'Dad and Remus are bonding next weekend,' Harry said. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against a large oak tree. He and Ana decided to have their session outside, since the day was so beautiful.

'How do you feel about that?' Ana asked, gazing at Harry, looking for any clues as to his true feelings.

Harry shrugged. 'I'm a little frightened, I guess.'

'Why is that?'

'I'm afraid I might do something to mess it up. This is my first really big event since the acc-…since Crabbe and Goyle attacked me.'

'Tell me about the game, Harry. We haven't really talked too much about that yet.' Most of their previous sessions dealt with Harry and his feelings toward what he considered his family. Ana knew that the events surrounding the Quidditch match were a touchy subject, since Harry was still dealing with the loss of his sight, and she thought it best to put off talking about the match until Harry was much stronger, mentally. She thought that Harry was strong enough now to talk about the match a little. This would give her a clue about whether or not Harry was ready to talk more in depth about this and Draco's rape, which Ana knew had affected him deeply.

'There's not much to it, really. It was the last match of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Draco and I were having fun, laughing at Fred Weasley's commentary. We, Draco and I, chased after the Snitch, and I caught it. I took a victory lap, and then I turned toward Draco. I heard him yell, but I can't remember what he said. After that, nothing. The next thing I know, I'm in the hospital wing, and I'm blind.'

'What happened to Crabbe and Goyle?'

'They were expelled, and then they were given a year's sentence in Azkaban. In order for a longer sentence, according to the rule, they had to actually kill me. One year is the maximum penalty for a case like this, or so they tell me, because it's part of a sport, and getting injured is an understood and accepted risk.'

Ana frowned. 'So you're telling me that they only got one year of imprisonment and nothing more for an attempt on your life?'

'Yeah, that's basically it,' Harry muttered.

'How does that make you feel?'

'Angry. Draco's attackers got much longer terms than that, but because my attack falls under the Games department of the Ministry, they have to go by the rulebook. At least people are screaming for that rule to be changed. It seems that many people are horrified that Crabbe and Goyle got off on a technicality. They'll be out in less than a year, and they get to go on like nothing happened.'

'What do you think would be an appropriate punishment for them?'

Harry swallowed around the lump in his throat. 'They should have to spend one day in Azkaban for every day that I'm blind. It's not fair that I'm the one punished for their crime. If they hadn't done what they did, I would still be able to see. Then I wouldn't be afraid of messing up Remus and Dad's ceremony.'

'How do you feel about the bonding?'

'I'm happy for them. I've been teasing Remus about being my new "Mummy".'

Ana chuckled. 'Are you looking forward to the event?'

Harry nodded, but didn't say anything. Watching closely, Ana pressed, 'Are you sure?' She watched Harry try to hold back his emotions, his bottom lip trembling, his eyes screwed shut, trying to keep the tears at bay. Ana reached over and touched Harry's arm. 'Harry, it's okay to let your emotions go. That's what we're here for. Let it go.'

Fat tears slid down Harry's face and he let out a choked sob. 'I'm going to be at the ceremony, listening to it, but I won't see it. I'd give everything I have just to be able to see it.' Harry laid his head on his knees as his body wracked with sobs. 'I helped pick out their robes, you know. I helped pick the decorations, I did the guest list. Now I won't even get to see how happy they are.'

'Have you shared this information with them?'

Harry looked horrified as he raised his head. 'Oh, god, no,' he said, wiping his tears away. 'I know them too well. If I tell them this, they'll want to put it off, hoping that I'll get better. They've waited so long. They've gone through so much to get here, and I can't let them even think of doing such a thing. I'll manage to get through it.'

'You're stronger than you think, Harry. I have no doubts that you will do just fine. You know, if you want to talk about any of this before the ceremony, feel free to owl me, and I'll Apparate right over, no matter what the time is.' Harry nodded and she decided to shift his attention away from the festivities for awhile. 'So, how are things going with catching up on your studies?'

Harry sighed. 'It's coming along fine, but some of the lessons are so intense that they're exhausting. Thank god that I finished most of my essays during the regular school year, so I can focus my attention on the practical parts. At least I'll be caught up with the rest of the students by the time they get back.'

'That's wonderful, Harry. How are your teachers treating you?'

'Fine. At first, a few of them were a bit scared of me, I think, because they didn't really know how to act. A couple of them had never had a blind student before, and the others didn't know how to react to that, to me. But we all got through those awkward moments, and the professors all treat me like a normal student, for which I'm grateful. I don't want to be treated like I'm something special.'

'That bothers you, doesn't it? The fame? The famous "boy who lived". You can't go anywhere in the wizarding world without being recognised, can you?'

'Of course not. If the scar made me stick out, how do you think being blind is? There aren't all that many blind wizards or witches, as Virginia said, and since my condition was front page Daily Prophet news, the entire wizarding world knows that if they want to see the "boy who lived," all they have to do is look for a blind young man. There is one advantage to the whole thing, however.'

Harry could hear the amusement in his counsellor's voice when Ana asked, 'Really? What is that, Harry?'

Harry smiled mischievously. 'Whenever I go to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, I get to link arms with Severus, or hold hands, something that he'd otherwise never let me do in public.'

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

Two days later, Harry was sitting in the living room of his chambers, trying to practice his Braille reading. He'd finally been able to learn all the dots that symbolised the different letters and numbers, and all the punctuation, but now he had the joy of learning how to put them together to form words and sentences. He wasn't worried, since his course books wouldn't require this particular knowledge. Besides, Braille was a second resort, a backup plan, so to speak, in case of emergency, so he'd been putting it off in favour of his other work. If he'd tried as hard as he did with his other lessons, he'd be reading perfectly by now.

Of course, it was quite hard to learn how to do anything with two men sitting in the background bickering over the smallest, most daft things imaginable. Harry set his book down and turned his body so that he could turn his head toward the two arguing men. 'Do you two mind? I'm trying to work here, and all I can concentrate on is your arguments. Whatever is the matter now?'

'We're going over the seating arrangement and Severus is being a prat, that's what,' Sirius complained, glaring at his son's lover.

'I am not. I simply do not wish to sit next to Mrs Weasley. Apart from being a horrific little bint about my relationship with Harry, the cow is a breeding machine, and sitting next to her is a terrifying thought. That woman and her husband procreate faster than a pair of rabbits.' During the beginning of the summer holidays, the Weasley family had come to the castle to spend time with Harry, and they had come to a tentative truce concerning Harry's relationship with Severus. While they still didn't exactly approve, they acknowledged that it was Harry's life to do with as he wished, and they would have to accept his choices. As a gesture of goodwill,Remus changed the seating arrangements so the entire Weasley family could sit at their table.

