'Thoughts'
"Speech"
Spells, emphasis
//Parseltongue//
And finally, they get together
As soon as he was sure that the last of Snape's billowing cloaks were out of the Great Hall, Harry let out the nervous breath he had unconsciously been holding.
'I hope he does not see through my acting', he thought ominously, though he could not help but feel proud of his own acting skills.
God, that was embarrassing! Thinking about it was one thing, but actually doing it…
If Harry had not been so determined not to let Snape think that he was nervous, he would have fled from the Hall just like Snape himself
"Geez, where's the fire?", Seamus commented, referring to Snape's hasty exit from the Hall.
Others all around the Gryffindor table were all similarly trying to guess what could have happened.
"He must have thought of a new hare-brained scheme to torture students with…"
"Maybe he left his cauldron boiling? Hopefully the dungeons would be destroyed", Ron quipped optimistically.
Hermione just looked at him as if though he was the greatest idiot on earth.
"You actually think that Professor Snape would do something as important as that? Honestly Ron…"
Harry did not hear the rest of Hermione's ranting as he became preoccupied with his own thoughts. Thoughts of whether he had actually done the right thing to erm, flirt with Se-Snape. He could easily be forcing Snape to make an enemy out of him.
"Hey, are you going to eat that?", Ron asked him, pointing towards Harry's mutilated croissant. Harry worked hard to keep the look of pure astonishment (Ron was actually still hungry after eating his fourth croissant!) off his face and willingly gave his croissant away.
He had lost his appetite anyway.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
"For goodness' sakes, Harry, concentrate!", Hermione hissed to him for the third time.
Well, it was not his fault that his mind was preoccupied with Snape right? It was almost impossible to stop thoughts of Snape from popping into his head. Or rather, images actually. Images of Sev smirking but without malice, eyes glittering with humour. Sev rolling his eyes good naturedly at another one of Harry's 'weird' actions, as Severus liked to call it.
Sev with the look of pure lust in his eyes as he moved towards Harry to kiss him…
"Harry, I'm warning you for the last time, if you're not going to make any effort to concentrate…Ugh, I wash my hands off you!", Hermione proclaimed irritably.
"Ok fine, be that way…", he muttered darkly.
Apparently Ron and Hermione were over their sweet lovey-dovey stage and were both back to normal. Harry stifled a sigh. It would be harder to find opportunities to meet Sev with Hermione watching his actions like a hawk.
The bell rang, signaling the end of their torturous potions lesson. Everyone packed their stuff at super speed and evacuated the cold and unpleasant dungeons within minutes.
Harry knew that this had to be done. It was inevitable. He gathered what courage he had within him before telling Ron and Hermione that he had left his quill behind in the dungeons and then doubling back. He failed to notice a pair of brown eyes looking back at his retreating form with something akin to suspicion.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
"Se-Snape,I-" Harry never got to finish his sentence, for Snape rudely interrupted
"Potter! Were you the one who wrote that letter?"
"What letter?".
Oh, feigning ignorance was so fun and the sight of Snape's enraged face made it even more amusing.
"Fine, if you want to be that way. Two can play at that game", he heard Snape mutter in an undertone before he continued, "If you have nothing else to say, then you should leave. I am rather busy, unlike someone who obviously lacks the intellect to actually find something better to do. Out of my way you dunderhead before I start dishing out detention", he threatened maliciously.
"You-"
"Will you get out of my classroom now or do you have to wait for me to give you an invitation card?"
Harry thought he would burst with irritation and rage at Snape's less-than-mature behaviour and pretty much told him so.
"That's it! I've had enough of your silly actions! We're obviously friends and you can choose to act otherwise, but I refuse to do so. So you can stop your sad attempts at driving me away because I will not fall for it!", Harry told him adamantly.
Snape looked flabbergasted for a long moment, all the while staring intently at Harry as if though expecting him to shout out 'April Fools Day'. He even opened and closed his mouth a few time as if wanting to tell Harry exactly what he thought about Harry's declaration before finally looking defeated.
"Fine whatever, just stop sending me those kind of messages", Snape told him warningly.
"What kind of messages?"
"Don't feign innocence, it's definitely not becoming of you. You know very well what I'm talking about. Honestly I still get Goosebumps just from the thought of it",
Harry grinned. At least they had some sort of truce now.
"Deal"
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
And so they remained friends (at least that was what Sev thought). If people looked hard enough, they would actually see the subtle signs. Signs such as the gazes shared between them. They were no longer filled with hate or distaste (both of them had unknowingly stopped acting like they hated each other).
There were also signs, such as Snape no longer breathing down Harry's neck during Potions lessons. As a matter of fact, Snape no longer picked on Gryffindors for the most mundane things and he no longer deducted points from Gryffindors for the most absurd reasons.
Of course, people were speculating and gossiping about what could have caused such a change in Snape (had he taken a 'anti-git' potion by accident?) but nobody really came close to the truth. Well, everyone except a certain bushy haired Gryffindor, but even she did not guess the complete truth.
After a while, people stopped getting suspicious and they just accepted things as they were. After all, there was always new gossip within Hogwarts that were more interesting then some silly notations about an overgrown bat.
