Love Me Gently

The great hall was full of students at the beginning of the new school year. The four tables buzzed about the new students who’d just been sorted and about the summers away from school. A young trio sat at one far end where they could hear nearly headless nick talking to one of the first years about the fact he’d once again been refused by Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore the leader of The Headless Hunt because he was only nearly headless.

Harry shook his head at the tail. Before his first year at Hogwarts he didn’t believe in an afterlife, now he didn’t think too much of it if it remained the same fashion of ‘living’ as it was in life. He smiled as he caught Hermione rolling her eyes, obviously just as impressed as he was. It was Ron who wasn’t paying attention at all but wolfing down his food as if he hadn’t eaten in days, at least it seemed as if he was growing for all the food given to him. Harry was surprised to find out that the redhead was a full head and a half taller than him when he’d visited after a very short stay at his Uncle’s over the summer.

“I can’t wait!” Ron said between bites, his mouth still full of food. He stopped long enough to wash the previous bite down with pumpkin juice. “The sixth and seventh years get to have a masquerade party at the end of the month as a welcome back to school schtick. I always envied them, why couldn’t the younger years join the party anyway?”

“Because they are supposed to be focusing on their studies, just like we should be doing instead of partying,” Hermione replied with a curt nod in Ron’s direction. “Besides, I heard they get quite rowdy enough with just the two years attending.”

“Come off it ‘Mione. Studying day in and day out makes a normal person go insane! A little partying is a good way to stop focusing on school work for once.”

“Are you calling me abnormal?!”

“Anyone who studies as much as you do is abnormal.”

Harry shook his head and continued to eat only one ear listening to to argument that bloomed off of a topic that should have been fun to talk about. The two have been arguing about the silliest things all summer and he had made a good record of keeping his nose out of it, he wasn’t about to put it in now. He was excited about the party he’d heard so much about. It was supposed to be casual, dress robes not required and people were allowed to dress up in anything. During the course of the dinner he remained silent as the two found more things to bicker about and wondered idly why they didn’t just start dating already, perhaps there would be less bickering and more lovey-dovey type stuff. Harry hoped the lovey-dovey stuff would be better than the fighting.

The rest of the night went normally, they sang the school song with a flourish of good and bad singing voices and Harry made his way to the seventh floor alone. Hermione and Ron as prefects had to guide the first years to the Gryffindor Common room and to their dormitories. Harry decided not to hang back with them and headed to bed instead, the first day of classes always seemed the most tiring.

The one class the trio were not in together wasn’t a class he would be happy to forgo the bickering between his two friends. Once Potions was no longer obligatory Ron decided not to continue to put himself at the mercy of one Professor Severus Snape. Or so he put it, in reality he hadn’t made the grades to continue in the course set ridiculously high, Harry had barely managed to get the minimum himself. Parts of him wondered why he didn’t take Ron’s route, however he needed Potions to become an Auror he reminded himself. What’s another two years of potions?

The class grew silent when the door swung open to admit the dour Professor with black greasy hair to his shoulders and matching eyes that swept over the Sixth year classroom of Gryffindors and Slytherins. With the impressive flourish of his black robes Professor Snape walked to the front without a word and those eyes swept across once more landing on Harry and a sneer made its way onto the man’s pale mouth.

“Mr Potter, this is not the time to visit with,” Snape’s lips twitched a moment in an apparent way to point out Hermione distastefully. “Friends. I’m certain you have a class to attend.”

“I do,” Harry replied glaring over the rim of his glasses at the tall man ignoring the snickering from the Slytherin side of the room. “I’m where I should be, in class.”

“Indeed. Your potion work is below satisfactory, I wonder how it is you got Potions on your schedule.” Snape replied with another sneer before he turned and begun with the lesson leaving the Slytherins to snicker and whisper about the implied friendship he had with the Headmaster. Pursing his lips Harry ignored it, Dumbledore wouldn’t step in to ensure Harry got the courses he needed. Right?

“Can anyone tell me what I might use Jobberknoll feathers for?” Snape questioned the class as he waved his wand at the chalkboard. A piece of chalk flew up to write out Jobberknoll Feathers and paused waiting further instruction. Hermione’s hand shot up with a few other tentative ones, Harry looked around wearily realizing he didn’t even know what a Jobberknoll was. “Draco?”

“Memory potions,” Draco said in his smug drawl but there was a note of hesitation to his voice, yet the chalk wrote it down after a small nod from Snape.

“Correct Mr Malfoy, five points for Slytherin,” Snape said and looked around the classroom at his Slytherins. “There are two things I might use them for however. Can anyone come up with the second?”

Hermione’s hand tried to go higher into the air and Harry had to wonder why she bothered. However it seemed Draco’s answer was the same as everyone else’s. Snape looked over the class with only one hand in the air left and gave an audible sigh of disappointment.

