Chapter 20
For a brief moment, Harry's gaze lingered on the wizard in the same rebellious look that is given to parents who wake their sleeping teenager. But, he knew that, however tired he felt, they must move on and he begrudgingly pushed himself to his feet and followed the man out of the cave and into the chill of the night air. Looking around, he noticed that the ground and the few remaining leaves were wet. It must have been raining earlier but luckily it had stopped.
The two had been walking for some time when Harry's thoughts began to wander back to what he had heard Pettigrew say to Snape. 'You really loved her.' The sentence reverberated through his mind. He wondered at who Snape could possibly love. He couldn't imagine the man being romantic. He smiled at the image of a dashing, chivalrous Snape.
But as his mind churned out possible candidates of Snape's affection, he didn't notice himself falling further and further behind his guide. When he realized that he didn't hear the man's footsteps any longer, he suddenly looked up to find himself alone in the forest. Frantically, he turned in all directions, looking for any sign of his professor.
His breathing quickened and his eyes grew wide. He was beginning to panic. However, he did realize that this was not the time to panic. He slowly brought his breathing back to an acceptable rate for the situation and thought for a moment.
He didn't know how long he had been separated. It could've only been a few minutes, but then again, without a watch or the sun to judge time passage, it could have been quite some time.
The first notion that came into his head was to yell for help. They were in a forest and there likely wouldn't be many people around and Snape had told him that the Death Eaters would most likely not be on their trail. It was worth a shot.
"Professor!" he shouted as loudly as he could.
No response.
Again, he shouted and again he was left with no answer. His heart began pounding harder.
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Severus came to a halt. Potter's frightened voice had reached his hears but it sounded like it was coming from some distance, but that was impossible; the boy was directly behind him. Whirling around, he found no sign of the boy.
His throat tightened in horror as the shout came again. Heading toward the voice, he broke into a run. His eyes searched frantically for the young Gryffindor and finally, they came to rest on the back of the boy's head.
When he reached the teen, he grabbed his shoulder. But, apparently Harry had not heard him approach as he turned around with a terrified look in his face and his arm reached out to defend himself.
Severus' eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock. The boy had inadvertently grabbed his arm directly where the dark mark marred his flesh.
Harry's scar seared his forehead and he mechanically, let go of whoever's arm he had. He fell backwards onto the ground, clutching his forehead.
Severus' knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, protectively clasping his arm to his torso.
As soon as Harry had released the arm, the pain in his scar had ceased but he was still breathing hard from the shock. He looked over to see who it was that had grabbed him. He was relieved to see that it was Snape, but horrified at the condition that he saw the man in. He looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach. His breathing was labored and he had paled.
Harry bolted to his feet and rushed over to the man, dropping to his knees when he reached him.
"Professor, what's wrong?" he questioned frantically.
Severus' wide, black eyes slowly made their way up to the boy's green eyes which were bright with concern. His breathing was too ragged to speak so he closed his eyes and shook his head to indicate that he was fine.
But Harry wasn't to be thrown off so easily.
"Are you hurt?" he persisted.
By now, Severus had regained enough control over his breathing to speak.
"No, I'm fine," he stated stubbornly. "Does your scar still hurt?" he inquired, changing the subject.
"No, it stopped hurting when I let go," Harry explained. "But you obviously weren't that lucky," he remarked, letting the man know that he hadn't forgotten about him. "It's your tattoo isn't it?" he said noting that Snape was still clutching his arm.
"It is not a 'tattoo'" Severus stated in a tone that told Harry that he should not make the mistake of calling the mark a 'tattoo' which made it sound as if he had acquired the thing during a drunken night out.
Harry looked uneasy at the reformation but Severus had never shied away from intimidating his students before and the Potter prodigy was no different.
Contrary to what Severus believed, however, Harry had not gone quiet due to his retort. Truthfully, it was disheartening to see one of his professors weakened to such a level. He supposed that it might be one of those childish notions that adults are resistant to everything. Additionally, this was the one person that he would have to rely on to get back home. Even if he did not like the man, he was bound to him for the time being and he had shown kindness to him earlier.
In any case, neither of them enjoyed each others' company but it looked like they would have to make the best of the situation.
The pain was beginning to wear down so Severus half pushed himself and half staggered to his feet. Once he had regained his balance, he dusted himself off and looked down at Harry who was still kneeling on the ground. "Are you hurt?" he asked in a monotone voice.
Harry looked up at the inquiry but shook his head. "No, Sir."
"Then get up, we're wasting time."
Harry complied without arguing, the sooner that they got back, the better.
"Why didn't you follow me?" The man inquired irately.
Harry shrugged. "I was just thinking and the next thing I knew, I couldn't see or hear you," he explained.
Severus' eyes narrowed. "What could you possibly be so engrossed in that you forgot that you were in the middle of a forest on the run from Voldemort and his followers?" Severus seethed.
Harry looked down awkwardly. He didn't really want to tell any of his professors, let alone this one, that he had been thinking about their romantic involvements.
"Spit it out, Potter."
Harry sighed. He didn't want to admit to what he had been thinking about but he didn't want to lie either. "I was just thinking about what Pettigrew had said to you back in Voldemort's dungeon," he said finally.
"And what specifically was that?" Severus prodded with the glare on his face boring down on Harry.
Harry, sick of letting the man intimidate him, looked up into Severus' black eyes. He would be stuck alone with this man for at least two weeks and he wasn't going to be pushed around or daunted any longer. "When he said 'You really loved her,'" Harry answered with false bravado. He didn't know if he could get used to being so bold in front of Snape.
But the reaction that the Potions Master had came as a surprise to him. The glare had disappeared from his features and a haunted look was its replacement.
Harry immediately regretted what he had said. Apparently this was not a topic that should've been brought up and now Snape would probably hate him more, if that were possible.
Severus remained silent for a few moments. He had never thought that Harry would have asked him about that and he didn't know if he wanted to tell him. But, in a way, he did have a right to know.
His thoughts were interrupted by a very concerned but meek "Professor?"
His eyes focused back into the boy's. He looked uneasy for a moment before finally saying, "Your mother."
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Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the delay and short length of the update. Thank you for all of those who reviewed. I really appreciate getting feedback, good or bad. Okay, in the next chapter, we should see Snape reluctantly divulge some details about his past with Lily (I really promise this time) and a cliff hanger that will rival the tower scene. *evil laugh* But no worries, now that I have my precious pc back, I can update more often. Please review!