Antiquity's Corollary by gonnabefamous
Past Featured StorySummary: At Lily's request, Albus Dumbledore has kept a secret from Severus Snape for 17 years. When Dumbledore learns that this secret plays a vital role in the war, however, it is Snape who is left to deal with the consequences. As Harry's true parentage is revealed, both his and Snape's futures become uncertain. The two must learn to work together in order to survive. PreHBP.
Categories: Parental Snape > Biological Father Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Dumbledore, Ginny, Hermione, Ron
Snape Flavour: Canon Snape
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Family
Media Type: None
Tags: None
Takes Place: 6th summer
Warnings: Alcohol Use, Torture, Violence
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 58 Completed: No Word count: 401010 Read: 379384 Published: 28 Jun 2005 Updated: 11 Oct 2015
Anecdotal Recollections by gonnabefamous

Anecdotal Recollections

xxx

Out of courtesy toward Severus, Harry decided that he would wait until much later that night to open the gifts he'd received from his other friends. He had actually spent a very enjoyable, though uneventful, day with his father. Although things were still not quite back to normal between them, they managed to avoid most sensitive topics and make light conversation throughout their quiet game of chess. Harry did not mind that there was little excitement. In comparison to his past Holidays, he felt far more fulfilled as the day turned to evening. This in itself was more important than any of the gifts remaining under the tree at the end of the night.

While Severus offered to take Harry out for dinner rather than eating in once again, Harry felt that this would somehow ruin the magic of the day he'd enjoyed thus far. He and Severus seemed to agree, in the end, that a small meal would do, and they resolved not to venture out into the town. Finally settling into the house and the routines that came with living in it, Harry was finding himself reluctant to spend much time away from it since he knew he had so little in the first place.

Later that night, as the two sat quietly in the study, each content to focus on his own task, Severus heaved a long sigh and looked up from his desk at Harry, a pained expression gracing his features.

"What is it?" Harry asked, unsure whether or not it was acceptable to be amused by his father's face. That was the closest he ever had, or probably would, see Severus get to a pout.

"I have to go back to Hogwarts tonight," Severus droned wearily, removing his rarely-used spectacles from the bridge of his nose and pinching the place where they had been perched. "Again," he added, dropping his head and shaking it.

Harry frowned slightly, though he was well aware of the small smile creeping across his face in sympathy for Severus. "Anything important?"

Severus shook his head and closed his eyes, muttering something incomprehensible. "Just some Slytherin common room issues, disciplinary and such."

Harry's facial expression hardly changed, though his eyes lit up considerably. "Slytherin dramatics?"

"Not to be shared with nosy Gryffindors," Severus said in half jest, rising from his seat. "Will you be alright if I leave you here for awhile? I'll be back before long."

"I'm certain I can manage to stay out of trouble for at least a few hours," Harry quipped, shrugging. "But I make no promises."

"Ah, well, in that case," Severus said wryly, rising from his chair, "I make no promises to allow you to maintain your life if you should do anything inanely witless."

"Fair enough," Harry replied, tilting his head to the side and flipping the page in his book.

Severus quirked his lips a bit as he filed the rest of his papers into his drawers. "I am serious, though," he said a moment later, straightening the last on his desk. "Try to keep the trouble making to a bare minimum, if at all possible."

Harry waited a moment, an expectant expression on his face, until Severus finally looked up and furrowed his brow, asking, "What?"

"Aren't you going to tell me that I won't like your reaction otherwise?"

Severus narrowed his eyes disconcertedly, and Harry explained, "You usually follow statements like that with some sort of similar warning." He shrugged. "Just asking."

"Ah," Severus said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I should think it goes without saying. Am I correct?"

"Yes," Harry responded, lowering his voice slightly and flattening his tone to one of complete solemnity. "You have ascertained the situation with total accuracy."

"Are you trying to imitate me?" Severus asked in incredulous tones.

"A little, yeah," Harry admitted, nodding.

Severus' eyes flickered to the ceiling, and he threw his cloak over his arm. "Just behave," he breathed, opening the door and stepping into the hallway. Harry laughed aloud and shook his head, returning his attention to his book.

Before long after that, Harry began to feel isolated sitting in the study by himself, and found himself too restless to complete the readings Severus had suggested he get started on. Satisfied that, having read two chapters, (including the notes Severus had scribbled into every margin in the book) he would be forgiven for giving up the task now, he took the book over to his desk and set it on the chair so that he would not forget to continue reading. He blew out the few candles lit in the room and left with no intention to return.

Though Harry had been able to wait all day to open the gifts he'd been sent, now that Severus was gone, he found himself rather curious about what he'd received from his friends. Now seemed like a better time than any to find out, he supposed.

Harry made his way into the living room and began sifting through the pile of gifts there. As he had told Severus earlier, many of the gifts were from people he barely knew, though he could hardly call them followers. Many of them were from the ministry, in an attempt to apologize for their actions the previous year.

Out of curiosity, Harry opened a small gift from one Loriea Coffen, discovering a very expensive Wizarding watch within the package. Frowning, he lifted it out and inspected it, finding the two simple words, With Admiration, inscribed on the backing of it. He rolled his eyes and tossed it carelessly into the box, shoving the rest of the unknown gifts aside. He would decide what to do with those later.

Harry did not find a gift worth opening until he stumbled across a large bundle of gifts, all sent from the Weasleys. Eying the lumpy package that was sure to contain his Weasley jumper, Harry grinned and pulled it away from the bundle. He unwrapped it quickly and slid it over his head, pleased by the familiarity of it. Though he had Severus now, it seemed important to be reminded that his relationships with others were still as strong as they'd been before. Finally, he was coming to a point in his life where he rarely felt alone.

Remaining seated on the floor, Harry leaned back against the couch and pulled an average sized box onto his lap. The package, wrapped in vibrant paper of many colours, was labelled: From Ron & Ginny.

Harry frowned thoughtfully at this, wondering what the two of them would put their heads together and come up with. Peeling back the paper, he soon found out. The box was not shiny or new, but it had written across the top in lavish scrawl, Secrecy Sensor '96. Harry grinned oddly and pulled it entirely out of the paper, flipping open the lid of the box.

Surely enough, inside, there was a device somewhat similar to the one Harry had seen in 'Moody's' office during fourth year. He remembered now his fascination with the many dark detector artefacts he'd encountered then.

"Cool," Harry commented to himself, gazing at the box for a moment before he set it aside. He continued to smile as he reached over and pulled out the rather generously sized bag of chocolate frogs that had accompanied the other gift. He unwrapped one and, before the frog could hop out of his hand, promptly stuffed the entire thing into his mouth.

Trying to chew his mouthful of chocolate, Harry continued to search through the pile until he stumbled upon Hermione's gift to him. The shape of the package was instantly a telltale sign of the present within- typically, she had bought him a book. Rolling his eyes in an almost appreciative manner for her predictability, Harry uncovered the title of the book.

Omniscience in Sanctimonia: Niveus Veneficus

Harry winced a little, unsure whether or not the rest of the book would be as difficult to understand as the title. He pulled down the wrapping paper just a bit more, until he located the words on the cover, 'English Translation'. Ah, always practical, Hermione had thought to give him a gift he could actually use.

Harry was unsure what the significance of the book was, but vowed to ask Severus to explain it to him later. He opened the front cover of the book, only to find a small, handwritten note from Hermione.

Harry, it read.

Happy Christmas! I know you probably won't think much of the fact that I've got you a book this year, but I noticed the Professor didn't have it in his library, and I thought you ought to have a copy of this. It's really a good read, and should teach you a lot, especially considering how deeply you'll be delving into white magic.

I hope you're still having a lovely holiday,

Hermione

Harry frowned, wondering briefly just how Hermione knew how deeply he'd be delving into white magic. Even he hadn't really understood until Severus had restored the room for him- that was something tangible, something of which he could grasp the magnitude. And yet, she had understood even before he did how far it was going to go… how did she do that?

The second thing that caught Harry's attention was Hermione's closing statement. He peered at it closely, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening even further.

I hope you're still having a lovely holiday.

It suddenly occurred to Harry that his friends had absolutely no idea what events had taken place over the past several days. He had a very difficult choice ahead of him: he could either tell his friends what had happened in hope that they would not make a horrendously big deal of it, or he could keep this to himself.

Really, he reasoned, there was no logic in stirring things up. While he trusted his friends with the most dire of secrets, this was not a matter of keeping something private. He wanted them to like and approve of his father; he doubted that would happen any sooner if they knew what had gone on between the two of them. What could they do, anyway, that would be of any help to him? He knew Hermione had a penchant for trying to solve every problem, but this was one puzzle he didn't need deciphered. As for Ron's reaction… well, he wasn't sure he wanted to see just how worked up his friend could get in one go. That was a boundary he had no desire to push.

A short while later, Harry gathered the gifts he wished to keep and pushed himself up from the ground. He briefly considered levitating the items up to his room, but since he'd really only taken interest in the gifts from his close friends, he decided it would be easier just to carry them. He stopped off in the study to set Hermione's book on top of his desk with the other readings Severus had recommended he start on, and then headed for his room.

xxx

Severus did not arrive until much later that night. He was glad when he finally walked through the front door; he supposed he could become used to coming home to a quiet house every night, rather than his empty, cold dungeon quarters at Hogwarts. It wasn't that he was ungrateful for what Albus had provided him with, but he had been residing there for years, and though it was comfortable, it had never exactly been comforting. He hadn't realized this until recently; after all, he'd almost forgotten what true comfort felt like in the first place.

Severus hung his cloak in the small coatroom and headed for the study. The house was quiet, and though he was inclined to believe that Harry would have wisely gone to bed by now, he thought it a good idea to check there before going all the way up to the boy's room to check on him.

Glad when he stepped into a dark study, Severus took a quick look around before turning back around and moving toward the stairs. He reached the upper floor and walked the long strip of hallway to Harry's room, pausing just before his hand came to rest on the handle of Harry's door. He tapped lightly on the wood, and brought his ear closer to it so that he would catch any sounds from within. When he heard nothing, he cautiously pushed the door open, sticking only his head into the room before the rest of his body followed.

