Walking downstairs groggily, Snape immediately headed towards the kitchen for breakfast. His eyes narrowed on the messy clump of hair lying on the kitchen table. What in Merlin's name was Harry doing downstairs so early? From what Snape had ascertained so far in the month they had lived together, the fourteen-year-old loved to sleep in. However, there Harry was, asleep at the table. Placing a hand on the young man's back, he gently shook Harry awake.

"Mum?" the young man asked sleepily.

"She's still upstairs sleeping, Mr. Potter," Snape replied in what he hoped was a kind voice. He grimaced instantly when the boy instantly sat up and went stiff as a board. Clearly, the boy still hated his guts. Shaking his head, he walked away from Harry to head to the stove.

"I don't like you," Harry spoke quietly behind him.

"That much is obvious, Mr. Potter," he drawled.

"I don't like you sleeping with my mother either."

Before Snape could even reply back to that, Harry had already spoken again. The boy soon spoke in hate-filled sentences. It was understandable. Really, it was. Harry was just concerned for his mother, and Snape had done nothing over the four years they had known anything to help calm his fears. Snape was a bastard to Harry. He had been for years. Even a zebra couldn't change is stripes that quickly, but there Snape was, trying to change his stripes.

"You think I don't know what all this is about, Snape? Offering your home to us out of the goodness of your heart?" He then harshly scoffed. "Get it through your head, Snape. My mum loves my dad. She always has, and she always will. So no matter how many times you wash your hair, Snape, she's not going to jump into your bed. You're still going to be the same greasy git as before." His eyes then darkened. "And you're going to be just as alone and miserable as you've always been because you will always be a goddamn bastard. You should have died, not my dad."

"Harry!" yelled Lily as soon as she rushed into the room. "Apologize to Severus this minute!"

"Like hell I will, Mum," the fourteen-year-old snapped. "I hope that bastard dies!"

"Harry James Potter!" Lily shouted. "You will listen to me." Her eyes had hardened as she glared at her son. What the hell had happened to her son? "Sev was kind enough to offer us his home for awhile, and this is how you repay him, Harry?"

"It wasn't out of kindness, Mum," Harry replied through grit teeth. "The bastard wants to get in your knickers."

"Do not use that language around me, Harry James!"

"And I'm starting to think you want him to." Harry then added a second later, "Mother." That one word was filled with disgust, revulsion, fury, hatred, and any other intense feeling he had.

"Go to your room now!" Lily ordered, shaking with fury.

Sending extremely hateful glares to both Snape and his mother, the fourteen-year-old then sneered before whirling around and rushing out of the room. He'd gladly leave them. He didn't want to be forced to watch this spectacle anymore. Gritting his teeth, he stormed towards the bookshelves. He had to get away from them. He just had to.

However, Harry's thoughts were so dark that he failed to realize that he was walking towards the wrong bookshelf. Wham! He slammed face first into the sturdy bookshelf and fell to the ground. He realized his error right away and leapt up before attempting it again. This time he passed through the bookshelf, making him rush up the rickety old stairs. His door slammed shut behind him a moment later.

~POL~

Snape leaned against the counter, unable to move. He knew that Harry didn't like him, but he never realized that hatred would then pass onto Lily. He watched the redheaded witch sob with grief from her son's words. This strife between mother and son had been his fault.

"I apologize, Lily," he softly said. His voice was rough as he spoke.

"No, no, don't apologize for him, Sev." Lily then pushed herself up from the kitchen table and angrily swiped the tears from her green eyes. "I don't know what the hell got into him just now. But I sure as hell will find out." Whirling around, she attempted to storm towards her son's bedroom. How dare he speak to Sev like that!

When a hand suddenly latched onto her upper arm, she stopped. Slowly, the hand turned her around so she'd face him. She couldn't help it. She engulfed him in a fierce embrace. She just wanted Sev to hold her—to tell her that everything would be all right—that she was a good mother. Her sobs poured out of her as he gently rubbed circles into her back to soothe her. She was a good mother, wasn't she? She had loved Harry, right? Why? Why had this happened?

"Shh, Lil, it's all right." The rich baritones surrounded her—embraced her—even completed her. "Shh, Lil, everything is going to be all right."

As she stayed in his arms, she inhaled deeply and found herself overcome with more emotions. Could it be that she had in fact fallen for Sev? Perhaps she had always loved him, and James was her second choice. Maybe Harry was even right. After all, the prospect of being intimate with Sev wasn't as upsetting in her mind as she thought it would be. Hell, she had even been dreaming about that for months now. Did she ever love James? She truly didn't know anymore.

"Thank you, Severus," she quietly said, raking her teeth over her bottom lip. She then sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes again. She needed that. She needed someone to tell her everything was going to be all right. Hell, she just needed someone, and it was just a treat that it was Sev who had held her and told her everything would be fine. "I-I'm going to go speak with Harry now." The awkwardness had returned again. She knew why. Sev likely even knew. And they both knew Harry did.

"Would you like me to accompany you?"

"No thank you, Sev," she responded, shaking her head. "I think I need to speak to him alone." She watched him incline his head before he pulled back from her to let her go. In her heart, she didn't want to leave, though. However, a moment later, she slowly turned away and walked from him. She needed to do this. She needed to speak to Harry and get him to understand.

Passing through the bookshelf, she silently walked up the lonely, rickety old stairs. Lightly knocking against her son's door, she opened it a moment later. Walking into the room, she gasped instantly as the light overtook the darkened room. Drawing in a panicky breath, she stared at the opened window with the curtain swaying in the breeze.

