Death Eater Takes a Holiday

This Chapter was made beta by Xikum






Chapter 32 Unexpected
Revelations

Severus sat back, pulling Harry with him. The hand that had been trailing
his scar was now lazily carding through his hair. As Harry drifted off, he felt
a kiss pressed to the top of his head; vaguely he heard Severus speak.

"Beautiful."

Sev lay, still holding on to this beautiful young man for over an hour as he
slept, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat and breathing. It was probably
after 4:00 in the morning. Severus knew he could not go to sleep until Albus healed
him. If he were to sleep, the pressure charm wouldn't hold, and he could bleed
to death. To keep awake, he laid holding on to Harry, thinking about all he'd
learned this morning. Harry had been frank and told him many things that must
have been very hard to divulge. He had obviously had a hard time dealing after
the Tri-Wizard tournament. Had they just dumped the boy off at his relatives
after such an ordeal? He strained to remember what Harry had told him when
they were on holiday. Mrs. Weasley had insisted he go for therapy after his
Godfather had been killed during the attack at his home. That would have been a
year after he was burned. Had his family treated him badly all along? Yes, the
pensieve project certainly showed that he was used to abusive behavior long
before he turned 10. A light bulb for a birthday gift, indeed. Harry
never outright admitted that he was abused or beaten, but he did say that he'd
owled Sirius when things got bad. What? A metal noose burned into his neck
wasn't bad? That beenbeen the year earlier. Severus was roused from his
thoughts when Harry spoke.

"Do you alwayowl owl when cuddling?" Harry asked, and then
snuggled in closer.

"I'm not."

"Not scowling, or not cuddling? I know you can look content, I've seen
it when you were riding. You look very nice in leather, by the way. And I know
you can cuddle," he said, sliding his hand around the other man. "Now
the question is, can you do both at the same time?" Harry was pretty sure
that Severus had been thinking about the goings-on at Privet Drive. Severus
looked down to the gorgeous creature practically climbing onto his lap. He
likes me in leather? His breath hitched as he felt Harry's face nuzzling in
his neck, his hands trailing behind his neck and up into his hair.

"Do you recall me saying nothing will happen between us tonight? What
do you think you’re doing?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, I do recall," he said. His words breathed warm air over
Sev's neck. "I'm just cuddling." He sounded innocent, but wriggled on
Severus' lap. Severus made no move to stop him, but didn't reciprocate. He
relaxed into the sofa, allowing Harry to nuzzle him, trailing little kisses,
covering every inch of his neck. Harry wanted to turn the man on, but didn't
want to move too fast. If he could just get the man hot and bothered, Sev would
attack him; well maybe not, but at least kiss him again. He hoped.

Harry continued to kiss and lick Severus' neck. He would occasionally be
daring and reach up higher, pulling an earlobe into his mouth, worrying the lobe
for a while before retuning to the long, elegaeck eck that begged to be sucked
on. Before long, Harry was straddling the man, shocked that not once had
Severus joined in on this one-sided snog fest. Harry was very careful not to
leave marks on the slender neck he was ravaging, stopping only when Severus
startled with a jerk. Harry sat up quickly.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked worriedly. Severus blinked a few
times.

"Nothing, I just caught myself dozing off."

Dozing? Harry thought
incredulously. He'd been attacking the man's neck for what seemed like forever,
and the man was dozing off? He suddenly felt embarrassed to be straddling his
lap, and realized for the first time that he felt absolutely nothing beneath
him. Severus wasn't even slightly hard for him. "I guess I should leave so
you can get some sleep.&qu

Severus saw Harry's hurt expression as he clumsily climbed off his lap.
Reaching up, he grabbed the sleeve of Harry's dress robe and pulled him back on
the sofa, so that Harry was sitting next to him. Looking at his watch he said,
"About forty-five minutes; you're persistent," Sev said with a laugh,
as Harry did clearly not understand. "I wondered how long you would go
before giving up, or tearing my robes off. I appreciate your restraint on the
later," he said with a smirk. Harry's hurt expression was now lost
somewhere between defeat and anger.

"Fat lot of good it did," Harry mumbled. Severus put his arm
around Harry and squeezed his shoulder.

"Harry, I take a potion before every Death Eater meeting ensuring
impotence. You couldn't get this up if you danced naked, chanting Wingardium
Leviosa," he said pointing to his lap. Harry was biting his lip, but
laughed despite himself. "If it'll make you feel better, by 8:30
mid-breakfast time, the potion will wear off, and I'll be suffering an
agonizing hard-on from all the effort you've put forth.

