He couldn't believe what he just witnessed. The walk back was as if he was on autopilot. He didn't notice anything on the way. He didn't realize he had made it back until he was in front of the portrait. Draco sighed and kept walking the shorter distance from the Slytherin Common Room to his Head-of-House's office. Draco stood in front of the door and looked at the wooden door. So much was going through his head. The one thing that stood out was his new orders. How was he suppose to kill Professor McGonagall? It was completely impossible. Draco knew he was going to definitely need help. Draco also wasn't stupid. He knew his Godfather had a special place in his heart for the Transfiguration professor. Before he had even started school, Draco would spend a few days at his Godfather's house. Sometimes, before he even knew who she was, she would come over and spend the day with them. Draco actually would enjoy his time with Professor McGonagall.

Raising his hand, Draco knocked on the wooden door in front of him.

"Enter," came the reply from the other side.

Draco sighed as he let himself into the office.

"Uncle Sev," Draco said, once he closed the door.

Hearing that title, Severus lowered the quill that was in his hand and looked up at the teen who was still standing at the door. Draco looked disheveled. His usual crisp, clean uniform was wrinkled as his robes hung off his shoulders. His tie was undone, hanging loosely around his neck. He looked like the personification of pure dejection.

Severus stood up at his desk.

"Dragon," Severus called out, using his familiar nickname instead of his professional title.

Draco looked up at his Professor with red-rimmed eyes.

"I need help, sir," Draco whispered.

_0000_0000_0000_000

Harry lay on the bed. He did not want to get up. He didn't want to see the disappointed looks, especially from his da. Rolling over onto his side, Harry saw the bear that he'd been clinging to since his stay in the Infirmary during the summer. Right now, it sat at the foot of the bed; the furthest point away from him. As much as he wanted to grab for the bear and hold it tightly, since his curtains were closed and he didn't have to worry about the others seeing his childish behavior of sleeping with a teddy bear, he didn't want to hold the bear because the smells that came from the bear were ones that calmed him down when he was upset. Now those smells reminded him of the disappointed looks that his da gives him.

"Harry," Ron's voice could be heard on the other side of the curtain. "Come on, Harry. We have to get dinner."

"Go without me," Harry answered back. His voice a harsh whisper.

Ron quickly opened the curtains separating him from his best mate. Harry turned and looked at his friend with a hint of anger. How dare he invade my privacy? Harry thought.

"Get up," Ron's voice broached no argument. The anger that was starting to build in Harry quickly deflated hearing Ron's tone. "You will not sit here and waste away. You have ten minutes to get dressed so that we can go to dinner."

Harry sat up and watched as Ron left out of the dorm.

Ten minutes later, the trio were walking down the hallway heading for the stairs, Ron and Hermione standing next to each other while Harry was trailing behind. Both Ron and Hermione were worried about Harry and each would steal glances behind them to see if Harry was still walking with them.

When they got to the Great Hall, Harry would have sat at the end of the table, closer towards the door, but Hermione grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him further down the aisle of tables until they were in the middle, and sat down.

Ron and Hermione sat on opposite sides of Harry. Surprisingly, the twins sat across from the trio. Harry sat with his shoulders slumped and head bowed. He didn't want to look up at the head table. He couldn't face the disappointing looks. He knew he was a coward for not looking, but he couldn't help it.

Fred and George looked at Harry and they and Hermione and Ron looked at each other. George nodded to Ron and Ron began filling Harry's plate with food. Not a lot, but enough to fill the plate.

When the plate was placed in front of Harry's view of the table did he look up. He saw that not only were Ron and Hermione looking at him with concern, but also the twins were.

"Eat," Fred said, softly.

Harry tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. He slowly picked up his fork and began eating, his bottom lip trembling as he chewed. Hermione put her hand on Harry's wrist and gave a comforting squeeze before she began her own dinner.

The twins were not the only ones watching the trio. At the head table, the former Potions professor and Transfiguration professor were watching Harry. Severus couldn't stand it. He couldn't eat another bit until he found out what was wrong with Harry. Quickly standing up, Severus excused himself from the table and rushed back down to his office.

