Title: Senses Abound

Rating: This chapter is M due to swearing and kissing, plus implications.

Summary: Harry's senses begin to act off the wall. He finds out he's a sentinel and related to Dumbledore and McGonagell. He also finds out he's related to Jim Ellison. Will his new ability be able to help him in the war against Voldemort? Crossover with the Sentinel.

Warnings: Slash mainly. Major OOC on Sev's part, and probably on Jim's also. AU from book five and six.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Harry Potter or The Sentinel. One belongs to a fabulous author by the name of J.K. Rowling, and the other belongs to Pet Fly inc. All I own is the plot, crossover theme, and maybe one or two minor original characters. I swear!

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed! (that was aimed towards all you anonymous people out in the fan fiction world.) Everyone else, well, I should have responded to your reviews, via private message. If i skipped over one of you, I apologize. Also, there is a bit of background info for the Sentinel in this. I only have the first season on DVD (as its the only one out so far) and the things I went into were second/third season I believe. I didn't actually see those particular episodes and a fair warning that what I do know came from very reliable fan fiction authors who are even more obsessed with the show then I am. Also, a few chapters back I gave an address to the sentinel site. It was wrong, on so many levels. It's actually wwwdotsquidgedotorgslasharchive. If it works this time, you should only have to replace the words with their corresponding symbols. And if I may, check out any story by Alyjude. She'll have you hooked in no time. The 'Everything's Jake' series is fantastic and what drew me to her as an author. Okay, this got long. So enjoy! Oh, and any mistakes are my own.

Previously

"Oh thank Merlin, Harry! Voldemort knows Severus is the spy. He's almost gone!" Draco yelled, motioning with his head towards the bundle in his arms.

Harry instantly knew who Draco was referring to and he fell to his knees, the air around him tunneling, making his friends and family sound as if they were miles away, as he stared at his guide in shock and horror.

Harry jerked as a hand landed on his shoulder. Turning his wide eyes to the person standing next to him, he watched as the lips moved, not hearing a sound or clearly seeing a face. Shaking his head, he crawled his way to where Draco and Severus were, the blond now down on his knees as he cried over his godfather, who was sprawled in the snow with his head lying on Draco's lap.

His hands fumbled with the death eater robe and he frantically searched for a heartbeat, letting out an anguished moan when he didn't find one.

Harry was about to fall to the ground in defeat when a soft, alluring voice echoed in his head, "You can save him young sentinel. He has not gone far and will return if you will it enough."

"How…" Harry moaned, staring down at the man who had come to mean so much to him.

"Dream walk, young sentinel. Dream walk."

Harry looked around, his hearing still tunneled and watched in detachment as the people around him yelled and screamed and yet he heard not a word. Looking back at Severus, suddenly feeling a calm awareness wash over him. He knew what he had to do.

He reached out and grabbed Severus' face with his hands and closed his eyes, yearning for the life to be brought back to his guide. His loved one. When he opened his eyes after his heartfelt plea, he was shocked to find himself on a blue tinted, bleak and desolate mountainside.
He ruffled his feathers in annoyance as he looked around for his guide. It was that action that held him up for a second. Glancing at himself by cocking his head, he saw the golden brown plumage of his animal spirit. Spreading his arms, he was shocked to find the wings do the same. He was in his animal spirits body!

Harry then realized that Severus must have been in the form of his own spirit guide. The idea made him snort. He didn't even know what animal looked after Severus. Shaking his head at his own stupidity he took flight, gazing around the bluish landscape and crying out Severus' name every time he flapped his wings.

He was just passing hover the apex of the mountain when he saw a small, beautiful black hawk sitting regally on a despondent tree, watching the distance as if it were looking for something.

"Severus?" He called out, dismayed that a high-pitched cry left his beak instead of a name.

The hawk turned its head slowly and looked at him for a moment before taking flight in the opposite direction of Harry. Harry's cry this time was one clearly of distress as he watched whom he knew instinctively was his guide, fly away from him, away from his life.

The hawk seemed to pause in mid-air before turning a wide arc. He flew slowly for a moment as he watched Harry before picking up speed. Knowing that Severus was coming back to him, he flew fast to meet him, ignoring the winds that seemed to want to keep them apart. His guide was coming back.

