The potion exploded, sending torrents of poisonous liquid flying throughout the classroom. Harry grabbed Neville by his shirt collar and pushed him to the floor all the while raising his hands in a protective gesture. Right when the potion would have hit him, he closed his eyes in anxious anticipation, waiting for it to hit his skin, and the obvious pain that would follow.

But there was no pain and he didn’t feel any substance of any form touching him. Slowly prying open an eye, he gasped at what he saw before him. All the students were looking at him with something akin to awe and probably a bit of fear. Looking up, he realized why. The deadly potion had been stilled in mid-air, inches from where it would touch his skin and the skin of his classmates. His emerald eyes widened in shock, before searching out his teacher, his guardian.

Severus looked momentarily stunned before he noticed he was being watched. Then an icy overtone took over and he quickly did a complicated wand movement, making the entire mess evaporate in thin air. “All of you get your cauldron’s cleaned up! Not a word, or I’ll give the entire lot of you detentions!” he spat. “Potter, my office, now!”

Harry made quick eye contact with Ron and Hermione, both who were looking at him worriedly, before hastening after his Potions Professor. His stomach flip-flopped as he entered his guardian’s office, and he stood quietly at the doorway, waiting for his punishment.

()()()()()()

“Are you alright?” asked Severus the moment he noticed Harry in the room. “Did any of it hit you?”

Harry was confused by the drastic changes in personality that Severus was demonstrating. Was he mad at him or not? This was so bloody confusing.

“Yes, I’m fine. It didn’t hit me.” Harry said quietly with his head lowered.

Severus nudged Harry’s chin up with his hand, but the teen flinched away from the touch, taking a step backwards in surprise. Professor Snape took his hand back as he became conscious of the fact his earlier performance had thrown the boy off. He should have taken the time to explain to Harry that some of the Death Eaters didn’t know he had gone against them. Therefore, the act had to remain intact if the children were to believe he was still working for Voldemort, not against him. He inwardly cursed himself for his stupidity. He had thoughtlessly assumed the boy would understand what he was doing, but Harry had taken it the wrong way. He had been incredibly harsh; something one couldn’t do to Harry. Not now. Not after everything he had been through.

“Harry, I apologize.” he said suddenly. Harry’s brow rose in confusion.

“What for?” he asked, thinking there was no reason for the man’s apology.

Severus sighed at the teen’s obvious confusion. “For the way I was just acting. That’s what I’m apologizing for. Harry, we need to talk about all of this.”

Harry’s eyes lit up with recognition, as he finally understood the man’s behavior in the classroom had been a ruse. “They don’t know you’re a spy then, do they?” he asked, as all the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place.

“Correct. I’m sorry Harry. I just took it for granted that you knew they were unaware.” he said as way of explanation.

Harry leaned heavily against Snape’s personal desk, feeling as if a weight had been lifted. “No, I thought that since Voldemort knew you weren’t exactly loyal anymore, he would spread the news to the rest of his cronies.” he said, making Severus stifle a laugh at the word cronies. He could only imagine Lucius Malfoy’s reaction to being referred to as a crony. “So, none of the Death Eater’s kids know yet?”

“No, not yet at least. I’d know it if they did.” he said, thinking of the more imaginative plots some of the Death Eaters could conjure up to bring about his demise.

Harry seemed to shiver right along with him, sensing his morbid thoughts.

“Just the same, I should have explained things more thoroughly to you. It would have been less of a shock coming into the class with me in full bastard mode.”

Harry laughed. “Just a little.”

“Just so my Slytherins’ don’t get suspicious, I’m going to remind you of your ‘detention’ when you leave at the end of class. Okay?” he asked.

Harry nodded. “That’s fine. I don’t really have to do detention work, though, do I?” he asked.

“Oh, no.” he said, smirking. “I’ll think up something more interesting for you to do. Perhaps some Potions homework?”

Harry groaned. “Come on, that’s not fair. I didn’t even do anything wrong, and I saved us…” Harry suddenly remembered what he had just done out in the classroom. It seemed Professor Snape finally thought of it too, as he’d been too worried about Harry to even consider thinking on it before.

He looked at Harry questioningly. “Perhaps we should speak with the Headmaster.” He said, unsure himself of how Harry had just performed such difficult wandless magic, something not even he could accomplish. At least not to that standard.

“Okay.” Harry quickly agreed. Dumbledore would know, he hoped.

“We’d better get back, then. Your friends are going to think I’ve added you as an ingredient to one of my more dangerous potions.” he said, making Harry smile, as it wasn’t probably far from the truth. For Ron at least.

