The slender fingers drummed on the top of the desk as they had been doing for the last quarter of an hour. Before that it was the floor which had had full attention as the professor paced back and forth to no avail. There was no rational explanation for what had occurred the night before. Why he, Severus Snape, revered Potions Master, feared Death Eater, powerful wizard, had suddenly behaved like a sentimental idiot. And all over a pair of eyes; bright green, piercing, searching, beseeching green eyes.

Sighing, Snape rubbed his forehead, seeming to stir up the memory of what had happened. After punishing the brat for his stupidity involving the troll, Snape had attempted to read before retiring to his bed. However that was not as easy as normal. The Potions Master had already been filled with questions as to just why he had suddenly stepped in and taken Potter in hand. He wasn't the boy's head of house. McGonagall had already handed out her scolding, such as it was. Severus snorted remembering the mildness of the words compared to some that he had received as a student. There had been no reason for him to say or do anything. Yet he had.

Severus had repeatedly told himself that he had done it as a way to make Potter's life more miserable. But he knew it wasn't true. For all his renowned sternness, Snape was just that, stern, but not one to deliberately go out of his way to be unduly harsh to a student, even the Brat-Who-Lived. No, there was more. Things that he didn't want to think about. Things he shoved aside. Things that had kept returning to his mind. Until finally the man had given up the pretense of reading and sat staring at the fire admitting that yes, for some unknown, unexplained, absolutely insane reason, Snape had felt worried when he saw the little boy near the hulking mass of the unconscious troll.

Students had come and gone through the school for several years with Snape as a teacher and he had not cared a whit about any one of them in particular, indeed had been glad to see the majority of them depart. Not until his godson entered Hogwarts two months ago could he have ever said that he had even a modicum of gladness to see a child. And most certainly the Potions Master was not overjoyed to lay eyes on the son of his old schooldays enemy!

Yet there was something about the bloody brat. Something that had had Severus watching him from the first night, even against his will. As he had pondered it the previous night, Severus had to admit that he had noted how small and frail Potter appeared to be. In a deep part of his being he had been concerned for the boy. Even more so once the blasted dreams started and he had seen those eyes. It had taken the sight of Potter beside the troll, the thought of what might have happened to this child, to make Snape react.

Smirking to himself at his desk now, the professor would be willing to bet that Potter liked Snape's reaction to foolishly endangering one's life about as much as Draco did. But to a man who had seen so much loss, had even been a part of causing some of it, life was too precious to be risked needlessly. And Snape would make sure that Harry as well as Draco was reminded of that as needed.

Wait! Oh Merlin!! Had he just thought of the brat by his first name??! Snape groaned. He had! Well, THAT wouldn't be happening again!

And then, as if caring enough to spank the brat wasn't bad enough he had done what had to be one of the stupidest things he had ever done in his life. He had reached out.

Snape could still vividly recall the night's dream. He had silently made his way from the door to a closer spot this time. That had been his down fall. If the Potions Master had thought the eyes were hard to resist from across the room it was nothing compared to when they were a mere few feet away. He had stood behind the Dark Lord and felt the evil pouring off the man and shuddered. Then he had dared look at the child. Frightened green eyes stared directly at him, begging still but yet. . .Snape had been shocked to see something new there. A resignment, a look of hopelessness that no child should possess. In the space of a second he had understood that he was the reason for that look. And that knowledge had cut him to the heart. It was then that the concern he had felt earlier at seeing Potter and the troll surged through him once more, prompting him to do what he had fought against, but what was right. He had reached out and taken the small hand, holding it tightly in a silent promise, forgetting for the moment that this was Harry Potter that he had just connected with and would now forever be bonded with.

The emotions were what was right at the time, but then as he and the boy had looked at each other and Potter realized who his rescuer was. . .Snape sighed. The dream had been broken off quicker than ever before. And now. . .now what was he supposed to do? Albus and Minerva would have a field day if they found out. And then there was Potter himself. How would the brat react now? Oh and of course he had had to pick the night before the boy had his class to finally acknowledge the bloody link, Snape further berated himself as he glanced at the clock and then the door of his classroom. He had foregone breakfast so as not to see Potter, but there was no way Severus Snape would miss teaching one of his classes!

Noting the time, the Potions Master cleared his mind of the confusing thoughts and stood up, going to do a second, nay, a third check that everything was ready for the lesson. And he was not a moment too soon in setting about the seemingly normal routine.

The door opened and the first year potions students entered. As assorted groups of Slythrins and Gryffindors filed in, Snape couldn't help but notice the absence of two students, namely Potter and Weasley.

s s s s s s s s s s

"Come ON!"

