Death Eater Takes a Holiday

Potions & quidditch facts checked at http://www.hp-lexicon.org

Chapter 64 Primary and ‘Other’ Effects


Harry lay in his bed and wondered when his life took such a drastic turn. His head pounded as it had done for the past several days. He could no longer differentiate between a vision and injury induced pain. The pangs of hunger were a distraction, but not enough to forget the broken bone that was currently stabbing into his wounded bicep muscle.

\"Don\'t you want your lunch?\" one of his tormentors asked sarcastically. Harry couldn\'t reach the tray of food. He refused to ask for help, but the truth was he knew he could beg until he was blue in the face; it wouldn\'t matter, no help would come. He showed little emotion while he watched his lunch being consumed.

\"Need water,\" perhaps he wasn\'t too proud to plead. He sputtered when a glass was poured over his face. He\'d managed to get his mouth wet, and once he was alone again, he found he wasn\'t above sucking on the fabric below his head to get a few more drops.

A few days later, a meaty fist grabbed hold of his broken arm to prove the freak had been faking. He screamed out in pain, and bolted up to a sitting position on the bed in an attempt to free the arm from Vernon\'s viselike grip.

Harry grabbed his arm instinctively, his breath coming in short pants. The sun had been shining through his barred window, but now it was suddenly dark. Still panting and holding his uninjured arm, Harry was startled by the flapping of wings. Hedwig landed on his shoulder, and hooted loudly several times before nuzzling her soft feathers against his chin. He let out a soft whimper at the feathery caress on his face.

Harry\'s breathing began to even out. He tested his pain-free limb by petting his affectionate owl. As if she could sense his pulse while fluttering against his neck, feeling his heart rate returning to normal, Hedwig gave him a soft \'hoot\'.

\"Only a dream,\" he told her, but had the feeling she knew.

Harry looked back at his pillow and soft sheets. Usually they were inviting, but the idea of going back to sleep wasn\'t very appealing. Checking the time, it was only an hour or so before he would have awakened for the day. He decided to use the time well and went for a run.

Five miles later, Harry came to the conclusion only insane people run long distances in cold weather. Thinking back, he couldn\'t ever remember seeing a runner smile. He\'d seen races on the telly and the winners breaking through the finish line ribbons always looked to be in anguish. \"This is bloody nuts,\" Harry thought about the five miles he\'d need to run back home. \"Screw this,\" he said, wiping the sweat off his face with his sleeve. After checking for onlookers, he Apparated home.


~\\*'


The day’s training half done, Harry sat back on a hay bale in exhaustion. Sweat trickled down is temple and he wondered why he’d bothered to take a shower after running. Kieran handed him a plate of sandwiches and a cold bottle of water. He poured half the water over his head, feeling the cold liquid flow down his chest and back, before drinking the rest.

\"I thought Snape was irritable when I continued your lesions without him after the summer was over. That\'s nothing compared to what he\'s been like since we started your treatments,\" said Kieran who checked his sandwich for hexes before inhaling it. Harry knew all too well how much it bothered Severus that his treatments were during school hours and he couldn\'t be there for him. Today would be the end of his fourth week, with only a few more sessions left before they would have to proceed at Hogwarts where Albus would help with the more difficult treatments.

\"He\'s worried because I\'ve had a few nightmares this week. Between relatives and Voldemort that\'s nothing new,\" Harry failed to mention they were a few more nights than usual, and the Vernon dreams were outnumbering Voldemort three to one.

\"Do you say his name in front of Snape?\" asked Kieran, referring to the Dark Lord.

\"Who, Vernon?\" Harry asked sarcastically, and then shrugged. He hadn\'t thought much about it before. \"Do you think it a coincidence the villains\' names start with a \'V\'?\" Harry joked, hoping to stay off the subject of how he was handling the treatments. He\'d had bad dreams for years, and if a few more meant he would have more magical power when this was done, then it was worth the effort. \"Now that I think about it, Sev does roll his eyes when I say Voldy.\"

Kieran laughed, and stuffed another sandwich in his mouth.

He later explained to Harry that he didn\'t have to make him suffer through internal injuries again for them to be healed over. He had researched and found a spell that would remove the scar tissue, allowing him to then heal the open area through actual regeneration of new, healthy tissue of whatever type was affected. It would feel similar to the spell that Lockhart used to remove the bones in his arm. It wouldn’t be painful, but still a disturbing sensation, to say the least.

Initially, Harry thought it would be great, to not have to suffer through reliving some of his troubling memories, but he soon discovered feeling a void where a scar used to be was what he thought splinching yourself would feel like. It made sense, since part of him wasn\'t there anymore, at least for a moment until Kieran could heal it over. They decided to do three areas for the day. The first had made him wince, by the second he could feel the hot saliva accumulating in his mouth. He continued to swallow and attempted to maintain a meditative state, but by the third time around he\'d lost his lunch.

~*~

When Harry arrived back home, Hermione\' s owl was waiting there. He read her usual note and turned it over to write back, promising the Floo was open for her to arrive for date night. She wouldn\'t be there for another three or four hours, but knowing his past record as he did, he opened the Floo as soon as he\'d sent the owl on its way.

He pulled off his training clothes in favor of a long-sleeve tee and a pair of soft plaid pants, the ones Hermione called \'cozy-lounging pants\' but which Ron insisted were boxers that reached his ankles. Clinking glass could be heard as he rummaged through his potion supplies. There were many little vials, and he couldn\'t help but think of Severus and realized he was smiling. \"There you are,\" he said, finding the anti-nausea potion. Thinking back to the last time he\'d taken it, he remembered it also had a calming effect.

\"Hoot\" Hedwig flew into the kitchen, perched on the back of a chair, and peered into the loo as Harry held various glass vials up to the light. Harry gave her a salute and downed the potion of choice.

\"Calming the stomach and the mind,\" he said to her, getting as little response as he did that morning. \"Time for a catnap,\" he winked at the Snowy owl and drank a glass of water to kill off the nasty flavor of the potion.

