"You mean I'll be looking into other people's minds?" he asked him.

"Yes, this can be a very useful skill. Even Albus does not tell everything to me and by looking into other minds I can piece together what he is up to," Severus told him.

"But how would I do that without making it obvious to other people?" Harry asked as he fully turned to look at the potions master.

"They have come to know the feeling," Severus told him positioning his body to look at Harry, "I find it particularly disturbing how familiar the feeling is to them. I can practically come and go as I please with them." Harry sat there and looked at his hands, and an almost uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Eventually, dinner ended and Harry retreated to the comfort of his room. He really did love this room. Finally a room he can call his own, and he had space to do whatever in it. He flopped down on his bed and relaxed into the sheets. His peacefulness was interrupted by a tapping on the window. Turning his head he spotted Hedwig sitting out on the railing waiting to be let in.

"Hey girl," he said as he let her in for the evening and allowed her to fly over to her perch and rest. He watched her for a few moments before deciding to lay back down in bed. A short while later he realized he was feeling a little restless and instead took a walk around the manor. Paying more attention to the paintings instead of where he was going he ran full force into someone.

"Oh, I'm sor- Professor! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there..." Harry said calmly as he looked down at his feet.

"What are you doing in this part of the manor?" Severus questioned as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Huh?" it was then that Harry looked around at his surroundings and found he was in a wing of the manor he did not recognize. It was darker on this side of the manor and almost resemble the dungeons at Hogwarts. Very few torches lined the walls giving off little to no light. "Uh..."

"Articulate as ever Mr.Potter. Why don't you come down to my room?" and without waiting for an answer he took off towards his own. He let a small smirk creep onto his face when he heard the sound of footsteps following him. Upon entering his room he walked into the small seating area and took off the outer layer to his robes, so it left him in only a white button-down tucked into his black trousers. Using a piece of fabric, he tied his hair out of his face.

When Harry caught sight of him like that, looking so relaxed, he forgot how to breathe for five seconds. Severus was by no means a man with muscle, but that didn't mean he wasn't fit. Each time he moved the shirt would tighten against his body and show off some definition of muscle. He suddenly needed a drink.

"Are you feeling well Potter?" Severus asked as he took notice of Harry just staring at him.

"W-what? Yeah I'm fine," Harry said as he coughed, "Do you have anything to drink?" he asked.

"Depends... can you hold your liquor?" he asked as he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle.

"I never tried any..." he admitted. Severus gave a small snort.

"You mean to tell me up in that tower no one has snuck liquor in there and you also mean to tell me you didn't try any?" Harry just looked down and scratched the back of his neck.

"Well... alright. I tried some last January that one of the older years snuck into the castle after they came back from holiday break," he told Severus not looking him in the eyes. He didn't notice the small smirk Severus let grace his features and poured two glasses and set one down on the table and took a seat in one of the armchairs. Harry took the one in front of him and took the glass in hand and took a sip of it. He watched as the boy sputtered and coughed. Harry watched as Severus took a sip of his and downed it no problem as if it was water and not a burning liquid.

"You never did tell me what you were doing in that part of the wing," Severus said and he crossed one leg over the other and gazed at him with almost a piercing glare. 

"I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. I was looking at the paintings and sort of just followed them. I didn't even know that part of the manor existed," he replied taking a smaller sip of his drink, "Sir if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing in that part of the manor?"

"That is where the potions lab is located," he said as if that answered the question. Harry looked at the clock and realized it was well into the next morning by this time.

"You were brewing at twelve thirty in the morning sir?" he asked. Severus merely inclined his head as an answer. They sat in silence for a while just sipping their drinks before Harry broke the silence. 

"Do you know the rest of the wizarding world presumes I'm dead?" he asked as if he was just talking about the weather as he swirled his drink in his glass.

"How do you know that?" Severus asked and there was a slight tone in his voice that let Harry know that he did know.

"The Prophet," he said casually. 

"We don't leave the Prophet out. How did you get a hold of a copy?" He asked as he set his glass on the table and sat up in his chair more clearly interested in where Harry got this information from. 

"Draco gave me a copy," he told him. That's when Severus raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Draco's not here," he told him, "I would know if my godson was here," as a matter of factly he replied. 

"He's your godson?" questioned Harry raising an eyebrow at him. 

