It had been three days, and Harry's friends had become obnoxious in their pursuit of finding out what was bothering him. Hermione had taken to randomly guessing about his dire attitude, and Ron had begun doing everything in his power to annoy him until he spilled the beans, so to speak. Harry didn't even want to think about Ginny, who had convinced herself that his morose mood was due solely to him being afraid to tell her he was still in love, as if he had ever been. He swore that if she pressed her breasts against him in an attempt to entice him, or tried to talk about the future they might've shared again, he might very well blow his lid and tell them all to bugger off. Why did they even care this much? Hermione was normally too wrapped up in her work to notice anyone's particular mood, and Ron was still pissed about Harry dumping his sister. Why couldn't they just leave him alone with his depression, pretend it didn't exist as they always had?

"Harry…"

The Gryffindor turned. He'd taken to walking through the Weasley's orchard to escape his friends. Standing beside the nearest blossoming tree was the very man who had caused his sadness. Harry hugged his arms against a sudden, inexplicable chill as he looked away.

"What do you want?" He asked.

Snape stepped towards him, and reached out to gently lay his hands on Harry's crossed arms. "To apologize."

Harry looked up, his eyes swimming with tears. "But you still won't tell me, will you?"

Severus shook his head. Harry frowned and pulled away from the man.

"Then don't bother!" He shouted angrily. "I trusted you, Severus! Do you have any idea how rare that is for me, to put absolute faith in someone?!"

Snape didn't move. "Harry-"

"No!" Harry shouted. "I don't want your half-assed apology! Just go away, and leave me alone!"

"I'm not going to do that, Harry," Snape said soothingly. He moved towards the Gryffindor and Harry stiffened as the man's arms encompassed him. Snape held his head against his chest. "I'm sorry, Harry. More than you will ever know, I'm so sorry."

Harry sobbed against the thin chest. "It isn't fair," He murmured, relaxing into the embrace. "I wanted so badly for you to be the one I shared myself with. I wanted you to be the man who finally had all of me."

"Oh, Harry," Severus murmured against the top of his head. "I'm sorry. I know it means less now, but I swear, I do trust you, completely. There are just some things that are better left unsaid. Someday I will tell you, I promise you that, but for now you must continue to trust that my feelings for you are unchanged."

Harry slowly uncrossed his arms and slid them beneath the man's cloak to wrap around the trim, masculine waist. "I'm sorry," He murmured. "I thought I'd pushed you away forever."

"Never," Severus said with conviction. "I told you, I will always be around, even if your anger means I must watch you from a distance."

Harry shook his head. "No…" He answered. "I don't want to lose you, no matter how angry I am." He lifted his eyes to the stern features above him. "Someday I hope I can teach you that your trust is as safe with me as mine is with you."

"Harry…" Severus murmured, his hand cupping a tan cheek. "I-"

"No more, Severus," Harry said, turning away. He sat on the stiff dirt beneath their feet and stared down the long row of trees. "I understand that you won't tell me, and that you believe your faith in me is unchanged, but the two cannot exist simultaneously. Someday… someday I'll prove to you that I can be trusted. For now, I just want you to be with me, if that's still what you want."

Severus sat beside him, and Harry leaned tiredly against him. He'd had so little good sleep since their argument. Nightmares had plagued him, not only of the horrors he'd witnessed in the war, but visions of his and Severus' past. How they had hated and distrusted one another.

Severus wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder and held him gently in the broken shade of the Weasley orchard.

"I'm not going anywhere, Harry."

-Break-

The next time Severus came to visit it was only a few days before Harry was due to return to Hogwarts. Harry, after having had another fight with Ron, was out walking the orchard behind the Burrow. He had just made up his mind to go back when Severus appeared out of the surrounding foliage.

"Severus!" Harry exclaimed, unable to stop his excitement at seeing the man.

"Harry," The man answered with a smirk. "What are you doing out here?"

Harry shrugged. "I had another fight with Ron. Ginny's basically forgiven me ever since I apologized, but Ron's still being a prat."

Severus approached and drew Harry against his chest. "Dare I ask why?"

