Silver and Gold 16/? DH Spoilers
SPOILERS FOR DH


Title: Silver and Gold 16/?
Author: Eriador117
Rating: NC-17, Snape/Harry, other pairings.
Spoilers up to and including Deathly Hallows
Summary: Things are never quite what they seem. Epilogue, what epilogue? ;)
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Potterverse, I'm just playing in it.
Beta'd by Rakina, many thanks :)
Warnings: AU, Angst, Mpreg. There are some other things I am not warning for as it will give away the plot and I myself don't exactly know where the story is going yet.



Earlier Parts

Part Sixteen

It was still strange to come down to the dungeons for Potions but have Horace Slughorn take the lessons instead of Severus. Sometimes Harry had to do a double-take when he entered the Potions classroom and saw Slughorn, his hands clasped over his ample belly as he smiled jovially at everyone and waved them to their seats. At least Potions was now the last class on a Friday rather than first on Monday morning. It was hard enough sometimes just getting out of bed without having double Potions first thing.

Slughorn wasn't such a fan of Harry's now that Harry didn't have the Half-blood Prince's book any more to rely on. Consequently, although his efforts weren't as atrocious as they used to be; they were nowhere near as good as during sixth year. It also meant that Harry was spared any invitations to Slug Club parties and he didn't miss them in the least.

Harry's lab partner was Ernie Macmillan; Slughorn had paired the class up earlier in the year. For most of the past few lessons, Ernie kept apologising to him for – as he saw it – stealing Harry's girlfriend. Since Harry and Ginny had broken up long before Ernie was on the scene, the apologies got a bit wearing after a while.

"Hi, Harry," said Ernie as Harry took his place beside him by the workbench. Harry would have much preferred to have been partnered with someone else, even Neville, and considering how hopeless Neville was at Potions, that was saying something.

At the front of the classroom, Slughorn rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet; he broke into an excited smile and clapped his hands together with glee. "Well now, everyone, a thrilling potion for us today! We're going to be attempting to make the Felix Felicis Potion! What do you say to that, eh?"

"Cool!" said Ron.

"The instructions and ingredients are on the board. Remember to read through them carefully; you must add the ingredients in the correct order, otherwise who knows what might happen? It's a very volatile potion that often comes up on the NEWT exam, but because of the nature of the potion you will not be asked to sample it during your exams!" He guffawed and held his belly as tears of mirth dripped down his cheeks.

The class exchanged wary glances with each other; Slughorn was acting even weirder than usual today.

Harry read through the instructions three times just to make sure he would get it right. If things went wrong with potions, they tended to go spectacularly wrong and he for one did not want to be on the receiving end of an exploding cauldron or worse today. It would soon be the weekend – Severus was taking him to London on Saturday; their first official date as a Courted couple and Harry could hardly wait.

He took a few deep breaths as he made his way to the storeroom; daydreaming about Severus in Potions was not the best way to concentrate. It was difficult though when everything in the classroom reminded him of its previous occupant. All the storage jars still had Severus' handwritten labels on them; the room was laid out exactly as it had been when Severus had been teaching. There were even some of his old aprons and work robes hanging up in the storeroom and before Harry was even aware of what he was doing, he was caressing the dark, woollen fabric and wishing Severus was here now. When Hermione came in, he dropped his hand as though the clothes had burned it and was just relieved it was his friend who'd caught him and not anyone else.

"Harry? Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Just a little distracted," said Harry. "It's our first date tomorrow."

"Oh! That's wonderful! You must be so excited!"

Harry grinned at her. Excited didn't even cover it.

"Hey, what's taking you two so long?" Ron asked as he reached the storeroom. "Slughorn'll think you've come in here to snog or something."

"Nah, I'll leave that to you, Ron," said Harry as he gathered up his ingredients and left them to it. It was another ten minutes before Ron and Hermione emerged; both of them looking rather red-faced and with swollen lips. Harry wondered what it would be like to kiss Severus; somehow Harry didn't think Severus' kisses would be as disappointing as the ones he'd shared with Cho and Ginny.

Harry grinned at his friends, who blushed even harder at that, and took stock of his work space. He set everything out in the order it was to be added to the potion and made sure all his equipment was clean before he started. Even a speck of a dust on his knives could have disastrous consequences if it got mixed into his cauldron.

For the next hour Harry was engrossed at his worktable: he chopped and diced, poured and stirred, his mind filled with nothing but the potion he was brewing. He could sometimes see the fascination; it was interesting to put so many disparate ingredients in a cauldron and come out with something new. In that way it was like cooking and although the Dursleys had made Harry cook so much when he was younger, Harry enjoyed it as long as he got to eat what he cooked. Which had never usually happened at Privet Drive.

It was as if time had stopped; there was no past, no future. Just the now and the potion that was bubbling and turning golden, like it should. Little drops arced over his cauldron and Harry was surprised when he heard Slughorn behind him.

"Excellent, Harry! Well done. I never expected anyone to be able to make it on the first attempt!" Slughorn turned to Ernie who was just about to add Puffaseed pods to his mixture, but his bubotuber pus was still sitting on the bench.

"No, Ernie!" Harry cried, but he was too late. The pods dropped into Ernie's cauldron, making it rattle ominously.

"Get down!" Harry shrieked, lunging for Ernie and toppling him to the floor. There was a loud bang as the cauldron exploded and Harry's back was scalded by the boiling contents, even through the layers of his clothes. He screamed again, a scream of pain this time as it felt like the skin was being flayed from his bones. He could hear hisses and sizzles as the potion ate through his clothes and his skin.

There were screams of 'Harry!' from all around the room.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Granger, take Mr. Potter to the hospital wing at once!" Slughorn ordered.

