Fix You

The Alley was just as creepy as it had been when he had accidently turned up here in his second year. Unlike Diagon Alley, it wasn't full of life and cheery people. Every single building was painted dark grey or black. Nobody halfway normal lingered to chat in the streets and no music blared from the shops. It was eerily quiet instead. He felt extremely out of place and uncomfortable as he searched around for an unoccupied, out of the way spot while ignoring the old hag calling out to him on his left.

After walking for about five minutes, he located what looked to be an un-used side street with a few concrete slabs and a dumpster in it. Broken pieces of wood littered the ground and there were smashed alcohol bottles everywhere. Not exactly the best place, but it would do for the moment.

He took a seat on one of the concrete slabs and un-shrank his duffel bag. He pulled out his new bong. He knew it was stupid to use it in such a public place, but he had not gotten the chance to use it yet and he really wanted a good high, not the little buzz he had gotten from smoking the joint a few hours ago.

He filled the bowl up with two different kinds of weed. One was supposed to be Mango Kush and the other was the Dro he usually smoked when he got high. He was excited to try the new kind, as he had heard that it was some really good shit and that it tasted amazing.

He pulled out his lighter and clicked the button downward, making the flame appear. He placed his hand over the hole in the side and lit the bowl, sucking as hard as he could.

After a moment, he pulled the stem up and sucked the smoke into his mouth until his lungs were practically bursting. Harry was only able to hold it into his mouth for a few moments before having to release it due to the violent coughing fit that came next. His eyes were watering and he felt like he could vomit any moment due to how hard he was coughing. This shit was strong as hell.

"Potter?" Came a surprised voice from his right side. Fuck. He had been caught smoking. And even worse, he had been caught smoking by Draco Malfoy. He would know that snotty little voice anywhere. Only, Malfoy hadn't sounded snotty for once in his life, only shocked.

Harry sighed deeply. "What do you want?" He didn't even care if Malfoy went and told the entire world(not that anybody would believe him), he just wanted him to leave him alone. He wasn't in any mood to pick a fight today. He just wanted to get high and then go do some shopping before he had to meet Snape at the Apothecary.

Malfoy took a few steps closer to him, fully coming into view. Harry was surprised to see him wearing a Muggle sweater and a pair of blue jeans instead of his trademark cashmere button down coats and black dress pants. He actually looked like a normal teenager for once in his life.

He watched as Malfoys eyes took in his new appearance and he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. His friends and family judging him was one thing, but his worst enemy judging him was another thing.

"Since when do you have style?" He sat gaping at the other boy for a moment before shrugging and bending down to light the bong again. No point in attempting to conceal what he was doing now that he had been caught in the act.

Just as he took a huge hit and the smoke began to fill up his lungs, he felt Malfoy sink down beside him on the piece of concrete. Thankfully, he barely coughed this time and was able to get a pretty good hit. He set the bong back down in front of him, but it was snatched up in a second.

"Hey-" He began to protest, but was cut off.

"Is this shit any good?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. Malfoy smoked? Well, that was news. He didn't know why he was even a little bit surprised. Maybe it was because he always tried to appear to be so classy and classy people didn't do things like smoke pot or get piss drunk. No, they got perfect grades and ate gourmet food and became filthy rich. He didn't comment on this new revelation, though. He just nodded his head and passed the lighter over.

They sat together smoking for at least twenty minutes. They didn't really talk and when they did it was to insult one another, but not with any real malice compared to usual. It wasn't awkward, it was just strange.

He didn't know why he was sitting here doing this with his sworn enemy. Malfoy had gone out of his way to torment him throughout the years and he had done the same as well. They could hardly hold a civil conversation, yet they could do this together without questioning it.

Maybe it was because they suddenly had something in common that the rest of the world didn't know about. Harry found that he didn't really mind the other boy so much when he wasn't surrounded by his peers. They seemed to fuel his fire more than anything.

He was done holding grudges anyways. If somebody was nice to him, he would be nice back. If somebody was an ass to him, he would be an ass back. It was as simple as that.

"What are you doing down here, anyways? Shouldn't you be at the joke shop with Weasel and Granger or something?" Malfoy asked as he began to put the bong away.

"I could ask you the same. Shouldn't you be hanging around tormenting first years with fat and fatter?"

