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Death Eater Takes a Holiday	By : LeeLeePotter Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 42271 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 35
- 36
- 37
Chapter 37 Apology

Blackness faded into a blurry gray. Light was starting to
shine on his face. He couldn't really feel his body, still not fully awake. �Am
I on a stone floor?' Harry asked himself. There were noises of metal against
metal. He was briefly reminded of a show he'd seen as a child of a man clanking
a tin cup on the bars of his cell. It would explain the stone floor. A loud
voice was heard in the distance. It was a familiar voice, but much too loud.
Very loud. Harry could vaguely make out the words. Something about removing the
bodies and airing out the place. He could sense being levitated off the stone
floor. He didn't particularly care about where he was going, as long as it was
away from the very loud voice. He thought he could hear some quiet laughter,
but wasn't sure, and anything quiet was nice.

Several hours and a few odd dreams later, Harry once again
began to gain consciousness, moving his head around to see where he was. He
immediately realized moving was a bad idea, as his head had felt like it was
going to explode, and blades of grass were now tickling his nose. When he dared
to open his eyes, the unconscious face of one Ron Weasley greeted him. The sun
was shining brightly, and reflected off the line of drool that was oozing from
Ron's mouth into the grass. Harry could only wish to be drooling, as it seemed
all moisture had left his mouth long ago. "Merlin, I'll never drink
again," he told himself aloud.

"Until next time, right Harry?" said a deep, rough
voice. Harry brought himself up to a sitting position. Bad idea.

"Hey, Charlie", Harry said lazily with a smile,
his eyes squinting from the sun. "Were you here last night?" he
couldn't say he remembered seeing Charlie, but with a houseful of Weasleys, who
could tell?

"You could say that. I got here somewhere between last
night and early this morning," he said, helping Harry off the ground.
"I told Mum I would stay mostly sober and watch over the party when she
and Dad went off to bed."

"Did our side win?" Harry asked comically when he
noticed the line of sleeping bodies strewn across the grass. It looked like a
battlefield, with casualties abound. Behind Ron were Seamus Finnegan and a few
other friends. He wasn't sure, but one looked like Neville. Charlie laughed,
assuring Harry that they had been victorious in the fight against sobriety.

"Mum wanted to get started on breakfast and cleaning
up, so she asked Ginny and me to bring you lot out in the sun to air out a
bit." explained Charlie. "She's in the kitchen now, banging pots and
pans, cooking up a storm." Harry grimaced at he memory of said banging.
Charlie tilted his head, gesturing for Harry to come with him. "Come 'ere,
I've got a present for you. I think you�re going to like it," he said with
a wink.

Harry and the second Weasley son entered through the front
door, slipping up the stairs, with Molly none the wiser. Harry couldn't wait
until he got up the stairs, away from all the racket of Molly in the kitchen.

"I know I'm hung-over and all, but I don't remember
your mum being that loud before," Harry groaned. Charlie snorted.

"She gets louder when someone in the house has a
hangover. It's her subtle way of discouraging excessive drinking." Charlie
shook his head as if he was still in disbelief of her actions, or that she
still did that after all these years. "Bill and me stopped coming home
nights, once we realized what she was doing. Percy never figured it out, but
then he hardly ever partied like the rest of us." Charlie led Harry up the
stairs. Harry was grateful for the hand on his lower back, guiding him, as he
couldn't see very well and his legs were a bit shaky. "You're lucky Harry;
as a guest she gives you a break. Didn't you notice most the people out on the
grass weren't family?"

"I think, if I were a guest, I would complain about
being put outside on the grass; but since I woke up on a stone floor earlier, I
guess the grass was an improvement," mused Harry.

Charlie chortled guidguided him into the loo. When he
questioned Harry about feeling his way around the sink, Harry explained to him
that he had worn contacts last night, but took them out sometime after midnight
when they felt like they were starting to congeal to his eyeballs. Harry braced
himself against the sink as Charlie put toothpaste on the brush for him. Harry
was equally grateful for the help and the toothbrush he kept at their house.
Charlie slipped out while Harry brushed and freshened up.

