Chapter 7
The weeks went by, Harry had managed to only cut himself twice every two weeks and the only major occurrence was when Weasley had pushed Harry down a flight of stairs.
Flashback
Draco and Harry were walking towards the stairs to get to their next class. "Dray, I need to go to the toilet, can you wait for me at the classroom door?", Harry asked and Draco kissed him as an answer. He watched as Harry went down the stairs, while he went up. Suddenly a turmoil broke out. Draco heard a scream that sounded suspiciously like his boyfriend and a sickening thud. The blonde froze. A Slytherin third year, who was standing between the stairs had seen everything. She stared down at the scene, then lifted her head and stared at Draco. "That Weasley pushed Harry", she managed to squeeze out. That seemed to pull Draco out of his frozen state. He rushed down to Harry, preparing to see the worst. Upon arriving at the scene he was met with Harry standing over the redhead, holding him at wand point. Weasley was almost not recognisable. "Harry, are you okay?!", Draco exclaimed and gave his boyfriend a quick once-over. After declaring him unharmed apart from a little node bleed, he turned to look at Weasley." What did you do to him?", Draco asked amused. "Oh I hit him with a couple of Engorgio and Furunculus...", Harry said nonchalantly.
"What's going on here? Is that blood? And what is that fleshy thing?", a stern voice asked. "Oh hello, Professor McGonagall. You see, Weasley here decided to push me down the stairs. I'm not hurt. Weasley might need medical attention", Harry simply explained. "Now, if you excuse me, I still need to use the bathroom and I don't want to embarrass myself in front of the whole school", he added and walked away. Draco followed him, shaking with barely held in laughter.
Flashback end
Harry had gone back to preparing potions with a knife, under the supervision of his friends. But something was annoying him. Severus could see it even through the smoke. The boy aggressively cut the head of a silvery slug. "Harry, dear, is everything alright?", Draco carefully asked. Harry sighed. "Yeah... let's talk later, alright?", he said. Draco nodded and wordlessly handed Harry ground unicorn horn. Their potion turned out like it should and after bottling and labelling it, Harry brought it to the front desk. "Very well, Mr. Potter. 10 points to Slytherin and Gryff-", Severus started, but he was interrupted. "Can you add my points to Slytherin please? I don't want Gryffindor to get my points", Harry wished and Severus gladly did it. The house cup was pretty much his this year. "Please stay after class", he said and Harry nodded. He walked back to the table where he and Draco had worked and told him, that he was asked to stay back. "Do you want me to wait for you or do you want to talk to Sev alone?", Draco gave his boyfriend two options. "You can stay. I'm sure it's nothing bad, I mean, I haven't cut myself in like almost two weeks, I didn't have any anxiety attacks...", Harry reasoned.
After the lesson had ended, Harry and Draco packed their stuff and walked up to Severus. The man waited until everyone had left, shut the door and locked it. "Harry, are you okay? You seem awfully annoyed and honestly, that slug didn't need to lose its head", Severus slightly smirked. Harry chuckled. "Well... I talked to Dumbledore again, about getting resorted. It wouldn't even be such a big thing, The Sorting Head wanted to put me into Slytherin anyway, but Dumbledore didn't allow me. He got pretty mad at me and held a very loud speech about how important me being in Gryffindor was and how much I would disappoint my parents. I don't care, I didn't know them", Harry explained. "That stupid old goat!", Draco ranted and Severus looked equally outraged. "That coot! Every year students get resorted", he growled, but Harry held up his hands. "Calm down, you two. Honestly, since McGonagall allowed me to stay with you, Severus, I have almost nothing to do with the Gryffindors. I'm always with the Slytherins or you, so I don't really care", the dark haired boy told them. He put a hand on Draco's arm and the taller boy pulled Harry into a side hug. Severus took a deep breath. "Knowing you, I assume you don't want me to go to the headmaster" (Harry nodded.) "But if there is a way to make you still feel included to my house, tell me", he offered. "Actually, there is. I'd appreciate it if you could talk to the staff about them giving the points I earn to Slytherin. Dumbledore may be able to deny me the right to get resorted, but he can't force his staff to not give me points. Where the points go is none of his business", Harry said. Severus smiled at him and Draco kissed him. "You earn so many points. Every teacher likes you. Slytherin will win the house cup with so many points", Draco yelled happily. "I'll tak to the teachers today. Now off you go, you two, it's time for lunch", Severus shooed them away.
#
"There you are, I was about to start a search party", Pansy jokingly greeted them, when Harry and Draco sat down. Around the friends an invisible bubble formed, lowering the loud chatter, rattling dishes and the light, an accommodation Harry had finally dared to ask Madam Pomfrey for. Harry quickly explained where they had been. Blaise stared up at Dumbledore as if to murder him. "This man, I swear...", Pansy muttered and Theo nodded with a sullen look. "It's okay guys, I already do everything with you plus you'll get the points I earn", Harry said and his friends calmed down a bit. While everyone was talking about classes and homework, Harry pressed the thumb of his right hand against the middle of his plate. Recognizing his signature, the plate transformed into a parted plate. Harry looked over the pots on the table, deciding that pasta salad looked pretty appealing right now. He scooped up a few table spoons of pasta salad and put them directly in the middle of his plate. The dark haired boy grabbed a tea spoon and started to pick out the peas, putting them in a separate part. Now the carrots. He huffed. "Do you want me to help you?", Blaise asked. Harry nodded, but quickly grabbed the other boy's wrist. "You need a tea spoon", Harry said firmly. Blaise wordlessly grabbed the small spoon and started separating the carrots, while Harry picked out the corn. After they were done, Harry thanked Blaise and the boy smiled and went back to eating. Harry picked up his fork and was just about to start eating, when Draco stopped him. "You missed a piece of corn", he warned his boyfriend. Harry looked at it, turned his plate and looked at it from a different angle, then he said: "You know what, I'm feeling a bit adventurous today." Harry poked a few pieces of pasta and the corn and put it in his mouth. When he looked at his friends he almost snorted his food out. All of them had leaned in wand watched him with curious looks. Harry quickly swallowed. "It tastes good, but it doesn't feel safe", he shrugged. He seemed careless about it, but his rapidly bouncing leg betrayed him. Draco gently pressed his hand against it, calming his boyfriend.