"I was going to make a trip to the tattoo shop, if you must know. And I only hang around with Crab and Goyle because our parents are friends and because they can scare people into doing anything. They are terrible company, honestly."

Harry raised his eyebrow at Malfoys admittance about his so called friends and tried not to laugh at the thought of the pampered little prince getting a tattoo.

"I need to buy new body jewelry. And while we are being honest, I barely know Hermione and Ron anymore. We have been out of touch all summer. I only just returned from my Aunt and Uncle's house yesterday. They are staying at the Burrow and I am staying…elsewhere."

He had almost said that he was staying with Sirius, which would have been very bad indeed. Malfoy may not be acting like his usual jerk self, but his parents were Death Eaters. Harry knew that just because they were bad did not mean that Malfoy was, but there was a pretty good chance that he could go report everything he said back to his parents who would in turn report to Voldemort.

Shit. He really had been an idiot for sitting here talking to the other boy. He needed to get back to Diagon Alley as soon as possible before a pack of Death Eaters came searching for him. But first, he would play it cool and accompany Malfoy to the tattoo shop.

He knew where the little shop was from the time he had snuck in with Fred while the rest of the family had been Christmas shopping. Neither of the two had actually gotten a tattoo or a piercing, but they had both checked out the different tattoos that were available and laughed at the crazy looking people who came in.

They entered the shop and Harry walked straight to the counter as he didn't know where anything was located. "Excuse me." The clerk turned to glare at him as if he was about to steal something or cause a scene. That's what he got for being a teenager. "Can you tell me where your nipple rings are?"

Nobody except for Andy and Megan knew that he had gotten his nipples pierced at this sketchy looking tattoo shop over the summer. He had used a fake id that said he was over eighteen and gotten them done for forty dollars. He had just bought some new rings last month, but the ball had fallen off of one of them so he needed to get another pair.

The clerk pointed to a glass case across the room and he made his way over. Malfoy had apparently followed him, his jaw practically on the floor. "You have your-your-" He pointed at his chest area.

He nodded, not even bothering to conceal his laughter at the boys shock. He looked around the shop to make sure nobody else was watching them before lifting his shirt up. Malfoys eyes widened as he stared at the little blue hoops hanging from each nipple.

Harry chuckled again before turning back to the case. After staring at the different options for five minutes, he finally decided on two plain black bars. They were sexy without being overdone and they would not show through his t-shirt, thankfully.

He paid and waited for Malfoy to ask the clerk about his tattoo, but he appeared to have chickened out. "Scardey cat." Harry teased him as they made their way out of Knockturn Alley.

"Sod off, Potter."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, not exactly sure what to talk about. Harry was still nervous that Malfoys being nice to him was somehow a trap and he was thankful when they reached the Apothecary. Snape was standing outside waiting and Harry cursed himself as he remembered that Snape had his Death Eater image to keep up with.

"Hello, Professor Snape." He said, trying to play it cool.

Snape looked confused for a moment before noticing whom he had been walking with. "Potter, Malfoy. Well, this is a surprise. Up to some sort of trouble now, I presume."

"We were just talking Professor. Well, I gotta get going. See you at school, Potter." He said, ducking into the Apothecary.

Harry and Snape waited until he had disappeared from view before beginning to walk again. They kept at least a five foot distance and didn't speak a word until they had entered the Alleyway that led into the Leaky Cauldron once more.

Before he even had time to react, he found himself slammed up against the wall and a potion poured down his throat. He gagged and tried to spit whatever it was out, but Snape firmly held his jaw closed, forcing him to either swallow the potion or choke to death.

"Are you Harry Potter?"

"Yes." He answered truthfully, thankful to feel Snape's grip loosening on him.

"What were you doing with Draco Malfoy earlier today? How did you run into him?"

He did not want to tell Snape, but he found that he really had no choice. His mouth seemed to be moving on its own accord. That asshole had given him Veritaserum against his will.

"He caught me smoking in Knockturn Alley. We went to the tattoo shop together."

Snape's eyes bugged out and he slammed him up against the wall again, so close to him that there was no room in between them now.

For some odd reason, Harry found that he was having trouble thinking at the feel of his body pressed against his. But no, he was being ridiculous! This was Snape, not some hot guy from a club!

"What were you smoking? Meth? Heroine? Crack?"

