For one moment, Severus Snape did nothing but stare at the younger man, who looked as if he had spent several sleepless nights in a row, his green eyes bloodshot behind his glasses, his normally untidy hair more mussed than usual. Harry was wearing a red T-shirt, jeans, and a lightweight fall coat and a pair of sneakers that had plainly seen better days. The clothes were good quality, but appeared to have been slept in, for Severus could see they were wrinkled in places. A Firebolt leaned up against the side of the house.

Before Severus could articulate a greeting, Harry said, “I need your help, Severus, please. Something terrible’s happened to Ginny.”

“Come in and sit down,” the former headmaster invited, stepping back and allowing Harry to enter his home.

Harry followed the professor, noting in some astonishment that the house was decorated tastefully in shades of cream and deep brown in the den area, which had a huge fireplace with a large portrait of a much younger Severus Snape and his late wife Amelia above it. Harry gazed at it in shock, for the Snape in the picture had a look of utter adoration on his face and looked astonishingly handsome. Huh? Snape, handsome? Harry did a doubletake, then slowly nodded. Yes, his former Potions professor did indeed look good, the smile transformed his whole face.

“That was my wife, Amelia,” Severus said from behind him, making Harry start and blush guiltily. “That was taken twenty years ago or thereabouts, in a secret glen in Scotland. It’s one of the few portraits I have of her.”

The sadness in Severus’s tone struck Harry forcibly then, reminding him sharply of his own missing wife and the reason he was here. He quickly looked away from the portrait, and his eyes came to rest on a rather large blue backpack sitting next to the fireplace. That puzzled him, for he’d been under the impression that Severus had no children at home anymore, his two daughters were married now. Perhaps the bookbag belonged to his niece, Harry recalled Snape having a little niece named Marietta who’d once visited him at Hogwarts.

He followed Severus back through the den into a bright kitchen decorated in white and hunter green. It was spotless and gleaming, which did not surprise Harry at all, for he well remembered his professor’s neat fetish from his schooldays. He blinked upon seeing Muggle appliances there though, including a refrigerator and a stove, an oven, and a microwave. No dishwasher though, only a sink, he probably used cleaning spells then. A square throw rug in front of the sink read Cooking is Optional, Cleaning is Mandatory. Harry half-smiled at that typical Snape saying.

“Have a seat,” Snape gestured to the table, and Harry sat down, noticing belatedly that the Director had been about to eat lunch when Harry’s arrival had interrupted him.

“Sorry I interrupted your lunch, sir,” he felt compelled to apologize.

“You didn’t really, since I’m going to eat it now,” Severus answered quietly. “Care to join me? It might be easier to talk after you’ve eaten, Potter.”

Harry was about to refuse, he hadn’t come here to make small talk after all, but then the heavenly smell of the ham and cheese turnover hit his nostrils and he was salivating uncontrollably. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. “Uh, yes, I guess I will have one of them. Thank you, Severus.”

Severus snapped his fingers and a turnover and chips appeared on a second plate and floated over to Harry, along with a glass of iced tea. He gave his former student a wry grin when Harry gaped at his use of wandless magic. “Wizards in the States don’t use wands, Potter. I’ve picked up a few of the more basic spells living here, though I still use my wand for most magic.”

“And they don’t have house elves here either, right?” Harry asked, sniffing appreciatively at the turnover before biting into it.

“No, they have them, but they’re not bound like the ones in Britain,” Severus corrected. “Here, they work for money, which is why only the big wizarding Academies can afford them, or the rich wizarding families. Most wizard households do their own housekeeping or have their apprentices do it, it teaches the little brats responsibility.” He bit into his own turnover, it was still hot and tasted wonderful.

Harry was devouring his, he was starving and didn’t even mind burning his tongue a little on the hot melted cheese. “Mmm. . . .this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten here. Where did you buy it?”

Severus snorted. “Buy it? I made it myself, it’s not that hard.”

“I never knew you could cook,” Harry admitted. “You cook better than Molly Weasley.”

“That’s because she uses magic and I don’t,” Snape said with a slightly smug tone.

“You don’t?”

“Never. Spells are for cleaning, not for cooking. Any decent cook knows that.” Severus told him, though he didn’t bother to add where he’d learned that bit of wisdom from–his late wife, who had been an incredible cook.

