Severus tilted that strong, trembling chin up. When he saw those vibrant green eyes shimmering with yet more tears, eyes so much older than Lily's had ever been, he could do nothing but pull the younger wizard against him. Those green eyes were filled with such pain, pain Severus couldn't help but feel he'd cause. If he hadn't been so stubborn in recent months about maintaining the friendship…if he had put a stop to things when he'd first begun hearing the whispers in the staff room, then Potter wouldn't be suffering now. He couldn't imagine what the Gryffindor could possibly feel sorry for.

Potter gave a stifled sob. "If I had just been strong enough," He murmured against Severus' sternum. "If I had dealt with my own problems from the beginning, then none of this would have ever happened."

Severus frowned. "What on Earth are you talking about, Potter?"

Potter tore away from his embrace, almost toppling backwards on his stool in his hurry. "It's my fault!" He said, standing and turning away. Severus reached for the gently shaking shoulders of this tortured young man, but hesitated. "Everything…if I'd controlled my dreams better, you would never be in this mess. If I hadn't exposed my weaknesses, then nothing would have ever changed. You're in trouble now, and it's because of me."

Severus finally convinced himself to touch the trembling shoulders. Potter jerked slightly, but he didn't pull away, and as Severus stepped closer the Gryffindor turned into him, resuming the embrace. Severus carded his fingers through the feathery mop of untamable hair. How could Potter think that any of this was anything to do with either of them?

"This isn't your fault," The Potions Master said quietly. He could feel the tears soaking his robes as Potter shook silently in his arms. "We have neither of us done anything to warrant this investigation. The truth will come out, as it always does in the end."

"But, your job-"

"Is not more important than your friendship and well-being," Severus insisted gently.

Potter pulled far enough away to look up at him, his brow furrowed in a deep frown. "How can you say that? I…I've been nothing but a disrespectful thorn in your side since I came to Hogwarts."

"And I have been a disdainful, sadistic git in turn," Severus argued, swiping away the last silent tears from a bronze cheek. "The simple fact that you have chosen to look past my innumerable flaws and befriend me without prejudice means more to me than a thousand thankless careers. Do you regret the time we have spent together?"

"No!" Potter answered quickly. "I-I couldn't possibly. It's just…it isn't fair. We've done nothing wrong, and yet we're being treated like criminals."

Severus smirked, running his thumb with secret longing over the stern jaw. "Well, it may have escaped your notice, but life isn't fair."

Potter offered up a small smile appreciatively. "No shit."

Onyx stared into shimmering emerald warmly for a long moment. Only when Severus realized, almost belatedly, that he was unconsciously leaning towards the unguarded visage of his student; only with the swell of emotion that left him teetering precariously on the edge of right and wrong, did he pull away. Guilt stabbed at him so viciously that his hand trembled as he held it over his traitorous mouth, which had almost cost him everything. He heard Potter clear his throat unsubtly.

"You should go," Severus said, picking his words carefully as if caught in a briar patch. "Lest we risk feeding these untenable rumors further."

"Yeah…" Potter said, a nervous edge to his tone. "I…I want to thank you. Your friendship, it means a lot to me, even if I don't feel like I've shown it up 'til now."

Severus turned, a smirk that might well have been a small smile twisting the corners of his lips. Despite there now being a few feet between them, he felt a second swell of desire that threatened to overwhelm him.

"You need never thank me for my friendship…Harry."

Potter grinned. "I think that's the first time you've ever called me that." He swiped away the last vestiges of his earlier waterworks.

Severus truly smirked now. "Don't get used to it, Brat."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Git," Potter bit back playfully.

They shared another soft look that sparked between them, and then Potter was moving away. Severus watched him disappear out of the classroom, and as soon as the door was shut his smile became pained. It wasn't only guilt that stabbed at him now, but worry. He had told Potter that the truth would come out, but he was not really as sure as he'd sounded. If his colleagues, who still tossed strongly worded accusations at him in the staffroom, away from student ears, expressed their own suspicions during the inquiry, it wouldn't matter what he or anyone else said. Even with Veritaserum, used only as a last resort, the mere fact that the other professors thought him capable of this lecherous depravity could be enough to cost him his position.

Merlin forbid, if his accusers, or Potter himself, were to discover the astringent desire he'd begun to harbor for the Wizarding Savior.