It was, Harry decided, very odd. Professor Snape was looking at him again. Not the twisted glare that very neatly expressed his seething hatred of the boy or the evil smirk that promised humiliations galore. This was different, and it made Harry very uneasy. He shifted in his seat and tried to pay attention to what Lupin was telling him...something about the lessons for today...but nothing from Lupin's mouth got anywhere near Harry's brain as he watched Snape from the corner of his eye. What is his problem anyway? Harry thought peevishly as he tried to turn his attention to breakfast.
It had been three weeks since the end of term and for the first time in Harry's life he was spending the summer away from the Dursleys. He should have been ecstatic, but the circumstances that made it possible weighed down any joy he might have felt about being allowed to stay at Hogwarts. Harry's mind wandered back to that night.
Portkeys. He just loves his little portkeys. It had been his broom this time courtesy of Mr. Draco Malfoy. The familiar sickening pull and he had found himself in what was fast becoming an all too familiar clearing in a graveyard surrounded by dark cloaks and blank masks. His broom was snatched away and quickly reduced to ash by a muttered spell. Voldemort doesn't make a mistake twice and this time there was no chance young Potter would be returning to Hogwarts. Not alive at any rate. Harry looked around wildly. No one was making a move towards him, no curses were being thrown. It was a still, warm night and Harry suddenly found himself oddly peaceful. If he was going to be killed then there wasn't much he could do beyond fight and maybe hope to take a few death eaters down on the journey. The air crackled with tension but still no one moved. Suddenly Harry's scar exploded with pain. He fell to his knees gasping, one hand over his forehead in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. Voldemort had arrived at last. Gritting his teeth Harry stood and faced him ,the pure hatred he felt for this thing that had ruined his life and so many others washed away any fear he might have felt. They stood there a long moment looking at one another then Voldemort's thin reptilian lips twisted in a horrid mocking smile.
" I have a present for you Mr. Potter. Consider it a parting gift." He grinned maniacally and raised his hand.
Harry whipped out his wand quickly, ready to defend himself, but no attack came. Instead the circle opened just enough to admit three people. The two men on the outside supported the third who it seemed could barely keep himself up. They dragged the man roughly to the middle of the circle right in front of Harry and threw him to the ground. The man whimpered softly and tried to roll over on his back. One of the men who had been supporting him brought his foot back and delivered a rough kick eliciting a mewling cry of pain from the man on the ground.
" Stay where you are traitor" He lifted his mask just enough to spit on the man before turning and joining his partner in the circle.
The man at Harry's feet whimpered pathetically, but he did his best to ignore the man's suffering. It wouldn't do either of them any good if Harry lost his focus and provided an easy and open target.
" Well aren't you at least a little curious?" Voldemort hissed " It's not very polite to refuse a present. Perhaps a little lesson in manners...Crucio!"
Harry fell to the ground as the searing pain shot through every nerve in his body. He screamed and writhed, but somehow managed to retain hold of his wand. He pressed his face deep into the grass panting for breath as the last shockwaves of pain made their way through his body. He tried to suppress a soft sob.
"Potter?"
It was spoken softly and Harry turned his head to the side in answer. His face was now only inches away from the man's on the ground. The man who was covered with blood and bruises. Whose thin lips were split and caked with dried blood, whose big, hooked nose looked squashed and crooked and horribly broken.
"Professor Snape?"
Snape's eyes seemed distant and confused. He tried to move closer to Harry and the effort made him cry out with pain.
" You have to get out of here Potter." He panted softly.
Voldemort laughed. " I think Severus that if escape were a possibility Potter would have left us some time ago."
The death eaters laughed. A horrible mocking sound that sent a surge of anger through Harry giving him the strength to stand up. He glared at Voldemort who seemed completely unconcerned. He turned his attention away from Harry.
"Draco Malfoy" he beckoned softly. The shadows shifted and a figure emerged. Dressed in the robes and mask of a death eater it stepped forward visibly trembling.
" Yes My Lord." Harry recognized the voice instantly although it lacked the usual sneering edge he had grown use to hearing. It really was Draco. Harry wasn't surprised but if it was possible he got even more angry. His teeth ground down on each other and his fists clenched tight as he resisted the urge to rip off that mask and hear the satisfying crunch Draco's nose would make when it connected with his fist.
"Take that mask off boy! Let him see you. You have done well. Enjoy your triumph."
Hands trembling, Draco obeyed, but he did not look at Harry or Snape. His attention remained at Voldemort's feet.
