The following week Snape didn't speak to Harry at all although Harry had the feeling he wanted to. Now he was looking at him at every meal and when they passed in the hallways he often looked like he was about to say something but he didn't. Harry didn't know why and at this point he didn't care. It was one less thing to worry about. Things were seemingly back to normal. Every student except Hermione, Ron and Neville seemed to have forgotten about the broom incident and his newfound friends had stopped asking him about it. Still, Harry sometimes found them whispering among themselves. Harry had painstakingly written a letter home and asked Lily how she was doing. It was nerve wrecking to wait for a reply but it came and Lily assured him she was fine and told him to have fun and not worry about her. So she didn't know anything. That was some consolation.

”Mr Potter, please stay after class,” said professor McGonagall and Harry couldn't help but notice the look Hermione gave Ron. Once all the other students had filed out Harry made his way to her desk. McGonagall simply asked him to follow her and lead him to her office where the window was now intact again.

”Won't you sit down?” she said. ”Harry, I'm sure you know I cannot let this go.”

Harry sighed. I wish you would. ”Professor, you don't understand, it really is nothing.”

”Please,” interjected McGonagall. ”Harry, I want you to know you are safe here. I don't know why you feel you cannot tell us. I know professor Snape spoke to you and I've informed him not to speak to you or go near you outside of classes. If he does all you have to do is tell me. He can't go near you, Harry. You're safe here.”

”I never said he did anything to me,” Harry argued.

”No, you didn't,” she agreed. ”But unless you can tell me who did I cannot allow him near you or allow you to go home.”

That got Harry's attention. ”No! I have to go home! I mean, I should have been expelled for flying!”

”Professor Dumbledore and I are both aware of you mother's condition and we know what a blow a Ministry investigation will be for her and to you. We would like to spare you as best we can.”

”You can't do that!” cried Harry and leapt from his seat. Then they would investigate Aoife too and she would be so mad! ”I won't let you do that!”

”There are other ways. Harry if you feel you cannot tell us perhaps you could show us? You see, there is magic that makes it possible to see another persons thoughts and memories and the Headmaster is able to do this. It's illegal to perform this magic without consent however so we need you to agree. I don't like the idea either Harry but professor Dumbledore might be right that it could work.”

Harry's chest hurt with emotions as he looked up at her. ”Professor Snape didn't do this. That's the truth so there! And you are just making things worse for everyone! Leave us alone!”

”Harry, you don't understand...” But she didn't get to finish that sentence because Harry got up and left. He knew she was trying to help but why couldn't she just leave it alone when he told her he was fine and to go away. Harry spend his evening playing cards with Ron. Not regular cards of course and Harry didn't know the rules but Ron was only happy to teach him and happy that Harry wanted to do something together.

”Are you even allowed to be here?” Ron said with a slight sneer as Hermione sat down on Harry's bed. The two tolerated each other because they both liked Harry but Harry knew it wasn't without difficulty.

”Did you even listen to the prefects on the first night?” replied Hermione.

”So we can go in your dorm then?” asked Seamus who was writing a letter on his bed.

”No,” said Hermione as she rolled her eyes. ”The Hogwarts rules clearly state that...”

”Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Ron interrupted. ”Harry, what are you doing there, mate?”

”Oh, nothing!” said Harry who had been lost in thought. ”Where's Neville anyway?”

”I believe he is looking for Trevor,” said Hermione. It wasn't long until Seamus and Ron were arguing about whether or not some Quidditch player was better than some other one. It didn't make much sense to him. He wasn't a very studious boy in particular but he and Hermione had decided to work on their charms homework together. Harry welcomed the distraction and Hermione's constant chatting about it.

”I think it is a wonderful thing that you are focusing on your studies, Harry! If your grades are good I'm sure they won't care as much about all the trouble you've been in.”

Harry paused in the middle of reading a sentence. People needed to leave it alone. ”I'm not in trouble,” he said rather shortly. ”You don't know anything about it.”

”That's right... I don't,” said Hermione in a voice sounded both hurt and worried.

His chest was hurting terribly yet he kept running. He knew he just knew that Lily was in danger. He refused to believe that he wouldn't make it. He was sinking into the floor and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep moving forward. Shadowy hands emerged from the stone walls and reached for him. He was crying. He struggled to get free but he was drawn further and further back and into the darkness.

Harry awoke with a start. His heart was pounding in his chest and was obviously the cause of the pain. As soon as he realized where he was he wiped his eyes and reached for his glasses. He pulled his knees up under his chin and tried to get his breathing under control. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't keep this going with everyone sticking their nose in his affairs. Neither his Head of House nor his friends would leave it alone! Why couldn't they just understand? It would be be fine so long as nothing got out but if McGonagall started an investigation he was so dead. No, worse! His mother was so dead! He felt the urge to cry emerging again and sniffed. He didn't know what time it was. It was dark and all his friends were asleep. He had to do something about it but what? He didn't have anyone to confide in and how was he supposed to make them stop on his own? He had tried! But McGonagall wouldn't listen! Actually come to think of it, there was one place he could could go. Maybe. It was taking a chance. As Harry looked out into the darkness the silence was almost suffocating him. How was it possible to be in a place with so many people and still be so alone? No one was awake to see him slip out of the portrait hole.

