Draco and Harry made the walk to Professor Schlone’s classroom in silence, neither daring to breach the topic that they had began discussing in the potion’s classroom. Professor Schlone’s class proved interesting. Unlike Trelawney’s garish attic classroom, it was held in a normal room with several interesting objects scattered around the room. In a pair of blood-red robes with her brown hair piled on top of her head to keep it out of her face sat Elvira. The room was lightly scented and a cooling charm gave the room a pleasant feeling on the hot summer day.

She stood from her desk and addressed her students, "Good afternoon, students."

"Good afternoon," they all responded politely in response, Harry following their lead.

"Alright, I thought that today would try something different for a change. Can anyone tell me what a genuine Vineficus is?"

Pansy raised her hand, much to Harry’s surprise as she had never been one for academic pursuits when they were at Hogwarts. "They’re muggles who take part in old magic, using magical remnants to influence the outcome of events."

Elvira smiled," Very good Miss Parkinson! And magical remnants are?"

"Anything left behind by the use of magic or magical objects." Draco drawled out of turn, picking up where his friend had left off.

Ever easygoing the teacher simply nodded at him. "That’s why they are some of the best fortune tellers. Us witches and wizards have very analytical minds when it comes to magic. However, they are more lenient in their magic. They understand that although there is only one ‘will be’ there are hundreds of ‘can be’s." With this she stopped leaning against the desk and took a step toward the class. "Long ago they tried living among regular muggles, but as you know muggles are not always open-minded. During the times of witch burnings, they were usually the ones caught and unable to defend themselves."

With a sigh, she paced the length of the floor. "They usually practice their magic in places where there are great magical remnants such as near the school. In fact some of them settled years ago in a cave. Although they are gone now, I think this would be a good place for us to start scrying for the past."

There was a cheer at this, everyone was eager for a chance to get out of the school even if it was only for a few moments. The sun felt good against Harry’s face as they walked back into the woods and toward the caves. It was a vast space with a small pond near it and unnaturally smooth walls. On the walls and floors were symbols that looked like they may have been written in blood.

"Professor? Is that blood?" Malfoy asked, voicing Harry’s thoughts.

"Indeed it is Draco. Blood is very powerful in all magic, as you are all aware."

"So if these people weren’t accepted into the muggle world, why didn’t the wizarding world take them?" Questioned Harry, startling himself as he had not meant to ask that aloud.

"Funny thing Harry. People were afraid of them. See their leaders were the Guild, a legendary group, and they practiced a form of pure magic that involved traveling to the "realms" where they could alter reality and work their will through mere wish. Purebloods who believe in purity above all else did not believe in pure magic. They feared this power that had to be granted at birth and could never be obtained by them."

"So what ever happened to the Guild?" Asked Harry, frowning.

"Well, I’m not sure. There is disagreement on whether or not they ever existed. Honestly, if you’re so interested then go find a book on it, that’s what the library is for." With that she turned to the group, "Now, the spell is Relivio and it will allow you to see past events in this cave, past spell signatures and lead you to things that can tell you about the past."

Everyone in the room raised their wands to do the spell on themselves with varying degrees of success. Harry lifted his own wand but before he could utter a word there was an explosion behind his eyes and the room began to pulsate in a fuzzy blue light. Everything had faded including the voices and there was a slight buzzing in his ears. Out of nowhere appeared a little girl dressed in rags with big blue eyes and fair blonde hair. She gestured to him with a wave of her hand and without thinking he stepped over to her.

"You’re expected."

"What? By who? Who are you?"

"Amelia expects you. I’m her helper." The girl couldn’t be more then seven so Harry was led to believe he wasn’t in any dire danger. Carefully, feeling rather disorientated, he followed her and found himself being led into another cave near the one the rest of the class was inside. Everything continued to pulse in blue, making it extremely hard to focus on anything. The tiny girl with long black ringlets and blue eyes walked to the back of the cave and turned to wait for him to join her. What was happening to him?

