Both wizards had returned to the cottage emotionally drained, but the bond between them had been restored and renewed, until it was deeper than ever. Though neither spoke, each sensed that the crisis they had endured had served to strengthen their bond beyond anything either had ever imagined. Now they were more than apprentice and mentor, more than guardian and ward. Now they were father and son, bound by love and sacrifice and trust, though it remained unspoken, both felt it deep within their soul.

Harry could tell the Witherspoons, with their uncanny reader perception, could sense it as well, for when they entered the cottage, both Grace and Jasper exchanged knowing glances and Jace smiled in relief. Jilly was the most vocal of the four, running up to both wayward wizards and hugging their knees. "Hawwy, ‘fessor Sevvy, you is better! You is not sad no more!"

"Hi, Jilly!" Harry grinned at the adorable child, kneeling down to allow her to hug him easier.

Jilly promptly threw her little arms about him and projected her own happiness and delight at him, making him laugh.

Harry's laughter was a balm to Severus's spirit, for he rarely had anything to be joyful about, and Severus knew this past week had been particularly harrowing for the teen. After the rain comes the sun, and after tears should come laughter. I am glad he can still feel joy after what he has been through. He gently rested a hand upon his son's shoulder. Then again, few are there in this world who could resist little Jilly.

Harry was filled with a happiness so great he almost could not contain it. So he allowed himself to express it with laughter, a feeling which was almost unknown to him before Severus had become his mentor. On very rare occasions he had laughed with his friends, but on the whole his life had not contained much joy, only hardship and sacrifice and duty. But Jilly's sparkling green eyes and infectious grin was impossible to resist. Then he recalled the nickname she had called the professor and started laughing hysterically.

"Sevvy!" he gasped. "She called you Sevvy!"

Jilly was puzzled. "What so funny, Hawwy? That his name."

Harry started laughing again, unable to help himself.

Severus pretended to scowl, but his heart wasn't in it, not after undergoing the Ritual of Renewal. There was no room within him right then to be offended or insulted. "She has told me that you, Mr. Potter, called me that."

"What?" Harry managed to regain control over himself. "I never . . .I don't ever remember calling you that . . ."

Jilly just looked at him. "Yes, you did, Hawwy. I heard you. It was when ‘fessor Sevvy was sick. You said, don't leave me, Sevvy . . ."

"Oh." Harry blushed. "I guess I could have then . . ." he gave Severus an apologetic look.

Severus ruffled his hair, a half-smile quirking up a corner of his mouth. "The little one doesn't lie, I would suppose. And I find that I do not mind her calling me that . . .but you had better not start, am I understood?"

"Yes, Sev," Harry said meekly, but an imp of mischief danced in his eyes and he kept his head down to hide his smile.

Jilly crawled out of his lap and held up her arms to Severus, and he-Hogwarts most feared Potions professor-promptly picked her up and held her.

Harry's eyes nearly fell out of his head. Blessed Merlin! He's actually holding her in his arms and she's putting her head on his shoulder. Who would have thought? Sure wish I had a camera. Ron and Hermione and Sirius will never believe me when I tell them that Severus Snape, master of the snarky attitude, willingly cuddled a two-year-old in his arms. Now I've seen it all!

Jace caught his eye and smirked. "Being an empath has its privileges."

"Guess so" Harry said, blotting his eyes with a dishcloth Jace handed him. He prayed the Witherspoons would assume the tears upon his face were from laughter rather than sorrow.

"Are you hungry, Harry?" Grace asked. "I have dinner on the table."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said politely, then followed the rest of the household into the kitchen, Severus trailing a little behind, basking in the peace that reigned once more in the cottage.

* * * * * *

Later, after a rousing chess game with Jace and a hot shower, Harry lay on his bed, weary but not enough to fall asleep. A great burden had been lifted off of him and he felt a profound sense of relief. For the first time in a week he could sleep easy, without a knot in his stomach. He placed his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, his mind replaying the events of the day.

