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multifandomfic20 · 4 years

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Drarry One Shot

It had been six months since 6th year started and Harry and Draco have been secretly dating for five months, it all started the beginning of 6th year when Harry noticed he was watching Draco a lot but it didn’t feel like it used to when he taught Draco was up to something this time Harry got knots in his stomach whenever he thought about Draco and whenever he saw him his heart would leap out of his chest.

A week into 6th year Draco noticed Harry watching him but unlike normal he didn’t get annoyed this time he felt a weird feeling in his chest and Draco couldn’t explain it but it was always there whenever Harry was around. After three weeks of them constantly staring at each other they finally ended up running into each other in a empty hall after curfew, Draco was on Perfect duty and went to yell at Harry when Draco noticed Harry’s eyes were super red and puffy and realized he had been crying and Draco didn’t know why but he immediately softened up and let Harry go back to his common room with just a warning.

A week later Harry confronted Draco about letting him go and Draco had said “ look Potter I can’t explain it but as soon as I looked into your eyes and noticed you had been crying all I wanted to do was fix everything for you” and after Draco said that Harry kissed him.

It had been five months since they kissed and they had both decided to keep it a secret both because of Draco’s family but also because Harry knew everyone wouldn’t approve of Draco and Harry couldn’t put himself or Draco through that.

Ron and Hermionie both noticed Harry always staring at Draco and they thought it was because Harry thought Draco was up to something and Harry played into it so they didn’t find out. One night Harry was eating lunch with Ron before he was going to meet Draco in the library because Draco needed to talk to him and Harry was staring at Draco and Ron sighed “mate you have to let it go Malfoy isn’t up to anything you need to let it go Hermione and I are worried” Ron said and Harry sighed and looked at Ron “look it’s fine okay I know he’s up to something and I’m going to find out what” Harry lied.

Harry was walking to the library wishing he could tell Ron and Hermione the truth but he knew how they would react and he couldn’t handle it. Draco was the one thing after Sirius died that is holding him together and he can’t lose Draco but he also can’t lose Ron or Hermione and that’s why it has to stay a secret.

Once Harry walked into the library he walked to his and Draco’s hidden spot and soon as Draco saw Harry he stood up and rushed to Harry and Harry instantly noticed something was wrong and he pulled Draco into a hug “love what’s wrong?” Harry asked “I got a letter from back home and Voldemort wants me to sneak some death eaters into Hogwarts and help kill you and Dumbledore and he threatened my family. And I don’t care about my dad but what if he hurts my mom” Draco says and then he starts to silently sob into Harry’s shirt

Harry is speechless because he doesn’t know what to do but he pulls Draco closer to his chest protectively and vows to himself to protect Draco and his mother at all costs “love we are gonna figure this out together and I promise you I’m going to make sure you and your mom are okay” Harry says and he kisses Draco’s head and Draco just sobs into his chest “can you show me the letter?” Harry asks and Draco pulls away sniffling and reaches into his robe and hands Harry the letter.

Harry reads the letter and he gets an idea “love I know the last thing you want to do is get anyone else involved but I have an idea” Harry says and Draco just nods urging him on “okay so Remus is still in contact with Andromeda and I’m sure she would look out for your mom after we get her out of the Manor” Harry tells Draco.

“Okay but how are we going to get my mom out of the Manor when there are so many death eaters” Draco asks his voice cracking “we are going to need some help” Harry says. After Harry told Draco his plan they left to work out there parts in the plan so first Harry had to floo Remus and he went to the floo in the kitchens and got the house elves to let him use it and he floo’d to Remus’ place.

When Harry walked out of the fire place he sees a wand pointed at him and he looks up right as Remus looks down and realizes it’s Harry “Harry what on earth are you doing here you should be at Hogwarts I almost killed you thinking you were a death eater” Remus says and then he pulls Harry into a hug “I need your help” Harry tells Remus “why do you need help?” Remus asks worriedly “so I may or may not have been secretly dating Draco Malfoy for the last five months” Harry says and before he can continue Remus interrupts “you’re dating Draco I thought you hated each other?” Remus asks

Harry sighs “we used to but we don’t anymore we love each other but that’s not the point no one else knows about Draco and I but yesterday he got a letter from Voldemort saying that he needs to find a way to sneak in death eater and kill me and Dumbledore and if he doesn’t he will kill Draco’s family and Draco isn’t worried about his dad because he is a abusive arsehole but he’s worried about his mom and I remember you saying that you still talk to Andromeda and I was wondering if you could talk to her and get her help” Harry says and Remus sighs “do you have a plan?” Remus asks and Harry tells Remus the plan.

Harry gets back about an hour later because he had gone with to Andromeda’s to get her help and now when he’s on his way to find Draco he runs into Hermione “Harry James Potter where have you been?” she asks “I was visiting Remus” Harry says and she softens “Harry you need to study” she tells him “I will but I need to do something but then I need to talk to you and Ron can you meet me by the room of requirement in 20 minutes” Harry asks and she nods and Harry walks off to find Draco

Harry finds Draco and updates him on how it went with Remus and Andromeda “okay I told Hermione to meet me at the room of requirement in about five minutes from now are you ready to tell them” Harry asks “not at all” Draco says “me neither on the bright side Remus said we were perfect for each other” Harry says and Draco grabs Harry’s hand “do you think I need a shield charm” Draco asks “no if either of them tries to hurt you I’ll protect you” harry says and Draco squeezes his hand

By the time they were close to the room of requirement they stopped holding hands and then they saw Ron and Hermione “what’s Malfoy doing here” Ron asks his voice laced with anger “Ron calm down he’s here because I want him to be” Harry says trying to calm down his best friend “why the hell would you want him here?” Ron asks his voice getting louder “I'd love to finish this conversation and figure what Malfoy is doing here but can we go inside so no one hears us?” Hermione asks.