He found himself hesitating as he stood in front of the door. The stone floors of the dungeons were icy cold against his bare feet and he wished he'd thought to at the very least wear socks. He was panting and found that his breath was visible in the cold subterranean halls. He half expected Malfoy to walk around the corner any moment. What did he have to lose? He most likely wasn't there! He could be at home or in his quarters for all he knew. In fact this was really stupid. He risked getting caught for this. He was still wearing his pajamas – perhaps they would believe he was sleep walking. Harry raised his hand and paused again. He took a deep breath and knocked ever so gently on the door. Since Filch didn't rise from the floor at the sound he pulled himself together and knocked harder. Please be there, please be there, please be there. To his surprise the door flung open and revealed Snape sitting at his desk. The desk held several stacks of papers and he had a few papers in in his hand and appeared to have been reading them. He looked towards the door with an expression of annoyance and resentment but to Harry's astonishment it changed to surprise when he saw who the visitor was. ”Hi,” Harry greeted, still thinking this had been a stupid idea. ”Erm... May I enter... Professor?” Snape stared at him for a moment before he put the papers down and rose from his chair.

”You're not permitted to be here,” he stated matter-of-factly. ”Return to your dorm immediately.”

”I wanted to talk to you,” Harry objected.

”I am certain your Head of House can deal with whatever problems you may have. As it is, you are out after curfew,” replied Snape and moved towards the door, likely with the intention of shutting it on Harry.

”She can't help me. She is the problem,” said Harry quickly. ”I want her to stop. Why won't she stop?”

Snape paused and considered the boy in front of him. Then he sighed and grabbed the door handle. ”Minerva will skin me alive if she finds out you were here. Well... Get in. What are you standing there for?” Harry didn't need to be told twice. He hurried inside and Snape shut the door behind him. Harry opted for standing by the desk but Snape flicked his wand and a chair flew over to Harry. As he sat down Snape slowly made his way back to the desk. Harry stretched his neck in an attempt to see what kind of papers were keeping Snape up but then the man spoke: ”Have you any idea what time it is?”

”No,” Harry admitted.

”1:45 AM,” Snape informed him and Harry couldn't help but look down when Snape spoke to him like that. It was like being home. ”Oh, for Merlin's sake! You stupid boy!” snapped Snape suddenly and Harry looked up confused as to what he had done now when a grey blanket appeared around him. ”If you catch a cold I am sure to be blamed for that as well,” huffed Snape. ”Is the concept of shoes beyond your comprehension?”

Harry didn't reply to that as he assumed it was rhetorical. ”I need your help,” Harry said. ”I want McGonagall to stop asking asking questions. I want her to leave it alone.”

Snape arched an eyebrow. ”And just how do you suppose I aid you in that? Do you honestly think she would believe a word either of us say?” Snape turned pensive for a moment and studied Harry in silence. ”Curse marks cannot be easily dated but by your own admission to the Headmaster you acquired both that and the bruises at home. How?”

”The same way I got most of the bruises I've had,” muttered Harry.

”The truth, Harry. If you could either tell the truth or at least lie convincingly this mess could have been avoided.”

”It is the truth,” mumbled Harry in reply. ”Look, I'm not talking about it so stop it!”

”Hmm...” Snape hummed deeply. Harry felt like the greatest idiot alive. He'd actually assumed Snape wouldn't ask any additional questions. He never had before. 'I fell on the stairs' or things like that had been enough previously. Of course Snape didn't believe him when he as a small child had cried because Aoife had pinched him. She hadn't left marks back then either. Nor had she ever left this many and this severe marks. Harry suddenly found a black pair of eyes upon him. Snape looked... tired... almost worried. It was strange. He could easily have Snape take the fall. He didn't know if they would take him away or something. But he could have told them Snape did it and get back at him. Harry found he didn't want to. He couldn't stand him but he found he hated Aoife more and he couldn't bear to imagine what his mother would say either. In fact, he realized, that was bound to crush her. ”Is it someone in the village? The Allyns?” Snape asked. There were not many magical families in their neighborhood but the Allyns were some of them. Harry just stared at him. He clearly didn't even consider the possibility that it had happened in the house and Harry wasn't sure if it was because Snape didn't think Aoife capable of it or because he couldn't believe it could happen without him noticing. Perhaps he did not want to believe it. When Harry didn't reply, Snape spoke again.

”How on earth do you imagine I can end this if you cannot at the very least tell me the truth?”

”We could talk to them together,” Harry shrugged. ”And explain you did nothing.”

