~~~~SS~~~~

This boy would be the death of him one of these days, that was a fact he was absolutely sure of. What was intended to be a simple trip while Harry was in class, turned into something much more complicated - as it seemed everything went lately. Severus was seated in his typical chair, which was a sad statement to be so true, besides Harry's bed with his head held in his hand waiting for something, anything, to show that Harry would be alright in the end. However, his will alone did nothing to help, and the young wizard was unfortunately still unconscious.

According to Dr. Swanson - who had been completely irate that something like this could happen in a classroom setting - she and Madam Pomfrey had been so focused on Harry's bleeding hand, neither of them noticed the growing bruise on his side under his robe. Of course Harry hadn't complained about it and that didn't surprise Severus at all since the mood Harry had been in lately suggested that the Gryffindor didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to his illness. It was something they'd need to discuss once all of the passed.

Once Harry had lost consciousness, Madam Pomfrey ran a full diagnostic scan, which located the issue near his right rib cage, and when they pulled up his shirt, they were greeted to the sight of a large, expanding dark purple bruise that was obviously internal bleeding from where Nott had hit Harry.

Severus had to assume that Nott had used some kind of spell, or perhaps object in addition to his elbow, to cause that much damage on Harry's body. Dr. Swanson had wanted Harry to go back to her muggle hospital for immediate surgery, however without Severus in the castle to provide medical consent, Madam Pomfrey managed to convince the muggle doctor that magic healing provided a much lower risk to the Gryffindor. In the end, Minerva was called in to make the final decision as Harry's guardian and he'd been mostly healed by magic and bruise salve; both for his side and his hand.

Severus came bustling into the hospital wing at the tail end of the healing, and now all there was left to do was wait for Harry to finally wake up. As the professor sat watching the sleeping teen, his mind was on full alert over the fact that, even after an extra-strength bruise salve, he could clearly see the remains of the now yellowed bruise. Not only should it have been fully healed by now, Harry should have also woken up.

It was now approaching midnight and there was still no change in the Gryffindor's status and Severus kept bouncing between Harry's lack of proper healing and pouring through the minute details from the meeting with Matthew. How had something so simple turned out so wrong?

"Severus," the headmaster walked around the white curtain partitions that the defense professor was so tired of seeing. "How's he doing?"

"He'll live," Severus ran his hand down his face, "but he clearly has had a rough a week thus far."

"So I've heard," Albus said, sitting in the other chair next to Severus's. "I'm afraid it's a conflict of interest for you to handle Mr. Nott's punishment in regard to his attack on Harry, so I've taken care of it."

"You are absolutely right, it's a conflict of interest," he spat out to his employer. "I take it he's claiming no responsibility?"

"According to Mr. Nott, he simply slipped and bumped into Harry while bringing back his supplies from the cupboard," the headmaster made it obvious he didn't agree, something that eased Severus's anxious thoughts a little. "With Harry's lowered blood counts from his recent treatment, it made a small situation a much bigger problem."

"A 'small situation'?" Severus leaned forward on his chair as he tried to appear in control of his growing anger, "Harry could have died from that supposed small situation!"

"I am aware of that fact, Severus," Albus said gravely, "which is why there have already been inquiries questioning if he should be allowed in classes to begin with. It's not uncommon knowledge that Harry cannot use his magic, though the reasoning has not been officially shared, and therefore it may have come up several times, even before this incident, if he's receiving extra provisions by being allowed to continue classes at all."

"He's entitled to those extra provisions, Albus, and until his magic is completely gone, he is still a wizard and entitled to his place in this school!" the former spy threateningly said. He paused and looked at Harry laying small in the bed then added, "Nott should be expelled."

"While I admit the situation is not good, Severus, I also do not believe Theodore Nott had intentions to harm Harry as severely as he had."

Severus couldn't believe his ears. Since when did Albus Dumbledore stand up for his Slytherins, especially against Harry Potter? Unfortunately, he was correct in the fact that they had no proof there had been any premeditation to the event.

"You never did take attempted murder seriously in this school," it was a bitter statement that he meant, but should not have said, especially to the man in front of him. "As his Head of House, I should at least know what his punishment will be."

"He's to serve detention every Friday night until the Christmas holiday," Albus explained. It was nowhere near enough, but Severus wouldn't get any further involved. "I arranged the private firecall to Malfoy Manor, as you asked. It seemed all was well with Mrs. Malfoy."

Once all of the activity around Harry had calmed as much as it could, the former spy had tried to convey the need for Draco's sudden call to his mother. While he wouldn't have said so to the blonde Slytherin, he had his doubts that Albus would understand and make the necessary arrangements. It seemed today, the headmaster was full of surprises.

