Complicated Romance

Title: Complicated Romance
Author: Brianna (Bree)
Pairing: Severus Snape / Harry Potter
Rating: Eventually NC-17
Summary: Teacher student relationships were a rare occurrence at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but not unknown. What happens in the time of death, love and most of all, companionship? Will Harry find someone just as lonely as he and will they bring a new meaning to love? Who better for the position than Severus Snape? But with what complication will this love come?

Chapter One: Tylius 13

---

The window shuddered beneath the thunder. A flash of pure white light entered the sky, but failed to stay; only lasting an eighth of a second. The rain poured out with heavy mass, pelting the window without mercy and running down the slippery plane to the hitch of the sill.

Harry hid beneath the cover of light blankets, shattered with fear. His body ached, throwing convulsive pain to his stomach, legs, and other parts that were bruised and beaten. He felt his world turn over, each pain thrashing and connecting, setting off several along the way. He couldn’t help the hopelessness of being broken. His body simply would not take anymore injury without treatment.

His lower lip sufficed as a beating bag, running with blood that was bitten away and moistened with a thick tongue. Metallic blood stained surrounding cloth and material forming over the shivering boy. He felt the tumble of soft fabric with each curve and turn of his body. Of course, this was little help to the pain.

Vernon stood over him, his mass outweighing the boy’s. “You horrible little brat. How many times must you ruin everything with your stupidity?! You are worthless and don’t deserve to live any longer!” His hands clamped bruised shoulders, receiving a hushed cry of anguish. Harry was much too light to be thrown across the room –it might in the end kill him which would ruin his plan of torture- so he took the boy near the wall, throwing him against it over and over and over again.

“Pathetic boy, you don’t deserve to live,” Vernon screamed as he continually slammed Harry’s beaten form into the wall. It was all he could do as to not just kill the boy already. Oh how he wished he could, turning the boy into a lifeless heap and never again having to deal with him, but those freaks would come after him.

Harry cried out, feeling every touch and shatter within the small hold of skin. He was soon losing consciousness and seeped into a black starkness that served as a refuge from the pain.

---

“Harry,” Ron screamed upon seeing the boy at the train station. He ran over to Harry, taking him into a hug which Harry willed himself not to wince, and let go quickly. “You should have seen it Harry. The Quidditch match was amazing. Too bad you couldn’t go.”

“Yeah. Too bad,” Harry watched Ron for a moment before turning to the station and watching the head lights beam persistent light. “Best we get on the train. Should be leaving in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, mate.” Ron took his things from his mother, having a kiss pressed to his cheek and moving towards the train. Harry followed close behind, receiving a kiss to the cheek as well.

“Be good, Harry.” Mrs. Weasley said with a smile, waving them off.

---

Harry set the last pair of muggle clothing in the chest just at the foot of his usual bed. He sighed out his happiness, taking a peer through the window at the vast landscape of the island that held his school, Hogwarts.

He turned his gaze to the room behind him, taking a small amount of air into his mouth, blowing it out and continuing on through the doorway, down the stone steps, through the elaborate common room and through the hole hiding their entrance with a fat lady in a painting.

Everyone talked with excitement, walking around the halls and taking in the sight of their beloved school. Harry had seen Hermione and Ron leave together just a few minutes ago Their eyes had been gazing oddly into each other’s and before they knew what was happening, they left hand in hand through the entrance.

Harry had known before the summer started that Hermione and Ron had gotten together. He hid the fact that he shared the same liking in his heart for Ron, but kept quiet with his forbidden liking. It was embarrassing to hold a secret such as your sexuality from people, even your best friends, but he figured it wouldn’t go over well with the two if they had known he was gay. So his mouth was ever closed.

The glamour spell had been cast to hide the huge bruises and sleep deprived eyes. He would not want to bring out the fact that the-Boy-Who-Lived could not protect himself from abuse and was exposed to violent acts of hatred. Besides, he did not want to die.