“No one?” Snape asked ignoring the hand trying to touch the ceiling. “Well it seems to me that perhaps none of you should have made it into my class. If you were worthy you should all know how to make Veritaserum, one of the ingredients is Jobberknoll feathers.”

Hermione’s hand dropped to her lap and Harry could see a white rim around her lips from pressing them tight together to keep from blurting out that she did indeed know how to make Veritaserum. Snape continued talking about the potion and assigned everyone to review the chapter on the truth serum and be ready to make it for the next class.

Harry and Hermione left the dungeons at the end of class with an earful about just how much they should know already, heaven forbid that they open the textbook an learn more outside of class that hadn’t been brought up in class at all. Hermione couldn’t let go that Snape will never willingly call on her to answer any of his questions and Harry was trying to point out he’s done it since day one as his own form of punishment for the smart girl who’s Potter’s friend.

“It simply isn’t fair,” Hermione said for the third time heading towards the Great Hall for their study period. “I understand if someone else had their hand up to give them a chance at answering. He treats me like I don’t even exist when he’s asking the class questions.”

“He knows it bothers you ‘Mione, why else do you think he does it?” Harry asked heading towards where a tall freckled redhead was waving them over. “He is the Professor who enjoys to torture his students in any way possible.”

“Yeah ‘Mione, why else do you think I quit taking Potions as soon as I could get,” Ron said sticking his nose into the conversation. “The Greasy Git does everything he could to torture us Gryffindors and give the lowest grades he could give without seeming like he was doing it a purpose.”

“You weren’t even there Ron.” Hermione said in an exasperated voice sitting down and pulling out her books.

“I wasn’t there for a reason ‘Mione and yet I know that he ignored you again, the Git’s done it for years. I don’t see why you don’t give up trying to get his attention, he’s not even good looking.” Ron retorted with a shrug and Harry shook his head as another argument broke out, now about whether Ron really thought she was trying so hard to answer questions to get Snape’s attention because she was attracted to him.

The rest of the month went by fairly quickly, many of their evenings was finishing up on homework and sitting in their claimed seats by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. The work seemed harder than earlier years and Harry and Ron were struggling to get everything completed without having to stay up when the should be abed to do the homework. The days were ticking by for the end of month Masquerade Party that was at the end of this week. Some had started talking about who their dates were going to be a week earlier but Harry didn’t bother worrying, it was a party and dance partners were not required.

“What are you going to wear to the dance?” Ron asked hoping to take a break from the schoolwork. Harry looked up from his homework and gave a small shrug, he had an idea but he didn’t know what Ron would make of it. He seemed to be asking Hermione anyhow.

“Nothing,” Hermione said looking up and blinking at the blank stares from her friends. Guessing correctly they got the wrong idea from her comment. “What I mean is I don’t think I’m going.”

“What? You’ve gotta go, it’s going to be the first party of the year!” Ron said in a louder voice than needed and got people looking their way peculiarly. “It’s not as if it’s on a school night, you’ll have two whole days afterward to finish school work and study.”

“I don’t think dancing is the best use of my time Ron.” Hermione said setting down her quill when she realized the redhead wouldn’t let up until she made her point.

“You set aside time for Hogsmeade, what’s the problem with setting aside for another sort of entertainment?” Ron asked so reasonably both Harry and Hermione stared at him. Harry had feared this was going to turn out into another argument, which would have been the second that day.

“You’ve got a point,” Hermione said finally seeming to come to an agreement point with Ron instead of nitpicking over every detail. “Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt, this once.” Harry rolled his eyes but returned to his school work. He’d picked out his outfit in Hogsmeade the weekend before, it would be only a few moments before Hermione started fretting about the fact she had to throw together an outfit from her clothes now that she decided to go after all.

The night of the dance Harry made his way down from his dormitory wearing an emerald green vest with gold embroidery and a pair of black pants that hugged him like a second skin. For a mask it was a regular black one with hints of dark green shining when the light struck it and gold accents around the edges. He pulled at the hem of the vest that didn’t end at the pant line leaving an inch of his abdomen exposed. He was a little self conscious now that he was actually wearing it for others to see with no shirt beneath it. He smiled when he received an appreciative smile from Hermione, Ron had made fun of him for it when he was changing.

“That vest is beautiful Harry,” Hermione said when Harry stopped next to her. She had managed a nice outfit for herself wearing a knee length pink skirt and a white spaghetti strap top with a pink sparkle flower as a print. The mask she wore was pink with a white leaf trim. “Can you see alright without your glasses?”

