**************
Two weeks later
**************

Severus looked around the classroom. It was a Friday, and Dumbledore had surprised the students at breakfast that morning with permission to go into Hogsmeade. It wasn't a scheduled visit, but he'd wanted to do something to celebrate Draco's full recovery, at least from his physical wounds.

He also wanted to do something to take Draco's mind off of Monday's trial. The four boys that attacked Draco were in holding cells at the Ministry of Magic's offices in Diagon Alley and this coming Monday was the start of their trial. All four boys would be tried at the same time, saving Draco the pain of reliving the attack more than absolutely necessary.

Thus, the students were barely paying attention in class, and Severus knew that giving them a potion to brew was just begging for trouble. He decided that a little oral quiz was in order, just so they didn't waste any class time. And, more importantly, he really didn't feel like teaching today.

"All right, students, settle down. You've caught me on a rare day, and instead of a practical, we're going to have a little oral quiz. Each question is worth one point to the House of the student who gives the correct answer."

The class chattered amongst themselves excitedly for a few moments while Severus pulled his desk chair to the front of the class. "Quiet! Longbottom, go to the chalkboard and keep score, since I doubt you'll have anything valuable to contribute to the Gryffindor team."

Neville jumped up and did as his professor ordered, happy that he didn't have to answer any questions. He quickly drew a line down the middle, putting the House names on either side of the line.

"All right, we'll start with something even a first year should know, which means that even you Gryffindors will have a remote chance of answering correctly. What do you get when you combine asphodel and wormwood?"

Harry, who was sitting between Draco and Ron, burst into a fit of giggles. This set off Draco and Ron. Their laughter produced a domino effect, and soon the whole class was sniggering, all of them remembering the first encounter between Professor Severus Snape and the 'famous' Harry Potter.

Severus cleared his throat and did his best to appear unfazed by the outburst. Inwardly he smiled. He'd asked the question in hopes of getting some kind of reaction out of Harry, and it actually made him happy that his ploy worked better than he thought it would.

The last two weeks had been torture for Severus. He'd done as Harry asked and kept his distance, not pushing him into a conversation he wasn't ready to have, though he had been tempted several times to simply go up and shake Harry into noticing him.

Harry had kept his distance as well, sitting quietly in class, not offering any answers to his questions and answering direct questions with the perfunctory "Yes, sir," "No, sir," and Severus's personal favourite, "Thank you, sir." It was maddening.

Severus missed Harry. He missed him more than was almost bearable, not that most would notice any outward change. It irritated the Potions master that a sixteen-year-old Gryffindor brat could have him in such a state. He wasn't supposed to miss the irritatingbrat…but he did. He should be happy that the insolent little snot wasgone…but he wasn't. The more he tried to put Harry out of his mind, the more he thought about him, and he found it difficult to do anything when he wasn't teaching. He wasn't even eating properly, picking at his food, eating enough only so he wouldn't have to make a trip to the infirmary after an embarrassing fainting spell. Not that it mattered if he ate or not. No one ever kept their eye on the greasy Potions professor. They'd be all the merrier if he dropped dead at their feet.

He was wrong, though he didn't know it. There were plenty of people watching him, and Harry was on the top of that list. Back in his fifth year, when he realized that his professor was not just greasy and nasty, but sexy and delectable, Harry had made spying on Severus unnoticed an art form. He could sit in the same room and watch his teacher without anyone knowing who it was he was looking at, not even the object of his affection.

For the last two weeks, Harry had taken up this little habit once again. He was worried about Severus, despite his abhorrent behaviour. He knew that Severus was truly sorry for what he'd done, but his feelings were still hurt. He was healing though, and he knew that it would be better to talk to Severus sooner rather than later. Severus's mood was foul, and he was constantly in a snit over one thing or another, and he was taking out his frustrations on his other classes, and it was getting out of hand, or so the Gryffindors were complaining. Harry thought that if he at least said something to the man, he might be able to give the other students a little breather. Besides, he missed Severus. He wasn't sure if he was ready to forgive, but he wouldn't know if he didn't try.

Draco, Sirius, Remus, Albus and Minerva were all watching Severus as well. They were all worried that he was going to waste away into nothingness. Only Sirius was oblivious to the fact that Severus was lovesick, and Remus wasn't about to tell him. It wasn't his place anyway. Personally, he thought that Severus and Harry were perfect for each other.

Harry recovered from the giggle-fest first and raised his hand.

Severus looked at him with surprise. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"

Between sniggers Harry said, "Draught of Living Death, sir."

"One point to Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus picked at his dinner once again. He'd had a little more appetite this night, but not much more. His heart was a little lighter, though it pained him to think of why. He had managed to get Harry to volunteer to answer a few of the questions in class earlier that day, though the Slytherins proved to be the superior in their little contest. Severus had to admit that it was a definite improvement in their recent relationship, or lack thereof. He wished that Harry would talk to him. Severus was miserable and impatient, and he wouldn't be surprised he if he went insane sooner or later.

Draco watched his uncle and shook his head. Draco had stopped his uncle several times over the last two weeks from storming over to see Harry and forcing him to speak with him. He knew Severus was becoming agitated, and that did not bode well for his uncle's students.

All Severus really wanted was for Harry to say more than three words to him. Not that Severus blamed Harry for staying away. He knew his behaviour would be difficult to forgive, and it would serve him right if Harry never spoke to him with kindness again.

Severus sighed and pushed his plate away. He looked over at his nephew. Draco was talking with Harry and Ron. He was worried about him. Draco's nightmares had been constant for the last two weeks, and Fred had taken to staying over nights to keep an eye on Draco, to be there when he woke up screaming. They'd intensified the last two nights, and Severus knew it was because the trial was scheduled to start on Monday.