It didn't matter to Harry or Severus that they were about to fly head first into each other. Neither slowed down and when they did collide, a brilliant blue light erupted from the merging birds.

It was at this moment that Harry was pulled back to reality as hands gripped his shoulders to pull him from Severus. He gripped the mans face tighter and pulled away from the hands, staring down at the closed mouth, willing it to open for a breath.

For a moment, he thought the blue tinted vision was nothing more then a dream, that the feelings coursing through his body from merging with the hawk was all in his crazed mind. Until Severus opened his mouth and gasped for air. Relief flooded Harry and he finally allowed the hands on his shoulders to pull him away.

Harry and Albus sat down across the dining room table from Draco, listening intently as he recalled the actions of Voldemort from the past three nights. Jim and Blair were helping Poppy tend to Severus and Minerva was with Steven in the living room. Harry had been up in the bedroom with his guide, but Poppy had kicked him out.

"The second Severus walked in, the room became dead silent. I'm still not very high in the ranks so I had no idea what was going on.
Apparently Voldemort found out from his own spy that Severus was against him and spending 'quality time with Potter.' The new recruits, such as myself, got a go at him first. Since it was my first time partaking in a punishment session I didn't have to do much. A cutting spell mainly. All that damage you saw when I brought him in was from the higher ups.

I found him in the lower dungeons and got him out quickly, without my father finding out. Granted it possibly planted the idea of another spy, but I couldn't let him die." Draco said, his face a ghastly white.

Albus smiled gently at Draco, "You did the right thing." He crossed his hands on the table and looked over his glasses, "You mentioned something about a spy inside the light?"

Draco nodded, "Yeah, but I don't know who it is. Father is not as…forthcoming with information lately then we had hoped for."

Albus nodded his head thoughtfully, "Yes, I can see that new care will be taken. You are a lucky one to have on our side, as you were reared for life as a death eater."

Blair choose that moment to walk down the stairs. He nodded at Draco, who was facing the stairwell and turned to the tea service sitting on the island. He poured himself a cup and sat down next to Harry, "Madam Pomfrey left. You can head on upstairs now, if you'd like." He said, glancing at Harry from the corner of his eye.

Harry didn't answer. In fact, it seemed as if he hadn't heard Blair at all. As he sat there, sipping absentmindedly at his tea, he was trying to figure out what was so different. Something weird was going on in his head and he wasn't terribly sure if he liked it. Before, when he had been upstairs with Sev, it seemed like he was receiving slight ideas of pain and agony from the man. At least, it seemed like ideas, because he hadn't felt anything physically. Now, it was almost as if that part of his mind was drugged and languid. He shook his head and turned to glare at Blair when a hand passed in front of his eyes, "What?"

"You seemed millions of miles away. Anything you want to talk about?" Blair said, watching Harry carefully. He knew what had happened out on the lawn between the two, but he wasn't sure how their merge had manifested itself. And on top of that, Harry hadn't had time to sit down and deal with his pent up feelings about Severus' near death experience.

"I…" Harry looked around and saw Albus and Draco still talking, not paying the other two any mind, "I guess, but not here."

Blair nodded and stood up, "Come, let us retire to my room." He said, sweeping a hand towards the stairs.

Harry gave a weak chuckle at Blair's horrible accent before walking off towards the bedrooms. Upon reaching Jim and Blair's room, the guide pressed Harry down gently so he was sitting on the large window seat. Blair sat beside him and faced Harry, pulling his legs up so he was sitting Indian style, "So?"

Harry picked at the blue throw that was lying next to him before shrugging, "Do you know what happened? Out on the lawn I mean?" Before Blair could answer Harry continued on talking, "It was the oddest feeling. I was in my spirit guides body and Severus…" Harry blinked and was shocked to find his eyes watering. He sniffed, "I didn't think he was going to come back. He just gave me the saddest look before turning away…" Harry looked at Blair, "I almost lost him."

Blair reached over and pulled Harry into his arms, smiling softly when Harry cuddled in like a child searching for warmth, "It's ok to cry, you know."