“Hermione, you’re the one who put the charm on me to not need my glasses for the night, I would hope so.” Harry said shaking his head, it was odd not having to wear glasses but the mask made it less bothersome than having nothing on his face. He wished he could charm his eyes permanently at times but it would need him getting used to not wearing anything on his face. “You look very.. nice ‘Mione.”

“Are we done complimenting the extravagant outfits?” Ron asked standing near the exit waiting impatiently. “We’re going to be late.”

“What’s wrong Ron? Do you have a date you haven’t told us about?” Harry asked but he made his way to the exit with Hermione beside him. He watched the red creep away from Ron’s ears and gave a grin. “Who is it?”

“I don’t have a date, I just want to get there.” Ron retorted and headed out without waiting for an answer. Harry shook his head and glanced at Hermione to see if she had believed him.

“Hasn’t he heard of being fashionably late?” Hermione asked in a tone that said she didn’t like to be rushed. Harry felt the same but the made their way out of the common room together all the same.

The entrance way was decorated with floating streamers and candles precariously close together. Harry looked to Ron and Hermione wearily, if Peeves decided to come to ruin the night it would be simple to set fire to the ceiling. The doors were open to the decorated grounds looking much like they always had during celebrations with hedges taller than the tallest person, Harry knew that there would be benches out there hidden amongst the hedges for privacy for lovers. It also made for a nice escape though from the noisy room that was the Great Hall.

Harry nearly stumbled when he walked into the Great hall. Four steps led down into the altered room with the newly sunken floor, something that made all the newcomers nearly stumble over if they didn’t watch their feet and notice the difference. The room was decorated much like the entrance hall. Tables occupied half the room and lined the edges of the dance floor, on the other side of the room was a stage on which a band was playing. Many students were already dancing and the teachers wandered around the Hall keeping an eye on things.

The trio headed to an unoccupied table finding themselves bottled butterbeer being offered to them on flying service trays. Helping themselves they sat down and listened to the music at first. As the night wore on Hermione was asked to dance, then Ron and Harry was left alone to watch his friends dance. He wasn’t certain if he minded or not, it’d look odd if he danced with the gender he preferred to dance with especially with the way things were in the wizarding world about homosexuality. He didn’t know if he’d be comfortable dancing with girls either. Still when a girl asked him to dance he accepted because he didn’t want to continue sitting there alone like some rejected loser.

One dance turned into two, then five all with different girls hoping to get his attention. After the fifth he escaped with the reason needing fresh air and had to decline the offers of having a companion as he did so. Grabbing a fresh bottle of butterbeer on the way out, he went to wander the maze of hedges with the hush of muffled voices behind hedges hiding benches. The cool air was nice on his skin after feeling hot and sticky with sweat after so much dancing he enjoyed the time alone along the paved walkways of the grounds.

Walking around alone was nice for a while, but soon he felt lonely and began to make his way back to the Great Hall lost in thought about things a common teenage boy thought about when there was nothing else to think about. He was distracted enough to forget the steps and this time did stumble down the steps and would have fallen to the floor if someone much taller than him hadn’t caught him, the person’s arms wrapped around him to keep him upright as he got his feet beneath him. It was then though that he inhaled the man’s scent and all of a sudden he didn’t mind being in the person’s arms and he felt the man stiffen when he nuzzled closer and his hands fisted in robes without noticing he was doing such things.

Looking up to see who his savior was his eyes widened behind his mask and though his mind told him to jolt backwards his body didn’t want to. There was an odd look in those obsidian eyes before a look of disgust passed through them and the arms drew away, and Snape backed away from him instead when his own body continued not to listen. His cheeks flushed and his hands released the fistfuls of robes they held onto restraining Snape from going too far without causing a scene.

Licking his lips he forced his eyes to look away and mumble a thanks for catching him as his mind reeled about the emotions that swam through his head and body. The scent of the man was intoxicating and made him want to return to the man’s embrace something he knew shouldn’t be the case. The two of them hated each other, why was it that he seemed to be developing some sort of crush over the man because of the way he smelt. He’s handsome in his own way as well, a lingering voice in his head reminded him of the time he might have been willing to accept the idea when he was just realizing his sexuality when it was Snape who first made him realize there was some beauty to be found in men.

When he looked up again Snape was gone to Harry’s relief and he grabbed a new butterbeer and sat out the rest of the night declining invitations to dance and trying not to focus on the tall Professor making his way around the room avoiding anyplace near Harry entirely. He didn’t mind that at all, at least his rational self didn’t. The irrational self wanted him to walk over to the tall man and declare undying love. What was wrong with him?

When the night was over and he was in his bed trying to sleep, unwelcome images of the dark haired man swam behind closed eyelids and when he did sleep it was dreams about the Professor with pale skin and dark obsidian eyes calling him to share his bed. When he awoke the next morning he headed to the privacy of the private showers to wash away the effects the dreams had over him.