Severus moved towards Harry's bed, but stopped just short of it so that the boy would not wake to his father looming over him. He watched the boy's restful form for a few moments, only now realizing how odd it was that his first thought upon arriving home had been to check on his son. He had never become accustomed to such habits, and yet, now that the boy was in his care, they were almost instinctive.

Severus watched Harry's chest rise and fall a few more times, and, secure in the notion that his son was fine, moved through adjoining door between their rooms so that he might get some sound sleep as well.

xxx

Harry was rather surprised the next morning when his eyes opened and narrowed against the sunrise, and he came to the realization that he was being gently shaken awake. He groaned slightly at the awful sensation of being torn between sleep and lucidity, and he felt the hand that had been resting on his shoulder lift.

"Good morning," he heard his father's amused voice say just before he sourly tugged a pillow over his face.

"Good morning," came the muffled reply.

Harry heard Severus laugh quietly and felt the mattress shift as the older man stood. Harry lied still, hoping in vain that his father might leave and he might be able to drift back off to sleep. After a few moments, however, he realized this was not likely to happen.

Taking the pillow off of his head and rolling over to face Severus, Harry glared up at him, though it was without much malice that he did so. "Fine, I'm awake."

"And do you know why?"

Harry glanced around warily, thinking there must be a very obvious explanation for this. Still, he couldn't recall a decent reason. "No," he admitted.

"I believe you have an engagement at the Weasleys' home today?" Severus reminded him, eyeing Harry inquisitively, as though wondering whether this would ring a bell in the boy's mind.

"Oh yeah," Harry said slowly, rolling over onto his back. "But I don't have to leave until… what time is it now?"

"Ten a.m."

"Oh," Harry said, blushing slightly and ruffling his hair. "Well, in that case…. I'd better shower."

"That would be an excellent plan of action," Severus drawled, turning and heading for the door. "Truly inspired."

Harry was rather lucky that the door had closed before his launched pillow had reached its destination.

xxx

Severus ignored the loud thud of an object hitting the door behind him as he strolled away from Harry's room. He shook his head and smiled just slightly, beginning to shift his thoughts from Harry to his plans for the rest of the day.

The workroom he had been perfecting during the past week was, for the most part, complete, and required things that he could only obtain during a day long trip to the market. Still, he had held hopes that Harry would accompany him on such a day, and as the boy had prior engagements made for the current date, he would need to find something else to occupy his time.

The more Severus pondered it, the more he realized he was simply not accustomed to having time with which he could choose what to do. Even when he had been given those rare nights with little left to be accomplished, it had seemed that all the weeks of his constant activity would catch up with him at once, leaving him too worn and weary to even contemplate leaving his rooms.

Though Harry frequently caused Severus stress and headache, it wasn't as burdensome as the other sorts he dealt with on a day to day basis. Despite the problems he and Harry had been working through, he didn't find himself as tired as he usually was. In fact, he felt much better than he had in a very long time- his mood was not as heavy and dour as usual, and there was less weighing on his mind and conscience. Overall, he did not mind these changes.

Severus did not bother to ask Tibby to make breakfast, only because he justifiably assumed that Molly would be preparing an abundance of food for her guests, and Harry would be eating there within an hour. He himself could do without breakfast.

As unappealing as the task had seemed throughout the break, Severus supposed today would provide a sufficient opportunity to grade the papers he had demanded of his seventh years right before the beginning of the holiday. Though his selectivity and high demands had managed to keep his N.E.W.T. level classes relatively small in size, he found that the amount of work he required of them made the work he had to grade equivalent to the quantity of papers he had to mark for all the other years. The only highlight was that the papers were somewhat varied and of better quality, and he wasted much less red ink.

Severus resigned himself to the eventual completion of this task, and took his tea with him into the study. Ever averse to natural lighting, he pulled out his wand and ignited the various candles around the room before settling himself into the high backed chair behind his desk. Opening the bottom drawer where he remembered placing the unwelcome papers at the start of break, he pulled out the considerably large stack and set it upon his desk. The thought that he should have assigned a shorter essay crossed his mind just briefly as he spelled the papers to point out any blatant plagiarism, and pulled over the jar of red ink.

Severus bore the monotony of grading papers for quite some time before Harry surfaced again. He had just finished writing his third abrasive comment on the same essay when he looked up to see Harry standing near the wall, watching him with mild interest.

"Can I help you?" he said in a poor way of greeting, intentionally sounding annoyed at being watched.

Harry grinned just slightly and shook his head, stepping forward. Severus rolled his eyes at this; the boy was getting far too confident in his suppositions that comments such as these were meant to be taken as humorous. At the same time, it made Severus feel much more at ease when he knew the boy would perceive his sarcasm as a good natured, somewhat dry sort of wit. He could speak much more freely knowing he was not likely to offend.

"I think you should come with me today," Harry suggested, flipping out his wand and summoning the chair from across the room. At Severus' doubtful look, he added with optimism, "It could be fun."

"I don't do 'fun'," Severus said slowly, curling his upper lip at the notion. "It doesn't suit me."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe you should try something new."

"Give me one good reason why," Severus said dismissively, going back to his paper marking.

"Because I'd like to see you get out of the house," Harry said, earning another skeptical look.

"Oh yes, I believe that. What is it really, Harry?"

"I thought you should…" Harry paused for a moment, his eyes moving upward in an obvious attempt to think of a quick answer, "be there to keep me from making stupid decisions?"

"Is that a question, or an answer?"

"I think you should be there to keep me from making stupid decisions," Harry said more confidently, correcting his tone.

"I doubt even I can truly prevent that," Severus remarked, re-dipping his quill in the red ink. "I'm sure you will manage to have a pleasant time without my cheerful presence."

Though Severus did not look up quickly enough to see Harry's crestfallen expression, he surmised from the silence that followed this that Harry was mildly disappointed. For the life of him, however, he could not imagine why on earth the boy would really want him to attend such an affair. Surely, he knew that Severus could not resist the temptation to taunt Lupin, nor to make underhanded insults at the unintelligent people who could not comprehend them, purely for the amusement of watching their puzzled faces as they struggled to work out what he had said. Why would anyone on earth, much less someone who knew him, want him at any sort of social gathering?

Part of Severus really did not care about the answer to this question; his own firm belief that he was not a party goer was enough to keep him rooted in his spot. However, as Harry sighed heavily and rose a moment later, reluctantly turning to leave the study, Severus found himself unable to let the boy walk away without at least hearing what he really had to say.

"Harry," Severus intoned, stopping his son in his tracks, "Tell me the truth, and I will consider it. Why do you really want me there today?"

Harry froze for a moment, rooted in his spot. Slowly, he turned around, a grimace gracing his youthful face. "Honestly?"

"No, fictitiously," Severus snipped caustically. "Yes. Honestly!"

Harry shrugged slightly and sat back down in the chair, staring at his hands. "The truth is, almost everyone has heard about us… but I don't think anyone really believes that… that this is working. I want them to see that I care for you, and that I'm not ashamed of you… and I'd like if they saw that you thought the same of me… as long as you do."

"Of course I do," Severus replied, tilting his head to the side. He had to admit, Harry had a valid point. What better way to stop everyone's talk than to prove that the two of them were getting along? Even if they'd been having their misgivings, Severus could almost guarantee that they were still exceeding the expectations of everyone who had learned through the grapevine of their newfound familial ties. "You realize I have no intention of being incredibly friendly towards anyone during this occasion?"

"As long as you are not completely hostile, I can deal with that," Harry consented, looking unsurprised.

"Define completely," Severus responded contemplatively, gaining a mildly disgruntled expression from Harry.

"And here I thought you were the king of all words," Harry said dryly, quirking an eyebrow in a manner not unlike his father's.

"I only meant in your terms, since I doubt you know the many variations such a word implies."

"You're right, I don't study the dictionary like you do," Harry replied. "But I will not apologize for that."

"Some people learn over time, Harry- they don't need a book to tell them everything."

"I know, and that's exactly why I do my best to stay away from those books."

"As is reflected in your marks at school."

"My marks have been good!"

"Satisfactory, at best."

"I've got four O's, five E's, and one A! How is that merely 'satisfactory'?"

"Four E's, two A's," Severus corrected, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Your last essay in Potions was not quite up to par. Your other Acceptable is in Transfiguration, Harry. Your lowest grades are in two of your most important classes. I don't really lend much credit to your earning Outstandings in classes that hardly give you any work."

"They give us work," Harry replied defensively, frowning deeply. He had not expected to be confronted about his grades just now.

"Nothing significantly challenging- I speak to the professors, Harry, you forget that."

"I don't see how this is any of your business," Harry muttered after a moment, looking away.

Severus' eyebrows lifted, and he responded, "I do hope that this is just immaturity speaking- I would truly hate to think that you are this stupid."

"What?" Harry exclaimed, indignant.

"You really don't see how this is any of my business? I'm your father, Harry, I happen to care how you do in school. I would like to see you succeed. I would like to see you earn high marks and make it into Auror training as you have long expressed a wish to do. I would like to see you accomplish your goals and feel confident about what you have accomplished. Is that such a horrible thing to desire?"

Harry's mouth opened to respond with an angry retort, but at the last moment, he bit back on it, and muttered, "No."

"You're normally much more reasonable than this. I have seen that you are capable of acting like an adult, but you are going to need to learn how to accept criticism and make the best of it. You realize this, don't you?"

"Yeah," Harry replied grudgingly, still glaring off to the side.

Severus was rather surprised by this obstinacy, to be entirely truthful. Though he worked with teenagers on a daily basis, the constant variation in their moods and levels of maturity had never seemed so complex to him. He'd always viewed the children as black and white, having too little faith in the convolution of their minds to lend credit to the fact that they might have different levels on which they could respond to different stigma.

"I had no intention of upsetting you, Harry, but you realize I would have brought this up at another time if not now."