Harry had been getting more and more worried as the summer holidays approached that Dumbledore would 'conveniently' forget that Harry would turn 17 over the summer and that he no longer needed to go back to the Dursleys. He did not think that he would have been able to survive another summer at the Dursleys, knowing fully well that there had not been such a need.
Thankfully, Dumbledore cheerfully reminded him on the last day of the school term (as if he needed reminding) of that fact. Harry had kept a cool façade until he left Dumbledore's office. After that, he had let out an undignified whoop for joy and skipped all the way back to his dormitory, doing a pretty good imitation of Dobby when he was excited.
He knew that he would be staying at Hogwarts again, as he wanted to enjoy living in Hogwarts for the first time during the summer holidays. As almost half the year had gone by, he wanted to spend as much of his time just simply going round to remember the castle.
The thought that he would have to graduate at the end of next year made him rather sad sometimes, so he was determined to remember as much of the castle as possible. Besides, how often could he have the Quidditch Pitch all to himself on any afternoon that he chose?
Thus, he made up his mind to stay in Hogwarts. Ron was a little reluctant and disappointed that he did not want to stay with the Weasleys for the summer, but when Harry assured him that he would definitely stay with the Weasleys for the next summer, he brightened up considerably.
He smiled as he watched Ron and Hermione board the train and he waved back at them happily.
"Those two could definitely use some more 'couple time' anyway", he smirked slightly as that thought occurred to him.
'And now, let the fun begin', he mused.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Harry was slightly breathless due to the fact that he had run all the way to the Quidditch Pitch in his haste to fly. He smiled mischievously as he administrated an "Alohomora" to open the broom cupboard and retrieve his Firebolt.
He mounted it swiftly and kicked off the ground, feeling the familiar rush of joy flood him as he rose higher and higher above the grounds. All his doubts and problems ceased at that moment. For now, it was all about feeling the wind in his hair and whipping at his face. Everything in the magical world could change, but this peaceful feeling would never, ever be different for him.
No more Sev. No more trying to win him over. No more Voldemort to worry about.
He was flying so high that he could feel his hands freezing to the handle of his broom, the icicles forming in his hair. When he decided that he had gained enough altitude, he started plunging vertically downwards, flattening himself against his Firebolt so as to increase the speed of his descent.
Harry felt his stomach churn around slightly, but not in an unpleasant way. However, he was not affected by this feeling, for he was used to it.
All he focused on was the circle that marked the center of the pitch, relishing how it seemed to grow bigger and bigger before his eyes at breakneck speed. His eyes watered slightly, but he pushed that slight discomfort away easily due to the sheer amount of adrenaline that was pumping through him.
He was descending, descending all the way…and then suddenly, he Stopped. He Stopped as abruptly as if someone had yelled out the word in his head. It was weird really, how he always knew when to brake, when to stop in time to prevent himself from crashing to the ground.
Harry did a couple of barrel rolls simultaneously, taking pleasure in the way it made him feel slightly dizzy, queasy and yet energized all at the same time.
He circled the pitch as if in search of a snitch, smiling as memories of all his Quidditch matches and practices flooded him. He also recalled fondly the time when he had his race with Snape.
Finally, upon catching sight of the setting sun, he decided that it was time to stop flying. He descended gradually, after which he placed his Firebolt back in the broom cupboard. He then cast back the locking charm on the broom cupboard before walking back to the common room.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
//Phew, it sure has been a busy day, what with helping Ron with his last minute packing and then sending both of them off in the afternoon//, he informed Gaza, 'both of them' referring to Ron and Hermione, of course.
It was a good thing that he managed to persuade Sev to let him look after Gaza during the holidays, as he was nearly all alone in the castle, save for Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick and some third year Ravenclaw. He imagined that he would have been rather lonely without her.
//Oh good for you, now if you don't mind, I would like to get some ssssleep//, Gaza replied him sleepily.
Harry just shook his head in exasperation. Honestly, Gaza was ALWAYS sleeping. It seemed as if though she slept for more hours than she was awake.
Now that she was asleep and Harry no longer had anything else that he wanted to do, he whipped out his alarming pile of homework and started to work on his four foot essay for Professor Sprout, describing what an Ergypot was, precautions to be taken when looking after it and where it was usually found.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Harry woke up to the sensation of being squeezed. It felt as if his chest was tightening or something. Oddly, it kind of resembled the sensation that one would associate to apparating.
//Gaza!//, he hissed while glaring at said snake.
She merely laughed at him.
//That is not my favourite way of waking up, you know. You could at least shout at me if you wanted me to wake up//, he chided her in a mock serious tone.
//Oh, but why bother? Squeezing you awake issss so much more fun//, she said mischievously.
'Ok, that was seriously disturbing.'
//Er, I'll prefer if you kept your squeezing tendencies to yourself, thanks. I don't really enjoy feeling like some suffocating field mouse//, he teased gently.
She just pretended to look offended.
There was a long silence, during which Harry was trying to figure out what he wanted to do for the day. Eventually, he let out a frustrated sigh.
//Gaza?//
//Hmm?//
//I'm bored//, he complained.
