At first he was in expansive fields, rolling in every which direction with tall grass blowing in the wind. Then, he stood in a jungle where the trees were so thick that you could scarcely see through them, vines running the lengths of ancient ruins. Suddenly, he stood on a cliff with the cool air beating around him and the waves breaking against the rocky shore. His head exploded with a great booming noise and he finally found himself yanked from the cliff and falling fast. With what felt like an explosion in his head, he was within his own body again and what had sounded like mini-explosions was actually a light clicking noise.

Click. Click. Click.

Harry jerked at the sound of shoes hitting a stone floor and instantly regretted it when his head exploded with pain. Never in his life had he felt so disorientated, his eyes were crusted shut, his stomach had a sour coating, and his tongue was thick in his mouth making it impossible to make out any questions he may have asked the walker, if he could see them that was. Breathing slightly labored, he pushed his eyes shut against the bright, unyielding light coming from the room.

"Mr. Potter," drew out an all too familiar drawl, "If it is your intention to laze about all day then I fear you are to be disappointed. Please, stop feeling sorry for yourself and take this potion."

Tearing his eyes open, he peered up at the unpleasant sight of his potion’s master looming over him. Too tired to argue, he dragged his mouth open and allowed the potion to be tipped down his throat. However, his swollen tongue rejected the liquid and he found himself sputtering and the potion rolling down his chin. Snape’s lip curled in disgust and he did nothing to quell the boy’s choking, when it died down he tilted the potion again and this time it went down a little smoother. For lack of better resources, he reached down and used the bedclothes to wipe off his face, causing Snape to sneer.

"Excellent Potter, behold the wizarding world’s hero," Harry felt his cheeks heat up slightly, and he focused on the curtains surrounding his bed in what seemed to be the Hogwarts’ infirmary. He’d certainly been here often enough to recognize it.

"Sir, why am I at Hogwarts?" He asked quietly, ignoring the last comment that his teacher had made.

"I think that is an explanation best left up to the headmaster, Potter."

"Indeed." Came an ancient voice from the doorway. Dumbledore’s eyes had lost their twinkle and he looked as if he was feeling all his years.

"Didn’t trust me with the golden boy?" Questioned Snape with a slight sneer.

"Do you trust yourself Severus?" Asked the headmaster, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the boy with potion-stained clothes. "I simply thought we owe Mr. Potter an explanation of what is going on."

For a moment Snape looked as though he may make another biting comment but apparently thought better of it and moved to hover in the corner of the room. Carefully, Dumbledore lowered himself onto the bed and looked into Harry’s eyes. "Harry, I will not lie to you. There is no easy way to say this so I will just come out and say it to you. Your home was attacked by deatheaters. I’m afraid your family did not make it."

The words crashed over him and he felt as if lead had been dropped into his gut. Sure, he didn’t like the Dursleys but they had never done anything bad enough to him for him to wish death upon them. Great misfortune or a rather unpleasant meeting with the Weasley twins, yes. But not death or even injury. Not to mention that yet another person who had gotten close to him had died. Just like Sirius. Just like his parent. Just like Cedric. Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"Sir, if deatheaters attacked and..."the word ‘killed’ wouldn’t quite come out of his mouth, "did all that, then how did I get out?"

A slight smile tugged at the edges of the headmaster’s mouth but his eyes were sympathetic, "Like many things about you, my boy, that is a mystery. When we got there the house, as well as most of the deatheaters had been destroyed and you were unconscious."

"Yes, and we had to cast memory charms on nearly the whole bloody street," Severus said sardonically. "Thank you, that was exactly how I wanted to spend my night."

Poppy clicked her tongue as she walked past him, presumably from her office, and gave him a withering glare. "You weren’t just unconscious dear. You were in the deepest state of sleep, your mind and soul weren’t present in your body."

"Well...where were they?" Severus let out a very uncharacteristic snort.

"We were hoping you could tell us. Harry, do you remember anything that happened before you awoke?" Dumbledore asked gently.

He thought of the dreams he had seen of various landscapes and the feeling of power that had coursed through him. It all seemed unrelated so he shook his head and said, "No, I don’t remember."

Dumbledore sighed but nodded in acceptance. "I need to speak with Professor Snape for a moment, please excuse us."

They moved out into the hallway and Harry could barely overhear their conversation which was apparently about him. Before the headmaster had the chance to utter a single word Snape snapped, "No. Albus, no. I don’t care what Potter has been through and the fact that he has no where to go. I realize that you think that boy is exempt from all the rules but I do not and the school only accepts purebloods with a proper wizarding background. Not spoiled Gryffindors who didn’t even know they were wizards until they were eleven."

With a heavy sigh he said, "Severus..."

"No! Have the Weasleys take him in! With seven kids I hardly doubt one more will make much of a difference."

"Severus, I can’t ask them to take on that responsibility. Either financially or for the boy’s safety. This way I know he will be protected."

"From the Dark Lord, yes. But from the Slytherin students? Good luck getting them to play nice." Harry suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. "No. Absolutely not! Headmaster, I’m putting my foot down about this."

There was a moment of silence and Harry raised his head up off the white pillow to make sure he didn’t miss anything. The tension was thick and Harry found himself tensing until the door exploded inwards and a very angry Professor Snape was glowering down at him. Guiltily, he fell back against the pillows trying to pretend he hadn’t heard anything.

"Potter," he snapped coldly, "retrieve your clothes from Madam Pomfrey and come with me. I shall be taking you to where you will be staying the rest of the summer."

With that, the man in dark robes spun on his heel and marched out of the room. Harry felt panic, Dumbledore was letting his most hated professor drag him off to Merlin knows where for the rest of the summer. On wobbly legs he stumbled over to Pomfrey’s office and requested his clothes which he received after much fussing about him making a journey while recovering. After Harry insisted he was fine, which was true aside from feeling slightly detached from his body and having his stomach clench with any thought of his late family, she grudgingly allowed him to go.

However, when he returned to his bed there was already an outfit laid out there complete with socks and shoes. They were brand new clothing and made of a fairly nicer fabric then he was used to. There was a long-sleeved, white button up shirt and black tie with a black pair of pants. Next to it was a midnight blue robe with silver fastenings, both the shoes and socks were black. Unsure of what to do he stood by the curtains until Snape knocked on the door and entered.

"Potter, why aren’t you dressed?" He demanded, setting down the large black trunk that Harry recognized as his own.

"Uh, sir. I wasn’t sure if the clothes on the bed were mine." Harry mumbled.

"No, they’re for the other boy in the infirmary over summer break," came the professor’s scathing reply. He reached over and grabbed Harry’s grubby clothes, looking at them with disgust but oddly enough took the care to fold them before putting them respectfully in the trunk.

Once Harry was dressed he followed Snape down the hallway, struggling to keep up with the man’s long strides. The clothes were surprisingly cool despite their length and heaviness and Harry considered asking if it was a spell but didn’t want to risk Snape’s sarcasm for the simple answer. After they left the castle Snape (thankfully) slowed to a more reasonable pace and addressed his new charge.

"You will obey the rules where I am taking you. You will not make an embarrassment of yourself and you will do your best to fit into their customs and daily life."

"Where exactly are you taking me?"

With only a slight sneer he answered, "Spencer Academy of Breeding." At Harry’s confused look and unvoiced ‘sounds like a school for horses’ Snape elaborated, "Most purebloods feel their children deserve extra schooling beyond Hogwarts. Spencer teaches magic classes as well as classes on wizarding politics, wizarding history, and the morals of purebloods. This is all done during the summer and is attended by most, although not all Slytherins as they tend to come from the families who deem this necessary."