"Look at this boy." Voldemort addressed the circle "Barely a month in my service and he has delivered a filthy traitor and Harry Potter. Many of you would be wise to follow his example." His voice became lower and more threatening. " Especially those of you who have thirteen years of disappointment to make up for."
Murmurs of "yes my lord" and "forgive us master" could be heard all around the circle.
"Enough!" Cried Voldemort " I do not wish to listen to any pathetic sniveling tonight. Draco..." Draco had still not moved an inch, but he did raise his head minutely to acknowledge his lord's call. " Which of these vermin should die first?"
Draco's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He shook his head once and at last turned to look at Harry and the professor who seemed to have lost the battle with his injured body and lost consciousness. His eyes raked over the pathetic broken form on the ground. Something flickered in those icy eyes. After a long moment he looked up at Harry who suddenly felt very confused. Draco's eyes, normally so hard and cold, were not filled with gloating or triumph. He looked scared and sorry and suddenly very young. Harry felt a soft stirring of hope. Maybe Draco would help them. Draco abruptly turned away. Maybe not.
" I...I don't know my Lord." Draco sounded as if he would rather be anywhere but where he was.
"Regardless we'll have to wake our dear Severus up. He cannot be allowed to sleep through all the fun. Ennervate." Snape's eyes opened slowly. It was obvious that he had no idea where he was at the moment. He tried to get up and fell back groaning.
" Professor." Harry knelt and gently encouraged Snape to lay back down by pressing as gently as he could on his shoulders. "Don't try to move. You're hurt."
" Pott..Harry?" Snape sounded confused and childlike.
If Harry was surprised that Snape even knew his first name he didn't show it. He simply nodded reassuringly. "Yes it's me, Harry." Snape's confusion slowly faded as he looked around the circle. His black eyes filled with sadness and a little fear.
"We're going to die." He stated softly
"Correct Severus. One hundred points to Slytherin for stating the obvious." Voldemorts lips curved into a mocking smile as the death eaters laughed all around them.
An unknown emotion began to work its way through Harry at the sound of Voldemort's mocking voice and the laughter of the death eaters. How dare they! How dare they hurt someone so terribly then mock them. He looked at the man next to him. This man who had saved his life and who was willing to sacrifice himself for the rest of the wizarding world. He may not have ever been very kind. Hell, he was a horrid bastard, but no one deserved this. Harry felt a rush of protective rage and before he thought about what he was doing he pointed his wand and growled out one word: "Crucio."
Harry was momentarily shocked when Voldemort dropped to the ground. It had actually worked. He took advantage of the momentary confusion and began cursing death eaters left and right all the while trying to think of a way that they could get out of here. Then he saw it. Draco's mask was lying on the ground. Harry dove for it. After the Tri Wizard tournament, Dumbledore thought it a good idea to teach Harry the charm for turning objects into portkeys lest he should find himself in danger yet again. He concentrated as hard as he possibly could given the circumstances as he muttered the spell. Dropping the mask he turned to grab Snape and found himself staring at a blank mask and outstretched wand.
"Crucio" Shrieked the death eater. Harry braced himself for the pain. It didn't come. In front of him Draco lay writhing on the ground. Harry allowed himself a tenth of a second to be astonished before rushing to Snape's side. Voldemort was getting up off the ground. Power seemed to radiate from him in waves and Harry was fairly sure that if they didn't get out of here soon they would be dead. He grabbed Snape's hand, it felt cold. Draco lay sobbing on the ground. Harry didn't have time to think about what he was doing.
"Accio Draco. Accio mask." He felt the jerk at his navel, heard Voldemorts scream of rage and knew they would be alright.
And they had been. It had been two months and already Harry's nightmares about the incident were becoming a weekly occurrence rather than a nightly one. Snape's face had healed and Draco, who was sitting beside Harry silently eating, was even getting back to being sarcastic and superior although his insults no longer seemed to have much force behind them. Things were settling into some semblance of normalcy except for the way Snape kept looking at him. It seemed almost as if he were curious about something. The first few times Harry had noticed it he thought maybe he had spinach in his teeth or something spilled on his shirt, but there seemed to be nothing offensive on his person that Snape would have cause to look at. And for some inexplicable reason Harry found himself very often blushing under the scrutiny of the potions master. Maybe it was because of all the....stuff..that had happened in the hospital wing.