They finished their lunch in silence, giving most of their attention to the food. Severus gave Harry a second turnover, the young Auror looked as if he hadn’t eaten a decent meal in a few days.

Harry ate that too, sighing in bliss. He considered himself a fair cook, he could make breakfast without burning it and lunch too from his days at the Dursleys, but he had to admit nothing he ever made tasted as good as this. Merlin, Arista and Trish were so lucky growing up here, if this is any example of how good Snape cooks. Who would have thought the old dungeon bat knew how to make something this terrific? Then he felt ashamed for his unkind thoughts, for when had he ever taken the time to truly get to know his old teacher? He recalled one late night conversation between Ron, Hermione, and Trish back in their sixth year, and Trish saying You don’t know the Severus Snape I do. He’s not at all what he seems. Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that this was the true Severus he was seeing now, and he felt like squirming for misjudging the man all those years ago. Then again, the man had played the part of grouchy, sarcastic, greasy git so very well, Harry couldn’t be blamed for thinking Severus was truly what he appeared. Right?

He swallowed the last bite of the turnover, then looked up at Snape, who was waiting patiently for him to reveal the reason he had shown up so unexpectedly. “Uh, I don’t really know exactly where to start,” he began awkwardly. “Everything happened so fast . . .”

“Start at the beginning, Mr. Potter,” Severus said, using the same tone he had when he was Harry’s teacher and waiting for him to explain something.

“Right. Well, you know Ginny and I are Aurors, right? Since Voldemort died, our cases have been pretty routine, nothing major from those who escaped the Ministry’s hunt two years ago. They’ve been lying pretty low, scared to do much now that we’ve cut off the serpent’s head, so to speak.” Severus nodded. He would have expected the remaining members of the Death Eaters to go underground, they weren’t stupid, more’s the pity. “That was why we decided it might be a good time to, uh, raise a family. Ginny’s expecting twins,” he said, unable to keep the pride from his voice.

“Congratulations,” Severus offered.

“Thanks. She wanted to take a vacation before she got too big to see her feet, she said,” Harry coughed, flushing slightly. A part of his mind couldn’t believe he was having this kind of conversation with Snape, God help him! “So we, uh, decided to come here to see New York City and the Statue of Liberty and all that. The maternity healer said it was safe for her to travel still, she’s only five and a half months. We got to Manhattan two days ago, and the first day we spent walking around the city, we went to Times Square and Rockefeller Center and Liberty Island. Ginny loved it, she was like a little kid, took all kinds of pictures and stuff. I liked it too, it was nice just walking around and not having to worry about anything except having fun. I even let her take me shopping.”

Severus gave him a commiserating look and Harry laughed softly. “Oh, it wasn’t as bad as you’re thinking. I wouldn’t let her in the shoe stores. Not that she’s wanted to go in them much since she’s started, uh, expanding,” her husband admitted. “Anyway, we’d planned to go see the Statue and Ellis Island the next morning, but when she woke up she was feeling sick and I said maybe we should wait, but she told me to go and at least see the World Trade Center, it was only two blocks from our hotel. I didn’t feel right about leaving her, but she insisted, and I’ve learned the hard way not to argue with a pregnant woman. They tend to throw things at you.”

Snape raised an eyebrow. “Good thing you know how to play Quidditch then, isn’t it?”

Harry gaped at him. Had Snape actually made a joke? Yes, damn it all, he had, for he was smirking like a blasted cat. “Lucky, right. Anyhow, I left her resting and eating some toast and eggs and walked to the towers. I was there maybe an hour to an hour and a half at the most, there weren’t too many people there around nine in the morning. I figured she’d probably want to go out and see some more places so I Apparated back to the hotel, but when I got there she was gone.”

“Gone where?” Severus broke in. “Gone shopping maybe?”

Harry shook his head. “No. That’s what I thought too, at first. But her purse was still in the room. So I figured she went out for a bit of air and I waited half an hour, but she didn’t return. Then I started looking around for a note and that’s when I found it.” He dug into his pocket and came up with a crumpled piece of parchment. “This was lying on the floor beside the window.” he held out the paper to Snape.