”And they would still demand an explanation,” Snape snapped. ”Do you plan to lie you way out of this? Because you are doing a terrible job.”

”Then you do it. You tell me what to say – since you're so good at it,” Harry replied with hints of venom.

”Even if I managed to do so, you truly imagine I myself would let this go?”

”Why would you care?” Harry said, glaring at the man.

”Listen to yourself!” Snape replied firmly. ”I will not help you unless you tell me.”

”Fine!” Harry cried as he jumped from his seat, leaving the blanket on the floor. ”I'll tell you when it's over then! But you promise not to tell anyone else!” If he was going to lie through his teeth he might as well start now.

”Mhmm...” Snape rose from his seat and walked around the desk. He picked up the blanket and handed it to Harry. As the boy took it Snape held on to it a few additional seconds as he looked at the boy. Harry didn't know what that meant. Snape let it go and paced for a few steps. ”You couldn't wait until daylight?” he said while rubbing his temples. As Snape seemed to be thinking intensively, Harry stared straight ahead with a vacant expression. Then his eyes once again fell on the papers Snape had been reading. Now that the man had put them down they were no longer in a neat stack and despite everything being upside down Harry tried to read the one now lying closest to him but it proved too difficult. That was when he saw what he was pretty sure was his own name there. ”What are those?” he said as he got up to take a closer look.

”That...” said Snape as he quickly moved over to the desk and grabbed the papers. ”Does not concern you.”

”Yes, it does!” Harry objected. ”I saw my name was on it.”

”You are entirely to nosy,” Snape stated. He sighed deeply and glanced at the pages in his hands. ”I suppose... It does not matter now.” With that he handed the papers to Harry. The boy stared at them. There was his name, his birthday, the names of his parents. There were paragraph and long words and dotted lines and several places he saw the handwritten initials of his mother and her curly signature was right there on the last page. ”These are adoption papers,” Harry mumbled.

”Really? I hadn't noticed.” Snape's voice was laced with sarcasm.

”But...” Harry was in disbelief. ”I told you I wouldn't do it! I hate you!”

”Then I am certain you will be happy to hear that nothing will come of it,” said Snape as he stepped closer and snatched them from Harry's hands before dumping them in a desk drawer. ”As for the matter at hand...”

”What are we going to do?” asked Harry though he was still puzzled as to why Snape had been reading those papers.

”We will do nothing for now. You will return to your tower and go to bed,” Snape replied. Harry was about to open his mouth and object but Snape continued: ”No, I do not want to hear it. You are out after curfew and additionally if you were to be found anywhere near this vicinity professor McGonagall will likely use my face as a scratching post.”

Harry huffed and got up. He wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and hurried towards the door. He didn't think Snape would help him at all but seeing as it concerned him too, Harry had hoped he would at least be a little bit useful.

”Harry...” The boy of the same name froze when he felt a hand on his shoulder. ”If you do anything half as idiotic and dangerous as you did at flying instruction again I will take you over my knee – investigations or not!” The words were not spoken with malice or even the same anger they usually were. Again Snape sounded nothing but exhausted. Harry just glared at the man and mumbled 'goodnight' before slipping out into the dungeons.

Harry walked through the dark castle consumed by his thoughts upon stupid stepfathers who were no use to anybody. Therefore his heart nearly jumped into his throat when he paused to consider his direction and heard footsteps. He was on the staircase and as he looked down over the stone banisters he saw lights lighting up below him, illuminating the path of another coming up the stairs. Harry did not feel particularly inclined to being caught out so he hurried to the landing and hid in a dark corner next to an enormous decorated vase of some sort. The blanket, he hoped, would help to conceal him. As the other person ascended, flames lit along the way and were extinguished once they passed. Harry held his breath. Light suddenly shone at the end of one of the hallways on Harry's floor. Someone was coming to meet the other person. Then he, for it was clearly a man, reached the same floor and stepped onto the landing. He was a lean man in a shabby brown suit with light brown hair. He paused as if he had heard something. Harry covered his mouth but his heart beat so fast that he could have sworn the man could hear it. He stood perfectly still. Harry had never seen him before and he was pretty sure he wasn't a Hogwarts professor.

The man seemed alert. The light at the end of the hall partially illuminated his face and shone in his hair. He was pale though he looked more grey than anything. Scars were visible in several places. Then the man turned his head and his face fell into shadows as he stared straight at Harry. Harry didn't know where to run or scream so he did neither and just sat there – still as a statue. It felt like ages until the man finally moved and when he did he turned to the hallway a nodded as if he could see someone down there and continued his walk towards the light. When Harry finally regained control of his own body he did not care for stealth but ran all the way back to the Gryffindor tower. The man had seen him! He had to! He couldn't possible have missed him! Harry pulled the covers of his bed over his head. He couldn't tell why but he had this terrible feeling that the man could have lunged and gobbled him up. Harry lay curled up and hyperventilated for a while until his breathing slowed and he eventually fell into uneasy sleep.