Dumbledore was waiting when Severus and Harry stepped out of the fireplace in his office.

"Severus, Harry, good evening," he smiled at them as he stood up from his chair behind the big mahogany desk by the window. He walked over, and patted each of them on the shoulder with his good hand. "Thank you both for coming. I must say how happy I am to see the two of you getting along better."

He beamed at them. Harry smiled back, and Severus nodded.

"Not to mention," Dumbledore continued, "that I believe it will be to our advantage to have these...ah, lessons, I suppose, for lack of a better word...together. Three minds are better than one, you know."

Harry grinned. "That's what Ron and Hermione and I always say, too."

"And rightly so. Well, gentlemen, I believe we'll just jump right into the session, and perhaps afterwards, discuss our findings."

Harry frowned slightly. He'd imagined these private lessons with Dumbledore focusing on advanced magic, complicated defensive spells and such. But it didn't exactly sound as if that was what the headmaster had in mind, and sure enough, Dumbledore didn't look as if he were preparing to teach a dueling lesson. He had stepped over to a table with a shallow stone basin atop it and was motioning for Harry and Severus to join him.

Severus seemed puzzled as well, but he stepped over to the table. "Albus, is that your..."

"Pensieve, yes," Dumbledore said. He took a small bottle from the pocket of his robes and used his wand to open it. Then he tipped its misty silver contents into the basin. "We're going to take a look at history tonight, at a certain meeting which took place more than fifty years ago, between a Mr. Bob Ogden and the Gaunt family. Does the name ring a bell, Severus?"

"No," Severus slowly shook his head. "Should it?"

"No, I didn't really expect it would," Dumbledore glanced back at Harry. "Harry, are you coming?"

Harry nodded, and joined his two mentors, though he couldn't help looking at the Pensieve a little apprehensively. The last time he had been in a Pensieve had been informative, but very unpleasant, and he had violated Severus' privacy terribly.

Severus must have guessed what he was thinking. The professor didn't say anything, but he did reach over and take Harry's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as the three of them bent over the Pensieve. A moment later all three had disappeared into the memories of the past, taking the first steps towards learning how to defeat the greatest Dark wizard of the age.

***

Harry lay in his bed that night, his mind replaying the scenes from Dumbledore's Pensieve. It was late, but he couldn't stop seeing the Gaunts: Marvolo and Morfin, both so disheveled and dirty, their ugly faces filled with arrogance and hate, almost like clones except for Marvolo being a good bit older. And Merope, so hopeless and cowed, so desperate for love that she resorted to trickery and deception, ensnaring Tom Riddle into marrying her.

Voldemort's mother, uncle, and grandfather.

Harry shuddered. He hated Voldemort...of course he did, for all the suffering and grief the Dark wizard had caused. And yet, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of unwilling sympathy when he thought of how Merope had just given up on life after her husband had left her, not caring enough for her newborn baby to try to live for him. What if she had? What if she had lived and raised her son, instead of leaving him to grow up in that grim orphanage? Would it have made any difference?

The clock in the living room chimed, and Harry wondered what time it was. He was probably going to be very tired tomorrow, but right now he simply wasn't sleepy. With a sigh, he slipped out of bed and went to close the door between his room and Severus'. He might as well sit up and read for a bit, but he didn't want the light to wake the professor.

But as it turned out, Severus wasn't asleep either. When Harry started to close the door, he heard a whispered "Lumos," and an instant later a low light flared. Harry could see Severus sitting up and looking at him, obviously wide awake.

"Harry? Did you have a nightmare?"

"No, I just can't sleep."

"Apparently, the condition is contagious," Severus said dryly. He climbed out of bed and reached for his dark green robe lying on the nearby armchair. Pulling it on over his pajamas, he shook his head. "Harry, you're shivering. Where is your robe?"

It was pretty cool and he was shivering, Harry suddenly realized. Of course, he had planned on getting right back into bed, though, so he hadn't bothered to put on his own robe over his lightweight pajamas.

"Umm," he motioned vaguely back into his room.

"Accio Harry's robe!" Severus called, flicking his wand, and Harry's robe, the one Severus had given him weeks ago, flew off the end of Harry's bed and into his arms.

"Slippers, too," Severus ordered, as he stepped into his own slippers.

"Yes, Dad," Harry remarked dryly. He had been joking, but for some reason, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he felt his heart jump. Severus must have felt something, too, for he froze and he and Harry stared at each other. Harry wasn't sure what he saw in Severus' black eyes, but he was afraid he might have gone too far. He quickly turned away and hurried to find his slippers.

Severus used the Floo to order cocoa from the kitchens and within minutes two mugs resting on saucers had appeared. Harry and Severus settled on the living room sofa to sip their drinks. Harry's saucer had a little pouch of marshmallows on it and he dropped a few into his cocoa before offering the rest to Severus.

