CHAPTER 24
A/N: Dear all, I decided not to make you (and me) wait until tomorrow evening. Here's chapter 24! It is inspired by "The Bad Color" from "The Village"-soundtrack. Please check my blog The Snarry Files for more information on update rhythms (probably 3-4 times a week) and Snarry musings. The URL of the blog is indicated as my homepage and is also at the bottom of my profile page. And now for the really important "news": Thanks a million for being so patient and encouraging while I wrote my paper! I hope it gets accepted and receives a good mark…I had a lot of support from my family and from you and your reviews :-) Okay, back to the Potions Master and his husband.
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Even in the dead of winter, Harry went out for broom rides or walked briskly in the grounds to keep himself toned and exercised. Indoors, he worked on his sketches and was encouraged by Professor Mukherjee who informed him that he possessed a true gift. One day, Harry decided to sketch Nessa. The snake curled herself around her pestle with great care as she posed for Harry. Severus, slightly annoyed that he could not open the door (this would have involved dislodging Nessa's picture while Harry sketched her), decided to watch the procedure, standing next to Harry while the young man sketched Nessa with chalk pencils.
"A picture of a picture," Severus commented; then, glancing at Nessa:
"Vain creature."
"I asked her to pose," Harry said, smiling while Nessa feigned polite deafness.
"How about a self-portrait?"
"Why should I draw myself?" Harry asked, frankly surprised.
"How do you view yourself? It does not have to correspond to your actual appearance."
"A portrait of self-perception?"
"Yes."
"Uhm, I actually drew a picture of how I think –well, thought – you perceive me. It was in my fifth year, after Occlumency."
"And what did you draw?"
"My father," Harry said.
There was a little silence as both felt the truth of the words.
Severus's face was impassive.
"Do you still have this intriguing sketch?"
"No, I threw it out after Christmas."
Another silence.
Nessa watched them shrewdly.
"Do you still perceive me as-"
"James Potter?" Severus finished his sentence. He studied Harry for a few moments.
"You resemble him strongly. But you are not him."
"Is that a good or a bad thing? Or both?" Harry asked.
Severus smiled slightly and hooked his index finger underneath Harry's chin.
"A good thing."
Harry smiled as well; then, with a quick flick of his hand, he painted a streak on Severus's haughty nose.
"Harry Potter!" Severus thundered, his habitual scowl back on his face while Harry laughed.
"Brat," the Potions Master added. Harry reached up and wiped the smudge away with his palm.
"Potter!"
Nessa was displaying marvellous composure. Her tail was twitching slightly, however.
Severus grabbed one of Harry's chalk pencils from the chair. The next moment, Harry was sporting a line on his cheek. Harry snatched another piece of chalk. They circled each other, pencils held like swords. Harry carefully conjured a protective eye-shield for both of them, which Severus tested before they started "fencing". Nessa forgot her posture and hung down from her pestle, eyes following the contestants beadily.
The playful game ended when Harry Disarmed Severus. Their faces were full of colourful streaks. They looked at each other. Harry smiled. Severus raised an eyebrow.
"Such childishness," he said, but his tone was teasing. "Let us go inside to remove this mess from our faces."
The cream Severus had used on Harry a few months ago was summoned.
"A Scourgifying Charm makes the skin like paper," Severus observed as he applied the cream to Harry's face. Harry stood still, feeling the long skilled fingers massage his face lightly.
"May I?" he asked, holding his hand out for the cream.
"If you wish," Severus said, sounding amused.
Harry dipped his finger into the pot of cream and started with Severus's jaw, then proceeded to his cheeks, nose and forehead. They maintained eye contact throughout the operation.
"You really ought to think of going into cosmetics potions, Severus," Harry remarked after their faces were clean.
"Most definitely not," Severus growled.
"Why not? You can concoct some marvellous stuff and I can do the artwork for the layout and labels."
Severus's mouth quirked just the tiniest bit.
"We could offer free samples around the school," Harry added enthusiastically, "and I'm sure Dumbledore will support us in our unique endeavour."
"Unique endeavour? Albus?"
"Snape Deluxe, special skincare range-"
"Potter! You are raving!" Severus barked.
"Oh, it's great! I can ask the Weasley twins-"
"POTTER!"
"Severus, honestly, this cream is wonderful. It's not at all standard. I saw the recipe for it in the library;you had written it."
Severus looked as if he preferred creating products which would make people's skins erupt into pustules and other unpleasant things.
Harry was humming.