//Oh and what am I ssssupposed to do about it?//, she asked coolly. Harry was sure that if she had eyebrows, they would have been raised.
//Er, do you have any suggestions?//
//Well, we can always pay a visit to Severussss…//
//Yeah but I can't floo or apparate there//, Harry sighed.
//Oh that's not a problem for me-// she began but was cut off by Harry's surprised squawk.
//What! You can actually visit him if you wanted?//
//Why of course! After living so many yearssssss as his faithful pet, you don't expect me not to know his addresssssss, do you?//
//No, no, what I meant was that how do you actually leave to see him? Isn't his house very far away?//
//Well, I apparate just like any other wizard doesssss//
Harry felt his jaw drop.
//You…can apparate?//, he asked, feeling absolutely gobsmacked.
//Of course I can! Why can't I?//, she asked, looking at him quizzically. Harry shook his head.
//Never mind, that's not important. But how do you do it in Hogwarts? Nobody can apparate in or out of Hogwarts//
//I'm not sure, but I just can. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that I'm a ssssnake. Who cares? Anyway, how else do you think I manage to get food when Severussss is too busy to feed me?//
//Well, you would just have to go without me, as I don't see how I can manage to get there without using the floo system. Somehow, I don't think Snape would leave his fireplace unguarded against outsiders, isn't it?//, he told her, feeling a little disappointed.
//True…but you can just side apparate with me around!//
Once again, Harry felt his jaw dropping.
//You can apparate me as well?//, he asked in a disbelieving tone. This was just plain weird!
//Sssure! Only baby snakes can't//, she said matter-of-factly.
//Oh sure, next you'll be telling me that you can breathe out fire//
When she did not answer him, he felt ready to slide down to the floor and stay there in a heap for the rest of his life.
//Oh god…and after knowing me for, let's see, nearly seven months now, you conveniently forget to tell me that you can apparate, breathe out fire and god knows what else?//, he burst out weakly.
//But I thought you knew! Surely Severussss would have told you by now?//
Snape…oh sure, he did conveniently forget to inform him.
//Ok then, what are you waiting for! Let'sssss go!//, she hissed excitedly at the prospect of meeting Snape again.
Harry then wrapped Gaza around his neck and let her do the rest.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
He reappeared in what looked like the biggest house he had ever seen in his entire life. He only had one word to describe it-Magnificent. It almost was twice as large as Grimmauld Place and that was saying a lot, seeing as how large Grimmauld Place was.
The house was disturbingly dark though and a little dusty. He sneezed softly as the dust tickled his nose. Oddly, the house appeared to have no living inhabitants staying inside, if the layers of dust caking the surfaces of the furniture and the floor were any indication.
He listened intently to see if Snape was at home. Judging from the utter silence that engulfed the entire house, he guessed not.
//Are you sure this is the place?//, he hissed quietly, feeling slightly doubtful.
//Yessss//
//Ok then, let's this place sparkle!//, he thought with determination.
Oh, Sev was going to be so surprised when he got back.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Snape had just finished purchasing more potions ingredients from Muggletown and he was ready to go home.
He shrunk all his ingredients to fit his pocket and then he apparated away.
When he reached the entrance of Snape Manor, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Someone was inside his house.
But it was impossible! His home did not seem as if though someone made a forced entry. Anyway, if someone did, the wards guarding Snape Manor would swiftly alert him of their presence.
He carefully opened his door, wand at the ready and peered inside.
Snape froze when he saw who it was. There was Harry, cleaning the top of his table and apparently having a nice chat with Gaza, if the way he hissed ever so slightly and nodded at Gaza was any hint at all. Oh great.
Those two were clearly influencing each other and he did not mean it in a good way.
He heard Gaza hissing and then Harry suddenly whipped around to greet him with a cheery smile.
"Oh hi, I was just helping you to clean the dust in your house. It looks filthy, by the way", Harry quipped.
"I don't remember asking you to come to my house to work as a part-time house elf", Snape told him while raising his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
"'How did he force his way into my home anyway? It's not as if you have the power to bypass my wards", Snape muttered to himself but Harry heard him.
Harry chose not to reply.
"Fine, do whatever you want. I can't stop you if you choose to waste your time playing with soap bubbles", Snape retorted sardonically before climbing up the winding staircase and then shutting the door of the room he had just entered.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
And so Harry did just that. In fact, it was kind of fun doing housework and having someone to talk to. When he was with the Dursley's, he had to do his housework alone and often in silence so this was a nice change.
//Does this place even have a broom?//, he asked Gaza after finally wiping all the surfaces free from dust.
//Why yesss. Its in the cupboard under the stairsssss, though no one hassss used it in yearssss//
Harry heaved a sigh of relief (for a minute there he thought he had to clean the entire floor with a rag) and opened the cupboard door.
"Woa…", was his first thought as soon as he peered inside. The cupboard was filled with everything imaginable! There were stacks of pails, sponges, mops, brooms and any cleaning equipment imaginable. Harry could easily imagine this to be a house-elf's dream.
Suddenly, he heard some noise coming from underneath the pile. He turned to his right just in time to watch Gaza swallow a particularly fat field mouse.
