.

#MellyPie:

Never fear, Snarry is coming...

#HPReader:

Appreciate the comment, chapter 20 is what you'll be looking forward to then.

#shadowfurie:

This Hermione is smart, but also a little blinded. You will see once reading this chapter.

Harry woke early the next morning and trudged down the stairs with his bag in hand, ready for breakfast. He decided to go down for a meal today as he had a little bit of his appetite come back over the course of the night with the knowledge that if he confessed, or more thought aloud, he was gay to Hermione she would be supportive. He still wondered about Blaise being gay though like Hermione had said, but if he thought about it, his recent behaviour would suggest that he'd taken a liking to Harry and the thought warmed him. He walked out of the common room and turned to walk down the corridor when he stopped.

"Good morning, Harry." Blaise said smugly.

He wasn't too far away from the Gryffindor entrance and was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets and his feet crossed at his ankles. Harry swallowed, if he said he didn't look good, he'd be lying.

"Morning." Harry said, blushing slightly at his thoughts and coming towards him.

"Thought you might like some company this morning." He said as he turned towards Harry and they started walking down towards the Great Hall.

"Thanks." Harry could only manage as he tried to reign in his emotions and looked down.

"Where did you go during dinner last night?" He asked softly as they rounded the corner towards the hall.

"Just back to the common room." He sighed, "Had to get away." He finished.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaise offered as they stood outside the hall.

Harry regarded him and stopped as well so he was facing the Slytherin. He wanted to get something straight, he wanted to know what Blaise wanted and why he was sticking his neck out like he was.

"I don't want to sound rude, Blaise, so forgive me if I do but what do you want from me?" Harry thought it best to outright say it.

Blaise blinked in surprise but other than that no other emotion flashed across his face.

"I want to be your friend, Harry." He said simply and shrugged as if it was so obvious.

"And that's it? No ulterior motive to do with Malfoy?" Harry just wanted to make sure and he saw Blaise frown.

"If I did, I wouldn't have helped you out when Malfoy pushed you." He said and Harry was grateful that he wasn't getting angry at Harry's doubt.

"Look, if I'm honest, I was hoping that perhaps we could be more than just friends. You're a handsome guy, Harry and I find myself unable to stop thinking about you." He said with a small smile and Harry returned it.

"Okay." He said slowly but continued to smile.

"Anything else?" Blaise asked amused and Harry shook his head and they walked into the hall together both smiling.

Out of habit, Harry went to the front of the room and a few seats away from the end by the head table, but Blaise didn't seem to mind and came to sit next to him. They were sitting facing the Slytherin table, and had the perfect view seeing everyone who came into the hall and Harry swallowed when he saw Snape entering the hall literally a second after they had sat down. The man's face looked impassive but he did glance at Harry and again his gaze flicked to Blaise before he frowned slightly and continued towards the head table. It was moments like these that Harry couldn't understand the man and he desperately wanted to know why the he seemed so disapproving of Blaise as he was a Slytherin. Did he not want Harry to hang out with his Slytherin's?

Harry looked away from the man, frowning in thought himself before he and Blaise busied themselves with breakfast and the hall soon started to fill with Hermione and Ron coming through with a large group of Gryffindor's and he looked up as he heard Ron calling out for Hermione.

"Oi, 'Mione?" He said holding his hands out as if confused but she didn't stop walking and came to sit in front of Harry and Blaise.

"Good morning." She said cheerfully to both of them and Harry smiled back at her.

"Morning." He said and Blaise nodded before turning to his paper that had arrived.

Harry looked up at her and she was smiling at him knowingly, she seemed to be rather pleased with herself and Harry rolled his eyes. He thought he'd humor her and quickly checking that no one was looking he pulled the chain out and played with it a little bit, making sure she could see the tag and the name. He looked back at her and her smile hadn't faltered, he was right, she had figured it out last night. He put the necklace back down his top and they both busied themselves, not uttering another word but both looking rather smug.

After breakfast, Harry and Blaise parted ways until they reunited at lunch and Harry and Hermione headed outside for their class. However once they were out of earshot from everyone, Hermione clung to his arm like a kid in a candy shop and said, "Tell me everything."

"How about at lunch? We can have it to go?" He offered and she smiled at him and agreed.

He rolled his eyes at her behaviour, he was going to have to think about this for the morning and decide what details to tell her and what not to tell her. He was perfectly capable of telling her the story now, but he wanted to buy himself some time to figure out what he was going to say.

Class went slowly for Harry and he was getting a little sick of the looks he was getting from Ron. Harry thought that he ought to be more concerned, he, afterall 'wasn't there' when Hermione and Ron had spoken about him that night so the looks should have seemed odd. Then again, he could always go back to the fact that Ron didn't like Blaise, so he was covered. He and Hermione bolted out of class at lunch and quickly grabbed some sandwiches before heading outside again. It was a relatively nice day, if not slightly cooler than before but they found a secluded spot under a tree and then Hermione looked at him with delight and a wide grin on her face.

"Okay, keep your hair on." He sighed, amused at her expression and had a sandwich before he continued.

