alisanne

Title: A Good Conversation
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Harry/Snape (like you didn't know?)
Rating: PG
Word count: 590
Beta:

sevfan
Disclaimer: See HERE
A/N: The next in my 2007

adventdrabbles series. They should be read in this order to make the most sense: Out More, The Matchmakers, One Never Knows, And so it Starts, Playing With Gryffindors, Reunion, Wands Out, The Interview, Satisfying His Curiosity, Brisk Traffic, Two For One, Overwhelming, Eliminating the Competition and From Under His Nose.

~

A Good Conversation

~

“Hullo, Harry!”

Harry looked up into Hagrid’s friendly face and cringed. “Hey, Hagrid,” he said weakly. “What are you doing here?”

“I was jus’ in town fer some supplies,” Hagrid said. “An’ I got the urge ter look fer yeh. How yeh bin?”

Harry sighed. Had even Hagrid been affected by the spell? He was going to kill Malfoy. “Oh, I’ve been well,” he managed. “I’m on my way home right now, actually--” Harry gasped as Hagrid patted his head and almost sent him spilling onto the ground.

“It’s bin a long time since we’ve visited. Maybe yeh could come back ter Hogwarts with me an’ we can catch up.”

Looking up cautiously, Harry was startled to see what could pass for a flirty look on Hagrid’s face. “Er, I have to, um, go in there first,” he improvised, pointing at a forbidding shop across the road. On the door it said, ‘For Serious Practitioners Only’.

Hagrid squinted. “I don’ see it,” he said.

Harry blinked. “But it’s right there! I wonder why... Oh. Maybe it’s warded so that only certain people can see it,” he said gently. “You know, people with a certain level of magic?”

Hagrid’s face fell, then he perked up. “I can wait fer yeh,” he offered.

“I may be a while,” Harry said. “I don’t want to keep you--”

“It’s no problem, Harry.”

“Okay, but if I’m not out in an hour, I think you should go on and we can plan something another time, yeah?”

Hagrid nodded. “All righ’. I’ll jus’ wait here.”

Harry sighed, then, crossing the street, he walked into the slightly sinister shop. The bitter smell of potions ingredients assaulted him, and he almost turned to walk out, the only thing making him continue being Hagrid, who’d settled against a wall across the street.

“Well, well. Trying to escape your adoring public?” an acerbic voice asked, and Harry spun.

“Snape?”

“Indeed. It seems that we cannot elude each other today.”

Harry walked closer. Snape was behind the counter, deftly bottling potions ingredients. “May I ask you something?”

Snape sent a sharp look his way. “You are fully capable of asking anything, Mr. Potter. Whether or not I choose to answer is another matter.”

The acid reply was in so familiar a tone that Harry almost smiled. He had actually missed this. “Has the spell that Draco cast on me been affecting you at all?”

Snape’s hands never faltered. “I am a fully capable wizard, Mr. Potter. I have resisted compulsion spells before. This one was no different. A simple mental shield is sufficient to fend them off.”

Harry smiled, relieved. “Brilliant. Um, then would you mind if I stayed here for a while, just so I can, you know, relax. The attention is a bit--”

“Overwhelming? Yes, I can see that it could be, even for an attention seeker such as yourself.”

Narrowing his eyes, Harry began to reply angrily, then thought better of it. “Actually,” he said mildly, “I’m not as fond of the public eye as you accuse me of.”

A smirk curved Snape’s lips. “Indeed, then perhaps Muggle pigs can fly.”

Leaning on the counter, Harry shook his head. He’d forgotten how long it had been since he’d had a good conversation, even if it was with someone who he had a less than cordial relationship with. Still, it was better than the fawning...

They talked long into the evening, and when Hagrid finally wandered away, after casting a longing look at Snape’s shop, Harry didn’t even see him.

~ Continued in Reflections