Title: A Bond That Will Never Fail
Category: Books » Harry Potter
Author: Simply Obscure
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Genre: Drama/Angst

Pairings: It is not a slash story, but nor is it a father/son story. If you like stories on Potions and Snitches, you may not like this story. If you like slash, you may, even though it is not slash. It involves intimate scenes that are too intimate for father/son, but not intimate enough for slash. Very close friends.
Published: 06-20-09, Finished: 07-24-09
Chapters: 19, Words: 48,200

Chapter One

"Dreaming Big Dreams"

"Longbottom!" The Potions Master roared after spitting out the Potion.

"Y-Y-Yes, Professor Snape, sir?" The Gryffindor was shaking in his seat. He should have known that getting his Potion right in Potions would be too good to be true.

"What is in this?" Professor Snape held up the small cauldron that the student had brewed his Potion in.

"J-Just what the book said to put in it." Neville Longbottom, as far as Purebloods go, was pretty pathetic in most areas of Wizardry. He rarely escaped Potions without an exploding cauldron, had never completely succeeded in changing a beetle to a button, and everyone knew that Professor Flitwick had only let him pass Charms out of sympathy for the boy.

"Read the ingredients out loud." Hermione Granger hissed at Neville. Hermione nearly always got her Potions perfect, and back when she had gone to Muggle school, had been called a "nerd" and a "geek". The students at Hogwarts knew better - the girl was just damn smart.

"Finnegan droppings, crushed chicken toenails, cornflick seeds and mashed harnkin berries." Neville looked up from the book he was reading into the professor's dark eyes. Neville shuddered at the sight of his angry professor. "I-Is that right?"

"How is it, Longbottom, that you can manage to mess up even the simplest of Potions?" Snape sneered. "You are in your seventh year! Most third years could have easily-" He marched over to Neville's desk and starting picking through the ingredients Neville used. "What is this?" Snape snapped, picking up a small off-white sliver of something.

"A-A cornflick seed." Neville stammered.

"Correction, Longbottom; it is a flake of dragon hide. Only used in the rarest of Potions. Twenty points from Gryffindor for wasting precious supplies, and ten from Gryffindor for messing up so dreadfully." Snape said smoothly, to the groans of all Gryffindors in the room.

The Gryffindors were all seventeen and eighteen years of age. After the defeat of The Dark Lord Voldemort, many students returned to Hogwarts to repeat their previous year. Among the seventh-year Gryffindors that were truly eighteen were Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.

"Bloody disgusting, that's what it is." Ron muttered, glaring at the back of Snape's billowing cloak as Snake turned abruptly on his heel and marched back to his desk. "Thirty points from Gryffindor, my foot."

"Don't let him hear you, Ron." Hermione hissed. "Or he'll take more points."

Harry glanced over at Ginny Weasley, whose blue eyes were staring at Snape in rage. Ginny, who was a year younger than Harry and consequently usually a year behind him, was now in the same class as he was, due to Harry returning to school. Harry was casually dating the red-headed Gryffindor, but had started to contemplate asking more.

'Ginny, will you go steady with me?' He imagined himself asking her. 'Will you date me, exclusively? Will you be my girlfriend?'

Of course, she would be ecstatic. 'Of course, Harry!' She was never the type to shriek about, which was another thing Harry loved about her. She would say it sincerely, but not in an annoyingly-high voice as most girls tended to do when they got excited. 'I thought you would never ask!' Her blue eyes would sparkle as she leaned towards him, lips parting slightly...

"Don't anyone drink this Potion!" Snape roared suddenly. His eyes were wild with panic. "No one drink it!"

Harry snapped out of it. Snape was standing at his desk, snapping shut an ancient book entitled "Potions from Afar". His fantasies about Ginny, as innocent as they were, would have to wait.

"Who put the dragon hide flakes on Longbottom's desk?" Snape asked the class, staring each student in the eyes as he walked through the aisle of desks. "Who did it?"

Snape stopped at Harry's desk, as Harry knew he would. Harry stared at his own stubby, dirty fingernails. He knew if he didn't look up at Snape, Snape might walk away. But he didn't.

"Potter?" Snape growled, grabbing the back of Harry's robes.

"I didn't do it!" Harry exclaimed, looking up at Snape wide-eyed. "I didn't!" I'm horrid at Potions, Snape knows that. He is just looking at a way to sabotage Gryffindor, which makes no sense! Apparently Hermione was having the same thoughts.

"Professor Snape," she spoke up, speaking patiently. If you sounded calm, you had a better chance of winning the battle. "Why would Harry sabotage Neville's cauldron? They are both Gryffindors."

Snape snarled, dropping Harry's robes. He evidentially saw the reason in that, though he didn't give Hermione any credit for the thought. "You're dismissed early." Snape said. "Everyone, go - and no one touch Longbottom's Potion on your way out."

Snape was letting class out early? That was a first. But the class didn't dare argue. Silently, they stood up and picked up their stuff, walking out of the class in single-file.

"What was that all about?" Ron whispered to Neville, who was paler than Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost.

Neville shrugged. "I-I thought they were cornflick seeds!" Neville earnestly said.

"We know you did, Neville." Ginny comforted the boy, patting his arm.

"I wonder; why was Snape so paranoid about the Potion?" Hermione said, thoughtfully. "What sort of Potion is exactly like the one we were making, only with dragon hide? Not too many Potions are alike in the amount of time needing brewed, stirred and-"

"I thought it was ridiculous that he thought Potter did it." Draco Malfoy drawled, catching up with them. "After all, we all know how Potter is at Potions. How would Potter have known to exchange the seeds with the hide?" Draco's intentions were, of course, to make fun of Harry's grades in Potions, but his words had given Hermione more to think about.

