Chapter Thirty Three: Neville's Burden.
For the first time in a long time, Harry was actually excited for Potions class. It was tiring and frustrating not being able to spend the night with Severus anymore, but Harry knew he couldn't go down to the dungeons every night—even if he wanted to.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried about what Professor Desiree could possibly write about him and Snape in the papers tomorrow. Severus had been highly protective, and he was sure something about that would pop up. She'd twist it most likely. He didn't care, though. He knew the truth, and that's all that mattered.
There were rumours going around the school that McGonagall and Desiree had gotten into a duel in her office, but Harry couldn't imagine that actually happening. It was just talk. And for once, it wasn't about him, which he was more than thankful about. Thankfully no one else had seen the argument in the courtyard.
They all stood outside the dungeons classroom as the door was closed. Neville was beside Harry, and he could tell the other wizard was nervous. Last night he'd told him that he was being accepted—although McGonagall had already spoken to him. The poor boy looked like he was about to faint.
"Don't worry, Neville, you'll be fine," he said in a reassuring voice. It didn't seem to calm the other wizard in any way. Neville still looked as white as a ghost.
"I just know I'm going to screw up."
"Neville, you stood up to Voldemort," Harry whispered, "and believe me, Snape is no Voldemort. Don't worry, I've got your back anyway."
At that moment, the door to the classroom opened, Professor Snape stepping out.
"Professor, you're back," said one of the Slytherins that shared the class today.
"Inside, all of you. Instructions are on the board," ordered Snape. "You will be continuing the potion that Professor Desiree had you all start yesterday. They should have rested overnight long enough." There was a definitely loathing in his voice when he mentioned the witch who had taken his classes whilst recovering.
As professor Snape walked inside, Harry watched his robes tail after him, the students walking in and heading over to their cauldrons from yesterday. He led Neville over to his own and set the table up. Ron and Hermione were beside him.
"Um… w-what are we doing?" asked Neville, looking around. He looked at the board, but he had no idea what was going on. He didn't have class yesterday! And he was only just beginning to catch up last night with Hermione who was nice enough to go through with what they had been doing previously in the year—he still had a lot more to catch up on.
"I'll fill you in as we go," Harry stated. "It sat overnight, so we're up to step nine." He was pointing at the board now, Neville still looking nervous.
"Look, as long as you read the instructions on the board, you'll be fine. Just read them carefully and follow them exactly." He knew very well that the books were pretty much useless. If you wanted to pass Potions in Snape's class, it was read the board. He was bold enough to move up in class as well so he could actually see the board these days instead of hiding out in the back. Well… so he could read and see Professor Snape.
Neville nodded.
"Think of it like this. You like plants, right?" Neville nodded once more. "Well, think of the instructions like… looking after a plant or something. Honestly, making a potion isn't much different from growing a plant. You just have to give it the right… food."
Neville was about to get technical, but any thought stopped immediately as Professor Snape had moved behind the two of them.
"Welcome back, Mister Longbottom. I trust you will do better this year than the previous…?" said the Potions master on a cool manner.
Harry watched as a sense of amusement flickered across Severus' face. Neville was as stiff as a board.
"Yes, Professor Snape," Neville said, trying hard not to stutter. Harry was right, though. Snape wasn't Voldemort. He was one of the good guys. He always had been. Really, he had no reason to be frightened of him at all! Snape was just another professor here at Hogwarts. He may be powerful, but he wouldn't harm a student (or at least not on purpose, right?). He and Harry were together. That meant Snape had to have feelings.
"Good," Snape muttered, looking over the cauldron.
When Snape said nothing, Harry smirked, knowing that the potion was brewing perfectly if he had nothing to say about it. He soon moved away, going back to checking the other students' progress.
"See, he's not that bad, you just make it too easy for him," he said, nudging Neville on the shoulder. Unfortunately, it made Neville drop the pieces of fox fur into the cauldron too early, and warm liquid spurted everywhere across the classroom, covering the both of them.
Harry froze, dripping with half-finished potion as other students had shielded themselves the best they could. It had splattered on some of them, but he and Neville had caught the front of the blast.
"Sorry…" he muttered, knowing it was his fault this time. If he hadn't have nudged Neville, he wouldn't have dropped them in.
A few snickers came from the Slytherins in the room and Snape folded his arms, giving Potter an 'I told you so' look.
"It was my fault," Harry said loudly. Surprisingly, the class was quiet, and he assumed they were all waiting on Professor Snape's reaction—especially now considering they were in a relationship.