The four of them get inside and as soon as the door is closed Ron is back to asking questions “are you going to tells us why Malfoy is here” Ron snaps and Harry grabs Draco’s hand “he’s here because I thought you should know we are dating” Harry snaps back and Ron and Hermione gasp “did you give him a love potion!?” Hermione asks and Ron goes to raise his wand at Draco and Harry steps in front of Draco “you better think very carefully before you do something you regret Ron” Harry says with an edge in his voice “you can’t be serious! You are dating this Prat!?” Ron asks.

Harry goes to punch Ron but before he can Draco grabs his arm “love you need to calm down Ron has every right to be upset and to call me a prat” Draco says trying to calm Harry down “he has no right to call you anything he doesn’t know you!” Harry yells “I don’t know him!? He constantly bullied us for six years!” Ron yells at Harry going to punch him but Hermione grabs Ron’s arm and holds him back “Have you thought about he did that because he constantly had people watching him! Plus he hasn’t done anything this year!” Harry yells back and before Ron can say anything Hermione says “look Harry I why don’t you just explain from the beginning”

Harry explains everything and then says “look guys I’m not telling you this because I want your approval because I don’t need it I love him I’m telling you this because we need your help” Harry says “look Haz I love you and I support you no matter what” Hermione says and Ron sighs “look mate if your happy that’s all that matter but what do you need help with?” Ron asks and Harry shows them the letter and then tells them the plan.

After explaining the plan to Ron and Hermione they agreed and the four of them were walking to the kitchens after they stopped and got Harry’s invisibility cloak once they got to the kitchens the four of them floo’d to Remus’ place.

Once they got to Remus’ Andromeda, Ted and Tonks were all there and Harry took the lead “okay so we know that Narsissa is at the Manor but so is Lucius and some death eaters Voldemort himself won’t be there but as soon as they know there is an intruder he will be alerted so we have to be quick and quiet. The plan is Remus, Tonks and Ted are going to raid a different death eater hideout Draco has figured out a place and also where it is located. Now after the three of them cause a diversion Draco, Andromeda and I are going to sneak in while Hermione and Ron keep look out outside of the Manor Andromeda and I will be using concealment charms while Draco uses my invisibility cloak Andromeda and I will stay close to each other but we will be by Lucius’ study while Draco goes to get Narsissa from her room and he will cast a concealment charm on her and sneak her out while Andromeda and I keep by the study incase Lucius moves once they have sent a signal which will be cast silently to each of us using a charm we will all quickly make our way back here. Remus, Ted and Tonks as soon as the signal is sent you need to apparate out of there immediately no distraction” Harry explains.

“Where are the three of us going?” Tonks asks “you will be going to Snape’s personal place where it is believed that he is keeping death eaters” Harry says and everyone other than Harry and Draco gasp “he really is a death eater?” Hermione asks “yes but we have other things to focus on” Harry says.

Everything is set in place and everyone is wishing each other good luck and Harry goes to Remus and says “if he’s there you have my full permission to kill him but once the signal is sent you have to leave, promise me you’ll leave” Remus pulls Harry into a hug “I promise you kid I will come back to you, I promise you won’t lose anyone else” Remus says and Harry just hugs Remus tighter “but you got to promise me that you’ll come back to me” Remus says and Harry nods “I promise” Harry says into Remus’ shirt “it’s time” Andromeda says and Harry pulls away from Remus to squeeze Draco’s hand “look today isn’t about anything other than a rescue mission don’t get sidetracked don’t leave anyone behind, we don’t have backup so be careful look out for each and most importantly don’t get killed” Harry tells everyone and Remus, Ted and Tonks apparate away.

The Five of them Floo to a nearby pub and start walking the rest “okay you two are here for look out and back up only, don’t come inside the Manor unless I say the code word let us know if anyone enters the Manor” Harry tells Ron and Hermione and they nod and all cast concealment charms and Draco put on the invisibility cloak because concealment charms don’t work on him in the Manor because of his father.

Harry, Draco and Andromeda sneak into the Manor undetected and Andromeda and Harry make their way to where Lucius’ study is and Draco makes his way up to his mother’s room.

Draco makes it inside his mother’s room and sees her at her desk and he quietly walks over to her and puts his hand on her and before she screams Draco whispers “mom it’s me I’m under an invisibility cloak you need to come with me” and Narsissa shakes her head “if I go with you he’ll kill you” she whispers “mom I promise you we are both going to be safe but you need to come with me” Draco whispers and she nods “I’m going to cast a concealment charm on you so we can sneak out of here” Draco whispers to her and she shakes her “your father did the same thing he did to you and they don’t work on me in the Manor” she tells him quietly and Draco sighs.

“Okay hold on” he says and then he activates the charm that they can speak to each other through “Harry, Andromeda we have a problem the charm doesn’t work on her either. Is he in his office?” Draco asks “he leaving now we think the death eaters sent a signal from Snape’s so once he leaves you should be good” Harry says and Draco goes to respond “shit he’s headed up to your moms stay under the cloak and don’t make a sound” Harry says and Draco quietly gasps “he coming up here go back to what you were doing and act normal” Draco says and Narsissa sits turns back to the desk and Draco goes to say something when the door opens “Narsissa there has been an attack at a base I must go don’t leave this room until I get back or I swear Draco will pay” Lucius says and Narsissa nods “I will love” Narsissa says and she gets up and kisses him and then Lucius leaves.