So much was on the man's mind from what he learned from Draco to what was ailing Harry. As much as he wanted to worry about what Draco was dealing with, he couldn't think on it now. He needed to see his Harry smiling again. It seem to be the only thing that mattered now. And Severus was determined to make that possible for the boy whom he was seeing as his own son.

Severus had been working for almost an hour when there was a knock on his door. Usually he would barely have visitors when he was in his office, and now it seemed like everyone wanted something from the man now.

Sighing, Severus looked up and called out, "Enter."

Minerva walked in, closing the door behind her. She didn't say anything as she walked over towards his desk. Severus watched as his mother approached him. She looked down at the array of journals and tomes that were over Severus' desk. Reaching over and gripping his hand, she sat down across from him and began looking through one of the discarded tomes, no words were spoken between the two of them. Severus looked at her for a moment longer before resuming what he was working on when she knocked.

Another hour was quietly working and neither one said anything. Then there was a small gasp from Severus that brought Minerva's head up from what she was reading.

"You found something?" Minerva asked.

"I think so," Severus said, looking up at his mother. "Have Harry taken to the Infirmary. I'll be there shortly."

Minerva nodded and walked over to the fireplace.

_000_000_000

Dinner was over and Harry was back in his bed with the curtains drawn closed. Laying in the bed, he just looked at his bear, longing to hold it, but not having the heart to wrap his arms around the plush toy.

"Harry." A voice called again from the other side of his curtain.

Recognizing that it wasn't Ron this time, Harry sat up and peeped through the slit in his canopy. There on the other side was his Head-of-House.

"Please come out, Harry," Minerva pleaded.

The plea alone brought Harry out of his confined space. Standing before his Head-of-House, Harry looked up at her.

"Would you come with me, please?" Minerva asked, but turned to leave without Harry responding.

Sighing, Harry slowly followed his Transfiguration Professor out of the dormitories and soon out of the Common Room.

The two of them walked in silence as they made their way towards the Infirmary. Once they reached the Infirmary, without being told to, Harry went to one of the cots and sat down on the bed. Minerva went into the Healer's office to see if Severus was in there.

Harry sat quietly on the cot, wondering why he was called to come to the Infirmary. He wasn't due for his bandage to be changed for another two days. He was brought out of his musing by feeling something nudging at his arm. When he looked up he couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing. There standing right next to his bed was a doe. Not a real doe but a patronus. The doe looked up at him and they looked into each other's eyes. It gave him the most calm feeling he'd felt in days. Actually the last time he felt this calm was when he spent that Thursday evening with his da. The first time his da kissed him on the forehead.

A teary smile came across the child's face as he looked at the doe. The doe lowered her head and put Harry's arm in its mouth. Harry's arm began to burn. The feeling was intense. His shoulders shook with sobs but no sound came from his mouth. It was a weird feeling. He was in pain from his arm, but the calm feeling was still there. Love just seem to surround him and even though his arm was in a great deal of pain, for the first time, it was not the only thing that Harry was feeling.

Derek and Minerva came out of his office and saw Severus standing at the door, but not coming in. the Potions Master's attention was on the boy on the bed. They looked over at Harry and could see the Patronus by Harry. Minerva looked over at her son and could see that Severus was in deep concentration so she decided to wait and ask her questions when Severus was done with what ever he was doing.

When the doe straightened back and looked at the child, Harry looked down at his arm. Without thinking, Harry began to unwrap his arm. When he finished, he was shocked at what he saw. There were no visible words on his arm anymore, only superficial scratches that would probably heal in a couple of days if not sooner.

The doe stepped back and then disappeared.

"Mum," Harry whispered.

Without looking at either Minerva or Derek, Severus, walking pass them, went straight to Harry's side. Harry looked up when he heard footsteps coming towards him. Seeing his da walking towards him with purpose, brought a smile to his face. Not even giving his actions a second thought, Harry got off the bed and rushed over to his da, wrapping his arms around his torso.

"Thanks, da," Harry whispered in Severus' robes.

Harry just wanted to laugh at how light he was feeling. All those heavy, dark feelings just seemed to go away, instantly. It was the best Harry's felt in the last couple of days.

