A/N : To llpi, Umbridge is not the main or even supporting character in my story. If you haven't realize, I mostly focus on the relationship between Harry and Severus only, not even Ron and Hermione have much scene, so don't expect to see Umbridge(I really hate that woman). And thanks to my guest who reviewed, my first Italian review, yeah!
Chapter 18 : Nightmares
Harry and Snape took a short nap before starting the massive cleanup project. Well, I would be a lot of work for muggles, but thank goodness they were wizards. With the aid of cleaning charms, they managed to make the house liveable in mere hours. Anyhow, it was still a hectic job, and both of them almost collapsed in magical exhaustion after work. Thus, they hastily took some canned food before retiring to sleep.
Harry was having a harsh time getting to sleep. Firstly, he was always jumpy and more vigilant in a new environment, especially when he was in a new country with no one to contact if he or Snape had any emergencies seeing that there was no portkey, he was not able to apparate or conjure patronuses to convey messages. To worsen the condition, this was the first night he was in bed without sleeping draught after Sirius' death. He couldn't help but have flashbacks of his last moments with his godfather, the hope of having a new family shattered.
Unknown to Harry, Snape was also facing difficulties falling asleep. Being in his mother's family house the first time in his life, his thoughts wandered to his childhood. To say that his parents hated him was not true, but his father often hit him due to his alcoholism. His mother was also a victim of abuse by his father despite being a witch. She cared and loved Snape, but couldn't provide him with all the needs as a child. He didn't blame his mother as he knew it wasn't her fault that they were poor, but he couldn't help wondering what life would be like if he had a different childhood, a blissful childhood. Would he be a spy? Most likely not. Maybe his relationship with Lily would be fruitful, and perhaps, just a chance that he would have a child of his own, a family. Thinking of Lily, the remorse that he had ignored for the past few days caused a turmoil. His hatred for James Potter made him taunt Lily's child, a teenager who already had the burden of the world on his shoulders, but still needed to endure a greasy and unreasonable potions master.
It was long before Harry and Snape finally fell asleep, bothered by unpleasant memories and thoughts.
When Harry woke up the next morning, he was experiencing a mild headache. Not that he was unfamiliar to the sensation, especially when he was pestered by nightmares. So, he ignored the pain and proceeded to clean and dress. It was barely dawn, but seeing that there was no house-elf at the manor, Harry was hoping to get up early and prepare breakfast for his professor.
However, his intentions were left unfulfilled for Snape was already frying sausages when Harry reached the kitchen. "Morning, Harry." A slightly frustrated tone of Snape's greeting suggested to Harry that his professor was not sleeping well. "Morning, professor. Had a bad night?" Snape raised his brows at Harry's greeting. "Try again, Harry." Harry was confused for a second before he realized what Snape was referring to. "Oh, good morning, Severus." "I didn't think you really meant that," he added under his breath. Snape, being the 'dungeon bat' with exceptional hearing, heard it anyhow. "I don't say things that I don't mean, Harry." Harry grinned shyly at Snape as a response.
"Do you want me to take over, Se…verus?" Harry was still finding his new way of addressing his professor weird, but he guessed he just needed some time to get used to it. Frankly speaking, it made him feel closer to the professor, and he was enjoying this new relationship between them. He surely hoped it could last.
"Are you okay with it? I'm not particularly good at cooking, but…will it remind you of your relatives if you cook?" "Not at all sir, I enjoy cooking when it is done at my own free will." Snape passed the pan to Harry, a little bit reluctantly, as if he wasn't completely persuaded by Harry's statement.
Flipping the sausages, Harry noticed that it was mildly burnt. "Oh my, I finally found something our beloved Potions Master is not perfect at!" He couldn't suppress the urge to jab at Snape. However, he regretted it the moment the word left his mouth, for Snape's face turned a shade darker and Harry could sense a snide remark forming. Obviously, he had overestimated his relationship with Snape. "Now Severus will be cruel to me again." Harry almost hit himself for his stupidity.
