With two buckets full of his latest acquisition from the greenhouses, thanks to Professor Sprout's notification earlier during lunch, Severus began the trek back towards his quarters to place the recently cultivated plants in his potion's storeroom. As he stepped from the grass to the cobblestone steps in front of one of the side entrances to the castle, a sharp pain in his left forearm shocked him into almost dropping the two buckets. While grimacing, he placed the buckets in his left hand, gripped his forearm with his right and rushed down to his quarters. Not more than three minutes later, he deposited the buckets on his desk, grabbed his Death Eater attire, and made his way to the apparition point.

Severus returned to the grounds of Hogwarts two hours later with his Death Eater robes and mask in his hand. Upon entering the castle, he slowly made his way up to the Headmaster's office, wincing every few steps. He stopped in front of the stone gargoyle and closed his eyes, wanting to revel in a few pain free seconds. He then slowly opened his eyes and muttered Dumbledore's latest password. "Pop rocks."

At the password, the stone gargoyle sprung aside to reveal the spiral staircase that led to the headmaster's office. Severus, who would normally walk up the moving staircase, stepped onto the first step and let the staircase slowly bring him up to the top. He was too weak and in pain to walk any more than he had to. After stepping off the staircase, he stopped in front of the huge oak door. He was about to reach for the brass griffin knocker when he heard the Headmaster beckon him inside and the door started to open. When the space was wide enough, Severus entered the office and took a seat in the nearest chair.

Before Severus could even open his mouth to begin speaking, the Headmaster began talking. "Severus, my dear boy, you look dreadful." He looked to the Death Eater clothing that Severus placed on the chair next to him and pulled a vial out from his desk drawer. "Here," he held out the vial for Severus. "This should help."

Severus took the vial and immediately downed its contents, though doing so was a great sacrifice to his reputation. At this point all he wanted was the pain to go away. He just hoped that the Headmaster wouldn't think any less of him for taking the potion. "Thank you Headmaster," he said with relief, then sank back into the chair.

Dumbledore smiled at Severus and placed the vial back in his drawer. Upon the drawer closing, the vial replenished itself; at the ready for the next time it would be needed. "I am going to assume that since you came straight here instead of your quarters that something of great importance happened at today's meeting. Am I correct in my assumption Severus?"

"Yes, Headmaster." Severus sat up in his chair. "A few things of importance happened. The Dark Lord has suspicions about some of his followers. He believes there to be spies among them. I do not know for sure if he suspect me, but if I can judge by the curses and the length of the curses he gave some of us, I'm going to assume he suspects me."

"I'm sorry to hear that Severus." The twinkle in his eye disappeared and he leaned forward with elbows on his desk, chin resting on steepled fingers. His tone became serious. "I have thought about this for quite some time. There is no need…"

Severus broke in, having an idea what the Headmaster was going to allude to. "If you are going to suggest that I stop being a spy for the Order to keep me alive, and you think I would actually do as you please, then you are sorely mistaken, old man."

"The Order has many ways of obtaining information about the Dark Lord's plans, Severus. We are in no need for a spy if it comes with the cost of that spy's life."

"There are other ways of obtaining information?" Severus questions sarcastically, knowing the realistic answer was no.

"Yes, Severus."

Severus held the headmaster's gaze for a few seconds. Unwilling to believe the old man actually believed that to be true. "If so then tell me, Headmaster, did you know that the Dark Lord has been planning for an attack some time in January right at this very school? Did you know that he's having the Death Eater's children attending Hogwarts convey to their parents any weaknesses with gaining entrance into the grounds and castle?"

Dumbledore didn't say a word.

Severus stood up and began pacing the office, the pain he was still in even after consuming the potion, gone from his mind. "Of course you didn't. How could you possibly know? Only a spy could know. Only a spy within the Death Eater ranks can relay the information the Order would need to finally destroy the Dark Lord. The Order needs all the help…"

"You forget one important fact, Severus. It is not up to the Order to destroy the Dark Lord. The Order can only help. It is up to Harry Potter."