"Do you want any?"

The professor shook his head and eyed Harry's mug disapprovingly. "Cocoa is plenty sweet enough on its own. How do you stand that cloying mixture?"

Harry grinned and sprinkled the remaining marshmallows into his cocoa. "It's good."

Severus just raised an eyebrow and shook his head again.

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think about those memories Dum...Professor Dumbledore showed us tonight?"

Severus considered. "I think Albus has gone to great trouble, and probably considerable danger, to gather information about Voldemort. You noticed, at the end of our discussion, Albus was careful to point out certain characteristics of Voldemort's that were obvious even at a young age...his scorn for anything that connected him to others, his tendency to collect little souvenirs as reminders of his bullying conquests. I'm not sure yet how this will help us, but I do know that learning as much as we can about Voldemort could lead us to a weakness, a vulnerability that we may be able to exploit."

Harry nodded. At first, he had wondered why Dumbledore was showing them memories from the past instead of working with him on dueling, or some strategy that would defeat Voldemort, but after giving the matter more thought, he'd come to see what Severus had pointed out: that information about Voldemort could lead to knowing his weaknesses.

He didn't understand what those weaknesses might be yet, either, but surely there must be something. Dumbledore was far too clever not to have a reason for what he was doing.

"Severus, if Merope had lived, do you think it would have made any difference? In Voldemort, I mean?"

"You mean, is there a chance he might not have become the sadistic sociopath that he is?" Severus asked.

"Yes."

Severus shrugged. "How can anyone know, Harry? The only way to answer that question would be to take a Time Turner, return to the past, and somehow convince Merope to take better care of herself and not give up her life. Since all the Time Turners are destroyed, no one will ever know for certain."

They were quiet a moment, then Severus added, "I do know one thing, though, Harry. And that is that Voldemort long ago reached an age where he is responsible for his own actions, and even if his family were louts and he grew up in a sad environment, he cannot begin to use those reasons as an excuse for his own monstrous behavior."

"Oh, I know," Harry agreed. He thought of his own parents, killed at Voldemort's hand, and mingled fury and grief almost choked him. He swallowed hard. "He deserves to be punished for all the people he's hurt and killed, and he's got to be stopped so he can't keep on doing it."

"I wish..." Harry's voice trailed off.

Severus looked at him, and then slid his arm around Harry's shoulders. "You wish what, Harry?"

"Sometimes I wish I didn't have to be the one who has to stop him," Harry admitted.

"I wish that, too, child," Severus said heavily. "I wish that, too."

They finished their cocoa in silence and set their mugs aside. Then Severus asked, "Do you think you can sleep now?"

"Maybe," Harry said. "Guess we should try to, anyway. It's pretty late."

They started back to their rooms. At his doorway, Harry paused and said awkwardly, "Um, Severus? I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I know you aren't...of course, you wouldn't want to be...I was just joking, you know. But I'm sorry."

Severus gave him a long, steady look, his expression unfathomable. But then he stepped close and rested his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"There is no reason to apologise, Harry," he said softly. He squeezed Harry's shoulder before heading back to his own bedroom.

Harry slipped back into his bed, burrowing down under the warm comforter, the scarlet and gold Gryffindor comforter Severus had conjured just for him. He realized tears were sliding down his cheeks, but he didn't know why. He didn't even know if they were tears of happiness or sorrow.

***

The next few weeks flew by.

Harry got caught up in his classes, and thanks to Severus' tutoring, he even began to grasp Golpalott's Laws. For the first time in his years at Hogwarts, he didn't dread Potions class. Severus kept his word, and didn't call on him. In fact, he rarely spoke to Harry in class at all, though he did sometimes nod approvingly at the potions Harry, Hermione, and Ron brewed. Though he still favored the Slytherins a bit, it wasn't quite as blatant as in the past, and he occasionally gave Gryffindor points or said, "Satisfactory work," in a crisp tone when one of the Gryffindors handed in a particularly well-written essay.

He and Harry continued to work on Occlumency, or at least the first steps of it, as Severus said. Harry became very good at learning to relax and clear his mind of distracting thoughts, although he had a lot more trouble trying to hide his secret thoughts behind a mental wall.

But Severus reassured him that it was a difficult process, and one that often took some time to learn. Harry tried not to get frustrated, but just kept working at it steadily. He practiced every night before sleeping, but it didn't seem to be helping his nightmares very much. Several times a week he woke sobbing with fear or grief, depending on whether he'd dreamed of Voldemort and Death Eaters, or Sirius.

But Severus was always there, holding Harry in his arms and speaking softly and soothingly until the worst had passed and Harry was calm enough to sleep again. He really didn't know what he would have done without Severus.

