~~~~SS~~~~

Severus absolutely hated that he had been correct about this round of chemotherapy being particularly difficult on Harry. It seemed outside of the magical core depletion - from either Harry's magic or the soul fragment's - the Gryffindor's body had gotten at least a little used to the medications previously, and now that he had been free from the chemotherapy for so long it was like he was starting over. In addition to the burning, Harry was plagued with some of the worst nausea and vomiting since Privet Drive. Of course, the teen had only eaten about half of his breakfast during the pre-chemo medications and didn't even touch his lunch - an occurrence that was pretty typical during these longer chemotherapy days - so his stomach didn't have much to sick up in the first place, making the situation much harder on him.

It was difficult for the professor to watch the boy he cared about more than anything else, not have enough energy to even make it to the loo; which was abnormal for Harry. If Severus would let him, the Gryffindor would camp out in the lavatory just so he could avoid using the dreaded pail. Yet this afternoon, Harry hadn't even attempted to leave the sitting room for either the lavatory or his bedroom. In the last couple of hours, Severus had tried everything he could think of to ease Harry's pain and nausea - everything except ripping the IV out and that was only because he had used all of his Occlumency skills not to do it knowing the chemotherapy was actually what was best for him.

Right before Poppy arrived, to finally end the chemo, Harry had asked him about the Dark Lord's timing on the visions. As promised, Severus was honest with Harry in telling him that they had thought the visions were not random, however when the Gryffindor didn't make the connection to how Voldemort somehow knew his chemotherapy schedule, Severus did not offer any further explanations. Yes it was a lie of omission, nevertheless, the last thing any of them needed was Harry being paranoid on top of his current condition. Once things calmed down - maybe as they got closer to the next phase of consolidation - Severus planned to sit Harry down and explain what was happening with the visions and Healer Smithe's involvement in them. In his mind, he managed to justify this by the simple fact that there would not be a reason for Harry to be left alone with Alton.

The defense professor was now in his study - trying unsuccessfully to catch up on his marking - relieved that the new morphine Poppy brought had allowed Harry the ability to finally fall asleep. In his mind, he naturally wondered how the rescue mission planning with Draco had gone throughout the day. Without knowing for certain if the Dark Lord would be summoning his followers for a raid tonight, the best they could do was be ready to go should information come in - most likely via Severus's dark mark burning - of the Death Eaters on the move. If, or when, that signal came, they would need to quickly assemble at headquarters and then head out to utilize the little time they would be given to accomplish both tasks. The former spy did not envy any of the witches or wizards that would be on call tonight.

Deciding that his brain could not currently focus on his marking, Severus pulled out his notebook and added what he had discussed with Albus today about the Horcrux, the side effects Harry was experiencing, and his use of his unintentional magic. There was now enough data to see a pattern emerging as his unintentional magic had decreased in frequency when the chemotherapy stopped; showing a direct correlation between the medications and the unintentional magic. While the frequency decreased without the chemotherapy, the strength and complexity stayed the same, leading the professor to believe that whatever the chemotherapy was doing, it was either making Harry's inherent magic stronger in spurts or breaking down some potential block as Minerva suggested.

Placing his quill down, Severus rubbed his eyes. There was no denying that he was exhausted. The early morning wake up call along with the emotional drain of the chemotherapy day had completely worn him down and now after he'd finished a quick dinner at his office desk, he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep knowing with Harry asleep now, he was not likely to get much tonight. Naturally, that was when Albus entered his office without even the slightest attempt at knocking.

"Severus," the professor lifted his head from his notes and met Albus's blue eyes. The headmaster sat in the chair before his desk causing Severus to become uncomfortable with the change of position from their normal meetings in the headmaster's office. "We have confirmation of activity at Malfoy Manor. It is time."

"From whom did you hear this?" The former Death Eater asked skeptically; vanishing the notebook back to its original location on the bookshelf.

"I had Remus and Kingsley watching over the area all day," the Headmaster explained seriously, "they've just returned to headquarters giving word that his followers - presumably lower level ones - are arriving. We need to go."

"I am not going anywhere," Severus reminded the man in front of him, "Harry has had an extremely difficult day and I cannot leave him to go fight Death Eaters."

"We need you Severus," Albus looked upon him with eyes that clearly showed the confliction within them. "If we are going to attempt a rescue as well as try to prevent whatever raid they're planning, we need everyone's help. I'm calling a mandatory Order meeting tonight and you're needed to at least to make sure everyone is prepared. I will not ask you to go to the Manor."

Severus scowled. It wasn't ideal, but it wouldn't be the first time he had to leave Harry for an order meeting. The former spy would feel the summons regardless of if Draco was called or not - there was no way the Dark Lord would go on a muggle raid as large as Harry saw and not call his inner circle - and once he got the summons, they would be on limited time to get in place. Somehow he managed to convince himself he wouldn't be gone for too long anyways.

