"He needs somewhere to go for Christmas, Severus."
"And you see fit that that role fall to me? Again."
"I sense, that the two of you have grown close have you not?"
"He despises me with every bone in his body, as do I yet you seem hell bent on continuing to make us suffer. Why?" Snape responded feigning indignance.
"Severus, you need not pretend with me, nor do you need to make this difficult on yourself. Short of having him isolated here for the whole break he needs a roof over his head with someone who relates to his situation." Dumbledore said tiredly.
"Which part of this can I relate to? We have absolutely nothing in common and the boy is an insufferable hormonal teenager. Make him live with the Weasley's for Merlin's sake." Snape sneered as he mentioned Ron's family but the Headmaster wasn't going to budge.
"Not only, did you force me to open my living quarters but you expect that I welcome him into my home, where my life is, where all my secrets belong and expect him not to have a field day exposing the very soul of my existence."
Dumbledore now gave Snape an amused look as the man over dramatized the whole situation, but it was characteristic of him to do so, which meant the Headmaster wouldn't be suspicious.
"Which, I might add is an extremely dark and dangerous road not to mention a serious breach of privacy." He finished with a huff.
"I do not recall you having any issues over the summer with him, if you had voiced any over that time I would not have come to you first with these arrangements over Christmas." Dumbledore commented and looked pointedly at Snape as he stood there with arms crossed over his chest and a disgusted look on his face that could have passed as something juvenile.
"There is only a week left of the school term before break and I will inform Harry of the plans. In the mean time, try and act like you are unhappy about this arrangement. Your eyes have always been your downfall." Dumbledore smiled sweetly and Snape glared at him.
Snape huffed again before he turned round and stalked from the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. However once he was down in the corridor and walking towards the dungeons he admitted that he would have been upset if the Headmaster had offered anything but what was going to be arranged.
As this was happening, Harry was curled up in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room with Hermione and Ginny gossiping on the couch. He didn't listen to their conversation though as he had other pressing matters on his mind, like for example where he was going to go for Christmas. He actually wouldn't have minded going to the Weasley's for the break before Ron had put his foot in it. He wondered if the Headmaster was going to send him there, and if so he wondered if he was going to have the opportunity to argue this arrangement because in the back of his mind he was hoping that he could spend time with Snape.
Seeing as it was a Sunday, Harry decided to have an early night and he stretched out clawing at the rug before padding across the wooden floor towards the boys dorm. Once there he changed back and he jumped into the shower as he could feel irritation and anticipation intensifying inside him, not that he could work out why however. As soon as Harry jumped into bed, he rolled onto his side and looked out the window at the clear sky and the thousands of tiny stars that shone brightly across it. He smiled sadly and gripped onto his pendant tightly as he gazed out into the dark sky, his thoughts taking him to unchartered territory as he fell asleep.
"Hello, Harry." The voice purred.
"Uh…" Harry stumbled, he wasn't really sure where he was but the room had a familiar scent and he closed his eyes as he tried to remember.
"Come here." The voice commanded softly and Harry looked over to where the voice was coming from to see a blood red couch with a dark figure sitting on it watching him.
Feeling compelled to follow the male voice he slowly walked over towards the couch and sat down, looking down at his lap suddenly feeling very self conscious but at the same time, the feeling of desire was bubbling away inside him and he moaned at the sensation. He felt a hand touch his knee and the touch sent sparks coursing through his leg and up his body, which made him close his eyes and his head flop onto the back to the couch. The man sitting next to him shifted and Harry felt himself being moved so his back was laying flat on the couch and a weight gently pressing him from above. He moaned again as the weight settled on top of him and he felt a hardness that was mirroring his own which he felt on the inside of his thigh.
"I want you, Harry." The voice said.
Harry's eyes snapped open at the recognition of the voice and just caught the chocolate brown orbs over Snape coming close to his face before soft warm lips met his own and his body felt like it had immediately caught fire.
With a yelp, Harry woke and feeling disorientated opened his eyes to find the bright morning light streaming into the boys dorm. He flopped back with his head resting on his pillow and he sighed, he didn't have to look down to know he had a morning hard on and he looked over to see the others were still asleep. He couldn't understand where this dream had come from, but as he lay there and thought about recent events he could only come to the conclusion that the episode on the couch with Snape was playing heavily on his mind. He'd wanted to kiss the man that night and he was rather impressed with himself that he was able to hold back and not make a fool of himself, even though he'd thought he saw the man challenging him to do it. He was happy to note that no one was awake in the dorm and wiping his face he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and made his was stealthily towards the showers to sort his problem out.
As soon as the hot water hit his body, he let a moan out and closed his eyes wrapping a hand around his erection. The hot water was doing wonders for the sensations he was feeling and he smiled as parts of the dream flashed in front of his mind and it wasn't long until he was panting the man's name as he found his release. He hung his head as he put a hand on the shower wall to steady himself as he came down from his high and immediately felt a mixture of pleasure and shame as he realized how far his thoughts about the man were going.
