Remus Lupin watched as sixteen year-old Harry Potter emerged from the side of number 4 Privet Drive, dragging an overloaded trash can in each hand. He was limping as he walked sluggishly down the driveway, and was coughing quite a bit. His head was down with his shoulders hunched over. He was a lot thinner than he was two months prior. His clothes, though normally big, hung on him limply. His jeans, at one time blue, were almost a light brown, caked with dirt, and had many tears and holes in them. His grey shirt looked as bad as his jeans. Harry himself looked extremely dirty too, like he hadn't had a shower in days. It was distressing and a bit of a shock for Remus to see Harry's appearance.

When Harry placed the cans at the curb and lifted his head before turning around to walk back to the house, Remus could see the emptiness in his green eyes and the depressed expression on his face. He also noticed something else. There was something a little different about Harry's face, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hey freak!"

Harry turned around at the sound and saw his cousin Dudley strolling up the sidewalk, coming home from beating up the neighborhood kids. He knew what would be coming when Dudley got close to him. Normally he wouldn't have just stood there, but now he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. What was the point?

As Dudley walked up the driveway, he paused and punched Harry in the stomach twice. "That's for not giving me my piece of cake fast enough after lunch today, you freak." Then he continued on up into the house.

The force of the punches, combined with his weakened state from being sick the past week, caused Harry to crumple to the ground. As he tried to catch his breath, a shadow loomed over him. It had to be Dudley. The two punches were not his normal 'punishment' from him. "I knew you weren't done having a go at me. I'm surprised it took you this long to come back," he said panting.

Harry yelped and squeezed his eyes closed as two firm hands gripped his bruised arms and pulled him up to a standing position. Noticing he wasn't being beaten up, he opened his eyes and looked into the concerned eyes of Remus. "Professor!" He coughed a few times with his arms wrapped around his stomach.

"Harry, are you okay?" He didn't know why he even asked. Clearly the boy was not okay, and that wasn't because he was just punched in the stomach.

"I'm fine," he wheezed with his head down, not being able to look at his ex-professor in the eye. He believed if he looked Remus in the eyes, he’d know the truth. "Just having a problem catching my breath, that's all."

Remus looked at his best friend's son with sadness. "Harry, I know you are not fine. You're anything but fine." He watched as Harry finally lifted his head and met his eyes. "Can you get away for a while?" He pointed his head toward the house. "Without being missed?"

"Yeah. There's a playground down the street."

They walked to the playground in silence. When they arrived, Remus led them over to an empty bench under the shade of a giant oak tree. Harry sat down facing the playground…away from Remus. When Remus placed his hand on Harry's arm to make him face him, Harry gave out a small cry of pain.

Without a question, Remus immediately pulled up the sleeve of Harry's shirt. There were bruises and a few cuts all over his arm. He checked the other arm and found the same. "Harry, what happened? Why are there bruises and cuts all over your arms?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Remus. "Doesn't matter," he muttered.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? It does matter." Remus was a little outraged that someone could do this to this boy.

"No it doesn't. This is nor—." Harry stopped himself before the truth came out. He didn't want anybody to know the truth, that it was normal. He looked down to the ground and watched as an ant made its way toward a piece of food next to his shoe. He then sneezed and started coughing uncontrollably. When the coughing stopped, he looked up at Remus' concerned face. "It's just a cold."

Remus nodded. "Harry, I really need to know what's going on. Why are you dressed like this and look like this?"

Harry shrugged again.

"You aren't handling Sirius' death well are you?"

At Sirius' name, Harry took in a deep breath and turned away from Remus. He didn't want to talk about Sirius. He thought he'd finally gotten over his death.

Taking that as a sign, Remus continued. "Now I know you aren't."

Knowing he wasn't going to get out of this conversation, Harry placed his elbows on his knees, coughed and covered his face with his hands. He sat there for about a minute then turned to Remus. "Fine, like you care anyway," he challenged.

"Harry." Remus' tone conveyed his dismay that Harry believed he didn't care.

Harry knew that if Remus really cared anything about him, he would have stopped by sooner than this. "No! I'm dressed like this and look like this because it's one of my many punishments. I'm not getting my outside chores done fast enough. My relatives, if you want to call them that, won't let me take a shower or wear clean clothes until I finish all the gardening and other chores I've been assigned to do outside. What you saw on my arms is what happened when I tried to clean myself up a few days ago. I've been wearing this stuff for four days. Normally I could get it done in a day, but now…"

"Now you just don't feel like doing anything right?" Remus asked, knowing exactly how Harry felt.

"Yeah. I don't even try to stop Dudley from beating me up every day either." He felt ashamed for confessing this to his ex-professor so he stood up and walked over to one of the swings nearby.

Remus sat on the bench and watched Harry walk away. He sighed, wishing Harry knew that he didn’t need to go through this alone. He let Harry be by himself for a few minutes then joined him on the next swing. "Harry, I promise I won't talk about Sirius anymore." At Harry's glance he added, "For now. But we will need to talk." He started swinging a little on the swing, with his feet still on the ground, before he spoke again. "I noticed you didn't ask why I was here."

"It was on my mind. Why are you here?" He looked over at Remus.

A smile spread across Remus' face. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to come back to Hogwarts to teach Defense this year."

Harry stopped swinging immediately and turned to Remus. "That's great professor." He smiled a genuine smile for the first time that summer.

"I also have news concerning you. I've gotten Professor Dumbledore's permission to come get you. I don't want you to stay here the rest of the summer…though that only is three more days."

"You mean I can leave? Today?"

"Yes." Remus was glad for Harry's mood change. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you earlier, but—"

"I don't care if the rest of the summer is two minutes. Where will I be staying until I go back to Hogwarts?"

"We'll talk about that later." Remus got off the swing and grabbed Harry's hands to help him up. "Now why don't you go to the Dursley's and tell them you're leaving for school early, but need to take a shower first."

"Erm…where should I meet you with my trunk? I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to come to the house."

"I've got something to do so how about here in an hour and a half? Oh and Harry, we will be having that talk about Sirius tonight."

"Okay." Harry's mood changed immediately.

The two left the playground and parted. Remus went straight to Dumbledore to tell him about Harry while Harry broke the news to his relatives, packed, and took a shower.

Almost an hour and a half later, Harry was dragging his trunk and Hedwig’s cage back to the park. He was happy that he'd be leaving the Dursley's but was really dreading the talk he was to have with Remus about Sirius. He thought that over the last few months he'd gotten over the grief he felt for Sirius. But the sadness over the loss of his godfather came back the minute Remus mentioned Sirius' name earlier that day. It had been the first time anyone talked about him since he left Hogwarts for the summer holiday. As Harry entered the park, he saw Remus by the bench they were sitting at earlier, and it increased his sadness so much that it felt like it was only days after Sirius' death.

"Hi Harry," Remus greeted, as Harry came up to the bench.

"How are we getting there professor?" Harry asked abruptly as he came to a stop in front of Remus.

Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple headband. "Portkey." As Harry reached out and took hold of the headband, Remus realized that he probably should have prepared Harry for where they were headed…especially after their talk earlier in the day. Plus, Harry seemed depressed again. But it was too late now. The Portkey would activate any second. "Ready Harry?" Remus questioned.

Before Harry could answer, he felt the familiar tug at his navel. In a matter of seconds, he was banging into Remus and his trunk and owl cage as they sped forward through a swirl of colors. No sooner did it start, did it stop. With Harry's weakened state, upon his feet slamming into the ground, his knees buckled and he immediately fell to the ground.

Slowly getting to his feet, Harry looked around. He was standing in the middle of a small grassy square. Beyond the square was a row of tall, grimy, dilapidated houses. Dragging his trunk, he followed Remus up to the houses. In a daze, he watched a battered black door with a twisted serpent door knocker appear between the two houses in front of him.

With a few concerned glances at Harry, Remus guided him up the stone steps and into Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

After Remus guided Harry into the house, he closed the door behind them and walked in front of Harry, placing his hands on his shoulders. "I've got to attend an Order meeting, but we will talk later. Why don't you go up and rest until I come get you." At Harry's silence and almost nonexistent nod; he was still in his depressed state, he gave the boy a sympathetic look. He then headed downstairs to the kitchen to join the meeting.

Standing in the entrance hall Harry slowly looked up to the ceiling and spotted a serpent chandelier. He desperately hoped he wasn’t where he thought he was. He then looked around and saw the peeling wallpaper, the dirty threadbare carpet, the troll's leg umbrella stand and the velvet curtained portrait. Recognition finally sinking in, his breath caught in his throat and he began shaking. It was at that moment when he knew he wasn't over Sirius' death. "NO!"

As fast as he could, he turned around and ran to the front door to get out. It was locked. He tried opening the door two more times, each as unsuccessful as the first, then started banging on it. "No! Not here."

Severus Snape appeared at the bottom of the stairway at the far end of the entrance hall a few seconds later. He was on his way down from the drawing room to join the meeting in the kitchen. Hearing the commotion coming from the front door, he stopped to see what was going on.

Harry was still banging on the door but with less strength, now defeated. "No. Anyplace but here." This was the last place he ever wanted to be. It was too close to Sirius' death for him to be in this place. He never wanted to be in this house again. "I'd rather spend the rest of my life with Snape than be in this house," he said between shaky breaths. "Please, anywhere but here." Harry started to cough uncontrollably and sway a little on his feet as he continued banging on the door. He felt like he was going to faint.

Wanting to make the racket go away and wondering if he heard the boy right, Severus stalked over to Harry, gripped his arm, and forcefully turned him around from the door. He gave Harry an odd look then immediately plastered his face with his usual scowl. "Mr. Potter, what is your problem?" He sneered at the boy, seeming to enjoy seeing him in such distress.

Harry shrugged out of Severus’ grip and slumped down onto his trunk, staring at the floor. He was still shaking. "No!" He seemed to not hear his professor's question.

Severus crossed his arms over his chest, his patience rapidly diminishing. "Potter, answer me. I know you feel that being the famous Harry Potter entitles you to not do anything you don't want to, but you will answer me." His threatening tone was coming through loud and clear.

Harry looked up at the potions master, finally getting out of the shocked state he was in. "Professor, please." His voice was beginning to shake. "Please take me back to the Dursley's. Take me anywhere. I can't stay in this house." He tried to get up and go back to the door, but Severus gripped his arm again, preventing him from moving.

"You are wasting my time Potter," he said bitterly, his face mere inches from Harry's. "I have to get to the Order meeting. Get upstairs right now! After the meeting is over, you can tell your sad story to someone who cares." He let go of Harry's arm with a jerk and walked down to the kitchen.

Harry stood there rubbing the arm Severus had in his grip. Getting even more upset after hearing his icy comments, he watched as the professor left the entrance hall. He took a few deep, calming breaths, and forced himself to take his trunk up to the room he shared with Ron last year and kept repeating ‘It won't be that bad. I can handle being in the bedroom again.”

As Harry made his way up the stairs to the second floor, he did his best to just look at the steps he was climbing and not of the walls and the mounted house-elf heads. The less he saw, the less he was reminded of where he actually was.

His determination to go the bedroom was lessening as he walked along the creaky second floor. By the time he got to the room, he was regretting his decision entirely and just stood there staring at the closed door. He knew the bedroom in front of him would bring back too many memories from the time he was there last year…when Sirius was alive. But as much as he didn’t want to go in to the bedroom, it was impractical to stay in the hallway. Besides, he only had to wait until the Order meeting was over before he could convince Professor Lupin to take him back to the Dursley’s. Trying to be braver than he actually felt, he took a shaky breath, opened the door, and walked into the bedroom.

Upon entering the bedroom, Harry's eyes were immediately drawn to his bed. The twin bed was freshly made with a midnight blue down comforter and two lighter blue fluffy pillows placed on top; all drastically contrasting with the drab and dreary colors of the walls and floor. Harry guessed that was what Professor Lupin had to take care of earlier that afternoon.

Even though it was the last place he wanted to be, Harry decided he could stay in the bedroom until he could talk with Remus when the Order meeting was over. He hauled his trunk to the front of the wardrobe between the two beds and sat down on his bed. As he sat there, he realized how tired he was and that he didn't feel particularly well. Reluctantly, he lay down on the bed and was asleep almost immediately.

Waking up over an hour later because he was cold, Harry decided to get under the sheet and comforter that he was lying on top of. Lying under the heavy comforter fifteen minutes later, he still couldn't get any warmer. He sat up and looked over to the bed Ron occupied the year before to see if there was a blanket on it that he could take. All he saw was an old lumpy mattress.

Shivering, he slowly bent down to his trunk and got out his wand. He hoped to conjure a blanket from a nearby room. "Accio blanket." Nothing appeared. Figuring there wasn't one nearby, he tried the next thing he could think of. He pulled out a piece of parchment from his trunk and tried to transfigure it into a blanket. All he got was a maroon four inch by four inch piece of fluffy cloth with gold blankets for its pattern. He tried the transfiguration two more times with the same results. He was really starting to get upset.

He sat down on his bed almost in tears. First he got the 'loving' treatment from his relatives, then he had to be reminded of Sirius's death by staying in this blasted house, and now, because of his stupid cold, he couldn’t even get himself an extra blanket to keep him warm. He stared down at the floor, arms resting on his thighs with his hands clasped, as tried to calm down. He was not going to cry over something as stupid as a blanket. As he took in a few deep breaths, he started coughing; deep harsh coughs that made his chest ache. The coughing then started to make his head hurt. As he sat there, he began to realize how bad his cold was making him feel.

Not wanting to bother anyone over something as trivial as a blanket and a potion that could help him feel better, but seeing no choice in the matter, Harry decided to go downstairs and ask someone for help. He got up and slowly walked to the door. Upon realizing how weak and achy he was, he relied heavily on the staircase railing to hold him up on the way down the stairs to the kitchen. He just hoped that the meeting was over and that Remus or Mrs. Weasley were still there. As he neared the bottom of the stairs, he let out a relieved sigh as he saw the kitchen door open and heard voices.

The trek down the three floors to the kitchen had tired Harry out and he began to feel dizzy and even weaker. When he reached the doorway to the kitchen, he walked just inside it and leaned heavily against the wall as he looked around the room. Remus, Mrs. Wealsey, and Dumbledore were standing at the far side of the long kitchen table in a heated discussion. "Professor Lupin," Harry croaked, his throat sore and scratchy. Not getting a response, he tried again a little louder. Remus still didn't acknowledge Harry. He tried to get Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore's attention but they didn't acknowledge him either.

He was cold and hurt so much, and he couldn't get anyone's attention. Feeling worse by the second, Harry slowly slid down the wall to the floor and just sat there with his arms crossed over his knees, forehead resting on his arms, shivering. He closed his eyes, hoping that would help with the pain.

Severus walked into the kitchen a minute later. "Professor Dumbledore, I…." He stopped talking when he spotted Harry sitting on the floor just inside the doorway. He looked at the three arguing at the table and back down to Harry. "Mr. Potter, what are you doing in here?" he questioned in his usual cold manner. "I guess you can't get it through that thick head of yours that you are not permitted down here when there is an Order meeting in session."

Harry wanted to spit out an angry reply, but he just couldn't. He couldn't think about anything except the pounding in his head and how much it hurt to breathe.

Severus was waiting for one of Harry's usual remarks and was a bit surprised to not get one. "Potter, look at me when I speak to you," he commanded.

Harry wanted to look up at his professor, he really did, but his head hurt too much. He took a breath to speak, but instead began another painful coughing fit.

Severus again looked from the three arguing at the table down to Harry. None of them seemed to notice the boy. As much as he didn't want to help, Severus knew he couldn't ignore the need of one of his students, even if that student was Harry. He began to wonder why he always ended up having to help the stupid brat and, more importantly, why the others hadn’t noticed the boy’s state.

He kneeled down in front of his most hated student. Looking at Harry, he got the same odd feeling he did when he first saw the boy standing at the front door earlier that evening. Noticing he was slightly pale and trembling, Severus placed the back of his hand on Harry's forehead, trying not to grimace at the thought of touching the boy. He guessed he couldn't make any rude comments to Remus this time. It seemed the man was right in thinking Harry might be in need of healing potions.

"Potter, go up to your room." He removed his hand from Harry's forehead and stood back up. "I'll bring you some healing potions in a few minutes." He quickly strode from the kitchen to the drawing room where he had placed the potions earlier that evening.

A few minutes later, Severus entered Harry's room on the second floor only to find it empty. “That boy never listens,” he growled. “Now I have to go play 'hide and seek'. I've got better things to do with my time.” He placed an open-topped box and a blanket on the bed and stormed down to the kitchen.

As much as Harry wanted to go back to his warm comfortable bed after the professor left, he didn't have the strength to get up off the cold stone kitchen floor, or to move for that matter. Instead he just sat there resting his head on his arms, waiting for his lightheadedness to pass. But then he remembered that Severus told him he'd bring some potions to his room. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of the man’s wrath, Harry slowly tried to stand up and head upstairs.

He got as far as getting up and standing almost in the doorway to leave when Severus swept into the kitchen. "Potter, why are you not upstairs like I told you?" he questioned coldly.

Harry looked up at Severus. "Sorry Professor." He coughed a few times and continued, his voice now hoarse. "I was waiting until I didn't feel so lightheaded." He began to head upstairs, but right as he passed Severus a wave of dizziness came over him.

Severus watched as Harry started to sway and reached out to steady him. In the few seconds afterward, with his hands still on the boy's shoulders, the odd feeling he had earlier returned. Contact with Harry made it feel even stronger than before. With a furrowed brow, Severus cocked his head and looked at Harry intently. He saw something vaguely familiar. Something he had seen on himself when looking in a mirror at Harry's age. As Harry began to raise his head to look at him, Severus put on a neutral face.

"Thank you," said Harry, slightly embarrassed, a few seconds after he felt hands on his shoulders holding him steady.

"Can you make it on your own Potter?" Severus questioned, his tone losing some of its normal bitterness.

Harry's face started turning a light shade of red. No doubt the greasy git would now think he was incompetent. Not wanting to give the man the satisfaction, he told himself he could get upstairs by himself…even if he had to crawl all the way up. "Yes. I can make it."

Severus let go of Harry's shoulders and watched as he began the trek upstairs. When he noticed Harry start to sway again while in the middle of the staircase, he quickly rushed to his side. "I knew you were an incompe…." He stopped his harsh comment as he felt the boy lean against his side, instead of the wall, for support. He put his arm around Harry to steady him, though he was a little confused as to why. He couldn’t understand what was going on with him. He shouldn’t care what happened to the boy right now. "Come on Potter, let's get you to bed." He helped Harry up the stairs and into the bedroom.

Even though Harry couldn't stand his potions teacher, he leaned heavily on Severus as they slowly climbed the stairs. As much as he wanted to climb the stairs and get to his room by himself, he knew he wouldn't have been able to. He was grateful for the assistance, though slightly embarrassed. He hoped Severus wouldn’t use this to taunt him while at Hogwarts this year.

Severus removed himself from Harry as they entered the bedroom. He went to the bed, grabbed the box of potions and blanket and placed them on the other bed. "Get in to bed," he commanded as Harry just stood in the doorway not moving.

Harry looked at his professor in confusion. Bright green eyes met the glare of narrowed cold black eyes as he tried to understand why the man was being decent to him. Knowing he'd never understand, he nodded, walked to the bed, removed his shoes and sat down.

Seeing that Harry was obeying him, Severus went to the box of potions and pulled out two vials. "Here Potter," he said, handing one of them to Harry.

Harry took the vial from Severus' outstretched hand and looked at the thick sapphire blue liquid with a grimace.

Seeing the look on Harry's face, Severus anticipated the next words that would more than likely come out of the boy's mouth. "It is for your cough, Potter. It will help clear the infection in your lungs. It also has a sleeping draught mixed with it."

Harry looked down into the vial again before placing it to his lips and swallowing the liquid within. Luckily, the potion didn't taste as bad as he expected. As he handed the vial back to his professor, another one was being handed to him. He looked into this vial and recognized the potion immediately. It was a fever reducing potion. He gladly swallowed this potion and handed the vial back.

Severus took this vial and walked back to the box on the empty bed. He set the two vials inside and pulled out a goblet. "You have one more potion to take Potter. Then you will get some rest."

Harry took the goblet that was handed to him and looked inside. He recognized this one too. "Pepper-Up? Do I really need this professor?" The thought of having to take this potion and to have his teacher see the side-effect was humiliating.

"Yes."

"But Professor, I don't—."

"Potter," Severus warned. The boy had to argue over everything.

"Fine." He swallowed the potion and thrust the goblet back at Severus. "Goodbye, sir," he huffed. He then lay down on his bed, and turned away from Severus.

Severus put the empty goblet back in the box and picked up the blanket. He turned around with the blanket and walked back to Harry's bed, not sure why he cared so much about the insolent boy right now.

Harry had been staring at the wall, listening intently for the sound of the bedroom door closing. Instead of hearing the door squeak on its hinges, he felt the sheet and comforter on his bed being pulled out from under him and placed on top of him. He then felt another blanket being laid over him.

After Severus covered the boy with the blankets, he walked back to the empty bed, picked up the box and went to leave, closing the door behind him.

With the warmth of the blankets and the effects of the sleeping draught he had taken a minute ago, Harry's eyes began to feel heavy. However, he still heard the squeak of the bedroom door beginning to close, signaling Severus was leaving the room. Before it closed completely, he whispered, "Thank you Professor Snape."

Severus was actually surprised for the thanks, but didn't acknowledge the boy until he was in the hall with the door closed. "You're welcome, Mr. Potter."

Having already spent more time in the house than he originally intended, Severus rushed downstairs to the drawing room to gather his belongings. He met Remus, who was heading upstairs, halfway down.

"Severus, what were you doing upstairs?" Remus questioned, thinking that the man left headquarters at least a half hour before. "The meeting was over half an hour ago."

"What do you think Lupin?" he said irritated. "You did ask me to bring some potions for Mr. Potter, did you not?"

"Well, yes. But you said you would just leave them for me before you left."

"Things changed," he offered, not wanting to go into details.

Remus looked at Severus for an explanation. "What things?"

Severus glared at the man, ignoring his question. "Mr. Potter should be asleep until late tomorrow afternoon." Not wanting to answer any more questions the werewolf might have, he continued, "Now if you don't mind, I'm late for an appointment." He turned away from Remus and swept down the staircase, gathered his things from the drawing room, and left the house.

Remus was left standing in the middle of the staircase. He was in complete shock that Severus had been the one to give Harry the potions. He recalled only hours before how the same man repeatedly said he was too busy to make the potions for Harry, and how in the end he agreed only to get Remus to leave him alone.

Chuckling to himself that that man would never cease to amaze him, Remus continued up the staircase. He approached the second floor and started down the hallway. He cautiously walked to Harry's room, doing his best to make sure the floor didn't creak beneath his feet and wake Harry up. After carefully opening the bedroom door and seeing that Harry was indeed asleep, Remus decided to call it a night and went to the room he had claimed as his own for the next few days.

Harry woke up the next evening, lying on his back, staring up at the bedroom's yellowed ceiling. At first he didn't remember where he was, but after a quick glance around the room, it all came suddenly back; Remus and the Portkey, being in Sirius' house, and the most unexpected, Professor Snape helping him upstairs and giving him healing potions.

Feeling a little warm with all the covers over him, he sat up and stared at the top blanket, lost in thought. He still couldn’t believe Professor Snape was the one who did that for him. He pushed the blanket off him and sat against the headboard. As he sat there, he realized he felt a lot better than he had the night before, but he still felt sick. Knowing that Professor Lupin wouldn't have left him alone in the house, he decided that he would go in search of him and ask to be taken back to the Dursley's. But first, he thought he'd feel a little better after taking a shower. The Dursley's had only allowed him to take a three minute shower yesterday afternoon.

Upon entering the second floor bathroom, Harry gave a small smile. Remus had set out towels and washcloths for him. Turning on the water and making sure it was nice and hot, he then took a twenty minute shower. After dressing in some clean clothes, he took his towel and wiped at the fogged up mirror. After brushing his hair, he looked at himself in the mirror. His face looked a little different; it was paler than it was prior. Shrugging this off to his illness, he left the bathroom and went in search of Remus.

Hearing rattling coming from the kitchen, Harry walked down the stone steps and into the kitchen. Remus was bent down, head in one of the lower cabinets, moving pots around.

"Hi Professor Lupin." Still feeling somewhat tired, Harry sat down at the kitchen table near Remus.

Remus removed his head from the cabinet and stood up, giving his back a crack. "Harry." With concern, he took a long hard look at the boy sitting at the table. That was when he was finally able to tell what was different about his face; what he had noticed at Privet Drive the day before. His face seemed a little longer and paler. But he figured the paleness could be due to his illness. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm still a little tired, but I feel better." He gave a yawn.

"Glad to hear it. You look a little better." He took a cup out of the upper cupboard over the sink, poured Harry a cup of tea from the kettle on the stove, and set it down in front of the boy. He turned back around and got his dinner that had been reheating, out of the oven. "Harry, would you like something to eat? Molly made some stew last night. There is plenty left."

"Sure Professor." Harry slid his chair back to get up and help.

At the sound of wood scraping stone, Remus turned to the table. "Stay put Harry. I'll get it for you."

"Thank you." Harry slid the chair back towards the table and watched Remus get their dinner.

Remus smiled at the boy and pulled out another bowl. He scooped some stew into both bowls and brought them to the table. He placed one in front of Harry and with his in his hand, sat down next to him.

Remus took a few spoonfuls of stew then placed the spoon inside the bowl, turning to Harry. He chuckled at first, and then a sad look came over his face. Harry's face was a foot above his bowl of stew, the rising steam fogging up his glasses. He was shoveling the stew in his mouth, like he hadn't eaten in days, which Remus guessed might have been true, knowing how the Dursley's treated him in the past. He steeled himself, knowing Harry was going through a lot right now, and didn't need to get him any more upset. He cleared his throat. "I hope you didn't have any problems with Professor Snape last night, Harry."

Harry swallowed and put down his spoon, looking into his bowl. "Erm…no." He looked up at Remus. "No problems really, but...," he stammered, not knowing how to continue, and stirred his stew absentmindedly.

Remus saw the uncertainty in the boy's face. "What happened?"

"Well, erm…why did Professor Snape have potions to give me, sir? How did he know I needed them?"

Remus took a spoonful of stew then put his spoon back down. He crossed his arms and leaned on the table. "After I visited you yesterday afternoon, I knew you were in need of some potions. I went to Professor Snape and asked him to make some and to bring them when he came to the meeting last night. I wanted to make sure that if you needed them while we were here, I'd have them to give you."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Last night when I went to check on you after the Order meeting was over, I met Severus coming down the stairs. In a round about way, he mentioned that something happened and that he had to give you a dose of the potions. Do you mind me asking what happened? Severus wouldn't say."

"Nothing really." Harry took a sip of his tea and continued. "Snape just found me on the floor here in the kitchen after your meeting."

"What?" Remus looked at Harry with an extremely concerned look. "What were you doing on the kitchen floor Harry?"

Harry broke eye contact with Remus and looked at the table top. He really didn’t want to tell him what happened. It was too embarrassing.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up and met Remus' eyes. "I got lightheaded and I didn't have the strength to go up to my room, so I sat on the floor."

"What were you doing in the kitchen with an Order meeting in progress?" his tone becoming stern.

"I know I'm not supposed to be in the kitchen during the meetings," Harry shouted. He was getting angry. How come everyone always thinks he doesn’t know that he shouldn't be in the kitchen when there's an Order meeting in progress? "The meeting was over Professor." He got up from the table and brought his bowl to the kitchen sink. He didn't want to go back to the table. He was getting too angry to talk to Professor Lupin.

Remus observed Harry's change in attitude. "I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean to assume."

Harry began to lose some of his anger but didn't want to face Remus just yet. "I came down to the kitchen to find you and ask for a blanket and something to make me feel a little better."

"I never saw you come in."

"You were too busy arguing with the Headmaster and Mrs. Weasley. I tried to get the attention of all of you, but no one noticed." He turned around and faced Remus. "That's when Professor Snape found me. He helped me up the stairs to my room, gave me the potions, and gave me another blanket."

"That doesn't sound like Professor Snape at all. I wonder what came over him." Remus watched the emotions Harry was feeling flash across his face.

Harry was a little hurt by Remus' comment. It sounded like he wasn’t really worth much to have any one care about him or help him. But then he wasn't sure why he was getting upset at the comment considering he really couldn't stand the potions master. Not wanting to think about it or anything that happened last night, he decided to head back up to his room, instead of asking to be taken back to the Dursley's. He was too tired to have an argument with Remus, which he knew would happen if he stayed downstairs. "I'm going up to my room. Thanks for dinner, Professor." Without waiting for a response, Harry went up to his room.

Remus watched Harry leave and sighed, not knowing what changed the boy's attitude and knowing Harry wouldn't talk about it. He finished his dinner in silence, and then went to the drawing room.

An hour later, Severus arrived at Grimmauld Place and headed straight up to the drawing room to pick up his vials from Harry's potions. He walked in the room and found Remus sitting in the dark green arm chair reading. Not saying a word to the man, Severus walked to the writing desk and picked up the cardboard box. Looking at the contents, he discovered Harry hadn't been given the other dose of potions like he instructed Remus the day before.

Severus dropped the box back down on the desk causing the vials inside to rattle, and whirled around to face Remus. "You really do find it hard to following instructions don't you?" he hissed.

Remus looked up from his book and watched as Severus' face contorted with fury and, if possible, concern. "The one dose I gave Mr. Potter yesterday was only half of what he needed. The potions will not heal Potter properly if he was not given the other dose as I instructed. You made me waste my time and work on those potions for nothing," he spat. Irritated, Severus walked to the doorway. "I'll be back early tomorrow to pick up my vials. Be sure they're empty and clean." He swept out of the room and a few seconds later Remus heard the front door slam closed.

Confused at Severus' reaction to finding the potions still there, Remus picked up the cardboard box from the writing desk and headed upstairs to the second floor. Upon reaching the bedroom, he knocked twice on the closed wooden door. Not hearing anything, he tried again. "Harry, can I come in?"

"Yeah," Harry responded quietly from inside the bedroom.

Remus opened the door and stood in the doorway. Harry was sitting on his bed with his broom polishing kit spread out on the floor and his broom lying on his lap. "Professor Snape came by a little while ago. I have your final dose of potions. But before I give them to you, we need to talk."

"Ok,” he said reluctantly. It seemed there was no getting out of the dreaded conversation now. But maybe he could still convince Professor Lupin to take him back to the Dursley's tonight. Harry laid his broom against the wardrobe and put his rag and polish down on the floor with the other polishing items.

Remus walked over and sat down next to Harry on the bed, putting the box beside him. He looked over at Harry, deciding best how to begin. He knew Harry was emotionally unstable and didn't want to make matters worse.

"Harry, I know you don't want to be in this house. I don't blame you. Neither do I," he admitted.

"Really?" Harry asked a little surprised.

"Yes. Harry, I know you'd rather be anywhere but here, and according to Severus, said you'd rather…" Remus broke off, laughing slightly. He continued with a smile. "He said you'd rather live with him than be here."

"He heard that?"

"Yes."

They both made eye contact and busted up laughing. After a few seconds, Remus became a little more serious. He looked at Harry, making sure he had the boy's attention. "Before our meeting, Severus told me everything that happened yesterday afternoon after I left you in the entrance hall."

The smile disappeared from Harry's face and he looked down at his lap and started playing with a thread on the blanket.

"I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable in this house Harry, but you will have to stay here until I take you to Kings Cross in two more days."

"But Professor…"

"Believe me, if there were other options, I would take them. I know you could go back to the Dursley's, but I will not let you go back there."

Harry sighed in defeat. Now knowing he was stuck in the horrible house.

"One of the reasons is because of Sirius."

At his godfather's name, Harry took a deep breath and pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his knees.

Remus watched Harry pull in on himself and gave him a sad look. "Being at the Dursley's hasn't helped you with Sirius' death. Harry, I know that the state I found you in yesterday afternoon was partially because of his death."

"I thought I was doing fine, better than I had been." He lifted his head and met Remus' concerned eyes. "Then when you stopped by and mentioned him, it felt like that day at the Ministry all over again."

Remus could see the sorrow in Harry's eyes. "I'm sorry Harry," his voice soft. "If you ever need or want to talk, please come to me. Even at Hogwarts. You may not think so, but it does help a great deal to talk about it."

"Thanks Professor. I'll remember that." He shifted his gaze from Remus to his knees.

"Good." He patted Harry's arm. "Now why don't you take the last dose of your potions." He watched Harry nod then grabbed the box next to him and gave him the final dose of potions.

The sound of something heavy being pulled across the creaky second floor woke Harry up late the next morning. Clad in pajamas, with his hair tousled and sticking up all over, he walked to the bedroom door half asleep and opened it. Remus was passing by lugging an exceptionally large trunk behind him. "Professor, what are you doing?" He then noticed Remus was wearing his cloak, looking like he was getting ready to leave the house. "It's not time to go to Hogwarts yet is it?" he asked groggily, not knowing what day it actually was.

Remus stopped and faced Harry, who was in the middle of a yawn. "I'm sorry I woke you up Harry. I was trying to be as quiet as I could. I would have waited to bring my trunk down until you were already up, but I'm afraid I have to leave right now."

"Leave?" All thoughts of going back to sleep were gone from Harry's mind. He was now wide awake. "Where are we going?" Not even waiting for a response, Harry turned around and started grabbing his clothes that were scattered all over the floor and stuffed them into his overflowing trunk. He wanted to get out of the house as fast as possible, and it didn't matter where they were going.

Remus saw how happy Harry was at the thought of leaving and was regretting what he had to say next to the boy. He hated getting Harry' hopes up; that he'd be able to leave the house. "Harry, I'm sorry, but just I'm leaving. You have to stay here for the next two days."

Harry stopped packing, and with a ball of socks in his hand, stood up abruptly and turned toward the door. "Why?" he questioned gloomily, wanting to know how come he was going to be stuck in the horrid house, while his professor got to leave.

After seeing the crestfallen look on Harry's face, Remus dropped his trunk with a thud, walked in the bedroom and sat tiredly on the empty bed in the room. He gave a sad laugh. "In all my excitement of finding out I'm teaching at Hogwarts again, and going to get you from the Dursley's, I honestly forgot that tonight is the full moon."

"What does that…" Harry began, still standing in the middle of the dreary room.

"I need to return to Hogwarts for my transfiguration. With the safety measures taken on my quarters, it's the safest place for me."

"But," Harry began, before being cut off by Remus.

"I will not put you in danger by staying here, Harry."

With a slight feeling of abandonment, Harry sank down on his bed. Staring at the floor, he contemplated how he could convince Remus to take him with. He met Remus' studying gaze a few seconds later. "I could come with you, Professor. It's only two days until term starts." Seeing Remus start to shake his head, he continued, almost pleading. "I promise I'll stay in Gryffindor tower unless a professor comes to get me. I'll even take my meals in the common room."

"I'm sorry Harry, but that's out of the question." He watched Harry's face fall. "Unfortunately, students are not allowed at Hogwarts until term starts."

Harry looked down at his hands and saw he was still holding the ball of socks. With more force than necessary, he threw the socks to the floor, missing his trunk by a few feet. Feeling upset and hurt, he looked up at Remus. "Why then did you even bother coming to get me from the Dursley's if you had to leave? I would have rather spent my last few days there doing chores and being locked in my room, than being able to wander this house alone. How could you forget…"

Remus interrupted. "I was just so excited, that it slipped my mind. I can't begin to tell you how much I was looking forward to spending these three days with you, and only you. With no one to bother us and you not having to worry about homework." He stopped his explanation and looked at Harry intently, trying to gauge what he was really feeling about the situation. Harry had the look of a boy whose dog had just died, which in a way was partially the truth. Remus would have laughed, had the situation been extremely different.

"Harry, I don't want to take the place of Sirius, but…," he trailed off, with a sad look on his face. "There are many things I wanted to talk to you about. For starters, I wanted us to get to know each other better, and for you to learn more about your parents as well. Sirius had told me how much you want to know about them."

Harry brightened up at the thought of being able to learn more about his parents and especially having someone who was almost like a relative to talk to who also wanted to talk to him. He was a little surprised that that thought made him happier than he had been in months. He knew it was sad that something others considered trivial could be that important to him, but he recognized that it was because of how he had to live the past 16 years. The only time he could talk to anyone was while at Hogwarts. And even while there, he didn't feel comfortable enough with his friends to confide in them about certain things. This was something that deep down he desperately wanted for the longest time. He wanted an adult to talk to.

"Professor, we can still talk at Hogwarts can't we? I mean…it won't be like it would be here, but maybe we can set aside a few hours a week to meet and just talk?" When Remus looked at Harry, he continued. "I would really like that." He gave Remus a smile.

"So would I." Remus smiled back then slowly stood up. "I'm sorry, but I really do have to leave now Harry. I'm not too sure if I'll be in any shape to attend the welcoming feast this year. If it were up to Poppy, I wouldn't be able to attend the first week of lessons, let alone the welcoming feast," he said through a laugh. "So if you don't see me at the staff table, stop by my office as soon as you can."

"I'll do that Professor." Harry stood up and followed Remus into the hallway, leaning against the wall. "If I haven't told you already sir, thank you so much for all you've done for me these past few days. I know you didn't have to do any of it."

Remus turned around when he reached his trunk and faced Harry. "You're welcome Harry, but I know I didn't do as much as I should have. I know I wasn't there for you like I should have been." He looked down to his trunk trying to collect his thoughts, and continued in a pained and whispered voice. "It's partially…being in this house…with Sirius…I'm…" he stammered, unable to voice his thoughts. He looked at Harry dejectedly. "I'm so sorry. I will find a way to make it up to you."

Harry looked at Remus knowing exactly what he was trying to get across. "That's alright Professor, I know what you mean." Harry thought back to the way he behaved since arriving at the house two days ago, and wasn't proud of it. "I haven't been myself either." He gave the tired looking man in front of him a small smile.

"I'm ashamed to say it Harry, but if it wasn't for Professor Snape, you wouldn't be doing as well as you are." Remus shuddered at the memory of that visit. "He actually had to remind me to give you your potions." He walked to the hallway, grabbed his trunk and began hauling it towards the stairs, then stopped abruptly and turned around. "Speaking of Snape, I almost forgot Harry. Professor Snape will be staying here for the remaining two days. I tried to get Dumbledore to let you stay with the Weasley's or have them come here, but he wouldn't agree to that. He said until school starts, you'd be safer in this house with Severus."

"No," Harry groaned throwing his head back and covering his face with his hands. He was only joking when he said he'd rather live with Snape than be in this house. Now he had to have both?

Remus laughed at Harry's reaction. "Unfortunately, as much as I detest the man myself, I'm afraid I have to agree with the Headmaster on this." Harry dropped his hands to his sides and looked at Remus in disbelief. "Harry, I know you two dislike each other, but it is in your best interest. Believe me when I say he's as thrilled with this as you are."

"That, I can believe," he replied, knowing how much the potions master loathed him. "Luckily this house is big enough where I doubt I'll run in to him. But just to be on the safe side, I think I'll spend a majority of my time in my room."

"Good thinking," Remus said amused. "I wish you good luck Harry. I know you'll be fine with Severus." He looked at Harry one last time and noticed the dark circles under his eyes, his pale complexion, and that he was leaning heavily on the wall in the hallway. "And I hope you get better soon. Take care of yourself. And if you begin to feel worse, please let Severus know."

"That was one thing I was looking forward to," he said sarcastically. "I doubt it'll come to that, but I will, just for you." He gave Remus a teasing smile.

"I'm serious Harry. I don't want you having a relapse and coming to Hogwarts in worse shape than I'll be in."

"I know, I'm only joking." He became serious. "You take care of yourself too, Professor. See you soon."

"Goodbye Harry."

Harry watched Remus pull his wand out from inside his cloak and levitate his trunk, following it down the stairs. He laughed as he walked back into his room, wondering why Remus didn't just levitate his trunk down from his room in the first place. Sitting on his bed, Harry figured there was no point in going back to bed, even though he was still extremely tired. He didn't think he could get back to sleep even if he wanted to. And the thought of lying on the bed just staring at the yellowed ceiling didn't appeal to him either.

Deciding to get dressed instead, he crouched down in front of his trunk trying to find some clean clothes to wear. Throwing a muddy shoe aside, he realized that Lupin never told him when Snape would be arriving. He quickly got up and dashed down to the drawing room. Reaching the landing for the first floor, he called out to Remus. "Professor, you forgot to tell me when Snape would be coming." He entered the room and found it empty. Looking at the floor just in front of the fireplace, he spotted some floo powder glittering in the sunlight. Remus had left already. Now he’d never know how much time he had to himself before that hooked nosed git would arrive. He decided he’d better enjoy his free time while he could.

Later that afternoon after finishing a lunch of the last of the stew from the night before, Harry found himself wandering around the house he hated so much, looking for something to do. As he wandered, he found out that Snape had yet to show up. Ending up in the dining room on the ground floor, he was a bit surprised to see it had changed since the last time he had been in it.

The room was made into a library. One wall of the large room held floor to ceiling bookshelves, stacked with books. The dining room table and chairs, which stayed in the room, were placed a few feet in front of the bookshelves. Across the room, on the right side of the fireplace, were two deep green armchairs with a table between them. The left side had a large, extremely comfortable, coffee-colored couch. It was situated so the back was to the bookshelves on the other side of the room and was facing the two chairs and fireplace.

Harry walked in and went over to the bookshelves. Running a finger along the books on one of the middle shelves, he glanced at the titles, not really paying attention to what he was seeing. His thoughts were miles away.

He couldn't believe that he'd only been alone in the house for about eight hours and was already bored out of his mind. When he had been locked in his room at the Dursley's he dreamed of the day he would have free reign of a house and do whatever he pleased. Now that he was in that situation, he couldn't stand it. He was slowly beginning to realize how Sirius must have felt last year, being stuck alone in this house. He had to have been miserable. Harry himself felt miserable, and alone, and it hadn't even been a day yet. But he did know that part of his misery was because of whose house he was stuck in.

Needing to keep his mind off Sirius, Harry dragged himself back up to his room. Just as he opened the door, two owls started pecking on the window. He let them in and removed the parchment they were carrying. As soon as their load was removed, the owls hooted their thanks and flew out the window. Harry then spent the next hour sitting on his bed responding to the letters he received; one from Hermione and Ron, who were both at the Burrow and were wondering how it was at Grimmauld Place, and the other from Hagrid, just saying hi.

~SH~

Severus had met with headmaster Dumbledore earlier that morning and learned he'd be a resident of Order headquarters for the next two days to keep an eye on Harry. In other words, he'd be babysitting the insufferable boy. He tried his best to get out of it, but Dumbledore wouldn't hear of it. He couldn't believe Dumbledore insisted he be the one to watch over Potter. The old man knew how much he loathed the boy.

Having taken his time packing, wanting to enjoy his last few hours without the presence of The-Boy-Who-Lived, he finally floo'd to Grimmauld Place mid-afternoon. He stepped out of the fireplace in the drawing room, infuriated. With a huff, he dropped some food off in the kitchen and brought his belongings into the empty bedroom on the first floor. After getting as settled as he wanted, which consisted off removing his cloak and leaving his clothes in his trunk by the foot of the bed, Severus went down to the library with a few journals and a book to read. He knew he'd more than likely be safe from bumping in to Harry there. The boy wouldn't step foot into a library.

~SH~

Harry, finding absolutely nothing to keep himself occupied for the rest of the day and tiring of his room, ventured down to the library carrying his book bag. He decided to finish his homework and, if needed, re-write or expand on some of the essays he already completed. He walked into the room and was about to go over to the table when he spotted Snape sitting in one of the arm chairs by the fireplace, reading.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Harry's shoes squeaked loudly on the wood floor and his book bag slid from his shoulder down to his hand so it was almost grazing the floor. He stared at the potions master, wondering when the man arrived. He didn't recall hearing any noises that would have signaled someone else was in the house. He was really hoping he wouldn't see Snape at all until he got to Hogwarts.

At the sound of the squeak, Severus lifted his head from the journal he was reading and glanced at the entrance with a scowl. "Potter." As much as he didn't want a conversation with Harry, Severus was warned by Remus, just before he left Hogwarts that morning, that he still wasn't feeling well. "Did you need something?" he question bitterly, hoping the answer would be no.

Harry put his book bag back on his shoulder. "No, sir. Erm…I didn't know you were here yet. I just came down here to work on my homework. But I can do it in my room. Sorry for the distraction, I didn't mean to disturb you." Not wanting to be in the same room with the man, he turned to head back up to his room.

Even though the last thing Severus wanted was to be in the company of the teen, he knew Harry had more right to be in the room than he did. It was his godfather's house after all. "Potter, as much as I detest being in the same room as you, I do not want to try and read your scribble on an essay you wrote using the carpeted floor as a desk."

Harry stood in the doorway with his thumb hooked around the strap of his bag on his shoulder, contemplating what to do. The thought of being in the same room as Snape made his stomach twist in knots, but he knew he'd have an easier time with his homework if he could spread it out on the huge table. Looking at his professor's cold black eyes one last time, without a word he walked to the table at the other side of the room and took a seat facing the book shelves. He opened his book bag, took out his parchment, books, quills and ink, spreading them along the large table, and began his homework.

With a furrowed brow, Severus watched Harry walk to the table, surprised that he listened to him. He really thought Potter would behave like he normally did and venture off to his room just to spite him. Confused as to the boy's behavior, he quickly averted his eyes to the potions journal in his hands and decided that after he was done with the article he was reading, he would go to another room to finish his journal in peace.

Two hours and forty-five minutes later, Severus was still in the arm chair, reading a new potions book he picked up earlier that day, having finished reading the journal. It wasn't until he heard coughing coming from the other side of the room that he remembered Harry was in the room with him. He looked over and saw that Harry was bent over the table with one hand marking a place in a book and the other writing swiftly on a piece of parchment.

Even though Harry was lost in his homework and wasn't causing any trouble, the mere presence of the boy in the same room as him was enough to irritate Severus. He grabbed his book and journals and decided to head to the kitchen for dinner and then up to his room for the rest of the night.

By the time Harry finished the essay he was working on, it was dark outside. Putting his school supplies back in his book bag, he turned around and saw that he was alone in the room. He couldn't remember when Snape had left the room. Feeling a little hungry, he went down to the kitchen for a sandwich and brought it back up to his room to eat. After eating he decided to spend the rest of the night in his room.

~SH~

Before dawn the next morning, Severus found himself wide awake. This was almost entirely due to his current residence in the house of Black, in the company of Potter. While having a quick breakfast down in the kitchen, thankfully alone, he decided to use his sleeplessness to his advantage and get a head start on the potions he needed to make before the start of term the next day. An added bonus to spending the day making potions would be he more than likely would not see Potter at all. With that thought he proceeded swiftly to the fireplace in the drawing room. Grabbing a handful of floo powder from the pot on the mantel, he threw it into the fireplace. When he saw the green flames, he stepped inside and stated, "Hogwarts, Professor Snape's quarters."

Within seconds he was standing just outside the fireplace in his personal quarters at Hogwarts, dusting the ash off his clothes. Wanting to enjoy his time without Harry, he slowly gathered the various items he would need for the potions. Even going slow, it only took him twenty minutes to gather everything on the table in his study. Not wanting to go back to Grimmauld Place immediately, he took a seat in one of his arm chairs and started leafing through a few journals he left on the table.

~SH~

Harry awoke early-morning from a painful coughing fit. He had begun thinking he was over his stupid cold, but obviously not. He just hoped it did not get worse. The thought of having to go to that greasy haired git made his skin crawl. Rubbing a hand over his face, he remembered it would be the last day in this house and the last day with Snape. Excited at those thoughts, he took a shower and went down to the kitchen to get something to eat. He wasn't all that hungry, but knew he'd better eat something.

Very hesitantly he stepped into the cold kitchen. If Snape was in the room, he didn't want his presence known and he'd go back to his room and wait until later to eat. But looking around, he saw the room empty. Letting out a deep breath, he walked fully into the room and made his breakfast. After eating and cleaning up after himself, he didn't want any reason for Snape to get irate, he figured he'd go back to the library and read through some of his books. He didn't want to get a head start on the year's lessons, but he really had no other means to keep occupied. And he desperately needed a way to forget where he was temporarily living.

Bringing a few books in his book bag down to the library, he decided against the table and instead opted for the couch to read. Reaching blindly into his bag after sitting down, the first book he pulled out was Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage. He was tempted to put it back in his bag, but he didn't. Instead, he stretched out across the couch with his head on a pillow, and began reading. He actually was finding some things interesting and wanted to remember them. He reached into his bag and pulled out a notebook and quill to take notes.

~SH~

Severus had finished thumbing through the final journal and decided he'd better get back to Grimmauld Place. With Harry's talent for trouble, who knew what the boy would get into in such a short amount of time. As he placed his supplies in the two cauldrons and a bag, he glanced at the clock on the desk and was surprised that it had actually been hours since he arrived. To tell the truth, he hadn't planned on staying away as long as he had. He just hoped no one had gone looking for him at Order headquarters while he had been away. Pulling out his wand, he shrank the caldrons and bag and placed them in his pocket. He then stepped into the fireplace and floo'd back to Grimmauld Place.

Knowing the best location to brew his potions, he went straight to the library. He would have rather set up his lab in the room he was occupying so he wouldn't have any distractions, but the room was not large enough to brew properly. The kitchen was also out as there was a greater chance of running into Potter there, and that was one thing he was trying to avoid. Severus knew there was probably another room in the house he could use, but he didn’t want to go scrounging around the house. The less he saw of Order headquarters, the better.

Upon reaching the library, he was pleased to see that it was unoccupied. He figured Potter was either in his room or wandering about the house. He hoped that if the boy happened to come into the library and see him, he would decide to go somewhere else.

As much as he hated Black, Severus knew he couldn’t damage or destroy the room or the books with the fumes from his brewing. He pulled out his wand and cast a protection charm around the room. Wanting to make sure he was busy for the majority of the day, he decided to brew his potions one at a time. He then emptied one of the cauldrons on the table, set up everything for the first potion, and began to brew.

While waiting until he could add the last ingredient to the bubbling potion, which was in about twenty minutes, Severus decided to sit on the couch to relax. He grabbed his notebook with the list of potions he was to make and walked over to the couch. As he came around from the back, he saw that the couch was already occupied.

Harry was stretched out on the couch, lying on his back, asleep. The potions textbook he was reading earlier was open and tented over his chest. His notebook and quill lay on the floor where they fell out of his hand while it was hanging off the couch. "You always have to ruin my day don't you Potter?" he said, as he glared at the boy, even though he knew the boy could neither hear nor see him at the moment.

Needing to stay in the room to keep an eye on the potion, he settled into the arm chair across from the couch and flipped open the notebook to decide which potion to brew next. Seeing the next to the last potion on his list took over 4 hours from start to finish, he decided to work on that one next.

Hearing labored breathing coming from the couch, Severus looked over to Harry. It sounded like whatever the boy had caught, still wasn't gone from his lungs. And as he looked at the boy's pale and sweaty face, he could tell that his fever had probably come back as well. He wasn't going to admit that he was concerned, but he did know that the potions he had been given days before should have almost cured him. He was a bit puzzled as to why Potter was still having problems breathing.

As he sat there staring at the boy, he decided he wasn't going to do anything unless Potter asked, and he knew that would never happen. But as he saw Harry start to shiver, something made him get up and walk over to the couch. He removed the book from Harry's chest, tucking it under his arm and gently placed the blanket that had been on the back of the couch over Harry. He picked up the boy's notebook and quill from the floor, and shaking his head, went back to the chair as he removed the textbook from under his arm.

He sat down in the chair and placed the quill on the table. He was about to do the same with the notebook but wanted to see what Harry had been writing. Looking at the writing, he wasn't sure if he was reading it correctly. Harry was taking notes on potion making and techniques; potions that he hadn't even learned yet. Severus then looked at the textbook in his hand and was surprised to see that it was the book assigned to his sixth years. In shock that Harry was doing unassigned reading, especially potions, and had been taking notes, he glanced back at the boy asleep on the couch. That boy was confusing him, and that confusion was annoying him to no end.

