Thanks for the reviews everyone. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Harry woke the next morning with a pounding headache and he groaned as he rolled over and cracked an eye open as he looked at the time his clock was showing. He groaned again when he saw it was well past breakfast and was nearly lunchtime. The sudden realization of why he had the massive headache came crashing towards the forefront of his mind and he groaned once again at his stupidity, not one isolated incident, the whole damn lot. He froze when he heard something from the other side of his door which told him Snape was in the next room and he took a deep breath as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, suddenly a churning in his stomach occurred and he slapped a hand across his mouth.

Snape was indeed in the living room and was getting frustrated with Harry the longer he decided to stay in his room and ignore him. He had cleaned up the living room from Harry's drinking session that night and was about to head over to knock on Harry's door when it was wrenched open from the other side and a pale faced, half naked Harry dashed from the room and straight into the bathroom. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Snape took a deep breath as the sound of vomiting reached his ears. Stupid boy.

He walked over to the bathroom door and leaned on the doorframe as Harry had his head resting on the toilet bowl, looking into it and groaning ever so slightly. Snape picked up a towel and put it in front of Harry's face and withdrew his hand when he felt the boy take it. He went into the living room to get another glass so he could give Harry some water. When he got back, he heard the toilet flush and Harry closed the lid to sit on it as he accepted the offered glass of water with a beet red face that was now concentrating on something rather interesting on the black floor tiles.

"Dare I ask how you are feeling this morning, Potter?" Snape said stiffly from the safety of the doorway.

Harry shifted slightly on the toilet but kept looking down as he rasped out an answer. He was mortified as he was currently only clad in his silk boxers, and they left nothing for the imagination.

"Not the best, sir."

"Hmm, well that will happen when you drink a third of my bottle of Whiskey. Get yourself cleaned up and by then it will be lunchtime. You need to eat something."

Without waiting for an answer, Snape shut the door to the bathroom and went to sit in his arm chair in front of the fireplace, staring into the unlit blackened wood as he listened out for the shower and waited for Harry to emerge. He wasn't feeling particularly forgiving today having a hungover student that was on his watch and one who seemed to be evading him. Shaking his head of all thoughts, he heard the water shut off and moments later a still half naked Harry with a towel wrapped around his waist walked through the living area and disappeared into his room. He eyed the boy carefully as he emerged from the bathroom and narrowed his eyes, he knew he shouldn't be eyeing the boy like that, and unwelcomed images of Harry's torso flashed in his mind.

As Harry got dressed, his hands started to shake, he was extremely nervous about what was to follow and he could hardly do the button on his grey jeans as he tried the zip. He stopped and took a deep breath before successfully doing them up and finding his green tee, he shoved it on over his head and raked a hand through his hair so it stuck straight up. He slowly opened the door into the living room and found Snape standing behind the couch with his arms across his chest as he watched Harry walk towards him. Slowly.

Harry came to stand just a couple of feet away from the man and looked up when he saw a vial being presented in front of him, and for the first time all morning he locked eyes with Snape with a questioning look.

"I don't wish to draw attention to you." Was the awkward reply as Snape stood in front of him.

"Wha – "

"For the headache and nausea. Now hurry would you, I am rather famished." Snape interrupted.

Harry pulled the cork from the top and downed to contents in one swift go before handing the vial back to Snape and feeling his head clearing of the fog. He gave a weak smile and followed the man out of the living area and into the corridor. It was halfway between the Dungeons and the Great Hall when Snape spoke again.

"I hope you do not think that because I haven't brought it up yet, we won't be talking about your actions last night."

Even though Snape was annoyed, Harry didn't hear any malice in his voice and he got the impression that Snape wanted to have a civilized conversation with him, he wasn't going to hold his breath though. He had no doubt what it would be about, and just the thought of it made his stomach churn and he still didn't feel like eating any food. They had finally reached the Great Hall and Harry went to sit at his spot on the Gryffindor table and looked up to see only a couple of teachers at the table, but no one of real significance. He was surprised when Snape rounded the table and stood beside him, bending forward, placing both hands on the table and whispering into his ear, which sent tingles down Harry's spine.

"I suggest you consume copious amounts of bread if you wish the hangover to disappear."

"Yes, sir." Harry whispered back, blushing and waited until the man was seated at the head table before reaching for any food.

Snape had the seat to the right of Dumbledore with McGonagall taking the left, which was odd because this was the first year the man wasn't on the end of the table in front of the Slytherin's. This meant that, like the other day when Snape had pulled Harry up with his eating habits, Harry was literally sitting right in front of him.

