Why was the headmaster making Snape do this? His skills could be much better used elsewhere. There was no need for Snape to baby sit Harry Potter. Dumbledore wanted Snape to spend the day with Harry. Dumbledore had bought tickets to a Quidditch game and forced them go. There was some excuse in the conversation about needing to keep Harry safe and that he should see a real Quidditch game, but Minerva was not able to accompany him. That left Snape to take the boy. They had begun to walk through Hogsmeade on the way back to the castle and Harry had been talking non-stop about the game.

"That was so amazing. Did you see that incredible save that Hunter made? He just barely caught it. That Ravensdale is a dirty player. He hit Anderson in the head with that Bludger. I hope that he is okay because that looked like it hurt a lot. The seekers were amazing. Thompson tricked Turner into following him, then Thompson flipped around and caught the snitch. That was blood brilliant!"

"Watch your language, Mr. Potter." Admonished Snape. "You may be out of school but that does not give you the right to use disgusting language."

"Sorry, Professor. Did you play Quidditch when you were in school?" The brat had to stop talking, for the sake of the potion master's sanity. "I only ask because…well why would you take me if you did not enjoy it?"

"If I answer your question, will you be quiet till we get back to the castle?"

"I'll try."

"Yes I did play Quidditch, but that was long ago. I played chaser and I stopped playing after I had broken my nose three times in one game. I have never played since and I still somewhat enjoy to watch the game. It was; however, not my choice to take you. The Headmaster had directed me to take you and I was unable to say no."

Then there was silence. The boy did not speak, thankfully. If the boy had kept speaking, Snape may not have heard the sounds of the footsteps that were following him and the boy. The sound made the hair on Snape's neck stand on end. Turning his head, Snape surveyed the crowd that had gathered at Hogmeade, but he could see no one of any particular danger. He knew that they were there, though. The pressure began to build and Harry could feel that something was wrong. Why did Snape continue to look around like a paranoid crazy?

"What's wrong, sir?" Harry questioned.
But Snape did not answer.

"What's…." Harry began to ask.

"Shhh!" Snape hissed.

Suddenly, there was an explosion and Snape pulled Harry behind a large box of crates. Something told Snape that they would be there. They would try to kill the boy who took their master to his demise. Adrenaline coursed through Snape's body, but he was very calm. "Stay down!" Snape shouted, pulling the boy back to the ground.

"You are to stay right here and you do not move unless I tell you to." Snape demanded as he looked into the boy's fear-filled eyes. Snape jumped up and began shooting spells at the death eaters in the village. He had to buy some time because he had to think. Fight or Flight. That was the question that Snape struggled with as he fought. Should he stay and fight so that Potter could have time to get to the castle? Or should he apparate with Harry to the gates of Hogwarts? It was the primal sense of Fight or Flight that caused Snape to overlook the spell that was speeding toward him. The spell hit the potions master in the arm, knocking him to the ground. Snape crashed hard and he could see Harry begin to get up to check on him.

"Stay right there, Potter?" Snape hissed in a whisper.

He could just see the feet of an approaching death eater underneath a cart across the street. Snape waited for the right time, before sweeping the death eater off of his feet with a well placed spell. Snape crawled behind the cover that Harry had been using as well.

"Potter, listen to me right now. You are going to make your way over to that alley. Go to the nt street and run as fast as you can toward the castle. When you get there, find Dumbledore and tell him what has happened." Snape instructed as he shot spells over the top of the crates.

"No." Harry replied.

"Are you defying an order that I just gave you?"

"No, but I want to help you."

A first year wants to fight a group of death eaters, who are more magically advanced than a first year. The idea made Snape want to laugh, but right now was not the time.

"Potter, if you do not leave now, then you will be serving detention with me for months. This is for your safety and you are to go NOW!" Snape yelled over the noise of the battle as he jumped to a standing position.

He did not wait to see if the boy would follow his directions, but an abysmal feeling swept over Snape, which told him that Harry had followed his directions. Nothing that they death eaters did told Snape that they had seen Harry run, so that meant that he was going to safety. The only question was if Harry could get there fast enough to ensure that Snape, the wounded potions master, would make it back to Hogwarts alive?