Bored with just sitting in the chair with nothing to do but stare at the potion brewing across the room, Severus got up and went to the bookshelves. He had no intention of reading anything that the mutt Black had in the house, but wanted to see what kind of rubbish he left for Potter to read. After glancing at two shelves, he was surprised to see that the library's collection was pretty extensive. He could tell that some of the Order had stocked the shelves and recognized a few titles he knew Dumbledore was always recommending. Seeing a defense book that sounded interesting, Severus reluctantly removed it from its spot on the shelf and brought it back to the chair to read.

A chapter into the book, a puff of purple mist filled the air above the library table. Then the entire library smelled of lavender. Knowing he could add the last ingredient to the potion, Severus put down the book and finished up on the potion. After carefully bottling it, he began setting out the ingredients for the next, and longest to complete, potion.

Feeling hungry, and although knowing it was safe to leave the potion brewing without supervision, Severus dared not to do so with Harry in the room. Even in his sleep, Severus thought the boy could cause trouble. So instead he chose to go down to the kitchen to make some lunch and bring it back up to the library to eat, before starting on the potion.

As he looked around the kitchen and saw what little food there was, he was glad he had decided to bring some with him. He pulled out the makings for a sandwich and made two, then piled his plate with crisps. Picking up his plate, a cup, and a bottle of pumpkin juice, he brought everything back to the library and set it down on the table between the two arm chairs. He sat down and ate one of the sandwiches and some crisps before beginning on the second potion.

Slicing up the mandrake root and dumping it into the cauldron, he waited for the liquid inside to turn a shiny silver with light blue swirls, signaling all the potion had to do was simmer for the next three and a half hours. Once satisfied with its coloring, Severus walked back to the chair and continued reading the defense book.

Harry started to stir on the couch a half hour later. He opened his eyes and rubbed at them, trying to wake up. He couldn't believe he fell asleep. Again. That's all he seemed to be doing these past few days. He then looked down for his book and notebook and saw they were gone and then noticed he was covered with a blanket. Confused, he sat up and spotted Snape in the chair, absorbed in a book. He then saw his stuff sitting on the chair next to Snape. He shook his head at the thought that Snape covered him with a blanket again, and looked around the room, trying to figure out why the potions master was in the same room as him. He then saw the two cauldrons on the table behind him and realized Snape wouldn't go far if he was brewing potions.

Deciding to finish reading the chapter in the potions textbook he was in the middle of later, he reached in his bag for another book. As he sat back against the couch, he started coughing, deep coughs that made his lungs hurt.

At the sound, Severus looked over to Harry. He somehow seemed to be worse than the night he arrived. "Potter?" he questioned, his voice cold but a bit more worried than he liked.

"I'm…fine," he wheezed, then continued coughing, barely getting a breath in.

Severus remembered what he told himself earlier, but still found himself going to his room and coming back with the familiar open-topped box. He sat down on the couch next to Harry and tried to hand him a vial containing the sapphire blue potion.

"I'm fine," Harry said between harsh coughs and pushed the vial back at Severus.

"I know you were told to come to me when you began to feel worse, Potter," he spat, wishing he didn't have to bring that up.

"I don't feel worse," Harry protested, glaring at the man. "I don't need it professor." He continued coughing but was now doubled over in pain, with his head almost on his knees.

Severus shook a lock of dark lank hair from his face. "Potter, you will take this potion willingly or I will force it down your throat." He held out the vial again.

Severus' threatening tone made Harry flinch and he looked over at his professor to see his cold black eyes showing a hint worry and, if he was seeing right, fear. He reluctantly went to grab the vial from Snape's hand but the coughing overtook him and he brought his hand back to his chest.

Severus didn't like the sound of the cough at all. He was actually surprised that Harry wasn't coughing up blood. He hoped that the potion would calm the coughing down quickly. He didn't know what he would do if it got worse. Whatever Harry had, it was taking a strong liking to his lungs. He was beginning to feel a little nervous at the thought that whatever Potter had, was very serious and he probably wouldn't be able to help him.

The coughing subsided enough for Harry to take the vial from Snape’s outstretched hand. As he reached for it, he thought he saw Severus' hand trembling, but decided it was eyes playing tricks on him. He quickly downed the thick liquid and handed the empty vial back to Severus without a word.

As the coughing slowly stopped, Severus watched as Harry slowly leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. "You will let me know if the tightness in your lungs does not improve in half an hour, Potter." Harry looked at Severus and nodded his understanding.

Satisfied, Severus removed himself from the couch and went back to the chair he was occupying earlier, depositing the box on the table. Harry slowly started to stand up from the couch. Severus saw this out of the corner of his eye. "Where do you think you're going Potter? You need to stay put for the next half hour."

"I just want to go down to the kitchen and get something to eat. I'm a little hungry."

Severus sighed and scowled at the boy. He definitely didn't want to play maid to him. Remembering the second sandwich he made himself but hadn't eaten yet, and knowing he wasn't going to now due to the nauseated feeling in his stomach caused by Potter, he got up and grabbed the plate. "I've lost my appetite," he muttered, more to himself, as he handed it to the boy. "I suppose you want something to drink as well?"

"Erm….yes, sir," he mumbled, unsure if he should have said yes. "But I could go get…"

"Silence." He looked at the boy exasperated. "What did I just say Potter? You are not to move from this couch for the next half hour."

"I'm not a baby," Harry whispered under his breath as Severus walked away. "I think I know how to take care of myself."

Severus heard Harry's comments, but decided to ignore him. The brat was already giving him a headache and didn't want to make it worse by talking to him anymore than needed. Instead he filled his unused glass with pumpkin juice and handed it to Harry.

After being able to only finish half the sandwich, Harry placed the plate and glass on the floor and wrapped the blanket tightly around himself. He was shivering again. Knowing that he more than likely had a fever, he was debating whether or not to let Severus know. If he let the man know, he’d get angry. If he didn’t let him know and the man found out he wasn’t told, he'd get angry. He was screwed no matter what. He decided that he'd rather feel better and have Snape angry at him.

Harry glanced over at Severus. When he saw the man turn a page in the book, he decided to interrupt. "Professor, do you happen to have anything for a fever? I think mine came back."

Clearly annoyed, and his facing showing his displeasure, Severus picked up his wand from the table next to him and pointed it at Harry.

Harry saw the look on Snape's face and became frightened, his face growing extremely pale, not knowing the intent of the potion master's drawn wand. "Forget about it sir," he said quickly. "I'm sorry I disturbed you."

"Potter, though there are times when I wish to see you suffer, and I will not deny that, this is not the case right now." Severus flicked his wand, and a few seconds later, the boy's temperature appeared in red glowing numbers at the tip.

Harry stared at Snape in shock, with his mouth hanging slightly open.

Severus reached into the box he had placed on the table and handed the fever reducing potion to Harry, which he gladly swallowed. Replacing the vial in the box, he noticed that was the last of the potion for Harry's cough and he would need to take more over the next few days. "Since you feel the need to deplete my stores of ingredients, Potter, it only seems logical for you to assist me in making the potion for your cough. You will more than likely need to continue taking it for a few days."

Harry thought this request extremely odd, and sat there staring at the potions master, who was again absorbed in his book. "But sir, I'm no good at potions, as you well know."

Severus put down his book and looked at Harry with a sneer. "I am well aware of your potion brewing abilities. Or should I say lack of," he said icily.

Though he had just told the man the same thing, Harry still glared at Snape. He really didn't want his potion making skills to be reaffirmed. He tried the next thing he could think of to get out of making the potion. "You'll only lose more of your ingredients if I help, professor."

"You have no choice in the matter, Potter. Since my ingredients are going to be used for you, you are required to help." He looked back down at his book, but before reading, spoke one more time. "We shall wait until your half hour is up before beginning the potion. Until then, stay put and be quiet."

Harry groaned, still glaring at Severus, and then turned his attention to his book bag. He picked up another book within and started reading.

At the half hour mark, Severus got up and went to the large table to check on his brewing potion and to make sure he had all the ingredients needed for Harry's potion. Seeing he had everything, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, preparing for the next hour he'd be in close quarters with Potter. Opening his eyes, he saw Harry wasn't at the table. But he should have expected that. He then turned toward to the couch. "Potter, do you still not know how to tell time?"

Harry was engrossed in the text he was reading, he wasn't aware of the time. At the sound of Severus' silky cold voice, Harry quickly put the book down and hopped off the couch. "Sorry sir. I got caught up in my reading."

Severus just looked at the boy as he made his way to the table, unwilling to believe he was interested in reading textbooks. When Harry stopped in front of the table, Severus took a calculating look at him. "Before we begin Potter, I need to be sure you won't pass out and waste even more of my ingredients."

Harry guessed that was Snape's way of asking him how he felt. "I'm fine professor. The potion worked."

Severus gave a slight, almost non-existent, nod and turned toward the empty cauldron. "Begin by filling up the cauldron with the water over there. Then when you're done, grate the ginger root and finely chop the eucalyptus leaves."

"Okay." Harry then got to work immediately.

Severus watched Harry dump the bowl of water into the cauldron and then begin grating the ginger. "Use the smaller side of the grater, Potter. The ginger root shavings need to be extremely small." After seeing Harry nod, he went over to the cauldron, lit the fire underneath, and began adding ingredients.

Forty-five minutes later, with the potion almost complete, Severus and Harry were surprised at how easy it was to work with each other. Severus had made only a few insulting comments to Harry, and Harry, surprisingly, barely made any mistakes with the potion.

Harry finished the counter-clock-wise stirring of the potion and looked to Severus. "What is the next step professor?"

Severus placed a half dozen empty vials on the table and turned to Harry. "That is all Potter. I can handle the rest. You can go back to whatever it was you really wanted to be doing."

"Thank you sir." Harry turned around and headed for his book bag, intent on grabbing all his school supplies and getting out of the room as fast as he could. As he sat on the couch to put his books back in the bag, he realized that he didn't really want to leave. Even if the professor was busy, and he couldn't stand the man, he was still in the same room as Harry. At that moment, he really didn't want to go up to his room and be all alone. Instead, he found himself sitting back on the couch reading the book he had been reading before making the potion.

Severus finished adding the final ingredient to the potion and waited the five minutes before it could be bottled. After bottling the potion, he filled the cardboard box with the vials and went to place it on the table by the arm chairs. As he rounded the couch, he was surprised to see that Harry was still in the room, lying on the couch reading a textbook. Severus scowled at the boy and went back to check on the other potion he was in the middle of making, before taking a seat at the table and reading more of the defense book.

Hours later, after the potion was complete and bottled, Severus decided to head down to the kitchen to make himself some dinner. He'd then go back to the library and make the remaining potions. Upon walking into the kitchen, his eyes were drawn to the table where he saw a pot of soup and some bread and butter set out on the table. Hearing water running from the sink, he turned to the left and saw Harry at the sink, washing out a bowl and cup.

After drying and putting away the bowl and cup, Harry turned around to go back to his room and hoped to not run in to Snape. But he spotted the man in the doorway. "Professor." He nodded to the kitchen table. "I know you probably won't touch it, but I only know how to make a pot of soup not just a bowl. I left everything out in case you wanted some. I'll put it all away in an hour." Without waiting for a response, Harry slid past Severus and ran up to his room.

Severus walked into the kitchen and stared at the doorway after Harry. Knitting his brow, he turned back to the table. Surprised that Harry would do such a thing, he took the empty bowl on the table and ladled some of the soup into it, determining whether or not he wanted to risk his life by eating food the boy made. Buttering a piece of bread, he sat down and began to eat. Amazed that the soup was actually quite good, he continued eating while contemplating what came over Potter. Deciding to give that up after a few minutes, he finished eating while scanning the day's Daily Prophet he left on the table earlier that morning. After eating, he placed the leftovers in the refrigerator and cleaned his bowl. He then proceeded back to the library to complete the final potions.

Finishing his potions late that night, Severus cleaned up, and packed everything away, leaving the items on the table instead of bringing them to his room. He then went to bed, wanting to leave the house tomorrow morning as soon as he could.

Just like the morning before, Severus was up before dawn. He quickly took a shower and got dressed. Grabbing his trunk, he went to the drawing room to gather his caldrons, potions and other items. He shrunk them all and stuck them in his pocket. Before stepping over to the fireplace, he quickly wrote a note on a piece of parchment Harry had left in the room. With a spell, he made the note go to Harry's room and land beside his glasses on the night table. He then stepped into the fireplace and floo'd to Hogwarts, grateful to be out of that blasted house and Potter’s company.

~SH~

Bright sunlight filtered through the bedroom window streaming on Harry's head, waking him up. Squinting his eyes, he slowly got up and put on his glasses. Smiling that he'd be leaving the horrid house and going home to Hogwarts today, he went to stand up. He then spotted a note on the bedside table. Recalling that it hadn't been there last night, he picked it up and unfolded it.

Potter,

The potion you assisted with yesterday is in the cardboard box in the library. Take one vial every day until the tightness in your lungs disappears, or the potion is gone. Mr. Weasley will be here at 10am to take you to Kings Cross Station, so be ready. Make sure you have packed everything, though with your incompetence you will more than likely leave something behind.

SS

Harry glared at the letter and ripped it up, throwing the pieces in the trash bin near the wardrobe. He then took a shower and got dressed. Glancing at the clock in his room, he saw he only had a half hour until Mr. Weasley would be arriving. He spent that half hour going through all the rooms in the house making sure he had all his belongings packed and ready. At five minutes to ten, he brought everything down to the library. As he made his way down the stairs, he ran into Mr. Weasley.

"Hi Harry. Ready to go?" the red-haired man questioned.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley. I'm all set."

"Great, let's go."

Harry began lugging his trunk as he followed Mr. Weasley down the stairs toward the front door.

"Let me take that for you Harry." Mr. Weasley took hold of Harry's trunk and dragged it out of the house into the waiting car outside, with Harry following behind. He saw Harry look inside the car for other occupants. "The rest of the family is on their way to the station already. There wouldn't have been enough room in this car for all of us. Plus, since I'm new at driving this Muggle contraption, I didn't want to have a lot of noisy people with me."

Harry nodded and got in the car.

"Ready Harry?"

Harry took one last look at the house as it slowly disappeared from the row of dilapidated houses. "Yeah," he said thickly.

Mr. Weasley gave a sympathetic glance at Harry and started the car, driving them both to Kings Cross Station.

Mr. Weasley followed Harry onto Platform 9 ¾. Although Harry truly liked Mr. Weasley, he really wanted to be out of the man's company. When two little kids and their mother walked between them, Harry took the opportunity and got lost in the crowd.

Watching the families all around him saying goodbye to each other as he sluggishly walked along the platform, Harry couldn't help but think that's what he desperately wanted; a family to say goodbye to at the start the school year. He had a little taste of it the prior year when against everyone's wishes Sirius, in his animagus form, went to see him off. He knew Sirius in human form wouldn't have been able to say goodbye at Kings Cross, but he still could have had a goodbye with someone that actually cared about him. But now he'd never have that. He sometimes wished he never met Sirius or found out that he was his godfather. All his hopes for a family were destroyed in the blink of an eye.

He shook his head sadly and took a deep breath, trying to rid the depressing thoughts from his mind. He knew it wouldn't do any good to dwell on things he'd never have. With one last longing look at the families down on the platform, he climbed the steps and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Harry passed many open compartments that were crammed with kids, all discussing loudly what they did over the summer. He didn't really want to discuss anything that happened to him over the summer, mostly because whenever he thought of the summer, he thought of Sirius, and he was trying to forget the pain. He also still felt out of sorts from the past few days at Grimmauld Place and wasn't feeling completely well yet. He definitely didn't want to discuss any of it with anyone right now. The only thing he did want was his friends.

In search of Ron and Hermione, Harry continued down the cars. Walking by one of the open compartments, a hand flew out and grabbed his arm. Before he knew what was happening, he was being pulled inside the compartment.

"Hey Harry," said the voice who belonged to the person who grabbed him. "How was your summer? Do anything fun? How'd you do on your OWLs?"

After getting his bearings, he looked up and saw his classmate, Seamus. Not wanting to have a conversation or to stay with the group of fifth and sixth years, Harry gave a vague answer. "My summer was like normal. Sorry, but I promised to find Ron and Hermione when I got on board." He turned back to the compartment door to leave. "See you at the feast." He then rushed out of the compartment and continued down the train.

Moving on down towards the end of the train, he found the compartments were slowly becoming emptier. He hadn't found Ron or Hermione but figured they hadn't gotten on board yet. So instead he searched for an empty compartment, finding one in the last car of the train.

Sighing, he stowed his book bag on the overhead shelf, closed the compartment door, and sat down next to the window. Just after sitting down, the train gave a jerk then started on its way to Hogwarts. He put his head in his hand and stared out the window watching the scenery go by; his thoughts mostly on what a horrible summer he had. He also couldn't wait until he could talk to Remus. He hadn't realized how much he missed the man's company and warm smiling face.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry jumped when the compartment door opened a while later. Tearing his eyes off the passing scenery, he turned towards the door, getting his breathing under control.

"Hi Harry," came the voice of Hermione. She noticed his wide eyes and fast breathing. "I'm sorry I scared you." She sat down across from Harry and looked to Ron, who was trailing in after her. "With all the noise he was making," she nodded to Ron, "I'm surprised you didn't hear us coming. You could probably have heard him from Hogwarts."

Ron's face turned a light shade of pink as he sat down next to Hermione. "It's not my fault that Malfoy and his goons tried to trip me as I passed." He gave a smile to Hermione and looked at Harry. "Hullo Harry."

"Hi guys." Harry looked at his two best friends and noticed they didn't have their bags or anything else with them. "Erm…do you two already have a compartment for us? I didn't see you two when I got on board."

Hermione and Ron looked at each other, confused. "Harry," Hermione began, "Ron and I are Prefects, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Harry said, disappointed then shrugged. He'd forgotten that. "Sorry I forgot. Guess I'll see you two at the feast then," he said rather shortly. Not waiting for a reply, he returned his gaze to the window.

Ron and Hermione sat there just staring at their friend. Without Harry having to say it, they both knew that he wanted them there with him the entire ride. Unfortunately that wasn't possible this year.

Hermione stood up. "I really wish we could stay here longer Harry," she said quietly. "But we're late as it is. We were supposed to go to the Prefects car first thing, but we wanted to see you first." She waited for a response, but never got one. "Goodbye Harry. See you at the feast." She then turned and headed out of the car.

Ron followed behind her. "Bye mate. See you in a few hours." He then stepped out of the compartment and closed the door behind him.

After hearing the door close, Harry glanced to see if they indeed left him. Seeing the empty compartment, he gave a sad sigh and returned to staring out the window. He always looked forward to his trip to Hogwarts and spending the hours just having fun and talking. He knew he wouldn't do a lot of talking or having as much fun as he used to on this trip, but he still wanted to be around his friends. He was tired of being alone. It just made him think more about the past few months.

A while later he started coughing. He rolled his eyes once he stopped. He was sick of being sick. Not wanting to wait to see if it got worse, he opened his bag and took a vial of the potion he and Professor Snape had made the day before. About ten minutes later, he began to feel drowsy; a possible side affect of the potion or perhaps Snape had put in a light sleeping draught. Either way, Harry was too tired to contemplate the reason. He slowly lay down on the bench and within a few minutes, was asleep.

Harry stirred from his sleep a little over an hour later. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with two blurry figures on the other side of the compartment. Hoping they were Ron and Hermione, he quickly sat up, rubbed his eyes, and then went in search of his glasses that had fallen off while he slept. Putting his glasses on, he saw the blurry figures slowly coming into focus were unfortunately Ginny and Neville. The two were lost in a game of wizard chess and hadn't noticed Harry stirring. "How long have you two been in here?" he asked them, breaking the silence.

Ginny gave a squeak of surprise at the sudden sound. "Hi Harry. We haven't been here long. Maybe about twenty minutes or so." She watched Harry raise his hand to his mouth to cover a yawn. "I hope we didn't wake you. We tried to be quiet."

"Don't worry about it Ginny. You two didn't wake me."

"Good." Ginny looked down to the chess board. "We haven't gotten anywhere with this game Harry. How about the three of us play exploding snap?"

Harry looked to Neville and then back to Ginny. "You two don't mind quitting your game?" He watched as Ginny and Neville looked at each other then shook there heads in the negative. "Brilliant. Let's play." He'd do anything to keep his mind off of summer.

~SH~

The three spent the remaining trip playing exploding snap and wizard chess. Before they knew it, they had arrived and were boarding the carriages to Hogwarts. Harry had searched for Ron and Hermione, but couldn't find them, so he ended up in a carriage with Ginny, Neville, Luna, and a second year no one knew.

As Harry entered the Great Hall, he gave a huge smile, glad to be back to where he considered home. He took at seat at the Gryffindor table and was joined a few minutes later by Ron and Hermione. The three were getting ready to talk when the first years walked in and the sorting began.

After the sorting was complete, Harry looked up to the staff table in search of Remus. He didn't see him, but spotted an empty seat next to Professor Snape. He was a bit disappointed to not see him up there, but fully understood. He just hoped that dinner would be over soon so he could go visit Remus. He was way too eager to see the DADA professor.

Before dinner was served, Professor Dumbledore got up and announced that Remus Lupin would be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher again this year. Once all the clapping and cheering ended, Hermione, Ron and Harry started talking about their OWLs and what classes they were taking this year. Dinner was served a few minutes later and they stopped most of their conversation to eat.

Hermione took a sip of pumpkin juice, set her cup down, and looked to Harry. "Harry, a few of us were talking over the summer and we'd like to continue with…" she paused, looked around the table, and continued softer, "…we'd like to continue with the DA. If what happened at the Ministry is any indication of what we'll be up against, we definitely would like to continue."

Harry paled at the mention of what happened at the Ministry. He knew Hermione wasn't speaking about what happened to Sirius in particular, but that was all he could think about. He got angry with Hermione for bringing it up, for bringing all the memories of his godfather to the front of his mind. A painful lump formed in his throat and he began to feel a prickling behind his eyes. His need to go find Remus increased drastically, and he was shocked by it.

He looked up at the staff table one last time to make sure the man wasn't there. After seeing his seat still empty, his eyes locked with the cold black eyes of Professor Snape. Everything he was feeling increased tenfold while staring at the Potions Master. He felt that man was part of the reason Sirius was dead.

Needing to get out of the Great Hall immediately, Harry got up from the table and with a quick word to Ron and Hermione telling them he'd see them in the common room later, left to go see Professor Lupin. Harry ran up to the second floor and arrived at Lupin's office.

He knocked on the door to Remus' office and tried to push back his emotions. A few seconds later, the door was being opened by Remus. "Oh, hi Harry. I wasn't expect…" He stopped talking as he took in Harry's erratic breathing and pale complexion. He also noticed that the boy looked like he was on the verge of crying, something that totally shocked the man. Harry didn't even look like that after Sirius fell through the veil. "Harry, are you alright?"

Harry tried to control his breathing. "I'm fine professor," he lied between ragged breaths. "I just ran up here from the Great Hall."

Remus could tell Harry was upset about something and wasn't fine, but didn't want to push it. "Why don't you come in and let's go to my study and get comfortable." Harry nodded his consent then followed Remus through his office and into the study in his private quarters. "Take a seat on the couch while I light a fire in the fire place."

Harry sank down on one side of the plush dark blue couch as Remus lit the fire. He put his elbows on his knees and pressed his hands over his eyes, trying to stop from crying. He hadn't cried over Sirius yet and he wasn't about to start now.

After lighting the fire, Remus stood up and took in the sight of Harry, sitting on the couch. He gave a sad sigh while walking over to the couch and sat down a little bit away from Harry. "Harry," he said quietly. "What happened?" Remus wasn't expecting an answer, but decided to ask anyway. After all, the boy did seek him out instead of finishing dinner.

After a few seconds, Harry was satisfied that he had his emotions under control. He removed his hands from his face and clasped his hands together, elbows still on his knees. He felt his professor’s gaze on him but kept his eyes focused on his hands in front of him. "Sorry professor. I just got angry and upse…," he stopped abruptly. He had been trying to deny that feeling and didn't want Remus to know how he really felt. "I just had to get out of there. Everyone was talking like nothing happened at all while at the Ministry and didn't even take in to account what I might be feeling. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, but it would have been nice if they considered how I would be affected about what they were saying." He took a frustrated breath, having a difficult time trying to vocalize what he was feeling. "That's not coming out right. I mean…"

"Harry don't worry, I know what you are trying to say. Believe me. I can't speak for your friends Harry, but I know that it's hard for others to realize that even the most minor of things could bring upsetting memories. Just know they wouldn't intentionally hurt you." Harry finally looked to him and seeing the heartbreaking and miserable expression on Harry's face, he gave the boy a sad smile.

Harry returned the smile. "Thanks Professor." His eyes then wandered over his professor. He took in the man's tired appearance and fresh cuts on his face. After really seeing Remus, he thought it might be better to come back in a few days when Remus had time to recover from his transformation even though he really wanted to talk to him. He didn't realize how much just this little talk, if you could call it that, helped him so far. "I should go," Harry stated, and then got up quickly.

"No Harry," Remus stated, surprised at the quick change in Harry's attitude. "You don't need to go. You can stay as long as you like."

"I'd love to stay and talk all night, but I know you must be exhausted. I'm sorry I disturbed you tonight. I just needed..."

"Harry, stop apologizing," Remus interrupted, then stood up also. "I asked you to come tonight, remember? I've been looking forward to your visit since I left you."

"I know." He gave Remus a smile. "I just want you to feel one hundred percent better, or as close to it as you can be tomorrow for class. I can't wait to see what we'll be learning."

Remus laughed. "Fine. But you must promise you'll be back soon so we can talk."

"You don't have to ask me twice." Harry turned and started heading towards Remus' office and the door out to the corridor, with Remus following behind. He reached the door and turned around. "Goodnight Professor."

Remus opened the door for Harry and held it open. "Goodnight Harry." Harry smiled one more time at Remus and left for the Gryffindor tower. Remus stood at the door watching Harry's retreating form. He was glad to see that Harry's mood improved with just the short visit. After Harry disappeared from sight, Remus closed the door and went back to his personal quarters.

September and October were pretty much uneventful for Harry. His cough ended about three days into the new term, much to his satisfaction. He also found that his friendship with Hermione and Ron was changing. Not only were their Prefect duties taking up a lot of their time, he noticed that when he was around them, they were mostly too caught up in each other. Because of this, Harry spent more time with Neville and Ginny.

It was near the end of September when Ginny brought up the slight change in Harry's appearance. He noticed some small changes, like his hair color and the shape of his face, but didn't think it was that noticeable. In the back of his mind, he was wondering what was causing the changes. He hoped it wasn't yet another consequence from his link with Voldemort.

Harry also met with Remus more often and learned quite a bit about his parents. In his talk tonight, before heading to the Halloween Feast, he let things slip about his life with the Dursley's. He hadn't planned on discussing any of it, but Remus had a way of making him talk. Luckily Remus didn't ask a lot of questions, and he was in a pleasant mood for the celebration in a few hours.

~SH~

Seated, unfortunately, next to Remus at the staff table, Severus looked around the Great Hall. The floating jack-o-lanterns, bobbing slowly above the house tables, were still giving off an orange-yellow glow while bats continued flitting around the room. He noticed the students at the tables enjoying the Halloween Feast had dwindled down quite a bit. Looking up and down the table he was sitting at, he found there were more than enough teachers to watch over the students left in the room. Wanting some time for himself, he quickly slipped out the side door of the Great Hall and went down to his private quarters in the dungeons.

Giving a long sigh as he closed and charmed his door locked, he walked to the dining area to prepare his nightly cup of tea. Walking past his desk in his study, he spotted a small brown-paper wrapped box. He didn't recall seeing it before the Feast, but continued to make his tea anyway. Carrying the cup of tea, he went back to his desk and set the cup down. He picked up the box. Written in a handwriting he recognized from many years ago, was his name.

He quickly placed the box on the desk, and beginning to feel a bit shaky, sat down. He looked at his name written on the box again and stared at it in confusion for a few minutes. He couldn't understand why he'd be receiving a package from this person. Slowly he tore off the paper and opened the cardboard box. After removing some packing material, he pulled out a thick envelope. Under the envelope and cradled in more packing material, was a small, red, heart-shaped glass bottle with a gold stopper sealing the contents. He placed the envelope on the desk, picked up the bottle and brought it up close to his face, trying to discern what it held inside. Not being able to tell, he carefully placed it back in the box, and turned his attention to the envelope.

He flicked the hair out of his eyes, nervously picked up the envelope and flipped it over so he was looking at the back of it. With a shaky hand he slipped a finger under the flap and unsealed the envelope. He pulled out the four pieces of parchment inside and unfolded them. He then began to read the letter written by someone he never thought he'd hear from ever again.

My Dearest Severus,

I don't even know where to begin. But I'm going to assume that if you're reading this, Harry is alive and James and I have died. I just wish everything you sacrificed for Harry and I wasn't for nothing.

I know you haven't any idea what I am writing about so please let me explain. The red heart-shaped bottle that was included with this letter contains some of your memories. Your real memories. When you're done reading this letter, please remove your altered memories and replace them with your real memories. You'll understand a little later, I promise.

After we graduated from Hogwarts, I decided to spend time with you, even though I was seeing James. Over the months, we grew closer than we ever were while at Hogwarts, when we had to hide our friendship. I soon stopped seeing James because I was falling in love with you. I knew you were a Death Eater, but I couldn't tell my heart to stop loving you.

You proposed to me in September 1979, and we decided to get married in late March 1980. In November of 1979, we were both surprised and delighted to find out that I was pregnant with our first child. I can still see the smile on your face and hear the joy in your voice when two seconds after you found out we were to have a son, you shouted that his name was to be Harry.

In early March 1980, just a few weeks before we were to be married, you had overhead the Prophecy. After telling the Prophecy to the Dark Lord and finding out that he figured the child to be Harry, you came to me hysterical. You said that because you were a Death Eater we couldn't get married; that the Dark Lord could get to Harry easier if it was known that he was a Death Eater's son.

After discussing all our options, you had made a decision all on your own. Knowing that James and I at one point loved each other, you met with both of us. You pleaded with the two of us to get married and for James to raise Harry and love him like his own son, even though it was killing you to give up your family. I didn't agree with you then, and I still don't. But you didn't want to put all of us in terrible danger. You wanted to keep me and Harry safe.

The next day you begged me to alter your memories of the time we were together since our later years at Hogwarts up until that day. You said that you couldn't live with the pain of giving up Harry and myself and didn't want to go on living knowing the love you felt for us. A tiny bit of you also felt this would be a good way to hide any information from the Dark Lord since you were still working on mastering Occlumency.

I'm sorry, my love, but this is where I couldn't comply fully with your wishes. Before I finished the memory altering spell on you, and without you knowing, I took your real memories and placed them in the heart-shaped bottle. I didn't want you or Harry to go through life not knowing the truth. I knew that if James and I didn't make it out of this war alive, that I would want Harry to live with his father, his real father; the one who truly loved him. James loved him yes, but not like you did for the few months before he was born, before your memory was altered. I wanted Harry to know the truth of how much you sacrificed for him.

After I altered your memories and before Harry was born, I cast a charm on him to make him look like James and myself. The length of the charm I chose was approximately sixteen years. When Harry turns sixteen, the charm will slowly fade and his true appearance will begin to show. As much as I wanted Harry and you, Severus, to know the truth, I wanted to make sure that Harry would be old enough to understand it. That is the reason you're receiving this letter now, and not years earlier. It was charmed to be delivered on the anniversary of my death during Harry’s sixteen year. I could have cast the charm on Harry to last him all his life, but I just couldn't. I'm sorry I wasn't able to follow your wishes to have you forget for the rest of your life.

Knowing that you might not acknowledge the truth, with the altered memories you were given, and because Harry would need to know the truth after he turned sixteen, I wrote similar letters as yours for Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Professor Dumbledore. If Remus wasn't alive to receive the letter, one would be sent to Sirius, and so on. And in the event you were not alive when Harry turned sixteen, the same would apply only they would be receiving the letter, along with the bottle of your memories.

Severus, I know you're finding this hard to believe, but it is true. The memories in the bottle, your memories, prove it. I'm begging you, please talk to our son. Let him know the truth, and the real you. Not the you that came about because of your altered memories. Please let Harry know he still has a loving father. And please change your altered memories with the real ones; for you and for Harry. Just seeing your memories won't be good enough. They'll only be like snapshots. You need to replace your memories. When you replace them, your feelings and emotions will return as well.

I never stopped loving you Severus, even after James and I were married. You don't know how hard it was for me to look at our Harry and not think of you. He may have looked like James, but I could always see you in him. Please take care of our son, Severus.

Love Always,

Lily

Severus put down the letter, quickly got up from the desk, and started pacing his living room, black robes billowing every time he pivoted around. At the far end of the room, he slowly turned around while in thought, then stalked back to the desk and looked at the letter, a scowl forming on his pale face. There was no way in hell Dumbledore's arrogant 'golden boy' was his son.

"Who would dare play this type of trick on me," he snarled to the empty room. "This is pure rubbish." He picked up the glass bottle and narrowing his eyes, stared at the contents to see what was really in the bottle. He shook it and watched the contents slosh inside. "Probably just sugar water." He put the bottle back in the box and threw the letter in on top.

He quickly grabbed the box to dispose of it. He walked in front of the fireplace and was ready to throw the entire box in to the roaring fire. He had the box just inches from the flames when he suddenly stopped. His breathing came faster as he stared at the box. Something deep inside was telling him that it wasn't a joke. He gave an angry huff, turned around from the fireplace and hid the box in the far corner of the room; the darkest space he could find. He couldn't get rid of it, but he didn't want to see it either.

After removing the box from his sight, Severus grabbed his now cold tea and went to the kitchen. He threw the tea in the sink, rinsed the cup out and decided to fill it instead with fire whiskey. After reading that letter he definitely needed a stronger drink than tea. With his drink in hand, he took a seat by the fireplace. He tried to clear his mind of the letter in between sips. The farther along in his drink he went, the less he thought about the box and its contents; though it never completely vanished from his thoughts.

Hours and almost three-quarters of a bottle of fire whiskey later, Severus couldn't stand it. He slammed the cup on the table next to his chair and stalked over to the box. He crouched down and looked at it a few seconds before picking it up. He walked back over to the chair and set the box on the table.

Reaching in the box, he took the letter out and read over it again, twice. "This has to be that werewolf's doing," Severus spat. "Potter is not and will never be my son. I do not care what this letter says, I don't want to…" Severus stopped his rambling as he fixed his eyes on Lily's signature. He stared at 'Lily' like it was the only thing keeping him alive. Like it was the only way he was to get oxygen to breathe. He then realized there was no way this letter could have been written by anyone but Lily. She had a certain way she wrote her name whenever she wrote to him. No one knew of it as far as he knew. And he doubted anyone could imitate it if they did. But he needed to be sure.

Severus pulled out his wand from his robes. He pointed it at the letter. "Ostendo sum scriptor." A blue mist floated out the tip of his wand and formed the words Lily Evans Potter. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and just stared at the letter.

Lily did indeed write the letter in his hand. No one knew the charms that he and Lily used on all their correspondence. After receiving a fake note early on while at Hogwarts, Lily found a charm they would each use on any letters they wrote and received. This charm, along with a certain incantation, would reveal the true scribe of any written document. It had come in handy on more than one occasion in the past. He never thought he'd have to use it ever again.

Severus sunk down in the chair while still holding the letter. He couldn't take his eyes off Lily's name. With his free hand, he grabbed his cup from the table and took a drink. While holding the cup with his arm resting on the chair's arm rest, the most horrible thought he ever had slammed to the forefront of his mind. The cup dropped from his hand and smashed into pieces on the stone floor. "Potter is my son."

Not wanting to believe it, but needing to see it for himself, he set the letter down on the table and picked up the heart-shaped bottle. He ignored the broken cup and puddle of fire whiskey on the floor next to him and quickly walked to his pensive in the other room. He removed the gold stopper and poured the contents into the pensive.

Severus' face was less than a quarter inch away from his pensive when he stood upright abruptly, his black eyes never leaving the swirling silvery-white contents inside the pensive. He couldn't believe he was foolish enough to almost expose himself to an unknown substance. Sure, the letter was written by Lily, but who was to say she wasn't coerced into writing what she did. And how was he to know that the substance inside the bottle was really his memories. It could have been anything.

He took his wand out of his cloak and with a flick, put the memories back into the bottle. He'd analyze them in the morning. He was currently too tired, too wound up, and, with a look at the smashed glass and almost empty bottle of fire whiskey, definitely too drunk to think clearly. Severus placed the heart-shaped bottle back in the box and placed the letter on top. He then put the box back in the dark corner of the room and retired to bed.

The next morning came too quickly and Severus awoke with a pounding headache. Glancing at the clock on the opposite wall of his bed, he realized he had overslept. He quickly got dressed and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Walking past his study on the way out of his quarters, he spotted the pieces of broken glass still lying in the puddle on the floor next to the chair. He vaguely remembered what happened the night before, but in his befuddled mind, thought it was more than likely just an alcohol related dream.

While muttering under his breath about Dumbledore and his stupid requirement for staff to attend all meals, Severus stalked up to the Great Hall. He arrived at the staff table just as breakfast was being served. He barely had a chance to sit down and pour himself a cup of much needed coffee when he felt a presence behind him. He set his cup on the table and turned around, eyes meeting those of the headmaster. "Headmaster," he said in a forced polite voice. The headmaster wanting to talk to him this early in the day was never good.

"Severus, my boy, would you mind meeting in my chambers this afternoon at 3 pm?" Dumbledore paused for a moment and his eyes drifted off of Severus. "I have an important matter to discuss with you."

Severus followed the old man's gaze to the Gryffindor table and his eyes landed on Harry. He rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly. Of course everything had to do with Potter. When did it not?

At the sight of Harry laughing and eating with his friends, Severus started to feel nauseous; his thoughts going back to last night; his nightmare? He therefore turned his attention back to Dumbledore. "I will be there," he ground out. "If you'll excuse me Headmaster, I just remembered I have a few things to finish up before classes this morning." Without waiting for a response, Severus grabbed his cup of coffee and stood up.

"Of course. Have a good day, Severus." With a smile and twinkling blue eyes, Dumbledore went back to his seat.

Severus, of course, didn't have anything to finish up before classes started. It was the thought that, once again, Potter was causing him more aggravation that made him leave the Great Hall and return to his quarters with coffee in hand.

As he walked through his study and stopped at his desk, his eyes narrowed and fell to the box in the dark corner, they then drifted to the quarter-full bottle of fire whiskey, the smashed glass on the floor, and the now dried sticky puddle of fire whiskey. He ran a hand over his face and closed his eyes briefly. It was then that he came to the realization that last night was not some alcohol induced nightmare. It was real!

Still standing by the desk, he finished the last of the coffee and roughly set the cup down for one of the house-elves to take away. He removed his wand from his cloak and cleaned up the mess from last night. He couldn't believe that Potter still had the ability to cause devastation even when he wasn't in a room.

Once the study was clean, he took a seat in one of the chairs by the fireplace. Glancing around, Severus thought he hid the box well enough last night. However his eyes came to rest on it seconds later. He let out a deep breath and shook his head. Seeing the box, he decided he didn't want to think about the letter or memories and especially what they meant. He wanted to forget they even existed. After all, he couldn't stand Harry and Harry couldn't stand him. Why would he even think he could be the brat's father? He was in no way related to the boy. If he was the only one to know the truth, then he was fine. He would definitely never be the one to let the truth out.

Severus quickly retrieved the box and stashed it in one of the lower shelves in the closet he used to store his rare potion ingredients.

Glad to be rid of that burden, he glanced at the clock on his desk. Seeing his first class started in five minutes, he grabbed a stack of papers from one of the piles sitting on the desk chair and stalked out of his quarters to his classroom.

~SH~

Running a little late for his second class because of a last minute trip to the loo, Harry quickly walked in to the Potions classroom. Before taking his seat next to Ron, he looked up to the front to see where Snape was. He didn't have to look far, since the moment he raised his eyes he met the steely cold glare of the potions master standing no more than two feet in front of him.

"I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence Potter," Severus spat. "If you're through interrupting class, I suggest you quickly take your seat."

Angry at Snape, Harry walked over to his seat and threw himself into his chair, pulling out his parchment and book with as much noise as he could muster. He was late by only two minutes for Merlin’s sake.

With one last glare at Harry, Severus whirled around, with robes billowing, and headed to the front of the class. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," he threw an irritated glance at Harry, "I expect you all to be able to brew the potion that you read about as homework last night. I've placed the ingredients on the board, and you can use your textbook…."

Harry leaned over to Ron and spoke in a hushed voice as Severus continued speaking to the class. "The slimy bat thinks we were going to be reading on Halloween night? He's mental."

Ron had just begun nodding his head when a shadow loomed over their heads. They both froze immediately, knowing exactly who it was. "Twenty-five points from Gryffindor. Potter, you have detention. Stay put after class." Harry looked up to see Severus' angry sneer.

When Severus left their table and continued up to the front of the room a few seconds later, Harry and Ron let out a breath. "He really is a git isn't he?" Ron asked Harry with a sympathetic look on his face.

Harry just looked at Ron and gave a slight shake of the head. He didn't want to risk getting any more detentions with Snape, especially since he still had about forty-five more minutes left in class.

Since the class was almost over and everyone should have been close to completing their potion, Severus decided to walk around the tables to see the results. After giving Draco ten points for his potion having a near correct consistency, he finally made his way to Harry and Ron's table and peered inside Harry's cauldron. "A waste of ingredients," he said icily. How anyone can be so incompetent is beyond me. The base was a first-year potion and in a sense, a first year should have been able to brew this potion." He bent down so he was face to face with Harry, his dark lank hair hanging down the sides of his face. "You should give up while you're ahead Potter," he hissed, then stood back up.

Angry at the potion master's comments, but biting both lips to keep from responding with a nasty retort, Harry took a look at his potion. It was mint green, just a little lighter in color than the potion should have been, but was the right consistency. He was fairly certain he was close to the right color though. He glanced over to Hermione's potion and saw hers was just a shade darker, and he knew hers to be correct.

"Zero points for your potion Potter." Before Harry could protest, Severus pulled out his wand. "Evanesco."

Harry looked inside his now empty cauldron and glanced up at Snape, ready to make a remark. Snape looked satisfied but ready to explode should Harry give him the chance. He looked back down and rolled his eyes, hoping the man didn't see.

"Class dismissed," said Severus a few seconds later, wanting to be rid of the 6th years. "Place your potion samples on the back desk on your way out."

Ron and Harry put their stuff in their book bags and walked over to Hermione so the three of them could go to their next class together. Once Hermione was ready, the trio made their way to the door.

Severus' cold voice wafted through the classroom just as they stepped over the threshold. "Potter, where do you think you're going? Did I not tell you to stay after class?"

Harry huffed and said goodbye to Ron and Hermione. He turned around and faced Severus. "Sorry sir. I forgot."

Severus narrowed his eyes at Harry.

Without trying to hide it this time, Harry rolled his eyes at Severus again. "Whatever," he said quietly after seeing his professor's expression.

Severus was beginning to lose his patience. "You're insolence is unbelievable, Potter. I expect to see you here at six thirty tonight for your detention." And as an afterthought, added "Wear something old." Severus decided to give Harry a more hands-on detention instead of the usual.

Harry gave a slight nod and realizing Snape was done speaking with him, quickly left the potions classroom to catch up with his friends.

Out of breath from running, Harry finally caught up with Ron and Hermione in the corridor outside of the Transfiguration classroom. He tried to squeeze in between them, but they were too close together. "Hi guys." There was no answer. He then noticed their heads were bent so close together they were almost touching and they were whispering amongst themselves. "Hey guys," he tried again, this time moving next to Ron.

"Oh. Hey Harry." Ron finally noticed Harry walking next to him. "So, what's the torture this time?"

"I have no idea. The old bat just said to wear something old."

Hermione gave Harry a stern look. "You should have tried harder on your potion, Harry."

"Come on Hermione, my potion was almost the same color as yours and it was the correct consistency. What more do you want?" Harry was getting aggravated.

"It's just…Harry you never…" Hermione began, never taking her eyes off Ron.

Harry cut her off. "Never mind," he said shortly, seeing Hermione's attention wasn't really on him at all. He sped up and entered Transfiguration and quickly took a seat next to Neville.

~SH~

Harry had just said goodbye to Ron and Hermione and was getting ready to leave the Great Hall after lunch to head to History of Magic, his next class. He was packing away his homework when a small first year approached and handed him a folded piece of parchment. He watched the boy leave, unfolded the letter and read it. The day just kept getting better. Harry began to wonder what he did now, besides getting an undeserved detention, that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see him that afternoon. Whatever it was, he doubted it could be good.

After an hour of trying to remain alert and conscious in Professor Binns' class, Harry found himself reluctantly heading for the headmaster's office and standing in front of the stone gargoyle. Before he could even begin uttering a possible password, the stone gargoyle sprung aside revealing the spiral steps leading up to Dumbledore's office. He slowly climbed the stairs, dragging his book bag behind him. When he reached the office doors, they immediately opened.

Harry hesitantly stepped into the round office and glanced around. His stomach dropped as he spotted the greasy black hair of the potions master seated in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk.

Severus turned in his chair and met Harry's eyes with a sneer and a cold glare; the reason for Dumbledore's meeting reaffirmed.

Harry broke eye contact and looked around the office for Dumbledore. Not seeing him, he put his book bag on his shoulder, walked as far from Snape as he could and stared at the various objects on the shelf in front of him. Just as he was about to pick up a gleaming sphere, he heard a door open to the left of him. He removed his hand from the sphere and turned to see Dumbledore entering the office from his private chambers and sit down at his desk.

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "how are you doing this fine afternoon?" He took a seat behind his desk and pointed a hand to the chair on the other side, next to Severus. "Why don't you take a seat?"

Harry nodded, settled himself as far away from Snape as the chair would allow him, and dropped his book bag to his feet.

Dumbledore then held a bowl in front of Harry. "Lemon drop?" At Harry's negative nod, he turned to Severus. "Severus?"

"No thank you headmaster," he said in a low voice. He wished Dumbledore would stop offering sweets before getting to the cause of his meetings.

Placing the bowl back down, Dumbledore placed his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his steepled fingers. "I guess the two of you would like to know why I called you here this afternoon."

"Yes sir," came Harry's soft reply.

Severus said nothing.

"Harry, over the summer holiday, it has come to my attention that we need to be more vigilant in protecting you from Lord Voldemort."

Harry gave a small nod, while Severus interrupted. "Headmaster, I don't see how this has anything to do…"

Dumbledore raised a hand to stop Severus. "Let me finish Severus." He turned his attention back to Harry. "Harry, after the events that took place at the Ministry last year, I feel it is imperative that you start taking Occlumency lessons again."

Harry paled at the mention of the Ministry, his thoughts going back to Sirius, and his face showed a bit of sadness.

Severus had turned his attention to Harry as Dumbledore began speaking again and saw the change in Harry's demeanor. He gave a small smirk, glad to see the boy in distress since he again caused most, if not all, of the devastation that happened that day. He got what he deserved.

"Who will be teaching me?" Harry asked in a small voice, afraid to hear the answer.

"Professor Snape," said Dumbledore, nodding his head in the direction of Severus.

"But sir," Harry began to protest, chancing a glance at the Potion's Master.

"I will not waste my valuable time teaching this dimwitted boy," Severus interrupted, pointing his hand at Harry. "He's incapable of learning the subject, as last year proved."

Harry was becoming enraged at the Potion Master's comments. He clenched his fists and tried to speak calmly, but it was of no use. "I don't want that greasy git teaching me anything! He's the reason why…"

"Harry, please have some respect for your Professor," Dumbledore broke in.

"Sorry," he said, though not meaning it. "You hear how he talks about me Headmaster. It's the same when he talks to me. He'll just keep belittling me and getting mad when I can't push him out of my mind. Yet he never tells me how to do it!"

"I am sure Professor Snape treats you will respect and is teaching you with the best of his abilities."

Severus sneered at Harry but nodded to Dumbledore. "Thank you Headmaster."

"But sir," Harry began again.

"Believe me, I understand your concerns gentlemen," Dumbledore began, looking at the two sitting in front of him, "but I cannot just ignore the growing situation. And I'm afraid I'm not as mastered in the art as you are, Severus, to teach young Mr. Potter myself." Harry sighed, defeated. "I would like the lessons to be two hours twice a week, beginning tomorrow after dinner. You will use the same excuse as last year, Harry, if anyone questions your whereabouts."

"Yes sir," Harry replied dejectedly, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"That's fine." Wanting to humiliate the boy a little more, he continued. "If you so choose, I'll gladly meet with you after our lessons to give you an update on Potter's lack of progress."

"Come now Severus. That will not be necessary." Dumbledore stood up from his desk. "That will be all. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon." He then left his office the same way he arrived.

Not wanting to be in the vicinity of Snape any longer and wanting some time without the man until his detention, Harry grabbed his book bag and dashed out the door to the Gryffindor common room.

Severus waited until he was fairly certain Potter was already in the corridors before he left for his office. He had a little time before his next class and dinner to get ready for the boy’s detention.

The Great Hall was mostly empty when Harry entered to have dinner later that first Wednesday night in November before his detention. Remembering he earlier told Ron and Hermione that he would save them a spot when they came down for dinner at their normal time, he walked halfway down the sparsely populated Gryffindor table toward one of the larger empty areas and sat down. He then filled his plate with food and began eating.

Almost done with his dinner, a while later, Harry looked up from his plate and noticed that a majority of the students had arrived. He was a bit surprised that Ron and Hermione had yet to show up as Ron supposedly had something very important to tell them at dinner before Harry left for his detention. Harry took a sip of pumpkin juice and looked towards the doors. As his eyes traveled up the long wooden table, he spotted his friends sitting very close to each other near the end of the table, talking and laughing.

Feeling slightly betrayed and hurt at his friends for ignoring him yet again, Harry quickly finished his dinner and stormed out of the Great Hall, being sure he was seen by Ron and Hermione. Once out of the Great Hall, he proceeded up to his dorm room, almost at a run, to change for his detention. He had eaten slowly so he could spend some time with them before his detention and now he had no time to dally around because they decided not to join him.

Ron entered the dorm room minutes behind Harry and immediately stopped in the doorway, his eyes taking in the sight before him. Clothes and books were scattered all over his bed and Harry's. He walked into the room and around to Harry's bed. He found Harry bent over his trunk, throwing a pair of socks and trainers beside him on the floor. "Blimey Harry, what do you think your doing?" he asked, forgetting the real reason he went up to their dorm room.

"What do you care?" Harry snapped, his voice not hiding his feelings about being ignoring at dinner. He reached into the bottom of his trunk and pulled out a raggedy pair of jeans and shirt.

"Harry," Ron began.

With clothes in hand, Harry grabbed his pair of trainers and socks on the floor and stood up, his back to Ron. "I need to change for detention." Without another word or waiting for Ron to respond, Harry headed to the bathroom to change.

When he reentered the dorm room a few minutes later, he was relieved to see that Ron was gone. He wasn't in the mood to have a row with him at the moment. Placing his school clothes on his four-poster, Harry took off for the potion's classroom.

As he slowly descended the stairs toward the dungeons, Harry's upset feelings turned to anger. He could understand his friends wanting to do things without him, but he couldn't believe they would forget their promise to have dinner with him. Over the past month, he'd noticed that Ron and Hermione’s forgetting about him had become an almost regular occurrence.

His thoughts then turned towards his detention as he rounded a corridor and spotted the potion's classroom. He was fuming by the time he got to the door. He couldn't believe Ron, again, got out of a detention from Snape. His detention was so unfair. Ron deserved a detention too. At that moment Harry knew the greasy git really had it out for him. His anger worked up, Harry knocked on the wooden door with more force than necessary.

