Another Kind Of Magic

"Harry-"

"Sir, I-"

The two wizards looked at each other.

"Go ahead, Harry," Snape said.

Harry nodded. "I wanted to tell you that I've been speaking with someone I trust. I mean about the two of us talking." Harry shot a nervous glance at his mentor, being very well aware of how much Snape liked his privacy. "She asked me what was going on and then I told her."

Snape arched his eyebrows. "For some reason I am relieved that it is Mrs Granger and not Mr Weasley."

Snorting with laughter Harry said that Ron would have gone right through the roof if he had told him. "He has enough trouble with me being gay. No need to push the envelope even more."

"Did you tell her about the topic of our conversations?"

Harry could feel some heat rising to his head. "Well… not exactly. I said something about some kind of interest concerning my sexuality. Hermione is not stupid and made the connection herself," Harry said. And as in an afterthought he added: "She'll probably have read three books by next week. I bet she will find some unlike me."

Snape chuckled. "I assume she didn't take the news that bad then?"

Shaking his head Harry told him that she had been rather surprised about what Harry had told her.

"Why? Because we might not be the freaks we appear to be?" Severus asked dryly.

"Sort of," Harry replied then he sighed softly already feeling a little better now that he had told Snape about him and Hermione talking and not getting his head chopped off. But there was a question that had been bothering him since yesterday. He cast a glance into the fire then his eyes returned back to his mentor.

"Can I ask you a question, sir?"

"Go ahead."

Another flush of heat settled into his cheeks. "It's rather private though." Harry lowered his eyes to avoid Snape's piercing ones but literally felt the older wizard's gaze on him.

"Then I might decide to not answer you. But you may still ask."

"Fair enough." After another deep breath Harry looked up again. He needed to see Snape's eyes if he would answer. "You loved my mom who without a doubt was a woman." Harry paused a moment but nothing came from Snape, he just looked at him. "If I am not mistaken, you do have some sort of feelings for me." Again there was no sign at all in Snape's face. "Is it because I have…"

"You mother's eyes?" Snape finished his sentence.

Harry nodded, his heart thumping almost painfully in his chest.

"No, it's not that. You might be confused by my indifference concerning the gender a person has that I'm interested in. It's the person behind the gender, not the gender itself that intrigues me. Some might call that bisexual. Now regarding your appearance," Snape smirked at Harry. "Don't you think the past years proved clearly that I was seeing more of your father in you then of your mother because you look so much like him? During our private lessons I saw that your behaviour didn't resemble you father as much as I had always believed."

Harry felt a painful pang inside of him as he remembered the incident with his godfather. "Sirius once said that I would be less like my father then he had thought and he was rather disappointed about it," he said quietly.

~

Severus silently took a deep breath but didn't say anything. Nothing he would say about the mutt would make Harry feel any better.

"Did I answer your question?"

Harry looked up again and nodded. "Yes, thank you, sir."

"I guess it's my turn then. I do have a few questions that I would like to have answered." Severus put the mug on the table. "First of all: do you trust me, Harry?"

"What?!" Harry stared at Severus as if he had grown a second head. "Is this a serious question?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I am joking?"

Harry shook his head no. "Sir, you had my life in your hands more then just once," he said sincerely. "You have my full confidence."

Severus nodded. A part of him was not surprised about the answer. Harry had to trust him somehow otherwise he wouldn't be sitting here. "Why have you never told me that it was you saving my life?"

After a shock moment Harry turned his face towards the fire but Severus had still seen that he had paled.

"Who told you that?"

"Does it matter?" Severus wanted to know.

"Not really, I s'pose," came the muttered response.

Severus sighed. "You haven't been the only who spent time with someone trustful to talk." The dark haired wizard watched Harry slowly turning his head back to him.

"Professor McGonagall?"

Severus nodded. "If it wasn't for her interference I would still be aggravated. I was furious after I heard it, to be honest. First I couldn't believe that you had done it and then I couldn't believe that you hadn't told me. Minerva had quite some trouble to make me see that you had your reasons for not telling me last year."

"Tell me about it," Harry muttered.

"Trust me, Harry, she made her point. It has been quite some time since I last felt like a schoolboy." As Severus had hoped, his last confession brought a smile into the younger wizard's face. "And I understand now why you didn't tell me back then. But I am wondering why you didn't say anything recently."

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "What did you expect? That I would walk up and say 'oh, by the way, did you know that it was me saving your life in the shack?' I don't know, to me that sounds just so – smug."