"Ah, good morning, Harry my boy. How are you this morning?" Dumbledore boomed loudly and Harry had to close his eyes to absorb the noise rattling round his still somewhat sore head.

"Morning, Headmaster." Harry managed to mumble out and he felt a hand pat his shoulder as the man walked past.

"Severus." Dumbledore acknowledged as he sat down and Harry heard the man reply coolly.

"Everything sorted between the two of you then I take it?" The Headmaster continued and Harry froze, his head rising to look straight ahead. He briefly heard Snape clearing his throat.

"Harry mentioned last night in the Astronomy Tower that the two of you had a… a disagreement."

Harry inwardly cringed, he thought he told the man not to say anything and then here he was incriminating Harry in the middle of the Great Hall.

"Yes, everything is sorted." Snape replied slowly and continued with his lunch.

Harry turned to look at the Headmaster and narrowed his eyes at the man before looking over to Snape who was in turn giving Harry a narrowed look. Dumbledore expressed his delight at the news and then started rambling on about class scheduling and new potion developments that he thought Snape should know about. Harry tuned out of that one, nothing interesting there and risking a glance at Snape he humored himself by thinking the man was thinking the same thing. However the time came when he saw Snape stand and his stomach dropped as he stood as well to follow the man out of the hall.

It was a silent walk down to the Dungeons and all too quickly Harry found himself led over to the couch and told to sit as Snape went to sit in his armchair, angling himself so he had a better look at Harry. There was an awkward sort of silence and Harry found himself wondering if the man was wanting him to start, but he wasn't too sure where he should really start. Luckily, like always, Snape took that choice away and spoke first.

"Now…" He paused, Snape was just as nervous as Harry and he wanted to tread lightly, but perhaps blunt would be best in this situation.

"Sir, I'm really sorry about last night." Harry bet Snape to it with speaking even if it was rushed, so the man decided to keep quiet and let Harry talk it out.

"I've actually… I guess…" Harry sighed, he really didn't know how to put this and Snape picked up on this.

"Can I ask you a question, Harry?" Snape said quietly from his seat and Harry looked up to him and nodded.

"Are you gay?" His voice firm but soft as he regarded Harry and saw the boy blush. The answer is yes apparently.

"I… I think so?" Harry replied, the room growing in temperature rapidly and he could tell his face was hot.

"What are you unsure about?" Snape probed further, it was clear that there was a hint of confusion in Harry's answer but Harry didn't really seem that forthcoming with information so he stood and went to sit beside Harry.

"Harry please let me help you, you can trust me." He said quietly as he settled onto the couch.

"I just… It's not normal, sir. Is it? I mean I'm a guy, so naturally I should want to be with a girl right?"

"Not necessarily." Snape said softly and the two of them locked eyes for a moment before Harry looked away.

"The Wizarding World is more accepting of gay relationships than Muggles, it is more normal. Once more, I have no shame with it." Snape slipped that little bit in at the end hoping that Harry would pick up on it. He did.

"Are… Are you saying that…?" Harry trailed off, he didn't know if he should really be asking that question.

"I was your age when I realized that it wasn't the girls that turned my head." Snape replied to the trailed off question and Harry's eyes went wide with the realization.

Harry idly wondered if Dumbledore knew this about him as well which would contribute to he and Snape being so similar.

"It was… an interesting period of my life and by no means easy. I can remember vividly when I first realized and it honestly scared me that I had no one to talk to about it." Snape said looking into the unlit fire.

Harry couldn't really find his voice so he only nodded.

"I take it that boy from your street isn't your boyfriend then?" Snape continued and saw Harry shake his head.

"I uh… He and Peter, the other boy you met, took me to a couple of parties and we… did, some stuff which made me question myself. It confused me that I enjoyed it but they seemed open about it. Now that I think about it I have a feeling they were both gay themselves."

Harry was feeling like there was a little weight shifting off his shoulders and his heart as he talked about this with Snape. He still couldn't get over the fact that he was spilling his secrets to the man. I still seemed weird. There was a pause in conversation after this admission before Snape spoke again.

"Has this been what's been on your mind, Harry?"

"Yes, sir." Harry said after a second.

"And there was nothing else?" Snape asked, he was sure there was something else the boy wasn't telling him.

Harry thought for a second but chickened out from telling the man he was developing a full on crush for. He supposed that it was just because he was seeing so much of the man lately and this was the reason behind his daydreams. He looked over at Snape before shaking his head, he felt a little bad for not telling the man but he just couldn't tell him. The kiss was bad enough without putting reasons behind it so he left it and looked down again after answering the man.

"Very well then. Now, the drinking last night – "

"Will never happen again, sir." Harry interrupted and Snape simply nodded at this.

