Day 11:
Harry played with a ring. It held an Emerald that matched his eyes. He had been planning to give it to Snape the day before, but then, things happened and he had been blindsided by the way Ron and Dumbledore had taken the situation. Ron was to be expected. He'd expected some resilience in his friend. However, when Dumbledore had told him that he would be dead, likely within the next year. If he had gone through and given Snape the promise ring, he would have solidified a relationship that he could not afford to. He couldn't give into himself when he knew that everyone had the world's best interest in mind. Could he really be selfish? Snape wanted him to make his own decisions. He couldn't blame him for thinking that it would help him to view the memories, but all it did was showed him that Snape already cared enough to want more for him. He couldn't let Snape care so much.
Harry closed his eyes and lay his head against the pillow. "Harry..." Hermione's voice came from behind a closed door. Most of his dormmates had left early in the day, leaving him alone to brew in his thoughts. He sighed. "Come in Mione." Until now that was. He'd avoided Hermione ever since the day before, when she had apparently let slip to Ron a lot more than he had ever meant for his friend to know. And now he had to deal with the consequences. But he had to give her the chance to explain herself. Otherwise, he would regret things later, since she was one of his closest friends. He placed the ring under his pillow and opened the curtains of his bed.
Hermione walked in and looked at him. After closing the door behind her, she shook her head. "I'm so sorry Harry."
"Hermione. You told me Ron would not accept Severus and I. Why would you tell him?" He asked, choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to make her feel worse, but he needed to know what she was thinking.
"I wasn't thinking. Ron and I were curled together. He was asking me about how you were doing. We were talking about how you seemed enamored with this event. And Ron brought up your crush. I swear I didn't say anything, but apparently my lack of information told him all he needed to know. All I want is for you to be happy Harry. I didn't know that Ron would come up and confront you about it. He shouldn't have done that. All I know is, he cares about you, Harry. We all do. And we all want you to be happy."
"I'm not sure I can believe that Hermione. The only person who has cared if I am happy is Severus. He's been trying to make these 12 days some of the best and honestly, I hurt him. All because I know that I cannot be the person to make him happiest. He needs to find someone that will keep him out of this war, who can keep him safe. Instead, he's been falling for me and I am the worst possible choice in this scenario. He's going to get himself killed if I let him close. I can't do that to him."
"Harry, Snape loves you. You can tell by the way he's treated you that this is not some mere crush he can just pass on for the next best thing. He's been watching you. He knows your likes and dislikes. And honestly, I think you know more about him than you care to admit. You love him too. Every time you talk about him, your eyes light up. Whatever you are convinced of, you need to rethink. Snape will not be able to find someone else while he's thinking about you. Talk to him about what will make the two of you happy."
Harry found himself nodding. He knew she was right. He had gone from crush to love within the last 10 days. Snape had shown him more about himself than he knew. He cared about his past, his present and his future. He bit his lip. "I don't know what to do Hermione."
She looked at him and ran some fingers through his hair. "Follow your heart, Harry. That is the only advice I can ever give you."
He knew what his heart was telling him, but it scared the hell out of him. But despite Ron and despite Dumbledore, Harry was nearly an adult. He was 16 and in the wizarding world was legally able to choose his own path. He grinned slightly and nodded. "Thank you, Mione. I hope you do as well."
She smiles and kisses his cheek. "Oh trust me, I have and I will." She reached into her robe and pulled out a box. "Snape wanted me to give this to you. He knows how I feel about you two and decided I was the only one to give this to you."
She lay it on the bed and stood up. "I will leave you to think and open your day 11 gift." Harry smiled and thanked her. As soon as she walked out, he shifted the box around in his hand and then opened it. Facing him was a ring very similar to the one he'd purchased for Snape, but with a dark stone, black agate. Harry gasped at the beautiful piece and could feel tears in his eyes. Snape loved him. He opened the note alongside the ring,
"Harry,
I have known for a long time that you were special. You have amazing eyes and a soul that matches them. Every time I see you, I know that you are making someone's day, other than my own. As far as a future, neither of us can predict what will happen. However, I know that for as long as I live, I will love you. I owe you my heart and my soul. No matter what happens to you or what happens to me, my mind will never change. I am today giving you the promise that I will love you in a way that no one else can. I love you Harry James Potter. Please accept this promise ring as a way for me to prove my love to you.