Severus had a hard time to keep his face straight. That was exactly what he had believed Harry to be for most part of the time he had known him. As much as he hated the fact, Severus had to admit that – once again – he had been wrong. Harry had a point. He sighed.

"My muddled mind jumped from not telling, to secrets and from there to lies... you get the picture, I'm sure."

"I'm sorry about this," Harry said quietly, his green eyes fixed on Severus.

Severus shook his head. "Let's just say I'm relieved that you haven't been at the receiving end of my discomposure."

"You know, I'm not surprised that honesty is even more important for you with the background you have."

Severus gazed at Harry. Why had he ever thought that the boy – no, young man –was shallow? He simply nodded.

"Sir? Did you tell the Headmistress about us?" Harry wanted to know.

Severus nodded again and smiled as he remembered her outburst. "I told her that we talk and get to know each other. She found it rather entertaining that it is you out of all people who. And she's right, it's fairly amusing," Severus said. He lifted his hands as in despair. "A Gryffindor no less!" He shook his head but couldn't hide his smile.

"So nobody ever told you that the Sorting Hat had nearly put me into Slytherin?" Harry asked acting the innocent.

Severus stared at Harry. "Into Slytherin?"

Harry nodded without batting an eye.

"Why didn't it?"

"Because I asked to be put anywhere but Slytherin," Harry said bluntly. "My first encounter with Draco left a rather fishy impression about Slytherins."

Severus lifted his hand. "I don't even want to think about how that would have ended." Not to mention it would have been so much easier to let something happen to Harry and make it look like an accident if he would have been in his house.

"Do you think we would have killed each other?" Harry asked with a grin in his face.

Severus nodded. "Something along the line. Voldemort would have been delighted, though, so many possibilities. But enough of that," Severus said and then with a smirk added: "So you do have some useful skills after all? Must have if you nearly had been send into my house."

"Do I hear sarcasm here?"

"Sarcasm is an art, Potter."

Harry gaped at Severus for a second, then he burst out laughing, holding his sides. Severus curiously tilted his head and waited for the fit to end. He didn't think his last sentence had been that funny, had it?

"Maybe you should have a little chat with Hermione."

Arching an eyebrow Severus wanted to know why he should do that. He never had any temptations to get into a lengthy conversation with the young witch.

"'Sarcasm is an art, Harry!' was the exact phrase she used yesterday," Harry explained still chuckling softly.

Severus raised his second eyebrow in surprise. "Maybe there is more depth behind Mrs Granger then I have believed," he admitted. It wouldn't be the first person that he had been wrong about. Another one was sitting right in front of him.

"Hermione isn't just brains and books, you know." Harry paused for a moment. "I was telling her yesterday that I was a little surprised about how fast…"

Severus saw the pink flush in Harry's cheeks as he interrupted himself and wondered what he might say next.

"…well, how fast things have changed." Harry averted Severus' eyes. "And she said something along the line that maybe we were able to have normal conversations now and wouldn't be busy hating each other."

"I have no clue at all what she is talking about." Severus chuckled.

Harry snorted. "Yeah right."

~

Harry looked at the older wizard in front of him whose smirk had softened into a smile as he returned the gaze.

"Thank you, Harry," Snape said quietly.

Harry's heart was drumming at a racing beat as he delved into onyx black eyes. All of a sudden it was chilly in the room in spite of the blazing fire. Harry tore his eyes away and gazed into the flames. Pictures of Snape sprawled on the floor in the hut flooded Harry's mind, the blood that had been pouring slowly but steadily from the wounds Nagini had caused, Snape reaching out for him. More to himself he said that it had felt so wrong to just let him die like this. "I… I just had to try and help you. So I cast the stasis spell on you, the one you use for potions-"

"You what?"

Sharply Harry turned his head back to his teacher, feeling alarmed at the sound of his voice. Snape was leaning forward, staring at him with a shocked expression.

"You used a stasis spell?"

Starting to feel really uncomfortable, Harry shifted on his chair. "Well, yes. I couldn't think of anything else that would keep the venom from spreading. And you were loosing blood as well. I used Conservo-" Harry stopped his babbling as Snape started to laugh – and heartily at that. Amazed the young wizard watched his teacher. He had never ever heard Snape laughing like that. Still feeling a little uncertain he grinned sheepishly.

"Sweet Salazar!" Snape finally managed to say. "I would have loved to see the healers faces when you told them."

"Um, I didn't tell them. Professor McGonagall did."

Snape took a deep breath. "I bet they have never thought about using a spell for potions on a human before."

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it worked, didn't it?" he said bashfully.

Snape chuckled. "And I'm glad it did."

tbc