The three of them walked in pleasant silence to Severus' chambers. Severus had glanced momentarily at Harry, their eyes had met, but only for a moment before Severus looked away. Otherwise, Severus seemed to act as though he had no idea there were two boys behind him. He ignored Draco as well as Harry. He muttered the password to his chambers when they arrived, and they all entered. Severus immediately sank into a (well-used), comfortable armchair in front of a fireplace. He sighed, and lit a fire with his wand.

"Make yourselves at home," he said absently. "Wake me for supper or an emergency. The elves will give us food here. Don't go to the Hall, and Draco, don't you dare leave these rooms." He glared pointedly and Draco nodded, perhaps a bit sadly.

"Yes, sir," he replied for the both of them. Severus nodded once, and then put his head back and closed his eyes. He was asleep within a few minutes.

"So," Harry said.

"So," Draco retorted. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry shrugged.

"Let's find something small before supper then," Draco suggested. He turned and motioned Harry to follow. They wandered into a small kitchen and Draco found some bread and cheese. Quickly, they each made a sandwich, and ate in relative silence, leaning against the counter tops.

Draco looked at Harry. With everything that happened, there was one thing that stuck out in his mind.

"Harry," Draco asked, his voice tense. "Can I ask you something?" Harry's eyes narrowed, his hand holding his sandwich partway to his mouth. He wasn't as worried about what question Draco was going to ask, but more so the fact that Draco asked.

"Sure," Harry said, laying his sandwich on the counter.

"When Moody told you that Professor Snape was responsible for your parents' death, you looked like you were really going to curse the professor." Harry put his head down. "But you didn't. Even with Moody egging you on, you still didn't. Why?" Harry looked up at the teenage boy standing next to him, then looked at the man sitting in the chair across the room, asleep. A small smile graced Harry's lips.

"You know, people never really give me the credit that's truly due to me."

"What do you mean?" Draco's brow creased.

"I saw the guilt on the Professor's face. Whatever Moody meant, he really believes that he's responsible for my parents death. I mean, I don't know what Moody meant, but it can't be all his fault. He deserves a chance to present his side too. He was not their secret keeper. He wasn't the one that cast the curse. Peter Pettigrew is one of the many reasons my parents are dead. Voldemort is another." Harry walked over to the archway that connected the mini kitchen to the living room where Severus was, looked at the Potion professor, then turned and faced Draco, leaning against the door frame. "But the main reason that my parents are dead is me." Severus, who was never a heavy sleeper, heard the entire conversation between his two guests. When he heard Harry's explanation, he cracked one of his eyes open.

"Don't be so melodramatic, Potter," he drawled, his voice still heavy with sleep. "While I appreciate your consideration in letting me live, remember that your parents chose what they did. You didn't make them die. The Dark Lord would have been happy to let your mother live - due to my…interference." Draco looked curious, but Harry spoke up.

"Will you tell me what Moody meant?"

"Long story short, you fulfilled the prophecy, but someone had to tell the Dark Lord about the prophecy, or he would have never known," Severus began, standing up and stepping close to the fireplace. Perhaps the fire could take away the cutting coldness that always gnawed at him whenever he thought about this. "He stands before you. When the Dark Lord pinpointed you as the fulfillment of the prophecy, I begged for your mother's life. She chose to exchange hers for yours." Draco walked over and stood next to Harry.

"Are you saying that you really are responsible for Harry's parents?"

"No," Harry answered for him.

"Yes," Severus replied at the same moment. Harry looked at his professor.

"I'm sorry, but no, Professor. Hearing a prophecy that may or may not have been about me would not make you responsible for my parents death. You said you heard it and took it to him. If you didn't, that meant that someone else would have. That means nothing. You didn't do anything."

"You're such a hypocrite, Harry," Draco said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "If you actually believe that he's not responsible, then neither are you. "

"Precisely," Severus affirmed. "A baby can hardly bare more guilt in a matter than a full grown adult. And obviously your knowledge of past events is very scarce, or your would know that there were only two people to have heard the prophecy when it happened: the Headmaster and myself."

"It's still not your fault," Harry mumbled. Draco rolled his eyes and turned back to his sandwich.

"You're impossible." Harry looked at Draco and smiled.

