Chapter 18

It didn’t take long for Draco to calm down, but once he had he quickly pulled back from Harry as though he’d been burned. Harry watched as a mask of indifference rapidly covered Draco’s features, and he frowned. Before he could say anything about it, however, a piercing shriek rang out from within the Infirmary. Both boys quickly dashed back inside.

Severus Snape stalked through the corridors, a grim look on his face as he mentally berated himself. Honestly, what had he been thinking? He’d almost kissed a student – not just any student, but Harry Potter, the wizarding world’s little golden boy, of all people! What the hell had possessed him? Certainly, the boy was attractive, and yes, Severus had developed feelings for him, but damn it, Severus had always prided himself on his control! To have allowed himself to do something like that was nothing short of infuriating…and disconcerting. It would be Potter to get past his defenses like that. The Gryffindor had been the cause of so many of his other problems over the past seven years; why would this be any different?

The thing that bothered Severus the most, though, was not the fact that he’d allowed himself to lose control. What really bothered him was that he’d liked it. Cursing to himself, Severus quickened his pace. It was time he had another conference with the headmaster.

"Hermione! Are you al…" Harry trailed off as he took in the scene before him. Hermione had tears streaming down her face, but she was…smiling. Ron was kneeling beside her bed, holding what looked for all the world like… "Ron, I thought you were going to wait until graduation!"

Ron looked up at his best friend and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, well, considering the circumstances, I kind of figured that I should probably go ahead with it a little early…" He turned back to Hermione. "So, what do you say, ‘Mione?" He bit his lip.

Hermione laughed and threw her arms around him. "Of course I’ll marry you, you git!" she replied, before kissing a very relieved Ron senseless. Harry could have sworn he heard Draco mutter something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Bloody Gryffindors’ before the blonde stalked out of the Infirmary.

"Harry?" Ron said, standing and turning to his best friend once Hermione finally let go of him to put the ring on, "You’ll be my best man, won’t you?"

Harry grinned broadly and slung an arm around Ron’s shoulders. "Of course I will! That’s what best friends are for, right?" Ron smiled and pulled Harry into a bone-crushing hug.

"Among other things," Ron replied with a chuckle before letting go. Harry laughed.

Draco flopped down on his four-poster safe within the confines of the Slytherin dorms. Drawing the curtains closed, the laid back and stared at the ceiling. Lovely. Just lovely. As nice as the thought of having a younger sibling was, he knew that it could never be considered a Malfoy – the bastard child of a mudblood would destroy the bloodline, and if there was one thing that Draco prided above all else, it was the purity of his family’s bloodline. Granted, over the past few years he’d realized that in terms of skill muggle-borns were usually just as good as purebloods, and a great deal of his prejudice had dissipated, but that certainly didn’t mean that he was willing to allow his family’s bloodline to be contaminated by one. Maybe he could convince Hermione to lie about the father’s identity…

And what on earth was that business with Potter about? Since when did he let anyone, let alone Potter, see him cry? Sure, he was still a wreck – it’s not every day that you cast your first Unforgivable on your own beloved father after watching him drag your family name through the mud. That, however, was no excuse for letting his guard down.

It occurred to him that he’d been so concerned with Hermione and his father’s death that he’d forgotten to ream into Potter for scaring the hell out of him with his little suicide attempt. Not that he was fond of Potter or anything; he just needed Potter to play the part of his antithesis to maintain balance – at least that’s what he told himself. The truth was that over the past couple of years Draco began getting a warm feeling in his chest whenever Potter was around. He steadfastly refused to believe it was anything more than indigestion.

Draco turned on his side and closed his eyes. All right, so maybe Potter wasn’t all that bad. He certainly would make a powerful ally if they ever became friends. The thought made Draco laugh bitterly. He’d already offered his friendship to Potter and had been turned down. What made him think that anything had changed? …Okay, so maybe he had smiled at Draco, and he had let Draco cry on him with the promise not to tell anyone…that didn’t necessarily mean anything. It could have just been Potter playing the part of the typical ‘noble’ Gryffindor.