Severus scanned the parchment rapidly. Potter, if you want to see your precious ginny alive again, do exactly as i say. More instructions will follow soon. Don’t try and find her or else...! The Shifter

“The Shifter? I’m not familiar with that alias.” Severus frowned, trying to recall if any of the dark wizards in the files used that name as their cover.

“I guess he’s not well known here,” Harry said, his hands gripping the tabletop until his knuckles were white. “He surfaced about a year ago. He’s a kidnapper, he mostly targets Muggleborns and former Hogwarts students from my year and Ginny’s. He doesn’t really have a victim pattern, except that one I’ve mentioned. He’s taken adults as well as children, and he always leaves a note, but its always written on untraceable parchment. Usually he requests money, but sometimes not. Sometimes it’s a magical object, like a family heirloom, usually something expensive.”

“That would be consistent with most kidnappers.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t always keep his word. Sometimes he asks for more and other times he promises to leave the victim unharmed, but then he goes and hurts the person anyhow. He’s unpredictable. And none of his victims can identify him. They, the ones we’ve been able to talk to so far, all say his face shifts continuously, so we don’t know what he really looks like.”

“A glamour, most likely.” Snape surmised. “Either that or he’s using some kind of Chameleon Potion or other magical object to alter his appearance. Have you tried identifying his voice?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, but his voice changes too. He’s clever, the sneaky bastard. And he hates Muggleborns with a passion. Those are the ones he’s treated the worst.” Harry grimaced. “I never thought we had to worry about enemies here, never thought we wouldn’t be safe. I should’ve though! I should know better than to assume we wouldn’t be followed, but I figured this trip was a spur of the moment thing, just a few days . . .” Harry shook his head in disgust.

“He must have planned this,” Severus said. “He had to have some way of monitoring you,so he knew where to find you.”

“I know that, Snape! But I checked myself for all the standard tracking spells and devices. I’m clean. And so’s my broom and my luggage. I don’t know how he found us, but he did and now he’s got Ginny. That’s why I’m here, to ask you for help. You’re the Director of Dark Hunter Intelligence, you know this area better than I do. You can help me find where he’s taken Ginny, can’t you?”

Severus nodded quickly. “If he’s here, my people can locate him. Manhattan’s big, but he can’t hide forever, even in a city that size. From what you’ve told me so far, Potter, I’d say he sounds like an ex-Death Eater with a grudge against you in particular.”

“Any ideas on who it might be?” Harry asked. “You knew all of them.”

“Hardly. I knew the inner circle of thirteen, which is barely a third of them,” Severus snorted. “There were over a hundred Death Eaters, and not all of them attended meetings.”

“But they all bore the Dark Mark,” Harry recalled suddenly. “Could we trace them through that?”

Snape shook his head. “No, that method is lost to us now that Riddle is roasting in hell. Only he knew the spell to summon his followers through the Mark. None of the rest did, not even Lucius Malfoy. And not all Death Eaters bore the brand either. Only the thirteen bore the brand, the others had a tattoo of some sort, but it wasn’t the same. If the Shifter was one of them, and I’m beginning to think he is, then he can remove his Mark at will, since it’s not permanent.”

“Damn!” Harry swore angrily, blinking back tears of frustration. “I was hoping you might know who he was . . .”

Snape sighed. “Sorry, but I couldn’t take roll at the meetings the way I did in my classroom, Potter. Is there anything else you can tell me about his methods? Is his handwriting always the same? How does he treat his victims? Does he hurt them before or after his demands haven’t been met?”

Harry thought frantically, trying to recall those other cases. He knew he should know the answers to Snape’s questions, they were important to the investigation, but to his shame and frustration he could not remember them. His fear and worry over his wife and what the Shifter might be doing to her right then consumed him utterly. He kept seeing her face in his mind . . . smiling up at him with that sweet grin he so loved . . .then it changed, and now he saw her shivering and sobbing, begging for him to come for her . . .for them, for it was not only Ginny the Shifter held hostage, but his babies too. His babies . . .his wife . . .God, oh God . . .He began to tremble, shivering with undisguised fear and rage.

“Potter!” Severus called sharply. “Look at me!”

The Defense Master’s tone cut through the other man’s emotional turmoil like a whip. Harry jerked as if he’d been slapped, then forced himself to meet Snape’s eyes, which were bright with disapproval and . . .compassion?