()()()()()()

As Harry had predicted, Ron was on the edge of his seat when he finally returned to his own. “Are you okay, mate?” he asked, seriously concerned. “You were in there so long, I was beginning to wonder.”

“Ugh, he gave me detention.” he said loudly enough for most of the students sitting near them to hear. In a lower voice he continued, “He just wanted to make sure I was okay.” he said, so Ron wouldn’t get too pissed off at his guardian’s false reaction.

“So he gave you detention?” he asked, incredulously. “How does that show caring?”

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron’s thick headedness. “It’s an act, you prat. The detention is for show.”

Ron blushed furiously, realizing he’d been jumping to conclusions again. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’ve got to really go though, so it looks real, but it’s not like it’s a real detention.” he said, before adding in a more whiney tone. “But I think he’s going to make me do homework.” he said as if it were inconceivable.

Hermione couldn’t hold in the laughter.

“Shut up, ‘Mione.” grumbled Harry. Ron couldn’t help but join in.

At Professor Snape’s sharp glare the three became instantly quiet. All except Ron. “Are you sure it’s an act?”

As soon as class was over, the three friends gladly made their way up to their dormitory. Potions could be utterly exhausting. True to his word, Snape had called out to Harry as he had been exiting the classroom, announcing to the entirety that the teen had detention that night at 8 o’clock.

Harry noticed a majority of his house was watching him, as if waiting for his to do something else extraordinary. “I wish they’d quit staring.” he muttered, glaring at a boy who would not quit gawking.

“Well, can you blame them, Harry? That isn’t something we see everyday.” explained Hermione. She turned to look at him when they finally entered their Common Room. “You stopped a potion from hitting everyone, a potion that peeled the skin straight off. I’d say that’s quite the remarkable accomplishment.”

Harry slumped into one of the comfy chairs. “I just wish I’d quit already with the ‘remarkable accomplishments’. I’m beginning to freak myself out.”

“Does Snape know how you did it?” asked Ron.

“No, he doesn’t. He couldn’t explain it, so we’re going to go see Dumbledore at some point, I suppose.” he told them.

Hermione nodded as if that was the most obvious solution.

“Guess who’s here?” said Harry, changing the subject.

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, then at Harry. Their friend’s eyes had lit up at the mention at the mysterious person. One guess came to mind.

“Snuffles?” asked Ron.

Harry nodded vigorously. “Yes. And he’s going to stay here for a while. I guess Dumbledore has him doing something, but he can’t or won’t tell me.” He said gloomily. “I don’t see why he won’t tell me, I mean, I am his godson. He should trust me to keep his secret.”

“Oh, come on Harry, you know you’d be hard pressed not to tell us. You tell us everything.” said Hermione, intelligibly. “That’s probably why he won’t mention it. Or maybe it’s something he just doesn’t want you to know.”

“Maybe it’s a surprise.” Ron butted in his two cents. “It could be.” He added at Hermione’s look.

“I don’t know, but I’m sick and tired of being left out in the cold. I just need to let it go. No sense dwelling on it.” he said, more to himself than his friends.

“Come on, it’s almost time for dinner, and Harry won’t have much time to eat if we don’t get down there soon.” she said. The two boys both knew she was speaking of Harry’s ‘detention.’

()()()()()()

Harry just nibbled at his plate, explaining it away as nervousness due to his ‘detention.’ Ron and Hermione didn’t buy it, but they let it go. They were worried about Harry’s sleeping and eating habits, as they were both nearly non-existent. He seemed so tired lately. Ron’s first assumption had obviously thought Snape was doing something awful to him, but now neither of them knew what Harry’s problem was.

Harry made it down to Snape’s office right at 8 o’clock. “You’re late.” said Snape as soon as he walked in the door.

The teen looked at his watch and then at Snape incredulously. “I am not.” he argued. “It’s right at eight.” He walked straight up to his Professor and showed him his watch to emphasize his point.

Severus disagreed. “According to the shadows, it is 8:05.” informed Snape. “Be here on time next time.” he said.

Harry just stared at him. “Whatever.” he finally answered. He could tell just by looking at him that his teacher had a headache, and was therefore in a bad mood. “Great.” he muttered to himself, just low enough not to be heard.

“Did you bring your homework?” he asked. Harry nodded, tossing his backpack on the nearest table. It just so happened to be one towards the back. When Snape didn’t disagree with the seating arrangement, he took his seat.

For the next hour, Harry finished up his Potion’s essay and got started on his Transfiguration homework. Severus studiously ignored him the entire time, opting to put his entire focus on grading papers it seemed. Harry discovered that this was becoming very boring very quickly. He had thought that his fake detention would be more interesting, or that they would at least talk about stuff.

