Death Eater Takes a Holiday

Chapter 57 Spontaneity and Consequences

"Aw, come on Sev. You know you want to," Harry lay naked on the bed, hoping to coax his lover. Severus straightened his collar, keeping his eyes averted. He was very tempted.

"I'm dressed, and I've things I need to attend before breakfast, and a meeting with Albus," Severus stated firmly. "You should have thought to wake me a little earlier; I would have happily complied."

Harry rolled his eyes. "A quickie. I swear you'll not be late at all," he pleaded while slowly rubbing his cock, spreading his legs wantonly. Severus reached into his wardrobe for a big jar Harry didn't recognize, but hoped was lube. Severus dipped his fingers into the viscous liquid before putting the jar back. Harry was licking his lips with anticipation.

Severus smirked; rubbing his hands together as Harry watched his every move. He tried not to laugh at Harry's utter disappointment when he applied the hair product into his dark locks, making him far less appealing than he had been a moment earlier.

"Fine," huffed Harry. "See if I care," he pouted, sounding like a child who'd been denied a treat. Severus did laugh at this. As far as he was concerned, Harry was just that, and he was the treat.

Harry walked up to Severus, pressing his nakedness against the teaching robes. "Greasy Git," he kissed Severus hard before turning around, storming away. It was all Severus could do not to throw him onto the bed and fuck him through the mattress.

"I'm going to take a shower and toss off," announced Harry. "And I'm going to be thinking about somebody else!" he added before slamming the bathroom door. If either of them could see through the door, they would see the other laughing. Severus shook his head at his lover's antics and left for his office.

"I'll be right back, I have some potion refills for you," he called out.

"Good," Harry slobbered past a toothbrush as he poked his head out of the loo. "If I'm not going to get laid, I may as well use you for potions."

"Indeed." Severus' smile faded slightly when he realized that was his toothbrush Harry was using.

The contented smile that had reappeared while stocking a box of potions for Harry was instantly replaced by a mask of indifference when Severus heard a knock on his office door. "Enter," he said, after quickly spelling the door to his private chambers closed, locked and warded.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Mr. Flynn, " his dislike for the student evident. He was a Ravenclaw, but in Severus' opinion, should have been a Slytherin.

The boy's eyes darted to the box on the desk. Severus quickly closed it, reprimanding Flynn for not minding his own business. Since painkillers and muscle relaxants were so common, any upper-level Potion student could easily recognize them.

"Sir, I thought I should be excused from class this coming Monday. I was looking over the schedule for this term and I saw that day the class is brewing memory potions. Since I'm allergic to Jobberknoll feathers..."

"That particular potion is usually done in pairs. Surely, your lab partner can handle the ingredients," his evil grin in place; he did so enjoy this. It was a beautiful weekend, and students found Monday morning Potions class particularly brutal after Hogsmeade weekends. "But, considering the nature of allergies, I do see how you may consider that to be appropriate, Mr. Flynn. Certainly, a student's safety and well-being is of the utmost importance."

The boy smiled, grateful he'd gotten his way. "Thank you sir, I'll be sure to get the homework assignment so as to be properly prepared for Wednesday's class." Taking a parchment roll from his pocket, he added, "I've finished Monday's homework assignment. Would you like that now?" the boy asked eagerly. Severus smiled, glancing perfunctorily over the parchment. He picked up a quill and flipped open the mouth of the metal snake inkwell on his desk. He corrected an error, and then rolled up the essay.

"Five points to Ravenclaw for thinking ahead."

Flynn's smile widened.

"I'll expect you fifteen minutes prior to class on Monday, so that I may cast a containment sphere to protect you from the ill effects of the day's ingredients."

Flynn's smile died. "Yes sir," his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Here," Severus handed the parchment back to the student. "There's no need for you to lose points for a mistake on homework not due until Monday," he said silkily. The boy skulked from the office. Not only hadn't he gotten of clf class, now he had to show up early and he also had to review and correct his homework. After all, if the professor was able to find a spelling error with such a cursory viewing, certainly the whole assignment needed to be checked again.

If I have to be here early Monday morning, so do you. Severus sat at his desk, sizing up the stack of papers he hadn't finished grading the night before. With a defeated sigh, he picked up the first paper. Three lines in, he couldn't read another word of the drivel his second years passed off as homework. He would have all day Sunday open for grading, since Harry would be busy.

What the Hell am I doing here while there is a horny, naked, eighteen year old in my shower? With a quick lock on the door, Severus sped back into his private quarters. One fluid motion later several spells had been cast, among them a silencing spell.

Harry was leaning back against the wall of the shower, seeing to his own pleasure. With a start, he yelped and arched his back, feeling the preparation spell loosening is muscles. His breath hitched with the tingling sensation the spell caused. He came on the spot.

Severus stood at the doorway, wand in hand. He growled, licking his lips at the sight of Harry's reaction to the spell, watching him climax. Harry turned to see his lover; he groaned, watching Sev spell his clothes off and approach him in a flash.

"Lubricous!" he shouted, putting his wand down before hopping into the shower. Harry gasped, feeling his arse suddenly slicked up as well as magically prepared. Severus took advantage, plundering the gaping mouth. After several long moments, he left the panting mouth in favor of biting a line down Harry's smooth neck, then turned him around abruptly.

"Oh. My. God," gasped Harry breathlessly, feeling every inch of Severus enter deep inside him. "Yes," he groaned encouragingly. His cock pressed against the wall, pulsing with renewed interest as he was pounded mercilessly.

Severus leaned one elbow on the wall to Harry's side while the other arm wrapped around his waist, pulling Harry's eager body against him with each driving thrust. Harry howled and quaked with pleasure as Sev bit his shoulder hard and at the same time managed to graze his prostate.

Feeling he was getting close, Severus reached for Harry's cock, only to be hed hed away. Harry wanted to do it himself, allowing Severus to concentrate solely on pounding, fucking Harry with all his might. "Harder," panted Harry, his forehead pressed against the wall.

