The sound of a sizzling something drew Severus into the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place. He shuffled in on feet that felt like twenty pound weights and sat at the long table, nearest to the stove. He watched for a moment as the lithe, toned body of his former student shifted back and forth in front of the muggle stove. The lad was sure and quick in his ministrations to whatever savory, delicious-smelling concoction he was working on. Finally, Severus decided to break his companion's concentration.

"What are you doing up at this ungodly hour, Potter?"

The Gryffindor half-turned in surprise, and smirked when his eyes alighted on the Head of Slytherin sitting exhaustedly at the table. "Hello, Professor…I didn't hear you come in." He turned back to the stove top. "I couldn't sleep, and cooking relaxes me."

Severus hummed noncommittally and lowered his head onto his arms resting on the table. Suddenly, Potter moved away from the stove to a cupboard, then back again. When he turned around again, he approached with a steaming mug of tea and placed it by Severus' head. Severus sat up and sipped at it gratefully, too tired to argue that he didn't need to be cared for.

"Thank you, Potter." His already gravelly voice was made deeper by his lack of sleep.

The younger wizard only shrugged and returned to the stove. "If you don't mind my asking, Professor, how long has it been since you last slept?"

Again, Severus hummed as he sipped delicately at the hot, potent brew he'd been given. "I believe it has been near enough to three days…what time is it?"

"Almost four in the morning," Potter answered immediately.

"Then it has been almost exactly three days," Severus told him pointedly.

It was Potters turn to hum noncommittally. "Bad dreams? That's my excuse."

Severus couldn't help but chuckle. "Not bad, per se…just dreams, dreams I shouldn't be having."

Potter chuckled as well. "A laugh, sir? You should sleep, you're behaving personably."

"That must be disconcerting," Severus replied with a smirk.

Potter gave a smirk of his own over his shoulder, then waved his wand over the stove to turn off the heat under his pans. He summoned two plates and began spooning whatever he'd been cooking onto the two plates. When he'd finished, he brought the plates to the table and set one down in front of Severus before taking the seat directly across from the Potions Master.

Severus summoned two sets of silverware and they began to eat in silence. After a few bites, he scowled at the boy. "Why could you not have had this skill in my Potions class?"

Potter smirked again as he chewed, but had enough manners to swallow before answering. "Potions aren't really the same as cooking. With Potions, everything must be absolutely exact, you can't vary from the recipe at all unless you have advanced understanding of how a potion is created, whereas with cooking I can change the recipe every time I make it, or even just throw together a handful of ingredients in whatever order I like, and I'll usually come out with a fine-tasting dish. When I cook, I'm free to create and recreate any recipe as often as I like."

"The same can be said for Potions," Severus argued. "It is not always necessary to follow the directions exactly, slight changes can be made to get a different result."

Potter chuckled as he pushed his food around his plate. "Yes, but, if I screw up while I'm cooking, I don't have to worry about my pans blowing up in my face."

Severus chuckled again. "Very true, Mister Potter, I can say from experience that Potions do tend to be more delicate than most cooking tends to be. However, I can also say from experience that that is not always true. Cake batter and a muggle mixer on high speed, when done by a young child, can very easily mimic an exploded cauldron."

Potter snorted lightly, trying to stifle his laughter. "I imagine the results are not dissimilar, no."

They finished their plates in silence, and when they had done, Potter stood and took them to the sink, where he began washing the plates and the pans he'd used. Severus watched the younger wizard carefully as he nursed his cooling mug of tea. He started slightly when Potter spoke.

"So, do you mind if I ask what you've been dreaming about that you've been avoiding sleep?"

Severus cleared his throat, fighting down a blush that threatened to tint his cheeks. "It is nothing important, Potter, it's just-" He sighed. "Just dangerous." The Potions Master cleared his throat. "Although avoiding sleep doesn't seem to be the answer, as I have begun dreaming while I am awake." Slowly, so slowly, Severus stood and made his way towards his former student. He slid his hand over a slim, toned hip and dipped his head so that he could nuzzle the back of the lad's neck.

