Silver BelSnowSnowglobe Hell

Silver Bells, Snowglobe Hell
Part Seven
by sherdelune and goldenpaw aka weasleyswizardwheezes

\"Honestly, sir, call me Harry.\"

Severus looked at his student in consternation, not sure how to respond to such a request. He just nodded his head instead as if in acceptance, then turned and led the way back to their room. As they entered, Harry noticed a new item had joined their sparse decorations.

\"Looks like the castle thinks we would like to play chess, professor. Although my chess skills are sadly lacking...\"

\"If I am to call you \'Harry,\' then whilst we are in this snowglobe, you may call me \'Severus.\'\"

\"Severus.\" The name tripped off Harry\'s tongue as though it were a foreign language, and he smiled crookedly at his professor. \"I\'ll try to remember that, si...I mean, Severus.\"

He noticed the mistletoe laying haphazardly by the chess board and turned to Severus. \"Would you mind if I hung this from the ceiling, Severus? I\'d hate for something to accidentally happen to it, especially if it\'s our only means of contacting Professor Dumbledore.\"

\"Please, go ahead and hang it. I would feel much safer with it on the ceiling, especially if the castle plans on gifting us with anything else.\"

Harry beamed and made an attempt to hang the mistletoe, but his arms fell short of his goal. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, as a long fingered hand plucked the mistletoe from his hand. \"Here, allow me.\"

While Harry was still reaching up to hang the sprig, warm breath tickled the back of his neck as Severus divested him of the mistletoe, and it caused him to shiver ever so slightly. Severus hung it from the ceiling with ease.

They stood there quietly -- still standing very close together -- for a moment until Severus cleared his throat. \"Shall we play, then?\"

Severus sat down on the side of the table where white was positioned. \"I hope you don\'t mind, but I would like to go first.... Harry?\"

\"That\'s fine. Like I said, I\'m really not a good chess player. Ron routinely kicks my arse.\" Harry smiled at the thought of his friend. Surprisingly, he wasn\'t upset by it, not like he would have been, say, a day or two ago.

\"Well then, perhaps I can teach you some of the finer skills in strategy.\"

\"You\'d do that for me, si..Severus?\" Harry seemed genuinely surprised, but was pleased nonetheless. \"I would love to learn. Then when we get out of here, I can kick Ron\'s arse for a change.\"

Severus chuckled at the idea of Harry walloping Mr. Weasley over a game of chess.

\"I think that all depends on how well you absorb the information I\'m about to impart to you. So far, you\'ve not really shown me that you\'re capable of learning anything.\" Even though they had relaxed in their relationship of student/teacher, Severus still couldn\'t help but bait the young man.

Harry pretended to be offended. \"Hey! I\'m not that bad.\" Severus quirked an eyebrow at Harry. Harry chucked in return, \"Okay, so I could stand to pay attention more often, but I\'m still not that bad.\" Severus merely smirked.

\"You just do that for effect, don\'t you, Severus?\"

\"Do what?\" he replied with an innocent expression plastered over his face.

\"Oh, I give up. There\'s no talking with you, is there?\"

Again, Severus just smirked, hoping to bait Harry further. Harry didn\'t fall for it this time and turned his attention to the chess board.

They spent the next three hours playing chess, as they fell into comfortable conversation with one another either over the finer points of chess or about their plans to take revenge upon Albus once they finally got out of the snowglobe.

\"So, should we go the old-fashioned muggle route and do something to his lemon drops, like dip them in salt?\"

\"Oh, Severus, you do have a devious mind. But I was thinking of something even worse. We need to do something that will keep him from meddling with us ever again.\" Harry pondered quietly.

\"Unless, we Avada Kedavra the man, I don\'t see how we could accomplish that. I\'ve known the man almost my entire life, he\'s always meddled.\"

\"I just don\'t understand the reason behind him putting us in here. Yes, I admit I was kind of grouchy because Ron and \'Mione left me alone this Christmas, but that doesn\'t merit being thrown into an enchanted snowlglobe. What could he possibly be trying to accomplish?\"

\"Perhaps he has an ulterior motive. I mean the man never does things by halves. Maybe he just wants us to be able to work more effeciently together in order to vanquish the Dark Lord.\" Severus moved his white knight to capture and destroy one of Harry\'s pawns.