Severus's eyes shifted and became locked with the bright green eyes of the student that haunted his every movement. Severus's heart skipped a beat and then proceeded to attempt suicide by pounding right out of his chest. Harry was looking at him directly for the first time in weeks. He wanted to take it as a promising sign, and he prayed silently to each and every god out there listening that Harry would talk to him, but he didn't dare trust to hope.

Harry looked away after a few moments and continued conversing with Draco and Ron. Once Severus gathered himself, he left the Great Hall and went to his office to grade papers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good night, Uncle Severus." Draco hugged his uncle tightly. They were inside Severus's bedroom, and Draco was ready to sleep. In his hand was the bottle of Dreamless Sleep his uncle had given him. "I think you and Harry have made some progress. I saw him looking at you at dinner."

Severus sighed, released Draco and sat on the bed. "I hope so. I need him in my life, though it pains me to say it. If you tell anyone I said that, however, especially Harry, I will hex you so your grandchildren will feel it! I don't know how that young man managed to worm his way into my life so deeply and so quickly. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with myself if he doesn't talk to me soon, or at least say more than those few insufferable words he speaks to me!"

Draco chuckled softly. "You'll manage, though your students may not be able to suffer through it. I'm going to bed now. I'm going to Hogsmeade with Fred and Harry in the morning."

"Is Fred here again?" Severus teased, a slight smile playing upon his lips. "Perhaps I should adopt him."

Draco stuck his tongue out at his uncle. "He's not here yet, but he should be here soon."

"I'm glad he's being so supportive. I really admire that young man. If he'd only behaved so properly while he was in school, I might have a few more years added onto my life!"

Draco laughed. "Now what would have been the fun in that? 'Night, Uncle Sev. Love you."

"I love you, Dragon."

As soon as Draco returned to his rooms and said goodnight to Harry, Harry walked into Severus's rooms. He'd decided that it was time to at least talk to the man. He wasn't sure if he could do more than that, but he figured that the punishment had to stop sometime.

He stood in the doorway and watched Severus for a few moments. The older man was lying underneath the duvet reading the latest edition of the potions journal he subscribed to. He hadn't noticed Harry in the doorway.

Harry missed Severus, there were no doubts about that. Harry smiled as he watched his professor absently rub the tip of his nose with the back of his hand. Before he came into the room, Harry was still having some doubts about whether or not he could willingly forgive Severus, but now he felt the last of those doubts being washed away. He wanted to forgive him. He walked into the room.

Severus heard someone enter the room. He looked up, expecting to see Draco. He froze when he saw Harry, much like an owl seeing an oncoming broom. He was afraid that if he moved or blinked, the beautiful vision before him would disappear into thin air.

Harry didn't disappear, however. Instead, he walked closer and climbed onto the bed, sitting next to Severus. The Potions master closed his eyes and his body started to shake involuntarily, though with what emotion he could not tell.

Harry placed his head on his professor's shoulder and asked, "What are you reading that's so interesting?"

Severus sighed deeply and wrapped his arms around the young man. Harry eagerly wrapped his arms around Severus's neck and laid his head on the older wizard's shoulder, holding him as tight as he could.

Harry could feel Severus shaking and he decided to bait him. "You're not going to get all sappy on me and start crying, are you?"

Severus pulled back, pretending to be affronted. "Of course not, brat! I'm a Snape. We don't cry unless it's absolutely vital, or if it will get us what we want." Severus looked at Harry seriously. "I'm truly sorry, Harry. I behaved badly and it was wrong of me. Can you forgive me?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "I forgive you…this time. Just refrain from future gormlessness, please," he quipped, laying down and pulling Severus on top of him.

Severus's eyes flashed with a mischievous glint. "Very well, I'll leave that to the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors."

"Very amusing," Harry replied, pulling Severus down for their first kiss in three weeks. He brushed his lips over the older man's, grazing them softly, which drove the Slytherin crazy. Severus licked Harry's lips, begging to become reacquainted with the taste of the mouth he had missed so much. Harry opened his mouth and their tongues slid against each other, and Severus knew he was home.

Harry broke the kiss and grinned at his lover. "You do realize you have some major sucking up to do, don't you?"

"I realize that, yes. Where would you like me to begin? Severus replied, rubbing a finger across Harry's bruised and kiss-swollen lips.

"Well, you can start by making love to me," Harry said. "We can discuss the rest later." Harry pulled his lover down for another breathtaking kiss.

Their kisses grew more passionate as their hands roamed each other's body freely. Harry slid his hands down his lover's back and into his boxers, caressing the soft round cheeks and brushing his fingers down the crease. Severus slid his hands up Harry's shirt and pinched his nipples lightly.

Harry pushed Severus up and lifted his body so that his lover could remove his shirt. He flopped back down and the older man covered him once again. Amidst their kisses and gropes, they somehow managed to remove their boxers.

Neither of them noticed the dark-haired wizard standing in the doorway, his blue eyes wide with disbelief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius knew it was getting late, but he just had to show Harry the ring that he'd bought for Remus. He'd decided that tomorrow was the day he was going to finally ask Remus to marry him. He'd loved Remus nearly all his life, and now he wanted to make it official. He thought the ring was beautiful, but he wanted Harry's opinion. Harry obviously had good taste, if the ring he gave Remus for his birthday was any indication.

He decided to use the fireplace to enter his godson's chambers, since it was faster than running down several flights of steps and dark, dreary hallways. Once he landed in the lounge, he went directly to Harry's room. He didn't find him there, so he figured that Harry was with Draco. On his way to the young blonde's room, he thought he heard his godson's voice come from Severus's rooms.

