Guilty as Sin

CHAPTER 50

“What are you doing?” Harry didn’t glance up from the large chest open in front of him as he heard the door of the room being pushed open and a familiar figure walk over to stand above him.

“Looking for something to wear that doesn’t make me look hideously fat.” Harry snapped sharply as he drew out a long dark robe from among the multitude of clothes in the chest that he’d discovered.

“You would do better looking in this one, I had far better taste in fashion when I was younger than my father did.” Harry glanced up from his rummage through the chest to watch as another chest sprung open revealing some old Hogwart’s uniforms and a lot of still decent informal robes. Slowly Harry looked up at Snape standing over him where the man had folded his arms across his chest and was leaning against the doorframe staring at him.

“Thanks.” Harry whispered as he closed the lid on the first chest and moved over to the other. Knowing that he was going to be going through Snape’s personal clothes with the elder man watching Harry took more care with the material items as he began looking through the chest. Harry had spent most of the day in the linen and laundry rooms looking for clothes in the multitude of storage chests. Purposefully Harry had avoided going to lunch knowing Draco would be there. It was worth risking defying Snape to avoid Draco than being forced to be polite over a meal with the blonde who at present wasn’t in Harry’s good books. Harry selected a few robes and several pairs of trousers and shirts from the chest before standing up to try them for size. All the while Snape continued to watch him in silence, making Harry a little uneasy as he held up each garment to inspect for moth damage.

“You’ll look very nice in the crimson cloak. I brought it for a Yule ball in my fifth year at Hogwart’s but didn’t end up going.” Harry looked up from the beautiful crimson cloak as Snape bit his tongue, obviously not willing to discuss why he hadn’t gone to the ball. “It has hardly been worn and is thick enough for winter.” Harry nodded and quietly put the cloak with the small pile of clothes he’d collected for himself over the day. There was silence again as Harry went back to going through the trunk trying to ignore Snape in the hopes he’d leave. Leaving was the last thing on Snape’s mind though as the wizard swept into the laundry room and sat himself down on one of the locked chests. “I needn’t ask for a reason why you weren’t at lunch?” Snape leaned back on the chest idly dusting some scuffmarks from the wooden box he sat upon. Harry ignored the comment and continued to set aside suitable clothes for himself from the chest. Severus sighed inwardly but wasn’t to be deterred as he continued. “I warned you at the start of all this Potter. I told you it would ruin us and I gave you ample opportunity to walk away before it began.” Harry paused in his search of the trunks contents to stare blankly at a Slytherin scarf he held in his hands. It was well worn and had holes through several sections of the knitted wool. It occurred to Harry briefly that the things he’d just been rifling through casually were things of Snape’s childhood, memories the potion master never spoke of unless provoked into doing so through anger or spitefulness. When Harry made no effort to reply to Snape’s comment the elder wizard again continued. “I didn’t hate you Potter…” Harry snorted loudly scoffing at the mere suggestion Snape had just made.

“You could have fooled me.” Harry muttered beneath his breath knowing that if Snape had been in any foul a mood he would not have gotten away with such cheek. As such though Snape merely took a calm breath in resisting the instinctual behavior to lash out at his subordinate Inferei.

