Tearmann 2

\"I\'m sure Madame Rosella told you not to touch him,\" a cold voice startled Harry. He hadn\'t heard the door open. When he turned around, he saw a young man, not much older than himself, wearing a white t-shirt and black drawstring pants. He had short blonde hair and brilliant blue-green eyes.

\"He doesn\'t like to be touched, you know.\" The young man was glaring angrily at Harry. All Harry could do was begin to cry again. He wanted to touch his professor. He wanted to gather the broken man in his arms and rock him gently, telling him that he was there, that Severus wasn\'t alone anymore.

Severus listened quietly as the two men talked to each other. He was relieved that the first man was no longer addressing him. It was sad to see the man so obviously upset but couldn\'t fathom the reason for it, after all, HE wasn\'t locked up anywhere and Severus was sure that a man as handsome as he, couldn\'t possibly be alone.

\"He\'s not dead, you know.\" The blonde\'s voice had softened. \"You can talk to him, just don\'t touch him. He likes to listen. He doesn\'t show it, but he does. If he didn\'t, you\'d know, just like with touching. By the way, my name\'s Toby.\"

\"I\'m Harry,\" he managed to say levelly even though he felt like he was standing on a boat in the middle of a great storm. He was starting to feel ill from his stomach being in a tight knot for the last couple of weeks.

Harry? Something about that name was familiar to Severus. He wanted to look closer at the man but didn\'t dare. Every time he looked at someone or tried to speak, he was reminded of his father telling him to be silent and that he was too ugly to set his gaze upon anyone.

\"Harry?\" Toby asked. \"As in Harry Potter?\"

\"Yes.\"

Toby pink lips spread into a big smile. \"Wonderful!\"

Harry was confused by the reaction. He was used to his ill-be-gotten fame, but somehow this sounded different.

\"Why is it wonderful?\" he asked as he wiped his sleeve under his running nose and sniffing loudly. He suddenly felt like a four year old, unable to control his emotions.

\"Because,\" Toby looked smug, \"Sev\'s been dreaming about you.\"

Harry\'s eyes popped out, wide, and his jaw dropped. If he hadn\'t been so shocked, Harry was sure he would have blushed, too. He pointedly ignored how the stranger shortened Severus\' name, like an old friend.

\"He... he has?\"

\"Yep. He has.\" Toby stepped farther into the room and settled himself on a corner of Severus\' bed, careful not to actually touch the man. \"He hasn\'t talked to anyone since he was left here, but he talks in his sleep sometimes. I\'m in the room next door,\" he gestured with his thumb over his shoulder to the wall behind him. \"The walls are pretty thin and sometimes the nurses forget to put up silencing charms between the rooms.\"

Yes, Severus dreamed. He dreamed of a young man with emerald eyes and wild hair. He had nightmares, too. A man that was more snake than human often invaded his dreams and took the striking young man away from him. He also had nightmares about an old man with long white hair and beard locking him in a box and shoving it into the darkest corner of the world. He dreamed of his father, too. Beating a young Severus till he bled everywhere. He would then rape him, telling him that sex was all he would ever be good for. When he was finished, Severus would be tossed into the small pond behind his house. He would wake up in a cold sweat, feeling like he had just dragged himself out of the cold water.

Harry was in shock. He didn\'t know what to say. Somehow, knowing Severus was dreaming about him gave him some small hope that maybe somehow, he could come back to Harry.

\"Of course,\" the young man continued, \"Sev dreams about a lot of things. Stuff like Voldemort and the battle. Mostly he dreams about that. But sometimes he dreams about Albus, not a very good fellow from the sound of it, and about you. He loves you, you know.\"

Harry was indignant about the comment about Albus Dumbledore but that was forgotten quickly when Toby told him that Severus loved him. His eyes lit up like a tree on Christmas Eve.

\"You think he loves me?\" Harry asked uncertainly. He wouldn\'t let his hopes reach too far.

Severus loved someone? That could not be right. He had never been loved, so how could he love someone else? And yet, the green eyed man from his dreams flashed in front of him. Could he love? Was he capable of loving someone? His mind was dying to reach out and ask the two men what they were talking about, but couldn\'t form the words.

\"Well, sure he does. Didn\'t you know that?\"

\"No, not really. He said it once, but he wasn\'t exactly in a clear state of mind at the time.\" Harry remembered the night he had rescued Severus from himself. He had drunk a strong poison and Harry had had to administer the antidote. It was then that Severus had told Harry that he loved him. Harry never had a chance to talk to the older man about it.

The young blonde smiled at Harry. \"Well, he does. Seems pretty obvious to me that you love him, too. I suppose that you never told him, though, did you?\"

Harry shook his head gravely. He was watching Severus to see if the man reacted at all to what they were talking about. The wizard seemed completely oblivious, however, staring into the space beyond where Harry sat.

\"People really need to learn how to say it more. It is the three most important words in the English language, after all!\" He sounded exasperated. \"I don\'t know why it\'s so tough to say. I mean, its JUST three words! Its not like you have to have a dictionary or translator or anything.\" A soft chime interrupted him.

\"Oh, gotta go. Bedtime and all. It was nice meeting you, Harry. You\'ll be back soon, yes?\"

\"Yes, I\'ll be back as soon and as often as I can. Thank you Toby.\"

\"Hey, no problem. Just remember not to touch him again, ok? I really can\'t stand his screaming, which he was about to do when I came in.\" He gave Harry a warm smile and a wave as he let himself out of the room.

Harry stood and looked back at Severus, smiling softly. Despite the warning, Harry leaned down and placed a quick kiss on his forehead. There was no reaction at all, which again, gave Harry just a bit of hope.

\"I\'ll be back soon, love. I promise. I know there has always been heartache and pain, but when it\'s over, you\'ll breath again. You\'re not alone, Severus. Never alone.\"

Never alone? Was it possible? No, his father\'s voice told him, it wasn\'t possible. He wasn\'t worthy of anyone\'s concern or affection. Albus had reminded him of that when he cast Severus out of Hogwarts and left him alone to die in a cold white room with no windows to the outside world. In spite of the kind words he had heard the handsome young man say, he was alone.

As Harry silently walket tht the door, Severus curled in on himself, pulling into a tight ball. A tear slid down his pale face. His head began to throb as he finally allowed his mind to drift into nothingness once again.