Severus wrapped one arm around Harry's shoulders while the other hand cradled the boy's head. Whatever darkness was surrounding his son, was now gone. His Harry was back. Severus just hoped that Harry would learn something from this incident.

After getting checked by Derek, Harry was allowed to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry actually felt excitement of seeing his friends as he walked down the hallway.

Severus, Minerva and Derek went into Derek's office.

"You want to tell me what that was?" Derek asked.

"Harry was dealing with a side effect to the prolonged use of that quill."

"What do you mean?" Derek asked, confusion in his voice. "I've never heard of any side effects."

"Yes, well," Severus said. "There aren't many documented cases. Usually Blood quills are used under strict circumstances. And it is usually Goblins that have use of those quills because of the nature of the item. Harry was made to use it as a punishment and then for an extended length of time. He had to write one hundred and fifty lines. Far more than anyone has ever use it.

"The longer that Harry was using the quill the more the dark essence was seeping in to the child. Harry was becoming depressed. I could see it in his face."

"So what was with the patronus?" Derek asked.

"Harry's depression was similar to that if he was subjected to a Dementor," Severus answered. "All of his happiness was being sucked out of him by that wound on his arm."

"So the patronus was sucking the darkness out of Harry?"

"Exactly," Severus nodded.

"Don't you think we should do the same with the others?" Minerva asked, speaking for the first time.

"The only other one that may need it would be the Weasley teen," Severus said. "Ms. Lovegood didn't use it long enough for it to effect her that bad. But I'm still undecided about Mr. Weasley."

"We should bring him in," Derek suggested.

"No," Severus shook his head. "Mr. Weasley didn't use the quill as long as Harry did. Also his happened weeks ago. If it were to happen, we would have noticed it already. They have detention with me on Thursday, if there are any noticeable problems outside of the usual, I'll send them up here."

_0000_0000_0000_0000

Harry walked into the Common Room and saw his friends sitting over on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

"Harry," Ron called out, when he saw his best mate walk in the room.

Harry walked over towards his friends and sat down next to Hermione, on the sofa.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked.

"Better," Harry said, a small smile on his face. "Listen, guys, I'm sorry for how I've been."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Ron said, wrapping his arm around Harry's shoulder. "We were just worried about you. But you look better now."

"Yeah, I feel better," Harry said.

"Harry, promise me something," Hermione said. Harry looked over at her. "Promise that you won't keep something like this away from us. We're your friends and we don't want to see you hurt or upset."

"Hermione, I …," Harry started, but Ron cut him off.

"Don't apologize, Harry. You're our friend and we already know that you would do the same for us if you were worried about us. Let us return the favor."

Harry nodded.

"Great," Ron said, moving his arm from around Harry and clapping his hand. "Now that that is over with, do you want to play some chess?"

The first time in what seemed like a long time, Harry smiled.

"Yeah," Harry said.

The trio sat around and enjoyed each others company. Ron and Harry played a few games of chess, not that Harry won any.

Later that night, everyone was in bed asleep. Harry lay on his bed looking at the top of his canopy. He didn't lie to his friends about how he was feeling. He truly was feeling a whole lot better, but there was something missing. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Realizing what it was, Harry quickly and quietly got out of bed, going into his trunk, finding what he needed, he rushed out of the dormitories and out of the Common Room.

Severus was sitting alone in his chambers. He had a cup of tea on the small table next to him. He completely felt drained. So much had happened that it felt like it has been a week, not the three days it really was.

Tomorrow he would be introduced as the new Defense Professor. For years he had wanted that job. Now, he had it. Severus knew that his position was going to come at a price. At first the price was going to be his Slytherins. But thanks to his mother and the other Heads-of-Houses, he was still the Slytherin Head-of-House. He had lived his entire school career under Slughorn's blind eye. He was not like Pomona, who hugged and coddled her house. Severus was not a hug-able person, (well not before dealing with Harry), but his Slytherins knew that he was an advocate for them. He was about fairness. He wanted to make sure that his Slytherins would be treated equally. He never really had a problem with the other houses. The students would be students in there would be arguments but nothing that would cause a huge riff that put Houses completely against each other.