Hearing his lover's plea, or perhaps demand, Sev complied with vigor. Abandoning himself totally to sensation, Severus grunted with each forceful stroke. Harry was lost in ecstasy, feeling his lover let go. The guttural sounds turned him on more and more. It was all he could do to stroke himself with so little room between himself and the wall.

"I want you to come," ordered Severus.

A gasped 'yes' was all Harry could manage, panting. He cried out when his head tilted to the side as Sev fisted his hair, pulling and exposing Harry's neck and then sucking on Harry's oh-so-sensitive spot behind his ear; the small remnant of scar that Harry had left for just that purpose. The pace switched from a long hard driving force to a short quickened rhythm as they reached an explosive climax.

Harry continued to pant, pressed against the cool stone of the shower wall. His body continued to convulse as he came back down from what was, in his opinion, the most truly phenomenal sex he'd ever had. He began to slide down to the floor, but he was held up and turned around. Harry allowed himself to be moved and manipulated; he was happy to be supported by Sev's strong arms, leaning against his chest, feeling his lover's heartbeat through his cheek. The water from the shower was spraying one side of his face, but he didn't care in the least.

"I may never walk again," he said happily against Sev's chest.

His contented sigh was interrupted by a wandless charm cleaning him out in more ways than Harry cared to think about. Initially, he wanted to complain, but then, with his focus returning, thought 'what's good for the goose is good for the gander'. With loads of shampoo and massaging fingers, Harry scrubbed Severus' hair free of goop pla placed his lips against Sev's, pressing him back so the water would rinse over his head, rinsing away the horrid hair product and shampoo bubbles. Severus said something, but his words were garbled. Harry continued to kiss him through the water cascading over their heads.

"Who were you thinking about before I got here?" purred Severus, his arms tightening around Harry.

"I was thinking about my own hands," answered Harry impassively. Severus raised a questioning brow.

"I thought you said you would think about someone else," he said teasingly, trying to goad Harry into telling him.

"Hmm, thought so, and I had planned on moaning someone else's name too, but when I realized you really weren't joining me, I decided to think of myself," Harry let out a chuckle. "I was thinking of jerking off in front of your desk and coming on the papers you were grading."

Severus could feel the smirk against his chest. "Just as well you did not. I had a student come by this morning. I suggest you keep your potions well hidden until you're back home." Severus didn't bother to explain further, Harry would know to trust him on that.

Having left himself very little time to get to his meeting with Albus, Severus quickly dried and dressed. Harry took the floo back to his own room to retrieve his shoes.

~*~

After a peek inis lis living room, Harry could see Dudley through tire.ire. He was still asleep on the floor where they'd left him. Hearing no noise other than Dudley's snores, Harry figured there was no point in heading home too soon. He closed off the floo connection and headed for a bite to eat.

"Morning," Harry greeted Albus brightly as he passed through his office on the way down for breakfast. Albus' smile widened; it was good to see Harry looking so content.

"And a Good Morning to you, my boy," replied Albus. "Staying for breat? St? Should I set an extra chair for you at the Head Table?"

"I'm starved," Harry dipped into the bowl on Albus' desk, popping four lemon drops into his mouth at once. "Um, thanks for the offer, but I'm going to see if Ginny's around. It's too weird sitting at the Head Table. Last time I did that, they thought I was the next DADA Professor," he snorted at the thought. "See you at breakfast."

Having closed the door behind him, Harry stepped out to ride the staircase when he realized they were going the wrong way. Severus was on his way up. "Fancy meeting you here," he lilted with a wink. Harry pulled him down for a kiss before Severus could reply. "You were so amazing," Harry whispered into his ear.

"Of course you think so, you have none against whom to compare me," smirked Severus, knowing he was the only one to have had the pleasure of the wizarding world's hero.

"Are you suggesting I should explore my options? That I couldn't really be sure of how great you are without shagging a few more blokes, for a proper comparison?" he teased cheekily. "You know...I think Colin Creevey would give me a go. He's always followed me around," Harry looked up as if considering it.

Having reached the top of the steps, Severus continued to walk, forcing Harry to step back. Severus watched Harry keep his footing as he was pushed back, and then pressed him against Albus' office door. "Your options are not as vast as you may think," he growled possessively. "1. You may continue only knowing my touch, and trusting you are in the most capable hands, or..." he grinned evilly, "2. You can think about other men while chained to my bed for the rest of your days."

"That's not an easy choice. Both are appealing in their own way. Can I get back to you on that?" Harry accentuated each sentence with kisses just below Sev's jaw line.

"Do inform me of your decision," Severus said dryly.

"You know, you seem to have some attraction to exhibitionism or whatever you call it, when you do stuff in front of people without them noticing. With me chained to your bed, you'd lose your opportunities for that. Now that I think about it, it's been a while since you did anything like that," Harry wrapped his arms around Severus' waist.

"I wouldn't be too sure," Severus placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I suspect Albus can see through this door."

Severus allowed hlf alf a hearty laugh when Harry's eyes bugged out. He spun on his heels to face the door as if expecting to see Albus standing behind him, and then bolted down the steps.

~*~*~

Harry arrived in the Great Hall in no time flat. He'd made good time while trying not to think about his guardian watching him kiss Severus. He shook his head, clearing away his thoughts of Albus watching them with interest. With a shudder, he settled down to looking over the Great Hall.

Ginny had yet to come down for breakfast. The nice little first year, Jessica, was there, but Harry couldn't imagine making conversation with her while his mind was back being chained to Severus' bed. A walk up to the Gryffindor tower would do him some good.

