I Don't Wanna Fight Because We Don't Get Along by Air_Is_Here
Summary: An explosion happens at Hogwarts due to a charm gone wrong. Harry, in the midst of an ongoing explosion, manages to get separated from his friends. What happens when he gets Snatched up by Snape, and forced to spend hours in a room with his school enemy- Draco Malfoy?
Categories: Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape, Fic Fests > Winter fest 2021, Teacher Snape > Professor Snape, Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco
Snape Flavour: Snape Comforts, Snape is Kind, Snape is Secretive
Genres: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Abuse Recovery
Takes Place: 2nd Year
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Eating Disorder, Emotional Abuse, Neglect
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 1 Completed: Yes Word count: 3922 Read: 2589 Published: 04 Jan 2022 Updated: 04 Jan 2022
Story Notes:
My friend Misty beta read this! Also, in this, Severus never called Lily a mudblood. The title of this is a lyric from a Talkshow Boy song!

1. I Don't Wanna Fight Because We Don't Get Along by Air_Is_Here

I Don't Wanna Fight Because We Don't Get Along by Air_Is_Here
Author's Notes:
Exploding Charm Gone Wrong, one detail changed, In this, Snape had never called Lily a mudblood.

Earsplittingly loud noise erupts from the great hall. The ground shakes lightly while dust and smoke shoot up from the middle of the dining room. Screams fill the room as people try escaping.

“Harry! C’mon mate! We have to get out of here!” Ron yells, but Harry can’t hear him. His eyes burn with smoke, his ears ring loudly.

The heads of each House command everyone to go back to their dormitories, guarding the traffic through the doors.

Within 10 minutes the hall is mainly cleared, besides the 30 or so students caught under debris, hiding under tables, or students who were hurt. The explosion still hadn’t stopped.

Harry’s eyes burned, his ears rang in anguish, but he wasn’t physically hurt, even with explosions still going off. He couldn’t manage to find his way out, and it hurt to open his eyes, so he dived to the floor, underneath a nearby table.

Soon enough (or what felt like an eternity in his opinion) he was grabbed from under the table by someone. It was a quick movement that caused Harry to gasp, causing his throat to get dry, making him cough.

He was soon hauled over to another room and then carefully placed onto the floor, one with a colder feel and no junk on it.

“Potter, can you open your eyes?” A deep, smooth voice asks. Harry opens his eyes, only to feel burning. The man sighs, pulling something out of his pockets. “I’m going to need you to open your eyes so I can put eye drops in them. It will help with the dry feeling and burning.

Harry opens his eyes and makes out a blurry figure of a pale man. Snape? Is that Snape? Harry thinks, but before he could think anymore his thoughts were interrupted by eyedrops hitting his eyes. He blinks them back and closes his eyes for a few minutes.

When Harry finally opens his eyes he sees the Potions Master sitting in a swivel chair.
Snape sighs. “Come on Mr. Malfoy, I expect you to not spend the next 5 hours performing your supererogatory skincare routine.”

Malfoy? Here? For five hours?

“Excuse me, does that mean that the three of us will be spending the next five hours together?” Harry blurts out

“You shall address me as ‘professor’, or don’t address me at all. And yes. It will take a while to clean through debris, make sure everyone is either in their dorms or with a teacher. I have you and Malfoy, just like how Lupin managed to get stuck with Longbottom. Makes me feel bad for the man.” Snape scoffs out.

Harry’s face pales. He wouldn’t, no, he couldn’t stay in a room with the two of the 3 people who hated him most, the third being Uncle Vernon.

“Oh stop looking like we killed your mother Potter! It’s just 5 hours, not like either of us want to be anywhere near a freak like you.” Draco spits out mean spiritedly. Snape winces at that remark, even he knows Draco overstepped a line.

“That’s enough from you both. I expect no more talking from either of you. You will sit in silence.” Snape addresses sternly. Both boys groan.

Harry just sits there and zones out. His mind drifts, farther and farther, until he is in a different place. At Number 4 Privet Drive, sitting in his cupboard upright as he hears Vernon opening the front door.

Another night, another chance for Vernon to beat me in a drunken stupor as if I was able to fight back. I’m not one of his drunkard co-workers. If I wasn’t scared of getting beaten bloody, the sight might have been kind of funny, watching my Uncle stumble around with his shirt drenched in sweat, face red, as he swayed from foot to foot as if he was on a rocking boat- and about to be seasick.

