Silver BelSnowSnowglobe Hell

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

\"Goodnight, sir,\" Harry spoke softly, tentatively.

Severus did not reply. He simply blew out the candles and settled into, what was for him, destined to become a long, sleepless night.

Severus finally fell asleep at some point that night, plagued by dreams of desire filled green eyes. The scene of Harry finding him naked played over and over in his mind\'s eye, each time with a different outcome.

The first one was horrible to him -- Harry hadn\'t looked at him with desire, ins he he had laughed and pointed as if amused by what he had seen. The second one was of thinly veiled disgust, in it he was certain that Harry knew what lecherous thoughts he was having. The third time, his subconscience decided to be marginally nicer to him and Harry just looked disinterested and had shrugged his shoulder and turned to re-enter the bathroom. But in the fourth version, Harry licked his lips and walked slowly toward him, arms reaching for him. He found himself burning up with desire. Severus unknowingly kicked off the blankets, as the heat in the room began to match the heat of his dreams.

Sleeping restlessly next to Severus, Harry was having similar dreams. Only in his, Severus was actively participating in very erotic, enticing dreams, some of the hottest Harry had ever had. They only got steamier as the night wore on, as did the room, causing the young man to push his blanket off.

As quickly as the temperature had risen in the castle, it then began to drop, until both wizards were shivering in the cold. The blankets were now on the floor and the two men were not cold enough to wake. Instead, each slowly crept towards the warmth of the other. By morning, Severus and Harry were so entangled it was difficult to tell where one began and the other ended.

Harry\'s head was nestled under Severus\' chin and his leg was sandwiched between the other man\'s, with their feet entwined and definitely playing footsie. Severus\' arms were wrapped securely around the younger wizard, with one of his hands settled over Harry\'s arse, while the other cupped the back of Harry\'s head, his fingers laced through the short, silky strands of Harry\'s hair. Severus had been absently stroking it as he had slept.
Harry
\"Mmmm, Severus,\" a half-asleep Harry moaned, as he cuddled closer to the warmth.

Severus pulled the young man tighter into his embrace. Harry arched into Severus and moaneain.ain. Severus woke with a start, when he discovered that he and Harry were once again cradled in each others arms. The motion startled Harry, who also woke up at that moment.

Their gazes locked for a moment before Severus scrambled out of the bed and ran to the washroom, slamming the door behind him. Harry flopped over onto his back and flung his arm over his eyes in disbelief. Not again! So close...so fucking close. Why does he keep running away from me?

Neither man had taken that moment of awareness to understand the state of the desire they shared; instead, each man thought he was alone in his wants and needsspitspite the obvious signs that there was something between them, they continued thinking that the other could not possibly reciprocate these feelings.

Severus was leaning under the cold spray coming from the shower head. He definitely felt the need to cool off after waking up with such a pleasant armful of Harry. He almost regretted that they would have to leave this snowglobe sooner or later. But the sooner they left, the sooner he could avoid the temptation that was Harry, for he was still the young man\'s professor. And Harry would soon be leaving Hogwarts, and any thoughts he might be entertaining of his old potions master would leave with him.

Severus switched the cold to hot when he realized he was starting to turn blue and quickly finished showering.

Merlin, I forgot to bring a change of clothing with me. Given a choice between the horrid red jammies or a towel, Severus opted for a towel around his waist and braved going back out to face Harry. He took a deep breath to steel himself and exited the washroom.

\"It\'s all yours, Potter.\"

Harry cringed. He should have known to expect this type of reaction from Severus. He knew the other man resorted to distance and last names when he was off-balance and upset about something. He knew it shouldn\'t hurt, but it did all the same.

Harry didn\'t correct Severus this time. He just got up from the bed and skirted Severus as he entered the washroom. The other man halted him before he could close the door. \"Don\'t forget your clothes.\"

\"Oh, don\'t worry. I wouldn\'t dream of it,\" remarked an upset Harry. He grabbed his robes and stalked into the washroom once more, the door slammed shut for the second time that morning. Severus flinched, then sighed wearily.