"Things are not always what they seem, especially where the Dark Lord is concerned," Severus cryptically replied. "I have reason to believe that Narcissa may be in danger at some point in the near future."

"Care to enlighten me as to where your reasoning stems from?" His mentor appropriately questioned.

Severus considered lying yet again, however in the process of going through everything that was said in Knockturn Alley, the former spy had found a potentially fatal flaw made on his part. Albus now needed to know what they might be up against.

"I may have put Draco's cover in jeopardy," he scowled at the admission, for he was better than that. Unlike Matthew, and most the other Death Eaters, he knew exactly how to plan seven steps ahead of his opposition and yet he hadn't considered the possibility of the Dark Lord using a pathetic brewer like Matthew as his own replacement. While he didn't know that for sure, there was really no other way to interpret Matthew's threat as they were leaving that afternoon. If the other wizard knew about the Dark Lord residing at Malfoy Manor, he had a reason for being in Voldemort's presence, and he had a reason for living through that meeting. This meant that by implying that he - as a faceless muggle - knew Draco from the 'same circle' it was only a matter of time before Matthew connected the dots that Severus's alter-ego was not, in fact, a Death Eater. And if he'd been lying, then by association, so was Draco. He explained this theory to the headmaster, who nodded his agreement that Severus had made a mistake.

"You are human, my boy," he tried to convince the professor, "you cannot foresee every move on the board, no matter how much you think you can. If this contact of yours has replaced you in Lord Voldemort's own laboratory, he must be desperate."

"I have a suspicion that it has to do with the Leukemia," at this, Severus looked over at Harry's small body again. Even in his sleep, the young wizard was fighting a battle against his own body, one that the Dark Lord would be battling as well. "I've seen both Matthew's level of brewing, as well as the potions that would be needed to combat the Leukemia, and he won't be able to put the pieces together to make it work."

It was only a matter of time before Matthew got himself killed for his inept brewing skills, especially in this specific endeavor.

"Regardless," Severus continued. "I highly suggest the Order start a contingency plan to evacuate Narcissa should the moment come. Understand, Draco's allegiance to our cause could potentially cease should anything happen to his mother. With Lucius in Azkaban, that's really all the boy has left and we do not want to push him over that ledge."

It was ironic to think about how different Harry and Draco's upbringings were, and yet now they have essentially swapped positions. Draco would be trying to hold onto whatever family he had left, while the Dark Lord threatened them, while Harry was surrounded by adults - or at least one adult - who were doing everything possible to ensure his survival. With Matthew's clear threat still lingering over them, they'd need to keep a closer watch for anything amiss.

"I will not lie to you, Severus," Albus's eyes told him he was not going to like whatever the headmaster was about to say, "there are many members of the Order questioning young Mr. Malfoy's loyalties after the mission to rescue the Smithe's. Word is that Draco could have been instructed to notify us of Alton's involvement as a way to set up the mission."

"I disagree," the former spy confidently replied. "I performed the Legilimency myself when he first arrived and we were both present during Moody's brutal interrogation, plus during the use of Veritaserum. What more can you ask a sixteen year old to go through to prove his allegiance?"

"I did not say I agree with them, my boy," Albus reassured his professor, "I do not believe young Draco would be able to turn around and help Voldemort especially now that his mother may be involved, I am simply explaining the delicate situation we find ourselves in. I will do as you ask and start a contingency plan to ensure Narcissa's safety if you truly believe that by protecting her, it will solidify Draco's loyalties to the Order."

In the end that was all that mattered to Severus as he nodded his affirmation to the statement. He had vowed to himself to protect the blonde Slytherin, and if that meant he'd need to take a more vocal role among the Order members, he was willing to do so.

The two wizards sat in a deafening silence, neither sure where they were headed next. Severus was tired, not only physically, but of the charade he was always playing - with his students in the classroom, with his colleagues, with the Order, even with Albus lately. How was it possible that during the time when Harry's treatments, and by extension their lives at the present moment, were supposed to be easier, they ended up here. Sitting in that chair in the hospital wing, he wanted nothing more than to give up his classes and just take Harry away from all of this. They could live by the sea, just the two of them, and once Harry was both cancer- and Horcrux-free they could rejoin the wizarding world. But where would that leave Draco?

"Do please let me know if anything changes with young Harry," The headmaster stood to take his leave. "And Severus, I would suggest a visit to Alton Smithe might be worth your time. He may know how involved this Matthew is with the potions."

Severus nodded. He'd been needing to stop in anyway because he wanted to find out what the healer knew about how the Dark Lord was handling the Leukemia symptoms, but he had been putting it off for his own sanity. A part of him was terrified of what he would do standing in front of the man who betrayed them. Unfortunately, it would need to be done, but it could wait until Harry was recovered from this latest roadblock.