"Alright, so this," he started pulling the chain up from under his shirt, "was a gift for my Birthday – "

"And that allows you to change into a cat? This is amazing!" She cooed.

"Yeah…" Harry said vaguely, that was a better explanation than his watered down one.

"Well? Can I see it?" She said and he looked at her suspiciously.

"I really shouldn't, not in broad daylight. Look, Hermione this is really important but you can't tell anyone about this. Please. There… It's just really important that this stays a secret." He said seriously and some of the sparkle in her eyes vanished.

"Why? What's happened, Harry?" She replied equally serious and he looked away.

"Well, nothing… But can you imagine what would happen if people knew I had Ani – " Oops, "Uh, Animagus type abilities?"

Hermione frowned a little but smiled and nodded.

"I understand. Your secret is safe… Now, about your other one?" She smirked and Harry blushed, luckily he hadn't needed to bring it up.

"I think I am." He said carefully as he picked up another sandwich.

"You think?"

"Yeah… Look, it's kinda all new so I'm not really sure." He said shrugging and she cocked her head to the side in contemplation.

"How do you feel about girls?" She countered and Harry had to think about this.

"Okay, let me rephrase it. How do you feel about Ginny?"

"Ginny?" Harry said confused, but then her letter that she'd sent made him realize why she'd mentioned it.

"Yeah, would you go out with her? Kiss her? You have mentioned things in the past that you would and she didn't stop talking about you all summer." She continued.

"No. I'd rather kiss him." He said without thinking and sighed exasperated, closing his eyes and flopping onto his back as he'd realized what he'd said.

"Him? You mean Blaise?" His comment had piqued her interest and she wasn't surprised if Harry was meaning someone else.

"Uh, yeah. Blaise." He said blushing and trying to cover up his mistake.

"And you have no desire to kiss a girl?" She probed further.

"No." He said almost instantly and he smiled to himself.

It had been a good talk with Hermione, she had cleared some things up and even helped him formulate an excuse as to why he could transform. He was a little surprised that Hermione had suggested it and even bought the fact that it was the necklace that gave him this power although he felt a little bad for leading her to believe this as well. However, if he'd said that McGonagall had taught him the Animagus then he would have to tell her that he had been at the castle a lot longer than he actually had.

He was relieved, a weight had lifted from his chest and he knew that Snape had been right, it did feel good to talk to someone and right now there weren't a lot of people that he could do that with. He still had reservations about Blaise, Hermione he trusted explicitly and Snape… Well Snape was being odd and he was confused as to why. It seemed like there was no middle ground with him, he could be caring one minute, then brutal the next. He snorted as he thought about his summer, which caught the attention of Hermione, that had been the reason for not wanting to open up to the man in the first place, it was like he was constantly treading water with him, not knowing whether he was going to been thrown a life raft or be held under.

He was roused from his thoughts when Hermione said the bell had rung and they made their way to the castle, before turning and heading down the stairs to the dungeons. They caught up with Blaise halfway and Harry apologized for ditching him at lunch. He shrugged it off and they continued towards the classroom. Snape was already letting students in when they got there and Harry wondered why the man was so early because he knew that they weren't late.

"Hurry up, Potter. We don't have all day to wait for you." He growled as the three of them rounded the corner.

Harry took a deep breath and sped up as did the other two and they hurried into the classroom, Harry jumping when the door was slammed, literally, behind them and Snape pushed past Harry to the front. Harry ended up at the front with Hermione as Blaise joined the Slytherin's and as he looked up at the man he saw a flash of something in his eyes as he eyed Blaise and then looked at Harry. The emotion, Harry wondered if his eyes were deceiving him, thought it was relief, but lately he was convinced his eyes were misleading him so he let the thought slide.

"Today you will be making a difficult potion, it will require your full concentration and attention. Mr. Weasley that means you." He added and Harry smirked as the Slytherin's sniggered but Harry focused on the front.

"Instructions and ingredients are on the board. Go." Snape continued stiffly and went to sit behind his desk.

Snape watched as the students got ready and retrieved their ingredients. He eyed Harry as he stood and thought about the smirk the boy had sported when he insulted his friend. Apparently last nights spat still stands, he thought and he looked on with interest. He thought however, back to a few minutes ago and he wasn't quite sure what had possessed him to snap at Harry like he had, it really in all honesty hadn't been the smartest move because he was with Hermione and Blaise. Yet, when he'd seen Blaise and Harry walking together something ignited inside him and now that he sat back and watched Harry he realized that he didn't want the two of them together.

Harry looked up, sensing a gaze upon him and locked eyes with Snape for more than was required and he cock his head in interest. The man seemed to be in his own little world, and Harry looked around the classroom to see if anyone else was seeing what he was, hoping that they hadn't. However, looking over at Blaise, he was looking from Harry to Snape and Harry had to duck his head and try not to blush as he continued with his work. He wondered, how Snape, being so cold and unreadable could be making mistakes like this because he wasn't being very careful, but he supposed that at the end of the day, it was Snape's own fault.

