include pale skin, glazed eyes, repeated declarations of love-'

Okay, perhaps grading papers wasn't the smartest course to take. That didn't matter; Severus would find something else to do. He pushed the essays to the side and picked up the potions manual he had been planning to read.

The potions manual that Harry had bought him for his birthday.

He hadn't really been in the mood for reading either. Severus sighed. There had to be something he could keep his mind off of Harry. Severus started pacing around his office. After much deliberation, Severus decided he would go collect potions ingredients from the Forbidden Forest. That would keep his mind off of Harry. And who knew, maybe the fresh air would do him some good.

xxx

His plan worked fairly well. Severus found that as long as kept his thoughts focused solely on the task at hand, he wouldn't think about Harry. At least too much. Once he had managed to collect enough ingredients to last him the rest of the term, Severus shrunk his findings and placed them in his pocket.

As he was making his way out of the forest he heard voices. Looking around, he felt his heart sink. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were sitting on a bench under a tree very near the place where Severus stood hidden by the tress. Not wanting to hear what was sure to be disgust in Harry's voice, Severus turned to leave. But Harry's words stopped him.

"I slept with Severus."

Yes, this chapter was especially short. The good news is that the last two chapters are longer than this one was.

Also, I have decided to go ahead and email everyone who reviewed. I would really appreciate it if you would go ahead and leave me your email address (but make sure that you put spaces between things and type it all out like this: quixotic (underscore) hope689 (at) yahoo (dot) com, just to make sure I get it). This would save me the trouble of having to look it up. Thanks.