~~~~HP~~~~

It was hard to breathe and his chest hurt. Why did he always wake up in some kind of pain? Those were the first thoughts that came to Harry's mind when the consciousness started to reach him some unknown time later. He was still tired, which he thought was odd since he could have stayed asleep until he was rested, yet he wanted to get up and move. Unable to open his eyes, he used his other senses to try and figure out what was going on. He quickly assessed that he was in the hospital wing strictly from the smell alone, but why was he there?

Potion's class.

He'd been in Potion's class when Nott pushed him and he had cut his hand. But that didn't explain why he was so tired and why he was unconscious. Surely, people don't lose consciousness over a couple of muggle stitches in their hand?

The next thing Harry was aware of was the sound of someone near him; it sounded like that person might be sleeping. Finally, able to crack his eyes open, he was wildly underwhelmed to see nothing but black fuzziness.

"H-" he started to call out, but almost nothing came out from his parched throat.

His brain was finally more awake, so even without his glasses he could determine several key points of interest to his situation: it was now dark outside and likely the middle of the night, he had an IV running into his port, and that the person who appeared to be sleeping in the chair to his right was Snape based solely on the smells of potions ingredients the man had been using religiously since he started that project for the Order with Malfoy.

What the hell happened?

"Harry?" He heard from his right, as his glasses were placed in his hands. Apparently Snape had the best hearing known to man and had been woken up from his little bit of rustling.

"What… happened?"

His right side was in a lot of pain; another piece of all of this that confused him because while Nott had bumped him there, it was his hand that he remembered injuring.

"You were attacked in your Potion's class today," Snape answered with a layer of disdain in his voice, but confirming to Harry that at least he hadn't lost too much time being unconscious.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, yet confused, "I cut my hand, but Dr. Meghan fixed that."

It was then that Harry realized his hand did not have any more stitches in it - though it was still very sore - meaning they'd used magic on it after all. Something else had obviously happened to need to use magic to heal him. The young wizard sat up, with Snape's help, and immediately felt awkward about where things had ended between them yesterday and this morning in class.

"I'm sorry, Severus," Harry quietly said. He held his head high so Snape would maybe understand that he was sincere with his words, "for what I said to you… was it yesterday?"

"Yes, it was yesterday. And I think your anger was a bit displaced," Snape gave an insightful look, but did not appear angry or disappointed which calmed Harry's fraying nerves. "Apology accepted, however once you're feeling better from this incident we will be discussing what has been going on. And you are not to tell me everything is fine."

None of that surprised Harry one bit, besides maybe the fact that Snape accepted his apology. It really was amazing how far the two of them had come in such a short - yet still very long - time.

"That's fair, sir. I can do that," Harry replied. He was playing with a loose string on his pyjama shirt nervously trying to think about what he wanted to ask next without sounding too vulnerable, "Where were you today? Why did you leave the castle?"

The professor hesitated with his answer, giving Harry the impression that it was something bad. If it wasn't, then Snape would have simply said something.

"I had an errand to run for the Order," he finally replied. "I didn't anticipate any issues while I was gone, otherwise I would have alerted you to my absence."

"No one really plans to slice their hand open," the Gryffindor said, trying to make light of the situation.

"You were attacked," Snape corrected.

"No-"

"Do not even try to deny it," the professor interrupted. He then started to tell Harry what they figured out had happened by piecing together what his classmates saw along with the injuries he sustained. The Gryffindor had every urge to deny that he was intentionally attacked because even if Nott used something to cause more damage to his side - which explained his pain still radiating from it - could he really have known that Harry would bleed as badly as he did? Somehow, Harry doubted Snape would feel the same way, and that thought felt good to him given the row they'd just had.

"Get some sleep, Harry," Snape said, as Harry's eyes were heavy from the surge of emotion and activity, "we'll figure this all out in the morning. Unfortunately you will not be attending classes the rest of the week, during your recovery."

The young wizard wanted to argue, but the throbbing pain in his side was an instant reminder that he did need the extra time to heal.

Harry was released from the hospital wing late Thursday morning after a quick check up from a still very angry Dr. Meghan. No matter what Harry had fussed about before about not wanting to skip his lessons, he was happy when they got home and he was back in his comfortable bed. He then spent the rest of the day working on the school assignments he'd missed and falling in and out of sleep.

"Tell me what's been going on in your classes," Snape said over dinner on Thursday night. It appeared that Snape had taken the day off as well and Harry suspected that he had spent the day constantly in and out of his laboratory. The Gryffindor wondered to himself if the professor missed teaching Potion's class since he really seemed to enjoy brewing.

Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice to give himself time to think about how he wanted to answer the very pointed question.