"I understand," Harry replied, though his tone still held a very resentful connotation.

"But you are upset," Severus commented, hoping that Harry would explain why one rebuke could cause him such agony, while others seemed to be taken in with appreciation.

"I just wasn't expecting this to be sprung on me, that's all," Harry said somewhat irritably, not wanting to need to spell it out for his father. "You have to give me a little warning- time to prepare myself. When you just launch into it, it feels like an attack."

"Ah," Severus said at length, considering Harry carefully. "I must have missed that chapter in the book you presented me with."

Severus could tell that Harry wanted to allow a grin at this, but was fighting it in order to uphold his own dignity. Deciding that he wished to see Harry try even harder to fight it, he added with an amused expression, "My apologies- I'll reread and try this again."

Harry did not quite smile at this, but he put his concentration into at least keeping his lips only slightly turned upward and shook his head. "That won't be necessary."

"No?" Severus inquired, tilting his head.

"No," Harry repeated, lifting his eyes to Severus' face. "It's fine. I'll- yeah, it's fine."

"You are certainly more gracious than I," Severus said, before clarifying, "but you will try to bring up those two Acceptables." He phrased the statement more as a stern inquiry deserving of affirmation, and was pleased when Harry did not become indignant once more.

Harry considered Severus for a moment, then nodded slowly, his expression sincere but serious. "There is a test coming up a week after the Holiday in Transfiguration," he told his father. "I'll be sure to do well. As for Potions… perhaps you could show me exactly what I did wrong?"

Severus privately thought it might take less time to show the boy what exactly he didn't do wrong, but did not say so. Instead, he simply nodded in agreement, and, deciding that now was the time to end the conversation, rose from his seat. "Shall we be getting on our way, then?"

Also moving to stand, Harry agreed. Since he had already sent his gifts to his friends so that they would arrive on Christmas, he simply followed his father out to the entrance hall.

"You know, we could just floo there," Harry commented as Severus summoned and handed him his cloak.

"I would find it incredibly rude if I was a homeowner and others insisted on randomly flooing into my home," Severus replied, moving towards the door. "The front door is always the more polite approach."

Harry looked at Severus oddly, wondering where he got the impression that the Weasleys were nearly as uptight and rigid as he was. Really, it was a silly comparison to make. Harry, however, had learned a thing or two about subtlety in the past year, and wisely chose not to say another word on the matter. He obediently followed Severus out the door, and followed close behind as the man took long strides down the uneven path to the gates.

"We'll have to work on your Apparition skills," Severus remarked as he extended an arm. "By my standards, the ministry's guidelines on Apparition licensing are a bit unreasonable when considering the positions you and your peers might find yourselves in throughout the next year."

Harry's lips turned upward slightly. "Well, you can never really trust the Ministry to be reasonable on any point, can you?"

"Ah, so your experiences have taught you at least one thing," Severus declared. "I suppose that's a start."

"It wasn't a hard thing to figure out," Harry commented, just before Severus tightened his grip on his arm and they quickly disappeared.

A split second later, Harry and Severus were standing outside of the Burrow, looking up at the tall unevenly built house.

"Have you ever been here before?" Harry asked Severus, unhooking himself from his father's arm.

"On occasion," Severus admitted, smoothing down his robes. At Harry's questioning glance, he added, "Order work."

Harry nodded. "We should get inside."

"Yes, we should," Severus breathed, not sounding pleased about this. "Lead the way."

"Try to be civil," Harry warned him as he began walking towards the door.

"I promised only a lack of blatant hostility," Severus responded. "You can't change the terms of agreement now."

Harry rolled his eyes, but since he felt quite confident that Severus would not want to embarrass himself by making a scene, he could do without forcing Severus to promise him good behaviour. He had an idea that his father would take such chiding the wrong way.

The two approached the door more slowly than was necessary, not necessarily out of anxious hesitation, but rather because they knew what reactions were to greet them, and were not excessively enthused at the prospect. Though ultimately this would make an effective point to those who doubted their ability to cohabitate, much less voluntarily spend time together outside the house, it would initially be rather uncomfortable.

"I should probably step in first," Harry said, turning to Severus as they finally reached the front step.

"Why, so you can introduce me?" Severus sneered, a doubtful grimace twisting his features.

"No, so that Mrs. Weasley can greet me without feeling out of place… and so that I don't have to bear the embarrassment of you watching any such scene."

Severus' expression changed into something of amusement, and he nodded his consent and stepped to the side, where he wouldn't be seen when the door opened.

"Just step in a moment from now," Harry instructed him, opening the door and slipping inside.

As predicted, Harry met loud calls of greeting as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, followed by the suffocating embrace of Mrs. Weasley's arms. "Harry, dear, so good to see you!" she exclaimed into his shoulder, gripping him tightly.

"And still in one piece, too!" followed one of the twin's voices, earning a few familiar shouts of laughter from Harry's friends.

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, smiling and stepping back. "You lot are really funny!"

"Did you come alone, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked him, though her pleasant expression and nonchalant way of going back to cooking suggested that she thought she already knew the answer.

"Umm, no, actually," Harry said. His voice was as casual as he felt he could keep it in this situation, but still, the noisy chatter of the room faded and several eyes turned to stare at him in disbelief.

Harry cleared his throat and managed a nervous smile, stepping back towards the door. "I- er- actually brought my- my father."

Surprisingly, a loud burst of laughter followed this statement, and Harry frowned just slightly, looking for the person from whom it was issued. His eyes settled on Ron, who was clutching his stomach and howling madly, completely unaware of the wary stares that had come to rest on him. "Oh Harry!" he gasped in between wild snorts, "You really had me for a moment there, mate! Really, that was brilliant!"

Harry almost felt more embarrassed for Ron than himself as the boy started into slow claps, looking around as though expecting everyone to join in. He seemed to be the only one who doubted Harry's sincerity.

Ron's expression slowly became more nervous as everyone continued to stare at him incredulously, and his face flushed even redder as one of his brothers loudly coughed the word, "dolt!" for everyone to hear. Hermione shook her head and slapped his arm lightly, as though trying to alert him to the fact that he was making a fool out of himself. All at once, Ron stopped his ridiculous clapping and bowed his head uncomfortably. All eyes in the room turned back to Harry, waiting for a reaction.

Wondering whether some supreme being would take mercy and allow the floor to instantaneously open up and swallow him entirely, Harry cleared his throat for the second time and forced an awkward chuckle. Unable to bear all the attention concentrated on only him, he stepped towards the door, conscious of the fact that there would be a noticeable shift of focus once his father stepped into the room.

xxx

Severus leaned against the doorpost, staring over the Weasley's front yard despairingly. He did not find this situation overly appealing, and listening to the odd sequence of events going on within, his thoughts on it only became more pessimistic. No, this was not bound to be a wonderful day.

Severus' speculations were confirmed as Harry poked his head out the door and winced slightly. He read the boy's expression in an instant: everyone was inside, and they were all waiting for him.

"I would have at least made this situation less painful for you," Severus muttered to Harry as he pushed off from the door frame and slid inside past the boy. Harry shrugged just slightly and followed him.

The only reason that a hush did not fall over the room at the sight of the Potions Master was that no one had recovered enough from the shock to start talking in the first place. To those who had spoken with Harry directly about his father, this was not as awful a shock. To those whose imaginations had been running wild with conjecture, however, this was a great and terrible surprise.

Harry and Severus stood in front of the room, both subjected to the stares of the many people present. While Harry could formulate no thought other than one suggesting he find a way to slip inconspicuously out of view, Severus' mind was formulating a million snide comments he would have loved to dispense were it not for his son's pleas that he refrain from blatant hostility. Instead, he settled for glaring around at the room, issuing a silent challenge to anyone who would dare to question his dedication to his son in this moment. Certainly, the ones who were familiar with him would have some idea of how significant his arrival was.

The silence and tension in the room were stifling, until the screech of chair legs moving across the wooden floor and the telltale clickity-clack of boots against the ground were heard. The only one bold enough to do so, Dumbledore stepped out of the crowd, a wide grin lighting up his aged face.

"Severus," he said genially, extending both hands to grasp the other man's, "so good to see you out and about during the holidays."

Relieved by the old man's tension breaker and annoyed by his friendly greeting at the same time, Severus settled for a polite nod and a simple response. "Thank you, Albus. It's gratifying to see you as well."

Dumbledore nodded, continuing to smile, and let go of Severus' hand. "Now that everyone is here," he declared, turning to face the gatherers, "let the festivities begin!"

"You never do stop being a Headmaster, do you, Headmaster?" Severus said in low tones, smiling just slightly as he stepped forward to stand next to Dumbledore.

"I find it is best to remain in a consistent state of mind," Dumbledore responded, turning to look at Severus. He stared at him for just a moment, and then tilted his head just slightly. "I did mean it when I said it was good to see you out and about, you know. However did Harry get you here?"

Severus looked over at Harry, who had moved to join his friends the moment he crowd had dispersed, and shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure, now that I think of it," he replied. "He wanted me to… I suppose that was enough to sway me."

"My, Severus, getting soft in your old age, are you?" Dumbledore quipped, lifting his eyebrows and eyeing Severus in entertained speculation.

Severus snorted at that, and gave Dumbledore a look that could be clearly interpreted as, don't count on that.

"Still," Severus said after a moment, watching his son, "there is something about that boy that makes one reluctant to disappoint."

"You've always been reluctant to disappoint, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "You work hard to please everyone, unless you believe you can't, and then you pretend you don't care so that the failure to satisfy them won't bother you."

"That is a gross fabrication," Severus remarked, maintaining a relatively mild expression for all the bite in his tone.

"It's not," Dumbledore said placidly. "But if it makes you feel better to deny it, then I will allow you to remain in said denial."

"Blast it all, Albus!" Severus snapped. "Can't you maintain a conversation with me for two minutes without irritating me to no end?"

"That would be a far easier task if you weren't so irascible," Dumbledore replied easily.