~SH~

Severus was shifting some items around in the potion's storeroom when he heard a forceful knock on the classroom door. "Enter," he said rather loudly while still in the storeroom.

Harry opened the door and stood just inside, left hand clenched in anger on the door knob. With surprising courage, Harry started ranting the minute he entered the classroom, not bothering to notice that the Potion's Master wasn't in sight. He was too busy looking at his trainers instead of the classroom. "Sir, this detention is uncalled for. I did nothing to deserve it," he shouted, not caring if he was being disrespectful to his professor. "And if I got a detention, Ron should have received one too. I think you…" He stopped abruptly, surprised at what he had said. He was thinking those thoughts but never imagined saying them out loud to the professor.

Severus stepped into the classroom carrying a huge metal bucket. "Please desist with your infernal racket Mr. Potter." He placed the bucket on the floor next to one of the desks at the front of the room and looked Harry up and down with narrowed eyes. "I see you remembered to wear something old." Harry just stood at the door glaring at him. "It seems you can listen to instructions after all."

"I always listen," Harry replied. "But not to you most of the time," he added in a very quiet whisper.

Ignoring the boy's comment, Severus walked to his desk, sat down, and looked at Harry still standing at the door. "Are you incapable of shutting the door Mr. Potter?" he asked, exasperated.

Without a word, Harry closed the door and took a seat at the desk Snape had set up for him to obviously use during his detention.

"You will have two assignments to complete during this detention. Tomorrow morning the second years will be brewing a boil cure potion and my store of flobberworm mucus is almost depleted. As such, you will be replenishing it." Severus watched Harry nod his head. "As you can see, Potter, the bucket is filled with flobberworms. You will obtain their mucus and fill all the vials I have set out on the desk. All the utensils and tools you could possibly need are on the desk as well. When you have filled all the vials, you will let me know so you can start on your other assignment."

"Yes sir," Harry said unenthusiastically, staring at the wiggling mass of flobberworms in the bucket next to him. He definitely was not going to enjoy this task. He could only imagine what the second one would be.

Severus turned his attention to his desk to start reading the fourth year's papers he had collected that day while Harry started working on his first assignment.

A little while later, Severus looked up from the papers to the desk Harry was working at. The boy had his mucus-covered hands on top of the desk, and was staring at them in disgust. Severus then looked to the vials and noticed that they were all full of mucus. He let out an infuriated breath. If that boy could ever follow directions, it would be a miracle. He got up and walked over to Harry.

"Potter," Severus hissed, leaning over the desk. Harry jerked his head up to stare at the professor, surprised at his closeness. "It seems, Mr. Potter, that you can only follow directions once a day."

"That's not…" Harry started.

Severus interrupted. "You will now finish the rest of this detention by clearing out the potions storeroom." He stood up straight and walked over to a cabinet on the far side of the classroom. He pulled out an empty bucket, sponges, a scrub brush, rags, and various cleansers. "It will be done the Muggle way."

Harry just sat there watching the professor.

"The floor, shelves, and vials haven't been cleaned in years," Severus began as he walked over to Harry. "Most of the expired potions and ingredients have been removed over time, but I would like a thorough cleaning done. The vials will be sparkling, the shelves will have no sticky gunk on them, and the floor will be so clean you can eat off of it. If you have any problems deciphering what has expired, you will ask me." He thrust the bucket full of cleaning items at Harry. "Any questions?"

Harry shook his head no. "No sir."

"There is an empty container in the storeroom. Place all the expired items inside."

"Yes sir," Harry replied gloomily.

Before returning to his papers, Severus dropped a rag on the desk in front of Harry. "Clean off your hands." He then whirled around and went back to his desk.

Wiping the slimy goo off his hands, Harry stood up and entered the storeroom.

"Oh, and Mr. Potter, I don't think it wise for you to clean out the storeroom too quickly. You will continue to clean it out over your next four detentions."

"What?" Harry asked incredulously as he walked out of the storeroom. "I don't have any more detentions with you."

"Not yet Mr. Potter," Severus said with a hint of warning. "But with your attitude and insolence, it will only be a matter of time until you land yourself in a detention with me once again."

Harry didn't respond, knowing it was probably the truth; especially now that Snape had a job he wanted him to continue. The professor would probably give him detention for breathing too loud. He looked at Severus and quickly walked back in to the storeroom.

Standing in the middle of the room, Harry looked around. He couldn't believe how large the room actually was. He, of course, had been in it a few times over the past five years, but never realized its size. The room was about 10 feet by 10 feet. Nine levels of metal shelves lined all four walls with various sizes of glass vials and jars resting on every available surface. "This is going to take more than four detentions. I hope that git isn't having me clean the entire thing myself," he whispered.

Deciding it would be best if he started the cleaning on the top shelves and worked his way down, Harry grabbed the empty container by the door that was for the expired potions and ingredients and set it down where he was going to start. He pulled a wooden ladder from one of the corners and opened it up. He then began the slow and tedious job of cleaning up the storeroom.

Harry had just finished cleaning about three quarters of the first shelf when he went to grab a jar near the back by the wall. The sound of shattering glass stopped his reach immediately and he looked down to the ground below him. Two large jars lay smashed on the floor, with the small pieces of glass mixed among a murky orange liquid and bits of something he didn't want to identify. He quickly descended the ladder and stepping over the disgusting mixture, stuck his head out of the storeroom. Seeing that Snape apparently wasn't in the next room, Harry pulled his head back in and quickly cleaned up the mess. He then went back up the ladder to continue where he left off.

An hour and a half later, Severus quietly walked into the storeroom. "Potter."

At the sound of the potion master's voice, Harry jumped and quickly got down off the ladder, his heart racing. "Yes?"

"You are dismissed for tonight. Though I'd rather not see your face again, please be prompt for your lesson tomorrow. It will be held in my office."

"Yes sir," he said rather tiredly. "Where would you like me to put the cleaning supplies sir?"

"You can leave them against the wall in the far corner. You will be using them for your detention on Friday, seeing as tomorrow you will be otherwise occupied."

"Friday?"

"Yes. Friday. It's the day that comes after Thursday and before Saturday. I'm sure you've heard of it."

"I know when Friday is," he said aggravated. "I don't have a detention on Friday, sir."

"You do as of about an hour ago for breaking two of my jars."

Harry stared at the man in shock. How did the professor know he broke them? He wasn't even in the room. And since when does accidentally breaking jars constitute a detention? "I didn't break them on purpose. It was an accident."

"Then your detention is well deserved. It is for your carelessness."

"But that is so unfair. I didn't mean to…"

"Do you want to make it Saturday as well as Friday Mr. Potter?" Severus asked, a little too happily.

Harry looked at Severus then swallowed. "No sir."

"Then get out of my sight before you find yourself here on Saturday."

Harry didn't acknowledge Severus. If he did, he knew his mouth would earn him the Saturday detention. Instead, he quickly left the storeroom and the potion's classroom and headed toward the Gryffindor tower. As he entered the Gryffindor common room and made his way to the stairs up to his dorm room, Hermione intercepted him.

"Harry, where have you been?" She then saw the state he was in; beads of sweat on his face, clothes dirty and wet. "What did you get in to?"

"I was at my detention with Snape," he snapped. "Remember?"

"Oh yes. I'm sorry Harry, I guess I forgot. I've had quiet a bit on my mind I guess." She turned and took a quick look at Ron who was sitting in front of the fireplace playing a round of exploding snap with Neville and Ginny.

Harry followed Hermione's gaze. "Seems to be happening a lot," he said more to himself than to her.

"What was that Harry?" Hermione questioned, not really listening to what he was saying.

"Nothing. Excuse me Hermione," he said while pushing his way past the girl who again turned her attention to Ron. "I'd like to take a shower and go to bed."

"Of course. Sorry. See you at breakfast, Harry."

"Yea, whatever," he said almost out of Hermione's earshot. Wanting to get out of his dirty clothes and to clean off all the disgusting gunk plastered all over his hands and arms, Harry quickly went to take a shower. When he was done, he went to his four-poster. Still not in the mood to have any sort of discussion with Ron, he drew the red velvet curtains closed around him to work on his homework and then to go to bed.

~SH~

Severus watched Harry leave the classroom, glad to have the infuriating boy out of his sight. He could only handle being in the vicinity of Potter for short periods of time before always acquiring a headache.

He turned off the storeroom light, closed the door and went back to his desk to finish grading the papers. After finishing the last paper an hour later, Severus quickly retired to his quarters. He made himself a cup of tea, sat by the fireplace, and picked up the book he was in the middle of reading. He sat there reading until he retired to bed a few hours later. Never once did his mind drift to the box from Lily he stashed in his closet.

A three inch stack of mail sat waiting on the corner of Remus Lupin's desk. He had been avoiding going through it for days and the pile had just kept growing. As he sat at his desk way into the evening the night after Halloween, he decided he'd better sort through it. It was the full moon in a few days and he knew he shouldn't hold the mail until after he recovered from his transformation. There might be something important in the stack.

He had gone through about one-third of the mail, throwing most of it away, when he came upon an envelope that looked extremely out of place. Remus covered a yawn and picked up the envelope, looking to see who it was from. The envelope only had his name inscribed on the front in purple ink. He opened the envelope, pulled out a single piece of parchment, and read the letter.

After he finished reading, he dropped the letter and rubbed both hands across his face and left them there. "I don't believe it. Severus is Harry's father!" he said to his empty office. He quickly raised his head. "That's who I see when I look at Harry. I knew there was something different but familiar about him now. He's already taken on some of Severus' traits, especially in his face."

Remus read the letter again and carefully placed it back in the envelope. It was one item he really wanted to keep. Walking through his office to his adjoining quarters, he removed a box from the bottom of his trunk where he kept all of his old keepsakes, and placed the letter inside. With thoughts of this new revelation in his head, Remus decided it best not to continue going through his mail. Instead he went back to his office to lock up and shut off all the lights.

He returned to his quarters and sat down on the couch after quickly asking a house elf to bring him some tea. After the tea arrived, he took a few sips and sat back, pondering over the letter. He really wasn't sure how he felt about it. The news, of course, came as a shock.

The letter from Lily didn't give much detail, but he found it extremely hard to believe that he missed anything going on between Severus and Lily while they were all students at Hogwarts. They really did succeed in keeping their relationship hidden. The entire time they were at Hogwarts, Remus thought that Lily and James had been an item. They sure had him fooled.

Remus' thoughts then turned to Harry. He knew how desperate Harry was for a family, but had a hard time believing Harry would willingly accept Severus as his father. Knowing the boy, he'd put up a fight about it. In the end, Harry would more than likely feel betrayed.

He was glad Harry would finally have someone out there to care about him and be the family he wanted and needed. If he was able, he'd gladly do it. He just couldn't get it past his mind that anyone would have been better than Severus to fill that role. In all of his years of knowing Severus, he just didn't think the potion's master was father material. But then again, the man really had no reason to act that way.

He couldn't even begin to think what Severus was feeling about this revelation. He knew the man would be infuriated. He just hoped that although Severus loathed Harry, he wouldn't take it out on the poor boy. It definitely wasn't Harry's fault. Hopefully Severus' feelings towards Harry would change after viewing whatever memories Lily had saved.

As hard as it would be, he then knew he had to pretend he knew nothing about the truth while around Harry until Severus told Harry.

If it wasn't for him feeling so weak because of his upcoming transformation, Remus would have had a conversation with Severus in the next day or two. Deep down he felt that Severus might try to deny the truth. Heck, if he was in Severus' place, he might deny the truth too. But for Harry's sake, the truth needed to come out, even if he had to tell Harry himself; which he hoped it never came down to. He only hoped the ornery potion's master would listen to him when the time came to talk.

~SH~

The sky outside Gryffindor tower was an inky black when Harry woke up the next morning, two days after Halloween. Knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, though it was hours from breakfast, he lay awake in bed; his thoughts from the night before the cause of his sleeplessness.

Seeing the curtains still closed around his bed, Harry sat up, propped his pillows behind him on the headboard and sat back. He then brought his blankets back over him, the chill from the approaching winter having made its way into the castle, and rubbed at his eyes.

He couldn't believe the luck he was having this week. What was he talking about? Not this week. These past few days. First he learned he needed to start Occlumency lessons again with Snape, then he got a detention…twice. It definitely couldn't get any worse, or so he hoped.

Feeling a nagging itch on the back of his neck, Harry raised one of his arms to scratch at it. As he did so, he noticed a slight soreness in his arm, and when he clenched his hand to scratch, a more pronounced pain in his hand. Who would have thought a detention could cause that much pain?

Harry then thought about his detention. He had never had a detention like that before from Snape, or from anyone. It really was uncalled for. Especially the one Snape gave him right before he left. It wasn't like he dropped the glass jars on purpose. It really was an accident.

It was then he decided to go down to breakfast early and see if he could speak with Professor Lupin. It probably wouldn't get him out of tomorrow's detention, but at least he could see if he was right in thinking the task he was assigned to do was too extreme. If anything, he knew just getting it off his chest would make him feel better.

He sat there, for what felt like hours, before the sky outside started getting lighter. Figuring breakfast should be starting shortly, Harry got dressed and went down to the Great Hall.

Luckily when he entered the Great Hall, there were only a handful of students and a few teachers seated around the massive room. He really didn't want to call attention to himself. Students normally stayed away from the staff table. Seeing Remus seated at an empty part of the table, Harry decided to speak with him before eating.

Remus looked up as Harry approached the staff table, and gave the boy a warm smile. "Good morning Harry. Did you need something?"

"I wanted to ask you if you had some time to talk this morning before classes."

Remus hesitated before answering, wondering if Harry's topic was about Severus. "Sure, I'll always make time for you Harry." Knowing that Harry had just entered the hall and had yet to eat, he continued. "Why don't you eat breakfast first and we'll head up to my office in half an hour. Will that be enough time for you?"

"Half an hour will be fine. Thanks professor."

"You're welcome." Remus watched as Harry turned away and sat down at the Gryffindor table a little ways away. He really hoped Harry didn't want to discuss Severus being his father. He didn't have it in him to discuss it this morning.

~SH~

Half an hour later found Harry and Remus walking through the corridors towards Remus' office. Knowing Harry probably wanted to wait until they were behind closed doors to talk, Remus kept their conversation to non-important things like how classes were going and what he planned on doing during the next Hogsmeade weekend.

After entering his office and closing the door, Remus motioned for Harry to have a seat at one of the chairs in front of his desk. He then pulled his chair from behind the desk and set it down next to Harry. Taking a seat, he looked at the boy. Seeing it didn't look like Harry was going to start the conversation, he began. "What's on your mind Harry?"

Harry sat there staring at his hands folded in his lap. He knew what he wanted to say, but just didn't know how to say it. He also really didn't want to have Remus think any less of him because he had gotten not one, but two detentions from Snape in one day. "I just," he looked up at Remus. "I wanted to get your opinion on something." Harry dropped his gaze back down to his hands.

Remus followed Harry's gaze to his hands. The way the boy was rubbing his hands, almost massage-like, it looked like he was trying to ease pain. He, after all, was familiar with pain and knew all he ways of trying to relieve it. "Harry, are your hands hurting you?"

Harry quickly averted his eyes from his hands to the professor. "Um." He stopped, unsure if he should continue. But as he thought about it, he’d never know if the professor could help him if he didn’t tell the truth. He nodded his head. "Yes, sir."

"Have you visited the hospital wing yet?"

"No. They don't hurt that much," he replied quickly. The last thing he wanted was to go to the hospital wing. He spent too much time there as it was.

Remus took Harry's hands in his own and looked them over. "Everything appears to be fine." Satisfied, he let go of Harry's hands and watched as the boy immediately began massaging them again. "If the pain increases Harry, I want you to go to Madam Pomfrey." He waited until Harry agreed, then went on. "What happened?" he asked, nodding to Harry's hands.

"It's from a detention last night," Harry began.

"A detention?" he asked puzzled. "I don't recall many, if any, detentions causing pain.”

Harry gave a shudder as he remembered his detentions last year with Umbridge. He then wondered why Remus didn’t notice the words scarred on his hands.

Remus continued unaware of Harry’s thoughts. “Well, except if the detentions were served with Filch. Those almost always caused pain." Remus gave a chuckle then stopped. "Harry, you didn't have a detention with Filch did you? I know Professor Dumbledore said Filch was forbidden to oversee detentions, but I don't think it's beneath some professors here to hand a few of theirs over to him every once in a while."

Harry laughed at Remus' comment. "No sir. Not with Filch."

"Who was it with?"

"It…it was with Snape," Harry gave reluctantly.

"What did professor Snape have you do to cause your hands to hurt?"

"He had me start my detention refilling his flobberworm mucus stores. Then he had me begin cleaning out the potions storeroom; the jars and vials, shelves, floor. Everything in that room! He then said that assignment has to last my next four detentions."

"Four detentions! What could you have possibly done in one day to deserve four detentions?"

"I didn't do anything!"

Remus looked at Harry with a smirk. He wasn't that dumb. He knew Harry did earn a detention here and there. But he couldn't believe the boy would do anything to earn himself four detentions in only one day.

"I really don't have four detentions…yet. I only earned one." Harry stopped talking, not really wanting to explain further. He took a few deep breathes. "Snape had just given us our assignment and Ron and I made a comment to each other."

"Mmm hmm."

"That's it. I swear." Harry looked at Remus and saw his raised eyebrow. He then knew he had to continue. "Until…"

"I thought so," Remus interrupted with a small smile.

"No, it's not like that," Harry began, trying to defend himself. "That's all I did to get last night's detention. All I did was tell Ron that Snape was crazy to think we really did our homework on Halloween. Then I got a detention and Ron didn't. I swear that greasy git has it out for me." He added the last as an afterthought.

"Harry," Remus warned. "Do show some respect."

Harry's face went a little red. He hadn't meant to talk like that in front of Remus. "Sorry. It's just, Ron always seems to get away with everything and I'm always the one who gets a detention. How can I not think Snape's got it out for me?"

"I'm pretty sure…no…make that absolutely positive, you're reading into it all wrong." Remus wanted to say more, but had to hold his tongue.

"Then why, while in that detention, did he give me another detention tomorrow night? Just for accidentally dropping and breaking two glass jars while I was cleaning?"

"That does seem a bit excessive," Remus agreed.

"Good," Harry said relieved. "I'm glad you agree." Harry stood up from the chair he was sitting in and walked to the far end of Remus' office, examining the bookshelves and debating whether to continue. Then deciding he had nothing to lose, turned around to face Remus. "Um, sir, do you think you can speak with Professor Snape about my detentions?"

"Harry, you know I can't do…"

Harry sat back down in his chair. "I know you can't get me out of them. I just want you to talk with him. See if you can lessen them. Or at the least, make him see the assignment he's giving me for these detentions is a bit excessive."

Remus regarded Harry before answering. "I will see what I can do, Harry. But I won't make any promises."

"Thank you professor."

"You're welcome." Remus quickly glanced at the clock on his desk. "You better get going Harry. First class starts in about five minutes."

Harry nodded and walked to the door. "See you around. And thanks for listening."

"Anytime, Harry. Remember, anytime."

Harry left Remus' office and headed to his first class of the day.

Before grabbing the items he would need to teach his DADA class, Remus decided he would talk with Severus about Harry's detention, but it would have to wait until after his transformation.

He also decided to wait for a few weeks before speaking with Severus about Lily's letter. If Harry didn't mention anything about Severus being his father by the beginning of December, he'd talk to Severus about it then. He wanted to give the potion's master some time to have the conversation with Harry before he butted in.

~SH~

Unfortunately the day passed in a blur for Harry after leaving Remus' office. He had a full schedule of classes and spent all his free time with Neville and Ginny, still too upset with Ron and Hermione. But in the back of his mind during the entire day, he was dreading the start of his Occlumency lessons with Snape.

~SH~

A half an hour before Severus went to his office to prepare for Harry's Occlumency lesson, he set out a small glass and bottle of fire whiskey on the table by the fireplace in his private quarters. He knew he would need it after the night's lesson was over and wanted to be prepared. He was definitely not looking forward to tonight at all. He felt it an extreme waste of time, but of course had to agree with the Headmaster. He was the best at the subject and the Potter brat did need to learn it. The wizarding world, and his, depended on it.

After entering his office, Severus laid out everything he thought he would need for Harry's lesson. Then, not wanting a repeat of the previous year, placed his pensive in the storage closet. He was shutting the door when he heard a knock on his office door. He quickly spelled the storage closet locked. "Enter," he said after taking a deep breath to ready himself.

With a scowl on his face, Severus watched Harry enter the room, close the door behind him and meet his eyes. "I'm here for my lesson Professor Snape."

Severus muttered something unintelligible under his breath while turning around and walking to his desk. He then spoke aloud to Harry. "Of course you are foolish boy. Why else would I see you in my office in the evening, besides for a detention which I know you don't have tonight?"

Harry said nothing.

"I suggest we see how incompetent you are with Occlumency before I begin your lesson. I need to know if my time teaching you last year was a waste. Although I can almost say, without a doubt, that it was." He then motioned for Harry to come to the other side of his desk.

Harry walked over near the wall by the desk and faced the potion's master, wondering what the professor was going to have him do first.

Not even giving Harry any indication of what was going on, Severus raised his wand. "Legilimens."

Before he could utter a protest or raise his wand, the office blurred in front of Harry and everything went dark. Images began flashing in front of him as Severus rifled through his mind...

Receiving his first real Christmas presents his first year at Hogwarts…Kissing Cho under the mistletoe in the Room of Requirement…Watching Sirius fall through the veil…Releasing a Boa Constrictor on Dudley… Being thrown by the hair into his small cupboard by Vernon after doing something freakish at seven years old…

As soon as Harry felt Severus going through his memories, he tried to push him out. No matter what he did, Severus continued to shift through his memories; each one more painful than the last.

Harry sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express watching out the window in envy as Ron and Ginny received a hug from Mr. & Mrs. Weasley before boarding… Speaking with Sirius about living with him, after exiting the passageway under the Whomping Willow... Watching helpless as Cedic Diggory was struck with the Avada Kedavra curse… Remus holding him back to keep him from following Sirius after he fell through the veil…Voldemort performing the Cruciatus Curse on him in the graveyard…Sirius falling through the veil…

"Stop!" Harry yelled as he opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor in a sweat. He took a few ragged breaths. "Stop, please."

Severus lowered his wand at looked at the boy on the ground. "Pathetic. You're worse off than I thought."

Angry at his professor, Harry slowly stood up and took a seat in the chair next to him, his body shaking. He placed his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands as he tried to get his breathing under control. He hated that Snape was seeing all his memories, especially the ones he was trying to forget. "Please sir, no more for tonight."

"As much as I want to agree, Potter, I find it necessary to continue if you plan on getting anything out of these lessons." He pulled out the chair behind his desk and sat down.

"If you would just give me any hint as to what I need to do to keep you out," Harry began irritated, letting his hands fall to his lap and sitting back in the chair, "I might be able to actually do something."

"We've already been through this last year. How many times do I need to tell you? Clear your mind. Think of nothing and feel nothing."

"I'm trying. It's obviously not working. There's got to be something else I need to do."

Severus huffed and picked up a book he had sitting on his desk and handed it over to Harry. "I want you to read two chapters a night in this."

Harry grabbed the thick book and looked at the cover. "The Art of Occlumency: The First Steps," he read aloud.

"I know the title Potter," Severus said exasperated. "This book goes into detail on the various techniques you can use to clear your mind and rid yourself of emotions."

Flipping through the pages, Harry looked at the professor. "I'll start reading it tomorrow."

"No Potter. We will try one more time. Then you will go to your dorm room and read the first two chapters tonight."

Harry looked at Severus gloomily. "Fine. I'll read tonight." Harry then set the book in front of him on Severus' desk; not really planning on reading the book until the weekend. "I'm ready to try again sir."

"We will wait five minutes then begin. You need to calm down and get your breathing under control.

Nodding, Harry's eyes wandered over to shelves behind Severus. After seeing several items floating suspended in murky, beige-colored liquid and getting disgusted, he instead opted to flipping open the cover of the book in front of him. He skimmed through the first half when Snape told him to stand for their next attempt.

Severus raised his wand and spoke the incantation.

Like before, Harry's vision went blurry then dark. Then his memories appeared in front of him like snapshots. He tried his best to block Snape, but wasn't able to. Again he found himself on the floor, sweating, shaking, and out of breath.

Severus glared at Harry, still lying on the floor. "Just like before," he spat. He lowered his wand, placing it back in his robes, and set about cleaning up his desk. "That is all for tonight, Potter. I do not want to waste any more of my time on you this evening. Go back to your tower and read."

Because he was able to leave from his lesson early, Harry bit back a malicious remark, knowing it would land him with another detention, and slowly stood up. After getting his bearings, he made a bee-line for the office door, glad to be leaving. He only got eight steps away when he heard Snape's silky voice behind him.

"You best not forget the book Potter." He held the book out towards Harry.

Turning around and not meeting the professor's eyes, Harry grabbed the book and hastily made his way out of the office and to the Gryffindor tower.

Remus sat down at the staff table in the Great Hall for breakfast. He had just finished serving himself some scrambled eggs and was plucking three sausages off the tray in front of him with a serving fork, when someone took a seat next to him. He quickly pushed the sausages onto his plate with his fingers, placed the fork back on the tray, and, resisting the urge to lick his fingers, wiped them on the napkin in his lap. Before he could turn his head to see who sat down next to him, the person spoke.

"Lupin," came the silky voice of Severus, the name spoken like a bad taste in his mouth. "I would suggest you come see me down in my office after lunch." He leaned as close to the man as he dared, which wasn't all that close, and continued in a whisper with a hint of a warning. "You failed to show up last night for your potion. You do not want to go into the next transformation without it. If you do, your teaching career will be over faster than your recuperation."

Remus looked over at the potion's master. "I'm truly sorry Severus. I was catching up on some work after dinner and lost track of time. When I finally took a break, it was too late in the evening to come see you." In truth, Remus actually forgot about the potion, though he knew his transformation was on Monday. He could definitely feel it in his body. But his thoughts were on more important things. Like Severus being Harry's father.

"Very well." Severus stood up from the table. "Do not leave me waiting." He turned around and swept out of the room, having already finished his breakfast earlier.

Remus watched Severus stalk out of the room, then turned his attention back to the sausages in front of him.

~SH~

Like he promised, Remus was in Severus' office right after lunch. He was seated at one of the chairs in front of Severus' desk, hands clasped on his lap, waiting for the potion. Severus walked out of his private lab with a goblet in hand. He passed the goblet to Remus and sat down at his desk, reaching for the notes for his next potion's class. He completely ignored Remus.

Remus took the goblet and looked at the liquid sloshing inside. With a grimace, he brought the goblet up to his lips and downed the disgusting contents in one gulp. He set the goblet on the desk. "Ugh." He then wiped his hand across his mouth; missing the glare Severus gave him for his childish action.

After having taken the wolfsbane potion for years, Remus knew better than to leave Severus' office right after taking it. He wouldn't get very far with its side effects. He sat back in his chair to wait out the ten minutes before he could leave, eyes traveling towards the potion's master.

Last night, Remus told himself he would speak to Severus about Harry's detentions after his transformation. But since he had nothing better to do at the moment, and felt he could handle the conversation, he decided he might as well bring it up.

Severus, feeling he was being watched, looked up and met Remus' eyes. "What is it Lupin?" he asked irritated. "Why are you still here?"

"You know why I'm still here, Severus." Knowing Severus wouldn't respond, Remus continued. "I'd like to discuss your detentions with Mr. Potter."

"Potter's detentions with me are none of your concern," he said matter-of-factly, and returned his attention to his notes.

"Pardon me, Severus, but yes they are." Remus leaned forward and placed his arms on Severus' desk. "When a student comes to me in pain because of a detention, it becomes my concern."

"My detentions do not cause pain." Severus took his quill, dipped it in the ink well, and began adding a few more notes to the parchment in front of him. "They teach discipline."

"Is that so?" he challenged. "Then why was Harry complaining to me that his hands hurt from his detention two days ago with you?"

"Coincidence Lupin. Potter was probably just seeking attention and wanting to get out of his well-deserved detention." Severus was getting tired of the conversation and decided to turn his attention elsewhere. It was bad enough when the headmaster wanted to have conversations about his 'golden boy.' He didn't need to have the werewolf engage in those conversations as well. Placing his notes back into the folder they were in, he pulled a potion's journal from under a stack of papers on the corner of his desk and began to read.

Remus watched Severus read a few lines in the journal then shook his head. The man wasn't interested in the conversation at all. He should have expected it and in fact, he did. He realized this was also one sign that Severus had yet come to terms with his past.

Looking at the potion's master one more time and deciding it best to give up, Remus stood, preparing to leave for his quarters. "In any event Severus, would you please reconsider the assignment you gave Harry for his detention? It really is extreme…as well as the reasoning behind his second detention tonight. I highly doubt the Headmaster would find it appropriate."

Severus raised his head and looked at Remus with a scowl. "The headmaster and I have different definitions of appropriate and that is something we both agree on. He is fine with the way I handle all my detentions. Furthermore, I will assign whatever tasks I see fit for Potter. As I said, it is none of your concern." He then turned back to the journal on his desk.

Taking that as his cue to leave, Remus left the cold dungeon office and went up to his quarters. He knew the conversation had been a waste of time and he was glad he didn't seek out the potions master during his free time. At least he kept his promise to Harry; that he would talk to Severus about his detentions.

At the sound of the heavy wooden door closing, Severus spelled it locked, closed the potion's journal he was reading and sat staring at the cover unwillingly thinking about Lupin’s comments. He definitely didn't think the task he assigned Potter was too extreme. It just made up for all the destruction he caused during his past five years at Hogwarts. It was well deserved.

~SH~

Students began spilling out of the sixth year Transfiguration classroom. Harry was one of the last to leave the room, having had to stay behind to answer a few questions Professor McGonagall had for him. After clearing the threshold, he rushed to catch up with Hermione and Ron.

"…so that's why Fred and George want us to visit it, Hermione." Ron finished as Harry finally met up to them. He then looked over at Harry. "So, what did ol' McGonagall want this time, Harry? Did it have anything to do with why you weren't around last night?"

"I don't want to talk about it. And no, it didn't," Harry replied shortly.

"You aren't in trouble with her are you Harry?" Hermione questioned.

"No, Hermione. I don't always get in trouble you know."

"Well, it just seems that lately…" Hermione began.

Harry stopped walking. "I'm not in trouble, Hermione." Harry cut in, a little irritated. "Will you please just drop it?" He really didn't feel like discussing the conversation he had with the professor. It was, after all, about his Occlumency lessons and he hadn't told his friends he had started up on them again.

Hermione looked at Harry worriedly. He always seemed to be short with her and Ron lately. "Sorry Harry."

Harry saw the look on Hermione's face. "It's okay 'Mione," Harry replied after a few seconds. "I'm sorry." He gave her a small smile and continued walking to their next class.

Ron looked at Harry and decided it would be a good idea to change the subject. "Harry, Hermione and I were talking about our next Hogsmeade weekend. We decided we're going to that small café next to the apothecary first, then the book store, and last, the joke shop. Then we'd just stroll around the village. We even thought it would be fun to come back a little early and have a picnic lunch out by the lake."

"Really?" he asked half heartedly. It sounded like the locations were picked so the two of them could spend time together, not for the three of them to have a fun Saturday; especially considering this would actually be the first time he was in the village without sneaking there or because of some type of agenda, like the DA or his date with Cho.

"It should be fun Harry." Hermione came to a stop in front of an open classroom door. "What do you say?"

Harry looked between his two friends. He knew he'd feel like a third wheel on this trip and that they more than likely didn't want him to go. "No thanks guys. I don't feel up to it. You two go have fun."

"You sure Harry?" Ron asked. He was surprised by his friend's response. "You've never really been there before with us. To just have fun, I mean."

"I'm sure Ron." In truth, he really did want to do, but not under those circumstances.

"Well, next time you will definitely come with us. Right?"

Harry was actually unsure what he wanted to do, but reluctantly gave Ron his answer. "Right." He then followed Hermione into the classroom with Ron trailing behind. The three took their seats and took out their potion's text.

Ron looked around the room then turned to Harry. "Well, don't go making any plans for the next Hogsmeade weekend then. There are a lot of places we need to explore."

Harry nodded his head just as the classroom door slammed shut and Severus walked to the front of the room to begin the lesson.

~SH~

After Harry's last class of the day, and about an hour and a half before dinner, he climbed the many stairs to Gryffindor tower and strolled into his dorm room. Grabbing some of his homework and stuffing it into his book bag, he went down to the common room and claimed one of the few remaining empty tables near the back corner of the room. He pulled out his potion's text, notebook and some blank parchment from his book bag, deciding to start working on his homework. It was too close to dinner to do anything else and surprisingly he didn't want to wait until late Sunday night to start on his homework. He also didn't want to give Snape any other reason to give him a detention.

Flipping through his notebook, he found the page where he wrote the homework assignment down and read it over. "Explain, in a three foot essay, when Draught of Living Death should be administered and how and why the sopophorus bean should be crushed and not minced when added to the potion." He sighed. He hated having to write essays. Moving his textbook in front of him, he turned to the chapter on Draught of Living Death. He picked up his quill, and placing his left elbow on the hard wooden table, rested his head on his closed fist.

Harry read through the first part of the question two more times, wrote one sentence then gave up; his thoughts not on his homework. He sat there twirling his quill around with two fingers and thinking of his conversation yesterday morning with Remus. The man said he would speak with Snape about his detention, but he got the feeling it was just talk.

Remus was a kind man; had been one of his father's best friends. But unfortunately Harry felt he wasn't a huge concern for Remus. He had come to realize that on many occasions over the past three years. He wasn't expecting the man to take his father's place or be a father figure, but he had hoped that the man would be around and help him at times, like a concerned friend or mentor. It just seemed, to Harry, that Remus didn't put too much effort into whatever it was he was doing for him. In thinking about his detention, he figured he would just have to wait until after dinner tonight to find out if Remus helped him at all this time.

Raising his eyes from the twirling feathers flaring out on his spinning quill, Harry realized the common room was practically empty. Hearing his stomach growling, he decided it was probably time for dinner. Glancing at the clock on the far wall confirmed it. He placed his homework back in his book bag, ran upstairs and dumped it on his bed, and quickly walked down to the Great Hall for dinner.

Dinner had been as uneventful as the previous night for Harry. But at least this time Ron and Hermione joined him; though they didn't talk very much. They were too busy staring at each other. In a way he was glad for their silence. Their silence meant he didn't have to explain about the detention he was to have in an hour or why he was missing for two hours last night. He had avoided the discussion since the events happened and hoped to keep it that way.

Feeling eyes on him, Harry raised his head and looked toward the staff table. His eyes met Remus' and they smiled at each other, though the professor's smile looked a little forced. He swept his gaze along the right of the table and unfortunately his eyes then landed on the sallow face of professor Snape. Luckily the professor had his attention on something else and didn't know Harry was looking at him. He quickly averted his eyes to the dinner on his plate and finished eating. He then bid his friends goodbye and spent the remaining time until his detention up in his dorm room working on his homework.

With fifteen minutes until his detention, Harry opened his trunk, grabbed his clothes from two nights ago and changed into them. He then made his way down to the potion's classroom, hoping it would be the last time he'd have a detention with Snape for a while.

Upon entering the classroom and finding out his assignment was the same as two days ago, Harry reluctantly went into the potions storeroom and began cleaning. With Snape only checking in on him every once in a while, Harry had a lot of time to think. It was definitely obvious that Lupin never spoke to Snape about his detentions, especially after receiving crueler comments from the man than normal.

True, he told himself that he would feel better just talking about it and not caring if Lupin did anything about it, but he knew that was a lie. He hoped the professor would try to help him, even if it was to make sure he wasn't the only one to clean out the storeroom.

While removing the final four jars and bottles from one of the shelves, Harry wondered why Lupin even wanted to talk with him this year. Was it just to make Harry feel like he had an adult to talk to?

At first the talks were great. Harry learned a little about his family and about what the Marauders were like while at Hogwarts. And he got to share some things about his time since entering Hogwarts. But after a while, it seemed Remus wasn't paying that much attention to what Harry was talking about. He'd even had to repeat some of the questions he asked the professor. But, he was always telling Harry to come to him, even when he had problems. However nothing was ever done on Remus' part if Harry came to him with a problem, big or small.

And it was hard for Harry to talk with Remus at times. The questions or discussions the man started where sometimes very difficult for Harry to participate in. He had never been comfortable talking about himself. And then to feel like he wasn't even being heard made it that much worse. He felt that it was time to stop speaking to the man in that type of capacity. There was no point.

It was then that he decided he wouldn't think of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher like a friend. He would be just a teacher to him now…like McGonagall or Flitwick. He was tired of talking and confessing difficult things to people who didn't care.

Finishing up with the shelf he was working on and beginning to place all the items back onto it, Harry also decided he wouldn't let Snape get to him anymore. He would do his best to ignore the man's vicious comments. It wasn't worth it to get upset or angry anymore, it didn't solve anything anyway. Feeling satisfied with his decisions, Harry gave a small smile.

Severus walked into the storeroom as Harry was placing the last item back on the shelf. "You are dismissed Potter. Bring all your cleaning supplies to one of the desks at the front of the classroom. Then you may leave."

"Yes sir." Harry watched Severus leave the room. He then cleaned up everything he was using for his detention and brought them over to the desk. After setting them down, he quickly left the classroom and headed straight to his dorm room. He was exhausted and was looking forward to getting to bed and sleeping in tomorrow morning since it was Saturday.

~SH~

Normally, Harry and Remus would meet to talk every few days. However, Harry had been avoiding the man since his detention Friday night. Whenever Remus tried to talk to him outside of class, Harry always brushed him off, muttering something about homework.

On Wednesday, after going through four days without a word from Harry, Remus knew something was up. He spent the whole day trying to corner the boy, but never found an opportunity. He finally got his chance after the last class of the day. Remus was on his way to speak with Professor McGonagall about Harry, when said boy turned the corner into the corridor he was in.

Before Harry noticed his presence in the corridor, Remus spoke. "Harry, can I have a word?"

Harry stopped walking and looked up, dread filling his stomach. "I'm sorry Professor, but I've got to get to the library to study." He knew what the man wanted to talk about and he didn't want to have the conversation.

"You can go to the library in a while, Harry. This won't take long." Remus began to slowly walk towards Harry's end of the corridor.

"I've got an essay I need to complete." Harry turned around.

"Harry…"

"I'm sorry professor. Some other time," Harry said while walking away from Remus.

"Do not walk away from me Harry," he said sternly.

Surprised at Remus' tone of voice, Harry quickly stopped walking.

"We need to talk. Now!" He couldn't believe that Harry was fighting him on this. It definitely wasn't like him.

Breathing heavily, Harry quickly looked around the corridor. He was glad no one was around to hear Remus talking to him in that tone. He slowly turned around and kept his eyes on the stone floor. It actually hurt to be talked to in that tone and he didn't want Remus to see it in his face or eyes.

Remus regarded Harry before speaking. "My office. Let's go."

At Remus' no nonsense attitude, Harry obliged and followed the man to his office.

Remus opened the door and allowed Harry to enter first. Harry walked in and sat down in his usual chair, eyes still on the floor. Remus took a seat behind his desk and looked at Harry. "This stops now Harry."

"What sir?" Harry asked, feigning confusion at the professor's words.

"You know well what." He was still surprised at Harry's attitude towards him.

Harry was quiet. He wasn't going to admit anything.

Remus sighed, sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He sat there for a few moments still observing Harry. Harry was sitting on his hands and still looking at the floor. He had yet to look at him. Remus sighed again. "What did I do?"

The question and desperation in Remus' voice surprised Harry and without meaning to, he looked up and met Remus' eyes.

"What did I do Harry?"

Harry dropped his gaze and after removing his hands from under his thighs, concentrated on his hands in his lap. "Nothing."

"I don't believe that. If I haven't done anything, why have you been avoiding me since Saturday morning?"

"I haven't," Harry argued.

"You have. Every time I try to talk to you, you run away saying you've got homework."

"But I do."

"I don't believe you," Remus challenged.

Harry's anger was beginning to return. "Why?" He looked back up to Remus. "Why do you want to know? Why do we have to talk? It's not like you or anyone else cares about me anyway. Why…" Harry realized what he said and quickly shut his mouth, averting his eyes back to his lap.

Unfortunately for Harry, Remus got more out of that last sentence than all the conversations the two of them had since the summer. Remus stood from his chair, walked around the desk and sat down in the empty chair next to Harry; Harry's eyes following the professor's movements without looking up. "We'll talk about what you just said at a later time, but you know that's not the truth Harry."

Harry could feel his throat tighten. He didn't acknowledge Remus.

"Please Harry, tell me what I did wrong?" Remus pleaded.

"Why should I tell you? It's not like you going to do anything about it." He paused a few seconds. "You never have," he said gloomily.

"Ah!" Remus whispered, the reason behind Harry's attitude dawning on him. "So this is about your detention with professor Snape."

"Yes," Harry agreed, reluctantly looking at the man seated beside him. "I mean, no! I mean, it's…"

"Harry, I did talk to professor Snape."

"But I thought…he was worse…he said things…" Harry rambled. He now felt sorry for treating Remus the way he had. But then again, one time helping him out of countless times wasn't acceptable; at least not for Harry.

Remus patted Harry's arm then stood up. "I'm sorry I couldn't really do anything for you with your detention with professor Snape. I tried, but the man won't budge once his mind is made up."

"It's okay professor. Thanks for trying."

Remus gave him a smile. "Why don't you go on up to your common room. I'm sure you're friends are wondering where you are."

Harry stood up. "Yeah, right," he said a little too depressed. He didn't think his friends even noticed he was gone.

"We'll talk later Harry." Remus noticed the way Harry left and knew something else was bothering him. Hopefully he'd open up the next time they talked.

~SH~

The next two weeks of November passed by without incident. Harry hadn't received any detentions from Severus, but still had to see the man in his Occlumency lessons twice a week. The lessons continued in the same fashion as the first one he had this term. Harry felt he was getting a bit better at it, but at his last lesson, Severus told him otherwise

~SH~

Sitting by himself at the table, like normal, during dinner on Friday, Harry was a bit surprised when Neville sat down next to him. He had actually been hanging out with Neville and Ginny more this year, but most often seemed to end up sitting by himself at meals.

"Hey Harry."

"Hi Neville. How was Herbology?" Harry asked, knowing that was Neville's last class of the day and his favorite.

Neville served himself some of the roast, potatoes and vegetables that were on the table. "It was great as usual. How was History of Magic?" Neville poked a potato with his fork, brought it to his mouth, and then ate it. "Did you stay awake today?"

Harry laughed. "Almost."

"Um, are you planning on going to Hogsmeade tomorrow? Ginny, Luna and I are going and were wondering if you wanted to come with us."

"I wasn't planning on it." He then thought about it. Hanging out with Ginny, Luna and Neville would be a lot more fun than what Ron and Hermione had planned, and definitely better than hanging around the school. Harry turned his head towards Neville. "Sure, I'll go with you guys."

"Great. We can all me up in the common room tomorrow morning and go there together."

"Sounds good to me," Harry said while nodding his head.

Both boys then turned their attention to their dinner. After they finished eating, they walked together to the Gryffindor common room. They were going to play exploding snap until they turned in for the night.

Harry woke up, a result of his almost nightly nightmares, as the sun was beginning to rise Saturday morning. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. Still hearing snores coming from his dorm mates, he decided to stay burrowed under his blankets. As he lay with his head against the headboard, he began to think about the Hogsmeade trip that would take place in a few hours.

He couldn't wait to get to the village. It would be his first official ‘fun’ trip and he was really excited. He no longer had to hide under his invisibility cloak and run the risk of someone bumping into him and being discovered or having to spend all his time in a meeting of some sort. He wouldn't have to travel through the dark and dirty secret passageway to get there either. He could arrive by carriage and meander along the cobblestone streets, like everyone else, and enjoy the day.

As he laid in bed thinking about the trip, he began to feel slightly guilty. Late last year he remembered telling Ron and Hermione that he would go with them for his first official trip to Hogsmeade sixth year. Even though the two were acting different and seeming to ignore him a lot of the time, he still wanted them to be with him the first time he went to the village. He knew he did say no to them when they asked him about it a week or so ago, but that was because of what they had planned. And then he turned around and yesterday told Neville he would go with him, Luna and Ginny.

Not liking the feeling that was beginning to form in his stomach, he decided it would be best if he cancelled on his three friends. He knew they would understand, eventually. Giving a large yawn, he closed his eyes and laid his head against the plump pillow. Surprisingly he fell asleep until Ron woke him for breakfast a while later.

Still sitting at his house table after finishing breakfast, Harry searched for Neville. Spotting him farther down the table, he got up and walked over to the boy. "Hey Neville."

Neville set his fork on his plate and turned to Harry. "Hi Harry. Are you almost ready to go to Hogsmeade? I think we're leaving in about fifteen minutes."

"That's actually what I came over here to talk about." Harry took a seat on the bench next to Neville and extended his legs out into the aisle. "I…erm…I wanted to let you know that I won't be joining you for the Hogsmeade trip today. I was really looking forward to it, but I think it would be best if I skipped this trip."

Neville looked at Harry disappointed. He was actually looking forward to spending time with his friend without the company of Ron and Hermione for once.

"I'm sorry Neville. It's just…you see, I made a promise to Ron and Hermione last year that my first trip to the village this year would be with them. I'm sorry. I should have told you no when you asked me yesterday."

"Don't worry about it Harry. I understand."

Harry gave Neville a small smile. "Thanks for not being mad. Can I have a rain check for a future trip?"

Neville nodded his head. "Of course."

"Great." Harry then stood up. "I guess I better let you finish breakfast so you can leave on time. Have fun." He turned and walked out of the Great Hall and headed to the common room. He decided he would work on his homework for a few hours and then visit with Hagrid, something he hadn't been doing as often as he wanted.

After completing his Transfiguration homework later that day, Harry was on his way to Hagrid's hut. As he passed the Great Hall toward the castle entrance, he saw Lupin walking toward him.

"Harry."

"Hi Professor Lupin."

Remus walked up to Harry and stopped, offering him a smile. "I missed seeing you today for our talk. As a matter of fact, I've missed you for our talks the last few weeks."

Harry stopped walking when Remus approached. "I'm sorry about today. I was working on my homework." Harry ignored Remus' comment about the last few weeks. He didn't want to explain why he never stopped by anymore.

"Homework again?" he asked, and raised his eyebrows, not truly believing Harry.

"Yes professor," Harry began seeing the look Remus was giving him. "I was working on my Transfiguration homework so I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend." He started walking towards the doors. "I wanted to spend some time with Hagrid. I haven't talked to him in quite a while."

Remus regarded Harry. "Well, as long as you're not ignoring me again." He gave Harry a smile. "Have fun. But remember you owe me a few hours."

"Yea, well…" Harry still was a little mad at the professor. After their encounter weeks ago, he still wasn't sure what type of relationship he wanted with the man.

"Don't worry about it Harry," Remus said a little disappointed. He had hoped Harry would come around.

"Goodbye sir." Harry then turned around and left for Hagrid's.

Remus stood there watching Harry walk out of the castle. He could tell something was still bothering him.

~SH~

Sitting at the staff table in the Great Hall that evening, Severus thought the week didn't go fast enough for him. It seemed the dunderheads he taught were more dimwitted than usual during the entire week, though it was most likely due to the Hogsmeade weekend. It was, after all, the first visit to the village this term for all the third years and older. What really irritated him, though, was the thought of the week after this weekend. A majority of the students would no doubt be hyped up on sugar from all the Honeydukes candy they were consuming and would be even more dimwitted, if that was even possible.

Disappointed it was Saturday evening and knowing he'd only have one more quiet day to himself before classes resumed, Severus rushed through his dinner, ignoring the troubled glances from Remus sitting next to him. After finishing, he quickly slipped out the side door of the room before the werewolf could discuss his concerns, and made his way to his private quarters.

Upon entering his quarters, he grumbled and lit a fire in the fireplace in his living room. He had forgotten to place a spell on it so it would light the minute he walked into the room. Wanting to be comfortable, he walked to the bedroom, shrugged out of his robes and hung them up in his closet. Rolling up the sleeves on his long-sleeved black shirt, he wandered in to the small kitchen and made himself a cup of tea. With cup in hand, he then proceeded to the sofa in front of the fireplace and sat down, wanting to relax before he completed some tasks he needed to get done before the night was over.

An hour later and thoroughly relaxed, Severus deposited his empty tea cup into the kitchen sink to wash later. He went to his study and retrieved the box of rare potion ingredients he purchased for his personal stores earlier that morning while in Hogsmeade. He hadn't had a chance to put them away upon returning so he had left the box on an empty chair.

After grabbing the box with one hand, he flicked his wand to unlock and open the closet door. Setting his wand on the desk, he then stepped inside the closet. He placed the box on the floor and emptied it out, placing all the glass jars carefully on the shelves along the far wall. When he was done, he bent down to pick up the now empty box and spotted another box sitting right next to it. He had completely forgotten about that box. It had only been about three weeks, but it really was out of sight out of mind.

Severus stood up with the empty box in hand and set it back on the empty chair for a house elf to remove later in the evening. He went back into the closet, picked up the other box and set it down at his desk. He opened the flaps of the box and pulled out the letter. He read it over once, placed it back in the box and grabbed the red, heart-shaped bottle.

With narrowed eyes, Severus brought the bottle up and looked through the glass. Swishing the bottle back and forth a few times, he tried to tell if the substance inside was true memories. It looked like it, but he wanted to be absolutely sure before placing his face into the unknown substance. He picked up his wand and after aiming it at the bottle and muttering a few spells, he was sure the contents were real memories. He placed his wand back on the desk with his eyes never leaving the bottle.

Seemingly frozen in place, Severus stood there for another minute staring at the bottle dangling from his long potion-stained fingers. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see what his life was really like all those years ago. And he definitely wasn't ready to see that Harry was truly his son. He couldn't believe that what Lily mentioned in her letter about his reaction to having a son was true. How could he be happy that Harry was his son? Then again, at that time Harry was never anyone's son except Lily's and his. Harry was never James Potter's son all those years ago.

Deciding he had put the undesirable task off long enough, Severus placed the bottle back on the desk. He walked to locked closet in his adjoining teacher's office to retrieve the pensive he had hid away from Harry's habitual curiosity the night before. Returning to his study and setting the pensive on his desk, he carefully picked up the bottle of memories and removed the gold stopper. He poured the contents inside the pensive and watched the silvery-white contents swirl around for a few minutes, still feeling a bit apprehensive at discovering what had happened over sixteen years ago.

Taking a huge breath a few seconds later, Severus plunged his face into his swirling memories.

Thirty-five minutes later, after viewing some of the memories more than once, Severus removed his face from the pensive breathing rapidly and feeling numb from what he saw. With a shaky hand, he picked up his wand, removed the memories from the pensive and placed them back into the bottle. After carefully placing the stopper back on the bottle, he set it beside him on the desk. He then sunk down into his desk chair and placed his head in his hands. He sat there for about five minutes before muttering into his hands. "I was married to Lily." He knew Lily wrote it in her letter, but to see it for himself, that was entirely different. It wasn't until he saw his memories that he believed it to be true.

"I was married to Lily," he repeated. "She really loved me, not Potter." He had a hard time comprehending the revelation after having lived with his altered memory of the two of them for so long. For almost sixteen years his dreams consisted of Lily and what might have been if she never married James. And now, his dream ended up being the truth. Then he began to realize what could have been if he did things differently back then. "Lily might still be alive." Though he knew if given a second chance, he would probably make the same decision as the first time.

