Harry was walking with his friends to Gryffindor tower after the welcoming feast. Harry was less than thrilled. Snape had just been declared the new DADA teacher, something Harry wasn't happy about. He didn't trust Snape one bit, especially when it came to the dark arts.

"I still can't believe Dumbledore gave Snape the position," Ron grumbled as they started up the Grand Staircase.

"I'm sure the headmaster has his reasons, Ron," Hermione said.

"Yeah, he's barmy. Yeah, let's make a former death eater head of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Ron said sarcastically.

"I can't believe it either. I thought Slughorn was going to be teaching it. Though I guess it makes sense that he teach Potions. That's what he taught the last time he was here," Harry said as they got to the seventh floor. They walked down the hall and approached the portrait of the Fat Lady. He said the password and they were all allowed entry.

"Hey, you met Slughorn. What's he like?" Ron asked.

"He's alright. Dumbledore says he's a bit of a fame seeker. He brought me along so that Slughorn would agree to come back," Harry said.

"Because of your fame?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. I'm supposed to let Slughorn 'collect' me. I guess he has some information that could help us with Voldemort," Harry said.

Ron and Hermione flinched, as did everyone else in hearing distance. "Blimey, Harry, stop doing that," Seamus said.

"Hey, speaking of Slughorn and Snape. Did you guys see the way Snape glared at him at the feast?" Neville asked.

All three friends shook their heads.

"Yeah, Snape doesn't seem to like Slughorn much," Neville said.

Ron snorted and plopped down in one of the red chairs. "Snape doesn't like anyone."

"Several of the students laughed. "He's got a point there," Ginny said.

"He's probably just pissed that Slughorn is taking over his domain," Dean said.

'That doesn't make sense. Snape's always wanted the Defense post," Ron said.

Dean shrugged. "It was just a guess. Why else would he dislike him so much?"

"Because he's Snape. I thought we'd already established that he doesn't need a reason not to like someone," Ron said.

"We shouldn't be talking like this about our teachers. If Professor Snape has an issue with Professor Slughorn, it's none of our business," Hermione lectured.

"Who really cares? Snape's just a git. I'm going to bed. Tomorrow will probably be a long day," Harry said before making his way towards the dormitories.

___________

Severus was angry. No, that wasn't a good enough word for what he felt. He was absolutely livid. He'd been shell shocked when Slughorn entered the Great Hall just after he did. He of course knew that someone would have to take over his former position, but he had no idea that it would be Slughorn. Dumbledore had purposely kept the information from him.

Severus angrily made his way to Dumbledore's office and busted in without knocking. "Have you lost your mind, Old man?!"

Dumbledore looked up at his new Defense teacher. "Ah, Severus, I had a feeling I'd be getting a visit from you."

"What is wrong with you?" Severus asked angrily.

"Well, that depends on who you ask," Dumbledore said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

"This isn't a bloody game!" Severus said before pushing everything on Dumbledore's desk to the floor, breaking some things in the process.

Dumbledore was quiet for a few moments, but then spoke. "I'm getting a feeling of déjà vu. It wasn't too long ago that Young Harry had a similar outburst as this."

Severus recognized the diversionary tactic, but it didn't work. Not even a comparison to Harry Potter was going to deter him. Hell, not even a comparison to James Potter would. He was far too angry. "You let that man back into this school knowing what he is capable of."

"Oh, Severus. Let's not go there again," Dumbledore said.

"I would be happy not to! Just get rid of him!" Severus demanded. Slughorn needed to go. He'd tolerated a lot from Dumbledore over the years. The constant special treatment that he gave the Potter boy, the unspeakably unreasonable tasks that were asked of him, even the hiring of the werewolf, but not this. He would not stand by while Slughorn was unleashed on the student body.

"Professor Slughorn is no danger," Dumbledore insisted.

"I beg to differ," Severus retorted.

"Severus, I'd hoped that time would…"

"Would what? Get me to forgive. I forgive no one! Certainly not that!" Severus said with disgust written all over his face

"I'd hoped it'd make you see that you must have been mistaken," Dumbledore said.

Severus leaned over Dumbledore's desk and glared. "I. Was. Not. Mistaken. And if you had looked into my memories like I'd advised, you would've seen that."

"There was no need. The situation was rectified," Dumbledore said.

Severus stood up and huffed. "No, it was appeased. There is no rectifying that. I allowed you to handle it your way because I didn't want to become public. I agreed to keep quiet in exchange for you getting rid of that depraved man! You gave me your vow, just as I gave you mine! How is it you are even able to hire him back?" Dumbledore had used a special spell of his when making the oath. It was a spell that made it literally impossible to break. Which meant Severus could not speak of this with anyone else. He wouldn't be able to warn the students or their parents about what Slughorn was capable of.

"If you'll recall, Severus, I gave you my vow that he would leave the school. I never said he wouldn't come back," Dumbledore said.

Severus thought back to the day that he'd gone to Dumbledore and struck that deal. The old bastard was right. He never swore to get rid of Slughorn indefinitely. "You bastard. You used my vulnerable state to trick me."

"Not at all. I never intended to hire Horace back. I never knew he'd be needed. But he is. We need him for the upcoming war," Dumbledore said.

"And you don't care who you sacrifice to get his help?" Severus asked.

"Severus, I still believe you're mistaken, but…"

"I am not mistaken!" Severus bellowed.

"But even if you weren't, the threat to Voldemort is much greater. It must come first," Dumbledore said.

Severus was so angry he was almost vibrating from it. He couldn't believe how callous Dumbledore was being. Students were going to be destroyed by this. Severus would do whatever he could to protect the children from Slughorn, but there were too many of them. He couldn't save them all. "You're condemning the student body," he said before he began to walk away.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were setting in the Defense classroom anticipating their first class with Snape as the defense teacher. Harry and Ron were not happy. "This is going to be horrid. It'll be almost as bad as with Umbridge."

"Ron, don't be overdramatic. Professor Snape can be rather unfair at times, but he's hardly as bad as Umbridge. At least we'll learn from Snape and he won't use a blood quill on anyone," Hermione said.

"No, he'll just take loads of points and give undeserved detentions, mostly to me," Harry grumbled. He'd always been Snape's favorite target. A class couldn't go by without the man verbally attacking him when he didn't deserve it.

Snape stormed in at that moment. "Everyone sit down and remain quiet."

Everyone who was still standing immediately took their seats and those who were talking stopped.

Severus went to his desk and sat down behind it. "Before we get started, I have been designated to have a talk with you all. Why the headmaster has chosen me is beyond me, but he has. The events of last term with Professor Umbridge have come to light and the headmaster wishes to make sure that such events and events like them aren't repeated." That was a lie of course. The headmaster had asked him to do no such thing, but he wouldn't have them thinking it was his choice to have this talk with the students.

Severus took a minute to contemplate how to do this. He needed to warn them about the danger Slughorn brought, but he couldn't actually mention him. He needed to keep it generic. "The way Professor Umbridge behaved was an abuse of her power and it shouldn't be allowed to happen again."

Ron leaned into Harry's ear and started whispering. "He's going to talk about abusive of power?"

Severus narrowed his eyes towards the three gryffindors that irked him the most. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley. I believe I said to remain quiet. Now pay attention. This isn't something to be ignored. Now I was discussing abuse of power with teachers. As much as we would all like to believe that teachers will always follow the rules and never step outside the line, that is a romantic notion. There is evil everywhere, even in those you are supposed to be able to trust. Actually, that is where most of the danger comes from. It comes from those you trusted, those you thought had your back."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. This was hitting close to home. It hadn't happened to him and it wasn't a teacher, but this reminded him of how Pettigrew had betrayed his parents. They'd trusted him so much and he'd betrayed them.

"In many cases, you won't even notice that a teacher is crossing the line. He or she will start out small and gradually escalate. You may not realize what they are doing until it is too late. I caution you now to try to prevent that. Pay attention to your professors' behaviors. Should he or she begin to behave unbecoming of a teacher, make sure to protect yourselves in any way you can. Find an excuse to get away if you can. If you can't, scream or even hex," Severus said. He knew this conversation wouldn't be enough. If the worst happened, the students wouldn't be able to get away from Slughorn. He had way too many years and experience on them. But perhaps some of them would heed his words and avoid him if they recognized him becoming too close. Also, Maybe Slughorn would hear about this discussion through the grapevine and it would at least stall him in harming a student, giving Severus time to find a better solution.

"Blimey, is he giving us permission to hex the teachers?" Seamus asked in disbelief from behind Ron.

"That is not to mean that you idiots can just assault teachers left in right. This is only to be done if absolutely necessary. Should you attack a teacher and aren't able to give an adequate reason, I will see you expelled," Severus said firmly.

"What constitutes abuse of power? Because I can already think of someone who's guilty," Ron said quietly to himself.

He apparently wasn't quiet enough though because Severus heard him and glared. "That's another twenty points from Gryffindor, Weasley. Do you take this to be a joke? Will you think it's a joke should a teacher cross a line with you or someone you care for?"

Hermione suddenly raised her hand.

Severus grumbled at the thought of whatever the Gryffindor know-it-all had to say. "What, Miss Granger."

"It's just that this conversation seems to mirror a conversation my primary school teacher had with us about sexual assault. Is that what this is about?" Hermione asked.

Severus sucked in a breath. "That would certainly be abuse now wouldn't it. Just remember to exercise caution and remember what was discussed here. Now that this unfortunate task is complete, we will start to discuss what you are actually here to learn. Defense Against the Dark Arts."

___________

"That was really weird," Ron said as the three of them left Defense and started walked down the hall.

"Well, not so much. I've never heard it mentioned specifically about teachers, but as I said before, my class was spoken to similarly about adults abusing their power. It was mainly about sexual assault. My teacher wanted to make sure we'd know what to do in that kind of situation," Hermione explained.

"They really talk to you about stuff like that in muggle school?" Ron asked.

"Yes. It's really important. My parents spoke with me about it to. They told me what I should do if someone tried to make me do something I wasn't comfortable with. You know things like stranger danger and good touch and bad touch? You were taught that too, right, Harry?" she asked.