Arriving at the entrance to the common room, Harry greeted the Fat Lady courteously. He wasn't too concerned about the password; someone would most likely leave for breakfast soon. Sure enough, the portrait opened up, revealing of all people, Colin Creevey. Harry kept a straight face, wishing the seventh year a good morning. Colin smiled wide with an overly cheerful 'Hi Harry!' It was obvious he wanted desperately to follow Harry back in, but wasn't fast enough to think up an excuse to return to his common room.

Harry leaned up against the back of a sofa, waiting for Ginny to come down from her dorm. When she arrived, she was behind another girl, chatting away about something or other. "Hi, Harry," she greeting him happily and continued to walk with her friend for about two steps before remembering Harry had finished school and didn't belong there. She slapped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment before laughing at herself and wrapping him in a big hug.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a breakfast date. No luck yet. What are you doing?" he teased. Ginny giggled and turned sharply, feeling her friend pinching her discreetly.

"Oh, sorry. Harry, this is my friend Maggie. Maggie, Harry," she introduced, and they bowed to each other politely as Maggie's cheeks pinked.

The three of them walked down to breakfast, talking about inconsequential things. About halfway down, the flight of stairs they were on began to move. Conveniently, it was going where they needed to be. Before the stairs came to a stop, Harry noticed a boy waiting for them. He was tall and had short brown hair, very attractive in Harry's opinion. The boy looked nervous, his eyes darting from Harry to the two girls, sizing them up. Harry continued to speak with the girls as if he'd not noticed the boy. Harry tried not to make eye contact. He hated that his relationship with Sev had to be a secret. It left him to have to come up with excuses when people approached him. If the look on this boy's face was anything to go by, he'd been stealing up some nerve for when the steps arrived.

"Um, ah, hi," he said with a smile, as if the three short words made up a sentence.

"Hi, Carl," chirped Ginny, grinning bigger than Harry had seen her smile in quite some time.

"Hi, Gin, Maggie, um..." he trailed off while his eyes continued to dart from person to person nervously.

"Carl, this is my friend, Harry," Ginny added helpfully. Harry did appreciate that she never used his last name when introducing him to someone. They all recognized him, but it helped somehow, not hearing it.

Carl shook his hand and started to blush. Ginny gave him a smile with a slight nod of encouragement. Harry didn't miss the small gesture. He knew Ginny didn't understand his attraction to Severus, but still...

The young wizard suddenly took a deep breath through his nose. Though his lips were closed, Harry could tell by his tightened jaw muscles that Carl was clenching his teeth. This was it.

"Maggie, would you um, like to go to Hogsmeade today? I thought I'd take you to lun Car Carl exhaled, looking relieved the words had come out like he'd hoped, or close.

"Why don't you two work out the details, and we'll save a seat for you at breakfast," Ginny said before Maggie had a chance to give her answer. Pulling Harry along, she wrapped her arm around his waist so she could speak quietly to him. "Merlin, you have no idea how long it's taken him to ask her out. He chickened out the first three times," she continued to ramble on about her friends' blooming romance while Harry mentally kicked himself. The voice in his head sounded suspiciously like Severus.

Despite what you may think, the world does not revolve around you, Mr. Potter.

~'~*~'~

Severus sat in front of Albus' desk, waiting to see if his scene outside the door would be mentioned.

"Thank you for coming, Severus. I need you to run an errand for me."

Severus nodded, waiting to see what he needed to do.

"I'll get right to the point, in hope that you may return before breakfast is over. Remus is being held at the Ministry of Magic, and I need you to pay his fine and pick him up."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you felt it was best to send me, why?"

"I didn't. I told him I'd send Minerva down straight away, but he requested you instead," Albus smiled.

"Of course he did," Severus said through clenched teeth. No good deed goes unpunished. I'm never doing anyone a favor again!

"He'll need these," Albus handed him a bag with a change of clothes. Severus wondered if he were to spill the lemon drops and stomp, crushing them to yellow candy dust, would that diminish the twinkle in Albus' eye? Probably not.

~*~

Severus stood in front of a holding cell in the deepest part of the Ministry of Magic building. Remus sat miserably on a very uncomfortable cot where he had apparently spent the night. "Albus sent these along," Severus said flatly. "Change quicso Iso I don't miss breakfast."

Severus took out his wand; Remus dressed more quickly. "Don't you dare pull that spell on me again!" yelled Remus. "Ever!" He was still fuming about having been magically stripped by Snape.

"What the Hell did you do? I gave you simple instructions any fool could have managed."

"I did that," protested Remus. "It was after that I had a problem with..." Remus went on to explain that he'd offered to walk Will back to the pub where he'd left his broom. But when they returned to find it already closed, Remus offered to do an assisted Apparation.

"What, did you Apparate drunk and splinch him?" Severus commented, smirk in place. "You went with Will? Basil wasn't there? Too bad, Basil gets very excited when he hears the name Seth," he added, speaking more to himself then Remus. The embarrassment that crossed the wolf's face told him he should look into that further when he had more time, and wasn't famished.

Remus growled resentfully. "I'm perfectly capable. Your friend, Will, failed to mention that he'd been riding a broom because his Apparation license was revoked after he'd gotten drunk and Apparated into the wrong house and fell asleep." Remus stuffed his clothes into the bag and waited to be released.

Once Remus' wand was returned, they set off to leave. "Remmy!" called Will from a cell they were passing. "I didn't know you'd get into trouble," pld Wid Will for forgiveness. "Severus!" Will tried to press a hand to Snape's chest, but the ward on the cell's bars didn't allow it. "In all the time I've known you, you never sent anyone around. Now, the one time you did, I screwed it up." Seemingly abashed, he abruptly changed, "Oh, I almost forgot! Carl won the bet?!" asked an astonished Will, apparently forgetting the previous topic. "Remus was very vague and would hardly tell me a thing. I know there's an age gap, but not how much. Is he younger than Troy?"

Severus grinned. Will's eyes bugged.