Harry spelled his bed warm before climbing in. He thought about Severus and some of their more memorable bedtimes together. He liked to think his fantasies would encourage sexy dreams about his favorite Slytherin. Even if that didn\'t work, he knew the calming effect of the nausea potion usually kept his anxiety-induced dreams at bay.

He did manage to dream about Severus, but instead of a good hot sex scene he wound up dreaming of a recent Order meeting. It was one of those rare times he needed to be in close contact with Severus, but continue to keep up their \'I don\'t like you all that much\' act. Even if most of the Order knew they\'d become friendly over that fateful holiday, better safe then sorry.

~Remembrance Dream~

At a large table, eight or more Order members sat, each holding a \'brain box\'. Albus had already viewed them all, but the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the information and give opinions of what Voldemort may be planning. After a quiet session while they each viewed one of Harry\'s visions, Albus asked them each to point out pertinent facts from the memory viewed. The box in Harry\'s hand held a very short vision with seemingly no important information, giving him time to watch the others. He tried to guess which vision various people were viewing by their reactions.

Minerva McGonagall began first and told them she had viewed a wizard they knew, but hadn\'t previously realized was a Death Eater. Mad Eye Moody as well as a few others took notes, bringing up important matters. Harry wondered sometimes why he was even there. He occasionally had information to add, but didn\'t have the strategic mind some of the others had. He got a kick out of Severus making scathing remarks to various opinions the spy didn\'t agree with.

\"Snarky git,\" Harry whispered to Remus next to him. He\'d said it loud enough to be heard by a few people sitting close, including Severus. He kept his face impassive as if he\'d not a care in the world when Severus scowled at him. Harry glanced down at a piece of parchment Remus slid in front of him. You will pay for that, the note read. Harry passed it back with a reply in his own messy scrawl. I look forward to it. Though Harry knew he wouldn’t feel that way when he ached for release after an hour of torture. Severus could keep him on the edge of climax until he was a mass of quivering, begging need.

Thoughts of his Sexy Slytherin were interrupted when Albus asked Harry to tell the group what Voldemort had said in the vision. Harry\'s head snapped up, not realizing he\'d been addressed directly until then.

\"The vision you\'re holding, what did Voldemort say?\" Albus repeated the question patiently. Severus snorted at his inattention. Harry nodded and looked down at the box again where he briefly reviewed the vision.

\"’I know he\'s a fool, but you can\'t eat him yet.’ He was speaking about a Death Eater to Nagini, but he hadn\'t mentioned who it was, so this vision isn\'t of much help to us,\" Harry said quickly and looked up to see a few startled faces. Albus was smiling; the ever-present twinkle in his baby blues. Harry thought the lemon drop he popped into his mouth was there to help prevent him from laughing, but he couldn\'t figure out what was funny. A quick glance down showed he hadn\'t spilled anything on himself.

\"Some of us don\'t have time to waste while you attempt to impress us with your abilities.\" Severus glared, but Harry knew him enough to see him repressing a smile. \"Repeat that in English please, Mr. Potter,\" Severus was amused by Harry, who hadn\'t realized he\'d spoken Parseltongue just as the Dark Lord did in the vision.

Harry eventually closed his gaping mouth and repeated his words in English. He also had noticed Severus shift in his chair; Harry knew the effect the serpent language had on his lover.

At that point Harry\'s dream became far less like the actual meeting, now involving snakes, and giving Severus a hand job under the table while he hissed ~\'Severus, my sexy Slytherin snake\'~.


~)*(~


While Harry happily slept on, Severus was attending a staff meeting that he would have skipped if he could have. They discussed important information, but it was nothing he and Dumbledore hadn\'t talked about multiple times. He attempted to make a beeline for the door as soon as possible, but Professor Flitwick had managed to get in a question before he could turn the knob.

\"Severus, may I have a word?\" asked Filius. Severus turned to a nearby chair and sat back down, so he wasn\'t speaking to the top of the small wizard\'s head.

\"What can I do for you?\"

\"I am currently reworking my course schedule to fit in some spells and charms I have recently added to the curriculum. Word came through the grapevine of a few new likely suspects for the OWLs and NEWTs. I will be moving my lesson plans up a few weeks, and I request you adjust your schedule accordingly,\" Filius handed Severus a sheet of parchment and waited for an answer. Severus seemed to be going over dates in his head.

\"This change involves four potions, if I\'m not mistaken?\" Severus raised a brow. He looked put out by the change, despite the fact it wouldn\'t be much of a bother.

\"That’s right, it’s the three for the comparison of potions vs. charms week, and the pensive liquid in the following month. I do hope this isn\'t a terrible inconvenience,\" Filius knew there wasn\'t a choice in the matter, but it was nice to ask.

Severus nodded as he ran over the schedule in his head. \"I see no problem adjusting the lesson plan, provided the changes do not interfere with the coordinating lessons I have with Professor Sprout,\" Severus also planned his schedule around the plant growth cycles for various potion ingredients.

\"Splendid,\" chirped Filius. \"I\'ll check with her and let you know if there are any problems.\"

Severus gave him a nod. \"If there is nothing else?\" Severus stood to leave when Filius said no and thanked him. Pausing for a moment, Severus turned back around. \"Has Weasley beaten you at chess yet?\" he asked, knowing it was date night for Harry and Hermione and Ron would likely to be at Hogwarts soon.

\"Not yet, but he\'s come close a few times,\" Filius then surprised Severus with an offer to join them. Severus declined the game in favor of some research he wanted to spend time on that night. He left with a nod of thanks before making his way back to the potions lab.


~\\0'


\"Hey, Harry!\" shouted Hermione, but didn\'t get a response. \"I\'m coming through,\" she announced on arrival, and put a bagful of items on the coffee table before entering the kitchen. None of the doors were closed, nor were any lights on, with the exception of the fire in the sitting room. \"Lumos.\"

The wand aimed into the loo showed no one about. A peek into the bedroom was all she needed. Harry lay sprawled across the bed with a duvet half on him, half on the floor. He had one plaid-covered leg hanging off the side of the bed; his arms were wrapped loosely around a pillow.