Needing a strong drink to control his swirling emotions, Severus went to his kitchen. He retrieved a bottle hidden in the back of one of the cabinets and poured himself a glass of bourbon. He took the glass back to his study, and after taking a big gulp, sat back down at his desk. If he did things differently years ago, he might actually be happy with his life and have a family. "But I do have a family," he whispered, and placed his head in his hands again. "Potter is my son." He then shivered at that thought.

The conflicting thoughts of Harry were beginning to mingle together and they were beginning to confuse him. On one hand Harry was James Potter's son. He had been for over sixteen years. And he was the spitting image of James, from his unruly hair and glasses to his arrogance. But on the other hand, Harry was his son. Lily's and his. The boy had Lily's eyes. Severus gave a small smile at that thought. Then he was reminded that Harry always had those eyes. His smile left and was replaced by a frown.

Then Severus' altered memories and feelings took over, after having lived with them for so long. "Potter is my son," he repeated in disgust. He lifted his head, grabbed the nearest thing to his hand and threw it with as much force as he could against the wall on the opposite side of room.

Not able to think clearly at all and feeling a massive headache approaching, Severus decided it best to retire to bed early. He downed the rest of his bourbon in two gulps and went to bed.

~SH~

Severus' thoughts weren't any clearer upon waking the next morning. However, he knew he needed to see his real memories again before going down to breakfast. After dressing, he headed straight to his study. Remembering he placed his memories back in the bottle, he searched the top of his desk for it. Not seeing it where he remembered placing it the night before, he sat down and began frantically searching all the drawers in his desk. He needed to find that bottle. As he looked up from the last drawer, he eyes came to rest across the room. It was then he spotted the shattered bottle and liquid puddled on the stone floor.

He quickly retrieved his wand from his robes and went to the far side of the study, kneeling in front of his spilled memories. Pointing his wand at the bottle, he muttered an incantation and the bottle repaired itself and the memories went back inside. He only hoped the air didn't have a negative effect on the memories. With bottle in hand, he carefully walked back to his desk, poured the memories back in the pensive and lowered his head into it.

Five minutes later, he raised his head out of the pensive and brushed the hair out of his face. As much as he wanted to remove his altered memories and put back his real memories, he knew he wasn't ready. He was fine with the idea of watching the memories, but he knew that if he switched out his memories, he would be feeling all the emotions associated with his real memories. He was definitely not ready for that. He needed some time to get used to the idea and come to terms with some of the revelations first.

Since he was running late, he ignored the urge to view one of his memories again and instead placed them back into the bottle. He took the bottle and letter and placed them in the top desk drawer. He then quickly made his way up to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Good morning Severus," Remus offered as Severus took a seat next to him at the staff table.

Severus glared at Remus in return. How dare that werewolf say good morning to him and ruin his day, especially after it was starting out better than it usually did. Serving himself a little of the food in front of him, but pouring a large cup of coffee, Severus tried his best to concentrate on the breakfast in front of him. His thoughts, however, kept drifting back to his memories.

A few minutes later his thoughts were luckily interrupted when the Headmaster leaned over and asked him a question. After answering, he let his eyes wander the Great Hall, beginning at the Slytherin table and ending at the Gryffindor table in front of him. As he scanned the Gryffindor table, Severus' breath caught in his throat and he almost let out a gasp.

Harry was seated at the Gryffindor table close to the staff table and was facing Severus; his position giving the potion's master an unobstructed view. Severus was in shock at what he saw. Of course he had the boy in his classes and had seen him every day, but he never really saw him. Not until today, after having viewed his memories last night. Harry bore a strong resemblance to himself when he was that age. If he didn't know the boy was actually his son, he knew he would have thought nothing of Harry's appearance. But now…now there was no mistaking it. Harry was definitely his son.

Feeling slightly nauseated at the thought, Severus quickly stood up from the table, causing his chair to squeak loudly on the stone floor.

Remus glanced over to him at the sound. "Problem Severus?"

He looked over at Remus. "No Lupin," he responded, distracted. He glanced at Harry again.
"No problem."

Remus looked in the same direction as Severus. He then understood what was bothering the man. He had obviously seen his memories within the last day or so.

Harry, Hermione and Ron were seated at the Gryffindor table in the middle of a conversation about the Hogsmeade trip yesterday. At the sound of wood scraping stone, Ron looked up to the staff table. "Harry," Ron began, seeing the potion's master staring at Harry with an almost unreadable expression. "Why is Snape looking at you like that?"

Harry lifted his eyes and looked to Severus, their eyes locking for a few moments. "Uh, I don't know," he responded quickly, and broke eye contact with his professor. He turned his attention back towards Ron. "Probably thinking of more ways to torture me this week."

"Doesn't look like he's planning any torture Harry. Looks like he's being tortured."

Harry took another glance at the table.

At Harry's second glance to him, Severus mumbled an apology to the headmaster and quickly strode out of the Great Hall.

"Huh, guess he's in a hurry," Harry said then turned his attention back to his breakfast. "All this bright light must be getting to the greasy bat."

The few students around Harry, Hermione and Ron chuckled then continued on with their breakfast.

Severus quickly descended the stairs toward the dungeons, needing to get away from the Great Hall as fast as possible. After entering his quarters and locking the door, he fell into the couch in front of the fireplace. He leaned forward and with elbows on his knees, placed his head in his hands. He sat there for about five minutes in complete silence.

He didn't know what to do. Harry resembled him so much that there was no use denying he was his son. But he just couldn't be the father to that arrogant brat no matter whom he looked like. Not knowing what to do about the whole situation, he decided it best to go speak with Dumbledore, though he really didn't want the headmaster to be involved. But he did consider the older man as a mentor. As he rose from the couch, he remembered the headmaster was going to be gone for a few weeks on Ministry business. That was what the question was about at breakfast…if Severus could keep an eye on things and send word if anything suspicious was happening.

Sighing, Severus sunk heavily back down on the couch. As he stared at the flames in his fireplace, he decided he needed to keep busy. Keeping busy would not leave him any time to think about Harry. Satisfied with his decision, he got up and went to his private lab to begin working on the few potions Poppy had asked to have made before the school week started tomorrow.

Brewing potions for the rest of the day kept Severus' hands busy, but not his mind. His thoughts kept drifting to his memories. Every once in a while he'd catch himself smiling at one of the memories of Lily. That act actually surprised him. He didn't know the last time he smiled a genuine smile. Then when his thoughts turned to Harry, he'd scowl. He ended up scowling most of the day.

Hours later, as he sat on the couch reading a book before retiring for the night, he briefly wondered what would happen in his lessons with Potter now. He only had a few hours until he would find out.

As the weeks wore on, it became a habit of Severus' to view some of his memories almost every morning before breakfast. He still wasn't comfortable with exchanging his memories yet so this satisfied him for the time being. He usually viewed the memories that consisted mostly of him and Lily, though at times he found himself watching all of the memories; even the ones having to do with Harry. It was after viewing the memories about Harry, however, when he became extremely vicious to the boy while in class or Occlumency lessons. He didn't know how to direct what he was feeling so he always took it out on the boy in a negative manner. Not that that was any different than normal.

Today was one of the days when Severus viewed all of his memories.

Harry reluctantly trudged down the stairs towards the dungeons for his first Occlumency lesson of the week. He was not looking forward to tonight's lesson. Over the past weeks, he had begun to realize that Snape was getting worse and worse with his criticism and taunting during class and especially during his Occlumency lessons. Coming to a stop in front of the dreaded office door, Harry knocked twice. After being granted permission, Harry entered and walked over towards the potion master's desk.

As Harry sat down, Severus, who was busy grading papers, looked up and gave him an angry glare. "I do hope you read the few chapters I assigned you last Thursday, Potter. Though with your lack of intelligence, you probably didn't comprehend a thing you were reading."

Harry kept quiet and returned the glare, trying to keep his promise to himself not to care what the man in front of him was saying.

Severus placed his quill on the parchment he was reading, stood up and grabbed his wand. He slowly rounded the desk until he was on the same side as Harry. "Stand up and face me," he growled. He had been in a bad mood since the staff meeting that morning, and after mistakenly viewing all his real memories that afternoon, he was in an even worse mood. Just the sight of the Harry was irritating him immensely.

Scooting his chair back quietly, Harry stood up and faced Severus. The moment eye contact was made, Severus raised his wand and yelled the incantation to enter Harry's mind.

As soon as Snape's office blurred in front of Harry, his memories were quickly being rifled through. It seemed Snape was on a mission tonight. The first memories his professor looked for were the ones where he was in pain.

…Dudley and his gang finding him and repeatedly punching him while playing Harry Hunting…being hit by the Cruciatus Curse from Voldemort…lying on his makeshift bed in his cramped cupboard sick with the flu…falling off his broom while at Quidditch practice…Uncle Vernon dragging him through the house by his hair…breaking his arm after falling out of a tree…his head feeling like it was going to explode whenever he had a vision...

Harry tried his hardest to push out Snape, but he couldn't. He tried thinking back to what he read in the book, but it didn't help.

Snape, noticing Harry was unable to do anything, continued his searching.

…Standing in front of the Mirror of Erised looking longingly at his parents with their hands on his shoulders…learning his Godfather was innocent and wanted Harry to live with him…hugging Sirius at Grimmauld Place after almost two years apart…watching as the Weasley's parents hugged their children goodbye on the Hogwarts Express platform and yearning to experience that…watching Cedric die…watching Sirius fall through the veil…

After a while, Harry realized Snape was viewing those same memories over and over. "No. Stop….no!" he yelled. A few seconds later, Snape's presence was finally gone from his mind. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor breathing rapidly.

"Pathetic," Snape growled while putting his wand away and sneering at the boy on the floor. "Absolutely pathetic."

Shaking, and in a little pain, Harry stood up slowly and glared at the man in front of him. "Happy?" he asked sounding more upset then he wanted. Removing his eyes from the potion's master, Harry quickly started towards the office door. "I'm out of here."

Before Severus knew what was going on, his office door slammed shut and Harry was gone. Staring at the door, he knew he forgot to do something after the boy entered his office. He forgot to spell the door locked. Taking a deep breath, he turned back towards his desk and sat down. "At least I have more time to myself tonight." He then went back to grading the papers in front of him.

As he reread the first paragraph of the paper in front of him for the third time, he dropped his quill and shook his head. The incident with Potter bothered him more than he thought it should. True, under normal circumstances, he would never do to the boy what he did tonight. He couldn't really explain why he did what he did. He just knew it had to do with his real memories and his conflicting emotions. He was having too hard a time with it. Needing to resolve the growing problem, he decided he would try to come up with a solution as soon as possible.

He also knew that he owed Potter an apology, though he'd never given one to any of his students during his entire teaching career at Hogwarts. Unfortunately he had less than two days to figure out that problem.

~SH~

Not wanting to go back to the Gryffindor common room or his dorm, since he knew he'd be questioned by his friends, Harry headed towards the Owlrey after storming out of Snape's office. After finding his snowy white owl, he walked over to her and stood there stroking her feathers while he calmed down. Then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a treat and gave it to her. After Hedwig finished her treat and nipped Harry’s fingers, Harry returned to the doorway and sat against the threshold wall. Angry and upset over Snape's intrusion into his mind, Harry decided that tonight would be his last Occlumency lesson. Unless, of course, the Headmaster bodily made him attend.

Harry sat up in the Owlrey for another half hour before heading down to this dorm room.

~SH~

After staring at the parchment in front of him, Severus realized it was pointless to continue grading homework. His head wasn't in it. Instead he was still thinking about Harry and his memories. He then knew what he had to do.

Since the boy ran out an hour early, he had a lot more time on his hands for the evening than he planned. He placed the parchment he was reading on top of the stack on the side of his desk and set down his quill. He opened the drawer on his right, pulled out the heart-shaped bottle and walked to his quarters, extinguishing the torches and candles in the room on his way.

After entering his quarters and making sure all entrances were locked, including the floo, he sat on the couch and removed the stopper from the bottle. With a shaky hand, he withdrew his wand from his robes, removed the memories from the bottle and placed the tip of his wand to his temple.

The emotions he felt the minute he started reliving his real memories completely overwhelmed him, and he quickly lay down on his couch. He was then glad he decided to experience the memories when he had more time before he had to face anyone. The feelings were beyond anything he could have possibly imagined. He felt pure happiness, anger, fear and sadness within a span of no more than fifteen minutes.

As soon as he finished viewing all his real memories, Severus placed them back in the bottle and set it on the table in front of him, to return to his office later. He was still not ready to change out the memories.

As he lay there in shock and still trying to absorb everything he saw and finally felt, he noticed that once he took out his real memories a minute amount of emotions and feelings stayed behind. That scared him a little bit. He hoped that the small amount of emotions wouldn't grow. Since he wasn't ready, he wasn't sure how it would affect his daily life if they did grow.

He knew he had to get used to everything associated with his memories, especially the emotions, so he decided he would add his real memories to his altered ones every few days until he felt comfortable. When, or if, he felt he couldn't live without the emotions and feelings of his real memories, he would then remove his altered ones. Until that time, he would be experiencing both sets of memories and emotions.

~SH~

Remus was sitting in his office late the next afternoon, thinking about Harry. The boy had finally come to talk with him after lunch today. Remus was glad, but disappointed it took so long for Harry to come seek him out. It had been two and a half weeks since the two last spoke.

Knowing that Severus had more than likely viewed his memories almost three weeks ago and that he hopefully spoke with Harry, he expected Harry to come to him to talk about it. But, much to his disappointment, Harry never mentioned it. It didn't even seem like he knew Severus was his father. After Harry left his office an hour later, Remus decided it was time to butt in on Severus and Harry's lives.

Remus found the opportunity after dinner that night. He had barely begun eating when Severus left the Great Hall early. After the man was half way to the door, he quietly got up and followed him out into the corridor.

After closing the door behind him, Remus glancing around to be sure no students were mulling about before speaking. "I can't believe you still haven't told him," Remus said loud enough so Severus would hear him. He watched as Severus stiffened and stopped walking.

Not liking that he was being followed, and by the werewolf no less, Severus whirled to glare at him angrily. "Told who what? I haven't the slightest idea what you're on about…" Severus growled.

"You know very well who and what I mean, Severus." Remus walked up to stand beside Severus. "It's been sixteen years."

"How do you…" he began, puzzled. He couldn't figure out what Remus was going on about.

Before Severus could finish, Remus pulled out the letter he received from Lily months ago. He kept it on him every day. Severus nodded slightly, remembering Lily sent him a letter as well. "He has a right to know the truth, Severus."

"Know the truth? For all I know, it's some stupid prank!" Severus yelled, and turned to stalk away. He didn't want to discuss the matter with the man. It was none of his business. Remus, grabbed tightly onto his shoulder and forced him to stop. "Let me go werewolf," he growled.

Remus kept his grip. For a moment, he didn't say anything. "You know it's not a prank Severus." He watched the man breathe deeply a few times. "You've got to tell him! He'll probably find out on his own eventually. Haven't you seen how much his appearance has changed these past few months?" He let go of Severus' shoulder seeing the man wasn't going to stalk off.

Severus slumped against the stone wall, defeated. He knew Remus was right. That and he couldn't get over what he saw and felt when he finally experienced his memories the night before. He stood for another minute before continuing. "Can you imagine what would happen were I to tell him the truth?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "Me? His father? You can't honestly expect that he'd be happy in the least."

Remus noticed the surprising change in Severus' demeanor. He walked over to the wall, leaned his left shoulder against it and crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't know how much Harry wants a family and someone to care about him. You didn't see him before I brought him to Order headquarters before start of term, or talked with him these past few months. He's given up Severus. I have a feeling that if he ever comes across Voldemort again, he's not even going to fight."

That last statement shocked Severus, but he didn't show it. He tried to ignore it instead. "I am not the type of person that can be a father," he finally stated. “I was a Death Eater. I've done more evil than I can rightly remember." Severus moved his gaze from the wall in front of him to the man standing beside him. "I'm not worthy of being anyone's parent, Remus" he said sadly. "Besides, I wouldn't even know how."

Severus stood there waiting for a sarcastic remark from Remus but none ever came. "How do you think Potter would feel? Having lived a lie for sixteen years?" Severus stood up and started pacing the corridor. After one trek, he stopped and turned around to Remus. "You obviously have taken a liking to him, what do you think it would do to him if he were to discover that his real father was a murderer? A conscienceless follower of the Dark Lord? A cruel, bitter teacher hated by the entire school?" He turned away from Remus and continued with his pacing. "It'd break him, I've no doubt that it would," he said in an almost whisper.

"I thought that might be your reason. And it just proves that you need to get to know him." When Severus' pacing brought him back to the wall Remus was lying against, Remus grabbed his arm, turning him to face him. "What do you think he'll feel once he finds out all you sacrificed by willingly having your memory altered just to try to keep Lily and him safe?"

Severus shrugged out of Remus' grip. "He's better off with his life the way it is…living with the Dursley's; and thinking his parents died so he could live."

Getting tired of standing and watching Severus pace, Remus motioned for the man to follow him and the two sat down on the steps leading down towards the dungeons. "Have you heard about the Dursley's at all? The Muggle family he lives with?"

"Of course not. I don't tend to bother with 'gossip.'"

"I've noticed," he said, earning a glare from Severus. "You really wouldn't have learned much anyway. Harry doesn't like to talk about them at all. I'm afraid I found out a little rather by accident…"

"Found out what?"

"Have you ever seen Harry getting mail in the Great Hall? Or going home for the Christmas holidays?"

"No, but I hardly see what that has to do with anything."

"The Dursley's hate magic. They think Harry is a freak and do everything in their power to keep him from coming here every year. Did you know that for his first eleven years, he had to sleep locked in a cupboard under the stairs?"

Severus' thoughts slowly drifted to the many memories he'd seen of Harry's during his Occlumency lessons last year and this year.

"I'd bet my life that they would love nothing more than to be rid of him," Remus continued. "One year, the Weasley's had to break Harry out of the house. The Dursley's put bars on the windows, like it were a prison, and were starving him."

"With the way that boy obeys rules, it's no wonder he's punished," he stated, though he wasn't sure if he believed what he just said.

Remus continued after watching Severus lower his gaze to the floor. "Over this past summer holiday before I removed Harry from the Dursley's, I watched his cousin beat him up. I don't know if you noticed the bruises on his arms those first few days of term. I think it was a regular occurrence, based on some comments he made to me. He's probably hiding other injuries as well."

Severus' head snapped up and he looked at Remus in disbelieve. "He what? He was being beaten up and you just watched?" he asked incredulously. He couldn't believe the werewolf would just stand by and watch as Potter was being hurt. And he also couldn't believe how enraged he felt at the fact that the boy was being hurt and possibly abused. Months ago, he would have felt somewhat elated at that knowledge.

Not a second later, there was a niggling thought in the back of his mind. He seemed to recall seeing some of this possible abuse. More than likely during Potter’s Occlumency lessons. He never really paid that much attention to what he was seeing, his full concentration was just on the emotions radiating off of the memories and the boy. He’d definitely pay attention now.

Remus looked at Severus with a small smile playing on his lips. He was glad that Severus was beginning to feel protective of Harry. "Tell Harry," he said seriously a few seconds later.

"I can't, you know that," he breathed.

"He's your son, Severus."

"I'm aware of that…," he stated plainly.

"Then say it. Admit it out loud."

Severus met Remus' eyes. "Fine. Harry…" The name stuck on his tongue. "Harry is my son." He couldn't believe the emotion he felt the second those four little words spilled out of his mouth.

Remus smiled at the potion's master. "Now promise you will tell Harry, and soon."

"I promise that I will tell…Pot…" he stopped at Remus' raised eyebrows. "I promise I will tell Harry the truth before the new year. Are you happy now?”

"Yes, but you must understand that I am not doing this for me. I'm doing this for Harry…and for you."

"Me?"

"Yes. You have a son, Severus. You have as much right to know him as he does you. You're both the only real family either of you has." Remus watched Severus nod his head. He then stood up, placed his hand on the man's shoulder, and then headed up to his office. He wanted to leave Severus with those thoughts.

Severus sat there thinking about all that had just happened and had been reveled. He knew it was a big step admitting it out loud that Harry was his son. But he also knew that it didn't mean he was comfortable enough to change out his memories. Plus, he decided it would be best to leave them in the bottle in the event an opportunity arose to inform Harry.

Severus continued to sit on the steps thinking until he heard students leaving the Great Hall in the distance. Then he got up and quickly descended the remaining stairs to his quarters.

~SH~

When the time for Harry's Thursday evening Occlumency lesson came, Harry was half way down to the dungeons before remembering he wasn't going to attend his lessons anymore. He quickly backtracked and headed up to the Astronomy tower instead. He wasn't sure if any of his friends noticed his schedule on Tuesday and Thursday nights, but he decided to stay away from the common room to be on the safe side.

Letting out a sigh after seeing the tower empty, Harry slowly walked to one of the ledges and climbed up on it. He rested his back against the wall, wrapped his arms around his knees and closed his eyes.

His thoughts drifted to his Occlumency lesson with Snape two days ago. The memories Snape viewed almost five times in a row were still fresh in his mind, especially all the ones with Sirius, and he couldn't stand it. He had tried so hard to forget what happened but the pain was beyond bearable now.

He opened his eyes and stared up at the twinkling stars in the cloudless night sky. After searching the sky for a few minutes, Harry's eyes landed on the constellation Sirius. His throat tightened and he felt pressure behind his eyes.

It had been the first time since that day at the Ministry that he actually looked at the constellation. During his fourth year and early fifth year, the constellation had been a comfort to him. When he couldn't see or talk with his godfather, he would go up to the Astronomy tower and talk to Sirius the constellation. It was stupid really, but it brought him great comfort. It was also one thing he never shared with his friends.

"Sirius, I need you. I could have finally had a family…something I need now. Why did you have to die?" he whispered up to the sky. He closed his eyes and felt tears building behind his eyelids. A few escaped and he wiped them away angrily. He was not going to cry.

After sitting up there for about an hour thinking, luckily with only a few more tears, Harry started down the circling stairs of the Astronomy tower. He wasn't ready to be in the company of anyone, and it would be too suspicious if he went up to his bed so early, so when he reached the bottom, he decided to wander the corridors of the castle.

~SH~

Severus sat at his desk making notes for tomorrow's second years potions lesson while waiting for Harry to show up for his Occlumency lesson. As the minutes dragged on with no sign of Harry, he started to become aggravated. He didn't teach these lessons because he enjoyed them. Quite the opposite actually. If the Headmaster didn't force him, he wouldn't be sitting there waiting for Harry to show up. He actually had better things to do instead of teaching the dimwitted boy.

After sitting there waiting for a little over an hour, he slammed the book closed in front of him and stood up from his desk. He was furious and, if he would admit it, a little worried. It definitely wasn't like the boy to not show up. Arriving late? Yes. But not showing up at all? No. He shouldn't have been worried about Potter at all. Or so he kept telling himself. But he couldn't shake the feeling. Besides, he wasn't really a Potter was he? He had finally said it out loud yesterday to Remus and to himself. Harry was his son…a Snape; not currently in name but definitely in blood.

He pulled his robes on and headed out of his office. He ascended the stairs towards Professor McGonagall's office, wanting to give her a piece of his mind, and, though he wouldn't admit his worry to her, to find out what the boy had been up to for the past hour. As he reached the floor for the Gryffindor's Head of House, he spotted Harry coming down the stairs from the Astronomy tower and begin to walk in the opposite direction.

"Potter" growled Severus from across the corridor, all thoughts now on the time that was wasted waiting for the boy to show up.

Harry's eyes went wide and he stopped walking. He stood, his back facing Severus, and was beginning to breathe faster. This was the last person he wanted to see tonight, especially after what had been on his mind this past hour.

Severus quickly stalked over to the boy, stopping a few feet behind him. "Potter," he growled again.

Chills ran down Harry's spine at Severus' voice. He had never heard his professor sound like that before. Slowly, he turned around to face his furious teacher. "Y…yes sir?" he said, voice shaking.

"Because of your lack of consideration, you will be spending the rest of November with me in detention." He walked closer to Harry and bent down so his face was level with his. When he met Harry's slightly red-rimmed and shiny eyes, his look turned to concern. It lasted only a second before he quickly replaced it with his usual scowl. "You do not want to face the consequences of pulling another stunt like you did tonight, Potter."

Harry's sadness over Sirius was beginning to turn to anger. "My lack of consideration? What about yours, sir?" he began, not caring what the man in front of him would do to him. "You're the one who keeps viewing my most painful memories over and over just for pure pleasure. I don't have to accept that." He began to walk away. "I didn't ask for these stupid lessons anyway."

"No Potter," Severus began, following Harry. "You didn't." Upon reaching the boy, he grabbed him by the arm and turned him around to face him. He moved both his hands to Harry's shoulders.

"Let go of me," Harry yelled, and tried to wiggle out of the man's grip.

Severus tightened his hold on Harry's shoulders. "If you actually cared about learning Occlumency last year, Potter," Severus began, then shook the boy a few times while he continued, "you wouldn't have gotten your precious mutt of a Godfather killed." Severus knew it was a low blow, but he couldn’t help it.

Since Sirius had already been at the front of his mind, Snape's words were more devastating to Harry than they normally would have been. Slowly, he began to break. "I didn't kill him. You did." Tears started welling up in his eyes, but he willed them not to fall, he didn't want to finally start crying for Sirius now. "You're the one that got Sirius killed."

Never seeing the boy in this state and on the verge of crying, Severus just stood there staring at him in horror. At that moment, he couldn't describe what he was feeling as he watched Harry and could feel his body shaking under hands.

"You killed Sirius!" he screamed and almost wiggled free from Severus.

Severus again tightened his grip. "Potter."

"Let go of me," he cried. Upon realizing that Snape wasn't loosening his grip, Harry started hitting him in the chest with his fists, hoping that would release him. He did not want to be there. "I didn't kill him. You killed him. You hated him. You hated him for what he did to you in school so much that you let him die." Harry began pounding harder on Severus' chest while still trying to get free from the man's grip. "You didn't listen to me in Umbridge's office. If you did, Sirius would be alive. You killed him. You ruined everything. Because of you, I don't have a family. I hate you!"

Severus didn't care that Harry was pounding on his chest, or that he'd more than likely have many painful ribs and bruises in the morning. What he cared about were those last three sentences from Harry's mouth. They stung Severus more than he thought possible and he tried to push the feelings aside. He definitely needed to analyze them later.

"How do you think the Order knew where to find you, Potter?" Severus asked quietly after a few seconds.

After letting that sentence sink in, Harry immediately stopped his pounding and fell against Severus' chest. "I did kill him," he whispered, and the tears that he had been desperately trying to hold back began to fall. "I didn't learn Occlumency. I killed him."

"You didn't kill him Potter. Voldemort, in a round about way, did," Severus responded quietly, not completely sure why he was trying to console the boy.

Harry didn't say anything to Severus' comment. He just continued to cry with his head against his professor's chest. "I killed him," he whispered a few seconds later. "Because of me, I don't have a family. I killed him and ruined everything."

Before Severus knew what he was doing, he lowered his hands from Harry's shoulders and wrapped them around the crying boy.

When Harry felt arms wrapping around him, all thoughts of who he was with disappeared. He latched onto Severus robes, buried his face in the man's chest, and began crying harder, much to the confusion of Severus. The act was something Harry had always wanted since he was little and he had never experienced it. The Dursley's never offered him any type of comfort as he grew up and now finally receiving it, he didn't want to give it up. He tightened his grip on Severus' robes and continued to cry.

The two stood like that for what seemed like hours, though it was only about ten minutes. Once Harry began to calm down, he realized where he was and who he was with. With conflicting feelings, he quickly pulled out of Severus' arms and ran to the Gryffindor common room.

Severus watched the boy run down the corridor and out of sight. He wasn't sure what happened in the last fifteen minutes or what he even felt about it. Running a hand through his hair, he turned around and went down to his chambers. He had a lot to think about.

A blur of black robes descended the stairway towards the dungeons. After the incident with Harry a few floors up, Severus wasn't wasting any time in returning to his private quarters. Upon entering, he spelled the door locked behind him. He slipped out of his robes, depositing the black material on a nearby chair, and sank into his couch. Sitting for only a few minutes, he decided that with the way he was feeling he needed something to take the edge off. He went to his kitchen, retrieved a bottle of fire whiskey and a glass and returned to the couch.

He poured himself a few fingers of the liquor and sat there staring at the amber liquid. Bringing the glass to his lips, he realized that he had been drinking more frequently than he ever had in the past. Normally, a bottle of fire whiskey the size in front of him would last the entire term. With the way he was going, he'd be lucky if the bottle lasted another few weeks. After a few sips, Severus set his glass on the table and sunk down further into the couch closing his eyes, his mind replaying the past two days events.

Severus knew he was guilty of causing Harry's breakdown not more than a half hour before. He knew his comments were extremely uncalled for, but he never expected the reaction he received from Harry. It actually shocked him to see the boy crying. He had expected the boy's normal cheek, not a breakdown. It was at that point when he knew he went too far. And he did remember seeing Harry's red-rimmed watery eyes early on. He should have known to stop harassing Harry then, but he couldn't help himself. It was always like it was James standing in front of him, not Harry. And he wanted James to suffer like he had at his hands when he was Harry's age, even though a little voice inside him was screaming that the boy in front of him was his son and didn't deserve being spoken to like that.

In thinking back, it seemed obvious that this might be the first time Harry had grieved over his godfather. But he felt there was something else there as well. He remembered feeling it the minute Harry clung to his robes after he pulled the boy into a hug. That action itself caused Severus great discomfort. He didn't know why he tried to console the boy. It wasn't in his nature. That kind of comfort, or any comfort in general, was never offered to anyone, including his own House. But as he stood there watching Harry fall apart, that was all he could think of doing. And this both annoyed and bothered him. He felt he shouldn't care about the boy, but at the same time knew that he should.

Taking a few deep breaths, Severus reached a hand up and rubbed at his temples, a pounding headache beginning to set in due to his conflicting thoughts about Harry. Wanting to dull the pain, he quickly retrieved and downed a headache potion from his stores and sunk back down on the couch.

His thoughts next drifted to his conversation yesterday evening with Remus. He couldn't believe that man; always trying to butt in where he wasn't needed or wanted. Why the werewolf wanted to be involved in his life was beyond him. They were enemies. He also knew that Harry meant a lot to Remus, though lately their relationship seemed a little strained; not that he would admit to taking notice. But that still didn't give Remus the right to interfere. It wasn't his life.

At least he knew he got the man off his back for a little while. He only agreed to Remus' request to appease him. He had no intention of telling Harry the truth, though he did recall thinking earlier this week that he wanted to tell the boy at some point. He just didn't know why he wanted to tell the brat. He did not want to be Potter’s father. But, if far in the future he did decide to tell Harry, it would be when he thought he was ready. Not by what other's wanted. It was his life after all.

~SH~

Harry ran as fast as he could toward the Gryffindor tower, swiping at tears that were still spilling down his cheeks. He couldn't believe what had just happened and with who. The last person he wanted to show weakness in front of was Snape. He could only imagine the taunting he’d receive now.

As he approached the portrait of the fat lady, he realized his friends might still be sitting around the common room. Normally when he went back to his dorm room after his Occlumency lessons, the common room was practically empty, and if it wasn't, his friends were off somewhere together. But it was still a bit early for him to be coming back tonight and he didn't want a confrontation with his friends if they saw that he'd been crying. Instead of gaining access for the portrait hole, Harry walked past the hidden entrance and decided to seek out one of the empty classrooms. He'd hide out and wait for a while before heading to his dorm room.

After a few minutes of searching, Harry found an empty classroom. Closing the heavy wooden door behind him, he sat down at one of the desks, folded his arms on the top and rested his chin on his arms. Unfortunately he couldn't help but think about the last hour and his breakdown in front of Snape. At that thought, he felt his face burn with embarrassment. If was the very first time he grieved for Sirius and what he lost all those months ago, and of course it had to be in front of Snape. Another sign the world was out to make his life as miserable as possible.

He still couldn't believe he cried in front of the potion's professor. Then he remembered how, as he began to lose it, Snape pulled him into a hug. And the hug was different than any he could ever remember receiving. It was comforting. It definitely wasn't the same type he received when greeting his friends after the summer holidays every year or even by Mrs. Weasley. He then realized the feeling he received from Snape's hug was the same feeling he got when Sirius had hugged him.

Harry then began laughing; laughing so hard tears were in his eyes. After he brushed them away, he noticed the tears continued to fall and he wasn't laughing anymore. He was crying instead. He finally received the comfort he had been denied for the past sixteen years and it came from the person he hated most in the word...after Voldemort of course. "That man is sick," Harry said aloud to the empty classroom. "What's he playing at? I guess I'll be hearing comments about this tomorrow in his class." At that thought, Harry's hatred for the man grew and he stopped crying, now extremely hurt and angry. Wiping a few remaining tears away Harry laid his head down on his arms and stared at the top of the desk trying to rid his mind of everything that happened the entire day.

When he was satisfied he was calm enough and there were no telltale signs that he'd been crying, he headed to the Gryffindor tower. He gained access and the minute he stepped in, Hermione rushed over to him, with Ron following closely behind.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione asked while dragging him by the arm to the couch in front of the fireplace. "We've been worried about you?"

Harry looked at Ron who was standing behind Hermione.

"You were supposed to be back an hour ago Harry," Ron added.

Harry looked at the two, confused. He didn't think his friends noticed his schedule or that he had been hiding out for so long.

Hermione interrupted his thoughts. "The least you could have done was let us know where you were."

"Sorry, Hermione," Harry said gloomily while shrugging his shoulders, his previous thoughts still not completely gone from his mind. "I didn't think-"

"No, you never do anymore Harry," Hermione cut in rather sternly. "We've been waiting on you for a while now. You should know better than to just wander off without telling anyone. It isn't safe."

Harry couldn't believe what Hermione was saying. And after what he had been through the past few hours, he definitely wasn't in the mood to talk about it. That and the fact that most of the time he was being ignored by his friends. "Hermione I don't want to discuss this. I've got other things on my mind."

"But Harry, you need to stop…"

"No Hermione, you need to stop," he stated shortly. "I'm getting tired of you criticizing me for every little thing I do or don't do." His eyes then shifted to Ron who had been quiet for the entire conversation, and waited for him to say something. When the redhead didn't utter a word, he then looked back to Hermione. "I'm not discussing this now. I'm going to bed." He quickly turned away from his friends, not noticing the hurt look in Hermione's eyes, and stormed up to his dorm room.

~SH~

Severus swept to the front of the class after completing his lecture. "You may begin brewing." He sat at his desk and watched as his students started to brew. His eyes immediately found Harry. The boy didn't seem his usual self. Since class began he was being very quiet. As far as he could tell, Harry hadn't said a single word in class at all; very unusual for him. He figured it must be because of what happened last night.

Just as he was getting ready to concentrate on grading the pop quiz he had collected earlier from his sixth years, Harry looked up and met his eyes. After a few seconds, Severus dropped his gaze to the papers in front of him. He was having a hard time not criticizing the boy. But before class he promised himself he would leave Harry alone today. And so far, so good.

After Severus dropped his gaze, Harry shook his head and began working on his potion. He couldn't believe his professor had yet to say anything to him. He was certain Snape would start to humiliate and taunt him the minute he stepped into the room.

When class ended forty-five minutes later, Harry quickly grabbed his bag and made his way towards the door, wanting to get out of the room as quick as possible.

"Potter, stay behind," Severus spoke, right as Harry was two feet from the door.

Harry stopped abruptly and took a few deep breaths while watching everyone else leave the room, waiting for the professor to start humiliating him. He turned around and slowly walked to the front of the classroom, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Don't forget you received detention tonight Potter." Severus watched Harry jerk his head up and make eye contact. "Be back here by 6:30."

Harry stared at his potion's professor in shock. "Yes sir," he finally replied.

Severus looked the boy up and down. "You are dismissed."

Without another word, Harry quickly left the potion's classroom and headed to his next class.

~SH~

Harry found himself standing in front of the potion's classroom at 6:27 that night. He was tempted to skip, but decided against it. He didn't want to risk skipping on Occlumency and a detention back to back. Who knew what Snape would do to him. Resigning to his fate and deciding to get the dreaded evening over, Harry knocked on the wooden door.

After being let in to the classroom, Severus didn't say a word to him, just pointed a finger at the potion's storeroom. After watching the professor go into another room, Harry quietly walked into the storeroom. He sighed as he looked around the room. Nothing had changed in the past few weeks. He had hoped that someone else would be cleaning the storeroom out for their detention as well. No such luck so far.

Severus was in an awful mood. Earlier he was trying to retrieve a memory he accidentally placed in his pensive. Instead of retrieving that memory, he mistakenly retrieved a horrible memory of him, James, Sirius, and Remus from his fourth year. After placing that memory back in his pensive and retrieving the correct one, he was livid. He was on a mission tonight; a mission to make Harry pay for what his father did to him all those years ago. Unfortunately all thoughts about who Harry really was were no longer in the front of his mind.

Forty-five minutes into the detention, Severus walked into the storeroom, glanced around and watched Harry for a few minutes. He now knew exactly how to make Harry pay.

When the boy placed a jar back on the shelf and had empty hands, he spoke up. "Potter, your attempt to clean this room is deplorable." He sneered at Harry when the boy jumped and turned to face him. "By the looks of this room, I suspect the Boy-Who-Lived never had to clean up after himself. I expect being waited on hand and foot by your relatives wouldn't give much time to learn how to clean, right?"

"You don't know what you're talking about. I always had…" Harry began, angrily.

"Silence," Severus broke in, his voice menacing. "I do not want to hear your excuses." He walked over to the shelf Harry had been working on and assessed its cleanliness. He whirled around to face Harry. "You will start over cleaning this shelf. It is unacceptable." He turned around to leave the room.

Harry stood gaping at the potion's master with his mouth open. The man had to be kidding. "I've been working on this shelf since I got in here sir." He stepped onto the ladder and glanced at the shelf in question. "I don't see anything wrong with it. It looks perfectly clean to me." He stepped back on to the floor, and continued in a whisper, though his gut told him to keep his mouth shut like he promised himself weeks ago, "I think you need to get your eyes checked."

Severus, who had been almost out the door, turned around and stormed towards Harry, causing the boy to take a few steps back and nearly trip over the ladder behind him. He leaned over Harry, who was now almost sitting on the steps of the ladder, grasped the sides of the ladder and glared at him. "What did you just say boy?" he asked threateningly.

As Severus went to grasp the ladder behind Harry, all Harry saw were hands coming towards him. He cowered at Snape's action, menacing glare and tone of voice. After gaining his balance and not thinking straight, he quickly brought his hands up to protect his face. The entire situation brought back terrible memories from Harry's time at the Dursley's when he was younger. "Please, no," Harry pleaded almost in a whisper, his body beginning to shake. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...please don't." Harry then curled in on himself, hands protecting his face.

"Potter," Severus spat, ignoring Harry's rambling. He looked at the boy in confusion, and when he saw he wasn't getting a response, he removed his hands from the ladder and backed away a few steps. He tried speaking with less malice, though he failed miserably, and also found he couldn't help the words coming out of his mouth. "Stop your inane muttering this instant and stand up."

Severus' icy voice brought Harry back to his present situation. He sat on the ground for a few seconds just staring at his shoes while an embarrassed flush crept up his neck and face. He couldn't believe what he just did. He knew the professor was not his uncle, nor would he hurt him, but he seemed to be acting on instinct, not what he knew was the truth. Breathing hard, he slowly uncurled his body and stood up, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him. He had just embarrassed himself beyond belief and did not want to look at the professor in the eyes.

Ignoring what had just happened, Severus continued. "You will remove all the jars and vials from the shelf, clean the shelf thoroughly, again, and place the items back on the shelf. After that, you are dismissed."

"Yes, professor," he said quietly, finally getting his breathing under control.

Nodding at Harry, Severus started walking back towards the classroom. Just as he was about to pass the threshold, he turned around. "I don't want to see you again until your Occlumency lesson on Tuesday, Mr. Potter."

Harry gave Snape a questioning look. Just the night before the man told him he had detention every day for the rest of the month. Now he didn't want to see him until Tuesday? He knew he should keep his mouth shut and take the opportunity to have three Snape-free days, but he really didn't want to get on his professor's even worse side if he didn't show up to a detention. "Erm, sir? I thought you said I had detention every day for the rest of the month?"

Raised eyebrows were Severus' only response.

Not sure why the man was letting him off his detentions and not wanting to question it in the event Snape changed his mind, Harry decided to let the subject drop. "Thank you sir," Harry said quietly before returning to the completely unnecessary task he had to do.

Nodding at the still slightly shaking boy in front of him, Severus swept out of the room. After listening intently to the room to be sure Harry was back to work, Severus sat at his desk staring at his hands.

He didn't know what had come over him in that room. The shelf he inspected was surprisingly clean, almost looking like new. He really hated having all the conflicting memories and feelings. It was driving him crazy.

As he listened to the faint clinking of glass coming from the storeroom, he decided that what really bothered him was Harry's reaction just a few minutes ago. Actually, he was more worried about Harry's reaction than what he'd done and said to the boy. It seemed the boy was terrified of him. For the past five years he would have relished in that thought. But now it troubled him.

Shaking his head to remove all the thoughts from his mind, Severus picked up the quill on his desk and started grading the papers his second years turned in that morning.

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.

As Severus walked in to Dumbledore's office, he was greeted with the sight of Remus sitting in one of the chairs by the desk, looking completely worn out. "Lupin," he stated, somewhat civil.

"Severus," Remus responded, and slouched a bit further into his chair. It was two days after his transformation and he hadn't fully recovered.

Severus walked over and sat down in the other chair at the desk, and waited for the Headmaster, ignoring the man sitting next to him.

A few seconds later, Dumbledore walked into the room and sat down. "Good afternoon. Glad you both could make it."

Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes; like he could ignore the Headmaster when he requested a meeting.

"I trust you both know why I have called you here." At Remus and Severus' nod, he continued. "I am afraid I have some bad news. I have been unable to find someone to take in Mr. Potter over the two week holiday. It's too short of a notice for some, and others don't want to put their families in danger by having Harry stay with them. They all think the Dark Lord will be after him." He sighed and looked at the two men in front of him. "I feel I may have run out of ideas."

Living with his real memories until Monday morning proved very distracting for Severus while listening to the Headmaster. His feelings since switching his memories were greatly different. He didn't have the same loathing for Harry as he often did. As such, he felt himself being seriously concerned about the predicament that was now facing Harry. "Why can’t one of the professors take him? What about letting him stay at Order headquarters?" he questioned.

"That is what I was getting to next. Unfortunately none of the professors can take him. He can stay at headquarters, but I do not want him there by himself." Dumbledore turned his gaze to Remus, knowing Severus would put up a fight if he asked the man his next question. "Remus, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Yes headmaster?" Remus questioned tentatively.

"I know you already have plans this holiday, but would you mind canceling them and staying at headquarters for the two weeks with Harry?"

Remus looked at the headmaster with a hint of disappointment. He had really been looking forward to spending his holiday in France with Tonks. But Harry did mean a lot to him and he would do anything in his power to help him. "Well, I did have plans. But, I guess…I guess I can change them to be of assistance to Harry. Just so you know, he will definitely not be happy about staying in that house for two weeks."

"He couldn't handle the two days he was there before term," Severus interrupted, without his usual malice. He then looked up into the surprised faces of Remus and Dumbledore. The two were definitely not used to hearing Severus speak of Harry without being condescending. Severus realized why they were surprised, but ignored it. He looked directly at Dumbledore. "You should just be aware of what you're getting into by having Mr. Potter stay in that house for a long period of time."

"I am fully aware Severus. Thank you for your concern."

Severus raised an eyebrow in response. The old man had no idea what he was doing. He didn't know why he was saying what he was about to say, but he couldn't help it. "Headmaster, I do not fully know the extent of the wards you are erecting around the castle, but is it necessary for the boy to be gone the entire two weeks? Wouldn't one week be sufficient? The less time the boy stays in that house, the better for everyone."

Dumbledore looked at Severus in thought. "You are right Severus. It won't take two weeks for the wards to be erected. One week shall be plenty. He can stay here for the first week and go to headquarters for the second."

"Thank you Severus," Remus said to Severus, completely surprised at the thought. "Headmaster," Remus began, "I would like to be the one to tell Harry, after I change my holiday arrangements. I think it would be best coming from me."

"Thank you Remus. I think that would be best."

Severus sat there staring at the two in disbelief. Did they really think the boy would go to that house quietly? Even if it was only one week? After what he witnessed while watching him before term, he knew the answer to be no. As Remus and Dumbledore discussed when Harry would be told, Severus came up with a solution to Harry's problem, but at the moment, he didn't want to voice it. He needed some time to think on it and to seriously think about the boy's reaction to the solution. He let the two finish their discussion, then broke in. "I still think you are making a bad decision Headmaster."

Dumbledore looked over the rim of his glasses. "If you have a better solution, Severus, please…enlighten us."

"I do. Possibly." Severus couldn't believe he almost voiced his solution before he thought about it. "I just need to think about it."

"Well, if you do come up with something, please let the two of us know as soon as possible."

"You will be the first to know." Severus rose from his chair. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must head back to my quarters. I have many things to attend to."

"Of course Severus," Dumbledore said. "Have a good evening."

Severus nodded to Dumbledore, quickly looked at Remus, and left the office.

~SH~

Professor McGonagall took her spoon and clanked it against her water glass to quiet the Great Hall for the Headmaster.

Dumbledore leaned over to McGonagall. "Thank you, Minerva." He then stood up to address the students. "I hope you all are enjoying your dinner this last Monday before the holidays. As a few of you might know, all of you will be going home for the holidays. All preparations for those who were to stay at Hogwarts for those two weeks have also been made. And if your parents or guardians were unable to plan for your presence, other arrangements have been made. I'm sorry if this causes an inconvenience to some of you, but it was a necessary action." Dumbledore stopped talking for a few seconds as the whispering began. "I hope you all have a terrific holiday." Dumbledore then sat back down as the din in the hall became louder.

After the Headmaster took his seat, Harry just sat there staring at the man, his mouth hanging open. He had to spend the two week holiday with the Dursley's? That was not possible. He had planned to spend those weeks here at Hogwarts doing absolutely nothing…sleeping late, wandering the castle and grounds, and spending time with Hagrid. Living with the Dursley's for those two weeks was not part of his plan. There had to be some place else he could go.

While Harry was lost in his thoughts, Hermione and Ron were discussing the possible reasons why everyone had to leave the castle. Thinking that Harry was paying attention to the conversation, Hermione asked him a question. When he didn't answer, she asked him again and shook his arm.

"What?" Harry asked abruptly from being broken out of his thoughts. "Sorry Hermione," he continued at Hermione's look. "I was thinking about something." Hermione nodded, giving him a look that she understood what he had been thinking about.

The subject was then dropped and the three got started on their dinner.

~SH~

Tuesday after all his classes were complete, Harry went in search of Remus. He still wasn't comfortable talking to the man yet, but he was desperate. His first stop was the professor's office. He knocked on the wooden door and was immediately let in.

Harry followed Remus over to his desk and sat in one of the two chairs facing the desk.

Remus sunk into his chair and looked at Harry. "What brings you here Harry?"

"I was wondering if you know where I'm to go during the holidays. I was supposed to stay here because the Dursley's agreed to only have me back during the summer. Where am I to go? Please tell me Professor Dumbledore didn't make plans with the Dursley's and I'm supposed to stay there?"

Remus looked at Harry sympathetically. He had planned on talking to the boy after dinner tonight, since his change of plans with Tonks had been finalized late last night. But since Harry was asking now, he wasn't going to deny he knew anything.

Harry took Remus' expression to mean he was right. "Please tell me I'm wrong. I can't go back to the Dursley's."

"Relax Harry. There's no need to work yourself up. You are not going to the Dursley's."

Harry let out a breath. "Good."

"But I'm afraid you'll hate where you will be staying almost as much as if you were to stay with the Dursley's."

"I doubt that," Harry contradicted.

Remus waited a few seconds before he began speaking again. "Harry, you will be staying the holiday at Grimmauld Place."

"No!" Harry shouted, and stood up from his chair. "I can't stay there. I'd rather spend the holidays down in the dungeons with Snape before stepping foot into that house again."

"Calm down Harry."

"Can't I stay with you?" Harry asked, almost begging. He would do almost anything to not have to stay in that house.

"You will be staying with me Harry. I will be staying at Grimmauld Place with you."

Harry wasn't comforted at all by what Remus said. "Why do you have to stay at…at Grim…at that house with me?" Harry asked, not able to say the name of his godfather's home. "Why can't I stay with you at your place?"

"I would love to have you stay at my place, but Order headquarters is the safest place for you. I want you to be safe Harry. But, the good news is, you get to stay here for the first week. The second week of the holidays is when we'll be going to Grimmauld Place."

Feeling slightly relieved that he wouldn't have to spend the entire time in that dreadful house, he took a deep breath and relaxed in his chair. "Ok," he said gloomily.

After watching Harry relax, Remus decided to spend a few more minutes talking to Harry about his classes.

~SH~

Harry shakily stood up from the cold stone floor of Severus' office. He wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead and dropped down in the chair behind him. He looked up into the eyes of the potion's master and was met with an odd look. Not understanding why the professor was looking at him like that, he dropped his eyes and grabbed the Occlumency book he was to read for a bit during his lessons with Snape.

While Harry was reading the book, Severus was trying to get a handle on his emotions. Having lived with his real memories for the past few days proved to be very difficult. When he awoke on Monday morning, he was actually dreading the minute he had to remove his memories. But knew it was currently necessary.

Having lived with the knowledge that he had been married and had a son gave him the greatest feeling in the world. Even though that son was Harry, he felt very proud of the boy. He only wished that the day he could destroy his altered memories and live with his real ones was now. He wanted so much to be a father. It was a dream he'd given up years ago, but now that the truth was out there, he couldn't wait to be a father. As Severus raised his wand to his temple to remove his memories that morning, he made the decision to tell Harry the truth sometime before the year was over.

Severus was still thinking about Monday morning when he was broken out of his thoughts by Harry.

"Well Professor?" Harry asked again when the professor made no move to answer him.

Severus glared at Harry. "What do you want?" he asked slightly irritated at being drawn out of his thoughts.

"Sorry sir," Harry stated at the tone and look Severus gave him. "I just wanted to know if we were done for the night or if you wanted to try one more time?"

Severus stared at Harry for a few seconds before grabbing his wand and motioning for Harry to stand. He stood as well and raised his wand to Harry. "Legilimens." As he entered Harry's mind, Severus wasn't quite so sure why he was searching for certain memories, but he felt it absolutely necessary.

...Harry at nine years old opening his Christmas gift of a wire hanger wrapped in a garbage bag...Harry having to stay outside all Christmas day doing chores while his family enjoyed their holiday dinner...Harry being locked up in his cupboard while his relatives celebrated the holiday...Harry opening his first real Christmas gift his first year at Hogwarts...three-year old Harry crying while his uncle yelled at him that Santa never visited freaks and he would never get any presents from him...

Before the next memory fully surfaced, Severus found himself back in his office breathing rapidly while Harry was lying down on his side on the ground shaking. Severus walked around the desk to his chair and sat down. Harry had yet to rise but had moved to a sitting position on the floor with his back to Severus.

Instead of saying anything to the boy, Severus just let him sit there. No doubt Harry was embarrassed and perhaps a little ashamed at the memories that had been seen. An uncharacteristic move from the man, Severus said nothing to Harry and went to retrieve some essays to grade. He would let the boy have some time to compose himself.

After grading two essays, Severus looked up to see Harry had yet to move. He cleared his throat and put the quill in his hand down. "You are improving Mr. Potter."

Harry's head jerked up and he slowly stood up and turned to face the potion's master. "Tha…thank you sir," he responded completely shocked. He never expected to hear a compliment from Snape.

Severus acknowledged him with a nod of his head. "I'd like you to spend the remaining lesson reviewing the chapter you read earlier. You may go now. And there is no need to come back until our next lesson on Thursday. Good night Mr. Potter."