“Take a deep breath, Potter,” Snape ordered, his tone laced with the familiar biting disapproval. “Don’t think about her now. Just breathe. In and out. Control yourself. You’re no good to her if you’re falling apart. Now breathe.”

Harry found himself obeying the stern tone, taking one deep calming breath than another, struggling to push the image of her face from his mind. Much as he hated to admit it, Snape was right. He couldn’t afford to let his emotions cloud his mind. He had to regain control over himself.

“Again. Breathe in and out. One, two, three, four.” Severus instructed, his voice calm and cool as ice.

Harry hated him for that even tone, that oh-so-calm demeanor, but he obeyed Severus’ instructions and breathed, slowly, until his heart quit racing and his mind was no longer filled with red and black images and fear no longer choked him. He forced himself to meet Snape’s gaze, envying the other wizard his stony facade something fierce.

Something of what he was feeling must have shown on his face, because Severus said simply, “My control took years to perfect, and it’s by no means infallible. If the Shifter had taken a member of my family, I’d not be half so calm as I seem.”

Harry flushed. “Sorry.”

Snape shrugged off the apology. “Your emotions are understandable, but you have to keep them locked up. Focus on finding him for now. Once that’s done, you can nail his hide to a wall for good and all. But right now, I need answers to my questions.”

“I know . . .but I can’t remember everything. His handwriting . . .it’s not always the same, it changes. Sometimes it looks like a girl’s, that’s why we weren’t sure if the Shifter was a woman or man. But my instincts say this is a man, not a woman. Don’t ask me why, but somehow I just know.”

“Good. Trust your instincts. What else?”

Harry floundered for a moment, feeling as if he was back in Potions again, and Snape had asked a question which he should have known the answer to, that he had known the answer to, but had for some reason forgotten, especially since the irritating git was glaring at him with that sneer on his damn face . . . “I don’t know, sir!” he snapped. “I ought to, but I just can’t remember the answers now, damn it! So quit looking at me like that.”

“Take it easy, Potter,” Snape said softly, reprovingly. “You’re letting your emotions color your thinking again.”

“I can’t help it!”

“You’d better,” Snape frowned. “Or else you’re going to get yourself killed. You’re an Auror, now start acting like one.”

“How dare you!” Harry began, his eyes blazing. “Who the blazes d’you think you are, talking to me like I was a kid, Snape?” he started to rise to his feet. It had been a mistake to come here, he should have known Snape wouldn’t understand, the cold-hearted beast.

“Sit down and shut up,” Severus hissed, pinning the younger man with one of his deadly glares. Harry froze. “How dare you come into my house and ask me for help and then indulge in a temper tantrum worthy of a ten-year-old? I won’t put up with that from anyone, hero or not. If you worked under me, Potter, I’d pull you off this case and declare you unfit for duty until you regained some kind of objectivity. Because the way you are now, you’re no good to anyone, especially not your wife!”

Harry opened his mouth to shout something at the Director, but the warning glint in the other man’s eyes made him think twice. Snape might be older, and Harry had more experience with combat spells now than he had two years ago, but even now he wasn’t sure he could take the Defense Master in a duel. And something told him it wouldn’t be smart to draw a wand on Snape unless he meant to use it.

He sat back down, feeling more than a little stupid for losing his temper and acting like. .. well a child, the way Severus had said. God, Harry, but will you never stop reacting to him like a rebellious teenager? He’s not your teacher anymore and you don’t need his approval, not that you ever wanted it anyhow, part of his conscience scolded. Except, if he was being perfectly honest with himself. . . a small part of him had longed for the older man’s approval, just once. He promptly shoved that part of himself away, resolving to quit letting his temper rule him, because Snape was right again, blast him. He needed the Director’s help, and antagonizing the man was not going to get him anywhere.

“I’m sorry. Can we forget this ever happened?”

“Yes.” Severus agreed. Then he added, “Just don’t let it happen again.”

“Okay, Professor.” Harry shot back.