I\'m so confused. He appears to care for me, but this just cannot be. I\'m his professor, who he has always hated. I\'m twenty years his senior. Plus, I\'m an ex-Death Eater. It must be the enforced captivity that has me imagining things that just aren\'t there.

While Harry was in the washroom, Severus decided to go to the kitchen and bring them back some breakfast, anything that would get him out of the room for a moment and away from Harry.

Harry didn\'t hear Severus leave, he just stood under the warm spray from the shower head and lead his forehead against the wall. He muttered to himself and to the world at large, though no one else was listening, \"Frustration, thy name is Severus Snape.\"

Harry finished washing up as soon as Severus re-entered and called out that he had brought breakfast back from the kitchen. Severus was setting the table when Harry finally joined him. Both were silent as they sat down to eat their porridge and dry toast.

\"Seems like we\'ve taken a step back with the castle,\" Harry spoke into his bowl of rapidly cooling porridge.

\"Stating the obvious, Potter?\" Severus managed a scowl, before turning to his breakfast.

A pained look flashed across Harry\'s face. He couldn\'t take the cold shoulder and about-face Severus had done. \"Yesterday you called me Harry. Why the sudden turn around?\"

It was a good question, but one that Severus was not prepared to answer truthfully.

\"We will be leaving this abomination soon, Potter, and you need to get used to calling me Professor Snape, or sir. And I will return to addressing you as Potter.\"

Harry sighed in resignation. \"I see. \" And under his breath he muttered, \"I knew it was too good to last.\"

\"What was that, Potter?\" Severus had to keep saying it to remind himself, otherwise he knew he would slip.

\"Nothing, Professor. Nothing at all.\"

They finished their breakfast in silence. Severus gathered up the dishes and was about to leave, when Harry caught his arm to stop him. \"I\'ll help, let me carry some of that.\"

\"I managed to bring it up here by myself, I am sure I can manage to take it back by myself,\" Severus said curtly and pulled his arm away from Harry.

\"Don\'t be such a git, I mean sir. Let me help.\"

Severus glared and would have walked away again, but Harry stopped him once more. \"Please. Let\'s just enjoy the time we have left here. I want to help you carry the dishes, okay?\" Harry spoke once more when he received no answer, \"Besides, I\'d like to talk about some things, which we can do while we\'re walking.\"

Severus gave Harry a sideways glance, wondering what it was he could want to discuss with him. He conceded when he noticed Harry\'s expression turn mulish. \"Very well. Take some dishes if you must.\"

Harry gave a bright smile at Severus, causing the othan tan to blink. Damnable Gryffindor! They think they can wrap you around their fingers, all they have to do is bat their eyelashes at you and smile prettily. Severus growled in response to the smile and proceeded to sulk all way way to the kitchen.

Harry noticed the sulk, and was almost afraid to bring up the topic of conversation that had been nagging at him the entire time they had been stuck in the globe. But he wasn\'t a Gryffindor for nothing, so he gathered his courage up and asked the one question that had been at the back of his mind since that first afternoon, \"Why do you hate Christmas?\"

Severus was startled by the question and debated on how to answer. He had hoped that Harry had been put off the last time he\'d asked, but apparently it was not to be. He cleared his throat quietly. \"I suppose you are not going to let this go, are you?\" he asked the young man.

Harry shook his head and waited for Severus to continue.

\"No, I didn\'t think you would,\" he sighed. \"It all stems back to my first year at Hogwarts.\" Severus\' gaze lost it\'s focus as he remembered that year like it happened only yesterday.

\"My hatred for your father began that year and everything that followed since then has just made the hatred accumulate. My mother had sent me a gift for Christmas, with instructions not to open it until Ctmastmas Day. It would be the last gift I would ever receive from her.\" His voice caught in his throat.