When he was younger, he had always thought Dumbledore as the bravest wizard he knew, the epitome of Gryffindor bravery, for his unwavering dedication to the Light and defiance of darkness. But now he saw there was a deeper kind of courage, the courage of one who had walked the shadows, both within and without, and came back out again, scarred yet whole. That was true courage and it was why Harry considered Severus Snape the bravest man he had ever known.

And it was why he allowed Severus to see him weep, for those who had wandered in darkness's shadow knew well of guilt and shame and tears shed for things that would never be forgotten. Severus understood him, understood the depths he had sunk to, understood the depths of remorse and the triumph of returning to the light despite the shame that dogged at his heels. Dumbledore, for all of his age and wisdom, had never known temptation, never knew what it was to be degraded and helpless, a pawn to another's twisted desires. Always he had been in control, had never been challenged, secure in his role as great leader of the Light. He could only sympathize with Harry's plight, but that was not the same as understanding.

But Severus did, and it was for that Harry loved him best of all.

Harry removed his glasses and set them upon the nightstand. Then he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. Within moments he was fast asleep, and for the first time since arriving at the Witherspoons, he slept without a guilty conscience prodding him into wakefulness.

* * * * * *

The next afternoon found Harry and Jace in Grace's garden, weeding and gathering several kinds of herbs and flowers that she needed dried for some drafts. The two boys worked companionably, not saying much, for Jace was quiet by nature and Harry in a contemplative mood this afternoon, as he had been ever since undergoing the Ritual of Renewal.

Picking the various herbs-angelica, vervain, heather, marjoram and starflower-relaxed him. This was work he was used to doing, he had gardened for Aunt Petunia since he had been old enough to tell a weed from a plant stem and wield a garden trowel. Sifting through the soil, the freshly turned earth filling his nostrils with its rich scent, gently snipping off stalks and flowers and placing them into a gathering basket, then tugging a resistant weed from its forbidden bed, he fell into a rhythm and the work became pleasant and filled him with a sense of accomplishment. In this way he would redeem his debt to Grace for taking care of him and Severus.

By the time they were finished, they were sweaty and dirty and in need of showers.

On the way back from the bathroom, Jace had generously allowed Harry to take the first turn, Harry passed Severus's room, where the Potions Master was having a rest period. Though nearly mended from his ordeal, Grace insisted Severus not overtax himself and said he should rest for two hours each afternoon. Reluctantly, Severus had agreed.

So Harry was surprised to hear Severus's voice coming from the bedroom, until he peered round the doorframe, unable to stifle his curiosity.

And saw his indomitable protector reading a story to Jilly.

The littlest Witherspoon was curled up against Severus, her head resting on Sev's shoulder, her green eyes fixed upon the book in the Potion Master's hands. Upon the cover was a picture of a fuzzy green caterpillar with a red head eating a leaf. Harry could just make out the title.

" . . .out of the egg came a very tiny very hungry caterpillar. He started looking for some food." Snape read softly.

I know this story! Harry thought excitedly. Aunt Petunia used to read this to Dudley sometimes in the den and I could hear her from the cupboard if I was real still and quiet. He cocked his head, and wished he could see the illustrations that Jilly was staring at so intently.

"On Monday he ate through an apple. But he was still hungry . . ." Severus read.

Harry smiled wistfully. He had liked the story, even though sometimes hearing it made him hungry, especially if he hadn't eaten anything when he was put into the cupboard. The book listed different types of food that children enjoyed eating, food that the hungry caterpillar ate and ate and ate.

Severus continued. "On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one-"

"-slice of Swiss cheese!" Jilly announced.

"Very good!" Severus praised. He pointed to another picture. "And what is this that he ate?"

"The very last slice of salami!"

"Excellent. And was he still hungry?"

"Yes! ‘Cause he's always hungry! That's why he's the very hungry cat-r-pillar," she said, enunciating the word caterpillar. "Read more, ‘fessor Sevvy."

