Potion Mishaps and Secrets Revealed

Disclaimer: I own nothing nor do I make a profit from writing this story. These are my own ideas that come from the love of the characters that J.K. Rowling created.

A/N: Hey all! I would like to give a huge thank you to my beta, Bslehofer!!! Thank you so much!

“speaky noise” thinky noise ::snakey noise::

Narcissa was starting to pace in the living room as Lucius picked up the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. Ruffling the pages nervously, Narcissa turned and focused all of her being on glaring at her husband.

“Lucius, go check on Draco! I called him 30 minutes ago! Why isn’t he down here yet? It’s Christmas, for Merlin’s sake! He is normally the first one down by the tree, waiting for us to join him!” she spat as she started to pace again wringing her hands. She desperately wanted to run upstairs to go check on him, but she also wanted to give her son space. If Lucius were to go upstairs, Draco would not be angry her, he would be angry with his father for invading his space.

Meanwhile, in Draco’s bathroom, he was curled up in a tiny ball on the floor, pressing his forehead on the cold white-tiled floor. One of his hands was caressing his stomach, while he tried to figure out what to do. If Potter had given him half a chance, he would have explained everything to him, instead he was a prat and refused to listen to reason.

I just wanted to tell him that I did not want my father to know yet. I love him, but I was afraid that my father would either murder him or the both of us for being together. I just wanted to wait until I knew it was safe… now he doesn’t even want to be with me, Draco thought miserably.

Draco raised up off the floor and used the counter to steady himself as he stared into the mirror. His once perfect hair was matted down on one side and he had bags under his eyes from crying. Casting a few spell to clean himself up, Draco made his way downstairs to find his parents waiting for him.

“Sorry I am late, mother, father.” He said while giving them both a hug. He then sat on the floor and put his arms in the air shouting playfully, “Present time!”

Narcissa relaxed considerably after seeing that her son was healthy and well, she laughed at his childish antics. She too sat on the floor next to her son and looked up at Lucius with a raised eyebrow.

“Darling, must we sit on the floor? I bought all of this beautiful furniture and you and Draco would rather sit on the floor?” he commented half-mockingly glaring at the two of them. Standing up, he picked up a present close to him and noting that it was for Draco handed the overly-excited teen his gift.

Tearing off the wrapping, he noticed that the letter was from Severus and Remus; he opened it up to find a silver picture frame with two tiny gold snitches in the lower left-hand corner and the upper right-hand corner. The picture is what made his breath catch though. In the picture, Severus and Draco were looming over a potion they were brewing together. The success of the potion was evident by the identical smiles they were both wearing. Draco remembered that Professor Lupin had taken that picture while Draco visited Sev’s house last summer. Looking up, he smiled at his parents and handed them the gift to look at.

Pausing briefly, “Mom, dad? Can we go visit Severus tomorrow, so I can thank him properly for the beautiful gift?” he asked with pleading eyes.

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged a quick glance between them. They had yet to tell Draco that Harry was staying with his godfather at Hogwarts. Shrugging slightly, Lucius agreed, and promised to take Draco there tomorrow. He and Potter must get along somewhat, otherwise they would be dead right now, right? Lucius reasoned.

In Little Whinging, Severus took a deep breath trying to control his raging temper. He did not want to draw extra attention to himself as he walked up to the front door and knocked three times. On the third knock, a rather large man threw open the door and glared at Severus.

“Your lot isn’t welcome here. Bugger off!” he spat while attempting to shut the door in Severus’ face.

This did not bode well with the already agitated wizard. Magic crackling all around him as his anger reached new levels, Severus took out his wand and Petrified the man. Levitating him out of the doorway and stepping further into the house, he dropped the man on the floor in the living room causing a small tremor in the floor. The larger man’s eyes were darting all around, wide with fear, as Severus walked closer to him. Crouching down to be closer to the man on the floor, Severus merely sneered as he pulled out a vial that was in his robes. Placing three drops into the man’s mouth he smiled and stood up muttering the counter curse to release him from his Petrified state.

“Muggle, give me your name,” Snape commanded.

“Vernon Dursley,” the man said lifelessly.

“Are you Harry Potter’s uncle, the very same uncle who raped him?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I raped him for stealing food. I enjoy watching him starve and then leaving food out for him to easily steal so I can punish him,” he said with a small smile played on his lips.

“Punish him? How many times have you punished him and what is the punishment for?”

“I rape him as his punishment. I have been since he was 12, I think. The punishment is for him being a freak.”

“Have you ever heard of the Dark Lord?” Severus asked darkly.

“Yes.”

“I will be worse to you than he was ever to anyone. By the time I am done with you, you will wish that it was him instead of me. Crucio!” Snape bellowed with rage laced strongly in his voice. The screams went unnoticed in the quiet neighborhood of Privet Drive.

Hours into the torture, Snape looked upon his handiwork. There were burn marks and cuts covering Uncle Vernon's body and the once brutal man was now cowering in a ball on the floor. Sneering, Snape walked over to Uncle Vernon and grabbed his hair to force the man to look at him. Tears were streaming down Uncle Vernon’s face, as he was pleading for Snape to just go and he would never touch a hair on Harry’s head ever again.

