Harry made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, troubled and heartsick. A part of him longed to turn around and return to the dungeons, knock on Severus' door and tell the professor that he had changed his mind and wanted to accept the offer of guardianship. But another part, the wary, worried, distrustful cynical part, warned him that if he did that, he might ruin the relationship he already had with the potions professor. Harry didn't want things to deteriorate back to what they had been before the troll attack, and he was afraid that if Snape had to live with him all the time, he might resent Harry for being in the way, like the Dursleys always had. Please, Sev. Please understand. I know you said you weren't mad, but how could you not be? I'm kind of mad at myself, because I'm so damn scared to take a chance on you. But I can't help it. I want to but . . .

When he entered the common room, he found Percy assisting a second year with her Charms homework, Fred and George muttering over a chessboard, and Ron studying something for once. Hermione was busy taking some more donations and putting them in a box.

Harry was tired from detention and didn't want to be caught coming in by anyone, prefect or friends alike. Of course, it was just his luck that Ron would looking up when Harry entered the portrait hole.

"Hey, Harry. How was detention with Tall, Dark, and Beaky?"

"Okay. I scrubbed lots of cauldrons."

"That's Snape's standard detention. He loves making you scrub your fingers to the bone," Ron said.

"Tell me about it." Harry chuckled.

"How about Malfoy? Did he polish his nails while you scrubbed, huh?" sneered the redhead.

"No. He got in big trouble with the professor for almost killing his raven."

Everyone in the common room froze. Then all of them began to babble at once.

"Killed Snape's familiar . . .?"

"But why would he do something so stupid?"

"Poor Skull!"

"Malfoy needs to be taken down a peg."

"Wicked brat!"

"So . . .what sort of punishment did Malfoy get?" asked Ron.

Harry grinned. "The best kind. Snape's going to tell his mum."

"Ooo!" cheered some.

"Malfoy's gonna get the Howler of the century!" hooted Fred and George.

"Serves the little brat right."

"I think he ought to be beaten." Sniffed a blond third year girl. "Cruelty to a familiar is a crime."

"Hear! Hear!" Percy agreed.

"Malfoy is asking to get pranked—" George began.

"—big time. Because nobody messes with our feathered brother Skull!" Fred finished.

Several people cheered at that. The twins' revenge pranks were legendary.

Harry was surprised that the Gryffindors could feel so much compassion for the Slytherin Head's familiar. But then again, the rascally raven seemed to cross House boundaries with impunity, and won the hearts of almost all he came into contact with. Harry approached Hermione, and asked how she was doing with the donations.

"Very well, I think. I haven't counted it all yet, but I have something from almost everyone," the witch reported, smiling.

"You'll have my donation by the weekend." Harry promised. "I just have to make a withdrawal from Gringotts." He hoped Snape would recall that he had promised Harry a trip to Diagon Alley. Harry didn't want to harp on the promise, because Severus usually got annoyed over that sort of thing.

"That's good, Harry. Hopefully, this will be enough for Madam Pince to make a start on either replacing the books or the shelves." Hermione said. "I heard that not all the library was damaged. That the Restricted Section was still standing, because it had the strongest charms on it and was in the opposite direction of the troll when it entered the library."

"Really? Whew! I didn't know that," Harry said. At least the most dangerous books were still safe.

He debated upon whether or not to tell his new friends about Severus' offer. In the end, he decided to keep mum about it awhile longer. He still felt uncomfortable discussing his home life and in order to mention the offer he would have to explain about how the Dursleys hated him and all. Very awkward and embarrassing. Not to mention that Harry wished to forget they ever existed while he was at school. They were part of the ordinary humdrum world and this was part of the wondrous magical world that he had always been denied and he had no wish to mingle them. Bad enough that Snape, Dumbledore, and Poppy knew.

"Well, I'm off to bed," Harry said, smothering a yawn. "G'night."

"Good night, Harry." Hermione said.

"Wait!" Ron called. "You never said if Skull was okay."

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "You care? Thought you didn't like him."

Ron shrugged. "He's a pain in the arse. But then, so are my brothers and I still like them. Is he?"

"Yeah. The professor made sure Skull was all right. Then he ripped Malfoy a new one."

