Fix You

Harry thought he was dreaming when we woke up at six o'clock the next morning. He had not risen this early in years. Surprisingly, he felt immensely refreshed after getting a full nights sleep. Then he remembered he had lessons today and groaned out loud. He cast a glance around the room not surprised to see that the others were still sound asleep. Ron was half hanging off of the bed snoring, and Harry was tempted to rudely awaken him as payback for pissing him off last night.

He refrained from this as he made his way past the beds and into the bathroom. He took a fifteen minute shower and used a blow drying charm on his hair. Pulling his robes on over his head, he looked down disgusted. He would rather wear Muggle clothes any day of the week. He used his magical comb to touch up the green in his hair, cleaned his infected lip, and applied his usual makeup to his face. By the time he was done, it was only six forty five. Another hour and fifteen minutes before breakfast started. He made his way out of the dormitories and through the portrait hole, deciding to watch the sun rise by the Black Lake.

He took a seat by his favorite tree and lit a cigarette. Pinks, yellows, oranges, and purples blended together to create a beautiful sight before his eyes. Birds chirped overhead and he allowed himself to relax for the first time in months. It felt absolutely wonderful.

Only when the bell rang to signal the start of breakfast did he reluctantly take one last drag of his wine flavored cigar before heading inside. The Gryffindor table was nearly empty as it was still early. He took a seat in their usual area and nibbled at a piece of toast. Already bored and feeling like a loser for sitting alone, he took his I-Pod out of his pocket and inserted his earphones. What Happens At The Party filled his ears and he put his head down with a loud thunk.

A tapping on his shoulder interrupted his music sometime later. He pressed pause and looked up. A very bright eyed Hermione was standing behind him with a half asleep looking Ron by her side.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you! Ron sent Romilda Vane up to my dormitory while I was still getting ready to inform me that you were missing!"

"Oh. I woke up early and went for a walk." He shrugged.

Hermione accepted this explanation and moved around the table to sit across from him. Ron remained standing where he was, looking very uncomfortable.

"Er-Can I sit here?"

"I guess." He mumbled.

An awkwardness hung about the air as they ate their breakfast. He had no idea what to say and he felt as if they had no idea what to say to him either.

"So, when did you do that?" Hermione pointed at his lip, finally breaking the silence.

"The night before I came to Grimmauld Place."

Ron grabbed his face before he could even register what was going on. "Bloody hell! What did you do that for?"

"Because I wanted to?" He shrugged.

"He's your best friend! Honestly, Ron. You think you would have noticed before now that he shoved a needle through his mouth!"

The morning post swooped in and he tuned their bickering out. It was getting quite old, honestly. He was mildly surprised as a jet black eagle owl dropped a piece of post in front of him. Never in all of his years at Hogwarts had he seen an owl that looked quite like the one before him. He quickly untied the rolled up parchment from it's leg.

Harry,

Your first DADA lesson will take place tonight. Meet me in my classroom at seven o'clock. Wear your cloak so you are not seen. The door will be unlocked if I am not there when you arrive. I advise for your own well being that you are punctual for once in your life.

Severus.

He finished reading and tucked the parchment into his bag, smiling to himself at the mans final comment. They really had came a long way in only a short amount of time. The owl hooted and stomped its foot impatiently. Harry had almost forgotten about its presence. He pinched a leftover piece of bacon in between his fingers and fed it to the bird.

The owl hooted softly and nuzzled his hand a little bit, showing its thanks. He glanced up at the staff table to find Severus watching him intently. He inclined his head to show that he had received the message before turning back to his friends.

They were watching him intently as well, but they hadn't said a word. The owl flew off, probably annoyed that he hadn't fed it anymore of his breakfast.

"So, was that letter from Professor Snape then?" Hermione asked.

He nodded. "My first Defense lesson is tonight after dinner."

Their conversation was interrupted by McGonagall coming around to pass out the time tables. He quickly scanned his, satisfied with his schedule for once. They had been granted many free periods for the year, which he was grateful for as he was sure he would need them.