"…a special care range for men. The skincare market targets women most of the time, it's not right-"
"Harry Potter, I am thinking of a Silencing Charm."
Harry tugged at Severus's hands.
"Come on, Severus. Just an attempt."
"I am not here to attend to people's skin problems," Severus said acidly, "we are members of the Order of the Phoenix, not members of the Order of Skin Disorders."
"Maybe you'll change your mind after you've thought about it," Harry said cheekily, settling himself on the sofa and drumming his fingers on the arm of the furniture.
Severus rolled his eyes. However, it was true that the cream was very well received. Madam Pomfrey herself had suggested that he put it on the market. Her suggestion had been greeted with a contemptuous snort.
"I see, it's very exclusive," the matron had chuckled.
Still, it was more than just the cream. It felt good to have someone, namely Harry, who was perfectly comfortable in his company, who teased him but did not disrespect him, and who laughed freely in the Potions Master's forbidding presence. He wondered how in Merlin's name the youth had managed to become so used to his unapproachable behaviour. Severus was fonder of Harry than he wanted to admit.
The taller wizard looked at Harry's face. It was a man's face; Severus could discern the slightest shadow of facial hair. Puberty had thankfully been reticent with acne for Harry, whose skin was smooth as that of a peach. The only really visible scar he bore was the one Voldemort's curse had left behind, and that he kept hidden underneath his fringe. Harry had told Severus that the scar in itself did not disturb him at all; in fact, he quite liked its shape; but he hated the attention it drew to him. Harry was a picture of innocence and sensuality wrapped into one. The characteristic brooding look came into Severus's eyes. Most other people of Harry's age were enjoying their lives as much as they could; and with Voldemort around, time was more precious than ever. Yet Harry seemed happy in the dungeons with only Severus Snape and Nessa to keep him company.
"I want to show you something," Severus said. "Please dress warmly, we are going out into the grounds."
The snow crunched as two figures, one tall and the other smaller, left shoeprints in the white blanket. Severus led Harry to the grounds at the back of the castle, where people went less often. A musical sound, soothing, reminding him of one of the few happy aspects of his childhood, drifted over to Harry. He stopped and listened.
"Come," Severus said. Harry followed him to a gate leading into one of the many courtyards of Hogwarts Castle. There was a beech in the middle, but it was stripped of all its leaves. Wind chimes were attached to one of its branches. Harry approached and looked at the chimes. They tinkled softly at him. He moved closer. He had seen and heard wind chimes before. One of the Dursley's neighbours had a set of wind chimes, resulting in his aunt and uncle complaining about the "stupid racket" they made in windy weather. The neighbours finally started taking down the chimes every night after Uncle Vernon rumbled up to the owner like a military tank, and in the end they took them down altogether. Harry, however, had always found the chimes soothing, and the sound had been faint. He didn't know that wind chimes had been installed in this windy little courtyard. There was a bench in one corner. Severus sat down on it and watched as Harry approached the chimes and tilted his head, listening to them. A gust of wind made the chimes stir again. He likes them, Severus mused. Harry sat down on the bench next to Severus, gloved hands folded in his lap.
"Did you put the chimes on the tree?"
"Yes," Severus replied. "The Headmaster and you have unlimited access to this place. It is off limits to the other students. They can hear the chimes, but a charm keeps them out. The spell, however, recognises the magical signatures of those who are permitted to enter."
Harry smiled at Severus.
"And you decided that it is not off limits for me?"
"Yes – after Christmas."
Harry smiled.
"Thank you for showing me this place, Severus." He told his husband about the chimes he had listened to when he was child until the neighbour had been forced to remove them.
"They have a soothing quality indeed," Severus said, and his tone and face were soft.
"Albus knows that I like this kind of atmosphere. He took me to this place many years ago and said that I could use it to be on my own. He himself likes to wander around in his favourite orchard in these grounds from time to time."
"So this is a kind of sanctum for you?"
"Yes. It is good to be away from the dungeons from time to time."
"For birds, too?" Harry asked, pointing at a birdhouse, also attached to the tree.
"Hm. Don't you dare tell anyone that their Potions Master has a weakness for chimes and birdhouses."
Harry laughed. Severus had never heard anyone laugh in the courtyard before, seeing that he was the only occupant. Even Dumbledore, though he could enter, never breached Severus's wish for privacy in this little place.
"The whole school would queue up over here if I told them," Harry remarked. He bent and picked up a fistful of snow. Severus's eyes narrowed and he braced himself for the snowball.
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