"Good. He needs it." No love was lost between Ron and Draco, since Draco continually twitted Ron about being poor and broke.

Harry yawned again, then headed upstairs to bed. He needed to be rested for class tomorrow and then the detention in the library tomorrow night.

The next evening:

Irma Pince had been the unquestioned Head Librarian of Hogwarts ever since she was twenty five years old and the old Head, Persephone Dewey, had retired. She had seen countless students come and go, and some professors as well, but her one constant was her books. Whatever upheaval was going on in the world outside the library, from World War II to Voldemort, she could always count on her library to provide her with both information and a sanctuary. To Irma, there was no more beautiful thing than a book newly printed and bound, and no more beautiful scents than parchment, ink, and leather. After being cruelly rejected as a young witch and her heart broken by a careless Gryffindor suitor, Irma had sought solace in her beloved books, and came to the realization that books were more faithful and better companions than people. She never forgave or forgot her experience with so-called young love, and chased away any other would-be suitors with her sharp tongue and stiff manner. Books were safer. They had no ego to bruise and no book ever looked at her and compared her to a stork. Books were never arrogant or fickle, they remained the same and provided her with the same level of entertainment as they had the first time she read them.

Thus, the loss of so many precious volumes was totally disheartening and depressing for her. Even the offer of several of the professors to replace some volumes from their own personal collection couldn't alleviate the feeling of loss. She felt as if her children had died. Or her home had been vandalized. In a way both those things had occurred, and she was not handling it well at all. She snapped at her colleagues or otherwise remained mute and brooding at the staff table. She was usually busy cataloguing or dusting or ordering new books from the current Library Digest. Now she found it difficult to clean up the debris, and had taken to swallowing a pain potion just to get through the rest of the day.

She started to wonder if she ought to contact her niece, Lena Rosario, her sister Eden's daughter, who had been taking courses on how to become a librarian at a magical school. Lena was a former Ravenclaw, and also a skilled mind mistress, her father was an Oxford professor who had educated his daughter about everything and anything. But Lena knew the inner workings of the library better than most apprentices. She knew spells for preserving and mending books, protecting them with charms and hiding them from overeager children. She had a photographic memory for books and place names and she enjoyed her aunt's company.

Irma nibbled on a fingernail and contemplated calling upon her next of kin for help. Lena would come, she loved books as much as Irma did. She had learned to read at three and had never stopped. And with a knowledgeable apprentice around, she could relax a bit and delegate some of the tougher jobs to her apprentice.

Yes, maybe she'd call Lena, since she felt so drawn and tired.

She pulled out a precious piece of parchment and began to write.

By the time she had posted the letter in the mail it was nearly time for Severus to bring his wretched brats there for detention.

It was then that the boxes of books and purses of money began arriving.

Irma just stopped and stared at the parliament of owls arriving and descending to deliver the packages. For one moment she could not comprehend the deluge of mail, and then she received a letter from the Headmaster informing her that all of these packages were donations for the library from students. Every single one, and more would be arriving daily.

She put a hand to her mouth, overwhelmed. Apparently, she was not the only one who enjoyed the sanctuary of the library. Overcome, she looked at all of the donations and wept.

But only for a few moments. Then the administrator in her took over and she began to use her wand to collect and count the money, transferring it to a special lock box where it would be deposited into her account, so she could use the funds to purchase more books and other necessities. Then she carefully placed the boxes of books in a cleared section behind her desk, where she could examine them and spell tag them.

Severus arrived soon after this and asked if she had received his donation of books yet.

"I, yes, I believe so." Irma said, her eyes still wide in astonishment. "Thank you. I . . .am amazed that so many students have sent money and books, that they care about the library . . ."

"Did I not tell you, Irma, that you weren't the only one in the castle who worships the written word?" Severus asked gently. "Perhaps next time you'll believe me." He gestured to his two students. "Potter and Malfoy here are at your disposal for the evening. Tell them where you would like them to begin cleaning."

Pince quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat. Misbehaving students she could handle. "Right." She handed each of them a feather duster and broom and shovel. "Go to the far right hand corner of the library, you'll find plenty of dust and dirt to keep you occupied."

"Yes, Madam Pince," the two muttered respectfully, then they departed.

