Chapter Fifty: Fix it.

When Harry got back to Gryffindor Tower, it was time to see if Ron would actually talk to him. Instantly, he tried to walk away at the sight of him, but he hurried to catch up with him. He'd had enough of this. He wasn't going to have his fourth year all over again.
"Ron, can we talk. Please?" he asked, his voice serious.

Ron shrugged. "What about?" he snapped. "I have nothing to say to you."

When Ron turned, Harry wouldn't have him walk away. He wasn't going to touch him because it might cause another fight. Instead, he just called out after him. "Fine, you don't have to say anything. But just listen to me, okay?"
Ron stopped, but he didn't turn around. "Look, I didn't know you and Hermione were having such serious issues. I should have asked—I know I should have. I'm sorry I didn't. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren't my friend, but you are. I still want you as a friend. I know that some of my spare time goes to Snape, but… this is new for me, too, okay? What's really the difference? I was in a relationship with Ginny, too. That didn't break our friendship up." Sure, it was a rough start, but everything smoothed out in the end.

"The difference is that you weren't fucking my sister!" Ron yelled, turning around.

Harry frowned. "Why is it so different? I'm eighteen! I'm legal age! I'm allowed to do anything I want in a relationship. Why does that make a difference to anything?" Besides, it wasn't like he and Snape had planned it! It just happened. And they were closer than he and Ginny ever had been! For one, Snape didn't poison him!

Ron took a step forward. "Because I love my sister! I can't stand the thought of Snape! It's disgusting! You're my best friend, Harry—or at least I thought you were. And then you keep it from me? I find out because I think Snape is harassing you! And then I find out that you slept with him only because the bloody Prophet was gunna be posting it! You kept everything from me! And now you expect me to just roll over and think it's okay for you two to be snogging in corridors and who knows what in his quarters!?"

Why the hell didn't Ron tell him all this before!? He thought he was over all of this! Apparently not. Even so, this had nothing to do with Hermione.
"Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked, shrugging. "Do you honestly think I'd see you and Snape as best friends? Honestly? I'm not that stupid. I know you don't like him, but that's going to make you unhappy and ruin your own relationship because of it? What Snape and I do in our private time has nothing to do with you and Hermione."

Once more, Ron only looked furious. "When did I ever have the time to talk to you seriously!? You always ran off down to the dungeons. Even so, it's not like you'd stop dating just because I wanted you to."

"You're right, I wouldn't," Harry said bluntly, seeing Ron tense, "You're my friend, Ron, and you always will be. But making me break up with someone I've come to love over this last year? That's not how friends treat each other."

"Snape's not right for you!" Ron yelled. "How many years did you spend hating him! He tormented you! He even hit you around just like he did with me in the back of the head. Like that's a loving relationship!?"

Harry wanted to hit him. "You have no idea what Severus can be like, and you know why? Because you've never given him a chance! I don't care what he's done in the past! Do you really think we were the greatest students? We broke the rules, like, every day! Why not try and smack some sense into us? I could have been killed if it weren't for him! You too! Because he wasn't just protecting me, he was protecting us!
"You can't work around that, though, can you? All you see is a filthy Death Eater because he once was. He made a mistake! He was just as desperate as we were at that age. He was just as stupid! And you're going to hate on him for being a teenager like we were? Last time I checked, we did worse things than he did…"

"Worse? Would you listen to yourself!" Ron retorted. "I'm sorry, but last I knew, I hadn't killed someone like Dumbledore!"

"You're really going there?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice down in hopes that he wouldn't gain anyone else's attention.

"Dumbledore was your friend, Harry-,"

"Yeah, and Dumbledore was like a father to him! Do you have any idea how hard that would have been!? Of course you wouldn't, you don't take the time to get to know someone personally, do you?"

"Shut up!" spat the red-head.

"No! Just because you can't accept something doesn't mean it's not there! You're the obvious dick of a person to hate me just because I've got feelings for someone else. Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you had something for me."

Ron went red in horror. "WHAT!?"

Although he was kidding, Harry was surprised by the look of horror on Ron's face. Honestly, after that, he didn't know what to say. His mind went completely blank. At the same time, he completely deserved it by the way he was acting.

"Take that back."