Severus arched an eyebrow. “Sarcasm does not become you, Mr. Potter. That’s my line.” He shook his head. “Amazing, that you still have the ability to bait me, after all this time,” he muttered, half under his breath. “Some things never change. However, if you honestly can’t remember what the Shifter does to his victims, I can contact the Auror Department and ask them to send me any information they have on file. Then we can begin this investigation properly, with all the facts at hand.”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea . . .Director Snape,” Harry offered, giving the man his proper title as a backhanded attempt at burying the hatchet.

Severus relaxed, recognizing the other’s peace offering and nodding in approval. “Then let me go into my study and contact my assistant, Mr. Barrow. He will get in touch with the Auror Department and relay what I need to know. In the meantime, why don’t you concentrate on meditative breathing? I find it helps immensely in controlling one’s temper.”

“Yeah, like you’d know,” Harry muttered to the professor’s back as Snape turned to go.

“I know better than anyone, Mr. Potter,” Snape threw back over his shoulder before striding from the room.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, wondering how the hell Severus could still make him feel all of eleven years old again with a few pointed words and a glare. It was damn irritating. Not to mention embarrassing. He was a grown man, Merlin help him! A grown man about to become a father, heaven help him. What kind of a father would he be if he let some arrogant former potions professor bully him? If only the man weren’t so right all the time. Then he shook his head. Severus’ expertise was what had made Harry seek him out in the first place, so it didn’t make sense to complain about the man’s perfectionist attitude, now did it? Because if it meant getting Ginny back safe, Harry would put up with any amount of sarcastic comments from Snape.

Ten minutes later Severus was back. “My assistant will contact me when the information I requested becomes available. All we can do now is wait. Might I suggest a cup of stress tea or a–”he never finished what he was about to say because he was interrupted by a child’s voice calling from the bedroom.

“Severus! I feel like I’m gonna puke again.”

“Excuse me, I’ve got an apprentice sick with a nasty stomach flu,” Severus informed Harry and rushed off to tend to his sick ward. “I’m coming, Gavin!”

Harry’s mouth fell open. Would the man never cease to surprise him? He half rose to his feet, peering down the hallway at the partially open bedroom door at the end of it. He saw Severus enter the bedroom, pick up the whimpering child and then disappear through another door, presumably a bathroom.

Who would have thought Snape would be willing to take care of a sick kid? Harry felt sorry for the poor kid, having to deal with Snape’s snarky attitude when he was sick to his stomach. Except Snape hadn’t acted at all put out when the kid called him, Harry realized. He had seemed concerned . . .and had the kid actually called the Director Severus? Since when did Snape, the most proper Severus Snape, allow a student to address him by his first name? Maybe he’d misheard or something.

Ten minutes later, the two emerged from the bathroom and Snape carried the child back to his room, speaking softly to him. “You’ll feel much better with my potions in you, I promise. Now sit up a little, all right?” He placed the boy on the bed, patting his shoulder comfortingly.

Harry took two steps down the hallway, not wanting to eavesdrop, really, but his curiosity was killing him and he had to confirm for himself that he’d actually seen Snape, the terror of the dungeons, actually carrying a child in his arms and putting him to bed, of all things!

Now the Director was sitting on the edge of the bed and giving the child several spoonfuls of some pink potion that Harry recognized as an Anti-Nausea one. He could just hear Severus’ voice, low and soothing. “That’s good. Come on, one more swallow. Quit making faces at me, it doesn’t taste bad, son.”

Harry nearly fell over. Son? I couldn’t have heard that right.

“It does too!” came the boy’s grumpy reply.

Harry expected Snape to growl at the boy to stop whining, but all Severus said was, “It doesn’t taste half as bad as the next thing I’m about to give you, I’m afraid.”

“What thing?” Gavin whimpered. “I don’t want it.”

“It’ll make you feel better, child.” Severus said, and shook a small glass vial with a thick creamy potion twice before pouring it out onto a spoon. “This will stop cramps and diarrhea. Now open up.”

Gavin gazed at him pleadingly. “Do I have to–agk!” he sputtered as Snape popped the spoonful of medicine in his mouth.

“Swallow. Good job. There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Gavin glared at him. “It tasted awful, Sev. Just not as bad as the peppermint.”

“Here.” Severus handed the child a small cup of water. “Small sips, don’t gulp it. Otherwise you’re going to throw up again. Easy. Better now?”