"And I suppose you think you're possible?" Harry snorted. Draco face fell as quietly tore off the part of the sandwich he had bitten near and shoved the rest of it at Harry.

"Here," he said quietly. "You finish it. I can't." Then Draco quietly meandered out of the kitchen. Severus sighed dramatically, rolled his eyes, and followed Draco.

"You children will be the death of me, I swear," he mumbled.

Harry watched as Severus followed Draco out of the room. He put his head down, leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor with his knees to his chest. Severus momentarily cast a concerned glance at Harry.

"Don't mope," he ordered curtly. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's moping." Then, in a softer tone, he added, "Everything will be fine." With that, Severus swirled out of the room, pausing long enough to call back to Harry, "And get up off the floor! You're not a dog!" and followed Draco, who had perched himself on the couch and stared at the fire. Severus leaned over the back of the couch, resting his weight on his arms, as he too stared at the fire.

"And the meaning of that little outburst was - ?" Severus prompted. Draco shook his head emphatically, but didn't say anything right away. "Well?" Severus tried again.

"I don't want to talk about it," Draco finally ground out. Severus paused a moment.

"Fine, have it your way," he shrugged noncommittally, and turned to leave the room.

"Wait," Draco called as Severus was about to leave. The man smiled a little to himself.

"Yes?" he replied curiously.

"It's just that, well," Draco stammered, "Harry saying that reminded me of something."

"Of what?" Severus prompted calmly, though he didn't step any closer to Draco.

"Once, I pointed out that my father was impossible to please, and he said the same thing," Draco blurted out.

"Mm," Severus acknowledged. "I'm sure Harry didn't mean it in the same way."

"I know he didn't," Draco mumbled.

"As I'm sure he didn't follow my instructions," Severus said loudly enough that his voice carried, "he's probably still in the kitchen moping!" Then, as Harry crept to the kitchen doorway, Severus lowered his voice and said, "Patch things up over an imagined offense. Hopefully you two can stay out of trouble for the rest of the day, or is that too much to ask of either of you?" Severus sighed, pinched his nose, and retreated to the seclusion of his bedroom. Harry, standing in the walkway of the kitchen, watched his professor walk back to his room. He looked over at Draco.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to upset you." Draco watched Harry curiously, then dropped his gaze and shrugged.

"It's okay," Draco slurred a bit, settling into the couch. He patted the cushion next to him, and looked at Harry expectantly. Harry slowly walked over to the couch and said down.

"What did I do wrong, Draco?" he asked, letting his head fall a bit as he studied the pattern in the carpet.

"Nothing," Draco replied quickly. "It's my own over-sensitivity. You didn't do anything wrong. Let's not talk about it, okay?" Hardly stopping for breath, and certainly not stopping for Harry to agree, he continued, "So what's it like in Gryffindor tower anyway? We hear a lot of rumors in the dungeons of what happens up there." Harry looked at Draco.

"You know, if I can confess what happened to me back with Lockhart, you can tell me the truth. I asked you before what happened, so why don't you tell me?" Draco looked like someone had slapped him, like a fish out of water, as his mouth formed soundless incoherent shapes.

"Because I don't want you to think any worse of me than you already do," he finally said. "But who am I kidding? What's worse than being a murdering Death Eating coward anyway? It's just that my father asked me once about how possible I thought I was. Physical wounds heal. Verbal ones sometimes never do."

"You of all people should know that I know how verbal abuse can hurt. I…." Harry suddenly closed his eyes tightly and gripped the edge of the couch. His jaw muscles were tight.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked quickly, his voice calm as he took control of a potentially explosive situation. "Can I get you something?" Harry barely had the strength to shake his head.

"I...it's a...s-side...e-effect," Harry said through clenched teeth.

"Side effect?" Draco choked nervously. "Side effect of what?" He asked even though he knew the answer. Then, letting his volume drop, "Where does it hurt? What can I do?"

"N-nothing...you can do." And just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Harry took a deep breath and slumped back on the couch.

"Explain," Draco demanded after a moment of silence, his voice dispassionate, as he tried to divorce himself from the rising panic within himself. Harry looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"It was one of the reasons I didn't want that collar on my neck," Harry's voice was low and steady, but on the inside he was panicking. "I sometimes still feel the effects of the collar, the pain that coursed through my body when Moody would turn it on. The feeling only lasts a few minutes and it's not all the time, but when it does happen, it hurts badly." Draco swore fluently under his breath.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Draco finally sighed. "I'm sorry I helped put you through all that. Fate is a cruel mistress. Is that what I have to look forward to then?"