"Fine," the younger professor conceded, "Though if we're anticipating a summons tonight, I must stay to help Draco to the anti-apparation point should he be called."

"Then we shall get started without you and see you afterwards," said the headmaster calmly, standing to signal his leave and Severus mirrored his actions.

Feeling resentment fill him inside at essentially being forced into the decision, he walked out of the office hoping he could get Harry to eat something before he was called. The irony was not lost on the professor that tonight he would technically be answering a summons request for the first time since the morning of the Privet Drive attack, on a night where that same street was being targeted yet again; this time he would simply be standing beside a different master.

"Go sir!" the Gryffindor said suddenly finding his voice, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just... Be careful alright."

Harry's last request to be careful rang through his ears as he apparated to Headquarters. When was the last time someone had told him to be careful? Why would Harry think he needed to be careful anyway? He would not be going into the field tonight; he was simply going to make sure everyone was set for the mission, and then he would be returning to Hogwarts. It would be quick, easy, and painless.

Grimmauld Place was bustling to the brim with activity when Severus walked through the door; witches and wizards were scattered around the room in groups going through the last minute preparations for the night's plans. Walking further into the room, his presence alone confirmed to the Order that Voldemort summoned at least his inner circle of followers and caused a moment of pure silence.

"You will have a maximum of thirty minutes before the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters vacate their headquarters," he commanded standing before the intricately drawn out map on the board at the front of the table. "If you are not in place by then, you might as well scrap the whole mission."

"If Draco Malfoy can be trusted-" Moody started, meeting Severus at the head of the table, but Severus immediately cut him off. Clearly something had not gone well in the planning earlier today.

"If you already do not trust Mr. Malfoy, this will be a suicide mission for your whole team," the former Death Eater lectured sternly. "We have no reason to believe our informant would be working against us. You will do well to remember that his intel comes at a high price to his personal safety. Should the Dark Lord suspect he was the one to provide us this information, I guarantee you he will not be returning from tonight's raid. I expect you all to keep that in the forefront of your minds tonight."

Not a single other person in the room said a word as they laid out their plans for the two teams - one heading to Privet Drive, lead by Shacklebolt to meet the team of Aurors that had been sent when reports of strange activity came through the muggle authorities, and the other, lead by Moody, would be deployed to Malfoy Manor in hopes of rescuing Sarah and Mary Smithe. It took fifteen of their thirty minutes to determine that by splitting the teams, they not only lost all of the reconnaissance at Malfoy Manor, but they also didn't have nearly the coverage to successfully pull off the operation in the first place.

"Remember, there will be significantly less guards to deal with," Lupin suggested. "So theoretically we won't have the need for such a large coverage as originally planned."

"While that may be true Remus," Moody gruffly argued and Severus got the impression that Albus did not share their earlier discussion with the rest of the team, "it's still too much of a risk. I would feel more comfortable if we could get a few more names on our end."

Severus studied the list of witches and wizards that would be going to Privet Drive versus Malfoy Manor. In addition to Shacklebolt; Tonks, Diggle, Doge, and Fletcher would be going to Privet Drive and Severus didn't really feel comfortable moving any of them to the Malfoy Manor team. The Manor list, in addition to Moody consisted of Lupin, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour, and Hestia Jones. Severus obviously knew even with the lighter guard duty, it was far less people than they should attempt with. He was just about to argue that unless they had at least four more names - bringing the total to ten - they should cancel, when three more names appeared below Hestia Jones', from three wands pointing towards the board -

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Minerva McGonagall

In the back of the room, Molly stood - likely to argue about the Weasley twins joining - when the final name was added right underneath Minerva's.

Severus Snape

"We leave in five," Severus said, placing his wand back into his robe and ignoring Albus's elated glare. Harry would understand why he had to add his name to the list; why he had to be there. The professor ignored the talking around him as he passed by everyone on his way to Molly Weasley.

"Molly," he gestured her to a quieter corner of the room, "I know you'll be staying here with Poppy to handle any injuries, but could you please send a message to Ron asking him and Hermione to go stay with Harry? He's had a bad reaction to the treatments today and I don't know when I'll make it back there."

"Of course Severus," she reassured him, watching the man carefully as his hand trembled slightly when he rubbed his forehead. "I'll take care of it, don't you worry one more second about it."

"Thank you," he said; his voice trying to convey his gratitude as much as he could while at the same time, he was thinking about infiltrating the darkest wizard's headquarters.

"Let's move!" Moody called loudly over the conversations throughout the room. They had no way of knowing if the Death Eaters would have left until they apparated to their meeting point and immediately cast disillusionment charms on themselves.

"He'll be proud of you, Severus," Albus whispered into the professor's ear as they headed to the door ready to disapparate. "I'll be here when you return."

Hopefully we all return unscathed.