'Ugh', he thought in disgust but he watched her with morbid fascination nonetheless. It never failed to amaze him just to see how she could just open her jaws and swallow the mouse whole. She was so friendly towards him that he had trouble remembering sometimes that she could be dangerous if she wanted to.
He picked up his broom but dropped it in shock when it started speaking
"Hey pleased to meet you, I'm Simon. I'm the best broom you could ever meet, I can sweep dust at super speed and make your floor dust free. Go on, I dare you to find a better broom-"
"No I'm the better broom! Pick me, pick me-"
"No you shut up, I'm the bestest broom anyone could ever have! Don't listen to them, you sexy beast…", the third broom purred, causing Harry to blush.
Oh great, all he wanted to do was to sweep the floor and even that could not be a simple task. He now had to listen to the complains of three whiny broomsticks.
"Stop!!! I'll take turns to use all of you, alright", he yelled when he could not take any more of their rambling.
He then picked Simon up, pointedly ignored him and started to sweep the living room and dining room. Then, he used the obnoxious broom who called him 'sexy beast' to sweep the kitchen and part of second floor. And lastly, he used the third broom to clean up the rest of second floor.
He was rather thankful that the mops were far more cooperative than the brooms. Mopping the floor took considerably less time than sweeping, so when the mop asked him to dance with it, he willingly complied.
He grinned impishly as he took the mop and started twirling it around and dancing to some imaginary tune. This was certainly more fun than the Yule Ball as nobody was watching him, save for Gaza and the rest of the cleaning equipment.
Several of the cleaning equipment wolf-whistled while Gaza just laughed at him. At first, he had been rather worried that Snape would hear them, but after a while, he let his guard down and just enjoyed himself.
All in all, he had a blast cleaning Sev's house and he would do it again in a heartbeat.
Therefore, he was rather surprised when he peered out of the window and realized that the sun had already set. It was rather shocking to know that he had taken the whole day just to clean Sev's house.
Just as he was putting the cleaning equipment back into the cupboard, Sev descended down the stairs just to tell him that he would not be cooking so Harry could either leave or die of starvation for all he cared.
'No way is he going to get rid of me that easily', he thought determinedly to himself.
He went to the fridge and opened it, only to find it empty.
"You need to wish for whatever you want to be in there before you open it, if not nothing would be inside", Gaza informed him after taking in his disappointed look.
Ok then. He used all of his concentration to picture chilled pasta, mushrooms, tomato paste and sausages, focusing on their texture and appearance with all his might.
Then, when he opened the fridge door again, he was simply amazed to see said ingredients looking identical to those he had imagined.
'Of to work', he thought to himself before washing the mushrooms, pasta and sausages.
Pretty soon, he had finished cooking and had whipped up two plates of delicious looking spaghetti. He smiled, feeling accomplished and proud of himself.
"What on earth are you doing? You better not be burning up the kitchen-", he heard Snape's voice drifting from upstairs.
"Oh. Fine, gorge yourself to death, just don't mess up the kitchen", Snape told him just before he prepared to leave the kitchen.
"No wait!", Harry said before he could stop himself.
'Ok, it's now or never.'
Harry took in a deep breath before he continued, "I-I, You have some too".
"Just kill me now", he thought in despair when he felt a blush threatening to show. Just great, he had to further reinforce Sev's impression of him being some blushing idiot.
Sev looked surprised for a moment and then he narrowed his eyes. He strode towards the spaghetti and waved his hand over it. A bluish glow appeared before it faded.
"What are you doing?", Harry could not help but ask curiously.
"Checking that you have not attempted to poison me"
"Oh I'm so hurt", Harry joked as he pretended to look heartbroken at his accusation.
"If that is settled then let's eat", he announced as he grabbed a couple of forks and spoons and handed one set to Snape. He started eating his with relish until he realized that Snape was staring at him.
"Waiting for an invitation? You might be accustomed to people glaring at you while you eat, but I'm not, you know. Go on, your food is going cold", he teased Snape lightly before continuing to enjoy his meal.
Snape shot him one last glare before he started eating too.
Harry was twirling the pasta around his fork when he realized something- Snape did not make a single sound when he ate. It was a weird revelation and he was shocked that it took him so long to realize that, but it was only now that he did.
He wondered how Snape was able to eat so elegantly, unlike him who occasionally slurped on his spaghetti.
He watched fixatedly as Snape twirled a small portion of his spaghetti gracefully and placed the fork in his mouth. Harry felt as if he was hypnotized. He tried to tear his gaze away, but found that he was unable to do so as he stared at the way the fork slid easily out of Snape's mouth…
"Contrary to what you think, I do not enjoy people staring at me when I eat. So quit staring as if I'm some weird specimen".
Harry was brought unpleasantly out of his (daydream?) by Snape's light threat. He fought to keep himself from blushing out of embarrassment (damn his stupid blush).
He had never ever found his spaghetti so fascinating before.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
As he was washing the dishes, Sev abruptly told him that the bathroom was on the second floor before going back upstairs again.
Harry was left feeling puzzled until he finally figured out.
'God, I must smell like crap if Sev is willing to let me use any bathroom in this house', he thought in self disgust.
