"Harry?" Aurora called out from the sofa unexpectedly.

The young boy glanced towards her at once. "Yeah?"

"Have things gotten better with Ron lately?"

His eyes narrowed briefly in confusion before he set his quill down. Out of all the things for her to start a conversation with, that was not one he had been expecting.

"I don't know. I suppose a little." Harry shrugged, temporarily forgetting all about his essay. "He's more upset with Hermione now about her cat supposedly eating his rat."

"She has a cat now?"

Harry had heard the smile in his mum's voice before he saw it. He couldn't help but smile too. "Yeah. A Kneazle or something. I don't know. It looks like a small lion to me."

Aurora laughed quietly, the life slowly returning to her eyes once more.

"Kneazles are known to be fierce protectors of their owners. In fact, they're considered to be rather good guardians." She had paused for a moment before she continued. "Highly regarded in the Wizarding World like Crups are."

"Crups?"

She nodded slowly. "It looks like a small dog with a forked tail." She pulled her legs under her and made herself more comfortable. "Story goes some witch or wizard used magic on a barking neighbor's pregnant dog to quiet it, and when that dog later gave birth, all the pups had forked tails. Well, you know how Muggles are. The moment they saw the forked-tailed pups, they all became scared half to death, convinced the pups were vicious killers. So some witches and wizards decided to breed and train them to be ferocious around Muggles as a way of lending some truth to the Muggle stereotype. At least that's the story my father tells." She gave a small, sad smile. "You know it's funny. I always wanted a dog when I was a child."

"You did?" Harry hopped off his chair and headed towards her. "But didn't you grow up with horses and stuff?"

"I did, but you can't cuddle with a horse, Harry. At least not comfortably. And dogs are the perfect cuddler. They're so in tune with their owners that they can pick up just the slightest shift in mood and react to it. Unlike your father sometimes."

Harry laughed. He supposed he could understand the appeal.

"My cousin had a dog once," he revealed quietly, sitting down on the sofa across from her. "Aunt Marge gave it to him as a Christmas present."

"Oh?"

"I can't recall what the dog's name was, but it barked and barked and barked. Drove Aunt Petunia mad." He then frowned as he recalled a later memory. "Two days after Aunt Marge had given it to Dudley, though, it just vanished. I came out of my, uh," he paused with a nervous laugh, "room, and the dog was just gone. Dudley, of course, blamed me for it, claiming I had killed the dog somehow in the middle of the night. But I couldn't have. Not after being locked in my c—room." He had nearly slipped there and revealed that he had lived in a cupboard. Hesitantly, he glanced at her.

"Oh, love, I'm sorry." And he could tell that she genuinely was. "That's horrible."

Realizing then that she hadn't noticed his earlier near slip-up, Harry shrugged. Truthfully, he hadn't thought about that in years. "Knowing Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, though, I wouldn't have been surprised if they gave the dog back. Whenever they could blame me for something, they considered it to be a good day for them, you know?" His eyes fell to the floor as the familiar feeling seeped into his old wounds once more.

"Oh, sweet boy," she murmured, leaning forward towards him before she gently squeezed his forearm. "They were idiots, Harry, idiots and cowards and a load more adjectives than I can describe currently." She scoffed, shaking her head in disgust. "They were too stupid to see what an amazing young man you are. Well, to hell with them, I say," she proclaimed, waving her hand emphatically. "Their loss is your father's and my gain. And, I assure you, my sweet boy, we will always cherish you. No matter what. Do you know why?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak and found that he had to swallow past the lump in his throat first. "Because you love me," he replied shakily, feeling the immense emotions swirl inside him.

She returned a soft smile, her eyes alight with love. "You're damn right we do."

Without thinking and acting purely on instinct, the young man wrapped his arms around her as if he was drowning and she was his life preserver. He never wanted to feel alone again. Never wanted to feel that darkness that had been his only friend for so long.

"Easy, love," she whispered, carding her fingers lovingly through his hair. "I'm not quite ready for such strong hugs yet."