The now fully trained wizard stood at the sink squinting at
his reflection in the mirror. His pants, unbuttoned, hung precariously low on
his hips; his tee was discarded on the floor. He leaned over, bracing his
forearms on the sink edges, holding his aching self up for a few minutes before
pushing up to a shaky upright position. He scrunched up the worn towel in his
face to keep out the light. Charlie admired his lithe form from the hall. As he
stepped closer, he could just make out the faint lines of a fading bite mark on
Harry's shoulder.

Charlie leaned against Harry, wrapping his arms around the
younger man�s shoulders, bending his head to Harry�s neck and whispering into
his ear, "Did you know you call his name in your sleep?" he teased.
Harry had been leaning into him like a wet noodle, but was now frozen by the
words. "Relax, Love, I'm winding you up," Charlie soothed. "Ron
falls for that one, too." Harry relaxed again. " He wasn't here last
night, but you got someone, right?" said Charlie, more of a statement than
a question. Harry nodded his head, asking how he could tell. "You don't
blush anymore when you see me," he started. Harry smiled, remembering how
he used to turn crimson every time he was in the same room with Charlie, ever
since they�d shared a kiss a year or so ago. "And you have a bite mark
that hasn't completely faded�right here," he punctuated the words by
placing a chaste kiss to the mark. Harry was relaxed, he always felt safe with
Charlie. He enjoyed when the man flirted with him. Charlie never crossed the
line of harmless flirting. No one else had treated Harry like that; it was one
of the times he felt normal.

"Did you say you had a gift for me, or are you just
happy to see me?" asked Harry comically. Charlie snorted and pressed
against him. Harry was shocked to feel hardness behind him. Charlie reached
deep into his robe pocket; Harry could feel his hand between them as the
redhead found what he was reaching for and placed it into Harry's hand. Harry couldn't believe his eyes. It was just
what he needed. His hands shaking, he readily opened his mouth and greedily
drank down the bottle of hangover cure. "Mmm� Charlie, you're the
best," groaned Harry happily. It was a well-appreciated gift.

"Could you keep it down? That's just disturbing,"
said Ginny, as she entered the bathroom with an armful of fresh towels. Harry
hadn't even realized the door was still open, not that it mattered. Charlie
held open the cupboard door as she placed the towels on the shelves.

"Ginny, I thought you were comfortable with my
sexuality?" Charlie asked, pulling his little sister in for a hug, and
then rubbing his knuckles on top of her head. Harry wasn't really sure if they
were being serious or not. He chose to remain silent.

"Oh, I'm fine with it," she said with a smile.
"But if Harry's going to moan a Weasley name, I just hate knowing it's not
mine," she said, grabbing the wet towels and leaving with a flick of her
hair. Ginny and Harry hadn't been that
close after she had tried to save face when he had out-and-out turned down her
advances. When she discovered Harry wasn't attracted to girls, it had boosted
her self-confidence and their friendship. Her relaxed attitude around him since
then had made visits to the Burrow much more comfortable.

Harry had been about to head down for breakfast with
Charlie, when he realized Ginny had swiped up his tee shirt along with the
towels on the floor. The attractive dragon handler tossed him a shirt from his
bag, and they set down the stairs in search of sustenance.

During breakfast, Molly suspected that Harry had gotten hold
of a hangover cure. He had a hearty appetite, while the majority of other
guests who also spent the night were sipping tea and nibbling on toast as
quietly as possible. Molly was always at her best when feeding a crew, and
Harry was usually all too willing to be fed. "Hedwig was here for you earlier,
but she refused to allow Arthur to untie your letter," said Molly, loading
more bacon onto his plate. Harry's eyes grew wide. With all the commotion of
finishing school, and then his talk with Severus, he had forgotten Hedwig at
Hogwarts. "When she couldn't wake you, she took off again."

Harry wondered if the letter had come from Severus. Albus
knew the Weasley family had a party, and would make a fire call if it were
important.