\"It\'s seven o\'clock. What are you doing in bed? Are you sick?\" she worried he wasn\'t feeling well.

\"I\'m up,\" Harry groaned.

\"You better be, I\'m hungry!\" she yelled out to him from the kitchen, and proceeded to unpack takeaway Chinese.

\"I got the new… quidditch magazine,\" she began, but her words trailed off when she entered the sitting room again, and took a good look around for the first time. She\'d heard all about the twins\' recent potion mishap and was under the impression it had been cleaned up, but the aqua-splattered ceiling told another story. When Harry didn\'t come out, Hermione went to see what was taking him so long, still worried he may be ill.

Harry was up, but still sitting on the side of his bed. His eyes were unfocused and he didn\'t seem to register being observed. One hand held the bed\'s headboard for steadiness while the other scratched an itch.

\"Are you sure you\'re not sick? Come on, it\'s time to eat,\" she coaxed her sleepy friend.

\"Yes, Aunt Petunia,\" he said quietly.

\"No need to be insulting. I\'m starving, so get up, I\'ll pour drinks and stuff.\" Hermione went back to the kitchen when she saw him pulling himself up. She hummed a tune, piling plates, drinks, and takeout cartons on a big tray. \"I thought you had said the sitting room was clean?\" she asked curiously and grabbed four chopsticks and then the tray handles.

\"I\'ll clean it again after I make breakfast,\" Harry said while entering the kitchen.

Hermione eyes widened; hearing his words, she had the sinking feeling Harry wasn\'t just being sarcastic when he called her Aunt Petunia. She wasn\'t sure if something was seriously wrong or if he was simply sleep walking. To make matters worse, he didn\'t seem aware she was holding a large tray and walked straight into the chopsticks she held along with the tray handle.

It was all Hermione could do to put the tray back on the table instead of dropping it where she stood when Harry recoiled, dropping to the floor, clutching his stomach and curling up into a ball. She knew the chopsticks had barely prodded him, but the urge to check for injury was too great.

Harry continued to clamp his hands over the area Kieran had treated earlier in the day. He didn\'t even look down to see the blood he was sure was spilling from his gut. He knew Petunia got angry when it took a few times to wake him, but she\'d never taken a knife to him before. Confused and dazed, he continued to clutch his belly and stayed as small as possible while Hermione tried to convince him everything was fine.

After some time, Hermione had to come to terms with the fact that not only wasn’t she helping, but instead appeared to be making things worse. She called for Hedwig to take a note to Ron and cried when Harry begged her not to hurt his owl.

When Ron arrived, Harry was still in the foetal position, but now covered with a blanket. Hermione wasn\'t in much better shape beside him. She continued to cry and fought the strong urge to hold her friend to comfort him, since he worsened with any touch.

Ron took a deep breath and prepared himself for Harry\'s reaction when he pulled him up from the floor to sit with his back to Ron\'s chest. Ron swayed with a gentle rocking motion and began his quidditch commentary, reciting every play in the great Chudley Cannons vs. Puddlemere United game of 1988. As Ron announced every play, Hermione recollected what she\'d said to Harry upon her arrival and cringed, thinking of how her words could be misunderstood.

~*~


Severus\' eyes blurred as he stared at the text of an old tome, reading the same paragraph for what felt like the hundredth time. He needed a good hot cup of tea and perhaps a change of scenery to clear his head. After several flights of stairs and ten points from two Gryffindors loitering in the halls, he made his way to the kitchens. This was where Filius Flitwick found him thirty minutes later, his nose in a book, a large bowl of strawberries at his left and a strong cup of ever-hot tea at his right.

\"Good evening, Severus,\" greeted Filius, getting a quick \'Good evening\' with a glance up from the Potions Master. \"Charms and Spells? I would have expected that to be a potions text,\" said Filius, noticing the book title. Severus held his finger on the text to save his spot as he looked up to properly greet his colleague.

\"Have you a few minutes? I thought we could discuss a spell I\'ve been researching over a cup of tea.\"

\"A spell? I do know a thing or two on the subject,\" smiled Flitwick. \"Since this evening\'s chess match was cancelled, I have plenty of time.\" Filius thanked a house elf, who had brought a cup of tea and a box for the professor to use to climb onto the chair.

\"Weasley decided to stay home and work on his strategy?\"

\"You know young love these days. Hermione sent an owl for something concerning a flashback and he ran off. Is that muggle-speak for, \'I want you back in a flash\'?\"

\"I don\'t believe so. If you\'ll excuse me, Filius, I need to check on something.\"

\"If you like I can check over that spell you pointed out,\" mentioned Filius helpfully. Severus left the tome with the Charms professor and took off for Harry\'s. He cursed Kieran with every step he took on his way to the Apparition point. He hated that treatments were during school hours. He knew they were taking a toll on his young lover, but Harry had denied anything more than a few nightmares.

Apparating into the corner of the room to avoid any occupants, Severus first set eyes on Ron. He was sitting on the sofa with Hermione on his lap. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, crying. Ron spoke soothing words to calm her down. He hadn\'t paused when Severus popped in, but pointed to the other room.

Severus knocked lightly on Harry\'s bedroom door.

\"Give me a sec\', I\'m getting dressed,\" Harry said flatly, thinking it to be Hermione. He hadn\'t even sensed Severus Apparate in like he usually did.

\"Be that as it may, I would like to enter,\" Sev’s deep voice had a way of insinuating itself into Harry\'s very being. Hearing it while feeling Severus\' magic so close, made him feel whole. The door opened. Harry stood in only a pair of jeans, head down and eyes closed. His wand lay forgotten on the bedside table, indicating Harry had opened the door wandlessly.

\"How did you know?\" Harry wondered if Ron had called him or if the added ward had somehow informed him of a problem. He hated how weak he sounded.

\"Ron missed his chess game,\" he said simply. Harry understood. \"Did you take a calming drought?\"

\"A bunch of hours ago, one with a potion for nausea. Then I slept like a rock, or at least I think I did,\" he trailed off.