Harry took the long way down the hall, passing chattering paintings and excited school boys and girls. He shared a smile to the known and kept to himself from the unknown. He was simply not in the mood to play happy, but knew he had to bring about a disguise.

---

“I would like to be the first to welcome all of you back to Hogwarts. As it is my great pleasure to announce that we have Professor Wile to teach the Defense against the Dark Arts class this year.” Dumbledore shifted his gaze to the man on the right side of the table, near the end. Severus looked over, his eyes cold towards the man.

Food appeared at the table and all of the excited teenagers began to ravage themselves like wild animals of the delicious food prepared by the house elves currently working in the kitchen. Harry, however, was not in the least hungry. Over the past few months, he had been deprived of food and had gotten used to the idea of not having it in his system. He felt sick just looking at the platters full of food.

“ ‘arry, aren’t ya ‘oing ta eat?” Ron was able to submerge from the overflowing mouth of food that was subjected to the loud chewing he was administering. Harry felt his stomach turn at the sight, turning away from the boy and holding his hand to the angry organ.

“No, I’m fine.”

“But Harry, you have to eat. It’s not good to go without food; you’ll need the energy for tomorrow. I think you will also need the energy based on the fact that Ron doesn’t seem to want to go to sleep tonight with that amount of sugar in his mouth,” Hermione finished, her eyes shocked at Ron’s starved display. Though, Ron always ate as though his stomach hadn’t been fed for months.

“No really. I’m not hungry,” Harry stood from the table, unable to stand the smells and sights any longer and rushed for the bathroom, his body screaming out in pain. He made his way quickly down the hall to the restrooms and emptied the contents of his stomach in the toilet basin. He coughed, blood running over his lips and staining the sides of the toilet hole.

Pressing his back against the door of the stall, he blew out a breath. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth and he was suddenly aware of the faint feeling in his head. His body slumped and with a thud, he hit the tiled floor and breached into darkness.

---

They had been looking for him. Severus had been called into Dumbledore’s office when news spread of Potter’s disappearance. He had seen the boy in the hall, but had also watched as Potter left in a rushed hurry from the Great Hall. Since the time of his leaving, Potter had gone missing.

The time struck two in the morning, having many of the teachers searching rooms and hallways for the boy. Severus walked down the hall, lumos casted to see beyond the darkness. He entered the bathroom, looking around for a moment before noticing a body lying within the stall. He rushed over to the stall, opening the door quickly.

Potter lie on the floor, bruises exposed from the worn glamour spell, blood dried on the white tile and side of his face. He looked terrible, his body far too skinny and his breathing much more forced. The heavy pants cut through the darkness.

Severus could not move for a moment, his awe-stricken self trying to go over all the possibilities. He had no time to think as he picked the fragile boy from the ground further proving his too light theory. He rushed out of the bathroom and soon appeared them into the infirmary.

“Poppy! GET IN HERE NOW!”

---

“How bad?” Severus inquired to the med-witch, her body hovering over the bed with inquisition.

“I…can’t even imagine what happened, Severus. The boy has bones fractured in all places, bruises welting his thighs and waist, spinal cord and neck; internally bleeding beneath the danger zones, even a punctured lung. I cannot fathom what the boy had done to him. Merlin…” She had already begun the healing. She took from the shelf a variety of healing potions, ones for curing the bones of their fractures; some that contained a substance substitute for healing organs. She also gave the boy an orange colored potion that served as a feeding substitute.

“The boy hasn’t eaten for weeks. His body is slowing failing. I must get him to drink this food substitute every two hours.” She was mostly saying these things to herself, running through the list of healing schedules of what to give at what time. “It is amazing that the boy survived this long. If he wasn’t found tonight, I am not sure if he would have lived any longer. Thank you Severus, you just saved his life.”