Looking at the professor in confusion, Harry began to ask why he wasn't wanted back tomorrow night for his detention. "Thursday sir? I thought I had detention tomorrow?"

"You will only be coming to my office for Occlumency lessons Mr. Potter."

Harry again tried to pry from the man why he dismissed him from all the detentions. "I don't understand sir. I thought there was no getting out of these detentions? Why are you dismissing me from them?"

Raised eyebrows were the only response Severus gave him.

With that being his answer, Harry grabbed his book and walked towards the door. As he opened the door, he thought he had heard the man whisper "because I'm sorry for what I did to you," but realization set in and he knew he had to be hearing things. And he wasn't stupid enough to question if he was right or wrong. He then closed the door behind him and ran up to Gryffindor tower.

Severus watched as Harry left his office. He knew he made the right decision in canceling all the boy's detentions. They were administered unfairly. If it was any other student, he wouldn't have given that punishment so it was only fair that he retract Harry's punishment.

~SH~

As the week went by, Severus' thoughts of Harry began to change. He had been too busy preparing for the holiday break so he never viewed his memories. When the boy's Thursday Occlumency lesson came, Severus was back to his usual horrid self.

"Potter, you are absolutely pathetic," he growled at the boy trembling on the floor in his office. "Get up this instant." He rounded his desk and sat down. "What a waste of my time."

"You told me two days ago I was improving," Harry said as he shakily stood up.

"I was grievously wrong. Tuesday was obviously a fluke. You are as bad as you were last year."

Harry glared at the professor, grabbed his book bag and hurried to the office door, wanting to get away from the man as soon as possible. He didn't care that his lesson wasn't over or what Snape would do once he walked out of that office. He just needed to get away.

Severus yelled out to Harry as the boy opened the door. "Mr. Potter, get yourself back into this office this minute."

Harry ignored the threatening tone of his professor and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for lack of respect," Severus said to his empty office. He sat there for a few minutes before deciding to clean up his office and get an early start on relaxing in his quarters.

As Severus sat in front of the fireplace, he began thinking about the lesson with Harry only a few hours earlier. He felt slightly guilty at the way he behaved towards the boy and then realized why he was like that. He hadn't viewed his memories for a few days and had begun to forget the way he felt about his past and of Harry. Knowing what needed to be done, Severus went to his desk, retrieved the bottle of his memories, and switched them out with his altered memories. He knew he wouldn't have the boy in class for the rest of the week, so he decided to leave them in for the next three days. He felt it was safe enough.

When Sunday morning arrived, and almost all of the Hogwarts students had left the castle for the two week holiday, Severus knew exactly what he needed to do. And because of what had to be done, he removed his real memories, placed them safely in the bottle and returned his altered memories.

~SH~

Truth be told, Severus didn't like visiting the Gryffindor tower, or being anywhere near it. It brought back too many bad memories from when he had been a student at Hogwarts. But, he swore to himself that his feelings were going to change. He admitted to himself that it might take months before it would happen, but he would make it happen…now that he had a real reason to.

He walked up to the portrait of the fat lady, who gave him a questioning look. "What are you…" the fat lady started before Severus cut her off.

"The reason I am here is none of your concern. Please let me in." The fat lady huffed and Severus watched as the portrait door swung open.

He walked through the portrait hole and stopped in the middle of the common room. He was expecting to see Harry at one of the tables or in one of the chairs by the fireplace, but there was no one there. Really needing to find the boy before he lost his nerve, Severus started climbing the spiral staircase to the boys' dormitories. He wasn't sure which one Harry was assigned to, so he was going to have to look in them all.

Reaching the top, and last, dormitory in the tower, he opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes were immediately drawn to one of the beds. Harry was asleep with his glasses lying next to his wand on his bedside table. Severus was a little surprised to see the boy asleep since it wasn't that late, but knew that he did have a tiring day. He secretly went to watch Harry in the impromptu Quidditch game that was played earlier that afternoon with the few students that had yet to leave Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. They would be leaving that evening.

Not wanting to wake up Harry just to talk, Severus decided he should go back to his quarters and try again another time. But listening to the boy's deep breaths, he couldn't quite leave. In the event Harry wanted nothing to do with him upon learning the truth, he decided to watch his son for a while. It might be the only chance he would ever get. Not wanting to be seen in the event Harry woke up, he quietly walked over to the bed next to Harry's, sat down and drew the deep red velvet curtains around just enough for him to see but not be seen.

Severus watched Harry as he slept peacefully. Since this was the first time he really got to look at him, he could really see the change in his appearance. His face wasn't as round and his cheekbones were more defined. Harry's hair was a little sleeker like his, but took on a more auburn hue like Lily's. He also noticed that Harry's nose was now a combination of both his and Lily's. And even though he couldn't see them, he knew his son's eyes never changed…they were still Lily's. He then wondered if Harry would still need his glasses. Giving a small smile and sighing, Severus couldn't believe that he could have fathered the strikingly handsome boy lying on the bed.

A few minutes later, Severus was startled out of his thoughts by Harry thrashing around and moaning in his bed. He was totally unaware of what Harry was now going through.

Harry's dream had changed from a fun outing with Ginny to something more evil…

…Harry was walking along an indeterminate street in the middle of the night. Following behind him were four men and women all wearing black robes and white masks. Coming to an empty intersection, he stopped and turned around, looking at all his followers.

"Tonight I feel like having fun. This house…" he pointed to a house up the street on the left side, "the one with the immaculate lawn, belongs to someone I believe to be a spy. We should pay him a visit."

He continued walking up to the front of the house. "Alohomora." The door unlocked and opened wide. "I want to have fun first. Then you four can have fun as well." He stepped through the door and into the living room of the house.

Harry watched as a man stood up from the couch and faced him. "My Lord. What brings you to my home?" the man asked Harry.

"You will see soon enough." Harry felt the evil radiating throughout his body as he raised his wand to the man. "Crucio!"

After the screaming died down, he turned to his followers. "Your turn for some fun. But don't kill him." After a few minutes of watching the Death Eaters, he held up his hand. "Stop. That is all for tonight. You may go now." As the Death Eaters left the house, he turned around towards the man and raised his wand one more time. "Avada Kedavra." At hearing a small stifled cry coming from behind him, he turned around and saw a girl about four years old. With a huge smile, he raised his wand to the little girl and repeated the killing curse. Then he started laughing…

Harry woke up screaming and thrashing around in his bed, his blankets twisted around his legs. Sweating and shaking, he brought a hand up to his scar and pressed on it to try and make the pain go away. Unfortunately the blinding pain in his head, along with the final moments of his vision, were making him feel nauseous. Knowing he wasn't going to be able to get out of bed in time, Harry rolled over on his side and vomited on the bed. He was now shaking uncontrollably. He rolled back over so he was lying on his back trying to breathe.

Taking a few big gulps of air, he tried to sit up. His head was still pounding so bad that when he moved, he knew he was going to be sick again. This time, he didn't even have the energy to do more than turn his head.

Severus sat helpless on the bed watching Harry. The urge to go to Harry's bedside to comfort him was extraordinary. But he couldn't move; couldn't let Harry know he was in the room. He could only sit in the shadows and watch.

After wiping tears from his eyes, Harry just laid on his bed for a few minutes, with his fingers pressed to his throbbing scar. Feeling something sticky on his fingers, he removed his hand and saw his fingertips were covered in blood. Knowing better than to move, he wiped his hand on his shirt. A few minutes later, when he felt he wouldn't be sick again, he reached with a shaky hand to his wand on his bedside table and pointed it to his bed. "Scourgify." Slowly, he sat up, brought his knees up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his knees. He looked around the dark dorm room while he tried to stop shaking. He hated waking up from the visions alone. Then he waited for the pain in his head to lessen.

Severus saw the look on Harry's face as the boy looked around the room still shaking. He could tell he was still in pain…and scared. Sadly, Severus began to wonder how many visions and nightmares Harry had to go through alone these past few years, here and at the Dursley's. If Severus had it his way, Harry would never have to go through them alone ever again.

After five minutes, he watched as Harry got up and slowly went to the restroom. The need and want to stay in the room with Harry was great, but Severus knew he'd better leave while he could. He reluctantly got out of the bed he was sitting on and walked past Harry's bed. Seeing that Harry must have had problems with the cleaning spell he cast earlier, he pulled his wand from his robes and performed the spell himself, then quickly walked out of the Gryffindor tower.

Harry walked out of the restroom a few minutes later feeling a little better. As he walked to his bed, he knew he should go to Dumbledore. The Headmaster always wanted to know when he had a vision. As he got in his bed, he questioned the cleanliness. He didn't think his spell worked that good. He laid his head down on the pillow and decided not to go to Dumbledore. With the way the man treated him all last year, he didn’t think he was ready to trust him again yet. He fell asleep a few minutes later.

Severus entered his quarters in the cold dungeons ten minutes after leaving Harry's dorm room. After sitting in his chair by the fireplace, his thoughts went to Harry and the effects of the visions on him. He knew Harry had visions. That was why he was teaching him Occlumency. He just didn't realize what they did to Harry until tonight. And to be honest, until learning the truth about his past, he didn't want to know and didn't care.

Picking up a book located on the table next to him, Severus decided he would go to Dumbledore tomorrow afternoon to inquire about the vision and to find out how Harry was doing. Harry should have gone to Dumbledore by then. He knew the boy always went to Dumbledore whenever he had a vision.

Sleep didn't come easy to Severus Sunday night. Sleep actually never did. But it was worse than normal. His thoughts kept swirling around Harry and what he witnessed when he went to talk to the boy in Gryffindor tower. When he finally did fall asleep, he had made up his mind on what he was going to do about Harry. He needed to tell Harry the truth before the end of Monday. He had to. The truth and all the emotions it awakened within him were slowly eating him up. He couldn't keep playing around the truth of what he felt any longer.

Upon waking Monday morning, Severus removed his real memories and replaced them with his altered memories. As an experiment earlier in the week, he had removed his real memories and left his altered ones alone. Walking around without any memories from all those years was actually worse than his altered memories. With that being the case, he decided he would never go without some type of memory.

After getting dressed and switching out his memories, Severus headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. When he opened the door to enter the room, he was greeted with the sight of one large rectangle table set in the center of the hall. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Lupin, and Sprout were all in attendance. The remaining Hogwarts students had left after dinner the night before and the remaining professors had yet to arrive for the meal or had already left for the holiday. The professors had until that evening to leave for their mandatory holiday.

Severus walked into the room and took a seat next to Professor Flitwick and across from Dumbledore. After serving himself some breakfast, he looked around the table. Harry was no where to be seen. He took a sip of tea and addressed Dumbledore. "Headmaster, where is Potter? Does he feel he's above following the rules already?" He asked the last question in his usual condescending tone, but it didn't have his normal feelings behind it. He had to keep up appearances after all, until he felt it safe for the truth to be generally known and of course after Harry had been told.

Dumbledore looked at Severus over the rim of his glasses, his blue eyes twinkling with hidden amusement. "Concerned about the boy Severus?" Dumbledore asked lightly.

Glancing around the table at the other professors, he narrowed his eyes and returned his attention to the headmaster. "Of course not," he denied. Maybe he was concerned or maybe he wasn't concerned. However he was feeling, he was not going to let the headmaster be privy to his thoughts.

"Of course not, Severus," Dumbledore repeated, completely seeing through the man's lie. "Harry has the option of joining us for breakfast or having a house elf bring him his meals. He is, however, required to attend lunch and dinner in the Great Hall."

"Pampering him already I see," Severus stated then stared at the headmaster for a few seconds. He then turned his attention to his breakfast and began eating.

~SH~

Harry awoke about two hours after sunrise. After taking a shower he made his way down to the common room. He sat down in one of the arm chairs in front of the fire and called Dobby to bring him his breakfast. When his food arrived and he began eating, he was glad the Headmaster gave him the option of joining the professors in the Great Hall for breakfast or staying in the Gryffindor common room. After his vision the evening before and the subsequent nightmares, he was in no mood to be in the company of his professors for the early meal, or to leave the common room for quite a while. He was just disappointed he was required to take his other meals in the Great Hall.

~SH~

Still unaccustomed to having a lot of his thoughts revolving around Harry, even after having removed his memories, Severus tried to engage himself in the conversations around him at the table during lunch. Throughout the meal, though, he found that he was watching Harry more often than he was used to. And it wasn't due to the fact that the boy was sitting diagonally across from him. He knew that it was because of the events he witnessed yesterday evening, his thoughts all through the night, and the fact that he hadn't seen Harry at all since he left the boy's dorm room last night.

As Severus finished the last of the water in the cup in his hand, he looked over at Harry one more time. The boy wasn't really eating and wasn't really talking to anyone. More than likely it was because of what he'd been through yesterday evening. Since making the decision late last night not to speak with Professor Dumbledore with regard to Harry's vision, Severus knew now would be a good time to speak with Harry, about the vision and about them.

Severus waited until the boy left the Great Hall and followed him out. He started to speak once Harry was in a corridor away from the Great Hall. "Mr. Potter."

Harry stopped walking and turned toward his professor, unsure why the man was following him. "Yes sir?" he said hesitantly. Whatever the professor was going to say would probably not be good. It never was.

"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore mentioned you had a vision last night," he began, with a lie or course, as he slowly walked up to Harry. "In order for me to see if the Occlumency lessons you are having are beginning to help, I would like…"

"I didn't go see the Headmaster last night," Harry interrupted. "I haven't for…" He stopped talking and looked at his professor in confusion. "Hang on, how did you know I had a vision last night?"

The opportunity for Severus to talk to Harry presented itself, though not in the way he had imagined. Now he wished he went to the Headmaster before confronting Harry. It would have made things a little easier. "Mr. Potter, follow me to my office. We will continue our conversation there."

Not wanting to get on Snape's bad side the first day of the holiday, Harry decided to comply. "Okay."

Almost at a run, Harry followed the professor down to the dungeons and into his office. After Harry entered, Severus closed the door behind them. He walked to his desk and pointed to the chair on the other side. "Sit please." He watched as Harry sat down opposite him.

Harry sat down and looked at his professor, wondering why the man was looking at him the way he was. He had never seen him look at anyone like that before. Not being able to read the expression in his eyes, Harry wondered what was so important to talk about that they couldn't stay in the empty corridor by the Great Hall. But first, he wanted to know how Snape knew about his vision. "Professor. Erm…how did you know I had a vision last night? I didn't tell anyone."

Severus laughed to himself as soon as he realized the boy had a one-track mind. But it would probably be best to get that question out of the way. "Fine, we'll start there. I was up in your dorm room last night."

"What?" Since when did Snape go to a student's dorm room…especially a Gryffindor? Harry was slowly beginning to realize what exactly Snape had probably seen. Then he thought back to how his bed was a lot cleaner than he thought it should have been. His face paled at the thought.

"I went looking for you so I could talk with you. I didn't want…"

"How long were you there?" Harry asked coldly, knowing the last thing in the world he wanted was to have this heartless man in front of him see him at his worst.

Severus saw the change in Harry's face and had a feeling what the boy was thinking. "Long enough."

"Brilliant." Harry was now fuming and glaring at the man he hated most in this world. "Just brilliant." Almost yelling now, Harry stood up. "Another thing for you to use in class when you decide to ridicule, humiliate, and criticize me for the stuff my father did to you!"

Harry's last sentence really stung Severus. He knew he had to tell him the truth now before he ruined his chances at finally having what he secretly desired for years. "Potter," he stated, trying to rid his voice of sadness.

"I am not my father, professor," Harry continued, ignoring how Severus stated his name.

"Potter," Severus said again, a little louder.

"…Stop treating me like I am." Harry started moving to the door. He reached out to grasp the door knob when Severus called him again.

"Harry." The name came out of Severus' mouth more quietly and gently than he had intended.

At his first name being used and the tone in which it was said, Harry stopped in his tracks and turned slowly toward Snape. He had never, in his over five years at Hogwarts, heard his teacher say his name like that before or say his first name at all for that matter.

"Please, sit down." Severus gestured to the chair again and waited until Harry reluctantly sat down. He looked at the boy a few seconds before continuing. "This really isn't the way I wanted to go about doing this," he said more to himself than Harry. He took a deep breath and looked at Harry in the eyes. "First, Harry, I would like to know if you've noticed any differences in yourself."

Harry just stared at the professor when he said his given name again, wondering what had gotten in to the man. Then he thought about the question asked. It was definitely a weird question. Though still fuming, Harry decided to answer. "I'm not too sure what you mean, sir."

"I mean, do you think you're taller or shorter or anything like that compared to a few months ago?" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and call the boy dense.

"Well, yes, but I think it's normal for someone my age." He still couldn't quite figure out what Snape was getting at.

Severus was slowly beginning to lose his patience with the boy no matter how much he wanted to have this conversation. "How about when you look in the mirror? Are there any differences?" he clarified, hoping to get a real answer out of Harry.

Harry had been thinking the changes were all in his head and he was losing his mind. Relieved, he answered. "Actually yes. I have noticed some changes…changes that I really wouldn't expect just by getting older." At Severus' nod he continued. "So you see the changes too?" Harry asked. "I thought it was all in my mind."

"No, it's not in your mind." Severus was thankful that Harry didn't seem to have a problem with the changes, and that his anger was dying down.

"What could be causing it? Does it have something to do with Voldemort?" At Severus' intake of breath at the word Voldemort, he surprisingly apologized. "Sorry Professor. I know I'm not supposed to say his name."

"The changes have nothing to do with him, though they are one of the reasons I asked you down here. But we'll get to that later." Severus opened the top desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. "There really is no easy way for me to explain." He handed the envelope to Harry. "I received this a few months ago. It will explain everything for you. Just promise me you won't run off after you read it." Severus placed his hands in his lap, fists clenched with apprehension.

Harry nodded as he hesitantly took the envelope from Severus. He took out the letter and slowly read it.

In Severus' nervousness his hands were getting sweaty, something he hadn't experienced in years, and he had to keep wiping them on his trousers. As he waited for Harry to finish reading the letter, he watched the boy's face for any indication of what he was feeling. He didn't see anything until Harry slapped the letter down on the desk five minutes later and they made eye contact. Harry had tears forming in his eyes, but in front of the tears was pure hatred…hatred and revulsion.

"I get it, Professor," Harry said, with his voice shaking slightly. "This is just one of your sick jokes, another way to taunt me. Well, it's not funny."

"I assure you Potter, that this letter is not a joke." He took the letter from the desk, put it back in its envelope, and carefully returned it to the drawer. "It is entirely true. You and I are father and son. And I'd like to begin having that relationship with you."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Why should you not?"

"Why should I not?" Harry's voice was rising. "Why should I not?" He was now yelling at the man seated in front of him. "Are you kidding me? You've hated me from the very first second you laid eyes on me. Hated me because of what my father did to you. You've never said a decent thing to me in the five years I've been attending Hogwarts. You're mission in life seems to be making my life the worst it could possibly be. Why should I believe you, sir?" he spat.

Severus regarded Harry's answers while he watched the boy sitting across from him, and tried not to show how upset he was feeling. To calm his nerves, he ran a hand through his lanky hair, took a deep breath and looked back up at Harry. "What would it take for you to believe me, that this is not a joke? My memories are still in the bottle. Would you like me to get the Pensive so you can view them?" Severus moved his hand to retrieve the bottle of memories he placed in the drawer earlier that morning for this occasion.

"No! I know there are no memories to be seen. You can stop playing around." Harry stood up from the chair, fists clenched. "You should be happy to know, professor, that although I hate you, you can still hurt me. Now there's something else you can use to taunt me."

Severus watched as Harry bolted to the door to leave. He couldn't believe how much it hurt to know that Harry didn't believe him. But then again, why should the boy believe him? Harry was right. He placed his elbows on the desk, put his head in his hands and sighed. "Lily I wish you would have obeyed my wishes. I knew the pain would be too much to live with." Severus' voice was soft and it started to crack. This made Harry stop just as he was about to leave the office, and he turned around to face Severus. Severus continued talking to himself, not knowing Harry had yet to leave. "Why did you have to keep my memories Lily? I can't do this. God Lily, how am I ever going to get him to believe that he is my son and that I want that relationship?"

Harry watched a few seconds as Severus just sat there with his head in his hands. He then slowly closed the office door behind him, turned and ran to the Gryffindor common room.

Luckily it was a mandatory Christmas holiday for everyone so when Harry entered the common room he didn't have anyone to pester him, like he normally would have. It also meant he could sit anywhere he liked and do anything he wished. However, he had too much on his mind to take full advantage of the empty room this afternoon. He placed himself in front of the fire in one of the room's prime squashy red arm chairs and thought about the past few minutes. Was Professor Snape really that upset when he left? "No way," he said to the empty room.

Harry sat staring into the fire thinking. After a while he got up and went into the bathroom. He stood in front of the sink and just started at his reflection in the mirror. As he had been noticing, and others as well, his appearance had changed over the past four months. He was a bit taller, his shoulders broader, and he noticed his fingers were a little longer. His eyes stayed the same, as did his mouth, but his face was a bit longer, his cheekbones accentuated more, and his hair was sleeker, more auburn and wasn't unruly like it used to be. He also noticed his ears and nose had changed a little too. “It can't be true can it?” Harry shook his head to rid himself of that thought.

Furious at the professor and the letter, Harry snatched up a forgotten bottle of shampoo on the counter, left there by one of his house mates, and threw it as forcefully as he could at the mirror behind the sink. As he watched the bottle, now dented from its meeting with the mirror, fall to the floor and roll away, Harry's anger intensified. How the slimy potions master could do something so hurtful was beyond him. What was the man playing at? He knew the professor loathed him, but to do something like this was totally uncalled for.

His thoughts then turned to his Occlumency lesson last Thursday night and the memories that the professor had seen. Most of the memories were when he had been little and locked up in his cupboard thinking about a loving family he would never have. "That's it. That slimy bastard is using my memories to hurt me even more. That's got to be what he doing."

Harry looked at his reflection in the mirror again. "Well, I won't let him get away with it. I won't let him think he's won whatever game he's playing. These physical changes are from Voldemort. They're just something Dumbledore forgot to tell me about…or doesn't want to tell me about."

Now hurt that Dumbledore would keep from him more information regarding his connection to Voldemort and angry at the joke that for some reason Professor Snape was playing on him, Harry decided to forgo his wanderings in the castle and went up to his dorm room. He lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling and just let his mind wander. Before he knew it, his eyelids became heavy and he fell asleep.

~SH~

After Harry darted out of his office, Severus stormed to his quarters quite upset. He slammed the door shut and sank into his sofa. He couldn't believe how bad the conversation with Harry had gone. Harry's reaction was definitely expected, but he didn't think that he would be as hurt from it as he was. The feeling was almost overwhelming. It was then that he decided to do everything possible to demonstrate how true that letter was and how much he wanted Harry to be his son. And it would begin with going to Dumbledore.

Just as he was about to leave for Dumbledore's office, he remembered that the headmaster would be away on Order business until around dinner time. Deciding to get a head start on the potions the infirmary would be need after the holidays, Severus went to his private lab instead of returning to his office. He figured he'd better brew as many potions as he could that afternoon. Not knowing what this week would bring, now that Harry knew the truth, Severus wanted to be sure he had at least half of the potions complete before the week's end.

Dinner had come too quickly for Severus. He was in the middle of brewing the required stock of pepper-up when the alarm he set earlier to alert him of dinner went off. He put the potion on stasis until he could finish it and went up to the Great Hall. As he entered the room, he had figured that everyone would have been in middle of eating seeing that his alarm was set to go off half way through the meal. However, empty plates and glasses greeted him as he sat down. He looked around the table and met Professor Dumbledore's eyes.

At Severus' questioning gaze, Dumbledore answered the unspoken question. "We are waiting for Mr. Potter to join us before we begin eating."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "You've been waiting for the boy for half an hour? Why didn't you just start eating without him?"

"That would be considered rude, Severus."

"But you would have started eating if I…." Severus began, but was cut off my Dumbledore.

"We were also waiting for you, my boy." With a small smile, Dumbledore continued. "Minerva has gone to fetch Mr. Potter. They should be here in a few minutes."

Severus didn't acknowledge the information the headmaster provided. He just turned his attention to his empty plate while wishing he set his alarm for a bit later. He could probably have finished the potion he was working on before coming up.

~SH~

Minerva stood at the entrance to the Gryffindor's sixth year dormitory. She found Harry asleep atop his bed. Bringing a fist to the open door, she knocked a few times. "Mr. Potter, you had better get up. It is time for dinner." When she received no response, she knocked louder and called his name again.

Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked towards the door. He brought a hand up to his eyes and began to rub the sleep out of them. "Sorry professor. I guess I fell asleep." As he lay in his bed, the embarrassment of having his teacher wake him up made his face start to turn a shade of pink. He didn't like the thought of being woken up by a professor, especially when he really shouldn't have been sleeping.

"Hurry up and get down to the Great Hall. Dinner isn't being served until you join us." She ignored the embarrassed tinge creeping up the boy's face and left the room.

After hearing the portrait door close, Harry quickly got up, brushed a hand through his messy hair to tame it, and ran down the stairs to join the rest of the professors in the Great Hall.

As Harry opened the door and began the trek to his seat, he eyes immediately went to Snape. The man was looking down but at the sound of Harry's entrance, he raised his eyes to meet his. Harry quickly averted his gaze. He would not look at or acknowledge the man unless it was absolutely necessary.

The minute Harry sat down at the table, their dinner had appeared. Harry, not being all that hungry after what he'd gone through that afternoon, put a few ladlefuls of soup in the bowl in front of him. As he tried to eat, he felt someone's gaze on him. He had a feeling he knew who it was, but kept his eyes trained on his bowl.

Severus found himself watching Harry all throughout the meal. He tried to catch the boy's eyes, but it seemed Harry was intent on just looking at the food in front of him. He noticed that whenever he was spoken to, his answer was given to his bowl. He never once looked up at anyone at the table. He figured Harry was still trying to come to terms with the information he had learned that afternoon.

Harry had only a few spoonfuls of soup; his stomach almost wanting the liquid to make a repeat appearance. He pushed his bowl away and slowly stood up. He finally looked up since arriving for the meal and turned his attention to the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to the tower. I'm a bit tired."

"Of course my boy. You are feeling alright aren't you?" Dumbledore questioned. He didn't think Harry should be so tired since he hadn't done a thing all day.

Harry nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Good. You may leave then. We'll see you tomorrow Harry. Good night."

"G'night." Harry quickly left and went back up to his room.

Severus watched with worry as Harry left the Great Hall. He was aware of how little Harry had eaten during dinner and that he looked on the pale side. He highly doubted anyone else had noticed.

~SH~

A few hours after dinner, Harry was seated at a table in front of the raging fire in the Gryffindor common room. He had a few pieces of parchment spread out along the far side, and he was busy writing away when the portrait door sprung open. Expecting to see his head of house, he was shocked to see Professor Snape walking through the door. Not wanting to talk to the man, Harry quickly turned his attention back to the letter he was writing.

Severus entered the common room, the second in as many days, and spotted Harry at a table. He breathed a small sigh of relief when he noticed that the boy looked a little better than he did at dinner. But he was still a bit worried; the emotion still feeling unnatural to him.

"Mr. Potter," Severus began as he took a seat on the sofa by Harry's table and faced the boy. Upon getting no reaction from Harry, he cleared his throat and tried again, this time with a little more authority in his voice. "Mr. Potter."

Knowing it was in his best interest to not ignore the man, Harry turned his attention to the professor.

Seeing he had the boy's attention, Severus continued. "I do not take your words at face value Mr. Potter, like the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall. So I want to ask you a question and I expect to be told the truth. Let me remind you that I do have some healer experience and will be verifying everything you say to me." He let that sink in a few seconds before continuing. "Are you feeling ill?"

Angry about this afternoon, Harry responded not caring about the tone of voice he was using. "Why do you care professor?"

"Mr. Potter," Severus warned, his usual malice slowly creeping into his voice without meaning for it to.

"Leave me alone!" Harry returned to writing his letter, ignoring the professor seated a few feet away. As he finished the sentence he was writing, he heard the chair next to him slide across the stone floor. He shifted his eyes to the chair and saw that Severus was now sitting down in the chair. Rolling his eyes, he quickly snatched up the parchment, quill, and ink and stood up from the table to go to his dorm room.

Sensing Harry wouldn't be telling him anything, Severus reached into his robes and pulled out his wand the minute Harry started grabbing everything from the table. He pointed it at Harry and muttered a diagnostic spell. Seeing the results, he replaced his wand and spoke to Harry's retreating form. "Mr. Potter, if you are feeling unwell, I think it best if we cancel tomorrow night's Occlumency lesson. It is ill-advised to proceed when you are not healthy."

Harry was genuinely surprised that the professor was actually going to allow him to skip a lesson if he was unwell, something that the man had never done in the past. But he was not going to fall for whatever scheme the man had going on. He would not admit anything to the man or show any kind of weakness. Harry turned around at the bottom of the spiral staircase. "I feel fine, professor." He still did feel a little queasy and a bit cold, but he knew it was because of this afternoon and his nightmares last night, not because he was ill. Of course, he wouldn't let the professor know anything.

"What did I say when I first walked in here Mr. Potter?" Severus asked threateningly as he stood up from the table. "I thought I had told you to tell me the truth." He couldn't believe the boy was being so defiant.

"You are not my head of house," Harry yelled, not caring what the potion's professor would do to him. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Severus was growing exasperated and slowly retreating to his usual self. "I am your professor, Mr. Potter," he growled. "And as such, you will do as I say."

Harry looked at the professor, turned around and marched up to his dorm room slamming the door shut behind him.

As Severus watched Harry walk up the stairs, he started brooding about insufferable students and their lack of respect. When he heard the door slam, it awoke something inside him. He shook his head and just realized what had happened.

He had gone to Harry to check after his well-being, to show the boy he was concerned about him and his health and to see if he needed anything; something any father would do for his son. He was expecting a little resistance from Harry, but hoped his persistence would begin to show that he was serious about being his father. That idea was shot down in a matter of ten minutes.

Determined to keep trying, Severus left the Gryffindor common room to retire to his own quarters.

Seemingly on automatic pilot, Severus headed directly to the living room upon returning to his quarters and sat down on the sofa, staring at the flickering orange-red flames of the fire burning in the fireplace. He summoned a hot cup of tea and took a few sips. A minute later he picked up his latest copy of Potions Monthly and began thumbing through the articles. His thoughts, however, were a big jumbled mess and he couldn't concentrate on anything he was reading. Giving up, he tossed the journal on to the side table and decided to focus on the problem at hand. Harry.

Realizing he wasn't getting anywhere with the way things were going, he knew he had to put his plan into motion. The plan he had been thinking about since meeting with Remus and Albus a few days ago about where the boy would be spending the last week of the holiday. He wanted Harry to spend the week with him. He knew the boy would put up a fight and argue. But figured this solution, to Harry, had to be better than staying in that mutt's house.

Severus' first task, of course, would be to let the headmaster know he was going to stay the remainder of the week at Hogwarts. Knowing now would be as good a time as any, Severus took one last sip of tea and headed for Professor Dumbledore's office. After stating the newest password to the gargoyle while rolling his eyes, he was seated in front of the headmaster not more than ten minutes later.

"Severus. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this fine evening?" Dumbledore glanced at the clock sitting at the right corner of his desk. "Shouldn't you be packing and on your way to Spinner's End?"

"That is what I have come to discuss, Albus. I have some items of great importance that must be completed before my departure." He hoped Dumbledore wouldn't press him for any particulars and was relieved when the headmaster just nodded. "I plan to return to my home no later than early Saturday afternoon."

Dumbledore gazed at him questioningly but didn't push to get anymore information out of the man. He watched Severus relax back into the chair. "Very well Severus. But I do expect you to be off the grounds by 11 am."

"That will not be a problem." Severus stood and the headmaster’s office.

As he walked back down to his quarters, Severus knew the next item of business was to notify Remus of the change in plans regarding Harry. Though he couldn't stand the werewolf, he would be accommodating to the man and let him know of the change. He immediately went to his study and sat down at the desk. He then summoned the tea from the other room. After taking a sip, he grimaced at the now cold liquid and cast a warming spell on the cup. He pulled out a few pieces of parchment from a side drawer, picked up his quill and began composing his note to Remus.

Once the letter was complete, Severus re-read it and was satisfied that Remus could not come up with any arguments in regard to the arrangement. After all, the man did want Severus and Harry to get to know each other better. This was the perfect way. He folded the letter and sealed it within an envelope. Then he called for a house elf to see that the letter was sent immediately.

After sitting back at the desk, Severus' eyes spotted the bottle with his real memories. He almost uncorked the bottle and switched out his memories, but as he held the wand to his temple, he quickly stopped. He had to keep the real memories bottled up in the event Harry wanted to see them. He placed the memories back in the bottle, re-corked it and put his wand away.

He really wished he was able to copy the memories. He now didn't like living with his altered ones. However, it was a known fact that if memories were ever duplicated, the original memories would deteriorate immediately and would be gone within a day. And the copies were never complete; not to mention they deteriorated within a month.

He would just have to live with viewing his real memories often until Harry decided to see them. The risk of not having them available immediately for the boy to view, not to mention having to remove them from himself and having no memories at all, was not even an option.

Running a hand over his face, Severus finished drinking the little bit of tea that remained in the cup. Deciding that he had done enough for the night, he placed the cup in the kitchen, and then retired to bed.

~SH~

Harry walked in to the Great Hall for lunch Tuesday afternoon and noticed the table had shrunk to half its original size. As lunch got started, he realized why. There were only two other occupants seated at the circular table; Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape. Not wanting to be in the same room as Snape let alone having to sit next to him, Harry slowly made his way to the table and sat down between the two professors.

Staring at the pot full of steaming tomato soup and a platter piled high with sandwiches, Harry decided to start with the soup. Something warm would be good since he spent the last few hours flying around the Quidditch pitch. As he began ladling some of the soup into the bowl in front of him, he could feel that he was being watched. He knew it was Snape so he didn't look up.

After eating about half his soup, Harry's curiosity got the better of him. He put his spoon down and looked to the headmaster. "Excuse me Professor, but why are we the only ones at lunch? Where are all the other professors?"

"All the professors were to leave the castle as well, Harry," Dumbledore answered over his steaming cup of tea.

Harry risked a glance at Professor Snape and was relieved to see the man's eyes were not on him. Then with confusion written on his face, he turned his attention back to the headmaster. "But if all the teachers are supposed to be gone as well, why is Professor Snape still here sir?"

"Ah, good question, my boy."

Before Dumbledore could formulate any more of his response, Severus decided to answer. He had been disappointed that every time he ran in to Harry since last night, the boy immediately turned around and left without a word to him. Now he could at least have some type of conversation with him.

"I have asked the headmaster to allow me to stay, Mr. Potter." Severus felt relieved when Harry turned his attention to him.

"Oh. Erm…when will you be leaving sir?" Harry asked, hoping it would be soon.

"I will remain here at the castle until the week is over." He watched Harry's face fall in disappointment and disgust. He was extremely hurt over Harry's response and tried his best to not show what he was feeling. But obviously he wasn't successful.

After his initial reaction, Harry looked back up to the professor to ask another question. But seeing the expression on the man's face, he changed his mind. He just stared at the professor with his mouth slightly open and a curious look on his face. Not wanting to know what that was all about, Harry quickly turned attention away from the Severus and continued with his lunch.

As Harry got up to leave the table after finishing his lunch, Severus spoke. "Mr. Potter."

Harry stopped walking and turned around to face the professor. "Yes sir?"

"To confirm what I said last night, it is ill-advised to proceed with Occlumency lessons when you are not healthy. Today's lesson will be canceled…"

"But I feel fine sir," Harry interrupted.

Severus raised an eyebrow at the boy. "…and Thursday's as well."

"But sir, I don't understand…"

"Is it not the holiday break Mr. Potter?" He watched Harry nod. "If you have a break from attending your normal classes, then you should also have a break in Occlumency."

Harry stood there staring at the professor for a few seconds. "Th…thank you sir." He watched Severus give a slight nod then left the Great Hall.

~SH~

As much as Harry wanted to be away from the Dursleys for the holiday week, he did not want to spend that week at Grimmauld Place. That was why on Thursday afternoon Harry found himself waiting for the door to the headmaster's office to finish opening.

Before Harry had even stepped one foot into the office, Dumbledore began speaking. "Harry. What brings you here?" After grabbing a tome, Dumbledore turned around and sat down at his desk, his eyes landing on his tin on lemon drops. "Lemon drop?" he asked as he held the tin out to Harry.

"No thank you sir," Harry said while he sat down across from the headmaster. "Sir, I was wondering if it is absolutely necessary for me to go to Grimmauld Place all next week. Isn't there any other place I can go?" Harry knew he had this conversation with Remus a few days ago, but felt he had to try with Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sat there for a bit observing Harry with his elbows perched on the desk and his chin resting on the backs of his hands.

Harry began to feel slightly nervous under the headmaster's gaze.

"Harry, I'm afraid…" Dumbledore began before Harry cut him off.

"I don't see why there is no other place for me to go. Surely my friends wouldn't mind me staying with them."

"I'm afraid, Harry, that it's not possible for you to stay anywhere else. Your safety is all that matters right now. The safest place for you to be is Grimmauld Place."

"I see, Headmaster," Harry began, getting angry. "My safety is more important than anything. To you maybe, but at this moment, not to me. I mean, I know I have to be kept safe, but can't that for once be where I want to be? The Weasley's…I know the Weasley's would protect me. They're a very powerful family. Please Professor," Harry begged. "Please for once let me stay with my friends."

Dumbledore looked at Harry sadly. "I'm sorry Harry. But you will be staying at Grimmauld Place." He then stood up from his chair. "Thank you for the visit my boy. But I'm afraid I must be off at this moment."

Harry nodded feeling miserable. He had hoped that Dumbledore would be more lenient than Remus. Dejectedly, he exited the headmaster's office without a word and wandered back to the Gryffindor tower. He headed straight to his bed after entering through the portrait hole. He lay down and stared at the ceiling. Sadly, Harry wondered why he bothered trying for anything. He never got what he wanted before. Why bother trying now. He just hoped he could live through the next week.

~SH~

As the dinner hour approached Friday night, Severus was getting worried and was pacing back and forth in his study. He had yet to hear from Remus regarding the change in where Harry was going to stay next week. If the man didn't respond to his letter by 11am tomorrow morning, Harry would be going to Grimmauld Place. It was something Severus definitely didn't want to consent to.

Severus couldn't remember even leaving his quarters, but a half hour later, he found himself seated at the table in the Great Hall. Before he could even help himself to the food in front of him, an owl flew into the room and deposited an envelope on his plate. He opened the letter, read its contents and gave a small smile. Remus had agreed to the new arrangements. Then remembering where he was, he quickly removed the smile from his face and placed the letter in his robes.

"I hope that letter brought good news, Severus," Dumbledore asked as he watched Severus finally serve himself some of the food on the table.

"The news was what I expected."

"Good to hear."

The meal was then finished in silence, Harry leaving the room as soon as possible, which was normal for him, and Severus returning to his quarters a few minutes after that.

Severus headed straight to the sofa in front of the fireplace the minute he entered the room. He let out a deep sigh as he sat down. He was glad Remus consented to the change in arrangements. As he sat there, he immediately realized he wasn't prepared at all for Harry to spend the week with him.

First, he had to spend a week at his home on Spinner's End; a home he wasn't all that comfortable staying in. He hadn't spent very much time at the home since teaching at Hogwarts and he wasn't even sure what condition the house was even in.

Then there was the fact that he had to have the boy live with him for a week. He knew he wanted to spend the time with Harry and hoped to change the boy's mind about him, but he wasn't all that comfortable with knowing he'd have to spend the time with another person. He felt himself a loner and enjoyed solitude. He couldn't know what to expect this coming week. He could only hope for the best.

There was one thing, however, he knew he had control over. Spinner's End. He stood up and went over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. As he threw the powder in the fireplace he walked into it and stated "Spinner's End." He had to be sure the house was livable.

A while later, Severus returned to his quarters at Hogwarts. He was about to speak with the Headmaster and Harry about the change in arrangements, but one glance at the clock told him it wouldn't happened until tomorrow. It was too late at night to disturb either of them so the news would have to be broken the day they were to leave.

~SH~

While finishing up his cinnamon swirl French toast, Harry heard the headmaster call his name. He put his fork down and looked up.

"Harry, I need you to come by my office at 11am this morning."

"Yes sir," Harry replied with a gulp, and watched the headmaster nod at him. As he returned his gaze to the last of the meal in front of him, he lost his appetite. Instead of eating, he swirled a small piece of the French toast through a glob of syrup a few times then let his fork drop on to the plate. First he had to spend one whole week in Sirius' house and now the headmaster wanted to see him. What he did now to be called to the headmaster's office, he didn't know.

At the sound of Harry's fork dropping, Severus looked up. One look at the boy's face told him all he needed to know. Harry looked like he was going to face his death in a few hours, not leave for the holiday for a week. And he probably thought he was in trouble. That was the only time the boy was probably ever called to the Headmaster's office. Severus watched Harry take one last sip of juice, and get up from the table. He more than likely was going to wander around the castle until 11am. That would be when he would tell Professor Dumbledore and Harry about the new arrangements. No use letting the boy dwell for long at that news.

Not knowing why he was being called to the Headmaster's office, at 10:50am, Harry made the trek from the Gryffindor common room up to the man's office, with much trepidation. The way things had been going for him this past week, being summoned couldn't be good. When he arrived on the floor that held Dumbledore's office, he slowed down his pace. And in his nervousness, he began clenching and unclenching his fists.

Halfway to the stone gargoyle, Harry heard footsteps behind him. Wanting to stall, he stopped walking and turned around to see who was walking through the corridor behind him. Who he saw made him wish he just kept on walking and ignored the sound.

"Potter," Severus acknowledged, making eye contact with the boy.

Harry had hoped he wouldn't see the man until classes resumed. "Professor," he forced himself to say. He would rather have ignored the man, but decided it would be best if he didn't. He wasn't sure what kind of trouble he was already in and didn't want to add any more to the list.

Severus walked up to Harry and past him to the gargoyle. He muttered Dumbledore's latest password. As the gargoyle sprung aside, Severus turned to motion for Harry to go first.

Harry reluctantly made his way up the staircase, painfully aware that Severus was right behind him; too close in Harry's opinion. When the two arrived at the top of the stairs, they found the door to the headmaster's office open. Harry stopped walking, wanting the professor to go in first and do whatever it was he was there to see the headmaster about.

"Go on Potter," Severus stated to the now stopped boy in front of him.

Harry turned around and looked at the professor. He then walked slowly into the room.

"Have a seat Harry." Dumbledore pointed to a chair in front of his desk. Then he looked up and saw Severus at the doorway. "Severus, I thought you would be gone by now." He quickly looked at Harry. "As you can see, I've got something to attend to with young Mr. Potter. If you would be so kind, I would appreciate if you would come back in about a half an hour."

"I'm sorry Headmaster, but this cannot wait." Severus entered the room and stood off to the side of the desk.

"Very well." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Could you please wait outside the door until I call you back in Mr. Potter?"

Harry went to stand up and leave the room.

"I would like Mr. Potter to stay," Severus began. "This concerns him and he should be present."

At those words, Harry stopped. It was quite unusual for anyone to let him stay in the room when they were discussing him. He was usually told to leave, which on more than one occasion upset him greatly. He was silently grateful for the man, even though he couldn't stand him.

Looking up at the professor and seeing the man's eyes on him, he gave him a small acknowledgement of thanks.

As Harry sat back down, Dumbledore spoke. "Very well, Severus. Please continue."

Severus looked one more time at Harry, took a deep breath and began what he knew would be a one of his most trying conversations. "Mr. Potter will not be spending next week at Grimmauld Place."

At those words, Harry smiled slightly.

"But Severus, there is no other place he can go. Grimmauld Place is currently the only safe place he can be, outside of Hogwarts and his relatives."

"That is not true Albus. I think you know of one other place?"

Dumbledore looked at Severus for a few seconds, trying to understand what the man was getting at. "I see. Do you think it wise Severus?"

"I believe that anywhere Mr. Potter stays has to be better than his godfather's house." He looked to Harry. "Isn't that true?"

Harry looked between the two men, trying to comprehend what was going on. "Yes," he answered hesitantly, not liking where this conversation was possibly heading.

"I believe my solution will solve the problem of Mr. Potter's reluctance."

"What are you saying?" Harry interrupted, not fully understanding what was going on.

"I believe Harry," Dumbledore began, "that Professor Snape is offering to take you for the week."

"No!" Harry shouted. There was no way in hell he would spend the week with Snape. "You can't be serious. He hates me….can't even stand to be in the same room with me for class. How can I spend an entire week with him? Besides, he's trying to get me to believe…to think that…" Harry stopped speaking, not wanting to discuss whatever game Severus was playing with him.

"Harry, you know that the Professor doesn't hate you," Dumbledore responded softly.

"Mr. Potter." When Harry wouldn't look up, Severus tried again. "Mr. Potter….Harry."

Harry quickly shifted his gaze from the headmaster to Severus at the use of his first name.

Severus ignored the smiling headmaster in the room. "Harry, you know no harm will come of you while you are in my care."

"How do I know that? You haven't shown me otherwise."

"I do believe we were able to spend two days together before the start of term without anything traumatic happening. And as I recall, upon your entrance to Grimmauld Place, you did say you would rather spend the time with me in the dungeons that in that house. Isn't that correct?" Severus asked, smirking.

"I didn't say…how did you….never mind." Harry slumped in his chair, knowing that was indeed what he had said. But of course he didn't really mean it. "Headmaster, do I need to spend the week with Professor Snape? If my choice is to either stay with him or at Grimmauld Place, I'd rather spend it at Grimmauld Place."

"That is fine Harry. Whatever you decide." Dumbledore looked to Severus and saw disappointment on the man's face, but decided to ignore it. He would find out what that was about at a later time. Right now, he had to concentrate on Harry. "Severus, if that is what you stopped by for, then you may leave."

"I'm sorry, Albus, but I cannot leave. At least not without Potter."

"What?" Harry yelled, standing up. "I thought I already decided. I want to go to Grimmauld Place."

Severus looked over at Harry. "Sit back down please," he stated calmly.

Harry slowly sank back down into the chair.

"I'm afraid Mr. Potter's only option is to come with me. Earlier this week I had contacted Remus and informed him of the change in the boy's arrangements. Remus is continuing with his vacation and will not be returning until classes resume."

"Why would you go ahead and make arrangements without my knowledge?" Dumbledore asked. "And what, may I ask, was Remus' exact response to the news? I'm sure he wasn't at all happy."

"Quite the contrary, Albus. He was pleased with the change."

"You're lying," Harry interrupted. "There is no way Professor Lupin would be happy about me staying with you."

"Mr. Potter, please sit down and let me finish." He watched Harry sit back down. "So you see, Potter will be staying with me."

"Very well, Severus," Dumbledore stated, giving in. "Harry, please be sure all your belongings are packed. I'm quiet sure Professor Snape would like to leave as soon as possible.

"But I," Harry began and then quickly closed his mouth. He knew he'd get nowhere. Then he remembered what he thought a few days ago. 'Why bother trying for anything. I'll never get what I want. I never do.' This conversation reaffirmed that belief. "Fine," he stated sharply. "I'll go get ready."

Severus watched Harry get up and slowly leave the office. "Be at my office in half an hour."

"Yes sir," Harry called back. Then he made his way to his dorm room to pack. This was going to be the worst week in his life.

An hour after meeting Severus in his office, Harry found himself boarding a Muggle train in Hogsmeade; something he didn't think entered that village. Severus led him to an empty compartment and closed the door behind them once they entered. Harry sat down near the window on one side and stared at the few other passengers who were boarding. Severus removed his cloak, and laid it on the far side of the empty bench seat and sat down, more towards the compartment door.

After the train gave a lurch, Severus removed a book from the pocket of his cloak and looked to Harry. "Mr. Potter, we will be on the train for many hours. Go ahead and pull something out of your trunk to keep yourself occupied." He did not want to entertain the boy for the next four hours. Actually he didn't know how to if it would have been needed.

Harry tore his eyes away from the slowly moving scenery and looked to the professor. "Yes sir." He opened his trunk that he left at his feet and pulled out one of the Quidditch books Ron had lent him. Not currently in the mood to read, he set the book down next to him and returned to looking out the window.

Raising his eyes from his book, Severus noticed that Harry left his trunk sitting on the floor. Giving a huff, he set his book down, stood up, and stowed away the trunk above their seats.

Seeing movement to his left, Harry moved his eyes away from the window. Eying his professor, he began to feel slightly guilty. So far, being in the company of his professor wasn't that bad, but then again, it had only been an hour. He had seven more days to get through. He knew he'd better not get on the man's bad side. "Thank you, sir. I'm sorry I didn't think of putting my trunk away. I wouldn't have been able to lift it. Figured I'd just leave it there."

"You could have asked for help Potter," Severus stated, wanting to ignore the acknowledgment from Harry, surprising as it was. "Is it not uncommon for those who need it to ask for help; though you've never shown comprehension of that as of yet."

The last statement from Severus made Harry upset and he quickly turned his attention back out to the window. How was he supposed to get along with this man when almost everything out of his mouth was an insult? "Yeah, like you would have helped if I asked," Harry responded softly, almost as a whisper.

Not expecting the man to hear him, Harry was surprised when Severus responded. "Well, we'll never know the answer to that now, will we?"

Harry ignored him and continued looking out the window.

Severus smirked and returned his attention to his book. He knew his comments would be taken the wrong way by Harry, but he didn't feel he needed to explain.

An hour and a half later, Severus abruptly stood up. "I will go get us some lunch." After a brief pause, he amended his statement. "Is there anything in particular you would like to eat?"

Harry set down his book and looked at the professor in confusion. He wasn't used to being asked what he wanted for meals. He would have loved to tell the man what he wanted, but he honestly didn't know what he wanted or what was available. The only train he'd ever been on was the Hogwarts Express and the trolley there only had sweets. But he would never tell his professor that. "I….erm….I'll have….whatever you're having is fine with me," he finally answered, turning a little pink in embarrassment from not being able to tell the man what he would like to eat.

Severus nodded and walked out of the compartment. Before shutting the door behind him, he turned around and faced Harry. "Do not leave this compartment while I am gone."

"Yes sir," Harry replied.

He shut the door behind him leaving Harry alone with his confusing thoughts.

Harry didn't know what was going on, but this was definitely not the potions master he knew. The man would never ask him what he wanted nor help him out. But then, he had also insulted him. At least he thought that's what the man had done. The more he thought about the statement, though, he wasn't so sure anymore. He pondered that over for a while and was broken out of his thoughts when the compartment door opened. He jumped and turned towards the door. After seeing Severus standing there, he tried to get his breathing under control and put a hand over his wildly beating heart. "Bloody hell…you scared me."

Severus smirked. "I apologize. There is no need to be so jumpy. But next time, you should be better prepared." Severus' eyes landed on the wand handle sticking out of Harry's jacket.

Harry followed Severus' gaze to his wand. "Oh, right."

"No matter. You will be better prepared next time, I hope." Severus walked over to the window and pulled up the small table that was lying against the wall. He set the bag he was carrying on the table and started to empty it. He pulled out a large pitcher of lemonade, two plastic cups full of ice, and two plates that held turkey and cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread, pasta salad, and pickle spears.

He set one of the plates in front of Harry, removed the plastic wrap surrounding it and pulled out a napkin and fork and set them beside the plate. He placed the other plate in front of where he would sit and took out another napkin and fork. He then set the presumably empty bag on the seat next to him. Next he took the pitcher of lemonade and poured Harry and himself a glass. When the boy just sat there staring, he spoke. "What are you waiting for? Go ahead and eat."

"Yes sir," Harry replied, however he didn't start to eat until Severus sat down a minute later.

Severus noted that Harry didn't start eating until he was sitting down in front of the table, and he was pleasantly surprised. It seemed the boy's relatives taught him some manners after all.