“Potter? Potter, are you with us, or have you become as the Americans call it- Hellen Keller?” Draco snaps his fingers in front of Harry, and the boy snaps back to reality.

“Huh? What?” Harry questions, looking around. He wipes a tear off his face, realizing that he must have forgotten to blink.

“Clearly, silence isn’t working out for you two.” Snape mutters out, annoyed. “Would you rather be the subjects of trialing other students' botched potions?”

“Professor, anything would be better than spending 5 hours here with that Freak alone.” Draco rolled his eyes.

“Well, it’s not like I would want to spend time with you either, Malfoy!” Harry snaps back.
“Both of you, quiet.” Snape interrupts. Spending any more time with these kids together was going to be the death of him. For now, he just needed to find a way to keep them at bay.

“I want something to do!” Draco whines out.

“Well, then why don’t you two play some sort of game together.” Snape tiredly says. “And perhaps leave me alone?”

“Or else? What will happen if we don’t comply? Will you tell my mom? You and her were friends, both families with grudges against the Potters.” Draco taunts, pointing at Harry. Severus nods slowly.

“Oh, I won’t leave out any details.” Snape says darkly.

“Draco please, for the love of God, stop talking.” Harry begs.

“Oh, what is it, Harry? What will you have to worry about? Is your daddy going to beat you?” Draco laughs out. Harry grits his teeth. God, if only Malfoy knew about his uncle.

“You know damn well he’s dead.” Harry says, his voice shaking.

“I wasn’t kidding about using you both as my lab rats for botched Potions.” Snape says annoyed.

“Well, what are they?” Potter questions fearfully.

“Truth potions. From the 5th years.” Snape smirks slightly.

“Oh, that isn’t going to scare me away.” Draco sneers. “At least someone taught me discipline and status, unlike you! Hanging out with that filthy Weasley rat.” That was Harry’s last straw. He lunges towards the blond-haired boy, filled with rage; however, before he is able to strike at him, he is stopped halfway through.

“Both of you, sit down. I guess there shall be potions dished out between us.” Snape shouts angrily.

Harry’s face pales. This wouldn’t end well. Snape comes back with 2 vials. “Professor, please don’t make me.” the boy whispers.

“Would you rather me spell it into you?” Severus asks coolly. Harry shakes his head, grabbing a vial, and downing it in one swift movement. Draco grabs a vial and drinks his too.

“This makes me feel funny.” Draco says, holding his stomach,

“I would never poison you boys. That being said, these are some of the less botched ones. I doubt you would want one with vomit in it.” Snape cringes, remembering the event. “The side effects will take place. Perhaps this will get you both to stop talking and worry more about what you say.” Snape lectures, and then adds “Or it will give a wonderful opportunity for a game of truth or dare.” under his breath.

“What are the side effects?” Harry blurts out.

“Well, You might feel a bit funny as they are a bit botched, and they might give you a little anxiety over not being able to lie. When it wears off you will feel tired, and maybe a little bit more than usual due to them being failure potions.” Snape explains.

Great, Just great. I pray I don’t let anything embarrassing out. Harry thinks.

“That being said, let’s test it. Harry, what do you think of me as a Potions Teacher?” Snape questions.

“I think you should invest in some dry shampoo and stop taking points from Gryffindor.” Harry blurts out, covering his mouth immediately after realizing what had been said.

Snape chuckles and then puts Draco on the spotlight. “Draco, what do you think of me as a Potions Teacher?”

“I think you should actually do something fun for once in potions. It’s not a class of bedtime stories, stop making it one.” Draco replies plainly, fear flashing through his eyes.

“Duly noted.” Severus nods. “I won’t punish you for anything you say, as you cannot control the truth, but try to keep any inappropriate details to a minimum. Or any talking at all to a minimum for that matter.”

Harry nods. “This is all your fault Malfoy.” he seethes out.

“At least I had parents who will hold me accountable.” Draco shoots back.

“My Uncle holds me unfairly accountable… So truly, which is worse?” The Gryffindor mutters under his breath.

“Are you guys hungry? Cranky because you haven’t slept well perhaps? Is nap time in order? I’ve never seen a moodier group of teens in my life, and that’s saying a lot.” Snape pointed out.