"Ha! Then you owe me a Galleon, too!" Will shimmied his shoulders, getting his face as close as the cell would allow. "Troy will be thirty next month, and you said that you would never take on a steady shag in his twenties. Too young and inexperienced for your blood, or some rubbish like that. Pay up," Will smiled wide.

"I owe you nothing." Severus offered no further information.

"Maybe not now, but you'll have to pay up when he turns twenty," Remus added helpfully, giving Will a wink.

Severus glared, but it was obvious he enjoyed watching Will's jaw hit the cell floor. As they were almost out of the corridor, Will recovered and shouted, "No hard feelings, Remus? Come by the pub again and Basil and me'll turn that sandwich over!"

In his embarrassment, Remus' eyes remained on the floor until they reached the exit to the building.

"Sandwich?" You don't just test the waters wolf, you jump right in. "Perhaps worth a night here," he gestured to the cells around him. His subtle voice could hardly be heard, but Severus knew the wolf's ears wouldn't miss a syllable. They Apparated, then continued their walk from the edge of Hogwarts' wards in silence. The smirk never left Severus' face.

As they entered the Great Hall together with ten minutes left of breakfast, one Ravenclaw student in particular noticed the Potions Professor was looking particularly smug, and his hair was not nearly as greasy as it had looked earlier that very morning. .

~*~\*'*~

"Good Morning!" shouted Harry as he Apparated into the living room, and grinned maniacally when Dudley yelled with fright.

Dudley had been sitting on the floor in front of the TV. Startled, he leapt back, landing on the sofa. He then jumped off the sofa as if it were red hot.

"Morning," replied Dudley eventually. Harry decided he'd have to thank Remus the next time he saw him.

"Hey Harry," Hermione greeted him from the kitchen. She was going through the cupboards, looking for plates and things for breakfast. "Hey, mate," added Ron, but didn't move from his place, wrapped around Hermione, as she tried to move about the kitchen. She didn't seem to mind.

"Have a good night?" he asked them, and took out four mugs from the shelf. Ron answered by making sounds as he moved a lot of hair and buried his face at the base of Hermione's neck.

"Stop. How am I supposed to make breakfast with you doing that?" she giggled.

Harry insisted they sit and allow him to make breakfast as a 'thank you' for Dudleysitting. They agreed, but Hermione continued to set the table, using her wand since she was being held firmly on Ron's lap. Harry put the bacon on to fry and opened a cupboard door. He gathered a few items, closed it again, and began to make coffee. As Harry efficiently scrambled around his kitchen whipping up breakfast, he opened the same little door once again. "What are you doing?" asked Hermione, watching him.

"Cooking. What are you doing?" Harry raised a brow. The last fork had dropped on the table abruptly at the same time she gasped. Harry assumed Ron's hands were a distraction. Harry gave them coffee and began cracking eggs.

"HmmRon'Ron's content sound from behind his cup was a mix of bliss and surprise. "That's not your coffee," Ron insisted. Hermione disentangled herself and walked over to where Harry stood, leaning across him with a smile.

"What do you keep looking at in here?" she asked comically while opening the cabinet to see for herself. "Is that a recipe for coffee?" asked a very amused Hermione, seeing a paper with notes taped to the inside of the door.

"Mmm" hummed Ron. "I asked him to teach you to make coffee. I'm liking him more and more, mate," Ron mumbled his words into his cup, finishing it off and holding it out for more. "Aw, don't pout, a few more times and it may just get as good as his." added Ron, whose comment only managed to turn Harry's fake pout to a fake scowl. "Wow. Did he teach you that, too?" laughed Ron, seeing the scowl.

"You get the broken yolks for that comment. It's just not right to insult the cook." Harry said shortly. His cooking got louder, too. The pans were clanked about twice as hard to show he'd been affronted. He continued to storm around the kitchen, knowing it had little effect. They all knew Ron liked his yolks broken. Hermione called them both children and left to make up the bed.

"Can you see the window in the loo from there?" asked Harry, pouring Ron another cup of coffee. "Is it open?"

"Only a little,"

"You better open it up wide; I've got bacon on."

No sooner had Ron opened the window and sat back down, asking if Harry planned on smoking them out, than a large white owl swooped over Ron's head and perched on the icebox, waiting for the bacon.

"Need I say more?"

Ron was glad to see Harry so happy this morning. He'd been preoccupied, thinking about Severus and the talk they needed. It appeared things had gone well. "Everything all right with the two of you?" Ron wrapped his hand around the warm, red mug with the Gryffindor crest. It was fas favorite.

"Things are just fine," Harry answered with a mischievous grin. Ron was sporting his own evil grin.

"So, d'you top? What do you use for lube?" Ron tilted his head with a curious smile. "What?" he asked a huffy looking Hermione in the doorway. "You told me I should be more open-minded. I'm just doing what you suggested," Ron said innocently, knowing full well he was annoying her. Once again addressing Harry, he continued, "Hermione's right, I should show more interest and keep an open and unbiased mind," Ron said airily. "D'you top?" he repeated.

"I did last night," Harry answered. He'd figured out what Ron was up to recently and started answering the personal, and sometimes embarrassing questions. He didn't always answer with the truth, but that was OK if he could make Ron's ears turn red. Harry sat down for a minute, wincing as he did so. He could handle pain imperceptibly, but this had its desired effect. Ron's eyes widened with understanding, pulling a face.

"But...but you said you topped," stammered Ron.

"Yeah, last night. You didn't ask about this morning," Harry nonchalantly continued to butter toast.

"That's what you get," chided Hermione, handing Ron a flannel to wipe the hot, sputtered coffee off his hand. Harry hoped this would cure Ron of his recently acquired prurient curiosity.

"Oh, that reminds me, I had breakfast with Ginny and she wants us to go see her game today. You up for it?"

"You bet. Be the first time you and me would be sitting together in the stands for a Gryffindor game," remarked Ron. "How did, um, that...you know, topping, remind you of quidditch?"

"I'll explain it to you later." Harry smirked, thinking of him and Sev having sex on his broom.