"What are we doing here?" Harry questioned, rubbing his head that was beginning to throb along with the light.

"Look in this hole, there you’ll find your answers." She said softly, gesturing to a large crack in the cavern’s surface. Cautiously he inserted his hand and shivered when he felt something slimy scurry over his hand. Suddenly his fingers landed on something solid and square, he tugged at it to no avail. Slowly, he began to wiggle it free and all of a sudden the room snapped back into focus. In his hands was a journal engraved with the words Amelia Evans, causing his to give a startled gasp. That didn’t make sense...unless it was another Evans family? Harry was about to open the book when he heard the gentle rustle of a robe outside the cave and he quickly shoved the book into his robes.

"Harry? Harry, where are you?" Elvira’s voice echoed in the cave and her face appeared in the opening.

"Professor...I, uh, just got caught up in the lesson..."Harry lied.

"I see." Her eyes had gone cold and calculating and suddenly Harry felt uneasy about being alone with the woman. With forced cheerfulness she asked, "Did you find anything in here?"

"No," he snapped.

"Really? You were acting strangely in the cave. You almost knocked Mr. Malfoy over." Harry was slightly disappointed that he had missed that.

"Sorry ma’am. Shouldn’t we be heading back?"

For a moment she simply looked coldly at him but then nodded "Indeed we should."

When they exited the cave they came face to face with the little girl he had seen while in his...state moments ago. He was about to question her about what happened until he realized that Elvira would overhear it at his gut instinct told him to remain silent. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because the teacher did something that completely shocked him. She walked over and the little girl and attempted to lift the small body into her arms. For a moment the little girl struggled against her but finally resigned herself and leaned against her mother/

"Harry, this is my daughter, Serentiy Snape." The little girl looked up at him and her eyes widened and she glanced at where he was hiding the book. Then she gave him a shy smile and waved her hand to greet him.

"Wh-wait a minute!" Harry protested.

"Professor Snape is my husband," she explained calmly.

Harry, for one, was thunderstruck. He had never considered the possibility of Snape having a family or really of even existing outside of Hogwarts. And now, here was his wife and a little mini-Snape. "Wait, you’re last name is Schlone!"

"Yes, well those outside of pureblood circles rarely see a reason to change their last name upon marriage. Especially since we spend our entire lives trying to make something of that name in a prejudice wizarding society."

"Oh." Harry replied dumbly.

"The past comes back to collect it’s debts." The little girl spoke suddenly, putting up a weak struggle to get away from the woman.

Elvira raised her eyebrow and then smiled slightly, "Has your father been reading you those ridiculous stories again? Well, goodbye Harry. Do try to stay with the class next time. I believe...you have free period this hour?"

"Right," he muttered absentmindedly, unable to keep himself from thinking that the youngest Snape was trying to tell him more. For the time being he let go of the statement.

Suddenly he felt weighted down, he was so exhausted! And no wonder, he had barely slept at all last night because of his predicament. On top of that, cleaning the potion’s classroom had throughly worn him out. Near the caves he found a large lake with a small boat house and a small boat tied to the dock. With a tired sigh he climbed inside and rested his head against the bow of the bed. Oddly enough he found himself wondering if Voldemort had ever had to serve that kind of punishment while at Hogwarts. He snorted at the image of Voldemort cleaning the desktops of the D.A.D.A. room under Dumbledore’s watchful eyes. Wow, he thought, eyes drifting closed, I must really be tired if I’m finding anything about the Dark Lord funny.

XxXxXxX

The grass was as soft as a mattress beneath him and he allowed himself to relax, gazing up at the purple sky, caught in a strange twilight. In the air was the scent of lilies, which relaxed him immensely as he allowed his eyes to drift open and shut. Before him lay a silvery lake with waves gently lapping out towards the other shore that was barely visible from this end. In the distance he saw lights twinkling on the other shore, brightly awaiting any travelers who crossed.

"Hey pup, comfortable?" Said a voice from the past, one he heard only in his dreams, one he’d never though he’d really see again.

