Chapter Four

Roommates

ONE

Harry was sitting in the hospital wing two days later, wondering when he was going to be allowed to leave. Madame Pomfrey insisted on keeping him until he didn't feel any more pain, but as he was experiencing the curses every night, it didn't look like he would be leaving any time soon.

His walk with Snape had lent a feeling of uncertainty and disappointment in the Potions Master. He found it disconcerting to think that Snape couldn't see the beauty and peace of nature. Snape seemed to think that he, Harry, was rather insane to feel at peace just from listening to the wind and wildlife in its prime. Harry found that he didn't care what Snape thought of him. He loathed the man more now than he did before. As he sat on his bed musing, the door of the dormitory opened and Dumbledore walked in with a reluctant looking Snape.

"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said pleasantly, though he didn't make eye contact with Harry. This was, in fact, the first time Harry had seen the headmaster since he arrived at Hogwarts.

"Hello, sir," Harry replied, watching Snape closely. Snape was hovering behind Dumbledore looking as though he would like nothing better than to escape through the door.

"I'm sure that you're wondering why we've come," Dumbledore said," so I won't delay in telling you. I feel that keeping you in the hospital wing will serve no real purpose other than driving you mad. It would be very irresponsible for me to send you back to Gryffindor Tower alone. I've decided that it would be best for you to stay with a teacher."

Comprehension and horror began to dawn on Harry as he watched Snape fidget uncomfortably behind Dumbledore.

"I believe it would be for the best, " Dumbledore went on, "if you stay with Professor Snape for the time being."

"Why Professor Snape?" Harry asked. "Isn't there anyone else?"

"Am I not good enough for you, Potter?" Snape snarled menacingly.

"It's not that, sir," Harry replied. "It's just that… well, you and I don't really get along."

Dumbledore chuckled and Snape scowled, but said nothing. Harry's statement was undeniable.

"I had considered that, Harry," Dumbledore stated. "However, Professor Snape is the only teacher at this school qualified to take care of your particular symptoms."

Harry sighed in defeat. He knew that Dumbledore was right. He had seen Snape being tortured the previous night. Snape was the only person who would have a ready supply of the potions Harry would need to counteract the pain.

"You do see my point, don't you, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I'll leave you to it!" He turned and exited the ward in a rush of billowing midnight blue robes.

Harry turned his eyes on Snape and was amazed by the emotion in his beetle black eyes. Snape looked concerned…

TWO

Severus found himself wondering how much the boy knew about him. Potter's green eyes were shining with something akin to understanding and Severus was worried that Potter had shared in his pain from the previous night.

FLASHBACK

Severus was in his laboratory brewing a fresh batch of his Inhibiting Potion when the Dark Mark on his arm began to burn.

"Curse that brute for his bad timing!" Severus muttered, leaving his potion to be ruined for lack of attention. He would have to go to the apothecary for ingredients before he could start again.

He went into his chambers to retrieve his black Death Eater robes and his mask, and then proceeded out of the castle to the Apparition Point. He put on his mask, pulled the black hood of his robes over his head, and Apparated to the Riddle House to meet with the Dark Lord.

"Ah," the Dark Lord said as soon as Severus' feet touched the ground. "So good of you to come."

"My Lord," Severus muttered, bending to the ground and kissing the hem of the Dark Lord's robes. "I am sorry for my tardiness."

"Your circumstances are understandable," the Dark Lord replied, waving a dismissive hand. "Strange events have come to my knowledge that I want explained to me."

A ripple of nervousness went through the assembled Death Eaters at that statement.

"It seems that young Harry Potter has been taken back to Hogwarts early," the Dark Lord said calmly.

'This cannot be good news for me,' Severus thought nervously.

The Dark Lord turned his evil red eyes to Severus and observed him quietly. "Is this true, Severus?" he asked.

"Yes, my Lord," Severus replied, bowing slightly.

"And why did you not inform me before now?" the Dark Lord asked menacingly.

"My Lord," Severus said, casting around for a bluff. "Dumbledore has been keeping an annoyingly close watch on me. I could not get away."

"I will not tolerate these excuses!" the Dark Lord snapped, starting to sound irritated. He pointed his wand at Severus and said, "Crucio!"

Severus fell to the ground screaming and writhing as his very bones felt as though they had caught fire. Just as he felt sure that he would die from the pain, the Dark Lord removed the curse.

"You will keep me updated on what the little pest is doing," the Dark Lord ordered.

"Yes, my Lord," Severus replied, his voice hoarse from screaming.

"And just so you don't forget what will happen if you displease me again," the Dark Lord went on. He raised his wand to Severus again. "Crucio!"

The searing pain returned and seemed to last longer this time. Afterwards, the meeting broke up and Severus went back to the castle and collapsed on his couch, completely exhausted.

END FLASHBACK

"Sir?" Potter asked, sounding rather uncertain.