“I wouldn’t be stuck doing homework if I was with Sirius.” he muttered very quietly, not wanting to risk Snape’s wrath at the mention of that name.

He had forgotten that he had the mirror in his backpack, which was lying open right beside him. He didn’t notice when Sirius’ face appeared in the glass. He remained equally oblivious as the face in the mirror smirked at the boy’s continual grumbling about Snape.

“I didn’t even deserve this stupid detention. I saved lives,” he continued to silently rant. “and I get detention. Some guardian he’s being.”

He didn’t notice the face in the mirror go pale before growing angry and disappearing altogether.

“What was that Harry?” asked Severus from the front desk.

Harry sighed. “Nothing, really. I’m just bored. I’ve finished all my homework. Would it be okay if I went ahead and left?” he asked hopefully.

“No, Harry. You’ve only been here for an hour, since when is that normal for me?” he asked, sounding annoyed.

The raven-haired youth watched as Snape rubbed his temples, and knew he should just forget about arguing, but didn’t listen to himself. “I’ve got nothing else to do.” he argued.

Professor Snape glared. “Then I’ll give you something constructive to do with your time.” He said, pointing at the dirty cauldron’s from today’s classes. “If you want something to do, clean those.” he demanded. Harry knew he should have just kept his mouth shut. Arguing with Snape when he had a headache was nearly impossible. That was something Deliverance had warned him of early on.

He grudgingly dragged himself over to the desks filled with disgusting cauldrons. This was going to take forever. Harry felt himself getting angry. “You’re punishing me for something I didn’t even do.” he stated, not entirely loud, but just enough for Snape to hear if he was listening.

Snape threw down his grading pen. “Fine, leave!” he yelled, pushing away his chair and standing up.

Harry flinched so violently at Severus’ angry voice, he knocked off two cauldrons from the table, making them clatter to the floor.

“Wait, I’m sorry.” whispered Harry, taking steps away from his Professor, who had gone and thrown open the door.

Severus turned back to the boy and stopped dead in his tracks as he realized he had just scared Harry badly enough that he was shaking.

“What the hell did you do?” yelled a voice from the doorway.

Harry whipped around and saw his godfather stepping inside the room. He looked pissed and concerned all at the same time. “Harry, are you okay?” he asked, noticing the teen was still shaking.

Harry nodded jerkily, which only made Sirius all the more mad. He made a beeline for Snape, looking for all intents and purposes that he just might kill him.

“No, Sirius! He didn’t do anything to me.” yelled Harry, getting in between the two older men. “It was my fault. I should have kept my mouth shut, but I didn’t. He has a headache, and I was griping at him, and I shouldn’t have. It was my fault.” he said, jumbling all the words together in his haste.

Sirius took Harry’s face into his hands. “Harry, you’re shaking. He scared you. Professor’s are not supposed to scare their students.” He looked up and glared at Severus. “Guardians aren’t supposed to scare their charges.” he hissed.

Both Harry and Snape looked at Sirius incredulously. “How’d you know?” asked Harry.

“The mirror, Harry. You said my name at some point, and I heard you muttering about Snape not being a very good guardian.” he said, continuing to glare daggers at Snape.

Severus was looking at Harry guiltily. “I’m so sorry, Harry. I never meant to scare you. You know I would never hurt you, don’t you?” he asked, unsure of himself since he had so obviously frightened the teen.

“I know.” He replied. “I’ve just never seen you like…that. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

“No, Harry. You didn’t make me mad. I was just frustrated with the other students, and other private things. Plus this headache wasn’t helping matters at all. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, there was no excuse. I’m sorry.” He said, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder and grateful when he didn’t flinch. Although Sirius looked like he was ready to rip the hand off his arm.

Harry’s godfather continued to look skeptical. “Why do you have guardianship over my godson?” he asked, getting upset.

Harry turned and looked at his godfather, suddenly realizing that this would make Sirius feel bad.

Severus glanced at Harry, questioning with his eyes how much he wanted told to his godfather. Harry nodded at his guardian.

“If you’ve ever met Harry’s relatives, you’ll know just how hateful and despicable they are.” He started, and continued when Sirius snorted in derision at the mention of the Dursley’s. “I came across Harry and his uncle at the train station when school had let out. He was being verbally and somewhat physically abusive towards Harry.” He said, remembering when the beefy man had thrown Harry against the car. It still made him angry just thinking about it. He saw that Sirius was in the same state of mind.

“How long had that been going on?” he asked Harry. But Harry refused to meet Sirius’ eyes, or Severus’ for that matter.