"I will when you tell me why my relationship matters so much to you when you had a perfectly fine one with Hermione."

Ron bit his tongue. "Fine," he muttered, feeling embarrassed over Harry's comment. Now that he'd said it, though, he was determined to get that horrible thought out of Harry's head. Harry was a friend, and that was all!
"You were my best friend, Harry. You really think I wouldn't care what you'd get yourself into? I was pissed with Ginny because she was my sister, and that's gross when your best friend has a thing for your sister."

"Well, I wouldn't know, would I?" Hell, he'd never even told Ron about his mother being pregnant again. Sometimes he wondered if they really were best friends. For some reason… he felt he couldn't tell Ron much at all these days.

Ron rolled his eyes. "I hate Snape. Nothing will change that, okay? I don't like him. I don't care how well he treats you-,"

"Well, you should. It would be nice if you took into account that he's not as horrible as you make him out to be," Harry snapped.

"You can't change my mind," Ron said bluntly. "I don't like him, and I won't."

Fine. Whatever. Harry could accept that Ron didn't like him just for him. Nobody had to like Snape just because they were dating. But that didn't mean they had to bad mouth him in front of him.
"Fine. What's that got to do with Hermione?" he asked, folding his arms.

Ron went stiff, looking away for a moment. Okay, he didn't want to fight with Harry, he was just stubborn, and sometimes he couldn't always talk about things as openly as Harry obviously could.
"Look… Hermione and I aren't any of your business, just like Snape isn't any of mine."

Was he kidding him!? Harry narrowed his eyes. "What the hell is so wrong that you can't talk to me about it?"

Grabbing Harry's robes, Ron pulled him away from anyone else near the common-room and on the staircase. "Fine. I can't… do things like you can, alright?" he said, his pale cheeks burning. "I just… can't. Knowing you and Snape can obviously… you know?"
It wasn't just the fact that Ron and Hermione were polar opposites when it came to Harry and Snape's relationship. But the thought made him sick to the stomach, and it caused issues between his and Hermione's more intimate relationship.

Harry quirked a brow, rubbing his shoulder to where Ron had grabbed him. "Ron… you're a guy. She's a girl. What's the problem?"

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't make it any easier when you're getting compared to other people, you know?" snapped the red-head. "Look, I thought I loved Hermione. But she wanted more, and I couldn't give it to her, okay? And I still do like her… just…"

When Ron looked down humiliated, Harry frowned. "W-why?" he asked.

"Because I didn't want to. Can you believe that? I mean, of course I like it and everything—well, not that I've ever done it—but… I just couldn't. It didn't feel right. And then I got angry over it because I was like, why can Harry do that with… someone like Snape, and I can't?"

Ron sat on the stairs and Harry sighed. All this because he didn't want to have sex with Hermione? Hell, they were still only in their teens! Honestly, though, what he and Snape could do still shouldn't determine the outcome of Ron's and Hermione's relationship. That was just silly!
"Ron, just 'cause someone else does it, doesn't mean you have to, too. I mean… come on… Is it really something worth getting into fights over?"

"Harry, I'm frigid. Kinda, yeah. I mean, I can't even give my girlfriend what she wants. And, no offence, but your relationship with Snape just made it all worse between us…"

"So you just throw her away? What happened to trying to fix things?" asked Harry, trying to ignore the comment on Snape once more. He got it: Ron didn't like Snape. He didn't have to repeat it a thousand times.

Ron rested a hand on his cheek. "It's over now anyway. I don't think after this we could be happy again. And then the letter with Viktor just made everything worse." It's like everything happened at once.

Harry had almost forgotten about that. "He was just checking in on her. It's not like Hermione ever would have done anything over it. I mean, c'mon, this is Hermione. She'd never/i cheat on you."

"I know, but… It still pissed me off," Ron stated. "He's better looking than me, he's foreign, great at Quidditch…"

"Well… do you still love her?" Ron just shrugged, though. "Ron, if you love her, then you need to tell her that. Hermione is… pretty set on thinking that you've been pretty mean to her—which, I still have no idea what you did to upset her so much."

Ron looked down. "I just said something nasty about Viktor. Probably went a bit overboard, but…" He sighed. "I still love her. But… I don't think we could be happy together. Does that make sense? I mean, if she really does want to break up… I can't do anything about it, can I?"