“He apparated out sneak your mom out quietly” Harry tells Draco through the charm “mom we need to go now don’t worry about any of your stuff” Draco says and he grabs his mother's hand and they leave the room and quietly start running through the Manor and they make it outside and Draco cast the signal.

Narsissa and Draco make it to the pub first and floo out while Ron and Hermione wait for the other two once they see Harry and Andromeda they book it inside the pub and floo out. Harry gets to Remus’ and sees Draco and runs up to him and pulls him into a hug “I was so worried when I saw him heading up there I can’t lose you” Harry says and Draco hugs him tighter “you won’t ever lose me” and just as Draco says that there are three pops and Remus, Ted and Tonks are all in the living room and Harry runs to Remus and sees he’s injured “are you okay? What happened?” Harry asks “I’m fine Harry just when I was apparting Peter cast a Crucio and it hit me” Remus tells Harry.

It’s been a week since the mission and Narsissa is staying with Andromeda and Ted and the four of them are back at school and they were never actually caught and they didn’t go to Dumbledore about Snape because they didn’t know who to trust but Harry and Draco were laying in Harry’s bed cuddling and talking “I can’t believe the first time you said you loved me was in front of your two best friends” Draco says and Harry blushes “I didn’t know if it was to soon but I knew I loved you and it just came out okay” Harry says and Draco blushes “you’re adorable when you blush” Harry says “shut up and kiss me” Draco says and Harry kisses him.

#drarry #harry x draco #draco malfoy #Harry Potter #Harry Potter universe #harry potter fanfiction #ron weasley #hermione granger #Remus Lupin #remus x sirius #narsissa malfoy #lucius malfoy #andromeda tonks #ted tonks #nyphadora tonks #Sirius Black #drarry fanfic #drarry fic

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nyodrite · 7 years

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#Uncle Skull

Writer:

The Boggart... That's horrifying. So imagine the staff meetings they have. Especially in the beginning first year. (Dumbledore is impressed by the creatures he manages to conjure and wants to give him a medal for making the years at Hogwarts with him in it the most memorable and enjoyable he's ever had.)

Meeting 1. Dumbledore: "How is the newest Black?" Defense teacher: "Well, he's handsome, as all Blacks are. He"s also a little... louder and more outspoken than the rest of his family. But a good kid, I like him."

Meeting 2. Arithmancy teacher: "Is the Black showing genes yet?" Flitwick: "No. Still an absolute sweetheart in class, though I still can't get him to shut up. Though..." Slughorn: "What is it?" Flitwick: "Somehow he seems a little dangerous, but only in brief flashes. I'm sure I was imagining it. It's so short and who wouldn't have a survival mechanism after growing up with that family?" Dumbledore: "Wise words, Filius, as always. He seems like a perfectly good student, however. I'm very glad there's no need to owl anyone." A whispered comment in the back: "Maybe we've finally found a nonlethal Black?" (Aha, that's a funny joke.) Another whispered comment: "I have a bad feeling about this."

Meeting 3. Dumbledore: "What were the first-year flying lessons like, Madam Hooch?" Hooch: "Horrible." Dumbledore: "Oh, my dear girl, you look thoroughly traumatized. What happened? Lemon drop?" Hooch: "The Black. No." Flitwick: "What on earth happened? Did he break a bone?" Pomphery: "No, he didn't show up at the hospital wing." Hooch: "No, he wouldn't have. That's just it, Filius-he didn't break a bone. In all my days, I've never seen-dear Merlin, as soon as I've given them permission to hover, he shoots off like a rocket straight into the Forbidden Forest. Fifteen minutes later, he bursts out, flying up to the clouds, then dives back down and weaves through all three Keeper hoops on the Quidditch pitch, does three loop-De-loops, and halts a hairs' breadth from my head, like he didn't just give us all a panic attack the fifteen whole minutes he was gone. I even sent two students in for the defense professor, but he came back before they arrived and I sent him away when he did arrive." Defense professor: "Or, you tried to. She was having a breakdown so I dismissed class and helped her to my quarters to rest." Hooch: "Merlin, what did I do to deserve it? He even laughed and said, 'That was fun! I know why people like doing this so much now. So, do I pass?' I am never going to teach a class with him present again, and you cannot make me." Slughorn: "No one is going to make you. It was just a nasty surprise, that's all-I'm sure you'll be over it in no time. For now, just breath. It wouldn't do to have a panic attack right now." Whispered comment from the back: "I guess not." Another whispered comment: "I knew it. I told you so."

Meeting 4. Dumbledore: "So, the Black?" Slughorn, McGonagall,, Flitwick, and others: "The Black." Hagrid: "That hybrid was so beautiful! What spell did he use again?" All others (except Dumbledore): *turn slowly to Look at Hagrid, who continues to wax poetic, oblivious* McGonagall: "Silencio." Dumbledore: "Oh, don't be like that. It was fascinating! Surprisingly hard to dispose of! I think the Department of Mysteries confiscated the corpse, in fact." Defense teacher, eye twitching: "Says the one who stood to the side for half an hour and watched it rampage before even trying to do anything about it, while the other hardworking members of the staff who cared about the students' well-being tried to stop it." Sprout: "The first thing you did when it approached you was to offer it a lemon drop. And then you led it on a merry chase." Dumbledore: "It was very resourceful and quick on its feet. Or wings, whichever you prefer. It had a very enduring quality to it which I admired. And of course, it is my policy that, before being dealt with, all potential problems should be offered a lemon drop as a metaphor for a second chance. Also because they taste good, and anything about to be flattened by me deserves to have a happy moment before I maul it ruthlessly." *smiles brightly, eyes twinkling* All others: "..." "..." Whispered comment from the back: "So this is why Grindlewald fell to him."

