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Rivalry	By : starstruck86 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Ron Views: 7472 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 2
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A/N: Hey *waves* You�re going to think I�m a bloody Christmas-o-phile. Yet another chapter set in the festive season.
Thanks for your reviews:

Sheree
�you want some more, you say? More snapping, snarling? Oh, alright then, I
can�t deny you.

Kai �sorry darling, he had to be
interrupted for Snape to catch the Weasley Virus even harder ;)

Lady Zombie �Custard? Moi? What
are you implying! There�s a Priscilla reference in here for you somewhere (and
no, Snape�s not in sequins).

Badkittyuno
�sorry for being a tease! LOL. And I�m getting no
better�

Tambrathegreat �Ron�s clue?
Not yet, sorry ;) Severus is about to undo all his good work.

hairsprayX12 �Muchos
nerve getting on here�

Enjoy! Just a quick note to say
if you haven�t already, come and find me on LiveJournal
under starstruck1986 �I have some unposted smut over
there co-written with the lovely seraphimerising.

----

�This is excellent wine,
Severus,� Minerva motioned with her now-empty glass.

�I do try,� he drawled with an
eye roll, and drank some more of the homemade elderflower wine he had donated
to the Staff Christmas Party fund.

�You made this?� a low masculine
voice asked, and Severus turned to see Ron tapping his wand against something
that looked rather terrifying.

�Severus is somewhat of an
amateur alcoholic,� Sinistra laughed.

�Don�t you mean brewer?� Sprout
snorted.

�He�s always bloody drinking, I think we�re both right,� the Astronomy
professor reasoned and shot Severus a cheeky wink.

�And yet, that�s the fourth glass
I have seen grace your palm tonight,� he smirked in response.

�He�s so much more amenable when
he�s had a few, don�t you think?�

Severus didn�t like the way the
conversation was sliding. The staff room seemed extremely small with the entire
faculty crammed into it, and the heat was somewhat stifling. The usual
decorations festooning the ceiling made the room seem much smaller which the
wine wasn�t particularly helping with.

There was a burst of music from
Ron�s scary contraption and everyone in the room jumped, and the redhead flushed
in the face and smashed his wand on the top, hissing through his teeth.

�Sorry,� he sighed. �Stupid bloody thing.�

�What is it?� Minerva ventured
bravely.

�It�s a CD player,� Ron turned to
her with an impish grin which shot straight to the depths of Severus� gut.
�Muggle. Hermione introduced me to them.�

The entire room frowned at the
redhead as though he were mad. Personally, Severus thought he was �it was a
well known fact that all muggle devices broke within the Hogwarts gates because
of the immense amount of ambient magic floating in the air.

�I know you all think I�m
cracked,� he snorted. �I promise I�ve not had more than one glass of this.�

Didn�t comment on how you found it, I notice. Severus eyed the
half-empty glass of wine on the sideboard next to where Ron stood. Which is rather rude�

�But I learnt some stuff from my
dad. This has been playing fine in my rooms with the charms I�ve put on it, but
I think you�re all scrambling it.�

�What does it do?� Flitwick pulled his glasses out of
his pocket and put them on to peer at the strange little mechanical alien
invading their staff room.

�It plays music,� Ron pointed to
a square box next to the machine. �I thought you might like some Christmas
songs.�

�Oh lovely!� the women chorused
and Severus idly wondered if anyone would notice him jumping out of the window
screaming in horror.

�Plus, the only reason it was so
loud was because the last time I listened to it I was� well. Making
myself prematurely deaf.�

�You young people, you don�t know
what�s good while you�ve got it,� Sprout snorted through a mince pie. �I wish I
could hear.�

�What was that?� Ron quirked an
eyebrow at her, and she laughed.

�I am so glad you joined us, Ron,
you bring something new to this dowdy old room every time you step into it,�
Sprout laughed, before filling her mouth with a salmon and cream cheese
appetiser.

He brings a fine backside and the scent of bloody heaven.

Severus took a mute sip of wine
and looked boredly out of the window.

�So you say you�ve charmed it to work successfully in your rooms, despite the
castle�s interference?� Minerva asked. �That�s very clever magic.�

�Thank you,� Ron shot her a
winning smile and twiddled the volume knob on the top, then tapped his wand on
the top again. A more tolerable level of music played forth and someone clapped
delightedly.

Yes, yes, he�s very clever. Bloody redhead.

The castle was largely empty,
most of the students having left the school on the Hogwarts Express that
afternoon and as usual the staff had instantly relaxed. They kept the annual party
going as a tribute to Albus, who had always delighted in taking the opportunity
to get his employees inebriated to the point of blindness, and took pictures to
prove it.

�So what are you doing for the
holidays, Ron?�

Severus fixed his eyes on the
fire and listened intently, taking a sip of wine and hoping that he was exuding
a frosty enough demeanour that nobody would dare to disturb him and his
eavesdropping.

�Oh� well. I�ll be here for a few
days and then home to my mum and dad�s for Christmas,� Ron answered, and there
was a pause. Severus saw the shadow of him taking a mouthful of wine on the
wall. �We all go home these days� it makes it a bit less obvious that one of us
is missing.�

�It must be very hard for you
all, and of course, poor George,� Minerva sighed sadly. �How is he?�

Severus found it hard, as he
listened without seeing the immediate facial expression, to imagine how Ron
looked as he spoke his next words with a slightly cracked tone, it being
blatantly obvious that the subject was still to hard to bear despite the years
that had passed.

�He�s better now than he was at
first. But it doesn�t help that we look at him, and we�re still seeing double,
really��

�You must miss him very much?� Sprout simpered.

These bloody women and their personal
questions.