He immediately went to look for said bathroom. Well, it was actually easier said then done. He had to open doors at random for about twenty minutes straight before he found a bathroom.
Once again, he could not help but feel awed at the size of everything in this house. For goodness sakes', this bathroom looked as big as the Dursley's first floor!
The floors were tiled black (big surprise there) and the taps were gold. They actually kind of reminded him of the prefect's bathroom, only this was much grander. Even the lights looked impressive as they had a sort of ancient feel to it.
'Oh yeah, I did not bring a set of clothes to change into', Harry thought as he slapped a hand to his forehead, feeling utterly stupid.
Just then, he spotted a fresh set of clothes and a light green towel folded neatly on the toilet seat cover.
At that moment, he felt a rush of gratitude towards Sev.
He locked the bathroom door before he started filling the bathtub with warm water. Then, he slowly peeled away his sweat and soap-soaked robes and stepped inside the bathtub.
Harry squeezed some peppermint smelling shampoo out and soaped his hair, sighing in pleasure at the sensation of the cool shampoo on his scalp. He then used some soap to happily scrub away the layers of grim and sweat away from his skin.
'Will Sev think that I'm turning into some bloody sissy from the way I acted today?', he wondered for a brief moment before shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
Nah, all he did was cook and clean, just like he did at the Dursleys. That was no reason for to be deemed as a sissy. If it was, then he had been living as a sissy since the age of four.
He smiled as he drained away any remnants of soap water left from his bath, feeling satisfied about arriving at the conclusion that he had.
'Hmm, the clothes do fit better than Dursley's shirt', he noted in slight amusement as he donned on the clothes that had been placed on the toilet seat cover. He now wore a simple black shirt and some black pants.
'Hah, figures that Sev only has black clothes'. He entertained himself for a fleeting moment by picturing himself as a younger version of Snape, looming upon innocent first years and scaring the wits out of them.
Harry suddenly paused in his footsteps as he deliberated about where he should sleep tonight. He knew that if he left Snape Manor, Sev would somehow find a way to keep him out, so apparating back to his dormitory was out of the question. So he shall sleep on the sofa near the fireplace then.
//Gaza?//
//Hmm?//
//Thanks for bringing me here today. This doesn't mean I forgive you for not telling me about your abilities earlier!//, he warned jokingly.
//I won't expect anything lessss//, she hissed with amusement before curling up on the floor near the sofa that Harry was lying on.
The last thought that Harry had before drifting off to sleep was that he wished that he had a blanket.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Snape woke up a little later than usual, seeing as he did not have any blasted scripts to mark.
'More potions to make…damn it', he thought dejectedly to himself. Honestly, he did not know which was worse, getting forced to make stupid potions such as calming potions and cheering potions or getting forced to mark horrific homework.
"And I ran out of Thornberry flower petals…", he grumbled. In short, Snape was not a morning person.
'What the-'
'What was Harry doing on his couch? Didn't that silly boy go back after bathing?' Apparently, Harry was more dim-witted than he thought.
It was as if Harry knew that he was being stared at. The raven haired boy twitched in his sleep suddenly and his eyes gradually opened.
"Oh, erm, good morning", he greeted Snape blearily.
Snape resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the pathetically pathetic portrayal of innocence that Harry was trying to pull.
'Hah! As if he would believe that that boy did not have any ulterior motive.'
"Why is it that you would rather sleep on the couch like some homeless street rat if you had the option to sleep at your own nice and cozy bed in Hogwarts?", he asked suspiciously.
Harry blinked stupidly for a while before he replied.
"I thought that you would discover a way to block me out the minute I left"
'Oh right. How did he not think of that? 'He had been too busy working on those idiotic potions since yesterday, so much so that that thought did not even cross his mind.
"How is it that you managed to apparate in?", he demanded to cover the uncomfortable silence that had fallen.
Harry still did not answer.
'Fine, be that way.'
He promptly ignored Harry as he went to the fridge to prepare some breakfast for himself. Then, he saw Harry staring fixatedly at him.
"What?", he hissed irritably.
"You promise not to block me out if I go off for a while? I kind of need to brush my teeth", he mumbled but Snape managed to hear him.
"You mean to tell me that you did not brush your teeth yesterday because you did not dare to leave the house?"
Harry nodded.
'How imbecilic can he get? All he had to do was ask for a toothbrush or something.'
"You have my word", Snape promised as he resisted the urge to laugh at Harry's adorable (did he just think that?) stupidity.
When he turned around, he caught sight of Harry hissing to Gaza and then they went out of the house. Snape gathered that Harry had apparated back and had brought Gaza along with him.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
//You know, what is it with you and that toothbrush? You seem to like it very much//, Gaza commented, referring to Harry's near crazy obsession with his blue toothbrush.
//What's wrong? I like it and there's nothing you can do//, Harry said as he stuck out his tongue immaturely at Gaza.
Gaza shook her head in exasperation, almost as if she was declaring Harry a 'hopeless case'.
When Harry was done, they stared at each other, feeling utterly bored once again.
