Title: Lions and Lambs

Pairings: Harry Potter/Severus Snape

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Not mine at all! Yes you heard right! It's not mine!

Warning: This has not been beta read so if you see any mistakes you should tell me through a review or a PM, please!

Dedicated to: Lynda-Lee, IndieWrites, buckup-009, Thatsallwegot, mizzrazz72, and BSolomon!

Chapter 13

Plan

Severus's POV

Severus had been working nonstop on his plan to get Harry back. He had started by going out and buying promise ring, something he had never done before, and then he planned out what he was going to say and do. He didn't think he had ever been this nervous in his entire life, and that was saying a lot since he had been a spy for so long.

The day the plan was set for was approaching way faster than Severus would have liked it to. It seemed to him that he wasn't anywhere near being prepared, but he just kept telling himself to not think about it no matter how hard it was. He was doing a good job of it too, until someone had shown up at his door.

He had been working on a potion trying to get his mind off the plan when all of a sudden a voice behind him startled him out of his trance. "You there, yes you. You have a visitor waiting for you to open the portrait for him." Severus had jumped and whirled around to see the man from the portrait that guarded his door right behind him.

Severus stared at the man, puzzled as to who would be visiting him. Eventually, Severus started making his way towards the portrait hole and shoved open the painting to find his former student Neville Longbottom staring at him.

"Why hello, Professor" Longbottom greeted cheerfully. Severus scowled, 'Where did all my intimidation skills go? Longbottom isn't even scared of me in the least anymore!' he thought, grouchy.

"What do you want?" he was not in the mood to pretend to be cheerful as they small talked.

The other man didn't seem the least bit phased at Severus's biting tone. "I was just coming over to see if I could be of any assistance. I heard you and Harry broke up and Harry is really broken up about it so I was thinking you probably would be too."

"I am fine." Severus said, incredulously, "I'm not as weak-minded as you seem to be thinking at the moment, Longbottom."

Neville sighed, "Ok, so that wasn't the real reason for my coming, but I thought it would be a reasonable excuse. I'm actually here to see if I could talk you into getting back with Harry. He really is bent out of shape, no pun intended. I was just wondering why you broke up with him exactly?"

Severus looked at the sincere with his worry for his old school friend, and the Potion's Master knew that the other professor wouldn't be satisfied until he got the truth. Sighing, Severus tried to find a way to phrase what he wanted to say without sounding like a love-sick fool. "Well, I'm I despicable Death Eater and he is the Savior of the Wizard World, Longbottom." Was all he could say and desperately hope that the other man would conclude something on his own, so Severus wouldn't have to explain any more.

"That doesn't make any sense! If you really liked each other, why would it have mattered?" Longbottom seemed to be a little insulted, though Severus had no idea why he would be.

"I'm a disgusting Death Eater, Longbottom." The ex-spy put extra emphasis on the words Death Eater, "Why would anyone want to be seen anywhere in the vicinity of me!" Severus gave a last-ditch effort to explain with dignity.

"That still doesn't explain why you told him that it was over!" Longbottom almost yelled in his frustrated state.

Annoyed, Severus gave up on being dignified. "He deserves so much better than me! Why should he have to settle for me! That's why I was telling him to leave. Satisfied?" The tone didn't come out as sneering as Severus would have liked, and he couldn't bring himself to look the other man in the eye.

Longbottom was silent for a moment. He had a calculating look on his face that made Severus even more nervous. "You know…" The Herbology professor started slowly, "I was really stunned when Harry told us that he was with you. But I didn't object like Ron because I know Harry. If he thinks you are a good enough person to get to know, then I was willing to go along with it and maybe get to know you also." Severus couldn't understand where this was going. "Harry really, really likes you. I can tell. I went to see him and I just mentioned your name and his eyes lit up. I know you think you aren't good enough for him, but if you make him happy, then…who cares what happened in the past. Just focus on now. Just focus on your's and Harry's happiness."

Severus couldn't help but stare at Longbottom. Where had that come from? He was speechless, opening and closing his mouth uselessly. Finally, though, he found his voice again. "Well…um…I was planning on confronting him and asking for his…forgiveness, you could call it." All his reputation was gone already; he might as well go all the way with those painful words.

Longbottom smiled. Severus was slightly disgusted. Longbottom, who had been terrified of him as a child, was now smiling at his words. "Good. Then I want to help." Those words were the trigger. Severus immediately snapped his head up with a horrified expression.

"Absolutely not!" He all but shouted at the man not 3 feet in front of him.

"Of course I am! You need me to help. Admit it." Longbottom said with a small smile, "You will need someone to bring Harry to where you want to meet him because let's face it, you don't want to show up at the Burrow where the Weasley twin, who know perfectly well what you have done, are. They will not leave much of you untouched."

Even Severus couldn't argue against that argument. He would need someone to help with his plan. Resigned, the Potion's Master sighed and nodded at the other man, who suddenly looked much too excited.

"Awesome! Let's start planning!" Longbottom exclaimed, and Severus grudgingly started to explain his plan.

AN: Ok! I really am soooooo sorry! This time it wasn't my fault that I didn't post! I was working on this chapter when my mom tells me my cousin had her baby and we were going to go see her. So we left almost immediately and when we arrived, my family decided that we were going to have an "electronic free weekend" so I didn't have my phone or computer for the last 2 days! Anyway, I just got home and quickly posted this! Thank you all for reviewing! If I get 5 reviews I will post the next chapter tomorrow! I know you probably don't have much faith in me right now, but believe me, I mean it this time! I will post tomorrow and you will finally get to find out what Severus's plan is!