"It's not your fault," Harry said. Then he whispered, "It's mine." He sat up and looked at Draco. "I don't know how it will be for you. You may feel it; you may not. I just know that I do. But the worst is when..." Harry's face instantly paled. Draco immediately searched Harry's face for any sign of another nervous attack, but found none. Then a faint noise caught his attention. It was a low moaning coming from Snape's bedroom. Draco swore again. Harry immediately sat up and looked at Draco. Without either teenager saying anything, they both got up and headed down the small hallway in search of the Professor's room.

When they got to the room, Draco opened the door, and what they saw completely surprised them. There on the bed, their Potions Professor was in the throws of a nightmare. His body was stiff. His fists were clenched so tightly there were small droplets of blood appearing on through his fingers. The two boys recovered from their shock fairly quickly, and they sprang to action. Since Severus was in the middle of the bed, both boys jumped on either side of him of the bed, and began to shake Severus. They both took a shoulder and began to shake it. Harry was shaking much harder than Draco was, but it wasn't long before Draco was matching the vibrant shake.

"Professor," Harry said, shaking.

"Professor, wake up," Draco mimicked. Snape woke with a start as sat up in the bed so quickly that Draco fell backwards off the bed. He yelped as he felt his body swing past its equilibrium he waved his arms pointlessly to try to avoid the inevitable effect of gravity. He landed softly on the floor with a thump.

Severus observed what happened to Draco, and turned sharply on Harry.

"And what do you think you're doing?" he snapped at Harry, who winced. Harry didn't know how to respond, and so he didn't. "Well?" Snape prompted impatiently. Harry mutely shook his head. "Fine!" Snape shouted, as he threw the covers off, purposely unbalancing Harry. Harry half expected it though and was able to catch himself before he joined Draco in an unceremonious heap. Severus sneered over the bed at Draco. "I told you to leave me alone," he said quietly.

"You were having a nightmare!" Draco protested as he scrambled to his feet.

"So?" Snape shot back, rubbing his hand. "I told you to leave me alone."

"We were trying to help," Draco tried again.

"You're not helping," Severus murmured quietly. "Get out, both of you, and stay out!"

"No," Harry whispered, his head still down.

"Then I'll leave," Snape growled back at Harry, as he grabbed his robe and unceremoniously sulked out of the suddenly too small room. Draco sighed and rose to his feet, brushing off some imagined dust from his clothes. They both watched their professor walk out of the room. Draco walked over to Harry, who was still sitting on the bed.

"You stood up to him," Draco said, sounding astonished.

"He doesn't get it," Harry said, still looking at the door. "It's not going to stop. I know what he's going through."

"Is it because of the basin?" Draco sat down next to Harry. Harry nodded. "So what can we do to help him? Professor Snape doesn't seem like someone who is going to ask for help."

"No," Harry said. "Neither am - was - I. But I know running from this isn't going to help either."

"What was it like?" Draco asked quietly. Harry looked at Draco and saw that he genuinely wanted to know what they were going through.

"You know how that collar felt," Harry began dismissively. "It's different when your head is submerged in water. You can't scream. You can't breathe. Everything already hurts. Then the water on your skin feels like it's boiling, but it's not hot water. Actually, the water was ice cold." Harry sighed. "Even though it only happened once to Professor Snape, Moody was crueler to him than he ever was to me." Draco's brow creased.

"What do you mean?"

"When Moody activated your collar the first time, it was different than when he did it again and Professor Snape was holding us, right?" Realization of what Harry was talking about shown on Draco's face.

"So you were in more pain because Professor was holding you down?" Harry did not answer. "When the collar stopped the first time, why didn't you move away from Snape then? You were in pain." Harry hung his head. Draco could see the start of Harry's ears and cheeks turning red. "You know, Harry," Draco's voice was much softer. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be comforted." Draco smiled knowingly, encouragingly, and clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder, almost pulling the other boy to his feet.

"Come on," Draco nodded sagely. "We have an adult to look after. Can't shrug off responsibilities."