"It's really nothing," Harry tried to say, except he knew Snape wouldn't fall for it. "Mostly some comments and a little mocking here and there. It's nothing I can't just ignore, which is what I was trying to do in Potions. I did not do anything to Nott."

"Pardon me, but if I do recall correctly," the professor dramatically explained, "Professor Slughorn said you drew your wand."

"I didn't use it though," it was petty sounding, at best, but it was the only defense he had at the time. He gave a small smile and added, "Personally, I was actually quite proud of myself for holding back."

"As am I, however, you should not have drawn it to begin with," Snape shook his head clear, "we've gotten off topic. What has been bothering you so much lately? I think we both expected your return to classes to have a more positive effect, and that has clearly not happened."

Feeling his face flush and his breathing shallow, the young wizard pushed his barely half eaten dinner across the table away from him.

"I'm just angry, alright? It's like..." The young wizard struggled to find the right words, but pushed through it knowing Snape would not accept that as an excuse to get out of this conversation. "I wanted to go back to classes so much that I didn't even consider what it would be like to actually go back. I'm like the third wheel everywhere!"

He was feeling the injustice rising up inside of him again while looking at Snape's neutral face. He wasn't judging Harry for his reaction to his classes or about his embarrassment, but he didn't appear to understand either.

"I hate having another reason for people to talk about me," he finally continued, and a small fraction of the boulder on his chest lifted up causing him to speak faster, "You don't understand, I went from being about to… and having to… do everything on my own and now even if I wanted to, I can't.

"Then there's my friends… their lives are all going on without me. Ron's got a girlfriend now! And then Hermione… and even Dudley has a place here… and I don't really have one anymore. I can't use my regular magic and I'm pretty sure my 'new' magic has disappeared."

"I noticed," was the first thing Snape said after Harry's diatribe. To Harry, he seemed as perplexed about that last statement as he was and that could not be a good thing.

While it felt good to get some validation, it also meant it was a significant observation. At first he'd been terrified to have his magic work almost at random, but now he was mourning the loss of it, along with all the other pieces that he felt were gone from his life.

"I'm the freak with a muggle disease, that can't do magic, and can't make it through a week of classes without-"

Harry didn't get to finish his complaint because Snape slammed his fist on the table, "I do not want to hear you using that word again when referring to yourself."

Harry startled at the confusing statement, but nodded his head anyway.

"As for your other declarations," the professor began, "I think you should talk this out with your friends. Life will go on, Harry, but it's not without you and I promise you, this will get easier."

When the Gryffindor didn't lift his head, Snape asked, "Do you want to talk to Dr. Swanson about any of this?"

"Absolutely not," Harry gave a dark chuckle, "I'm pretty sure she'd recommend me never returning to classes again after the Potion's accident."

It was a real fear Harry had with his new - maybe not so new, anymore - muggle doctor. She didn't understand how things worked at Hogwarts and even with a magical younger brother, that didn't mean she had the slightest idea of what Harry was feeling. Aunt Petunia was a perfect example of how a random magical sibling could mean nothing to the other person. He was positive that Aunt Petunia never tried to understand what his mum was doing and she sure as hell didn't try to understand him. No, he really didn't want to spend any extra time with Dr. Meghan if he could avoid it.

Harry was about to explain all of this to Snape, but a piece of parchment popped up in front of the professor's face. He didn't have to see it to know it would be Malfoy coming to work on the mysterious potion again; even Snape's life had moved on now that Harry was in the 'easier phase' of chemotherapy. The professor was too preoccupied with Order business to worry about Harry's over complicated feelings.

"I heard Nott's serving detention with McGonagall every Friday night for the rest of term," Hermione said while in the library Friday afternoon.

Harry had managed to convince Snape to allow him to study with Hermione - Dudley was working late on some project for class next week and Ron was off, yet again, with Lavender - instead of sulking in his room. The Gryffindor may have been using a bit of their conversation from dinner the previous night to help influence the man's decision, nevertheless he figured there was no way Snape didn't realize that simple fact and still let him go anyway, so Harry wasn't feeling too guilty over it.

"For what he did, he deserves to serve it with Filch cleaning out all the boy's lavatories," Harry gave his opinion on the matter.

Even after Madam Pomfrey used magic to heal his side and hand, both were still extremely sore. The observation alarmed him because two full days later should have been plenty of time for it to heal. Each day of this phase brought more and more questions to the forefront of his mind about his magic and his ability to have some left once this was all over. Something deep inside was telling him at this rate he'd be lucky to still have his magic by the end of the year, let alone by his last chemo treatment three years from now. Thinking back on his conversation with Snape yesterday, he tried to stay positive by admitting that losing his magic was better than losing his life; it was still frustrating because he'd just gotten the idea of this extra magic and it was more or less gone.

