As soon as I finish reading the letter, I carefully set it back into the envelope and glance towards Professor Sinistra. She's staring at me with a soft somber smile as if she knows all about the letter. However, I'm rather certain that she doesn't know that it has blood smears. Otherwise, I'm rather convinced that Dad would be dealing with her right now.

"Harry," she quietly says. "Are you all right?"

I nod in response before glancing back at Dad's response. I know he's hiding something from me. I just know he is. I can't tell if it's to protect me, though. All throughout my life, I've had adults try to hide things from me. The Dursleys hid the fact that Voldemort murdered my parents. Dumbledore continuously hides secrets from me year after year. I don't know if I can handle Dad holding back information from me. We're supposed to be a family now. Doesn't a family tell all their secrets to one another for support or something?

"How about you and I go outside for a little fresh air this morning?"

I glance towards Professor Sinistra and open my mouth to speak. She, however, interrupts me before I can. I guess I can understand it, though. I am turning down a perfectly good day to go flying.

"Severus said he'd join us, Harry, and I'm sure he meant it."

"Sure," I respond quietly. "Let me go get my broom."

"Of course," she says with a brilliant smile. "I'll meet you out at the pitch then, and remember, Harry, that I know just how long it takes to go from Severus's rooms to the grounds. If you're not there, then I'm going to send out search parties. I'm sure Severus would just be thrilled to hear about that."

I shake my head. I know she's joking, but honestly. I then stand up before bowing my head slightly towards her and leaving. Truthfully, I don't really know why I did that just now. It's probably because I've seen Dad do it so many times. I rush out of the Great Hall and towards the dungeons.

My journey doesn't take me too long. Salazar glances at me before rolling his eyes and letting me into the rooms. I quickly rush towards my room to grab my broom, but when I see Dad's closed bedroom door, I stop. I don't know why I do it, but I slowly creep down the hall before quietly opening the door. Sure enough, Dad's in his bed. However, he's not asleep yet.

"Checking to see if I was telling the truth about wanting to sleep, Harry?"

"Sorry," I respond glancing down at the floor.

"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, Professor Sinistra and I are going flying." Almost instantly, I hear Dad snort and see him shake his head in amusement.

"I think you're mistaken, Harry. You're the one flying. She's only supervising." At the sight of my eyes narrowing, he clarifies. "There are three things that she's extremely bad at doing. One is walking gracefully, which I'm sure you've noticed. The second is potions, and the last is flying."

"Oh," I respond for the lack of anything better to say.

"I take it you've read my response?"

"Yeah, and…um…I have a question about it." My hand digs into my pants pocket as I shift my weight onto my other foot. "I…um…couldn't help but notice the—"

"The blood smeared into it?" he finishes. When I nod, he inhales deeply. "I cannot give you specific details at this point. Perhaps I never will be able to tell you, but you do not need to worry about me, Harry. I am not taking any unnecessary risks with my life. Too often, adults in your life have abandoned you. I am hoping that I am never one of those adults."

"It's your blood, though, isn't it?"

"Yes. Regretfully, I did not have time to clean myself up before writing my response. However, I knew that it was imperative to write it to you so you'd know that it was not you for the reason of me being frequently absent these past few days. I wrote my response this morning in the Hospital Wing while I was waiting for Pomfrey to release me. She believes that I shall recover quite nicely with rest, though. So there is no need for your concern, Harry. I will be fine."

"I know you probably won't answer me, but does all this have to do with what—you know—what He's been doing?"

"I am sorry, Harry, but I cannot give you the answer you seek."

"I understand," I reply somberly. "You are going to come out later, though, right?"

"As soon as I get my rest, yes," he responds.

"Then I guess I should leave, shouldn't I?" He doesn't reply vocally, but I know the answer. "Sleep well, Dad."

"I shall try to endeavor to do just that. No crazy stunts while you are out flying. If I learn that you did, then you will suffer my consequence. Do you understand?" I nod slowly. "Then enjoy yourself out there, but be safe for Merlin's sake. I will not be outside to prevent you from harm."

"I know," I drawl. "Jeez, Dad, you sound like one of those helicopter parents now."

I grin at him widely, but Dad, however, flicks his hand at me, sending me backwards out his room. The door slams shut in front of me, which makes me laugh softly. I have to learn wandless and nonverbal magic soon because that is just too awesome. Then again, Dad is a huge showoff.