~~~~HP~~~~

To say that Harry was happy to see his healer walk out of the floo to stay with him, would be an understatement. Even though he'd told Snape he would be fine alone, the pain was getting unmanageable and having someone physically next to him somehow made it easier.

"I've brought you another set of morphine," Healer Smithe said handing Harry a glass of water that was sitting on the table in front of him, "seems to be right on time."

"I'd say it's a little late sir; no offense," Harry gave a weak chuckle; his body was shivered in pain.

"Not to worry. Madam Pomfrey mentioned today has been a bad one, so I've brought a higher dose. I was really hoping the pain would have backed down a bit after the break," Healer Smithe checked the bag that was currently attached and started to remove it.

"If anything..." Harry managed to get out between labored breaths, "it made it... Worse."

"This should definitely help," the healer explained. "If it's no difference to you, I'm going to take out the IV in your hand and move this one to the port. I think you'll be more comfortable."

"That's fine," Harry answered, hardly aware of anything going on around him. "Can I ask you a question though?"

"Of course you can Harry; I'm your healer, you can ask me anything," the kind voice trailed into the young wizard's ears calming his nerves just a little.

"I've started to get these black speckly things in my vomit," Harry asked with his eyes still closed; he could feel the healer flushing his port getting it ready to use. "Is that normal?"

Healer Smithe paused what he was doing, "Definitely not. Black vomiting can be blood, so I'll just run some extra tests to be sure everything looks alright in your stomach."

"Nothing else feels any different," Harry explained pressing onto his tender stomach. Now probably was not the best time to claim he was feeling fine.

Once the healer had his port hooked up to the morphine, Harry instantly felt the tickle from a diagnostic charm. Simultaneously, a piece of parchment popped up in front of his face with Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and Dudley Dursley. His friends should know he wouldn't be up for visitors on his first day back to chemotherapy and the last thing he wanted to do was move at the moment.

"My friends are at the door," Harry groaned, "would you mind letting them know I don't feel up for company tonight?"

The diagnostic charm ended abruptly and Healer Smithe asked, "Are you sure? You didn't call them?"

"No," Harry shook his head making his stomach lurch; he really did feel like death warmed over, "I'm guessing they're just checking in on me. Probably want to know how the magic test-"

Before Harry could finish his sentence, he was leaning over the edge of the sofa vomiting into the pail. As he'd expected, large, black speckles could be seen momentarily before the pail self-cleaned.

"Did you see that?" Harry asked leaning back against the sofa.

"Yes I did," Healer Smithe answered, pulling out a container from his black bag and handing it to the Gryffindor, "as odd as it sounds, next time I need you to vomit in here and I'll take it to hospital to test. This one will not self-clean it away."

No part of that sounded enjoyable to Harry and he grimaced at merely the thought of saving his vomit. Breathing slowly, another piece of parchment popped up in front of his face with the same three names written on it.

"I'll go let them know to come back tomorrow," the healer said with a small smile on his face. "Perhaps you'll be feeling a little better then."

"Don't I have a four hour treatment tomorrow?" Harry asked both hopeful and confused. How could his healer forget his chemo schedule? In his current negative thoughts he added, "I'm probably not going to feel much better until Wednesday."

"Yes you do have a four hour tomorrow, but Harry remember after this, it's two easier rounds. Hang in there and it will get better," he said heading towards the door.

Easy for him to say, he's not the one sitting here.