"Wonderful." He said sarcastically, looking less and less forward to the place he would be staying for the summer.

"Don’t be ungrateful Potter."

"Yes, sir." He uttered with a sigh.

They walked through the gates of Hogwarts and continued to walk until they came to a fork in the road. One path lead down into Hogsmeade and the other lead into the wilderness. The two wizards took neither and came to a stop. Snape observed the boy closely making him shift uncomfortably.

"Yes?"

"Your soul completely left your body." He said simply.

"That’s what Madam Pomfrey said."

"That doesn’t happen naturally or with any known magic. If it is a power that you possess, have possessed from birth then it may explain a thing or two."

As loathe as Harry was to think that the potion’s master knew anything about him or his powers he was curious as to what deduction the man had made. Dumbledore shared so little with him about what his role was in this war that he was starved for information. "What does it explain, sir?" He asked in what he hoped was a respectable tone.

This time there was nothing on his face questioning his student’s intelligence. When he answered the tone was kind, or what he assumed was kind on Snape. "The Killing Curse literally rips the soul from the body. But, if when you were a baby your soul left your body, like it did three days ago when we first found you, then the curse could not affect you. Which may explain why it rebounded on the caster."

Harry took this in for a moment and then said hesitantly, "But I thought my mother..."

Snape shook his head and cut him off, "Yes, yes, I’m aware of the story that Dumbledore told you. Exactly the sort of sentimental sap that he wants to believe and the perfect story to keep his golden boy rooted on the light side. I’m well aware. But you should consider that this isn’t a fairy tale and if you’d been to the real wizarding world at all you would be well aware of this. We will double apparate to get there, I assume you’ve never done so?"

After the boy shook his head in the negative Snape instructed him to hold on tight and Harry did so reluctantly. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, rather like being sucked through a very small vacuum tube. With a pop they disappeared and found themselves standing outside of a small station. "Here we are, we’ll take a carriage to the school."

The carriages were pulled by beautiful white beasts with large wings and milky blue eyes. They climbed into the back of the carriage and it pulled out of the station when suddenly a voice shouted, "Hey! Stop!"

Harry instantly panicked as a young woman with long, dark brown hair stopped the carriage and peered inside. Her eyes were a cold shade of blue, like ice and there were freckles dotting her pale and otherwise flawless skin. Most importantly, she was wearing a muggle, female suit.

"W-w-we’re g-going to a festival and th-the h-horses are for the s-show." He stuttered unconvincingly.

Snape and the stranger shared a smirk at his suspense, "Mr. Potter may I introduce Professor Elvira Schlone of Spencer Academy."

"Oh...why the muggles clothes?"

"Ah, I had to take muggle transportation to get here. I have a temporary ban on my rights to apparate since I had a little....trouble with the ministry." Professor Schlone and Snape exchanged a knowing look.

"Excuse my charge, he seemed to have misplaced his manners. This is–."

"Harry Potter. Yes, the headmaster of Hogwarts informed me that he would be attending Spencer this summer." Her eyes flicked momentarily to the scar on his forehead. "Perhaps we can teach you to handle these situations with a little more....grace."

"Grimley is a completely wizarding town. That’s why we can take the carriage into public, please join us Elvira." Said Severus, scooting over to give the woman some room. Schlone still looked amused but her eyes were kind and sympathetic. The trip there was fairly uneventful with the two of the adults chatting idly about how their years had been, it was obvious that they had known each other for a long time.

Spencer Academy was not nearly as impressive as Hogwarts was, and it was not as cheerful. It was a large stone mansion with ivy growing on the walls and a thicket of trees surrounding the back of the building. The words ‘Spencer Academy–Death Before Dishonor is the Pureblood Way’ and Harry found it rather creepy. Many students were lazed about outside, either chatting with each other and laughing. It was so much different then at school where all the Slytherins made a point to look together at all times. However, an air of elegance still hung over all they did and Harry couldn’t help but think that he could send years at this school and he would never be able to move like that.

Then he saw the blonde standing next to a girl in a similar uniform, although wearing a skirt and a pair of white tights. Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy, why hadn’t he thought of that before? A whole summer with them. At the same time Draco saw him and his eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me." Draco hissed.

Snape reached over and cuffed the boy in the back of the head and glared at him. Looking properly chastised he muttered, "Sorry, professor."

"It’s fine Draco." Said Snape in a formal and yet somehow cordial voice, "How have your studies gone so far this summer?"

"Fine. Although I’m glad you’ve arrived, our substitute has no idea what he’s doing." What happened next shocked Harry even more as Snape pulled the blonde into a brief but warm embrace. Would wonders never cease? Apparently not because Snape actually smiled at the boy and Harry felt a rush of jealously because no one had ever given him that look. The look a proud father gives their son.

"Potter," barked Snape, "get your things. I’ll introduce you to your roommate."

Dragging his trunk towards the building with stares following him from the courtyard all he could think was, Perfect. Just bloody perfect.

The blonde abandoned the two teachers and raven-haired boy before they entered the building. For this, Harry was grateful because Draco had made him extremely wary. Professor Schlone bid them a farewell and Snape led him to the boy’s dormitories. Already he was planning on how to best avoid Malfoy during his visit.

The building was furnished with items from the Victorian-era and grand paintings of past students and teachers. Along the staircase there was a moving picture for each year that had graduated and Harry found it curious that 1978 was missing while all the others were intact. Some of the students primped, others sat stiffly, and more still were joking around and making faces at him. On the way up he caught sight of a rather large library and her thought that perhaps this summer wouldn’t be a waste if he could find a particularly nasty hex for Malfoy. At last they reached a long hallway of doors, each with a plaque on the outside naming the inhabitant of the room.

Already, the door had been engraved with his name and the name above it was, to his shock Neville Longbottom. That isn’t possible, is it? Harry wondered incredulously. Snape knocked briefly on the door before opening it to reveal an elegantly decorated room with two beds. Both had a dark green comforter and light green sheets. There were black curtains and the walls and the ceiling was black with twinkling stars. The floor was covered with a creamy carpet and the furniture surrounding the fireplace was white. Beside each bed was a dresser and desk, both made out of dark mahogany.

Seated at one of the desks was a young man, with light brown hair and a stocky build. It was Neville! Harry nearly laughed with relief. Sharing a room with Neville was much better then sharing it with a Slytherin who he didn’t know and yet would most likely hate him.

"Mr. Longbottom," drawled Snape.

The boy scuttled to his feet and stammered, "P-professor S-snape."

"Your new roommate." He said simply, pushing Harry forward and moving back to where he would be as unobtrusive as possible.

"Neville!" He exclaimed happily.

"Hi, Harry. What are you doing here?" Neville asked shyly, bouncing up and down on his heels until Snape glared at him and caused him to come to an abrupt stop.

"My family, they, uh . . . passed away." Muttered Harry, staring at the fascinating carpet under his feet.

"Oh." Neville said, looking at him in an intent manner that made him uncomfortable. Eventually his gaze darted away and he went back to shuffling his feet.

"What are you doing here?" Harry countered, hoping to take the focus off of him.

"Gram thinks I need extra help with my magic and knowledge of wizarding politics." He fidgeted with his shirt, "I think she thinks that they’ll get rid of some of my clumsiness and bad habits."

Snape looked as if he was going to say something scathing but suddenly Malfoy appeared at the doorway. "Professor, may I speak to you for a moment?"

For a moment Snape looked like he might say no, but after a brief nonverbal exchange with his student he nodded, "Go wait in the hall." Draco immediately obeyed and left the room.