Dumbledore had scheduled another private lesson with Harry and Severus two weeks after their first one, but then had to cancel it. He told them in confidence that he would be away on Order business for a couple weeks, and they'd have to wait to meet again until he returned.

That also meant that Professor Slughorn took over Defense classes. He wasn't quite a wizard of Dumbledore's caliber, but then no one else really was. Slughorn was jovial and entertaining as a teacher...he liked to tell his classes about his memories and experiences, and could sometimes be distracted from assigning homework if a student asked an interesting question at just the right moment.

But he was talented and capable, too, no mistake about that. His plump form was surprisingly light and quick as he demonstrated spellwork, and Harry really felt that between Dumbledore and Slughorn, DADA classes were finally being taught as they should be.

The Dumbledore's Army group hadn't been able to meet yet, because between study groups, Harry's private lessons, and Quidditch practices, there just hadn't been an evening when everyone was free. They finally set a date for the first meeting on a Saturday towards the end of October.

That Saturday also happened to be the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, and everyone was buzzing with excitement at the chance to leave the school grounds and spend the day visiting the shops in the nearby village. Well, everyone besides the first- and second-years who were too young to go.

And Harry.

"No, I definitely can't go," he told Ron and Hermione that Friday afternoon. Classes were over, and the three of them were walking by the shore of the lake and throwing chunks of bread to the giant squid. The weather was turning cold, and they wore their heavy winter cloaks over their school uniforms.

Ron's face clouded. "Are you sure, Harry? Can't Snape do something..."

But Harry shook his head. "No, we've talked about it all week. It's not his fault. He really tried to think of a way that would be safe for me, but in the end, we just had to admit that it's too dangerous for me to leave Hogwarts now."

"But what about a Portkey?" Ron wanted to know.

"Well, aside from the fact that Severus isn't authorized to create a Portkey and could get into trouble with the Ministry if anybody found out that he made one..."

"Even if that Portkey was to save you?" Ron demanded.

Harry shrugged. "The Ministry's so stupid. Who knows what they would do? Anyway, I don't want to risk causing Severus any trouble like that. Not just for me to visit Hogsmeade. It's not worth it."

He tore off a big piece of bread from the loaf Hermione was carrying and tossed to the giant squid, who caught it with a waving tentacle. Well, at least somebody was happy, Harry thought. He was trying not to feel sorry for himself, but life did seem awfully unfair sometimes.

"Come on, guys, it's not that big a deal." Hermione tried to cheer them up. "We've been to Hogsmeade plenty of times by now. We can have just as much fun here. Why don't we have a picnic lunch? We'll have fish and chips, and if it's nice we'll come out and eat by the lake, and if it's cold we'll eat in the Common Room."

Harry stopped and stared at them. "We?"

Ron and Hermione also stopped and faced him.

"Well, of course, Harry," Hermione said. "We said a long time ago that if you couldn't go on Hogsmeade trips, we'd stay with you."

Ron nodded. "Yeah. We haven't been exploring with the Marauders' Map in a while, either. Why don't we check out the east wing of the castle tomorrow after our picnic?"

Harry felt a slow grin spread across his face. Maybe life wasn't so bad, after all. "That sounds like fun."

***

Severus was in his office when Harry called good-bye to him the next morning. The professor left his work to come to the doorway.

"You're going to be with your friends then, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, it's cold so we're just going to be in the castle all day."

"Do you have your mirror?"

"Well, nobody's going to be around except the little kids," Harry began.

Severus frowned. "Trouble has a way of finding you, Harry. Take the mirror."

Harry heaved a big sigh as he went back to his room and dug the two-way mirror out of his school bag. Severus really was rather paranoid. But, it meant that he cared, and that meant a lot to Harry. So he didn't complain, but just slipped the mirror into his pocket.

He and Ron and Hermione took turns playing chess against one another in the morning; then ate their picnic lunch before the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. Afterwards, when they were ready to go exploring, Harry pulled the Marauder's Map from his pocket, causing the mirror to fall out as well.

"What's that?" Hermione asked, picking it up.

"Oh, it's that mirror I told you about," Harry explained, putting it back in his pocket. "The one Severus gave me. He insists that I keep it with me at all times."

"Well, that's not a bad idea," she replied.

Ron nodded solemnly. "Yeah. I'd hate to run into a group of first-years without having a way to call for help."

"Oh, I don't know," Harry pretended to be solemn, too. "We were pretty dangerous as first-years."

Ron laughed. "But we were one of a kind."

Hermione arched her eyebrows. "Actually, we were three of a kind."

"And we still are." Harry draped his arms around both their shoulders, and still laughing and joking, they headed out to explore the castle.