"In school a bit, but not at the Dursleys," Harry asked. He almost snorted just thinking about his relatives every worrying about a stranger picking him up and possibly hurting him. They would've been gleeful if something like that happened. They would've jumped for joy if he somehow got abducted as a child. "It was strange hearing Snape say it though."

"I know! Who is he to talk about abuse of power? He's the only one here to do anything like that," Ron said.

"He wasn't talking about that kind of thing, Ron," Hermione said as she stopped walking, causing the other two to stop as well. "It wasn't about being unfairly punished. This is something far more serious. He was talking about someone physically harming you, like Umbridge did last year. And he's right, it is something that we and every other student in every other school need to be careful of. Awful things happen when the wrong people are hired to teach. We've seen that ourselves."

"Whatever. I don't think anyone will be assaulting us anytime soon. There's no one here this year like that, except maybe Snape if he turns out to be on You Know Who's side Look, let's just get to class," Ron said before he began walking again. The others followed.

The next day, Harry and his friends were eating lunch in the Great Hall when Ginny came over to them and sat down. "I just had the strangest bloody class with Snape."

"We told you about our class," Ron said.

"Yeah, I know, but it's different than actually experiencing it. I felt like I was having some kind of weird dream," Ginny said.

"It's not that unbelievable. I personally think it needed to be said after Umbridge. Actually, muggle schools get those kinds of talks all the time. They want to make sure kids know what to do if a teacher tries to take advantage of them," Hermione said.

"It's weird because it's Snape," Ron said before taking a bite of his food.

"Yeah, since when does Snape care if we're taken advantage of?" Harry asked.

"I'm sure he cares. He may not like us, but he's still a teacher. And he explained why he did it. Dumbledore wanted him to after what happened last year with Umbridge," Hermione said.

"It seems rather stupid now. Umbridge is gone," Ron said.

"It's not stupid, Ron! It may not happen so often here, but in the muggle world, you hear things all the time about adults taking advantage of children, especially those in positions of power, like teachers. Umbridge may be gone, but she's certainly not the only one in the world capable of hurting us. Actually, aside from our third year, we've had a teacher every year that was capable of hurting us. Three of them actually did hurt Harry," Hermione said.

"She has a point there," Ginny said.

"I don't think there's any threat of that this year. Not unless it's Snape himself. He's the only one here now that hates Harry," Ron said.

"The feeling is mutual," Harry said before standing up. "I'd better go. I need to get back to the Common Room before Transfiguration. I left my book and my summer homework there."

"Okay. We'll see you in class," Hermione said.

Harry immediately headed out of the great hall and towards the Grand Staircase. He'd just made it to the first step when he heard someone call out to him.

"Harry."

Harry turned around to see Professor Slughorn coming his way. "Oh, Hello, Professor."

"I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to complement you again on your potion yesterday," Slughorn said.

Harry blushed slightly. "Thanks, Professor."

"I'm amazed that you've gotten such mediocre grades before with the perfect potion you brewed yesterday," Slughorn said.

Harry shifted uncomfortably at the comment, knowing full well that it was not simply talent that made him do better this time. Although, it wasn't his fault that someone had written in that book. All he'd done was follow the instructions in his book. "Well, I guess I was just better able concentrate than I was in the past."

Slughorn chuckled. "Ah, yes, I've heard Professor Snape can be a bit unreasonable. Perhaps this year, you'll do much better at the subject. Your mother was pretty good at potions as well. In fact, she was second in my class."

Harry smiled. He liked hearing things about his mother. He heard things of her so rarely. Most people who knew his parents focused on his father. He wished to hear more of his mother. "Did you know her well, Professor?"

"Oh, yes. It's like I said before, she was one of my best students. Perhaps I can talk to you about her sometime," Slughorn said.

"I'd like that," Harry said.

"I could also help you a bit with potions. You have talent there. I may be able to help you harness it," Slughorn said.

Before Harry could answer, he heard Snape's voice coming from right outside the Great Hall.

"Potter, do you not have somewhere to be?" Severus asked.

Slughorn and Harry both turned to him. "Oh, Severus, we were just having a little chat. Harry is one of my brightest students so far."

Severus sent a dark glare his way. "Of course he is."

"He reminds me of you with his brewing skills," Slughorn said.

Severus let out a hiss of anger and it wasn't because of the comparison. That was the farthest thing from his mind. No, what angered him was knowing that Slughorn was starting his little games with the boy, the same games he'd started with him. There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen. He might not like Potter, but no child deserved to go through the pain he Slughorn had inflicted on him. "Potter, get to where you're going before I take points for loitering."

"Yes, sir," Harry said through gritted teeth before heading further up the stairs.

"Was that really necessary, Severus?" Slughorn asked once Harry was out of sight. "The boy was only…"

Before Slughorn could finish speaking, Severus grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall, causing some nearby portraits to gasp. "You sick, old bastard! You are not going to start your perverted acts with that boy, or any boy for that matter!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Severus. I was just talking to Harry. As I said, he reminds me a lot of you," Slughorn said.

"He is not me and you will not make him me! You will not touch him! If I find you talking to him or any other student outside of class again, I'll kill you!" Severus growled. He meant it too. He would not allow another child to get hurt. He wouldn't see a boy's life ruined by Slughorn like his had been.

"Now, Severus, can't we just bury the hatchet as muggles say?" Slughorn asked.

Severus looked at him in disgust before releasing his old on the man and angrily walking away.

___________

At the end of the day, Severus entered his office and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey. He'd wanted to do that right after his run-in with Slughorn, but unfortunately, he'd had to wait until he was done teaching for the day. It had been a long wait, but he was finally there.

Soon Severus heard a knock at his door. "What?" he called out irritably.

The door opened seconds later and Dumbledore entered. "Hello, Severus."

Severus scowled and sat down at his desk. Dumbledore was the last person he wanted to see. Well, actually, Slughorn was the last, but Dumbledore was a close second. "Can I help you, Headmaster?"

"Yes. You can tell me how many of the students you intend to frighten with warnings about the teachers," Dumbledore said. He had been unhappy to hear from the talk around the school that Severus had been speaking to all of his students on the subject.

Severus didn't seem surprised that the headmaster had gotten word on that, nor was he ashamed of his actions. "All of them, Headmaster. I intend to tell all of them. I haven't mentioned Slughorn or what he did. It appears you're not the only one who can play with the words in an oath."
"I'm disappointed, Severus," Dumbledore said in parental tone.

Severus took a swig of his firewhiskey. "I don't care. I did what was necessary to protect these students."

"And if one of them should write home to their parents about it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Then perhaps one of them will investigate and learn the truth before a student is harmed, like Potter for instance. I found the bastard alone with the boy earlier today," Severus said.

"Yes, well, it's hardly unusual. Students and teachers speak all the time outside of class. Besides, I want Harry to get close with Horace. It could help us with stopping Voldemort," Dumbledore said.

Severus narrowed his eyes. "What? Are you telling me you plan to encourage this? Are you stupid?! You know what he could do to the boy!"

"Is that concern, Severus?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle of the eyes.

"Yes, it's bloody concern! You are going to destroy that boy's life! Slughorn has already made it clear that he's going to pursue the boy and now you're basically giving him to him!" Severus growled.

"Severus, Horace has information that only Harry will be able to extract. He needs to get close to him," Dumbledore said.

"And anything that might happen to him in pursuit to that is just collateral damage, right? Get the hell out of my office," Severus ordered in disgust. He would not listen to one more word from this man. In his eyes, Dumbledore was almost more twisted than Slughorn.

Dumbledore sighed and started walking back towards the door.

"Albus, if Slughorn does anything to Potter, I will tear you both a part. I don't care if you are the most power man since Merlin himself. This doesn't happen to another child," Severus said firmly.

Dumbledore turned and looked at him for a moment before continuing on his way.

A few weeks later, Harry was in the Common room with Ron and Hermione doing homework. They were working on Potions, Harry's new favorite subject. His Potions homework took him much less time now since he was using the Half blood Prince's notes. He finished his essay in less than an hour.

Ron looked up just as Harry closed his book. "You're done already?"

"You're still using his notes. Harry, you have to stop. It's cheating," Hermione lectured.

"No, it's not. He's just doing what his book says. It's not his fault that someone wrote their notes down in the book. Hey, mate, you want to let me borrow that book of yours for a bit?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Ron. I'm meeting with Professor Slughorn in a few minutes and I might need it," Harry said as he began getting his things together.

"Again? Didn't you just see Slughorn privately a couple of days ago?" Hermione asked. Slughorn had asked Harry to work with him quite a bit since school started. He did that with a few kids actually. He even had a club for it. She'd been invited as well to those meetings.

"Well, Dumbledore said he likes kids that are… exceptional, I guess is the right word. He seems to like me for a few reasons. I'm the Boy Who LIved, he was friendly with my mother, and I'm good at potions. He's gone so far as to compare me to Snape," Harry said with a cringe. He hated that last part. He wasn't too fond about the 'Boy Who Lived' thing either, but he hated being compared to Snape. Snape was a git. He was nothing like that.

"I wouldn't be bragging about that, Mate," Ron said.

"I'm not, believe me," Harry said.

"If Slughorn is comparing you to Professor Snape, it's a compliment, Harry. He may not be the nicest, but he's an excellent teacher, especially in Potions. He's the best Potions Master there is," Hermione said.

He's a git, Hermione," Ron said.

"I'm with Ron there. He's a bastard to everyone. He's even gone after Slughorn. He's always glaring at him. Although, having him glare at someone else all the time is a nice change of pace," Harry said.

"I wonder what Slughorn did to piss him off," Ron said.

"Knowing Snape it was nothing too serious. Maybe he just hates the competition as the best Harry Master or something. Who really cares? Snape rarely ever has a good reason for having something against someone. Anyway, I better go," Harry said before standing up with his book in his hand.

"Okay. See you later, Mate," Ron said.

Harry immediately headed for the door, not knowing he was about to learn exactly why Snape had such a problem with Slughorn.

___________

Harry made it to Slughorn's office a few minutes later and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Slughorn called.

Harry walked in to find his professor standing by his desk.

"Harry, I'm glad you could make it. Come in and shut the door," Slughorn said.

"Okay, but aren't we going to the classroom?" Harry asked as he shut the door. He assumed they were working on a potion.