\"I don\'t understand, sir. What does my father have to do with this?\"

Severus sneered at Harry, \"I\'m getting to that, be patient.\"

Severus\' eyes had briefly lost the glazed look with Harry\'s intrusive question, but when he returned to recounting the story they once again glazed over. \"As I was saying, my mother had sent me a gift. Something precious to her and a reminder of who she was to me. It was a family heirloom from her side of the family. Handed down from mother to daughter. My mother never bore my father a daughter, so the gift was given to me instead.\"

Once again Severus paused in his story. Harry was impatient as Severus had mentioned and was tempted to ask what the gift was, but figured Severus would get to that detail soon, so he remained quiet.

\"That was when the so called Marauders began their infamous pranks, deciding that I was to be their first victim. I was so pleased to have been given a family heirloom, and had brought it to the Great Hall for supper so I could show Albus. He had become, in those short months since I had first arrived, like a father to me and I wanted to share this precious gift with him. It was a beautiful glass figurine depicting a girl dancing with a dog at her feet; it reminded me of photographs I had seen of my mother when she was a young girl.\"

Severus\' voiced hitched as he continued. \"Sirius had spotted it and began taunting me about it, then your father,\" he spat the word, \"grabbed it from me and began tossing it back and forth between himself and that mutt, laughing the entire time. I tried to take it from them, but as I reached to grab it from Potter\'s hands, it fell and shattered into huns ofs of tiny pieces. Too many for a reparo spell to ever fix. I was gutted. It was the first time I had ever cried in front of other children. And that... That\'s when they gave me the nickname you saw in the pensieve. My mother passed away not long after that.\"

Harry was speechless. He had no idea his father had been that cruel, and at such a young age. \"Oh, Merlin, Professor. I had no idea. Would it help if I apologised in the place of my father?\"

\"Potter, you\'ve said it yourself thousands of times that you are not your father. What\'s done is done.\"

\"Yes, but you still hate Christmas. Is there nothing I can do to help change that?\"

Severus merely grunted in response. They finally reached the kitchen and waiting for them was a steaming pot of tea and warm scones with clotted cream.

\"I guess we\'ve been forgiven, somewhat,\" said Harry as he placed the previously soiled dishes on a side counter and then proceeded to dive into the scones with relish. Severus poured himself a nice cup of tea with a dash of sugar and a spoonful of cream.

Harry ate his scones in silence, he was deep in thought. He swore to himself that he would see to it that Severus had a good Christmas memory and began to make a plan.

\"Professor, why don\'t we go back to the room now and play some chess, and try to figure out how to get out of here,\" Harry sarouaround his last mouthful of buttery scone.

\"Indeed, Potter, it would be best if we figured out how that mistletoe worked. However, I don\'t know if it\'s possible for either of us to think like Albus.\"

Harry felt guilty when Severus mentioned the mistletoe, as he had a pretty good idea ow thw the mistletoe worked. But he had actually enjoyed the time they had spent together, and had been selfishly keeping that information to himself.

Perhaps he would share his idea after one more game of chess, considering Severus was reverting to his old snarky self. He was sure the time it would take to play one additional game would be acceptable. They returned to their temporary lodgings, perhaps for the last time and Harry took one last look at the decorations lining the corridors. The Christmas carols still lingered in his mind, playing over and over again. He just hoped that when he returned they would disappear, for they were the most annoying songs he had ever heard.

Upon their return, sitting on the table on each side were two gaily wrapped boxes. Once more done in their house colours, as the globes had been. They both approached their respective packages warily. They both remembered the last time they had gotten packages similar to the ones in front of them.

Harry pulled the ribbon and lifted the lid of his gift at the same time Severus did his. What was inside made Harry gasp and he slammed the lid back down. Severus\' reaction was not so severe, however he also closed up his gift without taking it from the box. For inside each box was a medallion hanging from a silver and gold rope chain, on each was etched the snake of Slytherin and the lion of Gryffindor embraced.

\"What did you get, Potter?\" Severus was curious as to the young man\'s strong reaction to his gift.

\"Erm, just a trinket. Nothing of value. How about yours, sir?\"

\"The same. Nothing worth mentioning. Do you still want to play a game of chess?\" Severus leaned over to the side and picked up the chess board while he looked at Harry inquiringly.