"S-sir…" Potter squeaked, dropping the pan he'd been cleaning back into the soapy water. "W-what-"

Severus growled. "You smell sinful, Harry." He slid his hands up to the younger man's shoulders and spun him around, pressing him back against the counter. Glancing into the frightened, vibrant green eyes of his companions, he leaned forward to place a tender kiss on the plump lips beneath his. Their lips met in a dazzling clash of skin that made Severus see stars behind his closed eyelids.

Potter pulled away. "S-Snape, what are you…You're not dreaming, Professor, we're in the kitchen at Grimmauld, and-and you really need to sleep."

Before Severus could even begin to feel confused, or ashamed of his behavior, he sat up in his bed at Grimmauld. His entire body was covered in a light sheen of sweat and his heart pounded in his chest as though it were trying to escape. Realizing he had been dreaming yet again, the tired Potions Master collapsed back on his bed. The last thing he remembered before the odd dream was leaving his lab in the basement with the express desire of trying to get some sleep. A quick, wandless spell told him that, despite the dream, he had managed several hours of sleep; it was already almost noon.

Throwing himself from his bed, Severus dressed quickly. The house was packed, as Albus had insisted on the entire Order being present while they tried to track down the remaining Death Eaters. Most of them were likely at work by now, as none of them were willing to be scared away from their normal lives, but the ones who remained would be the worst of the lot. Severus hoped beyond hope that Black, Lupin, and Molly would have enough tact not to mention his late morning in front of his former students. His hopes were dashed immediately upon entering the kitchen in search of a strong cup of tea.

"Well, look who slept in," Black announced as Severus entered the kitchen adjusting the sleeves of his robe. Severus growled at the dog animagus. "You finally awake, Snivellus?"

"Severus, we were worried," Lupin broke in.

"Speak for yourself, Moony," Black scoffed.

Severus scowled at them both and sat down at the far end of the table, a couple seats down from the group. He thought that was the end of it, but Molly spoke up from the other end of the table where she was helping Potter at the stove.

"Honestly, Severus, how can you expect to set a good example for the children when you're sleeping late?" She asked loudly, gesturing with a wooden spoon as she rounded on him. "I hope this never happens at the school."

Severus turned his scowl on her, but before he could respond to his accusers, Potter jumped to his defense.

"Leave off," The Gryffindor said testily. He moved towards Severus with a mug and bowl. "Professor Snape has every right to sleep in if he wants. He spends his entire Summer working on his experiments and replenishing the school's Infirmary potions. With the amount of work he does on his vacation, I'd say he's earned a few extra hours to rest." He set the steaming tea and stew on the table in front of Severus. "Here, Professor. It's too late for breakfast, I'm afraid, but you can have the first bowl of lunch."

Black balked. "What?! But, Harry, I've been waiting an hour while you cooked to get to taste your stew."

Potter leaned with a hand on the back of Severus chair. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but were you up all night trying to cure the common cold, or perhaps trying to find a way for werewolves to live normal, human lives without being subjugated by our beloved Ministry of Magic?"

Black stammered in response. "Well, no, but I-"

"Then shut up," Potter told his godfather cheerfully, making Severus smirk. The green-eyed young man placed a careful hand on the Slytherin's shoulder. "Let me know if it tastes okay, Professor. The rolls will be done in a minute."

Severus looked over his shoulder at the younger wizard, and couldn't help a small smile. "Thank you, Potter."

The younger wizard grinned back and gave his shoulder a light squeeze before moving back to where Molly was dishing out stew for everyone else at the table. As soon as everyone had their own bowls there were exclamations of delight at the delicious flavors. Startling green eyes met Severus' black ones and the Potions Master realized he had yet to actually taste the stew he'd been given, having been nursing the mug of tea he'd also been brought. Setting his mug aside, he took a small bite of the boiling hot stew. Severus found himself amazed by the flavors dancing over his tongue, a simple, yet elegant, blend of spices, gravy and beef. He looked at the seventeen year old currently bending to retrieve the tray of rolls from the oven.

"I must ask, Potter, why you could not have carried your aptitude for cooking into my Potions class?" Severus said over the mumbled compliments from the Weasley's and Granger.

"Ah, son of a bitch!" Potter exclaimed in response, pulling away from the oven quickly. Only the fast wand work of the twins saved him from burned toes as the rolls and the pan they'd been on were levitated only inches from his bare feet.