"Well, I thought you'd like to speak about your mother tonight. I did promise to tell you about her, didn't I?" Slughorn asked.

Harry eagerly walked over. "That would be great, Professor. What can you tell me?"

"Well, first, let's get comfortable. I got us some drinks. Yours is pumpkin juice of course," Slughorn said before handing him a glass.

"Thank you," Harry said before taking the offered glass and taking a sip.

"Have a seat," Slughorn said.

Harry sat down in the chair in front of Slughorn's desk. "I don't really hear much about Mum. Everyone likes to talk about my dad."

"Well, your father was of course a remarkable young man, but your mother was brilliant. She excelled at Potions. She was one of my top students. In fact, I think only you and Severus beat her."

Just then, Harry started to feel a bit weird. His arms and legs began to relax against his will, almost like when you're about to go to sleep only more so, and he felt very light headed.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Slughorn asked.

"I...I don't think so. I think something may be wrong," Harry said. He'd never felt like this before. It didn't necessarily feel bad. In fact, he felt quite relaxed, but he knew the way he felt wasn't how he was supposed to feel.

"How about you take another sip of your juice?" Slughorn suggested.

Harry did so, though it was hard to make his arms work enough to do so. It didn't help any either. In fact, it made it worse. His limbs got to the point where he couldn't so much as lift them.

Harry looked down at his juice, which soon crashed to the floor with his inability to hold it. He began to think that his increasingly worsening condition had to do with his drink. "Professor, was there something in that."

"Well, I'm afraid there was a bit of a calming draught," Slughorn said with a smile.

"Calming draught?" Harry asked confused. He didn't know why his Professor would slip him a calming draught. He wasn't upset. In fact, he had been pretty happy. He'd been about to hear stories about his mother. Why would he need to be calmed for that?

"Yes. Actually, it's a pretty strong one, much stronger than anything you would've had before. I make my own and they're quite powerful. They relax the body entirely. Well almost entirely. They won't make you sleep," Slughorn said.

"Why… Why did you give it to me?" Harry asked. His speech began to slur at the end.

"So we could have a bit of fun, of course. You see, I've been looking forward to this since we met. You caught my eye the moment you showed up with Dumbledore. It only increased when I saw how amazing you were with a cauldron. You're so much like Severus. I got to have fun with him too, though I was able to take my time with him. You I had to work quickly with. I knew he would find a way to warn you soon and I'd lose the opportunity," Slughorn said.

"Do what?" Harry asked. He sensed extreme danger, but the calming draught wouldn't let him get too upset about it. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Slughorn didn't answer. He just locked the door and transfigured his couch into a large bed. He then picked Harry up around the shoulders and under the knees.

Harry could not fight as he was carried to the bed. He wanted to. He knew that something very bad was about to happen. Hell, he had even managed to figure out what it was.  When he saw the bed, it became obvious.  He'd heard the warnings in primary school just as Hermione did.  He knew what was going to happen to him now.  It frightened him more than Voldemore did, but he couldn't do anything about it. He could not make even one part of his body work. He could do nothing but lay there powerless as the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone happened to him. The best he could hope for was that whatever Slughorn had given him would make him forget this horrid night by morning.

A Bathroom. He needed a bathroom. That was all Harry could think as he ran through the halls of Hogwarts. He needed to shower. He felt so unclean. He felt like Slughorn's hands were still all over him, defiling his body.

It was worse than Harry had imagined when he'd realized what Slughorn planned to do to him. He knew when he'd figured out what was going to happen that it would be awful, but the experience was much worse than he'd thought. It was worse than anything he'd ever been through. It was worse than living in the cupboard under the stairs for eleven years. It was worse than Umbridge making him write with a blood quill. Hell, it was even worse than watching Cedric and Sirius die. It was even worse that he couldn't do a thing to stop it. He couldn't even struggle as Slughorn had advanced on him. He couldn't move at all due to the potion he'd been tricked into drinking.

Harry had thought at the time that it would never end. It had seemed to go on for so long. It felt like hours, though it probably wasn't. Once Slughorn was… finished, he'd acted like it was nothing. He'd told Harry he could leave whenever he wished, like he was dismissing him from a detention. Of course Harry couldn't leave for a while. It took him hours before the potion had worn off and he could move again. It took him a while after that before he could make himself get up. When he finally did though, he ran as fast as he could.

Harry finally found what he was looking for. A bathroom with a shower, and it was after curfew, so no one should disturb him. He quickly undressed, which caused him to think of Slughorn again and how he'd taken his time undressing him.

Harry shuddered and forced the thought away. He got into the shower and turned it, causing the hot water to pour onto him. He grabbed the soap and started scrubbing. He scrubbed so hard that it was actually painful. He had to get Slughorn off of him. He would do whatever it took to stop feeling his hands on him.

Harry wasn't sure how long he was in there trying to get clean to no avail. He would guess an hour or two. After realizing that he was never going to feel clean, he dropped the soap and slid down the wall to the floor of the shower. The water was still pouring down on him as he sat there.

Harry couldn't believe what had just happened to him. It felt like a horrible nightmare that just never seemed to end. He knew it wasn't though. What happened was real. Slughorn, a teacher he'd started to really like and trust, had raped him. He'd slipped him a potion that rendered him powerless to so much as move, let alone defend himself and then he'd forced himself on him.

Those thoughts brought back the memories. He kept seeing the images over and over again. He tried to think of something else, like Quidditch or his friends, but it unfortunately didn't work. He would've even taken the memories of the Dursleys or Voldemort, but all he could think of was Slughorn.

Harry started to cry, both from the memories and the helplessness he now felt. He didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to recover from this? How was he even supposed to face people after it. Right now, he couldn't even be around anyone. The very thought of anyone being near him freaked him out.

Unbeknownst to Harry, someone was around and knew what had happened to him. A transparent figure was just inside the door listening as the boy cried. The ghost exited a second later, joining two other ghosts on the other side.

"Well? Was the Baron right, Nick?"

"Yes, Lady, I would say so," Nearly Headless Nick said with sadness in his eyes. The Bloody Baron had been enraged when Professor Slughorn entered the school this year. He'd told all the ghosts of depraved the man was and that they should each watch out of their prospective houses The rest of them had waved it off though. None of them believed that such an abomination would be allowed inside the sanctuary that was Hogwarts. It was something Nick regretted when he saw Harry Potter running out of the dungeons with terror and disgust etched on his young face.

"I'll get him," The Fat Friar said before gliding away.

"This is unconscionable. How can something so savage and heinous happen in our school. Hogwarts is supposed to be safe. Children should not have to fear their teachers. Teachers are supposed to protect their students," The Grey Lady said.

"Well, unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time a teacher tried to harm a student here," Nick said.

"Not like this," The Grey Lady replied.

The Bloody Baron suddenly appeared with the Fat Friar just behind him. "Where?"

"The bathroom. He's huddled in the shower crying. He ran from the Dungeons. He looked terrified," NIck said.

"I've watched the slytherins carefully. I've ensured he's not sneaking into the dorms after them. He hasn't had the chance!" The Bloody Baron said angrily

"It wasn't them. He went after one of mine," Nick said solemnly.

"Bloody hell. I knew he could go after him, but I assumed it would likely be the slytherins since he has more access to them. Still, I warned you to look out for your house, Nick."

Nick looked down shamed. "I know. I assumed you were having us on or something."

"Oh, of course. The Slytherin ghost is nothing but a liar, right?" The Baron asked irritably.

"To be fair, nothing like this has ever happened," The Fat Friar said.

"Of course it has you naive hufflepuff. Did you think I just came up with the idea out of nowhere? This child is not the first. There was another. He swore an oath never to speak of it. I take partial responsibility for that, having urged him to speak with the headmaster on the matter," The Baron said. After several weeks with the then sixteen-year-old Severus Snape, he'd gotten out what happened to him. It took him longer than that to get the boy to turn the sick bastard into the headmaster, naively thinking the man would do something about it. He regretted that, especially now. "What boy was attacked?"

"Harry Potter," Nick said.

"Bloody hell," The Baron whispered. Of course the bastard would go after Potter. He should of realized that he would. The child was famous, and according to many, was having quite a good year in Potions. Plus, the boy became a frequent victim of treacherous teachers. Of course he would be for Slughorn too.

"What shall we do? You've just said that the headmaster will do nothing. All the other teachers will just tell him and history will repeat itself," The Grey Lady said.

The Baron could think of a teacher that wouldn't go that route, but he wasn't prepared to tell Potter's secret, no more than he had Severus'. This young man had been violated enough. Exposing him would just be another violation. Who and when to tell had to be from Potter himself. "Right now, we need to get Potter out of the bathroom.

"I'm pretty sure he's still curled in the shower. He can't seem to even bring himself to get dressed," Nick said sadly.

The Baron cringed. He didn't want to traumatize the boy further, but they couldn't leave him in the bathroom naked all night. "We must get him clothes. Have a house elf get him some, one of the less rowdy ones and tell them not to speak when they enter."

"I'll go," The Grey Lady said.

The Baron glided through the bathroom door and stopped by the shower, ensuring not to peer through the curtain. The boy was still crying, reminding him of the last young boy he'd had to comfort. The difference was that this boy had just had it happen. The violation was not even a day old. The Baron guessed it would be harder. "Harry."

Harry stopped crying and stiffened at the soft voice. Someone was there. No. He couldn't deal with anyone. No one could see what had been done to him. "L...leave me alone."

"I can't, Child. I know what has happened. I'm sorry," The Baron said.

Harry began to cry again. He wasn't sure who was there. He recognized the voice, but could not place it. But whoever it was, they knew and he didn't want to deal with that.

The Baron stood there for a few minutes, unsure of how to proceed. Just as he was about to go on, a house elf came in with a change of clothes for the boy. He quickly motioned for the house elf not to make any noise and then watched as he left before turning back to the boy. "Harry, you can't stay in here all night. You need to get up and get dressed.

Harry shook his head. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. I've had clothes here for you. Stand up, get out of there, and put them on. Someone else will find you out here if you don't," The Baron said.

Harry began to panic. He didn't want that. He couldn't handle everyone knowing what had just happened to him. "W...will you leave. I can't do it with you here."