Ron wasn't sure if he was more curious or scared.

"Harry?" Dudley called into the kitchen hesitantly. "The Headmaster of your school is on fire. I mean he's in the fire looking for you," stammered the muggle.

"Want me to take over?" offered Hermione from the doorway, taking the spatula from his hand.

"Yeah, thanks, Herm. It's almost done. Dudley, why don't you sit down and eat while I go talk to Albus."

~*~*~

"Hi, Albus, something wrong?" Harry quickly recognized by the wizard's warm smile there was no concern. "You don't miss me already, do you? I'll be back for the quidditch match today," he teased.

"I wanted to inform you that your Auetunetunia is doing well and will be released as planned later today."

Harry nodded.

"When Remus comes to pick up Dudley, your cousin should have all his belongings with him. He'll be returning home directly from St. Mungo's with his mother."

"Good, then this place will get back to normal." Harry rubbed his hand over the back of his neck tiredly. "I'll make sure he's ready when Remus gets here." Harry decided that the following weekend he would lock his doors, close his floo and spend the whole weekend with no outside contact... with the exception of Severus. He chuckled with a sudden image of Severus chained to his bed for the weekend.

Albus didn't ask what had been funny. Harry wondered if the knowing smile was simply for throwing people off balance, or if he knew as much as he hinted. No matter, it wasn't as if he didn't know Harry spent the night in Severus' chambers. The Headmaster could feel the magic of the floo and knew when Harry was coming and going from his room in the tower.

~\*'


'Weasley throws the quaffle to Clark. Oh! That was a close one! Clark scores, putting Gryffindor ahead by forty points!' shouted the announcer.

Harry and Ron cheered for Ginny and the Gryffindor team. Watching Ginny nearly getting clobbered by a bludger made them wince. It had been exciting to see Ginny pull off some impressive flying maneuvers, but the occasional close call made Harry realize what Hermione had been going on about all those years. No wonder the girl chewed off all her nails at every game!

They had a blast shouting 'Weasley Rules' and heckled the opposing team, Ron, of course, being the loudest. When the snitch was caught Ron and Harry barely kept their balance as a barrage of Gryffindor students ran from the bleachers past them to congratulate their team's victory.

"Feeling old?" Harry asked as a boy who barely reached Ron's elbow pushed past. Ron shook his head.

"Nah, just tall. Oh, sorry, you wouldn't understand what that's like," teased Ron. Seeing Harry looking behind him in curiosity, Ron spun around to see what could be behind him up so far in the stands. "You had me nervous there," he said, seeing a Snowy owl flying overhead.

"Hello, handsome," cooed Harry, smoothing white feathers.

"Handsome? Isn't Hedwig a girl?"

"She is. Girls can be handsome, I guess, but this isn't Hedwig. This one's a boy. See, there are only two tail bands. Girls have four to six, I think." The owl hooted at Ron as if it were insulted by the mistaken identity. Harry couldn't wait to tell Hermione that not only had he read the 'Owl Facts' book she gave him, but that he'd actually made use of the information. He reached for the miniature parchment tied to the owl's leg. As soon as he untied the letter, it expanded to its full size. St. Mungo's always sent private patient information with parchments spelled only to expand for the intended recipient. Harry's eyes narrowed as he read on.

Dear Mr. Potter,

I would like to start out by confirming that your aunt, Petunia Dursley, is doing very well and will be released later this afternoon. We thank you for the confidence you placed in our facility by sending your family to us for their medical needs.


Harry snorted. As if he were the one who decided where she went. For that matter, he wasn't even aware of another facility available to them. Who were they kig, tg, the suck ups.


It is with great dismay that I must ask you to come to St. Mungo's to retrieve Dudley Dursley. We understand that it is most difficult for a muggle to understand our ways, and I'm sure he is under terrible stress, having lost his father in the same incident that hospitalized his mother, but his recent outbursts have forced us to make a difficult decision. The staff caring for your aunt feel it would be best if Mr. Dursley spent the day elsewhere. I concur with their request and as the Administrator, I ask that you remove your cousin as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Mr. Randolph Consworth


"What's wrong?" Ron leaned over but had a hard time reading upside-down.

"Want to go to St. Mungo's with me? Dudders has outstayed his welcome." Harry sighed.

"Sure, mate. Don't' forget I'm still getting paid to hang out with you until after the services for your uncle," Ron said lightheartedly.

Exhaling forcefully in resignation, Harry began down the stairs from the quidditch stands. They made it through the throng of students to congratulate Ginny. Ron told her of moves she should have done (in his opinion), and which passes she performed really well, all the while straightening twigs on her broom. "That chaser, him," Ron pointed to Ginny's teammate. "He's good, but weak on his left side. Try to pass to him on the right if you can, or pass to someone else when he's rounding..."

"Thanks, Ron, I gotta go take a shower now," Ginny cut him off. She hugged him and Harry, thanking them for coming to the game. "Now you know why I didn't try out last year with you around," she teased her brother.

"Yeah, well...I guess you're doing fine without my valuable suggestions, but you had better start taking better care of that broom. Harry and I always had our brooms well manicured, and polished so you could see your reflection."

"I'm sure the two of you spent hours polishing your brooms," she made a crude gesture. "I actually spend some time studying," she laughed at the appalled look on her brother's face.

~*~

Harry plastered on his faux friendly smile to greet the obnoxious administrator as Ron went to the room designated for children of patients. Dudley looked ridiculous among the small children that played in the room. He sat in the corner, reading a magazine. Ron thought it was odd to see Dudley reading. It was like seeing Crabbe or Goyle in the library.

"Don't believe everything you read," commented Ron, seeing the picture of himself and Harry embracing. "I'm not his boyfriend," he added while looking at the picture. Though it had all been a misunderstanding, Ron found it difficult to look at the picture of Harry so distraught over his supposed death, and not feel awful.