Severus watched the woman in awe, his face showing no emotion as usual but a flicker of emotion stained his eyes. He had just saved the boy from death, though his hatred had burned with the fires of hell? He shook away those thoughts, bringing them back to the present issue. Hadn’t been fed for weeks? But the boy had been with his family over the summer break, how was it possible that he was starved? He shook his head once more, watching the exhausted Potter sleep in the infirmary bed.

The newest issue had arisen when the headmaster chose to appear in the hospital. The man’s eyes peered around the room and soon fell on the boy lying in the bed just in front of him. His eyes had changed from the moment he looked at the boy, his face losing some of its characteristic happiness and changing into full sadness of the sight.

“How did this happen, Poppy?”

“That is unknown to me, Albus. He is in bad condition though. We’ll need someone to watch him for the night. His body is losing its fight fast.” Her voice cracked as she held back tears.

Severus watched her with wide eyes, “You mean the boy is dying?!” He stared at her, his disbelief showing.

“Calm down, Severus.” Dumbledore’s hand rested on the man’s shoulder, soothing it with its presence.

“Albus, we’ll need to get that potion quickly, or he will die.” Dumbledore nodded and left the room without another word. Severus watched Poppy for a moment, gaining back some of his words and beginning to be able to form sentences.

“What potion?”

“Harry needs Tylius 13,” she said with her voice dropping an octave. Severus watched her, his head spinning. Tylius 13 was only used when the body’s organs were failing rapidly and death was taking its course over the mind and physical aspects of the victim. The solution proved to heal all of the wounds within minutes and take half death into life with the same quickness. It was a very rare potion due to the complexity of the solution. It involved ingredients not found easily and took almost a period of several years to brew correctly, depending on the freshness of the ingredients.

Severus moved over to the boy, watching as the heaving chest fell and rose with difficulty. He rushed out of the room and went into his private quarters. He pulled out a key from a hidden desk and pushed it into the wall. A safe appeared and with that he turned the key in the correct positions, one of pattern, to open the tight hold. Within the tight space lie the rarest of his potions and just beyond them was a silver liquid that glowed with the light of the heavens. Taking it from the area, he rushed out and down the hall. The silver liquid lit the hallways on his way to the infirmary.

Without consent, he went to Potter’s side and forced the solution down his throat. Almost instantly, the boy cried out and took to shivering violently as the potion took its course.

“But….Severus! That was yours from the line of your family!” Poppy screamed over the boy’s cries but was silenced by Severus’ hand raised into the air. She went quite as they both watched the boy heal with impossible quickness. His bruises over his body were taken away and his air sucked in through his mouth, relieving the death that had settled over him.

Harry’s eyes opened wide as he looked into the room, blinking several times to relieve the stress of the potion. Though he felt great, he was completely taken aback from the experience. He had seen his life pass through his eyes and was leaving his body when the potion had been administered and his life was thrashed back into his body. Who had saved him from the death? He looked up from his confusion and watched with awe-stricken eyes at the greasy-haired man that was standing directly above him.

“Welcome back, Mr. Potter.” Severus watched the boy stumble with his eyes over his body, throwing emotions through his eyes like a slideshow. The boy was in a state of shock of seeing the man above him, his savior.

“P-professor?”

Poppy watched the two, her eyes also as wide as the boy’s. She could not understand why Severus had saved Harry with his own prized possession. The Tylius 13 potion was one of the top most expensive and rarest potions in existence and Severus had just given it to the boy he was said to hate the most. With this, she decided that he place was to leave the two to their chatter and inform the headmaster of the current events.

“What h-happen-ed?”

“You, Mr. Potter, were just given a second chance at life.” As usual the snide remarks came naturally. Severus watched Potter for a moment longer, but turned away from the boy, looking out the window facing the south wall.

Harry was without his words, watching the man whom was his potion’s professor. Why had Snape saved him? He couldn’t fathom the reasons all in one night; his head hurt for the thoughts. He sat up slightly, feeling alive once more and not at all in pain. He wondered if he could leave, wondering if he could forget this whole night. He would not be so lucky.