Severus whirled around, eyes glaring at the Headmaster. "It is not up to a dimwitted sixteen year-old boy."

"You heard part of the prophecy all those years ago, Severus, and then the entire prophecy earlier this year."

The realization of what Harry had to accomplish was now having more an affect on Severus than he thought possible, even with his jumbled and confusing thoughts on the boy. He swallowed the lump in his throat at Dumbledore's words.

"It was prophesized, and it has to be done that way," the Headmaster continued. "There are no other options, my boy."

Severus nodded at the old man, and slowly made his way back to the chair and sat down, wanting this part of the conversation to be over. He'd have more time for this discussion once he made sense of his conflicting thoughts of Harry. He cleared his throat. "Headmaster, on to the more important task at hand."

"Yes, the attack on the school next month."

"What are you planning to do, Headmaster?"

"I've actually been planning something myself, in the event something like this would happen. I will be strengthening the wards around the school during the holiday break."

"What a novel idea," Severus remarked sarcastically with a sneer plastered on his face. "There's only one problem."

"I can not perform the spell while there are students and professors staying inside. I know that Severus. That is why I've been in contact with the parents of all the students planning to stay here for the holidays. Arrangements have been made to have the students go home with their parents, or if that is not possible, to stay with the family of one of their friends for the holiday. I have run in to one problem, however."

"Let me guess. Mr. Potter." Of course it had to be Potter. That boy was always causing problems.

"Correct. Since he would be the only student left, I would let him stay here. However, because the wards are to protect him, him presence in the school will affect the spell in a negative way."

"So, what is the problem then? Surely his relatives won't mind having their nephew stay with them for the holidays."

"I've tried to get in contact with them, with no positive results. When I met with them, they said they were going out of town for the holidays and had only planned on the three of them. When I mentioned that Harry could be brought to where they were staying, they then said they didn't want to see him until the summer holiday like originally agreed to. They finished the conversation saying they didn't want to have, and I'm saying this in their words Severus, that burden of a boy, that freak, in their house for more than absolutely necessary."

Severus tried not to react to the words. He was angry, very angry actually, at how Harry's relatives referred to him and the fact that it didn’t seem to bother Albus in the least. And he was angry with himself for feeling angry. Only once he calmed his emotions, did he decide to speak. "Did you happen to explain to them why it was necessary for him to leave the school?"

"Yes. They still did not want him back. They said the greater the likelihood Harry would never come back to their house, the better."

Severus was outraged. He wanted to immediately go to the Dursley's and ring their necks. How could anyone say that about their own family? But he also wanted to celebrate. There were others who felt the same hatred towards Potter as he did. At both those thoughts, he began to feel sick. Severus stood up while trying to push all those thoughts to the back of his mind. "Well, then you've got a problem now don't you. If you need my assistance in coming up with possible solutions for Potter's stay during the holidays, let me know. I'm now going to retire to my quarters."

"Of course Severus. But before you do so, please stop by the hospital wing and have Madam Pomfrey take a look at all those cuts on your face."

Nodding, Severus walked out of Dumbledore's office. He had no intention of stopping by the hospital wing. He was fully capable of tending to his injuries himself. He instead headed straight for his quarters.

Upon entering, Severus put away his Death Eater attire, tended to his injuries and sat on the sofa in front of the roaring fire. It was dinner time, but he had no intention of showing up in the Great Hall for the meal. Instead he summoned a house elf to bring the meal to his quarters.

While eating, he thought about the feelings he had while up in the Headmaster's office. He noticed he didn't have as much hatred toward Harry as he had in the past. That surprised him and scared him at the same time. He began to realize he liked the fact that he didn't hate Harry as much, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, even if his life depended on it.

After finishing his meal and having some thought about it, he decided that with his current feelings, he would spend the rest of the weekend with his real memories. Only his real memories. He planned, after all, to spend the remaining weekend holed up in his lab brewing potions or just relaxing. There was no need to worry about running into anyone. He would swap out his altered memories and only have the real one's, which currently resided in the little bottle in his desk, for the next thirty hours. He would then return all his memories to their current state upon waking Monday morning.