//Now what?//
//You're asking me? I would be hunting for more mice if I did not have to entertain you…//, Gaza hissed irritably even though it wasn't true. She would actually be sleeping, not that she wanted to admit that to Harry just so that he could have another opportunity to call her a lazy bum.
//Now you tell me more about yourself. What other secrets are you hiding? Can you dive underwater as well?//, Harry asked her sarcastically.
"No silly…but I did lie to you about one thing- Severusss doessss not know about my abilitiesss because I did not want him to be mocked at by hisss other friendsss. He does not need them to mock him for having an odd snake"
"Oh so you do admit you're odd. You do know that you're the first snake that I know of that can do all that right?"
//Well, it might have something to do with the fact that I got in the way of several botched up spells when I tried to defend Severusss a long time ago…//
Harry leaned forward in interest.
//What happened?//
//Severusss was attacked by some older studentsss. They looked evil, mind you//
Harry frowned at that.
//Anyway, they were going to hit him with some weird colourful lights and so I came out from Severus's sleeve to shield him from it. It wasn't very successful, but I did prevent some from hitting him. I guess I fainted from the impact. When I woke up, I realized that I could apparate and breathe fire.//
'Hmm, interesting.'
//But rest assured, that's all that I can do. No more hidden powersss//, she told him sincerely.
//Oh and how did 'Operation sssseduction' go? I haven't really had the time to ask for details//, she smirked (was that even possible for a snake) as she questioned him.
Harry felt his face flame up at that horrid term.
//I was not seducing him! I just went to help around the house and visit him, that's all. I didn't do anything!//, he cried out indignantly.
Gaza chuckled at him.
//Why don't you just go govern your own love life? I'm sure that there are lots of snakes in the Forbidden Forest for you to choose//
//Oh fine, don't come whining to me when everything's not perfect with you and Severusss. I much rather hunt than to spend my time doing something as silly as finding a mate. Now if you would excuse me, I'll go and fill my stomach while you brood over your unfulfilling love life//, she hissed before apparating off right before his eyes.
'Silly snake.'
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
From that day on, Harry stayed at Sev's house almost all the time. Rather than apparate here and there all the time, he preferred to stay there, so he packed all his things, shrunk them to fit inside his pocket and brought them all over once and for all.
Much to Sev's dismay, he declared the broom cupboard as his own personal room to place all his stuff in. The brooms and mops were delighted that he had chosen to stay there, as they could chat with him all day instead of getting cooped up inside the cupboard with nothing to do.
"Harry, come on, another dance please! It's been ages since we last had one…", Nippy the mop begged.
On days like this, Harry wished that he could tune all their voices out. He was trying in vain to read about 'Vampires in the 17th century' just so that he could complete his history assignment and here they were asking him to dance with them.
"Aw would you give it a rest? Can't you see that the poor boy is studying?", Simon defended him.
Harry grinned at Simon, feeling grateful to the cheerful broom.
"Talking to mops and brooms? Now that's a new side of you that I have not seen. It's nice to see you so pally with all of them. I'm just worried about your sanity though", Snape drawled as he entered the living room.
'Annoying git.'
"Well I would not be reduced to talking to mops and brooms if you would talk to me more often instead of huddling inside your room all day", he retorted, ignoring the protests of said cleaning equipment.
"For your information, Harry, I don't 'huddle' inside my room. I, unlike you, have got better things to do that requires most of my time. Believe me, I hate concocting all those stupid potions, but I have no other choice. You, on the other hand, can choose to do a million other things but choose instead to just skive off and waste your time chatting to enchanted things"
'Ultra annoying git.'
"But can't you just take the day off or something? You've been working on your potions for what, more than a month already? The holidays are coming to an end you know" and it's my birthday today, he added silently.
"Well I suppose I can, but I'm certainly not going to spend it by sitting with you and talking to these mops-"
"Hey what's wrong with being a mop? You look just like one too", Nippy interrupted.
Harry had to turn away quickly so that Sev could not see him snickering away. The sight of Sev getting told off by a mop was far too hilarious to watch, so much so that he knew it was physically impossible for him to control his laughter if he carried on watching.
"You..You mop! Get into the cupboard now!"
"Oh cool down, you hot-headed monster! Come on; let's do the tango to wind you down…"
At that statement, Harry could not stifle his laughter anymore. He burst out laughing just as Sev started to grow indignant. The cleaning equipments were promptly dragged into the cupboard and the door shut with a resounding slam.
"Now that those imbeciles are out of the way, we can continue talking in peace. What do you suggest we do then?", Sev asked impatiently.
"Would you happen to know anything about vampires in the 17th century?"
"Why yes, seeing as I am one…"
Harry felt his jaw drop. 'Sev was a vampire?'
"No you moron, I just felt like saying that", Sev told him in amusement.
"You twit!"
"Do you want me to teach you or not?"
"Ok fine, but that's not the end of it, I tell you…"
Sev tooted in response before he started his long lecture on vampires and what seemed like their entire history. Harry felt his eyelids drooping.
Poke. Poke.
"What!", he hissed out irritably before he realized that Sev was trying to wake him up.
"Oops, sorry. I was just very tired; it's not that your lecture, I mean your lesson was boring of course…Vampires are very fascinating, yup…"
Snape rolled his eyes.