“Mr. Potter, what exactly happened to you tonight? Why were you in such a bad condition and why did you hide it with a simple glamour spell?” Severus was now turned once more, staring from across the room, a glare that was one most feared by the students. They eyes were emotionless, but carried a darkness of the hells. Harry shivered involuntarily, trying to turn away from the eyes.

“N-nothing,” he said with a stutter. How could he tell anyone about what happened over the summer? Why would anyone care to know that his uncle beat him senseless every night and soon the pain was completely numb that he no longer cared? How could he say such things? Why would he want to expose his own weakness to the person that he most hated?

“Don’t lie to me, boy! I know that someone did this to you and it is my right to know!” He was losing his patience, having given his most precious gift to Potter and only to have it thrown back into his face without a passing glance. He was not ready to accept the idea of victimizing the famous Harry Potter, nor would he subject himself to sympathy for the boy.

Harry was caught off guard by the anger, driving out a slight gasp from his lips. He no longer felt his mind work as he stared blankly at his potion’s professor. Words no longer formed in the depths of his throat or mind and he was left a vegetable to thought.

After a moment, Severus had noticed the change in the boy. No longer had he shown emotion but become an impassive emotionless clump of body. His eyes were directed no where in specific and his body unmoving from the previous position. It seemed as though time had stopped and Potter was frozen in the time. Severus moved closer, watching the boy carefully. “Mr. Potter, if you wouldn’t mind coming back to reality, I have a few questions.”

Even without the words, Potter had not moved and his eyes lie unblinking. What was happening? He noticed the boy was shaking and tears were now forming in his eyes. The boy looked as though he was living through a vision from the dark lord, but his body showed no signs of an Unforgivable curse.

“Potter,” Severus was yelling now, pressing harsh hands to the boy’s shoulders. With a start, the boy screamed a death-defying scream that sent Severus to step back in surprise. The boy threw himself to the floor and hid away from Severus, crying softly with quick tears taking course down his cheeks.

Harry was lost, watching Snape morph into Vernon with the blink of an eye and begin to tower over him with the glare of hell. He cowered in his corner, holding back the urge to run, knowing full well that it would not make anything better. “No, please. I don’t want to be beaten!”

Severus watched with wide eyes as the boy cowered and covered as much as he could of his body in protection. Severus was just about to yell something at the boy when Dumbledore accompanied by Poppy walked in through the doors.

“What in Merlin’s name is going on here?!” screamed Poppy, immediately rushing to the boy’s side and attempting to calm him.

Dumbledore, however, made no move to help her, noticing the way Harry moved and cried. “Who,” was the simple question from his mouth as he turned saddened eyes to Severus who shrugged in response.

“How should I know?! All I did was touch him and he freaked out beyond my control. The boy has been beaten, but by whom I am not sure of yet.” It seemed that Poppy’s efforts had worked since the crying was not as loud but more of a sniff now and then and a slight whimper.

“Ah, thank you Severus for the potion. I will attend to Harry’s needs now, thank you for your time.” Dumbledore walked over to Poppy, whispering to her and helping her help Harry into the bed.

Severus watched for a moment, feeling angered. He didn’t understand why he wanted to know what had happened so much, but the fact of the matter was that he wanted to know and by his power he would know.

“I’ll watch over the boy tonight,” Severus finally said, moving to the side of the bed. Dumbledore stood, smiling over crescent-moon glasses. The twinkle was back in his eyes and that annoyed the hell out of Severus for reasons that he had created in the beginning.

“Are you sure, my boy? I could have Madam Pomfrey attend to Harry’s needs during the course of the night.”

“That won’t be necessary, I can handle this. I want to check up on a few things anyway, concerning the Tylius 13 solution. I want to make sure that there are no side affects.” Severus took the chair near the bed and watched the old man through obsidian orbs.