A low growl escaped Severus, and he muttered, "impossible."

"That you are, my boy, that you are," Dumbledore said, patting Severus on the back and taking his leave soon after.

Peeved, Severus stood in that place in the middle of the room, glaring at no one in particular for several minutes. He rather hoped this expression would ward off any other unwelcome greeters who wished to inflict their presence on him. It worked for a good long time, until his son turned and started heading toward him, and he had to adjust his expression just slightly so that no one (including the boy, with his damned sensitivity) would get the wrong idea.

"Enjoying yourself?" Severus asked flatly as the boy approached, raising an eyebrow.

Harry lowered his eyebrows and quirked the corners of his lips, responding, "It's been about five minutes, but yes."

"That long already, really?" Severus said, mockingly lifting one of his wrists and squinting at it as if reading a watch. "Hmm, time flies when you're having such fun."

"Don't be rude," Harry reminded him, shaking his head. "Anyways… try not to look so intimidating. You're on your way to spending the entire night alone, and if that happens, I'll have to come keep you company and badger you with my annoying attempts at conversation."

"The horror," Severus responded dryly. "I was planning on finding a quiet place to sit, actually, where I will go unnoticed. You needn't worry about me."

"Good luck finding a quiet place in here," Harry said, looking around warily at the crowd. "There's quite a turnout."

"There is," Severus agreed absently, his expression deepening into a frown as he stared over Harry's head.

"What is it?"

Severus shook his head, his expression darkening. "He had better not be heading my way."

Harry's eyes widened at his father's tone, and he turned to look behind him. Headed in their direction was Remus Lupin; suddenly, Harry understood his father's displeasure.

"I know you're still upset with him-" Harry started to say, turning around, only to see his father glaring menacingly down at him.

"I will keep my promise," Severus growled, attempting not to move his lips noticeably much, "as long as you do not finish that sentence while that man is in hearing range."

"He's not-"

"Good afternoon, Severus," came a bright voice from behind Harry. Harry moved to turn around, but a hand came down on his shoulder and held him in place. "And to you as well, Harry."

Harry was not surprised when Severus' eyes flickered up to the ceiling in open annoyance. "Hello, Lupin," he drawled monotonously.

"It's good to see you here," Lupin commented. "I wouldn't have expected it."

"A sentiment which has been shared with me already," Severus sneered, more than a little put off by having this expressed to him twice. "Do try to be a bit more original, if such a feat is at all manageable for you."

By this point, Harry had managed to wriggle out of Lupin's grasp and had taken his place beside the former Defence Professor. He glanced at Lupin's confused expression, and turned to Severus. "I think he just got here, if that makes any difference to you," Harry offered, earning a dark look from the Potions Master. He shrugged apologetically, and returned to his state of silence.

Severus stared at Harry for just a moment more, and then refocused his attention on Lupin. Tired of exchanging pleasantries, if their exchange could be termed as such, he abruptly asked, "Is there something specific you wanted to waste my time with, Lupin, or are you standing here because you have some deranged and sadistic desire to carry out James Potter's personal vendetta against me by arranging yourself as the permanent bane of my existence for all of eternity?"

Harry wanted to ask Severus how long he had been waiting to use that particularly long winded string of insults, but judging by the look on his father's face, he could accurately guess that this was not a wise time to do so.

"Actually," Lupin replied after a few seconds, seemingly unperturbed, "I did have something I wished to speak with you about."

Ignoring Severus' growl of nonverbal protest, Lupin gestured to a pair of chairs on each side of a small table at a discreet location against the wall.

It was unfortunate, Harry thought, that he was not excellent at coming up with distractions on a moment's notice. If it had been one of his strengths, he might have found a way to deter both men from having any conversation at all, long before Ron and Hermione decided that this was the appropriate time to drag him off into the party. This, however, was not the case, and as he found both at his side, he began to realize that he was powerless over this situation.

"Come on, Harry, it's not healthy to spend all of your time with the adults," Ron tried to reason, as if it were common logic. "You need to have some fun."

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Harry asked doubtfully, ignoring Ron's insistent tugging at his arm.

Hermione gazed at the two for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Well," she said after a moment, "I wouldn't count on a pleasant experience for either one of them… but they're adults, Harry. I doubt it'll escalate into anything…"

"Embarrassing?"

"Ron!"

"Well, I would be embarrassed if I was Harry and my father made a scene!"

"So what? You needn't say as much!"

"You're not my mother, Hermione."

"Oh, grow up," Hermione huffed irritably, rolling her eyes and ignoring Ron's grunt of rebuttal as she turned back to Harry.

"They'll be fine," she assured him, patting his elbow comfortingly. "And even if they're not- you can't take responsibility for everything the man does."

"That's true…" Harry agreed, though he was still skeptical. Lupin was talking, now, but Severus didn't look like he was absorbing very much of what the man was saying.

Though he had verbally agreed, Harry continued to stare at the two men for a long moment, causing Ron and Hermione to exchange glances behind his back. Interpreting Hermione's slight jerks of the head in Harry's direction as a signal of some sort, Ron nodded and began pulling on Harry's elbow once more. "Anyways, some interesting things have been going on you might want to know about," Ron said, gaining Harry's attention.

Harry's inert attention focused on his father and Lupin lessened somewhat, and he turned to respond to Ron. "What do you mean?"

Ron opened his mouth to explain, but Hermione shook her head. "Not here," she instructed them, looking around at the many people milling about. "Let's take a walk."

Harry winced and looked back, and Hermione repeated once more, "I'm telling you, Harry, they will be fine. Come on."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry agreed, trying to shake off his worry. Hermione was right… or at least, he hoped she was. Everything would be fine.

Ron led Hermione and Harry to the closet where his mother had stored all the cloaks and hats of the guests, and summoned theirs from the masses.

"Good," Hermione said, throwing her cloak over her shoulders. "Now we can go outside and talk, away from all this noise."

Harry was sure that no one would overhear them anyways, given how distracted they all were with their own affairs, but he felt it would be best not to contradict Hermione on this particular issue.

The three discreetly made their way outside, and began their walk to the back of the Weasley's property.

"Dad's been working on setting up a weather dome," Ron informed the other two as they headed away from the house, far out of hearing distance. "He wasn't able to test it before today, though, so Mum wouldn't let him use it."

"What's a weather dome?" Harry inquired.

"It's sort of a warded area where the weather is different than what is outside. It's great for if you want to play Quidditch in the winter or cool off in the summer. It can be a bit expensive to find someone to put it up, but it was covered by the Order this time around."

"Why's that?"

"They reckon it'll be a good place to train younger members," Ron responded, grinning at this.

Hermione nodded. "That's part of what we wanted to tell you. They're letting us into the Order as soon as you turn seventeen."

"Why when I turn seventeen?"

"Well, seeing as how you'd tell us everything anyways, there's really no point keeping us out as well," Ron replied, shrugging. "Seems they've finally wised up to that fact."

"Still, they're not telling us much until then," Hermione said. "There are several people who are strongly advocating raising the age, and the other adults are determined not to validate their point."

"We were actually wondering if Snape had told you anything about what's been going on…" Ron remarked suggestively, trying to look innocently curious.

"What do you mean, 'what's been going on'?" Harry asked, frowning. He hadn't heard of anything new happening recently.

"Harry, something's been going on," Hermione said seriously, fixing him with a grave look.

On his other side, Ron nodded. "Dad hasn't made it home before midnight in weeks, and mum has a near panic attack every time one of my brothers gets home later than they said they would- she won't even let Ginny or me out of the house!"

Harry's frown deepened, and he said quietly, "My father hasn't said anything… have there been any Order meetings lately?"

"They've started conducting them in the late hours of the night, or early morning- you're probably in bed when Snape leaves," Ron informed him. "I only know because Mum insists on kissing us all goodbye before she leaves, when she thinks we're asleep."

Harry only murmured in response. Severus had promised him information on a need to know basis. Perhaps he thought that the current events were not significant enough to worry Harry over… or perhaps he had forgotten his promise. Harry wondered whether bringing the topic up again might make Severus feel as though Harry lacked faith in him. The man did have a tendency to take things the wrong way.

xxx

Severus was acutely aware of his son's watchful eyes as he moved to sit down with Lupin. With every fiber of his being he wanted to lash out at the man before him; the last time he'd looked at his face, the man had been saying that Severus was an unfit parent to Harry. No matter how much he might have agreed with that statement at the time, he still felt Lupin had overstepped his boundaries by saying so, to both his son and the Headmaster.

"Severus, I've been thinking," Lupin started out, smoothing down the fronts of his robes and looking across the table at Severus. He opened his mouth to continue, but at the very moment he did so, Severus turned his eyes upon him once more, his expression foul. Once Remus had taken that as his cue to stop speaking, Severus neutralized his expression and looked away.

"Listen, I'm going to warn you right now," said Severus, fully conscious of the fact that he was interrupting the other, and gazing straight ahead with a mild expression, making it appear as though the topic of conversation were as benign as the weather. "If you are about to speak of the events which occurred the last time we met, I may be tempted to break the promise I made to Harry to be somewhat civil during this outing. If you tempt me in such a way, and cause yet another difficulty for the two of us to overcome, I will be sorely displeased with you. Knowing that, you will do well to remember, Lupin, that I am not a kind man."

Lupin's eyebrows lifted slightly as he angled his head downward and responded mildly, "I was going to apologize, Severus. Perhaps if you were not so quick to temper, you might have realized that before wasting all that energy on yet another defensive monologue."

Severus' eyes narrowed as he returned his regard to the other man, and he growled warningly, "Lupin…"

Shaking his head, Lupin held up a hand. "There is no need, Severus. I'm not here to argue. It was not my attention to appear to be goading you, either, so I feel I must offer my apologies for that as well."

