Death Eater Takes a Holiday

This chapter is for Minerva-Severus-Dumbledor my 1500th Review






Chapter 33 Warding

 

"He healed me?" stated a disbelieving Severus as he gawked at the
healed wound over his heart. Albus smiled warmly.

"It would appear so."

"But huldnuldn't possibly…" Severus trailed off as he considered
the ramifications of Harry healing him.

"Yes he possibly could, and must, in order to have healed you. Did you
explain to Harry the details of the spell, or the necessary element?"
inquired Albus. Severus shook his head.

"No, I merely said that you alone could do it."

"It’s nice to know I'm not alone. Has Harry told you how he feels about
you?"

"Only that he wishes to get to know me better to give our relationship
a chance. If he'd told me he loved me, I would not have believed him."

"But he does love you, or the spell to heal you would never have
worked."

Severus thought about how Harry had looked when he woke. He had expected
Harry to wake up spewing excuses for his falling asleep. It had bothered
Severus more that Harry didn't even look ashamed at all. Of course, now he knew
why. Harry had already healed him and had known it was safe for them to sleep.
He felt like such a fool. For that matter, he had felt like a fool all morning.
Only earlier, he felt like a fool for trusting Harry and being let down. Now he
felt like a fool because he hadn't trusted Harry. Damn. He was not
looking forward to talking to Harry. Severus wasn't accustomed to having to
apologize and be thankful all in one conversation. The headache continued to
grow.

"He loves me?" thought Severus, and then realized he'd said it
aloud. He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. Albus was still smiling.

"Go, get rid of those awful robes and get washed up. Breakfast will
begin soon." Albus steered Severus to the fire, tossing in the Floo
powder. "Oh, and Severus, confirm a date to start Harry's training so I
can make the necessary arrangements."

Severus nodded and stepped into the fire. He had so much to think about he
decided not to think at all just yet. He really needed to get out of his bloody
robe. As he stepped into his bedroom he immediately felt the cool air. Spelling
the room warmer again, Sev remembered Albus' request. He lit a fire and threw
in a pinch of powder from a small box on the mantel. "Kieran
Donnelly," Sev called into the fire. A moment later the head of a man with
wiry brown hair and a three-day-old beard appeared.

"You look like crap, Snape," said the man. Severus grunted in
reply. "Yust ust come from Albus?"

"Yes, he wants to know what day is good for us to begin the
training."

"I talked to our friend, he says you had it pretty bad last night. I'd
say he's right."

Severus grunted again, rubbing his temples.

"Thought we'd talk last night, but looks like you were busy."

"Get to the point Kieran, I've got a sh to to take. You should try it
sometime," Severus said sarcastically to his friend.

"Maybe so," he said smelling his armpits, "but you’re the one
they call 'Greasy Git'."

"What the Hell do you
want?" snarled Severus

"You called me remember? Frigin’ potions fumes are screwing with your
head."

Severus shook his head. He was tired. "I’ll call you later to set up
days for training," he said, turning to go into the bathroom.

"You do that; let me know what days you pick. I don't care, anything
but Thursdays. Then you can tell me who the pretty boy was I saw in here this
morning."

Severus snapped his head around to see Kieran with an evil grin.
"Excuse me?" Severus was suddenly very awake.

"I could only see him from the back, long dark hair, not too tall.
You’re not paying for it, are you Snape?"
Kieran hassled him, knowing Severus didn't usually talk about his sex
life. He wanted to find out who the guy was, if for nothing else but to harass
Severus with the information.

