Chapter 19

It was around two in the morning when Harry woke up, screaming. He�d forgotten to take the Dreamless Sleep, and wound up having one hell of a nightmare. He�d watched as everyone he loved � Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, his parents, Snape; the list was endless � died a gruesome death, one by one, all by his hand.

Severus was jolted out of his light doze by the screaming and he looked around for the source. Finally, his senses returned to him just as the screams became sobs. He got up and moved to Harry�s side, sitting next to the boy on the bed. "Harry?"

Harry looked at his professor through tear-filled eyes for a moment before throwing himself into the man�s chest. Severus, somewhat bewildered, tentatively wrapped the boy up in his arms, whispering soothing reassurances.

Eventually Harry calmed down, but neither he nor Snape made any move to separate. If anything, Harry�s grip on Severus tightened as silent tears continued to stream down his face. Severus rested his chin on the top of Harry�s head and lightly stroked the boy�s back.

"�you�re alive," Harry muttered into Severus�s chest after a long pause. Severus raised an eyebrow.

"So I am," he whispered. Harry pulled back to look him in the eye. He sniffled and pushed a stray lock of hair out of Severus�s face.

"�I�m sorry for waking you," Harry murmured. Severus shook his head.

"Never mind that; what caused that reaction of yours just now?" he inquired, using his thumb to brush some of the tears from Harry�s face. Harry swallowed hard.

"�I killed everyone," he quietly replied, looking away from the professor. "Everyone I care about�I murdered all of you, one by one�" He choked back on the lump in his throat.

Severus�s eyebrows shot up to meet his hairline. "Harry�" he began, but stopped when he realized that he had no idea what to say.

Harry began to elaborate. "Remus was first, then Sirius, then my parents, then Dumbledore, then you, then Hermione and Ron�and it didn�t stop there. I killed everyone, Professor. Every last person�" Again, he choked on the sobs threatening to escape his throat. Severus frowned. He took the boy�s hands in his, gently squeezing them.

"Harry," Severus whispered, and Harry looked up to meet his gaze.

"�But you�re not dead, are you?" the boy said before Severus could continue his thought. Severus allowed a small, nearly imperceptible smile to grace his features.

"No, I�m not," he reassured him. He squeezed Harry�s hands again to punctuate his statement. A weak but relieved smile spread across Harry�s face, and he moved closer to Severus, resting his head against the older man�s chest. Eventually, he spoke again.

"�Will you stay here with me tonight?" he whispered, his voice wavering ever so slightly. Severus�s eyes widened in surprise.

"I�m always here," Severus replied. He heard Harry sigh quietly.

"No, I meant�can you stay here in bed with me?" the younger man clarified.

Severus hesitated for a moment before replying, "If that�s what you want." He felt Harry nod against his chest. "Okay, then," he whispered mostly to himself, and let go of Harry�s hands so that he could slide under the covers with the Gryffindor.

Harry waited for Severus to get settled before curling up next to him. After a brief moment of indecisiveness, he moved closer so that his head rested on Severus�s chest. He sighed contentedly as he felt the professor�s arms wrap around him. Eventually, they both fell into a peaceful slumber.

Severus woke the next morning with someone in his arms. He looked down in confusion and saw Harry. �Oh, that�s right. The nightmare,� Severus recalled as he began absently stroking the boy�s dark hair.

Harry woke up to the feeling of fingers running along his scalp. He smiled and emitted a sound very much resembling a purr. The fingers stopped for a moment then began petting him again. "You�re awake," Harry heard someone mutter from above him. He nodded absently in response and snuggled closer to the warm body beside him. Nothing more was said for several minutes as those fingers continued their ministrations in silence, and Harry began to drift off.

Severus noticed Harry begin to nod off again and he withdrew his fingers, sliding them down to grasp Harry�s chin and tilting his face upwards. He nearly gasped as the young man�s eyes caught his � Harry was beautiful. There was really no other way to adequately describe him with those full, pink lips, rosy cheeks, and bright, sleepy eyes. He swallowed hard. "We should probably get up. Now that you�ve been seen up and about, you�ll be expected in the Great Hall for breakfast," he whispered.

"What if I don�t want to go? What if I want to stay right here?" Harry replied softly, his cheeks darkening a bit as a blush spread across his features. Severus�s other hand absently moved itself from the small of Harry�s back to begin playing with the boy�s hair again.

"Well, I imagine that there would be a storming of the dungeons as the entire Hall demanded to know what I�d done with you," Severus said with a smirk. Harry giggled quietly.

"Somehow I doubt that," he said. Severus cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?"

Harry shrugged. "Just a feeling I have, I guess." His hand slid up to play with a stray lock of hair that had come out of Severus�s ponytail during the night. "�S not greasy," he mumbled to himself.

Severus chuckled. "Thank you for that kind observation." Harry grinned up at him.

"I guess now I can honestly tell everyone that you�re not greasy or slimy," he said. Severus smirked.

"Oh, I don�t know if that�s such a good idea. People might wonder how you�d know that."

"So I�d tell them. �Everyone, Snape�s not greasy. I know; I�ve slept with him�," Harry proclaimed, and Snape choked.

"Are you sure that�s the way you�d want to word that? Your peers will surely get the wrong idea," he pointed out.

A look of mock thoughtfulness crossed Harry�s face. "Hmm, you think so?" He smirked. "I think it�d be worth it to see Ron�s expression."

Snape shook his head in amusement. "Indeed. I imagine Mr. Weasley�s face would match his hair after a comment such as that."

"Mmm," Harry agreed. A thought occurred to him. "Then again, that�d probably happen if he�d thought I�d only kissed you," he added quietly, biting the inside of his lip.

Severus swallowed hard. "I imagine that wouldn�t go over very well," he said.

Harry frowned slightly. "Oh, I don�t know�though I suppose there�s only one way to find out," he replied, then reached up and pressed his lips against Severus�s.