The door to his colleague's rooms was open, so he just walked inside. He looked around for a few seconds, but he didn't see anyone. Thinking it was just his imagination, he turned to leave, but his attention was caught again. This time he was sure he heard Harry's voice, and it was coming from the room at the opposite end from where he was standing.

Thinking nothing of it, he walked to the open door and looked inside. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not the vision before him. He stood in the doorway completely frozen, undecided on whether he should just turn and walk away or go in for the kill. The problem was, he wasn't too terribly sure who would die first. So he stood there like a bewildered idiot, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, as he watched his godson's shirt and boxers fly from the bed, as well as the boxers his colleague was wearing.

Sirius felt someone step up next to him as Severus reached into the bedside table for a small jar. Sirius gazed down daftly at the young man beside him.

Draco smiled wistfully. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Draco whispered so only Sirius could hear. "I only hope that Fred and I can be solucky…someday."

Draco pulled Sirius from the doorway, and his professor allowed it, much to his relief. He had come back to close the door, and he had seen Sirius walking toward his uncle's bedroom. He had seen Harry eyeing his uncle's rooms, so he had a good idea what it was that Sirius was going to find.

Draco closed his uncle's bedroom door, careful not to make a sound, lest they be discovered. Sirius followed Draco back to his lounge and sat down with a heavy thump. He glared at Draco. "How long has this been going on? How long have they been together?" he demanded. "It sure looks like they've done that before!"

Draco didn't bother lying since there was no point in it now. "The first time was the night of Harry's birthday. The next was the night of the Sorting Ceremony, and they've been together, physically, since then. Harry's loved my uncle for a long time, and Uncle Severus loves Harry. Please don't ruin this for them, Sirius. I know you're upset and that you don't like my uncle, but please at least try and understand."

Draco watched as anger flashed in Sirius's sapphire eyes, but he was surprised to see something else…hurt. "What is it, Sirius?"

Sirius sighed wearily and placed his head in his hands. "I don't know who I'm angrier at or exactly why I'm angry at them." Sirius looked at Draco and smiled sadly. "I'm not completely gormless and without compassion, no matter what Severus may say. Harry is above the age of consent, and there is no rule stating that teacher/student relationships are forbidden. And I'm not so narrow-minded to say that the age difference bothers me. I'm also not gormless enough to think that I can waltz into Harry's life and start telling him what to do.

"I'm angry that neither of them saw fit to tell me! I'm angry because now I know why it is that Harry was so upset these past few weeks. I'm angry because I've been lied to over and over again by my own godson. Is it so hard to believe that I might actually be supportive of my godson, maybe even happy that he's found someone he truly loves, even if it is with Severus? Severus and I have come a long way in our relationship, and besides that, I would never hurt Harry by harming someone he loves." Sirius smirked. "I've seen what Harry's anger can do. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that!"

"You're not opposed to Harry's relationship with my uncle?" Draco asked, completely stunned by this revelation.

"Not as much as one might think. Harry is fully capable of making his own decisions, especially about who he gives his heart to. I know that if I make him choose I could be the one who loses." Sirius stayed silent for a moment before going on. "Harry knows his own heart. If he chooses Severus, then so be it. Severus would not be my first choice, but I can think of at least a dozen other people who would be much worse. I know now that Severus loves Harry. I've watched him since he and Harry had that fight, and he's been completely miserable. It all makes sense now."

"There's something else, isn't there? You look hurt."

Sirius chuckled mirthlessly. "Of course I am. Harry's lied to me for months now. Don't tell me that Harry was staying with Severus just because of the media. He wanted to stay there because of his feelings for the man. And all the little things, all the times he's seemed to keep me otherwise occupied were so he could spend time with Severus without me knowing. He didn't trust me enough to tell me his deepest feelings, when I've kept nothing important from him. Why wouldn't that hurt? I thought I mattered to him."

Draco grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly. "You do matter to him, Sirius."

"Yes, well, he has a funny way of showing it. I'm going to go to bed now. I'll come back in the morning. I need to have a little talk with my godson." Sirius kissed Draco on the forehead and used Floo powder to get back to his room.

Draco watched sadly as his professor disappeared through the fireplace. A few moments later Fred came tumbling into the room. His smile vanished as he saw the troubled look on Draco's face. "What's wrong?"

"Sirius. He found out about Harry and Severus."

Fred looked at Severus's door hopefully. "They made up?"

Draco nodded. "Sirius came in looking for Harry and found him and Uncle Severus in a rather compromising position. He's not really angry about their relationship, at least for now. He's more hurt that Harry didn't tell him, and that Harry had been doing things to keep him out of the way. I think that Harry's going to have an irate godfather waiting for him tomorrow morning. I would warn him, but I'm not going back in there," he said, pointing to his uncle's chambers.

Fred sniggered. "Come on. Let's get you to sleep."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry's eyes fluttered open as he awoke to the sensation of a mouth suckling his nipple. He reached for his glasses and put them on.

Severus smiled at his young lover with his eyes as he continued sucking on the little pink nub. Once he had Harry breathing rapidly, his lips brushed across the young wizard's chest and latched onto the little pink nub's twin. Once that nipple was tender and swollen, he crawled back up the bed and ravished his young lover's mouth.

"Good morning," he said once he had Harry panting for air.

"Ungh," was all Harry could manage to say.

Severus chuckled, bringing his head down to latch onto Harry's throat. He bit down and sucked hard, causing Harry to cry out and pull him closer at the same time. After a few moments, he pulled back to look at his handiwork. Happy with the marking he left, he whispered, "Mine." He flicked his tongue across the mark and proceeded to lick a trail down to his lover's navel.