Ron cleared his throat and
answered, �Well. I do, and then I remember that the little git turned my teddy
bear into a spider when I was three and started a life-long phobia� but �y�know�� he broke off.

Oh, Mr. Weasley, what a little actor you are� how very dramatic�

Knowing he was being overly
harsh, Severus took another mouthful of wine and glared at the fire, cursing
his bitter personality. Since the beginning of November he seemed to have spent
every single day at odds with himself, with his feelings, and the redhead
charming his elderly female colleagues nearby was the reason for it.

Without realising what he was
doing, Severus found his fist banging absentmindedly against his lips as he brooded
in the direction of orange flames. Watching Ronald Weasley had become his new
obsession. A somewhat fanatical character, Severus had found himself bouncing
from one new favourite thing to another all his life. They could be people,
places, ideas, Potions �literally anything. He was used to the way his mind
worked, the thrill of a chase kept it captivated. And once he had caught his
prey, be it metaphorical or physical, he released, let go, and found something
else to focus on.

Except with lovers� it never really tends to work out that way� or it
didn�t with Lily�

No, lovers were very different,
Severus knew. And that was why he felt so ridiculous gazing after the Weasley
boy when he swanned through the castle corridors in
muddy Quidditch robes, or when he laughed at something in the morning Prophet
over his breakfast, or when he brushed his infernally long fringe out of his
eyes for the millionth time in an hour.

My, my, we really have been
watching closely, haven�t we, Severus?

�So much senseless loss,� someone
sighed nearby.

Severus wasn�t necessarily sure
he agreed that the fatalities sustained during the final battle were
�senseless�. Everybody there had fought with the same aim: the destruction of
the man that would bring their downfall. That had been as true of the Death
Eaters as it had been of those squaring up against the Dark Lord. All were generally
above age, all knew their cause, and Severus felt that his own death would only
have been a service, had it occurred as he presumed nature had intended.

And then you woke up cold and alone, drained of nearly every drop of
blood in your body�

He shivered remembering the weeks
he had spent recovering under the hawking gaze of Madam Pomfrey.
The witch was in the room somewhere, and she had never looked at him quite the
same way. Severus wondered if she was recalling the pallor of his skin during
those weeks, the haunted look in his eyes �the look of a man nearly promised
release from hell and then denied it, at the very last moment.

Severus never knew the incoherent
mumblings that had slipped from his lips the first nights in the infirmary, but
he could imagine the aging nurse�s look had a lot do with them.

A voice jerked him out of his
reverie.

�Oh, ignore him, not particularly
a Christmas person��

He asked about me? Brooding into the fire?� Severus fought back his smirk and looked up.

�Talking about you, not to you,�
Minerva sighed at him. �Ron was merely enquiring as to why, how did you put it,
dear? Why you looked like you were at a wake?�

�He always looks like that,�
Sprout whispered loudly. �But don�t worry; he�s rather enchanting when he
actually smiles.�

�When it happens, on that very
special day once a year,� Minerva added.

Severus threw each of them an
individual glare. �Next year, I�m withholding the wine.�

�Oh, do be quiet. If you wish us
to stop commenting on your sombre countenance, get up; treat us to a round of
�My Way�!� Flitwick interrupted, filling up his glass
again.

�I wouldn�t have had you as one
down for a bit of karaoke, Snape,� Ron�s voice was velvety and slithered
through the thick air like a snake.

�Oh he has the most beautiful
voice,� Sprout laughed. �Shame it�s normally screeching at somebody, eh?�

�I do not screech,� Severus protested indignantly.

Much.

�I�ll remind you of that the next
time somebody melts a cauldron,� one of the portraits on the wall muttered.

�Is it Official Gang Up on
Severus night or something ridiculous like that?� Severus got to his feet.

�No, that�s every day,� Sprout
filled up her glass. �But it�s rather more satisfying whilst we�re clearing
your stock of wine.�

Ron laughed and held his glass
out for a re-fill. �It�s nice wine. I don�t normally drink it, either.�

�Well don�t waste it,� Sprout
yanked the bottle back. �Not if you�re not going to appreciate it. He only
shares once a year, mean old sod.�

�Maybe you�ve had enough, Pomona, and you should
share with Weasley,� Severus rolled his eyes at the continual jabs at his
meagre generosity with his hard efforts.

�Trying to get me drunk, Snape?�
Ron raised his eyebrows and put the glass to his lips.

�I have no interest in cleaning
your vomit off the flagstones come the morning,�
Severus looked away.

�I bet I could drink you under
the table, old man.�

Those around them immediately
fell silent, waiting for Severus� reply and he arranged his face into
condescending disbelief. �I�m sure, Weasley. However, at least one of us should
be the adult here and decline such an eloquently issued challenge.�

Ron blinked once and then turned
and whispered, very loudly, �How drunk do we have to get him before he stops
with the poncy vocabulary?�

Bastard. Merely because I choose to embrace the English Language in its proper
form and you prefer to talk in ridiculous slang and abbreviations�

Severus didn�t protest when Flitwick filled up his glass. He felt as though he may well
need it to remain in the room.

�I remember this song from when I
was young,� Sprout suddenly proclaimed.

�Really, they had music back in
the stone age?� Severus quipped and ducked when the witch slung her arm out for
his head. It would never have reached, considering that she was far shorter
than him �but he knew from accidental experience, and seeing Lucius Malfoy
sprawled on his backside a few hours before dawn on the second of May 1998,
that Pomona Sprout had a deceptive amount of strength in her right fist.