Meeting 5. McGonagall: "Albus, is there any particular reason why /Black/ walked up to me and asked if lemon drops were a sign of favoritism?" Dumbledore: "I offered one to him as congratulations for discovering such a magnificent side effect of a levitation spell." Sprout: *facepalm* McGonagall: "It would be very much appreciated if you did not encourage these children. They might actually stop, then." Dumbledore: "I am afraid, my dear girl, that I cannot do that. It's my only entertainment in my old age." All: "..." Defense teacher (I think I'll call him Alfonzo, I like this guy): "We are never talking about that boy again." Whispered comment in the back: "And to think I thought the suicidal flying was the end of it." Another whispered comment: "No, he's just plain suicidal."

Meeting 15. Flitwick: "I think we need to reconsider the situation with the Black boy." Alfonzo: "Why, what on earth made you think that was a good idea? The appearance of another bat-demon-hybrid, the animate lamps that won't stop singing, or the destruction of two portraits and five suits of armor mysteriously in the fifth-floor right-hand corridor where he was seen five minutes earlier?" Sprout: "I thought the portraits were spelled unbreakable." McGonagall: "Oh, they are. But it's not enough to stop the explosion and fire of an Aholomora by Black, apparently." Dumbledore: "I think Black is very interesting to have around. We should give him a medal." Alfonzo: "For the sake of my continued mental health, I'm going to ignore anything our esteemed Headmaster says for the rest of this meeting. I didn't hear that. Did you?" Ancient Runes teacher: "No." Flitwick: "So we agree something needs to be done. Well, we can't deny him an education. Precautionary measures?" Ancient Runes teacher: "That sounds like a good idea. I'm in." McGonagall: "Head Boy and Girl, five extra members of the staff in addition to Filch and Pomphery and a ten-foot circle of space around him every time he learns a new spell." Hooch: "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME." Dumbledore: "Now, my dear girl, I know that the bat almost ate you, but you mustn't assign the caster all the blame for his creation. They're just side-effects you know, however animate and amusing they may be. I for one believe this is quite educational and character-buildi-" Slughorn: *talks over Albus* "No one is going to make you." Whispered comment from the back: "Looks like I'm going to be disillusioned every possible second I can spare now."

Meeting 20. Dumbledore: "Are you sure that we need these measures for Izar? Nothing has happened since the supervision started and I know it's very taxing on your schedules." Flitwick: "He's kind of got a point." McGonagall: "Well. Maybe it was a one-time thing. He is a very bright boy." Alfonzo: "It happened twice. Two. Times." Everybody else: *ignores Alfonzo, desperately clinging to the fantasy that it will never happen again* Sprout: "Alright then, I'm glad that's settled." Comment from the back: "I don't think this is a god idea." Another comment: "On the bright side, I don't have to walk around disillusioned anymore all the time outside of classes and meals. It was tiring. And I'm so glad my plan worked."

Meeting 21, or Emergency Meeting 1. Alfonzo: "I told you, but did you listen? No! Izar's so innocent! Izar is a prodigy on a broom, despite the fact that he gives us heart attacks he must be good through and through! Let's ignore all the cackling when he reads his mail! Let's ignore all the times he's cackled at nothing at all, just staring off into space! Let's ignore the hybrid flesh-eating rose-petunia-manhole cover-ashwinder thing that happened two weeks ago and only call an emergency meeting after another bat-hybrid happens! This time it had FLAMING WINGS! TWO HEADS! AND IT NOT ONLY SHOT FIREBALLS BUT ALSO BREATHED FIRE! And was SOMEHOW AS RESISTANT TO MAGIC AS A TROLL! I QUIT AFTER THIS YEAR! I TOLD YOU!" *stands up and storms out of conference room* "..." Dumbledore: "My, what a passionate speech. Such a shame he's chosen to leave us. But I believe that Mr. Black has our interests at heart, he's obviously just struggling with a lot of issues right now, magically and psychologically-" Flitwick: "Precautionary measures will be instated again." Hooch: "You will keep that devil child away from me or so help me I will incendio him myself." Slughorn: "I'm sure it won't come to that, Madam. Would you care to have a glass of wine?" Whispered comment from the back: "Dang it, and I just lost the last side-effect of being under constant disillusionment." Another comment: "I agree with Alfonzo. I knew it! I didn't even hear about the Ashwinder hybrid, though, that scares me a little-I'll have to keep a lookout. Do you think they would stop coming after me if I gave it sacrifices? What does it eat? Fire? Centaurs? That sounds good to me." Yet another comment: "Is anybody worried about how Dumbledore is taking all this?"

... Then we find out later that Dumbledore's Rain and Mist Flames have turned on him and are forcefully making him calm. ... And a religion pops up, centered around worshipping Izar in an effort that when he summons The Bat-Demon Hybrid it will ignore them. (James and Peter join it.) An offshoot of the religion worships the creatures themselves. (Sirius founded it through the mail ssomehow, with help from Hagrid.) Some in an attempt to pacify it and make it not kill them, others in an effort to be closer to the beasts and befriend, study, or just stare at them. (Hagrid and Dumbledore belong to the latter group.) And of course, burning part of the meal at mealtimes as a sacrifice was a requirement for members of both religions.

Look it @acrossthetallgreenriver

#Uncle Skull #bwahahahhahahaha #no response but I love this #had to share it #all of the yeses and kudos

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talesoftheinquisition · 7 years

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And The World Keeps Turning

Somewhere I have saved a prompt list full of “reckless prompts”. I can’t find it but I plucked a couple of promising ones off it ages ago and finally got around to writing stuff for them.