Harry tore down the corridor after Ron, robes not fastened and flapping around them. They were going to be late! And to Snape's class at that! Then again, after last night, Harry was quite willing to just skip the class entirely. Between the 'special' punishment for the troll incident and then the. . .no, he refused to think about the dream or what it meant.

Reaching the door of the potions classroom, Harry and Ron exchanged looks, neither over anxious to open the door and go inside. After another minute, Harry took a deep breath and entered, Ron on his heels.

"And so the effects of the potion will wear off in. . . " Snape stopped mid lecture and glared at the latecomers. "Five points from Gryffindor for your lack of ability to tell time, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter," he snapped. Then without so much as looking at the boys again, Snape continued with the class.

Ron grumbled but took his seat. Harry however was a bit puzzled as he slid in next to his friend. No prolonged glare directed at him. No harassing comments. The boy wondered briefly if Snape was ill.

"Is there a reason you find me so fascinating, Potter?" The snide voice and the snickering from the Slytherin side of the room brought Harry back to the realization that Snape had stopped speaking and everyone else was going about starting the potion of the day, while he was simply staring at the professor.

"No," Harry mumbled, dropping his head and adding under his breath, "who would find you fascinating?" So much for thinking he's not feeling up to his normal charm, Harry thought.

s s s s s s s s s s

Snape prowled the classroom as usual during the course of the lesson. He noted with some satisfaction that Potter seemed even more incompetent than normal today, and not just when the professor was near him. He was jumpy and on edge in general. Good, the Potions Master thought. At least Snape wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable with this entire thing.

"The directions clearly state FOUR spoonfuls of powdered hellebore, Mr. Potter, not seven," the dark haired wizard remarked as he stood behind Harry and Ron. "Are your counting skills that poor, or are you simply not paying attention?"

The comment did nothing for Harry's nerves and the boy's hand shook as he held the bottle of powdered hellebore, inadvertently dumping even more of the questioned ingredient into his simmering cauldron. A small 'POW' was heard, promptly followed by a puff of lemon yellow smoke.

Rolling his eyes, Snape quickly waved his wand and the contents of the cauldron disappeared along with the gaseous cloud. "Stupid boy! While you might enjoy the attentions of Madame Pomfrey, I can assure you that I, and I daresay the rest of the class, have no desire to visit either the hospital wing or the adjoining bathrooms. Hellebore is a powerful purgative and with the mixture you just concocted the fumes alone would have sent us all running for some relief."

"I. . .I'm sorry, sir," Harry blushed and looked down at the table.

Snape sneered at the boy. "I will be expecting a twelve inch essay from you explaining the properties and PROPER uses of hellebore on my desk at the start of the next class meeting, Potter."

Harry nodded, not looking up. "Yes, sir." Here it comes, he thought to himself, already quoting in his mind the next comment he was sure he would hear.

"That is a zero for the day as well, Mr. Potter," Snape announced predictably before resuming his stalking around the classroom.

Sighing, Harry begin cleaning up his supplies. No sense in just sitting here. He caught Ron's look and shrugged. It wasn't as if Harry wasn't used to getting zeroes for his practical work in potions. The written part he had thus far managed to barely pass, it just marginally being up to Snape's standards, but the actual mixing of the potions was a different story. But in Harry's mind it was because Snape always hovered over him.

The green eyes glanced over at where Snape was informing one of the Slytherins that while they were close, their potion was the wrong color because of the number of times they had stirred it. Harry thought back to the previous night's events and wondered again just what it all meant. He wanted to know but there was no one he could talk to about it and he certainly wasn't going to speak to Snape!

As class was dismissed, Harry filed out with the rest of the students, not looking back even though he could feel the eyes on him.

s s s s s s s s s s

Two sets of eyes carefully watched the dark haired figure at the table and after exchanging a knowing glance, Dumbledore nodded to Professor McGonagall. 'After the meal,' he mouthed to the witch, who nodded back in return.

s s s s s s s s s s

At the knock on the door, Severus wondered if he could simply ignore it and the duo he felt sure were on the other side would go away. He snorted to himself at the wishful thinking. Not likely. With a sigh, the Potions Master laid his book aside and went to the door of his chambers. So much for reading and privacy tonight.

"Headmaster, Minerva, what a surprise," Snape greeted. A surprise you waited this long to meddle in my life again, he thought to himself.

"Severus, my boy, may we come in?" Dumbledore smiled congenially.

Holding back another sigh, Snape nodded and stepped aside to allow his colleagues entrance. "What brings you to the dungeons?"

"Why you of course," the Headmaster made himself comfortable in a chair and continued smiling at the younger wizard.

Snape only barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes. "What about me?"

