Severitus fic where Snape is found out as a spy and death eaters are trying harder than usual to find and capture Harry. Dumbledore decides that, after Little Whinging is attacked again, the best course of action is to send the pair to a safe house outside the country. They both tried their hardest to convince Dumbledore otherwise, but in the end they both ended up in a cabin deep in the woods, far far away from Hogwarts and Little Whinging. It’s hard for them to be too mad when they’re being hidden in a picture perfect place where most people only dream of living.
It’s awkward at first, of course it is, two people who hate each other being trapped in a secluded house together, unable to do magic and basically no personal belongings besides essentials and clothes. Snape doesn’t let Harry go exploring too far into the forest, as he doesn’t know his way around and they’re not allowed to use tracking spells while in hiding, as Harry was still only 15 and the Trace would alert the ministry of their location immediately.
Still, Harry spent most of his days wandering around the woods, even if he couldn’t go very far. He didn’t know how long they were going to be stuck in the safe house, but after a few weeks they had already fallen into a routine. Whoever woke up first, usually Harry, was in charge of breakfast, which they’d eat together with usually stunted and awkward conversations. Then Harry would go and explore the outside while Snape either read a book or tended to the large garden in the back of the cabin. Harry doesn’t really understand how anything in the garden was still alive, as it looked like nobody had lived in the house for quite a while, but maybe it was spelled to stay alive somehow- he didn’t know. By the time lunch came around, Harry had exhausted himself, exploring deeper into the forest than he usually dared.
While he was out he stumbled upon a small stream, which he of course followed. He wouldn’t have dared to go that far into the forest if he wasn’t following the stream, which eventually led to a clearing and a large, crystal clear lake. He sat on a bigger rock by the shore and watched the sun reflect off the water, unsuccessfully trying to skip a few rocks off the surface. After spending a few minutes listening to the waves and various bird calls he got up and began to head back to the cabin. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but he hoped it wasn’t long enough for Snape to come looking for him.
By the time he returned to the cabin he could already smell whatever Snape was cooking for lunch. He kicked off his shoes as he entered and washed his hands in the kitchen sink, taking a peek at stove. Snape was cooking what looked like a rice dish with various vegetables from the garden and some chicken cooking in a separate pan.
“Oh, pity,” Snape spoke up, not even glancing at Harry. “I started to think that maybe you’d gotten yourself lost in the woods, thought I’d have a peaceful meal for a change.”
Harry snorted and shook his head, grabbing two plates from the cabinet for them. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“A shame, really.” He said as he began to plate their dishes.
Harry didn’t know when that all started. The jokes and the real actual conversations they shared. It just seemed like one day their hatred for each other fell away and they were in a mutual agreement to forget about it, at least for as long as they were stored away in this cabin. Harry grabbed their plates and placed them on the table, sitting down after also grabbing some utensils for them.
They don’t talk a ton during dinner, as they spend all day together which means there’s usually not much to discuss. Harry hummed as he took the first bite, he was pleasantly surprised the first time he tried Snapes cooking as it was actually really good, not that his standards were all that high. Harry also had a slight interest in cooking whenever he’s able, so he liked to come back to the cabin early to try and help Snape in the kitchen, or at least be able to watch the process if he was allowed. There were some days where him and Snape would find their rhythm in the kitchen, perfectly working around each other to make a nice dinner to share. Those days always left him a little confused, making him think back to the days where they would fight in bicker in the potions room, clashing at every step and turn. He wondered if things would go back to the way they were whenever they had to go back to Hogwarts, and he found himself hoping that they didn’t.
Harry slept on the pullout couch in the living room while Snape took the small bedroom down the hallway, not that he minded at all, the bed was still better than the one he had at the Dursleys. Snape had given him an odd look when he took the pullout bed without complaint on their first night, storming into his room in a rage after berating him, talking about how he won’t get pity points from anyone for his humbleness. Harry had slept it off and there hadn’t been any more comments since.
Harry, like usual, was the first one up in the morning. He yawned and rubbed his eyes while willing himself to get out of the warm, comfortable bed. He slipped out of bed a few minutes later and immediately opened all of the blinds, letting the sunlight fill the cabin, he also cracked a few open to get rid of the stale air. He made his way over to the kitchen to rifle through their food to see what he could make them. He found a few potatoes from the garden and left them on the counter as he tried to grab the eggs from the back of the fridge at the same time. He grabbed a few veggies from the bottom drawer and finally, the milk.
He immediately got working on the potatoes, cutting them up into small, even squares. He threw on some salt and pepper from their extremely limited spice cabinet and threw them into a pan with oil and butter. He grabbed a large bowl to crack the eggs into, dicing up the various vegetables he got out and whisked it all together with a splash of milk. He waiting a few minutes before melting some butter in a pan, he whisked the eggs one more time before slowly pouring it into the hot pan, smiling as he listened to it sizzle. He sprinkled on a little bit of salt and pepper before he needed to flip the omelette, also stirring and mixing up the potatoes.
He grabbed two plates as the food finished cooking, leaving them on the counter next to the stove, he also grabbed two mugs and took a minute to start up the coffee maker. That’s his last step in making breakfast and usually the one that got Snape out of bed, the smell of brewing coffee filling the small cabin.
Like clockwork, the door to Snapes bedroom cracked open, the light flooding in to his pitch black room. He stepped out with a yawn and made his way into the kitchen, taking stock of everything Harry’s made for them. The coffee maker spat and sputtered as it finished brewing, steam pouring out of the top. Snape poured the coffee into the two mugs while Harry folded and carefully split the omelette into two, depositing each piece and some potatoes onto both plates.