I shake my head, though, and walk into my room. I grab my broom and quickly rush off towards the Quidditch Pitch. For Dad's sake, I'll try not to do any ridiculous stunts while I'm flying. However, like Dad and his spells, I also am a bit of a showoff, only in flying, though.

As soon as I'm outside of the castle, I'm on my broom speeding off towards the pitch. I have to make up for my lost time somehow. It doesn't take me long to get to the pitch. However, my eyes instantly enlarge at the numerous students on the pitch with their brooms. I slow my descent before gently touching the ground.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" I ask as soon as I reach the Slytherin.

"Sinistra thought that you might need some cheering up with everything that's going on with Severus." Malfoy then glances towards Sinistra before sighing softly. "I know you probably don't want to hear this right now, and you'll likely tell Weasley and Granger that I've gone nutters, but I'm sorry about before." He then catches my gaze. "When you said that I'm here because of Lucius, well, it kind of struck a nerve with me," he quietly admits. At the sight of my eyes narrowing on him, he sighs again. "I am here because of him, but not because I'd spoil his summer." He then glances away towards the far side of the pitch. "You're lucky you have Severus, Potter. I can see that he cares for you. I just—you know—wanted to tell you that you're lucky."

"Well, thanks, I guess," I respond feeling as if I've entered an alternate universe. I watch Malfoy walk away from me. I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something. I mean, Draco Malfoy telling me I'm lucky that I have Dad. Okay, granted, I agree with him that I am lucky, but he's Draco Malfoy, though. If anyone fit Dad's longtime description of me, it definitely was Draco, wouldn't it? I then sigh as I chew the bottom of my lip. Something's up with Malfoy. He's been acting strange all summer.

I then remember what Dad said to me in his response: 'You are not the only child who had a person entrusted with a child that beat him'. As I watch the Slytherin more, I don't know how to describe it. I start to replay in my mind all the interactions I've had between Malfoy's dad and him. Nothing really pops out that would make me think that Malfoy was like me. However, he's been rather quiet this past summer, and he's also here for one thing. Malfoy is nearly as brilliant as Hermione so it doesn't really make sense for him to be here.

My eyes widen as I remember Dad's talk with Malfoy after my attack. I hear Dad's voice say, 'I spoke to the headmaster on your behalf to stay here so you didn't go back to Lucius. And this is how you repay me? If I did not know what I know, I would send you back to Malfoy Manor in an instant. Be as it may, I unfortunately do know how you are treated by your father.' I draw in a shaky breath.

"Draco," I call out before catching up with him. He glances at me, but says nothing. "You're probably going to think I've gone nutters now, and you're probably going to hex me again. I, well, I have something to tell you." I then glance around trying to see if anyone is within hearing distance of me, but no one is around. "The only reason I'm lucky and with him now is, well, my relatives weren't real nice people if you catch my drift." He says nothing, only stares. "He learned that my uncle, well, let's just say that he used to use me as his punching bag. Snape—"

"Potter, why are you telling me this?" he asks with a look of confusion.

"The reason you got mad at me before was because he used to hurt you, didn't he? It's why you think I'm lucky, right?" His gray eyes dart towards the far part of the pitch again, and he doesn't respond. "Just so you know, if you, you know, need to talk, you know," I say quietly while shrugging. He glances at me momentarily before scoffing.

"We both belong in St. Mungo's, Potter," Malfoy drawls. He then inhales and glances towards Professor Sinistra. "Come on. Let's go join up with them before she reams our arses." I immediately burst out laughing and glance at him with wide eyes. He glares at me in response.

"I think you've got her mixed up with someone else, Draco."

"We'll see about that, Potter," he replies as we walk back to the large group of students.

"I don't need to break you two up again, do I?" Professor Sinistra asks a few moments later.

"No, Professor," I answer. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Malfoy only shakes his head.

"Good." Professor Sinistra then turns towards Marcus Flint. "Mr. Flint, Mr. Malfoy, pick your teams." Both Slytherins' mouths drop. "Gentlemen, do not take me for an idiot. I know precisely what you two would do if I did not do this. Now, end of discussion," she says sternly.

"Yes, ma'am," both Slytherins respond.

"Mr. Flint, since you're older, you get to pick first."