After lunch, Harry and Draco went to the library. It was nearing Christmas, so the library smelled like cinnamon. Every year, Madam Pince would drink several mugs of cinnamon tea every day. The boys settled down at one of the windows, Harry in Draco's lap. Suddenly, Harry jumped up and pressed his nose against the window. "Draco look, it's snowing!", he exclaimed. "Silence!", Madam Pince warned, but her heart opened at the sight of the joyful boy. "Dray, come on, we need to get outside", Harry said, but Draco made a face. "As much as I love you, Sweetheart... I'm not exactly made for snow", he whined. "Really, Dray? You're not made out of sugar", Harry rolled his eyes. There was a brief pause, then Draco said: "Well... I think I am... look, Harry, I know how much you love snow, but I really don't want to go outside right now. Why don't you ask Severus? It's almost Christmas break anyway, no one has classes after lunch, he'll be free", Draco suggested. Harry shrugged and thought about it. "Alright", he finally said and left the library. "I'll wave to you from the window, alright? And when you return I'm happy to warm you up", Draco promised and Harry blew him a kiss.
Harry carefully knocked on the Potions professor's office door. "Enter", he heard a shout from inside. Harry opened the door and skipped inside. "Harry!", he was greeted, "everything alright?" Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Severus, can you go outside with me? It's snowing!", Harry asked happily. Severus smirked. How could he say no to his boy? "Of course, let's grab some warm clothes. What about Draco?", he asked. "Oh apparently he is made out of sugar", Harry laughed. Severus amusedly shook his head. He should've known, even as a small child Draco had never really liked snow. "Alright then, just the two of us. Wait for me in the entrance hall, I'll bring your coat with me", Severus let Harry know and the boy rushed out.
#
"Do you hear that?" Severus and Harry were walking alongside over the Hogwarts grounds. Harry was trying to catch snow flakes with his tongue. "No", Severus answered, "what am I supposed to hear?" Harry made a gesture. "The snow. It's making beautiful noises, almost like a distant singing or something. It's whispering." Severus stopped. "Harry... the snow isn't making noises. It's too light to make noises. Not even you would hear it", he gently said, putting a hand on the dark haired boy's shoulder. "Is it just the "hearing things" thing again?", Harry mumbled and blushed. They started walking again. Severus sighed. "We've talked about this, Harry. Remember when you had the guts to tell me about hearing things?", he softly voiced. Harry nodded and sniffed. "What did I tell you? I told you not to be ashamed of something you can't control. Your brain is differently wired from ours, which is totally okay. As long as you are not hearing Vox, everything is okay", Severus reassured the boy. Harry shuddered. Vox. They had called the bad voice who was telling him to hurt himself that. Severus sensed Harry's discomfort and changed the topic. "What are you going to during Christmas break?", he asked. Immediately, Harry's face lit up and he jumped a few times. "I'm going back to the Dursley's. Aunt Petunia promised to let me and Dudley bake cookies. And I wanted to ask Draco if I could come over for a few days. I want to give him a really precious gift", Harry said. A smile crept onto his face and his cheeks reddened more than they already were from the cold. Severus smiled. "You want to tell me about it?", he asked. Harry took a deep breath. "Well... you know, Draco had wanted to sleep with me for some time now, but I didn't feel ready. He totally accepted this and gave me time. I think I'm ready. I want to give him my virginity. And maybe some chocolate", Harry said serious. Severus strongly had to suppress the urge to laugh. It was priceless how Harry put giving chocolate on the same level as loosing his virginity. The potion's master pulled himself together and said: "For the chocolate I recommend something strong with raisins, but you probably know that. For the thing with the virginity - that's for you to decide. If you feel ready, go for it. But if you have any doubt, even if you both are already naked, Draco will respect it if you change your mind. Do you know how sex between two men works?", Severus wanted to make sure. Harry nodded. "Remember, Uncle Vernon told me about it. Painfully embarrassing conversation, but helpful. I think I would like it more if Draco would make love to me rather than the other way round", he said. "Again, that is only for you to decide, although I can tell you, it does feel good to be the one making love", Severus confessed and Harry giggled. "Stop laughing, Potter, I'm a human, too", Severus growled jokingly, which only further fuelled Harry's laughing fit.
They walked back to the castle, Harry looking up at the windows. "Hazza, sweetheart, up here", a voice called out and Harry saw Draco wildly waving. Happily, he waved back. "I'll meet you in the dungeons", Draco shouted and disappeared. And indeed, when Severus and Harry walked down the stairs to the dungeons, Draco was waiting for them. All three entered Harry's and Severus' quarters and Draco helped Harry out of his snowy clothes and into dry, warm ones. After some cuddling, Severus called them to the fireplace. He had also changed into more comfortable clothes and had made hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream. Draco and Harry curled up on the couch, while Severus settled into an armchair. He waved his wand and soft Christmas music started playing.
The afternoon was like a weighted blanket for the soul.