The next night Harry made that all to familiar route down to his potions master office again. He knocked on the door and waited for a response, but received none. This slightly worried him because Snape had told him to come back tonight and talk to him. After knocking a second time and getting no response he pushed the door open slowly. The Gryffindor quickly scanned the room looking for his teacher. His green eyes fell on a partially open door that he had never noticed before. That must be his bedroom Harry thought to himself as he made his way in that direction. Yes, his potions master was more than likely in there doing….well, something.
"Professor?" He called out before even reaching the open door. He peeked around the door hoping not to catch Snape naked or something…or hoping he might. Harry you moron why would you think something like that a little voice in the back of his mind yelled at him but he ignored it. He once again scanned the room in front of him and his eyes fell immediately on the bed. And there was Snape sleeping…He told me to come down here and no he's asleep?
He stepped into the room completely and removed his invisibility cloak as he moved towards the bed. "Professor Snape?" He called again a bit more loudly.
The dark haired man must have heard him that time because he rolled over and opened an eye. "What do you want, Potter?"
"I…..You told me to come down and talk to you tonight, sir. Don't you remember?" Harry said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Snape looked horrible, the worst he had ever seen him to be honest.
"Is it that late already?" The potions master said as he glanced up at the clock. "I slept a lot longer than I was planning on." He sat up slowly stretching as he did.
Harry's eyes widened slightly when he realized the other man wasn't wearing a shirt. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to stop staring. Mentally he slapped himself then finally looked away. "Are you feeling alright? You seem…..well, not yourself lately."
"I feel terrible, Potter, but you have no reason to concern yourself with it. I'm sure I'll live." The Slytherin responded as he swung his feet off the edge of the bed and sat next to Harry. "What is it you want to talk about?"
Those piercing green eyes found there way back to the half naked body of his teacher. It was then he noticed the many scars on his teachers body. He reached out and traced his finger over a few of them trying to figure out how the man could have gotten them.
"I got most of them right after I finished school. One has to love the Dark Lord's initiation tests." Snape answered the unasked question.
The Gryffindor quickly snapped back into the present and remembered why he had come down there to talk to him again. "Why won't you just tell me who it is? Why do you have to be so bloody stubborn?"
"Granger knows who it is, why don't you just ask her?" The dark haired man replied.
"Because I'm asking you, now tell me." Harry demanded.
"Very well, but I thought I had made it more than obvious to you by now…."
"ME? You're kidding right?" He laughed convinced that it was a joke just like the first night…..Wait, maybe what happened the first night wasn't just an act.
The older man stared back at him with a slightly offended look in his eyes. "Go to bed, Potter."
"Oh, no, not working tonight. You can tell me to leave and not talk to me all you want but I refuse to leave until I get this all figured out. Ok, so say it is really me, why didn't you tell me sooner?" the green eyed boy asked.
"Remember how you reacted the first night you came down here this year? Did you ever think that might be why?" Snape said in a flat tone.
"Well, things have progressed since then…Our…relationship has changed a bit. We actually like each other now." Harry stated.
"Potter, just go and forget about this…Forget about me. Go find love and be happy with someone." The Slytherin said in an all too Snape-like tone. The cold tone he used to use when taking points from Gryffindor, or giving out detentions.
"Professor, no, Severus, you are a very hard man to figure out, you know that? First you're complaining about me not coming down to see you and now you're complaining about me not going away. What do you want from me?" He asked feeling a bit frustrated.
"It doesn't matter what I want, not anymore. I only have about five weeks to do everything I've ever wanted with my life. I just wanted to se you before I died, Potter. I apologize for any inconvenience I've caused you." Snape said as he reached down and picked his shirt up off the floor and put it on without buttoning it.
"Don't say that! You're not going to die!" The Gryffindor said standing from where he sat. "Why do you think you're gonna die? Voldemort is gone and none o his followers would dare come after you now."
"I killed myself. Remember what I said the potion I made was meant to do?" He asked as he leaned his body against the post of the bed. His weakness was getting worse and Harry could easily tell.
"You said it would take the mind of one person and….put it in another's body. So when you killed Voldemort you…." He stopped he couldn't say it, or even think it.
"I killed a part of myself." The potions master finished for him. "It won't be long before the rest of me follows. You can't live as an incomplete being, Potter, it's not possible."
"You knew this would happen before you destroyed him? You knew what would happen to you? Why did you do it then?" The Gryffindor demanded.
"I had to do it, had to save you. It's doesn't matter now anyway, I've served my purpose in this world and it no longer needs me around. I'm happy to die knowing I was on the right side in the end." He answered as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
This was causing Harry's frustration to grow even more. How could this man be so calm about dieing? How could he not care that he would be leaving people behind, people who cared about him? Did Snape even know there were people who cared for him? He took sighed and dropped himself back onto the bed. "What about the people who still need you here? Did you even consider what might happen to them if you did this?"
"What people, Potter? I have no family, no friends, and no one that depends on me. I lived my life alone for a reason." Snape said opening his eyes again.
"What about Remus, who will make his potion for him when you're gone? And what about…..Dumbledore, who will he find to replace you as a teacher? Then there are all the future students who deserve the right to learn from a man who actually knows what he's talking about…." These all seemed like a reasonable argument bur Harry knew it wouldn't be enough. "What about me? Did you think what might happen to me now?"
"I didn't think you would miss me to be honest. As for the rest of it, it's already been taken care of. The headmaster was aware of my plan even though you were not." He said as he turned his head to face the boy. "You don't need me around making your life any worse than I already have."
"You haven't made it all that bad…..Ok, the first five years were horrible but not so bad this year." Harry offered one of his all too famous smiles which forced one from the older man as well.
Snape reached out and placed his shaky hand on the other's shoulder. "You don't have to flatter me simply because I'm dieing, Potter. I know how bad I made things for you. Of course, look at you, you deserved it."
The Gryffindor lifted his hand and placed it on top of that which was on his shoulder. "You look terrible, you should get some rest. I'll go if you want me to…so you can sleep some more." He started to get up but his teachers hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Stay with me? Just until I fall asleep. Just in case I don't wake up tomorrow…" He asked as he removed his shirt again and got situated under the warm blanket.
"Ok, but I will see you tomorrow. You're gonna be fine." Harry replied as he pulled his feet up on the bed and sat next to the other. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Snape. His potions master was so weak and even sounded afraid. The boy just sat there and stared as the man until he was sure he was asleep. As quietly as he could he left the room and ran all the way back to his dorm where he spent the rest of the night trying to figure out a way to save the man who had given his life to save him.