"Yours," Harry managed to gasp as a warm, wet tongue languidly lapped at his navel, occasionally dipping in and swirling around, sending little jolts of pleasure directly to his groin.

"Mine," Severus growled, settling between his lover's legs. He ignored the weeping cock staring him in the face and nuzzled his nose between the base of Harry's shaft and his balls. Pulling the young man's sacs into his mouth, he sucked and massaged them gently until Harry was a steady stream of whimpers and incomprehensible pleas. He then placed a pillow underneath Harry's hips and parted his cheeks.

Harry groaned when his lover's tongue gently licked his hole. He grasped the sheets around him and closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in the sensations Severus was evoking. Harry arched his back and released a ragged moan as Severus's tongue penetrated him.

Severus groaned as well as he felt Harry's entrance welcome his tongue, sucking him in deeper. He flexed his tongue all around, pushing his tongue as deep as it could go. He pulled out almost completely before thrusting back in. He tongue-fucked his lover with excruciating slowness until he had Harry crying out his name raggedly in his desperation to feel more of him inside his body.

Severus pulled his tongue out and kissed his mate's hole. He slithered back up and caught Harry in another steamy kiss, sliding his tongue into his lover's mouth and exploring every single inch, leaving no place unattended.

Harry whimpered helplessly, arching his hips and rubbing his throbbing prick against Severus's. He wanted more of his lover, all of his lover, and he wanted him now. If only Severus would comply, he would be all the more content.

Severus reached for the lubricant, deciding that he'd given Harry enough torment for one day. He quickly coated his erection and positioned himself at his lover's entrance.

Harry lifted his legs eagerly, hooking his arms up under his knees and bringing them as close to his chest as possible. He loudly vocalized his thanks to the gods of Quidditch for his limberness as the head of Severus's cock popped through his puckered opening and slowly slipped deep inside.

As soon as Severus felt his balls nudge up against the cheeks of Harry's bum, he stilled himself for a moment. He only moved when Harry growled and flexed his arse muscles. He pulled out until just the head was still embedded inside his young love and then slammed back into him, positioning himself so that he grazed Harry's prostate each and every time. With each thrust, Severus's balls slapped against Harry's bum. The sound of their bodies meeting with each thrust and their moans were the only sounds in the room.

Black eyes and green locked as they made love. Neither could bring themselves to look away for a moment. As soon as Severus felt Harry's impending orgasm begin, he slid his still-lubricated hand between them and gripped his lover's prick. He stroked in time with his thrusts, never looking away.

Harry forced himself to keep looking into his mate's eyes as his orgasm hit, as hard as it was to do so. He screamed as his spunk spurted onto his chest and Severus's hand.

Severus thrust harder into 'his' Harry, still hitting his lover's prostate to prolong his climax. He couldn't hold off any longer and gave in to his own release, thrusting into Harry once more, and spending himself inside his lover's arse.

Severus collapsed on top of Harry, completely exhausted. When he finally came back to reality, he felt Harry stroking his back. He realized that he was still on top of his lover and most likely hindering Harry's air supply. He lifted his body and pulled back, sliding his now soft cock out of Harry.

Harry winced slightly as the head of Severus's cock popped back through his hole. He turned to the side and Severus spooned up behind him, wrapping his arms protectively around the young man.

Harry said sleepily, "You're going to spoil me if you keep waking me up like that."

"It's not exactly a hardship for me, you know," Severus replied dryly, placing a kiss on the back of Harry's head. "Besides, you have to get up. It's a Hogsmeade weekend, and I think Draco wants you to go with him and Fred. I have some grading to do while you're gone."

Harry groaned. "I don't want to get up, though. I like it here," he said, snuggling back against his professor. "I'm comfortable."

"Nevertheless, we have to get up. It's already ten to eight. You need to get to breakfast, and I'm rather hungry myself."

Harry snorted. "You should be. With the way you've been eating the last few weeks, I don't doubt it."

Severus sat up and looked at him. "You were watching?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Of course I was watching. So were Draco, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sirius and Remus. All of them were waiting for you to fall over."

Severus smirked. "And here I thought I was brooding in peace. I'll be a little more careful next time." Severus stood up and stretched.

Harry eyed his lover's body appreciatively. He knew many wouldn't find Severus's scars appealing, nor would many think of the dark-haired Potions master as gorgeous, but Harry loved each and every scar, and the man's unique looks turned him on like no one else ever could. He silently dared someone to try and come between them.

Severus turned to see Harry drooling. He smiled and reached out for his lover. Harry placed his hands into his professor's and allowed the older man to pull him up. Harry grimaced slightly at the soreness in his bum.

"Do you want a potion to help with the discomfort?" Severus asked, pulling Harry to him.

Harry shook his head. "No, I like the pain. It will remind me of what we did last night and this morning," he said, pulling Severus's head down for a kiss.

After about five minutes of languid kissing and feeling each other up, Severus reluctantly pulled away. He grabbed Harry's shirt and boxers and tossed them to the young wizard. "Put these back on. I realize that both Fred and Draco have seen you starkers before, but I don't wish to continue sharing your body with the entire wizarding world."

Harry laughed. "Don't worry. They're not the least bit interested in what I look like sans clothing," Harry sighed as he thought of his friends. "It's not going to be easy for them. I think it's going to be a long while before Draco's ready for that kind of step in their relationship. He told me that the thought of more than a little peck on the cheek or on the mouth nearly makes him want to chuck up. He'll even tense up when I hug him, though it makes him angry that he does it. Patient is one thing that Draco Malfoy is not."