�So is this it, are the gloves
off?� Minerva sighed despondently. �I do
wish as my deputies you would manage to behave yourselves at least until we�ve
all had enough of this not to care.�

�If my opinion is worth
anything,� Ron leant forward and smiled at his ex-Herbology professor, �I think
you could take him.�

Sprout cackled and threw her arm
around Ron�s waist when she realised she couldn�t reach his shoulders, making
him slop his drink everywhere.

***

Ron was far beyond �pleasantly�
buzzed. He had learnt something over the past three hours �that
Flitwick was small enough to top up one�s drink
without being noticed. Too late he realised that his glass had never made to
empty throughout the course of the night. Only now, when there were many yawns
and wilting faces, did he acknowledge that he had had far more to drink than he
had intended to.

Couldn�t have you embarrassing yourself at your first staff do, could
we?

He burped quietly into his hand and
stretched out in his armchair, sending his legs out as he unfurled his spine.

�I can�t wait to get home,�
someone nearby sighed and he looked up.

He had never paid his professors
much attention during his time at Hogwarts, but working amongst them he realised
how selfish that had been. They must have had lives, and spouses, maybe even
children �and yet during the term time they remained within the castle.

�I�d imagine Geoffrey can�t wait
to see you?�

�As usual didn�t want me to wait
to the morning,� the witch sighed.

Ron felt a pang of something in
his gut, it might have been jealousy but he wasn�t exactly sure.

�What about you, Ron?� he looked
up at the mention of his name, looking to one of his colleagues who hadn�t been
around the table in The Three Broomsticks the first week in September. �Do you
have somebody waiting for you at home?�

Ron opened his mouth to answer
before he noticed Snape�s eyes unsubtly sliding towards him over the carpet,
waiting for his answer.

Just ask him what his bloody problem is, again.

Ron didn�t let on that he knew,
but he would have had to have been a fool to have missed the fact that Severus
Snape spent an awful lot of time watching him.

�Just my mum, which
for a twenty-something I�m perfectly aware is pathetic,� he smiled.

�We�ll get you fixed up in no
time!� Sprout slurred drunkenly with a lecherous wink Ron hoped never to see
cross her kindly face again. �What�s your poison? Tall,
short, blonde, brunette?�

I can�t believe I�m drunk enough to consider answering this!

Ron made a face. �Hmm, tall, I
get neck ache looking down. Brunette generally, blondes are too� self-centred.�

�And redheads are too
hot-tempered,� a very blonde portrait snapped at him.

�Have you ever met a Malfoy?� Ron
asked pointedly.

There was a loud ungraceful snort
of laughter then and Ron looked up to see Snape choking slightly on his
mouthful of whiskey, which he noted the man had moved on to when the wine had
run out.

Let�s not go into how much I like a man that can knock a good malt backwards straight�

�What about age? Are you in the
market for someone of your own age?�

Ron groaned and there was more
laughter.

�You�ll never shut her up now,� Flitwick said unhelpfully, swinging his legs off the stool
on which he was perched. �I once ended up on a blind date with an Irish witch
in Mexico
because of her, you realise?�

Don�t laugh. Don�t laugh. Don�t laugh.

�Well?� Sprout asked expectantly.

�Uh, generally I like� tend to go
for older blokes,� Ron looked down in his lap as an interested mutter ran
through the room.

�Well, fancy that,� Sprout sighed
behind him. �I wonder where on earth you�d
find one of those �a gay dark-haired older man?�

It seemed that her question was
pointed but Ron couldn�t figure out whom to, as he couldn�t see her face. His
eyes flicked up and saw Snape shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

�It�s a shame we�ve no mistletoe
this year,� Sprout continued airily, and Snape�s face took on a definite look
of annoyance.

All the gay talk must be making him uncomfortable.

�My last partner was whilst I was
in Romania,�
Ron offered, giving the nosy people in the room enough to work with behind his
back. �Worked in the dragon reserve, was in his late thirties� actually�� he
rummaged in his pocket and yanked out his muggle wallet. �I have a picture.�

�Oooh!� there was a drunken chorus of happiness and
Ron shook his head disbelievingly at the fact that women apparently didn�t
change, no matter how old they got. He passed the picture back over his head.

�Oh well dear me, look at that.�

�Dear Godric, they don�t make �em like that in England.�

�We need more male teachers,� Ron
heard Snape mutter and laughed, looking up at him.

�Yeah, but, Snape, now they�ve
got the picture they�re busy, right?�

�I suppose you have a valid
point,� Snape sent him a begrudging smidgen of a smile, and looked away.

�Severus, here, see!� Sprout walked over and thrust the picture at him.

Oh, this should be good�

�What makes you think I have any
interest in seeing any of Weasley�s ex-lovers?� Snape
sneered, though his onyx eyes slid down to look at the picture.

�Why on earth is he an ex?�

�Because we didn�t want to do
long distance,� Ron shrugged. And because
he was in love with the third member of the threesome and I didn�t want to
spend my life as the third wheel� again�

�Ah, but, absence makes the heart
grow fonder,� Minerva wagged a finger at him.

�And the chance for straying
greater,� Ron laughed, before he realised that Snape had spoken at exactly the
same time, with nearly the same words. �Ah, so, we finally find a wavelength to
meet on.�

�I suppose, but then I wouldn�t
know.�

�When�s that ever stopped you
from sticking your ore in?� Minerva slapped her deputy on the shoulder and
giggled as her hat lurched lopsided.

�So do you miss your muscled
Romanian lover?� Sprout posed the question perching on the arm of Snape�s
armchair, which tipped slightly in accordance to her heavy weight and Snape�s
relatively light one.

The look on the sour man�s face
was priceless as he was forced to grab hold of the woman to stop her from going
flying onto the floor. Ron couldn�t bat away the smirk which sprung onto his
lips as Snape caught his eye.

