Disclaimer: Can be found in the first chapter.

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Chapter 14: Burying the Hatchet

~*~

Professor Snape,

I know that when I wrote that article to the Daily Prophet, I overstepped my bounds. It was an incredibly immature thing to do, and I regret ever doing it.

I'm the only one in Gryffindor who doesn't still talk to Harry. Hermione spends all her free time either with him or in the library. Dean and Seamus go to Hogsmeade with him. Ginny is even friendly with him. Sure, I still see him at Quidditch, but the only talking he does to me is to criticize my abilities.

I'm miserable without him, Professor. I miss my best friend. I wish I had never done any of the things I've done since the year started.

Can you help me out?

Ronald Weasley

Severus scoffed at the letter and put it aside.

"Sure, Weasley realizes what a mistake he made, but there's not much that can be done to fix it now," Severus thought, mentally preparing for his next class.

~*~

Harry's day had been uneventful at best. Sure, in Transfiguration they were turning rats to top hats, but that was normal these days. Charms had been interesting as Ron managed to blow up his cushion. All in all, it had been a rather uneventful day.

He made his way to the dungeons, heading for Potions. He knew that Severus would begin to treat him differently in class soon, but he didn't care.

After a few minutes, all the students had taken their seats and Severus swept into the room in his usual fashion.

"God, that makes him so hot," Harry thought, his eyes catching Severus' for an instant.

"Today, you will be brewing any potion in your book after page 300. They are all quite difficult, and I expect a few of you to fail miserably," Severus said, his eyes casting over Ron and Neville in the back. "Now, get to work!"

The classroom was filled with ruffling pages and sighing students. Harry had flipped to the back of the book, looking for the most complicated potion. He found it, and he immediately set about gathering his ingredients.

~*~

Severus watched Harry carefully. He made sure to not allow his eyes to linger for longer than a few seconds. He knew this Harry, the Vampire, would want to impress him. He was almost positive that he was going to see Amortentia, or something from the back of the book.

"That man is too damned good-looking for his own good," Severus thought, shifting in his seat slightly.

Harry had already started to prepare his ingredients while others were trying to find a suitable potion. Severus noted the ingredients, and a flash of horror flickered over his face. He had forgotten about that particular potion being in their books.

"Potter, what are you brewing?" he asked, sweeping to his lover's desk.

"I'm not sure how to pronounce the name, but the recipe is right there," Harry said, pointing to his book as he weighed out dragon claw to crush.

"Pnumat," Severus thought. "Good god, that's dangerous in the proper conditions."

"Are you sure you should be attempting this potion, Potter?" he asked, staring at the young man.

"I think I can handle it," Harry answered, looking up at the older man. "Would you prefer if I did a different potion, Sir?"

"I would," Severus answered, flipping the book to a different, slightly less complicated, potion. "This should suit you."

"Thank you, Sir," Harry said, grinning at the new potion.

~*~

Aside from Severus assigning him a different potion, nothing spectacular happened in Potions. Harry's had been perfect, earning him top marks for the day.

As he made his way to the Great Hall, Harry felt an arm wrap around him. He stiffened until he caught Severus' scent. He then relaxed into the arm and allowed himself to be pulled into the Potion Master's office.

"What's up, Sev?" Harry asked, turning to look at him.

"I read the letter Mr. Weasley sent a few days ago," Severus answered, producing said letter from his pocket. "You may want to read this."

Harry snatched the letter and read it quickly.

"Yeah, right," he said, tossing the letter on Severus' desk. "That dolt wouldn't know misery if it bit him on his nose."

~*~

"Malfoy, hold up," Harry called, after dinner that night.

Malfoy turned and saw Harry approaching him. Confused, he stopped walking and waited.

"What do you want, Potter?" he asked, his trademark sneer in place.

"Can we talk?" Harry asked, opening an empty classroom.

"About what?" Malfoy asked, eyeing Harry carefully.

"Your offer from first year," Harry said, stepping into the classroom. "To be friends, you know?"

"Of course, I remember, Potter," Malfoy spat. "Malfoys never forget anything."

"Friends?" Harry asked, extending his hand.

"Friends." Malfoy said, shaking Harry's hand.

"Hey, I've got to go meet Hermione," Harry said, moving to leave the room.

"Can I come with?" Malfoy asked. "I need help with the Runes homework, and I can't ask anyone else."

"Yeah," Harry said, chuckling. "Just offer to be her friend, too. She pretty much did the same thing I did to Weasley."

Draco stopped in his tracks, noting the venom which Harry said his former best friends name.

"Sure," he said, following Harry to the library.