"Potter. Longbottom, will make a rather good roommate for you. He is dependable and neat, habits I hope you will pick up." Neville blushed deeply under the rare compliment and looked as though he wanted to disappear. "He can fill you in on the protocol but I will take the time right now to inform you that you are expected to pick up after yourself."

I think I can handle that, Harry thought bitterly. Then he remembered his relatives and their early end and felt a stab of guilt for thinking like that. Their professor turned on his heel and left, causing Neville to immediately relax.

Harry thought bitterly. Then he remembered his relatives and their early end and felt a stab of guilt for thinking like that. Their professor turned on his heel and left, causing Neville to immediately relax."That’s what she says anyway," said Neville with an uncharacteristic bitterness. For a moment Harry wondered whet he was talking about but then remembered; his grandmother. "She just doesn’t want to have to deal with me after what happened."

"What exactly did happen?" Questioned Harry, going over to the dresser and he began to tentatively unpack his meager belongings from his trunk.

"My father, at St. Mungo’s. He began to have delusions and he reacted . . . violently. Some of the other patients were injured."

"Oh. I’m sorry Neville."

The chubby boy stared at him for a moment and then shook his head, "No, you’re not. You’re just saying that because it’s what you’re supposed to say."

Harry was shocked by the bluntness of the statement and didn’t know how to respond. He knew how he wanted to respond; say that what Neville thought wasn’t true. However, he didn’t have the energy to argue his point when what Neville was saying was actually sort of the truth. Instead he decided to change the subject. While they were talking, he’d noticed the long, angry looking scratches on the other boy’s arms that were all, oddly enough, lined up in a straight row, "Neville? What happened to your arm?"

The other boy blushed furiously and violently tugged his rolled up sleeves down to cover it. "Nothing, it was an accident. I got caught in a thorn bush."

This made him wonder why it was only on his arms and why they were so neat but he let it go. Neville was explaining to him, " . . . and you missed classes for the day but dinner is in ten minutes. Want to come down?"

"No, that’s all right. I’ll be down in a few minutes. I want to get settled in before I go down."

"All right, but don’t be late. Snape gets mad."

"Right."

Neville pulled his robe on and rushed out into the hall and down to dinner. On his way out he had left the door open ever so slightly and Harry was about to shut it until he heard two voices coming from the other side of the door. Recognizing the voices as belonging to Snape and Draco and he paused, seriously considering continuing to eavesdrop. Well it’s not my fault Neville left the door open, is it? So if I just happen to overhear something . . . he crept closer to the door and perked up his ears.

"–then don’t, Draco. It’s as simple as that, for once take charge of your life and stop letting your parents make all your decisions for you."

"Godfather," Harry was surprised by this, "You don’t understand what it’s like! They want me to–."

"I know exactly what it’s like. Look, Draco there are two paths in times like these and there is a time in every witch and wizards life when they need to choose which one they will go down. Unfortunately, you’re being asked to choose your own before many of your peers."

"I–I don’t want that for myself. They’re a bunch of disgusting monsters." The blonde hissed in a more vehement voice then was normal for a boy of only sixteen. Then he became apologetic, not something Harry thought he would ever see from the blonde, "I don’t mean you. I mean them."

"I know. Well it sounds like you’ve made your decision, now you just have to be strong enough to back it."

"...I don’t know if I can. It’s too late for that. They’ll never let me go now."

"Nonsense. Draco, Slytherins are famous for their strength . . . is everything all right? You have not been yourself since you came back here for the summer."

There was a moment of loaded hesitation, which seemed to confirm Severus’ fears, "Draco, what is it?"

With a sigh he muttered, "Nothing."

"Draco . . . " However there was a buzzing noise which he supposed signaled the beginning of supper and he heard Draco hastily excuse himself. Suddenly, he felt guilty for listening in and went to go down into the dining hall. However, when he exited, he found himself face to face with Malfoy. Their eyes locked and a tiny bit of red began to appear in the blonde’s usually pale cheeks. They ignored each other and both set off down the stairs until Harry realized that he didn’t know how to get to the dining room.

Although he considered asking for help, in the end his pride won out and he went to attempt to find it on his own. This took a considerable amount of time to do and he was very late by time he got there he was very late. A small group of teachers at the head table looked at him, as well as the students. Snape looked only a hairs-breadth from rolling his eyes, although Professor Schlone gave him a kind and sympathetic look. Whispering spread about what the golden boy could be doing at the small Spencer Academy.

"Mr. Goyle, would you care to inform Mr. Potter of our policy on tardiness." Requested a stern looking man with salt and pepper hair and a beige robe.

The oafish looking boy rose from his seat beside Malfoy and said, "Any student late is showing disrespect to the teachers and the other students and should remain standing and not participate in the meal."

Harry’s stomach chose that moment to growl particularly loud and he moaned at the thought of going the night without food. Again, the Dursleys had helped him prepare for such an occasion but he was still recovering from the attack. Feeling foolish, he stood for the entire meal, forced to watch everything that was going on and not being able to do anything to stop it. The students ate with impeccable manners and chatted happily and Draco and his friends seemed to have made a sport out of torturing Neville. Food magically pelted itself at him and Draco came over and stood there for several moments talking, and although he couldn’t hear what was going on he could tell by the look on Neville’s face that it wasn’t pleasant.

XxXxXxX

To his surprise Professor Schlone brought him up a tray of food later, much to the horror of a rule abiding Neville.

"Thanks Professor." He said, enthusiastically digging in which amused the woman who was used to her uptight, well-mannered Slytherins.

"Outside of class, you may call me Elvira." She said, sitting down at the chair in front of his desk.

"Okay, thanks. What do you teach?"

"Divination." Elvira informed him, much to his surprise.

"Oh, er, I have to say that isn’t my favorite subject."

"Yes," she said, pulling a slight face and picking at a thread on her red robe, "I’ve met your professor at Hogwarts. Now, don’t tell anyone that I said this but. . .the woman hasn’t the faintest idea what she is talking about. A load of fluff, if you ask me. I will be teaching you about the real art of divination. You should be good at it, you have a lot of power in you."

"Okay, looking forward to it. Thanks for bringing up the tray."

"Oh, no problem dear. Severus and I both think that you need to put on a little weight."

Harry nearly choked on his food, "Professor Snape let you bring this to me after I was late."

Elvira clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and nodded, "Of course. Don’t look so shocked about it! He may be tough on his students but he’s worth your time. Give him a chance."

"Give him a chance? Tell him to give me a chance!"

She sighed and stood up, "I’ll see you in class tomorrow, bright and early."

"Okay. Good night."

That night Harry had odd dreams that his Aunt Petunia was sitting in a beautiful garden but when he got up to approach her she moved away. Soon he was chasing her, struggling to catch up and apologize to her for what had happened. Giving a dark laugh she shrilled, "Catch me if you can, Harry!"

Somehow the chase didn’t bother his though and soon he was running across open fields with no cares in the world. The deaths, the war, it all faded into the background for a few glorious moments. Until someone started shaking his shoulder and calling his name. With a low groan, he opened his eyes and peered up to see a set of blue ones looking back down at him through a sheet of long blonde hair.

"Pansy?" He asked, unable to fathom what she could want from him at this hour.

"Get up. Draco wants to see you."

"Well why didn’t he come tell me then?"

"Because he’s preparing things downstairs. Look, if you’re too much of a coward then don’t come with us. We can make your life a lot easier if you just cooperate with us. You’re lucky. Draco wants to make peace with you." Pansy explained quietly, although not quietly enough.