“Yeah.” Gavin handed the cup back to his guardian. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For being sick and making you miss work and all. I know how important your job is. You didn’t really need to stay home with me.”

“Gavin, my job isn’t nearly as important as you are,” Severus said gently. “And what did I tell you before about apologizing for things that aren’t your fault, hmm?”

“I know, but . . .”

“No buts, Gavin Snape. You don’t really think I’d ever leave you home alone while you were sick, do you? What kind of guardian d’you think I am?”

“The awful kind that makes me eat vegetables. And do homework,” Gavin replied, grinning. “And sends me to bed at nine-thirty.”

“A fate worse than death, that,” Severus snorted. “Anything else you’d like to complain about, young man? How about the way I let you play video games? Or eat half a plate of chocolate chip cookies for dessert? Or teach you how to ride a broom? I’m a horrible guardian for letting you get away with such behavior, right?”

“The worst,” Gavin agreed, his eyes twinkling.

“Planning on running away to West and 10th then?” Severus teased, referring to the area where Gavin used to hang out with the Ravens.

“Not yet. Maybe tomorrow,” the boy said, smirking. “When I feel better and you’re sick of me.”

“You’ll be waiting forever then, boy,” Snape mock-growled. Then he ruffled the child’s hair. “Lie down and close your eyes, imp. You’ll never get better without some rest.”

Gavin snuggled obediently down in the covers. “M’ not really tired, Sev.”

“Of course you are, you just don’t want to admit it,” his mentor chuckled. Then he began to run his fingers through the child’s hair over and over. Gavin sighed, but did not protest the gesture. “Quit fighting, child, and just let go. I’m right here. Now sleep, son. Sleep.” Severus ordered softly. Then he began to hum.

Back in the hallway, Harry was pinching himself to make sure this wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t. Severus Snape really was sitting on the edge of a kid’s bed humming a lullaby. And apparently, this wasn’t anything new, the kid seemed to expect it, because he was now sleeping, resting his head on Severus’ arm. And Snape was gazing down at the child with relief and tenderness, just the way Harry imagined he would with his own children someday, the way any parent would with a sick child.

The mask of the snarky Potions Master had vanished as if it had never been.

Harry drew away, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, and returned to the table. How many masks do you wear, Severus Snape? He wondered. And why didn’t I ever see this side of you until now? Surely there must have been signs, how had he missed them? Perhaps because you never cared to look before? His conscience reproved. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Harry darted a glance at the hallway. He couldn’t hear Severus humming any more. Too bad. That humming was so very soothing . . .it had nearly put Harry to sleep. Merlin, but I wish I’d had somebody to hum me to sleep when I was sick that way, the young Auror thought with a sudden flash of resentment. How many times did I end up in the Hospital Wing hurt or sick and everybody sent me candy and cards, but not once did they ever do what Snape did for that kid in there. Not even Dumbledore, God rest his soul, ever did that for me. It would have been nice . . .just once. Certainly Severus never did anything like that for me, damn him! Then he gasped and sat up. What was wrong with him? He was losing it, it was the stress. That was the only reason he was sitting here thinking these stupid thoughts, wishing for something he’d never had from Severus Snape, of all people. He didn’t even like the man.

He jumped about a foot when Severus’s hand touched his shoulder. “Huh?”

“Easy, Potter. You were falling asleep in your plate of potato chips, you know.” Snape remarked mischievously.

“I was?” he repeated stupidly. Merlin, but he was so tired!

“Yes. Why don’t you go and take a nap on the couch? You’re out on your feet.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure.” Harry mumbled, yawning. “Haven’t slept too much since Ginny went missing, y’know.”

“I figured as much,” Severus said with a touch of sympathy in his tone. “No wonder you’re cranky.”

Harry scowled, wanting to reply to that, but for some reason his tongue wasn’t working properly. He felt an arm under his shoulder, tugging him somewhere, and he followed. Next thing he knew he was lying down on a soft cushion and someone had put a blanket over him.

“Ginny?” he mumbled, blinking sleepily.

“Go to sleep, Potter,” a familiar voice ordered. “I’ll wake you when I hear anything new.”

Harry sighed, then his eyes closed in spite of himself and he slept.

Severus sighed and removed the other’s glasses, setting them on the end table. Two of them, God help me! Why me?