"Is the other stuff they said about Harry true?" Dudley startled when a toy flew past rapidly, only to land gently onto the outstretched hand of a little boy playing nearby.

"Probably not," shrugged Ron. "Anything specific?" he asked.

"There's a biography on Harry in here. Is he really that big a deal around here? And this," he pointed to the paper, "are dragons actually real? 'Cause it said he had to battle with one when he was only fourteen. I wasn't born yesterday. I remember he was pretty scrawny back then."

"Maybe he wouldn't have been if you'd shared some of the food," snapped Ron, pointing at Dudley's belly. Ron sighed; he'd been restraining his temper for days. After a few long, deep breaths he began again. "Those rags always build up the stories to make for better reading. Harry was in a tournament and had to outsmart a dragon and steal one of its eggs. He took top marks, I think. I don't know if I'd call that 'battling' since he wasn't supposed to hurt the dragon."

Dudley sat silently. He wasn't sure if he believed the whole ridiculous story. Ron took the magazine when he realized Dudley was lost in thought.

"Let's see," Ron said more to himself than Dudley. "All right, well this one isn't as bad as some of the others," he said distractedly while reading the biography. Ron said a few words that caused his wand tip to glow, and started marking sentences on the pages. "True, false, false, true, false - totally made up that one, they did. True, partially true, and ha, I forgot about that one, it's sorta true, and the last one is false," said Ron with a laugh, having highlighted all the true statements made about Harry and his illustrious years at Hogwarts.

Meanwhile...

Harry took a deep, calming breath, having listened to the travel options available to him and his muggle cousin. None of them were particularly appealing. "Are you sure there isn't another way?" Harry could feel a headache building.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. If you like, I can check with our muggle-relations specialist, but I'm sure she isn't' going to tell you anything I haven't already," said the administrator. He was starting to lose his composure. "Julia, if you could please help us with a list of travel methods available for non-magical guests?" he sounded exasperated, and Harry couldn't miss the agitated tone.

"I'll be right with you," said a woman Harry assuwas was Julia. She had her nose in a file and was making notes in a chart.

"Couldn't I do an assisted Apparation?" Harry had asked the man, but Julia answered without taking her eyes from the file.

"It's called 'assisted' for a reason. You would be guiding more for direction than the actual travel itself. It doesn't work on muggles; they don't haveerenerent magic," she glanced up, but not long enough to have recognized Harry.

"I understand that, but a forced Apparation doesn't use the traveler's magic. Wouldn't that work on muggles as well?" Harry's lips thinned when the woman rolled her eyes. She started to put her forms down to give him her full attention.

"You would have to be an extremely powerful wizard. What are you in, sixth, seventh year at Hogwarts?" she said condescendingly and then froze, having finally looked up to see who was at the counter.

"Let me guess, you're the muggle-relations specialist because you don't do wizard relations very well?"

Julia's mouth gaped further than when she had recognized him.

"Now that we've covered my inadequate height, would you like to discuss my unmanageable hair as well?"

Before she could respond the administrator nudged her aside. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Potter. I'm quite sure Julia meant no disrespect. She's been, um very busy, preoccupied as it were," he groveled. Harry was waiting to see if the man would prostrate himself and kiss his boots. "We here at St. Mungo's pride ourselves on providing the very best service and care. I hope that you'll not consider this incident to be typical of the care and support one receives from our facility."

"Yeah, right," Harry turned to walk away. He didn't want to be rude, but didn't trust that his next words would be kind. He'd already said more than he planned to that Julia woman. He mused, perhaps hanging out with Severus was having an influence on him.

"If there iythiything at all we can do for you, Mr. Potter, please don't hesitate to ask," the man said silkily. Harry was grateful Ron and Dudley had finally entered the office.

"Hey mate, you all set to leave?" asked Ron cheerfully.

"You bet," Harry turned to leave and was held up by the desperate man.

"Pease, Mr. Potter, if I could..." the man stammered, frantically trying to save face and not allow the celebrity to leave on bad terms, but Harry cut him off.

"Let me make this easy for both of us," he paused, and the man nodded eagerly. "If anyone asks, I'll be sure to tell them my family has received the very best care available. You, in return, will not tell the press I had to remove my obnoxious cousin from your hospital."

"Oh, I assure you, Mr. Potter, our patient records are private. The press will not be getting a story from us," he stated confidently.

"Trust me, Mr. Consworth, the press has never missed a chance at a story. If they can't find one, they'll make it up. It's in your best interest to make sure the story they print is a flattering one."

"Yes, of course. I see your point, but once again, I assure you, none of the staff would betray your privacy."

"Look, Mummy," called a little boy from the corridor. "See him, that's Dudley and he was in the play room with me an' he used to live with Harry Potter," the child exclaimed at the top of his lungs. Looking past Dudley, the little boy spotted Harry and shrieked, "Mum! Can I get Harry Potter's autograph? No! I don't wanna leave..." the boy's increasingly loud protests could be heard all the way down the hall while his embarrassed mother dragged him away.

Harry couldn't help his smug look, and started to laugh softly. "I rest my case. I would strongly suggest you make a phone call. Someone's going to, it may as well be you. That way, you control the story that is printed. Ron," Harry turned to his friend. "What's the going rate for an exclusive?"

"Twenty-five Galleons?" Ron suggested with a shrug.

"Good day, Mr. Consworth. Where did you say the Apparation room is?"

"Right this way, Mr. Potter," Julia answered, leading them to the secure area that wasn't warded against Apparation. Normally she would lead travelers to the room and leave, but she wanted to see this for herself. It was a rare enough occurrence that she hadn't personally witnessed one, and she certainly hadn't ever before heard of moving a muggle that way.

"You sure about this, mate?" asked Ron nervously, his eye straying to the large Dudley. "It couldn't hurt if I helped out."

