Chapter five

The two men watched silently as the teenager left. Severus was the first to recover from his mental stupor.

"Albus, did I just hear what I think I heard?" the potions master asked his mentor.

"Well, my dear boy, it shouldn't really come as a surprise. After all, we've both known for quite some time that Harry's sex life is, shall we say, umm... nonexistent."

"DAMN IT ALBUS! That was not what I meant and you know it. Did Mister Potter just admit that he is a homosexual?"

"Severus, if you want an answer to that inquiry than you shall just have to ask Harry," Albus ignored the glare the younger man was giving him and continued blithely, "as a matter of fact I must ask that you continue teaching young Harry occlumency."

Severus just stared at the white haired old wizard in disbelief.

MEANWHILE

'Stupid Snape has to look at me in that condescending way!' Harry thought to himself as the spiral staircase descended. 'How do I get myself into these things? Oh well, I'll talk to Mione about it later, she'll help me to understand this whole thing without being judgmental about it…'

Harry was so lost within his musings that he had not even realized that his feet had carried him to the entrance of Gryffindor tower. The fat lady had to ask him twice for the password before he came to his senses and gave it to her quickly (equinox). He then entered the common room to wait for his best friends to return from lunch.

As Harry waited for Ron and Hermione his mind began to wander back to a recurring dream he had been having for the past three weeks:

------DREAM SEQUENCE-----

Harry was walking alone on Hogwarts grounds during sunset enjoying the peace and quiet, "It is so pretty out here, I think I'll go and have a rest under the oak tree that overlooks the lake." As he reached his destination he sat down and gazed at the sunset as it was reflected in the lake water. 'Oh Sirius, why? Why did you have to die and leave me all alone? Why do the streaks of blue in each and every sunset remind me of your eyes? WHY!'

The feel of something wet upon his wrist brought him out of his musings. "Great, I am crying again. Will this ever stop? It's been two years now."

As Harry said this to himself something inside of him snapped and he began to sob so hard that his lungs burned from the effort of trying to breathe. Harry was so caught up in his grief that he didn't even notice the onset of night. He wasn't aware of anything until he heard someone approach him from behind. It occurred to Harry that perhaps he should be worried, but somehow he knew that meant him no harm. Indeed, they dropped down and pulled him into a strong warm embrace.

Startled, Harry asked in a teary voice, "W-who are you and why do you hold me this way?"

The only answer he received to his question was a deep chuckle. Slowly he was toward his would be comforter only to realize that they were faceless. Faceless that is, until they kissed him, and oh man did they ever kiss him! It was the kind of kiss that teased as well as promised things. The kiss was full of passion and love.

When the two broke apart Harry gazed into twin obsidian eyes, eyes filled with such need, want, longing and passion that it made Harry want things he had never wanted before, in all his seventeen years. As Harry gazed into those eyes, obsidian gave way to long greasy looking black hair and a medium sized slightly hooked nose…

-----END DREAM SEQUENCE-----

Harry couldn't understand why his would be comforter was none other than his most hated professor. He was left with the one burning question… why? Why was he dreaming of his potions master in this way?