Arthur had recognized the emblem on the wax seal as Snape's.
It wasn't the usual seal he used, but the one recognized by the Order. He
wanted to tell Harry this, but didn't want to say so in front of mixed company.
He settled for something vague.

"Maybe the letter was regarding your summer
schedule," Mr. Weasley said cryptically, sipping his tea, studying Harry's
reaction. "I believe Professor Dumbledore had mentioned you would take a
class or two in defense." That was an understatement if he had ever heard
one. Harry would be spending several days a week in training, with Severus
Snape and some unnamed Order member teaching him. Harry didn't know how he felt
about getting a letter from Severus. Part of him was inwardly cheering that Sev
was at least contacting him, but the other part of him was still just hurt from
the man's reaction to Harry�s love for him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Earlier that morning, Severus Snape was pacing around his
private quarters. It had taken him the better part of an hour to write the
letter to Harry. In it, he apologized for being so curt with Harry the morning
after he�d healed Severus. He explained that he hadn't realized he was healed
until later, and shouldn't have assumed Harry's incompetence when finding him
asleep that morning.

Pacing the room once more, he noticed the four crumpled
parchments on floor from his first failed attempts, and sent them into the
fire. Severus definitely wasn't accustomed to having to say he was sorry. He
mentally went over the letter in his head again, hoping the words were
adequate. He had tried to explain that the anger he experienced was not due to
Harry's feelings for him, but for the consequences those feelings would bring
about.

Severus didn't want to come outright and say that he was
expecting Harry to lose interest or be repulsed when he found out more about
Severus, and that being in love would only make it harder on Harry. He
continued waiting for a reply from the Snowy owl. When Severus went to the
owlry he was relieved to see Hedwig, knowing it was safer should anyone be
paying attention to the owls coming and going to the savior, since he was no
longer protected by the castle walls at Hogwarts. He was also very confident
that his direction would be followed when he instructed the bird to deliver to
no one but Potter. Hedwig was loyal and smart. It also didn�t hurt that the
parchment would burn to ash should anyone else but the intended addressee of
the letter attempt to open it.

When a flash of white alerted Severus of the owl�s return,
he quickly opened the letter to read Harry's reply. As the parchment burst into
flames in his hands, he cursed his stupidity for not realizing it was not in
fact a reply, but his own letter returned. Severus glared at the embers for few
seconds before it occurred to him. His head snapped up from the view of the rug
now adorned with a burn marring the surface. Harry had returned his letter,
unopened. This was going to be harder than he thought. Severus had assumed that
a quick apology would settle things. Harry had been so amenable thus far; he
hadn't expected his letter to come back unopened. Even if Harry weren't easily
persuaded to forgive him, Severus would have expected to be yelled at in
response, not ignored.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hedwig returned to the Burrow later that morning. Harry felt
horribly guilty for forgetting her. He set out that afternoon to do some much
needed shopping. First stop was to the Eeylops Owl Emporium for a new perch. He
laughed appreciatively when she flew over to the most expensive perch in the
store. Her sharp talons pulsed, gripping the wood, trying it out for size.
Harry would not disappoint his faithful owl. The man behind the counter smiled
wide when he saw that, and Harry handed over the appropriate coins in payment.
A few stops later he apparated back to his new home. Harry put Hedwig's old
cage in the back of a closet; she seconded the motion with a dignified
"hoot".

Hedwig flew in and out of the rooms to the apartment,
checking out her new home as Harry put away the groceries and other things he�d
purchased to make his place more comfortable. She eyed her new perch from the
bed, and then moved to the perch to survey her new view. When Harry heard the
flapping of wings, he entered his bedroom to investigate. The room wasn't big
enough for Hedwig to fly to as far and as fast as the sound suggested. By the
time he got there, the souad sad stopped, but the perch was now facing out the
window. "Clever bird," he laughingly praised, and went back to
cleaning the vegetables.

Harry reached into his sack to pull
out a potato, and found a small note. He instantly recognized Severus�
handwriting. 'When had he left the note?' It read:

If you were more aware of your
surroundings, I would not have gotten this in your bag. Light a fire so we may
discuss your much needed defense classes.