Harry swallowed. "I know you don't wanna hear it, but I didn't think Snape and I could be happy together, either. We're different, by a lot, but at the same time, I think it's kind of comforting to be with someone who can look at things differently. We still worked, though. Sure, we've had our ups and downs, but… we fought to stay together."

A small laugh came from the back of Ron's throat. "Snape ain't Hermione, Harry. I think she's a bit more sensitive than that."

Be that as it may, Ron still needed to let Hermione know this. "You still need to tell her. And apologise for being so nasty, too."

Ron just looked down, guilt written all over his face. "M'sorry I attacked you today. I know it's not your fault. I guess I've just had a lot on my plate and I wished I had someone to talk to 'bout it."

"I'm always here, Ron. I mean, I may not always be around, but you know you can talk to me. Honestly, I'd rather talk than have you pushing me around."

Ron couldn't hold back a small chuckle. "Sorry…"

"It's alright. Just… don't do it again, alright?" Harry smiled. "And please talk to Hermione. It might be hard, but do you want her out of your life forever?"

Pursing his lips, Ron nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Harry. It's nice having you around."

Harry just smiled back. They talked for a while longer before he realised he really needed to clean himself up. The potion Snape gave him was probably going to wear off very soon, so he left and headed to the bathrooms, took a shower and then headed straight to bed. Ron wasn't in, so he figured he was taking the opportunity to talk to Hermione about things. If they stayed together, well… he'd find out in the morning.

*****
The following morning, Harry was given an answer. Ron was upset and moody—which only meant one thing. Hermione had decided she needed a break. Ron didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't press the issue. However, he did chat to Hermione, who was more open about the situation.
The following few days had been much less stressful, though. Ron and Hermione were at least on (awkward) talking terms by the end of the week, and from what Hermione had told him, they'd agreed to stay friends. Ron, of course, was still upset, but he was coping better than he had been the previous few days. He was still sulking, but Harry couldn't blame him. He knew he still had feelings for Hermione, but the only thing he could do was try and support them both.
Hermione had also told him that she'd replied to Viktor's letter. It was only friendly, and she'd told him she needed time to herself right now. A relationship was probably the last thing she needed right now. Plus, it gave her more time to study. Right now, perhaps a break was for the best. It may give them the push they need, or it may drift away and allow the both of them to move on.
It was the weekend, and Harry quickly headed down to the dungeon before he'd spend the day with his friends. When he knocked, the door was ajar, but Severus wasn't in his teaching robes, he was fixing himself up in a more casual looking dress shirt.
He figured today was the day he was going to see if he could speak to Desiree. He could feel nerves tingling inside his belly. At the same time, with the bond so fresh, the sight of Severus in a nice dress shirt made him slightly excited. With classes, they still didn't see each other as much as they'd like to.

"I can't talk long," said Severus, fixing up his cravat. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Harry shook his head. "I was going to eat after seeing you," he smiled. Fawkes was on his perch, eating his own breakfast—a mixture of odd looking plants.

Stopping what he was doing, Severus looked up. "If you wish, you could take something from here. It wouldn't be an issue. The elves should be bringing something in-," he looked at his pocket-watch, "well… now."

Seeing that Snape was obviously in a rush, he grabbed his arm and stopped him. "What's the big hurry? Don't you want to stay and eat?"

Looking at the hand on his arm, Severus raised a brow. "Do you have idea how crowded the Ministry gets? I figured going in as early as I could, would be better for us both."

Harry smirked, pulling on Severus' sleeve, "Come on, sit down."

Being dragged like a juvenile, Severus rolled his eyes and huffed as he was taken to the table and seated. "Harry…"

"It's only breakfast," said the Gryffindor with a grin, "Besides, when was the last time we got to just sit and have breakfast together? Just the two of us?" He knew it must have seemed strange. The other day he was begging to go and speak to Desiree. Now he wanted to spend time with Severus before doing so. But he just needed to be around him now that they finally could spend some time together.

Well, he couldn't argue with that. He sat back as Harry grabbed some plates and they were filled with toasties and morning pastries. Harry's goblet was filled with pumpkin juice. His mug was filled with warm coffee.
"I would have thought you'd been more… insistent on me arriving early to speak to Desiree," he admitted, putting his hands together. Harry sat down and took a bite of his spaghetti jaffle.