Harry closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep, having no idea how he would sleep feeling as sick as he was. With the door so close to the sitting room, the young wizard strained his ears to hear the reaction from his friends, but he couldn't really hear too much of what was being said. He was relieved he would not have to tell them to go away. For the most part, they had been great through all of this, it was just that right now he only wanted Severus.

Great, now I sound like a child, Harry thought with a groan.

The murmuring from the doorway was getting louder and Harry questioned to himself if perhaps there was an emergency that had brought his friends and cousin down to the dungeons. Giving yet another groan, he pushed himself up from the sofa and slowly walked to the door; pulling his IV stand along with him.

Healer Smithe was standing in - or more accurately, blocking - the doorway preventing Harry from seeing through it as he approached.

"Hey guys," he called out getting all of their attention. Healer Smithe moved over to allow Harry access to the doorway. "What's going on? Everything ok?"

"My mum asked for us to come stay with you," Ron offered immediately, "she said Snape might not be back for a while and he wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine," Harry said ignoring Hermione's overtly questionable glare, "I just don't really feel up for anyone being here right now."

"You shouldn't be alone during this Harry," it was Dudley who had spoken up. "C'mon, I saw you back home and don't mind staying with you again."

"Listen, I appreciate it... I really do," Harry tried again, "I'm not alone; Healer Smithe is here. I'm going to try to eat and go to bed; that's it. Why don't you guys come by tomorrow?"

There was a pregnant pause as the Gryffindors stared between one another.

Hermione finally broke the silence by saying sadly, "Of course Harry."

The young witch pulled Ron's elbow away from the door in an endearing fashion. Harry peered out at the exchange between his two best friends and almost imperceptibly nodded his head before he closed the door. Leaning his back against the door, he closed his eyes trying to push away the thoughts flashing in his mind of his friends continuing their life without him there. It wasn't like he expected them to stop living because he couldn't be with them, but the image of everyone hanging out in the Gryffindor common room or at the library - not as likely on a Saturday night unless Ron was really trying to impress Hermione - before getting told to stop what they were doing to come stay with him, was too much.

"Harry?" Healer Smithe pulled the Gryffindor forward towards the sitting room. "You need to try to eat something. I have a feeling you haven't had anything all day."

Too exhausted to say or do anything, Harry allowed the man to walk him back over to the sofa. His bowl of broth was still warm and he took a tentatively spoonful feeling the warmth soothe the back of his raw throat.

"Do you have any idea of what's going on tonight? Wherever Severus is?" The young wizard asked hoping to get at least some kind of insight into what Snape was doing, and more specifically if he was safe.

"Unfortunately, no I don't," Healer Smithe said picking up a file from his black bag and settling into the armchair on the right. "Now that you've eaten a bit, try to get some rest. Do you want to go to your bedroom?"

For some reason Harry didn't want to sleep in his bedroom when he was feeling this sick. His room had become a place of calm for him and he didn't want to associate it with negative feelings, like his cupboard back at the Dursleys. Not only that, the sofa was comfortable and he'd know the moment Snape came home.

"No it's ok," the Gryffindor yawned, feeling more tired then he would have anticipated, "I think I'll sleep here until Severus gets home."

His mind was getting cloudy and his eyes were heavy with a combination of exhaustion and the higher dose of pain medication. Feeling himself drifting off to sleep, he silently hoped that Snape would stay safe and all was going well wherever he was.

"Stupefy!"

The first thing Harry heard when coming back into consciousness sounded like furniture breaking and then a loud crash to his right. Confused in his still sleepy state, the Gryffindor blinked his eyes slightly open and instinctively reached for his wand, completely forgetting that it was back to being safely stored on his bedside table in his bedroom. Since he had fallen asleep with his glasses on, he could see around the dim room, but didn't get too far before he heard another hex coming from near the fireplace in front of him.

"Incarcerous!"

Harry covered his head expecting the spell to be directed at him. When he found he could still freely move, he lifted his head to see what had happened throughout the room.

Panic filled inside of him when he saw Malfoy standing in front of the fireplace, his black robes tattered and torn with the Death Eater mask laying directly at his feet. His pointed face was littered with cuts and scrapes; most of which were actively bleeding leaving brown-red trails contrasted against his pale skin. The Slytherin's normally pristine white blonde hair was disheveled with bits of sticks and leaves coming out at odd angles and there was something else about the other boy that Harry couldn't place; something was different about him though.

