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#PrincessBetty01:
Hey, thanks so much for the feedback. I am trying to stay away from notions towards 'the chosen one' and 'the boy who lived' just because this story doesn't mention anything about Voldemort. But I will definitely take your suggestions on board and will endeavour over the following chapters to mix it up. :)
#The Unknown and Guest:
Thanks you guys, I wish I knew who you two were but thanks for the comments.
Apologies for the delay in update... just couldn't figure out what to write next.
Hope you enjoy this little dramatic chapter... [oops, that was so not a spoiler]
;)
Harry had stayed with Severus until curfew and was then escorted to the tower as to not get caught. Slipping inside, he found the common room basically empty with a few stragglers doing homework and a couple making out in the corner. He smiled at the pair as he thought back to his romp with Severus an hour or so ago and he thought how easy it was for his mood to change with just a little bit of contact with the man.
"Detention finished ages ago, where were you?" Hermione said as she stopped him from ascending the stairs to the boy's dorm.
"Excuse me?" Harry said, he still wasn't happy with her new obsession over him.
"What have you been doing for the last hour and a half?" She asked and he brushed past her not in the mood to deal with her issues.
When he got into the dorm he ignored everyone and set about getting ready for bed. He sighed when he sunk under the covers and he sent a goodnight message to Severus before he thought about closing his eyes for sleep. He knew he was going to have do something about this situation but he couldn't for the life of him come up with anything that didn't involve potentially implicating himself in one way or another.
When he woke in the morning, he was first up and dressed as he headed downstairs and walked quickly to the Great Hall. Again there weren't many people up at this hour however Severus was and he looked up as Harry entered and sat at the Gryffindor table.
Severus could tell Harry looked troubled, agitated even, given the look that he had on his face and he wondered what the problem was today. He knew that his friends were giving him some issues, well Granger was, so he wondered if it was the same thing. He tried not to dwell on it however because he wasn't going to coddle the boy, he could stand up for himself.
As Harry sat at the table, he glanced at Severus a couple of times and both times the man looked at him. He knew he should probably talk to Severus about what Hermione was doing but he didn't want the man to worry. He was suddenly shoved playfully in the side as Ginny came to sit next to him with Ron in front and a couple of the other Quidditch players and she announced that they were having training that night and the next day before their game on Saturday. It was the first game of the season for Gyrffindor, it just happened that way with the draw, and Harry was suddenly excited. He'd almost forgotten about his most favourite sport with everything else going on and he sat up excitedly as she started going on about regular training sessions during the term.
Harry left the hall that morning feeling refreshed and didn't care that Hermione was still being sour towards him. He was able to successfully dodge her for most of the day and was glad to escape to the Quidditch pitch that night with the rest of his team as it gave him a distraction. He was getting sick of thinking over the same stuff day in and day out so with the little golden ball being at the forefront of his mind, there was no room for thinking about anything else.
When Saturday arrived, Harry was humming with excitement, it was their first game and then afterwards he was going to be seeing Severus. That had been the deal and he was very much looking forward to it, he just needed to make sure Hermione didn't get her claws on him before he left the tower after the game otherwise there would be more questions, this, he was sure of.
Harry walked into the hall that morning dressed in his Quidditch gear and sat with the rest of the team. He couldn't help but glance up at the head table to see Severus but was disappointed when he didn't see the man and he wondered if he had been late arriving for the man to have left already. He shrugged and turned to the food in front of him, he knew he was going to need all the strength he could muster for this game. Ginny had said that even thought they were playing Hufflepuff and they were usually a weak opponent they had definitely held themselves over the game against Slytherin in the first term.
As Harry was eating breakfast, a note was dropped into his lap via and owl and he opened it carefully not recognizing the handwriting. It was a letter from Blaise with the Slytherin wishing him luck for the game. He turned around in his seat so he could look over at the Slytherin table and he caught Blaise's eye, winking at him and then turning back round.
"Ooh, Harry there something you want to tell me?" Ginny cooed in his ear as she noticed the exchange and he glared at her playfully.
"Not particularly." He replied and she giggled before finishing off her breakfast.
When it was time for the game to start, the Gryffindor's were in their changing room with Ginny going over a few last minute tweaks to her plan. Harry eyed the game plan in front of him and noted where he should be positioned, usually it was high up in the air but today they were going to try something different and he found himself hovering low to the ground by one of the goal posts.
