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The Great Mistake	By : Eowynselixure Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 1406 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not claim to have written any of the Harry Potter books or own any of the charcters in this story or anything at all associated with Harry Potter, I do not make any money/profit from writing this fanfiction story.

Chapter List
- 1-The Great Mistake
- 1
Harry sniffed the concoction in front of him and frowned. Glancing at his notes again he stirred the potion twice anti clockwise and added a dove’s feather. The sludge in front of him belched belligerently and oozed up the sides of the cauldron.

Harry sighed and consulted his notes again, rifling through the many parchments and books on the desk for a particular pamphlet.

“Any progress?” A smooth sarcastic voice spoke over Harry’s shoulder and a single greasy curl fell over the cauldron as Snape lifted the ladle and watched as the heavy mixture plummeted back into the cauldron like a stone, giving off a putrid smell as it did.

“Evidently not. You’ve created a new life form Mr Potter.” Snape lifted an amused eyebrow and smirked as the sludge lazily formed a bubble. “And here I was thinking you were trying to create a love potion.”

Ignoring him Harry finally pulled the pamphlet out from beneath a large pile of smoking howlers and turned to the relevant page.

“It happened when I added the dittany, I didn’t really think it would work but it has been used in love potions before…” Harry trailed off and sucked on a tattered quill, “Perhaps it doesn’t react well with toad scum…”

“Or Howler smoke.” Snape cut him off abruptly sweeping the smoking envelopes into a bin and incinerating them properly. “He’s still at it then?”

“Hmm?” Harry made an addition to his notes before looking up at Snape, “Yes” he sighed. “He won’t get the message so” here he waved at the bin, “I get them instead, three from his secretary and seven from him.”

“That must have been tiresome.”

“Yes especially as the last one came as I was adding the dittany. I wonder…” Harry moved towards the jar of dried dittany.

“If you gave him what he wanted then you wouldn’t have made the mistake.” Snape’s voice grew louder as Harry gave no sign of having heard him. “The mistake being that you never add dried dittany to a love potion, only the essence.” Here he snatched the jar out of Harry’s hands. “Fool!” he snapped before lovingly caressing the jar and putting it back in his private store room.

“Oh” Harry clutched his head in his hands and slumped down onto a stool. “This is hopeless! I’ll never get it right!”

Snape sneered at him before straightening the piles of parchment on Harry’s desk, “Of course you won’t get it right if you keep being harassed by Malfoy! Give him the damned potion and be done with it!”

“No!”

“Potter.” Snape growled warningly.

“No! We’ve been through this and through this Severus I will not allow another Voldemort to use the potion as a means of immortality.”

“It only protects the imbiber against death once-”

“Unless the imbiber takes it more than once.”

“Highly inadvisable as it is far too dangerous-”

“And Voldemort cared about danger when?”

Snape’s mouth pursed with frustration, “There are people dying Potter! People that could be saved, isn’t that what you’re supposed to be good at? Saving people?”

“Shut up Snape.” Harry turned away from the other man and strode through to the living room shouting behind him as he did so, “Don’t you dare get rid of that potion!”

“Potter” Snape arrested the wand movement that would have banished the potion and followed Harry into the living room; frowning as Harry flopped onto the sofa with a small brandy. “If I don’t get rid of it, it will be climbing the walls before we get back.”

Harry shot him a nasty look and ignored the comment. “I’m not giving him the potion and that’s final! I should have sworn you to secrecy as well as forbidding you to touch it! It’s your fault that he knows about it!”

Snape smirked, “Allow me a little boast here and there Potter, I did after all find a way to cheat death.”

Harry frowned, “That’s all you care about isn’t it? Recognition for your achievements.”

“No I care about helping people Potter! Just like you care about helping people but unlike you I want to do more than just ensure a happy marriage!”

Harry rubbed his forehead and sighed, “Here we go again.”

“Yes!” Snape snapped, stalking over to his drinks cabinet and making himself a brandy, “here we go again!”

“Look Hermione needs this! I will not stand by and watch her suffer for years just because you think helping her is a waste of time!”

“It’s her own fault for having such a soft heart,” Snape waved the matter away with flick of his wrist, “the potion-”

“Is a subject I am through discussing.” Harry slashed the air with his wand to emphasize his point. “You have no power over this Snape because you gave that power to me! Meaning you trusted me with the responsibility of it. Having second thoughts now is redundant and a waste of time, so take my advice and drop it!”

***

Harry smiled as the cauldron started giving off little puffs of purple smoke, he was almost there, he was sure of it.

He was distracted as the fire place glowed green and Hermione stepped out of the flames, dusting her robes off as she did so.