Harry looked sheepishly at Severus. "I wasn't going to push since you
said no fooling around, but I was hoping to tempt you."

"Had it not been for the potion I'd taken, I would never have been
foolish enough to have you here alone with me in my rooms. I may be a man of my
word, but I am still a man, after all," Sev smirked as he watched Harry
shudder at the words.

"I hate to say it, but you look too tired to get it up anyway."
Harry said, teasing the man.

"After a few rounds of the Cruciatus and a sound beating I'm bound to
look fatigued. That and I've been holding the pressure charm on my chest for
hours. I may hto rto resort to holding the damn thing by hand when I get too
tired to keep the spell going."

"Isn't there a spell to keep you awake? Didn't you mention that when I
was in the infirmary?"

"Yes, but it can not be taken twice in a ten hour period, and I will
most certainly need it come lunch time. There is no point in taking it now,
since I can keep myself awake." By now Severus had given up on holding the
charm and kept his hand over the bandage to keep pressure on the incision.

"Do you have to stay awake, or is it that you need to keep your cut
closed? Couldn't I help you by holding it and allowing you to get some
sleep?"

"I think not," Severus said flatly. Harry ignored the tone,
chalking it up to exhaustion and Severus just being Severus.

"Why not? I could stay awake; trust me I'm a pro. I spent most of fifth
year avoiding going to sleep. Don't let all that practice go to waste,"
Harry pleaded. Severus sighed.

"Harry, it's not that I don't trust you, but even well trained Aurors
have fallen asleep at their watch," he said seriously, and then added,
"If I were to bleed out, who would take points from Gryffindor?"

Harry slowly put his hand up to Severus’ robes to take a look at the wound.
Severus was curious himself to see what it looked like after all this time, and
allowed Harry to pull back the gauze packing for a quick moment. Harry kept his
face impassive as he examined the area as he'd seen Poppy do many time his his
past seven years. Blood started to slowly flow again, and Harry covered the
injured area. "I'd say with that length incision and depth, it would take
an hour for you to pass out from it. Why don't I set an alarm for 30 minutes,
so if I were to fall asleep, you'de toe to take copious points."

Severus thought about his options; he was tired. Harry did seem fairly
awake, and his idea did have merit. It disturbed Severus that Harry was quite
confident, and spoke with authority on how long it would take to pass out. He
was too tired now to think about what that meant. He didn't think he could fall
asleep in someone else's company, but he nearly did just that while they were
lying together earlier. In the end, fatigue won out, and Harry sat peacefully
next to Severus, keeping firm pressure on his bandage.

Harry was in fact a pro at not going to sleep. After addressing the issues
that plagued his dreams in therapy, Harry seldom had the need to keep himself
up at night, but he could still do it, and do it well. After resetting the
alarm for the third time, Severus had gotten 90 minutes of sleep so far and
Harry was happy he could do it for him.

Boredom and curiosity soon got the best of him, and Harry was checking the
wound again. What was it Albus had? He could heal Severus but Poppy couldn't?
Severus had said that it was not a difficult healing charm, but that Dumbledore
had inner qualities that enabled him to perform the spell. Was it bloodlines?
Harry had wondered what made him so special that he would be the one to take
out Voldemort. Dumbledore was the only person that Voldemort feared. So, did
Harry and Dumbledore have this thing in common? Was Harry a small branch off
the Dumbledore family tree? 'A twig'? He mused.

Harry concentrated to remember the different spells from the chapter on
healing in his Charms textbook. He remembered a spell healhealing cuts such as
this that he'd been fairly good at, but wasn’t sure if it was enough. Maybe he
should perform the spell that cleaned and healed, thus preventing infection.
Harry thought surely Severus would have cleaned it earlier, but no point in
taking chances. Harry recited the charm in his head a few times before trying
it for real. It was disturbing how mblooblood had trickled out during this
time. Harry and Sev's robes were getting sticky, but Harry did not allow
himself to be distracted as he cast the spell. It was quite a satisfying
feeling to see the wound close, completely healed. There was a scar Harry could
see, and an old scar just visible behind the new scar gracing Severus' chest.
The incision had been made with a blade combined with magic; it was intended to
leave a scar as a reminder.