"S-Sirius?!" Gasped Harry, doing a double take of the man standing before him. Gone was the man destroyed by Azkaban, instead before him stood a handsome young man about his age. But is was really his Sirius. With a laugh, he tackled the other boy causing Sirius to chuckle and wrap his arms around his godson. When he felt the solidness of his godfather he let out a yelp of joy, it wasn’t a dream! He was really back!

"Whoa there, Harry. I’m still dead." He said it in such a matter-of-fact voice that Harry went stock still. "Don’t look so glum."

At this point he broke, "It w-was my fault..."

"Harry..."

But the sobbing boy wasn’t done yet, "If I hadn’t....if I’d have gotten away from Remus..."

Sirius gently slapped the boy on his cheeks and Harry stared at him in shock, "Harry, don’t you ever think like that. It’s disrespectful to my memory for you to think like that. Understand?"

There was no room in the voice for argument. It was odd, here he looked so young and yet he seemed wise and more mature than Sirius had even been when he was alive. I suppose death will do that to you, Harry thought sarcastically, clearing the wetness from his face.

"We never got to say goodbye." He said sadly.

"Well, we can now, can’t we? But know, I’ll never completely leave you, you’ll always be my pup."

"Why can’t you stay here?"

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his long, dark hair. "Because the souls who stay here become corrupted by the power. You wouldn’t ask me of that would you."

He was ashamed that it took him a moment to answer. However, this was what he had been dreaming about since Sirius’ death and the fact that it was to be taken from him so soon seemed unfair, "No, of course not."

"I need...I need you to tell me..." Sirius seemed to be having a hard time making out the words, even if it was to his beloved godson. "Tell me that it was okay that I forced you to stay with those horrible muggles. I’m sorry that my immaturity caused me to go after Pettigrew, tell me that it’s okay."

Surprised that Sirius felt the need to apologize for these things he said, "Sirius! That wasn’t your fault, you were grieving!"

"The living need to take precedent over the dead, I let you down. Know that in my will I made sure you were well taken care of."

"You don’t owe me anything!"

"Harry, let me do this much at least."

"...fine. None of it was your fault, Sirius, not their death, not my destiny. I hope you know that." Harry said quietly.

Suddenly, Sirius began to fade, becoming transparent. "I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Sirius," He whispered.

"Padfoot!" Called a male and female voice. Turning, Harry was shocked to see the transparent forms of his parents sitting in a boat some way off shore.

"Mum! Dad!" He shouted joyfully, running straight into the water, wanting to get a chance to say goodbye to his parents that he had never known. However, a strong hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Harry! Harry, look at me!" Shouted Sirius, "They can’t see you or hear you, they’ve already passed over and they’ve come to carry me over. You’ll see them again, I promise. We’ll all be together again."

"The whole Potter family." Harry said, causing Sirius to beam at him

"Harry, this was your father’s. It’s been passed down from Potter son to Potter son for generations. He would have wanted you to have it." With that he slid a ring bearing the Potter crest onto his finger. "Goodbye Harry."

Slowly, Sirius made his way into the silvery water until he reached the boat. Both Lily and James reached down to pull their old friend into the boat, it began to sail toward the lights on the other shore. It sailed until it was out of sight.

"Goodbye Sirius." Whispered Harry.

XxXxXxX

Sun was beating down on him and he had to squint against it when he awoke. For the first time in the past year, he felt well-rested and at peace with himself. Everything was okay, he’d made peace with Sirius’ memory. That was until he realized it was only a dream, a torrent of grief came rushing back to him when he realized it was wishful thinking. Harry reached up to pull himself into the sitting position when he heard the sound of metal hitting wood. Startled, he looked down to see the ring Sirius had given him on his finger! It hadn’t been a dream! He jumped up, causing the boat to rock violently. But he’d been asleep...how could this ring that was given to him in a dream be here for real?

