It was nearly dinner time when Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the east wing of the castle and headed down to the Great Hall. They were about to descend the staircase to the lobby and join some the other students trickling back from Hogsmeade when a cackling sound above made them look up just in time to see Peeves swooping overhead, his arms full of water balloons.

"Why, it's potty wee Potter and the other two dunderheads!" The poltergeist chortled.

"I am not a dunderhead!" Hermione exclaimed indignantly just as Peeves lobbed a balloon at her. It was so full of water that it drenched Harry and Ron as well.

"Peeves!" They all yelled together.

But Peeves just chortled wickedly and kept tossing balloons at them.

"Come on," Hermione grabbed both boys' arms and the three of them dashed back down the corridor and around a corner into a smaller, darker hallway. Peeves laughed, but gave up the chase and went zooming back towards the Great Hall, apparently to find some other students to harass.

Hermione sighed, swished her wand at Harry and Ron, then herself, and they were all warm and dry again.

"Urghh," Ron groaned. "Why can't Dumbledore get rid of that little monster?"

"Let's just go back," Harry sighed, and they turned to go back the way they'd come. But the hallway wasn't empty, as they had originally thought.

A girl stepped out of the shadows. She was tiny even for a first-year, almost frail-looking, with long blonde hair, a delicate little face with blue eyes, and she carried a small package wrapped in brown paper in her hands.

"Excuse me?" Her voice was timid.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped, and Hermione gave her a friendly smile. "Hello. Can we help you?"

The girl nodded and looked directly at Harry. "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

He noticed her eyes were glassy, and hoped she wasn't going to be another Colin Creevy.

He almost denied it, but that was pointless. "Yeah, I am," he admitted after a moment.

Fortunately the little girl didn't seem to be too interested in Harry's fame, though.

"You know Professor Dumbledore, don't you?" Without waiting for an answer, she hurried on, her voice gaining strength as she thrust the parcel into Harry's hands.

"Would you mind doing me a favor? I'm supposed to give this to him, but I don't even know him, and he's the headmaster, and I'm afraid to. But you know him, so could you just give it to him for me? Thank you."

And before they could say anything, she'd taken off around the corner and disappeared.

"But Dumbledore's not even here right now," Ron called after her.

"He has been gone for two weeks though, so he should be back any time now," Harry remarked. He looked down at the package. "What should I do with this?"

"Keep it til Dumbledore gets back?" Ron suggested at the same time Hermione said, "Give it to Professor Snape and let him decide what..."

While they were speaking, Harry turned the parcel over.

Then everything went black.

***

Severus held the glass vial up to the light, and nodded slowly in satisfaction. He'd done it. He'd identified that final, mysterious ingredient in the poison that had almost killed Harry this past summer. At first, of course, he'd been focused entirely on healing the boy. But he had been working on the identification for several weeks now, even if only for a short while each day. The first step was to identify it. Now he could begin creating an anti-dote.

He carefully set the vial into a container and began clearing off the table. As he worked, he remembered those first days with Harry. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Thank goodness Harry was well again now. And thank goodness that he, Severus, had finally realized how wrong he'd always been about the child.

How could he have ever thought that Harry was spoiled and arrogant? Harry was one of the most insecure children he'd ever seen, what with his tendency to take blame even for things beyond his control, his doubts about his own abilities, and his need to apologise for everything.

Severus suspected Harry had a deep-seated belief that no one really liked him. Or that very few people did, anyway. It showed in the way he assumed that people would abandon him if there was a hint of anything going wrong.

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley seemed to be the only two people that Harry really did trust to stand with him through thick and thin. Severus hoped that one day Harry would add him to that list, but he didn't think it had quite happened yet.

And that bothered him tremendously.

But to be fair, Granger and Weasley had been through thick and thin with Harry. They'd proven themselves time and again over the past five years, from confronting Death Eaters to little things like giving up their Hogsmeade trip to stay with Harry.

Severus had had less than three months to overcome years of misunderstandings and hostility. When he thought of how he'd mistreated the child so badly, he was amazed that Harry was willing to give him a chance at all.

Severus wanted to help Harry heal on the inside now. He just had to keep reminding himself that it would take time.

He was distracted from his musings by a knock on the outer door, and he left his office and went to see who was calling. A quick look through the peephole, and then he opened the door.

"Albus, I didn't realize you were back," he said as he motioned for Dumbledore to enter the living room.