"Right. That's enough history for now. You can proclaim your love for Vampires to Binns next time you see him, though I doubt that you would be able to tell him anything about vampires at all-" Sev started but he was interrupted by Harry's less than dignified shriek.
"What's that!!!? Y-you done my essay! You…What have you done to Sev! You're an imposter aren't you?"
This was unbelievable. The Sev that he knew would not, under any circumstances, help him do any homework. (Well excluding the time when Sev helped him to do half his charms homework)
"What a nice way of thanking someone. Yes, I'm a Boggart and I'm your worse nightmare…"
Ok, staying cooped up in his room for so long was definitely not healthy for him.
"And you're the one worrying about my mental health…", Harry could not help but mutter.
"What did you say?", Sev asked him menacingly.
Yup, that was more like the Sev he knew.
"You know, you were muttering in your sleep"
Oh shit.
"I- no you're lying", Harry told him uncertainly.
"Am I? You did say something like 'no more presents, Ron, I don't want any more presents'."
Harry gulped. Sev must be telling the truth, as he remembered vaguely dreaming about Ron drowning him with heaps and heaps of presents.
"Oh really? What an interesting dream", Sev said while his lips curled into a smile.
Crap, he was muttering out loud again. He had to change that bad habit. Just then, he noticed that his glasses were missing.
"Hey, where did my spectacles fall to?", Harry asked while he searched around, looking for them.
"Oh I took them off while you were asleep in case you, being your clumsy self, accidentally squash them".
"Here-"
"Oh there it-"
Both of them exclaimed as they reached for Harry's glasses at the same time. Harry felt his throat dry when his hand brushed against Sev's one. He pulled his hand away as he sensed a mild static shock.
"Well", Harry thought to himself, "there's no better opportunity than now", before he opened his mouth to talk about the inevitable yet uncomfortable subject, which was namely 'them'.
"Sev, do you like me, as in like me more than a friend?"
MMMMMMMMMMMMMM
When Harry asked him that question, Snape was shocked into silence. What should he say? Should he lie and say that he did not, or should he just tell the truth? Or should he just explain the circumstances to Harry and hope that he understood?
Oh crap he had better think of an answer fast before Harry gets suspicious.
"I-There's the dark lord, the death eaters, you're the golden boy-"
"Sev just answer me", Harry demanded and Snape found himself looking straight into those clear green eyes.
"So what if I like you? I'm a death eater, a spy and there's a war going on for fuck's sake", he swore as he felt himself getting royally pissed off at the stupid dark lord for causing so much problems.
"Sev, look at me", Harry said just before he touched Snape's shoulders lightly.
"I don't care. I've thought about all of it, probably even more than you have. It's precisely because there is a war going on, that is why we should cherish our time and that is why we should erm, be together. I don't care what the others think, if you're worried that I would be affected by our age difference? Hell, if I cared about what they thought, I would be locked up in St Mungo's and I would have gone loony because of all the cruel things they have said"
Ok, that pretty much covers everything. But still, Snape felt a little hesitant.
"You're only saying that now because you don't know about how bad things will go. Trust me; you would regret it when everyone finds out". Even though it hurt him to say it, he knew that it was true. And he knew that it was better for him to be hurt now than for him to hurt later on.
"Oh quit acting like some prima donna. I told you, I already thought about it. And I'm old enough to make my own decisions".
Then before Snape could say anything to counter that, Harry had leaned forward and kissed him, straddling him in the process.
Whatever thoughts or hesitation he had been thinking about was thrown out of the window as soon as Harry's lips touched his. Instinct took over and soon he found himself kissing back.
Screw Voldemort and his gang. For now, there was only Harry in the picture.
He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the kiss fully. Now he knew without a doubt that he was gay, if those wild feelings of his were any indication at all.
As Harry's hands wandered down, he could not help but open his eyes in alarm. As much as he hated to say this and ruin the mood, he knew he had to.
"Harry. Harry, you have to stop. If you don't stop, then I'm not sure that I can control myself anymore", not that I have much self control in the first place, he added mentally.
"Then don't control yourself", Harry replied simply.
Snape wanted to smack his hand to his forehead in annoyance.
'Honestly, Harry was far too naïve to be a seventeen year old. Fine, if he had to spell it out word for word, then he would.'
"What I mean is, if you don't stop, then we might end up having sex", Snape told him monotonously.
Harry blinked for a while before he had a determined expression on his face.
"Ok then, I'm ready"
That was all Snape needed to hear. He pulled Harry's shirt off in one swift movement; inwardly smirking at Harry's astounded expression and then proceeded to lay trails of kisses from the side of Harry's neck all the way down.
The way Harry's voice vibrated in his chest as he moaned simply turned him on.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Harry wasted no time as he helped Snape to unzip his pants while Snape was busy marking Harry's neck. Soon, Snape's pants lay in a puddle near them and it was casually strewn some where over their shoulders.
Harry nearly grumbled at the loss of Snape's tongue upon his skin as he unzipped Harry's pants. Now both of them were nearly naked, save for their briefs and Snape's shirt. Now that wouldn't do, would it?