Snape watched them go, frowning. Then he spoke to his familiar. "Skull, keep an eye on them."

The raven on his shoulder ruffled his glossy black feathers and sprang aloft, cawing, "At once, my captain!" Then he circled over the books and flew off.

"Severus, is that bird housebroken?" Irma asked.

"Of course. Skull would never harm a book. Ravens know the value of knowledge," replied Snape, a bit peeved. But then he said, "Would you like some assistance cataloguing those recent acquisitions?"

"Please." The librarian said happily. She knew that Severus was efficient and familiar with the system, having once worked over the summer as a sixth year as her assistant.

The two began removing books from the boxes.

Meanwhile, Harry had reached the corner and had begun sweeping the mounds of dust and wood chips into the dustpan. He recalled that this was the place Snape had battled the troll, and suppressed a shiver. The familiar table and chair where he used to study had been smashed to pieces, some of what he was sweeping now were the remnants of that. He had taken off his robes, placing them carefully atop a bookshelf after he'd dusted it off, since you couldn't sweep well in them.

Dust swirled thickly through the air making him sneeze. A few feet away, Malfoy was coughing and rubbing his eyes. Harry gamely swiped at the dust cloud and found that most of the dust clung to the feather duster. He then tucked the duster in his jeans and continued sweeping. While he cleaned, he thought about whether or not to accept Severus' offer. He also thought about Christmas, and how, for the first time ever, he had friends to buy presents for. He wondered what Ron and Hermione would like. He even thought about buying a gift for Severus and Skull.

Suddenly he heard the brief flap of wings as Skullduggery alighted upon a shelf. The raven gave him a brief nod and settled down to observe.

Malfoy scowled at the bird but refrained from saying anything. He hated all the bloody chores he had to do, but most of all he hated the dark-haired boy working a few feet from him. Potter had humiliated him and made him get in trouble with not only his fellow Slytherins and Snape, but also his mother. He had not gotten a letter or a Howler from her, and thought that maybe Snape hadn't sent the report to her as he'd promised. But a part of him doubted it. Snape never threatened, he promised.

If Narcissa had received the letter, would she tell Lucius about it? Draco winced. Lucius ' number one rule was never get caught misbehaving in public. In private you could do anything you could get away with. But perhaps Narcissa would keep this to herself, since Lucius was away. He wished he had his wand back, there were dozens of petty annoying humiliating jinxes he could cast that would make Potter sorry.

But right then the most he could do was throw shovelfuls of dust on Potter's half of the floor, making his task that much dirtier and longer. And the oblivious Gryffindor didn't notice anything. Draco smirked slyly.

Until Skullduggery shrieked, "Sabotage!" and flew from his perch, circling above Malfoy's head.

"Get off, bird!" squeaked the blond boy, and went to cover his head, for Skull's beak was very sharp and he'd been known to nip a student's ear.

Harry turned around to see what had set the raven off and saw mounds of dust all over the floor he'd just spent the past half hour cleaning. "Malfoy, you prat!"

Before Draco could say anything else, Skullduggery cackled and cried, "Bombs away!"

SPLAT!

"Ugh!" Malfoy yelled, then began pawing frantically at his head, which now had a disgusting mess of bird poop all over it.

"Hoo! New fashion trend, aye?" the raven sniggered. "Serves you right." Then he flew in spirals above the pair.

Harry started to chuckle in spite of himself, though he normally wouldn't have laughed at another's misfortune like that. But the raven's quirky sense of justice was too funny.

"Shut up, Potter! Just shut up!" Draco howled, tearing off his robes and scrubbing frantically at his head.

"Scrub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub, and what have you done to your hair?" the raven mocked.

Draco shook a fist at the black bird, muttering swear words under his breath. Bloody raven! He wished it would drop dead.

Harry turned back to his part of the floor, and began cleaning again. He thought about chucking the dust back on Malfoy's side but didn't want to have a dust war and risk getting in even more trouble. Plus, he wanted to help fix the library, not make it worse. So he swept and dusted as quickly as he could, and by the time three hours had gone by, had cleared almost the whole corner of the library.

A sulky Malfoy had managed less than half of that.