"Eddie," sneers the gruff looking Slytherin. A big beefy Ravenclaw sixth-year walks to Flint.

"Potter," Malfoy then says, catching me off guard. I, however, walk over to him.

"Rochelle," growls Flint. I watch the blond Ravenclaw walk over glaring.

"Ellie," I hear Draco say. I have to turn away to hide my wince. The girl definitely belongs in Hufflepuff because as soon as Draco calls her name, she lets out a high pitch squeal.

"My last picks are Anthony, Eleanor, and Ryan," Flint then glances towards Draco with a nasty smirk. "Have fun losing, Malfoy," he snidely remarks before mounting his broom.

I glance at the rest of my team and sigh. Bradley is a somewhat muscular Ravenclaw. I can't remember what year he is, though. I think he might be a sixth year. Kevin is a Hufflepuff, and I can tell by the way that he's glancing at the posts that he's going to fight for Keeper. Darcy, however, is by far the most out of place. She's a Ravenclaw, but she definitely doesn't look like she's dressed for this game. She's wearing short shorts, a tank top, and sandals.

"Well, this certainly is going to be interesting," I mutter as I mount my broom.

"Yeah, it's certainly going to be something," Draco responds quietly. He then glances at me. "Think you can find the snitch first?"

"Honestly?" I ask in disbelief. "You're letting me be Seeker?"

"Well, the girls are chasers, and no offense, but you don't have the body to be a beater. If I made you be keeper, well, we both know that Flint would make sure you felt it in the morning. You're not going to complain on me now, are you?"

"No. Thanks, Malfoy." He only nods before taking his position as a beater.

"Everyone ready?" yells Professor Sinistra. We all yell back that we are. The game then starts, and I zoom off after the snitch.

As the skies darken with rain clouds, I sigh. Yet again, the headmaster was right. I glance down at the pitch and can just barely make out Professor Sinistra in the stands. Surprisingly, our games have been rather clean for the most part. However, I have to keep dodging Rochelle because the bloody girl's trying to get me killed as we're trying to catch the snitch, but Flint's keeping her on a pretty tight leash it seems. He has yelled at her at least a dozen or more times in the past half hour.

I catch the glittering gold out of the corner of my eye and zoom after it. Rochelle quickly flanks me and slams against me with her broom. However, when she tries it again, I quickly pull up, which makes her slam against the side of the stand. I turn back briefly just to see if she's all right, but Professor Sinistra's already down there with her so I take it she is going to be just fine. I lean across my broom and easily capture the snitch.

"Nice catch, Potter," Flint yells at me before flying towards Sinistra and Rochelle.

I have to admit that it's odd hearing praise from a Slytherin who usually is out to kill me, but who am I to complain really? I effortlessly turn in the direction of them and follow Flint down. I glance towards Malfoy as soon as he touches back down on the ground. He doesn't say anything, though, just nods his head curtly before glancing away.

"Good match," Professor Sinistra says with a smile. "Thought you had the win there for a moment, Mr. Flint, but it seems that Mr. Potter's just that good. All right, well, lunch should be served now, so go on." The majority of the students rush off running towards the castle. However, Flint, Draco, and I remain back with Professor Sinistra. I'm staying with her just because I know that Dad's going to be coming out at any point. I haven't a clue as to the other two, though. Luckily, I find out soon enough.

"Professor, I had a question about something you said the other day in class," Flint gruffly says as he walks next to her. It starts to rain then, but none of us complains or even hurries up to the castle.

"You'll have to be a bit more specific, Mr. Flint. I've said a lot these past few days." Professor Sinistra then glances towards me and flashes a brief smile. "Haven't I, Mr. Potter?"

"I didn't think so, Professor, no more than usual, I mean," I respond politely.

"Good answer, a bit cunning even," she says with a laugh. "All right, Mr. Flint, what did I say?"

"When you were dueling Professor Snape, you said that the number one reason that people lose their duels is because they underestimate their opponent. However, I didn't see that with him."

"That's because Severus unfortunately knows almost every trick in my book, Mr. Flint. We duel each other quite regularly. Sometimes I win, and others he wins. I like to think that Severus and I match equally in terms of magical strength. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that…" Flint then glances towards me before sighing. "Never mind," he says.

"You can speak openly, Marcus. I'm sure you're not giving away anything that Harry doesn't already know." Her eyes then dart to me again before she glances away.