Harry just managed to roll his eyes enough to hopefully show them how absurd he thought they were. The two had been picking fights with each other for awhile now, and Harry had finally pulled the reason out of Remus. Their current bitterness had started a few months ago, around the anniversary of what happened in the Shrieking Shack, and it seemed that their goodwill toward each other in the face of Harry's condition was now passed. They had just managed to keep it from Harry until recently. 'Fine. I'll sit next to the "breeding machine" and you can sit next to Dad.'

'No!' both men yelled at the same time. 'That's not necessary,' Severus insisted. 'I'm sure that woman's fertility is not contagious. I'll suffer through it.'

Harry made a face. 'I'm the one in therapy, but you two need the help. What's the matter with you? You two just need to stop it. I'm tired of this, I'm tired of the two people that I love most in this world arguing over the dumbest things, because they don't want to talk about what's really bothering them. I don't want to hear it anymore. Until you two talk out your pasts and learn to get over it, I don't want to talk to either of you. Take my next session with Ana if you have to do so. Just stop fighting! Come along, Tabitha. Let's go find Remus. At least he's sane.'

Tabitha yipped happily and ran up to Harry, standing still so that he could put on her leash. She liked Remus immensely, so much so that she knew about whom Harry was speaking. She and Harry left, the two men staring after them.

Sirius turned to Severus. 'Do you think he's serious?'

'I know him well enough to know how serious he is. He's as stubborn as both his fathers,' Severus muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'He'll keep his word. He won't speak to either of us until we do something. He's right, though. It's not fair to him that he has to listen to us. Our problems aren't his, and he has enough of his own as it is.'

Sirius sat back and gazed at Severus without animosity. 'Well, what should we do about it?'

'I think that we should discuss what has been between us for the last twenty years. Otherwise, Harry won't talk to you at your ceremony and it's a bloody cold bed when Harry's brassed off.'

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

While Severus ordered tea for him and Sirius, Harry made his way out of the dungeons and up the flights of stairs. He had learnt to brave the stairs alone, and he knew where he was going. Albus had also taught him how to use his mind to will the stairs to move where he wanted, which explained to Harry how the stairs managed to move precisely where you needed them to when the need was urgent.

Tabitha stopped at Remus' private chambers first, and Harry knocked on the door. Luckily for him, Remus just happened to be in, keeping the young man from having to traipse about the castle looking for company. Draco was also with him, talking about seating arrangements as well. 'Oh, please, not you two as well. I just left two idiots fighting over the seating at the reception.'

'What are you nattering on about? Draco asked. 'And we're not fighting. We're just making sure that no one was overlooked.'

'Dad and Severus are downstairs, arguing. Severus doesn't want to sit next to Molly Weasley, but he doesn't want to sit next to Dad either. They've been bickering all morning. I told them to work it out, or I wouldn't talk to them again.'

Remus laughed. 'Don't you think you're asking for a bit much?'

'Not really. I don't expect them to get over all their problems, especially overnight, but they do need to get their animosity surrounding that night out in the open. I understand Severus's anger over nearly getting eaten by a werewolf all because of a stupid prank,' he said fondly, taking Remus's hand in his and squeezing it, 'but it's time to move on. It has been twenty years.'

'It's not that easy for Severus to forgive. It's much easier for him to hate Sirius. It took me awhile to finally forgive Sirius for what he had done, but I loved him, which gave me the strength to forgive him. Sirius and Severus have hated each other since the moment that they met.' Remus sighed wearily and slumped back on the sofa. 'I just hope that they don't kill each other.'

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

Sirius and Severus sat down opposite each other at the table, tea in hand. 'Where do we start?' Sirius asked.

'How about why you hated me so much in school? As I recall, you were hateful from the moment that we met, and most of the time you picked fights with me, not the other way around.'

Sirius shrugged. 'I honestly don't know what to tell you. I was young, I was arrogant, I was an idiot, and you were there. You were in Slytherin, and that gave James and I enough reason to pick on you. You were smaller than we were, and an easy target.'

'That's a sane reason to torment someone,' Severus snapped. 'So, you and James simply hated me from the moment you saw me because I merely existed? Why me? Why not the countless others who were weaker than I was? What was it about me that caught your attention?'

Sirius thought for a moment, trying to remember his first year at Hogwarts, which had been so long ago, and his trip to Azkaban hadn't exactly helped in keeping his memories fresh. 'It's hard to say why, exactly, because I'm really not sure. Remember, I don't think like I used to. I was eleven at the time. As I said, you were smaller, since you hadn't had a growth spurt like James and I had. You were quiet, very studious. In fact, Hermione Granger reminds me of you in that respect. You always had your nose in a book.'

Severus snorted. 'I'll thank you not to compare me to that little know-it-all.'

Sirius ignored him. 'You were different from the others around you. You had a much different look, and that caught our attention. When we tried to catch yours, you weren't exactly the most friendly person, and for an eleven-year-old, that was more than enough reason.'

Severus glared at him. 'How friendly would you be if two boys you did not know walked up to you, took away your book, and said, 'Oi, vulture beak, you need to get out in the sun more.'

Sirius winced. 'Who said that? I don't remember.'

'That was your dear friend James Potter. As horrible as you were in those first years, he could be even worse when he wanted to be.'

'Why did you always follow us around?' Sirius asked. 'You were always there, so bitter and sour, dogging our steps.'

'At first, I wanted to try to become your friend, despite our first meeting, but quickly I simply continued in order to annoy you, get you into trouble. You and James were always playing jokes on me, and you almost never got caught. When you did, you were never punished for it.'

'You always managed to retaliate.'

'Yes, but I was caught many times, and my punishments were always much harsher than yours. You two got away with everything, including nearly killing me, and I loathed you for it. You would sometimes deliberately seek me out just to torment me.'

Sirius had the decency to look shamefaced. 'I know. We weren't nice. Lily hated us for it, at first.'

Severus let his mask slip just a bit and he winced. 'Yes, I remember. That hurt, when Lily turned on me, but it was Remus that hurt the most, and that was entirely your fault.'

Sirius rubbed at his face, trying to scrub the weariness and guilt away. 'I know. I was jealous. He was becoming friends with you, and I didn't like it at all. When it came right down to being forced to choose you or us, he chose us.' Sirius sat back and sighed. 'I wonder if he would have chosen us if we hadn't known about his condition. He became fond of you, and he tried to get us to see you differently. We just wouldn't listen.'

