The Day Ahead

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! The encouragement was wonderful and helpful. I hope you all like this chapter. I hope to get the next part done soon. :) **


The Evening Before

He turned and hurried back to his dungeon before Dumbledore could devise any other tortures for him. Entering his rooms, Severus slammed the door shut behind him. He regretted it immediately as the headache he was denying came crashing down on him. He tiredly rubbed his eyes and stepped farther into the room.

"Sir?" Severus looked up sharply. Harry Potter was standing directly in front of him with a worried expression.

"Potter! What the hell are you still doing here?"

"I was trying to clean this up a bit for you," he gestured at the room in general. All the bottles and vials that had been smashed were now repaired and back on their shelves, though Severus noticed, not in the right order. The toxic fumes and smoke had been cleared and only a faint burnt smell remained. Severus didn't know what to say. He had expected to have to do all this himself. The house-elves rarely entered his rooms except to gather the laundry.

Hearing sounds from the bedroom, Severus poked his head through the doorway to see Draco Malfoy directing said house-elves in clearing out the ashes of his former bedroom. Severus merely shook his head and walked back into the living room.

Severus began removing his robe so he could treat the burn on his arm. When he winced, Potter stepped over to him and helped him out of the black folds. When Potter reached for the buttons on his white dress shirt, Severus batted his hands away and waved his wand down the length of the shirt, opening up the twenty or thirty tiny buttons.

He blushed lightly as the younger man appraised his now naked chest. Severus knew he wasn't as physically attractive as some, but he was well toned in all the right places, even if he was too slim as Albus continually reminded him.

He was directed to sit on the sofa while Potter fetched a bottle of ointment and began treating the wound. Severus was surprised by the gentleness and softness of Potter's hands. He was even more surprised when he felt himself ring ing into the light touch.

Standing up abruptly, Severus grumbled a grudging "Thank you." He td tod toward Potter with his arms crossed over his chest, resuming his rigid stance and berating himself for relaxing in Potter's presence, and ignored the way the emerald eyes graced his body.

"I have been told to join your little excursion to Diagon Alley tomorrow. You and Professor Lupin will meet me in the foyer at precisely 8am. Do not be late." Severus was no longer relaxed and was even becoming a bit nervous as the young man nodded and continued to stare at him.

"Mr. Malfoy," he yelled as he turned away for the intensity of the green eyes, "you and Mr. Potter may leave now. The house-elves and I can finish up."

Malfoy exited the bedroom and nodded his farewell as the teens left the room. Severus sighed with relief as Potter closed the door behind him. He sat heavily on the sofa and rubbed his aching eyes again. All his anger and tension was draining out, leaving him feeling very tired.

"Master Sevvie, sir?" Tinker, Severus' own house-elf whom had been with his family since before Severus was born, was standing in front of him covered from the tip of his ears to the bottom if his bare feet, with soot. The old tea-towel he wore was so black, Severus couldn't be sure what the original color had been. The little creature twitched his ear, causing soot to flicker in a dark cloud. The sight was enough to make the exhausted man snicker before he could stifle it.

"Yes, Tinker?" he enquired after he had regained control of himself.

"Would Master Sevvie, sir, like Tinker to set up a bed for him here or in the black room?" The little elf was the only one who would ever dare to address Severus in such a manner and wasn't the least bit timid or shy with him. Severus cursed himself many times over for it, but he sincerely cared about the elf.

He gave a sad smile and said, "I'll just sleep on the sofa, thank you, Tinker." The house-elf nodded and left to fetch blankets and pillows for his favourite professor.

Severus had just kicked off his boots and was unbuttoning his trousers when there was a knock on the door.

"Oh, Gods. Now what?" he growled as he went to the door. He opened it to see Remus Lupin standing there with a big smile and an even bigger stack of clothes.

"Good evening, Severus. I thought you could use some clothes." Lupin stepped around him and into the room. Severus groaned and closed the door.

"Thank you, Lupin, buhardhardly think any of your clothes will fit me," he said, looking down his nose at the shorter man.

"Oh, they're not mine. I gathered them from some of the students."

"Oh, joy," Severus responded sarcastically.

"At least you'll have clothes that aren't singed for going out tomorrow. Speaking of singed, you really need a haircut now. The left side looks pretty bad andstilstill smells."

Severus glared at the werewolf for reminding him. "Yes, I know."

"Well, have a seat. I'll trim it up for you."

Lupin waved his wand and produced a pair of scissors. Severus had resigned himself to his fate hours ago, so instead of protesting, he merely sat quietly in a chair and let Lupin remove the burnt hair. He wasn't concerned about loosing several inches of his dark locks, he just wanted it even. He would use his hair growth potion and by morning it would be back to his shoulders and possibly a bit longer.

"There you are, Sev. Good as new," Lupin said, giving Severus a pat on the shoulder and waving his wand to clean up.

Severus rolled his eyes at the nickname and gave a tired thanks. He said goodnight and ushered the man towards the door. He was exhausted and just wanted to have a shower and go to bed.

"Goodnight, Severus. See you in the morning. I hope the clothes fit all right."

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Remus. Goodnight."

Severus closed the door with a sigh. He headed into the shower where he washed his hair and applied the growth potion. By the time he returned to the living room, Tinker had the sofa made up for him with pillows and a warm blanket. Severus ignored the plate of food left for him on the coffee table and settled into the blanket. It was time to call this day to an end.