Severus considered responding, but at this point, he felt as though nothing he said would give him an advantage. A quick slant of the eyes told him that Harry had finally moved on with his friends, and he decided that perhaps he would not be sacrificing so much pride if he were to relax and allow Lupin to speak. After all, Lupin was not here to attack him- it merely made him look as though he felt deserving of an attack if he continually defended himself. Instead, Severus narrowed his eyes and folded one arm over the other, leaning back in his chair to take in what the other man was saying.

"When Harry chose to go back with you, I openly called it a mistake. I was… determined to protect the boy- I know it upsets you, but I feel a certain duty to protect him. I have since we met."

"Lupin, while this is all very touching," Severus drawled sardonically, "I really do not see what your personal conflicts have to do with me. Not once have I wondered what goes on in your head, and even now, when offered such information openly, it holds no appeal. You may think you are some complex mystery that I am just dying to solve, but-"

"Please, Severus," Lupin interrupted, an almost pleading quality to his voice, "from one guilty conscience to another. Please, allow me the opportunity to explain myself."

"Allow you to once again be the better man of this situation, you mean," Severus corrected, scowling off to the side.

"You know that's not my intention," Lupin said quietly. "I only want to do what feels right."

"Then why not tell these things to Harry? He cares about them far more than I."

"As odd as it may sound, Severus… he forgives too easily. He would happily hear my explanation and consider it fact, with no further investigation or grudges to be held. To earn your mere tolerance is a far greater sign of redemption."

"Redemption?" Severus scoffed, thinking that such a notion sounded ridiculous. "Pray tell, Lupin, what have you to be redeemed for?"

"I feel as though I have continually wronged you, Severus, I cannot deny it," Lupin admitted, a note of grievance in his voice that Severus considered highly melodramatic given the relatively unspectacular set of circumstances. "In our school years, I never helped you. When you were with Lily, I spoke only of a desire to protect her from you. And now, with your son, I feel as though I've done exactly the same thing- and while I can easily say I excuse my actions with the fact that I was partially correct in my prior thoughts about you… I wasn't. I never knew the full stories. You've always been a good man, and I rarely give you credit for that… that in itself seems a great crime, considering how many times you've proven all assumptions of your wickedness to be complete falsities."

Severus narrowed his eyes, and examined the man sitting across from him at length. After a long pause, in which Lupin was painfully aware of the unimportant events going on around their discussion, Severus spoke slowly and deliberately. "And for exactly how long did you listen to Dumbledore's blathering before you came to these conclusions, Lupin?"

Severus had not meant this to be an amusing question, but nevertheless, Lupin smiled. "You are incredibly intelligent, do you know that Severus?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

"Ah, well," Lupin breathed. "You are correct. I came to these conclusions after listening to Dumbledore speak at length about why he did not feel the necessity to forcibly remove Harry from your guardianship. I'll admit, when you left, I was utterly unconvinced that he had any sound reasoning other than blind faith in a man he would like to believe reformed."

"And what did he tell you?" Severus inquired, sounding relatively dispassionate for all the curiosity he had about Lupin's potential answer.

"Too many things to recall," Lupin told him. "And all were things of which I was completely unaware. I have misjudged you, all these years, Severus. When I came to Hogwarts to teach several years ago, I trusted you to remain loyal to our side… but that is because I believed you to have learned from your mistake of joining the Death Eaters, not because I suspected your intentions were ever honourable to begin with."

"To be honest, Lupin," Severus said, unsure why he should tell the man anything at all, "I'm not sure they were ever very honourable. I joined the Death Eaters because I thought it would make life easier for Lily and I during those times… it was not out of a desire to commit the crimes that I did, but I will not say that the sense of power they brought did not appeal to me. I may have never had a particularly malicious intent when I signed up, but I participated in all manners of different sins while I was with them, and I certainly didn't join out of a desire to fulfil some divine purpose for the side of the light."

"The Headmaster never asked me to believe that you went into it with completely honourable intentions… but the logic that he explained to me was far better than any purpose I had dreamt up."

"And what did you think to begin with?"

Avoiding his gaze, Lupin responded, "I thought you believed in the cause… I thought it was an act of vengeance against those who had wronged you on the other side. I thought you intended to drag Lily down with you."

While Severus would have normally resented such statements, in this moment, he could recognize them for what they truly were. They were truthful confessions, and given the context in which they were spoken, he couldn't find great sums of anger to dispense on the other man. Some part of him expected others to believe that these had been his purposes- they hadn't been, but they did make sense, if one knew little about him.

"I hope now that you realize these things aren't true," Severus said quietly, surprised at the rational tone of his own voice.

"Of course I do, Severus," Lupin intoned, frowning slightly. "That's what I wanted to tell you. If I didn't understand all these things, I would not apologize for the way I tried to prevent Harry from going back to live with you. I felt quite justified, at the time. Now, however, I can see that I was wrong."

"That is… an acceptable notion, Lupin," Severus said, only realizing afterwards that he had somehow just granted Lupin forgiveness. What an odd thought that was. "I am… I am glad to hear it."

A small smile crept across Lupin's face, and he asked, "Are you really, Severus?"

Severus shrugged just slightly, and waved a hand dismissively. "Well, it's not really that I care what you think… but Harry seems rather fond of you. I would have a rather difficult time putting up with you, if you had not shared this with me, I suppose."

A chuckle escaped the former Defense Professor, and he responded, "Thank you, Severus. You are a truly gracious man."

"Now, that might be taking things a bit far," Severus warned, though his tone was good-natured at its core.

"Can I get you a drink, Severus?"

Severus rolled his eyes; how had one conversation with Lupin ended with the man asking him if he cared for a drink, as if they were friends of some sort? Still, he replied, "That would be… agreeable. I suppose it's the only way I can bring myself to tolerate the rest of this night, after all."

"Do you ever allow yourself to relax?" Lupin inquired, rising from his seat.

Severus shook his head slowly, and at Lupin's questioning expression, explained, "Old habits, and all that."

xxx

"Oye, you three!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione abruptly ceased their talking and looked up at the petite, redheaded girl hurrying down the hill.

"Mum told me to warn you of the consequences should any of you step into that dome," Ginny told them breathlessly, lowering her voice as she came closer. "And you, Ron, should know not to be anywhere near it! It's not been tested yet."

"Oh, Ginny, you know just as well as I do there's nothing wrong with it. Mum's just being paranoid, is all."

"Tell that to Edward Birkner," Ginny responded. "You know all that scarring he's got? It's what they couldn't fix after he was nearly baked in one of these things."

Ron made a face somewhere between a grimace and an expression of severe pain, and Ginny nodded solemnly. "So stay away."

"Right then," Ron said after a moment. "So, back up to the house? Think we've talked enough, anyways."

"What were you talking about?" Ginny inquired, frowning.

Ron opened his mouth to tell Ginny it was none of her business, but Hermione spoke first.

"We were explaining to Harry how everything's been acting up again," she informed Ginny, readjusting her gloves.

"Oh yeah, really bad, that," Ginny agreed. "Not sure exactly what's been happening… but whatever it is, it's got all the adults worried."

"More attacks, d'you reckon?" Harry asked her.

Ginny shrugged. "I'd think we would have heard about those, if that were the case," she said contemplatively. "No, I think it's something more profound than that."

"Well, whatever it is," Hermione breathed, leading the group back up to the house. "I hope it ends soon."

"Agreed," Ron said, taking up stride right next to her. Harry fell behind just a bit and walked behind the others, until Ginny noticed and moved back to join him.

"I wanted to thank you for the necklace you got me, by the way," Ginny told him, not the slightest bit embarrassed by it. "It was really nice."

Harry shrugged, and wished in that moment that he could keep as calm as Ginny. As usual, he could practically feel his face heating up, and he could only attempt to dismiss her gratitude. "Oh, it was nothing," he insisted, fisting his hands in his pocket and staring straight ahead.

"Oh, it was something," Ginny corrected him, causing him to lift his head up sharply. Their eyes met momentarily; Ginny's cool expression broke into a shy smile, and she quickly looked down at the ground again.

Ron's plan to slip past his mother unnoticed was not a successful one. Mrs. Weasley greeted them at the door when they arrived, a disgruntled expression on her face.

"Honestly, what were you four doing out in the snow?" Mrs. Weasley chided, dusting the snow off of all four of them and systematically gathering their cloaks.

"Talking," Ron muttered, glaring at his mother as she pulled his cloak off his shoulders.

Harry and Hermione tried to conceal their smiles as Mrs. Weasley proceeded to dry his damp hair with a kitchen towel, while Ginny took advantage of her momentary distraction by slipping off into the crowd.

Finishing with Ron and shooing him and the others off, Mrs. Weasley turned and muttered to herself, "Now, where's Ginny?"

The rest of the night was, to a certain extent, uneventful in terms of deeply involved conversation topics. The only slightly disturbing thing he'd been made aware of was the fact that Severus' birthday was fast approaching, and Harry would once again be forced to come up with another appropriate gift.

Harry found particularly comforting the absence of exchanges bordering on the edge of obscurity and pessimism, savouring the notion of spending at least one night in complete ignorance of the current events. Though he did not particularly like having things hidden from him, he was beginning to wonder if it were better that he did not realize the impending dangers.

Or perhaps that was Ron's stash of firewhiskey talking, but Harry wasn't in a state of mind to debate such things.

Harry was rather enjoying himself even as the party began to subside and people came to exchange their goodbyes. He, Ron, Ginny, and even Hermione, were all spread out on the couches, basking in their hazy, liquor induced glows. They weren't idiots, especially with a witch like Hermione in the group- they weren't quite what one would call intoxicated- even Molly Weasley would not reprimand them for having imbibed as much liquor as was in several glasses of wine, but it was certainly enough to take the edge off. Freedom from excessive thought, one could call it.

It was not until Harry looked around and saw Lupin and Severus approaching that he remembered his earlier worries about the two. A sudden panic struck him as he realized that he had forgotten to check on their progress, but after a moment, he also came to realize that clearly, nothing bad had come of it. In fact, his father's expression was quite a bit more relaxed than he had seen it in some time. Actually, come to think of it, it looked as though Severus had also been dosed with a glass of amber tranquillity.