Sirius sat forward again, looking straight into Severus' eyes. 'I need to say this, for Harry's sake, if not my own. As much as I hate to admit it, you've always been right. I did want to hurt you. I knew what sending you down to Remus in his werewolf form could do to you. If you had died, I wouldn't have shed a tear then. I was a boy then, not truly realising the consequences of my actions. I knew what could possibly happen to you, but I didn't think about what could happen to Remus or to myself. I didn't realise that you were just a boy, just like me. You were full of the same fears and hopes and pain and hurt feelings that the rest of felt at one time or another. You were trying to get along as best you could, just like the rest of us. I was too blind to see that then, too full of hate and loathing for your House in general. I was blind to the fact that Slytherins are human, too.'

'Yes, we often are,' Severus remarked, smirking slightly.

'Can I finish?' Sirius snapped.

'By all means.'

'The fact is, I was an idiot, and I...I apologize.'

Severus sighed and rubbed his temples. 'I have to admit that I had some responsibility in what happened back then as well. I had wanted to make the four of you miserable, and I did antagonize you as much as possible, in the hopes that you would get into trouble. I have to say that I never thought that you'd try to kill me. I have seen, however, that you aren't the same spoilt, arrogant brat that I encounter in school. You're still stubborn and annoying to the point of being nearly insufferable, and a bit arrogant by nature, but I guess that I should learn to tolerate you.'

Sirius laughed. 'I accept your apology as well.'

'I can't say that I'll change my behaviour toward you, but I will endeavour not to be too intolerable,' Severus acquiesced.

'The same here. We've been fighting for so many years, it would be difficult to stop completely. You and I are quite different and we'll always disagree. Harry will just have to deal with that.'

'I agree. There's so much animosity between us, but I'm willing to try and put it aside, for Harry.'

Sirius nodded in agreement. 'For Harry.'

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

The day of Sirius and Remus' bonding dawned bright and clear. The weather was supposed to stay sunny throughout the day, which meant that they would be able to have the reception outside, after the ceremony, without fear of horrid weather marring their fun.

Harry spent the early morning hours before the ceremony helping Sirius, who was fast becoming a nervous wreck, get ready. Finally, after Sirius kept fastening his robes wrong and Harry had to do it for him, Harry had burst into a fit of laughter.

Sirius looked up, slightly affronted that his son could find amusement in this moment. 'Just what is so hilarious, I would like to know.'

'You are,' Harry said between chuckles. 'You're so nervous, so jumpy. What I don't understand is why? You know that Remus isn't going to run away, and Arthur Weasley isn't going to ruin this by passing some stupid law. There is no one stopping this day, the day you've been waiting for, for how many years now? Just calm yourself, or I'll have to have Severus give you a potion or something.'

'No, you won't. He'd probably slip some sort of Impotency potion into it,' Sirius replied. 'I don't think that Remus would appreciate that.'

'No, he most likely wouldn't. Just calm down. Everything is perfect, the weather is co-operating, there is no one opposing this. Everything will be fine,' Harry said, rubbing his father's back, trying to soothe Sirius' frazzled nerves.

'Just you wait until you're in my position. We'll see how calm you are then,' Sirius retorted as he looked into the mirror for the hundredth time. 'All right, I guess I look passable. Let's get going,' he said, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him along behind him. Harry just chuckled to himself and allowed his father to lead him down to the Great Hall.

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

The hour struck noon and all that had gathered for the ceremony took their seats. Harry sat in the front row, between Severus and Draco. Turning his head just the slightest bit when he heard Albus clear his throat, he focused all of his attention toward the three men in the front of the Great Hall.

Severus and Draco each looked at Harry for a few moments, to make sure that he was feeling fine, and then both turned their attention toward the ceremony taking place.

Albus looked around the room and smiled at the guests. 'My dear ladies and gentlemen, we are here to bind together Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. It is rare that a union such as this is sanctioned, and we may thank the new Minister for this privilege.'

Severus barely held in a snort. Leave it to Albus Dumbledore to use this moment to make a political statement, as well as trying to smooth over the strained relations between many of the people in the room.

'Sirius and Remus have decided upon a simple bonding ceremony, and have decided to make their own vows. If you will, Sirius,' Albus said, stepping back to allow the couple a bit of space.

Sirius took Remus' left hand in his left. 'Remus, you and I have been through so much together. We've been parted by space and time, far too much time. The time and space haven't mattered, however, because even after everything we've been through, I have always loved you, and I always will. If you will have me, I promise to love and cherish you for as long as I live upon this earth.'

'Remus, if you will,' Albus said, prompting Remus to speak.

'Sirius, when I thought I had lost you, my life was shattered. I had lost not only my lover, but also my best friend. It took everything I had just to continue existing, because I knew that if I just curled up and died, you would have been so disappointed. Through everything, I never stopped loving you, no matter what I had thought you had done. If you will have me, I promise to love and cherish you as long as I live upon this earth.'

Albus stepped forward again and slipped a plain, red ribbon around their joined hands, placing a gold coin upon it. Chanting words in such a low voice that only Sirius and Remus could understand, Albus passed his wand over their hands and the gold dissolved into the ribbon, flowing into it and through it, until it reached their fingers, where the gold infused ribbon dissolved into two gold bands with a single ruby in the centre.

'So you have bound yourself to one another in this life, forsaking all others, in a union that cannot be dissolved. Unless we have a justified objection to this union...' he waited and looked at the guests, then continued, 'I can now declare you bonded. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Sirius and Remus Lupin-Black.'

Everyone clapped loudly as Sirius took Remus into his arms and gave him a deep, lingering kiss. When wolf-whistles started coming from a few rows back (George and Ron, most likely), Albus said in his most cheerful voice, 'All right, you two, that's enough. Save it for your bedroom.'

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

'Do you mind if I steal Harry for a dance?' Draco asked his uncle.

'By all means,' Severus replied, squeezing Harry's hand. 'He's nearly worn me out already.'

Harry laughed and leant over to kiss his cheek as he got up. 'You know you always enjoy it when I wear you out,' Harry murmured into his lover's ear. Louder, he said, 'Lead the way, Draco.' He held out his arm to link it with Draco's.

The reception had been going on for over an hour, and things were now in full swing. The food had already been served, and the house-elves had outdone themselves. Then, Sirius and Remus had cut the cake that Dobby had insisted upon making for them. There had been a little trepidation about what he might do, but it had turned out beautifully. It was a five-tiered cake, chocolate with white, cream cheese icing. It was decorated with leafy vines made of green icing, and an icing bouquet of yellow roses on top. Now that the cake was cut and everyone had had a slice, the dancing had started, for those who wished to get out there. The others walked around, mingling with others, or took a stroll by the lakeside, enjoying the summer day.

Draco led Harry onto the dance floor and slid one arm around his waist, holding him in proper stance. Leading him in a waltz, he asked, 'So, Harry, are you enjoying yourself?'

Harry grinned and nodded. 'Yeah, I am. This is so much fun. I have to admit, I was worried about coming, but now, I can't believe how stupid it was, to be afraid.'

