Spur of the Moment

Chapter 22

Note: Slughorn's false memory from HBP in this chapter. Mostly copied. Not mine.

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Harry and Severus talked well into the night, enjoying each other's company. By the time they called it a night, it was way past curfew and Harry was exhausted, so Severus allowed him to stay in the guest room in his quarters. Harry accepted gratefully and fell asleep sprawled across the bed still fully dressed. Severus had walked in to check on Harry and snorted at the boy. He stripped Harry down to his boxers and removed the boy's glasses before slipping him under the covers. Whispering an unheard 'good night', Severus had extinguished the candles in the room and retired himself.

When Harry woke the next morning, it took him a while to discover where he was. He eventually did and smiled at the thought of Severus allowing him to stay the night.

They shared a quiet breakfast in Severus' quarters, brought by the house elves. Harry wondered if the man could cook and when he asked, Severus told him that he could, but didn't. He rarely had time to and, since he lived alone, he didn't feel the need to cook.

Harry had thanked the man for allowing him to stay the night. Severus had waved it off, saying it didn't matter and that he had stayed in the guest room before. Harry had nodded and moved into the living room where something glinted and caught his eye. He approached it curiously and found it to be a fabulous chess set. The entire thing was made of crystal. Severus informed him that it was the chess set Draco had given him for Christmas.

"Damn. He really went all out," Harry said, examining the set.

"Yes, he did," Severus murmured. "This set will just be a decoration. I will not use it to play. Even though it is charmed not to scratch or break, I don't want to use it."

"I wouldn't either." Harry nodded.

Harry stayed in the dungeons for a couple hours, talking with Severus and they even played a few games of chess on the man's old chess set. It wasn't until around two that Harry finally bid goodbye and left his friend's quarters.

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Harry was sitting up on a ledge in the Astronomy Tower, reading his new book on wandless magic. He and Severus had taken a break from their training in order to give Harry some time free of thoughts of war, but that didn't mean Harry didn't still do research. He was still trying to perfect wandless magic, but he couldn't practice without Severus there as it was dangerous when starting out. If Harry used too much power or simply practiced for too long, his magic could be drained and the lower it was, the more dangerous it was. So, he contented himself with reading up on wandless magic and learning all he could in order to be ready for training.

He turned the page to start a new chapter when he heard the sound of someone walking on the observation platform. He frowned and looked up, looking around the tower. He didn't see anyone so he returned to his book, but kept an ear open for more sounds. He had just begun to read again when he heard more shuffling. He looked around again, pulling out his wand from where it now settled on his wrist in his new wand holster from Fleur.

"Hello?" he called, closing his book and putting it aside. No one answered, but he definitely heard footsteps. He quietly slipped from the ledge and began to search for whoever was in the tower with him. He peered around a corner and pointed his wand when he saw robes flowing in the wind. He turned the corner completely only to grin and drop his wand.

He crossed his arms and looked at Kingsley's back in amusement. "Aren't you supposed to be the Head Auror?" he said and smirked in satisfaction when the Black man jumped and spun around.