His thoughts were broken by the sound of laughter, one male and the other female. Instantly, his eyes narrowed, he was not in the mood to be messed with by Malfoy and his cronies. Well, he would show them. As quietly as possible, he slid out of the boat and approached their hiding place behind the boathouse. To his surprise he found Malfoy kissing a girl, and not Pansy but a Vineficus! A muggle! He could hear Ron’s voice now, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

"Malfoy?" He asked incredulously.

The blonde leapt, pushing the girl away from him. Horrified, he stared at Harry, opening and closing his mouth several times. Suddenly there was a voice calling from the path, "Draco!"

"Professor Snape! Karena, you have to go!"

"Draco, no. I’m not leaving, I don’t care who finds out."

"Well, I do." Draco said, rather cruelly, giving her a light shove back toward the trees. Then his eyes came back to fall on his enemy and he let out a shuddering breath, "Going to sell me out, Potter? Get back at me?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, he wasn’t sure what to do. On the one hand, this was the perfect chance to get back at the guy who had made his life at Hogwarts miserable. On the other, from what he’d heard in the hall Draco had a lot to handle right now and the fact that he was seeing a muggle girl was hope, right? Although he wasn’t sure about all the rules of the pureblood families, but he knew this wouldn’t bode well. Thinking quickly, he shoved Draco into the lake causing him to have to deal with a rather irate Slytherin.

"POTTER!" He bellowed, spitting up water.

Snape raised his eyebrow at the boys, one dry and one wet. "Draco, I’ve been looking for you. I wanted to continue our earlier conversation...what happened here?"

"Draco fell into the water, he was being clumsy." Harry said calmly.

"Is this true Draco?" Asked Snape, looking between the two of them. Draco looked uncertainly at Harry and nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Well get out of there. You’ll catch your death. Go to your room and change and then come down to my office."

"Yes sir." Snape turned and walked away, robes bellowing behind him.

"You owe me," Harry stated, tapping into his Slytherin side, well aware he could make his life here at Spencer easier.

"I do." Said Malfoy simply, and then the most amazing thing happened, he smiled at him. Harry hesitantly reached his hand down to the other boy and pulled him out of the water. Putting a wet arm around the other boy’s shoulder he steered him toward the path leading up to Spencer.

"But..aren’t you dating Pansy?"

Draco tossed back his head and laughed at this, "Potter, Pansy is like a sister to me. Whenever something weird was going on at my house that I couldn’t handle I would always go to her."

"Oh." Harry said, again surprised by the blonde telling him this.

Crabbe and Goyle were waiting on the path ahead, they looked curiously at the two boys and Crabbe asked, "Draco, what happened?"

"I fell in the lake, what do you think?"

"That’s it?"

"Yes, that’s it." Draco snapped, pushing ahead of them and taking Harry with him. Without their knowledge, the shared secret binding them to each other, starting a tentative friendship. However, Harry was in denial of this, keeping on guard around the blonde who he did not quite trust. He wasn’t sure that Draco would have done the same for him if their situation had been reversed. "Look Pot-Harry, me and my friends are having a get together in the caves tonight, do you want to come. For real this time."

Harry hesitated for a moment, "Only if Neville can come."

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled Harry along the path, "Gryffindors, always ‘sticking together.’ Pansy might come around, but Crabbe and Goyle never will."

"Then I’m not interested." He said firmly.

"...Hold on..." Draco stepped away from him and fell into step with his two friends and they talked in low heated voices. When Draco returned his cheeks were flushed and his mouth set in a firm line. "They won’t come if that’s the case."

"Well, that settles that." Harry said, trying to walk ahead of the blonde.

"No, it doesn’t. I’ll make them come around. I made them and they seem to have forgotten their place," Draco’s eyes flashed and Harry got a picture of the wizard the boy could become. It wasn’t pretty. "Both of you, show up there tonight."

With that, Draco released his arm and walked off towards the school to get changed. Harry paused to look after the boy. It was ironic, Draco would rather spend time with someone he considered his inferior then to allow his power over others to be taken away. Shivering in the hot sun, he wrapped his robe tighter. Power games were going to tear the very fabric of the wizarding world.