"Where are your things, Potter?" Severus asked irritably. He didn't like that Potter made him relive the torture he had endured. Never mind that the boy couldn't possibly know that he had that effect.

Potter pointed to a spot on the other side of his bed.

"Is everything packed?" Severus asked.

"Yes, sir," Potter replied. He was being strangely polite and meek. Severus couldn't understand it. "Are we going now then?"

"No, Potter," Severus sneered. "I thought we'd wait until after you took your O.W.L.s."

"No need to be nasty, sir," Potter replied patiently, getting out of bed. He wavered slightly and put his hand on the bed to steady himself. He stood quite still for a moment and then moved to the other side of the bed. He knelt down and issued a soft hiss of pain at the movement.

Severus pulled a red potion from inside his robes and moved closer to Potter. He held out the potion and said, "Drink this."

Potter turned and eyed the potion curiously. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's a pain killer," Severus replied shortly.

Potter stood slowly, clutching a pair of jeans and a red jumper, and took the potion from Severus' hands. He drank it in one gulp like a shot of whiskey and handed back the empty vial.

"Will you excuse me while I dress?" Potter asked politely.

Only then did Severus notice that Potter was wearing a rather big and faded pair of pajamas. Severus glared slightly and left the dormitory to wait in the hall. After quite a few moments, the door opened and Potter stepped out looking rather euphoric.

"That potion you gave me made me sleepy, sir," Potter said slowly, as though talking took some effort.

"Come along, Potter," Severus said. "I haven't all day to stand about and chit-chat."

THREE

Harry followed Snape quietly; stumbling on occasion due to the painkiller Snape had given him. He was feeling rather disoriented, but all traces of the pain were gone from him. They proceeded down into the bowels of the castle, passed the potions classroom and the corridor where Harry knew the Slytherin dorms to be. Just when Harry was sure he would drop, they stopped walking.

"Listen carefully, Potter," Snape said, "because I'm not saying it twice. Snidget!"

Harry wondered briefly what Snape was talking about when the wall in front of them split and opened, revealing Snape's private quarters. Harry found it amusing that Snape's password was 'Snidget' but decided not to comment.

"These are my rooms," Snape told Harry. There was a large fireplace in front of which sat a brown leather couch and two matching chairs. A door across the room stood open revealing Snape's bedroom. On the right side of the room were a small kitchen and a round dining table. A blonde man Harry didn't recognize was sitting at the table reading The Daily Prophet. He was wearing a pair of black leather pants and a black silk shirt. If Harry had met this man outside of Hogwarts, he would have thought him to be a Muggle.

"Michael!" Snape barked. The blonde looked up and spotted Harry.

"Hello," Michael said, his eyes scanning Harry's hairline.

"I thought I told you to skive off this afternoon," Snape said to Michael.

"I wanted to meet our houseguest," Michael replied pleasantly.

"My houseguest does not appreciate being goggled at as though he were some rare magical beast, Mike," Snape sneered.

"Very well, Severus," Mike said, folding up his paper. "It was nice to meet you, Harry." He stood and moved to the door.

"Likewise," Harry replied. Mike left the room with a smile.

Snape made a low irritated noise in his throat and said, "don't ask."

Harry had, indeed, been about to ask who Mike was. He nodded and followed Snape to the opposite side of the room. Harry saw another door there, but could tell that it had a Disillusionment Charm on it. The charm was well done, but such things didn't often work on Harry.

Snape opened this door and stood aside for Harry to enter. The room very much resembled the Gryffindor common room, except it was rather smaller. There was a comfortable looking red couch in front of a large fireplace. There was a large desk against the far wall and an empty bookcase waiting to be filled. On the right side were two closed doors.

"The fist door is a lavatory," Snape said. "The second is your bedroom. I'll leave you to get settled." He stepped out and closed the door sharply.

Harry walked to the bedroom and opened the door. There was a large four-poster bed with heavy velvet curtains that looked suspiciously like his bed in Gryffindor Tower. On the left of the bed was a large wardrobe next to which sat Harry's trunk. There was a night table on either side of the bed. On the right side was a door that presumably led into the lavatory.

Harry walked to the bed and laid on top of the covers, fully dressed, and fell straight to sleep.

FOUR

It had been 20 minutes since Potter had disappeared into his room. Severus was organizing the ingredients he had bought that morning in order to begin again on his potion. He needed to make twice as much as he usually did because Potter needed at least one dose everyday. As he logged the dragon's blood into his book, the door to his chamber opened and Mike stepped in.

"Is it safe now?" he asked playfully.

"Quiet!" Severus hissed. "I think the boy is sleeping."

Mike came in fully and sat on the couch with his arms stretched over the back. "Why's the boy here, anyway?" he asked. "It's going to make it hard to have sex with him right next door."

"You are narrow minded," Severus said distastefully, logging in his powdered bicorn horn. "Potter is not well. He needs potions on a regular basis, so he's come to live with a potions master. It makes perfect sense."

