Second Place - Drama

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Platform 9-3/4 was nearly deserted when Harry Potter removed the strong wards protecting his compartment and stepped off the Hogwarts Express for the final time. From a distance he could see the last of the straggling students leaving the platform with their friends and families. Harry paused, resting his hand against one of the carriages, giving a silent farewell to another fragment of his past.

The seventeen-year-old wizard shook himself from his reverie and strode gracefully to one of the only trolleys remaining on the platform. With a quick flick of his wand, the freshly-minted Hogwarts graduate shrank his slightly battered school trunk � the sum of his worldly possessions � and tucked the miniature case into the front pocket of his slim fitting black denim jeans.

From her cage, his beloved Hedwig gave a soft chirrup in greeting. Harry tapped the cage, removing a series of protection charms and placed a simple Featherlight Charm to the bulky wire monstrosity. He picked it up by its sturdy handle.

Harry�s bright green eyes gave one last sad look along the nearly deserted train platform and he slid his wand into a hidden pocket sewn into the sleeve of his white dress shirt. Alone and unwanted for much of his life, the elfin-like wizard was not surprised to find no one waiting to greet him, but at least no one remained to ridicule him either.

Hedwig gave a questioning chirrup and Harry�s attention was drawn back to the snowy owl. The memory of an old American film dropped suddenly into his head, causing a soft snort of amusement. Hedwig blinked her large amber eyes and Harry gave her a wink in return.

"Here�s looking at you, Kid," he said affectionately, in a deliberately poor imitation of Humphrey Bogart. Hedwig blinked.

Schooling his features into a mask of indifference and fingering the tip of his wand just in case anyone was lying in wait for attack, Harry stepped through the magical barrier leading to King�s Cross Station in Muggle London, never looking back.

Severus Snape brushed his long, black hair from his face in irritation and wished to return to the solitude of his dungeons. He always hated the first faculty meetings just prior to the start of a new school year. Merlin preserve him from those sanctimonious witches and wizards. He rubbed his temple, acknowledging the headache creeping behind his eyes. With Voldemort gone and the surviving Death Eaters imprisoned or reduced to mere Squibs, it was long past time for him to leave the hellish sanctuary that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Severus tuned back into the conversations swirling around him. He mentally shook his head, not really surprised at the myopia his colleagues held for the students of their particular house. He politely listened to the updates and gossip surrounding former Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff graduates, but Minerva�s arrogance about her Gryffindors set his teeth on edge. His mind drifted off on potential career possibilities as she prattled on about Wood, Spinnet, Granger and assorted Weasleys, but it snapped back into focus at the venom in her voice when the name Harry Potter was mentioned.

"And for all the hard work and extra hours we spent tutoring him for the Auror Training Program, how does he repay us? He didn�t even have the decency to show up for the training classes when they started last week. I simply do not know what went wrong with that young man..."

Albus Dumbledore was absent from the room, unfortunately delayed by a meeting with the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Minerva was always more vicious without Dumbledore to temper her tongue. Severus glanced down the table at the other faculty members. Hagrid�s fists clenched, but he said nothing, not wanting to attract Minerva�s ire. The dark wizard focused on the newest faculty member, Kingsley Shacklebolt, on a forced sabbatical from the Ministry of Magic to take the cursed Defense Against the Dark Arts position for a year. The Auror shifted nervously and then met Minerva�s glare with an almost sheepish expression.

"It...err...wasn�t the boy�s fault he did not report for Auror training."

"What do you mean, Kinglsey?"

Kingsley shifted again. "Well...he was...sort of...disinvited. The Ministry received numerous owls about Potter�s...uh...questionable activities last year and...err...it was determined he lacked the...uh...moral character required of a Ministry of Magic Auror...The Minister of Magic issued a mandate declaring him to be �morally corrupt�. We were forced to withdraw the offer of training."

Severus felt his jaw harden when he saw the nods of agreement from many other members of the Hogwarts staff. He steepled his fingers, fixing his black eyes on the Auror.

"The Ministry of Magic deemed the "Boy Who Lived" to be �morally corrupt�?" There was a dangerous edge to the Potion Master�s voice. "And when was he notified of their life changing decision?"

"I believe Mr. Potter was sent an owl the day before graduation..."

Severus snorted derisively. In the usual vitriolic tone he often saved for Hufflepuffs and Gryfindors, he impaled his associates. "An owl? You sent him an owl? So much for the vaunted Gryffindor courage...couldn�t even tell him to his face...that even after he defeated Lord Voldemort and graduated with honors, he still wasn�t good enough? I had wondered why he did not stand with his classmates to receive his graduation certifications. And may I inquire who filed these reports against the �Golden Boy�?"