Snape was prepared to lash himself at Harry for the remark. Not that he couldn't see a joke, but he was unused to being treated like that. However, he stopped his curse words when he realized that the boy before him paled visibly. Of course, Harry meant nothing evil. Just a normal bicker between a son and fa- no, a student and professor. Since when had he started to see Harry as a son? He reprimanded himself for that. Instead, he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "seeing that you are so perfect in culinary, you will take care of our meals?"
Harry's shock at the abrupt change of attitude was written plainly on his face. He gaped at Snape for a moment before nodding. "I would love to, and…I'm sorry for the…comment just now, I didn't mean to…hurt you." "It's fine, Harry. You don't need to be so reserved with me, at least outside Hogwarts. Do you understand?" Harry grinned shyly.
The day passed with them cleaning some missed corners and cupboards of the house before Snape retired to his book and Harry to his holiday work after dinner. At 10pm, Snape 'suggested' Harry go to bed with a tone that didn't offer a room for discussion. True, Harry was sleepy, but he didn't want to leave the comfortable company of his professor. A glance at Snape made him pace to his bedroom begrudgingly. He didn't hear a soft sigh from Snape after he left the room. Although Snape would never admit it, he had enjoyed Harry's company as much as Harry enjoyed his. After finishing his article, he retired to bed too, hoping to gain at least a few hours of undisturbed sleep.
Harry awoke from his nightmare with a start. He saw Cedric tearing after him again. Shaking a little, he pulled the blankets closer to him. The room was much colder than it was yesterday. Snuggling in his covers, he tossed and turned for some time before falling back asleep.
"Nooooo!" Snape woke up with a start, wondering what was the cause of the scream and grabbing his wand at the bedside table simultaneously. Living in solitude for years made Snape forget for a moment that there was another human in the manor. "SIRIUS!" Another shrill pulled Snape back to his senses. He climbed out of bed in record speed and ran to Harry's room with no dignity, something Harry might laugh at if he wasn't yelling himself hoarse in his dreams.
Snape was momentarily stunned to see Harry thrashing around in his bed, struggling to disentangle himself from the bedcovers. Never had he seen someone reacting so violently to nightmares. "But most likely no one will have nightmares as aggressive as Harry's," Snape thought wryly. He started petting Harry's head and gently caressing his back, hoping to soothe and calm him down. It didn't work though, and he received a punch on the head from Harry who was trying to chase away the demons in his dream.
"Ouch!" Snape swore before he could stop himself. That somehow caught Harry's attention. He opened his eyes, blinking furiously to clear his vision, still panting and gasping for breath. "Prof…Severus?" he croaked. "What are you doing in my room?" "You yelled, so I came to see if you are in trouble," Snape replied, having recovered from the blow, or rather, the shock of the blow. "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I might have forgotten to put up the Silencing charm. I remember I did though." Harry muttered, partly to himself.
"Sorry? You said you put up a Silencing charm in your bedroom? Why do you need to do that?" Harry raised an eyebrow at Snape's question. The answer was pretty obvious, wasn't it? "Err…because I don't want to wake you up by yelling?" "So you are suggesting that you have such violent nightmares frequently?" "Ye…ah. About once every night," Harry chuckled darkly. Snape sighed. He guessed that Harry was bothered by nightmares, but not to this extent. "Well, I forbid you to use the Silencing charm within my manor. No buts. I will need to know if you are in danger and need help. Now get back to sleep." Harry sensed the finality in Snape's tone, thus didn't bother to argue. No one could defy Severus Snape if he had made up his mind.
Snape stayed in Harry's room for the whole night, even after Harry had fallen asleep again. When the boy muttered in his sleep, Snape absent-mindedly caressed his forehead, only to find it hotter than normal. It was obvious that Harry had a fever. "Maybe it's because we were soaked by the rain yesterday, but wizards don't get sick easily, and catching a flu because of the rain is very rare. Is there anything wrong with Harry's magic core?" Snape figured, a slight panic rising within him.
A/N : This and a few following chapters will have less action in it, for it is time for the relationship between Harry and Severus to blossom! But they'll be some foreshadowing. I sort of lengthened my plot, so the action will be less compact than my previous chapters(Just in case you wonder why the first few chapters are action filled but the story is progressing much slower now).