I... have no idea where this one came from, only that it popped up in my head and away I went. It’s Harry Potter AU where instead of just watching Snape get killed, Harry and co leapt out of hiding and changed the course of history. :D

It’s also Snarry but definitely not with a school aged Harry. In fact, Harry’s about... late 20s in this one.

The prompt is: You showed up at my place in the middle of the night with bruises and blood and you won’t say what happened so I just lead you into the bathroom and clean you up.

Despite the fact he was two floors above the front door, Harry woke instantly when the sound of knocking penetrated the quiet of 12 Grimmauld Place. He’d become a very light sleeper of late. Not that he’d ever been a heavy sleeper. Living in a house with the Dursleys made sure of that. But as the war stretched and stretched and stretched, sleeping deeply had become a luxury he could not afford. So he didn’t need Kreacher to come and wake him up and indeed, he was half way down the stairs before the crotchety old house elf had even reacted.

“Master Harry?” Kreacher croaked, his gaze wary and suspicious, though neither emotion was directed at Harry. Not these days, not after all Harry had done to keep not just Kreacher but all the house elves safe.

“It’s alright, Kreacher,” Harry murmured as he passed the house elf. “Go back into the kitchen.”

The house elf hesitated then retreated into the kitchen. Harry suspected he hadn’t gone far, just far enough to have obeyed the order but close enough to hear what was going on just in case he was needed. Harry pulled out his wand but kept it somewhat concealed as he reached for the handle of the door. He opened it slowly then drew in a sharp breath at what he saw.

Severus Snape was leaning against the side of the door as though that was the only thing holding him up. He was bruised and bloodied and there was an air of… not defeat precisely but of a weariness that was so bone-deep that it might as well have been permanent.

“I had nowhere else to go,” the tall severe man murmured.

Harry didn’t hesitate. He stepped aside and ushered Snape hastily into the house. His relationship with the former Potions Master was complicated, complex and often just plain odd. To this day, he couldn’t say why he’d burst out of cover in the Shrieking Shack when it became obvious that Voldemort intended to kill Snape, Hermione and Ron scrambling after him, shocked and cursing but still willing to follow where he led.

With a four against one attack in the offing, Voldemort had done his usual trick – he’d snatched up Nagini and disappeared into the wind. The subsequent standoff with Snape had been fraught with the potential for enormous violence until they had agreed to very tensely adjourn to the Headmaster’s office where Snape had dumped a series of memories into a pensieve and let them view them in full, from the friendship between Snape and Lily as children to Snape’s point of view of the incident after their Fifth Year exams to the curse and its subsequent fall out. When they’d tumbled out of the pensieve memories, Harry had been rendered near speechless. He remembered it vividly.

“You knew my Mum,” he’d said, almost breathless from what he’d seen. Everyone always talked about his Dad but they always seemed to forget about his Mum. Not Snape though.

“Yes,” Snape had said shortly, as though it took effort to force the word out. His frown had said louder than words that he had not expected Harry to start with that.

“You loved her.”

Hectic red had smeared blotchily over Snape’s sallow cheeks and he’d looked away rather than answer that.

“She didn’t love you.” Ron’s comment had been thoughtlessly cruel and yet not a single one of them could deny it was utterly true.

“Ron!” Hermione had hissed but Snape had overridden anything else she had been planning on saying.

“No, she did not,” Snape had replied, his voice hollow and so very lonely. “But that never mattered.”

Harry had blinked at that before realising that Snape wasn’t lying. Looking at the man back then, he’d known without needing the words that Snape would never have told Lily how he felt, never have alluded to it, never have demanded she return his feelings. Never have expected it.

Harry hadn’t thought that was a healthy way to act back then and still didn’t even now. But whatever any of them had been going to say back then had been lost when McGonagall and Flitwick had come charging in. There had been a lot of yelling and a couple of deflected hexes before they straightened everything out then they’d all watched in shock and no little hilarity as McGonagall had marched over to Snape and pulled him into a hug. Watching the very self-contained man flail helplessly had made things so much better.

McGonagall and Flitwick had been trying to find him to tell him that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had retreated and apparated away. Apparently Voldemort had been unwilling to face both Harry and Snape in unison… or at least that’s what it seemed to be since in the weeks and month and then years that followed, he had gone out of his way to avoid both of them.

Snape had returned to the Order in the wake of the aborted battle at Hogwarts, though it had taken the viewing of a couple of the memories he’d shown Harry in order to quell any remaining protests. A number of the Order members had been chastened when they saw the lengths Dumbledore was willing to push the former Potions Master… and how far Snape was willing to go to destroy Voldemort. In some cases, far further than they themselves were willing to go.

Even now, Snape regularly put himself in danger to collect valuable information, though Harry had thought that what he was doing tonight wasn’t that dangerous.

“What happened?” he asked as he closed the door.

Snape didn’t answer; he just shook his head and leaned heavily against the wall.

“Master?”

Harry looked down at the house elf who was peering out of the kitchen door, eyeing Snape with open concern. It had never failed to amuse Harry that the house elves almost universally respected and liked Snape and would fall over themselves to assist him, completely ignoring his grumbling and glares. He’d never gotten a straight answer as to why. The closest he’d come was one night when Snape had drunk far too much wine and even then it had just been a muttered reference to one of the house elves at Hogwarts.

“Can you get Professor Snape some tea and maybe something light to eat please?”

Kreacher nodded and disappeared into the kitchen again.

“I am not your professor anymore,” Snape growled, though it lacked any of its usual bite and snarl. That worried Harry more than anything else. He’d been snarled at by Snape when the man had been what he had been sure was mortally wounded at the time. To have it lacking, here and now, was… unnerving to say the least.