"Bugger off, Donnelly," Severus climbed into the shower attempting
to forget his friends comment. 'Pay for it, indeed'. He grumbled to
himself. 'So Kieran had seen Harry. He hadn't recognized him, but he did see
a man in my room'. Severus was
angry that Harry had been so careless as to light the fire, but still had his
mind wrapped around the fact that Harry loved him. Did he even know? While he wanted Harry to care for him, Sev
wasn't used to getting what he wanted. He was enjoying this time, but fully
expected Harry to get to know him, and then get as far away as possible when he
did. Harry wouldn't want to be with him after he saw his true self, and knew
more of his past. Love changes everything. If Harry loved him, then he (Harry)
would be hurt when he got to know him. The last thing he wanted was to hurt
Harry. Foolish boy!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Harry was afraid he'd caused Severus some serious problems by opening his
private Floo. Realizing the best action
would be to tell him as soon as possible, Harry borrowed Hermione's owl to send
a message along before breakfast. He now sat down at the nearly empty
Gryffindor house table in the Great Hall. Neville and Ginny sat a few seats
away, allowing space for a private conversation. Hermione continued to bug him
for being so quiet. All he could think about was that man in Sev's fire. Eventually
he attempted conversation, and was glad for the distraction. "So, what's
the fascination with my arse, and why are people making bets on it?" he
asked Hermione. She chuckled, the sound echoing off the inside of her goblet of
pumpkin juice.

"Remember when you tried on your dress robes wearing cut-off shorts? I
had asked Ron what you wore under them for the formal and he turned red and
wouldn't tell me. And to think they used to call me a prude," she
said with a roll of her eyes. Harry laughed. "Well, Seamus had heard me
and said that he bet you'd go starkers, then Dean said 'I'll take that bet!'
Next thing I knew others were doing the same. It wasn’t really that big a deal
until you leaned over and Patty made such a scene. God, you would think she never
noticed you had a nice arse before."

Harry feigned surprise, and looked taken aback at the whole thing, as if he
couldn't imagine them all looking at his arse.

"Right Harry, like that look's going to work on me," said
Hermione. Harry smirked. "Maybe you could still pull off that innocent,
clueless look with some people, but I know better. You knew eyes were on you
all night. You love it."

"Yeah, but were Severus' eyes on me?" he said, looking up at the
head table. Only Professors Sprout and Flitwick had arrived this early. He
checked his watch, anticipating the time Severus' potion would wear off.

Hermione leaned in closer to her friend. "So, what happened? You
obviously didn't get much sleep last night. You're not going to make me wait
for date night are you? We're still going to have date night now that we’re
done with school, right?" she asked enthusiastically. Harry assured here
they would. "Oh, that reminds me. As Head Girl I made an announcement to
the seventh years last night. McGonagall will meet us in the common room after
lunch to go over the ceremony and stuff. I guess she just tells us how and
where to walk, and what to do when we get our diploma and they take pictures
and stuff. That's about it. I thought it best to make the announcement while most
the class was still sober. Bet half of them don’t remember."

"Why is it you're so chipper this morning? I saw you belt a few back
yourself last night?" inquired Harry as he realized she was in very good
shape considering how hungover he'd seen her in the past.

"A certain Potions professor sent me a little gift for helping him out
with a few things," she said, remembering the anonymous vial she received
of hangover drought with a note that read, Thank you for your assistance.
Enjoy your celebration. It wasn't signed, but she recognized the script,
and liked the fact that he hadn't even told her what was in the vial, trusting
she was clever enough to figure it out.
"Did he ever figure out that it was you who suggested to Professor
Flitwick that Severus take a look at your pensive project to see what was wrong
with it?" she asked with one brow raised.

Harry smiled an evil grin, shaking his head no. It had worked out perfectly.
It was a brilliant way for him to show Severus that he had not been brought up
as he may have guessed, without having to spill his guts yet again to the man.

"Careful Harry, your Slytherin is showing."

Harry quickly held a hand over his chest as if exposed. He told Hermione
about the dance and the kiss, complaining both were too short. He didn't tell
her about the snog fest he had with the unresponsive Sev, and she knew he was
holding back.

"Nothing else really happened, but I feel like… I don’t know, like it's
too private somehow."