"I know. He's the same way with me at times. He's lucky to have Fred. Many wouldn't be so patient with him. I've told both of them, separately of course, to wait until at least Christmas before they even think about discussing any kind of physical relationship. Hopefully by then the thought of a physical relationship won't send Draco fleeing the room in terror."

Harry pulled on his boxers and his shirt. "You're right, as you usually are. Now tell me why I've dressed and why I'm not joining you in your bath?"

Severus stepped closer and placed a kiss on Harry's forehead. "Because both of us know that we'll never leave if we don't part now. So have a bath and I'll stop in before I go to breakfast."

Harry sighed heavily, as if Severus were asking him for a great sacrifice. "If you insist…"

Severus kissed Harry and then promptly shoved him toward the door. "Insolent brat."

Harry grinned as he walked through the door. The grin came to an abrupt end when he saw his godfather.

Sirius was sitting on the couch facing the door to Severus's chambers. The glare he was sending Harry's way sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"Sirius? What are you doing here so early?" Harry asked quietly.

"Waiting for you, Harry. I see you're getting a late start this morning. I would have thought you'd be dressed and ready to go into Hogsmeade. Fred and Draco have already left for breakfast. Tell me, what were you doing in Severus's chambers?"

Harry thought quickly. "I thought it was time for Severus and me to get over what happened. We were talking about what happened."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Really? Just now?"

Harry nodded. "Of course right now. I just came back in here, didn't I?"

Sirius gave him a tight smile. "Of course. I just thought that maybe you'd kissed and made up last night, especially when Severus had his prick shoved up your arse and all."

Harry paled. "What are you talking about, Sirius?"

"I'm talking about last night, Harry. Last night I came here looking for you. I wanted to show you something, and I heard you in Severus's room. Instead of showing you what I'd bought, I received an eyeful of you and Severus."

Harry sat down on the couch. "Sirius, I'm sorry. I-"

"You lied to me, Harry! You've lied to me ever since I was acquitted. You lied to me just now!" Sirius yelled, losing control of his anger. "You've never trusted me, have you, Harry?"

"Of course I trust you, Sirius. It's just that I knew how you felt about Sev-"

Sirius interrupted him. "Don't use that as an excuse, Harry. You knew that Severus and I were getting along better by the time of your party, and we tolerate each other quite nicely now. I didn't kill him when he treated you so terribly, did I? And yet, you told me nothing. You didn't want to stay with me this summer because you wanted to be near him. You've been sleeping with him since you came to school, and you didn't even think to tell me about something, someone, so important to you. Do you have any idea how much that hurts, Harry?"

Harry looked down at his hands, utterly ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I thought you wouldn't understand."

"I don't understand. I can't understand why you love him. I don't see what it is you see in him. But it's not my choice, is it? I'm not the one who's fucking him, so it doesn't matter if I think he's shaggable or not!" Sirius spat. "I did expect more from you, Harry. I never once expected you to lie to me. I've always been proud of you, but right now I'm very disappointed."

Sirius got up and stalked toward the door. Harry ran up and grabbed his arm. "Please, Sirius, don't leave. I'm so sorry I lied. Please don't hate me."

Sirius looked at Harry, his eyes full of sadness and hurt. "I could never hate you, Harry. And if he is your choice, I can accept that. But right now I need to leave. You wanted Severus to leave you alone until you were ready to talk with him. Do me a favour and give me the same courtesy. You really hurt me, Harry. If you had told me, I would have tried to understand, and I would have accepted your choice. I'm sorry you're under the impression that you cannot trust me."

Harry let Sirius's arm go and watched his godfather stalk out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He stared at the door for a minute or two and then turned to find Severus staring at him. "How much did you hear?"

"All of it. I had come back out for a robe and I heard you say Sirius's name. I listened at the door."

Harry sat down at the table and lightly thumped his head on the tabletop. "I've made a mess of this one, haven't I?"

"I'd say all three of us had a role in this mistake, Harry. I should have insisted you tell him. You should have told him. Sirius should have taken a little more interest in what you were doing. I don't know. You do realize that it's going to be a while before he trusts you again? That's something I don't have to worry about. He's never trusted me."

Harry stood and wrapped his arms around Severus's waist. "What am I going to do? How do I mend this?"

"I do not know. I'm not known for my ability to see things diplomatically," Severus replied dryly.

Harry chuckled. "That's true. I'll just give him some time to calm down…then I'll beg his forgiveness. I'll even cry if I have to,"he said, thinking about Severus's remarks the night before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus looked up from the paper he was marking as his lover stalked into the room and slammed the door behind him. He watched Sirius throw himself down on the couch, muttering under his breath.

Remus put the paper down. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong now? Last night you were in a foul mood, and you didn't want to talk about it. Now your mood is downright hideous. What's wrong?"

"Your godson, that's what's wrong! Do you have any idea what he's done?" Sirius snapped, getting up and stalking around the room.

"No, I can't. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad." Remus was honestly perplexed. He had no clue as to what had Sirius in such a state. Of course, he had no idea that Severus and Harry had made up.

"Your godson is shagging Severus Snape, that's what! He's been in a relationship with him since his birthday and he didn't even see fit to tell us! Can you believe it?" When he didn't receive and answer immediately, he turned to Remus. "Please tell me you didn't know about this!"

Remus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I thought that there might be a chance, but-"

Sirius was instantly furious. "And you didn't tell me! Doesn't anyone around here have any faith in me whatsoever? How could you not say anything? I don't believe this!" Sirius stalked toward the door.