Harry was dusting the bookshelf when Snape came to see what progess had been made. "Not bad," was all he said. "Give your cleaning supplies back to Madam Pince, you're done for tonight. Tomorrow is your final detention, I expect you to be at my office promptly. Mr. Potter, you are dismissed."

Harry turned and looked at his teacher. "Yes, sir. Professor Snape, may I ask—"

"Ask me tomorrow, Potter." Severus said impatiently. "Unless it's an emergency?"

"No, sir. It can wait." Harry said, he had been intending to remind Snape about the visit to Diagon Alley. But it could wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow was Thursday. "Good night, Professor." He grabbed his robes from the top of the shelf and started walking up the stacks.

"Night, Harry! Sleep tight, don't let the boggarts bite!" Skull called after him.

Harry blushed and Malfoy smothered a laugh. Until Draco looked up at his professor, who was frowning. "My office, Malfoy. Now."

"But-but sir . . .I didn't do anything . . ."

Snape did not reply, merely started walking.

Draco followed, puzzled and angry. He dropped his supplies off at Pince's desk, apprehension curdling in his stomach. Surely Snape couldn't know about the dust he'd thrown on the floor?

Severus opened the office door and gestured Draco inside.

Draco walked in . . .and saw Narcissa standing there. She did not look happy at all. "Mother!" he smiled weakly.

"Draco." She did not smile back. His name fairly dripped disapproval.

"Somebody's in trouble!" Skull hissed from Snape's shoulder.

"Hush, Skullduggery!" ordered Severus.

"Professor Snape, if you will excuse us? I need to have a talk with my son." Narcissa said coolly.

Severus nodded and closed the door of the office behind him.

"Mother, I can explain . . ."began Draco.

"Can you?" her tone was like ice, and so was her face. She reminded him of a queen passing judgment upon a traitor. "What explanation can you give me, Draco Lucius Malfoy, for disrespecting your Head of House, and casting forbidden curses upon a fellow student? For nearly harming Professor Snape's familiar in a fit of petty jealousy?"

"It was Potter's fault, Mother!"

"Oh, really? You were the one holding the wand, young man. The curse came out of your mouth. I had thought you told me you didn't wish to be like your father, and use dark magic, Draco. Have you suddenly changed your mind? Do you wish to follow in his footsteps after all?" She had dragged Snape's chair out from behind his desk and was sitting in it.

Draco shook his head. "No!"

"Then why hex someone like that?"

"He was annoying me."

"That is no excuse. I am ashamed to see that you behave no better than an uneducated lout, breaking school rules and then being disrespectful to your professor. That is not how I taught you to behave. Professor Snape has given you plenty of chances to improve your attitude and you still behaved abominably. Just like a headstrong Gryffindor."

He hung his head. "I'm sorry, Mother."

She shook her head slowly. "I had thought you had learned to behave with restraint and decorum, as befits an heir to a great House. Your father would be furious to find out that you had disgraced the family by allowing a mere Muggle raised boy to get the better of you."

"Did you tell him?"

"No. Since Professor Snape wrote to me specifically about this matter, I chose to handle it myself."

"Oh." Draco felt his breath woosh out in relief.

Then she continued. "Do not think that means you'll be getting away with anything, young man. You say you don't wish to become a dark wizard, and yet that is where you're headed. Straight down the dark road." She did not say "like your father", but it was implied.

He paled. "No! I'm not like that! I'm not!"

"Are you sorry for what you've done?"

"Yes."

"Why? Because of me or because you know it was wrong?"

" I . . .both," he stared at the ground.

"Look me in the eye and say it."

He did and she saw, to her relief, that he did seem genuinely sorry. "I promised myself long ago that no child of mine would go dark. Your father believes otherwise. He believes the mistakes of the fathers continue to the next generation. Not me. You are not above the rules, Draco. Or the consequences. I warned you about behaving before you got on the train this year, didn't I?"

He swallowed hard. "Yes, Mother."

"Remember, you have no one to blame but yourself." She crooked a finger at him.

Severus was at his desk in the classroom, waiting for Narcissa to finish lecturing and punishing her son. She had contacted him early this morning and told him she would be coming down to deal with her son that evening. She had apologized to him and promised to impress upon Draco the error of his ways. From the sound of things inside the office, she was keeping her word, and doling out a firm smacking, something that Severus felt the spoiled eleven-year-old badly needed. Yelps and sniveling came from beyond the closed door, Severus could hear the whole thing despite the Privacy wards because he had set them.