“Of course, I shall respect your wishes. I will be in tomorrow to check up on his condition. I hope that you can coax the boy into telling you who did this. If he confides in you that information, I will expect you to report to me immediately.” He left the room without another word, followed by the med-witch, closely following his backside and whispering things as to the condition of the boy and how wonderful the medicine had worked so quickly.

---

Smells of the freshest air took course through a cracked window just above the bed that held the exhausted Harry Potter. His eyes were closed, but his body awake. He wanted nothing more than to drift off into a world of dreams, but the sun was making him more awake by the second. Finally, he lifted his head along with his eye lids and peered around the room. What he found was much unexpected. Snape sat in a chair to the side of his bed, a book held firmly between his fingers.

“Professor?” Harry questioned over a yawn, his eyes taking in as much light as they possibly could which took an effect on his squinting levels.

“Yes, Mr. Potter?” Severus was now looking up from his book, peering across the room at the boy that was now completely awake. He sighed, putting the hard back down in its initial place and concentrating his full attention on Potter. “Something you would like to know this late in the day?”

Harry looked up at the time and sighed, noticing that it was one in the afternoon. Had he really slept that late? He sighed out and finally turned to Snape, “What potion did you give me last night that cured all of my injuries?”

Severus had forgotten about the potion and growled inwardly, remembering that he had given his most prized possession to the Golden Boy. “That potion, Mr. Potter, was Tylius 13. That potion was worth more than your life, to say the least and among one of my most prized gifts. It was given to my family from the famous wizard Merlin and had been carried down through the generations. That potion was one out of five that have been successfully made in the last three hundred years.”

Harry blushed so red that the crimson carried to his neck and ears. “I am so sorry, sir.” Never had Harry truly apologize to Snape, but this was not something he had wanted. He truly felt sorry for having taken something that precious away from another person. The question, however, was why had Snape given it to him?

Severus watched the blush appear on the boy’s face and exhaled, registering the words that followed the blush. “I chose to give you that potion on my own free will, Mr. Potter. It was a choice that I solely made and I am the one to deal with those consequences.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, gathering the tension and frustration of the situation.

“Now would you like to enlighten me on what happened to you for you to receive such bad injuries and almost lose your life?”

“I –um sir…why did you give me that potion if you hate me?” Harry watched Severus pinch the bridge of his nose a bit harder.

“Insufferable brat. I ask you a question and you redirect it; how Slythrin. If you must know, I do not hate you, Potter.” Why was he even explaining himself to the boy? What right did Potter have to know about him and yet hide important facts away from Severus?

“You don’t? But sir, don’t…”

“You still have yet to answer my question, Potter.” Severus was now at the side of the bed, glaring down at the boy through impassible eyes. The emotionless glare sent a shiver to cascade the length of Harry’s spine as he made an attempt at forming coherent sentences.

“Who did this to you, Potter?” Severus’ patience was down the final straw. He would no longer wait on the boy if it was going to be impossible to find out anything about the bruises.

“Well, um sir, it happened during the summer.”

“Yes, I was clear on that since you only arrive an hour before you passed out in the bathroom and it was said that you had been starved of food for a couple of weeks. How was it that this was possible with you taking residency with your family? Didn’t they feed you, or did their food not live up to your standards?”

Harry was angry at the last comment, his blood boiling beneath the surface. Who was Snape to say such horrible things all the time? He really hadn’t expect any less of the man, but today it was simply too much. Why would he want to confide in an uncaring man such as Snape? Unfortunately, in fear of being scorned for his silence, Harry continued.

“They didn’t feed me, sir.”

“Then how did you survive, Potter?”

Harry shifted uneasily in the bed, feeling suddenly hot and uncomfortable. “I would sneak some food when they weren’t looking, but the past two weeks, Vernon kept me in the room locked in and unable to sneak food.”

Severus was surprised by this detail, but nodded for the boy to continue his story.