"I know it's just…" Harry sniffed again, "I don't want to cry for something that didn't happen."

Blair shook his head, "It might not have, but it still affected you and it is going to be upsetting. Ask Jim. He went through the same thing you did."

Harry pulled back and stared at Blair, "You mean you…?"

Blair nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, about a year and a half ago. There was another Sentinel in Cascade and well, things between Jim, her and I were not pretty. I was doing my doctorate thesis on Sentinels and Jim and when she came along I figured I could use her as a subject to save Jim from everyone finding out about him. Unfortunately, she was guideless and pretty much insane. She tried to take me as a guide, not caring that I was already with another one.

"Jim became enraged, thinking that I had betrayed him and kicked me out of the loft. That night, she came to my office on campus and drowned me in the fountain in front of Hargrove Hall. By the time Jim got there, I was already unconscious and when he reached my side I was gone.

"Jim did a spirit walk and our spirit guides merged, joining our life forces, enough to bring me back to life and for the paramedics to start working on me."

"So that's what I did." Harry muttered, then he smiled at Blair, "I'm glad you're all right, though. How can you talk about it? I think that if I died and came back, it would be horrible to remember, let alone talk about."

"It…hurt more that Jim turned me away, so the whole dying thing and him saving me became more of good thing then a bad thing. Granted, it was upsetting enough that we didn't talk about it for a while, but it was festering at both of us and I finally snapped and yelled at Jim. Now, it's not so bad."

"Blair…" Harry started, unsure of how to put the thoughts in his mind, "Did you and Jim…well…feel something weird after you merged?"

Blair raised an eyebrow, "Weird how?"

Harry shrugged, "I dunno…it's like I have this awareness of Severus in the back of my head and something's telling me that the…connection? Will be stronger once Severus wakes up."

"Ah. Well, there isn't much documented on merging. In fact, outside of a paragraph in the monograph that Severus has, there isn't anything. With Jim and I, two of my senses heightened, not dramatically to your scale, but enough to notice and Jim has this awareness of me. Not like yours but he can sense my emotions."

"Weird." Harry said, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak when another voice came from the doorway.

"Everything okay in here?"

Harry and Blair looked over and smiled at Jim, "It's getting better. I think Harry should go up to his guide. That might help things along." Blair replied, turning his smile to his friend.

"All right." Harry leaned over and hugged Blair, "Thanks." He whispered. He pulled away and climbed to his feet and headed past Jim, grinning when Jim squeezed his upper arm, "Night Jim."

He climbed up the set of stairs leading to the bedroom he now shared with his guide, wondering a bit at whether sleeping in the same bed, despite its size, was such a smart move. Pausing at the doorway, with his hand on the door jam, he gave Severus a once over.

Severus was lying under the sheet and a soft wool blanket, the comforter folded at the edge of the bed. That had to have been Poppy's doing, because normally he or Severus just tossed it to the ground. He looked a little pale, but the marks on the arm and his face, save one long scar, were completely gone. Harry wasn't sure about the skin under the pajama's.

He was wearing his normal pajamas of a t-shirt and lounge pants, the t-shirt twisted funny where his arm was flung out onto Harry's side of the bed.

Harry gave a fond head shake at the man and decided that if Severus looked that comfortable asleep, Harry joining him wasn't going to make a difference to any sort of pain and discomfort. He quickly did his evening routine and joined Severus on the bed, lying as close to the man as he dared.

He pushed himself up on his elbow and stared at his guide a moment before leaning over and kissing the lips softly, "Goodnight Severus."

Harry plopped down at the kitchen table the following morning, his head in his hands. Severus had still been asleep when he woke up and even after his shower. Figuring the man needed as much sleep as he could get, he had left to seek out some food. Sadly, it was still fairly early, Harry having been unable to get more then three hours of rest due to the nightmares of the past night plaguing his dreams.

Figuring he had at least another hour until someone joined him, he decided to cook a breakfast large enough for at least ten people. He no longer had any guarantees on who would show up for the day.

