Harry stood in front of the portrait and whispered the password. He wanted to get in quietly so Snape might not notice him. The portrait had other plans however and slammed as loudly as it could.

Snape sat on the couch facing the fire with his back to Harry. Just as well, Harry didn't really want his professor to see him like this.

"I suppose I should assume you had a very good reason for neglecting your duties Potter. What those reasons were and why they were so important in beyond me however I will warn you that you are lucky the Headmistress was willing to walk me here." Harry just stood there silently debating his next moved. Snape groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Make me some tea boy. No sugar." Harry flinched, but did as he was told.

Harry used one hand to prepare the tea while his other held a now bloody cloth to his face. When the tea was made he nervously walked over to Snape. The second the Tea was on the coffee table he turned his back toward the professor. "I, uh... Need to shower real quick." He said, and starting making his way toward the bathroom.

"Not so fast Potter. What are you hiding from me?" He asked, still staring at the fire and sipping on his tea. Harry didn't turn. "What? I'm not hiding anything Professor." Snape took another sip of his tea.

"Though I doubt you could ever see such a fault in your perfect self Potter, you are, however unfortunate for you, a terrible liar. Now I implore you." He set down his tea and turned to look at Harry, who's back was facing him. "Tell me what you're hiding."

Harry hesitated a moment before letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and turned around to give Snape a full view of the damage

If the professor was shocked by his findings, he didn't show it. He just surveyed Harry with an emotionless face.

"Who attacked you?" He asked, turning back toward his tea. Harry didn't say anything. He just stood there, not daring to look Snape in the eyes. "You are testing my patience Potter. Now I'll ask you again. Who attacked you?"

Harry held out his silence a moment longer before giving up. He sighed. "Just some 3rd years with a freezing spell. It's no big deal. Can I go to bed now?" Snape eyed him while taking a sip of his tea. Harry walked off anyways, leaving the 13 year old professor to his thoughts.

Harry decided to take a shower before he went to bed. As the warm water ran down his back, he let his thoughts settle. 'So this is how it's gonna be for the rest of the year? Me guarding a teacher that doesn't even like me and getting attacked for it?' He sighed. This was gonna be a long year.

-------_

Snape was getting ready for bed. Harry was already asleep in his room. He looked at the time and saw that is was almost 9:00. 'Why is Potter be asleep this early' he wondered. 'He's probably reading a book or something.' The professor decided to himself.

'What was with earlier though? Did he seriously get beaten up by third years? doubt it. Though if they froze him then it would make sense. Either way, it's obvious he wasn't out with friends like I suspected, but something tells me that there's something he's not telling me. I could use legimancy to see, but I don't need him to get upset with me and start acting like a stupid Gryffindor again. Perhaps I should just ask him tomorrow? That does seem to be the most preferable situation at the moment.' Snape made his decision and settled into bed to sleep.

He tossed and turned for half an hour. Finally he sat up. 'For Merlin's sake, this is gonna keep me up all night.' He thought bitterly, wrapping himself in a black fleece robe. Snape march to Harry's door.

"Potter, open up." He said, knocking at the door.

No answer.

He groaned irritably. "Potter! Open this door now! I need to speak with you."

Still no answer.

Snape was very irritated and tired at this point. He reached down to the knob and went to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. 'Seriously? Last I checked, this door didn't have any locks on it.' He thought. "Alohomora." Still, nothing changed. 'Did Potter seriously put up locking charms?' Snape groaned.

He stared at the door accusingly before turning on his heel and heading back to bed. 'Fine! I'll just ask him tomorrow.' He complained.

------_

Around midnight, Harry woke up. He was drenched in sweat and his heart was racing. Another nightmare, but it was worse.

He got up and took another shower. He mind race over his dream. It feel so... real. Like it wasn't a dream. Harry tried to recall again what had gone down, but any recollection of it had gone from his mind. He sighed and just focussed on the running water.

After a nice and relaxing shower, Harry wrapped himself in a towel and went back to bed. When he opened the bathroom door however, he found himself gazing at the top of a head covered in black hair.

"Potter! What in your mind said it was a good idea to take a shower at this time of night?" Snape said. Harry realized how tired he was. For some reason he thought Snape was blushing. To be honest, Harry really was tired. He muttered in balance and momentarily forgot this 13 year old was Snape. His mind was set on bed.

He stared blankly at the kid before yawning and walking passed the kid. He patted the silky head as he did so. "Night." Harry said before disappearing in his room for the rest of the night.

Snape stood there in silence. Did Potter just.... Pat his head?! He mind raced, while not being able to move at all. No one had ever touched his head before. He honestly didn't know how to feel about this. Worse yet, he thought Potter smelled nice. SINCE WHEN WAS ANYTHING ABOUT POTTER NICE?! None of this was normal. Why was he even up?!

Snape groaned at himself and stomped his way back to bed.