"Harry, it's getting rather late," said Severus as he came to stand next to the couch, looking down his aquiline nose at his son. "We should be going."

Though normally Harry would acquiesce in favour of arguing like a petulant child, his relaxed frame of mind granted him apathy about such things. "Can't I stay just a bit longer?" he asked sleepily. "I'm enjoying myself."

It was clear to the few who remained in the room that the only enjoyment to be held was the simple satisfaction of spending time with his friends. There was no particular need for him to stay longer- it was a simple, spontaneous desire that those such as Molly Weasley and Remus Lupin thought was sure to be rebuffed by the stern Severus Snape, who neither cared for the whimsical entreaties of children, nor understood why such wishes should occur in the first place. He was a logical creature, and therefore was expected to act as such.

Stunningly to those in the room, however, Severus furrowed his eyebrows and considered his son for a long moment. His immediate response was not refusal, but rather one of pensive consideration. At last, he turned to Mrs. Weasley, and, folding one arm under the other, asked, "Will you see to it that he gets home safely from here?"

If ever there were a moment when Severus acted in a truly unexpected manner, it seemed to be now. Tripping over her words just a bit, Mrs. Weasley nodded, and responded, "Yes- yes, of course, Professor. I'll see that it's at a decent time, as well."

Severus nodded, his quiet gesture a signal of his gratitude. He turned back to Harry, who did not look as astonished by Severus' easy consent as others thought he would, and told him, "You are to let me know when you've arrived home, and do not go anywhere other than here tonight, is that clear?"

"Quite," Harry agreed, nodding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Severus replied, satisfied when he turned and caught Mrs. Weasley quickly closing her mouth, apparently having been gaping at him during this exchange with his son.

"Are you Apparating home, Severus?" Lupin asked as he followed him to the door, apparently trying to gloss over his surprise.

"I am," Severus responded, though he did not take the time to turn around and address the man. "I don't particularly relish the idea of twirling through that abominable floo connection for five minutes after having several drinks."

"Ah, we're on the same page then," Lupin replied good-naturedly, continuing until he reached Molly. Placing a palm on her shoulder, he gave her a genial kiss on the cheek, and stepped back to smile warmly at her. "Thank you for tonight, Molly. It was a lovely way to top off the Holidays."

"I quite agree, Remus," she responded kindly, patting his elbow in an almost motherly sort of way.

No one was surprised when Severus did not say anything, but merely waited for Lupin together at the door. It was a bit jarring, however, to watch the two men walk out together- it couldn't be said that Severus' demeanour towards Lupin had become anything near friendly, but he was being tolerant of the man, and that was significant in and of itself.

Mrs. Weasley stared at the door for a few seconds after the two men had left, seemingly pondering something of great importance.

"Harry, dear?" she called over her shoulder, receiving only a murmur in response. Taking that as an indication to continue, she asked, "Is he always so relaxed, these days?"

"No," Harry responded, a chuckle to his voice, "But he is rather tolerant, on occasion."

"Well, then," Mrs. Weasley said, turning around and smiling at him, "It seems you've softened him up. I'd have thought it impossible."

Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head against the arm of the couch, a half smile crossing his face. He did not share his disagreement with that statement- the man was austere and morose as ever, most days, and though his responses to Harry were far more placid than they had once been, it could be concluded that this was not by any means an indicator of a changing in Severus' temperament, but rather a mark of his deceased hatred for the boy. Still, he could be proud of one thing: Severus had certainly kept his promise for the night.

xxx

By Mrs. Weasley's aid, Harry did an admirable job of making it home at a decent time that night. It was just past 11 when he made it in, glad as he emerged from the fireplace that he had not had anything more to drink. Dusting himself off near the fireplace and attempting not to get any soot onto the pristine white carpet of the parlour, Harry immediately remembered his promise to check in with Severus.

As had become custom for him, he made his way to the study, where he had learned that Severus spent a majority of his time. Part of him wondered why that was; one would think that he spent enough time behind a desk during the term, and that it would be the least desirable place for him to spend his time during the holidays.

Shrugging off this notion, as it did not seem particularly important at the moment, Harry opened the door to the study and poked his head through.

"I'm home," he told Severus, who quirked an eyebrow in response.

"Clearly," Severus responded sardonically, quirking one side of his mouth into his customary half smile.

"Yeah, well," said Harry awkwardly, "Goodnight, then."

Harry moved to retreat down the hallway, but was stopped by his father's voice calling him back into the room. "Harry?"

"Yeah?" Harry responded, walking back into the room. He was a bit perplexed by the suddenly troubled expression his father's face, and was becoming increasingly worried as the man stared at him silently.

"Why don't you sit down?" Severus suggested after a moment, gesturing to a chair just off the side of his desk.

Shrugging, Harry wordlessly walked to the chair and sat down. "All right," he said, as though it was necessary to announce that he was now seated.

"Harry," Severus said again, folding his hands atop his desk and leaning forward slightly, "I've been… considering my reaction to your asking about the house several days ago. It strikes me now that it was rather inappropriate given that I had once promised you that I would tell you what you wanted to know about the past."

Harry waited a moment for Severus to continue, and then, realizing that the man expected a response, simply replied, "Oh."

"I just wanted to inform you that you were not in the wrong for asking, and that I… welcome… your inquiries in the future, if you have them."

"Oh," Harry responded again, still not quite sure what to say. Severus nodded, and sat back in his chair, apparently also confused about how to proceed. Testing the waters a bit, Harry asked unsurely, "And what if my questions are about my mother?"

Though Severus winced at this question, he responded, "Then I will answer them accordingly, I suppose."

"Right… well, that's good to know," Harry stated gauchely, moving to rise from his seat. His main goal at the moment was to remove himself from an uncomfortable situation.

"Was there… anything specific you wanted to know?" Severus asked as the boy rose, aware of the unease they were both facing in this situation, but determined to somehow appease the part of his mind that kept telling him not to make it seem so difficult for Harry to come to him with questions and problems.

"I…" Harry faltered, turning back around and sinking back into his seat, "I don't really know enough about her to know what to ask, if you know what I mean."

"Ah, I see."

"Could you… well, you could just… tell me about her in general," Harry suggested a moment later, wishing he hadn't when he saw that familiar grimace grace his father's face.

"In general? That is a very broad topic to cover," Severus commented. Harry noted that his casual, flippant tones did not reconcile with the tight, uneasy expression on his face.

Harry shrugged slightly. "I suppose it is… well, mostly… listen, I'm about to say something that I want you to try very hard not to take the wrong way."

Severus arched one dark eyebrow, but allowed Harry to continue.

"I honestly can't figure how the two of you would end up together," Harry admitted, hurrying on to explain himself at the darkening of his father's expression. "It's just that…you hate Gryffindors. You hate bold moves and highly opinionated people. You hate to be proven wrong. If anything I've ever heard about my mother is true… it doesn't seem as though you would like her very much."

Upon hearing Harry's explanation, Severus relaxed markedly. Others had insinuated in the past that he was nowhere near good enough for Lily Evans, and it had both angered him and fed the growing monster eating away at his ego. He would not have taken it well if his son had said the same thing. However, the inquiry posed was valid; it was one that many had speculated upon in the past, but that Severus had never had the patience to answer.

For one who could easily formulate hour long lectures on the properties of moonstone being added to a fluxweed based potion, or who could instantly shred an insubordinate student with a complicated, longwinded and yet flawless and artfully constructed diatribe, Harry could not help but notice that Severus was taking an exceptionally long amount of time to compose an answer to this.

"You don't need to answer, if it's too personal," Harry offered, only to receive a sharp look from Severus.

"Of course I don't need to answer- I am not entitled to do anything," Severus snapped, only realizing after the fact that Harry had just been trying to ease his tension. Though he did not apologize after this realization, he did soften his expression apologetically, lowering his eyes to stare thoughtfully at the grain of his cherry-wood desk. This was a sensitive topic, and though the pain of everything that had happened had faded significantly once he'd learned the truth, it would be a stretch to claim it was nonexistent.

Sensing that it might be best to simply refrain from speaking until Severus found the right words to say, Harry sat quietly in his chair, fully conscious of the fact that he was exhibiting many of his habitual nervous gestures, but unable to keep himself from doing so. He was unsure how many times he ran his hand through his hair or rubbed the back of his neck before Severus began speaking again, but he knew that it was a numerous quantity.

"You are right in some aspects, Harry," Severus finally found himself saying a good while later. He continued to stare at the desk, unsure of how his emotions would escalate once he began speaking more thoroughly. He supposed if he spoke as frankly and plainly as possible, he could maintain a casual way of speaking. "Lily should have been everything I detested, but I must admit, her charm and beauty made traits I had otherwise found annoying become quite appealing. She was strong willed and intelligent, and was not given to fits of giggling and gossip as other girls in my year. In our earlier years at Hogwarts, we didn't speak much. She was never particularly hostile to me, but she was a fair person, and I suppose I took her kindness for granted since it was bestowed upon everyone else in equal measure." Severus paused, and, half of his lips quirking upward into an ironic smile, said, "Actually, even if she had been kind only to me, I would have written it off as pity and disliked her for it even more.

"You've told me- I remember- that you used to study together. But... what I am confused about is how you ended up... erm, romantically involved."

"As I have told you before, Lily and I were both at the top of our class, in the way of grades. My efforts were rarely acknowledged, yet it was well known that I was successful in the way of academics. We were both in the same Defense class, and during fifth year, all classes were told that every person must find a partner or be assigned one by the Professor. Your mother, while Gryffindor, recognized the value in having a partner at an equal level of intelligence. She proposed that we be partners."

"And you agreed?" Harry asked incredulously.

Severus furrowed his eyebrows sceptically, as if to ask whether Harry really needed to ask a question with so transparent an answer. "Neither quickly nor easily, no," he responded, shaking his head with an odd mixture of annoyance and fondness at the memory. "Weeks of being stalked by her in the hallways, however, and having her constantly coming up with new arguments about the supposed efficiency of our combined efforts wore me down eventually. I was tired of being bothered, and no one else wanted to be partners with 'Snivellus', so I suppose that I figured I had nothing to lose."