"It's just that Professor Snape should have defeated you easily since he's had more practice at duels than you have and because of, well, you know." It's pouring now, and we still don't hurry.

"Oh, you mean, because I teach Astronomy and don't know crap about real duels?" she responds before laughing. There isn't anger in her voice, which probably would have been in mine at his insinuation. "Appearances can be deceiving, Mr. Flint. Just because I teach Astronomy, it doesn't necessarily mean that I haven't had my share of duels over the years." She then stops, which makes Draco, Flint, and me follow suit. She silently pushes up her left sleeve of her green robes. She then holds out her forearm towards us, which makes me narrow my eyes. "Bellatrix LeStrange carved this into me when I refused to do what every other Slytherin was doing at the time. She found it to be rather humorous in her sick and twisted way. I take it you know what this means?" she asks glancing at Flint.

"Yes, ma'am," he responds quietly.

"I thought you might," she replies before glancing at me. "Perhaps you'd like to inform Mr. Potter here what it means, though."

"It's His Mark, the Dark Lord's," Flint softly replies.

"Obviously, since I did not take his true Mark, it distinguishes me as a blood traitor. I believe that I do not need to inform you about what happens to blood traitors." Flint shakes his head. "Does that answer your true question that you were asking, Mr. Flint?"

"Yes, ma'am, it does," Flint replies glancing at the ground.

"Mr. Flint, I want you to understand this. Any idiot can take His Mark. Just bear your forearm, and He brands you for life. Any dreams you hoped to accomplish…are gone unless you're one of his favorites. Any thought of living your life the way you want to live it…are gone. If He tells you to rape your sister, you do it. If He tells you to kill your father, you had damn well better do it. Your ability to choose is gone. You belong to Him and become nothing more than a soulless shell of a wizard."

"But he walked away, Professor. He walked away and became a traitor."

"It isn't easy walking away, Mr. Flint," Professor Sinistra responds. "It takes an extremely brave wizard to decide that he made a mistake. It take guts because once you decide to become free again, you make yourself an enemy. As I'm sure that you know, the Dark Lord doesn't take kindly to traitors in His midst. If He ever finds you again, you'll suffer in the worst way He can make you suffer. He'll torture you until you break. Once He breaks you, you lose all hope of surviving. He can convince you that He meant not to kill the woman you loved. He can spin His lies in such a way that you just have to believe Him. Evil is pure seduction, and even the best of us get seduced once in awhile. The trick is not to believe His lies and to think about the consequences of your actions on others. Yes, not taking His Mark makes you an enemy, but it is a hell of a lot better than to find yourself in a situation one day where you have to murder an innocent child on His orders or even worse." She then gently rests a hand on Flint's shoulder. "Marcus, you are a bright young man. Do not throw your life away because of what they expect of you." She then sighs quietly. "I was scared to death the day they asked me to take the Mark. I thought the minute I said no that they'd kill me." Glancing at her forearm, she says, "Sure, it's ugly to look at now, but at least I know that my soul is still intact." She then allows her sleeve to cover her arm again. "You may think of him, however, you wish, Mr. Flint. But in my eyes, his decision to walk away, well, I'm sure you can probably guess what I think of him now."

I glance towards Draco and sigh. I feel like I have intruded upon something. In the back of my mind, I wonder if Dad knows about her arm. I'm guessing that he does, though. Her scars are faint, but still visible. I then glance towards Flint. From what I've gathered of the conversation, he had been talking about if he should or not serve Voldemort. It unsettles me greatly to think that someone I know would willingly consider joining that monster.

"I apologize, Professor. I didn't mean—I mean—"

"I know, Marcus. I understand. You better get up to the castle while I deal with these two."

I have to admit that I'm impressed that she never once lost her cool with him. I mean, I know I'd have been spitting fire if I had some student asking me if he should join a murderer. Then again, it has to be a Slytherin thing to be in that much control of your emotions all the time. I watch Flint join the rest.

"Hey, Potter," Draco says next to me.

