A Lucky Man (Snarry)

Rehearse the pain to dull the pain

"Like soldiers trained to fight by night, I lived in the dark so as not to be blinded when darkness came. Rehearse the pain to dull the pain. Homeopathically."
― André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name

"Merlin! Mr. Potter, are you alright?", Sinistra exclaimed, rushing to where Harry was still standing bent down in the middle. The putrid smell of vomit drifting to his nose, making him sick up again.

The woman skipped over the small puddle, her button nose wrinkling at the sight, as she put one of her hands on Harry's back in a sign of comfort.

Harry winced, stepping away, or at least trying to, unable to stand the woman, that woman touching him. He stumbled, almost falling over his feet in his bid to get away, before a strong set of arms wrapped around his middle, helping to keep him upright.

"I'll take care of this, Sinistra, you can go back to your quarters.", a dark, raspy voice said close to Harry's ear, making him shudder as the warm breath tickled his flushed skin. He thought about protesting, feeling more than horrified at the thought of Severus of all people seeing him in such a sorry state, but in the end, he did nothing, feeling too weak to do anything except lean back into that strong chest and let himself be taken care off.

Sinistra looked at the two of them dubiously but still nodded, sending a small smile of pity toward Harry before leaving them alone.

Harry closed his eyes, dreading what he was sure would come next, because surely Severus would not let this go without some sort of punishment. And Harry couldn't even blame him, knowing that he had let the Headmaster down. It was reckless, he was reckless, just like the man had been saying since the moment he met Harry.

"Come now, let's take you to your room.", Severus said, moving a bit so that he could throw one of Harry's arms around his shoulder. Harry looked at him, feeling confused at the action.

Wouldn't it have been easier just to use magic?

They trudged through the corridor, bypassing the gargoyle and going toward the door a few feet away, the entrance to Harry's quarters.

He was the only Professor that had quarters so close to the Headmasters' office, since it wasn't usually done. But once Harry Potter had come to teach at Hogwarts, it became a necessity to separate him from more public areas since he had fans even amongst students. Minerva had thought that being so close to the Headmaster's office would sway the students in bothering Harry in his private rooms and she had been right.

Snape opened the door, the wards allowing him entrance immediately without him having to say the Headmaster's password, making the man frown as his sharp eyes turned to Harry. The younger man blushed, looking away, pretending that nothing amiss had just happened all the while praying that Snape would not press the issue.

He didn't want to explain why Severus was keyed to his words, something, not even his friends were. He didn't want to think about it, let alone speak about it; about his first day back in Hogwarts, when he had keyed in the man he had not seen in months, feeling like a hopeless fool even then.

Severus helped him into the room, choosing to stay silent, thank God for small mercies, walking him to his bedroom. Harry couldn't help but blush as they stopped in front of his bed, an embarrassing giggle escaping his mouth before he could stop it.

Severus said nothing, although Harry could have sworn that one side of his lips had quirked up just for a second, as he helped him into the bed.

"Are you going to fire me?", Harry asked once he was lying down, blinking owlishly at Severus.