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Severus couldn't believe it .. he had collided with someone .. again!! That was twice in the past two days! He looked down and groaned to see that it was Potter lying there on the floor. The Potions Master was about to help the boy up when he heard ," I wish someone in this freaking castle would_watch_where they are going!!!! " Severus felt his knot of cruelty rise," Well maybe if the famous Pot-head would watch where he is going he wouldn't be running in to every creature in the world. I now see how you have been escaping the Dark Lord, you have been running into him and knocking him over !!!!" At the stunned look on Harry's face Severus groaned mentally.
Harry felt a knot grow in his throat, and tears spring to the back of his eyes **I am not going to cry over some idiot who knocked me down..especially since that idiot is Snape!**
" Harry I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that at all." However, this act of kindness pushed Harry over the edge and the tears escaped from the brilliant green eyes. Severus watched stunned as the boy started to silently cry.**Now this is awkward!** However, when the boy let out a heart wrenching sob Severus knew what to do. He got down on the floor with the boy, and scooped him up into his arms. He didn't say anything he just let the boy cry. He rocked the boy while he waited.
Harry's heart seem to calm when two warm and safe arms came around him, and gently started to rock him. He yawned from all of the tears spent and felt quite sleepy in his Professor's arms. However, Harry needed time to think about this .. his Professor .. his most hated Professor .. was gently rocking him in those oh so soft arms. He_really_needed time to think. Harry left the warm embrace, and looked quietly at the Professor," I should be getting back to my Common Room." Severus nodded, but felt slightly cold when the boy left his embrace," Harry . I'd like for you to have dinner tonight with me in my quarters .. we need to talk." The boy nodded and promised he would be there, and then he left. Severus sighed as he watched him go, things were getting a little out of hand.
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Harry made his way back up to the Common Room still feeling those warm arms around him .. man this was confusing! He came to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and said," Amidala" her portrait swung open, and he climbed in. However he was not prepared for the scene that met his eyes.
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Hermione sighed," RON! Stop fooling around with that silly string and get ready Harry should be coming back soon!" Ron gave Hermione a withered look but came and stood by her side, giving her a delicate kiss on the neck, and waited for Harry. The gang of Gryffindors all looked at each other. Seamus, Dean, Nevielle, Lavender, Hermione, and Ron were all anxiously waiting for Harry to enter the Common Room. They had been planning this almost since the death of Harry's Godfather. Dumbledore had allowed them to stay in different quarters of the castle when they, supposedly, left for Christmas break.
Suddenly the portrait opened, and the gang watched Harry enter. Each one of them smiled when they saw the look of total shock on his face. Hermione was the first one to start in ," Merry Christmas!!!!!!" And then she the her silly string fly. She was soon followed by the rest of the gang who all shouted Merry Christmas and started silly stringing The-Boy-Who-Lived.
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Harry stood in total shock as his friends all surrounded him and laid gifts by his feet. He could almost feel those tears welling up again," But I thought you all .."
Hermione shook her head," Harry we will always be here for you no matter what. We thought this was a great idea, and so the only way for you not to find out was to sort of .. shun you for a while .. we hope you will forgive us for that part." Harry smiled and hugged the girl," This was wonderful!" Harry spent the rest of the day opening gifts and having a good time with the Gryffindor Gang. They even played a rousing game of Hide-n-Seek .. In which Hermione and Ron 'accidently' ended up in the same closet. However at 7:00 Harry thought it best to get ready and go to Snape's quarters. He dressed in some of the new clothing that he had been presented with, and a school robe, and tucking his wand into his pocket he left and made for the dungeons.
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Severus looked at his living room with a critical eye. A table was placed in the middle with a single white candle burning in the center. The rest of the room had been decked out in white candles. The mantle place, his book shelves, were all covered in white candles. He would tell Harry of his .. feelings for him tonight.
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Harry started walking towards the dungeons, but he just kept losing his nerve, so he decided to take the long way around. He ended up walking by one portrait so many times that the inhabitant asked him if he was lost. Harry politely answered that he wasn't and decided that it was time to go down to the dungeons. Soon he found himself outside of Snape's door. He took a breath and knocked softly on the door.
When it opened he was a bit taken back, Snape was dressed in muggle clothing .. and boy did he look GOOD or what?! Harry's eyes looked over the slim body that was covered in a nice fiting gray sweater, and casual black pants **Very nice!** Harry mentally slapped himself. . this was his PROFESSOR, he was NOT allowed to think that way.