“We are not five years old, Professor. We don’t get ‘cranky’. However, I think both of us can agree some food would be nice.” Draco corrected snarkily.

“Both of us? Do you mean you, and only you? I’m still full from yesterday’s lunch!” Harry covers his mouth, his eyes wide. He did not mean for that to slip out. Snape raises an eyebrow.
“That does not sound like a proper and healthy example of your eating habits Potter. I’d hope this isn’t what you eat like on the daily.” Snape comments seriously.

“It’s not like I can stomach that much anyways.” the brown-haired boy replies quietly.
“Do you have an eating disorder?” Draco blurts out, with genuine concern, concern that he hadn’t meant to show.

That’s new, Malfoy actually worrying about me? Harry thinks.

“No Draco, I don’t starve myself on purpose. That would be stupid. I’m not body insecure.” Harry rolls his eyes. There was so much eye-rolling between the two, Severus was sure they would give themselves a headache from doing so.

“Well, you don’t have to hate your body to have disordered eating.” Snape informs, praying that the boy was at least getting enough in one meal to not have his weight rapidly declining.

“Why is it that you guys can pry all the info from me? How about you go try a botched potion too Snape? Maybe then you’ll get to taste the dirty sock flavor that we had to.” Harry snaps back angrily. He didn’t want to talk about how his Aunt and Uncle had tried starving him.

“Would that put you at ease then?” Snape questions, contemplating taking it. Draco laughs a little, and nods. Harry ponders on it for a few seconds and then gives a slow nod. “Very well then.” Snape sighs, grabbing a 3rd potion.

Both Harry and Draco watch with wide eyes as their professor chugs the potion. He grimaces a little afterward.

“There was definitely too much of a wide variety of ingredients.” Snape says sourly.

“Why do you hate me so much?” Harry tests.

“I knew your father. He was, to say, not a good man to me. However, I can’t say I despise you. Your mom was my friend at one point.” Snape wanted to strangle Potter and his curiosity, but he knew that he was just blurting out whatever he wanted to know. He could barely control his mouth, so maybe it wasn’t completely fair.

“Now, care to tell us why you aren’t eating Potter?” Draco continues with the previous topic.

“Uncle Vernon preferred to not feed me much. He didn’t really believe that I needed it that much.” Harry shrugs, his voice filled with anxiety.

“And you let him tell you that?” Draco stares, mouth open in shock.

“I certainly didn’t let him. If I argued I’d be worse off.” Harry explains, his voice filled with panic.

Make it stop! I don’t want this! I want to shut up!

“I want to get out of here. I don’t want to be in this room speaking my mind.” Harry bit his lip in an attempt to get himself to stop talking.

“I don’t want to be here either. I feel bad for interrupting your guys’ personal lives.” Draco mumbles. It was probably the first time Harry had seen Draco be so considerate.

“There’s a very slim chance we would be able to leave this room. On one hand, I wish I hadn’t pulled you two out of the Great Hall, as I could have some peace and quiet, but on the other, I wouldn’t want two students dying on my watch.” Snape replies smoothly.

“Oh god, I don’t want to keep talking.” Harry croaks out.

“If it helps, the most embarrassing thing I’ve done was practicing making out and hitting on my hand… And a pillow… and a cardboard cutout of Madonna…” Draco butts in, embarrassed. If Potter had ever told this to anyone, he would make sure to hex him at any given chance. “Oh, and if I hear you telling this to anyone, I will hex you any chance I get until you are begging for mercy.

“And the same goes for you? If you mention anything I’ve said out of here, I’ll get the Weasley twins to do the same, perhaps worse?” Harry deals back. Draco nods. They both turn to their Potions Master.

He raises his hands in defense. “As long as you or someone else isn’t being a danger to you or others, I would not have a good reason to tell. Although I must say, Mr.Malfoy, if you had to practice wooing a cardboard cutout, I can’t say you will have much hope for relationships in the future.”

“Oh come on professor, could your childhood have been so dull that you’ve never experimented with that before?” Draco shoots back, his face beet red.

“Although your question is highly inappropriate to ask a teacher, I must say, I was not so desperate to get it on with a pillow.” Snape says with disgust. “As normal people do, I practiced with another human being.”