And Severus did. " . . . .one slice of cherry pie, one sausage, . . .one cupcake . . .and one slice of watermelon."

Jilly clapped her hands. "Know what happened next? I do!" She turned the page and then said, "That night he had a tummy ache!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Severus said, amused. "Anyone who ate that much would have a stomachache, caterpillar or child."

Harry agreed. The caterpillar had always reminded him of Dudley, stuffing himself at every meal.

"His mummy shoulda gived him potions," was Jilly's next comment.

"Yes. Did that happen?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't say. But I think it did. He ate so many things!"

"How many? Can you count them for me?"

"One, two, three, four . . ." Jilly counted slowly, pointing at each thing. When she reached six, she paused and asked Severus what came next.

Harry counted silently along with them and discovered the caterpillar had eaten ten things on Saturday. Harry covered his mouth with his hand. Oh yes, the caterpillar was very like Dudley!

Suddenly, Jilly glanced around, then said, "Hawwy, come here! ‘fessor Sevvy is reading me a story. Come here, Hawwy, an' lissen!"

Harry remained where he was, a slow blush creeping over his face. "Uh . . .how did you know I was here?"

"Felt you, silly!" she replied, giving him a look that said he was dense not to know that. She beckoned to him imperiously. "Come on, Hawwy! It's the bestest part!"

"No, that's okay, Jilly. I don't need to . . ." he halted, for she gave him a pathetic look and he sighed. "All right." Then he came all the way into the room and perched upon the foot of the bed.

Severus finished the story. " . . .then he nibbled his way out and became a beautiful-"

"Butterfly!" Jilly cried. "Yay! See, Hawwy? Lookit the butterfly!"

Harry scooted over so he could see the picture. It was a simple colorful drawing of a butterfly, yet it touched him and he found himself smiling and asking if he could see the book.

Severus handed it to him, and then Jilly said, "You wanna read it, Hawwy? I can help you."

Harry smiled and said, "Sure, Jilly. Let's read it together." Then he thought, I guess this must be what it's like to have a real family.

* * * * * *

After Jilly had been taken off for a nap by Jasper, Severus asked how Harry was feeling.

"Fine," Harry replied. "In fact, I've never felt so good in my entire life. That ritual really does work. I don't feel . . .tainted anymore. Is the darkness gone for good then, Sev?"

The Potions Master nodded. "Yes. The ritual purified us both. You have nothing to fret about, Harry. The last of the dagger's poison has been vanquished."

Harry gave a huge sigh of relief. "That's good. I mean, I thought so, but . . .I wasn't sure . . .and I was afraid a bit of might . . .you know . . .still be inside me."

Severus took Harry's face in his hands. "No, child. Trust me. You are no longer touched by the dark. Anymore than I am. Look." He rolled up his left sleeve, turning his wrist upwards.

Where the Dark Mark had once been branded, was now a shadow, a mere blot upon the pale skin.

"It's nearly gone! But . . .how?"

"The ritual purifies even old wounds," Severus said, rubbing gently across the skin. "And if it can do that, Harry, it surely has erased the stain upon your spirit." He rolled his sleeve down.

This time Harry did not doubt the older man. "Sev, where is the last one?"

Severus summoned Tom Riddle's journal from his pack and read quietly, "The last piece I have placed in a vessel whose loyalty and devotion will never be questioned by me. Never shall I doubt. Within the catacombs it shall rest, safe and never to be found, save that the heir shall open the door."

"The heir shall open the door . . .Sev, it's at Hogwarts! In the Chamber of Secrets."

"My thoughts precisely. And that is a door that only a parselmouth may open."

"I can open it." Harry said. Then he asked, "But there's nothing down there anymore except maybe a few rotting bones and basilisk teeth. D'you think the last one could have been the basilisk?"

Severus considered. "No. Otherwise my Mark would have faded completely upon the dagger's destruction. The last one still exists. Somewhere in the catacombs beneath the school."