Scrubbing his face with his hands, he stood and grabbed a few of the cookbooks out of the nook that housed them in the island. He spread them out on the counter, trying to find decent breakfast foods to cater to everyones tastes and that would work well together as a whole. Flipping through a country inn cookbook, his eyes lit on a mushroom and tomato egg frittata that sounded good. It would please Blair's unique palette and interest Jim's sensitive one.

Harry had just finished sauteing the first few ingredients when a shout sounded from the second floor. Pushing the pan to the back burner he ran around the kitchen and nearly ran into Blair as the older man barreled down the stairs.

"Blair? What's going on?" Harry asked, grabbing a passing arm to try and slow down the guide.

"I got an idea. Come on." Switching grips, Blair grabbed Harry's upper arm and began pulling him towards the library.

"But breakfast..."

"Can wait." Blair pushed Harry onto a chair at one of the tables and began looking at the titles on the shelves, "Smelt good by the way."

Harry rested his head on his hand and watched Blair with a bemused look on his face, "I guess its a good thing that the only ingredient that can go bad quickly by sitting out is the milk, and thats easily replaceable. My mix is going to go cold though." Standing up partially, he grabbed one of the books that Blair had put down while he was talking, "'Blood and it's Uses'? 'Familial Connections through Blood and DNA'? 'Blood Potions: Their Most Famous Uses and Advancements Through the Ages'?! What the hell?"

"Well, Voldemort got his body back by using your blood, right?" Blair asked, still looking at the shelves, this time further down the room.

"Yeah, but he also used Wormtails if you think about it."

Blair stopped and turned an inquisitive gaze on Harry, "Who's amount was larger? Yours or Wormtails?"

Harry squinted his eyes as he thought back to the night his nightmare truly began, "Wormtail cut of his hand, so whatever blood was in that but the vial he used to catch my blood was pretty decent sized. As for the size of it, well, I wouldn't have been able to close my hand fully around the roundest part and it was maybe three or four inches in height."

Blair nodded and went back to his search, "Yours would have been dominate then. The blood from the hand would have squirted before it fell in. Good chance that there was maybe a few tablespoons of Wormtails to your approximate cup or two."

"That's a lot of blood. No wonder I felt woozy afterwards." Harry mumbled, again looking at the books, "So your idea is?"

Blair finally joined him at the table after grabbing some quills, ink and parchment from the desk on the other side of the library, "I read a book," He ignored the snort that came from Harry and arranged everything in front of him, almost as precisely as Hermione, as he went on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "That described special, hollow bullets filled with potions, well holy water, and that they were used to kill vampires. The holy water was inserted with a syringe and the hole was covered with a waxy substance. When the bullet left the gun, the friction melted the wax and the holy water seeped out of the hole when it entered the body of the vampire."

Harry shook his head, "That's an interesting idea, but one, I don't think holy water would kill Voldemort and two, well, wouldn't the water fall out of the bullet before it hit its target?"

"No, not at the speed a bullet travels. The pressure from the air would keep the liquid inside and as for Voldemort, I wasn't thinking holy water."

"Then what?"

Blair opened one of the books to the index and began pursuing it, even as he thought of a way to describe his idea to Harry, "Well...you've got four living relatives, two of whom, besides your own, are very powerful. If we can find the right potion to mix with the blood, I think it would be possible to overpower the blood that Voldemort took from you and kill him. At least, thats what I'm hoping for."

Harry's eyes lit up in excitement and then drooped a bit, "But I don't know how to shoot a gun, and we're not even sure how many bullets it would take to do the job."

"I know." Blair leaned back in his chair, "We can always have your grandmother transfigure different types of guns for our use, and train people at the school to use them. Those who would be willing to use one at any rate."

Harry nodded. He couldn't see Hermione wield a gun, "And the ones who won't learn can make the bullets or help Severus with the potion." He added, really getting into the idea.

"Exactly. Now help me look."

When Severus finally awoke, it was almost three in the afternoon. Groaning under his breath, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked around. He was somewhat surprised to see himself in his bedroom, his few lucid moments from the night before seemed more like a dream then reality. Wondering what happened he started to climb out of bed.

"Hold it right there."

Looking up he saw Harry grinning at him from the doorway, "Excuse me? I need to use the bathroom and I would like to get some food."