He slung the man’s arm over his shoulder, grateful that he’d had something of a late growth spurt when he was nineteen. It made helping the tall, lanky man along the corridor and up the stairs much easier. Though the fact that Snape wasn’t even putting up a token protest was making the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

He got them to the bathroom and gently pushed Snape down onto the stool that was in the room for this very purpose. Enough of them has been injured over the years and sought refuge here at their last bastion of safety that Harry had long ago given in and kept a comfortable stool in the room along with a well-stocked medical kit, with both magical and Muggle equipment and remedies. He quickly pulled the kit out and put it on the bench opening it up and waving at the potions.

“Do you need any of these?”

Snape hesitated then pointed to two of them. Harry pulled the two small vials out of the kit and handed them over. Snape swallowed them both with barely a grimace then slumped back against the wall with a sigh and closed his eyes. Harry glanced at him a few times as he pulled some things out of the kit then he got a washcloth and wet it with warm water. He turned to Snape and hesitated for a moment. But when the man didn’t move or even open his eyes, he stepped closer and began to gently wipe the blood from the man’s face.

Snape twitched and shuddered at his touch but once again he didn’t complain or even move except to clench his hands into fists then let them relax. Harry kept his touch light, even when he revealed a long shallow cut on Snape’s forehead that had been hidden by the blood and the man’s hair. It was bleeding sluggishly but clearly wasn’t that fresh.

“How did this happen?” he asked as he picked up his wand and poked at the wound, uttering the spell that would heal it. He’d learned basic healing out of necessity and was glad for it now.

“It doesn’t matter,” Snape muttered. He still hadn’t moved beyond the odd twitch and flinch nor had he opened his eyes. That air of ineffable weariness was still very much in evidence as well.

Harry’s lips thinned and he wanted to demand answers. However he’d learned over the years that the more he demanded, the more Snape would dig in his heels and clam up. Coaxing answers out of the man required patience and a delicacy of touch that Harry wasn’t a natural at but had learned nonetheless.

“Where else are you hurt?” he asked.

Snape hesitated then he shifted just enough to start pulling his jacket off. Harry immediately helped him pull off the heavy fabric. The white shirt underneath was stained red in places and Harry bit back the words he wanted to say in favour of helping Snape peel off the shirt. Underneath Snape’s chest – and when Harry looked, his back too – was a welter of purple-black bruises and long shallow cuts like the one on his forehead. It was looking at these cuts that made Harry realise something about them.

“Fuck!” he snarled, ignoring the way Snape twitched at the obscenity. He’d never worked out whether the twitch was Snape swallowing a reprimand or some reaction to the act of swearing. “Severus! Who did this? What the fuck happened?”

Now Snape’s eyes opened. They didn’t use each other’s names often so each time they did was notable. He could see the way the man was deciding whether or not to tell him so he turned to cleaning the wounds on Snape’s chest. It would be easier to get answers if he wasn’t looking Snape in the eye. The man had never reacted well to that but this? This would ease him just enough that he might decide in Harry’s favour.

“I misjudged someone,” Snape finally murmured.

“Weren’t you meeting with Lucius Malfoy tonight?” Harry asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

They’d had some indications that Malfoy was disillusioned with his current place in the Death Eater-led Ministry. They hadn’t believed it, of course. Lucius Malfoy was too much the coward for them to even come close to believing it. But both Harry and Snape had agreed that it was worth the risk to meet with the man.

“Yes,” Snape said, leaning back and closing his eyes again.

“Did he…?”

“No.”

“Then what…?”

“It wasn’t him,” Snape said. “It was Yaxley, disguised as Lucius. I knew the moment I sat down but I decided to let the charade play out for a while to see what was going on.” He was silent for a moment. “I… miscalculated.”

Harry didn’t say anything as he started to heal the wounds. Now that Snape was talking, it was better to let him continue at his own pace.

“Luckily, he decided he wanted to play first,” Snape continued, the so-familiar sneer now evident in his voice. Harry was glad to hear it. “I was able to escape.” He snorted. “The Dark Lord will not be pleased.”

“Shame,” Harry said with massive insincerity and was immediately pleased with himself when he drew a low soft laugh out of Snape.

“Indeed.”

Harry gave Snape a long look. What Yaxley had done did not explain Snape’s mood. If all it had been was a bit of physical and/or magical torture, he would have expected Snape to come sweeping in, snarling and spitting imprecations at Yaxley, before he finally let himself collapse. This low and despondent mood wasn’t something Harry had ever seen before and he had no idea what had prompted it. Or how to even begin to ask about it. Or even what to do about it.

As such, he was startled enough to drop the washcloth when Snape suddenly sat up, wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and pulled him in close. The older man then rested his forehead against Harry’s chest. He felt as much as saw the tremors running through Snape and reacted without thinking, wrapping his arms around Snape’s thin, bony shoulders.

One of the more complicated and complex aspects of their relationship had been the intimacy that flared and flashed between them. Harry would always admit that he had been the one to start it. He’d gotten spectacularly drunk the night Ginny and Charlie had been killed and had kissed Snape when the man had rather exasperatedly poured him into his bed. He’d actually shocked the man into silence at the time and though they both pretended it had never happened the next morning, Harry never forgot that, just before he jerked away, Snape had started to kiss back.

He’d been twenty two when that had happened but he suspected that Snape had, up until that point, still seen him as the irritating boy he’d taught at Hogwarts. So he hadn’t done anything to provoke the man and instead had let him work things out on his own.

