The two friends were in the Room of Requirement. It had transformed itself into a cozy living room with a large fireplace to keep them warm and a plush sofa. Each one was leaning against an arm and had their feet in each other's laps.
"Now tell me what this mess of a letter is all about that you sent me."
"Ah, right. Well, where did I lose you? I was awfully tired that day..."
"Right around the 'I need help' part."
"So the beginning then. I'm trying to figure out what it is that Master Snape uses every day. He's on a regiment of daily potions but I can't figure out what they are and it's driving me near mad..." Once he had let all of his observations fall onto Hermione's lap, she had started laughing.
"Oi, what's so blasted funny?" She laughed even harder at this.
"Harry, it sounds like you're trying to tell me that Professor Snape is a vampire! Think about what you've just told me. He won't let you see the viscous liquid it is that he drinks out of a specific goblet that you can't see through, he doesn't get drunk, he takes all of his red meat almost completely rare...and that's not including the lack of sleep he sounds like he needs to function properly. The octagonal shaped vial you mentioned? Sounds like the sort of vials that vampires use for potions that mimic the effects of blood for a small amount of time. And the speech? If he really is a vampire then he either has been around a lot of really old ones or he's really old himself. You said he loves traditions and old customs that have practically died out so it's likely that he's really old himself.
"Think about it, Harry. Most vampires are registered because they can't obtain the daily potions they'd need to survive in complete secrecy amongst humans without the ministry's help. They're super complex potions, but he wouldn't need to go through the ministry if he's a bloody potion master himself! It seems to make sense, in my mind at least. Think it over. Now, Ron wanted me to ask you what I should be getting him for Christmas."
They talked for hours; it was easy for them to lose track of time. Eventually, Harry yawned and stood up.
"Okay 'Mione, I need to go to bed. Tomorrow's my day off of brewing anyway, but I still need to be alert enough to do some more research." Hermione hugged him and took her leave of the castle to apparate home.
Harry walked back down to the dungeons, shoes in his hand with his cloak resting on his arm and his thoughts filled with possibilities.
It just didn't make sense. How could Severus be a vampire? But then again, everything that Hermione and he had discussed seem to line up pretty well with the theory. If only he had some sort of solid evidence to go with...
He turned the last corner and let himself into their living room. Severus was lying on the couch with his obsidian goblet sitting on the carpet next to him. To Harry's amusement, there was a straw in the goblet. He walked by on his way to his room and red liquid residue inside the straw caught his eye. Exasperated, he continued on and pulled out a piece of parchment.
'Hermione,
'I don't know how you're always bloody right. He had a straw in that goblet I was telling you about and it has red liquid residue in it. I'll have to bring it up to him in the hopes that you're incorrect for once.
'Love you always,
'Harry'
Harry tied the note to Hedwig's leg and sent her out the magical window that would take her to the owlery before she could fly off with her letter.
Harry wasn't sure what exactly made him do it, but the next morning he woke up early and sat at the breakfast table with a cup of strong coffee and the Daily Prophet. He was filled with determination; he was going to find out what Severus had been hiding from him even if it killed him. The man in question walked in, stopping short at the sight of Harry being up before him and dressed in everything but his robe. Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as the man recovered from the shock and straightened before sitting down at the table.
Harry lazily turned the page, uncaring that he wasn't really absorbing any of the information.
"Good morning Harry." Harry let the top of the paper crumple in just enough that he could look Severus up and down before snapping it back into place.
"Is it really? You seem to be on a late start today. Any particular reason why?" His question was met with indignant silence. "I see. So then," he folded the paper up, ensuring that each crease was made with precision and lightly slapped the paper down onto the tabletop before continuing. "Am I going to have to ask you what's in your goblet every night or are you going to come clean and tell me yourself?"
Severus kept his eyes trained on Harry's mug of coffee as he took a sip.
"Do I really have to tell you what I think it is?" Severus sighed and gave up his silence.
"You aren't ready to know. You wanted to pursue potions after school and we both know you don't want to switch to another's training. It's best you left it alone until after your mastery has been earned."
"You seem to think I'll hate you. Or," Harry leaned in, lowering his voice. "You think I'll be afraid of you." Severus looked up, a flicker of fear at his assumption passing through his gaze. Pleased that he finally got some sort of response that wasn't cautious indifference, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Tell me the truth, Severus." His voice had turned to steel, not allowing for anything less than the whole truth.
"Enough of this. If you must know, you can figure it out on your own. Come." Harry shook his head and pointed back at the seat that the potion master had just vacated. To his surprise, the man sat back down.