Severus found his feet and was at the younger man's side before any of the others could even begin to rise from their seats. He reached out for the hand Potter was cradling against his chest, only to have it pulled away protectively. He crooked his finger under the stern chin and forced green eyes up to look into his.

"Let me see," He murmured quietly.

Potter hesitated, but carefully held his hand out. Severus took it in his own tenderly.

"C-careful," Potter stammered in pain as the Potions Master started to uncurl his fingers. "The pot holder slipped, I wound up gripping the entire damn pan with my bare hand."

Severus hissed in sympathy as he saw the blistered skin of Potters palm and fingers. "Merlin, Potter, you're completely accident prone."

A green-eyed scowl. "I was distracted, I should've been paying attention to what I was doing, I know that. You don't have to point it out, Professor."

Severus smirked. "Yes, but I wanted to. Come on, I have some burn salve in my lab." He began to lead Potter through the crowd of Order members that had surrounded them, but Black grabbed Potters other arm.

"Why does he need to go to your lab, when you could just summon the salve?" The dog animagus demanded.

Severus scowled at the man, noting as Potter wrenched his arm free that the younger wizard was scowling as well. "If you must know, Black, the potion is still in it's cauldron. I left it to cool overnight so that it would thicken more completely, and haven't had a chance to put it up yet as I slept in, which you were quick to point out."

Black frowned in a childish pout, apparently uncomfortable with allowing Potter to go anywhere alone with his childhood rival, but allowed Severus to lead his former student away from the group and up the stairs out of the kitchen. When they reached Severus' lab, he ordered the boy to sit on a stool beside the bench where the potion still sat from the night before. Severus spelled the potion into the containers he had set up nearby, then picked up one of the shallow jars and came to stand in front of the injured Gryffindor.

"Are you alright?" He asked carefully, studying the hand before gently lathering the first layer of the orange salve onto the burned skin.

"Well, besides feeling like an idiot, the pain has started to dull," Potter answered sheepishly. "I can already feel the salve starting to work. Thanks."

Severus couldn't help but quirk one side of his mouth in a small smile as he heard the hesitancy in his former student's voice. "It's not a problem, Potter, think nothing of it."

Potter leaned forward so that their faces were close together. "No, Snape, I mean it, really. Thank you." He leaned even further forward, hesitated, and then before Severus could understand what was happening, Potter closed the distance between them.

The kiss was like a spark of lightning and Severus' heart leapt into his throat as he pulled away quickly. "Potter, what are you doing?"

Green eyes widened comically. "But-but last night you-" Potter ducked away suddenly. "Oh, oh Merlin, you-" He pushed himself off the stool, past Severus, and began to pace frantically. "Oh, you-you don't remember last night, do you?" He paused to look at Severus with frightened green eyes. "I'm so sorry, Professor, I thought…well, I don't know what I was thinking. I just- last night you…I thought you were coming onto me last night!" Potter began pacing again in even faster strokes.

Severus looked on in confusion as the younger wizard worked himself further into a panicked frenzy. As he looked on, it began to dawn on him that 'last night' could only refer to the odd, out of place dream that had been so different from the ones that had preceded it. Realizing why Potter was fretting, and that this could perhaps be his only chance, Severus reached out to cup the younger wizard's face in his hands. He drew the surprised eighteen year old into a heart-stopping kiss, running his tongue gently into Potter's waiting mouth. Nimble Quidditch fingers grasped his robes, drawing him closer.

When he pulled away, those green eyes he adored were glazed over. Severus rubbed his thumb over an aristocratically high cheekbone. "Is this alright?"

Potter sighed. "Wow, yeah, um…wow. That-that's what a first kiss is supposed to be like, I guess."

Severus frowned. "You have had one before, haven't you?"

"Besides last night?" Potter teased lightly. "Well, there was Cho, and Ginny…and a really drunken night with Seamus, but, uh…nothing like that."

Severus smirked. "I hope that means you enjoyed it."

Potter smirked as well. "I'm not sure, perhaps we should try again."

The Potions Master nodded, smiling, and pulled the younger wizard into a deep, soul-searing kiss that had him seeing fireworks behind his closed eyelids.