"I don't understand how you can stand to share your living space with a snively teenager."

"If there are snively teenagers, Potter is not one of them."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were fond of Harry Potter."

Severus leveled an icy glare at Mike. "I am not going to justify that with a retort. If you don't mind, I am attempting to log my potions ingredients. If you would be so kind as to shut up, and let me work I would be most grateful."

"Fine!" Mike snapped, standing up. "Owl me once you've decided that I'm worthy of your precious time!" He walked out quickly.

"Damn him," Severus muttered quietly and resumed his logging.

FIVE

Harry found himself in the graveyard again, though something was different this time. The sun was setting and the dying trees cast eerie shadows in the strong orange light.

Harry was pacing in front of two masked Death Eaters. He was very happy about something. He looked down and found that he was higher from the ground than he was used to being. His hands were not his, but those of Voldemort.

"It is good that Potter has been moved into Severus' quarters," Harry said, Voldemort's cold high voice issuing from Harry's mouth.

"Shall I tell Snape to kill him, my Lord?" one of the Death Eaters asked.

"Fool!" Harry yelled. "I would lose my best tool! Crucio!"

Although Harry cast the spell, he could feel the full effects of it as though he were the victim.

"Severus must remain a spy," Harry said after the curse was lifted. "No. What I need is to lure Potter away from the school and kill him once and for all."

"How can we do that?" the second Death Eater asked.

Harry laughed coldly. "Severus can do it for us. Malfoy!"

"Yes, my master?" a third Death Eater said from the shadows.

"Have your son deliver the message to Snape at the start of the new school year."

"Yes, my Lord," Malfoy said obediently.

"Potter will die this time," Harry said. "If he is not lured away by the first of October, give this to your son from me. Crucio!"

Harry screamed in agony as Lucius Malfoy fell to the ground.

"Potter!" Snape's voice was calling from what seemed a great distance.

Harry's whole body was shaking violently as he opened his eyes. The pain was nearly unbearable, though the curse had ended. He found a potion vial being pressed to his lips and drank the contents without question. The shaking subsided and Harry was left with a mild sense of nausea and a dull throbbing pain in his muscles.

"He's… going to… kill me," Harry said, his breathing labored.

"No one here will allow him to get that close," Snape assured him. "How many times did you feel the curse?"

"Twice," Harry replied, blinking against the searing pain in his scar. "He's still up to something though."

Snape tightened his hold on Harry and only then did Harry realize that he was in Snape's lap. He was too exhausted to protest this. Then, quite without warning, his whole body felt as though it had caught fire. He felt a terrible pain as though his soul was being ripped out and a great green light filled his vision. He could vaguely hear Snape in the background asking what was happening. After what seemed an eternity, the pain subsided, leaving Harry weak and shaking.

"He's just killed someone," he said quietly. His voice was very hoarse from all of the screaming he had done that night.

Snape's arms tightened around him again and Harry found himself feeling grateful for Snape's presence. He felt surprisingly comforted in Snape's warm embrace.

"You can feel Avada Kedavra?" Snape asked. He seemed to be forcing his voice to remain steady.

Harry nodded, but stopped quickly because it hurt his head. "I never thought anything could hurt more than Crucio." He gave a hollow, mirthless laugh. "I was wrong."

"I'll find a way to block it, Potter," Snape said. Harry found himself thinking that having Snape for a roommate might not be so bad after all.

Author's Note: Once again, thanks to Victoria Ennis for her hard work on this chapter. Thanks also to…

Monica85: Thanks you so much for that. It makes me smile.

Starangel2106: I quite agree.

Ktoddhim: I will, of course, send you my email addy. Not a problem, m'dear.

Rosiegirl: raises right hand "the next time I decide to go into a deletion frenzy, I will first put my stories on a disk and hide it so that I can recover my stories when the nagging from my loving readers becomes unbearable." Hehehe

Hambares: I've caught the other sites up to this one with the chapters. If you're interested in the smut scenes, that's where they'll be.

Medicated Drama Queen: Why thank you, m'dear. I agree about the Dursleys. That's the reason I made them the way I did in this story.

Animegurl088: This story is written in full, so there should be a chapter a day going up, unless I am indisposed. Thanks for the review.

Smurff: I quite agree. It's always "James" this and "James" that. Lily has to be in there somewhere. I mean, he is her kid too.

Zoeybell

Jkh1: No problem.

Nicky12330: thanks, I guess.

Purplepaper

Clodia: Harry has just decided that being immature is beneath him. His mood swings quite a bit at the beginning here because I think someone suffering that much on a regular basis would be rather unpredictable. It's just my take on things. As for his knowledge, he's going to become a right little know-it-all soon. He's decided that if he's going to win, he has first to learn.

Sliver of Melody: Hehehehe. He's been around for longer than you think. He's desperate because after several years, Severus is still rather ambivalent towards him. dramatic sigh I suppose that much rejection would make anyone desperate.