\"Yes, sir. That would be all right with me. While we play we could discuss our way out.\"

At the mention of their way out, Severus looked at the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling just nearby. He wished he could figure out the key to the damn thing. The sooner he could get away from Harry the better, for he felt he might lose control very soon.

Severus placed the chess board so that once again he took white. Harry was frustrated by this, but bit his tongue and sat in silence as he watched the other man make his first move. \"You know, we really ought to be thinking more like the Headmaster in regard to that,\" he jerked his index finger in the direction of the mistletoe which was hanging innocently from the ceiling.

\"I\'m aware of that Potter, but how Albus thinks is beyond me.\" "I b"I believe I have an idea on how he might be thinking in this instance. I can tell you my thoughts about it, then you can decide if you want to follow my idea and try to get out of here. Or not.\" Harry looked at Severus cautiously.

\"Well, don\'t leave me hanging in suspense. Spit it out.\"

\"It\'s quite simple actually. If you think about how the castle has been reacting to our behaviour recently, it all falls into place. What is the common practice when one is near mistletoe, sir?\"

Severus looked at the mistletoe in question, puzzled at first. Then his expression changed to one of absolute horror as the idea Harry was trying to get across took hold.

Merlin, yes! It all made sense. The castle, the gift..the whole thing. s was wanted them to..to..kiss under that piece of infernal greenery.

\"I see you figured it out for yourself. So let\'s get this over with and get back to our regular lives on the outside.\" Harry stood uom hom his side of the table and stood patiently under the mistletoe. \"I promise you, you won\'t catch anything by kissing me. I don\'t have cooties,\" he said in jest and with a hint of nervousness.

That\'s not what I am afraid of... Severus thought to himself.

\"Well, don\'t just sit there. You want to go back just as much as I do. So come give me a kiss and we\'ll be back where we belong.\"

Severus looked at his still wrapped gift that he had set off to the side of the chess board. \"Did you not want to take your final parting gift with you, Potter?\"

\"Oh, yes.\" Harry hastily grabbed the gift and stepped back under the mistletoe. Severus picked up his gift as well and approached Harry cautiously.

\"Well, on the count of three then,\" Harry chirped nervously as he looked deeply in the obsidian eyes of his professor.

\"Close your eyes, Potter.\" The look Harry was giving Severus made him nervous. He was afraid the young man would see the deeply hidden longing he did not want to acknowledge.

Harry took a final look around the globe, then closed his eyes. He was going to kiss Severus, nevermind it would only be a quick peck to get them out of the globe.

Harry heard Severus count off, \"One, two, three.\" Then their lips met. Harry saw sparks from behind his closed eyes, and he felt the electricity from that simple kiss coursing through his body. He had the urge to grab Severud pud pull him closer to deepen the kiss, but the unmistakable pull of being ported wiped that thought from his head completely.

They were ported to Albus\' office, where the man himself was standing there beaming at them with his insidious blue eyes twinkling. They had landed precariously and each reached out to the other to right themselves before possibly falling over.

\"Welcome home, my dear boys,\" Albus spoke to them both with a smile gracing his lips.

\"We should have been home the entire time, Headmaster. How you could have done this is beyond me. Honestly, just you wait...old man...you\'ll get yours. You better watch your back.\" Severus was visibly upset, but no one was to guess that the reason wasn\'t at returning to find Albus smiling sublimely at them. No, the reason he was upset was because he had thoroughly enjoyed that intoxicatingly sweet, but all to brief kiss with Harry. Damn it, it ho beo be Potter from here on out. I can\'t slip again, not even in my own thoughts. WIth those words, Severus stormed from the office.

Harry just looked at the headmaster in shock. His lips still tingled with the aftershocks of his kiss with Severus. He touched his lips briefly, as if to capture the moment again.

\"Thank you, Headmaster..\" With those words, Harry left Albus\' office. He had plans to fulfill.

~tbc~