By lunch the next day, half the school, including some of his closest friends, believed Harry had not only attacked his ex-girlfriend, but had unsuccessfully attempted to sexually assault her. He hadn't slept at all the night before, and the addition of the new accusation had sent his mind into a panic. No one could believe that Ginny had done most of the damage to herself. On top of that, he'd been avoiding Snape's eye the entire day, but had felt the man watching him intently all morning. Everything snapped when Harry walked into the Great Hall for the midday meal. He was immediately surrounded by Ron and several boys from Gryffindor and the other Houses.

"You think it's okay to rough up girls?" Zacharias Smith sneered.

"I didn't do that!" Harry cried for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "Ron, you know me, I would never hurt anyone, let alone your sister!"

"Then where were you, Harry?" The boy asked darkly. "Because you and Ginny were both missing after dinner. If you weren't with her, then where did you go, huh?" The redhead stepped forward and shoved his shoulder.

"He was with me," Came the dark tones of the forbidding Potions Master. Harry flinched sharply and looked over his shoulder to see the man had come in just behind him.

Ron scoffed in disbelief. "Like hell. Go on, pull the other one."

Harry caught Snape's eye, his own gaze flickering in desperation as he recalled his restless thoughts the entire night before, about what would happen if Voldemort's supporters in Slytherin learned of Snape's longtime betrayal. They would eventually, and Harry felt a strong need to protect the man. He just had no idea how. If he could just move their focus to him, he knew he could handle the backlash, especially if it kept the Potions Master safe.

"We were together," Harry agreed immediately. Harry thought again of this sexual aspect Ginny had added to her accusation and closed his eyes. His panicked mind could only come up with one excuse, one possible lie that would protect them both. If they pulled it off, everyone would be focused on hurting him, killing two birds with one stone. Rather than trying to kill Snape, they'd be intent on hurting him, to make the man suffer something worse than death. He opened his eyes again and met the Potions Master's unreadable gaze. This was really stupid. Snape's eyes widened minimally as he read the line of Harry's desperate thoughts. "We're-"

"Potter!" Snape said sharply. Harry looked at him pleadingly, and Snape sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why not?" The man breathed harshly. He looked up and gave the barest nod.

Harry realized the man was giving him permission and he gave a grateful smile. "He's my boyfriend," He said clearly, his voice firm. The crowd around him gasped, gaped, and drew back almost as one.

"Your what?!" Ron demanded loudly, drawing the attention of the rest of the Great Hall.

"You doubt him?" Snape asked, narrowing his eyes. "You find that less believable than him trying to rape a girl he's been avoiding for weeks? He was with me and came across Miss Weasley on his way back to his dorm. There are portraits who will attest to the fact that he was leaving the dungeons just before he ran afoul of your sister."

"He's right," Hermione said, joining the small crowd. "I just spoke with several of the portraits. Harry was in the dungeons all night." Harry watched her scratch her arm, and he knew she was lying. He wondered if she'd even talked to any portraits, or only lied about what they'd said. The itchy elbow was her tell, but as far as he knew, no one else was aware of it.

"There, see," Harry croaked. "I didn't lure Ginny out of the common room, she was waiting on me when I left the dungeons. She attacked me when I told her I wasn't interested in her." The lies, strangely, didn't taste as bad as he thought they would. If she could lie and accuse him, then a white lie in retaliation wasn't truly outside his morals, especially if it saved him from being beaten in the corridors, and saved Snape from certain death. He still wasn't entirely sure where the hell this was supposed to go and wasn't yet prepared to think that far ahead.

"What's going on?" McGonagall demanded, approaching the group that had drawn the eye of everyone in the Great Hall. Dumbledore approached beyond her.

"I do believe Severus and Harry have just publicly acknowledged their relationship," Dumbledore said idly. Harry gaped at the old wizard, certain one, or both, of them had gone mad. Dumbledore was playing along. Dumbledore was encouraging the lie.

Snape eyed his employer suspiciously. "Headmaster?"

"Oh come, Severus," Dumbledore said, smiling sunnily. "You can't truly believe I didn't know, or at least suspect. I do wish you had come to me, however, and we might've avoided this whole situation of Harry sneaking around after hours. After all, it isn't against the rules for a teacher to carry on a relationship with a Seventh-Year student."

"You're not angry, Headmaster?" Snape asked, sounding convincingly uncertain.

Dumbledore winked. "I've suspected quite some time."

Harry gaped at the old man. This lie just kept growing, but as he took in the faces around him, he realized his accusers actually seemed to be believing it. He was awed at the swiftness with which Snape and Dumbledore had fallen in line with the ludicrous claim. Suddenly, he wondered what was going to happen once the crowd was satisfied with the lie.

"If he's your boyfriend," Ginny snarled, pushing through the crowd. "Then why don't you kiss him and prove it?"