“Please, Sir. Please, just leave me be. I swear I will be much kinder to the boy. I swear that he will never be harmed or mistreated in my house. I will protect him and treat him right!” Uncle Vernon rasped out.

“You are right about one thing, Muggle. Harry will never be harmed in this house again because he will never return to the house again. Why, you ask? Not only will he be living with me from now on, but also he will have no reason to return back here. You had your chance, Muggle, and instead you tortured a good boy until he became a broken shell of a person. I am sure no one will miss you, AVADA KEDAVRA!” Snape shouted at the top of his lungs to override the screams and pleas from Vernon.

Walking into the kitchen, Severus set the oven on fire with a quick spell, and took the silencing charm, that he had placed on the house, off. Then he apparated out of the house just before it burned down after the explosion, covering up all traces of evidence that would have come back to haunt him. Stepping out of his fireplace, he walked silently towards his room and changed into pajamas before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Awaking the next morning, he felt the slight tinge of the wards going off in Harry’s room. Dressing quickly, Severus strode to Harry’s room and threw open the door. Inside the room he found the boy sitting up in bed, wide-eyed in surprise.

“Severus? Did I do something wrong? You look very upset about something,” he questioned softly. Severus sighed gently and let himself further into the room, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Harry, I have something that I have to discuss with you. I hope that you will not be angry with me when I am through divulging this. Oh Merlin, I did not think that this would be so hard.”

“What is it, Sev? You can tell me anything. Just like I can tell you anything, right?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I want. After our little chat yesterday, I went to go straighten out a few things back at your Uncle's house.” Pausing for a bit and fighting out his inner battles, he decided to tell the boy the full truth.

“Harry, I killed your relatives last night. I tortured your uncle until he was broken and crying before using the Killing Curse on him. Your aunt and cousin were hiding in the house and I did not know this until it was too late. I burnt down that horrible place. You must forgive me. I wanted to make sure you were safe so I went to go threaten him. Then after I had listened to him talk so calmly and happily about what he had done, I could not take the chance that he could do that again to you. I truly care about you, not just for Remus but for myself as well. You did not deserve anything like that. I will not allow anything bad to happen to you again. I am sorry for killing the rest of your family, but I will never apologize for that man’s murder.” When he finished, the tears were streaming down his face. His voice had been cracking towards the end as he tried to be stronger than his emotions. However, when he recalled the conversation with Vernon, he lost it.

Harry had not said anything and just sat in numbed wonderment. “So, I will never have to go back there again?”

“No. I made sure of that. Even if by some chance they survived, the house is completely destroyed.”

Locking his eyes with Severus’, he felt his own emotions surfacing. He then started to laugh, quietly at first but it continued to grow until his laughter turned into tears.

“I couldn’t save myself. Then you walk into my life, and not even befriending me for more than a few days, you saved me from one of the greatest evils. Why did you do it, Sev? Was it out of pity? Was it to get on my good side for the upcoming war? Or was it for something else?” he spat out, his cold dark emerald eyes narrowed onto the Potions Master. “Tell me something else, Severus, when did you two start dating?”

Stunned and mouth gaping, he quickly regained composure. “What do you mean, Harry, when did you two start dating? I'm not dating anyone. I saved you because believe it or not, you little brat, I see you as my charge right now. Your godfather left you in my care and I grew attached to you while you were unconscious. I wanted to protect you and I vowed to do so. I started to see you as my second godchild,” he finished softly, looking to the floor as a faint blush tinted his cheeks.

“Okay, I believe that you now care about me, even so much so that you would consider me another godchild. But, you and Remus are dating. I want to know why neither he nor you had the decency to tell me?”

Growling with frustration, Severus inwardly cursed Remus for not being here to answer this question that he knew would occur. “How did you come to the conclusion that Professor Lupin and I are dating?”

Harry faintly smiled causing Severus’ heart to leap with joy; this gave Sev hope for normalcy. “You cannot keep something like that from another person like yourself,” he answered slyly with a distinctive air that would be Slytherin-worthy.

“A person like myself ,Harry? I am sorry but you have me at a loss as to what you are talking about.” The older man smirked. Two can play this game.

With a laugh, Harry looked at Sev and smiled brilliantly before responding, “You win. I know because us poufs have a sixth sense about these things. I know for a fact that you and Remus are dating. Not only did I notice it when you tried to kiss him after you brought me from the dormitory, but you also used his first name.”

Severus was reeling; he gripped his head, as he sorted through this information. “Wait a minute. You're homosexual?” Eyes widened with disbelief.

“Took you long enough. Yes, I am. Your godson forced me to come out of the closet. After sleeping on it, I decided that I am not going to hide who I am anymore,” he finished softly.

“Well, this is unexpected. To confirm your claims, yes, Remus and I are dating, and have been for nearly two years. How did Draco force you to come out?” he asked worriedly. Nervously, Harry started to chew on his lower lip.