Satisfied, though a little unsure with his decision, he went to his desk, retrieved the bottle and sat back down on the sofa. He stared at the contents for a few seconds before uncorking the bottle and placing the stopper on the side table. He withdrew his wand from his robes with a slight shaking of his hand, then swapped his memories.

~SH~

When the sun rose on Sunday morning, Harry was lying on his bed wide awake. He had been up for hours thanks to his troubling and reoccurring nightmares. Deciding it was late enough to start the day, he quietly got up and headed to the bathroom to take a shower, making sure to not wait up his dorm mates. When he walked out to the dorm room forty-five minutes later, everyone was up and gone from the room. He walked over to his trunk and was about to throw his dirty clothes inside when he remembered he needed to leave them out for the house-elves to clean. Instead, he threw them on his unmade bed and headed down the stairs for breakfast. He was starving. The previous night he had gotten upset with Ron and Hermione and stormed out of dinner with only having a few bites.

Upon entering the Great Hall, he took a seat at a large empty space at the Gryffindor table. He had just finished scooping scrambled eggs on his plate when Ron and Hermione sat down next to him. Harry glared at the two and made to get up and leave.

"Harry, sit down," begged Ron, grabbing a hold of Harry's arm to keep him from leaving.

"We need to talk about what's been going on Harry," Hermione added.

Harry grimaced at Ron's grasp. He knew his friend didn't have a strong grip on him, but his arm began to ache. Harry looked between his two friends and reluctantly sat down. "Fine. What?" he questioned shortly.

"What is going on with you Harry?" Ron questioned.

"Ron!" Hermione interrupted, giving the red-head an exasperated look. "Let me handle this please."

"Fine. Go right ahead." Ron then shoveled a piece of toast in his mouth while Hermione began speaking.

"Harry, what Ron was trying to ask, though not in a very good way, was, are you alright? You haven't really been acting like yourself since term started and we're both concerned. You always seem to be mad at us. Which I might say, we have no clue as to why. And you're always short with us."

After Hermione finished, Harry looked to Ron who was nodding his head in agreement with Hermione. He looked back to Hermione, unable to believe they were confronting him on this. Could they be so stupid that they didn't know? "How can you honestly say you haven't any idea why I'm like this?"

"We don't Harry," Hermione began. "That's why we're asking. We're worried about you."

"I would say that I don't want to hurt your feelings with what I'm about to say, but that is no longer true. It is you. Both of you. Both of you are making me the way I am."

"I don't understand Harry. What have Ron and I done to you? Please tell us so we can change and make everything go back to the way it was before the term started."

Harry stared at his two friends while thinking of how to put in to words what he'd been feeling the past few months. He took a breath and began. "I've always been used to being invisible and having to pretend like I don't exist whenever I'm with the Dursley's. That's not supposed to happen while I'm at Hogwarts…with my friends." At Hermione's questioning look Harry continued. "I didn't need to feel like I didn't exist at the beginning of term. I really needed my friends. But they ignored me. And it has continued ever since."

"We didn't ignore you mate," Ron stated.

"Ron, please," Hermione interrupted. "I said, let me handle this." At his nod, she turned her attention back to Harry. "Why do you think we ignored you?"

"Various reasons actually. And it's not just ignoring either. I don't seem to be wanted around or included in things." Harry ignored the hurt look from Hermione. How she could feel hurt was beyond him. It wasn't like he was doing things to them. "You both always don't seem to see me around. We'll be walking from class to class and I try talking to you and it's like I'm not even there. You're both constantly whispering to each other and making plans for the two of you only. Even during the Hogsmeade weekend a while back. You asked me to join you, but everything you were doing was based just on the two of you. I'm beginning to feel like you two don't want me as a friend anymore."

Hermione was speechless. She couldn't believe what Harry was thinking.

Harry took Hermione's silence as a sign and got up to leave the room. "Guess I'm right."

"Harry please. No, it's not like that!" Hermione cried, and she watched Harry slowly turn around. "Please, sit back down and let me try to explain."