\"Do you want to talk about it?\" he asked gently. Harry shook his head ‘no’.

\"I\'m sorry,\" whispered Harry and stood flaccidly as Severus wrapped his arms around him.

\"Why? Because you don\'t wish to talk about it?\" he didn\'t want Harry to be sorry for having a flashback.

Harry wanted to yell he was sorry because Severus must think it proved he wasn\'t being honest about his reactions to the treatments and that he was too weak to handle it. Sorry he woke up in his friend\'s arms and didn\'t know how he got there, or what made his friend look at him so very sadly. Sorry he made Hermione cry. His own face felt tight from dried tears; a lick of his salty lips told of the tears they\'d wiped away after he dropped off to sleep in exhaustion.

\"Harry, why won\'t you look at me?\" Severus tried to pull his face up with a gentle hand under his chin, but Harry turned away. \"What are you afraid I\'ll see?\"

\"Nothing,\" Harry answered quickly.

\"Then what are you afraid you\'ll see?\" he asked and knew himself to be right when Harry winced. \"Do you think so little of me as to believe that I would be disappointed in you?\"

\"No…\" he said, but didn\'t sound convincing.

\"But?\" he raised a brow, though Harry couldn\'t see it.

\"How could you not? You\'ve been trying to tell them for weeks that this was harder then I\'ve let on, but I wanted to do this, even though you don\'t approve.\"

\"I never said I don\'t approve,\" Severus stepped back to see Harry\'s disbelief.

\"Isn\'t that why you\'ve been checking up on me like a kid who can\'t look after himself?\"

\"I\'ve been doing that since the day I met you. Did you expect I would stop now that we’re lovers?\" said Severus evenly, but as he continued to speak his voice got louder. \"With the exception of one reckless individual, the entire staff of Healers at the Wellingfield Institute thinks it\'s a bad idea! I assure you, if I disapproved, you would know beyond a shadow of a doubt!\" Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and calmed a bit so he could continue without shouting. \"I simply wanted the truth about your treatments so I could be supportive in any way possible.\"

\"I\'ll never be as strong as you,\" Harry’s voice was just above a whisper, seemingly unaware he changed the subject completely.

\"When did this become an issue?\" Severus ran the tips of his fingers over Harry\'s deltoids and then down his sides where his body tapered in nicely. \"You\'re more fit than ever before.\" While Severus\' fingertips were on his sides, his thumbs trailed tantalizingly over solid abs, stopping only when he hit denim, and slid his thumbs to the curve at Harry\'s hipbones. \"You are more fit than I am. Before you know it, your body will fill out and you\'ll be old like me, wondering why you ever wanted to get there faster,\" whispered Severus, still holding Harry\'s hips. He pressed his lips to Harry\'s temple and enjoyed watching Harry use all his effort not to show any reaction, though he did snap his eyes open when he\'d realized they’d closed with the gentle kiss.

\"You know I didn’t mean physically,\" Harry said, allowing Severus to inch closer again.

\"Ah, this is about your mental instability,\" Severus said as if he hadn\'t known all along. \"Did you not tell me Dr. Erin said it was perfectly normal for you to still have flashbacks? And wasn\'t that before you began procedures to relive years of torment in a short period? Perhaps if you would have confided in me what you were going through, I could have helped,\" Severus couldn\'t keep his voice from rising again.

\"Help how? I know you put up a fuss about the treatments being during school hours. What could you have done anyway? Hold my hand?!\"

\"Insufferable brat!\" shouted Severus, and couldn\'t suppress a frustrated laugh. He felt like he was yelling at Harry for a potion gone wrong. \"If I knew you were having a hard time, I could have helped you meditate beforehand. You could have taken a calming drought before beginning each treatment---and afterward, if need be. At the very least, I would not have sent you home alone, knowing what this was doing to you.\" Severus could tell by the staggered look on Harry\'s face that he hadn\'t thought of those things. More then anything else, he saw that Harry now realized Severus wanted to be there for him, and didn\'t actually think he was a nutcase.

\"Normal people use things like \'Sweetheart\' and \'Dear\' as pet names, not ‘Brat’,\" Harry tried to say nastily, but couldn\'t pull it off without a smile.

\"That\'s ‘Insufferable Brat’ as I recall, and you\'ve never been normal.\" Sev\'s next comment of “What fun would that be?” was muffled as he pressed his lips to Harry\'s. His lover tried to further the kiss, but Severus held him at bay. \"Finish getting dressed. I think your friends need to see that you are…better.\"

\"Poor Hermione, I hate having done this to her,\" Harry looked for a clean shirt. \"She\'s never had to go it alone before.\"

\"In all this time? I find it hard to believe she\'s not experienced this before,\" Severus knew Harry used to have flashbacks often.

\"She has, but Ron\'s always been there. At one point I used to wonder about that, but I eventually figured out that when several people were around, the risk of someone triggering a problem was greater. When I was still healing, the few times Hermione was there alone with me, the atmosphere was very different. She was very quiet and soft-spoken. We were comfortable with each other and it was highly unlikely I would link my life in the muggle world with a girl cuddling by my side, reading me a book. I think it’s a girl thing. I feel awful, hearing her out there, crying.\" Harry knew he needed to let her know he was all right.

Severus led him from the bedroom. Hermione was no longer sobbing, but her breathing continued to hitch. She remained on Ron\'s lap with his long arms wrapped around her, offering comfort. He wanted to say he was sorry, but knew from experience they didn\'t like him apologizing for something he couldn\'t control.

Harry lifted Hermione’s feet from where they hung over Ron\'s lap, and sat beside them, putting her feet back down across his knees. Her head rested on Ron\'s shoulder and when she looked up, her eyes were puffy and red. They were only inches apart, and from the look in her eyes, it was obvious to Harry that she blamed herself for this.