Your Santa ;)"
Harry slid the ring on his finger, amazed at the fact that Snape knew even his ring size. He couldn't believe that he was thinking of giving Snape some hope for a future. He pulled out the ring he got for Snape and bit his lip. Then he opened the drawer next to his bed and set both rings inside. He had a long night ahead of him.
Snape wondered how Harry had reacted to his gift, but he didn't have the chance to know. He had been called to Dumbledore's office and was not too pleased. He was not too surprised to see McGonnagal in the room with Dumbledore when he arrived. "Oh, what a pleasant surprise." He said, his annoyance showing through. "Is there something I can help you with?" He asked, staring at McGonnagal with distaste. He had trusted her in giving Harry his day 7 gift. Had he made a poor decision in trusting her? She watched him carefully. "My dear Boy..." Dumbledore smiled at him. "Of course not. We just wanted to have a small chat about a matter that has crossed our table. Are you being inappropriate with any of the students?"
Snape had to cough to keep himself from laughing out loud. Inappropriate? Was what he was doing with Harry considered inappropriate with the event that Dumbledore had set up? He shook his head. "No, of course not. I have been nothing but appropriate. I've always given my giftee the first move. He's nearly an adult Albus." Snape added, "And in some cultures he is."
Dumbledore frowned. Minerva shook her head. "I was ok with you giving him some hope for a future. An idea of something he loves that he could possibly do to give him the want to fight and survive. A job is something that wouldn't distract him. A love though, someone he would die for is something else entirely. Even if I believe you could love him, which I severely doubt given your age difference, I think that you need to give him some space. He's only 16 Severus, far too young to be thinking of love in the midst of a war."
"You're wrong Minerva." Snape shook his head. "I am not giving him someone to die for. I am giving him someone that would die for him. I do love that young man. He's been someone I cannot get off my mind. And he, more than anyone, deserves a love that will last until he dies."
"And if you do die, Severus, he will lose all hope." Dumbledore held his hands under his desk, running them along his robes. He obviously was trying to not say something, but Severus didn't know what. "Hope is something he needs. Perhaps I was wrong in trying to tear you apart." McGonnagal gaped at him, surprised. "Dumbledore..." The headmaster held up a hand, silencing her. "I think that Harry is the only one who can know what he needs. Love is a very important trait. If you sincerely believe you are in love, then I give you my blessing. But remember what we are fighting for Severus."
Snape nodded. "I would never forget that Albus. However, if you are giving him choices, you may want to remember that he is not your puppet to play with... and I will never allow him to be." Snape decided he'd made his point when Minerva's mouth opened wide and Dumbledore frowned. He turned and walked out the door, leaving them to a conversation he knew he did not want to be a part of.
No matter what he had said, he knew that Harry was influenced by the elder man and that thought scared him. He found himself wandering the castle, when an owl flew beside him. He stopped and the owl dropped a letter onto his shoulder and flew off. He picked it up and read, "Please meet me out by the lake at 11 tonight. You'll know where."
He grinned and thought back to some conversations he and Harry had. They had talked about lake a few times and he knew exactly where to go. He would be out there at 11 exactly. He wondered about the hour, because if Harry was caught, he would likely lose points, but that was probably a challenge, and therefor would be more intriguing to Harry. He grinned and shook his head.
At eleven on the nose Severus found himself at the lake, alone. He found a picnic basket on a blanket at the same spot where they'd had the contestants of the triwizard tournament jump in two years ago. He shook his head and was about to head in, but he would feel bad if Harry showed up and he hadn't even stuck around for him. He waited about fifteen minutes before he decided to check to see what was in the basket. He was pleasantly surprised. Some of his favorite foods and his favorite wine. He chuckled. "It's like Harry to know this much about me."
He decided to grab a roll and nibble on that while he waited for Harry. Some time later, he frowned. Had Harry been found out here and been punished. Was he waiting on something. Or was Harry trying to set him up. He frowned, biting his lip. At around midnight, Snape was about to head back to the castle when he heard a small laugh from nearby. He reached around and felt fabric next to him and pulled it off, revealing Harry. "How long have you been here?" He asked, watching the other boy with sparkling eyes. He looked so happy!
"Since about 11." Harry said with a smile. He grabbed Snape around the waist and kissed him. Snape rolled his eyes. "Only you, Harry James Potter, only you."