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Severus heart pounded as he heard a soft knock on the door. ** I could just pretend that I am not here** ....he put a hand to his head **Yeah .. bet that would work!** came a sarcastic reply. He shook his head and then opened the door. He smiled a bit when he saw Potter's eyes widen a bit at the way he was dressed. He also noted the way those brilliant green eyes skimmed over his lean frame. **Mental note to self, Harry likes me in muggle clothing!**
"When your finished, please come in." He turned and walked into the room and sat down at the table. He smiled softly when he saw Harry's expression, but the boy soon recovered and sat down opposite Snape.
When they were finished eating Severus's mind went back to the conversation that they had had. They had talked about Quidditch, Dumbledore, Lockhart, and even Berty Blott's Every Flavor Beans...it had been quite amusing. But now Severus really wanted to talk to Harry. He rose from the table and sat down on the brown leather couch, he motioned for Harry to join him. When the boy rose and sat on the opposite side of the couch the Potions Master gave the boy a look .. he got up and lifted the boy and placed him in his lap," Now, I think you are quite aware that I didn't ask you down here to discuss Quidditch, or Dumbledore, or even Lockhart .. all thought the latter two can be quite amusing .. I asked you down here to talk about a more .. complicated matter."
Snape spoke quietly as he rested his chin apon the top of Harry's raven hair," Harry .. I am starting to .. develop feelings for you. Every time I am near you these feelings seem to become stronger. We both know what happened today in the Hall ." he sighed," Harry , what I am trying to say is, I need to know how you feel so I can know whether it is ok or not to let these feelings grow . " Severus took one of his slender hands and tilted the boy's head until onyx met emerald. He quietly lowered his head, and brushed his lips against the boy's, he continued the kiss when he felt Harry respond. The kiss was just getting passionate when the boy broke away, and stood up," I've got to go." The boy proceeded to leave, but Severus stood up," Harry wait!." But the boy was gone.
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Harry rushed from the dungeons and took shelter in the Prefects bathroom. He put a tremble hand to his lips. What_had_just happened? First of all he had found out that his most hated Professor had .. feelings .. for him, AND then his most hated Professor had .. kissed him .. and Harry had found himself kissing back. Something wasn't right with this picture .
" I am not gay." Suddenly Moaning Myrtle popped up," That's what they all say." Harry glared at Moaning Myrtle and left the Prefects bathroom and headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room. He smiled as he walked in and receieved several ," Hello's " from his fellow Gryffindors. He was invited to a game of Wizard's Chess, but needed to think, and didn't really feel like losing to Ron at the moment. So, after a few moments of telling Hermione about what had happened, he went up the staircase and flopped down on the bed, pulling the hangings around.With his mind on Severus, Harry forgot to clear his mind before he went to sleep, and fell into a fitful sleep. He had learned Occlumency, but tonight he had other things on his mind, and soon found himself in a wild dream. In which he came face-to-face with who else, but Voldemort. In the dream, he had also came face-to-face with Cedric. The Ravenclaw's face always seem to haunt Harry's dreams. He could see the hate in the boy's eyes as he looked accusingly at Harry. "It's all your fault Harry ....if it had not been for you I would still be alive ... I would still be alive ...."
Harry's body jolted, and sent him up in a cold sweat. He breathed hard and raised a hand to his head, where his scar was burning and glowing with a green light. The-Boy-Who-Lived, shook his head, and then laid back down to sleep. However, once his eyelids were shut Cedric's face once again loomed up at him. He finally sighed, and drew back the hangings from around his bed. There was only one person to talk to about this dream and that person happened to be Snape, since he was the one who had taught Occlumency to him. Harry pulled on some jeans, and a sweater, then wrapped the Invisibilty Cloak around his slim frame, and left the dormitory. He walked quietly down the stairs and passed Hermione who was studying by the fire," Harry...?"
Harry sighed, he had never been able to get passed Hermione," Yes?" She turned and looked in the direction of his voice," Your going to see him aren't you?" The boy sigh again," Yes I am .. I had a dream and I cannot seem to clear it from my head." Without another word, he left the Gryffindor Common Room, and headed towards the Dungeons.
As he was walking he stopped when he saw Draco sneaking about .. **Well .. might as have fun while I can!**, Harry then tip-toed over to a suit of armor and knocked it over. When the suit of armor went clashing to the floor it also let out a string of colorful curse words, the Slytherin yelped and took off at a run. Harry enjoyed the look of shock upon Draco's face before hurriedly making his way down to the Dungeons. He took off the Invisibility Cloak, and rapped softly on Snape's door.