Horrified by his actions, the young man pulled back from her. What had he done? How could he forget that she was still healing? "Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" With each second that passed with her not answering, his fears grew. Glancing towards the fireplace, he quickly made the motion towards it. "I'll get Madam—"

"No!"

The raw emotion in her voice snapped him back into place instantly. Not out of fear. He knew she wouldn't ever willingly hurt him. But he knew from firsthand experience not to push someone when he or she sounded like a wounded animal.

"No, Harry. It's not necessary." She spoke much softer now, gentler than just a few second earlier. "I'm all right." The intensity she had spoken with just that one word was gone. "Truly, I am. So, there's no need to involve her and her needless flair for the dramatics."

He nodded slowly, unable to think of anything to respond. After all, it wasn't like he could necessarily argue with her. Or . . . maybe he could? Silence settled around them. Inside Harry, a war slowly brewed. All of the possible scenarios their conversations could go in flashed before his eyes as he waited for her to make the next move. But she said nothing, so there they sat. Dreadful silence.

Glancing up at the empty portrait of the Slytherin founder, Harry found his mind wandering to where Salazar had gone this time. Had Salazar known this would happen and left beforehand? It was possible. Judging by how Harry's father was, Slytherins had a tendency to think four moves ahead of others. The young man's mind then wandered even more.

So many secrets were in these walls. Secrets and lies. He used to think that only the Dursley residence had so many of both, but the castle surpassed everything he could ever dream of. The whole Wizarding world itself was based on a lie.

"Harry?"

He blinked at the sound of his name.

Born from a lie that had passed effortlessly through the good Lily Evans' scarlet lips. Kept a secret from all that could help him heal from the terrible loss of losing one's parents. Son of a master of deception, he was. So, was it any wonder then why his only friend was the darkness, having been cloaked in it his entire life?

"I never had a chance," he murmured aloud.

"What?"

His eyes moved to Aurora. "I never had a chance, Mum. But you do." He could tell she was confused and continued. "I can reveal all of my secrets to you and Dad, but it won't do any good. We both know that."

"Harry, what are you talking about?"

"I can't get rid of the darkness in me."

"Love, there's no darkness in you," she argued.

The young man held up a hand, though. "There is. I was born from a lie. We know this. And after Lily's death, another lie was told. And another and another. My whole life has been nothing but lies after lies. But not yours. You can let go of the darkness, Mum. You can fight it."

"Harry . . ."

But he cut in. "Your mother saved you with that serum. Not because she knew you would be something special in this world, a savior like me, but because she loved you and didn't want to lose you. My mother didn't do that with me; she saved me because she knew I'd be special for some reason. Look where that got us. Ten years without a loving family. Without you and Dad."

"And how does that make you feel?" unexpectedly joined in another voice, deeper and clearly masculine.

"Angry," Harry declared. "Angry and sad. I could have had a family that loved me for years instead of living with the Dursleys who treated me as if I was nothing but a house elf. I deserved more than that. You've shown me that, Mum. Shown me that I matter. That I'm loved. So this is me showing you that you're loved. That you matter."

"But I know all that, love. I know that you and Severus care for me."

"Not care—love—we love you." Harry shook his head then. She didn't get it. Then again, how could she, though? "Last year nearly killed us," the young lion revealed. "It forced us to confront all our fears head on. For me, that was the fear of losing someone who actually considered me her child and asked nothing in return. Dad—well, I think that was losing another woman he loved before he could experience true happiness. I get that you're healing. I do. But, Mum, you can't just lock everything up inside. Trust me. Dad and I tried that when you were gone. It wasn't pretty."

"Now, this is an excellent session. Wouldn't you agree, Severus?" burst in a voice that Harry quickly recognized as belonging to Karl McCoy, Aurora's healer. "It'd certainly make things easier."