Harry ran as fast as he could toward Hogwarts. He didn't stop till he reached the headmaster's office, even though there were yells of protest coming from behind him. The statue in front of the headmaster's office moved aside, even though Harry did not yell the password. Without thinking about what could be going on behind the door, Harry burst into the office.

"Dumbledore!" Harry shouted as he entered.

The headmaster stood up behind his desk, seeing the fear in the child's eyes.

"Snape….Hogsmeade….injured…fight!" Harry shouted between breaths.

Dumbledore looked at Harry horrified as he walked toward the door.
"Harry, you are to stay here and not leave my office." The headmaster spoke as he pushed Harry away from the door, shut it and disappeared.

"Wait….Professor." Harry shouted as he tried feverishly to open the door, but it would not budge.
Looking around, Harry tried to figure out what to do. Snape could be seriously hurt and he was fighting alone. Harry did not want to admit it, but Snape did an amazing job fighting when Harry was there. He took that one…..what was he? Who started the fight? Harry had no idea, but he knew that there were a lot of people in that fight.

Why was it that he and Snape had been targeted? There were so many questions that ran through Harry's head that it made him dizzy.
Harry wanted to go and sit in a chair, but he was unsure if his legs would work properly. He had run so fast for so long. Great stabs of pain riddled Harry's side every time he took a rattling breath. All of this combined told Harry that the floor was okay. When Harry had lowered himself to the floor, he laid down and pressed his hot face to the cool stone floor. It felt so relieving and it allowed Harry to forget the questions that were trapped in his mind.

Harry had no idea how long he had been there and that was what caused him to sit up. His breathing became steadier and less painful as time went on and Harry had to question how long he had been there. What felt like ten or fifteen minutes could have been ten or fifteen seconds. Harry began to wonder if Dumbledore had forgotten about him, but the door crashed open.

Albus Dumbledore charged into the room, holding up Severus Snape. When they reached the desk, Dumbledore sat the potions master on it. Both Professors had red on there hands and Snape had it down one of his arms. Harry jumped up and ran to join the two grown ups.

"Are you going to be okay, Professor?" Harry questioned.

"I will…."Snape answered before taking a sharp breath that was caused by pain.

"Sorry." Harry heard Dumbledore, who was taking off Snape's cloak, whisper.

"I will be fine." Snape finished.

"What happened?" Albus questioned.

"Death eaters." Snape replied as Dumbledore began to role up the injured man's sleeve

"What are death eaters?" Harry questioned.

"They are followers of You Know Who." Snape responded before turning back to Dumbledore. "They acted much braver than I have seen them since he was destroyed. They would never start a fight in the middle of the daytime with me around Harry. They know better than to try it."

"How many?"

"I lost count at sixteen. I definitely know that there were more though."

All the men stopped to look at Snape's arm when his sleeve was pulled up all the way. All along his arm, there were large gashes and it looked like his arm had been burned.

"They only got me a couple times, but most of them missed their target."

"Why do you think they attacked, Professor?"

"I do not know, Potter." Snape answered before turning to Dumbledore. "It was very bold of them to attack in daylight. It was more bold of them to attack without orders. Unless he gave it to them before he was destroyed, but I would have heard about it."

"Just be glad that you are okay, Severus. And be glad that Harry is okay as well."

"I am." Snape spoke out loud. "Believe me." He then whispered under his breath.
The second part of his sentence was not heard because of Harry's sudden outburst.

"Why wouldn't you let me help?" Harry shouted.

Snape turned to Harry in confusion. No, Snape knew exactly what Harry was talking about, but he was caught off guard.

"I could have helped you and you may not have been hurt."

"There were at least 16 death eaters who attacked us today. I was lucky that I am not dead. I am a full grown wizard and I could not defeat them all." Snape stood up off the desk. "You are a mere boy of 11, who by my observation, has no significant magical talent. You and I would both be dead if you chose to fight."

"I didn't choose to fight, for you prohibited me from fighting. I stopped You-Know- Who when I was just a baby. His followers can't be that hard!"

"You are as arrogant as your father, if not more." Snape sneered. "The death eaters are one of the most cruel groups of human beings. They have tortured many relentlessly, driving some to insanity. As for You-Know-Who, you defeated him on a fluke. You can thank your mother for that."