"And curfew?"

"I will be here before eight every night, sir." Harry was sitting up straight by this stage just to prove his point.

"Good." Snape said, but he left an air of hesitance in his voice, there was still the kiss that needed to be addressed.

"Now, Harry please listen carefully when I say that… the kiss didn't upset me like I'm guessing you thought when you ran away." He stopped as he regarded Harry and the boy had started blushing again and hid his face in the palms of his hands.

"No, please look at me." Snape said and when Harry made no effort to move, he pried the boy's hands away and pulled his face up so he was looking at him, he still kept one hand holding Harry's hands.

"I am not angry, nor am I upset. You are confused and I understand. Nothing will be mentioned about it. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Harry was immensely happy that he wasn't disgusted by it, well he didn't say that he wasn't, he was probably being nice about it. He sighed and went to pull his head away but found that he couldn't and he looked into Snape's eyes to see them full of emotion.

"I mean it, Harry. It's a hard time in your life, not only have you got to deal with where you will live but your questioning yourself, exploring a different side to you." Harry could see the earnestness in his voice and eyes so he nodded and gave a weak smile before he felt the fingers leave his face. Feeling the loss immediately.

"Right, now in more entertaining matters, how are you feeling?" Snape said with slight amusement in his voice and Harry gave a small snort of amusement himself.

"Like crap, honestly." Harry replied and gave a half smile at the man.

"I'm not surprised, someone your size shouldn't be drinking that much. Well, someone who isn't of age." He emphasized and Harry blushed again.

"I think I might go for a walk. Is that okay?" Harry asked, unsure if Snape was going to ground him or something for last night.

"You are not a prisoner in here, Harry. Yes you may go."

"Thanks." Harry said standing and went to his room to grab a hoodie and chucked it on as he walked towards the door but he stopped just shy of the portrait and turned to face Snape who had stood up and was facing him from the other side of the couch.

"Di-did you want to join me, sir?" Harry asked hesitantly but was rewarded with a small smile and he felt his insides melt again at the sight.

"Under normal circumstances I would accept you offer, however the Headmaster has me brewing various potions for his disposal." Snape replied with an ounce of disgust in his voice as he spoke about the Headmaster.

"Oh, okay. See you later then." Harry said and after a nod from the man Harry walked out into the corridor.

Snape watched as the portrait closed and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He was happier now that Harry had opened up about his sexuality but now what troubled him was the reactions from his friends. He felt a little bad about not forewarning Harry that whilst the Wizarding World was open to homosexuality, teenagers and rampant hormonal males generally weren't as accepting. He sincerely hoped that if Harry felt uncomfortable he'd come and talk to him about it. What? Why? Snape suddenly asked himself before sighing. He had really come to care for the boy. He was screwed. Anyway, he hadn't lied to Harry when he said he had potions to brew, so he tucked himself away in his lab until dinner.

Harry also let out a breath he'd been holding, but he now felt a little better about himself. As he walked through the castle and the grounds he reflected on their conversation and he felt like Snape had revealed a part of his soul to Harry. It made him a little more conscious that his actions would impact the man and he vowed that what was said to him would not be uttered to anyone, not even Hermione. He refused to be his father. Once he was outside he flopped down onto the grass and let the sun soak into him, drawing warmth into him and he smiled as he finally found some peace within him, although that niggling feeling about his feelings for Snape did try and ruin his mood but he refused to think about it.

As he lay there, he briefly thought of Peter and Tony back in London and wondered if there was any chance that he'd be able to go back and spend the day with them before school started for the year. He felt the Headmaster would say no though, but maybe, just maybe I could get Snape to take me, he sat up as that thought occurred to him. He wondered if because Snape knew what was bugging him he'd let him go and visit the people that opened his eyes in the first place. It was a stretch but he thought that it would be worth a shot. He just had to make sure that he behaved the next week or so to ensure his behaviour wasn't used as an excuse not to let him go. He smiled and lay back on the grass again, watching the clouds drifting past and giggling at the animal forms he saw.

Harry returned to Snape's quarters a couple of hours later and found the living room empty, but the lab door was ajar so he walked over to it and spied the man bent over a cauldron in determined concentration. Harry waited until he stood up and finished stirring before knocking on the door and taking a step inside, he remembered that he wasn't allowed to be in here, but he thought a foot inside the door wouldn't hurt. The man looked over in curiosity and gave Harry a small smile before indicating with his head that Harry could come in and he went to sit at the stool on the other side of where Snape was standing.

"What brings you in here, hmm?" Snape asked as he picked up a jar and took some legs of some description out and gently placed them in the cauldron.