Despite all of that going on with Malfoy, it wasn't any of that which caught Harry's attention; instead it was that the other teen still had his wand raised directly at Healer Smithe. The healer was now face down unconscious on the floor directly in front of the armchair Harry last remembered seeing him in and was tied with thick ropes - three around his arms and two around his legs - with a small trickle of blood coming from somewhere on his head or face onto the floor.

"What the fuck Malfoy?!" Harry swore standing up so quickly he was immediately hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea requiring him to sit back down. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Protecting your sorry arse," Draco spat. He quickly walked over to the healer, and not-so-gently kicked him with his black boot, then rolled him over until he was flat on his back. Harry could now see that the trickle of blood had been from the healer's nose which had clearly been broken when he fell to the floor.

"Oh really? He's not the one dressed like a Death Eater," Harry replied back, "You have two seconds to tell me what's going on before I..."

He paused. What could he do? His wand was in his bedroom and even if he could summon it wandlessly, Malfoy would take him down before it made it anywhere near his hand. He had no idea how to control what little bit of magic he may have been able to do randomly, so that was not helpful in his current situation. Literally he was stuck defenseless.

"I'm not going to hurt you alright?" Draco said sensing Harry's panic and in return tossed his wand onto the floor in front of Harry on the sofa; the Gryffindor immediately picked it up.

Content that the healer was completely unconscious and wouldn't get out of the ropes, the Slytherin sat down directly next to Harry - a rather bold move in Harry's opinion - and said, "You need to talk to Professor Snape about it for all the details, though if you think back doesn't it seem a little odd that you haven't been alone with your healer since you woke up from the pneumonia? There's always the off chance I'm wrong, but I don't think that's normal for a patient/healer relationship do you?"

Of course he's wrong, Harry instinctively thought...

Except he wasn't. Someone - usually Snape or Madam Pomfrey - had always been with him when Healer Smithe was there. And one of them was always checking over his medications whenever the healer gave them to him; they were doing that even before the pneumonia. Another wave of nausea hit Harry hard as the realization swarmed over him and he was again vomiting into the pail.

"You're wrong," Harry said wishing he could keep the quivering out of his voice. "He's had plenty of time to kill me if he wanted to."

"I'm not getting into that with you," Malfoy replied sharply. "All I know is that Professor Snape wouldn't have left him here with you alone, and that's exactly what it looked like when I floo'ed in."

Harry simply stared at the teen he'd somehow come to an unofficial truce with, at least before he attacked Healer Smithe.

"Why should I trust you?"

"For one, because my wand is in your hand; if I wanted to kill you I won't be able to now" the Slytherin gave a small chuckle watching Harry pass the wand between his hands. "For two, because your instincts are probably screaming at you that I'm right and no matter what stupid things you've gotten yourself into, generally speaking, you have good instincts."

He was right, which infuriated Harry more. Snape's wards wouldn't let just anyone floo into their home, especially if that person were Polyjuiced, and something deep inside Harry told him something was off with Healer Smithe. Looking back at all the little signs, he was surprised he hadn't noticed it sooner; of course he'd been a little distracted trying to stay alive from the Leukemia and all that came with that.

"Is Professor Snape back yet?" Malfoy asked, trying to hide the fear in his eyes. That's what Harry was missing earlier; there was a look of terror deep within Malfoy's grey eyes that had not been there before. Harry felt his stomach drop.

"No," the Gryffindor said concerned, "he's not here. He went to headquarters after taking you through the anti-apparation wards."

It had been several hours since both Slytherins had left Hogwarts and Harry was now nervous that something bad had happened. If Malfoy didn't know where Snape was, then where was the man?

"Was he wherever you were," Harry asked, gesturing with a slight nod of his head to Malfoy's odd appearance. "I'm guessing you were torturing muggles?"

"We were supposed to, except the Aurors showed up and it turned into a battle on some random muggle street," Malfoy said without any malice to his voice.

"And you fought?"

"Of course I did," he answered refusing to look Harry in the eyes. "If I hadn't, I probably would not have made it out alive."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them. Harry remembered all too well his experiences fighting against wizards who surpassed his own level of dueling. It was terrifying. All it took was one missed hex, one stray curse and it could all be over. Of course, he'd been fighting against the Death Eaters, so if he died at least it would have been with honor. If Malfoy died fighting alongside the Death Eaters tonight... Well, that was different.

"Was Professor Snape there too?" Harry asked nervously realizing that Malfoy never actually answered his initial question.