Hermione smiled. "You're falling for him. It was easy to tell me every
juicy detail back when the boys didn't matter to you, but now you care. I'm so
happy for you," she said hugging him. "I just know that this is all
going to work out somehow."

"Do you love Ron?" he asked quietly. She nodded slowly, a warm
smile across her face.

"Yeah, I do."

"Won't it be hard when you're in school and he's off in Auror
training?"

"Yes, but we'll manage. Being able to take on the challenges and
overcoming them is all part of working on your relationship together."

"How did you get so smart?" he teased her.

"Actually I got that from Mrs. Weasley. If anyone knows challenges,
it's that woman," she said thinking of the latest explosion the twins had
caused. Harry smiled, but all he could think about was Severus. 'Would he find
love? Would he know it when he did? 'How do you know if it's really love?' he
thought to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man Harry was thinking about was now getting out of the shower. He
reached for the towel he'd left on the hook behind the door, only to find it
damp. Realizing Harry must have used it, he pulled the towel up to his chest,
inhaling the scent lingering there. Sev was suddenly grateful for the potion
that was preventing him from getting a hard-on while thinking about Harry in his
own shower. What was it about Harry and showers?

Dressed and ready to leave his rooms for the Great Hall, Severus stepped out
of his private rooms to find an unfamiliar owl waiting, with letter in tow. He
read through the apology Harry had sent.

Severus,

This
morning while I waited for Dobby to return, I lit a fire. A man’s head
appeared; he was calling for you. I'm so sorry to have done something so
careless, but I was sure you said the Floo in the bedroom was private. Please
forgive me; I'm really concerned that I may have jeopardized your trust in me,
but even more so that I may have jeopardized your safety. I have no idea who the man in the fire was,
but I'm pretty sure he didn't recognize me.

I hope I
didn’t cause too much trouble for you.

H

 

Severus had told Harry the Floo in the bedroom was private. It was unwise of
him to think that Albus was the only person to whom Severus would allow access.
Kieran was going to be ruthless with this information. For that matter, so will
Albus. He hadn't planned on Albus finding out about Harry being in his rooms,
but someone healed him while he slept, and not many qualified for the job.
Severus thought for a moment about Kieran. Despite the fact that Kieran still
called him Snape, they went way back. It was irrelevant he thought, since
Kieran had been on a mission last night and couldn't safely change locations.
As he mentioned, Kieran gained information about the meeting where Severus was
punished, but also knew that Albus was at Hogwarts to take care of him.

Before he knew it, Severus had arrived at the Great Hall. Only a scattering
of students was at breakfast after a night of festivities. Harry and Hermione
were easy to spot at the Gryffindor table. Harry kept his face emotionless, but
fidgeted with his goblet. Hermione was looking particularly chipper this
morning, confirming for Severus that she had received his thank you gift, and
identified it as a hangover drought.

Harry glanced over to the head table every so often to see his Severus
looking especially irritated. He was worried that his run-in with the strange
man in the fire was the cause of Severus' foul mood. Glancing at his watch
again, Harry grabbed a selection of fruit from the bowl. He spoke to Hermione
about nothing in particular, as he bit into a ripe peach, wiping the juice off
his chin with the back of his hand, and licking his lips. Harry had been hoping
Sev was looking at him, but refused to look at the head table again to give
himself away.

"Mione, watch Severus for me, and tell me what he's doing," he
said, glancing at his watch again. "Any movement at all."

"Like that isn't too obvious. Won't he see me watching him?"

"Not if I time this right," Harry said as he checked his watch
again and selected his next piece of produce.


She watched, waiting to see something other than Severus looking annoyed,
but wasn't sure what to look for since Harry hadn’t told her anything specific.
He had claimed that it was unsafe to speak about it in the Great Hall, but she
new that was a smokescreen. She thought him gallant, and wouldn't press for
information. "Um, does shifting in his chair count as movement?"
asked Hermione. Harry held back a smirk and fought the urge to look at the man.