Harry tried to ignore the intense bitterness of his father's tone. "It didn't make you feel as if… I don't know, as if you were being used?"

"My initial reason for refusal, at the core," Severus pointed out as though that was an obvious conclusion to make. "And my reason for- snapping- at her during that memory that you invaded. I'm still amazed that she continued to try after that fact, though it took a few weeks for her to cool off."

Harry winced at the direct reminder of his intrusion of Severus' privacy during fifth year, but did not address it. "So what changed, apart from you being tired of being bothered?"

"I am Slytherin, Harry," Severus responded, a reflective lilt to his voice. "It is only fitting that I would come to admire such Slytherinesque tactics, especially from someone so Gryffindor."

That seemed logical, Harry supposed. Lips curving upward in amusement, he responded, "I see. So then you fell in love?"

"Not quite so quickly," Severus scoffed. "As I said, I didn't believe I stood a chance with her, and I had far too much pride to behave as though I desired a relationship. Needless to say, that meant I wasn't very kind, either. We fought frequently and adamantly, and I could only dream of the end of the year, when we would no longer be obliged to see each other. I continued to try and push her in the other direction, and yet she seemed to find sport in continually goading me and then coming up with clever rebuttals to my insults. After some time, it became something of a game, and by the end of the year when finals came around, I had grudgingly developed something of a liking for our routine bickering."

"Wait," Harry interrupted, holding up a hand, "How is that any different from how you and say, my- James Potter interacted?"

Severus lifted his eyebrows at Harry's slip, but decided not to comment on it. He could see why the boy would still think of James as a father, and though he wasn't keen on the idea, didn't have any viable objections to it. Still, if Harry wanted to break himself of the habit, Severus certainly wasn't going to put a stop to it.

"Lily never meant it," Severus responded after a moment, the glint in his eyes wistful as he continued to gaze at the cherry wood. While his emotions were, as usual, subdued, it could be detected by the keen observer that these anecdotal recollections were stirring up a feeling of intense regret and somberness in the man. "And I knew that. There was never any malevolence to her tone or expression- she enjoyed that someone could keep up with her. I, however, didn't realize I would miss it so much until that summer came. At first I assured myself that I would be relieved to have her out of my life, but as the days went on and I got lonelier, I came to regret having been so eager to be rid of her."

"Did you write to her, then?"

"No, actually, quite the opposite. I've told you, your Mother had a knack for saving people, and I moved to the top of her list. Early July, I received a letter from her, simply inquiring how my summer was going. I answered bluntly- scathingly, even. In a few words, I responded that my mother was still missing, which I would not have shared if it had not already been a topic of quite a bit of gossip once the Daily Prophet had heard of the news- my mother came from a family that, though half blooded, was well known in the Wizarding community- and that her pity was unwelcome, if that was what she intended to give. She responded with a few choice words of her own, and so began our correspondence. It was something of a comfort, that summer… and contrary to my desires, I began to grow attached to whatever relationship we had begun."

Harry smiled at that; it was a comforting thing to hear that his father and mother had been friends firstly, for some reason unbeknownst to him. Perhaps it was that it made their relationship seem more normal, and it was a rare thing that Harry could claim something about his life or family was at all normal.

"Sixth year, we were not forced to partner up, but Lily and I continued to study together and maintain a friendship of sorts. Don't ask how that happened, because I'm not entirely sure … but gradually, it progressed into something deeper. Lily later confessed to me that she enjoyed my company at the start because I never tried to capture her affections, the way certain others did." The lifting of Severus' eyebrows and the suggestive widening of his eyes told Harry that he was referring to James. "She never felt preyed upon, or was plagued by hormone induced immaturity."

"So would that be your advice to me, then?" Harry joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Just act like you don't want the girl, and everything will work out?"

"Your mother was unique, Harry, so I'm not sure how effective a strategy that will be," Severus responded, shaking his head and smiling just slightly.

"Oh, what good are you?" Harry sighed good-naturedly, leaning back in is chair.

Severus rolled his eyes benignly, and, ignoring Harry's quip, asked, "Does that sufficiently answer your question?"

Harry shrugged, thinking that he would have expected something to finally push them together. His father was never open about his feelings unless he lost control of himself in a moment of passionate anger, from his experience, and he couldn't see the man easily admitting to Lily that he had feelings for her. He looked up at Severus, unsure how to voice this doubt without being accused of prying.

Severus' narrowed his eyes at Harry's pensive expression of unvoiced and undecided inquiry, and sighed. "You want to know if there was more to it." It wasn't a question. He was sure of the source of his son's misgivings.

Harry's eyes tapered further, and he asked suspiciously, "How did you know I was thinking that?"

"Not for the first time, I must inform you that you are incredibly predictable."

And here Harry had been thinking that his face had conveyed a mixture of thoughts too complicated to read. Ha.

"Right," said Harry, a hint of annoyance to his voice- not at Severus' statement, but at his continuous inability to make his expressions unreadable. "Well, am I right then? Is there more to it?"

Severus' face took on a grimace of indecisiveness, and he made a gesture that indicated to Harry that he had asked a question too simple for its answer. "Partially," said Severus after a moment. "When I say eventually, I do mean seventh year. And when I say that the relationship gradually progressed into something deeper, I am excluding quite a few details."

"I guessed as much," said Harry. It was a subtle way of saying that he was asking for more than that.

"If you must know," Severus started, leaning forward and placing his hands on his desk. "We were having a row when we first came to terms about our feelings for one another. It was a slip of the tongue on my part that indicated to her that I was interested in something more than friendship."

Harry had to restrain himself from smirking. So, he had been right to think that it would be a moment of passionate anger in which Severus would finally admit something that the man would normally consider so private. "What was the fight about?" Harry asked, now unable to repress his amusement.

Severus' lips were forming one thin line, a sure sign of his irritability at his son's impertinent attitude of amusement, but he answered nevertheless. "She called me stubborn."

Harry couldn't help it: he laughed. "What, and you'd never heard that before?"

"Of course I had. She said it more than once. The topic of discussion, however, made it seem a far more insulting thing to say."

"What was the topic?" Harry asked, knowing he was pushing his luck, but unable to stop himself before the words were out.

"James Potter," Severus admitted grudgingly, hard-pressed to unclench his teeth in order to let the words out.

"Ah, that explains it, then."

"Quite," responded Severus. "This was during that period of time when James had begun to use friendship as a means to his ends, and she was quite naïve to the fact. She had been sitting there while we studied, telling me of all the great qualities he had and how I should attempt to reconcile with him… and you could say I reached my boiling point. I informed her that she was incredibly stupid to think that all he wanted from her was friendship, and she quite vehemently responded that I was simply too stubborn to believe that I was simply wrong about him. Hence began the argument," Severus ended on a wry note, waving his hand as if to say, and there you have it.

Ah, that made sense; much more so than the simplicity with which Severus had explained it prior to this.

Perhaps it was a result of the giddiness Harry was still experiencing from the drinks he'd had at Ron's house, or the recklessness that was inherent in any Gryffindor, but on an impulse, Harry folded his hands formally on his lap and asked with methodical enunciation, "And during the course of this argument, did the two of you engage in a kiss, perhaps?"

The sudden mixture of shock and incredulity that appeared on his father's face at this question was quite worth the response he got to that. "And now it is time for you to go to bed!" Severus announced quickly, standing and pulling Harry to his feet, forcefully guiding the boy by the shoulders toward to the study door.

Despite himself, Harry laughed as he was shoved from the study, and shouted over his shoulder towards the door which had been slammed only seconds prior, "Goodnight then!"

Still chuckling to himself, Harry made his way towards the stairs, thinking as he tripped over his feet on the way there that perhaps it was a good idea that he get to bed anyways.

xxx

Despite how strongly Harry willed time to slow down, the remainder of the holidays went by rather quickly. He was surprised to find that he did not want school to resume. Severus had allowed him to see Ron and Hermione, and Ginny when she was around, several times after Boxing Day, though only Hermione was brave enough to visit him at his home. Ron was still too shaken up from his last visit, and as Ginny had been forbidden to upset the Potions Professor once again, she reasoned it was best she stay away for now, because she could make no promises.

So, here Harry found himself, waking up on the morning two days before he would have to return to Hogwarts and reflecting on how he'd accomplished very little in the time he'd had. Thinking over his plans for the day, he resolved to finish his essays once and for all, and hopefully spend the rest of the next day relaxing.

Sighing at the thought of getting back to work, Harry flopped back onto his pillows and stared blankly at the patterns of frost crystallized on the outside of the window, thinking of nothing in particular. He yawned and it occurred to him that perhaps he could go back to sleep for just a little while, since it was still early in the morning. He rolled onto his other side and, pulling the blankets up to his neck, allowed his eyes to drift closed.

Harry had not been asleep long when there was an abrupt knock on his door, and before he could respond to whoever was on the other side, the door opened and Severus stepped in.

With a sense of urgency, Severus quickly told him, "I've got to leave- it's quite urgent. I won't be back until late tonight, and I expect you to abide by all the usual rules- stay in the house and don't do anything stupid, understood?"

Harry thought that Severus was currently utilizing all the courtesy of a giant rat nibbling on someone in his or her sleep, but because of the situation, he supposed he could understand. He responded with a sleepy nod, and muttered through a groggy yawn, "Stay in, nothing-" his jaw reflexively opened too wide for him to speak, and he finished a second later, "-stupid. Got it." Then, blinking a few times and further processing what Severus had said, he sat up and questioned, "Where are you going?"

"Order meeting," said Severus curtly.

"For what?" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry, I haven't any time to explain right now. I'm already late. Tibby's put on breakfast- make sure you eat. If you're asleep when I get home I'll come and wake you to let you know I'm back." Severus briskly moved to step from the room and, apparently forgetting something, hurriedly stepped back in. "And finish your essays. Alright, I think that's all."