Harry looked at Snape, then turned back to the girl. "No," He said immediately. His accusers began to frown in suspicion once more, and he hastened to add, "We haven't gotten there yet. We're taking things slow, and the first time we kiss isn't going to be because you demanded it, and certainly not in front of the entire school."

"You're so full of it!" Ginny cried indignantly.

"Well, he wouldn't kiss you," Ron said softly, his gears turning. "You were together for a little over a month, and I never saw you guys kiss."

"And that would be against the rules," McGonagall said in clipped tones. "Whatever may happen behind closed doors, a teacher and student cannot outwardly express a relationship until the student has graduated."

Harry sighed with relief as Hermione nodded. "It's true," She said. "It's in Hogwarts, A History, exactly that. Harry's old enough to consent to a relationship, but public displays raise questions about favoritism."

"But they hate each other!" Ginny cried desperately, watching the tide of public opinion begin to turn against her. The gathered students were beginning to turn their accusing eyes towards her.

Harry looked at Snape worriedly, but the man only smirked. "Not for some time," The Potions Master said softly.

Harry didn't dare look away from the sincerity in the man's gaze. It was true. He had never hated Snape, and he realized now that the man had, miraculously, chilled out just the year before. Snape had had every right to hate him, after his disastrous Fifth Year, but the man had been no worse than usual, had actually been much more relaxed towards him and his friends. Even after what had happened with Malfoy and the man's own spell, Snape hadn't outwardly been any different.

Harry barely noticed as the crowd began to disperse, stunned, but somehow believing this insane lie. His eyes remained locked with the Potions Master.

"Come," The man instructed softly.

Harry followed obediently as the others returned to their tables. Hermione smirked at him knowingly as he passed her, and he blushed. This was getting way out of hand. Snape led him out into the Entrance Hall and into one of the private, decorative alcoves that bordered the Great Hall. His blush deepened as they stared at one another across the relatively small space.

"That was dumb." Harry said at last. "I kind of… Thank you, for lying for me. I don't- What'll this do to you, with You-Know-Who?"

"After last night, that is no longer a concern," Snape admitted gravely. "You saw the state in which I returned. I've no idea how, but the Dark Lord has become aware of my spying. I was lucky to escape while he monologued, and luckier still that you were there to save my life when I did. This lie is the least of what I owe you, and it will put you at great personal risk, which I think was your intent."

"I can handle it if it keeps you alive, and you don't owe me anything," Harry replied immediately. "I didn't do it so you could owe me, I did it because you needed help."

"Be that as it may, my honor demands we be on equal footing, and this is a start," Snape said. "The question you must answer is what will happen next."

Harry frowned, leaning back against the wall, distraught. "I don't know," He groaned. "I mean, I didn't even think anyone would believe me! I didn't think about it at all. I guess we could pretend like nothing is different," He suggested. "If we've been dating for however long and never let on, we can just keep going like nothing's changed."

"That would look extremely suspicious, now that the relationship has been aired," Snape pointed out. "Better that we feign a relationship of some kind."

Harry scoffed. "You're serious? You really think we could convince everyone we're secretly dating? Everyone's going to be looking for some sign that we're together. We'd have to completely change our attitudes towards each other. I don't even know how to act in a real relationship!"

Snape's eyebrow rose curiously, and Harry felt his blush darken further.

"I've never been in one," He admitted, embarrassed. "I went on one date with Cho and I was only with Ginny for a month. Ron wasn't lying. We never even kissed. She tried, but… well, after Cho I don't like to run headlong into relationships."

"I see," Snape murmured. He leaned back against his wall as well, arms crossed tightly over his chest. He paused for a moment, thinking, then returned his bright black gaze to Harry's worried green. "Then we shall, indeed, take things slow. If you have never been in a relationship, you can take my cues, and I will be… gentle. To begin, once a week, you should come to my rooms."

"Like every Tuesday or something? Some kind of date night?" Harry asked uncertainly. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with Snape.

"Precisely," Snape agreed. "This should give us a week to become accustomed to the new roles we've blundered into."

Harry licked his lips uncertainly. "Okay, but what do I do when I'm with you? I mean… I'd have to be down there for at least an hour, and I don't know how I'm supposed to act now, let alone when we're with other people. This- this is insane. I can't believe I dragged you into this. I'm sorry. I can't do this. I don't know how to do this. I don't even know how a relationship works, let alone how a fake one would. I mean, what do I say, or do? I can't act suddenly lovesick, just because everyone 'knows', it would look suspicious and I couldn't possibly pull it off." Harry felt his heart rate rising as panic settled into his chest. There was no way he could do this. He found he didn't really mind the idea of who but was terrified by the fact that he had no idea about the how.

A gentle hand on his chin lifted his frightened, panicky gaze upward to meet soothing obsidian. Snape smirked. "As I said, you may take your cues from me. Of course, you'll be awkward, but that will only help to sell our foundling accord," Snape explained. "Your friends and classmates are well aware that you are inexperienced and withdrawn. They'll expect that we take things slow, especially as they cannot be sure how long we've supposedly been seeing one another, and we cannot be publicly affectionate. They will not expect our behaviors to change publicly, because of the rules. You may not have a history of following the rules, but I have a long history of enforcing them. It will all be a matter of setting aside our prior animosity. If, however, you do not believe you can do that much, then perhaps…" Snape started to pull back again.