I glance at him just as a clump of mud hits me in the face. I growl under my breath, desperately wanting to hex the little sod of Slytherin to pieces. However, I hear laughter next to me, which I know is Professor Sinistra. I wipe the mud off quickly and glare at Malfoy before bending down and grabbing a clump of mud. I throw it at him as fast and hard as I can. It doesn't take long after that then that we're chucking mud at one another. I then see out of the corner of my eye Malfoy's devilish grin at me, which makes me stop in mid-throw. His gray eyes then dart towards Professor Sinistra before I nod in understanding. We do a rather silent count in our heads before throwing the slimy mud at her.

"BOYS!" she yells as she wipes the mud off her face.

"Yes, Professor Sinistra?" quietly we respond with hints of a smile on our faces.

"You know damn well what, gentlemen," she growls glaring at us.

"Draco, do you know what she's talking about?"

"No, honestly, I can't say that I do, Potter."

We then both burst out laughing. However, a few seconds later, rope ties around our ankles, making us fall into a giant mud puddle. Both Draco and I glance at Professor Sinistra who now is grinning from ear to ear as she glances down at us.

"I believe the phrase you're looking for, gentlemen, is that payback is, well, I'm sure you know the rest." She then calmly starts walking across the lawn, leaving us to scramble back to our feet as soon as the spell wears off.

Draco and I follow her quietly. However, when we're about two feet from the doors, I glance at Draco. He catches my look and smirks instantly. I honestly don't know why I'm being so mischievous with him, but it feels kind of like Ron's here with me. Okay, so Ron would definitely hex me for saying that, but it does. Draco and I then glance towards our prey who has nearly wiped off all the mud.

"Wing—" It's all I can say before Professor Sinistra suddenly falls into the mud puddle that I have tried to cast my spell on. I glance at Draco thinking he knows nonverbal magic, but I catch the shock on his face. It wasn't either of us. We both rush up to her and help her up feeling rather guilty. Mud covers every inch of her robes, but we look the same since most of her mud transferred onto us.

"Do not say a word to Severus, Harry," she says quietly with a stern look.

"Oh, he doesn't have to, Aurora. Luckily, I saw the entire thing from right here," Dad replies with a smirk as stands in front of the doors. His dark eyes then catch mine. Slowly, he raises his eyebrow as if to say 'And I saw what you two were planning too.'

"Wonderful and I bet you think this is extremely funny, don't you?" she growls at Dad.

"To which part are you referring to? You falling into the mud or you covered in said mud?" he replies still smirking dangerously.

"I'm going to murder you, Severus."

"Is that right, Sinistra? And just how are you going to go about this, seeing as how you're covered in mud and looking rather ridiculous right now and I'm over here completely dry I might add?"

I glance towards Draco, suddenly feeling rather awkward. Draco only rolls his eyes at me before yanking me with him towards the castle, though. I don't look back at Dad and Professor Sinistra. I'm not really convinced that there's any truth to her threat.

As Draco and I walk into the Great Hall, we instantly catch a few of the professors' eyes. Maybe we should have removed the mud before entering the Great Hall in hindsight. We glance down at the ground in response before feeling the mud disappear from our clothes. We both mutter thanks and take our seats. Quietly, we eat lunch, not partaking in any of the conversations. I hadn't known before how hungry I am. Then again, Professor Sinistra did allow us to play Quidditch all morning.

I take a drink of my pumpkin juice just as the massive doors to the room burst open. My head whips towards it to see Dad and Professor Sinistra walking in. At the sight of Dad, however, I start to laugh, which causes me to choke since I forgot to swallow. Someone smacks me on the back then to make me swallow the juice. Then again, Dad did look like he fell in the mud too. Honestly, who could blame me from laughing at the sight of two of my professors covered in mud?

"It's not that funny, Harry," Dad says with a hint of annoyance as he magically removes the last bit of mud from his robes.

"I thought it was hilarious," Professor Sinistra drawls taking her seat next to Dad.

"And here I was going to ask you to marry me."

"You were going to WHAT?" Her face instantly goes pale. Well, I mean, paler than usual.

Dad then glances at me for a brief moment, which makes me grin and nod at him. Slowly, he turns back towards Professor Sinistra. He draws in a deep breath.

"Granted, I'm sure you'll say no because it isn't nearly romantic enough for your romance addled mind. However," he says reaching into his robes. "Since I've failed to rid myself of you this long, perhaps I should make our relationship permanent." He then slowly opens a velvet black box that contains a silver ring that is in the shape of a snake. "Well, do you agree, Aurora?"