They met at the table with their respective items and placed them in front of two chairs across from each other. Harry quickly grabbed utensils for them while Snape sat down, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, trying to make himself look presentable while Harry’s back was turned. He returned to the table and handed Snape the fork and knife he brought for him before sitting down, immediately digging into the food on his plate. He hummed as he took a bite, satisfaction filling him like it did every morning while they ate whatever he cooked. Snape nodded in return, his version of a compliment whenever Harry did something to his approval.
Snape was nice enough to do the dishes while Harry finally washed up in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and scrubbing at his face with cold water. He brushed through his hair with his fingers a few times before giving up, his hair was looking a little grown out with how long he’d gone without a haircut, the sides were almost past his chin. He sighed and blew his bangs out of his face before leaving the bathroom.
Harry liked to reset the living room every morning, folding the bed back up so they could use the couch during the day. He placed all his blankets and pillows into a basket they kept in the corner of the room. The curtains billowed as the breeze from the open window pushed through, the fresh air from the outside making him restless. He was excited to get back out to exploring.
Over the next week, Harry found himself visiting that lake at least once every day. He was definitely improving his rock skipping abilities, maybe even enough to impress Ron whenever they went back. He finds himself wishing that Ron was there to be the one to teach him, but, like much else in his life, he had to figure it out on his own.
Harry had never considered himself the strongest swimmer but he gained the courage to take a dip one day, the scorching sun making his skin red and his forehead glisten. He stayed where his feet could touch the bottom but let himself float on his back across the water, clenching his eyes against the bright sun. He almost found himself wishing that Snape was there with him, sitting on the shore reading a book or maybe even wading through the water with his pants rolled up. The thought made him laugh, thinking of Snape sunbathing, the man who wore a black cloak all year round and lived in the dungeons of a castle.
Snape obviously left the cabin, but he never truly explored like Harry did, he would never just stumble upon this lake like Harry did. He wanted Snape to be here but he also valued that this was his own private space, somewhere that no one could find him, no prying eyes or eavesdropping ears. He sighed before making his way back to shore, lying on the warm ground and waiting for his clothes to dry in the hot sun. He nearly fell asleep while waiting, nodding off slightly, but kept himself awake as he knew if he fell asleep he probably wouldn’t wake until the sun was down. He yawned before slowly standing up, groaning quietly. He threw his shirt back on and slipped on his socks and shoes before beginning to make the trek back to the cabin.
He was dead on his feet when he finally made it back, tired from all the walking and swimming. He came home later than he usually did, lunch already sitting on the table with Snape already eating. He plopped himself down in his seat and began to eat while half nodding off, nearly dropping his fork on multiple occasions. Snape didn’t say anything but silently laughed whenever Harry’s head snapped up, smiling almost endearingly at the boy. Snape stood when Harry’s head dropped but finally failed to rise, quietly making his way around the table and plucking the fork out of Harry’s limp hand. Snape gently shook him, not enough to fully wake him, but enough that he could get back to the couch with a little bit of guidance.
Harry quickly fell back asleep once he was lying on the couch, snoring quietly and curling up with his back facing the window. He disregarded any sort of blanket or cover since the cabin was already quite warm. Snape quietly covered Harry’s unfinished lunch and placed it in the fridge for him to finish later, silently tidying the place up. He pondered to himself, wondering what Harry could have possibly been doing to get himself so tuckered out. Nothing dangerous, he hoped.
With a book in hand, Snape sat down on the plush leather chair that was tucked next to the couch, facing the small fireplace. He felt a bit odd, like he was watching Harry sleep, but he didn’t fancy spending his whole day hidden away in his room so he stayed seated. There truly wasn’t much to do around the cabin, and the garden can only be tended to so many times, so Snape began picking through the stack of muggle books that were left behind in his bedroom and found that a few of them were actually quite interesting.
About an hour passed before Harry began to stir from his slumber, stretching out across the couch and covering his face against the bright light of the sun. Snape looked over Harry once again and rolled his eyes when he noticed the tinge of red on Harry’s cheeks, the beginning of a light sunburn starting to appear.
“Potter, how could you have possibly achieved getting burnt by the sun in the middle of a forest,” He scoffed, shaking his head fondly. “You’re under a canopy of shade at all times. Unless you had the brilliant idea of standing under a sun spot for an hour?”
Harry giggled tiredly into the couch cushion at the idea, feeling the heat of the sunburn radiating off his face, and probably his shoulders too. He sighed but didn’t answer, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to give up his secret hideaway at the lake.
“I was out.” He answered simply.
“Out.” Snape repeated, a small smile on his face. “What a… profound answer.”
“Mhm…” Harry mumbled quietly.
While, yes, having his the lake to himself was nice, it wasn’t like there were many people around to bother him, so there was no real point. If he ever wanted to be alone all he had to do was step outside of the cabin. He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought, thinking back to some of the late night conversations he had had with Snape over the past few months. He thought back to how he had opened up a bit about the Dursleys, how Snape silently encouraged him to continue but never pressed for answers, never pried into his life or asked questions he didn’t want to answer. It was like Snape somehow knew exactly what areas were too much and which ones he could bring up without upsetting Harry too much.
He thought about how Snape had taken Harry out into the garden and taught him how to take care of the plants, how to tell when certain vegetables or fruits were ready to be harvested, and how to keep them safe against bugs. He thought about Snape teaching him how to cook with those very vegetables, not that he didn’t know how but it was always nice to know a few more recipes. He remembered feeling weirdly happy when they had sat down for dinner that night, knowing that they had worked on it together.
Harry finally sat up, rubbing at his eyes a little. “So, there’s this lake I found…”