~*~

A short while later, Hermione looked up as she heard books being set on her table in the library.

"Hey, Harry," she said, not looking up until she heard a second set of books.

"Hey, Hermione," Draco said, calmly.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" she asked, looking at the Slytherin warily.

"He's cool, Mione," Harry said, sitting in his usual seat. "We're friends now, and he needs help with the Runes homework."

"Yeah, I can't figure out what page 264 is supposed to be," Draco said, opening his book to the page.

"That one was pretty tough," she said, starting to explain the subtly of the differences in some of the runes.

Harry smirked as he started into his new Charms essay. The three sat, like the "Golden Trio" of old used to.

~*~

After a couple hours, Harry made his way into the dungeons, his expression happy. He had effectively made friends with Malfoy, and he had put Hermione on that track as well.

"Well, isn't someone happy?" Severus asked, noting the smile on Harry's face.

"Sure, I made a new friend for Hermione and I," Harry answered, plopping on the couch.

"That's great," Severus said. "Who is it?"

"Is somebody jealous?" Harry asked, smirking.

"If I had come back, grinning from ear to ear, and told you that I had made a new friend, would you be jealous?" Severus asked, dodging Harry's question.

"No, not really," Harry answered, stepping over to his older lover. "I'd be happy for you."

"Well, I must admit, I am slightly jealous," Severus said, casting his eyes away from Harry. "Yes, we're bonded, but there is still a chance that you could find someone better suited to you. Someone who is closer to your age."

"Sev, I'm not going to walk away from you," Harry said, bringing Severus' eyes to meet his own. "You are my other half. There is no one better suited for me. There is no one closer to my age that I'd rather be with. It's only you."

Severus refused to look Harry in the eye. He knew his eyes would give him away, and he didn't want to upset Harry. The young man in front of him was everything he'd wanted, but there was bound to be some catch.

"Sev, what's wrong?" Harry asked, his voice showing worry.

"I can't lose you," Severus answered, his eyes meeting Harry's. "I can't be alone again."

Harry saw the fear in Severus' eyes. Suddenly, he realized how what he had said and how is actions could have led Severus to believe he was going to leave.

"I'm so stupid," Harry said, getting up and walking over to the desk. His chest had started to constrict with guilt, and he couldn't look at Severus.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Severus asked, getting off the couch.

"I'm so stupid," Harry repeated, the feeling in his chest growing. He knelt by the desk, his head bowed and his shoulders slumped. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, and he couldn't bear the feeling.

"Harry, you're not stupid," Severus said, kneeling next to his young mate. "You made a new friend today. I was being petty when I assumed you would leave me. I had no right."

"I'm so stupid," Harry said a third time. He was having visions of his childhood.

['You stupid boy,' Vernon shouted. 'You're late! Why are you late?'

'I was playing with Michael and Stephanie, Uncle Vernon,' Harry said, his head bowed.

'You have no friends!' Vernon bellowed, before dragging the small boy into the house. 'In the cupboard, now!'

Harry cowered as he fled into the safety of his cupboard, shaking all the while. He had known that he would be late if he played with his friends, but he hadn't expected his uncle to be this angered by it.]

"Harry," Severus said, shaking the young man.

"What?" Harry said, looking around. "Sorry, Sev, I must have lost myself in a memory..."

"What happened?" Severus asked, taking Harry into his arms.

Harry explained how he was never allowed friends, and how he was treated when he was late from school. He gratefully leaned into the strong arms around him, giving him the comfort he had desperately wanted when Vernon was bullying him in his childhood, but Petunia treated him much the same way.

"That doesn't make you stupid, Harry," Severus said, his chin on Harry's head. "It makes them evil."

"I know, but when I came down here, and you were so scared, it brought back the fear in Vernon's eyes when I told them about my friends. He was so afraid of someone finding out about my being a wizard, he retaliated with anger," Harry said, getting up slowly.

Severus got up along with him, took the young man in his arms, and placed a passionate, deep kiss on Harry's lips. Harry responded slowly at first, but as he let his heart override his head, the passion between the two men grew quickly. After a few minute, Harry broke away from the kiss.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking into Severus' eyes.

"For what?" Severus asked, confused for a moment.

"Not telling you who my new friend is," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Severus. "I know you'll approve, and say he's a big improvement over Weasley."

"Who is it?" Severus asked, now interested.

"Draco," Harry whispered.

"That's great," Severus said, placing a kiss on Harry's scar.

"I think he and Hermione are well on the way to being friends, as well," Harry said, smiling a bit.