"Couldn't hurt," Harry agreed. He instructed Dudley to cross his arms over his own chest, while Harry and Ron each grabbed a hand. Harry saw Ron smirk, his fingers went all the way around Dudley's wrist, and Harry's fingers didn't quite meet. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," complained Dudley, and Ron snickered.

"Bye, Jules," Harry said humorously. She looked surprised and wasn't sure if she was insulted or not.

"On three?" asked Ron

"On three," confirmed Harry, knowing full well that meant two. "One."

"What happens on three?" squealed a panic-stricken Dudley.

"Two..."

They were gone.


~*~\*'*~


Severus Snape sat across from Albus' desk, refusing a lemon drop.

"If you're sure," Albus put the candy dish down and took one of the confections for himself. "Did you enjoy the game today?"

"It was mildly entertaining," Severus shrugged.

"You don't often go to games Slytherin isn't competing in. Tea?"

"Please," Severus replied, taking the proffered cup. "On your way to making a point, Albus?" He raised a brow, sipping his tea. It was steaming hot. Perfect.

"I'm merely making conversation, Severus," Albus said casually, but the twinkle in his eye said otherwise. "I thought possibly it was because Harry was in attendance, but you did seem quite engrossed in the game, more so than usual." Albus smiled and helped himself to a biscuit.

"Like a dog on a bone, you just keep at it until you get to the good marrow, right in the middle of it," Severus didn't want to explain his recent interest in the sport. He knew it was fruitless to go up against Albus, but he would put up a good fight to maintain what dignity he could.

"If you feel that way, perhaps you shouldn't resist?" Albus kidded him. "Humor an old man. It was so much easier to watch the two of you at meals in the Great Hall. Now, with Harry out of the castle, I don't get to see you both together. Even before you got together, you were entertaining, to say the least. Always pushing each other's buttons, annoying each other," Albus reminisced. Now, all I get is the sense of Harry's magic passing through the floo."

"Break out the violins for the poor Headmaster with empty nest syndrome," he said with a grin. Severus hadn't forgotten how he kissed Harry against Albus' door that morning. "I thought this morning would have been quite entertaining for you. I, myself, found it hilarious." Severus shocked Albus by helping himself to a biscuit from the tray.

"I haven't the foggiest idea what you're going on about," Albus hid behind his teacup and denied any knowledge of the couple's morning antics behind his door, but Severus didn't miss the way the elder wizard's cheeks rose up to his eyes; he was smiling so wide behind the fine bone china. "If I were to admit that I had seen you making a spectacle at my door, would you explain your fascination with today's game?"

"Hardly," laughed Severus. "I already knew that. I want something better if I'm to embarrass myself." The challenge was made.

"Oh?"

"Yes, the answer to a simple question, actually." Severus returned his empty teacup to the tray, leaned back and crossed his legs. "Dippit's holiday, what happened?" He elaborated, seeing Albus' confusion; or was he frozen in place? "When you explained your idea for the 'holiday as teens' to the staff, Minerva had made a comment about the time Headmaster Dippet had tried it. Something had happened. What was it?" Severus smiled in satisfaction when Albus' biscuit crumbled in his tight grasp and sprayed crumbs over the tea service.

"I have no personal problem telling you about my holiday, but I don't think it right to air someone else's dirty laundry, do you?"

"I certainly agree. I wouldn't you you to reveal the secrets of another staff member, former or otherwise," said an amused Severus, knowing perfectly well they were speaking of Minerva. "Why don't you tell me about your own holiday as a teen. There is no need to mention anyone else by name." Severus had seen Albus' cheeks tinge pink when Minerva made the comment, way back in spring. There were rewards as well as pitfalls to having an exceptional memory. He so enjoyed having Albus backed into a corner. If the old wizard wanted to know about his quidditch interest, he would have to pay dearly. Deciding it was time to enjoy himself, Severus helped himself to a small plate of biscuits and sat back, again crossing his legs, getting comfortable for a long story.

Dumbledore smiled as if it were his idea to tell this story all along. But nothing was going to take the self-satisfied, superior expression off of Snape's face.

"Headmaster Dippet," Albus paused to glance up at Dippet's painting, which was currently feigning sleep. "Since it had not been done before, so far as was known, there was little thought given to the consequences of giving the group free rein. It was two weeks during summer break; no students were present. It seems that it never occurred to Armando to keep close tabs on any of us."

Albus paused to fix more tea. He was sure he'd heard Severus mumble 'stalling' into his steaming cup of tea.

"Just like Harry and you discovering each other, I met up with a lovely young woman who caught my fancy." Leave it to Albus to bring him and Harry into it. "Unfortunately, the young lady came down with a touch of the flu. Actually, we didn't know it was the flu; the poor gal was feeling ill only in the mornings. It wasn't until after she had taken the flu potion and was still suffering symptoms that we thought she might actually be carrying a child."

Severus couldn't keep his eyes from widening. This was better then he thought. He did bite his lip to keep from barking out in laughter at the thought of Albus impregnating a fellow professor while in the mental haze of 'The Holiday', as he termed it.

"With the complications of influenza and having already been medicated, taking an additional potion to determine pregnancy was out of the question. The conception detection spell was giving off odd results as a side effect of the potion we had taken to become teenagers."

Severus could no longer hold back his laughter. "Merlin, Albus," he shook. "Please don't tell me you've got a middle-aged love child running around here somewhere," choked Severus. He had to put his tea down to keep from spilling.

"If you're quite finished," chided Albus, trying not to show his own amusement. "It was decided the safest thing to do was for the young lady to remain a teen until such time her condition could be established. She was given back her memories with the rest of the professors, but had to remain in her younger body for another three weeks, when her cycle confirmed it safe for her to age up."

"So, there never was a baby?" asked Severus. Albus shook his head no. "Was it early in the summer?" again he shook his head. "Well, then, please continue with your story," Severus said gleefully.