�Him, yes�� Ron took a mouthful
of wine when he felt able. �The dragon dung stench, not so much.�

�So you stayed out there with
your brother Charlie?�

�Yeah, slept on his sofa for a
year,� Ron grimaced.

�How very productive,� Snape
sneered and drank some whiskey.

�It was, actually, do you know
how much work it takes to keep a reserve like that going?� Ron asked pointedly.
�I was put to good use, and entirely voluntarily.�

�What were you hiding from?�
Snape asked shrewdly.

�Everything,� Ron shrugged. �I
make no lies about that. I�d had enough.�

�Why did you leave the Aurors?�
Minerva asked interestedly. �You were always in the papers, Ron, being honoured
for this or that, you were good at your job.�

�Lies, all lies,� he insisted to
a round of protesting scowls. �No, seriously� I� my heart wasn�t in it. I would
have been better if it was.�

�There was that nasty business in
the paper where you were attacked?� Flitwick posed
delicately.

�Yeah, I don�t talk about that,�
Ron shuddered, and the creeping sensation plunged straight into the nape of his
neck and made him visibly quiver.

There was a large yawn then and
Ron looked at Snape.

�Am I boring you?�

�Everyone bores Severus, don�t
mind him.�

***

The night had worn even later and
Severus had had far too many glasses of whiskey than was safe for being around
work colleagues. He knew he should haul himself out of the chair and slope off
to the dungeons to sleep off the alcohol but he was unable to make himself.
Many people had already left, so he wouldn�t have been the first, but there was
something keeping him cemented to his seat cushion.

The fact that Ron Weasley is still sitting opposite you, clearly
tanked, and eating his way through that bowl of chocolate covered strawberries
like the best damned whore there ever was. Shit.

Glad he was still wearing his
overlarge teaching robes so that his erection might be hidden, Severus watched
a glistening pink tongue slide out to wipe chocolate from the corners of the
redhead�s mouth.

Me, that should be my tongue, cleaning him up, messing him up and
cleaning him up� oh Jesus.

Ron sucked his fingers clean of
chocolate and set the bowl down on the low table in between them. It was a
moment before Severus recognised that he�d been spoken to.

�You can finish those, seeing as
you can�t keep your eyes off them, Snape. Apparently your petty rivalry has
extended past the custard.�

�Ach, you two and
your blasted custard!� Minerva shouted grumpily from where she was
attempting to tempt Sprout out of a chair and off to her quarters.

Not wanting to be outdone,
Severus shifted forwards in his chair and waited for his head to clear of the
dizzying fog before he moved again. Ron was watching with a teasing smile on
his face.

�You�re pissed,� he declared, the
words slurring.

�No more than you are,� Severus
assured him, and grabbed for the bowl, congratulating himself
mentally as he managed to bring it to his lap without mishap. He picked up a
big strawberry and demolished it in one go, yanking
off the greenery at the top.

�You can�t have them if you�re
going to waste them!� Ron groaned.

Severus chewed with a frown on
his face. �Waste? I assure you, Weasley, I�m enjoying
them every bit as much as you were over there with your little show.�

Ron stared at him evenly, clearly
thinking about his next words before he spoke again. �You have to eat them
slowly to really enjoy them.�

He leant forward in his seat and
plucked one from the bowl, making Severus� heart accelerate as the pale hand
hovered near his crotch, and proceeded to decimate the poor fruit in a way
which had Severus immediately hard and slightly sticky in his pants. The tongue
was back as straight white teeth cracked through the set milk chocolate and
carried it away.

Sweet Circe he�s a daemon sent to tempt me.

His personal daemon finished the
fruit and licked his fingers again.

�I think I prefer my way,�
Severus picked up another. �Rough, fast, a burst of flavour.�

Why? Why in the name of bloody FUCKING Godric would you say that,
Severus? Why not just hand your sexuality to him on a sodding
platter and have him offer it around the room? Dear
Lord.

Ron snorted. �Well, I suppose if
you�re that desperate for the flavour��

Ouch, little prick.

�Boys, boys, I�ve finally got her
up!�

Ron put his hands together in
enthusiastic applause and Minerva�s hat fell completely off as she laughed at
his humour.

�I�ll drop her off in one of the
free rooms and then be off to bed myself. I can�t manage her all the way down
to her quarters. See you bright and early for breakfast.�

Both men watched as the witches
shuffled off. Before they made it to the door, Sprout burst out singing,
something about sipping champagne on a yacht and having been to paradise but
never been to herself. Ron managed to wait until the door banged shut behind
them before he fell apart laughing and slumped back in his chair, his head
tilting back as he snorted.

Severus watched with wide eyes,
feeling like he was intruding on something far more personal than a bout of
drunken laughter. His chest heated as he watched the gentle bouncing of the
redhead�s stomach with his giggling, and the way his nose wrinkled slightly.

And the way that bloody fringe rolls in his eyes worse than normally.

Finally, the laughter stopped and
Ron sniffed and took a deep mouthful of the whiskey that Severus noticed he had
switched onto. �God, I�m a bit drunker than I thought I�d be.�

�It�s Flitwick,�
Severus dismissed him, picking up another strawberry. �He�s a bloody miniature
menace. Channelling Albus� spirit to get everybody absolutely
rat-arsed.�

�I know, he just kept filling it
up and I never even noticed!� Ron gestured with his glass, making an �ah fuck
it all� face. He took another mouthful.

One of the clocks chimed out a
very early hour of the morning and Severus sighed, throwing down the stalk of
his departed strawberry onto the wooden table.