Harry had been thinking so much about Severus, that when he
thought he�d sensed him while shopping, Harry had chalked it up to his
imagination. The more he thought about it, there were several times he could
think of that Severus may have been nearby. The man must think I'm an idiot,
he thought, unsure if he was ready to talk to Severus. But, he knew he had to
find out when he would start training. He was tempted to put it off, but
thought better of it.

Severus was alerted the moment Harry lit his fire. It wasn't
exactly legal for him to have such knowledge of the Floo system, but spying had
its advantages. As long as he didn�t go so far as to listen in on others�
conversations, he would go unnoticed. After waiting ten minutes, so as not to
appear too eager, Severus finally threw some powder into his fire to make the
call.

"Mr. Potter" said Severus. He watched Harry, wand
in air, changing the colors of the curtains on his front windows. The younger
man jumped, hearing his name, keeping his wand arm up. He'd been expecting
Severus, but startled regardless.

"Hi, um, excuse me," Harry said, putting his wand
away. "So much for being aware of my surroundings", Harry
mused. Severus smirked and Harry realized he'd said that aloud.

"Good to see something I will
teach you will actually come in handy someday," Severus said. Harry did
his best not to roll his eyes. "We should not be discussing too much
before you've had a chance to authorize your Floo list."

"How do you know I didn't do
it already?" It suddenly occurred to Harry that Severus was speaking more
on authority than guessing. He stepped back to allow Severus to come in.
Instead of coming though the fire, Severus blinked out of the Floo and
apparated, standing directly in front of Harry.

"What kind of spy would I be
if I didn�t know such things?" Severus said just above a whisper. Harry
felt a shiver up his spine. "I strongly recommend you go with the list of
people you will allow to speak and travel through your Floo, rather than the
much larger list of people you wish to exclude."

Harry nodded. He had yet to go over
the large packet of parchments from the Ministry that explained how to make
your Floo accessible to only the people you wanted. It cost more to do it that
way, but it beat wingwing anyone with a pinch of Floo powder access to the view
of your sitting room. He suddenly realized that since Severus was there now, he
should in fact close the Floo. With a wave of his wand the fire was out.

"We will be meeting for your
training four times a week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. After the
first month, Kieran and I will evaluate your progress, and make any changes to
the schedule as necessary."

Harry nodded. "Good, Thursday
is no good for me anyway," he said, going over the schedule in his
mind. Severus raised a brow as if to
ask what Harry could possibly have on his schedule now that school was done,
since he had no job to speak of. Harry chose not to tell him about the
wizarding traditions class for muggleborn. Severus knew enough about him so far.
If he's such a good spy, let him figure it out himself. Harry was a
little put out that Sev was acting so��business as usual� and not talking to
him about the more personal issues. He resigned himself to the fact that
setting up the training schedule was important; he would address the other
stuff later.

"I can not give you an address
for the location of your training. I'll have to take you there the first time
to get you through the Wards. You'll be able to apparate back yourself for the
training after that". Harry knew it was difficult to apparate to anknowknown location even after being taken there initially, especially since he
hadn't had his license that long. Severus would have to help him get there if
he wasn't given an address. "Are you ready?"

"Now?"

" It's not around the corner,
and may take you a few tries. Better now then tomorrow when Kieran is
waiting."

"Fine," Harry said
dismally. "Don't want to keep Kieran waiting, do we?" Severus sneered
at Harry's sarcastic tone.

"You'll find Kieran gets bored
quickly, and you don't want that." Severus didn't explain why you don't
want Kieran to get bored. Severus wrapped his arms around him, and for a moment
Harry forgot why. "Concentrate on me, just like in Apparition class,"
Severus savenlvenly. &;On ;On three," Harry nodded in understanding.
"One, two�" Harry squeezed his eyes shut in concentration.
"ee.&ee." On arrival, Severus held Harry's shoulders until he was sure
the other man had his equilibrium.