Half way through the meal, Harry spoke up. "Thank you for lunch, professor. Please let me know how much I owe you. I'll pay you when we get to your house.”

"You will do no such thing. Now finish eating your lunch."

"But sir…"

"What did I say, Potter?" Severus asked, his voice becoming threatening. Why couldn't the boy take a simple act of kindness without question?

Harry was taken aback. The professor hadn't spoken to him in that tone in quite a while. "Sorry," he responded quietly, and turned back to his lunch. After a few bites he gave up, beginning to feel nauseous, not sure if it was because of the professor or not. "I don't think I can eat anymore, sir. I can put the plastic wrap back over it in case I get hungry later."

Severus pulled out the plastic wrap and handed it to Harry. He continued eating his lunch while watching the boy, expertly he noted, wrap the plate with the remaining sandwich, salad, and pickle. He, himself, had a hard time wrapping the plates up after asking the attendant in the food car for a way to bring the lunches back to their compartment.

Harry sat back against the seat and stared out the window, arms wrapped around his stomach.

After finishing his lunch a few minutes later, Severus dug back in the bag and pulled out a Muggle puzzle book. "I thought you might finish your book before we arrive and get bored so I bought you this." He held the book out to Harry.

"Th…thank you sir," Harry said in awe. This was the second thing that the professor had bought him and it was still only the first day of their week holiday. He took the book and placed it on the table next to his lunch. "Right now I don't think I could concentrate on it." He still felt a little nauseous. "But if you'd like, you can go ahead and work on it."

"I may take you up on your offer." Severus reached into the bag again and pulled out a large chocolate brownie with fudge frosting slathered on top. "I also went ahead and got you dessert. Since you haven't been able to finish your lunch, I'll leave it next to your sandwich."

"Thanks." Harry yawned and returned his gaze to the window. He started breathing deeply trying to fight off the feeling he was going to be sick. When the feeling went away, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

Over the next few hours, Severus read more of his book and after Harry finished working through some of the puzzles in the Muggle puzzle book, he decided to see what the puzzle book actually was. Finding it was extremely interesting, he pulled an everlasting ink quill out of his cloak and set to work on some of the puzzles. Harry spent that time reading more from the Quidditch book.

Looking up from the puzzle book a while later, Severus noticed that Harry was lying down on his side with his arms wrapped around his stomach and was asleep. He saw the boy shiver, but thought nothing of it. He turned his attention back to the puzzle book.

After completing the puzzle on the current page, Severus looked back up to Harry. The boy was shivering almost constantly. His first instinct was to ignore Harry. But now he couldn't. His son needed him; even it was just to keep him warm. He got up, picked up his cloak and draped it over Harry; blaming this action on the viewing of his memories before he packed them up a few minutes before Harry arrived earlier that morning. But he had a small smile on his lips the entire time and he couldn't help but run his hand through the boy's messy hair once either. He reminded himself that this was how he was supposed to act. This was what a father was supposed to do.

~SH~

Two hours later, with all of Harry's belongings shrunken and residing in a jacket pocket, Severus and Harry were walking through a Muggle neighborhood. After rounding a corner, Harry slowed his walking down while taking a look at the neighborhood that surrounded them.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. It was almost like they were walking through a dump loaded with mounds and mounds of trash. Because the nauseous feeling Harry had while on the train wasn't completely gone and the smell wasn't helping matters, he started breathing through his mouth. He didn't need to get sick in front of the professor. Feeling his stomach settle a little bit, he concentrated on his surroundings again. The neighborhood looked abandoned though he knew that it wasn't. He could hear kids screaming and yelling in the distance. There were dilapidated brick row homes lining both sides of the cobblestone street. It almost reminded Harry of the neighborhood Grimmauld Place was located. He looked down the street to see if the entire area looked the same; it did. At the end of the street, he spotted an ominous chimney bearing down on the row of homes below. He did not like the feeling he got from this neighborhood.

At the end of the block, Harry saw a run down playground on his left. He looked up to Severus and saw him slow down and glance at the area then pick up his pace. That seemed a bit odd to Harry, but he wasn't about to analyze the professor. Once Harry was opposite the playground he stopped. The swings and slides looked to be in poor shape, but he could tell the grass would be lush in the spring and there would be a lot of shade trees covering the grounds. In the back, Harry could see and hear a river. This looked like a place he would want to visit while staying here, if the professor's house was nearby and he was allowed to go outside. It would be a great place to escape to.

As Severus passed the playground, he slowed down and looked over to it. The place held so many memories and he couldn't believe how much it hurt to see it now. He actually hadn't seen the place since he was a teenager. The ache he felt at the memories made him want to get to his house as soon as possible and he picked up his pace. Not hearing Harry next to him a few houses later, Severus looked over his shoulder. Harry was stopped at the playground. "We are almost there, Potter," he yelled towards the boy. "Quit dawdling."

Harry quickly met up with the professor. "Sorry sir. Erm…where are we exactly?" he asked, not liking the looks of the area, especially considering the man said they were almost to his house.

"The neighborhood is called Spinner's End. Our house is the very last one up ahead." Severus looked toward the house and shivered, memories of his childhood came rushing to the front of his mind. He pushed them away and hoped that he would soon build new memories, better memories, of being in the house.

Harry looked towards the house and gulped in disgust.

A large two story house was set back from the sidewalk. The brown paint on its siding was chipped off along most of it. The shutters on all of the windows were dangling from the wall; looking like they were being held on by one screw and that if a strong wind came by, they'd fall off. The screens in the windows were torn and half of the windows were either missing or were broken. Some of the windows were even boarded up with plywood.

The grounds surrounding the house looked as bad. Weeds rose up at least three feet high all around the house. T here was a picket fence surrounding the property which at one time was probably white, but was now grey. Some of its slats were just lying on the ground leaving huge holes in the fence. And the cracked concrete walkway from the gate at the sidewalk to the front door was also covered in weeds. The property looked like a pretty good rendition of a haunted house. One could only image that the inside of the house looked just like the outside.

"Figures the old bat would live in a place that looked like this," Harry whispered to himself, though Severus did hear him.

"Mind your tongue Potter," Severus hissed. "Being my son, you will live here too."

"Are you kidding me sir?" Harry asked disgusted and pretended not to hear the man's last statement. "I am not staying in there. Just send me to Grimmauld Place."

Severus smirked at Harry's comment but didn't say a word. He just continued walking towards the house. When he got to the front of the gate he stopped and looked next to him thinking Harry would be there. Not seeing the boy, he looked down the sidewalk and spotted Harry three houses away. "We do not have all day, Potter," Severus snapped impatiently. The boy was beginning to get on his last nerves. It had been a long day and he was extremely tired and irritable. "Get over here. Now!"

At his professor's tone, Harry quickly walked to the house and stood beside the professor. He could tell Severus was nearing the end of his rope.

"This is where we'll be living when we're not at Hogwarts during the school year."

"Besides this week, I am not living here. Ever!" Harry responded, thoroughly disgusted with the house and the fact that Severus assumed he was falling for the game of him being the man's son.

"We'll see," was all Severus said in response. He then opened the gate and began walking towards the front door.

As Harry followed he could feel the various wards which were placed upon the property, something he didn't think he was supposed to feel. He guessed Dumbledore made Snape make sure he was really safe. The second he was inside the gate, his mouth dropped open in shock and he stopped walking. The grounds, house, and even the air, drastically changed.

The house was spectacular. It was actually a three story brick house, and didn't have any wood siding like he saw only minutes before. Every window he could see was spotless and there wasn't a crack or scratch on them. The grounds were beautiful. There was a shade tree off to the left side of the house and two beds full of every flower imaginable. He even spotted a small water fountain and pond at the edge of the property line on the right. The walkway to the front door was made out of large stones that matched the brick of the house, not the cracked concrete he saw earlier. Looking at the property, you couldn't even tell it was winter.

"I love magic," Harry whispered in awe. After looking around for another few seconds, he spotted the scowl on the potion master's face and ran to the front of the house. "Sorry sir," he apologized.

Severus ignored Harry's apology and opened the front door, expecting Harry to enter. When the boy just stood outside still admiring everything, Severus turned toward Harry clearly annoyed. "Are you expecting a personal invitation Potter?" Severus spat. "Because if you think so, you are sorely mistaken." He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him into the house.

"Ouch!" Harry exclaimed, then withdrew his arm from the professor's grip. He rubbed at his arm as glared at the man wondering what was with his changing moods.

Severus looked at Harry in concern at his exclamation. He hadn't grabbed the boy all that hard. At least not hard enough for it to hurt.

Harry stopped just inside the house and looked around, still in awe. As he turned towards his left, he met the somewhat angry glare of Severus. Seeing the scowl still on his face, he reluctantly turned his attention to the man.

"Go get settled in and unpack, Mr. Potter. Your bedroom is on the second floor. It's the third bedroom on the right. I'll be up in a few minutes to show you the house." Severus spun around and left towards one of the rooms off to the side of the entry way. He needed to get his temper under control. He was becoming too short with the boy and it wasn't deserved. Old habits die hard he realized. He entered the kitchen and put some water to boil for tea. He could have used his wand and had his tea already, but doing things the Muggle way always calmed him down.

Severus' mood affecting his own, Harry stalked up to the second floor and to the third door on the right. He opened the door and glanced around the room in distaste. He guessed he shouldn't have expected more. He could definitely see where he stood here, though it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

The room was extremely small, dark, dingy, and very dusty. He hoped that once he cleaned it, the room would be a little better. On the far wall of the room was a twin bed with a rusty silver headboard and footboard. The blanket on top, which might have been a dark green, was full of holes and burn marks and covered in a layer of dust. He hoped the bed was at least more comfortable than the old mattress the Dursley’s had given him when he acquired Dudley's second bedroom. He walked over to it and sat down, the springs squeaking in response. As he sat down, a cloud of dust enveloped him.

Coughing a few times from the dust, he placed his hands on the bed next to him and took a look at the rest of the room. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a mahogany desk near the window. He could see gouge marks all over the desk. On the wall with the door to the hallway was a small closet. There didn't look to be a washroom attached.

Harry shivered after looking around the room. It was, of course, bigger than the cupboard under the stairs where he lived for eleven years at the Dursley’s, but still it was very small. The room looked more like a closet than a bedroom. There was only about two feet of walkway around the bed.

He glanced at the walls next. Three out of the four looked like they were painted in an ugly light brown, but he couldn't be sure since it was so dark in the room. The other wall was covered with wallpaper which was torn and peeling. The pattern looked to be green and silver stripes, but like the rest of the room, it was too dark and dirty to tell. He did spot crayon drawings on the bottom three feet of two of the walls. This was a child's bedroom, he realized.

Harry's eyes were next drawn to the hardwood floor which was in very bad condition. He could imagine getting splinters in the bottom of his feet if he walked barefoot in the room. Wanting to see what type of view his room overlooked, if any, and hoping it was better than the room itself, he got up and walked over to the window.

~SH~

After determining himself calm enough, Severus decided he gave Harry enough time to unpack his trunk. As he set his near empty cup of tea in the sink and walked out of the kitchen, he almost gave a smile at the reaction Harry gave to the house after they walked through the wards. That was one thing he had been looking forward to witnessing since leaving Hogwarts that morning, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even to Harry.

As he walked up the stairs to the second floor, he now couldn't wait for the reaction the boy would have to his bedroom. Severus made the room everything he had dreamed of when he was Harry's age. Once he determined that the two of them would be living at Spinners End, Severus decided he would give Harry the bedroom he had always wanted while living there, but was denied by his father, claiming people like him didn't deserve rooms like that. That they only deserved the smallest room in the house, the room that had the smallest window and closet, the room that…the room that's door was currently open, Severus noticed as he reached the second floor landing. The room he thought he had locked.

Severus walked into the room and stopped in the doorway as he spotted Harry at the window. He tried to push down his anger at seeing the boy in the room. There had to be a logical explanation. At least he hoped there was. But knowing how the boy had been over the last five years, he wasn't expecting one. He watched as Harry grabbed the draperies and pulled them open. The movement caused a huge cloud of dust to come from the old worn fabric. Before Harry was able to look out the window to see his view, he was overcome by a handful of sneezes.

"It seems we have something in common," Severus stated from the doorway. "You seemed to have inherited my dreadful dust allergy." He pulled out a handkerchief from inside his cloak, walked over to the boy and tried to hand it to him.

Harry turned around and looked at the offered cloth in disgust. "We have nothing in common." He sneezed again.

"I disagree, but now is not the time to get into that." He put the handkerchief back in his cloak. "What are you doing in here?"

"You told me to go up and unpack," he huffed, "Or did you forget?"

"Do not mock me, Mr. Potter. I know well what I said. I said for you to go to the third bedroom on the right."

"I did," Harry said exasperated. "This is the third room."

"This is the third room, but not the third bedroom."

"Then why didn't you just say the fourth room?" he asked, getting angry.

Severus didn't answer. He turned away from Harry and walked out of the room. "Your room is the next one. Go," he growled. He was sorry he had spoken that way to Harry, but he couldn't stand being in this room or having the boy in here. No doubt he'd ask questions about it later, but he didn't want to think about that now.

"Yes sir," Harry replied and walked quickly out of the room. He walked down the hall and opened the door to the bedroom that would be his for the next week, took five steps in and stopped. He looked around the room with his mouth open in shock.

Severus quickly closed the door to the small bedroom and joined Harry. He stood slightly behind the boy but was able to clearly see the expression on his face. The expression melted all the anger he had towards the boy only seconds before.

Feeling Severus' presence behind him, Harry turned around. "Sir, are you sure this is where you want me to stay this week? I'd be happy in the other room." Harry's stomach clenched as he said that. He really didn't want the other room, but he knew that he deserved that room and it was probably where Severus preferred him to stay.

"This is your room; for this week and always. That other room is not fit to be anyone's bedroom," he spat.

Harry flinched, but he had the feeling the professor's anger was not directed at him. "Erm…okay. Thank you for letting me stay in here this week." He would not accept that Severus said it was his room forever. "Do you…do want me to unpack or did you want to show me the house first?"

"Go ahead and unpack. I'll be back in fifteen minutes." Severus left Harry to explore his room and he headed back down to the kitchen.

After Severus left, Harry stayed where he was for a few more minutes just taking everything in. He couldn't believe this would be where was staying for the next seven days. "This room is absolutely brilliant," he stated a few seconds later. "I wish I had a room like this instead of Dudley's second bedroom."

The space directly in front of Harry was more like a sitting room. On the left wall was a fireplace with a desk and bookcase to the right side of it. In front of the fireplace was a large midnight blue rug with a small loveseat, a comfortable oversized chair and an oak coffee table situated on top facing the fireplace. Along the back wall of the sitting area was a bay window with white draperies complete with midnight blue and red plaid cushions on the window seat.

Up a step towards the right of the sitting area was the actual bedroom. Along the wall with the bay window was a queen size bed with an ornate oak headboard. It was topped with a comforter and four fluffy pillows, all with the same pattern as the cushions on the window seat. At the foot of the bed was an oak hope chest. On either side of the bed were night tables, in the same oak as the bed. Each held a small silver and white lamp. A six-drawer dresser was located on the wall shared with the hallway. It too was made of oak and had etchings on all the drawers, the same design as the headboard. Another bay window with a window seat was on the right side of the bed. It too had matching cushions.

Down from the right of the dresser was a door. Wanting to see what lay inside, Harry walked over and went inside. The door led to the bathroom. Upon entering, he spotted a walk-in closet on his right. Directly in front of him was a small cabinet, more than likely holding towels and other items needed for the bathroom. There was a sink with a countertop stretching to the left where it stopped at the toilet. Next to the toilet was a large tub and shower. The color scheme of the bathroom was silver and white with the towels and shower curtain the same as the comforter and cushions in the bedroom.

Completely in awe with the bathroom and bedroom, Harry went back out and sat down on the bed. His eyes roamed the room again. "This room is brilliant. Too bad it has to be in Snape's house. Maybe I can just forget where I am." Harry shook his head. "Not likely." He then spent five more minutes just sitting there looking around the room before he decided he'd better unpack.

Fifteen minutes after leaving Harry in his room, Severus walked back up to get the boy. When he entered the room, he found him sitting in the sitting area's window seat. "Come along Mr. Potter. I'd like to show you the rest of the house."

Harry turned from the window to face Severus. "Okay." He stood up and followed the professor out of the room.
"We will begin downstairs." Severus led the boy down to the entry way and began the tour.

When they finished ten minutes later, Harry had seen the kitchen, dining room, library, living room, the door to the basement which held a potion's lab, three empty bedrooms, four various closets, Snape's bedroom, or at least the closed door to it, three bathrooms, and the backyard.

Severus dropped the boy back off into his room after the tour. "Dinner will be in an hour in the dining room. Do not be late."

"Yes sir." Harry watched Severus walk away and closed the bedroom door. Severus' house wasn't at all what he expected it to be. True, most of the rooms were quite filthy, but the house was more than what he thought it would be. During the tour he had also learned that this was the house that the professor had grown up in.

~SH~

Severus and Harry sat at the dining room table eating dinner in an uncomfortable silence. Halfway through the meal, Severus stopped eating and looked toward Harry. "Mr. Potter, now would be a good time to discuss the rules of the house."

"Yes sir." Harry wondered when this conversation would be coming.

"There are no house elves in this house Mr. Potter. As such, any cooking and cleaning will be done by us." Severus watched as Harry nodded his head. "Breakfast will be at eight every morning. I expect you to be up and dressed properly at the table at that time. After breakfast, you will clean up your bedroom and bathroom then attend to your studies. Lunch will be on your own, you may eat whenever you feel hungry, though I'd prefer you to eat between noon and one thirty. I have already stocked up the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. After lunch, if you haven't already finished your studying, you may do whatever you like around the house; mind you stay out of the basement, the bedroom you wandered in earlier today, and my bedroom. Or if you prefer, you can go exploring outside."

Harry interrupted. "Sir, how far can I go? Can I go to the playground we walked past?"

"You should stay on the property." Severus watched Harry's face fall at that statement. "However, you do have permission to go to the playground, though I would prefer if you stayed around the house. Tomorrow morning I'll add to the wards. If you decide to go outside, either on the property or to the playground, I would like to know."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Harry decided now he'd ask the professor about the room he was in earlier this afternoon. "Sir, who's room was I in earlier today? It looked like it belonged to a child. Was it yours?"

"That is of no concern to you. You will stay out of that room." Severus hoped that response would placate the boy. And it seemed to work, for the time being at least.

Harry nodded in agreement, but knew he'd find out the truth before they left at the end of the week; with or without Severus telling him.

Severus continued on with the rules of the house. "Dinner will be at six and will be made by both you and me, though I'll probably be doing most of the cooking since your relatives no doubt waited on you hand and foot."

Harry was going to respond to this comment, but figured it wasn't worth it. The professor would find out soon enough that he could cook, pretty well if he did say so himself.

"You will meet me in the kitchen at five thirty every night to prepare dinner. After dinner, you again can do whatever you would like, but I would like it to be something quiet." Severus wasn't quite so sure why he was about to say what he was going to next, but he thought it would be something the boy would enjoy. "If you care to join me, I usually have tea and biscuits in the evening right before bed. Which reminds me. You will have a bed time Mr. Potter. I know you're on holiday, but you still need to have some type of sleep schedule. You will be in bed by ten every night."

Harry grimace at the term 'bed time.' It made it sound like he was a toddler, not a sixteen year old. "Our curfew at Hogwarts during the holiday is midnight."

"And are you at Hogwarts Mr. Potter?" Severus questioned.

"No," Harry replied.

"Then you should have no problem with adhering to my rules."

"But sir, I am not a little kid." Harry wasn't sure why he was arguing about this, something so petty, but now that he started, he couldn't stop.

"You are a child," Severus stated simply.

"I am sixteen."

"Yes, a child of sixteen. When you become of age and graduate Hogwarts, you can then make your own rules. Until then, you will adhere by mine."

"Fine," Harry shouted, then quickly left the dining room, leaving his half-eaten dinner behind. He entered his bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

Harry paced the bedroom for quite a while, unsure why he was so upset about the professor giving him a bed time. The more he thought about it though, the more he realized that this was probably where Severus' control over every little thing he did started. Well, he decided, he wouldn't take it.

Still angry, he walked over to the bay window and sat down with his back against the wall. He pulled his knees up, rested his head on them and stared out at the grounds. They looked so beautiful and peaceful. Something he wished he felt. He probably would have felt that if things had ended different just a few months ago. Not wanting his thoughts to go down that road yet, Harry quickly tried to think of something else. He hadn't yet grieved for his godfather and he certainly didn't want to do that now, in this house. He spotted a cat wandering around in the grass below him, and just started watching it, wondering what it was like to be a cat.

Harry stayed in the window seat for another hour until he felt sleepy, then he went to his bed. He knew it was early, but with everything that happened today, he was desperate for sleep so he could forget everything. Unfortunately sleep didn't come easy and it was after eleven when Harry finally fell asleep.

~SH~

Severus watched the boy leave the kitchen and then shook his head, wondering if he made a mistake in taking the boy in for the week. "And so it begins." A few minutes later, he finished his dinner and took to cleaning up the dining room and kitchen. He was not going to let the boy's attitude and temper get to him. After completing those tasks, Severus went up to his room to unpack and settle in. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how he looked at it, his bedroom was right across the hall from Harry's. He didn't hear a sound coming from the boy's room as he entered his own.

Closing the door behind him, Severus unpacked his trunk and put his belongings away. It was an odd feeling at first, especially with the room having been his parent's room when he was a child. At least he changed the room's appearance and furniture when he got the house ready yesterday so he didn't feel as disgusted as he could have felt.

The remaining item in Severus's trunk, after he finished unpacking, was the cardboard box with the bottle of memories and the letter from Lily. He placed the box on the far night table, knowing he'd be wanting, or needing, the items soon. Feeling satisfied, Severus headed down to the library. He shuttered as he walked into the room, the memories of his past in this room assaulting him.

The library was one room in the house his father never allowed him in when he was growing up in the house. Not after he did accidental magic at the age of six. He was extremely angry with his father for yelling at his mother and while the three were in the room, all the books flew off their shelves, broke the windows in the room, completely destroyed one of his father's family heirlooms, and then littered the floor. It became one of the events in Severus' life he would never forget. His father became so enraged he stormed at Severus, caught the skinny boy by the back of the neck, dragged him to his bedroom, and beat him with the metal buckle end of his belt until he was almost unconscious. A while later Severus found out that his father had also locked him in his room as well. He sat on his bed crying. And a few minutes later, his father came back into the room and beat him some more, without the belt, all the while saying 'if you do not stop crying this instant, I'll give you something to cry about you big baby. I never want to hear any sniveling out of you again unless you want a repeat of tonight.' That was the last night he was allowed in the library and the last night he cried.

Ridding his mind of those thoughts, Severus strode over to one of the bookshelves, grabbed a Muggle novel and sat down in one of the wing-backed chairs. When nine thirty rolled around, Severus headed to the kitchen and made some tea. He brought a steaming mug of tea along with a small plate of biscuits to the library and returned to the chair to enjoy his nightly ritual. He had hoped that Harry would join him, but when ten o'clock rolled around, he gave up that hope and continued on with the book he was reading. It was after midnight when Severus decided to retire for the evening, dreading what the next day might bring.

With the moonlight filtering in through the bedroom window, Harry could tell it was still fairly early in the morning. Too early to be wide awake. Instead of trying to get back to sleep, he grabbed the comforter from the bed and brought it over to one of the window seats. He wrapped himself up in the comforter and curled up on the seat. As he watched the shadows of the gently blowing trees dancing in the moonlight, he couldn't help but think about the dream that awoke him just fifteen minutes earlier.

Like quite a few of his dreams these past six months, this one was about Sirius. But it wasn't one of his usual ones. He had gone to bed last night thinking about what this Christmas would be like having to spend it with the potions master. With those thoughts in the back of his mind, Harry started dreaming about what his Christmas was like last year with Sirius and what it would have been like this year if that night at the Ministry never happened, and what it would possibly be in the future if Sirius was ever found innocent. The dreams were too painful and he awoke completely depressed. He would in no way go back to sleep now.

When Severus awoke that morning, an hour after dawn, his eyes landed on the box on his night table. Because this would be the first Christmas he and Harry would be spending together, he wanted to do it right. For the next two days he would have his real memories, though he had no idea what it would be like to live with them while in the presence of Harry since he had avoided it in the past. Before getting ready for the day, Severus retrieved his wand and switched out his memories. In the event Harry wanted to see the them during the next two days, he would tell the boy to wait until the day after Christmas. He did not want to go through any part of this Christmas with his altered memories. And as much as he wanted to live with his real memories for the entire week, he wanted them readily available in the event Harry wanted to see them.

A half hour later, Severus was seated at the kitchen table sipping a cup of tea and reading through the Daily Prophet. He decided to wait another ten minutes before making breakfast. While he sat there waiting, he was amazed at how much his feelings about Harry changed the minute he switched out the memories. He knew his feelings were already changing, but now it was almost like he had been Harry's father since day one. He didn't have any negative emotions or thoughts of the boy at all. That was a first. He figured that part of it was because now he was willing and wanting to be Harry's father.

Harry slowly walked into the kitchen a half hour later. He spotted Severus at the stove dividing up scrambled eggs onto two plates. "Did you need any help professor?" He didn't really want to help, but figured the job, or any job, would keep his mind off his dreams and depressing thoughts. And since he was a visitor in the man's house, he felt it necessary to ask.

"No thank you, Mr. Potter." Even though he felt differently about Harry, he still found it a bit difficult to say the boy's first name. He turned around and placed the two plates on the table. "I'm…" He stopped abruptly when he spotted Harry standing there without his glasses on, a look of shock quickly making its presence on his face before it quickly returned to its neutral expression. There was no denying it now. Harry was definitely his son. "I'm done," Severus finally finished. "Go ahead and sit down and eat." He watched Harry sit down and took his place opposite the boy. "What happened to your glasses?"

"I didn't even notice that I didn't have them on," he replied, feeling his face and not finding his glasses. He didn't recall putting them on, but figured he did so when he woke up because everything was more in focus; he was still a bit groggy when he woke up. "Everything looks a little clearer without them, actually," he finally said. He had a feeling he knew why he didn't need them, but he didn't want to think about it.

Severus didn't respond for he knew the reason and he knew that Harry did too, somewhere deep down.

"Sir," Harry began after a few seconds, "Why don't you have a house elf? And why do you do everything the Muggle way?" The thought had been running through his mind since arriving at the house yesterday.

"In the past, there was no need for me to have a house elf. I rarely visited this house, preferring to spend my time at Hogwarts." Severus took a few sips of tea. "I felt that since we would only be here for a week, there was no need for a house elf now. However, we will have one beginning the summer holiday. And things are done the Muggle way because I feel that one must not rely solely on magic for everything every second of the day."

"But I thought…" Harry began, and then quickly shut his mouth. He didn't want to finish his sentence and get in an argument with the professor first thing in the morning. "Never mind."

Severus only looked at Harry in confusion, knowing he probably didn't want to know what the boy was going to say.

In the silence that followed while they finished eating, Harry's thoughts drifted to his dreams from last night.

After a few minutes, Severus looked over and noticed that Harry wasn't really eating. He was mostly pushing the food around his plate. "Is there something wrong with the food Mr. Potter?"

The question startled Harry out of his depressing thoughts. "I…no…I'm…I'm just not hungry is all."

"You didn't eat a whole lot at lunch or dinner yesterday either." Severus began to worry. "Are you ill?"

"I'm fine." Harry took a bite of eggs to prove his point. He did not want to discuss what was really wrong.

Severus nodded then studied Harry for a few minutes. "Mr. Potter, would you be amenable to accompanying me in acquiring a Christmas tree this afternoon?"

Harry shakily put down his glass of orange juice, which didn't go unnoticed by Severus. After his dream last night, the simple question from Severus was tearing him up inside. "Erm…I'm not…I don't know." Harry knew he should be somewhat excited. He never in his life got to participate in the tradition that families all over the world did of picking out a Christmas tree. But it was something he only wanted to do with his family. With Sirius, when he was finally found innocent.

"As you well know, Mr. Potter, a tree is required for Christmas." At Harry's hesitation, Severus looked to the boy in concern. If he correctly remembered all the memories he'd seen of Harry's Christmases during their Occlumency lessons, he thought Harry would have been thrilled with the idea of getting a Christmas tree. Something was obviously bothering the boy.

"I know, but…" Harry stopped and looked down to the table. "Do I have to?"

Severus would have said no that it didn't matter if he was accompanied, but this was something he really wanted. "Yes you do."

"Yes sir," Harry said dejectedly, and then left to his bedroom. He was supposed to begin working on his studies according to Severus' rules from last night.

Severus watched the boy leave then tried to continue reading the paper he placed off to the side while he was eating breakfast. However his thoughts were on Harry.

~SH~

An hour and a half before lunch, while taking a break from searching through the basement, Severus was in the kitchen and heard an owl tapping on the window. He opened the window and the owl flew in and landed on the kitchen table. He recognized the owl immediately and was wondering why the headmaster was contacting him. Thinking it was possibly about the wards being placed on the school, he quickly walked over to the owl to relieve its burden.

After removing the parchment and package from the owl, it quickly left through the open window. Severus closed it then returned to the table. As he grabbed the letter to open it, he realized it had Harry's name on it. He stood there for about thirty seconds debating whether or not to let Harry know about letter. He then set the letter down and walked up the stairs to the second floor hallway, stopping at the landing. "Mr. Potter, why don't you come down and take a break. There is also a package that was just delivered for you."

Severus returned to the kitchen to wait for Harry. Normally he could care less what the boy's friends sent him, but because this package came from the headmaster, and only a day after leaving the castle, he was a little curious. He poured Harry a glass of juice and set it on the table, then fixed himself with a cup of tea.

Harry wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later, surprised at being given a break and wondering who sent him a package. He sat down at the table and took a few sips of the juice that Severus put out. "Thanks for the juice sir." His eyes then he spotted the envelope and package. Like most teenagers, Harry went directly for the package and ignored the letter. He opened the package and just stared at its contents. A wand. Why did someone send him a wand? He already had one.

"What did you get?" Severus questioned from across the table. He couldn't understand why the headmaster would be sending something to Harry.

"A wand," he said, still looking at the wand. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

"A wand?" Severus knitted his brow. That was an odd thing to be sent. "Why did the Headmaster send you a wand?"

"I don't know." Harry reached for the envelope and began reading the letter, his hands beginning to shake and his face turning pale the farther along in the letter he got.

He read through one paragraph before he dropped the letter on the table and bolted out of the kitchen and up to his bedroom. He closed the door behind him and walked over to the window. He stood there breathing erratically while looking outside, but not seeing anything.

As Harry ran out of the room Severus stood up and walked over to the wand and letter. He couldn't figure out what would make Harry react like that. He looked at the wand, and then picked up the letter.

Dear Harry,

I know it's a day early, but I thought you wouldn't want to wait for this gift. Earlier this morning, the Ministry of Magic released Sirius Black's wand to me along with the news of him being found innocent in the murder of all thirteen Muggles and of leading the Dark Lord to your parents. All charges that were brought against him fifteen years ago have been dropped. I wanted to give you the wand and the news as soon as possible. What a great Christmas present, my boy.

I know you are wondering how this has happened. Here is the reason. That day at the Ministry of Magic after all questions about Lord Voldemort's return were answered and after the Order finished the cleanup in the room with the veil, Remus Lupin found Sirius' wand at the bottom of the dais. Recognizing it as the same wand Sirius had while a student at Hogwarts, he immediately handed it over to me to present it to the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement for tests to prove of Sirius' innocence. I wanted to tell you earlier Harry, but I thought it best to wait until I was given the results.

Come tomorrow, all of the wizarding world will know of Sirius' innocence and how he so valiantly fought for the Light until his death at the hands of the Death Eaters.

I'm just sorry this news took so long to come.

Happy Christmas Harry.

Albus Dumbledore

Severus slammed the letter down on the kitchen table, irate. No wonder the boy ran off. "That bloody, no good, inconsiderate, insensitive old man," Severus snarled and began pacing the kitchen. "Doesn't that man have eyes? He should have clearly seen that Harry wasn't ready for this. Harry's constant mood changes should have been a definite sign that he wasn't ready. I can't wait to speak with Albus and give him a piece of my mind."

Getting his emotions under control, Severus hesitantly walked up to Harry's bedroom. He knew that's where he needed to be, though the boy would probably put up a fight. At the closed bedroom door, Severus knocked. "Mr. Potter, may I come in?" There was no answer. "Please," after a pause, "Harry?" his voice gentler than he ever used it towards Harry.

At first Harry did not want to acknowledge the man. He wanted to be left alone. But the gentleness of the voice and the use of his first name changed his mind. "Okay," he replied quietly.

Severus entered the room and stood a few feet behind Harry, watching him carefully. "I read the letter from the Headmaster, Mr. Po…Harry. Are you all right?"

Harry continued to face the window, still breathing erratically. He nodded his head yes, afraid to speak. The pain he felt from him dreams last night was nothing compared to what he felt now. This new feeling was almost unbearable. He couldn't believe how hollow and empty he was inside. It was taking all his strength and control not to break down.

Severus knew full well that Harry was not all right. The boy's body language told him all he needed to know. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.

Harry shook his head no. "I don't feel like talking," he said shakily.

Severus remembered back to how he was when his mother died all those years ago. He acted exactly like Harry was acting right now. That everything was fine and nothing was wrong. But everything he said and did was completely opposite of what he actually felt and wanted. He wanted someone to care, someone to comfort him, someone to help him through his grief. That someone never came to him. But he could be that someone for Harry. He would be that someone. He didn't know how and knew it would be completely uncomfortable for him, but he knew he had to try. Harry needed it. He decided to go with what he remembered wanting all those years ago.

Severus took a few steps closer to Harry. "I think you do."

Harry shook his head again. "Go away."

"You don't have to go through this alone."

Harry slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Leave me alone."

"No Harry." Severus took a few steps closer.

"Please," Harry begged.

"No. I can't do that."

Harry opened his eyes, wrapped his arms around himself and lowered his head. He wasn't sure what he felt about Severus' statement. He stood that way for about a minute, and then spoke, his attitude completely changing. "I need to do my homework, and clean my room and bathroom." Harry moved from the window intent on going over to his desk, still not looking at Severus. "Yesterday you said…"

"Hiding and running away will not make the pain disappear," Severus interrupted. He reached out and gently turned Harry around, placing both hands on the boy's shoulders, and lowering himself so he was eye level with him. "It is not the answer Harry. All the grief you're feeling will continue to consume you until it is released."

"I'm fine," Harry reiterated sharply, looking the professor in his eyes. Seeing the concern in the eyes starting back at him, he began to feel a little uncomfortable. He shrugged out of Severus' grasp and sat down on the loveseat, his back to the man. He immediately wrapped his arms around himself and lowered his head to stare at the floor.

Severus looked at Harry and sighed. The boy's posture was a complete opposite of what he said. If Harry was fine, he wouldn't be sitting there with his arms wrapped around himself like he was trying to comfort himself.

As he sat there, Harry realized his control was beginning to slip, part of it because of the professor. He felt the tears building behind his eyes. He closed his eyes tight and bit his bottom lip to try to gain control. However, a few tears slipped out and he swiped them away.

Seeing the movement, Severus walked over and sat down next to Harry on the loveseat. "Harry…"

With his eyes still shut, Harry immediate stood up, arms still around him and walked back toward the desk.

Severus stood up as well and walked in front of Harry.

Feeling the man's presence in front of him, Harry opened his eyes and looked at him.

"You can ignore me all you want, but I am not leaving Harry."

Something about those words and the look in the man's eyes broke the last of Harry's control. He quickly dropped his head as tears started falling down his face.

Seeing Harry's tears was too much for Severus. He immediately took a few steps forward and wrapped his arms around Harry. It was extremely uncomfortable and awkward for him at first, but Harry needed it. And then he realized he needed it too.

Harry dropped his hands down to his sides and stood there stiff when the professor's arms wrapped around him, completely uncomfortable with the contact. A few seconds later, he began speaking very softly. "The wand...his wand. He's really gone now. He's never coming back." The minute he said the words, his breath started hitching and he started crying. It wasn't until he had seen the wand that he believed Sirius to really be dead. He knew that he was of course, but for some reason he also kept thinking it was a joke and his godfather was just away on Order business. It wasn't until he saw the wand, the one possession the man never went anywhere without, that it fully hit him.

When Harry started to cry, Severus tightened his hold and started rubbing Harry's back, trying to comfort him. He, however, didn't say a word.

As soon as Harry felt the comforting gesture, he buried his head in Severus' chest, wrapped his arms around the man, and continued to cry. He didn't care that it was the professor's arms he was wrapped in. All he cared about was the feeling he got from being held. "It hurts too much," Harry whispered sadly into Severus' chest.

Severus rested his chin on the top of Harry's head and continued rubbing his back. "I know it hurts Harry, but the pain will go away. I promise."

He knew the pain would never go away. Nothing that hurt this bad could ever disappear. "No…it…won't," he said between his sobs and hitching breaths.

"I thought so too Harry, but it will. You have to believe me." He hugged Harry a little tighter. "One day you'll be able to think of your godfather with a smile."

"No I won't. It will never go away. It hurts too much."

The emotions Severus felt at Harry's words completely overwhelmed him and tore at his heart. He did not like seeing Harry in this much pain. Severus closed his eyes, wishing he could take it all away from him. "It will, my son. One day, it will." Too caught up with what he was feeling, Severus was totally oblivious to how he just addressed Harry.

The two stood there for another five more minutes before Harry's crying slowly died down. When there were just hitching breaths, Severus unwrapped one of his arms from around Harry and took the boy's chin in his hand. He gently lifted Harry's face up and waited for the watery green eyes to meet his own. "Do you feel better?"

"A little," he said quietly as a few more tears sought escape down his cheeks.

Severus removed his hand from Harry's chin and wiped away the falling tears with his thumb. Then he wrapped his arms back around the boy.

Harry buried his head back into Severus' chest. Even though he still felt miserable, it did feel like a weight had been lifted off of him. He then got a warm feeling when he thought about the worry and pain etched all over Severus' face and in his eyes, though the man thought he was hiding what he was feeling, and the fact that he was here trying to make him, Harry, feel better. Someone did care about him, even it was the greasy git of the dungeons. "Thank you, sir," Harry whispered, slightly embarrassed at his emotional display.

"You're welcome." Severus placed his chin back on Harry's head and hugged him tighter. He released Harry a few seconds later.

As he reluctantly stepped back when Severus released him, Harry sniffled while running a hand under his nose.

Severus reached into his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and held it out in front of Harry. "Here."

"Thanks," Harry said quietly. He took the handkerchief, wiped his eyes and blew his nose.

"Why don't you go wash your face and lie down for a bit." Severus walked over to the door. "Don't worry about helping make lunch. I'll take care of it. When it's ready, I'll come get you. I know you're probably not hungry, but I'd like you to eat something."

"Okay." Harry headed to the bathroom. As he passed the professor, Severus placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Harry stopped walking and faced the professor.

"It will get better Harry."

Harry nodded and a few tears fell from his eyes. "You're the first one to say those words to me. All of it actually. Thank you." He turned around and walked towards the bathroom.

After splashing water on his face, Harry went to his bed, glad he didn't make it up when he got up this morning. Completely exhausted, he immediately wormed his way under the covers. He then curled into a ball and promptly fell asleep.

Severus found himself down in the basement right after leaving Harry's room. He still needed to find the item he was looking for earlier and he needed to get a handle on his emotions. He actually wasn't all that surprised at Harry's breakdown, he was expecting it. What he wasn't expecting was his response to it. He never thought that seeing Harry in pain would make him hurt too. And he couldn't believe Harry's statement when he left the room; that not a single person had offered any of those words of comfort and support to him before. That was utterly unbelievable.

~SH~

Lunch, an hour and a half later, was a quiet affair for the two. Harry hardly said a word and never looked up from his plate. Severus just watched him in concern.

When Harry went to leave the kitchen after eating his lunch, Severus spoke up. "I think we should leave in a little while to go get the Christmas tree. Being Christmas Eve, there may not be much of a selection left and I'd like to get one before they're all gone."

"Okay," Harry replied quietly.

"I'll get you when it's time."

Harry nodded and went to go back up to his room. As he was leaving, he spotted the wand and letter on the kitchen counter. He grabbed them both and went up to his room.

When Harry got up to his room, he placed the wand and letter on the far night table and lay down on the bed with his eyes closed. He wasn't sure if he was ready to read the entire letter yet or not.

Ten minutes later, deciding it would be best to get it over with, Harry was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed facing the far wall with the wand and letter at his side. He picked up the wand and just held it in his hands for a few seconds. He then gently set it down and picked up the letter.

While reading, Harry felt the tears building behinds his eyes and tried to will them away. The feeling he got while reading all of the words in the letter was worse than what he felt that morning. When he was done reading, he didn't know whether to feel angry at the headmaster or sad at what could have been. But it really didn't matter. Sirius wasn't coming back one way or the other. He picked up the wand and threw that and the letter across the room. Then, not caring, he let the tears fall for the second time that day.

A few minutes later, Severus stood outside Harry's door. "Come along, Mr. Potter. It's time to go." After receiving no response, he walked into the room. He knew Harry was in there. He wasn't in any of the other rooms in the house. But when he walked into the bedroom, he didn't see Harry anywhere. Hearing a small sniff, Severus immediately went around to the far side of the bed, making sure he didn't step on the wand and letter he saw on the floor in front of the dresser.

The sight that met his eyes upon rounding the bed almost broke his heart. Harry was sitting against the bed curled into a ball, crying. His knees were pulled up to his chest, his arms were wrapped around his legs with his forehead laying on top his knees and tears were streaming down his face. His whole body was shaking. Severus slowly sat down next to him on the floor.
"Harry?"

The second Harry felt the professor sit down next to him and utter his name he did the only thing that came to his mind, the only thing he wanted at that moment. And he didn't care what the professor thought. He quickly uncurled himself and threw himself into the man's arms, wanting that warm feeling from earlier to come back; he didn't feel as empty with that warm feeling.

Severus was completely bewildered and didn't move at first. He honestly didn't expect that. But then he quickly put his arms around the shaking boy and began rubbing his back. "What's wrong?"

Harry continued to cry, but spoke between his sobs. "I hate him."

"Who?" Severus asked, knowing that Harry probably read the entire letter. It would explain why the letter and wand were on the floor like they had been thrown.

"The headmaster."

"Why do you hate the headmaster?" Severus asked the question even though he already knew the answer. He felt that having Harry talk about it would help him feel better.

Harry continued crying, his tears now seeping through Severus' shirt. "If he would have thought to do the tests on Sirius' wand all those years ago, I could have been living with my family now."

"You are living with your family."

Harry shook his head in Severus' chest. "They are not my family. Family cares about you and wants you around…loves you. People that hate you, want you invisible, and wish you died with your parents are not family." Harry's crying became harder and he burrowed his head farther into Severus' chest, not even realizing all he had just said.

Severus didn't know what to say to what Harry admitted. He knew the boy didn't know what he was saying. Instead of saying anything, he tightened his hold on Harry and began rocking the boy in his arms.

"If Sirius was found innocent all those years ago, I would have been living with him and maybe he'd still be alive. Maybe I would know what it's like to have a family. But I'm not living with him and I won't. Ever. I'm all alone again and now I'll never know what it's like to have a family."

Severus closed his eyes and took a few breaths. He had no idea this was how Harry felt. He doubted anyone else knew either. "Harry," he began slowly. "You are not alone. You have a lot people who care about you."

"It's not the same. They care about me only when something bad happens or if they have time to think about caring." Harry's mind immediately turned to Remus at that statement. "A family cares all the time, through good and bad. A family is there when you need them, not when it's convenient for them."

Severus thought about that for a few seconds. Based on the actions of all the people in the boy's life, no wonder he thought the way he did. "Harry, you do have a family. You have someone who will care about you unconditionally."

Harry shook his head no. He knew Severus was talking about himself, that Severus was his father. But as much as he wanted a father, he would not accept that. If he accepted it and it ended up as a joke, like he thought it was, he didn't want to end up hurt.

Severus decided to drop the subject. He knew Harry hadn't admitted that he was his father yet, and he wouldn't push it. He would let Harry work through it on his own. Right now he just needed to help Harry feel better about Sirius, as much as he hated the man.

"Harry, there would have been no guarantee that fifteen years ago you would have been able to live with Black. After your…parents…were killed," Severus had a hard time with the word parents now that he knew he was Harry's father, "the Order went looking for Black's wand to perform the test, but couldn't find it. And when he was taken to Azkaban, it wasn't found anywhere on him."

"But he could have told them where his wand was. He could have been free." Harry's crying intensified and he gripped the back of Severus' cloak. "I wouldn't have had to go through all I did at the hands of the Dursleys. I could have been living with Sirius."

Severus removed his arms from around Harry and held the boy's tear-stained face in his hands, making Harry look at him. "Harry, as much as you want to, you can't dwell on the 'what could have beens.' By doing so, you'll miss what's right in front of you."

Harry looked at Severus for a few seconds thinking about what he just said. Those words were reminiscent of the ones the headmaster had said to him back in his first year when he found the Mirror of Erised. He then put his head back down against Severus' chest.

Severus wrapped one arm around back around Harry, and put one hand on the back of the Harry's head and continued rocking while Harry cried.

Fifteen minutes later Harry was still on the floor in Severus' arms with his own arms still wrapped around Severus like the man was his lifeline. He had stopped crying and had fallen asleep about five minutes earlier. Severus would have loved to spend hours in that position, but being on the floor for that long of a time was starting to get to him. He really needed to stand up and stretch out his legs. He then started rubbing Harry's back to get him to wake up. "Harry, wake up. Why don't you lie on the bed?"

Harry slowly woke up and looked up at the professor through bleary eyes.

"Why don't you go lie down on your bed," Severus repeated. He then removed his arms from around Harry.

Harry kept his arms around Severus.

"You can stay here while I go get the Christmas tree. I shouldn't be gone long." After what Harry had just been through, there was no way he would make the boy go with him for the tree now.

"No!" Harry stated immediately, tightening his hold on the professor. He knew he was being childish, but for some reason, he really didn't want to be left alone; even it would only be for about an hour or so.

Severus looked down at Harry in confusion. He put an arm back around Harry and Harry immediately put his head back on his chest. "Okay, you can join me if you still want to."

Harry nodded then removed his arms from around Severus, returning to the position he was in when the potions master first came in the room.

Severus slowly stood up, joints cracking from being in one position so long, and looked down to Harry. The boy had yet to move. He raised an eyebrow then headed to the bathroom. He came back out a minute later with a wet washcloth and handed it to Harry. "Wipe your face, you'll feel better."

Without a word, Harry took the washcloth and wiped his face. He then stood up, placed the wet cloth on the bed and looked up to the professor, completely mortified about his behavior now and earlier. "I'm sorry," he said very quietly, his face turning red, "for being such a baby now and earlier today."

"There is nothing to be sorry for. It's okay to feel upset. Anyone would if they were in your situation." Severus took the washcloth from the bed and put it in the bathroom. When he reentered the bedroom, he went directly to Harry, put a hand on the boy's shoulder and led him out of the house to get the Christmas tree.

~SH~

Hours later Harry was sitting on the floor getting ready to put an ornament on the bottom of the tree when he looked over towards Severus. The man was sitting on the sofa trying to untangle a strand of garland, his brows furrowed. Harry sat there for a few minutes looking at the professor while playing with the ornament in his hand, a small smile forming on his face. Everything the man did today was totally out of character.

Getting the Christmas tree with potions master wasn't what he was expecting either. He was expecting to get to the lot, have the professor tell the attendant what size tree he wanted, pay for the tree while the attendant brought it up, and then head back to the house. He didn't expect that the minute they entered the lot Severus would lead him over to a stand selling hot chocolate and hot spiced apple cider, buy a drink for both of them, and wander the lot looking for the perfect tree while sipping their warm drink. He was actually surprised when the only tree Severus would get was the one that he, Harry, wanted, even though it took half an hour to find it. All of it was completely unexpected and surprisingly he really enjoyed it, even it he was in the company of the professor.

Harry was still staring at Severus when the man lifted his eyes and looked over to him. Harry quickly turned his attention to the ornament and hung it on the tree.

When Severus felt eyes on him, he looked up and before Harry turned away, he saw the small smile on the boy's face. After everything Harry had gone through that day, he was happy to see the smile. Glad he could make the boy a little happy, Severus stood up with the untangled garland and walked over to the tree. "Would you mind helping me string this on the tree, Mr. Potter?"

"Sure." Harry got up from the floor and helped string the garland on the tree.

"There's only one thing left," Severus stated while walking backwards from the tree. "Would you like a star on top or an angel? We have both." He bent over the last of the boxes he brought down from the attic earlier and pulled both out and set them on the table.

Harry walked over and took a look at both. The star was a glittery gold and was really pretty. But the second his eyes landed on the angel, he knew it's what he wanted. The angel was dressed in white, its wings were made of white netting with silver stitching at the ends. It had green eyes and red curly hair, and held a gold candle in its hands. "I'd like the angel professor," Harry said while picking it up and handing it to Severus.

Severus wouldn't take it. Instead he turned around, grabbed a step stool from the entry closet, and brought it over to the tree. "Go ahead and put it up."

Harry looked from Severus to the angel to the tree, then back to Severus. He couldn't be serious. Why would the professor want him to put up the topper? Wasn't it the most important part of decorating the tree? "Are you sure?" he asked him. At Severus' nod, Harry walked up the step stool and carefully placed the angel on the top. "Thank you for letting me come with you to get the tree and for letting me help you decorate it, sir," he said a little sadly as he got off the stool and put it away. He finally got to pick out and decorate a Christmas tree, but it reminded him too much of his dream from that morning, his dream of doing the same exact thing for the first time ever…with Sirius.

"You're welcome." Severus watched Harry sit down on the sofa and stare at the tree looking miserable. Knowing what Harry was feeling, he walked over and sat down on the table in front of him and waited for Harry to look at him. "I know you feel sad, Harry. I know you wanted to do this with your godfather instead of me. It's okay."

Harry looked from the tree to the potions master, feeling a little uncomfortable with having these types of conversations with the professor. This was the third one today. It wasn't normal. But after a few seconds, he finally responded to Severus' statement. "No, it's not okay." Harry wasn't sure why, but he wanted to give the professor an explanation. "I know you're mad at me. I'm being disrespectful to you."

"You are not being disrespectful and you are not hurting my feelings by being sad. I don't like seeing you like this, but I am not mad at you. I understand what you're going through."

Harry shook his head and looked back at the tree. This was the second time the professor said those words to him since that morning. "No you don't."

"I do." Severus was an extremely private man and didn't plan on divulging anything of his past to the boy yet, but at this juncture, he felt it was absolutely necessary as awkward as it would be. He moved from the table and sat down next to Harry on the sofa. "When I was a year younger than you, I lost my mother a few months before Christmas."

Harry quickly looked over to the professor. He couldn't believe the man was telling him something about his past. It was completely unheard of. "I'm sorry. I, I didn't know."

"Of course you wouldn't know," Severus stated in a slightly condescending tone. He paused before speaking again. "That first Christmas without my mother was one of the worst holidays I ever had. What I'm trying to say is I know exactly what you are feeling and what you're going through. I don't want you to feel that you're being disrespectful, but I also don't want you to feel guilty."

"Guilty?" Harry wasn't sure what he meant by that.

Severus nodded. "Did you have a good time picking out the tree this afternoon?"

"I don't think I…erm…I guess I…" Harry started. Then he finally admitted the truth. "Yes. I did have a good time."

"Now, do you feel bad because you had a good time?"

Harry nodded yes and looked down to his lap.

"That's guilt. You think you shouldn't feel happy in a situation that you wanted to experience with your godfather. Harry will you please look at me?" Severus waited until Harry raised his head and met his eyes. "You have no reason to feel guilty. Do you honestly think that your godfather would want you to miss out on this and many other things just because he's not around?"

