Disclaimer: Can be found in the first chapter.

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Chapter 10: Letting it Out

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"Mione, can we talk?" Harry asked, setting his bag on the table after dinner Wednesday night. "There's something I really need to tell you about."

"Sure, Harry. Let me finish this essay, and we go somewhere to talk in private," she replied, glancing up at him.

"Is that the Charms essay?" he asked, pulling his own out of his bag.

"Yes," she said, scribbling out a sentence.

"It's much simpler than you think," he said, sliding his parchment across the table to her. "Care to revise mine for me?"

"Sure," she said, grabbing his essay and starting to read through it. "Wow, Harry, this is a great essay!"

"Thanks, Mione," he said, taking his essay back and placing it in his bag. "Do you mind if we have a little chat?"

"No, Harry," she replied, looking at him. "What's up?"

"First, do you promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone?" he asked, his voice slightly panicked.

"Of course, Harry," she said, taking his hand. "I won't tell anyone."

"Okay," he said, leaning closer to her. "I'm a Vampire."

"What?" she asked, looking at him.

"I'm a Vampire. I came into my inheritance on my 17th birthday," he said, whispering.

"Wow, Harry," she said, a look of horror flashing over her face. "Is that why you ran out of the common room that one time?"

"Yeah, I had to get something to control the urges I was feeling," he said, leaning back slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I was scared of anyone finding out."

"I understand, Harry," she said. "Thank you for telling me though. I promise not to breathe a word."

"Thanks, Mione," he said, starting to get up.

"Have you found out who your mate is?" she asked, catching him completely off guard.

"Severus," he said, sitting again. "I mean, Professor Snape."

"He must have been furious," she said, looking at him.

"At first, but he's known since just after school started. He had been bullying me quite a lot, and I had a detention one night. He pushed me to the limit, and I just blurted it out," Harry said, his eyes changing a bit. "Since then, we struck a tentative agreement, and we've been getting to know each other."

"At least you're working on it," Hermione replied, giving her best friend a bright smile. "Any time you need someone to cover for you to visit him, I can help."

"Thanks, Mione," he said, moving to give her a hug.

~*~

Harry had taken Hermione up on her offer, and he had said he needed to speak with Severus tonight. She told Ron that she needed to go back to the library and look for a book she had forgotten, allowing Harry the chance to sneak out of the dorm under his invisibility cloak.

"Thanks, Mione," Harry said, slipping past her, down the stairs.

"No problem, Harry," she replied, heading to the library.

~*~

"Have you told Miss Granger yet?" Severus asked, after Harry appeared in his rooms later that evening.

"I told her after classes today," Harry answered, happily taking the offered glass. "She took it surprisingly well."

"I'm glad to hear that," Severus said, sitting on his sofa.

"She's also quite supportive of us," Harry said, sitting on the sofa as well, a bit closer to Severus than usual. "She said she'd help me sneak out to visit if I wanted."

"That's very kind of her," Severus said, after sipping his drink. He could tell that Harry was closer than usual because he felt his heart rate begin to speed up.

"I thought so too," Harry said, watching Severus carefully.

"What is he doing?" Severus thought, noticing Harry creeping closer to him. "Good Lord, he looks fantastic tonight."

Harry had shown up in his rooms wearing a fitted T-shirt and a pair of tight jeans. The clothing flattered his Quidditch toned body, and Severus had a hard time controlling his eyes from wandering the body before him.

"Severus, have you ever wanted to kiss me?" Harry asked, shifting closer to the older man.

"I can say the thought has crossed my mind a few times," Severus answered, scooting back until he felt the arm of the couch behind him.

"I see," Harry answered, his eyes glazing over slightly.

He was sitting right next to Severus, and his hand had landed on the other man's thigh. His mind was racing with ways to make the man his that very night, but he fought all of his gut instincts. He wanted this to go at Severus' speed, so the older man would be comfortable.

Severus noticed the hesitation Harry was showing, but chose not to comment. He knew that this situation was not ideal, and he would prefer to go at his own speed, rather than Harry's. He thought that Harry had noticed that as well, and guessed that was the reason why he was holding back.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Severus asked, his voice giving him away.

"I'm thinking about how to properly kiss you," Harry answered, moving slightly closer to the older man.

"Just come here," Severus said, pulling Harry to him.

Harry stopped his lips from colliding with Severus', much to Severus' displeasure. Harry placed one hand on Severus' shoulder. He then lightly brushed his lips across his mate's, before firmly planting his lips against the older man's. He could feel Severus shudder in pleasure before he gently ran his tongue along the older man's lips. Severus opened his mouth to the intrusion of Harry's tongue.

"Good Lord, he's an amazing kisser," Severus thought, losing himself in the sensation.

Harry's tongue cautiously explored Severus' mouth, taking in his sweet, tangy taste. He felt Severus' moan as his tongue slowly retreated back into his own mouth, drawing Severus to explore.