"Harry, you shouldn’t be wandering around the manor after hours. It’s against the rules." Unfortunately Harry could see in the boy’s eyes that he secretly wanted to go with them and was rather put off by not being invited.

"Mind your business Longbottom! Oh, by the way I’ve been meaning to ask you," she purred, standing up and making her way toward him. "Do your parents recognize you when you go to visit them? Or do they simply sit and drool?"

Harry was struck by the cruelty and boldness of the statement. Neville went pale and turned over in bed, pretending (rather pathetically) to be asleep. Satisfied, Pansy made her way back over to Harry and leaned over him.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Yes, fine. But it better be worth it." He got up and pulled on the blue robe, wondering what the blonde was doing in the boy’s dormitories anyway.

"Oh," she said with an unpleasant light in her eyes, "it will be."

Suddenly his head exploded and he was lost in a vision of vivid color and sounds until the room came into focus. No one was in the room except for Neville who was seated on the bed with his legs crossed and tears running down his face. There was a blade in his hand and he pushed it down on a part of his unblemished arm and pushed down, part of the blade disappearing into his arm. With a choked sob, he drew it across bringing forth a small stream of blood fell down his arm and onto the green bed sheets.

And then it was over and he was returned to the present where Neville was laying in bed and Pansy was waiting impatiently for him to join her. It was just a dream, he told himself. The logical part of him responded sarcastically, You’re not asleep. And what about the cuts on his arms? Doing the only thing he could he walked over and whispered to Neville, "Listen, I’m going to go with her but how about tomorrow, you and me explore the manor for ourselves?"

The boy hesitated but then gave him a radiant smile and nodded, "Sounds great Harry."

Quietly they made their way down the stairs and into the front foyer. "Wait!" Harry said, grabbing her arm, "Won’ the teachers hear us."

"Taken care of," she said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

Draco and his two goons were down in the foyer waiting for them. They were deep in a conversation that came to a halt when they spotted him. "Took you long enough. Look Potter, there’s an initiation at this school for those who are accepted. You have to steal a potion from Snape’s office."

"What?" He asked, horrified. After all, he didn’t have a death wish.

"You heard me. What’s the worse that can happen, after all, we all did it." Draco was testing him, challenging him to see what he was made of. Determination and pride swelled up in Harry causing him to say, "Fine, I’ll take it. Show me where the office is."

Oddly enough, the office was above ground in a room that actually received sunlight. Well, I guess he really isn’t a vampire. The Weasley twins owed him some money, Harry thought with a small, private smile. Draco somehow had the key to the room and Harry slowly crept into the room and over to the potions store cupboards. The moment he laid a hand on the potions the door slammed shut and he heard the laughter of the four Slytherins outside. Shit! He thought, running to the door and struggling with the knob. He almost pounded on the door but luckily he realized that was a bad idea beforehand.

There was a window that he decided to try to wiggle through but it wouldn’t open all the way. There was a small space though and he decided to try to get through anyway. People had always told him he was small. This worked until he got about halfway through when his middle caught and he couldn’t slide in or out of the window. He was stuck! Once in a while he would struggle vigorously to get out but it was to no avail. Pretty soon the sun came up and then the potions’ classroom began to fill up. There were footsteps and he felt someone standing behind him.

"Mr. Potter." He drawled, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to see the boy hanging out of his window. "Dare I ask what you are doing?"

For a second he paused but he couldn’t resist, "Just hanging around sir." Something hard hit the back of his calf causing him to yelp in protest. At this point he decided that it was a good time to elaborate. "I’m stuck, sir."

There was a wildfire of laughter in the classroom until Snape rose his wand and sent Harry sailing into his seat. "How did this happen?"

The look on his face said that if he lied, Snape would quite possibly maim him. "Draco locked me in here."

Eyes narrowing, the man turned to glare at his godson who was looking angrily at Harry. Neville was looking at Harry with admiration for standing up for himself. "Well then, you both can give the classroom a good scrub down after class." They both groaned but silenced themselves with one look from Snape.

Sitting on the cold stone floor Harry snuck a look over at draco who had, to his surprise, agreed to wash the room without much of a fight.

"Draco, can I ask you a question?"

"Ask me two even."

"Wha–oh! Right . . . " He paused for a long moment, "What were you talking about with Snape in the hallway yesterday?"

Draco’s head shot up and he gave Harry a fierce look. "Why? Were you eavesdropping?" Then he bitterly added, "It’s nothing you’d understand."

Harry admitted defeat and went back to scrubbing the floor and was surprised when Draco spoke up again, "No, no. Maybe you do understand. After all, you’re a slave to the past mistakes your parents made just as much as I am. Every day you pay for your parent’s decision in this war, just like I do."

Shocked by this sudden openness, he ruined it by responding, "The difference being that my parents made the right decision."

"Depends on whom you ask."

Draco and Harry made the walk to Professor Schlone’s classroom in silence, neither daring to breach the topic that they had began discussing in the potion’s classroom. Professor Schlone’s class proved interesting. Unlike Trelawney’s garish attic classroom, it was held in a normal room with several interesting objects scattered around the room. In a pair of blood-red robes with her brown hair piled on top of her head to keep it out of her face sat Elvira. The room was lightly scented and a cooling charm gave the room a pleasant feeling on the hot summer day.

She stood from her desk and addressed her students, "Good afternoon, students."

"Good afternoon," they all responded politely in response, Harry following their lead.

"Alright, I thought that today would try something different for a change. Can anyone tell me what a genuine Vineficus is?"

Pansy raised her hand, much to Harry’s surprise as she had never been one for academic pursuits when they were at Hogwarts. "They’re muggles who take part in old magic, using magical remnants to influence the outcome of events."

Elvira smiled," Very good Miss Parkinson! And magical remnants are?"

"Anything left behind by the use of magic or magical objects." Draco drawled out of turn, picking up where his friend had left off.

Ever easygoing the teacher simply nodded at him. "That’s why they are some of the best fortune tellers. Us witches and wizards have very analytical minds when it comes to magic. However, they are more lenient in their magic. They understand that although there is only one ‘will be’ there are hundreds of ‘can be’s." With this she stopped leaning against the desk and took a step toward the class. "Long ago they tried living among regular muggles, but as you know muggles are not always open-minded. During the times of witch burnings, they were usually the ones caught and unable to defend themselves."

With a sigh, she paced the length of the floor. "They usually practice their magic in places where there are great magical remnants such as near the school. In fact some of them settled years ago in a cave. Although they are gone now, I think this would be a good place for us to start scrying for the past."

There was a cheer at this, everyone was eager for a chance to get out of the school even if it was only for a few moments. The sun felt good against Harry’s face as they walked back into the woods and toward the caves. It was a vast space with a small pond near it and unnaturally smooth walls. On the walls and floors were symbols that looked like they may have been written in blood.

"Professor? Is that blood?" Malfoy asked, voicing Harry’s thoughts.

"Indeed it is Draco. Blood is very powerful in all magic, as you are all aware."

"So if these people weren’t accepted into the muggle world, why didn’t the wizarding world take them?" Questioned Harry, startling himself as he had not meant to ask that aloud.

"Funny thing Harry. People were afraid of them. See their leaders were the Guild, a legendary group, and they practiced a form of pure magic that involved traveling to the "realms" where they could alter reality and work their will through mere wish. Purebloods who believe in purity above all else did not believe in pure magic. They feared this power that had to be granted at birth and could never be obtained by them."

"So what ever happened to the Guild?" Asked Harry, frowning.

