A/n: CHAPTER FIVE!!! YAY!!! and that's without any reviews!! seriously, if theres anyone reading this who thinks they can get away without reviewing, they are sorely mistaken. i need reviews to continue this fic!!! GET ON IT!!!

Disclaimer: I dont own anything. Except the slowly developing plotline.

Chapter Five: By the Fire

Pit pat pit pat the raindrops fell lightly from the May sky, hitting the windows and rolling down the castle in streams, making it seem as though the walls themselves were crying. The gloomy mood was very befitting of one Gryffindor who sat in the Common room that Saturday, wishing he were in Hogsmeade. Harry sighed, looking down at his Potions essay. Slughorn was undoubtedly more lenient in his assignments than Snape was, but Harry was still forever behind on his work.

While Ron and Hermione were out sloshing through the puddles on their way to the Three Broomsticks for a warm Butterbeer, Harry sat by the fire moodily scratching out the lines he had written the night before, most of which didn't make any sense at all, given the state of his mind at the time.

Snape had been acting very odd towards Harry lately, and the young Wizard couldn't put his finger on why. It had seemed like they were making such good progress in their relationship recently, and now, all of a sudden, the former Potions Master was back to his old self. His sneers and smirks were back full-force, and he had been taking more points that ever. Without explanation, he had canceled their last training session, due to, as he put it, "some personal issues". This upset Harry, for had really begun to enjoy the time he spent with the older man; besides the knowledge and skill he had acquired, he felt comfortable with Snape, like one would with an old friend. Indeed, Harry felt, they had become close companions. Until recently, he had no reason to think otherwise.

Harry hadn't realized how much he valued the lessons with Snape, until, however cliché it may sound, he didn't have them anymore. Harry sat, now, unable to concentrate. No matter how hard he tried to think of another reasonable explanation for his lack of attention, it all lead back to Severus Snape. The man was everywhere, it seemed. Besides for occupying 75 percent of Harry's thoughts, (the other 25 percent being how he was going to defeat Voldemort without his help), the man seemed to be right behind or right in front of Harry wherever he walked; the halls were his haunt night and day.

Once this fact had been established, Harry thought he could try to get the Potions Master's attention, and try to talk things out; he had tried to catch him after classes, but Snape had left hurriedly before Harry even opened his mouth. This tactic was fruitless, too, because Snape was determined to avoid him at all costs. Harry would be walking back from dinner in the Great Hall, only a few short steps behind the man, when Snape would suddenly turn around and head back in, and Harry couldn't go back for a number of reasons. A) it would make it obvious that he was following him, B) he would have to explain himself to Ron and Hermione, who were impatient to get back to the Common Room, and C) if Snape didn't want to talk to him, Harry would have to respect it, at least for a little while, just to give Snape his space.

Harry found this easier said than done. As he sat staring into the fire, alone in the common room by that time, (his grumbling stomach signaled lunch and told him why), the man consumed his thoughts yet again. His courage, his sense of sarcastic humor, his powerful command of Magic, his extensive knowledge of everything Harry needed to know. The man had become Harry's mentor, and now, he realized, he needed him.

'I must be psychotic,' Harry thought. He had just seen Snape's head flash through the fire. 'I need to get a grip.'

Suddenly, however, the Potions Master's face appeared in the flames once again, and this time Harry could confirm it was real.

"Professor?" Harry asked, sliding off his favorite fire-front arm chair and staring at Snape in confusion, "What are you doing here?"

Snape looked tired and stressed and Harry had the feeling that if a hand were to join its head, it would run itself across the exhausted face and nervously tug at its hair.

"How did you know I didn't go to Hogsmeade? And you're lucky I'm alone in here; people might think it's strange that you're visiting me." Harry kept his face cold and impassive, but inside he was smiling, his heart strangely beating a mile a minute.

"I have your map, Potter, or have you forgotten it already? I knew both that you were here and that you were alone just by looking at it. Tell me, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be running around in the rain, trying to catch cold and get out of doing your work like your other little friends?"

"Actually, Professor, quite the opposite. I stayed here to catch up on my work and stay out of the rain. I don't like rain that much, really, I'd rather be inside by the fire, even if it means writing a potions essay."

"Potions essay? I miss assigning those. At least when I was doing it, I could be certain you would get the grade you deserve, and not a point higher. Slughorn is a softy, especially for you, just like everyone else who is blinded by that scar."

"Is he now?" Harry said through gritted teeth. First the Professor ignores him and now he comes to see him just to rub his fame in his face?

"I wouldn't put it past him to give you an E in Potions this year, whether or not you deserve it."

'If I could concentrate on what I was writing I'd even get an E with you, you snarky bastard' Harry thought, but he kept this to himself. Out loud, he said, "I think I do deserve it, Professor, despite what you may believe."

"Oh, really, Potter? Then prove it."

"Prove it? How?"

"I'm brewing a rather complex potion at the moment, and I could certainly do with a competent assistant."

"Are you complimenting me, sir? Are you actually admitting that I'm 'competent'?"

"Do not kid yourself, Potter. I'm not calling you competent; I'm asking you to show me that you are. Meet me in my office. I will be there shortly." And as suddenly as it had appeared, Severus Snape's head disappeared from the Gryffindor Common Room fire.