"Of course I want to know," said Harry after he swallowed his food, "but that doesn't mean we can't spend some time together." He looked a little awkward as he said that. Since they'd completed their bond, he'd noticed his feelings for Severus had become even stronger—like that was even possible? Being around him seemed to… well, he enjoyed the thought of it. It made him feel like he was high on something. He'd been on his mind a lot, too. He'd realised that randomly in class he'd just start thinking about him. Almost undressing him, really… Sometimes it became very awkward and uncomfortable.

"Mm… really?" Severus mused, leaning a hand against his chin. "So if I were to say that you weren't looking at me like I was a piece of meat to fuck?"

Harry's cheeks burned red. "W-what?" he asked. Why did he have to cuss like that? It was like it was so forbidden. And yet, at the same time, this was Snape. He used to cuss a lot as a child. Goddamnit, though. In that voice of his? It made him so flustered.

Severus didn't hide a rare grin as he put his hands onto the side of the lounge. Just like Harry, he'd found it difficult to keep his mind off the Gryffindor these last few days.
"Well, the Harry Potter I know would be pushing me out the door—if not himself—to get to Darlene Desiree. Instead, you wish to have breakfast with me, withdrawing anything you said the previous day about wanting to go there yourself. You're awfully calm over it. What happened to that temper of yours?"

Clearing his throat, Harry looked behind him quickly to see that the door was still ajar. He felt disappointment over that. However, he was more than pleased to see the look on Snape's face. It was half way between devious and curious. A look he didn't quite see on him a lot. Especially never during school hours.
"Well…" he muttered, shrugging, "Should I be sorry for that?" Severus just watched him, his hair curtaining around his face. He smirked himself. "It's not like anything can happen, anyway. Your door's not locked. And I'd never risk that again…"

Severus just nodded. Yes, others finding out they had slept together was, indeed, very embarrassing. When Harry stood, he watched him carefully.

"But, that doesn't mean I can't give you a kiss," smiled the younger wizard. He leant down, the other half of his jaffle in his hand, and he lifted it. "You need more meat on you, Sev."

Looking at the jaffle, Severus mentally groaned, but opened his mouth to take a small bite. "Better?" he asked after swallowing. He had to admit, despite not being a huge eater, the sauciness of the jaffle was very tasty. He licked his teeth.

Harry simply replied with a kiss, tasting the sauce against Severus' lips. He pressed gently into the Slytherin and opened his mouth a little, his tongue reaching out to softly glaze the Potion master's.
His free hand lifted and he slowly glided his fingers through the silky hair. Further he went down, down the buttons on Snape's front, down to his belt, and in between his parted thighs.

The scent of Harry was strong against him now, and Severus found it hard to stop the kiss. His own hand ran against Harry's neck before he broke away from his lips and looked at him through his hair, their foreheads touching. He shuddered at the touch that so obviously wanted to massage the now growing bulge beneath his trousers.
"Nnn… we can't," he breathed, Harry just smiling apologetically. He took Harry's hand from his crotch and moved away, planting a soft kiss onto his forehead before he stood up. "I have to go if I want to get any information out of Desiree—and see if it's even possible."
It was hard to shake off the lust that was clearly glowing around them. Their magic felt more connected than ever right now. It was incredibly strong, and persistent as well. However, Severus could be just as stubborn.

Disappointed that Snape left his touch, Harry stood back up, taking a bite of the jaffle. "Alright. Please tell me when you come back, though."

Snape made a very soft chuckle. "I will come find you immediately," he promised. He walked back over to Harry as he was ready. "Finish your breakfast here if you wish. Just make sure to keep it clean."

"Of course," Harry smiled. Severus pulled him in lightly before planting a kiss on his forehead once more. He then left the office through the Floo network.
He watched as the flames dwindled, Fawkes chirping and flapping over to him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried. He wanted to be there with him. He wanted to talk to Desiree himself. He just wanted to make sure everything went down alright. He trusted Snape, though.
Sitting back down in the Slytherin coloured lounge, he finished off his breakfast before the elves collected the dishes and he headed to the Great Hall to meet up with Hermione and Ron.