Snape had been the one to instigate things the second time, though Harry wasn’t sure whether to count it or not since they’d been on a mission and about to be discovered when Snape had abruptly pushed him back against the wall of the alley they’d been hiding in and kissed him. He been busy kissing back but neither of them had missed the man – their target – who had looked at them then snorted and walked off. They’d immediately parted to continue following him and once again the incident had been almost aggressively ignored.

It had continued like that for an almost ridiculously long time. Random kisses followed by aggressively ignoring that any of it had happened in the first place. Harry wasn’t sure how long it would have continued if ‘That Night’ hadn’t happened. They’d both been drunk, drowning their sorrows over yet another loss – Harry because it had been Seamus and Snape because he’d blamed himself for not having the information to prevent it – and had fallen into bed. The sex hadn’t been spectacular. They’d been too drunk for that. But it hadn’t been bad either and when Harry had woken up alone, he’d actually felt a bit miffed about being abandoned.

Like the kisses, ‘That Night’ was studiously ignored but that didn’t stop them from ending up in bed again and again until Ron and Hermione just rolled their eyes and told Harry they both needed to get their acts together. He kind of agreed but trying to corner Snape on the matter was like trying to catch a very skittish feral cat. One wrong move would leave you shredded and bloodied with the cat nowhere to be seen.

This was the first time that Snape had ever tacitly acknowledged whatever it was between them and Harry wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or frightened, wondering just what Yaxley had done to prompt this reaction from the exceedingly self-contained and reserved man. Then a thought occurred to him.

“They know, don’t they?” Snape… Severus made a low noise and Harry continued. “About… us. Yaxley said something, made some threats.”

For a long moment, he thought Severus was going to deny it, deny entirely that there was anything between them, then the man sighed and his hands tightened where they were holding onto Harry.

“Yes.”

Harry nodded silently and though for a moment. “How did he know? We’re not exactly…” He snorted. “Let’s face it. We’ve barely acknowledged there’s anything between us.”

Severus grunted. “We have a mole.”

It was said starkly, bluntly, with not even the slightest attempt at prevarication. Harry sighed and nodded. He’d known. Of course he’d known. He wasn’t an idiot and there was only one way the Death Eaters could have known about the… whatever it was that was going on between the two of them. Because it had only ever happened out of the public eye.

“Yeah, we do,” he said heavily. “What did Yaxley say?”

Severus twitched under his hands and was silent for long enough for Harry to think he wasn’t going to answer at all.

“He made some allusions to my… feelings for your mother.” He paused. “Then made some snide comments about… about us.”

Harry winced. He didn’t really need Severus to elaborate any further. He could imagine the comments that might be made about Severus becoming involved with the son of the woman he’d had a teenage crush on. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had second thoughts on that score himself. Not to mention third, fourth and fifth thoughts.

He hesitated for a moment then decided he might as well take the bull by the horns. “So, was he right? Is this…” He waved a hand between the two of them. “…whatever this is just because of who my Mum was?”

Severus’ head shot up and his glare might have been enough to stop the heart of a lesser man. But Harry had never really been intimidated by Severus’ glare, not even in his First Year.

“It’s a fair question, you know,” he said evenly. “We’ve never talked about this. We just… do stuff then ignore that it’s happening at all.” He hesitated for a moment. “And you did care about my Mum a lot. You loved her.”

Severus glared at him for a moment longer then he seemed to deflate and he rested his forehead against Harry’s chest again. Harry waited patiently. Severus hadn’t pulled away or stormed out so he figured that if he was patient, he had a good chance of getting answers.

“I did love her,” Severus said, his voice low and bitter. “But if you recall, I hated you.”

“Eh, well, that’s okay,” Harry said, mildly amused by the admission. “I hated you too.”

Severus ignored that. “I did love her. Perhaps I will always love her. She was my first and best friend. I was the one who ruined everything.”

“You can’t take all the blame,” Harry said, still with that mild tone. “You were a jerk but from what I’ve seen of your memories, she was the one making your friendship conditional. You didn’t like my Dad and his friends but you never told her it was them or you.” When Severus looked up at him, he shrugged. “One thing this war has taught me is that none of us are perfect. We all have flaws. I love my Mum but she wasn’t perfect. She made her own mistakes.”

“They are hardly comparable,” Severus protested.

“Perhaps not,” Harry replied. “And yeah, you were a jackass but it’s not all on you.” He cocked his head curiously. “What would you have done if she’d accepted your apology? Unconditionally.”

Severus blinked and looked uncertain. “I… don’t know.”

Harry changed tack slightly. “Or let me put it this way, what were they saying in your dorm? I know you were a bit of a loner but you had friends, didn’t you? Mulciber? Avery?”

Severus nodded slowly. “I… yes. They… knew to leave me alone right after exams to let me digest everything by myself but they… they would have come and dragged me off to the dorms after half an hour or so.”

Harry nodded. “Good of them to respect your boundaries. So what were they saying?”

“That… that I shouldn’t do it. That I should cut my losses,” Severus said slowly. “That she wouldn’t accept it or that if she did, she’d hedge our friendship with so many conditions I wouldn’t be able to move. That she wanted everything on her terms and didn’t care about what I wanted.”

“And when you got back?”

“They… commiserated with me,” Severus said. “And Nicholas… Avery had a book I’d been wanting to read. They had a copy in their library at home and he’d had his father owl it to him.” He seemed to realise what Harry was doing then and scowled at him. “My choices were my own, Potter.”

“And Mum’s choices were hers,” Harry replied. “You don’t get to take responsibility for them or to take the blame for them. Maybe things would have changed if she’d accepted your apology. Maybe they wouldn’t have.”

“I am still responsible for her death,” Severus snapped.