"Yes," Severus replied.

"Love how I know nothing about you yet everyone seems to know about me," he mumbled as he took another sip and winced as he took to much of one. Maybe it was the drink or maybe something else but Severus replied without thought,

"Why don't you get to know me?"  he said, not even registering the words till they left his lips, but by then it was too late. They looked at one another before Harry spoke up. 

"If you're willing sir, we could play two truths one lie," he suggested.

"We can. But I propose something a little more interesting," Severus said a sly smirk forming on his face, "Each time we guess incorrectly, we take a shot."

"Deal," replied Harry and he watched as Severus got up and grabbed a bottle of Firewhiskey and two shot glasses. He placed the bottle in front of them in the middle of the table and placed a shot glass in front of himself and in front of Harry.

 "I'll start," Severus said as he relaxed into his chair, "I attended muggle school - primary, middle, and high school - along with Hogwarts. When I was a kid and friends with your mother, she would try out new makeup or makeup techniques on me first, or like popular belief my favourite colour is black."

Harry leaned back in his chair and thought carefully, "Well, I never see you in anything but black and you roll your eyes at any colour so the last one is true," he carefully watched Severus's face for any signs of a hint, "I can believe the muggle school because you seem to know a lot about the muggle world so that would make sense. So I'm gonna say the lie is the one where my mother tried makeup on you. There is no way you would let her do that to you," Harry said feeling confident in his answer.

"Take a shot Potter," Severus said with an evil smirk on his face. He took pleasure in seeing the boys face fall to shock and his mouth falling open.

"W-what?" he asked stuttering.

"You were right, I did attend muggle school and that did aid in knowing a lot about the muggle world. But your mother did try her makeup on me. Believe me, I tried to refuse but your mother was a force to be reckoned with when she wanted something. So I let her do it in exchange for her moms - or your grandmothers - homemade cookies," Severus explained as he watched Harry pour a shot of Firewhiskey and watched as his face twisted into an almost sour expression as it burned his throat.

"Alright, wait so what is your favourite colour?"

"Red."

"Bullshit," Harry said looking at him shocked and watched as Severus just sat there smug looking.

"I wear these robes because I am a potions master. I am around potions way more than you students are. And being in a classroom were multiple times a day cauldrons are exploding Merlin knows what around the room, I need to be well protected. So these robes are some of the strongest against warding out potions, it just so happens they come in black only. I would have actually gotten the red ones, but they didn't offer as much protection as these ones do,"

"Okay, my turn. My bedroom door back at the Dursleys has twelve locks on it from the outside in the hallway, I killed a basilisk with its own fang in second year, or I had a muggle job over the summer," Harry said and watched as Severus' face turned to one of calculations.

"Hmm...I heard speculations and rumours that you killed a basilisk in your second year down in the chamber of secrets so I am going to assume that is true. You seem self-sufficient enough to hold down a job so that I am saying is true too so the lie is the locks on the door," Severus said and let out a small groan as he watched Harry's face turn to one of satisfaction. Already he made a move for the bottle and his shot glass. 

"Drink up. Yes, I did get a job over the summer at a small convenience store. Since Dudley was old enough to get a job Petunia made me get one so they would have extra money around my house so I saw nothing of what I made. I do have twelve locks on my door along with a small little cat door that they would shove some food through every once and awhile. You are correct though I did kill a basilisk in my second year down in the chambers, but not with its own fang, with the sword of Gryffindor," Harry watched as Severus let a wave of shock pass through him.

"The sword of Gryffindor? Where the hell did that come from?" he asked.

"Fawkes came down to the chamber and dropped the sorting hat at my feet. At first, I didn't know why it would bring the hat so I looked more closely and saw the hilt of the sword sticking out so I grabbed it and drove it through the roof of its mouth and out through its skull," Harry told him. Giving himself a little shake and downed his shot.

"Alright. I, in all honesty, hate snakes, I play the cello, or I do my shopping at muggle stores," Severus told him.

"Okay right off the bat there is no way you hate snakes so that is a lie."

"Wrong."

"What?!" Harry exclaimed as he quickly downed his shot.