"Well, I’m not sure. There is disagreement on whether or not they ever existed. Honestly, if you’re so interested then go find a book on it, that’s what the library is for." With that she turned to the group, "Now, the spell is Relivio and it will allow you to see past events in this cave, past spell signatures and lead you to things that can tell you about the past."

Everyone in the room raised their wands to do the spell on themselves with varying degrees of success. Harry lifted his own wand but before he could utter a word there was an explosion behind his eyes and the room began to pulsate in a fuzzy blue light. Everything had faded including the voices and there was a slight buzzing in his ears. Out of nowhere appeared a little girl dressed in rags with big blue eyes and fair blonde hair. She gestured to him with a wave of her hand and without thinking he stepped over to her.

"You’re expected."

"What? By who? Who are you?"

"Amelia expects you. I’m her helper." The girl couldn’t be more then seven so Harry was led to believe he wasn’t in any dire danger. Carefully, feeling rather disorientated, he followed her and found himself being led into another cave near the one the rest of the class was inside. Everything continued to pulse in blue, making it extremely hard to focus on anything. The tiny girl with long black ringlets and blue eyes walked to the back of the cave and turned to wait for him to join her. What was happening to him?

"What are we doing here?" Harry questioned, rubbing his head that was beginning to throb along with the light.

"Look in this hole, there you’ll find your answers." She said softly, gesturing to a large crack in the cavern’s surface. Cautiously he inserted his hand and shivered when he felt something slimy scurry over his hand. Suddenly his fingers landed on something solid and square, he tugged at it to no avail. Slowly, he began to wiggle it free and all of a sudden the room snapped back into focus. In his hands was a journal engraved with the words Amelia Evans, causing his to give a startled gasp. That didn’t make sense...unless it was another Evans family? Harry was about to open the book when he heard the gentle rustle of a robe outside the cave and he quickly shoved the book into his robes.

"Harry? Harry, where are you?" Elvira’s voice echoed in the cave and her face appeared in the opening.

"Professor...I, uh, just got caught up in the lesson..."Harry lied.

"I see." Her eyes had gone cold and calculating and suddenly Harry felt uneasy about being alone with the woman. With forced cheerfulness she asked, "Did you find anything in here?"

"No," he snapped.

"Really? You were acting strangely in the cave. You almost knocked Mr. Malfoy over." Harry was slightly disappointed that he had missed that.

"Sorry ma’am. Shouldn’t we be heading back?"

For a moment she simply looked coldly at him but then nodded "Indeed we should."

When they exited the cave they came face to face with the little girl he had seen while in his...state moments ago. He was about to question her about what happened until he realized that Elvira would overhear it at his gut instinct told him to remain silent. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because the teacher did something that completely shocked him. She walked over and the little girl and attempted to lift the small body into her arms. For a moment the little girl struggled against her but finally resigned herself and leaned against her mother/

"Harry, this is my daughter, Serentiy Snape." The little girl looked up at him and her eyes widened and she glanced at where he was hiding the book. Then she gave him a shy smile and waved her hand to greet him.

"Wh-wait a minute!" Harry protested.

"Professor Snape is my husband," she explained calmly.

Harry, for one, was thunderstruck. He had never considered the possibility of Snape having a family or really of even existing outside of Hogwarts. And now, here was his wife and a little mini-Snape. "Wait, you’re last name is Schlone!"

"Yes, well those outside of pureblood circles rarely see a reason to change their last name upon marriage. Especially since we spend our entire lives trying to make something of that name in a prejudice wizarding society."

"Oh." Harry replied dumbly.

"The past comes back to collect it’s debts." The little girl spoke suddenly, putting up a weak struggle to get away from the woman.

Elvira raised her eyebrow and then smiled slightly, "Has your father been reading you those ridiculous stories again? Well, goodbye Harry. Do try to stay with the class next time. I believe...you have free period this hour?"

"Right," he muttered absentmindedly, unable to keep himself from thinking that the youngest Snape was trying to tell him more. For the time being he let go of the statement.

Suddenly he felt weighted down, he was so exhausted! And no wonder, he had barely slept at all last night because of his predicament. On top of that, cleaning the potion’s classroom had throughly worn him out. Near the caves he found a large lake with a small boat house and a small boat tied to the dock. With a tired sigh he climbed inside and rested his head against the bow of the bed. Oddly enough he found himself wondering if Voldemort had ever had to serve that kind of punishment while at Hogwarts. He snorted at the image of Voldemort cleaning the desktops of the D.A.D.A. room under Dumbledore’s watchful eyes. Wow, he thought, eyes drifting closed, I must really be tired if I’m finding anything about the Dark Lord funny.

XxXxXxX

The grass was as soft as a mattress beneath him and he allowed himself to relax, gazing up at the purple sky, caught in a strange twilight. In the air was the scent of lilies, which relaxed him immensely as he allowed his eyes to drift open and shut. Before him lay a silvery lake with waves gently lapping out towards the other shore that was barely visible from this end. In the distance he saw lights twinkling on the other shore, brightly awaiting any travelers who crossed.

"Hey pup, comfortable?" Said a voice from the past, one he heard only in his dreams, one he’d never though he’d really see again.

"S-Sirius?!" Gasped Harry, doing a double take of the man standing before him. Gone was the man destroyed by Azkaban, instead before him stood a handsome young man about his age. But is was really his Sirius. With a laugh, he tackled the other boy causing Sirius to chuckle and wrap his arms around his godson. When he felt the solidness of his godfather he let out a yelp of joy, it wasn’t a dream! He was really back!

"Whoa there, Harry. I’m still dead." He said it in such a matter-of-fact voice that Harry went stock still. "Don’t look so glum."

At this point he broke, "It w-was my fault..."

"Harry..."

But the sobbing boy wasn’t done yet, "If I hadn’t....if I’d have gotten away from Remus..."

Sirius gently slapped the boy on his cheeks and Harry stared at him in shock, "Harry, don’t you ever think like that. It’s disrespectful to my memory for you to think like that. Understand?"

There was no room in the voice for argument. It was odd, here he looked so young and yet he seemed wise and more mature than Sirius had even been when he was alive. I suppose death will do that to you, Harry thought sarcastically, clearing the wetness from his face.

"We never got to say goodbye." He said sadly.

"Well, we can now, can’t we? But know, I’ll never completely leave you, you’ll always be my pup."

"Why can’t you stay here?"

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his long, dark hair. "Because the souls who stay here become corrupted by the power. You wouldn’t ask me of that would you."

He was ashamed that it took him a moment to answer. However, this was what he had been dreaming about since Sirius’ death and the fact that it was to be taken from him so soon seemed unfair, "No, of course not."

"I need...I need you to tell me..." Sirius seemed to be having a hard time making out the words, even if it was to his beloved godson. "Tell me that it was okay that I forced you to stay with those horrible muggles. I’m sorry that my immaturity caused me to go after Pettigrew, tell me that it’s okay."

Surprised that Sirius felt the need to apologize for these things he said, "Sirius! That wasn’t your fault, you were grieving!"

"The living need to take precedent over the dead, I let you down. Know that in my will I made sure you were well taken care of."

"You don’t owe me anything!"

"Harry, let me do this much at least."

"...fine. None of it was your fault, Sirius, not their death, not my destiny. I hope you know that." Harry said quietly.

Suddenly, Sirius began to fade, becoming transparent. "I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Sirius," He whispered.

"Padfoot!" Called a male and female voice. Turning, Harry was shocked to see the transparent forms of his parents sitting in a boat some way off shore.

"Mum! Dad!" He shouted joyfully, running straight into the water, wanting to get a chance to say goodbye to his parents that he had never known. However, a strong hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Harry! Harry, look at me!" Shouted Sirius, "They can’t see you or hear you, they’ve already passed over and they’ve come to carry me over. You’ll see them again, I promise. We’ll all be together again."