Severus walked over to the bench, making sure to step over the spilled liquids. With a wave of his hand, the cauldron was empty. He would not treat Potter any differently just because they were in a relationship. He was still his professor.
"Longbottom, I would have thought you would be more serious about classes considering the lengths you took to get back in here," he muttered, the class still quiet. "Clean your bench up, and I want an essay on all of the ingredients and what they do by tomorrow morning on my desk from the both of you," he snapped.
"Sorry, Professor," Neville said, his eyes going down.
"And you will both be receiving a detention after class."
Detention, too? Harry groaned, although at least he didn't take any points off Gryffindor. He watched as Snape walked away after waving his wand to clean the mess from the floor.
"Sorry, Neville…" he murmured disappointedly as he begun clearing up their station. Just what Neville needed on his first day back, for him to screw it up for him. He grabbed one of the cloths and wiped his face down. His clothes were another thing.
The class went back to their duties and Neville and he cleaned up their station. Harry kept glancing at the Potions master, wondering if he was enjoying the fact that he could control him so much in class. Severus looked way too pleased over the whole thing. He always had when he got into trouble in classes. Snape would have done anything to protect him, but that didn't mean his grades. Back then, he was pretty sure Severus enjoyed the fact that he was flunking everything.
Once their station was clean, both he and Neville got their books out and started their essays early. The quicker it was done, the better. At least he knew one thing; Snape most certainly wasn't going easy on him. He'd experienced much of this in the past when he'd screwed up in Potions, and every time it was the same. Clean station, write an essay, detention or points taken from Gryffindor. Only this time, Harry didn't hate Snape over it. Instead, there was a little bit of excitement in his belly at the strict control he had over him.
Soon enough, the class was lining up at the front with a flagon of their potion, and Professor Snape was testing it. Of course, he and Neville were still seated, and eventually it was just the two of them left as the rest of the class left when the bell rung.
Neville felt nervous as he was sitting beside Harry. Harry seemed much more relaxed than he usually would when he had detention with Snape, but considering they were in a relationship, he figured it was normal. He, on the other hand, was still anxious.
"What do you think he's going to do?" he asked, Harry looking away from the book that was in his hands.
Harry just shrugged his shoulders. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't anything good. It never was with Snape. "Just let me do the talking."
That didn't sound like a good idea, but Neville stayed silent as Professor Snape approached them.
"You will clean the rest of the students' stations. Longbottom, you can take care of the Gryffindor side, Potter, you will do Slytherin," said Severus calmly, his hands behind his back as he looked down at the two Gryffindors. "Longbottom, if you wish to continue Potions, you will show more enthusiasm in your work. Potter, you should be more careful when around a cauldron. Is that clear?"
Both of the boys nodded. "After we clean, can we go?" asked Harry.
"If you are efficient and silent," Snape informed. "Your essays are still due tomorrow morning before breakfast."
Before breakfast!? Harry mentally whined. "Professor-,"
"Enough with the excuses, Mister Potter. You will have two pages of parchment on my desk before breakfast or I will be giving you further punishment." To be perfectly honest, Severus was still snappy about this morning with Desiree.
Neville was dead silent beside him, but Harry felt something hot swell in the bottom of his stomach as Snape ordered him around. A heated sensation flowed down his entire body, and he felt his cheeks warm with excitement.
"Yes, sir," he murmured, looking back down at his work. When Snape walked back to his desk, Harry realised he was more flustered than he thought. His heart was pumping in want, his skin was tingling and he could feel his magic dancing across his skin. The worst part, though? He could feel a very uncomfortable and unexpected erection against his thigh. He was thankful that his robes were covering him.
Both he and Neville packed their things into their bags and got to cleaning up the other students' cauldrons and messy work benches. Of course, this would have been much easier with magic, but Snape ended up taking their wands—they were now comfortably sitting on his desk.
Harry eyed the Potions master as he was cleaning up where one of the Slytherin's had been working at. Neville was on the other side, trying not to make as much noise as possible. He stood, just staring, watching as Snape had his head down, hair draped over his face as he was writing on the parchment on his desk.
He bit his lip hungrily, feeling a familiar surge run down his skin. God, he wanted Snape so bad right now. He wanted him to take him on the desk. Of course, not with Neville in here, but the thought of Snape taking his robes off, undoing all those buttons…
Clang!
Looking up from his work, Severus eyed Harry as he had knocked over one of the empty cauldrons. The Gryffindor suddenly came back to life from his frozen spot, bending down and trying to pick everything up at once—his clothes still damp from the potion that had doused him.