Harry crossed the room and gave Severus a kiss. He pulled away and blanched slightly, "Brushing your teeth is advisable as well. Potions and morning breath do not mix." Harry smiled again, "I'll help you to the bathroom. Poppy said to take it easy or you'll be in the hospital wing faster then you can say Aconite when we return to the school in a few days."

Severus rolled his eyes and accepted the arm that Harry offered, "This is ridiculous. I don't even feel that..." He paused as his vision swam in front of his eyes, "weak." Sitting back on the bed, he looked around, "What did that women force down my throat?"

Harry shrugged and looked down, "I wasn't in the room at the time, so I don't know."

Severus lifted Harry's head and looked at the sentinels face closely, "What's wrong?"

Harry shrugged again, "Would you take it easy for me? Please?"

"Harry..."

"Severus, you almost died. I don't care if you are as healthy as a horse right now. I just don't want to take any chances. I don't want to lose you." Harry sniffed and wiped his wrist across his eyes, "Damn it, I said I didn't want to do this."

Figuring that Harry was talking about crying and not coming up to talk to him, Severus pulled Harry down next to him and kissed him lightly, "There is nothing wrong with crying."

"I know! Blair said that last night too." He gave a watery chuckle, "I just don't like crying."

"A lot of people don't." Severus looked at Harry, "Harry, why can I sense you in my head? You haven't been studying Legilimancy have you?"

Harry's eyes widened as he shook his head, "No, but...you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"The dream walk? None of it at all?"

Severus shook his head and shifted on the bed, "I'm...not sure. Can we discuss this after I use the bathroom and eat something? I'm getting uncomfortable. Maybe a shower or a bath as well."

Harry nodded and stood up, before helping his own guide stand, "I'll get you into the bathroom and draw the bath while you do your thing in the toilet. Then I'll get you some soup and maybe a grilled tomato and cheese sandwich?"

Severus nodded, "That sounds like a plan."

Jim and Steven both looked up as Harry came down into the basement. Steven had gone with their grandparents the day before to Diagon Alley and picked up a wand as well as a few other things. At the moment, even though he wasn't in the best position to do so, Jim was helping his brother with some of the easier spells in a first year book that the professors had suggested.

"How's Severus?" Jim asked, concern etched on his face.

"Asleep." Harry sighed, sitting down on the blue mat, "Trying to explain something to him that I barely understand myself was confusing. Especially when all he wanted to do was jump out of bed and run to the library either here or at his parents house."

Jim chuckled, "At least your having easier luck keeping him in bed then I did with Blair. Granted we weren't on the best of terms but he followed me to Mexico with a chest infection."

Steven's eyes widened slightly, "I remember that. Blair called me from the hospital about a ride to the airport. I couldn't get out of a meeting though."

Jim nodded, "Yeah, Meghan Conner, one of the detectives I work with, showed up and took him instead. She's one of the few people that knows about what I am."

"Did you tell her?" Harry asked, a bit intrigued. He always liked to hear about what Jim's life was like in Washington.

"No. She found that monograph of Burton's when they stopped at Blair's office. She figured out about me just by glancing through it. Luckily she's a very closed mouthed person and has actually helped me when Blair's not around. Not as efficient but effective enough to get the job done."

Steven snorted slightly and looked at Harry, "I wasn't even informed of sentinels until I came here and buddy boy here knew for years. In fact, we've been on civil terms for the last year and a half or so." He faked a sniff, "Apparently he just doesn't love me all that much."

Jim's jaw dropped as he looked at his brother, "I didn't even know you could do that anymore."

Now, Harry was confused, "What's he doing?"

Stevens grin was almost predatory, "Crocodile tears. Best weapon in a kids arsenal."

Harry laughed, "Thats a neat trick. How do you do it?"

"Just cry on command, I guess. I've never given it any thought." Steven shrugged, "Sally, our housekeeper growing up, used to get so frustrated when I'd start crying just as she took cookies out of the oven. I always got one, but the noise used to drive her batty."

The following morning found Harry and Blair in the kitchen, whistling an odd tune as they cooked breakfast. Severus, who was now allowed up and about but not near any potions, and Jim were at the table looking at Jim's work issued gun and a magazine that he had pulled from his suitcase. Finally, Jim snapped and looked up, glaring at the two men on the other side of the island.