"There was nothing of use in the restricted section," Hermione said, as if reading his mind.

"So… we're back to square one," he complained. He had hoped Hermione would come through as she usually did with these things. "Something strange is going on, 'Mione, and I want to know what it is."

"You could always ask Professor Snape?"

Harry froze at the question that came from over his left shoulder. Malfoy strutted up to them with a book held tightly in his arms, then arrogantly pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Malfoy," there was no way he was going to tell any of this to the other boy.

"I know you're looking for some piece of," he lowered his voice, "dark magic, and I may have something to help you."

Harry narrowed his eyes and looked over to Hermione for some kind of assistance in dealing with the Slytherin. Was he that desperate to want to ask Draco Malfoy for help?

"What's in it for you?" He asked tentatively.

"I just want to know what you find," he slid the book from his hands across the table to Hermione. Harry craned his head to see the title, Secrets of the Darkest Arts. Apparently dark wizards didn't think of the most secretive book names.

"Where did you get this?" Hermione asked as she carefully picked up the book, almost afraid it would curse her to just touch it, "I guarantee you this wasn't found in Hogwarts."

"Close," Malfoy said even more arrogantly, "I nicked from Professor Snape's lab last night."

"Are you mental?!" Harry exclaimed and immediately ducked his head in anticipation of the stern scolding from Madam Pince, which thankfully didn't come. "You've got to be mental to do something like that!"

"Eh, I've got plenty of opportunities to return it. Assuming you find what you're looking for quickly."

"No," Hermione pushed the book away from her back to Slytherin. "I'm not using this, it's wrong."

"Oh," Malfoy gave another sarcastic chuckle, "but you'll sneak into the restricted section no problem. I see where your morals lie, Granger."

Harry watched the exchange between two of the top students in their class, highly intrigued. Malfoy would get boiled alive by Snape for stealing a book - especially one on this topic - if the professor ever found out. Why would he take that a risk like that for something Harry was wanting to find? What did the other boy expect them to find that he couldn't by looking through the book himself?

"I think you should take a look, Hermione," Harry said, ignoring her death glare. "I mean, Malfoy took the risk to get the book, and if it can help us find what we're looking for, why not?"

He could tell his friend likely had a very good reason - or several - on her mind as to why they shouldn't. The big one was probably because there was a better chance than not that Malfoy would put the book in their possession and then rat them out to Snape for nicking it themselves. Harry was willing to take that risk; if something like that happened, he'd have to explain to Snape about reading the notebook and he was willing to do that if it meant he would know what a Horcrux was and how it related to his Leukemia.

While the Gryffindor witch was not convinced, she did take the book and slid it into her bag.

"I'll let you know what we find, Malfoy," Harry nodded his head.

"Just try to be quick about it, Granger," the blonde said, standing up confidently, "the longer that book is out of Professor Snape's laboratory, the bigger my chance of getting killed gets."