"My mother was dead before he tried to kill me."

"Your mother sacrificed her life for you. It is because of her sacrifice that you are alive! Had your father been alive, he would have understood what her sacrifice meant. He would have understood this even if he was an arrogant bastard. If you do not understand what your mother did for you, then it is you who should be dead."

"Don't say a word against my parents!" Harry shouted, but Snape continued on speaking.

"As for you choosing to fight, I watched you cower behind a large number of crates like a small little girl. Where was your Gryffindor bravery then?" Harry did not answer so Snape kept speaking. "You also defied an order that I gave you and for that, you should receive a detention."

Harry now had something to say, and didn't think twice about saying it.

"How was it that you beat them? You said that you were lucky, but I think you just talked to them. I know that you were a death eater, so why not kill me. You-Know-Who might even congratulate you. You have no right to say anything about my parents, either. You know nothing about my parents!"

"Oh is that so. Your father was an arrogant, witless, and trouble-making arse. Your mother was at one point my best friend. She loved me and not James Potter."

"She didn't love you. No one can love you because you are a greasy haired git."

Snape reached forward and grabbed Harry by the collar. "Watch what you say, boy."

"It's the truth and you know it. You probably gave her a love potion or something."
All Snape could see was red. The boy had struck a nerve. Snape didn't even realize that he was pulling his arm back.

"Hit me, Snape, I dare you!" Harry shouted.
The words had registered to Snape, who seemed to snap out of a trace-like state. His arm had been stopped halfway between his own body and Harry's face. God damn his Snape temper. Harry's face was filled with fear.

"Harry…" Snape whispered. "I'm sorry."

"No, you've always wanted to do that. I can't believe I was worried about you." Harry wrestled away from Snape. "The Death Eaters should have killed you!" Harry shouted, running out of the office.

Harry felt like he could run forever and that's what he wanted to do. He wanted to run as far away from the school as possible and never come back. He was running down the main staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. There was no one there to stop him, so he was at the great hall quickly. He didn't realize what happened when he was thrown to the ground. Had Snape come back to fight Harry again?

"What do you want!" Harry shouted, his voice echoing back to him in the empty hall.

"What'd I do, Harry?" Hagrid questioned.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hagrid. I wasn't yelling at you." Harry stood up wiping tears from his eyes.

"Yer alright, Harry?" He questioned. "Yer really shouldn' be out after dark, ya know."

"I'm fine Hagrid. I was just at the headmaster's office."

"Why yer runnin' then? Yer seem righ' bit angry. Is there something wrong?"

"NO….I…um…" Harry stammered, looking for a good explanation.

"Harry." A voice called from behind him.

The boy whirled around and the look on his face was filled with poison. Dumbledore was standing just beyond the entrance of the great hall.

"Harry, can you please follow me?" Dumbledore questioned, and without waiting for an answer, he walked away.

Harry felt like he should still run, but something told him to follow Dumbledore. He said goodbye to Hagrid and followed the headmaster into an empty classroom. When both men were in the room, Dumbledore tapped the doorknob with his wand then pointed it at the door.

"We can speak freely now. Harry, I would like you to explain what happened in my office just now."

"You know exactly what happened." Harry shouted. "Snape almost punched me, which is something he's wanted to do since I got here. He's been out to get me from day one."

"Harry, Professor Snape is a teacher at this school. His number one priority is the safety of the students. That is beside the point, however. Why do you think he tried to hit you?"

"He was angry at me." Harry stated rather harshly. He was seething in anger.

"Did you force him to be angry at you?"

"He's always angry at me."

"Harry." Dumbledore warned.

"But he is." Harry informed the headmaster.

"Does he have a right to be angry at you after the names that you called him?" Dumbledore raised his voice a little at the end.

"Yes, but he doesn't have a right to hit me."

"True." Dumbledore confessed. "Why do you think he would not allow you to fight alongside him?"

"He's a death eater and he didn't want to be seen with me."

"Harry, you have a right to think these things, but you DO NOT have the right to say them to his face!" Dumbledore raised his voice even more, causing Harry to become intimidated. "Do you think that you were being disrespectful?"

"Yes, but he's disrespectful to me as well. He called me an arrogant bastard."