"He wasn't supposed to be," Malfoy explained narrowing his eyes in thought, "If he went anywhere besides the Order's headquarters, he was probably at the Dark Lord's headquarters."

"Why the hell would Snape go there?" It made no sense. He wouldn't really go back to Voldemort knowing he'd be killed on the spot if he were discovered.

If Malfoy was going to offer him an explanation, he never got the chance to because the floo roared to life and Remus stepped out supporting an injured Snape who appeared to be in extreme pain. Both men had blood coming from the plethora of cuts and gashes on their faces and Snape was clutching at his left side, while limping out of the floo. It was clear to the teenagers that something went very wrong that night and Harry's heart practically stopped.

~~~~ AU SS ~~~~

"It's not funny Severus!" Harry yelled from the other side of the dinner table.

The Potions Master should have expected something like this was coming the moment Harry asked to have dinner in their quarters that night. He tried his hardest to keep a straight face, to no avail, and not at all due to the topic of conversation, but due to Harry's horrified face.

"You might disagree if you were sitting on my side of the table," Severus simply replied. "Professor McGonagall literally held you after class just to make sure you knew you needed a date to the Yule Ball?"

"Yes... she did," Harry's cheeks flushed as he admitted that. "Oh wait, she didn't say date... she said dance partner. It was still just as embarrassing. What am I supposed to do?!"

Taking a sip of his wine, Severus couldn't help thinking about how ironic this situation was; never would anyone voluntarily come to Severus Snape for advice on dating. He'd never truly dated and honestly had no intentions on it now. Yet here he was, sitting across from his 14-year old son who had been thrust into this situation because his name was placed into the Goblet of Fire against his will. Getting him out of the whole tournament was a completely different issue he was still feverishly working through.

"I think it is rather obvious," he said to Harry, "you need to ask someone to go with you, otherwise you'll be standing alone while the other champions lead off the dancing around you. I imagine it won't be particularly difficult given your unique position."

"That's what Ron said," Harry huffed. "I can't ask a girl to the dance!"

Trying to keep his mind open, Severus narrowed his eyes and asked, "A boy then?"

If it were possible, Harry's entire face turned another three shades redder, "That's not the reason!"

"My apologies," the professor said, quickly raising his hands in defeat. "Then what is the reason?"

The Gryffindor pushed his carrots around his plate, "For one, I can't dance... Then, I don't even know who I would ask, and I definitely have no idea what to say to ask."

"The what to say part is easy, 'Do you want to go with me to the Yule Ball' is generally a good way to start," Severus explained sarcastically. "The first one I can help; though I will give you a fair warning that I am not a very established dancer, however you won't be completely inept at it.

"As for whom to ask? You have to figure that out for yourself. My recommendation is to think if there is any particular person you'd have a good time with; don't overthink it Harry, you're only fourteen."

Severus had been wrong; Harry's face could absolutely get redder. It wasn't as if this was an easy conversation for him either. At some point, every parent knew this type of conversation was bound to happen, and the Potions Master had not been looking forward to it. Having had no real father figure growing up, Severus was trying his hardest to do right by Harry. Times like these though, he wished he had some decent memories of his own upbringing to draw upon.

"Well, there is someone..." Harry trailed off exceedingly embarrassed and Severus was sure his own face matched his son's discomfort at this point.

"As I'm likely the professor to this student, please tread carefully," he warned, unsure how that could impact the situation either way.

Harry's head fell onto his hands on the table in front of him and he mumbled from the table, "I didn't even think about that! You'll be there too, won't you?"

"Yes, I am unfortunately required to chaperone the event," the professor said, unhappy with the fact he couldn't get out of it no matter how hard he had tried. "It will be fine Harry."

"Who taught you to dance?" Harry asked suddenly, lifting his head with a curious expression on his face.

"Your mother," Severus said with a layer of grief in his voice he could never keep away when talking about Lily. It wasn't only that it was difficult to discuss because he had loved her so much; it was also because remembering her reminded him about the two biggest mistakes of his life. At least now he could say something good came from all of that destruction - he has Harry.

"She would have loved the idea of the Yule Ball; a reason to get dressed up and dance," Severus continued remembering his best and only friend. "She also would know exactly what to tell you about how to ask whomever it is you are interested in."

Harry sat there silent and Severus could see him deeply contemplating some odd thought in his head. The Gryffindor worried his lower lip and then seemed to gain the courage to ask.