"The whole Potter family." Harry said, causing Sirius to beam at him

"Harry, this was your father’s. It’s been passed down from Potter son to Potter son for generations. He would have wanted you to have it." With that he slid a ring bearing the Potter crest onto his finger. "Goodbye Harry."

Slowly, Sirius made his way into the silvery water until he reached the boat. Both Lily and James reached down to pull their old friend into the boat, it began to sail toward the lights on the other shore. It sailed until it was out of sight.

"Goodbye Sirius." Whispered Harry.

XxXxXxX

Sun was beating down on him and he had to squint against it when he awoke. For the first time in the past year, he felt well-rested and at peace with himself. Everything was okay, he’d made peace with Sirius’ memory. That was until he realized it was only a dream, a torrent of grief came rushing back to him when he realized it was wishful thinking. Harry reached up to pull himself into the sitting position when he heard the sound of metal hitting wood. Startled, he looked down to see the ring Sirius had given him on his finger! It hadn’t been a dream! He jumped up, causing the boat to rock violently. But he’d been asleep...how could this ring that was given to him in a dream be here for real?

His thoughts were broken by the sound of laughter, one male and the other female. Instantly, his eyes narrowed, he was not in the mood to be messed with by Malfoy and his cronies. Well, he would show them. As quietly as possible, he slid out of the boat and approached their hiding place behind the boathouse. To his surprise he found Malfoy kissing a girl, and not Pansy but a Vineficus! A muggle! He could hear Ron’s voice now, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

"Malfoy?" He asked incredulously.

The blonde leapt, pushing the girl away from him. Horrified, he stared at Harry, opening and closing his mouth several times. Suddenly there was a voice calling from the path, "Draco!"

"Professor Snape! Karena, you have to go!"

"Draco, no. I’m not leaving, I don’t care who finds out."

"Well, I do." Draco said, rather cruelly, giving her a light shove back toward the trees. Then his eyes came back to fall on his enemy and he let out a shuddering breath, "Going to sell me out, Potter? Get back at me?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, he wasn’t sure what to do. On the one hand, this was the perfect chance to get back at the guy who had made his life at Hogwarts miserable. On the other, from what he’d heard in the hall Draco had a lot to handle right now and the fact that he was seeing a muggle girl was hope, right? Although he wasn’t sure about all the rules of the pureblood families, but he knew this wouldn’t bode well. Thinking quickly, he shoved Draco into the lake causing him to have to deal with a rather irate Slytherin.

"POTTER!" He bellowed, spitting up water.

Snape raised his eyebrow at the boys, one dry and one wet. "Draco, I’ve been looking for you. I wanted to continue our earlier conversation...what happened here?"

"Draco fell into the water, he was being clumsy." Harry said calmly.

"Is this true Draco?" Asked Snape, looking between the two of them. Draco looked uncertainly at Harry and nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Well get out of there. You’ll catch your death. Go to your room and change and then come down to my office."

"Yes sir." Snape turned and walked away, robes bellowing behind him.

"You owe me," Harry stated, tapping into his Slytherin side, well aware he could make his life here at Spencer easier.

"I do." Said Malfoy simply, and then the most amazing thing happened, he smiled at him. Harry hesitantly reached his hand down to the other boy and pulled him out of the water. Putting a wet arm around the other boy’s shoulder he steered him toward the path leading up to Spencer.

"But..aren’t you dating Pansy?"

Draco tossed back his head and laughed at this, "Potter, Pansy is like a sister to me. Whenever something weird was going on at my house that I couldn’t handle I would always go to her."

"Oh." Harry said, again surprised by the blonde telling him this.

Crabbe and Goyle were waiting on the path ahead, they looked curiously at the two boys and Crabbe asked, "Draco, what happened?"

"I fell in the lake, what do you think?"

"That’s it?"

"Yes, that’s it." Draco snapped, pushing ahead of them and taking Harry with him. Without their knowledge, the shared secret binding them to each other, starting a tentative friendship. However, Harry was in denial of this, keeping on guard around the blonde who he did not quite trust. He wasn’t sure that Draco would have done the same for him if their situation had been reversed. "Look Pot-Harry, me and my friends are having a get together in the caves tonight, do you want to come. For real this time."

Harry hesitated for a moment, "Only if Neville can come."

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled Harry along the path, "Gryffindors, always ‘sticking together.’ Pansy might come around, but Crabbe and Goyle never will."

"Then I’m not interested." He said firmly.

"...Hold on..." Draco stepped away from him and fell into step with his two friends and they talked in low heated voices. When Draco returned his cheeks were flushed and his mouth set in a firm line. "They won’t come if that’s the case."

"Well, that settles that." Harry said, trying to walk ahead of the blonde.

"No, it doesn’t. I’ll make them come around. I made them and they seem to have forgotten their place," Draco’s eyes flashed and Harry got a picture of the wizard the boy could become. It wasn’t pretty. "Both of you, show up there tonight."

With that, Draco released his arm and walked off towards the school to get changed. Harry paused to look after the boy. It was ironic, Draco would rather spend time with someone he considered his inferior then to allow his power over others to be taken away. Shivering in the hot sun, he wrapped his robe tighter. Power games were going to tear the very fabric of the wizarding world.

The journal was burning a hole in his robes all day but his next class was potions and he didn’t dare take it out there. Ingredients were laid out on his table and a complicated looking potion was written on the board. Harry didn’t remember ever doing anything like this in his potions classes before and had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Luckily, Draco sat himself into the seat next to Harry and began to set up the ingredients for the potion. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the ugly look that crossed Pansy’s face. Purposefully not commenting on the turn of events she sat herself next to Neville and used her wand to light the fire underneath the cauldron. Harry vaguely wondered if she knew what she was getting herself into. On that note, he wondered if Draco knew what he was getting himself into.

Nervously, he leaned forward in his chair and gazed at the ingredients set out before him on the table. "Mr. Potter, is their a problem?"

Jumping, he quickly shook his head in the negative. Unfortunately, Malfoy spoke up for him, "I believe Harry is having a little trouble following the potion."

Giving his partner a death glare, he cursed himself for being lulled into any sense of security with the young Malfoy. To his credit, Draco did not seem at all ruffled by the glare. And since when were they on a first name basis?

"Indeed. Mr. Potter, you wish to be an auror, correct?" There wasn’t the slightest bit of sarcasm in the man’s voice. Harry nodded dumbly. "Well, this is a very potent poison and your knowledge of it may serve you well in that field. Let me show you some secrets to making it."

Shocked, Harry could do nothing but sit there and allow his hated git of a professor help him with the potion. The man was surprisingly patient about explaining it. He managed to get Harry through it successfully on the first try and even Neville only screwed up once. Even then, Snape simply fixed it and, without one snide comment, showed him what he had done wrong. Confused, Harry remained after the rest of the class had filed out, staring intently at his professor.

"Problem?"Asked the professor without looking up from his lesson plans.

"I. . .why were you doing that?"

Snape said nothing for a moment. Then he let out an almost inaudible sigh and placed his fingertips on the bridge of his nose. "While you are at this school, Potter, you are not a Gryffindor, you are not the golden boy of the wizarding world, you are simply another one of my students. You will be treated as such."

"Oh...well thanks." Little did Snape know that was exactly what Harry had always wanted and, until now, had never been able to have.

Observing his student over folded hands he said, "Certainly, Mr. Potter."