Harry had never been one to resist his curiosity. It had always won over
good sense, but he could not resist looking. Pushing Severus’ robes fully open
across his chest, Harry gazed at Sev's form. He didn't seem to notice the
various scars scattered across the man's chest, but saw every change his body
had made since his eighteen-year-old form. Severus, while still fairly
hairless, now had a broader chest. His pectoral muscles were well defined.
Harry couldn’t resist running a hand over them; he almost laughed when he
realized that the nipples didn't get hard even when squeezed. That had been
one good po Sev Sev took to keep himself from getting aroused. Sev didn't
have that scrawny teen neck that he still had. He shivered at the thought of
seeing Sev completely naked. This was a grown man beneath him. He couldn't wait
until he could see him completely, feeling him against his own skin. He would
have been hard by now if it hadn't been for the disturbing amount of blood on
them.

Harry wanted to go and wash up, but wasn't ready to leave Severus' side yet.
He kept a hand over the man's heart where the wound had been, ensuring it was
completely gone and wasn't returning. His thoughts strayed to Dumbledore,
noting he would have to ask next time he saw him if he was related somehow.
Would Albus tell him what it was that made him able to heal Sev? While needing
to keep Severus alive, it hadn't been too hard to stay awake, but now, that
stress was gone. Hours had passed. If there had been windows in the dungeon,
Harry was sure he would see the sun rising. He didn't even notice his eyelids
starting to fall.

 

Severus woke with a start. He felt better rested than he thought possible.
There was no way he had only been asleep for thirty minutes. Remembering how
Harry had reset the timer when Ron slept in the infirmary, he knew exactly why
he felt sstedsted, but since he was still alive, he knew it couldn’t have been
too long. Severus would have enjoyed seeing Harry sleeping so peacefully on his
chest had there not been so much blood between them. Harry groaned and moved slightly, turning his head. Severus was
unpleasantly reminded of what Harry looked like the night he removed him from
his home on Privet Drive, the night Black was killed. His feelings of that
night were now mixed with disappoint. nt. He had trusted Harry to stay awake. 'How
foolish I'd been', he thought to himself. Harry also woke with a start,
grumbling when he was nearly pushed to the floor as Severus stood up.

"Oh, I am sorry for having
disturbed your slumber, Mr. Potter, but I've got to see Albus while I still
have some blood left," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Not a morning person, are you Sev?" Harry wasn't particularly
concerned with Severus’ tone. He was sure that when Sev realized that he was no
longer bleeding, he would calm down. Maybe he would make breakfast for him. Hopefully
Sev wouldn't mind me cooking in his kitchen.

Harry watched the door to Severus’ bedroom slam, remembering that he had
said earlier that the sitting room fire was open to the floo nrk, rk, and he
kept the fire out, so they wouldn't be disturbed. It wouldn't fare well to have
Lucius Malfoy's head pop into the fire to speak to Snape and find Harry Potter
sitting on his sofa. The fire in the bedroom was separate, and he used it to
speak to Albus. Harry laughed at the similarity to having an unlisted phone
number, but for wizards. Harry spun his
head around at the distinct 'pop' sound, to see Dobby standing behind the sofa.


"Good Morning, Harry Pot Eww Eww, Prsor sor Snape was saying that you
were needing a cleaning up. You is a mess."

"Morning, Dobby."

"Professor Snape ordered Dobby to tell you to clean yourself up, and
for me to bring you your father’s cloak, so youto lto leave safely."

Harry was disappointed; that meant he wouldn't be cooking breakfast for Sev
today. Dobby was gone in a pop, with a promise to return with his invisibility
cloak in a while, giving Harry time to get cleaned up. He also reminded Harry
that Snape had said not to touch anything. Harry wondered if he was supposed to
turn on the shower with the powers of his mind or would he be allowed to use
his hands. Laughing at his own joke, Harry entered Severus' bedroom to get to
the bath. Sev's room was fairly plain, but tastefully decorated. A rich black
carpet that made Harry want to toe off his shoes and wiggle his toes offset the
light colored wood of the furniture.

Now that Harry wasn't lying next to Sev, he realized it was cold in the
rooms. Severus had set the temperature colder than usual to prevent himself
from falling asleep. Harry didn't think Severus would appreciate him changing
anything, so he just tried to ignore the chilliness. He dropped his dirty robes
on the rug, leaving them to clean later. He just wanted to relax in a nice hot
shower. It was luxurious to have a shower without others around. He really couldn't wait to get into his own
place. Shocked by his reflection, Harry saw that he must have cuddled into
Severus during his sleep, because he had blood on the side of his head. 'That
must be why Severus looked so upset when he woke up'. Harry said to
himself, having misread the man's reaction.