"No, but…"

"No. He wouldn't. You have every right to feel sad, mad or anything else. But just don't feel guilty when you're enjoying yourself. You deserve to feel happy."

He guessed that what the professor was saying was true. It did make sense. He just knew it would be hard to remember. "Okay."

Severus gave Harry a small smile, though luckily the boy was looking the other direction. "Good." He then stood up. "Now, how about some dinner?"

~SH~

Late that night after dinner and after Harry went up to bed, luckily with no more tears, Severus returned to the basement. After searching for another half hour, he finally found the item he had been looking for. The perfect Christmas present for Harry.

~SH~

When Harry walked in to the living room after breakfast Christmas morning, he spotted about a dozen or so presents under the Christmas tree. He figured that the professor intercepted Hedwig with his usual three or four gifts from the Weasleys and Hermione and placed them under the tree. The rest, he presumed, were for Severus. He sat down on the sofa and took a few sips of his hot chocolate before placing the mug on the coffee table in front of him.

Severus followed Harry in with a cup of coffee in his hands. "You don't want to open your presents?" he asked as he sat down next to Harry on the sofa. "I thought kids all over the world jumped at the chance to open presents."

Harry just shrugged. Christmas was really no big deal to him. It mostly just made him realize what was missing in his life by not having parents.

Seeing Harry still sitting on the sofa, Severus figured he'd have to take the lead. He got up from the sofa and knelt down on the floor in front of the tree and grabbed a few presents for Harry. With presents in hand, he walked back to the coffee table and set them down. He made the trip until almost all the presents were out from under the tree and deposited on the coffee table in two piles. One, in front of Harry, had nine presents and the other, in front of Severus' coffee mug, had two.

"Go ahead and open them," Severus stated as he sat down next to Harry.

A half hour later, Harry had opened presents from Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. and Mr. Weasley, Fred and George, Remus, Luna, and Neville. Severus had opened presents from the Headmaster and Professor Trelawney, a present he would throw away later that night. It seemed every year she gave all the professors on staff a gift. The same gift every year.

Seeing Harry was done with his presents, Severus got up and went back to the tree. He knelt in front of it and pulled one last gift from the back, placed there when he thought Harry would be digging under the tree for presents. He walked with it and sat down next to Harry on the sofa. "I wanted you to open this last. It is my Christmas gift to you," he stated as he handed the wrapped gift to Harry. "It meant a lot to me when I received it, but I know it will mean more to you."

"Thanks," Harry said warily as he took the present, not sure why the professor would be giving him a gift. He slowly unwrapped it, opened the box and pulled out what looked like a large journal. He opened the cover and read the inscription written on the first page.

Happy Birthday Sev,

I know it's getting harder for us to see each other on summer breaks and at school and I know how hard it has been on you. I thought this gift would help. Included in this album are photos my parents, friends, and even I took of the two of us since the year we met. I know I'm alone in quite a few of them, but I thought you'd like them all. I made one for myself as well.

With All My Love,

Lily

Harry flipped through a few of the pages. Some pictures, he noticed were taken by a Muggle, while others were obviously taken by a wizard. The one he was currently looking at had a very young Lily swinging on a swing laughing, her red hair blowing in the breeze. A young black-haired boy, probably Severus Harry noted, was standing behind Lily pushing her on the swing. Harry stared at his mother in the photo for a few seconds before he closed the book and looked up to the professor with eyes filled with unshed tears. "Thank you," he said quietly. He never expected to ever get a gift like this. It meant so much to him that he knew he couldn't even begin to express to the professor just how much it meant. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." A small smile formed on Severus' face. "Merry Christmas, Harry."

Surprised at the smile on the professor's face, a sight he couldn't ever remember seeing, Harry just stared for a few seconds before finding his voice. "Mer…merry Christmas, professor."

~SH~

After dinner that night, Harry brought all his gifts up to his room and placed them on the love seat. He brought the photo album over to the bed with him. He spent the next hour and a half sitting against the headboard slowly looking at all the photos of his mother growing up, trying to memorize every look she gave the camera. He tried to ignore the photos of Severus, but had a hard time with it.

Deciding it was time to get ready for bed a while later, Harry went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. After he put toothpaste on his toothbrush, he looked into the mirror. The minute he saw his reflection in the mirror, his eyes went wide and the toothbrush clattered to the sink below. He knew that his face was changing, his whole body actually, but he didn't realize what his face was changing in to. He had avoided looking at himself in the mirror as much as he could. In fact, he hadn't looked in a mirror for the past four days.

Now, as he stared at his face, he saw what he had been trying to deny for days. He was Severus' son. There was no denying what he saw in the mirror. He looked like the boy he was seeing in the photo album. But he wasn't so sure he wanted to accept it. Besides there was still a chance that it was a joke being played by the potions master and this change was due to some type of charm or potion that was placed on him by the man.

Harry quickly brushed his teeth and went to bed thinking all that over.

Way past midnight, Severus decided to check on Harry on his way to bed. The boy had been unusually quiet all day and this would be the last night he'd be living with his real memories for a while. He quietly opened Harry's door, not wanting to wake him up, but the door creaked on its hinges when it was opened.

At the sound of the door opening, Harry woke up. He had just gotten to sleep about fifteen minutes earlier, after tossing and turning for hours, so he wasn't sound asleep.

Severus stepped into the room. Harry was curled up on his side facing the door, his hands under his cheeks. Seeing the blankets tangled around his ankles, Severus walked up to Harry's bed.

Harry's body stiffened slightly at the sound of the professor walking towards him. He tried to relax and quickly closed his eyes and feigned sleep.

Severus untangled the blankets and gently recovered Harry, almost to the point of tucking him in. Then, with a shaky hand, he brushed Harry's fringe away from his forehead. Harry, surprisingly, didn't flinch at the touch. Severus stood there staring at the scar for a few seconds; the first time he really ever got a look at it. Then he started running his hand through Harry's messy hair. "I wish you believed the letter…and me, and wanted to see my memories. I know you're not ready to believe it, and as much as I want this relationship, I'll wait no matter how long it takes." He ran his hand through Harry's hair a few more times. "Good night Harry." He then left for his own bedroom to change out his memories and to go to sleep. He just hoped that everything that happened these past two days would have a positive effect on what would happen in the future with his altered memories.

After Harry heard the door close, he opened his eyes and rolled over on to his back and stared at the ceiling. That was the first time that he could remember anyone doing what Severus just did…tucking him in, or at least adjusting the blankets over him, and running a hand through his hair. It was something he witnessed Ron's parents doing to Ron on the few occasions he stayed at the Weasley's house. And then what the professor said?

That act and acknowledgment, plus when the man comforted him both times he ended up crying, the whole Christmas tree thing, and giving him the photo album, which he, Severus, had received as a gift were signs that the man was not playing a joke on him. But that meant…that meant "Severus Snape is really my father," he admitted quietly to his empty room. Though he wasn't sure if he wanted to believe it or not. If he did believe it and began to feel everything associated with it, he knew he would be devastated if it all turned out to be the joke he thought it was. However, the memory of the feeling he got when the professor was trying to comfort him made a lot of his doubt leave. In the end, he decided, time would tell.

Severus was sitting at the small dining table in his private quarters eating breakfast extremely early Monday morning and was contemplating the day ahead. The day before a new term was always a busy one for him. Normally during the two week holiday, he would work on his lesson plans for the next few months, brew various antidotes for the dangerous potions he would be teaching the coming term, and assist the medi-witch in the hospital wing with brewing the potions she would need. Under normal circumstances, he would spend today cleaning and preparing his dungeon classroom for the remaining term.

This year, however, during the two week holiday he was only able to brew the potions for the hospital wing and his needed antidotes. That meant he would need to get the classroom ready and work on his lesson plans today. It was too much work and there was not enough time to complete it all.

The important thing for today was getting the classroom ready and completing at least a week's worth of lesson plans. Of course, the more plans he could complete, the better. He decided he would spend the evenings during the rest of the week working on the remainder of the plans he didn't get to. Luckily he didn't need to do much to the plans. Having taught the subject for many years, he mostly followed the same lesson plans every year. He just had to tailor them for the current batch of students. Today he wouldn't leave the confines of his classroom and quarters except to attend the required staff meeting in the afternoon.

Severus wasn't going to complain about today's workload though. He wouldn't give up the time he had spent with Harry for anything. Yes, they had problems; more than a few, and the two had a lot to work through, but having to spend all day today working on lessons plans was worth it. That made him realize how much he still needed to explain to the boy. Especially what was said at the park a few days prior.

Having finished his breakfast, Severus headed over to his classroom to begin the cleaning and the long day ahead of him.

~SH~

The late morning sunlight glinted off the bright white snow as Harry flew around the Quidditch pitch Monday. He was getting in some last minute flying time before his fellow students arrived back to Hogwarts later that afternoon. It wasn't until he kicked off the ground over an hour before that he realized how much he missed flying. True, he wasn't flying on his own broom, but at least he was in the air. With that thought in mind, he began wondering if he'd be able to get his broom back now that Professor Umbridge was no longer at Hogwarts. That would be one thing he would talk to his Head of House about before the week was over. He wanted his Firebolt back. He was tired of having to use the school's brooms. It actually surprised him that he forgot all about his Firebolt until this morning.

While flying high above the stands, Harry's thoughts of course drifted towards the week he had spent at Spinners End with Professor Snape. He knew his emotions were running all over the place near the end of his stay there. One minute he hated the man, the next he couldn't stand being away from him. And to make it worse, the man himself was confusing. Only a few times had he acted like the greasy git he knew from Hogwarts. The rest of the time he was acting almost normal, like how Remus and Sirius would act around him. And even though the professor was acting different and he didn't mind the new side of him, Harry knew that it was all part of the professor's joke on him. As much as he wanted to at times, he wouldn't fall for it. He didn't want to get hurt when the man decided to end it all. It only seemed right, then, that the professor should stay as his hated potions master; the way he was before the holidays. He would try to forget everything that happened that week.

As Harry made a sweep around the hoops farthest from the castle preparing to practice a Wronski Feint, he noticed that it was beginning to snow. Deciding it was time to head back inside, he instead flew safely down to the ground. As he landed, he felt a flash of pain in his left leg. He almost ended up sprawled on the snow covered grass as his leg gave a throbbing spasm the second he put weight on it. He gave his leg a few shakes then headed up to the castle, limping slightly for a few steps before resuming his normal walk.

A couple of hours later after a quiet lunch with a majority of the professors, sans Professor Snape, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room to relax. Walking over to the table closest to the spiral staircase, he grabbed the puzzle book the potions master bought him last week and curled up in front of the fireplace and began working on the puzzles.

So caught up in the book, Harry didn't know what time it was until he heard his noisy housemates spilling in to the common room from the portrait hole hours later. Most ignored Harry's presence except for Ron and Hermione. Upon entering and seeing Harry sitting in front of the fire, they headed there directly; however they were still pretty much focused on each other, the two-week holiday only aiding their infatuation with the other.

"Hiya mate," Ron said as he hit Harry on the shoulder in greeting, and then sat down.

Harry winced at Ron's greeting and absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder. "Hi. How were both of your holidays?" He closed the puzzle book as Hermione took a seat next to him.

"Mine was great," Ron replied. "Hermione stayed for a week and her and my family…" Ron stopped speaking as he finally turned his attention to Harry. "Blimey Harry! What happened to you? You look…well, you look different."

At Ron's declaration, Hermione turned her attention from goggling Ron to studying Harry's appearance. "Ron's right. You do Harry. What happened?"

In all his attempts to forget about the past week spent at Spinners End, Harry also forgot that he now resembled the potions master. He just hoped his friends didn't notice who he looked like. He really wasn't prepared for that topic of conversation. "I don't know what you're talking about," Harry replied, playing dumb and staring at the fire. "I look like I have for the past two weeks. Maybe both of your memories are slipping."

"I don't think so, Harry," Hermione replied, looking more closely at Harry.

Wanting the conversation about his looks and the staring to stop, Harry abruptly stood up. "Sorry guys. I just remembered that I promised Professor Lupin that I'd come see him this afternoon. I'll catch up to you later at dinner."

Without waiting for a response, Harry climbed out of the portrait hole and headed straight to Professor Lupin's office. He didn't really want to talk to the professor, he was still a little angry with him, but he wanted to talk to someone. He needed answers and a solution.

During lunch, Harry had overheard the Headmaster reminding the professors about the staff meeting that afternoon. He only hoped that the meeting was over and that the professor would be in his office. He knocked on the wooden door and waited to be called in. A minute went by without a word or sound from within. Figuring the meeting was still going on, Harry slowly headed back up to the Gryffindor tower slightly discouraged. He didn't want to return to the common room and face his friends with their relentless questions on his appearance. He needed to talk to Lupin.

Walking through one of the second floor corridors, Harry spotted Remus exiting the staffroom farther up from him. He rushed to catch up. "Professor, do you have a few minutes?" Harry asked out of breath.

Remus stopped walking and turned to face the voice. He was surprised to see it was Harry. After the way they departed two weeks ago, he didn't think he'd see the boy all that soon. He knew Harry had to be mad at him. "Of course Harry." He looked around, and seeing as no other students were in the corridor, he walked over to one of the benches situated in an alcove with Harry following. "How were your holidays Harry? I believe you spent them with Professor Snape. Am I correct?" Remus sat down and so did Harry.

Harry only answered half of the questions asked. "Yes, sir. I did." He sat there staring at his hands, unsure of how to voice his concerns.

"So, how were they?" Remus asked in the ensuing silence. "Your holidays?"

Harry remained quiet, still thinking about how he wanted to start the conversation and not really wanting to answer the man's question.

"Harry?" Remus was getting a little concerned with Harry's silence; thinking the worst. "Were they really that bad?" Remus had no doubt that the past week had been an interesting one, but he doubted it could have been really bad.

Harry shook his head. "No. They weren't bad. They were just..." He couldn't finish his thought. He had too many conflicting emotions. Truth be told, he seemingly enjoyed the holiday he spent with the potions master. And he hated that fact. "They were just different," he finally replied.

"I can tell something is bothering you Harry."

As much as he wanted to keep his problems to himself, Harry knew that he had to confide in the professor if he wanted any sort of help. That was why he sought out the professor in the first place. And he knew he had to start at the beginning. He moved his gaze from his hands to Remus. "Erm…I was wondering…I mean, did you get…did you get a letter from my mother a few months ago?"

Deep down Harry was hoping the answer would be no. But at the same time he hoped the answer was yes. He didn't want to think what he would feel like if Professor Lupin answered no. That meant that it was a really cruel joke Professor Snape was playing on him. Then again, if the answer was yes, there could be a possibility that it was still a joke. The potions master could have created the letter given to Remus. But would Professor Snape really go to all that trouble? There was always the possibility that the letters were real. He really didn't want to think about that.

Remus' answer broke Harry out of his thoughts. "Yes I did, Harry," he answered and watched the various emotions flit across Harry's face at the statement.

"Was the letter really from my mother?"

"Yes." Remus watched the boy with concern, wondering how he felt about the news that was in the letter.

Harry began to feel a knot forming in his stomach. If that was true, then that meant that Snape was his… He couldn't even finish that thought. He didn't want to finish that thought. "How can you be sure? How do you know Snape didn't write it up?" He really didn't want to take the professor's word for it.

While Remus and Harry were having their conversation, Severus exited the staffroom; the Headmaster having finally finished his discussion with him a few minutes prior. As he walked down the corridor to head back to his quarters, he heard his name mentioned. He walked a few feet closer, spotted Harry and Remus, and stopped to listen, making sure he was somewhat hidden in the shadows. He knew it was bad to eavesdrop, but by the tone of voice between the other two, he had a feeling he needed to hear this conversation.

Oblivious to Severus' presence, the conversation between Remus and Harry continued.

"Professor Snape did not write the letter," Remus reiterated. "To me or to himself."

"But how do you know?"

"I just know Harry."

Harry dropped his gaze. "It can't be real. I know it's not real!"

"What is wrong Harry?"

"It's a joke professor," Harry replied miserably. "A cruel joke the professor is playing on me. With our past, you should know that."

"What makes you say that?" Even though Remus knew the truth, he could see Harry needed to get everything off his chest.

Harry was astounded that Remus didn't know. "He hates me! This is just the type of thing the greasy git would do to me." Harry stood up as his anger intensified and faced Remus who was still sitting on the bench. "It's payback for looking into his pensive last year, for looking exactly like my father, for being at Hogwarts…for living. It's just a huge joke designed to hurt me."

Severus couldn't believe what Harry had just said and was glad he was hidden in the shadows. He knew for a fact that if anyone had looked at him at that moment, they would be able to see the anguish he felt pouring out of his posture and from the expression on his face. But for once, he didn't have the heart to care. The way Harry felt about him was more important. It actually scared him when he realized how the boy meant more to him now than his reputation as the evil potions master.

And he didn't know which upset him the most; the fact that the boy honestly thought it was a cruel joke or what he, Severus, supposedly thought of Harry and why he was supposedly doing this to him. Then again, with the history between the two, it was fully understandable. And Harry did mention something like this just a few days ago. He and Harry definitely needed to have a serious conversation soon.

Remus stood up and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. The boy was working himself into a state. "Calm down Harry. You know none of that is true." Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Severus listening to the conversation. Normally he would be irate that the man was listening in to a private conversation, but this time he was glad. He could see how Harry's words had affected the potions master and he knew it was a good thing.

"How do you know it's false?" Harry asked.

It wasn't until this point in time that Remus was glad that during one of their conversations before the staff meeting Severus let slip what he gave Harry as a Christmas present last week. If anything could convince Harry, that gift should be it. "Harry, what did the professor give you for Christmas?"

Harry lowered his eyes from Remus to stare at the stone floor. That was one thing out of many that Harry wanted to forget about and it figured Remus had to bring it up. "He gave…he gave me a photo album."

"Who's was it before he gave it to you?"

"His." Before Remus could say another word, Harry looked up and quickly continued. "But he made that up as well."

"Harry."

Harry interrupted. "You can try to convince me otherwise, but I know the truth."

At this point, Remus decided to give up. It was up to Severus to convince the boy everything was the truth. He stood there a minute just looking at Harry.

Harry was tired of arguing. It wasn't worth it. And as long as he knew the truth, that was all that mattered. He didn't have to convince anyone else.

As he watched Remus run a hand through his hair, he remembered the real reason why he sought out the man in front of him. "Professor, I need you to reverse whatever Snape did to me," he said calmly as he sat back down on the bench.

"I don't understand." Remus took a seat next to Harry.

"Don't I look different to you?"

Remus looked at Harry closely. The boy definitely was Severus' son. "You have gone through a lot of changes over the Christmas holiday. But I don't think…"

Harry interrupted Remus, knowing what the man was about to say. "Please, professor," he pleaded. "He must have cast a charm on me while I was sleeping or slipped some type of potion into the food last week. I don't know what he did, but I want it reversed. Please! I can't stand looking like this. I don't want to look like this." He turned a little on the bench so he could look at his reflection in the window. "I just want to look like myself. Like I always have. I want to look like my father."

Remus held back his thoughts at Harry's last statement and glanced again at Severus standing in the corridor. He knew the man had heard all of the boy's comments. By looking at Severus, Remus could tell the words bothered him. "Harry, I don't think…"

"Forget it professor," Harry said sharply as he stood up. He should have known better than to seek out the man. The professor never really helped him in the past. He didn't know why he thought different this time. "Don't bother. I can find out how to do it on my own. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Harry." Remus grabbed Harry's arm to stop him from leaving.

"I said forget it Professor." Harry yanked his arm free from Remus' grasp and quickly left the small alcove they were in with his head down.

Remus followed Harry with his eyes for a second, and then made contact with Severus'. He gave the potions master a pleading look; a look that told the man to fix this and fast.

Severus watched as Harry made his way towards him, unaware that he was standing there. He couldn't explain what he was feeling, but he knew that he desperately needed to talk to Harry. When the boy was almost to him, he called out his name. "Mr. Potter."

At the call of his name, Harry stopped walking, looked up and met the concerned gaze of the potions master. He hoped the professor hadn't heard any of what was said between the Remus and himself.

"Harry, we need to talk."

Hearing his first name coming from the potions master, Harry held the man's gaze for a few more seconds then took off running.

Severus let out a breath and lowered his head after watching Harry run around the corner. He definitely had his work cut out for him. At least he now knew what Harry thought of the situation. And he knew it would help him decide the best course of action.

As Severus was staring at the ground deciding what he needed to do first, a pair of feet stopped in his line of sight. "Not now Lupin."

"But Severus."

"I said...Not. Now." Severus quickly turned and headed down to his private quarters in the dungeon, leaving Remus to stare after him.

~SH~

Harry didn't know where he was running to. He just knew he had to get away and think. By the time he stopped running, he found himself at the top of the astronomy tower. He paced the tower a few times before finally lowering himself to floor and sitting against the wall.

One thing was clear. He was alone in his search to return his appearance back to normal. He should have known that would be how it was. He could never count on any adult in the past when he needed help, so what made him think it would be any different now? He also knew he couldn't count on his friends to help. They were one of the many reasons why Harry even had to figure out what to do.

Knowing he'd have to find the answer to his appearance soon, he decided he would head to the library right after he finished dinner. He'd spend any free time there trying to find a solution. There had to be a way to reverse it. He couldn't be the only one this had ever happened to.

While watching the clouds float by outside, he then remembered one of his first questions to the potions master about his appearance the day he read the letter. He asked if it had anything to do with Voldemort. That was the answer! Until he could find a way to reverse whatever it was the professor did to him, he'd use the excuse that his change in appearance was due to Voldemort. No one would question him on that. He just hoped no one would be able to tell who he really looked like. He didn't have an answer for that and he couldn't really think of one.

When his stomach gave a growl a half hour later, Harry knew it was almost time for dinner. Even though he told Ron and Hermione he'd see them in the Great Hall, he wasn't ready to face them yet. He had his excuse about his appearance ready but he needed just a little bit more time. Knowing he and his friends normally showed up towards the middle of the meal, he decided to head down to dinner now. Besides, it would give him more time to start his search in the library before he had to be back in the common room later that night.

As Harry headed to the library after eating, he decided he'd first search out potions that changed a person's appearance. Professor Snape was a potions master so it would only make sense that the man would have used some sort of potion on him. Figuring it'd be faster if he acquired Madam Pince's help with locating the appropriate section to find the books he needed, he sought out the librarian as soon as he entered.

Four hours later, sporting a massive headache and being no closer to a solution than he was earlier in the day, Harry finally stepped foot into the Gryffindor common room. He was expecting an ambush from Hermione and Ron, but was surprised to see they weren't even in the room. Feeling slightly disappointed and relieved at the same time, Harry headed up the spiral staircase to his dorm room. All he wanted to do was lay on his bed in the dark and try to desperately get rid of his headache.

~SH~

Severus had hoped that he would be able to meet with Harry sometime during the first week back, but things definitely changed since this time yesterday. At yesterday's staff meeting, Severus found out that the Headmaster was still extremely concerned with the possible attack on the school and scheduled staff meetings every other afternoon. That put a dent in his plan to continue getting his lesson plans completed by the end of the week. It also meant that he would have to cancel his Occlumency lessons with Harry this week as well. That was why Severus found himself stopping off at the Gryffindor table on his way to the head table for breakfast first thing Tuesday morning.

As Severus stopped behind Harry, he got a spark of pleasure out of seeing the terror on the faces of some of Harry's housemates. He schooled his features and began telling his small little lie. He couldn't have the whole school know what was going on. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster requested I deliver this note to you. Though why he couldn't do it himself is beyond me."

Harry turned around and grabbed the folded piece of parchment. "Thank you sir." He watched the potions master walk to the head table before he turned around to open and read the note, wondering what the Headmaster wanted him for now. With a huge smile on his face, Harry placed the letter in his pocket and glanced up to the head table.

The smile didn't go unnoticed by Severus and he was disappointed in the boy's reaction.

When Harry returned to facing the table, Hermione and Ron were just sitting down across from him.

"Morning Harry," Hermione said in greeting a little less than happy as she served herself some scrambled eggs from the dish in front of her.

"Good morning guys," Harry replied.

Surprisingly, Ron was the one who began voicing his and Hermione's concerns about Harry. "Harry, mate. What's going on? Why did you avoid us yesterday? We were waiting for you at dinner in the Great Hall and you never came."

"Yes, Harry," Hermione joined in. "And why won't you answer us about your appearance. Why do you look so different? Don't we have a right to know?"

Harry was hoping to have a little time before having to address all of this, but luck didn't seem to be on his side lately. Luck didn't seem to be on his side ever, actually. He knew he'd have to start his lying now. "I wasn't avoiding you. Professor Lupin and I lost track of time and we ended up having dinner in his quarters."

"But why didn't we see you in the common room at all last night?" asked Ron.

"We wanted to finish our conversation." In his nervousness, Harry began playing with his fork, pushing pieces of sausage all over his plate.

"You didn't show up before we all went to bed," Hermione stated.

"Erm…Lupin walked me to the tower late last night."

Hermione looked at Harry skeptically, but decided to drop that part of the subject. Instead, she began the conversation she wanted to finish since arriving at Hogwarts yesterday afternoon. "So Harry, why do you look so different? What happened?"

"Why can't you leave things alone Hermione?" Harry questioned with anger in his voice. "Maybe I don't want to talk about it, alright?" Seeing tears beginning to form in Hermione's eyes he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No Harry, you're right. I'm sorry. I just…" Hermione was interrupted by Harry.

"No, I'll tell you." He didn't really want to give in to Hermione, but maybe if he did, it would stop her from asking any more questions. Harry looked around the hall making sure they were not being listened to and leaned across the table towards his friends. "It was one of the things I was talking to Professor Lupin about." At least Harry knew that part was true. "It seems this," Harry pointed to his face, "is an effect of the connection with Voldemort."

Ron looked at Harry with confusion. "I don't think I understand mate. How could Vol…I mean, You-Know-Who do that to you?"

"Yeah Harry," Hermione chimed in. "It doesn't seem plausible. How can a mind connection between the two of you cause your appearance to change?"

Well, so much for his lie working. His two friends were too smart. But it was all he had. They had to think it was because of Voldemort. "I don't quite know Hermione."

"But, I don't see how…"

"Drop it Hermione," Harry said sharply, beginning to get angry again with his friends. Why did they always have to question and argue with him on everything he said? "That's why okay? If you don't like the reason, too bad. That's the only reason there is!" He said the last statement a little louder than he intended and noticed that much of the Gryffindor table and a few of the professors were staring at him.

No longer in the mood to eat anything, Harry stood up and left the Great Hall. He had forty-five minutes before his first class so he decided he would spend that time in the library. Maybe he'd be luckier than he was last night.

His time spent in the library before his first class was well worth it. He found two books that held potential solutions to getting his appearance back to normal. After getting permission from Madam Pince, Harry headed to his History of Magic class thirty-five minutes later with two additional books in his book bag.

Late Tuesday night when Harry entered the Gryffindor common room, he was glad how the day went. Everything seemed to be as it was last term before the Christmas holiday. He only hoped it lasted until the summer holiday. And he also noticed that after his little blow-up in the morning at breakfast, Ron and Hermione didn't question him on his appearance or whereabouts anymore; though it seemed like torture for the two not to know what was going on with him. But he'd rather have it that way.

~SH~

Throughout the first week back at school, Harry spent the majority of his time up in the Room of Requirement. He found that he was more productive if he wasn't interrupted a lot nor had people asking why he was always reading potions books in his free time. With help from the Marauder's Map, Harry often stayed late into the night in the room reading through the books before heading to his bed to sleep for only a few hours. He was also hardly eating when in the Great Hall as well, wanting to go up to the Room of Requirement as soon as possible.

Late Thursday night, Harry finally found a possible potion that would reverse any appearance altering potion that had been consumed. After reading through the recipe and instructions, he found it was luckily an easy enough potion to brew and didn't require a lot of time for preparation and the brewing process. After acquiring all the required ingredients, he could brew the potion in just a few hours.

On Friday, Harry purposely left his cauldron in his trunk in the dorm room. When he arrived to Potions, he grabbed a cauldron from the stack the professor kept at the back of the room, and then he took his seat. When class ended, he packed the cauldron, along with a few ingredients that were needed for the potion, in his bag and headed to his next class. If everything worked out well, the potions master wouldn't even know a cauldron and some ingredients from the classroom stores were missing. Luckily Harry already had a majority of the needed ingredients.

During his free time after lunch and before his next class Friday, Harry returned to his dorm room, pulled his invisibility cloak out from the bottom of his trunk and took the cauldron along with a majority of the potion ingredients up to the Room of Requirement. He would be using the room as his lab until he reversed whatever it was the professor had done to him.

Under the excuse of visiting Professor Lupin, Harry headed to the Room of Requirement Saturday morning after breakfast. He had everything ready and was going to brew the potion. If everything worked as planned, he might leave the room normal, looking like himself.

After looking in a mirror three hours later, Harry left the room extremely disappointed. The potion had no effect. He was back to square one. He would again be spending a majority of his time in the library. This time in the restricted section. Hopefully he would find another potion in one of those books.

~SH~

Tuesday morning, after spotting a new Quidditch magazine Ron left out on his bed, Harry remembered his broom. That afternoon between classes, he decided to take the opportunity and speak with his head of house about getting his broom back. As he got closer to the staffroom, he began to feel slightly nervous. The situation was almost identical to his first year when he went to retrieve 'Quidditch Through the Ages' from Professor Snape. But he had to remind himself he wasn't seeking out the potions master this time.

Once he arrived at the staffroom, he knocked on the door. There was no way he would walk directly in without being asked.

The door opened a few seconds later and luckily he was met with the sight of the person he was looking for. Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter. Did you need something?" It wasn't all that often a student would seek out a professor in the staffroom.

"Yes, actually. If you've got time."

"I've got only a few minutes." The professor opened the door all the way. "Come in then."

Harry entered the door and climbed the two steps to the main room, still feeling slightly nervous, and watched as the professor closed the door behind him.

Professor McGonagall turned to face Harry. "Well then, Mr. Potter. What can I help you with?" She then headed to the table and took a seat. She motioned for Harry to do the same.

After Harry sat down, he addressed his head of house. "Professor, I was wondering if the Quidditch ban Professor Umbridge placed on me last year has been lifted?”

"It has." She was actually surprised that it took Harry this long to ask about the ban placed last year. She thought it would have been one of the first things he asked about upon returning to the castle back in September.

Harry let out a huge breath. "Great. So, would it be possible for me to get my broom back?" He felt a bit of apprehension when he saw the look on the professor's face change.

"I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but that won't be possible."

Harry just stared at his strict professor. "I don't understand."

"I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but after confiscating your broom last year, Professor Umbridge burned it."

"What?" Harry immediately stood up.

"I thought you already knew." Professor McGonagall stood up as well as she glanced at the clock on the wall. She squeezed Harry's shoulder. "I'm sorry Potter. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an appointment I need to attend to."

Harry walked a few feet towards the door in shock as he watched the professor leave. His Firebolt was gone? His most prized possession? His first ever gift from his godfather? He wanted to treasure that broom forever. It meant so much to him. And now it was gone?

His gaze fell and he dropped his head to stare at the floor. Why couldn't anything go his way? Beginning to feel numb, Harry slowly sunk down to sit on the steps and rested his arms on his knees with his hands clasped.

The back door to the staffroom opened a minute later and Severus entered the room. He was hoping to get a few minutes peace before his next class and read a few articles in the newest Defense journal Remus left on the table at their staff meeting a few hours ago. He wanted a small break from his lesson plans. As he was about to take a seat at the table, he spotted a very recognizable mop of black hair sitting on the floor by the front door. "Mr. Potter? What are you doing in here?" Harry didn't answer. This was a bit unsettling for Severus. "Mr. Potter. Harry, is everything okay?"

Not really paying attention to who was talking to him, but thinking it was Remus, Harry nodded his head yes. Then he changed his mind and shook his head in the negative. He was feeling too miserable to lie. "No." He brought his hands up and buried his head into them.

For Harry to admit that, and to the man he currently hated with everything in him, Severus knew something was really bothering the boy. He walked over to the steps and sat down next to Harry. "What happened?"

Without acknowledging the professor's presence, Harry dropped his hands and continued to stare at his feet. "It's gone. My Firebolt. Professor Umbridge burned it as soon as she confiscated it last year."

"Is that what's got you so miserable?" Severus asked, slightly amused. "A broom? They are replaceable if you didn't know."

"It's not just a broom," Harry replied angrily. How dare the professor think it was funny. "It was the first gift I ever received from Sirius. It was more than a broom to me, ok?" His voice was full of pain. He brought his hands back up and pressed the palms into his closed eyes until he saw colorful stars. "You don't understand."

But Severus did understand. He had first hand experience. Back when he and Lily had first met, Lily had bought him one of her favorite books as a birthday present. He read it over and over, until his father, in a fit of rage, decided to tear it up and throw it and a few of his other possessions into the fire as he watched, to teach him a lesson. The book was the first gift he had ever received from Lily.

Severus moved closer and placed a reassuring hand on Harry's back. "I do understand. I'm sorry Harry.”

At that moment, Harry realized who he had been talking to and it disgusted him. He needed to get away from the professor immediately. Without a word, Harry quickly stood up and exited the staffroom, leaving Severus sitting on the steps with his hand hovering in the air.

As Harry walked through the corridors towards Gryffindor tower, he couldn't believe how stupid he was. How didn't he know it was the potions master when the man first started talking to him? And how could he have said all that to the potions master? It seemed that whenever the man was around, he couldn't help but spill everything that was on his mind. And why did it have to be Snape that found him right after he found out about his broom?

~SH~

For once Severus was looking forward to Harry's Occlumency lessons. He hated having to cancel the two lessons last week, but knew it was a necessity. If he didn't, he knew his full concentration wouldn't have been on the boy.

During the coming weeks, he had hopes of learning more about Harry while also giving him the needed lessons. This first week of lessons, though, were needed to talk to the boy about what he learned during Remus' and Harry's conversation last week, and what was said their final days at Spinners End. He would talk with the boy after the lessons were over each night.

Severus was seated at his desk Tuesday evening grading homework when Harry arrived at his office. After allowing the boy to enter and pointing him over to one of the two seats in front of his desk, he set his quill down and sat staring at Harry.

"I would like to begin tonight's lesson with a review of how to clear your mind. I know you have been having problems with this aspect and knowing it's essential to mastering the art, I feel it best if we start there."

Somewhat shocked at how the professor was planning on teaching this lesson, which was far different from all he had ever had, all Harry could do was nod his head.

An hour later, Harry had a better understanding of how to clear his mind. A half hour after that, he was put to the test as the potions master entered his mind three times. Unfortunately, he had the same results he always had when the professor entered his mind. After catching his breath after the third try, Harry slowly rose from the floor to sit in the chair facing Severus' desk.

While Harry was recovering, Severus sat down in the vacant chair next to Harry. The Occlumency lesson was over and he hoped he could now speak to the boy.

When Harry opened his eyes, he noticed the potions master was sitting in the chair next to him. Unaccustomed to the professor sitting that close to him, Harry was slightly wary. "Sir?"

"Mr. Potter, I wanted to speak with you before we end your lessons tonight. I feel we have quite a few things to discuss."

Somehow Harry knew that Occlumency wasn't on Snape’s mind anymore. And having a discussion about anything else with the professor was the last thing Harry wanted to do. He really just wanted to get out of that office. With everything that had been going on between the potions master and himself, the last thing Harry wanted to do was spend more time than necessary with the man. Besides, he needed to get to the library to continue with his research. "Professor, I don't think…"

"We will end with a discussion," Severus said forcefully. "You may not think it necessary but I do." Severus had a feeling the boy would fight him on this, but he needed to talk to Harry.

"It isn't necessary," Harry stated coldly as he stood up. "I've got more important things to do tonight, like homework. Goodbye professor." He quickly walked to the door and out of the office, not caring that he was being disrespectful nor what the potions master would do to him.

The door shut loudly before Severus could even realize what just happened. He stared at the closed door for a few seconds before standing up and walking to his side of the desk to finish grading homework. He'd have to come up with another way to talk to the boy.

~SH~

Severus was having a hard time finishing up his lesson plans. With more than a normal amount of staff meetings and numerous detentions he had to supervise during the last week and a half, it was any wonder he found time to sleep. But when he was asked by Professor Flitwick to supervise Thursday's study period in the Great Hall, he didn't hesitate in answering yes.

He knew Harry would be in there and he really wanted to see the boy. He knew he couldn't talk to him at all, lest anyone think something was going on since he normally didn't seek out Harry to talk. But just being able to watch him from time to time would be good enough. He tried watching the boy at meal times, but noticed that half the time the boy never showed up or if he did, he was rarely in the room for longer than ten minutes.

Harry was disappointed the second he entered the Great Hall and saw it wasn't Professor Flitwick supervising the study period. He had hoped to not see Snape until his Occlumency lessons that night. Giving a small sigh, he headed over to the Gryffindor table and sat down, pulling his homework out of his book bag.

More than one time during the study period, Harry felt like someone was watching him. A few times he caught the professor's eye. Feeling nauseous at the thought of the professor watching him, Harry turned his attention to his homework and tried to ignore him.

Because Severus had been watching Harry at various times during meals, he noticed that the boy had hardly been eating and at times looked extremely tired. He knew for a fact that he wasn't getting food after hours either. He had visited the kitchens earlier that morning and spoke with the elves. Having a feeling why Harry was skipping meals and sleep, but knowing he couldn't talk to the boy about it yet, Severus did the only thing he could currently think of. He would try to get the boy to eat something. Harry had to be hungry.

About forty-five minutes into the period and after getting clarification from Hermione on their Transfiguration essay, Harry noticed a banana and some grapes being moved from the serving bowl near Hermione to a plate and being levitated towards him. "Thanks for the snack Hermione," he said, thinking it was his friend looking out for him. "I am pretty hungry I guess."

Hermione looked at Harry confused. "I had nothing to do with it."

Before Harry could form a reply, a glass of juice was being poured into a glass from the pitcher in front of Harry and placed next to the plate of fruit. "Then who is it?" Harry asked and looked around the Great Hall. He spotted the potions master looking his way and placing his wand in his robes.

With a knitted brow, Harry turned his attention back to his homework. Finding that it was most likely Professor Snape who did it, he had planned on ignoring the food in front of him, but he decided he really was hungry. Peeling the banana, he got started on his Transfiguration essay, trying to ignore who had his well-being in mind.

~SH~

The next few weeks proceeded in the same manner as the past week and a half had for Harry. Outside of his classes and homework, he spent time trying to find a potion to help return his appearance back to normal. His friends started treating him the way they were the beginning of the school term back in September, which was mostly ignoring him, and he found it no longer bothered him since he had more important things to do. And luckily his classes were going as expected.

During Occlumency lessons, Severus tried to engage Harry in conversations. And to date, no conversation ever happened. To Severus' disappointment, the boy would leave his office the second the lessons were over. He needed to find some excuse to talk to the boy outside of classes and Occlumency. The longer he waited to have the conversations with Harry, the harder it would be for Harry to accept the truth. He needed to talk with Harry now.

~SH~

It was the beginning of February and Severus still hadn't had a chance to speak with Harry. However, the first potions class of the month proved to be a possible answer to the problem.

Halfway through the class, Harry turned his attention away from his cauldron to ask Hermione if he was correct in the way he cut up the mint leaves for their potion. Before Hermione had a chance to answer, Severus swooped over to the table the two were sharing.

"I see you feel a conversation is more important than making sure your potion doesn't boil over, Mr. Potter," Severus stated icily. "Which, you would have noticed if your attention was on your work and not on Ms. Granger, it is."

Harry quickly glanced at his cauldron and groaned.

"Zero for your potion, Mr. Potter." Severus pulled out his wand and waved it at Harry's bubbling cauldron. "Evanesco." He then looked at Harry with slight disappointment showing in his eyes and on his face. "You have a detention with me here tonight at 6:30. Do not be late."

Harry kept eye contact with the potions master until the man turned around and headed back to his desk. He lowered his eyes and stared into his empty cauldron, trying to decipher why he felt so bad. It took him a moment until he realized why. It was the first time he could remember anyone looking at him like that; with such disappointment. Could he actually have disappointed the man? How could you disappoint someone who hated you?

"What was that about?" Hermione asked the second they cleared the threshold of the potions classroom twenty minutes later.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, though he thought he knew why she was asking.

"The way Professor Snape looked at you? I've never seen him look at anyone like that before."

Harry glanced back inside the classroom then shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. Let's just forget about it okay? That git isn't worth our time."

Hermione nodded, keeping her comments about the way Harry addressed the professor to herself, and the two went to meet Ron in the Gryffindor common room.

~SH~

At six twenty-five that night, Harry found himself standing in front of the potion's classroom. The door was open so he stepped inside.

"I see you're on time, Mr. Potter," Severus stated from the side of the classroom. "The sooner you begin your detention, the sooner you will be done." He turned around and with a cauldron in one hand and a book in the other, headed to one of the front row tables. He set the cauldron and book down and faced Harry. "Part of your detention tonight will be to re-brew the potion you were to brew in class. You'll find all the required ingredients in the storeroom. I trust you remember what page in the text the recipe and instructions are on?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, surprised that he would be re-brewing the potion. He didn't recall the professor doing this often; it at all. Then he remembered the expression on the man's face this afternoon. Could that be why he was given a second chance?

"Get to work. When you are finished, come see me." Severus turned around and took a seat at his desk. He pulled a stack of papers out of the desk drawer and began reading through second year essays, liberally marking a lot of them with red ink.

Harry watched the professor for a few minutes before opening the book to the proper page and heading over to the storeroom with a list of needed ingredients. As he went through the storeroom and found the required ingredients, he placed the vials and jars on an empty shelf near the door. Seeing one of the ingredients was on the second to the top shelf on the far side of the room way out of his reach, he pulled the ladder over and climbed up. After grabbing the needed jar, he carefully placed it in his pocket to begin descending the ladder.

As he stepped down to the rung below the one he was on, he felt a sharp pain in his left leg, reminiscent to his day on the Quidditch pitch the start of term last month. Unlike last time, however, his leg did give out and he started to fall to the ground. Hoping to stop his fall, Harry grabbed on to the first thing he reached for. The shelf above him. Unfortunately the shelf didn't offer any help and he fell to the floor, bringing the top four shelves and their contents with him. As he fell and heard all the glass breaking around him, he knew he'd never see tomorrow. Professor Snape would be beyond livid. He'd be out for death. But when he finally landed with his head banging roughly on the stone floor, Harry didn't care about any of that. All he could think about was the excruciating pain he was in. That was until he saw the black boots and robes of the potions master standing in the doorway.

At the sound of crashing and breaking glass, Severus rushed to the storeroom, ready to verbally rip the boy apart. "What in the bloody hell is going…" He stopped yelling the second he stepped foot into the room and spotted Harry.

Harry was lying on the ground close to the remains of one wall of shelves. The top four shelves from that side of the storeroom were covering most of Harry's body and one of his legs was bent at a grotesque angle. Bits of broken glass and potion ingredients were covering him with many pieces of glass piercing his skin. He had some cuts on his face, arms and hands and was bleeding from various locations.

With his heart almost pounding out of his chest, Severus quickly rushed over to Harry and started to remove the shelves and the larger pieces of broken glass from on top of him. "Harry! Are you all right?" he asked, his voice shaking with worry.

Harry didn't answer at first. He was too shocked. The man hadn't blown up at him at all about the destruction to the room. He was so sure the professor would be livid and screaming at him about the destruction. He really didn't understand it.

A few seconds went by while he was staring up at the professor in shock before he finally decided to answer. The second he took in a breath of air to speak, pain radiated from his lungs outward. Squeezing his eyes shut he let out a small sob. He was in too much pain when he breathed, so there was no way he was going to speak. He then made the mistake of trying to move a little, and as much as he didn't want to, he cried out in pain.

"Don't move." Feeling slightly panicked, Severus rapidly finished removing all the broken jars from around Harry. He knew he didn't have the expertise to see to Harry's injuries and needed to get the boy to the hospital wing and into Madam Pomfrey's care. He bent down and gently lifted Harry in his arms. "I need to get you to the Hospital Wing."

As Harry again cried out in pain at being moved, Severus quickly changed his mind. With the pain Harry was obviously in, the trek to the hospital wing would be far too long. And traveling through the floo was definitely not an option. "We'll go to my quarters instead. It's closer."

Harry didn't move or say anything. He just stared up at the potions master, his face beginning to turn pale because of the pain.

With Harry in his arms, Severus rushed out of his office to his quarters as quick as he could all the while trying not to jostle the boy and further aggravate his injuries.

When the two entered his quarters a minute later, Harry had part of Severus' robes gripped tightly in one of his fists while biting down on his lower lip. His breathing was shallow and he was extremely pale. And as much pain as he was in, he was not going to cry out again.

As Severus stepped out of his fireplace, he immediately headed to his bedroom and gently laid Harry down on the bed. He then returned to the fireplace to firecall the medi-witch.

Before Severus even returned to Harry's side, the medi-witch exited the floo and quickly walked to the bedroom, pulling her wand out of her pocket on the way. She almost gave a gasp the second her eyes landed on Harry. She hadn't seen him since he left the castle the end of his fifth year, so his change in appearance was a shock to her. Poppy kept her composure, however, and continued walking towards Harry. "What happened to you, Mr. Potter?" she asked as she began to perform her diagnostic.

Harry was in too much pain to answer, but moved his eyes to look at Severus, silently asking him to respond.

Severus met Harry's pained eyes and knew instantly he would have to explain. "I'm afraid I don't know all the details Poppy, but I found Mr. Potter on the floor in my storeroom with shelves and broken vials and jars on and around him. I'm assuming he fell from the ladder and brought down the shelves with him."

"Oh my," Madam Pomfrey stated after hearing what possibly happened. She turned to Harry. "Let me finish this up and we'll see how you stand Mr. Potter." She ran her wand up and down Harry's body three times while muttering some charms. After finishing her tests, she placed her wand away and looked to Severus then Harry then to Severus again in confusion. "Please excuse me for a few minutes. I need to check on something." She then flooed to the hospital wing.

While the medi-witch was gone, Severus retrieved an arm chair from the other side of the room and sat down next to the bed. He watched Harry wince while he moved his head on the pillow. "Does your head hurt?" At Harry's slight nod, Severus gently ran his fingers over the back of his head. Harry gave a small whimper as Severus hit a sensitive spot. "It looks like you hit your head in your fall. There's a pretty large lump back there."

Poppy came back to Severus' quarters two minutes later, her pockets laden with items that would be needed to assist Harry. "I'm afraid, Mr. Potter, that you have a broken right leg and right wrist, one broken rib, two bruised ribs and a slight concussion. Not to mention the numerous cuts on your arms, hands, face and head. Now I can mend the bones in the next half hour, but I'm afraid you will have to spend the next twenty four hours in the hospital wing for observation."

Those were the last words that Harry wanted to hear. He did not want to spend a second in the hospital wing. He already seemed to end up there every term more than any other student he knew. And to be watched over for a full day? That was pure rubbish. He would be fine once Madam Pomfrey mended his bones. He didn't know what the big deal was about needing to be watched.

Severus looked over at Harry and seeing the expression on his face, knew what the boy was thinking. "Mr. Potter, a person with a concussion needs to be watched for twenty four hours to be sure they don't lose consciousness and to assist in the event complications arise."

"That is right," agreed Madam Pomfrey. "Now, Mr. Potter, I have something else I need to discuss with you, but I feel you should be fixed up first." She pulled two vials out of her pocket and handed them one at a time to Harry. "You should be familiar with this one. It is a pain reliever. The second one is a bone mender. It will assist your bones with healing properly, but it won't completely fix them. You will need to take it easy for the rest of the week. I'll let these two take affect and I'll be back in five minutes to clean you up and heal all your cuts."

Severus stood up before the medi-witch could leave the room. "Poppy, if possible, I feel it would be more appropriate for me to clean up and heal Potter. I would like to be sure none of the ingredients that were destroyed entered into his bloodstream. Knowing what was destroyed, I'd be able to find evidence of them before you would." That was a lie of course. Severus knew none of the ingredients could really do any harm and that by healing the boy with magic, any ingredient which did make its way into his bloodstream would immediately be harmless.

Madam Pomfrey hesitantly agreed, wondering why the professor would want to take care of Harry. Especially considering she knew that her diagnostic would have told her that same information. "I guess that would be fine, Severus. It would give me more time to prepare for my leaving this evening for tomorrow's conference at St. Mungo's. When you are done, please firecall me. I'll be in my office."

"Thank you, Madam. Of course."

The medi-witch looked at Severus then Harry and figuring she did all she could currently do, left for the hospital wing.

Severus immediately went to his bathroom and returned with a bowl of soapy warm water, an empty bowl, a cloth, a pair of tweezers, and some healing cream. He placed the items on the night table and brought the chair he had been sitting in closer to Harry's side. He was about to grab the tweezers and start to remove the glass from Harry's face when the boy interrupted him.

"Professor, why don't you use your wand?" Harry was slightly confused. He couldn't understand why the professor was going to help him, and by the looks of it the Muggle way. Shouldn't the professor have just waited for the potions to take effect, drop him off at the hospital wing and return here to his quarters?

"I'm afraid that any type of magic used to heal you could possibly have an affect on the potion ingredients that you were covered with. I don't think any chances should be taken. Do you?"

"But Madam Pomfrey used her wand to run her diagnostic."

"That is a different kind of magic Mr. Potter."

Harry looked at Severus skeptically, but eventually nodded his head. "Okay."

Satisfied that there would be no more immediate questions, Severus picked up the tweezers and began to gently remove the glass from Harry's face, head, hands, and arms. Luckily the boy's clothing protected him from getting glass in the rest of his body. Severus worked as quickly and gently as he could. He wanted to remove all the glass as soon as possible so he could begin cleaning all the cuts. He had an extremely urgent need to touch the boy after finding him in the condition he was in back in the storeroom. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew his heart stopped the second he spotted Harry sprawled on the storeroom floor. It was a new and confusing feeling for him.

After what seemed like an eternity to Severus, but was only a few minutes, he was finally able to start cleaning the cuts to remove all the blood and potion ingredients. When he was done, he began rubbing in the healing cream.

Throughout the entire time, Harry alternated between looking at Severus' face and at the cuts the man was cleaning and healing on his arms and hands. He couldn't believe the man was being as gentle as he was with him. It was almost like the man cared about him.

No one ever seemed to take the care the professor was doing just now. Not even Madam Pomfrey. And the look on the man's face? He couldn't even describe it. He had never seen anyone look at him with that type of emotion before.

When Severus was almost finished, Harry finally spoke. "Thank you sir."

"You're welcome Harry." Severus finished rubbing the last bit of cream above Harry's left eye then lowered his hand to cup his cheek. "I trust you are not in any pain?"

"No, sir."

Severus finally removed his hand from Harry's cheek. The extended touch not going unnoticed by Harry.

"Good." Severus replaced the cap on the tube of cream and placed it on the table. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Just lie here and rest."

"Yes sir."

After watching Harry lay his head on the pillow and close his eyes, Severus stood up to firecall the medi-witch.

Once the professor left, Harry opened his eyes and looked around the room. He was in so much pain earlier he didn't even look to see where he was being taken. As he looked around the room, he spotted an old walnut dresser, two mismatched night tables, the arm chair the professor was sitting in, and a small table. As he spotted potion's books stacked on the far night table, he realized where he was. He was in the professor's bedroom and more importantly, was lying in the man's bed. He thought he would have been dumped on the floor or a table. He couldn't believe the potions master would let him into his room. Why did the man bring him to his bedroom? He wouldn't even allow Harry to see his room at Spinner's End, let alone go inside.

Poppy was going through some of her older research work and comparing it to Harry's diagnostic results. The change in Harry's appearance along with some of his results had looked very familiar and she wanted proof of what she thought was the cause.