"Professor Snape has issues letting go of old rivalries." Dumbledore stated. "How do you that your mother did not love Professor Snape?"

"I don't but…" Harry began to argue, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Do you think that Professor Snape is sorry about the way that he acted?"

Harry did not answer, thinking to himself that Snape was incapable of feeling sorry about anything.

"I do not wish for you and Professor Snape to be rivals. You never know when you might need his help. I want you to go down to the dungeons and apologize to him."

Harry almost groaned at the idea of apologizing to the overgrown bat. "I know that you feel that you were not at fault, but two wrongs will only lead to a fight. So go now." Dumbledore ordered, pointing at the door.

Harry walked out of the room unhappy. He didn't want to see Snape today, tomorrow, or for the rest of his life.

Snape couldn't figure it out, no matter how long he thought about it. Harry Potter is a disrespectful brat, but why was the potions master so hurt by the look in the boy's eyes? Snape had been so angry with himself for letting his temper get the better of him. He had cursed multiple times in his quarters that night. He damned his father for being a alcoholic with a temper, one which had been passed on to his son. When Snape was young, he told himself he would never become his father. Now that he had acted out like his father would have in one of his drunken fits, Snape was terrified. Dumbledore had assured him that he was not like his father, but there was always the doubt in his mind that could not be put out.

"Professor." He heard someone call as the door to his classroom opened.

What does Potter want now?

"He probably wants to rub it in some more, the ungrateful bastard." Snape thought.

Snape had lost some blood in the battle earlier and even though he would like to keep his private quarters just that, he had no energy to get out to his classroom. He knew that he would have to talk to the brat eventually. It must be sooner than later. Snape pointed his wand at the door which led to the classroom.

"Get in quickly, Potter." Snape snarled.
Footsteps clicked on the floor and when they had become muffled, Snape spelled the door shut.

"What do you want, Potter?" Snape growled as Harry came to the front of the couch that Snape had occupied.

"I wanted….Are you okay, Professor?" Harry questioned back.

Snape was really pale.

"I thought you wanted me dead twenty minutes ago."

"It's just…..you look very pale."

` "Thanks to my attempts of rescuing your ungrateful arse, I managed to lose a large amount of my blood. That does not answer my question. What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I had no right to say any of those things because it was rude and unfair. I know nothing of your personal relationships and I was being a disrespectful arse.

Snape stared at the boy, puzzled by the turn of events.

"Did the headmaster put you up to this?"

"No. I just thought that you would make a better ally than enemy."

"You're right, Potter. Thank god your have a fraction of your mother's smarts."

An awful silence fell between the two men.

"Are you just going to stand there, or is there something else, Potter?" Snape broke the silence after a few seconds.

"Well….it's….I."

"Spit it out now, Potter!"

"Did you really know my mother?"

Harry was obviously nervous about asking the question.

"I thought you knew this answer?" Snape mocked.

"I said I'm sorry for what I said. I want to hear you tell me. Did you really know my mother?"
Snape looked at the boy. His memories of Lily were sacred, much like the Parthenon was to the Greeks. Snape definitely didn't want to tell the boy.

"I know that you may not want to tell me, Professor. I only ask because I don't know anything about my parents. No one tells me anything and if they do, they lie to me. I just want to know who my parents were."

Why does the boy have to play that card?

"Your mother….she was my best friend. Your father….was my worst enemy. That is really all you need to know. They were good people and fought for a good cause. Your mother sacrificed herself and she knew that others had sacrificed a lot. I was one of those that your mother knew about."

"What do you mean?"

"I have made some choices…..which changed a lot of people's lives. For better and for worse. I am still making those choices and hopefully they will continue to make the world better."

"Professor, I am sorry for what I said. I am very thankful for you doing what you did today. I think I understand what you do for Dumbledore. I hope that I can trust you if You Know Who comes back. I really feel that I will need your help in the future."

Snape sat there in silence thinking about what the boy had said.

"You can trust me and I will always be there to help you. Now go back to your common room. It's late."

"Thank you professor."

Harry left the room and Snape sat on the couch for a little while longer. The conversation that just transpired could only mean one thing. Harry and Snape would now be comrades in the battle against the dark forces of the wizarding world.