"I'm fine if they are just sitting there but I don't like the way they move or how they coil up," he gave a slight shiver thinking about it, "Honestly I can't stand it when Nagini is at our meeting and is just slithering around under the table and over my feet. Since I did spend so much time in the muggle world yes I do my shopping there. However I do not play the cello, I play the piano," he said.

"I can't believe you hate snakes," Harry said shaking his head and he just watched as Severus shrugged his shoulders, "I never learned how to cook, potions is actually one of my favourite classes, or unknown to Hermione, I have actually read Hogwarts: A history."

"You are abysmal at potions so there is no way it is one of your favourite classes, and since you are terrible at potions I will make the assumption you never learned to cook. I do always hear Miss Granger reference the book to you so I have to say you never did read that book."

"Your turn for a shot. I read the book back in my third year, though unlike her I just didn't memorize it as she did," He watched as Severus gave a small chuckle and smile and he downed his drink, "I actually love potions. I really come from the muggle world so to me just putting a few ingredients into a cauldron and you can have something that can grow bones back, change people into other people, or put someone instantly to sleep is fascinating to me so yes it is one of my favourite classes. I do know how to cook, quite well actually. Been cooking since I was five."

And that was how the rest of the night continued, question after question was asked and shot after shot was taken. By the end of the game, Harry learned that Severus's favourite flower is actually roses - white to be more specific -, he wants to someday open a potions shop in Diagon Alley or have an owl delivery service and most surprising, he has a sister in America who every once awhile sends her daughter over by international port key to visit him. Severus learned that Harry has had one romantic relationship before, he wants a pet ferret and his cousin had apologized to him and they are actually good friends. Oh, and both are very drunk at this point. Not knowing really what was up or down at this point, Harry wondered the rooms until he came across the bedroom and just flopped down on the bed. He rolled around in the soft silk sheets that smelled surprisingly of lavender and something else that he just couldn't put a name to. Not long after he felt a weight join him in the bed and saw Severus just fell back on to the bed with him, too drunk to care that the young man had practically claimed his bed as his own. During the night they twisted and turned around one another and by morning they were a tangled mess of limbs in the sheets. 

When the sun graced his eyelids Harry winced at the intrusion of light and curled into something that blocked it out. The pounding in his head wouldn't let him a thing about anything else at the moment, so he was unaware that the thing he had snuggled back into lazily wrapped an arm around his waist and drifted back off to sleep with a headache of his own. Not wanting to be up at whatever time it was, Harry went back to sleep as well. 

Severus woke up for the second time that morning and took in a deep breath of something that smelled like earth, chocolate, and something he couldn't describe, but it was not an unpleasant smell. It suddenly became unpleasant when said thing moved and he felt the hairs under his nose tickle him and felt another pair of arms wrap around him. Opening his eyes he looked down to see the young man practically hanging on to him to stay on the bed. Sighing, and also not wanting to get up right now, Severus reached out a hand and moved him so he was laying on the bed again and drifted back off to sleep to fend off the upcoming headache. 

_______

_______

Lucius went up to Severus' rooms to see where he had disappeared to. Opening the door Lucius looked in shaking his head. On the table was an empty bottle of firewhiskey and not just one, two shot glasses. He now had a feeling about where he can find both Harry and Severus.  Of course, that man drank himself into sleep last night and he took Harry along with him. Walking into the bedroom he was meant with a surprisingly not unpleasant surprise. He looked as Harry was curled up against him and Severus with his arms protectively around Harry. He watched for a while and saw Harry starting to stir causing Severus to wake up as well.

"Well glad to see you two are up finally," Lucius said from his spot in the doorway, a slight smirk on his face. 

"Now is not the time for this," Severus mumbled as he sat up and cracked his neck. Harry, completely unaware of the time sat up stretching as well. 

"Morning," he yawned as he scratched his head. 

"You two are so oblivious. It's two in the afternoon. You both missed breakfast. Our Lord was fine with that but you two missing lunch caused a little bit of concern. So I came to check on you two," he said as he turned and went to Severus potions cabinet and laid out two bottles of hangover cure on the bedside table, "If the empty bottle out on the table indicates anything, you two are gonna need this," he said and started to head out, "You both better be at dinner or this time it will be Him that comes looking for you," he told them as he left. Harry let out a light groan and fell back against the bed and burrowed back into the blankets. Severus, feeling the exact same, joined Harry in the blankets again.