�How did we end up the last ones left?� Ron frowned.

�God knows,� Severus muttered,
and heaved himself up out of his armchair for the first time in two hours. �Ohhhh�� his pained groan wasn�t usually something he would
let happen in front of anybody else, but his inhibitions were too lowered by
the booze he�d been plugged with.

�Alright?�
Ron asked, looking up at him with wide, pretty eyes.

Pretty eyes which will be my absolute
undoing.

�Just a little�� Don�t say stiff. �Well, I�m not as young
as I once was, Weasley,� he sniffed, and ambled slowly to the window, which had
snow drifting past it.

�I get that,� Ron heaved himself
up and knocked the last of his drink back.

Before Severus knew what was
happening, the redhead was level with him at the window sill, and he was
looking out at the scenery with a peaceful expression.

�I love this view,� he breathed,
reaching out to wipe the window clean of condensation. �Could look at it
forever.�

�Trust me, if you stay here as long as the rest of us have, you�ll soon get
bored of it.�

�I think that�s rather sad,� Ron
rolled his head sideways and gave Severus a pitying look.

He merely shrugged in answer.
�I�m off to bed, Weasley.�

�Oh�� Ron said, and Severus�
heart leapt at the faint trace of disappointment he heard there.

�What?� he asked, folding his
arms over his chest.

�Nothing, I�m just� I don�t sleep
when I�m drunk so�I��

Ah, and yet, I doubt you�d like my suggestions of keeping you occupied
by stuffing my cock in your mouth�

Severus huffed
his frustration at the filthy thoughts floating through his mind. He needed to
get to bed and stroke out his pent up desire with his hand and fall asleep.

Which is totally bloody pathetic for a man
in his forties�

�How�s your Quidditch thing
coming on?� he offered, not knowing why he wasn�t turning on his heel and
immediately leaving to wank.

�Bah, fucking Ministry hobos��
Ron muttered. �They won�t give clearance� if they leave it any later I�ll have
to do it next year; can�t expect kids to practice, play for their teams and do
exams in such short notice. We�ll have a mass fucking breakdown on our hands.�

�Seven students do not equal a
mass,� Severus pointed out.

�Well, fourteen,� Ron corrected.
�I would want a reserve member for every single player.�

Severus looked at him. �I would
not have considered that.�

�Well thass why you�re the potions bloke and I�m the
Quidditch bloke.�

�You�re the Quidditch bloke
because Minerva was desperate,� Severus snorted and lent back on the
windowsill.

�And you�re the potions dungeon
bloke because you burn if you go into the sunlight, I remember,� Ron rolled his
eyes and looked moodily out of the window.

�Yes, it does rather put a dent
in my schedule,� Severus sighed and looked down at his boots, yawning.

�Why are you so bloody pale?� Ron
asked curiously. �It�s like you�ve never seen the sun.�

�You�re hardly winning any
competitions for the best tanned yourself, Weasley,� Severus muttered.

�I�m a redhead, we�re meant to be pale. Blokes like you though, all your dark
hair� you�re meant to be all tanned or olive skinned and you�re��

�I�m what?� Severus looked at him
beadily, sure he wasn�t going to like whatever answer came forth out of Ron�s
mouth.

�You�re just a bit� pasty,� Ron
laughed, and dropped his head to rub at the nape of his neck. �And skinny.�

�I wish I had a kettle, Weasley,
I�d introduce it to you, �kettle, here�s pot, he�s black�.�

Ron laughed again and shook his
head. �Why do you have to be such hard work, Snape?�

�You consider yourself easy?�
Severus raised an eyebrow.

A smirk blossomed onto
deliciously strawberry-stained lips and Ron replied, �I�m easy when I want to
be.�

�When you�re on your back being
fucked by your latest conquest no doubt,� Severus muttered, and then froze as
he realised what his quick mouth had done.

�Well, yeah, I suppose,� Ron
shrugged, taking it in his stride. �But then� well. I�m not normally the one
being fucked.�

Severus nearly choked on thin
air. Not a submissive� oh sweet Merlin�
imagine the�No! Severus, leave!

�Don�t kill yourself,
Snape,� Ron�s voice had taken on a definite moodiness and Severus looked at him
questioningly. �Not everybody likes gays, I get it. You don�t have to be so
rude about it though.�

�I�m not rude,� Severus insisted. �No ruder about it than I am anything else. I
have already told you that your sexuality poses no problem to me.�

�Well then why are you such an
arse?� Ron sighed. �And if you don�t stop being an arse, can you at least stop slagging me off to your students?�

�I have never!� Severus growled.

�Really?
I seem to remember Dunn implying that you thought I was a doxy short of a nest
before he whacked me with his damned beater�s bat. What were you doing, Snape,
cheering inside or something?�

�This is�pointless,� Severus
closed his eyes and pushed off the sill, aiming for the door.

�Not even man enough to stand
here and tell me?� Ron teased.

The lilt of his voice was just
too much for Severus to resist, and he whirled around, eyes burning.

�Alright, I don�t need yelling
at,� Ron held up his hand, catching the completely wrong end of the stick of
Severus� passion, and he shook his head, face blushing. �It�s bed time, I get
it.�

He moved out into the centre of
the room and extinguished half of the candles. Severus heard his large sucking intake
of air.

�You like the smell of the candle
smoke?� he asked quietly, as Ron inhaled one of his favourite scents in the
world.

�Yeah,� Ron�s voice dropped to a
low rumble. �Reminds me of being little. Candles on the birthday cake.�

Severus didn�t volunteer the
information that he liked it for exactly the same reason. But there was enough
light left in the room for Ron to see that his face had softened, and the
redhead pounced on his chance.