“Oh yeah, who was it?” Harry chimes in.

“Lily Potter.” Snape smirks as Harry stares at him wide-eyed.

“You didn’t….” Harry sputtered out. “My mom? Why her?”

“As I said before, we were friends. Very good friends to that matter. We were friends up until she had died, even though I hated her taste in men. We were in…. 3rd year when it happened. We snuck out of our rooms that night. We were caught, but it was worth it.” Snape lightly smiled at the memory, but his eyes flashed with pain, indicating that he did not want to talk about it.

Harry grimaced. “Gross. I haven’t had my first kiss yet.”

“To be fair, I haven’t had mine either.” Draco mumbles, somewhat ashamed. “Er- anyways, when are we going to eat? I haven’t had breakfast, got interrupted by the explosions.” he complains.

Severus sighs. He forgot about that. He reaches inside his drawer and pulls out bread, cheese, and turkey breast slices. He takes 6 slices of bread, 6 slices of cheese, and 3 slices of turkey breast. After assembling the sandwiches, he hands one to Harry, one to Malfoy, and keeps one to himself. “This will have to do for now.”

Harry just stands there, looking at the sandwich as if its presence made him uncomfortable. Draco pretty much shoves it into his mouth at super wizard speed, as if he had just forgotten that table manners existed. Snape just chews the sandwich slowly, sitting back down in his office chair. The whole situation made harry uncomfortable.

“Why aren’t you eating Potter?” Snape questions after he finishes his sandwich.

“I don’t think I can.” He whispers.

“You physically can. I don’t see why not.” Snape prods, Harry shifts from foot to foot.

“I’m not supposed to eat it.” Harry replies softly.

“You have a gluten allergy?” Draco blurts out.

“No, you dimwit!” Harry scolds, annoyed.

“Lactose intolerance?” Draco tries again

“No, My Uncle didn’t think It was necessary to feed me!” Harry snaps. “And besides, you’ve seen me eat bread and drink milk before. Maybe you’re just stupid. I’ve already said this once before.”

“Oh. I forgot. I guess I’ve been thinking of you as spoiled for too long.” Draco says apologetically. Under any other circumstances, one without downing a truth potion, he would never have admitted this.

“Harry, this does sound like an eating disorder. Regardless, you will have to eat it. Nobody is going to hurt you for eating it.”

Harry took a small bite out of the sandwich. His stomach churned with anxiety. All he could picture was his uncle yelling at him for wasting their space, time, and money, while Harry cried about it. Him being locked away for days with only a cold can of chicken noodle soup for every 2 or 3 days.

“Harry?” Draco waves his hand in front of the boy’s face worriedly.

“Huh? Oh. I zoned off. Sorry about that” Harry mumbles.

“What were you thinking about?” Snape asks with concern.

“My uncle. That fucker used to lock me in a cabinet for days at a time. I’d barely have anything to eat. That was his signature punishment to remind me I was wasting money, time, and space in their house.” Harry tried muffling his words after the first sentence, but Snape still managed to catch most of the words.

“That’s abuse Potter. You can’t stay there any longer. Perhaps I can talk to Dumbledore to let you stay in the castle or with a teacher over the summer.”

“Could I stay with you?” Harry looks down, biting his lip in shame. “I mean, you already knew my mother. You’d be the closest person to her that I’d ever get to know.”

Snape looks at him shocked. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind, however that will mean that you will spend a lot of time working on potions. It would be a shame if a kid under my guardianship were to perform so poorly in potions.” God, how badly Snape wanted to scoff and say that he would never do it, even if he was held captive to, but he knew he wouldn’t have meant that.

“That won’t scare me off.” Harry smiles warily. He then remembers that he is still holding a sandwich.

Oh. I should probably attempt to finish this.

Harry takes another bite out of his sandwich, chewing slowly, almost as if it was a chore. He reaches about two-thirds of the way finished, before giving up. “I can’t eat anymore.” He says, exasperated, slightly mad at himself for not being able to finish a sandwich when it was the one task he had been given.

“That’s okay. I’m proud of you for managing to finish most of it.” Snape replies softly.

“Professor, sir, you are acting suspiciously nice to Potter over here.” Draco accused.
“I’m not a monster. If I was nice all the time, all of the foolish, brainless children I teach would take every opportunity to trash my classroom and fool around.” Severus shrugs lightly.