"I'm bored." Harry shrugged and leaned over the bench to see what the potion looked like.

He looked up at Snape who raised an eyebrow at him and Snape cocked his head to the side.

"Is that so? And you couldn't think of anything more exciting than annoying your dear Potions Professor?" Snape replied in amusement and stirred his potion.

Harry blushed again and hid his face by looking down and inspecting the light scratches on the wooden table. He nodded however before shrugging again and missed the amused look Snape gave him.

"Would you like to help me then?" Snape asked and Harry's head shot up.

"Oh yeah, that would be awesome." Harry said, excitement in his voice and Snape cocked his head to get Harry to come over to stand next to him.

"Okay, I need you to take these and dice them for me."

"I can do that." Harry said enthusiastically and placed the roots on the chopping board and accepted the knife Snape offered him.

The two of them worked in silence for the rest of the afternoon and Snape found that his potions took almost half the time they would have if he'd done them by himself so he was glad that Harry had helped him. The company hadn't been bad at all and he'd even been able to give Harry some pointers on how to cut things properly and lectured him on the importance of stirring. Harry was amazed at the care and detail the man was going into when he lectured him about various things. He wondered why the man wasn't like this in class, but he had to snort because he realized that Snape's reputation as a hard bastard would be ruined if he showed any ounce of caring emotion.

By dinnertime, Harry was surprisingly hungry and when they made their way to the hall for dinner Harry piled his plate high with food and shoveled it in, almost ungracefully. However, Snape was happy that he was actually eating something, even though it was bordering on bad manners.

"So, Severus. How are those potions coming along?" Dumbledore asked halfway through dinner.

"They are done, Albus. You may collect them after dinner if you like?" Snape replied and Dumbledore was surprised.

"Done, you say? Must be a record even for you my dear boy."

"I enlisted the help or, Mr. Potter this afternoon."

"Ah, good to see he is settling in then." Dumbledore said, and Harry looked up to him having heard his name and saw the blinding twinkle in his eye.

"Would you mind delivering them, Severus? It is certainly a long walk down for an old man such as myself." Dumbledore continued and Harry heard Snape snort at the comment. He had to hide his own small smile.

"Fine. Harry can run them up for you." Snape replied exasperated and continued with his dinner.

After dinner, Harry was making his way up the many flights of stairs from the Dungeons with the Headmasters office his destination. He knocked politely on the door with his foot as both hands were occupied with the box and the door opened for him and he walked in.

"Ah, Harry. Thank you indeed." Dumbledore said happily as he walked in and set the box on his desk.

"No worries, sir. It was actually a good thing I came up, there was something I wanted to ask you." Harry said hesitantly and the man showed him to the two seats in front of his desk and they both sat down.

"Of course, Harry. What was it?"

"Well… You're probably going to say no, but I was wondering if there was any chance I could say goodbye to my friends back in Privet Drive? I didn't really get to say goodbye last time I saw them."

"Hmm." The Headmaster played with his beard and seemed to think about Harry's request.

"Well, I can't have you going on your own. When were you wanting to go back and see them?"

"A couple of days before school starts? Please, sir. I'd really like to see them. There's… some things I want to talk to them about as well." Harry put on his best puppy dog face as he said this and the Headmaster looked on in amusement.

"Very well, I will consider your request and ask the other Professors if someone can go with you."

"Can Professor Snape come with me?" Harry was surprised he'd said this, but the man knew his secret and he thought he'd be best suited for this.

"I will speak to him. Now, I believe you should get back before that dreadful curfew creeps up on you." Dumbledore said with a knowing look, winking and Harry jumped up saying good bye before darting through the hall.

Hang on, does he know what happened? That was an interesting question indeed but Harry put it down to coincidence and pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He walked into Snape's quarters and immediately flopped down in front of the fire. Even though the weather outside was warm during the day, the Dungeons at night were freezing and he wanted to warm up.

"Cutting it fine there, Harry." He heard Snape comment from his chair with a book in his hand.

"Sorry, I wanted to speak with the Headmaster." Harry said, rolling his head on the floor to look at the man who was slightly behind him.

"About?" Snape countered, still looking at his book.

"About going to see my friends in London before term starts." Snape put his book down at this and looked at Harry in interest.

"And who will be going with you?" He asked.

"Dumbledore said he'd ask around."

"Hmm." Snape replied picking his book up again and finding his page.

"I asked for you to accompany me though." Harry finished and Snape regarded him over his book.

The look made Harry blush, and it was then that Snape knew why the boy wanted him to accompany him.

Okay, how's the story going? Let me know.