Harry stepped out of the Floo and into his father's sitting room. Severus was right behind him.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Severus laid a hand on his son's shoulder, studying him in concern.

Harry sighed. "It's nothing, really. Just that Ron's upset because Draco and I are getting on better. Hermione doesn't like it either, actually, but she was a bit more tactful."

"Yes, I can imagine that Ron is not always the soul of tact," Severus agreed dryly. He squeezed Harry's shoulder and asked in a more serious tone. "How do you feel about it all, Harry? The situation with Draco? Your friends' reactions?"

Harry hesitated, considering, and then gave a small uncertain shrug. "I don't know. If I think about it, I mean everything that Draco did to me...well, it still hurts. But I don't hate him."

He paused for a moment, trying to make sense of his own feelings and to find the words to express them, before going on. "He was hurt really bad, too, and he didn't deserve to be tortured and to see his mother killed. I can't help but feel bad for him. But there's more to it than just that. It's like Draco never had much chance before, to be a different kind of person. Now he does. And I think that he deserves that chance. I think the person he's becoming is someone I could be friends with...maybe."

"But it's hard for Ron and Hermione to see and I understand that. But I wish they could try. I hate it when things aren't right between us," Harry finished.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Severus asked gently.

"I don't think so." Harry gave him a wry smile. "We'll work it out. We always do. If we made it through fourth-year, we can make it through this."

"What happened during fourth-year?" Severus asked. "Besides the Tournament, obviously."

Harry hesitated again. Although he was upset with Ron for speaking so hurtfully, he still didn't want to badmouth his friend. Ron truly was sorry that he had turned on Harry in those difficult weeks in fourth-year, and they had made it all up long ago. Complaining about that incident to someone else now seemed disloyal.

But Severus was his father. It would be all right to tell him, Harry decided after a moment.

"Remember how everyone thought that I had put my name in the Goblet at first and lots of people were giving me a hard time about it?" He asked.

Severus nodded, his black eyes soft with remorse. "I remember. Harry, I cannot tell you how much I wish that I had been your father, or at least a friend, back then. I think of it often, of how differently things might have been, of all the ways that I could have helped and protected you."

Harry could not bear the sorrow in his father's voice. "It's all right, Dad. I mean, it was horrible at the end, for sure. But if it hadn't happened, if Voldemort hadn't risen then, then he might still be alive now and the war still going on. As bad as it was, maybe it worked out for the best and saved more lives in the long run."

A painful memory flashed through Harry's mind, one that he didn't think of often anymore, but that still had the power to wound him; Cedric Diggory's lifeless body lying on the ground after Voldemort had ordered his death. He swallowed and said, almost in a whisper, "I just wish that Cedric could have lived, too."

"He was an admirable young man," Severus agreed. "His death was a terrible tragedy."

He gave his son a sharp look. "But it was not your fault. You do know that, don't you, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It's hard, but yeah, I know that Voldemort and Wormtail are the ones who really killed him."

It had taken him a long time, and a lot of talks with Ron and Hermione, for him to accept that and Harry still felt vaguely guilty that he had suggested that Cedric take the Triwizard Cup with him. But he had finally come to accept that Cedric's death was not his fault.

Sirius' death, however, was another matter.

Harry swallowed hard and closed his eyes against the pain of remembering his godfather.

Severus touched his shoulder again. "Harry?"

He opened his eyes and went on quickly, determinedly. "But anyway, back at the beginning of fourth-year, Ron believed that I had entered the competition on purpose too, and he was jealous. God only knows why anyone would be jealous of me."

He couldn't keep a touch of bitterness out of his voice, but then frowned at himself. He didn't want to be the kind of person who went about wallowing in self-pity and besides, there were plenty of good things in his life too.

"So we rowed and things were pretty bad between us for a while. But then Ron realized that he'd been wrong and we made it up. Tonight wasn't nearly that bad so I know we'll make it up now, too," he finished.

"Perhaps I should speak with him?" Severus offered.