Kingsley looked at Minerva, who had grown rigid. "A number of his seventh year classmates...from all houses I believe..."

"And the ringleader in his character assassination? A certain jealous red head?"

"Severus, you saw that disgusting photograph..."

"Ron Weasley made sure everyone saw it...sending it to �The Daily Prophet� like he did. That wasn�t very nice." Hagrid replied stiffly. Minerva resented their attempts to garner sympathy for the boy.

Severus� smile was cold. "Ah yes, the Muggle advertisement...I confiscated several copies of the magazine it appeared in...And frankly, I would be more concerned about the moral character of someone who would be in possession of such a rag in the first place...

"Tell me, Minerva...did you ever ask Mr. Potter how he came to be in a Muggle advertisement for men�s cologne? Or did you just turn your back while you let the brave Gryffindors beat him, destroy the majority of his possessions and cast him out into the hallway naked as the day he was born?"

The faculty room was silent. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats and wished for dismissal. The "Potter Affair" was a shameful episode for Hogwarts and better left swept beneath the carpet.

"Why are you so well informed about the activities of another house? Don�t you have enough to do to keep your �snakes� under tight rein?" The Deputy Headmistress�s voice was decidedly waspish.

"It became my concern when my �snake�, Millicent Bulstrode, stumbled across a sobbing bundle of bloody rags in a deserted corridor. All of you looked the other way. Only Hagrid and I offered him any support at all. None of you even cared how Potter survived his final months at Hogwarts after Ronald Weasley decided to enact some sort of personal vendetta against his supposed best friend. With the exception of Slytherin who remained neutral at my request, almost the entire school followed his lead...too afraid of Weasley�s wrath if they did not toe his line. As far as I am concerned, there were only two noble Gryffindors in last year�s graduating class...and Ronald Weasley sure as hell wasn�t one of them."

"Severus?" Professor Sinistra asked tentatively. "Did Harry Potter tell you how he came to be in that photograph?"

Severus� cold, black eyes glittered malevolently; the Astronomy professor blanched.

"If you were so curious about the boy�s activities, perhaps you should have asked him. Although I offered him a modicum of protection, I was not his friend nor was I his consul..." Severus smiled savagely. "I am hardly any child�s idea of a Father Confessor."

Hagrid set his empty tankard of Old Ogden�s Firewhisky shakily on his scrubbed kitchen table. His eyes drifted to a small cot hidden in the rafters of his cottage, half-concealed beneath an abandoned Invisibility Cloak, and thought sadly of the missing young wizard who had spent most of a term sharing his rooms.

Trying to shake his melancholy mood, the half-giant called to his boarhound, Fang, for a walk around the Hogwart�s grounds. His dark eyes followed the flight path of several owls out for their evening hunt, hoping against hope that a familiar white owl might one day sweep down to say "Hello".

The Potion Master reviewed his third-year course syllabus a final time before setting the parchment aside. He pulled out a clean scroll. It was the ideal time to ponder a new career. He rubbed his temple again. He could easily take a potion or two to ward off the headache and quell his ire, but he decided it just might be healthier for once to release his pent up anger rather than suppress it.

The dark wizard�s thoughts drifted to the final battle and the losses they had suffered. So many had perished and many of the survivors were so damaged it would take years for the magical community to recover. Severus mourned all the lost souls, no matter which banner they had carried into battle. He found his thoughts drifting to the horrors of the battlefield. He forced his thoughts away from the haunting images of death.

Severus� mind was in turmoil. His usual diversion of brewing potions had not calmed him. He pushed aside his proposed course syllabus as well as the supply requisitions necessary to replenish the student potions supply cabinets. There was no satisfaction in teaching those who held no fascination for a gently simmering cauldron.

With a flick of his wand, the Potion Master summoned a dusty bottle of wine and a wineglass. Pouring a glass, he set the blood red liquid aside to let it breathe.

Severus taped a hidden drawer in his desk, removing an oversized book. With the new semester approaching, he would need to move the book back to his private suite; it would never do for a curious brat to stumble over a portion of his secret collection of erotica.

Trapped for the majority of the year in a school filled with gangly adolescents, the dark wizard needed some way to relieve his sexual tension. His collection of erotica and homoerotica had slowly grown over the years; the collection even contained a few specimens of Muggle origin.