“Vernon would come at nights and beat me. That is how I got these bruises,” the last sentence came out as a whisper, his eyes downcast to the blanket covering his frail body. He would give anything to hide underneath his invisibility cloak and stay there forever, but Snape continued to stare at him.

Severus was appalled by the fact that Potter was so ashamed of the fact that he was beaten. How could anyone do this to a child? He knew that he had always seen the boy as being James and at times wanted to hurt him, but to do this for so long and even almost have the boy lose his life that was not something that he believed to be right.

Harry looked up finally, deciding finally what to say. “Thank you sir for saving my life.”

Severus was flabbergasted by the turn of conversation. Even though Potter was in pain, he couldn’t enjoy it at all by the way it was affecting the boy. Never would Severus wish this upon anyone, being himself a victim of abuse. Though, he was kept alive while Potter had almost died as a result of such harsh beating. You could say that Severus’ mind frame of the Golden Boy had changed slightly, realizing how much strength Potter had to have to be able to withstand this for so long.

Harry let out a sigh and leaned back into the pillows behind him, closing his eyes and drifting away from the world. He was done with trying to be awake while he was probably only going to get yelled out. He curled into the blanket, leaving Snape to his thoughts.

Severus pondered the night’s events and decided to just watch over the boy for the time being. It was unfortunate that he met someone that too went through abuse. He leaned back into the chair, paying no attention to the neglected book on the table. His eyes were glued to the window that was slowly shedding daylight into its depths.

---

“Come in, my boy.” Severus sighed, entering the room and looking at the old coot at the other end, hidden behind his desk. Albus Dumbledore beamed with the light of the heavens, never losing that damned twinkle in his eye. Damn old man, Severus thought quickly. He sat down in the seat across from the headmaster and awaited the first question off Dumbledore’s lips each time he had a visitor.

“Lemon drop?”

“No thank you.”

“Would you like a cup of tea then?” Before Severus was given a chance to speak, Dumbledore had already laid out his tea, “How many sugars?”

“One, please.”

“Ah. Very good.”

“Headmaster, I would like to speak to you about Potter.” Severus leaned forward in his chair, his eyes passing over the elder several times before coming to a conclusion as to how he would report the newly found information.

“Ah. Well then please precede, Severus.” Dumbledore handed the tea cup over to Severus, who took it with a nod of thanks. Severus settled down in his chair, blowing out a sigh and continuing with what he had to say.

“Mr. Potter was kind enough to share the details of how he had received the injuries. I was told this afternoon, by his own lips, that his family was behind the injuries.”

“Ah, that is what I thought.”

“You knew?!” Severus stood up, looking incredulously at Albus. “Then why did you send the boy there for the summer?”

“Severus, calm down. I did not send Harry there thinking that he would be injured so badly,” Severus was about to speak, but Dumbledore held up his hand to stop the further questioning. “Though Harry is safe here, I wanted him to spend the time with his family. I did not realize by sending the boy over there that the injuries would come out to be such as this. It was an ill choice of mine, which I regret.”

Severus watched the man breathe out and the smile fade from his lips. “Where will Potter stay during the holidays? Isn’t that muggle family all he has?”

“Yes, unfortunately that is true since Sirius is now dead.” Dumbledore looked up, his eyes now saddened by all the banter on Harry’s horrible past. “As for where Harry will stay over the holidays, I think that the best idea is to keep him here, since all other choices are canceled.”

Severus nodded, agreeing with the decision. That damn twinkle was back in the man’s eyes when he looked up. Albus was sitting with his hands in his lap and a smile plastered on his face. What is that man thinking about, Severus thought angrily.

Nothing more was said about Potter during the conversation. When Severus left, Albus was smiling with his eyes. Severus walked from the room and down the corridor, mumbling about that damned coot.

---

Harry left the infirmary the next day, walking back to the Gryffindor Common room with a smile on his face. He didn’t want to upset his friends with all that they have been going through lately. Ron and Hermione were now officially ‘dating’ and to say the least, they were a ‘one of a kind’ couple.