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Severus had not moved from his position on the couch. The room was dark, and filled with a cold chill. With a sweep of his wand the room had been cleared of the candles, and of the table that had been placed in the middle of the room. He started when he heard a crash from above, followed by some very loud curse words. He shook his head, and decided that Peeve's must have knocked over a suit of armor. However, a few seconds later he heard a soft knock at his door... he wondered who could possibly be coming down here at this hour. When he opened the door to find Harry standing looking quite out of breath," What is it Harry?"
The boy looked at his Professor," I need to talk to you about a dream." Severus nodded and let the boy enter, while Harry was sitting down he asked," You wouldn't happen to know why a suit of armor was knocked over a few minutes ago would you?" Harry smiled at the accusation he heard in Snape's voice," Well .. Draco was standing awefully close to it ... the wind must have knocked it over." Severus snorted in laughter, and then sat down on the opposite end of the couch and looked at Harry," Ok, spill it."
Harry nodded and his eyes became unfocused as he replayed the dream in his mind," I forgot to clear my mind tonight before I went to sleep and I had a dream .... First I came face-to-face with Voldemort, but soon his face faded and became that of Cedric Diggory." Here Harry's voice became a bit wobbly," He .. blamed me for his death .... and he's right! If I hadn't of told him to take the Cup with me, he would still be here and still be alive ....." A sob racked the young boy's body, " ..It's all my fault .." Severus couldn't take the defeated look on the boy's face, and for the third time in two days his arms came around the boy, and placed him on his lap. He kissed Harry's forehead, and whiped the tears that ran down his cheeks. He gently rocked the boy and waited for him to calm down. When the boy's tears seemed to stop Severus spoke softly," Harry .. you cannot help who you are. You did not choose to be The-Boy-Who-Lived .. you also did not pick to be the Fourth Champion .. and furthermore you did_not_choose for Cedric to die. You were acting out of kindness, there was no way that you could know that the Cup was a Portkey, and there was also nothing you could do to stop the Avada Kedavra .. nothing!" With that he kissed Harry on the forehead, and rested his chin once again upon that raven black hair.
Harry sighed contentedly in the warm arms of his Potions Master .. ** Who really cares? I truly think I am started to feel for Sna--Severus.** Harry rested his head upon the man's shoulder and thought for a minute,
about what Severus had said to him earlier," Thank you. I needed that." He took a deep breath to calm his nerves," I have been thinking about what you said earlier tonight." Severus could feel his heart beating
a thousand beats per minute," I think that I am falling in love with you." Severus couldn't believe his ears .. in the millions of years that he planned on living he had never planned on hearing those words," He kissed the
top of Harry's head, and then stood. He looked down into those briliant green eyes, and saw the fear of the dream was still in them. He lowered his head and softly kissed Harry .. ready to make Harry forget the dream. When Harry felt Severus' lips upon his on, he felt a jolt shoot through him and seemed to root him to the floor. He eagerly started to kiss back, and happily accepted the warm tongue that invaded his mouth. However, the kiss was broken when Severus lifted Harry into his arms, and carried him into his bedroom.
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When Harry awoke the next morning, he found himself lying in a soft bed, with two arms tenderly wrapped around him. He smiled and rolled over, where he could face Severus when he woke up. It wasn't long before onyx once again met emerald. Harry smiled, and warmly kissed Severus, before giving him a," Good morning." Severus smiled back at the beautiful young man in front of him, and returned the 'good morning' with a kiss. Harry's eyes suddenly twinkled," Let's go for a walk!" He did not wait for Severus answer, but started to dress in his jeans and sweater. Severus got up and dressed and handed Harry a warm cloak to wrap up in.
Soon the new couple were walking around the grounds of Hogwarts School of WitchCraft and Wizardry. Severus was looking over the untouched snow when he felt a cold blast of snow and ice fill his ear. He turned his head to see Harry holding a snowball very 'innocently' in his hands," Why Severus ... you seem to have snow in your ear."
Severus put on a mocked face of shock," Oh really.... why I hadn't even noticed....how silly of me." Harry nodded his head and put on a mock serious face," Indeed."
And with that he threw another snowball at Severus which promptly popped him once again in the side of the head," You know Harry ... I never really understood muggle football, but I think I just got the meaning of the word 'tackle'."
Before the words could sink in, Severus had ran over, and tackled Harry in the snow. Causing the young man to bust out in fits of laughter. He pushed on the older man until he rolled off him, he then proceeded to bury Severus' head in the snow, but the older man over powered Harry, and was quickly on top of the student, he smiled looking down at Harry," I win." He then kissed Harry softly on the lips," and I claim my prize!"