He washed himself down and then got himself ready for the day, it was going to be a busy week this week as the break approached because he had tests in all his classes before they started new content after they came back from their holiday. He had decided that he was going to be extra studious this week and not let anything get in his way of passing his exams, there really wasn't much else to think about unless Snape counted as 'much to think about'. He still didn't feel like himself either, the empty feeling had made a return knowing that even if Snape was the one making him feel these traces of pleasure it wouldn't be returned.
He walked helplessly into the Great Hall for breakfast and found his usual spot by the head table and grabbed a piece of bacon, chewing on it absent mindedly as he flipped through his Transfiguration book. Snape walked in a few minutes later and saw Harry sitting alone and reading, which piqued his interest as he rounded the head table and sat down. He was watching Harry briefly as Harry looked up at him, blushed fiercely and hid his face by looking away as he continued to read. This made Snape very smug although curious as to how Harry was going to react to knowing he was going to be living in Spinner's End for the break.
"Morning, Harry." Hermione said as she joined Harry.
"Hey." He said looking up, then focusing back on his textbook.
Harry slowly looked up and turned his head sideways as he saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye and smiled as Hedwig landed next to him with a letter. He thanked her and gave her a little bacon before she flew off and he unrolled the parchment and groaned when he read it.
It truly is a lovely day for Jaffas this morning.
"Who's it from?" Hermione asked and Harry shoved his book back into his bag as he stood and roughly shoving it over his shoulder.
"Headmaster. I'll see you in class." He said deflated and she nodded.
Snape looked up when he heard Harry talking and he took a deep breath. He knew what the man was going to mention the arrangements and he was a little apprehensive about how Harry would take the news although knew he shouldn't really care, but he had grown fond of Harry's presence more than he should have.
"Jaffas." Harry said as he stood in front of the gargoyle and he was let in with no issues.
The Headmaster was waiting patiently when he arrived at his office door and was directed towards the chairs in front of his desk. After offering Harry some tea and sweets he grew serious and Harry swallowed a lump in his throat.
"I appreciate you coming promptly this morning, Harry. How are things any way? They are good?"
"Yes, sir." Harry said nodding slightly, the knots in his stomach not shrinking.
"Good, good to hear. Now, there was a reason I called you here, it concerns your living arrangements over the Christmas break."
Harry's stomach knotted further.
"Now, seeing as Professor Snape and yourself had no complications over Summer he has generously offered his home to you over the break." He said smiling and Harry sat there frozen.
"What?" He said dead panned and the light in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed a little.
"I… thought that with the current situation between yourself and Mr. Weasely you might like to go somewhere else." Dumbledore said as way of explanation but Harry just sat there looking at him.
He wasn't about to tell the man he was over the moon and that he couldn't wait for the holidays so he opted for the shocked look, judging by the reaction from the Headmaster he thought he was doing a convincing job.
"Okay." Harry said suddenly and looked down at his lap.
"Right, good then. All sorted. I am sure Professor Snape will inform you closer to Friday what will be happening."
"Happening, sir? Won't I just be moving my trunk to the dungeons?" Harry said confused.
"His home, Harry. You will be spending the Christmas break in Spinners End." Harry's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline; he had not been expecting this.
Harry walked towards his first class lost in thought at what the Headmaster had just told him, his home, his house away from the castle… Harry couldn't believe it and he suspected that Snape hadn't been the one to volunteer his house like the man had made out. He suspected that much like when he'd been rescued and taken to the hospital wing in the Summer that the Snape had been nominated for this task so he was hesitant to conclude that this was going to be a pleasant stay even though they had spent a lot of evenings together in recent weeks.
"Oomph." Harry walked into something hard only to find that when he opened his eyes he'd walked into the wall in front of him.
He groaned at the pain he was feeling on the front of his head and reached up to cover it with his hand and could tell there was a graze that had a little blood seeping out of it.
"Ha, look he's so infatuated that he walked into the wall." The familiar drawl of Malfoy reached his ears as he became aware of his surroundings and he went to pick his bag up and continue on to class.
He walked past the group of Slytherin's, not even looking up to notice that Blaise was with them and that he wasn't laughing at Harry's misfortune. Harry sighed and walked a little further making it to class just on time and he found a seat next to Hermione who gasped when she saw him.
"Oh my, what happened to your head?" She asked concerned and he just shook his head and took his books out. He didn't want to deal with this right now and turned to focus on the class.
By the end of the day he had a throbbing headache but Harry refused to go to the Hospital Wing for pain killers and he'd gone to the bathroom just on lunch to clean the blood with water, wincing as it touched the raw skin. Dinner approached and Harry found his seat and sat there picking at the food on his plate with Hermione looking at him worried. She asked him what the Headmaster had wanted but he refused to answer her and she was getting worried that there was something seriously wrong. He couldn't tell her what was happening, he was still in two minds about whether he was happy about it or not. However, if he thought back to the dream he'd had that night, his subconscious was apparently going to be satisfied.