Harry could only blink twice before Severus was gone again, and was very disappointed in both the fact that Severus had not divulged the reason for an urgent meeting and that he didn't get the chance to inform the man that he had already been planning on writing the essays. Somehow, getting them done after he'd been told to made it feel more like a chore. Well, perhaps he could just leave a cliff note at the bottom of each one: Done by own free will, not because you told me to.

Yes, that would make his point admirably.

Or it would just annoy the man.

Either way, the prospects were bright.

Harry was a bit ashamed when he did not begin his essays until one o' clock in the afternoon. Really, he mused, this habit of procrastination was getting out of control. If nor for his determination to finish everything before Severus returned home, Harry might have abandoned the attempt all together. As he had resolved and also been ordered to do, however, he sat down and wrote until the essays were completed, relatively surprised when he finished and looked up at the window to discover that it was already dark outside.

"What a waste of a day," Harry muttered to himself, throwing down his quill and placing the cork back in the jar of ink he'd been using. "An absolute waste."

He leaned back into his chair and stared at the ceiling, exhaling through the corner of his mouth.

There was still time to make something of this day, he impetuously decided after a few moments, lifting his head and glancing at the clock. It was only six in the evening, and Severus had said he wouldn't be back until late. Not to mention, he had only promised that he wouldn't leave the house.

Severus hadn't said anything about not having anyone in.

Never mind that Harry had been warned before not to have anyone over without permission… he couldn't help it if that small detail slipped his mind momentarily. Harry did briefly consider the consequences of Severus finding out… and then he realized that Severus wouldn't find out. Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley were undoubtedly at the Order meeting like his Dad, and none of the other Weasleys were going to say anything to his father- they all knew it was just silly to talk to a man who so clearly despised socialization.

The essays that were the result of Harry's last reckless decision were left forgotten on the desk as he went to the parlour to floo the Weasley residence.

Harry was not particularly used to sticking his head through a fireplace to contact someone; it somehow felt invasive to pop up in someone's living room unannounced and ask to talk. Still, he had no quicker way to accomplish the task (Wizards did not use telephones), and so he resigned himself to it.

The sensation of having his head, but not the rest of his body, transported through the floo was one he thought he would never become desensitized to. Once his top half had reached its destination, he shook his head a bit to get rid of the dizziness, and then peered around at the Weasley's front room.

"Hello?" he called, frowning at the thought that no one would be home. "Hello?"

"Harry?"

Harry tried to strain and see who was calling him, but couldn't tell from his place in the fireplace.

"Harry, it's Ron- you can step on through."

"No, it's fine, Ron, just come here," Harry responded, relieved that he wouldn't have to go through a long chain of people to get to his friend. "Where's your family?"

"Big Order meeting. Ginny's upstairs with our cousin Beatrice. Horrid girl. What'd'ya want?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to pop over for a bit."

Though Harry was prepared for it, he was still amused by the way Ron's eyes bulged out of his head and the rather obvious bobbing of his adam's apple as he gulped. "Isn't- isn't Snape there?"

Harry rolled his eyes, thinking this was a stupid question. "There's a 'big Order meeting', remember? What do you think?"

"Oh, right," said Ron, visibly relaxing. "Well, don't you think he'll be rather angry if he comes home and I'm there?"

"We'll just make sure that doesn't happen," replied Harry casually. Though it had occurred to him, he simply didn't see it as a probable possibility. "He said he wouldn't be home until late, anyways. Just tell Ginny to give us a yell if your parents or brothers arrive home- they're more likely to get there before my Dad gets here, anyways."

A mischievous smile crept across Ron's face, and he nodded slowly. "Right you are, mate. I'll go tell Ginny, and then I'll come through."

"Alright," Harry agreed. "I'll step back and wait, then."

Harry withdrew his head from the fireplace and found himself once again kneeling in the parlour of his and Severus' home. Remembering that Ron would be coming through any minute, he quickly stood and stepped away from the hearth, sitting to wait expectantly on the couch.

Moments later, Ron stepped through, a wide grin set in place on his face. "Ginny's rather upset with me for leaving her alone with Beatrice," he confessed, though he did not look the least bit apologetic.

"What's so bad about her?" Harry asked, frowning. He couldn't imagine meeting a Weasley that he disliked, other than Percy.

"She's a third year from Beauxbatons," Ron breathed, coming over to join Harry on the couch. "I think that about explains it all."

Harry smiled and nodded; he knew exactly what Ron was saying. "Anything like Fleur?"

Ron's face wrinkled up into a twisted expression of disgust, and he exclaimed, "Harry, that's my cousin!"

Harry hadn't meant it to come out in the way that Ron was thinking of, but nevertheless, he could see why the comparison might be a bit unsettling, considering the obsession his friend had carried on with the flaxen haired part-Veela in their fourth year. He shrugged and sat back against the couch.

Apparently deciding that the topic was officially done being dealt with, Ron copied Harry's stance and asked thoughtfully, "So, what do you think this Order meeting is about?"

"Don't know," Harry admitted. "But I do know that whatever it is, my father seemed awfully troubled when he left this morning."

"Yeah, Mum and Dad, too," Ron concurred, brushing a wayward strand of red hair out of his eyes. "You-know-who related, you think?"

"I think that part is obvious," Harry responded. "The question is just how closely related it is."

xxx

Severus had been staring at the same spot on the wall above Dumbledore's head for the past five minutes, and Moody was still carrying on about the new safety precautions that must be taken to ensure the safety of the Hogwarts students. The most upsetting thing to Severus, and the reason that he was trying to block out the conversation by inspecting the chipping white paint that covered plaster, was that Dumbledore was actually considering the man's ludicrous ideas. 'Compromising', Dumbledore had told him was necessary after the last meeting.

Ridiculous. If Moody wanted more safety put on Hogwarts, then he could sit outside and guard the doors himself. Severus did not want to put up with a herd of aurors ushering around the school, giving themselves more authority than the teachers who rightfully commanded the corridors.

Heaving an agitated sigh through his flared nostrils, Severus leaned back into his chair and shifted his gaze to the ceiling, searching for another spot worthy of his intense scrutiny. Finding it, he continued to mull over his current situation.

Really, Severus thought, his being there was pointless. He rarely paid attention during the meetings, and ever since he'd lost his position in the inner circle, he had few things to report on, unless someone wanted an opinion on how the Death Eaters were likely to respond to a certain action. Everything he gleaned from the meetings he learned from Dumbledore afterwards, when they would have their inevitable private discussion.

Severus' attention was drawn back to the front of the room as Dumbledore finished his debate with Moody, who (much to Severus' displeasure and curiosity) looked quite satisfied with himself, and cleared his throat to address all those assembled.

"I thank you all for giving up this time today to confront the dilemmas caused by this event," said Dumbledore solemnly, making eye contact with each person at the table in turn. "I will keep you current on any related events, you can be sure of that. We will be placing higher security on Hogwarts, and I'm sure that, despite the many mistakes they have made, the ministry will take this attack on St. Mungo's for what it really is. If ever there was a time for us all to become proactive about the war, this is it- before it is too late."

The mood as everyone rose to leave the room was melancholy, the degrees of ranging emotion demonstrated by the tearstained cheeks of Mrs. Weasley to the blasé indifference of Severus' own placid expression.

While most began to file out, for Severus, this was the time when the meeting was scheduled to begin.

"Headmaster," he greeted the old man as he came to stand next to the podium from behind which Dumbledore had been speaking.

The eyes turned upon Severus were not warm and twinkling, but rather, stony and showing a touch of agitation. Though Severus knew he was not the cause of this, he also knew that considering the other man's mood, he was about to be rebuked for something.

"You might at least pretend to be listening during these meetings, you know," Dumbledore said mildly and yet icily, filing the papers he'd used into one folder.

"I might," Severus admitted, seemingly unaffected by the reproach. "However, the likelihood is not great."

"Severus," Dumbledore exclaimed in a hushed whisper, a mixture of annoyance and disbelief mingled in his tone. "This is not the time."

"Then when is, Albus?" Severus said tiredly, putting down a hand and leaning against the table. "Forgive me if I am not outwardly aggrieved by this loss, but you forget I have had to train myself not to react to these things. To let go of that control now could be detrimental."

"Detrimental to what?" Dumbledore asked. "You are no longer a spy."

"To my sanity- and thank you for reminding me, I had forgotten," Severus responded with a scowl, looking away.

"You know I do not mean to rub salt in the wound, so to speak," Dumbledore said, his tone the same but expression softened slightly. "But there does come a time when old habits must die."

"We're in the middle of a silently raging war, Albus. I do not think that it would be beneficial to kill said habits just yet."

"I have not forgotten," Albus told him, finishing his filing and stepping back from the podium. "Walk with me to the floo connection, Severus."

Severus took on an expression of deep affront at this command, but as he needed to use the floo as well, did follow the Headmaster out of the room. "Is there nothing that you should add to what you told us in the meeting?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not believe this is an instance where secrets ought to be kept, therefore I trust that you paid attention to the pertinent bits, because that's everything you need to know. However," he said, turning and placing a hand on Severus' shoulder as they reached the fireplace, "You should absolutely speak to Harry of this and perhaps Miss Granger as well. You see her often enough that you may do so, yes?"

"Unfortunately, yes, I do," Severus admitted. He offered no argument and asked for no explanation; he had planned on telling Harry anyways. "I will speak to them both."

"Thank you," said Dumbledore, moving to step into the fireplace. "And try to come before noon tomorrow, if you and Harry can do so on such short notice." Receiving Severus' nod of assent, Dumbledore took his fist of floo powder and threw it down to join the rest of the ashes, shouting, "Hogwarts!"

Severus stepped back and watched the Headmaster become engulfed in a whirl of green flames, and then stepped forward to follow suit. However, his destination was much different.

xxx end chapter 39 xxx


To be continued...


This story archived at http://www.potionsandsnitches.org/fanfiction/viewstory.php?sid=908