'Why in the world were you afraid?' Draco asked. 'And why didn't you tell me?'

'I didn't tell you because you probably would have said something to Dad, out of concern for me. I was afraid that I would do something stupid, like knock something over while waiting for the ceremony, or tripping and falling on my face. I didn't want to embarrass myself or them.'

Draco reached up and clipped Harry on the back of the head in a light, playful manner. 'You idiot, next time tell someone. We could have told you that you would be just fine, and that even if you knocked over the cake that Dobby made, you still wouldn't embarrass anyone. They love you, stupid.'

Harry laughed. 'Thanks, Draco.'

'Mind if I cut in?' Severus asked as he walked up behind his lover.

'Of course,' Draco said, eyeing his own lover across the room, currently being accosted by George's date. 'I think I'd better go over there and inform Regina that that is not George.'

Harry laughed and turned to slide into Severus' arms. 'I thought I'd tired you out.'

Severus slid his arms around Harry and pulled him close, in a most possessive manner. 'I got my second wind. Besides, once everyone saw you with Draco, you could almost see them lining up to ask you for a dance. I thought it was best to lay claim to my territory before one of them swept you away.'

'I wouldn't have danced with them anyway, and no one is going to sweep me away,' Harry murmured, jumping up on the tips of his toes to give his lover a quick kiss. 'I'm all yours, always.'

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

'So tell me, Harry, how was the wedding? Did everything go well?' Ana asked. It was three days after the ceremony, and Ana was interested to hear how Harry had taken to the gathering. Of course, she had been invited, but she had declined the invitation, explaining to Sirius and Remus that is she were there, Harry might feel more self- conscious than he already did, since he would try to behave in such a way in order to please her. She wanted him to relax and have some fun.

'Everything was wonderful. The wedding ceremony went off without any problems. Dad didn't faint, though there for a moment, while we were in his room and he was getting ready, I thought that he might.' He grinned when Ana laughed out loud. 'I did fine,' Harry added, knowing that she was bound to ask. 'I didn't knock anything over getting to my seat, and it was nice, just sitting there, listening to Albus' words. Still wish that I could have seen it, though.'

'I know, Harry. Tell me, how was the reception. I know that this was the first time that you spent any significant time with the Weasley family. Did the Minister and his wife behave themselves?'

Harry smirked. 'Yeah, they did. They behaved properly, and they were extremely polite to everyone, particularly Severus. I have to tell you that I enjoyed baiting them though.'

'How so?' Ana asked, already imagining what he'd done and how they'd reacted.

'Every time I would touch Severus' hand or something, they would either get quieter, or their words would become a bit strained. I don't know if anyone else really noticed it, but since I can't see and rely on my hearing, I could tell how they were doing by their tone, or lack of one. After awhile, I would deliberately run my hand up Severus' arm, or reach down to caress his thigh briefly, and I would sometimes slide my chair closer to him and lean against him, and a couple of times, I kissed him on the cheek.'

Ana laughed. 'I'm sure they loved that.'

Harry nodded. 'Fred and Draco said that they'd had to leave the table a few times because they couldn't hold their laughter. Apparently, Mr and Mrs Weasleys' facial expressions were priceless. Of course, Severus didn't mind that I was baiting them. He did a bit of that himself, sliding his arm around my waist, nuzzling his nose into my hair or my neck. I have to admit, though, that Mr and Mrs Weasley were good about it. I appreciate that they're trying.'

'You and Severus had fun, then.'

'Yeah, we did. We even danced several times, and that was a lot of fun. I know Severus hates "making a spectacle of himself" in front of people, but he was quite indulgent. If he hadn't asked me to dance, that would have been okay, but he did. That was one of the best days we've had since I don't know when.'

'How are you two doing? Are you having any problems?'

Harry shrugged. 'No more than other couples, I guess. We have fights sometimes, and sometimes I think that he deliberately avoids me, to keep us from arguing, but doesn't everyone have fights?'

'Is there something that usually causes these arguments? Is there something that bothers one or both of you?'

Again, Harry shrugged. 'It's usually me that causes the fights. Severus has always been reserved. He keeps his personal life closed off to most people. When we were first together, I didn't mind so much, because I didn't think that I had earned that privilege, knowing what his life was like before, but now, I can't help but think that he just doesn't want me to know. I don't know. We just argue sometimes, but most of the time, we're okay.'

Ana watched as Harry turned his head the other way, and she knew that there was no more use trying to get anything out of the young man today. Harry could close himself off quite well when he wanted, and she wondered if he had picked that up from Severus. Changing the subject, Ana said, 'Are you ready for school to start? It's not much longer now.'

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

The rest of the summer passed by quickly, and soon enough, it was September. On the night of the first, Harry sat at the end of the Gryffindor table with Draco, waiting impatiently for the students to arrive. He knew that they had already reached Hogsmeade, and they were loading into the carriages and heading up toward the school as he sat there.

Draco smiled to himself. He knew that Harry was anxious to see Ron and Hermione again. They hadn't spent that much time together during this summer. In fact, the only time that Harry saw them was at Sirius and Remus' ceremony, and even then they hadn't spent too much time together. When the first students started filtering through the door, Draco said goodbye and went to sit at the Slytherin table, making sure that his Head Boy badge shone brightly.

It had been a surprise to hear that Draco was indeed Head Boy this year, since he hadn't been given the notice until just a week ago. Albus had had a difficult time deciding who should be given this responsibility, and after everything that had happened the year before, he thought that Draco would be the perfect candidate.

Of course, Hermione Granger was given the status of Head Girl, and when she walked into the room, Draco noticed that she also wore her badge proudly. He smiled and nodded in her direction as Hermione made eye contact with him, and then he watched as she and Ron ran to Harry and engulfed him in a huge hug. He then turned to see his uncle watching them as well. When Severus looked at him, Draco smiled and winked at his uncle, who quickly winked back before sliding on his usual Potions master mask.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Hermione was telling Harry and Ron all about her trip to Australia, where her parents took her for two weeks during the summer holiday, after Sirius and Remus' bonding ceremony. 'You really have to go sometime, Ron, Harry. We went to New Zealand as well. It's a wonderful country. You'd love it. I actually got to touch a kangaroo, can you believe it?'

Harry smiled as Ron nudged him in the ribs. It was times like this that he missed his sight. He and Ron used to have an unspoken language all their own, particularly when it came to Hermione nattering on about, well, everything. Now that he was blind, that personal part of his and Ron's friendship was lost.

Focusing his attention back on Hermione's words, Harry nodded and exclaimed in all the right places, until it was time for the Sorting Ceremony. While the Sorting Hat sang its song, Harry's mind drifted, thinking about how he was going to keep up with the other students during the new school year.