Thinking back on the meeting in the Headmaster's office, Severus had to admit to himself that he was quite shocked by Filius' admission. Severus had no idea that the Goblin was aware as to what happened to him during his time as a student.

Severus didn't trust Albus. Knowing that if Severus didn't have the support of the other Heads-of-Houses, Albus was planning on removing his position and also see to it that he didn't last the rest of the school year.

_000_0000_0000_0000

Harry, wrapped in his invisibility cloak, made his way down to his da's chambers. Harry realized that with everything that happened since Friday, he was robbed of spending the night with his da. With determination in his every step, Harry made his way through the deserted halls. It didn't dawn on him that he did not have the password to is da's chambers. Standing in front of the portrait, Harry looked at the doe. Seeing the doe gave him a calm feeling, like in the Infirmary. Harry pulled off the cloak and got closer to the portrait.

The doe was looking at him as Harry stood in front of it. The doe tilted her head when Harry slowly reached out and lightly touched the panting. What Harry didn't know was that on the other side, Severus was being alerted that someone was standing in front of his chamber door.

Harry was so entranced with the doe that he was startled when the portrait swung open revealing his da.

"What are you doing here?" Severus asked, his voice almost had a growl tone to it.

Harry blinked up at his da for a second before as if he was waking for the first time.

"I don't have the password to your chambers," Harry said after a moment.

Severus raised his eyebrow at the fact that Harry did not answer his question. Severus reached out, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder, he pulled the child into his chambers, closing the portrait back.

Harry walked into the room as if nothing was wrong and sat down on the sofa. Severus, still slightly stunned as to why Harry wasn't in his dorm, was still standing at the entrance way.

"Mr. Potter," Severus said, sounding stern. "How did you get down here without getting caught?"

Harry, not deterred from the tone of his Professor, smiled cheekily, lifting up the silvery invisibility cloak.

"You still have that thing," Severus said, ofhandedly. "I'm going to have to see about that."

Severus walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Harry.

"Harry," Severus tone lightened. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry said, still having a smile on his face. "I just realized that I was robbed."

"Excuse me," Severus said, turning slightly so that he could look at the child. "Robbed?"

"Yeah," Harry said with conviction. "I was supposed to be able to spend the night."

"And I suppose last night – ," Severus started, but Harry cut him off.

"That doesn't count."

"I see," Severus said. "And what made you think that today would be any different?"

"Well," Harry said, sitting back on the sofa. "I'm already here. And you don't want me to get in trouble. I can't go back to my dorm as I might get caught being out in the corridors at night. And we don't want that."

"Why you sneaky brat," Severus said, standing up.

"So, I need the password to your chambers," Harry said, standing up next to Severus.

"I don't think so," Severus said, shaking his head.

Harry almost look crestfallen at what Severus said, but a thought passed his eyes that Severus saw.

"What?" Severus said.

"That's okay," Harry said, still smiling. "I'll just ask mum."

"Excuse me."

"That's who is in the portrait, isn't it?" Harry asked. "I'm sure that I can figure out the password by myself."

"Cheeky brat," Severus huffed, lightly gripping the back of Harry's neck and bringing him into an embrace.

Harry wrapped his arms around his da's waist. The last few days were hard, and he hoped that he never felt like that again. This was what he missed the most. The light banter between the two of them.

"Come on, brat," Severus said, releasing the teen. "It's late. You need to get into bed. As you are going to the Great Hall for breakfast in the morning."

The two of them walked down the short hallway to the last door on the right. Harry walked into the room and went straight to the bed. Severus covered the child, when Harry laid down and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Alright, go to sleep," Severus ordered.

"Yes, sir," Harry said, raising his hand and giving a mock salute.

Severus swatted the boy's covered hip, teasingly. He then leaned down and kissed the boy on the forehead.

"Get some rest," Severus said, sitting back up.

He got up from the bed and walked over to the door. Harry rubbed his forehead lightly where Severus had kissed him and smiled.

"Love you, da," Harry whispered, then closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Severus stopped at the door, hearing what Harry had said. He quickly turned to the child and saw that he was already dropping off to sleep.

That boy definitely had ways of stunning him speechless, Severus thought, as he walked out the room, closing the door behind him.

TBC