None of them laughed because all three students knew that the Slytherin was not at all joking.

~~~~SS~~~~

Saturday 9, November 1996

If anyone asked Severus where he would have chosen to live had he not ended up as a spy and professor during the first war, he would have likely described Shell Cottage to a tee. It was one of the most serene and relaxing places Severus had ever been to, and the little cottage reminded him of the one he'd brought Harry to Aberdaron; it would be the perfect size for just the two wizards. More often lately, Severus had wanted to just take Harry away and if this place was not already occupied by the Smithe's, he would bring them here.

Severus was nervous to come and see his friend for the first time since the interrogation over a month ago. He'd wanted to come by before now, but as with everything life got in the way; or at least that's what he'd told himself. The professor easily could have been the one to come by to deliver Harry's last magical test results - at least the last one's before they decided they would need to make a decision about how to handle the magical block first - yet he'd let the headmaster handle it. The truth was, he didn't know what to say about the feeling of deep betrayal he had felt from one of his very few friends.

The apparation point for Shell Cottage landed the former spy up on the hill that overlooked the cottage grounds. Severus instantly calmed from the smell of the sea air and the sound of the slow crashing waves. He should bring Harry here, even if it were just for a couple of hours, just so he could see the beautiful stretch of beach and be able to finally have a real memory for his sketching. Of course, he couldn't do that while the Smithe's were taking up residence and they would be here until after the Christmas holidays and then some combination of the Greengrass's were expected to either join the Smithe's or replace the Smithe's in residence. At some point, as the days were rolling on - quicker than Severus was prepared for - he would need to sit down with Albus again to discuss Daphne and her family. Right now though, he needed answers from Alton about the Dark Lord's health and Matthew's potential alliance with him.

The professor waited outside the front door after knocking to give the family time to prepare. Having lived in the muggle world, Severus wasn't sure how much Alton would know, or be able to explain, about Fidelius Charms. If the healer didn't know much about them, then Severus's sudden appearance could be distressing.

"Severus," the kind voice of Sarah Smithe was the first thing he heard when the door was opened. "Please, come in!"

Sarah was two years older than Alton, but no one would ever guess so. She had long dark brown hair, that was now starting to grey on the sides, that she always wore down to highlight her tight bouncing curls. Her eyes were green, though not nearly as bright as Lily's and Harry's, and she had dark freckles scattered across her otherwise pale face. She was wearing a modest blue floral dress that was covered with a white laced apron, announcing that she had been cooking prior to greeting him at the door.

"Good Morning, Sarah," he said, stepping into the old cottage.

He'd only been to the cottage once before, and it was when he'd met Poppy to help heal him after a particularly rough summons, yet he had nothing but good feelings walking back into the entrance hall and entering the sitting room to the right. His eyes were drawn to the ceiling wondering if Alton and Mary were in one of the three bedrooms upstairs.

"Would you like some tea?" She asked, wiping her flour covered hands onto her apron. When the professor shook his head declining the offer, she continued, "I'm glad you've finally stopped by. We never got a chance to thank you after… everything that night."

Severus locked his jaw to control his anger from remembering that night and specifically the cell where the mother and daughter had been held. Then of course, there was the guilt of knowing that they'd been captured weeks before, and the Order had decided not to attempt to rescue them.

"Do not thank me, Sarah," he said, very seriously, "I wish we'd been able to get there sooner. How is Mary?"

Sarah gave him a soft smile he thought he did not deserve, "She's doing great; absolutely loves it here. Alton tells me you've got guardianship over a teenage boy now? His patient with Leukemia."

"Not quite," Severus answered, but the fact that Alton thought he was Harry's guardian meant that he had to assume the Dark Lord had that information. "Where is Alton?"

"He's out on the beach with Mary. They love going out after breakfast," Sarah said, pointing towards the back door as a timer went off in the kitchen. "I need to get the bread out of the oven, so feel free to head out back and find him. I hope you can stay for lunch, Severus."

"Thank you for the offer," he sincerely replied. "Though I'm hoping I won't be that long."

Once Sarah had left for the kitchen, Severus was all set to head outside until something on the fireplace mantle caught his eye. Checking to make sure the matriarch was still occupied with her baking, the former spy walked over to the fireplace where there were a variety of pictures in mismatched frames. The first was from Alton and Sarah's wedding, which Severus had been invited to but it was too soon after Lily's death to go and celebrate his friend's new love. The next picture in the line was the day of Mary's birth; Alton was standing beside the hospital bed where an exhausted yet elated Sarah was holding a bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. Severus found himself wondering what happened to Harry's baby pictures, at least before he ended up with his relatives where they would not have taken any pictures of their growing nephew. He felt a wave of grief that the young wizard would have no record of himself throughout his childhood.

There were two more pictures in line that Severus passed by rather quickly - one taken during Alton's graduation from his medical/healing university, and another of Mary riding a bike - before he stopped at the last picture on the mantle. This last one looked to be the most recent, the professor guessed it was taken last Christmas. It was of a group of about fifteen people that he guessed were Sarah's family around an extravagantly decorated table. There was nothing particularly sentimental about this picture besides the fact that so many people were together to celebrate with their family; it was something that Severus himself nor Harry had ever had. But what got to Severus the most was the photographs' presence to begin with when he had nothing left of the life he remembered most. At some point he would lose the memories from his life with Harry, and unlike Alton and Sarah, he wouldn't have the pictures to remind him. It was one of the hardest realizations from living in this reality, and it felt unfair that after Alton's betrayal he was able to live in the house Severus would have chosen, surrounded by the memories and momentos of their life before all of this mess.