At the sound of Severus's voice emanating from her fireplace, she looked up from the file she was studying. "I trust you are done Severus?"

"I am done."

"Good. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Severus nodded and removed himself from the fireplace. He went over to his living area and began pacing the length of the room.

Madam Pomfrey entered his quarters five minutes later. "Severus, did you find anything?"

Severus stopped his pacing and faced the medi-witch. "There has been no contamination."

"That is good news." She walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. "Why don't you take a seat? I've got a few things to discuss with you." Severus disregarded the offer, as weird as it was coming from a visitor in his own residence, and stood in front of the sofa. "Severus, I'm concerned about Mr. Potter."

"You should be," Severus interrupted.

Poppy huffed before explaining. "Not about his current injuries, though I am worried about them. I found some older injuries during my diagnostic; broken bones that didn't heal correctly along with signs of being malnourished in the past. With these findings, as well as my observations of the boy these past five and a half years, I'd say he's been abused. I hate to say it Severus, but it looks like he's been abused for quite a few years."

With those words, Severus sank down into the sofa behind him. His mind immediately went to a comment Harry made during the holidays when he told Harry about his childhood bedroom. Our childhoods were not so different. At the time Severus didn't really want to believe it, even with some of the boy's memories flashing through his mind. But now…now he had solid proof.

"Thank you for the information Poppy," he stated very quietly.

"I will meet with the Headmaster later tonight before I leave for St. Mungo's. He needs to know what has been going on with Mr. Potter."

"No!" Severus shouted. He wanted to be the one to talk to the headmaster. He had many things he needed to speak to him about, but needed to do it on his own time.

"Excuse me Severus?" Poppy questioned angrily. "I know you've got it in for the boy, but please be reasonable."

Severus turned his attention away from the medi-witch and looked at the flickering flames in his fireplace. Ten months ago, he would have agreed with Poppy. But now…now everything was different.

While replaying Poppy's words of abuse over in his head, he couldn't help the feeling of anger he had towards the Headmaster and the boy's relatives. Someone was going to have to pay. At least now Harry had someone to look out for his best interests, someone to rely on and depend on. As he sat there thinking about Harry, his gaze turned to his bedroom and his features unknowingly softened.

Noticing that Severus was looking towards his bedroom, seeing the expression now on his face and the feelings that seemed to be pouring out of him, Poppy could tell the man might actually care for the boy. Possibly more than a teacher would for a student. "Severus?"

At the sound of his name, Severus returned his attention to Poppy. "I'm sorry for my outburst, Poppy. Please do not relate any of this to the Headmaster. I will speak with him. It is my responsibility."

Poppy was slightly confused as to why it was Severus' responsibility, but one less thing she had to worry about tonight was better for her. "Very well." Poppy stood up. "Why don't we go talk with the patient? I would like to let him know the results of his diagnostic tests."

"Of course." Severus' shock over Harry being abused was slowly receding as he stood up. Unfortunately his reasoning was slowly coming back. And because of that, he then began to get angry at the medi-witch. "I've got a question to ask first," he stated very tensely. "Is this the first time you noticed the abuse?"

"Unfortunately it is, Severus. When Mr. Potter visited me in the past, I only tended to the bumps, bruises and scrapes he had. The only time he had a complete diagnostic was the beginning of his first year. I never had reason to run another complete diagnostic since then."

"Very well, I suppose." Severus wasn't satisfied with that answer, but let it go as another thought crossed his mind. "Poppy, I know you have a meeting to attend to and other patients as well, so I would like to relieve you of one patient. I will watch Potter down here tonight."

Madam Pomfrey looked at Severus in surprise. She hadn't expected the potions master to offer to watch Harry. As hard as she tried in the past to have him watch any of her patients, he always denied her request. "Thank you for the offer Severus. I will take you up on it if you're sure. But if I hear anything from Mr. Potter about you belittling him or harassing him in any way, I will go straight to the headmaster."

Severus wasn't all that surprised at her statement. With his past with Harry, it was fully understandable. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Am I correct in assuming you know what to watch for Severus?"

"I do. I have one request though. I would like a copy of Mr. Potter's medical results since he started Hogwarts."

"Of course, Severus. I'll get a copy prepared and have it sent here before I leave. I'll also make sure you have anything that might be needed for Mr. Potter's recovery. I feel it best that he have bed rest for the next two days. Before I take my leave, I will inform the headmaster. I should be back tomorrow evening if you'd like to bring Mr. Potter back here."

"That won't be necessary. I will continue to watch him."

Poppy nodded then headed toward Severus' bedroom. "Now how about our patient?" She began speaking the minute she entered the bedroom. "Now that you're all patched up Harry, I've got a few more things I need to discuss with you."

Harry nodded and pushed himself up so he was sitting against the headboard.

"After running my diagnostic I found something troubling that I had to compare with my last scan of you taken your first year here. First of all, there is evidence of broken bones which haven't healed properly. That would not have happened if you had broken anything while at Hogwarts or if they had gotten the proper attention. There is also evidence of malnourishment. Now these findings will have to be discussed with the headmaster. I'm sure he would want to speak with you also."

At hearing those words, Harry became pale again. He didn't want to discuss anything that happened over the summers with the Dursleys.

Upon seeing Harry's reaction, Madam Pomfrey gave a significant look to Severus. It was obvious Harry would need some reasoning as to why it had to be discussed with the headmaster. But now that fell on Severus, not her. She then returned her attention to Harry. "I also found some small scars on your lungs. Have you had the symptoms of a cold at all these past eight months?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yes. I had a cold in August with a cough that wouldn't go away."

"I see. I'm afraid that wasn't a cold you experienced back then."

"What?" Harry asked, beginning to feel slightly scared. He glanced quickly at the potions master, and was again wondering why he was still in the man's quarters.

Severus looked from Madam Pomfrey to Harry. He immediately knew what the medi-witch was about to reveal. And now it made sense why Harry wasn't getting better back before term started.

"Besides the scars, your entire physique has changed. Permanently. Am I correct in assuming you've also had pain throughout your body for the past few months?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. It hurts even when someone touches me. That was actually why I fell earlier. My leg gave out with a burst of pain. It happened a few weeks ago too. But I don't think I understand," Harry replied, looking more terrified by the second.

"Mr. Potter, this is actually more common than you would know. I don't know the reasoning why, but your parents placed a charm on you when you were just a baby to alter your appearance. The charm obviously wasn't a permanent one and your body has been taking on its real form for many months. Most of these types of charms take months to reverse and during that time, the child would experience cold-like symptoms and have pain throughout their body."

"But I…" Harry stopped talking the second the words hit him. With his mouth hanging open, he quickly looked at Severus. He then put two and two together.

"NO!" Harry got out of the bed and left the professor's bedroom, ignoring the pain and dizziness he was feeling.

The second Harry was out the door, Severus turned to Poppy. "Please send everything down here as soon as possible. Please keep everything to yourself. I will handle it all." He then immediately left the room in search of Harry. Poppy took that as her cue to leave, and though she had many questions, returned to the hospital wing.

Severus knew Harry hadn't left his quarters and because of his condition, didn't go far. He would probably be in too much pain. Even so, he had to find him. He knew Harry shouldn't be left alone, because of the concussion, but most importantly, because of what the boy just realized. With the way Harry had been acting since he read the letter two months ago, Severus knew he was still in denial.

Harry didn't know what to feel as he ran out of the bedroom. All he knew was that he needed to get away…far away. He needed to get outside to get some air. However, he didn't know the layout of Severus' quarters and turned left instead of right, and ended up in the small kitchen. As he was about to leave the kitchen, the pain and dizziness became too much for him. He slowly sunk down to the floor with his back against the wall. He pulled up the knee of his good leg, wrapped his arms around his leg and rested his forehead atop his knee, waiting for the dizziness and pain to pass.

He sat there in shock. He couldn't believe it. The medi-witch's statement meant that the letter was true. THE LETTER WAS TRUE! He didn't want it to be true. Did he? No, he definitely didn't. It wasn't right. The thought that Professor Snape was his…his…he couldn't even say the word. No!

As Severus walked quickly through his quarters searching for Harry, he wasn't sure what state he would find him in. But he knew it didn't matter. He needed to find the boy as soon as possible. When he came upon his kitchen, he spotted Harry sitting on the floor. He walked over and sat down next to him. "Harry. Are you okay?" he asked a few seconds later.

"No," Harry whispered not lifting his head. "Can I please be alone?" he asked gloomily into his knee. He really didn't want any company right now.

"I'm sorry Harry, but no. You are hurt and have a concussion. Even without the concussion or your injuries, I wouldn't leave you alone. I know what you just realized." Severus sat silently for another minute before speaking again. "I'm not sure I know what you're feeling at the moment, but everything will be okay. It will take time…believe me it will take time…but everything will be fine in the end."

Harry remained quiet. He didn't know what to think or say. His thoughts were currently one big mess.

Severus squeezed Harry's shoulder then stood up. "Come on now, you need to get off this cold floor and lie down. I've offered and Madam Pomfrey has agreed…you'll be staying down here for the next two days instead of the hospital wing."

At those words, Harry quickly looked up to the professor. Was the man serious? He actually didn't know which was worse, spending the night in the hospital wing or in the professor's quarters. He didn't want either one. "Please, can I just go back to my dorm room?"

Severus looked at Harry through narrowed eyes. "You need to be under observation tonight. Madam Pomfrey and I already explained this to you."

"Please sir. Can't Ron look after me? I'm sure he won't mind. I don't want to stay in the hospital wing or here."

"You need to be watched by someone who knows what to look for. Weasley couldn't even spot someone coughing."

Harry would normally have argued with the man about putting down his friend, but he wasn't in the mood. "How about Hermione then? If you tell her what to look for, she could watch me."

Getting slightly fed up, Severus grabbed Harry's arm to stand him up. "It's either the hospital wing or here, Potter."

If those were his only choices, the professor's quarters might be better. Anything had to be better than the hospital wing. The smell alone made him queasy. "Here then," he said dejectedly. He really just wanted to go up to his dorm room. Spending more time with the professor was not something he was looking forward to.

Severus dropped Harry's arm and led the way back to his bedroom. Harry followed with his head down. When they entered the bedroom, Severus motioned for Harry to get into bed. "I want you to lie down and rest for a while Mr. Potter." After Harry reluctantly lay down in the bed, Severus pulled the sheet and blanket out from under his legs and placed them on top of him. "I need to inform Professor McGonagall of your whereabouts for the next few days. I will be back shortly."

Harry didn't say a word. He just turned his head away from the professor.

Severus returned to his quarters forty-five minutes later and went immediately to his bedroom. Finding Harry asleep, he went back out into the hall and closed the bedroom door behind him. On his way to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea, Severus realized he really needed Harry to have his own bed. The boy could not recuperate in a transfigured bed. And Severus was not about to let Harry have his bed while he slept on a transfigured bed, or worse, the sofa.

For once Severus was glad that the headmaster had all the professor's private quarters furnished with a guest room. Unfortunately, when Severus moved in to Hogwarts, he sealed his up. He had urged the headmaster to remove the room, stating he didn't want to have unnecessary rooms or to have access to his quarters from two different locations. When the headmaster had the rooms added, he also added an entrance to them, stating guests may want to have their own entrance. The entrances and corridors leading to them were only known to the professors.

Pulling out his wand, Severus returned to the small hall and past his bedroom. He stopped in front of the blank wall eight feet away from his bedroom door and raised his wand. A minute and two incantations later, a door appeared in front of him. He opened the door and entered. Even though the room had been sealed up for many years, it was still pretty dusty and dirty. He raised his wand again to fix the room. When he was done, he stood in the doorway and admired his handy work. The room looked almost exactly like the room he gave Harry at Spinners End. He was about to leave when he took one last look and frowned. Something was missing. He gave his wand another wave. Finally satisfied, he closed the door.

Still wanting a cup of tea, Severus returned his wand to his robes and went to the kitchen. As he entered, he looked at the clock on the wall. It had been two hours since he left Harry. It was now time to check on him.

When he entered his bedroom, he luckily found Harry lying on the bed awake but with a look of extreme pain on his face. Glad the medi-witch left the required potions and Harry's medical file on the small table in his bedroom, he went over and grabbed a vial of pain relieving potion and returned to Harry's bedside. "Here," he said as he handed Harry the vial. "It's the pain relieving potion."

Harry sat up and gladly accepted the vial. He downed its contents immediately, and then sat there fidgeting with the empty vial.

"It's now time for me to check on you." Severus took the empty vial from Harry's fingers and returned it to the table. "I will be repeating this every two hours. As Madam Pomfrey and I stated earlier, you need to be watched for twenty four hours because of your concussion."

"Yes sir," Harry replied hesitantly, not knowing what was going to be happening.

"What is your name?" Severus began.

Dumbfounded, Harry sat there staring at the potions master. Was the man serious? Maybe he was the one that needed checking every two hours. "I'm sorry professor, I don't understand," he replied. The man knew his name.

At Harry's response and the expression on his face, Severus began to get a bit worried and began to panic. Did Harry acquire a head injury when he hit his head? He repeated the question. "What is your name?"

Harry continued to stare at the professor like he was crazy. It was then that he saw the worry and slight panic beginning to form in the man's normally cold eyes. The professor was serious. "Harry James Potter," he finally answered. Immediately he saw the worry and panic disappear slightly from the man's eyes.

With slight relief, Severus asked his next question. "And how old are you?"

Realizing these questions were part of the professor's checking on him, Harry decided to just answer the questions as they were asked. "Sixteen."

"Now what is today's date?"

"Um…it's February 5, 1997."

Severus let out a deep breath. So far, Harry was doing fine, but there were still twenty-two more hours to go. "Very good, Mr. Potter. Now go ahead and lie down with your hands at your sides. There are a few more things I need you to do." Severus removed the sheet and blanket that were covering Harry's lower body.

Harry did as he was told and looked up at Severus expectantly.

"I'd like you to move your right hand so you're reaching for the ceiling."

As Harry raised his right arm, he hissed as his bruised and broken ribs were jostled. The pain wasn't unbearable, but it still did hurt, even after downing the pain relieving potion just a few minutes ago.

Severus noticed Harry's reaction as he raised his arm. "I'm sorry about causing you pain, but this needs to be done. I'll remember to wait a half hour or so for the pain reliever to take effect before I ask you to do this in the future. Go ahead and lower your arm. Now raise your left the same way." Severus watched Harry's movement with a critical eye. The right arm seemed to rise slower, but it was probably caused by his bruised and broken ribs. It would be something he'd keep an eye out for in the future.

"Now I'd like you to lift your right leg a few inches off the bed."

Harry again hissed in slight pain. This was the leg that had been broken.

Looking at Harry in slight sympathy, Severus gave his final instruction. "Good. Lower your leg and repeat the same thing with your left leg." He watched Harry raise and lower his left leg. "Good. We're done for now."

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Harry began to let his body relax, hoping that the stillness would ease his pain.

Severus walked over to the table and picked up Harry's medical file. "I'll let the pain reliever work for a bit and then I'll come get you. I've got a place set up for you to stay these next few days." Severus was almost out of the door before he turned around. "I'm going to make myself a cup of tea. Would you like one?"

"Yes please," Harry replied, still surprised his professor would go through so much trouble for him.

"Very well. Rest." Severus closed the bedroom door, leaving it slightly ajar, and headed to the kitchen. After making two cups of tea, he delivered one to Harry and returned to his living area with his tea and Harry's medical records in hand. He sat in front of the fireplace and opened the file, sipping his tea as he read the contents.

Becoming enraged at what he was reading, Severus roughly placed the file on the side table and stood up. "What the bloody hell did those Dursleys do to the boy these past fifteen years?" Wanting an answer, but knowing he'd have to wait, he went to his bedroom to see if Harry was ready to move to his own room.

He entered the bedroom as Harry finished the last sip of tea. "Do you think you're able to walk a little bit Mr. Potter?"

Harry jumped slightly at the professor's voice. He hadn't realized the man entered the room. "I think so." He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Slowly he stood up, wincing slightly as he put all his weight on his legs. His right leg was still very sore. He wasn't sure he was up to walking, but knew he had to.

"Your room will be right next to mine," Severus began, as Harry slowly reached the end of the bed. "You will be confined to bed rest for the next day. Once it has been determined you have no serious injuries resulting from your concussion and you are not in any pain, you will be allowed out of bed. I will show you around tomorrow evening."

Turning around at the bedroom door, Severus was surprised to see that Harry was still far from the door and when he placed any weight on his right leg, he squeezed his eyes shut and hissed in pain. "You are not required to make it to your room without help Mr. Potter. All you need to do is ask." Severus walked back to Harry and put his arm around him to help him walk to his room and to bed. It was then that he noticed Harry was shaking slightly. The pain and strain were obviously too much for the boy. He didn't understand why Harry would not ask for help or say he was okay when he wasn't.

When they reached Harry's bed, Severus pulled the blankets back and settled him in. "If you need anything or need me to help you at all, just say my name. I've set a charm to the room that will alert me whenever you say my name."

"Thank you sir."

Severus walked to the bedroom door and stopped just before leaving. He turned around and gave Harry one last look. "It's almost time for bed, but I left some things for you on the night table in the event you get bored. Good night."

Harry looked to the night table to see what was left for him. He spotted a few books and magazines. And sitting on top was his puzzle book. He turned toward the professor with a very small smile. "Thank you and good night, professor," Harry mumbled in reply. He was still slightly shaking, though it was beginning to lessen.

Severus swept out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him, leaving it slightly ajar.

A few minutes after the professor left, Harry slowly reached out and turned on the small lamp on the night table. As soon as his eyes adjusted, he looked around the room he was staying in. It looked almost like his room at Spinners End. This room was, of course, smaller, it didn't have the two window seats, fireplace and sitting area, and attached bathroom, but it looked just like his other room. Even the bedcoverings were the same. It was then that he noticed the tall slim package that was leaning against the foot of the bed.

With a few grimaces and hisses of pain, he had the package in his lap a short while later. Seeing an envelope on the outside, he opened that first. He pulled out the piece of parchment and began reading.

Harry,

I know this gift can never replace the one you lost, but I hope one day you will look upon it with the same affection.

You may also think you don't deserve this gift, but you do. You deserve the best there is. You always will.

Enjoy!

Severus Snape

Harry placed the note on the night table and cautiously unwrapped the paper and opened the box. His mouth fell open as he stared at the gift in the box. It was a Firebolt Deluxe, the newest model and currently the best racing broom available. He had read about them in Ron's January Quidditch magazine. They were very expensive racing brooms.

He carefully removed the Firebolt and ran his hand up and down the broom. He then placed it back in the box and set it on the floor out of the way. Spotting the letter on the night table, he picked it up and read through it again. Swallowing thickly, he returned the letter to the table, flicked off the light and lay back down.

With nothing else to occupy his time, Harry decided it would be best to go to sleep. But as he lay in the dark thinking over what happened since his detention earlier and what Madam Pomfrey told him just a few short hours ago, sleep wouldn't come.

He couldn't believe it. His parents had placed an appearance altering charm on him when he was a baby. No, that wasn't right according to the letter Professor Snape had him read. His mother placed the charm on him. Either way, the letter was true. That meant he actually had a living parent. But no, NO! It wasn't true. I couldn't be. He didn't want it to be true. He didn't need a parent. And Professor Snape as that parent.

When he was little, he remembered he used to lie in his cupboard and dream about having parents and what his life would be like. Whenever he was scared, sick or hurt, he always wanted a parent to make him feel better. He wanted to be cuddled and hugged for no reason at all. He wanted to be wanted. But as he grew up, those dreams died.

He didn't need a parent. He didn't need someone he could take his problems to, someone who would care for him, someone to love him, someone he could love. He lived without that for fifteen years. He didn't need it now.

Besides, the professor hated him. And he hated the professor. The man made his past five and a half years a living hell. Well, except for the various times he saved his life since starting Hogwarts…when he was given his bedroom at Spinners end…when he had his breakdown over Sirius…when he had his first real Christmas two months ago and was given a Christmas gift that actually belonged to the man…when the professor made sure he ate when he was skipping meals…when he didn't wake up from a vision alone…when the professor tenderly and gently tended to his injuries…when the professor made him a bedroom in his personal quarters that was just like the one at Spinners End…when the professor gave him the fastest broom currently being sold…

"NO!" he yelled. The man truly couldn't want to be anything more to him than his professor. And that was the only relationship he wanted with the man. He would never see the man as anything other than his professor. Plus, the way the man was treating him these past few months couldn't make up for the way he was treated for five and a half years. Those horrible years told the truth of how the professor felt about him.

However, as Harry turned onto his left side and rested his head on his left hand, he realized he was crying and wasn't able to stop.

After leaving Harry's room, Severus headed to his study. He had homework to grade before he went to sleep. As he finished the first years' homework, he realized there would be no way he could teach lessons tomorrow...not with having to check on Harry every two hours. He needed to speak with the headmaster. Glancing at the clock, he decided to write a quick note instead. He wouldn't make it back in fifteen minutes. To pass the time, he began grading the sixth years' homework.

Fifteen minutes later, Severus approached the door to Harry's room. Through the sliver of light shining into the room, he could see Harry lying on his left side facing the door. And he was crying. Not just a few tears, but full out crying. The only time he recalled seeing the boy like that was during the Christmas holiday. Knowing this, Severus was instantly on alert and rushed over to the bed, speaking on the way. "Harry? What is it? What hurts?" He was imagining the worst.

Startled and not wanting the professor to see him crying, Harry turned over as quickly as he could to face the other direction.

Severus turned on the lamp. "Harry?"

"Nothing's wrong," came Harry's strangled reply. He knew why the man was in the room and wanted him to leave immediately. "My name is Harry James Potter, I'm sixteen and I think it's still February 5, 1997. I'm fine. Please leave." With the thought of why he had to say those things and why he was saying them to the professor instead of the medi-witch, he then began crying a little harder.

Severus wasn't convinced the boy was fine. "Do you take me for a fool Mr. Potter?" he asked a little too harshly.

Harry flinched at the tone. This was the real professor finally showing himself after being absent a few months. And what was with the man calling him by his first name and then by his last name just a short while later?

Seeing Harry's reaction to his tone of voice, Severus mentally kicked himself. He sat down on the side of the bed. "The state you are in tells me you are not fine. Do you need a stronger pain reliever? You're not due for another dose for another four hours."

"I…" Harry stopped. He didn't want to tell the professor the truth, but he knew he couldn't lie. Not now. "I'm not in any pain. Can you leave now?"

"You know there is one more thing I need to have you do," he responded softly, waiting for Harry to turn onto his back. Without any movement from the boy, except for his hitching shoulders, he spoke again. "Turn over onto your back."

"I feel fine professor," Harry sniffled.

"I'll be the judge of that." Still seeing no movement from Harry, he leaned over and placed a hand on Harry's arm. "Harry," he began reassuringly, "just turn over and this will be over in a minute. Then I'll leave you alone."

Harry wiped a hand across his eyes and turned onto his back, keeping his head facing away from the professor. As he was given instruction on what to do, he tried his best to stop crying, but wasn't able to. He just wished he knew exactly why he was crying in the first place.

When he wasn't watching Harry raise and lower his arms and legs, Severus was intently studying Harry's face. He didn't look like he was in any type of pain so that didn't seem to be the cause of the boy's state. Knowing up until tonight Harry believed Lily's letter to false, he had a good idea that that was why the boy was crying. Though what his thoughts were, he had no idea. And if he were to admit it, he didn't think he wanted to know, lest he be disappointed.

When Harry finished the exercise, Severus stood up from the bed. "Very good. So far your concussion doesn't seem to be causing any complications." He watched sadly as Harry rolled back over to his side, and tried to curl up. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you when it's time for another check."

Without a word from Harry, Severus turned off the lamp and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Once the professor was out of the room, Harry rolled over on to his back. He wiped at his eyes again and just stared at the ceiling trying to calm down. He knew he was acting like a baby. Sixteen year olds were not supposed to cry.

Having finally calmed down fifteen minutes later, Harry realized he needed to use the restroom. Not wanting to bother the professor, and thinking he could find it on his own, he slowly got out of bed and made his way to the hallway. When he was almost to the door, his leg gave a spasm. Already in the condition he was, Harry lost his balance and fell down to the ground, landing on his broken right leg. He hit the door on his way down and it flung back into the wall. He sat there feeling completely helpless. While contemplating what to do now, a shadow loomed over him.

Severus was getting ready to retire for the night when he heard Harry's door bang into the wall. He detoured to Harry's room and saw him sitting on the floor. "Are you all right?"

Harry looked up into the potions master's concerned face. "I was trying to go to the restroom."

"Why didn't you ask for help?"

"I thought I could make it on my own."

Severus began admonishing him. "Without knowing where it was? With knowing you need to be careful because you are healing? Do you want to end up doing more damage to yourself? You need to learn to ask for help."

"I…" Harry turned away as he felt his eyes begin to burn with tears again.

"Come on." Severus reached down and gently pulled Harry to his feet. Once the boy was standing, he put his arm around him and started to help him walk to the restroom.

They only went a few steps before Harry turned slightly and grabbed tightly on to Severus' arm. Landing on his right leg caused the pain to return. "I can't…it hurts too much. Stop please."

Severus stopped walking and turned towards the teary-eyed boy. "It seems you've aggravated your injuries." Without a second thought, he lifted Harry into his arms and started walking towards the restroom. "When we get back to your room, I'll give you another dose of the bone mending potion. And when it's time for the pain reliever, I'll up the dosage."

Once in the man's arms, Harry felt absolutely mortified at having to be carried to the restroom.

A few seconds later, they arrived. Severus pushed the door all the way open with his foot and walked in. When he was by the sink, he set Harry down. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Harry did his business and while waiting for the professor to return to carry him back, he stood in front of the sink, using the counter as support, and stared at his reflection in the mirror, though not really seeing anything including the tears in his eyes. He was wondering if this was what it was like to have a parent care for you.

Severus knocked on the bathroom door a minute later, startling Harry. "Harry, are you ready to go back to your room?"

"Yes," Harry sniffed, and through the mirror watched the door open.

Still surprised to see the tears in Harry's eyes, he approached the boy and gently lifted him into his arms, thinking the tears were a sign that he was still in pain.

Once the professor had him in his arms, Harry immediately turned his body into his and hid his face in the man's chest. At that moment he realized the answer to his thought in the bathroom had to be yes. It was then the tears that had been threatening to fall began their decent.

Before even leaving the restroom, Severus felt wetness on his chest. He looked down and saw that Harry was crying again. "Everything will be all right Harry," he said quietly.

At those words, Harry wrapped his left arm around the man as best he could and gripped the back of his shirt.

When they entered Harry's room, Severus sat Harry on the bed. Once released, Harry immediately dropped his head into his hands and continued crying.

Severus sat down next to him and began to rub his back. "Where are you hurting Harry? You should not be in this much pain."

The second Harry felt the comforting touch his tears began to fall faster. He tried his best to answer through them. "I, I'm not hurting that much. I'll be okay until the next dose of pain reliever."

"You don't look like you're not in that much pain." He continued to rub Harry's back while he spoke. "If it's not the pain, what is wrong? I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Harry shook his head in his hands. "It's nothing." He then took a few deep breathes in attempt to stop crying.

"It is something if it's got you in this state." Severus took hold of one of Harry's hands and lowered it down to his knees.

Harry finally did the same with his other hand a few seconds later, but kept his head down. His tears had almost stopped. There was no way he could tell the professor what was wrong. He couldn't even figure it out himself.

"Please look at me," Severus almost all but pleaded. Getting no response, Severus gently lifted Harry's chin so the two were looking at each other. "What is wrong Harry?"

When Harry made eye contact, he still couldn't get over seeing the professor look at him with worry and concern. This made his tears return, and though he willed them not to fall, a few did.

Seeing the tears, Severus, without a thought running through his head, gently wiped them away with his thumb. This caused more tears to fall.

Harry finally shook his head in response. "I don't know what's wrong. I can't explain. It's something I need to work out on my own."

"Very well," Severus said, slightly disappointed. He placed a hand on Harry's arm. "If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here." He gave Harry's arm a pat then stood up. "You need to take another dose of the bone mending potion." He grabbed the vial of potion he placed on the night table just a few minutes before and handed it to Harry. Harry downed it and gave the vial back. "Now lie down, Harry. You'll never get any rest sitting up." Once Harry was lying in bed, he pulled the blankets up to cover him. "Sleep." After Harry closed his eyes, he left the bedroom for his own, knowing he'd be back in about an hour.

When the potions master left his bedroom, Harry laid there with his eyes closed, trying to figure out what was going on with him. He knew it had to do with the truth of the letter, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what he was feeling. He decided he wouldn't sleep until he figured it out.

Severus returned to Harry's room an hour later to check up on him. When he walked into the bedroom, he was slightly surprised to see that Harry was awake. Or, actually trying to stay awake if he really looked at the boy.

Harry answered the necessary questions without any problems, except for the date. It was now February 6. During the check on Harry's arms and legs, Severus watched Harry yawn quite a bit. The boy was obviously tired, but was trying to stay awake. "Harry, you need to sleep. You will heal faster if you get some sleep. I know you're thoughts are probably running rampant in your head right now, but please sleep. When the morning comes, you'll have a clearer head and will be able to make sense of everything."

Knowing the professor was right, Harry nodded, turned onto his left side and closed his eyes.

Two hours later, a very tired potions master entered Harry's bedroom. He was glad to see the boy was asleep and hated having to wake him. But unfortunately, it was necessary. He turned on the lamp and called the boy's name. Getting no response, he gently shook Harry's shoulder then called his name.

Harry's eyes slowly blinked open. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry to wake you but I need to check on you."

"M'kay," he responded groggily.

Severus went through the list of questions and even added a new one in. Satisfied with the answers, he moved on to check the movement in Harry's arms and legs. Harry was beginning to fall back asleep between movements. "Come on Harry, wake up. Only a few more seconds."

"I'm tired."

"I know you are. Now finish with your left leg and you can go back to sleep." Glad Harry's movement seemed to be normal, as normal as a tired boy's could be, he turned off the lamp. He then ran a hand through Harry's hair and returned to his own bed.

This scene was repeated two more times during the late night and early morning.

After Harry had scarfed down his dessert, against the admonishments of the potions master, and stacked up his homework and books next to his new Firebolt in the living room, he was all set to return to Gryffindor tower without a word to the professor. However, as he walked to the door to leave, he quickly turned around and went back to his bedroom, the professor giving him a quizzical look from the kitchen.

Harry wasn't sure why he went back, but as he stood in the doorway and looked around the bedroom and the mess he left behind, he knew he couldn't leave the room in that shape. Besides, after all the professor had done for him, he could at least pay the man back by cleaning up the room.

He made the bed then folded the extra blanket and set it on the foot of the bed. He picked up the empty potions vials that were lying on the night table and the ones that had rolled to the floor and placed them neatly on the night table. He finished by pushing in the desk chair. Satisfied with the room, he sat down on the bed. As he glanced around the room thinking about finally being able to be back in his own bed in Gryffindor tower, a strange feeling began making an appearance first in his stomach and then the rest of his body. He felt slightly nauseated, anxious and nervous and he didn't know why. He couldn't ever remember feeling like that before.

Trying to shrug it off, he went back out to the kitchen and found Severus putting the tea pot and cups away. He hovered in the entry way for a few seconds watching the man before he pulled out the chair facing Severus and sat down.

"Sir, erm…before I leave, I, I ah…I just…" Harry stammered. The feelings he had in the bedroom were intensifying. "I just wanted to thank you for fixing me up and taking care of me these past few days."

"You have nothing to thank me for Harry." Severus replied, his back to Harry. He then turned around and made eye contact with the boy. "As I had stated on a previous occasion, this is what any parent or guardian would do for their child."

With no idea of what to say in response at the moment, Harry moved his eyes from Severus to the tabletop and ran his thumb over a crack in the tabletop's wood.

Unsure why Harry was still in his quarters, Severus finished putting the items away and took a seat across from Harry. He placed his elbows on the tabletop, clasped his hands together and rested his chin atop his hands while examining the boy in front of him. Harry was a bit pale, sweaty, and a little shaky. He knew for a fact, however, that none of this was due to the boy's injuries. He was pretty much healed. This was from something else.

Harry broke Severus out of his contemplation a few seconds later. "What do I tell my friends?" he asked unexpectedly. "They're going to ask what happened."

Severus didn't respond right away. That was one of the last questions he thought the boy would ever ask him. He then realized the significance of Harry asking his opinion, though whether or not Harry did he did not know. After he got over his initial shock, he looked at Harry levelly. "Tell them the truth."

"What?" Harry asked astounded, eyebrows raised so high they were almost lost in his fringe.

"Tell them the truth," Severus repeated. "That while you were serving your detention with me Wednesday night you were injured. With Madam Pomfrey out of the castle attending a conference, I had the responsibility of tending to you."

"But what…"

"Since every student in this castle perceives me as hating all Gryffindors, especially you, it makes perfect sense that I would not allow your friends access into the hospital wing. One Gryffindor would be more than enough."

Harry's first thought was over the professor's choice in words. His second was it sounded like a plausible explanation to him. "They would believe that," he said still slightly distracted over his first thought. He then returned his attention to the tabletop.

Severus looked to the clock. "Shouldn't you be on your way to your tower? It's almost curfew. You don't want to be caught outside of your common room."

Harry's breathing became more rapid as his uneasiness and nausea returned at those words. He looked to his stack of homework and broom in the living room. "What about my Firebolt?" he blurted out. "Who should I say it's from? Where do I tell them I got it? I definitely can't hide a new broom from my friends. They already know what happened to my other one."

With eyes back on Harry after the next round of questions, Severus went back to studying the boy. Not even an hour ago he was ecstatic to be returning to his tower. Why was he still sitting here? He looked to the broom he gave Harry and then back to boy, still slightly confused. He finally answered a few seconds later. "You received it as a gift."

"Then I'll never see it again." Harry said dejectedly. "When I received my broom from Sirius third year, Hermione made me take it to Professor McGonagall to be sure it wasn't cursed. I didn't see it again for weeks. It would be the same with this one."

Severus considered Harry for a moment, a slim finger on his lips. "I will speak with your Head of House. I will notify her that you received the broom while you were recuperating in my quarters and I had already checked it for curses. There will be no reason for you to be without it."

"But who do I tell them it's from? I can't say I received it from you. I don't think that's wise. Besides, no one would believe me anyway. And if they did, then they wouldn't believe Professor McGonagall trusted it to be curse free."

"Indeed." Severus regarded Harry while thinking. "You can tell your friends Professor Lupin gave you the Firebolt."

"No one would believe that. If Professor Lupin could afford to buy me that broom, then he would definitely be wearing new clothes." Harry's face heated up when he realized what he just said. He just hoped his comment never made it back to the professor.

There was silence for a minute while Severus continued to think. He glanced at Harry every few seconds and noticed the boy never took his eyes off of him. "You can say it was a gift from the headmaster and your Head of House. They knew that Umbridge burned your broom last year and that you needed a new one."

Harry liked the idea but hated it at the same time. "I really don't want to say that. It will reaffirm that I get things just because of who I am. I hate that!" he said, raising his voice at the end.

"Harry, I don't know what else to tell you. I cannot come up with any other reason. I see no other options."

"Fine," Harry said softly. "Since I can't think of anything I guess I'll go with your idea. Thank you, sir."

Nodding, Severus looked at the clock again and then back at Harry. The boy still didn't look like he was itching to leave. "You really should get going Harry."

With slight alarm in his eyes, Harry began blurting out another question. "But I want to know what I should…"

Severus interrupted before Harry could formalize the question. "Harry. You need to go back to your common room. I do not want to see you with another detention. We can speak more later."

Harry began to breathe rapidly again, his anxiety beginning to grow. He again looked to the tabletop, but not before giving a quick glance at the professor.

"What is wrong?" Severus finally asked.

Harry's response was a shrug of his shoulders. He honestly didn't know.

Severus narrowed his eyes at the boy, studying him intently. It then began to dawn on him what might be wrong, though why Harry was like that he couldn't quite comprehend. "Follow me," Severus stated as he stood up, waiting for Harry to do the same.

When Harry was standing, Severus led him through the hall, past the two bedrooms to the wall at the end. He pulled out his wand and waved it at the wall. A few seconds later a door materialized as he returned his wand. "This is a door that leads to a secret corridor in the castle. It was built for the use of the professors guests so they could come and go with as little interaction with the students as possible. The only ones who know about this corridor are the professors, their guests, the headmaster and you."

Harry nodded while looking at the door. He then looked to the professor in confusion.

"You are welcome to come here at any time Harry. These are your quarters too. All I ask is that you give me notice first."

"I don't understand, sir." Did he really hear the man correctly? "Why would you…"

Meeting Harry's eyes, Severus looked at the boy seriously and continued, completely ignoring Harry's comment. "If the corridors are full of students when you would like to come down, I would prefer you use the secret corridor. But please be sure you tell no one. At other times you are welcome to use the corridor past the classroom and my office; knocking for entrance first of course."

Harry nodded, the panic and uneasiness in his stomach releasing a tiny bit.

"Because it is now after curfew, I will walk you part way to Gryffindor tower through the secret passage so you will know how to find it in the future." Severus opened the door and motioned for Harry to exit. "Hold on," he stated then closed the door behind them. "I need to place a locking charm on the door so only you can gain entrance from it. Place your right palm on the center of the door." Once Harry's hand was in position, Severus removed his wand from his robes and said a spell at the door. Both the door and Harry's hand momentarily glowed red.

Severus replaced his wand. "Now all you need to do to gain entrance is place your right palm on the door. It will open at any time for you. However like I said, I would prefer if you notified me first."

Feeling only slightly better, Harry turned around from the door and looked at the potions master. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Let us go. It is getting late." With those words Severus led Harry through the corridor and up through the castle. A few minutes later they rounded a corner next to the staff room. "You know how to get to Gryffindor tower from here I presume?" Severus asked.

Harry nodded reluctantly. "Yes sir."

"Very well. Go straight to your common room. I do not want to hear of you receiving a detention. Remember, if you feel any aches or pains I want you to see me immediately. And you still may be experiencing your leg giving out. Please be careful," he stated with a stern voice and hard look in his eyes. After waiting until he received a confirmation from Harry, which came in the form of another nod, he softened the look in his eyes and voice. "Good night Harry."

"Good night sir," Harry said quietly. He took a deep breath, turned away from the professor and began his trek to Gryffindor tower.

Severus stared at Harry's retreating form, still confused about the boy's behavior since dessert. When Harry disappeared around a corner, Severus turned around and returned to his quarters. Still incredibly tired from having to watch Harry for the past two days, he retired to bed immediately upon entering his quarters.

After leaving the potions master minutes earlier, Harry stood in front of the Fat Lady delaying his entrance into the common room. He wasn't sure how he would handle his friends' questions. However, as he remembered the final words from the professor, he quickly muttered the password and walked through the portrait hole with trepidation.

As expected, the second he entered the common room he was ambushed by Hermione and Ron.

"Harry, there you are. I've been worried sick about you," Hermione stated while giving Harry a hug. She quickly pulled back when she remembered where Harry had been for the past two nights. "How are you feeling?"

Ron came up behind Hermione. "Professor Lupin told us you got hurt in your detention Wednesday night. What did that git do to you?"

Harry looked at his two friends and then motioned for them to follow him to an empty table at the side of the common room. "I'm fine, guys." Seeing the look on their faces, he amended his reply. "Really, I'm fine. Professor Snape fixed me up."

"Yeah, he fixed you up all right. Right after he hurt you," Ron stated angrily.

Hermione kicked Ron under the table, eliciting a yelp from the redhead. "Ron, what is it with you and Professor Snape? Stop insinuating things that haven't happened. Besides, we've been over this hundreds of times. Snape is not after Harry."

Ron's ears turned slightly pink from Hermione's reprimand. "You say that, but I'm not sure you're convinced either."

"There has been no proof, Ron," Hermione responded.

"You must be blind then Hermione. Doesn't he give Harry detentions for no reason, doesn't he taunt him in the corridors, doesn't he make his life a living hell, doesn't he…"

"Okay, okay, you've made your point, but I'm not believing it. Just give it up," Hermione stated exasperated. She then remembered Harry was at the table and blushed slightly. "Sorry Harry."

Harry felt like he was at a tennis match watching the two argue back and forth. Having been slightly entertained by their bickering, he had a small smile on his face. "No problem guys." He gave a yawn.

"So Harry, what did happen during your detention?" Ron asked, his face loosing its slight blush.

"Professor Snape had me rebrew the potion from class. When I was getting the ingredients from one of the top shelves in the storeroom, I fell off the ladder."

"What!" Hermione cried.

"How did you fall off the ladder?" Ron added.

Harry sat there staring at his friends. He really hadn't thought that part through. His friends obviously knew his appearance changed, but they didn't know to what extent. As he looked past Ron's shoulder to the roaring fire in the fireplace, a thought came to his mind. "When I was coming down with the vials I needed, I lost my grip on the ladder. My hands were a bit too full I guess. I ended up bringing four shelves worth of vials and jars and the shelves themselves down with me."

Hermione's mouth was open in shock. "Oh Harry, I hope you didn't hurt yourself that bad. But since you've been gone since Wednesday night, I guess you did."

"Well, I broke my leg, a wrist and rib and I had cuts and bruises all over. I even had a concussion." Seeing the worry on Hermione's face, he added, "It's okay Hermione. I'm fine now. Professor Snape did a good job healing me. But if I feel any pain or anything I have to see him right away."

Ron was as equally shocked as Hermione, though for a different reason. "You mean…you mean you almost destroyed Snape's storeroom and you're still here to talk about it? And he wants to see you if you're still in pain?"

Harry nodded.

At first Ron could only shake his head back and forth. "I don't get it. I really don't get it. You should be dead. With his past, he should have killed you the second he found out you destroyed all his stuff."

"Yeah, well…" Harry gave a huge yawn, glad for its timing. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable. How was he to explain Professor Snape's change in attitude. That was something he wanted to keep to himself for now. "I'm sorry guys. I'm still a little tired." He stood up from the table. "I hope you don't mind, but I think I'll go on up to bed."

"But mate, it's still pretty early," Ron said almost completely outraged.

"Ron," Hermione answered. "Harry's been recuperating as well as having been in Professor Snape's company. No doubt he didn't sleep all that well. I know I wouldn't have." She turned to Harry. "Goodnight Harry."

Harry gave Hermione a grateful smile. "Good night guys." He then turned and made his way up the spiral staircase to his dorm room. As he changed for bed, he was glad with the way his return to the tower went. After getting in bed, he closed the curtains and lay down. As he lay there he realized some uneasiness was still present in his stomach.

~SH~

Severus awoke early, as was customary, on Saturday morning. After showering and getting ready for the day, he stepped out of his room and turned towards Harry's bedroom to check on the boy. It wasn't until he was two steps away from the door that he remembered he no longer had to check on Harry, that he had gone up to his tower the night before. Feeling foolish, he turned around and went to his kitchen to make a cup of tea to sip while perusing the day's Daily Prophet.

As he tried reading, his thoughts strayed to Harry. He began wondering how the boy slept, if he was in any pain, and more importantly, how he handled the pressure of his friends' endless questions. If Granger was anything like she was in class with her friends, he knew Harry would have been extremely uncomfortable. Now he wished he talked more to the boy. Maybe that was what Harry wanted to talk about when he made the boy go up to Gryffindor tower last night.

Severus grimaced after taking a sip of his tea and after glancing at the clock, figured he may as well head up to the Great Hall for breakfast instead of reheating the now ice-cold contents of his cup. He dumped the liquid in the sink and washed the cup out before leaving his quarters. As he entered the giant room from the side entrance and walked to the staff table, his eyes immediately traveled to the Gryffindor table and he began searching for Harry. He spotted Granger and Weasley seated near the entrance to the hall but Harry was not with them as expected. That was extremely interesting to Severus. The three were almost always together. Having reached the staff table, he sat down and served himself breakfast. As he began eating, he again searched the Gryffindor table. There was no sign of Harry.

Severus almost gave a chuckle as a thought entered his mind. In the past, while he was in the Great Hall he never wanted to see Harry Potter. And if the boy was missing he was ecstatic and not concerned in the slightest where the boy could be. Now over the last few months he was purposely seeking the boy out and was extremely concerned when he could not find him. Though this time he knew he really had nothing to worry about. No doubt the boy was catching up on some much needed rest. He wouldn't start worrying until breakfast came and went and there was no sign of him. However that didn't stop him from looking expectantly at the doors every time they were opened.

Having finished his breakfast, Severus refilled his coffee cup and sat at the table taking sips every few minutes. Most of the students had come and gone, as well as the professors. Unfortunately he had to come up with an excuse when Dumbledore asked him why he was still in the room. In the past he usually ate and left immediately. It was only until recently, when he discovered that Harry had been skipping meals, that he stayed at all meals until he was sure Harry had arrived and was eating. And based on observations of the boy in the past, Severus was about 98 percent sure when the boy would be in the Great Hall. This helped him greatly in avoiding questions like the headmaster's; that was up until today.

It wasn't until twenty minutes to the end of breakfast that the door opened and Severus spotted a wet-headed Harry enter the room. He took a sip of his coffee and began to observe the boy. Harry looked up and down the Gryffindor table, no doubt looking for his friends. When his face fell slightly, Severus felt a pang in his chest at the sight. Harry then walked slowly to an empty spot at the table near the staff table, and sat down, his head resting in his right hand. He was staring at his empty plate and had yet to serve himself any breakfast.

Having spent a lot of time observing Harry over the past few months Severus could see how miserable the boy was. He began wondering what made him look so down. Maybe his friends didn't accept the new broom? That would be something he knew Weasley would hold against Harry.

Seeing as Harry hadn't started making any effort to eat and breakfast was almost over, Severus discretely pulled out his wand and waved it under the table in Harry's direction. He gave a slight smirk as Harry jumped slightly when some sliced fruit, scrambled eggs and a piece of toast appeared on his plate. He felt a small amount of satisfaction when instead of looking around the table to see who gave him the food, Harry immediately looked up to the staff table. The boy had obviously realized it was always him who made sure he ate. The two made eye contact with Harry giving a small smile. Severus barely inclined his head in response as there was no need to draw attention. Inside he felt gratified. It was the first time Harry had ever acknowledged him. It was a good sign.

When Harry scooped up a forkful of eggs from his plate, Severus stood up, but not before jotting a quick note on a piece of parchment he transfigured from a napkin and fork. Instead of leaving the Great Hall through the side door, as was customary, Severus walked between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables, and stopped next to Harry only long enough to drop the folded piece of parchment by his juice glass. He then continued on his way to his office.

~SH~

Harry was so caught up in his eating that he didn't notice when the professor walked up to him until he saw the folded piece of parchment being placed by his juice glass. Once the man walked away he set down his fork and picked up the parchment to read.

When he was finished reading, he looked up from the parchment towards the doors to the Great Hall and stared at the back of the black robed professor as he exited the room. Once the professor was out of sight, he turned his attention back to the note. He read it one more time before folding it up, placing it in his jacket pocket and continuing with his breakfast, all the while being unable to get a handle on his feelings. They were all over the place.

After waking up this morning he was excited to finally be able to hang out with Ron and Hermione. He had missed them when he had been bedridden. However, his excitement immediately turned to disappointment when he realized they were not waiting for him in the common room or the Great Hall.

As much as he didn't want to answer any more questions about being hurt or about his appearance, which were bound to come up since they always did, Harry really wanted to be with Ron and Hermione today. All his feelings about everything that happened over the past few months had come bubbling up last night making it difficult to sleep. He really wanted to talk with someone. He knew he couldn't go in to detail, but he figured he'd feel better talking about some of the things. He would have thought that after he had been hurt and healing for two days his friends would want to hang out with him. Guess his friends didn't care all that much. Even though they constantly denied it, they were too hung up with each other to even think about him.

Then there were his feelings about Professor Snape. He wasn't sure what to make of them.

He looked to his plate full of food. Ever since returning from the Christmas holiday, there were times when he wasn't eating and food appeared on his empty plate. The first few times it happened, he thought it was his friends looking out for him. He always had a habit of forgetting to eat and Hermione brought it up on more than one occasion. But it turned out to be the potions master. Harry always tried to ignore that fact and never offered any type of acknowledgement, but this morning he had a really hard time doing that. Maybe it was because the man spent two days taking care of him…maybe it was because he was his…claimed to be his…. He still wasn't able to finish his thought. Whatever it was, Harry did acknowledge the professor. And the concern he saw in the man's eyes stirred something deep within him on top of the slight uneasiness he had from last night.

As he stabbed a piece of melon on his plate he was glad to know that at least one person still cared about him. And surprisingly he didn't mind in the least that it was the potions master. The professor had done so much for him in the last three days; the last three months actually.

Five minutes later, after being pushed out of the Great Hall before he finished eating breakfast so the room could be cleaned, Harry meandered around the castle for a few hours before deciding to visit Hagrid. It had been a while since he had seen the half-giant and though Hagrid never really offered any advice he could take, he always felt better after they talked.

When he got close enough to the hut he noticed there was no smoke coming from the chimney, but he knocked on the wooden door anyway. When there was no acknowledgement from inside he began to feel disappointed again. Why was it that whenever he needed someone to talk to, there was no one around? Harry turned around and walked back up to the castle feeling down-hearted.

With his head down, he was about to walk up the steps to enter the castle when he ran into someone. He fell backwards, landing on the ground with a thud, and scraped his palms when he tried to stop his fall.

"Harry, I didn't see you there. Are you all right?"

Still slightly dazed from falling, Harry shook his head to clear the stars. Then he looked up to the concerned face of Remus. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just wasn't watching were I was going." He placed a stinging hand on the ground to stand up.

"Here, let me help you." Remus grabbed Harry's other hand and helped him stand up. "I'm sorry about that. I guess I should also look where I'm walking." He gave a small chuckle. Once Harry was on his feet, the two walked into the castle. "Actually I'm glad I ran into you. I heard about your accident in detention."

"Oh. Well, I'm…"

"So what exactly happened? I was only told you were hurt, and because Madam Pomfrey was out, Professor Snape had to heal you. You stayed in his quarters, correct?"

Before Harry had a chance to respond, another student whom Harry recognized as a second-year Ravenclaw, interrupted. "Professor Lupin, I've been looking all over for you. I know its Saturday but I have a question on the essay you set yesterday. Could I speak with you please?"

Harry immediately knew Remus was going to leave with the student. It was just like with everything that happened today. First his friends abandoned him, then Hagrid wasn't there when he needed him, and now Remus, the only one whom he could really discuss everything with, was brushing him off to tend to a student. Harry took a few steps back from the two.

Remus looked to Harry. "I'm sorry Harry. Can we finish our discussion later?"

Harry replied half-heartedly, not looking at him. "Yeah, I guess." To say he was disappointed would be an understatement.

"Thank you Harry. I'll see you later then?" Without waiting for a response or even a backward glance at Harry, Remus led the student to his office.

Harry watched the two walk away feeling more hurt than he thought possible. He then turned and walked in the other direction, straight to the stairs leading to the astronomy tower. Once he reached the top he sat on one of the ledges and brought his knees up, wrapping his arms around them. As he stared out at the trees blowing in the breeze and the white puffy clouds floating by he wished all his feelings and thoughts would join them. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so hurt.

He sat up on the ledge for an hour when he decided he was feeling a little warm with the sun beating down on him. He took off his jacket and as he folded it and placed it next to him on the ledge, he heard a crinkling coming from the pocket. It was then he remembered the note Professor Snape gave him at breakfast. He pulled it out and read it again.

If you would like to talk, I'm available this afternoon after lunch. You may come down to our quarters. No need to send a response. I will be there all afternoon.

How did the professor know he wanted someone to talk to? More importantly, did he really want to talk with the professor?

He turned his attention back to the floating clouds and sat there for a while longer. When the sky started to turn grey, the wind got colder and he started shivering, he pulled on his jacket and left the astronomy tower.