“Harry!” Ron came from the other side of the common room, having just beaten Seamus in a game of wizard’s chess. Seamus looked quite depressed by the fact that Ron had beat him yet again that day and no longer felt the want for another game. He rose and moved over to where Harry and Ron now congregated.

“Hello Ron, Seamus.” Harry lifted his head slightly, plastering a smile on it as though nothing had happened previously. Since he had been in the hospital wing, no one had an idea as to where he was; only Ron, perhaps. Ron was looking at Harry with a confused expression.

“What happened to you, mate?”

“Oh it was nothing. Guess I just got sick.” Harry smiled, moving through the common room followed by the two boys. He noticed Hermione out of the corner of his eye as she descended the staircase to the girl’s dormitory.

“Oh Harry, you’re back. Are you feeling better?” She walked over, taking him into a gentle hug and bringing her hands to his shoulders, taking a good look at how he looked. “Well it seems that you have recovered well. The headmaster wouldn’t give us any details on what happened to you. He only said that you were in the hospital wing and should be out in a few days.” She was a generally concerned girl, the expression plastered to her face like the smile plastered to Harry’s mouth.

“Just a little sick, nothing to worry about ‘Mione,” he gave another forced smile, which looked like a smile to those around him and walked up the steps into his dormitory. It was good to finally be back to his bed. Tomorrow, he would be starting his new classes and he looked forward to it, except Potion’s class.

---

“Mr. Longbottom, can you for one day do something right?! Twenty points from Gryffindor.” Neville was kneeled over on the floor, picking up fig shavings and hastily throwing them into a vial. He was wincing ever time Snape threw out yet another insult.

“S-so s-s-sorry sir…” Neville shifted, standing up and cowering as the potion’s professor threw him a death glare. He backed up and dropped a vial full of poisonous wiggtails that fell into the potion he had been brewing. Before anyone was able to react, the potion overflowed to the floor and spurt like a volcano on the top. Harry looked up and gasped as the liquid flowed with violent vigor towards him.

Severus was all too ready for such a disaster. He aimed his wand and caught the potion in the air, freezing it and soon making it disappear with a ‘poof’. He sent another death glare at Longbottom. He turned to find Potter watching him with wide eyes. He noticed that Potter was shivering slightly and when he caught the boy’s arm, he noticed the liquid on it.

“Imbecile,” he walked over quickly, throwing a cleansing spell on the boy’s arm and looking up at Potter with the trade-mark glare. “Mr. Potter, next time you see a hot, dangerous liquid heading your way, please do try to get OUT OF THE WAY! Twenty points from Gryffindor for lack of judgment and a detention for disruption of my class with your idiocy.” With that he turned and walked to the front of the class. He cursed himself for showing any sign of emotion to the boy. Why did he care if Potter made no attempt of getting out of the way of a hot, dangerous liquid? Since when had he ever helped the boy with his own magic? The situation with Potter was getting strange. He returned to the papers on his desk and began to read over the hideously written first-year essays.

The class ended with the ring of the bell and Severus brought his eyes to the class that was slowly beginning to move out of the cold dungeons. “Mr. Potter, I will expect you here at five o’clock sharp to serve your detention.” Potter looked up from his books and slowly nodded his head, his eyes sending a glare at Severus.

---

Next Chapter: “Sir? What are you doing?” Harry looked at Snape with his eyebrow cocked slightly, noticing the older man walking in through a door that Harry assumed led to his private quarters.

“Taking you to where you will stay for the next two weeks of holiday.” Severus walked through the door leaving Potter to his thoughts.

Harry let out a slight sigh and followed the greasy-git through the door and into his private chambers.

---

Author Notes: I would like to thank all the readers. Please review. I am also looking for a beta, if anyone is interested, please email me at forgiven_entity@hotmail.com. Thank you.