Chapter 17 - Breakfast

Thanks a lot to my beta-readers, Orodruin and AmyLouise, for correcting my mistakes.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

Chapter 17 - Breakfast

Severus had sat down at the table and was opening the Daily Prophet, again to the page he'd last read before he had gone looking for Harry.

Harry sat down at the head of the table opposite Severus. Twinky appeared directly beside him and asked, "What does Master Harry want to eat?"

"Ehm..." Harry had no idea what he should order. He wasn't a morning person and never liked breakfast. At the Dursleys' he always had to cook for the rest of the 'family' and lost all his appetite while doing it. He was always glad when they couldn't stand him sitting at their table and sent him out after he had served them. Here at Hogwarts, he only went to breakfast in the Great Hall because his friends were doing it. Hermione always scolded him for eating such a small amount of food.

I have to say something before Snape, no, Severus scolds me for not being able to decide. He carefully looked at Severus and saw him lower his newspaper. Damn, decide on something, Harry, he ordered himself mentally. "I don't know. What could I have, Twinky?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw that Severus had lowered the newspaper almost completely onto the table and was watching him now.

"Whatever you want, Master Harry," Twinky said, a little confused.

Fantastic, that doesn't help me at all, Harry thought, annoyed. "I don't know. I'm not very hungry."

"Remember what Madam Pomfrey said, Harry. You don't want to let her or James find out that you haven't eaten properly. Crossing them on your first day out of the infirmary wouldn't be a good move," Severus explained.

It didn't sound as if he was scolding me. More as if he could understand me and just wanted to give me good advice, Harry thought, confused. "Maybe cereal and some juice." Harry looked uncertainly at the cup of tea in front of him and then looked shyly at Severus. "Or do I have to drink this?" He was grimacing because he hated tea.

"Yes, you have to. It's spiked with a calming draught." Seeing Harry's shocked face, he quickly added, "Just a slight calming draught and if it helps, I had to take it as well. It's James' concoction, and it's not so bad. Just try it. If you don't like it, or think it affects you too much or in a bad way, you can tell James later. He will come and check on you and will surely be open to complaints. If it is only the tea that troubles you, we shall have to ask James if it can be mixed with something else. But I cannot promise you that it will be possible."

Harry felt as if he had to take at least a sip of the tea to show that he understood. He grabbed for the cup and took a careful sip. It tasted sweet, like honey. Not something he would prefer to drink every day, but it was okay. "It's sweet."

"Mine wasn't, so I think James added some honey to yours. So it isn't that bad, right?"

"It's still tea, and I hate tea. Dudley was always allowed to..." Harry drew in a sharp breath and started to blush. Why did I start to tell Severus about Dudley? God, I don't even want to think about the Dursleys any longer.

Severus was eying Harry closely. "I would like to hear what you wanted to tell me, Harry. You don't have to feel embarrassed."

"It's nothing. Only boring stuff from my time with the Dursleys. Really nothing that you would want to hear me whining about," Harry said in a rush, hoping Severus would let it drop.

"Harry... Harry!" Severus called his name twice in the hope that Harry would look at him, but Harry just stared at his cup of tea. "Harry, please look at me." Severus cringed and scolded himself for letting this request sound like a command, but at least Harry was looking at him now.

"When you feel uncomfortable talking with me about your relatives or what happened at your old home, it is okay. I only ask you not to play it down. You can tell me everything that happened, but you also can decide not to do so. The only thing I ask is that you just say, 'I don't want to speak about it,' and not tell me that I wouldn't be interested because that isn't true." Severus had forced himself to speak more gently, as gently as it was possible for him.

Harry felt uneasy. "I just wanted to say that Dudley, my cousin, was always allowed to drink cola or juice, and I had to drink water or tea after they had found out how much I hate it." Harry was looking at his cup again and decided to gulp it down in one, so that he didn't have to think about it any longer.