The three of them headed off to their first lesson, which was, unfortunately, Potions class. By the end of the lesson, he was no longer dreading it. It had actually been...interesting. And he had won something! In Potions no less! The bottle of Felix would probably prove a good use in the near future.

His next two classes were pure hell to sit through for an hour and a half. When the bell rang to signal lunch, he darted out of the room. Ron and Hermione called after him, but he just kept walking toward the tower. There was no way he was going to make it through the rest of this day sober. He nearly ran into Malfoy as he was climbing the stairs. Just what was a snake doing so far away from the dungeons?

"Watch where you're going!" He called, only half angered. The boy honestly didn't annoy him as much as he used to anymore. It might just be his crazy side talking, but he sensed a major change in the blonde man.

"Potter! Wait up!" Malfoy called out to him, running to catch up.

"Yeah?" He asked curiously, wondering just what he wanted.

"Got any smoke?"

Harry grinned and led the way up to the tower. A few students were sitting in the common room, mainly third years. Upon seeing the Slytherin in their territory, they narrowed their eyes. Both of them glared daggers at the thirteen year olds. They seemed to shrink back a little in the shadows, not daring to say a word. He ushered Malfoy past them all and up the stairs to his dormitory. As predicted, it was completely vacant.

He crossed the short distance from the doorway to the trunk laying at the end of his bed. Opening it, he was pleased to see that Dobby had taken it upon himself to unpack his clothing and hygiene items,leaving the rest at the bottom of his trunk.

Unshrinking his duffel bag, he pulled out a small purple bowl so they could quickly hide it if needed. As he packed the bowl down, he caught the Slytherin carefully examining his surroundings. Apparently satisfied that he wasn't going to catch a disease, he sat himself at the foot of his bed.

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"Shit! Come on, we're gonna be late!"

They ran as fast as they could toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He knew that Severus would flay him alive if he was late for his class on the first day back! Dra-Malfoy and himself had lost track of time smoking in his dormitory and they only had a few minutes until the bell rang.

Malfoy reached the door to the classroom first and flung it open. They both ran inside, taking their seats on different sides of the room. Mumbling broke out as the sixth years took notice of the two sworn enemies arriving at precisely the same time, completely out of breath.

At first, he was joyous at the prospect of making it into the classroom before Severus. Until he spotted the man standing near the front of the classroom, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. He slammed the classroom door shut with a wave of his wand before addressing the both of them.

"Well, well, well. Nice of you two to finally decide to join us. Ten points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for your tardiness. Five more points for your little display a moment ago."

He glared down at his desk, the room completely blurry at this point. He said nothing, knowing it was best to avoid an argument at the moment. Severus' eyes remained glued to him for a long moment before he finally moved on.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Ron mumbled the second their professor was out of earshot.

Shit. He had forgotten to put eye drops in to reduce redness. "Nothing. I just have allergies."

Ron seemed to accept this answer and turned his attention back to the front of the room. He didn't miss Hermione studying him curiously, though. He had really fucked up by forgetting something as simple as eye drops.

The rest of the class period consisted of Severus bad mouthing their previous teachers, attempting to scare them into performing their absolute best, and describing the curriculum they would cover that year. More than once, he caught the mans gaze lingering on himself. He tried his best not to let him see his red eyes. Malfoy kept catching his gaze and they both had to refrain from laughing every single time this happened. Maybe getting blown before class was a bad idea.

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the lesson. He attempted to push past with the crowd of students before the professor could question him any farther about his lateness.

"Potter! Not so fast!"

He motioned at his friends to go on without him, groaning inwardly at the scolding that was sure to come the second they were both alone.

After what felt like hours of slow torture under the mans gaze, the classroom door shut and they were alone. He gasped as he was seized by the front of his robes. He looked down, absolutely refusing to meet Severus' gaze under these circumstances.

"You. Are. The. Most. Foolish. Boy. I. Have. Ever. Met." The man choked out, shaking his small frame back and forth for many seconds. He eventually released him.

"What are you on about?" He choked out whilst attempting to catch his breath.

"The fact that you and Draco waltzed in late, high as a pair of kites in the sky."

Shit. He had hoped that the man hadn't noticed his impaired state.

"Errr..."