�I don�t like being at odds with
you all the time,� he said quietly. �Can�t you� whatever it is�can�t you just
get over it? Tonight�s been� you�re quite� fun to be around.�

Something in Severus snapped
then, and his indignant side roared to life. �Don�t sound so surprised.�

�No, I just� you�ve been an arse
so far and then��

�I can drink like everybody else,
Weasley,� Severus narrowed his eyes, the alcohol fuelling his stand-offish
responses. �Or don�t you feel that I deserve a little peace and happiness these
days?�

�Stop it,� Ron screwed up his
face. �Stop fucking twisting my words, you greasy bastard.�

�What did you just call me?� Severus� mouth fell open.

There was anger at the insult, of
course there was� -very
few people had ever insulted him since he�d reached adulthood and not felt the
wrath of his temper. But in his chest something seemed to squelch beneath the
weight of the words, those which seemed to confirm that the redhead saw him as
unattractive.

Which you are, let�s not be unrealistic here�

�I called you a greasy bastard,�
Ron muttered. �Want me to carry on, to give you the reason to hex my bollocks
off? Well fine! I really think you should invest in a fucking shower! Wash! You
might get a fucking shag then, and then you wouldn�t
be so fucking uptight about everything!�

�Have I ever commented on your personal appearance?� Severus forced his
voice to a deadly low drawl.

�No, but come on, you provoke me
and then turn like this!� Ron gestured with his hands. �I didn�t mean to��

�Regardless of what you meant, you still did,� Severus pointed out and walked
calmly to the staffroom door.

�Don�t leave,� Ron sighed. �Look,
I�m sorry, Snape-�

�Is this remorse from our resident heartthrob?� forcing a sneer onto his
lips to battle the hurt surprisingly trying to drag him into despair, Severus
put his hand on the doorknob. �Once he has grown up and realised not everybody
has been blessed with such dashing good looks as he has?�

Keeping the sneer on his face
Severus flicked his eyes up and down Ron�s form and tried to imply that he
didn�t agree with the rest of the school�s glowing assessment. He felt a stab
of satisfaction in his veins as hurt sparkled in the sapphire eyes and Ron�s
shoulders slumped.

�If you cannot take personal
insults, Weasley, don�t dish them out �I have spent longer than you have been
alive dealing with those who believed me ugly and worthless.�

Fucking Flitwick, I�ll murder him as he
sleeps for all that alcohol.

With one last contemptuous look,
Severus yanked open the door and stormed into the corridor, letting it bang
shut behind him.

***

Ron sank down into Snape�s
vacated chair and groaned, dropping his face into his hands.

You fucking prick. Had to take it to the next level, didn�t you? You
always have to take it too fucking far. Just because he�s an ugly bastard
doesn�t mean he wants to be told that he is.

�Shut up,� he hissed at himself. �Idiot.�

He felt regretful for speaking
the way he had, but he didn�t like the man who had just departed in a whirl of
oppressive black robes any more than when the evening had started.

It was looking positive in the middle there, and with the strawberries�

His cloudy mind remembered the
fruit and looked over to the left bowl, and Snape�s discarded stalk on the
wood. Frowning, Ron reached out for it, twiddling it in between his fingers.
Now that he thought on it, the whole thing with the strawberries had been
rather strange, the way that Snape had sat and conversed with him about them.

How did he describe it? Rough, fast, a burst of flavour� sounds like he
was talking about copping off�

Sinking back into the man�s
chair, Ron stared at the greenery in between his fingertips, wondering if Snape
had been mocking him somehow, working in the sexual innuendo and expecting Ron
to miss it so that he could laugh at him.

Or maybe he put the sexual innuendo in because he�s a horny sod who�s
not had a woman in ages?

Snorting at his drunken mind, Ron
flicked the strawberry top away and didn�t look to see where it landed.
Instead, he pushed himself out of the seat and crossed the now-silent room, and
extinguished the lights before leaving.

***

Severus couldn�t remember the
last time a comment had hurt so much, or the last time, more accurately, that
he had let one.

And you enjoyed hurting him back, you evil old bastard. But he did
deserve it, he had no right�

Exhaling and looking glumly up at
the canopy of his four-poster bed, Severus willed the room to stop spinning. He
had been too angry to waste time looking for the correct sobering solution and
had landed fully dressed on his bed. Bringing a hand up to rub viciously at his
eyes, he tried to unsuccessfully chase the thought of Ron from his mind.

He failed, miserably, and simply
thought of the way the man had looked so freely draped in an armchair thanks to
his inebriation. And what was worse, Severus found, was that he could no more
easily rid himself of the well-worn picture of the boy�s last lover, a muscled,
smiling happy man who was at the complete opposite of the spectrum to Severus
himself.

And now we know what he really thinks, it�s very clear he�s look and
don�t touch. Even if he should only ever have been that from
the start.

What Severus hated the most, as
he lay there, was that it felt like it was rejection. But it couldn�t be,
really, as he had never asked, never expressed his interest and certainly never
confessed his orientation.

Well, Merry fucking Christmas, Severus, as always. Loneliness,
what a wonderful gift.

***

Ron looked a little
apprehensively at the Staff Room door and wondered what was behind it. He
hadn�t been in the room since the night things had ended so badly between
himself and Snape �a night he had found himself feeling guilty about throughout
the entire Christmas break.

His original plan had been to
stay at the castle a few days before heading home, but after his rudeness, when
he had cleared his hangover the morning after, Ron decided to just make a break
for it and left for The Burrow as soon as he had been able. His mother had been
thrilled to see him and it had been straightforward to forget how guilty he
felt over insulting the man.