"Do you think Dumbledore knows?"

"He may, though I highly doubt it."

"Maybe we ought to tell him. Just in case."

"Yes. A wise decision. I shall write to him." Severus agreed, then summoned quill, ink, and parchment without delay.

* * * * * *

On the fourth day of Severus' convalescence, Freedom and Warrior rode the winds, playing tag in and out of the thermals, exercising their wing muscles and increasing their stamina by racing from one end of the village to the other. Hedwig even joined them in their flights, though they outmatched her for sheer speed over short distances.

Freedom and Warrior took turns diving at small animals along the ground across the moor, seeing who could come the closest to the prey without harming it, it was an exercise in precision that was awe-inspiring to watch, or so said Jace, who often came into the yard to see the two hawks performing aerials across the sky.

And though it was play, Freedom knew that even in play a lesson could be learned, and someday perhaps the precision he learned now might come in handy, especially if he had to fight against a foe and needed to aim precisely for a spot upon them, like an eye or a hand or something.

It had been two days since Severus had sent the letter to Dumbledore and so far no reply had come. He had sent it with the Witherspoons' owl, Rocket, because Hedwig was too conspicuous and might be recognized by their enemies.

Severus was slightly concerned, for it was not like the old man to keep someone waiting for a reply, especially on a matter of such importance. But perhaps he was busy with duties for the school or the Ministry and had not yet had time to reply.

He asked Jace that afternoon if his owl had brought any mail for him in the morning post.

"No, professor. Just the paper, same as usual."

"I am waiting for an important letter from the Headmaster," Severus explained at the other's inquiring look. "Please inform me when it arrives."

"Sure thing, sir." Jace said.

Harry looked up from perusing the paper, but there was no mention in it of any Death Eater activity or anything about werewolves either. He traced Meadowsweet's bracelet, which he always wore upon his wrist, and wondered if all were well with her and her wolfen brethren in the Forest. I haven't forgotten you, Sasha. Or the promise I made. I'll speak to the Minister when this is all over and free you. It's the least I can do. I wish you were here now. I miss you.

He ran his finger around and around the moonstone set in the center and somehow its cool touch soothed him. He wished he dared to write to her, but he knew that any correspondence could be intercepted and so he had to wait. But longing stirred within him and he tried to stop thinking about the way the wind ruffled her silvery hair or the way she smiled or the sound of her voice.

"Thinking of someone special?" Jace asked softly.

"Huh?" Harry jerked up from the paper and looked at his friend. "How did you know?"

"Your face and the way you're tracing that bracelet of yours," Jace replied. "I don't need to read your mind, Harry. I just watch closely. That's how a reader learns most things. By watching and interpreting things, like expressions. It's forbidden to read a person's mind just to satisfy curiosity."

"Sorry. Force of habit, I guess, to just assume you need to read minds. I guess I'm pretty transparent."

"You have always allowed your face to project anything you were thinking or feeling." Severus said. "Not a good trait in a spy, so it is good that you never had to play that role."

"I know. Voldy would have found me out one time with Legilimency." Harry said with a rueful chuckle. "Jace, is Legilimency similar to your talent?"

Jace shook his head rapidly. "No. Not at all. Legilemency, as I understand it, is a spell that can make a wizard scan another's mind, but it's crude and unsubtle. Using Legilimency on someone is like trying to pry open a potion vial with a crowbar, a reader is ten times more subtle. We slip into another's thoughts, and you would never know I was there. From what I know, His Darkness was like an elephant in a china shop, the person he read always knew he was inside them, he ripped them apart, taking their memories. Right, sir?"

Severus nodded. "Yes. How did you find that out?"

"One of his victims came here, to us, to be healed. His mind . . .it was badly injured, holes in his memory like Swiss cheese. No reader would ever do such a thing."

"Not even those Mind Lords?"