Getting a hold of himself again, the professor moved through the small sitting room to the back door that led out to a wooden porch overlooking the beach. He heard the seashell wind chimes even before he opened the door, and once he did, he walked down onto the damp, cold sand. The father and daughter were sitting away from the frigid water on the fringe where the sand met the grass. Alton's posture immediately tensed when he saw the professor walking towards them, however Severus doubted Mary would have noticed the change of her father's demeanor.

"Good morning, Severus," his friend and Harry's former healer greeted. "Mary, you may not remember, but this Severus Snape. He's the one who helped fix your heart."

The gratitude from the small girl's face was much more than Severus deserved. Yes, he'd worked overtime to get those potions completed for her, but it was the least he could do for all the lives he'd torn apart or taken himself.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Snape," she said, showing a maturity that seemed beyond her young years, and held her hand out, which Severus shook.

"Mary," Alton said, drawing the small child's attention back to him, "go back inside and stay with your mother. Severus and I will be right in once we have had some time to catch up a bit."

The child nodded her head and attempted to skip off back to the cottage. With a heavy heart, Severus turned back to Alton and both wizards started their slow walk back towards the cottage.

"She seems to be handling this all well enough," Severus said, choosing to start at a neutral topic.

As he'd hoped, Alton gave a chuckle and appeared to let down his guard just a little, "Yes, she's done well with everything. Albus has arranged for a child psychologist to come by weekly, which has done wonders for her."

The professor nodded, grateful that the headmaster was still helping to take care of the family, even though things ended up as they had.

"How's Harry?" Alton stopped walking when he asked the question that had obviously been burning in his mind since Severus's arrival. "I haven't seen his latest magic reports or his last bone marrow biopsy results."

"Harry's well," Severus lied. The truth was that Severus had no idea how to navigate Harry's latest depression about feeling left behind by, and a burden to, his friends. It was enough to drive anyone mad and, as he'd been told many times, Harry wasn't a normal teenager, he wasn't a normal wizard, nor was he a normal cancer patient. Harry was the antithesis of normal, a fact that was weighing the poor teen down. "We did not do another magical test yet as we ran into some… complications, however his latest bone marrow biopsy from Dr. Swanson was very promising. He's started phase two and so far things have been going well."

"Good," Alton continued walking again, a half a step ahead of Severus. "So then what brings you here Severus? I hadn't expected to see you again after… that night."

"It was a stressful night, Alton," the professor said, "I apologize for my roughness with you. I hope you can understand we needed to ensure who your loyalty was to."

"Harry and my family," the healer answered Severus's rhetorical question, "my loyalty is to my patients, my wife, and daughter. So I'll ask you again, what brings you here?"

This time it was Severus's turn to pause their quest back to the warmth of the cottage. While the salty sea air always helped calm the former Death Eater's nerves - by reminding him of Lily - the beach in November had a sharp, strong wind coming off the water that could penetrate down to the bones if one was not prepared for it.

"I need you to explain what you meant when you said the Dark Lord could feel Harry's chemotherapy effects."

The statement stood on its own with no further explanation.

"I wasn't sure you'd heard that," Alton started with, "All I know is that I was collected on three separate occasions during Harry's rough weeks and he appeared to be suffering much the same as Harry was, though I would say it was on a lesser scale. Mainly the vomiting, abdominal pain, and fatigue matched Harry's symptoms at the time, plus at other times he had nose bleeds, bruising, bone pain, fevers, which are all symptoms of Leukemia in general."

Alton wouldn't know about Harry's blood being used during the resurrection nor would he know about the mental link - and soul fragment - that they shared. He wanted to ask his friend how he accounted for these occurrences if he didn't know about the other factors, but he didn't want to lead Alton into having information he should not possess.

"Before my cover as a spy for Dumbledore was blown," Severus said, honestly, "I was providing the Dark Lord with a wide range of potions that could combat all of those things. Do you know if he has since replaced that part of my role?"

"You mean has he gotten another brewer?"

"Precisely," Severus confirmed. "And any information you may have provided about the potions regimen to treat Harry's cancer would also be appreciated."

To his credit, Alton took the time to think back on what he'd seen and heard whenever he was "collected" for Voldemort.

"Unless he was buying commercially made potions, someone had to be brewing for him," the healer explained, "there was more than one occasion where potions were delivered to him while I was there. I never saw the brewer if that's what you want to know, but the potions had stopped working as well as they should have. He kept asking me why they didn't work, but I had no answers for him."

Severus tabled the observation that the potions had seemingly stopped working for the Dark Lord. He needed to see if he could find a connection to Matthew.

"Did you happen to hear the name of the brewer?" The professor asked. He started questioning to himself why he even bothered, it wasn't like Alton had been around for summons meetings themselves. The healer was probably only collected - as Alton called it - after all the Death Eaters had left. That was likely how they managed not to cross paths… it was that thought that froze all of Severus's current thinking. If the Dark Lord had used Legilimency on Alton, at a bare minimum but honestly it had to be more often than this, to find that first diagnosis conversation, how was Severus still alive? He was in Alton's office during that conversation and he was not wearing his glamour while he was in the office with his friend.

