Short chapter, but I wanted to get it out. And yes, I did leave you with a cliffie at the end.
ShadeDancer
Disclaimer: (Twists out of a constraining white jacket) I made a deal, I profess that I do not own Harry Potter and They let me go. They will let me claim this twisted plot and the pranks within it though.
Chapter 11: New Year Tidings
A slight movement from the bed followed by a groan disturbed the Potion Master's rest and he straightened from the stiff position he had fallen to sleep in.
"Oww, I'm stiff" Harry seemed to be talking to himself, not realizing at first that there was anyone in the room with him.
"Welcome back to the land of the living Potter" Severus' voice held no heat even as he addressed Harry by his surname.
"Did you stay here this whole time Severus" Harry asked curiously, he and the prickly Potions Master had become good friends but it had surprised him that Severus hadn't turned him over to Madam Pomfrey's care last night.
"Yes Harry" Severus smirked, his eyes flashing "I stayed here the whole time. I plan on blackmailing you with the fact that you snore in your sleep. How are you feeling?"
"I don't snore" Harry was indignant "and I know that for a fact. If I snored then Dean would have done to me like he does to Ron and put a pillow over my face to get me to stop."
Severus chuckled lightly, a sound not many heard "so how are you feeling?"
Harry grimaced "stiff and still a bit shaky. Not really cold anymore though."
"I think I have some muscle relaxant in here" Severus had bent down to rummage through a bag of potions he had taken from his pocket and enlarged "and I'll give you another anti-cruciatus potion, but first something to eat. Winky!"
"Yes Professor Snape, sir" Winky had appeared as Severus straightened with two bottles in his hand "what can Winky be doing for you, sir?"
"Breakfast for two please Winky" Severus spoke calmly with the house-elf "a light fare as Harry shouldn't be eating anything too heavy yet."
Winky glanced over at Harry and gave him a small smile, the little house-elf had come to terms with her new life at Hogwarts though Harry had hinted at accepting her into his service if she ever decided to work for a family again. Her clothes were no longer stained with food or butterbeer, but were clean and neatly pressed. With a small bow, Winky popped away to take care of Severus' request. It didn't take long for Winky to pop back into the room with a steaming tray laden with food and Severus rolled his eyes at the exuberance of the house-elf, but refrained from saying anything until she left.
"This is certainly a light fare" Severus commented sarcastically as he fixed Harry a plate "I would hate to see what we would have been brought had I asked for a full breakfast."
Harry grinned slightly as he accepted the plate "at least you called for Winky instead of Dobby. Winky at least has some sense of moderation. If house-elves know of muggle drugs, I'd swear Dobby was on speed."
Severus raised an eyebrow at the mention of the muggle drugs, but didn't ask any questions as he instead turned to his own breakfast while watching to make sure Harry ate everything on his plate. For a while there was no conversation heard, really no noise at all except for the clink of silverware, until Harry hesitantly spoke.
"Do you—do you know what's going to be done about my vision?"
With a sigh Severus set down his utensils and faced Harry squarely "I do not know, but then I have yet to speak with Albus since I escorted you here last night. I expect the topic will come up at the next Order meeting. I swear to you though that Lucius will be warned, no matter what I will see to it that your father knows the Dark Lord is suspicious of him."
The smile Harry favored him with was noticeably grateful as the boy turned back to his food, and Severus did the same, it seemed as if some previously unnoticed tension had been banished from the room. For a moment Severus thought on what could have caused that tension until he realized that Harry had not expected Albus to inform Lucius of the imminent danger, in truth the old bastard probably would not have and Harry would have had a hard time getting word to his father without it being intercepted in some manner; Severus didn't know about the communication parchments. It wasn't too much later that both males put down their plates and sat back as Winky came to whisk away the dirty china.
"Swallow this" Severus held out the anti-cruciatus potion while ignoring the fact that Harry was already grimacing in expectation of the taste "it'll make you drowsy so I want you to lie on your stomach while I apply the muscle relaxant. It might be a good idea for you to remove your shirt first as well, this muscle relaxant does no good when applied to clothing and is poisonous if taken orally unlike some others. The anti-cruciatus potion acts unfavorably with orally-taken muscle relaxants and so a topically applied salve is the best alternative."
Harry blushed slightly as he shed the pajama top he didn't remember donning the night before. Giving another grimace, he downed the anti-cruciatus potion and lay down upon his stomach, arranging himself comfortably around the pillows on his bed. Moments later he felt the firm, sure pressure of Severus' hands as he kneaded the muscle relaxant salve into his back. Giving into the ministration, Harry never realized he was falling asleep until it was too late. He also never heard Severus chuckle softly as the older man realized what was happening. The last thing Harry remembered thinking was how wonderful Severus' was at giving massages, and what it would take to get another one sometime.