Draco had been released from the hospital wing after only one night. He left sullenly with a very stern Dumbledore leading the way. Harry didn't envy Draco the conversation he was about to have. Madame Pomfrey had insisted Harry stay at least three or four days so his back and shoulder could properly heal. Perhaps he had not been concentrating hard enough because the portkey had taken them to Hogsmeade rather than Hogwarts. Harry had carried a very unconscious Snape the whole way to the castle, dislocating his shoulder and throwing out his back in the process. He had only been a little surprised to find Draco still trailing behind him when they reached Hogwarts. Snape hadn't yet woken up, though Pomfrey assured Harry that this was perfectly normal and would actually allow the potions master to heal faster. 'Like I care' Harry thought mentally rolling his eyes. Just because he didn't want the bastard to die didn't mean he cared in the least bit about the progress of his recovery. Let the slimey git sleep the rest of the term away. Better yet, let him sleep til Harry's graduation. You know what might as well just....
'Methinks the lady doth protest too much' taunted an increasingly familiar voice in Harry's head.
Harry frowned 'Shut up' he snapped back vaguely aware that maybe having an argument with a voice inside one's own head didn't speak highly for his sanity.
'Well' the voice drawled teasingly 'they do say actions speak louder than words and your actions tell a most peculiar tale.'
Harry didn't respond, but wondered if giving himself a concussion would shut the voice up.
' I mean' the voice teased 'if you really do hate him then why all the hand holding and hair petting last night? Hmmm?'
'He was having a nightmare....I couldn't sleep with all that moaning and thrashing. I..I just didn't want to have to listen to that all night.'
'Oh well that makes sense. So you sat on his bed for hours holding his hand and stroking his face rather than simply casting a soundproofing spell? And you did stay there half the night despite the fact that he stopped making noise after a few minutes. You must hate him an awful lot.' the voice sounded smugly triumphant.
'You know I don't have to listen to this' That wasn't entirely true since Harry did not know how one went about ignoring one's own brain, but he needed something to cling to.
'Of course you don't, I'll shut up so you can go back to watching him sleep'
Harry cursed under his breath. Goddamnit the voice was right. He was on his side watching Snape sleep and he had been for quite some time. Harry scowled and rolled over to his other side. He stared defiantly at the empty bed across from him. He did his best to ignore Snape's even breathing and to banish the image of the potions master sleeping peacefully in the next bed.
'Well' the voice sounded condescending 'You certainly showed me.'
" Harry...Harry. Harry!" Harry's head snapped up to see a very amused Remus Lupin eyeing him curiously.
"Wha...What?"
"Well I've been talking for about ten minutes now and I'm pretty sure you haven't heard a word and you were just scowling at your eggs. Have they offended you in some way?" Remus teased lightly.
" Uh no..I'm sorry I guess I was just lost in my thoughts" Harry said lamely. He would not blush. He would not look at Snape. He would not blush. He would not look at Snape. He lost the battle and quickly glanced at Snape who was scowling at his own breakfast. He felt the colour rise in his cheeks. Remus didn't seem to notice.
" That's okay" he said genially " It can wait til the lesson this afternoon."
"Thanks" Harry was looking forward to the DADA lesson. It gave his weary mind a chance to stop mulling over certain...things. He hadn't been too surprised when Dumbledore had informed himself and Draco that they would both be receiving extra lessons over the summer. Draco had scowled, but Harry thought it would be a good opportunity. After all they did have N.E.W.T.'s next year and with all the times Harry had already had to face Voldemort he could use all the experience he could get. He suspected this latter reason was on Dumbledore's mind when he set up the lessons. Since term ended he had been having daily lessons with Lupin. Draco was with Snape in the dungeons. Oh. My. God. It suddenly occurred to Harry that this was his last week of lessons with Lupin. Next week he and Draco switched and then...and then he would be in potions...with Snape.
'Ooooh' the voice was back 'alone time with Severus. That should be...stimulating'
"Shut up!" Harry hissed. Everyone at the table looked at him. Oh god he had said that out loud hadn't he? Harry quickly rose from the table muttering some excuses about homework before practically running out of the great hall. What was wrong with him? He needed to stop obsessing over everything that had happened in the hospital wing. Snape acted as if he had no memory of any of it, so why couldn't he do the same? He didn't notice Snape's eyes as they followed him all the way out of the doors.
*******ok you guys tell me what you think or if you even care for me to continue. I was planning for the next chapter to be a flashback to all the yummy slashiness in the hospital wing. Please please review!