As he sipped the vintage red, he noticed a folder tucked between the pages of the oversized book. He plucked the folder from its hiding spot and looked over a small collection of static images, all Muggle in origin and featuring the same model. This was Severus� guilty pleasure, tracing the career of a single individual. In the earliest image, the beautiful creature was barely legal, but as the images progressed, the model�s fey coltishness matured into something even more exquisite.

Severus fingers tapped lightly along the edge of an advertisement cut from a Muggle magazine. He had long since disposed of the magazine itself, not at all interested in a publication named "Toi Boi". His thin fingers traced down one of the two figures captured on the glossy paper. A slender, sexy, half-dressed sprite stared, lips slightly parted, into the camera, wrapped in the arms of a fully clothed older man. One of the man�s hands rested on the teenager�s flat stomach, the other slipped beneath the waistband of unzipped denim jeans. The man�s face was hidden, caught in the act of kissing a bare shoulder. Severus did not understand how this image was supposed to sell men�s cologne, but he could not dispute the image was erotic as hell.

He set the page aside, sifting through a scant assortment of department store catalog clothing advertisements before picking up a Muggle greeting card, obviously targeted to both adult men and women. The dark haired model was perched provocatively on the edge of a chair, wearing nothing but a python draped around his neck and positioned to barely conceal his manhood. The card, ironically enough, was part of a larger set - also in his possession - sold by some Muuggle animal welfare organization as a fundraiser. The set featured other barely dressed men and women, concealing their private parts with strategically placed mammals, birds and reptiles. Muggles, he decided, were a strange lot.

Giving a final look at the cologne advertisement, the Potion Master closed the folder and tucked it back inside the book of erotica. He wondered what it was that motivated a person to pose nude for public consumption � simple exhibitionism or something far deeper.

The photographs caused Severus� thoughts to turn to a certain dark-haired young man. He found himself wondering what had happened to Harry Potter. Harry had obviously returned to the Muggle world of his childhood, not that Severus blamed him, given the rejection and ridicule he had endured during his final year at Hogwarts. Not for the first time, the dark wizard wished that the Sorting Hat had ignored the pleas of a deceived eleven-year-old boy and placed him in his rightful house. Had Harry been sorted into Slytherin as he should have, Severus would have discovered the boy�s dysfunctional and abusive home life and seen the signs of trouble long before events exploded into the present situation. Harry would still be receiving the respect the wizarding world owed him, not hiding in the Muggle world as a social pariah.

He pulled a scrap of parchment from his drawer and penned a short missive to someone who might actually know if Harry was safe and sound. Task accomplished, he suddenly realized that his headache was gone.

Severus eyed the flat square package halfway down the pile of his daily correspondence � a Potions catalog, perhaps. Not particularly wishing to deal with numerous parchments from parents concerned with their precious brat�s low Potions scores, the dark wizard slipped the flat, kraft paper wrapped package from the pile, not disturbing the scrolls above it. His eyebrows lifted. He recognized the handwriting as that of an old friend.

Unwrapping the package, he quickly read the short note attached to another layer of wrapping, this one a festive green and silver repeat of pine trees.

"S �
I have located our prey. Hope you enjoy your calendar. October is especially fine.
- B"

Calendar? Severus unwrapped the flat package, careful not to tear the shiny wrap. It was a Muggle calendar by the same charity that had issued the odd greeting cards. Severus� tongue moistened his lower lip as he tore open the plastic shrink-wrap and flipped the heavy card stock through the months. Not surprisingly, October yielded another feast of Harry.

With one slender arm raised, caressing a snowy owl Severus recognized as Hedwig, a nude Harry faced away, looking over his shoulder, straight into the camera, with a shy, almost innocent smile. The dark wizard traced up the slender form from his bare feet to slightly muscular calves, past the slightly knobby knees to the finely shaped arse. His skin was smooth and nearly flawless, just a few freckles scattered here and there. Merlin, Harry was adorable. The Muggle camera loved him.

Severus flipped through the remaining months, but none of the beautiful women and handsome men drew his eye quite like his sprite. His sprite, Severus snorted � when had he started to think of Harry as his own? Reluctantly, he slipped the calendar into his desk drawer. It wouldn�t be wise to leave it where it could be seen by a student or the irritating deputy headmistress.