… … … … …
Time flew by until the winter holidays were upon them. Harry had gotten over his initial suspicions of Aberforth Dumbledore and was now taking private lessons with the man during the time he used to have animagus training with McGonagall. Order meetings were also becoming more frequent as Voldemort was attacking more often, raids the Dark Lord did not disclose anything about until right before the assault. Harry was not allowed in any of these meetings, but he knew when they were being held. After every meeting he would shoot Severus a questioning look only to receive a negative head shake in response, Dumbledore still wasn't doing anything in regards to Lucius' plight. Most communication to and from the school had been cut off as well, all mail being scanned whether it was outgoing or incoming. Thankfully for Harry and Draco, they had their communication parchments so that they could talk to their parents uncensored. Still, to keep up appearances, they still received a token bit of owl mail from home in the form of sweets and the usual 'how are you doing, how is school?' notes. Unfortunately one of those notes also cautioned Harry and Draco not to return home for the winter holidays, leaving both boys slightly upset even though they hid their disappointment well. They were going to miss out on their first real family Christmas together. Therefore it was a surprise for the two to wake up Christmas morning in Harry's room to find their parents grinning at them, a pile of presents at their feet.
"Merry Christmas" Lucius and Narcissa chimed together as they were tackled by their children; it was decidedly un-Malfoyish behavior, but no one was there to witness it besides themselves.
"Merry Christmas" the boys called before Draco asked "what are you doing here?"
Lucius smirked "even though it wasn't safe for you to come home, we weren't about to miss out on spending Christmas with you. We'll be staying until the end of the holidays."
Harry smirked at Dray "you do know what this means? Mum and dad are going to have to help us pull some pranks. I happen to have it on good authority that they used to pull some interesting ones themselves."
Narcissa groaned at the thought and Lucius muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'overgrown bat' before they settled down to rip open their presents before heading down to the Great Hall to join the few remaining people in the school for breakfast.
That afternoon was spent quietly in the chambers Dumbledore had allowed for their use as a family and they sat around playing games, reading, and talking until dinner was sent up for them by the house elves. For dinner Severus joined them as well and Harry soon had the talk turned towards pranks, mainly pranks involving Gryffindor territory.
"It'll be easy" Harry cajoled "there are only six or so Gryffindor's staying for the holidays and it would be all too easy to get them outside for a snowball fight or some other such activity. We then rig everything up on time-delay and activate it on the first day after the holidays when everyone is back."
In the end Lucius, Narcissa, and Severus ended up giving into Harry and Draco, knowing that it might be their last chance to do such things with the children. They agreed to short-sheet all the bed in Gryffindor tower, curse the showers to spit out cold water that dyed skin neon pink before it turned warm and caused their hair to grow out, and a toilet in each bathroom was cursed to start running away anytime someone tried to use it. Mirrors were charmed to show blemishes that weren't there and walking through certain doorways could cause students to spout off random sonnets for an hour. There had been some crueler prank ideas bandied around, but they had decided to keep things light. They would need laughter soon; all their futures were uncertain, especially with the New Year approaching.
In fact, they had been having so much fun that Harry had almost forgotten what would be happening on New Years Eve, indeed Voldemort had been so quiet that Harry had not thought anything more about what the Dark Lord could be planning. He had just pulled a wizarding cracker with Severus, quickly catching the snitch that fluttered from it, when the professor grabbed at his left arm. Suddenly fearful, Harry jerked his head to see his father doing the same thing. The two men stood in synchronization and nodded to Dumbledore before moving towards the doors of the Great Hall from where they would continue to the apparition point.
"No" Harry stood so fast that his chair tipped backwards "you can't go!"
Draco moved to Harry's side, both unconsciously clasping their hands together as the two men stopped right in front of the doors.
"We have to go" Lucius announced, not turning "to not go would be to call death upon our heads."
"He'll kill you if you go" Harry didn't care if the others in the room heard the emotion that was causing his voice to crack "he knows you are spies. Why else do you think he gave you such a task? He knows. He's known. He's toying with you."
"I know, Harry" Lucius voice was heartrending "but if I go I can try and buy you the time you need to destroy him. I love you. I love you both. Take care of your mother for me."
Without another word Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape left Hogwarts to meet with the Dark Lord, knowing that at least one of them would most likely never come back.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. You all are awesome.
Disposable Tears: No girl for Harry, not unless Sev gets a sex change.
Rlmess Flaw is awesome. I love Flaw. (grins)
Posted On: August 10, 2005