"No. A Mind Lord was sneaky, he could slip in and out of a person's thoughts in two seconds or less, and plant suggestions and all, but he would have never left a person in the state that one was in. It's too clumsy, no finesse. Nothing will keep a reader out who wants to get in except three things. The first is the Reader Codes. The second is a natural Occlumens, they have shields so strong and tight a reader can't penetrate them, like Professor Snape. And the third is another reader with layered shields, but even they can be broken if you're strong enough."

"Is that how you've managed to stay hidden here for so long?" Harry asked.

"Pretty much." Jace said. "We can sense when other minds are near and veil ourselves when necessary."

"Too bad some of you couldn't have read Riddle's mind when he returned."

"I don't know if that would have worked, Harry. He was crazy and when you try to read someone like that . . .you could end up going mad too. Because someone who's insane like that, his mind isn't normal and usually it's hard to follow thoughts and harder to influence them. It's dangerous too. You could become trapped inside his mind and never find a way out. So, yes a reader could have listened to his thoughts, but would also run the risk of going mad."

"Oh. I didn't realize . . ."

"No reason why you would have. Most people assume readers can do a lot of things that just aren't possible. Like communicate over an ocean or something."

"Good thing too, else my invention would have been useless," Jasper remarked, coming into the kitchen then. "Speaking of my amulets, I would like to give you these," he dug into a pocket and came up with two elongated malachite pendants upon silver chains. "I've paired them to each other, all you have to do to activate them is put them on and hold them for a moment and then think about the other person who holds your amulet. Your thoughts will be able to be heard by that person, up to a distance of several kilometers."

Both Severus and Harry stared at the gift. They knew how rare it was for Jasper to gift an outsider with one amulet, much less two.

"Jasper, this is too much. We could not possibly . . ." began Snape.

The reader firmly squelched the other's protest by putting Snape's hand over the amulet. "Humor me, Severus. I know you're on some kind of top secret mission and I won't ask questions, but I have a premonition you'll need these before it's over. Call me psychic if you want," here Jasper grinned. "Besides, if you use my amulets to help you in your quest, it might make the Minister sit up and take notice and maybe sign my patent."

Their eyes met and very quickly Severus realized that Jasper was as stubborn as he and his mind was made up. "Very well. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. If you ever need my services as a Potions Master, you have but to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind. And there are no debts between Slytherins, Severus," Jasper stated. "Use them well."

The elder wizard remained to supervise as the two activated their amulets and tested them.

"Can we talk with anyone who has an amulet?" asked Harry.

"Yes, if they're attuned to you," Jasper said. "I've taken the liberty of attuning you to all of my family. So if you have any questions, don't hesitate to send."

Then Jasper departed, going off to work, and Harry experimented with his amulet with Jace and Severus until he felt comfortable using it. The only drawback that he could see was that the amulet could not be used in Animagus form, it would only function when he was a human. Jace said that was because an animal's mind was different from a human's, and even though Harry's mind controlled Freedom, the hawk mind was still active and it muddled up the amulet.

But still it was a magnificent gift.

* * * * * *

On the fifth day, Grace retested Severus to make sure his reserves were up to par, and she smiled and said they were fine, but what he read in the paper that morning nearly made him have a relapse. They had been eating breakfast when the owl delivered the paper.

Rocket delivered it to Harry, perhaps because he was closest to the window the owl came through and he picked it up and was about to hand it to Grace when he saw the headline.

Death Eaters Suspect in Disappearance of Four Hogwarts Students! Community in a Panic! Does This Mean the Return of the Dark Reign?