Severus couldn't help but mentally smirk as he watched Harry. He'd gotten distracted over something, obviously. Part of him wanted it to be because of him. He'd been strict on Harry, but that was just who he was as a professor. He wasn't going to change that to suit Potter's needs. Besides, after today with Desiree, he was very much taking control over Harry. Not a trait he liked in himself, but he needed to have that control.
Merlin, Harry looked so gorgeous when he was all flustered and embarrassed. This time it was Snape to feel a certain heat enter the lower part of his belly, tingling down his stomach. How unprofessional of him.
He shook his head, concentrating back on what he was doing. He'd be lying if he said classes with Potter were easy, though. Harry was horribly attractive when he was concentrating on work, especially Potions. The way he bit his lip when he was thinking, or absently pushed his glasses back over his large, green eyes with his index finger.
Grabbing everything that had fallen down, Harry tried to look as if nothing had happened, brushing his hair away from his face. He didn't even look at Snape, he just headed back over to the cabinet to put the things away, too embarrassed.
He slowly started fixing everything up, catching that Neville was almost done. Blimey, he really wanted to get out of here, didn't he? Wait… that was a good thing. The slower Harry was, the quicker Neville would get out of here before him, and then he could spend the remainder of the time with Snape. Alone.
Grinning to himself, he started slowing down in what he was doing, making sure to keep his pace slower than Neville, who was actually moving rather fast for himself. And soon enough, the other Gryffindor nervously approached the front desk.
"I'm finished, Professor," said Neville.
Snape looked up from his table. He stood up, walked over to the stations that Neville had cleaned up and inspected them. He then handed Neville's wand back to him. "You may go."
Neville gave Harry a quick look, and Harry just shrugged glumly (not that he was feeling glum). The other walked out of the dungeons, which left him and Snape all alone. When Snape turned and walked back to his desk, he stopped his cleaning and took off his outer robes that were getting too cold from being drenched in potion.
"Do you have any water?" he asked, running his hand through his hair. Snape looked up at him, and he tried to keep a very straight face.
Severus was no idiot, he knew what Potter was trying to do. "You may have some water after you've finished cleaning up the stations, Potter," he said bluntly, putting his head back down.
Harry slapped his hands down his sides. "You're not really going to make me do that now Neville's gone, are you?"
"Potter, I don't care who you are, detention will be served," Snape stated in an amused manor.
"Fine, have it your way," Harry muttered, turning back around. Now that they were getting more confident with one another, Harry knew deep down that Snape wouldn't be able to look away from him when he was concentrating on something.
Severus frowned as he watched Harry go back to work. As if he would let him off. He was still a professor and Harry was a student. He would do his job, and he never let a Gryffindor off. No matter who they were to him.
He lowered his head once more and continued marking the essays from his fifth years. However, it wasn't long until his concentration went elsewhere. As much as he wanted to concentrate on his work, he knew they didn't have to be done immediately, and he knew very well that he and Harry didn't get much personal time together during school days anymore now that Harry was back in the Gryffindor common-room.
He watched as the younger wizard went to work, cleaning up. He was quiet, and Harry soon rolled up his sleeves so his arms were showing. Harry may be thin and short for his age, but he was still toned nicely from whatever it was he did in his spare time.
No, the damn kid wasn't going to win. He lowered his head once more, not giving Harry the satisfaction of knowing that he wanted him. He'd just come back to teaching, and he was surprised Poppy even agreed to it. Turns out she wasn't a fan of Professor Desiree either. Probably the main reason she allowed him to go back to teaching today. The day hadn't been too bad, though, and his heart seemed to be healing strongly.
Glancing back at Snape, Harry was disappointed when he saw the Potion master's head lowered once more. He rolled his eyes. But he finally got the last of the station cleaned and then headed up to Snape's desk, leaning over it.
"I'm done, Professor," he said smoothly, pushing his glasses up with a finger as Snape looked back at him. "Are you going to inspect it?" Snape always did.
Severus stood from his seat, eyeing Harry carefully as he made his way down to the station, Harry leading the way. He stopped when the other did, and he traced a finger over the station, testing if it was actually clean.
"I used to clean at my aunt and uncles," Harry said casually. "Honestly, it's nothing new for me to have to do, Professor. I would have preferred a challenge."
Snape raised a brow. He'd just punished Potter for screwing up in class and probably caused some kind of horrid nostalgia. He hoped to Merlin that Harry didn't actually see him like one of the Durlsleys.
"Well, I am not your aunt or uncle, am I, Potter?" he stated, a flicker of amusement crossing his face as he realised Harry had gotten some of the mess onto his white shirt and across his face. As much as he liked Harry looking clean, he was still very attractive messy, knowing he'd been hands on with something.