"Of course. I'll be outside," The baron said before gliding out of the room.

Harry didn't hear the door or anything, but he hesitantly peered behind the curtain after a minute and found himself alone. He got out of the shower and quickly dried off the rest of the way with a towel. He then quickly put on the clothes brought to him. There was a pair of underwear and a sweatshirt and pants. He immediately put them on and exited the bathroom. To his surprise, he found The Bloody Baron waiting. "You're Slytherin's ghost. Why would you help me?"

"There's no Gryffindor or Slytherin tonight, Child," The Baron said.

"A...are you going to tell the teachers about this?" Harry asked, hoping the answer was no.

"No. All I plan to do right now is ensure you arrive someplace safe to sleep," The Baron said.

"I can't go back to the common room," Harry whispered. There were way too many people there. He wouldn't feel at all safe. "I'll sleep in the Room of Requirement."

"I shall make sure no one is able to bother you," The Baron said. It was unlikely that anyone would even look tonight, but if they did, he would stop them, even if he had to sic Peeves on them.

"Thank you," Harry said before walking away.

Harry was laying on a large bed in the Room of Requirement. He was wide awake. He hadn't slept much the night before and when did fall asleep, he'd wake up screaming not long afterwards. He saw Slughorn every time he closed his eyes. He dreamed of what happened when he fell asleep. What would he do when he had to face him? How would he handle class with this man? No. He couldn't even consider being in classroom with this man, being close enough for him to touch.

Harry let out a strangled cry at the very thought of Slughorn being able to touch him. He couldn't handle that. He didn't want the man anywhere near him.

Just then, The Bloody Baron appeared in front of Harry. He looked at the boy sadly.

"You're here to tell me I have to get up," Harry said. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to go out and be around a bunch of teachers and his classmates. He didn't want to be around anyone. He wanted to just stay in this room forever.

"I can't force you to get up, but people will start looking for you if you don't. Your friends have most definitely noticed your absence in the dorms and the rest will notice if you don't get down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They will start looking and eventually find you here," The Bloody Baron said as gently as possible.

Harry shuddered. "He's going to be there. He'll be in the Great Hall. I'll have to see him."

The Baron felt terrible for this boy. He'd been a very hard man when alive, but not so much that the plight of a boy who'd been savagely violated didn't affect him. He wanted to help Harry Potter, just as he when wanted to help when it was Severus, but he wasn't able to. He was a ghost. There was nothing he could do for this child. He couldn't stop Slughorn. He couldn't even comfort Harry, though he doubted the boy would let him right now. It had been mere hours since he was attacked. He would balk at anyone trying to touch him.

"Did… Did Dumbledore know this would happen?" Harry asked as he sat up in bed. He didn't want to think that his headmaster would allow something like this to happen, but the man had known that Slughorn had taken an interest in him and he'd encouraged that. Could he have known how far it would go?"

"Yes," The Baron said honestly. He would not lie to this boy. The knowledge that the headmaster had betrayed him so terribly might be damaging, but no worse than sending him to the man only to be betrayed even worse. He'd sent Severus to the man and not only was his pain treated so carelessly, but another child had been ruined in the same way. It was best that Harry know he couldn't trust Dumbledore. "You are not Slughorn's first victim. The last year he taught, he took another boy. Dumbledore treated his pain like it was nothing."

Harry thought back to the things Slughorn had said to him right before… Before he did it. He talked about Snape and how they'd… had fun. He'd raped Snape too. That was why Snape hated the man so much. It was why he'd warned all of them about teachers and abuse of power. It had nothing to do with previous teachers. It was about Slughorn.

Harry began to get angry. Snape knew what Slughorn was capable of. He knew that the man would go after one of them. He also knew that the man was getting close to Harry. He never said anything. He let Slughorn rape him. "Bastard. He knew what would happen. Snape was the other one. He was attacked. He knew what would happen and he let...

"No, child! Yes, Severus knew what could happen, but he didn't let it. He couldn't stop it. He warned you as much as he could, but he physically couldn't come out and say that Slughorn was a child molester. He was tricked into a vow not long after he was attacked," The Baron said.

"By who?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore. He didn't want it getting out that Hogwarts had an abusive teacher on staff. He convinced the boy to take a vow in exchange for Slughorn leaving the school. That's all I'll say on his experience. I won't betray his confidence any more than yours," The Baron said. He'd only said this much because he didn't want the boy to direct his blame to the man. Severus Snape was probably the only one it would be safe for the child to talk to.

Harry thought of Dumbledore. He felt completely betrayed. He trusted Dumbledore. The man had always claimed to have his best interests at heart, yet he'd basically sold him to Slughorn. He wanted Slughorn's help with Voldemort and he was willing to sacrifice Harry to do it. He knew what he would do to him and he didn't care.

Harry started crying again, not just over what he'd endured last night, but also over the betrayal that he'd experienced from someone he trusted.

Severus walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. He was in a foul mood as usual since the school year began and Slughorn turned up. That only increased as he saw him at the table. Having to actually sit with this man each day as he eat him him sick. He shouldn't have to be near this man and neither should any of these students, one of which would become his next victim if he wasn't removed soon.

"Good morning, Severus," Slughorn said with a smile.

Severus barely suppressed the urge to take out his wand and cast an Unforgivable at the man, not even sure which of the two worst ones of the three he would have cast.

"I trust you slept well, Severus," Dumbledore said.

Severus glared at him. He was another one Severus wanted to either torture or kill right now. In fact, a part of him wanted to do it to Dumbledore more, as he was allowing this foul creature to walk around innocent children. "As you know very well, I did not!"

"Is everything alright, Severus," Minerva asked. She'd become quite worried about her colleague. He'd been terrible company since the school year started, and since he wasn't good company on a good day, that was saying a lot.

Severus didn't answer. He ignored the question and surveyed the students. He soon zeroed onto the Gryffindor table noticing Granger and Weasley in their usual seats, but no sign of the Potter boy. Alarm bells went off throughout his brain. "Where is Potter?"

The others followed his gaze and saw that the boy was gone. Dumbledore didn't appear worried. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. He probably slept in a bit."

"As if Weasley and Granger would come down without him. Where is he?" Severus demanded. He stood up and glared at Slughorn accusingly and went for his wand.

"Severus, what are you doing?" Minerva asked shocked at the violent pose the man was taking.

"Severus, calm down. You will scare the students soon," Sprout said. Thankfully the students hadn't noticed yet, but they would soon.

"He's coming now," Flitwick said as he pointed to a boy coming towards the Gryffindor table.

Snape turned and saw the Potter boy approach. He immediately calmed down and took his seat, satisfied that Slughorn had not touched the boy.

Harry approached his friends, making sure not to look to the staff table where Slughorn would be. He was barely keeping from falling apart. He wasn't comfortable being around people right now, especially this man, but he had no choice. He didn't want them coming after him.

"Harry, where have you been. We were worried. Ron said you didn't come back to the tower last night. I was going to speak to Professor McGonagall if you didn't show up to breakfast," Hermione said.

"Sorry. I was studying in the Room of Requirement and I fell asleep," Harry lied. He didn't even look at them. He could look at no one directly right now.

"Why would you study in the Room of Requirement?" Hermione asked.

"Why would you study?" Ron asked.

Hermione smacked him on the arm. "Perhaps he doesn't want to fail! You should learn from his example and start studying yourself!"

"I...I thought it would be more quiet there. It was after hours, so the library was closed. Like I said, I fell asleep," Harry said.

"You don't look like you slept very well. You seem very tired," Hermione said.

"Eh, we have Binns first class. He'll get plenty of sleep there," Ron joked.

Harry knew that was not true. This would probably be the first History of Magic class that he did not sleep in. If he did, he would wake up screaming and everyone would know something happened to him. That could not happen. He couldn't let anyone know what Slughorn did to him.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked. Something seemed very off with her friend. She noticed that he hadn't looked at them and he seemed quite agitated.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said before making a move for the food, knowing though that he wouldn't eat much.

Harry was panicked. It had been a few days since what happened to him. Things had been rough, especially at night. He woke up screaming two to three times a night. He had to place a silencing charm around his bed every night so he wouldn't wake the others. He wished he could get away without sleeping in the dorm at all, but he knew that would alert people that something was going on.

The days were just as bad in their own way. When he was in class, he felt claustrophobic. Ever since that night, he didn't want to around a lot of people. Realistically, he knew his classmates wouldn't hurt him, but he was still scared. He also had issues when someone touched him or accidentally bumped into him. He couldn't stand to be touched now. He remembered flinching one day when Hermione tapped him on the shoulder in Charms. He managed to convince her that she just startled him thankfully.

As bad as it had been, today would be worse. He had both Defense and Potions today. Those were the two classes he'd been dreading. It was obvious why for Potions. He wanted to be nowhere near Slughorn. Seeing the man in the Great Hall made him shaky and sick to his stomach. The thought of the man being close enough to touch him scared the hell out of him.

The thought of Snape's class wasn't much better. He didn't fear Snape hurting him, of course. What he feared was that Snape would figure him out. Snape knew what Harry had gone through. He'd been through it himself and he was clearly paying very close attention for someone to be attacked by the sick old man. He could very well notice that something was wrong with Harry and figure it out.

Harry didn't want Snape to know. He didn't want anyone to know. What happened to him was beyond humiliating and partially his fault. Oh, he didn't absolve Slughorn or Dumbledore. He hated both of them. He even hated Dumbledore slightly more for allowing it to happen. But he'd been the one stupid enough to trust Slughorn and actually take a drink from him. He'd been the one to completely ignore Snape when he tried to warn them about him. He could hear that being the first thing Snape said when he found out.

"You're as stupid as your father, Potter. Did you think you were too good to listen to my warnings. It is your own fault," he would say. And he would be right this time.

Harry was finally pulled from this thoughts by Ron's voice. "Harry, you coming to breakfast."

Harry jumped in fear and almost fell off his bed.

"Sorry, Mate. I didn't mean to scare you. So are you coming?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm not hungry." He already felt sick to his stomach at the prospect of being forced to be in class with Slughorn and Snape possibly finding out the truth. He couldn't eat anything.

"Come on, we've got Defense first. You don't want to deal with Snape on an empty stomach. Besides, you'll also have to deal with Hermione's fretting if you don't eat. She's starting to think something's wrong with you," Ron said.