“Hermione I didn’t expect you until Friday, it’s not quite finished yet you know.” Harry put down his ladle and gave her a brief hug before returning to his bench, the potion wasn’t at a crucial stage but he didn’t like to leave it all the same.

“I just wanted to see how you were; besides Snape will be there on Friday and I wanted to catch you when he was busy with lessons.”

Harry snorted sarcastically, “It wouldn’t matter as he hasn’t talked to me for three days.”

Hermione sighed and sat on a stool taking care not to crease her expensive emerald robes. “Not again? Is he still very angry with you for taking on this project?”

“Not really, he knows arguing with me about that is a lost cause. No he’s on at me about Malfoy again and the fact he wants me to give him the potion.”

Hermione was silent for a little while, watching as Harry carefully added a handful of amethyst flakes to the bubbling brew.

“You know Harry it might not be such a bad idea.”

Harry jerked almost spilling the whole bag of flakes into the cauldron. Setting them carefully down on the bench he turned to Hermione with a look of horror on his face.

“You don’t mean that! Hermione you know-”

“Harry.” She held up a forestalling hand until he fell silent. “I know how you feel about the potion but honestly, you’re letting paranoia get in the way of saving people’s lives here. I mean-“ and here her eyes grew suspiciously moist. “R-Ron might still be alive Harry.”

Harry blinked and swallowed, “You don’t honestly think that Hermione? It was just a routine call out…no one could have known-”

She took a deep shuddering breath and conjured a glass of water from the kitchen. “I know, I know, he wouldn’t have taken it because there was no reason to suspect any danger but a lot of the aurors fighting the D.E resistances DO know they’re in danger and think what they could accomplish with the potion? Think how many lives would be saved!”

Harry wished not for the first time that he could just hand the potion over to Malfoy and keep the ones he loved happy. But he knew he couldn’t, there was just too much risk.

But to Hermione he simply said, “I’ll think about it ok? Now how’s Goyle?”

Hermione grimaced, “Angry most of the time.”

Harry shook his head, “why did you do it Hermione? Snape’s right it was a bloody stupid thing to do.”

Hermione shrugged, “I was emotionally shattered by Ron’s death…Goyle was a success of the grief therapy group I was attending and so was assigned to me as my relief buddy. I guess in a way I became HIS relief buddy. He’s quite a traumatized individual you know. The day he proposed was a bad one for me and I suppose having Goyle look at me with tears and radiant happiness glowing all over his face-”

Here she broke off and moved her hands agitatedly. “It was the way Ron looked at me you see-when HE asked me to marry him. Somehow that feeling overrode all my sensibilities.”

Hermione sighed and played idly with one of Harry’s many bent quills. “I had no idea that in pureblood families, saying yes to a marriage proposal binds you to a contract and absolutely no idea that I wouldn’t be able to divorce him for ten whole years!”

She drew in a deep breath, “it was as if I COULDN’T stop the wedding plans and every time I tried to say something to him my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth until I gave up trying.”

Harry sighed, “I was so bloody shocked when you told me, I mean why would he even want to marry a muggle born? Why would they LET him?”

“He is now master of the estate as his parents are in prison for the rest of their natural lives; there was no one to forbid it.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Why is he in love with you again?”

Hermione grimaced “A I saved his life, B he admires my intelligence and C no one has ever treated him kindly before.”

Harry grit his teeth and carefully added ground banshee hair to the potion. It gave a bang and emitted a large quantity of blue smoke.

Hermione coughed and fled to the other side of the room. “Harry?”

As the smoke cleared Harry emerged with a large smile on his face, “Hermione, Hermione LOOK!”

Hermione moved forward and peered into the cauldron, there sparkled the most irresistible turquoise concoction. It moved as if breathing, highlighting pink and green stars in its depths.

“Oh Harry” she breathed, reaching for a ladle, “I’m sure it’s ready.”

“No!” he stopped her with a hand to her arm, “I have to test it first. Trust me it needs to be

tested!”

Hermione reluctantly set the ladle down, “Friday?” She asked with a grimace.

“Yes,” he said gently, “Friday.”

***

Snape sat quietly reading a hefty tomb as Harry paced angrily in front of him.

“You HAVE to talk to me Severus!”

Snape simply pursed his lips.

“PLEASE!”

With an eye roll Snape slipped a book mark into place and stared resignedly at Harry.

“And why do I have to do that?”

“Because I think I’ve done it Severus!” Harry almost shouted, green eyes sparkling. “I think I’ve perfected the love potion!”

“You mean it’s not crawling anymore?” Snape said dryly closing his book with a snap and moving over to the drinks cabinet.

Harry stared at him for a moment, “What? No Sev I mean it I’ve got it right, I’ve made the perfect love potion!”