"You know the plan, Harry?" She said coming up to him and he nodded not taking his eyes off the chart.
"Keep an eye out for the Seeker and the Snitch at all times whilst waiting for your signal." He said turning to her and she nodded as the whistle blew and they got into formation under the stands.
Harry and Ron stood at the front of the line, being Seeker and Keeper, the two lone positions they were rewarded with the front row to lead the team onto the pitch. The boy didn't say anything to Harry though and he was grateful because he would have lost his concentration. Although as he thought about this, he hadn't heard from or seen Severus this morning and he was feeling the loss. He snorted to himself a moment later when he felt his wrist tingle and thought the man must have read his mind, although he did check that he hadn't been holding the bracelet as he thought that. He was relieved he hadn't been.
Good luck, Harry. I will be watching.
He read and smiled, not seeing the sideways look Ron was giving him and he sent back a reply.
Good morning to you too. Do I get a reward for winning the game?
Harry knew it was risky to sent such a suggestive and playful message as it could easily be misinterpreted by the man but he was relieved when he saw the reply.
Depends on how impressive the catch is. Just don't hurt yourself.
Harry smirked and was then blinded by light as the gate drew up effectively stopping him from replying to the message. He mounted his broom and then he and Ron sped off up into the sky. The Hufflepuff team were already in their starting position so Harry did a lap around the Seeker and eyed him carefully before coming to a stop in his own position high above the other players.
When the whistle blew, Harry stayed where he was for a moment or two inspecting the play and he saw the other Seeker shooting off towards the stands and darting behind it. Harry was positive that he hadn't actually seen the Snitch so he stayed where he was and slowly moved towards his position under the Hufflepuff goal.
He had been right about the other Seeker and now he had a perfect angle of spying on him without being watched himself. As he sat there, hovering above the pitch he saw the flash of gold out of the corner of his eye and he glanced over to see it disappear into the lover part of the stands that surrounded the pitch. He looked up at the other Seeker and was glad to note he hadn't seen it.
He saw Ginny hurtling towards him as the other two Gryffindor Chasers played with the Hufflepuff defense and she winked at him just as his wrist tingled. He growled in frustration but he wasn't going to let Severus distract him now and he hurtled off across the grassy pitch millimeters away from catching his footrest in the dirt as he did.
He just so happened to find in his travels that the Snitch had been following him and he stopped before darting upwards to follow it. He looked behind him and saw he had a couple of seconds lead in front of the other Seeker and he gunned it to try and put more distance between them. The Snitch changed direction and went higher, Harry twisted and sped off in the other direction and climbed higher into the sky. It seemed to Harry that the Snitch was being rather sneaky today as it stopped and Harry held out his hand to catch it when it dropped under him and sped towards the ground. Harry was getting frustrated and his wrist continued to tingle which was distracting him to no end but he didn't have time to stop and see what the man had said as the other Seeker was hot on his heels and was gaining on him as they plummeted towards the ground.
They were getting dangerously close to the ground and Harry knew that if he didn't pull up in the next couple of seconds he could very well land head first in the ground but he didn't pull up like the other Seeker and took the risk. He was partially aware that the atmosphere in the stadium had changed from electric to anxiousness and to add to the tingling, Harry could feel a mild burning sensation making him grip the handle of his broom tightly and pulling up with all the strength he had. He reached out once he was almost horizontal as he could see the Snitch in front of him when he blacked out not before he heard a sickening crack.
Severus was up and out of his seat when he saw Harry hit the ground whilst he tried to remain as visually calm as he possibly could from the teachers stand but it was difficult and he had to take a large breath, closing his eyes as he did so. His eyes snapped open however when the silent arena suddenly exploded with noise and he looked down to see Harry sitting up holding the Snitch in his hand and smiling. Relief flooded his body and he shook his head at Harry's antics, he'd never admit this to anyone but he definitely had the knack to showing off like his father did when he was the Gryffindor Seeker.
Once celebrations had been done, Severus stood with the other teachers and made their descent towards the pitch. As Severus was walking down the stairs he felt a very angry tingle on his wrist and was a little surprised when he saw Harry's message in bright red letters instead of the green that he was so used to.
Never, ever send me a message during a game again!
Severus's eyebrows rose and his eyes narrowed, he didn't appreciate Harry's tone and he was interested to know why Harry felt so strongly about the simple message he had sent him before. He was also curious to note that the bracelets could change the colour of their messages but he supposed with Harry being so wound up it was strong enough to influence the bracelet's power.
