Guilty as Sin

CHAPTER 20

“…so as of today all Hogsmeade weekends are cancelled and no students is permitted to wander the school grounds without a supervising professor.” The entire hall broke out into disgruntled muttering as Dumbledore finally sat back down at the front table, his speech complete. Harry stared blankly at his meal the boy’s appetite lost long before he’d entered the great hall for breakfast.

“This is ridiculous you’d think they’d at least let us walk between classes on our own.” Draco threw his fork down in disgust having pushed his scrambled eggs around on the plate until they were cold and inedible.

“We’re not going to be able to leave our house dorms at night either if they’re counting us in with roll call at 7.30.” Harry pulled his injured arm closer to his body safely tucking it into the warmth of his school robe to stop his fingers from getting cold.

“Snape’s going to be so pissed...” Draco trailed off as both he and Harry glanced cautiously up at the head table to see Snape brooding darkly into his steaming cup of tea.

“Oh yeah he’s pissed.” Harry whispered as both he and Draco turned hastily back to stare at their untouched breakfast as Snape look up as if sensing he was being watched. “I shouldn’t have gone out.” Harry cursed as the hall was dismissed to begin the day’s classes. Draco helped Harry up from the bench before picking up their school bags.

After the winter feast things had turned from bad to worse for them. Not only were the Auror’s combing the grounds for an unforgiven, but now the pair of them were to be locked in their dorms each night preventing either of them from seeing Snape outside of lessons and meals. Snape was beyond furious. Harry had disobeyed Dumbledore’s direct order regarding the winter feast, causing a chaos that Snape had been forced to carefully cover up to avoid them being discovered. Then to add to it, another Superei had attempted to claim Harry and move in on Snape’s territory making the potion professor practically livid and unbearable to live with. Now combined with the new regulations and the Auror’s watch on the castle the three of them were practically prisoners and had to watch their every step.

“I told you not to do anything stupid.” Draco muttered as he walked beside Harry towards their charms class.

“How was I supposed to know I’d meet…?” Harry trailed off as they passed a small group of Hufflepuff girls coming the opposite way down the staircase. “You said we were rare, hardly any of us and that most of us lived normal lives as wizards with no one any the wiser?” Harry grumped as they pushed their way into the charms classroom and took up their seats on the floor cushions at the back of the room. Harry winced as he sat down forgetting himself momentarily at the pain that shot up his backside robbing him of his breath before subsiding again. How Draco had put up with this sort of pain every morning was beyond Harry’s comprehension. Draco sympathetically added another floor cushion under Harry’s for a little more padding as he tossed his friend his book bag.

“It’ll get easier, it’s only because it was your first.” Harry sighed and began digging through his bag with his good arm searching for his homework. “It was just a fluke, it’s never heard of two of us meeting like that.” Draco fell silent as the rest of the seventh year charms began coming in the door, all of them still mumbling and muttering about the cancelled Hogsmeade weekends and the new school restrictions. Harry shrugged his shoulders in silent reply to Draco’s comment as professor Flitwick climbed up onto his stool at the front of the room to begin the class.

By the time the day’s classes were over Draco and Harry were exhausted. Everywhere they went they were under scrutiny by either professors or the Auror’s who were patrolling the corridors like sentinels. No one dared to even whisper about anything incase someone should over hear, it was like living in a fishbowl and Harry hated it. Snape was curiously absent from dinner as well causing both Harry and Draco some concern. Having Potions only on a Friday now they would not be seeing the elder wizard for the next three days apart from meals. Forced into parting from Draco after dinner Harry trailed idly behind his head of house who was dutifully escorting her brood back to the Gryfindor Tower for the evening. McGonagal marked each of them on a roll as they stepped in through the portrait before she locked them in for the night at precisely 7.30. Most students lingered in the common room talking, no one really happy about being locked in to their house. Harry sat in the window seat staring down at the darkened Quidditch pitch listening to the stories being passed around about the murders in Hogsmeade. It hadn’t taken long for the stories to come out in the papers, the headline splashed in bold print across the top of the Daily Prophet that morning was ‘NEW DARK CREATURE THREATEN’S WIZARDING WORLD’. The story had gone on to discuss this new threat, comparing it to the second coming of Voldemort but far more deadly. Harry knew if Voldemort were reading the story he wouldn’t be happy at being referred to as ‘old news’ and Harry had an idea that was probably where Snape had gone that evening.

It was while he was staring out of the window that he noticed a figure running across the lawn. Harry knew instantly who it was and pushed his nose closer to the glass to get a better look. Like Snape, the man must have sensed being watched and Harry froze as the cloaked figure paused on the lawn and looked up directly at Harry in the window. In the moonlight, just as he had down by the lake Harry caught the flash of indigo behind the shadow of the man’s hood. “Shit.” Harry whispered to himself as he watched the man take off again disappearing into the darkness. So the man was still here, despite the Auror’s. Harry was too busy staring out of the window that he didn’t notice approaching company until a shadow fell over him.