He had to have known.

From that first summons after arriving in this reality, Severus had suspected his cover had been blown. It became most obvious when he was not permitted to leave the day of the Privet Drive attack, which ended up not mattering because he'd battled against the Death Eaters that night. However he now just confirmed that it was Alton that led to his discovery all along. Then why did the Dark Lord let him live with Harry that entire time?

"Severus?" Alton touched his arm to grab the professor's attention and it just so happened to be on his left forearm, on his dark mark.

"Did you know I was a Death Eater?" He asked his friend, while simultaneously unbuttoning and aggressively lifting the left sleeve of his black button down dress shirt. Staring at them both was the ugly, black mark contrasted against Severus's pale skin. "Did you know I was a spy?"

Alton appeared to have lost his focus as he couldn't tear his eyes away from the mark in his friend's arm.

"No," the healer shook his head violently, "I didn't know either of those."

"But he had to know," Severus threatened. "He pulled it from your mind. What else did he get Alton?"

Almost ripping his shirt from the force of pulling his sleeve down, the former spy thought back to all the conversations they'd had, which Voldemort would have had access to. He had to have known about being Harry's medical proxy, they'd discussed it when Harry was diagnosed. Suddenly it was becoming hard to breathe. It made no sense for Severus to have been left alone during those early days at Privet Drive. What benefit did the Dark Lord have with Severus being there?

"I have to go," the professor abruptly said, walking towards the apparation point instead of the house.

"Wait, Severus!" Alton called out before he'd gotten too far away. "I told him all about the potions route, though I made it clear I couldn't advise on any of the formulations. You obviously think there's some way he has the Leukemia, and for what it's worth, I think you're right. I also believe he's going to try to make his own potions-chemotherapy, though I don't know how well it will work."

"It doesn't work," he shouldn't have said it, but it slipped out. "As a renowned Potion's Master, I can tell you it doesn't work."

And with those parting words, Severus uncharacteristically ran to the apparation point and disapparated back to Hogsmeade. He needed to tell the Headmaster what he'd just uncovered.

Severus had immediately gone to Albus's office after returning to Hogsmeade. Though little may have been said between the two men on the beach at Shell Cottage, there was enough between the words for the former spy to start making some high-level strategic planning.

The Dark Lord was definitely feeling the effects of the Leukemia and by extension that gave them some kind of time limit over how long the evil wizard would live before the Horcrux needed to be dealt with. Could the Leukemia kill him before the soul fragment was removed? And if so, would Voldemort end up in the sort of parallel he was in before his resurrection? What would happen should the soul fragment be released after his current body was killed? These questions plagued his mind during the walk back up to the castle, but the biggest question of all was one he knew he would get no answers to. Why had he been allowed to live when Alton had shown his presence at Harry's side during the memory of his diagnosis?

"Clearly he had a reason for your continued survival," Albus told him once he caught the headmaster up on his conversation with Alton. Of course, his statement was not the least bit helpful.

"Obviously," Severus sarcastically replied, "any intelligent insight as to what that reasoning might be?"

"Tom has always been a strategist, Severus, though I will admit his decisions have been a bit more chaotic as of late," Albus stood and paced behind his desk contemplating their next move. "We'll know his reasoning in due time, I'm sure. As long as you and Harry stay protected within the wards of the school, it does not concern me nearly as much as how we're going to handle the Horcrux issue."

At this, Severus remained silent, having long learned he could gain more information when silent, then when talking.

He was rewarded when the headmaster continued, far too casually for the former Death Eater's liking, "What I hear you saying is that it's only a matter of time before Voldemort perishes from Leukemia."

"He cannot actually die if the soul fragment in Harry still exists," Severus spat back at his mentor, hating that he had to keep reminding the older wizard of this fact. "Not to mention that if Harry has any chance of walking away from chemotherapy with a gram of magic left, he may actually need that soul fragment to protect his remaining core."

Neither wizard wanted to say that the odds for Harry surviving at all was not looking favorable. Unless they could find a way to remove the fragment, Voldemort could continue to come back.

"When will we know for sure?" Albus broke the silence with the question as he sat back down at his desk and steepled his fingers. The question required no further explanations.

"End of the month," the dark haired professor answered, "If everything continues on schedule, the 27th or 28th to be exact."

The elderly wizard nodded his head gravely, as if he really didn't want to confirm that a dark magical soul was living and feeding from Harry. If Severus was honest, he didn't want it either.

"We should do one more magical test on Harry before that time-" the headmaster said, raising his hand to stop Severus's potential protest, "-

I know you want to preserve as much as possible until your confirmation, however once we know what we're dealing with, we'll need to move quickly. Therefore we need to test his magical level at least once more."

How could he argue that logic? As the end of the month and his potion approached completion, they would need to have as much information available as possible so they - or more accurately Harry - could decide on if they should proceed with the attempt to preserve his magic below the soul fragment.

"I think it's time we get Minerva involved," the dark-haired professor announced. "I will not be the one to tell her about the Horcrux."

No, he'd have to be the one to tell Harry and that was bad enough. He did not want to be subjected to Minerva's wrath when she discovered that both wizards had kept her in the dark over something as important as a piece of Voldemort living within Harry.