Remus ran after him and pulled him back inside before Sirius could slam the door behind him. "Sirius, calm down and please listen to me. I said that I suspected it, but I wasn't sure at all. I didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong. If I had said something, and you confronted Harry, it could have hurt him. I didn't want anyone hurt because of an error in judgement. I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but try to understand my position."

Sirius took a few deep breaths before looking at his lover. When he saw the imploring pout on Remus's face, he burst into laughter. He pulled Remus close and kissed his forehead. "You're right and I'm sorry. I understand why you didn't' say anything, but I'm still furious with Harry. How could he not tell us? How could he keep such a big thing from us? I thought he considered us family."

Remus tried to make Sirius see the situation from Harry's point of view. "Maybe he was scared of your reaction, Sirius. Your record in dealing with Severus isn't exactly spotless. It's only recently that the two of you can act civilly toward each other, and even that isn't a guarantee with the two of you. You and Severus still haven't resolved what happened in the Shrieking Shack. If Harry's decided that Severus is the man he wants to spend his life with, you two will have to work through that. And let's face the facts, shall we? I heard all about your reaction when you saw Severus and Harry together the day you were exonerated. That little performance of yours doesn't exactly inspire anyone's faith in your ability to deal with a relationship between Severus and Harry."

"I'll admit that you have a point there, but what about recently? Why didn't he tell us when he was having these problems with Severus and all those nightmares? Why didn't he tell us before that? He knew Severus and I were getting along better."

"Sirius, he was scared of your reaction. You know how much you mean to him. Don't pretend you don't. If he lost your respect or love, it would crush him. How was he to know you wouldn't scream, throw a tantrum, disown and hate him? I thought you would be horrifyingly angry when you found out about them, if I were right."

"So maybe I overreacted just a bit, but he hurt me, Remus. Doesn't it hurt you that Harry didn't tell you something so important?"

Remus rubbed the back of Sirius's neck soothingly. "Of course it hurts, Siri. I want him to trust us with anything, but we can't force him to trust us. It doesn't work that way. Besides, we didn't tell him about us at first, and he was happy for us, not angry or upset."

"I'll talk to him tonight, after dinner. I think I may have hurt his feelings. I have something I need to do right now, however. It's a surprise, so don't ask me what it is. I'll be back." Sirius jumped up and ran out the door, leaving behind a bewildered Remus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You look ecstatic, Remus. Is there something I should know?" Albus asked, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Remus grinned like a blooming idiot and showed him the band of white gold on his left forefinger. "Sirius wants to marry me!"

Albus smiled warmly and patted the werewolf on the back. "Congratulations, my boy! I thought he'd make an honest man of you someday," the headmaster teased. "Do you mind if I make an announcement?"

Remus waved his right hand in a dismissive gesture. "No, go ahead," he said absently, still admiring the ring on his finger and not giving the repercussions of what was about to commence a moment's thought.

"Very good. Well, we'd better get inside so I can make the announcement before dinner." Albus and Remus went inside and took their seats. Sirius walked in behind them and sat down.

As soon as all the students had found their seats, the headmaster stood up. "I'm pleased to be the one to announce that two of our professors have become engaged. Help me to congratulate Professor Remus Lupin and Professor Sirius Black on this joyous occasion."

The vast majority of the professors and students made their support known, but Severus remained motionless. At the moment he understood Albus's announcement, his gaze became immediately fixed on Harry. He knew Harry didn't know, because Harry would have hunted him down the moment he'd found out. Harry's reaction was as he suspected. If there were no witnesses, he would have gladly cast the Cruciatus Curse on the two sodding idiots that were grinning like madmen.

Harry sat next to Draco, staring at his godfathers with a stunned, hurt expression. He couldn't believe that they would tell the entire school without telling him first. He knew that Sirius was angry with him, but he didn't think what he'd done warranted Sirius and Remus keeping this from him. They were getting married.

He felt Draco pat him on the shoulder supportively, but Harry only wanted to leave the Great Hall as fast as possible. He could feel the tears stinging his eyes. He brushed Draco's hand off his shoulder and quickly walked out of the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus and Sirius walked out of the Great Hall together and came face to face with a glaring Draco Malfoy and a less-than-amused Fred Weasley.

"Hello. Did you hear the good news?" Sirius asked brightly.

"Oh, yes, we heard the good news. I daresay we weren't the only ones who heard the announcement loud and clear, were we, Fred?" Draco said icily. He was angry that his professors could hurt his friend like that.

"No, we weren't. I think Harry heard it as well. Must have been a bit of a shock to the system, don't you think so, Draco?" Fred asked, following Draco's lead.

"Yes, I do think it was. If Uncle Severus decided to marry Harry and told the entire school before he told me, I'd be hexing people left and right to show my displeasure at this horrendous oversight. Of course, that's not Harry's style. His is much subtler. He likes to keep those feelings to himself, like he did when he and Uncle Sev were fighting. He had to leave the hall right after Dumbledore's little announcement, lest the entire hall see him crying."

The joy evaporated from the faces of the two professors and was replaced with remorse and disbelief.

"Oh, look, Fred. I think they've just realized that they didn't tell Harry first." Draco tutted. "And I thought Harry mattered to you, Sirius," Draco spat, throwing his professor's own words back in his face.

Remus slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead. "How could we forget to tell him? What the bleeding hell is the matter with us? We're upset because he didn't tell us he was seeing someone? My god! We didn't tell him we were getting married! What a couple of sodding wankers we are!"

"Yes, you are!" Draco snapped in agreement. "But, just for a moment, let's review the argument in question, just to make things really clear for me. You're angry because Harry didn't tell you that he was dating my uncle. If I recall correctly, and I do, neither of you told him you were dating each other. I believe you revealed that in front of a group of people as well, at Harry's birthday party. Was he angry? No, he was happy for you. Now you've gone and told the entire school that you're getting married, without telling Harry. Yes, that clearly qualifies you two as a couple of wankers. Maybe you should take a page out of Harry's book and grow up."