Come and see me.
Severus ended up sending back but he received no reply. It wasn't until he reached the bottom of the stairs that he knew why Harry hadn't replied and that was because the crowds of students had surrounded him and he was currently sitting on the shoulders of a seventh year.
Harry glanced up when he saw the black robes in a sea of red and gold. He eyed Severus carefully before his attention was taken over by the fact he was falling to the ground and the group walked him towards the tower. Everyone was praising Harry for his efforts and Ginny came over to kiss him on the cheek before slapping him on the back. He smiled if not wincing slightlyin pain, he hadn't felt this elated in a while even though he was sure he'd just about died when he face planted into the ground, his broom giving out on him at the last moment. He was going to have to get a new broom, the thing had snapped in half with the force of changing direction.
Once the group reached the castle they dispersed towards their intended destinations leaving Harry and the team walking towards the tower. With the safety of the group, Harry was able to sneak through the common room and find refuge in the boy's dorm before he headed for the showers. He groaned when he went to take off his gear and when he twisted he felt a sharp pain in his side. Shit, he thought as he prodded his left rib and sighed when he realized he was going to have to get Severus to fix it. There was no way he was going to the Infirmary because he knew the Medi-Witch would keep him there over night and he had somewhere to be.
He decided to forgo the shower and kept his Quidditch gear on, only taking the outer layers off before changing into Jade so he could escape the tower. He carefully crept through the common room and spied Hermione over by the couches talking with Lavender so he saw his chance and darted as fast as his injury would take him and slipped through the gap in the portrait.
Severus had just made himself comfortable on his couch after having lit the fire when he heard a scratching noise and his portrait shrieking in horror. He smirked and went over to the door to let Harry in and a grey blur shot past him before changing by his feet and Harry screwed his face up in pain as he stood.
"Help." He rasped out clutching his side as he stood up straight and Severus looked at him carefully.
"What's wrong?"
"Rib. Hurts." Harry said, talking a little hard and now that he'd changed into his Animagus and back he'd moved the bones so they were pushing sharply into his lungs.
"Alright, stay still." Severus said in his teaching voice and pulled out his wand.
Harry felt the coolness of the room on his skin when Severus vanished his top half of clothes to the couch as he went to inspect the damage. He heard the man cast a couple of spells and he felt a sharp twinge, grunting in pain before he took a deep breath, able to breathe again and he was grateful. Severus pulled him round so he was in front of the fire and told him to lay down before he walked away, disappearing into the lab and re-emerging moments later with a jar of something.
"This is going to be cold." Severus said and Harry nodded before hissing at the cool gel being placed on his now fixed ribs.
"Thanks, Severus." Harry said taking another deep breath and looked over to Severus who was kneeling beside him.
They stayed like this for a few minutes, Harry taking long and slow breaths.
"You're an idiot." Severus said suddenly referring to the game and Harry grinned like a mad man.
"Impressive catch though." Harry said and Severus looked at him in disbelief but then he took stock of Harry's facial expression and he narrowed his eyes.
"That may be, however you got your self injured. Not part of the bargain." Severus said and Harry rolled his eyes.
"I'm fine now, really!" Harry said defensively and tried sitting up but scrunched his face up before he was pushed back down by his shoulder.
"I'll be the judge of that." Severus said and went to stand to put the jar back in the lab.
Harry closed his eyes as he savored the warmth coming from the fire and smiled as he lay there relaxing. Severus hadn't come back out of the lab and Harry could hear various bottles clinking around so he tuned the man out in favor of the roaring fire.
He resurfaced about ten minutes later and Harry rolled his head to the side so he could watch Severus sit down on the couch. The man looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Harry smirked, rolling over so he could stand up and making his way over to the couch. He sat next to the man and found an arm around his shoulder before scrunching his face up.
"You need a shower." He said and Harry looked at him mildly offended before sighing.
"Only if I can have one here." He said and Severus rolled his eyes.
"How else are you going to stay here?" He quipped back and Harry grinned before getting up too quickly and wincing before limping over to have a shower.
The hot water felt amazing and by the time he got out he felt thoroughly relaxed and smiled smugly at Severus when he re-emerged with just a towel wrapped around his waist. Severus looked over to him and Harry shrugged as he came to sit next to him.
"I have no clean clothes." Harry said and Severus smirked.