“Harry?” asked Severus. They had never really talked about the Dursley’s and when the abuse had started. They had talked about it a little, but the discussion was always changed.

Harry glanced at the floor, still refusing to make eye contact. Didn’t they know how embarrassing this was? How ashamed he was of himself for always allowing it to happen. He hated talking of it.

“I don’t remember.” he said, making both men sigh.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” said Sirius, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“I don’t.” replied Harry, and that was the end of that conversation.

Sirius once again turned his attention towards Snape. “So, you just decided, after years of hating this kid, that you were going to take care of him? Why is that, Snape? Because I find it incredibly hard to believe.”

Professor Snape gave Sirius a long, hard look. “I’m not a complete heartless bastard. I got to know the ‘kid.’ It’s not as if I decided to do it overnight. It took almost three months for me to even realize I…cared about him.” He said, not liking the fact that he had to confess some of his feelings about the boy to this man. But he needed the man’s approval if this were to work. He wouldn’t let their constant bickering screw up Harry.

Sirius stared at the man before him and saw in his eyes that he was speaking the truth. Sighing, he nodded. “Alright, I guess I can believe that.” He finally gave in. “But he’s still my godson. Don’t think I won’t kick your ass if you do anything to hurt him. And I get a say in any decisions that concern Harry that could be significant towards him.” he added, not wanting Snape to have complete control over Harry.

Severus glared. If it would get the man to shut up, he’d agree to just about anything. “Fine.”

Sirius smirked. “Good. Is that okay with you, Harry?” he asked, not wanting the teen to feel left out of the conversation.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” he remarked, not really paying much attention. He seemed lost in his thoughts.

“You okay, kid?”

“Yes. Tired is all. Is it okay if I go back to my dorm now, Professor?” he asked.

After getting permission, he quickly made his way back to his dormitories. He was incredibly tired, but he really had just wanted out of that room. All that talk about his relatives had brought up old demons and now he just wanted a chance to be alone. His friends were still sitting up waiting for him when he arrived, but he told them he was tired and went on up to get in bed. After he had changed into his pajamas, he climbed into bed and pulled the curtains for privacy. He couldn’t sleep for a long time that night.

()()()()()()

Harry woke up Thursday morning wishing he could just go back to sleep and never wake up again. He had his own headache this morning, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t the normal kind. He’d had a dream, or at least he thought he’d had a dream. He was having difficulties distinguishing dream from vision. This one seemed so real, though. He considered going and telling Dumbledore, for if it was true, then the entire Dursley family was almost, if not already, dead. He put off his lack of speed on the way to Dumbeldore’s office to tiredness, not that he just didn’t care.

As he reached the gargoyle he stared at it stupidly. “What’s the damn password?” he asked out loud.

“Try honey suckle.” said a strangely familiar voice from behind him.

Harry turned and saw Severus standing almost directly behind him. He hadn’t even noticed the man. “Thanks.” he muttered and spoke the password.

As they both went up the winding staircase, Severus noticed the boy’s pale and pinched face. He could tell instantly he had a headache. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes.” He replied, not wanting to nod as he had originally intended, as it hurt too much.

Severus pulled a vial out of his pocket and handed it to Harry. “Drink.” he instructed. Harry complied.

Harry had reached up to knock on the door, but it opened as soon as he was about to hit it. “Hello, hello!” said Dumbledore excitedly. Harry assumed the man had had too many lemon drops that morning. “Is there something I can help you with?” he asked upon seeing Harry’s pained expression.

“I think I had a vision.” he explained and went straight for a chair before he fell down. The pain was just subsiding, but he still felt dizzy.

“What was the vision about, child?” asked the headmaster concernedly.

Harry sighed, wondering now if he was worrying the two men needlessly. “The Dursley’s.” he began. “I was probably just having a bad dream.” he said, trying to blow it off now. “But in case it’s not, they were all bitten by a big snake.” he said as if this sort of thing happened everyday. “It was probably just a dream.” he said again.

Dumbledore gave Severus a look. The man nodded, briefly touched Harry’s shoulder, and then left. Harry could only assume he’d been sent to check on the Dursley’s.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” said Albus.

“Okay.” said Harry, tiredly.

“Why don’t you just lay down and rest your eyes, Harry. You seem tired.”

Harry whole-heartedly agreed, and laid down. He didn’t mean to go to sleep, but to lie there. Regardless, he found himself waking up hours later. He also discovered that someone had covered him with a very colorful afghan. As content as he was, he thought it important to drag himself off the couch. He still didn’t know what had happened to the Dursley’s. When he stood up, he was surprised to see himself in a different part of the headmaster’s office. He could hear whispering going on below him, and assumed he was just upstairs. Upon looking over the railing he realized he was right.