"Will you two knock it off? I get that it's New Years eve, but traditionally 'Auld Lang Syne' is sung at midnight, not nine in the morning."

Blair scoffed as he flipped a pancake, "Just because some of us are in the holiday spirit..."

"Please. Keep this up and someone I know isn't getting a kiss at midnight." Jim muttered as he closed the magazine to make room for the platters that Harry was carrying.

"Oh, well. So long as you don't deprive me at any other time, I suppose I can live with that." Blair said, joining them.

Harry and Severus looked at each other and rolled their eyes, "So? What were you two doing with the gun?" Harry asked, serving himself one of the blueberry pancakes.

"Nothing spectacular. I wanted to see how it worked and other varieties." Severus replied.

"Like the ones we're going to make grandma transfigure?"

Severus nodded and took a sip of his orange juice, "Yes. We were thinking of more then one model but all hand held. it would be impractical to carry around a machine gun."

Harry 'hmmed' his agreement and looked around, "Where's Steven?"

"Sleeping. I couldn't get him to wake up." Blair replied. He a bite of his food before talking again, "Are we doing anything in particular to celebrate new years?"

Both Harry and Jim shrugged and looked at Severus, who looked back at them a bit startled, "What?"

"Well, you are the local around here." Blair said, laughing.

"That does not mean I spend my holidays here. Normally, I am at the school this time of year. I haven't the foggiest as to what the people around here do to ring in the new year." Severus said.

"We could always go into town and find out." Harry said, thoughtfully, "Does anyone know you live here?"

"I'm going to assume you are referring to the Dark Lord. No, neither he nor any of his horde know where my house is located. Lucius still believes I live with my parents in outside of Ravenspurgh." Severus said, pushing his plate away, "Not only that, but they do not believe me to be a social creature by any means, so the chances of them looking at for me at some sort of celebration is fairly small. Of course, if we went, it would be our luck that he would choose Llanwddyn as his target for tonight."

Harry waved his hand, "So we have grandpa make up some individual port keys to use. I can ask him when I floo him."

Severus raised an eyebrow, "And you're floo'ing him because?"

"Do I have to tell you everything?" Harry asked, amused. He snorted when Severus glared, "For your information, I am going to invite him and grandma along with us."

"This is actually a very quaint town." Harry said, slipping his hand into Severus' as he looked around.

Severus snorted, "It's a tourist trap. Because of the history, people who visit expect it to be small and old fashioned."

Harry shook his head and pointed to the edge of town, "Looks like there are booths and and a band set up down there."

"I want to stop in a few stores and pick up some souvenirs. Naomi would love a knick knack from here." Blair said as he stopped in front of one of the stores on High Street, "Could even get Simon and Joel a nice paperweight."

"I think you're going to go back to Washington twice the amount we came here with." Jim muttered, crossing his arms.

Harry then got a malicious idea, "Say Blair, I'll help you pick out some things." He dropped Severus' hand and went over to Blair to grab his arm and drag him into the store that was staying open late due to the festivities, "There's a Hogsmeade weekend in a couple of weeks. You can get some stuff from there too. There's a neat little shop next to the post office that sells statuettes, flannels, t-shirts, all kinds of good stuff." He hid his laughter as he heard Jim groan from the doorway.

"Say, thats not a bad idea. While I technically didn't go to Hogwarts for schooling, I'm sure Naomi would love to have a shirt or something about the area."

"Blair, your mother travels. A lot. She doesn't carry all that much stuff with her." Jim practically whined.

Blair grinned and shook his head, "Jim, Jim, Jim. Do you honestly think she goes to all the places she does and doesn't come back with things from the area?"

"Er, yes?"

"Please. My mother is a shopaholic. In fact, the last call I got from her, she described a beautiful Indian sarong that she bought from her trip to New Delhi. In fact, she even found a tapestry of the Taj Mahal for the loft." Blair said, as he looked over a calender of the area.

Severus leaned over and whispered into Harry's ear, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Harry laughed, "It is amusing."