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

Harry's fears of falling behind, of course, were unfounded. He had caught up in all his classes of the previous year, and he'd even got a head start in both Transfiguration and Potions, since those were the hardest classes for him. McGonagall and Severus had both given him some of the topics for essays they were going to give during the year, and Harry had finished them all the week before school started, so that he could focus mostly on the practical lessons. When he spent time in normal classes, the students treated him, for the most part, like any other student. Harry could feel them watching him every time he was called upon to do something, but after weeks of their scrutiny, he got used to it.

His Potions class was the most fun for him, because he always did that one alone, or with Draco, Ron, or Hermione, and he thrived under the personal tutelage. It was easier for him to understand if Severus explained it to him one on one. He had tried to go to normal classes on occasion, but he couldn't quite keep up with Severus' quicker pace. While Harry had become a great deal better at potion-making, it still wasn't his best subject. Thus, Severus decided that their one- on-one classes were more productive.

If anyone thought that Harry would get special privileges for being the lover of the Potions master, they were sadly mistaken. If anything, Severus was more demanding of Harry, even if he desperately wanted to do things for Harry when he struggled. He knew, however, that Harry needed to do this himself. It was the only way Harry's self-esteem would strengthen.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, without anything of note happening. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco spent their spare time together, revising and studying for the upcoming N.E.W.Ts, counting the days until the winter break arrived.

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

A little more than a week before the winter holidays started, Draco was sitting in his uncle's rooms, looking through one of his potions books, searching for some information on a paper that was due the following week, when Harry and Tabitha came into the room. As soon as they were clear of the door, Harry slammed it shut. Draco could vaguely make out the words "insufferable," "git," and "irritating" as Harry crossed the room, his cane tapping here and there, making sure that nothing was in his way. Harry flopped down on the sofa, crossed his arms, and scowled.

Draco watched all this with mild amusement. He knew, of course, the cause of the latest outrage. It was the same thing that his uncle and Harry had been arguing about since even before the accident. During the time surrounding the accident, the tension of this particular subject had waned, but it had bloomed once again. Harry had started asking Severus about his past once again, and Draco knew that Harry was getting nowhere, as was per usual with his uncle. 'Well, from the words I was able to decipher, you can only be talking about one person.'

Harry jumped slightly from the unexpected sound of his friend's voice, but he answered the unasked question. 'He threw me out of his office,' he replied sullenly.

'What happened this time?'

'I swear it was a completely innocent question! Ron was ecstatic because his grandmother was coming to visit at Christmas, and I realised that I never would have known my grandparents, even if my parents had lived. I was going to see if I could help Severus, and I just asked him if he knew his grandparents. He said yes, and all I did was ask what they were like. The next think I knew, he was snapping at me, shoving me out the door. Then he locked it! All I wanted to know was what it was like to have grandparents.' Harry sighed. 'I never know what to say anymore. I swear, I ask an innocent question and he jumps down my throat. He acts like he has some immense secret that he doesn't want to share with me.'

Draco smirked. He knew what his uncle was hiding, but since it was not his place at all to tell Harry anything, he kept silent about it. If Severus wanted Harry to know, he'd have to tell him, but Draco foresaw problems if his uncle continued to remain close- mouthed. 'Don't let him bother you. He gets angry with me as well, if I ask too many questions.'

'This is the first question I've asked in weeks, and I didn't ask it so I could pry into his past. I was honestly curious. Fine. If he doesn't want to trust me with anything, I'll ask you. Did you ever know your grandparents?'

'I never met my mother's parents, but I met my father's mum and dad a few times. I don't really think that you can go by them, because they were just like my father, and we all know how pathetic he was at being a parent. Maybe you should ask Sirius or Remus. I'm sure at least one of them had grandparents that were sane.'

Harry chuckled softly. 'I guess I'll have to, then. I think we all know that I'll never get anything out of Severus,' he muttered. 'I know I shouldn't let it bother me, but it does. He never tells me anything at all. Think about it. We've been together for over a year, and I know almost nothing about him. I guess I just don't understand why he won't say anything at all about his childhood. I feel like I'm not trustworthy enough for him.'

'I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps you should talk this out with Ana. She might have a different perspective on this. She is, after all, a woman, and she's probably dealt with one or two people like Severus. Perhaps getting her point of view on my uncle's stubborn need to stay silent will help you.'

Harry nodded. 'I have my appointment tomorrow. I'll talk to her then.'

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

'Good morning, Harry. How have things been this week?' Ana asked as they sat down at the table with cups of tea and some cakes.

'They could be better. Severus and I had another argument.'

'What did you have a row about this time?'

Harry laughed. 'The same thing as always. His inability to tell me anything that might remotely delve into his past.'

'What happened this time?'

'Like I told Draco, it was completely innocent. Ron's grandmother is coming to visit for Christmas holidays, and he was excited. I've never known my grandparents, so when I stopped by his office, I asked about his, what they were like. The next think I know, I was being thrown out of his office, and now he's mad at me. He wouldn't even talk to me when he came to bed last night. I wasn't trying to pry, honestly. He just happened to be the first person I found.'

'Why do you think he reacts this way, when you asked about his past?' Ana asked, watching Harry. She knew that among other things, Harry was terribly insecure, a problem that she knew stemmed from his loss of eyesight. Compound that with his past problems with his Muggle family and his lover's need for secrecy, for whatever reason, and it intensified that insecurity, because Harry has stopped being merely irritated and has started to take it personally.

Harry shrugged. 'I think he's hiding something that he doesn't want me to know. I don't think he really trusts me. I don't think he wants to trust me.'

'Have you tried to talk to him about why he's so reluctant to speak of what happened years ago?'

'I try, but he always cuts me off. I'm at the point where I'm afraid to bring anything up, not wanting him to be angry with me.'

'Perhaps it would be best to leave it for a bit, and let things settle down between the two of you. Then in a few weeks, it may be possible for you to express your thoughts without resentment between you two.'

'And if he just decides to lie to me?' Harry asked.

Ana had no answer ready for that question.

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

Another week passed, and it was time to leave for the Christmas holiday. This time, they were going to spend their entire Christmas at Snape Manor. Severus and Sirius' renewed truce was still holding strong, and even, at times, seemed to get better, less strained and forced. Harry had noticed and felt confident enough to ask if they could spend the holiday at Severus' home. Sirius had given his consent without any audible hesitation, so now Harry was packing the things that he would need.

Both Severus and Sirius offered to help him, but he had sent both of them away. Sometimes they treated him like a helpless child who couldn't do for himself. It drove Harry mad, but he just couldn't get them to stop. Harry simply did his best to get them out of his hair as much as possible.