"Alright, I'll be down in minute," Harry relented. He didn't want Hermione thinking something was wrong with him. If he was going to keep this a secret, he was going to have to start acting normally again.

"Okay. See you there," Ron said before leaving the dorm.

Harry was shaking like a leaf as he entered the Defense classroom. He took a seat at the back of the class so that Snape would notice him as little as possible. He hoped for the first time that today's lesson would be a theory one because otherwise he knew Snape would pay attention to him

The others sat down as well. Hermione noticed a tremor in Harry's hand. "Harry, your hands are shaking. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little cold," Harry said before shoving his hands under the table.

Hermione continued to stare. She didn't believe him at all. Something had been off with Harry for days. He barely ate anymore, he didn't spend time with her or Ron anymore, he was extremely jumpy, he had bags under his eyes like he wasn't sleeping, and now he was shaking. Something wasn't right with her friend. Ron was as dense as ever and didn't see it, but she knew something was wrong.

Severus swept through the room and to his desk. He looked and was in particularly foul mood. He hadn't slept well the night before. It was a common theme since Dumbledore invited that disgusting monster back into the school. He had nightmares about either his own attack by slughorn or other students that he might attack this year, mostly Potter. Last night's dream was the latter. So clearly, he was in no mood to deal with brats today.

"Take out your wands. We will be having a practical lesson today," Severus said shortly.

Harry groaned, but did as he was told. His hand of course shook as he held his wand, which probably meant he would fail miserably at whatever spell Snape wanted them to practice. Things didn't generally end the way they were supposed to when cast a spell with a shaky hand.

"We will be practicing more with non-verbal spells. Today we will work Carpe Retractum. You all will have learned this in your third year charms class. Let's see if any of you are capable of doing non-verbally. You will work in pairs. This once, I will allow you to choose your partners, as I have no doubt that at least some of you idiots will divert from the lesson should you be paired with someone you don't like. Find your partner quickly and get to work," Severus ordered

Harry and Ron immediately turned to each other, While Hermione partnered herself with Pavarti.

"You want to go first, Mate?" Ron asked.

"Sure," Harry said as he raised his wand. It immediately shook in his hand. He couldn't stop it. He was still really anxious and afraid that Snape would notice something.

Harry immediately made the wand movements required movements, but instead of the spell circling around Ron and dragging him to him like it was supposed to, it instead hit Neville's ankle, who was right behind wrong.

"Whoa!" Neville yelled out as he fell to the ground and was dragged towards Harry.

All of the Slytherins and some of the Gryffindors started laughing.

Severus stalked over to the three boys very irritable. "Potter, I was under the impression that Weasley was your partner."

Harry put his wand in his back pocket and stuffed his hands in his pocket to prevent his professor from seeing the tremors. "H...he was, sir."

"Then why is Longbottom the one dragged to you? Are you such an idiot, Potter, that you cannot hit the right target?" Snape asked angrily. He was extremely annoyed. All he wanted was to get through this bloody class and then try to get a bit more sleep before this next class. Of course Potter wouldn't allow him that.

Harry said nothing. He simply looked down at his feet.

Severus frowned a bit. He'd expected some kind of reaction from the Gryffindor, but had got none. He didn't even try to give in excuse. This would usually arise a bit of suspicious and make him attempt to figure out the cause, but he was extremely tired. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for your stupidity."

After watching Snape leave, Harry turned to Neville, who had since gotten up. "Sorry, Neville. I didn't mean to hit you."

"It's okay, Harry. I've messed up plenty of times. I'm surprised you did though. You're great at Defense," Neville said.

Harry shrugged. "I guess I'm not having a good day. Besides, non-verbal spells are different."

"Yeah, I suppose. Well, I better get back to my partner," Neville said before walking away.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Ron asked, wondering if maybe Hermione wasn't so paranoid after all and maybe something was wrong with his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Uh, we should get back to it. You try the spell now," Harry said.

If Harry thought he was shaking in Defense, it only got much worse when he made it to Potions. The shaking was uncontrollable now that he was so close to Slughorn. His queasyness got worse too, especially when Slughorn spoke. He never thought someone's voice could be so sickening.

Harry attempted to just concentrate on his potion and get out as soon as possible. He followed the instructions that the Half Blood Prince gave in his book and tried to keep his mind off the man who'd destroyed him.

That however was hard to do. Especially after feeling a presence behind him and turning to see Slughorn there.

"Harry, a wonderful job as always. You are my most promising student," Slughorn said before going to pat him on the back.

Harry yelped and jumped back two feet. He couldn't let Slughorn touch him. Having him touch him again, even just on the back sent chills throughout his whole body and creeped him out to the core.

The entire class stopped what they were doing and turned to him. They all found Harry's behavior weird and startling, even the Slytherins.

Slughorn played it off by laughing. "I'm sorry, Harry. Clearly I startled you. It won't happen again."

"I...I need to use the loo," Harry said before grabbing his bag and fleeing the room. He ran through the dungeons and into the closest bathroom. He found the closest toilet and emptied the contents of his stomach into it. He wretched for a good few minutes and then collapsed onto the floor crying.

Soon someone came in and called out to him. "Harry?"

Harry quickly dried up his tears tried to appear normal again.

Neville appeared before him. "Harry, are you okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry lied.

Neville stared at him for several moments before replying. "I don't believe you. You've been really weird lately, especially today. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry said.

"I can tell you were crying. I saw the way you reacted when Slughorn tried to touch you. You didn't react much better the few times I've seen others try. Has someone hurt you?"

"No!" Harry answered very quickly. "I'm fine, Neville. I'm just having a bad day. Please, just leave me alone."

Neville still didn't believe Harry. Something was really wrong. The way he was acting was the way Neville himself usually reacted. He was nervous and quite scared, constantly shaking. This wasn't Harry Potter. He wasn't like that. Why was he suddenly so afraid. What had happened to him. "Harry, you can tell me. I swear, I won't say anything to anyone."

"There's nothing!" Harry practically yelled before jumping up and fleeing once more.

Hermione and Ron were sitting in a couple of chairs in the common room discussing Harry. Hermione was worried. She'd watched Harry's behavior get increasingly frightening. He barely talked to anyone anymore unless they approached him and he ran away as quickly as he could. He avoided all physical contact. It seemed he couldn't stand to even be touched. There was also of course the way he stormed out of potions the other day. "I'm scared, Ron. Something is wrong with Harry."

"He says he's fine," Ron stated lamely. Honestly, he was becoming worried as well, especially with the incidents in Defense and Potions, but he wasn't ready to accept that something was wrong with his best friend. Harry was always really strong. He'd faced You Know Who several times and come out find for Merlin's sake. For something to bring Harry down, it had to be worse than that and he didn't want to believe that that was possible. "It's probably just Sirius' death. It's hitting him hard that he lost his godfather."

Hermione huffed in annoyance. Ron was either incredibly dense or in denial. She was leaning towards the second because even Ron couldn't be so dense that he didn't see the changes in their friend. He just didn't want to face it. Well, they didn't have time for denial. She didn't know what was wrong with Harry, but it was tearing him apart. "It is not and you know it. Harry was okay when he showed up at the Burrow. He was fine until recently. Now he's pretty much us and everyone else out. He's only around people when he needs to be and he's very uncomfortable when he is. He freaks out whenever someone tries to touch him. You saw him when Slughorn tried. He hasn't been much better in any other class either.

Ron thought about the class with Snape. It was weird how he messed up that spell. Harry was brilliant at Defense. Yes, as he pointed out to Neville, the non-verbal spells were harder, but he still did pretty well. Perhaps it was time to admit that something was very wrong. "Okay, you're right. But what could be wrong with him?"

"I'm not sure, but it happened very suddenly. He was one day and not the next. He was shaky, withdrawn, and scared," Hermione said.

"He's been a lot like Neville," Ron commented.

Hermione agreed with that assessment. Those qualities weren't worrisome in Neville, as the shy, nervous boy had always been like that, but Harry hadn't. He wasn't by any means boisterous, but he wasn't like he was now.

Speaking of Neville, he and Ginny walked into the common room at that moment and walked towards them. "Hey, guys."

"Hey," Ron said.

"Are you guys okay?" Ginny asked.

"We were talking about Harry. We're worried about him,' Hermione said.

"He has been acting weird," Ginny said as she and Neville joined the two and sat down. "I saw him talking with the Baron the other day outside."

"Why would Harry want talk with the Slytherin ghost? Why would the ghost even talk to him?" Ron asked confused. He hadn't known the Bloody Baron to speak with much of anyone but the Slytherins and the staff. Why would he speak with a Gryffindor?"

"I don't know. I didn't hear what they were saying, but he almost seemed to be trying to comfort Harry," Ginny said.

"The Bloody Baron?" Ron asked skeptically.

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe talking to someone who's not alive and he doesn't really care about was easier."

"And what is it he needed to talk about? We haven't figured out what's going on with him," Ron said.

"Someone hurt him," Neville said certain. He'd been paying very close attention to Harry since the incident in potions. the unwillingness to be touching and avoiding everyone as often as he could told Neville that someone had done something to his friend. Plus, the way Harry had denied it when Neville asked him had been too strong and too quick. Someone did something to him.

"He hasn't looked hurt," Ron said. He agreed that something happened to Harry, but it didn't make sense that someone actually physically did something. He looked fine.

"He doesn't have to have been beaten bloody to have been hurt," Hermione said.

"She's right. There are ways to harm someone without there being physical scars. Look, the way he's acting is strange. He avoids people and he hates being touched. I've seen his hands shake like crazy on occasion. That doesn't happen spontaneously unless something very bad happened to you," Neville explained.

"Fine. Who do you think it was? Malfoy?" Ron asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, if he did something, he would be in Harry's face all the time to provoke a reaction. He hasn't. He's barely bothered Harry since school started.

"One of the other Slytherins then," Ron said.

"You're assuming it was a student," Hermione said.

"Well, it happened after school started and we haven't had a Hogsmeade weekend yet. It has to be a student," Ron said.