“No, He is. And Peter Pettigrew is,” Harry replied promptly. “You may have told Him about the prophecy but He was the one who decided it applied to me and it was Peter who betrayed them. He was the one who gave up their location. If their friends had been braver and more honest with each other, my parents wouldn’t have died that night.” He paused. “Or if they’d just sucked it up and let Dumbledore be their Secret Keeper. But no, they had to do it all themselves. Like idiots.”

Severus raised an eyebrow at him and gave him such a dry look that Harry burst out laughing.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Pot, kettle, black.” He grinned at Severus. “I least I get it honestly.”

Severus rolled his eyes then he sobered. “This… is not because of your mother.”

“I didn’t think so but it’s good to hear,” Harry replied.

“I am not a good man,” Severus said quietly.

Harry snorted. “If I am, you are. Good isn’t in what you say or what you believe or think or anything like that. Good is in what you do, in your actions. You’ve done more than anyone to try and defeat Him.” He sighed. “I finally get Dumbledore now, you know? I get why he did what he did. Why he could be so cruel alongside his kindness. Why he could love us and care about us even while he was moving us around like pawns on a chessboard.”

“He wanted to win the war,” Severus said quietly.

Harry nodded. “And sometimes winning a war means losing some battles. You can’t win every battle. And like chess, sometimes you have to sacrifice your people in order to win the game. It’s a horrible way of having to think about things. I don’t know how he did it.”

“By considering the alternative if he did not.”

“Yeah,” Harry said heavily. “But he wasn’t a good man, no more than you are or I am. We were or are all driven by necessity. We want to win the war. We won’t do anything to do so but we will do whatever is necessary. You put yourself at enormous personal risk to get information. I stand around as live bait in traps because I apparently have some sort of death wish. Dumbledore sacrificed himself. We’re either geniuses or idiots. History will tell.” He huffed and rolled his eyes. “And I’m getting distracted again.”

“I, for one, am enjoying this display that proves you actually do have a brain,” Severus said in a tone that was bitingly sarcastic and yet somehow very fond at the same time.

Harry laughed. “Now you sound like normal.”

Severus sobered. “I do not know what this is nor do I particularly care to define it right now. It simply… is and I do not wish to lose it.”

Harry considered that answer. It wasn’t really the one he wanted but as he had learned with Severus, patience was invariably the key to getting what you wanted out of him. At least, getting what you wanted in a way that didn’t cause him to resent you. He’d learned that was one of the key differences between Gryffindors and Slytherins. Gryffindors barged forward towards what they wanted whereas Slytherin eased their way slowly from the side and Severus was about as Slytherin as they got. Thankfully Harry had learned to be a little less Gryffindor and a little more Slytherin over the years.

“Can we… expand on it a little at least?” he asked, his eyebrows raised enquiringly.

Severus’ eyes immediately narrowed suspiciously. “In what way?”

“Well, it’d be nice to not wake up to an empty bed all the time.” He gave Severus a droll look. “I’m not going to shriek like an offended maiden if I wake up to find you still there.”

Severus went very still at he stared at Harry. He looked like he was trying to find the catch and Harry was careful to keep his expression open and calm.

“Is that all?” Severus finally asked.

“It’ll do for now.”

Severus harrumphed and then nodded shortly. “We’ll see.”

Harry smothered a smile. That, he knew, was code for ‘yes, I will do it but I don’t want to be seen agreeing with you because I know you will be excessively irritating about it’.

“Okay,” he said equably as he went back to cleaning and healing the wound on Severus’ chest.

“It is always disturbing when you agree so easily,” Severus groused.

Harry gave him an amused look. “Would you like to have a five hour argument about it?”

Severus very deliberately arched an imperious eyebrow at him. “Perhaps later.”

Harry snorted and continued his work. He felt like they’d talked around the issue more than talked about it but he was getting used to that as well. It wasn’t a skill that had come naturally to him but after the first couple of years of blazing arguments and being subjected to many of Severus’ more biting comments, he’d learned out of sheer necessity. For all their differences, he and Severus worked well together. Almost frighteningly well. Actually definitely frighteningly well if the reactions of Voldemort and the Death Eaters were anything to judge by.

And it hadn’t all been one way. He knew Severus had stopped seeing him as nothing more than an extension of James Potter years ago and the Potions Master had learned to grit his teeth and actually spell out the initial steps in his thought processes rather than just announcing to the conclusion. Dumbledore might have been able to follow Severus’ leaps of intuition and thought without knowing the intermediate steps but Harry couldn’t. Though he had learned to trust Severus when he made those leaps since he was invariably right.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and Kreacher shuffling in with a laden tray. He moved deftly around Harry and placed the tray within easy reach of Severus.

“Master Severus should eat,” the house elf grumbled before disappearing out the door again, ignoring the irritated glare he got for the use of the word ‘Master’.

“He’s never going to stop calling you that, you know,” Harry said benignly, nudging Severus and nodding towards the tray. “And he’ll get grouchy… grouchier… if you don’t actually eat.”

Severus scowled and muttered under his breath but he did drink his tea and eat the light meal of toast and fruit that had been provided. Harry finished his work before Severus had finished eating and he stepped back.

“You should wash before you get some rest,” he said, packing away the medical supplies. “I’ll get a change of clothes for you.”

Severus nodded and then hesitated. “Leave them in your room if you will. I’ll wash and then rest.”

Harry heard the unspoken message in those words and smiled. He gave the other man a nod. “Will do.”

He headed for the door and left Severus to his own devices. The war might be bogging down and Nagini still be out reach but at least one thing in his life was going in the vague direction he wanted to go. Who knew that would involve Severus Snape?

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#harry potter #severus snape #snarry #harry potter fanfic #harry potter AU

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