He tried to concentrate upon the homework he had left to grade, but found it impossible. Deserved or not, it made him recall bad memories from his childhood, and after a moment he set his quill down and tried to meditate to keep the shadows at bay. Skull preened and groomed his wizard's hair, sensing the man's unease. The raven made an odd sort of sound, like a cross between a purr and a hum, which he knew soothed his wizard when Snape was agitated. For all his flippant attitude, the raven loved his bondmate and hated to see him hurt or upset.

Severus reached up and scratched behind the raven's head, murmuring, "Thank you, Skull." He had long ago quit marveling at how uncannily perceptive the raven was. Skullduggery was one of a kind.

Five minutes later, a chastened Draco emerged from the office, followed by Narcissa. "Severus, my son has something he wishes to say to you."

"I'm sorry, Professor Snape, for my horrible behavior. And for hurting your familiar. I'll try and behave from now on." His blue-gray eyes were wet with tears.

Snape withdrew a handkerchief and handed it to him. "I would certainly hope so, Draco. You're forgiven, just don't let it happen again. It's getting close to curfew. Say goodbye to your mother and get back to your dormitory."

Draco turned and hugged Narcissa, who kissed his forehead and murmured, "Be good, my little dragonling. Study hard and make me proud."

"I will, Mum." Her son promised, then he turned and headed out of the office. Only when he was out of sight did he pause to rub his stinging bottom. Narcissa was not brutal in her punishments like Lucius, but by Merlin she was thorough! He would be sleeping on his stomach tonight for sure. He headed back to the Slytherin portrait hole, vowing to never get on his mother's bad side again. He had just enough time to take a shower before going to bed.

Back in the office, Narcissa told Severus that Draco still needed to write an apology to Harry for nearly killing him. "Please make sure he does so, and if not, tell him I shall be back here again and make what I gave him tonight look like love taps." She shook her head. "Sometimes, Severus, I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. Lucius is so . . .influential, Draco looks up to him even when he knows his father is wrong. I'm not sure if I can counter Lucius' presence. But I don't want my son to go dark, Severus. I don't want him to become hard and cold, to serve an evil despot. That way lies madness and death."

He patted her shoulder lightly. "I think you're doing a fine job, Cissy. Between the two of us, we'll keep him on the straight and narrow. Tonight I had him serving detention in the library, helping to repair it."

"Draco wrote me that the library had been badly damaged when a troll rampaged through it. He told me you nearly died saving Harry Potter from it."

"Died? Hardly," scoffed Snape. "I ended up with a broken arm and a mild concussion. The library, however, fared poorly. Irma lost nearly half her books and furniture."

"That's terrible!" Narcissa said. "Might I make a contribution?" She reached into her purse. "Would five hundred Galleons be sufficient?"

Severus' eyebrows rose into his hair. "I would say so. That's very generous, Cissy."

She shrugged. "It's better to spend the Malfoy money on the library than on some dark purpose."

"Just make the donation anonymous," Snape told her. "Irma's pride is so touchy these days."

"Of course." Narcissa placed a bag upon the desk and then cast a Featherlight charm on it. "Will your raven deliver this?"

"Yes. Skullduggery, take this to Madam Pince." Severus told his familiar.

"Be back in a flash," said the raven, then he hopped down and took the large bag in his claws, then soared into the air with it.

"I have to be going. Have a good evening, Severus, and don't hesitate to contact me again if Draco keeps misbehaving."

"I would hope that he has learned his lesson. Good night, Narcissa."

He watched the witch step through the Floo and vanish into the green flames. Then he locked up his office and took his papers back with him to his quarters. He would finish marking them there.

"Mission accomplished, Sev," Skullduggery announced as he flew down upon the Potion Master's shoulder.

Severus turned his head and did something he rarely did. He smiled.

Then he whispered the password to his quarters and slipped inside. Hopefully, Draco would settle down now and he could concentrate upon protecting Harry more and helping Irma catalogue her books. Between that and classes and refereeing that bloody Quidditch match, it was going to be a busy November.