Ch. 16: The One and Only Harry Potter

The dinner was, indeed, not poisoned. Nor were the three meals that the Potions Master prepared the next day. It seemed that the art of Potion making wasn't the only thing Severus Snape had mastered.

The day before Harry's birthday passed by in a blur. Harry received quite a few letters from admirers explaining that if they knew where Harry was, they would come and visit. Others were from friends promising gifts the next day.

But the most interesting one of all was from Professor Dumbledore. The Headmaster wrote:

Mr. Potter,

Happy Birthday, first of all. I do realize that it is tomorrow, but I thought you wouldn't mind if I told you early.

I have made plans to stop by tomorrow to discuss a few very important issues. I'm not going to disclose much further for safety, but you know what I'm referring to.

Give Remus, Hermione, and your other houseguests a fond hello for me and enjoy your last day of boyhood.

Regards,

Albus

Snape was the only one in the vicinity as Harry opened the great stack of letters, and Harry held the Headmaster's letter up for him to see.

"Dumbledore wrote to me. He's coming tomorrow."

Severus sneered. "Wonderful. And I daresay you will be receiving even more mail from admiring fans. You do realize that with all of these letters coming in the Dark Lord will be able to pinpoint a precise location. That probably doesn't matter to you, does it?"

Harry folded up Dumbledore's letter and said, "Anything coming in or out of the Place is invisible and undetectable until about 20 metres before it reaches its destination. Here, 20 metres is when the houses' invisibility picks up anything. So no, it doesn't matter."

Snape rolled his eyes. "I was mistaken when I said that Granger was the insufferable know-it-all. You take the prize. Hands down."

Harry rolled his eyes and said, "I don't want to argue with you. We're stuck in this house for another month and I don't fancy having to avoid you."

Severus began washing the dishes from dinner and said, "It doesn't matter what sort of terms we are on, you're still going to avoid me."

Harry sorted out the unopened letters, mostly from people obsessed with him, and said, "You've never been civil to me, so there isn't much incentive there to get to know you."

"You have invaded my privacy on countless occasions," Snape hissed. "You haven't given me much incentive to be civil."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean to see those memories when I was learning Occlumency. As for your Pensieve, you shouldn't have left it lying around."

"I can keep items in my personal office anywhere I choose. You were just being nosy."

Harry crossed his arms and said, "Fine. I apologize. Happy?"

"Happy, no. Satisfied, yes," Severus said flatly and stacked the clean dishes in the cabinet.

Harry quickly started opening the remainder of the letters, tossing most in the bin before reading them.

"Why did you let those bloody letters pile up all day?"

Harry grabbed the rubbish bin and tossed more of the ones that weren't important. "I felt bad opening letters that were for my birthday when it wasn't my birthday. Then I realized that I would probably have a lot more tomorrow, so I opened them all."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Your logic astounds me."

"Thank you, I guess."

It was at this time that Remus chose to enter, carrying two more wrapped gifts to add to the rather large pile in the center of the dining room.

"Who are those from?" Harry asked, hoping they weren't from the werewolf, (As Harry had counted earlier and established that four of the parcels were from Remus).

Remus checked the tags and grinned. "One is from our dear Tonks and the other is from Dobby. They showed up around my fireplace earlier, I guess during dinner."

Harry piled all of his letters up and laid them on the counter with a sigh. "I probably got more bloody socks from Dobby."

"Would not be surprised," Remus said and leaned on the counter next to Harry's mail. "Your admiring public?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Always. Where are Hermione and Draco?"

"Draco was reading and Hermione was working on her enormous amount of homework. Potions, I assume," Remus said with a grin directed to Severus.

Snape hung the towel he had been using to dry dishes on a hook and said, "There are only five essays, and they aren't difficult. I daresay you, Granger, and Weasley will find the Polyjuice essay exceedingly simple."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about that?"

Severus simply shrugged. "I'm a Potions Master. I had ingredients missing that are used to make one and you lot are the only ones who seem to take investigative matters into your own hands. You were wrong, that was a given. And you are the only ones daft enough to break into my office."

"Oh."

Remus snorted and said, "You would be surprised by how much of what you do we know about. Have you even started on you assignment, Harry? Don't you usually wait until a couple of days before you go back to do you homework?"

Harry crossed his arms and lifted his head slightly. "I'll have you know that I have finished my entire potions assignment. It was actually rather simple. Draco helped me."

The Potions Master rolled his eyes and strode over to stand by Remus. "I assumed that Draco helped you if you had completed it."

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly but chose not to reply. Instead, he said, "I'm going to find Draco and call it a night."