The Potion Master reached into his stack of mail, this time retrieving a thick envelope of fine quality parchment. The corner bore the logo of St. Mungo�s Hospital. Severus quickly skimmed the cover sheet, a satisfied smile softening his harsh features. He stretched the kinks from his long, slender frame before reading the contents of the envelope more thoroughly. He pushed down the excitement building in his chest; St. Mungo�s was offering him a position heading their Medical Research Department. Severus closed his eyes, thinking of gently simmering cauldrons and intelligent conversations, thinking of a day without explosions and insipid adolescent melodramas, thinking of a life without Albus Dumbledore and his infernal lemon drops.

Gathering all the parchments containing parental complaints, he sent them directly into the fireplace, watching their bright flash of ignition. Between the calendar and the job offer, Christmas had come early for Severus Snape.

Bill Weasley stretched his long, jeans clad legs and placed his dragon hide boots onto an unoccupied chair beside him. His fang earring glittered with the candlelight as he leaned over to speak with his dinner companion, more than conscious of the looks of appreciation they had attracted from the other patrons in the Muggle pub. Tommy�s was a rather discrete establishment, catering to mostly same sex couples not desiring the anonymous sexual games of a nightclub.

The cursebreaker glanced around the dining area, the soft sound of jazz in the background. Snippets of conversation and occasional laughter filled the darkened room. High in a corner, above the bar, was a small patch of white. Bill blinked in recognition - a Postal Owl. The redhead ran his hand up his companion�s thigh to get his attention and nodded toward the half concealed bird.

"Apparently, we are not the only wizards in this establishment, Sev."

Severus studied the owl for a moment, his concentration broken by the waiter arriving with their drinks and ready to take their dinner order. The waiter followed Severus� glance. He smiled. "Don�t worry about her. She�s tame. Heddie�s just waiting for her blackbird to appear."

Bill and Severus looked up from their mediocre appetizers as a couple entered the pub and stood beside the bar. Bill noticed the white owl creep slowly out of the shadows. His attention turned back, not to the tall young man, but to his smaller, female companion. He glanced back at Severus, his friend, his confidant, and occasional lover.

Bill smirked, watching the black eyes devour the young woman. She had drawn the appreciative glances of several of the other diners, and that perplexed him. They were dining in a Muggle gay bar; were all the other patrons bisexual as well? Or was the young woman a woman at all?

The white owl perched at the edge of her shelf as if waiting for a signal. The woman tossed back her sleek, black pageboy, subtly smoothing her short black dress. Bill took in her figure � from her black stiletto pumps, up her dark hose to the flounce of her black dress. He wished she would turn so he could see her face.

The other patrons returned to their previous conversation, but Bill found himself straining to hear the couple at the bar. The man kept caressing her shoulder, but she did not seem to reciprocate his advances. The bartender paused, watching them through the mirrored backdrop of his bar.

"Come on, Birdy," the man whined, a hint of drunken frustration in his voice. "It�s early. Let�s go back to my flat and get horizontal."

His companion shook her head. She spoke in a soft, husky voice. "That was not our agreement, Arthur."

The man roughly pulled her flat against his taller frame, capturing her lips in an uninvited kiss, and holding her tight against him. He ground his hips against her struggling frame. She pushed him away, her hands flat against his chest. The white owl soared from her perch and batted the man with her massive wingspan before circling to land on the woman�s outstretched arm, a predatory gleam in her amber eyes.

"Are you all right, Birdy?" the bartender called over, reaching for a cricket bat hidden beneath the bar. A few of the other patrons looked ready to spring.

"Arthur is just leaving," she replied, her eyes locked on her taller companion. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of currency. He peeled off two notes and roughly shoved them down the neckline of her dress.

"Thank you for dinner," the man growled before stalking out the door. The woman turned, revealing her face for the first time, emerald green eyes dominating the elfin face. She stroked the agitated owl to calm her. The owl butted her head against the well-manicured hand affectionately. "Brave girl."

"Sweet Merlin," Bill said abruptly, rising from his chair. "Well, that�s a kink I never would have expected."

Severus watched in curiosity as Bill strode toward the black-clad figure at the bar. Bill was never one to miss an opportunity and it always fascinated Severus to watch Bill�s "Weasley Charm" in action. The dark wizard wondered if he would, once again, be dining alone tonight. Hands shaking slightly as she tried to light a cigarette, the dark haired woman jumped when Bill plucked the lighter from her fingers.

"Hasn�t anyone ever told you smoking is bad for your health?" he purred, palming the lighter. "Or that it stunts your growth?"

Severus heard a bark of laughter from the small creature and Bill extinguished her cigarette. The tall redhead caught the figure up in a bear hug, nearly knocking her out of her pumps.

"Hello, Bill," Harry said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "It�s been awhile."