"Wait for it," he said cryptically. "Tell me when you think
he's looking over here," Harry leaned back slightly, allowing a good view,
although there were very few students around to block Severus from seeing him.

"Any minute, he looks like he's looking from one table to the next.
He's shifting in his chair again." Hermione put her head down, despite
what Harry said she didn't want to be seen staring. "He's probably looking
now, at least at the Gryffindor table."

Harry finished the slow peel, just before deep-throating the entire banana.

Hermione's head snapped up at the loud clatter of china, as Severus fumbled
his goblet, toppling his plate and several other items, making quite a
commotion.

Harry looked up in time to see a glass of water tipping into the man's lap,
wondering if that was totally accidental, or to help reduce Sev's current
condition.

Severus had been so caught up in his thoughts that he'd forgotten about the
potion wearing off around this time. That was until he saw Harry check his
watch for the fourth time during breakfast. His plan was to just stay irritated
thinking about Harry, and what his reaction would be when he found out his
Potions Master had a terrible history that he couldn't possibly look past. It
worked for a while. With a slight tingle Severus could tell the potion was all
but out of his system, but he was a man of control and could handle this. Then
Harry licked his lips. Sev wanted to be that peach, to hear the moan of passion
he was sure would go with the expression Harry was wearing that moment. He
cursed himself for taking the potion in the first place, as he felt the blood
beginning to flow south. Looking at the girls at the Slytherin table help
alleviate his problem slightly as most of them were rather unattractive, and
the wrong sex for his taste. Try as he might, his treacherous eye traveled back
to the Gryffindor table to see…'O Merlin, he didn't just do that with a
banana'. Grabbing the goblet in an attempt to hide his shocked look, the
base of the goblet caught under the rim of the plate and sent it toppling over
with the knife and fork clattering about.

Severus glared at the students. There was a little laughter, mostly seventh
years, as they felt safe now that classes were done for them. Albus smiled in
his direction. Severus turned away so as not to have to look at Albus' damn twinkling
eyes. Unfortunately, instead of Albus, the flying instructor caught his eye.
His lips thinned at the sight of her.

"What do you do for an encore?" asked Hooch. She smirked as he
regained composure.

"I wait to see if the distraction was enough to get a potion in your
pumpkin juice unnoticed," he said dryly. She knew he was bluffing to cover
his embarrassment. Surely the juice was safe to drink. She just wasn't
particularly thirsty anymore.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As the day progressed, Ron eventually woke and joined his friends. Harry was
on a mission to purchase food to bring back to his new place, so he would have
something to prepare for his guests at the Warding this weekend. Hermione
reviewed her book 'Traditions and Culture of the Wizarding Community',
explaining what to expect at the Warding. A proud Ron, who had been thrilled to
hear his father was invited to participate in the Warding of Harry's new home,
was listening intently to the details of the Ceremony.

In Harry's new place the trio puttered around. Actually two puttered and Ron
sat, legs sprawled across the floor at a small scrubbed table in the kitchen
while Harry and Hermione put food away. Hermione let out a frustrated scream
when she tripped over Ron's feet for the third time.

"If you're not going to help, could you at least stay the Hell out of
the way?" she cried; eyes glaring, her hands balled into fists. Ron
quickly pulled his knees up to keep his feet out of the way. She had been
emotional for weeks with such a large milestone soon approaching them. Many of
the girls in the corridors had been seen hugging and crying that their time in
Hogwarts was at an end. Harry and Ron usually shrugged and walked around the
emotional mass when they came across them.

"Oi, leave me alone. I'm not the one who got to take a cure this
morning. If I knew Snape'ed be nice and giving a gift of thanks, I'd’ve told
him stuff about Harry myself," moaned Ron, still suffering from the
hangover.

"Well then, you should have offered like I did," she said, and
continued before he could interject the comment she could see forming on his
lips. "I don’t do things because of what I may have gained from it, but
because I was happy to help out."

