A/N: This was supposed to be out last week but apparently it did not load correctly or something. I'm very sorry about that. Thank you to everyone that has favorite this story, and a very big thank you to Mighty Gryffindor, darkshadowarchfiend, WinterStorm, and Airborn-Love for the reviews. They definitely motivate me to try make this story great I hope everyone enjoys this chapter because it involves our favorite Gryffindor. (This is not a Severus/Harry story just so everyone is clear).
The pungent scent of what could only be burnt potion assaulted his nostrils as soon as he stepped through the fire.
"You have a flair for potions just like your father. Tell me; is it a genetic trait to be completely dismal at potions?" Harry smirked to himself as he heard the cold drawl of Severus Snape humiliate a helpless student. Some things never changed.
He was not surprised at all when there was no reply. What kind of idiot student would dare talk back to Snape? Well besides himself of course.
"It seems you will not grace us with your reply. Twenty points from Hufflepuff for failing to follow simple directions and three days detention with Professor Sprout. Understood Kent?"
Suddenly the smile fell off his face. He felt sick when he thought about the fact that he had smiled at another person's misfortune. Since when was he that kind of guy?
Harry dusted off his robes, letting the green hued ash fall to the floor like toxic snowflakes. He made his way to the thick black wooden door quickly and pushed it open. As he stepped into the classroom he could feel everyone staring at him. No matter how often it happened he still hated it.
"Class dismissed!" Snape hissed sharply. The young students, clearly only first years, did their best to leave and not draw Snape's attention to them while still getting a look at Harry.
Once all of the students were gone, Severus pushed past Harry and through the door leading to his private chambers. Harry followed behind, briefly wondering why he felt as scared as those first years had looked. An angry Severus Snape was not someone that you wanted to deal with no matter who you were.
The high screech of a heavy chair being moved over the stone floor brought Harry out of his momentary fear. Snape may be intimidating but he was not dangerous.
"How did you get through that door?" Snape's cold gaze landed on Harry as he sat in the rough looking armchair. His arms were folded across his chest in a gesture that would have made him look reminiscent of a petulant child if not for the fierce darkness in his eyes that was anything but childish.
"The same way most people do Severus; I walked." Harry replied cheekily.
Snape scowled before casually flicking his arm and conjuring two cups of steaming tea. Harry took that as his queue to sit in the ragged grey velvet arm chair across from Snape's.
"If you aren't going to answer how you got through my wards, then perhaps you will at least tell my why you are here today, as it is only Wednesday?" Snape quirked an eyebrow in that trademark Slytherin way that the other school houses would never be able to match.
"Luna has asked me to meet her at St. Mungo's tomorrow around noon. She implied that it might take awhile, so I thought it'd be a good idea to come today instead. Pretty smart, eh?"
Severus studied Harry for a few moments while carefully taking a drink from his steaming cup.
He knew that these meetings were important to the boy. After the war ended Harry had changed drastically. Now he was finally growing up into a confident man who possessed immeasurable power, and Snape liked to think that he had a hand in that. However, the media followed his every move. There was not a single day that went by without a story that somehow involved Harry Potter, the Wizarding World's Hero. And the boy hated it.
He had become an auror because it was what the world expected of him. He did not want to fight for the rest of his life. He did not want to be involved with the violence and trouble that being an auror entailed, but he just went with the flow of things. After the Battle of Hogwarts, roughly four years ago, Shacklebolt had immediately offered Harry a position in the auror program. The boy had been so devastated at the time that he was not thinking clearly and he consented robotically.
Severus had watched from a distance as Harry lived on auto pilot. Nobody around him seemed to notice that something was wrong with him. Not Granger who was supposed to be the smartest witch her age, and not Weasley who was supposed to be the boy's best friend. And most definitely not his girlfriend at the time, the female Weasley.
Snape had been fed up with watching the grotesque display of false love they had all showed Harry. He sensed something was wrong and he had been determined to discover what it was. After all, he owed the boy a lot for getting rid of that mad man.
So he sent an owl to Harry, making up some absurd story of finding a dangerous potion and needing the auror's help. He knew that Harry would show up, he was notorious after all, for his 'needing to help people' complex.
As expected, Harry showed up. Severus gradually got him to open up about what was bothering him. A few days after that Harry had sent him an owl, requesting another meeting. They decided to meet twice a week and that was how they continued for the past three years.
During that time Severus learned things about Harry that he doubted anyone else knew. He discovered that Harry hated being an auror but he took the promotion to become Lieutenant Auror because his girlfriend had insisted that he do so. He learned that Harry did not really like Ginny, but he felt he had to date her for Ron and the rest of the Weasley horde. Harry told him that he hated the media following him everywhere, and the way everyone stared at him, and always asked him to retell the story of how he defeated Voldemort.
None of this was particularly surprising to Snape, but he was in fact shocked when Harry told him that he had considered ending his life a few times. He felt abandoned by his friends, purposeless now that he had defeated the Dark Lord, and completely alone. He didn't think there was a reason to live when his life was just a product of other people's dreams.
That was the reason why Snape continued to meet with him. Although he had never had friends except for perhaps Lily, Narcissa, and Lucius, he had still felt abandoned after the war. The Wizengamot had issued him an Order of Merlin for his services during the war, but many people still viewed him as a horrible Death Eater. Now that Dumbledore had no use of him, he hardly ever even acknowledged his existence. Severus knew better than most what it was like to want to die.
In a way they had saved each other with their meetings. Harry needed Snape, it was the only time he could be himself, and Snape, although he was loathe to admit it, needed Harry to remind himself of the reason why he needed to live. To keep Potter alive.
"Look, I'm sorry for interrupting your class. If now isn't a good time, I'll leave." Harry said dejectedly as he stood from his chair.
"Sit Potter. I was merely thinking. I need a drink; would you care to continue this conversation at The Dragon's Den?"
Harry smirked in a fashion that was remarkably Slytherin-like and walked over to the fire.
"Coming old man?" He chuckled as he threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and shouted the name of the club.
Severus growled in a manner that would have made the first years wet themselves, before following after Harry.
.
Harry sighed happily as he stepped into the familiar room. It was a vast darkly lit room. The outlines of dancing bodies were easy to make out on the dance floor but the faces were completely hidden in shadows. A few people were sitting at the bar on the left side of the room but the booths looked relatively empty.
Harry walked over to the booth furthest away from the dance floor. He loved the feeling of the bass moving through his body but he knew that Severus did not enjoy sitting close to the dancers. Especially after one middle age witch had accidentally bumped into him and spilled his Firewhiskey all over his robes a few weeks ago.
Harry felt the glamour he was wearing waver a bit and decided that it would be safe to take it off in the club since nobody could see him anyway.
He should have realized that Snape's eyes were a lot sharper than most, and he could see well even in the dark from years of living in the dungeons.
Snape looked at Harry closely, while using his long black cloak to immerse himself in the available darkness. He noticed the moment that his glamour fell away. Harry's usual obsidian black hair looked muted somehow. His eyes, which were normally his most striking feature, were not their normal brilliant green, but a dull peridot. His skin looked flaky in places and red in others. His robes were disheveled and his lipped were chapped to the point of looking bloody.
A shiver of fear ran down Snape's spine.
Harry looked very much like his godson.