Harry could do little besides groan as his two best friends helped him up. He could smell burning flesh and dreaded to think what his back looked like.

"Mr. Macmillan, are you hurt?"

"No, sir. Harry saved me."

"Very well. For not paying attention to the instructions, you will serve detention all weekend! Because of your ineptitude your classmate could have been killed!"

"I'm all right," protested Harry but moaned again as pain shot through him. Well, maybe not all right, but he certainly wasn't at Death's door.

Ron took hold of one arm and Hermione the other as they led Harry out of the dungeons and up the stairs towards the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them at the double entrance doors. "Professor Slughorn sent a message by Floo to expect you," she explained on seeing their puzzled expressions. "Can you lie down on the bed for me? Face down."

Harry couldn't climb onto the bed, his limbs had turned to water as soon as his friends let go of him and if it hadn't been for Madam Pomfrey's levitation spell he would have slid to the stone floor.

"Your body's going into shock. Burns can do that sometimes."

She kept Harry hovering in the air for a few moments while he heard the rattle and clink of potions bottles as she gathered them all up from the storage shelf next to her office. Once that was done, she gently lowered Harry to the bed so that he was lying on his stomach and not on his burnt back. It was awkward trying to drink the potions, but he managed it.

"I'm going to numb the area first before I even attempt to put the salve on, Harry. The potion has eaten right through to the nerves and underlying tissue. I can see some bone as well; you're going to be in here for a while until everything grows back. You'll be at a high risk of infection until the skin is renewed. I will put some salve on the minor burns, they should heal in a few days and then we'll get you started on some regenerative potions. Miss Granger, can you go and see Professor Snape and ask him if he has any left of his stocks? We have no regenerative potions in the infirmary at the moment; it's not something we usually need."

"Shouldn't I ask Professor Slughorn, Ma'am?" asked Hermione.

"The man may be useful at teaching Potions, but he is not a full Potions Master. I'd prefer to trust my patients' health to Professor Snape. His medicinal potions are the best in Europe."

"Professor Snape. Definitely," said Harry, suddenly feeling very drowsy. "Spell," he mumbled. "Silent spell."

"I'm sorry, Harry," said Madam Pomfrey. "But you won't want to be awake for this."

***

When Harry awoke, he was still lying face down on one of the infirmary beds. It was dark outside, a sliver of moon visible through the window. A drip was attached to his left arm and making the skin on the back of his hand itch where the needle was embedded. Lanterns were lit all along the room so it was difficult to see anything else outside except for the room's reflection. Harry was no longer wearing his school uniform; he had on a pair of pyjama bottoms but nothing except bandages on his top half. Although he was lying on top of the covers; he wasn't cold and nor were his feet. Usually in the colder months in the castle he had to wear socks in bed to stop his toes feeling like icicles. Madam Pomfrey must have cast a warming charm over him.

Harry turned his head and glanced out the window, seeing the room's reflection again. "Severus!" Harry hadn't noticed him before; his head was still a bit fuzzy from the potions and spells Madam Pomfrey had cast on him. Harry tried to arch his head around so he could see his intended, but Severus placed a restraining hand on Harry's upper arm.

"Ssh, Harry. Don't move. You'll undo all of Poppy's hard work. How are you feeling?"

"A bit spaced out, but I'm not in pain any more. At least, not my back."

"Did shrapnel from the cauldron hit you anywhere?"

"I don't know, I can't remember. But my stomach aches. Maybe it's just because I'm lying on my front and I can't move. I'm sorry, Severus."

"What for?"

"You had our weekend all planned and now I've gone and ruined it."

"Harry, you haven't ruined anything! I'm just so glad you're okay. I've had a word with Horace and he's agreed with me that you are competent enough not to need a lab partner for the rest of the year. You will have your own workbench and will not have to put up with the idiocy of the likes of Ernie Macmillan! I could strangle him! Seven years of magical education and he still couldn't follow a simple instruction! If that had been my class..."

"It was a mistake, Severus. He didn't do it deliberately."

"A mistake? A mistake that could have killed you!" Severus sounded so angry, but underneath it Harry recognised another emotion: fear. Severus had been terrified that he might have lost Harry. In the window behind his bed; Harry could see Severus' face high with colour.

"I'm all right, Severus. Madam Pomfrey thinks I'll be fine and I've been taking your potions, how could I not be?"

Severus sat down on the chair next to Harry's bed and began to stroke his hair. Harry knew better than to try and angle his head into the touch. The growing skin on his back felt tight and he guessed that the less he moved his body until it healed, the better. "I was so worried, Harry. And selfish too."

"Selfish? How?"

"Because as you were lying here so ill in the infirmary, I was thinking to myself that I hadn't even got to kiss you yet."

"You can kiss me now, Severus," suggested Harry. As Severus leant over, he closed his eyes, readying himself for their first kiss. It wasn't the one he expected. Severus lifted Harry's fringe and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

"Get well soon, my Harry."

"I'll try my best."

"I know you will. If your stomach still isn't any better tomorrow; get Poppy to have a look at it. There might have been something we missed in your initial examination."

"I will. Thanks for being here."

"You have no need to thank me, Harry. I'm where I want to be. By your side."

Harry felt tears begin to form in the corners of his eyes and he didn't want Severus to see them; he hated to be seen as weak by other people. "I'm a bit tired now, Severus."

"Very well. Goodnight, I'll visit again tomorrow."

When Severus left the infirmary a few moments later and Harry drifted off to sleep once more; he wasn't thinking of the accident or how much pain he'd been in. He was thinking of Severus and the possessive way he'd said, 'my Harry'.

Harry could get very used to belonging to Severus.

TBC