Harry leaned his head on Ron\'s shoulder, the side of his head pressed on hers. Hermione\'s breath hitched again. With the unspoken permission it was safe to touch him now, she wrapped her arms around Harry and began to cry, saying how sorry she was for not choosing her words wisely.

\"Mi\', please don\'t do this,\" he begged. \"If I\'m not allowed to be sorry, then neither are you,\" Harry wiped her tears with his sleeve. \"I would hate to think you were watching what you said around me. What kind of life would that be, if my best friends had to walk on eggshells around me?\"

\"But I was awful, nagging you, just like your horrid aunt,\" Hermione was cut off when Harry reminded her that she\'d been nagging them for over seven years and he wouldn\'t expect that to change. Besides, the quality of and reasons for her ‘nagging’ were much different from Petunia’s. She tried to look affronted at having her nagging both confirmed and critiqued, but her breath hitched again and she couldn’t help but feel a little better. A throat clearing drew both of their attention.

\"If the love-in is finished,\" Severus put down a tea tray. No one had noticed he\'d left the room. Hermione blushed and worked her way off Ron\'s lap, apologizing for the mess she made of her boyfriend\'s robe.

\"Harry?\" Ron finally spoke. \"Is there something you wanted to tell us about?\" he looked uncomfortable, and glanced up at Severus who apparently was no help, as he had no idea what Ron was asking.

\"Yeah, I do,\" admitted Harry. \"I guess you heard Sev and I talking about the treatments.\" Harry looked grateful to Severus for the tea handed to him.

\"You haven\'t told them of the treatments?\" Severus asked incredulously.

Ron and Hermione looked to Harry and back to Severus. \"Actually, we didn\'t hear all that much, it was something else. Fred and George both have been bugging me to spend time with you. They wouldn\'t tell me why; just that maybe with us getting engaged you would feel left out. That\'s not true, is it?\" asked Ron, though he didn\'t think it was. Harry shook his head ‘no’. Severus was clearly surprised Harry hadn\'t said a word about all this to his friends.

\"The twins were here when I got mail from Frances, a Healer at the Wellingfield Institute,\" Harry ignored Hermione\'s gasp and continued. \"They were worried and wanted to know what was going on, but I wasn\'t ready to talk about it yet. I told them I was not hurt or anything and that I wouldn\'t tell them about it before I told you,\" Harry had been buying time, but now it had been a month or more.

\"But we\'ve been together plenty of times,\" argued Ron. \"Fred\'s been bugging me for weeks, if not longer, and I couldn\'t figure out what he was getting at, since we had seen you.\"

\"I know, and I hadn\'t planned on waiting so long,\" Harry started from the beginning, back when Dudley had told Albus about Harry healing himself. From there he went on to explain the scans and the Institute, meeting the Healers and eventually the treatment plan.

Hermione didn\'t look like she thought it was a good idea at all. \"If they think you\'re hoarding magic because you were hurt by the people who are there to protect you but didn’t help to make you better, how is it going to help by having this Kieran guy hurting you all over again?\" she asked, thinking the whole thing defeated the purpose in the first place.

\"He\'s healing everything he can find. It\'s as if the injury never occurred. I\'ve been training hard and I feel great. It\'s just the nightmares are a bit of a problem, and…today,\" Harry admitted. \"It\'s not that bad, and it\'ll be worth it in the end. I\'ve been through worse,\" he mumbled at the end, but didn\'t sound convincing.

\"Would it still work if the Healer is the person hurting you?\" Hermione looked to have a ton more questions.

\"Who else is going to do it? Besides, he only re-injured the small stuff. Now, Kieran does a painless spell that removes all scaring and any signs of the injury and heals it good as new.\"

\"If the spell removes the scar, wouldn’t that leave a space, a hole where the scar had been holding you together?\" she winced thinking about it. \"What\'s that like if it doesn\'t hurt?\"

\"Yeah, but Kieran heals it right away and then that spot is normal, not damaged. I can even stretch farther and stuff,\" he showed them how far he could turn his head now that his neck was free of the old scarring caused by the serious burn.

\"And how does that feel?\" she asked again, not letting him off the hook so easily. Severus, too, wanted to know the answer since he and Harry hardly ever had a chance to discuss the details. He also noticed Harry\'s breathing had sped up and he drank a lot more of his tea, but in small sips.

\"It’s, um…\" he took another sip of tea. \"It\'s an odd sensation,\" his friends knew him too well and he too knew this answer needed further explanation. Severus had gotten up and left the room for a quick moment and was back before Harry could clarify.

\"It\'s disturbing,\" he said to his teacup. Severus handed him a vial Harry recognized as a stomach-settling potion with a calming effect.

\"Disturbing how?\" asked Ron, getting an elbow in the ribs. \"Like when you had your arm bone removed? That was gross,\" Ron didn\'t seem too affected by the elbow. Harry nodded and ignored Hermione\'s apologetic looks.

\"It’s kind of like some part of you that should be there, suddenly isn\'t. It\'s replaced soon enough, but then I just feel nauseous. It’s like I think it would feel if I got splinched.” They winced.

\"Why didn\'t you tell us about it?\" asked Hermione, seeing Harry thankful for the somewhat change of subject.

He explained that when everything happened they had just been engaged. He hadn\'t wanted to put a damper on their good news, especially since he didn\'t have a definitive answer yet on how they would proceed. After that, he simply hadn\'t felt there’d been a good opportunity.

Having answered as many questions as he was up to, Harry offered to try to salvage dinner. It was easy to reheat food, but the crispy chicken would never again be crispy like it had been the first time around. Also, there had only been enough for two. In the end, they packed it up and instead heated up a dish Molly had put in the freezer for him back around the time of the funeral.

When dinner was finished, no one had any inclination to leave. Hermione thought Severus and Harry might have wanted time alone, but found it hard to go. She was still shaken and needed to see that her friend was all right. Severus, too, was thinking along similar lines. He would have loved to have Harry all to himself, wrapping him up safely in his arms and securely cocooning him in warm comfort. But he knew if he had his way, they would have many a night to themselves in the future, and he didn\'t want to exclude his lover\'s friends. Ron and Hermione had made the effort to keep Harry in their close circle, not distancing themselves simply because they were now lovers and soon to be spouses.