Harry smiled at his friends banter, and continued to wash the produce they’d
picked up. He looked out the window when he saw a flash of white on the ground
below. It was the landlord's cat chasing something out of the gardens. The
gardens were barely kept up. The rows of dirt were no longer clear, as it
seemed like the plants were growing in all directions. Weeds had sprouted in
between plants and were choking out some of the vegetables. It looked as if
someone had gone through a lot of trouble to start a garden and then left it
abandoned. He would have to look into it, hoping he could get some information
without insulting the man's gardening technique.

The rest of the day and half of the next went by quickly. Before he knew it,
Harry was back in his new home with the men he'd invited to his first Warding.
Filius Flitwick and Albus were first to arrive. Harry was surprised to see them
carrying gifts. He had been so preoccupied with the actual Warding details and
the food he wanted to serve, that he'd not gotten to the section in the book
about what was typically done, or expected by the persons who are requested to
participate. Albus noted the surprised look on Harry's face, and explained that
when a person is invited to add their personal touch to the wards, it is
customary for them to bring a gift that represents them personally as well. He
learned later that the gifts were not wrapped because it's considered rude to
bring something concealed into an unwarded home. Filius presented Harry with a
new chess set, complete with an accessory book titled, How to Charm Your Men,
and Other Helpful Hints for Chess. Harry chuckled at the title, thanking
Filius.

Before Harry could see what Albus had, a distinct popping sound announced
the arrival of Severus Snape and Arthur Weasley. Having arrived at virtually
the same time as Arthur, Severus was taken by surprise when he was suddenly
inundated by a large swag of fabric almost knocking him over.

"Oh, hello there Severus, so sorry," apologized Arthur when
Severus got a face full of blanket, bedspread, or what ever the huge thing was
that he was carrying. "There you are Harry, good to see you looking so
well. Molly insisted I bring this along today. She wanted you to feel safe and
warm in your new home. I dare say she's been working on this thing since… oh
well, since she was sure she couldn't convince you to live with us," he
said with a bright smile. Molly had in fact started making the bed covers when
she was sure Harry was going to live though his serious injuries. That had been
when Albus had taken Harry in and became his legal guardian. "Hello Albus,
fine day for a warding is it not?"

"Fine day it is," Albus said cheerfully. Severus mumbled
something, but no one seemed to catch it.

"Who is the fourth for your Warding, Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley,
thinking they were waiting for one more to arrive. Harry, embarrassed at his
poor manners as a host, began introductions.

"I'm sorry, I thought you and Professor Flitwick knew each other,"
said Harry apologetically. Filius laughed along with Arthur. Albus also
chuckled. Harry looked around for a cause for the sudden amusement. Sev,
emotionless as always, was no help.

"Didn't see you down there Fil," laughed Arthur as he lifted the
blanket up enough for him to gain sight of the minute wizard standing before
him. Harry went off to the bedroom to put the blanket on the bed. When he
returned, Mr. Weasley gave him a small ornate box. It was for the mantel, and
was full of Floo powder. "This is from me, Harry. It is to show that you
are always welcome in our home," he said, hoping his gift was satisfactory.
Harry thanked him profusely, placing the ornately carved box on the mantle. It
occurred to him, this was the first time he'd received a gift from Mr. Weasley.
Over the past seven years all the gifts from the family were handmade or baked
by Mrs. Weasley. Harry smiled, tracing a finger along the carvings, thankful
for the family that had all but adopted him. Severus watched intently, his
anger fading slightly.

Severus placed a new set of scales on the table next to Albus' gift without
so much as a word said. Harry was now telling the eldest wizard that he'd begun
taking measurements to show the five points of the room they needed for the
warding. Albus waved him off, interrupting Harry.

