Chapter 5

The walk to the dungeons, while normally long, seemed to take longer than usual. The air of tension surrounding both Harry and Severus didn�t seem to help things, either. It was making both of them very uncomfortable. Finally, Harry decided to break the silence.

"Professor?" A grunt. Well, at least Snape heard him. "Um, I�m sorry." Silence, then Snape sighed.

"If you�re apologizing because you think you�re being a burden, then don�t apologize," Snape muttered. Harry was taken aback.

"B�but sir�"

"Look, Potter," Snape said, stopping short and whirling around to face his new roommate. He paused briefly as his eyes caught Harry�s before mentally shaking it off. "You�re not a burden. That�s not why I objected to you staying with me."

Harry blinked. What?! "Then why�?"

Snape turned back around and began walking again. "This isn�t �Question and Answer�, Potter. We can discuss this later." Harry nodded silently and followed his professor the rest of the way to the dungeons in silence.

Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Gryffindor seventh years had all gathered in the boys� dormitory. It was Saturday, and their weekend homework could wait. Right now, Harry was more important.

"So you�re saying that you think you know what�s wrong with him?" Parvati asked, staring intently at Dean. Ron sighed.

"Look, before we say anything, I want you all�Lavender and Parvati, this means you, too�to understand that none of this leaves this room. Okay?" Ron said. Parvati and Lavender looked insulted. Ron quickly continued. "Look, it�s just that it wouldn�t be fair to Harry for the whole bloody school to know about his problems. He�s had to deal with that for seven years now, and for less than this. He deserves some privacy, y�know?" Ron sighed again. "Besides, this is just speculation. I haven�t had a chance to talk to Harry yet, myself. We could be wrong." Parvati and Lavender seemed placcated by this, and nodded. Hermione just sat on Harry�s bed, arms wrapped around herself, completely silent. Ron had already told her everything shortly after breakfast. She wasn�t thrilled with the idea of telling Parvati and Lavender, but Dean insisted, since they were supposedly Harry�s friends, too. She had, however, agreed that perhaps a discussion was in order, especially since it was now almost lunchtime and Harry still hadn�t returned to Gryffindor tower. It wasn�t until they got into the dorm that they realized that all of Harry�s things were gone as well.

"So, what is it then?" Lavender pressed. "What do you think is going on?"

Dean took a deep breath, then glanced at Ron before continuing. "Well, we�Ron and I�overheard Snape and Harry�s screaming match last night and�well�" He swallowed hard. "We think Harry might have tried to kill himself." The two gossips stared wide-eyed at Dean in shock. Hermione wrapped her arms tighter around herself, and Neville moved beside her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Seamus exchanged glances with Dean, and Ron fidgeted uncomfortably. No one knew what to say.

Harry had been pretty surprised to see Snape�s rooms. Granted, the workroom (which he strongly suspected was at one point intended to be a sitting room) looked much as he expected, but the "living area", as Snape had called it, was done up in shades of tan and forest. One could almost say it looked�inviting. Snape had transfigured a couch into a bed for Harry that looked much like the one he�d had back in Gryffindor tower, and yet there was still ample space left in the room, despite also housing Snape�s bed, two rather comfortable-looking chairs, and a small coffee table. He blinked inquisitively up at Snape as the man led him through the room.

Severus glanced at Harry after his "tour" was complete. The young man kept giving him odd looks and blinking at him disbelievingly. "What?" he stated plainly.

Harry blushed. "Nothing."

"You keep blinking at me and staring at me. Don�t give me that �nothing� garbage. What�s the problem?"

Harry looked at his feet, slightly embarrassed. He couldn�t think of any other, more tactful way of putting it, so he decided just to say it outright. "Honestly, sir, I didn�t think that your rooms would look like this."

Now it was Severus�s turn to blink. He smirked. "What were you expecting? Shackles on the walls? A torture chamber?" The look on Harry�s face indicated that yes, that was exactly what he had been expecting. Severus snorted. "Of course, we can change the décor if you�d like�"

Harry�s eyes went wide and he looked up. "No, no, that�s perfectly alright, sir�"

"I was kidding, Potter."

Harry blushed again. "Right. Sorry."

Severus looked at Harry, an eyebrow raised. "Now what are you apologizing for?"

Harry shuffled his feet. "For being a stupid little prat?" Severus snorted again, but didn�t say anything. Harry�s eyes darted toward the door. "Um, sir?"

"Yes, Potter?"

"Erm�Harry," Harry mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Severus said.

"My name�it�s Harry. It�s not �Potter�," Harry said. Severus nodded.

"Alright, Harry. What is it?"

Harry glanced at the door again. "Um, when can I tell Ron and Hermione about�well, about everything? I�m pretty sure they�re wondering where I am."

Severus bit back a sarcastic remark referring to his not caring much about his friends last night. He felt that now was probably not the time to anger the boy, especially if he was going to be spending an extended amount of time in his presence. "You�ll see them at dinner," he said simply. Harry nodded his understanding before Severus continued. "In the meantime, you should get used to these quarters, as you�ll be staying in them for quite a while. The dresser beside your bed is for your things. If you touch the one on the other side of the room, I will be forced to follow through on my previous offer of changing the décor and shackle you to the walls. Agreed?" Severus said, a bit of humor in his voice. Harry nodded. Well, this certainly would be an interesting experience. Interesting, indeed.