“What next professor, are you going to admit that you hang out with grannies on weekends and knit your heart out?” Draco jokes.

“Well… The retirement homes in muggle London had looked kind of lonely when I was younger…” Snape mumbles, earning a shocked stare from both of the students.

“Hey, if it helps, I used to spend time with my neighbor Miss Figg and her several cats. She taught me how to crochet.” Harry offers.

“I remember learning how to macrame once from a book I found.” Draco admits.

—----time skip 2 hours—----

Harry and Draco had been lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

“Y’know, I never really understood why I hated you so badly.” Draco confesses. “You weren’t that bad of a person. I might have overreacted a bit.”

“A bit?” Harry snorts. “Well, it’s alright. I kind of did too. I forgive you. Maybe we can just be acquaintances? I wouldn’t consider this a ‘friendship’ at the moment.”

“Yeah, that works.” Draco smiles softly.

“The effects of the potion will wear off in about 30 minutes, you might feel overwhelmed and tired after this as I had mentioned earlier. Not to worry, you won’t be dying. Should you have any serious problems or side effects I have an anti-nausea potion, as well as a calming draught.” Snape explains.

They both nod, and continue on asking questions to each other.

“Who was your childhood imaginary friend?” Harry questions.

“Didn’t have one. Is that some sort of muggle concept?” Draco replies

Harry shrugs. “Probably. Have you ever done a sport?”

“Does Ballet count?” Draco looks embarrassed as he says this.

“Ballet?” Harry snorts. “Under what circumstances would Draco Malfoy willingly participate in ballet? Were you held as a hostage? Did someone kidnap you and force you into it?”

“No, my mom had made me do it when I was really young. It was a kid’s version of Don Quixote. Anyways, what was the most incorrect thing you’ve ever said?”

“Oh! I remember it perfectly!” Harry giggles, “so I was in year 4, and I had fallen asleep when the subject was math. The teacher woke me up in history to ask me a question about one of the kings, and I replied with the answer to a multiplication problem!”

Draco laughs, “That’s so embarrassing, I would have died.”

They continue on like this for a while. Out of nowhere, Harry makes a face.

“You okay Harry?” Draco asks, and just then a knock is to be heard on the door.

Professor McGonagall is standing at the doorway. “It’s safe to come out now. However, the dining hall will be closed for a few days. We might have to send students home for the time being, either that or we will have to deliver meals to dorms in the morning. We still haven’t decided on a plan of action.” Just then, she notices Harry. “Are you alright?” she asks, worried about her Gryffindor.

“Yeah. Just a little nauseous is all.” Harry reaches for the anti-nausea potion and drinks it. He feels better within a few seconds.

“Well, you heard Minerva Mr. Malfoy. Go back to the dormitories.” Snape says coolly.

“And what about Harry? Where is he going?” Draco questions.

“We have some things we need to sort out with Dumbledore. Right after that, perhaps Madam Pomfrey.” Snape replies, and Harry cracks a smile.

“Sir, can I walk Draco towards his common room?” Harry asks. Snape just shrugs and nods.

Harry pulls Draco along, but strangely enough, Harry pulls him in a different direction than the common room. Draco raises an eyebrow. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” Harry giggles.

They walk towards a bathroom, one Harry knows is rarely used because it’s such a far walk to get to.

“So, about that first kiss, the one neither of us has had? Well, I guess we could both use a little practice.” Harry blushes out.

“Very Gryffindor of you Potter, but would I really be a Slytherin to deny the only human resource to practice with?” Draco rolls his eyes playfully.

—----Time Skip 10 minutes—----

When Harry goes back to Snape, his face is red. Snape gives him a look of suspicion but doesn’t bring it up.

“Well? Let’s get going.” Harry prompts awkwardly.

“I hope you and Mr. Malfoy weren’t engaging in…” Snape didn’t know how to word it, but Harry blushed, knowing what Snape had meant.

“No! God no! Of course not! Ew!” Harry quickly interrupts.

“Good. Now let’s get going.” Snape replies with a sigh. They both walk out of the office together.
The End.
End Notes:
Leave a rating or review if you want!


This story archived at http://www.potionsandsnitches.org/fanfiction/viewstory.php?sid=3750