Sirius grabbed Remus's hand and pulled him down the hall. "I can't believe I did this, especially when I went on and on this morning. Come on, Remus, we have to find him, now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus had left the Great Hall as soon as he could. He walked into his bedroom and found Harry lying on his bed, his body shaking with sobs. He sat down on the bed and rubbed Harry's back soothingly. "I'm sure that they didn't do this on purpose, Harry. I don't think that Black would hurt you deliberately. Me, yes. You, not a chance. I think that in all the excitement, they simply forgot. Blindness is a Gryffindor trait, after all."

Harry sat up and buried his face in Severus's chest. "How could they 'just forget'? I'm supposed to be their family! I would never forget to tell them something like that! They'd be the first ones I'd run to. Would you 'just forget' to tell Draco something like that?"

Severus rocked Harry gently. "No, but I'm not a mindless Gryffindor. I think about what I do." Severus pushed Harry down onto the bed and lay down beside him.

Harry laid his head on Severus's chest and snaked his arm around his lover's waist. "If you're trying to make me laugh, it's not working."

"I had no intention of making you laugh. I was being quite serious. Now be quiet. I want you to relax for a little while. If I'm not overestimating your godfathers, they will be knocking on my door soon, begging for your forgiveness."

"What if I don't want to talk to them?" Harry asked petulantly.

"Entirely beside the point. You will talk to them for three reasons. One, they are your godfathers, no matter what else they might be. Two, you can and will prove yourself to be the bigger person in this entire fiasco. Three, if you don't talk to them, wolf boy and his mangy mutt will sit outside my door, howling at all hours of the night, and I won't be able to sleep!"

This time Harry did laugh. "What difference does that make to me? I can always get a peaceful night's sleep in my own room."

Severus strengthened his hold on Harry. "If I suffer, you suffer."

Harry chuckled lightly before falling silent. The two were nearly asleep when someone started pounding on the door that joined Severus's chambers to his nephew's. Both of them jumped, startled.

"That was faster than I thought. Draco must have given them a piece of his mind. I doubt they could have come to their senses this quickly," Severus said quietly.

When Harry didn't budge, Severus nudged him off the bed. "The sooner you answer the door, the sooner all this will be settled. Go on."

Harry shot him a dirty look and reluctantly walked to the door. He opened the door just as Sirius raised his fist to resume pounding on the door. Harry glared. "What? You want me to congratulate you? Congratulations. There, now you can feel free to leave."

Remus forced his way past Sirius and pulled Harry into his embrace. Harry remained unresponsive, his arms hanging limply at his sides. "I'm so sorry, Harry. All of this is my fault. I gave Albus permission to announce our engagement and I wasn't even thinking. We didn't mean for this to happen, Harry. We were going to tell you first, but then I opened my big mouth to Albus."

Despite his best efforts, Harry felt fat tears sliding down his cheeks. He felt like a gormless prat for crying like a little child, but Sirius and Remus's neglect hurt him.

Sirius wrapped his arms around his fiancé and his godson. "I'm so sorry, Harry, for everything. I was harsh this morning, and I should have been more understanding. But you must believe me when I say that I did not forget to tell you to punish you. I would never do that to you. I love you, Harry. You mean the world to me."

"How touching. You could come into the room instead of lurking in doorways," Severus snipped, walking into the room. "Gryffindors," he muttered to himself.

"I heard that," Harry mumbled into Remus's shoulder.

"I suspected as much," Severus remarked as he walked to the fireplace. He sent word to the kitchen to bring down some tea for four, and then he turned back to the three Gryffindors. "Are you going to stand there all night? I would like to get this over with, since I do like my sleep, contrary to popular belief."

Sirius walked to the couch, pulling Harry and Remus along with him. He sat down and pulled Harry down beside him. Remus sat on the other side of Harry, and Severus sat on the loveseat opposite them.

Severus smiled wryly. "I have to say that I was shocked to hear the announcement tonight, Sirius."

"Before you start in, I know I made a huge mistake," Sirius snapped. "You think I don't feel like a sodding idiot?"

"It's fine," Harry muttered, getting up and going to sit beside Severus.

"No, it's not," Remus said. "We hurt you, and that is not fine. Please, Harry, tell us what we can do to make this up to you."

Dobby brought in the tea before Harry could answer. After everyone received a cup of tea, Harry said, "I don't know what you want me to say. The damage was done, and it can't be fixed. You can't change what happened. My feelings are hurt, but I'll get over it."

Sirius looked at Harry pleadingly. "Please believe me. I made an exceedingly daft mistake, but I did not do this for any kind of revenge. I didn't do this to get back at you for not telling me about you and Snape."

"I believe that, and his name is Severus," Harry said. "It still hurts. I always knew you two would get married. I just thought I'd be the first to know. Could you please excuse me for a moment?" Harry got up and went into the bathroom.

While Harry was gone, Sirius and Remus looked imploringly at Severus. "Isn't there anything we can do to make this better?" Remus asked.

Severus smirked. "You are asking the wrong person. I just spent two weeks in the proverbial doghouse for my gormlessness, no offence, Sirius. I hardly think I am in the position to give advice. But I think you're in a better position than I was. Harry has been feeling guilty for not telling you about us, and I was much harsher with him than you were, Sirius."

"So you think that if we give him some time, he'll be okay?" Sirius asked.

"Possibly. Just don't leave him out of any wedding plans you make."

"Oh, believe me, that will NOT happen!" Sirius vowed.