Harry stood awkwardly and then approached the desk, uncertain of himself. Then it hit him; a vision at full force. Everything intensified, color was more vivid, sound more acute until it all exploded into a show of light and sound.

XxXxXxX

He was standing in a graveyard, before him was a circle of people dressed in black robes with white masks. Deatheaters! Frightened, he tried to hide until he realized that they could not see him, although a few did seem to let their gaze linger on where he stood. One by one, they crawled to their Dark Lord and kissed the hem of his robes in an act of contrition. Then they branched out and formed a circle enveloping him. A few late stragglers appeared and hurried forth to kiss his hems before nervously taking their place back in the circle.

In a low hiss he stated, "Severus Snape."

There was a gentle muttering that ran around the circle as one of his most loyal servants stepped forward. Although his face was covered, Harry could tell that it was him, there was no mistaking the way Snape carried himself.

"My lord?"

"Severus," hissed the figure, "I doubt your loyalty."

With the mask in place, he couldn’t see Snape’s face. Even if he could have it wouldn’t have mattered because years of practice had taught him to keep in impassive even at moments like this. However, Harry could feel the fear rolling off the other man. He yelled for Snape to run and get away from them, but no one heard him, just as they couldn’t see him.

Although he was briefly silent, when he did speak it came out in a steady voice, "You need never doubt me."

"I shall be the judge of that."

"A test, Master?"

"More like...a sacrifice." Somehow he felt what the other man felt in a detached sort of way. He sensed the lead ball forming in his stomach as he listened to Voldemort.

Slowly the circle opened up and two death eaters walked into the center of the circle. One dragged a woman kicking and screaming and cussing up a storm. Wildly, she scratched at anything she could get her fingers on and was biting at his hands. Many of the threats she made were insubstantial but would have frightened Harry nevertheless if he was in the position of the man carrying her. When she lifted her face to the crowd, Harry realized it was Elvira, only with a large purple bruise forming on her cheek. The other man carried a small child that he recognized from his earlier visions. She was a couple years younger and although she didn’t cry, her blue eyes were wide and somber. Fear also emitted from the young girl but from Elvira he was only picking up unadulterated anger and hatred. He now understood the meaning of Hell hath no fury.

"Sev..." She gave her husband a meaningful look and he gave a barely noticeable nod in her direction. From Voldemort, he sensed the twisted pleasure the man derived from seeing Snape so obviously in distress. Feeling that emotion, even in a detached way made him feel disgusted.

"I believe that it is time for you to put your priorities back in order. You may take one of them home with you tonight, the other you will not see again. Prove to me that you’re still loyal to our cause above all else." Harry felt the desire to beg, Snape would have abandoned all pride to save both of them if he believed it would have done any good. However, there was no humanity to appeal to.

"Not Serenity." He said instantly, although there was pain in his voice.

"Are you certain?" Asked Voldemort with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Not Serenity." He said again, firmer this time.

The little girl was handed gruffly to him and she clung to him as if her life depended on it, whimpering. Snape held her and whispered soothingly into her ear, causing Harry’s eyes to widen ever so slightly. Snape was acting almost human! He looked over at his wife and their eyes met for the briefest moment, pain in his and understanding and relief in hers.

With this final glance, Snape turned to the Dark Lord and nodded. Then he repeated his words from earlier, causing Harry to reel from the willing sacrifice. "You need never doubt me, my Lord."

"I see." Hissed the monster, "I am pleased Severus. You may leave."

Looking desperately at his wife he nodded and stumbled out of the circle. With a pop he diapparated. With a grating laugh, Voldemort turned to the woman who had grown still, Harry now felt fear coming from her as well as anger.

"You’ll suffer for your husbands mistakes." He took a step closer to her and leaned over her, "Tell me, how does that feel?"

And then...she spat in his face. Several deatheaters let out disbelieving and angry cries and Harry gaped at her. She was practically begging him to kill her! With a snarl he snapped, "Crucio!"

Her body writhed and she let out a choked gasp which turned into a bloodcurdling scream. Instinctively, Harry covered his ears from the horrid noise. Elvira’s skin grew cut as she writhed against the hard ground and her head hit the ground roughly more than once. Still, he did not let up, he continued the spell until a thin line of blood ran from her mouth and she was gasping wetly for breath. Harry wished for it to be over, he wished for her to be free. And then he felt something hot rise in him and explode outwards, hitting the Dark Lord with a flame and breaking the spell. The man struggled, abandoning his dignity, to put it out. Without thinking, Harry ran toward the woman laying in the grass whose eyes were going glassy. Following what he’d done before, he held a hand over her and wished her healed, wished her safe. A blue light came from his hand and her eyes grew more focused and her breathing less ragged.

With a pull that felt like it was coming from his naval, he was jerked back down into Snape’s classroom. Everything was as it had been before except he was coated in sweat and gasping for breath. In fact, he couldn’t have been pulled into the vision for more then a few seconds because Snape was still intensely focused on the papers before him.

Without thinking he asked, "Sir? How did she escape?"

"Who?" Asked Snape, looking up at him.

Oops, well it was too late to go back now. He charged on, "Professor Schlone, how did she get free from the deatheaters."

Surprised, Snape dropped his quill and accidently knocked over his ink bottle, causing it to ruin the papers on his desk. With a glare at Harry and a wave of his wand, the papers were clean. "How, dare I ask, do you know about that?"

Shuffling his feet, Harry looked down and wondered what to tell him. What if Snape didn’t believe him? He didn’t want to ruin the semi-civil way Snape was treating him. Instead, he remained silent, unable to come up with an adequate lie. Finally Snape apparently decided to just play along with Harry and find his answers later.

"I don’t know. The only person who would know would be her, and you will not ask her about her experience there."

"Well, after she escaped, wouldn’t Voldemort have came after her?"

"Not necessarily." Snape sighed, "Potter, his pride was damaged at having a ‘Mudblood’ escape from him. He underestimated her power, that is a big mistake when dealing with your enemies."

"Sir, you didn’t flinch when I said his name."

"After what I went through with him I refuse to cower at the sound of his name."

"Oh," Harry hesitated with his next question, "Sir, you became a deatheater even though your wife was Muggle-born."

Snape paused before answering this statement. "Yes...although I never told the Dark Lord about her parentage. Joining the deatheaters was a lot more about power then about any beliefs I held. Besides, we had a lot in common. Her parents hated magic as much as my father did. Any more of your insufferable questions or are you quite through?"

Harry was surprised to find he had something in common with his hated professor. He shook his head no and Snape replied, "Good. Go the your next class, I believe it is The Dark Arts: Casting and Defense?"

Harry nodded and turned to leave when Snape called back to him, "Oh, and Potter?"

"Yes?"

"Detention, tomorrow night."

He spun around upon hearing this, "What for?"

Snape smirked, "You’re out of class without a hall pass."

Opening and closing his mouth a few times, Harry simply shook his head with disbelief and headed off to his next class.

It wasn’t until lunch that he got a chance to even look at the journal and by that time his head was spinning for the Wizarding Politics class. Malfoy invited them to sit at their table, along with a cautious Neville. Harry was still distrustful of Draco’s new, kinder attitude. For this reason, he sat with Pansy between them while they ate and he tentatively opened the journal.

For the most part, the first few pages were boring passages about her first days at Spencer Academy and who she met there. He supposed that in was a average journal for a young witch. Indeed, Amelia did come from a Muggle family and Harry found himself wondering if it was someone who was related to his mom.

"Draco? Did Spencer ever admit Muggleborns?" He asked, glancing around Pansy at the other boy.