Harry shook his head. "No, thanks, Dad. I appreciate it, but we'll be all right."

"I know you will," Severus reassured him. "Ron and Hermione are true friends and they care for you very much."

"Yeah, I know." Harry made himself smile, though his heart wasn't really in it. "Well, I do need to read that chapter."

"Good night then."

Severus held him close for a moment and then Harry left him and disappeared into his own rooms across the hall.

Severus kept an eye on things the next day. He could tell that his son was more upset than he'd wanted to let on over his disagreement with his friends and with the comment about how no one should be jealous of him, Harry had let slip that he was still hurting. Though of course, Severus already knew that. Harry had admitted it openly as well.

That knowledge hurt Severus too. He wanted so badly for Harry to be happy, but he didn't know what else he could do to help. It was frustrating; he'd rarely felt so helpless before. The slavery spell was the root cause of much of Harry's unhappiness. Severus was not ready to give up hope of finding a counter-spell, but he and Albus had thoroughly gone over two-thirds of the archives and there had been no mention of anything relating to the slavery spell so far.

But there were still quite a few records to study, and if they couldn't find anything in these papers, they would have to keep searching elsewhere. If it took the rest of his life, Severus would never give up trying to free his son.

He would need to discuss it with Harry again, and soon. Of course they had already talked, several times, about the slavery spell, its effects on Harry's life and emotions, and Severus had repeatedly tried to comfort him. But the slavery spell had had such a profound and devastating impact, not to mention that Harry had already had self-esteem issues, that Severus knew his son would likely need to hear the reassurances over and over again before he could begin to believe in them.

At least Severus hoped, desperately, that Harry would be able to believe in them one day.

Very well then. They needed to talk about how wonderful and noble Harry was again.

But there was also the matter that Harry and Ron Weasley were having difficulties. Once more Severus considered whether he should step in and speak with the red-haired boy, but after Harry had specifically requested him not to, he thought that perhaps he should wait and give them time to work things out on their own.

Of course if that didn't happen soon then Severus might have to take matters into his own hands. After all, he wasn't going to stand back and do nothing when his son was hurting.

He was ruminating on all of this when he accompanied Harry to Hogwarts after breakfast. He didn't really have any excuse this time; Lupin's plans were exemplary, as he'd expected all along. Whatever else he felt towards the last Marauder, Severus had to admit that the man was a talented instructor. But Severus had sensed that for some reason Harry was nervous about seeing Lupin again and had decided that he would be present just in case his son needed him.

He wasn't sure what reason he would give today for going along, but Harry didn't question his presence at all. Indeed, he smiled at Severus when his father followed him towards the fireplace and seemed grateful.

Everything went smoothly though, with Lupin greeting the both of them with casual friendliness. Harry responded in kind, and though he might have been a bit reserved, he didn't seem uneasy with Lupin any longer. Severus watched in brooding silence until they had settled down to lessons. He was about to leave when Albus called to him from his office next door.

"Yes?" Severus stepped into the room, an eyebrow raised.

Albus motioned him to step closer and cast a Muffliato spell about them. "Good morning, Severus. I'm glad you came. I have a message for you...from young Mr. Weasley."

"Oh?" Severus' eyebrow shot a few millimeters higher.

"Yes," Albus nodded, handing him a folded slip of parchment. "He brought it to me at breakfast in the Great Hall this morning and asked if I would pass it on to you as quickly as possible."

Severus opened the note:

Dear Sir,

I'm sorry for bothering you, but I am very worried about Harry. I said something foolish last night and upset him, but I really didn't mean to. I spoke without thinking, but I am honestly concerned. I wondered if I could see you for a few minutes to explain. I know that you love Harry, too, and wouldn't want him to be hurt again. Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Ron Weasley

Severus read it over a couple times and then looked up at Albus, wondering if he looked as surprised as he felt. It was ironic that he had decided to let matters be, only to have Ron contact him. He supposed it was a sign of how much things had changed in the past months, that Ron Weasley would ask to speak with him about protecting Harry. Then again, the Weasleys were Gryffindors.