Four days ago, the Auror Department received four missing persons alerts, all of them concerning former fifth-year classmates of Harry Potter. They were reported by frantic family members, and all seem to have disappeared within the same day of each other, resulting in the belief that this was a planned raid and not just a kidnapping by an individual. The missing students are Muggleborn Hermione Granger, reputedly snatched from her bedroom at her home, Vincent Crabbe and Marietta Edgecombe, both sitting in Mrs. Edgecombe's home awaiting her return with some dinner from a local restaurant, and Susan Bones, whose aunt Amelia is a prominent Ministry official and responsible for the trial and sentencing of many Death Eaters. Susan was taking a walk after dinner and never returned. Suspects include former Death Eater Karkaroff and Lucius Malfoy among others . . .The Department is doing all it can to locate the missing children and have delayed informing the press in hope that the kidnappers would leave a demand that could be traced . . .

"Great Merlin!Severus, you need to read this!" Harry exclaimed, shoving the paper at his mentor.

His mind was whirling around and around, he could hardly believe that something terrible had happened to his friends-especially poor Hermione. Vince and Marietta, even Susan . . .it boggled his mind. He had thought the Death Eaters focused on him and Severus, for they were the biggest threat, so why bother going after kids like Hermione and Susan? What purpose did it serve?

Severus read the entire article, his face growing more drawn and pinched with worry as he did so. This had all the earmarks of a raid to gather bodies for a blood ritual, a thing Severus had seen performed many times during Voldemort's rise to power. The Death Eaters preferred to capture Muggleborns and blood traitors, claiming they were useless save for sacrificial meat.

Severus's lip curled. They liked using young ones as well, innocence fueled the sacrifice and made it more potent.

"This could be why Dumbledore has not answered my letter. He is probably out looking for the missing children," Severus said.

Just then, a Great Horned owl flew in the window, hooting in urgency. In its beak was a small letter sealed with the Order's phoenix seal. Severus recognized the owl as Seraphina, matriarch of the Hogwarts owlery. Seraphina brought the letter directly to Snape and then flew off before he could reward her, obviously in a hurry.

"Is it from Dumbledore?" Harry asked. There was no return address.

"Hush and kindly let me open my mail," the elder wizard huffed, waving Harry away.

He fully expected the letter to be in Dumbledore's scratchy handwriting, but instead it was written in Minerva's graceful cursive.

Dear Severus,

I am writing this to you because I happened to see your letter on Albus' desk as I was going through his things searching for clues. I knew it must be urgent and Order related and so I opened it. If you have read the paper this morning-and who hasn't probably-you will know about the four missing students. What no one else knows yet is that they are not the only ones.

Albus has gone missing as well.

Currently, Moody, Remus, and Sirius were investigating this case and Albus was assisting. He had questioned all of the parents and gotten details about when and where the children were before they vanished and if they had had any problems before the child went missing, like a quarrel. Nothing.

And yet, Albus refused to give up hope. He believes they are still out there somewhere. No ransom note was sent. At least, none that I was aware of. Until Albus disappeared yesterday and no means of communication could be established. That was when I went through the papers on his desk this morning, and found both your letter and another anonymous one, buried under a pile of periodicals.

The anonymous one said that the children would be killed unless a substitute was found and that was all. I believe that Albus has vanished because he wished to substitute himself for them and did not want to cause a fuss.

Severus, please come to Hogwarts as soon as you can. I need your cool head and analytic mind, not to mention your magic and knowledge, old friend.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Secretary of the Order

Severus remained silent for a long moment, then he said to Harry, "We need to leave as soon as we can. We cannot afford to delay our return to Hogwarts any longer than necessary." He pulled off his amulet and then scribbled a quick reply to Minerva and sealed both letter and amulet into an envelope. Communication would be ten times quicker between them if an Order member had an amulet and in this sort of situation, speedy communication was everything.

He sent the letter and the amulet off with Rocket.

"Sev? Why did you just give away your amulet?" Harry asked.

"I have temporarily loaned it to Professor McGonagall. We're going to need the Order to help us and communication is paramount." He quickly explained what McGonagall had said about the Headmaster also going missing.

"Oh, right." Harry felt slightly stupid, but his brain was all foggy, filled with worry and fear. What in Merlin's name could be happening to his friends and Dumbledore?