If I tell Severus that Draco kissed me then I would also be ratting him out. I don’t want to rat him out and yet I want to answer Severus honestly. I don’t want to lose Sev now that we finally put our differences aside. He confided in me… I should be able to do the same.

“Sev, no matter what I say you have to swear to me that you will not tell anyone else.” His eyes pleaded the older man. Severus gave Harry a calculating glance before nodding in agreement.

“Draco- no, bloody hell. We- oh bugger. Malfoy tried to- oh bleeding hell.”

After watching for the third time as Harry’s attempts to tell him failed. “Harry! Just breathe and calm down. Tell me everything that happened.” With that, Harry told Severus everything that happened after Dumbledore and Severus had left the room. Severus said nothing while Harry was recounting the events that had passed and merely just offered silent support to the stuttering teen.

Once Harry had finished, he looked at him and said, “So, Draco turned into a different person once his father and I had arrived, which hurt you. Then once you were alone, you were afraid that he would say more hurtful things to you, so you didn’t let him speak?” Harry nodded, “Harry, did you know that Lucius has a lot of power in Draco’s decisions?”

“Sev, I don’t understand?” Harry asked stumped. "What does that have anything to do with this?"

With a heavy sigh, Sev looked at the confused and ignorant child. “Harry, from what you have told me, Draco does not hate you .”

“But sir-!”

“Harry, let me finish. Lucius does not know that Draco is gay. Even I did not know until you told me. Lucius is very power hungry and he wants the best for Draco. Even in the wizarding world, Harry, being gay is not exactly welcomed with open arms. That is just a weakness in Lucius’ eyes and my guess would be that Draco was fearful for your safety. Draco did not want to tell his father on the chance that he would attempt to hex you, seeing as both of you were wandless then.”

“So Draco doesn’t hate me? He wanted to make sure I was safe so he acted as if he didn’t care?”

“Yes, and he was probably going to tell you that if you had given him a chance,” he pointed out softly.

“Oh Merlin, what have I done? But, why didn’t he send me a letter or something? I had hoped that he had and that’s why I started crying because I didn’t get anything from him.”

“Oh, so that’s what you were crying about? Oh my… and I made it worse by talking about your relatives… Harry, I am so sorry.” Severus wracked heavy with guilt, covered his face with his hands trying to regulate his breathing. Just then, he felt thin arms wrap around his stomach. Removing his hands from his face, his eyes opened to see emerald eyes glittering with tears. The two of them sat in silence, hugging one another, neither attempted to speak, content with the safety of silence. Here I am feeling sorry for myself and Harry is the one that is hugging me and trying to comfort me.

Breaking the comfortable silence, Severus removed himself from the hug. Looking into Harry’s emerald eyes his face-hardened and he became very serious. “Harry, what in the world do you see in that selfish git, that I affectionately call my godson?” His face twitched as he tried to contain a smile.

Harry just laughed and gave Severus a similar stare, “You know I could ask you the same thing. What in the world do you see about my beloved godfather? Doesn’t he go against everything you stand for, kindness, love, and hope?” he replied playfully.

“You, Harry, are the biggest prat I have ever known, and that is saying something considering who my godson is.” With a smile he continued, “No wonder why you two get along so well.”

Smirking, Harry’s eyes shone brightly as he added, “You know, both of us being prats isn’t the only reason why we get along so well. I haven’t even told you how great the sex is yet!”

Paling considerably, Severus’ smirk fell “How about we make a deal? I never discuss Remus’ and my sexual adventures with you and you do not tell me about yours and Draco’s. Deal?”

Harry laughed whole heartedly at this notion, “You honestly thought I was going to tell you that? I promise I won't, Sev. I see you as my godfather now, and that is a conversation I hope we never have to have” he said with a wink before hugging Severus once more. As the two ended their hug, voices from the fireplace in the next room caught Severus’ attention.

Leaving Harry to shower and dress in solitude, Severus walked over to the fireplace and was greeted by Lucius’ face.

“Severus! Happy belated Christmas! I was wondering if you were up for some company? Narcissa and I were owled last night with an invitation to a party that we must attend. So naturally we were hoping that it would be okay with you if we sent Draco over to your place?” Lucius asked with a little bit too much forced cheerfulness for Severus’ liking, but nonetheless he nodded his head in agreement.

“Yes, of course Draco can come spend the night with me. I would love to see my godson. It will give me a chance to go over a few things with him.”

“Excellent! Draco is all packed, so move back and he will come through. Thanks once again, Sev!” With that, Severus moved back just in time to catch his godson as he tripped out of the fireplace.

“Sorry, Sev. I keep forgetting that with your fireplace you have to automatically step up,” Draco responded smiling sheepishly, fighting to try to quell his stomach.

“Sev! What should I wear? I don't have any clean clothes here.” A muffled voice came from the room to the left causing both men to turn their attention. Just then the door to Harry’s bedroom opened as Harry stood in the door way dressed in only a towel. The water that was dripping from his hair trickled down and trailed over his abs, as if it was flaunting his body’s perfection.

Harry’s eyes widened with both shock and disbelief, forgetting the fact that he was only in a towel. “Draco? What are you doing here?”

Love and a Peace,
Kates