"Perhaps we could discuss that over tea, hmm?" Dumbledore suggested, conjuring up a tea service with a flick of his wand.

Bloody old coot and his tea! Snape thought irritably and looked over at McGonagall. "What is the problem now, Minerva. You have that look."

"And what look would that be, Severus?" McGonagall questioned as she politely accepted a cup of tea from Albus.

The one where I'm about to be made to feel like a ruddy child, Severus responded to himself, but aloud he answered, "As if you had something on your mind."

Dumbledore took a sip of his tea and spoke up. "I believe we all have something on our minds, my boy. Including you."

"I have no idea why you would think that," Snape returned.

"Have you had any dreams lately, Severus?" Minerva questioned.

Frowning, Snape eyed the witch. "No, fortunately they seemed to have stopped."

"About four days ago, I would venture to guess," the Transfiguration professor leveled a look at the young wizard.

"How. . ." Snape began and then quickly pulled himself together giving a shrug. "I wasn't aware of the exact date, just thankful that they are not plaguing me anymore."

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "Oh, Severus, stop it. We all know when the dreams stopped and why. You have been even more remote than usual and it is not only you. Harry has behaved differently as well. He is either more withdrawn or very distracted in class."

"Have you spoken to the boy, Severus?" Dumbledore questioned.

"No, why should I?" Snape scoffed. "I fulfilled my part in this. The link is established."

The two older people exchanged a look before Dumbledore spoke again. "And that is it as far as you are concerned? You have the link and there is nothing more? No concern at all? No wish to strengthen the bond instead of allowing it to lie dormant?"

"I never asked for the bond or wanted the bloody thing in the first place!" Snape erupted. "Why should I try to make it stronger??"

"I'll tell you why, Severus Snape," Minerva shot back and was pleased to note the younger man shift back in his chair ever so slightly at the sharp, stern tone. "Because you NEED this bond. It is about more than just you and you sheer stubbornness. It is about more than just what you see as an annoying child. It is about developing something that will be beneficial to both you and Harry. Something that might help with the destiny that has been forced upon the both of you. And you would do well to stop sulking and having temper tantrums and speak to Harry about it. Merlin knows if you are upset and confused, HE certainly is!"

Pausing in her rant to observe the way Snape had set his jaw, McGonagall knew that she was getting through to the Potions Master whether he wanted to admit it or not. "Halloween night, you had the last word with Mr. Potter, did you not?" At the nod, the witch continued, "And that was the night the connection was made wasn't it? Can you honestly sit there and tell me that you felt nothing at all that night? At any point?"

"I felt plenty," Snape snapped. "I was angry and annoyed and frustrated. Potter is a willful, meddlesome brat that needs a firm hand."

A half smile played on Dumbledore's lips. "Very like another young man," he commented quietly, only to be rewarded by a dark glare from the Potions Master.

"I am nothing like that brat," Severus attested. "Born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Catered to for eleven years." He snorted. "Think again, Albus."

"I believe it is you who needs to think again, Severus," Minerva put in. "And you still haven't done as I advised you. You haven't looked at Harry. Not really."

Oh but he had, Snape thought, though he would never admit that to these two. He had spent the last few days watching Potter even more closely than before. And at times he would swear that the boy wasn't as arrogant as Snape liked to claim he was.

At the lack of an immediate snarky answer, Professor McGonagall set aside her tea and looked closer at her colleague and former student. Perhaps she was the one who wasn't seeing the whole picture. In a quieter voice she commented, "Or maybe you have."

Snape looked over at the woman and then away. "I don't wish to be rude, but I did have some papers that I need to grade for tomorrow," he stated in an effort to rid himself of the duo and the uncomfortable feelings their words were bringing to him.

"Of course, my boy. We will allow you to get back to work," Dumbledore rose from his seat. Smiling at Snape, he rested a hand gently on the younger wizard's shoulder. "My door is always open, child. You know that." With a glance at McGonagall, the Headmaster took his leave, knowing the witch would follow shortly.

Severus looked at Minerva as she stood up. "Surely you have work to do as well?"

"Always," she chuckled, but did not move toward the door.

Crossing his arms, Snape gave the older professor a look that clearly stated, 'then be on your way'.

"Severus. . ."Minerva very nearly laid a hand on the black robed arm, but restrained herself. "Caring is not a bad thing, Severus. It is not the curse you think it to be." Then following Dumbledore, the witch made her way out of Snape's rooms, closing the door behind her.

It was not until the door was securely shut that Snape released a long sigh and dropped into his chair once more, arms uncrossing now. Gazing at the fire, he thought about McGonagall's last words and whispered, "It is for me, Minerva. It is for me."