Snape eyed Harry from the head table and narrowed his eyes when he noted the graze on his forehead, he could clearly see that it hadn't been seen to and the way that he kept touching his head he could tell the boy had a nagging headache.
"I have informed Harry about the living arrangements, Severus. You should know that he is agreeable to these." Dumbledore said quietly, leaning over so their conversation was somewhat private.
"I bet he is thrilled." Snape replied sarcastically and stabbed a potato with his fork.
"He will be expecting to hear from you." The Headmaster continued and the man rolled his eyes and huffed.
He looked up and saw Harry watching him and he narrowed his eyes back at the boy before moving to scanning the hall for trouble. He had almost seen a longing look in Harry's eyes when they met each others gaze and it had him intrigued. It was clear that Harry was either warming up to him or having some emotional conflict within him that could suggest that he was developing feelings. Especially when one considered what had transpired the night before on the couch. Snape frowned and looked back over to Harry who was staring at his plate and he sighed before standing and making his way over.
"Mr. Potter, that wound needs tending to. Go to the Hospital Wing now and get Madame Pomfrey to look at it." Snape said as he stood in front of Harry.
"Yes, sir." He replied standing and told Hermione not to wait up.
As Snape walked away, he knew that that meant Harry was going to come and see him as he was most nights now. He wasn't going to complain however and now he would be able to treat the graze himself. His thoughts had been right of course, and just as he was about to step into his chambers he heard a meow from down the corridor. He stood there, holding the portrait open and saw a grey blur rush past him and he had to smile before masking his face and turning to see Harry standing on the other side of the couch looking nervously at him.
Instead of saying anything he walked to his lab and found an ointment before coming back into the living room and sitting on the couch patting the cushion next to him for Harry to take a seat. Without passing any comment, Snape coated a couple of fingers with the ointment and took Harry's chin in his other hand to pull him round so he could get to the wound better.
Harry closed his eyes when he felt the fingers touch his head and he felt a tingling sensation but wasn't too sure whether it was from the ointment or the fact that Snape was touching him. He had to hide a smile as he thought back to his dream and idly wondered if he was going to have another erotic dream about the man seeing as they had physical contact.
"Look at me." Snape said softly and Harry opened his eyes.
He could see that Snape was searching his eyes and he felt it almost endearing however the feeling was extremely short lived when the man grabbed his wand and shone a lumos straight into his eyes and he realized what he was doing. Idiot, Harry thought to himself and immediately felt stupid for suggesting to himself that the man cared that much about him.
"You will be fine, there is no concussion. The ointment will sooth your head and overnight the graze will heal."
"Okay." Harry said very quietly and looked away and into his lap.
"It is rather fortunate that you have come here, we need to discuss details for Saturday." He said stiffly and placed the ointment on the side table.
"Yes, sir." Harry replied as he found himself totally void of any emotion at this stage other than nerves.
"I have decided it best for you to travel to Kings Cross with the rest of the students and from there I will come and collect you." Snape said stiffly and Harry couldn't do anything apart from nod.
"Now, I think that with the upcoming tests this week you should be studying." Snape continued and gently patted Harry on the knee.
"C-Can't I-I just – "
"If it is wanting to spend time with me, might I remind you that you will be living with me for two weeks starting Saturday." He interrupted and as he looked down at Harry, the boy blushed.
"How are you coping over Lupin?" Snape asked out of curiousity, he'd noticed Harry was still being quite distant.
"He was the last person who was friends with my parents." Harry responded looking down at his lap and saw Snape stand up and walk over to his desk.
"Not the last." Snape replied and Harry looked up at him to see the man pouring himself a glass of amber liquid.
He turned round and walked back over to Harry but opted to stand in front of the fire as he looked at the boy sitting on the couch frowning.
"I knew you mother." He said as way of explanation and Harry stood as he understood what he was saying and came to stand in front of him.
"I'm sorry, I forgot." He muttered and he found Snape's fingers on his chin that moved to a palm on his cheek and Harry subconsciously leaned into the touch.
Snape gave him a very small smile and then moved the glass towards Harry's face and he looked up at him with wide eyes. He took the glass in both hands, looking nervously up at the man and took a sip before the glass was taken away from him and the hand was returned to his face.
"You will never be alone, you understand?" Snape said, giving Harry a pointed and meaningful look and he nodded in understanding.
"Good," he took a step closer, the glass going on the mantel place and his body coming flush against Harry's, "now I suggest you get moving before you get caught after curfew." He almost purred as he looked down at Harry.
Harry shivered involuntarily at the sensation and his eyes flicked to the man's lips, oh how he wanted to kiss the man right this second. He half closed his eyes before he felt himself twitch in his pants and he blushed beet red before stuttering about leaving and stepped away from the man, changing into Jade and smashing the portrait with his head and darting out into the corridor.
Snape watched the portrait close behind the boy with a smirk on his face and finished the drink that was on the mantel satisfied he'd made the boy feel some kind of emotion.