The Master Plan

Chapter Thirty-Three: Large, Small, Naked, Deep and Honeyed

Harry felt guilty when Blaise insisted he open his gift first. He shouldn't have gotten so drunk. He shouldn't have made out with Draco Malfoy. He shouldn't have been upset with Blaise in the first place. He undid the bow and wrappings to find a beautiful, shimmery, silvery-green cloak. "Wow," he said. "This is. This is really great, Blaise. This must have cost a lot," he added, running a finger over the trim, which was embroidered with small, tasteful Japanese dragons and phoenixes. It was thick and warm, as well.

"It was nothing," Blaise smiled, and turned to find Hermione unexpectedly handing him a gift. "You got something for me?" he sounded uncertain.

Harry turned back to the tree, and slipped away to find Severus's gifts. He sure owed the man something, for what he just put him through. "Here," he said quietly, as he approached the Potions Master, who was sitting surreptitiously in a corner of the room. He set the packages on the man's lap. "These are for you."

Severus grimaced before opening the first, the larger one. "This is your cloak, Harry," he said when he saw it. "It was your father's. Surely you're not..."

"I am, actually. I have a new one," he held Blaise's gift up, "handsome, isn't it? So I don't really need another. Besides, you need it more than I do. Because of everything going on. And," he continued cheerfully, "because I'm not giving yours back."

Severus managed a twisted smile at that. "Thieving wastrel," he commented, before turning to the next gift. He opened the tiny box, and pulled out the unobtrusive silver ring. It had a tiny piece of obsidian worked into the metal. His eyes narrowed as he held up the band, examining the inscription. 'Salvator servat id ex fractum.' "This is a Ring of Refugium," he commented in a toneless voice. "Harry, I cannot accept this." Harry held up a hand and gave the man a look. Severus was beginning to become familiar with that look--the way the jaw was set, the way the eyes glinted. That look held up a sign reading, 'Stubborn Git of a Gryffindor: Will Not Listen to Reason.' He sighed, and Harry's face softened. The boy was certainly sobering up. Why did he do such incredibly foolish things? Making out with Draco Malfoy, of all people, in the men's room. Severus shook his head, turning the ring around and around in his fingers. "But what if one does not believe in this 'Salvator,' this 'Savior,' hmm?"

"That's all right," Harry told him in a hushed voice. He gently took the ring away from Severus and slipped it onto one of those long, slender fingers. "The Savior certainly believes in you."

Severus was suddenly struck by how foolish they probably looked; Harry Potter, kneeling before the Death Eater, those expressive viridian eyes gazing up at him, as he slid a ring onto the man's finger. He had to force himself to breathe again. He glanced around the room, but they were mostly shielded by a potted plant, and no one seemed to be paying any attention. "Yes, well, be that as it may," he muttered, trying to sound cantankerous, and aware that he was failing. "These are, in fact, for you." He thrust a couple of items at the boy with such speed that Harry fumbled to catch them. Now he just had to concentrate on not seeing the boy's face when he opened them.

Harry was taken aback. Severus was giving him Christmas presents? This had to be a different reality; this was too bizarre. He carefully undid the wrapping on the first one, and found a small wooden box. Inside, nestled on a cushion of velvet rested the silver clasp of a cloak. Harry was speechless. He took it out, feeling it's very authentic weight resting in his palm; it was not a dream. "Severus," he finally murmured. "This was your grandfather's. Did you not want to pass it on to your children?"

Severus snorted. "Harry. I am an elderly homosexual Death Eater-cum-spy. Just how many children do you think I am likely to have?"

Harry reflected a moment. "You're not elderly. You're in the prime of your life."

"Hmph. At any rate, you no longer have your watch. And now you've gone and given me your cloak. You do need some form of protection, you realize? And I...I don't believe I should accept the cloak. You'll need it at some point and. Well. Among other concerns, it is certainly not what your father would have wanted."

Harry smiled a little. "Yeah. That's part of the reason I did it. It's not much, but it's a little vengeance, isn't it?" He bit his lip, looking hopeful, and Severus wondered that he simply didn't melt into a puddle at the boy's feet. "Besides, I'm NOT going to need it. Do you know why? Because I'm not going to get into any more trouble. I'm going to be careful from now on. I'll stay in the castle when you order it, and I'll stay away from Draco, and I'll do as I'm told. The cloak...it's sort of my way of promising that. Showing that. I can be obedient. I don't want you to worry about me. I don't want to be your burden."

Severus's eyes widened at the words, but the boy gave no further indication that anything was meant by them. After a few moments, he gathered himself enough to croak, "Here's your other present." Harry reached eagerly for it, his sweetbriar lips turned up at the corners. Severus unconsciously licked his own. He shook his head a little, trying to clear it.