Harry pushed off these thoughts and raised his head when he heard someone come into the room.

'Are you all packed, Harry?' Draco asked, walking into his friend's bedroom.

Harry smiled in the direction that Draco's voice had come from. 'Yeah, I'm all set. Just waiting for Severus to finish, and then we'll be ready to go.'

'Don't tell me that he's still packing? I know that he never takes that many clothes. He's not me,' Draco remarked.

'Oh, no, he was done with that hours ago. He just threw a few things into my trunk. No, he's in his office, packing the potion ingredients that he's going to need.'

Draco snorted. 'I should have known. He can never go anywhere without his precious potions.'

Harry smiled softly. 'Leave him alone. He happens to have a list of potions that he has to make for Madam Pomfrey, and he wants to give me some extra tutoring.'

'I know what kind of extra tutoring he's going to give you, and I can guarantee that it won't be on the N.E.W.Ts.'

Harry could feel the heat rising on his face and he just knew that he was blushing. It was true that he and Severus had been more amorous than usual, when they weren't furious with each other, as if they were making up for the time they had been lost because of the attack. 'Oh, shut up. You know he's getting me ready for the N.E.W.Ts, and Potions is one of the subjects that I've been having problems with lately.'

Harry, while he had been able to catch up and keep up fairly well in most of his classes, was having problems in both Potions and Transfiguration. These two just happened to be harder because of his lack of sight, and he had to have more training in these areas. At first, McGonagall had wanted him to stay for the holidays for training, but Sirius had promised to help him, since Transfiguration had been one of his strong subjects in school. Sirius knew that Harry needed to get away from Hogwarts, even if it was only for a couple of weeks.

Draco laughed. 'Yes, I know. I'll go see if he's finished yet. Why don't you see if Sirius and Remus are all finished packing. I know we're taking a Portkey, but I'm eager to leave.'

'You just want to fall into bed with Fred,' Harry shot back.

'Of course. Now that I'm able to...you know,' Draco stammered, and Harry fancied that he could feel the heat from Draco's inevitable blush from his current position, 'and he's been away so much lately that I want to spend as much time with him as possible.'

Harry chuckled. 'Draco, I'm glad that you're able to give him that particular gift,' Harry said in all honesty. He remembered the first time that Draco had allowed Fred to top. It was nearly a month ago, and Draco had been beyond thrilled. He had immediately shared his joyous moment with Harry, in great detail, causing Harry to blush so hard that he thought his head was going to explode. 'Just...no more details, please,' Harry teased. 'Otherwise, I might be incited to respond with detailed accounts of my own.

'I promise to keep our escapades to myself, and you do the same,' Draco promised. 'I'm going to see if Severus is ready to get going. His lab is nearly fully stocked at home. I don't see what is taking so long. I swear, that man is too meticulous sometimes. As if he can't simply pop over to Diagon Alley if he runs out of something,' Draco muttered, walking out the door.

Harry smirked to himself and shook his head. He placed the last bit of stuff into his trunk and closed the lid, spelling it shut. Then, he laid down on his bed and thought about how he could get Severus to do something other than brew potions during most of the winter break.

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

The first few days of their Christmas holidays passed by quickly, too quickly, as happy days usually did. Each of the couples spent most of their mornings alone, lying in bed in various states of undress, feeding each other breakfast and indulging in leisurely bouts of lovemaking. During the days, they went about doing what they needed to do, Draco and Remus down in the dungeons helping Severus get the potions he needed to brew out of the way, while Sirius helped Harry practice his Transfiguration revising that was assigned by McGonagall. Fred, of course, spent his time at the shop, helping George with the busy, bustling crowd. Their nights were spent sitting in the library reading, or in the room with the telly, watching movies, Harry sitting on Severus' lap, his head on his lover's shoulder, eyes closed, listening to the words, yet not listening, simply enjoying the nearness of his lover.

The day before Christmas, the five went to Diagon Alley, to finish their Christmas shopping. With Sirius' help, Harry was able to find gifts for everyone, except of course, for Sirius. For that, he enlisted Remus' help. When they were all finished, they quickly headed back to Snape Manor.

This had been Harry's first big trip into Diagon Alley since he'd gone blind, and he didn't particularly like it. He, Severus, and Sirius had come to Diagon Alley by Floo powder before, but that had been a quick trip for only a few things. This was a half-day excursion, one that Harry wasn't fully prepared for.

Harry had been to Hogsmeade several times since the ill-fated Quidditch match, and it had never been as bad as it was in Diagon Alley. Perhaps it was because the people in Hogsmeade were used to seeing him there, and they didn't want to appear rude, whereas in Diagon Alley, these people were strangers who didn't care if they made him uncomfortable.

Harry could feel the eyes of the people around him following his every movement. It was as if their eyes were branding irons, burning their symbols into his body, they were so intent on ogling him. He could also hear their indiscreet whisperings about him as he searched for gifts.

He could hear their words. They wondered how on earth he could possibly shop (not knowing that he'd given his gift list a great deal of thought for the last two months, and he'd learnt it by heart, and had it in his hand, written in Braille). Some were pondering the truth of the rumours surrounding his illness.

The one rumour that made particularly popular gossip was the one that stated that there was really nothing wrong with his eyes, and that he was deliberately causing himself to be blind. The two most popular reasons for this self-affliction, according to the gossip-happy shoppers, were that he was desperate to be the centre of attention now that Voldemort was gone and the wizarding world wasn't fixated on him anymore, or that he had gone mad, but those caring for him couldn't bear to see him thrown into St Mungo's.

Listening to this load of rubbish was irritating Harry to no end, and for once he was glad that Severus was elsewhere; otherwise, many of those people would be the recipients of some rather nasty hexes, and Severus would be spending some quality time in the Ministry of Magic's holding cells. As it was, Harry had a difficult time keeping Sirius (and even Remus) from doing just that.

Finally, they had managed to get everything they wanted, and they went back home to have a leisurely lunch and calm down, before the panic of last-minute wrapping overwhelmed them all.

Once again, Severus and Sirius offered to help Harry, which translated into "Let me do it for you," but Harry had politely declined. He had his wrapping paper, his ribbons, his sello-tape and all of his gifts were labelled, just as he had asked the shopkeepers to do for him, and they had been more than happy to oblige. It didn't take him as long as he thought it would, but he was still the last one finished. He didn't care. It was an accomplishment in his eyes, and he was happy, no matter how bad his wrapping job might look.

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

Christmas morning found Harry and Severus being shocked awake by an excited Draco, who was acting particularly childish. Knowing that they wouldn't be left alone for an early-morning snog, let alone more, they dragged themselves out of bed and slid into their pyjamas, and followed the whirlwind that was Severus' nephew. Downstairs they found Remus, Sirius, and Fred in a similar state as they were, all of them looking half-dead to the world, coffee mugs in their hands. Evidently Draco had been up for some time, and had already had plenty of coffee...perhaps too much.

