The Potion Master's Apprentice

Chapter 11

Harry woke the next morning slowly, unwilling to let the feeling of warmth and the comfort of his dreams go. The hearth had been cleaned already and his apprenticeship uniform was waiting for him on the end of his bed. He sat up and yawned, going through the memories of the previous night.

He was terrified. Had Severus really implied that he was his mate?! And-had he really demanded to be marked? Why would he even ask to be marked in the first place? He didn't even know what that entailed! And Severus had made it sound like it was relatively permanent...

The memory of that spicy scent that had come from him washed over Harry and a whimper escaped his throat before he could stop it.

He got up and dressed before continuing on with his day.

Severus taught him several complex potions over the next few weeks, even trusting him to start brewing the ones that needed attention throughout the day during classes. The students had asked about each and every one, and every time Severus simply responded by telling the class they were to be working on the potion on the board and nothing else.

It was just before the end of the school year when Harry was slicing an apple that it happened. A student tripped and caused Harry to look up in alarm. In doing so, the knife he had slipped and nicked the pad of his thumb.

The effect was instantaneous.

Severus turned around to face him from across the room, eyes wide, and he did the first thing he could think of. He stuck his finger in his mouth to stop the smell from reaching the man long enough that he could regain his senses.

"Be more careful, Miss Hucklebee. We don't wish for an accident to occur." With the students focused on Severus once more, Harry grabbed one of the vials he'd seen Severus take when stressed out of his desk drawer and tipped it into the teacup on his desk. He slipped from the room when he saw Severus making his way for the cup and barely saw the nod of thanks before the door shut behind him.

That had been close.

Harry had never seen Severus lose control over anyone cutting themselves in his class before, but Harry had also never cut himself in front of him before. The reaction wasn't to blood in general, it was to Harry's blood specifically.

He rolled his eyes at the craziness of it all, left a brief note for Severus on the table and rushed to the gates of Hogwarts before apparating away.

"Hermione, open up! I've got to talk to you!" The door opened and Harry soon had an armful of bushy hair.

"Harry! I'm so glad to see you! Come in, come in. So what's the unannounced visit for? Not that I'm complaining, you really need to visit more often." She sat down in the living room, gesturing for him to join her in the chair across from hers.

"You were bloody well right, Hermione. I don't know why I even bother to try to doubt you anymore. It's not like you're ever wrong."

"You're going to have to be more specific. We have this conversation a lot," she laughed as she summoned a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"He's a bloody vampire, which we've known for a few months now, but to top that cake off with cherries apparently I'm his mate. Or, rather...he implied I could be. Whatever the bloody fuck that even means." Her eyes grew wide and she gasped.

"Harry, how are you even here? You shouldn't be out of his sight! He'll go ballistic trying to find you! He-"

"-is currently teaching a class of students. Hermione, relax. He hasn't told me outright but he's said more than enough to imply it and it was months ago when it came up! I just...sort of ignored it, and so did he. We're trying to get my apprenticeship out of the way before we even think about approaching the subject again but I need to know what it means. I'm clearly out of my element and I need to know what to avoid. Just today a student tripped and I got distracted with the knife I was using and pricked my finger. It nearly sent him over the damn edge, whatever that would have entailed!" She gaped at him, absentmindedly handing him one of the glasses before filling it.