"That's too bad." He said before pulling Harry across his lap, careful that he didn't bump Harry's ribs that were now no more than a bruise and soft throbbing.
Harry leaned forward and kissed the man, he had been waiting for this for what seemed too long even though it was a couple of days and he took advantage of the situation. Harry started unbuttoning Severus's robes and shirt exposing his chest and raking his hands through the small spattering of hair as their lips remained locked. They were both thoroughly worked up and Harry had found that he was now naked with no towel as Severus had stripped it off. The feeling of skin on coarse robes was an interesting one, one that he hadn't felt since they first got together like this and he hissed at the pleasure.
"Severus? Are you there? I need to speak with you." A female voice came from the fireplace and they both froze, Harry pulling away suddenly and feeling his wrist burning.
Harry stood as Severus pushed him out of the way, doing up his buttons and Harry grabbing the towel. They looked at each other for a split second before Severus growled at him to hide and Harry ran over to the one door he knew was his and shut it before sliding to the floor behind it, his heart racing and his ears blocked with the thumping sound.
Severus on the other hand took a deep breath and calmed himself before answering the Witch and he told her he would come through and meet her. Once he was in her office, he looked at her stiffly and grumbled about being interrupted on the weekend but it fell on deaf ears as she prattled on about a sick student that needed extra potions that she didn't carry on hand. He grumbled again about the inconvenience but she simply threw him an unamused look before passing him a list of Potions that he needed to make before the day was out.
Harry heard the floo flare again, he had used this time to stand and pace his old bedroom wondering what in Merlin's name was happening when he heard the door open and he turned, frightened that it wasn't Severus. It was, as it happened and the man looked tense, agitated even.
"Severus – "
"Harry, stop!" Severus interrupted and went over to Harry, giving him a hug to calm him.
Severus himself wasn't exactly in a docile mood right now but he couldn't have Harry losing it so he set about trying to make things right. His arms went around Harry's shoulders and he clung onto him tightly, making a soothing motion with one of his hands.
"It's fine." Severus then whispered in his ear and he felt Harry calm a little, certainly the burning sensation on his wrist disappeared.
"She could have seen us." Harry said in a soft voice and Severus rested his head on Harry's head.
"No, she couldn't have. Everyone here knows to ask before entering, it's a Potions related type of thing." He tried, it was a lie of course but he didn't need Harry worrying.
"Oh, okay." Harry sighed and tightened his grip around the man briefly before letting go and stepping back.
"Now, as much as I want you to stay… I have potions to brew." Severus said in an apologetic way and Harry looked at him sadly before slowly nodding and walking away from him.
He went into the living area and grabbed his top before walking to the bathroom to get the rest of his clothes and hastily pulling them on. He was disappointed that he couldn't spend the afternoon with his Potions Master, but there really wasn't much else he could do about it and by the looks of things, Severus had a list of Potions he was required to brew.
Once dressed, he finally looked up to find Severus standing by the fire watching him and Harry sighed, putting his hands in his pockets awkwardly.
"I guess I can't stay and help you?" Harry asked hopefully and Severus shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I know – "
"It's okay." Harry was the one to interrupt this time and he gave a small smile before walking towards the portrait.
"Wait." Severus said walking towards him and Harry stopped, turning to see Severus stand so their chests were touching.
"I will see you later." He said as a way of promise and putting a hand on his cheek.
Harry looked into his eyes and he saw urgency and compassion but he couldn't bring himself to return it and simply gave the man a small smile before reaching up and giving him a quick kiss.
"Goodbye, Severus." Harry said before disappearing in front of the man who sighed, putting a hand on the wooden door to let Harry out.
Once the door was closed he growled in frustration and picked up the nearest object, an ink pot no less, and hurled it across the room. He knew he'd hurt Harry by telling him to leave but he couldn't not do these potions. Sure, he could have had Harry help him but what if the Medi-Witch had decided to drop by and see how things were going? No, he couldn't do that. He sighed as he leaned against the back of the portrait and slid to the floor, still clutching the list of potions he needed to brew. He wanted Harry, he knew Harry wanted him back, but he also knew that if he wasn't careful things would turn out terribly and this was what was frustrating him. He longed for the days where he was lazing about with Harry in his presence, either laying in front of the fire or on the couch next to him.
He was about to grip the bracelet to ask if Harry was okay, but he thought better of it. He knew Harry was upset, he could see it in his eyes. He had let the boy down.