Harry's fingers made short work of the outer paper on the smaller package. When those deft little fingers finally revealed the gift, Severus was amused by the consternation on the boy's face. "Er. ONE cuff link?" Harry said, confused. "I mean, it's really exquisite craftsmanship and all, but don't you think most people usually need two? If they have two hands and two wrists, that is?" He looked up with his eyebrows raised.

"Don't be stupid, Potter. I doubt you even own any shirts with French cuffs," he pointed out. "This was an heirloom on my mother's side. The other was lost perhaps a thousand years ago. The setting is 16 karat gold; very good for holding a charm, and the 'jewel' is Greek glass. It is enchanted with the spell Infectum Reddĕre. Can you tell me what that means?" He handed the bauble back to the boy, who examined the object more closely.

The glass was green, and held a multihued patina on the surface. He turned it this way and that, letting it catch the light. Greek glass. Glass made for a vase or a bottle or cup or something thousands and thousands of years ago. "Infectum Reddĕre," he murmured. "I can't recall...it's not taught, but I read it in a book of magical theory. I think. Infectum..." Harry closed his eyes, trying to beat the latin into some sort of useful modern form. "Um...something about undo, undone, return to the way it was...something like that."

"Indeed. This cuff link holds just one very powerful spell. When you release it, you may...erase the past, as it were. Whatever event you choose shall be undone. This is chosen at your discretion, which is why it is so powerful and so very dangerous. The only thing it cannot reverse is death itself. Please be careful with it. It is not a toy. Think hard before casting the spell. I would NOT have it wasted. Do you understand? There may come a time when nothing else will be able to aid you. There may come a time when I am not there. I intend this to take my place, should that day come. And let the rest of the world's problems rise or fall on their own. It is to be used for you, and you alone. It is without price."

Harry nodded dumbly. He understood what Severus was saying--'Don't waste it on me. If and when the time comes, save yourself. Not me. Not the world. Save yourself.' Harry swallowed a couple of times around the lump in his throat. How could it be that Severus didn't love him, to give him such a gift? He looked up at the man, eyes shimmering with unshed tears, and Severus immediately became frustrated.

"Oh, for God's sake, Potter, not this again. "Oh, for God's sake, Potter, not this again. Why on earth are you so atrociously emotional? Stop that," he whispered, brushing knuckles tenderly across one cheek. "You're thoroughly impossible." He tilted his head, looking as though he might say something more, but was interrupted by a voice.

"Harry? Has anyone seen Harry?" Harry heard Hermione calling, and quickly got his face back under control and came out from behind the plant. "Oh, there you are. And Professor Snape! You came; I'm so glad. Harry was so unhappy when he thought you wouldn't. Oh, good...Ron? Where did we put Professor Snape's gift?" Snape looked dubious when Ron handed him the square package. "That's from Ron and me," Hermione beamed at him. "Harry, Professor Lupin is here, too."

Harry flashed Snape an apologetic smile and got to his feet. "Oh, Harry, there you are," Lupin waved to him. "And I see you've a new cloak! Let's see you in it, then," Harry grinned and pulled it over his shoulders, modeling for Remus, who let out a teasing wolf-whistle. "Very dapper. And how the green brings out your eyes. Who gave that to you?"

Harry's smile faded a little. "Blaise," he said, shrugging a little.

"Yes, well, you be sure to thank him for it. It's very nice..."

"Here, Harry, this is from Jack and me," Seamus said, handing Harry a parcel. It was a Muggle book about fashion and just generally being gay, young, and trendy. "I had to stop Jack from getting you, 'The Top Twenty- Five White-Hot, Well-Muscled Magicians' calendar. I mean...where would you have put it? Ron would have had an aneurysm if he ever saw it."

Harry laughed. "This is great. Really great. Thanks a lot, Seamus." He flipped through, looking at some of the tips. They really couldn't hurt. Maybe they would even help him catch Severus's eye. No. He couldn't do that anymore. He needed to keep Severus safe. He had to stay away from him--at least until Voldemort was defeated. He watched the man over his shoulder, feeling a smirk tugging at his lips. After that, he was going to consider the man fair game.

"Oh, I am SO SORRY!" he heard someone yell, and turned to see Remus trying to mop an impossible amount of red punch from his gray turtleneck. Jack was standing next to him, holding the punch bowl and trying to look contrite. "You know what gets that out? Hey, Harry, bring that Muggle book over--it has it in there--here," he told the werewolf, "Take off your shirt." Everything happened really fast, and Remus was probably more than a little surprised to find himself at the center of the attention of the Christmas party, and moreover, shirtless. A few trickles of punch ran down the man's front, where it had penetrated the fabric.