Speaking of which, how dare that Weasley assume that Draco would ever allow his half-sibling to be raised by any member of the Weasley family? Bastard or not, Malfoys were not paupers. Draco sighed. He supposed there really wasn’t any other option, though. If he made a big deal out of it then people would start to suspect that the child was actually part of the Malfoy bloodline, thus ruining his family’s reputation. Since he couldn’t allow that, Draco decided that he’d just have to spoil the kid rotten once it was born to ensure that it didn’t end up like any of the Weasley riff-raff. It really was the best he could do without destroying a pureblood line over nine centuries old.

He made a mental note to talk to Hermione and the Weasel about it later. At the moment, however, he was physically and emotionally exhausted and in desperate need of a nap.

"I knew that this was a bad idea from the start, Headmaster! I told you that putting the boy in my care would be disastrous, and now here is the proof!"

"Now Severus, it’s just a kiss…"

"Just a…? With all due respect, sir, I think you fail to see the severity of the situation!" Severus paced back and forth in front of the headmaster’s desk. "He’s my student! I’m old enough to be his father! He’s been placed in my care! It’s wrong on so many levels…" He stopped pacing and took a deep, calming breath to organize his thoughts.

"Severus, look at me," Dumbledore commanded, and Severus raised his eyes to meet the sparkling eyes of the headmaster. "There is nothing wrong with how you feel. As for the age difference, twenty years to a wizard is just a drop in the bucket, and you know it." He smiled benignly. "And while he may be in your care, Severus, you’re not his guardian. In fact, I was considered to be in the care of my dearly departed wife for the years that we spent together. Why, without her, I may never have discovered the wonders of a good pair of woolen socks."

Severus shook his head. "But sir, there are rules…"

"To quote the very wise Weasley twins, ‘Sod the rules.’" Severus stared at his mentor, utterly bewildered. "Severus, the two of you already live together. As long as you are discreet, no one would ever have to know if something was going on." Severus opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore raised a hand. "Severus, I will not be a part of this mortal world for much longer. However, in what little time I have left, I would like to see two of the people I care the most about find much-deserved happiness."

Severus swallowed hard and averted his eyes. "I don’t deserve…"

"You deserve happiness as much as anyone else does if not more, Severus." Severus raised his eyes to meet the headmaster’s very serious gaze. He choked back the lump forming in his throat and simply nodded in understanding. Dumbledore smiled and sat back, relieved. "Now, Severus, was there anything else you needed to discuss, or would you be willing to share some tea and idle chatter with an old man?"

Severus quirked a corner of his mouth upwards before answering, "Tea would be fine, Albus."

Harry quietly entered the rooms he shared with Professor Snape. Looking around, he realized that he was alone. Smiling slightly to himself, he flopped down onto his bed. Apparently good things could come out of the bad. Certainly, it didn’t diminish the severity of the bad things, but it made them easier to cope with. A grin spread across his face. His two best friends were getting married, and he couldn’t be happier for them. He glanced across the room at Severus’s empty bed and his smile faltered a bit as he remembered the almost-kiss. ‘Maybe that’s why Professor Snape isn’t here…he’s so disgusted with me that he can’t even look at me,’ Harry thought gloomily. He forced that thought out of his head – he had other things to worry about, like how weird Draco Malfoy had been acting lately. Since when did he give a damn about Harry’s well being? And since when was he nice to Hermione…? Okay, given the circumstances, he sort of understood that. But the way he was acting… Maybe Harry had been wrong about him. Perhaps it was his turn to approach Draco about a possible friendship. Deciding to talk with the Slytherin about it the next day, Harry rolled over and fell asleep. He didn’t hear Severus enter a few minutes later, nor was he aware of the gentle kiss to his temple or the whispered, "Good night."