Severus poured Harry and himself cups of coffee and placed one in Harry's hands. 'Draco, sit down and calm down, before I have you tied up and gagged,' Severus snapped as he sat down next to Harry.

'What he said,' Harry mumbled between sips of coffee. 'How can you get up this early...what time is it, anyway?'

'It's six o'clock,' Sirius said. He sounded better than the other two, now that he'd woken up a bit. 'Still too bloody early to get up on a holiday, if you ask me.'

'Who asked you?' Draco retorted. 'Come on, people. It's Christmas, and I want to know what I got under that tree.'

'Who says you got anything?' Fred asked. He had stayed the night, since the shop was closed for Christmas. He and Draco were spending the morning here, and then around noon they were going to travel by Floo powder over to the Burrow, having Christmas dinner with the Weasley family.

'What a bunch of boring people I'm mixed up with,' Draco sighed, sitting down on the floor and rifling through the gifts, finding his and shaking them lightly, to see if they made noise. 'You're never too old to be excited about getting a gift,' he lectured. 'If it were up to me, there would be a holiday every month where you had to give away gifts.'

'Yes, and I know what your first present from me would be,' Severus sniped, feeling much more coherent. 'A tattoo on your forehead that says "spoilt rotten brat".'

Draco blew a raspberry at his uncle and shook another gift. When it rattled, he asked his uncle, who had given him the gift, 'Can I open it now?'

Severus waved his hand. 'Go ahead, let's get this over with, so I can go back to bed.'

'You most certainly are not,' Draco said as he ripped open the paper. 'I'll be gone this afternoon, and you're going to spend the morning with me.'

'Oh, shut up and pass around the gifts,' Severus said, sitting back on the sofa. Fred, who was the only one of the other five that was moderately functional, plopped down on the floor and started passing around the gifts.

'Oh, Uncle Severus, I love it,' Draco exclaimed as he took the gold necklace with a dragon's tooth on it. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome, Dragon. When I saw it, I just knew it had to be for you.'

'Here you go, Harry,' Fred said, placing a box in Harry's lap.

Harry put down his cup and slid his hands along the box, getting an idea of the size. It was rather long, but narrow, and when he picked it up, it was light and made no noise. 'Hmmm...' he said, smiling softly. 'This has got to be clothing. Let's see who this is from.' Harry slid his fingers along the box until he found the gift tag, and he read, 'To Harry, From Draco. Now I know it has to be clothes,' he teased.

Harry laughed when he heard Draco blow another raspberry, and he ripped open the packaging. Sure enough, inside was a brand new robe.

'It's a new robe, especially for Potions. It's spelled to repel all sorts of nasty things, so you won't ruin your regular robes,' Draco explained.

'Thanks, Draco. I could really use these,' Harry said, smiling toward his friend.

'You're welcome. Now, where's another one for me?'

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

It took almost three hours to go through the pile underneath the tree, but it was finally done. Everyone loved their gifts, particularly Harry. He'd got the Lord of the Rings from Severus, written in Braille, so he could read it himself, and not have to rely on his reader. He'd also got several Braille books from everyone, and he'd received his usual sweater and box of cakes, pies, and fudge from Mr and Mrs Weasley.

The six had a leisurely breakfast, nibbling and chatting, until it was time for Draco and Fred to go get ready. Then the other two couples went their own ways, to spend some time alone before they had Christmas dinner together.

Christmas dinner was a happy affair, and Sirius had allowed Harry to have some wine, which went straight to his head. Sirius and Remus laughed as they watched Severus escort his tipsy and amorous lover to their bedroom, before they retired to their own.

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

The rest of the holiday passed far too soon for everyone, and they were forced to return to Hogwarts. Draco and Harry were particularly reluctant, because it meant that they had to start studying in earnest for their upcoming exams, and it also meant that Hermione would have an impossible time schedule all set up for them.

The first day of classes was a bore, as the students and teachers got back into their routines. The day had left Harry exhausted, so instead of waiting for Severus in the living room, he nestled himself in their bed. As soon as Severus climbed into bed, Harry snuggled up against him, wrapping his arm around Severus's waist. "How was your day?" he asked curiously.

Severus moaned with content, wrapping Harry in his arms and breathing in his scent. "Brilliantly, if I may say so. Not a single cauldron melted, nor did any potions blow up, so that's a vast improvement."

"That's good. How did you feel? You're not still weak from that cold, are you?'

'I did quite well, thank you so much, Mummy,' Severus replied snidely. 'And no, I'm not weak from that little bug that I picked up from your mangy father.'

'I'm glad,' Harry replied, kissing Severus's shoulder and ignoring his lover's snide comment about his father.

'Anything in particular that you want to do tonight?' Severus asked, his fingers idly stroking Harry's arm in an indiscernible pattern.

'You mean there aren't any papers to grade. I'm shocked.'

'Not tonight, brat,' Severus said, swatting Harry's arm with a playfulness not usual for him. 'There are very few left, and they can wait until tomorrow. So, what do you want to do? Anything you want.'

'You know what I want? I want you to talk to me, for once. I want you to tell me something, anything. I mean, I know bits and pieces of your life, but I don't know much. Tell me about what you were like as a child. What was school like before Hogwarts? I went to a Muggle school, so I don't really know. What was Hogwarts like when you went here? Did you have many boyfriends?'

Severus stiffened. 'You don't want to know about my life. There's really nothing to know.'

'I do want to know. I love you. I want to know all about you,' Harryinsisted.

Severus snapped, 'My past life is of no concern. The things that happened are in the past and not your business. It's not your concern, so leave it be. I really don't know why you keep pressing this issue.'

Ever since they had got together, Harry had been trying to get Severus to open up about his life. Every time he tried, though, Severus wouldn't say anything and he would become sullen and moody. After awhile, Harry had stopped trying and things had calmed.

But then the fated Quidditch match had rendered Harry blind. During and after his recovery, Harry was left feeling extremely vulnerable and more than a little insecure. Once again, he started pressing Severus into telling him about his past, but for whatever reason, Severus wouldn't tell him anything.

This had been an ever-increasing sore spot in their relationship, especially since Harry started to take Severus' closed-mouthed stance personally. He thought that Severus didn't want to tell him anything because he didn't want to be that close to Harry. Add that to Harry's newfound insecurity, and there were bound to be problems.

Harry pulled away from Severus and rolled onto his side, his back facing Severus. 'Forget I said anything,' he muttered.

'There's nothing that you need to know. You know all that is important.'