"Come on. Let's let these two bicker and go save Minerva from a candy addicted Albus. Sometimes I wonder how she puts up with him and the children at school." Severus said, looking across the street to the 'Ye Olde Candy Shoppe', the store that Albus was currently ensconced in.

Harry agreed and let Blair know where they were headed. Walking into the shoppe was a breathtaking experience. Harry figured Honeydukes would pale in comparison if Ron ever walked into this store. Not only did they sell hard to get novelty candies, but they also had a very large selection of homemade chocolates.

"Ah, Harry my boy. I was just telling your grandmother here that I'm sure you would love to try Huckleberry bark. I was thinking of getting a couple bars." Albus trailed off as Minerva slapped him on the arm.

"You are lucky that you have your natural teeth with all the sugar you put past them." She muttered, placing her hands on her hips, "You don't need to be passing along that certain trait to Harry."

Harry grinned and walked along the edge of the shelves, carrying a basket he grabbed from next to the door. He began placing many different items in it, knowing that Ron would get a kick out of the wax lips as well as the bug suckers. He also picked out candy dots for Hermione and a few Cadbury chocolates as well. Her parents may be dentists, but her sweet tooth rivaled Albus' during a certain time of the month. He winced at the thought and wished she had never informed him of that.

Going to the counter, he ordered a pound of a variety of fudge as well as some salt water taffy and truffles. Fudge was his own weakness and could only get it if Dobby was in a particularly good mood when he went to the kitchens. Apparently, it wasn't easy to make.

Cashing in his purchases, he turned to Minerva, "What trait were you talking about?"

Throwing her arms up in the air, she groaned and headed outside, muttering under her breath.

Harry chuckled and grabbed his bag as it was handed over. He turned to Severus and smiled, "Since we didn't eat any dinner, why don't we round everyone up and head over to the booths? I'm sure there are games and stuff that we can do to pass the time. We've only got a few hours left."

"Excellent suggestion Harry. I think I'll try and win Minerva some sort of stuffed toy. Maybe it will placate her some." Albus said, throwing an arm around his grandsons shoulders, "I'll cast a preserving charm on our bags, since I'm sure that most of the candy in yours will be given as gifts?"

"Yep." Harry said as they followed his guide out onto the street.

Two hours later, everyone, including Severus and Jim, were ladened down with stuffed animals and small toys from the various games that they had played. Steven, who had disappeared into a pub when they arrived but was no where near drunk, had spotted a fairly secluded area to view the fireworks from at the edge of the lake.

They were still close enough to the crowd to hear the countdown as it started.

Ten

Harry's grip on the arm resting around his chest tightened slightly and he leaned further back into Severus's arms. Glancing at their companions showed most of them in the same position. He felt a bit of sympathy for Steven but it quickly dissipated as the older man cast him a smile.

Seven...six...five...four

Harry turned in Severus' arms and smiled up at his guide, content for once and his troubles at the back of his mind. This was their moment, and he wasn't about to let thoughts of what Voldemort was doing bring him down.

Three...two

As the crowd chanted 'one' and the fireworks began to light the sky, Severus closed the distance between them and laid claim to Harry's lips. Harry's eyes fluttered shut as he enjoyed his first kiss of the new year. As they parted, Harry looked Severus in the eye and saw that his guide was feeling much the same way he was, "I love you." He whispered, feeling a tightening in his chest as the words left his mouth for the first time that wasn't directed towards his parents or friends.

Severus tightened his grip and buried his face in Harry's black locks. He didn't say the words out loud, but Harry felt them mouthed against his skin. He grinned in happiness and looked over at Blair, who was in nearly the same position as he was with Severus and winked at his friend. They began a silent countdown from three to one and began singing.

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne?"


The end

A/N: Dear Lord, could I get any more sappy at the end of that? He he, probably. Sadly, this is the end of Senses Abound. I know a lot of you were waiting for a new chapter and I had posted this originally as a tbc, but the higher ups decided that a sequel would be much better so as not to kill -this- story. Sequel will be started soon and hopefully ready to post by the new year. I'm glad you all enjoyed this, and I had a blast writing it. Maybe said sequel will have just as much of a following. I hope.

ArtemisEmerald