"Would she have gone with my dad?" Harry asked so quietly Severus almost didn't hear him from the other side of the kitchen table.

Using his Occlumency not to let his anger resurface, he could see the pain in Harry's eyes. They discussed Lily often, but Severus had nothing good to say about James and therefore strategically never mentioned the man. Of course Harry would pick up on how uncomfortable it makes him and avoid the topic. It wasn't fair to his son to never be able to talk about his parents for fear of hurting Severus and the professor hated putting Harry in the middle like that.

"If it were in our seventh year, she absolutely would have," the professor said confidently. "At that point, they had been dating exclusively. I imagine James was a decent dancer as well. For all you know, you could have a hidden talent within you."

"I doubt that!" Harry laughed before getting serious again, "And what about before seventh year?"

"Lily would have probably gone alone and not thought twice about it." Severus replied. "Your mother was confident enough not to need someone with her to have a good time."

The Yule Ball was held on the last night before the start of the winter holiday allowing Severus and Harry to go home to Spinner's End the next day where they would be staying for Christmas. The professor had finally found the loophole he'd been searching for to get Harry out of the Triwizard Tournament and he was anxious to discuss it with Harry away from the stresses of classes and the Yule Ball. Theoretically, if Harry were to use Severus's surname, it should break the contract with the Goblet of Fire since Harry legally had a right to use it after the adoption. Of course, it was a big step to go from Harry James Potter to Harry James Potter-Snape and he was nervous about how the teenager would react to that news. Harry very well could decide that participating in the last two tasks was better than taking the Snape surname.

Severus had gotten Harry a nice set of green dress robes for the occasion - to match his emerald green eyes - however Harry was getting ready up in Gryffindor tower with his friends, meaning he wouldn't get to see his son until they both arrived at the Yule Ball. He would also see for the first time, who Harry had decided to ask to the ball. After their awkward talk about dancing and dates Harry had conveniently left out the name of the girl he had asked, only telling Severus that he did in fact have a date... Or dance partner according to Minerva.

As a chaperone, the professor was required to stay for the entirety of the ball, starting from dinner until the last student was kicked out. Severus dressed in a nice set of black dress robes he had in the back of his wardrobe, but hardly ever wore, then made his way up to the extravagantly decorated Great Hall. Keeping a keen eye to stay away from Igor Karkaroff - refusing to let that man's insistent worrying about the Dark Lord's return sour his night - he chose a seat that would keep him far from view.

Overall, the evening went well and everyone - both students and staff - seemed to have a good time. Severus thanked Merlin that he managed to get out of dancing every time he was asked, which was about four times before he stopped counting. No matter how hard he tried to maintain his acerbic exterior, after he adopted Harry - for reasons Severus had not yet identified - the staff thought he had softened. The best part of the night was getting to see Harry having a good time. He'd never tell a soul this, however he felt himself fill with pride as Harry started the dance with the Ravenclaw seeker Cho Chang. For as nervous as Harry was leading up to the ball, he looked confident in himself throughout the night.

As the last handful of students were exiting the Great Hall right before midnight - hopefully already packed and ready to leave in the morning for the Hogwarts Express - Severus was surprised by Harry coming up to his side. He was still in his dress robes even though the Gryffindor had presumably gone back to the tower thirty minutes ago causing the professor to question where exactly his son had been.

"Did you have a good time?" Severus asked, picking off some random lint from the young wizard's shoulder.

"Yeah, I did," Harry said smiling. "How about you? Was it as awful as you expected?"

"I survived," he replied with a smirk. "Miss. Chang seemed to enjoy your company."

Harry's face immediately turned bright red, "Don't be weird about it, alright? We had a good time."

Severus gave a hard sigh at Harry's embarrassment, "Will you be taking the train tomorrow?"

The Gryffindor nodded, "Is that still alright?"

"Of course, I'll be there to pick you up at King's Cross," he placed his arm around Harry's shoulders leading him towards the staircase that would take him up to the tower. It was something so small, but he knew how much Harry liked the idea of someone being there to pick him up from the train station even when they could floo to Spinner's End faster. "Go get some rest, I have a feeling everyone will be exhausted tomorrow."

"Thank you Severus," Harry gave the professor a small hug, "see you in the morning!"

Severus watched his teenage son run off up the stairs before he turned back to his quarters in the dungeons relishing in how normal their life had become.