"No, it doesn't. We all had that lecture from Snape about teachers," Ginny said. She'd thought that lecture was extremely weird and unnecessary at first, but now she was glad for it. It might just explain what had happened to Harry. Though if it was, it was too bad that it didn't save him from it.

Ron scoffed. "No teacher here abuses their power, except for Snape. None of them would hurt Harry. They've been here longer than we have. If they were gonna hurt him, they wouldn't have waited six years.

"They haven't all been here that long, Ron. Slughorn is new," Neville said. He had been thinking it was Slughorn. He provoked the biggest reaction out of Harry.

"Slughorn? No bloody way. Harry likes Slughorn. Harry's Slughorn's favorite student because of his mother and because of how well he does in Potions now. Slughorn's not totally knew. He's been here before. Dumbledore wouldn't hire him back if he thought the man would hurt one of us."

He may not know. Dumbledore may want to think so, but he doesn't know everything. He's hired dangerous teachers before. In fact, he's done it almost every year we've been here. Do you not remember Lockhart and Moody? Plus, there was Quirrell during your first year. Dumbledore's not above mistakes," Ginny said.

"And Slughorn's not liked by everyone. Professor Snape can't stand him," Hermione said.

"So? That's a point in his favor," Ron said.

"No, it's not! Professor Snape may be unfair, but he's usually right about things like this. He knew Quirrell and Lockhart couldn't be trusted," Hermione pointed out.

"Guys, I have to say that Slughorn creeps me out a bit, especially with that club he holds. That's just really weird and creepy for a teacher," Ginny said.

Hermione suddenly thought of something. "Ron, do you remember the night Harry disappeared all night? That was when his all started."

"Yeah," Ron asked, prompting her to go on.

"When we last saw him that night, he went to go meet Slughorn. We didn't see him again until morning," Hermione said. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about that. She should've seen right away that that had something to do with Harry's sudden behavior.

"You think he did something then?" Neville asked.

Hermione nodded. She was now sure it was Slughorn and that whatever happened happened that night

"What do we do?" Ginny asked.

Hermione's first instinct was to confront Harry about it, but she quickly decided against it. Whatever happened was bad and he'd be reluctant to talk abou it. If he did tell, he'd probably ask them to keep it to themselves, like he did with Umbridge. That wasn't an option this time. "We need to tell Dumbledore."

If that wasn't enough to keep Ron awake, seeing his best friend's shadow through the curtain thrashing about in the next bed certainly was. He'd gotten up to check on him and found that sure enough his friend was having a very violent and loud fit. Ron knew that the only thing that stopped the entire tower from waking was the silencing charm Harry had obviously put around his bed.

Just a few minutes after Ron came down, Hermione entered the common room as well. It was clear from the bags under her eyes that she had the same luck sleeping as Ron did.

"This is early even for you," Ron commented.

"Look who's talking," Hermione said as she made her way over and took a seat in the chair closest to Ron.

"I couldn't sleep. He has nightmares, bad ones. I think they're even worse than last year's visions. Whatever that bastard did to him messed him up, 'Mione," Ron said.

"I know. Look, we've just got about an hour before breakfast starts. We can eat quickly and then ask to speak with Dumbledore," Hermione said. She'd wanted to talk to Dumbledore right away after realizing that Slughorn had done something to her friend, but the headmaster had been out of the Castle for most of the day. They hadn't had a chance to talk with him.

"I'm not sure it's such a good idea. It just doesn't feel right to go behind Harry's back like that," Ron said. He knew Harry would be angry at them for this. He would feel that they betrayed him be informing Dumbledore that something was going on.

"Ron, we have to! Slughorn did something terrible to Harry to gain the reactions that we've seen. What if he tries to do it again? Or he goes after another student. We can't let that happen. If we do, we're no better. Slughorn needs to be stopped and Harry needs help," Hermione said.

"We don't even know what happened," Ron pointed out.

"I have an idea, but I don't want to be right," Hermione said. She could think of one truly dreadful thing that Slughorn could've done to Harry. As a muggleborn, she'd learned all about it happening in primary school. But she really wanted to be wrong.

Ron was about to ask what she meant, but before he could, he heard footsteps. He noticed Neville come down. "Hey, Neville."

"Hi. Couldn't sleep either?" Neville asked.

Hermione and Ron both shook their heads. "We were just discussing going to see Dumbledore. "I figure we can go after breakfast," Hermione said.

"I still don't know. It doesn't feel right," Ron said. He did get what Hermione said, but something just felt wrong about going to Dumbledore.

"Ron might be right. It might not be a good idea," Neville said.

"Neville, you must see that we have to do something to stop Slughorn," Hermione said in disbelief. She was a little surprised by Neville's reluctance. Ron she got. He wasn't one to go to the teachers, but he thought Neville wold understand the need for it.

Neville walked over and took a seat near his two housemates and friends. "Something just doesn't add up with all this. I meant to talk to you guys about this yesterday, but I was worried Harry would overhear.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, what's to add?" Ron questioned.

"After we talked yesterday, I went down to the greenhouses. It calms me down plant. Professor Sprout was down their and we talked. I asked her about Slughorn and his time here the first time. Apparently he was here a long time, since before Dumbledore became headmaster," Never told them.

"What's that matter?" Ron asked.

Hermione had an unsettling look on her face. "Well, it means that this has probably happened before."

"I'm pretty sure that's true. I casually asked Professor Sprout why Slughorn left. She didn't know why, but she said it happened quickly. That he was just gone one day. No one even knew he was leaving," Neville explained.

"That's sounds like he got sacked," Ron said surprised. It wasn't that a teacher getting fired was strange, but it was strange that Slughorn would be let back if he was fired. Why would Dumbledore hire someone back that he fired?

Neville nodded. "That's what I was thinking. That's why I don't think we should go to Dumbledore. I think it's likely that Slughorn was sacked because he did something to a student, like whatever he did to Harry, which means Dumbledore knows about it."

"You think Dumbledore knows Slughorn's done something? No. He wouldn't let something like that happen. He wouldn't allow a teacher to hurt one of us," Hermione said. Slughorn was one thing, but she refused to believe that Dumbledore would harm a student, even by just allowing it to happen.

"Umbridge," was all Ron said.

"That was different. Dumbledore couldn't do anything about that. The Ministry was in charge of her," Hermione argued.

"It's Dumbledore, Hermione. He could do almost anything. He could've stopped her," Ron said. He didn't want to believe this either, as he looked up to Dumbledore in the past, but it was hard to ignore Neville's logic. Dumbledore most likely sacked Slughorn, which meant he knew what he was capable of. They couldn't trust him.

"I've been thinking a lot about this all night. It was all I could do since I couldn't sleep. I've been thinking about everything we know. We know Slughorn is dangerous. He did something bad to Harry and probably others over the years that he's taught. We also know Professor Snape hates his guts," Neville stated. He was trying to get it all sorted out so they could figure out a way to help Harry. He wasn't coming up with anything though. They didn't even have proof that Slughorn had done anything. They needed proof, especially if they had to take on Dumbledore as well, which he was not enthusiastic about.

"Snape's the one that told us about teachers that might hurt us," Hermione suddenly said. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that before. Well, she had, but only to back up the possibility that a teacher could have done something to Harry. She didn't consider the possibility that maybe Snape was trying to warn them against Slughorn.

"Yeah, so?" Ron asked. He didn't really see why that mattered.

"It's a bit coincidental that he did that right about Slughorn came back," Hermione said.

"He must have known," Neville realized.

Ron scowled. "Greasy git! He and Dumbledore let this happen!"

Hermione shook her head. "No, he didn't. He was trying to stop it. He was warning us to be wary. He wanted us to be careful around Slughorn. And, Ron, remember when Harry told us that Professor Snape caught him with Slughorn and forced him back to the common room? I think he was trying to protect Harry."

"Why not just bloody say it then?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. He couldn't for some reason, I guess. He tried though, that we know, which means, he's the one that can help us. We have to go to Snape," Hermione said.

None of them noticed Harry at the top of the stairs by the dormitories, trembling more at every word that was said. They knew. His friends knew and they were going to tell Snape. Soon everyone would know what happened to him. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't live with that. It was time for him to do what he'd been thinking about since not long after Slughorn raped him.

Hermione led the way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.  They’d meant to catch their teacher before he left the Great Hall, but he never showed up in the first place, so they had to go search for him.

“I can’t believe we’re willingly searching the git out,” Ron said.

“Ron, Professor Snape is the only one we can go to.  If Neville’s right about the headmaster, he might be the only one we can trust,” Hermione said.

Ron snorted.  “A very frightening thought.

Hermione turned to the third member of the group as they approached the DADA classroom.  “Are you sure you want to come, Neville.  I know Professor Snape frightens you.”

Neville had a determined look on his face.  Yes, Professor Snape intimidated him, but Harry was his friend and he was determined to help him.  “I’m sure.  I want to do what I can to help Harry.

Hermione nodded and opened the door to the classroom.  They found professor Snape at his desk.  “Professor Snape?”

Severus turned and scowled at the three gryffindors.  “What are you three doing here?  Perhaps you’ve misread your timetables, but I don’t have the pleasure of teaching you today.”

“We know, Professor, but we have to talk to you,” Hermione said urgently.  

“What you need is to get to class, Ms. Granger, before I take points and give you detention!” Severus sneered before turning back to what he was doing, effectively dismissing the three teenagers.

Hermione uttered the words she knew would get her professor’s attention.  “It’s about Slughorn.

Severus froze in spot and slowly turned back to his students.  “Shut the door, Longbottom.

Neville quickly turned around and closed the door to the classroom.  

“Speak,” Severus ordered.

“We think he’s done something to Harry,” Hermione said.  

Severus ignored the drop in his stomach, not quite ready to accept that he’d failed to protect the boy just yet.  “And what has brought you to that conclusion?”

“Things haven’t been right with him lately.  He avoids everyone and he jumps when someone tries to touch him,” Ron said.

Severus couldn’t help but flashback to himself doing the same thing right after it happened to him.  He remembered Lucius Malfoy touching his shoulder and he turned and pushed him hard to the ground.  But of course, just because Potter didn’t want to be touched didn’t mean he was attacked.  There could be other reasons.  “Yes, well, some people don’t like being startled, Mr. Weasley.  It is certainly not evidence of an attack, nor that Professor Slughorn is responsible.”