"The 'holiday' was very close to summer's end." Albus paused, eyes closed. "She was forced to teach the first two weeks as a teen," he chuckled at the memory. "To her credit, she took it all in stride, and had a few good laughs at the expense of several older students who had come on to her during that time. Some of them were rather tasteless. I believe Gryffindor was dead last in points that year. If memory serves, it took them several months to get out of the negative numbers."

"You were how old then?" enquired Severus amusedly.

"Hmm, let's see," he began as if it wasn't burned into his memory. "I'd not yet had my birthday... that would have made me hundred-five in 1946."

"You were the Transfiguration Professor in 1946 weren't you?"

Albus was impressed Severus knew his dates so well, and decided to come clean. "She wasn't a professor; she had spent the summer at Hogwarts as a candidate for apprenticeship and had only aged back five or six years." Albus remembered that was when her parents had decided she needed to take a very long trip to celebrate her achievement of top marks in Uni and her recent registration as an Animagi.

As if summoned by the story, Minerva knocked on Albus' door.

"Excuse me, Severus. Albus, you asked me to inform you when Harry and his cousin arrived. They are on the grounds."

"Thank you," Albus replied simply. He turned to address Severus.

~*~\*'*~


Harry and Ron each wore satisfied grins, having successfully completed such a challenging task. "We did it!"

"Wow, mate, I could feel your magic flowing through me," Ron shivered. "That doesn't make me gay, does it?"

"Yes, it does."

"Think I'll have a chance at Malfoy?"

"I sincerely hope not,"

"Guess you're right. I'll just have to stick with Hermione."

"You do that," Harry said flatly. "Enervate," He woke the fainted Dudley, offered a hand to help him up, and continued his banter with Ron. "When are you going to get off your arse and ask her to marry you?"

"I told you the engraving is almost paid for," Ron defended.

"What does it take to scratch your names in gold? A Galleon, maybe two?"

"Lot you know," huffed Ron. "The engraving is a series of ancient runes etched into the bands to protect the couple from misfortune and promote family harmony, stuff like that. Didn't they teach you that in your wizard culture class?" Ron finished sarcastically.

"I must have missed that day," Harry paused to allow Dudley to catch up. "I guess your parents had the runes that promote fertility."

"Prat,"

"Where are you taking me?" interrupted Dudley. "This place is a dump!" his comments reminded Harry he needed to cast a spell so his cousin would see Hogwarts as magical people did. Dudley was seeing an old ruin and rambling on about what a fine place Smeltings was when Harry hit him with the spell. He stopped talking in favor of dropping his jaw at the view of Hogwarts castle in all its glory. "Th-this is your school?" his eyes continued to travel up to the turrets, gargoyles, and statues decorating the castle's exterior.

Harry remained silent with a very satisfied expression while Ron took on the job of tour guide.

"On your right is the quidditch pitch, where my sister's team kicked butt earlier today." Ron pointed. "Up on this side, the tower over there is the Gryffindor dorms, where we lived for seven years. My dorm mate, Harry," Ron hugged Harry's shoulders.
"The Astronomy Tower is that one. That's where we..."

"Learn Astronomy?" Dudley finished, rolling his eyes.

"I was going to say snog, but yeah, we had classes there, too. Up there in the highest tower," pointed Ron dramatically with both hands, "Is where Headmaster Dumbledore, the most powerful living wizard of our time, has his office and living quarters. Harry has a room there, too," he added.

Harry elbowed his friend in the gut. "You say Rapunzel, and you've had it," warned Harry. Ron snickered.

~)|(~


"Severus, I'm afraid you're going to have to make yourself scarce for the next few hours. I'll have dinner sent down to you," Albus explained to Severus that Dudley would be in Hogwarts for an hour or so. The Headmaster began apologizing when Severus waved him off, appeasing any guilt.

"Don't think on it. I have some research to do and I'm glad for exc excuse. Furthermore, Mr. Flynn's been nosing around. I need to keep public contact with Harry to an absolute minimum."

"I see," Albus hoped his dear boys could one day have a public relationship. "Does Harry have anything to do with your increased attraction to quidditch?" Albus questioned as if he were asking after the weather and not making Severus 'fess up to something. Quid pro quo.

Severus sighed as one does when suddenly remembering an unpleasant chore they'd been putting off. "I assure you it is trivial issue, hardy worth the exchange of such a scandalous tale," murmured Severus, obviously pleased about having gotten the better of the bargain. The thought of Minerva ever being so irresponsible was mind-boggling. Unfortunately, it was difficult to gloat as the twinkle in Albus' eyes intensified.

"Fine. I agreed to be present while Harry, Ron and Hermione prepare for a warding on the Granger home."

"Very kind of you to help. I'm sure they'll appreciate your experience in the matter," Albus said, not mentioning this had nothing to do with quidditch.

"Deciding what spells to use should take all of thirty-five minutes. Ninety if you count the inevitable twenty questions from Granger. That leaves the rest of the evening to be..." he paused, eyes shut. "Sociable." Severus grumbled. "Having just seen a game together, Harry and Ron will jump right into a quidditch discussion, leaving Granger and I to fend for ourselves." Severus continued to tell himself he did not sound like an old housewife.

"Harry's been making an attempt to share some of my interests; it's the least I can do to reciprocate." He'd recently found one of his monthly potion journals tucked into a Quidditch Weekly. "I think Ron enjoys knowing there is at least one topic about which he'll always be better informed than I."

Albus chuckled and noted Severus was no longer referring to Harry's friend as Weasley.
"Wouldn't that make three of you talking about quidditch, and Hermione left out?" Albus asked humorously.

"It is no concern of mine if Miss Granger chooses not to participate." This wasn't to say he thought it was possible for there to be a subject Hermione hadn't painstakingly researched, not the least one both widely popular, and so dear to her Ron.


Tbc


Owl facts taken from: www.owlpages.com
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Tine ine from www.hp-lexicon.org