Harry stepped out of the steamy shower, wrapping himself in an oversized
towel he found on the hook behind the door. He had planned on spelling his
robes clean, but when he stepped into the bedroom again, the cool air hit him,
and he wrapped the towel tighter. He sat for a few minutes on the bed, facing
the bathroom, wrapped up in the towel, waiting to adjust to the temperature
before wanting to move. "Screw this," Harry said, then took his wand
out and lit a fire. With a flick of his wand the fire was blazing, warming up
the room nicely. There was no need to worry that Albus would show up to talk to
Severus, since they were together. Not that Harry would really care if he did.
He lived with Albus the summer he'd been taken from Privet Drive. He still had
a few things in his room up in the tower near Albus' office. The fireplace in
Harry's bedroom by Albus' was also private; only Albus could speak with him or
floo in. Harry started to dress, and then stopped, leavine ble bloody robes on
the floor. He didn't feel like touching them just yet, and couldn't leave ‘till
Dobby returned anyway.

With the room warm and cozy, Harry couldn't pass up the chance to lie down a
bit. He’d had only had a few hours sleep, and the duvet looked so inviting; it
looked like it would be smooth and soft against his skin. Dobby would wake him
when he came in. On his stomach, relaxed, Harry enjoyed the scent of Severus on
the pillow. His hair was still long from the previous night, aplayplayed over
the pillow. Very nice, he thought.

"About fucking time you lit a fire, Snape!"

Harry froze, someone's head was in the fire, but he couldn't see whose, and
he didn't dare turn around. With the long hair, chances were he wouldn't be
recognized from the baWhatWhat the hell do I do now? It occurred to
Harry that this person could step though the fire if he wanted, and Harry had
no way of knowing if he was on the side of light, or even a Death Eater.
Pretending to sleep was not the best action, so he grabbed his wand and dove
into the bathroom, spelling the door locked.

The man in the fire realized the man on the bed was too small to be Severus
Snape. Seeing him diving out of sight, the man in the fire grinned from ear to
ear. 'This is going to be fun', the man thought. He hadn't had
such good dirt on Snape in a while.

 

In a high tower where the Headmaster resides, one Severus Snape explained
that he once again needed to be healed as he had been so many years ago. Light
blue eyes looked tired as Albus reprimanded his child for not coming to him
sooner, determined to convince Severus of his self-worth. The younger man was
doing a fine job of reprimanding himself, muttering about falling asleep, and
being such a fool. He stared straight ahead to avoid eye contact with the older
wizard. Albus moved the bandage away from Severus' heart to reveal the healed
wound. Looking back at the soiled robes, he noted the blood had mostly dried.
The twinkle returned to the tired eyes. Albus pressed the bandage, and asked
him to sit down. Severus sighed; he was a captive audience and would have to
sit through a lecture if he wanted to be healed. He continued to keep pressure
on the bandage, and sat in the offered chair.

"Tell me why you are so upset, Severus," said Albus in a gentle
voice.

Severus incredulously looked down at the blood-stained robes and back again
at the old man. "I am merely angry at myself for being in such a
situation."

"Would that be the situation where you need to ask for help, or the
situation involving Harry?"

Severus eyes widened slightly. "Harry has nothing to do with
this," he said angrily.

" He doesn't?"

"Albus, I'm not in the mood for games," Severus said, rubbing his
temples, a stress headache beginning to start.

"No games, Severus," the head er ser said quietly. "As you
stated, you are upset with yourself for being in this situation, and apparently
for falling asleep. The first of the two was out of your control, so not worth
fretting over. The later however is a different matter. Did you not take
precautions against sleep, considering the consequences?"

"I thought I had," he said curtly.

"Many years ago, you were upset to find out Vincent could not heal you.
It hurt, but later you admitted that being free from that relationship was for
the best, and you no longer regretted it."

"Your point?" replied Severus rudely. He was impressed that after all those years, Albus still
remembered Vincent's name, though he would be hard pressed to admit it. His own
father couldn't remember even while Severus was still dating him.

"My point," Albus said, not the least bit slighted by the younger
man’s disrespect. "Maybe you needed the sleep more? Some things work out
for the best." He received a scowl in reply. "Do you feel pain?"

Severus' scowl decreased slightly as he thought about that for a moment. He
had been in such haste to get to Albus, and away from his disappointment in
Harry, that he hadn't even noticed the pain was gone. Catching sight of Albus’
warm smile, yet with a look of mischief in his eyes, Sev looked down, pulling
the bandage away. He couldn't believe his eyes. The wound was gone, with a scar
in its place, just as the other scar from years ago. "You…how…" he asked
with an intake of breath.