“H...he l...lost it in Potions one d...day,” Neville Stammered.  He couldn’t help it when in the presence of Professor Snape.

“Go on, Mr. Longbottom,” Severus said, trying to hide his trepidation.

“S...Slughorn had just p...praised him on his potion and… and he went to touch him.  Harry was t...terrified.  He Jumped and then m...made an excuse to l...leave.  I found him crying in the bathroom,” Neville said.

“He hasn’t been much better in other classes either, like yours, sir.  He was really shaky in the last Defense class,” Ron added.

Thinking back, Severus remembered the odd behavior.  He hadn’t seen it at the time because he’d been in a very bad mood and wasn’t really paying attention, other than to see the boy’s screwups, but it was evident when he thought back.

“He was with Slughorn right before the odd behavior started as well,” Hermione said.

Severus stood up and shoved everything off his desk in a fit of anger.  He’d failed, both Potter and Lily.  He’d made a vow to protect that boy, to protect Lily’s son, and he’d failed in the worst way.  Failing to protect him from the Dark Lord would be better than this.  No, Potter wasn’t dead, but his life was ruined.  He would never, ever recover from this.  Severus knew that because he never recovered.  Whoever Potter was before this happened was not who he’d be from now on.

All three teens jumped slightly at their teacher’s rage.  They were no stranger to this particular professor’s anger, but they’d never seen him this explosive.  The worst they’d seen was him yelling about messed up potions and angrily doling out detentions.  They’d never seen him lose control like he just did.

Severus quickly realized that he’d lost it in front of his students and tried hard to reign it in, which was nearly an impossible feat.  The only thing he wanted now was to murder Slughorn and Dumbledore.  Dumbledore was just as responsible, if not more so.  The bastard knew what Slughorn was capable of, and not only did he put the sick old man in Potter’s orbit, but he essentially pushed the boy to him.  He sacrificed that child.

“S...sir, are you okay?” Hermione asked, quite worried for her professor.

“Have you discussed this with anyone else?” Severus asked, completely ignoring the question put to him.  

“No, sir.  Well, Ginny knows something happened as a result of Slughorn, but none of the teachers.  We’d planned to tell Professor Dumbledore, but Neville thought it might not be a good idea.”

“He was right.  You will speak to no one about this.  Is that understood?” Severus asked.  If Dumbledore found out about this before he could figure out what to do, it would end badly.  

“But what about Harry?  You have to do something,” Hermione said.

“I intend to, Miss Granger.  Now, where is the boy?” Severus asked.  The first thing he needed to do was talk to the boy.  He needed to find out exactly what kind of state he was in.  

“He didn’t come down to breakfast.  He’s either in Herbology or still asleep in the Common Room,” Hermione said.

“He had nightmares last night,” Ron said.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Severus said.  He was sure that boy had had nothing but nightmares from the moment it happened.  He remembered them quite well from when he was Potter’s age.  In fact, sometimes he still got those nightmares.  “Come, we will check your Common Room and then go down to the greenhouses if he’s not there.”

All three of them nodded and followed their professor out of the room.

Harry stood in the middle of the Room of Requirement.  There was a cauldron in front of him, as well as everything else he needed to brew a potion, including the Half Blood Prince’s potions book.  He’d had his eye on a specific potion since right after Slughorn had attacked him.  He’d thought of brewing it a little more every day since it happened.  Now that everyone was going to find out what happened, he knew it was time.

Harry knew there were easier ways to do what he was planning, but this way would be the least painful and the most effective.  No one would be able to stop him once he’d ingested it.  It would all be over.  

Harry had just finished his potion and placed it in the vile when he heard someone come in.  He looked up to see one of the last people he wanted to.  “What are you doing here, Malfoy?”

Draco glared at him.  “I could ask you the same, Potter.  Are you stupid?  You’re brewing a potion in here.  Are you mad?  You’re idiot at it just in the potion’s classroom.  At least until whatever way you started cheating.  What are you trying to kill yourself?”

Harry laughed at the other boy and decided not to even try to cover up what he was trying to do.  It wasn’t like Malfoy cared.  He’d probably egg Harry on.  “Yeah, Malfoy, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.  

Severus had left his three Gryffindor companions in the green houses, seeing no need for them to miss class. Plus, Potter would probably respond better if he wasn't ganged up on. That was if he ever he ever found the boy.

Severus knew that it wasn't so surprising that Potter might skip class. He'd skipped plenty after his own trauma. Class just doesn't seem worth it when your life has been destroyed. So, perhaps he shouldn't be as troubled as he was that Potter wasn't in class, but he was. Something just felt off. He needed to find the boy quickly.

Just as Severus made it to the entrance of the castle, he noticed two Gryffindors standing around there as if they had nothing better to do. "Why are the two of you not in class?"

"You canceled our class, Professor," one of the two boys told him.

Severus had forgotten that. He had the seventh years this period and had canceled the lesson to look for Potter. "Then perhaps you should be using this time to study or make sure your homework is complete instead of standing around like a couple of dungerheads!"

"Yes sir," they both said before heading for the Grand Staircase.

"Wait. Have either of you seen Harry Potter today?" Severus asked. As long as they were, he figured he might as well see if they could be any use.

"Potter? He should be in Herbology, I think."

Severus scowled. "I didn't ask you where he should be. I asked if you'd seen him."

"I saw him as I made it to breakfast. He was headed towards the dungeons," the other boy said.

"The dungeons," Severus repeated. Now that made no sense. Why in the bloody hell would Potter head to area where that disgusting old man was?

"Yeah, he was probably going to talk with Professor Slughorn. He seems to like him quite a bit," the boy said.

Without another word, Severus headed towards his former domain. Merlin help Slughorn if he encountered him while searching for Potter.

___________

Draco stood speechless for just a minute. What was meant as an insult seemed to be taken literally. Potter just told him that he was indeed trying to kill himself with whatever potion he was making. Was he serious? No, he couldn't be. Potter was the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One. Almost everyone loved him. He couldn't really mean to harm himself. No, Potter was just having him on. "That's hilarious, Potter. Too bad your just being a bastard. I know I'd like nothing more than to be rid of you."

Harry shrugged. "Well, you'll have your wish in a minute."

"Enough. Go be an idiot elsewhere. I need this room," Draco said.

Normally, Harry would question what Malfoy was up to. He was more than concerned with it on the train. Just like then, he new Malfoy was up to something sinister, but now he didn't give a damn. He didn't care about anything except for the pain that got worse every day. So Malfoy could do whatever he bloody wanted. "Fine, just as long as you don't mind my corpse laying around while you do whatever you're going to do."

Draco watched as Potter brought the potion to his lips and prepared to drink. Most of Draco was sure it was a sick joke, but the small part that wasn't reacted without his knowledge. "Stop! What...? What are you doing? What is that?"

"Well, the gist is that it's a potion version of the killing curse. At least, that's what I took from what I read about it in my book. It kills instantly after taking it. That's why I chose it. It's painless and there's no possibility of revival," Harry said.

Draco honestly wasn't sure if what Potter was saying was true. He couldn't tell what the potion was. It wasn't one he recognized, and he'd never heard of the potion Potter said he was about to drink, so he had no way of knowing what it looked like, or if it even existed.

Draco stood there, at a loss of what to do. He was torn on whether or not to even believe this was true. Most of him was inclined to believe Potter was messing with him, but the small part that wasn't feared he was about to watch a classmate die.

"Are we done now, Malfoy? Can you let me die in peace?" Harry asked.

"Why?" Draco asked. A part of him really wanted to know and the other part of him wanted to stall Potter from drinking that potion long enough to figure out what to do.

"What do you care? You were just saying you wished for this," Harry stated.

"I thought you were having me on! Why are you doing this? You're probably one of the most popular people in the world," Draco said, unable to understand why his school enemy would want to die.

"Except for with Voldemort and the death eaters. Well, actually, I suppose I'm popular with them too, just in a different way," Harry mused.

"Is that why you're doing it? Because of the Dark Lord. What, you want to kill yourself before he can?" Draco asked.

Harry laughed, but there was not a trace of amusement in his voice. "There are worse things in the world than Voldemort." Honestly, Voldemort had nothing on Slughorn and Dumbledore. They had destroyed him in a way Voldemort couldn't even hope to.

Draco found that hard to believe, but looking into Potter's eyes, he knew it was true. Whatever had driven him to this point was worse than the Dark Lord. And Draco was sure now that it was real. This wasn't a joke. Potter was going to kill himself if he didn't stop him. But how could he do that. How was he, someone Potter hated, going to convince him to stay alive? He wasn't even sure why he felt inclined to, but he did. "What's worse?"

"You don't want to know," Harry said in a slightly shaky voice as he thought back once more on what that man had done to him.

"Don't you want someone to know? Don't you want them to know why you did this?" Draco asked. He was trying to stall as much as he could with hope that someone would figure out they were missing and come find them. They were both missing from class, right? Someone had to notice.

"No, but they will. My friends know something and they're going to tell Snape what they know. He'll figure it out. Everyone will know why soon," Harry said with a shudder.

"So it can't hurt to tell me then, right?" Draco reasoned.

Harry shook his head. "No. I'm not going to tell anyone, let alone you. I won't put myself through that. That's the whole point of all this. So, see you later, Malfoy. Or not," Harry said before bring the potion back to his lips.

___________

Severus was searching the dungeons. He'd searched Slughorn's office to make sure the boy wasn't in there and had even stopped by the Slytherin common room to see if anyone had seen him. He was about to interrupt Slughorn's class to force the bastard to tell him when he might have seen the boy when he noticed the potion's storeroom was open. That door was kept looked most of the time, though it wouldn't be the first time someone broke in.

Severus walked into the room and surveyed the potion ingredients. Of course, it wasn't easy for him to tell what was missing since he no longer had a tally of them all, as he was no longer the Potion's master. There was no way to know what Potter had taken, if anything."

"Severus?"

Severus nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise. He quickly turned to see the Bloody Baron. "Bloody hell! Don't do that!"

"My apologies. What are you doing down here? I would think you'd avoid it these days," the Baron said.

"Nothing would make me happier, but the Potter boy was spotted coming this way," Severus said.