Taking a seat a little farther from his friends, Harry looked over to Hermione. "Fine. Explain."

"This is hard to explain. We've been acting the way we have because…well…because Ron and I finally concluded during the summer that we like each other and wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend. We can't seem to stand being apart from each other. It's a feeling we both have never experienced before and I'm sorry, but we can't help it."

Harry turned away from his friends feeling a little jealous and hurt, and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice. He knew at one point he'd be losing his friends to love, but he just didn't think it would happen so soon. After taking a big gulp of juice, he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up to see Hermione looking at him with sadness in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry for making you think you were invisible and for ignoring you. I wish I could say things will now go back to the way they were, Harry, but it can't. I know you know that. Ron and I won't stop our relationship with each other. It means too much to give up."

Harry nodded then looked toward the staff table. His eyes locked with Remus, who gave him a small smile. Harry tried to return the smile but couldn't.

"Harry, please look at me."

Not really wanting to, Harry unwillingly faced Hermione with hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry we have been hurting you, Harry. I promise you, now that Ron and I know how our actions have been affecting you, we'll try our best not treat you the way we were. I know I can't speak for Ron, but your friendship means too much to me. I can't lose you as a friend." She looked over at Ron, for him to say the same thing, but he wasn't opening his mouth. She kicked him under the table.

"Bloody hell Hermione. Why'd you…"

Hermione gave him a look.

Ron cleared his throat. "Oh. Uh, same here Harry. I'm sorry for ignoring you. You know you'll always be my best mate right? Hey, why don't the three of us spend the day outside? We can bug the giant squid in the lake, visit Hagrid, cause trouble, all the things we used to do."

"Thanks guys, but I don't think so. Not today anyways. I've got a lot of things on my mind. I'd just like to spend the day alone."

"But Harry, you just said…Ow! Hermione, would you please stop kicking me?"

"Harry," Hermione began, "I understand. If you feel like some company later on, come and find us. We promise not to ignore you anymore."

"Thanks guys."

Hermione smiled at Harry then got up from the table. "Come on Ron. We have to complete our Prefect duties before we can do whatever we want. See you around Harry."

"Bye you two." Harry watched his friends leave the Great Hall. He finished his breakfast then got up to spend a few hours roaming the castle.

~SH~

Harry had just come around a corridor looking at the ground in front of him, lost in thought, when he ran headfirst into something solid that knocked him to the ground. Sitting on the ground in surprise with his arms stretched behind him holding his weight and he legs sprawled out in front of him, Harry first spotted the black boots in front of his feet. His stomach dropped as he realized who was standing there. He swallowed thickly as he slowly raised his eyes to meet those of the person he ran in to. "Uh…I'm sorry sir."

Severus looked down at the heap of a boy on the ground, an unrecognizable expression on his face. Harry was the last person Severus wanted to see. He had tried hard not to leave his quarters since switching out his memories, but the Headmaster had called him and his leaving was unavoidable. He hoped the boy would be outside on the grounds with his friends or up in Gryffindor tower.

As Harry made eye contact with him, Severus quickly tried to school his expression into his usual sneer, but was having a hard time of it. "See that you watch where you're going from now on Mr. Potter." His voice lacked the malice he always had for the boy. Instead it held a hint of concern.

"Y…yes Professor," Harry stuttered, a little surprised at the unusual tone of voice towards him. He made to get off the ground when he felt a hand grasp his right upper arm. He quickly turned his head to the right to see that Severus's hand was on his arm and was helping him stand up.

Severus was trying to read Harry's expression as he stood facing the boy after helping him up. At seeing the confused and almost scared look in Harry's eyes, he realized what he had just done. When he saw the boy on the floor, Severus' first instinct was to help him up; which he did. However, at the same time something was nagging at him that what he was doing was completely wrong. He gave Harry an odd looked, whirled around, and quickly left the corridor towards his destination; Professor Dumbledore's office.

Harry stared after the man in complete shock while absentmindedly rubbing his right arm.