"SEV!" she screamed, feeling her emotions take over again. Her son was gone! Sinking to her knees on the floor, she clutched her chest at the sight of the lifeless room. "SEV!" she cried out again through choked sobs.

"Lily? Lily, what's wrong? Lily?"

She then felt herself being lifted up and turned so she wasn't facing the empty room. Tears streaked her already reddened cheeks. She shook with unrestrained grief.

"He's gone," she cried. "Harry's gone. My son's gone!" She then stared into Sev's eyes, noticing the confusion before he glanced into the room. "Why?" she demanded. "Why? WHY?" she screamed, pounding her hands against his chest.

"I'll find him, Lily," he replied with fierce determination. His hands immediately held her face. "I swear to you that I'll find him." He then released her, focusing entirely on finding Harry. He whirled around and rushed downstairs and out the front door. Was that boy determined to kill his mother again?

Drawing his ebony wand, he nonverbally casted the Point Me spell. He then set off down the cobbled street that looked like any other cobbled street in this neighborhood. By his estimate, Harry had at least a fifteen minute head start. Luckily, however, the boy didn't have a portkey and didn't know how to apparate so he clearly couldn't get too far.

After ten minutes of non-stop following of the spell, it suddenly stilled. Harry was close, but he didn't see the boy anywhere. He stopped and glanced around. It was just more buildings like the ones on Spinner's End. There were no signs of Harry.

Breathing through his nose to keep his approach as silent as possible, he finally glanced down. His eyes instantly caught the two small drops of crimson. His heart constricted instantly. Harry was hurt! It shouldn't have surprised him, though. Depending on how the boy went out the window, he'd likely still have hit the ground below. His eyes then darted at the cobbled stones, searching for more blood droplets. He found some a second later.

So following the trail, he set off again. He needed to find Harry. Who knew how badly the boy was hurt. The fact that he was just find droplets was good in terms of blood loss, but the boy likely had other injuries beside that wound. He had to have. Snape knew for a fact about that. He himself had attempted to run away once or twice from Spinner's End on bad nights. And every time he did, he ended up hurt worse than if he would have just stayed.

Glancing up, he then stopped. There leaning against a brick wall was Harry all bent over. Throwing caution to the side, he apparated directly to the boy's side. He then threw up a quick Disillusionment charm followed by a Silencing one.

"Where are you hurt?" He said nothing when the boy's head jerked up and the familiar holly wand was thrust into his gut.

"Get away from me, Snape!" snarled Harry.

"I can't do that. Now, where are you hurt?"

"What do you care? You probably think it's fun—"

"Do not presume to know my thoughts, Mr. Potter," he replied quietly. "And I care because you are Lily's son."

"Oh, but you never cared before, though, Snape," he snapped. "I was always James' son before."

"And you are still his son."

"Yeah, well, that's good you remember that, Snape. Because I won't ever be your son!"

"No, you won't," Snape agreed. "As little as you think of me, Mr. Potter, I won't ever claim that you're not Lily's son with James."

"Good," snapped the fourteen-year-old childishly.

"However, you should be aware, though, Harry, that I do have certain feelings for your mother."

"She loves my dad, not you!"

"Yes, she does," Snape concurred. "And I know that, Harry." He then sighed. "You are perhaps partly correct. It was not necessarily out of just kindness I offered my home to you and your mother." He noticed the smug mixed with disgust look on Harry's face instantly. "I offered my home to your mother as a way to be closer to her."

"So you do want to get into her—"

"Do not use that vulgarity when speaking about your mother, Mr. Potter," he growled. He might be a bit more pleasant with the boy, but he would not tolerate that from him. "I admit to loving your mother. But you are correct. She loves James. She doesn't love me. So you have nothing to worry about, Mr. Potter. My attempts have failed and will continue to do so because your father won her in the end."

Snape watched another emotion flicker over the boy's face. However, he didn't even attempt to discern it. He just pressed forward with what he was going to say.

"I regret how poorly I've treated you the past four years at Hogwarts. I sincerely regret how I allowed my grudge and perhaps even jealousy for your father to cloud my actions and words concerning you. You clearly are not your father. You are neither arrogant nor lazy. You were not the spoilt prince I believed you to be with the Dursleys either. I am truly sorry for my hate-filled words our past four turbulent years. However, perhaps you have noticed lately that I am attempting to make up for that." He instantly cut the boy off when Harry's mouth opened. "While it was the result of your mother's return, it is not a part of my plan to win your mother over. I believe my words to her and my past doings are enough to do so." He then sighed. "I understand it is…unsettling to you to imagine your mother with me. Therefore, I shall leave her in peace and allow her to remain true to your father." The words were bitter on Snape's tongue, but he'd do it for Harry. After all, he knew he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell to be with Lily like that. She loved James. It was as simple as that. "Now, perhaps we can return to your mother before she becomes even more hysterical?" He gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, apparating them directly into the kitchen.

"You found him!" Lily's arms then engulfed her son as she gave him a fierce hug. "Don't ever do that to me again, Harry!" she scolded, crying against her son. She then sobered for a few seconds to dole out his harsh punishment.

"Lil," Snape said, cutting her off. "Harry just doesn't want to lose you, and he feels as if he is with me trying to exploit all our time together." He watched her surprised look, but said nothing.

In his mother's arms, Harry stood there ramrod. Snape was helping? Snape, Severus Snape, the man who hated him for years, was helping him? He then sighed. Maybe he was wrong about the man.