I reach but I only feel air at night

When Harry returned to the dorm that night Snape’s curtains were firmly shut, as were Brian’s. The latter gave Harry a moment of concern until he heard soft moans and slurping sounds coming from that direction. Smiling to himself he shook his head, quietly undressed and slipped beneath the covers.

As he punched the pillows up around him Harry realized the noises were getting uncomfortably loud. Not really wanting to be an uninvited guest at a private party he pulled the curtains to and cast a quick silencing spell.

Relaxing back into the pillows he wondered sleepily if the next day was a Saturday. So much had happened that week that he was honestly confused as to what day it was…
***

“Lucius, Lucius!”

Harry burst into wakefulness to find his teeth chattering in his head as someone shook him violently. Reaching automatically for his wand he cast a hurried “Lumos!”

“Snape!” He hissed angrily, “what the hell are you doing!”

Snape looked grim in the wand light. “Tell your friend to keep it down! They’ve been at it since eleven o’clock!”

“You tell him.” Harry huffed and rolled over, turning his back to the other boy.

A hand grasped his shoulder and pulled him back over, “What do you think he’ll do if I interrupt him?!”

“Shoot you for all I care,” muttered Harry and then seeing Severus’s puzzled expression sighed and heaved up onto an elbow. “Can’t you do a silencing spell like me?”

The tip of the other boy’s nose went pink. “They’ve taken my wand away.”

“Who?!” Harry exploded as the other boy nodded towards Brian’s bed, “What and you let them?!”

“Oh yeah,” said the other boy sarcastically, “I just wondered up to them and said…here fancy an extra wand?”

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes, “Okay fine I’ll cast one for you.”

Snape sneered and went to move away, “Don’t worry I don’t need your charity.”

Harry grasped his arm, “For God’s sake! Here get in with me” he scooted over and lifted the covers, shaking them impatiently as Snape just stood and stared at him. “Well come on you were obviously angling for it anyway.”

Snape drew himself up to his full height, “I was NOT!”

“Oh get in the damn bed, we’ll argue about it in a minute but I’m cold and in no mood to drag your ass in here myself.”

Snape huffed and subsided under the covers with Harry jerkily. “I am not happy about this.”

“Whatever just pull the curtains shut will you?” Harry rummaged around on top of his bedside table, “What day is it tomorrow?”

“Saturday why?”

“Well if it’s a Saturday we can relax before bed.” Harry said, producing two tumblers, a hip flask and a packet of fags.

Whilst flicking a fag at Snape and unscrewing the hip flask, Harry caught Snape staring at him. “What?” he said passing him a tumbler.

Snape looked away and Harry sighed, “Don’t start questioning me again.”

Snape accepted a lighter and inhaled lightly, “its hard not to.”

“I told you earlier, I’m not a monster.”

“No but you used to be.”

Harry pursed his lips and took a swig of scotch, “maybe.”

“No maybe about it! Before this term the only reason you’d have had me in your bed would be to-”

“Oh come on do you have to talk like that?” Harry squeezed the bridge of his nose, “I don’t like thinking about those things.”

“Well you shouldn’t have-”

“Please, please just stop.” Harry held up a hand, his cigarette smoking slowly between his fingers.

Snape subsided into silence and sat smoking rigidly on his side of the bed.

“Look I’ll tell them to give you your wand back ok? Just be thankful I am being kind and stop questioning me at every turn.”

Snape stubbed his cigarette out stiffly and slid down on the pillows, still stubbornly silent.

Harry stared at him angrily for a second before beginning to chuckle.

“What?” Snape frowned over at him and crossed his arms, “what?”

“You, you’re acting like a wife who’s got the hump!” Harry said collapsing back on the pillows giving in to helpless fits of giggles.

Snape stared at him bemusedly for a few seconds before a smile began to twitch on his lips, “I’m not” he said weakly.

“Yes you are.”

“Well can you blame me?!” Snape asked suddenly becoming serious again.

Harry flung his head back into the pillows and graoned. “For God’s sake you’re like a dog with a bone!”

“Well come on let’s look at the facts” Snape sat up earnestly as Harry turned to gaze at him resignedly.

“One” he held up a finger, “you didn’t rape me when you had the chance. Now that certainly isn’t like the Lucius Malfoy I know, the boy I know would have used me relentlessly and flung the left over’s to the rest of his gang. Instead you invent this spurious and very elaborate cover story to get both you and me off the hook. Even if you had suddenly become impotent and didn’t want anyone else to know, you wouldn’t have wasted time saving me.”

“Well maybe I’m not as bad as you think.” Harry said, sitting up and taking a sip of his drink.

“You were though, that and worse. The Lucius Malfoy that lorded over Hogwarts last year abused, hurt, raped and rubbished the entire school population and he loved it. The only time he’d notice me would be to hurt and abuse me, I used to walk into this room as quietly and quickly as I could because I was always you’re favorite toy to play with when you were bored.

Harry grimaced, he couldn’t fail to see the irony, The Snape of the past was abused and tormented by the boy he now was. The Harry of the future was abused and tormented by the future Snape…though not quite as personally.

“So what?” he turned back to Snape.

“So what happened?” Snape pressed.

Harry rubbed a hand over his eyes, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Yes I would, come on you can trust me!”Snape said earnestly.

Harry sighed and grabbed another cigarette, weighing up the pros and cons before finally,

“Okay I’ll tell you but you have to keep an open mind.” Snape nodded encouragingly and reclined back on the pillows, refusing the fag Harry offered him.

“Well the thing is,” Harry stopped and took a sip of his drink quickly, “The thing that you are going to find so hard to believe is…” he pursed lips and then in a quick breath said in a rush, “I’m not Lucius Malfoy.”

When Snape didn’t say anything Harry rushed on, “You see I’m really from the future and I’m not even born yet in fact my parents are studying here right now and…and I know the future you. You’re a bit cranky and stuck up but I guess there are reasons for that that you don’t know yet. Anyway see in Dumbledore’s office, that’s the headmaster, there’s these smoking machines, like tiny trains that sit on top of his desk and well I got curious, touched one and…well here I am.”
Snape continued to stare at him in silence and Harry smiled nervously, “look I know it’s unbelievable-”

“unbelievable? It’s bloody tripe that’s what it is!” Snape flung back the covers and prepared to get out the bed his eyes staring at Harry in stony disgust. “Maybe you haven’t changed as much I thought to take my attempt at friendship and stomp on it like that-”

“Okay, okay stop being so bloody sensitive! Get back in the bed for God’s sake if you move about too much Brian might be tempted to investigate!”

Snape shot back in the bed at that and Harry held up his hands. “Okay truce, I told you the truth okay- I did!” He exclaimed at Snape’s disbelieving snort, “If you don’t want to believe it that’s up to you but you there isn’t another version so the least you could do is stop pestering me.”

Punching his pillows into place again he rolled over and snuggled down. “Now let’s get some sleep.”

After a moment Snape settled down to although as far away from Harry as he possibly could.

Once he was done Harry sleepily lifted his wand and canceled the Lumos.