Harry watched the move with little interest, he was more attuned to the conversation instead. \"Perhaps, but we know in the end, that it will be me that has to strike the final blow. However, I just hope everyone in the Order gets their chance at striking a blow for all those that have suffered at his hands. You will be by my side in this, won\'t you?\"

\"I will be yes, Harry, along with the rest of the Order, as you\'ve suggested. I\'ll... I\'ll also help teach you whatever you feel you need to know to help vanquish him. Will you be up to that?\"

\"I think this time, i will be, Severus. I\'m learning that there is now too much at stake if I don\'t.\"

\"Alright then. One stipulation is that I will require your full attention when the time comes and when we leave here. No half measures on your part, I give you my all, and you give me yours.\"

\"Fair enough.\" Harry picked up his queen and moved it to capture Severus\' knight. \"Check.\"

\"Check? How?! Well, the game is not over yet, not until checkmate is called.\" Severus looked at the board closely, trying to see where things had gone wrong. Perhaps, if he paid more attention to the game and less on Harry Potter.

Harry quirked his eyebrow and smirked, using his best \"Snape\" sneer, \"Apparently I can learn, thankfully it\'s from the best teacher I know though.\"

Did he just use MY smirk on me? And did he just compliment me? Severus\' normal cynical mask dropped for a brief second in surprise.

It was long enough for Harry to take notice. He does look so much different when he is either sleeping, or not wearing that damn mask of his.

Severus cleared his throat and decided it was best best not to comment. Instead he felt it was time to redirect their attention, as it had been long enough now to go in search of dinner. \"I\'m feeling hungry, how about you?\"

Harry knew that tactic for what it was, and decided to play along. He looked down at the chess board to hide the fact that he rolled his eyes. \"Fine, Severus. I could do with something to eat. I just hope that there is something decent in the kitchen again.\"

\"Perhaps if we wish hard enough, we\'ll get fish and chips or bangers and mash.\"

Both were so lost in thought about the recent developments in their relationship that they did not even notice the gaudy decorations, the cheerful music or anything else on their way back to the kitchen. This time Severus reached the painting to the kitchens first and tickled the pear.

This time the kitchen was filled with bangers and mash.

\"It worked! I don\'t bloody believe it!\" Harry exclaimed.

Severus\' mouth started to salivate at the wonderful smells emanating from within. \"I think we must be doing something right, Harry. The castle seems to be obliging us at every turn.\"

\"Perhaps we should go over the past day and see if we can find a pattern and piece together why.\" Harry went to the cooler and got out the pumpkin juice.

\"I have an idea already as to why.\"

Harry walked over to the center table where the food was located and took a seat, while Severus got the necessary plates and cutlery. \"Do you care to share your idea, Severus?\"

\"Well, let\'s look at the cause and effect of some of the events that have taken place.\" The music lowered as they talked, it was now almost like music heard in a restaurant, there, but not intrusive. Something both wizards did not fail to notice.

\"See, that\'s an example right there. We\'re talking, communicating civilly and the castle responds to that. Another example is when I let you take the bed after your cold shower, we were then immediately gifted with an extra blanket.\"

\"What about the fresh robes?\" quizzed Harry.

\"I took your suggestion to heart and went to retrieve the cauldrons for heating our water. And the first time we actually conversed civilly, was over the christmas pudding, soon afterwards we were awarded a better meal of savoury pies and pasties.\"

\"So every time we are kind and civil to one another, the castle rewards our behaviour.\" Harry summed it all up.

\"So it would seem,\" Severus replied while he forked into some of his lovely dinner.

\"But what did we do to get the chessboard?\" asked Harry.

\"Oh, Potter, you can be thick when you choose to be\" Severus commented shakhis his head.

\"Harry, remember?\" Harry did not like Severus\' reverting back to his surname, and made a hurt face. He was becoming too accustomed to hearing \'Harry\' coming from Severus\' smoky, smooth voice.

Severus was not keen on reminding Harry about the two films, or the fact that Harry had snuggled up close against him.

\"Oh, the films...\" sudden realisation smacked Harry square in the face. \"Oh, Merlin, the films,\" he said, then choked as whatever he was eating went down the wrong way.

~tbc~