When Harry was sure he felt solid
ground beneath him, and that he was in one piece, he opened his eyes to the
sight of a very large barn. The building looked like it used to be a stable for
a large number of horses, or similar animals. Now the dividing walls for the
inhabitants were gone, leaving one large open space. Before he could look
around further, Severus was speaking to him.

"Apparate back to your home
and return. If you do not return in three minutes, I'll be at your home to see
which pieces you may have left behind."

Harry kept his face impassive. He
was not going to be splinched, and would prove his ability just to get that
damn smirk off Severus' face. He looked around oncee, ce, concentrating on the
place he was standing. With a 'pop' he was gone. Severus checked his watch, and if Harry shocked him by returning
forty-five seconds later, he didn�t show it. Harry grinned, and resisted the
urge to look down to see if all of him was there. Severus offered to assist
their apparation for the return trip, but Harry refused, despite Severus� insistence
on his inexperience.

When they returned to Harry's
sitting room, he did look down this time, making sure all of him went for the
trip. That was his first mistake; the second was to lift his head back up
quickly. "See, I'm all�" Harry didn't get to finish his sentence, as
the stars spinning around his head distracted him and he began sliding to the
hardwood floor. Having anticipated this, Severus was already wrapping his arms
around Harry, preventing his descent. Harry was only vaguely aware of being
swept into strong arms and placed gently on the sofa. It had truly been a great
distance that Harry had apparated, four times in less than ten minutes. Severus
had to admit to being impressed.

Green eyes fluttered open, as a
cool cloth was placed across his brow. Gentle fingers brushed his hair behind
his ears, causing a slight sting of pain. "Ow, what was that for?"
mumbled Harry. Dark eyes narrowed and focused on the cause of Harry's
discomfort.

"Someone's been nibbling on
your ear." Hearing the words, Harry�s eyes widened. He knew he was drunk
last night, but not that drunk. As if sensing she was being spoken of,
Hedwig flew in from the bedroom, landing on the armrest of the sofa behind
Harry's head. He said hello to his familiar, and received a soft nip on the
ear, not surprisingly at the same offended area, now red and sore.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Weasley said she
tried to deliver a letter, but couldn't wake me up. Whoever sent her must have
been extremely intimidating. She's never been so persistent," Harry said,
rubbing his ear. Severus allowed his face to show some guilt, but held back the
smile as he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Harry hadn't sent his letter
back, he just never received it.

"I may have been a little
insistent when I sent her along," Severus said, remembering threatening
the bird with every feather on its body. He told himself it was to protect
their secrecy, and not his pride, but didn't believe it for a moment. His inner
conversation taking too long, Harry interrupted.

"What did it say? Can I see
it?" Harry's voice sounded weak from his exhaustion, but he didn't care at
the moment. It seemed the state he was in made Severus more amenable to
conversation.

"No," he said rubbing his
fingers where the parchment had burned him. "I apologize. Hurting you was
not my intention. In fact, that was exactly what I was upset about."
Severus helped Harry to sit up. "I do want to give you the chance to know
me, and I you. While I've told you a few things, they pale in comparison to the
many of things I've learned about your life. Most of the image I've had of you
in the past was unfounded, and the more I learn, the more I'm astounded by you,
your perseverance, and your ability to keep a healthy attitude despite what
life has thrown at you."

Harry had heard these words of
praise in the past, and they�d always annoyed him, much as hero worship did.
But to hear them from Severus meant something altogetdiffdifferent. Still, it
wasn't enough. "I...thank you. It means a lot to me, it does, but it doesn't
explain why you would be angry."

"There is much about my life
of which you are unaware. Some, I will tell you in time, and some I will not. I
am so much older than you, and have done so much for which I have not
forgiven myself. I would not want to burden or darken you further with
knowledge of those things, yet I also would not feel right having you be with
me, without letting you know what I have been, and still am, capable of
doing."

Harry dropped his head slightly,
nodding.