Snape spared a glass over his shoulder before pouring himself a fire whiskey. “What do you want Potter? Congratulations? Recognition? The chance to HELP somebody?”

Harry bit his lip, frowning at the other man as he quietly sipped his drink. Then coming to a decision he grasped the other man’s arm.

“Sev please, I’m sorry alright.” Taking the glass from the other man he set it down on a nearby coffee table, pulled him in close and rested his forehead against Snape’s. “I’m sorry, maybe I have been a bit stubborn and maybe I need to review my attitude to the potion okay? Let me just test out this love potion and then I promise I’ll sit down with Malfoy and see if we can work out a way to use the potion safely.”

Snape’s lips twitched, “you can’t make everything safe Potter.”

“Don’t push your luck.” Harry went to step away but the other man grasped his arms in return.

“Apology accepted.” He said softly before giving Harry a fleeting kiss and sweeping into the little cubby room to the sound of the floo bell.

Harry blushed, he hated when Severus did that. Ever since he’d moved in to Snape’s apartment their relationship had grown more complicated by the week. They’d crossed the bounds of normal friendship more than once, to the point where they’d even fallen asleep together on the sofa once. Nothing sexual had happened yet but Harry had a feeling that day wasn’t far off.

Snape strode back into the room, his rope whipping angrily about him. With features that showed no sign of his inner feeling save a slight tightening of his features he simply said, “Weasley.”

Harry frowned, “Ginny?”

“Who else.”

Pursing his lips and taking a deep breath he went into the cubby room where Ginny Weasely’s face shone from the depths of the fire.

“Ginny?” He said kneeling down on the thick carpet by the fireplace, “what is it?”

Ginny scrunched up her features in distaste and glared around at Snape’s little floo room as if it were a prison cell.

“Malfoy sent me a letter today.” She said shortly.

Harry pursed his lips, “And?”

“And he wants me to convince you to give him the potion of course.”

Harry widened his eyes comically but kept his voice neutral as he said “and why would he imagine that you would be the one to convince me?”

Ginny shrugged, “Perhaps he thinks we’re still close or perhaps he knows my view on the whole thing.”

Harry pursed his lips again as if to defend against the words he knew would come. “I’m sorry you were inconvenienced Ginny-”

“So you’re still not allowing people to benefit from the potion then?” She interrupted him with a flare of her nostrils.

“Would Malfoy have contacted you if I was?”

“Eugh” She tossed her red curls and pierced him with stony glare. “He’s still controlling you then?”

Harry dragged in a breath to try and remain calm. “Severus is actually trying to encourage me to tell Malfoy about the potion.”

Her lip curled “Severus? Eugh is that what you call him when you’re fucking him Harry?”

Harry’s lip curled in retaliation “Actually-”

“Actually” Severus cam e to stand behind Harry “he calls me Snape in bed – says it gives him that naughty feeling.”

Harry fought to contain his smile as Ginny snarled, “You! How dare you interrupt a private floo call! If it weren’t for you my brother would still be alive! If it weren’t for you Harry and I would still be together!”

“I don’t think so Ginny.” He said quietly.

Her nostrils flared again, “If he hadn’t convinced you to move in with him-”

“I asked him if I could move in with him Ginny.”

“He made it seem like an irresistible opportunity!”

“So what if he did? It didn’t split us up Ginny.”

“He made you gay Harry!” Her eyes burned with hatred.

“What? That’s ridiculous!”

“You weren’t gay before!”

“I’m bi-sexual Ginny!”

“Yeah” her eyes narrowed, “and if he hadn’t muscled in you wouldn’t have known that.”

“Oh my God Ginny!” Harry threw his hands up in the air in frustration, “YOU were the one who asked for a break after Ron, you BLAMED me for his death!” Harry dragged his hand through his hair, “Would you have wanted someone who didn’t know who they were?”

“Enough Harry ,” Snape said behind him, “Do you honestly want to have this pointless conversation all over again?”

“Pointless is it?” Ginny spat her eyes flashing, “Pointless having a conversation about why and how I lost my boyfriend, my fiancé! Pointless hating you for snatching him away from me!”

“Ginny,” Harry said battling to stay calm, “No Sev I have to say this,” He shrugging away the warning hand and looking Ginny straight in the eye “I am bi-sexual Ginny, Severus did not make me that way and he did not snatch me from you. He offered me a refuge in a time when the woman I thought I loved and who said she loved me blamed me for my best friends death. Listen to those words and tell yourself who fucked our relationship up because it wasn’t me and it certainly wasn’t Severus.”

With that Harry abruptly cancelled the floo connection and stalked from the room, shrugging off Severus’s restraining hand as he did so.
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The Great Mistake