Taking his time to sip his pumpkin juice, reveling in his small audience he finally replied, "Yes. In fact, they even accepted Vineficus students as well as Muggleborns and then something went wrong. I’m not sure about the specifics." He shrugged his shoulders and then eyed the dark-haired boy shrewdly, "Why?"

"Just wondering." Harry insisted, glancing back at the book on the table before him and feeling a glimmer of hope. Did he have some family left? This Amelia Evans?

Later that night, he and Neville wrapped themselves in the invisibility cloak and cautiously made their way down the spiral staircase. Harry winced when he opened the front door and it groaned in protest. Quickly, he pulled Neville along the lawn and into the trees and finally up the rocky path to the cave. It was dark so Harry did a quick ‘lumos’ spell to light the way up the path.

A familar drawl came from behind him, sounding slightly amused, "Potter, an invisibility cloak isn’t quite as useful when you cast a lumos spell."

He spun around, surprised that the two blonde Slytherins had managed to sneak up on them. Draco seemed unmoved by the rare item the two Gryffindors were wearing but Pansy seemed quite impressed. Unfortunately, when he had jerked around it had dragged Neville with him and the boy had tumbled the ground. Draco rolled his grey eyes and the two Slytherins moved to help him to his feet. They descended into the cave and each found a spot to sit. Pansy and Draco laid down on their stomachs on a slightly raised platform. Harry and Neville sat with their backs pressed against a large rock.

Reaching into his robe, the blonde boy pulled out a bottle of Fire Whiskey. Neville gasped and hissed, "Where did you get that?"

"Professor Schlone’s office." Said Draco with a smirk.

"Draco!" All but shouted Harry, not wanting to incur the wrath of the Potion’s Master or his wife.

"Calm down, Severus is like an uncle to me. We’re not going to get in trouble." There was an odd look in the boy’s eyes and Harry got the sudden feeling that Draco had chosen tonight to test his limits with his Godfather. Draco tilted his head back and took a long, deep drink. Then he handed it to Pansy who drank greedily from the bottle and then handed it to Neville with a challenging look on her face. Harry intervened and grabbed the bottle from him and drank hesitantly. He certainly understood the meaning behind the name as the heat from the drink spread through him rather pleasantly despite the foul taste. Draco nodded and gently took it and gave it to Neville.

"You guys...this is against the rules!" He complained, turning the bottle over in his hands.

"Just do it, Longbottom." Snapped the Slytherin and Pansy’s eyes agreed with him. Slowly the boy took a drink and ended up choking on the liquid fire.

"This must be what the Guild was like back then, huh? Hiding in the caves, stowed away from the rest of the world where no one else could get to them?" Draco said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"I don’t think it’s quite the same thing," commented Harry.

"That must have been great though, right? To be part of something bigger then yourself. The only thing I’ve ever been a part of was Slytherin and after we graduate..." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Yeah, what an honor." Harry said sarcastically.

"You wouldn’t know, Potter." Snapped Draco, sounding furious, "You’re in Gryffindor, what would you know of house solidarity? I owe the Slytherin house my life..." The boy tapered off and took another drink from the bottle. Pansy was rubbing a comforting circle on his upper back until he shrugged his shoulders violently to get her to let it go.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Neville said, blushing as they all turned to him. Little did he know that they were all grateful for a distraction from Draco’s loose-lipped comment. " Um, W-well w-we."

"Spit it out," Pansy said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"We could form our own Guild." Neville said with a little bit more confidence. Pansy looked ready to make a snide comment but Draco seemed excited by the idea.

"Lets do it." He said excitedly, "One rule, no secrets. Pansy, let’s treat them like Slytherins, at least when we’re here at Spencer."

She sighed but nodded, resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes, "And it shouldn’t leave the cave."

"Agreed." Draco said, running his fingers through her long blonde locks.

"Wait, how do we know that everyone will keep their word?" Harry asked, still not stupid enough to trust the blonde. He and Pansy exchanged a look, obviously thinking that he was right.

"W-well, how about a blood oath?" Neville suggested.

"Good idea!" Draco said, he searched the cave until he found a small round rock and removed a small knife from his bag. He cut the fleshy part of his thumb and rubbed against the rock saying, "I hereby swear that all words spoken in the Guild are to remain a secret."

Harry hesitated and then repeated the action until everyone in the small group had done the oath. "So what happens if you break the oath?"

"Don’t break it and you won’t have to worry about that." Draco said with a smirk. Then he took control of the small meeting and Harry found that against his will he was relaxing in their prescence. After all, if they were up to something they wouldn’t have taken the oath, right? "Let’s go around, and everyone can tell what their deepest fear is. Be honest."

No one said anything at first so he glanced at his best friend to start them off. Quietly she said, "My deepest fear is...that no one is ever going to see me as a person. That I’m always going to be the pretty Slytherin girl and an asset to her pureblood family." At this show of openness, Harry tried to come up with his deepest fear.

Neville was next, obviously nervous and at the same time excited to share his deep thoughts with someone. Cheeks slightly pink he mumbled, "My deepest fear is that I’m utterly useless and a shame to my family."

Harry wished he hadn’t been so open, and expected the Slytherins to say something or sneer. However, Pansy’s face was blank and Draco looked almost sympathetic. Now it was his turn, he took a deep breath and decided to be honest, "My worst fear is that I’m not what the Wizarding World wants me to be, that I’m just a little boy in a time that desperately needs a hero."

Finally, the circle returned to Draco and he looked hesitantly at his blonde friend before focusing on the floor in front of him. Quietly he said, "My worst fear is other people having power over me, being at the mercy of others."

Suddenly, Harry got a rather Slytherin idea, "Draco, you’re a Malfoy, what could you possibly know about not having power."

Taking another drink the other boy said, "More than you know. Sometimes being a Malfoy means more to sacrifice than to receive."

"Can I ask you a question? Knowing that you have to answer honestly?"

Draco looked guarded for a moment and then shrugged, looking very young and tired. "What were you talking about with Snape that you wouldn’t tell him?"

Eyes widening, he looked desperately at Pansy and she put a hand gently on his shoulder and whispered, "They can’t tell anyone, Dragon. The oath."

He closed his eyes and briefly incased her hands in his own and sighed. When he looked at them, Harry was distressed to see tears running down the other boy’s cheeks. Quickly he said, "You don’t have to talk about it."

"No, it’s fine. My father...has been different since he came back from Azkaban." Draco grabbed the bottle and pressed it to his lips. "And this summer before I came here he started coming into me room and...touching me." The last part came out in gasped sobs and the boy tried to wipe away the tears with a disgusted gesture.

Harry was overcome by a protective feeling deep in his gut and a great hatred for Lucius. All his barriers had fallen and the boy looked so innocent and sad laying there on the cave floor. Quietly, he stood and made his way over to him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder, causing the boy to flinch away. However, Harry gently ran his hands through the boy’s hair which only drew more violent sobs from him.

Upon touching him Harry got a flood of emotions; hatred, fear, disgust, self-hatred, dirty, the desire to be free from a body that was no longer completely his. It was too much for him and he jerked away, feeling a desperate need to protect the boy with a black mark on his soul.

"Um..." He wanted to say something to make him feel better, "My family used to lock me in a cupboard."

Draco let out a snotty laugh and pretty soon everyone in the cave was letting out chuckles at the absurb statement. Even Harry grinned and soon he found himself wrapping the larger boy into a tight embrace. After many reminders about the oath and a promise to meet again they all made their way to their own dorms. He and Neville did not speak of what they had heard and they both slept uneasily that night. Although, Harry found he could no longer hate the blonde and for the first time, felt at home during the summer.