Dear Harry,

It is so wonderful to hear from you again!
I was starting to get worried when you didn’t write after a week or so. Ron told me Hedwig was with him of course, but then she dissappeared. I'm glad to know that she's with you.

I'm so sorry to hear about your family. I know they hadn't always been the kindest to you, but even still, it must be pretty horrible.

I know you said you wouldn't be able to tell me where you're staying, but I am grateful to know you're safe.

I hope to hear from you again. Let me know if you need any help with Snape's essay. It's a particularly complex topic that even I found a bit tricky.

Love,
Hermione

P.s. I wouldn't wait on a response from Ronald anytime soon. Apparently Scabbers has gone missing and he's been rather frantic about finding him. Seems the rat came back from Egypt with some kind of illness. I tried to remind Ronald that Scabbers was quite old and he probably left for that reason. He didn't like that very much

Harry set down the letter with a snort. Of course Hermione would say something as callous as that. He was sure Ron didn't need to be told that his beloved pet was probably dead. Harry reasoned to write again and tell Ron that the pudgy rat would turn up eventually, though he hated to cause a larger rift between his friends.

"Was that Weasley or Granger?" Snape drawled casually as he poured out his morning coffee.

"Hermione," Harry murmured around a piece of jammy toast, earning him a scowl. He roughly swallowed before speaking again. "Can I tell her I'm staying with you?" Snape gave him a withering look. "Just to put her at ease! She’s really worried about me!"

"I can lay spells to hide delicate information." Emmeline offered from the living room. "It's one of my specialities."

"Fine. But don't tell her where we are." Snape said flatly. "I don't want to risk that much."

"Alright.” Harry muttered before he rushed back upstairs, eager to write a response.

Dear Hermione,

Thank you. For saying that about my family. I always turn into a bit of a mess when I think about it too long. I just can't help but think about Dudley. He was only a couple months older than me. Apparently someone went back to my aunt's marges house to see what fully happened. They didn't tell me any details, but from what I could infer it wasn't pretty. I can't help but wonder if I had been there, maybe none of them would have died.

I'm getting off topic.

I wanted to tell you a bit more about where I am. I can't tell you exactly for security reasons, but I can tell you who I'm staying with! It's Professor Snape! So far he's acctually been

Well not decent persay. But he hasn't insulted me

Much

It's not just me and Snape though. There also Ms. Emmeline. She's part of this group that Dumbledore created to fight Voldemort during the first war. She’s pretty cool actually. She was showing me some stunts on the broom I can't wait to try on the pitch this year.

But that’s not the only cool thing about her!

Apparently, she and Snape used to date!

I don't have all the details, but I really want to find out more. You couldn't find two people more opposite! Everytime I see them interact I have so many questions!

Mostly how?

And how?!

I don't know.

I'm going to ask Snape next. See if I can't get some kind of explanation.

I just have to wait for Ms. Emmeline to leave for a bit

Hope to hear from you again!

Love,
Harry

P.s. I think you should be a little kinder to Ron about Scabbers. Losing someone you care about is really hard. It's easy for you to be blunt from the outside looking in, but Ron's had Scabbers for a long time. Think about how you'd feel if one of your dear friends disappeared without warning one day.

Dear Harry,

You can't blame yourself for what happened Harry! If you had been there you would be dead! I don't know why Voldemort’s followers are coming back now of all times but their evil habits are not your fault!

I can't believe you're staying with Snape of all poeple! What is his house like? If it's anything like his office it must be pretty unnerving.

Emmeline sounds nice, but really Harry I think you should leave well enough alone. Our professor's old relationship is really none of your business. Playing with fire rarely turns out well.

Love,
Hermione

Emmeline wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and looked down at Harry slowly eating his oatmeal with dissintrest. She could tell by his face that today was one of those days. She glanced at her watch before walking over to the door to the pantry and knocking. There was about two minutes of silence before the door whipped open.

"What!" Severus snapped in irritation. Emmeline gave him her coldest withering look.

"Dumbledore has called. He said he needed my help with something today. New ward over the school I think. So I need you to keep Harry occupied for a while." Severus made a face and went to push past her when Emmeline stuck out an arm to block him. "Severus," she began with a whisper, "please try to be gentle. He's having another bad day." The potions master grunted. "Severus! The boy feels responsible for his family's deaths." Emmeline reiterated for what seemed like the millionth time.

"It's ridiculous." Severus grumbled in frustration.

"To us!" Emmeline argued, "but the boy is twelve!"

"Thirteen in a few weeks." Severus murmured. Emmeline blinked.

"We should start planning his party." She said thoughtfully. Snape snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I take it you want me to coddle him and pet his hair?"

"Goodness no!" Emmeline cried with a laugh, "The poor thing would die of shock!"

"Then what?" Snape demanded in irritation.

"Something calming." Emmeline insisted with a huff. Honestly he could be so obtuse sometimes. "And remember Severus! Gentle!"

"Alright woman!" Severus complained before he marched up to Harry with hard eyes. The preteen looked up from his breakfast. Upon seeing his professors look he paled.

"What did I do?" He demanded worriedly.

"Guilty conscience, Potter?" Snape demanded with a glare.

"No!" Harry insisted, though he did briefly avert his gaze. Emmeline huffed before she gave Harry a comforting look.

"I'm going to be going out for a while, Harry."

"Okay…" Harry said as he gave his potions professor another harrowed glance. Emmeline huffed before looking at Severus again.

"Behave." She implored. The man scoffed with a raised eyebrow which made her even more frustrated before she half stomped out of the cottage. Harry and Severus stood in silence for a moment before Snape cleared his throat.

"I seem to recall Pomona saying you had a passable grade in herbology." He said quietly.