Severus wouldn\'t expect Harry to push away his friends in favor of him any more than he would allow Harry to demand all his time, taking him away from his research and the few other interests he had. So it was to Ron\'s surprise that Severus asked him about his service in the Ministry as an Auror, indicating he didn\'t expect them to leave shortly. Ron was only too happy to tell tales of rigid taskmasters that kept him on his toes.

\"I was going to tell you at dinner tomorrow night, but I might as well tell you now,\" Ron said eagerly to Hermione. \"I have good news and bad news,\" he grinned and Harry didn\'t think the bad was going to be all that bad, considering Ron\'s expression and the way he bounced his knee when he was excited or very nervous.

\"What do you think, good or bad news first?\" Hermione raised her question to Harry and Severus.

\"Bad,\" Ron answered for them and lead right into his story. \"It\'s not too bad actually, since…\"

\"Do begin your tale before I\'m old enough to retire, Weasley,\" drawled Severus.

\"Ignore him,\" Harry prompted his friend to go on. Ron snorted, he could have sworn he heard Harry mutter \'git\' under his breath, but finally continued.

\"I didn\'t realize it, but whenever an Auror uses emergency measures while not on an actual mission, it goes on record somewhere. Apparently, there are guys who\'ve gone ten years without having to use the portkey we \'ave,\" he finished his sentence, twisting his tongue over the object behind his back tooth. “From what I heard from Dad, it\'s like a disgrace to use it, because they see it as running away instead of standing up to fight ‘like a true Auror should’,\" he rolled his eyes at the last few words.

\"That\'s absurd!\" Hermione ranted, but halted her protest when Ron reminded her how much she hated to be interrupted. Harry almost choked, as he\'d never before seen Hermione look cowed by anything Ron had ever said.

\"Anyway, since stuff regarding \'You Know Who\' is automatically marked confidential, no one noticed I held the record for most uses of EOPs until a quarterly report was handed in. My boss freaked when they told him I\'d be put on suspension and there would be an Inquiry regarding my \'Excessive EOP Use’.\"

\"EOP?\" asked Harry. Severus didn\'t let on he wasn\'t certain, either.

\"Emergency Oral Portkey,\" Ron explained and glared at Harry when he barked out a laugh.

\"Sounds like a sex toy for nymphomaniacs with a sudden urge,\" Harry continued to laugh for a minute until he had another idea. \"Wait! What if you were giving head and tried to deep throat, only to find yourself in the Ministry building, having accidentally triggered the thing?\" Harry laughed so hard he began to cough. Much to Ron\'s outrage his own fiancé giggled at the comment. He was too distracted by his best friend trying to catch his breath to notice Severus\' smirk.

\"AURORS DON’T SUCK COCK!\" shouted Ron, taking them by surprise. Apparently Harry had crossed the line of Ron\'s level of acceptance regarding homosexual behaviour. \"Aurors are real men! They don\'t have any…\" he trailed off, knowing he, too, had crossed a line. \"I didn\'t mean…\" he trailed off again, looking at Severus and waiting for him to explode. But it wasn\'t Severus he should have looked to for a reaction. Snape had contended with this sort of attitude for many more years than Harry. It would take more than Ron to upset him.

\"Real men?\" asked Harry menacingly. \"No, the Bloody Ministry of Magic would never employ anyone ‘questionable’. I\'m sure you’re right, only real men are Aurors. All the faggots are working elsewhere, like spying on the Dark Lord, or teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and working in the Order for Albus. Some are dragon handlers, like your brother, Charlie. But then, I suppose you’re right. Aurors don\'t suck cock,\" he finished with a snarl, his anger only slightly deflated by Ron\'s pitiful expression.

\"Actually,\" Severus sipped his wine, having caught everyone\'s attention. \"One Auror I knew in particular was quite proficient in that area,\" he let his words seep in before continuing. \"Since he is no longer an Auror, nor among the living, I suppose he doesn\'t count,\" Severus again sipped his wine, enjoying two shocked and one horrified face. He\'d have enjoyed it longer if Harry\'s attitude hadn\'t completely changed in the blink of an eye.

\"You were telling us something important. I shouldn\'t have interrupted with a crude remark,\" Harry\'s words soft and apologetic. Severus was outraged Harry would back down when he clearly was in the right and had the upper hand. In his opinion, it was the bigoted Weasley that should be apologizing, not the other way around.

To his surprise, Ron looked rather sad, instead of satisfied as Severus expected. Hermione put her arm around Harry, whispering something in his ear. Severus had the distinct feeling he was missing something significant.

\"Why don\'t we clean up from dinner, and Ron can finish telling us afterwards,\" suggested Hermione.

\"Hey, mate,\" Ron stepped slightly closer to Harry. \"You\'re supposed to yell at your friends when they\'re being a prick,\" he handed Harry a fresh butterbeer as a peace offering. \"Hermione would tell you that friends shouldn\'t act that way, but we both know that I will continue to be an idiot and put my foot in my mouth from time to time, and you will continue to yell at me, and… I\'ll feel like a heel and apologize.” Ron said the last word a bit louder, making eye contact with Severus for the first time since dinner ended.

\"You\'re right,\" Harry said softly to his shoes and then raised his head with a grin. \"You are a prick,\" Harry winked at him.

\"Prat,\" countered Ron, accepting the tray from Hermione, which she had loaded up with pudding for him to bring out to the sitting room.

\"Narrow-minded jerk,\" Harry nudged Ron with his elbow, purposefully making it difficult for his friend to carry the tray.

\"Bloody pouf.\" Hermione and Severus could barely hear Ron from where they were in the kitchen, so they didn\'t hear a response from Harry, but had an idea what had been said after hearing them burst out laughing and Ron shout that he was not jealous because Severus liked Harry best.


It was rather quiet in the kitchen as Severus brewed coffee and Hermione cleaned dinner dishes. What little they could hear from Harry and Ron was enough to know they\'d moved on to the latest quidditch news.