"Even better. She'll soon see what friends who are mentally equal to her are like," Severus quipped, earning a questioning glance from Harry. "Draco and You are now two and three in your year, behind Hermione. She'll be able to actually hold conversations without having to dumb them down for idiots like Weasley."

"I'm third in my year? Holy hell!" Harry said, now excited. "That's insane!"

"I'm proud of you," Severus said, smiling to the young man in his arms.

"Can we study in the study?" Harry asked. "The library gets too noisy sometimes, and Madame Pince is kind of a pain in the butt."

"Sure," Severus said, earning himself a hug that knocked him onto the couch.

"Thank you!" Harry said, before kissing Severus deeply.

The two ended the kiss before properly sitting on the couch. Harry summoned a bottle and two glasses. He then poured a decent amount into each glass and handed one to Severus.

"It's been a while since we've had a drink together," he mused, smiling to the older man. "How about a toast to us?"

"Cheers, Harry," Severus said, clinking his glass on Harry's. The two downed the liquid, before Harry could feel his control slipping.

"Your wrist?" he asked, his voice becoming the deep baritone associated with his Vampire side.

"Of course," Severus mumbled, after groaning softly as Harry's voice went straight to his cock. He held out his left wrist, which Harry took and bite quickly, yet gently enough to not cause his lover any discomfort. After a moment, Harry closed the wound and was pulled into a searing kiss.

~*~

Severus couldn't control himself as he watched Harry take his blood. The act had affected him before, but never to this extreme. He could feel his cock hardening, and he knew he would need release before long. He pulled Harry into a deep kiss as he felt the wounds on his wrist heal. His tongue plunged into Harry's mouth, drinking in the taste of his own blood. He let out an animalistic groan as he tasted his blood on Harry's tongue.

He moved to lay Harry on the couch below him, much like Harry had done to him not long ago. He braced his arms on the arm of the couch, using his strength to not crush the young man below him. He could hear Harry's groans of pleasure as he continued his kiss. Severus had never known himself to be dominant, but he knew that this side was fun as well.

Harry was writhing beneath him, his hips bucking to meet Severus'. The first time their arousals had met, both men stilled. Harry then continued bucking against Severus. The older man slowly broke the kiss, his eyes burning with love and want for the young Vampire below him.

"Damn, Sev," Harry said. "That was fucking hot."

"I know," Severus said, moving his head to kiss along Harry's neck.

Harry was a mess, and he knew it. Severus being dominant and agressive was turning him on incredibly, and he knew he wanted more of it. He let out soft groans and moans as he felt the lips on his neck. He kept bucking his hips up, meeting Severus' arousal with his own. He felt his impending climax growing, but at the same time, he reached between Severus and his body, gripping his lover's erection, and rubbing it.

Severus groaned appriciatively, grinding his cock into Harry's hand. He knew he was close, and he was sure Harry wasn't that far behind. He kept his movements up, and let out a deep growl as he felt himself explode into his trousers. He shifted his weight to his right hand, moving his left hand down to return the favor. He gripped Harry's erection, working it skillfully through his lover's jeans.

Harry gasped as he felt Severus' hand on his clothed cock. He screwed his eyes shut and bucked rapidly into the hand, quickly falling over the edge and exploding into his jeans.

"Are you tired, Sev?" Harry asked, noting the quick, short breaths the older man was taking.

"A bit," Severus answered, sitting back on his knees.

"Let's get you to bed, Sev," Harry said, scooting himself from between the older man's legs. He stood, offering his arm to Severus.

Severus took the younger man's arm, leaning on it for support. The activities the two had engaged in were slightly more rigorous than he was used to and drained his energy more than he realized. He let the younger man lead him into the bedroom, stripped him of his clothing (minus the boxers), and casting a cleaning charm. He then was laid on the bed, and he watched Harry strip to his boxers and undershirt. Harry then casted a cleaning charm on himself before crawling into bed with Severus.

Harry instinctively wrapped an arm around Severus' waist and laid his head on the older man's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Severus wrapped an arm around the young man's shoulders, holding him to him gently. His free hand gently ran through Harry's hair, calming him quickly.

After a short while, Harry could hear as Severus' breathing steadied into a deep, slow rhythm. He knew nothing else would ever fill this for him. He had found the one, and would have despite the Vampire in him.

~*~

A/N: So here lies another slight twist. I brought in Malfoy, and he's going to be playing a part rather soon. I felt I needed another character, and he was the one I came up with.

Perhaps the next chapter will be up in a week. I have off for a few days this week, so I may be able to get out Ch 15 on time. We'll see.

Reviews are amazing!

-KD