Remus eyed Severus in annoyance and said, "Alright Harry. Sleep well."

Severus instinctively took a step away from the werewolf, but it did no good. First, he received a sound back-handed slap on his stomach and he found himself mercifully thankful that Remus hadn't slapped any lower.

"Do you always have to be such a berk?" Remus snarled. "Don't answer that, it will just be some smart-arsed rubbish."

Remus squeezed the bridge of his nose and said, "There is always that snippy little comment with you where you insult someone's intelligence, or at least question it. Just... just be quiet. When something like that enters your head, just show some restraint and don't say it."

Severus squeezed his lips shut and didn't reply. He only gently rubbed the point where Remus had slapped him.

Remus' eyes widened slightly and he added, "And fight with me! Argue! I feel like a total git for nitpicking. I'm sorry."

Severus arched an eyebrow and said calmly, "I'm not going to argue because there will be snippy comments, and more snippy comments mean being lectured again. I'll pass."

"I said I was sorry."

Severus took a step closer to Remus and allowed his left arm to snake around the werewolf's waist. "I heard you," he said softly. "I'll try to restrain myself as long as you promise not to hit me again. That really hurt, you're stronger than you look."

"You're just a baby," Remus said softly as the Potions Master laid a gentle, caressing kiss on his forehead.

"Am I?" Severus whispered before pressing another kiss on the tip of Remus' nose.

The werewolf's heart was beating too loud to hear what he had said, however, and he closed his eyes.

The only thing he had enough mind to do was turn his face up and allow himself the pleasure of being ravished.

--

Harry surprised himself with the knowledge of where the library of Grimmauld Place was. He didn't think he had been there before and wished that he had Draco's DestiCane to guide him.

He found it with minimal difficulty. Draco was curled up with a book him his lap, his fingertips reading the words printed on the pages. Hermione was working on homework, but not Potions. She was scribbling notes from her Ancient Runes text, leafing through a companion book slowly.

The Slytherin lifted his head as he heard the door open. "Harry?"

"The one and only," Harry said with a grin and threw himself on the expanse of couch next to Draco. The free hand Draco had resting next to him settled on Harry's thigh, as there was no room anymore.

Hermione drew a hand through her hair and said, "I highly doubt that you are the only person named Harry."

She snapped her books shut and stole a glance at the clock hanging above the doorway. "We should probably get to bed; we have a long day ahead of us."

Draco returned to his book and said, "I'm going to finish this chapter then I will. You can go if you want, Harry."

"I'll stay. Good night, Hermione," Harry said softly and stretched languidly.

"Good night you two," Hermione yawned and left.

Draco took a deep breath and released it, tilting his head slightly as he turned the page.

"You're staring again."

Harry quickly averted his eyes. "Sorry."

"It wasn't bothering me."

The Gryffindor laid his head back against the couch. "Is your book good?"

Draco slipped a length of yarn he was using as a place marker between the pages of his novel and shrugged. "Not particularly. Have you tried learning Braille again?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "What do you think?"

Draco chuckled throatily. "You lack patience, Potter. That is something you acquire with age."

"When is your birthday?"

"June 5th."

Harry snorted. "You're born a bloody month before me."

Draco smirked. "And thus I am superior."

He stood and grabbed the pole. "I'll let you lead me to bed since you're already here."

"That's very thoughtful of you," the Gryffindor said and stood, allowing Draco to grab his t-shirt.

"You're going to love your gifts," Draco said in a sing-song tone. "Remus told me what the majority of them are."

"That's entirely unfair," Harry said crossly. "Everyone's going to know what I got but me. Can you at least tell me what you got me?"

Draco pulled Harry's shirt a little and said, "Of course not. You'll find out that it is when you get it. I hope you like it."

"I'm fairly sure I will."

Draco rolled his eyes but said nothing in response.

Harry opened the bedroom door quickly when they reached it, saying, "We are there."

Draco released Harry's shirt and walked cautiously over to the chair he so often occupied, where his pyjamas lay.

Harry tried desperately not to look at the blonde as he changed from his day clothes into his sleeping ones. He also tried not to notice that Draco only pulled on the trousers and left behind the shirt.

The Slytherin crawled into bed and sank his head into the pillow, expelling a great rush of air from his lungs.

Harry pulled off his trousers and traded his shirt for an old, threadbare t-shirt he often slept in before climbing in bed next to Draco.

"Take it in Potter. This is the last night of your childhood."

"And who would have ever thought I would be spending it with you."

Thanks to brionyjae for the beta!