54

CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR:

"Alright," Harry said to Dobby. "Do you know if the house elves still answer to Dumbledore first, or do they have to obey Minerva's orders now?"

Dobby bounced slightly on the spot, hands clasped behind his back. "House elves is answering to Headmistress, Master Harry," he replied in his high-pitched voice.

Harry nodded pensively. He didn't want to bring Minerva in on this just yet, but… "Are the house elves still adding potions to the food?" When he ate breakfast in the Great Hall that morning he had made sure that Dobby was in charge of his food; Severus drank a counteracting potion before each meal to avoid being affected by the potions again.

"They is, Master Harry," Dobby said, twisting his ear slightly in worry.

"That's what I thought," Harry muttered. He had made it back to Hogwarts in time to hear Minerva's little speech from under the invisibility cloak, and knew that now was the perfect time to start weaning the residents of Hogwarts off the fealty potions keyed to Dumbledore. He rubbed his forehead lightly. "The house elves can't just stop adding the potions to the food?"

"No, Master Harry," Dobby ducked his head and scuffed his foot against the floor. "Orders is orders."

Harry sighed. "Can anyone else override Dumbledore's orders? Since he's no longer in a position of authority at Hogwarts, could someone other than Minerva give the house elves a different order?"

Dobby paused, then looked up with wide eyes. "Heads of Houses can, Master Harry! Maybe Professors too, Dobby is not being sure. But Professor Snape is Head of House, Master Harry!"

Harry's eyes lit up. "So Severus could tell the house elves to stop adding any potions to the food and drinks, and they would do it?"

Dobby hesitated. "Is best to order, Master Harry," he temporized. "Or house elves add it again when Dumbles tells to."

"Got it," Harry grinned. "That's great, Dobby! Severus can speak with the house elves after the staff meeting, then." Suddenly he remembered, "Oh, and – before I forget – we really need to get you that uniform I promised you! We'll have to have it custom made, since I don't think either the Potters or the Blacks have house elf clothing in their vaults, but you and Winky – and other elves in the future – should have something proper to wear."

Dobby nodded enthusiastically, eyes wide and shining. Clothes! Proper clothes!

"I'm just not sure where we can go to get a house elf uniform – do you think Madam Malkin would do it?"

Dobby beamed at being asked for his opinion – Master Harry was the best master in the world! "Dobby is knowing a woman who worked for old masters, making clothes for little Master and being very nice when Dobby comes to pick up clothes! Misses is always saying that Dobby is not wearing proper clothes," Dobby nodded, pulling at his pillowcase.

"Wonderful!" Harry exclaimed. A children's tailor who thought that house elves should be better dressed was exactly what they needed. "We'll go to her tomorrow morning, then. Do you know at what time she opens shop?"

"Dobby is not knowing," the house elf's ears drooped, "but Dobby is always being sent at eleven mornings, Master Harry."

"We'll go at eleven AM tomorrow, then," Harry decided. "Winky will come with us as well, alright? Please tell her that I am not going to give her clothes, but that she needs a uniform befitting a Black elf. Okay?"

"Yes, Master Harry! Dobby can be telling Winky that!" the eager house elf squeaked, and Harry couldn't help but grin.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then. Good night!"

"Good night, Master Harry!" With that the house elf popped away, most likely to inform Winky of tomorrow's errand. Hopefully she won't think she'll be getting clothes, Harry shook his head, standing up and stretching out his limbs. His knees didn't really appreciate kneeling on the stone floor, but he'd be damned if he talked to Dobby while standing at his full height.

"Is the house elf gone yet?" A voice said drily, and Harry was already spinning with his wand in his hand when he recognized Severus's voice. He was getting better at not reacting in the ways he had gotten used to, but sometimes even familiar, beloved voices would catch him off guard. At least this time I stopped before I hexed him, Harry thought wryly, grimacing inwardly as he remembered one night when he had awoken from a nightmare only to curse Severus when he thought he was being attacked.

"Yeah, Dobby's gone," Harry replied, sliding his wand back into its arm sheath. "Could you go to the kitchens and order the house elves to stop adding potions to the food and drink? Dobby said that now your orders can override Dumbledore's, and I thought now would be a good time to keep him from drugging people with fealty potions. The more others start questioning his actions, the easier it'll be to knock him down later."

"Very well," Severus agreed, an anticipative glint in his eye. "Would you care to accompany me?"

Harry hesitated briefly, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Walking to Severus's side, he smiled at him, then leaned up for a kiss. "How has your day been?" he asked after breaking off the kiss, knowing that if he didn't they would get carried away… which would be nice, but it should wait another half hour or so.

"Long," Severus drawled with a grimace, and Harry laughed.

"Yeah, mine too," he said, linking his arm through Severus's and walking beside him to the door. "How were your classes?"

As Medusa slid aside to let them enter the corridor Harry slipped his arm back out from under Severus's, wanting to walk through the castle that way but knowing that now probably wasn't a good time to reveal their relationship to the world – for should a single student see them that way the rumor was sure to spread rapidly, and that particular complication could wait for another time. The wry smile Severus shot him assured him that his partner understood, and they made friendly conversation as they walked the halls of Hogwarts.

OoOoO

Harry awoke in a cold sweat, thrashing against the blankets confining him and falling onto cold stone floor.

"Harry," a sleepy voice said softly, and he scrambled for his wand.

An enemy wouldn't call you Harry, a distant part of his mind pointed out, and Harry squinted into the darkness. "Who's there?"

"Severus Snape," the same voice replied, and Harry frowned slightly. One part of his mind was telling him that Severus was dead while another part told him that he wasn't. "I'm going to cast a lumos, alright?" A short pause followed, then a softly uttered lumos. Harry flinched against the sudden light, blinking rapidly to make out the shape of the person holding the wand.

Suddenly things clicked in his mind and Harry dropped his head, placing both hands on the floor and exhaling heavily. "Sorry," he whispered.

"It is of no matter," Severus replied evenly, and when Harry looked up he saw that the man meant it. Standing slowly, Harry lay his wand back on the bedside table – in the future he had grown used to sleeping with his wand holster on, but he had abandoned that habit when he had started sleeping with Severus – and pulled the sheets back onto the bed. With a sigh he slipped between the covers, lying down right up against Severus and breathing in the man's comforting scent as a warm arm came up to hold him.

"It'll get better eventually," Severus said softly, and Harry nodded against the man's neck.

"I know," he whispered. It was just so hard. Curling up even closer to Severus, almost as though he was trying to merge into one person, Harry slipped back into sleep. At least I never have issues falling back asleep, was his last conscious thought before he slipped into another dream that would turn into a nightmare before long. Meanwhile Severus lay awake, watching over his lover and knowing that it would be another restless night.