The headmaster smiled. "I've only just returned, Severus. And a most fortunate journey it was, too. I received confirmation of my hypothesis. I wonder if you and Harry might be able to meet with me again after dinner?"

Severus nodded. "I'm free, Albus. I believe Harry has a meeting planned with your militant group that sprung up last year under Umbridge's nose..." Severus' lip curled in distaste when he remembered their odious guest from the Ministry. "But I'm sure he can re-schedule it."

Dumbledore considered, then shook his head. "No. Let Harry meet with his friends tonight. Goodness knows, I have to deny the poor child so much already. Let him have fun this once. Tomorrow will be soon enough for the war to intrude."

"Very well, then."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Severus, if you don't mind, I think I might need to take another dose of elixir."

"Of course." Severus led the way back to his office and prepared a cup of the life-giving elixir he kept ready for his friend and mentor. He watched in silence as Dumbledore drained the cup and handed it back to Severus with a smile.

"Thank you so much, Severus. I'm sure you already know, but I'm very grateful to you for all your hard work. I know this little potion is difficult and time-consuming for you. I can never repay you for your kindness and your efforts."

Severus was not prone to displaying emotions, but he found it difficult to speak just then. He found himself blinking fiercely and had to look away from Dumbledore's gentle gaze.

"Albus, that's just bloody ridiculous," his voice grated painfully in his throat. "I'm the one who is indebted to you. Who else would have believed in me and given me another chance at life?" Severus drew in a harsh breath. "I only wish I could do more."

"Severus, you've done plenty. For me, and for us all," Dumbledore said softly.

A brief silence fell, a silence that was abruptly broken by Hermione Granger's screaming.

"Professor Snape! Can you hear me?! Please, oh, please," she sobbed.

Severus' blood turned to ice. For a split second, he was frozen, unable to move. Then he yanked his own two-way mirror from the pocket of his robe, so roughly that he ripped the pocket out, he discovered later. Granger's face, tear-streaked and white as death, was reflected in it. Severus couldn't see the boys, but he could hear horrible screams and Weasley's voice shouting in the background.

"What's wrong?" He demanded.

"It's Harry. He's been cursed, I think. We're on the second floor, close to the stairs by the lobby. A little side corridor," She looked around wildly. "There's a portrait of a Quidditch team on the wall."

"I know where they are," Dumbledore moved so fast he was at the living room fireplace, getting Floo powder before Granger had finished speaking.

"We're coming!" Severus told her as he ran to join Dumbledore.

A minute later he leaped out of a fireplace in a small nondescript room, Dumbledore right behind him. Severus could see them through the open doorway, and he and Dumbledore sprinted through it together.

Harry lay on the ground, screaming and convulsing. His glasses had fallen off, and his green eyes stared sightlessly into space. He did not seem to be aware of any of them, but Severus dropped to his knees beside him and called his name anyway.

"It's no use, sir. He doesn't know us," Weasley panted. He was kneeling on the ground and trying to hold Harry still, but with no success.

"Severus!" It was Dumbledore's voice and it was uncharacteristically harsh, forcing Severus to turn his attention from Harry.

"He must have touched that." Dumbledore was crouched a short distance away, with Granger, pointing at an opal necklace that lay partially displayed in a torn paper bag. "We need to stop the curse from spreading. Severus, I need you to help me now."

It was the hardest thing he'd ever done, but Severus dragged in a painful breath and forced away the fear bubbling inside him. He nodded, drew his wand, and began incanting the spells that would stop the Dark magic from destroying Harry's body and mind.

By now the noise had drawn a crowd of students and several professors as well.

"Stay back!" Dumbledore ordered, still speaking in that unusually stern tone. "And don't touch this necklace! Filius, clear the hall, please."

He drew his own wand and joined Severus in trying to save Harry. After a few moments, Harry's eyes rolled back in his head, his screams abruptly ceased, and he fell completely limp. Ron and Hermione, clutching each other's hands, drew back a few steps to stay of the way. But when Professor Flitwick came to try to shoo them downstairs, they shook their heads at him.

"Please, sir," Hermione whispered. "We won't interfere."

"We have to stay," Ron said softly. "Please, Professor. Let us stay."

Flitwick hesitated, but then nodded, and patted their shoulders. He joined them, standing and watching in silent fear as Severus and Dumbledore fought to save Harry's life.