\"Care to tell me what that was all about?\" asked Severus evenly as he measured coffee beans so carefully one would think he was working on a crucial potion.

She knew the question would come, and had been working the explanation in her head while doing the dishes. \"When Harry was um, recovering, Ron was there for him constantly. He is a loyal friend, even if he doesn\'t always think before he speaks,\" her tone still slightly annoyed by her lover\'s earlier comments.

\"There were issues with Percy Weasley and the rest of the family. It was around that time that Harry panicked at the thought of losing Ron. I guess he thought, if they could sever ties with a true brother, then he was also at risk, should he upset them.”

\"So he would give in to keep from jeopardizing the friendship?\" Severus was beginning to understand. She nodded.

\"Ron didn\'t notice anything at first. He was never one to question why he won an argument. It\'s been so long since that happened, I was shocked today. I\'m worried about him. The treatment he explained sounds truly awful and it\'s obviously affecting him badly.\" Hermione swallowed hard, determined not to cry again.
It appeared Severus would not be offering either his opinion, or any comfort to Hermione as he finished fixing coffee in silence. His Harry was motivated, strong, and self-confident. An occasional setback was one thing, but this was altogether unacceptable.

\"I will be having a word with Kieran before the next treatment,\" Severus said flatly, and carried the tray out.



\"Ireland is going to need a reserve seeker if they expect to thrash Bulgaria,\" Ron paused at the smell of Severus\' coffee.

\"Two sugars,\" Severus muttered, placing a cup in front of Harry and a second cup by Hermione, then himself. \"Tea,\" he said to Ron, while giving him a cup of coffee. Severus kept the smirk off his face when Ron\'s face fell in disappointment. He watched a myriad of emotions flash across the redhead’s face. Ron obviously thought he was being punished for the derogatory comments he\'d made earlier. It appeared he\'d accepted the consequences and made to sip his \'tea\' without complaint.

Harry saw Severus smirk when Ron sputtered \'Hey!\' as he realized he was drinking coffee.

\"Prat, did you think he wouldn\'t notice when you raved about his coffee and drank three cups last time?\" laughed Harry. \"Or did you think that was payback?\"

\"I guess I deserved that,\" mumbled Ron lightheartedly.

\"At the very least,\" added Hermione.

\"Let me assure you, had I chosen to retaliate, I would not be announcing it beforehand. You would never see it coming,\" his smile said he was kidding, but the deadly tone clearly gave warning. Harry gave him a nudge and told him to stop teasing.

\"Severus, I was wondering how it was you knew to come by tonight?\" asked Hermione.

\'What a good wife she\'ll make, coming to the aide of her husband with a timely change of subject,\' thought Severus.

\"Filius Flitwick was without a chess partner and I found it unlikely you would summon Ron on ‘date night’ without due cause.\" Severus wouldn\'t put it past the diminutive wizard to have searched him out to inform him something was up. After all, it had been necessary to inform the professors of Harry\'s condition when he returned to classes. They had Filch to thank for that.


It was not a pretty sight the first time Harry had been caught coming back from Wednesday night cooking with Dobby. One startling grab of his shoulder while Filch reprimanded him for stealing food was enough to send Harry sprawling away from his would-be attacker.

Severus seethed with anger at the memory. At the time, he\'d found it particularly comical that the boy had scurried away until he backed himself all the way to the edge of the staircase. Of course, Filch had tried to grab hold of him, only managing to tumble along with the boy down the whole flight of steps. Harry hadn\'t returned to classes for three days, and Severus had been glad of it. He’d also found it quite irritating when the staff was cautioned to be careful around the \'delicate\' Boy That Lived Yet Again. In some inane attempt to maintain the boy\'s privacy, they had never actually explained Harry had flashbacks, but then Severus acknowledged, he probably wouldn\'t have cared at the time.


\"Alright there, Sev?\" Harry had noticed him tense up. Ron looked nervous, seeing his old Potions Master scowling.

Severus nodded, taming his scowl. He remembered having been glad for Potter\'s misfortune at the time. Now he\'d have to add that to his ever-growing list of things to atone for. Many of them were in regard to his Harry.

\"Ron, tell us about what happened at work when they realized you used the portkey thing on your tooth so many times.\" Harry, like Hermione, knew when to change the subject.

\"Oh, yeah,\" Ron was happy to indulge them. \"They called me into a meeting and asked me a whole bunch of questions. They couldn\'t fault me for escaping the Dark Lord, and I’d brought back a Death Eater, too. I sent Seamus, your aunt, and cousin from the Dursley\'s house, so they couldn\'t complain about that time, since I didn\'t go myself. And there was the time Death Eaters were at Godric\'s Hollow when you were showing me the house construction. Since I was technically on duty, they replayed the scene and declared it was the best action to take, considering we were buried under a pile of building materials.\"

\"Replayed the scene? How? Is that allowed without permission of all involved? Harry, did you know they did that?\" asked Hermione all in one breath.

\"When it involves You Know Who or his followers, the rules change,\" explained Ron. Mi’, you should have seen it. There\'s this cool spell that can project a scene you remember right in the air like you’re watching a huge telly.\"

\"She\'s familiar with it,\" drawled Severus, thinking back to the night he found Harry showing her a larger-than-life projection of him smiling. Hermione blushed, looking away.

\"What?\" asked Ron, but decided to finish his story. \"Anyway, they usually pay attention to this stuff when an Auror gets his review, but I wouldn\'t have been due for one until next year, being so new and all. I don\'t think my superiors were too happy about it, but since they called me in for an Inquiry, they couldn\'t just tell me I wasn\'t in trouble. They needed to justify the Inquiry to their own bosses. So...to keep themselves out of trouble, they decided to call it a Review Board Meeting, and I got a raise!\" Ron stated proudly.

\"That\'s wonderful!\" Hermione wrapped her arms around him in congratulations.

\"Good going, mate,\" cheered Harry.