“Harry?” Harry jumped a little in surprise at hearing a familiar voice addressing him. It had been a long time since he’d heard the girls voice or at least a long time since she’d talked to him. Turning in his window seat Harry stared wearily at Hermione who stood almost nervously beside him. Harry didn’t make any move to greet the girl and instead stared at her coldly as she swallowed and lowered her gaze to the floor. “They’re saying that the ministry made a mistake in arresting you, that these ‘unforgiven’ killed that boy instead of you. Dumbledore’s apparently been in touch with the Minister who said he’s willing to drop all charges if you help identify and catch the creature that did it.” Harry’s cold expression never changed despite the fact that his mind had just exploded in shock at what he was hearing. When Harry didn’t reply Hermione became even more nervous her cheeks flaming pink and her hands twisting awkwardly in her lap. “I just wanted to say…” Harry watched the girl stumble on her words but before she could say anything more Harry had stood up cutting her off abruptly.

Harry had grown over summer and stood a considerable inch or so taller than Hermione, so that the young witch was forced to look up at him, her eyes wide and round with concern. Harry was livid hardly believing what he was hearing, or what the manipulative old man had done this time to scheme his way out of trouble. Dumbledore had been there when they’d checked his wand the night he’d killed that idiot boy Stanley. Oh yes Harry’s wand had spoken for him that night, replaying for the benefit of those present every gruesome detail of what Harry had done, from tearing out the boy’s wind pipe to carving up his chest like mince meat. No, Harry had taken credit for the entire beautiful scene and now Dumbledore the meddling old fart had fucked it up!

“Get out of my way.” Harry’s voice dropped dangerously as he stared down at Hermione, the petrified girl automatically stepping aside as Harry strode towards the locked and warded portrait hole. By now the entire common room had fallen silent. all of them staring as Harry without so much as a battered eyelid opened the portrait hole with a careless flick of his wand. The door opened without a sound and Harry stepped easily through it. If there had been anybody wandering the corridors Harry would not have hesitated to end their miserable existence if they’d challenged him, so much was the way he was feeling. As it was however Harry met no one in the deserted corridors, even the professors it seemed had retired to their chambers.

Harry made it down to Snape’s private rooms and with another sharp flick of his wand had opened the heavily warded doors and strode into the wizard’s living room. Harry didn’t spare Snape even a second glance as he strode confidently over to the elder wizard’s liquor cabinet and proceeded to swig from the brandy decanter in large gulps.

“Potter!” Snape was sitting in front of the fire reading a Potion’s magazine and nursing his own glass of red wine. It was obvious where he’d been all evening the dark circles under his eyes and the tired paled face a dead give away. Harry ignored him through and again swigged from the brandy decanter letting the burning liquid scald its way down his throat. Pain was all that Harry’s body at present responded too his anger seething barely restrained beneath the surface. The last time he’d been this mad he’d killed his cousin’s best friend Stanley.

“Do you know what he’s done?” Finally finding his voice again Harry bit out angrily from between his clenched teeth, not daring to look back at Snape who was still sitting in his chair by the fire. Snape didn’t reply and Harry’s anger surfaced again. Slamming the glass decanter down on the sideboard Harry spun around to scream at Snape. “Do you know what he’s done?” Harry’s angry shouting seemed to have no effect on Snape who merely turned the page of his magazine and looked up at Harry casually over the top of it.

“Yes, I believe the headmaster has found a ‘scapegoat to save his precious boy who lived. I did warn you he wouldn’t give up on you, despite being a disappointment to him. After all who’s going to save them all from Voldemort without you?” Snape turned his gaze back to his magazine infuriating Harry even more. Without even thinking what he was doing Harry threw the glass decanter across the room at Snape, the large heavy object on a collision course with the professors head. Like lightening though the decanter froze in mid air and Harry watched as Snape put aside his magazine and stood up. Snape’s gaze darkened as he stepped around the frozen decanter and stalked dangerously over to Harry. Harry however didn’t back down and merely straightened his spine defiantly as Snape brought his face down to meet Harry’s. “I don’t suggest you continue with this path Potter unless you would like a repeat of last night.” Snape spat in Harry’s face and while the boy still felt the unmistakable tingle of defiance running through his veins he knew better than to continue challenging Snape. Breathing out heavily Harry lowered his gaze from Snape’s in submission allowing his head to fall against the elder wizard’s chest in an apologetic move. “There, there Potter we will not have to put up with it for much longer, I have a feeling things are about to change…” Snape nuzzled into Harry’s mop of hair inhaling deeply on the boy’s scent. Harry was about to question the professor about his comment but a knock on Snape’s chamber door resonated around the room. “Shit.” Snape swore loudly and pushed Harry away from him as he spun around to answer his door. “Sit and shut up.” Snape commanded to Harry as he replaced the decanter back in the liquor cabinet before flicking his wand at the entrance to his rooms.