"Harry!" Hermione cried but it was too late and his cauldron bubbled over.

This seemed to get Snape out of his daze and he stood suddenly, his chair scraping harshly across the wood and he stalked up to Harry and cleaned the mess up. He looked down at Harry as if he was looking at something unpleasant and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And this is what happens when you day dream, Mr. Potter. Detention after dinner." He snarled and Harry closed his eyes in defeat. Shit.

"I still can't understand how you made a mistake like that." Blaise commented as he, Harry and Hermione sat in the library doing their homework.

"I told you, I forgot." He said tiredly, but he knew that it was his thoughts about Snape that had made him lose his focus.

"Don't worry about it, Harry. He didn't take points so no real loss." Hermione said absent mindedly as she signed off her essay with a flourish of her quill.

Yeah, he didn't take points, Harry mused and looked off into space. Odd, he thought again and stared right past Blaise who was sitting in front of him. He remembered the last time he'd done something wrong and the man had taken points from him for some absurd reason. That man is too confusing, he thought and rubbed his face before trying to concentrate on his potions essay.

Walking down to the dungeons that night was painful, but he was now too far down to think about turning back even though his stomach was a mass of butterflies. The last time he'd received detention, Snape had been kind but given his mood the past week he doubted he would be so lenient this time round. This thought depressed him, still wondering what had gone so wrong.

He knocked on Snape's office door quietly and didn't wait long before it was wrenched open and Snape walked out making a come hither motion with his finger as he walked back towards the classroom. Once there, Snape pointed to the massive stack of cauldrons that looked to be covered in the most disgusting grime and then went to sit behind his desk. He hadn't said a word to Harry and it irritated him that the man wasn't acknowledging him. However, being respectful he didn't talk back and he dropped his bag by the door, took his outer robe off with his jersey and rolled his shirt sleeves up as he surmised he was going to be here all night doing this.

After an hour, the man started to unnerve him and he turned to see Snape staring right at him and he turned away blushing. He was quite sweaty by this stage, and because he hadn't been eating properly he was starting to feel a little faint from the lack of energy. He did his best and was three quarters of the way through, but after another five minutes he had to stop and leaned on the edge of the sink with his forearm and rested his head on it feeling rather faint. As he was like this, he heard Snape's chair scrape back and then footsteps that seemed to be getting closer so he raised his head and saw the man looking at him sternly.

Harry stood back up and turned away to keep going but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning to the man he still looked stern and his hand didn't last long on Harry's shoulder.

"You are done for the night." He said simply.

"But, sir there's – "

"I said; you are done for the night. Now, get. Out." He repeated slowly and stalked over to the door holding it open for him.

Harry looked at him concerned for a second before he moved towards the man and stopped in front of his as he picked up his bag and robes. He looked up at Snape for a split second and then left, his heart thumping hard in his chest and adrenaline coursing through him. His shoulder was still warm from where the man had touched it and it reminded him, yet again, that he really did miss his company even though the man was being a complete pillock lately.

"That bad huh?" A voice came from the distance and Harry smiled as he saw Blaise coming towards him.

"Do you just happen to know where I am or are you stalking me now?" Harry quipped back and the Slytherin laughed.

"I was just coming down the stairs and happened to see you. Cauldron's was it?" He replied with a smug smile and it Harry felt his insides warming nicely.

"Yeah, but it wasn't – "

"Mr. Zabini, you have five minutes before curfew so I suggest you move it. Mr. Potter, come with me." Snape bellowed down the corridor and Harry rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"Yes, sir. Good night, Harry." He smiled and grabbed Harry's hand to give it a gentle squeeze before turning around and heading towards the Slytherin common room.

Harry watched as Snape approached, the bad mood clearly not having improved between their encounters and he followed diligently as the man ascended the stairs. It was about half way to the Gryffindor Tower when Snape spoke.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for being out after curfew." Harry sagged his shoulders at this; the man was making him want to cry.

They reached the tower minutes later and he escorted Harry right to the portrait before taking a step back as if to watch Harry actually go in. Harry looked to him for a split second and muttered the password to the Fat Lady and she swung open.

"For your sake I suggest you stay in there." Snape said and Harry stopped before he stepped in and turned around only to see the tail of Snape's robes disappearing.

"Goodnight, sir." He said quietly as he watched the retreating form and sighed as he stepped inside.

When he walked in, Hermione was sitting with the girls and Ron was playing chess with the boys. Harry sighed again, he really didn't fit in here anymore now that Ron wasn't talking to him and just because he was gay, he wasn't about to go and help the girls do their thing, whatever that may be. So instead he walked up the stairs to the dorm and shut himself away on his bed sulking.

He wanted to know why Snape was being so cruel to him and his thoughts were making him see Blaise was a more attractive option, not in his physical appearance but in his kindness to Harry. However it was starting to feel weird and he was getting the feeling that as long as he hung around with Blaise, the man wasn't going to get any better.

It was a sad thought that he had as he rolled over in bed. He palmed the necklace that was dutifully around his neck and gave it a squeeze before he shut his eyes and fell asleep.