'I said forget about it,' Harry snapped.

'I am an extremely private man. You know that,' Severus said, trying to be reasonable. 'There are some things I would rather keep to myself.'

Harry sighed. 'All right, you win. I won't ask anymore,' he said as he got up off the bed.

'Where are you going?'

'I left my book in Draco's room. I want to practice reading the Braille,' he told Severus as he grabbed his cane.

'I could get it for you,' Severus offered.

'I can do it myself,' Harry said with a coolness that was unusual for him. 'I need something to do tonight, since my plans have changed so drastically.'

'Really? And what great plans were those?' Severus asked dryly. He was quickly becoming annoyed with his lover.

Harry felt his way to the door. 'I had planned on some meaningful conversation followed by some incredible sex, but finding out that the man you love only sees you as nothing more than a live-in whore kind of spoils the mood.'

'What the hell does that mean?' Severus roared.

Harry turned. 'You say that you love me, but how can you? How can you love me when you don't trust me? You can come to bed and fuck me every night, but you can't trust me enough to tell me about the first time that you flew on a broom, or what your grandparents were like, what you first thought when you saw Hogwarts, or even who your closest friend in school was. You don't trust me at all, and if you can't by now, I don't think that you ever will. That leaves only sex. The only difference between me and a prostitute is that you don't pay me to sleep with you.'

'If you feel that way, then perhaps we shouldn't be together any longer,' Severus snapped in anger.

Harry swallowed around the lump that was forming in his throat. 'Perhaps not.'

Harry walked across their living room and into Draco's, tears sliding down his face. He jumped when he heard Draco ask, 'Harry, what's wrong?' as Harry heard him rush over. Draco led him to the sofa.

'I'm sorry,' Harry said, wiping away his tears. 'I thought you would be in bed. I didn't mean to disturb you.'

'You're not. I'm just waiting for Fred. He came back from Romania today. What's wrong?'

'Severus and I had a fight, and I don't know if we're going to be able to work through this.'

'Why?' Draco asked.

'He doesn't trust me. He never has, not really. The only things that he ever really told me about himself were because they were absolutely necessary. Everything else I know, I found out through others. I didn't even know the Dark Mark had remained until I found out by accident. I don't understand why he doesn't trust me. After all we've been through, he still can't bring himself to tell me anything. I don't keep anything from him. I tell him whatever he wants to know, but I never get the same from him. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?'

Both men jumped as the fireplace activated. 'Oi! I hate travelling by Floo powder!' Fred said cheerily, dusting himself off. 'Sorry I'm late, love, but I had to help George-' The words died as he looked up and saw Harry's red eyes. 'What's wrong?'

'Harry and my uncle had a fight,' Draco said. 'Fred, will you escort Harry to Sirius' room? I think that he needs to be with his father right now.'

Harry nodded. 'I'd like that,' he said, standing up. He took Fred's arm and allowed him to escort him to his father's room.

As soon as the two men left, Draco stalked into his uncle's room. He found Severus nursing a large glass of firewhiskey. 'Care to tell me what the hell happened in here?'

'Not particularly,' Severus snapped.

'Don't tell me... It's none of my business. You're an extremely private man, and you love me, but your life is none of my business,'Draco said in a remarkable impression of his uncle.

'Go away, Draco. I do not wish to hear what you have to say.'

'Of course not,' Draco said, sitting down. He had no intention of leaving. 'I should leave without telling you that you're making the biggest and stupidest mistake of your life.'

'Please, spare me the lecture. He's just a boy, and it was a mistake to become involved with him. I've corrected that mistake and we'll both be all the happier for it.'

'Liar. You're going to be as miserable as he already is. He thinks that you never really loved him. No, he didn't tell me that, but when he said that you didn't trust him, I knew what he meant. Why don't you trust him?'

Severus glared at Draco but said nothing.

Draco glared right back. 'You can glare as if you'd like to cast the killing curse at me all you like, but it doesn't change my question. Why can't you tell him anything?' What is so wrong with talking about your childhood?' Draco looked at him shrewdly. 'Or is it because you don't want him to know that you lied to him when you told him that you'd always hated my father?'

Draco smiled as a look of shock spread across his uncle's face. 'Oh, yes, Uncle Severus, I know all about your relationship with my father.'

Severus downed the rest of his firewhiskey, ignoring the burning in his throat. He poured himself another glass. 'You don't know anything,' he said, his voice a bit raspy and wavering slightly.

'I know that you and my father were lovers. I know that you loved him, that he was the one who broke your heart. Don't bother asking how I know this. Just know that I know.'

'That has nothing to do with anything,' Severus murmured, staring in a dazed, slightly-pissed haze at the swirling, amber-coloured liquid in his glass. Severus never had much of a tolerance for liquor.

'Then tell me why?' Draco demanded.

'I tell him what I want him to know and nothing more,' Severus said petulantly. 'If he doesn't like it, if he doesn't like the boundaries of our relationship, he can go wank himself and leave me alone.'

'You're lying, but you know something, Uncle Severus? You don't deserve him. You don't deserve his love.'

Severus smirked. 'You're probably right. It's best then that it's over.'

Draco stared at his uncle in stony silence, and the only sound in the room came from the crackling fire. After a few moments of staring,Draco stood up and walked out of the room, shaking his head with disgust.

Draco flopped down on his sofa and waited for Fred to return, his jumbled thoughts interfering with the peaceful silence of the room. What was his uncle thinking? Draco has always been proud of his uncle's intelligence, but this was the stupidest thing that Severus had ever done, including joining the Death Eaters, at least in Draco's opinion.

His musings on Severus' lack of intelligence were interrupted by Fred's return. 'No problems?' he asked as soon as Fred sat down.

Fred shook his head and pulled Draco closer, inhaling the fresh scent of apple shampoo that Draco always used. 'No. Sirius and Remus will take care of Harry tonight,' he said, kissing Draco's cheek. He silently thanked every deity that he and Draco confided in each other and were willing to be open and honest with each other, no matter how vulnerable it made them.

'I don't understand my uncle,' Draco murmured.

'Neither do I,' Fred agreed. 'All I know is that Harry is devastated. He told me what happened.'

'What do we do?' Draco asked. 'I tried talking to my uncle, to make him see reason, but he was much more interested in seeing how much firewhiskey he could consume before finally succumbing to alcohol poisoning,' Draco said, bitterness colouring his words.

'We do nothing. If your uncle truly loves Harry, he'll have to learn to trust him, and Harry needs more patience, though I really can't blame him too much, since Severus is so damn stubborn that he won't tell him anything.'

'I know. I have a feeling that this just won't be fixable.'

'Neither do I, love,' Fred agreed. 'At least, not anytime in the near future.'

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