Severus tentatively let his tongue enter Harry's mouth. He was instantly addicted to Harry's spicy taste. His tongue explored, searching every corner of the available area.

Harry was beginning to lose control of his Vampire, so he slowly pulled back, placing light kisses against Severus' lips. The two sat looking at one another, panting.

"Wow," Severus said, watching Harry carefully. "That was incredible."

"Yeah," Harry said, his eyes closed. "I think that would be my favorite kiss ever."

"Why did you pull back?" Severus asked, not wanting to upset Harry, but needing to know.

"I was going to lose control," Harry answered, opening his eyes as they finished going back to his natural emerald color. "Any longer, and you'd be mine. No questions asked. I want this to be about you, so I pulled away before my Vampire could take over and force you to do what you probably don't want to now."

"Thank you for thinking of me," Severus said, looking into the emerald eyes of the man he was growing to love. "But you don't have to stop because of me."

"Yes, I do, Severus," Harry said, looking into the onyx eyes of his mate. "I'm not going to force myself on you because something inside me wants to. I want you to be comfortable with this situation. I don't want to look back at the beginnings of us, and regret what I did."

Severus was stunned at what Harry had just said. He hadn't realized what the young man was going through. He looked at his hands, which were folded in his lap.

"Sev, look at me," Harry said, placing his hands on Severus'.

"I'm sorry," Severus mumbled, before looking at the young man.

"Sev, you are my life. Even if we haven't consummated the bond, my Vampire would do anything to protect you," Harry said, holding Severus' hands gently in his own. "Everything between us has been real, and I don't want to forget about it. I want to be able to remember each step in our relationship with fondness, not regret."

"Harry, I never knew how you felt," Severus said, looking at the younger man with respect in his eyes. "What you're telling me now makes me want to consummate the bond as soon as possible. However, I can see where you're coming from, and I think it would be better for us to take things slowly as well.

"It has been a long time since I've been in a relationship, and I'm sure your other conquests were never as serious as this is bound to be."

"Yeah," Harry said, grimacing as he remembered Cho and Ginny. "My previous relationships were total failures."

"Why don't we part ways for the night," Severus suggested. "A lot has happened, and we need time to mull it over."

"Alright," Harry said, standing up. "Can you give me a detention the next time you'd like to spend time together? Hermione offered to help me as much as she can, but I feel bad for using her to see you."

"No problem, Harry," Severus said, a small smile on his lips.

"Good night, Sev," Harry said, turning from the door.

"Good night, Harry," Severus said, from the sofa.

After he left Severus' rooms, Harry raced to the library, hoping to find Hermione.

~*~

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione admonished, shoving Ron away from her. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to kiss you, Mione," Ron said, stepping towards her again.

"Why?" she asked, glaring at him.

"We're meant to be, can't you feel it?" Ron said, trying to scoop her into his arms.

"No, Ron, I can't," she replied, stepping back. "Maybe I would feel it if you hadn't been such a royal asshole to Harry. His befriending of a professor would be perfectly fine with you if it were anyone but Professor Snape. You just choose to be a pain in the arse because of the other person."

"Snape's a prick!" he exclaimed. "Why would he want to befriend Harry after treating him like shit for six years?"

"The war changed a lot of people, Ron," she said, her eyes cold. "Professor Snape has lightened up a lot since Voldemort has fallen. He's not such a prick, and he and Harry worked together a lot before and during the war. With them having to get along, they probably decided to get over their petty differences."

"Sure, and I'm the bloody king of England," he said, turning away from Hermione. "You're just like Potter. Turning your back on your friends."

"Believe what you want, Ronald," Hermione said, heading back to the library quickly.

~*~

"Hey Mione," Harry said, finding Hermione at their table, in the back corner of the library.

"Hey Harry," she responded, smiling up at him. "How are things with Snape?"

"Great," Harry said, sitting at the table. "We kissed for the first time, and had a talk about how things were going to progress between us."

"That's great, Harry," she said, sitting back in her chair.

"What's up? You seem distracted," he asked, looking to his best friend.

"Ron turned on me tonight, because I refused to be his girlfriend, and I support you and Snape," she said, sighing. "If he would get his head out of his arse, things could go back to normal."

"He's never going to," he replied. "Ron's wrapped up in this world where my actually trying in classes means he's not good enough for me."

"What a dolt," Hermione said, chuckling a bit. "That's never stopped him from being my friend."

"There's one difference though," Harry said. "You were always like that. I started this year. I think my inheritance had a lot to do with it."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," she said, looking at Harry. "That's right."

"Yeah," he said, getting up and throwing the invisibility cloak around his shoulders. "Let's head back to the common room. I could use a nice shower."

"Alright," she said, getting up.

~*~

A/N: So, here's the new update, about a day early. Thought I'd get it out for you guys.

Reviews are what makes me write faster!

-KD