The Gryffindor chuckled. "The usual, I suppose," He said, wrapping his arms around the man's neck. "We went shopping yesterday, and he…well, he's jealous. When I went to Gringotts I found out that I had a much larger inheritance than I'd believed, a whole other vault, in fact. Today, he started bitching at me about making his mum buy his new wand in Third Year when I apparently could've afforded it myself, and the awful hand-me-down dress robes he had to wear in Fourth Year."

"You have a strange preference in friends, Harry," Severus commented glibly.

Harry chuckled again. "No kidding. I'm just glad Hermione's staying out of it this time, so at least they aren't ganging up on me." He pulled away and sat down at the base of a tree, under the shifting shade of it's leafy branches.

Severus joined him on the ground. "Ah, yes, Miss Granger. You have said very little about her."

Harry shrugged. "There isn't much to tell. Whether or not that's a good thing, I couldn't say. She's been doing her best to pretend like nothing's changed, but…I can sense that she's…hesitating. It's like she wants to say something, but is too afraid to. I imagine, once she finally works up the courage, whatever she has to say will either make or break our friendship."

"That is a surprisingly perceptive way of looking at things," Severus commented casually.

Harry smirked. "Well, I have my moments."

Severus smirked as well, tweaking Harry's ear, and they were silent for a long minute.

"Severus?" Harry said finally.

"Hm?" The Potions Master inquired gently, his black gaze swinging around to meet Harry's imploring green.

Harry blushed. "I'm sorry I pushed you, before," He told the man quietly. "I've been thinking about it, and… You don't have to tell me everything. I was just being a real prat. Just because you're afraid or embarrassed, or whatever it is that's keeping you from telling me, that doesn't mean our friendship is any less for it. I'm sure at some point there will be something I'm too afraid to tell you, but even so it won't mean I trust you any less. And I'm willing to wait, like you said. I know someday you'll tell me everything, and I look forward to that day, but I'm also happy for what we have now, you know?"

Severus smirked. "I know, Harry, and thank you. I swear on my own grave, your patience will one day be rewarded."

Harry chuckled. "That's an odd thing to say. But I appreciate the sentiment." He leaned against the man and stared out at the sinking sun through the trees. "Where were we last?"

The Potions Master chuckled. "I believe I was telling you about Fourth Year potions."

Harry nodded, and situated himself more comfortably against his friend as the deep, gravelly voice washed over him, hypnotizing him as he listened raptly to the man's rumbling commentary. He was so absorbed, he barely heard the distant rumble of thunder on the eastern horizon.

-Break-

Harry awoke as the curtains around his bed were drawn back. He'd taken to closing them each night, because Severus had come every night since his return to the school. He sat up as the Potions Master took up his place on the bed and shut the curtains again. Harry cast a weak Lumos, illuminating their dark space with a gentle light. He frowned at his friend as Severus smiled gently back at him.

"I had your class today," Harry murmured. This had been only the second day of classes since their return, as September 1st had landed on a Friday. He'd had both Defense and Potions today, and the Potions Master had been teaching neither. "Why aren't you teaching?"

Severus' smile slipped a little. "I have fulfilled my purpose at this school," He admitted. "I felt no desire to return to teaching, once I was finally free."

"Then why are you here?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow.

"I am here for you," Severus said simply. Harry could see the honesty in the glistening black gaze. "Have you remembered any more about the Final Battle?"

Harry shook his head. "You ask that every night, and the answer is always the same. I know you think my being back at school will bring the memories back, but it isn't working. I just can't seem to remember anything, no matter what I do."

Severus sighed and together they shifted around until he was spooning Harry against his chest. Harry sighed as well as he pulled his blanket up over them.

"Why is it so important that I remember?" He asked.

Severus shrugged behind him. "I cannot say."

Harry frowned again. "That's not an answer. Do you mean you can't say, or you don't know?"

"I suppose it is both," Severus murmured against the top of his head. "It is necessary that you stop blocking the memories for your own mental health. But I couldn't say why it is so important to me in particular."

Harry nodded, and burrowed further back against the stiff body behind him. Severus began to speak of Potions again, and Harry felt himself beginning to drift off almost immediately. The man's voice was nothing if not hypnotic.