\"Do allow me to reward you,\" Severus said flatly, and refilled Ron\'s coffee, shocking the poor redhead with a smile.

Since it had been brought up earlier, Hermione asked about Harry\'s house and what the progress was. He explained that while Godric\'s Hollow had now been deemed safe, he was going to wait until he finished treatments with Kieran before he got involved again. His disappointment was clear; he hadn\'t been back but once to remove the rubble of what was left of his earlier efforts at building.

It took no time at all for Ron and Harry to be caught up in quidditch talk again. Severus had lately been too busy with research to keep up with the subject, and had little to offer to the conversation. Hermione seemed politely interested, but didn\'t add her own thoughts.

\"Care for a game of chess?\" offered Hermione. Severus was happy to have something other than broom speeds to talk about. \"Personally, I\'m glad Ginny\'s broom isn\'t so fast. I would just hate to see her try some fancy move like a \'Wonky Fate\',\" she commented while setting up the game. Ron winced and corrected her on the horrid attempt to pronounce the quidditch move.

\"Can you believe her?\" Ron muttered to Harry before continuing their conversation.

Hermione smirked, winking conspiratorially and Severus had to wonder what it was she was up to.

\"Truth is,\" Hermione spoke just loud enough for Severus to hear. \"Even with a slower model, like the school brooms, Ginny can pull off a decent Wronski Feint, but she doesn\'t approve of driving the opponent’s seeker into the ground when she can beat them outright. Of course, there is the time the Slytherin seeker was cobbing her without penalty, and she managed to redirect him without actually getting caught for blurting.\" She obviously was well versed in the world of quidditch but hadn\'t displayed such knowledge before.

Severus looked at the girl incredulously. He had to think a few minutes to remember \'cobbing\' meant excessive use of elbows.
\"I hadn\'t realized you were so proficient in the subject,\" he said as if only mildly interested.

\"Oh, please, as if anyone can be joined at the hip with those two ever since coming to the wizarding world and not know every single detail about the game. Harry\'s not as bad as Ron, but they\'re both obsessed with the sport. Thankfully, they\'ve gotten better. I didn\'t think Ron would ever stop wearing Chudley Cannon boxers,\" she said while taking her first turn, moving out her white knight and then blushing crimson when she realized what that sounded like.

\"How is it you\'ve never shown such an interest in the game previously?\" he decided to be kind and not draw out her discomfort further, though he didn\'t hide his smirk.

\"Well,\" she looked over to see if Ron was paying them any attention. The redhead smiled at her and went back to his conversation, enjoying his coffee. \"Ron\'s a great guy, I love him,\" she added. \"But you have to admit, if I were to show such an interest, we would never speak of anything else. Now, while we’re still dating, or engaged actually,\" she smiled, remembering her ring. \"He makes an effort to talk with me about things I\'m interested in,\" she explained. Severus nodded, moving his pawn up two spaces.

\"I would imagine that\'s better than you feigning interest to keep him happy, and then showing your true colors after the wedding. I can at least blame my knowledge of the game on having researched my part as ‘Charlie’ for the day of the funeral,\" he admitted with a grin.

\"I checked the Cannons\' schedule and managed to get tickets to a game the week of our Honeymoon. I\'m going to surprise him. Now I just have to get my Apparation license between now and then,\" she said excitedly, but as softly as possible.

\"Ah… intelligent woman, white dress, Cannon tickets tucked into her garter: the perfect bride,\" Severus couldn’t help but smile when Hermione burst out laughing. He\'d have to be careful with his smiles or he would use up his quota for the week.

Many a chess move later, Hermione sat back with a sigh.

\"Who won?\" asked Ron

\"You have to ask?\" she answered lightheartedly as her king picked up his sword and dragged it back to its home position. \"Harry, have you seen the latest Quidditch Weekly?\"

\"Did you bring it?\" Harry grinned wide with anticipation.

\"You can have my copy,\" groaned Ron in reference to the special edition. \"This week’s magazine is sold out because of a bunch of girls who can\'t even pronounce \'Wronski Feint\' proper,\" teased Ron. Severus appeared indifferent throughout their discussion, but couldn\'t help notice Harry\'s grin as he flipped through the periodical.

\"It’s a calendar. I may have to hang it in my room,\" Hermione said to Ron, winding him up.

\"August is too hairy,\" Harry said, apparently to no one in particular. \"Oh, September is very hot!\" declared Harry. Severus snickered, but the sound was lost in the flipping of pages.

\"If you don\'t manage to pry it from his hands, I\'ll send you a copy,\" Hermione said to Severus.

\"It\'s not safe for you to send Severus an owl,\" Harry told her. Severus liked to know Harry was paying attention to the conversation despite the distraction of sexy quidditch players from around the world.

\"Give me some credit,\" Hermione sneered. \"I\'m smart enough to find a way,\" the confident expression on her face told that she already knew a way.


Early the next day…

Severus was in a lousy mood. He was up an hour early to grade papers since he’d stayed late at Harry\'s the night before. It was Friday morning; the students’ minds were on the weekend ahead and paid little attention to his lecture.

\"…aconite, also known as monkshood and wolfsbane, is commonly,\" Severus paused mid-sentence, hearing a giggle from the back of the room. \"Ten points from Gryffindor. Pay attention!\" he said without looking up to see who it was.

\"Who can tell me…\" he paused once again. The giggle was louder this time. Within three strides Severus he stormed to the back of the room, glaring. \"I\'ll take that,\" he snarled though his teeth, snapping up the offending article. Ginny Weasley crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, but didn\'t say a word.

When class finally ended he sat at his desk and retrieved the confiscated magazine from his desk drawer. In the centerfold was a note from Hermione.

As if there was ever any doubt

H G


TBC

*NOTE* I stopped posting here for a while because it wasn\'t worth the pain in the ass to post when the site was screwed up. I had time today and everything was running smoothly, so I put up all the chapters writen so far.

If you want other links for this story email me for the list :) leeleepotter@optonline.net
HPfandom
InkstainedFingers
my live journal