“What ever my actions may have caused you to think of me, I assure you I did not hate you. Perhaps I was annoyed at your inattention in class, your painful stupidity and your stubborn willfulness but I did not hate you.” Harry looked up over his shoulder at Snape a look of skeptical amusement on his face causing Snape to roll his eyes sarcastically. “Don’t look at me like that Potter, we all make mistakes and unfortunately mine was an inability to separate you from your father.” Silence fell again in the laundry room and Harry turned back to the trunk to carefully place the things he didn’t want neatly back into the chest. “Harry, you made this choice. A choice I believe was the right one. Admittedly it’s not the easy path through life Dumbledore may have chosen for you but the path that will best benefit you.” Snape paused as Harry finally closed the lid of the trunk watching as it sealed itself shut again before the boy turned around to face Snape fully for the first time since he’d entered the laundry room. “I will look after you Harry, and not simply because of the creature’s instincts running through my veins. I made a choice too, knowing full well what I was getting myself into and I will not turn away from that decision.” Harry nodded in understanding as he watched Snape stand up from the chest he’d been perched on for the last half an hour. “Now please will you settle your differences with Draco before I kill both of you in frustration. Had I known what chaos claiming him along with you would cause I would have chosen not to. It was my intention to give you someone to confide in who understood what you were going through, and who could share the responsibility of the Inferei’s duties to me. I’m a demanding master to serve Potter, I will not deny the fact and it was for your benefit that I took Draco on as my Inferei as well so that you did not wear the pressure of pleasing me alone. Admittedly it was unforeseen what happened to Draco and he is still coping with that loss so I am overlooking some of his indiscretions at present but I will only tolerate it for so long. I have been lenient on you both these last few months so consider this your final warning regarding your behavior both to each other and me. I suggest strongly that you work out your issues quickly less I take matters into my own firm hand. We had enough to concern ourselves with outside these protective walls other than petty riffs between us.” Harry lowered his gaze to the floor the lump in his chest pounding incessantly in guilt as Snape stepped up to him and pressed a chaste kiss on his temple. “Now I expect to see you at dinner, while you are naturally not eating solids I would see you in my company none the less.”

Severus went to exit the laundry but paused to look around when Harry called his name.

“Severus, do you like to watch?” Harry swallowed his nervousness as he bit the inside of his mouth waiting for Snape to answer him. Snape frowned and shook his head in confusion.

“Like to watch what?” Snape inquired pointedly as Harry swallowed again and shrugged his shoulders casually.

“Us, I mean Draco and I.” Harry supplied by way of feeble explanation. Snape continued to scowl in confusion at Harry’s comment.

“You and Draco doing what may I ask?” Snape whispered suspicion growing in his voice. Harry hesitated before replying having hoped he could back out of his original question. That was not possible now though, not now Snape was suspicious.

“Messing around and having sex.” Harry rushed out quickly having muttered the last few words so that they were barely audible. Snape still heard them though, and his gaze darkened considerably as he stared at Harry across the room.

”An explanation should be forth coming Potter before I jump to the conclusion that my Inferei’s fucking one another is an indication that I as a Superei are not keeping your time well employed in my own bed.” Harry was horrified at the conclusion Snape had just jumped to and instantly looked up from the floor to shake his head furiously.

“No… I’m fine… I mean we’re fine…that is we’re completely well employed.” Harry spluttered quickly by way of explanation as Snape’s gaze softened a little. “What I meant was would it please you to see Draco and I together, like a show.” Harry supplied lamely as he struggled to find words to describe what Draco had suggested to him earlier in the day. Severus was dangerously quiet for a long time staring coldly at Harry who shuffled nervously on his feet.

“Are you asking after my kinks Potter?” Severus whispered his voice having dropped an entire octave to rumble low and husky in his throat.

“Kinks?” Harry took a moment to catch on to what Severus had just suggested before nodding cautiously, hoping that it was the right answer. A twitch of a devious smile caught at the corner of Snape’s thin lips, his eyes flashing with purple before returning to their normal onyx colour.

“Perhaps it is your place to find out about them instead of asking me forth right.” Severus raised a knowing eyebrow in Harry’s direction causing the boy to shiver from head to foot and back again. “Am I to assume this was the reason behind your disagreement with Draco this morning?”

“Not entirely no but the beginning of it.” Harry twisted his hands in front of him as he looked away from Snape nervously. Snape nodded in silence but before he could speak again a piercing woman’s scream rang out around the house shortly followed by Draco’s frantic voice calling for Snape from upstairs. Harry looked up at Snape in worry but the potion master merely sighed and rolled his eyes in disgust.

“Mother.” Snape ground out from between his clenched teeth as he glanced casually at Harry one last time before taking off out of the laundry to go and sort out the new mess Draco had gotten himself into. Harry watched Snape leave and with a sigh bent down and picked up the pile of clothes he’d collected for himself from the trunks. There were enough things here to keep him in clothes when he got larger which was inevitable over the next few months. Snape had promised him new things from the owl catalogue but he would have to wait until things had died down a little with Voldemort and the Ministry. With a final look at Snape’s closed trunk Harry wandered off to find some house elves to help him wash the dust from the clothes.

TBC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>