Defending Heart

Chapter 14: The Project Interrupted

When Severus gently breaks from the kiss his hair is greasy with sweat and his pale face baring a tinge of pink blush. Harry stands up, expression stern and devoid of emotion. He fixes himself. "You should turn in," he states in a voice so hollow the kiss may not have even affected him. And once he smooths down his hair, curling around his ears and halfway down his neck, he returns to the jubilant party going on beyond the doorway. Severus can only sit there for a few seconds in the suddenly so empty garden. He doesn't entirely understand what he's feeling, a strange fluttering in his stomach that works its way up to his chest. It's positive but he refuses to call it a 'crush' or whatever other people use to describe such an attraction for someone.

He walks upstairs two at a time to escape any awkwardness from the living room as he passes it. He's within sight but the inane merriment continues unabated by his presence. Thankfully nobody notices him and he retreats to his guest bedroom. Already in pyjamas Severus simply turns off the light and closes the door to muffle the overly loud party. He stares at the moonlight shining through the window. It bathes the room nicely in its glow, ribbons of moonlight passing over his body as the hours tick by. His brain is too busy to sleep. The noise from the party died down a long time ago but he didn't hear anyone distinctly going to bed.

The door opens from behind and he pretends to be asleep. It's probably Harry and he'll probably leave. He starts to doubt his probabilities when a heavy coat lands roughly across him. Well if he was asleep before he wouldn't be now, so he sits up, seeing a thick dark fleece draping over his body. "What do you want?"

It's James adorned in his pyjamas but also a pair of slippers and a thick Parka buttoned up all the way. His fluffy hood is already pulled up. It's a similarly light colour to his hair and makes his black glasses stick out. Severus isn't used to seeing James in anything other than dark Hogwarts robes or the Gryffindor colours. "Get up, we have work to do," James lifts with one hand a heavy cauldron filled with equipment from their project.

Severus wordlessly puts on the coat and slides on his slippers. It's very obviously Harry's coat and the sleeves are too short on him. He stuffs his cold hands in his pockets. Annoyed at the rude intrusion he doesn't bother to be quiet when they try and sneak out the back door, presumably to climb the fence and work on the potion in the woods behind Harry's house. The joys of the Muggle suburbs.

James silently opens the back door with his keys, fumbling with the handle a little in the darkness. Once he wrenches the door open the security light on the wall outside lights up the garden like a camera flash. "Shit," James whispers and they steal across the garden, clambering over the fence separating the house from the woods, a bit difficult when the metal is freezing and they're in heavy coats. "Lumos,"

The forest behind the house is lush and evergreen, condensation dripping from branches encased in crystallised ice. James leads Severus along a deep scar ripped through the thicket with this small light and Severus feels his pyjamas tear slightly with the thorns. They scratch and claw at his ankles a little, he doesn't know if they bleed.

They reach a small clearing and James sets out the equipment. He holds the wand light up, sitting down cross-legged. It casts sharp shadows across his face and body, giving him deep set eyes and luminous pale skin. He gestures for Severus to sit opposite and he does. "I want this done tonight,"

"I don't know if that's possible," Severus mumbles, but begins work anyway. James must have swiped these phials from school but thankfully none are very high-grade or volatile. James pulls the book from his jacket and holds the wand light over it, keeping still as Severus works. They may have only been working for 10 minutes when a twig snaps somewhere in the darkness behind Severus. 

They freeze, terrified. Neither needs to be told the dreaded threat of such a situation. If it's a Muggle they risk exposing all of Wizard kind and being thrown into Azkaban. If it's an animal they risk death. If it's a Wizard they'll be expelled from Hogwarts for underage magic use and the numerous thefts. They might even get charged for it. James snaps off his wand light and they listen.