"I'm okay I geuss." Harry offered with a shrug. "As long as the plants don't attack if you prune their favourite leaves or whatever." Severus snorted.

"Come along then. I'm sure you can't make more of a mess than the school year already has."

Harry didn't dislike gardening. He actually took great pride in the roses he'd managed to coax back to life after a year of his aunt's neglect. Not that that was anything new. At least Snape told him what to do for the plants he didn't recognize. He was currently trying to salvage the remains of his potions patch.

"I should really hire an elf to manage this during the year." Snape muttered darkly as he plucked away at the bushel of crab grass attacking his monkshood.

"Can't you just put a stasis charm on it?" Harry questioned.

"Yes, To stop the weeds. But then nothing would grow now would it, potter?" Snape reminded him with a scoff.

"Oh yeah." Harry murmured with a faint blush. As he finished the last of his garden bed he turned to watching his professor. After a few minutes the man leaned back to survey his work and made a face.

"It'll do." He muttered. Then he held out his hand for the trimmers. Harry handed them to him and continued to watch as he pruned away the dying leaves.

"Professor," Harry finallybwgan, after plucking up for courage. "Can I ask you a a question?"

"I don't know Potter," Snape drawled before giving him a look. "Can you?"

"May I ask you a question?" Harry corrected with a huff.

"Yes what?" Snape demanded with a sigh, already predicting it would be something mundane and foolish.

"How did you and Ms. Emmeline meet?"

He nearly sliced his finger off. After a few seconds he collected himself.

"At Hogwarts." He said quietly.

"Is that where you started dating?" Harry asked innocently.

He actually dropped the trimmers that time, lest he sever something artirial.

"Emmeline told you?!" He demanded with a note of rage.

"Yeah." Harry said quietly. "I asked her how the two of you knew each other. It's kinda obvious that you knew her."

"I hope you haven't told your friends!" Snape shouted rather frantically. Harry blinked.

"Er… was I not supposed to?" Snape buried his face in his hand.

"There goes that carefully crafted reputation." Snape muttered bitterly.

"I only told Hermione!" Harry insisted. Snape’s eyebrow shot up.

"Oh? And what did Mrs. Granger have to say about you asking all these intrusive questions?"

"Er… well she said is wasn't any of my business." Harry addmited quietly.

"And, as always, she is correct." Snape said matter of factly. Then he turned back to his gardening. They continued to work in silence for some time. But Severus was keenly aware of the boy’s staring. As he finished his garden box and looked over to see Potter repeatedly digging a small hole and filing it again in bordum he heaved a sigh. "To answer your previous question… yes. Emmeline and I dated while we were at Hogwarts together. She was in her fifth year when I was in my seventh."

"You're older than her?" Harry said with a slight grimace.

"Two years is not a capital offence!" Snape argued with a bit of defensiveness. Then he cleared his throat. "We met through the Slytherin commons study group."

"Ms. Emmeline was a Slytherin?!" Harry cried in shock. Snape rolled his eyes.

"Yes Potter."

"But she's…" Harry began.

"Contrary to what I'm certain has been drilled into you from all sides," Snape began with a hodgepodge of rage, irritation, and a little dissapointment, "not all Slytherins are 'evil'. There have been plenty of noble and honorable Slytherins throughout the years. The founder of the wizarding hospital, Saint Victor Mungo, was a Slytherin. As was the current chief of the auror department, a well as several of your professors." Harry didn't look entirely convinced before he shrugged in that nonchalant way that drove Severus mad.

"I suppose." He murmured with uncertainty.. Snape gave him a bit of a glare before he huffed.

"I will admit… even in our youth Emmeline was not like many of our peers."

"Why is that?" Harry asked curiously.

"Are you aware of the Greek concept of the fatal flaw?"

"That’s the one where there is one bad thing that causes your ultimate downfall, yeah?"

"Correct." Snape said with a hint of surprise that made Harry scowl. He wasn't a complete idiot! "For most Slytherins, their fatal flaw is hubris. The beleif that if they work hard enough, they can obtain glory even greater than a gods."

"Isn't glory a Gryffindor thing?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Gryffindor aren't normally so self centered about it." Snape argued while Harry nodded emphatically. " Emmelines fatal flaw was diffidence."

"Diffa-what?" Harry questioned with a frown.

"A crippling lack of self confidence and assertiveness." Snape defined with a drawl. "She vascilated when she should have acted and let poeple walk all over her."

"I don't know sir," Harry began with a smirk, "she seems pretty assertive to me."

"Yes well she has a the benefit of further expirience." Snape argued with a glare. He knew well what Potter was implying. "But when we were younger she spent an awful lot of time incredibly worried about what everyone else thought of her." Snape's face grew rather wistful and contemplative. "except the poeple that actually mattered." He finished under his breath.

"So that's why you broke up?" Harry asked.

"That enough." Snape said firmly, with a glare that told Harry right then that this little game of questions was over. Harry didn't need to be told twice as he shut his mouth and didn't object when Snape dissappeared into the pantry once again.

Dear Hermione,

So

I didn't follow your advice. I know I know you'll probably make a big deal but I'm glad I didn't!

I don't know what happened exactly. I'm gonna have to ask Ms. Emmeline this time. Snape might chop me up into potions sized pieces if I try anything like that again.

But from what I do know:

Ms. Emmeline and Snape started dating at Hogwarts

Ms. Emmeline apparently was super self conscious about

something, and

Broke it off? I geuss?

But the way it sounded from Ms. Emmeline, it seemed like she thought it was Snape's idea.

I have to find out more, Hermione.

They've both been so snippy with each other lately. And I just can't help but feel like

If they just sat down and talked all this would turn out to be just a big misunderstanding! I'll talk to you later.

Love,
Harry