"Glad to help," Aurora huffed, rolling her eyes at her healer before she turned back to Harry. Her eyes very briefly fell on Severus, who stood in front of the now closed door. "There are things at play here that you don't understand, Harry."

The young man couldn't explain it, but that little sentence ruffled his feathers instantly. "What's to understand? Your mum injected herself with a dangerous drug to save her unborn daughter's life. It worked brilliantly. So brilliantly, in fact, that it drew the attention of bad guys who were wanting to change it so they could hurt more people. So, when the truth came out, you were taken and . . . you know, bad stuff happened to you."

"Sweetheart," Aurora replied with a sigh.

"None of that matters, Mum. None of it. Because the only thing that matters to me is that you're alive and here with us. And you are. So all that stuff inside that's making you sad and worried, let it go. It's not helping you anyway. It's only holding you back. Let it go, and see the good that's around us. Once you see the good, it won't look so dark anymore. I promise."

"I wish I could share your optimism, but it won't help. It can't."

"Why not?" Harry challenged, refusing to believe her words. "If I can change my thinking and focus more on what I want than what others expect of me, then you can let go and move on."

"It won't work."

"Try."

"Harry . . ."

"Try!"

"I have!" Aurora snapped back. "I have been trying, Harry, but it's not as simple as you changing courses. We're talking about stains, deep dark stains to one's soul."

He blinked in pure confusion. What was she talking about?

"They don't just come off because you confess your sins to the world. And making excuses, well, that doesn't work either. It takes time. And I'm trying. Dear Circe, I'm trying. I know how badly you want it to be like before. I want that just as badly as you. But we can't go back to the way it was before because we've changed. I've changed." Her eyes darted back towards Severus. "I'm not the witch you thought you knew. Not anymore. He took that from me. He . . . I committed terrible deeds—I fought as hard as I could, Severus, but . . . it wasn't enough. I wasn't strong enough."

"Aurora . . ."

"No, let her continue," Healer McCoy murmured, waving Severus off.

Harry glanced with apparent confusion at the two wizards.

"He knew about the serum from Leonidas. At first, he wanted it for himself. To make himself stronger and more powerful than before. He thought it'd break Lily's sacrifice so he could hurt Harry. But as Leonidas slowly dawned on my mother's actions, he realized how he could hurt both of you. His traitor and his only survivor. As soon as he had gained enough power, he tried. Circe he tried to break me, but he failed. He neglected to see the flaw in my mother's serum. All because he was missing one final piece." Her eyes then darted to Harry before she glanced away again.

Harry felt a chill run down his spine when their eyes met. Her eyes were dull once more as if all the life in her had been ripped out.

"Harry knew that final piece he was missing. He's been dreaming it for months."

And just like that, the young man realized what she was talking about.

"Your necklace."

"She had infused her magic in it to protect me all these years from the darkness, but I broke it when I saved Harry. Do you understand now? Her serum that once saved me is now killing me. All he did was speed up the process. Let the darkness seep further into me. It's why he sits in his cell waiting. Because he's won, and he knows it."

"How do you know this, Aurora?" Severus asked quietly, his eyes narrowing on her.

Harry leaned closer to hear her answer. Everything he knew was wrong. Again.

"Because he showed me. Once he recognized the Horcrux that had been in Harry was in me, he knew. He knew he had a way in and used it like the good Slytherin he is. He showed me everything. All the murders he had committed. All the blood he had spilled. It was as if he was bragging. When you entered the chamber I was being held in, he revealed the rest of his darkness. How he'd toy with you to make you suffer. He was pleased when you showed him mercy. It was the last thing I felt from him." Her eyes closed momentarily. "My mind is broken. Shattered little pieces of reflections of my soul are all that are left. I see his memories, and then I see yours, Severus. I can't . . . it's too much." Her body then slumped to the side, causing Severus to hold her upright in his arms.

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter," remarked Healer McCoy. "You forced her into letting go finally." He had smirked before he motioned towards the fireplace. "Let's get her to Poppy, though. She'll need her strength in the coming days."