Almost immediately four Auror’s, the headmaster and McGonagall still dressed in her night things stepped into Snape’s lounge, all of them looking from Snape to Harry and then back to the professor.

“What on earth is going on?!” McGonagall snapped angrily before either the headmaster or the head Auror could say anything. Snape casually shrugged his shoulders and moved away from the small group and over to the fireplace to warm himself.

“As Albus is aware Mr. Potter here has some anger problems that I am teaching him to manage properly.” Snape turned his back on the group, merely glancing knowingly over his shoulder at the headmaster before concentrating on the fire.

“Headmaster this is completely unsanctioned tutoring. A student is not permitted to be in a professors private quarters whether being instructed or not!” McGonagall was shouting her piercing voice echoing outside in the corridor. “Further more I understood that Mr. Potter was to be cleared of all charges, and that this ‘anger management’ is unnecessary!” Harry didn’t look up from where he was fiddling with the arm of Snape’s leather couch as McGonagall looked to the Auror’s for confirmation of this news.

“Cleared or not Professor McGonagall, Mr. Potter here may turn out to be just as common a villainous thug as everyone has labeled him to be, thus I am ensuring he learns some valuable lessons from this ordeal, so that future embarrassments of this kind can be avoided.” Snape calmly turned around in front of the fireplace warming his backside now that his front was hot. “As for him being in my chambers?” Snape continued, his gaze fixed pointedly at the headmaster. “There is no specific rule regarding students in private quarters, only that they are not permitted without permission and Mr. Potter surprisingly does have my permission to be here.” Snape finished his explanation with a casual flick of his head in irritation as McGonagall stood staring at the headmaster waiting for confirmation that Snape was in the right.

“Indeed Severus, we apologies for the interruption of your evening. News of Mr. Potter’s abrupt leaving of his house had us concerned for the boy’s welfare.” Harry sneered to himself at the sound of the headmasters voice wanting nothing more to rip his head off. However though the boy remained silent and listened as the headmaster ushered the group back outside, assuring them that Harry was in capable hands. Snape remained staring at the door of his chamber until the last sounds of the group had disappeared leaving Harry and he alone again.

“You should go back to your house…” Snape whispered huskily as he glanced over Harry’s form sitting slumped on his couch. Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, having calmed down after his earlier outburst. Just being in Snape’s presence seemed to tame his rage. Harry rose begrudgingly to leave but was stopped short of moving when Snape stepped in front of him and pushed his face into Harry’s neck. “…but since you’re here you can loose the clothes and get in bed.” With a playful nip on Harry’s neck Snape stepped away and disappeared into his lab. Harry shivered the encapsulating aroma of his Superei entrancing him entirely. Admittedly he was still sore from last night’s ordeal but something about the way he’d felt when the man had taken him so fully drew Harry to stay.

Heading for the bedroom already fingering the buttons on his shirt, Harry paused as he remembered what he’d seen from the Gryfindor window. Cautiously Harry turned and followed Snape into his lab instead. The professor was bent over a steaming cauldron slowly stirring the contents.

“I thought I told you…” Snape didn’t look up from his task but Harry cut him off quickly.

“I know and I’m getting there.” Harry muttered having already stripped off his shirt and dropped it carelessly to the floor. “I just wanted to say I saw…” Harry hesitated wondering how to word what he was going to say without causing Snape to react like he did last night.

“You saw…” Snape prompted, as he finally looked up from the potion his lavender hued gaze eyeing Harry’s upper body hungrily.

“I saw the man from last night again from my window just before I came down here.” Harry’s hand lingered on the waistband of his pants as he watched Snape’s gaze narrow dangerously, the lavender hue deepening to indigo.

“Indeed it seems he has decided to stay no doubt thanks to your display yesterday evening. I am perhaps to be thankful that he does not know of Draco, so I may only have to fight for you.” Harry swallowed nervously as Snape licked his lips and sniffed indignantly at the very thought of having to fight. “I am not accustomed to being challenged for what belongs to me, and I will not have him compromising our position as it stands at present.” Snape put the stirring rod from the cauldron in the sink before stepping around the bench and up to where Harry was still half undressed. “Now isn’t there somewhere you should be?” Snape looked at Harry pointedly and the boy nodded. Quickly Harry turned on his heel and half hopping and half running Harry shucked the rest of his clothes off as he ran into the bedroom, knowing Snape was not a half a step behind him.

TBC>>>>>>>>>