Last time:

Severus smirked briefly at the shocked look on the boy's face. Then he saw the book in Potter's hands. Instead of getting angry, as one might expect him to, he decided a bit of humor was in order. Putting on a stern face, he crossed his arms over his chest. He then stated in an emotionless voice "Enjoying ourselves are we?" The reaction wasn't one he hoped for, as the boy's brilliant green eyes seemed to shutter over.

At the words Snape said, Harry felt a pang of fear and anger course through him. Maybe he had only imagined the concerned look that the man had given him during the rescue. Either way, he had been about to consider softening his attitude towards the man. Instead, he drew back into himself while snapping angrily "And what's it to you if I am...sir?" Despite the fact that Snape had never physically hurt him, the anger that briefly crossed the man's face at the blatant disrespect had Harry shuddering mentally. He only then realized that he probably should have stayed silent, for now he was in deep trouble.

Severus gritted his teeth as he forced himself to be calm. It wouldn't do to lose his temper just then, as the boy seemed insecure enough already. Even so, the Potions Master couldn't let such disrespect go unpunished. Perhaps grounding Potter in his room would be in order, at least for the day. Drawing himself up he said in an icy tone "As you cannot open your mouth without sounding entirely juvenile, you will stay in this room until you can show proper respect. I suggest you use your time to think about your actions." With that, Severus stalked out, closing the door silently. The only sound was his billowing robes as he walked away.

Harry felt his stomach clench in shame. He hadn't meant to be disrespectful. But it seemed as if he was always letting his mouth run before he thought things through. Snape hadn't seemed angry that he'd been reading one of the books that had been put in that room to be read in the first place. Something about the man always seemed to get Harry's hackles up, but also feel disappointed that the man didn't like him. Sighing, the boy got up and went to his trunk. Rummaging around, he finally found what he'd been looking for. A knife, faintly stained red but without a single trace of rust on it. Taking this, Harry headed for the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

Removing his pajama top, the boy froze slightly as he realized the scars were showing. The Glamour had fallen without him doing anything! Cursing vehemently, Harry drew his consciousness into himself and down to where his magic was. What he found there caused him to continue cursing. "Damn you Vernon. Why did you have to do that? Why?" muttered the child. Looking at his appearance in the mirror, he traced along the scars that went from his shoulder down his chest. He stopped when he reached the joining scar, realizing that there was something that hadn't been there before. A birthmark in the shape of a feline's paw-print. How very odd, mused Harry.

***

Severus cursed mentally at the brat's inability to be respectful. When he reached his study room, he sighed; a sound he would never let anyone, especially not a student, hear him make. Going over to where there was always a pot of his favorite coffee waiting, he poured himself a cup. The strong scent of the potent Turkish coffee reached his nostrils, heady in it's intensity. Though fairly sweet, the liquid was at boiling temperature so was often served with cold water to cleanse the pallet and allow the drinker to taste it better. Unlike most though, Sev took his coffee without the usual Turkish delight or chocolate sticks, preferring the strong drink alone so as to better appreciate it's complex taste.

It was while he was slowly relaxing that his Floo activated. A head appeared, belonging of course to the Headmaster. Albus asked "I need to talk to you, Severus. Would you kindly take down your wards so I may come through?" The Potions Master did so, his face set in a grim line. When the Old Meddler came through, it was all Sev could do not to tear into him for his neglect of Potter. It wouldn't do to seem concerned about the boy he had shown nothing but contempt for in the last four years.

"Severus, do you...." began Albus, but the raven-haired man cut him off. Severus sneered "Do I know where Potter is? Indeed I do. He's in my guest room, or at least he should be. And why should you care Albus? After all, you're the one who left him at Number Four with only guards to watch him on the outside!" The black eyes were glittering with rage, while mentally Sev berated himself for getting worked up. So much for not showing that he cared about the brat.

Albus looked surprised at first, then a bit pleased that his most prickly employee was showing his caring side. He asked "Why should it matter if Harry only had guards on the outside? He is safest at his aunt's house." Severus gritted his teeth as a wave of rage swept through him. He said in a deadly cold voice "Wrong, Headmaster. Except for directly in the Dark Lord's clutches, Number Four was the worse place for your precious savior." The discussion went on, with Albus being firmly told off by Sev for his neglect. To give credit to the Headmaster, he did pale when he was told what had happened to Harry. When Albus finally left, the Potions Master went to prepare dinner, a little shaky after the exchange.

***

How long Harry stood there, just staring at the odd mark, the boy didn't know. But he finally shook himself out of his reverie. He fingered the blade in his hands, asking himself if he wished to resort to such a barbaric form of release. Memories flooded him suddenly, deciding him. Putting the blade on the beginning of the scar on one side, he drew down it just hard enough to cause it to bleed. As he started to go down the other scar however, the door to the bedroom banged open loudly. This startled him badly enough that he dug the knife in a lot harder then he meant to.

Hissing with pain and surprise, Harry tried to stem the heavier flow of blood from the bad cut. It was a useless effort, and Harry sat down to try and heal himself with his magic. It was slower then normal, and he paled considerably as he realized he might pass out before the healing was over. Then the knob began to rattle. Whoever was on the other side cursed, and muttered a swift "Alohomora!" unlocking the door. As it opened, the Potions Master was framed in the door way. The stunned look on Snape's face would have been hilarious at any other time, but Harry knew his secret was out. Then the blood loss was too much, and he began to fall. It was with irony that his last conscious thought was to realize the wound had healed just at that precise moment.