He held the note out to Albus. "Would you care to read it?"

"I would not wish for you to betray Mr. Weasley's confidence," Albus replied.

"I doubt he would mind," Severus answered. "The note itself doesn't contain any information you haven't already deduced."

So Albus scanned the missive and then handed it back to Severus, saying, "So this is the explanation for Harry's hasty departure last night."

"Harry told me that his friends are suspicious of Draco and they had had words over it," Severus told him.

"Well, it's understandable, that Harry's friends are concerned, that is," Albus pointed out.

Severus nodded. "Yes, I know. I don't blame them, of course. It is hard to believe, especially for those who haven't been around Draco and haven't seen how he has been affected by events. Harry understands that, too. I have no doubt that they will resolve matters soon."

"Are you going to meet with Mr. Weasley?" Albus asked.

"Yes, with your permission, as I suppose he's in class right now," Severus said.

"I believe the sixth-year Gryffindors have Defense this morning. Shall we go and fetch him?" Albus responded, canceling the Muffliato spell with a quick wave of his wand.

So they left the headmaster's office and made their way through the wide corridors to the Defense classroom on the first floor. Several of the portraits called friendly greetings to them and the suits of armour stood straight at attention.

Severus was a little surprised at how pleased he felt to be back at the school. Of course he had been returning to Hogwarts almost every evening, but he had mostly stayed within Albus' two private rooms...the office and sitting room. It was different to actually be out in the castle, walking the halls and seeing familiar sights. Most of the staff and students were in class, of course, but there were a few young people wandering about. Presumably they had a free period, but Severus was suspicious of a couple that saw them coming and quickly hurried off in the opposite direction.

"Skivers, those two," he muttered to Albus after seeing one pair of youngsters high-tailing it away. "You ought not to let them get away with it, Albus."

"I would be delighted to have you return and take over discipline, Severus," Albus responded cheerfully.

Severus simply huffed, but he had to admit that it felt very comfortable and...right...to be back. Of course Prince Hall was his home, and he loved it dearly, but Hogwarts was home too, perhaps more than he had realized before. For the first time, he actually missed it.

But before he had much time to dwell on his unexpected sentimentality, they came to the Defense classroom where Bill Weasley was supervising practice duels. Albus knocked on the closed door, but there was so much commotion going on inside that no one heard.

"Ah, well, then." Albus shrugged and opened the door, narrowly missing a stinging hex that would have hit him squarely in the face had he not side-stepped with a grace and speed that belied his years. As it was, the jet of blue light missed his ear by a hair's breadth and harmlessly dissipated against the stone wall across the corridor, though a monk in a nearby portrait took no chances and dashed into a neighboring frame.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you..." a red-faced Pansy Parkinson stammered, the famous Slytherin composure vanishing as she realized her blunder.

Albus simply chuckled and waved her apology away. "No harm done at all, Miss Parkinson. The fault is mine. I should take more care when stepping into the midst of a duel."

He turned his attention to Bill Weasley, who was coaching Seamus Finnegan on his shielding techniques in a far corner of the spacious room. "Professor, forgive us for interrupting but we need to see young Mr. Weasley, if you don't mind."

Bill shot a curious look at his brother before nodding. "Of course, Headmaster."

Ron and Hermione were paired up with Neville Longbottom and as Ron came towards them, Severus noticed that the other two Gryffindors both smiled at him, and even waved. The sight startled him so that he could only stare blankly back at them. Then again, he wasn't sure how he would have responded in any case. Things had changed of course, but was he ready to be openly friendly, not only with his son, but with all Gryffindors in general?

Severus started to scowl out of sheer reflex, but Hermione and Longbottom had already returned to dueling and weren't paying attention to him any longer anyway. He turned and noticed another surprising sight; that Pansy Parkinson's dueling partner was Dean Thomas...and the two of them were actually chatting and laughing together.

Hmm, things definitely had changed at Hogwarts.