"To be brutally honest with
you, I was afraid. I fully expected that you would at some point realize you
were in a relationship with a Snarky Bastard, and want out. I thought you
loving me would only mean that you would be hurt when you realized the
truth," Severus said sincerely. Harry raised his head; surprised by the
sheer honest and open way Severus was speaking.

"What happens now? Have you
already given up on us?" asked Harry, cursing the weakness in his voice.

"No, I have not given up on
us." Severus wanted to touch Harry, pick up his hand, anything. But he
resisted, not accustomed to things going his way. "If you accept my
apology, we continue to get to know each other, and see where that leads
us."

"I do accept your apology," Harry said quietly. He
was used to the way his friends had fights, screaming and yelling. This all
seemed to go too easily.

"But�" Severus prompted Harry, seeing the look of
insecurity on his face. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. I can't say that I fully agree, but I
understand why you feel that way, ahy yhy you want to wait on going too far
with our relationship," he said, referring to sex. "I guess it just
feels, I don�t know�" he paused. "too easy. I mean, is this �it� and
we�re happy again?"p>
p>

Severus lifted Harry's chin, forcing him to look into his
eyes. "What do you want to happen, Harry?"

"I don't know. I'm not used to fights being so calm,
and settled so simply. I guess I don't know what normal people do in situations
like this." He had practically rehearsed what he wanted to say, or more
likely yell, at Severus. "I wanted to just scream at you, but now that
doesn't seem as appealing as it did last night when I was drunk," or
this morning, he thought to himself.

Severus kept his face impassive, thinking Harry would not
appreciate the amusement he found with that statement. "If there are
things you feel need to be said, perhaps you could still make your point,
without screaming," said Severus with a grin. Harry gave him a stern look.

<
<
"Stop being cute. I'm still mad," Harry held his
frown with great effort.

"I'm never cute," Severus said dryly.

With the banter finished, they sat in silence while Harry
gathered his thoughts. Harry sat with his legs up on the sofa, facing Severus.
He started to speak quietly and calmly.

"It's not fair, you knowing my feelings before me. I
don't know how long it would have taken me to recognize it was love I was
feeling. Even then, I probably would have been too scared to tell you for a
while. It hasn't done us any good so far. It�s not like I'm waiting to hear you
proclaim your love in re. He. Hell, I was on a cloud when you told me in the
Infirmary that you didn't hate me," Harry said with a snort. Severus
remained quiet, listening. "Part of me wishes I never healed you. Then
another part of me doesn't want to give up that night we shared in your rooms
after the Formal. Except for all the blood, it was the best. We talked, brewed
a potion, you told me about yourself and some of your past. You trusted me, and
we slept in eacher'er's arms. It was what I thought being in a relationship
would be like," he said calmly, before his tone changed slightly.

"Then you woke up pissed off, and you�ve never been the
same, since. You had to go and get all sanctimonious and keep The Boy Who Loved
at bay because you didn't want me to get hurt, or you weren't ready to deal
with my feelings." His voice was much louder now. "None of this would
have happene you you weren't being a stubborn jackass that doesn�t think he's
worthy of waking up Albus to be healed! You know he loves you, you git!"
yelled Harry, unsure of what to do next, unsure if Severus was going to yell
back at him now. He stared at the sofa pattern, biting his lip. Severus pulled
him in for a hug. He swallowed hard, letting Sev's arms wrap securely around
him.

Severus took a deep breath, exhaling his words into Harry's
disheveled hair. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry," Severus held his
trembling lover in his arms.

After what seemed like ages, Harry spoke again. "I
guess I still needed to scream a little," he said with a snort that
sounded suspiciously like a sob.

Severus puffed his amusement into Harry's hair. "Do you feel more normal now?"
Severus teased

"No, most normal people have make-up sex after a
fight," pouted Harry, with a smirk.

"Who said you're normal?" Severus asked, drawing clo close for a gentle kiss.

Harry mumbled something that sounded vaguely like 'git' and
returned the kiss with enthusiasm.

LeeLeePotter@OptOnLine.net
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Death Eater Takes a Holiday