Harry walked back in, yawning widely. "Could we talk tomorrow? I'm getting sleepy, and I have to do homework tomorrow. Remember, the trial starts on Monday, and I want to get as much of this week's work done tomorrow." On Friday, all the students who would be taking part in the trial had collected their work for the next week, since it might take that long to go through all the testimony.

Harry saw the dejected looks on his godfathers' faces. "I promise that we'll talk tomorrow morning," Harry insisted, walking over and giving each of them a small hug. "I'm just tired right now."

Sirius and Remus reluctantly said goodnight to the two men. As soon as the door closed, Harry stripped down to his boxers and slid into Severus's bed.

Severus watched him from the door. Once Harry was settled, he asked, "Are you sure you're all right?"

Harry yawned again. "I will be, don't worry. I really am sleepy. I didn't just say it to get rid of them. Are you coming to bed?"

Severus shook his head. "Like you, I have much work to do before the trial, and I have papers to grade and potions to brew for Poppy. I need to brew some potions tonight. It should only take a few hours."

"Don't come to bed too late, and be sure to have a bath." Harry wrinkled his nose. "Some of those ingredients really are smelly." Harry yawned again. "Can I have a kiss?" Harry asked, holding out his arms.

Severus walked toward Harry, trying hard not to laugh. He sat down and said, "You certainly have made yourself at home, haven't you?"

Harry pouted and his eyes filled with hurt. "You don't want me here?"

Severus sighed. "Of course, I want you here. I was teasing you."

Harry sniffed. "I'm sorry. I'm being an idiot, I know. I'm just…I don't know."

"I do know and I'll refrain from further teasing until you and your godfathers have settled this. I want you here, Harry, believe me."

"I know, I-" A jaw-cracking yawn threatened to split his face in half.

Severus chuckled. When Harry ceased yawning, he kissed him. "I need to go to work on those potions. I promise I'll bathe before coming to bed. Get some sleep."

"I will. Don't be too long. I sleep better when you're with me," Harry mumbled, snuggling back into the pillows. Within a minute's time, Harry was sleeping peacefully.

"So do I," Severus whispered, placing a kiss on Harry's scar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday was a day of mounting trepidation for many in Hogwarts. Amidst all the things that needed to be done, the next day's trial was foremost in everyone's thoughts, especially Draco's.

Draco's emotions were running rampant and his panic mounted as he watched each hour tick by, bringing him closer to tomorrow's journey to the Ministry of Magic's courtroom. More than once Draco wondered if he would survive the week with his sanity intact.

He tried to keep his mind off the trial by throwing himself into anything he could find to do. When Harry finally talked things through with Sirius and Remus, Draco lent his moral support and even found occasion to throw his two Knuts into the conversation.

Once all the misunderstandings and mistakes were cleared up and forgiven, he left his happy friend and his relieved professors to discuss the date of the wedding. Dumbledore allowed him to journey to Hogsmeade to help Fred and George restock the store and do some inventory. It would have been dull work, but with the twins around he was too busy laughing to worry all that much. But really, there was nothing that could wholly erase tomorrow from his mind.

After that, he had lunch with his uncle and Harry, and he went with Harry, Ron and Hermione to the library, where they spent most of the afternoon working on their assignments. They all went to dinner together, and when they all returned to Draco and Harry's chambers, Fred and George were waiting. Severus, Sirius, and Remus joined them minutes later. They spent the rest of the evening trying desperately to keep their minds off the next day.

Severus gave Draco, Harry, Ron and Hermione vials of Dreamless Sleep so that they could have a peaceful night's rest and everyone left for their own rooms.

Before Harry would take his potion, he made Severus take a dose of Dreamless Sleep himself. "Severus, you're going to be up all night worrying if you don't take some of this."

"Fine, I'll take some," Severus relented, going to the cabinet and pulling out a duplicate of the vial Harry was holding.

Once he took the potion, Harry took his. Severus made sure the alarm was set and the two fell into a peaceful slumber.

In Draco's room, Fred had just come out of the bathroom. He turned and smiled at his brother as George popped his head in the door. "Going to sleep, George?"

George nodded. "Just wanted to say goodnight." George was staying in Harry's room for the night. He was going with them to the trial, to give his support to his brother and his friends. Their mother and their brother Charlie, who was home on vacation, were going to take charge of the store while the trial took place.

"Goodnight, George," Draco said.

"Goodnight."

As soon as George was gone, Fred settled underneath the sheets and waited patiently for the tension in Draco's body was lessened. It had been the same every night since Draco woke up from the attack. Draco had a difficult time with anyone touching him, but he insisted on having bodily contact with the people closest to him. Draco had told Fred that if he avoided contact with people now, he was afraid he'd never allow anyone to touch him, and he didn't want that to happen.

Once some of the tension left Draco, Fred handed him the vial of potion. "Take this. You need to sleep."

"I'm scared," Draco whispered as he took the vial from Fred's hand.

"I know you are. Damn those little bastards! I can't believe they get away with not testifying under Veritaserum tomorrow."

The four boys who attacked Draco had originally taken Veritaserum and confessed, but because the proper Ministry officials didn't administer it, and it was not admissible. That wouldn't be a problem, but now the parents of the minors would not allow Veritaserum to be used in court. This meant that a lesser truth serum would have to be used, and Draco would now have to testify in great detail instead of answering a few 'yes' and 'no' questions.

"I don't know if I can do this," Draco said after he swallowed the potion.

"You can do this, love. You're strong…so strong. I love you. I'll be right there for you. Now go to sleep."

Draco yawned. "Goodnight. I love you."

Next
Back
Back to Main