As Ron had told himself many
times over the days he�d been away from Hogwarts, he was meant to be an adult,
and yet he still found himself insulting the man�s physical appearance. To his
face, which was more than he had ever managed as a student. Thoroughly ashamed
of himself, Ron stood looking at the door, afraid to enter it. Sooner or later,
he knew, someone else would want to enter, or leave, and standing outside it
was pointless.

He might not even be in there yet, the meeting isn�t for a while�

With that in mind, Ron took hold
of the old fashioned latch and released the bolt, and pushed through into the
staff room.

�Hello you!� the chorus came out and Ron grinned at their welcoming cheer. He
swept his eyes around the room and almost thought he might have gotten away
with it, but then he spotted Snape, sat in a chair near the window that they
had spoken at, reading the paper with his ankle over his knee.

Bah, of course he�s here, my luck is absolutely shite.

Ron crossed to the tea station
and set about making himself a mug of tea to ease his nerves, and wondered how
he should go about making his amends. The time for hiding was over.

My mother is insistent that tea solves everything. Maybe tea can solve
this.

Moving quickly so that nobody
would ask who the second cup was for, Ron made a
strong cup of tea and then levitated it, keeping it low, to the table by the
man�s side. He placed the cup gently and then quickly turned away so he
wouldn�t have to meet Snape�s eyes. He picked up his cup and made his way to a
free seat on the opposite side of the room, but not being brave enough to look
anywhere but the floor. Dropping down into the old squishy cushions, he chewed
on his lip and wondered what he should say.

***

Severus stared at the cup of tea
like it had grown legs and was doing a tap dance around the tabletop. His eyes
flicked to Ron, who was sitting down on the other side of the room, his face
slightly paler than usual.

Guilty conscience? Bloody fabulous.
Long may it stay that way!

He did, however, lean forward and
pick up the mug because he was thirsty.

And because he made it.

Shaking his head irritably,
Severus turned a page of the Prophet and tried to focus on what the dishrag of
the wizarding world had to say for the morning, but found himself
unable to really pay attention.

�All right, all right, another
year to start,� Minerva called.

�Another fifty grey hairs,�
someone sighed, and Severus smirked yet again at his jet black hair.

�Only a few
announcements, really. The centaurs had a to-do over Christmas, it was
rather ugly and Hagrid has been unable to get into
the forest. I need every student kept out of there until we�re sure what�s
going on. So no detentions in the forest, are we understood?�

�Nobody bothers anymore, they�re
not scared,� Flitwick pointed out.

�I�m moving Care of Magical
Creatures further away from the forest to be safe.�

And nobody bothers with that any more, either, as that bumbling oaf can
barely speak, let alone teach.

�Ron had some very welcome news
yesterday �the Ministry have finally approved the tournament, it�ll take place
in the two weeks after the summer term ends.�

�What, you mean, students in the
school beyond the end date?� Severus frowned.

�Yes, is that a problem,
Severus?�

�Well, none of us were asked if
we minded giving up our spare time��

�It was my next point,� Minerva
glared at him. �Don�t feel obligated.�

�I won�t,� Severus muttered, and
sank back into his armchair.

�Which schools are competing?� Flitwick asked excitedly.

�Beauxbatons
and Durmstrang, of course, but Ron managed to cajole
the Italians in for a penny too.�

�Blimey, they never compete in anything!�

�Who�d you sleep with, Weasley?�
Severus threw across the room with an arched eyebrow. �Considering you admit to
liking brunettes��

�Severus!� Minerva hissed.

�What? I am merely pointing out that Italy is full of brunettes� with olive toned skin,� Severus tagged on the
end and narrowed his eyes maliciously.

Ron flushed and put down his mug.
�I was just polite, and I think now the war�s over
they were more willing. It�s going to be great, we�ve never really seen the
talent at their school but their players are in so many of our English clubs its
unbelievable!�

�A very
prosperous occasion for the school to hold, no?� Minerva looked around
at her staff and purposefully ignored Severus. �Anyway.
We will need to move quickly in assembling our team. I�m sure you�ll agree with
me after his wonderful job last term we need look no further for our coach.�

She gestured at Ron and Severus
rolled his eyes.

Am I the only one that remembers that he spent a whole afternoon
unconscious in the hospital wing with a cracked skull?

�That reminds me, Ron,� Minerva
said suddenly. �We must talk about those first years you want to put in early
for their BPT.�

�Ooh, early
fliers, eh?� Someone queried.

�They�re great. There�s really no
point in them wasting their time with me any more, to be honest.�

Severus scowled and remembered
failing his Broomstick Proficiency Test on his first attempt at the age of
twelve. Potter and Black had ribbed him about it for weeks. Even firmly into his
forties, Severus still disliked broom travel. And it was just typical that Ron
seemed not only competent himself on a broom in his adulthood but was a good
teacher, too.

Just typical.

�So, I ask my Heads of Houses to
consider this week the players they would like to put forward. There isn�t an
age cap, which was really what held the Ministry up. I�d rather second years weren�t entered, on the quiet, but I�ll leave it down to Ron
to decide overall. Please see him to give him your decisions, you can select up
to seven for try-outs, alright? Not necessarily members of the current house
team, either.�

Severus didn�t bother to nod his
acknowledgement. He knew exactly who one of his players was going to be, and a
satisfying smirk curled up his lips when he thought of the trouble Ron had
ahead of him.

***

I hate paper work. I really, really hate it.

Ron slumped in his desk chair and
threw himself back precariously on two legs, propping his feet against the
wall. They were three days into term and he had three days until try-outs for
their tournament squad, and the last Head, typically Snape, had only handed him
his list the hour before.