"We will speak with James about using a different substance in which to mix your calming draught," Severus stated and raised his newspaper again. He was already hidden behind it when he added, "But there will be no cola here, either. Two sons high on sugar because of their sweet-addicted grandfather are enough for me. I am definitely too old to handle a teenager high on sugar and caffeine as well."

"It was worth a try, but juice would be great as well," Harry said, grinning when he remembered Eathan's performance yesterday. Then his gaze fell on the small creature beside him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Twinky. I totally forgot you. Yeah, uh, I think I will take juice and cereal, please."

"As you wish, Master Harry," Twinky said and popped away.

"Ehm, Severus?" Harry accosted his companion.

"Yes, Harry?" Severus lowered his newspaper again and grabbed for his own cup of tea.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Severus set his cup back on the table and glared at Harry. "Shouldn't you remember who is the adult in this room?"

"Maybe he would if you would behave like an adult, Severus." James had stepped into the room through the fireplace.

"It is beyond my grasp why we lowered our wards for you to step in whenever you want," Severus said, to warn James that he didn't want to be scolded in front of Harry. As if I would have any chance that he would spare me a scolding.

"Maybe it's because you normally trust me and only seem to change your mind when you are ill. So, can you tell me why you are out of bed?" He made his way over to the table. When his eye fell on Harry, he said in a friendly tone, "Hello, Harry, I hope you slept well."

"Yes, Healer Smith," Harry said, and jumped, startled, when Twinky appeared with his breakfast.

"Just James will do, Harry." He looked at his watch and asked, "A little late for breakfast, isn't it? Are you sure you rested well?" He came over to Harry and felt his forehead.

Harry was irritated by this attention. He would have preferred it if James' attention had stayed on Severus. "No, really, I slept well. Maybe too well, so I had problems getting up." He looked at James to show him that he was telling the truth.

"That's good to hear. Now eat, you have to gain some weight," James ordered and then turned to face his other patient again.

"Don't think I forgot my last question to you, Severus. So, why are you out of bed?" He went over to Severus, who had already tried to straighten up.

"I'm out of bed because I feel well enough to be so, Healer Smith," Severus spat, and forced himself not to flinch away when James took his wrist with one hand and laid the other on his forehead.

"Oh, really, Severus. Then let the doctor see for himself whether you really are so healthy." James let his hands stay were they were and pushed Severus' head a little backwards to look into his eyes.

Severus gulped but tried to hide behind his mask of annoyance. "As you can feel, my temperature is down, and I'm not tired."

"Yes, I can feel that. And I also can see in your eyes that you have taken one of your own potions to gain these results, Severus. If you prefer to tell me about this in private and not here, then I would suggest you go to bed now and wait until I come to check on you. If you want to stay, we will just discuss it here, and we both know how this will end," James said warningly and let go of Severus' head.

"Yes, yes," Severus said, annoyed, but he knew better to push James too far. "Can I have my wrist back? Otherwise it will be hard for me to go to the bedroom." He tried to jerk his hand away.

James was still looking deep into Severus' eyes, and when Severus tried to pull his hand out of his grip, he tightened it instead and looked warningly at Severus. During his time as a spy, Severus had developed some addictions to his own potions and had agreed to align everything he took with James. It seems having Harry around let Severus forget about his promises because he didn't want to show weakness in front of Harry. We really have to speak about this, James thought.

Damn, I really have pissed him off. Maybe I should think about warding the bedroom so that he can't come in. Yes, as if that would work. James would sit it out, and in the end I would get the scolding nevertheless, Severus thought desperately and gulped again. The moment James released his wrist, Severus stood up, made a big circle around James and left for his bedroom.

Harry was feeling very uncomfortable. Do adults really think we kids don't get all their hidden messages? Yesterday Albus and Ivy, today James. It was damn clear that he was warning Severus and that he was very mad with him for taking one of his potions. He is a Potions master, so why shouldn't he take those potions? But as much as he hated to see James speaking with Severus like this, he would prefer to see more of it, just so he would not be left alone with James now.

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