The man rolled his eyes before sharply turning away and beginning to rummage through his desk drawers. After a few moments, he resurfaced with a small bottle in hand.

"Here." He said, thrusting it into his hands. "Put this in your eyes. Lots of it."

He did as he was told, blinking rapidly and wiping the moisture off of his face for a good three minutes after he was done. "Thank you." He said sincerely.

"You are welcome. Do try not to come to my class stoned anymore, won't you? Or any other class for that matter. The last thing I need is to open the Daily Prophet and see 'Golden Boy or Stoner Boy?' as the days top headline one morning."

As hard as he tried to stop the fits of laughter working their way through his chest, he failed miserably. He was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe. First at picturing the headline in his mind and then at picturing Severus' reaction.

"The-the C-Chosen one or the S-S-Stoner one." He choked out. "Sc-Scarhead or Pothead?"

The other man begin laughing with him and soon they were both in a fit. They clutched at their chest, trying to find air. As soon as one would calm down, the other would dissolve into fits of laughter once more, causing the other one to laugh again. They were nearly crying, rib cages aching with effort, but they could not stop. They remained utterly oblivious to the world around them.

"Ahem." A clearing of the throat brought them both back to their senses.

"Headmaster." Severus sobered up immediately, poker face already in place.

Harry took a moment to collect himself before turning around as well. The old man stood there in magnificent purple robes with half moons in various places. His spectacles were firmly in place on his crooked nose and his beard tied into a knot. He wore an expression of uttermost amusement on his face.

"I do apologize for interrupting my dear boys. I just needed to have a quick word with Severus."

He looked down at his feet, blushing red. Why did he fell as if they had just been caught doing something extremely bad? "I was actually just leaving, Professor." He mumbled, beginning to cross the room to the door.

"Oh, don't leave an account of me. It will only take a moment."

He glanced at Severus. The man was leaning up against his desk, cheeks still slightly pink from laughter. He raised an eyebrow at him, silently giving him the signal to go on.

"Oh no, I really do have to be going now. Break ends in just a few minutes and I have Herbology next. Have a good day, Headmaster. You too Se-Professor Snape." He nearly slipped up and called Severus by his first name in front of Dumbledore. He was pretty sure the other man probably would not care, but he knew Severus would more than likely flay him alive the next time they were alone as he was so intent on keeping their friendship a secret.

He quickly closed the door behind him and pressed his ear to the keyhole. Dumbledore was chuckling loudly. "Well, Severus. I am pleased to see that you and Harry have been getting along!"

"We simply managed to ah- come to a truce over the summer. Nothing to get worked up about, Albus."

The old man chuckled again. "Oh, I'm just merely curious my dear boy! We do have more urging matters to discuss, though. Have you heard the latest? It wasn't reported in the paper as the Ministry Of Magic is trying to keep it quiet, of course. I wasn't sure if Voldemort had mentioned it or not."

"The Dark Lord...has not mentioned anything?" He could hear the confusion in the black haired mans slightly quieted voice.

"Ah, I presumed as much. Well, there was an incident last night in Duff Town, which is not too far away from here.

"Incident? What do you mean incident?"

"Naturally, the ministry is deciding to blame it on Sirius rather than face the truth. I tell you, I don't know what it's going to take to convince these people. Fudge saw Voldemort with his own two eyes last year as did at least a dozen ministry officials. But anyways, where was I? Oh yes! There were several Muggles found dead or severely injured with their memories wiped last night. Many were tortured into insanity and others bodies had been completely mutilated."

"I-I had no idea." The mans voice shook slightly and he felt the urge to re-enter the room to wrap his arms around him. "N-none at all."

Harry jumped as the bell rang to signal break was over, but he didn't move an inch.

"Oh my! Look at the time! I must be going now. Minerva and I have a meeting with the board of governors about tightening security around the school."

He quickly flattened himself against the wall as the door handle turned unexpectedly.

"Oh, and Severus?" The man seemed to have paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Do let me know if you are called tonight. It would not surprise me."

He then came strolling out of the room, making a beeline for the left staircase. Harry quickly turned and began running down the right staircase as fast as he could, mind spinning with some of the things he had just heard.