"Looks like it went straight through," Jack commented. "A little soap and water will take care of THAT." He ran a hand down Remus's chest, causing the werewolf to jump backwards at the touch. Unfortunately, he backed into Seamus, who used this God-given opportunity to dump his own cup of punch down Lupin's back. "Oh, look at that!" Jack exclaimed. "Pants too, what a shame!" He sounded positively delighted, and Remus's hand shot out with alacrity, batting Jack's away, as the boy brazenly grabbed at his fly.

Harry shoved the Muggle book at Jack, hoping to diffuse the situation by distracting the Slytherin. Hermione was tsking loudly about Jack's antics. "SEE HERE?" Jack was saying loudly, talking over her and brandishing the book in front of Lupin. "Seltzer water. We can make seltzer water! No problem at all." Remus looked lost, as Jack began pulling him toward the rest room, the rest of the Reds following closely. Harry covered his smile with a hand when his godfather looked back at him imploringly. He wondered if the man had ANY idea.

Harry noticed one of the Blackbirds was brandishing a paper in front of him. "We can't let the Reds outdo us that way. Someone has to get Snape to say this," the Slytherin said. "We shouldn't be the only ones not to get something special for Christmas."

Harry leaned over taking a look at the paper. He read it three times, and still couldn't believe the...nerve of the Blackbirds. Like that would happen. He wished it would, but...Lupin was coming out of the bathroom, looking a bit leery. Harry glanced back at Severus, who was sitting with his legs stretched out; flipping idly through the book Hermione had gotten him.

"What have you got, there?" Jack asked, joining the group, his smile wide. Dear God, he actually strutted over to them. His ego would never be deflated after this. "Trying to prank Snape now, are we?" He studied the paper for a long moment, hazel eyes calculating. "I bet I could get him to say this."

"Go for it," one of the other boys replied. Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Jack had already enchanted the paper, folding it into a private note and sending it floating Snape's way. The boys followed.

It landed in the man's lap, and Severus's head jerked up. "Looks like someone's throwing you notes," Jack remarked easily. "Go on, open it," he urged. "What's it say?" Severus glanced at them, suspicious, and Harry fought madly to hold back the blush. Oh, if Severus really said it...Harry could feel his whole body tingling with anticipation. The man would never actually read it out loud.

With a sigh, the man unfolded the paper and held it up. "I want to fuck you like an animal...I want to feel you from the inside--"

Seamus choked on his drink, spraying punch all over the floor. "Seamus!" Harry reprimanded. "Was that still my round? You damn well better not be spitting my round on the floor, or I'll make you lick it back up! I'm sorry, what was that, Professor Snape?" He turned back to the man, looking innocent.

"Just some...just. Nonsense. Pornographic nonsense," he muttered, making to crumple it.

"Was it? I didn't hear. Was it really? What did it say?" Harry pressed, his face carefully molded to seem candid and guileless.

Severus was frowning, and let out a great sigh as he repeated, "I want to fuck you like an animal...Yes, yes, very clever. All right," he said, holding the paper high between two fingers. "Who wrote this?"

"I believe it's a Muggle song," Remus told him with a crooked smile. "Severus, do you get the feeling we've been had?" He looked pointedly at the group of boys, one of whom had actually fainted. The rest of them were chattering and giggling in nervous excitement. Harry was flushed to the roots of his hair, unable to hold back an embarrassed grin.

"I see," Snape said in a dry voice, looking at Harry. Harry was sure the man had to be furious, but instead of anger, his eyes flashed with something like suppressed amusement. "I suppose I should count myself lucky to remain fully clothed."

"That's terrible," gasped Hermione, who--up until that moment--had been giggling. Ron was doubled over, face in hands; pretending nothing was happening at all. "Who did it?"

"That would be me," Jack replied, looking very smug. "On both counts," he added. Some of the boys clapped, and he bowed deeply. "Yes, yes, of course I deserve it. And, by the way, Seamus; that would make me...?"

"King," Seamus laughed, still coughing a little. "King of us all! Hey boys, how many 'we're not worthies' d'you think that garners? Nine? Nine and a half?"

"How does one give nine and a half 'we're not worthies?'" Harry wondered aloud.

"Like this; all right boys?" Seamus and the others immediately knelt down and began kowtowing to Jack with arms outstretched. "We're not worthy," they chanted à la Wayne and Garth. "We're not worthy..." after the ninth repetition, they continued, "We're not--"and cut off in the middle. Harry rolled his eyes.

"And a couple of extra 'we're not worthies' for Harry," Jack added, "for being sly enough to get him to say it again!" Harry had to turn away from Severus and duck, shielding his face with his hand. In part he was embarrassed by how hot his face was--but he'd have liked to avoid the man's eyes, in any case. He gave a quick bow in response to his own accolades, and reflected that he enjoyed being praised for this sort of thing FAR more than he did for fighting Voldemort. The memory of Severus's honeyed voice was going to keep him awake for weeks. Oh, yes. Fighting Voldemort never had payoffs like that.