The next morning when Harry woke up, the ropes had disappeared, there was a sheet and a blanket over him, and his glasses were neatly folded on the bedside table.

He got up, went to the bathroom, and when he returned to the bedroom there was a tray with a complete breakfast, including scrambled eggs. Harry was starving and devoured everything greedily.

After finishing his breakfast, he went to look out of the window. The sun was high in the east, and the birds flitted around the trees cheerfully. Ah, if he could fly on his broom, or at least walk beneath the trees!

But he was a caged bird, and didn't have the faintest idea what would happen to him.

~* ~* ~

At midday, lunch appeared on the table, replacing the empty breakfast tray. Harry felt disappointed; he had been bored all morning and had been looking forward to the moment when Snape would arrive. He had prepared himself to nag and scold Snape with all his might, and now the git hadn't shown up.

Lunch was fish with caper sauce, rice, roast potatoes and a lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad. Not bad at all.

In the middle of the afternoon, however, Harry couldn't stand his loneliness and boredom any longer, and started to punch the bedroom door.

Snape appeared in less than a minute.

When Harry saw him, he let himself fall onto bed, subdued. Snape stared at him in silence, looking concerned.

"I want to get out of here," Harry whimpered. "I have nothing to do."

Snape shut the bedroom door carefully and sat in the armchair. "There are many things that you can do. But you will have to behave yourself."

"Like what, for example?"

"You can prepare yourself to face the Dark Lord."

Harry couldn't believe it. What game was Snape playing? "I'm imprisoned here. I can't do anything."

"The first step you have to take is to learn Occlumency, and for that you just need to control your mind."

Harry burst out in hysterical laughter. "We've been there before. It didn't work."

Snape let out a deep sigh, stood up and walked to the door. "Think about it."

~* ~* ~

Harry took a long time to fall asleep that night, and the next morning he didn't have any desire or strength to leave the bed.

Breakfast was already on the table when he awoke and remained there until it was magically replaced by the lunch tray. It must be midday. And so what, Harry thought. Better stay in bed. He was feeling a little sick.

The door opened, and Snape came in. "What is it, Potter? Why didn't you have breakfast?"

"I didn't feel like eating," Harry answered, turning his back to Snape.

Snape grabbed him by his arm and turned him around by force. "You shall respect me, boy!"

"What is it, Snape? What do you want? Why are you keeping me here all this time? Why hasn't Voldemort come and killed me yet?"

"Is that what you want? To die?"

Harry shrugged. "It's better than being here with you."

A flame of rage erupted in Snape's eyes. Ah, this made Harry feel better. Only by irritating Snape did he feel alive.

"I am not here because of your pleasant personality either, Potter," said Snape between clenched teeth.

"Great. Then let me leave and we'll both be happy."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that. And you are leaving me with very few alternatives."

"Really? What're you going to do?"

"If you don't eat, I shall punish you."

Harry got up; he was so furious that his rage created a cyclone, and things started to fly across the room. He was doing uncontrollable wandless magic.

Snape cast a Petrificus Totalus on him. Paralysed, Harry saw Snape cast a Reparo on the bedroom and then circle him once, twice, three times before extinguishing the spell.

Harry sat on the bed, drained. "What do you want from me, anyway?"

"For now, I just want you to calm down and eat."

Harry snorted, but walked to the table, sat in a chair and started to eat. Snape sat in the armchair and watched him.

"What's this yellow thing?" Harry asked.

"Polenta."

It was tasty, and Harry was hungry. "Who cooks our meals, by the way? Is it you?"

"No. They are restaurant meals."

"Takeaway or delivery?"

"Delivery."

The dessert was a delicious coconut flan with prune sauce.

"What's this dessert?"

"They call it 'manjar branco'," Snape replied.

"And what does it mean?"

"Literally, it means 'white delicacy'. I would translate it as 'white pudding', or 'white custard'."

"What language do they speak?"

Snape made an impatient gesture. "You are asking too many questions. Just finish your dessert."

"Have you already eaten?" Harry asked Snape.

"No. I am waiting for you to finish."

"I'm finished. You can go."

"I decide when and whether to go."

Harry let out a tired sigh. "So, what do you want me to do now?"

"I want you to practice Occlumency."

"Why?"

"What exactly do you want to know?" asked Snape, looking very annoyed.

"Oh, I don't know." Harry was feeling lost. "I want to know everything. Why do you want me to practice Occlumency, for example?"

"Don't be concerned with what I want. I am not important."

That surprised Harry. He stood up, turned to face Snape and stared at him, puzzled. "You're trying to mess with my mind, aren't you? Do you feel powerful when you do this? Is this your kink? Abusing helpless people?"

"No, Potter. This is not my kink. But if you want to play this game..."

Harry felt his face flush. Snape stood up and searched his eyes. Harry felt him probing his mind. "Stop it! How can I block you if I don't have a wand?"

"Stupid boy. You don't need a wand to block your mind. Or you could just close your eyes."

A new wave of rage took over Harry and, averting his eyes from Snape's, he stood up and pounced on him, trying to punch him. Snape gripped both his arms and conjured a rope to bind them.

"Do we have to go through this again?" Snape asked, the rope slithering around Harry's body, binding him.

"Go away," Harry shouted as Snape set him on the bed. "Leave me alone!"

Snape complied and left the bedroom. However, as soon as he found himself alone, Harry felt empty and defeated.

~* ~* ~

Someone was touching his arms, and everything was dark. Harry tried to kick his aggressor.

Oh, damn. Reality hit him like a hard blow to the gut. "Snape. What are you doing here?"

Snape looked embarrassed. How strange. Harry had never seen him embarrassed.

"You fell asleep tied up, with your glasses and the lights on."

"Oh. And you came to unbind me, cover me up and kiss me goodnight?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, Harry felt blood rushing to his face. Why the hell had he said that? Snape's reaction was still weirder. The black eyes focused on Harry's mouth, and Snape looked speechless for a moment. As if... As if he really wanted to kiss him. Then Snape seemed to wake up from his trance, and his face became slightly tinged with colour. Harry felt ridiculous, awkward, and didn't know why. "Let go of me. You disgust me," he snarled, surprised by his own reaction.

Snape released him immediately, hate sparking from his eyes. "As you wish, Mr Potter. By the way, you stink. We are in a tropical climate; you need to bath every day."

In less than a second, Snape had left and closed the door, leaving Harry drenched in a jumble of feelings he could not understand.

Notes:
Manjar branco recipe (if it doesn't open, Google for "manjar branco" + "recipe" and click on the first site on the list)