Reaching out and grabbing the
scroll off the desk, Ron broke through the green seal and unravelled it. He
looked at the names and agreed with several of them and then he nearly
fell off his chair.

�Oh you�ve got to be fucking
kidding me!� He burst out, raising it closer to his
eyes and peering at it through the reading glasses he rarely admitted he wore. �For fuck�s sake!�

Throwing himself out of the chair
with the scroll in hand, he snatched some Floo powder out of the jar on the
mantelpiece and thrust it in.

�Severus Snape�s office,� he
hissed as he stepped into the flames.

A short ride through the castle�s
Floo system, Ron�s stomach didn�t have time to jump around, but his glasses did
go a little skewiff and he stumbled stepping off the
hearth.

�Weasley, don�t you knock?� Snape
drawled, looking up from his desk.

�I don�t knock when I�ve just
received stupid news,� Ron growled, and pushed the glasses straight, really
wishing he had remembered to take them off before he�d travelled; wearing them
in front of Snape felt far too private, as did the loose scruffy hoodie and jeans he had changed into when he�d dried off from
the wet grounds.

�What has our talented flying
instructor in such a tiz, I wonder?� Snape asked, not moving from his position
behind the desk, where he was clearly marking.

�You damn well know what,� Ron
advanced nearer, gripping the flattened scroll in his hand. �Snape, he�s
suspended, you suspended him.�

�Well, yes, from inter-house
games,� Snape said, in a tone clearly meant to be innocent. �At the time no
clarification was given over any other types of game. He�s a keen player with
an interest in the leagues.�

�Like any league coach would put
up with having their collarbone broken by a player!� Ron protested.

�Like any league coach would let
him get out of line enough in the first
place for such a misconduct of behaviour to occur,� Snape corrected him.

Ron�s mouth fell open in twisted
rage and he let out a growl of frustration. �No,� he said bluntly. �Not
happening, Snape. Not when this is just because I got a bit drunk and said the
wrong thing.�

�Thank you for the apologetic cup
of tea, by the way,� Snape rolled his eyes. �Shame it tasted like hippogriff
urine, but there we go.�

�Are you really this petty, Snape?� Ron fumed, gesturing to his letter. �I�m
sorry. I�ll say it again. Would you like me to announce to the whole school
that I think you�re beautiful or something ridiculous like that to revoke my
greasy bastard comment?�

�Ah, look at that Gryffindor
guilty conscience come into play far too late,� Snape sighed and finally set
down his quill with annoying elegance that Ron felt he would never be able to
match in a million years. �Shame you didn�t think of it before it would even
have been needed� no. Dunn will try out on Saturday and I expect you to give
him a fair trial, Weasley, or I will be seeing the Headmistress.�

�She�d be on my side,� Ron
pointed out. �She wanted to expel him.�

Snape merely stared at him and
Ron shivered in the cool air of the dungeon room. It was then he realised that
he hadn�t been in Snape�s office since he was a student, and it was still so
very dank and cold.

I�m fucking cornered. He�ll have to try out with the rest of them just
to let Snape have his little victory. Shit and arse.

�Fine,� Ron muttered, and
instinctively turned back to the fire.

�I don�t keep Floo powder, you�ll
have to walk,� Snape said boredly, his dark eyes
dipping down as if to point out that Ron was only in his socks. �One generally
tends to put on more clothes to visit their colleague�s offices, maybe you
should remember that.�

Ron thought about replying, but
didn�t want to dig his hole any deeper. Snape had clearly won the round and he
couldn�t fight his way out of it without making himself look difficult. If he
said to Minerva he didn�t want the boy trying out, he looked as though he were
shying away from a challenge. All he could do was hope that the selection of
other students would outfly the troublemaker.

Which is a huge possibility, because
Hufflepuff have beaters built like brick shit houses this year.

�Thank you for finally deigning to get me your list,�
Ron said cordially before he yanked open the office door. �Maybe next time you
could pull it out of your arse a little quicker?

He slammed the door behind him
and stomped angrily down the corridor.

***

Dear God he looks even better dressed as a muggle student dropout� and
those glasses�

Severus leant back in his chair
and looked up at the dungeon ceiling, his mind running over the sight of the
six foot two redhead dressed in low slung jeans, faded beyond all sense, ripped
at one knee. He could almost tell the way that the waistband barely clung to
the narrow hips, even though it had been covered by the ridiculously large
hooded black jumper.

And the glasses, don�t forget the glasses�

The frames had been stylish,
black, plastic, somewhat retrograde but on his face
looked youthful. The long, thin rectangular glasses set off his cheekbones.

And then there was the fact that
the redhead was even more beautiful riled by his anger. Severus shifted as the
pressure in his groin grew a little harder. With a sigh he reached down and dug
the heel of his palm into it, groaning at the contact.

And he really doesn�t appear to have the slightest clue how he does
this to me. Unbelievable. Talk about being fucking
blind.

Severus sat up straight and
picked up his quill again, returning to the fifth year essay he was correcting,
and smiled to himself. He had only wanted to provoke the redhead, who had
fallen straight into his trap.

Petty as it was, Severus felt
better, and settled to his marking.

***

Ron smirked and gripped his broom
triumphantly. His trial scheme was working perfectly and Snape�s attempt at
sabotage had failed, because his upstart had just been out-flown by two other
beaters. Scoring fairly, Ron couldn�t deny how pleased he was. Of course, he�d
be on the reserve team, but Ron could handle that.

It made him every bit as juvenile
as Snape, he knew, but when he posted the list on the hall in the Great Hall
later that afternoon, he would feel a great deal of satisfaction.

He might even send a conciliatory
cup of tea.
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