"Thank God," Harry laughed. He felt Snape come up behind him, and he bit his lip, looking over his shoulder. "Professor?"
Having Harry's wand in his hand, he lifted it. "You may have this back," he murmured, gently tracing it against the Gryffindor's dirty cheek. Severus would never force Harry into anything he didn't wish to do. He was not a person to harm anyone he liked, but having gained more confidence in this relationship, he was beginning to enjoy the sight of Harry flustered more and more.
Harry shuddered, his skin prickling as his blood ran cold at the touch. He turned around, facing Severus, and he lifted his arm, taking part of his wand, green eyes holding brown. "Is there… anything else before I go, Professor?"
There was plenty Severus would like to say and do before Potter went back to his own common-room and did whatever it was he did.
"You're covered in filth, you should get yourself cleaned up," he said, watching as Harry moved closer. His hand left the wand and he took Harry's cheek into his palm, thumbing away some of the potion ingredients that had gotten on Potter's face.
This morning with Desiree came to mind, which made him angry, but didn't say anything. Harry was here now, and with him. There wasn't any need to bring it up. The witch was gone.
Unable to stop himself, Harry leant into the touch of the professor. He never thought he'd enjoy the sense of someone being strict on him, but when it came to Severus, it was highly attractive. He knew deep down that Snape wasn't a bad person anymore. In fact, he was quite soft beneath his teaching robes. But right now, he just wished he'd flip him over the desk right here and fuck him.
The hand with his wand in it slowly went down, gently smoothing over Snape's buttons and wishing he could undo them. "Professor… you're such a tease," he murmured, looking into the dark eyes before him. "I wish you wouldn't make me want you so bad."
His hands made their way up behind Snape's neck, tangling into his dark hair, and soon enough, he felt his lips against the other's, the Potion master's hands slipping down to his sides and gripping him firmly.
Damnit, they really shouldn't be doing this here! It may have been after class, but even so, there was no telling who would come down here for some crazy reason. With how things had been going recently at Hogwarts, he wouldn't be surprised. Everyone was keeping an eye on them.
But Harry was so alluring and tender, and he wanted more. However, the both of them froze immediately when the door burst open and Neville popped back inside.
"Sorry, Professor Snape, I forgot my-," Neville stopped in his tracks as he saw both Harry and Professor Snape. His cheeks went a deep shade of red, and he immediately looked away, wanting to run from the room.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as Snape cleared his throat, moving away immediately. "Collect whatever it was you forgot, Longbottom, and take Potter with you," he snapped. He didn't get his things, and instead, he nudged past Neville and headed out of the classroom, robes following hurriedly.
There was a long and awkward silence between Neville and Harry before Neville finally spoke up. "I'm… sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to… I just forgot my book, and-,"
"Neville, it's fine," said Harry, trying to push back the hot blood in his cheeks. "Forget it, alright?"
Neville didn't think he could forget that image ever! He'd just seen Professor Snape and Harry snogging! He didn't know what to feel anymore. He was terrified by Professor Snape, and yet now he was just embarrassed at the thought of ever having to look him in the eye again! Classes were going to be even worse now!
"Professor Snape's not going to let me get away with this, you know," he said in a questioning tone, Harry pulling his school robes back on. If anything, Snape was probably going to torture him over the whole thing and make his lessons utterly miserable.
Harry couldn't help but grin. "Neville… you embarrassed him if anything," he said with a chuckle. Snape defended himself at any sign of humiliation and embarrassment. It was just his defence mechanism. He was surprised he didn't kick Neville out onto his arse.
"He's embarrassed!?" Neville's voice was in shock. "It's not like he's the one with that image stuck in his head… Blimey, I don't think I'll ever be able to get it out."
"Snape's not going to punish you," Harry muttered in an amused tone. "He would have already done that if he were going to. You know Snape, he'll jump on you the moment you've done something wrong. It was our fault… Well, actually, it was my fault."
Harry rubbed his hand through his hair as he gave an embarrassed chuckle. He really couldn't keep his hands off Severus. Next time, he'd remember to close the door so no one would walk in on them. Of course, that was if there was a next time. He didn't really know how embarrassed Snape was.
"Just look at it this way, Neville. Now you can't say he's evil. Even Snape can blush."
Neville hadn't really thought of that, he was still trying to push the image out of his head of him and Harry kissing. But yes, Harry was right. With that image in his head, he had no image of an evil Snape.
"Hey… maybe you're right, Harry," he said. Despite Neville's cheeks being a light tone of pink, he gave a toothy smile. Maybe Snape wasn't so scary after all.