Therefore Harry eagerly took off Snape's shirt, smiling mischievously as he swore he heard a tearing sound.
"That was a new shirt, you know", Sev grumbled but judging by his teasing tone, Harry doubted that he minded.
Harry's hands slid down Snape's stomach, all the way onto his clothed manhood. As he touched it, he was satisfied to hear him moan.
Suddenly, he realized that he was the one flat on his back and Sev was the one on top of him. And he realized that both of them were completely naked (how the hell did that happen so fast?)
"Enough fooling around", Sev hissed in his ear huskily before stroking him
Harry could not help but bite his bottom lip to stop himself from gasping at the sensation of Snape's hand suddenly touching him. He had dreamt about it, but reality was rather different. It was more…intense. He could feel himself hardening almost instantly.
He smirked as he returned the favour, particularly enjoying the moment when he realized that Sev was actually shaking with need. Who knew that Harry would actually reduce the potions master to this state? He would have laughed and recommended St Mungo's if someone told him a year ago that he would be having sex and yet enjoy it with Professor Snape, but yet he found himself in that exact situation.
He shut his eyes as he felt his stomach tightening, almost as if there was someone tugging at some string at his stomach.
"I'm going to come", he whispered as he fought to keep himself from coming all over Snape.
"Just hold on for a while, a while more"
Then, he felt something hard pressing into his butt. He could not help but let out a small whimper.
"Shh, it's ok; I'm going to prepare you now before I enter. It's going to be alright", Sev said soothingly with surprising amount of gentleness.
Harry closed his eyes and tried to get used to the foreign feeling. Soon, he felt another finger joining the first one that had entered him. He gritted his teeth to keep himself from yelling out.
The two fingers were gone and he felt the sensation of Snape's cock being positioned at his entrance.
"Are you ready?"
He smiled as he realized that he was more ready than ever. He nodded.
Snape gently entered him and he hissed as he felt it pushing inside of him. Slowly but surely, the pain began to fade away. Snape waited for a while before he started moving. And then, the pleasure started coming.
Wave after wave of pleasure seized Harry, threatening to engulf him. Both of them were sweating now, their glistening bodies fused as one.
At long last, Harry could not control himself anymore. His stomach clenched painfully for the last time before he spilled his whitish seed all over Sev's stomach and the world blackened for a second before it regained its colour.
He soon felt Snape coming inside of him as well before he left him. Both of them lay down on the floor for a moment, panting and trying to catch their breath.
"That was…nice", he told Sev, feeling fully satisfied.
"Nice? I believe it was more than just 'nice'."
"I just can't think of any suitable word to describe it"
Snape smirked at him.
"Dim witted"
"Annoying git"
"Imp"
"Sarcastic bully"
"I am not going to act all immature and exchange insults with you. I would rather go and prepare dinner now, seeing as its nearly dinner time"
'Oh really?' He did not notice.
"Sev? That's the best birthday present anyone has ever given to me"
"Huh", Snape commented before he went about gathering his clothes.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Snape pretended to concentrate on supervising the chopping of the carrots, but actually he was in deep thought. He was thinking about how he would tell Harry about his crush on James. He knew that he would have to tell him someday, just not now. It would not be fair to him if he kept that a secret.
Now was not the time, however. He would find a way to tell him so that Harry would understand.
Snape felt relieved that he no longer had to deny his feelings about Harry, but they still had to have a little secrecy about their relationship, in case the Dark Lord caught wind of it and used it to their advantage.
He could only hope for the best and let things happen. Meanwhile, he would do all that he could to protect Harry.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Harry groaned as he woke up.
'Oh joy. Time for school.' Somehow, he felt less than happy at the prospect of going back to face humongous piles of homework again. Holidays were nice, but all good things must come to an end.
He smiled as he remembered yesterday. Yesterday was simply amazing. He knew without a doubt that he had done the right thing, for how can something that feels so right be wrong?
He was not disillusioned, however and he knew of all the potential dangers that he and Snape might face if the news of their relationship went into the wrong hands (namely Voldemort). He also knew that not everybody would be accepting of their relationship.
Gay relationships were not common in the wizarding world, but he did know of a few. He imagined the reporters would have a field day if they ever found out that their precious 'Golden Boy' was gay. He could only hope that he would stay off the front page of the newspapers for now.
Harry did know without a doubt that Ron and Hermione would stand by him though. He could trust them with his life. Though he did imagine that Ron would look rather green and Hermione would look like she wanted to faint, but he knew eventually that they would stand by him and support him no matter what.
He would tell them first then announce it to everyone when the war was finally over and if the rest of the wizarding world refused to accept that fact then they could be damned for all he cared.
Speaking of which…
"Hey Ron! Hey Hermione! I've got something to tell you", he greeted them as he pushed his trolley towards them, intending to spill the beans to them.
He decided to take things as they come.
-The End-
There! I've finally finished writing this story. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and patiently waited for each chapter. It'll be nice if you review, since it's the last chapter. Now don't mind me while I go and pop some champagne to celebrate the fact that I have finally completed my fic!
P.S. Even if it's eons of years from the date of completion, it is still definitely wonderful to have some reviews for this story:)
-Blue