Harry gaped at the sadistic Potions Master sat across from him. School breaks were meant to be free to the students, but now he was being ordered into attending even more remedial lessons. He started to scowl, prepared to argue the unfairness, but a little voice in his mind stopped him. Snape…this wasn't malice, or even sadism. There was something Harry couldn't quite put his finger on, but he somehow knew that Snape was lying. Sure, it looked and sounded no different than the man's usual ruthlessness, but something inside him knew that it wasn't. But why would Snape suddenly lie about extra lessons? Because it was as close as he could come to inviting Harry to share in the holiday with him without doing so outright, that was why.
This realization startled the Gryffindor, that he had a sudden insight to Snape; that he suddenly knew what the man was thinking almost without hesitation. Some wall, buried deep in Harry's heart, crumbled under this realization. It felt sort of like a more intimate form of Legilimency. It felt like…well, it felt like the connection he used to share with Ron and Hermione before they'd grown apart. Instead of scowling, Harry grinned. He was actually grateful to Snape, for the lie and for the hidden reasons behind it. He didn't want to spend Christmas alone, and it felt…promising…that Snape was willing to interrupt his own holiday so that he didn't have to.
Harry hid a chuckle when he saw surprise flash across onyx pools as Snape frowned in response to his grin.
"Thank you, Professor," He said honestly.
Snape continued to frown. "For what?" He growled.
Harry gave a slight shrug. "For being you, I suppose. Don't-don't ever change, okay?"
Snape paused for a moment, looking down at his tea and sipping at it delicately. When he looked back up, he was sporting a smirk that threatened to be a smile. Harry knew instinctually that the Potions Master had realized he'd been caught out, and that they both knew now that he was trying to hide behind propriety to conceal real kindness.
"I couldn't, even if the urge struck me, Mister Potter."
Harry allowed himself to chuckle lightly now, and sat up a little straighter.
"So, what areas do you think I still need work in? I know my stirring and chopping are still sloppy," He said engagingly.
The smirk widened slightly, threatening again to transform into a smile, and Snape leaned forward as well. They wound up discussing Potions until the tavern had begun to empty of the other students and it was time to return to the school. They left the pub together, and Harry had every intention of walking back with the man, but Snape pointed out Ron and Hermione as they passed on the other side of the street. Without saying a word, he encouraged Harry to engage them with a nudge to the small of his back. Harry, with a grin, thanked the Potions Master with his eyes and caught up to the two people he still thought himself closest to.