"So whoever did it knew what he or she was doing." She mulled over it thoughtfully.

"Can we just drop it?" Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not that important - besides, all this talk about being sabotaged is going to make Neville faint." True; Neville was white as a sheet.

As the Gryffindors headed towards Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry grabbed Ginny's arm. "Stay behind for a few minutes?" He said in question form.

She nodded, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. No doubt she thought Harry had some sort of scheme planned - which was true - Harry did have a scheme, but not the kind Ginny was thinking of.

"What is it?" She asked as they saw the door of their classroom shut, the last Gryffindor inside.

"Tonight, after supper." He began. "Would you like to meet me at the pond, underneath the oak tree?"

She eyed him carefully. "Why?" She asked suspiciously.

"I promise - what I have planned will take no points away from Gryffindor." Harry said quickly. "It is perfectly legal, even by Snape's standards."

She thought just a moment before nodding. "You've got it, Harry." She squeezed his arm. "Let's get to class."

Harry felt like he was floating on air as he walked into the Great Hall three hours later. Ginny was going to meet him. Ginny was going to meet him. Ginny was going to meet him. The thought thrilled him. He just knew she would agree to be his girlfriend for who knew how long? Maybe he would marry her.

"Harry, aren't you hungry?" Hermione asked, concerned as Harry ignored his pasta.

"Huh? What?" He looked at her.

She sighed and lowered her voice. "Listen, Har' - I know you are excited about Ginny and all, but you need to eat. It'll help keep you from getting nervous over asking her."

Harry shook his head, a drunken-seeming smile on his face. "I won't be nervous."

"Yeah, 'Mione." Ron said with a mouth full of bread. "He only defeated You-Know-Who - why would he be afraid of asking a stubborn seventeen-year-old to be his girlfriend?"

"Will you be quiet!" Harry hissed. "I don't want her to hear you!"

"You don't want her to hear what, Potter?" Malfoy's voice came up behind Harry.

Harry turned around, glaring defiantly at his least favorite schoolmate, the word "mate" being used very loosely. "Sod off, Malfoy."

"'Sod off, Malfoy'." Malfoy mimicked. "Are you going to ask Weaselette to be your girlfriend? Because that's what I heard."

Harry, Hermione and Ron all leaped on their feet. "Not another word, Malfoy." Harry said in a low voice, brandishing his wand.

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall's shrill voice came up behind them.

Malfoy was obnoxious, a jerk, a former Death Eater and an evil person, but he wasn't an idiot. Professor McGonagall was not only Head of Gryffindor, but also Headmistress of the entire school. He knew better than to cause trouble in front of her, Harry figured. And he was right.

"I was just talking to Potter." Malfoy said, smoothly.

"Fine. You've spoken. Get back to Slytherin table!" Professor McGonagall barked.

"I hate Slytherins." Harry muttered, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"Hear, hear!" Ron raised his glass of orange liquid.

An hour later, Harry was pacing back and forth under the oak tree. He had said "after supper", hadn't he? What part of "after supper" did Ginny not understand? Bill Weasley had once told him that women were habitually late, that it was in their blood or something. Harry had hoped Ginny was different, but if she wasn't, he could deal with it.

He loved Ginny. A lot. So much that it hurt. It wasn't puppy love, either. He would marry Ginny someday - he would! He would need a couple years to train and become an Auror, of course, and she definitely was not the type to get married right out of school, so she wouldn't mind. Then they would have a nice small wedding - with no reporters - and settle down. Somewhere in the country, away from all the craziness in London. They would grow old together, and-

"Harry!" Ginny Weasley was hurrying across the lot over to him. She wore her Gryffindor robes, which were identical to his, but somehow they flattered her. She looked gorgeous. She sat down beside him and smiled.

"Oh, wow." She said, looking over the pond. "It is so pretty here."

"Sometimes I come here to relax." Harry offered. "It's really nice in the evening."

"It is." She agreed with a dreamy smile.

"You should see it in the sunset - the reflection on the pond matches your hair perfectly." Harry wasn't flirting - well, okay he was - but he truly meant it. He thought of her every time he saw the setting sun's reflection on the pond.

"Aw." She patted his arm to say "thank you". "Thanks for asking me to watch the sunset with you - that's really sweet."

Harry's head started to spin slightly. "No, no. I wanted to watch the sunset with you, but that's not the main reason we're out here." He caught his breath, which he seemed short of.

Ginny looked at him in anticipation. She was waiting for him to continue.

"I really like you, Ginny." He began shyly. Ron had always told him he was "awkward" with girls. Here he was going to prove him wrong. That wasn't the point of all of this, but- oh Merlin, he couldn't see straight. Apparently he was more nervous than he thought.

"I really like you, too, Harry." Ginny said. Harry thought her eyes would be shining, if he could see her straight.

Harry cleared his throat. "Will you be my girlfriend, Ginny? I'd like to be your steady boyfriend. To go out with you and only you unless we decide otherwise." He recited the words he had spent memorizing the past few weeks. Only he hadn't counted on the nausea he had begun to feel.

"Oh, of course I will, Harry!" she said excitedly. "I've been... Harry? Are you feeling all right?"

Harry couldn't answer. His head was swimming. He couldn't keep his thoughts straight... he blacked out.