“Harry, you’re awake.” stated Mr. Weasley.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He quickly descended the short flight of stairs and took in that there were quite a few people that he didn’t know. “Hello.” He said slowly, now feeling a little embarrassed with his bedraggled look. He was even more surprised to see Remus among them. “Remus!”

“Hello, Harry.” he said warmly. “Sleep well?”

The emerald-eyed boy grinned. “Yeah.”

Dumbledore quickly introduced him to the people he didn’t know. He wasn’t too shocked to discover they were all members of the Order. He thought the woman with violet hair was very interesting. He believed her name was Tonks.

“So, what happened?” he asked, taking a seat in between Sirius and Remus at their request.

“Well, it appears your dream was correct, Harry.” said Dumbledore slowly.

Harry’s breath caught in his throat. ‘Were they all dead?’ he wondered. He didn’t know why, but he was suddenly almost upset at the thought that the Dursley’s might be dead. It was no wonder, though. They may have hated him, but they were still the only family he had left. If they died, there would be no one.

He could feel everyone’s eyes on him and straightened up immediately. “Are they dead?” he asked bluntly, surprising most of the people in the room.

Harry took it as a bad sign when both Remus and Sirius grabbed his hands. He briefly wondered where Severus was, but the conversation at hand regained his attention.

“Child, your aunt and your cousin were both killed tonight. Your uncle, however, was unharmed. We arrived in time to save him.” said Albus softly. “I’m terribly sorry.”

Harry sat stock still, unsure of how to react. Part of him wanted to cry, he hadn’t lost entire rest of his family, but he had lost most of them. And of all the people to survive, it had to be his uncle. And he knew exactly what the man would think.

“He’s going to think it’s my fault.” whispered Harry. If things didn’t work out between Professor Snape and himself, he would be dead within the first week of vacation.

Sirius knew what Harry was thinking and quickly wrapped an arm around his godson’s shoulders. “It’s okay Harry.” he began whispering in the boy’s ear. “You’ll never be around that man without someone else there with you, to protect you. I won’t allow it, and neither will…Snape.” he said, begrudgingly.

“Are you alright Harry?” asked the violet-haired woman.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” he replied, and rested his head against Sirius’ shoulder.

()()()()()()

Severus stood at the front of the classroom, watching as his students hurried to finish the rest of their potion before the end of class. Slowly the students brought up their finished potions, safely enclosed in their vials. “Sit them on my desk.” he advised them, before sitting down.

“Draco, stay after.” he added when the others were quickly filing out of the room. The boy looked at him in confusion before heading up towards his teacher.

“Yes, sir?” he asked, standing before the older man.

“I saw you throw that ingredient into Potter’s cauldron yesterday.” he began, and watched amusedly as the boy began to fidget nervously.

“It was an accident.”

“I’m sure. Detention tonight at 8 o’clock. Don’t be late.” he said, and turned his attention to the vials on his desk. He heard the boy grumbling on his way out and smiled. He liked Draco when he wasn’t being a complete prat, but the boy needed to learn some manners. His father was no help at all, as he knew first hand. He wondered what happened to the Lucius Malfoy he used to know.

He was worried about Harry. He had alerted the Order of the situation at the Dursley’s before he had to get to classes. He hadn’t heard yet of the outcome, but hoped Harry would come to see him before he went back to his dormitories. He felt more secure knowing he was with the headmaster and his godfather, loathe as he was to admit it. The man was a pain, but he loved Harry. That was all that really mattered. He finished grading the finished potions and put the ones that were useable into a container for Pomfrey, the others he put into another container for the House Elves to dispose of. Then he headed for the Great Hall, hoping he’d see Harry.

()()()()()()

But Harry wasn’t in the Great Hall when Severus arrived, and he hadn’t appeared by the time he left either. The boy was sitting outside of Hagrid’s cabin, idly petting Zane, who had as always laid his head on the boy’s lap. He stayed there for the longest time, not wanting to have to deal with any of his friends or anyone for that matter. He knew they’d try and get him to talk about it, but he didn’t want to. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the entire ordeal. He was a mixture of sad and…something else. He didn’t look forward to the day he ran into Vernon Dursley again. He could only imagine how upset the man would be after losing his entire family by something magical. And he hadn’t even told anyone what was really bothering him. In the dream, it had felt like he was the snake. How could he even tell someone that? He couldn’t. He fell asleep soon after, emotional exhaustion setting in. Zane allowed himself to be used as an animal pillow and stayed awake the entire night, guarding his boy.