"Not me, you were healed before you came to me," said Albus.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry stood in Severus' bathroom, one hand on the doorknob, the other on his
wand. He relaxed slightly when a familiar pop was heard. Sure enough, Dobby was
knocking on the door, announcing his return with Harry's invisibility cloak.
After convincing him the fire was void of strange heads looking for Severus,
Harry ventured out. At least part of him was out. Dobby watched eagerly as
Harry's right arm slid through the small opening. With a swish and flick the
fire was out. With a sigh, the rest of Harry emerged into the bedroom, relieved
that Dobby was holding up a now clean dress robe. He was tempted to take the
elf up on his offer to come serve him.

"Eep!" squeaked the elf, and then looked apologetic for his
reaction. "I was not expecting you to be wearing so little clothes while
you is in a professor’s personal rooms."

"Oh, yeah, well," Harry, muttered when he realized he was not
wearing much. "dn'tdn't planned on taking my robe off until I was back in
my room," hed. ed.

Dobby confirmed the coast was clear. Harry was soon on his way back to the
Gryffindor tower. Hermione and Ginny were the only two awake so early. Most
were still recovering from the previous evening’s festivities. Harry slipped in
and took off the invisibility cloak as he entered.

"You dog!" exclaimed Ginny, when she realized Harry was still in
his dress robe. "You're even showered! Where did you sleep last
night?"

On top of him, he was temped to say. "Who slept?" he said
with a grin. Ginny practically squealed.

"Who? Tell me who it was!" Ginny demanded.

"Do I look like the kind of guy who kisses and tells?"

"You better be that kind of guy," interrupted Hermione. "Are
you going to breakfast?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said, thinking about
what will happen when Sev's potion wears off in the middle of breakfast. Harry
couldn’t wait to see him squirm. "I'm going upstairs to change." With
a turn he was gone up the steps. Ginny and Hermione watched him go.

"What did you think, briefs, or boxers?" Ginny asked, while
checking out Harry’s arse as he climbed the steps.

"Might be a thong," Hermione commented, uncertainly.

 

Harry opened the door quietly to avoid waking his dorm-mates. He was
surprised that all the curtains were closed; even Neville's four-poster was
closed tight. Usually Neville was the first up. Harry shrugged it off as too
much partying and unclasped his s ros robe, allowing it to slip to the floor.

"And the winner IS: Black Satin Bikinis. Pay up, Seamus!" called
Dean from his bed. Harry lowered his head, shaking it in disbelief. He couldn't
help but laugh at his dorm-mates' antics. Seamus threw open his curtains,
giving Harry a mock scowl.

"You cost me 10 sickles, Harry," Seamus complained. "I had
you down for starkers. You should have seen Patty Patil sputter her punch out
when you bent over to pick up Mione's napkin. A right many eyes were on your
arse last night Harry."

Harry gave his arse a shake before pulling on his trousers. Dean made
believe he was swooning, and Ron yelled at them all to shut up so he could go
back to sleep.

"What about you, Neville?" Harry asked. Neville looked around
sheepishly.

"I bet 8 on boxer-briefs. You know, the long tight ones you wear when
you play Quidditch."

Harry sashayed over to Neville's bed. "Nev, I didn't know you noticed
such details." he teased. Neville went scarlet. t;Not;Now I know why you
squeezed my arse on the dance floor," he added. Neville's eyes went wide.

"I did not!"

"Relax Nev, I'm just winding you up." Neville let out a relieved
breath, and busied himself, avoiding all eye contact. Seamus and Dean laughed
and apparently thought Ron had the right idea; both of them closed thewn
wn
curtains once again, deciding to skip breakfast this morning. Harry stopped
Neville halfway down the steps. "Are you straight, Nev?" he asked in
all seriousness.

"I guess," he shrugged. "It's just, sometimes I notice
things."

"Like my arse?" he said lightheartedly.

"Yeah, that and Ginny has a nice one too."

"Don't worry about it, you'll figure it out," said Harry, putting
his arm around his friend. "Don't let Ron hear that you're checking out
Gin's arse," warned Harry. Neville shook his head in agreement.

"You and Neville?" interrogated Ginny when she saw them walk down
together. Neville turned scarlet again.

"No, despite the fact that Neville is looking quite hot these days,
I've got my sights elsewhere," Harry said smoothly. Neville, while still
eight shades of red from the compliment, decided to take the opportunity opened
to him.

"Would you like to have breakfast with me, Ginny?" Ginny took the
proffered arm, and headed out with Neville for the Great Hall. Harry held out
his own arm in a similar gesture.

Hermione took it and rested her head on his shoulder.
"You had better be the kind that kisses and tells," she whispered as
they walked behind the other two.