"No!" Harry said quickly, reaching out to the man but falling just short of touching him. "D-don't… You can't really believe I hate you? Even after last night?"

Snape gave a mild shrug, but Harry caught the slightest flicker of uncertainty in the man's gaze.

He smiled in embarrassment. "I don't hate you. I never did, not really, but after what you did for Dumbledore last year… You could've run. You could've played the perfect Death Eater, but you stuck around and saved his life instead. That's probably what eventually led to last night, and you had to know you were putting your own life at risk when you did it, but you did it anyway. After that, it was kind of easy to forgive you for anything you'd ever done to me. Especially when I returned this term and you stopped treating me like shit, if you'll pardon my French."

Snape smirked, his fingers caressing Harry's chin as his hand fell and he stepped back. "That, Mister Potter, is a start. As I said, no one will expect us to emote over one another, it would look more suspicious if we did. Merely treating one another as equals will serve to boggle minds and prove our lie."

Harry grinned to hear Snape call it their lie. It served to make him feel better, and a little wicked, to know he was not in this alone. And, he was sure, Hermione could give him pointers, since she had made herself a part of the lie as well. The tightness in his chest slackened and he took a deep, calming breath. Taking cues from Snape shouldn't be hard. Ron, at least, knew he was distant even with his closest friends, no one would expect him to gush over anyone, especially not Snape, no matter what they claimed their relationship to be. He gave a stiff, grateful nod.

"Thank you. I'm bound to make you regret this, but for now, thank you," He said sincerely.

Snape merely smirked before ducking out of the alcove and returning to the Great Hall.

Harry breathed a shaky laugh, running his fingers through his hair, and told himself he had to be completely mad, even as he moved to follow. Only when he sat at Gryffindor and all of his friends turned to him with bright, questioning eyes, did his panic return. He looked up at Snape, who was already at the Head Table. He blushed when the man winked subtly. He could do this. He had to. He turned back to his friends, who'd watched the brief interaction with interest, and prepared to answer their questions as vaguely as possible.

-Break-

Immediately following lunch was, of course, Potions for the Seventh Years. The usual House separation had been abandoned, because after Snape had weeded out the students who'd failed under Slughorn there weren't enough students to warrant it. He had kept anyone who'd managed to maintain at least an E up to and including the final, however, which meant Harry was in the class.

For an hour, Harry felt his breath coming up short whenever he heard the slightest whisper of the Potions Master. The man, who he'd have sworn before today made no noise whatsoever when he moved, had the slightest tells as he moved around the class, instructing and berating. His boots made a rare, soft snick on the stone; his robes constantly brushed along his stride, fabric on fabric; and even his breathing was easy to point out, if you knew what you were looking for. It helped, or didn't, that the entire class was nearly as quiet as a graveyard, everyone afraid to move, let alone speak. It felt like he and Snape were on the cusp of something, and everyone was holding their breath.

The tension finally snapped when Snape approached at Harry's elbow. Harry, for the first time since the class had begun, had failed to hear the man. He felt the presence so very near to him, though, like the air between them was charged with electricity. Slowly, he swept his eyes up and around from his potion. There was the barest smirk, very nearly a smile, on the aristocratic features and Harry's heart fluttered up into his throat. Harry, startled by the look and his heart's sudden eviction, fumbled the glass stirring rod in his hands and dropped it.

The entire class, who were by no means paying their own potions the slightest mind, drew a sharp breath as one as they waited for the loud shatter. Most of them were probably waiting to see what would happen after. The shatter, at least, didn't come, as Snape's quick wand work levitated the rod a foot from the floor, and back up into his hand. He handed the rod over, caressing Harry's fingers lightly as the Gryffindor grinned bashfully.

"You and Miss Granger seem to be the only students capable of following instructions," The man commented lightly. He moved on.

Only when that black gaze was gone did Harry remember how to breathe. He hadn't even seen Snape draw his wand. It was a stunning display, to say the least, and his heart was still rapidly dancing a wild tattoo. A blush suffused his cheeks as the whispers started. They filled the classroom, and for the first time in what was likely Snape's entire career, the Potions Master made no effort to stop them.

Whispers were good. Whispers meant people had seen, and that they were starting to believe the lie. Swallowing past the fluttery lump in his throat, Harry returned his attention to his potion. He was glad he was doing well, but even was even more glad that the Potions Master had noticed. Even without Snape's book he actually had some marginal talent in the class, and now, more than ever, he wanted to prove to the Half-Blood Prince that he could accomplish something. He spent the last hour of the class pretending he wasn't smiling; and pretending he didn't know every silent step his faux boyfriend made.