Track 16

Harry was lying on his bed, curled into a ball and sniffling when Ron, finally freed from the Infirmary, entered. He looked at Harry, then grabbed a pillow and whacked Harry in the head with it.

"Itai..." Harry groaned, sitting up. "What the hell was that for, Ron-kun?" he demanded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

Ron stared at him. "Harry, why are you talking like that?"

Harry blinked. "Nani? Like what?"

"Like that! Using weird words...did you just call me your nanny?"

Harry blinked again, then realization struck. "Snape no baka!" he muttered, then began explaining. "Snape cast a translation spell on me so I would understand Japanese. It’s supposed to help me learn the lyrics to the songs. He was supposed to take it off, but he must’ve forgotten in his great rush to get away from me..." He hung his head. "I’m an idiot, Ron. A total moron. Baka, baka baka..." He sighed. "I told him I liked him, Ron."

Ron’s eyes widened and he choked. He swallowed hard before trying to speak again. "Okay, calm down there, Harry." Ron thought for a second. "Maybe we should go see Hermione. She’d probably know how to..."

"No, Ron," Harry said, suddenly standing up surrounded by an air of determination. "This is something I must do on my own." And with that, he marched out of the dormitory, leaving a stunned Ron behind.

"I was just going to suggest Hermione take off the spell," he muttered to himself. "And what’s with all those bloody mood swings?"

Harry stood in front of the door to Snape’s office, and was suddenly reminded of the last time he was there. Shaking his head to clear it, he mustered up all of his courage and knocked three times. There was no answer, and Harry frowned. He knocked again. Still no answer. Just as he raised his fist for a third time, a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He spun around to see Snape standing behind him, one eyebrow raised.

"Can I help you, Mr. Potter?"

Harry frowned at him but nodded. "Hai. You can tell me why you just ran off like that after I told you I..."

"I’ll tell you right now, Mr. Potter, that I do not put up with such insults. I would think you’d know that by now," Snape interjected harshly, gently pushing Harry aside and gliding into his office. He tried to shut the door behind him to keep Harry out, but Harry moved too fast and managed to squeeze himself into the room before Snape could shut him out. Snape turned and coldly commanded, "Get out."

"No," Harry replied defiantly, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Not until you tell me why you were so offended by what I said." He paused as a troubling thought overtook him. "Do you really hate me that much?"

Snape’s eyes narrowed. He was starting to think he’d misread the situation. "You know better than to honestly believe that, Mr. Potter," he muttered quietly, and Harry felt a surge of excitement course through him.

"What is it, then?" he pressed. "Why were you so upset just because I told you that I liked you?"

Snape’s world shattered. "Was that what you said?" quietly slipped out before he could stop it. He cursed inwardly.

Harry stared at Snape in surprise. He hadn’t known? He hadn’t known? "Hai!" Harry replied angrily. "You mean you didn’t know what I was saying? You just assumed?"

Snape turned away. "I may have…misunderstood…"

"‘May have’? ‘May have’ my arse! You had no idea what I was saying, did you?" Harry accused. "I try to talk to you, to tell you something important, and when you don’t understand it you decide to just assume I insulted you? I don’t believe this." He moved to stand in front of Snape, who averted his eyes. "You, sir, need to stop being so bloody paranoid. Not everyone is out to get you, you know," Harry quietly said. "Now, do you think you could take this charm off of me, please?"

Snape looked up at him, hesitating for only a moment. "If I do, then you have to leave immediately. Is that clear?"

Harry was taken aback. "Demo..."

"No buts," Snape interrupted, holding up a hand. "Either you leave, or the spell stays on."

Harry narrowed his eyes, clearly hurt. "Hai..." he muttered, looking away. He felt a tingle as Snape’s magic washed over him.

"All right, then, time for you to go," Snape said, opening the door to his office and not-so-subtley gesturing toward it. Harry, wounded look plastered on his face, obeyed.