"Weed." He managed to choke out as the man's grip just kept getting tighter and tighter on his shoulders. It hurt extremely badly due to the cuts and bruises that were already there from his uncle. He tried his hardest not to show that he was in pain, as he did not want Snape to become curious and discover his marks.

The other man's face fell and Harry was surprised to see that he looked a little embarrassed. "Oh. Well...that was extremely foolish of you! Malfoys parents are Death Eaters! Did it ever occur to you that he could be gathering information to be passed onto the Dark Lord!"

"That's exactly what I thought after a while, but I had to play along for a bit longer, didn't I? Look, it's all over now and Voldemort has not showed up yet, so let's just forget it! And let me go!" He finally demanded.

Snape glanced down to where he had him in a death grip, instantly letting go. "Did I hurt you?" He said rather quietly. Was he actually concerned?

"Yes." Harry said. Damn that Veritaserum! "But it's fine." He just wanted to get the hell out of here and go...Well, he didn't know where he wanted to go. Definitely not Grimmauld place.

He turned to go into the Leaky Cauldron, but Snape stopped him. "Let me see." He said, attempting to pull his shirt sleeve up. Harry slapped his hand away, trying to wiggle free.

"No. I told you, it's fine."

"Potter, stop being so childish."

He tried to fight the other man's hands off of him, but he was too strong. His t-shirt was pulled up to reveal his cut and bruised shoulders. There was a sharp intake of breath from his right.

"Who did this to you?" Snape said and Harry could hear the anger in his voice even as he looked down at the ground, knowing the potion would make him answer whether he liked it or not.

"My uncle."

Snape curled his hand into a fist, closing his eyes and staying silent for a long moment.

"How long has he been doing it for?"

"Since I was three or four, but it's been worse this summer."

"For what reason?" Snape said through gritted teeth.

"Before it was because I was a freak and a waste of space. This summer it got worse because according to him, I'm a nasty little faggot who has no regard for the rules." Harry said, completely hating Snape for forcing him to take that potion.

While he had never blatantly admitted anything to his uncle, he'd had his suspicions about his sexuality and because of this he was beat more often and even harder for being not only a freak, but a "nasty little cock sucker" as well.

"Are you even gay, Potter."

"Yes, I am."

God dammit! He hated Snape for making him take this potion. Yes, he was open about his sexuality and would have told the same answer if he wasn't being forced to, but he still felt as if it was a complete violation of his privacy. It should have been his decision to tell the truth in the end, not the stupid potions!

"Now, are you done questioning me or would you like to invade my fucking privacy some more. Come on Snape, ask me any little question you wanna know!"

"Shit." He heard Snape mumble under his breath as he stared at the ground for a moment. "Pot-Harry, I apologize. I forgot about the Potion and wouldn't have asked that question if I would have remembered. It should be your choice whether you wish to come out or not."

Hmm, strange. Snape didn't seem to care that he was gay. He had assumed that this would be another thing for the asshole to torment with when he was feeling extra prick like that day. That and he had assumed that Snape would make fun of him for the abuse as well, or at least say that he had done something in order to deserve it. This was strange indeed.

"Oh what, no comment about how I deserved to get the shit beat out of me or how I'm a nasty little faggot whose air you don't want to breathe in?"

Snape sighed deeply and moved closer so they were standing only a couple of inches apart. Harry flinched when a hand touched his chin slightly. This was partly because he was surprised at the touch and partly because he always jumped at the slightest movement, thanks to his uncles fist. He lifted his chin up until Harry had to stare right back at him.

He was surprised to find that he had dropped his mask and his expression was extremely soft for the first time ever. "You did not deserve what they did to you. Nobody does. I am going to make sure nothing like that ever happens again and you never have to go back to that horrible place. It appears that our childhoods were similar, but that is a story for another time. And there is nothing wrong with being gay. Actually, I would be a hypocrite to say a word against it."

Harry's head had begun spinning halfway through Snape's little speech. He wasn't going to make fun of him! He had promised him that he wouldn't ever have to go back to the Dursleys! And what did he mean when he said that their childhoods had been similar? Had Snape been abused too? Or was it something else?

And that last bit, about how he would be a hypocrite to say anything against being gay...was it possible...in any way...that Snape was...gay? He was not stupid enough to ask as if he was wrong he would probably get his balls chopped off or worse by the man.

He simply vowed to put his gaydar on the watch from now on.