"Harry? He wouldn't," the Baron said immediately.

Severus narrowed his eyes at the ghost. The Bloody Baron wasn't on a first name basis with anyone but Slytherins, and even then it was rare. There was only one reason he could think of for it now. "You know. Why the bloody hell didn't you say anything?!"

"For the same reason I never said anything about you. It was for him and him alone to tell. I could make suggestions, but I couldn't make the decision for him," he explained.

"When did you find out?"

"The night it happened to him. I aided him in calming down and getting to a safe place. Why would he come down here? He's wanted nothing to do with Slughorn," the Baron said.

"I believe he's making a potion, but I don't know what or where he'd go to make it," Severus said.

"The Room of Requirement is a possibility. He wouldn't be disturbed there, plus he spends a good amount of his time there," he said.

Severus could've kicked himself for not thinking of that. It was obvious. It was the one place in the castle the boy could go to to be alone. Most did not venture into that room without a purpose, and most didn't have one. It was unlikely he'd be disturbed.

Severus immediately took off to find the boy.

___________

"Potter, don't!" Draco yelled.

Harry huffed in frustration. "What do you want now, Malfoy? Can't you just let me be for once?"

"No! Not if it means you're going to this!" Draco exclaimed.

"Why do you care if I do this? What is it Malfoy? You don't want me to kill myself before your new master can?" Harry sneered.

Draco self- consciously glanced down his arm with the dark mark on it.

"Yeah, I know you have it. I've seen the way you touch that arm," Harry said.

Draco looked at him for a second before making a split second decision. He removed his Hogwarts robe and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing the tattoo. He wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe because he didn't imagine the situation could get much worse. Maybe because he thought if he revealed his secret, Potter would reveal his. Maybe it was just another moment that kept Potter alive. "You're right. I got it this summer. I didn't want to, but I didn't have a choice."

"I don't really care anymore, Malfoy," Harry said with a shrug.

"Don't you want to at least know what I'm supposed to do. The Dark Lord has a mission for me," Draco said. He figured he might as well go all the way now that he'd revealed the dark mark. If Potter was listening to him, he wasn't drinking that potion. Hell, maybe it would give him a reason not to do this at all.

"Not really, but I'll humor you for a second, I suppose," Harry said.

"He wants me to kill Dumbledore," Draco told him.

Harry laughed. "He's sending you on a bloody suicide mission. Like you could kill Dumbledore. On the off chance you do though, give him a message for me before you do it. Tell him to rot in hell!"

Now that caught Draco off guard. He wasn't expecting so much a remark. He thought Potter liked Dumbledore. He always seemed to look up to him, seeing him as some sort of mentor. Was it Dumbledore that did it? Was he responsible for whatever drove Potter to this point.

"Now if there's nothing else, I have an afterlife to get to, assuming there is one," Harry said. However, he was interrupted yet again, this time by the door bursting open and Professor Snape rushing in.

Severus took a look at the scene in horror. Potter and Draco Malfoy were standing a few feet away from each other. The part that really horrified the man, however, was the potion in the Potter boy's hand. He knew what it was just by looking at because he'd made it before. More than that, he'd created it, and for one specific purpose, the same one he was sure Potter had for it now. Suicide.

Draco broke through the professor's thoughts after a minute. "Severus, I'm glad you're here. He's going to kill himself!" He didn't normally call the man by his first name in public, as he was still a professor, but right now, all mannerisms were gone. All he wanted was for the man he'd known his entire life to fix this bloody mess.

"I can see that," Severus said, his eyes never leaving the Potter boy's face and the potion still in his hand. For a second, Severus wondered how the boy even got his hands on the instructions for such a potion. Then he noticed the old book sitting right next to the cauldron. It was his book. That was how the boy had gotten so good at potions so quickly. He was using his notes, including the recipe for a very deadly potion.

Harry, meanwhile, was avoiding his professor's eyes at all costs. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be gone before Snape could get to him. Bloody Malfoy just had to find him and keep him from doing what he needed to.

"Draco, leave the room," Severus said. This needed to be between him and the boy with whom he'd failed. The only other person who knew exactly what it felt like to be subjected to Horace Slughorn.

Draco was a bit torn. On one hand, he wanted to run out of that room and leave the problem to someone else, but on the other, he just didn't think he could leave and forget what he'd seen so far. He might be cold, but he didn't have that in him. So for the first time ever, he uttered a word to Severus Snape he'd never had the guts to say before. "No."

"Both of you leave. Just leave me alone," Harry said miserably.

Knowing there wasn't much time, Severus ignored Draco and focused on the Potter boy. "No, I can't do that. Put the potion down."

"No. Just let me go. You hate me anyway. It will make your life easier," Harry said.

"I don't hate you, Harry," Severus said. The boy's name sounded foreign as it rolled off his tongue, but he found he couldn't call him 'Potter' anymore. He just couldn't see him that way anymore. This child never resembled a Potter less in his life. He wasn't sure if knowing what the boy had been through had clouded his judgment on the matter or if it finally cleared it.

"You've never used my first name," Harry commented.

"I know, but calling you 'Potter' no longer feels appropriate," Severus said softly.

Harry let out a very bitter laugh. "Because you feel sorry for me. You shouldn't. It's my own fault."

"That's not true. Never believe Harry. This will never be your fault!" Severus said firmly.

Draco looked between his enemy and professor. It was clear to him that Severus at least know what had driven the teen to this point and Draco wanted to know what that was. He needed to know what was so terrible that it would not only drive Potter to this point, but also cause Severus to have such compassion for someone he despised mere hours ago.

"It is. You warned me and I wouldn't listen!" Harry cried.

Severus sighed. "I didn't really think you would. People like that are able to do what they do by gaining trust. It's what makes them the most terrifying predators there are."

Draco deduced just from Severus' words that someone must have attacked Potter. He didn't know what they did, but it was obviously very bad. Was it a another student who'd done it? It couldn't have been a slytherin because Severus had said whoever it was had gained Potter's trust. Was it a gryffindor?

"Then why'd you warn us about Slughorn? Why tell us about dangerous teachers if you didn't think we'd listen?" Harry asked.

Draco couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips. Slughorn attacked Potter? A teacher? He supposed it made a little sense when he thought about it. He'd been present for the Potions lesson that Potter had bolted out of. Slughorn had barely touched Potter and he ran out as if he was being attacked.

"I did it because it was the only thing I could do. I'm sorry, Harry. I wish I could've told you to stay away from him and why, but I couldn't," Severus said softly. He hated himself for making that bloody oath. It just never occurred to him at the age of sixteen that Dumbledore would be stupid enough to hire the bastard back. He never thought that one day he'd be trying to stop James Potter's son from killing himself because the same thing had happened to him.

"I know. The Bloody Baron told me because I thought you didn't do enough. Sl...Slughorn told me that he did it to you too. He said we were alike. He's right now, isn't he?"

"Unfortunately," Severus said softly. He never wanted anyone to be like him in this way, let alone Lily's son. He would give anything not to have this in common with Harry. "Harry, I know how much it hurts. I know you're torn between anger and pain. I know you just want it to stop. And I know what it's like to hold that potion in your hands and want nothing more than to drink it."

Draco found himself horrified. Slughorn had hurt Severus too? And to the point that he too tried to end his life? That was more horrifying than anything Draco had heard so far, which was saying something. It was just that Severus had always been so strong. He couldn't imagine something so bad that it nearly broke him.

"You know what this potion is? I suppose you would. If a potion exists you'd know about it. I've never seen it in any other book but this one though. I never knew such a potion existed," Harry said as he looked down at the vial in his hand.

"I know you haven't. No one has. No one was ever supposed to either. I'm the only one who ever knew about because I'm the one that created it," Severus said.

Harry looked up at his teacher in surprise. "You made this? You're the Half Blood Prince?"

Severus nodded. "Indeed. I made it for myself. I carried it in my robes for weeks. I now wish I'd never even thought of creating such a thing."

"Why didn't you take it?" Harry wondered.

"Because in the end, I decided that he didn't get to do that to me. He didn't get my death. He'd taken more than enough. You need to make the same decision. Don't let him take your death," Severus said.

"It's not about him."

"Of course it is. Everything that's happened since he did it has been about him. But you can stop letting it be about him. You can prevent him from taking anything else away from you. Put the potion down. Please," Severus begged. He wanted to just take the potion from the boy, and he could if he got his wand, but he was afraid that just reaching into his pocket for it would spook Harry and he'd drink it.

"Potter," Draco finally spoke again. "I...I don't know what Slughorn did to you..."

"You don't want to know, Malfoy," Harry said.

"You can beat him, Potter. You've fought the Dark Lord multiple times. Slughorn is nothing," Draco said.

"I already told you, there are worse things than Voldemort. Trust me when I say, this is one of those things," Harry said.

"Slughorn is nothing but a coward. He was only able to harm by catching you off guard and incapacitating you. It's exactly how he got to me. He didn't even have it in him to face us, at sixteen, at full strength. Draco's right, he's nothing," Severus said.

"But it's not about him. I can't live with this," Harry cried.

"Yes, you can. I won't lie to you. Life will never be the same. You will never be the same boy who got attacked by that sick old man, but you can learn to live with it. I did. And it will be better for you. I was alone. There was no one to help me. There will be for you. Please give me the potion," Severus said as he held out his hand.

Harry laughed. "Yeah? Who's going to help me? My family who hates my guts? Dumbledore who practically sold me to him?"

"I will," Severus promised.

"So will I, if you want," Draco added.

"Why?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure which one he was asking, maybe both. It was unbelievable to him that the two people who hated him the most, save Voldemort, were willing to help him

"Because I don't want to see you die?" Draco said.

"Because when I look at you, I see myself, and I want a better outcome for you. Give me the potion, Harry. I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you again," Severus swore.

Harry took a couple of steps forward and reached his shaky hand that held the potion out to his professor.

Severus quickly seized the potion and sighed in relief. He didn't know how he'd done, but he'd managed to stop this child from ending his life. He hadn't been sure he'd be able to. Harry had been determined.

Harry fell to his knees and and began to sob uncontrollably.

Severus tentatively and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. It was the only measure of comfort that either of them would be comfortable with, and for the moment, it was enough.