'Well, that was strange,' Harry thought, but he gathered his stuff and packed it up, anyway, preparing to head down to Snape's office. Halfway across the common room, a piece of paper caught his eye that hadn't been there before.

Bring a wand. That's all it said.

HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS

Harry exited Gryffindor tower and began making his way down to the dungeons. His thoughts strayed to the hooked nosed Professor that awaited him. It was very odd, Harry thought, for Snape to show up like that, just to tease him and then invite him to be his personal Potions assistant. Something strange was going on, that was for sure. Of all the things Harry expected Snape to do, popping into the Common Room fire place to check on him was last on the list.

He knocked on Snape's office door, and when there was no response, he opened the door and walked in. The teacher's desk that normally sat in the center of the room was pushed to the far right wall, and all the book cases that usually stood behind it were pushed to the far left. Harry was just analyzing this strange change in decoration when a familiar voice said, "Expelliarmus!"

Harry barely had time to register what was going on before his wand flew out of his hand. He whipped around to face his attacker and of course found Severus Snape smirking back at him.

"Not too quick today, are we, Mr. Potter? Pick up your wand. We're going to duel." Harry sighed; he had been expecting this. He supposed it was some kind of pre-potion-brewing ritual for Snape, but he was very tire and could only hope he would go easy on him this time.

Harry took his wand from Snape and stood to face him.

"Don't think I'm going to go easy, Potter. I am not in a very good mood today."

"You won't have to do anything but duel, Professor."

Snape's eyebrows arched dangerously. "Oh, cocky now, are we?" Snape berated himself inwardly at the innuendo's that were flooding his mind with the use of this word.

"No, sir. Just tired."

"Well, you had better wake up, Potter. One, two, three-" and the duel began. It lasted about an hour, during which the reason for the change in decoration of Snape's office became apparent; as he ducked and dived and dodged curse after curse, Harry found the new spacious arrangement quite to his liking. Finally, Harry managed to hit Snape with an Expelliarmus when he was paralyzed by Harry's Jelly-Jinx curse.

Harry cried a triumphant, "Aha!" and proceeded to collapse onto Snape's desk, exhausted.

"Very well done, Potter. And that is a compliment."

"Thanks, Professor. I try."

"Come, let's go to my rooms. We have much to do." Before Harry could protest, Severus had swept out of the room.

As soon as Harry entered Snape's chambers, he made a beeline for the couch and sat down heavily.

"Tired, Potter?"

"I can't move," Harry groaned.

Snape sat down beside him, handing him a bottle of Butterbeer. He looked slightly uncomfortable, though Harry had no idea why.

"There's no potion," he said, looking down into his bottle.

"Then why am I here?"

"I was just making sure your dueling skills were still intact."

"And are they?"

"I let you win, Potter Again."

Harry scowled. "What's with the last-name calling? I thought we were past that."

Snape sighed, a sign of vulnerability rarely shown to anyone but Harry. "We are, Harry. I'm sorry."

"Why did you cancel our lessons, sir?"

"I didn't think you would miss them too much, Harry. It seems I underestimated you once again."

"Sir, why did you show up in the fire today? It was… unexpected."

"If you mean awkward, then yes I know it was, and I am sorry. I just figured it would be dramatic and effective."

"I didn't know you were a dramatic man, Professor."

"I did Shakespeare in my day, Potter."

"To be or not to be, eh?" They laughed easily together, and Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him. It seemed Snape was back to normal again.

"Harry, I…" Snape trailed off, staring into the fire, "Harry, I wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I have been acting over the past few days. I had a bit of a rough start and I don't know why I took it out on you." Yes you do, you lying pedophile, Severus growled to himself.

"It's alright, Professor. I admit that at first I was kind of confused, because over the months I thought we were finally starting to get along, but I realized you probably just needed your space." And another surprise from Mr. Potter.

"I think 'starting to get along' is inaccurate, Potter," Snape said, taking a swig of Butterbeer.

"Then how would you put it, sir?"

"Taken a turn for the worst, I'm afraid."

"If I wasn't afraid of you hexing me to bits, I would hit you right now," Harry said, grinning madly all the while.

"You would, would you?" Severus teased setting his bottle down on the mahogany coffee table that Harry had so often thought was never used.

"I would. What do you mean a turn for the worst?" Harry scowled again.

"Well, I think that us being civil towards each other is worse than us hating each other, simply because it drives me crazy when Dumbledore is right about everything."

"But he is right about everything," Harry laughed, but this time Snape did not join in. He became quiet all of a sudden, somber.

"What's wrong, sir?" Harry asked, genuinely concerned.

"He thinks he's right about everything. Sometimes even the greatest of men can make the worst of mistakes. Remember that, Potter."

"Professor?" Harry was confused

"Never mind that now, Harry." Snape rose from the couch and went over to one of his many bookshelves, taking from the uppermost shelf a dusty chessboard.

"I believe a rematch is in order," he said, and proceeded to lose to Harry even more horribly than before.

A/N: REVIEW EVERYONE!!! chapter six to be up as soon as possible : )