"What's all this about Severus? Why hide it from me? You've known me well enough to know that I won't exactly start blabbing your secrets out to anyone around. You've let me into your home and taken me under your wing to impart your knowledge with me. Sooner or later I'm bound to find out what secret it is that you hold so dear to your heart, simply by proximity. Wouldn't you rather I find out the truth than allowing me to come to the wrong conclusions that could cause more harm than good?"
He could see the moment when Severus's determination to keep him in the dark broke. He didn't know if it was his gentle voice of reason, or if it was the strain of keeping a secret that he didn't want to bear alone anymore for so long. Severus leaned forward, plucked an empty teacup from the center of the table and gave Harry the most intense gaze he's ever experienced.
"You're sure you wish to know?"
"Would I have asked if I wasn't?" After a moment Severus pulled out a vial from his shirt sleeve and emptied it into the teacup. Once the vial was empty, except a few drops, he placed it on the table and looked away from Harry as if he was afraid of Harry's reaction.
The liquid was a deep crimson, almost black in colour. Harry nodded to himself, recognizing the potion within.
"When were you going to tell me that you were taking a blood replicator?"
"I wasn't going to. I should have known your curiosity would get the better of you, and perhaps I did, but I did not expect you to be so...understanding, so gentle with your demands..."
Harry took Severus's hands in his own and took a deep breath.
"Let's play a game today."
An hour later Harry had several bottles of wine lined up and Severus had just as much blood replicator next to him.
"And you're sure that'll get you drunk?" He wasn't sure how a blood replicator would get Severus drunk, but he decided to go along with it.
"Blood, to a certain extent, acts as simply nutrients. However, once you've...had your fill, so to speak it will start to mess with my mind about as much as that wine would with yours. You've already seen proof that drinking alcohol doesn't affect me the way it does for others." Harry nodded and handed him a crystal wine glass.
"Right, here's how this is going to work. You and I are going to drink one full glass as quickly as possible. Then we ask each other questions, starting with more superficial ones with easy answers and then progressively letting them get more personal as we become more drunk. You've got to drink after you ask a question and after you answer a question. Got it?"
"That should be easy enough. Remind me why we are doing this again?"
"Because you won't give me any straightforward answers and because I've worked pretty damn hard with you to keep your students in line, papers graded on time and keeping Poppy with a fully stocked infirmary. And that's not including the galleons I've brought in for you with the last few batches of veritaserum for the ministry."
Sighing, Severus tipped back his glass and drank its entire contents in a few gulps. Harry was quick to follow suit and watched as the man's pupils dilated. He refilled his glass and readjusted his position so he was leaning with his back against the sofa and his side pressed to the back cushions. At some point he had neatly tucked one leg under himself and had the other one drawn up. A few minutes later, Severus startled him out of his thoughts.
"What's your favourite colour?" The man took a large sip from his glass, his intent gaze never leaving Harry's.
"Cornflower blue. It's especially pretty with white." Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't the look of surprise the potion master was now giving him. He took a drink and asked the question that had been on his mind for awhile.
"What's your type?" He had to contain the laughter so he didn't spit out his drink when Severus sputtered at the question.
"What sort of question is that?!"
"Firstly, you have to drink since that was a question. Secondly, it's an easy enough question that doesn't delve too deep. You can either answer or you can down another glass of that potion and I'll ask a different one." Dark eyes narrowed before he finally decided to answer.
"It's very specific. However, if you insist, I can generalize it down to a few things. Dark hair, vibrant eyes and curiosity." He paused as if weighing his words before continuing, "And sweet smelling blood." Harry took a moment to let that information process and filed it away for later.
"Are you afraid of me, as you should be?" Harry shook his head.
"Exactly how can I be afraid of you if I haven't been told why I should be afraid?" Suddenly, Harry found himself rather crowded. Severus was pressing up against him, his presence practically smothering him.
"Disregarding that, are you afraid of me?"
Harry gazed up at the man and shook his head.
"No, never. I trust you more than I trust anyone else. Why would I need to fear you when you have only shown me kindness and understanding? That's rhetorical, by the way. Just food for thought." Severus retreated back to his end of the sofa and they proceeded with their little game. Harry was slightly tipsy before long, and Severus was just as inebriated.
"Would you tell me what you are? Out loud, I mean. I need to hear it."
"You'll hate me." A flash of sadness passed over his face and Harry shook his head.
"No, I'll be able to understand you better. I wouldn't...couldn't hate you. I want to understand you."
A moment of silence passed while Severus thought about his answer.
"I'm a vampire, Harry. As you very well know."