Look Me In The Eyes

The Embrace

After a long day of notes and lectures, Harry had slipped away by himself while Severus cleaned up the classroom. He ran down to the kitchen, eating dinner alone. His mind wouldn't leave him alone at the fact that Severus healed his wound, touching his hand...gently no less.

Harry stared at the black ace bandage around his injured knuckles, biting into his sandwich. He didn't even take a second to think...he just healed me like it was the most important thing...

The house elves had started preparing for the first day of the school year, the feast being prepped for tomorrow morning.

Harry sighed heavily to himself, pushing away his now empty dinner tray.

One of the smaller house elves came over with a smile, taking the empty tray away.

Harry stood up, wrapping his invisibility cloak around himself, he wanted to go back to his rooms to study some of his new potions and spells books he bought. He left the kitchens, turning into the main entrance to make his way to the Dungeons.

Severus was waiting impatiently infront of Harry's door, tapping his foot against the cold stone floor. "Bloody Potter, where could he have gone???"

Harry was slowly making his way down the hallways of the Dungeons, freezing a few feet away from where he found Severus pacing. What do we have here??? Why is he infront of my door? He thought to himself.

Severus wanted to break down the door, but he didn't have a good enough excuse to show up like this.

Harry hid behind a large gargoyle statue a few feet away from his rooms, pulling the cloak off of himself. I can't hide from Snape anymore...here I go! He shrunk the cloak into a small square, folding it up into his pocket.

Severus turned to see Harry coming closer, backing away from the door.

"Good evening Snape." Harry greeted quietly, sticking his iron key in the lock.

Severus turned to leave.

"Won't you join me for a drink Professor?" Harry asked before Severus left, disappearing inside his rooms.

Severus stared in the open door, sneering at Harry's back as he walked inside. He silently closed the heavy door behind him, frozen in front of the grandfather clock. He watched the pendulum swing back and forth, deciding if he should run...

Harry walked into his kitchen, taking two crystal glasses from the cabinet above the counter. He saw Severus walk into the room in the corner of his eye. "Good a time as any to open the fancy gift you gave me isn't it?" He quietly spoke.

Severus said nothing, avoiding any sort of eye contact with Harry. He flattened the back end of his cloak, sitting on the left side of the large sectional.

Harry opened the expensive translucent silk wrapping that was around the bottle, breaking the seal of the crystal whiskey bottle.

Severus looked around the room at all the hung up photos of Harry's friends, a picture of his parents that moved, and he was incredibly surprised to see a graded paper he had marked from potions class a few years back on the fridge.

Harry carefully walked over to the sectional, sitting in the matching recliner across from it. "I have to thank you for healing my hand, I would have been no use to you tomorrow if you hadn't." He spoke lowly, setting the crystal glasses down on the table.

Severus stared at the drink with an expression Harry couldn't read. "I doubt you'd be of any use to begin with."

Harry glared, but for the first time in a long time he heard no malice in Severus's voice. "Why did you heal my hand?" He took a small sip of his whiskey, daring to look directly at him.