"I'm sure you've done a fine job Harry, but no need to go through all
that trouble," said Albus, taking out a large round stone from a bag he
hadn't seen the old man carrying in. The stone looked a lot like a sundial, but
instead of a dial on top there was a prism protruding from the center. Filius
summoned a small table for Albus to place the stone onto. "If you will,
Arthur," requested Albus. Harry watched with interest while his best
friend’s dad cast a spell making the ceiling appear to have a gaping hole in
it, allowing sunlight to saturate the room. As the sun brightened the room the
prism reflected various colors of light on the wall around the men. Albus paid
little attention to the small colored dots on the wall, but instead took note
of the five distinct beams of light pointing out from the center. Filius swished
his wand, though it appeared nothing had happened, until Albus covered the
stone with a cloth, causing the small reflections of color to disappear,
leaving only the five large beams of light spread throughout the rooms. The
spell Filius cast not only kept the five lights glowing, but they shone right
though the walls, so that if you were to enter the next room the light would
still be seen hitting the back wall of the room.

"We'll need some room in here. Arthur, how about you push the sofa back
a bit, while Severus and Harry take this table to the other room,"
directed Albus. He explained to Harry that he'd rather they didn't use magic to
move the table once the process had begun, reserving their magical strengths
for the Warding. Harry understood, but still wondered if the old wizard was
just giving them a chance to be alone for a moment. Severus silently took hold
of one end of the table, while Harry grabbed the other end. Harry nodded to
show his readiness, and they lifted the table. Harry had no problems being he
was rather fit himself, but couldn't help but notice Severus' end of the table
went up swiftly, and seemingly effortlessly. His mind drifted off to the times
Severus, as a teen, had swept him literally off his feet and carried him to bed.
He had been so turned on every time the saw evidence of Severus’ might. He was
tempted to make comment about getting Severus into his bedroom so quickly, but
remembered the man had been in a rather bad mood the past day or so, and he
hadn't talked to him since sending the apology for the fireplace incident.

"Severus, I'm sorry I did something so stupid, lighting the fire as I
did. I thought yad sad said it was private," said Harry with his words
rushed to get it all out before they'd be gone too long. "You've been so
cross since then, I figured I caused you a lot of trouble," he said
miserably.

"I did say the Floo was private. Did you assume that Albus was the only
person in my life close enough for me to allow access?" Severus smirked as
he watched the change of emotions cross Harry's face.

Harry stood silent, processing what Severus had said. Yes, he had thought
Albus would be the only one. Who was the man? Was he a friend, a lover? It
hadn't occurred to Harry that Severus might have had a lover before the holiday
when they got together. 'No, he
couldn't have', he told himself. Severus never would have kissed him in the
storage room that evening, or allowed him such liberties as he'd taken the
night Sev had been injured. Reassuring as those memories were, Harry couldn't
help but think that it was a real possibility that the man in the fire may have
at least once been Sev's lover. Did someone else want Severus? It scared him
that he could be prevented from having Sev once someone else knew of his
desires. Never let them see you having fun.

Severus had been amused watching Harry's emotions so clearly shown, but he'd
only wanted Harry to be more careful in the future; it disturbed him when the
face changed from guilty to distressed.

"I will endure some embarrassing ridicule for you actions, but I assure
you there has been no great damage done." He hadn't planned on letting
Harry off the hook so soon, but he didn't like the look on the younger man’s
face. What had Harry been thinking?

"Are you angry at me for something else then?"

Severus shook his head. He had been angry, but he couldn't say he was angry
with Harry, mostly angry with himself for not being a better person for Harry
to have fallen in love with. He deserved better. With a sigh, Severus was
resigned to the fact that his anger, without explanation to Harry, was
pointless; it served no purpose. Eventually, Harry would know him better, and
he would deal with the consequences when that happened. "No, I am not
angry with you," he said sullenly. Harry beamed; it was all he could do to
keep from throwing himself into Sev's arms. He did place a chaste kiss on Sev's
lips before walking confidently from the room.

Albus watched Harry emerge from the bedroom with a wide smile.